VERB TENSES (Part Ten)

Adjectives and adverbs. Adjetivos y adverbios en inglés
ADJECTIVES:

Adjectives are words that we use to describe nouns, as in I have a new, red, velvet bag.  New, red and velvet are adjectives used to say what the bag is like.

Adjectives usually come before the noun they are modifying.

Adjectives will never vary according to the form of the noun

ADVERBS:

Adverbs are used to describe verbs, as in I walked slowly and carefully along the cliff. Slowly and carefully describe the way the speaker was walking.

Adverbs can come before or after the verb they are modifying.

Adverbs can be recognised by their form, function and position.



10.1 Function of the adverb

It can modify a range of other words or even sentences or phrases. In the examples below, the adverb is in bold and the verb is in italics.

It can change a verb:
               - Dave eats loudly. (How does Dave eat?)
               - Ann works locally. (Where does Ann work?)
               - She never exercises. (When does she exercise?)

It can change an adjective:
               - She is reallypretty.

It can change another adverb:
               - Bert drives incrediblyslowly.

It can change a whole sentence:
               - Obviously, I can't know everything.

It can change a prepositional phrase:
               - It's immediately inside the door.



10.2 Form of the adverb

Most adverbs can be formed from adjectives by adding ‘ly’ to the end of the adjective.

For example:

               slow-slowly, quick-quickly, grand-grandly.

If the word ends in a ‘y’ like ‘happy’ then we change the ‘y’ to ‘i’. For example: happy-happily.

There are some exceptions. In these cases the adverb does not change its form; examples are as follows: fast, very, never, always, often, still...etc

Some adverbs are unlike their verbs (irregulars), for example:

                good has the adverb well.



10.3 Position of the adverb

The adverb has three main points of position:

              - Before the subject: Now you can learn about grammar.

               - Between the subject and the main verb: We frequently do exercises to remember everything.

               - And at the end of the sentence, or after the object: There’s no need to rush, you can take it                slowly.

But, careful: the adverb will be placed after the verb to be, as in: she is always late.



10.4 Position of the adjective

The adjective always comes before the noun. When more than one adjective is used, we follow a specific order. For example: I just got a new big, red, leather handbag from my sister.

The general rule for the order of the adjectives is as follows:

 opinion + size + age + shape + colour + origin + material + purpose + NOUN

VERB TENSES (Part Nine)

Nouns, pronouns and articles. Nombres, pronombres y artículos en inglés
1. Nouns

Nouns are naming words.  A noun can refer to a person, place, animal, thing, event, substance or quality.

For example:      Woman/Uncle (person)

                              Park/Paris (place)

                              Cat/Bird (animal)

                              Book/Sky (thing)

                              Wedding/Party (event)

                              Water/Rock (substance)

                              Strength/Trust (quality)

We classify these nouns into concrete, abstract, proper and common:

concrete, as in real, touchable objects = Scissors/Potato/House
abstract, referring to ideas = Cost/Belief/Tradition
refer to events or actions = Meeting/Robbery/Shopping
refer to jobs = Waitress/Painter/Musician
proper names of things = Monday/England/Rachel* (*Proper nouns always have a CAPITAL letter.)
common nouns are all those that don’t fall under another category.
1.1 The plural form

To make a noun plural, look at what it ends with and follow these simple rules:

For most nouns, you simply add ‘s’ to form the plural = Dog/Dogs, House/Houses, etc.
For nouns already ending in ‘s’, add ‘es’ = Cross/Crosses, Boss/Bosses, etc.
For most nouns that end in ‘y’, remove the ‘y’ and add ‘ies’ = Party/Parties, Country/Countries.
For nouns that end in a vowel + ‘y’, keep the ‘y’ and add ‘s’ = Key/Keys, Toy/Toys.
For nouns that end in ‘f’ or ‘fe’, remove the ‘f’ and add ‘ves’ = Knife/Knives, Hoof/Hooves.
There are some nouns that are irregular, so you have to learn their plurals independently. These include: Tooth/Teeth, Mouse/Mice, Foot/Feet, Sheep/Sheep, Woman/Women,Man/Men, Person/People, Child/Children, etc.
1.2 Countable and uncountable nouns.

We divide nouns into things we can count individually, and things we cannot count.

For example: One apple, two apples. We know there are two as we can hold one in each hand and count them.  But liquids like water are things we cannot count.  We can’t hold water in our hands and make it into two individual things, so we call it an uncountable noun.


2. Pronouns

Pronouns are used to replace or refer to a noun in order to not to have to repeat the noun over and over.

For example:

                I have a pet bird. My pet bird likes carrots. I like my pet bird.

               I have a pet bird, he likes to eat carrots. I like him.

In this sentence ‘he’ and ‘him’ are the pronouns, referring back to the bird.

Here are some other examples, the pronouns are in bold:

               Sally went to a funeral last weekend. It was so sad.

               Are there any more plates? There’s one over there on the table you could use.

               I’ll meet you at the café, it’s just next to the department store.

               We really enjoyed the party last weekend, it was such fun!

               Will you have another biscuit? I made them myself.

Pronouns are divided into different functions:



2.1 Personal pronouns
 Personal pronouns are used to represent specific people or things. This depends on:

               -number: singular I) or plural (we)

               -person: 1st person I), 2nd person you) or 3rd person (he)

               -gender: male (he), female (she) or neuter (it)

               -case: subject (we) or object (us)

When I talk about myself, I use ‘I’, not Sophia, when I talk to my friends I don’t use their names, but ‘you’ or about somebody else, ‘he’ ‘she’ etc.


2.2 Possessive Pronouns

We use possessive pronouns to show who something belongs to. Usually we use possessive pronouns in relation to people, but we can also use them for animals and things.

We use possessive pronouns depending on:

               -number: singular (mine) or plural (ours)

               -person: 1st person ( mine), 2nd person (yours) or 3rd person (his/hers)

               -gender: male (his), female (hers)

Possessive pronouns can be the subject or object, and can refer to a singular thing or many things in plural.  For example:

                              What beautiful pictures! Which one is yours? ( yours = picture)

                             Do you like the pictures? All of them are mine. ( mine = pictures).


2.4 Interrogative Pronouns

The interrogative pronouns are what we use to ask questions.

The pronoun represents the thing we want to know.  There are four main interrogative pronouns: who, whom, what, which. We sometimes include whose as well as a demonstrative pronoun as it is an interrogative possessive pronoun and so it fits in both categories.


3. Articles

A/an and the are articles.  A/an is the indefinite article.  We use it to mean things in general. A we use it before consonants, and an we use it before vowels. The is the definite article.  We use it when we want to be specific about something.

For example, if you think of the sky during the day, there is one sun and a lot of clouds.  So we would say: “Look at the sun!” and “I can see a rain cloud”.

VERB TENSES (Part Eight)

Reported speech. 
If you are at a conference with a friend, and the speaker says something that you don’t quite hear, the most normal thing is to ask your friend: “what did he say?”. Your friend will naturally reply:  “He said….”

This is an example of reported speech (sometimes called indirect speech). When we change something from direct speech (the speaker’s exact words) into reported speech, we change the structure of the sentence.  This change is different for modifying statements, questions or requests.

1. Statements

When modifying statements, you often have to change:

Pronouns - In reported speech, you may have to change the pronoun depending on who says what. (Direct)“My father will speak to you now” (Reported) She says her father will speak to you now.
Present tense verbs (into 3rd person singular) – In reported speech we move from I to she/he, so the verbs must also change from 1stperson to 3rd person.
Place and time expressions – If you are repeating something that someone said to you on an earlier day, sometimes the place and time expression will not make sense anymore. If you are in the office and Mr Benson (a client) calls you and you missed it, perhaps the message he leave on your phone would be “I was trying to reach you today” If you are asked about the call the following day, you cannot say ‘today’ as it was the day before, so you would say “Mr Benson was trying to reach me yesterday”
tenses (from present to past etc).


2. Questions

For changing a question into reported speech, you have to follow the same rules as above, but with two extras.  If there is a question word, then it becomes an indirect question, if not then use if/whether as an interrogative.



3. Requests

When modifying requests, check if you should change:

pronouns
place and time expressions
Use the same rules as those for statements.  Tenses don’t change with requests, so you only have to change the simple present into to + infinitive or not to + infinitive for a negative request.



Activity 1
Change these sentences from direct speech to reported speech

1. “What is happening with the Sony account?”

               He asked…….

2. “Do you want to get something to eat?”

               She asked…….

3. “I believe we will be able to increase salaries by the end of next month.”

               She says…..

4. “I think we have a long weekend this week, as Friday is a bank holiday”

               He says……

5. “You’re fired! Please clean out your desk immediately!”

               He said that she…….

6. “I came in late to the meeting this morning, sorry!”

               He said……

7. “I was thinking about having a drink tonight, are you interested?”

               She said…….

8. “I’m looking for excellent sales people to take on new and exciting roles in different positions around the country.”

               He said…….

9. “I’ll meet up with you later, I have to finish some work first.”

               She said……..

10. “ Can you let me know when you’ll be free to look over the proposal?”

               He asked…..

VERB TENSES (Part Seven)

Relative clauses. 
A relative clause is a way to add essential information to a sentence.  Imagine that you are at a social gathering with some friends and some other co-workers.  You see your friend Charles talking to a girl that is unknown to you and you want to know who she is. You could say to your friend

               “A girl is talking to Charles. Do you know the girl?”

 But it sounds quite formal and abrupt.  A better way to ask this question, would be to start with the most relevant piece of information,

              “Do you know the girl?”

 But that doesn’t give us quite enough information; there are probably a lot of girls in the room. So how do we distinguish this particular girl? The girl is talking to Charles, but instead of repeating the words ‘the girl’, we use a relative pronoun, in this case you use who (the relative pronoun used for people). So the final sentence is:

              “Do you know the girl who is talking to Charles?”

Have a look at these chart related to the use of relative pronouns:

How do we distinguish between subject pronouns or object pronouns?

You cannot distinguish between object and subject pronouns simply by form, as that, which and who can be used in both cases.  Instead you must look at what is next to the relative pronoun to discover what form it is in:

A subject pronoun is always followed by a verb: eg. Have you seen the cat that was sleeping on the neighbour’s porch?

An object pronoun is followed by a noun or a pronoun.

 In defining relative clauses, the object pronoun can be dropped from the sentence, which is then called a contact clause: eg. The cat (that) Ann saw asleep on the neighbour’s porch.

1. Relative Adverbs:

A relative adverb is sometimes used instead of a relative pronoun + preposition to make the sentence clearer. Have a look at this example: This is the day on which I left for France / This is the day when I left for France.

2. Defining relative clauses

Defining relative clauses give information to be clear that both you and the person you are talking with know exactly who or what it is you are talking about. They give essential information (Note that that can replace who or which).

Imagine there are now two girls talking to Charles, but you don’t know one of them and you want to ask your friend if he does, how do we differentiate between them?  Perhaps you could look at what they are wearing.  The unknown girl has a red dress on, so we would say :“ Do you know the girl that is wearing the red dress?”. If further clarification is needed: “The one wearing the red dress who is talking to Charles”.

Now you and your friend are absolutely clear who it is you are talking about. The girl is defined through the extra attributed given to her, without these, it would be unclear which girl we were talking about.

Defining relative clauses do not give extra information, so they are not put into commas.

Defining relative clauses are often used in definitions, as in: A miner is someone who works in a mine.

Object pronouns (who, which or that) in defining relative pronouns can usually be dropped from the sentence without a change in meaning. For example: The girl (who/whom) I met last night was very pretty.

3. Non-defining relative clauses

In a non-defining relative clause, extra information is given about a subject, but it is not necessary to make the subject of the sentence clear. They give non-essential information. They are put into commas (or pauses in spoken English).

If there is only Charles and one girl in the room talking, then it is not necessary to add in extra information about her.  We would simply say:

              “Do you know the girl, who is talking to Charles?”

In non-defining relative clauses, who/whom cannot be replaced with that:  Jill, who/whom I went out with last week, is a fully trained nurse.

Object pronouns cannot be removed from non-defining relative clauses: The girl, who/whom I met last night, is very pretty.

Activity 1

Are these sentences containing defining or non-defining relative clauses?

1.     The girl, that I met last week, works at a shopping centre.

2.      Can you spot the lion which is lying on the rock?

3.     An Etymologist is a person who is a specialist in the history of words.

4.     My cousin, who you met last week, will be visiting me this weekend.

Activity 2 

Choose the best relative pronoun or relative adverb for these sentences. Sometimes more than one is possible.

1.     I have a daughter who/where/that makes her own clothes.

2.     I met an old man that/which/where had known my grandmother.

3.     My favourite shirt, which/that/where I brought in Edinburgh, was ruined.

4.     I have a cat who/that/whose likes to hide in boxes.

5.     This is the office whose/in which/where I had my first real job.

6.     Whose/Where/Which is that bag lying there on the table?

7.     On my last holiday, when/that/where we went to Greece, I learnt how to make the perfect Greek salad.

8.     On the Sundays of my childhood, in which/when/that the afternoons were long and golden, we always went swimming.

9.     An accountant is often a person which/that/who loves counting money.

10.  An old friend, whom/who/that I saw at a recent garden party, has a grandson.

VERB TENSES (Part Six)

Verbs + ing Vs. Verbs + infinitive. 
If there are two verbs together in a sentence, often the second one is either in the infinitive form (to play) or the continuous form (playing).  Have a look at this example, only one of the sentences is correct:

·       I enjoy to play piano X

·       I enjoy playing piano √

a. We use the infinitive after certain verbs:

               - forget, help, learn, teach, train

               -choose, expect, hope, need, offer, want, would like

               -agree, encourage, pretend, promise, recommend

               -allow, can/can't afford, decide, manage, mean, refuse

Have a look at these examples:

You forgot to water the plants.
I can’t decide what to wear.
We promise to help you if we can.
I hope to see you again soon.
b. We also always use the infinitive after adjectives:

- happy, sad, sorry, disappointed, angry, pleased, delighted, glad, surprised, relieved etc.

               Have a look at these examples:

I was sorry to hear about your recent troubles.
I’m happy to hear from you.
She was angry to discover Charles was lying to her.
We’re delighted to have you here in our home.
They were relieved to know it was all over.
c. This is also the same for the form too + adjective:

               - too cold, too hot, too windy, too sunny, too salty, too sweet etc.

Have a look at these examples:

This tea is too hot to drink.
It’s too windy to go for a swim today.
This soup is too salty to eat.
My feet are too sore to walk anymore.
d. The infinitive is also used with the form adjective + enough.

               - rich enough, clever enough, strong enough, tall enough, short enough etc.

Have a look at these examples:

Are you tall enough to touch the ceiling?
My four year old son is clever enough to read short novels.
Will this glue by strong enough to fix the window?
This sandwich is big enough to have for dinner!
.......................................................................................................................................................

a. The -ing form is used when the word is the subject of the sentence or clause.
Have a look at these examples:

Running is an excellent form of exercise.
Doctors say that eating too much butter is bad for your health.
It is well known that smoking damages your lungs.
b. The -ing or continuous form is used after certain verbs:

              - avoid, dislike, enjoy, finish, give up, mind/not mind, practice etc.

Have a look at these examples:

I dislike eating fish.
I practice playing piano every evening.
I enjoy baking cakes.
I don’t mind working late, as long as I get paid overtime.
c. The continuous form is also used after a preposition:

               - to, without, against, at, by, from, for, until, with, up, before, after etc.

Have a look at these examples:

We’re looking forward to meeting you.
Don’t you leave the table withoutfinishing your dinner!
I’m against wearing fur.
I’m at the café waiting for you.


Activity 1
Fill the gap with the correct form of the verb.

1.     I enjoy_______( watch) films on Saturdays.

2.     I need_______( take) a holiday!

3.     I’m against______(test) on animals.

4.     Jane was so relieved_____( see) her son again.

5.     The boat was big enough_____( fit) everyone on board.

6.     I would like_______(show) you all what I’ve been working on.

7.     ________(read) helps you learn English.

8.     I decided not____(go) to the party.

9.     She’s afraid of_____(go) by plane.

10.  The water is too shallow_____(swim)properly.

11.  I’ve decided_____(make) a change in my life.

12.  When teaching English you need______(devote) a little bit of time to each student individually.

13.  I was going to take a course on giving up_______(smoke), but in the end, it was unnecessary.

14.  Although I’m happy­­­______(fish) all morning, I dislike_______(have) to clean them afterwards.

15.  I don’t mind_______(sleep) in, but I hate______(have)to eat lunch as the first meal of the day.



Activity 2
Make sentences using the word given.

1.     Practise.

2.     Sorry.

3.     Before

4.     Too wide

5.     Glad

6.     Pretend

7.     Love

8.     To

9.     Start

10.  Enjoy

VERB TENSES (Part Five)

Passives and making comparisons.
1. The Passive voice

The passive voice is used when the identity of the subject is not known or not relevant to the statement.  The passive voice can often be heard in political speeches or seen in apologies by businesses who do not want to take responsibility for their actions.  (For more on this, see the email writing course.)

               For example:      My car was stolen. (it is not known who stole it)
                                               A mistake was made. (it is better not to say who made ii)

When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence

the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle)

the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)

 Have a look at the chart in appendix II showing the verb tense changes when turning an active sentence into a passive one.

Activity 1 

Change these sentences from the active to the passive.

1.     I brought some lemons.

2.     She was wearing a white dress.

3.     If I brought gumboots, my feet would be dry.

4.     Simon has written a note to me.

5.     She will take an umbrella.

6.     I’m taking a photo.

7.     If you would have got a lottery ticket, we might have won.

8.     Sally moves a chair.

Activity 2 

Choose the best form of the verb to complete the sentences.

1.     Your jacket ____________on that hook.

a.     can be hung              b. can be hanged             c. can have been hung

2.     The computer____________ by the company.

a.     would be brought    b. was bought                   c. is buy

3.     The criminal­­­­___________ by the police.

a.     would be lock up      b. was locked up              c. locks up

4.     The road__________ if the banks had broken.

a.     would have been flooded     b. has been flooded        c. is being flooded

5.     Mistakes_________ by the government last week.

a.     were made                b. will be made                 c. are being made

6.     My bank loan_________ in five years time.

a.     has been paid off     b. will be paid off             c. is being paid off

7.     The number __________ by my secretary

a.     was being dialled     b. would have been dial   c. is dialled

8.     The fire alarm_________ by the firemen right now.

a.     has been rung           b. would be ring               c. is being rung

9.     The coffee_________ by me

a.     would have be          b. was being made          c. will be make

2. Making Comparisons 

When making comparisons in English we use adjectives with additions made to them.  The structure for these is simple.  If the adjective is only one syllable, we add –er to it.

              small – smaller.

If the adjective is two syllables and ends in -y, then take off the y and add –ier.

                happy – happier.

If the adjective has more syllables, then you don’t change the word at all. Instead use more + adjective.                                      

intelligent – more intelligent.

When comparing two things with a difference between them, we use ‘than’.

               She is more beautiful than her sister.
               Your dog is bigger than mine.

When comparing two things that are the same, we use ‘as’ and we make no change to the adjective

               This car is as expensive as that one.
               He is as tall as his brother.

If you want to say that something is not as good as something else, then we use’ less….. than’ or ‘not as good as’

               This pen is not as new as that one.
               This pen is less new than that one.


You can vary the strength of the comparison by using qualifying expressions. You can use 'a lot', 'much', 'a little', 'slightly' and 'far' before 'more than' or 'less than'

Sara’s a lot more intelligent than Tim.
This motorbike is much slower than the other one.
He is much less sporty than he used to be.
He's a little shorter than his sister.
He's slightly less interested in going to art galleries than her.
They are far more involved in politics than we are.

VERB TENSES (Part Four)

Conditionals. 
“Condition” means a type of circumstance or situation.  Thus, if a particular condition is true, then it has a particular result.  This can be put simply into mathematical terms.  If A= 50 then 2A =100.

From a mathematical point of view, if we write a conditional sentence, it will be in one of the following two basic structures:

The main linking words for conditional clauses are if and unless, but even if, as/so long as, on (the) condition that, provided (that) / providing (that), supposing*, no matter who, how, when etc., can also be used.

Have a look at these examples:

             I will go out tonight even if it rains.

             You can go to the ball, as long as /so long as you come back by midnight.

             She agreed to come with us on (the) condition that she could bring her guitar.

             He could have recovered provided (that) he had stayed in bed.

In some other cases, we can substitute the conditional clause by otherwise as in this example: You’d better hurry. Otherwise, you’ll be late for your appointment. (Otherwise = if you don’t hurry).

We can also use in case or in case of + noun. This linking word is used with the present or the past to refer to a condition that could happen or not. It refers to things that we do in advanced so that we are prepared for what might come. Have a look at these two examples:

             Take an umbrella in case it rains. (Because it might rain)

             In case of accident, notify the police.

*Note the different uses of suppose and supposing:

             Suppose he comes tomorrow, will we still meet him?

             Suppose he went by train, would it be any quicker?

             Supposing he had come for an interview, would you have given him a job?

Suppose (that) / supposing (that) = what if. (and so the result clause is a question).

1. First Conditional

We use the first conditional to talk about a possibility in the future. There needs to be a real possibility that this situation could occur. For example perhaps you want to go to the beach after lunch, but the weather is a bit cloudy at the moment, and you only want to go if the sun comes out

Although we are thinking about a possibility in the future, the condition is always presented in the present simple, and the result is presented with “will + the base verb”.  Here are some other examples.

2. Second Conditional

Like the first conditional we are thinking about the future, however with the second conditional, the situation is unreal, or unlikely to occur (hypothetical).  For example you could be thinking what you would do if you had a lot of money or were a millionaire.  Most of us aren’t millionaires, but we like to think what we would do if we were. It’s like a dream.

We use the past simple in the second conditional and most commonly “would + base verb” in the result.  However, if there is less certainty in your statement or if something is possible, but you might choose not to do it, then use “could or might + base verb”.

The use of “could” indicates that there is the possibility or ability to buy a house in London, but it’s not certain that you would follow the action.  It is like saying you could afford a house in London if you were rich.

Here “might” indicates a higher level of uncertainty, you are perhaps deciding between London and another city, or thinking of spending your money on other things.

Here are some more examples.

 3. Third Conditional 

We use the third conditional to talk about a situation that did not happen in the past. There is no possibility of this situation coming true, because the moment has passed.  For example: you brought a lottery ticket last week, but did not win.

We use the past perfect and most commonly “would have + base verb” to form the third conditional, however like the second conditional you can also use “could have” and “might have”.  In addition you can use “should have” if you are talking about something you regret not doing.

Using “could” here indicates that there was a possibility of buying a new car, if you could afford it. Perhaps you REALLY need a new car, and now that you know you haven’t won the lottery, that possibility is lost to you.

The use of “might” indicates that you are less in need of a new car, but you like the idea of getting a new one. Again that possibility is now lost to you.

The use of “should” indicates that the result is something necessary for you to do. Here are some more examples.

VERB TENSES (Part Three)

Modal verbs. 


There are ten modal verbs in English.  These verbs have special functions outside normal verbs.

The ten modal verbs are:

May
Might
Can
Could
Will
Would
Shall
Should
Ought to*
Must
*“Ought to” is a very formal verb.  We tend to use shall and should in its place.

Modal verbs do not follow the pattern of normal verbs.  They have no past or future and they do not take ‘s’ for the third person singular:

                                             She can sing                                     She cans sing (X).
When speaking in the past or future, we tend to use another verb with a similar meaning. For example: “She must leave” becomes “she had to leave” in the past tense and “she will have to leave” in the future.

It is also possible to follow the modal with have in order to change the tense. Thus, “I should eat some lunch” becomes “I should have eaten some lunch”. Note that in this case, the following verb is in the past participle.

Can and could act as pair modals, thus a statement using can in the present becomes could in the past.

     I can’t find my wallet                     >             I couldn’t find my wallet.
All modals form their negative by adding not.

                 I shouldn’t eat chocolate                       I don’t should eat chocolat (X)
Also, all modals are followed by the base form of a verb without ‘to’.

                 I could dance                                                I could to dance. (X)
As seen before, modals are used in forming question tags.  They are also used in forming short answers to question tags.  In this case, the modal is always the same.

Have a look at these examples:

Examples:           You can’t pass me the salt, can you? Yes I can.

                               You wouldn’t let me down, would you? No I wouldn’t.

Each modal performs different functions in a sentence.  See below for a chart of those functions:

Activity 1.
Put the modal verb in its correct form, combined with the verb in brackets, to make deductions. The first one in done for you.

There is a lot of mail in the mailbox.

1.     They can’t have got up yet.

2.     They______ (be) on holiday.

3.     They________ (have) a lot of magazine subscriptions.

He has a stain on his suit

4.     He______ (have) noticed it.

5.     He______ (have) had time to clean it.

6.     It_____ (have) just happened.



Activity 2.

Put the correct modal verb in the space in its positive or negative form.

1.     She had a lot of energy, she_______surf all day, dance all night.

2.     All noise________be kept to a minimum after 11pm.

3.     _______you like me to close the window? You look cold!

4.     I_______ take that bag for you, if you like.

5.     You really_________see the doctor regarding your ill health.

6.     ______I show you to your room?

7.     _____ you pass me the butter please?

8.     We_______ be able to finish the project on time.

9.     _______I take tomorrow off?  It’s my birthday.

10.  You really_______ touch that, you might hurt yourself.



Activity 3.
Use modal verbs to follow the instructions of these commands.

1.     Ask to take a holiday next month.

2.     Ask for the salt.

3.     Ask if it is possible for you to switch the light on.

4.     State that you possibly have time to help with the move tomorrow.

5.     State that it is possible that taxes will increase next year.

6.     State that it is possible you are able to pick up someone from the airport.

7.     State that there is a slight possibility that sales figures will increase next year.

8.     State that you are certain sales figures will increase next year.

9.     State that you are able to fix the computer.

10.  State that you are unable to fix the DVD player.

11.  State that you left your old job to be able to work here.

12.  Ask for a glass of wine.

13.  Request that someone make you a cup of tea.

14.  Offer to call Mr Bartlett now.

15.  Invite someone out to dinner.

16.  Suggest that you meet at 9pm.

17.  Advise someone to see a dentist.

18.  State it is necessary that you leave now.

19.  State that you are prohibited from speaking, unless spoken to.

VERB TENSES (Part Two)

Irregular Verbs:

Some of the verbs in the Simple past do not take ‘ed’.  These verbs have an irregular form.While some of these verbs follow similar patterns, the best way to learn them is through practice and repetition.

Questions:

There are several different ways of forming questions in English.  All of them end with a question mark.  The form of them depends on what it is you would like to express.

1. Closed Questions.

We use closed questions when we want a yes or no answer. 

We form these by moving the verb to be to the beginning of the sentence, or with the auxiliary verbs do/does or has/have. (Remember: we will never use question words in closed questions).

- When moving the verb to be, we can change a statement into a question.

(verb to be + subject + object)

Statement:  I am from France.                 Question: Am I from France?

- If you are using the present simple, then use be (if the main verb is the verb to be), do (when the main verb is any other verb different from to be / to have) or have (when the main verb is the verb to have),  as auxiliary verbs.  The auxiliary verb is always placed before the subject.

Statement:  I am cold.                                         Question: Am I cold?

Statement: You like carrots.                       Question: Do you like carrots?

Statement: I have a pen.                             Question: Have I (got) a pen?

- If you are forming a question in the present continuous, then use this inversion technique:

(verb to be + subject + main verb in the –ing form + object)

Statement:  I am cooking dinner tonight.               Question: Am I cooking dinner tonight?

- We can also form closed questions using Do/does….. have?  But note here that there is a change in the verb conjugation in the third person.

Statement: I have breakfast at 9am.            Question: Do I have breakfast at 9am?

                                                              BUT

Statement: He has breakfast at 9am.       Question: Does he have breakfast at 9am

-If there is only one verb, and it is not be, then you change the statement to a question by adding do at the beginning.

       Statement:  I like olives.                                      Question: Do I like olives?

2. Open Questions.

Open questions are used when we are requesting an opinion or more information than simply yes or no. 

We form these questions using a question word that suits the type of information you are asking.

The word order will be as follows:

Question word + auxiliary verb + subject + main verb + objects.

There are nine main question words: what, when, where, which, who, whom, whose, why and how.

            You use what when you are asking for information about something.

            You use when to ask about the time that something happened or will happen.

            You use where to ask questions about place or position.

            You use which when you ask for information about one of a limited number of things.

            You use who or whom* when you are asking about someone's identity.

            You use whose to ask about possession.

            You use why to ask for a reason.

            You use how to ask about the way in which something is done.

Have a look at this chart:

*Whom is a formal word that we tend not to use with much frequency as the same meaning can be expressed with who, this we only use it in written English. We only use whom when a preposition is needed, as in “to who”.

Other question words are: how much, how many, how far, how long, and so on.

 You can read appendix I to have an overall view of the form and use of all the question words.

3. Question Tags
Tag questions are mainly found in speech, not written text.  They are a short questions on the end of a positive or negative statement as a sort of reassurance.  A positive question will follow a negative statement and vice versa and they are always separated by a comma.

     +     You’re from Greece, aren’t you?      or      -  You’re not from Greece, are you?

The tense of the statement also dictates the tense of the tag.

Look at these examples:

If the verb used in the statement is an auxiliary verb, then the tag will match it.  If a modal verb is used in the statement, the same thing applies.  However if there isn’t an auxiliary or modal verb in the statement, we add do in the tag.

Look at these examples:

Activity 1
Complete these questions with the appropriate word in the space.

1.     _________ are you doing in the garden?

2.     _______ you like fish?  I do!

3.     You________ pass me the salt, can you?

4.     ________are you coming to visit?

5.     He likes chocolate, _______ he?

6.     _______is my cell phone?

7.     It isn’t cold today, _____it?

8.     ________you seen my pen?

9.     _____old are you?



Activity 2
Write the questions to these answers.

1. We’re going to see the Rocky Horror picture show. Do you want to come?

2. It’s playing at the Majestic theatre.

3. They’re showing it for Halloween.

4. Yes I’m going to wear my witch costume.

5. Yes I just handed it in. I just wrote 500 words in the last three hours.

6. I wrote about the state of the economy in Europe.

7.  I think so; I did a lot of research, so I’m quite confident.

8. Of course you’ll get a good mark! Don’t worry about it.

9. Yes I have.  I’m a bit nervous about getting this job.

10. Yes I added my last job to it last night.

11. The position is head of marketing.

12. Yes I have been doing this line of work for three years now.

13. Yes I was; what’s wrong with this suit?

VERB TENSES

Tenses are tools used by English speakers to express time in your language. You may find that many English tenses do not have direct translation in your language. This is not a problem. In this blog we will study these tenses and you will learn to think like a native English speaker.

In the next entry will begin to study this.


English has 12 verb tenses.

The action of the verb can be in the past, present or future.

Each tense has its own formula and structure and word clues to help identify what kind of action is occurring.

Simple tenses occur either in a single moment, or as a repeated, habitual action.

The simple past is formed by changing the verb in one of these two ways: either adding ‘ed’ to the end or using the past form of the verb.

A continuous or progressive tense (often referred to as the gerund) happens over a period of time.  This tense is always formed with a form of the verb ‘to be’, the main verb and the ending ‘-ing’.  Thus the formula could be written like this: (subject) + (be) + (main verb) + -ing.

The perfect tense is used to compare actions or when the time of the action is not clear.  This tense is always formed with the verb ‘have’ and a special part of the main verb in the past called the ‘past participle’. The formula would be: (subject) + (have) + (past participle of the main verb).

The perfect continuous or progressive tense is when we are thinking of an action that has happened over time in the past, before another action, or an action that begins in the past and continues into the present or future.  It is always formed by combining the formulas of the continuous and perfect tenses: (subject) + (have) + been + -ing.

If time was a line, then all the tenses would look something like this:

Have a look at the chart below to help you.

Activity 1

Identify what tense each sentence belongs to.

1.     I have been working all day.

2.     I went to the supermarket.

3.     I like making cakes.

4.     I have been to Scotland many times.

5.     I will have been studying for five years when I finish my degree.

6.     I had studied French before I went to Paris.

7.     I will go to the beach on Friday.

8.     I eat vegetables every day.

9.     I will have been to ten more cities by the time I leave Europe.

10.  I had been running for three kilometres when I had an accident.

11.  I will be cooking dinner at this time tomorrow.

12.  I was eating dinner when he arrived.