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i- English Grammar Terms
iii- Revision
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Adjective
A word like big, red, easy, French etc. An adjective describes a noun or pronoun.
Adverb
A word like slowly, quietly, well, often etc. An adverb modifies a verb.
Article
The "indefinite" articles are a and an. The "definite article" is the.
Auxiliary Verb
A verb that is used with a main verb. Be, do and have are auxiliary verbs. Can, may, must
etc are modal auxiliary verbs.
Clause
A group of words containing a subject and its verb (for example: It was late when he
arrived).
Conjunction
A word used to connect words, phrases and clauses (for example: and, but, if).
Infinitive
The basic form of a verb as in to work or work.
Interjection
An exclamation inserted into an utterance without grammatical connection (for example:
oh!, ah!, ouch!, well!).
Modal Verb
An auxiliary verb like can, may, must etc that modifies the main verb and expresses
possibility, probability etc. It is also called "modal auxiliary verb".
Noun
A word like table, dog, teacher, America etc. A noun is the name of an object, concept,
person or place. A "concrete noun" is something you can see or touch like a person or car.
An "abstract noun" is something that you cannot see or touch like a decision or happiness.
A "countable noun" is something that you can count (for example: bottle, song, dollar).
An "uncountable noun" is something that you cannot count (for example: water, music,
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money).
Object
In the active voice, a noun or its equivalent that receives the action of the verb. In the
passive voice, a noun or its equivalent that does the action of the verb.
Participle
The -ing and -ed forms of verbs. The -ing form is called the "present participle". The -ed
form is called the "past participle" (for irregular verbs, this is column 3).
Part Of Speech
One of the eight classes of word in English - noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun,
preposition, conjunction and interjection.
Passive Voice
In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb (eg The President was
killed). See also Active Voice.
Phrase
A group of words not containing a subject and its verb (eg on the table, the girl in a red
dress).
Predicate
Each sentence contains (or implies) two parts: a subject and a predicate. The predicate is
what is said about the subject.
Preposition
A word like at, to, in, over etc. Prepositions usually come before a noun and give
information about things like time, place and direction.
Pronoun
A word like I, me, you, he, him, it etc. A pronoun replaces a noun.
Sentence
A group of words that express a thought. A sentence conveys a statement, question,
exclamation or command. A sentence contains or implies a subject and a predicate. In
simple terms, a sentence must contain a verb and (usually) a subject. A sentence starts
with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (.), question mark (?) or exclamation mark
(!).
Subject
Every sentence contains (or implies) two parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject is
the main noun (or equivalent) in a sentence about which something is said.
Tense
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The form of a verb that shows us when the action or state happens (past, present or
future). Note that the name of a tense is not always a guide to when the action happens.
The "present continuous tense", for example, can be used to talk about the present or the
future.
Verb
A word like (to) work, (to) love, (to) begin. A verb describes an action or state.
To analyze the part of speech, ask yourself: "What job is this word doing in this
sentence?"
These are just a few examples. Of course, there are more, even for some of the words
above. In fact, if you look in a good dictionary you will see that the word but has six jobs
to do:
1 English Verbs
1.1- What Are Verbs?
• Verb Classification
• Helping Verbs
• Main Verbs
1.2- Verb Forms
to sing
• Forms of Main Verbs sing, sang, sung
• Forms of Main Verbs: Examples singing
sings
• Forms of Helping Verbs
1.3- English Verb Tenses
if I won
if I had won
1.6- Modal Verbs
• Used to do I used to do it
I am not used to it
• Be used to
1.16- going to do I am going to do
• Summary
1.18- For & Since for Time for two days
since 1st April
Verbs are sometimes described as "action words". This is partly true. Many verbs give the
idea of action, of "doing" something. For example, words like run, fight, do and work all
convey action.
But some verbs do not give the idea of action; they give the idea of existence, of state, of
"being". For example, verbs like be, exist, seem and belong all convey state.
A verb always has a subject. (In the sentence "John speaks English", John is the subject
and speaks is the verb.) In simple terms, therefore, we can say that verbs are words that
tell us what a subject does or is; they describe:
There is something very special about verbs in English. Most other words (adjectives,
adverbs, prepositions etc) do not change in form (although nouns can have singular and
plural forms). But almost all verbs change in form. For example, the verb to work has five
forms:
Of course, this is still very few forms compared to some languages which may have thirty
or more forms for a single verb.
In this lesson we look at the ways in which we classify verbs, followed by a quiz to test
your understanding:
• Verb Classification
• Helping Verbs
• Main Verbs
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Verb Classification
We divide verbs into two broad classifications:
1. Helping Verbs
• I can.
• People must.
• The Earth will.
Do you understand anything? Has this person communicated anything to you? Probably
not! That's because these verbs are helping verbs and have no meaning on their own.
They are necessary for the grammatical structure of the sentence, but they do not tell us
very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. They "help" the main
verb. (The sentences in the above examples are therefore incomplete. They need at least a
main verb to complete them.) There are only about 15 helping verbs.
2. Main Verbs
Now imagine that the same stranger walks into your room and says:
• I teach.
• People eat.
• The Earth rotates.
Do you understand anything? Has this person communicated something to you? Probably
yes! Not a lot, but something. That's because these verbs are main verbs and have
meaning on their own. They tell us something. Of course, there are thousands of main
verbs.
In the following table we see example sentences with helping verbs and main verbs.
Notice that all of these sentences have a main verb. Only some of them have a helping
verb.
We must go now.
Helping verbs and main verbs can be further sub-divided, as we shall see on the following
pages.
Helping Verbs
EnglishClub.com Tip
Helping verbs are also called "auxiliary verbs".
Helping verbs have no meaning on their own. They are necessary for the grammatical
structure of a sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone. We usually use helping
verbs with main verbs. They "help" the main verb (which has the real meaning). There
are only about 15 helping verbs in English, and we divide them into two basic groups:
These are the verbs be, do, and have. Note that we can use these three verbs as helping
verbs or as main verbs. On this page we talk about them as helping verbs. We use them
in the following cases:
• be
o to make continuous tenses (He is watching TV.)
o to make the passive (Small fish are eaten by big fish.)
• have
o to make perfect tenses (I have finished my homework.)
• do
o to make negatives (I do not like you.)
o to ask questions (Do you want some coffee?)
o to show emphasis (I do want you to pass your exam.)
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o to stand for a main verb in some constructions (He speaks faster than she
does.)
We use modal helping verbs to "modify" the meaning of the main verb in some way. A
modal helping verb expresses necessity or possibility, and changes the main verb in that
sense. These are the modal verbs:
• can, could
• may, might
• will, would,
• shall, should
• must
• ought to
EnglishClub.com Tip
Semi-modal verbs (3 verbs)
The following verbs are often called "semi-modals" because they they are partly like modal helping verbs
and partly like main verbs:
• need
• dare
• used to
Main Verbs
EnglishClub.com Tip
Main verbs are also called "lexical verbs".
Main verbs have meaning on their own (unlike helping verbs). There are thousands of
main verbs, and we can classify them in several ways:
A transitive verb takes a direct object: Somebody killed the President. An intransitive
verb does not have a direct object: He died. Many verbs, like speak, can be transitive or
intransitive. Look at these examples:
transitive:
• I saw an elephant.
• We are watching TV.
• He speaks English.
intransitive:
• He has arrived.
• John goes to school.
• She speaks fast.
Linking verbs
A linking verb does not have much meaning in itself. It "links" the subject to what is said
about the subject. Usually, a linking verb shows equality (=) or a change to a different
state or place (>). Linking verbs are always intransitive (but not all intransitive verbs are
linking verbs).
Some verbs describe action. They are called "dynamic", and can be used with continuous
tenses. Other verbs describe state (non-action, a situation). They are called "stative", and
cannot normally be used with continuous tenses (though some of them can be used with
continuous tenses with a change in meaning).
• be
• like, love, prefer, wish
• impress, please, surprise
• hear, see, sound
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This is more a question of vocabulary than of grammar. The only real difference between
regular and irregular verbs is that they have different endings for their past tense and past
participle forms. For regular verbs, the past tense ending and past participle ending is
always the same: -ed. For irregular verbs, the past tense ending and the past participle
ending is variable, so it is necessary to learn them by heart.
EnglishClub.com Tip
One way to think of regular and irregular verbs is like this: all verbs are irregular and the so-called regular
verbs are simply one very large group of irregular verbs.
Often the above divisions can be mixed. For example, one verb could be irregular,
transitive and dynamic; another verb could be regular, transitive and stative.
Regular Verbs
Unlike English irregular verbs, regular verbs change very little.
This is a list of 600 of the most common regular verbs in English. The past tense and past
participle of regular verbs end in -ed, for example: work, worked, worked.
Some verbs change their meaning depending on whether they are regular verbs or
irregular verbs, for example to hang:
to hang - hang, hanged, to kill or die, by dropping with a rope around the
regular hanged neck
to hang - hang, hung, to fix something (for example, a picture) at the top so
irregular hung that the lower part is free
The present tense of some regular verbs is the same as the past tense of some irregular
verbs:
Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs are an important feature of English. We use irregular verbs a lot when
speaking, less when writing. Of course, the most famous English verb of all, the verb "to
be", is irregular.
With regular verbs, the rule is simple. The past simple and past participle end in -ed.
Here are some examples of regular verbs:
Base Past
With REGULAR verbs... Past Participle
Form Simple
A good way to learn irregular verbs is to try to sort the different types into groups, as
above.
Irregular verbs are very common in English, especially spoken English. For written and
more formal English, we tend to use regular verbs. But when speaking, we use irregular
verbs a lot.
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In this lesson we look at the forms of main verbs and helping (auxiliary) verbs, followed
by a quiz to check your understanding:
English main verbs—except the verb "to be"—have only 4, 5 or 6 forms. "To be" has 9
forms.
V1 V2 V3
present simple,
past past present
infinitive base 3rd person
simple participle participle
singular
was,
(to) be* be been being am, are, is
were
Note that the infinitive can be with or without to. For example, to sing and sing are both
infinitives. We often call the infinitive without to the "bare infinitive".
EnglishClub.com Tip
The verb to be is always an exception, in many ways!
At school, students usually learn by heart the base, past simple and past participle
(sometimes called V1, V2, V3, meaning Verb 1, Verb 2, Verb 3) for the irregular verbs.
They may spend many hours chanting: sing, sang, sung; go, went, gone; have, had, had;
etc. They do not learn these for the regular verbs because the past simple and past
participle are always the same: they are formed by adding "-ed" to the base. They do not
learn the past participle and 3rd person singular present simple by heart—for another
very simple reason: they never change. The present participle is always made by adding
"-ing" to the base, and the 3rd person singular present simple is always made by adding
"s" to the base (though there are some variations in spelling).
* Note that "do", "have" and "be" also function as helping or auxiliary verbs, with exactly
the same forms (except that as helping verbs they are never in infinitive form).
• I want to work
• He has to sing.
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Base - Imperative
• Work well!
• Make this.
• Have a nice day.
• Be quiet!
• I work in London.
• You sing well.
• They have a lot of money.
Past simple
• I worked yesterday.
• She cut his hair last week.
• They had a good time.
• They were surprised, but I was not.
Past participle
Present participle
• I am working.
• Singing well is not easy.
• Having finished, he went home.
• You are being silly!
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• He works in London.
• She sings well.
• She has a lot of money.
• It is Vietnamese.
All helping verbs are used with a main verb (either expressed or understood*). There are
2 groups of helping verbs:
• Tense helping verbs, used to change the tense of the main verb.
• Modal helping verbs, used to change the "mood" of the main verb.
shall Should
must
ought (to)
Tense helping verbs are followed by the main verb "Ought" is followed by the main verb
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"Do", "be" and "have" can also function as main Modal helping verbs cannot also
verbs. (see forms of main verb above) function as main verbs.
* Sometimes we make a sentence that has a helping verb and seems to have no main
verb. In fact, the main verb is "understood". Look at the following examples:
• Question: Can you speak English? (The main verb speak is "expressed".)
• Answer: Yes, I can. (The main verb speak is not expressed. It is "understood"
from the context. We understand: Yes, I can speak English.
But if somebody walked into the room and said "Hello. I can", we would understand
nothing!
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What is Tense?
• Regular Verbs
• Irregular Verbs
• Be
Present Tenses
Present Tense I do do, I do
Present Continuous Tense I am doing, I am doing tomorrow
Present Perfect Tense I have done
Present Perfect Continuous Tense I have been doing
Past Tenses
Past Tense I did do, I did
Past Continuous Tense I was doing
Past Perfect Tense I had done
Past Perfect Continuous Tense I had been doing
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Future Tenses
Future Tense I will do
Future Continuous Tense I will be doing
Future Perfect Tense I will have done
Future Perfect Continuous Tense I will have been doing
What is Tense?
tense (noun): a form of a verb used to indicate the time, and sometimes the continuation
or completeness, of an action in relation to the time of speaking. (From Latin tempus =
time).
Tense is a method that we use in English to refer to time—past, present and future. Many
languages use tenses to talk about time. Other languages have no tenses, but of course
they can still talk about time, using different methods.
So, we talk about time in English with tenses. But, and this is a very big but:
• we can also talk about time without using tenses (for example, going to is a
special construction to talk about the future, it is not a tense)
• one tense does not always talk about one time (see tense and time for more about
this)
Terminology
Here are some of the terms used in discussing verbs and tenses.
Mood
indicative mood expresses a simple statement of fact, which can be positive (affirmative)
or negative
• I like coffee.
• I do not like coffee.
• Sit down!
Voice
Voice shows the relationship of the subject to the action. In the active voice, the subject
does the action (cats eat mice). In the passive voice, the subject receives the action (mice
are eaten by cats). Among other things, we can use voice to help us change the focus of
attention.
Aspect
Aspect expresses a feature of the action related to time, such as completion or duration.
Present simple and past simple tenses have no aspect, but if we wish we can stress with
other tenses that:
• the action or state referred to by the verb is completed (and often still relevant),
for example:
I have emailed the report to Jane. (so now she has the report)
(This is called perfective aspect, using perfect tenses.)
• the action or state referred to by the verb is in progress or continuing (that is,
uncompleted), for example:
We are eating.
(This is called progressive aspect, using progressive [continuous] tenses.)
For example, a present tense does not always refer to present time:
The following examples show how different tenses can be used to talk about different
times.
TIME
TENSE
past present future
I am taking my
I am having dinner.
exam next month.
Present Continuous
They are living in London.
Present Perfect
I have seen ET. I have finished.
Simple
I was working at
Past Continuous
2am this morning.
I will be working at
Future Continuous
9pm tonight.
so-called "modal
tenses"
englishclub.com Tip
Some grammar books use the word progressive instead of continuous. They are exactly the
same.
The use of tenses in English may be quite complicated, but the structure of English
tenses is actually very simple. The basic structure for a positive sentence is:
structure
past present future*
auxiliary main verb
present
I was I am I will be
continuous be participle
working working working
-ing
present
continuous have I had been I have been I will have
participle
perfect been working working been working
-ing
* Technically, there are no future tenses in English. The word will is a modal auxiliary
verb and future tenses are sometimes called "modal tenses". The examples are included
here for convenience and comparison.
Here are some more detailed examples covering affirmative, negative and interrogative
with:
• a regular verb
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• an irregular verb
• the irregular verb "to be"
These are the various forms of the main verb that we use to construct the various tenses:
SIMPLE PERFECT
have + past participle - I had not sung. I have not sung. I will not have sung.
englishclub.com Tip
The basic structure of tenses for regular verbs and irregular verbs is exactly the same (except to
be). The only difference is that with regular verbs the past and past participle are always the same
(worked, worked), while with irregular verbs the past and past participle are not always the same
(sang, sung). But the structure is the same! It will help you a great deal to really understand that.
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However, the basic structure for to be is the same as for all verbs:
In the following table, we see to be conjugated with all persons in the singular (I, you,
he/she/it) and in the plural (we, you, they) for the 12 tenses.
I was am will be
I had been being have been being will have been being
singular you had been being have been being will have been being
he/she/it had been being has been being will have been being
we had been being have been being will have been being
plural you had been being have been being will have been being
they had been being have been being will have been being
do base
Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:
I am French.
I am not old.
? Am I late?
It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future.
Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the simple present tense for situations that
are not general. We can use the simple present tense to talk about now. Look at these
examples of the verb to be in the present simple tense—some of them are general, some
of them are now:
Am I right?
Tara is not at home.
You are happy.
past present future
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I am not fat.
Why are you so beautiful?
Ram is tall.
past present future
EnglishClub.com Tip
This page shows the use of the simple present tense to talk about general events. But note that there are
some other uses for the simple present tense, for example in conditional or if sentences, or to talk about
the future. You will learn about those later.
We often use the present continuous tense in English. It is very different from the simple
present tense, both in structure and in use.
In this lesson we look the structure and use of the present continuous tense, follwed by a
quiz to check your understanding:
EnglishClub.com Tip
Continuous tenses are also called progressive tenses. So the present progressive tense is the same
as the present continuous tense.
+ I am speaking to you.
? Is he watching TV?
I am eating my lunch.
past present future
now.
Look at these examples. Right now you are looking at this screen and at the same time...
...the pages are turning. ...the candle is burning. ...the numbers are spinning.
The action may not be happening exactly now, but it is happening just before and just
after now, and it is not permanent or habitual.
We can also use the present continuous tense to talk about the future—if we add a future
word!! We must add (or understand from the context) a future word. "Future words"
include, for example, tomorrow, next year, in June, at Christmas etc. We only use the
present continuous tense to talk about the future when we have planned to do something
before we speak. We have already made a decision and a plan before speaking.
!!!
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In these examples, we have a firm plan or programme before speaking. The decision
and plan were made before speaking.
be > being
Exception 1 If the base verb ends in consonant + stressed vowel + consonant, double
the last letter:
s t o p
stressed
consonant consonant
vowel
(vowels = a, e, i, o, u)
Note that this exception does not apply when the last syllable of the base
verb is not stressed:
The present perfect tense is a rather important tense in English, but it gives speakers of
some languages a difficult time. That is because it uses concepts or ideas that do not exist
in those languages. In fact, the structure of the present perfect tense is very simple. The
problems come with the use of the tense. In addition, there are some differences in usage
between British and American English.
In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the present perfect, followed by a quiz to
check your understanding:
EnglishClub.com Tip
The present perfect tense is really a very interesting tense, and a very useful one. Try not to translate the
present perfect tense into your language. Just try to accept the concepts of this tense and learn to "think"
present perfect! You will soon learn to like the present perfect tense!
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When we use the present perfect tense in speaking, we usually contract the subject and
auxiliary verb. We also sometimes do this when we write.
I have I've
He has He's
She has She's
It has It's
John has John's
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We have We've
EnglishClub.com Tip
He's or he's??? Be careful! The 's contraction is used for the auxiliary verbs have and be. For example,
"It's eaten" can mean:
• It has eaten. [present perfect tense, active voice]
• It is eaten. [present tense, passive voice]
1. experience
2. change
3. continuing situation
We often use the present perfect tense to talk about experience from the past. We are not
interested in when you did something. We only want to know if you did it:
!!!
The action or state was in In my head, I have a
the past. memory now.
Connection with past: the event was in the past.
Connection with present: in my head, now, I have a memory of the event; I know
something about the event; I have experience of it.
We also use the present perfect tense to talk about a change or new information:
- +
Last week I didn't have a
Now I have a car.
car.
+ -
Yesterday John had a good
Now he has a bad leg.
leg.
+ -
Was the price $1.50
Is the price $1.70 today?
yesterday?
- +
Yesterday the killer was
Now he is in prison.
free.
Connection with past: the past is the opposite of the present.
Connection with present: the present is the opposite of the past.
EnglishClub.com Tip
Americans do not use the present perfect tense so much as British speakers. Americans often use the past
tense instead. An American might say "Did you have lunch?", where a British person would say "Have you
had lunch?"
We often use the present perfect tense to talk about a continuing situation. This is a state
that started in the past and continues in the present (and will probably continue into the
future). This is a state (not an action). We usually use for or since with this structure.
for since
a period of time a point in past time
·
20 minutes 6.15pm
6 months January
4 years 1994
2 centuries 1800
etc etc
EnglishClub.com Tip
For can be used with all tenses. Since is usually used with perfect tenses only.
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Contractions
When we use the present perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the
subject and the first auxiliary. We also sometimes do this in informal writing.
This tense is called the present perfect continuous tense. There is usually a connection
with the present or now. There are basically two uses for the present perfect continuous
tense:
We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past
and stopped recently. There is usually a result now.
!!!
Recent action. Result now.
We use the present perfect continuous tense to talk about an action that started in the past
and is continuing now. This is often used with for or since.
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We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.
for since
a period of time a point in past time
·
20 minutes 6.15pm
6 months January
4 years 1994
2 centuries 1800
etc etc
48
EnglishClub.com Tip
For can be used with all tenses. Since is usually used with perfect tenses only.
The simple past tense is sometimes called the preterite tense. We can use several tenses
to talk about the past, but the simple past tense is the one we use most often.
In this lesson we look at the structure and use of the simple past tense, followed by a quiz
to check your understanding:
Here you can see examples of the past form and base form for irregular verbs and
regular verbs:
V1 V2 V3
base past past participle
The structure for positive sentences in the simple past tense is:
The structure for negative sentences in the simple past tense is:
The structure for question sentences in the simple past tense is:
The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he
did etc). And the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with the
main verbs go and work:
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I went to school.
+
You worked very hard.
Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were,
he/she/it was, we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and
question sentences. To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at these
examples:
Here are some short events with the simple past tense:
Here are some long events with the simple past tense:
Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or
seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the
event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic
period). We use the simple past tense when:
EnglishClub.com Tip
In general, if we say the time or place of the event, we must use the simple past tense; we cannot use the
present perfect.
Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the simple past tense. We may use the past
continuous tense to "set the scene", but we almost always use the simple past tense for the
action. Look at this example of the beginning of a story:
"The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The
door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, and
ordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank
his..."
EnglishClub.com Tip
This page shows the use of the simple past tense to talk about past events. But note there are some other
uses for the simple past tense, for example in conditional or if sentences.
The past continuous tense is an important tense in English. We use it to say what we
were in the middle of doing at a particular moment in the past.
englishclub.com Tip
Continuous tenses are also called progressive tenses.
53
was
base + ing
were
For negative sentences in the past continuous tense, we insert not between the auxiliary
verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary
verb. Look at these example sentences with the past continuous tense:
8pm
When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what
time we are talking about. Look at these examples:
We often use the past continuous tense to "set the scene" in stories. We use it to describe
the background situation at the moment when the action begins. Often, the story starts
with the past continuous tense and then moves into the simple past tense. Here is an
example:
" James Bond was driving through town. It was raining. The wind was blowing hard.
Nobody was walking in the streets. Suddenly, Bond saw the killer in a telephone box..."
We often use the past continuous tense with the simple past tense. We use the past
continuous tense to express a long action. And we use the simple past tense to express a
short action that happens in the middle of the long action. We can join the two ideas
with when or while.
Long action.
Short action.
(Notice that "when you telephoned" is also a way of defining the time [8pm].)
We use:
Notice that the long action and short action are relative.
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The past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. This tense talks
about the "past in the past".
had V3
For negative sentences in the past perfect tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb
and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb.
Look at these example sentences with the past perfect tense:
When speaking with the past perfect tense, we often contract the subject and auxiliary
verb:
I had I'd
he had he'd
she had she'd
it had it'd
we had we'd
englishclub.com Tip
The 'd contraction is also used for the auxiliary verb would. For example, we'd can mean:
• We had
or
• We would
• The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left.
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9.1
9
5
You can sometimes think of the past perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but
instead of the time being now the time is past.
For example, imagine that you arrive at the station at 9.15am. The stationmaster says to
you:
We often use the past perfect tense in reported speech after verbs like said, told, asked,
thought, wondered:
For negative sentences in the past perfect continuous tense, we insert not after the first
auxiliary verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and first auxiliary verb.
Look at these example sentences with the past perfect continuous tense:
When speaking with the past perfect continuous tense, we often contract the subject and
first auxiliary verb:
The past perfect continuous tense is like the past perfect tense, but it expresses longer
actions in the past before another action in the past. For example:
• Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been
waiting for two hours.
9 11
You can sometimes think of the past perfect continuous tense like the present perfect
continuous tense, but instead of the time being now the time is past.
For example, imagine that you meet Ram at 11am. Ram says to you:
The simple future tense is often called will, because we make the simple future tense
with the modal auxiliary will.
will V1
For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we insert not between the auxiliary
verb and main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary
verb. Look at these example sentences with the simple future tense:
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When we use the simple future tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and
auxiliary verb:
I will I'll
he will he'll
she will she'll
it will it'll
we will we'll
For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we contract with won't, like this:
We use the simple future tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before
we speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Look at these
examples:
In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the
time of speaking.
We often use the simple future tense with the verb to think before it:
We often use the simple future tense to make a prediction about the future. Again, there is
no firm plan. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:
When the main verb is be, we can use the simple future tense even if we have a firm plan
or decision before speaking. Examples:
For negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we insert not between will and be.
For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example
sentences with the future continuous tense:
When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and
will:
I will I'll
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he will he'll
she will she'll
it will it'll
we will we'll
For spoken negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we contract with won't,
like this:
The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The
action will start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For
example, tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm:
4pm
When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what
time we are talking about. Look at these examples:
The future perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and use. The future perfect
tense talks about the past in the future.
will have V3
In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subject and will.
Sometimes, we contract the subject, will and have all together:
The future perfect tense expresses action in the future before another action in the future.
This is the past in the future. For example:
• The train will leave the station at 9am. You will arrive at the station at 9.15am.
When you arrive, the train will have left.
9.1
9
5
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• You can call me at work at 8am. I will have arrived at the office by 8.
• They will be tired when they arrive. They will not have slept for a long time.
• "Mary won't be at home when you arrive."
"Really? Where will she have gone?"
You can sometimes think of the future perfect tense like the present perfect tense, but
instead of your viewpoint being in the present, it is in the future:
auxiliary auxiliary
auxiliary main
subject + verb + verb + +
verb BE verb
WILL HAVE
past present
invariable invariable
participle participle
base +
will have been
ing
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For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we insert not between will
and have. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these
example sentences with the future perfect continuous tense:
for four
+ I will have been working
hours.
for two
+ You will have been travelling
days.
When we use the future perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the
subject and auxiliary verb:
I will I'll
he will he'll
she will she'll
it will it'll
we will we'll
For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we contract with won't,
like this:
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We use the future perfect continuous tense to talk about a long action before some point
in the future. Look at these examples:
• I will have been working here for ten years next week.
• He will be tired when he arrives. He will have been travelling for 24 hours.
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The important thing to remember is that a multi-word verb is still a verb. "Get" is a verb.
"Get up", is also a verb, a different verb. "Get" and "get up" are two different verbs. They
do not have the same meaning. So you should treat each multi-word verb as a separate
verb, and learn it like any other verb. Look at these examples. You can see that there are
three types of multi-word verb:
single-word verb look direct your eyes in a You must look before
certain direction you leap.
In this lesson we look at the three types of multi-word verbs, including phrasal verbs,
followed by a quiz to check your understanding:
• Phrasal Verbs
• Prepositional Verbs
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• Phrasal-prepositional Verbs
EnglishClub.com Tip
Like many grammar books, we divide multi-word verbs into:
• prepositional verbs
• phrasal verbs
• phrasal-prepositional verbs
Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or
words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we
make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal
verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasal verbs proper.
verb + adverb
Phrasal verbs can be:
examples
phrasal
meaning
verbs direct
object
transitive put off postpone We will have to put off the meeting.
phrasal
verbs turn down refuse They turned down my offer.
When phrasal verbs are transitive (that is, they have a direct object), we can usually
separate the two parts. For example, "turn down" is a separable phrasal verb. We can
say: "turn down my offer" or "turn my offer down". Look at this table:
However, if the direct object is a pronoun, we have no choice. We must separate the
phrasal verb and insert the pronoun between the two parts. Look at this example with the
separable phrasal verb "switch on":
EnglishClub.com Tip
Separable or inseparable phrasal verbs? Some dictionaries tell you when phrasal verbs are separable. If a
dictionary writes "look (something) up", you know that the phrasal verb "look up" is separable, and you can
say "look something up" and "look up something". It's a good idea to write "something/somebody" as
appropriate in your vocabulary book when you learn a new phrasal verb, like this:
• get up
• break down
• put something/somebody off
• turn sthg/sby down
This tells you whether the verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).
Prepositional Verbs
Prepositional verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word
or words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we
make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal
verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at prepositional verbs.
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verb + preposition
Because a preposition always has an object, all prepositional verbs have direct objects.
Here are some examples of prepositional verbs:
examples
prepositional verbs meaning
direct object
Prepositional verbs cannot be separated. That means that we cannot put the direct object
between the two parts. For example, we must say "look after the baby". We cannot say
"look the baby after":
EnglishClub.com Tip
It is a good idea to write "something/somebody" in your vocabulary book when you learn a new prepositional
verb, like this:
• believe in something/somebody
• look after sthg/sby
This reminds you that this verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).
Phrasal-prepositional Verbs
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are a small group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus
another word or words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On
these pages we make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional
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verbs, phrasal verbs and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasal-
prepositional verbs.
examples
phrasal-prepositional
meaning
verbs direct
object
EnglishClub.com Tip
It is a good idea to write "something/somebody" in your vocabulary book when you learn a new phrasal-
prepositional verb, like this:
• get on with somebody
• put up with sthg/sby
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This reminds you that this verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).
• If y = 10 then 2y = 20
• If y = 3 then 2y = 6
There are three basic conditionals that we use very often. There are some more
conditionals that we do not use so often. In this lesson, we will look at the three basic
conditionals as well as the so-called zero conditional. We'll finish with a quiz to check
your understanding.
EnglishClub.com Tip
People sometimes call conditionals "IF" structures or sentences, because there is usually (but not always)
the word "if" in a conditional sentence.
IF condition result
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IF y = 10 2y = 20
or like this:
result IF condition
2y = 20 IF y = 10
First Conditional:
real possibility
We are talking about the future. We are thinking about a particular condition or situation
in the future, and the result of this condition. There is a real possibility that this condition
will happen. For example, it is morning. You are at home. You plan to play tennis this
afternoon. But there are some clouds in the sky. Imagine that it rains. What will you do?
IF condition result
Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. It is not raining yet. But the sky is
cloudy and you think that it could rain. We use the present simple tense to talk about the
possible future condition. We use WILL + base verb to talk about the possible future
result. The important thing about the first conditional is that there is a real possibility
that the condition will happen. Here are some more examples (do you remember the
two basic structures: IF condition result / result IF condition?):
IF Condition Result
result IF condition
EnglishClub.com Tip
Sometimes, we use shall, can, or may instead of will, for example: If you are good today, you can
watch TV tonight.
Second Conditional:
unreal possibility or dream
The second conditional is like the first conditional. We are still thinking about the future.
We are thinking about a particular condition in the future, and the result of this condition.
But there is not a real possibility that this condition will happen. For example, you do not
have a lottery ticket. Is it possible to win? No! No lottery ticket, no win! But maybe you
will buy a lottery ticket in the future. So you can think about winning in the future, like a
dream. It's not very real, but it's still possible.
IF condition result
Notice that we are thinking about a future condition. We use the past simple tense to talk
about the future condition. We use WOULD + base verb to talk about the future result.
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The important thing about the second conditional is that there is an unreal possibility
that the condition will happen.
IF condition result
result IF condition
EnglishClub.com Tip
Sometimes, we use should, could or might instead of would, for example: If I won a million dollars, I
could stop working.
Third Conditional:
no possibility
The first conditional and second conditionals talk about the future. With the third
conditional we talk about the past. We talk about a condition in the past that did not
happen. That is why there is no possibility for this condition. The third conditional is also
like a dream, but with no possibility of the dream coming true.
Last week you bought a lottery ticket. But you did not win. :-(
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Condition Result
Notice that we are thinking about an impossible past condition. You did not win the
lottery. So the condition was not true, and that particular condition can never be true
because it is finished. We use the past perfect tense to talk about the impossible past
condition. We use WOULD HAVE + past participle to talk about the impossible past
result. The important thing about the third conditional is that both the condition and result
are impossible now.
IF condition result
If they had not passed their exam their teacher would have been sad.
result IF condition
Their teacher would have been sad if they had not passed their exam.
EnglishClub.com Tip
81
Sometimes, we use should have, could have, might have instead of would have, for
example: If you had bought a lottery ticket, you might have won.
Zero Conditional:
certainty
We use the so-called zero conditional when the result of the condition is always true,
like a scientific fact.
Take some ice. Put it in a saucepan. Heat the saucepan. What happens? The ice melts (it
becomes water). You would be surprised if it did not.
IF condition result
Notice that we are thinking about a result that is always true for this condition. The result
of the condition is an absolute certainty. We are not thinking about the future or the past,
or even the present. We are thinking about a simple fact. We use the present simple tense
to talk about the condition. We also use the present simple tense to talk about the result.
The important thing about the zero conditional is that the condition always has the same
result.
IF condition result
result IF condition
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EnglishClub.com Tip
We can also use when instead of if, for example: When I get up late I miss my bus.
Conditionals: Summary
Here is a little chart to help you to visualize the basic English conditionals. Do not take
the 50% and 10% figures too literally. They are just to help you.
any
100% zero conditional If you heat ice, it melts.
time
EnglishClub.com Tip
Modal auxiliary verbs may sound difficult but in fact they're easy. They are invariable (no conjugation).
And the main verb is always the "bare infinitive" (the infinitive without "to").
In this lesson we look at these three verbs, followed by a quiz to check your
understanding:
• Can
• Could
• Be able to
Can
84
Structure of Can
cannot
- He play tennis.
can't
Notice that:
EnglishClub.com Tip
The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to"). We cannot say:
Use of Can
We use can to talk about what is possible, what we are able or free to do:
Normally, we use can for the present. But it is possible to use can when we make present
decisions about future ability.
We often use can in a question to ask somebody to do something. This is not a real
question - we do not really want to know if the person is able to do something, we want
them to do it! The use of can in this way is informal (mainly between friends and family):
can: Permission
(Note that we also use could, may, might for permission. The use of can for permission is
informal.)
Could
Could is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use could to:
Structure of Could
could not
- She speak Chinese.
couldn't
Notice that:
EnglishClub.com Tip
The main verb is always the bare infinitive. We cannot say:
Use of Could
We use could to talk about what was possible in the past, what we were able or free to do:
We use could (positive) and couldn't (negative) for general ability in the past. But when
we talk about one special occasion in the past, we use be able to (positive) and couldn't
(negative). Look at these examples:
Past
My grandmother could speak A man fell into the river yesterday. The police
+ Spanish. were able to save him.
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My grandmother couldn't speak A man fell into the river yesterday. The police
- Spanish. couldn't save him.
could: Requests
We often use could in a question to ask somebody to do something. The use of could in
this way is fairly polite (formal):
Be able to
Although we look at be able to here, it is not a modal verb. It is simply the verb be plus
an adjective (able) followed by the infinitive. We look at be able to here because we
sometimes use it instead of can and could. We use be able to:
Structure of Be able to
be able
subject main verb adjective infinitive
+ I am able to drive.
is not
- She able to drive.
isn't
Use of Be able to
We use be able to to express ability. "Able" is an adjective meaning: having the power,
skill or means to do something. If we say "I am able to swim", it is like saying "I can
swim". We sometimes use "be able to" instead of "can" or "could" for ability. "Be able
to" is possible in all tenses—but "can" is possible only in the present and "could" is
possible only in the past for ability. In addition, "can" and "could" have no infinitive
form. So we use "be able to" when we want to use other tenses or the infinitive. Look at
these examples:
EnglishClub.com Tip
Be able to is not a modal auxiliary verb. We include it here for convenience, because it is often used like
"can" and "could", which are modal auxiliary verbs.
In this lesson we look at these two verbs, followed by a quiz to check your
understanding:
• Have to
• Must
• Must not
Structure of Have to
Have to is often grouped with modal auxiliary verbs for convenience, but in fact it is not
a modal verb. It is not even an auxiliary verb. In the have to structure, "have" is a main
verb. The structure is:
Use of Have to
In each of the above cases, the obligation is not the subject's opinion or idea. The
obligation is imposed from outside.
We can use have to in all tenses, and also with modal auxiliaries. We conjugate it just
like any other main verb. Here are some examples:
main verb
subject auxiliary verb have infinitive
• I must go.
Structure of Must
Must is a modal auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb. The structure is:
I must go home.
EnglishClub.com Tip
Like all auxiliary verbs, "must" cannot be followed by
to. So, we say:
• I must go now. (not *I must to go now.)
Use of Must
In general, must expresses personal obligation. Must expresses what the speaker thinks
is necessary. Must is subjective. Look at these examples:
In each of the above cases, the "obligation" is the opinion or idea of the person speaking.
In fact, it is not a real obligation. It is not imposed from outside.
EnglishClub.com Tip
It is sometimes possible to use "must" for real obligation, for example a rule or a law. But generally we
use "have to" for this.
We can use must to talk about the present or the future. Look at these examples:
There is no past tense for must. We use have to to talk about the past.
Must is an auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb. The structure for must not is:
NB: like all auxiliary verbs, must cannot be followed by to. So, we say:
Must not expresses prohibition - something that is not permitted, not allowed. The
prohibition can be subjective (the speaker's opinion) or objective (a real law or rule).
Look at these examples:
We cannot use must not for the past. We use another structure to talk about the past, for
example:
The truth is that there are two conjugations for the verb will:
Singular you will You will see a large building on the left. You'll
Plural you will You will find his office on the 7th floor. You'll
It is true that this difference is not universally recognized. However, let those who make
assertions such as "Americans never use 'shall'" peruse a good American English
dictionary, or many American legal documents, which often contain phrases such as:
• Each party shall give one month's notice in writing in the event of termination.
Note that exactly the same rule applies in the case of should and would. It is perfectly
normal, and somewhat more elegant, to write, for example:
When we use a verb in -ing form more like a noun, it is usually a gerund:
• Fishing is fun.
When we use a verb in -ing form more like a verb or an adjective, it is usually a present
participle:
• Anthony is fishing.
• I have a boring teacher.
In this lesson, we look at the different ways in which we use gerunds, followed by a quiz
to check your understanding:
EnglishClub.com Tip
95
Many grammarians do not like to use the expression "gerund". That is because there is sometimes no clear
difference between a gerund and a present participle.
But, like a verb, a gerund can also have an object itself. In this case, the whole expression
[gerund + object] can be the subject, object or complement of the sentence.
Like nouns, we can use gerunds with adjectives (including articles and other
determiners):
• pointless questioning
• a settling of debts
• the making of "Titanic"
• his drinking of alcohol
But when we use a gerund with an article, it does not usually take a direct object:
EnglishClub.com Tip
Do you see the difference in these two sentences? In one, "reading" is a gerund (noun). In the other
"reading" is a present participle (verb).
• My favourite occupation is reading.
(noun)
Notice that you could replace all the above gerunds with "real" nouns:
EnglishClub.com Tip
The above rule has no exceptions! So why is "to" followed by "driving" in 1 and by "drive" in 2?
1. I am used to driving on the left.
2. I used to drive on the left.
Answer
97
to as preposition Preposition
I am used to animals.
to as infinitive Infinitive
I used to smoke.
• I want to eat.
But sometimes the second verb must be in gerund form, for example:
• I dislike eating.
This depends on the first verb. Here is a list of verbs that are usually followed by a verb
in gerund form:
• admit, appreciate, avoid, carry on, consider, defer, delay, deny, detest, dislike,
endure, enjoy, escape, excuse, face, feel like, finish, forgive, give up, can't help,
imagine, involve, leave off, mention, mind, miss, postpone, practise, put off,
report, resent, risk, can't stand, suggest, understand
EnglishClub.com Tip
Some verbs can be followed by the gerund form or the infinitive form without a big change in meaning:
begin, continue, hate, intend, like, love, prefer, propose, start
• I like to play tennis.
• I like playing tennis.
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• It started to rain.
• It started raining.
EnglishClub.com Tip
The expression "something wants doing" is British English.
1.8 Questions
What is a question?
A statement is a sentence that gives information. A question is a sentence that asks for
information.
In this lesson we look at basic questions in English, followed by a quiz to check your
understanding:
Exception! For the verb be in simple present and simple past, we do not use an auxiliary
verb. We simply reverse the positions of be and subject:
Statement: He is German.
Question: Is he German?
1. Yes/No Questions
Answer
auxiliary verb subject main verb
Yes or No
Answer
question word auxiliary verb subject main verb
Information
3. Choice Questions
EnglishClub.com Tip
A "tag" is something small that we add to something larger. For example, the little piece of cloth added to a
shirt showing size or washing instructions is a tag.
We use tag questions at the end of statements to ask for confirmation. They mean
something like: "Am I right?" or "Do you agree?" They are very common in English.
+ -
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personal
main
subject auxiliary auxiliary not pronoun
verb (same as
subject)
personal
subject auxiliary main verb auxiliary pronoun
(same as subject)
Notice that we often use tag questions to ask for information or help, starting with a
negative statement. This is quite a friendly/polite way of making a request. For example,
instead of saying "Where is the police station?" (not very polite), or "Do you know where
the police station is?" (slightly more polite), we could say: "You wouldn't know where
the police station is, would you?" Here are some more examples:
Intonation
We can change the meaning of a tag question with the musical pitch of our voice. With
rising intonation, it sounds like a real question. But if our intonation falls, it sounds more
like a statement that doesn't require a real answer:
intonation
You don't know where my wallet is, do you? / rising real question
EnglishClub.com Tip
A question tag is the "mini-question" at the end. A tag question is the whole sentence.
How do we answer a tag question? Often, we just say Yes or No. Sometimes we may
repeat the tag and reverse it (..., do they? Yes, they do). Be very careful about answering
tag questions. In some languages, an oposite system of answering is used, and non-native
English speakers sometimes answer in the wrong way. This can lead to a lot of
confusion!
EnglishClub.com Tip
Answer a tag question according to the truth of the situation. Your answer reflects the real facts, not
(necessarily) the question.
For example, everyone knows that snow is white. Look at these questions, and the correct
answers:
correct
tag question
answer
Snow is white, isn't it? Yes (it is). the answer is the same in but notice the change of stress
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In some languages, people answer a question like "Snow isn't black, is it?" with "Yes"
(meaning "Yes, I agree with you"). This is the wrong answer in English!
• The moon goes round the earth, doesn't it? Yes, it does.
• The earth is bigger than the moon, isn't it? Yes.
• The earth is bigger than the sun, isn't it? No, it isn't!
• Asian people don't like rice, do they? Yes, they do!
• Elephants live in Europe, don't they? No, they don't!
• Men don't have babies, do they? No.
• The English alphabet doesn't have 40 letters, does it? No, it doesn't.
Sometimes we use question tags with imperatives (invitations, orders), but the sentence
remains an imperative and does not require a direct answer. We use won't for invitations.
We use can, can't, will, would for orders.
Don't forget, will you? with negative imperatives only will is possible
same-way question tags to express interest, surprise, anger etc, and not to make real
questions.
1.10 Subjunctive
The subjunctive is a special, relatively rare verb form in English.
The structure of the subjunctive is extremely simple. For all verbs except the past tense of
to be, the subjunctive is the same as the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to"):
I were I be I work
you were you be you work
he, she, it were he, she, it be he, she, it work
we were we be we work
you were you be you work
they were they be they work
EnglishClub.com Tip
The subjunctive does not change according to person (I, you, he etc).
We use subjunctives mainly when talking about events that are not certain to happen. For
example, we use the subjunctive when talking about events that somebody:
• wants to happen
• hopes will happen
• imagines happening
• the verbs: ask, command, demand, insist, propose, recommend, request, suggest
+ that
• the expressions: it is desirable, essential, important, necessary, vital + that
Notice that in these structures the subjunctive is always the same. It does not matter
whether the sentence is past or present. Look at these examples:
EnglishClub.com Tip
The use of the subjunctive as above is more common in American English than in British English, where
should + infinitive is often used:
• The manager insists that the car park should be locked at night.
We usually use the subjunctive were instead of "was" after if (and other words with
similar meaning). Look at these sentences:
We sometimes hear things like "if I were you, I would go" or "if he were here, he would
tell you". Normally, the past tense of the verb "to be" is: I was, he was. But the if I were
you structure does not use the past simple tense of the verb "to be". It uses the past
subjunctive of the verb "to be". In the following examples, you can see that we often use
the subjunctive form were instead of "was" after:
• if
• as if
• wish
• suppose
Formal Informal
(The were form is correct at all (The was form is possible in informal, familiar
times.) conversation.)
She acts as if she were Queen. She acts as if she was Queen.
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Some fixed expressions use the subjunctive. Here are some examples:
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:
110
active >>>
Cats eat fish.
The passive voice is less usual. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the
verb:
passive <<<
Fish are eaten by cats.
The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb:
Passive Voice
The passive voice is less usual than the active voice. The active voice is the "normal"
voice. But sometimes we need the passive voice. In this lesson we look at how to
construct the passive voice, when to use it and how to conjugate it.
I am paid in euro.
has been
active subject unknown My wallet
stolen. ?
Note that we always use by to introduce the passive object (Fish are eaten by cats).
EnglishClub.com Tip
Look at this sentence:
Normally we use by to introduce the passive object. But the gun is not the active subject. The gun did not
kill him. He was killed by somebody with a gun. In the active voice, it would be: Somebody killed him
with a gun. The gun is the instrument. Somebody is the "agent" or "doer".
112
We can form the passive in any tense. In fact, conjugation of verbs in the passive tense is
rather easy, as the main verb is always in past participle form and the auxiliary verb is
always be. To form the required tense, we conjugate the auxiliary verb. So, for example:
infinitive to be washed
present It is washed.
For example, only one of the following sentences is correct. Which one?
The -ing form is used when the word is the subject of a sentence or clause:
EnglishClub.com Tip
Some verbs can be followed by the -ing form or the infinitive without a big change in meaning: begin,
continue, hate, intend, like, love, prefer, propose, start.
• It started to rain.
• It started raining.
• I like to play tennis.
We often use singular nouns that refer to groups of people (eg government, committee,
team) as if they were plural. This is particularly true in British English. This is because
we often think of the group as people, doing things that people do (eating, wanting,
feeling etc). In such cases, we use:
• plural verb
• plural pronoun (they)
• who (not which)
• The committee want sandwiches for lunch. They have to leave early.
• My family, who don't see me often, have asked me home for Christmas.
• The team hope to win next time.
Here are some examples of words and expressions that can be considered singular or
plural:
• choir, class, club, committee, company, family, government, jury, school, staff,
team, union, the BBC, board of directors, the Conservative Party, Manchester
United, the Ministry of Health
But when we consider the group as an impersonal unit, we use singular verbs and
pronouns:
Notice that this is often a question of style and logic. The important thing is to be
consistent.
englishclub.com Tip
Using a plural verb with singular subject is less common in American English.
117
I don't believe you are right. not I am not believing you are right.
Does this pen belong to you? not Is this pen belonging to you?
• I can see someone in the distance. (not I am seeing someone in the distance.)
• I can't hear you very well. (not I am not hearing you very well.)
EnglishClub.com Tip
118
With verbs that we don't use in the continuous tense, there is no real action or activity. Compare "to hear"
and "to listen". "To hear" means "to receive sound in your ears". There is no real action or activity by you.
We use "to hear" with simple tenses only. But "to listen" means "to try to hear". You make an effort to
hear. There is a kind of action or activity. We can use "to listen" with simple or continuous tenses.
In sense 1. there is no real action, no activity. This sense is called "stative". In sense 2.
there is a kind of action, a kind of activity. This sense is called "dynamic".
When we use the stative sense, we use a simple tense. When we use the dynamic sense,
we can use a simple or continuous tense, depending on the situation.
I don't consider that he We are considering your job We consider every job
is the right man for the application and will give you our application very
job. answer in a few days. carefully.
A good carpenter
This table measures 4 x She is measuring the room for a
measures his wood
6 feet. new carpet.
carefully.
Does the wine taste I was tasting the wine when I I always taste wine
good? dropped the glass. before I drink it.
Mary has three Please phone later. We are having We have dinner at 8pm
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EnglishClub.com Tip
If you have a doubt about a particular verb, ask yourself the question: "Is there any real action or activity?"
Usually we use simple tenses with the verb be as a main verb. For example, we say:
• London is the capital of the UK. (not London is being the capital of the UK.)
• Is she beautiful? (not Is she being beautiful?)
• Were you late? (not Were you being late?)
Sometimes, however, we can use the verb be with a continuous tense. This is when the
real sense of the verb is "to act" or "to behave". Also, of course, the action is temporary.
Compare the following examples:
Is he always so stupid? (Is that his They were being really stupid. (They were
personality?) behaving really stupidly at that moment.)
Andrew is not usually selfish. (It is Why is he being so selfish? (Why is he acting so
not Andrew's character to be selfish.) selfishly at the moment?)
Notice that we also make a difference between "to be sick" and "to be being sick":
EnglishClub.com Tip
Here is the structure of the verb be in the continuous
present tense:
I am being
You are being
He, she, it is being
We are being
You are being
They are being
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In this lesson we look at the structure and use of both expressions, followed by a quiz to
check your understanding:
• Used to do
• Be used to
Used to do
We use used to do to talk about the past. It is not a tense but it is like a tense. It is a
special expression. We use the expression used to do for the past only.
EnglishClub.com Tip
Do not confuse used to do with with the expression be used to. They have different meanings.
+ I used to do.
EnglishClub.com Tip
Used or use?
• when there is did in the sentence, we say use to (without the d)
I used to smoke.
//////////////
past present future
Be used to
Be used to something
Be used to doing
EnglishClub.com Tip
Do not confuse be used to with with the special construction used to do. They have different meanings.
+ I am used to horses.
+ I am used to cooking.
EnglishClub.com Tip
Why do we use -ing for a verb after be used to? Because we always use -ing for a verb after a preposition -
and the to is a preposition!
The be used to expression is for talking about something that is familiar to us or easy for
us. For example:
It means that it is not a problem for me to drive on the left of the road. I am Japanese. In
Japan, people drive on the left. Now I am living in the USA where people drive on the
right. Of course, I drive on the right in the USA, but when I go to Japan it is easy for me
to drive on the left because "I am used to it".
We can use be used to in any tense. We just conjugate the verb be in the tense that we
need. Look at these examples:
1.16 going to
going to is not a tense. It is a special expression to talk about the future.
We use going to when we have the intention to do something before we speak. We have
already made a decision before speaking. Look at these examples:
In these examples, we had an intention or plan before speaking. The decision was
made before speaking.
125
We often use going to to make a prediction about the future. Our prediction is based on
present evidence. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:
In these examples, the present situation (black sky, the time, damaged car) gives us a
good idea of what is going to happen.
126
In this lesson we look at four of the most common ways to talk about the future, followed
by a quiz to check your understanding:
EnglishClub.com Tip
Although we often talk about "future tenses", technically there are no future tenses in English—only
different ways of talking about the future, using special constructions, other tenses or modal verbs.
Will
One of the most common ways to talk about the future is with will, for example: I will
call you tonight. We often call this the "future simple tense", but technically there are no
future tenses in English. In this construction, the word will is a modal auxiliary verb.
We use will when there is no prior plan or decision to do something before we speak.
We make the decision at the time of speaking. Look at these examples:
In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the
time of speaking.
Will: prediction
We often use "will" to make a prediction about the future. Again, there is no firm plan.
We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:
Will + to be
The verb "to be" is an exception with "will". Even when we have a very firm plan, and
we are not speaking spontaneously, we can use "will" with "to be". Look at these
examples:
EnglishClub.com Tip
The verb to be is always exceptional!
Going to
Going to: intention
We use the special "going to" construction when we have the intention to do something
before we speak. We have already made a decision before speaking. Look at these
examples:
In these examples, we had an intention or plan before speaking. The decision was
made before we spoke.
We often use "going to" to make a prediction about the future. Our prediction is based on
evidence. We are saying what seems sure to happen. Here are some examples:
128
In these examples, the present situation (black sky/the time/damaged car) gives us a good
idea of what is going to happen.
EnglishClub.com Tip
• We use will for prediction when we have no real evidence: "It will rain tomorrow." (It's my feeling
but I can't be sure.)
• We use going to for prediction when there is some real evidence: "It's going to rain." (There's a big,
black cloud in the sky and if it doesn't rain I'll be very surprised.)
Present Continuous:
for prior plan
We often use the present continuous tense to talk about the future. Of course, we
normally use the present continuous to talk about action happening in the present, but if
we add a future word, we can use it to talk about the future. (By "future word" we mean
words like "tomorrow", "next week", "in June" etc. The future word may be clearly
expressed or understood from the context.)
We use the present continuous only when a plan exists before we speak. Look at these
examples:
EnglishClub.com Tip
Sometimes there is no real difference between an intention ("Going To") and a plan (Continuous Present).
In this case, it doen't matter which we use.
• We're going to paint the bedroom tomorrow.
Present Simple:
for schedule
When an event is on a schedule or timetable (for example, the take-off time for a plane),
we often use the present simple to express the future. We usually also use a future word
(expressed or understood) like "tomorrow", "at 6.30pm", "next week".
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• be, open, close, begin, start, end, finish, arrive, come, leave, return
This table gives a simple scale of probability for each structure. It is not exact because
language is not a science, and there are many variables. This table should help you to
think about the "concept" of the future in English. This concept does not exist in all
languages, but it is rather important in English.
present
90% plan I'm taking my exam in June.
continuous
EnglishClub.com Tip
It is impossible in English to express the future with 100% certainty. (The speakers of any language that can
do this must all be millionaires!)
for + period
A period is a duration of time, for example: 5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years. For means
"from the beginning of the period until the end of the period." For can be used with all
tenses.
since + point
A point is a precise moment in time, for example: 9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday. Since
means "from a point in the past until now." Since is normally used with perfect tenses.
for since
a period a point
(from start to end) (up to now)
>===< ·===>|
all tenses perfect tenses
for... since...
20 minutes 9am
three days Monday
6 months January
4 years 1997
2 centuries 1500
a long time I left school
ever the beginning of time
etc etc
For can be used with all tenses. Here are a few examples:
For is not used with "all day", "all the time" etc.
EnglishClub.com Tip
Both for and since also have different meanings, with no reference to time. Here are some examples:
• This is for you.
• Is this the train for London?
• Since you ask, I'll say yes.
2 English Nouns
132
It's not easy to describe a noun. In simple terms, nouns are "things" (and verbs are
"actions"). Like food. Food (noun) is something you eat (verb). Or happiness. Happiness
(noun) is something you want (verb). Or human being. A human being (noun) is
something you are (verb).
The simple definition is: "a person, place or thing". Here are some examples:
The problem with this definition is that it does not explain why "love" is a noun but can
also be a verb.
1. Ending
2. Position
3. Function
1) Noun Ending
There are certain word endings that show that a word is a noun, for example:
But this is not is not true for the word endings of all nouns. For example, the noun
"spoonful" ends in -ful, but the adjective "careful" also ends in -ful.
2) Position in Sentence
Nouns often come after a determiner. (A "determiner" is a word like a, an, the, this, my,
such.)
• a relief
• an afternoon
• the doctor
• this word
• my house
• such stupidity
• a great relief
• a peaceful afternoon
• the tall, Indian doctor
• this difficult word
• my brown and white house
• such crass stupidity
3) Function in a Sentence
But the subject or object of a sentence is not always a noun. It could be a pronoun or a
phrase. In the sentence "My doctor works hard", the noun is "doctor" but the subject is
"My doctor".
• Countable nouns
• Uncountable nouns
• Nouns that can be countable and uncountable
Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example:
"pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some
more countable nouns:
• My dog is playing.
• My dogs are hungry.
• A dog is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
• I like oranges.
• Bottles can break.
englishclub.com Tip
"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people. There is
one person here. There are three people here.
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate
elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count
"bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some
more uncountable nouns:
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:
We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say
"an information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:
• a piece of news
• a bottle of water
• a grain of rice
englishclub.com Tip
Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".
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When you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or
uncountable.
Countable Uncountable
There are two hairs in my coffee! hair I don't have much hair.
Have you got a paper to read? (= I want to draw a picture. Have you got
paper
newspaper) some paper?
Our house has seven rooms. room Is there room for me to sit here?
We had a great time at the party. time Have you got time for a coffee?
In this lesson we look at the uses of proper nouns, followed by a quiz to check your
understanding:
Hilary
Clinton
surnames
Gates
We do not normally use “the” for shops, banks, hotels etc named after a founder or other
person (with -’s or -s). For example:
islands Corsica
mountains Everest
states the United States, the US, the United States of America, the USA
the president, the king President Bush (not *the President Bush)
• We live beside Lake Victoria. We have a fantastic view across the lake.
We do not normally use “the” for roads, streets, squares, parks etc:
Many big, important buildings have names made of two words (for example, Kennedy
Airport). If the first word is the name of a person or place, we do not normally use “the”:
We normally use “the” for names of canals, rivers, seas and oceans:
more than one boy the boys' ball the boys' balls
ENGLISH CLUB TIP
Although we can use "of" to show possession, it is more usual to use possessive 's. The following
phrases have the same meaning, but #2 is more usual and natural:
2. my sister's boyfriend
• the man next door's mother (the mother of the man next door)
• the Queen of England's poodles (the poodles of the Queen of England)
• the President of the USA's secretary (the secretary of the President of the USA)
When a name ends in "s", we usually treat it like any other singular noun, and add 's:
But it is possible (especially with older, classical names) to just add the apostrophe ('):
Irregular Plurals
Some nouns have irregular plural forms without "s" (man > men). To show possession,
we usually add 's to the plural form of these nouns:
3 English Adjectives
It is said that the adjective is the enemy of the noun. That may be true, but adjectives are
still very useful words. They add information to a sentence, and tell us more about nouns
and pronouns.
3.1 Determiners
The or A/An?
Determiners: A, An or The?
When do we say "the dog" and when do we say "a dog"? (On this page we talk only
about singular, countable nouns.)
The and A/An are called "articles". We divide them into "definite" and "indefinite" like
this:
Articles
Definite Indefinite
The A, An
When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about
one thing in general, we use a or an.
Think of the sky at night. In the sky there is 1 moon and millions of stars. So normally we
could say:
The A, An
Of course, often we can use The or A/An for the same word. It depends on the situation.
Look at these examples:
This little story should help you understand the difference between The and A, An:
• A man and a woman were walking in Oxford Street. The woman saw a dress that
she liked in a shop. She asked the man if he could buy the dress for her. He said:
"Do you think the shop will accept a cheque? I don't have a credit card."
Every is half-way between each and all. It sees things or people as singular, but in a group
or in general.
Every cannot be used for 2 things. For 2 things, each can be used:
Usually, we use some in positive (+) sentences and any in negative (-) and question (?)
sentences.
some any example
I have some
+ money.
I have $10.
I don't have any I don't have $1 and I don't have $10 and I
- money. don't have $1,000,000. I have $0.
• I refused to give them any money. (= I did not give them any money)
• She finished the test without any difficulty. (= she did not have any difficulty)
Sometimes we use some in a question, when we expect a positive YES answer. (We could
say that it is not a real question, because we think we know the answer already.)
2 My car is big.
('Opinion' is what you think about something. 'Fact' is what is definitely true about
something.)
2 The normal order for fact adjectives is size, age, shape, colour, material, origin:
3 Determiners usually come first, even though they are fact adjectives:
adjectives noun
When we want to use two colour adjectives, we join them with 'and':
These rules are not always rigid. Consider the following conversations:
Conversation 1
A 'I want to buy a round table.'
B 'Do you want a new round table or an old round table?'
Conversation 2
A 'I want to buy an old table'.
B 'Do you want a round old table or a square old table?'
• Ram is English.
• Because she had to wait, she became impatient.
• Is it getting dark?
• The examination did not seem difficult.
• Your friend looks nice.
• This towel feels damp.
• That new film doesn't sound very interesting.
• Dinner smells good tonight.
• This milk tastes sour.
149
A B
We can use comparative adjectives to describe the differences. "A is bigger than B."
Short adjectives
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r late > later
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the -y to -i happy > happier
Long adjectives
If we talk about the two planets Earth and Mars, we can compare them like this:
Earth Mars
Distance from Sun 150 228 Mars is more distant from the Sun.
(million km)
A B
But the superlative is the extreme between 3 or more things. "A is the biggest."
A B C
Short adjectives
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st late > the latest
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the -y to -i happy > the happiest
Long adjectives
expensive
If we talk about the three planets Earth, Mars and Jupiter, we can use superlatives like
this:
4 Adverbs
154
An adverb is a word that tells us more about a verb. An adverb "qualifies" or "modifies"
a verb (The man ran quickly). But adverbs can also modify adjectives (Tara is really
beautiful), or even other adverbs (It works very well).
1. Function (Job)
2. Form
3. Position
1. Function
The principal job of an adverb is to modify (give more information about) verbs,
adjectives and other adverbs. In the following examples, the adverb is in bold and the
word that it modifies is in italics.
• Modify a verb:
- John speaks loudly. (How does John speak?)
- Mary lives locally. (Where does Mary live?)
- She never smokes. (When does she smoke?)
• Modify an adjective:
- He is really handsome.
2. Form
Many adverbs end in -ly. We form such adverbs by adding -ly to the adjective. Here are
some examples:
155
But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. "Friendly", for example, is an adjective.
3. Position
Adverbs of frequency come before the main verb (except the main verb "to be"):
Occasionally, sometimes, often, frequently and usually can also go at the beginning or
end of a sentence:
Rarely and seldom can also go at the end of a sentence (often with "very"):
5 Pronouns
157
Pronouns are small words that take the place of a noun. Like: he, you, ours, themselves,
some, each... If we didn't have pronouns, we would have to repeat a lot of nouns.
Do you like the President? I don't like the President. The President is pompous.
With pronouns, we can say- Do you like the President? I don't like her. She is pompous.
Personal pronouns list includes possessive adjectives for convenience and comparison.
Pronouns
Possessive
number person gender* subject object possessive reflexive adjectives
6 English Prepositions
A preposition is a word governing, and usually coming in front of, a noun or pronoun
and expressing a relation to another word or element, as in:
By "noun" we include:
Question:
In the following sentences, why is "to" followed by a verb? That should be impossible,
according to the rule:
Answer: In these sentences, "to" is not a preposition. It is part of the infinitive ("to go",
"to smoke").
• at for a POINT
• in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
• on for a SURFACE
At in on
Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:
At in On
At in On
Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:
Expression Example
Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:
in on
When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.
7 Conjunctions
Conjunctions are words that join. A conjunction joins two parts of a sentence.
163
1. Form
• Single Word
for example: and, but, because, although)
• Compound (often ending with as or that)
(for example: provided that, as long as, in order that)
• Correlative (which surround an adverb or adjective)
(for example: so...that)
2. Function (Job)
• Coordinating Conjunctions are used to join two parts of a sentence that are
grammatically equal. The two parts may be single words or clauses, for example:
- Jack and Jill went up the hill.
- The water was warm but I didn't go swimming.
• Subordinating Conjunctions are used to join a subordinate dependent clause to a
main clause, for example:
- I went swimming, although it was cold.
3. Position
• Coordinating Conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they
join.
• Subordinating Conjunctions usually come at the beginning of the subordinate
clause.
+
Look at these examples - the two elements that the coordinating conjunction joins are
shown in square brackets [ ]:
Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.
However, if the independent clauses are short and well-balanced, a comma is not really
essential:
When "and" is used with the last word of a list, a comma is optional:
englishclub.com Tip
The 7 coordinating conjunctions are short, simple words. They have only two or three letters.
There's an easy way to remember them - their initials spell:
F A N B O Y S
For And Nor But Or Yet So
• after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till,
until, when, where, whether, while
165
+
Look at this example:
subordinating conjunction
englishclub.com Tip
A subordinate or dependent clause "depends" on a main or independent clause. It cannot exist
alone. Imagine that somebody says to you: "Hello! Although it was raining." What do you
understand? Nothing! But a main or independent clause can exist alone. You will understand
very well if somebody says to you: "Hello! Ram went swimming."
+
Ram went swimming although it was raining.
+
Although it was raining, Ram went swimming.
8 Interjections
Hi! That's an interjection. :-)
166
Interjection is a big name for a little word. Interjections are short exclamations like Oh!,
Um or Ah! They have no real grammatical value but we use them quite often, usually
more in speaking than in writing. When interjections are inserted into a sentence, they
have no grammatical connection to the sentence. An interjection is sometimes followed
by an exclamation mark (!) when written.
disagreement
We can categorize English words into 8 basic types or classes. These classes are called
"parts of speech".
EnglishClub.com Tip
Some grammar books categorize English into 9 or 10 parts of speech. At EnglishClub.com, we use the
traditional categorization of 8 parts of speech.
It's quite important to recognize parts of speech. This helps you to analyze sentences and
understand them. It also helps you to construct good sentences.
In this lesson, we have an overview of the eight parts of speech, followed by a quiz to
check your understanding:
Verb action or state (to) be, have, do, EnglishClub.com is a web site.
like, work, sing, I like EnglishClub.com.
can, must
Adjective describes a noun a/an, the, 69, My dog is big. I like big dogs.
some, good, big,
red, well,
interesting
Conjunction joins clauses or and, but, when I like dogs and I like cats. I
sentences or words like cats and dogs. I like dogs
but I don't like cats.
Interjection short exclamation, oh!, ouch!, hi!, Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How
sometimes inserted well are you? Well, I don't know.
into a sentence