REPASO DE GRAMTICA INGLS

INGLS
Daniel Mrquez Gmez 27/09/2011

Order of adjectives What is the correct order of adjectives before a noun? Michael Swan (Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press, 1997) writes: "Unfortunately, the rules for adjective order are very complicated, and different grammars disagree about the details" He does, however, go on to list some of the most important rules: "1. Adjectives of colour, origin, material and purpose usually go in that order.
Colour red A brown A origin Spanish German Venetian glass material leather purpose riding beer flower noun boots mug vase

2. Other adjectives usually go before words of colour, origin, material and purpose. It is impossible to give exact rules, but adjectives of size, length and height often come first.

The round glass table (NOT the glass round table) A big, modern brick house (NOT a modern, big brick house) Long, flexible steel poles A tall, ancient oak-tree

3. Adjectives which express judgements or attitudes usually come before all others. Examples are lovely, definite, pure, absolute, extreme, perfect, wonderful, silly.

A lovely, long, cool drink Who's that silly fat man over there?

4. Numbers usually go before adjectives.

Six large eggs The second big shock

First, next and last most often go before one, two, three etc.

The first three days My last two jobs."

He does not mention age, which would normally go after adjectives of size, length and height, but before colour, origin, material and purpose.

A big old straw hat. A charming young university student.

Thus, a complete list could be: (article) + number + judgement/attitude + size, length, height + age + colour + origin + material + purpose + noun

a lovely long black leather coat a valuable Dutch Impressionist painting a rustic old stone holiday cottage

Determiners, Articles For the sake of convenience, many teachers tell their students that the indefinite article a is used before consonants, while an is used before vowels. In most cases, this is true:

A cat A dog A house A man A woman

An apple An elephant An ice-cream An orange An umbrella

However, the choice between a and an actually depends on pronunciation, not spelling. Thus, a is used before a consonant sound, even if it is written as a vowel, and an is used before a vowel sound, even if it is written as a consonant: A uniform A one-sided game An hour An NCO Some people say an, not a, before words beginning with h when the first syllable is not stressed: An hotel (a hotel is more common) An historical novel (a historical is more common) When an abbreviation takes an article, it depends on the pronunciation of the first letter of the abbreviation: An NCO

A UN spokesman. The information about a and an above is directly relevant to the pronunciation of the definite article, the. This word has two pronunciations, depending on whether it comes before a consonant sound or a vowel sound. The is pronounced before a vowel sound, even if it is written as a consonant, and before a consonant sound, even if it is written as a vowel:

The ( The ( The ( The (

) university is in the middle of town. ) one-way street near my house is closed. ) honest answer to your question is "No". ) FBI is investigating the case.

The same applies for abbreviations as for a and an (see above). Acronyms (words formed from the intital letters of a group of words), should be treated as words, and not abbreviations:

the the

SALT treaties RAM on my computer

Future forms
Be going to + infinitive Will Present continuous

The use of be going + infinitive and the present continuous tense to speak about the future is similar. We use them to talk about things that are already planned or decided.

What are you doing this weekend? (= What are your plans?) I'm spending the weekend at home. (= I've planned it already/I've already decided) I'm going to spend the weekend at home. (= I've already decided/I've planned it already)

The present continuous is usually used to speak about personal arrangements, when the time and/or place have already been decided.

We're meeting Jim at the pub at 6 o'clock. The taxi's picking us up at 3 o'clock.

Be going to + infinitive is used to talk about our intentions, even if they are

some way in the future.

I'm going to study law when I finish school. We're going to Hawaii for our holidays next summer.

Notice that last sentence - it is not common to say "going to go to. We normally drop the go to and just say going to. Be going to + infinitive is also used to speak about the future when we have already got some evidence that something is certain or likely to happen.

She's going to have a baby (I can see that she is pregnant) It's going to rain (I can see the dark storm clouds)

Will is more complicated, and here we are only going to discuss its use in relation to be going to + infinitive and the present continuous. In certain situations all of these future forms can have similar meanings. The difference is what we want to stress when we speak. As we wrote above, be going to + infinitive and the present continuous are used to talk about things that are already planned or decided. If this is what we want to stress then we would use one of those structures, if not, we would choose will:

What are you going to do now? What are you doing now? What will you do now?

In the first two examples, the person asking the question assumes that the person they are speaking to has some plan or intention. In the last example, s/he feels that there is some uncertainty. Also above, we mentioned the use of be going to + infinitive to talk about (predict) the future when we have already got some evidence that something is certain or likely to happen. When this evidence is not present, or at least is not as concrete, we prefer to use will.

It's going to rain later (I can see the clouds building up) I think it will rain later (It often does at this time of year)

Future continuous The future continuous is formed with shall/will + be + - ing:

I/we shall be doing You/he/she/it/they will be doing

We can use the future continuous to talk about events that will be happening at a particular time in the future:

This time next month we'll be sailing through the Caribbean. I hope the race goes well. We'll be watching it on TV.

We can also use the future continuous to talk about things that we expect to happen in the usual course of events. In this case it does not suggest "continuousness":

You'll be seeing her soon, won't you? Management will be meeting the union representative again presently.

We can also use the future continuous to make polite enquiries, when we wish to know what somebody's plan are:

Will you be coming along with us this evening?

We can also use the future continuous to talk about what we believe or guess is happening at the moment of speaking:

They'll be arriving in New York just about now. I wouldn't phone just yet - she'll be having her weekly massage.

Future perferct
When we want to speak about something that will have been completed or done by a particular time in the future, we use the future perfect simple tense.

Next January we'll have been here for 12 years. I'll have finished my homework by dinner time.

If we want to stress the continuity of the future event, we use the future perfect continuous tense.

Jack will have been working as a policeman for fifteen years next month. I'll have been doing this project for a month next Monday.

Present simple The present simple tense is formed as follows: Affirmative

The 1st person singular, 1st person plural, 2nd person singular, 2nd person plural and 3rd person plural use the base form (infinitive with "to") of the verb:

I/we/you/they make/see/think/love/etc.

The 3rd person singular uses the base form, but adds the letter "s" to the end of it:

He/she/it makes/sees/thinks/loves/etc.

If a verb ends in the letter "y" then we change the "y" to "i" and add "es" (See article):

I/we/you/they try He/she/it tries I/we/you/they worry He/she/it worries

If a verb ends in "s", "x", "z", "ch" or "sh" then we add "es":

I/we/you/they pass He/she/it passes I/we/you/they fix He/she/it fixes I/we/you/they whizz He/she/it whizzes I/we/you/they teach He/she/it teaches I/we/you/they wash He/she/it washes

Note also:

I/we/you/they do He/she/it does I/we/you/they go He/she/it goes I/we/you/they have He/she/it has

Negative I/we/you/they + don't + base form He/she/it + doesn't + base form I don't like spiders.

We don't live there any more. You don't seem very interested. They don't remember her name. He doesn't work in a shop now. She doesn't believe in ghosts. It doesn't rain much in summer. Questions Do + I/we/you/they + base form Does + he/she/it + base form

Do I know you? Do you play tennis? Do they have any postcards? Does he often visit them? Does she recommend that restaurant?

We use the present simple tense in different ways: For talking about things in general, i.e. to say that something happens all the time or over and over again. It doesn't matter if it is taking place at the moment we are speaking.

Suzy dances beautifully. Plumbers fix broken pipes.

To express scientific facts, and other things that are always true:

Ice melts when heated. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

For giving instructions:

To make a cup of tea, first fill the kettle with water and put it on to boil. Then pour a bit of water into the teapot to warm it Walk down this street and turn left at the second crossroads. Then continue on

To talk about temporary situations with some verbs.

We usually use the present continuous to speak about temporary situations:

I'm staying in the Grand Hotel this week. She's walking in the park at the moment.

However, there are some verbs that we do not usually use in their continuous form. These are called stative verbs:

I don't like this pudding. I have the children this weekend.

For talking about the future, when this involves timetables:

The bus leaves at 8 o'clock. We meet the directors at 11.30.

To talk about how often we do things (with frequency adverbs, and other time expressions):

I often cook casseroles at the weekend. He goes to the gym every evening after work.

When using some verbs, we are committing ourselves to action:

I promise that I won't do it again. I suggest you go and see a doctor. I insist that we pay the bill.

Present continuous Form The present continuous is formed by adding the present participle (the "- ing form") to the present simple of the verb to be:

I am working You/we/they are working He/she/it is working I am not working You/we/they are not working He/she/it is not working Am I working? Are you/we/they working?

Is he/she/it working?

Function The present continuous is used to talk about actions or events that are happening at the moment:

I am writing a text about the present continuous. I am sitting in my office, working on the computer.

We also use the present continuous to speak about changes, developments and trends:

This town is developing all the time. The puppy is growing at a frightening rate. People are eating better than in the past.

These changes, developments and trends can last a long time:

Species are constantly evolving. The polar ice caps are melting.

We can also use the present continuous to speak about something that is happening at a specific time we are thinking of, even if it is not now:

At four in the morning I'm usually sleeping. He likes to be left alone when he is working on a project.

We can also use the present continuous to speak about future arrangements:

I'm meeting Sue for a drink after work. What are you doing next weekend?

We can also use the present continuous to speak about repeated actions, especially when we find these actions irritating. In this case, we usually use the present continuous with words like always or constantly:

She is always interrupting when others are trying to speak. He is constantly leaving his cigarette butts lying around.

Note that some verbs are not usually used in continuous verb tenses. These are called stative verbs.

Present perfect The present perfect is a very difficult area of English grammar for many learners, and so we are going to look at it one step at a time. Here, we consider the form of the tense and its basic uses. The present perfect is formed using the appropriate form of the verb have + the past participle of the verb.

I/you/we/they have been to London. He/she/it has been to London.

We use the present perfect to express the idea that although an action or state happened (or started to happen) in the past, it has some connection with the present. It may be that the (present) result of the action is more important than the action itself. Alternatively, we may be inferring that the action is important, but the time when it occurred is not.

There are four principle uses of the present perfect: Unfinished actions or states: actions or states that began in the past and continue in the present.

I've been at this school since 1996. He has had his motorbike for three years.

Unfinished time periods

I've visited my parents three times this week (and the week still hasn't finished). She's smoked a packet of cigarettes already today.

Past action or state / present result

He's broken his leg (I can see the plaster). They've just finished school (That's why they're here now).

Action more important than time

I've been to Australia many times. Have you ever seen a bull fight?

The present perfect is a very difficult area of English grammar for many learners, and so we are going to look at it one step at a time. Here, we consider the form of the tense and its basic uses.

The present perfect is formed using the appropriate form of the verb have + the past participle of the verb.

I/you/we/they have been to London. He/she/it has been to London.

We use the present perfect to express the idea that although an action or state happened (or started to happen) in the past, it has some connection with the present. It may be that the (present) result of the action is more important than the action itself. Alternatively, we may be inferring that the action is important, but the time when it occurred is not.

There are four principle uses of the present perfect: Unfinished actions or states: actions or states that began in the past and continue in the present.

I've been at this school since 1996. He has had his motorbike for three years.

Unfinished time periods

I've visited my parents three times this week (and the week still hasn't finished). She's smoked a packet of cigarettes already today.

Past action or state / present result

He's broken his leg (I can see the plaster). They've just finished school (That's why they're here now).

Action more important than time

I've been to Australia many times. Have you ever seen a bull fight?

Past Simple Form The are two types of verb - regular and irregular - and it is when using the past simple (as well as the past participle) that this is important. Regular verbs are formed by adding "-ed" to the end of the base verb, or simply "-d" if the base verb ends in the letter "e". (For two spelling exceptions, see below):

Affirmative

I played/lived You played/lived He/she/it played/lived We played/lived They played/lived

Negative

I didn't play/live You didn't play/live He/she/it didn't play/live We didn't play/live They didn't play/live

Question

Did you play/live? Did he/she/it play/live? Did they play/live?

Irregular verbs are just that - irregular - and it is only possible to learn them by memorisation and practice. Spelling exceptions See previous articles for verbs that double the consonant at the end and others that end in the letter y. Pronunciation The "-ed" ending of regular verbs in the past simple can be pronounced in three different ways: It is pronounced /d/ after vowels and voiced consonants:

Mowed Cried Agreed Bathed Robbed Loved Quizzed Judged Begged Teemed

Cleaned Longed Wheeled

It is pronounced /t/ after unvoiced consonants:

Stopped = /t/ Laughed = /t/ Hissed = /t/ Washed = /t/ Watched = /t/ Talked = /t/

It is pronounced /id/ after /d/ and /t/:

Needed Collected

Use Basically, the past simple can be considered the "normal" tense to use when speaking about the past. In other words, you should use it unless you have a particular reason for using one of the other past tenses. We use the past simple when we are referring to moments and periods of time that have already finished, especially if we actually mention the time. These moments and periods can be short actions that ended quickly, but also longer periods and also actions or events that were repeated:

I fell off a horse yesterday. I lived in Australia when I was younger. I went to the cinema every weekend when I was a teenager.

Past continuous We use the past continuous tense to say that something was happening around a particular time in the past. The action or state began before this particular time, but had not yet finished:

I was watching television at 9 o'clock last night. (I started watching TV before 9 o'clock and I finished after 9 o'clock).

We often use the past continuous tense and the past simple tense together. The past continuous is used to "set the scene", or provide (longer) background information. The past simple is used to speak about shorter actions that

happened in the middle of the longer action, or that interrupted it:

The young couple were walking home together after the party. They were holding hands and were speaking excitedly about their plans. Suddenly, something moved in the shadows I was watching television when the neighbours came to visit.

We tend to use the past continuous tense to speak about more temporary situations and actions, while we use the past simple to refer to more permanent ones:

I was working in that bookshop for a few days last summer. She worked in the bookshop for 41 years.

Note that there are some verbs (called stative verbs) that are not usually used in the continuous.

Past perfect We use the past perfect when we wish to stress that one action or situation in the past occurred before another action or situation in the past.

It was obvious that something had happened to them. (It had happened before it became obvious) I had been waiting for more than an hour when they arrived. (When they arrived I had already been waiting )

The past perfect can serve the same purpose as conjunctions of time such as when, after and before:

When she (had) finished her work she left the office. After Jimmy (had) arrived, the party became really good. Before he retired my father (had) worked in the post office.

Notice that it is not normally necessary to use the past perfect in these situations, but it is quite common to do so, especially with the conjunction when, which has several different meanings and may need to be clarified. By using a combination of these conjunctions and different tenses we can not only explain ourselves more precisely, but also be less repetitive. As with most verb tenses, the past perfect has both a simple and a continuous form:

I had talked to all of the candidates by lunchtime.

I had been talking so much that I was starting to go hoarse.

While the simple form is used to stress the fact that the action was finished (i.e. there were no more candidates to talk to), the continuous form stresses the continuation of the activity (i.e. I would (probably) talk some more). Another difference is that we tend to use the past perfect simple to speak about situations that lasted a long time, or were permanent, while the past perfect continuous is for more temporary or short-term situations or actions:

By that time the Moors had lived in southern Spain for over 700 years. I had only been living in London for a week when I found a job.

There are also some verbs (called stative verbs) that are not usually used in the continuous form, even though that tense would seem to be more appropriate. We also use the past perfect tense with verbs like want, plan, intend, hope, etc. to speak about things that we planned to do but could not for some reason:

We had wanted to see Susie run, but got caught up in the traffic. I had planned to read the report but just didn't have time.

Finally, the past perfect tense is also used in third conditional sentences.

Passive voice The passive is formed with the verb to be (is/was/have been etc.) and the past participle (done/cleaned/seen etc.):

The sculpture is made of glass and plastic. That toy was made in China. All staff have been informed of the changes.

The following forms are common: When we say what a person or thing does, we use an active verb:

My brother built his own house. We all speak Spanish. The man is repairing the fridge at the moment.

When we say what happens to a person or thing what is done to them we use a passive verb:

All of those houses were built by my brother.

Spanish is spoken in most Latin American countries. I came by bus because my car is being repaired.

Some verbs cannot have passive forms. Intransitive verbs , such as sleep, die, fall, or arrive, which do not take an object, do not have a passive form. Also, stative verbs are not usually used in the passive.

We all have university degrees (NOT University degrees are had by us all) I see what you mean (NOT What you mean is seen by me)

Many learners confuse active and passive verb forms because, as Swan points out in Practical English Usage (OUP; 1997) : "Be is used to make both passive verb forms and active progressive tenses."

Your orders are being processed right now. We are processing your orders right now.

And "past participles are used to make both passive verb forms and active perfect tenses."

The toy was made in China. He has made a terrible mistake.

Question tags Question tags are the short questions that we put at the end of sentences, especially in spoken English.

You're coming, aren't you? He's not serious, is he?

If the main part of the sentence is affirmative, then the question tag is negative:

It's warm, isn't it? They went also, didn't they?

If the main part of the sentence is negative, then the question tag is affirmative:

She couldn't see it, could she? We won't know till tomorrow, will we?

If the main part of the sentence contains an auxiliary verb (or the verb "to be", then this is used in the question tag:

They are away for a few days, aren't they? You weren't available, were you? She's Mexican, isn't she? It wasn't his turn, was it? You've got a cat, haven't you? He's got a new house, hasn't he? We can't go in there, can we? They couldn't hear me, could they?

If the main part of the sentences does not contain an auxiliary verb, then we use the verb "to do" in the question tag:

She needs some help, doesn't she? He loved his work, didn't he? You come here often, don't you?

Depending on what we wish to say, the intonation of a question tag is different. If we are asking a real question (in other words, if we don't know the answer), then our voice rises on the question tag:

That's spelt with two n's, isn't it?

On the other hand, if we are sure of the answer and are only asking for agreement, our voice falls on the question tag:

It's your turn next, isn't it?