Grammar

What is Grammar?.....................................................................................................................
5
Glossary of English Grammar Terms.........................................................................................5
English Parts of Speech..............................................................................................................7
Parts of Speech Table.................................................................................................................8
What are Verbs?..........................................................................................................................9
Verb Classification.....................................................................................................................9
1. Helping Verbs.....................................................................................................................9
2. Main Verbs.......................................................................................................................10
Helping Verbs...........................................................................................................................11
Primary helping verbs (3 verbs)...........................................................................................11
Modal helping verbs (10 verbs)............................................................................................11
Main Verbs...............................................................................................................................12
Transitive and intransitive verbs..........................................................................................12
Linking verbs........................................................................................................................12
Dynamic and stative verbs...................................................................................................13
Regular and irregular verbs..................................................................................................13
Verb Forms...............................................................................................................................14
Forms of Main Verbs................................................................................................................14
Example Sentences...............................................................................................................15
Infinitive...........................................................................................................................15
Base - Imperative.............................................................................................................15
Base - Present simple
(except 3rd person singular).............................................................................................15
Base - After modal auxiliary verbs...................................................................................15
Past simple........................................................................................................................16
Past participle...................................................................................................................16
Present participle..............................................................................................................16
3rd person singular, present simple..................................................................................16
Forms of Helping Verbs...........................................................................................................16
Nouns.......................................................................................................................................17
What are Nouns?..................................................................................................................18
Countable Nouns......................................................................................................................19
Uncountable Nouns..................................................................................................................20
Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable........................................................................21
Proper Nouns (Names).............................................................................................................22
Possessive 's..............................................................................................................................22
Adjectives.................................................................................................................................24
Determiners: A, An or The?.....................................................................................................24
Determiners: Each, Every........................................................................................................25
Determiners: Some, Any..........................................................................................................26
Adjective Order........................................................................................................................27
Adjective Before Noun.............................................................................................................28
Adjective After Verb.................................................................................................................29
Comparative Adjectives...........................................................................................................29
Formation of Comparative Adjectives.....................................................................................30
Use of Comparative Adjectives................................................................................................31
Superlative Adjectives..............................................................................................................32
Formation of Superlative Adjectives........................................................................................32
Use of Superlative Adjectives..................................................................................................33
Adverbs....................................................................................................................................34
English Grammar 2/102
Adverbs of Frequency..............................................................................................................35
English Pronouns......................................................................................................................36
Personal Pronouns....................................................................................................................36
English Prepositions.................................................................................................................37
English Prepositions List..........................................................................................................37
English Preposition Rule..........................................................................................................39
Prepositions of Place:
at, in, on....................................................................................................................................40
Prepositions of Time:
at, in, on....................................................................................................................................42
Conjunctions.............................................................................................................................43
Form.....................................................................................................................................44
Function................................................................................................................................44
Position.................................................................................................................................44
Coordinating Conjunctions......................................................................................................44
Subordinating Conjunctions.....................................................................................................45
Interjections..............................................................................................................................47
Parts of Speech Examples........................................................................................................48
Words with More than One Job................................................................................................49
Active Voice, Passive Voice.....................................................................................................49
Passive Voice............................................................................................................................50
Construction of the Passive Voice........................................................................................50
Use of the Passive Voice.......................................................................................................51
Conjugation for the Passive Voice........................................................................................51
Tenses.......................................................................................................................................52
English Tense System...............................................................................................................53
What is Tense?..........................................................................................................................53
Mood....................................................................................................................................53
Voice.....................................................................................................................................54
Aspect...................................................................................................................................54
Tense & Time...........................................................................................................................54
Basic Tenses.............................................................................................................................55
Basic Tenses: Regular Verb......................................................................................................57
Basic Tenses: Irregular Verb.....................................................................................................58
Basic Tenses: Be.......................................................................................................................59
Simple Present Tense................................................................................................................61
How do we make the Simple Present Tense?.......................................................................62
How do we use the Simple Present Tense?..........................................................................63
Present Continuous Tense.........................................................................................................64
How do we make the Present Continuous Tense?....................................................................64
How do we use the Present Continuous Tense?.......................................................................65
Present continuous tense for action happening now............................................................65
Present continuous tense for the future................................................................................66
How do we spell the Present Continuous Tense?.....................................................................66
Present Perfect Tense................................................................................................................67
How do we make the Present Perfect Tense?...........................................................................67
Contractions with the present perfect tense......................................................................68
How do we use the Present Perfect Tense?..............................................................................69
1. Present perfect tense for experience.................................................................................69
2. Present perfect tense for change.......................................................................................69
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3. Present perfect tense for continuing situation..................................................................70

For & Since with Present Perfect Tense...................................................................................71
Present Perfect Continuous Tense............................................................................................72
How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?...................................................72
How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?.......................................................73
1. An action that has just stopped or recently stopped.....................................................73
2. An action continuing up to now...................................................................................73
For and Since with Present Perfect Continuous Tense.........................................................74
Simple Past Tense.....................................................................................................................75
How do we make the Simple Past Tense?................................................................................75
How do we use the Simple Past Tense?...................................................................................77
Past Continuous Tense..............................................................................................................78
How do we make the Past Continuous Tense?.........................................................................78
How do we use the Past Continuous Tense?............................................................................79
Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense............................................................................80
Past Perfect Tense.....................................................................................................................81
How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?................................................................................81
How do we use the Past Perfect Tense?...................................................................................82
Past Perfect Continuous Tense.................................................................................................83
How do we make the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?.........................................................83
How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?............................................................84
Simple Future Tense.................................................................................................................85
How do we make the Simple Future Tense?........................................................................86
How do we use the Simple Future Tense?............................................................................87
No Plan.............................................................................................................................87
Prediction.........................................................................................................................87
Be.....................................................................................................................................87
Future Continuous Tense..........................................................................................................88
How do we make the Future Continuous Tense?.................................................................88
How do we use the Future Continuous Tense?....................................................................89
Future Perfect Tense.................................................................................................................90
How do we make the Future Perfect Tense?........................................................................90
How do we use the Future Perfect Tense?............................................................................91
Future Perfect Continuous Tense..............................................................................................92
How do we make the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?.....................................................92
How do we use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?........................................................93
Modal Verbs (modal auxiliaries)..............................................................................................93
Can, Could, Be able to.............................................................................................................93
Can...........................................................................................................................................94
Structure of Can...................................................................................................................94
Use of Can............................................................................................................................94
can: Possibility and Ability..............................................................................................94
can: Requests and Orders.................................................................................................95
can: Permission................................................................................................................95
Could........................................................................................................................................95
Structure of Could................................................................................................................95
Use of Could.........................................................................................................................96
could: Past Possibility or Ability......................................................................................96
could: Requests................................................................................................................96
Be able to..................................................................................................................................96
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Structure of Be able to..........................................................................................................97

Use of Be able to..................................................................................................................97
be able to: ability..............................................................................................................97
Have to
Must, Must not/Mustn't............................................................................................................98
Have to (objective obligation)..................................................................................................98
Structure of Have to.............................................................................................................98
Use of Have to......................................................................................................................98
Must (subjective obligation).....................................................................................................99
Structure of Must..................................................................................................................99
Use of Must........................................................................................................................100
Must not, Mustn't (prohibition)..............................................................................................100
Structure of Must not..........................................................................................................100
Use of Must not..................................................................................................................101
Shall versus Will.....................................................................................................................101
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What is Grammar?
Grammar is the system of a language. People sometimes describe grammar as the

"rules" of a language; but in fact no language has rules*. If we use the word "rules", we
suggest that somebody created the rules first and then spoke the language, like a new
game. But languages did not start like that. Languages started by people making sounds
which evolved into words, phrases and sentences. No commonly-spoken language is
fixed. All languages change over time. What we call "grammar" is simply a reflection of a
language at a particular time.
Do we need to study grammar to learn a language? The short answer is "no". Very many
people in the world speak their own, native language without having studied its
grammar. Children start to speak before they even know the word
"grammar". But if you are serious about learning a foreign language,
the long answer is "yes, grammar can help you to learn a language
more quickly and more efficiently." It's important to think of grammar
as something that can help you, like a friend. When you understand the
grammar (or system) of a language, you can understand many things yourself, without
having to ask a teacher or look in a book.
So think of grammar as something good, something positive, something that you can
use to find your way - like a signpost or a map.
* Except invented languages like Esperanto. And if Esperanto were widely spoken, its
rules would soon be very different.
Glossary of English Grammar Terms
Active Voice
In the active voice, the subject of the verb does the action (eg They killed the President).
See also Passive Voice.
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).
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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, 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
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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
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.
English Parts of Speech
There are thousands of words in any language. But not all words have the same job. For
example, some words express "action". Other words express a "thing". Other words "join"
one word to another word. These are the "building blocks" of the language. Think of them
like the parts of a house. When we want to build a house, we use concrete to make the
foundations or base. We use bricks to make the walls. We use window frames to make the
windows, and door frames to make the doorways. And we use cement to join them all
together. Each part of the house has its own job. And when we want to build a sentence, we
use the different types of word. Each type of word has its own job.
We can categorize English words into 8 basic types or classes. These classes are called "parts
of speech".
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.
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Parts of Speech Table
This is a summary of the 8 parts of speech. You can find more detail if you click on each part
of speech.
part of speech function or "job" example words example sentences
Verb action or state (to) be, have, do, EnglishClub.com is a web

like, work, sing, can, site. I like
must EnglishClub.com.
Noun thing or person pen, dog, work, This is my dog. He lives in

music, town, my house. We live in
London, teacher, London.
John
Adjective describes a noun a/an, the, 69, some, My dog is big. I like big
good, big, red, well, dogs.
interesting
Adverb describes a verb, quickly, silently, My dog eats quickly. When

adjective or adverb well, badly, very, he is very hungry, he eats
really really quickly.
Pronoun replaces a noun I, you, he, she, some Tara is Indian. She is
beautiful.
Preposition links a noun to another to, at, after, on, but We went to school on
word Monday.
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!, well Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How
sometimes inserted are you? Well, I don't know.
into a sentence
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What are Verbs?
The verb is king in English. The shortest sentence contains a verb. You can make a one-word
sentence with a verb, for example: "Stop!" You cannot make a one-word sentence with any
other type of word.
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:
• action (Ram plays football.)

• state (Anthony seems kind.)
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:
• to work, work, works, worked, working
Of course, this is still very few forms compared to some languages which may have thirty or
more forms for a single verb.
Verb Classification
We divide verbs into two broad classifications:
1. Helping Verbs
Imagine that a stranger walks into your room and says:
• 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
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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 something? 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.
helping verb main verb
John likes coffee.
You lied to me.
They are happy.
The children are playing.
We must go now.
I do not want any.
Helping verbs and main verbs can be further sub-divided, as we shall see on the following
pages.
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Helping Verbs
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:
Primary helping verbs (3 verbs)
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.)
o to stand for a main verb in some constructions (He speaks faster than she
does.)
Modal helping verbs (10 verbs)
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
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• must
• ought to
Here are examples using modal verbs:
• I can't speak Chinese.

• John may arrive late.
• Would you like a cup of coffee?
• You should see a doctor.
• I really must go now.
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
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:
Transitive and intransitive verbs
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
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place (>). Linking verbs are always intransitive (but not all intransitive verbs are linking
verbs).
• Mary is a teacher. (mary = teacher)

• Tara is beautiful. (tara = beautiful)
• That sounds interesting. (that = interesting)
• The sky became dark. (the sky > dark)
• The bread has gone bad. (bread > bad)
Dynamic and stative 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).
dynamic verbs (examples):
• hit, explode, fight, run, go
stative verbs (examples):
• be
• like, love, prefer, wish
• impress, please, surprise
• hear, see, sound
• belong to, consist of, contain, include, need
• appear, resemble, seem
Regular and irregular verbs
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.
regular verbs: base, past tense, past participle
• look, looked, looked

• work, worked, worked
irregular verbs: base, past tense, past participle
• buy, bought, bought

• cut, cut, cut
• do, did, done
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Here are lists of regular verbs and irregular verbs.
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.
Verb Forms
English verbs come in several forms. For example, the verb to sing can be: to sing, sing,
sang, sung, singing or sings. This is a total of 6 forms. Not many, considering that some
languages (French, for example) have more than 30 forms for an individual verb. English
tenses may be quite complicated, but the forms that we use to make the tenses are actually
very simple! With the exception of the verb to be, English main verbs have only 4, 5 or 6
forms. To be has 9 forms. Do not confuse verb forms with tenses. We use the different verb
forms to make the tenses, but they are not the same thing.
Forms of Main Verbs

Main verbs are also called "lexical verbs".
V1 V2 V3
present simple,
past past present
infinitive base 3rd person
simple participle participle
singular
regular (to) work work worked worked working works
(to) sing sing sang sung singing sings

(to) make make made made making makes
(to) cut cut cut cut cutting cuts
(to) do* do did done doing does

(to) have* have had had having has
irregular
past past present
infinitive base present simple
simple participle participle
was,
(to) be* be been being am, are, is
were
In the above examples:
• to cut has 4 forms: to cut, cut, cutting, cuts

• to work has 5 forms: to work, work, worked, working, works
• to sing has 6 forms: to sing, sing, sang, sung, singing, sings
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• to be has 9 forms: to be, be, was, were, been, being, am, is, are
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".
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).
Example Sentences
These example sentences use main verbs in different forms.
Infinitive
• I want to work
• He has to sing.
• This exercise is easy to do.
• Let him have one.
• To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Base - Imperative
• Work well!
• Make this.
• Have a nice day.
• Be quiet!
Base - Present simple

(except 3rd person singular)
• I work in London.
• You sing well.
• They have a lot of money.
Base - After modal auxiliary verbs
• I can work tomorrow.
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• You must sing louder.

• They might do it.
• You could be right.
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
• I have worked here for five years.

• He needs a folder made of plastic.
• It is done like this.
• I have never been so happy.
Present participle
• I am working.
• Singing well is not easy.
• Having finished, he went home.
• You are being silly!
3rd person singular, present simple
• He works in London.
• She sings well.
• She has a lot of money.
• It is Vietnamese.
Forms of Helping Verbs

Helping verbs are also called "auxiliary verbs".
All helping verbs are used with a main verb (either expressed or understood*). There are 2
groups of helping verbs:
• Primary helping verbs, used mainly to change the tense or voice of the main verb,
and in making questions and negatives.
• Modal helping verbs, used to change the "mood" of the main verb.
Study the table opposite. It shows the prinicipal forms and uses of helping verbs, and explains
the differences between primary and modal helping 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:
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• 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!
Helping Verbs
Primary Modal
(to make simple tenses, and questions

do can could
and negatives)
(to make continuous tenses, and the

be may might
passive voice)
have (to make perfect tenses) will would
shall should
must
ought (to)
"Do", "be" and "have" as helping verbs have

exactly the same forms as when they are main Modal helping verbs are invariable. They
verbs (except that as helping verbs they are never always have the same form.
used in infinitive forms).
"Ought" is followed by the main verb in

Primary helping verbs are followed by the main
infinitive form. Other modal helping
verb in a particular form:
verbs are followed by the main verb in its
base form (V1).
• do + V1 (base verb)
• be + -ing (present participle)
• ought + to... (infinitive)
• have + V3 (past participle)
• other modals + V1 (base verb)
"Do", "be" and "have" can also function as main Modal helping verbs cannot function as
verbs. main verbs.
Nouns
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).
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What are Nouns?
The simple definition is: a person, place or thing. Here are some examples:
• person: man, woman, teacher, John, Mary

• place: home, office, town, countryside, America
• thing: table, car, banana, money, music, love, dog, monkey
The problem with this definition is that it does not explain why "love" is a noun but can also
be a verb.
Another (more complicated) way of recognizing a noun is by its:
1. Ending
2. Position
3. Function
1. Noun Ending
There are certain word endings that show that a word is a noun, for example:
• -ity > nationality

• -ment > appointment
• -ness > happiness
• -ation > relation
• -hood > childhood
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
We can often recognise a noun by its position in the 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
Nouns often come after one or more adjectives:
• a great relief
• a peaceful afternoon
• the tall, Indian doctor
• this difficult word
Sethu
• my brown and white house

• such crass stupidity
3. Function in a Sentence
Nouns have certain functions (jobs) in a sentence, for example:
• subject of verb: Doctors work hard.

• object of verb: He likes coffee.
• subject and object of verb: Teachers teach students.
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
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:
• dog, cat, animal, man, person

• bottle, box, litre
• coin, note, dollar
• cup, plate, fork
• table, chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
• My dog is playing.
• My dogs are hungry.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:
• A dog is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:
• I want an orange. (not I want orange.)

• Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
• I like oranges.
• Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with countable nouns:
Sethu
• I've got some dollars.

• Have you got any pens?
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
• I've got a few dollars.

• I haven't got many pens.
"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:
• music, art, love, happiness

• advice, information, news
• furniture, luggage
• rice, sugar, butter, water
• electricity, gas, power
• money, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:
• This news is very important.

• Your luggage looks heavy.
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
We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:
• I've got some money.

• Have you got any rice?
We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:
• I've got a little money.
Sethu
• I haven't got much rice.
Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".
Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns. When you learn a new
word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or uncountable.
Countable Uncountable
dollar money
song music
suitcase luggage
table furniture
battery electricity
bottle wine
report information
tip advice
journey travel
job work
view scenery
Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable
Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of
meaning.
Countable Uncountable
There are two hairs in my coffee! hair I don't have much hair.
There are two lights in our bedroom. light Close the curtain. There's too much light!
It's difficult to work when there is too

Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise. noise
much noise.
Have you got a paper to read? (= I want to draw a picture. Have you got
paper
newspaper) some paper?
Sethu
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?
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's work I have no money. I need work!

greatest works.
Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can
say (in a restaurant, for example):
• Two teas and one coffee please.
Proper Nouns (Names)
A proper noun is the special word (or name) that we use for a person, place or organization,
like John, Marie, London, France or Sony. A name is a noun, but a very special noun—a
proper noun. Proper nouns have special rules.
common noun proper noun
man, boy John
woman, girl Mary
country, town England, London
company Ford, Sony
shop, restaurant Maceys, McDonalds
month, day of the week January, Sunday
book, film War & Peace, Titanic
Possessive 's
When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we usually add 's
to a singular noun and an apostrophe ' to a plural noun, for example:
• the boy's ball (one boy)

• the boys' ball (two or more boys)
Sethu
Notice that the number of balls does not matter. The structure is influenced by the possessor
and not the possessed.
one ball more than one ball
one boy
the boy's ball the boy's balls
more than one boy

the boys' ball the boys' balls
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:
• the boyfriend of my sister

• my sister's boyfriend
The structure can be used for a whole phrase:
• 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)
Proper Nouns (Names)
We very often use possessive 's with names:
• This is Mary's car.

• Where is Ram's telephone?
• Who took Anthony's pen?
• I like Tara's hair.
When a name ends in s, we usually treat it like any other singular noun, and add 's:
• This is Charles's chair.
But it is possible (especially with older, classical names) to just add the apostrophe ':
• Who was Jesus' father?
Sethu
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:
singular noun plural noun
my child's dog my children's dog
the man's work the men's work
the mouse's cage the mice's cage
a person's clothes people's clothes
Adjectives
An adjective is a word that tells us more about a noun. (By "noun" we include pronouns and
noun phrases.) An adjective "qualifies" or "modifies" a noun (a big dog). Adjectives can be
used before a noun (I like Chinese food) or after certain verbs (It is hard). We can often use
two or more adjectives together (a beautiful young French lady).
It is sometimes said that the adjective is the enemy of the noun. This is because, very often, if we use the precise
noun we don't need an adjective. For example, instead of saying "a large, impressive house" (2 adjectives + 1
noun) we could simply say "a mansion" (1 noun).
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
We use "definite" to mean sure, certain. "Definite" is particular.
We use "indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "Indefinite" is general.
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.
Sethu
Think of the sky at night. In the sky there is 1 moon and millions of stars. So normally we
could say:
• I saw the moon last night.

• I saw a star last night.
Look at these examples:
the a, an
The capital of France is Paris.

I was born in a town.
I have found the book that I lost.
John had an omelette for lunch.
Have you cleaned the car?
James Bond ordered a drink.
There are six eggs in the fridge.
We want to buy an umbrella.
Please switch off the TV when you
Have you got a pen?
finish.
Of course, often we can use the or a/an for the same word. It depends on the situation. Look
at these examples:
We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a particular umbrella.)
Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella, a
particular umbrella.)
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."
Determiners: Each, Every
Each and every have similar but not always identical meanings.
Each = every one separately

Every = each, all
Sometimes, each and every have the same meaning:
• Prices go up each year.
Sethu
• Prices go up every year.
But often they are not exactly the same.
Each expresses the idea of 'one by one'. It emphasizes individuality.
Every is half-way between each and all. It sees things or people as singular, but in a group or
in general.
Consider the following:
• Every artist is sensitive.

• Each artist sees things differently.
• Every soldier saluted as the President arrived.
• The President gave each soldier a medal.
Each can be used in front of the verb:
• The soldiers each received a medal.
Each can be followed by 'of':
• The President spoke to each of the soldiers.

• He gave a medal to each of them.
Every cannot be used for 2 things. For 2 things, each can be used:
• He was carrying a suitcase in each hand.
Every is used to say how often something happens:
• There is a plane to Bangkok every day.

• The bus leaves every hour.
Verbs with each and every are always conjugated in the singular.
Determiners: Some, Any
Some = a little, a few or a small number or amount
Any = one, some or all
Usually, we use some in positive (+) sentences and any in negative (-) and question (?)
sentences.
Sethu
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 don't
- money. have $1,000,000. I have $0.
Do you have any

? money?
Do you have $1 or $10 or $1,000,000?
In general, we use something/anything and somebody/anybody in the same way as some/any.
• He needs some stamps.

• I must go. I have some homework to do.
• I'm thirsty. I want something to drink.
• I can see somebody coming.
• He doesn't need any stamps.

• I can stay. I don't have any homework to do.
• I'm not thirsty. I don't want anything to drink.
• I can't see anybody coming.
• Does he need any stamps?

• Do you have any homework to do?
• Do you want anything to drink?
• Can you see anybody coming?
We use any in a positive sentence when the real sense is negative.
• 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.)
• Would you like some more tea?

• Could I have some sugar, please?
Adjective Order
There are 2 basic positions for adjectives:
1. before the noun
Sethu
2. after certain verbs (be, become, get, seem, look, feel, sound, smell, taste)
adj. noun verb adj.
1 I like big cars.
2 My car is big.
In this lesson we look at the position of adjectives in a sentence, followed by a quiz to check
your understanding:
Adjective Before Noun
We sometimes use more than one adjective before the noun:
• I like big black dogs.

• She was wearing a beautiful long red dress.
What is the correct order for two or more adjectives?
1. The general order is: opinion, fact:
• a nice French car (not a French nice car)
("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:
• a big, old, square, black, wooden Chinese table
3. Determiners usually come first, even though they are fact adjectives:
• articles (a, the)

• possessives (my, your...)
• demonstratives (this, that...)
• quantifiers (some, any, few, many...)
• numbers (one, two, three)
Here is an example with opinion and fact adjectives:
Sethu
adjectives noun
deter- opinion fact

miner
age shape colour
two nice old round red candles
When we want to use two colour adjectives, we join them with "and":
• Newspapers are usually black and white.

• She was wearing a long, blue and yellow dress.
The rules on this page are for the normal, "natural" order of adjectives. But these rules are not rigid, and you
may sometimes wish to change the order for emphasis. 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?"
Adjective After Verb
We can use an adjective after certain verbs. Even though the adjective comes after the verb, it
does not describe the verb. It describes the subject of the verb (usually a noun or pronoun).
Look at the examples:
subject verb adjective
• 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.
Comparative Adjectives
Sethu
When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. We can see if they are the same or
different. Perhaps they are the same in some ways and different in other ways. We can use
comparative adjectives to describe the differences.
In the example opposite, "bigger" is the comparative form of the adjective "big":
We can use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things).
A
The first A is bigger than the second A.
A
Formation of Comparative Adjectives
There are two ways to make or form a comparative adjective:
• short adjectives: add "-er"

• long adjectives: use "more"
Short adjectives
• 1-syllable adjectives old, fast
• 2-syllable adjectives ending in -y happy, easy
Normal rule: add "-er" old > older
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r late > later
Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant,

big > bigger
double the last consonant
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i happy > happier
Long adjectives
• 2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y modern, pleasant
• all adjectives of 3 or more syllables expensive, intellectual
Normal rule: use "more" modern > more modern
Sethu
expensive > more

expensive
With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-er' or 'more':
• quiet > quieter/more quiet

• clever > cleverer/more clever
• narrow > narrower/more narrow
• simple > simpler/more simple
Exception
The following adjectives have irregular forms:
• good > better

• well (healthy) > better
• bad > worse
• far > farther/further
Use of Comparative Adjectives
We use comparative adjectives when talking about 2 things (not 3 or 10 or 1,000,000 things,
only 2 things).
Often, the comparative adjective is followed by "than".
John is 1m80. He is tall. But Chris is 1m85. He is taller than John.
America is big. But Russia is bigger.
I want to have a more powerful computer.
Is French more difficult than English?
If we talk about the two planets Earth and Mars, we can compare them as shown in the table
opposite:
Although we use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things), in fact one or
both of the things may be a group of things.
Mt Everest is higher than all other mountains.
Sethu
Here, we are talking about hundreds of mountains, but we are still comparing one thing (Mt Everest) to one
other thing (all other mountains).
Earth Mars
Diameter (km) 12,760 6,790 Mars is smaller than Earth.
Distance from Sun (million 150 228 Mars is more distant from the Sun.
km)
A day on Mars is slightly longer than a day

Length of day (hours) 24 25
on Earth.
Moons 1 2 Mars has more moons than Earth.
Surface temperature (°C) 22 -23 Mars is colder than Earth.
Superlative Adjectives
A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree of a quality. We use a

superlative adjective to describe the extreme quality of one thing in a group of things.
In the example opposite, "biggest" is the superlative form of the adjective "big":
We can use superlative adjectives when talking about three or more things (not two things).
AC
B
A is the biggest.
Formation of Superlative Adjectives
As with comparative adjectives, there are two ways to form a superlative adjective:
• short adjectives: add "-est"

• long adjectives: use "most"
We also usually add 'the' at the beginning.
Sethu
Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives old, fast
2-syllable adjectives ending in -y happy, easy
Normal rule: add "-est" old > the oldest
Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st late > the latest
Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant,

big > the biggest
double the last consonant
Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i happy > the happiest
Long adjectives
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y modern, pleasant
all adjectives of 3 or more syllables expensive, intellectual
modern > the most

modern
Normal rule: use "most"
expensive > the most
expensive
With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-est' or 'most':
• quiet > the quietest/most quiet

• clever > the cleverest/most clever
• narrow > the narrowest/most narrow
• simple > the simplest/most simple
Exception
The following adjectives have irregular forms:
• good > the best

• bad > the worst
• far > the furthest
Use of Superlative Adjectives
We use a superlative adjective to describe one thing in a group of three or more things. Look
at these examples:
Sethu
• John is 1m75. David is 1m80. Chris is 1m85. Chris is the tallest.

• Canada, China and Russia are big countries. But Russia is the biggest.
• Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
If we talk about the three planets Earth, Mars and Jupiter, we can use superlative adjectives as
shown in the table opposite:
When we compare one thing with itself, we do not use "the":
• England is coldest in winter. (not the coldest)

• My boss is most generous when we get a big order. (not the most generous)
Earth Mars Jupiter
Dia- 12,760 6,790 142,800 Jupiter is the biggest.

meter (km)
Dis-
Jupiter is the most distant from the
tance from Sun (million 150 228 778
Sun.
km)
Length of day (hours) 24 25 10 Jupiter has the shortest day.
Moons 1 2 16 Jupiter has the most moons.
Surface temp.
22 -23 -150 Jupiter is the coldest.
(°C)
Adverbs
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).
Many different kinds of word are called adverbs. We can usually recognise an adverb by its:
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?)
Sethu
- Mary lives locally. (Where does Mary live?)

- She never smokes. (When does she smoke?)
• Modify an adjective:
- He is really handsome.
• Modify another adverb:

- She drives incredibly slowly.
But adverbs have other functions, too. They can:
• Modify a whole sentence:

- Obviously, I can't know everything.
• Modify a prepositional phrase:

- It's immediately inside the door.
2. Form
Many adverbs end in -ly. We form such adverbs by adding -ly to the adjective. Here are some
examples:
• quickly, softly, strongly, honestly, interestingly
But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. "Friendly", for example, is an adjective.
Some adverbs have no particular form, for example:
• well, fast, very, never, always, often, still
3. Position
Adverbs have three main positions in the sentence:
• Front (before the subject):

- Now we will study adverbs.
• Middle (between the subject and the main verb):

- We often study adverbs.
• End (after the verb or object):

- We study adverbs carefully.
Adverbs of Frequency
Adverbs of Frequency answer the question "How often?" or "How frequently?" They tell us
how often somebody does something.
Adverbs of frequency come before the main verb (except the main verb "to be"):
Sethu
• We usually go shopping on Saturday.

• I have often done that.
• She is always late.
Occasionally, sometimes, often, frequently and usually can also go at the beginning or end of
a sentence:
• Sometimes they come and stay with us.

• I play tennis occasionally.
Rarely and seldom can also go at the end of a sentence (often with "very"):
• We see them rarely.

• John eats meat very seldom.
100% always
usually
frequently
often
50% sometimes
occasionally
rarely
seldom
hardly ever
0% never
English Pronouns
Pronouns are small words that take the place of a noun. We can use a pronoun instead of a
noun. Pronouns are words like: he, you, ours, themselves, some, each... If we didn't have
pronouns, we would have to repeat a lot of nouns. We would have to say things like:
• Do you like the President? I don't like the President. The President is too pompous.
With pronouns, we can say:
• Do you like the President? I don't like him. He is too pompous.
Personal Pronouns
Sethu
This summary of personal pronouns includes possessive adjectives for convenience and
comparison.
pronouns
possessive
number person gender* subject object possessive reflexive adjectives
1st m/f I me mine myself my
2nd m/f you you yours yourself your
singular m he him his himself his
3rd f she her hers herself her
n it it its itself its
1st m/f we us ours ourselves our
plural 2nd m/f you you yours yourselves your
3rd m/f/n they them theirs themselves their
* m=male f=female n=neuter
Examples:
pronoun subject She likes homework.
object The teacher gave me some homework.
possessive This homework is yours.
reflexive John did the homework himself.
possessive adjective The teacher corrected our homework.
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:
• She left before breakfast.
• What did you come for?

(For what did you come?)
English Prepositions List
Sethu
There are about 150 prepositions in English. Yet this is a very small number when you think
of the thousands of other words (nouns, verbs etc). Prepositions are important words. We use
individual prepositions more frequently than other individual words. In fact, the prepositions
of, to and in are among the ten most frequent words in English. Here is a short list of 70 of
the more common one-word prepositions. Many of these prepositions have more than one
meaning. Please refer to a dictionary for precise meaning and usage.
• aboard
• about
• above
• across
• after
• against
• along
• amid
• among
• anti
• around
• as
• at
• before
• behind
• below
• beneath
• beside
• besides
• between
• beyond
• but
• by
• concerning
• considering
• despite
• down
• during
• except
• excepting
• excluding
• following
• for
• from
• in
• inside
Sethu
• into
• like
• minus
• near
• of
• off
• on
• onto
• opposite
• outside
• over
• past
• per
• plus
• regarding
• round
• save
• since
• than
• through
• to
• toward
• towards
• under
• underneath
• unlike
• until
• up
• upon
• versus
• via
• with
• within
• without
English Preposition Rule
Sethu
There is one very simple rule about prepositions. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no
exceptions.
Rule
A preposition is followed by a "noun". It is never followed by a verb.
By "noun" we include:
• noun (dog, money, love)

• proper noun (name) (Bangkok, Mary)
• pronoun (you, him, us)
• noun group (my first job)
• gerund (swimming)
A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. If we want to follow a preposition by a verb, we

must use the "-ing" form which is really a gerund or verb in noun form.
Quick Quiz: In the following sentences, why is "to" followed by a verb? That should be
impossible, according to the above rule:
• I would like to go now.

• She used to smoke.
Here are some examples:
Subject + verb preposition "noun"
The food is on the table.
She lives in Japan.
Tara is looking for you.
The letter is under your blue book.
Pascal is used to English people.
She isn't used to working.
I ate before coming.
Answer to Quick Quiz: In these sentences, "to" is not a preposition. It is part of the infinitive ("to go", "to
smoke").
Prepositions of Place:
at, in, on
In general, we use:
Sethu
• at for a POINT
• in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
• on for a SURFACE
at in on
POINT ENCLOSED SPACE SURFACE
at the corner in the garden on the wall
at the bus stop in London on the ceiling
at the door in France on the door
at the top of the page in a box on the cover
at the end of the road in my pocket on the floor
at the entrance in my wallet on the carpet
at the crossroads in a building on the menu
at the entrance in a car on a page
• Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.

• The shop is at the end of the street.
• My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
• When will you arrive at the office?
• Do you work in an office?
• I have a meeting in New York.
• Do you live in Japan?
• Jupiter is in the Solar System.
• The author's name is on the cover of the book.
• There are no prices on this menu.
• You are standing on my foot.
• There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
• I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.
Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:
at in on
at home in a car on a bus
at work in a taxi on a train
Sethu
at school in a helicopter on a plane
at university in a boat on a ship
at college in a lift (elevator) on a bicycle, on a motorbike
at the top in the newspaper on a horse, on an elephant
at the bottom in the sky on the radio, on television
at the side in a row on the left, on the right
at reception in Oxford Street on the way
Prepositions of Time:
at, in, on
We use:
• at for a PRECISE TIME

• in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
• on for DAYS and DATES
at in on
PRECISE MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG

DAYS and DATES
TIME PERIODS
at 3 o'clock in May on Sunday
at 10.30am in summer on Tuesdays
at noon in the summer on 6 March
at dinnertime in 1990 on 25 Dec. 2010
at bedtime in the 1990s on Christmas Day
on Independence
at sunrise in the next century
Day
at sunset in the Ice Age on my birthday
at the moment in the past/future on New Year's Eve
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• I have a meeting at 9am.

• The shop closes at midnight.
• Jane went home at lunchtime.
• In England, it often snows in December.
• Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
• There should be a lot of progress in the next century.
• Do you work on Mondays?
• Her birthday is on 20 November.
• Where will you be on New Year's Day?
Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:
Expression Example
at night The stars shine at night.
at the weekend I don't usually work at the weekend.
at Christmas/Easter I stay with my family at Christmas.
at the same time We finished the test at the same time.
at present He's not home at present. Try later.
Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:
in on
in the morning on Tuesday morning
in the mornings on Saturday mornings
in the afternoon(s) on Sunday afternoons
in the evening(s) on Monday evening
When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.
• I went to London last June. (not in last June)

• He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)
• I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
• We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)
Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word that "joins". A conjunction joins two parts of a sentence.
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Here are some example conjunctions:
Coordinating Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunctions
and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so although, because, since, unless
We can consider conjunctions from three aspects.
Form
Conjunctions have three basic forms:
• 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 (surrounding an adverb or adjective)

for example: so...that
Function
Conjunctions have two basic functions or "jobs":
• 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.
Position
• Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they
join.
• Subordinating conjunctions usually come at the beginning of the subordinate clause.
Coordinating Conjunctions
The short, simple conjunctions are called "coordinating conjunctions":
• and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so
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A coordinating conjunction joins parts of a sentence (for example words or independent

clauses) that are grammatically equal or similar. A coordinating conjunction shows that the
elements it joins are similar in importance and structure:
+
Look at these examples - the two elements that the coordinating conjunction joins are shown
in square brackets [ ]:
• I like [tea] and [coffee].

• [Ram likes tea], but [Anthony likes coffee].
Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.
When a coordinating conjunction joins independent clauses, it is always correct to place a

comma before the conjunction:
• I want to work as an interpreter in the future, so I am studying Russian at university.
However, if the independent clauses are short and well-balanced, a comma is not really
essential:
• She is kind so she helps people.
When "and" is used with the last word of a list, a comma is optional:
• He drinks beer, whisky, wine, and rum.

• He drinks beer, whisky, wine and rum.
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
Subordinating Conjunctions
The majority of conjunctions are "subordinating conjunctions". Common subordinating

conjunctions are:
• after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, until,
when, where, whether, while
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A subordinating conjunction joins a subordinate (dependent) clause to a main (independent)

clause:
Look at this example:
main or subordinate or
independent clause dependent clause
Ram went swimming although it was raining.
subordinating
conjunction
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."
A subordinating conjunction always comes at the beginning of a subordinate clause. It

"introduces" a subordinate clause. However, a subordinate clause can sometimes come after
and sometimes before a main clause. Thus, two structures are possible:
Ram went swimming although it was raining.
Although it was raining, Ram went swimming.
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Interjections
Hi! That's an interjection. :-)
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.
The table shows some interjections with examples.
Interjections like er and um are also known as "hesitation devices". They are extremely common in English.
People use them when they don't know what to say, or to indicate that they are thinking about what to say. You
should learn to recognize them when you hear them and realize that they have no real meaning.
interjection meaning example
expressing pleasure "Ah, that feels good."
expressing realization "Ah, now I understand."

ah
expressing resignation "Ah well, it can't be heped."
expressing surprise "Ah! I've won!"
alas expressing grief or pity "Alas, she's dead now."
expressing pity "Oh dear! Does it hurt?"

dear
expressing surprise "Dear me! That's a surprise!"
"It's hot today." "Eh?" "I said it's hot

asking for repetition
today."
expressing enquiry "What do you think of that, eh?"

eh
expressing surprise "Eh! Really?"
inviting agreement "Let's go, eh?"
er expressing hesitation "Lima is the capital of...er...Peru."
expressing greeting "Hello John. How are you today?"

hello, hullo
expressing surprise "Hello! My car's gone!"
calling attention "Hey! look at that!"

hey
expressing surprise, joy etc "Hey! What a good idea!"
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hi expressing greeting "Hi! What's new?"
expressing hesitation, doubt or

hmm "Hmm. I'm not so sure."
disagreement
expressing surprise "Oh! You're here!"
oh, o expressing pain "Oh! I've got a toothache."
expressing pleading "Oh, please say 'yes'!"
ouch expressing pain "Ouch! That hurts!"
uh expressing hesitation "Uh...I don't know the answer to that."
uh-huh expressing agreement "Shall we go?" "Uh-huh."
um, umm expressing hesitation "85 divided by 5 is...um...17."
expressing surprise "Well I never!"

well
introducing a remark "Well, what did he say?"
Parts of Speech Examples
Here are some sentences made with different English parts of speech:
verb noun verb noun verb verb
Stop! John works. John is working.
pronoun verb noun noun verb adjective noun
She loves animals. Animals like kind people.
noun verb noun adverb noun verb adjective noun
Tara speaks English well. Tara speaks good English.
pronoun verb preposition adjective noun adverb
She ran to the station quickly.
pron. verb adj. noun conjunction pron. verb pron.
She likes big snakes but I hate them.
Here is a sentence that contains every part of speech:
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interjection pron. conj. adj. noun verb prep. noun adverb
Well, she and young John walk to school slowly.
Words with More than One Job
Many words in English can have more than one job, or be more than one part of speech. For
example, "work" can be a verb and a noun; "but" can be a conjunction and a preposition;
"well" can be an adjective, an adverb and an interjection. In addition, many nouns can act as
adjectives.
To analyze the part of speech, ask yourself: "What job is this word doing in this sentence?"
In the table on the right you can see a few examples. Of course, there are more, even for some
of the words in the table. In fact, if you look in a good dictionary you will see that the word
but has six jobs to do:
• verb, noun, adverb, pronoun, preposition and conjuction!
word part of speech example
work noun My work is easy.
verb I work in London.
but conjunction John came but Mary didn't come.
preposition Everyone came but Mary.
well adjective Are you well?
adverb She speaks well.
interjection Well! That's expensive!
afternoon noun We ate in the afternoon.
noun acting as adjective We had afternoon tea.
Active Voice, Passive Voice
There are two special forms for verbs called voice:
1. Active voice
2. Passive voice
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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:
subject verb object
active >
Cats eat fish.
The passive voice is less usual. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the
verb:
subject verb object
passive <
Fish are eaten by cats.
The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb:
subject verb object
active Everybody drinks water.
passive Water is drunk by everybody.
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.
Construction of the Passive Voice
The structure of the passive voice is very simple:
subject + auxiliary verb (be) + main verb (past participle)

The main verb is always in its past participle form.
subject auxiliary verb (to be) main verb (past participle)
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Water is drunk by everyone.
100 people are employed by this company.
I am paid in euro.
We are not paid in dollars.
Are they paid in yen?
Use of the Passive Voice
We use the passive when:
• we want to make the active object more important

• we do not know the active subject
subject verb object
give importance to active

object (President President Kennedy was killed by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Kennedy)
active subject unknown My wallet has been stolen. ?

Note that we always use by to introduce the passive object (Fish are eaten by cats).
Look at this sentence:
• He was killed with a gun.
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".
Conjugation for the Passive Voice
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:
• present simple: It is made

• present continuous: It is being made
• present perfect: It has been made
Here are some examples with most of the possible tenses:
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infinitive to be washed
present It is washed.
past It was washed.

simple
future It will be washed.
conditional It would be washed.
present It is being washed.
past It was being washed.

continuous
future It will be being washed.
conditional It would be being washed.
present It has been washed.
past It had been washed.

perfect simple
future It will have been washed.
conditional It would have been washed.
present It has been being washed.
past It had been being washed.

perfect continuous
future It will have been being washed.
conditional It would have been being washed.
Tenses
• Structure: How do we make the tense?
• Use: When and why do we use the tense?
Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your
understanding.
Many English learners worry too much about tense. If you stopped 100 native English speakers in the street and
asked them about tense, one of them might give you an intelligent answer—if you were lucky. The other 99
would know little about terms like "past perfect" or "present continuous". And they would know nothing about
aspect, voice or mood. But they can all speak fluent English and communicate effectively. Of course, for ESL it
helps to know about tenses, but don't become obsessed with them. Be like those native speakers! Speak
naturally!
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English Tense System
In some languages, verb tenses are not very important or do not even exist. In English, the
concept of tense is very important.
In this lesson we look at the idea behind tense, how to avoid confusing tense with time, and
the structure of the basic tenses, with examples using a regular verb, an irregular verb and the
verb be.
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 & Time for more about this)
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.
interrogative mood expresses a question
• Why do you like coffee?
imperative mood expresses a command
• Sit down!
subjunctive mood expresses what is imagined or wished or possible
• The President ordered that he attend the meeting.
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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.)
Tense & Time
It is important not to confuse the name of a verb tense with the way we use it to talk about
time.
For example, a present tense does not always refer to present time:
• I hope it rains tomorrow.

"rains" is present simple, but it refers here to future time (tomorrow)
Or a past tense does not always refer to past time:
• If I had some money now, I could buy it.

"had" is past simple but it refers here to present time (now)
The following examples show how different tenses can be used to talk about different times.
TIME
TENSE
past present future
I want a coffee. I leave tomorrow.

Present Simple
She likes coffee.
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I am taking my exam
I am having dinner.
next month.
Present Continuous
They are living in London.
Present Perfect
I have seen ET. I have finished.
Simple
I have been playing

Present Perfect tennis.
Continuous
We have been working for four hours.
If you came
I finished one hour If she loved you now,
Past Simple tomorrow, you would
ago. she would marry you.
see her.
I was working at
Past Continuous
2am this morning.
I had not eaten for

Past Perfect Simple
24 hours.
If I had been If I had been

Past Perfect We had been working now, I working tomorrow, I
Continuous working for 3 hours. would have missed could not have
you. agreed.
Hold on. I'll do it

Future Simple I'll see you tomorrow.
now.
I will be working at
Future Continuous
9pm tonight.
I will have finished

Future Perfect by 9pm tonight.
Simple
We will have been married for ten years next month.
They may be tired

when you arrive
Future Perfect because they will
Continuous have been working.
In 30 minutes, we will have been working for four hours.
Basic Tenses
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For past and present, there are 2 simple tenses + 6 complex tenses (using auxiliary verbs). To
these, we can add 4 "modal tenses" for the future (using modal auxiliary verbs will/shall).
This makes a total of 12 tenses in the active voice. Another 12 tenses are available in the
passive voice. So now we have 24 tenses.
24 Tenses past present future*
simple tenses past present future
complex tenses
formed with past perfect present perfect future perfect
auxiliary verbs
ACTIVE
past continuous present continuous future continuous
past perfect present perfect future perfect

continuous continuous continuous
past present future

PASSIVE
past continuous present continuous future continuous

continuous continuous continuous
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:
subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

An auxiliary verb is used in all tenses. (In the simple present and simple past tenses, the
auxiliary verb is usually suppressed for the affirmative, but it does exist for intensification.)
The following table shows the 12 tenses for the verb to work in the active voice.
structure
past present future*
auxiliary main verb
normal I worked I work I will work

simple
intensive do base I did work I do work
perfect have past participle I had I have I will have
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worked worked worked
present I was I am I will be

continuous be
participle -ing working working working
continuous have present I had been I have been I will have

perfect been participle -ing working working been working
* 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.
Basic Tenses: Regular Verb
This page shows the basic tenses with the regular verb work. It includes the affirmative or
positive form (+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?).
The basic structure is:
positive: + subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

negative: - subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb
question: ? auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:
base verb past past participle present participle -ing
work worked worked working
past present future
SIMPLE I did work I do work

do + base verb + I worked I work
I will work
(except future:
will + base verb) - I did not work I do not work I will not work
? Did I work? Do I work? Will I work?
SIMPLE PERFECT + I had worked I have worked I will have worked

have + past participle
I have not I will not have
- I had not worked
worked worked
? Had I worked? Have I worked? Will I have worked?
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CONTINUOUS + I was working I am working I will be working

be + ing
- I was not I am not working I will not be working
working
? Was I working? Am I working? Will I be working?
CONTINUOUS I had been I have been I will have been

PERFECT + working working working
have been + ing
I had not been I have not been I will not have been
- working working working
Had I been Have I been Will I have been

? working? working? working?
Basic Tenses: Irregular Verb
This page shows the basic tenses with the irregular verb sing. It includes the affirmative or
positive form (+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?).

These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:
base verb past past participle present participle -ing
sing sang sung singing
past present future
SIMPLE + I did sing I do sing I will sing

do + base verb I sang I sing
(except future:
will + base verb) + I did not sing I do not sing I will not sing
+ Did I sing? Do I sing? Will I sing?
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SIMPLE PERFECT + I had sung I have sung I will have sung

have + past participle
+ I had not sung I have not sung I will not have sung
+ Had I sung? Have I sung? Will I have sung?
CONTINUOUS + I was singing I am singing I will be singing

be + -ing
+ I was not singing I am not singing I will not be singing
+ Was I singing? Am I singing? Will I be singing?
CONTINUOUS + I had been I have been I will have been

PERFECT singing singing singing
have been + -ing
+ singing singing singing
+ Had I been Have I been Will I have been

singing? singing? singing?
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.
Basic Tenses: Be
This page shows the basic tenses with the verb be. It includes the affirmative or positive form
(+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?).

But for simple past and simple present tenses, the structure is not the same. In fact, it's
even easier. There is no auxiliary verb. Here is the structure:
positive: + subject + main verb

negative: - subject + main verb + not
question: ? main verb + subject
These are the forms of the main verb be that we use to construct the tenses:
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base past simple past participle present participle present simple
be was, were been being am, are, is
past present future
SIMPLE + I was I am I will be

present simple or
past simple - I was not I am not I will not be
(except future: will + be)
? Was I? Am I? Will I be?
+ I had been I have been I will have been

SIMPLE PERFECT
have + been - I had not been I have not been I will not have been
? Had I been? Have I been? Will I have been?
+ I was being I am being I will be being

CONTINUOUS
be + being - I was not being I am not being I will not be being
? Was I being? Am I being? Will I be being?
CONTINUOUS + I had been being I have been being I will have been
PERFECT being
have been + being
- being being being
? Had I been Have I been Will I have been

being? being? being?
In the following table, we see be conjugated for 12 basic tenses.
SIMPLE past present future
I was am will be
singular you were are will be
he/she/it was is will be
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we were are will be
plural you were are will be
they were are will be
PERFECT past present future
I had been have been will have been
singular you had been have been will have been
he/she/it had been has been will have been
we had been have been will have been
plural you had been have been will have been
they had been have been will have been
CONTINUOUS past present future
I was being am being will be being
singular you were being are being will be being
he/she/it was being is being will be being
we were being are being will be being
plural you were being are being will be being
they were being are being will be being
CONTINUOUS PERFECT past present future
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
Simple Present Tense
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I sing
How do we make the Simple Present Tense?

do base
There are three important exceptions:
1. For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.

2. For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the
auxiliary.
3. For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.
Look at these examples with the main verb like:
subject auxiliary verb main verb
I, you, we, they like coffee.

+
He, she, it likes coffee.
I, you, we, they do not like coffee.

-
He, she, it does not like coffee.
Do I, you, we, they like coffee?

?
Does he, she, it like coffee?
Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:
subject main verb
I am French.
+ You, we, they are French.
He, she, it is French.
I am not old.
- You, we, they are not old.
He, she, it is not old.
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Am I late?
? Are you, we, they late?
Is he, she, it late?
How do we use the Simple Present Tense?
We use the simple present tense when:
• the action is general

• the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future
• the action is not only happening now
• the statement is always true
John drives a taxi.

past present future
It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future.
• I live in New York.

• The Moon goes round the Earth.
• John drives a taxi.
• He does not drive a bus.
• We do not work at night.
• Do you play football?
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
The situation is now.
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I am not fat.
Why are you so beautiful?
Ram is tall.
past present future
The situation is general. Past, present and future.
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.
Present Continuous Tense
I am singing
We often use the present continuous tense in English. It is very different from the simple
present tense, both in structure and in use.
How do we make the Present Continuous Tense?
The structure of the present continuous tense is:

be base + ing
+ I am speaking to you.
+ You are reading this.
- She is not staying in London.
- We are not playing football.
? Is he watching TV?
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? Are they waiting for John?
How do we use the Present Continuous Tense?
We use the present continuous tense to talk about:
• action happening now

• action in the future
Present continuous tense for action happening now
a) for action happening exactly now
I am eating my lunch.
past present future
The action is happening 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.
b) for action happening around now
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.
John is going out with Mary.

past present future
The action is happening around now.
• Muriel is learning to drive.
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• I am living with my sister until I find an apartment.
Present continuous tense for the future
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.
I am taking my exam next month.

past present future
!!!
A firm plan or programme
The action is in the future.
exists now.
• We're eating in a restaurant tonight. We've already booked the table..

• They can play tennis with you tomorrow. They're not working.
• When are you starting your new job?
In these examples, we have a firm plan or programme before speaking. The decision and
plan were made before speaking.
How do we spell the Present Continuous Tense?
We make the present continuous tense by adding -ing to the base verb. Normally it's simple—
we just add -ing. But sometimes we have to change the word a little. Perhaps we double the
last letter, or we drop a letter. Here are the rules to help you know how to spell the present
continuous tense.
Basic rule Just add -ing to the base verb:
work > working
play > playing
assist > assisting
see > seeing
be > being
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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)
stop > stopping
run > running
begin > beginning
Note that this exception does not apply when the last syllable of the base verb
is not stressed:
open > opening
Exception 2 If the base verb ends in ie, change the ie to y:
lie > lying
die > dying
Exception 3 If the base verb ends in vowel + consonant + e, omit the e:
come > coming
mistake > mistaking
Present Perfect Tense
I have sung
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.
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!
How do we make the Present Perfect Tense?
The structure of the present perfect tense is:
Sethu

have past participle
Here are some examples of the present perfect tense:
+ I have seen ET.
+ You have eaten mine.
- She has not been to Rome.
- We have not played football.
? Have you finished?
? Have they done it?
Contractions with the present perfect tense
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
You have You've
He has He's
She has She's
It has It's
John has John's
The car has The car's
We have We've
They have They've
• I've finished my work.

• John's seen ET.
• They've gone home.
Sethu
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]
It is usually clear from the context.
How do we use the Present Perfect Tense?
This tense is called the present perfect tense. There is always a connection with the past and
with the present. There are basically three uses for the present perfect tense:
1. experience
2. change
3. continuing situation
1. Present perfect tense for experience
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:
I have seen ET.

He has lived in Bangkok.
Have you been there?
We have never eaten caviar.
past present future
!!!
The action or state was in the In my head, I have a memory
past. 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.
2. Present perfect tense for change
We also use the present perfect tense to talk about a change or new information:
I have bought a car.

past present future
Sethu
- +
Last week I didn't have a car. Now I have a car.
John has broken his leg.

past present future
+ -
Yesterday John had a good
Now he has a bad leg.
leg.
Has the price gone up?

past present future
+ -
Was the price $1.50
Is the price $1.70 today?
yesterday?
The police have arrested the killer.

past present future
- +
Yesterday the killer was free. Now he is in prison.
Connection with past: the past is the opposite of the present.
Connection with present: the present is the opposite of the past.
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?"
3. Present perfect tense for continuing situation
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.
Sethu
I have worked here since June.

He has been ill for 2 days.
How long have you known Tara?
past present future
The situation started in the (It will probably continue into

It continues up to now.
past. the future.)
Connection with past: the situation started in the past.

Connection with present: the situation continues in the present.
For & Since with Present Perfect Tense
We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.
• We use for to talk about a period of time—5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years.

• We use since to talk about a point in past time—9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday.
for since
a period of time a point in past time
·
20 minutes 6.15pm
three days Monday
6 months January
4 years 1994
2 centuries 1800
a long time I left school
ever the beginning of time
etc etc
Sethu
• I have been here for 20 minutes.

• I have been here since 9 o'clock.
• John hasn't called for 6 months.
• John hasn't called since February.
• He has worked in New York for a long time.
• He has worked in New York since he left school.
For can be used with all tenses. Since is usually used with perfect tenses only.
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
I have been singing
How do we make the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?
The structure of the present perfect continuous tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb + auxiliary verb + main verb

have
been base + ing
has
Here are some examples of the present perfect continuous tense:
subject auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main verb
+ I have been waiting for one hour.
+ You have been talking too much.
- It has not been raining.
- We have not been playing football.
? Have you been seeing her?
? Have they been doing their homework?
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.
I have been I've been
Sethu
You have been You've been
He has been He's been

She has been She's been
It has been It's been
John has been John's been
The car has been The car's been
We have been We've been
They have been They've been
• I've been reading.

• The car's been giving trouble.
• We've been playing tennis for two hours.
How do we use the Present Perfect Continuous Tense?
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:
1. An action that has just stopped or recently stopped
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.
I'm tired because I've been running.

past present future
!!!
Recent action. Result now.
• I'm tired [now] because I've been running.

• Why is the grass wet [now]? Has it been raining?
• You don't understand [now] because you haven't been listening.
2. An action continuing up to 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.
Sethu
I have been reading for 2 hours.

past present future
Action started in past. Action is continuing now.
• I have been reading for 2 hours. [I am still reading now.]

• We've been studying since 9 o'clock. [We're still studying now.]
• How long have you been learning English? [You are still learning now.]
• We have not been smoking. [And we are not smoking now.]
For and Since with Present Perfect Continuous Tense
We often use for and since with the present perfect tense.
• We use for to talk about a period of time—5 minutes, 2 weeks, 6 years.

• We use since to talk about a point in past time—9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday.
for since
a period of time a point in past time
·
20 minutes 6.15pm
three days Monday
6 months January
4 years 1994
2 centuries 1800
a long time I left school
ever the beginning of time
etc etc
• I have been studying for 3 hours.
Sethu
• I have been watching TV since 7pm.

• Tara hasn't been feeling well for 2 weeks.
• Tara hasn't been visiting us since March.
• He has been playing football for a long time.
• He has been living in Bangkok since he left school.
For can be used with all tenses. Since is usually used with perfect tenses only.
Simple Past Tense
I sang
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.
How do we make the Simple Past Tense?
To make the simple past tense, we use:
• past form only

or
• auxiliary did + base form
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
work worked worked The past form for all

regular
explode exploded exploded regular verbs ends in
verb
like liked liked -ed.
The past form for

go went gone
irregular irregular verbs is
see saw seen
verb variable. You need to
sing sang sung
learn it by heart.
You do not need the past

participle form to make the
simple past tense. It is shown here
for completeness only.
The structure for positive sentences in the simple past tense is:
subject + main verb
Sethu
past
The structure for negative sentences in the simple past tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb

did base
The structure for question sentences in the simple past tense is:
auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

did base
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:
I went to school.
+
You worked very hard.
She did not go with me.

-
We did not work yesterday.
Did you go to London?

?
Did they work at home?
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:
subject main verb
I, he/she/it was here.

+
You, we, they were in London.
I, he/she/it was not there.

-
You, we, they were not happy.
Was I, he/she/it right?

?
Were you, we, they late?
Sethu
How do we use the Simple Past Tense?
We use the simple past tense to talk about an action or a situation—an event—in the past. The
event can be short or long.
Here are some short events with the simple past tense:
The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.

She went to the door.
We did not hear the telephone.
Did you see that car?
past present future
The action is in the past.
Here are some long events with the simple past tense:
I lived in Bangkok for 10 years.

The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years.
We did not sing at the concert.
Did you watch TV last night?
past present future
The action is in the past.
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:
• the event is in the past

• the event is completely finished
• we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event
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.
Sethu
Here are some more examples:
• I lived in that house when I was young.

• He didn't like the movie.
• What did you eat for dinner?
• John drove to London on Monday.
• Mary did not go to work yesterday.
• Did you play tennis last week?
• I was at work yesterday.
• We were not late (for the train).
• Were you angry?
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..."
This page shows the use of the simple past tense to talk about past events. But note that there are some other
uses for the simple past tense, for example in conditional or if sentences.
Past Continuous Tense
I was singing
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.
How do we make the Past Continuous Tense?
The structure of the past continuous tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb BE + main verb

conjugated in simple past tense present participle
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:
Sethu
+ I was watching TV.
+ You were working hard.
- He, she, it was not helping Mary.
- We were not joking.
? Were you being silly?
? Were they playing football?
How do we use the Past Continuous Tense?
The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action
started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I
watched a film on TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm.
At 8pm yesterday, I was watching TV.

past present future
8pm
At 8pm, I was in the middle

of watching TV.
When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time
we are talking about. Look at these examples:
• I was working at 10pm last night.

• They were not playing football at 9am this morning.
• What were you doing at 10pm last night?
• What were you doing when he arrived?
• She was cooking when I telephoned her.
• We were having dinner when it started to rain.
• Ram went home early because it was snowing.
Some verbs cannot be used in continuous/progressive tenses.
Sethu
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..."
Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense
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.
In the following example, we have two actions:
1. long action (watching TV), expressed with past continuous tense

2. short action (telephoned), expressed with simple past tense
past present future
Long action.
I was watching TV at 8pm.

8pm
You telephoned at 8pm.
Short action.
We can join these two actions with when:
• I was watching TV when you telephoned.
(Notice that "when you telephoned" is also a way of defining the time [8pm].)
We use:
• when + short action (simple past tense)

• while + long action (past continuous tense)
There are four basic combinations:
I was walking past the car when it exploded.
When the car exploded I was walking past it.
The car exploded while I was walking past it.
Sethu
While I was walking past the car it exploded.
Notice that the long action and short action are relative.
• "Watching TV" took a few hours. "Telephoned" took a few seconds.

• "Walking past the car" took a few seconds. "Exploded" took a few milliseconds.
Past Perfect Tense
I had sung
The past perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and to use. This tense talks about
the "past in the past".
How do we make the Past Perfect Tense?
The structure of the past perfect tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb HAVE + main verb

conjugated in simple past tense past participle
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:
+ I had finished my work.
+ You had stopped before me.
- She had not gone to school.
- We had not left.
? Had you arrived?
? Had they eaten dinner?
Sethu
When speaking with the past perfect tense, we often contract the subject and auxiliary verb:
I had I'd
you had you'd
he had he'd
she had she'd
it had it'd
we had we'd
they had they'd
The 'd contraction is also used for the auxiliary verb would. For example, we'd can mean:
• We had
or
• We would
But usually the main verb is in a different form, for example:
• We had arrived (past participle)

• We would arrive (base)
It is always clear from the context.
How do we use the Past Perfect Tense?
The past perfect tense expresses action in the past before another action in the past. This is
the past in the past. For example:
• The train left at 9am. We arrived at 9.15am. When we arrived, the train had left.
The train had left when we arrived.

past present future
Train leaves in past at 9am.
9 9.15
We arrive in past at 9.15am.
Look at some more examples:
Sethu
• I wasn't hungry. I had just eaten.

• They were hungry. They had not eaten for five hours.
• I didn't know who he was. I had never seen him before.
• "Mary wasn't at home when I arrived."
"Really? Where had she gone?"
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.
past perfect tense present perfect tense

had | have |
done | done |
>| >|
past now future past now future
For example, imagine that you arrive at the station at 9.15am. The stationmaster says to you:
• "You are too late. The train has left."
Later, you tell your friends:
• "We were too late. The train had left."
We often use the past perfect tense in reported speech after verbs like said, told, asked,
thought, wondered:
• He told us that the train had left.

• I thought I had met her before, but I was wrong.
• He explained that he had closed the window because of the rain.
• I wondered if I had been there before.
• I asked them why they had not finished.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
I had been singing
How do we make the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?
The structure of the past perfect continuous tense is:
auxiliary verb auxiliary verb

subject + + + main verb
HAVE BE
Sethu
conjugated in simple past past participle present

tense participle
been
had base + ing
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:
+ I had been working.
+ You had been playing tennis.
- It had not been working well.
- We had not been expecting her.
? Had you been drinking?
? Had they been waiting long?
When speaking with the past perfect continuous tense, we often contract the subject and first
auxiliary verb:
I had been I'd been
you had been you'd been
he had he'd been

she had been she'd been
it had been it'd been
we had been we'd been
they had been they'd been
How do we use the Past Perfect Continuous Tense?
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:
Sethu
• Ram started waiting at 9am. I arrived at 11am. When I arrived, Ram had been
waiting for two hours.
Ram had been waiting for two hours when I arrived.

past present future
Ram starts waiting in past at

9am.
9 11
I arrive in past at 11am.
Here are some more examples:
• John was very tired. He had been running.

• I could smell cigarettes. Somebody had been smoking.
• Suddenly, my car broke down. I was not surprised. It had not been running well for a
long time.
• Had the pilot been drinking before the crash?
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.
past perfect continuous tense present perfect continuous tense

had | | | have |
been | | | been |
doing | | | doing |
>>>> | | | >>>> |
For example, imagine that you meet Ram at 11am. Ram says to you:
• "I am angry. I have been waiting for two hours."
Later, you tell your friends:
• "Ram was angry. He had been waiting for two hours."
Simple Future Tense
I will sing
The simple future tense is often called will, because we make the simple future tense with
the modal auxiliary will.
Sethu
How do we make the Simple Future Tense?
The structure of the simple future tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb WILL + main verb

invariable base
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:
+ I will open the door.
+ You will finish before me.
- She will not be at school tomorrow.
- We will not leave yet.
? Will you arrive on time?
? Will they want dinner?
When we use the simple future tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary
verb:
I will I'll
you will you'll
he will he'll
she will she'll
it will it'll
we will we'll
they will they'll
Sethu
For negative sentences in the simple future tense, we contract with won't, like this:
I will not I won't
you will not you won't
he will not he won't

she will not she won't
it will not it won't
we will not we won't
they will not they won't
How do we use the Simple Future Tense?

No Plan
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:
• Hold on. I'll get a pen.

• We will see what we can do to help you.
• Maybe we'll stay in and watch television tonight.
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:
• I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow.

• I think I will have a holiday next year.
• I don't think I'll buy that car.
Prediction
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:
• It will rain tomorrow.

• People won't go to Jupiter before the 22nd century.
• Who do you think will get the job?
Be
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:
• I'll be in London tomorrow.
Sethu
• I'm going shopping. I won't be very long.

• Will you be at work tomorrow?
Note that when we have a plan or intention to do something in the future, we usually use other tenses or
expressions, such as the present continuous tense or going to.
Future Continuous Tense
I will be singing
How do we make the Future Continuous Tense?
The structure of the future continuous tense is:
auxiliary verb auxiliary verb

subject + + + main verb
WILL BE
invariable invariable present
participle
will be
base + ing
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:
+ I will be working at 10am.
+ You will be lying on a beach tomorrow.
- She will not be using the car.
- We will not be having dinner at home.
? Will you be playing football?
? Will they be watching TV?
When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and will:
I will I'll
Sethu
you will you'll
he will he'll
she will she'll
it will it'll
we will we'll
they will they'll
For spoken negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we contract with won't, like
this:
I will not I won't

We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we.
How do we use the Future Continuous Tense?
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:
At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working.

past present future
4pm
At 4pm, I will be in the

middle of working.
When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what
time we are talking about. Look at these examples:
• I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow.
Sethu
• They won't be watching TV at 9pm tonight.

• What will you be doing at 10pm tonight?
• What will you be doing when I arrive?
• She will not be sleeping when you telephone her.
• We 'll be having dinner when the film starts.
• Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return.
Future Perfect Tense
I will have sung
The future perfect tense is quite an easy tense to understand and use. The future perfect
tense talks about the past in the future.
How do we make the Future Perfect Tense?
The structure of the future perfect tense is:
auxiliary verb auxiliary verb main

subject + + +
WILL HAVE verb
invariable invariable past
participle
will have
V3
Look at these example sentences in the future perfect tense:
+ I will have finished by 10am.
+ You will have forgotten me by then.
- She will not have gone to school.
- We will not have left.
? Will you have arrived?
? Will they have received it?
Sethu
In speaking with the future perfect tense, we often contract the subject and will. Sometimes,
we contract the subject, will and have all together:
I will have I'll have I'll've
you will have you'll have you'll've
he will have he'll have he'll've

she will have she'll have she'll've
it will have it'll have it'll've
we will have we'll have we'll've
they will have they'll have they'll've
We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we.
How do we use the Future Perfect Tense?
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.
The train will have left when you arrive.

past present future
Train leaves in future at 9am.
9 9.15
You arrive in future at

9.15am.
Look at some more examples:
• 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:
Sethu
present perfect tense future perfect tense

| will |
have | have |
done | done |
>| >|
Future Perfect Continuous Tense
I will have been singing
How do we make the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?
The structure of the future perfect continuous tense is:
auxiliary auxiliary
auxiliary main
subject + verb + verb + +
verb BE verb
WILL HAVE
invariable invariable past participle present
participle
will have been
base + ing
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:
auxiliary auxiliary auxiliary main

subject
verb verb verb verb
for four
+ I will have been working
hours.
+ You will have been travelling for two days.
- She will not have been using the car.
- We will not have been waiting long.
? Will you have been playing football?
Sethu
? Will they have been watching TV?
When we use the future perfect continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject
and auxiliary verb:
I will I'll
you will you'll
he will he'll
she will she'll
it will it'll
we will we'll
they will they'll
For negative sentences in the future perfect continuous tense, we contract with won't, like
this:
I will not I won't

How do we use the Future Perfect Continuous Tense?
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.
Modal Verbs (modal auxiliaries)

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").
Can, Could, Be able to
Sethu
Can and could are modal auxiliary verbs. Be able to is NOT an auxiliary verb (it uses the
verb be as a main verb). We include be able to here for convenience.
Can
Can is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use can to:
• talk about possibility and ability

• make requests
• ask for or give permission
Structure of Can
subject + can + main verb

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").
+ I can play tennis.
cannot
- He play tennis.
can't
? Can you play tennis?
Notice that:
• Can is invariable. There is only one form of can.

• The main verb is always the bare infinitive.
The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to"). We cannot say:
Use of Can
can: Possibility and Ability
We use can to talk about what is possible, what we are able or free to do:
• She can drive a car.

• John can speak Spanish.
• I cannot hear you. (I can't hear you.)
• Can you hear me?
Sethu
Normally, we use can for the present. But it is possible to use can when we make present
decisions about future ability.
A. Can you help me with my homework? (present)

B. Sorry. I'm busy today. But I can help you tomorrow. (future)
can: Requests and Orders
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 you make a cup of coffee, please.

• Can you put the TV on.
• Can you come here a minute.
• Can you be quiet!
can: Permission
We sometimes use can to ask or give permission for something:
A. Can I smoke in this room?

B. You can't smoke here, but you can smoke in the garden.
(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:
• talk about past possibility or ability

• make requests
Structure of Could
subject + could + main verb

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").
+ My grandmother could swim.
could not
- She walk.
couldn't
Sethu
? Could your grandmother swim?
Notice that:
• Could is invariable. There is only one form of could.

• The main verb is always the bare infinitive.
The main verb is always the bare infinitive. We cannot say:
Use of Could
could: Past Possibility or Ability
We use could to talk about what was possible in the past, what we were able or free to do:
• I could swim when I was 5 years old.

• My grandmother could speak seven languages.
• When we arrived home, we could not open the door. (...couldn't open the door.)
• Could you understand what he was saying?
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
General Specific Occasion
My grandmother could speak A man fell into the river yesterday. The police were
+ Spanish. able to save him.
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):
• Could you tell me where the bank is, please?

• Could you send me a catalogue, please?
Be able to
Sethu
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:
• to talk about ability
Structure of Be able to
The structure of be able to is:
subject + be + able + infinitive
be able
subject main verb adjective infinitive
+ I am able to drive.
is not
- She able to drive.
isn't
? Are you able to drive?
Notice that be able to is possible in all tenses, for example:
• I was able to drive...

• I will be able to drive...
• I have been able to drive...
Notice too that be able to has an infinitive form:
• I would like to be able to speak Chinese.
Use of Be able to
be able to: ability
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:
• I have been able to swim since I was five. (present perfect)
Sethu
• You will be able to speak perfect English very soon. (future simple)
• I would like to be able to fly an airplane. (infinitive)
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.
Have to
Must, Must not/Mustn't
Must is a modal auxiliary verb.
Have to is NOT an auxiliary verb (it uses the verb have as a main verb). We include have to
here for convenience.
Have to (objective obligation)
We often use have to to say that something is obligatory, for example:
• Children have to go to school.
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:
subject + auxiliary verb + have + infinitive (with to)

Look at these examples in the simple tense:
subject auxiliary verb main verb have infinitive (with to)
+ She has to work.
- I do not have to see the doctor.
? Did you have to go to school?
Use of Have to
In general, have to expresses impersonal obligation. The subject of have to is obliged or

forced to act by a separate, external power (for example, the Law or school rules). Have to is
objective. Look at these examples:
• In France, you have to drive on the right.

• In England, most schoolchildren have to wear a uniform.
Sethu
• John has to wear a tie at work.
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:
subject auxiliary verb main verb have infinitive
past simple I had to work yesterday.
present simple I have to work today.
future simple I will have to work tomorrow.
present continuous She is having to wait.
present perfect We have had to change the time.
modal (may) They may have to do it again.
Must (subjective obligation)
We often use must to say that something is essential or necessary, for example:
• I must go.
Structure of Must
Must is a modal auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb. The structure is:
subject + must + main verb

The main verb is the base verb (infinitive without "to").
subject auxiliary must main verb
I must go home.
You must visit us.
We must stop now.
Like all auxiliary verbs, must CANNOT be followed by to. So, we say:
Sethu
• 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:
• I must stop smoking.

• You must visit us soon.
• He must work harder.
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.
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:
• I must go now. (present)

• I must call my mother tomorrow. (future)
We cannot use must to talk about the past. We use have to to talk about the past.
Must not, Mustn't (prohibition)
We use must not to say that something is not permitted or allowed, for example:
• Passengers must not talk to the driver.
Structure of Must not
Must is an auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb. The structure for must not is:
subject + must not + main verb

The main verb is the base verb (infinitive without "to").
Must not is often contracted to mustn't.
subject auxiliary must + not main verb
Sethu
I mustn't forget my keys.
You mustn't disturb him.
Students must not be late.
NB: like all auxiliary verbs, must CANNOT be followed by "to". So, we say:
• You mustn't arrive late. (not You mustn't to arrive late.)
Use of Must not
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:
• I mustn't eat so much sugar. (subjective)

• You mustn't watch so much television. (subjective)
• Students must not leave bicycles here. (objective)
• Policemen must not drink on duty. (objective)
We can use must not to talk about the present or the future:
• Visitors must not smoke. (present)

• I mustn't forget Tara's birthday. (future)
We cannot use must not to talk about the past. We use other structures to talk about the past,
for example:
• We were not allowed to enter.

• I couldn't park outside the shop.
Shall versus Will
People may sometimes tell you that there is no difference between shall and will, or even that
today nobody uses shall (except in offers such as "Shall I call a taxi?"). This is not really true.
The difference between shall and will is often hidden by the fact that we usually contract
them in speaking with 'll. But the difference does exist.
The truth is that there are two conjugations for the verb will:
1st Conjugation (objective, simple statement of fact)
Person Verb Example Contraction
Sethu
I shall I shall be in London tomorrow. I'll
Singular you will You will see a large building on the left. You'll
he, she, it will He will be wearing blue. He'll
we shall We shall not be there when you arrive. We shan't
Plural you will You will find his office on the 7th floor. You'll
they will They will arrive late. They'll
2nd Conjugation (subjective, strong assertion, promise or command)
Person Verb Example Contraction
I will I will do everything possible to help. I'll
Singular you shall You shall be sorry for this. You'll
he, she, it shall It shall be done. It'll
we will We will not interfere. We won't
Plural you shall You shall do as you're told. You'll
they shall They shall give one month's notice. They'll
It is true that this difference is not universally recognized. However, let those who make
assertions such as "People in the USA never use 'shall'" peruse a good USA English
dictionary, or many USA 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:
• I should be grateful if you would kindly send me your latest catalogue.
Sethu

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What is Grammar?.....................................................................................................................

3. Present perfect tense for continuing situation..................................................................70

Structure of Be able to..........................................................................................................97

Grammar is the system of a language. People sometimes describe grammar as the

Glossary of English Grammar Terms

English Parts of Speech

Parts of Speech Table

part of speech function or "job" example words example sentences

Verb action or state (to) be, have, do, EnglishClub.com is a web

Noun thing or person pen, dog, work, This is my dog. He lives in

Adverb describes a verb, quickly, silently, My dog eats quickly. When

What are Verbs?

• action (Ram plays football.)

• to work, work, works, worked, working

We divide verbs into two broad classifications:

Imagine that a stranger walks into your room and says:

helping verb main verb

John likes coffee.

You lied to me.

They are happy.

The children are playing.

I do not want any.

Primary helping verbs (3 verbs)

Modal helping verbs (10 verbs)

Here are examples using modal verbs:

• I can't speak Chinese.

Semi-modal verbs (3 verbs)

Transitive and intransitive verbs

• Mary is a teacher. (mary = teacher)

Dynamic and stative verbs

dynamic verbs (examples):

• hit, explode, fight, run, go

stative verbs (examples):

Regular and irregular verbs

regular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

• look, looked, looked

irregular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

• buy, bought, bought

Here are lists of regular verbs and irregular verbs.

Forms of Main Verbs

regular (to) work work worked worked working works

(to) sing sing sang sung singing sings

(to) do* do did done doing does

In the above examples:

• to cut has 4 forms: to cut, cut, cutting, cuts

These example sentences use main verbs in different forms.

Base - Present simple

Base - After modal auxiliary verbs

• I can work tomorrow.

• You must sing louder.

• I have worked here for five years.

3rd person singular, present simple

Forms of Helping Verbs

(to make simple tenses, and questions

(to make continuous tenses, and the

have (to make perfect tenses) will would

"Do", "be" and "have" as helping verbs have

"Ought" is followed by the main verb in

What are Nouns?

• person: man, woman, teacher, John, Mary

Another (more complicated) way of recognizing a noun is by its:

• -ity > nationality

We can often recognise a noun by its position in the sentence.