FCE

Grammar
Reference
-Teacher Su Language Center-
Adjectives with – ed and –
ing
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Verb ed/ ing Adjective

fascinate ed/ ing fascinated/ fascinating

Some adjectives do not have both forms.

amaze ed/ ing amazed/ amazing

Describes how a person feels

- ed e.g. I was fascinated by the photos of her trip to Australia
on her Facebook page.
.
Describes the person or thing which produces the
- ing feeling:
e.g. Have you seen that amazing video on YouTube?
Some adjectives do not have both forms.
Articles
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articles

a an the

Indefinite article definite article

We do not know We know the

the subject subject
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The indefinite articles
Usage

With singular, countable nouns mentioned for the first time

e.g. A blue car came round the corner.
e.g. The teacher gave us an example.
a/ an To talk about jobs
e.g. His mother’s a doctor.

We do not use a or an with uncountable nouns or plural countable nouns

Use an before words which begin with a vowel sound: an app, an email (but not when the letter ‘u’ or
‘e’ produce a ‘y’ sound: a useful tool, a European student, a university).
When ‘h’ is silent, use an: an hour, an honest man
Usage of definite article the Page 163
I’ve got two new teachers. The maths teacher is from
With things we have mentioned before
California and the English teacher is from Ireland.

When referring to particular things I love music, but I don’t like the music my sister listens to.

With things which are unique the Internet, the moon

In this country, the rich are growing and the poor are
With adjectives to express groups
growing poorer.

With nationalities the French, the Spanish, the Italians

With superlative adjectives the best, the longest

With ordinal numbers (e.g. the first, the

Manolo won the first prize and Igor won the second.
second, the third)
With names of countries which include The Czech Republic, The united Kingdom,
Republic, Kingdom, States or Emirates The United States, The United Arab Emirates
With names of rivers, mountain ranges,
the Nile, the Alps, the Mediterranean, the Pacific
seas and oceans
at the moment, at the age of 15, in the end,
With many common expressions
on the one hand…… on the other hand
as and like
Usage Page 163+164
To say someone or something is that thing, or has that function
He works as a nurse.
She uses email as a way of keeping in touch with friends.
To mean the same as before a subject + verb or a past participle
Things happened exactly as I had predicted
To mean ‘because
As tomorrow is a public holiday, I will not be giving you any homework to do.
as
After certain verbs including describe and regard
The teachers regard you as the best group of students in the school.
With adjectives and adverbs to make comparisons
Mike is not as clever as his sister.
To mean ‘for example’ in the phrase such as
I spent the summer travelling round Europe and visiting lots of places such
as Venice, Florence and Barcelona
with the same … as
You’re wearing the same colour shirt as me.

In the phrases as far as I know, as far as I’m concerned, as far as I can tell
As far as I know, my grandparents have always lived in the same house.
I don’t mind how much money you spend on clothes – you can spend all
money on clothes as far as I’m concerned
Arsenal aren’t going to win the cup this year as far as I can tell
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Usage

to mean ‘similar to’ (especially after the verbs be, seem, feel, look, sound, smell and taste)
He’s eating what looks like a hamburger.
This swimming pool is fantastic – the artificial waves mean it’s like swimming in the sea.

like

to mean ‘for example’

He enjoys all sorts of adventure sports like paragliding, windsurfing and canoeing.
Causative Have and
Get
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Have Something Done Get Something Done

(= Someone Does It For You) = Have Something Done (more informal)
My dad has just got some new
I’m having my teeth checked tomorrow.
furniture delivered.
(=Someone else is doing it)
I’ve just had my bike mended.
I’ve got my car repaired.
(=Someone has mended it for me)

• We can also use this structure to say we have been the victim of something:
Tim had his wallet stolen while he was waiting for the bus.
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Conditionals
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Conditionals

Conditional sentences express a condition (If ...) and the consequence

of the condition. The consequence can be expressed before or after the
condition:
If you come to Canada, we can visit Vancouver.
We can visit Vancouver if you come to Canada.
Note: If the condition comes first, a comma is used.
If the consequence comes first, no comma is used.
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Zero Conditional

Usage Example

things which are always or If the teacher is late, it sets a bad example to the class.
generally true People tend to get annoyed if/when you shout at them.

Usage Example

scientific facts
When/If water boils, it evaporates.

Note: In zero conditionals, when and if often mean the same.

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First Conditional

Example

If I get the job, I’ll buy myself a new car.

If you wash the car, it will look much smarter.

Usage
I won’t phone you unless it’s urgent.
to express a future condition
we think is possible or likely You can have an ice cream if you behave well.

You shouldn’t go swimming unless you think it’s safe.

If he phones, tell him I’m busy.

We can often use unless instead of if not:
I can’t watch the football with you unless I finish my school work beforehand.
(I can’t watch the football with you if I don’t finish my school work before the game begins.)

Second Conditional
Usage
to express a present or future
condition which is imaginary,
contrary to the facts, impossible
or improbable
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Example
I would go for a walk if it wasn’t so cold.
If I was as rich as Bill Gates, I wouldn’t work.
(Being as rich as Bill Gates is imaginary.)
I wouldn’t fly in a helicopter unless I was sure it was
completely safe. (This is how I would feel in this
situation.)
We’d win more matches if we trained harder. (This is
contrary to the facts – we don’t train hard enough.)

Third Conditional
Usage
something which did not
happen in the past and its
results, which are imaginary
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Example
If you had gone to the concert, you would have enjoyed it.
If you had phoned me this morning, I would not
have been late for school.
If I had lived in the 19th century, I would have gone to
school by horse. (If I had lived in the 19th century
(something which did not happen),I would have gone to
school by horse (an imaginary consequence because I
didn’t live in the 19th century).)
If he hadn’t reacted quickly, the hippo would have killed
him. (He reacted quickly, so the hippo didn’t kill him.)
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We can use could and might instead of would:

If our team had played harder, they could have won the match. (They had the
ability to win the match, but they didn’t, because they didn’t play hard enough.)
If our team had played harder, they would have won the match. (They were
sure to win, but they didn’t because they didn’t play hard enough.)
If the weather had been better, we might have gone swimming. (Swimming
was a possibility.)
If the weather had been better, we would have gone swimming. (Swimming
was a certainty.)
Mixed Conditionals
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When we want to use a conditional sentence to talk about both the past and the
present, we can use second conditional in one part of the sentence and third
conditional in the other:

If tickers weren’t so expensive, I’d have gone to the cinema last night.
2nd conditional (present time) 3rd conditional (past time)

• The tickets are expensive and that is why the speaker didn’t go to the cinema.

If Mar hadn’t fallen off her bike, she’d be the champion now.
3rd conditional (past time) 2nd conditional (present time)

• Mar fell off her bike and that is why she isn’t champion. /
Note: You cannot use zero or first conditionals in mixed conditionals.
 Practice
will come (come) early, if you -------------
1. I ------------- want (want).
had been would have learned(learn) to
2. If I ------------- (be) born in a different country, I ---------------------------
speak a different language.
burns (burn) the food.
cooks (cook), he -----------
3. If my husband -------------
would speak (speak) Spanish..
lived (live) in Mexico, I -------------------
4. If we ------------
play don’t get (not/ get) overweight.
5. If children ------------ (play) outside, they -------------
won (win) the lottery, we ------------------
6. If we ------------- would travel (travel) the world.
won’t go (not/go) if you -------------------
7. I ---------------- don’t come (not/ come) with me.
buys
8. She -------------- goes
(buy) expensive clothes if she ------------- (go) shopping.
would have come had been
9. We ------------------------- (come) if we -------------(be) invited.
wasn’t (not/ be) always so late, she --------------
10. If she ------------- would be (be) promoted.
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
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Can be counted

Countable Singular form (can be used with a/ an)

Nouns e.g. a job, an animal

Plural form(can be used with numbers, some, any, few, many)

e.g. three cats, some friends, any answers, few students, many years

Cannot be counted

No plural form
Advice advices, furniture furnitures, information informations, homework homeworks
Uncountable
Nouns use verbs in the singular
The news is good, Music helps me relax.

use some and any in the singular

some food, any advice

use little and much in the singular

little information, much homework
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Both countable and uncountable

I love lambs, but I don’t eat lamb.

Countable Uncountable
(animal) (meat from a lamb)

Making uncountable nouns countable

piece/ slice/ spoonful/ bowl + uncountable = countable

A piece of + advice = A piece of advice

Three slices of + bread = Three slices of bread
Two spoonful of + sugar = Two spoonful of sugar
A bowl of + rice = A bowl of rice
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Some common uncountable nouns in English.

accommodation advice behaviour countryside

damage equipment experience food furniture
homework housework information knowledge
luggage media music news paper pollution
research scenery smoke software stuff
transport work
Decide whether these nouns are countable (C) or uncountable (U)
countable
1. The children are playing in the garden. 

2. I don't like milk. uncountable

3. I prefer tea. 
uncountable

4.Scientists say that the environment is threatened by pollution.  countable

5.My mother uses butter to prepare cakes.  uncountable

6.There are a lot of windows in our classroom.  countable

7.We need some glue to fix this vase.  uncountable

8.The waiters in this restaurant are very professional. countable

9.My father drinks two big glasses of water every morning. countable

10.The bread my mother prepares is delicious.  uncountable

Infinitive and Verb + -ing Forms
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Usage

to say why we do something

I’ve just gone running to get some exercise.

The to say why something exists

infinitive There’s an example to help you.

after too and enough

It’s too cold to go swimming today.
He isn’t good enough to make the national team.
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agree appear bother decide

verb + to demand fail hope learn manage She agreed to meet
infinitive offer plan refuse seem be him after work.
supposed threaten

verb + (somebody/ She expected to win

ask choose expect help intend
something) + to the race. I expect you
promise want
infinitive to play in the match.

advise allow enable encourage

verb + somebody/ The money enabled
forbid force invite order permit
something + to him to go to
persuade recommend remind
infinitive university.
teach tell warn
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• We use these verbs from the lists above to report speech :

advise agree allow ask decide encourage

forbid invite offer order permit persuade
promise recommend refuse remind
tell threaten warn
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Usage
after prepositions:
He’s made a lot of friends by joining the tennis club.
We watched a film about climbing in the mountains.

Verb after to when to is a preposition

I’m looking forward to going on holiday.
+ -ing She’s used to studying everything in English.

as subjects or objects of a sentence:

Climbing is safer than it looks.
He decided to take up running.
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We use a verb + -ing after these verbs:

admit appreciate avoid celebrate consider

delay deny dislike enjoy finish imagine
involve keep mind miss postpone practise
regret risk stop suggest

I really enjoyed winning that match.

She suggested playing a game of squash after school.

We can use these verbs from the list above in reported

speech:
admit deny regret suggest
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We use a verb + -ing after these expressions:

It’s no good it’s not worth it’s no use
It’s a waster of time can’t stand can’t bear can’t help
It’s not worth joining that sports club.
It’s a waste of time entering the competition unless you’re really fit.
I can’t bear watching my team when they play badly.

Verbs followed by either an infinitive or a verb + -ing with almost the same meaning:
love begin continue hate prefer like start
I love playing tennis. I love to play tennis.
It continued raining all day. It continued to rain all day.

Note: When love, hate, prefer and like are used with would,
they are always followed by the infinitive:
I wouldn’t like to do an adventure race.
I’d prefer to watch it on television.
Verbs followed by either an infinitive or
verb + - ing with a difference in meaning
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verb + infinitive verb + ing
I remember feeling very tired at the
Did you remember to bring your running
remember end of the race. (a memory of
shoes? (an action you have to do)
something in the past).

’ll never forget winning my first tennis

Don’t forget to bring your tennis racket. (an
forget championship. (a memory of
action you have to do)
something in the past)

If you want to get fi t, why don’t you

I’m running every day because I’m trying to
try try swimming? (Swimming is a
get fi t. (My objective is to get fit.)
method to reach your objective.)

I wanted to be a swimming
Mario means to win the championship. (This
mean champion, but it meant going to the
is his intention.)
pool every day at 5.30. (it involved)

Halfway through the marathon, he stopped When he realised he couldn’t win, he

stop to drink some water. (in order to drink some stopped running. (He didn’t
water) continue.)
Note: The form forget + verb + - ing is unusual. It is more normal to use (not) remember.
I forget riding a bike the first time. I don’t remember riding a bike the first time.
Linking words and phrases:
when, if, in case, even if and even
though
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Usage
a situation:
I feel very uncomfortable when the weather is so hot.
when
something we know will happen at some point in time:
I’m writing an essay at the moment. When I finish, I’ll phone you back.

something we are not sure will happen:

If
We’ll miss the beginning of the film if the bus is late.

with present tense to talk about something which might happen in the future
Take a bottle of water with you in case you get thirsty.
in case
with past simple to explain why someone did something
Clara turned off her mobile phone in case it rang during the exam.

in case and if are different. Compare:

• I’ll take my swimming costume in case we go to the beach. (I’ll take it now because we
might go to the beach later.)
• I’ll take my swimming costume if we go to the beach. (I won’t take my swimming costume
now, because I don’t know if we’ll go to the beach – we might not go.)
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Usage

as a stronger way of saying “although” when we are certain about something

even
He bought a new computer, even though his old one was working perfectly. (The
though speaker is certain the old one was working perfectly.)

as a stronger way of saying “if” when we are not certain about something
even if I’ll come to your party even if I have to walk there. (I don’t know if I’ll have to
walk there, but I’ll make sure I come to your party.)
Linking words for
contrast
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We use these linking words to show contrast:

although even though while whereas but

however despite in spite of
on the one hand,… (on the other hand,)
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to put two contrasting ideas in one sentence

e.g. I didn’t buy the dress although I thought it was beautiful.

can be placed at the beginning of the sentence or in the middle, between

the two contrasting ideas:
although e.g. It was late. She decided to phone him. ➔ Although it was late, she
even though decided to phone him (or) She decided to phone him although it was late.
while
whereas
When the sentence begins with these words we separate the two parts
with a comma. When they are placed in the middle, the comma is optional
e.g. Berlin is a noisy city. My home village is quite peaceful. ➔ While
Berlin is a noisy city, my home village is quite peaceful. OR Berlin is a
noisy city whereas my home village is quite peaceful.

even though is stronger than although:

e.g. I didn’t buy the car, even though I had the money ready in my pocket.
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can be used to join two sentences

(in the middle of sentence, followed by comma)
e.g. We warned her, but she didn’t pay any attention.
but

sometimes be used at the beginning of a new sentence

e.g. He likes romantic films. But don’t tell anybody!

normally starts a new sentence and refers to the sentence before

however
It is usually followed by a comma
e.g. He decided to go out to the cinema. However, he didn’t tell his
family where he was going.
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mean ‘without taking any notice of or being influenced by’; ‘not prevented by’
e.g. He got into the basketball team despite being quite short.
e.g. She went swimming in spite of the cold weather.

despite and can be placed at the beginning of the sentence or in the middle
in spite of (followed by a noun or a verb + -ing)

can be used at the beginning of a sentence

(a comma is also used to separate the two parts of the sentence)
e.g. Despite working all day, Teresa didn’t feel at all tired.
e.g. We got to school on time in spite of the heavy traffic.
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• normally start new sentences

• can be used to balance two contrasting ideas or points of view
on the one hand …
e.g. I’m not sure whether to go to the seaside for my holidays this year.
(on the other hand)
On the one hand, most of my friends are going.
On the other hand, it’s time to have a change and go somewhere different.

can be used to introduce a contrasting idea even if you haven’t used

on the one hand
on the other hand
e.g. Doing sport can be a great way to relax. On the other hand, it
can cause quite serious injuries.
Look, seem and appear Page 168
We use these verbs to express our impressions of something or someone:
I haven’t talked to him very much, but he seems very intelligent.
You still look tired, even if you have slept all night.

We use these with the following patterns

She looks very old.
look/ seem/ appear + adjective He seems hungry.
Marga appeared tired.

subject + look + as The car looks as if it needs washing.

if + sentence You look as if you’ve had a bad day.

it looks/ seems/ appears + as if + It looks as if the car needs washing.

sentence It seems as if you’ve had a bad day.

The weather seems to have changed.

seem/ appear + infinitive
She appeared to be crying.

He looks like my uncle.

look/ seem + like + noun It may seem like an impossible task, but it isn’t
really.
Making
Comparisons
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Comparative and superlative forms of adjectives and adverbs

comparative Adjective/ adverb + -er + than Tennis is cheaper than
forms more + adjective/ adverb + golf.
than Marina works harder than
before.
Golf is more expensive
than tennis.
It rains more often than in
the past.

Chess is one of the

cheapest hobbies.
superlative the + adjective/ adverb + -est
Playing team sports is the
forms The most + adjective/ adverb
most sociable free-time
activity.
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Comparison of adjectives

Add -er and -est • one-syllable adjectives:

with: Fiona is fitter than last year.
• two-syllable adjectives ending in -y and -ly,
e.g. happy, friendly:
My brother’s the friendliest person in my family.

Use more and • adjectives of two syllables or more

most with: (except two-syllable adjectives ending in
–y and – ly):
Biking is the most dangerous activity.
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These form irregular comparisons:

good – better – best bad – worse – worst

well – better – best badly – worse – worst
much – more – most many – more – most
little – less – least far – farther/ further – farthest/ furthest
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as + adjective + as

Usage Example
She finds doing aerobics as interesting as playing team sports
When two things are the
(She finds doing aerobics and playing team sports equally
same
interesting).

not so/as + adjective + as

Usage Example
when one thing is less than
Window shopping is not so/as enjoyable as clubbing.
another

less/least + adjective

Usage Example
when one thing is less than Playing chess is less healthy than playing team sports.
another Clubbing is the least healthy activity you can do.
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Comparison of adverbs

Add –er and – est • one syllable adverbs, e.g. hard, fast, straight:
with: My mum works harder than my dad.

• two syllable adverbs including adverbs ending in –ly:

Use more and
Maria read the text more quickly than Susanna.
most with:
She visits me more often than in the past.

These adverb form irregular comparisons:

well – better – best badly – worse – worst

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as + adverb + as

Usage Example
When two things are the Julia finished the exercise as quickly as Mark.
same (Julia and Mark finished the exercise equally quickly.)

not so/as + adverb + as

Usage Example
To say that we do one thing
Sophie doesn’t speak Spanish so/as well as Gordon.
differently from another
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expressing a large difference

much/ far/ a lot/

adjective/adverb -er/ more adjective/adverb
considerably

e.g. I’d like to go camping, but I’ll have to ask my parents.

e.g. In order to get the holiday job I had to fill in an application form and do an interview.

not nearly as adjective/adverb as

e.g. Some mobile apps are not nearly as difficult to use as normal computer programs.
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expressing a small difference

slightly / a bit / a little adjective/adverb -er/ more adjective/adverb

e.g. People drive slightly slower than they did in the past.

not quite as adjective/adverb as

e.g. I don’t find running quite as enjoyable as cycling.