Verbs
There are two classes of verbs: auxiliary verbs and all other verbs (ordinary verbs).
Auxiliary verbs? To be, to have, to do, to dare, to need, to be able (can), may, must, will, shall, ought and used. Most verbs are known by their infinitives (to work, to play, to be, to have) but some of the auxiliaries have no infinitive: may, must, shall
Auxiliary Verbs
To be, to have, to do, to dare, to need, to be able (can), may, must, will, shall, ought and used
Auxiliary verbs help to form tenses, e.g. I am waiting
They are used with infinitives to suggest possibility, permission, ability and obligation.
E.g. He may come tomorrow. I can type. You should stop now. I need to leave soon. I have to work. He dared to speak in front of her.
Auxiliaries are often contracted, e.g. He can not go= he can’t go. I am here= I’m here.
They are also used in question tags,
E.g. He can’t go, can he?
And, they are used in comparisons,
E.g. Tom runs faster than you do. Tom ran faster than you did.
Modal Auxiliary Verbs
Verbs which describe how an action can or should be taken (and the reverse- what should not happen). One of the meanings of modal verbs is to do with degrees of certainty: modal verbs can be used to say for instance that a situation is certain, probable, possible or impossible, e.g. we could, we must, we have to , we can’t, we might not, we shouldn’t, they have to, they mustn’t, they will have to, they may, could we not.., etc.
Phrasal Verbs
When a participle (preposition or adverb) is added to a verb, it results in a new word/meaning.
E.g. He came across a rare book.
E.g. He came up with a brilliant idea.
E.g. He came down with a cold.
E.g. He ran into an old friend.
E.g. He ran up an enormous bill.
E.g. He ran over his best friend’s cat.
Tenses
The Simple Present Tense
Used to describe habitual actions, everyday events, abilities, preferences.
On Monday I go to/ I eat/ I like
Adverbs are often used to describe frequency, e.g. always, usually, often, on Mondays, twice a year
This tense can be used to talk about planned events, e.g.
We leave at 5.00 and arrive at 6.00. Then we catch the plane.
The Present Continuous Tense
Used to describe current circumstances and actions
I am drawing/ writing/listening to
For an action happening about this time
I am reading a book about the Tudors
For a definite arrangement in the future
I am going to finish my book tomorrow
For dramatic narrative
He is coming up to the first jump when a man runs in front of him
With always, suggests a repeated action which may be annoying or accidental
He is always saying that/ I am always falling for tall, blue eyed people
NB. Verbs which are not normally used in the continuous tense include: see, hear, smell, notice, recognise, want, desire, refuse, forgive, wish, care, live, hate, adore, like, love, dislike, think, understand, know, mean, suppose, believe, remember, forget, trust, own, owe, belong, possess, seem, signify, contain, consist, concern, matter
The Past Perfect (simple past)
Used to describe completed actions
I walked/worked
Some past tense forms are irregular
Spoke, ate, and did,
Often used when the time is given
I met him at four o’clock
Used for special events
My mother once heard Joan Baez sing.
And for a past habit, e.g. They never went to Cornwall for their holidays in the old days.
The Past Continuous Tense (also referred to as past imperfect/past progressive)
This tense is chiefly used for past actions which continued for some time but which exact limits are unknown
It was getting darker and darker
Can be used with the simple past to describe an interruption of some kind.
It was getting darker and darker, when he heard the sound of a fire alarm.
Used in descriptions and for casual speech
He was eating his breakfast, listening to the radio and feeling more than a little happy with his world. I was talking to Tim the other day.
The Present Perfect Tense
Use of the present form of the verb to have,
E.g. I have worked
Used to describe experience in the past over a period of time which is not defined in terms of start times and finish times.
I have worked with children for a long time.
Used with adverbs such as lately, recently, yet, never, always, seldom, frequently
Used with a time expression describing a period of time
For two years, since, all my life, never, always,
Can sometimes be used to describe an action which began in the past and finishes at the moment of speaking
It has been very wet recently but it’s beginning to get a bit drier now.
Often used in questionnaires to establish frequency
How often have you...?
The Present Perfect Continuous Tense
This is made up by the present perfect of the verb to be plus the present participle, e.g. I have been working
This tense is used for an action which began in the past and is still continuing or has only just finished. Can be used for emphasis, an apology, reported speech.
He told me that he has been very busy for quite some time.
The Past Perfect Tense (Pluperfect)
Use of the verb to have in the past form i.e. had with the past participle
Used with since, for, always, never, until, till, when
He had just left the office when his mobile phone rang. He had never seen the girl before.
It can be used to describe an action which happened in the distant past and is still continuing or which preceded a following action. Useful for establishing a sequence of events or a change in circumstances or events
He had been in the school for four years when the war started.
He had smoked for most of his life until his wife died.
The Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Use of the verb in to have (had) with the present participle
He had been leaving the office when I met his friend.
This tense is used in a similar way to the past perfect tense but there are subtle differences, e.g. by six o’clock I had mended the puncture. (The action was finished)
I had been mending the puncture when...... (The action may not have been completed and may have occurred at the same time as something else)
The Future
The future can often be expressed using the simple present and the present continuous, e.g.
We leave here at six.
She is leaving at the end of this week.
Where are you going?
Are you coming in?
Some verbs have to take shall or will, e.g. to know, to feel
Not ‘I am knowing’ but ‘I shall know tonight’
Not ‘You are feeling better tonight’ but ‘You will feel better tonight’.
Future with intention?
Often expressed using the verb ‘to go’ plus the infinitive form of the verb e.g.
I am going to buy a car.
Will and shall are used with the infinitive without the word ‘to’, e.g.
I shall buy a car next week.
Future Continuous
This tense is formed with the future tense of the verb to be plus the present participle which expresses a future without intention and which may continue for some time without definite limits, e.g. I shall be working from home tomorrow.
Future Perfect
Shall/will plus perfect infinitive (without to), e.g.
I shall have worked for sixty hours by the end of next week.
This tense can be used to describe an action which at a given time will be in the past, e.g.
I shall have taken my final exams in two years’ time.
The Past Participle and the Perfect Infinitive
The past participle of regular verbs is the same as the simple past form (work, worked, worked). The past participle of irregular verbs varies and must be learnt. (Speak, spoke, spoken/ eat, ate, eaten/do, did, done) The perfect infinitive is formed with ‘to have’ and the past participle, e.g. to have worked, to have spoken, to have eaten, etc.
Conditional
Type 1- Probable condition
If he runs all the way, he will catch the train (talking about a set of related circumstances)
Type 2- Improbable condition
If I dropped this, it would explode (talking about a set of possible circumstances)
Type 3- Impossible Condition
If I had known you were going to buy that car, I would have warned you against buying it. (In other words, I didn’t know and you bought the car)- The condition can’t be fulfilled as the action has already happened.
Sometimes we use the conditional when talking about alternatives and when describing what someone else would do in a similar position. E.g.
If he were to take the M1 instead of the A1, his journey will take much longer.
If I were you, I wouldn’t marry him!
If only he hadn’t gone via the M1, he would be there by now!
Active and Passive Voice
There are two special forms for verbs called voice:
1. Active voice
2. Passive voice
The active voice is the "normal" voice. This is the voice that we use most of the time. You are probably already familiar with the active voice. In the active voice, the object receives the action of the verb.
The cat ate the fish.
The children tickled the cat.
The passive voice is less usual in everyday speech but is commonly used in scientific texts. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb. The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb.
The fish was eaten by the cat.
The cat was tickled by the children.
My wallet has been stolen.
100 people are employed by the school.
Subject Verb Agreement
The basic rule states that a singular subject takes a singular verb while a plural subject takes a plural verb. When used as subjects, words such as:
· each, either, neither
· another
· anyone, anybody, anything
· someone, somebody, something
· one, everyone
· everybody, everything
· no one, nobody, nothing
take singular verbs, e.g.
Each child is given a prize.
Everyone is welcome.
Someone is watching me.
Other words such as
· none, any, all
· more, most, some
may take either singular or plural verbs, depending on the context, e.g.
Some of the apple is rotten.
Some of the apples are rotten.
Singular subjects joined by "or," "nor," "either . . . or," or "neither. . . nor" take a singular verb, e.g.
Neither the man nor the woman was present at the ceremony.
Prepositions
A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition. A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence as in the following examples:
The book is on the table.
The book is beneath the table.
The book is leaning against the table.
The book is beside the table.
She held the book over the table.
She read the book during class.
In each of the preceding sentences, a preposition locates the noun "book" in space or in time. A prepositional phrase is made up of the preposition, its object and any associated adjectives or adverbs. A prepositional phrase can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
The most common prepositions are "about," "above," "across," "after," "against," "along," "among," "around," "at," "before," "behind," "below," "beneath," "beside," "between," "beyond," "but," "by," "despite," "down," "during," "except," "for," "from," "in," "inside," "into," "like," "near," "of," "off," "on," "onto," "out," "outside," "over," "past," "since," "through," "throughout," "till," "to," "toward," "under," "underneath," "until," "up," "upon," "with," "within," and "without."
Adverbial Phrases
The children climbed the mountain without fear.
In this sentence, the preposition "without" introduces the noun "fear." The prepositional phrase "without fear" functions as an adverb describing how the children climbed.
There was rejoicing throughout the land when the government was defeated.
Here, the preposition "throughout" introduces the noun phrase "the land." The prepositional phrase acts as an adverb describing the location of the rejoicing.
The spider crawled slowly along the banister.
The preposition "along" introduces the noun phrase "the banister" and the prepositional phrase "along the banister" acts as an adverb, describing where the spider crawled.
The dog is hiding under the porch because it knows it will be punished for chewing up a new pair of shoes.
Here the preposition "under" introduces the prepositional phrase "under the porch," which acts as an adverb modifying the compound verb "is hiding."
The screenwriter searched for the manuscript he was certain was somewhere in his office.
Similarly in this sentence, the preposition "in" introduces a prepositional phrase "in his office," which acts as an adverb describing the location of the missing papers.