How long/how often/how many times...? How long? is used to ask questions about amounts or periods of time.

Take a look at the following: 'How long have you been waiting?' 'Only for a minute or two.' 'How long have they been married?' 'Oh, for a very long time. More than 25 years.' 'How long will the concert last?' 'It should be over by ten o clock, I think.' 'How long was your stay in Malaysia?' 'The project lasted for two years, but I was there for two and a half years.' 'How long have you been living in this house?' 'For 12 years now, ever since my mother died.' 'How much longer can you stay?' 'Not much longer. For another ten minutes perhaps. I have to be home before midnight. Note that this construction is often used with the prepositions for or since in the reply. How long...? can also be used to ask about the measured length of something. Study the following: 'How long was the wedding dress?' 'It was very short, knee-length really.' 'I see you are growing your hair. How long do you want it to be?' 'Shoulderlength at least If you use the construction How many times?, you are enquiring about the specific number of occasions something has happened. Study the following: 'How many times have you read that book?' 'At least ten times. I really like it.' 'How many times did you visit them last summer?' 'Almost every weekend.' 'How many times did the phone ring last night?' 'We must have had about twenty calls.' 'How many times have I told you not to play football in the garden?' Note that the construction How often? is more versatile and is used more frequently than How many times? When you use this construction, you are asking about how frequently something happens. Unlike How many times? which usually refers to past occasions, How often? is used to refer to past, present and future situations. Take a look at the following examples: 'How often do you plan to play tennis this summer?' 'As often as possible. Every day, if I can.' 'How often will you visit your mother in hospital?' 'I shall try to visit at least once a week.' 'How often did you go to the cinema when you were young?' 'Every weekend, without fail. There was no television then.' 'How often do you go to the big supermarket to do your shopping?' 'Not very often. Perhaps once a month.' 'When you lived in London, how often did you go to the theatre?' 'We used to go three or four times a year something like that.

'Ever' and 'whenever' Ever means at any time, so it is inappropriate in the above sentence. Ever is used mainly in questions. Although it is usually associated with the present perfect, it can also be used with a present, past or past perfect verb form or with future reference. If the answer is no, we often use never in the reply, meaning not at any time. If the answer is yes, we might add once or twice, etc, to indicate how many times we have done whatever is being referred to. Compare the following: 'Have you ever been to Ireland?' 'Yes, Ive been there twice, once in 1983 and again in 1995.' 'Did you ever meet Tom Robinson when you were at uni?' 'No, I never did.' 'My driving instructor asked me if Id ever driven before.' 'I said, no, I never had.' 'Do you ever go to the cinema?' 'No, I prefer to watch films on video or DVD.' 'Are you ever going to finish this book?' 'Ill try and finish it over the summer. Ive no time now.' 'Will you ever marry me?' 'No, Jason I dont think I ever will.'

Remember also that ever can be tagged on to where, when, what, which, who and how to make the conjunctions wherever, whenever, whatever, whichever, whoever and however, meaning 'no matter where, no matter when, no matter what, no matter which, no matter who and no matter how. Compare the following: 'We were playing Hide and Seek and we couldnt find him wherever we looked.' 'If you have a problem, you can phone me up whenever you like at any time of the day.' 'Whatever advice I gave her, she would be sure not to take it.' 'Whichever path we took, we were unable to find our way out of the maze.' 'I shall sell my computer to whoever wants it.' 'However hard I try, I can never seem to learn vocabulary. Finally, ever is used in the comparative expression as ever and than ever, meaning as/than at any time in the past. Study the following two examples: 'Youll have to work harder than ever today, if you want to finish this job before it gets dark.' 'Jayne, its so long since I heard you sing, but you sing as beautifully as ever!' Formation and use of adjectives

Fun is sometimes used as an adjective in the following contexts: It was a fun thing to do.

It was a fun place to go to. She is a fun person to be with.

instead of: She is fun to be with. It was fun to go there. It was fun to do that. Fun here means pleasant and enjoyable. It/she made you feel happy. However, funny is the normal adjective and fun is normally used as a noun. Note that when funny is used as an adjective in this way, it will have one of two quite different meanings. Consider the following: She is a funny person. She makes me laugh. She is a funny person. Her behaviour is really strange. Adjectives describe the qualities of people, things and places. They are one of the largest word classes in English. They are normally placed before a noun but, as we saw above, they can also come after the verb to be and also after other linking verbs such as stay, look, seem, appear, become, etc. Study the following: A tall young man and a petite middle-aged woman were walking along the narrow road. Tasty, fresh, white French bread is always best served with Stilton cheese and red wine. The fine sunny weather is set to continue. It will stay fine for the next few days. New ideas are always interesting and exciting Note that if we have more than one adjective before a noun, the order in which they appear is not always fixed, although it tends to be in this order: quality, size, age, colour, class. Check to see to what extent this is true in the above examples. Note also that we often use adverbs of degree to modify the meanings of the adjectives we use. Among the most common are very, too, quite, rather, much, more, and most. Consider the following: It was very noisy in the garden but much quieter in the house. I would have said he was rather tall. But my mother described him as exceedingly tall. She is a very gifted child. Her teacher says that she is too intelligent for her class.

hardly, hardly ever, hardly any They are not quite interchangeable as they stand, but need some modification first of all. If we add ever to hardly to arrive at hardly ever, then this is synonymous with rarely and also with seldom.

hardly ever These adverbs describe how frequently or regularly something happens. Thus along a spectrum of frequency, starting with most frequent and ending with least frequent, we might find the following: Well doctor. I always have two meat rolls for breakfast. Without fail. Every day. I usually have poached eggs on toast at the weekend. Not every weekend. But most weekends. I often / frequently have two chocolate biscuits or a pastry with my morning coffee. Not every day. But most days, I have to confess. And I sometimes have a brandy with my coffee after lunch. After a particularly good lunch. I hardly ever / rarely / seldom eat a full English breakfast. Once every two months perhaps. I never drink coffee after 7 p.m. Always tea. So what do you think is causing the high blood pressure?

Note that hardly ever, rarely and seldom equate with occasionally or very occasionally in terms of frequency, but that when you use hardly ever, etc, you are putting a negative gloss on what you are saying. Occasionally sounds much more positive. Compare the following: hardly Hardly, as an adverb by itself, means only just, and equates with barely and scarcely. Jonathan could hardly walk but already knew how to swim. I barely / hardly / scarcely knew Jack, although I know he was a great friend of John's. We had barely / hardly / scarcely finished dinner when they arrived I occasionally see my daughter when I'm up in London. If she's free, around lunchtime. I hardly ever see my daughter. She's far too busy to find time for me.

hardly + any (+ -one/-thing) Hardly any means very little or very few and is the opposite of plenty of, or colloquially, loads of. Note again the negative tone in which it is used: I've got plenty of friends, but hardly any money. I knew hardly anybody at the party, but Katie knew loads of people, nearly everybody in fact. It's worth hardly anything - practically nothing! Just a few pounds, perhaps. He's hardly said anything to anybody since the accident. He's said hardly anything to anybody since the accident.

even if, even though, even, even so ven if / even though No, they are not interchangeable. If you want to use even though, the meaning changes. Even though means despite the fact that and is a more emphatic version of though and although. Even if means whether or not and has to do with the conditions that may apply Compare the following: 1. Even if I had two hours to spare for shopping, I wouldn't go out and buy a suit. 2. Even though I had two hours to spare for shopping, I couldn't find the suit I wanted. The first example describes an unreal situation where we could substitute 'just supposing' for even if and say: just supposing I had two hours to spare for shopping, I still wouldn't go out and buy a suit. The second example describes a real situation where the shopper spent two hours looking for a particular kind of suit, but couldn't find it. When we attach even to though in this way, we are in effect saying: you may find this surprising but Compare the following pairs of sentences: Even though he lost his job as Arts Minister, he continued to serve in the government. Even if he loses his job as Arts Minister, I think he'll continue to serve in the government. Even though the injury was serious, she decided to carry on playing. It was an important match. I know she'll want to carry on playing, even if she gets injured. It's an important match. Even though I've cleaned it and polished it, it still doesn't look new. Even if I clean and polish it, it still won't look new. even Note that even cannot be used as a conjunction like even if and even though when it stands alone. We cannot say: Even I've polished and cleaned it, it still doesn't look new. When even stands alone, it functions as an adverb and means this is more than or less than expected. Again, you are registering something that may be surprising when you use it.

Study the following and note the position of even in these sentences: I can't dive. I can't even swim! She speaks so many languages. German, Polish, Russian, Arabic, French, Spanish. She even speaks Catalan!

Even can also go at the beginning of a phrase when it refers to words or expressions that we wish to emphasize, again because this is surprising information for the listener: He works all through the year. Even at Christmas and New Year! I know his English isn't very good but even I can understand him!

even so Even so is a prepositional phrase that can be used in a similar fashion to introduce a fact that is surprising in the context of what has been said before. It connects ideas between clauses or sentences: I know her English isn't very good, but even so I can understand her. The evidence was only circumstantial. Even so, he was convicted and spent ten years in prison for a crime that he perhaps did not commit

Ed and -ing as adjectives: The confusion arises because finished operates both as an adjective and as the past tense and past participle of the verb to finish. So if your colleagues say 'We're finished for today', they are using it as an adjective. If they say 'We've finished work for today', they are using it as the past participle of the verb to finish. (This would be more normal in standard English)

ed as an adjective When we use it as an adjective, we can talk about things being finished as well as people being finished with something: Their marriage is finished. It was a disaster from the beginning, so it's good it's over. She's not ready to leave. She won't be finished for at least another hour and a half. Sheila wasn't finished with Paul yet. They still had a lot to talk about.

There are, of course, a wide range of adjectives ending in -ed which follow the verb to be and other linking verbs such as seem, appear, look and become. Here are a few of the most common:

I became interested in the tennis as soon as I heard that ticket prices would be reduced. I was bored with the performance and decided to leave as soon as the interval arrived. She seemed surprised - even amazed - to see me. She thought I was in the States. They were quite satisfied with the arrangement. Sharing the cost suited them both. Ned was frightened of Lucie. He was also worried that they might be late back.

Note that all of these adjectives ending in -ed describe people's feelings, mental states or emotional reactions to something. There are many more. Check those you don't know in a dictionary to see how they are used and which prepositions they can be used with: amused, appalled, confused, delighted, disappointed, excited, pleased, puzzled, shocked, tired, concerned, convinced, determined, prepared, thrilled ing as an adjective There are also a large number of adjectives ending in -ing which relate to verb forms and are used in the same way as -ed adjectives. Note that these adjectives usually describe things rather than people directly, although they also describe the effect that something has on your ideas and feelings: The meeting was very satisfying for all concerned as everybody got what they wanted. The play was quite interesting and commented on many aspects of contemporary life. These results, Tom, are disappointing and must be very worrying for your parents. I don't want to go to the seaside again this year. It's boring. His answers were misleading. In fact, everyone thought he was lying.

Here are some more which can be used in the same way. All of these -ing adjectives listed here have their -ed counterparts: alarming, amusing, annoying, astonishing, charming, confusing, convincing, depressing, disgusting, embarrassing, encouraging, entertaining, humiliating, inspiring, intriguing, refreshing, rewarding, tempting, terrifying, thrilling Remember: The storm was terrifying. I was terrified by it. His offer - three weeks in the Caribbean with nothing to pay! - is tempting and I am tempted to accept it.

Time expressions with 'next', 'last' and 'on'

on We do sometimes omit on in time expressions in informal English, although I think it is more characteristic of American English than British English. So in your first example, Anid, both versions are possible. Compare the following: They will meet on Sunday next week. They will meet Sunday next week. Our wedding anniversary is the 22nd of October. Our wedding anniversary is on the 22nd of October. Were going to have a game of tennis Wednesday evening. Were going to have a game of tennis on Wednesday evening.

Note that if we say: Ill see you next Sunday week rather than Ill see you Sunday next week, it is not the following Sunday that is intended, but the one after that! For your example of a time expression with the past tense, I think we would normally use one of the following formulations: It happened last Friday. It happened on Friday.

'next' and 'last' Note the pitfalls when using next and last. We rarely use prepositions with time expressions involving next and last And there is a big difference in meaning and use between next and the next and last and the last. Compare the following: I shall be working for the next week and then I shall be on holiday. ( = starting now for the next five or seven days) I shall do some work next week before I go on holiday. ( = some work, but not every day) Im going to have driving lessons next year. ( = at some point during the year) For the next twelve months I shall be in Birmingham on a post-graduate course. ( = all 12 months, starting now) The last year has been hell! First the divorce, then I lost my job! ( = all 12 months up till now) I got divorced last year and I plan to remarry this year. ( = at some point during the year) Ive had diarrhea for the last week, doctor. Can you give me something for it? I had diarrhea last week. Couldnt eat anything for three days.

Note prepositional use and the use of the present perfect and past simple tenses in the above 'this' or 'next'? Finally, we sometimes need to clarify which date we are referring to if it is in the immediate future by using on or this instead of next. Compare the following: Let me see. Its Wednesday now so Ill give you a ring next Friday. ~ Do you mean this coming Friday or the following one? ~ No, no, this coming Friday. Ill ring you this Friday. Ill phone you on Friday.

adjectives: position adjectives before nouns Adjectives are normally placed before nouns and this is known as the modifier or attributive position. Thus, we would normally say: Getting all the way round Brazil in five working days proved an impossible mission. He asked me a number of difficult questions. I was sitting next to the open window which I couldnt close.

Mission impossible, if I remember correctly, was originally the name of an American television series which was later made into a film which you have probably seen. There is, in fact, no reason for putting the adjective after the noun here other than for effect. It sounds original and therefore your attention is drawn to it. exceptions to the general rule: adjectives after nouns Attributive adjectives can be placed after the verb to be (and other copular verbs). Then we would have: The mission was impossible. All the questions he asked were difficult. The window remained open.

Copular verbs, which join adjectives to their subjects, describe the state of something or someone or a change of state. They include: be, seem, appear, look, sound, smell, taste, feel, get, become, stay, remain, keep, grow, go, turn: The policemen became angry. The suspects remained calm although I could see that they were anxious. The soup looked, smelt and tasted good

Also attributive adjectives with their own complement, e.g. capable of achieving first-class degrees, usually require the whole expression to come after the noun rather than before it:

We are recruiting students capable of achieving first-class degrees . NOT: We are recruiting capable of achieving first class degree students. BUT: She was a capable student. I used to live in a house next to the Royal Opera House. NOT: I used to live in a next to the Royal Opera House house. BUT: I live quite near you. In the next street, in fact.

In a similar way, participles are placed after the nouns which they define: The people questioned about the incident gave very vivid accounts of what had happened. The issues discussed at the meeting all had some bearing on world peace.

In all of these last four examples, however, it is perhaps more normal to use a relative clause: We are recruiting students who are capable of achieving first-class degrees. I used to live in a house which was next to the Royal Opera House. The people who were questioned about the incident gave vivid accounts of what had happened. The issues that were discussed at the meeting all had some bearing on world peace.

Finally, adjectives come after most measurement nouns and after some-, any- and no- words: The fence around the estate was three metres high, thirty-five kilometres long and one hundred and twenty years old. This place doesnt look very promising, but lets try and find somewhere nice for dinner. I couldnt find anything interesting on the television so I had an early night. Theres somebody outside who wants to speak to you. Shall I let him in? Nobody present at the meeting was able to offer me any useful advice.