Back to Basics Grammar

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BACK TO BASICS GRAMMAR REFERENCE Use these notes to complete this module. If you have a grammar book please also use it. Unit 2 1 Module 1

Transcript of Back to Basics Grammar

Page 1: Back to Basics Grammar

BACK TO BASICSGRAMMAR REFERENCE

Use these notes to complete this module. If you have a grammar book please also use it.

Unit 2 1 Module 1

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ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS - the assistants

Adjectives and adverbs make language more interesting. They allow us to express things in detail. What did it/they look like, how was it done?

Adjectives assist nouns and include words such as, big, small, beautiful. They also include colours, numbers and nationalities.

What did the cake taste like? It was delicious cake. What colour was the car? It was metallic blue.

Compound adjectives: Hyphenated words which, when skilfully used, can avoid an otherwise lengthy description.eg Twenty-year-old John ……..

A string of adjectives:eg It was a wet windy night. If using three or more use a comma after all, except the last eg It was a cold, wet, windy night.

Comparative adjectives: Regular: add 'er' eg old, olderIrregular: eg good, better

Superlative adjectives: Add 'est' or 'most' eg oldest, the most beautiful.

Adverbs assist verbs

A verb tells us what is being or was/will be done and the adverb tells us how.

Most adverbs are adjectives + 'ly'. eg quickly - He ran quickly.beautifully - She sang beautifully.

Not all adverbs end in 'ly' He ran as fast as he couldYou will have to work hard to gain your TEFL certificate.

Spelling When the adjective ends in 'y' change the 'y' to 'i' and add '-ly' (exceptions shy, shyly; sly, slyly)

When the adjective ends in '-ly', the same rule applies, sometimes with rather alarming results, eg ugly becomes uglily. In such cases it's usually better to find another word or construction

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Beware 'hopefully' is an adverb which is frequently misused. Remember 'hopefully' does not mean 'I hope that' it means 'full of hope', so it is a complement to a verb. eg The inquisitive child searched the Internet hopefully.

How and well are adverbs. How do you do?Very well, thank you.

Some words can be both an adjective and an adverb

How come?It depends on the sentence. eg He drove a ‘fast’ car.

‘Fast’ describes the car (noun), therefore it is an adjective.He drove the car ‘fast’.This time ‘fast’ describes the manner in which he was driving (verb), therefore it is an adverb.

Adverbs can qualify adjectives

eg It was an extremely expensive restaurant.

Adverbs can qualify adverbs

eg He ran amazingly quickly to break the record.

Adverbs can be formed by adding '-ly' to the present/past participle

eg hurried(ly) supposed(ly) undoubted(ly) joking(ly) loving(ly)

Comparative adverbs more quickly, more gently

Superlative adverbs most quickly, most gently

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SELF-CHECK: ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

Find as many adjectives as you can to describe the weather.

Find as many adverbs as you can to describe someone's attempts at speaking another language.

Use an adjective and an adverb together to describe the weather.

Use two adverbs together to describe someone's attempts at speaking another language.

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ARTICLES

The indefinite article - a/an

an is used before a singular word/letter beginning with a vowel or vowel sound: an apple, an egg, an island, an opal, an umbrella, an Yves St Laurent dress, an e-mail, an F.A. Cup match

before a silent h: an hour; half an hour; an hour and a half

a is used before ALL consonants except silent h: a bank, a cow, a door, etc

before vowels which begin with the sound of a consonant: a unit, a university, a one-bedroomed flat

a/an is used before a singular countable noun: I need a ticket for the concert.It’s time you had a holiday.

before expressions of quantity: a lot of, a couple, a great many.

with certain numbers/fractions: a hundred, a thousand, a third(one third is also acceptable)

before half, when half follows a whole number: one and a half kilos, a half-share.

when quoting a price: 5p a kilo, £1 a metre.

to mean ‘one’: Did you buy or rent a house? I bought one.

In exclamations before singular, countable nouns: Such an exciting match.

omit a/an before plural nouns

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The definite article - the

the is used When the object is unique or considered to be so: the earth, the equator.

Before a noun which has become definite as a result of being mentioned a second time: He scored a goal seconds before the final whistle. It was probably the most important goal of his career.

Before a noun made definite by the addition of a phrase or clause: The car in the showroom.

Before a noun which by reason of locality can represent only one thing: The boys are playing football in the park. Please set the video to record the Manchester United match.

Before superlatives: the best, the worst.

The + singular noun can represent a class of animals, people or things: The Giant Panda is close to extinction. The hotelier has suffered during the foot and mouth crisis. (not just one but many hoteliers throughout the country)

Before certain proper names: the Atlantic, the Netherlands, the Sahara; and names consisting of noun + of + noun: the Gulf of Mexico, the Tower of London.

When referring to a family: the Smiths (ie Mr & Mrs Smith and possibly their children as well)

Before Titles containing of: The Duke of Liverpool, The King of Spain.

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USE OF CAPITALS

Whilst there are some rules for the employment of capitals, in many instances it is a matter of taste; but in all instances consistency is important.

Always start a sentence with a capital letter.

If the sentence starts with a number, write the number in words.

Initial capitals should be used for proper nouns eg The test will be held on the last Saturday in July. They are going to live in North Yorkshire. We use a capital N here because North Yorkshire is a specific place. If we are referring to an area in general do not use capital letters eg Cornwall is in the south-west of England.

Personal titles need a capital letter. Mrs Jones, His Grace the Duke of Tesolshire.

Key words in titles of publications, stage productions and musical works etc. ‘A Place in the Sun’, ‘Much Ado about Nothing’, ‘The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’.

Names of buildings, organisations etc. The House of Commons, The British Broadcasting Corporation, Sir John Talbot’s Primary School.

Acronyms (words formed from either the initial letters of other words or a mixture of words and syllables) NATO, NUT, ROSPA, NIMBY.

Only write whole words in capitals if you are requested to, ie when completing a form you may be asked to ‘WRITE IN BLOCK CAPITALS’, or, if you wish to draw attention to something important, ‘NO SMOKING’, ‘DANGER’, ‘FIRE EXIT’.

Never write entirely in capitals. From the following short passage you will see that it is (a) difficult to read and (b) confusing.

WHEN SHE HAD COMPLETED HER UNIVERSITY COURSE SHE DECIDED TO APPLY FOR A JOB AS A TRAVEL CORRESPONDENT WITH THE BBC. SHE WAS ASKED TO ATTEND AN INTERVIEW AT 3PM ON THE FOLLOWING TUESDAY. THEY SENT HER DIRECTIONS PRINTED IN CAPITAL LETTERS THROUGHOUT. SHE PLACED THESE ON THE SEAT BESIDE HER AND TRIED TO GLANCE AT THEM EACH TIME SHE STOPPED AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS OR BECAUSE OF A HOLD-UP. UNFORTUNATELY, BEING A STRANGER TO THE LONDON AREA, SHE MANAGED TO GET INTO THE WRONG LANE OF THE M25 AND MISSED HER JUNCTION. SEVERAL DAYS AND SOME 1500 MILES LATER SHE COULD STILL BE SEEN DRIVING IN THE CLOCKWISE DIRECTION. SHE DIDN’T DARE STOP BECAUSE BY NOW HER ROAD TAX HAD EXPIRED. NEEDLESS TO SAY SHE DIDN’T GET THE JOB!

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PUNCTUATION

Full stops, commas, colons, semi-colons, dashes, brackets (round) and [square], hyphens, question marks, exclamation marks, quotation marks (single and double).

Let's start with the easy ones

THE FULL STOP . (also known as 'period' or 'point').

It's used to

indicate that a sentence has been completed

denote an abbreviation, though the trend now is to omit the full stop.

Old method New method

Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Mr & Mrs Smith12, New Rd., 12 New RdSt. Ives, St IvesCornwall. Cornwall

4 a.m. 4 am

It is still used when abbreviating days and months eg Mon. 10 Sept. However, unless space is limited, it is frowned upon to abbreviate in this way.

THE COMMA ,

Use

When listing three or more items in a sentence. eg She won medals for swimming, riding and playing hockey.

When merging two sentences with a conjunction. eg You can gain an INTESOL qualification not only by distance learning, but also by attending a two-week residential course.

When adding words to the beginning or end of a sentence. eg Unquestionably, EFL teaching is a demanding but fun thing to do. eg We didn't have enough money for a taxi, so we walked instead.

When inserting some non-essential component into a sentence. eg A German shepherd dog, also known as an Alsatian, won the top prize at Crufts.

When introducing a quotation. eg As he hauled himself up from the hole in the pavement, the man was heard to say, "I'll sue the person who left that manhole cover off".

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THE COLON :

Use

When introducing a list which has been preceded by an independent clause.eg Companies which participated in the event included: ASBC, DEF and XYZ.

To separate the result from that which precedes it. The trains were often late and unreliable: he decided to look for a job nearer his home. The use of the colon brings home to the reader the seriousness of the situation.

THE SEMI-COLON ;

Somewhere between a full stop and a comma. It is used

to indicate a slight break in a sentence. No one was able to complete the test; there was a misprint on the paper.

when making lists such as invitees to an event. The guests included: Tom Smith, General Secretary; James Brown, Accountant; etc

THE DASH -

Used as

a pause, when the dash separates a part of the sentence which has a strong connection with the other part of the sentence. It was not a daffodil - it was a narcissus, dancing in the breeze.

an indication of parenthesis. A pair of dashes (or commas) separate a non-essential component. Brackets could do the same job.

a link. If music be the food of love - W. Shakespeare.

THE HYPHEN -

Used to

link separate words to make one compound word. orange-box, without the hyphen this would mean an orange-coloured box. paper-fastener, without it would mean a fastener made of paper.

to form an adjective. well-dressed, 250-volt. Shakespeare's 'lily-liver'd loon'.

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QUOTATION MARKS ' "

Single and double. Modern practice is to use single marks for all quotations unless there is a quotation within a quotation.

THE EXCLAMATION MARK !

Limit its use to exclamatory sentences and phrases. Get out! What a beautiful baby!

THE QUESTION MARK ?

The only real problem here is not using it when it is required or using it when it is not needed.

Will you please complete the enclosed application form?

I wonder if you could call into this office next week. This is not a question it's a statement.

BRACKETS (round) [square]

Round brackets enclose a word, clause or phrase inserted in a sentence which is grammatically complete without it.

The students (from all parts of the world) who study with INTESOL have to work very hard to gain their qualification.

Square brackets are generally used to enclose something extra, by way of explanation, but not part of the sentence. eg I walk [verb] to work each day.

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THE APOSTROPHE

Who would believe that such a little mark could be so universally misunderstood. Indeed it is probably the most misunderstood and frequently misused punctuation mark in the English language.

It really is quite simple.

Providing it is well taught, students should rarely have a problem with its use. To someone who knows how to use it, its misuse can prove to be cause for real irritation and concern. So here goes, let's make sure that in future everyone who learns English becomes an expert in the use of the apostrophe. Many people live in fear and dread of the apostrophe and either pretend it doesn't exist, or liberally splatter the page with apostrophes on every 's'. However, to use the apostrophe incorrectly is more of a crime than not to use one at all.

If in doubt leave it outWhen you know, let it show.

IT'S USED TO

show that something has been omitted

Hello, I'm Jack, what's your name? The 'a' in 'am' has been substituted by an apostrophe, also the 'i' in 'is'.

I'd = I had you've = you have don't = do not

Mornin' thro'

We're going to the cinema. Who'd like to join us?

indicate ownership

The dog owned by Jane won the 'Best of Breed' at Crufts.

Becomes

Jane's dog won ……..

This is fairly straightforward; the apostrophe shows that Jane owns the dog.

What happens if the name of the person who owns the dog ends in 's', eg. James or Phyllis?

This would become James's dog or Phyllis's dog

Even though this is grammatically correct, it is more usual to omit the final 's' and simply put the apostrophe at the end of the name; this automatically indicates possession.

James' dog won …….. Phyllis' dog won ………….

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singular and plural

Mr Jones and Mrs Jones = The Joneses (this indicates more than one, nothing has been omitted and as yet we have not mentioned anything belonging to them). However, if we discuss the car belonging to Mr and Mrs Jones

this becomes

The Jones's car or The Jones' car.

One cake, ten cakes - it doesn’t matter how many there are, an apostrophe is not required. However as soon as something belongs to the cake an apostrophe is required eg The cake's stand was almost a metre high.

NB Please note that ‘its’ showing ownership does not follow the apostrophe rule.

eg The gate creaked on its hinges.

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SELF-CHECK:

THE USE OF CAPITALS, PUNCTUATION AND THE APOSTROPHE

Read through the following passage and make the necessary corrections. Look out for the misuse of capital letters and punctuation; apostrophes either left out or put in the wrong place and there may be the odd spelling error and grammatical error lurking around somewhere. See how many you can find. Thirty-seven = excellent, below thirty = more revision!

Cheshires Deep South – Its Worth a Visit!

south Cheshire is an area of fasinating contrast’s and great beauty, It is

renowned for it’s Cheese, picturesque black and white ‘magpie’ houses,

Pastoral Countryside and canals.

It is regarded as one of the finest diary farming areas’ in the country and

has more cow’s to the acre than anywhere else in the World.

Most of the famous cheshire cheese is now made in creamery’s, but

some farms are still producing the top qwality ‘Farmhouse’ cheese.

From any vantage point, on the Peckforton and bickerton Hills, the

impression over the surrounding countryside is of an endless patchwork

quilt of hedges and fields’ with small copse’s and hedgerow trees. on a

Sunny day, hundreds of ponds (many of them old marl pits) glint and

shine, Well-managed hedges and ponds are excellent habitat’s for Wild

flowers and Birds.

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The Town of nantwich as much to offer architecturally and historically.

The parish Church is known has the “cathedral of South Cheshire”.

Nantwich museum brings together various aspects, of the towns history

an gives fascinating glimpses of the life of people though the years.

There are also a permanent display of cheese making once a major

industry on local farms:

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SELF-CHECK:THE USE OF CAPITALS, PUNCTUATION AND THE APOSTROPHE

CORRECT VERSION

Cheshir e’s Deep South – It’s Worth a Visit!

South Cheshire is an area of fascinating contrasts and great beauty. It is

renowned for its cheese, picturesque black and white ‘magpie’ houses,

pastoral countryside and canals.

It is regarded as one of the finest dairy farming areas in the country and has

more cows to the acre than anywhere else in the world.

Most of the famous Cheshire cheese is now made in creameries, but some

farms are still producing the top quality ‘Farmhouse’ cheese.

From any vantage point (no comma here) on the Peckforton and Bickerton

Hills, the impression over the surrounding countryside is of an endless

patchwork quilt of hedges and fields with small copses and hedgerow trees.

On a sunny day, hundreds of ponds (many of them old marl pits)

glint and shine. Well-managed hedges and ponds are excellent habitats for

wild flowers and birds.

The town of Nantwich has much to offer architecturally and historically. The

parish church is known as the “cathedral of South Cheshire”. Nantwich

Museum brings together various aspects (no comma here) of the town’s

history and gives fascinating glimpses of the life of people through the years.

There is also a permanent display of cheese making, once a major industry

on local farms.

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COUNT AND MASS NOUNS

Also known as countable and uncountable/non-count nouns

Nouns are things - animate or inanimate, real or imaginary, visible or invisible.

Proper nouns are names of people, places and trade names etc.

Countable nouns are things which can be singular or plural. In the singular the noun must be preceded by an article.

eg I have a cat. I bought a house.

But in the plural this becomes:-

I have two cats. I sell houses for a living.

Mass (uncountable/ Something which is always singular, irrespective of non-count nouns) quantity.

eg bread, air, petrol.

Serve on a slice of bread. Use two slices of bread.

Abstract nouns Words such as, information, hope, fear.These are generally regarded as uncountable.

eg He set out with boots on his feet, hope in hisheart and an almighty great rucksack on his back..

But not always.eg Carrying a great rucksack like that one wonders whether his hopes of crossing the USA on foot willbe achieved.

SELF-CHECK: COUNT AND MASS NOUNS

Put the following into the correct column: child, music, tennis, ice, money, city, furniture, fear, knowledge, briefcase.

Countable Mass Countable or MassSingular Plural

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THE GERUND

The ‘ing’ form of the verb used rather like a noun, eg. jumping, walking, singing, speaking etc.

Using the gerund

as the subject Singing in tune is not everyone’s forte.of a sentence

Prohibitions No smoking. No riding on the grass verges.

after prepositions Are you interested in cooking?How about studying for a TEFL qualification?

Verb + gerund They avoided skidding by attaching chains to the car wheels.

She suggested jumping up and down to keep warm.

Most children dislike spelling.

The perfect gerund Used when referring to a past action.

He was praised for having helped so many students tolearn English.

The passive gerund Present: Her effort was rewarded by being given a substantial pay rise.

Past: A substantial pay rise indicated her effort having been acknowledged.

Take your pick Some verbs can take the infinitive or gerund without the meaning being altered.

eg begin/start. I began (started) dieting last week. I began (started) to diet last week.

Other verbs include: continue, cease, can/could bear, intend, advise, allow, permit, recommend.

Regret, remember, Use these if the gerund is the first action.Forget (negative) eg I remember dreaming about owning a house in France. ie The

dream came first, then I remembered.

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I’ll never forget missing the flight; I was stranded for a week.

to express fear, He never exceeded the speed limit. He was afraid of sorrow or shame getting booked.

They were sorry for creating so much mess.

SELF-CHECK: THE GERUND

Put the correct forms of the verb(s) in the space(s) provided.

1. They entered by ……………the lock. (to force)

2. By ……………hard they succeeded in ……………. the INTESOL certificate.

(to work, to gain)

3. I am looking forward to ………………. you. (to meet)

4. Don’t forget ……………the cat out before ………….. to bed.

(to go, to put)

5. He hates ……………. up early so he had …………………. two alarm clocks.

(to get, to set)

6. When the skater felt the ice ………… ……………….. he hurried to the edge

of the lake …………………. himself from …………….. (to begin, to stop,

to drown, to crack)

7. David Beckham won't be fit enough …………….. against Arsenal so Ryan

Giggs will be ………………… instead. (to play)

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PREPOSITIONS

Words that help us to answer questions such as, when and where, and link elements eg noun, pronoun or participles.

Position

Usually, but not always, written before (pre) the noun etc.

We are told to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition and whilst it is perhaps best to conform in formal writing or speech, it is considered acceptable in informal language to move the preposition to the end eg

Where is the shop from which you bought your dress? - Where's the shop you bought it from?

With whom are you going? - Who are you going with?

Phrasal verbs

We frequently tag a preposition on to the end of a verb to convey a specific meaning eg try out, add up, give up, cough up.

Prepositions and adjectives/participles

owing to confident of sorry for/about pleased with

Prepositions relating to:

Time Movement Placeat at abovebefore in belowby by beneathin on overon into underfrom onto insidesince from outsidefor of betweenduring out in front ofafter to oppositeuntil, till down around

up acrosspast alongacross among, amongsttowards amidalong

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SELF-CHECK: PREPOSITIONS

Add a preposition or prepositions from the list below to the following to form a prepositional phrase.

ask break take

believe call run

hope come put

prepare die think

get turn sit

Prepositions: for, off, across, away, over, of, up, after, down, along, out, back, into, in, to, about, through, on, up.

Write sentences to show how make up can be used in six different ways.

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SPELLING RULES

DOUBLE OR SINGLE CONSONANT?

Remember, a double consonant softens the vowel:

file fill pile pill

ei or ie?

We all know the rule ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’

Pronounced ‘ee’ Pronounced ‘ee’ or ‘eye’

ie ei after c ei exceptionsfield ceiling counterfeit eithergrief conceive seize neitherniece deceive weirrelief perceive weirdthief receive

CONSONANTS – TO DOUBLE OR NOT TO DOUBLE

verbs/nouns

If, in its basic form, the consonant is preceded by only one vowel, then double it for the past tense/participles and related noun, if applicable.

Verb Past tense and past participle

Present participle

Noun

occur occurred occurring occurrencecancel cancelled cancelling cancellationtravel travelled travelling travelrob robbed robbing robber

two vowels use a single consonant

sail sailed sailing sailorfeel Felt feeling feelingneed needed needing

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a vowel sound + a consonant single 'l'

crawl crawled crawling crawltrawl trawled trawling trawlDouble 'l'cull culled culling cull

*Exceptions - verbs ending in 'en' - open, sharpen 'er' - offer

verbs ending in 'e'

Basic verb Past tense + d Present participle drop 'e' add 'ing'

elope eloped elopingrule ruled rulingdecide decided deciding

if 'y' follows a consonant

Basic Verb Past tense drop 'y' add 'ied'

Present participle add 'ing'

cry cried cryinglobby lobbied lobbying

if 'y' follows a vowel, the 'y' remains

Basic verb Past tense Present participleplay played playing

verbs ending in 'c' are given a 'k'

panic - panicking mimic - mimicking

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PLURALS

Most English nouns form plurals by adding 'e' or 'es'

books flowers plates businesses kisses

Exceptions

Singular Plural Singular Pluralum A a aemaximum maxima formula formulaeis Es on aanalysis analyses criterion criteriaus Ibacillus bacillicactus cactiradius radii

enbrother brethrenchild childrenman menwoman women

'y' becomes 'ies'

city - cities beauty - beauties

ending with 'o' add 'es' potato(es) tomato(es) veto(es)or 's' radio(s) folio(s) auto(s)

Nouns ending in 'f' or 'fe' are inconsistent. Some take 'fs' others 'ves'

Singular Plural Singular Pluralchef chefs half halvesroof roofs knife knives

Nouns ending in 'ch' 'sh' 'ss' or 'x' take 'es'

churches flashes masses coxes

Most nouns ending in 's' take 'es'

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PROBLEM AREAS

The following are consistently mis-spelled or mis-used.

practise (verb) practice (noun)

license (verb) licence (noun)

accept (verb) except (preposition)

affect (verb) effect (verb or noun)

all right always two words

aural, oral sound similar but aural refers to the ear and oral refers to the mouth

biannual twice a yearbiennial once every two years

compliment a courteous expressioncomplement something that goes well with something else

dependent (adjective) relying on something or someonedependant (noun) something or someone which or who relies on something

or someone else

disinterested unbiased, impartialuninterested not interested

elicit extract ie informationillicit unlawful

ensure to make sureinsure to protect something against misfortune

its possessive never has an apostropheit's abbreviation for 'it is'

their possessive pronounthere at or in that place - adverb

who's who is or who haswhose the one belonging to a person or an inanimate object

eg the person whose car has broken down the club whose secretary was arrested last week

less applies to things measured by amount not size,quality or number eg The sale price was less than half the normal price.

fewer answers the question 'how many?'eg Fewer people attended than had been expected.

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TENSES

The word ‘tense’ is a grammatical term for time. In all European languages we can communicate in various forms of the Present, Past or Future Tense. We can say what we do, what we did or what we will do.

1. The Present Tenses

There are two core present tenses

a) The Present Simple, so called as it consists of one verb component, underlined below in the examples:

They speakShe replies (add -s or -es for the third person singular)We hear

When do we use it?- To express thoughts and feelings.

eg I think he is married.

- For repeated and routine actions.eg She gets up at 7 o’clock.

- To describe permanent situations.eg They live in Bristol.

NB The Present Simple can also be used to refer to future time

eg The bus leaves at 10 o’clock on Saturday morning. John’s plane lands later this afternoon.

b) The Present Continuous/Progressive is a compound tense containing two verb components:

the present tense of the verb ‘to be’ plus the present participle or gerund of the main verb, indicated below:

to be gerundThey are speakingNobody is listeningI am studying

Usually when the verb infinitive ends in -e this will be omitted before adding -ing and often when the infinitive is monosyllabic and ending in a consonant the latter is doubled.

eg verb infinitive gerund rise rising hit hitting sip sipping

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When do we use it?- To say what is happening now

(the action has already started and has not ended: this would include comments about the weather and what people are wearing)

eg At the moment they are sitting in front of the television.

- To describe temporary situationseg Sheila is living with some friends until she can find a flat of her own.

- To express regrettable actionseg I am always losing my keys.

NB The Present Continuous/Progressive can also be used when talking about plans for the future

eg Our neighbours are emigrating early next year We’re travelling to Italy by train in the summer

c) The Present Perfect (Simple) and Present Perfect Continuous/Progressive

These are two tenses that join the past to the present

Present Perfect (Simple)

eg I’ve lost my keys [therefore I cannot open the door now] We have lived in Bath for ten years [and we still do]

With the Present Perfect Continuous/Progressive there is no sense of

the action being completely finished

eg A: Look at your hands! What have you been doing?B: I’ve been mending my bicycle [The job is not complete. B

is in the middle of doing it and he’s probably taking a break]

Contrast this with the Present Perfect Simple:

I’ve mended my bicycle [ie the job is done and the bike is now available for use].

NB When using verbs such as work or live there is no difference in meaning between continuous and simple.

eg Dawn has been working in the Slough office for two years. has worked

I ‘ve lived in Rochdale for some time. have been living

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Both of the above are compound tenses. The Simple tense has two components: the Present tense of the verb ‘to have’ and the past participle of the main verb

eg He has walked the Pennine Way. [completed]

The Continuous tense has three components:

1) the Present tense of ‘to have’2) been (the present participle of ‘to be’)3) the gerund of the main verb

eg He has been walking the Pennine Way. [not necessarily completed]

The regular form of the Past Simple ends in -ed and this will be the same as the past participle in such tenses as the Present Perfect and the Past Perfect. However with irregular forms this is not always the case. Note a few common examples below.

verb infinitive past simple past participle

to begin began begunto swim swam swumto bite bit bitten

. . . and there are many more!

As teachers of English we must ensure that we use these correctly ourselves.

2. The Past Tenses

a) The Past Simple is the only past tense with one component.Non-native speakers often confuse it with the Present Perfect. The Past Simple is used to describe actions that finished in the past. The inclusion of a time phrase reminds us that this is the case.

eg We visited the Channel Islands last summer. She lost her camera whilst on holiday. The shooting party left two hours ago.

b) The Past Continuous Whereas the Past Simple is used for complete actions in the past, the

Past Continuous (Past Simple of ‘to be’ plus the gerund of the main verb) is used to describe incomplete actions going on in the past. A single complete action can occur whilst a continuous action goes on in the background.

eg It was raining when I stepped outside

past continuous past simple

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The Past Continuous can also be used as a descriptive tense, particularly with people and weather.

eg He was wearing short grey trousers. The moon and stars were shining brightly.

c) The Past Perfect

This is a compound tense (Past Simple of ‘to have’ plus past participle of the main verb) which native speakers often avoid using.

eg ‘He said he had forgotten his dinner money’ is the correct version of ‘He said he forgot his dinner money’

Plainly the forgetting occurred before the saying. The Past Perfect is the past tense you use to say what happened earlier than a certain point of time in the past.

eg They asked me if I had seen the doctor on time. By 11 o’clock all the chocolate cake had disappeared.

The car we had paid for in cash proved to be unreliable.

d) The Past Perfect Continuous

This tense is ‘had been’ plus the gerund of the main verb.Imagine a continuous action leading up to a single event in the past.

eg Peter had been waiting for the bus for a good half hour when it suddenly appeared. Jean experienced blurred vision as she had been working on the computer for most of the evening.

e) Used to (do)

‘Used to’ plus infinitive means that something happened on a regular basis in the past.

eg We used to go to church on Sunday [but we don’t go any more]

We normally use didn’t use to in negatives

eg We didn’t use to take calculators into examinations. or We never used to take calculators into examinations.

We normally use did . . . use to in questions

eg Which medicine did she use to take? Did you use to watch that awful situation comedy?

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Was/were going to is used to express an intention in the past which frequently does not translate into action.

eg I was going to paint the ceiling at the weekend but I just didn’t have the time.

He was going to catch the early train but was prevented from doing so because he had to stay behind at work.

3. The Future Tense

a) Going to

This is used to talk about something we have decided to do in the near future (an intention).

eg James is going to take a holiday in Malta. We’re not going to listen to that sort of music. [can be taken as a refusal]

b) Will/shall

Will is commonly identified as a modal auxiliary that forms part of the future tense. It is accompanied by the infinitive of the main verb and together they form the neutral future.

eg She will visit us in the new year (She’ll) Which is usually well expressed as : She’s visiting us in the new year [see notes on Present Continuous]

Both will and shall are often used as the first word in a sentence to express a functon. Will, for example, is used to make a request eg Will you open the window, please?

or to give an order

eg Will you be quiet!

Shall is used to make a suggestion

eg Shall we go to the theatre tonight?

or when the speaker is volunteering to do something

eg Shall I fix the clock?

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Will, however, tends to be the more versatile of the two. In addition it can be used:

i. to predicteg It’ll rain tomorrow (It will)

ii. to show determinationeg I will win that race even if I have to train day and night.

iii. to make a promiseeg If you pass that examination I’ll buy you a car.

(I will)

iv. to express supposition and an instant decisioneg (There’s a knock at the door) That’ll be the postman. I’ll get it.

c) The Future Continuous

Will/shall and the verb ‘to be’ plus the gerund are used to describe an action over a period of time in the future.

eg This time next week we will be celebrating Dad’s birthday. At noon I shall be enjoying this lovely weather in the garden. It’s difficult to imagine what I’ll be doing in ten years’ time.

d) The Future Perfect

This takes the form of will have plus the past participle of the main verb and is used to express a completed action in the future.

eg By the time you arrive at the port the boat will have set sail. Will he have completed his thesis before he goes abroad?

e) The Future Perfect Continuous consists of four components:

will have been plus the gerund ( . . . ing)

The tense is used to predict how long something will last, viewed up to a point in the future.

eg On 20th January I will have been working for this company for thirty years. [Action started before time of speaking]

This time next week he will have been travelling for thirty-six hours. [Action will start after time of speaking]

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4. The Conditional Tense

This is made up of ‘would’ plus the infinitive of the main verb. ‘Should’ is possible instead of ‘would’ with the first person.

The Conditional occurs in the following cases:

i. In sentences with ’if’ and similar wordseg If I won the lottery I would first pay off all my debts.

[I’d]

Supposing/Imagine you were sent to a desert island, what luxury item would you take with you?

ii. In a report about the past which looks forward to the futureeg They assured us they would remove the eyesore the next day. I explained I wouldn’t be able to do it on my own.

[or couldn’t]

iii. When making polite requests or offers eg I should/would like some brandy with my coffee. Would you prefer to go to the sea or the mountains?

NB ‘Would’ and ‘should’ are used in other contexts

eg When I was small our teacher would always give us sixpence on our birthday. (meaning ‘used to give’)

People shouldn’t abuse the welfare state. (instead of ‘ought not to abuse’)

If we examine ‘if’ clauses more closely we will see there are three types of Conditional.

The first type we can refer to as the probable condition

eg If you finish your work on time, we’ll pay a visit to the science museum. (we will)

If we don’t score more points we’ll be soundly beaten. (we shall)

The second type we can classify as the improbable condition

eg If Tim got up on time he wouldn’t be late for his lecture. If I were you I’d cancel the policy now.

(I would)

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In the third type we find that the opposite really happened to what is expressed in the ‘if’ clause. It can be described as impossible because it has already taken place and cannot be changed.

eg You would have passed your exams if you had devoted more time to your studies.

[You didn’t devote more time and you didn’t pass]

If she hadn’t fallen asleep she would have seen the lunar eclipse. [She did fall asleep and she didn’t see the eclipse]

Notice the sequences of tenses in each of the three types of Conditional:

‘If’ Clause Main Clause

First Condition Present Simple will

Second Condition Past Simple would

Third Condition Past Perfect would have

SELF-CHECK: TENSES

Construct three sentences of the type above with the following jumbled words:

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If the instructions follow on the tin you get you results best the

SELF-CHECK

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VERBS

When you use a verb you are focusing on the action that takes place within a sentence. Without a verb you do not have a sentence.

STRUCTURE OF VERBS

In the section on tenses you will have observed there are simple and compound tenses (ie composed of more than one part). In a simple tense you only have the main verb)

For example: in he speaks, speaks is the main verb of to speak

in they arrived, arrived is the main verb of to arrive

In a compound tense you will find, as well as the main verb, an auxiliary (or ‘helping’) verb

For example: He has spoken They are arriving

Having studied the tenses of English already, can you say which other tenses make use of the verb ‘to have’?

eg the past perfect (or pluperfect)

He had refused

NB The past participle occurs only in compound tenses.

There is a third auxiliary verb: the verb ‘to do’ which is used to make questions and negatives in simple tenses.

eg Does she take sugar? Did I leave my umbrella behind? She doesn’t take sugar

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auxiliary verb: present tense of ‘to have’

main verb: past participle of ‘to speak’

auxiliary verb: present tense of ‘to be’

main verb: gerund of ‘to arrive’

auxiliary

verb: past simple of ‘to

main verb: past participle of ‘to refuse’

auxiliary verb: present tense of ‘to do’

main verb: infinitive without ‘to’

auxiliary verb: past simple of ‘to do’

main verb: infinitive

without ‘to’

negative auxiliary verb

main verb:

infinitive without ‘to’

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All three of the above verbs (have, be and do) can also be used as main verbs.

eg We have had an argument Look what the clown is doing

eg He is being silly

There are occasions when you may have more than one main verb. This is usually in a sentence where the passive voice is being used; here the subject of the sentence is not responsible for the action described by the verb, but instead is on the receiving end of that action.

eg The boy is being questioned by the police The artefacts have been stolen

SELF-CHECK: VERBS

Identify each of the underlined words saying whether they are main or auxiliary verbs, giving any extra information necessary, as in the course notes.

1. They are having a party.2. We sell shrimps.3. Do you take American Express?4. We have had the most wonderful time.5. My application has been rejected.6. They are being watched by the Secret Service.7. Have you read that story?8. They don’t shoot rabbits, do they?

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auxiliary verb: present tense of ‘to

main verb: past participle of ‘to have’

auxiliary verb: present tense of ‘to be’

main verb: gerund of ‘to do’

auxiliary verb: present tense of ‘to be’

main verb: gerund of ‘to be’

auxiliaryverb

Main verb:

gerundof ‘to be’

Past participle

of ‘to question’

auxiliaryverb

main verb: past participle of ‘to be’

main verb: past participle of ‘to steal’

SELF-CHECK

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Modal Auxiliary Verbs

This group of verbs has no infinitive - you cannot say ‘to must’ - and has no ‘s’ on the 3rd person singular. Questions are constructed by reversing the order of the subject and the verb, and ‘do’ is not used to form a negative.

By doing the self-check you will be able to see which verbs are modals.

NB Most modal verbs have no past forms, could and would being the exceptions.

eg She must cancel her appointment

would become in the past:

She had to cancel her appointment

‘Must have cancelled’ means something completely different.

I may not visit the museum today (indicating possibility)

would become in the past:

I wasn’t sure if I was going to visit the museum on that day

I may not visit the museum today (indicating prohibition)

would become in the past:

I was not allowed to visit the museum on that day

SELF-CHECK: MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS

Exercise 1(a)

Identify the modal auxiliary verbs from the following:

1. must 8. could

2. should 9. shall

3. would 10. find

4. swim 11. will

5. may 12. can

6. read 13. write

7. ought 14. might

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Exercise 1(b)

Which four of the above are not modal verbs? Can you say why?

Exercise 2

Try placing another verb after each of the ten modal auxiliaries you have identified above. Which modal is the exception to the rule given, and can be followed by ‘to’?

Phrasal Verbs

There are thousands of phrasal verbs in the English language which for foreigners can be quite difficult to learn and take some time getting used to.These verbs consist of two or more parts: an ordinary verb (eg put, take, look) and a small word or particle such as off, down, up, aside etc.

For example: What phrasal verb can you use instead of the underlined word in the following sentence?

They have postponed the meeting until Friday.

Answer: put off

Some phrasal verbs have more than one particle, eg get on with, go through with,snap out of

One final point to note about the particle is that it does not always come immediately after the verb.

eg Are you going to give back the ladder you borrowed?

I’ll give it back as soon as possible.

If the object is a pronoun, the particle will come after.

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SELF-CHECK: PHRASAL VERBS

Exercise 1

Find a phrasal verb from the list on the right for each of the single words on the left.

Exercise 2

Think of a synonym in the form of a phrasal verb for each of the following words. Each phrasal verb will end in one of the particles listed.

Particles

(both lists can be used more than once)

Copyright INTESOL Worldwide 2010

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1 continue2 reduce (prices)3 extinguish4 alight5 depart6 return7 inspect8 criticise (someone)9 investigate (the matter)

10 retreat

a look overb set offc look intod give backe put outf put downg carry onh back awayi get offj bring down

up down out in off

on into at for

1. seek 6. demolish2. wait 7. ridicule3. maintain (payments) 8. remove4. discover 9. withdraw (money)5. inherit 10. enter

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