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Grammar
- The, a, an or no article
- Time adverbs
- “Used to / be used to”
- Adjective order
- Have / get something done
- Relative clauses
- Non-defining Relative Clauses
- Defining Relative Clauses
- Ways of comparing
- Expressing the Future:
- simple future
- future continuous
- future perfect
- Conditional tense:
- Zero conditional
- First conditional
- Second conditional
- Third conditional
• Past Modals
- Whenever, wherever, whatever, whoever, however
- Wish; if only
- Verbs followed by gerund, infinitive, both gerund and infinitive.
- Uses of get
- Should, should have, ought to, had better
- Tag questions
- so/such… that
The, a, an or no article
There are three articles in English: a/an, the, and zero (no article).
A / An When we use it Example Explanation
We use “a” and “an” for singular, countable nouns when the listener doesn't know which one we're talking about yet.
Let's see a movie.
It's singular (one movie).
It's countable.
It's the first time we talk about the movie, so the listener doesn't know which movie yet — at this point, it might be any movie.
The When we use it Example Explanation
We use “the” for a specific noun, both the speaker and the listener know which one we're talking about. We can use it for any noun, singular or plural, countable or uncountable.
I love the book you gave me.
It's a specific book; both the speaker and the listener know which book we're talking about. I explained it to the students in my class.
Specific students. “Students” is plural in this case. She gave me the information I wanted.
Specific information. “Information” is uncountable.
Zero Article (No article) When we use it Example Explanation
Zero article means no article at all. We use zero article when we're speaking or writing about something in general, about all the members of that group.
I love cats.
This means I love all cats; I love cats in general.
Abstract
Time adverbs
Use already to say change happens sooner than expected or wanted (It’s only 5 o’clock and it’s already dark) Use still or yet to say an expected change hasn’t happened (It’s 10 o’clock and it’s still light) Use yet or still to ask about expected changes (Is it dark yet? or Is still light?) Use no longer to say a situation has changed (It’s no longer light outside) Use so far to describe a situation up until now, especially if you expect it to change (So far, the weather has been good, but there are dark clouds on the horizon)
Generally already is used in affirmative statements and yet in negatives and questions. This can be broken for special effect F 0E 0 Is it dark already? to make a rethorical question to express astonishment at an evident fact.
We often say that we place still and already immediately before the main verb or after the verb to be F 0E 0 It’s already dark. However there is some flexibility: already can be sentence-initial and both can be sentence-final.
With affirmative verbs, we can use already, still, no longer, so far; with negative verbs, we can use still, yet, so far; with questions we can use already, still, yet, no longer, so far; we put so far at the beginning or at the end of a sentence; we put yet at the end of a sentence.
“Used to / be used to”
A former (past) habit vs. accustoming to a new habit
People often get confused about the use of used to + infinitive and be/get used to
- ‘ing’ form because they look similar. They are, however, completely different.
Used to
Use used to for a former habit; something that you no longer do. (used to + verb); we use 'used to' for something that happened regularly in the past but no longer happens. We use ‘used to’ to talk about things that happened in the past – actions or states
- that no longer happen now. We also use it for something that was true but no longer is.
- We used to go to Italy every spring. ( We would go camping every spring).
- We used to wake up early to go fishing. ( We would get up early to sleep).
- I used to smoke a packet a day but I stopped two years ago.
- Ben used to travel a lot in his job but now, since his promotion, he doesn't.
- I used to drive to work but now I take the bus.
- She used to be a long distance runner when she was younger.
- used to eat meat but I became a vegetarian 5 years ago.
- There used to be a cinema in the town but now there isn't.
- She used to have really long hair but she's had it all cut off.
- I didn't use to like him but now I do.
Used to is used as an auxiliary verb and is followed by a verb.
PAST
- We used to play football after school. (We don't anymore.)
- I used to spend a lot of time in cafe with my friends. (I don't anymore.)
- My dog used to be aggressive, but he's a mellower now.
The negative is didn’t use to and questions are formed with: Did you use to …?’ There is no present tense equivalent of used to. To talk about present habits we use the present simple and an adverb of frequency (usually, always, often, never, etc.)
I often eat at the Japanese restaurant in the city centre.
“I am used to drinking green tea."
"I am used to drinking green tea", means that, at first drinking green tea was strange and unusual, but now it has become familiar. Be used to describes an action that was, perhaps, difficult and is now easy. "I am accustomed to green tea", has the same meaning.
Read on for fantastic examples:
- It took me a while, but I'm finally used to using this new software.
- I'm getting used to the strange smell in the factory.
- I'll never get used to the heat in India.
Adjective order
In English, it is common to use more than one adjective before a noun — for example, “He's a silly young fool,” or “She's a smart, energetic woman.” When you use more than one adjective, you have to put them in the right order, according to type. This page will explain the different types of adjectives and the correct order for them.
- Opinion adjectives: An opinion adjective explains what you think about something (other people may not agree with you). For example: silly, beautiful, horrible, difficult…
- Descriptive adjectives:
- Size (A size adjective, of course, tells you how big or small something is.)
- Age (An age adjective tells you how young or old something or someone is.)
- Shape (A shape adjective describes the shape of something.)
- Color: A colour adjective, of course, describes the colour of something.
- Classifying words :
- Origin (An origin adjective describes where something comes from.)
- Material (A material adjective describes what something is made from.)
- (^) Purpose (A purpose adjective describes what something is used for. These adjectives often end with “-ing”.)
Relative clauses
Here is a brief review of relative clauses and relative pronouns.
A relative clause is used to describe a noun:
The car, which was red, belonged to Young-Hee.
A relative pronoun is usually used to introduce a relative clause:
Young-Hee, who is a Korean student, lives in Victoria.
The main relative pronouns are: Pronoun Use Example
Who used for humans in subject position
Hans, who is an architect, lives in Berlin. Whom used for humans in object position
Marike, whom Hans knows well, is an interior decorator. Which used for things and animals in subject or object position
Marike has a dog which follows her everywhere.
That used for humans, animals and things, in subject or object position
Marike is decorating a house that Hans designed.
There are two main kinds of relative clause:
- Non-defining clauses Non-defining clauses give extra information about the noun, but they are not essential: The desk in the corner, which is covered in books, is mine.
Explanation: We don't need this information in order to understand the sentence. “The desk in the corner is mine” is a good sentence on its own — we still know which desk is referred to. Note that non-defining clauses are usually separated by commas, and “that” is not used in this kind of context.
- Defining clauses Defining clauses give essential information about the noun: The package that arrived this morning is on the desk.
Explanation: We need this information in order to understand the sentence. Without the relative clause, we don't know which package is being referred to. Note that “that” is often used in defining relative clauses, and they are not separated by commas.
- Non-defining Relative Clauses — Rules
Here are three rules to follow when using non-defining relative clauses. If you follow these simple rules, you will avoid mistakes when you use this type of clause.
- Always use commas to separate a non-defining relative clause from the rest of the sentence.
Do this Ottawa, which is the capital of Canada, is situated on the border between Ontario and Quebec.
Explanation: Do you see the commas? Non-defining clauses need commas.
Don't do this Ottawa which is the capital of Canada is situated on the border between Ontario and Quebec.
Explanation: This one doesn't have the necessary commas.
- Relative pronouns: never use “that” as a relative pronoun in a non-defining relative clause.
Do this Ottawa, which is the capital of Canada, is perhaps the fourth largest city in the country.
Explanation: The relative pronoun, “which”, is correct.
Don't do this Ottawa, that is the capital of Canada, is perhaps the fourth largest city in the country.
Explanation: The relative pronoun, “that”, is wrong.
- Relative pronouns: you can never omit the relative pronoun (unlike defining relative clauses)
Do this I went to their concert, which gave me a good idea of what kind of music they play.
Explanation: This one has a relative pronoun, which is good.
Don't do this I went to their concert, gave me a good idea of what kind of music…
Explanation: This one omits the relative pronoun, which is wrong.
- Defining Relative Clauses — Rules
There are some simple rules which can help you to make good defining relative clauses and avoid mistakes.
The second example is bad English because “who” is the subject of “hit”. The verb in the relative clause needs a subject, and that subject is the relative pronoun “who”, so we can't omit it.
Ways of comparing
Comparatives and Superlatives are special forms of adjectives. They are used to compare two or more things. Generally, comparatives are formed using -er and superlatives are formed using -est.
- Forming comparatives and superlatives
How these forms are created depends on how many syllables there are in the adjective. Syllables are like “sound beats”. For instance, “sing” contains one syllable, but “singing” contains two — sing and ing. Here are the rules:
Adjective form Comparative Superlative
Only one syllable, ending in “e”. Examples: wide, fine, cute
Add -r: wider, finer, cuter.
Add -st: widest, finest, cutest
Only one syllable, with one vowel and one consonant at the end. Examples: hot, big, fat
Double the consonant and add -er: hotter, bigger, faster.
Double the consonant and add -est: hottest, biggest, fastest.
Only one syllable, with more than one vowel or more than one consonant at the end. Examples: light, neat, fast.
Add -er: lighter, neater, faster.
Add -est: lightest, neatest, fastest.
Two syllables, ending in Y. Change y to i, then add -er: happier, sillier, lonelier Examples: happy, silly, lonely.
Change y to i, then add -er: happier, sillier, lonelier
Change y to i, then add - est: happiest, silliest, loneliest
Two syllables or more, not ending in “y”. Examples: beautiful, modern, interesting,
Use “more” before the adjective: more modern, more interesting, more beautiful
Use “most” before the adjective: most modern, most interesting, most beautiful
- How to use comparatives and superlatives
(plus the base form of the main verb), the verb phrase be going to (plus the base form of the main verb, the present simple or the present progressive, but be careful. There are times when one is preferred over the others.
The Present Simple Tense for Future Events
The present simple tense is used to talk about future events that have been scheduled. Examples would be meetings, timetables, airline schedules, etc. See the examples below.
Hurry up! I don't want to miss any of the game. It starts at 1:00.
The meeting is in the boardroom. It begins at 10:00.
He'll be here soon. His plane arrives at 6:45.
The Present Progressive Tense for Future Events
In English, we often use the present progressive (be + verb + ing) to talk about future events which have already been planned. Time words in the sentence, such as next week, next year, tomorrow, etc., make it clear that the action is not happening at this moment.
Be careful. Verbs that describe states rather than actions are not used in the progressive form. These include words like know, believe, hear, love seem own and need. Study the examples below.
I'm playing golf with some friends on Saturday. (correct)
I'm needing a ride to work tomorrow. (incorrect)
In the first example, the speaker is talking about an action that has been planned. The use of the words on Saturday tell us that the action is not happening now. The use of the verb need in the second example is incorrect: need is used to show a state or condition rather than an action. Therefore, it is wrong to use it in the progressive form. The chart below shows more words that are not used in the progressive form.
Verbs Not Used in the Progressive
Verbs describing feelings or attitude like, prefer, appear, seem, want, look, love, hate, appreciate, dislike, need
Verbs showing ownership possess, belong, own, have Verbs associated with the senses smell, see, hear, taste
Verbs concerning mental activity forget, remember, understand, know, believe, mean, recognize, think
Note: Some of these words can be used in the progressive form with changes in meaning.
I have been meaning to write her. ( The speaker was intending to write to her .)
I'm sorry. Miss Jones is seeing a client at the moment. Would you mind waiting? (Miss Jones is with a client.)
You will be hearing from my attorney! (My attorney will be contacting you.)
Will or Be Going To?
When English speakers predict what they think will happen or become true in the future, they can use either will or be going to. Look at the example sentences below.
- We'd better cancel the picnic. The weather person says we will have heavy rain on the weekend.
- We'd better cancel the picnic. The weather person says we are going to have heavy rain on the weekend.
In both cases, the speakers are making predictions about the weather on the weekend. There is no difference in meaning between the first example and the second. However, there are a number of situations when it is better to use will than be going to, and vice versa.
- Expressing Future Events with Will
We use will + the base form of the main verb in these situations.
Use “Will” Example Explanation
To talk about things that we think will happen (In such cases we often use words such as “I think” or “probably”.)
James will probably study history at university.
I know James is interested in history. Therefore I guess or predict that he will study history in the future.
For official or formal announcements concerning future events
The graduation dinner will take place on June 3rd of this year.
Any type of ceremony, including a graduation ceremony, is a formal or important event.
base form of the main verb to make a prediction about the future based on our sense of sight, smell, taste, hearing or touch. In other words, something about the present causes us to think an action will happen very soon or immediately.
sense of smell tells him in the present.
The sun is shining and there's not a single cloud in the sky. It's going to be a nice day.
The speaker is making a prediction based on what (s)he sees.
For a plan
We use be going to + the base form of the main verb to talk about future events which have already been planned.
Last year we went to Hawaii for our vacation. This year we are going to take a cruise to Alaska. After work I'm going to play squash with a friend.
The speaker is talking about a planned event.
For informal situations
We use be going to + the base form of the main verb when we talk about informal situations involving future actions.
Mom and Dad are going to be angry when they see the mess you've made. You'd better clean it up before they get home.
This is an informal situation between two brothers.
Like all future forms, the Simple Future cannot be used in clauses beginning with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc. Instead of Simple Future, Simple Present is used. Examples:
- When you will arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Not Correct
- When you arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Correct
- Future Continuous
Future Continuous has two different forms: "will be doing " and "be going to be doing." Unlike Simple Future forms, Future Continuous forms are usually interchangeable.
Future Continuous with "Will"
[will be + present participle]
Examples:
- (^) You will be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
- Will you be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight?
- You will not be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
Future Continuous with "Be Going To "
[am/is/are + going to be + present participle]
Examples:
- You are going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
- Are you going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight?
- You are not going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
