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Pre-intermediate
Grammar reference Basic 07 Lifestyle
Present simple
We use the present simple to talk about:
Sleep helps us think clearly.
Do you live in a house or a flat?
- habits and other things that happen regularly
I go to the gym twice a week.
Present simple form
positive
I
You
We
They
know
the answer.
He
She
It
knows
negative
I
You
We
You
don’t
know
the
answer.
He
She
It
doesn’t
know
question
Do
I
you
we
they know
the
answer?
Does
he
she
it
Adverbs of frequency and other time expressions
We use adverbs of frequency and other time expressions when we talk about how often we do
things or how often things happen.
Adverbs of frequency
always
usually
often
sometimes
not often
hardly ever
never
We usually put the adverb of frequency before the verb.
Dan always makes me laugh.
Sometimes and usually can go at the beginning of a sentence.
Sometimes we have lunch in the kitchen.
With the verb be we put the adverb of frequency after the verb.
Some people are always happy.
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Pre-intermediate
Grammar reference Basic 07 Lifestyle (continued)
Time expressions
every day/week/month/year/Friday
on Mondays/Fridays
once a day/week/month/year
twice a day/week/month/year
three/four/five ... times a day/week/month/year
We usually put time expressions at the end of the sentence.
Jill visits her mum every week.
Katie phones me twice a month.
We can put some of these expressions at the beginning of a sentence.
On Saturdays, I get up really early.
Pre-intermediate
Grammar reference Basic 08 Amazing journeys
Past simple
We use the past simple to talk about finished actions and events in the past.
Alain Robert started climbing tall buildings when he was seven.
In 2012, he climbed the Torch Tower in Qatar.
Alain took about one and a half hours to climb it.
Past simple: regular verbs
Regular verbs Past simple form Example
most verbs + -ed
help ➞ helped
walk ➞ walked
jump ➞ jumped
land ➞ landed
ends in - e + -d
cycle ➞ cycled
dive ➞ dived
like ➞ liked
arrive ➞ arrived
ends in vowel + - y + -ed
enjoy ➞ enjoyed
stay ➞ stayed
play ➞ played
ends in consonant + -y y ➞ i + -ed
try ➞ tried
reply ➞ replied
study ➞ studied
carry ➞ carried
ends in short vowel +
consonant
double last letter + -ed
travel ➞ travelled
stop ➞ stopped
Past simple: irregular verbs
Irregular verbs don’t follow the same rules for forming the past simple. You have to learn them.
Look at the Irregular Verb List for more examples.
become ➞ became get ➞ got say ➞ said
do ➞ did go ➞ went set ➞ set
drive ➞ drove have ➞ had speak ➞ spoke
eat ➞ ate hear ➞ heard swim ➞ swam
fall ➞ fell hit ➞ hit take ➞ took
feel ➞ felt hurt ➞ hurt tell ➞ told
fly ➞ flew make ➞ made think ➞ thought
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Pre-intermediate
Grammar reference Basic 08 Amazing journeys (continued)
Past time expressions
We often use past time expressions with the past simple.
three days/two weeks/six months/four years/a few minutes ago
last week/month/year
in 2002/1990/1679/October 2012/March 1965
They usually go at the end of the sentence.
I saw Alain Roberts on TV yesterday.
I read about Shin Ito last year.
Natalia Molchanova free dived under the Blue Arch ten years ago.
Yves Rossy flew over the Swiss Alps in 2008.
Past simple form
positive negative question
I cycled to work
yesterday.
I didn’t cycle to work
yesterday.
Did you cycle to
work yesterday?
We flew to Paris. We didn’t fly to Paris.
When did you fly
to Paris?
Pre-intermediate
Grammar reference Basic 08 Life changes (continued)
Verbs that take -ing and to with a change in meaning
Some verbs (e.g. remember, stop, try ) take -ing and to but with a change in meaning.
I remembered to take an umbrella with me.
I remember taking an umbrella with me.
The first sentence means the person remembered to do something (take an umbrella)
and then did it, and the second sentence means the person remembers the action of
doing something (take an umbrella) in the past.
I stopped to talk with my classmate in the corridor.
I stopped talking with my classmate when the class began.
The first sentence means the person stopped doing something (walking in the corridor)
in order to do something else (talk with their classmate), and the second sentence
means the person stopped doing something (talking with their classmate).
You should try to eat more fruit.
You should try eating more fruit.
The first sentence means you should make an effort to eat more fruit, and the second
sentence means you should see if eating more fruit will help you (to feel better, for example).
Pre-intermediate
Grammar reference Basic 09 Objects
Quantifiers
Some and any
Quantifiers go before nouns and describe how much of something there is.
She ate some fruit after lunch.
Could I borrow some paper, please?
Would you like some tea?
They don’t have any pencils.
Do you have any money?
Some
Some is used with countable and uncountable nouns and is usually used
in positive sentences.
There were some ducks in the pond near my house.
I need to buy some milk for my cereal.
Some is also used for making requests.
Can you get some eggs from the supermarket?
Could I please have some coffee?
Some can be used for making offers.
Would you like some help?
Could I bring you some plants for your garden?
Any
Any is used with countable and uncountable nouns and is usually used in
negative sentences and questions.
We don’t have any food in the fridge right now.
Have you got any coins?
Quantifiers
a few, a little, a lot of, too much, too many and enough
These quantifiers describe more exactly how much of something there is.
We have a few notebooks.
I only have a little time to study.
He’s got a lot of money.
He has too much work to do.
She’s got too many shoes.
Does your sister have enough time to help me?
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Pre-intermediate
Grammar reference Basic 09 Family
Present perfect or past simple?
We use the present perfect and the past simple to talk about the past.
Present perfect Past simple
The Coppola family has had a big
influence on popular culture.
Francis Ford Coppola made
The Godfather in 1972.
Sofia Coppola has directed
several films.
In 2011, Sofia married Thomas Mars.
When do we use each tense?
Present perfect Past simple
We use the present perfect to
give general information about
past actions when the time is not
mentioned.
Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal have
appeared in a lot of films.
We use the past simple to talk
about past events when the time is
mentioned or understood.
Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal acted
together in Donnie Darko in 2001.
We often use the present perfect
to announce news and other
information ...
I ’ve just seen Brad Pitt!
... but then we use the past simple
(and other narrative tenses) to ask
and talk about the details.
Where was he? What was he
doing? Did he speak to you?
Time expressions
We often use these time expressions with the present perfect:
Have you ever read The Dark Knight?
I ’ve never seen Donnie Darko.
We ’ve just bought tickets for the Nora Jones concert!
You ’ve already told me about that.
Have you heard her new single yet?
How many times have you been to the cinema this year?
She ’s watched all Jake Gyllenhaal’s films so far.
We often use time expressions like these with the past simple:
I bought the tickets yesterday.
We saw the new Batman film last week.
Toy Story 3 was released in 2010.
Uday Shankar lived from 1900 until 1977.
On Saturday Rob took Marie to the cinema.
Present perfect with since and for
We use the present perfect with since and for to talk about something that started in the past and is still true now.
We use since with a point in time.
I’ve lived in Berlin since 2012.
They’ve been here since seven o’clock.
We’ve known each other since we were ten years old.
We use for with a period of time.
I’ve lived in Berlin for three years.
I’ve worked here for ages.
I haven’t seen Ellie for two weeks.
Pre-intermediate
Grammar reference Basic 10 Expeditions
Future forms
be going to (plans and intentions)
We use be going to when we talk about plans and intentions.
They ’re going to drive a fire engine called Martha.
I ’m going to drive the fire engine across Australia to Brisbane.
We ’re then going to put the fire engine on a ship.
be going to (predictions)
We use be going to when we make predictions about the future.
It ’s going to be really hot in Australia.
I ’m going to miss my bed.
be going to form
positive and negative
I
’m
’m not
going to
drive a fire
engine.
You
We
They
’re
aren’t
He
She
It
’s
isn’t
question
Am I
going to
drive a fire
engine?
Are
you
we
they
Is
he
she
it
present continuous (for fixed future arrangements)
We use the present continuous to talk about future arrangements that are planned and
fixed. We often use a future time expression.
Amy ’s flying to Australia next week.
Steve is driving for the whole nine months.
Some people are staying for two weeks.
Here are some more examples of future time expressions:
on Wednesday next year soon in two days’ time after work today in September
will (for predictions)
We can also use will – like be going to – when we make predictions about the future.
In total, they ’ll drive through five continents and 28 countries.
Amy won’t need winter clothes in Australia.
will form
positive and negative
I
You
We
They
He
She
It
will
won’t
have a good time.
meet interesting
people.
question
Will
I
you
we
they
he
she
it
take a long time?
miss London?
Pre-intermediate
Grammar reference Basic 11 The news
First conditional and future time clauses
First conditional
Use the first conditional to talk about the consequence, or result, of a possible future action.
possible future action consequence / result
Gina might phone. I’ll tell her about the party on the phone.
➝ If Gina phones, I’ll tell her about the party.
➝ I’ll tell Gina about the party if she phones.
The if- clause can come first or second. When the if- clause comes first we usually put
a comma before the next clause.
First conditional form
condition clause
( if + present simple)
result clause ( will / won’t +
infinitive without to )
If you make dinner, I’ll do the washing up.
If the phone doesn’t ring, we’ll know everything’s OK.
If this story appears in
the newspaper,
I won’t be surprised.
If someone asks you
what happened,
what will you say?
The condition clause can go before or after the result clause.
result clause ( will / won’t +
infinitive without to )
condition clause
( if + present simple)
I’ll do the washing up if you make dinner.
We’ll know everything’s OK if the phone doesn’t ring.
I won’t be surprised
if this story appears in the
newspaper.
What will you say
if someone asks you what
happened?
! Remember, don’t use will or won’t in the condition clause.
I’ll watch the news this evening if I will have time.
Future time clauses
We use the present simple to talk about future events after the words when, while, as soon as, before and after.
- when
We use when to talk about two events which will happen one after the other.
I’ll check the news when I get home.
- while
We use while to talk about two events that will happen at the same time.
Can you clean the kitchen while I have a bath?
- as soon as
We use as soon as to show that one event will happen very quickly after another.
We’ll do our homework as soon as the film finishes.
- before and after
We use before and after when we want to show which event will happen first.
I want to read the newspaper before you throw it away.
I’ll take some photos after everyone arrives.
Pre-intermediate
Grammar reference Basic 11 Healthy nation
The passive
present simple passive past simple passive
Marinara sauce is served with
pasta, meat or fish.
It was created in Naples in the
16th century.
Rice, vegetables, and seafood
are rolled in sheets of dried
seaweed.
Modern sushi dishes were
invented about 200 years ago.
Why do we use the passive?
In the passive sentences, the people who do the actions are
not very important, or not important at all.
active passive
People all over the world
enjoy Italian food.
Italian food is enjoyed by
people all over the world.
People eat sushi in Japan. Sushi is eaten in Japan.
Someone serves the
vegetables on rice.
The vegetables are served
on rice.
He opened the restaurant
in 1979.
The restaurant was opened
in 1979.
The passive form
positive
verb be
past
participle
Raw fish is placed over rice.
All the
ingredients
are cooked together.
The
restaurant
was opened in 1979.
The onions were fried in a lot of oil.
negative
verb be
past
participle
Raw fish is n’t placed over rice.
All the
ingredients
are n’t cooked together.
The
restaurant
was n’t opened in 1979.
The onions were n’t fried in a lot of oil.
question
verb be
past
participle
Is raw fish placed over rice?
Are
all the
ingredients
cooked together?
Was
the
restaurant
opened in 1979?
Were the onions fried in a lot of oil?
by + agent
When we want to say who does the action in a passive sentence, we use by and the person or people (the agent).
Sushi is enjoyed by people all over the world.
The sushi that we know today was invented by Hanaya Yohei.
Pre-intermediate
Grammar reference Basic 12 Work-life balance
Uses of the infinitive with to
We use the infinitive with to to give a reason for doing something, with
adjectives and after certain verbs like want, love and plan.
She’s looking at her phone to see if there are any updates.
It’s lovely to walk around this town.
I plan to study abroad next year.
Infinitive with to to give a reason for doing something
We use the infinitive with to to explain why we are doing something. We
call this the infinitive of purpose. The purpose is the reason for doing something.
He arrived early to help with the party.
I’m calling to share some good news with you.
Her boyfriend bought her some flowers to apologize for their argument.
Infinitive with to with adjectives
We often use the infinitive with to when a verb comes after an adjective.
Common adjectives are:
afraid dangerous hard nice
alright difficult interesting safe
ashamed easy important strange
available good keen tiring
careful great lovely
comfortable happy lucky
It’s great to see you!
It’s dangerous to go cycling without a helmet.
I’m available to help if you need me.
Infinitive with to after certain verbs
We use the infinitive with to after certain verbs, especially verbs of feeling and
thinking. Common verbs are:
agree hate love remember
choose have manage try
decide hope need want
expect learn plan would like
forget like prefer
I decided to stay home tonight.
Would you like to have some salad with your dinner?
We managed to finish the meeting early.
Remember to wear a tie at your interview = don’t forget to wear a tie.
We make negative sentences by putting not before the infinitive.
It’s nice not to work at the weekend.
I prefer not to go out tonight.
