PUBLIC SPEAKING FOR BUSINESS

ENGLISH LEARNERS
By Andrew Smith
 - The top 10 grammar rules you
In this lesson, we’ll look at: need to know about for successful
public speaking.

Grammar
Overview
#1: USE THE ACTIVE VOICE

Every human language starts an active sentence with the subject, or the "doer." In
English, the verb (what's being done) follows the subject. If there is an object (the
receiver of the action), it comes after the verb. The formula looks like this:

S+V+O. This rule is the foundation of the English language.

Here are some examples:

● Harry walked to the shops.

● The baby liked Nancy.
● I do not like cats.
#2: USE CONJUNCTIONS TO LINK IDEAS

Sometimes you want to link two ideas with a second S+V+O combination. When you
do, you need a coordinating conjunction. The new formula looks like this:

S+V+O, COORDINATING CONJUNCTION+S+V+O

Here are some common coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
(FANBOYS)

● He went to the shops so he could buy bread.

● She likes going on holiday but she doesn’t go abroad.
● They drive to work yet they are always late.
#3: USE COMMAS TO CONNECT TWO IDEAS

FANBOYS are used when connecting two ideas as one in a single sentence, but don't
forget the comma.

For example:

● I do not feed Max’s cat, nor do I wash her.

● Max fed his cat, and I ate pizza.

● Max feeds her cat every day, but the cat is still hungry.
#4: USE A SEMICOLON TO JOIN TWO IDEAS

You can use a semicolon when you want to join or connect two ideas without a
conjunction.

● Max fed his cat; I ate pizza.

● Max feeds her cat every day; the cat is still hungry.

● Max’s cat is very annoying; it cries all day.

#5: USE THE PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE FOR REGULAR, HABITUAL ACTIONS

The simple present is the tense you use for any habitual action. The things you
always do or do every Friday are described with the simple present, which just means
you pick the first form of any verb.

● Max likes cats.

● I don't feed Max's cat.

● Max and I drink coffee every Friday together.

#6: USE THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE FOR ONGOING CURRENT ACTIONS

The present continuous tense is for anything that is happening right now or around
the moment of speaking. All of the continuous tenses are easy to spot because their
verbs always end with "-ing" and get a helping verb. A helping verb is just so we know
who and when we're talking about. In the present progressive, the helping verbs are
the present tense conjugations of "to be."

● I am eating dim sum.

● The traffic is driving me crazy.

● I’m preparing for a presentation at the moment.

#7: ADD -ED TO VERBS FOR THE PAST TENSE

When we talk about the past, we have to add an "-ed" to regular verbs to make the
second form. Irregular verbs are tricky and have their own sets of rules. Eat, for
example, turns to "ate" Most of the time, though, "-ed" will do.

● I ate a lot of ice-cream yesterday, and now I feel sick.

● The music stopped playing 5 minutes ago, so I am feeling better.

● Max played chess with his brother.

#8: USE PRESENT PERFECT FOR UNFINISHED PAST ACTIONS

The present perfect is used to talk about things that have already happened but
consider the time in which they occurred to be unfinished. The exact time they
happened in the past is never mentioned.

● I have eaten three slices of pizza today.

● Max’s cat has hissed at me 3 times already.

● I’ve been to Japan, but I’ve never been to Australia.

#9: USE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS FOR UNFINISHED ACTIONS

When the action as well as the time is considered unfinished, the verb loads up on
third form helping verbs ("to be" and "to have") and changes to the continuous form.

● Western countries have been waging wars in the Middle East for thousands of
years.

● I have been eating pizza all day.

● Max’s cat has been crying like crazy.

#10: USE PAST PERFECT FOR THE FIRST OF TWO PAST ACTIONS

When two things happen in the past, we have to mark which one happened first. The
one that happened first changes to third form and gets the helping verb, "had."

● By the time I ate 1 slice of pizza, Max's cat had finished her dinner.

● I had not yet eaten dinner when Mary walked her dog.

● He could not pay for lunch because he had lost his wallet.
 - The active voice

REVIEW: - Conjunctions

WHAT WE - Commas

- Semicolons
HAVE - The present simple tense

LEARNED - The present continuous tense

TODAY - The past simple tense

- The present perfect tense

- The present perfect continuous tense

- The past perfect tense

HOMEWORK

● Do exercises and read up more on the rules of

the grammar topics we looked at today.

Use the website Perfect English Grammar to

help you do this.

● Focus mostly on the grammar areas you are

struggling the most with!