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GRAMMAR
PRESENT AND PAST TENSES
Present simple and present continuous
Facts and states
The library doesn’t close until 10 p.m. I ’m pretty tired right now
Habits and repeated actions
I usually get up early I often meet friends
- Present continuous:
Actions happening now
I ’m studying design and technology She ’s going to the library
Temporary situations
At the moment, I ’m living in a university building Right now, he ’s feeling a bit nervous
- Stative verbs
With certain verbs we never use the continuous form. These are called stative verbs. The most common are:
believe, know, understand, remember, forget, think (=believe), like, love, prefer, hate, be, have (got), own.
I’m reading her latest book and I think it’s brilliant NOT!!! I’m thinking it’s brilliant
Present perfect simple and present perfect continuous
- Present perfect simple
To talk about states, actions or events that started in the past and that continue in the present.
How long have you been here?
To talk about something which happened in the past and which has an effect in the present.
She ’s passed her exams so she’s going to university
To talk about past experience, without saying exactly when they took place.
I ’ve made a lot of new friends
- Present perfect continuous
To talk about the duration of an action
I ’ve been staying with my aunt for two weeks
To focus on the action
I’ ve been doing my homework all morning (It isn’t finished)
● I’ve been to BCN → he anat i he tornat
I’ve gone to BCN → anar y seguir allà
Past simple and past continuous
- Past simple
Events or actions in the past that have completely finished
I spent a fortnight in Cornwall with my family
Things which happened repeatedly in the past
We went to London every weekend last year
Past states
I was very happy when I was young
- Past continuous
To talk about an action in progress at a specific moment in the past
I saw you yesterday. You were sitting on the bus
When an action takes place over a period of time in the past
When I was working , my sister was watching TV
- We often use the past simple and the past continuous in the same sentence with when and while :
To prefer a past action interrupted by another action. The past continuous describes the longer action and the
past simple describes a shorter action which interrupts it.
I was shopping in town one day when I noticed a job alert I saw her while I was cycling to work
Past simple, past perfect, past perfect continuous
- Past simple
To talk about a completed action in the past
I got to the station at 7.
- Past perfect
To talk about actions or situations which happened before other actions or situations in the past. We use the
past simple to talk about the most recent of the actions or situations
I got to the station at 7.30 but the train had already left
(The train left, then I got to the station)
- For and since with the past perfect to indicate the duration of a past action or situation I ’d known her for years He ’d worked there since March - Past perfect continuous
To emphasize the duration of an action that started in the past and finished before the present time
She was exhausted because she ’d been working all day
Past simple and present perfect simple
- Past simple
To talk about a state or an action that finished in the past
I worked in London last summer (I don’t work in London now)
When we are specifying the exact time or period of time when something happened. We specify the time
by using a time expression (ago, then, when, for two days, in 2006…)
I finished my project last weekend
- Present perfect simple
To talk about a state or an action that started in the past, and that continues in the present
I’ve worked in London since 2004 (I still work in London)
If we are not specifying the time when something happened. We use adverbs of time to show the connection
between past and present (never, ever, already, just, yet, for, since)
Have you already finished your project? (It doesn’t matter when)
Future forms
WILL
→ To make predictions or give opinions about the future
It will be really hot this summer I think the holiday will be great
→ To express spontaneous decisions made at the moment of speaking
‘I can’t afford to go out for lunch’ ‘Don’t worry, I’ ll pay for you’ I think I ’ll read this book next
BE GOING TO
→ To talk about our plans and intentions
What are you going to do in the Christmas holidays? I’ m going to see Shakira at the Arena tonight
→ To make predictions based on evidence at the time of speaking
The sky is clear. The weather is going to be nice The bus still hasn’t arrived. We ’re going to be late!
PRESENT CONTINUOUS FOR FUTURE USE
→ To talk about short term plans or arrangements. We often mention a specific time or place
We are travelling to Andorra in December / I ’m doing my homework tonight
Defining and non-defining relative clauses
Defining relative clauses
Give essential information about the noun they follow. Without the relative clause, the sentence would be incomplete and
would not make sense.
She’s the teacher
This sentence is incomplete -- it needs a defining relative clause
She’s the teacher → She’s the teacher who gave interesting lessons Maths is the subject → Maths is the subject that gives me most problems I never understand any explanations → I never understand any explanations which Mr Mitchell gives
Non-defining relative clauses
- Give extra information which is not essential about the noun that the follow. If we remove the relative clause, the
sentence still makes sense.
Walter has just passed an A-level in Spanish
- This sentence is already complete, but we can add extra information to it in a non-defining relative clause Walter, who is 81 years old , has just passed an A-level in Spanish
- We cannot omit the relative pronoun from a non-defining relative clause His teachers at Lancaster College, where he took the exam. are delighted His grades, which are mostly Bs and Cs, are not important to him
- We always use commas to separate the non-defining relative clause from the rest of the sentence Walter, whose granddaughter Tess also did the exam, now has 39 A-levels! My university has a great library, which is a big advantage
- We can combine two simple sentences by using a non-defining relative clause Jaime’s sister is called Pilar. She’s a teacher Jaime’s sister, who’s a teacher , is called Pilar OR Jaime’s sister, who’s called Pilar , is a teacher
- We never use that in a non-defining relative clause. We always use who or which My primary school, which was in a village, closed down recently
NOT My primary school, that was in a village, closed down recently
The student, who was brilliant with computers, set up her own business
What and that
What
Doesn’t refer to a noun that comes before it. It acts as noun + relative pronoun together, and it means ‘the thing(s) which’.
What you did was awful Is he going to do what I asked?
That
What cannot be used as an ordinary relative pronoun after a noun or pronoun. We can use that instead
I haven’t got everything that I need
Relative pronouns and prepositions
We can put prepositions before relative pronouns (more formal) or at the end of relative clauses (more informal)
This is the city in which my mum was born (formal) This is the city which/that my mum was born in (informal)
When we use a proposition before who , it becomes whom
Do you know Jack, with whom I went to school) (formal) Do you know Jack, who I went to school with? (informal)
*** Who and that are not used after prepositions
MODAL VERBS
Structure
Modal verbs share the following characteristics:
+ We put infinitive without ‘to’ after most modal verbs (but not ‘ought to’)
I must look for my passport She should go to the doctor BUT I ought to call my friend
+ Modal verbs do not take-s in the third person
I can speak English He can speak English
+ Modal verbs do not use the auxiliary verb do/does to form negatives, questions or short answers
She shouldn’t work so hard ‘Can you drive?’ ‘Yes, I can’ You couldn’t do me a favour, could you? We needn’t pay this bill until next month
+ Modal verbs can use contractions with negatives
We should not spend so much money We shouldn’t spend so much money
Many modal verbs have several different meanings, depending on their context.
Modals of ability and permission
CAN, COULD, BE ABLE TO, MAY, BE ALLOWED TO
CAN → to talk about ability in the present
My boyfriend can ride a motorbike I can’t hear you. NOT I don’t hear you
→ to talk about permission in the present
Can we go? I can’t stay out after midnight
COULD → to talk about ability in the past
I couldn’t drive last week, but I can now! It was so dark I couldn’t see anything NOT It was so dark I didn’t see anything
BE ABLE TO → As ‘can’ and ‘could’ cannot be used to talk about ability in all tenses, we use ‘be able to’ (which is not a
modal verb) in other tenses
Soon Peter will be able to speak Spanish fluently People have been able to talk to each other in internet chat rooms since 1988
MAY → We can also use ‘may’ to talk about permission in the present, but it is more formal than ‘can’
You may see the doctor now
BE ALLOWED TO → As ‘can’ cannot be used in all tenses, we use ‘be allowed to’ (which is not a modal verb) to talk about
permission in other tenses
I won’t be allowed to go to the concert next weekend You were allowed to stay out late last Saturday
→ We can also use ‘could’ to talk about general permission in the past. However, we cannot use ‘could’ to talk about
permission for a particular action in the past. Instead, we use the correct form of ‘be allowed to’.
When I was little, I could watch cartoons whenever I wanted to (general permission) Yesterday evening, I was allowed to watch a cartoon (permission for a particular action in the past) NOT Yesterday evening, I could watch a cartoon
SHOULDN’T HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE → to express regret o criticism about past events
I shouldn’t have taken Rosa to the café You shouldn’t have lied to me!
NEEDN’T HAVE + PAST PARTICIPLE → to say that something that was done in the past wasn’t necessary
You needn’t have woken me up so early. I’m not going to school today
DIDN’T NEED TO → to say something wasn’t done in the past because it wasn’t necessary
They didn’t need to catch the bus this morning because I gave them a lift
THE PASSIVE
Structure
We form the passive with ‘be + past participle’. We use ‘be’ in the same tense that we would use in the active sentence.
Many people enjoy shopping (active) → Shopping is enjoyed by many people (passive) (present simple) A Canadian invented Buy Nothing Day (active) → Buy Nothing Day was invented by a Canadian (passive) (past simple) Millions of people will celebrate Buy Nothing Day (active) → Buy Nothing Day will be celebrated by millions of people (passive) (future)
When we change an active sentence to a passive sentence, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the
passive sentence
Subject → agent
Object → subject
Use
To emphasize the action (the verb) rather than who or what carried out the action (the agent)
To put the most important idea at the beginning of the sentence
Adi Dasler invented the name ‘Adidas’ in 1948 → The name ‘Adidas’ was invented in 1948 (by Adi Dasler) They will sell millions of trainers next year → Millions of trainers will be sold next year
By + agent
In a passive sentence, we use ‘by’ before the object. We call the object of a passive sentence ‘the agent’
Nokia manufactured this mobile phone → This mobile phone was manufactured by Nokia
We omit by + agent:
- when the agent is unknown
- when the agent is not very important
- if we don’t want to name the agent
My car window has been broken (I don’t know who broke it) A new MP3 player is being developed (It is not important to know exactly who is developing the MP3 player / I don’t want to name all the people involved in the development process
It is not always possible to omit ‘by’ + agent. Some sentences need an agent because it is important information
This camera was manufactured → This camera was manufactured by Olympus Buy Nothing Day was invented → Buy Nothing Day was invented by Ted Dave
Transformations: active → passive → active
We can use the following five steps to change an active sentence into a passive sentence
Active : Adidas is manufacturing many new designs
1 Identify the object of the active sentence: many new designs
2 Put it at the beginning of the passive sentence, as its subject: Many new designs…
3 Identify the tense of the active sentence: is manufacturing = present continuous
4 Use the same tense of the verb ‘be’ with the past participle of the main verb: are being manufactured
5 Decide if you need to use ‘by’ + the agent (Adidas): Many new designs are being manufactured…
Passive : Many new designs are being manufactured by Adidas
To change a passive sentence into an active one, follow the steps above in reverse. You may need to invent a subject:
Passive : The phone was broken (Who broke the phone?)
Active : Someone (Name?) broke the phone
The causative
Structure
have / get (any tense) + object + past participle
I ’m getting my hair cut He had the room painted
Use
We use ‘have something done / get something done’ (causative) to talk about actions that we are unable to do ourselves,
or prefer not to do ourselves, and that a professional often does for us. We can use any tense with this structure.
Amy got her camera repaired (Someone else repaired the camera) I haven’t had my flat decorated yet Are you going to get your ears pierced?
Both phrases have the same meaning, but ‘get something done’ is more informal than ‘have something done’. As with
passive sentences, it is not always necessary to say who the agent is.
We ’re having / getting our house painted (by a painter is obvious, and therefore omitted) Contrast: We ’re painting our house (We’re doing it ourselves)
When someone does something that people do not usually do themselves, we can add a reflexive pronoun (myself,
yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves) for emphasis
They’re building the house themselves She’s organizing the holiday herself
CONDITIONALS
Conditionals ( if and unless )
Conditional sentences have two clauses: the conditional clause (starting with if) and the result clause
If I trained harder, I’d be a lot fitter
The conditional clause can also start with unless meaning if not
Unless it rains, we’ll meet you in the park If it doesn’t rain, we’ll meet you in the park
The order of the two clauses is flexible, but we must remember to use a comma after the conditional clause when it
comes first.
If you were a top athlete , you’d have to think very carefully about your diet = You’d have to think very carefully about your diet if you were a top athlete
We distinguish between different types of conditionals (first, second and third) according to the degree of probability that
they express.
First conditional
Structure
if + present simple, will + infinitive OR will + infinitive if + present simple
If you don’t eat the right foods, you won’t perform as well = You won’t perform as well if you don’t eat the right foods
Use
- to talk about possible or probable future events If I ’m fit enough, I ’ll run the marathon You won’t succeed if you don’t try
- to make promises and give warnings If we buy an exercise bike, I ’ll use it every day If you eat all that food, you ’ll get stomach ache
Mixed conditionals
It is possible to have sentences that mix conditionals. They are usually a combination of second and third conditionals,
but other combinations are possible. We use them when the time reference in the conditional clause is different from the
result clause.
If Emma wasn’t so lazy, she ’d have worked harder for her exam
(second conditional in the conditional clause, third conditional in the result clause)
If he hadn’t spent all his money, he wouldn’t be poor now
(third conditional in the conditional clause, second conditional in the result clause)
REPORTED SPEECH
Reported speech: general points
We use reported speech to report what another person has said.
direct speech: ‘My parents are vegetarian’
reported speech: He said that his parents were vegetarian
In formal language, we use ‘that’ to begin the clause containing the reported speech. In informal language, we can omit
‘that’
‘I'm going to order a pizza,’ said Luke → Luke said ( that ) he was going to order a pizza.
Remember that we do not use inverted commas (‘...’) in reported speech
Reported statements: tense changes
When we convert direct speech into reported speech, we change the tense of the main verb by putting it one step further
into the past.
‘I had a boiled egg for breakfast’ → She said she’d had a boiled egg for breakfast
Direct speech Reported speech
Present simple
I take
Past simple
I took
Present continuous
I am taking
Past continuous
I was taking
Past simple
I took
Past perfect simple
I had taken
Present perfect simple
I have taken
Past perfect simple
I had taken
will
I will take
would
I would take
can
I can take
could
I could take
must
I must take
had to
I had to take
Reported statements: other changes
When we convert direct speech into reported speech:
1) Pronouns and possessive adjectives usually change
‘ I ’m watching you’ → He said that he was watching me ‘ We ’ve brought you a present’ → She said that they had brought me a present ‘ I ’ve lost my keys’ → He said that he’d lost his keys
2) Demonstrative adjectives and expressions of time and place usually change
‘We’ll stay here tonight ’ → He said that they would stay there that night
‘I’ll take these jeans ’ → He said he’d take those jeans
direct speech ------------ reported speech
Here ------------------------- there
this --------------------------- that
these ------------------------ those
now -------------------------- then
next week ------------------ the following week
today ------------------------ that day
this (morning/afternoon/evening) ----------- that (morning/afternoon/evening)
tonight ----------------------- that night
tomorrow ------------------- the following day
yesterday ------------------ the day before
last week ------------------- the week before
Say vs tell
say(+that) + reported speech BUT tell + object(+that) + reported speech
The reporter s aid (that) they’d interviewed the film star / The reporter told me that they’d interviewed the film star
We do not use say for reported orders or instructions. We use tell + object (+not) + to infinitive instead
‘Drive slowly!’ → She told us to drive slowly. ‘Don’t talk!’ → He told us not to talk
Reported questions
Reported questions have a different word order from direct questions (the same as an affirmative sentence):
verb + subject (direct question) BUT subject + verb (reported question)
‘How old are you ?’ she asked → She asked (me) how old I was. NOT She asked me how old was I
If a direct question uses a question word (who, why, when, how, etc.), we repeat it in the reported question:
‘What are you eating?’ → He asked her what she was eating ‘How tall is she’ → He asked me how tall she was
If a direct question does not use a question word, we use if or whether in the reported question
‘Are you Spanish?’ he asked us → He asked us if / whether we were Spanish
Reported orders, requests and suggestions
In direct speech, we use the imperative for orders or requests. In reported speech, we use the following structure:
reporting verb + object + to infinitive
‘Sit down!’ → He ordered them to sit down
To make an order or request in reported speech negative, we put not before to infinitive:
reporting verb + object + not + to infinitive
‘ Don’t shout at your brother!’ → He told her not to shout at her brother
These are some of the verbs we can use to give orders or requests in reported speech: advise, ask, encourage, invite,
order, remind, tell, persuade, warn
‘Correct the mistakes!’ → The editor advised me to correct the mistakes ‘Don’t forget to do your homework’ → She reminded him to do his homework
We use the verb suggest in reported suggestions
‘Let’s go for a walk’ → Joe suggested (that) we went for a walk
Other reporting verbs
Many verbs are used to introduce reported speech. They take different patterns. Note that some verbs take more than
one pattern
reporting verb + to infinitive
These verbs include: agree, offer, promise, refuse
‘I’ll help you’ → He offered to help me
