Grammar Final

THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
Meaning and use
We use the present perfect continuous to talk about an activity that started in the past and
is continuing now or has recently finished.
 I’ve been reading that new book you lent me… I’m really enjoying it. (= action still
in progress)
 Is that Joe? I’ve been trying to contact you. I’ve got some bad news. (= action
recently finished)
We often use it to emphasise the continuous, ongoing nature of the activity or to say how
long the activity has continued.
 She’s already been sleeping for two hours.

 It’s been raining all morning.
 I’ve been decorating the house this summer.
When we use the present perfect continuous for situations that have recently finished, we
often use the adverb just.
 'You’ve got paint all over your T-shirt.' 'Oh, I’ve just been painting the living room.'
We often use recently and lately with the present perfect continuous.
 I’m really tired. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.
Form
The present perfect continuous is made with:
subject + have/has/haven’t/hasn’t + been + present participle of main verb.

We put just and already between have/has and the past participle. We usually put adverbs
of time and duration after the main verb.
Positive
 Jack’s working very hard for his exams. He’s been revising all day.
 I’ve been working at the café for two weeks.
 You’ve been watching far too much telly for too long. Why don’t you take up a new
sport?
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Negative
 I haven’t been drinking coffee these last few days and my head is much clearer.
 Doctor, I’ve been feeling dizzy and faint in the mornings.
Question
Present perfect continuous questions are made with:
have/has not + subject + present participle.
 Have you been eating all the biscuits? There are none left!
 What have you been doing? You look exhausted!
Take note: present perfect continuous and present perfect
Some verbs are almost never used in the present perfect continuous. We use the present
perfect instead. The most familiar examples of these are be and know.
WRONG: She’s been being here for ten minutes.

CORRECT: She’s been here for 10 minutes.
WRONG: I’ve only been knowing him since last week.
CORRECT: I’ve only known him since last week.
Take note: already
It is possible to put already at the end of a positive sentence or question.

 He has already been talking for ten minutes.
 Has he already been talking for ten minutes?
 He has been talking for ten minutes already.
 Has he been talking for ten minutes already?
Pronunciation
In sentences with just and already, there is usually no stress on has/have or on

just/already. The stress is on the subject and the present participle.
 The chicken has already been cooking for an hour and a half.
 I have just been thinking about Joe. Do you think he’s better now?
But we can put stress on just/already if we want to emphasise how recently or early
something happened.
 The chicken must be ready by now. It’s already been cooking for an hour and a half.
 Oh, hi Joe. I’ve just been talking about you to Sophie!
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QUANTIFIERS:
ALL, EVERY, EACH, BOTH, NEITHER, EITHER
Meaning and use: all, every each
Quantifiers are words that give us information about the number or amount of
something. All, every and each mean the whole number of something in a group, but there
are differences in how we use them. In this unit we look at how to use them with nouns.
All or All the is followed by a plural or uncountable noun. Every and each are followed
by a singular noun.
 All (the) students have their own rooms.

 All (the) information is on the website.
 Every/Each student has their own room. (OR has his/her own room.)
Every and each can often be used in the same place, but we prefer every when we are
thinking about the whole number in a group, and each when we are thinking about the
members of the group as individuals.
 I love every painting by that artist.

 Each painting is unique.
For emphasising every single one, we must use everynot each.
 You’ve eaten every chocolate in the box!
For only two things, we can use each but not every.
 In baseball, how many players are there in each team?
All and each but not every can be followed by of and a plural noun or pronoun. Notice that
each of with a plural noun or pronoun is followed by a singular verb.
 All of the students have their own rooms.

 Each of them has their own room.
Form
With plural noun

 All (the) students
 All of the students
 Each of the students
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With plural pronoun
 All of them
 Each of us
With uncountable noun

 All (the) information
 All of the information
With singular noun

 Every student
 Each student
Take note: articles
We don’t use an article (the, a/an) before every or each.

 Every painting is unique.
 NOT: The every painting is unique.
Take note: possessive and demonstrative adjectives
We don’t use every before possessive adjectives (his, her, etc) or demonstrative adjectives
(these, those).
 Tarantino’s a brilliant director. I’ve seen all his films.
 NOT: I’ve seen every his films.
Meaning and use of both, neither, either
We use both (of), neither (of) and either (of) to talk about two people or things. Both
means this one AND the other. Neither means NOT this one AND NOT the other. Either
means this one OR the other. Either is used mainly in questions and negative sentences.
Here are some examples of how to use them with nouns:
 I like both pictures. / I like both of the pictures.

 Neither picture is right for the room. / Neither of the pictures is right for the room.
 She didn’t buy either picture in the end. / She didn’t buy either of the pictures in the
end.
We often use both… and, neither… nor,and either… or.
 She plays both the violin and the guitar.

 Neither me nor my brother are married.
 Should I wear either this shirt or that one?
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Form
With plural noun

 both pictures
 both the/these pictures
 both of the/these pictures
 neither of the/these pictures
 either of the/these pictures
With plural pronoun

 both of them
 neither of them
 either of them
With singular noun

 neither picture
 either picture
Take note: verbs
After neither (of) the verb is always positive. It can be singular or plural after neither of.
 Neither of these answers is/are correct.
But after neither + noun the verb is always singular.

 Neither answer is correct.
After both (of) the verb is always positive and plural. We don’t use both in negative
structures.
 Both of these answers are wrong.
 NOT: Both of these answers are not correct.
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MULTI-wORD VERBS
Meaning and use
A multi-word verb is a verb plus a word such as in, on, out, up, away, off and down.
We often think of these words as prepositions, but here they behave like adverbs. The
adverb sometimes extends the meaning of the verb on its own.
 It’s so annoying. Jason keeps phoning me all the time.

 It’s so annoying. Jason keeps on phoning me all the time.
Here, the phrasal verb keeps on means continues. It has the same meaning as keeps but
is slightly stronger. Other phrasal verbs that extend the meaning of the main verb are hurry
up and sit down.
Many verbs can go with different adverbs and the adverbs can completely change the
meaning of the verb.
 ‘When did you break up?’

 ‘Oh, I broke off our engagement ages ago. He broke down when I told him.’
In this conversation, break up means separate, broke off means ended and broke
down means became very upset. The meanings are different from the verb break.
Some phrasal verbs are intransitive (they have no object) for example: keep on and
hurry up. Other phrasal verbs are transative: they can be followed by a direct object, but
not an object pronoun.
 I broke off our engagement ages ago

 NOT: I broke off it.
However, you can often put an object pronoun in the middle of a phrasal verb, between
the verb and the adverb.
 ‘Guess what! Rob asked me out yesterday!’
Some verbs have three parts to them, an adverb and a preposition.

 ‘Ah! I’ve seen you talking to Rob a lot recently. You seem to get on with him really
well.’
Form
No object
My car broke down.
No object
My car broke down.
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Noun object
Mark broke out of prison.
Object pronoun after the verb

Last week Ismail broke up with her.
Object pronoun in the middle

They were engaged, but they broke it off.
Take note: phrasal verbs with direct objects
With phrasal verbs, (but not prepositional verbs), the noun object can usually go before
or after the adverb.
 I broke off our engagement. / I broke our engagement off.
Pronunciation
For most phrasal verbs, the main stress is on the adverb.

 When did you break up?’
 ‘Oh, I broke off our engagement ages ago. He broke down when I told him.’
This is the same for three-part verbs.

 I’m so looking forward to it!
But for prepositional verbs, the stress is often on the main verb, not on the preposition.
 I really can’t deal with it.
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ZERO AND FIRST CONDITIONALS
Meaning and use
We use the zero conditional to talk about things which always happen if a particular
action takes place. These can be scientific facts, or things we believe are always true.
When you take exercise, your heart beats faster.

If I drink milk, I get stomach ache.
We can use if or when with the same meaning:
If you take exercise, your heart beats faster.

When I drink milk, I get stomach ache.
We use the first conditional to talk about things which might happen if an action takes
place. We use if for things which are likely to happen and when for things which are certain
to happen.
If I see Freddy later, I’ll give him the book. (I’m not certain I’ll see him.)
When I see Freddy later, I’ll give him the book. (I’m certain I’ll see him.)
If we go to the beach, I’ll take my swimsuit. (It isn’t certain we’ll go to the beach.)
When we go to the beach, I’ll take my swimsuit. (It is certain we’ll go to the beach.)
Form
Conditional sentences have two parts: the if/when part and the result (main) part. The
two parts can come in any order. When we write, we don’t use a comma when the main
part comes first.
I get stomach ache when I drink milk.

I’ll take my swimsuit if we go to the beach.
Zero conditional:
The zero conditional uses if/when + present simple, and present simple:
If/When you heat water to 100°C, it boils.
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Positive
When she eats too much cake, she feels bad.

We always have a good time if we go dancing.
Negative
I feel upset when he doesn’t answer my calls.

If you mix white and yellow, you don’t get orange.
Question
What comes out of a volcano when it erupts?

Do eyelashes grow again if you cut them off? Yes, they do. / No, they don’t.
First conditional:
The first conditional uses if/when + present simple, and will + infinitive (without ‘to’):
If/When we go to Paris, we'll visit the Eiffel Tower.
Positive
I’ll do the cooking this evening if it’s OK with you.

When they finish work, they’ll go home.
Negative
I won’t wait for you, if you’re late again.

When we go camping, we won’t take our laptops.
Question
Where will he live when he moves to the city?

If I don’t see you later, will you call me? Yes, I will. / No, I won’t.
Take note: the zero conditional and time
We use the zero conditional to talk about things which are always true. We use the
present tense, but we are talking about all time (past, present and future).
If you multiply 10 by 10, it makes 100.

Plants grow when they get water and sunshine.
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Take note: the first conditional and modals
We can use modals instead of will in first conditional sentences. For example, we can
use may, might, can or should. We use may or might in the main part to show we are less
certain than will, should to give advice, and could for possibility.
We might go shopping later if we have enough time.

If you don’t feel well, you should stay at home tonight. When we finish our homework, we
could watch TV.
Spoken English
In the first conditional, we often use the short form ’ll in the main part instead of will.
This short form can sometimes be difficult to hear, but it’s important to include the ’ll
sound. If you use the present tense in both parts, your sentence will sound like a zero
conditional – and it won’t be grammatically correct!
If we miss our flight, we’ll take the next one. (Not: … we take the next one.)
They’ll meet us at the airport if we arrive late. (Not: They meet us at the airport …)
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MIGHT, MAY, COULD, MUST AND CAN’T
Meaning and use
We can use the modal verbs might, may, could, must and can’t for talking about what
we think is possible or true in the present. We don’t know for sure, so we make guesses and
suggestions using the information that we have. Usually you can use might, mayand could
in the same way.
 There might/may/could be life forms on Mars.

 There’s some gas on the planet that may/might/could suggest this.
We can also use might, may and could for talking about what we think was possible in
the past.
 NASA says it may/might/could have been suitable for life in the past.
Might not (mightn’t) and may not are used for talking about negative possibility.
 Their information might not/may not be correct.

 They mightn’t have got correct data.
But couldn’t is different. It means that something is completely impossible.
 Other scientists say that there couldn’t be life on Mars.

 The gas couldn’t be coming from living organisms.
We use the modal verbs must and can’t in the present and the past when we believe
strongly that something is certain.
 There must be another explanation. (I believe there’s another explanation.)

 They must have made a mistake! (I believe they have made a mistake.)
Form
Present positive
The present positive is might / may / could / must + the infinitive of the verb be or
another verb. Or the continuous be + verb-ing.
 The information might be correct.

 They must know that it isn’t possible.
 Bacteria-like organisms could be producing the gas.
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Present negative
The present negative is might not / mightn’t / may not / can’t / couldn’t + the
infinitive of the verb be or another verb. Or the continuous be + verb-ing.
 Their information may not be correct.

 The gas couldn’t be coming from living organisms.
Past positive
The past positive is might / may / could / must + have + been or the past participle of
another verb. Or the continuous been + verb-ing.
 There must have been water on Mars in the past.

 Who knows what could have been living in that lake?
Past negative
The past negative is might not / mightn’t / may not / can’t / couldn’t + have + been or
the past participle of another verb. Or the continuous been + verb-ing.
 There may not have been anything in the lake.

 They mightn’t have been looking in the right area.
Take note: questions
We don’t usually form questions about what is possible or true with might, may or
must. It’s more common to use Could or Do you think …?
 Could the data be incorrect? Do you think it’s incorrect?
Take note: can’t and couldn’t
We can use can’t have and couldn’t have in the same way.
 They can’t /couldn’t have found anything definite.
Take note: mustn’t

We don’t use mustn’t to make guesses about what is possible or true. We use can’t instead.
 These figures don’t add up. They can’t be correct.
NOT: They mustn’t be correct.

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PAST PERFECT TENSE
Meaning and use
We often use the past perfect when two things in a sentence happened in the past, and we
need to show which thing in the sentence happened first.
 When I arrived home, my sister had already made lunch.
Here, two things happened: I arrived home and my sister made lunch. We can use the
past simple, with time expressions like then, to talk about the things in the order that they
happened.
 My sister made lunch. Then I arrived home.
We can use the past perfect next to the past simple, to show which event happened first.
What happened first: my son made a cake

What happened second: I arrived
 When I arrived home, my son had already made an enormous carrot cake.
With the past perfect, we can change the order of events in the sentence, and still show what
happened first.
 I woke up late because I’d forgotten to set my alarm clock.
But we can also use the past perfect when events in a sentence are in the order that they
happened.
 I had just taken off my coat when the telephone rang.

The past perfect part of the sentence always shows the event that happened first.
 We hadn’t finished cleaning by the time the guests arrived.
 By the time the guests arrived, we hadn’t finished cleaning.
Form
The past perfect is made with subject + had/hadn’t + past participle.
Positive
 When my parents got to the station, they realised they had left the tickets at home.
 By the time Mark arrived at work, the staff meeting had already started.
 I woke up late because I’d forgotten to set my alarm clock.
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Negative
 Kerry couldn’t leave work on time because she hadn’t written the report.
 They didn’t tellthe police about the accident they had seen.
Question
 Had you finished your homework before the movie started?
 Hadn’t John told them what he wanted?
Take note: adverbs
Sometimes you might need to use an adverb like already or just with the past perfect. In
those cases, the adverb often goes between had/hadn’t and the past participle.
 When I arrived home, my sister had already made lunch.

 I had just taken off my coat when the telephone rang.
Take note: time expressions
The past perfect is often used with time expressions like when and by the time.
 When I arrived home, my sister had made lunch.

 By the time I arrived at work, the staff meeting had already started.
Spoken English
You might notice that sometimes the past perfect looks like this:
 I had left my season ticket at home.
Other times, it looks like this:

 I’d forgotten to set my alarm clock.
In speech and in informal writing, it’s common to use a contraction with the auxiliary verb.
 I’d forgotten to set my alarm clock.
 I hadn’t written the report.
When you listen to someone using the negative form hadn’t, listen carefully. It is
sometimes difficult to hear the difference between had and hadn’t, but it makes a big
difference in meaning!
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ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
Meaning and use
Adjectives and adverbs are words that we use to describe or modify other words.
Adjectives are used to tell us about nouns or pronouns. They give us information about
what someone or something is like.
 Can you pass me the yellow pen please?

 Are you happy?
Adverbs tell us about verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. They give us information about
how someone does something or the way that something happens.
 He walked slowly to his car. (This tells us about the verb 'to walk'. It tells is how he
walked.)
 It was a very sunny day. (This refers to the adjective 'sunny'. It tells us how sunny it
was.)
 He finished the exam really quickly. (This tells us about the adverb 'quickly'. It tells
us how quickly he finished.)
Form – Adjectives
Most common adjectives have no particular form. There is nothing about their structure
that shows they are an adjective.
happy, sad, light, green, quick, busy, large
Some adjectives are made by adding a suffix to a noun or verb.

 Fun – funny
 Week - weekly
 Child – childlike
 Fool – foolish
 Care – careful
 Accept – acceptable
Form – Adverbs
Like adjectives there is no regular structure to adverbs.
Soon, well, never, quite, often, already, just
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Many adverbs can be made by adding the suffix –ly to an adjective.
 Serious – seriously
 Total – totally
 Careful - carefully
 Sleepy - sleepily
 Slow - slowly
Take Note: -ly
Not all words that end in –ly are adverbs. There are many other word types that end in –ly.
 That was a silly thing to do. (Adjective)
 He was a bully at school. (Noun)
 You have to apply for the job. (Verb)
Take note: 'irregular' forms
Some adjectives have adverbial forms that are irregular or even identical. There may not be
–ly forms of these words and if there are, they have unconnected meanings.
Good / well
 She is a good player. (Adjective)
 He played well tonight. (Adverb)
There were a goodly number of people there. (Adjective, old-fashioned, means large or
high in terms of number of people and is not a positive comment about someone's ability or
skill.)
Late / Late
 Sorry I was late. (Adjective)
 He arrived late. (Adverb)
Lately you’ve been doing really well. (Adverb – lately means recently and does not refer
to punctuality.)
Fast / Fast
 I like fast cars. (Adjectives)
 She likes driving fast. (Adverb)
Hard / hard
 It was a hard exam. (Adjective)
 He works and plays hard. (Adverb)
He hardly goes to school. (Adverb – here it means 'not very often' and is not related to
difficulty or intensity.)
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THIRD CONDITIONAL
We use the third conditional to talk about imagined past events: things that might have
happened in the past, but didn’t happen.
If I’d known it was your birthday, I’d have bought you a present.
If the taxi had arrived on time, he wouldn’t have missed the plane.
A conditional sentence has two parts. In the third conditional, the if part is the imaginary
situation in the past, and the main part is what could have happened (but didn’t happen) as
a result. We make the third conditional with if + past perfect, and would have + past
participle.
If I’d known it was your birthday… (This is the imaginary situation in the past)
I’d have bought you a present. (This is the imaginary result of the situation in the past)
The two parts can come in any order. When we write, we put a comma between the if
part and the main part. You don’t use a comma when the main part comes first.
 If I’d known it was your birthday, I’d have bought you a present.
 I’d have bought you a present if I’d known it was your birthday.
 If the taxi had arrived on time, Jack wouldn’t have missed the plane.
 Jack wouldn’t have missed the plane if the taxi had arrived on time.
We use the past perfect in the if part to show the situation is imaginary and didn’t
actually happen. The main part of the sentence tells us the imaginary result of this situation.
If there had been any snow, we’d have gone skiing. (There wasn’t any snow; we didn’t go
skiing.)
If it hadn’t been raining, we’d have had a picnic.(It was raining; we didn’t have a picnic.)
Form
Positive
If you’d asked meto marry you, I’d have said no.

We’d have been in trouble if we’d missed the last train.
Negative
She wouldn’t have become ill if she’d taken the medicine.

It would have been better if they hadn’t come to the party.
If you hadn’t been so friendly, I wouldn’t have talked to you.
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Question
What would they have done if they’d lost their jobs?

If I’d told him the truth, how would he have felt?
Short answer
In short answers, you use would/wouldn’t.

If you’d needed help, would you have asked me?
Yes, I would. / No, I wouldn’t.
Take note: past continuous
We can use the past continuous in the if part of the sentence.
If he’d been driving morecarefully, he wouldn’t have had an accident.

I wouldn’t have met my girlfriend if I’d been living abroad.
Take note: modals
We can use other modal verbs in the main part, for example might.
Might shows we are less certain than when we use will.
We might have been happierif we’d boughtthe other house.

If he hadn’t got up so late,he might not have missed the train.
Take note: ‘I wish …’and ‘If only …’
We use I wish or If only with the past perfect when we are sorry about something that
happened in the past, and we imagine doing things differently.
I wish I’d stayed in bed this morning. (I’m having a bad day today.)
If only I’d stayed in bed this morning.
I wish I’d picked the other horse! (My horse didn’t win the race.)
If only I’d picked the other horse!
Spoken English
In the third conditional, we usually use a short form of had and had not when we speak:
I had = I’d, I had not = I hadn’t.
We also use a short form of would and would not:

I would = I'd, he would = he'd, I would not = I wouldn’t, etc.
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We’d have been unhappy if we’d lost the game.
We wouldn’t have been happy if we hadn’t won the game.
The third conditional is sometimes confusing because I’d can mean both I had and I would
– so listen carefully! And remember that I’d in the if part is I had, and I’d in the main part
is I would.
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LINKING DEVICES OF CAUSE AND EFFECT
Meaning and use
Linking devices are used to link one idea or argument to another. A common situation is
when we are talking about something that happens and its result, or a cause and its effect.
 [CAUSE] The population has increased. [EFFECT] The government is going to

build more houses.
GROUP 1: THEREFORE, CONSEQUENTLY, AS A RESULT, THUS
Form
These are also called conjunctive adverbs, and they all behave in the same way. This is
how we use consequently to join two ideas together. Notice the comma after consequently:
 The population has increased. Consequently, the government is going to build more
houses.
Or we could join the two sentences together using a semi-colon + consequently + comma:
 The population has increased; consequently, the government is going to build more
houses.
But you can't just add consequently without a semi-colon or comma. This is wrong:
 The population has increased consequently the government is going to build more
houses.
We can also replace consequently with any of the Group 1 words or phrases:
 The population has increased. As a result, the government is going to build more
houses.
 The population has increased; therefore, the government is going to build more
houses.
Note
Therefore and consequently are used mainly in writing or formal speech. Thus is a
little old-fashioned but is sometimes used in academic writing. That's why is very common
in informal speech. In writing, we usually use it at the beginning of a sentence.
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 The traffic was terrible. That's why I'm late.
GROUP 2: BECAUSE OF, AS A RESULT OF, DUE TO, OwING TO
Noun phrases and participle clauses
With Group 2 linking devices, the cause part is not a whole sentence or clause, it's a
noun phrase (a phrase that behaves like a noun) or participle clause (a short phrase that
begins with a verb, usually in the -ing form):
 interest rate rises (noun phrase)

 rising interest rates (participle clause)
Form
Let's imagine a cause and effect situation: interest rate rises are the cause of price
increases. This is one way we could connect them using owing to:
 The problem has increased owing to interest rate rises.

 The problem has increased owing to rising interest rates.
In Group 1, the linking device usually comes between the cause and effect parts. Cause is
always first, and effect is second.
With Group 2, the the cause can come first or second, and the linking device moves with it.
Notice that you need a comma after the linking device if it's in the first part of the sentence.
 As a result of interest rate rises, the problem has increased.

 The problem has increased as a result of interest rate rises.
Take note: The fact that
We can use a group 2 phrase + the fact that + a verb phrase:

 The problem has increased owing to the fact that interest rates are rising.
Take note: as a result and as a result of
As a result is in Group 1, and as a result of is in Group 2! They look very similar but
behave differently.
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REPORTED SPEECH
Meaning and use
If someone says something that you want to tell another person, you can report it using
direct speech or reported speech.
In direct speech we use speech (or quotation) marks to show the exact words the person
said.
"I’m hungry."
"I love chicken sandwiches."
We can also use a reporting verb to show who was speaking.
He says: "I’m hungry."

She tells me: "I love chicken sandwiches."
Say and tell are both reporting verbs. We use tell when we say who we are speaking to.
CORRECT: She tells me she loves chicken sandwiches. (The speaker is talking to ‘me’.)
CORRECT: She says she loves chicken sandwiches. (We don’t know who the speaker is
talking to.
WRONG: She says me she loves chicken sandwiches. (We don’t use ‘me’ with the
reporting verb ‘say’.)
CORRECT: She said TO me she loves chicken.
If the reporting verb is in the present tense, then the reported statement stays in the
present tense:
Direct speech
"He’s hungry", he says.

She tells me, "I love chicken sandwiches."
Reported speech
He says he is hungry.
She tells me she loves chicken sandwiches.
If the reporting verb is in the past tense, we usually change the present form to a past
form in reported speech.
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Direct speech
"He’s hungry", he said.

She told me, "I love chicken sandwiches."
Reported speech
He said he was hungry.

She told me she loved chicken sandwiches.
We change the pronoun when the speaker or listener changes.

A boy tells his mother: "I’m hungry.”
Later, the boy’s mother tells the father: He said he was hungry.
We can use that, but we can also miss it out and the meaning is the same.
He said that he was hungry. > He said he was hungry.

She told me that she loved chicken sandwiches. > She told me she loved chicken
sandwiches.
Form
In reported speech, we usually move the direct speech verb one step back in the past.
1) Present simple -> past simple

"I know you." -> She said she knew him.
2) Present continuous -> past continuous

"I am having coffee" -> He said he was having coffee.
3) Present perfect -> past perfect

"I have finished my homework" -> He said he had finished his homework.
4) Present perfect continuous -> past perfect continuous

"I have been studying Chinese" -> She said she had been studying Chinese.
5) Is going to - > was going to

"I am going to go home" -> She said she was going to go home.
6) Future simple - > would

"I will go to the bank later" -> He said he would go to the bank later.
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Notes
1) A reported statement in the past simple often stays the same:
"I drove to work" -> She said she drove to work.
2) And you can't go further back in time than the past perfect, so it stays the same too:
"I had driven to work" -> She said she had driven to work.
3) Modal verbs: some change in reported speech:

“I can/can't speak Turkish” -> She said she could/couldn't speak Turkish.
“I must/mustn't wash my hair” -> She said she had to/didn't have to wash her hair.
4) Some modal verbs don't change:

“I could take the bus” -> He said he could take the bus.
“I should go to bed” -> She said she should go to bed.
“I might watch TV” -> He said he might watch TV.
5) We don’t change the verb in reported speech if the situation hasn’t changed, for example
if it’s a fact or is generally true:
"I love you" -> She told me she loves me.
6) But we can use the past tense to show you're not certain the other person loves her/him –
for example, the other person wasn’t telling the truth
"I love you" -> She said she loved me.
Questions
A direct question is:

Where are you from?
A reported question is:

He asked where I was from.
To form a reported question, you need to follow these steps:
1) Use a reporting verb:

2) Repeat the question word:

3) Change the pronouns:

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4) Move the tense back:
5) Use statement word order:

Note: Yes/no questions
For yes/no questions, we use if or whether.
Example: Is it two o'clock?

 She asked if it was two o'clock
 She asked whether it was two o'clock
Form summary
Positive
"I love you." > He said he loved her.

"I’ve been working hard." > She told me that she’d been working hard.
"I’ll see you later." > He said he would see me later.
Negative
"I didn’t have time to go shopping." > He said he hadn’t had time to go shopping. “I can’t
talk to you." > She told me that she couldn’t talk to me.
"I wouldn’t want to live in the country." > He said he wouldn’t want to live in the
country.
Question
"Where can I buy a hamburger?" > She asked where she could buy a hamburger.
"Who must I see at the bank?" > He asked who he had to see at the bank.
"Are you going to Leila’s party?" > She asked if I was going to Leila’s party.
Short answers
“Yes, I am. / No, I’m not.”> I said I was. / I said I wasn’t.
Take note: facts and general truths
We don’t change the verb in reported speech if the situation hasn’t changed, for example
if it’s a fact or is generally true. Compare:
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She told me she loves me. (The speaker uses the present tense to show (s)he believes the
other person still loves her/him now.)
She told me she loved me. (The speaker uses the past tense to show (s)he isn’t certain the
other person loves her/him – for example, the other person wasn’t telling the truth.)
Take note: the past perfect
The past perfect doesn’t change in reported speech because there isn’t a verb form further
'back in time'.
"I had never eaten sushi before I went to Japan." > 'She told me that she had never eaten
sushi before she went to Japan.
Take note: reporting verbs
We can use different verbs to report our thoughts, opinions or intentions.

"I know which way to go." -> He thought he knew which way to go.
"I stole the books." -> He admitted that he had stolen the books.
"Why doesn’t she like me?" -> He wondered why she didn’t like him.
Spoken English
Some contracted forms in reported speech can be difficult to hear, for example the past
perfect and conditional. He asked who’d eaten the cake. I told him he’d have to take the
train. In the first example, the words ‘who’and ‘had’ become who’d. In the second
example, ‘he’and ‘would’ become he’d. In both examples, two different words are
shortened to just a /d/ sound. So, listen carefully for past tense contractions – make sure you
get them right.
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ACTIVE AND PASSIVE
Meaning and use
In English, we can express sentences in two different ways: active voice and passive
voice.
The active voice is used when the focus is on the subject (or agent) of the main verb.
This is the person or thing doing the verb.

 Millions of people use the internet every day.
 A strong storm destroyed many houses in the village.
 Only six students passed the test.
The passive voice is used when the person or the thing affected by the main verb becomes
the focus.
 The internet is used by millions of people every day.
 Many houses in the village were destroyed by a strong storm.
 The test was passed by only six students.
The passive is often used when the person or thing doing the verb is not important,
unknown, or obvious. In this case, we may leave them out completely.
 The solution was heated to 100 degrees. (agent is unimportant)
 My bike was stolen last Thursday. (identity of agent is unknown)
 The president was voted into office. (agent is obvious)
Form
The active voice is made with subject + main verb + object.

 Bees make honey.
 James Cameron directed Titanic.
 Alex is repairing Bill's bicycle.
The passive voice is made with subject + to be + past participle + by + object.

Note that the active voice object becomes the passive voice subject. In the passive, the main
verb is always the past participle.
Positive
 Honey is made by bees.
 Titanic was directed by James Cameron.
 Bill's bicycle is being repaired by Alex.
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Negative
We make the negative passive with subject + negative of to be + past participle + by +

object.
 Honey is not made by wasps.

 Titanic wasn’t directed by George Lucas.
 Bill's bicycle is not being repaired by Alex.
Question
 Is honey made by bees?

 Was Titanic directed by James Cameron?
 Is Bill's bicycle being repaired by Alex?
Take note: describing a process
We can use the passive voice to describe processes in which the action is more important
than the person performing it.
 The metal sheeting was heated and bent into shape before being cooled, polished,
and finally painted.
Spoken English
When using the passive voice, get is sometimes used in place of the verb to be. This is
especially common in informal, spoken English.
 I got fired for being late!

 These letters get delivered first.
 Your bike will get stolen if you don’t lock it up.
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MEANING AND USE
We use comparative adjectives and adverbs to compare one person or thing with
another person or thing.
Today is hotter than yesterday.

I think documentaries are more interesting than the news.
Can you drive faster? – I'm late.
My brother speaks more fluently than me.
We can repeat comparatives with and to say how something changes.
Train journeys in the UK are becoming more and more expensive.

The sky grew darker and darker and we knew the storm would break soon.
We can use two different comparatives with the to say how something changes as
something else changes.
The faster they went, the louder they screamed.

The taller she grew, the thinner she became.
We use superlative adjectives and adverbs to compare one person or thing with
several other people or things of the same kind.
September is the busiest month for our business..

Angelina Jolie was the highest paid actress last year.
Which student has worked the hardest this year?
We often use superlatives with the present perfect to talk about a particular life
experience.
That was the funniest film I've seen this year.

He swam the fastest he has ever swum to win gold.
Form
We make comparatives in two ways: by adding -er or by putting more in front of the
adjective or adverb.
This hotel is cheaper than the one on the beach.

Life in the country is more peaceful than in the city.
Ali spoke more accurately than Khalid in the exam.
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We usually use than with the comparative, but not always.
He's better than me at tennis.

Can you talk more quietly, please - I'm trying to work.
We make superlatives by adding -est or by putting most in front of the adjective or adverb.
It's the cheapest restaurant in town.

He spoke the most confidently in the final interviews.
We usually use the before the superlative, but we sometimes use a possessive adjective.
August is the quietest month in Paris.

December is our busiest time of year.
For adjectives and adverbs with one syllable, add -er in the comparative form, and
-est in the superlative form. If the adjective or adverb already ends in -e, then just add
-r (comparative) or -st (superlative).
Adjective/adverb: great nice fast

Comparative: greater nicer faster
Superlative: greatest nicest fastest
If an adjective ends in a vowel + consonant, double the last letter before adding
-er or -est (unless it ends in -w).
Adjective: big hot new

Comparative: bigger hotter newer
Superlative: biggest hottest newest
If an adjective or adverb has three or more syllables, use more in the comparative,
and most in the superlative.
Adjective/adverb: expensive fluently

Comparative: more expensive more fluently
Superlative: most expensive most fluently
To form the comparative and superlative of some two-syllables adjectives, you can
either add -er/-est or use more/most.
Adjective: quiet common pleasant

Comparative: quieter / more quiet commoner / more common pleasanter / more
pleasant
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Superlative: quietest / most quiet commonest / most common pleasantest / most
pleasant
To form the comparative and superlative of two-syllable adjectives or adverbsthat end

in -y, change the 'y' to 'i' before adding -er/-est.
Adjective/adverb: busy early

Comparative: busier earlier
Superlative: busiest earliest
Remember: irregular comparatives and superlatives
Some adjectives and adverbs have irregular comparative and superlative forms.
His cold has got worse since he went back to work.

It's the best film I've seen in a long time.
Adjective: good bad far little
Comparative: better worse further less
Superlative: best worst furthest least
Adverb: well badly

Comparative: better worse
Superlative: best worst
Take note: much/a lot
We use much or a lot before an adjective or adverb to emphasise the degree of

comparison.
Shirley is much more popular than Janet.

This winter is a lot worse than last year.
I work much more effectively when I have a good night's sleep.
Take note: (not) as … as
To say that two things or people are similar in some way, use as + adjective/adverb + as.
Mario is as clever as his brother.
Juliana shouted as loudly as the others but the teacher didn’t choose her.
Idioms with (not) as … as
There are many set idioms in English which use as + adjective + as to make comparisons.
These are often used in narrative texts to make writing more interesting and colourful.
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He was as quiet as a mouse.
The material was as thin as ice.
Her hands were as warm as toast.
He ran as fast as the wind to escape.
When Anna heard the news, she turned as white as a sheet.
He picked her up and she was as light as a feather.
We can use not as/so + adjective + as to say that two things or people are not equal in
some way.
Ishbel is not as talented as her sister.

The final wasn't so exciting as the semi-final.
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PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Meaning and use
We use the past perfect continuous to describe an action or situation that was happening
over a period of time up to another past event or point in time. It is often used to give
background information.
 I had been living in London for two years when I met Alice.
 I’d been waiting for two hours before the bus arrived.
We often use it with the past simple. The past perfect continuous is always used for the
action that happened or started happening earlier.
 He had a headache because he had been listening to loud music.

 Silvia had been sleeping for three hours when her mother woke her up.
However, the events in the sentence do not have to appear in the order they happened.
The earlier event can come second.
 Before I met Alice, I had been living in London for two years. (the earlier event
appears later in the sentence)
 I had been living in London for two years before I met Alice. (the earlier event
appears first in the sentence)
The past perfect continuous can be used with a relative clause:
Jack ran the marathon in 2014, for which he had been training since 2010.
…or with a time conjunction:
 After I had been swimming for an hour, I was so cold I had to stop.
The past perfect continuous can also be used to give reasons:
 I was exhausted when I got home because I had been training the whole morning.
Take note: past perfect continuous versus past perfect simple
For activities that continue for a long time (work, run, sleep…), we can often use the
simple or continuous forms of the past perfect.
 Patrick felt refreshed because he had slept all afternoon.

 Patrick felt refreshed because he had been sleeping all day.
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If the earlier action has been completed, then we use the past perfect.
 I’d already cooked supper when Jan got home.
If the earlier action is incomplete, then we use the past perfect continuous. This focuses on
the process or how long the action continued, rather than the end result.
 The children had been playing in the park for hours when they suddenly realised that
it was dark.
We use the past perfect simple if we say how many times something happened up to a
particular time in the past.
 He had read the book three times.

 He had cycled two kilometres before he realised he had a puncture.
Form
The past perfect continuous is made with:

subject + had/hadn’t + been + -ing form of verb
Positive
 John went to the doctor because he’d been having trouble sleeping.
Negative
 We hadn’t been waiting long when the taxi arrived.
Question

Had (not) + subject + been + -ing form of verb
 Had you been drinking when you fell off your bike?
Take note: Pronouncing the past perfect continuous
In informal writing and in speech, we often use a contraction with the auxiliary verb in
the past perfect continuous:
 They’d been watching television for two hours when their parents returned.
 I felt dizzy because I hadn’t been drinking enough water during the race..
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THE DEFINITE ARTICLE wITH ABSTRACT
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Meaning and use
The definite article is the word the.
An uncountable noun, sometimes called a mass noun is a noun that usually does not
have a plural form. It refers to something that cannot be counted numerically. Which means
the amount of it cannot usually be specified with just a number.
Some examples of this kind of noun are:
bread, water, milk, air, snow, accommodation, furniture
Abstract uncountable nouns do not refer to things that we can sense, things that we can
taste, touch, smell, hear or see. They refer to ideas, feelings, emotions qualities and
concepts. Some examples of this kind of noun are:
love, fun, happiness, kindness, patience, truth, hope, childhood
Take note: general and specific statements and the definite article
When we use an abstract uncountable noun to make a general statement, we don’t

use the.
When we use an abstract uncountable noun to refer to a specific example of a noun, we
use the before the noun.
Compare these examples:

Money can’t buy you happiness.
This is a general statement about happiness; that it can’t be bought.
I can’t express the happiness (that) I felt when my son was born.
This statement refers to a particular time of happiness. The defining relative clause (that) I
felt when my son was born identifies which time of happiness.
Enthusiasm is important in any line of work.

This is a general statement about the importance of enthusiasm.
The enthusiasm she has for her craft is obvious.

This statement refers to enthusiasm for a specific activity. The phrase she has for her craft
indentifies the particular activity.
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A quality I look for in a partner is intelligence.
This statement refers to intelligence in general, as an appealing quality.
She’s got the intelligence to get to the very top of her profession.
This statement refers to a particular level of intelligence needed for a specific achievement.
The phrase to get to the very top of her profession defines which achievement.
Everyone is entitled to freedom.

This is a general statement about the idea of freedom.
Just because you’re 15 now doesn’t mean you have the freedom to come and go as you
please.
This sentence focuses on a specific freedom. The phrase to come and go as you please
defines the freedom, which in this case is not granted!
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WAYS OF TALKING ABOUT THE FUTURE
1) We use will for statements about the future, and for predictions about the future. It often
expresses the future as fact – so it's used for very strong opinions or predictions. It can also
be used for instant decisions made at the time of speaking.
 In 100 years' time, everyone will have an electric car.
2) Be going to is used for present situations that extend into the future, or for something
you want to do. There is often present evidence for the prediction.
 The government is going to raise fuel taxes.
3) The present continuous is used for arrangements. It's very similar to going to for
intention.
 I'm cooking for six guests next week.
4) The present simple is used for timetabled events.
 The meal starts at six.
5) In addition, we can use be about to talk about that will happen in the near future.
 Quick, the film is about to start!

 We're about to leave. Get on the bus.
6) Some normal verbs also indicate plans and intentions for the future.
 I plan to study photography next year.

 I aim to be finished by 8pm.
 Mark intends to move to Berlin.
 We've arranged to meet next Monday.
 She decided to take the train tomorrow.
Form
Will: subject + will + infinitive

Be going to: subject + am/are/is going to + base form of verb
Present continuous: subject + am/are/is + ing form of verb
Present simple: subject + verb
About to: subject + am/are/is about to + base form
Normal verbs: use as usual, followed by to + base form of verb
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RELATIVE CLAUSES
Meaning and use
Relative clauses are used to give additional information about a noun, such as a person,
place or thing. Relative pronouns introduce a relative clause. They include who for people,
that and which for things, when for time, and whose to show possession.
Relative clauses belong to one of two categories: defining relative clauses and non-
defining relative clauses.
1. Defining relative clauses add essential information to a sentence.
The woman who found my wallet handed it in to reception.

The student whose dog has run away, has gone to look for it.
I remember the day when we first met.
These are the earrings that my mother gave me.
These clauses give essential information about the subject of the sentence. They define
the person, time or thing that we are talking about. If we remove the clause, the sentence
does not make sense.
2. Non-defining relative clauses add extra information to a noun or noun phrase.
My friend’s birthday, which was last weekend, was great fun.

My current girlfriend, who I love very much, calls me every night.
This extra information is not essential. If weremove the clause, the sentence still makes
sense.. This type of clause is more common in written English.
Form
Defining relative clauses are made with noun + relative pronoun + rest of clause.
A kangaroo is an animal which lives in Australia.

The man who came for lunch was my uncle.
Winter is a time when it sometimes snows.
Non-defining relative clauses are made in the same way. An important difference,
however, between both types of clause is the use of punctuation. With non-defining
relative clauses, we separate the clause with commas. We cannot use that in this type of
clause.
My favourite food, which used to be Italian, is now Japanese.

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Rachel, who we met yesterday, lives in this neighbourhood.
My car, which I bought seven years ago, needs replacing.
This shirt, which I bought last weekend, cost £50.
My best friend, who I met at university, is coming for dinner.
Take note: replacing the relative pronoun
In informal communication, relative pronouns, such as who and when,are commonly

replaced with that in defining relative clauses.
The woman that called last night was very polite.

Do you remember the time that you first met?
Take note: leaving out the relative pronoun
When using defining relative clauses in informal speech and writing, the relative
pronoun can be left out completely if it refers to the object of the relative clause.
This is the shirt that I bought.

This is the shirt I bought.
The girl who I like isn’t here yet.
The girl I like isn’t here yet.
In non-defining relative clauses, the relative pronoun cannot be left out.
Take note: spoken English
The relative pronoun who is used when referring to people. However, in formal written
and spoken English, if the pronoun refers to the object of the clause, we use whom instead.
My German teacher, whom I really admired, retired last year.
The woman whom I called this morning was my secretary.
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ADVERB POSITION 1
Meaning and use
Adverbs are words and phrases that we use to give more information about verbs,
adjectives and other adverbs. They answer questions such as where? when? how? how
often?
He walked quickly to the station.

I often play tennis.
They haven’t been home recently.
He wore a bright yellow short.
She answered very quickly.
Form
When adverbs are used to modify a verb, generally they can be placed in three positions:
 First: before the subject
Carefully, Peter opened the box.
 Second: before the main verb
Peter carefully opened the box.
 Third: after the direct object or complement of the verb.
Peter opened the box carefully.
You can put many adverbs in any of these positions depending on context or style.
Take note: Second position adverbs and the verb to be
When the verb to be is the main verb of a sentence, we usually put adverbs immediately
after the verb.
He’s always on time.

I was never happy at school.
Take note: Second position adverbs with auxiliaries and modals
When a sentence has an auxiliary or modal, we usually put the adverb after the first
auxiliary or modal and before the main verb.
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You can never predict what mood he is going to be in.
I’ve rarely seen him angry.
I will always love you.
They shouldn’t ever have done that.
Take Note: Second position adverbs in questions
In a question adverbs come between the subject and the main verb.
Have you ever thought of changing job?

Would you really like it if I visited?
Take note: Adverbs and negatives
In negative sentences put the adverb after the auxiliary/modal and before the main verb
I don’t usually like going out on weeknights.

They won’t always let you in after midnight.
Take Note: Where not to put an adverb
We don’t put an adverb between a main verb and its direct object.
I play tennis very well. Correct

I play very well tennis. Not correct
Another place we don’t put an adverb is between a verb and a gerund or infinitive with to.
He started cycling professionally in 2011. Correct

He started professionally cycling in 2011. Not correct
I’d like to sit down again. Correct
I’d like again to sit down. Not correct
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ADVERB POSITION 2
Meaning and use
Adverbs are words and phrases that we use to give more information about verbs,
adjectives and other adverbs. They answer questions such as where? when? how? how
often?
 He calmly picked up his coat and left.

 She regularly brings her own lunch to work.
 I haven’t seen my brother in a while.
 She drives a dark black sports car
 They deliver very quickly.
Form
There are many different adverbs. There is no particular form that identifies a word as an
adverb. Some adjectives can be turned in to adverbs by adding –ly.
 It was a slow journey. (adjective)

 She drove slowly. (adverb)
-ly adjectives are sometimes referred to as adverbs of manner. They describe the way
someone does something. Note though that not all words that end in –ly are adverbs, not all
adverbs of manner end in -ly and not all adjectives can made into adverbs this way.
Adverbs can be a single word or a group of words.
 I really like it here.

 We arrived the day before yesterday.
Take note: Adverb position with adjectives
When an adverb is used to talk about an adjective, put the adverb before the adjective.
 We’re so glad you came.
 I’ve had a very good day today.
 I’d say his car was a dark blue.
Take note: Adverb position with other adverbs
When an adverb is used to talk about another adverb, put the adverb before the adverb to
be modified.
 You drove incredibly dangerously.
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Take note: Adverb position with verbs
When adverbs are used to modify a verb, generally they can be placed before the subject,
before the main verb or after the direct object or complement of the verb.
 Usually I try to get there early.

 I usually try to get there early
 I try to get there early usually.
You can put many adverbs in any of these positions depending on context or style. There
are some general guides though that you can follow as we tend to use some adverbs in
particular positions.
Take note: Adverbs of indefinite frequency and degree adverbs
These are frequently used in the second position. Some examples of these adverbs are:
always, never, hardly ever, often, rarely, regularly, seldom, almost, hardly, nearly,
quite, scarcely
 I will always love you.

 I had never seen anything like it.
Take note: Adverbs of place and adverbs of definite time and frequency
These usually go in the third position. Some examples of these adverbs are: downstairs,
over there, on the table, last week, daily
 I ride my bike daily.
Take note: adverbial phrases of time or frequency
Use these adverbs in the first or third positions, but not the second. Some examples of
these adverbials are: from time to time, as a rule, every so often
 From time to time I buy things online.

 I buy things online from time to time.
Take note: Really
The meaning of the adverb really can change depending on its position. Before an
adjective it has a meaning similar to very.
 When we lost the match I was really disappointed.

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In other positions it has the meaning of actually or in fact, truly.
 I really do want to go - I wasn’t joking.
Take note: Yet
Yet usually goes in the third position in negatives and questions.

 Have they arrived yet?
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NARRATIVE TENSES
Meaning and use
We use narrative tenses to talk about the past. We can use them to tell a story or to
describe past events, including personal anecdotes.
 When I lived on the island, I enjoyed walking on the beach in the early morning with
Bonnie - my best friend and my dog.
 Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939 after Germany had attacked
Poland two days earlier. Britain had been trying to negotiate a peaceful settlement.
The four narrative tenses are the past simple, past continuous, past perfect and past
perfect continuous and one or more of these can be used in a sentence.
 We were walking as usual one day, when all of a sudden, Bonnie shot off. She
started to bark furiously. I saw a man sleeping face down on the sand. Bonnie
continued to bark, but the man didn’t wake up. He wasn’t sleeping; he was dead. It
was clear that the storm had washed up the body.
Past simple
We can use the past simple for actions that started and finished in the past, for example a
series of events in someone’s life.
 Nelson Mandela was born in 1918. He became the first black President of South
Africa. He spent 27 years in prison in his battle against the system of apartheid.
The past simple is often used in stories and dialogue, too.
- When Bobby went down for breakfast, Matt looked up.

- “Did you hear the storm last night?”
- Bobby didn’t answer.
- “Your brother went out last night. He didn’t come back. Do you know where he went?”
- Bobby’s heart sank. She knew exactly where Dan had gone…
Past continuous
We use the past continuous for background information and to describe a scene or
situation that continued for some time.
 At 6 o’clock that evening Dan was still missing. Bobby was feeling worried.
 Bonnie was barking loudly.
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Past simple and past continuous
We often use the past simple and past continuous together when one action interrupts
another.
 I was strolling along the beach one day when suddenly, Bonnie ran off.
 It was still raining when Bobby woke up the next morning. Dan was sitting at the
table when she went into the kitchen.
Past simple and past perfect
We can use the past perfect with the past simple together in a sentence to describe an
action that happened before another past action.
 I quickly realised that the storm the previous night had washed up the body.
 Bobby knew that Dan hadn’t wanted to come home but she also knew that he hadn’t
had any other option.
Past perfect continuous
We use this tense to describe something that has been happening over a long period of time.
 I could tell that the body had been lying on the beach for several hours because the
man’s clothes were dry.
 Britain had been trying to negotiate a peaceful settlement between Poland and
Germany.
Take note: linking devices
When we tell a story in the past, we often use linking words or phrases to join two or
more sentences or clauses. This helps the narrative to flow in a more interesting and natural
way. Some linking phrases and words show a sequence of events or actions.
 Nelson Mandela never gave up on his struggle against apartheid. As the years went
by, his fame spread to every corner of the world. In the end, under enormous global
pressure, the government had no option but to release him.
Other linking words and phrases that signal order of events are: First of all …, Then …,
Next …, Finally …, After that …, After several months/days/hours/weeks …, By the time …,
All of a sudden …
We also use linking words and phrases in dialogue to indicate interest in what is being
said and to keep the conversation flowing.
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- So how did you meet your wife?
- Well, it’s a strange story: what happened was I was training as a paramedic and one day
we got a call to a house in East Street.
- Oh, my cousin lives there! …
- Really? … So, anyway, when we arrived in East Street, another ambulance was already
there!
- So what happened?
- Sylvie and I treated the patient together. The rest is history!
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MULTI-wORD VERBS / PHRASAL VERBS
TYPE 1, 2, 3 & 4
Meaning and use
Multi-word verbs are verbs that combine with one or two particles, which may be
adverbs or prepositions, to make new verbs. They are sometimes called phrasal verbs. A lot
of common verbs do this and many of them can combine with several different particles.
Each one changes the meaning of the verb.
Shall we give away all the old books in the office? (give them to someone else)
He kept on arguing so in the end I gave in. (decide to agree with someone)
I’ll just have water. I’m trying to give up coffee. (stop doing or using something)
Sometimes you can guess the meaning of a phrasal verb because it is related to the main
verb. Look at this example again.
Shall we give away all the old books in the office?
The meaning is clearly related to the verb give. in the other two examples above though,
the meaning has completely changed.
Phrasal verbs are often used in spoken and informal English instead of a more formal verb.
I don’t believe that story. I think he made it up! (invented it)

Come to my office and we’ll talk it over. (discuss it)
‘Is the meeting still on today?’ ‘No, they’ve called it off.’ (cancelled it)
Form
There are four different types of phrasal verbs.
Type 1 Separable phrasal verbs
They are transitive (= they have an object). Most phrasal verbs are this type.
He’s set up a meeting. / He’s set a meeting up.

I’ve worked out the answer./ I’ve worked the answer out.
Notice that you can put the object after the phrasal verb, but you can also separate the main
verb and the particle.
If you use an object pronoun, you must always separate the main verb and the particle.
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He’s set it up
NOT: He’s set up it.
Type 2 Non-separable phrasal verbs 1
They are transitive (= they have an object), but you can never separate the two parts of
the verb. Prepositional verbs (verbs that are followed by a preposition and not an adverb)
are always of this type.
You can get on the bus right outside the building.

NOT: You can get the bus on right outside the building.
I completely disagree with him.

NOT: I completely disagree him with.
Type 3 Non-separable phrasal verbs 2
They are intransitive (=they don’t have an object) and you can’t separate the two parts of
the verb.
Watch out! There’s a car coming.
Unfortunately the deal has fallen through.
Why don’t you drop in on your way home?
Type 4 Three-part phrasal verbs
They have an adverb and a preposition followed by a direct object. You can’t separate
the parts of the phrasal verb.
Mark’s come up with a brilliant new idea.

I was nervous, but determined to go through with it.
You should always stand up for what you think is right.
Take note: Type 3 and Type 4 phrasal verbs
Some phrasal verbs are both Type 3 and Type 4. You can add a preposition so that the
Type 3 verb can have an object.
"Where’s the paper for the photocopier?"

"I think we’ve run out. Jake! Have we run out of paper for the photocopier?"
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FUTURE CONTINUOUS AND BE + INFINITIVE wITH
FUTURE SENSE
Meaning and use
Future continuous
We use the future continuous to talk about events that will be in progress at a particular
time or over a period of time in the future. These are usually plans or predictions.
 I will be travelling around for three months before heading for Nepal.
 This time next year he’ll be working in Dubai.
 A taxi will be waiting outside the station when you arrive.
 The sky looks very dark. It’ll be raining soon.
 What will you be doing tonight?
We can also use the future continuous to say that a future action will be in progress at the
same time as another action.
 I’ll be thinking of you when I’m sitting on the beach in the Bahamas.
Be + infinitive
We use be + infinitive to talk about future events which involve instruction or necessity.
 Students are to enter the hall from the back.

 The children are to do their homework before watching TV.
 You’re not to go out without telling me!
This structure is usually used in more formal English and to describe official arrangements.
 The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are to visit India next month.
 They are to be married soon.
The be + infinitive structure is frequently used in newspaper, radio and television reports. It
expresses near certainty that what is forecast will happen.
 A man is to appear in court later today charged with murder.

 The company has announced that it is to close 200 of its high street stores.
Take note: future continuous for assumption, enquiries and emphasis
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We can also use the future continuous to say what we believe or imagine to be true.
 It’s seven o’clock. She’ll be driving back now.
We also use it for emphasis when talking about plans or intentions.

 We won’t be taking the car on the ferry to France. It’s too expensive.
In this case it can be replaced by the present continuous or going to + main verb.
 We’re not taking the car on the ferry to France. It’s too expensive. (present
continuous)
 (We’re not going to take the car on the ferry to France. It’s too expensive. (going to
+ main verb)
The future continuous is sometimes used to make polite enquiries about people’s plans.
 Will you be staying for dinner?
Form
Future continuous positive

subject + will + be + -ing form of verb
 I’ll be starting in the south and making my way north by train.
Future continuous negative

subject + won’t + be + -ing form of verb
 They won’t be staying very long as they have to get back.
Questions

will / won’t + subject + be + -ing form of verb
We can also use question words.

 Why will they be arriving so late tonight?
Be + infinitive positive
subject + be + infinitive with to
 The prime minister is to give a speech tonight at the town hall.

subject + not + be + infinitive with to
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 You’re not to go to bed late tonight. You’ve got to get up early tomorrow.
Take note: shall/will
Sometimes, and in more formal situations, we can also use shall / shan’t instead of will /
won’t with I and we in future continuous sentences.
I shall be arriving late tonight as the concert doesn’t finish until 11.30.
I shan’t be leaving here before 8 tonight as I have so much work to do.Pronunciation
We often use a contraction with will in the future continuous in informal writing and
when speaking:
They’ll be wondering where we are.
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CONDITIONALS REVIEw
Meaning and use
Conditional sentences express a connection between two actions or states. One thing
happens because of another. These connections can be general, specific, likely, unlikely,
real or imagined.
Although there are quite a few different ways of forming conditional sentences there are
common patterns known as zero, first, second and third conditionals.
Zero conditionals
Used to refer to general truths, scientific facts and the predictable results of particular
actions. One thing happens and because of this something else happens. In zero conditionals
if and when have the same meaning.
If you heat water enough, it boils.

When he scores, he celebrates by making a heart shape with his hands.
When it’s raining, he stays indoors.
First conditionals
Used when we want to talk about something that is likely to happen in the future after a
specific set of circumstances, the condition. If is used is when the condition is possible and
when is used when the condition is certain to happen.
If I go to the shops, I’ll get some bread. (I might not go to the shops)
When I go to the shops, I’ll get some bread. (I’m definitely going to the shops)
If you’ve finished your homework by six, you can go out and play.
When you’re having your party, please keep the noise down!
Second conditionals
Refer to an imagined present result of an unlikely or impossible present condition.
If I had the money, I’d travel around the world. (I don’t have the money
If I were you, I’d think about leaving him. (I’m not you)
Third conditionals
Refer to an imagined past result of something that didn’t happen in the past.
If I had known you were coming, I wouldn’t have prepared the cheese dish.
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(I didn’t know you were coming. I prepared a cheese dish.)
If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have wasted so much time at university.
(I didn’t know then what I know now. I did waste a lot of time at university.)
Form
Conditional sentences usually have two parts. There is the if clause (sometimes called
the conditional clause) and the result clause (sometimes called the main clause). The
clauses can come in any order.
If the if clause is first, the two clauses are separated by a comma.
There is no comma if the result clause is first.
Zero conditional
If clause: if/when + present simple

Result clause: present simple
When I turn it on, it makes a funny noise.

If you multiply ten by twelve, what do you get?
Milk goes bad if you leave it out too long.
First conditional

Result clause: will / 'll + infinitive without to / imperative
If it rains, you’ll get wet.

If it rains, put your coat on.
If you’re leading at half time, I’ll let your dad know.
If you’ve won, give me a call as soon as possible.
Second conditional
If clause: if + past simple (exception: verb 'to be' takes 'were' in 1st and 2nd person)
Result clause: would / 'd + infinitive without to
If I knew what was wrong, I’d fix it myself.

I’d be out on my bike if it weren’t raining so hard.
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Third conditional
If clause: if + past perfect

Main clause: would / 'd + have / 've + past participle
If I'd known it'd break, I wouldn't have tried to pick it up.

If you hadn't insisted on changing your shirt we wouldn't've missed the bus.
Take note: modals
Most first, second and third conditional clauses commonly use will or would but it is
possible to use other modal auxiliaries instead. For example:
First conditional
If you go to the shops, can you get some bread, please?

If you go to the shops, could you get some bread, please?
If I go to the beach at the weekend, I might try out my new wet suit.
If I get a phone call this afternoon, it may be good news.
When we go on holiday this year, we should book a nicer hotel.
Second conditional
If I had enough money, I could travel around the world.

If I were elected, I might be able to do some good.
Third conditional
If you’d told me earlier, I could’ve done something about it.

If we had caught the right bus, we might’ve been on time.
Take note: mixed conditionals
Mixed conditionals combine the structure of type 2 and type 3 conditionals when the
time (past, present and future) referred to in the if and result clauses are not the same.
Mixed conditionals can refer to:
 something that didn’t happen in the past and the result of that condition in the present
If you hadn’t left the map at home, we wouldn’t be lost.
(You left the map at home in the past. We are lost now.)
 something that won’t happen in the future and the result of that condition on the past
If I weren’t going on holiday next week, I could have accepted that offer of work.
(I am going on holiday in the future which is why I didn’t accept the offer of work in
the past.)
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LINKING DEVICES OF CONTRAST
Meaning and use
We can use different words and phrases to highlight a contrast between two parts of a
sentence. Some of these words and phrases are:
although, even though, despite, in spite of, however and but.
 Although we are the best of friends we still disagree from time to time.
 Even though we are the best of friends we still disagree from time to time.
 Despite being the best of friends we still disagree from time to time.
 In spite of being the best of friends we still disagree from time to time.
 We are the best of friends; we still disagree from time to time, however.
 We are the best of friends but we still disagree from time to time.
Form
Although / Even though
These conjunctions are used at the beginning of a clause. They introduce a contrast
between two ideas, sentences or clauses.
They have similar meanings and are used in the same way. Even though highlights the
contrast more strongly than although.
 Even though I did well at the interview I didn’t get the job.
 Although I did well at the interview I didn’t get the job.
 Even though I was really angry I tried not to show it.
 Although I was really angry I tried not to show it.
Despite / in spite of
These are prepositions and are followed by nouns or noun phrases. They can’t be
followed directly by a verb phrase. If a verb is used it must be changed to the noun form
(gerund).
 Despite doing well at the interview I didn’t get the job.

 In spite of doing well at the interview I didn’t get the job.
 Despite my being really angry I tried not to show it.
 In spite of my being really angry I tried not to show it.
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A verb phrase can be used with these expressions by adding the fact after the preposition.
 Despite the fact I did well at the interview I didn’t get the job.
 In spite of the fact I did well at the interview I didn’t get the job.
 Despite the fact I was really angry I tried not to show it.
 In spite of the fact I was really angry I tried not to show it.
However
However is an adverb. It comes after the part of the sentence that is being contrasted. It
can go in different parts of the clause.
 I did well at the interview. However, I didn’t get the job.

 I did well at the interview; I didn’t, however, get the job.
 I did well at the interview; I didn’t get the job, however.
 I was really angry; however, I tried not to show it.
 I was really angry; I tried, however, not to show it.
 I was really angry. I tried not to show it, however.
But
This is a conjunction that links two parts of a sentence together. It goes before the clause
that has the contrast.
 I did well at the interview but I didn’t get the job.
 I was really angry but I tried not show it.
Take note: Though and although
Though is a shortened form of although. Notice though that although we say even
though, we don’t say even although.
Take note: However at the beginning of a sentence
It is not a mistake to use however at the beginning of sentence. However, some people
feel that is. If you want to avoid it, use a semi-colon after the first clause rather than a full-
stop.
 I did well at the interview; however, I didn’t get the job.
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THE FUTURE PERFECT
Meaning and use
We use the future perfect verb form to make educated guesses about things that will
happen or that have happened. These predictions are based on what we know now, and are
about activities that we expect to be completed by a particular time.
 This time next year, I’ll have finished my course.

 By the time you get back, we’ll have had dinner.
 On their next wedding anniversary, they’ll have been married 50 years.
 We’re still on time: the film won’t have started yet.
 If they’re following their schedule, they will have arrived yesterday.
The future perfect is often used with a by or in time phrase.
 By 2020 this city will have doubled in size.

 In June, I’ll have been unemployed for three years.
Used in this way, by means up to a stated time. Other by time phrases are: by the
summer, by the end of the week, by this time next week/month/year.
We can also use by the time (that) + present simple.

 By the time he arrives, the film will have started.
The expressions … from now or in… time can be used instead of in.
 It’s possible that fifty years from now, scientists will have discovered a cure for
cancer.
 It’s likely that in fifty years' time, we will have discovered a new planet.
Take note: future perfect for past?
It may seem strange to use a future form to talk about the past. Remember: the future
perfect is based on what you know now - so it's actually a present form. In the present, we
don't know with 100% certainty what will happen in the future. We also don't know
everything that has happened in the past. However, if we are familiar with the way people
behave, timetables and so on, we can expect or assume that certain things have happened,
even if we don't know for sure.
 He’ll definitely have got to the airport by now. It only takes an hour.
I don't know that he has got to the airport. It only takes an hour and I expect he
started the journey at the right time.
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 There’s no point in calling Judy. She’ll have left by now.
I don't know that Judy has left but I expect she has so therefore I can guess that
there's no point calling her.
 If they’re following their schedule, they will have arrived yesterday.
I don't know for sure that they arrived but I know their schedule. I haven't heard they
were delayed, so my expectation is that they arrived yesterday.
Form
Future perfect positive
subject + 'll/will + 've/have + past participle of main verb
 We’ll have sold the house by Christmas, I’m sure.
Future perfect negative
subject + won’t + 've/have + past participle of main verb
 Rahul won’t have got up yet. It’s too early.
Future perfect questions
Future perfect yes / no questions are made with:
will / won’t + subject + have + past participle of main verb

 Will you have read all the reports by the end of the day?
Question word questions are made like this:
question word + will / won’t + subject + have + past participle of main verb
 How much money will we have made by the end of the year?
Take note: other modals
It’s possible to use other modal auxiliaries instead of will in the future perfect. Different
modals show how certain the speaker is about the assumption he or she is making.
Remember that the assumption is made on the information the speaker has at the moment of
speaking.
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Compare:
 By this time next year I’ll have passed my driving test. Quite sure
 By this time next year I should have passed my driving test. Reasonably sure
 By this time next year I may have passed my driving test. Not so sure
 By this time next year I might have passed my driving test. Not so sure
Take note: shall / shan’t
Sometimes, and in more formal situations or in writing, we use shall /shan’t instead of
will / won’t with I and we in future perfect sentences.
 We shall have visited all the museums by the time we leave Paris.
 I shan’t have done all my accounts by the end of the month. I’m too busy.
Pronunciation
When using the future perfect when speaking, it’s quite usual to contract the verbs will
and have. This means that sometimes the subject + will + have will be combined into one
sound of connected speech. So I will have becomes I’ll’ve and you will have becomes
you’ll’ve.
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PARTICIPLE (-ING AND -ED) CLAUSES
Meaning and use
Present and past particples are used as parts of certain verb constructions but they can be
used in a number of different ways.
Present participle (verb-ing) clauses can be used without a subject pronoun and an
auxiliary when the subject of the sentence does two things at the same time or when one
action interrupts another.
 I was sitting on the sofa. I was watching TV. = Two actions at the same time:
I was sitting on the sofa watching TV.
 I was running for the bus. I fell over. = One action interrupted by another:
I fell over running for the bus.
They can be used to explain why someone did something. In this case, the participle
clause usually comes first.
 Being exhausted I fell asleep on the train. = I fell asleep on the train because I was
exhausted.
 Seeing the bus come round the corner he started to run.= He started to run because I
saw the bus come round the corner.
Another use is in a shortened form of an active relative clause:
 Is that someone knocking at the door? = Is that someone who is knocking at the
door?
 Do you know the man talking to you mother? = Do you know the man who is talking
to your mother?
Past participle (verb-ed) clauses can be used without a subject pronoun and auxiliary
in shortened forms of passive relative clauses.
 The dog hit by the car wasn't hurt. = The dog that was hit by the car wasn't hurt.
 The gold stolen in the robbery was never recovered. = The gold that was stolen in
the robbery was never recovered.
Take note: perfect participles (having + past participle)
If you are talking about two actions that happen one after the other, you can use a perfect
participle for the first one. You can use a comma between the actions if you like.
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 Having missed the bus, we decided to drive into town.= We missed the bus. We
decided to drive into town.
 Having finished the cake we started on the cheese. = We finished the cake. We
started on the cheese.
The same meaning can also be expressed with after + present participle.
 After missing the bus we decided to drive into town.= We missed the bus. We
decided to drive into town.
 After finishing the cake, we started on the cheese. = We finished the cake. We
started on the cheese.
Take note: hanging participles
Be careful when using present participle clauses that the subjects of the clauses are the
same.
 Walking down the street the trees looked beautiful in the autumn sun.
In this sentence we expect the participle clause: Walking down the street to have the
same subject as the main clause: the trees looked beautiful ... The subject is the trees and
obviously the trees weren't walking down the street! This meaning of this sentence is better
expressed in this example:
 Walking down the street, I noticed the trees looking beautiful in the autumn sun.
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INTENSIFIERS: SO, SUCH, ENOUGH, TOO
Meaning and use
We use so, such, enough and too to indicate degree. So and such give emphasis and
mean ‘very’. Too means more than necessary, and enough indicates the right amount of
something.
It’s so cold today!

That’s such a pretty dress!
£150! That’s much too expensive for a pair of shoes.
We’ll have to buy a bigger car. This one’s not big enough for all of us.
We can also use so and too with much and many to talk about the amount of something.
So much/many means a lot of something. Too much/many means more than we want or
need of something.
I’ve got so much work to do tonight.

There are just too many cars on the roads these days.
Form
So
For degree, it’s so + adjective:
I love watching Mr Bean. He’s so funny!
or so + adverb:
He plays the piano so well!
For amount, it’s so + much/many + noun to say we have a lot of something. Use so
much with uncountable nouns and so many with countable nouns.
What a great party! We had so much fun! (fun = uncountable)

We visited so many places. (place = countable)
You can also use so much after a verb.
I like his music so much.
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Take note: so + noun or verb
In modern spoken English, so is increasingly being used before nouns and verbs.
That dress is so last year! (= That dress is last year’s fashion.)

I’m so going to shout at him when I see him! (so = really)
Such
We use such before an adjective and noun. If the noun is countable and singular, you
need to put ‘a’ or ‘an’ after such.
That’s such a cute dog! (dog = countable noun)

We had such nice weather on holiday! (weather = uncountable noun)
Remember
Make sure you put a/ an after such, not before.

That’s a such pretty dress. => That’s such a pretty dress!
Take note: so/such + that for cause and effect
So and such can be used with a that clause to express cause and effect, or reason and
result.
She felt so upset that she started to cry.

They had such an awful time that they said they’d never go again.
That introduces the result. But in informal English, we sometimes leave it out.
It was such a bad film he left before the end.

There were so many restaurants they didn’t know which one to choose.
Too
To indicate degree, it’s too + adjective:
This restaurant’s too crowded. Let’s go somewhere else.
Or too + adverb:
You’re walking too fast! Slow down!
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To talk about an amount or number of something which is more than what we want or
need, it’s too much or too many + noun. Use too much before uncountable nouns and too
many before countable nouns.
Ugh! You’ve put too much sugar in my tea! (sugar = uncountable)

I ate too many biscuits. (biscuit = countable)
You can also use too much on its own after a verb.
Sarah drinks too much.
Take note: too with negative
If we say a sentence with too in the negative form, then we mean it isn’t a problem. The
form is not + too + adjective.
It’s not too late to buy tickets for the final. There are still some on sale.
Enough
We use enough to express that something is or isn’t the right degree or amount. We put
it after an adjective or verb.
It’s adjective + enough in positive sentences and questions or not + adjective + enough
in negative sentences.
Is it warm enough for you in here?

He doesn’t sleep enough. That’s why he’s always tired.
We put enough before a noun.
It’s enough + noun in positive sentences and questions or not + enough + noun in
negative sentences.
Do we have enough money to go abroad this year?

There aren’t enough knives and forks for all the guests.
Sentences with enough are sometimes followed by to + verb infinitive.
She’s definitely smart enough to become director.
There aren’t enough players to make a team.
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VERB PATTERNS
VERBS wITH INFINITIVES, GERUNDS (VERB-ING), AND THAT-CLAUSES
Meaning and use
With some verbs, especially those that explain, report or warn, after the main verb, you
can sometimes use that, sometimes a gerund (verb-ing form), other times an infinitive
(with to), and other times, either a gerund or an infinitive. Sentences that make promises,
warnings, offers, suggestions or recommendations use these verb structures.
My teacher advised us to study two hours a day. (advise + infinitive)

The bookstore recommended buying an English-English dictionary. (recommend + verb-
ing)
Judith promises to attend the school concert. (promise + infinitive)
Toby told me that he was going to France on holiday. (tell + that + independent clause)
In addition, some of these verbs need an object, usually a person or people.
The police warned us not to enter the building.
The speaker invited the audience to ask questions.
The best way to learn which of these verbs take ‘that’, infinitives, gerunds, or both, is to
notice them when you read, or to use grammar references. Here is a list of some of the most
common patterns. Remember that an independent clause has a subject and a verb.
discuss: discuss + gerund
The band discussed playing at the new pub.
explain: explain + that + independent clause
The reporter explained that the storm may cause flooding.
invite: invite + someone + to-infinitive
My cousin invited me to go to a movie.
offer: offer + to-infinitive

The bank offered to give the clerk his own desk.
suggest
1) suggest + gerund
Jason suggested seeing Romeo and Juliet this weekend.
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2) suggest + that + independent clause
May I suggest that you not buy a new car this year?
recommend
1) recommend + gerund
My doctor recommends eating fresh fruit every day.
2) recommend + that + independent clause

We recommend that you buy your tickets early.
ask
1) ask + to-infinitive
I asked to attend the meeting.
2) ask + someone + to-infinitive

Sharon asked her manager to change her hours.
3) ask + that + independent clause

Annie asked that we phone her after nine in the morning.
propose
1) propose + to-infinitive
The president proposed to study the idea.
2) propose + that + independent clause

Do you propose that we end this program?
tell
1) tell + someone + to-infinitive

My grandfather told us not to argue.
2) tell + that + independent clause

My friends told me that I could join them at the pub.
warn
1) warn + someone + to-infinitive

The firefighter warned the man not to go near the fire.
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2) warn + that + independent clause
We are often warned that cigarettes are bad for our health.
promise
1) promise + someone + to-infinitive

I promised my father to do my best always.
2) promise + infinitive
Mark has promised to take his grandson to a football game.
3) promise + that
We promise that we will finish in time.
advise
1) advise + someone + to-infinitive

Mr Brown advised her to take the geometry course.
2) advise + gerund
The scientist advised performing another experiment.
3) advise + that + independent clause

The doctor advised that we get a flu shot every year.
Form
You can notice from the table that discuss, explain, invite and offer each can be
combined with only one verb form, either an infinitive, gerund, or that + independent
clause. Advise, ask, and promise can be combined with three options. The rest of these
verbs can be combined with two different choices. Here is a chart showing these choices.
Negative
When using negative forms with the infinitive, not goes before the to part of the verb.
We were warned not to miss the last train of the evening.
For negatives with gerunds or that + independent clauses, the not goes before the gerund
or infinitive part of the phrase.
My coach recommends not eating before practice.

The taxi driver asked that we not smoke in the taxi.
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Question
Did the manager suggest selling the new product at the market?
When did Maurice promise to telephone in the morning?
Take note: prepositions
Be careful not to confuse the to used in an infinitive with the preposition to.
We propose to finish by December. (propose to = intend to)

Stephen proposed to Nora over dinner. (propose to = ask to marry)
Dr Jacobson invited his students to hear a special lecture. (invite someone to hear = ask
someone to listen)
We would like to invite you to a party on Saturday. (invite someone to = ask someone to
come)
Spoken English
The pronunciation of to with infinitives is often unstressed, sounding like /tƏ/ (Ə = ‘uh’).
The final g sound of the -ing of a gerund is sometimes not pronounced, or pronounced very
quietly.
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FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS
CONTRASTED wITH FUTURE PERFECT
Meaning and use
We use the future perfect and the future perfect continuous tenses to talk about a
future event or situation that will have happened or will have been going on for a period of
time at some point in the future.
By next March, we will have been married for three years. (future perfect)
Next March, I will have been working here for six months. (future perfect continuous)
Future perfect
We use the future perfect to talk about events that will have happened or been
completed by a particular time. These are usually plans or predictions.
This time next year, I’ll have finished my course.

Will you have finished the report by this afternoon?
Future perfect continuous
We use the future perfect continuous to talk about an on-going event or situation that
will still be in progress at a particular time. It is often used with a for time phrase to say
how long the activity will have been in progress for. In informal speaking and writing, you
can leave out for.
On July 2nd I will have been living in Dubai for six months.
By the time the bus gets here, we’ll have been waiting (for) over an hour.
Sometimes you can use either the future perfect or the future perfect continuous. We use
the future perfect continuous when we want to emphasise the continuous nature of an
action.
In June I’ll have worked for this company for two years.
In June I’ll have been working for this company for two years.
We can use the future perfect continuous to show cause and effect in the future.
He’ll be tired when he gets back because he’ll have been playing tennis all afternoon.
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Take note: time phrases with by
Both the future perfect and the future perfect continuous are used with time phrases
when making predictions.These oftenbegin with by or in, for example by the summer, by
the end of the week, (by) this time next week/month/year.
By this time next year, house prices will have doubled in the city.
In January, I’ll have been travelling for three months.
Take note: present simple in time phrases with future perfect and future perfect
continuous
If the time phrase begins with when or by the time (that),then the verb that follows in
the time phrase is in the present simple,not the future simple.
WRONG: Is he on his way? By the time he will get here, the party will have finished!
CORRECT: Is he on his way? By the time he gets here, the party will have finished!
WRONG: When you will come in the summer, we’ll have been living in this house for two
years!
CORRECT: When you come in the summer, we’ll have been living in this house for two
years!
Take note: future perfect and future perfect continuous for assumption
We can use both the future perfect and the future perfect continuous to say what we
believe or imagine has/hasn’t happened or has/hasn’t been happening.
They won’t have arrived yet. They only left twenty minutes ago.
Sam didn’t come home last night. He’ll have been working all night to get his report
finished in time.
Form
Future perfect positive:

subject + will + have + past participle of main verb
We’ll have sold the house by Christmas, I’m sure.
Future perfect negative:

subject + won’t + have + past participle of main verb
Natalie won’t have caught the train. She left the house too late.
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Question
will / won’t + subject + have + past participle of main verb
Will they have heard the news do you think?
Future perfect continuous positive
subject + will + have + been + present participle of main verb
She’ll have been travelling all day.
Future perfect continuous negative
subject + won’t + have + been + present participle of main ver
They won’t have been watching the final. They went out.
Question
will / won’t + subject + have + been + present participle of main verb
Will she have been working there long when they relocate?
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MEANING AND USE OF USED TO AND BE/GET
USED TO
We use used to + the infinitive to talk about an action that happened regularly in the
past but doesn’t happen now. Used to is different to the past simple because it emphasises
that the action was repeated many times.
I used to drive to work every day but now I cycle. It’s better for the environment.
We also use used to + the infinitive for past situations. It emphasises that the situations
are no longer true.
There used to be lots of old forests here, but sadly they’ve all been cut down.
I never used to get any exercise when I drove to work, so cycling’s great.
It’s easy to confuse used to + the infinitive with be/get used to but the meanings are
very different.
You use be used to to say that something isn’t new, unusual or difficult for you. You
have experienced it many times. You use get used to to say that you are gradually finding
something less unusual or difficult. Both be used to and get used to can be followed by a
noun/pronoun or the -ing form of the verb. They are never followed by the infinitive.
Cycling was hard work at first, but I’m used to it now and I really enjoy it.
I’m used to getting up a bit earlier so that I get to work on time.
We can use be/get used to with present, past and future tenses.
‘Why did you find it so hard at first?’

‘Well, because I wasn’t used to cycling then.’
‘How long did it take you to get used to cycling?’
‘Oh, I got used to it after a couple of weeks. You should try it too. You’ll get used to it in no
time.’
Form of used to + infinitive
Positive
Subject + used to + infinitive.
I used to be stuck in traffic jams day after day.

NOT: I am used to be stuck in traffic jams day after day.
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Negative
Subject + didn’t use to + infinitive. We can also use never used to + infinitive. In more
formal or written English, used not to + infinitive is sometimes used.
I didn’t use to get any exercise. / I never used to get any exercise. / I used not to get any
exercise.
Questions and short answers
Did + subject + use to + infinitive.
‘Did it use to take you a long time to get to work?’

‘Yes, it did.’ / ‘Yes, it used to.’
Form of be/get used to
Positive
Subject + be/get used to + noun/pronoun or + -ing.
I’m used to getting wet on the way to work when it rains!

My legs have got used to the exercise at last.
Negative
Subject + not be/not get used to + noun/pronoun or + -ing.

My colleagues were amused because they weren’t used to seeing me arrive on a bike.
If you don’t try, you won’t get used to new ways of doing things.
Questions and short answers
Be + subject + used to + noun/pronoun or + -ing?

And
Auxiliary verb + subject + get used to + noun/pronoun or + -ing?
‘Are your colleagues used to you cycling to work now?’ ‘Yes, they are.’
‘Did they get used to it quickly?’ ‘Yes, they did.’
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Take note: used to
Used to is about the past so there is no present or future form. For the present we say
I usually cycle to work.
NOT: I use to cycle to work.
Take note: didn’t use to and did you use to
In the negative didn’t use to and the question did you use to, notice that there is no d on
use. This is correct English, although people sometimes put a d on the end.
Pronunciation
Used is pronounced in the same way in used to and be/get used to. It has a soft /s/
sound and we don’t pronounce the letter d at the end of used. We use the weak form of to
/tə/ except in the short answer Yes, I used to, where it is pronounced as /tu:/.
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RELATIVE CLAUSES
Meaning and use
Relative clauses are used to give additional information about a noun, such as a person,
place or thing. Relative pronouns introduce a relative clause. They include who for
people, that and which for things, when for time, and whose to show possession.
Relative clauses belong to one of two categories: defining relative clauses and non-
defining relative clauses.
1. Defining relative clauses add essential information to a sentence.
- The woman who found my wallet handed it in to reception.

- The student whose dog has run away has gone to look for it.
- I remember the day when we first met.
- These are the earrings that my mother gave me.
These clauses give essential information about the subject of the sentence. They define
the person, time or thing that we are talking about. If we remove the clause, the sentence
does not make sense.
2. Non-defining relative clauses add extra information to a noun or noun phrase.
- My friend’s birthday, which was last weekend, was great fun.

- My current girlfriend, who I love very much, calls me every night.
This extra information is not essential. If we remove the clause, the sentence still makes
sense. This type of clause is more common in written English.
Form
Defining relative clauses are made with noun + relative pronoun + rest of clause.
- A kangaroo is an animal which lives in Australia.

- The man who came for lunch was my uncle.
- Winter is a time when it sometimes snows.
Non-defining relative clauses are made in the same way. An important difference,
however, between both types of clause, is the use of punctuation. With non-
defining relative clauses, we separate the clause with commas. We cannot use that in this
type of clause.
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- My favourite food, which used to be Italian, is now Japanese.
- Rachel, who we met yesterday, lives in this neighbourhood.
- My car, which I bought seven years ago, needs replacing.
- This shirt, which I bought last weekend, cost £50.
- My best friend, who I met at university, is coming for dinner.
Take note: replacing the relative pronoun
In informal communication, relative pronouns, such as who and when, are commonly
replaced with that in defining relative clauses.
- The woman that called last night was very polite.

- Do you remember the time that you first met?
Take note: leaving out the relative pronoun.
When using defining relative clauses in informal speech and writing, the relative
pronoun can be left out completely if it refers to the object of the relative clause.
- This is the shirt that I bought.

- This is the shirt I bought.
- The girl who I like isn’t here yet.
- The girl I like isn’t here yet.
In non-defining relative clauses, the relative pronoun cannot be left out.
Take note: spoken English
The relative pronoun who is used when referring to people. However, in formal written
and spoken English, if the pronoun refers to the object of the clause, we use whom instead.
- My German teacher, whom I really admired, retired last year.

- The woman whom I called this morning was my secretary.
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WILL, GOING TO, BE LIKELY TO AND MIGHT
Form - will and might
For will and might, the form is subject + will / might + infinitive.
We use the same form for all persons (I, you, he, she, and so on). You can
contract will to'll in the positive form - we normally do this in spoken language.
Positive
 The new smartphone will have all sorts of special features.
 We'll be connected 24/7 when everywhere has free wifi.
 I've ordered a new phone for the office. It might arrive today.
Negative
 This video call will not last long - we only have one thing to discuss.
 We won't see much change in keyboard layouts for the next few years.
 There might not be any announcements about the new technology room today - don't
count on it!
We can use the contracted form won't for all persons (I, you, he, she, and so on).
Sometimes we contract might not to mightn't, especially in speaking.
Form - going to and be likely to
For going to and likely to, the form is subject + am/are/is + going to/likely to +
infinitive. We can contract I am (I'm), you are/we are/they are (you're/we're/they're)
and he is/she is (he's/she's).
Positive
 They're going to announce a new line of laptops soon.
 The line is going to come out in September. It's going to be all over the news.
 It's likely to be a major advance in computing technology.
Negative
 Some people say technology isn't going to change our lives that much.
 We aren't going to see the smartring any time soon.

The negative of likely is unlikely.
 The new smartwatches are unlikely to be a big revolution in technology.
Questions
To form questions with will, going to and likely, it's auxiliary (Will/Am/Is/Are) +
subject + verb. We often use short answers.
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 Will this new smartwatch change my life? No, it won't.
 Are they going to announce the software release today? Yes, they are.
 Is it likely to be any better than the previous version? No, it isn't.
We can also make questions with question words.

 When will they sort out the computers at work?
 Who will win the tech race?
 Where are they going to release the new phone first?
It is possible to ask a question with Might + subject + infinitive, but it's more common
to form a question with Do you think + subject + might + infinitive.
 Do you think this might change computing as we know it?
Important note: Will and might
Remember that will and might are modal verbs, so we use the infinitive without to after
them.
WRONG:
 People will to go on holiday to the moon within 50 years.
 They might to make a computer that is really small.
CORRECT:
 People will go on holiday to the moon within 50 years.
 They might make a computer that is really small.
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LINKING wORDS OF CONTRAST
We use words and phrases like though, although and even though to link two clauses
together. We call them linking words of contrast. We use despite and in spite of in front
of nouns and gerunds.
Marta broke her leg a year ago. Marta ran a marathon last weekend.
 Despite breaking her leg a year ago, Marta ran a marathon last weekend.

Binh loves football. Binh has never been to a professional football match.
 Though Binh loves football, he's never seen a professional match.
Where to use them
Although, even though and though go in front of a clause. They can go at the
beginning or middle of a sentence.
 Although Endang worked hard, she failed her exams.
 Endang failed her exams, although she worked hard.
 Though it was cold, Katya only wore a t-shirt.
 Katya only wore a t-shirt, though it was cold.
Despite and in spite of go in front of nouns or gerunds. They can also go at the
beginning or middle of sentences.
 Despite smoking 40 cigarettes a day, my grandfather lived to 100.
 My grandfather lived to 100, despite smoking 100 cigarettes a day.
 In spite of the terrible weather, they had a nice holiday.
 They had a nice holiday, in spite of the terrible weather.
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USES OF THE PRESENT
Present time
We use the present simple tense for things that we do regularly and for facts, habits,
truths and permanent situations. We often use time expressions like every day, once a week,
on Fridays.
 I check my email every day. (regular activity)

 Yuki works at the bank. (permanent situation)
Future time
We use the present simple to talk about timetabled future events

 I'd better hurry, my bus leaves in 5 minutes.
 The exam starts at 9
Past time
1) Telling a story
This makes the events more immediate and exciting for the listener.
 Last year I was swimming off the coast in NZ when suddenly I see a shark fin heading
towards me…
2) Newspaper headlines
Journalists often use the present not the past in newspaper headlines to make newspaper
stories more exciting, fresh and immediate.
 Man dies in forest fire.
3) With hear, tell, gather, say
This puts more emphasise on the information we heard rather than the fact you heard it.
 I hear you're getting married!
 She says she didn't like the present!
4) When telling jokes
This makes the joke more immediate and dramatic for the listener (even if the joke is not
very funny!)
 A man walks into a bar...
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FUTURE CONTINUOUS
Meaning and use
We use the future continuous to talk about events that will be in progress at a particular
time or over a period of time in the future. These are usually plans or predictions.
- A taxi will be waiting outside the station when you arrive.
We can also use the future continuous to say that a future action will be in progress at the
same time as another action.
- I’ll be thinking of you when I’m sitting on the beach in the Bahamas.
The future continuous can also be used to talk about a future event that will happen in the
normal course of things. This means the action is certain to happen without any effort or
decision being made by the speaker.
- I'll give John his birthday present since I’ll be seeing him at work on Monday.
We can also use the future continuous to politely enquire about a person’s plans for the
future. This is used to ask about someone's plans without any pressure.
- Will you be coming to dinner tonight?
Form
Future continuous positive
subject + will + be + -ing form of verb

I’ll be starting in the south and making my way north by train.
Future continuous negative
subject + won’t + be + -ing form of verb

They won’t be staying very long as they have to get back.
Questions
Future continuous questions are made with:

will / won’t + subject + be + -ing form of verb
We can also use question words.
Why will they be arriving so late tonight?
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BEING POLITE: HOw TO SOFTEN YOUR ENGLISH
Summary
In English, politeness is considered to be very important. While it is ok to be direct in

informal situations or with friends, it is very important not to come across as rude in formal
situations or with strangers.
Requests, suggestions and questions:
We soften requests, and suggestions and questions by using past forms, continuous
forms or both.
- Direct: ‘Pick me up on your way to the party this evening!’
- More polite: ‘I was wondering if you could give me a lift later.’
We can also make requests softer by using a negative question with a question tag.
‘You couldn’t give me a lift later, could you?’ or ‘I don’t suppose you could pick me up
tonight, could you?’
Giving Opinions:
We use verbs like reckon, guess, feel to make your opinions less direct. You can also
use vague expressions like ‘sort of’, ‘kind of’, ‘a little bit’.
- Direct: 'You're too young to get married!'

- More polite: 'I reckon you're a little young to be getting married!
It also helps if you make it into a question:

‘Aren’t you kind of young to be getting married?’
Discussing Problems:
We introduce problems with verbs like seem and appear to soften them.
- Direct: ‘You've made a mistake in this report!’
- More polite: ‘You seem to have made a mistake here.’
You can also use these to introduce your own problems.

‘I seem to have lost those reports you wanted’.
Saying No!
We find it really hard to say no! So instead we use tentative language to soften it.
- Direct: ‘No, I'm not coming to your party this evening.’
- More polite: ‘I’m not sure I'll be able to make it to your party this evening…’
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VERB PATTERNS: GERUNDS AND INFINITIVES
Gerunds are the -ing form of a verb, and infinitives are the to + base form. These words
can be confusing; they combine the meaning of a verb with the grammar of a noun.
 My father asked me to phone him. I enjoy talking with my father.
So, how is ‘to phone’ like a noun? Imagine the first sentence said: My father asked me a
question. You can see how a question and to phone have the same grammatical role.
Similarly, you could replace ‘talking’ with the noun conversation.
Using gerunds and infinitives correctly with verbs can be difficult because some verbs
go with only the infinitive or only the gerund, and others can go with either one.
 I enjoy going to the movies. (enjoy + -ing form only)

 Jason wants to visit a museum on Friday. (want + infinitive form only)
 Tony likes eating at restaurants. Tony likes to eat at restaurants. (like + either -ing or
infinitive form)
Another difficulty is that sometimes choosing the infinitive or the gerund will change the
meaning of the sentence.
 Mary stopped eating at six. (Mary was eating, and at six o’clock, she stopped.)
 Mary stopped to eat at six. (Mary was walking home, and at six o’clock she stopped
walking and went into a café to eat.)
The best way to learn which verbs take infinitives, gerunds, or both, is to notice them in
context when you read, or to consult grammar references. Here are some of the most
common verbs:
Followed by a gerund (-ing form)
admit, advise, consider, discuss, dislike, dread, enjoy, finish, mind, practise, recommend,
suggest
Followed by an infinitive
agree, appear, choose, decide, expect, fail, hope, learn, need, refuse, seem, wait, want
Followed by either, usually with no change in meaning
begin, continue, hate, like, love, prefer, start
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Followed by either, with a change in meaning
stop, regret, remember, forget, go on, try
Stop
When 'stop' is followed by the gerund, the verb in the gerund stops.
 I've stopped buying coffee – it's too expensive.

 I've stopped smoking - it's bad for my health.
When 'stop' is followed by the infinitive, we stop something else in order to do the verb in
the infinitive.
 I stopped to buy a coffee on the way into work this morning. (I stopped walking in
order to buy a coffee.)
 I stopped to have a cigarette (I stopped working in order to have a cigarette.)
Regret
When 'regret' is followed by the gerund you feel sorry about something you did – or didn't
do - in the past.
 I regret telling you I was going to enter that singing competition!

 You'll regret not finishing university.
When 'regret' is followed by the infinitive, you regret something you are about to say. Often
used in formal, written English with verbs 'tell', 'say' and 'inform'.
 We regret to inform you that your application has not been successful.
Go on
When 'go on' is followed by the gerund, the activity in the gerund continues.
 She went on talking about verbs for hours - she didn't stop! (She continued talking.)
 I can't go on living in this tiny house.
When 'go on' is followed by the infinitive, one action finishes and another and another
action starts. This is often the next stage in a process.
 After talking about verbs she went on to tell a joke. (She changed activity.)
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 After finishing his novel, he went on to direct a couple of plays.
Remember/forget
When 'remember' or 'forget' are followed by the gerund it means you forget or remember
something you have done.
 I still remember being nervous on my first day of school.

 I'll never forget seeing his face
When 'remember' or 'forget' is followed by the infinitive, there is something you need to do
and you remember or forget to do it.
 I forgot to bring my lunch today.

 Remember to call your mother tonight!
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CONDITIONALS REVIEw
Meaning and use
Conditional sentences express a connection between two actions or states. One thing
happens because of another. These connections can be general, specific, likely, unlikely,
real or imagined.
Although there are quite a few different ways of forming conditional sentences there are
common patterns known as zero, first, second and third conditionals.
Zero conditionals
Used to refer to general truths, scientific facts and the predictable results of particular
actions. One thing happens and because of this something else happens. In zero
conditionals if and when have the same meaning.
- If you heat water enough, it boils.

- When he scores, he celebrates by making a heart shape with his hands.
- When it’s raining, he stays indoors.
First conditionals
Used when we want to talk about something that is likely to happen in the future after a
specific set of circumstances, the condition. If is used is when the condition is possible
andwhen is used when the condition is certain to happen.
- If I go to the shops, I’ll get some bread. (I might not go to the shops)
- When I go to the shops, I’ll get some bread. (I’m definitely going to the shops)
- If you’ve finished your homework by six, you can go out and play.
- When you’re having your party, please keep the noise down!
Second conditionals
Refer to an imagined present result of an unlikely or impossible present condition.
- If I had the money, I’d travel around the world. (I don’t have the money)
- If I were you, I’d think about leaving him. (I’m not you)
Third conditionals
Refer to an imagined past result of something that didn’t happen in the past.
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- If I had known you were coming, I wouldn’t have prepared the cheese dish. (I didn’t know
you were coming. I prepared a cheese dish.)
- If I had known then what I know now, I wouldn’t have wasted so much time at university.
(I didn’t know then what I know now. I did waste a lot of time at university.)
Form
Conditional sentences usually have two parts. There is the if clause (sometimes called
theconditional clause) and the result clause (sometimes called the main clause). The
clauses can come in any order.
If the if clause is first, the two clauses are separated by a comma.
There is no comma if the result clause is first.
Zero conditional

Result clause: present simple
- When I turn it on, it makes a funny noise.

- If you multiply ten by twelve, what do you get?
- Milk goes bad if you leave it out too long.
First conditional

Result clause: will / 'll + infinitive without to / imperative
- If it rains, you’ll get wet.

- If it rains, put your coat on.
- If you’re leading at half time, I’ll let your dad know.
- If you’ve won, give me a call as soon as possible.
Second conditional
If clause: if + past simple (exception: verb 'to be' takes 'were' in 1st and 2nd person)
Result clause: would / 'd + infinitive without to
- If I knew what was wrong, I’d fix it myself.

- I’d be out on my bike if it weren’t raining so hard.
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Third conditional
If clause: if + past perfect

Main clause: would / 'd + have / 've + past participle
- If I'd known it'd break, I wouldn't have tried to pick it up.
- If you hadn't insisted on changing your shirt we wouldn't've missed the bus.
Take note: modals
Most first, second and third conditional clauses commonly use will or would but it is
possible to use other modal auxiliaries instead. For example:
First conditional
If you go to the shops, can you get some bread, please?

If you go to the shops, could you get some bread, please?
If I go to the beach at the weekend, I might try out my new wet suit.
If I get a phone call this afternoon, it may be good news.
When we go on holiday this year, we should book a nicer hotel.
Second conditional
If I had enough money, I could travel around the world.

If I were elected, I might be able to do some good.
Third conditional
If you’d told me earlier, I could’ve done something about it.

If we had caught the right bus, we might’ve been on time.
Take note: mixed conditionals
Mixed conditionals combine the structure of type 2 and type 3 conditionals when the time
(past, present and future) referred to in the if and result clauses are not the same.
Mixed conditionals can refer to:
 something that didn’t happen in the past and the result of that condition in the present
If you hadn’t left the map at home, we wouldn’t be lost. (You left the map at home in
the past. We are lost now.)
 something that won’t happen in the future and the result of that condition on the past
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If I weren’t going on holiday next week, I could have accepted that offer of work.
(I am going on holiday in the future which is why I didn’t accept the offer of work in
the past.)
Infinitives of purpose
We use infinitives of purpose to explain why we're doing something:
 You're watching this video to get better at speaking English.
We can also use for + somebody to explain that we're doing an action on behalf of
someone else:
 We make these videos for you to get better at English.
In more formal English, we can use in order to or so as to to express purpose:
 The government has raised taxes in order to fund the NHS.

 People have taken to the streets so as to protest against the increase in taxes
We can add 'not' to make these negative - so as not to and in order not to:
 He paid the fine in order not to go to prison.

 I've worked really hard all my life so as not to be poor.
We can use the infinitive of purpose after a noun, pronoun or indefinite pronoun to
explain what we need it for or, what we intend to do with it:
 I want a house to live in.

 Do you have any more food to cook?
 Do you have anything to eat?
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STATIVE VERBS IN THE CONTINUOUS FORM
Verbs with two meanings
Some state verbs can be used in the continuous form to talk about a temporary action or
an action happening in the present. However, some state verbs can be used as action verbs
in the present continuous form with a change of meaning. Here are some examples:
- Bernard looks healthy. (his appearance now)

- I was looking out the window at the rain. (watching the rain)
- Does Maria have a piano? (own)
- They are having lunch with their mother today. (eating)
- I don't hear the music playing. (hear with my ears)
- Our manager will be hearing our presentation today. (will be listening to)
- Lola feels that we were rude. (thinks)
- How has your father been feeling? (how is his health)
- That perfume smells good. (has a good scent)
- The boy is smelling the flowers. (sniffing at)
- The new baby weighs 3 kg. (her weight is 3 kg)
- The woman is weighing the apples. (measuring their weight)
- They are good writers. (it's a fact)
- Bob is being crazy. (behaving in a crazy way)
- What do you see on the wall? (notice with your eyes)
- They are seeing their cousins tomorrow. (will visit)
Informal English
In very informal English, the continuous form is sometimes used with state verbs. An
example is the restaurant advertisement that says, ‘I’m loving it!’ You might also hear
someone say, ‘I’m hating this movie.’ The -ing form of the verbs in these examples have a
sense of being temporary.
(Right now) I’m hating this movie.

(General opinion) I like the move I saw last week.
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ASPECT
Tenses in English are made of a time and an aspect. English recognises 3 times (past,
present and future) and 3 aspects (simple, continuous and perfect.) An aspect is the
character of a verb. It adds extra information to the verb’s meaning and reflects the
perception of the speaker.
The simple aspect does not modify the verb in terms of its meaning, only in terms of
its form, e.g. I go / he goes. The verb alone is enough to fully understand the
speaker. There are broadly three categories:
Long term general truth: I like studying English. Water boils at 100C. He lived an unhappy
life. Humanity will continue.
Instantaneous: I now pronounce you man and wife. I walked through the town. Those
books will fall!
Habitual: It barks all night when the moon is up. I woke up every day at 6am last year. She
will constantly forget her keys.
The continuous aspect is formed with some sort of be plus verbING. E.g. I am walking.
He was waiting. They will be eating.
It makes events seem in progress, temporary and/or unfinished, and stretches them by
giving them duration.
For example:
- I walked home and I fell. (First I walked home and the action finished. Then I fell, inside
the home)
- I was walking home and I fell. (I fell while walking. My walk action was not completed
and my fall was in the middle of the walk.)
Actions can be:
At the moment of speaking: I am dancing. That man is singing. Around a certain

time: This week I'm staying with my parents. In those days people were wearing shoulder
pads. This time next week I'll be in France.
Happening simultaneously with another action: I was walking and I fell. He was
eating chips and watching TV when the phone rang.
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The perfect aspect is formed with some version of have plus the past participle. E.g.
He has eaten. We had left the hotel. He will have finished.
Perfect aspects focus on joining the events or actions of two time periods together.
E.g. The Present Perfect (Past to Present), The Past Perfect (Past 1 to Past 2), The Future
Perfect (Present to Future).
Perfect verb phrases can describe:
States: I’ve loved you since I first met you. He had been happy for many years. We will
have known each other for 5 years next week!
Actions: I have eaten. She had dropped her purse before leaving. I will have gone to the
gym by the time you get home.
Habits: My father had started work at 9 o’clock every day for the last 20 years.
We can combine aspects to make perfect continuous verb phrases. These combine the
forms of the perfect aspect (have + the past participle) and the continuous aspect
(be+verbING). For example, have+been+verbING. We can create verb phrases which
focus on actions or events with duration with relevancy to more than one time period.
For example:
- I have been working here for 6 years.
- I had been studying hard all that week.
- I will have been studying English for 10 years by my next birthday.
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QUESTION TAGS
Summary
Question tags are made of an auxiliary verb plus a pronoun, which go at the end of a
sentence, either to ask for more information about something, or to confirm something
which we believe is true. The auxiliary verb matches the tense of the main verb and the
pronoun comes directly from the noun. Question tags can either have a rising or falling
intonation depending if you want to genuinely ask for the answer or expect someone to
agree with you. Finally, Question tags usually work in opposition. If the main sentence is
affirmative, then the question tag is usually negative, so: You do live here, don’t you? and
vice versa.
1. Negative or Limiting Adverbs
Sentences which use a negative or limiting adverbs (never, no, hardly, scarcely, little,
etc.) are treated as negative by the question tag, even though their construction is positive.
Therefore the question tag is positive.
WRONG: They never go on holiday, don’t they?

RIGHT: They never go on holiday, do they?
2. Indefinite Nouns
Sentences with indefinite nouns such as someone, anyone, no one and everyone, use
they in the tag.
No one cares, do they?
With other indefinite nouns such as something and everything, use it:
Everything is OK, isn’t it?
3. Imperatives
Imperatives are commands, suggestions, offers, advice etc. They are constructed of the
bare infinitive in the affirmative and use don't in the negative: Sit down! Don't sit there!
Imperatives don’t have a tense or use an auxiliary verb in the same way as other sentences
do. To make a question tag with imperatives, we use won't you? although other modal
verbs can be used, such as will, would, can, and could.
Sit down, won’t you?
Don’t go outside, will you?
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Politeness and formality depend upon the choice of question tag and the tone of your
voice, although can’t you can come across as quite impatient and annoyed:
Turn the TV down, can’t you?
4. Suggestions with Let's:
When making a suggestion, it is common to use let’s. Let’s stands for let us, for
example: Let’s go to the cinema. When we use let’s in a question tag we always use shall
we, regardless of whether let’s is affirmative or negative. So for example:
Let’s go to the cinema, shall we?
5. Double positives
Double positives are possible. This is where the both the sentence and the question tag
are positive, for example:
You're going to become a pilot, are you?
Double positives are common when people are reacting to news, repeating something
they have just heard or reacting in an emotional way to something. For example:
You’re getting married, are you?
6. Opinions
If you start a sentence with I think, don’t use the question tag do/don't I. Make the
question tag agree with the main information in the sentence. This does not apply in the
second or third person.
I think it's a nice day, isn't it?

You thought you'd be OK, did you? (second person)
However, in some situations, for example, when we're being sarcastic, we do make the
tag agree with I think.
A: Yes, yes. Well done. I know you think you are so clever.
B: Oh! So, I think I'm clever, do I? Not at all.
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5 USES OF 'wISH'
1. Wish for a present or past that isn't real
This use of wish is for present or past situations that we want to change, but we
understand that they can't.
- I wish I were taller. (I am not tall)

- I wish I had eaten ice-cream for breakfast this morning. (I didn’t eat ice cream for
breakfast this morning)
I wish I were taller is an example of a present wish. It is ‘wish’ plus the past simple.
We often use ‘were’ instead of ‘was’ for all pronouns because of the subjunctive (For
example: I wish I were, I wish you were, I wish he were...). I could also say:
I wish I knew how to speak Chinese. (I don’t know how to speak Chinese.)
I wish I had eaten ice-cream for breakfast this morning is an example of a past wish.
This morning is a past time; we make a past wish. ‘Wish’ is followed by the past perfect,
which is had plus the past participle. That indicates true past time.
Negatives and questions are also possible:
- I wish you weren't so selfish.

- I wish I hadn't left my keys at work.
- Do you wish you knew how to drive?
- Do you wish you had worked harder at school?
2. Wish for an irritation that can change
Another common form of wish is to use ‘wish’ plus would plus the bare
infinitive (verb without 'to'). And this is often in regards to other people and our irritation.
For example:
- I wish you would make the bed!

- I wish people wouldn't throw litter on the street.
This is a present wish, but unlike the wishes I discussed before, this wish means ‘I
believe you can change and something can be done.’ Compare:
- I wish you would make the bed means ‘I think you can, but you don't, so please do.'
- I wish you made the bed means ‘you don't and I don’t think you ever will so…’
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It is extremely uncommon to use a first person ‘I’ in this form of wish. This is
because we have control over our own actions ourselves, so:
- I wish I would stop talking means 'I want to stop talking, and I believe I can so why don’t
I?’
However, in terms of an illness or an addiction, this form is fine. When I say 'I wish I
would stop smoking' it means 'I don’t want to smoke anymore, but I can’t stop because
I’m addicted.'
3. Wish = want
Wish followed by the full infinitive (to + verb) is a formal way of saying want. It’s not
very common, and only used in special circumstances, for example, when you want to make
a polite formal complaint. For example: I wish to see the manager.
We can also use wish followed by ‘for’ to attach an object that you want. And this is
most often used in the circumstances of magic. For example: I wish for a pizza.
4. Wish to send ‘good vibrations’
We can use the verb wish followed by two objects, the first of which is most often a
pronoun, to send ‘good vibrations’ to somebody. This is more common than hope and it
is used in fixed phrases such as:
- I wish you luck for your exam tomorrow.

- We wish you a merry Christmas.
5. Wish for the future
This is a trick, because apart from sending good vibrations, as mentioned before, we
cannot use the verb wish in this way. We need another verb, and the verb is hope. And
this is usually followed by will plus the bare infinitive (verb without 'to').
So, for example:
- I hope you will pass your exam.
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FEATURES OF INFORMAL ENGLISH
Common words and phrasal verbs
 Don't worry, I'll back you up.
Abbreviations, contractions and acronyms
 Call me asap.
Simple, short sentences
 I graduated. Then I worked for a small company. They promoted me to manager.
Features of formal English
Formal vocabulary and equivalents to phrasal verbs
 We will support your decision.
Fewer abbreviations, contractions and acronyms
 Please contact me as soon as possible.
More complex sentences through use of linkers, passive forms and relative clauses.
 After graduating I started working for a small company where I was promoted to the
role of manager.
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DISCOURSE MARKERS
Discourse markers are words and phrases which we use to connect and organise our
ideas, such as 'right', 'well' and 'anyway'. They can guide the listener by connecting ideas
and telling the listener what information is coming up.
Here are eight discourse markers which are common in spoken language:
1. you know
Use: I'm going to tell you some information you already know.
 You know, I was organising an amazing dinner party last night?
2. actually
Use: I'm going to give you some surprising information or I'm going to correct some
information.
 Actually, it was a complete disaster!

 ''You never do your homework.'' ''Actually, I have done it this time."
3. mind you
Use: I've had an afterthought and it contrasts what I've just said.
 Mind you, I did say 'turn up when you want'…
 The restaurant was so busy we couldn't get a table ... mind you, it was Saturday
night!
4. as I was saying…
Use: I'm going to return to the topic I was talking about before.
 As I was saying, I burnt the meat...
5. come to think of it
Use: I'm going to add something I've just remembered/thought of at the moment of
speaking.
 Come to think of it, I completely forgot to serve dessert.
6. So basically, everyone went home hungry and disappointed.
Use: I'm going to summarise my points now.

 So basically, everyone went home hungry.
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7. Anyway
Use: I'm going to change topic, go back to the original topic or finish what I'm saying.
 Anyway, how was your evening?
 Anyway, I have to go now, speak again soon.
8. By the way
Use: I'm going change direction to talk about something that's not connected to the main
conversation topic.
 By the way, before I forget, it's my birthday next week...
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THE FUTURE IN THE PAST
Sometimes when we are talking about past events, we want to refer to something that
was in the future at that time. In order to do this, we use the past tenses of verbs we would
normally use to talk about the future.
These forms can be used for plans, predictions and events that do happen - and ones that
don't happen.
1. Am/is/are going to becomes was/were going to
 I was going to go for a run today, but I feel a bit tired now!
 I knew it was going to be sunny today!
Note: When speaking, was going to often becomes was gonna.
2. Present continuous becomes past continuous
 Sorry I was in a rush earlier, I was meeting Neil at 10 o'clock and I didn't want to be
late.
 I was meeting a friend for lunch, but I've go too much to do so I'll have to cancel.
3. Will becomes would/'d
 Oh I told Neil I'd call him later... I need to do that!

 I knew Alex would be late today.
4. Am/are/is about to becomes was/were about to
We use be about to to refer to something that will happen very soon in the future. When we
want to use this structure to talk about the future in the past, we use the past forms of be.
 I was about to call Neil when he phoned me.
5. Future perfect becomes would + have + past participle
 It's almost lunchtime, I thought I would have finished all my work by now!
Note: When speaking, we often use a double contraction here:

 I thought I'd've made more money by now.
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ADDING EMPHASIS: 'wHAT' CLEFT SENTENCES.
Sometimes there's a particular part of a sentence that you really want to stress. It might
be because it's new information or because it's the most interesting or important part of a
sentence.
One way of giving emphasis is by changing the structure of a sentence and using
something called a cleft sentence. In Unit 12 we looked at 'it' cleft sentences. Now let's
study 'what' cleft sentences.
'What' cleft sentences
Normal sentence structure
 We got to our hotel and realised that our room had been double booked.
 They moved us to a different hotel.
 He offered us another week there for free.
With emphasis using 'what'
 What happened was we got to the hotel and realised that our room had been double
booked.
 What they did was move us to another hotel.
 What he did was offer us another week there for free.
Structure - Emphasising the noun:

What + understood information + is was + emphasis
 What I hated most was the insects everywhere.
Structure - Emphasising the verb:

What/All + subject + do/does/did + is/was + verb
 What they did was move us to another town.
Structure - Emphasising the whole sentence

What happens/happened + is/was + clause
 What happened was we got to the hotel and realised that our room had been double
booked.
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ADDING EMPHASIS - 'IT' CLEFT SENTENCES
Sometimes there's a particular part of a sentence that you really want to stress. It might
be because it's new information or because it's the most interesting or important part.
One way of giving emphasis, is by changing the structure of a sentence and using
something called a cleft sentence.
'It' cleft sentences
You can use an 'it' cleft to draw attention to the most interesting or important part.
Compare these two sentences:
 Rob ate my biscuits.

 It was Rob that ate my biscuits
In the second sentence, we are focussing on the fact that Rob did this. It wasn't another
person.
Structure
It + is/was + emphasis + (that) + rest of message
 It was Rob that/who ate my biscuits. (not Catherine)

 It was my biscuits that Rob ate. (not my sandwiches)
 It was yesterday that Rob ate my biscuits. (not today)
We can also use this structure in the present tense:

 It is me that/who does all the work.
Question form
Is/was + it + emphasis + (that) + rest of message
 Was it Rob that/who ate my biscuits?

 Was it my biscuits that Rob ate?
 Was it yesterday that Rob ate my biscuits?
Negative form
It + isn't/wasn't + emphasis + (that) + rest of message
 It wasn't Rob that/who ate my biscuits.
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 It wasn't yesterday that Rob ate my biscuits.
Note: These structures are useful when writing because you can add emphasis without
using your voice. They're also common when we're speaking, but you have to remember to
stress the key information with your voice.
NATIVE SPEAKER 'MISTAKES'

Native speakers often say things that don't follow the rules of standard English. This is
due to regional variation, changes in formality and personal preference. Here are three
typical native speaker 'mistakes':
Using past participles instead of past simple
Native speakers sometimes use a past participle instead of a past simple verb - or they
forget to include 'have' to make the present perfect.
 A: John, how was the test? Have you finished? B: Yeah! I done it!
 Correction: A: John, how was the test? Have you finished? B: Yeah! I have done it!
/ I did it.
Using 'me' instead of 'I'
Native speakers sometimes use the object pronoun me instead of the subject
pronoun I and put these in the wrong order.
 Me and John went to the shops.

 Correction: John and I went to the shops.
Splitting infinitives
Native speakers often separate the 'to' from the 'infinitive' - normally by inserting an adverb.
 I need to quickly stop at the bank.

 Correction: I quickly need to stop at the bank OR I need to stop at the bank quickly.
Note: A split infinitive is not always viewed as an error. Splitting an infinitive can make the
meaning of your sentence clearer and more natural.
 You need to really pay attention here.

 I want our profits to more than double this year.
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ADVANCED LEARNER MISTAKES
Here are two common mistakes that advanced learners can make:
1. Word order in WH word clauses
a) Advanced learners often automatically invert the subject and auxiliary verb after a WH
word clause, as if it were a question. However these WH clauses are the same as normal
sentences so the word order is the same too!
 NOT: He realised what was he doing.

 Correction: "He realised what he was doing. (OR: "He realised what he
wasn't doing.)
 NOT: I can’t believe what have you done.
 Correction: I can’t believe what you have done. (OR: I can't believe what you
haven't done.)

b) Advanced learners can forget that an affirmative clause after a WH word which uses
the present simple or past simple tense does NOT use an auxiliary (Negatives still have
two verbs)
 Past Simple:
 NOT: I don’t know where did he go last night.
 Correction: I don’t know where he went last night. (OR: I don’t know where
he didn't go last night.)
 Present Simple
 NOT: They want to see what does he do.
 Correction: They want to see what he does. (OR: They want to see what he doesn't
do.)
English language learners often have difficulty distinguishing between the

verbs go and come and take and bring. This is because the verbs have the same basic
meaning, but they are used to represent different directions.
Come and bring
Come and bring represent movement TOWARDS the place where the speaker or listener
is.
We can use come and bring to show movement towards the speaker:
 Do you want to come for dinner this evening? Bring a bottle.

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Or, movement towards the listener:
 I'll come and pick you up tomorrow morning - do you want me to bring some food?
Go and take
Go and take represent movements AWAY from where the speaker or listener is.
 I've got to go to the supermarket later - I'll take your letter to the post office if you
want?
 John, can you go to the shop for me and buy some bread? Take this money to pay.
Go, take, come and bring
These verbs can be combined:

 I think tomorrow night I’ll go to the cinema. I’ve got to take my loyalty card for a
discount. Would you like to come? You can bring a friend.
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SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 1
Verbs always agree with the subject noun in a sentence:
I always go to work early.

She always goes to work early.
We are old
The house is old.
However, there are many types of noun and noun phrase in English, and it can be
difficult to know if a particular noun takes a singular verb (such as DOES / HAS / AM /
IS ) or a plural verb (DO / HAVE / ARE). Have a look below for some commonly
difficult nouns:
1. When singular and plural are the same.
‘The species is on the brink of extinction.’ (It...)

‘The species are on the brink of extinction.’ (They...)
Here the noun 'species' does not change form to show a plural, even if the meaning
changes. In this case, be careful about whether you are taking in the singular or plural
meaning and make sure to change the verb. Other examples include: economics, sheep,
politics, headquarters, series and fish (which has an alternative plural).
'The sheep is herded by the sheepdog into the farmer's van' (It...)
'The sheep are herded by the sheepdog into the farmer's van' (They...)
'Their country's politics are a mystery to me' (Their opinions)
'Politics is a mystery to me' (The subject)
'The BBC's new TV series is excellent' (It..)
'The BBC's new winter season TV series are excellent' (They...)
2. Nouns with no plural.
‘The news about the king’s death has been reported around the world.’ (It...)
Many English learners will know that English has countable and uncountable nouns.
When you want to show a plural countable noun, you use a 's' e.g. a hat / 3 hats.
Uncountable nouns have no plural and always use a singular verb. But, 'news' is a noun that
is uncountable AND ends in an 's', which can lead many learners to use the wrong verb
form. Here are some more examples: school subjects, such as mathematics, gymnastics and
physics; Games, such as dominos and darts and the disease: measles.
'Mathematics is a hard subject' (It...)

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'What does measles do?' (It...)
'Dominos has been around for almost a thousand years' (It...)
3. Nouns with no singular
'The police are coming! The police are coming!'
Some nouns in English are collective. This means that they represent a group or number
of objects together. In many cases, these nouns are considered to be plural all the time since
they are collections of single pieces kept together. Because of this, they take a plural verb
and have no singular noun form. Here are some more examples: staff, congratulations,
cattle, thanks and fishes (an alternative plural which means the different species of fish
which are in the same place).
'The staff are unhappy with the wage cut' (They...)

'Congratulations are due to you on your birthday' (They...)
'The supermarket has many fishes. They have been organised according to type.'
This also applies with 'pair nouns', i.e. nouns where two things are joined together.
Examples of these are: glasses, scissors, tweezers, trousers, heaphones and tights.
'My jeans don't fit anymore!' (They...)

'Are my glasses in the kitchen?' (They...)
'Tights were fashionable as far back as Henry VIII's time!' (They...)
Finally, in English we can combine the definite article THE with an adjective to create a
group noun meaning 'all of..'. This is common for nationalities. They also take a plural verb.
'The British are coming. The British are coming.'

'The rich have the most to lose'
'The sick have suffered enough'
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We are old.
The house is old.
difficult nouns:
1. Collective nouns with both singular and plural.
'The government is debating the new law!' (It...)

'The government are debating the new law!' (They...)
Government is a collective noun and represents a group of people, like police. But
unlike police, which is always plural, the choice of singular or plural verb depends
on whether you consider the noun to be a group of individuals (e.g. They are debating)
or a single unit (e.g. It is debating). Other examples include: family, crew, team, public,
jury and committee.
'The whole family are a great bunch of people.' (They...)

'The whole family is a great bunch of people.' (It...)
'The jury haven't yet made a decision.' (They...)
'The jury hasn't yet made a decision.' (It...)
'The team don't have any worthy opponents.' (They...)
'The team doesn't have any worthy opponents.' (It...)
It’s also worth noting that in a relative clause, we use who for the group and which for
the unit.
'The government, who are in talks now, are reviewing the law.'
'The government, which is in talks now, is reviewing the law.'
'The family who I met would never act that way.'
'The family which I met would never act that way.'
'The team, which has played so well this season, is in crisis.'
'The team, who have played so well this season, are in crisis.'
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2. Quantities & amounts, portions and mathematics.
'3 minutes is perfect for tea.' (It...)

'£100 is a fortune!' (It...)
'24 hours is all I need' (It...)
'26 miles isn't so far!' (It...)
Despite the fact that 3 is a plural number and minutes is a plural noun, the sentence uses
a singular verb. This is because, within the context, three minutes is considered to be one
unit of time (3 minutes together is enough time to make one cup of tea). This is true for
amounts, distances, periods of time, quantities, weights sums of money, etc.
Consider the difference:

There are 60 minutes in an hour. (We are counting the number of individual minutes)
60 minutes is perfect - I can get across town in that. (We are judging the unit of time
against what we need to do)
'One of my friends has a Ferrari.' (One...)

'More than one of us is a secret undercover agent.' (One...)
Be careful with expressions with ONE. Even if the noun is plural, we still use a
singular verb.
'Half of the cake was eaten.' (...of it...)

'Half of the cakes were eaten.' (...of them...)
Be careful with portions! The noun after‘of’ dictates the verb.
'Two and three is/are five.' (It/ They...)

'Two plus three is five.' (It...)
'Two times three is fifteen.' (It...)
'Two threes are fifteen.' (They..)
When speaking mathematics the verb can be singular or plural. It often depends on
the phrasing and speakers will switch between them inconsistently...even in the same
sentence!
3. Indefinite nouns.
'Something is coming.' (It...)

'It is making a terrible noise.'
Someone is at the door! (He or She...)
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They are knocking loudly.
'Everyone was happy! They were dancing in the streets'
'Nobody knows what to do. They haven't understood fully yet!'
Indefinite nouns take singular nouns.
However, when referring to the same person again, we will use the impersonal
pronoun they…which takes a plural verb.
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We are old.
The house is old.
difficult nouns:
1. And, Or, Neither, Nor.
'The King and Queen are coming!' (They...)
When two nouns are joined with ‘and,’ we use a plural verb. But, when the two objects
are so commonly classed together that they become thought of as one unit, we use a
singular verb.
'Fish and chips is the best meal a man can have.' (It...)
Or when two nouns refer to the same thing (so be careful!)
'The new CEO and majority shareholder is coming.' (One person - He or She...)
'The new CEO and majority shareholder are coming.' (Two people - They...)
When two singular nouns are joined with ‘or’, we use a singular verb, but if singular
and plural nouns join in this way, the verb agrees with the closest noun to it. This is also
true with expressions using either/or and neither/nor.
'A pizza or a curry is being delivered.'

'A pizza or 3 curries are being delivered.'
'3 pizzas or a curry is being delivered.' * (This sounds strange because English tends to put
the plural last. 'A pizza or 3 curries are being delivered.' is more natural.)
'Either the cat or the dog goes.'
'Either the cat or the dogs go.'
'Neither I nor my family has stolen anything.
'Neither my family nor I have stolen anything.
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2: Separated subjects and verbs.
Sometimes in English we separate a subject and verb. This usually happens because of a
prepositional phrase, which is used to describe or qualify a noun. They begin with a
preposition such as: of, about, with, on, off, above, around, etc. For example:
'This bunch of bananas is ripe'

'These bunches of bananas are ripe.'
'The house down the lane is very cheap.'
'The houses down the road are very cheap.'
'The attitude of the people has remained unchanged.'
'The attitudes of the people have remained unchanged'
This can lead to some very long complicated sentences (although nouns as long as this
example are unlikely):
The builder of the house of my family with the blue overalls in the white car on the
main road just over the bridge next to the school is a nice man.
Fortunately, the solution is simple! Ignore all the prepositional phrases between the
‘head’ noun and the verb! This tells you which word to make the verb agree with.
'This bunch _ is ripe'

'These bunches are ripe.'
'The builder is a nice man.'
This is true unless it’s a portion, like ‘half of the cake.’, where the verb agrees with the
noun after the 'of' (see Subject Verb Agreement part 2)
3. Singular or plural verb with a cleft sentence.
A cleft sentence is a structure English speakers use to emphasise a particular point. They
often, though not always, start with a WH word.
'What really makes me angry is people who throw rubbish on the ground.'
'When I'd really like a holiday is next week!'
'Where he's been is in hospital.'
'The most interesting thing I saw last week was the elephant at the theatre.'
'The biggest mistake I ever made was driving home for Christmas.'
However, cleft sentences often use very large subjects (What really makes me angry)
and long complements (people who throw rubbish on the ground) and because of this the
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verb can agree with the subject or the complement – which means, in the case of a
plural complement – the verb is plural.
'What really makes me angry is people who throw rubbish on the ground.' (Verb agrees
with subject)
'What really makes me angry are people who throw rubbish on the ground.' (Verb agrees
with plural complement)
'The most interesting thing I saw last week was the elephant at the theatre.' (Verb agrees
with subject)
'The most interesting thing I saw last week were the elephants at the theatre.' (Verb
agrees with plural complement)
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INVERSION 1:
AFTER NEGATIVE OR LIMITING ADVERBS
Inversion happens in English for emphasis, dramatic purpose or formality. This type of
inversion uses negative and limiting adverbs these are a group of adverbs which limit the
meaning of a verb or make it negative.
Examples are: never, hardly, no, rarely, seldom, little, barely, no sooner...than, in no way,
under no circumstances, nowhere, not (+time), (only+ time). This is not a complete list.
To invert a sentence move the adverbial to the beginning of the sentence and invert
the subject and auxiliary verb:
‘I had never met someone so interesting.’ becomes ‘Never had I met someone so
interesting.’
'He won't often go to work.' becomes 'Not often will he go to work'
'You should not leave this room for any reason' becomes 'Under no circumstances should
you leave this room.'
'She hasn't seen him anywhere.' becomes 'Nowhere has she seen him'
Notice that if the auxiliary verb is negative in the first sentence, it becomes
affirmative in the inverted sentence and the 'not' moves to the front.
In cases where the tense does not use an auxiliary verb in the affirmative, such as the
present simple or the past simple, one must be added.
Present Simple:
‘I rarely go outside.’ becomes ‘Rarely do I go outside.’

'They don't ever know what to do' becomes 'Never do they know what to do.'
'She almost never loses' becomes 'Scarcely does she lose.'
Past Simple: (Notice how the verb changes from past tense to infinitive)
‘She seldom worked very hard.’ becomes ‘Seldom did she work very hard.’
'We never went to the shopping centre.' becomes 'At no time did we go to the shopping
centre.'
'He didn't react at all.' becomes 'In no way did he react.'
Some negative or limiting adverbials require you to complete a whole clause before
the inversion takes place.
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‘I didn’t know what to do until I saw what had happened.’ becomes ‘Not until I saw what
had happened did I know what to do.’
In this case, ‘Not until I saw what happened’ is the adverbial clause. The inversion
takes place after this, in the main clause. This happens with 'Not +time' and 'Only + time'.
Not + until / before + clause

Only + when / as / after / while / once + clause
Other examples are:
'Only when they met again did he tell her'

'Not before he admitted the truth did they let him go'
'Not since Paris had they seen such a beautiful sunrise.'
'Only now could he see how wonderful a car it was.'
'Hardly' puts the inversion in the adverbial clause. It uses 'than' and 'when' to
connect with the main clause.
‘Hardly had I got home than the dog started barking.’

'Hardly had he got into the bath when the phone rang.’
Little did they know means they didn't know. The subject can be changed. Little can
also be combined with nouns to show a lack of something, such as food or time.
‘Little did they know that he had stolen all of their money.’ (They didn't know he had stolen
all of their money)
'Little did he know that they would never meet again.' (He didn't know that they would
never meet again.)
'Little time did they have to explain.' (They didn't have time to explain)
'Little patience does she have on a good day!' (She doesn't have any patience on a good
day!)
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INVERSION 2
Inversion happens in English for emphasis, dramatic purpose or formality. In order to

invert, the subject verb object order of a normal sentence is changed in some way.
1. Reduced Conditionals:
Conditionals are sentences in English which express the result or possible result of a real
or imagined action. The usually start with if:
If you go to town, will you get me a cola? (1st conditional)

If I were an animal, I would be a dog. (2nd conditional)
If I had stayed longer, I would have learned a new language. (3rd conditional)
In second and third conditionals we can remove the if and invert the subject and
auxiliary verb. This is considered to be more formal and so more polite. In the case of the
second conditional, if the verb is an action we use were and the infinitive.
Were I an animal, I would be a dog.

Were I to go on holiday, I would go to Jamaica. (If I went on holiday...)
Had I stayed longer, I would have learned a new language.
To invert a first conditional in this way, we need to use the word ‘should’. Should makes
a first conditional more polite and more tentative. Then we remove the if and invert the
subject and auxiliary verb as normal. So:
If you should go to town, will you get me a cola?

Should you go to town, will you get me a cola?
Negatives in these forms are not contracted. So:
Should you not go to town…

Were I not a human…
Had I not left so early…
2. Adverbs of place or movement:
Adverbs of place or movement usually come after the verb in a clause.When an adverb
of place or movement is put at the beginning of a clause, then the whole verb phrase,
and not just the auxiliary verb, can be put before the subject. This is done for dramatic
117
effect and is usually conveyed in a written style and even more so when introducing a new
noun - such as in a story. So, for example:
The spy came through the window.
Through the window came the spy (adverb of movement + complete verb phrase +
subject)
300 men would stand in the pass.

In the pass would stand 300 men. (adverb of place + complete verb phrase + subject)
This is common with shorter adverbs in speech, such as: here & there.
If a pronoun is used instead of a noun, it must go before the verb.
There sat my father. There he sat.

On ran the racers. On they ran.
I opened the box and out jumped a puppy! I opened the box and out it jumped.
3. Consequences of an adjective:
We can use so plus an adjective, then we invert the normal subject and auxiliary verb,
and finally we use ‘that’ to emphasise how strongly something’s description affected us
and what the consequence was. We can do the same thing with a noun using such.
- So beautiful was she that I fell in love immediately (so + adjective + inversion + that +
consequence)
- Such a beautiful woman was she that I fell in love immediately. (such + noun + inversion +
that + consequence)
118
PARTICIPLE CLAUSES
A participle is a form of a verb - either ING or Past Participle (3rd form of a verb). A
participle clause is a subordinate clause which begins with a participle. They act like
adverbs and are linked to the main clause of a sentence. They usually show things like
event order, time, cause and effect:
- Stepping on camera, I relaxed completely. (When I stepped on camera)

- Filmed inside, the footage was too dark to use. (Because it was filmed inside)
- Fried in lemon, the fish would taste delicious. (if the fish were fried in lemon)
- Turning round slowly, I tried hard not to make a sound. (As I was turning round slowly)
It is very important to remember that participle verbs do not change their form to
show tense. This actually happens in the main clause, and participle clauses usually
mimic the same tense as the main clause:
- Stepping on camera, I relaxed completely. (When I stepped)

- Stepping on camera, I relax completely. (When I step)
- Stepping on camera, I will relax completely. (When I step - future time clause)
However, it is possible to put a tense in a participle clause by itself. For example:

Knowing I was filming today, I wore a shirt.
Participle clauses often have implied subjects. This means that the subject of the
participle clause is the same as the subject of the main clause and so it is omitted in the
participle clause. For example:
- Seeing the mistake, she corrected it immediately. (When/ because she saw)
- Feeling unwell, he went to the doctor. (Because he felt unwell)
However, it is possible for a participle clause to have its own subject – and this is a
little bit more formal. So, for example:
- Seeing she had made the mistake, she corrected it immediately.
Be careful not to make a pariticiple clause with a confusing subject:
- Seeing it fall, the tree hit me in the back. (This implies the tree saw it fall - Better to say
'As I saw it fall' or 'When I saw it fall')
- Feeling weak, the boy attacked the man. (Who is feeling weak here? - Better to say 'While
the man was feeling weak, the boy attacked him')
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To make a participle clause negative, we use ‘not’, and this comes before the participle
verb. So, for example:
- Not knowing the baby slept, she phoned.

- Not seeing the bus, the dog stepped into the road.
- Not saying anything, she poured the glass of water over his head.
However, the ‘not’ can come after the participle verb depending on your meaning. So,
for example:
Not knowing the baby slept, she phoned. (Because she didn't know the baby slept.)
Knowing not to call because the baby slept, she waited until the next day. (Because she
knew not to call...)
To make clear that one action is finished before the action in the main clause is begun,
we use Having + the past participle. And this basically works the same way as ‘because’
or ‘after’. So, compare:
- Putting away the equipment, they talked about going home. (While putting away...)
- Having put away the equipment, they went home. (After they had put away...)
Other examples:
- Having been to France, I can speak French. (Because I have been)

- Having unpacked the suitcases, she took a shower. (After unpacking.)
- Having decided what to do, I made my move. (Because I had decided)
Finally, all sorts of prepositions can sit before the participle verb to further emphasise
or clarify events’ order, time, cause and effect. Words like after, before, since, while and
with. So for example:
- After eating, we sat on the couch.

- Before leaving for work, they watched TV.
- While waiting, I thought about my family.
- Since coming to England, I have met a lot of new people.
- By practising every day, she passed her driving test. (Because she practised - this
describes the method)
- Without knowing it, I had ruined everything. (Although I didn't know it)
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5 wAYS YOU CAN USE PAST FORMS TO
TALK ABOUT TIMES OTHER THAN THE
PAST
1. When a plan isn't certain
 I was thinking of going to that party later.
In this example, the use of the past continuous makes the plan less definite in the
speaker's mind than if she had used a present continuous sentence I am thinking of going to
the party later.
2. To be polite
 I was wondering if your report was ready.
In this example, the use of the past continous and past simple make the speaker sound
more polite than if he had used present tenses I am wondering if your report is ready. This
is because the past sounds less direct.
3. To sound more urgent
 It's time we left.
In this example, the use of the past tense makes the speaker sound more urgent than if
she had used the present tense It's time to leave. By using the past, the speaker gives the
idea that we should have left already.
4. With 'wish' and 'if only'
 I wish I had more time.

 If only I had more time.
After wish and if only, we have to use the past tense. Present tenses are not correct.
However, these sentences have a hypothetical present of future meaning.
5. With 'suppose' and 'what if'
 Suppose we went on holiday to Thailand.
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 What if we finished before the deadline?
When we use past tenses after suppose and what if, the situation sounds less likely than
if we had used present tenses Suppose we go on holiday to Thailand.
Past simple and past continuous review
Meaning and use
We use the past simple for something that happened and finished in the past. We use it
when we say or know the time when something happened. It is often used in stories, when
one thing happened after another.
 Last year, we travelled by jeep across the Sahara.

 When the car stopped, we all got out.
We use the past continuous for something that happened in the past but was not finished
at a particular time. This can be an exact time in the past (12 o’clock, etc.) or the time when
another thing happened.
 It was 12 o’clock and we were standing in the midday sun.

 Mick was checking the engine when the rescue helicopter arrived.
We also use the past continuous to describe a scene or situation in the past or for an
action that continued for some time.
 The stars were beginning to come out.

 The dog was barking loudly.
Form
Past simple: positive
For regular verbs, the past simple ends in -ed. Irregular verbs have different forms. The
past simple form is the same for all persons (I, you, he, she, etc).
 Suddenly the jeep skidded and stopped.

 Jake thought that we had a puncture.
Past continuous: positive
The past continuous is subject + was/were + -ing form. There are no short forms
ofwas/were.
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 Fortunately, we were carrying a toolkit.
Past simple: negative
We make the negative past simple with didn’t + infinitive.
 We didn’t stay inside the jeep because that was even hotter.
Past continuous: negative
We make the negative past continuous with wasn’t/weren’t + -ing form
 Despite the heat, Jess and Debs weren’t wearing hats.
Past simple: question
The past simple question form is did + subject + infinitive for all persons. The short
answers are Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.
 Did the helicopter land in the desert? Yes it did.
Past continuous: question
The past continuous question form is was/were + subject + -ing form. The short
answers are Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.
 How were you feeling when it arrived?
Take note: spelling changes
In the past continuous, all verbs end in -ing, but sometimes the spelling changes:
 take – taking hit – hitting die – dying
123

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THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Meaning and use

 She’s already been sleeping for two hours.

The present perfect continuous is made with:

subject + have/has/haven’t/hasn’t + been + present participle of main verb.

Take note: present perfect continuous and present perfect

WRONG: She’s been being here for ten minutes.

Take note: already

It is possible to put already at the end of a positive sentence or question.

In sentences with just and already, there is usually no stress on has/have or on

Meaning and use: all, every each

 All (the) students have their own rooms.

 I love every painting by that artist.

For emphasising every single one, we must use everynot each.

 You’ve eaten every chocolate in the box!

 In baseball, how many players are there in each team?

 All of the students have their own rooms.

With plural noun

With uncountable noun

With singular noun

Take note: articles

We don’t use an article (the, a/an) before every or each.

Take note: possessive and demonstrative adjectives

Meaning and use of both, neither, either

Here are some examples of how to use them with nouns:

 I like both pictures. / I like both of the pictures.

We often use both… and, neither… nor,and either… or.

 She plays both the violin and the guitar.

With plural noun

With plural pronoun

With singular noun

Take note: verbs

But after neither + noun the verb is always singular.

 It’s so annoying. Jason keeps phoning me all the time.

 ‘When did you break up?’

 I broke off our engagement ages ago

Some verbs have three parts to them, an adverb and a preposition.

Object pronoun after the verb

Object pronoun in the middle

Take note: phrasal verbs with direct objects

For most phrasal verbs, the main stress is on the adverb.

This is the same for three-part verbs.

When you take exercise, your heart beats faster.

We can use if or when with the same meaning:

If you take exercise, your heart beats faster.

I get stomach ache when I drink milk.

If/When you heat water to 100°C, it boils.

When she eats too much cake, she feels bad.

I feel upset when he doesn’t answer my calls.

What comes out of a volcano when it erupts?

I’ll do the cooking this evening if it’s OK with you.

I won’t wait for you, if you’re late again.

Where will he live when he moves to the city?

Take note: the zero conditional and time

If you multiply 10 by 10, it makes 100.

We might go shopping later if we have enough time.

Meaning and use

 There might/may/could be life forms on Mars.