ADVANCED 2

GRAMMAR

GUIDE
UNIT 1: TELLING THE TRUTH
TOPIC: LOGICAL CONNECTORS

CAUSE

We use the connectors “because” or “since” to describe the

cause or reason for an event or state.

EXAMPLES

IMPORTANT: When we use a subordinate clause at the

beginning of a sentence, we normally separate the two
clauses with a comma!
FOR EXAMPLE:

Because  television was radio with pictures, the first

television shows were simply men in suits standing in front
of microphones reading the news.

EFFECT
We use the connectors “therefore” or “so” to describe the
effect or the result of an event or state. These words are
often preceded by a comma.

EXAMPLES
CONTRAST

We use the connectors “although”, “though”, “in spite of”

and “despite” to contrast two ideas. “Although” and
“though” are used to introduce a subordinate clause, while
“despite” and “in spite of” are used to introduce a
contrasting phrase.

Remember that “although” and “though” are subordinating

conjunctions. They introduce subordinate clauses.

FOR EXAMPLE
I admire Ricardo Palma, though he is not my favourite
writer.

Remember that “despite” and “in spite of” are prepositions

(no conjunctions), so they don’t introduce clauses; they
introduce contrasting phrases.

COMPARE
  I enjoyed the film despite the negative reviews.
(Despite/In spite of + phrase).

 I enjoyed the film, although it had negative reviews.

(Although/Though + clause).

UNIT 2: BUSINESS CAREERS

TOPIC: HAD BETTER VS WOULD RATHER
HAD BETTER

We use “had better” (often abbreviated ‘d better) to give

advice about what someone should do or to say what you
should do or need to do. “Had better” is similar to “should”,
but it’s used to give urgent advice with bad consequences if
you don’t follow it.
WOULD RATHER

We use “would rather” (often abbreviated ‘d rather) to

express preference. “Would rather” has the same meaning
as “would prefer to”.

When we express a preference for other person, the verb

must be in the past simple.
 COMPARE

 I’d rather take a taxi. (My preference).

 I’d rather she took a taxi. (Preference for other person).

UNIT 3: AGREEING AND DISAGREEING

TOPIC: DUMMY PRONOUNS
A dummy pronoun is a pronoun that doesn’t contribute any
meaning to a sentence. We use “it” or “there” as dummy
pronouns.

EXAMPLES
REFERENTIAL PRONOUNS

A referential pronoun is a pronoun that refers to a noun. It’s

the opposite of a “dummy pronoun”.
UNIT 4: TOO MUCH WORK
TOPIC: LOGICAL CONNECTORS (II)
SEQUENCE

To describe a sequence of events we can use linking words

like at first, first of all, first, second, third…, then or finally.

TEQUILA SUNRISE
TOPIC: MAKE AND DO
Some languages only have one word to translate the words
“make” and “do”. Let’s see the difference between these two
verbs.

MAKE

“Make” is similar in meaning to create, construct, invent,

produce, prepare…

USES

-To talk about food, drinks and meals with a similar meaning
to “prepare” or “cook”. (Make a cake, make dinner, make a
cup of coffee, make breakfast).

-To talk about material and indicate origin. (Made of

gold/silver, made in China, made by me).
-In relation to “producing” a reaction on other people.
(Make someone cry, make someone happy, make someone
smile).

-To talk about plans and decisions. (Make arrangements,

make a choice, make a plan, make a decision).
-In relation to speaking and sounds. (Make a comment,
make a speech, make a suggestion, make a noise).

DO

“Do” is similar in meaning to perform, carry out, execute…

USES

-To talk about work, jobs, tasks, activities. (Do the

housework, do your homework, do a good job, do your
chores).

-To talk about non-specific activities. (Do something, do

nothing, do anything, do everything).
COLLOCATIONS WITH MAKE AND DO

A collocation is a sequence of words that are often used

together. Here is a list of standard collocations with do and
make.
UNIT 5: PEOPLE WITH PROBLEMS
TOPIC: LOGICAL CONNECTORS (III)
PURPOSE

We use the connector “so that” to indicate the purpose of an

action or state.
CONDITION

To indicate the condition for an action or event, we use the

connectors “if”, “unless”, “provided/providing (that)”, “as
long as” or “on the condition that”.
UNIT 6: TELL ME ABOUT IT
TOPIC: LOGICAL CONNECTORS (REVIEW)
UNIT 7: ECONOMICS
TOPIC: ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

WHAT IS AN ADJECTIVE?

An adjective is a word that qualifies a noun.

TYPES OF ADJECTIVES

a) Attributive adjectives: they come before a noun and

are part of a noun phrase.

b) Predicative adjectives: they come after linking verbs

and are part of a verb phrase.
 c) Nominal adjectives: they are adjectives that are used
as nouns.

ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

When a noun is preceded by several adjectives, they usually

occur in a specific order (according to the characteristics of
the adjectives):

1) OBSERVATION OR OPINION
2) SIZE
3) AGE
4) SHAPE
 5) COLOR
6) ORIGIN
7) MATERIAL
8) PURPOSE

EXAMPLES
UNIT 8: INTERVIEWS
TOPIC: PARTICIPLES
WHAT IS A PARTICIPLE?

A form of a verb that may function as an adjective or a noun.

In English, there are two types of participles: the present
participle and the past participle.

PRESENT PARTICIPLE

The present participle is the form of a verb that indicates

ongoing action or state. It is formed by adding the suffix
“-ing” to a verb.

PRESENT PARTICIPLES AS ADJECTIVES

PAST PARTICIPLE

The past participle is the form of a verb that indicates

completed action or state.

PAST PARTICIPLE AS ADJECTIVES

PRESENT PARTICIPLE VS PAST PARTICIPLE

We usually use the past participle to describe how a person

feels, while we usually use the present participle to describe
a situation, a person or a thing that causes a feeling.
- He was surprised to have been diagnosed with cancer.
(The person’s feeling).

- It was very depressing to hear about that. (The situation

that causes the feeling of “depression”).

REMEMBER!

-We can use adjectives that end in –ed to describe people’s

feelings.

-We can use adjectives that end in –ing to talk about a thing
or a person that make us have a feeling.
 ADVANCED 2 GRAMMAR DEFINITIONS
WORD DEFINITION EXAMPLE
A person, animal, thing, House, computer,
NOUN idea or concept. Peter, Ripley, dog.
A noun formed from a Swimming is good.
VERBAL NOUN
verb. I want to dance.
A noun that refers to a
Peter, Mariela, Chile,
PROPER NOUN unique entity and is
Villalpando.
written in CAPITALS.
A noun that describes a City, computer, car,
COMMON NOUN
class of entities. mobile phone.
A noun which can Book(s), chair(s),
COUNTABLE NOUN
combine with numerals. table(s).
A noun which cannot
UNCOUNTABLE NOUN Water, milk.
combine with numerals.
A word that replaces a
noun. Pronouns are
divided in personal
pronouns, reflexive
I, you, he, she, it, we,
pronouns, possessive
they, me, him, her, us,
PRONOUN pronouns,
them, this, that,
demonstrative
anyone, who...
pronouns, indefinite
pronouns, relative
pronouns and
interrogative pronouns.
 A pronoun associated
with a grammatical
person. Personal
PERSONAL PRONOUN I, you, he, him, they…
pronouns are divided in
subject pronouns and
object pronouns.
A personal pronoun
I, you, he, she, it, we,
SUBJECT PRONOUN that is used as the
they, what and who.
subject of a verb.
A personal pronoun
me, him, her, us, them
OBJECT PRONOUN that is used as the
and whom
object of a verb.
A word that qualifies a Big, beautiful,
ADJECTIVE
noun. interesting, horrible.
VERB An action or a state. Play, study, read, be.
The basic form of a To dance, to play, to do,
INFINITIVE
verb, used with “to”. to be.
The basic form of a verb
BARE INFINITIVE Dance, play, do, be.
without “to”.
A verb that expresses
ACTION VERB or action and tells what Run, walk, drink, speak,
DYNAMIC VERB the subject of a dance, do, play, etc.
sentence does.
A verb that expresses a
state of being. Stative
verbs are static or Think, believe, love,
STATE VERB or STATIVE
unchanging throughout suppose, like, belong,
VERB
their entire duration have (possess), etc.
and there is no obvious
action.
A verb that transmits
I am speaking English.
MAIN VERB the main idea in a
Do you like pizza?
clause.
A type of auxiliary verb
that expresses modality Can, could, may, should,
MODAL VERB
(obligation, ability, might, shall, will, would.
permission, etc.)
 A verb that functions to
Have to, need, dare,
SEMI-MODAL VERB some extent like a
ought to, used to.
modal verb.
A verb that
accompanies a main Do you speak English?
AUXILIARY VERB verb in a sentence. It He is speaking.
can be a modal or semi- Will, shall, should.
modal verb.
A form of a verb that
-I am doing my
has a subject and can
FINITE VERB homework.
function as the root of
-I live in Peru.
an independent clause.
Any form of a verb that
cannot function as the -I am working very hard.
NON-FINITE VERB
root of an independent -He wants to eat.
clause.
-I do my homework.
A verb that takes an
TRANSITIVE VERB -She likes cookies.
object.
-We eat a lot of food.
-The earthquake
A verb that doesn’t take
INTRANSITIVE VERB happened in March.
any object.
-You look pretty.
-He sings beautifully
(modifies verb).
A word that modifies a -An incredibly horrible
ADVERB verb, an adjective or man (modifies
other adverb. adjective).
-He travels very often
(modifies adverb).
It tells you how an
ADVERB OF MANNER I dance beautifully.
event happens.
Always, usually,
It tells you how often an
FREQUENCY ADVERB sometimes, hardly ever,
event happens.
never, occasionally…
It tells you when an
ADVERB OF TIME Now, soon, yesterday…
event happens.
ADVERB OF PLACE It tells you where an Here, under, there,
 event happens. upstairs, outside…
A word that joins parts
CONJUNCTION But, and, because, etc.
of a sentence.
A conjunction that joins
COORDINATING two words, groups or My brother is a doctor
CONJUNCTION clauses of equal and I am a lawyer.
importance.
A conjunction that joins
SUBORDINATING an independent clause I want to eat because
CONJUNCTION and a dependent I’m hungry.
clause.
Conjunctions that work
in pair to join words or
CORRELATIVE Either… or…
groups of words of
CONJUNCTIONS Neither… nor...
equal importance in a
sentence.
The person, animal or He, she, Susana, Valeria
SUBJECT thing that performs an and Liz, the dogs, my
action or state. mother’s computer.
The person, animal or
Him, her, us.
OBJECT thing that is affected by
He eats a hamburguer.
an action or state.
Something or
somebody directly I drank coffee.
DIRECT OBJECT affected by the verb. (What did I drink?
We identify it by asking Coffee).
what or who + verb.
Something or
somebody indirectly
affected by the verb. It
I bought my son a toy.
is the recipient of the
INDIRECT OBJECT (To whom did I buy a
direct object. We
toy? To my son).
identify it by asking to
whom?, for whom? Or
for what? + verb
PREPOSITIONAL An object introduced by
I will go with you.
OBJECT a preposition.
 A word or (more
commonly) a group of
SENTENCE I speak English.
words that expresses a
complete idea.
A group of words that
CLAUSE contain a subject and a I speak English.
verb.
Two or more words
PHRASE A big computer.
without a finite verb.
A type of determiner A lot of people.
QUANTIFIER
that indicates quantity. A little water.
A word that is used
before a noun to show
which thing we mean.
My house.
Common determiners
DETERMINER The car.
are articles, possessive
This man.
determiners,
demonstratives and
quantifiers.
A word used before a
noun to show whether The house.
the noun refers to a A house.
ARTICLE particular example of
something or to a The = definite article.
general example of A = indefinite article.
something. 
The English gerund ends Swimming, dancing,
GERUND
in –ing. playing.
A word that is used
before a noun, pronoun
On, in, under, for, of,
PREPOSITION or gerund to show
towards, before.
place, time, direction,
etc.