Grammar summary

UNIT 1

THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE Form

Positive and negative

I / We / You / They

He / She / It play don’t play writes

doesn’t write Do Interrogative

I / we / you / they play...?

Does he / she / it write...?

In the present simple, we use the verb without an ending, but in the third person singular the verb ends in -s or -es:

I enjoy reading books. / He wants a part-time job.

When the verb ends in -ch, -sh, -x, -z, -o, -s, we add -es: watches, goes, washes Spelling When preceded by a consonant, y is changed into i before adding -es: carries, flies, worries, etc. Use The present simple is used for: – facts and a situation that we see as permanent. They live in a very nice flat. – feelings, thoughts, and emotions. I think you are right. – general truths and laws of nature. Water freezes at 0° C. – habits and routines (with adverbs of indefinite frequency: always, often, etc.). I sometimes stay up till midnight. – timetables and programmes (in the future). The train leaves at 7 tomorrow morning. It is also used instead of the future tenses after: when, before, after, as soon as, until, as, while and if. We’ll have coffee when the visitors get here.

Time expressions used with the present simple tense include: • always / often / usually / sometimes / frequently / rarely / seldom / never /occasionally • every (day / night / week / month / year) • in the morning (afternoon /evening)

THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE Form

Positive and negative

I am / am not

-----He /She /It

We/You/They -------------is /isn’t

are /aren’t writing

writing Interrogative

Am I

-----Is

Are ------he /she /it

we /you /they writing...?

writing...?

Spelling changes in the –ing form

a. For verbs of one syllable, the consonant is doubled: stopping, running

If the final consonant is -y or –w, it is not doubled: playing, showing b. Verbs ending in one -e, lose the -e and then add –ing: making, smoking, hoping

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Use The present continuous tense is used: a. for actions happening now, or over a period of time around now. We’re playing cards at the moment. b. for a temporary situation. They are living at my place because their flat isn’t finished yet. c. to talk about fixed plans and situations. I’m meeting Ann at six o’clock. d. to describe things that are changing and developing. It’s getting colder. e. with the adverb always when it means ‘very often or too often’, usually to express anger or irritation. (‘Always’ with the present simple means ‘every time’.) I’m always making silly mistakes. Time expressions used with the present continuous tense include: now / at the moment / at present / these days / today / tonight / still

UNIT 2

THE PAST SIMPLE TENSE Form

Positive and negative

I /He / She / It We / You / They worked ........... didn’t work Did Interrogative

I / he / she / it we / you / they work...?

Spelling rules: – The consonant is doubled if the verb has one syllable or if the stress is on the second syllable: stop - stopped, plan – planned, omit – omitted, prefer – preferred – y after a consonant is changed into –i before adding –ed: carry – carried Use The past simple tense is used: • for an action which happened at a specific time in the past. A time reference must be given or understood from the context. He saw Jane yesterday. / I lived in London when I was a child. • with adverbials : last week / year / month, two years ago, yesterday, etc. I met him two days ago. • to tell a story or describe states in the past. We lived just outside Oxford in the Nineties, but we didn’t have a car. • for an action which was habitual during a specific period in the past. When she lived in Spain, she ate dinner at about 10 p.m. • with when, enquiring about past time. When did you last see her?

Time expressions used with the past tense include: yesterday, the other day, then, last week/year/ month, two years ago, yesterday morning, in 1999, in May, etc. Note: Used to can also be used instead of the past tense for habits / repeated actions in the past. However, for an action that happened at a definite time in the past, we use the past simple, not used to. Our father used to take us to the zoo every month.

THE PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE Form

Positive and negative

I / He / She / It was wasn’t were weren’t Interrogative

writing Was

I / he / she / it writing?

Use The past continuous tense is used: • to describe past situations or actions that were in progress over a period of time or at a particular time in the past. He was working on his essay last night. / I was having dinner at 8 o’clock yesterday. • to emphasize how long the action continued. He was talking to a policeman for two hours. • to express an activity that is interrupted. The action in progress is often introduced by conjunctions like when or as. The phone rang when we were having dinner. • to express two or more parallel actions. While I was working in the garden, my wife was cooking. • to emphasize that an event in the past was temporary. We were staying on a small island at the time. Time expressions include: while, when, as, all morning /evening/day, at 7 o’clock, etc.

UNIT 3

THE PRESENT PERFECT TENSE Form

I /We /You /They

He / She /It ’ve / have haven’t ’s / has hasn’t written

worked Have

Has I /we /you /they written...?

he /she /it worked...?

Use We use the present perfect tense: 1. a. for unfinished actions that began in the past and are still going on now. I’ve read 20 pages of this book so far. b. with since to say when action started. I have been ill since January. with for to say how long an action has gone on. I have lived in this house for three years. c. with adverbs which show that the period of time is not yet finished: this morning/week/month/year, today. I’ve been to two birthday parties this week.

2. a. to talk about things that have or haven’t happened in the recent past. I haven’t seen David recently. b. when we talk about the recent past, with the following adverbs: just – to say that something happened very recently, a few moments ago. John has just gone out. already – when something has happened sooner than expected (in questions and statements) ‘Will you wash the dishes?’ ‘I have already washed them.’ yet – in negative statements and questions – I haven’t booked the tickets yet. 3. a. for experiences that happened at some time in our lives. We often use adverbs such as: never, ever, before. I’ve never played squash. b. for our first, second, etc. experience of something. This is the first time I’ve been abroad.

MODAL VERBS

The verbs can/could, must, may, might, should (=ought to) and would are special kinds of auxiliary verbs – modal verbs. Modal verbs – have no –s ending in the third person singular of the present simple tense: He can... – have the same form in all persons: I must, he must, etc. – form the interrogative form by inversion (changing places with the subject): May I...? – form the negative form by adding not (n’t): can’t, couldn’t – are always followed by another verb in the infinitive without to: He might come...

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We use the modal verbs can, may and must to talk about ability (can/could), possibility (can/may), permission (can/may), prohibition (can’t/ mustn’t) or obligation (must /have to). In questions, to ask if something is necessary, we normally use do I have to, did you have to… Do you have to come home early? Must and have to We use must when the obligation is coming from the speaker and have to when it is coming from other people. You must finish your homework first. They have to be neatly dressed at school. Mustn’t – there is an obligation not to do something. You mustn’t come inside with dirty shoes. Don’t have to – it is not necessary to do something. You don’t have to eat everything if you can’t.

THE FUTURE SIMPLE TENSE Form

Positive and negative

I / You / He / She / It We / You / They

’ll / will won’t come. Interrogative

Will I / you / he / she / it we / you / they come?

Use The future simple tense is used: – to express a sudden decision, made at the moment of speaking. The phone is ringing. I’ll get it. – to express predictions based on what we think, believe or imagine, using the verbs: think, expect, believe, or expressions be sure, be afraid, etc. and the adverbs: probably, certainly, perhaps, etc.

I think he will pass the exam this time. – to make a request, a promise or an offer. Will you hold these books for me? I promise I won’t tell them about the party. – for actions or situations which will definitely happen in the future. She will be eighteen next month. Note: In English, we use several forms to express the future. • We use be going to for: a. a decision we made earlier. I’m going to invite some guests round next week. b. something that we expect to happen. It is cloudy. It’s going to rain. • We use the present continuous tense: a. to talk about things we have arranged to do in the future: I’m seeing my dentist tomorrow.

UNIT 4

THE PAST PERFECT TENSE Form

Positive and negative

I / You / He / She / It We / You / They had hadn’t signed… Interrogative

Had I / you / he / she / it we / you / they signed…?

Use The past perfect expresses the idea that something happened before another past action or before a specific time in the past. The plane had taken off by the time we reached the airport. Had you ever visited the US before your trip in 2006? We often use the past perfect with the following words: • before / after / already / for / since / until / when / by / by the time

PRONOUNS

Personal pronouns (subject) I you – singular he she it we you – plural they

Reflexive pronouns myself yourself – singular himself herself itself ourselves yourselves – plural themselves Personal pronouns (object) me you him her it us you them Possessive pronouns mine yours his hers its ours yours theirs Relative pronouns

who, whom, that – for people which, that – for things whose – for possession where – for places when – for time

Indefinite pronouns something/anything/nothing/none – for things somebody/anybody/nobody – for people someone/anyone/no one/no-one – for people Demonstrative pronouns this /that – singular these /those – plural

Note: Indefinite adverbs somewhere/anywhere/nowhere – for places

UNIT 5

THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE When we are talking about one thing in general, we use a or an. An is used before nouns or adjectivenoun combinations beginning with a vowel sound (an elephant, an honest man) and a is used before nouns beginning with a consonant sound (a lion).

The indefinite article is used:

1. before a singular countable noun when it is mentioned for the first time. There is a car in the street. 2. before a singular countable noun which is used as an example of a class of things. A child needs love. 3. with a noun complement: for professions, trade, religion, class, etc. He is an actor. 4. in certain expressions of quantity: a lot of, a great deal of, a couple 5. before dozen, hundred, thousand, etc: There are a dozen eggs here. A hundred cows were in the field. 6. in expressions of price, speed, frequency, etc. He drove the car at 90 miles an hour. 7. in the expressions: what a, such a, quite a when the noun is singular and countable.

What a foolish thing to do! I have had such a busy day. 8. in a number of phrases: It’s a pity that… / As a rule… / to be in a hurry / It’s a shame… / A short time ago… to have a headache/a cold/a pain/a cough/a sore throat, etc.

THE DEFINITE ARTICLE

The definite article (the) is used when we are talking about one thing in particular. It is used:

1. before a noun mentioned for a second time. His car struck a tree. You can see the mark on the tree. 2. when the object or a group of objects is unique or ‘the only one’. the West, The Bible, the Earth (also Earth when used as the name of the planet), the sky, the seaside, the North Pole, the Equator 3. names of rivers, seas, oceans (not lakes), mountain ranges, regions, island groups: the Danube, the Atlantic, the Andes, the Middle East, the South of France, the British Isles 4. countries in the plural or when the word united /republic is used as part of the name: the Netherlands, the USA, the Czech Republic

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5. before the names of newspapers, hotels, restaurants, shops, institutions, museums, galleries, cinemas, theatres, ships, etc.

The Times, The Ritz Hotel, The Midland Bank, The Odeon, The National Gallery, The National Museum 6. before the names of musical instruments. My sister plays the piano. 7. before superlative adjectives. This is the oldest building in this area. 8. with family names in the plural. The Jacksons = Mr and Mrs Jackson (and their children) 9. scientific inventions: the telephone, the radio, the computer 10. with a singular noun, it can represent a class of animals or things.

The whale is in danger of becoming extinct. 11. THE + adjective represents a class of people or most nationalities. the old (= old people in general,) the unemployed, the wounded, the British 12. before ordinal numbers and ordinals in dates. 25th July (the twenty-fifth of July) Note: We can use the with uncountable nouns and plural nouns to refer to a specific example of something. The life we had there was difficult. / The meat is in the fridge.

THE OMISSION OF ARTICLES

We do not use articles (with)

1. plural and uncountable nouns (abstract and mass nouns) when we are referring to things in general: Life is short. I like meat. 2. continents, countries, towns, lakes, mountains and volcanoes: Asia, South America, Paris (but: the Hague), Lake Como, Everest, Etna 3. before the names of parks, streets, bridges, airports, sports, games, seasons, festivals and meals: Hyde Park, Regent Street, golf, lunch, winter, Christmas 4. parts of the day and night: at dawn/daybreak, at sunrise, at noon 5. in some expressions: go to school / stay in bed, etc.

UNIT 6

THE PASSIVE VOICE

We use the passive voice: 1. if it is not important to mention the subject, or if it is obvious. English is spoken all over the world. 2. if we do not know who the subject is. My car has been stolen. (by someone, I don’t know who) 3. in scientific writing. The television was invented in the 20th century.

FORM

The present simple The present continuous The past simple The past continuous The present perfect The past perfect The future simple Modals + infinitive am, is, are + past participle am, is, are + being + past participle was, were + past participle was, were + being + past participle has, have + been + past participle had + been + past participle will + be + past participle must/can + be + past participle The flat is often cleaned.

It is being cleaned now. The flat was cleaned.

It was being cleaned. The flat hasn’t been cleaned yet. It had been cleaned.

It will be cleaned.

It must be cleaned.

THE GERUND

The gerund is used: 1. as a noun. Smoking is very bad for your health. 2. after certain verbs: admit, appreciate, avoid, continue, deny, fancy, go (for activities), imagine, mind, miss, risk, quit, save, suggest, practise, consider, prevent, after spend, waste, or lose (time, money, etc). Can you imagine winning a million dollars? He spent a lot of money repairing his car. 3. after the verbs: love, like, enjoy, prefer, dislike, hate to express general preference. My son enjoys talking to his friends on the phone.

Note: For a specific preference (would like / would prefer / would love), we use a to-infinitive. 4. after some expressions: it’s no use, it’s (no) good, it’s (not) worth, what’s the use of, can’t help, there’s no point in, can’t stand, have difficulty (in), etc. This film is really worth seeing. 5. after the preposition to with verbs and expressions such as: look forward to, be used to, in addition to, prefer (doing something to something else). He prefers swimming to playing football. 6. after other prepositions. He was thinking of joining the club.

UNIT 7

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS There are two main groups of nouns in English, known as countable and uncountable.

1 Countable nouns can be ‘counted’, as follows: one pen (two pens), three bottles. • Countable nouns can be singular or plural: My dog is playing. My dogs are hungry. • Some countable nouns have the same form for both singular and plural: crossroads, series, species, etc.

Many of these nouns refer to animals or fish: deer, sheep, fish • When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it: Where’s my book? • When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone: I like oranges. • We can use some, any, (a) few and many with countable nouns: I’ve got some dollars.

2 Uncountable nouns are often substances or they may be abstract ideas such as: music, art, love, happiness, nature, rice, sugar, butter, water, advice, information, news, furniture, luggage, electricity, gas, power, money. • We treat uncountable nouns as singular although they may have a plural meaning (including information, administration, management, advice, accommodation, luggage, baggage, money, news, progress, research, traffic, travel, transport, weather) and 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. But we can say ‘a something of’: a piece of news / a bottle of water, or two, three items of, if we need the plural of these nouns. • We can use some, any, (a) little and much with uncountable nouns: I’ve got some / a little money.

Note: Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. However, if we mean a cup or a glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example): Two teas and one coffee, please. • Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning.

There are two lights in our bedroom. / There’s too much light here!

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162 THE PLURAL OF NOUNS

Singular

-s song desk The plural of most nouns is formed by adding -s to the singular noun: -es dress brush We add -es if the singular noun ends watch box in -s, -ss, -sh, -ch, -z or -x: When a noun ends in a consonant +y, library factory the -y changes to -ies: For some nouns ending in -o, -s is photo radio added to form the plural: Most common nouns ending in -o potato tomato fresco, have plural forms ending in -oes: volcano mosquito

-f, -fe → -ves When a noun ends in -f, -fe, the -f, -fe changes to -ves: Irregular forms of nouns:

Some nouns have the same form in both the singular and plural: Some nouns are always plural: leaf wife half knife thief life loaf calf

child man / woman mouse tooth / foot / goose ox person sheep deer species fish

UNIT 8

Plural

songs desks

dresses brushes watches boxes

libraries factories

photos radios

potatoes tomatoes frescoes, volcanoes mosquitoes

leaves wives halves knives thieves lives loaves calves

children men / women mice teeth / feet / geese oxen people sheep deer species fish

cattle police people scissors glasses jeans trousers pyjamas shorts

INDIRECT SPEECH – SEQUENCE OF TENSES If the reporting verb (e.g. ‘she said (that)’, ‘I wondered’, ‘he wanted to know’) is in the past, the tenses in the reporting clauses must be in one of the past tenses, too. The following chart includes sentences changed from direct speech to reported speech using a past form. Direct Speech present simple He said, ‘I often go to the cinema.’ past simple He said, ‘I went there last summer.’ present perfect He said, ‘I have been there twice.’ present continuous He said, ‘I am going to see her tomorrow.’

future (will)

He wondered, ‘Will Jack finish it?’ can He wanted to know, ‘Can Lisa go there alone?’ must He said, ‘I must go to school every day.’ Indirect Speech past simple He said (that) he often went to the cinema. past perfect He said (that) he had gone there the summer before. past perfect He said (that) he had been there twice. past continuous He said (that) he was going to see her the next day.

would + infinitive

He wondered if Jack would finish it. could He wanted to know if Lisa could go there alone. had to He said (that) he had to go to school every day.

CHANGES IN TIME AND PLACE WORDS.

now then, at that time today that day tomorrow the following day, the next day, a day later yesterday the previous day, the day before next month/year the following month/year, the next month/year, a year later last month/year the month before, the previous month/year in two days/weeks two days/weeks from then five days ago five days before, five days earlier here there this that

UNIT 9

CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

0 CONDITIONAL

The zero conditional is used to talk about general truths — things which always happen under certain conditions. We can use when instead of if. If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils.

I CONDITIONAL

We use the first conditional to talk about real situations in the future which we think will probably happen or which are perfectly reasonable and likely. If you go out in the rain, you will get wet.

Note: Sometimes we use shall, can, may or should instead of will, or an imperative form. If the cases are too heavy, I can help you carry them. / If you need any help, give me a ring.

II CONDITIONAL

This kind of sentence describes an imaginary or unreal situation. Although the past simple tense is used after if, the time referred to is not past, but imaginary situations in the present or future. If I owned a car, I would drive to work. (But I don’t own a car.) We use the second conditional to talk about : 1. possible, but unlikely situations in the present or future.

If you met the Queen, what would you ask her? 2. hypothetical, unreal, or impossible situations.

If I were a better player, I’d beat him.

If it was/were not snowing so hard, I would not be stuck at the airport. 3. advice.

If I were you, I’d hire a professional.

Note : a. In second conditional sentences, we can use were (more formal) instead of was. The modal verbs could or might can be used instead of would.

If he were here, I’m sure he’d know what to do. / If he was invited, he might come. b. Unless, provided, as long as can be used instead of if.

Unless you leave at once, I’ll call the police. / Provided you leave now, you’ll catch the train.

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