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B. McEnery UCC Language Centre 2012

A GRAMMAR COURSE

Developed by Brendan McEnery, UCC Language Centre

1. Active or passive verb forms Page: 2

2. Adjectives Page: 5

3. Adverbs Page: 6

2. Articles (a/an/the/0) Page: 8

3. Commas Page: 11

4. Comparatives and superlatives Page: 13

5. Conditional sentences 5

6. Countable and uncountable nouns Page: 19

7. Gerund or infinitive? Page: 23

8. Linking words and expressions Page: 25

9. Noun + noun Page: 28

10. Participle clauses Page: 31

11 Present perfect tenses Page: 33

12. Relative clauses Page: 34

13. Reported speech Page: 38

14. Sentence structure Page: 41

15. State verbs Page: 47

16: Tenses in English: A quick review Page: 49


ACTIVE OR PASSIVE?

A: Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.

P: Hamlet was written by Shakespeare.

Identify the subject and object in the active sentence. Shakespeare = subject; Hamlet = object

Identify the ‘agent’ and ‘victim’ in the active sentence. Shakespeare = agent; Hamlet = ‘victim’

Identify the ‘agent’ and ‘victim’ in the passive sentence. Shakespeare = agent; Hamlet = ‘victim’

Identify the subject of the passive sentence. Hamlet. (The object of the active sentence becomes

the subject of the passive version)

A: Plants produce oxygen. ‘Plants’ may be ‘old/known/previously mentioned’ information; ‘oxygen’

may be ‘new to the reader’ information.

P: Oxygen is produced by plants. ‘Oxygen’ may be ‘old/known’ information/previously mentioned’

information; ‘plants’ may be ‘new’ information.

A: The police have arrested the criminal.

P: The criminal has been arrested by the police. If you want to name the agent.

P: The criminal has been arrested. More common, as the agent is obvious, and this passive

sentence is shorter!

A: Someone has stolen my mobile phone.

P: My mobile phone has been stolen. The agent is unknown. Focus on the ‘victim’ rather than the

agent.

A: You/Users store the information on the hard disk.

P: The information is stored in the hard disk. More common, especially in written English, as it’s

more formal, less personal, and avoids the problem of naming the agent.


A: Our hair grows every day

P: (NOT POSSIBLE) There is no ‘agent-victim’ relationship. The active sentence has no direct object.

A: My grandfather died last night.

P: (NOT POSSIBLE) There is no ‘agent-victim’ relationship. The active sentence has no direct object.

Exercise: Choose active or passive:

Cheese makes / is made from milk.

They make / are made cheese from milk.

Terrorists attacked / were attacked the building.

The building attacked / was attacked by terrorists.

The information stores / is stored on the hard disk.

Oxygen releases / is released by plants.

Plants release / are released oxygen.

Our hair grows / is grown every day.

The population will increase / will be increased in the next few years.

The pyramids at Giza built / were built by the ancient Egyptians.

The weather in Cork changes / is changed very often.

ACTIVE PASSIVE

The sun

heats the earth

PRESENT SIMPLE The earth

is heated (by the sun)

is heating PRESENT CONTINUOUS

is being

heated PAST SIMPLE was

has heated PRESENT PERFECT has been

is going to heat

FUTURE is going to be

will heat FUTURE will be


Complete the table:

ACTIVE PASSIVE

The school

a new computer

A new computer

(by the school)

is bought every year

is buying this week

bought last month

has been bought

recently

is going to buy

next week

will be bought

next week

Answer keys:

Cheese is made from milk. They make cheese from milk.

Terrorists attacked the building. The building was attacked by terrorists.

The information is stored on the hard disk.

Oxygen is released by plants. Plants release oxygen.

Our hair grows every day.

The population will increase in the next few years.

The pyramids at Giza were built by the ancient Egyptians.

The weather in Cork changes very often.

ACTIVE PASSIVE

The school

a new computer

A new computer

(by the school)

buys is bought every year

is buying is being bought

this week

bought was bought last month

has bought has been bought

recently

is going to buy

is going to be bought

next week

will buy will be bought

next week


ADJECTIVES (some problem areas)

She is absolutely nice.

The movie was rather perfect.

When modifying ‘gradable’ adjectives (e.g. nice, cold, expensive etc) you can

use a range of adverbs (a bit, a little, rather, fairly, quite (=fairly), very, really,

extremely) but not absolutely, totally or completely.

When modifying ‘ungradable’ adjectives (e.g. perfect, freezing, impossible etc)

you can use absolutely, totally, really, completely or quite (=completely), but

not a bit, a little, rather, fairly, quite (=fairly), very, extremely.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s a big nice house.

a sunny beautiful day

political Irish history

When we use more that one adjective to describe something, the most

important rule is that ‘opinion’ adjectives come before ‘fact’ adjectives:

It’s a nice big house.

a beautiful sunny day

Other useful rules include: size before age before colour (a big old white

house), and origin/nationality before type (Irish political history).


ADVERBS

Adverbs can come at the start, in the middle, or at the end of a sentence.

Adverbs of frequency (always, usually, normally, sometimes, often, sometimes, rarely, hardy ever,

never) generally go immediately before the main verb, but after be (one word):

Peter usually arrives late.

Peter has always arrived late.

Does Peter sometimes arrive late?

Peter is never late.

Peter has always been punctual.

Other adverbs which generally follow these rules include just, already, even and also.

The have just arrived.

She also works part-time as a fitness coach.

She is also a part-time fitness coach.

It is unusual to put never, hardly ever, and rarely at the start of a sentence. If you do so, you must

invert the subject and verb:

Rarely have I seen him arrive late.

Never has there been such a cold winter


We generally don’t put an adverb between verb and its direct object:

Peter ate quickly his dinner.

They bought yesterday a new car.

He loves very much his wife.

Peter ate his dinner quickly.

They bought a new car yesterday.

He loves his wife very much.

Other adverbs which generally come at the end of a sentence include yet, too and as well:

They haven’t arrived yet.

She works as a fitness coach as well.


ARTICLES (a/an/the/0)

1. In English there are two articles: the definite article (the) and the indefinite article (a/an)

What is the difference in meaning between these two articles? What is the difference between a

house and the house?

When you say (or write) a house, the listener (or reader) generally doesn’t know which house you

have in mind because you haven’t mentioned any house before.

e.g. Peter bought a new house last month

When you say (or write) the house, the listener (or reader) generally knows which house you have

in mind – either because you have mentioned the house before or because it is obvious which house

you are referring to (or there is only one!)

e.g. He paid too much for the house.

We do not let the pet rabbits into the house.

When you say (or write) the houses, you are referring to a particular group of houses which the

listener (reader) knows about (or which you describe later in the same sentence).

e.g. I took a photo of the houses beside the cathedral.

2. We generally put an article before a singular countable noun (e.g. a coin / the coin )

We do not put the indefinite article before an uncountable noun ( e.g. a money )

3. What is the difference between a car and one car?

When we want to be ‘mathematical’, we say (or write) one car

e.g. Last month they sold the Ferrari and now they only have one car .

When we don’t need to be ‘mathematical’, we use a/an

e.g. Next year, I hope to buy a car

4. We use the definite article in superlative phrases,

e.g. Dublin is the largest city in Ireland


5. We do not normally put any article before proper nouns (e.g. names of people, book titles, movie

titles, song titles, company names, the names of countries, cities, famous buildings, street names

and so on) . Proper nouns start with a capital letter.

e.g. Harry Potter, Microsoft, Spain, Buckingham Palace, Washington St.

Exceptions: Plural countries (e.g. the U. S., the Netherlands, the Philippines),

buildings/places with “the X of Y” structure: (e.g. the Leaning Tower of Pisa,

the Great Wall of China, the Houses of Parliament)

rivers (the Nile), oceans (the Pacific) and mountain ranges (the Alps)

6. We do not normally put any article before plural nouns, or before an uncountable noun, when

talking in general.

e.g. That’s life!; Health is more important than wealth; Money can’t buy you love; Capitalism

works better than communism; Boys run faster than girls.

EXERCISE:

Correct any mistakes in the following paragraph. Not all the sentences contain

mistakes. The answers are on the next page.

Last night I rented one fantastic DVD. It is called ‘Eastern Promise’. It

was a best romantic comedy I’ve ever seen. Brad Pitt played main

role. He falls in love with the beautiful poor woman who works in

large hotel where he is staying in the China. The movie shows how

the love is possible between the people from the different cultures.

Music in the movie was superb but the ending was a bit predictable. I

brought DVD back this morning


CORRECT VERSION

Last night I rented a fantastic DVD. (Section 3 above) It is called ‘Eastern

Promise’. It was the best romantic comedy I’ve ever seen. (Section 4) Brad

Pitt played the main role. (Sections 1&2) He falls in love with a beautiful

poor woman (Section 1) who works in the/a large hotel (Sections 1&2)

where he is staying in the China. (Section 5) The movie shows how the love

is possible between the people from the different cultures. (Section 6) The

music in the movie was superb but the ending was a bit predictable.(Section

1) I brought the DVD back this morning. (Sections 1&2)


COMMAS

In general, commas help the reader to see the ‘big picture’ in a sentence, by separating the main

SVO or SVC from other (slightly less important) parts of the sentence.

USE A COMMA:

to separate ‘extra’ (non-essential) information from main information:

The internet, which has been around since the 1990’s, has revolutionised the way we live.

to separate an introductory word/phrase from the rest of the sentence:

Fortunately, the government have found a solution to this problem.

On the other hand, the new IT system has several disadvantages.

In my opinion, keeping animals in zoos is cruel.

to signal the end of a subordinate clause and the start of the main clause:

Because they needed to increase sales, the company launched two new products.

between items in a list:

Accessing information on the internet is fast, cheap, convenient and easy.

The comma before ‘and’ is optional, but put it in if you feel it will help the reader:

The internet is incredibly fast, very easy to use, and costs relatively little.

DO NOT PUT/USE A COMMA:

between a reporting verb (or a verb of thinking etc) from what is reported/thought. Do not break the SVO sequence with a comma:


He said, that he would arrive at 5pm.

I think, that keeping animals in zoos is cruel.

He said that he would arrive at 5pm.

I think that keeping animals in zoos is cruel.

between the subject of the main verb of a sentence and the main verb:

The main reason why the price of oil is rising is that demand is increasing.

The main reason why the price of oil is rising, is that demand is increasing.

between the main verb in a sentence and its the complement:

What we can see from this chart is that the price of oil has doubled in the last 10 years.

What we can see from this chart is, that the price of oil has doubled in the last 10 years.

to separate essential information from the rest of the sentence:

We need to do more to help children, who are living in poverty.

We need to do more to help children who are living in poverty.

on its own between clauses (or sentences) which need to be separated/joined in a more formal way:

The internet has brought us many benefits, there are also drawbacks.

The internet has brought us many benefits, but there are also drawbacks. (The comma is optional.)

The internet has brought us many benefits; there are also drawbacks.

The internet has brought us many benefits. There are also drawbacks.


COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES (big - bigger- the

biggest)

The Shannon is a long river NORMAL ADJECTIVE Asia is a big continent.

The Shannon is longer than the Lee

COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVE Asia is than Europe.

The Shannon is the longest river in Ireland

SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVE Asia is the in the world.

Is river A as long as the river B?

Is country A as ?

River A isn’t as long as river B County A isn’t as

River C is as long as river B Country C is as big as county B.

River A _________ Country A

River B ___________________ Country B

River C ___________________ Country C

SHORT ADJECTIVES LONG ADJECTIVES

Mobile calls are

dearer than text messages

Mobile calls are

more expensive than

text messages

Text messages are

cheaper than

mobile calls Text messages are

less expensive than

mobile calls

International mobile calls are generally the dearest type of call.

International mobile calls are the most expensive type of call.

Local landline calls are usually the cheapest type of call.

Local landline calls are usually the least expensive type of call.

To intensify/soften adjectives:

Paris is a very big city. Dublin is quite a big city. / Dublin is a fairly big city.

Paris is much/far/considerably bigger than any other French city. Birmingham is a little /

slightly bigger than Manchester.

Paris is by far the biggest city in France. That city is marginally the biggest in the country.


Answer key:

The Shannon is a long river NORMAL ADJECTIVE Asia is a big continent.

The Shannon is longer than the Lee

COMPARATIVE ADJECTIVE Asia is bigger than Europe. (or a bigger continent)

The Shannon is the longest river in Ireland

SUPERLATIVE ADJECTIVE Asia is the biggest continent in the world.

Is river A as long as the river B?

Is country A as big as country B?

River A isn’t as long as river B County A isn’t as big as the other two countries.

River C is as long as river B Country C is as big as county B

Some irregular spellings:

Thin-thinner-the thinnest large-larger-the largest easy-easier/ the easiest

friendly-friendlier-the friendliest or more friendly-the most friendly

Some irregular adjective forms:

Good/better/the best bad/worse/the worst far - further/farther - the furthest/the farthest

Compare:

Laptop computers and desktop computers

Living in the city and living in the countryside

Your country and Ireland


CONDITIONAL SENTENCES

In a conditional sentence there are normally two clauses (the ‘condition clause’ and the ‘result

clause’) which are joined by the word if. There are four main types of conditional and variations on

these.

THE ‘ZERO’ CONDITIONAL

If you boil water, it evaporates

If you love someone, you want to share everything with them

FORM: if + present simple (in the condition clause) present simple (in the result clause)

FUNCTION: To express the normal consequences of an action, event or situation in the past,

present or future

THE FIRST CONDITIONAL

If it rains this afternoon, we’ll go to the cinema

If it’s raining this afternoon, we’ll go to the cinema

FORM: if + present simple or continuous will + infinitive

FUNCTION: To describe the consequences of an action, event or situation which is entirely possible

in the future

THE SECOND CONDITIONAL

If I had enough money, I would buy a nice big house in the country

If I was/were rich, I’d buy a nice big house in the country

If I was running this company, I’d change many things

FORM: if + past simple / continuous would + infinitive

FUNCTION: To describe the consequences of an action, event or situation which is unlikely or

imaginary.


THE THIRD CONDITIONAL

If I had known you were in hospital, I would have visited you

If I’d studied harder at university, I’d have got better grades

FORM: if + past perfect would have + past participle

FUNCTION: To describe the imaginary consequences of an action, event or situation which did not

happen in the past.

EXERCISE A

What is the difference between (a) and (b)?

(a) If I find his wallet, I’ll phone him immediately

(b) If I found a wallet in the street, I would bring it to the nearest police station

What is the difference between (c) and (d)?

(c) If I knew his number, I’d phone him.

(d) If I had known his number, I would have phoned him.

VARIATIONS:

If I had enough money, I would buy a nice big house in the country

I would buy a nice big house in the country if I had enough money

The two sentences above have the same meaning. The result clause can come first or second. When

the result clause is first, no comma is needed.

................................................................................................................................................................

If you see them, tell them I’ll be late

In this first conditional, the result is an order / instruction (in the imperative verb form)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

She will come if she has time


She won’t come if she hasn’t got time

She won’t come unless she has time

if + negative verb can often be replaced by unless + positive verb

................................................................................................................................................................

If he has time, he will come to the meeting (First conditional)

If he has time, he may come to the meeting

If he has time, he might come to the meeting

If you took more exercise, you would feel better (Second conditional)

If you took more exercise, you may/might feel better

If she had run faster, she would have won the race (Third conditional)

If she had run faster, she may/might have won the race

The use of may or might in the result clause makes the result sound uncertain.

................................................................................................................................................................

If I had gone to the party, I would be tired now

This is a ‘mixed’ conditional. It starts like a third conditional but finishes like a second conditional.

This is because the condition clause refers to the past but the result clause refers to the present.

EXERCISE B

Complete the following sentences using appropriate forms of the verbs from

the list in italics at the end.

1. He would be a good footballer if he _______________ some weight 2. If you freeze water, it _______________ ice. 3. If she _______________ he was a criminal, she would not have married

him. 4. If I were you, I _______________ to a doctor immediately. 5. Unless they ask me to pay, I _______________ 6. If I had worked harder, I _________________ a promotion last month. 7. If I ________________ not there at 3 o’clock, start without me.


8. If you argue with complaining customers, it _______________ them even angrier.

9. I might go on holidays to South America next year if I _______________ enough money.

10. What _______________ if you found a burglar in your house?

be, become, do, get, go, have, know, lose, make, pay

ANSWERS

EXERCISE A:

In sentence (a), his wallet is a real wallet which has been lost and it is entirely possible that the

speaker will find this wallet. That’s why a first conditional is used.

In sentence (b), the wallet is an imaginary wallet. The speaker is fantasising about what he would do

in an unlikely or imaginary situation. That’s why a second conditional is used.

In sentence (c), the speaker is talking about the present and the future but she feels that getting the

phone number is unlikely. That’s why a second conditional is used

In sentence (d), the speaker is fantasising about the past. In reality, she didn’t know the telephone

number and so she didn’t phone him

EXERCISE B:

1. lost 2. becomes / will become (ZERO OR FIRST CONDITIONAL) 3. had known

4. would go / get 5. won’t (pay) 6. would have got 7. am / ‘m / don’t get

8. makes / will make (ZERO OR FIRST CONDITIONAL)

9. have/get/make (THE FIRST CONDITIONAL BECAUSE OF THE TIME EXPRESSION ‘next year’)

10. would you do


COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Every English noun is either countable or uncountable:

A countable noun (C)* can be counted! It can be singular or plural.

e.g. a car, my car, the car, one car, every car, three cars, car, few cars

an artist, one artist, that artist, each artist two artists, many artists

A singular countable noun cannot be used alone – i.e. you normally put an article (a/an/the) before

it (or another word like my, his, our, this, that, each, every)

Uncountable nouns (U)* cannot be counted. They are always singular.

e.g. information, the information, this information, that information, our information, a lot of

information, too much information, very little information

You can use the (the definite article) before an uncountable noun but you cannot use a/an (the

indefinite article)

If you want to count an uncountable noun, there are two possibilities:

1. Put a countable noun + of before the uncountable noun: e.g. a slice of bread, one piece of information, two bits of advice, three items of clothing

2. Make a compound noun with the uncountable noun first and a countable noun second: e.g. a news story, a research paper

Some nouns can be countable in one context and uncountable in another context:

I had a coffee a few minutes ago. I drink too much coffee.

A new law about drink driving was introduced last month. She’s studying law at the moment.

Common mistakes: Correct versions:

I want to be singer I want to be a singer

There were three equipments in the room There are three pieces of equipment in the room

* A good dictionary will have the abbreviations C or U after each noun (or each use of the noun)


EXERCISE

Correct any mistakes in the following sentences. Not all the sentences contain mistakes.

1. She has apartment.

2. He has nice new apartment.

3. I bought a bread in the supermarket.

4. We will need two breads

5. Let me give you some advice

6. My father gave me two good pieces of advice

7. She is excellent teacher

8. She is my teacher

9. We went to the pub and had a few beers

10. Beer is my favourite drink

11. There are too many informations in the document

12. I heard a terrible news this morning

13. He wants to find a work in the city centre

14. She brought two luggages with her on holiday

15. Do you think he will make a good impression at the interview?


ANSWERS AND EXPLANATIONS

1. She has an apartment. An article before a singular countable noun

2. He has a nice apartment. Even with an adjective before a singular countable noun, you still need

an article (or equivalent).

3. I bought bread / some bread / a loaf of bread / a roll in the supermarket. Bread in an

uncountable noun

4. We will need two loaves of bread / two slices of bread / two rolls.

5. Let me give you some advice. Correct. Advice is an uncountable noun and so it cannot have a/an

before it. It is never plural.

6. My father gave me two good pieces of advice. Correct. If you want to ‘count’ advice, you need to

use a countable noun with it.

7. She is an excellent teacher. A singular countable cannot be used alone.

8. She is my teacher. Correct. The possessive pronoun my replaces the article.

9. We went to the pub and had a few beers. Correct. Beer is a countable noun in this context

10. Beer is my favourite drink. Correct. Beer is an uncountable noun in this context

11. There are too many pieces of information / There is too much information in the document.

Information is uncountable.

12. I heard a terrible piece of news this morning. News is an uncountable noun. You cannot put

a/an directly before it.

13. He wants to find work / a job in the city centre. Job is countable; work is uncountable.

14. She brought two suitcases/ two bags/ two items of luggage with her on holiday. Suitcases and

bags are countable; luggage is uncountable.

15. Do you think he will make a good impression at the interview? Correct. Impression is a countable

noun.


COUNTABLE NOUNS UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

How many? How much?

One, two etc a/an the the (or no article)

few / a few little / a little

several / a number of

some some

a lot (of) / lots (of) * a lot (of) / lots (of) *

a good deal of ***

plenty of * plenty of *

many much ****

a large number of a great deal of ***

a large amount of

* = informal *** = formal **** = very formal


GERUND OR INFINITIVE?

A gerund (‘ing’ form) is normally used:

after a preposition ( e.g. He’s interested in improving his English) *

as the subject, object or complement of the main verb in a sentence (e.g.

Learning a language takes a long time. I hate driving. Seeing is believing)

An infinitive is more common:

after an adjective (e.g. It’s difficult to pronounce that word) A full infinitive

to express purpose (e.g. I came to Ireland to learn English) A Full infinitive

after modal verbs (e.g. I should read more) A bare infinitive

In a V1 + V2 structure, the second verb can be a gerund or an infinitive. **

There are three possibilities:

1. It doesn’t matter if you use a gerund or an infinitive (e.g. She started speaking

English when she was five = She started to speak English when he was five)

2. You have no choice; V1 dictates whether V2 is a gerund or infinitive (e.g. I enjoy

learning new words; I need to improve my vocabulary)

3. You can use either a gerund or infinitive, but the meaning is different in each case.

He stopped smoking. ≠ He stopped to smoke.

I remember taking my medicine. ≠ I remember to take my medicine.

I forget taking my medicine. ≠ I forget to take my medicine.

I regret telling you that he left. ≠ I regret to tell you that he left.

Try opening the window. ≠ Try to open the window.

She went on learning the piano. ≠ She went on to learn the piano.

I didn’t mean waking the baby. ≠ I didn’t mean to wake the baby.

It doesn’t mean waking the baby

* When ‘to’ is a preposition (i.e. not part of the full infinitive), use a gerund (e.g. I’m

looking forward to meeting you; She’s used to driving on the left)


** V2 can sometimes take other forms (e.g. I recommend (that) you visit Dublin)

*** Gerunds and infinitive can be negative (e.g. not knowing, not to know) and

passive (being studied, (to) be studied)

Complete the following sentences. Choose a gerund or an infinitive.

Sometimes both are possible.

1. I hate _______________ a dictionary. (use)

2. It’s easy _______________ grammar mistakes. (make)

3. _______________ cigarettes is bad for your health. (smoke)

4. We like _______________ by the teacher. (correct)

5. She’s against ______________ animals in laboratory experiments.

(use)

6. I will never forget _______________ him for the first time last

year. (meet)

7. They object to _______________ overtime without pay. (work)

8. He suggested (me) _______________ to the doctor. (go)

9. It’s crazy _______________ around you when walking across a

busy street with lots of traffic. (look)

10. I regret _______________ you that you have just failed the exam.

(tell)

1. using 2. to make 3. smoking 4. being corrected / to be corrected 5. using

6. meeting 7. working 8. suggested going / suggested (that) I went/go /should go

9. not to look 10. to tell


LINKING WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS

Text:

Different forms of intercity travel in Ireland

Analysis:

Types of linkers used and examples of alternatives

People travel between cities for many reasons: to

commute to and from work; for business reasons; in

order to visit friends or family or because they are

tourists. It is possible to travel within Ireland by car,

bus, train and even by plane.

EXPRESSING PURPOSE

to + INFINITIVE / in order to + INF

so as to + INF / for + NOUN (OR ing VERB FORM)

Firstly, let us examine the option of air travel.

Whereas flying was expensive in the past, air fares

are much lower now due to more competition and

the advent of low-cost, no-frills airlines. However,

flying is still a bit more expensive than other forms of

travel and there are only a few airports in Ireland. For

these reasons, most travellers prefer land based

travel, by which I mean, by road or by rail.

INDICATING SEQUENCE OF IDEAS

Firstly, .. / First of all, .. / To start with, ..

INDICATING CONTRAST / DIFFERENCE

Whereas….. / While ……. However,

GIVING REASONS

Due to + NOUN, / as a result of + NOUN / because of +

NOUN

PRESENTING RESULTS / CONSEQUENCES

For this / these reason(s), … Because of this, ….

As a result, …. Consequently, …..

Therefore, …... (and) so …

CLARIFYING

.., by which I mean …. / in other words …. / i.e.

Secondly, let us look at travelling by bus (or coach).

Although it may be cheaper to travel by coach

between Cork and Dublin, it usually takes longer than

INDICATING SEQUENCE OF IDEAS

Secondly,…. next, ….


flying and is not very comfortable. As a result, it is

generally only popular among younger travellers, in

particular, students.

CONCEDING COUNTER ARGUMENTS

Although + VERB / Even though + VERB,

While…….. whereas ……..

HIGHLIGHTING

in particular, particularly, especially

Train travel in Ireland is usually more expensive than

coach travel. In spite of this, it is a very popular form

of inter-city travel. This is because it is normally faster

than travelling by coach or car. In addition, you can

relax, study or work more easily on a train than with

any other form of transport, in my opinion. It is also

more comfortable in that you can walk up and down

the train.

CONCEDING COUNTER ARGUMENTS

In spite of + NOUN / PRONOUN / ing FORM, ….

Despite + NOUN / PRONOUN / ing FORM.

MOVING FROM COUNTER TO MAIN ARGUMENT

Nevertheless, .. / Nonetheless, .. However, I still …

GIVING REASONS

Because + VERB / due to the fact that + VERB

…. as + VERB / …..since + VERB

ADDING INFORMATION OR ARGUMENTS

In addition,… / Moreover, ….

Furthermore, ….. / Besides this, …..

….. also …. / …. and …. / Finally, …

Coach travel and train travel are similar in many

ways. In general, you can travel from city centre to

city centre, unlike with air travel. With both coach

and train travel, you can view the country side as you

travel without having to worry about stopping for

petrol or asking for directions etc.

GENERALISING

In general, … / usually / generally / in most cases /

normally

EXPRESSING DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES

unlike …. Both …. / … both …….

AVOIDING GIVING MORE DETAILS

….etc. / and so on.


Travelling by car is often the least expensive option,

particularly for a group of 3 to 5 people. It is also

more flexible. For example, you can travel when and

where you want and stop as often as you like.

Consequently, many people prefer to travel by car.

However, there are also difficulties with car travel

such as traffic jams, parking problems and the fatigue

of driving.

GIVING EXAMPLES

For example, … / For instance, …….

..such as ….. / ….like …… e.g. ….

…for example … / …for instance …….

Let me give an example.

PRESENTING A COUNTER ARGUMENT

However, …. On the other hand, ….

To sum up, we can see that each form of inter-city

travel has its own advantages and disadvantages. The

form you choose depends on many variables like the

destination, the purpose of your trip, your budget,

the time available, and the number of people

travelling.

SUMMARISING

To sum up, … / In summary, ….


NOUN + NOUN (N+N)

In English it is common to put two nouns side by side to make a compound

noun (N+N) e.g. a football club, a computer screen, the music teacher, money

problems, health education, a television programme, and climate change.

A plural compound noun has an ‘s’ at the end of the second noun (not at the

end of the first) e.g. three computer screens (three computers screen/s)

Often, the first noun operates like an adjective in front of the second noun, i.e.

the first noun describes the second noun or gives more information about the

second noun.

When an adjectival form of the first noun exists, we normally use the adjective

form (A+N) rather than the noun form, e.g. financial problems (finance

problems), technological developments (technology developments)

Sometimes using the adjective doesn’t express your meaning (e.g. healthy

education, the musical teacher) so you use a compound noun instead (health

education, the music teacher)

Sometimes a triple compound noun is possible (e.g. oil production costs), or

even a quadruple compound noun (e.g. a wind energy research centre)

When pronouncing compound nouns, the stress usually falls on the first noun

(e.g. ‘money problems). When writing compound nous, sometimes there is

more than one possibility (e.g. ski boots, ski-boots, and skiboots). The hyphen

option is becoming less common. Where both nouns are very short, we usually

make one word (e.g. bathroom) while for longer nouns we usually separate the

nouns (e.g. airport terminal). If in doubt, write two separate words.


We often put an apostrophe after the first noun and a space between the two

nouns (N’s N) when the second noun belongs to, or is part of, or is used by or

produced by, the first noun, e.g. Peter’s house, Peter’s brother, Ireland’s

history, a woman’s face, a dog’s tail, women’s magazines, the government’s

decision, cow’s milk and the train’s arrival. This pattern is common when the

first noun is a person, an animal or an organisation, and it always used when

the first noun is the name of a person. Often, the idea could be reformulated

as an SVO sentence with the first noun as the subject and the second noun as

the object (e.g. women read these magazines or the government made the

decision)

Sometimes we put the preposition ‘of’ between the two nouns (N of N) (a map

of Cork, the centre of the room, the history of Ireland). This pattern is not as

common in English as in some other European languages.

Sometimes both N’s N and N of N are possible (Cork’s history, the history of

Cork), sometimes not (Cork’s map). If you are not sure, choose N of N (e.g. the

centre of Cork), except when one of the nouns is the name of a person.

Other prepositions are sometimes used between two nouns e.g. developments

in technology, education about health, the solution to the problem. (N P N)

When describing containers, both N of N and N+N are possible but the

meaning of each is different. A coffee cup is just a cup while a cup of coffee

means the cup and the drink inside.


Correct any mistakes in the following N+N examples. Not every example is

incorrect.

1. a heart attack

2. the house of Stephen

3. North Ireland

4. hair growth

5. the tourist industry

6. a medicine problem

7. animal behaviour

8. a Physics teacher

9. the lesson’s end

10. a historical degree

1. a heart attack CORRECT

2. the house of Stephen Stephen’s house

3. North Ireland Northern Ireland / the North of Ireland

4. hair growth CORRECT (‘the growth of hair’ IS POSSIBLE BUT LESS COMMON)

5. the tourist industry CORRECT (‘the tourism industry’ IS ALSO COMMON)

6. a medicine problem a medical problem

7. animal behaviour CORRECT

8. a Physics teacher CORRECT (BOTH WORDS ARE SINGULAR)

9. the lesson’s end the end of the lesson

10. a historical degree a history degree / a degree in history


PARTICIPLE CLAUSES

What do the underlined participle clauses mean? Rephrase them.

Coached effectively, children can quickly learn how to play tennis well.

Parking his car near the main entrance, he walked into the shop.

A group of tourists exploring the island discovered the ruins of an ancient church.

A famine has hit parts of Sudan, killing thousands of people.

Not having any money, I was unable to take a taxi home.

Having finished her degree, my sister decided to take a year off.

ANSWER KEY

‘Coached’ = ‘If they are coached’. Here the past participle replaces a full passive (conditional) clause.

‘Parking’ = ‘After he (had) parked’. Here the present participle shows that the action in the participle

clause happened immediately before the main action

‘exploring’ = ‘when they were exploring’ or ‘’who were exploring’. In the former case, the present

participle shows that the main action happened during the action in the participle clause. In the

latter case, it replaces a relative clause.

‘killing’ = ‘and it killed’. Here the present participle expresses consequence/result, as well as the

sequence of actions.

‘Not having’ = ‘because I didn’t have’. Here the (negative) present participle expresses cause/reason.

‘Having finished’ = ‘After he had finished’. Here the action in the participle clause happened before

the main action, but not necessarily immediately before it.

Normally, the subject of the participle clause is also the subject of the main clause, as

in the examples above. However, sometimes this not true:

I saw a man standing outside the building.

Put the participle clause as close as possible to the person/thing which it refers to.


PRESENT PERFECT (SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS)

Match the examples of the present perfect (a-d) with the five uses/meanings (1-4)

Example Describes….

a I’ve visited New York. 1 an action which started in the past

and is still in progress. The emphasis

in on the duration of the action.

b My hair’s wet because I’ve been

walking in the rain.

2 a recent action which has an impact

on the present. The result is

important.

c I’ve lost my keys. 3 a recent continuous action with an

impact on the present

d I’ve been waiting here for one

hour.

4 a life experience. The date/time is

not important

Correct any mistakes in the following sentences. Explain why the incorrect form is not

acceptable.

I’ve seen him yesterday.

We’re here since 8 o’clock this morning.

She’s lived here since 2 years.

I’ve been knowing him since we were in primary school.

They haven’t never been to New York.

Have you still finished the book?

He has finished his assignment yet.

I have read the book before I saw the movie.


ANSWER KEY:

I’ve seen him yesterday.

I saw him yesterday.

We’re here since 8 o’clock this morning.

We’ve been here since 8 o’clock this morning.

She’s lived here since 2 years.

She’s lived here for 2 years.

She’s been living here for 2 years.

I’ve been knowing him since we were in primary school.

I’ve known him since we were in primary school.

They haven’t never been to New York.

They’ve never been to New York.

They haven’t ever been to New York.

Have you still finished the book?

Have you finished the book (yet)?

Are you still reading the book?

He has finished his assignment yet.

He has (already) finished his assignment (already).

He hasn’t finished his assignment yet.

I have read the book before I saw the movie.

I had read the book before I saw the movie.


RELATIVE CLAUSES

You can join two short sentences together to make one longer sentence using a relative clause.

e.g. This is the car. It hit me. → This is the car which hit me

Sometimes you have to use a relative clause because there is no better way to express the idea.

e.g. I don’t like people who make mobile calls on the bus.

A relative clause usually begins with a relative pronoun. In the sentences below the relative clauses

are underlined and the relative pronouns are highlighted.

This is the car which hit me

This is the car that hit me

There is no difference in meaning between the two sentences above but the relative pronoun which

is a bit more formal than the relative pronoun that.

This is the car which I want to buy

This is the car that I want to buy

This is the car I want to buy

There is no difference in meaning between the three sentences above but the first is the most

formal and the third is the least formal. If the noun before the relative pronoun (i.e. car) is the object

of the verb in the relative clause (i.e. buy), the relative pronoun is optional – as in the last sentence

above.

He is the man who spoke to me

He is the man that spoke to me

There is no difference in meaning between the two sentences above but the relative pronoun who is

a bit more formal than the relative pronoun that.

He is the man whom I phoned

He is the man who I phoned

He is the man that I phoned

He is the man I phoned

There is no difference in meaning between the four sentences above but the first is the most formal

and the last is the least formal. If the noun before the relative pronoun (i.e. man) is the object of the

verb in the relative clause (i.e. phoned), the relative pronoun is optional – as in the last sentence

above.


He is the man whose brother was injured in the crash

I don’t know the name of the company whose office was destroyed by fire.

We usually use whose to indicate ownership or some other close connection between the subject of

the main clause and the subject of the relative clause.

The relative pronouns for things are which, that and whose. The relative pronouns for people are who, whom, that and whose.

If the noun before the relative pronoun is the object of the verb in the relative clause, the relative pronoun is optional (except whose)

Sometimes it is possible to put a preposition before a relative pronoun:

She is the friend who/whom I depend on more than any other

She is the friend on whom I depend more than any other.

Other relative pronouns are where (for place), when (for time) and why (for reason)

This is a photo of the village where I was born. (= in which)

This was the period when Ireland was ruled by the English (= during which)

That was the reason (why) I left the company

Defining and non-defining relative clauses

This is a photo of the boat which/that I bought last week.

This is a photo of the Titanic, which sank in 1912 on its first voyage.

The first sentence above contains a defining relative clause which gives us essential information

which we need to ‘define’ (or ‘identify’) which boat the speaker/writer has in mind. Do not put a

comma before a defining relative clause.

The second sentence above contains a non-defining relative clause because what comes after the

comma (i.e. which sank in 1912 on its first voyage) is non-essential information which the

listener/reader does not need to identify which boat is being described.

This a photo of the woman that/who/whom I met in Barcelona last month

This is a photo of my wife, who is Australian

The first sentence above contains a defining relative clause which gives us essential information

which we need to define (or identify) which woman the speaker/writer has in mind. Notice that

there is no comma before a defining relative clause.


The second sentence above contains a non-defining relative clause because what comes after the

comma (i.e. who is Australian) is non-essential information which the listener/reader does not need

to identify which boat is being described.

Non-defining relative clauses are separated from the main clause by a comma (or sometimes two commas!).

Do not use the relative pronoun ‘that’ in non-defining relative clauses.

EXERCISE: Choose an appropriate relative pronoun for each of the following sentences. Sometimes no relative pronoun is necessary. Put in commas where the relative clauses are non-defining. The answers are given at the end of the page.

1. He’s the player __________ scored the goal. 2. I’ve lost the bag __________ I bought in Cyprus.

3. She’s the woman __________ son won the prize.

4. I like people __________ say what they think.

5. The Irishman I admire the most was Michael Collins __________ was born in Cork.

6. They are the people __________ bought our house.

7. That’s the type of music __________ I like.

8. He’s the neighbour _________ wife died.

9. That is the painting __________ is worth $1,000,000.

10. Next week we’re going camping __________ we’ve never done before.

11. That was the day ___________ we decided to get married.

12. This is the house __________ I spent much of my childhood.

13. Tomorrow is the deadline __________ applications will not be accepted.

14. I really loved her paella __________ she cooked amazingly quickly.

15. Poorer families cannot afford to buy fresh healthy food __________ can lead to medical

problems.


ANSWER KEY:

1. who / that 2. which / that / NO RELATIVE PRONOUN 3. whose

4. who / that 5. ,who 6. who / that 7. which / that / NO RELATIVE PRONOUN

8. whose 9. which / that 10. ,which 11. when / on which / NO RELATIVE PRONOUN

12. where / in which 13. after which 14. , which 15. , which


REPORTED SPEECH

If the reporting verb (say, tell, ask etc) is in the present tense, there is no change of tense in the

reported statement.

“I had a great time in Portugal” David tells me that he had a great time in

Portugal

If the reporting verb is in the past tense there are usually tense changes in the reported sentence –

especially in formal English.

“I always go to Portugal for my holidays.” David said that he always went to Portugal for

his holidays.

David said that he always goes to Portugal for

his holidays.

“I’m going to Portugal tomorrow.” David said that he was going to Portugal the

following day / the next day / the day after.

David said that he was going to Portugal

tomorrow.

David said that he is going to Portugal

tomorrow.

“I’ve visited Portugal seven times.” David said that he had visited Portugal seven

times.

David said that he has visited Portugal seven

times.

“I flew back from Portugal two days ago”. David said that he had flown back from

Portugal 2 days before/previously.

David said that he had flown back from

Portugal 2 days ago.

David said that he flew back from Portugal 2

days ago.


“I will be in Portugal for ten days.” David said that he would be in Portugal for ten

days.

David said that he will be in Portugal for ten

days.

“Could you go to Portugal?” David asked me to go to Portugal.

David asked me if I could go to Portugal.

“Phone the office in Portugal immediately.” David told me to phone the office in Portugal

immediately.

“Did you phone the office?” David asked me if/whether I had phoned the

office.

“When did you phone them?” David asked me when I had phoned them.

Tell/say/ask variations:

I told Martha. / I told Martha the price. / I told Martha (that) I would meet her at 8pm. / I told the

truth/a lie. / I told Martha to finish the work.

I said that I needed more time./ I said to him that I needed more time.

I asked Pablo to help me. / I asked Pablo for a few euro. / I asked Mary what she wanted. / I asked

Mary if/whether she wanted to go.


EXERCISE:

“I always go to Portugal for my holidays.” David told me that he ……

“I’m going to Portugal tomorrow.”

“I’ve visited Portugal seven times.”

“I flew back from Portugal two days ago.”

“I will be in Portugal for ten days.”

“Could you go to Portugal?”

“Phone the office in Portugal immediately.”

“Did you phone the office?”

“When did you phone them?”


SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Are the following sentences? Why? / Why not?

The children played. Yes. Subject + Verb (an intransitive verb)

The children played games. Yes. S + V (a transitive verb) + Object (direct object)

The children laughed Yes. S + V (intransitive verb)

The children sent. No. S + V (transitive verb) + no direct object

The children sent text messages. Yes. S + V + O

The children sent me text messages. Yes. S + V + O (indirect) + O (direct)

The children sent text messages to each other. Yes. S + V + O (direct) +O (indirect)

The children talked to each other. Yes. S + V (intransitive) + O (indirect)

The children were bored. Yes. S + be + Complement

The children were. No. S + be + no complement. But it could be an acceptable

sentence in response to the question: ‘Who was bored?’

The basic and normal structure of a clause or a sentence is SVO, SVC or SV,

depending on whether the verb takes an object, a complement, or neither (a verb

used intransitively). Some sentences/clauses have an SVOO structure i.e. the verb

takes an indirect object as well as a direct object.

Correct any mistakes in the following sentences and explain why the corrections are

needed. Not all the sentences contain mistakes.

1. This book I have never read.

2. Why she married him is something I cannot understand!


3. Parents are too worried about working to earn lots of money, which is bad for

family life.

4. Casablanca is my favourite movie.

5. We should clean our teeth twice a day.

6. It exists a cheap and easy solution.

ANSWER KEY

1. I have never read this book. SVO (SUBJECT - VERB - OBJECT)

This is a book which I have never read. (SVC FOLLOWED BY A RELATIVE CLAUSE)

2. CORRECT. (SUBJECT – VERB - COMPLEMENT).

YOU CAN ALSO SAY/WRITE I cannot understand why she married him WHICH HAS AN SVO

SENTENCE STRUCTURE

3. Parents are too worried about working to earn lots of money and this/it is bad for family life. (THE

VERB ‘is’ IN THE SECOND CLAUSE NEEDS A SEPARATE SUBJECT)

4. Casablanca is my favourite movie. OR My favourite movie is Casablanca. (SVC)

(IN FORMAL WRITTEN ENGLISH, DON’T HAVE A NOUN AND A RELATED PRONOUN

IN THE SAME CLAUSE. IN OTHER WORDS, DON’T DUPLICATE THE SUBJECT)

5. We should clean our teeth twice a day.(SVO) (PUT THE DIRECT OBJECT IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE

VERB. DON’T SEPARATE THEM)

6. A cheap and easy solution exists. (SUBJECT BEFORE VERB) (SV)

There is a cheap and easy solution. (SVC) (FIRST MENTION)

It is a cheap and easy solution. (SVC) (SECOND MENTION)

How many clauses are in the following sentence?

I met Peter in a café and he told me about his new job.

What is a clause?


A clause is a group of words which contains (at least) a subject and a verb.

What is a sentence?

A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop. It contains one or

more clauses.

When we want to join clauses (C+C), we use co-ordinators and subordinators.

There are seven co-ordinators, which are often collectively called FANBOYS. (for,

and, nor, but, or, yet, so). They come in the middle of the sentence, between the

two clauses. You can put a comma before these co-ordinators, but not all writers do

so. In formal written English, it is not good style to begin a sentence with and, but or

any of the other seven FANBOYS.

for We went into the house for it was very cold outside.

and He is works very hard and he earns a lot of money.

nor We didn’t eat very much nor did we feel very thirsty.

but He works very hard but he likes his job.

or You can go on foot or you can drive there.

yet He works very hard yet he doesn’t earn a lot of money.

so She wasn’t happy in that job so she left.

You can put a comma before these co-ordinators, especially if one (or both) of the clauses is (are) long.

Subordinators:

We went into the house because it was very cold.

Because it was very cold, we went into the house.

He doesn’t earn a lot of money although he works very hard.

Although he works very hard, he doesn’t earn a lot of money.


Subordinators can come between the two clauses which they join (usually without a

comma) or before the first clause (with an obligatory comma at the end of the first

clause). The clause introduced by the subordinator is usually considered (slightly) less

important than the other clause, which is called the main clause.

Time conjunctions (e.g. after, as soon as, before, just as, since, until, when, while etc)

can be subordinators if they introduce a clause:

I’ll stay here until they arrive.

Relative pronouns (e.g. who, whose, whom, which, that) are subordinators because

they introduce relative clauses, which are subordinate to the main clause. The

relative clause always comes after the main clause.

She is the athlete who finished second in the race.

Peter arrived late for the lecture, which is not surprising.

Conjunctions in conditional clauses (if, even if, unless) introduce subordinate clauses.

If you leave your mobile phone there, it will be stolen!

There are many other subordinators which can show the connection between

clauses (C+C), e.g. so that, whether, as if.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you wish to show the connection between a sentence and the sentence(s) before

it, you can use conjunctive adverbs (e.g. However, … Therefore,…. In addition, ….

After that, … ) These S+S linkers usually come at the start of the sentence and are

followed by a comma.

He works very hard. However, he earns very little.

After a while it started to get rather cold. Therefore, we went inside.


Correct any mistakes in the following examples of written English:

1. The movie was very interesting. And I really enjoyed it.

2. We all went home before the end of the match. Because the weather was bad.

3. I have visited many European countries. For example, France, Spain and Greece.

4. Spending money is easy earning it is more difficult.

5. Spending money is easy, earning it is more difficult.

6. My wife and I left our home town. Then we stayed with friends in the capital city.

We stayed there for two months. Then we finally got our visas for Australia. We

travelled to Australia. We live there now.

7. My wife and I left our home town, and we stayed with friends in the capital city for

two months, but finally we got our visas for Australia, so we travelled to Australia,

and we live there now.

8. If you have an important job interview you should arrive a little before the time of

the interview, wear smart formal clothes, try to predict the questions you will be

asked, it is also important to prepare relevant questions which you can ask the

interviewer such as about salary or working hours.


SUGGESTED ANSWERS:

1. The movie was very interesting and I really enjoyed it.

COORDINATORS JOIN TWO CLAUSES TO FORM ONE SENTENCE. USE A CO-ORDINATOR TO AVOID SHORT

CHOPPY SENTENCES.

2. We all went home before the end of the match because the weather was bad.

A SUBORDINATOR IS A C+C LINKER, NOT AN S+S LINKER.

3. I have visited many European countries, for example, France, Spain and Greece.

THE LAST SIX WORDS ARE ONLY A PHRASE. THEY CANNOT BE A SENTENCE AS THERE IS NO SUBJECT+VERB. USE

A COMMA TO SEPARATE A PHRASE FEOM THE REST OF THE SENTENCE.

4&5.

Spending money is easy but earning it is more difficult. (Optional comma before but)

Whereas spending money is easy, earning it is more difficult.

Spending money is easy. Earning it is more difficult.

Spending money is easy; earning it is more difficult.

SENTENCE 4 ON THE PREVIOUS PAGE IS CALLED A ‘RUN ON’ BECAUSE ONE SENTENCE RUNS INTO THE NEXT

WITHOUT ANY LINKING DEVICE.

SENTENCE 5 IS CALLED A ‘COMMA SPLICE’. A COMMA ONLY SEPATATES. IT DOESN’T SHOW CONNECTION

BETWEEN THE TWO THINGS THAT IT SEPARATES. A SEMI-COLON SHOWS A CONNECTION.

6&7. My wife and I left our home town and stayed with friends in the capital city for

two months. When we finally got our visas, we travelled to Australia, where we now

live.

6 IS TOO ‘CHOPPY’. WE MAKE LONGER SENTENCES USING COORDINARTORS AND SUBORDINATORS.

7 IS TOO ‘STRINGY’. THE IMPROVED VERSION HAS TWO SENTENCES, EACH CONTAINING TWO CLAUSES.

8. If you have an important job interview, you should arrive a little before the time of

the interview, wear smart formal clothes, and try to predict the questions you will be

asked. It is also important to prepare relevant questions which you can ask the

interviewer, such as about salary or working hours.

A LIST OF THREE THINGS IS ALWAYS WRITTEN LIKE ‘A, B and C’. THE COMMA AFTER B IS OTIONAL.

START A NEW SENTENCE WITH ‘It is..’ AS THIS IS A NEW TOPIC WITH A NEW SUBJECT+VERB.


STATE VERBS (non-continuous verbs)

The verbs below are either rarely/never used in the continuous form, or have a different meaning

when used in continuous form. This list is not complete!

believe agree love appear be

doubt disagree prefer feel (it feels) belong

feel (=think) deny like hear consist of

forget mean dislike look (=seem) contain

imagine (=think) promise hate resemble depend (on)

know surprise see deserve

realise seem exist

remember smell fit

see

(=understand)

sound include

suppose taste involve

think matter

understand need

want own

wish weigh

* I think it’s a good idea. ≠ Please be quiet! I’m thinking.

Do you see the problem? ≠ Are you seeing Peter later today?

John comes from Scotland ≠ John is coming from Scotland.

I believe you I’m believing you

His actions surprised me His actions were surprising me


You will love their new CD You will be loving their new CD

This pizza tastes delicious This pizza is tasting delicious

This house has belonged to us since my

father died.

This house has been belonging to us since

my father died.

When we want to stress that an activity is temporary, we sometimes use a state verb in the

continuous form:

This trip is costing me a lot of money!

You’re being very unhelpful this morning.


TENSES IN ENGLISH - A QUICK REVIEW OF THE MAIN

TENSES

NAME OF TENSE

EXAMPLES OF

DIFFERENT USES

MEANINGS OF THOSE

USES

NOTES ON GRAMMATICAL

FORMS

PAST SIMPLE I booked my

holiday yesterday.

ONE SHORT

COMPLETED ACTION

IN THE PAST. THE

DATE/TIME IS

USUALLY GIVEN OR

KNOWN

Regular verbs:

Positive: he arrived

Negative: he did not arrive /

he didn’t arrive

(arrive = INFINITIVE)

Question: Did he arrive?

Irregular verbs:

She went, she didn’t go

Did she go? (=INFINITIVE)

They lived in Paris

for 2 years.

ONE LONGER

COMPLETED ACTION

IN THE PAST. THE

DATE/TIME IS

USUALLY GIVEN OR

KNOWN

We went to the

cinema every week

when we were

students.

A SERIES OF

COMPLETED PAST

ACTIONS. THE TIME

PERIOD IS USUALLY

GIVEN OR KNOWN

PAST PERFECT

(SIMPLE)

I had read the book

before I saw the

movie.

The robbers had

left by the time the

police arrived.

A PAST ACTION WHICH

WAS COMPLETED

BEFORE ANOTHER

PAST ACTION

They had left / they’d left

They had not left / they

hadn’t left

Had they left?

PAST CONTINUOUS He was hit by a car

as he was crossing

A CONTINUOUS

ACTION WHICH

HAPPENED AROUND

I /he/she/it was crossing


Patrick Street.

We were watching

a movie when she

phoned.

THE SAME TIME AS

THE MAIN PAST

ACTION

We/you were crossing

I was not watching / I wasn’t

watching

Were you watching?

Yesterday I was

cycling to work. The

sun was shining

brightly and

……………

SETTING THE SCENE AT

THE START OF A STORY

PRESENT PERFECT

SIMPLE

I have been to

Canada but I’ve

never been to the

U.S.

AN EXPERIENCE IN

YOUR LIFE.

THE DATE AND TIME

ARE NOT IMPORTANT

Regular verbs:

I/we/you have started

He/she/it has started

I have not started / I haven’t

started

Have you started?

Irregular verbs:

He has gone (gone = PAST

PARTICIPLE)

He hasn’t gone

Has he gone?

She has lived here

since 2002.

AN ACTION WHICH

STARTED IN THE PAST

AND IS STILL IN

PROGRESS NOW

The President has

died.

HOT NEWS. THE

TIME/DATE IS NOT

GIVEN

I’ve lost my keys. A RECENT PAST

ACTION WITH AN

IMPACT ON THE

PRESENT. THE

DATE/TIME ARE NOT

GIVEN

PRESENT PERFECT

CONTINUOUS

She has been living

here since 2001.

I’ve been waiting

here for the last

half an hour!

AN ACTION WHICH

STARTED IN THE PAST

AND IS STILL IN

PROGRESS

(THE EMPHASIS IS

OFTEN ON THE

ACTIVITY RATHER

THAN THE PRESENT

IMPACT)

I have been waiting / I’ve

been waiting

He has not been playing /

he hasn’t been playing /

he’s not been playing

How long have you been

working here?


PRESENT SIMPLE She often walks to

work.

I never smoke.

REPEATED ACTIONS.

THE TIME PERIOD

INCLUDES THE PAST,

THE PRESENT AND

PROBABLY THE

FUTURE

I/you/we/they walk

He/she/it walks

I/you/we/they do not /

don’t walk

He/she/it does not / doesn’t

walk

Do I /you we/they walk?

Does he/she/it walk?

The match starts at

3pm tomorrow.

A FUTURE

TIMETABLED EVENT

PRESENT

CONTINUOUS

He’s staying in Cork

for a month.

AN ACTION IN

PROGRESS AT THE

MOMENT

I am staying / I’m staying

You/we/they are/’re staying

He/she/it is/’s staying

I am not going / I’m not

going

Are you going? Is she going?

I’m reading an

interesting book at

the moment.

AN ACTION

HAPPENING AROUND

NOW

We’re meeting at 7

this evening.

A FIXED FUTURE

ARRANGEMENT

FUTURE –

GOING TO +

INFINITIVE

We’re going to buy

a new car.

A PLAN OR DECISION

MADE PREVIOUSLY

I am going to sell it / I’m

going to / I’m gonna sell it

(US/INFORMAL)

You/we/they are going to

leave

He/she/it is going to fall

It’s not / It isn’t going to fall

Is it going to fall?

Look at the clouds.

It’s going to rain.

A FORECAST (USUALLY

BASED ON PRESENT

EVIDENCE)

She’s going to be 21

tomorrow.

A FUTURE FACT

FUTURE SIMPLE I see we don’t have

any milk. I’ll buy

some later.

A DECISION MADE

WHILE SPEAKING OR

JUST BEFORE

I/you/he/she/it/we/they

will go

I/you/he/she/it/we/they ‘ll

go I think the price of

oil will rise next

A FORECAST


month.

I will not buy it / I won’t buy

it

Will you buy it?

She’ll be 21 next

month.

A FUTURE FACT

FUTURE

CONTINUOUS

This time next

week, we’ll be lying

on a beach in Spain.

A CONTINUOUS

ACTION IN PROGRESS

AT A FIXED TIME IN

THE FUTURE

She will be lying on a beach.

He will not / won’t be

coming

When will they be arriving?

I’ll be meeting him

tomorrow.

A FUTURE

ARRANGEMENT OR

FACT

FUTURE PERFECT By next March, they

will have

completed the

motorway from

here to the capital

city.

AN ACTION WHICH

WILL BE COMPLETED

BEFORE (OR AT) A

GIVEN TIME IN THE

FUTURE

They will have completed it

They will not / won’t have

completed it by then.

Will they have completed

it?


Complete the following sentences using the correct tense of the verbs in

brackets. More than one tense may be possible. The answers are given on the

next page.

1. I _______________ in Italy in 1978. (be born=PASSIVE)

2. I _______________ the first ten years of my life in Naples and then my family _______________ to Rome. (spend, move) 3. Now I _______________ in Florence, the home town of my boyfriend. (live)

4. I first met him while I _______________ in Rome University. (study)

5. Last year we _______________ a small apartment in Florence. (buy)

6. I work in an IT company called Technosoft and my boyfriend _______________ in a legal firm. (work) 7. I started as a secretary in Technosoft but I _______________ Assistant Marketing Manager for the last two years. (be) 8. In my free time I _______________ tennis and squash. (play) 9. When I was a teenager I _______________ 20 cigarettes a day but last year I _______________ smoking completely. (smoke, give up) 10. At the moment, I _______________ a Masters in Marketing at Florence University. (do) 11. I _______________ never _______________ USA but I hope to go there next summer. (visit) 12. My boss _______________ at the end of next month and I _______________ him. (retire, replace) 13. The next few months __________________ extremely busy! (be)


ANSWERS:

1. I was born in Italy in 1978.

2. I spent the first ten years of my life in Naples and then my family moved to Rome. 3. Now I live / am living in Florence, the home town of my boyfriend. (THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS MAKES THE ACTION SOUND MORE TEMPORARY / SHORT TERM)

4. I first met him while I was studying in Rome University.

5. Last year we bought a small apartment in Florence.

6. I work in an IT company called Technosoft and my boyfriend works / is working in a legal firm. (THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS MAKES THE ACTION SOUND MORE TEMPORARY / SHORT TERM) 7. I started as a secretary in Technosoft but I have been Assistant Marketing Manager for the last two years. (= I am still Assistant Marketing manager) I was Assistant Marketing Manager for the last two years. (= I recently finished working as Assistant Marketing manager) 8. In my free time I play tennis and squash. 9. When I was a teenager I smoked / used to smoke (A PAST HABIT) 20 cigarettes a day but last year I gave up smoking completely. 10. At the moment, I am doing a Masters in Marketing at Florence University. 11. I have never visited USA but I hope to go there next summer. 12. My boss is retiring / is going to retire / will retire at the end of next month and I am going to replace / will replace him. 13. The next few months will be / are going to be extremely busy!

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