Forms of Main Verbs

Main verbs are also called "lexical verbs". Main verbs (except the verb "be") have only 4, 5 or 6 forms. "Be" has 9 forms. V1 infinitive regular (to) work (to) sing (to) make (to) cut base work sing make cut V2 past simple worked sang made cut did had past simple was, were V3 past participle worked sung made cut done had past participle been present participle Working singing making cutting doing having present participle Being present simple, 3rd person singular Works sings makes cuts does has present simple am, are, is

irregular

(to) do* do (to) have* have infinitive (to) be* base be

In the above examples:

to cut has 4 forms: to cut, cut, cutting, cuts to work has 5 forms: to work, work, worked, working, works to sing has 6 forms: to sing, sing, sang, sung, singing, sings to be has 9 forms: to be, be, was, were, been, being, am, is, are

The infinitive can be with or without to. For example, to sing and sing are both infinitives. We often call the infinitive without to the "bare infinitive". At school, students usually learn by heart the base, past simple and past participle (sometimes called V1, V2, V3, meaning Verb 1, Verb 2, Verb 3) for the irregular verbs. They may spend many hours chanting: sing, sang, sung; go, went, gone; have, had, had; etc. They do not learn these for the regular verbs because the past simple and past participle are always the same: they are formed by adding "-ed" to the base. They do not learn the present participle and 3rd person singular present simple by heart - for another very simple reason: they never change. The present participle is always made by adding "-ing" to the base, and the 3rd person singular present simple is always made by adding "s" to the base (though there are some variations in spelling).

* Note that "do", "have" and "be" also function as helping or auxiliary verbs, with exactly the same forms (except that as helping verbs they are never in infinitive form).

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

Infinitive

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

Base - Imperative

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

Base - Present simple (except 3rd person singular)

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

Base - After modal auxiliary verbs

I can work tomorrow. You must sing louder. They might do it. You could be right.

Past simple

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

Past participle

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

Present participle

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

3rd person singular, present simple

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

Forms of Helping Verbs

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

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

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

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

But if somebody walked into the room and said "Hello. I can", we would understand nothing! Helping Verbs Primary Do Be have Modal (to make simple tenses, and questions Can and negatives) (to make continuous tenses, and the passive voice) (to make perfect tenses) May Will Could Might Would

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

Should

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

do + V1 (base verb) be + -ing (present participle) have + V3 (past participle)

ought + to... (infinitive) other modals + V1 (base verb)

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

Modal helping verbs cannot function as main

Simple Present Tense

I sing

How do we make the Simple Present Tense?

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb do base There are three important exceptions:
1. For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary. 2. For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the

auxiliary.
3. For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.

Look at these examples with the main verb like: Subject I, you, we, they + He, she, it likes coffee. auxiliary verb main verb like coffee.

I, you, we, they He, she, it Do ? Does

do does I, you, we, they he, she, it

not not

like like like like

coffee. coffee. coffee? coffee?

Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary: Subject I + You, we, they He, she, it I You, we, they He, she, it Am ? Are Is main verb am are is am are is I you, we, they he, she, it not not not French. French. French. old. old. old. late? late? late?

How do we use the Simple Present Tense?

We use the simple present tense when:

the action is general the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future the action is not only happening now the statement is always true John drives a taxi. past Present future

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

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

Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the simple present tense for situations that are not general. We can use the simple present tense to talk about now. Look at these examples of the verb "to be" in the simple present tense - some of them are general, some of them are now: Am I right? Tara is not at home. You are happy. Past present future

The situation is now.

I am not fat. Why are you so beautiful? Ram is tall. Past present future

The situation is general. Past, present and future.

How do we make the Present Continuous Tense?

The structure of the present continuous tense is: subject + auxiliary verb + main verb be base + ing Look at these examples: Subject + I auxiliary verb am main verb Speaking to you.

+ You She We

are is are he not not

Reading Staying Playing Watching

this. in London. football. TV?

? Is ?

How do we use the Present Continuous Tense?

We use the present continuous tense to talk about:

action happening now action in the future

Present continuous tense for action happening now

a) for action happening exactly now I am eating my lunch. past present Future

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

...the pages are turning.

...the candle is burning.

...the numbers are spinning.

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

past

Present

Future

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

Muriel is learning to drive. I am living with my sister until I find an apartment.

Present continuous tense for the future

We can also use the present continuous tense to talk about the future - if we add a future word!! We must add (or understand from the context) a future word. "Future words" include, for example, tomorrow, next year, in June, at Christmas etc. We only use the present continuous tense to talk about the future when we have planned to do something before we speak. We have already made a decision and a plan before speaking. I am taking my exam next month. past Present !!! A firm plan or programme exists now. Look at these examples:

Future

The action is in the future.

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

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

How do we spell the Present Continuous Tense?

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

Just add -ing to the base verb: Work Play Basic rule Assist See Be > > > Assisting Seeing Being > > Working Playing

If the base verb ends in consonant + stressed vowel + consonant, double the last letter: s T O p stressed consonant consonant vowel (vowels = a, e, i, o, u) Exception 1 Stop Run Begin > > > Stopping Running Beginning

Note that this exception does not apply when the last syllable of the base verb is not stressed: Open > Opening

If the base verb ends in ie, change the ie to y: Exception 2 Lie Die > > Lying Dying

If the base verb ends in vowel + consonant + e, omit the e: Exception 3 Come Mistake > > Coming Mistaking

Present Continuous Tense Quiz

1 2 they coming over for dinner? Maxwell not sleeping on our sofa.

3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

My mother-in-law is at our house this week. I my dinner right now. My sister Spanish. I at the hair salon until September. We at a fancy restaurant tonight. Jason decided this yesterday. When do you your new art class? They are a new record shop downtown. Melissa is down on her bed.

Present Perfect Tense

I have sung The present perfect tense is a rather important tense in English, but it gives speakers of some languages a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist in those languages. In fact, the structure of the present perfect tense is very simple. The problems come with the use of the tense. In addition, there are some differences in usage between British and American English. In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the present perfect, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Structure: how to make the present perfect tense Use: when and why to use the present perfect tense For and Since with the present perfect tense. What's the difference? Present Perfect Quiz

The present perfect tense is really a very interesting tense, and a very useful one. Try not to translate the present perfect tense into your language. Just try to accept the concepts of this tense and learn to "think" present perfect! You will soon learn to like the present perfect tense!

How do we make the Present Perfect Tense?

The structure of the present perfect tense is: subject + auxiliary verb + main verb have past participle Here are some examples of the present perfect tense: subject + I + You She We auxiliary verb have have has have you they not not main verb Seen Eaten Been Played finished? Done it? ET. mine. to Rome. football.

? Have ? Have

Contractions with the present perfect tense

When we use the present perfect tense in speaking, we usually contract the subject and auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this when we write. I have You have He has She has It has John has The car has We have They have I've You've He's She's It's John's The car's We've They've

Here are some examples:

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

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

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

It is usually clear from the context.

How do we use the Present Perfect Tense?

This tense is called the present perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and with the present. There are basically three uses for the present perfect tense: 1. experience 2. change 3. continuing situation

1. Present perfect tense for experience

We often use the present perfect tense to talk about experience from the past. We are not interested in when you did something. We only want to know if you did it: I have seen ET. He has lived in Bangkok. Have you been there? We have never eaten caviar. past Present !!! The action or state was in the past. In my head, I have a memory now. future

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

2. Present perfect tense for change

We also use the present perfect tense to talk about a change or new information: I have bought a car. past Last week I didn't have a car. present + Now I have a car. Future

John has broken his leg. past + Yesterday John had a good leg. present Now he has a bad leg. Future

Has the price gone up? past + Was the price $1.50 yesterday? present Is the price $1.70 today? Future

The police have arrested the killer. past Yesterday the killer was free. present + Now he is in prison. Future

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

3. Present perfect tense for continuing situation

We often use the present perfect tense to talk about a continuing situation. This is a state that started in the past and continues in the present (and will probably continue into the future). This is a state (not an action). We usually use for or since with this structure. I have worked here since June. He has been ill for 2 days. How long have you known Tara? past present Future

The situation started in the past.

It continues up to now.

(It will probably continue into the future.)

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

For & Since with Present Perfect Tense

We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.

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

a period of time

20 minutes three days 6 months 4 years 2 centuries a long time ever Etc Here are some examples:

6.15pm Monday January 1994 1800 I left school the beginning of time etc

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

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

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

I have been singing

How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?

The structure of the present perfect continuous tense is:
subje auxiliary + ct verb have has auxiliary + verb been main + verb base + ing

Here are some examples of the present perfect continuous tense:

subje ct + I + You auxiliary verb have have no t no t auxiliary verb been been main verb waiting talking for one hour. too much.

It

has

been

raining.

We

have

been

playing

football.

? Have

you

been

seeing

her? their homework?

? Have

they

been

doing

Contractions

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

I have been You have been He has been She has been It has been John has been The car has been We have been They have been

I've been

You've been

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

We've been

They've been

Here are some examples:

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

How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?

This tense is called the present perfect continuous tense. There is usually a connection with the present or now. There are basically two uses for the present perfect continuous tense:

1. An action that has just stopped or recently stopped

We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past and stopped recently. There is usually a result now.
I'm tired because I've been running. Past present !!! Recent Result now. future

action.

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

2. An action continuing up to now

We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past and is continuing now. This is often used with for or since.
I have been reading for 2 hours. past present Future

Action started in past.

Action is continuing now.

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

For and Since with Present Perfect Continuous Tense

We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.

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

a period of time

20 minutes three days 6 months 4 years 2 centuries a long time

6.15pm Monday January 1994 1800 I left school the beginning of time etc

ever

etc

Here are some examples:

I have been studying for 3 hours. I have been watching TV since 7pm. Tara hasn't been feeling well for 2 weeks. Tara hasn't been visiting us since March. He has been playing football for a long time. He has been living in Bangkok since he left school.

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

Simple Past Tense

I sang The simple past tense is sometimes called the preterite tense. We can use several tenses to talk about the past, but the simple past tense is the one we use most often. In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the simple past tense, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

How do we make the Simple Past Tense?

To make the simple past tense, we use:

past form only or auxiliary did + base form

Here you can see examples of the past form and base form for irregular verbs and regular verbs: V1 base regular verb work explode like go see sing V2 past worked exploded liked went saw sang V3 past participle worked exploded liked gone seen sung You do not need the past participle form to make the simple past tense. It is shown here for completeness only. The structure for positive sentences in the simple past tense is: subject + main verb past The structure for negative sentences in the simple past tense is: subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb did base The structure for question sentences in the simple past tense is: auxiliary verb + subject + main verb did base The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he did etc). And the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with the main verbs go and work: subject + I auxiliary verb main verb went to school. The past form for all regular verbs ends in -ed. The past form for irregular verbs is variable. You need to learn it by heart.

irregular verb

You She We Did ? Did they did you not did not

worked go work go work

very hard. with me. yesterday. to London? at home?

Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were, he/she/it was, we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and question sentences. To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at these examples: subject I, he/she/it + You, we, they I, he/she/it You, we, they Was ? Were you, we, they late? were I, he/she/it not happy. right? were was not in London. there. main verb was here.

How do we use the Simple Past Tense?

We use the simple past tense to talk about an action or a situation - an event - in the past. The event can be short or long. Here are some short events with the simple past tense: The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday. She went to the door. We did not hear the telephone. Did you see that car? past present future

The action is in the past.

Here are some long events with the simple past tense: I lived in Bangkok for 10 years. The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years. We did not sing at the concert. Did you watch TV last night? past present future

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

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

In general, if we say the time or place of the event, we must use the simple past tense; we cannot use the present perfect. Here are some more examples:

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

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

Past Continuous Tense

I was singing The past continuous tense is an important tense in English. We use it to say what we were in the middle of doing at a particular moment in the past. In this lesson we look at the structure and the use of the past continuous tense, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

How do we make the Past Continuous Tense?

The structure of the past continuous tense is: subject + auxiliary verb BE conjugated in simple past tense was were + main verb present participle base + ing

For negative sentences in the past continuous tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past continuous tense: subject + I + You He, she, it We auxiliary verb was were was were you they not not main verb watching working helping joking. being playing silly? football? TV. hard. Mary.

? Were ? Were

How do we use the Past Continuous Tense?

The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I watched a film on TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm. At 8pm yesterday, I was watching TV. past 8pm At 8pm, I was in the middle of watching TV. When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:

present

future

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

Some verbs cannot be used in continuous/progressive tenses. We often use the past continuous tense to "set the scene" in stories. We use it to describe the background situation at the moment when the action begins. Often, the story starts with the past continuous tense and then moves into the simple past tense. Here is an example: " James Bond was driving through town. It was raining. The wind was blowing hard. Nobody was walking in the streets. Suddenly, Bond saw the killer in a telephone box..."

Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense

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

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

I was watching TV when you telephoned.

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

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

There are four basic combinations: I was walking past the car When the car exploded The car exploded While I was walking past the car while when it exploded. I was walking past it. I was walking past it. it exploded.

Notice that the long action and short action are relative.

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

Past Perfect Tense

I had sung The past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. This tense talks about the "past in the past". In this lesson we look at:

How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?

The structure of the past perfect tense is: subject + auxiliary verb HAVE + main verb

conjugated in simple past tense had

past participle V3

For negative sentences in the past perfect tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect tense: subject + I + You She We auxiliary verb had had had had you they not not main verb finished stopped gone left. arrived? eaten dinner? my work. before me. to school.

? Had ? Had

When speaking with the past perfect tense, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb: I had you had he had she had it had we had they had I'd you'd he'd she'd it'd we'd they'd

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

We had or We would

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

We had arrived (past participle)

We would arrive (base)

It is always clear from the context.

How do we use the Past Perfect Tense?

The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is the past in the past. For example:

The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left. The train had left when we arrived. past present future

Train leaves in past at 9am. 9 9.15 We arrive in past at 9.15am. Look at some more examples:

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

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

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

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

Later, you tell your friends:

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

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

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

Past Perfect Continuous Tense

I had been singing

How do we make the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?

The structure of the past perfect continuous tense is: subject + auxiliary verb HAVE conjugated in simple past tense had + auxiliary verb BE past participle Been + main verb present participle base + ing

For negative sentences in the past perfect continuous tense, we insert not after the first auxiliary verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and first auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the past perfect continuous tense: subject + I + You It We auxiliary verb had had had had you not not auxiliary verb been been been been been main verb working. Playing Working Expecting drinking? tennis. well. her.

? Had

? Had

they

been

Waiting

long?

When speaking with the past perfect continuous tense, we often contract the subject and first auxiliary verb: I had been you had been he had she had been it had been we had been they had been I'd been you'd been he'd been she'd been it'd been we'd been they'd been

How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?

The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer actions in the past before another action in the past. For example:

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

Ram starts waiting in past at 9am. 9 11 I arrive in past at 11am. Here are some more examples:

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

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

past perfect continuous tense had | | been | | doing | | >>>> | | past now future

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

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

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

Later, you tell your friends:

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

Simple Future Tense

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

How do we make the Simple Future Tense?

The structure of the simple future tense is: subject + auxiliary verb WILL invariable will + main verb base V1

For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these example sentences with the simple future tense: subject + I + You She We auxiliary verb will will will will not not main verb open finish be leave the door. before me. at school tomorrow. yet.

? Will ? Will

you they

arrive want

on time? dinner?

When we use the simple future tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb: I will you will he will she will it will we will they will I'll you'll he'll she'll it'll we'll they'll

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

How do we use the Simple Future Tense?

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

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

In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the time of speaking.

We often use the simple future tense with the verb to think before it:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Future Continuous Tense

I will be singing

How do we make the Future Continuous Tense?

The structure of the future continuous tense is: subject + auxiliary verb WILL invariable will + auxiliary verb BE invariable be + main verb present participle base + ing

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

+ I + You She We

will will will will you they not not

be be be be be be

Working Lying Using Having Playing Watching

at 10am. on a beach tomorrow. the car. dinner at home. football? TV?

? Will ? Will

When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and will: I will you will he will she will it will we will they will I'll you'll he'll she'll it'll we'll they'll

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

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

How do we use the Future Continuous Tense?

The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action will start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For example, tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm: At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working. past present future 4pm At 4pm, I will be in the middle of working. When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we are talking about. Look at these examples:

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

Future Perfect Tense

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

How do we make the Future Perfect Tense?

The structure of the future perfect tense is: subject + auxiliary verb WILL invariable will + auxiliary verb HAVE invariable have + main verb past participle V3

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

+ I + You She We

will will will will you they not not

have have have have have have

Finished Forgotten Gone left. arrived? Received

by 10am. me by then. to school.

? Will ? Will

it?

In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subject and will. Sometimes, we contract the subject, will and have all together: I will have you will have he will have she will have it will have we will have they will have I'll have you'll have he'll have she'll have it'll have we'll have they'll have I'll've you'll've he'll've she'll've it'll've we'll've they'll've

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

How do we use the Future Perfect Tense?

The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future. This is the past in the future. For example:

The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am. When you arrive, the train will have left. The train will have left when you arrive. past present future Train leaves in future at 9am. 9 9.15

You arrive in future at 9.15am. Look at some more examples:

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

You can sometimes think of the future perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but instead of your viewpoint being in the present, it is in the future: present perfect tense | have | done | >| past now future past now future perfect tense will | have | done | >| future

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

I will have been singing

How do we make the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?

The structure of the future perfect continuous tense is: subject + auxiliary verb WILL invariable will + auxiliary verb HAVE invariable have + auxiliary verb BE past participle Been + main verb present participle base + ing

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

+ I + You She We

will will will will you they not not

have have have have have have

been been been been been been

working travelling using waiting playing watching

for four hours. for two days. the car. long. football? TV?

? Will ? Will

When we use the future perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb: I will you will he will she will it will we will they will I'll you'll he'll she'll it'll we'll they'll

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

How do we use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?

We use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about a long action before some point in the future. Look at these examples:

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

English Tense System

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

What is Tense? Tense & Time Basic Tenses Regular Verbs Irregular Verbs Be

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

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

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

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

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

I like coffee. I do not like coffee.

interrogative mood expresses a question

Why do you like coffee?

imperative mood expresses a command

Sit down!

subjunctive mood expresses what is imagined or wished or possible

The President ordered that he attend the meeting.

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

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

the action or state referred to by the verb is completed (and often still relevant), for example: I have emailed the report to Jane. (so now she has the report) (This is called perfective aspect, using perfect tenses.) the action or state referred to by the verb is in progress or continuing (that is, uncompleted), for example: We are eating. (This is called progressive aspect, using progressive [continuous] tenses.)

Tense and Time

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

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

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

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

The following examples show how different tenses can be used to talk about different times. TIME TENSE past Present Simple She Likes I am having dinner. Present Continuous They Present Perfect Simple Present Perfect Continuous I have seen ET. I have been playing tennis. We have been working for four hours. Past Simple I finished one hour ago. I was working at 2am this morning. I had not eaten for 24 hours. We had been working for 3 hours. If I had been working now, I would have missed you. Hold on. I'll do it now. If I had been working tomorrow, I could not have agreed. I'll see you tomorrow. I will be working at 9pm tonight. I will have finished by 9pm tonight. If she loved you now, she would marry you. If you came tomorrow, you would see her. are living I have finished. coffee. I am taking my exam next month. in London. Present I want a coffee. future I leave tomorrow.

Past Continuous Past Perfect Simple

Past Perfect Continuous

Future Simple Future Continuous Future Perfect Simple

We will have been married for ten years next month. They may be tired when you arrive because they will have been working. In 30 minutes, we will have been working for four hours.

Future Perfect Continuous

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

Some grammar books use the word progressive instead of continuous. They are exactly the same. The use of tenses in English may be quite complicated, but the structure of English tenses is actually very simple. The basic structure for a positive sentence is: subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

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

structure past auxiliary normal simple intensive perfect do have base past participle present participle -ing present participle -ing I did work I had worked I was working I had been working I do work I have worked I am working I have been working I will have worked I will be working I will have been working main verb I worked I work I will work present future*

continuous

be

continuous perfect

have been

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

Basic Tenses: Regular Verb

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

+ subject + auxiliary verb + main verb - subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb ? auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses: base verb work past worked past participle worked present participle -ing working

past

Present I do work I work I do not work Do I work? I have worked I have not worked Have I worked? I am working I am not working Am I working? I have been working I have not been working Have I been working?

future I will work I will not work Will I work? I will have worked I will not have worked Will I have worked? I will be working I will not be working Will I be working? I will have been working I will not have been working Will I have been working?

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

+ ? +

I did work I worked I did not work Did I work? I had worked I had not worked Had I worked? I was working I was not working Was I working? I had been working I had not been working Had I been working?

SIMPLE PERFECT have + past participle

? +

CONTINUOUS be + ing

? +

CONTINUOUS PERFECT have been + ing

Regular Verbs List

There are thousands of regular verbs in English. This is a list of 600 of the more common regular verbs. Note that there are some spelling variations in American English (for example, "practise" becomes "practice" in American English).

accept add admire admit advise afford agree

allow amuse analyse announce annoy answer apologise

applaud appreciate approve argue arrange arrest arrive

attach attack attempt attend attract avoid

alert back bake balance ban bang bare bat bathe battle beam calculate call camp care carry carve cause challenge change charge chase cheat check cheer chew dam damage dance dare decay deceive decide decorate delay delight earn educate embarrass employ empty

appear beg behave belong bleach bless blind blink blot blush boast choke chop claim clap clean clear clip close coach coil collect colour comb command communicate deliver depend describe desert deserve destroy detect develop disagree disappear end enjoy enter entertain escape

ask boil bolt bomb book bore borrow bounce bow box brake compare compete complain complete concentrate concern confess confuse connect consider consist contain continue copy correct disapprove disarm discover dislike divide double doubt drag drain dream excite excuse exercise exist expand

brake branch breathe bruise brush bubble bump burn bury buzz cough count cover crack crash crawl cross crush cry cure curl curve cycle

dress drip drop drown drum dry dust

explain explode extend

encourage face fade fail fancy fasten fax fear fence gather gaze glow glue hammer hand handle hang happen harass identify ignore imagine impress improve include jail jam kick kill label land last laugh launch

examine fetch file fill film fire fit fix flap grab grate grease greet harm hate haunt head heal heap increase influence inform inject injure instruct jog join kiss kneel learn level license lick lie

expect flash float flood flow flower fold follow fool grin grip groan guarantee heat help hook hop hope hover intend interest interfere interrupt introduce invent joke judge knit

force form found frame frighten fry

guard guess guide

hug hum hunt hurry

invite irritate itch

juggle jump knot load lock long look love

knock lighten like list listen live

man manage march mark marry match mate nail name obey object observe pack paddle paint park part pass paste pat pause peck pedal peel peep perform question race radiate rain raise reach realise receive recognise record reduce reflect

matter measure meddle melt memorise mend mess up need nest obtain occur offend permit phone pick pinch pine place plan plant play please plug point poke polish queue refuse regret reign reject rejoice relax release rely remain remember remind

milk mine miss mix moan moor mourn nod note offer open order pop possess post pour practise pray preach precede prefer prepare present preserve press pretend

move muddle mug multiply murder notice number overflow owe own prevent prick print produce program promise protect provide pull pump punch puncture punish push

remove repair repeat replace reply report reproduce request rescue retire return

rhyme rinse risk rob rock roll rot rub ruin rule rush

sack sail satisfy save saw scare scatter scold scorch scrape scratch scream screw scribble scrub seal search separate serve settle shade share shave shelter talk tame tap taste tease telephone tempt terrify test thank undress unfasten vanish wail wait walk wander want warm

shiver shock shop shrug sigh sign signal sin sip ski skip slap slip slow smash smell smile smoke snatch sneeze sniff snore snow soak thaw tick tickle tie time tip tire touch tour tow unite unlock visit waste watch water wave weigh welcome

soothe sound spare spark sparkle spell spill spoil spot spray sprout squash squeak squeal squeeze stain stamp stare start stay steer step stir stitch trace trade train transport trap travel treat tremble trick trip unpack

stop store strap strengthen stretch strip stroke stuff subtract succeed suck suffer suggest suit supply support suppose surprise surround suspect suspend switch

trot trouble trust try tug tumble turn twist type

use

untidy

whirl whisper whistle wink wipe wish

work worry wrap wreck wrestle

warn wash x-ray yawn zip

whine whip

wobble wonder

wriggle

yell

zoom

Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs are an important feature of English. We use irregular verbs a lot when speaking, less when writing. Of course, the most famous English verb of all, the verb "to be", is irregular. What is the difference between regular verbs and irregular verbs? Base Form With regular verbs, the rule is simple... finish The past simple and past participle always end in -ed: stop work But with irregular verbs, there is no rule... Sometimes the verb changes completely: Sometimes there is "half" a change: Sometimes there is no change: sing buy cut Sang bought Cut sung bought cut finished stopped worked finished stopped worked Past Simple Past Participle

One good way to learn irregular verbs is to try sorting them into groups, as above.

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

subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

negative (-): question (?):

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

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

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

These are the forms of the main verb be that we use to construct the tenses: base be past simple was, were past participle been past SIMPLE present simple or past simple (except future: will + be) + I was I was not present participle being present simple am, are, is Present I am I am not Am I? I have been I have not been Have I been? I am being I am not being Am I being? I have been being I have not been being Have I been being? future I will be I will not be Will I be? I will have been I will not have been Will I have been? I will be being I will not be being Will I be being? I will have been being I will not have been being Will I have been being?

? Was I? + I had been

SIMPLE PERFECT have + been

I had not been

? Had I been? + I was being CONTINUOUS be + being I was not being

? Was I being? + CONTINUOUS PERFECT have been + being ? I had been being I had not been being Had I been being?

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

SIMPLE I singular you he/she/it we plural you they PERFECT I singular you he/she/it we plural you they CONTINUOUS I singular you he/she/it we plural you they CONTINUOUS PERFECT I singular you he/she/it

past was were was were were were past had been had been had been had been had been had been past was being were being was being were being were being were being past had been being had been being had been being

present am are is are are are present have been have been has been have been have been have been present am being are being is being are being are being are being present have been being have been being has been being

future will be will be will be will be will be will be future will have been will have been will have been will have been will have been will have been future will be being will be being will be being will be being will be being will be being future will have been being will have been being will have been being

we plural you they

had been being had been being had been being

have been being have been being have been being

will have been being will have been being will have been being

Phrasal Verbs and other multi-word verbs

Phrasal verbs are part of a large group of verbs called "multi-word verbs". Phrasal verbs and other multi-word verbs are an important part of the English language. Multi-word verbs, including phrasal verbs, are very common, especially in spoken English. A multiword verb is a verb like "pick up", "turn on" or "get on with". For convenience, many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. These verbs consist of a basic verb + another word or words. The other word(s) can be prepositions and/or adverbs. The two or three words that make up multi-word verbs form a short "phrase" - which is why these verbs are often all called "phrasal verbs". The important thing to remember is that a multi-word verb is still a verb. "Get" is a verb. "Get up", is also a verb, a different verb. "Get" and "get up" are two different verbs. They do not have the same meaning. So you should treat each multi-word verb as a separate verb, and learn it like any other verb. Look at these examples. You can see that there are three types of multi-word verb: single-word verb prepositional verbs multiword verbs phrasal verbs phrasalprepositional verbs look look after direct your eyes in a certain direction take care of search for and find information in a reference book anticipate with pleasure You must look before you leap. Who is looking after the baby? You can look up my number in the telephone directory. I look forward to meeting you.

look up look forward to

In this lesson we look at the three types of multi-word verbs, including phrasal verbs, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasal verbs proper.

Phrasal verbs are made of: verb + adverb Phrasal verbs can be:

intransitive (no direct object) transitive (direct object)

Here are some examples of phrasal verbs:

Examples phrasal verbs get up break down put off turn down meaning direct object I don't like to get up. He was late because his car broke down. We will have to put off They turned down the meeting. my offer.

intransitive phrasal verbs transitive phrasal verbs

rise from bed cease to function postpone refuse

Separable Phrasal Verbs

When phrasal verbs are transitive (that is, they have a direct object), we can usually separate the two parts. For example, "turn down" is a separable phrasal verb. We can say: "turn down my offer" or "turn my offer down". Look at this table: They They turned turned my offer down down. my offer.

transitive phrasal verbs are

separable

However, if the direct object is a pronoun, we have no choice. We must separate the phrasal verb and insert the pronoun between the two parts. Look at this example with the separable phrasal verb "switch on": direct object pronouns must go John John switched switched the radio on on. the radio. These are all possible.

John

switched

it

on.

between the two parts of

John

switched

on

it.

This is not possible.

Separable or inseparable phrasal verbs? Some dictionaries tell you when phrasal verbs are separable. If a dictionary writes "look (something) up", you know that the phrasal verb "look up" is separable, and you can say "look something up" and "look up something". It's a good idea to write "something/somebody" as appropriate in your vocabulary book when you learn a new phrasal verb, like this:

get up break down put something/somebody off turn sthg/sby down

This tells you whether the verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).

Prepositional Verbs
Prepositional verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at prepositional verbs. Prepositional verbs are made of: verb + preposition Because a preposition always has an object, all prepositional verbs have direct objects. Here are some examples of prepositional verbs: Examples prepositional verbs believe in look after talk about wait for meaning direct object have faith in the existence of I believe in take care of discuss await He is looking after Did you talk about John is waiting for God. the dog. me? Mary.

Prepositional verbs cannot be separated. That means that we cannot put the direct object between the two parts. For example, we must say "look after the baby". We cannot say "look the baby after": Who is looking after the baby? Who is looking the baby after? This is possible. This is not possible.

prepositional verbs are

inseparable

It is a good idea to write "something/somebody" in your vocabulary book when you learn a new prepositional verb, like this:

believe in something/somebody look after sthg/sby

This reminds you that this verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).

Phrasal-prepositional Verbs
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are a small group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasalprepositional verbs. Phrasal-prepositional verbs are made of: verb + adverb + preposition Look at these examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs: Examples phrasal-prepositional verbs meaning direct object He doesn't get on with I won't put up with I look forward to We have run out of his wife. your attitude. seeing you. eggs.

get on with put up with look forward to run out of

have a friendly relationship with tolerate anticipate with pleasure use up, exhaust

Because phrasal-prepositional verbs end with a preposition, there is always a direct object. And, like prepositional verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs cannot be separated. Look at these examples: We We ran out of ran out of fuel. it.

phrasal-prepositional verbs are

inseparable
Now check your understanding

It is a good idea to write "something/somebody" in your vocabulary book when you learn a new phrasal-prepositional verb, like this:

get on with somebody put up with sthg/sby run out of something

This reminds you that this verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).

English Conditionals
There are several structures in English that are called conditionals. "Condition" means "situation or circumstance". If a particular condition is true, then a particular result happens.

If y = 10 then 2y = 20 If y = 3 then 2y = 6

There are three basic conditionals that we use very often. There are some more conditionals that we do not use so often. In this lesson, we will look at the three basic conditionals as well as the so-called zero conditional. We'll finish with a quiz to check your understanding. People sometimes call conditionals "IF" structures or sentences, because there is usually (but not always) the word "if" in a conditional sentence.

Structure of Conditional Sentences

The structure of most conditionals is very simple. There are two basic possibilities. Of course, we add many words and can use various tenses, but the basic structure is usually like this: IF condition result

IF

y = 10

2y = 20

or like this: result 2y = 20 IF IF condition y = 10

First Conditional: real possibility

We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do? IF condition present simple If it rains result WILL + base verb I will stay at home.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the possible future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples (do you remember the two basic structures: [IF condition result] and [result IF condition]?): IF condition present simple If If If If If I see Mary Tara is free tomorrow they do not pass their exam it rains tomorrow it rains tomorrow result WILL + base verb I will tell her. he will invite her. their teacher will be sad. will you stay at home? what will you do?

result

IF

condition

WILL + base verb I will tell Mary He will invite Tara Their teacher will be sad Will you stay at home What will you do if if if if if

present simple I see her. she is free tomorrow. they do not pass their exam. it rains tomorrow? it rains tomorrow?

Sometimes, we use shall, can, or may instead of will, for example: If you are good today, you can watch TV tonight.

Second Conditional: unreal possibility or dream

The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition. But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible. IF condition past simple If I won the lottery result WOULD + base verb I would buy a car.

Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the past simple tense to talk about the future condition. We use WOULD + base verb to talk about the future result. The important thing about the second conditional is that there is an unreal possibility that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples: IF condition past simple If If I married Mary Ram became rich result WOULD + base verb I would be happy. she would marry him.

If If

it snowed next July it snowed next July

would you be surprised? what would you do?

result WOULD + base verb I would be happy She would marry Ram Would you be surprised What would you do

IF

condition past simple

if if if if

I married Mary. he became rich. it snowed next July? it snowed next July?

Sometimes, we use should, could or might instead of would, for example: If I won a million dollars, I could stop working.

Third Conditional: no possibility

The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.
Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win. :-(

condition Past Perfect If I had won the lottery

Result WOULD HAVE + Past Participle I would have bought a car.

Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result are impossible now. Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for example: If you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won. Look at some more examples in the tables below:

IF

condition past perfect

Result WOULD HAVE + past participle I would have told her. I would have invited her. their teacher would have been sad. would you have stayed at home? what would you have done?

If If If If If

I had seen Mary Tara had been free yesterday they had not passed their exam it had rained yesterday it had rained yesterday

result WOULD HAVE + past participle I would have told Mary I would have invited Tara Their teacher would have been sad Would you have stayed at home What would you have done

IF

Condition past perfect

if if if if if

I had seen her. she had been free yesterday. they had not passed their exam. it had rained yesterday? it had rained yesterday?

Zero Conditional: certainty

We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true, like a scientific fact. Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it becomes water). You would be surprised if it did not. IF condition present simple If you heat ice result present simple it melts.

Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result of the condition is an absolute certainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past, or even the present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use the present simple tense to talk about the condition. We also use the present simple tense to talk about the result.

The important thing about the zero conditional is that the condition always has the same result. We can also use when instead of if, for example: When I get up late I miss my bus. Look at some more examples in the tables below: IF condition present simple If If If If I miss the 8 o'clock bus I am late for work people don't eat you heat ice result present simple I am late for work. my boss gets angry. they get hungry. does it melt?

result present simple I am late for work My boss gets angry People get hungry Does ice melt

IF

condition present simple

if if if if

I miss the 8 o'clock bus. I am late for work. they don't eat. you heat it?

Conditionals: Summary
Here is a chart to help you to visualize the basic English conditionals. Do not take the 50% and 10% figures too literally. They are just to help you. probability 100% 50% 10% conditional zero conditional first conditional second conditional Example If you heat ice, it melts. If it rains, I will stay at home. If I won the lottery, I would buy a car. time any time future future

0%

third conditional

If I had won the lottery, I would have bought a car.

past

Modal Verbs (modal auxiliaries)

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

Can, Could, Be able to

Can and could are modal auxiliary verbs. Be able to is NOT an auxiliary verb (it uses the verb be as a main verb). We include be able to here for convenience. In this lesson we look at these three verbs, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

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

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

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

subject

auxiliary verb can cannot

main verb play play tennis. tennis. tennis?

+ ?

I He

can't Can you play

Notice that:

Can is invariable. There is only one form of can.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

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

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

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

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

can: Requests and Orders

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

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

can: Permission
We sometimes use can to ask or give permission for something:
A. Can I smoke in this room? B. You can't smoke here, but you can smoke in the garden.

(Note that we also use could, may, might for permission. The use of can for permission is informal.)

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

talk about past possibility or ability

make requests

Structure of Could

subject + could + main verb

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to"). subject auxiliary verb could could not She couldn't Could your grandmother swim? walk. main verb swim.

+ ?

My grandmother

Notice that:

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

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

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

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

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

+ -

My grandmother could speak Spanish. My grandmother couldn't speak Spanish.

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

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

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

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

to talk about ability

Structure of Be able to
The structure of be able to is: subject + be + able + infinitive be main verb am is not She isn't Are you able to drive? able to drive. able adjective able

subject

infinitive to drive.

+ ?

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

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

Notice too that be able to has an infinitive form:

I would like to be able to speak Chinese.

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

be able to: ability

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

I have been able to swim since I was five. (present perfect) You will be able to speak perfect English very soon. (future simple) I would like to be able to fly an airplane. (infinitive)

Have to Must, Must not/Mustn't

Must is a modal auxiliary verb. Have to is NOT an auxiliary verb (it uses the verb have as a main verb). We include have to here for convenience. In this lesson we look at these two verbs, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Have to (objective obligation)

We often use have to to say that something is obligatory, for example:

Children have to go to school.

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

Look at these examples in the simple tense: subject auxiliary verb main verb have has do not you have have infinitive (with to) to work. to see to go the doctor. to school?

+ ?

She I Did

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

In France, you have to drive on the right. In England, most schoolchildren have to wear a uniform. John has to wear a tie at work.

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

subject past simple present simple future simple present continuous present perfect modal (may) I I I She We They

infinitive to work to work to work to wait. to change to do the time. it again. yesterday. today. tomorrow.

Must (subjective obligation)

We often use must to say that something is essential or necessary, for example:

I must go.

Structure of Must
Must is a modal auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb. The structure is: subject + must + main verb The main verb is the base verb (infinitive without "to"). Look at these examples: subject I You We auxiliary must must must must main verb go visit stop home. us. now.

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

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

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

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

In each of the above cases, the "obligation" is the opinion or idea of the person speaking. In fact, it is not a real obligation. It is not imposed from outside. It is sometimes possible to use must for real obligation, for example a rule or a law. But generally we use have to for this. We can use must to talk about the present or the future. Look at these examples:

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

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

Must not, Mustn't (prohibition)

We use must not to say that something is not permitted or allowed, for example:

Passengers must not talk to the driver.

Structure of Must not

Must is an auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb. The structure for must not is: subject + must not + main verb The main verb is the base verb (infinitive without "to"). Must not is often contracted to mustn't. Look at these examples: subject I You Students auxiliary must + not mustn't mustn't must not main verb forget disturb be my keys. him. late.

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

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

Use of Must not

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

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

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

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

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

We were not allowed to enter.

I couldn't park outside the shop.

Shall versus Will

People may sometimes tell you that there is no difference between shall and will, or even that today nobody uses shall (except in offers such as "Shall I call a taxi?"). This is not really true. The difference between shall and will is often hidden by the fact that we usually contract them in speaking with 'll. But the difference does exist. The truth is that there are two conjugations for the verb will: 1st Conjugation (objective, simple statement of fact) Person I Singular you he, she, it we Plural you they Verb shall will will shall will will Example I shall be in London tomorrow. You will see a large building on the left. He will be wearing blue. We shall not be there when you arrive. You will find his office on the 7th floor. They will arrive late. Contraction I'll You'll He'll We shan't You'll They'll

2nd Conjugation (subjective, strong assertion, promise or command) Person I Singular you he, she, it we Plural you they Verb will shall shall will shall shall Example I will do everything possible to help. You shall be sorry for this. It shall be done. We will not interfere. You shall do as you're told. They shall give one month's notice. Contraction I'll You'll It'll We won't You'll They'll

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

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

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

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

Would
Would is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use would mainly to:

talk about the past talk about the future in the past express the conditional mood

We also use would for other functions, such as:

expressing desire, polite requests and questions, opinion or hope, wish and regret...

Structure of Would

subject + would + main verb

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to"). subject auxiliary verb would She 'd would not She wouldn't Would she like coffee? like whisky. like tea. main verb

+ ?

Notice that:

Would is never conjugated. It is always would or 'd (short form). The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

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

I would to like coffee.

Be careful! Would and had have the same short form 'd: He'd finished. (He had finished.) He'd like coffee. (He would like coffee.)

Use of Would
would: Talking about the past
We often use would as a kind of past tense of will or going to:

Even as a boy, he knew that he would succeed in life. I thought it would rain so I brought my umbrella.

Using would as as a kind of past tense of will or going to is common in reported speech:

She said that she would buy some eggs. ("I will buy some eggs.") The candidate said that he wouldn't increase taxes. ("I won't increase taxes.") Why didn't you bring your umbrella? I told you it would rain! ("It's going to rain.")

We often use would not to talk about past refusals:

He wanted a divorce but his wife would not agree. Yesterday morning, the car wouldn't start.

We sometimes use would (rather like used to) when talking about habitual past behaviour:

Every weekday my father would come home from work at 6pm and watch TV. Every summer we'd go to the seaside. Sometimes she'd phone me in the middle of the night. We would always argue. We could never agree.

would: Future in past

When talking about the past we can use would to express something that has not happened at the time we are talking about:

In London she met the man that she would one day marry. He left 5 minutes late, unaware that the delay would save his life.

would: Conditionals
We often use would to express the so-called second and third conditionals:

If he lost his job he would have no money. IfI had won the lotteryI would have bought a car.

Using the same conditional structure, we often use would when giving advice:

I wouldn't eat that if I were you. If I were in your place I'd refuse. If you asked me I would say you should go.

Sometimes the condition is "understood" and there does not have to be an "if" clause:

Someone who liked John would probably love John's father. (If someone liked John they would probably love John's father.) You'd never know it. (for example: If you met him you would never know that he was rich.) Why don't you invite Mary? I'm sure she'd come.

Although there is always a main verb, sometimes it is understood (not stated) as in:

I'd like to stay. | I wish you would. (would stay) Do you think he'd come? | I'm sure he would. (would come) Who would help us? | John would. (would help us)

would: Desire or inclination

I'd love to live here. Would you like some coffee? What I'd really like is some tea.

would: Polite requests and questions

Would you open the door, please? (more polite than: Open the door, please.) Would you go with me? (more polite than: Will you go with me?) Would you know the answer? (more polite than: Do you know the answer?) What would the capital of Nigeria be? (more polite than: What is the capital of Nigeria?)

would: Opinion or hope

I would imagine that they'll buy a new one. I suppose some people would call it torture. I would have to agree. I would expect him to come. Since you ask me I'd say the blue one is best.

would: Wish

I wish you would stay. (I really want you to stay. I hope you will stay.) They don't like me. I'm sure they wish I'd resign.

Note that all of these uses of would express some kind of distance or remoteness:

remoteness in time (past time) remoteness of possibility or probability remoteness between speakers (formality, politeness)

would: Presumption or expectation

That would be Jo calling. I'll answer it. We saw a police helicopter overhead yesterday morning. | Really? They would have been looking for those bank robbers.

would: Uncertainty

He would seem to be getting better. (less certain than: He seems to be getting better.) It would appear that I was wrong. (less certain than: It appears that I was wrong.)

would: Derogatory

They would say that, wouldn't they? John said he didn't steal the money. | Well, he would, wouldn't he?

would that: Regret (poetic/rare) - with clause

This rare, poetic or literary use of would does not have the normal structure:

Would that it were true! (If only it were true! We wish that it were true!) Would that his mother had lived to see him become president.

Should
Should is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use should mainly to:

give advice or make recommendations talk about obligation talk about probability and expectation express the conditional mood replace a subjunctive structure

Structure of Should

subject + should + main verb

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to"). subject auxiliary verb should should not main verb go. go.

He He

?
Should

shouldn't he go?

Notice that:

Should is invariable. There is only one form of should. The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

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

He should to go.
There is no short form for should. The negative should not can be shortened to shouldn't.

Use of Should
should: Giving advice, opinions
We often use should when offering advice or opinions (similar to ought to):

You should see the new James Bond movie. It's great! You should try to lose weight. John should get a haircut. He shouldn't smoke. And he should stop drinking too. What should I wear? They should make that illegal. There should be a law against that. People should worry more about global warming.

People often say "They should..." Usually, the "they" is anonymous and means the government, or the company, or somebody else - but not us!

should: Obligation, duty, correctness

Another use of should (also similar to ought to) is to indicate a kind of obligation, duty or correctness, often when criticizing another person:

You should be wearing your seat belt. (obligation) I should be at work now. (duty) You shouldn't have said that to her. (correctness) He should have been more careful. Should you be driving so fast?

should: Probability, expectation

We use should to indicate that we think something is probable (we expect it to happen):

Are you ready? The train should be here soon. $10 is enough. It shouldn't cost more than that. Let's call Mary. She should have finished work by now.

should: Conditionals
We sometimes use should (instead of would) for the first person singular (I) and first person plural (we) of some conditionals:

If I lost my job I should have no money. (If he lost his job he would have no money.) We should be grateful if you could send us your latest catalogue.

This is not a very important distinction. (More about the use of shall/will and should/would.)

should: (If I were you I should...)

We often use the conditional structure "If I were you I should..." to give advice.

If I were you, I should complain to the manager. If I were you I shouldn't worry about it. I shouldn't say anything if I were you.

Note that we can omit "If I were you..." and just say:

I should complain to the manager. I shouldn't worry about it. I shouldn't say anything.

In these cases, the phrase "I should" really means something like "you should".

should: Pseudo subjunctive

We often use a special verb form called the subjunctive when talking about events that somebody wants to happen, hopes will happen or imagines happening, for example:

The president insists that the prime minister attend the meeting.

However, this is much more common in American English. British English speakers would probably convey the same idea using should:

The president insists that the prime minister should attend the meeting.

Here are some more examples: Subjunctive typically American English Using should typically British English

The president is insisting that pollution be The president is insisting that pollution should reduced. be reduced. The manager recommended that Mary join the company. It is essential that we decide today. It was necessary that everyone arrive on time. The manager recommended that Mary should join the company. It is essential that we should decide today. It was necessary that everyone should arrive on time.

should: Why should..? | How should..?

If we don't understand (or agree with) something, we may use "Why should..?":

Why should it be illegal to commit suicide? It's your life.

"Why should..?" and "How should..?" can also indicate anger or irritation:

"Help me with this." | "Why should I?" "Where are my keys?" | "How should I know?"

Gerunds (-ing) | Quiz fishing is fun, I hate working

Gerunds (-ing)
When a verb ends in -ing, it may be a gerund or a present participle. It is important to understand that they are not the same. When we use a verb in -ing form more like a noun, it is usually a gerund:

Fishing is fun.

When we use a verb in -ing form more like a verb or an adjective, it is usually a present participle:

Anthony is fishing. I have a boring teacher.

Gerunds are sometimes called "verbal nouns". In this lesson, we look at the different ways in which we use gerunds, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Gerunds as Subject, Object or Complement

Try to think of gerunds as verbs in noun form. Like nouns, gerunds can be the subject, object or complement of a sentence:

Smoking costs a lot of money. I don't like writing. My favourite occupation is reading.

But, like a verb, a gerund can also have an object itself. In this case, the whole expression [gerund + object] can be the subject, object or complement of the sentence.

Smoking cigarettes costs a lot of money. I don't like writing letters. My favourite occupation is reading detective stories.

Like nouns, we can use gerunds with adjectives (including articles and other determiners):

pointless questioning a settling of debts the making of Titanic his drinking of alcohol

But when we use a gerund with an article, it does not usually take a direct object:

a settling of debts (not a settling debts) Making "Titanic" was expensive. The making of "Titanic" was expensive.

Do you see the difference in these two sentences? In one, "reading" is a gerund (noun). In the other "reading" is a present participle (verb).

My favourite occupation is reading. My favourite niece is reading. Hide answer Main Verb is is Auxiliary Verb is has Complement reading. football. Main Verb reading. F

reading as gerund (noun) My favourite occupation My favourite occupation reading as present participle (verb) My favourite niece My favourite niece

Gerunds after Prepositions

This is a good rule. It has no exceptions! If we want to use a verb after a preposition, it must be a gerund. It is impossible to use an infinitive after a preposition. So for example, we say:

I will call you after arriving at the office. Please have a drink before leaving. I am looking forward to meeting you. Do you object to working late? Tara always dreams about going on holiday.

Notice that you could replace all the above gerunds with "real" nouns:

I will call you after my arrival at the office. Please have a drink before your departure. I am looking forward to our lunch. Do you object to this job? Tara always dreams about holidays.

The above rule has no exceptions! So why is "to" followed by "driving" in 1 and by "drive" in 2?
1. I am used to driving on the left. 2. I used to drive on the left.

Hide answer to as preposition I am used I am used to as infinitive I used I used Preposition to to Infinitive to drive to smoke. on the left driving on the left. animals.

Gerunds after Certain Verbs

We sometimes use one verb after another verb. Often the second verb is in the infinitive form, for example:

I want to eat.

But sometimes the second verb must be in gerund form, for example:

I dislike eating.

This depends on the first verb. Here is a list of verbs that are usually followed by a verb in gerund form:

admit, appreciate, avoid, carry on, consider, defer, delay, deny, detest, dislike, endure, enjoy, escape, excuse, face, feel like, finish, forgive, give up, can't help, imagine, involve, leave off, mention, mind, miss, postpone, practise, put off, report, resent, risk, can't stand, suggest, understand

Look at these examples:

She is considering having a holiday. Do you feel like going out? I can't help falling in love with you. I can't stand not seeing you.

Some verbs can be followed by the gerund form or the infinitive form without a big change in meaning: begin, continue, hate, intend, like, love, prefer, propose, start

I like to play tennis. I like playing tennis. It started to rain. It started raining.

Gerunds in Passive Sense

We often use a gerund after the verbs need, require and want. In this case, the gerund has a passive sense.

I have three shirts that need washing. (need to be washed) This letter requires signing. (needs to be signed) The house wants repainting. (needs to be repainted)

The expression "something wants doing" is British English

Questions or Interrogative
What is a question? A statement is a sentence that gives information. A question is a sentence that asks for information. Questions are also called "interrogative". Statement: I like EnglishClub.com. Question: Do you like EnglishClub.com?

A written question in English always ends with a question mark: ? In this lesson we look at basic questions in English, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Basic Question Structure

The basic structure of a question in English is very simple: auxiliary verb + subject + main verb auxiliary verb Do Are Will Have subject you they Anthony you main verb like playing go seen Mary? football? to Tokyo? ET?

Exception! For the verb be in simple present and simple past, we do not use an auxiliary verb. We simply reverse the positions of be and subject: Statement: Question: He Is is he German. German?

Basic Question Types

There are 3 basic types of question:
1. Yes/No Questions (the answer to the question is "Yes" or "No") 2. Question Word Questions (the answer to the question is "Information") 3. Choice Questions (the answer to the question is "in the question")

1. Yes/No Questions
auxiliary verb Do Can subject you you main verb want drive? dinner? Answer Yes or No Yes, I do. No, I can't.

Has Did

she they

finished go

her work? home?

Yes, she has. No, they didn't.

Exception! verb be simple present and simple past Is Was Anne Ram French? at home? Yes, she is. No, he wasn't.

2. Question Word Questions

question word Where When Who Why auxiliary verb do will did hasn't subject you we she Tara main verb live? have meet? done it? lunch? Answer Information In Paris. At 1pm. She met Ram. Because she can't.

Exception! verb be simple present and simple past Where How is was Bombay? she? In India. Very well.

3. Choice Questions
auxiliary verb Do Will Did subject you we she main verb want meet go tea John to London OR or or or coffee? James? New York? Answer In the question Coffee, please. John. She went to London.

Exception! verb be simple present and simple past Is Were your car they white $15 or or black? $50? It's black. $15.

Tag Questions
You speak English, don't you? A tag question is a special construction in English. It is a statement followed by a miniquestion. The whole sentence is a "tag question", and the mini-question at the end is called a "question tag". A "tag" is something small that we add to something larger. For example, the little piece of cloth added to a shirt showing size or washing instructions is a tag. We use tag questions at the end of statements to ask for confirmation. They mean something like: "Am I right?" or "Do you agree?" They are very common in English. The basic structure is:

+ Positive statement,
Snow is white,

negative tag?
isn't it?

Negative statement,
You don't like me,

+ positive tag?
do you?

Look at these examples with positive statements: positive statement [+] main verb coming, finished, like like will can help, come, coffee, coffee, negative tag [-] personal pronoun (same as subject) you? we? you? you? they? I?
You (do) like... won't = will not notes:

subject

auxiliary

auxiliary

not

You We You You They I

are have do

are have do do wo can

n't n't n't n't n't 't

We He You John

must should

go, try are was harder, English, there,

must should are was

n't n't n't n't

we? he? you? he?

no auxiliary for main verb be present & past

Look at these examples with negative statements: negative statement [-] subject It We You They They I We He You John Some special cases: I am right, aren't I? You have to go, don't you? I have been answering, haven't I? Nothing came in the post, did it? aren't I (not amn't I) you (do) have to go... use first auxiliary treat statements with nothing, nobody etc like negative statements auxiliary is have do will wo can must should n't never n't not n't never n't n't main verb raining, seen like help, report do tell drive are was n't not us, it right, her, so fast, English, there, that, coffee, positive tag [+] auxiliary Is Have Do Will Will Can Must Should Are Was personal pronoun (same as subject) it? we? you? they? they? I? we? he? you? he?

Let's go, shall we? He'd better do it, hadn't he? Here are some mixed examples:

let's = let us he had better (no auxiliary)

But you don't really love her, do you? This will work, won't it? Well, I couldn't help it, could I? But you'll tell me if she calls, won't you? We'd never have known, would we? The weather's bad, isn't it? You won't be late, will you? Nobody knows, do they?

Notice that we often use tag questions to ask for information or help, starting with a negative statement. This is quite a friendly/polite way of making a request. For example, instead of saying "Where is the police station?" (not very polite), or "Do you know where the police station is?" (slightly more polite), we could say: "You wouldn't know where the police station is, would you?" Here are some more examples:

You don't know of any good jobs, do you? You couldn't help me with my homework, could you? You haven't got $10 to lend me, have you?

Intonation
We can change the meaning of a tag question with the musical pitch of our voice. With rising intonation, it sounds like a real question. But if our intonation falls, it sounds more like a statement that doesn't require a real answer: intonation You don't know where my wallet is, It's a beautiful view, do you? isn't it? / rising \ falling real question not a real question

Answers to tag questions

A question tag is the "mini-question" at the end. A tag question is the whole sentence. How do we answer a tag question? Often, we just say Yes or No. Sometimes we may repeat the tag and reverse it (..., do they? Yes, they do). Be very careful about answering tag questions. In some languages, an oposite system of answering is used, and non-native English speakers sometimes answer in the wrong way. This can lead to a lot of confusion! Answer a tag question according to the truth of the situation. Your answer reflects the real facts, not (necessarily) the question.

For example, everyone knows that snow is white. Look at these questions, and the correct answers: tag question Snow is white, isn't it? Snow isn't white, is it? Snow is black, isn't it? Snow isn't black, is it? correct answer Yes (it is). Yes it is! No it isn't! No (it isn't).

the answer is the same in both cases - because snow IS WHITE! but notice the change of stress when the answerer does not agree with the questioner the answer is the same in both cases - because snow IS NOT BLACK!

In some languages, people answer a question like "Snow isn't black, is it?" with "Yes" (meaning "Yes, I agree with you"). This is the wrong answer in English! Here are some more examples, with correct answers:

The moon goes round the earth, doesn't it? Yes, it does. The earth is bigger than the moon, isn't it? Yes. The earth is bigger than the sun, isn't it? No, it isn't! Asian people don't like rice, do they? Yes, they do! Elephants live in Europe, don't they? No, they don't! Men don't have babies, do they? No. The English alphabet doesn't have 40 letters, does it? No, it doesn't.

Question tags with imperatives

Sometimes we use question tags with imperatives (invitations, orders), but the sentence remains an imperative and does not require a direct answer. We use won't for invitations. We use can, can't, will, would for orders. imperative + question tag invitation order Take a seat, won't you? Help me, can you? Help me, can't you? Close the door, would you? notes: Polite quite friendly quite friendly (some irritation?) quite polite

Do it now, will you? Don't forget, will you?

less polite with negative imperatives only will is possible

Same-way question tags

Although the basic structure of tag questions is positive-negative or negative-positive, it is sometime possible to use a positive-positive or negative-negative structure. We use sameway question tags to express interest, surprise, anger etc, and not to make real questions.

So you're having a baby, are you? That's wonderful! She wants to marry him, does she? Some chance! So you think that's amusing, do you? Think again.

Negative-negative tag questions usually sound rather hostile:

So you don't like my looks, don't you?

Subjunctive
The subjunctive is a special, relatively rare verb form in English.

Structure of the Subjunctive

The structure of the subjunctive is extremely simple. For all verbs except the past tense of be, the subjunctive is the same as the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to"): be (past) I were you were he, she, it were we were you were they were be (present) I be you be he, she, it be we be you be they be all other verbs (past & present) I work you work he, she, it work we work you work they work

The subjunctive does not change according to person (I, you, he etc).

Use of the Subjunctive

We use subjunctives mainly when talking about events that are not certain to happen. For example, we use the subjunctive when talking about events that somebody:

wants to happen hopes will happen imagines happening

Look at these examples:

The President requests that you be present at the meeting. It is vital that you be present at the meeting. If you were at the meeting, the President would be happy.

The subjunctive is typically used after two structures:

the verbs: ask, command, demand, insist, propose, recommend, request, suggest + that the expressions: it is desirable, essential, important, necessary, vital + that

Here are some examples with the subjunctive:

The manager insists that the car park be locked at night. The board of directors recommended that he join the company. It is essential that we vote as soon as possible. It was necessary that every student submit his essay by the weekend.

Notice that in these structures the subjunctive is always the same. It does not matter whether the sentence is past or present. Look at these examples:

Present: The President requests that they stop the occupation. Past: The President requested that they stop the occupation. Present: It is essential that she be present. Past: It was essential that she be present.

The use of the subjunctive as above is more common in American English than in English, where should + infinitive is often used:

The manager insists that the car park should be locked at night. It was essential that we should vote as soon as possible.

We usually use the subjunctive were instead of "was" after if (and other words with similar meaning). Look at these sentences:

If I were you, I would ask her. Suppose she were here. What would you say?

Why do we say "I were", "he were"?

We sometimes hear things like "if I were you, I would go" or "if he were here, he would tell you". Normally, the past tense of the verb "to be" is: I was, he was. But the if I were you structure does not use the past simple tense of the verb "to be". It uses the past subjunctive of the verb "to be". In the following examples, you can see that we often use the subjunctive form were instead of "was" after:

if as if

wish suppose Informal (The was form is possible in informal, familiar conversation.) If I was younger, I would go. If he wasn't so mean, he would buy one for me. I wish I wasn't so slow! I wish it was longer. It's not as if I was ugly. She acts as if she was Queen. Note: We do not normally say "if I was you", even in familiar conversation.

Formal (The were form is correct at all times.) If I were younger, I would go. If he weren't so mean, he would buy one for me. I wish I weren't so slow! I wish it were longer. It's not as if I were ugly. She acts as if she were Queen. If I were you, I should tell her.

Some fixed expressions use the subjunctive. Here are some examples:

Long live the King! God bless America! Heaven forbid! Be that as it may, he still wants to see her. Come what may, I will never forget you. We are all citizens of the world, as it were.

Active Voice, Passive Voice

There are two special forms for verbs called voice:
1. Active voice

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

Cats

eat

fish.

The passive voice is less usual. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb: subject passive Fish verb < are eaten by cats. object

The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb: subject active passive Everybody Water verb drinks is drunk object water. by everybody.

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

Construction of the Passive Voice

The structure of the passive voice is very simple: subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle) The main verb is always in its past participle form. Look at these examples: subject Water auxiliary verb (to be) is main verb (past participle) Drunk Employed Paid by everyone. by this company. in euro.

100 people are I am

We Are

are they

not

Paid Paid

in dollars. in yen?

Use of the Passive Voice

We use the passive when:

we want to make the active object more important we do not know the active subject subject Verb was killed has been stolen. object by Lee Harvey Oswald.

give importance to active object (President Kennedy) active subject unknown

President Kennedy My wallet

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

He was killed with a gun.

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

Conjugation for the Passive Voice

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

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

Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses: infinitive simple present to be washed It is washed.

past future conditional present past continuous future conditional present past perfect simple future conditional present past perfect continuous future conditional

It was washed. It will be washed. It would be washed. It is being washed. It was being washed. It will be being washed. It would be being washed. It has been washed. It had been washed. It will have been washed. It would have been washed. It has been being washed. It had been being washed. It will have been being washed. It would have been being washed.

Infinitive or -ing?
Sometimes we need to decide whether to use a verb in its:

-ing form (doing, singing) or

infinitive form (to do, to sing).

For example, only one of the following sentences is correct. Which one?

I dislike working late. (???) I dislike to work late. (???)

When to use the infinitive

The infinitive form is used after certain verbs: - forget, help, learn, teach, train - choose, expect, hope, need, offer, want, would like - agree, encourage, pretend, promise, recommend - allow, can/can't afford, decide, manage, mean, refuse

I forgot to close the window. Mary needs to leave early. Why are they encouraged to learn English? We can't afford to take a long holiday.

The infinitive form is always used after adjectives, for example: - disappointed, glad, happy, pleased, relieved, sad, surprised

I was happy to help them. She will be delighted to see you.

This includes too + adjective:

The water was too cold to swim in. Is your coffee too hot to drink?

The infinitive form is used after adjective + enough:

He was strong enough to lift it. She is rich enough to buy two.

When to use -ing

The -ing form is used when the word is the subject of a sentence or clause:

Swimming is good exercise. Doctors say that smoking is bad for you.

The -ing form is used after a preposition:

I look forward to meeting you. They left without saying "Goodbye."

The -ing form is used after certain verbs: - avoid, dislike, enjoy, finish, give up, mind/not mind, practise

I dislike getting up early. Would you mind opening the window?

Some verbs can be followed by the -ing form or the infinitive without a big change in meaning: begin, continue, hate, intend, like, love, prefer, propose, start.

It started to rain. It started raining.

I like to play tennis. I like playing tennis.

Plural Verbs with Singular Subjects

We often use singular nouns that refer to groups of people (for example: team, government, committee) as if they were plural. This is particularly true in English and less true in USA English. This is because we often think of the group as people, doing things that people do (eating, wanting, feeling etc). In such cases, we use:

plural verb they (not it) who (not which)

Here are some examples:

The committee want sandwiches for lunch. They have to leave early. My family, who don't see me often, have asked me home for Christmas. The team hope to win next time.

Here are some examples of words and expressions that can be considered singular or plural:

choir, class, club, committee, company, family, government, jury, school, staff, team, union, the BBC, board of directors, the Conservative Party, Manchester United, the Ministry of Health

But when we consider the group as an impersonal unit, we use singular verbs and pronouns:

The new company is the result of a merger. An average family consists of four people. The committee, which was formed in 1999, is made up of four men and four women.

Notice that this is often a question of style and logic. The important thing is to be consistent. Using a plural verb with singular subject is less common in American English.

Verb Meanings with Continuous Tenses

There are some verbs that we do not normally use in the continuous tense. And there are other verbs that we use in the simple tense with one meaning and in the continuous tense with another meaning.

In this lesson we look at various uses of continuous tenses, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Verbs not Used with Continuous Tenses

There are some verbs that we do not normally use with continuous tenses. We usually use the following verbs with simple tenses only (not continuous tenses):

hate, like, love, need, prefer, want, wish believe, imagine, know, mean, realize, recognize, remember, suppose, understand belong, concern, consist, contain, depend, involve, matter, need, owe, own, possess appear, resemble, seem, hear, see

Here are some examples: I want a coffee. I don't believe you are right. Does this pen belong to you? It seemed wrong. I don't hear anything. not I am wanting a coffee. not I am not believing you are right. not Is this pen belonging to you? not It was seeming wrong. not I am not hearing anything.

Notice that we often use can + see/hear:

I can see someone in the distance. (not I am seeing someone in the distance.) I can't hear you very well. (not I am not hearing you very well.)

Verbs with Two Meanings

Some verbs have two different meanings or senses. For one sense we must use a simple tense. For the other sense we can use a continuous or simple tense. For example, the verb to think has two different senses:
1. to believe, to have an opinion

I think red is a sexy colour.

2. to reflect, to use your brain to solve a problem

I am thinking about my homework.

In sense 1 there is no real action, no activity. This sense is called "stative". In sense 2 there is a kind of action, a kind of activity. This sense is called "dynamic". When we use the stative sense, we use a simple tense. When we use the dynamic sense, we can use a simple or continuous tense, depending on the situation. Look at the examples in the table below: Stative sense (no real action) Simple only I think she is beautiful. I don't consider that he is the right man for the job. Dynamic sense (a kind of action) Continuous Be quiet. I'm thinking. We are considering your job application and will give you our answer in a few days. Simple I will think about this problem tomorrow. We consider every job application very carefully. A good carpenter measures his wood carefully. I always taste wine before I drink it. We have dinner at 8pm every day.

This table measures 4 x She is measuring the room for a 6 feet. new carpet. Does the wine taste good? Mary has three children. I was tasting the wine when I dropped the glass. Please phone later. We are having dinner now.

If you have a doubt about a particular verb, ask yourself the question: "Is there any real action or activity?"

Be and Continuous Tenses

The verb be can be an auxiliary verb (Marie is learning English) or a main verb (Marie is French). On this page we look at the verb be as a main verb. Usually we use simple tenses with the verb be as a main verb. For example, we say:

London is the capital of the UK. (not London is being the capital of the UK.) Is she beautiful? (not Is she being beautiful?) Were you late? (not Were you being late?)

Sometimes, however, we can use the verb be with a continuous tense. This is when the real sense of the verb be is "act" or "behave". Also, of course, the action is temporary. Compare the examples in the table below: Mary is a careful person. (Mary is always careful - it's her nature.) Is he always so stupid? (Is that his personality?) Andrew is not usually selfish. (It is not Andrew's character to be selfish.) John is being careful. (John is acting carefully now, but maybe he is not always careful - we don't know.) They were being really stupid. (They were behaving really stupidly at that moment.) Why is he being so selfish? (Why is he acting so selfishly at the moment?)

Notice that we also make a difference between "to be sick" and "to be being sick":

She is sick (= she is not well) She is being sick (= she is vomiting)

Here is the structure of the verb be in the continuous present tense: I am being You are being He, she, it is being We are being They are being

Used to do & Be used to

These two expressions look the same, but in fact they are completely different. In this lesson we look at the structure and use of both expressions, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Used to do
We use used to do to talk about the past. It is not a tense but it is like a tense. It is a special expression. We use the expression used to do for the past only. Do not confuse used to do with with the expression be used to. They have different meanings.

Structure of Used to do
The structure is:

subject

auxiliary did

not

main verb use used

infinitive to do. to do. to do?

+ ?

I I Did did you not

use use

Used or use?

when there is did in the sentence, we say use to (without d) when there is no did in the sentence, we say used to (with d)

Use of Used to do
We use the used to do expression to talk about:

an activity that we did regularly in the past (like a habit) a situation that was true in the past I used to smoke.

////// past

present

future

Look at these examples. the past She used to work in a shop. He used to watch a lot of TV. They used to be married. There used to be a cinema here. I didn't use to go swimming. Did you use to smoke? the present Now she works in a bank. Now he doesn't watch much TV. Now they are divorced. Now there is a supermarket here. Now I go swimming.

Be used to
Be used to something Be used to doing

Be used to is an expression. It is not a tense. If I say "I am used to Thailand", it is like saying "I am accustomed to Thailand." Do not confuse be used to with with the special construction used to do. They have different meanings.

Structure of Be used to
The structure is:

subject + be + used to + object

subject main verb be am is aren't you not not used to used to used to used to used to object horses. horses. horses. horses?

+ ?

I He We Are

If the object invoves a verb, we use the -ing form: I He We Are am is aren't you not used to used to used to used to being lied to. working late. taking the bus. cooking?

Why do we use -ing for a verb after be used to? Because we always use -ing for a verb after a preposition - and the to is a preposition.

Use of Be used to
The be used to expression is for talking about something that is familiar to us or easy for us. For example:

I am used to driving on the left.

It means that it is not a problem for me to drive on the left of the road. I am Japanese. In Japan, people drive on the left. Now I am living in the USA where people drive on the

right. Of course, I drive on the right in the USA, but when I go to Japan it is easy for me to drive on the left because "I am used to it". Look at these examples.

I am used to hard work. I am used to working hard. He is not used to New York. He isn't used to living in New York. Are you used to fast food? Are you used to eating quickly?

Tenses
We can use be used to in any tense. We just conjugate the verb be in the tense that we need. Look at these examples:

When we lived in Bangkok, we were used to hot weather. I have been used to snakes for a long time. You will soon be used to living alone.

Going to
Going to is not a tense. It is a special expression to talk about the future.

Structure of Going to
The structure is: subject + be + going + infinitive The verb be is conjugated (past, present or future). subject be am (not) going going going is isn't you not going going going infinitive to buy to go to take to rain. to paint the house? a new car. swimming. the exam.

+ + ?

I I'm He It Are

Use of Going to

Going to - intention
We use going to when we have the intention to do something before we speak. We have already made a decision before speaking. Look at these examples:

Jo has won the lottery. He says he's going to buy a Porsche. We're not going to paint our bedroom tomorrow. When are you going to go on holiday?

In these examples, we had an intention or plan before speaking. The decision was made before speaking.

Going to - prediction
We often use going to to make a prediction about the future. Our prediction is based on present evidence. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:

The sky is very black. It's going to snow. It's 8.30! You're going to miss the train! I crashed the company car. My boss isn't going to be very happy!

In these examples, the present situation (black sky, the time, damaged car) gives us a good idea of what is going to happen.

Future Time
The future is uncertain. We know the past. We know the present. We do not know the future. We can be 100% sure or certain about the past and the present. But we can never be 100% certain about the future. In English there are several structures and tenses to talk about the future. It is usually the degree of certainty about the future that decides our choice of structure or tense. Although we often talk about "future tenses", technically there are no future tenses in English - only different ways of talking about the future, using special constructions, other tenses or modal verbs. In this lesson we look at four of the most common ways to talk about the future, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Will
One of the most common ways to talk about the future is with will, for example: I will call you tonight. We often call this the "future simple tense", but technically there are no future tenses in English. In this construction, the word will is a modal auxiliary verb. Here are the three main ways that we use will to talk about the future.

No plan
We use will when there is no prior plan or decision to do something before we speak. We make the decision at the time of speaking. Look at these examples:

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

In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision was made at the time of speaking. We often use will with the verb think:

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

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

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

Be
The verb be is an exception with will. Even when we have a very firm plan, and we are not speaking spontaneously, we can use will with be. Look at these examples:

I will be in London tomorrow. There will be 50 people at the party. The meeting will be at 9.30 am.

The verb be is always exceptional!

Going to
Intention
We use the special going to construction when we have the intention to do something before we speak. We have already made a decision before speaking. Look at these examples:

I have won $1,000. I am going to buy a new TV.

We're not going to see my mother tomorrow. When are you going to go on holiday?

In these examples, we had an intention or plan before speaking. The decision was made before we spoke.

Prediction
We often use going to to make a prediction about the future. Our prediction is based on evidence. We are saying what seems sure to happen. Here are some examples:

The sky is very black. It is going to snow. It's 8.30! You're going to miss the train! I crashed the company car. My boss isn't going to be very happy!

In these examples, the present situation (black sky/the time/damaged car) gives us a good idea of what is going to happen.

We use will for prediction when we have no real evidence: "It will rain tomorrow." (It's my feeling but I can't be sure.) We use going to for prediction when there is some real evidence: "It's going to rain." (There's a big, black cloud in the sky and if it doesn't rain I'll be very surprised.)

Present Continuous for Plan

We often use the present continuous tense to talk about the future. Of course, we normally use the present continuous to talk about action happening in the present, but if we add a future word, we can use it to talk about the future. (By "future word" we mean words or expressions like tomorrow, next week, in June. The future word may be clearly expressed or understood from the context.) Sometimes there is no real difference between an intention (going to) and a plan (present continuous). In this case, it doen't matter which we use.

We're going to paint the bedroom tomorrow. We're painting the bedroom tomorrow.

We use the present continuous only when a plan exists before we speak. Look at these examples:

Mary is taking her music exam next year. They can't play tennis with you tomorrow. They 're working. We're going to the theatre on Friday.

Present Simple for Schedules

When an event is on a schedule or timetable (for example, the take-off time for a plane), we often use the present simple to express the future. We usually also use a future word (expressed or understood) like tomorrow, at 6.30pm, next week. Only a few verbs are used in this way, for example:

be, open, close, begin, start, end, finish, arrive, come, leave, return

Look at these sentences:

The train leaves Detroit at 9pm tonight. John starts work next week. Tomorrow is Thursday.

Future Time: Summary

When we speak, we choose the tense that we use. This is important in English, because the tense we choose expresses more than just a simple fact. When we speak about the future, the tense we choose can express how we "see" the future, even our personal feelings about the future. It certainly expresses what we believe to be the probability (the chance, the reality) of something happening or whether we have already decided to do it. This table gives a simple scale of probability for each structure. It is not exact because language is not a science, and there are many variables. This table should help you to think about the "concept" of the future in English. This concept does not exist in all languages, but it is rather important in English. structure will going to present continuous present simple used for no plan intention plan schedule example Don't get up. I'll answer the phone. We're going to watch TV tonight. I'm taking my exam in June. My plane takes off at 6.00am tomorrow.

% probability before speaker speaks of event happening 0% 70% 90% 99.999%

It is impossible in English to express the future with 100% certainty. (The speakers of any language that can do this must all be billionaires!)

For and Since for Time

We often use for and since when talking about time. for + period A period is a duration of time, for example: 5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years. For means "from the beginning of the period until the end of the period." For can be used with all tenses. since + point A point is a precise moment in time, for example: 9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday. Since means "from a point in the past until now." Since is normally used with perfect tenses. for a (from start to end) since a (up to now)

period

point

>===<
for 20 minutes for three days for 6 months for 4 years for 2 centuries for a long time for ever etc all tenses

x===>|
since 9am since Monday since January since 1997 since 1500 since I left school since the beginning of time etc perfect tenses only

For can be used with all tenses. Here are a few examples:

They study for two hours every day. They are studying for three hours today. He has lived in Bangkok for a long time. He has been living in Paris for three months. I worked at that bank for five years. Will the universe continue for ever?

For is NOT used with "all day", "all the time" etc.

I was there all day. (not *for all day)

Since is normally used with perfect tenses:

He has been here since 9am. He has been working since he arrived. I had lived in New York since my childhood.

Since can also be used in the structure "It is [period] since...":

It is a year since I saw her. How long is it since you got married?

Now check your understanding Both for and since also have other meanings, with no reference to time. Here are some examples:

This is for you. Is this the train for London? Since you ask, I'll say yes. Since he didn't study he didn't pass the exam.

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

What are Nouns?

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

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

The problem with this definition is that it does not explain why "love" is a noun but can also be a verb. Another (more complicated) way of recognizing a noun is by its:
1. Ending 2. Position

3. Function 1. Noun Ending There are certain word endings that show that a word is a noun, for example:

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

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

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

Nouns often come after one or more adjectives:

a great relief a peaceful afternoon the tall, Indian doctor this difficult word my brown and white house such crass stupidity

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

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

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

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

English nouns are often described as "countable" or "uncountable". In this lesson we look at:

Countable Nouns

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

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

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:

My dog is playing. My dogs are hungry.

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

A dog is an animal.

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

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

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

I like oranges. Bottles can break.

We can use some and any with countable nouns:

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

We can use a few and many with countable nouns:

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

"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people:

There is one person here. There are three people here.

Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count

"bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:

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

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

This news is very important. Your luggage looks heavy.

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

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

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

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

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:

I've got a little money. I haven't got much rice.

Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns". Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns: Countable dollar song suitcase table battery bottle Uncountable money music luggage furniture electricity wine

report tip journey job view

information advice travel work scenery

When you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or uncountable.

Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable

Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning. Countable There are two hairs in my coffee! There are two lights in our bedroom. Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise. Have you got a paper to read? (= newspaper) Our house has seven rooms. We had a great time at the party. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest works. hair Uncountable I don't have much hair.

light Close the curtain. There's too much light! noise paper It's difficult to work when there is too much noise. I want to draw a picture. Have you got some paper?

room Is there room for me to sit here? time Have you got time for a coffee?

work I have no money. I need work!

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

Two teas and one coffee please.

Proper Nouns (Names)

A proper noun is the special word (or name) that we use for a person, place or organization, like John, Marie, London, France or Sony. A name is a noun, but a very special noun - a proper noun. Proper nouns have special rules. common noun man, boy woman, girl country, town company shop, restaurant proper noun John Mary England, London Ford, Sony Maceys, McDonalds

month, day of the week January, Sunday book, film War & Peace, Titanic

In this lesson we look at the uses of proper nouns, followed by a quiz to check your understanding:

Using Capital Letters with Proper Nouns

We always use a Capital Letter for the first letter of a proper noun (name). This includes names of people, places, companies, days of the week and months. For example:

They like John. (not *They like john.) I live in England. She works for Sony. The last day in January is a Monday. We saw Titanic in the Odeon Cinema.

Proper Nouns without THE

We do not use "the" with names of people. For example: Bill (not *the Bill) Hilary Clinton Gates Hilary Gates

first names

surnames full names

We do not normally use "the" with names of companies. For example:

Renault, Ford, Sony, EnglishClub.com General Motors, Air France, British Airways Warner Brothers, Brown & Son Ltd

If the full (registered) name of a company starts with "The", then we use "The" if we use the full name, for example:

The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd

We do not normally use "the" for shops, banks, hotels etc named after a founder or other person (with -'s or -s). For example: shops banks hotels, restaurants Harrods, Marks & Spencer, Maceys Barclays Bank Steve's Hotel, Joe's Cafe, McDonalds

churches, cathedrals St John's Church, St Peter's Cathedral We do not normally use "the" with names of places. For example: towns Washington (not *the Washington), Paris, Tokyo

states, regions Texas, Kent, Eastern Europe countries continents islands mountains England, Italy, Brazil Asia, Europe, North America Corsica Everest

Exception! If a country name includes "States","Kingdom", "Republic" etc, we use "the": states the United States, the US, the United States of America, the USA

kingdom the United Kingdom, the UK republic the French Republic

We do not use "the" with "President/Doctor/Mr etc + Name": the president, the king President Bush (not *the President Bush)

the captain, the detective Captain Kirk, Detective Colombo

the doctor, the professor my uncle, your aunt

Doctor Well, Dr Well, Professor Dolittle Uncle Jack, Aunt Jill Mr Gates (not *the Mr Gates), Mrs Clinton, Miss Black

Look at these example sentences:

I wanted to speak to the doctor. I wanted to speak to Doctor Brown. Who was the president before President Kennedy?

We do not use "the" with "Lake/Mount + Name": the lake Lake Victoria

the mount Mount Everest Look at this example sentence:

We live beside Lake Victoria. We have a fantastic view across the lake.

We do not normally use "the" for roads, streets, squares, parks etc: streets etc Oxford Street, Trenholme Road, Fifth Avenue

squares etc Trafalgar Square, Oundle Place, Piccadilly Circus parks etc Central Park, Kew Gardens

Many big, important buildings have names made of two words (for example, Kennedy Airport). If the first word is the name of a person or place, we do not normally use "the": people Kennedy Airport, Alexander Palace, St Paul's Cathedral places Heathrow Airport, Waterloo Station, Edinburgh Castle

Proper Nouns with THE

We normally use "the" for country names that include "States","Kingdom", "Republic" etc: States the United States of America/the USA

Kingdom the United Kingdom/the UK Republic the French Republic

We normally use "the" for names of canals, rivers, seas and oceans: canals rivers seas the Suez Canal the River Nile, the Nile the Mediterranean Sea, the Mediterranean

oceans the Pacific Ocean, the Pacific We normally use "the" for plural names of people and places: people (families, for example) the Clintons countries island groups mountain ranges Look at these sentences:

the Philippines, the United States the Virgin Islands, the British Isles the Himalayas, the Alps

I saw the Clintons today. It was Bill's birthday. Trinidad is the largest island in the West Indies. Mount Everest is in the Himalayas.

We normally use "the" with the following sorts of names: hotels, restaurants the Ritz Hotel, the Peking Restaurant banks cinemas, theatres museums buildings newspapers organisations the National Westminster Bank the Royal Theatre, the ABC Cinema the British Museum, the National Gallery the White House, the Crystal Palace the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Post the United Nations, the BBC, the European Union

We normally use "the" for names made with "of":

the Tower of London the Gulf of Siam the Tropic of Cancer the London School of Economics the Bank of France the Statue of Liberty

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

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

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

one boy

the boy's ball

the boy's balls

more than one boy

the boys' ball

the boys' balls

The structure can be used for a whole phrase:

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

Although we can use of to show possession, it is more usual to use possessive 's. The following phrases have the same meaning, but #2 is more usual and natural: 1. the boyfriend of my sister 2. my sister's boyfriend Proper Nouns (Names)

We very often use possessive 's with names:

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

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

This is Charles's chair.

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

Who was Jesus' father?

Irregular Plurals

Some nouns have irregular plural forms without s (man > men). To show possession, we usually add 's to the plural form of these nouns:
singular noun plural noun my children's dog the men's work the mice's cage people's clothes

my child's dog the man's work the mouse's cage a person's clothes

Noun as Adjective
As you know, a noun is a person, place or thing, and an adjective is a word that describes a noun: adjective clever small black noun teacher office horse

Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. In that case, the first noun "acts as" an adjective. noun as adjective noun history teacher ticket office

race

horse

The "noun as adjective" always comes first

If you remember this it will help you to understand what is being talked about:

a race horse is a horse that runs in races a horse race is a race for horses a boat race is a race for boats a love story is a story about love a war story is a story about war a tennis ball is a ball for playing tennis tennis shoes are shoes for playing tennis a computer exhibition is an exhibition of computers a bicycle shop is a shop that sells bicycles

The "noun as adjective" is singular

Just like a real adjective, the "noun as adjective" is invariable. It is usually in the singular form. Right boat race toothbrush shoe-lace cigarette packet Wrong boat races NOT boats race, boats races toothbrushes NOT teethbrush, teethbrushes shoe-laces NOT shoes-lace, shoes-laces cigarette packets NOT cigarettes packet, cigarettes packets

In other words, if there is a plural it is on the real noun only. A few nouns look plural but we usually treat them as singular (for example news, billiards, athletics). When we use these nouns "as adjectives" they are unchanged:

a news reporter, three news reporters one billiards table, four billiards tables an athletics trainer, fifty athletics trainers

Exceptions: When we use certain nouns "as adjectives" (clothes, sports, customs, accounts, arms), we use them in the plural form:

clothes shop, clothes shops sports club, sports clubs customs duty, customs duties accounts department, accounts departments arms production

How do we write the "noun as adjective"?

We write the "noun as adjective" and the real noun in several different ways:

two separate words (car door) two hyphenated words (book-case) one word (bathroom)

There are no easy rules for this. We even write some combinations in two or all three different ways: (head master, head-master, headmaster)

How do we say the "noun as adjective"?

For pronunciation, we usually stress the first word:

shoe shop boat-race bathroom

Can we have more than one "noun as adjective"?

Yes. Just like adjectives, we often use more than one "noun as adjective" together. Look at these examples: car production costs: we are talking about the costs of producing cars noun as noun as adjective adjective

noun costs production costs car production costs

England football team coach: we are talking about the coach who trains the team that plays football for England noun as noun as noun as adjective adjective adjective noun coach team coach football team coach England football team coach Note: in England football team coach can you see a "hidden" "noun as adjective"? Look at the word "football" (foot-ball). These two nouns (foot+ball) have developed into a single noun (football). This is one way that words evolve. Many word combinations that use a "noun as adjective" are regarded as nouns in their own right, with their own dictionary definition. But not all dictionaries agree with each other. For example, some dictionaries list "tennis ball" as a noun and other dictionaries do not.

government road accident research centre: we are talking about a centre that researches into accidents on the road for the government noun as adjective noun as noun as noun as adjective adjective adjective noun centre research centre accident research centre road accident research centre government road accident research centre

Newpapers often use many nouns together in headlines to save space. Look at this example: BIRD HEALTH RESEARCH CENTRE MURDER MYSTERY To understand headlines like these, try reading them backwards. The above headline is about a MYSTERY concerning a MURDER in a CENTRE for RESEARCH into the HEALTH of BIRDS. Note, too, that we can still use a real adjective to qualify a "noun as adjective" structure:

empty coffee jar honest car salesman delicious dog food rising car production costs famous England football team coach

Compound Nouns
A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more words. A compound noun is usually [noun + noun] or [adjective + noun], but there are other combinations (see below). It is important to understand and recognize compound nouns. Each compound noun acts as a single unit and can be modified by adjectives and other nouns. There are three forms for compound nouns:
1. open or spaced - space between words (tennis shoe) 2. hyphenated - hyphen between words (six-pack) 3. closed or solid - no space or hyphen between words (bedroom)

Here are some examples of compound nouns: noun + noun bus stop fire-fly Is this the bus stop for the number 12 bus? In the tropics you can see fire-flies at

adjective

+ noun

verb(-ing) + noun

noun verb noun

+ verb(-ing) + preposition + prepositional phrase

night. football Shall we play football today? full moon I always feel crazy at full moon. blackboard Clean the blackboard please. software I can't install this software on my PC. breakfast We always eat breakfast at 8am. washing Put the clothes in the red washing machine machine. swimming pool What a beautiful swimming pool! sunrise I like to get up at sunrise. haircut You need a haircut. train-spotting His hobby is train-spotting. Please remember that check-out is at 12 check-out noon. mother-in-law My mother-in-law lives with us. underworld truckful Do you think the police accept money from the underworld? We need 10 truckfuls of bricks.

preposition + noun noun + adjective

Pronunciation Compound nouns tend to have more stress on the first word. In the phrase "pink ball", both words are equally stressed (as you know, adjectives and nouns are always stressed). In the compound noun "golf ball", the first word is stressed more (even though both words are nouns, and nouns are always stressed). Since "golf ball" is a compound noun we consider it as a single noun and so it has a single main stress - on the first word. Stress is important in compound nouns. For example, it helps us know if somebody said "a GREEN HOUSE" (a house which is painted green) or "a GREENhouse" (a building made of glass for growing plants inside). British/American differences Different varieties of English, and even different writers, may use the open, hyphenated or closed form for the same compound noun. It is partly a matter of style. There are no definite rules. For example we can find:

container ship container-ship containership

If you are not sure which form to use, please check in a good dictionary. Plural forms of compound nouns In general we make the plural of a compound noun by adding -s to the "base word" (the most "significant" word). Look at these examples:

singular a school teacher one assistant headmaster the sergeant major a mother-in-law an assistant secretary of state my toothbrush a woman-doctor a doctor of philosophy a passerby, a passer-by

Plural three school teachers five assistant headmasters some sergeants major two mothers-in-law three assistant secretaries of state our toothbrushes four women-doctors two doctors of philosophy two passersby, two passers-by

Note that there is some variation with words like spoonful or truckful. The old style was to say spoonsful or trucksful for the plural. Today it is more usual to say spoonfuls or truckfuls. Both the old style (spoonsful) and the new style (spoonfuls) are normally acceptable, but you should be consistent in your choice. Here are some examples: old style plural (very formal) teaspoonful 3 teaspoonsful of sugar truckful 5 trucksful of sand bucketful 2 bucketsful of water cupful 4 cupsful of rice new style plural 3 teasponfuls of sugar 5 truckfuls of sand 2 bucketfuls of water 4 cupfuls of rice

Some compound nouns have no obvious base word and you may need to consult a dictionary to find the plural:

higher-ups also-rans go-betweens has-beens good-for-nothings grown-ups

Note that with compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the first noun is like an adjective and therefore does not usually take an -s. A tree that has apples has many apples, but we say an apple tree, not apples tree; matchbox not matchesbox; toothbrush not teethbrush. With compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the second noun takes an -s for plural. The first noun acts like an adjective and as you know, adjectives in English are invariable. Look at these examples: long plural form becomes 100 trees with apples plural compound noun [noun + noun] 100 apple trees

1,000 cables for telephones 20 boxes for tools 10 stops for buses 4,000 wheels for cars

1,000 telephone cables 20 tool boxes 10 bus stops 4,000 car wheels

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

Determiners
Determiners are words like the, an, my, some. They are grammatically similar. They all come at the beginning of noun phrases, and usually we cannot use more than one determiner in the same noun phrase. Articles:

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

We use "definite" to mean sure, certain. "Definite" is particular.

We use "indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "Indefinite" is general. When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about one thing in general, we use a or an. Think of the sky at night. In the sky we see 1 moon and millions of stars. So normally we would say:

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

Look at these examples: the

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

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

Of course, often we can use the or a/an for the same word. It depends on the situation, not the word. Look at these examples:

We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a particular umbrella.) Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella, a particular umbrella.)

This little story should help you understand the difference between the and a, an: A man and a woman were walking in Oxford Street. The woman saw a dress that she liked in a shop. She asked the man if he could buy the dress for her. He said: "Do you think the shop will accept a cheque? I don't have a credit card."
Possessive Adjectives:

Possessive Adjectives
We use possessive adjectives to show who owns or "possesses" something. The possessive adjectives are:

my, your, his, her, its, our, their whose (interrogative)

number

person 1st 2nd

gender male/female male/female male

possessive adjective my your his her its our your their

example sentence This is my book. I like your hair. His name is "John". Her name is "Mary". The dog is licking its paw. We have sold our house. Your children are lovely. The students thanked their teacher.

singular 3rd

female neuter

1st plural 2nd 3rd

male/female male/female male/female/neuter

singular/plural Compare:

1st/2nd/3rd

male/female (not neuter)

whose

Whose phone did you use?

your = possessive adjective you're = you are its = possessive adjective it's = it is OR it has their = possessive adjective they're = they are there = adverb (I'm not going there / look over there / there is a car outside) whose = possessive adjective who's = who is OR who has

Be careful! There is no apostrophe (') in the possessive adjective "its". We use an apostrophe to write the short form of "it is" or "it has". For example: it's raining = it is raining it's finished = it has finished

I'm taking my dog to the vet. It's broken its leg.

Other determiners:

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

Prices go up each year. Prices go up every year.

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

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

Each can be used in front of the verb:

The soldiers each received a medal.

Each can be followed by 'of':

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

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

He was carrying a suitcase in each hand.

Every is used to say how often something happens:

There is a plane to Bangkok every day.

The bus leaves every hour.

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

Some, Any
Some = a little, a few or a small number or amount Any = one, some or all Usually, we use some in positive (+) sentences and any in negative (-) and question (?) sentences. some + ? I have some money. I don't have any money. Do you have any money? any I have $10. I don't have $1 and I don't have $10 and I don't have $1,000,000. I have $0. Do you have $1 or $10 or $1,000,000? example situation

In general, we use something/anything and somebody/anybody in the same way as some/any. Look at these examples:

He needs some stamps. I must go. I have some homework to do. I'm thirsty. I want something to drink. I can see somebody coming. He doesn't need any stamps. I can stay. I don't have any homework to do. I'm not thirsty. I don't want anything to drink. I can't see anybody coming. Does he need any stamps? Do you have any homework to do? Do you want anything to drink? Can you see anybody coming?

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

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

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

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

Adjective Order
There are 2 basic positions for adjectives:
1. before the noun 2. after certain verbs (be, become, get, seem, look, feel, sound, smell, taste)

adj. noun 1 I like big 2 cars.

verb adj.

My car is

big.

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

Adjective Before Noun

We sometimes use more than one adjective before the noun:

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

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

a nice French car (not a French nice car)

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

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

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

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

numbers (one, two, three)

Here is an example with opinion and fact adjectives: adjectives fact deteropinion miner age shape two nice noun colour candles

old round red

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

Many newspapers are black and white. She was wearing a long, blue and yellow dress.

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

Adjective After Certain Verbs

An adjective can come after some verbs, such as: be, become, feel, get, look, seem, smell, sound Even when an adjective comes after the verb and not before a noun, it always refers to and qualifies the subject of the sentence, not the verb. Look at the examples below: subject verb adjective

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

These verbs are "stative" verbs, which express a state or change of state, not "dynamic" verbs which express an action. Note that some verbs can be stative in one sense (she looks beautiful | it got hot), and dynamic in another (she looked at him | he got the money). The above examples do not include all stative verbs. Note also that in the above structure (subject verb adjective), the adjective can qualify a pronoun since the subject may be a pronoun.

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

A1 A2
A1 is bigger than A2. In this lesson we will look first at how we make comparative adjectives, and then at how we use them:

Formation of Comparative Adjectives

There are two ways to make or form a comparative adjective:

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

Short adjectives

1-syllable adjectives 2-syllable adjectives ending in -y

old, fast happy, easy old older

Normal rule: add "-er"

Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i Long adjectives

late later big bigger happy happier

2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y all adjectives of 3 or more syllables

modern, pleasant expensive, intellectual modern more modern expensive more expensive

Normal rule: use "more"

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

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

Exception The following adjectives have irregular forms:

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

Use of Comparative Adjectives

We use comparative adjectives when talking about 2 things (not 3 or 10 or 1,000,000 things, only 2 things). Often, the comparative adjective is followed by "than". Look at these examples:

John is 1m80. He is tall. But Chris is 1m85. He is taller than John. America is big. But Russia is bigger. I want to have a more powerful computer. Is French more difficult than English?

If we talk about the two planets Earth and Mars, we can compare them as shown in the table below: Earth Diameter (km) Distance from Sun (million km) Length of day (hours) Moons Surface temperature (degrees Celcius) 12,760 150 24 1 22 Mars 6,790 228 25 2 -23 Mars is smaller than Earth. Mars is more distant from the Sun. A day on Mars is slightly longer than a day on Earth. Mars has more moons than Earth. Mars is colder than Earth.

Although we use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things), in fact one or both of the things may be a group of things.

Mt Everest is higher than all other mountains.

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

Superlative Adjectives
A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree of a quality. We use a superlative adjective to describe the extreme quality of one thing in a group of things. In the example below, "biggest" is the superlative form of the adjective "big":

AB

A is the biggest. In this lesson we will look first at how we make superlative adjectives, and then at how we use them:

Formation of Superlative Adjectives

As with comparative adjectives, there are two ways to form a superlative adjective:

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

We also usually add 'the' at the beginning. Short adjectives 1-syllable adjectives 2-syllable adjectives ending in -y Normal rule: add "-est" Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i Long adjectives 2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y all adjectives of 3 or more syllables modern, pleasant expensive, intellectual modern the most modern expensive the most expensive old, fast happy, easy old the oldest late the latest big the biggest happy the happiest

Normal rule: use "most"

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

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

Exception The following adjectives have irregular forms:

good the best bad the worst far the furthest

Use of Superlative Adjectives

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

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

If we talk about the three planets Earth, Mars and Jupiter, we can use superlative adjectives as shown in the table below: Earth Diameter (km) Distance from Sun (million km) Length of day (hours) Moons Surface temp. (degrees Celcius) 12,760 Mars 6,790 Jupiter 142,800 Jupiter is the biggest. Jupiter is the most distant from the Sun. Jupiter has the shortest day. Jupiter has the most moons. Jupiter is the coldest.

150 24 1 22

228 25 2 -23

778 10 16 -150

When we compare one thing with itself, we do not use "the":

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

Adverbs
An adverb is a word that tells us more about a verb. An adverb "qualifies" or "modifies" a verb (The man ran quickly). But adverbs can also modify adjectives (Tara is really beautiful), or even other adverbs (It works very well). Many different kinds of word are called adverbs. We can usually recognise an adverb by its:
1. Function (Job) 2. Form

3. Position 1. Function

The principal job of an adverb is to modify (give more information about) verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. In the following examples, the adverb is in bold and the word that it modifies is in italics.

Modify a verb: - John speaks loudly. (How does John speak?) - Mary lives locally. (Where does Mary live?) - She never smokes. (When does she smoke?) Modify an adjective: - He is really handsome. Modify another adverb: - She drives incredibly slowly.

But adverbs have other functions, too. They can:

Modify a whole sentence: - Obviously, I can't know everything. Modify a prepositional phrase: - It's immediately inside the door.

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

quickly, softly, strongly, honestly, interestingly

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

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

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

Front (before the subject): - Now we will study adverbs. Middle (between the subject and the main verb): - We often study adverbs. End (after the verb or object): - We study adverbs carefully.

Pronouns

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

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

With pronouns, we can say:

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

Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns represent specific people or things. We use them depending on:

number: singular (eg: I) or plural (eg: we) person: 1st person (eg: I), 2nd person (eg: you) or 3rd person (eg: he) gender: male (eg: he), female (eg: she) or neuter (eg: it) case: subject (eg: we) or object (eg: us)

We use personal pronouns in place of the person or people that we are talking about. My name is Josef but when I am talking about myself I almost always use "I" or "me", not "Josef". When I am talking direct to you, I almost always use "you", not your name. When I am talking about another person, say John, I may start with "John" but then use "he" or "him". And so on. Here are the personal pronouns, followed by some example sentences: personal pronouns number person 1st 2nd singular 3rd gender male/female male/female male female neuter 1st plural 2nd 3rd male/female male/female male/female/neuter subject I you he she it we you they object me you him her it us you them

Examples (in each case, the first example shows a subject pronoun, the second an object pronoun):

I like coffee. John helped me. Do you like coffee? John loves you. He runs fast. Did Ram beat him? She is clever. Does Mary know her? It doesn't work. Can the engineer repair it? We went home. Anthony drove us. Do you need a table for three? Did John and Mary beat you at doubles? They played doubles. John and Mary beat them.

When we are talking about a single thing, we almost always use it. However, there are a few exceptions. We may sometimes refer to an animal as he/him or she/her, especially if the animal is domesticated or a pet. Ships (and some other vessels or vehicles) as well as some countries are often treated as female and referred to as she/her. Here are some examples:

This is our dog Rusty. He's an Alsation. The Titanic was a great ship but she sank on her first voyage. My first car was a Mini and I treated her like my wife. Thailand has now opened her border with Cambodia.

For a single person, sometimes we don't know whether to use he or she. There are several solutions to this:

If a teacher needs help, he or she should see the principal. If a teacher needs help, he should see the principal. If a teacher needs help, they should see the principal.

We often use it to introduce a remark:

It is nice to have a holiday sometimes. It is important to dress well. It's difficult to find a job. Is it normal to see them together?

It didn't take long to walk here.

We also often use it to talk about the weather, temperature, time and distance:

It's raining. It will probably be hot tomorrow. Is it nine o'clock yet? It's 50 kilometres from here to Cambridge.

Demonstrative Pronouns
to demonstrate (verb): to show; to indicate; to point to A demonstrative pronoun represents a thing or things:

near in distance or time (this, these) far in distance or time (that, those) near far that those

singular plural

this these

Here are some examples with demonstrative pronouns, followed by an illustration:

This tastes good. Have you seen this? These are bad times. Do you like these? That is beautiful. Look at that! Those were the days! Can you see those? This is heavier than that. These are bigger than those.

Do not confuse demonstrative pronouns with demonstrative adjectives. They are identical, but a demonstrative pronoun stands alone, while a demonstrative adjective qualifies a noun.

That smells. (demonstrative pronoun) That book is good. (demonstrative adjective + noun)

Normally we use demonstrative pronouns for things only. But we can use them for people when the person is identified. Look at these examples:

This is Josef speaking. Is that Mary? That sounds like John.

Possessive Pronouns
We use possessive pronouns to refer to a specific person/people or thing/things (the "antecedent") belonging to a person/people (and sometimes belonging to an animal/animals or thing/things). We use possessive pronouns depending on:

number: singular (eg: mine) or plural (eg: ours) person: 1st person (eg: mine), 2nd person (eg: yours) or 3rd person (eg: his) gender: male (his), female (hers)

Below are the possessive pronouns, followed by some example sentences. Notice that each possessive pronoun can:

be subject or object refer to a singular or plural antecedent person 1st 2nd gender (of "owner") male/female male/female male 3rd female 1st male/female male/female male/female/neuter hers ours yours theirs possessive pronouns mine yours his

number

singular

plural

2nd 3rd

Look at these pictures. Mine is the big one. (subject = My picture) I like your flowers. Do you like mine? (object = my flowers) I looked everywhere for your key. I found John's key but I couldn't find yours. (object = your key) My flowers are dying. Yours are lovely. (subject = Your flowers) All the essays were good but his was the best. (subject = his essay) John found his passport but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her passport) John found his clothes but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her clothes) Here is your car. Ours is over there, where we left it. (subject = Our car) Your photos are good. Ours are terrible. (subject = Our photos) Each couple's books are colour-coded. Yours are red. (subject = Your books) I don't like this family's garden but I like yours. (subject = your garden) These aren't John and Mary's children. Theirs have black hair. (subject = Their children) John and Mary don't like your car. Do you like theirs? (object = their car)

Notice that the following (with apostrophe [']) do NOT exist: her's, your's, their's Notice that the interrogative pronoun whose can also be a possessive pronoun (an interrogative possessive pronoun). Look at these examples:

There was $100 on the table and Tara wondered whose it was. This car hasn't moved for two months. Whose is it?

Interrogative Pronouns

We use interrogative pronouns to ask questions. The interrogative pronoun represents the thing that we don't know (what we are asking the question about). There are four main interrogative pronouns: who, whom, what, which Notice that the possessive pronoun whose can also be an interrogative pronoun (an interrogative possessive pronoun). subject person thing person/thing person who object whom what which whose (possessive)

Notice that whom is the correct form when the pronoun is the object of the verb, as in "Whom did you see?" ("I saw John.") However, in normal, spoken English we rarely use whom. Most native speakers would say (or even write): "Who did you see?" Look at these example questions. In the sample answers, the noun phrase that the interrogative pronoun represents is shown in bold. question Who told you? Whom did you tell? What's happened? What do you want? Which came first? Which will the doctor see first? There's one car missing. Whose hasn't arrived? We've found everyone's keys. Whose answer John told me. I told Mary. An accident's happened. I want coffee. The Porsche 911 came first. The doctor will see the patient in blue first. John's (car) hasn't arrived. I found John's (keys). subject object subject object subject object

subject object

did you find? Note that we sometimes use the suffix "-ever" to make compounds from some of these pronouns (mainly whoever, whatever, whichever). When we add "-ever", we use it for emphasis, often to show confusion or surprise. Look at these examples:

Whoever would want to do such a nasty thing? Whatever did he say to make her cry like that? They're all fantastic! Whichever will you choose?

Reflexive Pronouns
reflexive (adj.) [grammar]: reflecting back on the subject, like a mirror We use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause. Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural). There are eight reflexive pronouns: reflexive pronoun myself yourself himself, herself, itself ourselves yourselves themselves

singular

plural

Look at these examples: reflexive pronouns the underlined words are NOT the same person/thing John saw me. Why does he blame you? David sent him a copy. David sent her a copy. the underlined words are the SAME person/thing I saw myself in the mirror. Why do you blame yourself? John sent himself a copy. Mary sent herself a copy.

My dog hurt the cat. We blame you. Can you help my children? They cannot look after the babies.

My dog hurt itself. We blame ourselves. Can you help yourselves? They cannot look after themselves.

Intensive pronouns
Notice that all the above reflexive pronouns can also act as intensive pronouns, but the function and usage are different. An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent. Look at these examples:

I made it myself. OR I myself made it. Have you yourself seen it? OR Have you seen it yourself? The President himself promised to stop the war. She spoke to me herself. OR She herself spoke to me. The exam itself wasn't difficult, but exam room was horrible. Never mind. We'll do it ourselves. You yourselves asked us to do it. They recommend this book even though they themselves have never read it. OR They recommend this book even though they have never read it themselves

Reciprocal Pronouns
reciprocal (adj.): given or done in return; [grammar] expressing mutual action We use reciprocal pronouns when each of two or more subjects is acting in the same way towards the other. For example, A is talking to B, and B is talking to A. So we say:

A and B are talking to each other.

The action is "reciprocated". John talks to Mary and Mary talks to John. I give you a present and you give me a present. The dog bites the cat and the cat bites the dog. There are only two reciprocal pronouns, and they are both two words:

each other one another

When we use these reciprocal pronouns:

there must be two or more people, things or groups involved (so we cannot use reciprocal pronouns with I, you [singular], he/she/it), and they must be doing the same thing

Look at these examples:

John and Mary love each other. Peter and David hate each other. The ten prisoners were all blaming one another. Both teams played hard against each other. We gave each other gifts. Why don't you believe each other? They can't see each other. The gangsters were fighting one another. The boats were bumping against each other in the storm.

You probably notice that each other is used in more examples above than one another. That's because in general we use each other more often than one another, which sounds a little formal. Also, some people say that we should use one another only for three or more people or things, but there is no real justification for this.

Indefinite Pronouns
That's Not My Job! This is a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing or amount. It is vague and "not definite". Some typical indefinite pronouns are:

all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each, everybody/everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody/someone

Note that many indefinite pronouns also function as other parts of speech. Look at "another" in the following sentences:

He has one job in the day and another at night. (pronoun) I'd like another drink, please. (adjective)

Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural. However, some of them can be singular in one context and plural in another. The most common indefinite pronouns are listed below, with examples, as singular, plural or singular/plural. Notice that a singular pronoun takes a singular verb AND that any personal pronoun should also agree (in number and gender). Look at these examples:

Each of the players has a doctor. I met two girls. One has given me her phone number.

Similarly, plural pronouns need plural agreement:

Many have expressed their views.

pronoun singular another anybody/anyone

meaning

example

an additional or different person or thing no matter what person

That ice-cream was good. Can I have another? Can anyone answer this question? The doctor needs to know if you have eaten anything in the last two hours. Each has his own thoughts.

anything

no matter what thing every one of two or more people or things, seen separately

each

either enough everybody/everyone

Do you want tea or coffee? / I one or the other of two people or don't mind. Either is good for things me. as much or as many as needed all people Enough is enough. We can start the meeting because everybody has arrived. They have no house or possessions. They lost everything in the earthquake. "Less is more" (Mies van der Rohe) Little is know about his early life. Much has happend since we met. I keep telling Jack and Jill but neither believes me. I phoned many times but nobody answered. If you don't know the answer it's best to say nothing. Can one smoke here? | All the students arrived but now one is

everything

all things

less little much neither nobody/no-one nothing one

a smaller amount a small amount a large amount not one and not the other of two people or things no person no single thing, not anything an unidentified person

missing. other somebody/someone something you plural both few fewer many others several they singular or plural all any the whole quantity of something or of some things or people no matter how much or how many a greater quantity of something; a greater number of people or things the majority; nearly all All is forgiven. All have arrived. Is any left? Are any coming? There is more over there. More are coming. Most is lost. two people or things, seen together a small number of people or things a reduced number of people or things a large number of people or things other people; not us more than two but not many people in general (informal) John likes coffee but not tea. I think both are good. Few have ever disobeyed him and lived. Fewer are smoking these days. Many have come already. I'm sure that others have tried before us. They all complained and several left the meeting. They say that vegetables are good for you. a different person or thing from one already mentioned an unspecified or unknown person an unspecified or unknown thing an unidentified person (informal) One was tall and the other was short. Clearly somebody murdered him. It was not suicide. Listen! I just heard something! What could it be? And you can see why.

more most

Most have refused. They fixed the water so why is none coming out of the tap? I invited five friends but none have come.* Here is some. Some have arrived. He was a foreigner and he felt that he was treated as such.

none

not any; no person or persons

some

an unspecified quantity of something; an unspecified number of people or things of the type already mentioned

such

* Some people say that "none" should always take a singular verb, even when talking about countable nouns (eg five friends). They argue that "none" means "no one", and "one" is obviously singular. They say that "I invited five friends but none has come" is correct and "I invited five friends but none have come" is incorrect. Historically and grammatically there is little to support this view. "None" has been used for hundreds of years with both a singular and a plural verb, according to the context and the emphasis required.

Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause. It is called a "relative" pronoun because it "relates" to the word that it modifies. Here is an example:

The person who phoned me last night is my teacher.

In the above example, "who":

relates to "person", which it modifies introduces the relative clause "who phoned me last night"

There are five relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that* Who (subject) and whom (object) are generally only for people. Whose is for possession. Which is for things. That can be used for people** and things and as subject and object in defining relative clauses (clauses that are essential to the sentence and do not simply add extra information). Relative pronouns can refer to singular or plural, and there is no difference between male and female. Look at these examples showing defining and non-defining relative clauses: example sentences notes

S=subject, O=object, P=possessive - The person who phoned me last night is my teacher. - The person that phoned me last night is my teacher. - The car which hit me was yellow. - The cars that hit me were yellow. - The person whom I phoned last night is my teacher. - The people who I phoned last night are my teachers. - The person that I phoned last night is my teacher. - The person I phoned last night is my teacher. - The car which I drive is old. - The car that I drive is old. - The car I drive is old. - The student whose phone just rang should stand up. - Students whose parents are wealthy pay extra. P - The police are looking for the car whose driver was masked. - The police are looking for the car of which the driver was masked. nondefining S - Mrs Pratt, who is very kind, is my teacher. - The car, which was a taxi, exploded. - The cars, which were taxis, exploded. - Mrs Pratt, whom I like very much, is my teacher. - Mr and Mrs Pratt, who I like very much, are my teachers. - The car, which I was driving at the Of which is usual for things, but whose is sometimes possible

That is preferable

That is preferable

Whom is correct but very formal. The relative pronoun is optional.

O defining

That is preferable to which. The relative pronoun is optional.

Whom is correct but very formal. Who is normal.

time, suddenly caught fire. - My brother, whose phone you just heard, is a doctor. - The car, whose driver jumped out just before the accident, was completely destroyed. - The car, the driver of which jumped out just before the accident, was completely destroyed.

Of which is usual for things, but whose is sometimes possible

*Not all grammar sources count "that" as a relative pronoun. **Some people claim that we cannot use "that" for people but must use "who/whom"; there is no good reason for such a claim.

Pronoun Case
Pronouns (and nouns) in English display "case" according to their function in the sentence. Their function can be:

subjective (they act as the subject) objective (they act as the object) possessive (they show possession of something else)

The following table shows the different forms for pronouns depending on case. subjective case personal pronouns singular 1st I objective case me you him her it us you them whom whomever possessive case mine yours his hers its ours yours theirs whose

2nd you he 3rd she it plural 1st we

2nd you 3rd they relative/interrogative pronouns who whoever

which/that/what which/that/what indefinite pronouns everybody everybody everybody's

A problem of case: Mary and I or Mary and me?

1. Mary and I are delighted to be here today. (NOT Mary and me) 2. The letter was addressed to Mary and me. (NOT Mary and I)

In 1, Mary and I are subjects, which is why the pronoun takes the subjective case ("I"). In 2, Mary and I are objects, which is why the pronoun takes the objective case ("me"). An easy way to check the correct case is to try the sentence without Mary. Would you say "I am delighted to be here" or "Me am delighted to be here"? Would you say "The letter was addressed to me" or "The letter was addressed to I"?

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

She left before breakfast. What did you come for? (For what did you come?)

English Prepositions List

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

aboard about above across after against along amid among anti around as at before behind below beneath beside besides between beyond but by

For a full list of 150 prepositions, try this downloadable ebook, English Prepositions List by English Club founder Josef Essberger:

includes one-word and complex prepositions 370 example sentences 200 quiz questions with answers immediate download to your computer read on your computer or print out on paper works on Windows or Mac

Buy online at eslDepot.com

concerning considering despite down during except excepting excluding following for from in inside into like minus near

of off on onto opposite outside over past per plus regarding round save since than through to toward towards under underneath unlike until up upon versus via with within without

English Preposition Rule

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

noun (dog, money, love)

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

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

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

Here are some examples: Subject + verb The food is She lives Tara is looking The letter is Pascal is used She isn't used I ate preposition on in for under to to before "noun" the table. Japan. you. your blue book. English people. working. coming.

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

Prepositions of Place: at, in, on

In general, we use:

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

at POINT

at the corner at the bus stop at the door at the top of the page at the end of the road at the entrance at the crossroads at the front desk

in the garden in London in France in a box in my pocket in my wallet in a building in a car

on the wall on the ceiling on the door on the cover on the floor on the carpet on the menu on a page

Look at these examples:

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

Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions: at at home at work at school at university at college at the top at the bottom in in a car in a taxi in a helicopter in a boat in a lift (elevator) in the newspaper in the sky on on a bus on a train on a plane on a ship on a bicycle, on a motorbike on a horse, on an elephant on the radio, on television

at the side at reception

in a row in Oxford Street

on the left, on the right on the way

Prepositions of Time: at, in, on

We use:

at for a PRECISE TIME in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS on for DAYS and DATES in MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS in May in summer in the summer in 1990 in the 1990s in the next century in the Ice Age in the past/future on DAYS and DATES on Sunday on Tuesdays on 6 March on 25 Dec. 2010 on Christmas Day on Independence Day on my birthday on New Year's Eve

at PRECISE TIME at 3 o'clock at 10.30am at noon at dinnertime at bedtime at sunrise at sunset at the moment

Look at these examples:

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

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

Expression at night at the weekend at Christmas/Easter at the same time at present

Example The stars shine at night. I don't usually work at the weekend. I stay with my family at Christmas. We finished the test at the same time. He's not home at present. Try later.

Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions: in in the morning in the mornings in the afternoon(s) in the evening(s) on on Tuesday morning on Saturday mornings on Sunday afternoons on Monday evening

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

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

Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word that "joins". A conjunction joins two parts of a sentence. Here are some example conjunctions: Coordinating Conjunctions and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so Subordinating Conjunctions although, because, since, unless

We can consider conjunctions from three aspects.

Form
Conjunctions have three basic forms:

Single Word for example: and, but, because, although Compound (often ending with as or that) for example: provided that, as long as, in order that Correlative (surrounding an adverb or adjective) for example: so...that

Function
Conjunctions have two basic functions or "jobs":

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

Position

Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join. Subordinating conjunctions usually come at the beginning of the subordinate clause.

In this lesson we will look in more detail at:

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

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

A coordinating conjunction joins parts of a sentence (for example words or independent clauses) that are grammatically equal or similar. A coordinating conjunction shows that the elements it joins are similar in importance and structure: + Look at these examples - the two elements that the coordinating conjunction joins are shown in square brackets [ ]:

I like [tea] and [coffee].

[Ram likes tea], but [Anthony likes coffee].

Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join. When a coordinating conjunction joins independent clauses, it is always correct to place a comma before the conjunction:

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

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

She is kind so she helps people.

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

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

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

A
And

N
Nor

B
Bu t

O
Or

Y
Ye t

S
So

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

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

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

+ Look at this example: main or independent clause subordinate or dependent clause

Ram went swimming

although subordinating conjunction

it was raining.

A subordinate or dependent clause "depends" on a main or independent clause. It cannot exist alone. Imagine that somebody says to you: "Hello! Although it was raining." What do you understand? Nothing! But a main or independent clause can exist alone. You will understand very well if somebody says to you: "Hello! Ram went swimming." A subordinating conjunction always comes at the beginning of a subordinate clause. It "introduces" a subordinate clause. However, a subordinate clause can sometimes come after and sometimes before a main clause. Thus, two structures are possible:

+ Ram went swimming although it was raining.

+ Although it was raining, Ram went swimming.

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

expressing surprise alas dear expressing grief or pity expressing pity expressing surprise asking for repetition eh expressing enquiry expressing surprise inviting agreement er hello, hullo expressing hesitation expressing greeting expressing surprise calling attention expressing surprise, joy etc expressing greeting expressing hesitation, doubt or disagreement expressing surprise oh, o expressing pain expressing pleading ouch uh uh-huh um, umm well expressing pain expressing hesitation expressing agreement expressing hesitation expressing surprise introducing a remark

"Ah! I've won!" "Alas, she's dead now." "Oh dear! Does it hurt?" "Dear me! That's a surprise!" "It's hot today." "Eh?" "I said it's hot today." "What do you think of that, eh?" "Eh! Really?" "Let's go, eh?" "Lima is the capital of...er...Peru." "Hello John. How are you today?" "Hello! My car's gone!" "Hey! look at that!" "Hey! What a good idea!" "Hi! What's new?" "Hmm. I'm not so sure." "Oh! You're here!" "Oh! I've got a toothache." "Oh, please say 'yes'!" "Ouch! That hurts!" "Uh...I don't know the answer to that." "Shall we go?" "Uh-huh." "85 divided by 5 is...um...17." "Well I never!" "Well, what did he say?"

hey hi hmm