Grammar review: rule-example(s) Flashcards
We use the present continuous to talk about particular events or activities that have begun but have not ended at the time of speaking. The event or activity is in progress at the present time, but not necessarily at the moment of speaking.
‘Who are you phoning?’ ‘I’m trying to get through to Helen.’
We use the present continuous to suggest that an event or activity is or may be temporary.
She’s doing voluntary work with young children until she starts her university course.
We use the present simple with verbs describing states or situations that are always true or continue indefinitely.
Trees grow more quickly in summer than in winter.
We use the present simple with states or situations (thoughts, feelings) that exist at the present moment.
This cake tastes wonderful. Where did you buy it?
We use the present simple to talk about habits or regular events or actions.
Do you go to Turkey every year for your holidays?
We use the past simple to refer to a completed action or event in the past or to talk about situations that existed over a period of time in the past, but not now. We can either say when something happened, using a time adverbial (e.g. a few minutes ago), or assume that the listener or reader already knows when it happened or can understand this from the context.
Kathy left a few minutes ago.
Jim continued the course even though it was proving very difficult.
We use the past simple to talk about repeated past actions.
I saw my grandparents every week as a child.
We use the present perfect to talk about a past action, event or state, when there is some kind of connection between what happened in the past, and the present time.
Often we are interested in the way something that happened in the past affects or is relevant to the situation that exists now. However, the connection with the present may also be that the action happened recently with a consequence for the present, that it continues until the present time, or that a repeated event in the past may (or may not) happen again.
We can’t have a meeting, because so few people have shown any interest.
My ceiling has fallen in and the kitchen is flooded. Come quickly!
We have belonged to the tennis club since we moved here.
Lee has represented his country on many occasions, and hopes to go on to compete in
the next Olympics.
We use the past continuous to talk about a situation (…I was looking at him…) that started before a particular point in the past (he turned away) and was still in progress at that point.
When he realised I was looking at him, he turned away.
We use the past perfect to talk about a past event that took place before another past event, or before or up to a particular time in the past.
When I went into the bathroom, I found that the bath had overflowed.
By 10 o’clock most people had gone home.
We use the present perfect continuous to talk about an activity in progress in the past for a period until now, which is still in progress or has recently finished.
Since the operation two months ago, Joe has been learning to walk again. He can already
take one or two steps unaided.
Your eyes are red - have you been crying?
We use the past perfect continuous to talk about a situation or activity that was in progress over a period up to a particular past point in time.
When I saw the vase in the shop window, I knew it was exactly what I had been looking for.
We use will when we state a decision made at the moment of speaking and when we say that we think something is likely to happen in the future.
It’s late. I think I’ll go to bed now.
I think you’ll enjoy the film.
We use will (or ‘ll) when we talk about willingness to do something in the future (e.g. in offers, invitations, requests, and orders) and will not (or won’t) when we talk about unwillingness to do something in the future (e.g. reluctance, refusal).
I’ll make one of my special desserts for dinner, if you like a I’ve asked her to join us this evening, but she won’t.
We use be going to when we state a decision made some time before we report it. Going to is often preferred in informal spoken English (where it is often pronounced /gǝnǝ/) and will is preferred in more formal contexts.
‘Has anybody offered to look after the children?’ ‘Jo’s going to do it.”
We use the present simple to talk about future events that are part of some official arrangement such as a timetable or programme. A time expression is usually used with the present simple for the future (..at 3.45) unless the time referred to is already clear from the context.
The next train to Newcastle leaves at 3.45. (station announcement)
We use the present continuous to talk about future activities and events that are intended or have already been arranged. Usually a personal pronoun is used (We…) and a future time is mentioned (..next Saturday) or already understood.
We’re having a party next Saturday. Can you come?
We use the future continuous to talk about an activity or event happening at particular time or over a particular period in the future. We usually mention the future time (After the operation…).
After the operation you won’t be doing any sport for a while.
When we say that someone or something has or doesn’t have the ability to do something, we use can(‘t) (for the present) or could(n’t) (for the past).
A polyglot is someone who can speak several different languages.
Anita could speak three languages before she was six.
Martha couldn’t swim until she was ten.
We can use be able to instead of can or could to talk about ability. We prefer be able to when we talk about a specific achievement (particularly if it is difficult, requiring some effort) rather than a general ability. Where there is a choice, in speech we generally prefer can or could rather than be able to.
‘Why isn’t Tim here yet?’ ‘It could be because his mother’s ill again.’
We use could, not can, to say there is a possibility of something happening or being true.
Despite yesterday’s snowfalls, we were able to drive home in less than an hour.
We use will be able to, not can, to say that something is possible in the future on condition that something is done first.
After the trees have been cut back, we will be able to see more of the garden from the
sitting room.
We use can for the present or the future and could for the past to report permission. We can also use be allowed to.
We can/are allowed to stay up late on Fridays and Saturdays because we don’t have to
go to school the next day.
We use will and will not (won’t) to talk about (un)willingness and also to make offers, requests, refusals, and to give instructions.
Will/Won’t you have another biscuit? (Won’t you…?’ is a very polite and rather formal
offer).
‘John wants to borrow the car.” ‘He will not.’ (a firm refusal)
You will now put your pens down and pay attention. (a firm instruction)
We can use would to make a prediction about an imaginary situation; that is, about something that may or may not happen.
You should apply for the job. You would have a good chance of getting it.
We can use ‘Would you like…’ when we make an offer, but not ‘Will you like…’. In requests, too, we can say ‘I would like…’, but nor ‘I will like..’. We can use should (with I or we) instead of would in requests like this, but this is formal.
Would you like me to get you some water?
To talk about things that happened repeatedly in the past, but don’t happen now, we can use would or used to + infinitive. Used to is more common in informal English. We can use used to but not would to talk about permanent past states. Notice how we normally make questions and negatives with use to in spoken English: ‘Did your children use to sleep well when they were babies?”; ‘I didn’t use to like visiting the dentist when I was young.’ Many people avoid using used to in questions and negatives without do (‘Used you to…?”, ‘I usedn’t to…) and in question tags (…, usedn’t you?) because it sounds very formal and old-fashioned.
We would/used to lend him money when he was unemployed.
I used to live in a flat in Paris.
In affirmative sentences (that is, sentences which are not questions or negatives) we use may, might, or could with a similar meaning to say that there is a possibility of something happening or being true. Can is not used in this way. We sometimes prefer could to show that we are giving an opinion about which we are unsure. We use may/might/could + have + past participle to say that it is possible that something happened in the past.
If the drought goes on much longer, there may/might/could be water rationing before the
end of the month.
Her parents may/might/could have influenced her decision to resign.
In negative sentences, including sentences with words like only, hardly, or never, we use may not or might not to say it is possible that something is not true, and can’t or couldn’t to say that it is not possible that something is true.
‘While we’re in Leeds shall we go and see Mark?’ “But it’s been nearly 20 years since we last saw him. He may not/might not remember us.’
I think I saw her go out, so she can’t/couldn’t be at home.
May (not ‘might”) is used in formal contexts to say that something is allowed. May not is used to say that things are not allowed (e.g. Calculators may not be used in the examination).
Coats may be left in the cloakroom.
When we say that it is necessary to do something, we use must or have (got) to. Sometimes it doesn’t matter which we use, although have got to is less formal than either must or have to and is particularly common in spoken English. However, we use must when we want to indicate that the speaker decides that something is necessary and we use have (got) to to suggest that someone else or some outside circumstances or authority makes something necessary.
That’s really good news. I must tell Steve straight away.
‘Can we meet on Thursday morning?’ ‘Sorry, no. I have to go to the dentist at 11.00.’
We normally use must, not have (got) to, when we conclude that something (has) happened or that something is true.
She was bruised quite badly in the accident. It must hurt a lot.
When we give a negative conclusion we rarely use must not or have (got) to. Instead, we use can’t (cannot) or couldn’t.
‘I’m seeing Dr Evans next week.’ “That can’t be right. He’s on holiday then.’
To say that something was necessary in the past we use had to, not must.
When I went to school I had to learn Latin.
We use needn’t (or don’t need to) or don’t have to to say that something is not necessary and mustn’t to say that something is not allowed.
He didn’t cook the meal himself so you needn’t/don’t have to eat it all. He won’t be
offended.
You mustn’t put anything on the shelves until the glue has set hard.
When we say that it was not necessary to do something in the past, and it wasn’t done, we use didn’t need to or didn’t have to. To show that we think something that was done was not in fact necessary we use need not (needn’t) have.
I didn’t have to/didn’t need to have an interview because I’d worked there before.
I needn’t have cooked dinner. Just as it was ready, Chris and June phoned to say that they couldn’t come to eat.
We can often use should or ought to with little difference in meaning when we talk about obligation (e.g. in giving advice, making recommendations, or talking about a responsibility, and the probability of something happening or being true.
You’ll catch cold if you go out like that. I think you should/ought to take a hat.
I enjoyed her first novel, so the new one should/ought to be good.
(Be) supposed to can be used instead of should/ought to to express a less strong obligation than should. It is also used to report what many people think is true, but should/ought to are not used in this way.
The work was supposed to start/should have started/ought to have started last week.
Walking under a ladder is supposed to be unlucky.
Passive verb forms have one of the tenses of the verb to be and a past participle. The choice between an active and passive sentence allows us to present the same information in two different orders.
Compare:
active * The storm damaged the roof. - This sentence is about the storm, and says what it did. The subject (The storm) is the ‘agent’ and the object (the roof) is the ‘done to’.
passive * The roof was damaged. * The roof was damaged by the storm. - These sentences are about the roof and say what happened to it (in the first sentence) and what did it (in the second). The subject (The roof) is the ‘done to’. If it is mentioned, the agent (the storm) goes in a prepositional phrase with by after the verb.
Verbs which take an object (transitive verbs) can have a passive form (…was destroyed). Verbs which do not take an object (intransitive verbs) do not have passive forms (The child vanished.., but not ‘The child was vanished…”).
However, many verbs can be used at different times with and without objects - that is, they can be both transitive and intransitive. Compare: ‘Are they meeting him at the airport?’ (transitive) and Is he being met at the airport?’ (passive); When shall we meet?’ (intransitive; no passive possible)
The building survived the earthquake but then was destroyed by a fire.
In spoken language we often use get + past participle (..didn’t get picked…) instead of a passive form (wasn’t picked…) to talk about actions or events that we see as negative. Note, however, that we can also use it to talk about positive actions and events (e.g. Great news - I got picked for the team again!). We don’t normally use get + past participle to describe states.
I’m really disappointed. I didn’t get picked/wasn’t picked for the team again.
The house was owned by an elderly couple before I bought it.
If we use what, which, who or whose as the subject, we don’t use do in the question. However, notice that we can sometimes use do when what, which, who or whose is the subject if we want to add emphasis, or to contrast with what has been said or implied. Do is stressed in spoken English: “Come on, be honest - who did tell you?’ Don’t confuse whose with who’s (short for either who is or who has), which are pronounced the same.
What happened to your eye?
In these questions the wh-word is the object. We prefer which when we are asking about an identified group or range of things or people, and we use what when the possible range of reference is open. Sometimes, however, we can use either which or what with little difference in meaning (e.g. What/Which towns do we go through on the way?).
I’ve got orange juice or apple juice. Which would you prefer?
He just turned away when I asked him. What do you think he meant?
We can use negative yes/no or wh-questions to make a suggestion, to persuade someone, to criticize, or to show that we are surprised, etc. We make a negative yes/no or wh-question with an auxiliary verb (have, did, would, etc.) + -n’t. We can also ask a negative question using a negative statement and a positive ‘tag’ at the end (e.g. We don’t have to leave just yet, do we?). Negative questions can be used to sound polite when giving an opinion (e.g. Shouldn’t we offer her a lift?)
Haven’t you finished your homework yet?
Why didn’t she pay for the meal?
Who wouldn’t like to own an expensive sports car?
Some verbs are followed by an object (…the attacker…). These are called transitive verbs. Other verbs that are usually transitive include arrest, avoid, do, enjoy, find, force, get, grab, hit, like, pull, report, shock, take, touch, want, warn. Some verbs (e.g. arrive in ‘They arrived at the restaurant an hour late.’) are not usually followed by an object. These are called intransitive verbs. Other verbs that are usually intransitive include appear, come, fall, go, happen, matter, sleep, swim, wait. If a verb can’t be followed by an object, it can’t be made passive. Some verbs (e.g. give in ‘He gave me a biscuit.’) are commonly followed by two objects (me and a biscuit). Other verbs that are commonly followed by two objects include lend, offer, pay, sell, tell, throw.
A good dictionary will list the meanings of verbs and for each meaning tell you whether each meaning is intransitive, transitive and, if transitive, whether it is followed by one or by two objects.
Many verbs can be followed by another verb in the form of a to-infinitive (e.g. refuse to eat), -ing (e.g. avoid working), bare infinitive (e.g. help carry). Note that when to comes after a verb it can be part of a to-infinitive (= to + the base form of a verb; e.g. He wants to go, She hopes to win) or it can be a preposition followed by a noun phrase (e.g. He went to the theatre) or by an -ing form (e.g. He admitted to having a gun). An -ing form often behaves like an object (e.g. I regret leaving).
She described the attacker to the police.
They arrived at the restaurant an hour late.
He gave me a biscuit.
Verb + to-infinitive
They won’t agree to pay for the damage.
