Grammar 101

GRAMMAR 101 

mystudentteacher.com 

The comprehensive guide to English grammar for students and teachers.

Robertson / Pocket Grammar / 1 

Guide to this book 

Welcome. This pocket size book is a concise guide to all you need to know about English 

grammar. The book is organized in 3 modular blocks. 

Block 1: Beginner, letters numbers, time and parts of speech. Beginner tenses. 

Block 2: Intermediate grammar and intermediate tenses. 

Block 3: Advanced grammar and advanced grammar in reading and writing. 

Each block is modular so you can choose to look at the tenses before finishing the grammar or 

study grammar in writing before reading. However, it is recommended that you complete the 

book in the order in which it is organized. After you have done this you can go back at any time 

and use the book and its modular blocks as a reference resource. 

The book is designed in a simple and clear way with pictures that illustrate and examples that 

inform. This guide and its structure is based upon years of feedback from students. The book is 

designed to resemble the best of teacher’s board work and the most comprehensive student notes. 

The book is a valuable resource for the teacher and student. It can be used to teach English or as 

a reference resource at any time during or after learning English. 

From the author 

I have worked in politics and business and taught English for many years in many countries. My 

students love the way in which I organize my teaching and illustrate my board work. So, I 

decided to compile it all in a concise book and here it is. 

I hope you find this guide useful. 

Kind regards, Innes M Robertson.


Table of Contents 

Block 1 beginner 

Part 1 Basic English Grammar Tenses and Verbs Part 1 

07 Alphabet, words and sentences 44 Generals rules on verbs and tenses 

09 Numbers, cardinal and ordinal 49 Present Verb to be (+) (-) (?) 

13 Dates, dates, days and seasons 52 Present Simple (+) (-) (?) 

17 Telling the time 55 Present Continuous (+) (-) (?) 

20 Prepositions of time 58 Present tense time expressions 

21 Time expressions, before and after p100 62 Past Verb to be (+) (-) (?) 

22 Questions with time 65 Past Simple (+) (-) (?) 

23 Parts of speech 69 Past Continuous (+) (-) (?) 

23 Pronouns, subject, object and possessive 72 Past tense time expressions 

26 Nouns, single, plural, countable and uncountable 76 Future Simple going to (+) (-) (?) 

29 Verbs, verb forms, action and non-action, 79 Future Simple will (+) (-) (?) 

32 Adjectives, adjective order 82 The difference between going to and will 

35 Adverbs 84 Future Verb to Be (+) (-) (?) 

37 Articles, the, a and an 88 Future Continuous (+) (-) (?) 

41 Prepositions of place 92 Future time expressions



Block 2 intermediate 

Part 2 Intermediate English Grammar Tenses and Verbs Part 2 

96 Demonstratives This, That, These and Those 147 The Perfect Tenses 

98 Sequence adverbs: First, then, next, finally 148 Present Perfect (+) (-) (?) 

102 Adverbs of Frequency 150 Present Perfect time expressions 

105 Comparatives and superlatives 153 Past Perfect (+) (-) (?) 

112 Quantity: Some any no and every 155 Past Perfect time expressions 

116 Quantifiers enough, little, few, many, much 158 Future Perfect (+) (-) (?) 

119 WH Questions 163 Future perfect time expressions 

126 Conjunctions 164 The Perfect Continuous tenses 

130 Transitions 165 Present Perfect Continuous (+) (-) (?) 

137 Modal verbs for Ability 168 PresentPerfect Continuous time expressions 

140 Modal verbs Advice/Obligation/Necessity 169 Past Perfect Continuous (+) (-) (?) 

141 Modal verbs for Request/Permission 172 Past Perfect Continuous time expressions 

142 Modal verbs for Offer/Suggestion 173 Future Perfect Continuous (+) (-) (?) 

143 Modal verbs for Prediction 178 Future Perfect Continuous time expressions 

145 Modal verbs with have 179 Verb to Be with Perfect Tenses



Block 3 advanced 

Part 3 Advanced English Grammar 

Grammar in Reading 

191 Phrasal Verbs 254 Understanding vocab by prefix and suffix 

198 Tags too, so, either, neither & question tags 262 Understanding vocab by context 

204 Passive Voice 266 Idioms and phrases 

210 Causative Verbs 269 Reading techniques: Skimming/Scanning 

212 Clauses and sentence types Grammar in Writing & Punctuation 

215 Conditional Clauses (If clauses) 272 Ten golden rules to writing 

223 Adverb Clauses 273 Antonyms, synonyms and homonyms 

226 Adjective Clauses 279 Noun/verb/adjective/adverb collocations 

230 Reduction of Adjective Clauses 284 Intro, main idea, topic and conclusion 

232 Reported Speech (noun clauses) 288 Types of composition 

239 Reported Questions 291 Point by point/subject by subject writing 

240 Gerunds and infinitives 295 Punctuation 

247 One, another, the other, others, the others 296 Writing Letters, emails & standard C.V.’s 

249 Hope and wish, when & while 250 Grammar in Speaking 

251 Reflexive pronouns 299 Planning & delivering presentations



All the tenses 

Page 301 

References 

list 

Page 316 

Reference 

Irregular verb 

list 

Page 302 

Phrasal verbs 

list 

Page 313 

Section 

Contractions 

All the 

conditionals 

Page 311 

and reductions 

Page 312


Part 1 Basic English Grammar 

Letter 

Number 

The Alphabet 

Uppercase 

Letter 

Lowercase 

Letter 

Letter 

Sound 

1 A a a V 

2 B b bee C 

3 C c cee C 

4 D d dee C 

5 E e e V 

6 F f ef/eff* C 

7 G g gee C 

8 H h aitch C** 

9 I i i V 

10 J j jay C 

11 K k kay C 

12 L l el/ell C 

13 M m em C 

14 N n en C 

15 O o o V 

15 P p pee C 

17 Q q cue C 

18 R r ar C 

19 S s ess C 

20 T t tee C 

21 U u u V** 

22 V v vee C 

23 W w doubleu C 

24 X x ex C 

25 Y y wy/wye C*** 

26 Z z zed/zee* C 

Consonant 

or vowel 

*F (eff as a verb) Z zed zee 

**H/U can sound different. Use article (a) single noun consonant sound, article (an) single noun 

vowel sound (An historic/ A hotel) (An umbrella/ A university) 

***Y Consent wy/wye (Yellow, Yolk, Yesterday, Yacht) Vowel i (Cry, Sky, Fly, Why)


Letters, Words and Sentences 

Letters (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, u, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, y, z). Make: 

Words (apple, boy, cat, dog, elephant, fish, gold, hotel, indigo, jack, kilo). Make: 

Sentences (The boy ate the delicious green apple because he was hungry). Make: 

Paragraphs (The boy ate the delicious green apple because he was hungry. After he finished the 

apple he felt better. Next time he won’t wait so long to eat his dinner). 

Sentence Structure 

1. Subject The thing doing the action (I, He, She, It, They, We, You). *pro-nouns. 

2. Verb The action (teach, learn, work, play, swim, run, read, write) *action verbs. 

3. Object The thing receiving the action (English, French, at I.B.M) or Complement 

Additional (+) information about the subject (a teacher, English, a boy, a woman). 

Objects receive the action, Complements are how we feel, what we are and what we do 

1. SUBJECT 2. VERB 3. OBJECT 

I TEACH ENGLISH 

1. SUBJECT 2. VERB 3. COMPLEMENT 

I AM A TEACHER


Numbers 

Cardinal Numbers 

Number 1-10 Spelling Number 11-20 Spelling 

1 one 11 eleven 

2 two 12 twelve 

3 three 13 thirteen 

4 four 14 fourteen 

5 five 15 fifteen 

6 six 16 sixteen 

7 seven 17 seventeen 

8 eight 18 eighteen 

9 nine 19 nineteen 

10 ten 20 twenty 


21 twenty one 31 thirty one 

22 twenty two 32 thirty two 

23 twenty three 33 thirty three 

24 twenty four 34 thirty four 

25 twenty five 35 thirty five 

26 twenty six 36 thirty six 

27 twenty seven 37 thirty seven 

28 twenty eight 38 thirty eight 

29 twenty nine 39 thirty nine 

30 thirty 40 forty 

Number 10-100 Spelling Number 101-∞ Spelling 

10 ten 101 one hundred and one 

20 twenty 110 one hundred and ten 

30 thirty 200 two hundred 

40 forty 500 five hundred 

50 fifty 1000 one thousand 

60 sixty 10,000 ten thousand 

70 seventy 100,000 one hundred thousand 

80 eighty 1000,000 one million 

90 ninety 100,000,000 one hundred million 

100 one hundred 1000,000,000 one billion 

Ø zero (nothing) 0 ten 00 hundred 000 thousand 000,000 million 000,000,000 billion ∞ infinity


One (1) Two (2) Three (3) Four (4) Five (5) 

Six (6) Seven (7) Eight (8) 

Nine (9) Ten (10)


Numbers 

Ordinal Numbers 


1 st first 11 th eleventh 

2 nd second 12 th twelfth 

3 rd third 13 th thirteenth 

4 th fourth 14 th fourteenth 

5 th fifth 15 th fifteenth 

6 th sixth 16 th sixteenth 

7 th seventh 17 th seventeenth 

8 th eighth 18 th eighteenth 

9 th ninth 19 th nineteenth 

10 th tenth 20 th twentieth 


21 st twenty first 31 st thirty first 

22 nd twenty second 32 nd thirty second 

23 rd twenty third 33 rd thirty third 

24 th Twenty fourth 34 th thirty fourth 

25 th Twenty fifth 35 th thirty fifth 

26 th Twenty sixth 36 th thirty sixth 

27 th Twenty seventh 37 th thirty seventh 

28 th Twenty eighth 38 th thirty eighth 

29 th Twenty ninth 39 th thirty ninth 

30 th thirtieth 40 th fortieth 

Number 10-100 Spelling Number 101-∞ Spelling 

10 th tenth 101 st one hundred and first 

20 th twentieth 102 nd one hundred and second 

30 th thirtieth 103 rd one hundred and third 

40 th fortieth 104 th one hundred and fourth 

50 th fiftieth 1000 th one thousandth 

60 th sixtieth 10,000 th ten thousandth 

70 th seventieth 100,000 th one hundred thousandth 

80 th eightieth 1000,000 th one millionth 

90 th ninetieth 100,000,000 th one hundred millionth 

100 th one hundredth 1000,000,000 th one billionths* 

1,2,3 first/second/third, other numbers end th, Y becomes ie, add *s plural when use as fractions


LAST THIRD SECOND FIRST (The winner!) 

Time 

We use ordinal numbers for dates 

MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY 

01 02 03 04 05 06 

07 08 09 10 11 12 13 

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 

28 29 30 31 

You have a conference on the 15 th , 16 th and 17 th of this month. Your train is at 08:45 on the 15 th


Dates and telling the time 

Calendar 

MAY 

M T W T F S S 

1 2 3 4 5 6 

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 

14 15 16 17 18 19 20 

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 

28 29 30 31 

1 Week = 7 Days 

Days 

Monday 

Tuesday 

Wednesday 

Thursday 

Friday 

Saturday 

Sunday 

Weekday 

Weekday 

Weekday 

Weekday 

Weekday 

Weekend 

Weekend 

*A fortnight is 2 weeks


Months 

Number Month Season Days 

01 January Winter 31 

02 February Winter 28/29* 

03 March Spring 31 

04 April Spring 30 

05 May Spring 31 

06 June Summer 30 

07 July Summer 31 

08 August Summer 31 

09 September Autumn/Fall* 30 

10 October Autumn/Fall* 31 

11 November Autumn/Fall* 30 

12 December Winter 31 

*Months are 30/31days (28/29) *February leap year *Seasons Autumn Fall 

12 months Make: 

A Year 10 years Make: 

A Decade 10 Decades or 100 years Makes: 

A Century 10 Centuries Make: 

A Millennium Millenniums Make: 

An Age (Ice age, Stone age, Bronze age, Iron age, Industrial age).


Seasons 

Winter 

Spring 

Summer 

Autumn/Fall 

*Seasons are changes in the weather and hours of sunlight. The table on page 14 is an example 

of the seasons for the Northern hemisphere such as the UK and USA. The seasons are different 

depending where you live. We will cover vocabulary for weather, geography and the seasons 

later on in the book.


One millisecond (1/1000 th of a second) 1000 Makes: 

One second (1/60 th of a minute) 60 Makes: 

One minute (1/60 th of an hour) 60 Makes: 

One hour (1/24 th of a day 24) Makes: 

One day (1/365 th of a year) 365 Makes: 

One year 

24-hour clock 12-hour clock Time of day 

00:00 12:00am Midnight 

01:00 1:00am Morning 











12:00 12:00pm Mid-day/Noon/Lunchtime 

13:00 1:00pm Afternoon 





18:00 6:00pm Evening 



21:00 9:00pm Night 

22:00 10:00pm Night 

23:00 11:00pm Night 

*Note: We often refer to the early hours of the morning as night if we have not gone to sleep


45 

50 

40 

55 

11 

10 

9 

8 

7 

Telling the time 

CLOCK 

12:19:41 

00 

12 

6 

1 

2 

3 

5 

05 

4 

10 

20 

15 

35 

30 

25 

Second hand Minute hand Hour hand Watch 

To (the hour) 

Past (the hour) 

O’clock ¼ Past ½ Past ¼ To Midnight/mid-day


12 HOUR CLOCK 

11:45 12:00 12:15 

Eleven forty five Twelve O’clock Twelve fifteen 

A quarter to twelve 

A quarter past twelve 

3:00 12:30 9:00 

Three O’clock Twelve thirty Nine O’clock 

Thirty minutes past twelve 

7:24 6:00 4:37 

Seven twenty four Six O’clock Four thirty seven 

Twenty four minutes past seven 

Thirty seven minutes past four


24 HOUR CLOCK 

23:45 night 00:00 night 00:15 morning 

11:45 morning 12:00 day 12:15 afternoon 

We don’t commonly use the 24-hour clock so there only 3 examples here. It is mainly used by 

the police or military. However, it can be useful when we do not know if the time would be day 

or night. Please refer to the table on the 12 and 24-hour clocks for more. 

Clockwise direction 

Anti-clockwise direction


Prepositions of time 

Prepositions of time are words that go before the time in a sentence. There are many but at this 

time we will look at the three most commonly used. These are: 

AT / ON / IN 

At 

On 

In 

Time 

Commonly 

AT (Small time) exact time Seconds, Minutes and hours 

At 11:00 / At 12:15 / At midnight / At lunchtime / At ten to eleven / At this time / At sunrise 

ON (Medium time) Days, dates and weekends* 

On Monday / On Friday / On the weekend / On the 22 nd / On the 1 st / On the first day of June 

IN (Big time) Weeks, fortnights, months, seasons, years, decades, centuries and millennia 

In a week / In a fortnight / In a month / in June / In summer / In 2016 / In this century 

There are some exceptions to this simple rule for example: 

(At the weekend) 

(On the weekend) 

For parts of the day we say: At night, In the morning and in the afternoon. 

Notice only the time directly after the preposition is important for example: At 11:00 on Monday 

On the 15 th of June (Day/month/year) 

On June 15 th American English (Month/day/year) 

At 11:11 on the 11 th day of the 11 th Month 1918 World War One ended.


Time expressions 

PAST PRESENT FUTURE 

Time 

Now 

Today 

At present 

Right now 

Before At the moment After 

Yesterday 

Last Monday 

Last week 

Last Month 

Last summer 

Last year 

Tomorrow 

Next Monday 

Next week 

Next month 

Next summer 

Next year 

Note: we use ago for past if we specify a number of period of time e.g. 10 years ago / 3 days ago. 

Time expressions usually go at the end of a sentence but they can go at the beginning too. 

I am meeting my friend tonight. If (meeting my friend) is more important than the time (tonight) 

Tonight I am meeting my friend. If (tonight) is more important than (meeting my fiend).

If someone asks “Have you spoken to John?” = “I am meeting John tonight.” 


If someone asks “What are you doing tonight?” = “Tonight I am meeting John.” 

Asking questions about time. What, When, How long. 

We ask for the time now by asking 

“What time is it?” or “What is the time?” “The time is 3:15.” or “It is 3:15.” 

We ask for the time in the future or past by asking 

“When will the lesson finish?” “The lesson will finish at 5 O’clock.” 

“When were you born?” “I was born in 1993.” 

We ask about a measure of time by asking 

“How long is the flight to London?” “The flight is 4 ½ hours.” 

As, When, While 

We use (As, When and While) to take about things happening at the same time. 

“I worked in a bookshop while I was at university.” 

“I was eating my dinner when you called.” 

“She was leaving the party as I arrived.” 

*When and while see page 250 

**This is just a very short overview we will cover question words in more detail later when we 

look at WH questions p119


Parts of Speech 

Pronouns 

Pro-nouns replace a proper noun or name, there are three types, the most common are: 

Subject Pronouns and Object Pronouns 

(+) 

I (s) He ♂ (s) She ♀ (s) It (s) They (p) We (p) You (s)(p) 

Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns Refers to 

I Me Single the speaker or writer 

He Him Single male ♂ (Sometimes animals) 

She Her Single female ♀ (Sometimes animals) 

It It Single a thing or object (Sometimes animals) 

They Them Plural and refers to a group you are not a part of or 

Single (they) but we don’t know the sex 

We Us Plural and refers to a group you are a part of 

You You Plural the people being spoken or written to 

Single the person being spoken or written to 

*Note: In grammar, You and They/Them always take Plural form 

Subject Pronouns are the subject of a verb so they go first at the beginning of the sentence. 

They are the most common pronouns and very and we use them in all the English tenses.


Subject + Verb + Object 

I 

+ teach + English 

Subject Pronouns We use subject pronouns as the subject of the verb. 

I love you. 

He plays football. 

She works at Microsoft. 

It is a factory. 

They are on holiday. 

We live in England. 

You learn English. 

Object Pronouns We use object pronouns as the object of the verb. 

Please help me. 

She loves him. 

I don’t like her. 

I can’t eat it. 

We met them. 

You missed us. 

I can hear you. 

There is another types of Pronouns these are: 

Possessive Pronouns 

*There are also Possessive adjectives which serve a similar function 

These tell us who possesses/ owns the item in the sentence and who it belongs too.


PRONOUN and POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE CHART 

Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns Possessive adjectives Possessive Pronouns 

I Me My Mine 

He Him His His 

She Her Her Hers 

It It Its Its 

They Them Their Theirs 

We Us Our Ours 

You You Your Yours 

Here are some examples: 

I own a book, the book belongs to me, it is my book, the book is mine. 

He owns a book, the book belongs to him, it is his book, the book is his. 

She owns a book, the book belongs to her, it is her book, the book is hers. 

They own a book, the book belongs to them, it is their book, the book is theirs. 

We own a book, the book belongs to us, it is our book, the book is ours. 

You own a book, the belongs to you, it is your book, the book is yours. 

*Notice we often use a preposition before an object pronoun


Nouns 

Nouns are objects/things They can be both Subjects of a sentence like Subject Pronouns or 

objects of a sentence. They can be names and places. They can also be singular or plural. 

Everything and anything you can see has a name, that name is a noun! Examples include: 

People and proper names. Animals. Things and objects. 

Paul Giraffe Classic-car 

John Donkey Truck/lorry 

Peter Deer Helicopter 

Richard Rabbit Van and Vans* (plural) 

Ali Bear Airplane 

Boris Fox Saloon-car 

Jane Sheep Bicycle 

Yasemin Cat Minibus 

Claire Raccoon Articulated-lorry 

Marie Dog Cargo-ship 

Anna Pig Passenger-ship 

Kate Cow Train


Spelling rules. 

Names and proper nouns always start with a capital letter Richard, Istanbul, England 

Nouns can be singular, plural and possessive. Below is an example: 

Singular noun Plural noun (+S) Possessive noun (+’S or’) 

Dog Dogs Dog’s 

*See countable and uncountable nouns on the next page for more on plural nouns. 

*When a noun ends with s for possessive we can use either +’S or +’ 

My name is Innes. So It is Innes’s or Innes’ book (I prefer Innes’) 

The grammar rules for nouns are very simple and easy. but there are millions of nouns they refer 

to every single thing in the universe.


Countable and uncountable nouns. 

Count = 1,2,3,4,5 etc. Prefix Able = can Suffix Un = not 

Countable = nouns you can count. Uncountable = nouns you can’t count 

Is a noun countable or uncountable? Easy 

If you can count it (countable) if you can’t it’s (uncountable) 

Plural is more than one but if we can’t count more than one we can’t use the plural +S 

for example: we can’t count liquid like water but we can count glasses of water. Sugar is 

uncountable but a sugar cube or a spoon full of sugar is countable. 

There are several types of uncountable noun. All but abstract nouns can become countable when 

contained, packaged or divided and sliced up into countable units or quantities. 

UNCOUNTABLE 

COUNTABLE 

LIQUIDS Water, wine, coffee Glass bottle, cup 

GAS Air, oxygen, gas Air pocket, tank, lighter 

POWDER, GRANULES Rice, sugar, sand Bag, cube, spoon, pit 

FOOD Cheese, chicken, fish Slice, breast, cake 

MATERIALS Iron, paper, wood Bar, sheet, plank 

COLLECTIVE Jewelry, time, money Bracelet, minute, coin 

ABSTRACT 

Love, hate, mind


Verbs 

Verbs are action words and they usually go after the subject of a sentence and before the object. 

When we play sport we run, jump, swim, catch, pass and throw things. Whenever an action 

happens or a change occurs we use a verb. 

Regular verbs take 4 forms. 

Present Tense Base Past Tense(+ed) Past Participle(+ed) Present Participle(+ing) 

Talk Talked Talked Talking 

Call Called Called Calling 

Meet* irregular Met Met Meeting 

Look Looked Looked Looking 

Work Worked Worked Working


Spelling rules. 

If a verb ends with e we only need to add d for past tense and past participle. For example: 

Dance Danced Danced Dancing 

If a verb ends with y we don’t add ed we add take out the y and add ied. For example: 

Study Studied Studied Studying 

Only when a verb has a vowel and a y can we add ed. For example: 

Play Played Played Playing 

Irregular verbs 

There are many verbs that are irregular. They do not follow the rules and they have to learned 

like learning vocabulary. Some common examples include: See reference section for a full list 

Present tense Past tense Past participle Present tense Past tense Past participle 

Be Was/Were Been Cut Cut Cut 

Begin Began Begun Do Did Done 

Break Broke Broken Draw Drew Drawn 

Bring Brought Brought Drive Drove Driven 

Buy Bought Bought Eat Ate Eaten 

Build Built Built Feel Felt Felt 

Choose Chose Chosen Find Found Found 

Come Came Come Get Got Got/Gotten 

Cost Cost Cost Give Gave Given


To keep it simple from now on this book will refer to the verb forms as: V1, V2, V3 & V(ing) 

Verb (1) present or base Verb (2) past Verb (3) past participle and Verb (ing) present participle 

Non-action verbs 

Non-action verbs are verbs where there is no visible action like emotions and feelings. We smile 

when we are happy. Smile is a verb but happy is a non-action verb. They don’t use Verb (ing) 

So we can say we are smiling 

but we can’t say we are happying 

Examples include: Happy, sad, like, love, hate, hear, see. Commonly these verbs do not take ing 

(Present participle form). However, some can such as think. 

*Note: non-action verbs when a subject of a sentence (a gerund/noun) take ing see page 240.


Adjectives 

Adjectives add (+) information to a noun. Adjectives go directly before the noun they are 

describing. Adjectives are what we think or know about a noun, how it looks of feels and what it 

is made of or where it is from. All colours are adjectives. 

For example: 

It’s a big table. (size) 

It’s a round table. (shape) 

It’s an old table. (age) 

It’s a brown table. (color) 

It’s an English table. (origin) 

It’s a wooden table. (material) 

It’s a lovely table. (opinion) 

It’s a broken table. (observation) 

It’s a coffee table. (purpose) 

can use more than one adjective to describe a noun. 

For example: 

The big black cat. 

The pretty young woman. 

The fat old man. 

It is a beautiful classic car. 

He is a clever young boy. 

London is a large English city.


Below are some examples of Adjectives: 

*More detailed vocabulary resources are found throughout the book and in the reference section 

at the end of the book. 

Colours: 

Red Orange yellow green blue Indigo Violet White Grey Black 

Visible light spectrum (The colours of the Rainbow) 

Shades: 

Shapes: 

Straight Curved Square Circular Rectangular Triangular 

Sizes: 

Small Big Short Short Tall long


Adjectives usually go directly before the noun they are describing. 

Sometimes we can put an adjective after a linking verb and after the noun such as 

His house is old 

Some adjectives that always go after a linking verb: 

Afraid Alive Alone Asleep Content Glad Ill 

Ready Sorry Sure Unable Well. 

Some adjectives that always go before a noun: 

North 

East 

South 

West 

Northern 

Eastern 

Southern 

Western 

If we use more than one adjective they have an order 

Adjective order before the noun they describe. 

General 

opinion 

Specific 

opinion 

Size Shape Age Colour Nationality Material 

Horrible Dirty Big Round Old Black Russian Metal 

*Accept in adjective clauses where they come after the noun see Block 3 p226. 

*Not only can we just describe nouns with adjective but we can also use adjectives to compare 

and contrast nouns (How are they the same? How are they different?) These are called 

Comparatives and superlatives see Block 2 p105.


Adverbs 

Adverbs add (+) information to a verb. Adverbs can go after the verb they are describing and 

they can also go before. Adverbs usually end in ly (not always) 

For example: 

Quickly, Slowly, Loudly, Heavily, Patiently, Rudely. 

I finished the exam quickly. 

He slowly entered the room. 

She spoke loudly. 

It rained heavily. 

They waited patiently. 

We were rudely interrupted. 

You played brilliantly. 

Some adverbs do not end with ly and some words can be both adverbs and adjectives we need to 

look at the sentence to see if they are paired with a noun or a verb. For example: 

You are driving fast 

(Driving) = verb (fast) = adverb 

Your car is fast 

(Car) = noun (fast) = adjective


Adverbs tell us more about an action (verb). 

They can also tell us in what order actions happened. These are called sequence adverbs. 

Examples of sequence adverbs are: 

First, next, then, after that, finally. 

First I eat breakfast, next I shower, then I clean my teeth, after that I get dressed and finally I 

leave for work. 

They can also tell us how often an action occurs. These are called adverbs of frequency. 

Examples of adverbs of frequency are: 

ADVERB 

FREQUENCY 

Always 100% 

Almost always 

Often 

Regularly 

Sometimes 50% 

Occasionally 

Rarely 

Almost never 

Never 0% 

*Adverbs of frequency and sequence see Block 2 p102. 

*Adverb clauses see Block 3 p223.


Articles 

Articles go before nouns, the 3 articles are A, An and The 

A and An are called indefinite articles 

The is called the definite article 

There are 4 choices we can make when we use articles. 

1. Use A 

2. Use An 

3. Use The 

4. Use no article 

ARTICLE NOUN 1 ST LETTER SINGLE PLURAL UNCOUNTABLE 

A General Consonant Yes No No 

AN General Vowel Yes No No 

THE Special Both Yes Yes Yes 

We use A and An with single countable nouns only. 

We use The with single countable, plural countable and uncountable nouns. 

A is used before a noun starting with a consonant. 

An is used before a noun starting with a vowel. 

The is used before nouns starting with consonants and vowels. 

A (+) BALL CAT DOG FROG JACKET KILO LAMP NUT TOWEL 

AN (+) APPLE ELEPHANT ORANGE UMBRELLA ALLIGATOR EGG 

*We don’t use indefinite articles (A/An) before uncountable or plural nouns.


*U and H can sound different when you say the word. 

If it sounds like a vowel use An, f it sounds like a consonant use A. For example: 

A hotel (h is a consonant) A university (u is a vowel but sounds like a consonant). 

An umbrella (u is a vowel) An historic (h is a consonant but sounds like a vowel). 

The is used before a noun if it is SPECIAL, SPECIFIC, KNOWN, UNIQUE. 

For example: 

This is a house it is white. 

This is a special house it is white. 

A white house 

The White House 

When the noun is general like a teacher we use a. When we know the teacher we use the. 

I have a teacher; the teacher is from England. (we use the because we know it is my teacher). 

We don’t use articles with proper nouns (names) 

I have a teacher called John, John is from England. (no article is used with John)


Using The with geography 

Countries and continents (No) Political (Yes) Regions and areas (Yes) 

England The United Kingdom (UK) The Highlands 

America The United States (USA) The Midwest 

Turkey The Turkish Republic (TC) The Black Sea 

Europe The European Union (EU) The Balkans 

North America The North American Union The Great Lakes 

Africa The African Union The Sahara Desert 

Lakes (No) Rivers (Yes) Features (Mixed) 

Loch Ness The Thames Ben Nevis 

Lake Eire The Potomac The Grand Canyon 

Lake Van The Euphrates Cappadocia 

Lake Geneva The Rhine Mont Blanc 

Lake Superior The Mississippi The Matterhorn 

Lake Victoria The Congo Mount Kilimanjaro 

*There are many exceptions to these general rules such as The Philippines (a country)


Prepositions 

Prepositions tell where in space and time something is. 

There are 2 types of prepositions 

1. Prepositions of time 

2. Prepositions of place 

Prepositions of time 

AT / ON / IN 

At 

On 

In 

Time 

AT (Small time) exact time Seconds, Minutes and hours 

ON (Medium time) Days, dates and weekends* 

IN (Big time) Weeks, fortnights, months, seasons, years, decades, centuries and millennia 

At 11:15, On Monday, In June. 

*Prepositions of time See page 20


Prepositions of place 

In/inside On Above Below 

Over Under Behind In front (of) 

Between Near/next to/beside Far (away) 

Opposite/across 

Opposite/across 

Through Around Surround Among


I came from Greece 

To Norway 

From (start) To (finish) 

With People, things. I came to work with my briefcase. 

Together (with) 

People only. We went to the concert together.


*In refers to inside so we can say in only when inside a building. I am in the library; I am in 

school. We can also use at. I am at the library; I am at school. We can’t say we are in the market 

or bus stop unless it is enclosed, we must say we are at the market or bus stop if it is outside. 

*When we use prepositions for transportation we must think about how we enter and exit. 

Transport 

On a bike In a car On a mini bus/bus 

On a train 

On a ship 

On a plane 

On a helicopter


Verb Tenses 

Verbs change form in tenses, we will refer to the 4 different verb forms as follows: 

Verb 1 Verb 2 Verb 3 Verb ing 

Present tense (base) Past tense + (ed) Past participle Present participle +ing 

All the Tenses. Verb tenses are how English speakers’ express actions in time. 

Past Present Future 

Past simple Present Simple Future Simple Will 

verb 2 verb 1 will + verb 1 

Future Simple Going to 

am/is/are + going to + verb 1 

Past Continuous Present Continuous Future Continuous 

was/were + verb ing am/is/are + verb ing will + be + verb ing 

Past Perfect Present Perfect Future Perfect 

had + verb 3 have/has + verb 3 will + have + verb 3 

Past Perfect Continuous Present Perfect Continuous Future Perfect Continuous 

had + been + verb ing have/has + been + verb ing will + have + been + Verb ing 

Verb Be 

Past Be Present Be Future Be Will 

was/were + complement 

am/is/are + complement will + be + complement 

Future Be Going to 

am/is/are + going to + be + complement


FACT: The English noun tense comes from Old French tens "time" from Latin tempus "time" 

In this part, we are going to look at three types of tenses and verbs 


Verb to be Verb to be Verb to be 

Simple Simple Simple 

Continuous Continuous Continuous 

We will start in the present 

Past Past Past Past 

Verb to be (+) (-) (?) Simple (+) (-) (?) Continuous (+) (-) (?) Time expressions 

Next, we will study the past 

Present Present Present Present 


Finally, we will study the future 

Future Future Future Future 


Going to/will Going to/will Going to/will Going to/will 

*We will look at both future forms will and going to 

‘Future Will’ is simpler and more commonly used than ‘Future Going to’


Before we begin some simple rules need to be explained. 

Pronouns 

In tenses, we use the subject pronouns 

(+) 

I (s) He ♂ (s) She ♀ (s) It (s) They (p) We (p) You (s)(p) 

With all the tenses, we only use the subject pronoun you once because although you can refer to 

a single person or a group of people it always takes the plural form in the tenses so there is no 

need to list it twice every time. 

‘You’ can refer to 

A single person 

The form is plural 

‘You’ can refer to 

Plural people 

The form is plural 

Questions 

In question form (?) we reverse the order of the subject pronoun and auxiliary verb. For example: 

Be Simple Continuous Perfect 

He is a teacher He will teach He is teaching He has taught 

Is he a teacher? Will he teach? Is he teaching? Has he taught? 

We can answer questions the long way, the standard way and the short way. 

Long form (+) (-) Standard form (+) (-) Short form (+) (-) 

Yes he is a teacher/No he isn’t a teacher Yes he is/No he isn’t Yes/No 

*In this book, we use the standard form because it is the common form. Do the same for exams


Adding a WH Question 

Who When Where Which Which Why What How 

*For more detail, see WH Questions on page xxx 

Yes/No questions are closed questions. They only give a binary yes or no (positive/negative) 

answer. If we want to ask an open question, we can use ‘WH Questions’ 

If we want to use a WH question they always go at the start of the sentence, we just add them. 

Why is he a teacher? When will he teach? Where has he taught? 

Contractions and reductions 

In the negative (-) form for tenses we use not. Generally, we shorten this by adding a suffix n’t 

Be Am/is/are Simple Do/Does Perfect Have/Has 

Is not = isn’t Did not = Didn’t Have not = haven’t 

Are not = aren’t Does not = Don’t Has not = hasn’t 

Was not = wasn’t Will not = won’t Had not = hadn’t 

Were not = weren’t 

Contractions for the pronoun I 

Be I am Simple I will Perfect I have/had 

I am = I’m I will = I’ll I have =I’ve, I had = I’d


Time line Key 

Colours 

Colour Meaning 

Background, timeline, context 

Colour Meaning 

Aspect, action or event referred to 

Symbols on timeline 

Symbol Tense effect 

To be 

Simple 

Continuous 

Perfect 

Place of existence, being 

Started and finished time 

Period, progression of time 

Period, progression of effect 

Timeline 


Time


Present Tenses 

The Verb to Be “To be or not to be, that is the question.” Shakespeare 

The verb be is different to other tenses because it does not have: Subject + verb + object. The 

verb be has a compliment. There is no action just be. A compliment tells about the existence or 

adds information about the state or function of the subject: 

Subject Verb Object 

I teach English 

Verb tense simple present 

Subject Verb Complement 

I am An English teacher 

Verb to be present 

The verb to be: is used to show existence or the condition of the subject. We usually use it to say 

how we feel, what we do (our job or vocation), our sex or nationality. The verb be in the present 

takes the form Am/is/are. 

Structure Subject + Am/is/are + complement. 

I am English 


Time


The Verb to Be positive (+) 

Subject Verb Be (am/is/are) Complement 

I am a teacher 

He is a student 

She is French 

It is a dog 

They are doctors 

We are lucky 

You are happy 

The Verb to Be negative (-) 

Subject Verb Be (am/is/are) +Not Complement 

I am not a teacher 

He isn’t a student 

She isn’t French 

It isn’t a dog 

They aren’t doctors 

We aren’t lucky 

You aren’t happy


The Verb to Be question (?) 

Verb Be (am/is/are) Subject Complement + (?) Answer 

Am I a teacher? Yes I am/No I’m not 

Is he a student? Yes he is/No he isn’t 

Is she French? Yes she is/No she isn’t 

Is it a dog? Yes it is/No it isn’t 

Are they doctors? Yes they are/No they aren’t 

Are we lucky? Yes we are/No we aren’t 

Are you happy? Yes you are/No you aren’t 

WH questions always go at the beginning of the sentence *(See WH questions block 2) 

Why are you happy? When are we lucky? Who is the teacher?


The Present Simple 

We use the present simple for three reasons, to talk about. 

1. Habits, routines. 

2. Facts or truths. 

3. Permanent states. 

1. Habit, routine. Something we do often, or every day *See adverbs of frequency (Block 2) 

e.g. I get up early every day. 

2. Facts or truths, Things that are known scientific facts or established truths 

e.g. The Sun rises in the morning. 

3. Permanent states. Nothing in life is really permanent but if something is true for a long 

time. It is true now, was true in the past and will be true in the future. 

e.g. I live in London. 

We use the verb in the present tense, base form Verb 1 

The simple present is: Subject + Verb 1 + object. 

I teach English


Habit, routine (I work five days a week) 

Time 

Fact, permanent state (I work in London) 

Time 

The Present Simple positive (+) 

Subject Verb 1 Object 

I teach English 

He works at IBM 

She plays tennis 

It rains in England 

They travel around Europe 

We walk in the park 

You talk to her 

In positive with the subjects He She and It we add (s) Work - Works 

if the verb ends with the letters ch we add (es) Teach - Teaches 

if the verb ends with the letter y we replace the y with (ies) Study - Studies


The Present Simple negative (-) 

Subject don’t/doesn’t + Verb 1 Object 

I don’t teach English 

He doesn’t work at IBM 

She doesn’t play tennis 

It doesn’t rain in England 

They don’t travel around Europe 

We don’t walk in the park 

You don’t talk to her 

In the negative we use don’t (I, They, We, You) and doesn’t (He, She, It). We do not add (s). 

The Present Simple question (?) In Question we use Do (I, They, We, You) Does (He, She, It). 

Do/Does Subject Verb 1 Object +? Answer 

Do I teach English? Yes I do/No I don’t 

Does he work at IBM? Yes he does/No he doesn’t 

Does she play tennis? Yes she does /No she doesn’t 

Does it rain in England? Yes it does/No it doesn’t 

Do they travel around Europe? Yes they do/No they don’t 

Do we walk in the park? Yes we do/No we don’t 

Do you talk to her? Yes you do/No you don’t 

WH questions always go at the beginning of the sentence *See WH questions block 2 p119 

Why does it rain in England? When does she play tennis? Who does he work with?


The Present Continuous 

We use The Present Continuous to say that something is happening now, at this very moment. It 

can also be used to show that something is not happening now. 

Start Now Finish 

10:00 11:00 12:00 


Time 

So the action started in the past and continues in the present and will finish in the future. 

I started teaching at 10:00 and it is now 11:00 and I will finish teaching at 12:00. 

We use the verb be am/is/are and verb tense present participle verb + ing 

Subject + am/is/are + verb(ing) 

object or time expression 

I am teaching English/now 

In English, "now" can mean: this second, today, this month, this year, this century. We can use 

the Present Continuous to say we are doing a longer action but we might not be doing it at this 

exact second. I am working in a bank (this is correct if you are on holiday and not at the bank 

now because it is generally true and continues to be true).


The Present Continuous positive (+) 

Subject Am/is/are Verb + ing Object 

I am teaching English 

He is working at IBM 

She is playing tennis 

It is raining in England 

They are travelling* in Europe 

We are walking in the park 

You are talking to her 

* In International English travelling. In US English traveling. 

The Present Continuous negative (-) 

Subject Am/is/are + not Verb + ing Object 

I am not teaching English 

He isn’t working at IBM 

She isn’t playing tennis 

It isn’t raining in England 

They aren’t travelling in Europe 

We aren’t walking in the park 

You aren’t talking to her


The Present Continuous question (?) 

Am/is/are Subject Verb + ing Object +? Answer 

Am I teaching English? Yes I am/No I’m not* 

Is he working at IBM? Yes he is/No he isn’t 

Is she playing Tennis? Yes she is/No she isn’t 

Is it raining in England? Yes it is/No it isn’t 

Are they travelling in Europe? Yes they are/No they aren’t 

Are we walking in the park? Yes we are/No we aren’t 

Are you talking to her? Yes you are/No you aren’t 

*We can shorten I am to I’m WH questions always go at the beginning of the sentence 

When is she playing tennis? Why are you talking to her? Who is teaching us? *See p119 

*Sometimes, speakers use the Present Continuous to indicate that something will or will not 

happen in the near future. 

I am meeting my friend after work, I am leaving school early. 

*The Present Continuous with "always" or "constantly" says that something irritating or 

shocking often happens. Notice that the meaning is like Simple Present, but with negative 

emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing." 

She is always telling lies, He is constantly interrupting me. 

*Non-action verbs like love and hate don’t use verb+ing we use the simple present Base form 

(Verb 1). (Some English speakers incorrectly use ing) See page 31 for more on non-action verbs. 

I am loving it = incorrect 

I love it = correct


Present tense time expressions 

Now 

Today 

At present 

Right now 

At the moment 


Most present tense time expressions can be used by the verb be present, present simple and 

present continuous. They are generally interchangeable. Time expressions can go at the 

beginning or the end of a sentence although they most often go at the end of a sentence. 

Tense Type of action Most common time expressions 

Verb to be State (no action) No time expression 

Simple present Habit, routine and fact Every, times a week/month 

Present continuous Action happening now Now, right now, at the moment 

This (for a temporary action) 

This week, weekend, month, June, summer, year etc. 

These (for a routine action) 

These days 

Adverbs of frequency (for routine action) Every, often, always, never, rarely, occasionally. 

We use prepositions of time AT/ON/IN I teach on Mondays/I am teaching at 11:00am 

*See page 20/21 for more on time expressions *See Block 2 p102 Adverbs of Frequency.


The Verb to Be positive (+) 

Subject Verb Be (am/is/are) Complement Time expression 

I am a teacher now 

He is a student at the moment 

She is French - 

It is a dog - 

They are doctors now 

We are lucky today 

You are happy this morning 

The verb to be is different to the other tenses because it does not tell about an action, it tells 

about a state. As a result, it often does not use a time expression if the state is a permanent, 

unchangeable state a time expression is not logical. 

For example, It is a dog (this dog was never a cat and will never be a cat it will always be a dog 

so a time expression is unnecessary). 

You are happy this morning is ok because we assume you are not always so happy. 

I am a teacher now is ok because we know I wasn’t always a teacher.


The Present Simple positive (+) 

Subject Verb 1 Object Time expression 

I teach English now 

He works at IBM at the moment 

She plays tennis every Friday 

It rains in England all the time 

They travel around Europe every summer 

We walk in the park on Sundays 

You talk to her often 

The present simple talks about habits and routines, permanent states and facts and truths. As a 

result, it uses a wide variety of present time expressions. 

Because simple present is used to tell about habits and routines we can use adverbs of frequency 

Adverbs of frequency can go at the start or end of a sentence but they usually go before the verb 

Adverb 

Frequency 

I always wake up early 100% 

He often works late 75% 

She sometimes tells lies 50% 

It rarely rains in California 25% 

They occasionally go to the cinema 25% 

We almost never see her 5% 

You never do your homework 0%


The Present Continuous positive (+) 

Subject Am/is/are Verb + ing Object Time expression 

I am teaching English at the moment 

He is working at IBM at this time 

She is playing tennis right now 

It is raining in England at present 

They are travelling in Europe this week 

We are walking in the park today 

You are talking to her now 

Other time expressions include: 

Presently, currently, these days, nowadays, for the moment, for the time being. 

*Sometimes, speakers use the Present Continuous to indicate that something will or will not 

happen in the near future. So, we can use some near future time expressions 

I am meeting her tonight 

We are walking home from work later 

He is revising all next week 

She is studying cosmology next term 

When we use this tense with adverbs "always", "continuously" or "constantly" for complaining 

about something. They usually go before the verb. 

He is always coming late to class 

She is constantly talking in class


The past tenses 

Verb to Be past tense 

The verb be is different to other tenses because it does not have: Subject + verb + object. The 

verb be has a compliment. Subject + verb + compliment There is no action just be. A 

compliment shows the existence or adds information about the state or function of the subject: 

The verb to be past: is used to show the past existence or the condition of the subject. We usually 

use it to say how we felt, what we did (our job or vocation). The verb be in the past takes the 

form Was/were. 

Structure Subject + Was/were + complement. 

I was a teacher 


Time 

With the verb to be past the existence, condition or function of the subject has ended or changed. 

It is no longer true in the present.


The Verb to Be past positive (+) 

Subject Verb Be (was/were) Complement 

I was a teacher 

He was a student 

She was French 

It was a dog 

They were doctors 

We were lucky 

You were happy 

The Verb to Be past negative (-) 

Subject Verb Be (was/were) +Not Complement 

I wasn’t a teacher 

He wasn’t a student 

She wasn’t French 

It wasn’t a dog 

They weren’t doctors 

We weren’t lucky 

You weren’t happy


The Verb to Be past question (?) 

Verb Be (was/were) Subject Complement + (?) Answer 

Was I a teacher? Yes I was/No I wasn’t 

Was he a student? Yes he was/No he wasn’t 

Was she French? Yes she was/No she wasn’t 

Was it a dog? Yes it was/No it wasn’t 

Were they doctors? Yes they were/No they weren’t 

Were we lucky? Yes we were/No we weren’t 

Where you happy? Yes you were/No you weren’t 


Who was the teacher? Why was she lucky? When were they students?


Past Simple tense 

The past simple talks about actions that started and finished in the past. 

Started & Finished 


Time 

These actions started and finished in the past. For the positive form use the past tense of the verb, 

verb 2 (V2) 

Verb 2 is usually expressed by adding (ed) to the base form of the verb. 

Base form 

Talk 

Walk 

Help 

Play 

Past form 

Talked 

Walked 

Helped 

Played 

This is true of all regular verbs. There are many examples of irregular verbs that take a unique 

form and certain spelling rules. See spelling rules and irregular verbs 

The sentence structure looks like this 

Subject + V2 + 

Object 

I helped John 

for the negative and question form we add the auxiliary verb did and use base verb (V1)


Past Simple (+) 

Subject Verb + ed (V2) Object 

I helped John 

He worked at I.B.M. 

She played tennis 

It rained on holiday 

They walked in the park 

We finished the project 

You passed the exam 

Past Simple (-) 

Subject Didn’t + Verb 1 Object 

I didn’t help John 

He didn’t work at I.B.M. 

She didn’t play tennis 

It didn’t rain on holiday 

They didn’t walk in the park 

We didn’t finish the project 

You didn’t pass the exam


Past Simple (?) 

Did Subject V 1 Object Answer 

Did I help John? Yes I did/No I didn’t 

Did he work at I.B.M.? Yes he did/No he didn’t 

Did she play tennis? Yes she did/No she didn’t 

Did it rain on holiday? Yes it did/No it didn’t 

Did they walk in the park? Yes they did/No they didn’t 

Did we finish the project? Yes we did/No we didn’t 

Did you pass the exam? Yes you did/No you didn’t 


Why did you help John? When did she work at I.B.M? Where did she play tennis? 

Spelling rules 

With the positive form we add (ed) to the base verb (V1). 

However, there are some spelling exceptions these are: 

1. Add (d) to the base form. This happens when the base form ends in a vowel 

and one or more consonants plus e: 

ached, baked, blamed, cared, cached, chased, dyed, edged, filed, glared, grated, hated, hoped, 

joked, lived, noted, pasted, raced, raised, sliced, surprised, tasted, typed, whined. 

This also happens when the base form ends in ue, oe, or ie: 

glued, rued, sued, hoed, toed, died, lied, tied.


2. Change -y to -i and add -ed. This happens when a verb ends in a consonant and y: 

apply / applied; bully / bullied; bury / buried; copy / copied; cry / cried; dry / dried; fry / 

fried; hurry / hurried; marry / married; rely / relied; tidy / tidied; try / tried; worry / worried 

This does not happen when a verb ends in a vowel and y: 

annoy / annoyed; destroy / destroyed; employ / employed; enjoy / enjoyed; obey / obeyed; 

play / played; pray / prayed; stay / stayed; stray / strayed; sway / swayed; toy / toyed. 

3. Double the final consonant and add -ed if there is a single stressed vowel before the 

final consonant. 

ban / banned; can / canned; hem / hemmed; mop / mopped; pin / pinned; sip / sipped; trap / 

trapped; travel / travelled; whip / whipped;


Past Continuous tense 

Review 

We use The Present Continuous to say that something is happening now, at this very moment. It 

can also be used to show that something is not happening now. 

We use the Past Continuous to say that something was happening then, at that very moment. It 

can also be used to show that something was not happening then. 

Start Then Finish 

10:00 11:00 12:00 


Time 

We use the verb be am/is/are and verb tense present participle verb + ing 

Subject + was/were + verb(ing) 

object or time expression 

I was teaching English/at 11:00 

I was teaching English at 11:00am 

I was teaching English then


The Past Continuous positive (+) 

Subject Was/were Verb + ing Object 

I was teaching English 

He was working at IBM 

She was playing tennis 

It was raining in England 

They were travelling* in Europe 

We were walking in the park 

You were talking to her 

* In International English travelling. In US English traveling. 

The Past Continuous negative (-) 

Subject Was/were + not Verb + ing Object 

I wasn’t teaching English 

He wasn’t working at IBM 

She wasn’t playing tennis 

It wasn’t raining in England 

They weren’t travelling in Europe 

We weren’t walking in the park 

You weren’t talking to her


The Past Continuous question (?) 

Was/were Subject Verb + ing Object +? Answer 

Was I teaching English? Yes I was/No I wasn’t 

Was he working at IBM? Yes he was/No he wasn’t 

Was she playing Tennis? Yes she was/No she wasn’t 

Was it raining in England? Yes it was/No it wasn’t 

Were they travelling in Europe? Yes they were/No they weren’t 

Were we walking in the park? Yes we were/No we weren’t 

Were you talking to her? Yes you were/No you weren’t 

WH questions always go at the beginning of the sentence 

When was she playing tennis? Why were you talking to her? Who was teaching us? 

*See Block 2 p119


PAST TIME EXPRESSIONS 

Before/Then 

Yesterday 

Last Monday 

Last week 

Last Month 

Last summer 

Last year 

Note: we use ago for past if we specify a number of period of time e.g. 

10 years ago 

3 days ago 

Five weeks ago 

A long time ago 

We can use the prepositions of time such as AT/ON/IN *See page 20 

I was a teacher in 2016 

I taught on Monday 

I was teaching at 11:00am 


I met my friend last night. If (meeting my friend) was more important than the time (last night) 

Last night, I met my friend. If (tonight) was more important than (meeting my fiend).


The Past Verb to Be positive (+) 

Subject Verb Be (am/is/are) Complement Time expression 

I was a teacher then 

He was a student at that moment 

She was French - 

It was a dog - 

They were doctors then 

We were lucky Yesterday 

You were happy Last week 

The Past Simple positive (+) 

Subject Verb 1 Object Time expression 

I taught English then 

He worked at IBM last year 

She played tennis every Friday 

It rained in England every day 

They travelled around Europe last summer 

We walked in the park last Sunday 

You talked to her often


The past simple talks about past habits and routines, permanent states and facts and truths. As a 

result, it uses a wide variety of present time expressions. 

Because past simple is used to tell about habits and routines we can use adverbs of frequency 

Adverbs of frequency usually go before the verb unless there is a special emphasis/stress on the 

frequency of the action. 

Adverb 

Frequency 

I always woke up early 100% 

He often worked late 75% 

She sometimes told lies 50% 

It rarely rained in California 25% 

They occasionally went to the cinema 25% 

We almost never saw her 5% 

You never did your homework 0%


The Past Continuous positive (+) 

Subject Am/is/are Verb + ing Object Time expression 

I was teaching English last year 

He was working at IBM at that time 

She was playing tennis in 2016 

It was raining in England last weekend 

They were travelling in Europe last week 

We were walking in the park yesterday 

You were talking to her then 

When we use this tense with adverbs "always", "continuously" or "constantly" for complaining 

about something. They usually go before the verb. 

He was always coming late to class 

She was constantly talking in class


Future tenses 

Future Simple Going To 

We use future going to for Plans, intentions and predictions. 


Time 

Structure: Subject + Am/is/are + Going to + Verb 1 + Object/time expression 

I am going to walk to work tomorrow 

When we refer to a place we can use going to or going to go to it is optional 

I am going to England 

He is going to go to* England 

I am going to go to holiday is incorrect because no specific place or location is mentioned. 

In speech, going to is often shortened to gonna but not written that way. *see reductions page xx 

Plans, intentions 

We are going to walk in the park 

I am going to work this weekend 

Predictions. 

You are going to pass the exam 

It is going to rain tomorrow 

*for more detail see the differences between will and going to on page 82


The Future Simple Going To positive (+) 

Subject Am/is/are Going to Verb 1 Object 

I am going to England 

He is going to go to* England 

She is going to win the game 

It is going to rain in London 

They are going to play football 

We are going to walk in the park 

You are going to pass the exam 

The Future Simple Going To negative (-) 

Subject Am/is/are + not Going to Verb 1 Object 

I am not going to England 

He isn’t going to go to* England 

She isn’t going to win the game 

It isn’t going to rain in London 

They aren’t going to play football 

We aren’t going to walk in the park 

You aren’t going to pass the exam


The Future Simple Going To negative (?) 

Am/is/are Subject Going to Verb 1 Object Answer 

Am I going to England? Yes I am/No I’m not 

Is he going to go to* England? Yes he is/No he isn’t 

Is she going to win the game? Yes she is/No she isn’t 

Is it going to rain in London? Yes it is/No it isn’t 

Are they going to play football? Yes they are/No they aren’t 

Are we going to walk in the park? Yes we are/No we aren’t 

Are you going to pass the exam? Yes you are/No you aren’t 


Why are you going to leave? When are we going to finish? Who is he going to teach?


Future Simple Will 

We use Future will with a promise, plan, * offer and prediction 

*The plan is usually made at the time of speaking 


Time 

Structure 

Subject + Will + Verb 1 + Object/time expression 

I will pass the exam tomorrow 

The negative form usually takes (won’t) rather than (will not) and is never shortened to (willn’t) 

Promise 

I will keep your secret 

Plan (at the time of speaking) 

I will call her now 

Offer 

I will help you 

Prediction 

It will rain this weekend 

*see the differences between will and going to on page 82


The Future Simple Will positive (+) 

Subject Will Verb 1 Object 


He will go to university 

She will visit the doctor 

It will rain this weekend 

They will get married 

We will keep the secret 

You will pass the exam 

The Future Simple Will negative (-) 

Subject Won’t Verb 1 Object 

I won’t help you 

He won’t go to university 

She won’t visit the doctor 

It won’t rain this weekend 

They won’t get married 

We won’t keep the secret 

You won’t pass the exam


The Simple Future Will question (?) 

Will Subject Verb 1 Object Answer 

Will I pass the exam? Yes I will/No I won’t 

Will he go to university? Yes he will/No he won’t 

Will she visit the doctor? Yes she will/No she won’t 

Will it rain this weekend? Yes it will/ No it won’t 

Will they get married? Yes they will/No they won’t 

Will we win the game? Yes we will/No we won’t 

Will you call him? Yes you will/No you won’t 


Why will you leave? When will we meet again? Who will he play with? 

Notice we use will in the question form for polite requests too. 

Will you help me? 

Will you call him?


The differences between will and going to. 

We can see that will and going to are very interchangeable. The differences are very subjective. 

We can use will and going to for predictions (Strength varies with auxiliary verbs like think) 

We can use will and going to for threats (Strength varies with auxiliary verbs or adverbs) 

We can use will and going to for plans (Will quick decision, going to formulated plan) 

We usually use will for a promise. We usually use going to for an intention 

We always use will for an offer and for a polite request 

The differences between will and going to can be summed up in the table below. 

Will 

Prediction 

Threat 

Quick decision 

Promise 

Going to 

Prediction 

Threat 

Formulated plan 

Intention 

Offer 

Polite request 

English speakers use will and going to interchangeably based on individual preference rather 

than the loose rules above with the exception of offers and polite requests (will should be used)


Examples 

WILL 

GOING TO 

Prediction It will rain It is going to rain 

Threat I will tell your mum I am going to tell your mum 

Plan (Quick decision) 

I will call him now 

Plan (Formulated) 

I am going to university 

Promise 

I won’t tell anyone 

Intention 

I am going to work hard 

Offer 

Polite request 


Will you help me?


Verb to Be future tense 

In the future, the verb be: is used to show future existence or the condition of the subject. 

The verb to be is different to other tenses because it does not have: Subject + verb + object 

The verb to be has a compliment. Subject + verb + compliment There is no action just be. A 

compliment adds information about the future state or function of the subject: 

We usually use it to say how we will feel, what we will do (our future job or vocation). It often 

refers to a future plan or prediction 


Time 

The verb to be in the future takes 2 forms will be or going to be. 

Structure 

Subject + will + be + Complement 

I will be a doctor 

Structure 

Subject + am/is/are + going to + be + Complement 

I am going to be a doctor 

Unlike Simple Future forms, Future ‘be’ forms are similar and usually interchangeable. 

Since to two forms are generally used to express the same meaning and context we tend to use 

the will form as it is shorter and simpler.


The Verb to Be Future positive (+) Will 

Subject Will Be Complement 

I will be happy 

He will be a doctor 

She will be wonderful 

It will be a girl 

They will be scientists 

We will be students 

You will be successful 

The Verb to Be Future positive (+) Going to 

Subject Am/is/are Going to + be Complement 

I am going to be happy 

He is going to be a doctor 

She is going to be wonderful 

It is going to be a girl 

They are going to be scientists 

We are going to be students 

You are going to be successful


The Verb to Be Future negative (-) Will 

Subject Won’t Be Complement 

I won’t be happy 

He won’t be a doctor 

She won’t be wonderful 

It won’t be a girl 

They won’t be scientists 

We won’t be students 

You won’t be successful 

The Verb to Be Future negative (-) Going to 

Subject Am/is/are + not Going to + be Complement 

I am not going to be happy 

He isn’t going to be a doctor 

She isn’t going to be wonderful 

It isn’t going to be a girl 

They aren’t going to be scientists 

We aren’t going to be students 

You aren’t going to be successful


The Verb to Be Future question (?) Will 

Will Subject Be Complement Answer 

Will I be happy? Yes I will/No I won’t 

Will he be a doctor? Yes he will/No he won’t 

Will she be wonderful? Yes she will/No she won’t 

Will it be a girl? Yes it will/No it won’t 

Will they be scientists? Yes they will/No they won’t 

Will we be students? Yes we will/No we won’t 

Will you be successful? Yes you will/No you won’t 

The Verb to Be Future question (?) Going to 

Am/is/are Subject Going to + be Complement Answer 

Am I be happy? Yes I am/No I’m not 

Is he be a doctor? Yes he is/No he isn’t 

Is she be wonderful? Yes she is/No she isn’t 

Is it be a girl? Yes it is/No it isn’t 

Are they be scientists? Yes they are/No they aren’t 

Are we be students? Yes we are/No we aren’t 

Are you be successful? Yes you are/No you aren’t 


Why will he be sad? What are you going to be when you grow up? Who will be lucky?


The Future Continuous 

Start Then Finish 

10:00 11:00 12:00 


Time 

We use the future continuous to talk about something that will be in progress at or around a time 

in the future. 

Future Continuous has two different forms: "will be doing " and "be going to be doing." 

Unlike Simple Future forms, Future Continuous forms mean the same and are usually 

interchangeable. 

Structure: Subject + will + be + verb ing + object/time expression 

I will be walking to work at 11:00 

Structure: Subject + am/is/are + going to + be + verb ing + object/time expression 

I am going to be walking to work then 


the will form as it is shorter and simpler. 

If you wish to use future continuous forms you can swap “will” with “am is are + going to be” 

(+) Positive (-) Negative (?) Question 

(S) + will + be (S) + won’t + be will + (S) + be 

(S) + am/is/are + going to be (S) + am/is/are + not + going to be Am/is/are + (S) + going to be


The Future Continuous positive (+) Will 

Subject Will + be Verb + ing Object 

I will be working at the bank 

He will be driving to London 

She will be talking to him 

It will be raining there 

They will be travelling around Europe 

We will be walking in the park 

You will be taking the exam 

The Future Continuous positive (+) Going to 

Subject Am/is/are Going to + be Verb + ing Object 

I am going to be working at the bank 

He is going to be driving to London 

She is going to be talking to him 

It is going to be raining there 

They are going to be travelling around Europe 

We are going to be walking in the park 

You are going to be taking the exam


The Future Continuous negative (-) Will 

Subject Won’t + be Verb + ing Object 

I won’t be working at the bank 

He won’t be driving to London 

She won’t be talking to him 

It won’t be raining there 

They won’t be travelling around Europe 

We won’t be walking in the park 

You won’t be taking the exam 

The Future Continuous negative (-) Going to 

Subject Am/is/are + not Going to + be Verb + ing Object 

I am not going to be working at the bank 

He isn’t going to be driving to London 

She isn’t going to be talking to him 

It isn’t going to be raining there 

They aren’t going to be travelling around Europe 

We aren’t going to be walking in the park 

You aren’t going to be taking the exam


The Simple Future Continuous question (?) Will 

Will Subject Be + Verb + ing Object Answer 

Will I be coming with you? Yes I will/No I won’t 

Will he be working at the office? Yes he will/No he won’t 

Will she be catching The next train? Yes she will/No she won’t 

Will it be raining there? Yes it will/No it won’t 

Will they be walking to work? Yes they will/No they won’t 

Will we be meeting at the café? Yes we will/No we won’t 

Will you be taking the exam? Yes you will/No you won’t 

The Simple Future Continuous question (?) Going to 

Am/is/are Subject Going to Be+Verb+ing Object Answer 

Am I going to be coming with you? Yes I am/No I’m not 

Is he going to be working at home? Yes he is/No he isn’t 

Is she going to be catching The train? Yes she is/No she isn’t 

Is it going to be raining there? Yes it is/No it isn’t 

Are they going to be walking to work? Yes they are/No they aren’t 

Are we going to be meeting at the café? Yes we are/No we aren’t 

Are you going to be taking the exam? Yes you are/No you aren’t 


Why is he going to be working? When will we be travelling? Who will be coming?


Future time expressions 

After/later 

Tomorrow 

Next Monday 

Next week 

Next month 

Next summer 

Next year 

We can use the prepositions of time such as AT/ON/IN *See page 20 

I am going to Italy in summer 

I will call on Monday 

I will be starting at the weekend 

Present time expressions can be used when the action will occur in the near future (most 

commonly a promise or plan with will 

I will help you now 

I am going to go there right now 

He will be flying about now 


I’m going to town tonight. If the place (town) is more important than the time (tonight) 

Tonight, I’m going to town. If the time (tonight) is more important than the place (town).


The Future Simple Will positive (+) 

Subject Will Verb 1 Object Time expression 

I will help you now 

He will go to university next year 

She will visit the doctor on Monday 

It will rain In London this weekend 

They will get married next month 

We will keep the secret forever 

You will pass the exam tomorrow 

The Future Simple Going To positive (+) 

Subject Am/is/are Going to Verb 1 Object Time expression 

I am going to England Next week 

He is going to go to England Next month 

She is going to win the game tonight 

It is going to rain in London next weekend 

They are going to play football tomorrow 

We are going to walk in the park later 

You are going to pass the exam Next Friday


The Verb to Be Future positive (+) Will 

Subject Will Be Complement Time expression 

I will be happy tomorrow 

He will be a doctor next year 

She will be wonderful tonight 

It will be terrible next week 

They will be scientists in the future 

We will be students in September 

You will be successful soon 

The Verb to Be Future positive (+) Going to 

Subject Am/is/are Going to + be Complement Time expression 

I am going to be happy tomorrow 

He is going to be a doctor next year 

She is going to be wonderful tonight 

It is going to be a girl next week 

They are going to be scientists in the future 

We are going to be students in September 

You are going to be successful soon


The Future Continuous positive (+) Will 

Subject Will + be Verb + ing Object Time expression 

I will be working at the bank next Monday 

He will be driving to London in the morning 

She will be talking to him tonight 

It will be raining there at the weekend 

They will be travelling around Europe next summer 

We will be walking in the park tomorrow 

You will be taking the exam in an hour 

The Future Continuous positive (+) Going to 

Subject Am/is/are Going to + be Verb + ing Object Time expression 

I am going to be working at the bank next Monday 

He is going to be driving to London in the morning 

She is going to be talking to him tonight 

It is going to be raining there at the weekend 

They are going to be travelling around Europe next summer 

We are going to be walking in the park tomorrow 

You are going to be taking the exam in an hour

Part 2 Intermediate English Grammar 


Demonstratives: This, That, These and Those 

We use Demonstratives: This, That, These and Those to show something exists and where it is. 

Is it here (near, close, next to beside) or there (far, far away)? Is it single or are they plural? 

LOCATION (SPACE) HERE THERE 

SINGLE This That 

PLURAL These Those 

This tree 

That tree 

These trees 

Those trees


We use this when something is in our possession and that when it is not. For example: 

This is my book and that is your book, these are our books those are your books. 

We can use this and that or these or those to show where things are in space (their location) we 

can also use this, that, these, and those to show where something is in time. We can show if 

something is in the present (now) or in the past (then) 

LOCATION (TIME) NOW THEN 

SINGLE This That 

PLURAL These Those 

Examples 

This week, that week. These days, those days. 

Note: when using this, that, these and those remember to add (s) when using a plural noun and to 

use the correct form of the verb be and pronouns for example: 

This is my book 

Those are your books


Sequence adverbs: First, then, next, finally 

When we want to show the sequence or order of actions we can use words or numbers to show 

where the actions happened in the sequence. 

If we want to show the order of a series of actions using numbers we use ordinal numbers. 

For example, in a race we want to know who finished first (1 st ) Second (2 nd ) Third (3 rd ) and 

last etc. To show the order of racers we use ordinal numbers *For more on how we use numbers 

to show order see ordinal numbers page xx 

Action words are verbs so the words that modify them or add information to them are called 

adverbs. Because they show the sequence of the actions (verbs) we call them sequence adverbs. 

We use sequence adverbs: First, then, next, and finally to show the sequence or order of 

events/actions in a series. In our routines, we have a series of actions. 

We can use sequence adverbs to put actions in the correct logical order.


For example, we will take a morning routine 

07:00 07:30 08:30 09:00 

First, I take a shower, next I get dressed, then I eat breakfast, and finally I leave for work. 

(1 st ) (2 nd ) (3 rd ) (4 th ) 

Notice if we use more than one sequence adverb in a sentence we use commas (,) to separate 

them. Before finally we use (and) Example: First, ______, then ______, next ______ and finally. 

First is always first (1 st ) and finally is always last. However, the sequence of then and next is 

interchangeable. See below 

1st First First First First 

2nd Then Next Next Then 

3rd Next Then Next Then 

last Finally Finally Finally Finally 

In theory, we can extend the sequence for as many actions as we like but in practice we don’t 

like to repeat words too often in English so we limit the sequence, break up the series of actions 

or add other expressions like after that if it is too long.


Before and After 

When we have only two actions we can use before and after to demonstrate/show which action 

happened first and which action happened last. 

Breakfast 

BEFORE 

Work 

AFTER 

Time: 07:30 09:00 

It seems simple but we can express the same thing in a number of ways. 

Before I go to work I have breakfast 

I have breakfast before I go to work 

After I have breakfast I go to work 

I go to work after I have breakfast 

An after-work routine using first, next, then, after, before, after that, and finally. 

17:00 When I finish work I have a routine 

17:30 First, I go to the gym to exercise


18:00 Then I drink water it is important to rehydrate my body 

18:30 Next I take a shower at the gym 

19:00 After my exercise, I feel hungry so I eat a healthy diner 

with lots of fruit for desert 

20:00 After that it’s time to relax, I like to listen to some 

classical music. 

21:00 Before I go to bed I like to finish the news paper 

23:00 Finally, I am ready for bed

Robertson / Pocket Grammar / 101 

Adverbs of frequency. 

Adverbs of frequency tell us how often an action occurs, how frequent or frequently it happens. 

An adverb adds information to/modifies a verb (an action) 

Frequency is actions or events over time, we see this in science and nature with light and sound. 

Low frequency wave 

High frequency wave 

Day Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 

Meeting1 

Meeting2 

Meeting 1 happens occasionally (twice a week) 

Meeting 2 happens often (six times a week)


Examples of adverbs of frequency are: 

ADVERB 

FREQUENCY 

Always 100% 

Almost always >95% 

Often 

Frequently 

>50% - 50% - 50% -


Examples: 

Day always follows night 

It is almost always sunny in LA 

It often rains in England 

Sometimes it is cold in spring 

Occasionally it snows in Autumn 

It almost never rains in the desert 

The Sun never revolves around the earth 

Frequently simple tenses and occasionally continuous tenses are used to tell about habits and 

routines so we often use adverbs of frequency like time expressions. 

Adverb 

Frequency Example 

I always wake up early 100% Every morning 

He often works late 75% Five nights a week 

She sometimes tells lies 50% During class 

It rarely rains in California 25% Except in winter 

They occasionally go to the cinema 25% 

Once a month 

We almost never see her 5% Twice last summer 

You never do your homework 0% No homework was ever done 

Like time expressions, adverbs of frequency usually go before the verb unless there is a special 

emphasis/stress on the frequency of the action

Comparatives and superlatives 


When we want to compare (how things are the same) and contrast (how things are different) we 

use comparatives and superlatives. 

We can compare and contract things (nouns) with (comparative and superlative adjectives). 

We can compare and contrast actions (verbs) with (comparative and superlative adverbs). 

Comparative and superlative adjectives 

Grammar Rules 

Subject + verb + adjective 

Russia is big 

Comparative adjectives 

Subject + Verb + Comparative + than + object 

Russia is bigger than France 

Superlative adjectives 

Subject + verb + the + superlative + object 

Russia is the biggest country 

With regular single syllable, comparative adjectives, we add er and use than 

With regular single syllable, superlative adjectives, we add est and use the 

Comparative (John) is taller than (Joan) 

Superlative (John) is the tallest


John Pete Kate Jim Joan 

Adjective Comparative 

Superlative 

Tall John is taller than Pete John is the tallest 

Tall 

Tall 

Tall 

Pete is taller than Kate 

Kate is taller than Jim 

Jim is taller than Joan 

Adjective Comparative 

Superlative 

Small Joan is smaller than Jim Joan is the smallest 

Small 

Small 

Small 

Jim is smaller than Kate 

Kate is smaller than Pete 

Pete is smaller than John


Spelling rules 

One Syllable 

We add er or est to the end of the adjective 

Comparative (+) er Superlative (+) est 

(If the adjective has a consonant + single vowel + consonant we double the final consonant) * 

ADJECTIVE COMPARATIVE (+) ER SUPERLATIVE (+) EST 

TALL taller tallest 

SMALL smaller smallest 

BIG* bigger biggest 

Two Syllables 

We add er or est to the end of the adjective or more and most before the adjective 


More (+) comparative Most (+) superlative 

(for adjectives ending in y change the y to i) * 

ADJECTIVE 

COMPARATIVE (+) ER 

MORE (+) COMPARATIVE 

SUPERLATIVE (+) EST 

MOST (+) SUPERLATIVE 

SIMPLE simpler simplest 

FRIENDLY more friendly most friendly 

HAPPY* happier happiest


Three or more Syllables 

We add more or most before the adjective 

More (+) Comparative Most (+) Superlative 

ADJECTIVE MORE (+) COMPARATIVE MOST (+) SUPERLATIVE 

BEAUTIFUL more beautiful most beautiful 

IMPORTANT more important most important 

EXPENSIVE more expensive most expensive 

Adjectives with irregular comparative and superlative forms 

ADJECTIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE 

GOOD better best 

BAD worse worst 

FAR farther farthest 

Note: 

In comparisons, we use than like a conjunction to separate the things being compared. 

Sometimes when we know the thing being compared it is omitted as unnecessary. For example, 

Canada is a big country but Russia is bigger. (We need not mention Canada again). 

We use the in superlatives because there is only one, special/unique subject.


Comparative and superlative adverbs 

Adverbs ending in -ly 

Most common adverbs end in -ly, we use 

More (+) comparative, and Most (+) superlative. 

ADVERB MORE (+) COMPARATIVE MOST (+) SUPERLATIVE 

QUIETLY more quietly most quietly 

LOUDLY more loudly most loudly 

SLOWLY more slowly most slowly 

Short adverbs that do not end in -ly 

Comparative/superlative adverbs and adjectives are the same. (adjectives ending y change to i) * 


ADVERB COMPARATIVE (+) ER SUPERLATIVE (+) EST 

LATE later latest 

HARD harder hardest 

EASY* easier easiest 

Adverbs with irregular comparative and superlative forms 

ADVERB COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE 

WELL better best 

BADLY worse worst 

FAR further furthest


Less and least 

We have seen how we use more and less in comparatives and superlatives. These show a positive 

difference. We can use less and least to show a negative difference. 

COMPARATIVE 

SUPERLATIVE 

POSITIVE (+) More Most 

NEGATIVE (-) Less Least 

As 

We can use (not as) to show comparisons and to demonstrate the difference. 

We also use (as) to show that two things are the same 

The sentences below mean the same thing 

Kate is not as tall as John 

John is not as small as Kate 

John is taller than Kate 

Kate is smaller than John 

John is 

heavier than 

Kate 

as 

John 

not as 

heavy 

Kate is


As can also be used to show something is the same. 

as (+) adjective/adverb (+) as 

Our class is 

Their class 

big 

as 

as 

We can use as to show things are the same (Our class is as big as their class) 

Note: we can compare more than two things and we can compare groups but use the plural form 

and the correct pronouns and verb forms 

There are words in English that can be both adverbs and adjectives. Their meaning can be 

understood by the context in the sentence. For example, fast. 

My car is fast 

I am driving fast 

Car is a noun so fast is an adjective 

Driving is a verb so fast is an adverb


Quantity: Some any no 

When we want to talk about a specific amount or quantity of something we can use a number if it 

is a countable noun. We can also use an article a/an if countable and the number is one. 

If the amount is non-specific (0 - ∞) we can refer to it by using ‘some’, ‘any’ or ‘no.’ 

Some Used with positive countable and positive uncountable nouns 

Any 

No 

Used with negative countable and negative uncountable nouns and with questions 

Used with countable and uncountable nouns an amount or quantity of (0) none/nothing 

* ‘some’ is used in questions when offering or requesting something that is there. 

Examples 

Form Some/any/no + noun 

Remember use is with uncountable and are with countable nouns 

There is some water/there are some people 

Remember in question form the order is reversed like in the tenses the auxiliary verbs goes first 

(+) form There are some sweets 

(?) form Are there some sweets? 

We can use have/has to talk about a quantity we possess 

With pronouns I, they, we, you (+) have He, she, it (has) 

I have some tea/he has some coffee


Some (+) 

(+) Countable There are some apples on the table 

(+) Uncountable There is some orange juice in the fridge 

Some (?) can be used in a question if it is an offer or request 

Request 

Offer 

Request 

Offer 

Can I take some sweets? (countable) 

Would you like some books? (countable) 

Could I have some milk? (uncountable) 

Would you like some sugar? (uncountable) 

*See modal verbs for requests and offers on page 141-142 

Any (-) (?) 

(-) Countable There aren’t any good books in the library 

(-) Uncountable There isn’t any hot water in the kettle 

(?) Countable Are there any people waiting? 

(?) Uncountable He doesn’t have any friends in London? 

No (0) 

(0). Countable There are no customers 

(0). Uncountable There is no time to finish


Other uses of Some any no. 

We can use some, any no with ‘thing’ ‘body’ and ‘where’ but the meaning is different 

Something, Anything, Nothing Object, thing Some & any = (1) and no = (0) (+)(?) 

Somebody, Anybody, Nobody Person Some & any = (1) and no = (0) (-)(?) 

Somewhere, Anywhere, Nowhere Place, location Some & any = (1) and no = (0) (0)(?) 

Something Somebody Somewhere (+) (?) 

Something (+) There is something wrong (?) Is there something I can do? 

Somebody (+) There is somebody in the office (?) Is there somebody who can help? 

Somewhere (+) He lives somewhere near (?) Is there somewhere we can go? 

Anything Anybody Anywhere (-) (?) *Usually 

Anything (-) I don’t remember anything (?) Has anything happened? 

Anybody (-) I can’t trust anyone (?) Is there anybody there? 

Anywhere (-) There isn’t anywhere to stay (?) Is there anywhere quiet? 

*‘Any’ can sometimes be (+) You can do anything, anything is possible, anybody can do it 

Nothing Nobody Nowhere (0) 

Nothing (0). Nothing was left (?) Is there nothing available? 

Nobody (0). Nobody passed the exam (?) Why is nobody here? 

Nowhere (0). There was nowhere to hide (?) Is nowhere safe these days?

Some can be used to refer to an un specified portion or fraction of an amount. 

Example: You can have some of the cake = a part/portion/slice of the cake. 


Every 

Every means all (+) 

I passed every exam 

We can also use ‘every’ with ‘thing’, ‘body’ and ‘where’ 

Everything Objects, things All 

Everybody People All 

Everywhere Places All 

Everything, everybody, everywhere (+) 

Everything 

Everybody 

Everywhere 

Don’t worry everything is going to be all right 

There was a prize for everybody 

I have travelled everywhere in Europe 

*Be careful grammar is flexible, we can make a sentence positive or negative by adding ‘not’. 

This may not change the word ‘Some’ ‘any’ ‘no’ and ‘every’ but it will change the context to the 

opposite meaning. 

I can’t do everything, he can do anything etc. 

Nothing is impossible = everything is possible etc.


Quantifiers enough, little, few, many, much. 

There are many quantifiers in English. To understand how they work we first need to understand 

the meaning of enough and not enough. 

Enough, not enough 

Enough means sufficient its positive and not enough means insufficient and is negative. 

For example, I like two sugars in my coffee so if there is less than two it is not enough. I have 

less than I need, I have two or more I have enough, I have what I need. 

Not Enough 

Enough 

Quantifiers 

Countable 

Few 

A few 

A lot, lots, lots 

Too many 

Not enough 

Enough 

of plenty, many 

Uncountable 

Little 

A little 


Too much 

Not enough 

Enough 

of plenty, much 

Quantity Low High


We can add ‘too’ before the quantifiers much/many/few/little to denote a negative amount 

(+) A few, a little, much, many. (-) Too few, too little, too much, too many. 

English language learners often make the mistake of using too in a positive context. 

“I love you too much”, “I have too much money” etc. these convey a negative message. 

(-) Negative (+) Positive (+) Positive (-) Negative 

Few, little, too few, 

A few, a little, 

A lot, lots, lots of, 

Too many, too much 

too little, not enough 

enough 

plenty 

Countable 

Few / too few 

A few, enough, 


Too many 

Sweets/candy 

not enough 

not many 

of, plenty, many 

Uncountable 

Little / too little 

A little, enough, 


Too much 

Beer 

not enough 

not much 

of, plenty, much 

*for this example, we refer to beer as a liquid and uncountable. Bottles of beer are countable


High 

Illustrated as a graph 

Quantifiers 

nothing few, little a few, a little a lot, lots Too many, too much 

Low 

Countable Uncountable enough 

Positive/negative (-) (+) (+) (-) 

Examples 

I have few sweets, there are not enough for everyone. 

I have very little time, because I am really busy. * 

He has a few ideas that may be helpful. 

We have a little sugar it should be enough to make cake. 

They are rich, they have a lot of money. 

John has lots of friends, he is very popular. 

Wait your turn there is plenty for everyone. 

There are too many people in my class it is too crowded. 

She has too much work it is making her stressed. 

*We can use ‘very’ before quantifiers ‘few/little/much/many’ to make the meaning stronger.


WH Questions 

WH questions are a list question words usually beginning with the letters ‘wh’ (but there are 

exceptions notably ‘how’ although it does contain ‘wh’) WH questions are shown below: 

Who 

where 

When 

Why 

what 

which 

how 

Remember with any question we must finish the sentence with a question mark ‘?’ 

Who has two wh questions attached to it these are: 

Who 

Whose 

Whom 

Wh questions normally begin a sentence


Who 

• Person 

• Who is your teacher? 

When 

• Time 

• When were you born? 

Whom 

• Formal ‘who’ 

Whose 

• Possessive ‘who’ 

Where 

• Place 

• Where do you live? 

Which 

• Choice 

• Which coat would you like? 

Why 

• Reason 

• Why are you learning English? 

What 

• Universal, general (?) 

• What is your name? 

How 

• Measure or method 

• How do you get to school? 

How many 

• Quantity countable 

How much 

• Quantity uncountable


Wh word Description Example Questions Example Answers 

Who 

A person 

Who is your friend? 

My friend is John 

or people 

Who is your manager? 

Peter is my manager 

Whose Possessive Whose pen is this? 

Whose book is that? 

When Time When is dinner? 

When did you finish? 

Where Place Where is Milan? 

Where did you go? 

Which Choice Which is better tea or coffee? 

Which color do you want? 

Why Reason Why are you late? 

Why didn’t you go? 

It is mine 

It is hers 

It is at 8 O’clock 

I finished this morning 

It is in Italy 

I went to the train station 

Coffee is better 

I prefer the brown one 

Because of traffic 

Because it was raining 

What 

Universal 

What time is it? 

It is lunchtime 

? 

What is your name? 

My name is Rachel 

______________________________________________________________________________ 

How 

Measure 

How long is the Nile river? 

The Nile is 6853km long 

Method 

How do you get to work? 

I get to work by bus 

How many 

Quantity 

How many hours did it take? 

It took ten hours 

Countable 

How many people are there? 

There are a few hundred 

How much 

Quantity 

How much milk is there? 

There is little milk 

Uncountable 

How much do you love me? 

I love you too much


Who 

We use ‘who’ if asking about a person. We answer specifically with a name or less specifically 

with a pronoun for example: 

Who is your best friend? My best friend is Katie 

Who took my pen? He did 

When 

We use ‘when’ if asking about a time. We answer with a time, day, date or time expression, 

sometimes with an adverb of frequency for example: 

When does, the film start? The film starts at 3:45 

When were you in London? I was in London last year 

When do you go swimming? I go swimming every morning 

Where 

We use ‘where’ if asking about a place or location. We answer with a place name or location and 

sometimes a preposition of place for example: 

Where is Nairobi? Nairobi is in Kenya 

Where is my pen? Your pen is on the desk


Why-because 

Questions with ‘why’ are often answered with ‘because’ 

‘Because’ connects two parts of a sentence (clauses) and is a conjunction so in formal written 

English, we don’t begin a sentence with ‘because’ 

In informal spoken English, we can so long as it is understood what because refers to. 

Sometimes why is answered with just ‘because’, no reason given as both parties know or neither 

party knows or if the speaker is unwilling to give a reason. 

Question 

Answer 

Why are you late? I am late because the traffic was bad Formal (written & spoken) 

Because the traffic was bad 

Because 

Informal (spoken) 

No reason given (spoken) 

Which-or 

‘Which’ often goes with ‘or’ 

‘Or’ connects two parts of a sentence (clauses) and is a conjunction so in formal written English, 

we don’t begin a sentence with ‘or’ 

‘Or’ separates two or more things to offer a choice 

(1 st ) (2 nd ) 

Which is more important, love or money? 

Which one do you want, green or orange? 

*For more on ‘because/or’ see conjunctions page 126 or to see more on clauses see page 212


What? 

What is very flexible/universal and can be used in many general questions 

What is your name? What time is it? What country is Milan in? What is best tea or coffee? 

What do need? What now? What on earth is it? 

We use What if? To form a hypothetical non-real question. What’s up? Is a modern greeting. 

We often use ‘what’ as a response if we didn’t hear or understand something but it can be seen as 

rude if used at the wrong time. The polite response would be excuse me. 

How 

We use ‘how’ if asking about a method or measure. If asking about a measure we often use 

adjectives or adverbs and we answer with a value. When measuring quantity, we use many for 

countable nouns and much for uncountable nouns (how many + countable noun, how much + 

uncountable noun). If asking about a method we often use simple tense as it is a routine, the 

helping (auxiliary) verbs ‘do’ ‘did’ ‘does’ depending on the tense and pronoun for example: 

Measure Question Answer 

How tall is the Eiffel Tower? 324 meters 

How long is the Mississippi? 3734 km 

How hot was it yesterday? 30° c 

Method Question Answer 

How do You spell your name? J.O.H.N. 

How does A fish breath? With its gills 

How did The Titanic sink? It hit an Iceberg


Quantity countable Question (countable noun) Answer 

How many people came to the party? 150 

How many states are there in the USA? 50 

Quantity uncountable Question (uncountable noun) Answer 

How much blood is in a human body? 5.5 liters 

How much Do you love me? More than you know 

*Blood is a liquid so is uncountable but it can still be measured and a value given. See countable 

and uncountable nouns on page 28 

Using WH question words at the beginning or end of a sentence 

Tenses have a (+) (-) and (?) form. If we ask simple yes/no questions we use the question form 

for the tenses. In the question (?) form for tenses we reverse the order of the subject and verb e.g. 

(+) He is travelling (?) Is he a travelling? (See various tenses for details). 

If we ask a more complex open question we add the WH question to the front of the sentence 

Is he travelling? 

Why is he travelling? 

To add emphasis or stress (!) to a question we can put the WH word at the end of the sentence 

after a comma (,) For example: You said, what? I don’t believe it, how? She left him, when? 

*For more see question tags page xxx 

Using WH questions alone 

We can use just the WH word as a question if both the parties know the context. Why? How?


Conjunctions and Transitions 

Conjunctions 

Conjunctions connect words, phrases or parts of a 

sentence called clauses in the same way puzzle pieces 

connect to each other The common, conjunctions. Are 

mainly Coordinating conjunctions or FANBOYS 

The most common conjunctions 

I like coffee and I like tea Add (+) 

I like coffee but I don’t like tea Change ± 

I like coffee so I drink it often Result 

I like coffee because it tastes nice Reason 

I don’t like tea or coffee Choice 

There are three different kinds of conjunctions that join words and sentences together, these are: 

Coordinating conjunctions – join/connect equal phases or parts of a sentence 

Subordinating conjunctions– join/connect unequal phases or parts of a sentence 

Correlative conjunctions– work in pairs to join/connect equal phases or parts of a sentence


Coordinating Conjunctions 

Coordinating conjunctions sometimes called FANBOYS: For-And-Nor-But-Or-Yet-So 

These connect two or more equal items 

Subjects John and Jane, 

Objects milk and sugar 

or adjectives big and fat 

Coordinating Conjunctions 

for and nor but or yet so 

‘for’ is almost never used in modern speech. We use ‘because’ 

‘yet’ has many meanings in English to avoid confusion we prefer to use ‘so’ as the conjunction 

‘nor’ is a (-) or and not commonly used as it is simpler to use ‘or’ to express the same meaning 

‘So’ has many meanings but when it expresses a purpose or reason it is a conjunction 

Examples 

He plays in goal and in defense 

He runs quickly but gets tired easily 

He is going to join Manchester United or Liverpool 

He is injured now so he won’t play on Saturday 

She wasn’t able to pass the written nor the practical exam. 

She was late for the interview yet somehow got the job 

They failed to reach safely for the weather was too strong


Subordinating Conjunctions 

Subordinating conjunctions connect a different or unequal parts of a sentence, specifically they 

connect a Main (Independent clause) to a Subordinate (dependent clause). 

*For more see clauses on page 212 

Common Subordinating Conjunctions 

after because in order that than when 

although before now that that whenever 

as even if once though where 

as if even though rather than till whereas 

as long as if since unless wherever 

as though if only so, that until while 

Examples 

She goes to the gym after she finishes work 

He practices before every match 

Although she is short, she plays volleyball well 

If I were you, I wouldn’t speak to her 

The picnic was cancelled because it rained 

You’re never going to pass the exam unless you start studying 

I was watching the news while I was eating my dinner 

Even if I am ill, I will still go 

It’s better to be prepared rather than take the risk 

If only I had passed the exam, I would be at university now


Correlative Conjunctions 

Correlative conjunctions are like coordinating conjunctions in that they connect roughly equal 

parts of a sentence. Correlative conjunctions are different because they work in pairs with 

another word or words. 

Common Correlative Conjunctions 

either……or neither……nor not only……but also both……and 

whether……or as……as rather……than such……that 

as many……as as much……as no sooner……than scarcely……when 

Examples 

I would rather go scuba diving than skydiving 

There are as many managers as there are workers 

I neither intend to work for them nor help them in anyway 

Hiking isn’t as dangerous as rock climbing 

I don’t want either tea or coffee 

He not only gave them money but also helped get them a job 

I had scarcely arrived at work when the boss rang to tell me to go home 

Such was the level of debt that the company was doomed from the start 

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry 

Both the men’s and women’s teams were eliminated in the first round 

No sooner had the party began when the electricity failed 

*For more see clauses on page 212 Adjective clauses on page 226 Adverb clauses on page 223


Transitions 

Transitional words are like conjunctions in that they sometimes connect parts of a sentence. They 

are different because they are not only used in the middle of sentences but more commonly at the 

beginning of a sentence in order to connect them and their ideas. They make writing easier to 

read because they connect ideas together. More detail can be found in the writing section in 

Block 3. Transitional words can be used in the same way as conjunctions and a number of other 

ways. We usually use a comma (,) after a transition particularly when used to begin a sentence. 

In the tables below we can see the transition words and their functions. 

Addition (conjunction and) 

in addition additionally also as well (as) 

moreover furthermore again afterward 

what is more besides over and above to boot 

Examples 

There were plenty of places to go and things to see. In addition, there were many activities. 

Our company is known for customer service. Furthermore, we won best airline in Europe. 

He wasn’t very intelligent or interesting moreover he was dull and a dreadful bore.

Change ± contrast/show different or opposite meaning (conjunction but) 


however nevertheless on the other hand alternatively 

in contrast nonetheless although despite 

conversely in spite of contrastingly yet 

Examples 

The bus doesn’t go to Bath. However, you could get off at Bristol and take the train. 

John is known for being late and looking a mess. Nevertheless, he somehow got the promotion 

We generally sell chairs and tables. Nonetheless, I’m sure we could help you find what you need 

Cause/reason/purpose (conjunction because) 

because since on account of so that 

for this reason for that reason to this end to that end 

In order that In order to for this purpose for that purpose 

Examples 

The quality of education at my university was poor. For this reason, I decided to leave. 

The situation is serious and urgent. To this end, we propose the following solution. 

French is the language spoken locally. On account of this, we will write the contract in French.


Effect/result (conjunction so) 

therefore thus as a result ergo 

accordingly hence consequently as a consequence 

Examples 

I love animals and science. Therefore, I have decided to become a vet. 

Your products were substandard and always late. As a result, we have found another supplier. 

I was angry and hurt by your behavior. Hence, I have decided to write this letter. 

Comparison (conjunction as) 

likewise in like manner similarly in similar fashion 

in the same way by the same token comparatively correspondingly 

Examples 

The boxing team performed terribly. Likewise, the hockey team failure was very disappointing. 

Celebrities are narcissistic self-publicists. Similarly, Politicians and journalists are also egoists. 

The first ship sank very quickly. In like manner, it wasn’t long before the others followed.


Clarification 

to clarify to explain In other words to put it another way 

to rephrase that is that is to say i.e. (that is) 

Examples 

The service was terrible and the food was cold. In other words, your restaurant is a disgrace. 

The snow will be heavy and the temperature low. To clarify, you need to be properly equipped. 

We want all our guests to respect other guests. i.e., no loud music or parties after midnight. 

Examples 

for example for instance To illustrate As an illustration 

To demonstrate specifically To specify e.g. (for example) 

Examples 

It is better to book ahead. For example, the price can go up quickly and availability is low. 

The UK is an expensive destination. For instance, a single rail ticket can cost more than £100. 

Walking home in the dark is a risk. Specifically, along the country lanes where there is no path.


Emphasis 

even indeed in fact of course 

without doubt undoubtedly certainly surely 

Examples 

The discovery is profound. Without doubt, it will change the manufacturing process forever. 

Club membership is very sort after. In fact, it is the most exclusive club in London. 

Mozart was a genius. Certainly, one of the greatest composers of all time. 

Summery 

in Summary to summarize to sum up in sum 

in short in brief in gist concisely 

Example 

Italy is famous for art, architecture, classical music, food and wine. Italy has many historic ruins 

and was the capital of the ancient world. In summary, Italy is an historic and cultural country.


Conclusion 

in conclusion to conclude finally therefore 

in closing on the whole all in all all things considered 

Example 

Cities where educational opportunities are scarce show high levels of poverty due to 

unemployment and elevated rates of crime. In conclusion, lack of education is a cause of crime. 

Place/position 

above below here there 

wherever nearby opposite to In front 

behind adjacent beyond neighboring 

*See prepositions of place on page 41 

Examples 

The city streets were dirty and crowded. Above, hung a thick grey cloud of acrid smoke. 

I could see a lake stretching before me. Beyond, snowcapped mountains hugged the horizon. 

Swimmers splashed around in the sun. Below, in the depths the shark was ready to strike.


Time (various corresponding conjunctions like when, while) 

when while later earlier 

meanwhile at that point in the mean time whenever 

so far (until) now never always 

during immediately soon sometimes 

*See time expressions on page 21, adverbs of frequency on page 102 

Examples 

The water poured into the ship. Meanwhile, passengers were blissfully unaware of the danger. 

The cage was open and one lion was missing. So far, no one but the young boy had noticed. 

The results were confusing and the scientists baffled. Soon, everything would become clear. 

Sequence (connecting events in order) 

first second third next 

then after after that finally 

*See sequence adverbs page xxx, ordinal numbers on page xxx 

Examples First, boil the water. Second, pour into a cup. Next, add the teabag. Finally, drink. 

*see adjective clauses on page 226 and adverb clauses on page 223


Modal Verbs 

Model verbs are helping verbs they add information. We use modal verbs to show if we think 

something is certain, probable or possible (or not). We also use modals to talk about ability, and 

when we are asking permission making requests, offers and advice. 

The common modal verbs are shown in the table below 

can could may might should 

shall will would ought to must 

*We also use: have to, had better and need to for advice and imperatives 

• Modal verbs are different from other verbs because they don’t take ‘s’ in plural form 

• Modal verbs are followed by a verb. The verb is the base form, infinitive (verb 1) * 

Positive (+) 

Subject Modal Verb 1 

I can swim 

Negative (-) 

Subject Modal + not Verb 1 

I can’t swim 

Question (?) 

Modal Subject Verb 1 

Can I swim?


*Unless we talk about the past and we use modal ‘+ have’ 

Then we use the past participle (verb 3) 

Subject + modal + verb 1 + object 

He should write a book 

Subject + model + have + verb 3 + object 

He should have written a book 

*For more on ‘have’ see modals page 145 

We use models for 

Ability 

Advice/necessity/obligation 

Permission/request 

Offer/suggestion 

Probability 

Meaning 

Able to do something, means or skill to do something 

Guidance or recommendations offered 

To ask for something 

Give, provide help or assist/put forward a plan to consider 

Chance, prediction, assumption, guess


Ability 

Present 

Past 

Positive (+) Can Could 

Negative (-) Can’t/Cannot Couldn’t 

Examples 

Present (+) Negative (-) 

A bird can fly A bird can’t swim (penguins excluded) 

A fish can swim A fish can’t fly (flying fish excluded) 

Past: 

She couldn’t finish the exam yesterday 

I couldn’t sleep last night


Advice/necessity/obligation 

Positive (+) Negative (-) Strength Use 

Must Must not* Strong Necessity/Obligation 

Have to Don’t have to** Strong Necessity/Obligation 

Need to Needn’t Moderate Necessity 

Ought to Ought not to Weak Advice 

Should Shouldn’t Weak Advice 

*Mustn’t can be used in spoken English ‘must not’ to ensure clarity the long form is used. 

**‘haven’t got to’ is an alternative***We use ‘can’ or ‘could’ to offer advice/possibility/ability. 

Examples 

Situation Example (+) Use 

You can’t breathe You must go to hospital Need/necessity 

You have a broken arm You have to go to hospital Need/necessity 

You have a fever You need to stay in bed Advice/need/necessity 

You have flu You ought to see the doctor Advice 

You have a cold You should drink hot honey and lemon Advice 

Situation Example (-) Use 

Law You must not drink and drive Obligation, necessity 

I paid You don’t have to pay for dinner Lack of necessity or need 

It is warm You don’t need to wear a coat Lack of necessity or need 

It is a secret You ought not to tell her Advice 

Be on time/polite You shouldn’t be late Advice


Permission/request 

Modal 

May 

Could 

Can 

Use 

Only used with the pronouns ‘I’ and ‘we’ it is very formal 

Polite and used when talking to strangers 

Informal and used when talking to friends and colleagues 

(Asking permission or requesting something is a question so the question form is used) 

Examples 

(Modal + Subject + Verb) 

Situation Example Use 

As a guest in a house May I use the telephone? Very formal/polite 

Speaking to a superior Could we leave early? polite 

Playing with friends 

Can I have a go? 

We can make the request more polite/formal by adding either please/thankyou or both. ‘Please’ 

usually goes at the start of a sentence but ‘thankyou’ always goes at the end. 

Could I have a drink? 

Could I have a drink please? polite 

Please could I have a drink? polite 

Could I have a drink thank you? polite 

Please could I have a drink thank you? Very polite 

*Negative is only used to refuse the request i.e. No, you may not, no you can’t etc. 

‘Might’ can be used like ‘may’ but it is very formal and is not used in modern common speech. 

We also use would but it requires more complex sentence structure for example: 

Would you mind if ……….? Or Would it be ok if…………? Would it be possible for……...?


Offer/suggestion 

Offer 

Would 

Suggestion 

Shall 

*We use ‘can’ or ‘could’ to offer a/possibility/ability to help or assist. i.e. Can I help you? 

(Making an offer or suggesting something is a question so the question form is used) 

(Modal + Subject + Verb) 

Examples 

Offer 

Suggestion 

Would you like some coffee? Let’s go to the cinema, shall we? * 

Would you prefer tea? 

Come on, shall we go? 

*‘Shall’ is unusual as it is usually paired with ‘let’s (let us) and unlike other modals it often goes 

at the end of the sentence and takes the form of a question tag. See question tags on page 198


Probability 

Model Strength (approximate) Use 

Will 100% Prediction/certainty 

Should 75% Prediction 

Ought to 75% Prediction 

May 50% Prediction/possibility 

Might 50% Prediction/possibility 

Can 50% Possibility 

Could 50% Possibility 

Examples 

Example (+) 

You will be late 

They should arrive soon 

You might like it 

It could rain tomorrow 

Example (-) 

You won’t catch the train 

You shouldn’t fail 

It may not be hot 

He might not know 

Context 

There is not enough time to get to the meeting 

The journey takes an hour and they left one hour before 

It is something I like so you may like it too 

I am not sure if it will rain or not 

Context 

The train leaves in 10 minutes and we are 20 minutes away 

You practiced every day and worked hard 

I don’t remember if I put the kettle on 

I didn’t tell him and I am not sure anyone else did 

Negatives are rarely used ‘You shouldn’t fail’ becomes ‘you should pass.’ It means the same.


Example using a conditional sentence. * 

Modal 

Strength Use 

will 100% Prediction/certainty 

ought to 75% Prediction 

should 75% Prediction 

If you work hard, you may pass the exam 50% Prediction/possibility 

might 50% Prediction/possibility 

can 50% Possibility 

could 50% Possibility 

*see conditionals on page 215


Past modals and using have with modals 

Form: Modal verb + have + past participle (verb 3) 

I should have written a book 

We use a modal verb + have to refer back 

From the past 

From the present 

From the future 

I forgot to answer the last question. I may have failed the exam 

The plane landed an hour ago, they will have arrived at the hotel by now 

Don’t book the taxi for five thirty. We might not have finished by then 

Examples of modals with have 

Modal + have Example (+) Example (-) Use, Past 

Can’t have N/A You can’t have seen him Possibility/ability 

Couldn’t have She could have finished He couldn’t have won Possibility/ability 

Should have I should have worked You shouldn’t have told her Advice 

Ought to have I ought to have left You ought not to have Advice 

Had to have* I had to have a uniform I didn’t have to have a ticket Obligation 

Must have He must have gotten lost He must not have been told Prediction 

Might have It might have started It might not have been fun Prediction 

May have She may have gone It may not have been stolen Predication 

Will have He will have forgotten She won’t have called him Predication 

Would have I would have tried harder I wouldn’t have bothered Conditional 

(?) Question form reverse order i.e. Modal + subject + have. Should I have.?, Will she have.? etc.


*Have can also be possessive ‘I had to have a uniform’ ‘I didn’t have to have a ticket’ 

These actually mean an obligation or lack of obligation to own or possess. You can see have is 

followed by an object rather than a verb. 

Using have and had can be complex when talking about the past in the past and possessive 

‘She had to have had,’ ‘I would have had’ ‘He might have had’ etc. 

Modals ‘will’ and ‘would’ as habits routines 

We can use ‘will’ and ‘would’ to talk about habits and routines. 

Examples: 

(Past) When I was at university I would go out with friends every night 

(Past) When I was a young boy my father would read me a bed time story before I slept 

We can replace would with ‘used to.’ 

(Past) When I was at university used to go out with friends every night 

(Past) When I was a young boy my father used to read me a bed time story before I slept 

(Future) When I get that new job I will catch the bus every day 

(Future) I will go swimming every morning on holiday. 

*See future simple tense on page 79 

** Shall can be used like will in old English. The (-) negative of shall is shan’t but it is rarely 

used in modern spoken English. Shall not is more common.


Tenses and Verbs part 2 

In this part, we are going to look at the perfect of tenses. We use the perfect tenses in add 

emphasis to the event and the perfect continuous there is further emphasis on the period of time. 



Had + verb 3 Have/has + verb 3 Will + have + verb 3 

Past Perfect Continuous Present Perfect Continuous Future Perfect Continuous 

Had + Been + verb 3 Have/has + been + verb 3 Will + have + been + verb 3 

First, we will look at the Perfect tenses 

Present Perfect (+) (-) (?) Time expressions 

Past Perfect (+) (-) (?) Time expressions 

Future (will and going to) Perfect (+) (-) (?) Time expressions 

Then we will look at the Perfect Continuous tenses 

Present Perfect Continuous (+) (-) (?) Time expressions 

Past Perfect Continuous (+) (-) (?) Time expressions 

Future (will and going to) Perfect Continuous (+) (-) (?) Time expressions 

Finally, we will look at the Verb to Be in Perfect tense 

Present Perfect Verb to Be (+) (-) (?) Time expressions 

Past Perfect Verb to Be (+) (-) (?) Time expressions 

Future (will and going to) Perfect Verb to Be (+) (-) (?) Time expressions 

*‘Future Will’ is simpler and more commonly used than ‘Future Going to’


Present Perfect 

We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened a time before now. It is a general fact 

so the exact time is not important. The action started in the past and either continues in the 

present and on into the future or its effect is still true. 


Time 

We don’t use specific time expressions with the Present Perfect. The Present Perfect uses its own 

unspecific time expressions: for, since, ever, never, before, just, recently, already, yet, etc. 

We can also use expressions of frequency: once, many times, several times, often, always, etc. 

Structure 

Subject + Have/has + Verb 3 + Object/time expression 

I have visited Paris 

When we use 

Experience: I have tried windsurfing 

Accomplishments: Mankind has walked on the Moon 

Changes over time: The weather has changed 

Things that continue to be true or effect the present: The Turkish Republic has existed since 1923 

Multiple actions: I have worked in many different jobs


The Present Perfect positive (+) 

Subject Have/has Verb 3 Object 

I have ridden a horse 

He has written a book 

She has been to London 

It has snowed here 

They have studied physics 

We have seen the movie 

You have passed the test 

The Present Perfect negative (-) 

Subject Have/has + not Verb 3 Object 

I haven’t ridden a horse 

He hasn’t written a book 

She hasn’t been to London 

It hasn’t snowed here 

They haven’t studied physics 

We haven’t seen the movie 

You haven’t passed the test


The Present Perfect question (?) 

Have/has Subject Verb 3 Object Answer 

Have I ridden a horse Yes I have/No I haven’t 

Has He written a book Yes he has/No he hasn’t 

Has She been to London Yes she has/No she hasn’t 

Has It snowed here Yes it has/No it hasn’t 

Have They studied physics Yes they have/No they haven’t 

Have We seen the movie Yes we have/No we haven’t 

Have You passed the test Yes you have/No you haven’t 


Why has he failed? When has it snowed? Who has seen the film? 

Present Perfect time expressions 

We don’t use specific time expressions with the Present Perfect. The Present Perfect uses its own 

unspecific time expressions 

For Period of time Since Start time 

Ever All time (∞) positive (+) Never All time (∞) negative (-) 

When started Just Recently Already Before Yet 

Frequency Once Twice Many times Often Rarely 

*for more on adverbs of frequency see page 102


For and Since 

Since is the start time: 1923, last week, when I was born, last year, yesterday, etc. 

For is the period of time: 100 years, six weeks, many years, five hours, ages, etc. 


June last summer 

Today December 

1 2 3 4 5 6 Months 

I have lived in Istanbul since last summer 

I have lived in Istanbul for six months 

Ever and Never 

Ever all time (∞) positive (+) at any time at all times; always 

Never all time (∞) negative (-) at no time in the past or future 

We use ‘ever’ in present perfect tense questions: Have you ever? ‘Never’ is like a negative ever 

(not ever). Combining the words to form ‘Never ever’ can be used to make the negative meaning 

stronger (!). Look at the conversation below 

John: Have you ever flown on a plane? 

Kate: No never. 

John: Really never ever?!


Just, Recently, Already, Yet. 

I am at the airport waiting for my plane to arrive. 

Yet 

Already Recently Just 

Past 

Present 

Time ? 15 minutes 5 minutes 

Time expression Example Meaning Time 

Just My plane has just arrived (+) arrived very close to now 5m 

Recently My plane has recently arrived (+) arrived close to now 15m 

Already My plane has already arrived (+) arrived no time given (?) 

Yet My plane hasn’t arrived yet (-) not arrived (-) 

Notice these time expressions go after has/have and before the verb. 

Subject + have/has + time expression + verb 3 

Yet is different it has a negative meaning and goes at the end of the sentence.


Past Perfect 

Past perfect refers to the past of the past. It is used to show that one event happened before 

another in the past. The tense helps us understand the order of these past events so we know 

which one happened first. 

Before 

Past 


Time 

Structure 

Subject + Had + Verb 3 + Object/time expression 

I had visited Paris before 

The past perfect looks like the present perfect except we replace have/has with had. So it is 

simpler as all the pronouns take had + verb 3. 

The past perfect is often paired with the past simple. The past simple is the past and the past 

perfect is the past of this past/before. This tense is often used when we are referring to historical 

events and it gives us a clear idea of the order of those events.


The Past Perfect positive (+) 

Subject Had Verb 3 Object 

I had ridden a horse 

He had written a book 

She had been to London 

It had snowed here 

They had studied physics 

We had seen the movie 

You had passed the test 

The Past Perfect negative (-) 

Subject Had + not Verb 3 Object 

I hadn’t ridden a horse 

He hadn’t written a book 

She hadn’t been to London 

It hadn’t snowed here 

They hadn’t studied physics 

We hadn’t seen the movie 

You hadn’t passed the test


The Past Perfect question (?) 

Had Subject Verb 3 Object Answer 

Had I ridden a horse Yes I had/No I hadn’t 

Had He written a book Yes he had/No he hadn’t 

Had She been to London Yes she had/No she hadn’t 

Had It snowed here Yes it had/No it hadn’t 

Had They studied physics Yes they had/No they hadn’t 

Had We seen the movie Yes we had/No we hadn’t 

Had You passed the test Yes you had/No you hadn’t 


Why had he failed? When had it snowed? Who had seen the film? 

Past Perfect expressions of time 

We don’t use specific expressions of time with the Past Perfect. The Perfect tenses use their own 

unspecific expressions of time. Past perfect shares these with the present perfect such as: 

Perfect tense Just Recently Already Yet 

Time expressions For Since Ever Never 

*For more detail see present perfect time expressions on page 150 

Other very common conjunctions and expressions of time used in the past perfect are: 

Past Perfect Before After When 

Time expressions Until Up till then By the time


We can see the examples listed in the tables are correct but they seem incomplete and lack 

context. This is because the past perfect is usually paired with the past simple to show a clear 

order of events. The past perfect is the event that occurred before the past simple. 

In a sentence with the past perfect we usually have two parts. One part is the past perfect and the 

other the past simple and we connect them with a conjunction like ‘because’ or expression of 

time like ‘before’ 

Past Perfect Time expression/conjunction Past simple 

Subject + Had + Verb 3 Before, after, until, then, etc. Subject + Verb 2 (+ed) 

We had shot bows and arrows before we 

invented gunpowder 

Until we invented gunpowder we had shot 

bows and arrows 

The Chinese invented gunpowder, up till then 

1520’s 1920’s 

we had used bows and arrows. 


Time


1 st Event Past Perfect Time Past Simple 2 nd Event 

We had ridden horses 

before we invented the car 

We had written with quills until Biro invented the pen 

We talked on landlines* 

before mobile phones 

*(We often omit had) 

We had listened to radio until T.V. became popular 

We can reverse the order but it meaning is the same and the historical order is maintained. 

2 nd Event Past simple Time Past Perfect 1 st Event 

We invented the car 

Biro invented the pen 

until 

then 

up till 

then 

we had ridden horses 

We had written with quills 

We often use the past perfect in the passive voice (be + Verb 3) *see passive voice on page xxx 

1 st Event Past Perfect Time Past Simple Passive 2 nd Event 

We had ridden horses 

before The car was invented


Future Perfect Tense 

Future Perfect has two different forms: "will have " and "be going to have." unlike the simple 

future forms, the future perfect forms have the same meaning and are usually interchangeable. 

Structure 

Subject + Will + Have + Verb 3 + Object/time expression 

I will have written my book 

Structure 

Subject + be Going to + Have + Verb 3 + Object/time expression 

I am going to have written my book 

Future perfect forms we can swap “will have” with “am is are + going to have” 


will + have won’t + have will + S + have 

am/is/are + going to have am/is/are + not + going to have Am/is/are + S + going to have 



The future perfect going to question (?) form we have to use ‘yes/no’ answers or ‘yes/no + 

will/won’t’ because ‘yes/no + am/is/are’ gives a different meaning. This is another reason the 

future perfect with ‘will’ is the simpler and so more commonly used form.


(1) The future perfect refers to the future of the future. It is used to show that one event 

happened before another in the future. The tense helps us understand order of future 

events so we know which one will happen first. (Like the inverse of the past perfect). 

Future event 

After 


By next year I will have finished university 

(2) The future perfect refers to something that will continue until another action in the future. 

Started 

Will finish 


By this time next year, I will have lived in Rome for ten years 

(3) We use future perfect to express certainty that an action has happened/completed by now 

Completed 


She will have left work by now


The Future Perfect Will positive (+) 

Subject Will Have Verb 3 Object 

I will have finished university 

He will have spoken to her 

She will have been to Istanbul 

It will have snowed there 

They will have studied history 

We will have seen the movie 

You will have completed the book 

The Future Perfect Going to positive (+) 

Subject Am/is/are Going to Have Verb 3 Object 

I am going to have finished university 

He is going to have spoken to her 

She is going to have been to Istanbul 

It is going to have snowed there 

They are going to have studied history 

We are going to have seen the movie 

You are going to have completed the book


The Future Perfect Will negative (-) 

Subject Will + not Have Verb 3 Object 

I won’t have finished university 

He won’t have spoken to her 

She won’t have been to Istanbul 

It won’t have snowed there 

They won’t have studied history 

We won’t have seen the movie 

You won’t have completed the book 

The Future Perfect Going to negative (-) 

Subject Am/is/are + not going to Have Verb 3 Object 

I am not going to have finished university 

He isn’t going to have spoken to her 

She isn’t going to have been to Istanbul 

It isn’t going to have snowed there 

They aren’t going to have studied history 

We aren’t going to have seen the movie 

You aren’t going to have completed the book


The Future Perfect Will question (?) 

Will Subject Have Verb 3 Object Answer 

Will I have finished university? Yes I will/No I won’t 

Will he have spoken to her? Yes he will/No he won’t 

Will she have been to Istanbul? Yes she will/No she won’t 

Will it have snowed there? Yes it will/No it won’t 

Will they have studied history? Yes they will/No they won’t 

Will we have seen the movie? Yes we will/No we won’t 

Will you have completed the book? Yes you will/No you won’t 

The Future Perfect Going to question (?) 

*We use ‘yes/no’ or ‘will/won’t’ answers because ‘yes/no + am/is/are’ gives a different meaning. 

Am/is/are Subject Going to Have Verb 3 Object Answer* 

Am I going to have finished university? Yes/No 

Is he going to have spoken to her? Yes/No 

Is she going to have been to Istanbul? Yes/No 

Is it going to have snowed there? Yes/No 

Are they going to have studied history? Yes/No 

Are we going to have seen the movie? Yes/No 

Are you going to have completed the book? Yes/No 


Why will he have failed? When will it have finished? Who is he going to have to speak to?


Future perfect time expressions 

We don’t use specific expressions of time with the future perfect. The Perfect tenses use their 

own unspecific expressions of time. 

*For more see present perfect time expressions on page xxx 

Common conjunctions and expressions of time used in the future and past perfect are: 

Time expressions Before When Until/till 

By is often used with the future perfect 

By by by now by then 

By + time by lunch by tomorrow by 11:00 

By + next + time by next Monday by next week by next year 

Examples 

I will have just finished by lunch 

He is going to have forgotten by tomorrow 

She will have finished travelling before the end of the year 

It will have stopped raining when the party begins 

They will have already left by now 

We will have done plenty of revision by the time the exam is due 

You are going to have gotten used to it by then


The Perfect Continuous tenses 

The perfect tenses are related to the simple tenses but with strong emphasis on the event and its 

effect while the perfect continuous is related to the continuous tenses with an extra strong 

emphasis on the period of time. 

Miss. Perfect 

Mr. Continuous 

The Perfect Couple 

The Perfect Continuous is a 

mixture of the perfect and 

continuous tenses. If we imagine 

Miss Perfect married Mr. 

Continuous then their child would 

be perfect continuous. 

Perfect Continuous 

Have/has + V 3 

Be + V ing 

have been living 

We will look at the: 

Present Perfect continuous tense (+) (-) (?) 

Past Perfect continuous tense (+) (-) (?) 

Future Perfect continuous tense (+) (-) (?)


Present Perfect Continuous Tense 

The present perfect simple shows completion while the continuous shows something is 

incomplete/continuing. 

Present Perfect I have written the report (finished) 

Present Perfect Continuous I have been writing the report (unfinished) 

Structure 

Subject + Have/has + Been + Verb ing + Object/time expression 

I have been working at IBM since 2016 

We use the present perfect continuous when the focus is on an activity that is unfinished. We 

could use the present continuous to show this but the present perfect continuous is much 

stronger. We use it to add emphasis (!) on the period of time and its effect. 

Started 

Continues 


We often use the present perfect continuous when we are angry because the period of time has 

been too long and the effect is strongly negative. I have been waiting for you for three hours! 

Or when the period of time is of interest because its length is exceptional or the effect is strongly 

positive. We have been living together for three years!


The Present Perfect Continuous positive (+) 

Subject Have/has Been Verb ing Object 

I have been waiting at the cafe 

He has been working in the bank 

She has been playing football 

It has been raining here 

They have been studying English 

We have been living in Istanbul 

You have been talking nonsense 

The Present Perfect Continuous negative (-) 

Subject Have/has + not Been Verb ing Object 

I haven’t been waiting at the cafe 

He hasn’t been working in the bank 

She hasn’t been playing football 

It hasn’t been raining here 

They haven’t been studying English 

We haven’t been living in Istanbul 

You haven’t been talking nonsense


The Present Perfect Continuous question (?) 

Have/has Subject Been Verb ing Object 

Have I been waiting at the café? 

Has He been working in the bank? 

Has She been playing football? 

Has It been raining here? 

Have They been studying English? 

Have We been living in Istanbul? 

Have You been talking nonsense? 


Why have we been waiting so long? Where has it been playing? Who has been eating my food? 

We often use ‘How’ and ‘long’ 

How long have you been waiting? 

Have you been waiting for a long time? 

Have you been waiting long?


Expressions of time with the present perfect continuous: 

The most common are for & since 


Examples 

Subject Have/has Been Verb ing For/since Time/start/period 

I have been waiting for hours 

He has been working since breakfast 

She has been talking for ages 

It has been raining since morning 

They have been travelling for months 

We have been walking since 11:00 

You have been practicing for weeks


The Past Perfect Continuous 

The past perfect continuous is similar to the present perfect continuous but, the duration does not 

continue until now, it stops before something else in the past. 

Structure 

Subject + Had + Been + Verb ing + Object 

I had been working at IBM 

Uses 

Started 

Finished 


We use the past perfect continuous to show something started in the past and continued up until 

another time in the past. We use a duration of time like: "For ten minutes" and "for three days" 

Example She had been waiting for hours by the time you turned up 

Cause 

Effect 


Using the Past Perfect Continuous before another action in the past is how we show cause and 

effect. How the original action has an effect on the following action or event. 

Example It had been raining so much the river burst its banks


The Past Perfect Continuous positive (+) 

Subject Had Been Verb ing Object 

I had been living in Japan 

He had been talking to her 

She had been walking in the park 

It had been snowing in town 

They had been travelling around 

We had been playing football 

You had been working in a cafe 

The Past Perfect Continuous negative (-) 

Subject Had + not Been Verb ing Object 

I hadn’t been living in Japan 

He hadn’t been talking to her 

She hadn’t been walking in the park 

It hadn’t been snowing in town 

They hadn’t been travelling around 

We hadn’t been playing football 

You hadn’t been working in a cafe


The Past Perfect Continuous question (?) 

Had Subject Been Verb ing Object 

Had I been living in Japan? 

Had He been talking to her? 

Had She been walking in the park? 

Had It been snowing in town? 

Had They been travelling around? 

Had We been playing football? 

Had You been working in a café? 


Why had he been missing so long? Where had she been working? Who had been singing? 

We often use ‘How’ and ‘long’ 

How long had you been waiting? 

Had you been waiting for a long time? 

Had you been waiting long?


Expressions of time with the past perfect continuous 



Long Length of time Before Previous time 

When Same or interrupted time While Same time 

*for more on when and while see page 250 

Examples 

Subject Had Been Verb ing Object Expressions of time 

I had been living in Japan since 2011 

He had been talking to her for ages 

She had been walking in the park before dinner 

It had been snowing in town all morning 

They had been travelling around a long time 

We had been playing football when it stated to rain 

You had been working in a cafe while studying at university


The Future Perfect Continuous Tense 

Future Perfect Continuous has two different forms: 

"will have been " and "be going to have been." 

unlike the simple future forms and like the future perfect, the future perfect continuous forms 

have the same meaning and are usually interchangeable. 

Structure 

Subject + Will + Have + Been + Verb ing + Object/time expression 

I will have been working at the bank 

Structure 

Subject + be Going to + Have + Been + Verb ing + Object/time expression 

I am going to have been working at the bank 

Future perfect continuous forms we swap “will have been” with “am is are + going to have been” 


will + have + been won’t + have + been will + S + have 

am/is/are + going to have + been am/is/are + not + going to have + been Am/is/are + S + going to have + been 



The future perfect continuous going to question (?) form we have to use ‘yes/no’ answers or 

‘yes/no + will/won’t’ because ‘yes/no + am/is/are’ gives a different meaning. This is another 

reason the future perfect continuous with ‘will’ is the simpler and so more commonly used form.


Uses 

The future perfect continuous is used like the past perfect continuous, the uses are in the same 

context but the difference is the time we refer to is in the future and hasn’t happed yet. 

Continues until another time in the future. 

Started 

Time we refer to 


We use the future perfect continuous to show something started and will continue up until 

another time in the future. We use a duration of time like: "For ten minutes" and "for three days" 

Example We will have been living in Istanbul for ten years this time next month 

Causes an effect on an action or event in the future 

Cause 

Effect 


Using the Future Perfect Continuous before another action in the future is how we show cause 

and effect. How the original action has an effect on the following action or event. 

Example He will be tired because he will have been driving all day


The Future Perfect Continuous Will positive (+) 

Subject Will Have Been Verb ing Object 

I will have been sleeping in bed 

He will have been working at school 

She will have been playing games 

It will have been flooding the farm 

They will have been travelling in the US 

We will have been living in York 

You will have been studying physics 

The Future Perfect Continuous Going to positive (+) 

Subject Am/is/are Going to Have Been Verb ing Object 

I am going to have been sleeping in bed 

He is going to have been working at school 

She is going to have been playing games 

It is going to have been flooding the farm 

They are going to have been travelling in the US 

We are going to have been living in York 

You are going to have been studying physics


The Future Perfect Continuous Will negative (-) 

Subject Will + not Have Been Verb ing Object 

I won’t have been sleeping in bed 

He won’t have been working at school 

She won’t have been playing games 

It won’t have been flooding the farm 

They won’t have been travelling in the US 

We won’t have been living in York 

You won’t have been studying physics 

The Future Perfect Continuous Going to negative (-) 

Subject Am/is/are + not going to Have Been Verb ing Object 

I am not going to have been sleeping in bed 

He isn’t going to have been working at school 

She isn’t going to have been playing games 

It isn’t going to have been flooding the farm 

They aren’t going to have been travelling in the US 

We aren’t going to have been living in York 

You aren’t going to have been studying physics


The Future Perfect Continuous Will question (?) 

Will Subject Have Been Verb ing Object 

Will I have been sleeping in bed? 

Will he have been working at school? 

Will she have been playing games? 

Will it have been flooding the farm? 

Will they have been travelling in the US? 

Will we have been living in York? 

Will you have been studying physics? 

The Future Perfect Continuous Going to question (?) 

Am/is/are Am/is/are Going to Have Been Verb ing Object 

Am I going to have been sleeping in bed? 

Is he going to have been working at school? 

Is she going to have been playing games? 

Is it going to have been flooding the farm? 

Are they going to have been travelling in the US? 

Are we going to have been living in York? 

Are you going to have been studying physics?


WH questions always go at the beginning of the sentence *(See WH questions block 2) 

Why will he have been waiting so long? 

Where is she going to have been staying before she arrives? 

Who will have been talking the most at the seminar? 

We often use ‘How’ and ‘long’ How long will you have been waiting by then? Will you have 

been waiting for a long time? Will you have been waiting long? 

Expressions of time with the future perfect continuous 



Long Length of time Before Previous time 

By + time Future time When Interrupted/same/future time 

Examples Future Perfect Continuous Will (for going to replace ‘will’ with ‘am/is/are + going to’) 

Subject Will Have Been Verb ing Object Expression of time 

I will have been sleeping in bed for hours 

He will have been working at school since 2010 

She will have been playing games for hours by the time you arrive 

It will have been flooding the farm for some time 

They will have been travelling in the US before they go on to Asia 

We will have been living in York for a long time by then 

You will have been studying physics for ages before the exam


The Verb to Be with Perfect tenses 

The verb be: is used to show existence or the condition of the subject. We usually use it to say 

how we feel, what we do (our job or vocation), our sex or nationality. 

The verb to be is different to other tenses because it does not have: Subject + verb + object. The 

verb to be has a compliment. Subject + verb + compliment There is no action just be. A 

compliment shows the existence or adds information about the state or function of the subject: 

In the Perfect tenses, it takes the form: 


Had been + complement Has/have been + complement Will have been + complement 

Going to have been + complement 

The verb to be in Perfect tenses takes a corresponding context/aspect of time. 

The Verb to Be also takes the same Perfect tense expressions of time. 

The most common are: 


Also *see Present Perfect tenses time expressions for more detail. 

Just Recently Already Ever Never 

Yet Before After When While 

Until Then Preposition + By + time Long + time


Verb to Be Present Perfect tense 



compliment adds information about the state or function of the subject: 

The Verb to Be in the Present Perfect tense shows how the present state or condition of the 

subject is connected or related to the past. It often refers to the period of time a state or condition 

has existed and usually is unfinished and will continue on into the future. 

Condition/state 

Present time 


I have been a doctor for ten years 

The verb to be in the present perfect takes the form Have/has + been. 

Structure 

Subject + have + been + Complement 

I have been a doctor


The Present Perfect Verb Be positive (+) 

Subject Have/has Been Complement 

I have been a teacher 

He has been a student 

She has been reliable 

It has been late 

They have been doctors 

We have been lucky 

You have been happy 

The Present Perfect Verb Be negative (-) 

Subject Have/has + not Been Complement 

I haven’t been a teacher 

He hasn’t been a student 

She hasn’t been reliable 

It hasn’t been late 

They haven’t been doctors 

We haven’t been lucky 

You haven’t been happy


The Present Perfect Verb Be question (?) 

Have/has Subject Been Complement 

Have I been a teacher? 

Has he been a student? 

Has she been reliable? 

Has it been late? 

Have they been doctors? 

Have we been lucky? 

Have you been happy? 


Why has it been late? How long has she been a student? Who has been lucky? 

The Present Perfect Verb Be time expressions 

Subject Have/has Been Complement Time expression 

I have been a teacher for ten years 

He has been a student since May 

She has been reliable recently 

It has been late before 

They have been doctors since graduation 

We have been lucky often 

You have been happy today


Verb to Be Past Perfect tense 


The verb to be has a compliment. Subject + verb + compliment 

The Verb to Be in the Past Perfect tense shows how the past state or condition of the subject was 

connected or related to its past. It often refers to the period of time a state or condition had 

existed up until then. The state or condition being referred to is finished/complete. 


Past time 


I had been a doctor for ten years 

It may also refer to a change in condition or state. The Perfect tense shows us the order of events 

(which came first) The first state or condition is referred to in the Past perfect and the following 

state is referred to in the Past Simple tense 

Condition/state Past time 


I had been a doctor until I lost my job 

The verb to be in the past perfect takes the form Had + been. 

Structure: Subject + had + been + Complement 

I had been a doctor


The Past Perfect Verb Be positive (+) 

Subject Had Been Complement 

I had been a teacher 

He had been a student 

She had been reliable 

It had been late 

They had been doctors 

We had been lucky 

You had been happy 

The Past Perfect Verb Be negative (-) 

Subject Had + not Been Complement 

I hadn’t been a teacher 

He hadn’t been a student 

She hadn’t been reliable 

It hadn’t been late 

They hadn’t been doctors 

We hadn’t been lucky 

You hadn’t been happy


The Past Perfect Verb Be question (?) 

Have/has Subject Been Complement 

Had I been a teacher? 

Had he been a student? 

Had she been reliable? 

Had it been late? 

Had they been doctors? 

Had we been lucky? 

Had you been happy? 


Why had it been late? How long had she been a student? Who had been lucky? 

The Past Perfect Verb Be time expressions 

Subject Have/has Been Complement Time expression 

I had been a teacher for ten years 

He had been a student since May 

She had been reliable up till now 

It had been late before 

They had been doctors since graduation 

We had been lucky until then 

You had been happy when he came


Verb to Be future tense 



compliment adds information about the state or function of the subject: 

Future perfect be refers to a state or condition that will continue until another point in the future. 


Future time 


By this time next year, I will have been a doctor for ten years 

The verb to be in the future takes 2 forms will have been or going to have been. 

Structure 

Subject + will + have + been + Complement 

I will have been a doctor 

Structure 

Subject + am/is/are + going to + have + been + Complement 

I am going to have been a doctor 

Unlike Simple Future forms, Future Perfect ‘be’ forms are similar and usually interchangeable. 


the will form as it is shorter and simpler.


The Future Perfect Verb Be will positive (+) 

Subject Will Have Been Complement 

I will have been a teacher 

He will have been a student 

She will have been reliable 

It will have been late 

They will have been doctors 

We will have been lucky 

You will have been happy 

The Future Perfect Verb Be will negative (-) 

Subject Will + not Have Been Complement 

I won’t have been a teacher 

He won’t have been a student 

She won’t have been reliable 

It won’t have been late 

They won’t have been doctors 

We won’t have been lucky 

You won’t have been happy


The Future Perfect Verb Be will question (?) 

Will Subject Have Been Complement 

Will I have been a teacher? 

Will he have been a student? 

Will she have been reliable? 

Will it have been late? 

Will they have been doctors? 

Will we have been lucky? 

Will you have been happy? 


Why will it have been late? How long will she have been a student? Who will have been lucky? 

The Future Perfect Verb Be will time expressions 

Subject Will Have Been Complement Time expression 

I will have been a teacher for ten years 

He will have been a student since May 

She will have been sick for a week 

It will have been late every time 

They will have been doctors since graduation 

We will have been friends for years 

You will have been angry since morning


The Future Perfect Verb Be going to positive (+) 

Subject Am/is/are Going to Have Been Complement 

I am going to have been a teacher 

He is going to have been a student 

She is going to have been reliable 

It is going to have been late 

They are going to have been doctors 

We are going to have been lucky 

You are going to have been happy 

The Future Perfect Verb Be going to negative (-) 

Subject Am/is/are + not Going to Have Been Complement 

I am not going to have been a teacher 

He isn’t going to have been a student 

She isn’t going to have been reliable 

It isn’t going to have been late 

They aren’t going to have been doctors 

We aren’t going to have been lucky 

You aren’t going to have been happy


The Future Perfect Verb Be going to question (?) 

Am/is/are Subject Going to Have Been Complement 

Am I going to have been a teacher? 

Is he going to have been a student? 

Is she going to have been reliable? 

Is it going to have been late? 

Are they going to have been doctors? 

Are we going to have been lucky? 

Are you going to have been happy? 


Why is it going to have been late? How long is she going to have been a student? 

The Future Perfect Verb Be going to time expressions 

Subject Am/is/are Going to Have Been Complement Time expression 

I am going to have been a teacher for ten years 

He is going to have been a student since May 

She is going to have been reliable for a week 

It is going to have been late every time 

They are going to have been doctors since graduation 

We are going to have been lucky for years 

You are going to have been happy since morning


Part 3 Advanced English Grammar 

Phrasal Verbs 

A phrasal verb is an idiomatic phrase consisting of a verb and another element, typically either 

an adverb, as in break down, or a preposition, for example see to, or a combination of both, 

such as look down on. 

Some verbs are made from more than one word, they come in two parts and sometimes three. 

Two-word phrasal verb Three-word phrasal verb Meaning 

Break out Break out of To escape 

When we combine a verb with other words its meaning can change. 

Phrasal verbs often have more than one meaning too. 

Phrasal verb 1 st Meaning 2 nd Meaning 

Blow up Explode Get angry 

Bring up Mention a topic Raise children 

Phrasal verbs commonly come in two forms: 

Subject Verb Adverb/preposition Object 

I switched on the light 

Subject Verb Object Adverb/preposition 

I switched the light on 

If the object is a personal pronoun, they always take this form 

I gave it back (correct) I gave back it (incorrect)


Types of Phrasal Verbs 

Transitive Phrasal Verbs 

Some phrasal verbs are transitive. A transitive verb can be followed by an object. 

He turned off the TV 

Intransitive Phrasal Verbs 

Some phrasal verbs are intransitive. An intransitive verb cannot be followed by an object. 

Example: He wanted to run away 

Separable Phrasal Verbs 

Some transitive phrasal verbs are separable. The object is between the verb and the preposition. 

Example: He talked me into it 

Inseparable Phrasal Verbs 

Some transitive phrasal verbs are inseparable. The object is after the preposition. 

Example: He takes after me 

Separable and Inseparable Phrasal Verbs 

Some transitive phrasal verbs can take an object in both places. 

Example: He looked her up 

Example: He looked up her number


Unfortunately, like irregular verbs phrasal verbs are numerous (77,000 in total) and learning 

them is like learning vocabulary. 

There are ways to aid the memorization of phrasal verbs. If both the verb and preposition or 

adverb are familiar we can use logical deduction to picture the context. 

A light has two states, it can be on or 

off. If we change from one state to 

another state and back, we can use the 

verb turn. 

So, the phrasal verb can be 

turn on/turn off the light 

We can’t use up or down for 

something with only two settings but 

with volume we can. We can increase 

the volume by turning it up or 

decrease it by turning it down. 

So, the phrasal verb can be 

turn up/turn down the volume 

Learning phrasal verbs by topic is also a useful method of memorizing them. 

Radio and television 

Turn Turn on Turn off Turn up Turn down Turn over 

Switch Switch on Switch off Switch over


Verb (+) Meaning Example 

bring: about make happen Climate change may bring about a rise in sea levels 

along take You can bring along a friend if you like 

back return Please bring back that book I lent you 

forward advance Due to the snow, we decided to bring forward the exam 

in take inside Bring in the dog it’s raining outside 

out take outside Bring out the rubbish with you when you leave 

up mention Don’t bring up last night it was so embarrassing 

buy: out purchase all The company was bought out by a ruthless capitalist 

up purchase all He bought up all the remaining stock nothing remains 

call: off cancel They called off the meeting because of the strike 

up recruit All the men over nineteen were called up to serve 

carry: off take (away) He was so charming he carried her off in his arms 

out take outside He didn’t finish the food so he got a carry out 

come in enter Come in and make yourself at home 

cut: back reduce We had to cut back our spending after I lost my job 

down reduce She was on a diet so she cut down her sugar intake 

off ignore After she cheated on him he cut off completely 

out stop She told him to cut out the small talk and speak plainly 

up dissect She cut up the wedding dress in a fit of anger 

find: out discover I found out who took you phone 

get: out exit, leave The disruptive pupil was told to get out of the class


up awake What time do you get up in the morning 

give: back return Please give me back my book 

off emit The factory gave off a strange smell 

up stop I gave up smoking two months ago 

hand: back return The thief felt guilty so he handed the wallet back 

in return lost item My friend found a gun so he handed it in to the police 

out distribute She handed out free tickets to all her friends 

over surrender When threatened, he handed over the money 

round distribute He handed round that photo off me from last night 

hold: on wait I wanted to quit today but I will hold on for the money 

up delay They promised it would be here what is the hold up? 

knock: down demolish The old church was knocked down to build a carpark 

out unconscious He was knocked out in the first round of the fight 

over topple She knocked over his wine glass 

leave: behind abandon He gave up work and left his old life behind 

out omit She left out the most interesting bit of the story 

let: down disappoint I was relying on you but you let me down 

in allow inside Don’t answer the door or let anyone in 

off forgive I was late but the boss let me off this time 

out allow outside Don’t let out the dog he tends to run away 

look into investigate The detective promised to look into the case 

out be careful Look out! There is a tree falling


up search list She looked up his phone number 

make: out understand I couldn’t make out what he was saying 

up Invent, lie The whole story was completely made up 

pass: round distribute Pass round the report so everyone can see 

up refuse He passed up the offer of help 

pick: out choose I was told to pick out the one I wanted 

point: out locate, show Please point out any dangerous rocks when we dock 

push: around bully He was always being pushed around by bigger kids 

over topple He pushed over the table 

put: across explain He put his point across very clearly 

away tidy, store Mum told me to put away my toys 

down belittle She said he is useless, she is always putting him down 

forward propose I put forward the following solution for your appraisal 

off delay He hates the dentist he kept putting off the appointment 

on dress, wear It was snowing so he put on a warm jacket 

out extinguish Don’t forget to put out the fire when we leave 

together assemble 

They put a great team together 

up tolerate I can’t put up with rude people 

read: out read loudly Please read out the rules to the class 

set: apart separate I had to set apart the bad students from the good 

aside leave for now They project was set aside until the funding arrived 

back hindrance The loss of the star player was a real setback


up arrange We set up a good system for accounting 

shut: away inaccessible They shut away the dangerous animals 

in trapped The dog was shut inside the hot car 

off close We have a burst pipe, quick shut off the mains 

out ignore I was shut out of the planning process 

take: apart disassemble Customs officials took apart my car looking for drugs 

away takeout They were too lazy to cook so they had a take away 

back rescind Ok I am sorry, I was wrong and I take back what I said 

off undress She took off her wet hat and coat 

on responsible for I took on john’s cat when he died 

over conquer The Ottomans too over Constantinople in 1453 

up start a hobby I took up swimming twice a week 

think: over contemplate I’d like to offer you the job but first think it over 

through assess We have two options we need to think them through 

up invent We need to think up an excuse for being late 

throw: away discard I threw away my lottery ticket before I checked it 

try: out test I tried out the new car 

watch: out be careful watch out for bears and wolves in the forest 

The examples above are some of the most common phrasal verbs but there are many more. Also, 

be aware many common phrasal verbs have more than one meaning. Some meanings are literal 

others are more abstract


Tags too, so, either, neither & question tags 

A tag is something that we put on the end of sentences – particularly in spoken English. There 

are many tags but first we will look at using tags we use to agree and disagree. The simplest and 

most common way we agree with another person’s idea or statement is to say “Me too.” 

We also use tags to agree and disagree these are: ‘So, too’ (+) agree & ‘either, neither’ (-) agree. 

I like coffee 

I do too 

So, do I 

I do too 

So, do I 

Structure: 

Subject + auxiliary verb + too 

So, + auxiliary verb + Subject 

Positive (+) agree ( ) 

I don’t like 

coffee 

I don’t either 

Neither do I 

I don’t either 

Neither do I 

Structure: 

Subject+ auxiliary verb (-) + either 

Neither+ auxiliary verb + Subject 

Negative (-) agree ( )


We can use different auxiliary verbs depending on the context 

Positive (+) agree So Too 

I like tea So, do I I do too 

I am happy So am I I am too 

I was a student So was I I was too 

I can swim So, can I I can too 

I would go So, would I I would too 

I should help So, should I I should too 

Negative (-) agree Neither Either 

I don’t like tea Neither do I I don’t either 

I’m not happy Neither am I I’m not either 

I wasn’t a student Neither was I I wasn’t either 

I can’t swim Neither can I I can’t either 

I wouldn’t go Neither would I I wouldn’t either 

I shouldn’t help Neither should I I shouldn’t either 

The auxiliary in the tag/response should match the auxiliary in the original statement. 

Neither is a negative either in the same was never is negative ever. So, we use a positive verb 

with neither as it is already negative and we have to use a negative verb with either to make it 

negative. Neither with a negative makes a double negative and (-)(-) = (+) so: 

Neither + (+) auxiliary verb: Neither have I 

Either + (-) auxiliary verb: I haven’t either

We can also use different subject pronouns depending on the context. 


I am 

English 

So am I 

I am too 

So are 

we 

We are too 

I am not 

English 

I’m not 

either 

Neither am I 

We aren’t 

either 

Neither are we 

*We can use ‘nor’ in place of neither. Neither do I = Nor do I 

For informal speech, we can choose to use ‘Me too’ in place of So do I and I do too = Me too


Question Tags 

Question tags are the short questions that we put on the end of sentences, they are common in 

spoken English. We use a comma (,) before the tag. There are lots of different question tags. 

With Subject Pronouns 

The question tag uses the same subject pronoun as the main part of the sentence. 

Examples: 

He is sad, isn’t he? They are late, aren’t they? It is cold, isn’t it? 

With ‘I am’ 

Be careful with question tags with sentences that start ‘I am’. 

We can use am I not? (formal) but commonly the question tag for ‘I am’ is ‘aren’t I?’ 

Examples: 

I am happy, aren’t I? I am a teacher, aren’t I? I am clever, aren’t I? 

Positive/negative 

If the main part of the sentence is positive, the question tag is negative …. 

Examples: 

It is raining, isn’t it? 

They are good, aren’t they? We are in trouble, aren’t we? 

... and if the main part of the sentence is negative, the question tag is positive. 

Examples: 

It isn’t raining, is it? 

They aren’t good, are they? We aren’t in trouble, are we?


With auxiliary verbs 

The question tag uses the same verb as the main part of the sentence. 

Examples: 

I’ve come, haven’t I? He had been, hadn’t he? They weren’t late, were they? 

Without auxiliary verbs 

If the main part of the sentence doesn’t have an auxiliary verb, the question tag uses an 

appropriate form of ‘do’. 

Examples: 

It works, doesn’t it? He left, didn’t he? You don’t know, do you? 

With modal verbs 

If there is a modal verb in the main part of the sentence the question tag uses the same modal 

verb. 

Examples: 

You can’t see it, can you? He will pass, won’t he? I should go, shouldn’t I? 

Modal ‘shall’ for suggestion 

We can make a suggestion with the modal ‘shall’ 

In this form, shall is always paired with (let us) let’s, let’s is always used in the short form. 

Let’s go, shall we? Let’s dance, shall we? Let’s see a movie, shall we? 

*For more see modal verbs on page xxx


Intonation (sound) 

Question tags can either be ‘real’ questions where you want to know the answer or they can ask 

for agreement or confirmation because we think we know the answer. 

If the question tag is a real question we use rising intonation (sound frequency/pitch goes up). 

Our tone of voice rises. 

Example: 

You’re Brazilian, 

aren’t you? 

aren’t you 

If we already know the answer we use falling intonation. (sound frequency/pitch goes up) Our 

tone of voice falls. 

Example: 

You are Turkish, 

aren’t you? 

aren’t you 

We use this intonation when we ask rhetorical questions and or being sarcastic, we know the 

answer but we are making a point. Be careful it can be received as light hearted fun or very rude!


Passive Voice 

In a standard active sentence the focus of the sentence is on the Subject because it is the most 

important thing in the sentence. 

Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known who or 

what is performing the action. Passive voice is used when the object is the focus of the sentence. 

For example, if your friend lent you his Ferrari and you broke it he will not care who fixed it. It 

is only important that it has been fixed. John the mechanic is unimportant for your friend. 

Structure: 

Active: 

Subject Verb Object 

John fixed your Ferrari 

Passive: We always use past participle (Verb 3) 

Object be Verb 3 by Subject 

Your Ferrari was fixed by John 

Passive voice 

can be 

illustrated as 

shown 

Subject + be + verb 3 + (by) + (object) 

(by + agent) is sometimes 

omitted it is not always 

necessary to include the 

object if it is obvious


When we use: 

Media 

Often when someone unimportant is the subject of an action on a celebrity or star the media will 

start the report or the newspaper will run the headline with the known personality. 

Example: Elvis has been seen by various witnesses including the sheriff. 

Politics 

Politicians like to distance themselves from responsibility. They rarely admit to making 

mistakes. Instead they may say: 

Examples: “Mistakes were made.” or “lessons have been learned.” 

Science and medicine 

When a procedure is carried out the method and results are important, the lab technicians are not. 

Also, if someone you care about is in hospital we tend to ask about them in the passive. The 

actions of drugs are less important than their effects on patients etc. 

Example: 100cc of saline solution was added to the mixture and heated by the technician. 

Law 

In a court the accused or defendant is the focus of the case and far more significant than the 

various witnesses involved. 

Example: The accused was seen by the witness leaving the scene of the crime.


Examples 

Active action 

Passive action 

Future Tenses 

Future will 

The policeman will catch the thief 

The thief will be caught by the policeman 

Future going to 

The policeman is going to catch the thief 

The thief is going to be caught by the 

policeman 

Present Tenses 

Present simple 

The policeman catches the thief 

The thief is caught by the policeman 

Present continuous 

The policeman is catching the thief 

The thief is being caught by the policeman 

Present perfect 

The policeman has caught the thief 

The thief has been caught by the policeman 

Past Tenses 

Past simple 

The policeman catches the thief 

The thief is caught by the policeman 

Past continuous 

The policeman was catching the thief 

The thief was being caught by the policeman 

Past perfect 

The policeman had 

caught the thief 

The thief had been 

caught by the 

policeman 

*We use passive voice with all the tenses but not the perfect continuous tense.


We can use phrasal verbs in the passive: 

Active: The government called up all the young men over nineteen 

Passive: All the young men over nineteen were called up by the government 

Pronouns 

When we swap round the subject and the object to form (by + agent) the pronoun changes 

Active I He She It They We You 

Passive Me Him Her It Them Us You 

Examples: 

Active 

I wrote the book 

He broke the window 

She told him off 

It bit me 

They cancelled the party 

We ate the pizza 

You lost the key 

Passive 

The book was written by me 

The window was broken by him 

He was told off by her 

I was bitten by it 

The party was cancelled by them 

The pizza was eaten by us 

The key was lost by you


Omitting the agent 

We often omit the agent (by + agent) if it is unimportant, irrelevant obvious or unknown 

Example: Agent is necessary 

The football match was won by Bristol Rovers 

We need the agent (Bristol Rovers) because without it the information is worthless as every 

match is won or lost without reference to the winner of loser the sentence has no value. 

Example: Agent is not necessary 

Many people are treated in hospitals (by doctors) 

Mobile phones are used a lot (by people) these days 

We know doctors treat people in hospitals and people use phones. We won’t think elephants treat 

people in hospitals or trees use phones. So, the agent is optional information it can be omitted. 

Transitive, non-transitive 

A sentence can be changed into passive voice if it has subject and object. 

A transitive verb has a direct object (so passive form is possible) 

An intransitive verb doesn’t take a direct object (so passive form isn’t possible) 

Examples: 

They arrived late for the meeting (arrived) is an intransitive verb so passive form isn’t possible 

The apple fell from the tree (fell) is an intransitive verb so passive form isn’t possible


Complex examples 

When we see, large sentences changing them into passive appears difficult. However, there are 

only three elements that we need to consider: Subject, verb and object 

My big black lazy cat, Casper (is just single subject with adjectives). 

We can ignore the adjectives that go with the subject and object, any adverbs that go with the 

verb and any time expressions etc. 

Example: 

Nazi scientists designed new rocket technology during the late stages of World War Two 

Here we have a lengthy time expression. When we change this sentence to passive we can ignore 

it. Identify the subject, verb and object. Change them from active to passive form. Then just 

reattach the time expression onto the beginning or end of the sentence passive. 

Active: 

Nazi scientists designed new rocket technology during the late stages of World War Two 

Passive: 

New rocket technology was designed by Nazi scientists during the late stages of World War Two 

or 

During the late stages of World War Two new rocket technology was designed by Nazi scientists


Causative Verbs 

The English verbs let, make, have, get, and help are called causative verbs because they cause 

something to happen. They influence or effect a change or stimulate an action indirectly. 

Structure: Causative verb + person/thing + verb 

There are 5 causative verbs 

Causative verb Meaning, method Example 

Let permit, allow I let her walk the dog 

Make force They made him give them his wallet 

Get convince, trick, encourage He got her to give him her number 

Have give responsibility to Jane had her children walk to school 

Help assist We helped him with his homework 

Leading by example 

The brave commander 

had his men follow him 

to death or glory? 

Or 


got his men follow him 

to death or glory? 

Or 


made his men follow 

him to death or glory?


I wanted to walk the dog but I was late. I called John and he agreed to walk the dog for me. 

I 

• had 

John 

• walk 

the dog 

Structures and examples: 

Let structure: Let + person/thing + verb 1 (base form) 

Example: I let Rachel cut my hair 

Make structure: Make + person/thing + verb 1 (base form) 

Example: I Made them tidy up the mess 

Get structure: Get + person/thing + verb 1 (base form) 

Example: Richard got Pete to help him with his homework 

Have structure: 1 Have + person + verb 1 (base form) 

Example: I have john drive the kids to school 

Have structure: 2 Have + thing + verb 3 (past participle) 

Example: I have my haircut by Tony (this is also passive) 

*formal we often use get in informal 

Example: I get my haircut by Tony 

Help structure: 1 Help + person/thing + verb 1 (base form) 

Example: I help them run the shop 

Help structure: 2 Help + person + to + verb 1 (base form) 

Example: I help them to run the shop


Clauses and sentence types 

A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb. Sentences are made up of one or 

more clauses. Clauses are connected by conjunctions. *see conjunctions on page xxx. There are 

two main types of clauses. 

They are: Main clause (independent clause) and Subordinate clause (dependent clause) 

We will refer to them as Main clause and Sub clause. 

Main Clause 

(Independent) 

Sub Clause 

(Dependent) 

Can stand alone and is logical. It is complete 

A sentence can consist of a single main clause 

Can’t stand alone and is illogical. It is incomplete 

It needs to be paired with a main clause to make sense. 

They come in four different forms: 

Adjective clause 

Adverb clause 

Noun clause 

If clause 

Sub clause functions as an adjective. It modifies a noun in the main clause 

Sub clause functions as an adverb. It modifies a verb in the main clause 

Reported speech is the most common form of noun clauses 

Conditionals, the clauses provide a condition and a result 

*For more on adjective clauses see page xxx 

*For more on adverb clauses see page xxx 

*For more on noun clauses see page xxx 

*For more on if clauses see page xxx


Sentence types: 

Structure Example Sentence type 

Main clause I like coffee simple sentence 

Main clause + main clause I like coffee and I like tea compound sentence 

Main clause + sub clause I like coffee because it tastes nice complex sentence 

We can illustrate clauses as trains: 

Train engine (main clause) 

Train carriage (sub clause) 

A train carriage needs an engine like a sub clause needs a main clause. A carriage without an 

engine is going nowhere and a sub clause without a main clause is not going to make sense. 

Example: 

“It tastes nice.” 

(What?) 

“I like coffee.” 

(OK) 

If we want to join them together we can use a conjunction 

“I like coffee because it tastes nice.” 

(OK)


How clauses make sentences 

Simple sentence 

I like coffee 

Compound sentence 

I like coffee and I like tea 

Complex sentence 

I like coffee because It tastes nice 

If clause 

If you work hard , you will pass the exam 

A main clause and a sub clause can be interchangeable. The main clause usually goes first but 

like a train and carriage they can go either way and function the same. 

Adjective clause 

The man who lives next door is a doctor 

Adjective clauses have defining or non-defining forms and unlike normal adjectives which go 

before the noun they modify in an adjective clause they always go after the noun they modify


Conditional Clauses (If clauses) 

Conditionals (if clauses) are used to talk about what could happen, what might have happened, 

and what we wish would happen. 

There are five main ways of constructing conditional sentences in English. In all cases, these 

sentences are made up of two clauses, an if clause (condition) and a main clause (result). 

The if and main clauses can go either way round 

(condition), (result) or (result) (condition) 

If you go to Rome, you will meet many new friends 

You will meet many new friends if you go to Rome 

If you begin with the if clause you need a comma (,) 

Conditional Use/function If clause verb tense Main clause verb tense 

0 

General truths and facts 



100% certain 

condition and result 

1 st 

Future possibility 


Future simple 

50% possible 


2 nd 

Unlikely or 

Past simple 

Present simple or 

1-0% hypothetical 

hypothetical future 


3 rd 

Unreal past condition 

Past perfect 

Perfect conditional 

0% impossible 

and probable past result 

Mixed 

Unreal past condition 

Past perfect 

Present conditional 

0% impossible 

and probable result 

*% is for illustrative purposes only


0 Conditional (certain result) 

If Clause (structure) 

If + present simple 

If Clause (condition) 

If this happens 

Main Clause (structure) 


Main Clause (result) 

That happens 

We use the zero conditional to talk about things that are always true. We use the so-called zero 

conditional when the result of the condition is true, like a scientific fact. 

The zero conditional is used for when the time being referred to is now or always and the 

situation is real and possible. 

The zero conditional is often used to refer to general truths. In zero conditional sentences, the 

word "if" can be replaced by the word "when" without changing the meaning. 

If you heat ice, ice melts 

When you heat ice, ice melts 

The tense in both parts of the sentence is the simple present. Notice the same rules apply so he, 

she and it pronouns add ‘s’ to the verb in the positive form 

Examples: 


If you heat water to 100°c, 



water boils 


Water freezes If you cool it to 0°c


1 st Conditional (possible result) 


If + present simple 


If this happens 


Future simple 


That will happen 

We use the first conditional when we talk about real and possible situations. 

The 1 st conditional is used to refer to the present or future where the situation is real or a 

possibility. The 1 st conditional refers to a possible condition and its probable result. 

We usually use the modal ‘will’ but, the probability changes depending on the modal we use. 

Modal 

Strength Use 

will 100% Prediction/certainty 

ought to 75% Prediction 

should 75% Prediction 

If you work hard, you may pass the exam 50% Prediction/possibility 

might 50% Prediction/possibility 

can 50% Possibility 

could 50% Possibility 

Examples: 


If you drive too fast, 


You will get a good job 


you will lose your license 


if you graduate university


2 nd Conditional (unlikely, hypothetical or impossible result) 


If + past simple 


If this happened 


Present simple or present continuous 


That would happen or would be happening 

The second conditional is used to talk about ‘unreal’ or impossible things. 

The 2 nd conditional is used to refer to a time that is now or any time, and a situation that is unreal 

or hypothetical. These sentences are not based on fact. The 2 nd conditional is used to refer to a 

hypothetical condition and its probable result. In 2 nd conditional sentences, the if clause uses the 

simple past, and the main clause uses the present conditional. 

Some examples are extremely unlikely situations such as: If I were a billionaire, I would buy an 

Island. Others are impossible such as: If I were a camel, I would live in the desert 

We often shorten ‘I would’ to ‘I’d’ *see reductions contractions reference block page xxx 

We normally use ‘was’ with ‘I’ however, we use I were because it informs the listener we are 

about to talk about an unlikely, unreal or hypothetical situation. 

‘I were’ is the correct form although ‘I was’ is generally accepted in modern speech. 

We often use ‘If I were you’ to offer advice, obviously, I can’t be you. 

Examples: 


If I were you, 


I would rule the Caribbean 


I’d study very hard for the exam 


if I were a pirate


3 rd Conditional (condition is past so result is impossible) 


If + past perfect 


If this had happened 


Perfect or perfect continuous conditional 


That would have happened or been happening 

The 3 rd conditional is used to refer to a time that is in the past, and a situation that is contrary to 

reality. The facts they are based on are the opposite of what is expressed. The 3 rd conditional is 

used to refer to an unreal past condition and its probable past result. In 3 rd conditional sentences, 

the if clause uses the past perfect, and the main clause uses the perfect conditional. 

This conditional form in English uses sentences that include verbs in one of the past tenses. This 

usage is referred to as "the unreal past" because we use a past tense but we are not actually 

referring to something that happened in the past. 

The 3rd conditional is often used to refer to regrets, things we wish we had done differently of 

alternative choices we could have made. We often use ‘If only’ 

For example: If only I had listened to her, I wouldn’t have been in so much trouble. 

Examples: 


If I had passed the exam, 


I would have been in big trouble 


I would have been a doctor 


if I had listened to his advice


Mixed Conditional (condition is past so result is impossible) 


If + past perfect or simple past 


If this had happened 


Present or perfect conditional 


That would happen or have happened 

The mixed type conditional is really the same as 3 rd conditional except the result is referred to in 

the present. The mixed type conditional is used to refer to a time that is in the past, and a 

situation that is ongoing into the present. The facts they are based on are the opposite of what is 

expressed. The mixed type conditional is used to refer to an unreal past condition and its 

probable result in the present. In mixed type, conditional sentences, the if clause uses the past 

perfect, and the main clause uses the present conditional. 

This conditional form in English uses sentences that include verbs in one of the past tenses. This 

usage is referred to as "the unreal past" because we use a past tense but we are not actually 

referring to something that happened in the past. 

The 3rd conditional is often used to refer to regrets, things we wish we had done differently of 

alternative choices we could have made. We often use ‘If only’ 

For example: If only I had listened to her, I wouldn’t have been in so much trouble now. 

Examples: 


If I had married 


I would be famous now 


I would have a big family 


if I had published my book


More examples 

0 Conditional 

If it rains, 

The bus is late 

If you mix red and blue, 

the ground gets wet 

if the traffic is congested 

you get purple 

1 st Conditional 

If I have enough money, 

I will tell him 

If the train is delayed, 

I will take a holiday this year 

If I see him 

I won’t come to the party 

2 nd Conditional 

If I had a plane, 

I would own an island 

If I were him, 

I would fly around the world 

if I were rich 

I would speak to her 

3 rd Conditional 

If I had stayed any longer, 

I wouldn't have said it 

If he had passed the exam, 

I would have run out of money 

if I had known then what I know now 

he would have been a policeman 

Mixed Conditional 

If he had won the election, 

I would have been successful 

If we had gotten married, 

He would be Prime Minister now 

If I had worked harder at school 

We would have children now


If and unless 

Most sentences using the conditional contain the word ‘if’. In many negative conditional 

sentences, there is an equivalent sentence construction using ‘unless’ instead of ‘if’ 

Examples: 

If (+) conditional 

If you work hard, you will pass the exam 

If I remember, I will bring your book 

Unless (-) negative conditional 

You won’t pass the exam unless you work hard 

I will bring your book unless I forget 

What if, suppose and supposing 

We use ‘what if’ to speculate or contemplate possible future situations and outcomes. 

We often use ‘What would happen if?’ as a question. 

Examples: 

What if (speculate or contemplate) 

What if I decided not to go 

What would happen if (question) 

What would happen if we were visited by aliens? 

We use suppose, supposing and what if + present verb to make suggestions about what might 

happen: 

Examples: 

What if 

What if we go together 

Suppose, Supposing 

Suppose we meet at eleven


Adverb Clauses 

An adverb clause is a group of words. As with other clauses it contains a subject and verb. 

An adverb/adverbial clause is a subordinate/dependent clause. This means it cannot stand alone 

as meaningful sentence, it is always paired with a main clause. 

(Before) we go to the cinema, we must buy our tickets 

Adverb clause 

Main clause 

An adverb clause functions as an adverb. It modifies a verb in the main clause. 

The sub clause begins with a (conjunction or preposition). 

The adverb clause tells us more about the verb/action. 

Type 

Time 

Place 

Manner 

Shows 

when something happens or how often 

where something happens and often starts with a preposition 

states how something is done 

Degree/Comparison states to what degree something is done or offers a comparison 

Condition 

Concession 

Reason 

states the condition for the something to come into effect 

offers a statement which contrasts with the main idea 

offers a reason for the main idea


Examples: 

Type Conjunction Example: adverb clause 

Adverbs of Time 

Adverbs of Place 

Adverbs of Manner 

after, 

as, 

as long as, 

as soon as, 

before, 

no sooner, 

since, 

until, 

when, 

Whenever, 

While, 

By the time, 

anywhere, 

everywhere, 

where, 

wherever 

as, 

like, 

the way 

as if 

After, the class has finished we all went home. 

As we arrived, the party was beginning. 

He kept running, as long as he could 

As soon as you graduate, you’ll know the job you want. 

I must finish my work before I go home. 

No sooner had I walked in the door than the phone rang. 

She had lived in London, since she was born. 

He must keep trying until he succeeds. 

I stopped going to gym when the holidays started. 

Whenever you make a promise, you should keep it. 

While he was distracted, the thief took the wallet. 

By the time, he died, he had achieved worldwide fame. 

Arrest him anywhere you find him. 

Everywhere they go, they are always happy. 

Let’s go to the beach, where the dolphins are. 

Wherever there is sunshine, tourists will go. 

He finished the work as she requested. 

He acts like it is a joke. 

They danced the way they used to 

He acts as if, he owns the place.

Adverbs of Degree 

and Comparison 

Adverbs of 

Condition 

Adverbs of 

Concession 

Adverbs of Reason 

than, 

as...as, 

so...as, 

more, 

less, 

the...the 

if, 

unless 

though, 

although, 

even though, 

while, 

whereas, 

even if 

whether 

as, 

because, 

given, 

since 


She is dancing better than her husband. 

He is running fastest as far as I know. 

He is not so clever as he thinks she is. 

He likes football, more than tennis. 

I couldn’t care less about it. 

The older you grow the wiser you become. 

If the facts don't fit the theory, change the facts. 

Unless you work hard, you’ll fail the exam. 

Though he is poor, he is dresses well. 

Although he has a degree, he works in part time. 

I couldn’t graduate, even though I passed the tests. 

While I admire your spirit, it is time for you to quit. 

Whereas Jim was introverted, Jane liked to party 

I will go to the party, even if you don’t. 

Whether you like it or not, you are going to leave now. 

As he was not there, I spoke to his manager. 

Because he was skeptical, he didn’t believe a word. 

I wasn’t so late, given the terrible state of the traffic. 

Since I’m late already, I’ll shower at yours. 

The adverb clause is easy to see. It directly follows the conjunction or preposition 

Whether you like it or not, you are going to leave now. If it goes at the start it takes a comma (,)


Adjective clauses 

An adjective clause is also called an adjectival or relative clause. 

The man (that chased me) was very drunk 

An adjective clause functions as an adjective. It modifies a noun in the main clause. 

Unlike normal adjectives which go before the noun they modify in an adjective clause they go 

after the noun they modify. As with other clauses it contains a subject and verb. 

It functions as an adjective, answering questions like: What kind? How many? or Which one? An 

adjective clause begins with: 

relative pronouns [who, whom, whose, that, or which] or relative adverbs [when, where, or why]. 

Relative pronouns 

Who 

Whom 

Whose 

That 

Which 

Relative adverbs 

When 

Where 

Why 

Used to identify 

humans in the (subject) 

humans in the (object) 

humans, animals and things in the (subject or object), shows possession 

humans, animals and things, in the (subject or object) 

things and animals in the (subject or object) *which can refer to a place 

Shows relation to 

Time 

Place *which can also refer to a place 

Reason

There are two types of adjective clause: defining and non-defining 


Non-defining clauses 

Non-defining clauses can give extra information about the noun, but it is not essential. Extra 

information is not necessary because the noun is known. Common non-defining clauses will 

include a proper name as the subject noun: 

Example: 

The book on the coffee table, which is made of oak, is mine. 

Explanation: We don't need this information in order to understand the sentence. ‘The book on 

the coffee table is mine’ is logical on its own. We know which book is being referred to. 

Note: non-defining clauses are usually separated by commas (,) and ‘that’ is not usually used in 

this kind adjective clause. 

Defining clauses 

Defining clauses give essential information about the noun, it is essential. Extra information is 

necessary to clearly identify the noun because the noun is not known. Common non-defining 

clauses will include a general term for the noun and not a proper name: 

Example: 

The man that lives next door is a doctor. 

Explanation: ‘that lives next door’ We need this information in order to understand the sentence. 

Without the relative clause, we don't know which man is being referred to. 

Note: ‘that’ is often used in defining relative clauses, and they are not separated by commas.


Examples: 

Adverb Clause with: 

Who 

Whom 

Whose 

That 

Which 

When 

Where 

Why 

Example 

Teachers who don’t prepare fail in class 

Jane is the sister to whom I am closest. 

People whose names are not on the list aren’t coming in 

Wine that comes from Chile is very nice 

Rome which is in Italy, is very popular with tourists 

I remember my childhood when we didn’t have mobile phones 

The beach where we swam is very beautiful 

The reason why I left him is a secret 

We often use quantifiers and numbers with relative pronouns: 

Many of whom Most of whom None of whom Lots of whom 

All of which Some of which One of which Two of which (etc.) 

We can use them as subject, object or object of a preposition. 

Examples: 

Quantifier 

All of which 

None of which 

Example 

I have read his books, all of which are very good 

There are many newspapers, none of which report real news


Examples by Subject/Object/Place/Time and Reason: 

Subject: Human 

The man who teaches us English is from Canada 

Subject: Thing 

The news reported that the plane which crashed had run out of fuel. 

Object: Human 

Have you called the people who we met at the conference? 

Object: Thing 

The food was definitely the thing which I enjoyed most about Turkey. 

Object of a preposition: 

Who was the woman who you were talking to? 

When the pronoun is the object of a preposition we usually put the preposition after the verb. 

Place: 

Paris where we met, is very romantic in spring. 

Time: 

I will never forget our holiday when you first tried to swim 

Reason: 

The reason why I hate him so much is personal


Reduction of adjective clauses 

An adjective clause with a subject pronoun can also be reduced 

You can shorten an adjective clause in two ways: 

Omit the subject pronoun and verb. 

Original 

I saw a man who was walking with a limp 

Reduced 

I saw a man walking with a limp 

Omit the subject pronoun and change the verb to the form ending in "ing." 

Original 

The man who lives next door is a doctor 

Reduced 

The man living next door is a doctor 

A reduced adjective clause begins with either: 

A present participle (verb + ing) If the reduced clause is made from an active verb 

Original (active) 

The man who was walking the dog was old 

Reduced 

The man walking the dog was old 

A past participle (verb 3) If the reduced clause is made from a passive verb 

Original (passive) 

The painting that was stolen was priceless 

Reduced 

The paining stolen was priceless


Rules on reductions 

If the relative pronoun is the object of the verb, it can be omitted: 

If the relative clause contains the verb 'be' + (see below) it can be reduced: 

be + an adjective phrase 

be + a past participle (a passive form) 

be + a prepositional phrase 

be + a present participle (a continuous form) 

Examples: 

Original 

That is the modal that I made in the shed. 

There is the zoo that we are going to visit 

The girl who is singing is famous in Japan 

Here are the photos that I wanted to show you 

The reason why he was late wasn’t believable 

Paris which is in France is popular in spring 

Who was that man who you were talking to? 

Wine that comes from Italy is very fruity 

The ring which we chose was silver not gold 

Reduced 

That is the modal I made in the shed 

There is the zoo we are going to visit 

The girl singing is famous in Japan 

Here are the photos I wanted to show you 

The reason he was late wasn’t believable 

Paris in France is popular in spring 

Who was that man you were talking to? 

Wine coming from Italy is very fruity 

The ring we chose was silver not gold 

If the relative pronoun is the subject of the verb, then it cannot be omitted: 

Original 

There is the man who crashed my car 

There is the man who crashed my car 

Incorrect 

There is the man crashed my car 

There is the man crashing my car


Reported Speech 

There are three kinds of speech: 

Direct speech 

I bought 

this pen in 

town today. 

Direct speech is when the 

speaker/writer speaks directly to 

the listener or reader. 

Quoted Speech 

He said “I 

bought this pen 

in town today.” 

Quoted speech is where the 

original words are copied and 

quoted by the original listener to a 

third party. The words are simply 

copy pasted between quotation 

marks “” 

Reported Speech 

He said that he 

bought that pen in 

town yesterday. 

Reported speech is another way 

we can relay original speech to a 

third party. 

Use. 

Reported speech is used when we report information so obviously, reporters and journalists often 

use it. In reported speech, the tenses, word-order and pronouns may be different from those in 

the original sentence.


What can change: 

Pronouns 

Direct speech 

I 

Me 

Us 

We 

Reported speech 

He/she 

Him/her 

Them 

They 

Objects/things 

Direct speech 

This 

These 


That 

Those 

Time 

Direct speech 

Now 


Then 

Place 

Direct speech 

Here 


There


Tenses: 

Direct speech 

Present Simple 

Present Continuous 

Past Simple 

Past Continuous 

Present Perfect 

Past Perfect 


Past Simple 

Past Continuous 

Past Perfect 

Past Perfect Continuous 

Past Perfect 

Past Perfect 

Notice we to go back one tense. If there is no further past form in which case, there is no change 

Modals: 

Direct speech 

Will 

Would 

Can 

Could 

Shall 

Should 

May 

Might 

Must 


Would 

Would 

Could 

Could 

Would 

Should 

Might 

Might 

Had to/must 

Notice we to go back one tense. If there is no further past form in which case, there is no change


The previous lists show changes that can and often occur. However, these changes only occur if 

the circumstances and context has changed since the original direct speech took place. In some 

situations, all the changed occur in others only some and occasionally no changes are necessary. 

Time 

It isn’t always necessary to change the tense. If something is still true now. 

It isn’t always necessary to change the time expression. If it’s still true now. 

Place 

It isn’t always necessary to change the place. If the direct speech and reported speech occur at 

the same location. 

Object/thing 

If any object or things are in the possession of the reporter we can refer to them the same way as 

the direct speaker. 

Pronoun 

If the pronoun ‘we’ refers to a group of which the reporter and direct speaker are members, then 

it doesn’t change. 

That 

We often use ‘that’ after pronoun + said in reported speech. ‘He said that’, ‘she said that’, ‘they 

said that’ etc. It is used so the listener or reader can easily understand that it is reported speech. 

“I am happy today” = He said that he was happy today or He said he was happy today 

That is optional and if there are already demonstratives such as ‘this, that, these and those’ in the 

sentence its best to omit ‘that’ to save confusion


Examples 

Before (Direct speech) After (Reported speech) Party (Tonight) 

I am coming 

to your party 

tonight? 

He said he was 

coming to the 

party tonight? 

Time 

We can use the present or past because the party is still tonight, it didn’t happen yet. What he 

said is past but the party is future so both “he was” or “he is” is correct. 

The same applies if the action is very recent or still in progress 

“I’m going to the shop” = (He just left) 

“He said he is going to the canteen” or “He said he was going to the shop.” 

I bought 

this flag in 

town. 

He said he 

bought this 

flag in town 

He said he 

bought that 

flag in town. 

This flag as it is still here 

That flag as it’s there not here


Before (Direct speech) After (Reported speech) Holiday (Next month) 

We are 

going on 

holiday. 

She said they 

were going 

on holiday 

He is not going they are 

Time 

We are 

going on 

holiday 

She said we 

were going 

on holiday 

He is going on holiday with her 

We can see that changing the way we refer to the place, time and pronoun can change but it 

doesn’t always. English speakers paint a mental picture of the original context where the direct 

speech occurred and then another where the reported speech occurs. The question is what 

changed. If in doubt change the time back a tense as going back a tense is always an option but 

using the present tense is often wrong. 

In grammar books, we often see ‘that night, those days’ for time and ‘here and there’ for place. 

We wouldn’t really say ‘that day’ we would be specific by saying ‘Monday, Friday’ etc.


Examples 

Present Tense Direct Speech Reported Speech (that is optional) 

Simple I don’t like carrots He said (that) he didn’t like carrots 

Continuous I am working all weekend He said (that) he was working all weekend 

Perfect She has been to Turkey He said (that) she had been to Turkey 

Past Tense Direct Speech Reported Speech 

Simple I worked hard today She said she (had) worked hard yesterday 

Continuous I was stressing out He said (that) he had been stressing out 

Perfect I had missed the bus She said (that) she had missed the bus 

Future Tense Direct Speech Reported Speech 

Going to I’m going to Rome He said (that) he was going to Rome 

Will/would I’ll meet you in town She said (that) she would meet me in town 

Modal Direct Speech Reported Speech 

Can/could You can go now He said (that) we could go then 

Should You should help her He said (that) I should help her 

Shall I shall go She said (that) she would go 

May/might I may be late tonight She said he might be late that night 

Must I must revise for the exam He said (that) he had to revise for the exam 

Pronoun Direct Speech Reported Speech 

You/I You are my best friend He said (that) I was his best friend 

Us/them You can stay with us They said (that) I could stay with them 

We/they We are leaving now They said (that) they were leaving then


Questions 

When we report what people say, we usually change the tense of the verbs to show we are 

reporting not giving direct speech. We follow the same rules with reported questions. 

Changes between direct questions and reported questions. 

We saw that in reported speech we often begin with: ‘He/she/they said (that)………’ 

With reported questions, we often begin with: ‘He/she/they asked (whether/if).……..’ 

With Yes/No questions we use whether or if. We can use both together for emphasis. 

When there is a question word (what, where, why, who, when, how) we use that question word 

in the reported question but we don’t use the auxiliary verb (do, does, did, is, was, were etc.) and 

the word order is like a positive (+) sentence. 

Direct Questions Yes/No 

Are you going to Jon’s? 

Do you love me? 

Have you been arrested? 

Direct WH Questions 

What time does the exam start? 

Where can I catch the bus? 

When is the party finishing? 

Reported Questions 

They asked if I was going to Jon’s 

She asked whether I loved her 

He asked whether or if I had been arrested 

Reported Questions 

She asked what time the exam started 

He asked me where he could catch the bus 

He asked when the party was finishing 

Indirect questions 

Indirect questions are similar to reported questions, we don’t use the auxiliary verb 

“Can you tell me what time the plane arrives?” 

Not “Can you tell me what time does the plane arrive?”


Gerunds and infinitives 

Gerunds and infinitives are nouns but they look like verbs. 

Gerunds are nouns made from a verb by adding ‘ing.’ Example: Smoking 

Infinitives are the ‘to’ form of the verb. Example: To smoke 

So how can we tell if they are a verb or noun? 

If we look at a standard sentence, we have a subject + verb + object 

I am smoking a cigarette 

The subject (I) is verb (smoking) object (a cigarette) 

Here the subject is doing something, an action is taking place by the subject to the object. So 

smoking in this sentence is the action and a verb. 

If we look at the sentence below there is no action taking place. Smoking is the idea or concept 

no subject is doing anything. Thus, as an idea or concept it has to be a noun. 

Smoking cigarettes is bad for you 

The subject, a noun (smoking) It’s an idea not an action 

So, smoking in this sentence is the subject of the sentence, an idea or concept and a noun not a 

verb. It has the form ing making it a gerund. It could also take the infinitive ‘to smoke’ but this is 

less common.


Gerunds are nouns made from a verb by adding ‘ing.’ The gerund form of ‘work’ is ‘working.’ 

So, a gerund looks like a verb in the continuous form. You can use a gerund as the subject, the 

complement, or the object of a sentence. 

Examples: 

Working helps you earn money 

His obsession is working 

I like working 

subject of sentence 

complement of sentence 

object of sentence 

Gerunds can be made negative by adding ‘not.’ 

Examples: 

He likes not working 

Not working is unproductive 

Infinitives are the ‘to’ form of the verb. The infinitive form of ‘work’ is ‘to work.’ You can also 

use an infinitive as the subject, the complement, or the object of a sentence. 

Examples: 

To work is important 

The most useful thing is to work 

She wants to work 

subject of sentence 

complement of sentence 

object of sentence 

Infinitives can be made negative by adding ‘not.’ 

Examples: 

I decided not to work 

Not to work is often a choice


Gerunds and infinitives as subjects and complements 

Gerunds and infinitives are commonly interchangeable. But in everyday spoken English we use 

gerunds far more commonly as a subject at the beginning of a sentence. This is because they do 

have a slightly different context. An infinitive conveys and more conceptual, abstract meaning. It 

is often used in philosophical language. So, if in doubt regarding whether to use a gerund or 

infinitive as the subject of a sentence use a gerund. Gerunds are also more common as 

complements. 

Listening to live music is fun. (Standard statement) 

To listen to music is to educate the soul in virtue. (Philosophical statement) 

Gerunds and infinitives as objects 

As an object of a sentence, it is more difficult to choose between a gerund or an infinitive. 

Sometimes gerunds and infinitives are interchangeable. However, often they are not 

interchangeable. The main verb in the sentence takes either a gerund or an infinitive. 

Verb Example Gerund or infinitive 

Likes I like listening to music gerund 

I like to listen to music 

infinitive 

Enjoys I enjoy listening to music gerund 

Wants I want to listen to music infinitive 

Choosing to a gerund or infinitive after a verb can be difficult for non-native speakers. Like 

learning vocabulary. There are many verbs. However, there are clues like for abstract or 

conceptual verbs infinitives are more common. Note: A ‘verb + to’ can be a phrasal verb.


Verbs that are followed by a gerund 

Examples: Note these take a gerund after the verb but can be infinitives when preceded by ‘to’ 

Verb Sentence with a gerund Verb Sentence with a gerund 

Anticipate I anticipated failing the test Keep on She kept on interrupting me 

Appreciate I appreciated him helping Mention I mentioned going to university 

Avoid He avoided crashing the car Mind Do you mind waiting here? 

Can't help I can’t help working so hard Miss I miss talking to you 

Can’t stand I can’t stand your smoking Picture I can picture living in Spain 

Complete I completed testing the car Postpone Let's postpone meeting John 

Consider I considered moving house Practice She practiced playing the violin 

Defend He defended her speaking Recall I don’t recall meeting him 

Delay She delayed finishing work Recollect I recollect seeing a man take it 

Deny He denied stealing the ring Recommend I recommend taking a taxi 

Despise I despise working for him Report He reports seeing her with a man 

Discuss I discussed helping her Resent I resent working by myself 

Dislike She dislikes driving at night Resist He resisted asking for help 

Don't mind I don’t mind telling you Resume They resumed walking after lunch 

Enjoy They enjoy swimming Risk I risked getting caught 

Forgive Can you forgive me? Suggest They suggest staying with them 

Imagine I imagine living forever Tolerate I tolerated her nagging 

Involve The job involves traveling Understand I understand her leaving so soon 

Keep She keeps coming late Warrant I warrant finishing early


Verbs that are followed by an infinitive 

Examples: 

Verb Sentence with an infinitive Verb Sentence with an infinitive 

Agree He agreed to help her Manage He managed to escape 

Appear He appears to remember it Offer He offered to help her study 

Arrange We arranged to meet tonight Plan We plan to go to Europe this year 

Ask She asked to leave Prepare They prepared to start the race 

Care He doesn't care to say Pretend He pretended not to know 

Choose I chose to help Promise She promised to start helping us 

Claim He claims to be an expert Refuse The police refused to let them go 

Decide We decided to go to Rome Seem It seems to be broken 

Demand I demand to see the manager Swear He swore to tell the whole story 

Deserve He deserves to go to jail Tend He tends to be a little shy 

Expect He expected to pass Threaten He has threatened to hurt us 

Fail I failed to follow the lecture Undertake He undertook to help all of us 

Get He gets to go to concerts Volunteer I volunteered to serve in the army 

Happen I happened to see her Vow He vowed to get revenge 

Hesitate She hesitated to tell me Wait She waited to buy the ticket 

Hope I hope to see you soon Want I want to sail across the Pacific 

Intend I intended to tell you Wish I wish to change my name 

Know how I know how to fly a plane. Would like She would like to leave now 

Learn He learned to speak French Yearn It yearns to be free


Gerunds and Infinitives with different meanings: 

Sometimes a sentence with a gerund has a different meaning to a sentence with the comparable 

infinitive. The most common difference is time. 

I stopped to eat: For example, you were hungry so you stopped to eat 

Here first we were doing something else then we stopped and began eating 

I stopped eating: For example, you stopped eating because you saw a fly in your soup 

Here first were eating then we stopped 

Examples with time: 

Example sentence 1 st Action 2 nd Action 

I remember meeting her Meet Remember 

I remembered to meet her Remember Meet 

I stopped eating Eat Stop 

I stopped to eat Stop Eat 

I forgot locking the door Lock Forgot 

I forgot to lock the door Forgot Lock 

‘I forgot locking the door’ and ‘I forgot to lock the door’ actually are different for more than just 

time difference. 

‘I forgot to lock the door’ also means I remember now that I forgot to lock the door so I am 

certain it’s not locked. ‘I forgot locking the door’ means I don’t remember anything. I don’t 

know if I forgot so the door could be locked or unlocked.


Another difference we see is the varying results of an action. 

We usually use the verbs ‘try’ or ‘attempt’ to show we did an action to achieve a result, fix a 

problem or solve an issue. 

With the gerund, it indicates the action was successful but the final result wasn’t. 

With the infinitive, it indicates the action was unsuccessful and so the final result was too. 

Gerund and infinitive 

I tried opening the window 

I tried to open the window 

I tried closing the door 

I tried to close the door 

I tried lighting the fire 

I tried to light the fire 

I tried pushing the car 

I tried to push the car 

I tried talking to her 

I tried to talk to her 

Result 

but it was still too noisy 

but it was sealed shut 

but the people kept coming in 

but it was broken 

but I was still cold 

but the wood was wet 

but the engine didn’t start 

but it was too heavy 

but she wouldn’t listen 

but her father wouldn’t let me 

Other notable differences include 

Go on reading (which means continue to read) 

Go on to read (start reading)


One, another, the other, others, the others 

If we have a group like a 

class, we can refer to 

different members in the 

following ways: 

Other = ‘additional’ ‘extra’, 

‘alternative’, or ‘different 

types of’. 

Examples: 

One: Single group member 

One of the class likes 

astronomy 

Another likes history and 

geography 

Another: A different single group member 

Others prefer languages 

like Spanish and French 

Others: Different plural group members 

The others really can’t 

decide. They have no 

preference 

The others: The remaining members not yet referred to 

The other If there is only 

one additional member 

remaining


Examples with things: 

Things One Another 

Is white chocolate 

Is dark chocolate 

Things One The other 


Is dark chocolate 

Things One The others 


Are dark chocolate 

Things One Others The others 

Is white 

chocolate 

Are dark 

chocolate 

Are 

cupcakes


Hope and Wish 

Hope can be used to specify a desired outcome. For future hopes, the possibilities remain open, 

but for past hopes, the outcome has usually been determined already. 

Wish is most commonly used in hypothetical (or imagined) situations. 

Hope and wish can also be used in greeting and expressions of goodwill 

Hope 

Specify a desired future outcome (possible) 

Specify a desired past outcome (impossible) 

Greetings and expressions of goodwill 

Hope use 

Desired future outcome (possible) 

Desired past outcome 

Expressions of goodwill future 

Expressions of goodwill past 

Wish use 

Desired hypothetical situation 

Desired past outcome 

Expressions of goodwill 

Wish 

Specify a desired hypothetical situation 

Specify a desired past outcome (impossible) 

Greetings and expressions of goodwill 

Examples 

I hope to pass the exam 

I had hoped to see her 

I hope (that) you have a good holiday* 

I hope (that) you had a good birthday 

Examples 

I wish I were rich** 

I wished I had worked harder at university 

We wish you a merry Christmas 

*Notice we can use ‘that’ its optional like with reported speech. 

**We use were like second conditional to show a hypothetical situation. Was is acceptable 

‘Wish me luck’ is often used when we would like someone to give is encouragement. 

Wish can also be used in very formal requests: ‘I wish to see the headmaster’


When and while 

When & while meanings: 

When same time interruption just after anytime 

While same time contrast 

Examples: 

When same time When I was at university I worked in a café 

When interruption I was sleeping when the phone rang 

When just after Whey you arrived I answered the door 

When anytime Whenever I travel I feel very happy 

While same time I was watching TV while I was eating my dinner 

While contrast I like football while my brother prefers computer games 

In tenses, while is usually continuous and when simple tense. 

Below while expresses a period of time with verb + ing and when a completed time verb + ed 

When interrupts while. 

listening 

while 

w 

h 

e 

n 

driving 

I was driving my car while listening to music when I crashed.


Reflexive pronouns 

A reflexive pronoun is used as a direct object when the it’s is the same as the subject of the verb: 

I am teaching myself to play the violin. 

Be careful with those scissors. You might cut yourself. 

The reflexive pronouns are: 

Singular Myself Yourself Himself Herself Itself 

Plural Ourselves Yourselves Themselves 

They are called 

reflexive because 

the reflect. 

He was looking at 

himself in the 

mirror 

The Selfie is a 

good illustration 

of reflexive 

pronouns 

She took a 

picture of herself 

They are the same as the subject pronoun: 

Subject pronoun Reflexive pronoun Example 

I Myself I decided to do it myself 

He Himself He often talks to himself 

She Herself She loves herself too much 

It Itself It works all by itself 

They Themselves They worked themselves to death 

We Ourselves We drove ourselves to town 

You 

Yourself/yourselves You can help yourself to a drink

We can use a reflexive pronoun as direct object with most transitive verbs. 


The most common transitive verbs: 

Verb 

Amuse 

Blame 

Cut 

Dry 

Enjoy 

Help 

Hurt 

Introduce 

Kill 

Prepare 

Satisfy 

Teach 

Example 

We amused ourselves while we waited 

Don’t blame yourself there was nothing you could have done 

If you don’t hold the knife properly, you’ll cut yourself 

After you get out of the pool dry yourself because it’s getting cold 

I enjoyed myself on our little day trip 

Help yourself to food and drink 

You might hurt yourself if you climb that tree 

Have you introduced yourself to Colin yet? 

He’ll kill himself if he continues to drive like that 

Prepare yourselves for impact 

They had to satisfy themselves with winning third place 

This book is great, I can teach myself 

We use ‘by’ when we want to talk about something that is solitary or something done alone and 

without help. 

‘He lives by himself.’ 

‘She walked home all by herself.’


We sometimes use a reflexive pronoun to add emphasis 

‘He is terrible, he can’t help himself.’ 

‘She is old enough to dress herself.’ 

We often put the reflexive pronoun at the end of the clause when we are using it for emphasis: 

‘I cooked the dinner myself.’ 

‘He removed his tooth himself.’ 

When we talk about a place or person of interest we often use reflexive pronouns 

‘The author signed my book himself.’ 

‘The beach itself is very hardtop get to.’ 

Note: 

But we use personal pronouns, not reflexives, after prepositions of place 

‘He had a gun next to him.’ 

‘She asked the teacher to go with her.’


Grammar in Reading 

Understanding vocab by prefix and suffix 

Prefixes and suffixes are sets of letters that are added to the beginning or end of another word. 

They are not words in their own right and cannot stand on their own in a sentence. 

Prefixes are added to the beginning of an existing 

Suffixes are added to the end of an existing word. 

Most come from Ancient Greek and Latin routes. 

Prefix Root word Suffix Prefix + Suffix 

unkind kind kindness unkindness 

Prefixes 

Change meaning to an opposite form such as positive (+) to negative (-) 

Or add information to the root word to define its type 

Suffixes 

Change the root word and alter the way it functions grammatically 

Adding a suffix changes a word between being a noun, verb, adjective or adverb 

Or add information to the word to define its measure 

If prefixes and suffixes are written alone, then they should have a hyphen before or after them to 

demonstrate that they are to be attached to other letters to form words


Prefix 

The word ‘prefix’ begins with the prefix pre-, which means ‘before’. 

A prefix is a group of letters placed before the root word. For example, the word ‘unhappy’ 

consists of the prefix ‘un-’ which means ‘not’ combined with the root word ‘happy’; the word 

‘unhappy’ means ‘not happy.’ Sometimes a prefix can have more than one meaning. An example 

would be ‘im-’ this can mean ‘not’ or ‘into’. 

Prefixes can change meaning to a contrasting form 

Prefix Meaning Example 

De- from, down, away reverse, opposite decode, declassify 

Dis- not, opposite, reverse, away disagree, disappear, disassemble 

Ex- out of, away from, lacking, former ex-wife, explosion 

Il- not illegal, illogical, illegitimate 

Im- not, without impossible, improper, immoral 

In- not, without inaction, invisible 

Mis- bad, wrong mislead, misplace, misspell 

Non- not nonfiction, nonsense 

Pre- before prefix, preview 

Pro- for, forward, before proactive, profess, program 

Re- again, back react, reappear, revise 

Un- against, not, opposite undo, unequal, unusual


Prefixes can add information to the word to define its type 

Prefix Meaning Word Meaning New word 

Ante- before natal birth antenatal 

Anti- against aircraft plane antiaircraft 

Circum- around navigate direct, steer circumnavigate 

Co- with worker employee co-worker* 

Counter- opposite direction strike attack counterstrike 

Epi- upon, close to centre middle, central epicentre 

Extra- outside beyond terrestrial earthly, worldly extraterrestrial 

Fore- before see perceive foresee 

Hemi- half sphere globe hemisphere 

Hyper- more than sonic sound hypersonic 

Macro- large economics money matters macroeconomics 

Micro- small scope space microscope 

Mid- middle field area midfielder 

Infra- below red red infrared 

Inter- between-among net web internet 

Sub- under marine water submarine 

Trans- across national nation, country transnational 

Tri- three angle shape, aspect triangle 

Uni- one form look like uniform 

*Prefixes often have a hyphen ( - ) but especially in British English


Suffix 

A suffix is a group of letters placed after the root of a word. For example, the word lifeless 

consists of the root word ‘life’ combined with the suffix ‘-less’ which means ‘without’; the word 

‘lifeless’ means ‘having no life’ or dead. Change the root word and alter the way it functions 

grammatically. Adding a suffix changes a word between being a noun, verb, adjective or adverb 

Change the base word between a noun, verb, adjective or adverb. 

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb 

complication complicate complicated complicatedly 

beauty beautify beautiful beautifully 

economy economize economic economically 

domination dominate domineering dominatingly 

softness soften soft softly 

clarity clarify clear clearly 

irritation irritate irritating irritatingly 

calmness calmed calm calmly 

*’-ise’ is most common in British English, ‘-ize’ is most common in American English 

Some words don’t have a place in all categories and some words fall into more than one category 

We can see there is a common theme in spelling with suffixes as with prefixes. For example, 

most adverbs end ‘-ly’ softly, slowly, happily, crazily, madly, clearly, calmly quickly etc.


Common suffixes by type 

Suffix Meaning Noun 

-acy state or quality democracy, accuracy, monarchy 

-al the action or process of remedial, denial, trial, criminal 

-ance,-ence state or quality of nuisance, essence, tolerance 

-dom place or state of being freedom, wisdom, boredom 

-er, -or 

Person/object that does a 

specified action 

creator, singer, interpreter, inventor, teacher, 

player, fighter 

-ism doctrine, belief capitalism, scepticism, communism, racism 

-ist 

person or object that does a 

specified action 

biologist, sexist, scientist, theorist, communist, 

capitalist 

-ity, -ty quality of extremity, validity, enormity 

-ment condition enchantment, argument, fulfilment 

-ness state of being wilderness, highness, sickness, happiness 

-ship position held friendship, hardship, scholarship 

-sion, -tion state of being position, promotion, cohesion 

Suffix Meaning Verb 

-ate become mandate, collaborate, create 

-en become sharpen, strengthen, loosen, happen 

-ify, -fy make or become justify, simplify, magnify, satisfy, quantify 

-ise, -ize become publicise, synthesise, hypnotise, criticise 

Suffix Meaning Adjective 

-able, -ible capable of being edible, incredible, audible, flexible

-al 

-esque 

having the form or 

character of 

in a manner of or 

resembling 

radical, thermal, herbal, colonial 

picturesque, burlesque, grotesque 


-ful full of helpful, playful, hopeful, skilful 

-ic, -ical 

having the form or 

character of 

psychological, hypocritical, methodical, 

nonsensical, musical 

-ious, -ous characterised by pious, jealous, religious, ridiculous 

-ish having the quality of squeamish, sheepish, childish 

-ive having the nature of competitive, informative, attentive 

-less without helpless, hopeless, homeless, meaningless 

-y characterised by beauty, airy, jealousy, gluttony 

Suffix Meaning Adverb 

-ly related to or quality softly, slowly, happily, carefully, quietly 

-ward(s) direction towards, afterwards, backwards, forwards 

-wise in relation to otherwise, likewise, clockwise 

We can guess words meaning and function if we can see the suffix. 

For example: 

A noun with the suffix ‘-er’ usually means a job, vocation or hobby, activity 

Verb teach write paint sing bake play football 

Noun teacher writer painter singer baker player footballer


Note: 

Prefixes and suffixes can often have more than one meaning. For example, we change the last 

letters on a verb in different verb tenses such as verb(s) Verb(ed) Verb(ing) and we add (+ing) to 

gerunds making verbs into nouns. 

Suffixes ‘-er’ may not just be a job, vocation or hobby, activity 

They can also be comparatives ‘-er’ and superlatives ‘-est’ 

Comparative taller smaller longer wider colder 

Superlative tallest smallest longest widest coldest 

We can use prefixes and suffixes together to construct words Help – helpful – unhelpful 

Examples of words with both prefixes and suffixes 

Prefix Root word Suffix 

Un- friend -ly 

Im- mortal -ity 

Anti- capital -ist 

Counter- terror -ism 

Cyber- secure -ity 

Inter- connect -ivity 

Retro- act -ive 

Co- defend -ant


Word creation with prefixes and suffixes 

Some prefixes and suffixes are part of our living language, in that people regularly use them to 

create new words for modern products, concepts, or situations. 

One 

Uni 

With 

Co 

Noun Common Unity 

Common group 

Community 

All together as one Commune Union 

Common union 

Communion 

Idea Communism Unionism 

Believer Communist Unionist 

Some examples with politics, philosophies and ideas: 

-Ist (person) capitalist communist fascist sexist racist 

-Ism (idea) capitalism communism fascism sexism racism 

rulers demos (people) theos (god) monarch (king) oligarch (few) 

Government democracy theocracy monarchy oligarchy 

One of the longest examples of a political idea with multiple prefixes and suffixes. 

Antidisestablishmentarianism 

Anti-dis-establish-ment-arian-ism 

pro-establishment or conservative 

Against the brake up of the established order 

*Word from 19th-century Britain in opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England


Understanding vocab by context 

When you are reading, and see an unfamiliar/unknown word, you can look at the context to help 

you understand an approximate definition for that word. The other words in the sentence or 

paragraph influence and may be related or paired the unfamiliar/unknown word and can clarify 

the unfamiliar/unknown word and provide its context. The context provides a setting for the 

word. Context clues help provide meaning and the correct use for the word. 

The common ways to provide meaning and correct use for the unfamiliar/unknown word are: 

Experience clues 

Definition clues 

Example clues 

Comparison clues 

Relate to our own experience the situational context in the sentence 

The writer describes the word by defining or paraphrasing it 

Writers give examples of the word that help you figure out its meaning 

When a writer compares or contrasts one word or point with another 

Experience Clues 

Sometimes, you can guess at the meaning of an unknown word because you have had a similar 

experience to the one in the context of the sentence or paragraph. You can relate to a common 

experience. 

Context of the sentence Past experience suggests Unknown word related to being 

Being lost confusion, fear, frustration negative (?) confused, unsure 

Getting married love, happiness, excitement positive (+) happy feeling/emotion 

Death of a loved one sadness, despair, loneliness negative (-) sad emotion/feeling


Examples: 

The death of my father left me feeling distraught for many months 

We may not know the word ‘distraught’ but we assume it’s a negative and sad feeling or emotion 

because we know the death of a loved one causes these emotions. 

Distraught = very distressed, upset, worried, or troubled. 

The collapse of the economy and decent into war was one of the tumultuous times our history 

We may not know the word ‘tumultuous’ but we assume it’s a negative and chaotic, uncontrolled 

and destructive change because we know this happens when economies fail and wars begin. 

Tumultuous = explosive, violent, volatile, confused noise, stormy and turbulent. 

Definition or Paraphrase Clues 

You can sometimes understand the meaning of a word by the way the writer describes the word 

by defining or paraphrasing it. This is called a description a definition, or paraphrase, clue. A 

definition clue is one that actually defines a term, and a paraphrase clue is a phrase that restates 

the term. Definition clues are common in science and technical books, where the writers define 

new terms. Commas (,) start definition or paraphrase, which immediately follows the word. 

Sometimes the definition of the word can appear in brackets/parentheses () directly after the 

word. Other times, the definition or paraphrase comes later in the sentence or paragraph. 

Examples with the word Symbiosis: 

Symbiosis, cooperation, relationship or interdependence 

Symbiosis a cooperative relationship (as between two persons or groups) 

The system that connects two dissimilar organisms is called symbiosis


Example Clues 

Sometimes writers provide examples of the unknown word that help define its meaning. Often, 

commas, (,) or dashes (-) start the example or it appears in parentheses (). 

Examples: 

You can see flora and fauna for example – (plants like rare orchids and wildlife like buffalo). 

The sky gives off strange hues such as – blueish green, turquoise, reds, yellows, and oranges. 

Transitions, conjunctions and expressions like the following often precede an example: 

such as, for example, for instance, to illustrate, including 

There are many troglodytes such as- 

Food can perish for example: 

You can use any legume for instance, 

Houses here are affluent to illustrate 

I detest curry for several reasons including 

Burlesque is satire examples include: 

cave dwelling animals and under soil creatures. 

If it goes rotten, moldy, stale or foul. 

red beans, black beans, peas or pulses. 

they are expensive and the owners are well off. 

it is too spicy and gives me a bad stomach. 

comedy, parody, caricature, mockery etc. 

Comparison and Contrast Clues 

We can understand the meaning of a word by comparison clues, when writer compares or 

contrasts one word or point with another. 

A comparison clue tells you how things are the same 

A contrast clue tells you how things are different. 

*see comparatives and superlatives for more on page 105


Example 

Team A were forestalled by the weather but Team B went on to win without being delayed 

So, we know ‘but’ means the opposite, thus the opposite of ‘without delay’ is ‘with delay’ 

In other words, ‘Team A were delayed by the weather.’ 

There are conjunctions and transitions that introduce a compare or contrast comparison clue. 

For contrast clues these include: 

I was euphoric but she was not so happy 

My class was efficacious however, the other classes weren’t successful 

I could endeavor for more on the other hand, I don’t like to struggle and sweat 

The hotel was ostentatious although, the room was plain and dull 

We could paint the town red alternatively, we can stay in and do something relaxed 

I was driven hard at school nevertheless, I am not motivated or ambitious 

My sister is extroverted in contrast, I am quiet and like to be alone 

For comparison clues these include: 

I was flabbergasted and Jon was shocked and amazed too 

She was befuddled like a confused and muddled student on their first day 

It was as scorching as the time we stood next to the hot volcano 

The Great Bustard is rare another endangered bird species is the Golden Eagle 

It was preposterous similarly, absurd and ridiculous to any conspiracy theory 

She was indignant likewise, the whole team were annoyed and mad 

It was irrational also senseless, foolish and pointless 

*See conjunctions p126 and transitions on page 130


Idioms 

Idioms are a group of words that have a meaning. 

Some can appear to be logical such as: 

‘A Picture Paints a Thousand Words’ A picture tells us as much as many words 

However, in other idioms the meaning is not clear by the definition of the words. The meaning 

has been established by usage over time. Often a meaning is not deducible from the individual 

words in an idiom. 

Some can appear to be illogical such as: 

‘Raining cats and dogs’ 

It is raining very much 

English idioms, proverbs, and expressions are an important part of everyday English. They are 

often used in both written and spoken English. Idioms don't always make sense literally making 

them very difficult to learn. However, learning to use idioms and expressions makes English 

more colorful and sound more native. 

Because there are so many idioms in this book there is included a list of the most common 

idioms that are used and understood today. The meanings have also been included because 

although they seem illogical or obscure at first look, often idioms are logical once we know them 

and understand the methodology and history of idioms.


Idiom, phrase 

A blessing in disguise 

A perfect storm 

A picture is worth 1000 words 

Beat around the bush 

Better late than never 

Bite the bullet 

Break a leg 

Call it a day 

Cut somebody some slack 

Cutting corners 

Easy does it 

Get out of hand 

Get something out of your system 

Get your act together 

Give the benefit of the doubt 

Go back to the drawing board 

Hang in there 

Hit the sack 

It's not rocket science 

Let someone off the hook 

Make a long story short 

Meaning 

A good thing that seemed bad at first 

The worst possible situation 

Better to show than tell 

Avoid saying what you mean 

Better to be late than not to come at all 

To get something over with because it is inevitable 

Good luck, have a good time, enjoy 

Stop working on something, give up 

Don't be so critical 

Doing something poorly in order to save time or money 

Slow down, be careful 

Get out of control 

Do the thing you want to do so you can move on 

Work better or leave, sort yourself out 

Trust what someone says 

Start over, begin again 

Don't give up 

Go to sleep 

It's not complicated 

To not hold someone responsible for something 

Tell something briefly, summarize


Idiom, phrase 

Miss the boat 

No pain, no gain 

On the ball 

Pull someone's leg 

Pull yourself together 

So far so good 

Speak of the devil 

That's the last straw 

The ball is in your court 

The best of both worlds 

The best thing since sliced bread 

The devil is in the details 

The early bird gets the worm 

The elephant in the room 

There are other fish in the sea 

Throw caution to the wind 

Meaning 

It's too late 

No work no benefit 

Doing a good job, understands the task 

To joke with someone 

Calm down 

Things are going well so far 

The person we were just talking about showed up 

My patience has run out 

It's your decision 

An ideal situation, good for all 

A really good invention 

It looks OK, but when you look closer, there are problems 

The earlier you arrive, the better 

The big issue, the problem people are avoiding 

It's ok to miss this opportunity. Others will come. 

Take a risk 

Time flies when you're having fun You don't notice how long something lasts when it's fun 

To judge a book by its cover 

Under the weather 

You can say that again 

Your guess is as good as mine 

This person or thing may look bad, but it's good inside 

Sick, unwell 

That's true, I agree 

I have no idea just like you


Reading techniques: Skimming / Scanning 

Scanning and skimming are two different types of reading techniques used to read information 

from sources quickly. 

Scanning 

allows us to look up specific information 

from a large text or 

some other kind of information source 

Skimming 

allows us to quickly read 

through a large or complex text in order 

to get the basic idea. 

Quickly search for key words or ideas 

Look for numbers, date, names 

Read bold, highlighted and italic text 

Look at lists 

Quickly identify the main ideas 

Look for ideas, concepts 

Read titles, conclusions 

Look at charts, graphs, tables and pictures


Scanning 

Scanning is a reading technique to be used when you want to find specific information quickly. 

In scanning you have a question in your mind and you read a passage only to find the answer, 

ignoring unrelated information. 

Scanning is a technique used when looking up a name in an address book, a word in the 

telephone book or dictionary. You search for key words or ideas. In most cases, you know what 

you're looking for, so you're concentrating on finding a particular answer. Scanning involves 

moving your eyes quickly down the page looking for specific numbers, words and phrases. 

Scanning is also used when you first find a resource to determine if it will answer your questions. 

Once you've scanned the document, you might go back and skim it. 

When scanning, look for the author's use of organizers such as numbers, letters, steps, or the 

words, first, second, or next. Look for words that are bold faced, italics, underlined, in 

parenthesis or in a different font size, style, or color. Authors often put key ideas in the margin. 

How to Scan 

State the specific information you are looking for. 

Try to anticipate how the answer will appear and what clues you might use to help you find the 

answer. For example, if you were looking for a certain date or time, you would quickly read the 

paragraph looking only for numbers. 

Use headings and any other aids that will help you identify which sections might contain the 

information you are looking for. 

Selectively read and skip through sections of the passage.


Skimming 

Skimming refers to the process of reading only main ideas within a passage to get an overall 

impression of the content of a reading selection. 

Skimming is used to quickly identify the main ideas of a text. When you read the newspaper, 

you're probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text. Skimming is done 

faster than normal reading. People often skim when they have lots of material to read in a limited 

amount of time. Use skimming when you want to see if an article may be of interest in your 

research. 

There are many strategies that can be used when skimming. Read the first and last paragraphs 

using headings, summarizes and other organizers as you move down the page or screen. You 

should read the title, subtitles, subheading, and illustrations. Consider reading the first sentence 

of each paragraph as it may outline the topic. This technique is useful when you're seeking 

specific information rather than reading for comprehension. Skimming works well to find dates, 

names, and places. It might be used to review graphs, tables, and charts. 

How to Skim 

1. Read the title. 

2. Read the introduction or the first paragraph. 

3. Read the first sentence of every other paragraph. 

4. Read any headings and sub-headings. 

5. Notice any pictures, charts, or graphs. 

6. Notice any italicized or boldface words or phrases. 

7. Read the summary or last paragraph.


Grammar in Writing & Punctuation 

10 Golden rules to good writing 

Write an interesting introduction 

Write from a clear point of view 

Write clearly in a logical order 

Make sure all the information is relevant 

Don’t repeat words 

Use paragraphs and correct punctuation 

Use sentence that are not too long or short 

Don’t use slang or swear words 

Use consistent verb tenses 

Write a precise clear conclusion 

Get the reader’s attention 

Decide on your approach and keep to it 

Set out your ideas in a clear methodical way 

Don’t wander off topic, keep to the point 

Use synonyms and antonyms 

Use transitions and capitalize 

Use sentences of different types 

Use words that all readers will understand 

By switching tenses, you confuse the reader 

Sum up your ideas and make your point


Antonyms, synonyms and homonyms 

Synonym 

A synonym is a word that means exactly the same as, or very nearly the same as, another word in 

the same language. 

For example, 

‘risky’ synonym of ‘dangerous’ (adjective) 

‘quickly’ synonym of ‘rapidly’ (adverb) 

‘close’ synonym of ‘shut’ (verb) 

‘house’ synonym of ‘dwelling’ (noun) 

Antonym 

An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another word. 

For example, 

bad’ antonym of ‘good’ (adjective) 

‘quietly’ antonym of ‘loudly’ (adverb) 

‘shout’ antonym of ‘yell’ (verb) 

‘father’ antonym of ‘dad’ (noun) 

Homonyms 

Homonyms are words that are pronounced the same, and are sometimes spelled the same, but 

have different meanings. 

For example, 

‘bow’ (archery) (noun) ‘bow’ (of a tree) (noun) ‘bow’ (verb) 

‘for’ (preposition) ‘fore’ (adjective) ‘four’ (number)


English speakers are imprecise and many words are used in spoken English in a context as 

synonyms or antonyms but don’t actually have the same or similar meaning. 

If we want to say something such as a holiday was good, we can use many different adjectives to 

describe the holiday. Many of the words are inter-related but they are not all synonyms of good: 

good wonderful awesome fantastic amazing incredible superb splendid 

terrific super great perfect delightful marvelous fabulous brilliant 

excellent outstanding enjoyable first-rate pleasant grand bliss heaven 

Note: English is complex and the entomology of words is often lost in the mists of time. 

One word English speakers use to say something is very good is ‘brilliant.’ 

“Our holiday this year was brilliant” 

However, brilliant more closely is related to both light and intelligence. 

Light Brilliant Bright Luminous Illuminated 

Intelligent Brilliant Bright Luminary Illuminati 

The entomology that links light to intelligence is probably from the discovery of fire, 

Prometheus and Lucifer (the angel of light) in the Garden of Eden. (that’s the authors theory ☺) 

There are so many words we can use in English that repetition is not only unnecessary it makes 

writing boring and dull. Use synonyms and antonyms effectively to spice up writing, try to use 

the correct ones and be careful when using homonyms.


Word Synonym 1 Similar Word Synonym 1 Similar 

Angry Furious Mad Nasty Horrible Foul 

Beautiful Gorgeous Attractive Naughty Disobedient Bad 

Big Large Huge Neat Tidy Clean 

Blank Empty Hollow Nice Pleasant Good 

Bunny Rabbit Hare Part Portion Fragment 

Center Middle Inside Present Gift Award 

Couch Sofa Divan Quick Fast Swift 

Dad Daddy Father Radical Fundamental Sweeping 

Evil Wicked Bad Rash Reckless Hasty 

Garbage Trash Rubbish Rough Coarse Uneven 

Happy Glad Joyful Rude Impolite Insolent 

House Dwelling Home Rug Carpet Mat 

Hurt Wounded upset Sack Bag Backpack 

Lean Slender Slim Sniff Smell Inhale 

Little Small Tiny Strange Weird Odd 

Look Glance See Take Income Revenue 

Make Brand Type Tall High Big 

Mistake Error Blunder True Correct Right 

Mom Mommy Mother Under Below Beneath 

Mug Cup Beaker Woman Female Lady 

Naked Bare Nude Yell Shout Scream


Word Antonym Word Antonym Word Antonym 

Add Subtract Gentle Rough Poor Rich 

Above Below Float Sink Present Absent 

After Before Happy Sad Quick Slow 

Awake Asleep Hard Soft Raise Lower 

Bad Good Heavy Light Right Wrong 

Better Worse High Low Sell Buy 

Big Little In Out Start Stop 

Birth Death Last First Stop Go 

Boy Girl Laugh Cry Strong Weak 

Clean Dirty Learn Teach Teacher Student 

Close Open Less More Tidy Messy 

Cold Hot Lie Truth Top Bottom 

End Begin Long Short True False 

Dark Light Loose Tight Ugly Beautiful 

Day Night Lost Found Up Down 

Even Odd Love Hate White Black 

Fail Pass North South Wild Tame 

False True On Off Win Lose 

East West Over Under Well Sick 

Fat Slim Play Work Wet Dry 

Hungry Full Polite Rude Young Old


Word Homonym Word Homonym Word Homonym 

Aunt Ant Herd Heard Rain Rein 

Ate Eight Hi High Reel Real 

Berry Bury Hoarse Horse Recede Reseed 

Be Bee Hole Whole Right Write 

Beat Beet Hour Our Rose Rows 

Brake Break Knot Not Sail Sale 

Buy By Made Maid Scene Seen 

Close Clothes Male Mail Seam Seem 

Dear Deer Meet Meat Sea See 

Dew Due Merry Marry Sent Scent 

Die Dye No Know Some Sum 

Doe Dough None Nun Steal Steel 

Eye I Oh Owe Tail Tale 

Flew Flu One Won Their There 

Flour Flower Pale Pail To Too 

For Four Pane Pain Waist Waste 

Forth Fourth Peace Piece Way Weigh 

Knew New Pedal Peddle Weak Week 

Hair Hare Plain Plane Wrap Rap 

Hay Hey Pour Poor You Ewe 

Heel Heal Read Red Your You’re


Prefixes and antonyms 

A prefix is a group of letters placed before the root word. Prefixes can change meaning to a 

contrasting form (antonym). For example, the word ‘unhappy’ consists of the prefix ‘un-’ which 

means ‘not’ combined with the root word ‘happy’; the word ‘unhappy’ means ‘not happy.’ 

Prefix Meaning Example Antonyms 

Dis- not, reverse agree, appear, assemble disagree, disappear, disassemble 

Il- not legal, logical, legitimate illegal, illogical, illegitimate 

Im- not, without possible, proper, moral impossible, improper, immoral 

In- not, without action, visible inaction, invisible 

Mis- bad, wrong lead, place, spell mislead, misplace, misspell 

Non- not fiction, sense nonfiction, nonsense 

Un- not, opposite do, equal, usual undo, unequal, unusual 

*for more see prefixes on page 253 

Lots of words can have many synonyms and antonyms, some are exact others are similar and 

words often have more than one meaning. For example: Light 

Light Synonyms Antonyms 

Light (luminosity) Bright Dark 

Light (weight, density) Slight Heavy 

Light (mood) (intensity) Cheerful Dark or Heavy 

As a point of interest: 

The synonyms for synonym are: substitute, replacement, alternative 

The antonyms for antonym are: contrast, opposite, contrary


Collocations 

Co- (with) Location- (place, setting). 

A collocation is two or more words that often go together. 

Collations are very common they add depth and breadth to writing 

Types of collocation 

There are several different types of collocation made from combinations of verb, noun, adjective 

etc. Some of the most common types are: 

adverb + adjective: completely confused 

adjective + noun: excruciating pain 

noun + noun: a surge of anger 

noun + verb: dogs bark 

verb + noun: commit suicide 

verb + expression with preposition: burst into tears 

verb + adverb: wave frantically 

There are many collations and some words appear in multiple combinations. Learning them is 

like learning vocabulary it takes time but they come naturally after a while. They are important if 

you want to speak and write like a native speaker.


Adverb + adjective: 

Adverb + adjective Adverb + adjective Adverb + adjective Adverb + adjective 

bitterly cold deeply unhappy highly contagious painfully slow 

bitterly disappointed entirely beneficial highly critical perfectly balanced 

bitterly opposed entirely different highly intelligent perfectly normal 

completely different entirely satisfactory highly likely perfectly safe 

completely new entirely unexpected highly sensitive perfectly serious 

completely sure heavily armed painfully aware totally harmless 

deeply ashamed heavily outnumbered painfully obvious totally inadequate 

deeply divided heavily polluted painfully sensitive totally unbelievable 

Adjective + noun: 

Great+ feeling Great+ quality Strong Large/small 

great admiration in great detail strong argument a large amount 

great anger great power strong emphasis a small collection 

great enjoyment great pride strong evidence a large number (of) 

great excitement great sensitivity a strong contrast a small population 

great fun great skill a strong commitment a small proportion 

great happiness great strength strong criticism a large quantity 

great joy great wisdom strong denial a small scale 

great enthusiasm great wealth a strong feeling a large group


Noun + noun: these can also be called compound nouns 

Business Politics Technology Classifiers 

advertising agency age discrimination artificial intelligence bar of chocolate 

bank loan budget surplus control panel bowl of soup 

customer service government grant digital camera cube of sugar 

human resources immigration policy mobile phone cup of tea 

market share labor union remote control glass of wine 

sales team prime minister technology transfer jar of honey 

stock market political party test tube jug of water 

trade secrets public opinion web page tin of beans 

Noun + verb: 

Animals Transportation Weather Jobs 

birds tweet boats sail breeze blows bakers bake 

cattle graze cars drive ice freezes chefs cook 

dogs bark engines run lightning flashes doctors treat 

fish swim planes fly rain falls engineers fix 

frogs croak planes land Snow drifts hoteliers host 

lions roar planes take off sun shines managers manage 

moles burrow trucks haul thunder cracks police investigate 

rabbits multiply vehicles transport wind howls soldiers fight


Verb + expression with preposition: 

Burst, coughed Driven, filled Gone, made Run into, run out of 

burst into laughter driven to crime filled with hot air run into a problem 

burst into tears driven to despair gone to the dogs run into trouble 

burst into flames driven to distraction gone too far run out of energy 

burst into song driven over the edge gone to pot run out of fuel 

burst out laughing filled with anger made to fit run out of money 

coughed up blood filled with hate made to measure run out of patience 

coughed up money filled with hope made to order run out of steam 

crying with laughter filled with horror open for business run out of time 

Verb + adverb: 

Appear, benefit Come, depend Exist, feel Grow, know 

appear equally come directly exist independently grow only 

appear frequently come naturally exist only grow quickly 

appear likely come only exist primarily grow rapidly 

appear regularly come quickly exist simultaneously grow slowly 

benefit directly depend critically feel personally know exactly 

benefit financially depend directly feel really know only 

benefit greatly depend entirely feel relatively know perfectly 

benefit significantly depend heavily feel strongly know personally


Verb + noun: 

Have Do Make Take Break 

have a bath do business make a mess take a break break a habit 

have a drink do nothing make a change take a chance break a leg 

have a good time do a favor make a mistake take a look break a promise 

have a haircut do the cooking make a noise take a rest break a record 

have a holiday do housework make an effort take a seat break a window 

have a problem do the shopping make trouble take a taxi break a heart 

have a rest do the washing make money take an exam break the ice 

have fun do your best make progress take notes break the law 

have lunch do your hair make room take a chance break the news 

have sympathy do homework make a start take action break the rules 

Catch Go Get Come Keep 

catch a ball go abroad get a job come close keep a diary 

catch a bus go astray get a shock come with keep a promise 

catch a chill go bad get angry come direct keep a secret 

catch a cold go bald get divorced come early keep an eye out 

catch a thief go bankrupt get drunk come first keep calm 

catch fire go blind get frightened come into view keep control 

catch sight of go crazy get dark come last keep in touch 

catch an eye go dark get lost come late keep quiet 

catch the flu go deaf get married come on time keep your place

Introduction, main idea, topic sentences, supporting sentences and conclusion 


Writing compositions are made up of various elements. We know letters make words and words 

make sentences. There are different sentence types such as topic sentences and supporting 

sentences. A group of sentences make a paragraph, there are different paragraph types such as 

introductions and conclusions. Paragraphs make a composition. 

Elements of a composition 

Title 

Title definition, the distinguishing name of a book, poem or composition. In academic writing it 

is often made from a question if the point of the composition is to answer a question. 

Introduction 

In an essay, article, book, or other composition. An introduction is the first paragraph, the 

beginning section in a composition which states the purpose and goals of the following writing. 

This is generally followed by the body and conclusion. 

The introduction typically describes the scope of the document and gives the brief explanation or 

summary of the document. It may also explain certain elements that are important to the essay if 

explanations are not part of the main text. The readers can have an idea about the following text 

before they actually start reading it. ln technical writing, the introduction typically includes one 

or more standard subsections: abstract or summary, preface, acknowledgments, and foreword.


Main Idea 

The main idea is the point of the paragraph or composition. It is the most important thought 

about the topic. Often the main idea comes in the form of a single sentence. We call this 

sentences a Topic Sentence. The entire composition will have a main idea and often a sub section 

or paragraph will have its own topic sentence. The main idea is almost always found in the 

Introduction and the topic sentence is usually the first sentence of a paragraph because their 

function is to introduce the topic. However, writing is creative and sometimes writers will put a 

hook or begin the composition with a question to the reader so the topic sentence, main idea 

occasionally appears later in the composition. 

Supporting sentence (details) 

Supporting sentences or supporting details. Supporting sentences or details do as they say. They 

support the topic sentence and main idea with the details to back it up. They will typically 

include examples, facts and figures. 

Conclusion 

The conclusion is the final paragraph in a composition. It follows the Introduction and the main 

body of the text. The conclusion sums up the composition. If the point of the composition is to 

answer a question, then the conclusion will provide that answer. The conclusion should back up 

its idea by restating the most important points. In less formal writing the author may wish to state 

their own opinion in the conclusion.


An example of a short composition 

Title 

Italy 

Introduction 

Topic sentence 

Italy, a country in Europe that is not only famous for being 

very historic but is also having a rich cultural heritage. 

Main body 

Italy’s capital Rome was the center of the ancient world. 

The Vatican in Rome is the cultural heart of Catholicism. 

supporting 

sentences, 

details. 

Italy is famous for its fabulous food and wonderful wine. 

The best preserved Roman ruins are in Pompeii, Naples. 

Italy is best known for its historic art and architecture. 

Classical music is one of Italy’s loved cultural exports. 

Italy is a beautiful country that is the most cultural and 

Conclusion 

historic place in Europe if not the world. I think everyone 

should visit Italy at least once in their lifetime. 

The title tells us we are going to talk about Italy. The topic sentence defines this further to let the 

reader know we will discuss Italy as related to its history and culture. For this reason, every 

supporting sentence must be in the context of Italy and must contain either a detail related to its 

culture, history or both. We can include a sentence such as. “I lived in Italy for a year” but this is 

not a supporting sentence.


Cultural 

details 

Historic 

details 

Italy 

Conclusion 

Italy is a very wide topic. We could talk about Italian football teams like AC Milan or Juventus, 

Italian cities like Florence or Venice, pizza, Mussolini, Leonardo de Vinci or Galileo. 

The topic sentence helps us focus the composition to just Italy and culture and Italy history. The 

supporting details further focus the composition and the results are collated in the conclusion. 

If we were to be asked to write an opinion piece or a composition as to whether social media is 

bad or beneficial for children or the causes and effects of crime, we would use this process.


Types of compositions 

The most commonly types of composition are: 

Type 

Opinion 

Compare and contrast 

Descriptive 

Cause and effect 

Example 

Does television have a positive or negative effect on society? 

Compare and contrast living and working in the UK and Turkey. 

Describe your favorite book or film and explain why you love it. 

What are the causes and what are the effects of climate change? 

Opinion 

An opinion composition is a formal piece of writing. It requires your opinion on a topic, which 

must be stated clearly, your opinion needs to be supported by different reasons and specific 

examples. If possible you should also include the opposing viewpoint. 

Grammar we would expect to use in a compare and contrast composition we would be: 

Opinions In my opinion, as a result, I think that, I believe that, 

Examples for example, for instance, specifically, consequently, 

Transitions however, alternatively, in contrast, nevertheless, 

Note: In an opinion composition if the conclusion is negative then the preceding paragraph 

should also be negative.


Compare and contrast 

A compare and contrast composition discusses the differences and the similarities of two distinct 

subjects. A good compare and contrast composition points out how the subjects are similar or 

different or both. It also uses those points to make a meaningful argument about the subjects. 

Compare then contrast, usually the emphasis on a compare and contrast composition is on the 

contrast so compare first then contrast. 


Comparatives more/less bigger hotter better 

Superlatives most/least smaller colder best 

Transitions however, in contrast, alternatively, similarly, 

Descriptive 

A descriptive composition describes something in great detail, it illustrates and paints a vivid 

picture in the mind of the reader. Good descriptive compositions are usually low on facts, figures 

and statistics but concentrate on detailed observations and descriptions. 

Identify what to describe. Often, a descriptive essay will focus on one of the following: 

a person a place a memory an experience an object 

The best way to create a vivid experience for your readers is to focus on the five senses. 

sight sound smell touch taste 


Adjectives beautiful colorful fragrant delicious 

Adverbs quietly quickly softly gently


Cause and effect 

Cause and effect essays are concerned with why things happen (causes) and what happens as a 

result (effects). Cause and effect is a common method of organizing and discussing ideas. 

In a cause and effect composition the introduction describes the issue's background, explaining 

the cause and why understanding its effects is important. 

Distinguish between cause and effect. To determine causes, ask, "Why, how did this happen?" 

To identify effects, ask, "What happened because, as a result of this?" 


Transitions because as a result, consequently, therefore, 

Sequence adverbs first, then after finally, 

A typical cause and effect 

relationship would be too 

look at the causes of crime. 

crime 

We see the primary driving 

factor that results in a rising 

crime rate is lack of education 

employment 

We can also see a secondary 

cause, falling employment 

which is drives crime up and 

is itself driven by lack of 

education 

education


Point by point and subject by subject 

Subject by subject. 

This organization deals with all of the points about Topic A, then all of the points of Topic B. 

This works well for a compare and contrast and opinion compositions. 

For example 

Compare and contrast living and working in the UK and Turkey. 

All the comparisons (similarities) can be discussed first and then all the contrasts (differences). 

Or all the points relating to one subject (The UK) then all points relating to the other (Turkey). 


First introduce the topic 

Then discuss all the positive effects television has on society in one paragraph 

After discuss all the negative effects television has on society in the other. 

Finally add the conclusion 

Note: In an opinion composition if the conclusion is negative then the preceding paragraph 

should also be negative. In a compare and contrast the comparisons should appear first and the 

contrasts should appear last because the final part of the main body has more emphasis. 

The strength of this form is that it is easy and you don’t keep jumping forward and back between 

topics, which can help your essay read more smoothly. 

The weakness is that the supporting points in an opinion composition and contrasts in a compare 

and contrast essay don’t aren’t shown until much later in the essay, and it can end up reading like 

a list of “points” rather than a cohesive essay.


Example essay subject by subject 


There are many effects television (T.V.) has on society, some are positive and others are 

negative. In this essay, I aim to show whether the overall effect T.V. has on society is 

positive or negative. 

T.V. has many positive effects on society. T.V. helps to educate and to entertain. The 

T.V. is a window on the world for good or bad it is important that we remain aware of 

the world we live in and T.V. helps us do this. There are many news programs that keep 

us informed and entertainment programs that keep us entertained. 

However, T.V. has many negative effects on society. T.V. is often filled with sex and 

violence, it shows us some of the worst aspects of our society and promotes behavior 

that makes these problems worse. T.V is primarily about making money and as a result 

its underlying influence is one that promotes reckless consumerism. T.V. is also a major 

distraction. T.V. has become a friend, a parent and teacher. It tells us what to think, what 

to wear and how to behave. This is not a healthy thing for society. 

In conclusion, T.V. has both positive and negative effect on society, nevertheless in my 

opinion T.V. has far more negative effect on society than positive especially because it 

promotes negative behavior.


Point by point. 

This type of organization switches back and forth between points. 

This works very well for cause and effect compositions. 

For example: 


First introduce the topic 

Then discuss each separate cause and its related effect. Repeat this process for each and every 

point until all the points and their related effects have been covered. 

Finally add the conclusion 

The strength of this form is that it’s very clear what you’re comparing and contrasting. 

The weakness is that this is a harder style to master and you do switch back and forth between 

topics. This can be confusing for the writer and the reader. To avoid confusion try to: 

Organize the points if possible into: 

Chronological. Details are arranged in the order in which the events occurred. 

Order of importance. Details are arranged from least to most important or vice versa. 

Categorical. Details are arranged by dividing the topic into parts or categories. 

Make sure that they use transitions and signposts to lead the reader through the argument. 

For causes (because, due to, on cause is, another is, since, for, first, second) 

For effects (consequently, as a result, thus, resulted in, one result is, another is, therefore)


Example essay point by point 


Climate change is a serious problem but what are the causes and what are the effects? 

The Sun is the only purely independent natural cause on this list. The Sun goes through 

periods of warming and cooling. This has a dramatic but gradual effect on temperature 

Livestock give off large amounts of CO2 and methane. Methane is even more of a 

catalyst for atmospheric warming. The effect is an increase in the greenhouse effect 

Population growth is a passive cause of climate change. As populations increase so to 

the effects. Pressure on all the other causes and effects is relative to population growth 

Deforestation is largely caused by human agriculture and its effect is to cause 

desertification. The lack of top soil and loss of trees breaks the CO2 cycle 

Pollution from human activity is the biggest cause of climate change and so has the 

greatest direct impact on extreme weather conditions and increased temperature 

In conclusion, by far the biggest cause of climate change is human activity and a positive 

feedback loop is created by the effects which are dramatic and increase exponentially.


Punctuation 

Full stop (UK) Period (US) 

Marks the end of a sentence 

Question mark 

Indicates the end of a question 

Exclamation mark 

Adds emphasis to a sentence or statement 

Quotation marks 

Indicates direct speech 

Comma 

Indicates a natural pause in a sentence, 

separates clauses and items on a list 

Colon 

Precedes and explanation 

or example of what went before 

Semi-colon 

Separates related sentences, 

lists of items with several words, and clauses 

Parenthesis (brackets) 

Separate or highlight extra information 

from a sentence or statement 

Hyphen (dash) 

Used to attach a prefix to a word or as a dash 

Separate or highlight extra information from a sentence or statement


Writing a professional email. 

Greeting 

Complement 

Introduction 

Reason 

Call to action 

Closing message 

Signature 

1. Greeting (Dear Sir/Madam if name unknown) (Hi + 1 st name if you’re on friendly terms) 

2. Complement (say something pleasant but don’t overdo it) 

3. Introduction (if your familiar just say hi its + 1 st name) 

4. Reason (state the reason for this email, make it sound beneficial for them) 

5. Call to action (what you would like them to do next, be polite and formal with a request) 

6. Closing message (give your extra contact details here if needed) 

7. Signature (and title if you have one)


Writing a professional letter. 

The Company 

Norton House 

Happy Valley 

Wakeford 

NN17 8PN 

Their 

address 

Greeting 

Your 

address 

Date 

Job Blogs and Co 

Old School House 

No 1 High Street 

Kingstown 

BT7 1QQ 

23/11/2018 

Dear Dr. Marston 

Introduction 

Complement 

My name is Jo Blogs from JB Ltd and I met your company representatives at the 

conference yesterday. I was very impressed by the quality of your marketing team. They 

had some wonderful Ideas. 

I am writing to you because I am interested in working with your company on the new 

Berlin project. I feel we have systems that can make the logistics of the project more 

cost effective. 

I have enclosed a brochure and a brief proposal. When it is convenient please take a 

look. I will call at the end of the week to see if you have any questions. 

In the meantime, if you have any questions, then please do not hesitate to contact me on 

1234 5678 890 alternatively you can email me at jblogs@jbltd.com 

I am looking forward to speaking with you in the near future. 

Reason 

Kind regards, 

Call to action 

J Blogs Manager 

Closing message 

Signature 

*see previous page for more detail


YN 

Objective 

Explain your aims and 

ambitions. Where do you 

see yourself in five years 

time? If you are not 

working or planning to 

leave a job you may want 

to explain but don’t say 

anything negative about 

another company it will 

reflect badly on you. 

Skills 

Explain what you’re 

especially good at. What 

sets you apart? Use your 

own language—not jargon. 

Contact information 

Tel 

Mob 

Email 

Address put your full 

postal address in here 

don’t forget to include 

the country code on the 

numbers if needed 

Experience 

Job Title • Company • Dates From – To 

Summarize your key responsibilities, leadership, and most 

stellar accomplishments. Don’t list everything; keep it 

relevant and include data that shows the impact you made. 

Job Title • Company • Dates From – To 

Think about the size of the team you led, the number of 

projects you balanced, or the number of articles you wrote. 

Education 

YOUR NAME 

Degree • Date Earned • School 

You mystudentteacher.com might want to include | Link your to GPA other and online a summary properties: of 

relevant coursework, awards, and honors. 

Degree • Date Earned Portfolio/Website/Blog 

• School 

On the Home tab of the ribbon, check out Styles to apply the 

formatting you need with just a click. 

Volunteer Experience or Leadership 

Did you manage a team for your club, lead a project for your 

favorite charity, or edit your school newspaper? Go ahead 

and describe experiences that illustrate your leadership 

abilities. 

Professional memberships and qualifications 

Summarize any relevant work based training you have 

had or any memberships of professional bodies 

Hobbies and interests 

Summarize your hobbies. Hobbies that require dedication, 

teamwork patience are useful to include.


Planning a presentation 

Step 1: Analyze your audience 

Get information on the, values, and interests 

of your audience so that you understand 

what the audience members might expect 

from your presentation. 

Step 2: Select a topic 

Select a topic that is of interest to the 

audience and to you. 

Step 3: Define the objective of the 

presentation 

Write the objective of the presentation in a 

single concise statement. The objective 

needs to specify exactly what you want 

your audience to learn from your 

presentation. Base the objective and the 

level of the content on the amount of time 

you have for the presentation and the 

background knowledge of the audience. 

Step 4: Prepare the body of the presentation 

Decide how much information you can 

present in the time allowed. Prepare a 

presentation with the right level of detail. 

Not too basic or too advanced. 

The body of the presentation is where you 

present your ideas. To present your ideas 

convincingly, you will need to illustrate and 

support them. Strategies to help you do this 

include the following: 

Present data and facts 

Read quotes from experts 

Relate personal experiences 

Provide vivid descriptions 

Provide variety. Listeners may quickly 

become bored by lots of facts or they may 

tire of hearing story after story. 

Step 5: Prepare the introduction and 

conclusion 

Decide how to begin and end the talk. Make 

sure the introduction captures the attention 

of your audience and the conclusion 

summarizes and reiterates your important 

points. 

Strategies that attract an audience's attention 

and build interest include the following: 

Make the introduction relevant to the 

listeners' goals, values, and needs 

Ask questions to stimulate thinking 

Share a personal experience 

Begin with a joke or humorous story 

Project a cartoon or colourful visual 

Make a stimulating or inspirational 

statement 

Give a unique demonstration 

Introduction: clearly present your topic and 

the purpose of your presentation. 

Conclusion: reinforce the main ideas you 

communicated. By reinforcing and 

reviewing the main ideas, you help the 

audience remember them. 

Step 6: Practice delivering the presentation 

Fine-tune your content to be sure you make 

your most important points in the time 

allotted. 

Delivery methods: 

Speaking from Memory, speaking from 

Notes, speaking from Text, using a 

Combination of Methods. 

The best method is to speak from memory 

but have some bullet pointed notes to help.


Delivering presentations 

Grammar 

1. Use appropriate tenses 

2. Use transition and linking words 

3. Use appropriate intonation 

4. Use adjectives, be descriptive 

5. Use sequence adverbs for organization 

6. Use Active voice 

7. Use quoted/reported speech correctly 

8. Don’t repeat words unnecessarily 

9. Don’t overuse or repeat conjunctions 

10. Don’t use colloquial speech 

Note: check for spelling or grammatical 

errors in the visual materials and handouts. 

Use sentences that are not too short and not 

too long. 

Delivery style 

1. Look at the audience 

2. Use body language 

3. Move around 

4. Effective opening 

5. Effective closing 

6. Use audio or visual material 

7. Use relevant examples 

8. Use handouts 

9. Encourage audience participation 

10. Stay on topic 

Note: Use the right volume, pronunciation, 

pitch and tone. Be prepared with explanations 

and extra material for elaboration. Leave 

enough time for questions.


All the tenses (S) = subject (V) = verb (V1) = present participle (V2) = past (V3) = past participle Ving = present participle 

PAST PRESENT FUTURE 

Be 

(+) S + was/were + complement (+) S + am/is/are + complement (+) S + will + be + complement 

(-) S + wasn’t/weren’t + complement (-) S + am not/isn’t/wasn’t + complement (-) S+ won’t + be + complement 

(?) Was/were + S + complement? (?) Am/is/are + S + complement? (?) Will + S + complement? 

Simple 

Continuous 

(+) S + V2 (+) S + V1 (+s) (+) S + am/is/are + going to + Ving 

(-) S + didn’t + V2 (-) S + don’t/doesn’t + V1 (-) S + am not/isn’t/aren’t + going to + Ving 

(?) Did + S + V2? (?) Does/doesn’t + S + V1? (?) Am/is/are + S + going to + Ving? 

(+) S + will + V1 

(-) S + wont + V1 

(?) Will + S + V1 

(+) S + was/were + Ving (+) S + am/is/are + Ving (+) S + will + be + Ving 

(-) S + wasn’t/weren’t + Ving (-) S + am not/isn’t/aren’t + Ving (-) S + won’t + be + Ving 

(?) Was/were + Ving? (?) Am/is/are + S + Ving? (?) Will + S + be + Ving? 

Perfect 

(+) S + had + V3 (+) S + have/has + V3 (+) S + will + have + V3 

(-) S + hadn’t + V3 (-) S + haven’t/hasn’t + V3 (-) S + won’t + have + V3 

(?) Had + S + V3? (?) Have/has + S + V3? (?) Will + S + have + V3? 

Perfect 

Continuous 

(+) S + had + been + Ving (+) S + have/has + been + Ving (+) S + will + have + been + Ving 

(-) S + hadn’t + been + Ving (-) S + haven’t/hasn’t + been + Ving (-) S + won’t + have + been + Ving 

(?) Has + S + been + Ving? (?) Have/has + S + been + Ving? (?) Will + S + have + been + Ving?


Irregular verbs 

Infinitive Simple Past Past Participle 

arise arose arisen 

awake awakened / awoke awakened / awoken 

backslide backslid backslidden / backslid 

be was, were been 

bear bore born / borne 

beat beat beaten / beat 

become became become 

begin began begun 

bend bent bent 

bet bet / betted bet / betted 

bid (farewell) bid / bade bidden 

bid (offer amount) bid bid 

bind bound bound 

bite bit bitten 

bleed bled bled 

blow blew blown 

break broke broken 

breed bred bred 

bring brought brought 

broadcast broadcast / broadcasted broadcast / broadcasted 

browbeat browbeat browbeaten / browbeat 

build built built 

burn burned / burnt burned / burnt 

burst burst burst 

bust busted / bust busted / bust 

buy bought bought 

cast cast cast 

catch caught caught 

choose chose chosen 

cling clung clung 

clothe clothed / clad clothed / clad 

come came come 

cost cost cost 

creep crept crept 

crossbreed crossbred crossbred 

cut cut cut 

daydream daydreamed / daydreamt daydreamed / daydreamt 

deal dealt dealt 

dig dug dug


disprove disproved disproved / disproven 

dive dove / dived dived 

do did done 

draw drew drawn 

dream dreamed / dreamt dreamed / dreamt 

drink drank drunk 

drive drove driven 

dwell dwelt / dwelled dwelt / dwelled 

eat ate eaten 

fall fell fallen 

feed fed fed 

feel felt felt 

fight fought fought 

find found found 

fit (tailor, change size) fitted / fit fitted / fit 

fit (be right size) fit / fitted fit / fitted 

flee fled fled 

fling flung flung 

fly flew flown 

forbid forbade forbidden 

forecast forecast forecast 

forego (also forgo) forewent foregone 

foresee foresaw foreseen 

foretell foretold foretold 

forget forgot forgotten / forgot 

forgive forgave forgiven 

forsake forsook forsaken 

freeze froze frozen 

frostbite frostbit frostbitten 

get got gotten / got 

give gave given 

go went gone 

grind ground ground 

grow grew grown 

hand-feed hand-fed hand-fed 

handwrite handwrote handwritten 

hang hung hung 

have had had 

hear heard heard 

hew hewed hewn / hewed 

hide hid hidden 

hit hit hit


hold held held 

hurt hurt hurt 

inbreed inbred inbred 

inlay inlaid inlaid 

input input / inputted input / inputted 

interbreed interbred interbred 

interweave interwove / interweaved interwoven / interweaved 

interwind interwound interwound 

jerry-build jerry-built jerry-built 

keep kept kept 

kneel knelt / kneeled knelt / kneeled 

knit knitted / knit knitted / knit 

know knew known 

lay laid laid 

lead led led 

lean leaned / leant leaned / leant 

leap leaped / leapt leaped / leapt 

learn learned / learnt learned / learnt 

leave left left 

lend lent lent 

let let let 

lie lay lain 

lie (not tell truth) lied lied 

light lit / lighted lit / lighted 

lip-read lip-read lip-read 

lose lost lost 

make made made 

mean meant meant 

meet met met 

miscast miscast miscast 

misdeal misdealt misdealt 

misdo misdid misdone 

mishear misheard misheard 

mislay mislaid mislaid 

mislead misled misled 

mislearn mislearned / mislearnt mislearned / mislearnt 

misread misread misread 

misset misset misset 

misspeak misspoke misspoken 

misspell misspelled / misspelt misspelled / misspelt 

misspend misspent misspent 

mistake mistook mistaken


misteach mistaught mistaught 

misunderstand misunderstood misunderstood 

miswrite miswrote miswritten 

mow mowed mowed / mown 

offset offset offset 

outbid outbid outbid 

outbreed outbred outbred 

outdo outdid outdone 

outdraw outdrew outdrawn 

outdrink outdrank outdrunk 

outdrive outdrove outdriven 

outfight outfought outfought 

outfly outflew outflown 

outgrow outgrew outgrown 

outleap outleaped / outleapt outleaped / outleapt 

outlie outlied outlied 

outride outrode outridden 

outrun outran outrun 

outsell outsold outsold 

outshine outshined / outshone outshined / outshone 

outshoot outshot outshot 

outsing outsang outsung 

outsit outsat outsat 

outsleep outslept outslept 

outsmell outsmelled / outsmelt outsmelled / outsmelt 

outspeak outspoke outspoken 

outspeed outsped outsped 

outspend outspent outspent 

outswear outswore outsworn 

outswim outswam outswum 

outthink outthought outthought 

outthrow outthrew outthrown 

outwrite outwrote outwritten 

overbid overbid overbid 

overbreed overbred overbred 

overbuild overbuilt overbuilt 

overbuy overbought overbought 

overcome overcame overcome 

overdo overdid overdone 

overdraw overdrew overdrawn 

overdrink overdrank overdrunk 

overeat overate overeaten


overfeed overfed overfed 

overhang overhung overhung 

overhear overheard overheard 

overlay overlaid overlaid 

overpay overpaid overpaid 

override overrode overridden 

overrun overran overrun 

oversee oversaw overseen 

oversell oversold oversold 

oversew oversewed oversewn / oversewed 

overshoot overshot overshot 

oversleep overslept overslept 

overspeak overspoke overspoken 

overspend overspent overspent 

overspill overspilled / overspilt overspilled / overspilt 

overtake overtook overtaken 

overthink overthought overthought 

overthrow overthrew overthrown 

overwind overwound overwound 

overwrite overwrote overwritten 

partake partook partaken 

pay paid paid 

plead pleaded / pled pleaded / pled 

prebuild prebuilt prebuilt 

predo predid predone 

premake premade premade 

prepay prepaid prepaid 

presell presold presold 

preset preset preset 

preshrink preshrank preshrunk 

proofread proofread proofread 

prove proved proven / proved 

put put put 

quick-freeze quick-froze quick-frozen 

quit quit / quitted quit / quitted 

read read read 

reawake reawoke reawaken 

rebid rebid rebid 

rebind rebound rebound 

rebroadcast 

rebroadcast / rebroadcasted rebroadcast / rebroadcasted 

rebuild rebuilt rebuilt 

recast recast recast


recut recut recut 

redeal redealt redealt 

redo redid redone 

redraw redrew redrawn 

refit (replace parts) refit / refitted refit / refitted 

refit (retailor) refitted / refit refitted / refit 

regrind reground reground 

regrow regrew regrown 

rehang rehung rehung 

rehear reheard reheard 

reknit reknitted / reknit reknitted / reknit 

relay (for example tiles) relaid relaid 

relay (pass along) relayed relayed 

relearn relearned / relearnt relearned / relearnt 

relight relit / relighted relit / relighted 

remake remade remade 

repay repaid repaid 

reread reread reread 

rerun reran rerun 

resell resold resold 

resend resent resent 

reset reset reset 

resew resewed resewn / resewed 

retake retook retaken 

reteach retaught retaught 

retear retore retorn 

retell retold retold 

rethink rethought rethought 

retread retread retread 

retrofit retrofitted / retrofit retrofitted / retrofit 

rewake rewoke / rewaked rewaken / rewaked 

rewear rewore reworn 

reweave rewove / reweaved rewoven / reweaved 

rewed rewed / rewedded rewed / rewedded 

rewet rewet / rewetted rewet / rewetted 

rewin rewon rewon 

rewind rewound rewound 

rewrite rewrote rewritten 

rid rid rid 

ride rode ridden 

ring rang rung 

rise rose risen


roughcast roughcast roughcast 

run ran run 

sand-cast sand-cast sand-cast 

saw sawed sawed / sawn 

say said said 

see saw seen 

seek sought sought 

sell sold sold 

send sent sent 

set set set 

sew sewed sewn / sewed 

shake shook shaken 

shave shaved shaved / shaven 

shear sheared sheared / shorn 

shed shed shed 

shine shined / shone shined / shone 

shit shit / shat / shitted shit/ shat / shitted 

shoot shot shot 

show showed shown / showed 

shrink shrank / shrunk shrunk 

shut shut shut 

sight-read sight-read sight-read 

sing sang sung 

sink sank / sunk sunk 

sit sat sat 

slay (kill) slew / slayed slain / slayed 

slay (amuse) slayed slayed 

sleep slept slept 

slide slid slid 

sling slung slung 

slink slinked / slunk slinked / slunk 

slit slit slit 

smell smelled / smelt smelled / smelt 

sneak sneaked / snuck sneaked / snuck 

sow sowed sown / sowed 

speak spoke spoken 

speed sped / speeded sped / speeded 

spell spelled / spelt spelled / spelt 

spend spent spent 

spill spilled / spilt spilled / spilt 

spin spun spun 

spit spit / spat spit / spat


split split split 

spoil spoiled / spoilt spoiled / spoilt 

spoon-feed spoon-fed spoon-fed 

spread spread spread 

spring sprang / sprung sprung 

stand stood stood 

steal stole stolen 

stick stuck stuck 

sting stung stung 

stink stunk / stank stunk 

strew strewed strewn / strewed 

stride strode stridden 

strike (delete) struck stricken 

strike (hit) struck struck / stricken 

string strung strung 

strive strove / strived striven / strived 

sublet sublet sublet 

sunburn sunburned / sunburnt sunburned / sunburnt 

swear swore sworn 

sweat sweat / sweated sweat / sweated 

sweep swept swept 

swell swelled swollen / swelled 

swim swam swum 

swing swung swung 

take took taken 

teach taught taught 

tear tore torn 

telecast telecast telecast 

tell told told 

test-drive test-drove test-driven 

test-fly test-flew test-flown 

think thought thought 

throw threw thrown 

thrust thrust thrust 

tread trod trodden / trod 

typecast typecast typecast 

typeset typeset typeset 

typewrite typewrote typewritten 

unbend unbent unbent 

unbind unbound unbound 

unclothe unclothed / unclad unclothed / unclad 

underbid underbid underbid


undercut undercut undercut 

underfeed underfed underfed 

undergo underwent undergone 

underlie underlay underlain 

undersell undersold undersold 

underspend underspent underspent 

understand understood understood 

undertake undertook undertaken 

underwrite underwrote underwritten 

undo undid undone 

unfreeze unfroze unfrozen 

unhang unhung unhung 

unhide unhid unhidden 

unknit unknitted / unknit unknitted / unknit 

unlearn unlearned / unlearnt unlearned / unlearnt 

unsew unsewed unsewn / unsewed 

unsling unslung unslung 

unspin unspun unspun 

unstick unstuck unstuck 

unstring unstrung unstrung 

unweave unwove / unweaved unwoven / unweaved 

unwind unwound unwound 

uphold upheld upheld 

upset upset upset 

wake woke / waked woken / waked 

waylay waylaid waylaid 

wear wore worn 

weave wove / weaved woven / weaved 

wed wed / wedded wed / wedded 

weep wept wept 

wet wet / wetted wet / wetted 

whet whetted whetted 

win won won 

wind wound wound 

withdraw withdrew withdrawn 

withhold withheld withheld 

withstand withstood withstood 

wring wrung wrung 

write wrote written


All the conditionals 

Conditional Use/function If clause verb tense Main clause verb tense Condition & result 

0 

100% certain 

1 st 

50% possible 

General truths and facts 


Future possibility condition and 

result 

Present simple Present simple If this happens 

That happens 

Present simple Future simple If this happens 

That will happen 

2 nd 

1-0% hypothetical 

Unlikely or hypothetical future Past simple Present simple or 


If this happened 

That would happen 

3 rd 

0% impossible 

Mixed 

0% impossible 

Unreal past condition and 

probable past result 

Unreal past condition and 

probable result 

Past perfect Perfect conditional If this had happened 

That would have happened 

Past perfect Present conditional If this had happened 

That would happen 

*% is for illustrative purposes only 

Examples: If Clause (condition) Main Clause (result) 

O Conditional If you heat water to 100°c, water boils 

Water freezes If you cool it to 0°c 


1 st Conditional If you drive too fast, you will lose your license 

You will get a good job 

if you graduate university 


2 nd Conditional If I were you, I’d study very hard for the exam 

I would rule the Caribbean 

if I were a pirate 


3 rd Conditional If I had passed the exam, I would have been a doctor 

I would have been in big trouble 

if I had listened to his advice 


Mixed Conditional If I had married I would have a big family 

I would be famous now 

if I had published my book


All the contractions, reductions 

Contraction Meaning Contraction Meaning 

couldn’t could not should’ve should have 

didn't did not shouldn't should not 

doesn't does not so's so as / so is 

don't do not that's that has / that is 

hadn't had not there's there has / there is 

hasn't has not they'll they shall / they will 

haven't have not they're they are 

he's he has / he is wasn't was not 

how’d how did we’d we had / we would 

how's how has / is / does we'll we will 

I'd I had / I would we're we are 

I'll I shall / I will we've we have 

I'm I am weren't were not 

I've I have what're what are 

isn't is not what's what has / what is 

it'd it had / it would what've what have 

it'll it shall / it will when's when has / when is 

it's it has / it is where's where has / where is 

let's let us who'll who shall / who will 

might've might have who's who has / who is 

mightn't might not why's why has / why is 

must've must have won't will not 

mustn't must not won't've will not have 

needn't need not would've would have 

shan't shall not wouldn't would not 

she'd she had / she would wouldn't've would not have 

she'll she shall / she will you'll you shall / you will 

she's she has / she is you're you are 

Slang contractions 

Contraction Meaning Contraction Meaning 

ain't am not/are not/is not gotta (have) got to 

ain't has not/have not kinda kind of 

gimme give me lemme let me 

gonna going to wanna want to 

gotta (have) got a whatcha what are you/have you


Phrasal Verbs 

Phrasal verb Meaning Phrasal verb Meaning 

ask out invite on a date come across find unexpectedly 

ask around ask people the same question come apart separate 

add up to equal come down with become sick 

back up reverse come forward volunteer for a task 

back up support come from originate in 

blow up explode count on rely on 

blow up add air cross out draw a line through 

break down stop functioning (machine) cut back on consume less 

break down get upset cut down make fall to the ground 

break down divide into smaller parts cut in interrupt 

break in force entry to a building cut in pull in too closely 

break into enter forcibly cut in start operating (of tech) 

break in use a few times cut off remove with sharp knife 

break in interrupt cut off stop providing 

break up end a relationship cut off take out of a will 

break up start laughing (informal) cut out remove part (scissors) 

break out escape do over beat up, ransack 

break out in develop a skin condition do over do again 

bring down make unhappy do away with discard 

bring up raise a child do up fasten, close 

bring up start talking about a subject dress up wear nice clothing 

bring up vomit drop back move back in a position 

call around phone different places/people drop in/by/ over Come, visit (informal) 

call back return a phone call drop off take and leave something 

call off cancel drop out quit a class, school etc. 

call on ask for an answer or opinion eat out eat at a restaurant 

call on visit somebody end up eventually reach/do 

call up phone fall apart break into pieces 

calm down relax after being angry fall down fall to the ground 

not care for not like (formal) fall out separate from an interior 

catch up get to the same point fall out become loose/unattached 

check in arrive/register at hotel/airport figure out understand, find answer 

check out leave a hotel fill in to write information UK 

check out look at carefully, investigate fill out to write information US 

check out look at (informal) fill up fill to the top 

cheer up become happier find out discover 

cheer up make happier find out discover 

chip in help get across/ over communicate 

clean up tidy, clean get along/on like each other



get around have mobility hand in return something 

get away go on a vacation hand over give unwillingly 

getawaywith do bad without punishment hang on wait a short time 

get back return hang on stay positive (informal) 

get back receive thing you had before hang out spend time relaxing 

get back at retaliate, take revenge hang up end a phone call 

get back into become interested in again hold back prevent from doing/going 

get on step onto a vehicle hold back hide an emotion 

get over recover from an illness, loss hold on wait a short time 

get over overcome a problem hold onto hold firmly 

get round to finally find time to do hold up rob 

get together meet (for social reasons) keep on doing continue doing 

get up get out of bed keep from not tell 

get up stand keep out stop from entering 

give away reveal secret about someone keep up continue at the same rate 

give away take the bride to the altar let down fail to support/disappoint 

give away ruin a surprise let in allow to enter 

give away give to somebody for free log in (or on) sign in (computer tech) 

give back return a borrowed item log out (or off) sign out (computer tech) 

give in stop fighting or arguing look after take care of 

give out give to many people look down on think less of/inferior 

give up quit a habit look for try to find 

give up stop trying look forward to be excited about future 

go after follow look into investigate 

go after try to achieve look out be careful, take notice 

go against compete, oppose look out for be especially vigilant for 

go ahead start, proceed look over check, examine 

go back return to a place look up search and find 

go out go on a social event look up to have a lot of respect for 

go out with date make up invent, lie about sthg 

go over review make up forgive each other 

go over visit nearby make up apply cosmetics to 

go without suffer lack or deprivation mix up confuse things 

grow apart stop being friends over time pass away die 

grow back regrow pass out faint 

grow into grow big enough to fit pass out give same thing to people 

grow out of get too big for pass up decline 

grow up become an adult pay back return owed money 

hand down give something used pay for be punished for 

hand in submit pick out choose 

hand out to distribute to people point out indicate with your finger



put down place on a surface or floor take off start to fly 

put down insult, make feel stupid take off remove usually clothing 

put off postpone take out remove from place/thing 

put out extinguish take out pay to go with you 

put together assemble tear up rip into pieces 

put up with tolerate think back remember + to, or + on) 

put on put clothing the on body think over consider 

run into meet unexpectedly throw away dispose of 

run over drive a vehicle over a person turn down decrease heat/light/sound 

run through rehearse, review turn down refuse 

run away leave unexpectedly, escape turn off stop, switch off 

run out have none left turn on start, switch on 

send back return (usually by mail) turn up increase heat/light/sound 

set up arrange, organize turn up appear suddenly 

set up trick, trap try on sample clothing 

shop around compare prices try out test 

show off act extra special for people use up finish the supply 

sleep over stay somewhere for the night wake up stop sleeping 

sort out organize, resolve a problem warm up increase the temperature 

stick to continue doing something warm up prepare body for exercise 

switch off stop the energy flow, turn off wear off fade away 

switch on start the energy flow, turn on work out exercise 

take after resemble a family member work out be successful 

take apart purposely break into pieces work out make a calculation 

take back return an item


Attribution licenses: 

Note CC0 Public Domain images from pixabay.com 

Hands Designed by Ddraw / Freepik 

Podium CC0 Public domain 

Racing cars CC0 Public Domain 

Flags CC0 Public Domain 

Spiral clock: Used with permission by Sundial Time Systems 

Watch CC0 Public Domain 

By J. hagelüken - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, wiki commons 

Vector people Designed by Ikaika - Freepik.com 

Vector animals Designed by Ikaika - Freepik.com 

Vector transport Designed by Ikaika - Freepik.com 

Dogs Designed by Freepik.com 

Dog bone creative commons 

Water CC0 Public Domain 

Glass of water CC0 Public Domain 

Sugar granules CC0 Public Domain 

Sugar spoon CC0 Public Domain 

Sports 250 silhouettes Vectoropenstock.com 

Happy CC0 Public Domain 

Parrots CC0 Public Domain 

Rainbow CC0 Public Domain 

A white house CC0 Public Domain 

The White House CC0 Public Domain 

World map CC0 Public Domain 

Space time CC0 Public Domain 

Globe CC0 Public Domain 

Greece & Norway CC0 Public Domain 

Together & with CC0 Public Domain 

Vector transport Designed by Ikaika - Freepik.com 

Trees Designed by Freepik 

Routine strip Designed by Freepik 

Frequency wave Designed by Freepik 

Casual-characters Designed by Freepik.com 

Worker with question Selected by freepik 

Wooden signpost Designed by Freepik 

Man, doubting Designed by Dooder / Freepik 

Ruler CC0 Public Domain 

Puzzle pieces with thumbs up Designed by D3Images / Freepik 

Penguins CC0 Public Domain 

Happy dice Designed by D3Images / Freepik 

Coffee cup Designed by Freepik 

Beer bottles Designed by Layerace / Freepik 

Chocolate candies Designed by Freepik 

Emoji Designed by Vexels.com 

Airport icons Designed by Freepik 

Horse Designed by kjpargeter / Freepik 

Archer and shooter CC0 Public Domain 

Archer and shooter CC0 Public Domain 

Phones CC0 Public Domain 

Radio Designed by zirconicusso / Freepik 

Retro style TV Designed by Freepik 

Cute baby Designed by Freepik 

Switches CC0 Public Domain 

Ragdolls Designed by D3Images / Freepik 

Flags Selected by freepik 

Cop and robber Designed by Freepik 

Old soldier CC0 Public Domain 

Car crash CC0 Public Domain 

Girl taking selfie Designed by Asier_Relampagoestudio / Freepik 

Two people reading silhouette Designed by Jannoon028 / Freepik 

Fist writing CC0 Public Domain 

Presentation CC0 Public Domain

Grammar 101

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?