Grammar: Part of Speech & Tenses Prepared by: … Part of Speech & Tenses Prepared by: Khushal Khan...

Grammar: Part of Speech & Tenses Prepared by: Khushal Khan “Khugiani” Cell No. 0093-70-238830 Or 0092-345-9181208. E-mail: [email protected]

1

1.02 VERB FORMS ..................................................................................................................... 8

1.03 VERB CLASSIFICATION .................................................................................................... 8

1.03.1 Helping Verbs ........................................................................................................................................................8

1.03.1 HELPING VERBS DEFINITION....................................................................................... 9

1.03.1. B. Primary helping verbs (3 verbs)...........................................................................................................................9

1.03.1. A. Modal helping verbs (10 verbs) ....................................................................................................................9

1.03.2 Main Verbs...........................................................................................................................................................10

1.03.2. B. Transitive and intransitive verbs ........................................................................................................................10

1.03.2. D. Linking verbs......................................................................................................................................................11

1.03.2. E. Dynamic and stative verbs.................................................................................................................................11

1.03.2. A. Regular and irregular verbs.............................................................................................................................10

1.03.2. C. REGULAR VERBS .............................................................................................. 11

1.03.2. F. IRREGULAR VERBS ......................................................................................... 11

2. NOUNS.................................................................................................................................. 12

2.01 What are Nouns?.......................................................................................................................................................12

2.02 COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS.................................................................. 14

2.02.1 COUNTABLE NOUNS................................................................................................ 14

2.02.2 UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS .......................................................................................... 15

2.02.3 NOUNS THAT CAN BE COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE ............................... 15

2.03 PROPER NOUNS (NAMES).............................................................................................. 16

2.04 USING CAPITAL LETTERS WITH PROPER NOUNS...................................................... 16

2.05 PROPER NOUNS WITHOUT “THE”................................................................................. 16

2.06 PROPER NOUNS WITH “THE” ...................................................................................... 18


2

2.07 POSSESSIVE’S................................................................................................................. 19

POSSESSIVE’S............................................................................................................................ 19

3. ADJECTIVES ........................................................................................................................ 20

3.01 DETERMINERS ................................................................................................................. 20

3.01.1 DETERMINERS: A, AN OR THE?................................................................................. 21

DETERMINERS: A, AN OR THE? ............................................................................................... 21

3.01.2 DETERMINERS: EACH, EVERY.................................................................................... 22

3.01.3 DETERMINERS: SOME, ANY................................................................................... 23

3.02 ADJECTIVE ORDER ......................................................................................................... 24

3.02.1 ADJECTIVE BEFORE NOUN ........................................................................................ 24

ADJECTIVE BEFORE NOUN ...................................................................................................... 25

3.02.2 ADJECTIVE AFTER VERB............................................................................................ 25

ADJECTIVE AFTER VERB.......................................................................................................... 25

3.03 COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES ...................................................................................... 26

3.03.1 FORMATION OF COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES ......................................................... 26

FORMATION OF COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES ....................................................................... 26

3.03.2 USE OF COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVES..................................................................... 27

3.04 SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES........................................................................................... 28

SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES ..................................................................................................... 29

3.04.1 FORMATION OF SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES.......................................................... 29

3.04.2 USE OF SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVES .................................................................. 31


3

4. ADVERBS ............................................................................................................................. 31

4.01 ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY ............................................................................................ 32

ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY....................................................................................................... 33

5. ENGLISH PRONOUNS ......................................................................................................... 33

5.01 PERSONAL PRONOUNS.................................................................................................. 33

6. ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS ................................................................................................... 34

6.01 ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS LIST....................................................................................... 34

ENGLISH PREPOSITIONS LIST ................................................................................................. 35

6.02 ENGLISH PREPOSITION RULE ....................................................................................... 36

ENGLISH PREPOSITION RULE.................................................................................................. 37

6.03 PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE: AT, IN, ON ......................................................................... 37

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE: AT, IN, ON .................................................................................... 37

6.04 PREPOSITIONS OF TIME: AT, IN, ON ............................................................................. 39

PREPOSITIONS OF TIME: AT, IN, ON........................................................................................ 39

7. CONJUNCTIONS .................................................................................................................. 40

7.01 CONJUNCTIONS DEFINITION ....................................................................................... 40

7.01.2 Form......................................................................................................................................................................41

7.01.1 Function ..................................................................................................................................................................40

7.01.3 Position....................................................................................................................................................................41

7.02 COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS .......................................................................... 41

7.03 SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS ..................................................................... 42

8. INTERJECTIONS .................................................................................................................. 43


4

9.00 Table of English Tenses............................................................................................................................................45

Before you begin the verb tense lessons, it is extremely important to understand that NOT all English verbs are the same. English verbs are divided into three groups:..........................................................................................................................46

10.00 TENSES.....................................................................................................................................................................48

10.01 Simple Present (Present Simple) – Introduction......................................................................................................50

STRUCTURE Subject +verb(s, es) +object / complement..............................................................................................50

10.01.1 Simple Present - Use .............................................................................................................................................51

10.01.2 Simple Present - Form ..........................................................................................................................................52 be.........................................................................................................................................................................................52 have .....................................................................................................................................................................................53 All other verbs......................................................................................................................................................................53

10.02 Simple Present - Exceptions in Spelling....................................................................................................................54

11.00 Present Progressive - Introduction...........................................................................................................................54

11.01 Present Progressive - Use ..........................................................................................................................................55

11.02 Present Progressive - Form .......................................................................................................................................56

11.03 Present Progressive - Exceptions in Spelling ............................................................................................................56

11.04 Present Progressive - Short Forms............................................................................................................................57

11.05 Present Progressive - Signal Words ..........................................................................................................................57

12.0 Present Perfect Simple ..............................................................................................................................................58

STRUCTURE:- Subject + [HAS / HAVE] + [past participle] + Object / Complement. ...........................................58 12.01 Form of Present Perfect..........................................................................................................................................58 12.03 Use of Present Perfect ............................................................................................................................................58 12.04 Signal Words of Present Perfect .............................................................................................................................59

13.00 Present Perfect Progressive.......................................................................................................................................59

STRUCTURE: Subject + [HAS / HAVE] + [BEEN] + [VERB+ing] Object / complement. ............................................59 13.01 Form of Present Perfect Progressive .......................................................................................................................59 13.03 Use of Present Perfect Progressive .........................................................................................................................60 13.04 Signal Words of Present Perfect Progressive...........................................................................................................60

14.00 Simple Past (Past Simple)..........................................................................................................................................60

STRUCTURE: Subject + 2nd Form of the Verb + Object / complement. .......................................................................60 14.01 Form of Simple Past...............................................................................................................................................60 14.03 Use of Simple Past.................................................................................................................................................61 14.04 Signal Words of Simple Past ..................................................................................................................................61

15.00 Past Progressive (Past Continuous)...........................................................................................................................61

STRUCTURE:- Subject + [WAS / WERE] + [VERB+ing] + Object / complement. ................................................61 15.01 Form......................................................................................................................................................................61 15.03 Use of Past Progressive ..........................................................................................................................................62


5

15.04 Signal Words of Past Progressive ...........................................................................................................................62 15.05 Form of Past Perfect Simple...................................................................................................................................62 15.07 Use of Past Perfect .................................................................................................................................................63 15.08 Signal Words .........................................................................................................................................................63

16.00 Past Perfect Progressive (Past Perfect Continuous)..................................................................................................63

Structure: Subject + Had + Been + Verb ing + Object.....................................................................................................63 16.01 Form......................................................................................................................................................................63 16.02 Use........................................................................................................................................................................63 16.02 signal words...........................................................................................................................................................64

17.00 Future I Simple will ...................................................................................................................................................64 17.01 Form of will Future................................................................................................................................................64 17.02 Use of will Future ..................................................................................................................................................64 17.03 Signal Words .........................................................................................................................................................64

17.04 Future I Simple going to............................................................................................................................................64 17.04.1 Form of going to Future......................................................................................................................................64 17.04.2 Use of going to Future.......................................................................................................................................65 17.05 Signal Words .........................................................................................................................................................65

18.00 Future I Progressive (Future I Continuous) .............................................................................................................65 18.01 Form......................................................................................................................................................................65 18.02 Use........................................................................................................................................................................65 18.03 Signal Words .........................................................................................................................................................65

18.04. Future II Simple....................................................................................................................................................65 18.04.1 Form..................................................................................................................................................................65 18.04.02 Use ....................................................................................................................................................................66 18.04.03 Signal Words .....................................................................................................................................................66

19.00 Future II Progressive (Future II Continuous) ..........................................................................................................66 19.01 Form......................................................................................................................................................................66 19.02 Use........................................................................................................................................................................66 19.03 Signal Words .........................................................................................................................................................66

20.01 PRESENT CONDITIONAL:-........................................................................................... 66

21.00 PAST CONDITIONAL:-.................................................................................................. 68


6

Thursday, July 27, 2006

1.00 THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TODAY: - 1.01. IMPORTANCE: - English is generally acknowledged to be the world’s most important language. It is perhaps worth (value) glancing / take a quick look briefly at the basis for that evaluation. There are, after all, thousands of different languages in the world, and each will seem uniquely important to those who speak it as their native language, the language they acquired / obtain at their mother’s knee. But there are more objective standards of relative importance.

1. One criterion (principle) is the number of speakers of the language. 2. The second is the extent (degree / size) to which a language is geographically dispersed: (discrete

/ isolated) in how many continents and countries is it used or is knowledge of it necessary? 3. The third one is its functional load: how extensive (wide) is the range of purposes for which it is

used? 4. In particular, to what extent is it the medium for highly valued cultural manifestations (sign /

appearance) such as a science or a literature? 5. The fifth one is the economic and political influence (power / effect) of the native speakers of the

language. 1.02. THE USE OF ENGLISH: - As we know that English is the worlds most widely used language. A distinction (difference) is often made that depends on how the language is learned: as a native language (or mother tongue), acquired when that speaker is a young child (generally in the home), or as a non-native language, acquired at some subsequent period. (following periods). Overlapping with this distinction is that between its use as a first language, the primary (first, basic) language of the speaker, and as an additional language. 1.03. THE INTERNATIONAL CHARACTER OF ENGLISH: - English is pre-eminently (most excellent) the most international of languages. Though the name of the language may at once remind us of England, or we may associate (connect / unite) the language with the united states, one of the world’s superpowers, English caries less implications of political or cultural specificity than any other living tongue, such as Spanish and French being also notable in this respect. 1.04. THE FUTURE OF ENGLISH: - A single international language has long been thought to be the ideal for international communication. Artificially (unnaturally) constructed languages have never acquired sufficiently large numbers of supporters, although in principle such languages have the clear advantage that they put all learners on the same footing (all are non native speakers), thereby not giving an advantage to speakers of any particular language. During the last few decades English has come closest to being the single international language, having achieved a greater world spread than any other language in recorded history. Yet in recent years doubts have arisen whether it will ever reach the ideal of the single international language or, indeed, whether its use as an international language will continue at the present time.

Grammar Grammar is the study and description of the inflexions and other formal features of a language by which one communicates the relationships between spoken or written words. Alternatively, it is a theory specifying


7

how to construct sentences of a language in preferred or prescribed forms, or the constructions themselves. In simple terms, grammar is the study of a language's syntax and inflexions.

The use of grammar enables a person to control his or her subjects and predicates, verbs, clauses, and phrases sufficiently to be intelligible to those to whom he is speaking or writing. The use of grammar helps us to communicate to each other.

However, grammar does not lead or precede a language. Instead, it follows a language. As a result, the grammar of a living language is in a state of constant change as it adapts to the changes in the common use of the language by educated citizens. Only the grammar of a dead language, such as Latin, is fixed and unchanging. Two examples serve to illustrate this point. During the Shakespearian period, the double comparative or superlative ("the most unhappiest day" of the year) was correct, although it is unacceptable today. Similarly, the use of "you wasn't' was considered to be correct a century later, although it would be associated with illiteracy or ignorance today.

It is noun. According to the dictionary meaning, the word grammar means, the book that teaches rules for the use of words. In other words we can define the word grammar as follows: - The rules that say how words are combined arranged and changed to show different meanings. Its adjective form is GRAMMATICAL. It means correct according to the rules of grammar.

PARTS OF SPEECH The 8 English Parts of Speech: There are the words that you use to make a sentence. There are only 8 types of word and the most important is the verb! Verbs be, have, do, work Nouns man, town, music Adjectives a, the, 69, big Adverbs loudly, well, often Pronouns you, ours, some Prepositions at, in, on, from Conjunctions and, but, though Interjections ah, dear, er, um


8

1. Verb 1.01 What are Verbs? The verb is king in English. The shortest sentence contains a verb. You can make a one-word sentence with a verb, for example: "Stop!" You cannot make a one-word sentence with any other type of word. Verbs are sometimes described as "action words". This is partly true. Many verbs give the idea of action, of "doing" something. For example, words like run, fight, do and works all convey action. But some verbs do not give the idea of action; they give the idea of existence, of state, of "being". For example, verbs like be, exist, seem and belong all convey state. A verb always has a subject. (In the sentence "Zarak speaks English", Zarak is the subject and speaks is the verb.) In simple terms, therefore, we can say that verbs are words that tell us what a subject does or is; they describe: Examples: Action (Ahmad plays football.) State (Naveed seems kind.)

1.02 Verb Forms

English verbs come in several forms. For example, the verb to sing can be: to sing, sing, sang, sung, singing or sings. This is a total of 6 forms. Not many, considering that some languages (French, for example) have more than 30 forms for an individual verb. English tenses may be quite complicated, but the forms that we use to make the tenses are actually very simple! With the exception of the verb to be, English main verbs have only 4, 5 or 6 forms. To be has 9 forms. Do not confuse verb forms with tenses. We use the different verb forms to make the tenses, but they are not the same thing.

1.03 Verb Classification

We divide verbs into two broad classifications:

HELPING VERBS MAIN VERBS

1.03.1 Helping Verbs

Imagine that a stranger walks into your room and says:

• I can. • People must. • The Earth will.

Do you understand anything? Has this person communicated anything to you? Probably not! That's because these verbs are helping verbs and have no meaning on their own. They are necessary for the grammatical


9

structure of the sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. They "help" the main verb. (The sentences in the above examples are therefore incomplete. They need at least a main verb to complete them.) There are only about 15 helping verbs.

1.03.1 Helping Verbs Definition

Helping verbs have no meaning on their own. They are necessary for the grammatical structure of a sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. They "help" the main verb (which has the real meaning). There are only about 15 helping verbs in English, and we divide them into two basic groups:

1.03.1. B. Primary helping verbs (3 verbs)

These are the verbs be, do, and have. Note that we can use these three verbs as helping verbs or as main verbs. On this page we talk about them as helping verbs. We use them in the following cases:

• be o to make continuous tenses (He is

watching TV.) o to make the passive (Small fish

are eaten by big fish.)

• have o to make perfect tenses (I have

finished my homework.)

• do o to make negatives (I do not like

you.) o to ask questions (Do you want

some coffee?)

1.03.1. A. Modal helping verbs (10 verbs)

We use modal helping verbs to "modify" the meaning of the main verb in some way. A modal helping verb expresses necessity or possibility, and changes the main verb in that sense. These are the modal verbs:

• can, could • may, might • will, would, • shall, should • must • ought to

Here are examples using modal verbs:

• I can't speak Chinese. • Ahmad may arrive late. • Would you like a cup of coffee? • You should see a doctor. • I really must go now.


10

some coffee?) o to show emphasis (I do want you

to pass your exam.) o to stand for a main verb in some

constructions (He speaks faster than she does.)

1.03.2 Main Verbs

Now imagine that the same stranger walks into your room and says:

• I teach. • People eat. • The Earth rotates.

Do you understand something? Has this person communicated something to you? Probably yes! Not a lot, but something. That's because these verbs are main verbs and have meaning on their own. They tell us something. Of course, there are thousands of main verbs.

Main verbs have meaning on their own. There are thousands of main verbs, and we can classify them in several ways:

1.03.2. B. Transitive and intransitive verbs

A transitive verb takes a direct object: Somebody killed the President. An intransitive verb does not have a direct object: He died. Many verbs, like speak, can be transitive or intransitive. Look at these examples:

transitive:

• I saw an elephant. • We are watching TV. • He speaks English.

intransitive:

• He has arrived.

1.03.2. A. Regular and irregular verbs

This is more a question of vocabulary than of grammar. The only real difference between regular and irregular verbs is that they have different endings for their past tense and past participle forms. For regular verbs, the past tense ending and past participle ending is always the same: -ed. For irregular verbs, the past tense ending and the past participle ending is variable, so it is necessary to learn them by heart.

regular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

• look, looked, looked • work, worked, worked

irregular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

• buy, bought, bought • cut, cut, cut • do, did, done

Here are lists of regular verbs and irregular verbs.


11

intransitive:

• He has arrived. • John goes to school. • She speaks fast.

1.03.2. D. Linking verbs

A linking verb does not have much meaning in itself. It "links" the subject to what is said about the subject. Usually, a linking verb shows equality (=) or a change to a different state or place (>). Linking verbs are always intransitive (but not all intransitive verbs are linking verbs).

• Ahmad is a teacher. (Ahmad = teacher)

• Tara is beautiful. (tara = beautiful) • That sounds interesting. (that =

interesting) • The sky became dark. (the sky >

dark) • The bread has gone bad. (bread >

bad)

1.03.2. E. Dynamic and stative verbs

Some verbs describe action. They are called "dynamic", and can be used with continuous tenses. Other verbs describe state (non-action, a situation). They are called "stative", and cannot normally be used with continuous tenses (though some of them can be used with continuous tenses with a change in meaning).

dynamic verbs (examples):

• hit, explode, fight, run, go

stative verbs (examples):

• be

Here are lists of regular verbs and irregular verbs.

1.03.2. C. Regular Verbs

English regular verbs change their form very little (unlike irregular verbs). The past tense and past participle of regular verbs end in -ed, for example:

work, worked, worked

But you should note the following points:

1. Some verbs can be both regular and irregular, for example:

learn, learned, learned learn, learnt, learnt

2. Some verbs change their meaning depending on whether they are regular or irregular, for example "to hang":

regular hang, hanged, hanged to kill or die, by dropping with a rope around the neck

irregular hang, hung, hung

to fix something (for example, a picture) at the top so that the lower part is free

3. The present tense of some regular verbs is the same as the past tense of some irregular verbs:

regular found, founded, founded

irregular find, found, found

1.03.2. F. Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs are an important feature of English. We use irregular verbs a lot when speaking, less when writing. Of course, the most


12

• be • like, love, prefer, wish • impress, please, surprise • hear, see, sound • belong to, consist of, contain,

include, need • appear, resemble, seem

Often the above divisions can be mixed. For example, one verb could be irregular, transitive and dynamic; another verb could be regular, transitive and stative.

famous English verb of all, the verb "to be", is irregular.

What is the difference between regular verbs and irregular verbs?

Base Form

Past Simple

Past Participle

With regular verbs, the rule is simple...

finish finished finished

stop stopped stopped The past simple and past participle always end in -ed:

work worked worked

But with irregular verbs, there is no rule...

Sometimes the verb changes completely: sing sang sung

Sometimes there is "half" a change: buy bought bought

Sometimes there is no change: cut cut cut

One good way to learn irregular verbs is to try sorting them into groups, as above.

2. Nouns

It's not easy to describe a noun. In simple terms, nouns are "things" (and verbs are "actions"). Like food. Food (noun) is something you eat (verb). Or happiness. Happiness (noun) is something you want (verb). Or human being. A human being (noun) is something you are (verb).

2.01 What are Nouns?

The simple definition is: a person, place or thing. Here are some examples:

• person: man, woman, teacher, Waleed, Naveed. • place: home, office, town, countryside, America • thing: table, car, banana, money, music, love, dog, monkey

The problem with this definition is that it does not explain why "love" is a noun but can also be a verb.


13

Another (more complicated) way of recognizing a noun is by its:

1. Ending 2. Position 3. Function

1. Noun Ending

There are certain word endings that show that a word is a noun, for example:

• -ity > nationality • -ment > appointment • -ness > happiness • -ation > relation • -hood > childhood

But this is not is not true for the word endings of all nouns. For example, the noun "spoonful" ends in -ful, but the adjective "careful" also ends in -ful.

2. Position in Sentence

We can often recognize a noun by its position in the sentence.

Nouns often come after a determiner (a determiner is a word like a, an, the, this, my, such):

• a relief • an afternoon • the doctor • this word • my house • such stupidity

Nouns often come after one or more adjectives:

• a great relief • a peaceful afternoon • the tall, Indian doctor • this difficult word • my brown and white house • such crass stupidity

3. Function in a Sentence

Nouns have certain functions (jobs) in a sentence, for example:

• Subject of verb: Doctors work hard. • Object of verb: He likes coffee. • Subject and object of verb: Teachers teach students.


14

But the subject or object of a sentence is not always a noun. It could be a pronoun or a phrase. In the sentence "My doctor works hard", the noun is "doctor" but the subject is "My doctor".

2.02 Countable and Uncountable Nouns

English nouns are often described as "countable" or "uncountable".

2.02.1 Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:

• dog, cat, animal, man, person • bottle, box, litre • coin, note, dollar • cup, plate, fork • table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:

• My dog is playing. • My dogs are hungry.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:

• A dog is an animal.

When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:

• I want an orange. (not I want orange.) • Where is my bottle? (not Where is

bottle?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:

• I like oranges. • Bottles can break.

We can use some and any with countable nouns:

• I've got some dollars. • Have you got any pens?

We can use a few and many with countable nouns:

• I've got a few dollars. • I haven't got many pens.


15

2.02.2 Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:

• music, art, love, happiness • advice, information, news • furniture, luggage • rice, sugar, butter, water • electricity, gas, power • money, currency

We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:

• This news is very important. • Your luggage looks heavy.

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:

• a piece of news • a bottle of water • a grain of rice

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

• I've got some money. • Have you got any rice?

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:

• I've got a little money. • I haven't got much rice.

2.02.3 Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable

Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning.

Countable Uncountable

There are two hairs in my coffee! hair I don't have much

hair.

There are two lights in our bedroom.

light Close the curtain. There's too much light!

Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise. noise

It's difficult to work when there is too much noise.

Have you got a paper to read? (= newspaper)

paper I want to draw a picture. Have you got some paper?

Our house has seven rooms. room Is there room for

me to sit here?

We had a great time at the party. time Have you got time

for a coffee?

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's

work I have no money. I need ork!


16

Shakespeare's greatest works.

need work!

2.03 Proper Nouns (Names)

A proper noun is the special word (or name) that we use for a person, place or organization, like John, Marie, London, France or Sony. A name is a noun, but a very special noun—a proper noun. Proper nouns have special rules.

common noun proper noun

man, boy Ahmad

woman, girl Nadia

country, town England, London

company Ford, Sony

shop, restaurant Maceys, McDonalds

month, day of the week January, Sunday

book, film War & Peace, Titanic

2.04 Using Capital Letters with Proper Nouns

We always use a Capital Letter for the first letter of a proper noun (name). This includes names of people, places, companies, days of the week and months. For example:

• They like Zarak. (not *They like john.) • I live in England. • She works for Sony. • The last day in January is a Monday. • We saw Titanic in the Odeon Cinema

2.05 Proper Nouns without “THE”


17

We do not use “the” with names of people. For example:

Bill (not *the Bill) first names

Ahmad

Alam surnames

Zarak

full names Ahmad Alam (Zarak)

We do not normally use “the” with names of companies. For example:

• Renault, Ford, Sony, EnglishCLUB.net • General Motors, Air France, British Airways • Naveed Brothers, Said & Son Ltd

We do not normally use “the” for shops, banks, hotels etc named after a founder or other person (with -’s or -s). For example:

shops Harrods, Marks & Spencer, Maceys

banks Barclays Bank

hotels, restaurants Steve’s Hotel, Cheif, McDonalds

churches, cathedrals

St John’s Church, St Peter’s Cathedral

We do not normally use “the” with names of places. For example:

towns Washington (not *the Washington), Paris, Tokyo

states, regions Texas, Kent, Eastern Europe

countries England, Italy, Afghanistan.

continents Asia, Europe, North America

islands Corsica

mountains Everest

We do not use “the” with “President/Doctor/Mr etc + Name”:

the president, the king

President Karzai (not *the President Karzai)

the captain, the detective

Captain Kirk, Detective Colombo

the doctor, the professor

Doctor Well, Dr Well, Professor Dolittle

my uncle, your aunt

Uncle Khan, Aunt Sania

Mr Naveed (not *the Mr Naveed), Mrs Karzai, Miss Sadia

Look at these example sentences:

• I wanted to speak to the doctor. • I wanted to speak to Doctor

Brown. • Who was the president before

President Kennedy?

We do not use “the” with “Lake/Mount + Name”:

the lake Lake Victoria

the mount Mount Everest

Look at this example sentence:

• We live beside Lake Victoria. We have a fantastic view across the lake.

We do not normally use “the” for roads, streets, squares, parks etc:

streets etc

Oxford Street, Trenholme Road, Fifth Avenue


18

mountains Everest

Exception! If a country name includes “States”, “Kingdom”, “Republic” etc, we use “the”:

states the United States, the US, the United States of America, the USA

kingdom the United Kingdom, the UK

republic the French Republic

streets etc

Oxford Street, Trenholme Road, Fifth Avenue

squares etc

Trafalgar Square, Oundle Place, Piccadilly Circus

parks etc Central Park, Kew Gardens

Many big, important buildings have names made of two words (for example, Kennedy Airport). If the first word is the name of a person or place, we do not normally use “the”:

people Kennedy Airport, Alexander Palace, St Paul’s Cathedral

places Kabul Airport, Public Station, Edinburgh Castle

2.06 Proper Nouns with “THE”

We normally use "the" for country names that include “States”, “Kingdom”, “Republic” etc:

States the United States of America/the USA

Kingdom the United Kingdom/the UK

Republic the French Republic

We normally use “the” for names of canals, rivers, seas and oceans:

canals the Suez Canal

We normally use “the” with the following sorts of names:

hotels, restaurants the Roze Hotel, the Cheif Restaurant

banks The Kabul Bank

cinemas, theatres the Royal Theatre, the ABC Cinema

museums the Kabul Museum, the National Gallery

buildings the White House, the Crystal Palace

newspapers The Kabul Time, the Sunday Post

organizations the United Nations, the BBC, the


19

canals the Suez Canal

rivers The Kabul River, the Nile

seas the Mediterranean Sea, the Mediterranean

oceans the Pacific Ocean, the Pacific

We normally use “the” for plural names of people and places:

people (families, for example) the Clintons

countries the Afghanistan, the United States

island groups the Virgin Islands, the British Isles

mountain ranges the Himalayas, the Alps

Look at these sentences:

• I saw the Clintons today. It was Bill’s birthday.

• Trinidad is the largest island in the West Indies.

• Mount Everest is in the Himalayas.

organizations the United Nations, the BBC, the European Union

We normally use “the” for names made with “…of…”:

• the Tower of London • the Gulf of Siam • the Tropic of Cancer • the London School of Economics • the Bank of France • the Statue of Liberty

2.07 Possessive’s

Possessive’s

When we want to show that something belongs Proper Nouns (Names)

We very often use possessive 's with names:


20

When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we usually add 's to a singular noun and an apostrophe ' to a plural noun, for example:

• the boy's ball (one boy) • the boys' ball (two or more boys)

Notice that the number of balls does not matter. The structure is influenced by the possessor and not the possessed.

one ball more than one ball

one boy the boy's ball

the boy's balls

more than one boy

the boys' ball

the boys' balls

The structure can be used for a whole phrase:

• the man next door's mother (the mother of the man next door)

• the President of the USA's secretary (the secretary of the President of the USA)

We very often use possessive 's with names:

• This is Ahmad's car. • Where is Zarak's telephone? • Who took Naveed's pen? • I like Tara's hair.

When a name ends in s, we usually treat it like any other singular noun, and add 's:

• This is Maryam's chair.

But it is possible (especially with older, classical names) to just add the apostrophe ':

• Who was Rehans' father?

Irregular Plurals

Some nouns have irregular plural forms without s (man > men). To show possession, we usually add 's to the plural form of these nouns:

singular noun plural noun

my child's Room my children's Room

the man's work the men's work

the mouse's cage the mice's cage

a person's clothes people's clothes

3. Adjectives

An adjective is a word that tells us more about a noun. (By "noun" we include pronouns and noun phrases.) An adjective "qualifies" or "modifies" a noun (a modern car). Adjectives can be used before a noun (I like Afghani food) or after certain verbs (It is hard). We can often use two or more adjectives together (a beautiful young Afghan lady).

3.01 Determiners


21

Determiners are words like the, an, my, some. They are grammatically similar. They all come at the beginning of noun phrases, and usually we cannot use more than one determiner in the same noun phrase.

Articles:

• a, an, the

Possessives:

• my, your, his, her, our, their

Other determiners:

• each, every • either, neither • any, some, no • much, many; more, most • little, less, least • few, fewer, fewest • what, whatever; which, whichever • both, half, all • several • enough

3.01.1 Determiners: A, An or The?

Determiners: A, An or The?

When do we say "the Cat" and when do we say "a cat"? (On this page we talk only about singular, countable nouns.)

The and a/an are called "articles". We divide them into "definite" and "indefinite" like this:

Articles

Definite Indefinite

the a, an

We use "definite" to mean sure, certain. "Definite" is particular.

Look at these examples:

the a, an

• The capital of Afghanistan is Kabul.

• I have found the book that I lost.

• Have you cleaned the car?

• There are six eggs in the fridge.

• Please switch off the TV when you finish.

• I was born in a town.

• Zarak had an omelette for lunch.

• Naveed ordered a drink.

• We want to buy an umbrella.

• Have you got a pen?

Of course, often we can use the or a/an for the same word. It depends on the situation. Look at these


22

"Definite" is particular.

We use "indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "Indefinite" is general.

When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about one thing in general, we use a or an.

Think of the sky at night. In the sky there is 1 moon and millions of stars. So normally we could say:

• I saw the moon last night. • I saw a star last night.

word. It depends on the situation. Look at these examples:

• We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a particular umbrella.)

• Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella, a particular umbrella.)

3.01.2 Determiners: Each, Every

Each and every have similar but not always identical meanings.

Each = every one separately Every = each, all

Sometimes, each and every have the same meaning:

• Prices go up each year.

• Prices go up every year.

But often they are not exactly the same.

Each can be used in front of the verb:

• The soldiers each received a medal.

Each can be followed by 'of':

• The President spoke to each of the soldiers. • He gave a medal to each of them.

Every cannot be used for 2 things. For 2 things, each can be used:

• He was carrying a suitcase in each hand.

Every is used to say how often something happens:

• There is a plane to Kabul every day. • The bus leaves every hour.


23

exactly the same.

Each expresses the idea of 'one by one'. It emphasizes individuality.

Every is half-way between each and all. It sees things or people as singular, but in a group or in general.

Consider the following:

• Every artist is sensitive.

• Each artist sees things differently.

• Every soldier saluted as the President arrived.

• The President gave each soldier a medal.

3.01.3 Determiners: Some, Any

Some = a little, a few or a small number or amount

Any = one, some or all

Usually, we use some in positive (+) sentences and any in negative (-) and question (?) sentences.

some any example


• He needs some stamps. • I must go. I have some homework to

do. • I'm thirsty. I want something to drink. • I can see somebody coming.

• He doesn't need any stamps. • I can stay. I don't have any homework

to do. • I'm not thirsty. I don't want anything to

drink. • I can't see anybody coming.


24

some any example

+ I have some money.

I have $10.

- I don't have any money.

I don't have $1 and I don't have $10 and I don't have $1,000,000. I have $0.

? Do you have any money?

Do you have $1 or $10 or $1,000,000?

• I can't see anybody coming.

• Does he need any stamps? • Do you have any homework to do? • Do you want anything to drink? • Can you see anybody coming?

We use any in a positive sentence when the real sense is negative.

• I refused to give them any money. (I did not give them any money)

• She finished the test without any difficulty. (she did not have any difficulty)

Sometimes we use some in a question, when we expect a positive YES answer. (We could say that it is not a real question, because we think we know the answer already.)

• Would you like some more tea? • Could I have some sugar, please

3.02 Adjective Order

There are 2 basic positions for adjectives:

1. before the noun 2. after certain verbs (be, become, get, seem, look, feel, sound, smell, taste)

adj. noun verb adj.

1 I like big cars.

2 My car is big.

3.02.1 Adjective Before Noun


25

Adjective Before Noun

We sometimes use more than one adjective before the noun:

• I like big black dogs. • She was wearing a beautiful long red

dress.

What is the correct order for two or more adjectives?

1. The general order is: opinion, fact:

• a nice Japani car (not a Japani nice car)

("Opinion" is what you think about something. "Fact" is what is definitely true about something.)

2. The normal order for fact adjectives is size, age, shape, color, material, origin:

• a big, old, square, black, wooden Chinese table

3. Determiners usually come first, even though they are fact adjectives:

• articles (a, the) • Possessives (my, your...) • Demonstratives (this, that...) • Quantifiers (some, any, few, many...) • numbers (one, two, three)

Here is an example with opinion and fact adjectives:

adjectives

fact deter-miner

opinion

age shape color

noun

two nice old round red candles

When we want to use two color adjectives, we join them with "and":

• Newspapers are usually black and white.

• She was wearing a long, blue and yellow dress.

3.02.2 Adjective after Verb

Adjective after Verb

We can use an adjective after certain verbs. Even though the adjective comes after the verb, it does not describe the verb. It describes the subject of the verb (usually a noun or pronoun)

subject verb adjective

• Ram is English. • Because she had to wait, she became

impatient. • Is it getting dark?


26

verb. It describes the subject of the verb (usually a noun or pronoun).

Look at the examples opposite:

• Is it getting dark? • The examination did not seem difficult. • Your friend looks nice. • This towel feels damp. • That new film doesn't sound very

interesting. • Dinner smells good tonight. • This milk tastes sour.

3.03 Comparative Adjectives

When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. We can see if they are the same or different. Perhaps they are the same in some ways and different in other ways. We can use comparative adjectives to describe the differences.

In the example opposite, "bigger" is the comparative form of the adjective "big":

A

A

The first A is bigger than the second A.

In this lesson we will look first at how we make comparative adjectives, and then at how we use them:

3.03.1 Formation of Comparative Adjectives

Formation of Comparative Adjectives

There are two ways to make or form a comparative adjective:

• short adjectives: add "-er" • long adjectives: use "more"

Short adjectives

• 1-syllable

Exception The following adjectives have irregular forms:

• good > better • well (healthy) > better • bad > worse • far > farther/further


27

• 1-syllable adjectives old, fast

• 2-syllable adjectives ending in -y happy, easy

Normal rule: add "-er" old > older

Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r late > later

Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant

big > bigger

Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i

happy > happier

Long adjectives

• 2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y

modern, pleasant

• all adjectives of 3 or more syllables expensive,

intellectual

Normal rule: use "more"

modern > more modern expensive > more expensive

3.03.2 Use of Comparative Adjectives

We use comparative adjectives when talking about 2 things (not 3 or 10 or

Earth Mars

Diameter (km) 12,760 6,790

Mars is smaller than Earth


28

talking about 2 things (not 3 or 10 or 1,000,000 things, only 2 things).

Often, the comparative adjective is followed by "than".


• Ahmad is 1m80. He is tall. But Naveed is 1m85. He is taller than Ahmad.

• America is big. But Russia is bigger.

• I want to have a more powerful computer.

• Is French more difficult than English?

If we talk about the two planets Earth and Mars, we can compare them as shown in the table opposite:

than Earth.

Distance from Sun (million km)

150 228 Mars is more distant from the Sun.

Length of day (hours) 24 25

A day on Mars is slightly longer than a day on Earth.

Moons 1 2

Mars has more moons than Earth.

Surface temperature (°C)

22 -23

Mars is colder than Earth.

3.04 Superlative Adjectives


29

Superlative Adjectives

A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree of a quality. We use a superlative adjective to describe the extreme quality of one thing in a group of things.

In the example opposite, "biggest" is the superlative form of the adjective "big":

AB

C

A is the biggest.

In this lesson we will look first at how we make superlative adjectives, and then at how we use them:

3.04.1 Formation of Superlative Adjectives

As with comparative adjectives, there are two ways to form a superlative adjective:

• short adjectives: add "-est" • long adjectives: use "most"

We also usually add 'the' at the beginning.

Short adjectives

1-syllable adjectives old, fast

2-syllable adjectives ending in -y happy, easy

Normal rule: add "-est" old > the oldest

Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st late > the latest

Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last consonant

big > the biggest

Exception The following adjectives have irregular forms:

• good > the best • bad > the worst • far > the furthest


30

consonant

Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i

happy > the happiest

Long adjectives

2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y

modern, pleasant

all adjectives of 3 or more syllables

expensive, intellectual

Normal rule: use "most"

modern > the most modern expensive > the most expensive


31

3.04.2 Use of Superlative Adjectives

We use a superlative adjective to describe one thing in a group of three or more things. Look at these examples:

• Naveed is 1m75. Zarak is 1m80. Ahmad is 1m85. Ahmad is the tallest.

• Canada, China and Russia are big countries. But Russia is the biggest.

• Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

If we talk about the three planets Earth, Mars and Jupiter, we can use superlative adjectives as shown in the table opposite:

Earth Mars Jupiter

Dia- meter (km)

12,760 6,790 142,800 Jupiter is the biggest.

Dis- tance from Sun (million km)

150 228 778

Jupiter is the most distant from the Sun.

Length of day (hours)

24 25 10

Jupiter has the shortest day.

Moons 1 2 16

Jupiter has the most moons.

Surface temp. (°C)

22 -23 -150 Jupiter is the coldest

4. Adverbs

An adverb is a word that tells us more about a verb. An adverb "qualifies" or "modifies" a verb (The man ran quickly). But adverbs can also modify adjectives (Tara is really beautiful), or even other adverbs (It works very well).

Many different kinds of word are called adverbs. We can usually recognize an adverb by its:

1. Function (Job) 2. Form 3. Position

1. Function


32

The principal job of an adverb is to modify (give more information about) verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. In the following examples, the adverb is in bold and the word that it modifies is in italics.

• Modify a verb: - Taj speaks loudly. (How does Taj speak?) - Khan lives locally. (Where does Khan live?) - She never smokes. (When does she smoke?)

• Modify an adjective: - He is really handsome.

• Modify another adverb: - She drives incredibly slowly.

But adverbs have other functions, too. They can:

• Modify a whole sentence: - Obviously, I can't know everything.

• Modify a prepositional phrase: - It's immediately inside the door.

2. Form

Many adverbs end in -ly. We form such adverbs by adding -ly to the adjective. Here are some examples:

• quickly, softly, strongly, honestly, interestingly

But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. "Friendly", for example, is an adjective.

Some adverbs have no particular form, for example:

• well, fast, very, never, always, often, still

3. Position

Adverbs have three main positions in the sentence:

• Front (before the subject): - Now we will study adverbs.

• Middle (between the subject and the main verb): - We often study adverbs.

• End (after the verb or object): - We study adverbs carefully.

4.01 Adverbs of Frequency


33

Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of Frequency answer the question "How often?" or "How frequently?" They tell us how often somebody does something.

Adverbs of frequency come before the main verb (except the main verb "to be"):

• We usually go shopping on Saturday. • I have often done that. • She is always late.

Occasionally, sometimes, often, frequently and usually can also go at the beginning or end of a sentence:

• Sometimes they come and stay with us. • I play tennis occasionally.

Rarely and seldom can also go at the end of a sentence (often with "very"):

• We see them rarely. • John eats meat very seldom.

100% always

usually

frequently

often

50% sometimes

occasionally

rarely

seldom

hardly ever

0% never

5. English Pronouns

Pronouns are small words that take the place of a noun. We can use a pronoun instead of a noun. Pronouns are words like: he, you, ours, themselves, some, each... If we didn't have pronouns, we would have to repeat a lot of nouns. We would have to say things like:

• Do you like the President? I don't like the President. The President is too pompous (showy).

With pronouns, we can say:

• Do you like the President? I don't like him. He is too pompous.

5.01 Personal Pronouns

This summary of personal pronouns includes possessive adjectives for convenience and comparison.


34

pronouns number person gender* subject object possessive reflexive

possessive adjectives

1st m/f I me mine myself my

2nd m/f you you yours yourself your

m he him his himself his

f she her hers herself her

singular

3rd

n it it its itself its

1st m/f we us ours ourselves our

2nd m/f you you yours yourselves your plural

3rd m/f/n they them theirs themselves their

* m=male f=female n=neuter

Examples:

subject She likes homework.

object The teacher gave me some homework.

possessive This homework is yours.

pronoun

reflexive John did the homework himself.

possessive adjective The teacher corrected our homework.

6. English Prepositions

A preposition is a word governing, and usually coming in front of, a noun or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element, as in:

• She left before breakfast.

• What did you come for? (For what did you come?)

6.01 English Prepositions List


35

English Prepositions List

There are about 150 prepositions in English. Yet this is a very small number when you think of the thousands of other words (nouns, verbs etc). Prepositions are important words. We use individual prepositions more frequently than other individual words. In fact, the prepositions of, to and in are among the ten most frequent words in English. Here is a short list of 70 of the more common one-word prepositions. Many of these prepositions have more than one meaning. Please refer to a dictionary for precise meaning and usage.

• aboard • about • above • across • after • against • along • amid • among • anti • around • as • at

• before • behind • below • beneath • beside • besides • between • beyond • but • by

• concerning • considering

• despite • down

• in • inside • into

• like

• minus

• near

• of • off • on • onto • opposite • outside • over

• past • per • plus

• regarding • round

• save • since

• than • through • to • toward • towards

• under • underneath • unlike • until • up • upon

• versus • via

• with within


36

• down • during

• except • excepting • excluding

• following • for • from

• with • within • without

6.02 English Preposition Rule


37

English Preposition Rule

There is one very simple rule about prepositions. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no exceptions.

Rule A preposition is followed by a "noun". It is never followed by a verb.

By "noun" we include:

• noun (Naveed, money, love) • proper noun (name) (Waleed, Zarak) • pronoun (you, him, us) • noun group (my first job) • gerund (swimming)

A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. If we want to follow a preposition by a verb, we must use the "-ing" form which is really a gerund or verb in noun form.

Quick Quiz: In the following sentences, why is "to" followed by a verb? That should be impossible, according to the above rule:

• I would like to go now. • He used to smoke.

Here are some examples:

Subject + verb

preposition "noun"

The food is on the table.

She lives in Japan.

Tara is looking for you.

The letter is under your blue book.

Pascal is used to English

people.

She isn't used to working.

I ate before coming.

6.03 Prepositions of Place: at, in, on

Prepositions of Place: at, in, on

In general, we use:

• at for a POINT • in for an ENCLOSED SPACE • on for a SURFACE

Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:

at in on

at home in a car on a bus

at work in a taxi on a train

at school in a on a plane


38

at in on

POINT ENCLOSED SPACE SURFACE

at the corner in the garden on the wall

at the bus stop in London on the

ceiling

at the door in France on the door

at the top of the page in a box on the

cover

at the end of the road in my pocket on the floor

at the entrance in my wallet on the

carpet

at the crossroads in a building on the

menu

at the entrance in a car on a page


• Waleed is waiting for you at the bus stop.

• The shop is at the end of the street. • My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi

and arrived in Bangkok two hours late. • When will you arrive at the office? • Do you work in an office? • I have a meeting in New York. • Do you live in Japan? • The author's name is on the cover of

the book. • There are no prices on this menu. • You are standing on my foot. • There was a "no smoking" sign on the

wall. • I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford

Street in London.

at school in a helicopter on a plane

at university in a boat on a ship

at college in a lift (elevator)

on a bicycle, on a motorbike

at the top in the newspaper

on a horse, on an elephant

at the bottom in the sky on the radio, on

television

at the side in a row on the left, on the right

at reception

in Oxford Street on the way


39

Street in London.

6.04 Prepositions of Time: at, in, on

Prepositions of Time: at, in, on

We use:

• at for a PRECISE TIME • in for MONTHS, YEARS,

CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS • on for DAYS and DATES

at in on

PRECISE TIME

MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS

DAYS and DATES

at 3 o'clock in May on Sunday

at 10.30am in summer on Tuesdays

at noon in the summer on 6 March

at dinnertime in 1990 on 25 Dec.

2010

at bedtime in the 1990s on Christmas Day

at sunrise in the next century

on Independence Day

at sunset in the Ice Age on my birthday

Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:

Expression Example

at night The stars shine at night.

at the weekend I don't usually work at the weekend.

at Christmas/Easter

I stay with my family at Christmas.

at the same time We finished the test at the same time.

at present He's not home at present. Try later.

Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:

in on

in the morning on Tuesday morning

in the mornings on Saturday mornings

in the afternoon(s) on Sunday afternoons

in the evening(s) on Monday evening

When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.

• I went to London last June. (not in last


40

at sunset in the Ice Age on my birthday

at the moment

in the past/future

on New Year's Eve


• I have a meeting at 9am. • The shop closes at midnight. • Zarak went home at lunchtime. • In Kabul, it often snows in January. • Do you think we will go to Jupiter in

the future? • There should be a lot of progress in the

next century. • Do you work on Mondays? • Her birthday is on 20 November. • Where will you be on New Year's Day?

• I went to London last June. (not in last June)

• He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)

• I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)

• We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)

7. Conjunctions

7.01 Conjunctions Definition

A conjunction is a word that "joins". A conjunction joins two parts of a sentence.

Here are some example conjsunctions:

Coordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating Conjunctions

and but or nor for although because

7.01.1 Function

Conjunctions have two basic functions or "jobs":

• Coordinating conjunctions are used to join two parts of a sentence that are grammatically equal. The two parts may be single words or clauses, for example: - Zarak and Aisha went up the hill. - The water was warm but I didn't go


41

and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so

although, because, since, unless

We can consider conjunctions from three aspects.

7.01.2 Form

Conjunctions have three basic forms:

• Single Word for example: and, but, because, although

• Compound (often ending with as or that) for example: provided that, as long as, in order that

• Correlative (surrounding an adverb or adjective) for example: so...that

- Zarak and Aisha went up the hill. - The water was warm but I didn't go swimming.

• Subordinating conjunctions are used to join a subordinate dependent clause to a main clause, for example: - I went swimming, although it was cold.

7.01.3 Position

• Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.

• Subordinating conjunctions usually come at the beginning of the subordinate clause.

In this lesson we will look in more detail at:

7.02 Coordinating Conjunctions

The short, simple conjunctions are called "coordinating conjunctions":

• and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so

A coordinating conjunction joins parts of a sentence (for example words or independent clauses) that are grammatically equal or similar. A coordinating conjunction shows that the elements it joins are similar in importance and structure:

+

When a coordinating conjunction joins independent clauses, it is always correct to place a comma before the conjunction:

• I want to work as an interpreter in the future, so I am studying Russian at university.

However, if the independent clauses are short and well-balanced, a comma is not really essential:

• She is kind so she helps people.

When "and" is used with the last word of a list, a comma is optional:


42

Look at these examples - the two elements that the coordinating conjunction joins are shown in square brackets [ ]:

• I like [tea] and [coffee]. • [Zarak likes tea], but

[Anthony likes coffee].

Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.

optional:

• He drinks beer, whisky, wine, and rum.

• He drinks beer, whisky, wine and rum.

7.03 Subordinating Conjunctions

The majority of conjunctions are "subordinating conjunctions". Common subordinating conjunctions are:

• after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, until, when, where, whether, while

A subordinating conjunction joins a subordinate (dependent) clause to a main (independent) clause:

+

Look at this example:

main or independent clause

subordinate or dependent clause

Zarak went swimming although it was

raining.

subordinating

A subordinating conjunction always comes at the beginning of a subordinate clause. It "introduces" a subordinate clause. However, a subordinate clause can sometimes come after and sometimes before a main clause. Thus, two structures are possible:

+ Zarak went swimming although it was raining.

+ Although it was raining, Zarak went swimming.


43

subordinating conjunction

8. Interjections

Hi! That's an interjection. :-)

Interjection is a big name for a little word. Interjections are short exclamations like Oh!, Um or Ah! They have no real grammatical value but we use them quite often, usually more in speaking than in writing. When interjections are inserted into a sentence, they have no grammatical connection to the sentence. An interjection is sometimes followed by an exclamation mark (!) when written.

The table shows some interjections with examples.

interjection meaning example

expressing pleasure

"Ah, that feels good."

expressing realization

"Ah, now I understand."

expressing resignation

"Ah well, it can't be heped."

ah

expressing surprise

"Ah! I've won!"

alas expressing grief or pity

"Alas, she's dead now."

expressing pity

"Oh dear! Does it hurt?"

dear expressing surprise

"Dear me! That's a surprise!"

asking for repetition

"It's hot today." "Eh?" "I said it's hot today."

expressing enquiry

"What do you think of that, eh?"

expressing surprise "Eh! Really?"

eh

inviting "Let's go


44

inviting agreement

"Let's go, eh?"

er expressing hesitation

"Lima is the capital of...er...Peru."

expressing greeting

"Hello John. How are you today?" hello, hullo

expressing surprise

"Hello! My car's gone!"

calling attention

"Hey! look at that!"

hey expressing surprise, joy etc

"Hey! What a good idea!"

hi expressing greeting

"Hi! What's new?"

hmm

expressing hesitation, doubt or disagreement

"Hmm. I'm not so sure."

expressing surprise

"Oh! You're here!"

expressing pain

"Oh! I've got a toothache."

oh, o

expressing pleading

"Oh, please say 'yes'!"

ouch expressing pain

"Ouch! That hurts!"

uh expressing hesitation

"Uh...I don't know the answer to that."

uh-huh expressing agreement

"Shall we go?" "Uh-huh "


45

agreement go?" "Uh-huh."

um, umm expressing hesitation

"85 divided by 5 is...um...17."

expressing surprise

"Well I never!"

well introducing a remark

"Well, what did he say?"

9.00 Table of English Tenses Verb tenses are tools that English speakers use to express time in their language. You may find that many English tenses do not have direct translations in your language. Now it is important to know that what is TENSE. The word tense is taken from a LATIN word, TEMPUS and it means TIME, but in Grammar it means ACTION or ACTIVITY.


46

Before you begin the verb tense lessons, it is extremely important to understand that NOT all English verbs are the same. English verbs are divided into three groups:

9.01 Group I: - Continuous Verbs The first group, called "Continuous Verbs", contains most English verbs. These verbs are usually physical actions, which you can see somebody doing. These verbs can be used in all tenses. Continuous Verbs to run, to walk, to eat, to fly, to go, to say, to touch etc. Examples: I eat dinner every day. Correct I am eating dinner now. Correct

9.02 Group II: - Non-continuous Verbs The second group, called "Non-continuous Verbs” is smaller. These verbs are usually things you cannot see somebody doing. These verbs are rarely used in "continuous" tenses. It is divided into the following three categories: * Abstract Verbs to be, to want, to cost, to seem, to need, to care, to contain, to owe, to exist...

• Possession Verbs to possess, to own, to belong... * Emotion Verbs to like, to love, to hate, to dislike, to fear, to envy, to mind... Examples: He is here now. Correct He is being here now. Not Correct He wants a drink now. Correct He is wanting a drink now. Not Correct 9.03 Group III: - Mixed Verbs The third group, called "Mixed Verbs", is the smallest group. These verbs have more than one meaning. Some meanings behave like "Non-continuous Verbs", while other meanings behave like "Continuous Verbs." 9.03.1 Mixed Verbs to have, to appear, to see, to hear, to feel, to weigh, to look ... List of Mixed Verbs with Examples and Definitions: to appear: Donna appears confused. Non-continuous Verb (Donna seems confused.) My favorite singer is appearing at the jazz club tonight. Continuous Verb (My favorite singer is giving a performance at the jazz club tonight.) to have: I have a dollar now. Non-continuous Verb


47

(I possess a dollar.) I am having fun now. Continuous Verb (I am experiencing fun now.) to hear: She hears the music. Non-continuous Verb (She hears the music with her ears.) She is hearing voices. Continuous Verb (To hear something others cannot hear. She is hearing voices in her mind.) to miss: John misses Sally. Non-continuous Verb (He is sad because she is not there.) Debbie is missing her favorite TV program. Continuous Verb (She is not there to see her favorite program.) to see: I see her. Non-continuous Verb (I see her with my eyes.) I am seeing the doctor. Continuous Verb (To visit or consult with a doctor, dentist, or lawyer.) I am seeing her. Continuous Verb (I am having a relationship with her.) He is seeing ghosts at night. Continuous Verb (To see something others cannot see. For example ghosts, aura, a vision of the future etc.)

to smell: The coffee smells good. Non-continuous Verb (The coffee has a good smell.) I am smelling the flowers. Continuous Verb (I am sniffing the flowers.) to taste: The coffee tastes good. Non-continuous Verb (The coffee has a good taste.) I am tasting the cake. Continuous Verb (I am trying the cake to see what it tastes like.) to think: He thinks the test is easy. Non-continuous Verb (He considers the test to be easy.) She is thinking about the question. Continuous Verb (She is pondering the question, going over it in her mind.) to weigh: The table weighs a lot. Non-continuous Verb (The table has a great weight.) She is weighing herself. Continuous Verb (She is determining her weight.) Some Verbs Can Be Especially Confusing: to be: Joe is American. Non-continuous Verb (Joe is an American citizen.) Joe is being very American. Continuous Verb (Joe is behaving like a stereotypical American.)


48

Joe is being very rude. Continuous Verb (Joe is behaving very rudely. Usually he is not rude.) Joe is being very formal. Continuous Verb (Joe is behaving very formally. Usually he is not formal.) NOTICE: Only rarely is "to be" used in a continuous form. This is most commonly done when a person is temporarily behaving badly or stereotypically. It can also be used when someone's behavior is noticeably different. to feel: The massage feels great. Non-continuous Verb (The massage has a pleasing feeling.) I don't feel well today. Continuous or Non-continuous Verb I am not feeling well today. (I am a little sick.) NOTICE: Feel is very flexible and there is no difference in meaning in the two sentences above.)

10.00 TENSES.

tense Affirmative/Negative/Question Use Signal Words

Simple Present A: He speaks. N: He does not speak. Q: Does he speak?

action in the present taking place once, never or several times

facts actions taking place one

after another action set by a timetable

or schedule

always, every …, never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually if sentences type I (If I talk, …)

Present Progressive A: He is speaking. N: He is not speaking. Q: Is he speaking?

action taking place in the moment of speaking

action taking place only for a limited period of time

action arranged for the future

at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now

Simple Past A: He spoke. N: He did not speak. Q: Did he speak?

action in the past taking place once, never or several times

actions taking place one after another

action taking place in the middle of another action

yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday if sentence type II (If I talked, …)

Past Progressive A: He was speaking. N: He was not speaking. Q: Was he speaking?

action going on at a certain time in the past

actions taking place at

when, while, as long as


49

the same time action in the past that is

interrupted by another action

Present Perfect Simple A: He has spoken. N: He has not spoken. Q: Has he spoken?

putting emphasis on the result

action that is still going on

action that stopped recently

finished action that has an influence on the present

action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking

already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now

Present Perfect Progressive A: He has been speaking. N: He has not been speaking. Q: Has he been speaking?

putting emphasis on the course or duration (not the result)

action that recently stopped or is still going on

finished action that influenced the present

all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long?, the whole week

Past Perfect Simple A: He had spoken. N: He had not spoken. Q: Had he spoken?

action taking place before a certain time in the past

sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive

putting emphasis only on the fact (not the duration)

already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day if sentence type III (If I had talked, …)

Past Perfect Progressive A: He had been speaking. N: He had not been speaking. Q: Had he been speaking?

action taking place before a certain time in the past

sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple

putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action

for, since, the whole day, all day

Future I Simple A: He will speak. N: He will not speak. Q: Will he speak?

action in the future that cannot be influenced

spontaneous decision assumption with regard

to the future

in a year, next …, tomorrow If-Satz Typ I (If you ask her, she will help you.) assumption: I think, probably, we might …, perhaps

Future I Simple A: He is going to speak. N: He is not going to speak.

decision made for the in one year, next week, tomorrow


50

(going to) Q: Is he going to speak? future

conclusion with regard to the future

Future I Progressive A: He will be speaking. N: He will not be speaking. Q: Will he be speaking?

action that is going on at a certain time in the future

action that is sure to happen in the near future

in one year, next week, tomorrow

Future II Simple A: He will have spoken. N: He will not have spoken. Q: Will he have spoken?

action that will be finished at a certain time in the future

by Monday, in a week

Future II Progressive A: He will have been speaking. N: He will not have been speaking. Q: Will he have been speaking?

action taking place before a certain time in the future

putting emphasis on the course of an action

for …, the last couple of hours, all day long

Conditional I Simple A: He would speak. N: He would not speak. Q: Would he speak?

action that might take place

if sentences type II (If I were you, I would go home.)

Conditional I Progressive A: He would be speaking. N: He would not be speaking. Q: Would he be speaking?

action that might take place

putting emphasis on the course / duration of the action

Conditional II Simple A: He would have spoken. N: He would not have spoken. Q: Would he have spoken?

action that might have taken place in the past

if sentences type III (If I had seen that, I would have helped.)

Conditional II Progressive A: He would have been speaking.N: He would not have been speaking. Q: Would he have been speaking?

action that might have taken place in the past

puts emphasis on the course / duration of the action

10.01 Simple Present (Present Simple) – Introduction

STRUCTURE Subject +verb(s, es) +object / complement. Simple present is also called present simple or Present Indefinit.


51

The simple present expresses an action in the present taking place once, never or several times. It is also used for actions that

take place one after another and for actions that are set by a timetable or schedule. The simple present also expresses facts in the

present.

10.01.1 Simple Present - Use facts (something is generally known to be true)

The sun sets in the west.

The sun never sets in the east or south or north, but always in the west.

action in the present taking place once, never or several times

Colin always plays soccer on

Tuesdays.

Colin plays football regularly - every Tuesday. In English, signal words are often used, e.g.: always, never, seldom, often, regularly, every Monday.

actions in the present taking place one after another

She takes her bag and leaves.

First one action takes place and then the other.

action set by a time table or schedule


52

The train leaves at 9 pm.

Although the action takes place in the future, it takes place regularly and is set by a time table.

verbs expressing states, possession, senses, emotions and mental activity

I love her.

When you love someone, that's a state, a fact or emotion, but not an action (like running for example). Whenever you want to express a state, possession, sense or emotions, use the simple form (not the progressive). The following words all belong to this group: be (state) believe (mental activity) belong (possession) hate (feeling and emotion) hear (senses) like (feeling and emotion) love (feeling and emotion) mean (mental activity) prefer (mental activity) remain (state) realize (mental activity) see (senses) seem (feeling and emotion) smell (senses) think (mental activity) understand (mental activity) want (feeling and emotion) wish (feeling and emotion)

10.01.2 Simple Present - Form

be

Use:

am with the personal pronoun II is with the personal pronouns he, she or it (or with the singular form of nouns) are with the personal pronouns we, you or they (or with the plural form of nouns)

example: I am hungry.

affirmative negative question

I I am. I am not. Am I?

he/she/it He is. He is not. Is he?


53

you/we/they You are. You are not. Are you?

have

Use:

have with the personal pronouns I, you, we und they (or with the plural form of nouns) has with the personal pronouns he, she, it (or with the singular form of nouns)

example: I have a dog. / I have got a dog.

'have got' is mainly used in British English. You can also use 'have' on its own (especially in American English). In this case,

however, you must form negative sentences and questions with the auxiliary verb 'do' (see 'All other verbs').

positive negative question

I/you/we/they I have got. / I have. I have not got. / I do not have. Have I got? / Do I have?

he/she/it He has got. / He has. He has not got. / He does not have. Has he got? / Does he have?

All other verbs

Use:

the infinite verb (play) with the personal pronouns I, you, we and they (or with the plural form of nouns) the verb + s (plays) with the personal pronouns he, she, it (or with the singular form of nouns)


I/you/we/they

Sub + B.Verb + Obj

I play.

Sub + Do Not + B.Verb + Obj

I do not play.

Do + Sub + B.Verb + Obj +?

Do I play?

he/she/it

Sub + Verb (s,es) + Obj

He plays.

Sub + Does Not + B.Verb + Obj

He does not play.

Does + Sub + B.Verb + Obj +?

Does he play?

10.01.3 Tips on how to form negative sentences and questions


54

Negative sentences and questions are formed with the auxiliary verb 'do'.

The 3rd person singular of 'do' is 'does'. This means that in negative sentences and questions the 's' of the main verb is placed

behind 'do'.

10.02 Simple Present - Exceptions in Spelling The 3rd person singular is usually formed by adding s. But there are a few exceptions to the rule:

The verbs can, may, might, must remain the same in all forms. So don't add s.

example: he can, she may, it must

Verbs ending in o or a sibilant (ch, sh, s, x) add es instead of s.

example: do - he does, wash - she washes

A final y after a consonant becomes ie before s.

example: worry - he worries

But: A final y after a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) is not modified.

example: play - he plays

11.00 Present Progressive - Introduction STRUCTURE: SUBJECT + [AM / IS / ARE] + [VERB+ing] + OBJECT / COMPLEMENT. BE VERBS HELPING V.

The present progressive puts emphasis on the course or duration of an action.

The present progressive is used for actions going on in the moment of speaking and for actions taking place only for a short

period of time. It is also used to express development and actions that are arranged for the near future.

Present progressive is also known as present continuous.


55

11.01 Present Progressive - Use Actions taking place at the moment of speaking (now)

He is playing football.

The action is going on now. Signal words like now, at the moment are often used to emphasize that the action is taking place at the moment of speaking. Signal words are not really necessary, however, as this is already expressed by the tense itself.

Arrangements for the near future

I'm going to the theatre

tonight.

In the example you can see that the tickets are already bought. So we are talking about an arrangement for the near future. To make clear that the action is not going on now, we usually use signal words like tonight, tomorrow, next Friday, at noon.

Actions taking place only for a limited period of time

Jim is helping in his brother's

firm this week.

Here we are talking about a time limit. Jim does not usually work in the firm; he is still at school and wants to earn some extra money during his holidays. To make clear that there is a time limit, we usually use signal words, e.g. this week/month/year.

Actions taking place around now (but not at the moment of speaking)

I'm studying for my exams.

This action takes place around now and only for a limited period of time, but not at the moment of speaking. We don't have to use signal words here, but we often find signal words in such sentences, e.g. now, at the moment.

Development, changing situations

The population of China is rising

very fast.

The sentence describes a development from one situation to another. Signal words are not that common here, only sometimes the change of situation is emphasized by using for example more and more.


56

11.02 Present Progressive - Form Use a form of to be and the infinite verb plus -ing.

Use:

am with the personal pronoun I is with the personal pronouns he, she or it (or the singular form of nouns) are with the personal pronouns you, we, they (or the plural form of nouns)


I

Sub + am + verb+ing + obj

I am playing.

Sub + am not + verb+ing + obj

I am not playing.

Am + Sub + verb+ing + obj +?

Am I playing?

he, she, it

Sub + is + verb+ing + obj

He is playing.

Sub + is not + verb+ing + obj

He is not playing.

Is + Sub + verb+ing + obj + ?

Is he playing?

you, we, they

Sub + are + verb+ing + obj

You are playing.

Sub + are not + verb+ing + obj

You are not playing.

Are + Sub + verb+ing + obj +?

Are you playing?

Tips on how to form negative sentences and questions

In negative sentences, we put not between the form of be and the verb.

In questions, we simply swop the places of subject and the form of be.

11.03 Present Progressive - Exceptions in Spelling

A single, silent e at the end of the word is dropped before ing.

example: come - coming I am coming home. You are coming home. He is coming home.

But: ee at the end of the word is not changed

example: agree - agreeing

The final consonant after a short, stressed vowel is doubled before ing.

example: sit - sitting

I am sitting on the sofa. You are sitting on the sofa. He is sitting on the sofa.

The letter l as final consonant after a vowel is always doubled before ing.


57

example: travel - travelling I am travelling around. You are travelling around. He is travelling around.

Mind: This applies only for British English; in American English there is usually only one l.

An ie at the end of a word becomes y before ing.

example: lie - lying I am lying in bed. You are lying in bed. He is lying in bed.

11.04 Present Progressive - Short Forms

affirmative negative

I am playing. - I'm playing. I am not playing. - I'm not playing.

He is playing. - He's playing. He is not playing. - He's not playing. / He isn't playing.

We are playing. - We're playing. We are not playing. - We're not playing. /We aren't playing.

11.05 Present Progressive - Signal Words

11.05.1 Actions taking place at the moment of speaking (now) at the moment now / just now / right now Listen! Look!

11.05.2 Arrangements for the near future in the morning / in the afternoon / in the evening at noon / tonight tomorrow next ...

11.05.03 Actions taking place only for a limited period of time this week / this month / this year

11.05.04 Actions taking place around now (but not at the moment of speaking) at the moment now / just now / right now


58

11.05.05 Development, changing situations more and more

12.0 Present Perfect Simple

STRUCTURE:- Subject + [HAS / HAVE] + [past participle] + Object / Complement. The present perfect simple expresses an action that is still going on or that stopped recently, but has an influence on the present.

It puts emphasis on the result.

12.01 Form of Present Perfect

Positive Negative Question

I / you / we / they Sub + have +P.P + Obj

I have spoken.

Sub + have not +P.P + Obj

I have not spoken.

Have + Sub +P.P + Obj + ?

Have I spoken?

he / she / it Sub + has +P.P + Obj

He has spoken.

Sub + has not +P.P + Obj

He has not spoken.

Has + Sub +P.P + Obj + ?

Has he spoken?

For irregular verbs, use the participle form (see list of irregular verbs, 3rd column). For regular verbs, just add “ed”.

12.02 Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ‘ed’

Exceptions in spelling when adding ed Example

after a final e only add d love – loved

final consonant after a short, stressed vowel or l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled

admit – admitted travel – travelled

final y after a consonant becomes I hurry – hurried

12.03 Use of Present Perfect puts emphasis on the result

Example: She has written five letters.


59

action that is still going on

Example: School has not started yet.

action that stopped recently

Example: She has cooked dinner.

finished action that has an influence on the present

Example: I have lost my key.

action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking

Example: I have never been to Australia.

12.04 Signal Words of Present Perfect already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now

13.00 Present Perfect Progressive

STRUCTURE: Subject + [HAS / HAVE] + [BEEN] + [VERB+ing] Object / complement.

The present perfect progressive expresses an action that recently stopped or is still going on. It puts emphasis on the duration or

course of the action.

13.01 Form of Present Perfect Progressive


I / you / we / they

Sub + have + been + Verb ing + Obj

I have been speaking.

Sub + have not+ been + Verb ing + Obj

I have not been speaking.

Have+ sub + been + Verb ing + Obj + ?

Have I been speaking?

he / she / it Sub + has + been + Verb ing + Obj

He has been speaking.

Sub + has not + been + Verb ing + Obj

He has not been speaking.

Has + Sub + been + Verb ing + Obj

Has he been speaking?

13.02 Exceptions in Spelling

Exceptions in spelling when adding ing Example


60

final e is dropped (but: ee is not changed)

come – coming (but: agree – agreeing)

after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled sit – sitting

l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled (in British English) travel – travelling

final ie becomes y lie – lying

13.03 Use of Present Perfect Progressive puts emphasis on the duration or course of an action (not the result)

Example: She has been writing for two hours.

action that recently stopped or is still going on

Example: I have been living here since 2001.

finished action that influenced the present

Example: I have been working all afternoon.

13.04 Signal Words of Present Perfect Progressive all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long?, the whole week

14.00 Simple Past (Past Simple)

STRUCTURE: Subject + 2nd Form of the Verb + Object / complement.

The simple past expresses an action in the past taking place once, never, several times. It can also be used for actions taking

place one after another or in the middle of another action.

14.01 Form of Simple Past


no differences Sub + 2nd Verb + Obj

I spoke.

Sub + did not + Verb + Obj

I did not speak.

Did + Sub + B. Verb + Obj + ?

Did I speak?

For irregular verbs, use the past form (see list of irregular verbs, 2nd column). For regular verbs, just add “ed”.

14.02 Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ‘ed’


61

Exceptions in spelling when adding ed Example

after a final e only add d love – loved


admit – admitted travel – travelled

final y after a consonant becomes i hurry – hurried

14.03 Use of Simple Past action in the past taking place once, never or several times

Example: He visited his parents every weekend.

actions in the past taking place one after the other

Example: He came in, took off his coat and sat down.

action in the past taking place in the middle of another action

Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.

if sentences type II (If I talked, …)

Example: If I had a lot of money, I would share it with you.

14.04 Signal Words of Simple Past yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday If-Satz Typ II (If I talked, …)

15.00 Past Progressive (Past Continuous)

STRUCTURE:- Subject + [WAS / WERE] + [VERB+ing] + Object / complement. The past progressive puts emphasis on the course of an action in the past.

15.01 Form


I / he / she / it Sub + was + verb ing + Obj

I was speaking.

Sub + was not+ verb ing + Obj

I was not speaking.

Was + Sub + verb ing + Obj + ?

Was I speaking?


62

you / we / they Sub + were + verb ing + Obj

You were speaking.

Sub + were not + verb ing + Obj

You were not speaking.

Were + Sub + verb ing + Obj +?

Were you speaking?

15.02 Exceptions in Spelling

Exceptions in spelling when adding ing Example

final e is dropped (but: ee is not changed) come – coming (but: agree – agreeing)

after a short, stressed vowel, the final consonant is doubled sit – sitting

l as final consonant after a vowel is doubled (in British English) travel – travelling

final ie becomes y lie – lying

15.03 Use of Past Progressive puts emphasis on the course of an action in the past

Example: He was playing football.

two actions happening at the same time (in the past)

Example: While she was preparing dinner, he was washing the dishes.

action going on at a certain time in the past

Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.

15.04 Signal Words of Past Progressive when, while, as long as

15.05 Form of Past Perfect Simple


no differences I had spoken. I had not spoken. Had I spoken?

For irregular verbs, use the past participle form (see list of irregular verbs, 3rd column). For regular verbs, just add ed.

15.06 Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ed


63

Exceptions in Spelling when Adding ed Example

after final e, only add d love – loved


admit – admittedtravel – travelled

final y after a consonant becomes i hurry – hurried

15.07 Use of Past Perfect action taking place before a certain time in the past

(putting emphasis only on the fact, not the duration)

Example: Before I came here, I had spoken to Jack.

Conditional Sentences Type III (condition that was not given in the past)

Example: If I had seen him, I would have talked to him.

15.08 Signal Words already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day (with reference to the past, not the present) If-Satz Typ III (If I had talked, …)

16.00 Past Perfect Progressive (Past Perfect Continuous)

Structure: Subject + Had + Been + Verb ing + Object

The past perfect progressive puts emphasis on the course or duration of an action taking place before a certain time in the past.

16.01 Form


no differences Sub + had + been + Verb ing + Obj

He had been talking.

Sub + had not+ been + Verb ing + Obj

He had not been talking.

Had + Sub + been + Verb ing + Obj

Had he been talking?

16.02 Use action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple puts emphasis on the course or duration of an action


64

16.02 signal words for, since, the whole day, all day

17.00 Future I Simple will Will future expresses a spontaneous decision, an assumption with regard to the future or an action in the future that cannot be

influenced.

17.01 Form of will Future


no differences Sub + will + B. verb + Obj

I will speak.

Sub + will not + B. verb + Obj

I will not speak.

Will +Sub + B. verb + Obj + ?

Will I speak?

17.02 Use of will Future a spontaneous decision

example: Wait, I will help you.

an opinion, hope, uncertainty or assumption regarding the future

example: He will probably come back tomorrow.

a promise

example: I will not watch TV tonight.

an action in the future that cannot be influenced

example: It will rain tomorrow.

conditional clauses type I

example: If I arrive late, I will call you.

17.03 Signal Words in a year, next …, tomorrow Vermutung: I think, probably, we might …, perhaps

17.04 Future I Simple going to Going to future expresses a conclusion regarding the immediate future or an action in the near future that has already been

planned or prepared.

17.04.1 Form of going to Future



65

I I am going to speak. I am not going to speak. Am I going to speak?

you / we / they You are going to speak. You are not going to speak. Are you going to speak?

he / she / it He is going to speak. He is not going to speak. Is he going to speak?

17.04.2 Use of going to Future an action in the near future that has already been planned or prepared

example: I am going to study harder next year.

a conclusion regarding the immediate future

example: The sky is absolutely dark. It is going to rain.

17.05 Signal Words in one year, next week, tomorrow

18.00 Future I Progressive (Future I Continuous) Future I progressive puts emphasis on the course of an action taking place in the future.

18.01 Form A: He will be talking. N: He will not be talking. Q: Will he be talking?

18.02 Use action that is going on at a certain time in the future action that is sure to happen in the near future

18.03 Signal Words in one year, next week, tomorrow

18.04. Future II Simple Future II Simple expresses an action that will be finished at a certain time in the future.

18.04.1 Form A: He will have talked. N: He will not have talked. Q: Will he have talked?


66

18.04.02 Use action that will be finished at a certain time in the future

18.04.03 Signal Words by Monday, in a week

19.00 Future II Progressive (Future II Continuous) Future II progressive puts emphasis on the course / duration of an action taking place before a certain time in the future. It can

also be used to express an assumption regarding a future action.

Future II progressive is not used very often as it can usually be replaced by future II simple.

19.01 Form A: He will have been talking. N: He will not have been talking. Q: Will he have been talking?

19.02 Use action taking place before a certain time in the future puts emphasis on the course of an action

19.03 Signal Words for ..., the last couple of hours, all day long

20.00 CONDITIONALS:- There are two kinds of Conditional: real and unreal. Real Conditional describes real-life situations. Unreal Conditional describes unreal, imaginary situations. Although the various Conditional forms might seem quite abstract at first, they are actually some of the most useful structures in English and are commonly included in daily conversations. If you want to use the Conditional Pages as a reference only and do not want to complete the tutorial,

20.01 PRESENT CONDITIONAL:-

FORM [If / When ... SIMPLE PRESENT, ... SIMPLE PRESENT...]

or [... SIMPLE PRESENT ... if / when ... SIMPLE PRESENT...]

20.01.1 USE The Present Real Conditional is used to talk about what you normally do in real-life situations. EXAMPLES: If I go to a friend's house for dinner, I usually take a bottle of wine or some flowers. When I have a day off from work, I often go to the beach. If the weather is nice, she walks to work. Jerry helps me with my homework when he has time. I read if there is nothing on TV.


67

What do you do when it rains? I stay at home. Where do you stay if you go to Sydney? I stay with my friends near the harbor. 20.01.2 IMPORTANT If / When Both "if" and "when" are used in the Present Real Conditional. Using "if" suggests that something happens less frequently. Using "when" suggests that something happens regularly. EXAMPLES: When I have a day off from work, I usually go to the beach. (I regularly have days off from work.) If I have a day off from work, I usually go to the beach. (I rarely have days off from work.)

20.02 Present Unreal Conditional FORM [If ... SIMPLE PAST... ... would + VERB...]

or [... would + VERB ... if ... SIMPLE PAST...]

20.02.1 USE The Present Unreal Conditional is used to talk about what you would do in imaginary situations in general. EXAMPLES: If I had a car, I would drive to work. But I don't have a car. She would travel around the world if she had more money. But she doesn't have much money. I would read more if I didn't have a TV. Mary would move to Japan if she spoke Japanese. If they worked harder, they would earn more money. What would you do if you won the lottery? I would travel. Where would you live if you moved to the U.S.? I would live in Seattle.

20.02.2 EXCEPTION If I were ... In the Present Unreal Conditional, the form "was" is not considered grammatically correct. In written

English or in testing situations, you should always use "were." However, in everyday conversation, "was" is often used.

EXAMPLES: If he were French, he would live in Paris. If she were rich, she would buy a yacht. I would play basketball if I were taller. I would buy that computer if it were cheaper. I would buy that computer if it were cheaper. NOT CORRECT (But often said in conversation.)

20.02.3 EXCEPTION Conditional with Modal Verbs There are some special Conditional forms for modal verbs in English:

Would + can = could would + shall = should would + may = might The words "can," "shall" and "may" must be used in these special forms; they cannot be used with "would." EXAMPLES:


68

If I went to Egypt, I would can learn Arabic. NOT CORRECT If I went to Egypt, I could learn Arabic. CORRECT If she had time, she would may go to the party. NOT CORRECT If she had time, she might go to the party. CORRECT The words "could," should," "might" and "ought to" include conditional, so you cannot combine them with "would." EXAMPLES: If I had more time, I would could exercise after work. NOT CORRECT If I had more time, I could exercise after work. CORRECT If he invited you, you really would should go. NOT CORRECT If he invited you, you really should go. CORRECT

20.02.4 IMPORTANT Only use "If" Only the word "if" is used with the Present Unreal Conditional because you are discussing imaginary

situations. "When" cannot be used. EXAMPLES: I would buy that computer when it were cheaper. NOT CORRECT I would buy that computer if it were cheaper. CORRECT

21.00 PAST CONDITIONAL:-

Past Real Conditional FORM [If / When ... SIMPLE PAST... ... SIMPLE PAST ...]

or [... SIMPLE PAST... if / when ... SIMPLE PAST...]

21.01 USE The Past Real Conditional describes what you used to do in particular real life situations. It suggests that your habits have changed and you do not usually do these things today. EXAMPLES: If I went to a friend's house for dinner, I usually took a bottle of wine or some flowers. I don't do that anymore. When I had a day off from work, I often went to the beach. Now, I never get time off. If the weather was nice, she often walked to work. Now, she usually drives. Jerry always helped me with my homework when he had time. But he doesn't do that anymore. I usually read if there was nothing on TV. What did you usually do when it rained? I usually stayed at home.

21.01.1 IMPORTANT Used to The form "Used to" is often used to emphasize that the past action was a habit. If you are not familiar with

the form "Used to," EXAMPLES:


69

If I went to a friend’s house for dinner, I used to take a bottle of wine or some flowers. I don't do that anymore. When I had a day off from work, I used to go to the beach. Now, I never get time off. If the weather was nice, she used to walk to work. Now, she usually drives. Jerry used to help me with my homework when he had time. But he doesn't do that anymore. What did you do when it rained? I used to stay at home.

21.01.2 IMPORTANT If / When Both "if" and "when" are used in the Past Real Conditional. Using "if" suggests that something happened

less frequently. Using "when" suggests that something happened regularly. EXAMPLES: When I had a day off from work, I usually went to the beach. (I regularly had days off from work.) If I had a day off from work, I usually went to the beach. (I rarely had days off from work.)

21.02 Past Unreal Conditional FORM [If ... PAST PERFECT... ... would have + PAST PARTICIPLE...]

or [... would have + PAST PARTICIPLE ... if ... PAST PERFECT...]

21.02.1 USE The Past Unreal Conditional is used to talk about imaginary situations in the past. You can describe what you would have done differently or how something could have happened differently if circumstances had been different. EXAMPLES: If I had had a car, I would have driven to work. But I didn't have one, so I took the bus. She would have traveled around the world if she had had more money. But she didn't have much money, so she never traveled. I would have read more as a child if I hadn't had a TV. Unfortunately, I did have a TV, so I never read for entertainment. Mary would have gotten the job and moved to Japan if she had studied Japanese in school instead of French. If they had worked harder, they would have earned more money. Unfortunately, they were lazy and they didn't earn much. What would you have done if you had won the lottery last week? I would have traveled. What city would you have chosen if you had decided to move to the United States? I would have chosen Seattle.

21.02.2 EXCEPTION Conditional with Modal Verbs There are some special Conditional forms for modal verbs in English:

Would have + can = could have would have + shall = should have would have + may = might have The words "can," "shall" and "may" must be used in these special forms; they cannot be used with "would have." EXAMPLES: If I had gone to Egypt, I could have learned Arabic. CORRECT


70

If she had had time, she might have gone to the party. CORRECT The words "could," should," "might" and "ought to" include Conditional, so you cannot combine them with "would." EXAMPLES: If I had had more time, I would have could exercise after work. NOT CORRECT If I had had more time, I could have exercised after work. CORRECT

If he had invited you, you would have might go. NOT CORRECT If he had invited you, you might have gone. CORRECT

21.02.3 IMPORTANT Only use "If" Only the word "if" is used with the Past Unreal Conditional because you are discussing imaginary

situations. "When" cannot be used. EXAMPLES:

I would have bought that computer when it had been cheaper. NOT CORRECT I would have bought that computer if it had been cheaper. CORRECT

Future Conditionals

22.00 Future Real Conditional FORM [If / When ...SIMPLE PRESENT... ... SIMPLE FUTURE.]

Or [... SIMPLE FUTURE... if / when ... SIMPLE PRESENT...]

Notice that there is no future in the "If" or "When" clause. 22.01 USE The Future Real Conditional describes what you think you will do in a specific situation in the future. It is different from other real conditional forms because, unlike the present or the past, you do not know what will happen in the future. Although this form is called a "real conditional," you are usually imagining or guessing about the future. It is called "real" because it is still possible that the action might occur in the future. Carefully study the following examples and compare them to the Future Unreal Conditional described below. EXAMPLES: If I go to my friend's house for dinner tonight, I will take a bottle of wine or some flowers. (I am still not sure if I will go to his house or not.) When I have a day off from work, I am going to go to the beach. (I have to wait until I have a day off.) If the weather is nice, she is going to walk to work. (It depends on the weather.) Jerry will help me with my homework when he has time. (I have to wait until he has time.) I am going to read if there is nothing on TV. (It depends on the TV schedule.) What are you going to do if it rains? I am going to stay at home.

22.01.1 IMPORTANT If / When Both "if" and "when" are used in the Future Real Conditional, but the use is different from other real conditionals. In the Future Real Conditional, "if" suggests that you do not know if something will happen or


71

not. "When" suggests that something will definitely happen at some point; we are simply waiting for it to occur. Notice also that the Simple Future is not used in "if' clauses or "when" clauses. EXAMPLES: When you call me, I will give you the address. (You are going to call me later, and at that time, I will give you the address.) If you call me, I will give you the address. (If you want the address, you can call me.)

22.02 Future Unreal Conditional FORM 1 (MOST COMMON FORM) [If ... SIMPLE PAST... ... would + VERB...]

or [... would + VERB ... if ... SIMPLE PAST...]

Notice the form looks the same as Present Unreal Conditional. 22.02.1 USE The Future Unreal Conditional is used to talk about imaginary situations in the future. It is not as common as the Future Real Conditional because most English speakers leave open the possibility that anything MIGHT happen in the future. It is only used when a speaker needs to emphasize that something is impossible. EXAMPLES: If I had a day off from work next week, I would go to the beach. (I don't have a day off from work.) I am busy next week. If I had time, I would come to your party. (I can't come.)

Jerry would help me with my homework tomorrow if he didn't have to work. (He does have to work tomorrow.)

22.03 FORM 2 (COMMON)

[If ... were VERB+ing... ... would be + VERB+ing...] or

[... would be + VERB+ing ... if ... were VERB+ing...] 22.03.1 USE Form 2 of the Future Unreal Conditional is also used to talk about imaginary situations in the future. Native speakers use this form rather than Form 1 to emphasize that the Conditional form is a plan in the same way Present Continuous is used to indicate a plan in the future. To learn more about Present Continuous, Also notice in the examples below that this form can be used in the "If" Clause, the Result, or both parts of the sentence. EXAMPLES: If I were going to Fiji next week, I would be taking my scuba diving gear with me. IN IF CLAUSE AND RESULT (I am not going to go to Fiji and I am not going to take my scuba gear with me.) If I were not visiting my grandmother tomorrow, I would help you study. IF CLAUSE (I am going to visit my grandmother tomorrow.) I am busy next week. If I had time, I would be coming to your party. RESULT (I am not going to come to your party.)


72

22.04 FORM 3 (COMMON) [If ... were going to VERB... ... would be + VERB+ing...]

or [... would be + VERB+ing ... if ... were going to + VERB...]

22.04.1 USE Form 3 of the Future Unreal Conditional is also used to talk about imaginary situations in the future. Native speakers use this form rather than Form 1 to emphasize that the Conditional form is a plan or prediction in the same way "Going To" is used to indicate a plan or prediction. To learn more about Going To, In many sentences, Form 2 and Form 3 are interchangeable. Also notice in the examples below that this form can be used in the If Clause, the Result, or both parts of the sentence. NOTICE Form 3 is only different from Form 2 in the "If" Clause. EXAMPLES: If I were going to go to Fiji next week, I would be taking my scuba diving gear with me. IN IF CLAUSE AND RESULT (I am not going to go to Fiji and I am not going to take my scuba gear with me.) If I were not going to visit my grandmother tomorrow, I would help you study. IF CLAUSE (I am going to visit my grandmother tomorrow.)

I am busy next week. If I had time, I would be coming to your party. RESULT (I am not going to come to your party.)

22.05 EXCEPTION Conditional with Modal Verbs There are some special Conditional forms for modal verbs in English:

Would + can = could would + shall = should would + may = might The words "can," "shall" and "may" must be used in these special forms; they cannot be used with "would." EXAMPLES: If I went to Egypt next year, I would can learn Arabic. Unfortunately, that's not possible. NOT CORRECT If I went to Egypt next year, I could learn Arabic. Unfortunately, that's not possible. CORRECT The words "could," should," "might" and "ought to" include conditional, so you cannot combine them with "would." EXAMPLES: If I didn't have to work tonight, I would could go to the fitness center. NOT CORRECT If I didn't have to work tonight, I could go to the fitness center. CORRECT

22.05.1 IMPORTANT Only use "If" Only the word "if" is used with the Past Unreal Conditional because you are discussing imaginary

situations. "When" cannot be used. EXAMPLES: I would buy that computer tomorrow when it were cheaper. NOT CORRECT I would buy that computer tomorrow if it were cheaper. CORRECT


73

Compare Future Real Conditional and Future Unreal Conditional to help you understand the difference between the Future Real Conditional and the Future Unreal Conditional, compare the examples below, EXAMPLES: If you help me move tomorrow, I will buy you dinner. FUTURE REAL CONDITIONAL (I don't know if you can help me.) If you helped me move tomorrow, I would buy you dinner. FUTURE UNREAL CONDITIONAL (You can't help me, or you don't want to help me.) Continuous Conditionals Continuous Unreal Conditionals Those of you who have studied Verb Tense Tutorial should be familiar with Continuous verb tenses such as Present Continuous, Past Continuous, Future Continuous, Present Perfect Continuous, Past Perfect Continuous, and Future Perfect Continuous. But many English learners are not aware of the fact that we can use continuousness in imaginary situations as well. Study the examples below to learn how to create Continuous Unreal Conditional sentences that will make you sound like a native speaker. Present Unreal Conditional + Continuous USE Present Unreal Conditional + Continuous is used to discuss imaginary situations which could be happening at this very moment. NOTICE Sometimes the continuous form is in the "If" Clause. EXAMPLES: If the sun were shining, I would go to the beach. (Unfortunately, it is raining so I can't go.) If Sam were sitting here, we would be able to ask him the question ourselves. (But Sam is not sitting here. He is somewhere else.) We would be able to go sailing if the wind were blowing. (But there is no wind, so we can't go sailing.) NOTICE Sometimes the continuous form is in the Result. EXAMPLES: If I were in Hawaii, I would be lying on the beach. (But I am not in Hawaii.) If my grandfather were here, he would be talking about the war. (But he is not here.) I would be rafting down the Colorado River right now if my leg weren't broken. (But my leg is broken, so I am not there.) Past Unreal Conditional + Continuous USE Past Unreal Conditional + Continuous is used to discuss imaginary situations happening at a very specific time in the past or over a period of time in the past. NOTICE As in the examples above, sometimes the continuous form is in the "If" Clause and sometimes it is in the Result. The sentences below have been labeled to help remind you where the continuous form is being used.


74

EXAMPLES: If I had been talking to him when he said that, I would have punched him in the face. IF CLAUSE (But I wasn't talking to him when he said that.) If he had been standing near the house when the wall collapsed, it would have killed him. IF CLAUSE (Luckily he moved away before the wall fell.) If you had gone to his house last night, he would have been sitting on his couch in front of the TV. RESULT (But you didn't go to his house, so you didn't see what he was doing.) If she had missed her train, he would have been waiting for her at the station for hours. RESULT (Luckily, she caught her train and he didn't have to wait.) NOTICE Past Unreal Conditional + Continuous can be used like the Past Continuous in imaginary situations to emphasize interruptions or parallel actions in the past. EXAMPLES: If James had been crossing the street when the car ran the red light, it would have hit him. IF CLAUSE If Tom had been studying while Becky was making dinner, he would have finished his homework early and they could have gone to the movie. IF CLAUSE If James hadn't stopped to tie his shoe, he would have been crossing the street when the car ran the red light. RESULT If you had gone to their house last night, Bob would have been reading the news paper, Nancy would have been talking on the phone and the kids would have been watching TV. They always do the same things. RESULT NOTICE Past Unreal Conditional + Continuous can be used like Present Perfect Continuous or Past Perfect Continuous in imaginary situations to emphasize a duration of time. EXAMPLES: Scott said he had been studying Greek for more than five years. If he had been studying the language that long, I think he would have been able to interpret for us at the airport. IF CLAUSE Sarah claimed she had been waiting in the rain for more than twenty minutes by the time we arrived, but she wasn't even wet. If she had been waiting that long, I think she would have been totally drenched by the time we arrived. IF CLAUSE Terry's plane arrived ahead of schedule. If I hadn't decided to go to the airport early, she would have been waiting there for more than twenty minutes before I arrived. RESULT At the travel agency yesterday, I waited for more than an hour for somebody to help me. Finally, I got up and left. If I hadn't decided to leave, I would have been sitting there forever. RESULT Imagining About the Future + Continuous USE Future Unreal Conditional + Continuous can be used like the Future Continuous in imaginary situations to emphasize interruptions or parallel actions in the future. NOTICE The future form looks the same as the present form. The future is indicated with words such as "tomorrow," "next week" or "in a couple of days." EXAMPLES: If I were waiting there next week when he gets off the plane, he would be totally surprised. IF CLAUSE (But I will not be waiting there, so he won't be surprised.)


75

If he were staying in that hotel next week while the conference is being held, he might be able to meet some of the key speakers and tell them about our new product. IF CLAUSE (I don't think he will be able to stay at the hotel, so he won't be able to meet anybody there.) If I were able to go to the train station tonight to meet Sandra, I would be standing on the platform waiting for her when she arrives. RESULT (I won't be able to go to the train station so I will not be standing there when she arrives.)

If you went over to Paul's house after work, he would probably be sitting there at his computer surfing the Internet. RESULT

25.00 Mixed Conditionals Mixed Conditionals Those of you who have been following the Conditional Tutorial should now be familiar with Present, Past and Future Conditional verb forms. Sometimes Unreal Conditional sentences are "Mixed". This means that the time in the "If" Clause is not the same as the time in the Result. Study the examples below to learn how to mix conditional verb forms like a native speaker. Verbs in green are in the Present Unreal Conditional. Verbs in orange are in the Past Unreal Conditional. Verbs in purple are in the Future Unreal Conditional. Mixed Conditional Patterns

25.01 PAST PRESENT EXAMPLES: If I had won the lottery, I would be rich. (But I didn't win the lottery in the past and I am not rich now.) If I had taken French in high school, I would have more job opportunities. (But I didn't take French in high school and I don't have many job opportunities.) If she had been born in the United States, she wouldn't need a visa to work here. (But she wasn't born in the United States and she does need a visa now to work here.)

25.02 PAST FUTURE EXAMPLES: If she had signed up for the ski trip last week, she would be joining us tomorrow. (But she didn't sign up for the ski trip last week and she isn't going to join us tomorrow.) If Mark had gotten the job instead of Joe, he would be moving to Shanghai. (But Mark didn't get the job instead of Joe and Mark is not going to move to Shanghai.) If Darren hadn't wasted his Christmas bonus gambling in Las Vegas, he would go to Mexico with us next month. (But Darren wasted his Christmas bonus gambling in Las Vegas and he won't go to Mexico with us next month.)

25.03 PRESENT PAST EXAMPLES: If I were rich, I would have bought that Ferrari we saw yesterday. (But I am not currently rich and that is why I didn't buy the Ferrari yesterday.) If Sam spoke Russian, he would have translated the letter for you. (But Sam doesn't speak Russian and that is why he didn't translate the letter.)


76

If I didn't have to work so much, I would have gone to the party last night. (But I have to work a lot and that is why I didn't go to the party last night.)

25.04 PRESENT FUTURE EXAMPLES:

If I didn't have so much vacation time, I wouldn't go with you on the cruise to Alaska next week. (But I do have a lot of vacation time and I will go on the trip next week.) If Cindy were more creative, the company would send her to New York to work on the new advertising campaign. (But Cindy is not creative and the company won't send her to New York to work on the new campaign.)

If Dan weren't so nice, he wouldn't be tutoring you in math tonight. (But Dan is nice and he is going to tutor you tonight.)

25.05 FUTURE PAST EXAMPLES:

If I weren't going on my business trip next week, I would have accepted that new assignment at work. (But I am going to go on a business trip next week, and that is why I didn't accept that new assignment at work.) If my parents weren't coming this weekend, I would have planned a nice trip just for the two of us to Napa Valley. (But my parents are going to come this weekend, and that is why I didn't plan a trip for the two of us to Napa Valley.) If Donna weren't making us a big dinner tonight, I would have suggested that we go to that nice Italian restaurant. (But she is going to make us a big dinner tonight, and that is why I didn't suggest that we go to that nice Italian restaurant.)

25.06 FUTURE PRESENT EXAMPLES:

If I were going to that concert tonight, I would be very excited. (But I am not going to go to that concert tonight and that is why I am not excited.) If Sandy were giving a speech tomorrow, she would be very nervous. (But Sandy is not going to give a speech tomorrow and that is why she in not nervous.)

If Seb didn't come with us to the desert, everyone would be very disappointed. (But Seb will come with us to the desert and that is why everyone is so happy.)

25.06.1 "Were to"

"Were to" in the Present FORM [If... were to + VERB...]

USE "Were to" can be used in the present to emphasize that the Conditional form is extremely unlikely or unthinkably horrible. Notice that this special form is only used in the "If" Clause. EXAMPLES: If she were to be rich, she would be horribly obnoxious. (It is very unlikely that she would be rich.)


77

If I were to have no friends, who would I spend my time with? (Having no friends is a horrible thought.) If Nathan were to be my boss, this job would be intolerable. (Nathan's being my boss is a horrible concept.)

25.06.1.A "Were to" in the Future FORM [If... were to + VERB...]

USE "Were to" can be used in the future to emphasize that the Conditional form is extremely unlikely or unthinkably horrible. Notice that this special form is only used in the "If" Clause EXAMPLES: If I were to lose my job, I would probably not find a new one quickly. (Loosing my job would be terrible.) If he were to fail his driving test, he would have to take it again. (He is not likely to fail his driving test.) If Sarah were to show up late to the birthday party, it would ruin the surprise. (Sarah will surely come on time.)

25.06.1.B "Were to" in the Past FORM [If... were to have + PAST PARTICIPLE...]

USE "Were to" can be used in the past to emphasize that the Conditional form is extremely unlikely or unthinkably horrible. Notice that this special form is only used in the "If" Clause. EXAMPLES: If the fire were to have destroyed the building, it would have been a tragic cultural loss. (The thought of such a loss is too horrible to consider.) If the dam were to have burst, the entire town would have been destroyed. (Such destruction is too horrible to consider.)

QUOTATIONS 1. "Imagination is the highest kite that one can fly." 2. "People see Allah everyday. They just don't recognize Him." 3. "The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your

heart; to your child, a good example; to a father, deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity."

4. "Age is strictly a case of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." 5. "Let the world know you as you are, not as you think you should be, because sooner or later, if you

are posing, you will forget the pose, and then where are you?" 6. "The way to love anything / anyone is to realize that it might be lost." 7. "No one is useless in this world, which lightens the burden of it to anyone else." 8. "I have not failed; I have only found 10,000 ways that will not work." 9. "Keep true; never be ashamed of doing right. Decide on what you think is right, and stick to it."

Grammar: Part of Speech & Tenses Prepared by: … Part of Speech & Tenses Prepared by: Khushal Khan...

Documents

Transcript of Grammar: Part of Speech & Tenses Prepared by: … Part of Speech & Tenses Prepared by: Khushal Khan...