FACULTY OF HUMAN AD SOCIAL SCIENCES

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

GRAMMAR (FIRST YEAR I FIRST SEMESTER)

INTRODUCTION

Grammar is a yearly

course

which targets first-year students. It is a two-hour

integrated courseffD which introduces the theoretical grounds on which practical

courses will draw. The course deals with the fundamental structures of English.
OBJECTIVES

One

of the

main

objectives

of this

course

is

analyzing/identifying

the

components/structures of the system/grammar. The other aim is to draw attention

to how this system functions to express meaning and communicate. Grammar is

form and function. By the end of the course, students will hopefully be capable of
ju stifying the g rammaticality/ungrammaticality of some practices. Students will
use

grammar structures accurately, meaningfully and appropriately.

REQUIREMENTS

Students are required to attend courses regularly. They should perform the
assigned tasks. Class participation (asking/answering questions) is encouraged.
Extra-work is appreciated.

COURSE OUTLINE
First Semester:
:.;... The tense I aspect system (presentation)
The Simple aspect: Simple Present, Simple Past

The Perfect aspect: Present Perfect, Past Perfect

The Progressive aspect: Present Progressive, Past Progressive
The Perfect Progressive Aspect: Present Perfect Progressive, Past Perfect
Progres s iv e
The future: Course part
The future : Practice
Modal ity : Introduction/ general features
Prac tice : The realizations of modal meanings
Mock Exam + more practice
Sttond Semester:

of Speech: the subject, the verb, the object

)..- The subject-verb agreement: troublesome cases
).. Adjectives and Adverbs
Parts

}.>- Articles

Quantifiers
Preposition s
Mock Exam + more practice

Part I The Tense and Aspect System: Present and Past tenses

is a form of a verb used to indicate the time, points in a sequence preceding

or following a central point (present) and sometimes the continuation or
completeness of an action in relation to the time of speaking.
Tense:

expresses a feature of the action related to time, an angle of vision of

the event, such as completion or duration.

Aspect:

The system is made of two tenses (Present and Past) multiplied by their four
aspects ( Simple, Perfect, Progressive and Perfect progressive)
'be', 'have', and 'do' can be used as:

in a sentence. Ex: My brother is still at school. I We hae

lunch at about one O'clock. I I usually do my homework in my bedroom.
Auxiliary verbs to form tenses, questions and negative forms:
The main verb

i. We use be + verb + ing to form progressive tenses.

- Present Progressive Ex:
- Past Progressive Ex:
ii.

We use

He's studying to become a doctor.

I was talking to Charles the other day.

have/ has/ had + past participle

- Present Perfect Ex:

- Past Perfect Ex:

to form

perfect tenses.

We've been here for three months.

The film had started when we got there.

iii. Auxiliary verbs used in questions and negatives:

We use

do in simple tenses

- Simple Present Ex:

- Simple Past Ex:

(in the

question and negative forms).

Does all your family live round here?

I didn't get your e-mail.

- In progressive and perfect tenses questions are formed by inverting the subject
and auxiliary verb. Ex: Is he studying to become a doctor? I How long have your
brother and sister lived here?
3

are formed by adding not to the verb. We often shorten this to n 't. Ex:
She is not working. I She isn't working. I He has not come home. I He hasn't come
home.
- Negatives

iv. Auxiliaries are used on their own:

a.

In short answers: -Have you been here before?/ Yes, I have.

-Does your family live in Paris?/ -My father

does,

but my mother doesn't.

b. In question tags: My brother's gone to live in Australia. Hasn't he?

Provide

example

sentences

to

illustrate

the

following

terms.

Underline the pertinent word (s) in your examples:

a. Simple Present: .... ................................... ......................................

b.Present Progressive : .
.

. . .

. ... .
. .

. . . . . . . . . . .

.. .
.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .

c.Present Perfect: .................................................................................

d. Present Perfect Progressive: ............ ................................... ...............

e. Simple Past: ........ ........................................................................

.Past Progressive: .......................... ........ .. .........................................

Past Perfect:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Past Perfect Progressive: ...................................................................

Identify the tenses and aspects combined in the following sentences.

-I am coming with you .. . . . . ...................................................................

-He was strolling slowly down the lane. ...................................................

-She has bought a new car. ..................................................................

- She had once lived with a member of the government. ...............................

-We have been visiting my grandmother who is in hospital. .............................

- He had been drinking heavily before the accident. ....................................

The English Tense and Aspect System

The Simple Aspect: (Simple Present I Simple Past)
It conveys immediate factuality. It states facts,
events, states that are. Events are complete and neither further development nor
change is suggested. lt stands in contrast to the Progressive Aspect. Ex: Computers
are useful. I 1 love roses. I It's an ugly scene.
The Simple Present Tense:

Expressions of the Simple Present:

i.

Habitual actions in the present. Ex: He visits his parents every week.

ii. General timeless truth: physical laws or customs. Ex: Water conducts electricity.
I Muslims slaughter sheep in the Aid.
iii. With 'be' and other stative verbs. Ex: There are beautiful views in Scotland. I I
look like my mother.

In subordinate clauses of time I condition when the main clause contains a

future time verb. Ex: 1'11 leave if he comes. I They will be better once their
problems are solved.
iv.

Present events, actions and procedures. Ex: You mix two eggs, then you add
milk and you whisk together.
v.

vi. Present speech acts. Ex: 1 urge you to stop complaining all the time.

Conversational historical present used to refer to past events in narration. Ex:

she gets up, looks at all of them and goes out.
vii.

'State' versus 'Action' verbs:

Some verbs are rarely found in progressive forms. These are verbs which describe
'states' (things which stay the same) rather than 'actions' (things which can
change). Some of the most common state verbs are:
5

i.
ii.

connected with emotions Ex: hate, like, love, want ... ..........................
connected with understanding Ex: believe, know, prefer, understand .......
111.
connected with possession and unchanging qualities Ex: belong, cost,
weigh
iv.
connected with the senses Ex: hear, smell, sound, taste .......................
.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . .

Justify the use and meaning(s) of the Simple Present in the following
sentences:

Steel (be) ....... a strong metal.

Silk (feel) ............smooth to touch.
Two and two (make) ..........four.
He (know) ...................Morocco well.
This land (belong) ............. to them.
He (work) ............... in a company.
Many trees (lose) .................their leaves in autumn.
They (spend) .............most of their holidays abroad.
It (be) ...............one of Evelyn Waugh's best, I (think) ....................
I've forgotten the details now but he (get) ................ on the wrong train
and (end)
.................. up in the wrong place and (find)
..........................that he
(be) ...................in a place that (be)
...............perfectly quiet and perfectly innocent and there (be)
................no story and so he just (write) ....................... one.
Kids (wave) .................to you when you (ride) ............................. ....by and
people (look) ............ from their porches to see who it (be) ..............when
you (stop) ......................to ask for directions or information.
Ignorance (be) ..........bliss.
Rose suddenly (leap) .......... to her feet, (go) ....................to the table, (grab)
...................her bag, (sling) ...................it on her shoulder and (make)
......................it right to the door.
Black coffee without sugar (taste) .........................bitter.
l (like) ............................ comedies.
l (work) ..................... late most days.
.

The Simple Past Tense: It states facts (in common with the simple present tense)
+ remoteness. The events are remote in time, finished, over, and done with.

Expressions of the Simple Past:

i. A single definite completed event or action in the past. Ex: He took the Bae
exam last year.
ii. Habitual or repeated actions in the past. Ex: It rained almost every day last
winter. I He published an article every month.
iii An event with duration in the past that no longer applies to the present. Ex: They

lived in France for 20 years.

iv States in the past. Ex: He seemed so desperate.
v. Imagined conditional (referring to present time). Ex: If he took better care of
himself, he wouldn't be absent so often.
vi. Social distancing, indirectness and politeness. Ex: I wanted to ask you if you
could come to see us. I Did you want to sit down and stay a while?
Put the verbs in the Simple Past tense and j ustify :

I (buy) .....................some biscuits yesterday.

James Joyce (bear) .....................in Dublin in 1882 . He (live) ........... .
in Ireland until 1904 and (spend)......................... the rest of his life abroad.

I once (know) ............... a dancer from the Bolshoi Ballet.

We (drive) ..............along
the
highway,
and
never
(looked) ..................back.
As soon as they (see) ................us, they (disappear) ............into a
doorway.
She (say) .............she would be glad to see us.
I (wonder) .................... whether you (need) ....................anything.
He talks as though he (own) ...............the place.
If only we (have) ......................more time.
I (see) .............................someone famous yesterday.
I (drop) .............................the glass and it (break).................on the
floor.
7

He (take) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the train to work every day.

When I (be) . . . . . . . . . . . . young, I loved playing with my toys.
He (drown) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . in the lake.
I (write) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the letter yesterday.
I (play)
basketball years ago.
I (be) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . there for a week.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The English Tense and Aspect System

The Perfect Aspect: (Present Perfect I Past Perfect)
The P resent Perfect Tense : It is used retrospectively to refer to a time prior to
now. Ex: Have you done your homework?
Expressions of the Present Perfect Tense:
i. A situation that began at a previous point in time and continues into the present.
Ex: They have been married since 1960.
ii. An action occurring or not occurring at an unspecified prior time that has current
relevance. Ex: I have already seen that movie. Ex: I have not managed to get on
well with my neighbors.
iii. A very recently completed action (often with just) Ex: they've just left the
country.
iv. An action that occurred over a prior time period and that is completed at the
moment of speaking. Ex: The price of petrol has almost doubled in the last few
months.
v. With verbs in subordinate clauses of time or condition. Ex: She won't be
satisfied until she has finished another chapter. Ex: If you have done your
homework, you can watch TV.

We also use the Presen t Perfect to talk about the past and the present together.
The past action or situation is connected to the present in various ways:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

The state or action continues from the past to the present. Ex: I've known her
for many years.= I still know her now.
The results of the past action are important in the present. Ex: He's lost his
key.= He doesn't have it now.
The time reference in the sentences includes the present Ex: He's been ill all
this week.= This week isn't finished.
When we mean 'in my whole life', we do not give a specific time Ex: I've
been to Spain lots of times.= in my whole life

The Past Perfect Tense links one time in the past to another time further back in
the past. Ex: When we got there, everyone had left.
Positive form
I/ you/he/

she/

( . . . 'd ) had done i t .

Ne2ative fo rm
it

I/you/he/she/ it

( ... had n't )

Question form

had

n o t done i t .

Had I I you/he/she/ i t . . .
done i t ?

I
I

I
I
I
!
I

Expressions of the Past Perfect tense :

i. An action completed in the past prior to some other past event or time. Ex: She
had worked at the post office before 1960 .
ii. Imaginative conditional in the subordinate clause (referring to past time) Ex: If
he had been vaccinated, he would not have died.
Similarities between the Present Perfect and Past Perfect :
i. The Present Perfect is 'the past of the present'. Ex: It isn't Jane's first visit
to Australia. She's been there twice before.
ii. The past perfect is 'the past of the past.'
Australia. I ' d been there twice before.

Ex: It wasn't my first visit to

Time expressions used with the Past Perfect :

With the Past Perfect, we use many of the same time expressions that we
use with the present perfect.

-We had been in Cairo for two months/since August.

- I'd already/j ust/recently passed my driving test.
- It was the fi rst/ second/ third time I'd met her.
-By 5 .30, everyone had left. (They all left before that time.)
-By the time we arrived, the film had finished.

- When I got up, the others had already left.

10

- We did the washing-up as soon as our guests had left.

Cases where the Past Perfect is optiona l :
i.
ii.

iii.

We do not use the Past Perfect when the sequence of events in the past is
clear. Ex: I had a shower and went to bed.
If we use 'when' with the Past Perfect, it means that the first action was
finished when the second action happened. Ex: The game had already
started when we arrived.
With two Simple Past verbs, the two actions happened at more or less the
same time. Ex: The game started when we arrived.

Present Perfect I Simple past/ Present Perfect Progressive

Present Perfect versus Simple Past:

We use the Sim ple Past for completed actions in the past. Ex: Marilyn Monroe
was married three times. = She is dead. I As a child, I spent a lot of time with my
grandparents. I am an adult now.
=

Compare these two similar Present Perfect sentences:

My friend has been married three times, and she's only thirty. (her life is not
finished) I I've spent a lot of time abroad this year. (this year is not finished)
Remember: Whether we use the Present Perfect or Simple Past often depends on
how we see the action. If we see it as related to the present, we use the Present
Perfect. If we see it as finished and in the past, we use the Simple Past, even if we
do not mention the time. Ex: John's had an accident. = they've taken him to
hospital. I John had an accident.= He's okay now.
Why are the following sentences ungrammatical?

William has bought it last Sunday

Phyllis was lived with her parents for 20 years......................................
.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11

Compare and contrast the following pairs of sentences :

a. Stan sells air beds.

b. Stan is selling air beds.

b. Have you gone to the Stadium.

a. Did you go to the stadium.

Time expressions used with the Present perfect and simple Past:
A. Time expressions often used with the Simple Past:
i. ago': (five minutes ago, three months ago, a thousand years ago)
ii. 'when' in questions: Ex: When did you see him?
iii. specific times in the past: Ex: 'yesterday' , 'last night', 'last week'
B. Time expressions often used with the Present Perfect:
b. 'already', 'yet' = before now

ii. 'ever' = any time in the past until now Ex: Have you ever met anyone famous?
iii. 'all my life', ' this week', ' this year'
progress

periods of time which are still in

Remember: We use yet in questions and negatives to talk about actions that
haven't happened in the past, but we think could happen in the future. Ex: Maria
h asn ' t phoned. = Maybe she won't. I Maria hasn 't phoned yet. = She probably
will later.

There are many words or phrases which can take either the Present Perfect or the
Simple Past according to the context. Ex: l spoke to Robert this morning. (it's
afternoon I evening now)/ He was in prison for many years.= (He is not in prison
now.) I I've n ever been to China.= (in my life until now)
=

Compa re the followin g pairs: (Simple Past and Present perfect)

a- Sheila has joined the Sierra Club. ...................................................................

Sheila joined the Sierra Club
b- My father lived here all his life.
. . .
.
.
.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

12

. . . .

. . . .

. . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

My father has lived here all his life. . .. .

.
c- Have you ever gone to Phoenix? ..................................................................
Did you go to Phoenix? . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .. . ..... . . .. . .. . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . .
. .

. . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

Expressions of the Present Perfect P rogressive:

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

We want to emphasize that the action is long or repeated . Ex : She's been

trying to pass her driving test for years.
The action is in progress, not complete. Ex: I've been doing some work =
perhaps, it is not finished I I've done my homework= it is finished.
The action is temporary/ He's been working in a pub this summer
but
afterwards, he's going to university.
Like other progressive forms, we do not use it with 'state' verbs Ex: I've
known Anne all my life (not I've been knowing Anne all my life).
=

Remember: we often use for and since with the Present Perfect and the
Present Perfect Progressive :
i.
ii.

We use for to talk about a period of time= how long?/ Ex: I've known him
fo r several years.
We use since to talk about a point in time = when? I Ex: I've known him
since 2005 .

Compare the following pairs: (Present Perfect Simple and Present Perfect
P rogressive)

a- I have been visiting my great-grandmother..... .. ........... .............. ..... ... . . . .

I have visited my great-grandmother .. ... ..... .... . .. . . .... .. .. ... .. ... . . . .. .... . . . . ...
b- I have been teaching for 25 years. ..... .. .... . . .. . . . . ... ......... .. . . ... . . . .. . .. . . .. . ..
I have taught for 25 years. . ... . . . . . . . . .. .. .. . . .. ..... . ... ... .. .. ........ . . . ... .. .. . .. .
c- Gail has been remodeling her home. .. . . . ... . . . .. .. . . .. .. . . ..... . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gail has remodeled her home . .. ............. .. .......... ... . ......... ......... ..... .
d-1 have been reading the book. .. . ...... . ... . . . . . . . ....... ... ....... ... ... . . . . .... ... . . . .
I have read the book

. .

. .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Compare the following. Simple Past versus Past Perfect

a. Pat had blamed them for the problem before he considered all the evidence.

13

Pat blamed them for the problem before he considered al l the evidence.
b. I answered before she had asked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
c. I answered before she asked
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

d. Marion worked in an insurance company for 20 years and retired in 1997.

When Marion became a photographer, she had finished her degree in fine arts.

1) Discuss the difference in meaning between the use of the Simple Past
and the Present Perfect:
I-His latest film set a new standard in horror and violence.
- Hi s latest film has set a new standard in horror and violence.

2-1 was a colleague of hers, working in the same Department, for several years.
- I have been a colleague of hers, working in the same Department, for several
years.
3- How far did you go?

-How far have you gone?

4- Where did you go?

-Where have you been?

5-What did you do?

-What have you done?

6- She made a fool of herself in public.

- She has made a fool of herself in publ ic.
7-Mobi le phones suddenly became popular with executives.
-Mobile phones have suddenly become popular with executives.
8-The report that I gave you has a couple of seri ous errors.
- The report that I've just given you has a couple of serious errors.
9- Did anyone go ahead with the proj ect?
14

- Has anyone gone ahead with the proj ect?

10-l've accidental ly been cutting myself with the bread knife.
- l've accidentally cut myself with the bread kn ife.
1 1 - l've written seven letters this morning.
- I wrote seven letters this morning.
12-She has finished her exams.
-She finished her exams.
13- He has lived in Notting Hil l al l his l i fe .
- He lived in Notting Hil l a l l h i s l i fe.
14-The P.M has resigned.
-The P.M resigned .
1 5-Charlie Chaplin wrote an autobiography about Laure l and Hardy.
-Charli e Chaplin has written an autobiography about Laurel and Hardy.

15

The English Tense and Aspect System

The Progressive Aspect: Present Progressive I Past Progressive
The progressive aspect is continuous as it portrays an event in a way that allows for
it to be incomplete or somehow limited.

Similarities between progressive forms:

i.

ii.

iii.

Progressive form s describe activities in progress. Ex: He's reading the

newspaper. = He' s in the middle of it. I He was reading the newspaper. = He
was in the middle of it.
We use Progressive forms to emphasize that situations are temporary. Ex:
She's staying with us at the moment. = A temporary situation in the present. /I
was sleeping on a friend's sofa = A temporary situation in the past.
We do not use progressive forms with state verbs in the Past Ex: I hated
vegetables when I was young. (not I *was hating vegetables when I was
*being young).

Expressions of the present progressive:

- An activity in progress in the present. Ex: The sun is shining, and it' s a beautiful

day !
- The description of temporary actions or situations that are happening 'around
now' . Ex : I'm reading a very good book at the moment.
- The description of a situation which is changing. Ex : People are working longer
hours nowadays.
- Repetition in a series of similar ongoing actions Ex : Henry is kicking the soccer
ball around the backyard.

- A comment on a habit causing annoyance. usually occurring with frequency

adverbs. Ex: They are always showing the same pictures. (irritation)
- A change in progress. Ex: She is becoming more and more mature.

16

Justify the use of the present progressive in the following sentences.

I (study)
English at the Faculty of Human
and Social Sciences in Tunis.
They (plan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . an attack now.
Rachel (take) . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . care of her ageing parents.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . .

Simple Present and Present Progressive

Simple Present versus Present Progressive: sometimes either form is possible.
Compare the following pairs of sentences:
1-Why are you wearing glasses?
Why do you wear glasses?
2-What are you doing for Thanksgiving?
What do you do for Thanksgiving?
3 -1 am thinking about the answer.

I think it is 144 . .

Compare the following pairs of sentences a n d justify which are acceptable:

a . 1 am believing you.

b. 1 beli eve you.

a. I see what you mean .

b. I ' m seeing what you mean.

a. He knows a lot about our operation.

b. He ' s knowing a lot about our operation

a. Help ! I fal l .

b. Help ! I ' m falling.

17

Expressions of the past progressive :

i.

An action in progress at a specific point of time in the past. Ex : He was

walking to school at 8 3 0 th is morning.
Past action simultaneous with some other event in the past. While Alex was
travel ling in Europe, he ran into an old friend.
Repetition of some ongoing past action. Ex : Jane was coughing and
coughing all night long.

ii.
iii.

Social distancing which comes from the simple past and the tentativeness of the
past progressive. Ex : I was hoping you could lend me some money.
1.

ii.
iii.

The Past Progressive often describes the situation or the background to a story.
We use the Simple Past for the main events. Ex : The sun was shining and 1
was walking along the road. Suddenly, someone shouted at me.
Sometimes the action is interrupted. Ex : They were talking about me when I
walked in the room . = They stopped talking.
We use the Past Progressive for actions we see as incomplete . Ex : I read a
book about Italy. = I read it all . !was reading a book about Italy on the plane.
= I probably didn't read it all .

Simple Past and Past Progressive

The Past Progressive often describes actions in progress at a time in the past.
Ex: I was living in London then . Sometimes thi s includes a speci fi c time or another
(completed past action). Ex : We were having breakfast at eight o'clock. I I heard
the news on the radio whi le I was driving home.

18

Compare the following pairs of sentences:

a.

He was
water
. .

drowning

in

the

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

lake,

so

l i feguard

raced

into

the

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

He drowned in the lake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. .

b. They lived in Baltimore all their l ives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

They were living in Baltimore during the seventies.

19

The Perfect Progressive Aspect: (Present Perfect Progressive I Past

Perfect Progressive)
Expressions of the present perfect progressive :
i. A situation or habit that began in the past (recent or distant) and that continues up
to
the
present
(and
possibly
into
the
future).
Ex:
Burt
(go) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . out with Alice.
ii. An action in progress that is
(read) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . that book.
A
state
that
changes
over
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . better and better.

111.

not

yet

time.

completed.

Ex:

They

Ex:

(get)

iv. An evaluative comment on something observed over time triggered by current

evidence. Ex : You (drink) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . again.
Expressions of the past perfect progressive :
i. An action or habit taking place over a period of time in the past prior to some
other past event or time. Ex: Carol (work) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hard,
so
her
doctor
told
her
to
take
a
vacation.
She
(try)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to finish her degree that year.
ii. A past action in progress that was interrupted by a more recent past action. Ex:
We (plan) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to vacation in Maine, but changed our
minds.
iii. An ongoing past action or state that becomes satisfied by some other event. Ex:
l (want) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to see that play, so l was pleased when l won
the tickets.
What a re the two points in time related by the perfect verb forms in each of
the following sentences?
a.

I was sent to school in Wal es even though we'd been living in France for as
long as I could remember
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

b. He has been going out with Emily since last August . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20

PART II

THE FUTURE

1. Present continuous
We u s e t h e present continuous t o ta lk about p l ans or defin ite arrangements for t h e futu re:

We 're

staying

in

small

(we

hotel

have

mad e

the

arran gements).

Notice that t i m e express ions are used or understood from the context in order to show that we are
tal k i n g about the futu re (and not the present):

The

manager

is

having

party just aft er we

get

back. (time

express i on

is

We 're playing.four matches there. (futu re time expression understood)

2. Will
+ will+verb . . . . .
.
- will not (wo n't )+verb
?will . . . +verb .. ...
.
. .

. . . . . .

. . .

. . . . . .

. .

. . . . .

. .
.

W e 'II enjoy it.

.. He won ' t enjoy it.

. . . . . . .

Will they enjoy it?

. .

We use w i l l
*to make p red icti ons, usual ly based o n our o p i n i on s or our past experi ence:

I think it 'II be e xtremely hot there.

*to tal k about future events we h aven ' t arranged yet:

We 'II probably stay in some sort

of mountain lodge

there.

*to tal k about future events or facts that are not personal:

The best player will get a special trophy.

The prime minister will open the debate in parliament tomorrow.
*to talk about someth i n g we dec i d e to do at the t i m e of speak i n g:

Tell me all about it and I'll pass on the information to the rest of the team.
*We often use wi l l to make offers, pro m i ses or suggest i o ns:

Don't worry, I'll le t everyone know. (a pro m i se)

3. Going to
+am/is/are +going to +verb .

. .

. . .

. .

-am /is /a re not + going to +verb .

?a m/is /a re . .. +going to +verb? .
.

. .

. . . .

We 're going to hire a bus.

. . . . . .

. . . . . . .

He 's not going to hire a bus.

Are they going to hire a bus?

We u se going to:
to tal k about events in the future we have a l ready thought about and i nten d to d o:

We 're going to hire a bus. (we i n tend to go, but we h aven ' t made the arrangem ents yet)

21

given)

We 're going to get a boat to a couple of the islands.

*to make p red ictions when there i s present ev i den ce:

Well, we 're certainly going to have a varied trip. (I am judg i n g th i s from what I know about the
p l ans)

Will i s u sed w i th words l i ke thi n k, doubt, expect, bel i eve, probably, be sure to show it i s an
o p i n i on about the futu re:

I think it will be a great trip.

I'm sure we 'II enjoy it whatever the weather.

It 'II probably rain every day.

W e c an often choose d ifferent future fo rm s to tal k about the same future s i tuat i o n . It depends on
the speaker' s ideas about the situati on:
P resent conti nuous or go i n g to?

The manager is having a party when we ge t back. (defin ite arran gement)
We 're going to hire a bus and then drive through the mountains. ( less defin ite arran gement we haven ' t booked the bus yet)
G o i n g to or w i l l ?

I'm sure we 'II enjoy it. (pred iction based o n my guess)

We 're going to have a very varied trip! (pred iction based on what I know about the weather)

Often there i s very l ittle d ifference b etween going to and wi l l for pred ictions.

Ma king predictio ns usi ng words other tha nwill:

I n formal writ i n g we o ften use express ions other than will to pred ict the futu re (e.g. be l i kely to,
be predi cted to, be est i m ated to, be certa i n to):

The population is likely to increase to 22 million in 2011.

The average annual rainfall is predicted to be ten per cent lower than today'sfigures.

4. Present simple
We use the present s i m p l e with the future mean i n g
to tal k about timetab l e s or sched u les:

The conference only lasts three days.

The train to the airport leaves in 20 minutes.

after conjunctions such as when, as soon as, after, befo re, until, as l ong as:

I'll be feeling really nervous when I get to Rome. (not 'NReR I will

get to Rome)

Can you do it before we have the departmental meeting? (not eefeFe we will RIFie the meetiRg)

22

Note that oth er present tenses are a l so poss i b l e:

I won't be ab l e to re lax unti l I ' m actua l l y g i v i n g m y tal k .

5. Be about to
+am/is/are about to+ verb ... . .. .. . . . . . . .. . . .
.

-am/is/are not about to+ verb

. .

. I 'm about to go to Rome.

. .... . . . . . . . . . . I'm not about to go to Rome .

.

. .

?am/is/are ...+ '\'erb . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . ... . . . .... Are you about to go to Rome?

.

W e use be about to to ta l k about someth ing l i ke l y to happen in the i m m ed i ate future:

I'm about to go to Rome.for a conference. (I wi l l be leav i n g very soon )

N ote: The n egative form suggests the speaker has no intention o f d o i n g someth i n g:

I'm not about to cancel my trip(= I h ave no intention of cance l l i ng m y tri p)

6. Future continuous
+will be+ verb+ ing . . ... .. ........ . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . . I'll be.feeling nervous.
-will not (won't)+ verb + ing . . . . . . .
. . . She won't be feeling nervous.
?will... be+ verb+ ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . Will you be feeling nervous?
.

. . .

We use the future conti nuous

*to describe or pred ict events or s i tuations cont i n u i n g at a particu l ar point i n the futu re or over a
period of t i m e i n the futu re:

I'll be w orking on the report all next week.

I'll be working o n t h e report

NOW

WEEK

N EXT

I 'll be thinking of you in Rome.

By the year 20 I 5 it is e stimated that well over one billion people will be learning English.
*to tal k about events that are p l anned or al ready d ec i ded (th i s u se i s s i m i lar to the present

continuous for future arran gements):

I'll be seeing Sarah at lunch.

7. Future perfect simple

+will have+ past participle . .
.
. .
. . . . . . . I'll have done it by the n.
-will not (won't) have+ past participle .. . . . .. . .. . We won't have been studying here for long.
?will ...+ have been+ verb+ ing ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. How long will you have been studying
. . .

. . . . . .

. . .

. .

. . . . .

here?

23

By the time you finish this lesson you will have understood all

about the future.

We use the future perfect conti nuous to show how long an activity or situat i on h as been i n
progress be fore a spec i fi ed t i m e i n the futu re . We u sual l y mention the len gth o f time:

By the end of the month I 'll have been working here.for three yea rs.

8. The futu re in the past:

We use was/were goi n g to, was/were p l an n i n g to, was/were about to + verb to talk about
som eth i n g p l anned wh i c h d i d not happen or wi l l not happen:

I was going to leave this morning but they cancelled myflight.

We were about to leave when the phone rang.

Exercise 1: F i l l i n the gaps with the present conti nuous or wi l l - future form o f the verbs i n

brackets:

Kristy: Hi El aine, i t ' s Kri sty.

Elai ne: H e l l o , how are you?
Kri sty: F i n e . L i sten , I kn ow th i s is very short noti ce but . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... ... (do) anyth ing ton i ght?
E l a i ne: Noth i ng, why?
Kri sty: We l l I .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . .. (take) m y c l ass to the theater, but one o f them can ' t go.
Wou l d you l i ke to come?
E l a i ne: I ' d l ove to . What ' s the p l ay about?
Kri sty: Oh, I ......... . .. . ................. (te l l ) you al l about that a l ittl e l ater. I ...... . .......... .
( p i ck ) you up at 6.3 0 - is that okay?
Elai n e: Yes, OK. Or h ow about meeting a bit earl i er? We cou ld have a c o ffee be foreh and .
Kri sty: We l l , I . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . (see) t h e school pri n c i pal a t four, but I suppose I could
come after that. My meet i ng .. . . . ...... ..... . . .. . . .. . . . . . ... (probab l y/ fi n i sh ) at about 5.3 0. Is that
okay?
Elai ne: Yes, of course. What t i m e does the p l ay actual l y start?

Kri sty: At 7.30, al though we . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (need) to be there before as I . . . . . . . .. . . . . ... . .. .

( m eet) m y students at the theatre at seven. Afterwards they .. . ....... . .. . . . . ... (probab ly/want) to
talk about the p l ay for a l i ttl e wh i l e. But I hope that .. . . . . .. . . . . .... . . . . (not/go on) for too l on g.
There . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . (be) p l enty of t i m e for us to d i scuss it at tom orrow ' s l esson .
E l a i n e: That ' s fi n e . I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. (see) you at 5.30!

Exercise 2: Write sentences abou t yours e l f:

1 I Write two intentions about your future.

24

21 Wri te th ree plans or arrangements for your future .

31 Predict th ree th ings that you t h i n k wi l l happen t o you i n the ''new" Tun i s ia.

Exercise 3: In six of these sentences there i s a verb i n the wrong tense. Underline each m i stake
and write the correcti o n .

I I When I ' I I find t h e an swer I ' I I let y o u know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

21 My exams are going to fi n i s h on 27m June . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.

3 1 I ' l l be fi n e in the i ntervi ew as l ong as they won ' t ask m e techn i c a l questions.

41 What t i m e is your meeting about to start tomorrow? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

51 I ' l l hand in my notice for th i s job after I ' l l get the contract for my new o n e .
61 I ' l l text y o u before we s e t o ff.
71 The bus doesn ' t arrive u nt i l 7.3 0 in the eve n i ng . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8/ I've got my schedu l e for the Japan tri p . We ' re about to fly to Tokyo at I 0 am on Monday, an d
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

then trave l by tra i n to Kyoto for one n ight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

91 The m oment I ' l l rece ive my resu lts I ' l l phone you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Exercise 4 : F i l l in the gaps with a the right future fo rm o f the verbs i n brackets .
Teacher: Wh at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (you/do) th i s t i m e next year?
Student 1: Wel l , that's d ifficu lt to say but I hope that I . . .
..
.

. . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

.. .
.

. .

(trave l ) round the

worl d . Before then I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (hope fu l l y/save up) enough money for the t i c ket. I
p lan to end u p i n A u stra l i a and when I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( get) there I ' l l get a job and earn
some money. So, i n a year ' s t i m e I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (probab l y/trave l ) for a few months

al read y . I hope th at I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (visit) q u i te a l ot o f d i fferent countries by then

too . ?

Teacher: What do y o u p lan t o do when y o u graduate?

Student 2: Wel l , my p l ans have c h anged a b i t . I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (do) a journal ism
course, but I d i d n ' t get accepted . So I ' ve sorted someth i n g e l se out and I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

( start) a hosp ital ity course tom o rrow, actua l l y . I t ' s for s i x months, so I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(not/fi n i s h ) in t i m e to go trave l l i n g next spring, u n fo rtunate l y . However, as soon as I

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( fi nd out) i f I ' ve passed the course, I can app l y for a job in a hotel i n

Austral ia.

25

Exercise 5: C i rc l e the m ost sui tab l e form of the verbs.

Dear Pau l and C la i re ,
We ' re hav i n g a wonderfu l time here i n Fran ce. T h e weather i s beaut i fu l a n d we 've g o t l ots o f

p l an s fo r h ow t o spend the n e x t coup l e of weeks . Tom orrow 1 we ' re go ing out/ w e wi l l g o out o n

a gl ass-bottomed boat to look a t t h e wonderful s e a l i fe, a n d t h e n on Wednesday w e th i n k 2 we ' re

takin g/ we ' l l take a tour of the o l d town . O l l ie ' s aunt l i ves quite c lose, so 3 we ' re v i s i t i n g/ we' re
g o i n g to v i sit her too i f we have t i m e .
The hote l is love l y a n d l ively a n d l ots o f good n i ght l i fe . Ton i ght 4 they ' re hold ing/ they ' l l h o l d

a n i nternat i o nal even i n g , w i th l ots o f fo o d from d i fferent countri es.

A s you know, we ' re here with our friends, John and Wendy, but 5 they aren ' t stayi ng/ they won ' t
stay a s l ong as us. s o 6 we ' re probab ly d o i n g/ we ' l l probab l y d o the real ly ' touri sty ' th i n gs w i th

them , and be lazy i n our second week. You can h i re smal l sa i l ing boats for the day, so we th i n k 7

we ' re d o i ng/ we ' re go i n g to do that next week, an d 8 we ' re also go ing to try/ we ' re al so tryin g to
h ave t i m e to do some shop p i n g!

I hope you are ready for your big tri p . 9 You ' re l ov i ng/ You ' l l l ove Au stral ia. In fact 10 you ' re

go i ng to probab l y end up/ you' l l p robab l y end up stayi n g there much l on ger than you ' ve
p l anned .
Have a great time, and 11 we' re go i n g to see/ we ' l l see you when you get bac k .

Love, Ke ith a n d O l l i e

Exercise 6: Com p l ete w i th the future forms and j ustify your choice:
D: What are you d o i ng w i th that h osep i pe?
S: We l l, Sunday m o rn i n g , I (to c l ean) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . the car, o f course .
D: Ah! You are wasti n g your t i m e . lt (to rai n ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Look at the sky ! Come
d own to the pub . I (to buy) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . you a d r i n k .
S: Good idea. I ( t o c l ean) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . it tomorrow.
D: That ' s i t! Let ' s go to the pub . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . we?
S: Just a m i nute . I (to te l l ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . my wife first. (cal l s) J ane, I ' ve changed m y m i n d .
N ew p l an o f act i o n . I ( t o c l ean) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the car tomorrow.
J: Tomorrow? Did you forget that we (to take) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the ch i l dren out i n the m o rn i n g ,
t h e n w e ( t o v i s i t ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . my parents i n the afternoon .
S:O h , I forgot . (to D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . we m eet i n the pub i n an hour after the car wash,
o f course?
D: I t ' s O . K. (to h e l p - you)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

S: No, thank you. You don ' t need to .

26

PART III : MODALITY

INTRODUCTION: GENERAL FEATURES
Modality i s used by speakers to express their attitudes toward s events . Att itudes towards events
are expressed by modal meanings. Modal mean i n gs can be c l assi fi ed i nto two types.

I-A modal may express human contro l over events: perm i ss i on, vo l i t i o n , wi l l i ngness, in te ntion.

ab i l i ty, o b l i gat ion . . .

2-A modal may express jud gment whether an event i s l i ke l y to h appen: certai nty, probab i l ity,

poss i b i I ity . . .

Example: Supper should be ready. Let's go into the dining room. (probability)
You must be hungry. (certainty)
By say i n g supper should be ready' an d not 'supper is read y ' , the speaker expresses
h i s/her att i tude toward s the even t . He/she deduces that d i nner i s read y . He /she i s not

sure o f the event.

A Modal may express a judgment of rea l i ty, whereas a non-modal expresses reality.

Example:
-He is there by now.
-He 'll be there by now .

Possibilitv
- H e may be there by now.
-He might be there by now.
- He could be there by now.

Probability
-He is likely to be there by n ow.
- H e should be there by now.

Certaintv expressed as logical necessity

-He must be there by now. (

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

- H e has to be th ere by now. ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

27

- He ' s bound to be th ere by now. (

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

THE REALISATIONS OF MODAL MEANINGS:

Modal mean i n gs are rea l i zed by d i fferent fo rm s .

1-Lexico-modal auxiliaries suc h a s b e to, have to

be+ to i n fi n i t i ve:
-At what time is the concert to start?
have + to i n fi n it ive:
-I have to take an exam in June.
Lex i co-modal aux i l i aries may a l so be real ized by be bound to, be supposed to, and have got to:
-The j ac ket is supposed to have been c l eaned, but it looks d i rty.
-I have got to take an exam in June.

2- Semi-modals such as need an d dare

a- need c an be e i ther a modal - l i ke verb or a verb:
-The col ors need to match. (

. . . . . . . . . . . .

. .

..

. . . .

. .

. . . . .

- You don't need to always make an appo i n tment. ( .. . . . . . . .. ........ . ..... . . . )

-Need I b r i n g anyth i ng? ( . . . . .. .. . ... ...... . ..... ... . . . . . . . . . )

- I needn't ru n . I have got p l enty of t i m e . ( . .. .... . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

b- needn't have done and didn't need to:

I f someth i n g h appened which we now know was unnecessary, we use needn't have done.
- We
(. .
.

needn't

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

have

made

. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . .

these

sandwiches.

No

one

has

eaten

them .

Didn 't need to m eans the act ion d i d not happen.

- We did not need to make any sandwiches. We knew that peop l e were bri n g i n g their own .
(

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

c- dare: dare can be e i ther a modal- l i ke verb or a verb:

-He dared come l ate to the meet i n g . ( .. . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . .. .. .. . . .. . . . ... . . . . . . . .... . ... . )

28

-I daren't look at the b i l l . ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

-Dare you say what you' re th i n ki n g? ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

- I don't dare (to) look at the bi l l . ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

-Do you dare (to) say what you're th i n k i ng? ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

3- Modal-like forms:
A dvisab i l i ty: had better, had best
- Y ou had better see a d octor.
Pre ference:

would rather, would prefer

- I'd rather wal k than hang around for a bus .

Desire in statements and offers in quest i o n s : would like

- Would you like to eat now or l ater?

4- Modal auxiliaries:
-A modal aux i l i ary is the fi rst word in a verbal group composed of a modal aux i l i ary+ the bare
i n fi n i tive.
- A modal aux i l i ary never takes -ing. or -ed end i ngs. Ex: You should take notes.
-A m odal aux i l i ary can take the negative form . Ex : Your desk should not/ shouldn't be untidy.
-A modal aux i l i ary can take the interrogative form . Ex: How should I o rgan i ze my work?
- Modal aux i l iaries are used in question tags . EX: You should look after your money, shouldn't
you?
-They are also used in short form answers.

EX:

-You should l ook after your money, shoul d n ' t you?

- I suppose I should.

5- Modal au xilia ries and ph rasal modals :

M ODAL

P HRASA L MODA L

Can -Cou ld

Be able to (ability )

..
..

_,
'
'

'
'
'

Will -Shall

Be going to - Be a bout to (intention )

M ust

Have to - Have got to (obl ig at ion )

Should - ought to

Be to - Be supposed to (logical inferen ce )

Wou ld (p ast hab it )

Used to (past habit )

May -Might

Be allowed to - be perm itted to (perm ission )

ORD ER A ND COM BI NATI ON

-Modal + Ph rasal modal : Ex: I might be able to go there.
I might be able to fi n i sh the work by Fri day.

-Ph rasal modal + phrasal modal : Ex: I am going to be able to do that .

6- Tense, aspect and voice :
Modal aux i l iaries are tense less aux i l i ari es. However, they can come m sen tences w i t h t i m e
word s wh ich m a y re fer to the past, present, a n d future .

T ENS E
PR ES ENT : Ex: We must know now .
FUTUR E: Ex: We must know soon. The l etter m i ght arrive tomorrow.
C oncern i n g the past , phrasal modals such as ' be ab l e to', ' have to' etc . . . are used in the past
tense . Ex: I had to wake up earl y . She was able to open the door.
The past c an a l so be expressed by us ing a modal au xilia ry+ have + the past pa rticiple of the

verb . Ex: I was very concerned about h ow m y daughter would find go ing to her n ew schoo l , but
I shouldn 't have worried because she l oved every m i nute.

30

ASP ECT
Pe rfect : Ex: l may have shown you th i s before.
Progress ive : Ex: They may be show in g the film on TV.
Perfect progre ssive: Ex: You must h ave been dream in g .
V OI CE
Pa ssive : Ex: We may be shown the res u l ts later.
Perfect+ pass iv e: Ex: The car must have been stolen .
7- Other means of e xpressing modal m ean ings
Modal disjuncts: such as probab ly, poss i b ly, sure ly, hopefu l ly,
Modal adjectives such as:

-possible: It is poss ible that h e comes .

-probable: It is the most probable outcome to this trial
-likely: It is a li kely w i n n er of this afternoon's rac e .
Modal nouns such as possibility, probability, chance, 1ikelihood as i n
-There ' s j ust a chance that h e comes .
-There ' s no l ikel ihood of frost ton i gh t .

31

MODAL EXPRESSIONS

I-Certainty : will, must, be bound to, can't

Modal certai nty i s d i m i n i shed certainty, ch osen e i ther because the speaker i s not total l y certain
o f the statement he/she is mak i n g or for reasons o f pol iteness.

There a re two kinds of modal certain ty:

-The concert will be over by now. ( . . .. . . ...

- ( The door bel l rings) That will be Peter. ( .

.... . . . . ....... . . ..... . . . . . )

. . .

...

. . . . .

. . . .

.. . . . ..

. . . . . . . .

. .

.)

- Ice will m e l t at room tem peratu re . ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

-They will goss i p for hours. (

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

When the ori entat i on fram e i s past, as i n a narr at ive, would is used:
-They would goss i p for hours, sitting i n the park .
-The concert would be over by then .
The second type of mo dal certainty is usual l y called 'logical necessity', and i s based on a
p rocess of deduct i o n .
-Th e concert m ust be over by now.
-Th e key m u st be i n you r pocket.
-The key has to be i n your pocket.

be bound to and be sure to are al ternative real izations to must:

-The key is bou n d to be/is sure to be i n your pocket.

-Th i s can ' t be Ro l an d ' s boo k . H e doesn ' t do ph y s i c s . (

. . . .

. . . . . . . .

..

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

. .

. . . . . . .

2-P roba bility or 'reasonable inference ': should, ought to

Probab i l i ty i s a reasonab l e expectat i o n . It is expressed by should and ought to:

- We should h ave enough petro l to get there, but, of course. we may not.
-They ought to have our l etter by now.

32

3-Adv ic e: should, ought to

-They should/ ought to b u i l d more hosp i tal s .
- I shouldn 't/ oughtn 't to l eave thi ngs u n t i l t h e l a s t moment.

4-0bl ig at io n an d necess ity: must, have got to

I n Eng l i sh, ob l i gation and necessity can be conce i ved o f as an i n e v i table d uty or
req u i rement rea l i zed by must, have (got) to:

-You m ust try h ard er.

-Cand idates m ust be u n i vers i ty gradu ates .

- I ' ve got t o g o now. (

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

- 1 h ave to go to see the Dean . ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

I n s i m p l e past negatives and questions, we always u s e : d i d . . . have to (not had . . . got to )

D id you have to wait l o ng?

- L i zard s m ust h i bernate if they are to surv ive the w i n ter. ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

- We m ustn 't forget our card s . ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )
- Students m ust not/may not/ can 't/ aren 't allowed to use d i ctionaries m the exam i n at i o n .
( fo rb i d d i n g someth i n g )

Must h as n o past tense, no perfect or progress ive form and no i n fi n i tive or - i n g form . We
use have to i n stead :

-1 had to pay $5 for th i s rai l card l ast week .

-We ' ve had to m ake a few c h anges .

- I wasn 't ex pect ing to h ave to look after the c h i l dren .
-You w ill have to pay the fu l l standard s i n g l e fare .

5-Unfu lfilled obl ig at io n, a dv isab il ity: should, ought to

W i th should and ought to an o b l i gation is expressed as not com pul sory . I n these cases,
the speaker lacks the authority to i m pose the obl igation .

-Peop l e shoul d drive more care fu l l y .

33

-You rea l l y ough t to cut down on smok i n g .

-Cand i dates should have knowledge of two fo re i gn languages .

6-Possibility: may, might, could

They may be real pear l s , you know. ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )
They might be real pear l s , you know. ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )
They cou ld be real pearl s , you know. ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )
They can ' t be real pear l s , you know. ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

A lthough might and could are the past forms of may and can, i n these sentences, they do
not refer to the past .

Might and could can a l so be used to re fer to future even ts :

- I t may/ m ight/could snow tomorrow. ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

7-Ability, perm issio n : can, could, may, might

These three rel ated mean i n gs are expressed by can, negative can 't:

-Th i s paint can be app l i ed w i th a spray . ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

-Can you reach the top h i l l ? ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

-You c a n ' t p ark here . (

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

- I can be there by 1 0 O ' clock. (

. .

.....

. . . . .

. . . . . .

-I may/ m igh t be there by 1 0 O ' c lock. ( . . . .

.

. . .

...

. . . . . . .

. ..
.

. . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

..

. .

...

. . . . . . .

. . . . .

.. .
.

)
. .

. .
.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

. .

. .)
.

. . .
.

. . . .

. .

The mean i ngs ex pressed by can al l correspond to a bas i c patte rn , wh ich i n i ts positive
fonn can be expressed as ' noth i n g prevents X from occurri n g ' . That ' so m eth i n g ' i n each

case represents a set of l aws, whether natural l aws, moral l aws, laws of phys i cs, of good
manners, etc . .

May (may not) i s a more fonnal alternative to can in the mean i n gs of pennission and
possi b i l i ty, and is extended to such mean i n gs as p o l i te offer.

-May I come in? Yes, you may. ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

- I n spri n g wi l d orc h i d s may be found in the wood s . ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

-May I h e l p you w i th the lu ggage? ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

34

Might i s someti mes u sed for an i n d i rect request :

-You m ight fetch m e a coke and a bag o f crisps.

The past o f c an i s c ou l d or was/were ab l e to + i n fi n i tive :
- Fro m the top of the h i l l we could see for m i l e s . ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

-Was he able to escape? ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

- H e wasn ' t able to escape . ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )
-He could n ' t escape .

8- Volition :

Willingness : will, (shall)

-Will you s i gn t h i s for me? (

-Will you m arry me? (

. . .

. . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. .

. . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.)

Unwil lingn ess : will not

-Our c at won ' t eat anyth i n g but the best brands o f cat-food( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

Offer I suggestion : shall

I n i nterrogat ives shall i s u sed with a fi rst person S u bj ect to m ake an o ffer or a suggestion .

-Shall I carry those bags for you? (

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

..

. . .

. . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . . . . .

..

. .

-Shall we go back home now? ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

Intention : will, shall

I ntenti on i s the second type of vo l i tion and c an be paraphrased by intend to.

- I ' l l ring you someti me next week . ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

- We ' l l take the n i ght tra i n to the coast. ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )

35

MODALITY : PRACTICE PART

1- Su pply the modal which corresponds to th e paraph rase in each sen tence. In some

cases more than one form is accepta ble:

-1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. let you know as soon as I have any n ews. ( w i l l ingness.

pro m i se)
-we . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . get away unti l the end of August. (It wi l l not be poss i b l e for us to
get away . )
- I f s h e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( i s n o t ab l e t o ) do it by herse l f, s h e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( i t i s
poss i b l e that) have t o a s k you for h e l p .
-There . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

be a fi re

som ewhere

(it

i s necessari ly t h e case that . . . ) ,

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( I sme l l it r i ght now) s me l l burn i n g .

-Th i s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . b e enough for three . (pred iction)
- F i ve bars o f chocolate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . be enough for five ch i l dren, don ' t you th i nk?
(probab i l ity, reasonab l e i n ference)
-Pri ces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to go u p wh i l e everyone i s on h o l i day. ( It i s certai n
that .

. .

-Surely, that . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . be the Pres i dent ' s w i fe . ( I t i s not poss i b l e that . . . )

-You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . not feed the an i ma l s at the zoo. (You are under the o b l i gat ion
not to . . . )
-You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . not t i p the wa i ter. ( I t i s not necessary that you t i p the wai ter. )

2- Give the appropriate form of the past for each of the Verbal G roups con tain i n g
modals:
-They will not wai t for us for more th an ten m i nutes.

They . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for more than ten m i nutes yesterday .

-He must be m i staken about h i s daughter ' s age .
He . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . about h i s daughter' s age .
-You can 't be l i sten i n g to what I ' m say i n g .
You

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

to

what

-Ben should take two tab l ets every day.

B e n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . two tab l ets yesterday.
- L y i n g i n our tent, we can hear the wind howl i n g from the hei ghts .
L y i n g in our tent, we . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the w i n d h owl i n g from th e
h e i ghts.
- With the fast patro l boats, the p o l i c e can capture d rug-traffickers operat i n g on the Strait.
W i th the fast patro l boats, the pol ice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . drugtraffickers operat i n g on the Strait yesterday.

36

-There may be a h o l d-up on the motorway.

There . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a h o l d-up on the motorway .
- I must have the baby vacci nated today.
I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .the baby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . yesterday .
-He will telephone u s i m m e d i ately i f he can .

He . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . us i m m e d i atel y i f he . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

-They oughtn't to be tal k i n g wh i l e the p i an i st i s p layi n g .

They

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

wh i l e

the

p i a n i st

was

p l aying.

3-Fill in the bla n ks with the appropriate m odal

verb form i n the following

dialogues : The same modal may be used more than one time.
Dialogue 1

-Ok. Don ' t wo rry about the phone, I ' l l answer i t . It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( be) Dav i d
r i n g i n g m e about ton i ght ' s meeting.
-He l l o . 3 7 885.
-Hello

John.

It's

Dav i d .

tri ed

ringing

you

ear l i er,

but

got

no

rep l y .

Y o u . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (be) out.
- I haven ' t been out al l morn i n g . You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (ring) the
right number.
-Never m i nd . Wh at about the meeting? How many peop le can we expect?
-There

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (be) q u i te a few, j ud g i n g by the

number of

enquiries we ' ve been h av i n g . One th i n g ' s worryi n g me. I haven ' t h eard from the speaker
Joan B akewe l l . She . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( fo rget) to phon e . It
i s n ' t l i ke her not to get i n touch . S h a l l I g ive her a r i n g?
-Not now, n o . S h e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (teac h ) . Y ou ' d better wai t
an

h o u r or s o .

- I ' ve

bou ght

twenty

bott l es

of

wine

fo r

the

party

afterwards.

That

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (be) enough, don ' t you th ink?

-Yes, p l enty. I ' l l see you l ater, then . Bye.

Dialogue 2
-You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (be) very exc i ted about your n ew book !
-Yes, I am . I t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (se l l ) q u i te we l l

if the p u b l i s hers ' research i s

accurate .
- I t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (take) you a long t i m e to write.
-About three years, yes.
- What about your fi rst book?

37

- I ' m not terri b l y sure, but i t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (do) very wel l , because

i t hasn ' t been repri nted , and the fi rst print was on ly five hundred copies.
- Better l u c k with th i s one.
-Thanks.
+

4-Fill in the bla n ks with the appropriate modal

verb form in the following

sentences: The same modal may be used more tha n one time.
- I wonder why H e l en has got al l these books on Greece from the l i brary . I suppose she
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (think) o f go i n g there on ho l i day. On the other hand,
she

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( n ot

get)

them

out

for

herse l f.

They

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( be) for Henry . H e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (write) a

proj ect on Greece for h i s geography course.
- Wh at ' s forty-e i ght d i v ided by e i ght? I . . . . . . . . . . . . never . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (do) sums
in m y head .
-I

had

row

w i th

Shei la

l ast

n i ght

about

nuc l ear

arm s .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( see) the po i n t she was try i n g to make, but I sti l l don ' t
agree .
-A g i rl was drown i n g , but I j u m ped in and I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (save) her.
- Wh y don ' t you stop smoking? You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (do) i t , i f you
tried .
-Ann a ' s operat ion was very successfu l . The doctors say she . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (wal k) agai n i n
a few weeks.
- What time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . we . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( l eave) for the a i rport?
- I t ' s only a th i rty-m i nute drive, so we . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( l eave) unt i l about

3 . 3 0 . 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (do) my pac k i n g . I haven ' t started yet .

.

-How d i d you damage your b i ke? You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( l earn) to look after

your toys . When I was your age, I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( c l ean) my b i ke
every n i ght.
- I hate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (te l l ) you th i s, but you ' ve j ust got a parking ti cket to buy.
- I h ate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( get) out on cold, wi nter m o rn i ngs.
- I th i nk I ' ve put on we i ght. I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (watch) what I eat i n the
.

future .
-You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (worry)about m e . I can look after myse l f.
- Wh at a wonderfu l meal that was ! You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ( go) i nto so much
trou b l e .
- I g o t someth i n g for m y cough from t h e ch e m i st ' s, s o I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (go)
to the doctor' s.

38

Review I
IIdentify the tenses of the underlined verbs and j ustify their use.
1. After he had finished painting, he had a shower.
2 . He is always complaining about everything.

3. He was late. When he arrived at the airport, the plane had left.
4. He dri nks mineral water every day.
5 . Leif Ericson discovered Finland while he was sai ling towards the west.

6. She has been l iving in this house for years.

II-

1-

23-

45678-

9-

Put the verbs between parentheses in the right present and past tense
and aspect. (5 points)
She (to work)has been working . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . at that company for three years.
My father (just- to finish)had just finished . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . primary school
when the war (to break) broke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
While we (to have) . . . were having a picnic, it stated to rain.
A lot of sugar (not to be) . . . . . . . . . is not good for you.
How long do you need to keep the book you (to borrow) . . . . . . borrowed from
me?
Everyone (to talk) . . . is talking about the explosion in the high school
chemistry lab.
Much of the snow (already-to melt) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . has already melted .
I (to be) usual ly . . . . . . . . . am late on Mondays because the traffic is so bad.
I (to try) . . . . . . . . . . . . had been trying to get the tickets for months before my
friend finally got them.

39

III-

Put the verbs in parentheses in the right tense

(6 points) :

and

form

As I turned the corner of a suburban street one Sunday afternoon, I was astonished
to see three men sitting on newspapers around a telegraph post. I wondered what
on earth they ( 1) (do) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . there. I could see why they (2)
(put) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the newspapers on the pavement underneath them,
although it was fine now, it ( 3 ) (rain) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One of the men
was busy with a small radio and it seemed to me that he (4) (try)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to attach it to the pole.
Then al l of a sudden the radio crackled to life and the three men (5 ) (cheer)
.
. .
...
.
.
. . . I stopped to listen, but at that moment the three men (6)
(make) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . so much noi se I couldn ' t hear what the
programme was. I approached but the men (7) (take) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . no
notice of me whatsoever.
They (8) (tum) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the volume up by now and were
completely oblivious of what was going on around them.
"Excuse me," I shouted. "(9) (be) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . anything wrong?"
One of them looked round.
"Not now," he said. "We ( 1 0) ( look) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for a telegraph pole
we could use for weeks and now we ( 1 1) (find) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . one."
"Use for what?" I persisted."An aerial . We ( 12) (listen) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
to a footbal l match being broadcast from our home town in the north."
.

. . .

. . .

. . . .

. . . .

. . . .

IV-

Put the verb in brackets into the Present Perfect Progressive o r

Present Perfect.

I .He (drink) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . too much recently.

2 .Mary i s sti ll watching TV. She (watch)

.
TV all day.
3 . Somebody (steal ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . my keys. They are not on the table.
4 .He (read)
.
. . 20 pages so far.
.. .
5 . Sorry l'm late. ( you, wait) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . long?
6.1 (not see)
him since Monday.
7 . 1 (drive) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the same car for twelve years.
8 .You look tired ! Yes I (work) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . very hard.
. . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . .

. . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

40

. . . . . . . . .

Review II
I-

Put the verbs in parentheses in the correct future form (4 points) :

Paula and Jane are discussing their holiday plans.

Paula : "'Where ( I ) (you and Bob + to go) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. for your
hol idays, Jane?"
Jane: "Morocco . We (2) (to spend) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 0 days in Agadir.
Paula : "That (3) (to be) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . nice. When (4) (you + to go)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ').
Jane: "On Fri day night. Our plane (5) (to leave) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . at seven,
and we (6) (to arrive) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . at four in the morning."
Paula : "You (7) (to need) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a hol iday after that ! "
Jane : "Oh, I don ' t mind night fl i ghts. Anyway, we ( 8 ) (to enj oy)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the sunshine thi s time next week."

II-

Put the verbs between parentheses in the right future fo rm (4 points)

1 - The ship (to arrive) . . . arrives tomorrow at 2p.m.

2- The boss (to announce) . . . . . . is announc ing h i s retirement at today ' s meeting.
3- By this time next week, I (to work) . . . . . . . . . wil l have worked on this proj ect
for twenty days.
4- We (to beat) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . are going to beat you in the soccer game on
Saturday.

5- She . . . will (to teach) probablyteach in London.

6- I promi se I (to cal l ) . . . . . . . . . will call you

as

soon as I have any news .

7- What (to wear)are you . . . . . . going to wear at the party tonight?

8- They are getting married on Saturday. All the guests (to wear) . . . . . . will be
wearing white.

41

III-

Put the verbs in parentheses in the correct form and use the
appropriate modal (4 points) :

I -Thi s is impossible ! He (modal + not to get) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

drunk
on
two
bottles
of
coke.
He
(modal
+
to
have)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . gin with them .
2- She had one rather annoying habit. She (modal + to insi st)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . on tell ing people about her dreams.
3 -He (modal + to be) . . . . . . . .
. . . an angel, so enchanting when he
chose to be.
4-1 suggested that he (modal + to come) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . in and rest his
poor legs.
5- .. 1 (modal + to go) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to the c inema tonight, Daddy?"
"No. You (modal + finish) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . your homework."
6-The shirt was clean. You (modal + to wash) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . it.
.

. .

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . .

IV1234-

5678-

V-

Fill in the blanks with the right modals or phrasal modals and verb
forms. (4 points)
I (to speak) . . . . . . could speak Arabic fluently when I was a child. But after we
moved to Canada, I forgot almost everything.
You (to take) . . . needn ' t take your umbrella. It is not raining.
He (to be) . . . must be.very tired after such enormous work.
A : What are you going to order?
B : I don ' t know. I (to have) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . may have the tofu pasta.
Our son (to clean) . . . . . . couldn ' t have cleaned his room . It i s sti ll messed up.
The twins have guilty expressions on their faces. They (to do) . . . . . . . . . must
have done something naughty.
I don 't know why he hasn 't called me back. He (to forget) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . may
have forgotten my number.
(to bring) . . . Do we . . . have to bring our own tools for the contest?
Put the verbs between parentheses in the right forms.(Spts)

1- They (travel ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by plane, but then they decided to go by

train instead .
2- I have warned her about the consequences,, but she( not
l i sten) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3 - What time (the CCGexam/Start)
?.
4- Don 't call me tomorrow morning. I ( interview) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the dean.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

42

5678-

A l i wi l l have eaten all the apples before his father (buy) . . . . . . . more.
This time next year we (sit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for the 2" d year exams.
(I meet) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . you at the airport?.
By the time the ship arrives to its destination, the passengers
(finish) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . their dinner.
9- We (have) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . fi sh for dinner toni ght.
10- Ali has eaten a lot of apples. He (be) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sick.

VI- Rewrite the following sentences using the right modals and verbs
forms.(5 pts)
1- He has certainly fini shed his homework

2- It i s possible that they win the elections

3- He has never managed to understand us perfectly

VII-

Put the verbs in parentheses in the rights future from . (5pts)

1- Queen Elizabeth II (to sai l ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . from Southampton on May 24.

2- I (to bring) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . you something from Pari s, I promise.
3 - Today
is
their
father' s
birthday.
They
(probably
to
organize) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a party tonight.
4- I don ' t thi nk Hinda w i l l come with us to the cinema thi s afternoon. She (to
go) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to the l ibrary.
5- She (not to go) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to the dinner organized by the
company. You should have invited her earl ier.
6- He

(to

give)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a p romotion as

soon

as

he

succeeds in the exam .

7- I (to ask) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . her to p hone you as soon as I get

in touch with her.

8 - lean 't p l ay footbal l thi s afternoon . I (to have) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a

c omputer l e sson in the l i brary at four.

9- They (to go) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . on a tour around the country

thi s summer. They (to slee p ) i n their mob i l e home.

VIII- Fill in the b l anks with the ri ght, modal s and verbs. ( 5 pts)
43

1 - She i s a bit late . She (modal + to start) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . work

earl ier.

2 - I have started th i s l etter to the editor a dozen times and I sti l l

(modal + not fi n d ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . what to say .

3 - John i s extremely c l umsy . He ( modal + to break) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . h i s

father' s glasses .
4 - You (modal + to p ay)

m e ri ght now. You

c an do it next week.
5- She ( modal + to meet) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . him l ast week . He

has been away on a business tri p for the whole month .

44

Second Semester
Parts of Speech
In Engl i sh, words are classified into 9 categori es cal led Parts of Speech. These are :
Determiner I Noun I Pronoun
Conjunction I Interj ection

Verb I Adverb I Adj ective I Preposition I

1/ Determ iners : this category includes :

-

Articles : (definite : the I indefinite : a, an)

Possessive adj ectives: (my, your, his, her, its (and not it' s), our, their)
Demonstrative adj ectives: (this I these I that I those)
Quantifiers : (much, many, l ittle, few, a little, a few . . . )

2/ Nou ns: can be classified into different types:

-

Common nouns: m i l l ionaire, earthquake, silk, book . . .

Proper nouns: are capitalized as they name unique people, places, or
things: Mozart, New York, the B ible . . .
Abstract nouns: name a concept or an idea : peace, j ustice, faith, beauty . . .
Collective or Group nouns: name a group or collection of things, people
or animals : army, committee, government, crowd, team . . . It is possible to
choose either a singular or plural verb after these nouns when they
function as subjects. Ex : The committee meet I meets every week. It i s
more formal t o choose the singular verb, EXCEPT when the idea of 'plural'
i s strongly suggested. Ex : The audience were c l apping and waving their
arms in excitement. 'Police' and 'Cattle' are collective nouns which are
ALWAYS PLURAL Ex : The pol ice said they were coming. The cattle are
in the field.

3/ Pronouns: can be
-

Personal pronouns: they can function as SUBJECTS : (singular: 1, You,

He, She, It) (plural : We, You, They) Ex : I worked as a bus driver while
she worked as a waitress, but we were happy with our new l i fe.
Personal pronouns: they can function as OBJECTS: (singular: me, you,
him, her, it) (plural : us, you, them) Ex : I saw you at the party last night but
you didn't see me. I I bought her a coat, but she did not like it.
45

Possessive pronouns : they replace the possessive adj ective + noun:

(singular: mine, yours, his, hers) (plural : ours, yours, theirs) Ex : This is my
car. It' s mine. I Is it his money? No, it's ours. The expression: one + of +
possessive adj ective + noun = noun + of + possessive pronoun. Ex : (He is
one of my friends = He is a friend of mine) I (She went on hol iday with
some of her colleagues = She went on hol iday with some colleagues of
hers)
Reflexive pronoun s : they are : (singular: mysel f, yourself, himself, herself,
itself) (plural : ourselves, yourselves, themselves). The indefinite pronoun
'one' has its own reflexive as in 'one mustn't fool oneself. Other indefinite
pronouns use ' himself or ' themselves' as in 'No person would fool
himself I themselves ' or in 'Everybody claimed himself I themselves
innocent of the crime' ; the gender of 'person' and 'everybody' being
indefinite.
Reflexive pronouns are used as obj ects of a verb when the action of the
verb returns to the doer, i .e. when subj ect and obj ect are the same person,
thus the reflexive pronoun agrees in gender and in number with the subj ect
it relates to. Ex : I cut myself with a kitchen kni fe. I The soldiers tried to
defend themselves. I She's speaking to herself.
Reflexive pronouns can be used just for emphasis, to emphasize a noun or
a pronoun : The Queen herself gave her the medal . I She spoke to the
President himself. I She's getting a divorce, she herself told me. I I did it
myself.
Relative pronouns: they are personal (who, whom, whose) . Ex : The lady
whose car has broken down i s our neighbor. I The boy whom you saved
from drowning yesterday has broken your window with a ball .
Relative pronouns are also non-personal (which, that). Ex : The watch
that/which my parents bought me is very expensive .

41 Verbs : There are 2 types of verbs :

-

Main (lexical) verbs : they have meaning on their own. These c an be

classified as Dynamic verbs which describe action and can be used with
progressive tenses. Ex : eat, wash, study, break . . . and Stative verbs which
describe a state (non-action, a situation) and cannot normally be used with
progressive tenses : be, l ike, love, prefer, wish, impress, please, surprise,
hear, see, sound, belong to, consi st of, contain, include, need, appear,
resemble, seem . . .
Auxiliary verbs are used with a main verb and they include : a. Primary
46

auxiliaries : They are used mainly to change the tense or voice of th e main
verb. They are also used in making questions and negatives.
Example:
- ' be' i s used to make progressive tenses: Ex : He is watching TV .
' be' i s also used to make the passive : Ex : Small fish are eaten by big fi sh .
- ' have' i s used to make perfect tenses: Ex : I have finished m y homework.
- ' do ' i s used to make negatives: Ex : I do not l ike you. It i s also used to
ask questions: Ex : Do you want some tea? or to show emphasis: Ex : I do
want you to pass your exam.
Modal auxiliaries : They are used to change the "mood" of the main verb,
expressing meanings such as obligation, necessity and prohibition,
penmss1on, possibil ity, expectation, probabil ity, certainty, abil ity,
will ingness . . . Ex : can, could, may, might, should, must, ought to, need,
dare . . .

5/ Adverbs :
Adverbs modify verbs mainly, g1vmg additional information about the
time, place, manner, reason etc . of an action. EX : He ate rapidly.

6/ Adjectives :
-

They modify nouns mainly, and they are invari able : A good boy I Good
boys.

7/ Prepositions : They are used before nouns and pronouns.

-

A preposition i s followed by the obj ective case. Ex : She went with me to

the park. (Prepositions will be dealt with in detail later.)

81 Conj unctions are divided into 2 types:

Coordinating conj unctions j oin words, phrases and independent c l auses

in simple and compound sentences. Ex: and, but, so, therefore, or etc . . Ex :
My father and l are fond of dogs (simple sentence) I I wanted to speak, but
47

I felt my tongue tied (compound sentence).

Subordinating conj unctions are found m complex sentences. Ex :
because, although, that, as, when, since etc . . . As the sun rose, the fog
disappeared.
91 Interjections are 'verbal tics' found in speech, not in formal writing (Oh ! Well ! )

Look at this news item, and pick out example words illustrating the 9
different parts of speech in English.
A man in Colchester returned a l ibrary book yesterday thirty-four years late. A lex
W i l l i ams, a newsagent, found the book in his mother's house after she died
recently. It was under some old clothes at the bottom of a drawer. The book was a
romantic novel entitled I See You Everywhere. Alex's mother borrowed it thirty
four years ago, so A lex thought it was time to take it back. The l ibrary will decide
next week if Mr. Wi lliams has to pay the fine, which i s over two hundred pounds.
" I hope they won't make me pay", he said anxiously. " Oh ! It' s a lot of money, and
I'm not a rich man " .
I . Verb : .

..................................................................................

2 . Noun : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3 . Adj ective : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4 . Adverb : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
... . .. .. ..... .. ...... .. ... .....
5 . Preposition : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6 . Determiner: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7 . Pronoun :
8 . Linking word : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9 . Interj ection: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Read this story and say what kind of words these a re :

On Tuesday night, burglar broke into a smal l shop in a small Sussex town and
stole 600. The shop sel ls burglar alarms. "It's terrible. We opened very recently,
so we haven't had time to fit an al arm , " the manager said sadly.
1 . On : . . .
. . . . . . 2 night: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 . a: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
4 . broke: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 into : . .
. 6. smal l : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.and: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 .the :
.
.
. 9. sells: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 0. It :
. . 1 1 terrible: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 . recently : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 3 . so:
.
1 4 . we: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 . time: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.

. . .

. . . .

. .

. . . . . .

. .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . .

48

1 6 an .
1 9 . said:
.

1 7 alarm
20. sadly :

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . .

. . .
. .

. .

. .

.._

..

. . . . . . . .

- .:.. .. -- - -

- ... -

.. .. .

Words in context:.
Some words belong to different c lasses in different contexts :
1 . The book wasn't in the cupboard. (

.
.
..
)
I mustn't forget to book a hotel room . (
. . ..
2 . He might have to pay some money. (
....
..
.)
I like the j ob, but the pay isn't very good. ( .
. .
. )
3. l am going to the shop. ( . .
.
)
I don't want to shop on Saturday. (
.
...
. .
)
4 . The door was open. (
.
. .
. .
. .
)
The burglar didn't open the door. ( .
)
5 . You ought to fit an alarm . (
.
.
.)
Our best player isn't fit. ( .
. .
)
6 . The alarm didn't ring. ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )
The news will alarm everyone. ( .
. . .
.
. )
. .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . .

. . . . . .

. . . . .

. . .

. .

. . . . . . .

. . . .

. . . . .

. . .

. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . . .

. . . .

. . . . . .

. .

. . . . . . . .

. . .

. . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . .

. . . . . . .

. .

. . . . . . . . .

. . . .

. . . . . . .

. . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

. .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . .

. . .

. . . . .

. . .

. . . . . . . .

. .

. .

. .

. .

. .

. . .

. . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . .

. . . . . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

. .

Determiners and Pron ouns :

There are different types of determ i ners and pronouns. Compare :

Determ iners

pron ou ns

and

A rticles: a book, the l ibrary

Personal pronoun s : I, you, h e , she, etc .
Possessive determ iners : my ticket,
Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his,
your house, his mother, her book, etc . . hers, etc . . (I've got mine . )
Demonstratives : this door, that time,
Demonstratives : this, that, these,
those, (This i s nice . )
these keys, those pages.
Quantifiers : a lot of money, most books, Quantifiers : a lot, most, some
some clothes
Relative pronouns: who, which, that
We use a determiner before a noun
We use a pronoun instead of a noun
It was in the l ibrary .
The book was in the library.
Look at this.
Look at this photo.
I have got a lot.
1 have got a lot of money.

49

Pick out all th e d eterminers and prono uns included in the following
short dialogues:

a. What's the matter with that girl?

- She's cut herself with a knife .
Determiners: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pronouns: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
- No, I've got mine here .
b. I s this your bag?
Determiners : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pronouns:
There aren't many, I'm afraid.
c . We'l l need lots of plates.
Determiners : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pronouns: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A man who loses al l his money in a casino.
d. What is this film about?
Determiners : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Pronouns: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Identifying words : Suffixes not only give you a clue as to the meaning of a word
but also tell you whether the word is a noun, verb, adj ective or adverb .
. Common noun endings:

tion

deliverance -ence independence

competition -ance

-ment
agreement

teacher
communi!y -er
friendship -ity
ism Budhism
-ship
employee
or doctor
-ee
. Common verb endings:
-ify
-ize memorize
ate refrigerate
lengthen
-en
identify
. Common adj ective endings:
-y happy
-ous mountainous
-ions serious
-able capable
-al musical
-ic athletic
-fol beautiful
-less careless
- Common adverb ending : -ly quick!y
-

50

Syntactic elements and structures of the sentence

The simple sentence is divided into two basic constituents : Subj ect and Predicate.
The Predicate wh ich i s the most informative part of the clause may consi st of:
a. simply a verb, always realized by a Verbal Group (Ex : Tom disappeared . ) or
b. a verb followed by one or more essenti al, obl igatory elements (Ex : A l i ate an
apple. I Ali gave his brother an apple. I Ali is generous. or
c. a verb followed by optional, non-essential elements which express inessential
c i rcumstances . Ex : Tom disappea red suddenly after the concert.
I Identify t h e S u bj ect/Predicate i n the followin g sentences, then d raw some

concl usion s :

I . I learnt all thi s much later.

2 . The chef is a young man with a broad experience of the world.
3 . The fate of the l and paral lels the fate of the culture.
4 . 1 have sent them an invitation .
5 . Doctors recommend a less stressful l i fe.

6. The Ministry of Education awarded their son a grant.

7. The Marketing Manager's ingenious plan to promote sales has fai led.

II Study each of t h e followin g sentences and b racket the non-essential

ele m e n ts (if any) :
1 . M any o f the houses must have disappeared since my father's day s .
2. The pace o f development was rapid.
3 . l explained briefly to Mrs. Davies that there was a power cut.

. It seemed a good idea at the time.

51

5 . Can you tel l me the way to the Post Office?

6. They strode in silence to the parking lot.

7. He helped the girl to her feet .

III Describe the difference between these groups of sentences :

Gro u p 1 : Good bye .
How d o you do?
Thanks a lot.
How much?

G rou p 2: She is h appy .

My shoes were muddy.
The pedigreed dog with the rhinestone col lar ran down the street
without a leash.
The thunderstorms produced rain.

Gro u p 3: l am going to the baker's, and then l am going to work.

I l iked it, but it didn't l ike me.

My shoes were muddy, so I didn't go into the house .

Grou p 4 : My shoes were muddy because I walked through the field.

A lthough it was raining, we stil l went for a walk.
l am not sure that I want to go.
The watch that his grandfather offered him was priceless.

52

The Phrase, the Clause, the Sentence

What is a phrase? A phrase i s a group of words without a verb. Ex : a student,
the book, my shoes, thi s table, the old lady, very bad behavior etc . .
What i s a clause? A clause i s a group of words that includes a verb. Ex : Tom
disappeared. I A l i is generous. I that she has to go . . . I what you are saying . . . etc . .
Whether the meaning o f a clause is complete o r not depends on the type of
sentence one is deal ing with.
What are the different types of sentences in English ? There are basically three
types + a fourth which is a combination of two of them .

1. The Sim ple Sentence : l ike the c lause, it is a group of words that includes only

one verb, but the meaning i s complete. Ex: A l i i s generous. I She is a student. I
You look tired. Compare with ' What you are saying . . . ' : i s it a clause? Yes ! I I s it a
simple sentence? No !

2. The Compound Sentence: It i s a sentence that includes more than one verb.

which means that it contains at least two clauses that have a balanced relationship
and that are of equal importance. A compound sentence is in real ity two separate
simple sentences that have been j oined together thanks to a coordinating
conj unction such as : and, or, but, yet, so, for, besides, furthermore, consequently,
nevertheless etc . .
- H e i s intelligent. (simple sentence) I H e i s not hard-working. (simple sentence)
- He i s intelligent, but he is not hard-working. (compound sentence)
- A l i bought some candy. A l i shared the candy with his brother.
- A l i bought some c andy and shared it with his brother.

3. The Complex Sentence: It is also a sentence that includes more than one verb,
but the two or more c l auses in it are not of equal importance. There is a main
( independent) clause and a subordinate (dependent) clause, l inked thanks to a
subordinating conj unction such as : what, that, when, since, if, although, because,
despite, where etc . .
- I used t o walk t o school when I was a child. OR

- When I was a chi ld, I used to walk to school.

53

4. The Compound Complex Sentence: i s a combination of a compound sentence

and a complex sentence.
Exam ple :
- I used to walk to school when I was a chi l d, but now I prefer to take the bus.
- Although he was tired, he went on working, and fini shed the j ob on time.

Read the following sentences, and determine whether they are simple,
compound, complex or compound complex :
- This is a simple sentence.

- I l ike to read.

- I don ' t know i f you need help.

- My chil dren and I speak Spanish.

- I l ike to read; besides, I enj oy listening to music.

- I like to read, but my children prefer to chat with their friends on the Net.

- She doesn ' t care about you.

- She doesn ' t care i f you are coming or not.

- He has read a lot of books ; nevertheless, he still lacks some important

i nformation on the subj ect.

54

The Subject
The subj ect is that element which must be present in declarative and interrogative
sentences. It is placed (i) before the verb in declarative sentences. Ex: Everyone
left early. (ii) in WH questions where the WH-element is Subj ect Ex: Who left
early yesterday? (iii) After the aux i l i ary in Yes I No questions Ex : Did everyone
l eave early?
Subj ects c an be realized by various types of words, phrases and clauses:

She is generous.

Jane Sm ith is generous.

The lady is generous

The old lady is generous.

The extremely old lady is generous.

What you are saying is true.

That she has to leave is a pity .

Studying grammar is fun.

I dentify the constituent which functions as Subj ect i n each of the fo l l owing
sentences. Entitle each c l ass of groups and c l auses.

( I ). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
I I Cocaine c an damage the heart as wel l as the brain.
21 The precise number of heart attacks from using cocaine is not known.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3 1 That he failed to turn up surprised nobody.
41 Why the library was closed for months was not explained.
(3 )

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

51 To take such a risk was rather foolish.

61 Run for President is what he may do.
SS

. . . .

. . . .

7 I Having to go back for the tickets was a nuisance.

(4)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8/ It is nearly three o'clock.

91 It was a dark, windy night.

1 0/ It is eight hundred kilometers from here to Barcelona.

(5) ........................................................

1 1 / There's plenty of time.

1 2/ There is a book on the desk.
(6)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 3/ Before midday would be convenient.

1 4/ By plane costs more than by train.
(7)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 5/ Now is the time to act.

1 6/ Just here would be an ideal place for a picnic.
(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 7I The handicapped are given special facilities in public places.
1 8/ The supernatural attracts many people.

56

The Verb
The verbal component of a clause tel l s us whether the situation expressed by the
c l ause is a state, an action or an event. It specifies the time of event through tense,
the process of event through aspect, the assessment of event through modal ity, the
organization of event through voice. (active or passive) Ex :
- Our apartment in town is being redecorated. (Present tense, Progressive aspect,
Passive voice, Material process : redecorate)
- You must be j oking. (Modality, Progressive aspect, Present tense, Active voice,
Verbal process: joke)
The Verb is real ized by a VG whose structure may consist of ( 1 ) a single finite
form (ate, reaches), (2) a single non-finite form (saying, to be), or (3) a longer
Verbal Group, consi sting of the main verb preceded by one or more auxiliaries Ex :
You can 't possi bly have fini shed already !
1 ) Read this conversation and fi l l in the table below :
- How's your new flat?
- Oh. It ' s okay, thanks. We've been there a month now, and I think we're going to
l ike it.
We're decorating at the moment. You must come and see us when we've finished.
- Thanks. That'd be nice. You were lucky to find somewhere .
- Yes, we were getting pretty desperate. We'd been looking for ages and couldn't
find anywhere. The flat wasn't advertised. We heard about it through a friend. It' s
quite convenient too. We get the train to work.
- What floor is the flat on?
- Wel l , we l ive at the top, but there are only four floors. If there was a l i ft, it would
be perfect.

57

Tense

Aspect

58

Modality

Voice

2) Identify the different forms that realize the verb:

S o they came in and I was at home, so we had tea, and she rang up last week and
said she ' d got to come and supervise the girl again, and asked if they could come
to lunch. So they did. Then it turned out the girl had gone and got a chill or
something, having heard her supervisor was coming, so there was no supervision
to do, so they stayed for a nice long time and they may be coming again tomorrow.

Finite

Sin2le Forms

Loneer VGs

59

Non-Finite

Verbs can be c lassi fied into : transitive, intransitive and linking verbs.
1- Transitive verbs are either

a. monotransitive because they require only ONE obj ect, ex. A l i ate an apple. A
sentence with a monotransitive verb has only one possible Passive Voice form :
A l i ate an apple. I An apple was eaten (by Ali). Examples of monotransitive verbs:
eat, drink, break, make, hate, meet, etc . .
b . ditransitive when they require TWO obj ects : a direct and an indirect one: ex.
A l i gave me an apple. I She sent him a letter. I We offered our son a watch.
Because it has two obj ects, a sentence with a ditransitive verb has two passive
forms: ex . She sent him a letter. I He was sent a letter. I A letter was sent to him.
Examples of ditransitive verbs: give, send, offer, borrow, lend, show, etc . .
c. complex transitive when they require one obj ect + a complement to the obj ect.
ex. They chose Ali captain of the team . In this sentence, ' A l i ' which is Obj ect and
' captain of the team ' which is a Complement to the obj ect are one : Ali = captain of
the team . Examples of complex transitive verbs: cal l, name, choose, elect, select,
etc . . . .

2- Intransitive verbs
a. In most cases, sentences with intransitive verbs do not require anything after
them, and the meaning is, of course, complete. ex. Tom disappeared. I A l i is
sleeping. I The baby is yawning. I The dog sneezed. Etc ..
b. In some cases, certain intransitive verbs require an adverbial which i s necessary
to complete the meaning of the sentence. ex . I live in Tunis. In th is sentence, the
adverbial of place ' in Tunis' is not optional . It is essenti al to the meaning of the
sentence.
3- Linking verbs are automatically fol lowed by complements that are realized by
either adj ectives: ex. Tom is strange, or by nouns: ex. Tom is an artist. The
complement that follows a linking verb i s called subj ective complement because it
is directly related to the subj ect and completes it. ex . Ali = strange I Ali = arti st.
Examples of l inking verbs: be, become, get, grow, taste, look, seem, appear, etc . .

60

Subj ect-Verb Agreement

I) Gen eral Rule: There is agreement between a subj ect and a verb when the verb
is: i s/are, was/were, has/have or the simple present of any given verb. Compare :
SUBJECT
The window

VERB

is open.

SUBJECT
The windows

VERB
are open.

The road

was wet.

The roads

It

has been raining.

They

The soup

tastes good.

The biscuits

were wet.
have repaired
fence.
taste nice.

Verb ending

Meaning

the

Example

- S-

one

The boy runs.

- 0-

more than one

The boys run.

II) Troublesome Cases :

a. Non-count noun subj ects take a singular verb: The food/John ' s advice is good.
b. In most cases, collective noun subj ects take singular verbs, but i f the group is
viewed as individual members, use a plural verb:
Our school team has won al l its games. (= the team as a whole)
Our school team have won all their games. (= individual team members)

c. Subj ect nouns that are derived from adj ectives and describe people take plural
verbs: Ex :
The rich are in favor of a tax cut.

d. Some proper noun subj ects that end in -s, such as names of courses, diseases,
places, as wel l as book and film titles and the word news take singular verbs:
Wales i s a beautiful region. I Mathematics is a difficult subj ect.
61

e. Plural subj ect nouns of distance, time and money that signal one unit take a
singular verb :
S ix hundred miles is too far to drive in one day.

f. Basic arithmetical operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide) take singular

verbs:
Four times five equals twenty.

g. For items that have two parts, when you use the word pair, the verb is singular,
but without pair, the verb i s plural :
My scissors are lost.

My pair of scissors is lost.

h. Clausal subj ects are singular even if the nouns referred to are plural :
What we need is more reference books.

i. Gerund (verb + ing) and non finite (to + verb) subj ects take a singular verb :
Reading books is my hobby.

To err is human.

j . With fractions, percentages and the quantifiers all (of), a lot of, lots of, verb
agreement depends on the noun coming after these phrases:
- A singular noun, noun clause, or non-count noun takes a singular verb :
A lot of the (book/information) is about urban poverty.
- A plural noun takes a plural verb :
A lot of computers need to be repaired.
- A col l ective noun can take either a singular or plural verb depending on
mean mg:
All my fami ly (lives/l i ve) in Ohio.

62

the

k. With each, every and everyone as subj ects, use a singular verb :
Every student has a lunch box.

I. With a number of as subj ect, use a plural verb :

A number of students are taking the exam.

m. With the number of as subj ect, use a singular verb:

The number of students taking the exam i s 75 .
n.

With none as subj ect, use a singular verb :

None of the magazines is here .

o.

With either or neither as subj ect, use a singular verb:

(Either I Neither) was acceptable to me.

p. With correlative subj ects either . . . . or, neither . . . . . . . . . nor, the verb agrees with
the closest subj ect:
Either Bob or my cousins a re going to do it.
Neither my cousins nor B ob is going to do it.

q. With there subj ects, the verb is singular or plural depending on whether the
noun phrase following the verb i s singular or plural :
There is one book on the table.
There are (three books I a book and a pen) on the table.

63

Exercice 1 : Circle the right alternative and justify :

I - 1, 000 mi les (is I are) a long distance.
2- 5 years (is /are) a long time to spend on an M.A thesis.
3- 2 million dol lars (is / are) a lot of money .
4- One plus one (is I are) two.

Ten minus three (equal s I equal) seven.

5- A lot of nonsense (was I were) published about the incident.

6- A lot of people (was I were) present when it happened.
7- A number of students (have dropped I has dropped) that course.
8- The number of students in this school (is I are) 2,000.
9- The great maj ority (is I are) helpless.

1 0- A maj ority of my friends (advises I advise) it.

1 1 - Ten per cent of fifty (is I are) five. Two thirds of nine (is I are) six.

Exercice 2: Proof reading for subject-verb agreement: Underline any subj ect
verb agreement errors; write the correct subject or the correct verb form to
eliminate the error.
Many spec ies of bats i s considered endangered. The bat population worldwide are
decl ining. Bats in Colorado is roosting in caves, hollow trees, beneath bridges, and
in attics, cellars, and mine tunnels. In the past, inactive mine were closed to
prevent danger to people. Now the Colorado Division of Wildlife operate a
program to provide bat habitats in the inactive mines. "Bat gates" are installed to
al low bats to fly in and out. The man-made habitats in Colorado is important for

64

the conservation and preservation of the bat species.

Exercice 3: Provide an example sentence illustrating each of the following

concepts. Underline the pertinent word (s) in each example.
a.collective noun subj ect: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
b. noncount noun subj ect: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

third person singular simple present inflection: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

d . a common noun ending in -s- : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
e . a proper noun ending in -s- : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
f. a disease :
c.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. .

g . a title of a book/fi l m : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
h.

set of two : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

65

Adjectives
1 . Some common features: An adj ective describes something (it tel ls us what
something i s like). In the phrase : a big town, the adj ective big describes the town.
There are two main places where we can use an adj ective:
(i) Attributive/ pre-nominal adj ectives occur before a noun. Ex : You've got a nice
garden . I It was a dark night.
( i i ) Predicative/ post-nominal adjectives occur after a noun, after ' be ' and other
l inking verbs. Ex : Your garden is nice. I It was getting dark. The most common
l inking verbs are : be, seem, appear, become, get, stay, look, feel, taste, smel l . . .
T o make an adj ective stronger o r weaker, we can use an adverb before the
adj ective: You've got a really nice garden. It was getting quite dark.
Some adj ectives change their meaning when moved from the pos1t1on of
'attributive' to 'predicative' . (An old friend = a friend 1 have known for a long time. I
My friend i s old. = my friend is advanced in age .) (A smal l farmer = a man who
has a smal l farm. I The farmer is smal l . = physical ly smal l )
2 . Formal Features: These are some common adj ectival affixes : a l , fu l , less, able,
ar, 1c, 1ve, ous, y . . .
3 . Nouns used as adjectives: a television program, the garage door, a night club,
apple trees . . . .
4 . Adj ectives used as nouns:
( i ) Social/Economi c : The rich, the poor, the strong, the weak, the
(under)privileged, the di sadvantaged, the unemployed, the homeless, the hungry.
(ii) Physical/Health : The blind, the deaf, the sick, the disabled, the handicapped,
the l iving, the dead.
( i i i ) Age: The young, the middle-aged, the elderly, the old.
5.Present and past participles: (i) An adj ective ending in ing__describes what
something is l ike, what effect it has on us. A game can be exciting, interesting_
boring or disappointing.
66

(ii) An adj ective ending in ed describes how we feel. We feel excited int.:...
bored, or disappointed.
6 . The order of adj ectives: When two or more adj ectives come before a noun,
have to decide in what order to put them .

det

How

How

How

What

Which

Where

Made

What

good ?

big ?

old ?

shape ?

color ?

from ?

of ?

kind ?

we

noun

What for?
small

Insect

green
i n dustrial

j apanese
a

new

wonderfu l

was h i ng
pl astic

awful
long

the
a

compan ies
powder
souve n i rs

narrow

passage
wooden

mce

pi ctu re

frame

1 ) Put these attributive adjectives into the right order:

a. - doll - pink - little - plastic - poor - the : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
b. - grey - statue - ugly - an - wooden - old: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

c . - roses - long-stemmed - dozen - all of - the - very - American beauty:

d.

books

rare

history

last

quite

both

of -

John ' s:

2) Provide sentences illustrating the following terms:

.
.
attn" but1ve a d" ect1ve: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
.
b . pre d icat1ve a d" ect1ve: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
a.

c . present part ic1p I e a d" ec t"1ve : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

d . past participle adj ective :

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

67

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3 ) What type of adjectives are these?

a. a man-eating tiger:

b. a flea-bitten dog:

c . a hard-working student:

d. a much-loved story:

4) Express the fol lowing sentences differently using a participial adjective formed
from the noun shown in ital ics:
a.

His face was framed in a great beard.

b. You have shown great enterprise in setting up this firm .

c . The newspapers reported al l the details o f the case.

d. Conflicts often arise between countries that are neigh bors.
e. We l ive in

an

anc ient town with a great wall round it.

f. Dresses with designs of flowers on them are no longer in fashion.

5) Express the following Noun Phrases differently, using a compound adjective as
modifier of the head noun:
a. a story so scary that it rai ses the hair on your head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
b . an activity that consumes too much of your time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

c . cakes that have been made at home

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

d. a speed that takes your breath away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

e . troops that are borne (transported) by air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
f. a plain that has been swept by the wind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.

68

g . the performance that won an award

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

h . a device that saves a great deal of labor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6 . Complete this conversation:
A: That was an excit. . . film, wasn't it?
B : Oh, do you think so? I am surpris . . .

you liked it.

I thought it was rather disappoint . . . .

A : Wel l , I was puzzl . . once or twice. I didn't understand the whole story. It was
.

confus . . . . . . . at the beginning, but the end was good.

B : I was bar . . . . . . . . . most of the time . I didn't find it a very interest . . . . . . . . . . . film.
7 . Choose the correct sentence:

1 . Don't wake the dog.

( It's asleep I It's an asleep dog)

2 . I've found this bag.

(It's an old shopping bag I It' s a shopping old bag)

3 . The fish isn't dead.

(It's alive I It's an alive fish)

4. l haven't got any money .

(That problem is only I That's the only problem)

5 . Go to the post office.

(That post office i s main I That's the main post office)

69

Adverbs
An adverb describes a verb.
1 - Single-word adverbs are of various types :

Examples

Type

Tell us . . .

Manner

how

slowly, suddenly, eagerly, anxiously, careful ly

Place

where

here, there, upstairs, outside, nearby

Time

when

now, then, soon, yesterday, once

Frequency

how often

sometimes, always, ever, never, usual ly

Degree

how much

very, quite, almost, compl etely, ful ly, real ly

Sentence

certainly, probably, maybe, obviously, clearly,

luckily

2- Some words are both adj ectives and adverbs: hard, fast, high, low, deep, early,
l ate, long, near, straight, right, wrong.
We did some hard work. I We worked hard.
I came on a fast train. I It went quite fast.
3 - There are some pairs of adverbs with different meanings: hard and hardly, near
and nearly, late and lately, high and highly, free and freely.
I tried hard, but I didn't succeed. I I have got hardly any money left.
Luckily, I found a phone box quite near. I I nearly fell asleep in the l ecture.
The coach arri ved late. I l have been very busy lately.
The plane flew high above the clouds I The material is highly radioactive

70

4- There are three main positions for adverbs:

a. Front position I sentence-initial, at the beginning of a clause, when it re lates to
what has gone before . Ex : Sure enough, the police car stopped us. I Just hold a
moment. I In the end, our efforts wi ll surely meet with success .
b . Mid position, after an auxiliary verb, after be or before a simple-tense verb. Ex:
It doesn't often rain here. I We've j ust booked our tickets. I You were probably
right. I You probably made the right decision. I I always get the worst j obs.
c. End position I sentence-final . If there is an obj ect, then the adverbial usually
goes after it ( I wrapped the parcel carefully), or when it i s new and important
information (There was a pol ice car in front of us. It was going very slowly) .
1 ) Why are the fol lowing ungrammatical?
a.

Is he not ever going to fini sh his degree?

b.

Rarely we can eat outside in the garden.

c.

Marvin does often not dance.

d. He can play sometimes handbal l after work.

e.

Are you ever late to class? - I am never.

f.

I speak fluently French.

g.

We enj oy going in Boston to seafood restaurants.

h.

Crying hysterically, the mother tried t o calm the littl e girl down .

1.

"How often do you go to the beach?"

"Usual ly."

2) Read this story and then say what type of adverb each underlined word is:
A tourist was once ( . . . . . . . . . . . . ) on a cruise to Rio de Janeiro. He was looking at the
sights and eagerly ( . . . . . . . . . . . ) taking photos. He had completely ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ) forgotten about the time . When he real ized that his
to
sh ip was leaving soon, ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . ) he rushed anx iously ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )
the docks. When he got there, ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ) he saw that the ship was moving
slowly ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ) away from the dock. He tried to jump onto the ship
. .

. .

. . .

71

and almost ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ) succeeded. Unfortunately, ( ) he fel l into the water.

Luckily, ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ) some
sai lors fished him out. Then ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ) they told him that it was the wrong
ship. The right one sailed an hour later. Well, everyone makes mistakes
someti mes ! ( . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . )
.

3 ) Adj ective or adverb? Circle the correct form:

I had a (strange - strangely) dream last night. I was in a garden. It was getting (dark
- darkly) and it was (terrible - terribly) cold. My head was aching (bad - badly). I
was walking out of the garden when, (sudden - suddenly), I saw a girl sitting on a
bench. She seemed very (unhappy - unhappi ly). She looked up and smi led (sad sadly) at me . I felt (anxious - anx iously) for some reason. I wanted to be (friend friendly), so I tried (hard - hardly) to think of something to say . But I couldn't. I
j ust stood there (foolish - foolishly).

72

Determiners :
Articles and Quantifiers

73

...GUI DELINES

FOR A RTICLE t: SAG E

USING A OR 0 (NO ARTICLE)

:--r- ---i 1 (a) A dog ma k e s a good p c t .

II

I :l I
o '
;z

(b)
(c)

A s p e a ker

pencil

uses a

w i th

c o u n : n o u n wh e n

A bana n a is ye l l ow.

conta in s l e ad .

ge n e ralizarion .

In

(a) :

s i ngu l a r
ma k i ng

The speaker is talking

a b our any dog, a l l

0
1 U

s/he is

genera l .

dogs , dogs

(1)
(k)

I (I)

in

I, o
=-

I!

USl!"o!G A OR SO/ltlE

saw a

Mary

I n eed

de> in my yard .

ate a
a

banan a .

pencil.

' Cl) ;

i
0

Dogs m a ke
Ba na n as

g ood

a rc

pets.

ye l low.

Pencils c o n t a i n l e a d .

A s p e a k.er u s e s

j
i
I

no

a rticle ( 0 )

w i rh a p l ural cou n r n o u n when

s/h e is making
In

ge n e ra l i zati o n . ..

(d) : The spe a ker

about

Note : (a ) a n d ( d )

is tal ki n g

ny d og, a l l d o gs , d o gs i n

gen era 1 .

have the

meaning.

same

!
I

i
I
I

(m) I

saw

some dogs in my .v a r d .

(r:.)

Mary b o u g h t

(o)

Bob h as
p o c ke t .

(p)

bana11as.

some

s o nw

p e n cils in hi s

I
I

(g) 0 F't'U it is good for you .

(h ) 0 Coffee con r a i n s c a ffe i n e .

en

'!

(i)

I l ike

0 music .

speaker u s e s

w i th

i s m a ki ng
In

(g) : The

article (0)
noun wh e n s/he

no

noncoun t

gene r a l i za t i o n .

ipeakcc is ta.I ki n g

0
abo u t a ny fru i t , a l l fru i t , fr u i t i n

(q)

b o u gh t sonw fruit .

Bob d r a n k

(r) Would y o u
some

SO'J'rU!

coffee .

l i ke to l i s t e n to
music?

general .

c l
CJ

z.

S o m e ti m e s a s p e -a ke r l! Se s J r. e x p ,ess i o n of i:; u a n t i ;} (e . g . , u.lmast a ll, ,,1{)., l, sc.m.:) wh e n s-1c / l i a ;..c s

il/1P1oll all da,r 1P1ak iood p.eis. Man dogs a,., }rimdly. Sonzl! dop hai;.e slrori liair.

74

"

g c :i c r a ! i ia t i .:i:: .

A spea er uses

c:ount

-ith

about one thin g

rs

sin lar

(s)
(t)

noun when s/hc is ta l king

not specific .

(or person)

that

(u)

(j) : The speaker is saying, " I

one: dog (not two dop, some
dogs, many dogs) . It wasn 't a
specific dog (e.g., your dog, the
neighbor's dog, that dog) . It was
only one dog our of the whole
group of animals called dogs."
In

plural
are

not

(y)
(z)

wi th

when a/he is

(m} : The speaker is saying, "l

saw more than one dog. They
weren't specific -clop (e.g. , yo ur
d o gs , die ne1ihl>oi"'s dop, those
dogs) . The nwnber of
dogs ian'rimpof't.nt (two dogs,
five dogs}j I'm .limply saying that
l saw an indefinite number of
In

apple.

th11 banana

gave

Tiu pencil

on

r'

,i;.-- ne is u sed in front of

banana and an

that

desk is

Jim's.
(v) 771 sun is shining.
(w) Please cl o s e t h e door.
(x) Mary is in the kiU:hen .

things (or people)

specific:.

talkina about
that

uses -*

count noun

th

I had

to Mary.

saw

A speaker often

::o:ed

(aa}

(bb)

Did

In

fruit, the frui t in

- - - - - -

own,

die dog that

(ff )

i
1

T1ui air is c:old roday.

-- -

First mention:

noun

listener

11& . ,

with

me sec:ond

I liad a banana . . . .

Second mention:

I lf'IN' tla11 banana . . . .

In the second mention , the

listener now knows whic:h banana

ralking about:

pl ural

Whit time IJ dinner?

We don't use 'die' before noun + number.

-The train laves pl atform 5 at 6 p.m.

We also sav: shoes sire 40, room 129, 1111e 345, section A_

the

b anana the speaker had (not rhe

. anana John had , n o t the banana
b

that

bowl) .

count noun, or a

tiuk,

a lot

names al meals.
I had lunch in 1 very nice resraurant It was ncelent.
we can also uy: The lunch
my
sister served was ucellent.

75

every

tit when

-- -- - ----- - --- -J.- -- ------ lot of.

the

or

the

th e

1:

a /.w, a

0,

they feed

(r) : A speaker uses

. the speaker is

I c:a n ' t hear you . 771

mU1ic is too loud.

We don't use '1IMr' with

dog. The

specific

talkilJI abo u t .

hot.

a,

th i nking a bo u t th e

a/be mentions a
tiine..

In 1ddi tion tO 60nW, speaker miahc use Hvrrv l,

with 1 noncounl nCllln. (See Clan 1 1 -5, p. 3 1 8.)

arc

same

In

(ee) .

(not

day. There is only one dog that

the speaker could possibly be

li6ht.s.

talkin:J

(e.g., that
that bow l.)"

about specific fruit

tJut

w fruic.

talkiDI about: the dog that they

that desk

In

important . And I'm not

s es

cht

knows which dog the speaker is

dogs."

n oun s :

(s) : The speaker a n d

listener

r-----+---4
A speaker oen us.ea nnN * with
(cc) Th./ruit in this bowl is
ripe .
I
a noncount noun when I/he is
1
talking about something that is
(dd) I drank s ome coffee and
j
some milk. The CQffee was
not specific.
(p) : The apeabr is aaying, 1
bought an indefinite amo u n t of
fruit. The exa ct mnount (e.g.,
two pounds of fruit, four
bananas, and two .apples) isn't

noncount

n o un s :

I listener arc thinking about

same specific pcrson(s) or
thin1(1) .

bananq to Mary.

Please turn off the

dogs.

A spea ker

feed the does?

some bananas and
apples. I gave the
on

(2) p l ural co u n t

the

I some) when the speaker and

you

TM ptmeiu

dog.

(3)

l had

a re Jim's.

( l ) singular cou n t n o un s :

- - - - - -

of,

ric. ,

(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

(e)
(f)

(g)
(h)

an

apartmml.

an

old 1>11.ilding.

I have

l have

an

r li\'e in

pmi----1

have a pencil.

I l i ve in

saw a11

I attend

I had

. A and an are used in frnt or a si ngular noun (e .g.,

aparrmMt) . They mean "one ."
If a $ingular noun is modified by an adjecti (e.g., 1ma/J, old ) , a
ar "" comes in front of the adjective, as in (c:) and (d) .
A is used in front of worcts that begin with a conson a n t (b, c, d, j,
g, nc.): l.f boy, a bad day, a Clll, a cur baby.
An is used in front of"WOrds that begin with the vowels a, e, i, a n d
o : aPI aparmkP!t, an ang'l'y m a n , an tkphanr, a n mipry room, ere.

small apartn1em.

For word s t h a t begin wi th the letter u:

( i ) An is used 1 f the u is a vowe l sou n d , a s
uncle, a n urtusual day.

umbrella.

ugly picwre.

a univei-siry.
unique experience.

(2)

(i) He will arrive i n an hcur.

(j) .?::J e w Yea r's Day is q holidCUJ.

(2)

0 tnil(iW ..J.A W. NL
Dirrcamu: Write

A is used if the u is a conso n a n r s o u n d ,

a unit, a usual even i .

For words th a t begin with che leccer h :

( l ) An 1s used 1f the h is sile n t : an hour,
pers on .

or

1 . -A- mistake

.rn

in

A is u sed if

point.

tbe blanks .

the

uniform

1 3.

8.

union

14.

abbreviation

3.

dream

4.

__

interesting dttt m

1 0.

5.

empry box

1 1.

box

12.

__

__

76

umbrella ,

;is in a

honor,

hour

an

iuaeo r inessaae

handsome

unhappy child

1 8.

unlvenal problem

17.

high

the pound

16.

man

honest man

honor

I,

I
honesl

or rwc

hole in

0 11

1miHrsily,

15.

9 . -- QDISUC stor)'
_

an

an

h is pronounced : a holiday, a hoicl,

7.

2.

6.

in

i'

J EXERCISE 2
Summary: A/AN vs . 0 vs . THE.
Directions: Write a/an, 0, or th e in the blanks .
I . I h ave

fresh air.

2.

Kathy bought
B : No

5 . La.st

___

you

good b o o k

r a di o. Sh e likes to listen to

turn

please

problem .

___

is

___

e ek I rea d

___

___

6 . A: Let's go swimming in

___

than

lake is a body of

___

8 . During

our

pond.

friend for

___

___

life .

l a ke today.

___

water th a t

ocean

is

smaller than

is--larger than

___

___

ocean.

essen.cial

music is too loud .

life o f Gandhi .

___

vacation. in Brazil, we walked along

music when she studies.

___

___

_,i=-0-

good idea .

___

and looted 'at

9.

rad io d own?

book abo u t

B : Tha t s ounds like

7.

ac night because I like

The window is above m y bed .

3 . A: Wo u l d
4.

window in my bedroom . I keep ic open

"'

to

___

sea but larger

sea .

:beach in front of our hotel

human_ life, but don't drlJ:l k

___

polluonJn. that rivet ls tcrrlbl c.

Wll. yoJ
People c:an - ___ fresh ater, They can't: drink

water

in th e

Flat

ver.

1 0.
1 1.
1 2.

___ _

salt.

-conns

Ted, pass
___

___

1 3 . A:

___

salt, please . And

different co untries

have

How d i d you ge t

___

___

peninsula. Japan i s

because ir

pepper. Thanks.

di fferent geography. Italy is located o n

island

nation.

here? Did you wa lk?

taxi.

B : No, I took

1 4 . There are some wonderful small markers in

1 5.

,eawa ter

___

fresh fish

___

go o d food keeps us healthy

at

Mr. Rico's fish marke t .

my neighborhood . You can alwa y s get

and adds

77

___

pleasure to ou r

l ives .

I
!

r
:

L'S l f; 1 111:: O R 0 \\Tr i-I :\ A .\t F S

The is N O T used wi th rirJed n a mes.
INCORRECT: W4 m e l 1h Mr. Wfurg.

(a) We met 0 Mr. Wfmg.

I know 0 Doctor Smith.
has been in the news.
0 Presidem

(b)

Tiu is NOT used with the names of continen ts .

He l1ws in U.. Eu.

He l ives in 0 Euro.
0 A s ia is the larges t eontincn c
Have you ever been in 0 Afnca?

1....'COR.RECT:

(c) He

The is N OT used with the names of m o s t countries.

!.'>:CORRECT: He !it:.s in r.he Fra11Ce.

(d ) He J i ves in th e Uni1ed Siar..i;s .

Th e Nc1hcrlands is i n Europe .
Have yo u ever been ic the Philippin es ?

of only a few countries, as in th e

the Czech Republic, die Uniud A ra b
Emirares, che Dominican R1public.

(f )

The is used wi th che

l i ve s in 0 France.
0 Brazil is a l a rge co un try.
Have you ever been in 0 Thailand'

(c)

The is u sed in che

examples. Others :

r.amcs

The is SOT used with the n a mes of c i ties.

INCOR R.ECT: He liws in rJte Paris.

He J i ve s i n 0 Pans.
0 New lbrk is the l arges t c i r y in the
U n ited S c a ces
H ave you ev er been i n 0 Jszan/,ul?

The Nilt River is long.

They crossed the Pacific Ocean.
The YIJiow Sea i s in A s i a .

n a m es

of r i vers, oceans, and seas.

(g} Chicago

The i s N OT used wi rh th e na mes o f l a ke s .

I
is on 0 LaJu Mif;higa n .
0 L a k e Titicaca lies on ch e border
I
between Peru and Bolivi a .
l
---if-- -
The is used with the names of mounrain ra nges.
{h) We hiked in t h e Alps .
Tiu Andes arc in S o u ch America .
I

I
He climbed 0 Mo unt Ewres1.
Th e i s N O T u sed with che n a mes of individual mountains.
0 Mount Fuji is in Japa n .
i
--------'-------- - - - __J
(i)

Using THE or 0 with n a mes .

Dirtcrions: C omplete with th4! or 0 .

0 EXERCISE
l.

2.
3.

The

Rome is in

Rhine River tlows

M oscow i s the
a

Ya n g tze i s

5.

Adantic Ocea n

7.
8.

----

Do ctor

_ _ __ __

La ke

capital of

a rc

l o cated in

Anderson is a good

Victoria

is

Germa ny.

Russia .
Pacifi c.

1 s s m a l l er tha n

Rocky Moun tains

t.: n i ted States.

through

fa mous river.

4.

6.

I t aly.

located

78

in

____

physician.
_ _ _ __

Canada

Afr i c a .

and

Noncount nouns u s u a l l y refer co a whole group

of things th a t is made up of many individual
parts, a whole category :r.a de up o f d i ffe re n t
varieties.
For example, furniture i s a n c n co u n t n o u n ; it
d escribes a whole category of thin gs :
chain, tabs, beds, etc .
L>,; DIVIDUAL PARTS

chairs
tab les

furniture

beds

Mail, frui1,

THE 'llt' HOLE

etc

and jftlry are oilier examples o f

nonc:ount n o u n s :hat refer to a whole category
made up of ind ividual pa rts.
SOME COMMO!'l NOSCOL'NT NOUNS : W H O L E G R O UPS MADE vr OF INDIVIDUAL PARTS

A . do th ing
equipmen t

B . homework
h ousework

E . grammar
slang

c . advice

F. Ara bic
Chinese

w..ork

food
fru11

furnir.ure

jewelry

"la11
mo11
scmery

D.

s cuff
traffic

information

history

rb )

(c)

bread
buuer
chus e
iu

English
German

sale
sand
sugar

dark11er1
/1gh1
sunsi:iM

ABSTR!l. C'TI 0 :-15 "

fu n

bta wy
courage
e:t.peritnce

generomy

happin;:ss

0M 1bsu-oction is an idea.

/
(b)
1 (c)
1

nee

Ere.

. - - - - ------- --- -

G:\SES

beef

glass
gold
iron

cl:ickr1

fish

soap

1oor.hpane
WO<ld

) o : !a : .: 77
s 1; ._':""

i'n-: k ;

i>iunder
l(hming

heaiih

htlp
honuiy

ignorance
knowledge
luck

1ime
TJLoftTIU

Ir has no phys i c a l fomi . A. person can11 01 t o u c h it

l1S I:'.'1G UNIT S O F .\ \ E A S L'RE W I T

H O N C O L' !'; T :\ O L N S

( a ) I had so::ne t e a .
I had two cups

l _(d)

h a ir

Spanish

SOUDS and SEMl-SOUDS

challi
meat
pap er

TH1NGS0 T11 AT OCC UR IN N ATI."'RE

dirl

f!oup

Iii ilil'jlfl tlT116&,

(a) UQUD>S
coffee soup
,niJR
ua
au
water

corn

vo.abuiary

Indonesian

liu:rature
music
poetry

G.

l
I

a t e s o m e toast.

of cea .

ate one piece of as:.

"Wcih:
Liquid

:r. ca s urc on

To mencio n a spec i fi c q u a n my of 1 n o n c o u n
r noun, speaker s use
units of mea s u re such as iuio cups
of o r one pm: e of A u ni : of
measu :e u s u a l l y descr ibes the con tainer (a
c up of. a bowl of) , the
amo u n t (a pound of. a quart of)
, or the shape (a bar of .<oap' a
sheer ofpaper)

pound = 0.45 kilogram slkil0< .

= 0.9S li11re rs; four
quart s

mea s u re : ""' qwan

------ - - - -- -- -

79

one

gallon

3 . S hrreslhtc n.

EXERCJE 1.

Preview: count and

Dnaions: Write a/an

.
noncount nouns.
the blanks. Identify count and noncount

or .1 om 1 in

I gor

lcaer today.

l4tur

I aot

mall today.

mail

Anni

M:lrl

Maril is
I have

rinc

'ftUiDg

on

her lcfi hand.

Jewdry 1oday.

assipment

I have

Q EXERCISE t Count and noncount

Drr1Cns: Add final -/-a if possible . Otherwise, write

. I'm lcamin& a lo< of pwmmar _L_ .
. City saeets
. The
0111

. Olaa

tuec11 are

slash

(/)

hu learned

: . Can you

give

me

litre me

voe...-.,

lo of new
a

4.
5.
6.
7.

count

noncount

the blank .

lor of new 10ag __ in nursery school

some

JOmc

llllP*ioa

___

lldYice _ ?

You arc coing to the

o f mualire .

3.

count noncou nr

lllll lk _ .

of meaautc are usually uttd wfth the rollowing

one unit of measure can be used with 1omc of the nouns.

2. a

count noncount

....

__ .

Dincliolu: What units

noncounc

_ .

a "1 ;f.memunl Wtltt.r nouna.

1.

count

count noncounr

full of au tomobile _ .

enjoy listenina to

""

noncount

ows a lot of EncJish word ,__ .

" . Can you

count

noncount aoua ..L__ .

usually haft loc of tnftic

The childttn learned

rrifomiar:U:m

9wsiion

c o u n t no:icounr

co u n t noncount

assiprrwrr

to finish.

question .

. We're srudyina count and

....

homk

information.

. I asked

""'

jnoelry

hom ework ro finish.

I needed

....
-t

nouns.

..,.,,
Cfta4'"

ttorc.

What are you

""'... (Iii)

>

of olivta
of aackcn
of mineral
of jam

or

of wna

warer

jelly

fish

of soup

of nigar

80

goinl to buy?

nouns? More than

ChOOle from these un i ts

D - Count and noncount .nouns.

D: Add final -a/-a if' pOlalble.
. We htve
. There

lot of storm

--

Othenriae, write 1 1l1sh

in the winter.

(IS, ar1) some chalk

in this classroo m.

. Be sure to give the new couple my best wish

.

I want to wish them good luck

1
. ,

Gold

__

(is, an) expensive.

can

Diamond

be scary for children and arumals.

____

I admire Prof. Yoo for her extensive knowledp

.

(u, an) expensive too.

of organic farming methods .

. . Prof. Yoo has a lot Of good Idea

and srrona opinion

.. Thaching children to read requires patience

.

__

__

and lightning

. Thunder

(/) in the blank.

Doaors take care of patient

__

81

__

__

;J

I ;

' 1 I

OOlM"

(a)

..,,.,,., CMm

(c:)

nMll"Y chain

, ! I I i ,I

r . l
/ '

I '

'. \ I '

NONOOIJJllI'
s.r."111 ia UHd

v.fmmrme

''

11

Nttt. l'urnlrme

A Joe

q/'ia

'

, l'

\ ' ' '

* widi _, DOUDL

!med with bath

..._,,, h Uled wkh

Mlldi 11 uud wllh

lumi.nite

(d) ffto chain

I!

'!(chain

(b) lot

I .

o:nm t

nd

OlllllZ nouri..

""""" nouns.

r nouns.

'

A.faw ii uaed wilb eD1G1Z noons .

A. l/liM it Uled whh noncoia.r nouns.

MANY VI . MOCH .
Dil'rlcrioru: Work in pairs.
Saker A Using the cues, ask a qucation u si ni how much o r how nurny. You arc
looking for the answer to "x." Your bo ok is ope n .
Speaker B : Listen canfully fo r che correct use o f much a n d many. Answer t h e q u es t ion.
If ycu d on't know the answer, rucss . Sometime s Spea ker A i1 giwn the
correct answer a n d ca n tell you how close you are co the correct a n swer. You r
'book is closed .

D EXEROSE

'E1umrpU.

S!'BAJCER

S!'BAXER e

&mnple:
S!'EAXSR

water:

tea :

every day.

How m uch

(lloolt dosed) :

page: There

SPEAKER. .B

S l'EAKER

You drink

operi):

I'd guess there

I don't know.

u1u ally driak

A pen cil C ()tts

bone:

Thett

mall :

You

an .x

x.

got

yesterd ay.

Dir'lilions: Complete the sentences by using

pl ura l fo r m o f the n o wi when ncc:enary.

I . '"

fat with

liaJ. w i th

r fee l

day?
every d 1y.

water

are

abou1

thirty.

l i ke

day.

every

The aver11e penon has

Use
Use

of

in the buman body. (A rmorr: 206)

. [] saclle .J .A ffN/'lll. A um.E.

IU!MIND!R:

gl1sscs

Ve ry dose! There are 32 page1 in this chapter.

You

. toodl:

do you drink every

in this chapter. (AnltOCT: 12)

How m1ny p 11es are 1he re i n th.is chaprer?

i re x

(lloolt Of"Pr):
(llolto clo"4):
(boolt operr) :

money :

Witter

I try to drink at least silr

x.

(AIUIHr: 32)

o /.w or

littl ind the givCtl noun .

count noun: iJ fow ""'IS.

noncou nt noun: m /irrl. music .

liste ni111 to

few so"'s

littfc 11!\IASiC'.'

at

tonight.

2. song

We n n g

3.

Do you need ------- with thac ?

hrlp

4 . PPF"
5.

rhint

M y grandfa th er doesn 't

----- on

u se ex cra

the parry.

salt, but he always puts

-----

his hard-b oiled c q

I need to pi ck up -------:---:- it the

wa y h ome from work

tonight.
82

Use ch e

market

on my

Prep ositions

83

PlepoMtioll

.......
......,,
.......

...,.,. ... - _.( ...... .,. wrW

....,,... UDlillud, ..,. ..... ...... """' ...,_ noprilllf. --

........ mflOr'lllll. ........ ...... ...,,

..,, ....,,..,. .... ...... ...

....... ...... ..,....

Ill 11 1 111( ... 1111

JtWftI( .... llnf/W

.......

.... o..r. ,.,._..... pod. ...... ....

.,

,..
..

.,

...,. ... ,.., ...... .,.. .,,...,. ..... "

ow( """' ...... Mlly, . ,...... ,... .....

--.( .... lllMIFMll, M PJl....... fll. tip.

...

....

111'9 ,,.....,. ....,...,, .....

...

taD:iDg about lbDity (e.g. awful, W, dnw. 6flOtl. .WW. ,.,.,;w., u.Mm) are often
hy ot
wry tl9M u maths.

Some adjec:d.va dCIC'l"biq fear (e,a. /rifJatntt4, itamJ, fSJT1JW') can be faDawed DJ' of.
art 1arrw GSJ of w CC/U1'Slt rltal l am A bU ..,.. fl/.
Marr peopk are td britf in .fronl of a dais /Dr rlw foir rim.

clelcribiDI bebmaur (e.g. dnlr, good, ftl4, ftia, llffisla) in a daule

tardac with -, dW or daia are often folla wed hp If:
WWld you lib a nip

of tld of coffet? .' 'lYm's wry WM -'you.

AdJecdte1 deaalnmc bebaYiour dJrected tanrda achen

nim, po., rude. tmJiWl) are ofta foDowed by ID:
1 'm w'OTTiet.t about IM pupils being ,.. Wit.
. Noun

<e.c. crwi. '"" Wrwl. Nan, nascy,

prepo91tlon

No.a

.,..... """' ' ...... ......,, _ ..,...

...... ........... ..... . ...... na.J. ...... ,.

....

....,..,...,,,

....

JW
..

..... --. ..... .,,,... Id. ..... .

....... ..... lli..., 1.111 _ ..,

"

..

ljllcr,
...

...... ...

.....

. ...._

84

Prepolltlonal ph.....a: by, In, at, on, of

Ne t11e by
t

to

talk about who in a paaive clause:

But you will bt taught how to dtal with tho# rhino '1 flw ...,.. on thl courst.
explain how something ii done:
You can mnmit tmy dirty marb )y ....., it with a Mt doth.

to

tallc about traDSpon and commankadom e.g. by planl, by nnail:

We'll bt in tOUth 1'y ,.,..a SOOft if lhal's oiay.

to

to talk about chance

(e.g. by cla.ana, 1ly at.t'idtnt, bY midab):

I saw thl adwrti.snnmt far tht job '1 cMRC. Giid didal to apply far it.

We use m for the following eipressicms: in low, in pafni in private, in fOUCh. in bbt, in dtJnttr, in
i rusn, in JaWon, in Id, in "" ""'Don Jorrn to _,, "' ..aa whilt you.,., G1MZY!
We use at for the following ezpresaions
at/int, at 1arp, al ptaa:
At}ftw ! MU imprmrd by thl rrpufGlicm of tlw unismily but 1 aJso lOtt tltl eouttt you affrr.

airport, at 10IMnUy.
"""
flt
V.. 0 11
l\rr ju finiWd myftnt
We use on to uy why you are IO!llewbere (Col cmAoilay, on bwinm, on duty).
We me of with exprCl&ions of quantity (e.g. all, cmy, Wt, lid&fr, Mdafr)
at Mri, at homl, at idaoo at ,,,,

...,.. .. p,......,.
We can uae nouns, pronouns, or -ftif after a prepolhiO'l"
I Mir rmlJy lnp ntd dw ltq tle11 vdtt -.. in. ytlfll p_,.,111&
If lhly sl&ovt c w In d4ss, nn Rat ur wMi l'I do.
WllJ, IW CIMlys Mn .._ r1t -...
ID n not comes the preposition and .frtt:
Pm worriid .._ ., ,.,,,,, llbll ia a claa

85

Grammil r ex e rc ises
Claw the correct ward (A, B
1 I ltill haven't f01givm her

@for

2 I'm

or C) 1D

--

B of

complete mdl ce

her behniour in front ti my boll.

C from

going to -- 1D your pmeDtl about your c:um raulu.

A Wk

3 I'm awed

- -

A for

B dilcuaa

C uk

B to

C of

making 1 fool cf myself when I p the pre1CZ1tation.

4 rm very

-- in you. You've made I rm} meu al tbiql.

C dilappointed
B llCODilbod
A c:oncerned
S The new drug p1e+enta the 1-=ia
.
B lrom
C in
A to
6 There are many
with our IOCiety today.
A bad
B wrong
C disturbing
1 It na ftrY f=el'OU - yw 1D a&:r 1D help me.
_

B lbolrt

A of

8 The president fint became

aware

in po1itia

ua

ipwlw:d

C far

student.

C mthmflldc

la nine of theee emmMI there la a wroq lftPOlidoL !!pdrdfu w:h mi.ftlcr and
wdae cbe tmnedoa.
1 Tbae bu been rile in the nambrz of people buying mm OWll bGmea.

._L_

2 It ia n.ot dHHcull to diltiquilh amoap the emocinnl rapon.e to lhis aime md the
la1i1 rmpome.

3 There la no need about a new Kbool in tbia aea.

4 We wut the panmmt to pnmdle ca

mp a cU.qe ill me law.

5 I hate the way lhe alwayl lnp. 1D people.

6 lW decided co apply ta dllt job in die nenpaper.

7 Profealor Ho bu I pd boWdp about h.ia su1J;ect.

8 I'm afnJd I broke dm ;.. in .mdeat.

__

__

9 My husband11 staying at my c:ouD while he ii on buUea ill America.

--

10 I pw: him one of my paintizl&l .In return for hil help whm I mOYed bowe.
11

Why do enta alWIJI lmla ID doing thjqa cbmt ue unpopular?

12 When I was in achool I did much more apart dwl 1 do tbeae days.

86

---

_ __

__

EJ

Fil in the ppe in the conYerMtion with

.

:f:iotsi

.. .

- ... ...- . ...

.- ... . .

thOcik

- .. ;

- -

dc:P.e

- _,

word from tile 1toE ad

-- - .

.dfed.

..

- - .

Teacher: Do you think that money ca 1e>lw all problems?

Sdadent: No, not really. Of anme, I would be 1

prepolhion.

t : l:rU .

- - -.. ........,_ ._.,_ . .. - -- ..

4l!C!llS

..

--

worried

.81. money if 1 didn't have

very much, but I believe thM too much money cu be 2

- - ---

-- -

Teacher: So

you.

yo": think it ia pouible to bne too mw:h money?

S&udent: Well, there are Jou of ltoriel in the media about people who have won locs of
money in the lottery and realiled that they are not happier a a result. I think
that ..... amOllnt& of money can have a Deflrlve 3
people.
Teacher: Do you think that people .f
modern technoJoa lilce
compw.en too much and that people are 5
b.ni.ng the
latest hi8h tech equipment?
_ many people in
Smdent: Well, yea., in eome ODUDtrie&. But dUa isn't 6
the world who are only 7
their nm meal. In rich countries
people alwaya want a new gadget to 1DUe life easier but rm not IW'C tbe.e
machines do a=aaDy do dw. When we f> lb.oppi:q w have .to 8
hu.ndreds m different brands of du: lime dJin& ad when thae things
go wrong we don't bow what to do. I would prefa it if life were limPer IJld
we didn't 9
m:linok>li's IO much.
------

__

---

__

--

- ---

--

87

1 (

di"i'"Hi'd1J!HffiMMid"
adi + pttp
abnrt from

11

""

wrb

/: (b) This. boolr. 0.IOftls

C- EXERC ISE 1 .

cl1n rodaiy.

+ prop
to

Preview'.

me.

A1,,t,.o,,., of, " i nd

IO ice

examples o( prcpor.itio:u.

Prepositions a re often comb1ec with dicc:o..., s,

(a), ind verbs, a s 1n (b) .

in

preposition combinatio ns .
5&mpling of
p reposition com b 1narrons
C o m p lece the H:ntenccs with pr poEitions How m any do you a l re a d y knC'wl

These

se n tences comai n a

Tom is d evcred

___ _

_tt_

_ _

h i f m i l y.

2 . I'm afraid I don't agree --- --- - you.

J. I wasn ' t aware

4 . I'm e.:i:cited

th e problem.

-----

re c'lnccrr.

5. Are you satisfied

your progress?

6. She wuncd us

rh coming s c o r ::i .
hiJn l

7 . What's the mattt r

8 . I t doesn't
9 . I got rid

matter

-----

my old bicycle.

I 0 . I don't approve

smoking in p ublic

I I . The solution ia clear

1 2 . Who is resporuiblc

me.

me.

-------

1 3 . The hotel provides suesta

th.ii ?

-------

1 4 . Protect your eyes ----- the

hot tea.

I 5 . He fllled my cup

sun .

towel1 .

- ----- --------------

Preposition Combinations: Group A

[ Answers
from
of

about

at

I with

abow
ro

' with

of
for
about
w
10

ro

for
for

Sentences

He

was

absent ---'--"'-="""-- "11to rk.

o-P
v.'-io_
-"--b
angry --""

I'm afraid
rm

______

__

I'm angry

rats .

------

you.

things.

ma.ny

I 'm familiar

that book.

The

equal

that.

people.

room is full

I'm happy

------

I'm happy

He's kind
She 's always nice

Ar c you polite
I'm ready
She's thirsty

you.

your good luck

people and animals.

me.

strangers?

any

knowledge .

88

______

s.t.

be angry ------

s . t ./s . o .

be equal

be

familiar ------

be full ------

s.t.fs.o.

(peoplellhing>)

be happy ______ s.o.

be happy

s.t.

be kind ------

s. o.

be nice ------ s . o .
be polite

be

s . o.

s. c.is.o.

be curious

be ready

my trip.

Reference List

-- s. t. * *

0---'"
be absent ---'

s.t./s . o . ""*
be afraid
be

ir.

I 'm curious

11tis is

------

------

thirsty

s . o.

s.t.

s.t.

l ' R L l ' O S IT I O :'I." C : O \ lB l :'I." \ r! O \ S : J:\ l ' R O D L

adj + pnp
I (1) Ali ia a6-t from

; (b)

wrti

This book 0.1...,1

C- EXERC ISf 1 .

cl1n today.

.. prq.
lo

Preview:

me.

Ar,.{rwlt, of, " ind

ro i re

C I 11 "

examples of prepoliric :is

Prepoai rions i re often combi ned with 1die,t1Cs,

(1), 1:ic! verbs, a s in (b) .

L"l

as

prepoaftlon comblnalions .

These sen tences con :a in a sampling of

p re position comb ina :1ons

Complete the se ntences with preporitioru. How m any do you already knr:w.->

I . Tom is dcvc tcd

_ _

..b._

__ _

hi f mily.

2 . I 'm afraid I don't agree ---you .

-.3 . 1 wasn ' t aware
the problem.

4. I'rr. excited -----5. Are you satisfied

6 . She warned
7 . What's

-----

t.."le c1Jnccrr.

us -----

the matter

8 . I t doesn't
9 . I got rid

your progress?
th coming storm.

-----

my old bicycle.

I 0 . I don't approvt
1l

-------

1 4 . Protect your cya

1 5 . He fil led my cup

-------

-----

Preposition
Sentences

Answers

about

at / with
abcut
lO

wich

of
for

abaul

He

was

I'm angry

I'm angry

'.P'"-'O""l.\...,;i--

c:i\....
____

__

rats .

I ' m familiar

I ' m happy

I'm happy

co

kc

------

______

She's alW11 ys nice

you police
I'm ready

She's thirsty

:owcl1.

tea.

you.

many

chat.

mini$.

thac book.
peopl e .
you .

yo ur good luck

people

and animals.
me-

strangers?
my trip.

be absent

89

--- s . t . * *
""
_
.p,.

s.t.is . o . *

___

aD$J'Y ------

be anlP')'

s.t.

------- s . o.
s. cJs.o.

be curious

be equal

be

be

s . c .ls .o.

familiar ------ uJs.o.

full ------ (people/things)

be happy

______

be happy
be kind

be Dice

s.o.

s.t .

------ s. o.

be polite
be ready

knowledge .

Reference U.t

b e afraid
be

it.

The room is full

He 's kind

for
for

hot

sun.

Combinations; Group

______

I 'm curious
Th.ls is equal

lO

lO

o{!

______

thia?

die

absent ---'--'-"'""'.-..:..-- work.

I' m afraid

me.

-----

1 3 . The hotel provides cuest

from
of

smoking in public.

The solution is clear

l 2. Who is resporuiblc

rum >

matter ------- me.

s.o.

______

s . o.

------ s . t .

be thiTSty

s.t.

Prepos ition o inans: Gro up B

Answers

Sent eDce s

j(> r
fo r

I :<d mirc ro u

He app l i ed

:4irh

abom . i

II:

fro m
:dth

1 argued

/or

-----

I 'm leavi n g

Do n 'r

stare

/ram
fo r
10

I tdrh

for
fo r

The s o l ution i s clear

Alex is crazy

Jane

IO

atout

you.

me .

irs canals.

everyone.

She's friendly

Fresh fru it is good

h u ngry

I'm nen-ou s

Slme

art .

I 'm sad

canoe

I 'm sure

is sim ilar

\'OU .

chocolate.

my rest scores.

children .

My pa rents arc proud

Whos responsible

me.

foo tball.

is very different

I'm patient

of !

wee k.

the problem.

Venice is famous

c:..i!/1

1:, r
abour

nex t

borrow

losi g

my

_ me .

this?

job.

kayak.

the facts.

90

S.t.

__

help

be

s.1.

------- s . o .

------

S . O. ---S. t .

introdu ce

laur h

s.o.

s . o.

------- s . oJs. : .

----- -

s . t .is.o.
leave ----- (a pl.1c)

st are

.o./s. t.

_____

Reference

-- - - -

List

- - - - - - - - - - - -- -

aware

S . t ./S. l

s . o.!s . t .

be bad

s.o

be clear

s.r .

be era

be different

be friendly
be good

s.t.

be interested

_ _ _ __

be proud

be responsible

be sad

be similar
sure

s.t.

s.t.

be nervous

__

s . o.

s.o.

be hungry

be patient

5. 0.'s . t

s . t.

be famous

be

S.t.

_______ s . o . 's. : .

discu ss s . r .

--- ----- -- --1-- - - --

Smoking is bad

I'm

c"Jj

_______ me.

I 'm aware

I ' m intercsred

1 boui

Rom e

Sentences

Ill

-----

i okc.

__,,
...,0'-'-Y

__

argue ----

believe

Preposition Combinations: Group C

Answers

a bout

. the

s . o.

apply ---- s . t .
argu e
s . :>.

I borr owe d a boo k

------ Oscar.
I dis cuss ed . the p robl em
------ Jan e .
Plc :i)c he lp m e
----- th IS.
'
I i n tro duced Sam
H el en .

I la u g h ed

acbnire

io b.

___ me.

to

lO

-- a

--

-our hcm es-

my husba n d .
We argu ed
------- money.
M.y pare nts beli ce __

<ncr

r::ith

of
f(l r

OY

__,,...._
.,,
__

__

Refe renc e List

- - -- -- --

S.t.

s. o.

S.OJS.t.

s. .. s . c.

s . o . 's. t .
s.I.

gI

Preposition Combinations : Group D

with
about
in

at

agree

We a rrived

We a rrived

a bo ut
of

A hook con sists

w ich

I dis agree

------ tho t .

S h e grnduated

co

We l i s tened

tn

Ted i nv i ted

fo r

Jack

10

paid

me

___ ------

------

----

We talked

fo r

We waited

A s al e sma n waited

pay

------ a

to me

c ustomer.

s.o.

--

--

talk -----wait

the bus.

----

my dog.

_ ___

(a plac.J)

------

wait

complain co s . o .

s. o.

s.t.

s . o.
s.t.

______

':

very poli te
their plavm atca all the tirn ..

5 . Th ree c e nrim erers is equa l

6 . I'm

nor

rea dy -- - - - - --

--- wa ter.

-----

--

a d ults, b u t th ey

argue

-----

----- a p p ro:oc 1 m atel y one

and

my trip. I have n 't p a c ked ye r

.
7 . I bo rrowed s o m e c l o rhcs
----- my bcsr frien d .
S . Arc yo u famil i a r
an c ie n t G ree k h istory?
"
9 . [ d i s c u s s e d my pro b lem
----my uncle .
J O . Som eday a s r r o n a u r s wi l l c ra
ve: ! ----- a n orhc
r s o l a r sy!' t e m .
! 1 . Jennifer a r r i v e d
rh 1 !1 c i ty l a s r Tu c s d ay

J .:j

!'1 <."l

--

l ' r: ;

:\

. r..' )"1. :

D e, y<' '- k ! H w \'- l : :s ! '1 !

T ' r. : 1 i n k i n ; .

\ 't"U

t:! :-- i. !"l g'.

;. ') : ;

; : : ,

I .

... ..I - .

! ,- ;,

.i : :

'

. '

"'I

91

:J

, .

'-"

s.t.

s.t.

- lnctionsl. .. (Groups.A. 8, C. and D)

n
th
pre pos con s.
.
1 E ve r yon e is talki
ni -----the c xp lo s1o

n an
the high sch ool che
mis try l a b .
2. Ca rl os wa s abs en
t ---=--cl ass s ix t im es las t term
.
3. Fru i t con sists
mo.y -are

s . t.

s . t ./s.o.

0 EXE RCIS.E R'evf

ew prePoaitf
Dinciiims: C om lete th e se

4. Ou r chi ldre n

s . t . ls.o.

s . t.

s . o.

s . o.

talk

her problem .

------

Sally complained

a bow

listen

my dinner.

-------

------

cli-gree

invite

a picnic.

some music.

(a buildii 1giroo111)

_____

graduate

An n a .

a bout

coaaiat

s. r.

(a cit)'lco rm rr)')
----

complain

disagree with

that .

Reed College .

-------

I talked

on

you .
__

------

s . o.

s . o.

arrive

th e weather.

printed pages.

------

__

fro m

arrive

the ho tel.

------

I disa gre e with you

about

asrce with

Toro nto at six.

-------

We all complain

ag ree

you .

______

I agree with you

...,..

Reference List

Sente nces

l\nswers

half inch es.

s.t.

Group f
Preposition Combinations: Gro u p E
Answers

-
;::"'
to

ab111

a bm11

of

at

S h e a s ked me
She asked me

-------

know

I'm

looking

ask

my advi c e .

a sk

anything

-------

t h i s page.

know
look

her s i s ter.

look

Anna l o o ks

lO

You r opinion doesn't m a uer ------- m e .

Something i s the m a t t e r ------- the ca t .

rcirh

for
fro m

a bom

vacat i o n .

I'm looking forward

I ' m searching

of

-------

I warned them

---- - - -- --

------- s . t .

search

- -- - - - S . l .

matter - - --- -- ----- s . t . .'s . .1 .

(this)

-----

warn s . o . - - - - - ---

..
..,.,...

.......

____

(thur)

s . l.

1.0.

_____

__ _ _ _

s . r .i s . o .

Lt.

l.L
. ......
. (diiil
t
. .....
---- a.4/Lt
.. . : : --.---.;.-.
L

(resemble)

------- . o .

separate

the d n n ger.

s.o . s. t.

s . : .:. o . (sea rch)

------- s . o .

b e the

( : nq
1: r e q l. - . .

S.l. S.O.

matter

the girls.

------- s . o .

look forward

my lose keys.

She separated the boys

. :.

look ------

my lost keys.

like
en

s . o.

dream

jazz?

S.l.

s . o.

b e long

my girl frien d .

I d r e amed
Do y o u

my rrip.
me.

Th i s b o o k belongs

I'm looking

fo r

Reference List

Sente n c es

- - - - - - - --- - - -

("-J *

--- Lo..,..,..______ i.t .

. ;:stt ..
<==--

=;

&mjlic
:..-.... uJa.o.

______

,_._.

tilU c

92

LL

Lt.

______

-.,...---.....;

dlal, 1.0.

:: (}

.. . , .

1.0./a.t

1,1.l'l.. o.

uJi. o.
Lt.

------ - ---- -- - --

Prcpoatdoa Gomblaatlona: Group G

Sanaaca

IA,-;::;:.-. .

,.--....-

\. rm rnarw

. I
Nf:

i ilX;u1i1 '. "

1 8

1 ip0-

mil acrcise.

Plecei-

.-.

_ .

. ..,...

.. ..

co lk. C'Mtcir.ddtlie iieaber

17
.

_____

1 6.

knowing

-----

3 . Wh i t 's th e matter

you today?
his wife.

We separa ted the ducb

6. I apologized
7. \Ve gor rid
8.

\Vho does

-----

9. The prisoners

book belong

escaped

1 0. Whit h 1ppened
1 1 . I ' m sorcy.

Pattnt1

-----

Pleate forgive me

uying

their guards.

you?

-----

-----

-----

my

error.

b1rm.
my work.

my friendl for their bclp.

1 6. 1 don't app

his lifestyle.

1 7 . Th e official warned us

vegerablcs are

i t maner

the danicr of traveling there.

good ----- you .

1 9. We 're l ooking forwud

20. Does

my mistake.

to concentrate

1 5. I rely

1 8. Fresh

-----

_____

protea their children

1 4 . Sh h . I'm

my boll

the coc.lcr01 chcs in our ap1 nmenc.

-----

1 2. Wbat did Mr. Gnnt die

1 3.

the chickens.

-----

this

an<l <:7)

the truth .

4. He hid the money

S.

your visit.
you what time I call this c ven iDJ?

93

1.0.

____

l.t.
ilD9:o.
(dril}
..... ----- &.t.

tha t!

2 . I was wondering

l.L

_____

------

2. Review: preposifk)n comb inations . (Groups E. F.

.Dinuions: Complete the sentences with prepos itions.
insisced

-----

........, (dU)

1.0.

_____

EXERCISE

I . He

Ll./s.Q.

_____

__---

lf:Wtia,

I woadei- __,--.:..--. lot& of curicn&&

..;,-

(rllat)

( plou)

_____

-
..; -- ieiwlda

chc tcaebcr.

____

(Lt.)

dle jdce.
aood wad.a.

2.

. '
----

: ,*IL.

--:

_____

be llCCUSfOmed, _____

-;,'(,Ji;,

prison.
.

ReSrrence list

..._4 (rAir) . ...;:__....___ (iltot)

m.c:eacrare _____ 1. 1 .

____,
_
.

'. tiid

W.."N

:; ;:'
t

s.. o .

(Wll)

u.

(!Mt)

REVIEW :

I. Identify and state the function of the underlined sentence pa rts.

2 .Reading Shakespeare' s plays ( I ) is one of my favorite pastimes.
3 . The burglars were preparing (2) to l eave the country ( 3 ) when the officers
caught them with the gold they had stolen.
4. To run for presidential elections (4) was a great challenge for a black politician
l ike B arak Obama.
5 . Whoever broke the vase ( 5 ) will have to pay for it.
6. By the woods (6)is an exce l l ent p l ac e for peopl e to rel ax .
I

).

4.
5.
6.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . .

. ..
.

. . . .

. . . . . .

..

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . .
.

. .

. . .

..

...

. .

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

. .

. . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . .

...

..... .
.

II. Bracket the non essential constituents in the following sentences :

I.

3.

Despite the storm's destructiveness, the ship, with its crew of amateurs,
might have survived in more experienced hands.
After the movie, Emma and her brother bought a birthday present for their
mother.
Her uncle and she walked slowly through the Inuit art gallery and admired
the powerful sculptures exhibited there.

III. Provide the present form of the verb in brackets and j ustify you r answer:
1 . E ither my mother or my father (be) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . coming to the meeting.
2. The dog or the cats (be) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . outside.
3 . Either my shoes or your coat (be) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . always on the floor.
4. (be) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the news on at five or six?
5 . Mathematics (be) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrea's favorite subj ect.
94

6 . Eight dol l ars (be) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the price of a movie these days.

7. The committee (lead) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . very different lives in private .
8 . The committee (debate) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . these questions carefully.
9.

A number of trees (be) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . uprooted by the storm .

IV. Fill in the blanks with the rights articles. Put

(3 pts)

where nothing is needed.

1 - If you live in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . foreign country, you should try and

learn . . . . . . . . . . . l anguage.
.
. - N o. I n 1act, I h aven ' t
2 - ''D o you o ft en 1 1sten to . . . . . . . . . . . rad 10 '>"
got . . . . . . . . . . radio.
3 - He lives in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . sma l l village in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . country.

V. Fill in the blanks with the right prepositions. (4 pts)

1234-

A l i sounded quite unhappy when I talked . . . . . . . . . . . . . . him . . . . . . . . . . . . the phone.

He was sent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . any dessert.
Mr. Smith, . . . . . . . . . . . . his part, did not object . . . . . . . . . . . . . the old lady ' s insults.
He was charged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . driving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the influence of alcohol.

VI. Fill in the blanks with the right quantifiers. (3pts)

1 - This town is not a very intereting place to visit. Very . . . . . . . . . . . . . . tourists

come here, for there is . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . to see. Besi des, since today is a national
holiday, there are . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . shops open.
2- I prefer not to argue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . with the people I don ' t agree with .
3 - "Would you l ike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . m i l k i n your coffee?" -Yes, please . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
VII. Put the following adjectives into the right o rder:

I . A (Canadian- smal l -thin) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .lady .

2 . A (carving- steel- new)
knife.
3. A (blue- sai l ing- beautiful) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . boat.
4 . A (French- new- exciting) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . band.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

95

. . . . .

. . . .

. .

5 . A (cotton- dirty- old)

tie.
6. A (serving -smal l -Japanese) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . bowl .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . .

. . . . .

VIII. Fill in the blan ks with the right articles. Put X where nothing is needed.

(3.5 points)
1 - I like to read . . . . . . . . . x . . . . . . . . good literature .
2- I had sand in my shoes from walking on . . . . . . the . . . . . . . . beach.
3 - Can I have . . . . . . a . . . . . . . . . . . . spoon?
4- Hurry up ! . . . . . . The . . . . conference begins in 20 minutes.
5- I'm going to meet . . . . . . an . . . . . . . old friend this week.
6- Here is . . . . . . the . . . . . . . . . . . . weather forecast. Tomorrow is dry and sunny.
7- The . . . . . . . . . Maj rda River is not far away.
8I X. Fill in the blanks with the right articles. Write X where no article is

needed (3 points) :

1-Budapest, . . . . . . . capital of . . . . . . . Hungary, is situated on . . . . . . . River Danube, at

. . . . . . . . . . foot the Buda Hills.
2-

......

futon is a 3-inch-thick cotton mattress . . . . . . . . futon originally comes from

Japan.

X.

Fill in the blanks with the right prepositions. (3.5 points)

1 - This exercise consists . . . of. . . . . . . verbs that are followed . . . . . . by . . . certain
prepositions.
2- I complained . . . . . . to . . . . . . .the landlord . . . . . . about . . . . . . . . . . . the leaky faucet
in the kitchen.
3 - Dan is always nice . . . to . . . . . . . . . everybody.
4- Mike, I real ly adm ire you . . . . . . for . . . . . . . . . your abi l ity to remember names.
Wi ll you help me . . . with . . . . . . . . the introductions?

96

XI. Fill in the blanks with the right p repositions (3 points) :

1 - Train your dog . . . . . . . . . . el ementary obedience so that it i s . . . . . . . . . . . control
. . . . . . . . . al l times.
2- A dog should be fed . . . . . . . . . . its own dish, which must be kept . . . . . . . . . . from
those of the human fami ly, and washed . . . . . . . . . . . separately.

XII. Fill in the blanks with the right p repositions:

-

The flowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the vase are red.

The paint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . his clothes i s blue.
She went . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the beach outside the town.
She has bought a beauti ful house . . . . . . . . . . . . . the river.
They were amazed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hearing the latest news.
I can ' t bel ieve what Iheard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . her in the news.
After dinner is the time . . . . . . . . . go . . . . . . . . . . . bed.
After lunch i s the time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . have a short nap.
I don 't believe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . magic.
He is bad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . physics.
He i s good . . . . . . . . . . . . . . cooking Chinese food.
I congratulate you . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . your success.
! Late

one evening . . . . . . . . . . . our way home . . . . . . . .the studio, we

pulled . . . . . . . . the red light. As we chatted quitly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . the day ' s
work, something suddenly kicked u s . . . . . . . . . the rear and myfeet
went . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . my heard.
I reached . . . . . . . . . . . for Steve scream ing. My heard didn ' t move . . . . . .
my neck. The car came . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . a halt.

Are you alright? He called . . . . . . . . . . . . me. He was twi sted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

shape . . . . . . . . . . . . the floor . . . . . . . . . . . . one arm tangled . . . . . . . . . . the
steering wheel .

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GLOSSARY
Abstract nou n : refers to an idea, quality, or action; something we cannot see or
touch, Ex : science, excitement, stupidity, routine. =/= concrete noun referring to
something that we can see or touch, Ex : m an, bottle, grass, shop.
Action verb : refers to something happening or changing, Ex : do, walk, buy,
speak. =/= state verb refers to something staying the same, e.g. be, belong, remain,
know.
Active: ' Someone stole my coat ' is active, but ' My coat was stolen ' is passive.
Adj ective : b ig, new, special, famous. attributive: the position of an adj ective
before a noun, Ex : a cold day =/= p redicative : the position of an adj ective after a
l inking verb such as ' be ' , Ex : the day was cold.
Adverb : describes how, when, or where something happens, or how true
something is.
Agent: the person, animal, or thing doing the action. ln an active sentence, it is the
subj ect. Ex : Max told me the news. ln a passive sentence, there is someti mes an
agent after by. Ex : I was told the news by Max.
Agreement : the choice of the correct verb forms after a subj ect. Ex : My ear hurts
but my ears hurt.
Article: 'a I an' is the indefinite article and ' the' is the definite article.
Aspect: a verb can have a p rogressive aspect (is walking, was looking) or perfect
aspect (has walked, had looked), or both (have been waiting).
Auxiliary verb : a verb such as ' be ' , ' have ' , ' do ' , which we can use with a main
verb.
Bare infinitive: an infinitive without to, Ex : come, drive.
Base form : the form of a verb without an ending, Ex : come, cal l, dec ide.
Clause: 'We stayed at home' is a single clause . 'We stayed at home because it
rained' has two clauses. (main clause and sub. c l ause). A clause always has a verb
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( stayed, rained). The verb can be finite or non-finite. 'We al l wanted to go out' (a
finite clause with wanted and a nonfinite clause with to go).

Conditional clause: a clause expressing a condition,

I ' I I get you one.

Ex : If you need a ticket,

Conj unction : words such as ' and ' , ' but ' , ' because ' , ' when, ' ' that ' , which link
two clauses.
Progressive : a verb form with ' be ' and an active participle (verb+ ' ing ' ), Ex : The
fi l m is sta rting now.
Cou ntable nou n : a noun that can be either singular or plural Ex : bag(s), road(s),
hour(s). =/= Uncountable noun a noun that cannot have a/an in front of it and has
no plural form Ex: gol d, petrol, music.
Degree : expressed by adverbs such as : ' very ' , ' rather' , ' quite ' .
Demonstrative : ' this, ' that ' , ' these ' , ' those ' are demonstrative determiners or
pronouns. Ex : This door I This is nice.
Determiner: a word that can come before a noun to form a noun phrase
the, this, my

Ex : a,

Direct obj ect: =/= Indirect obj ect Ex : They gave the children presents. 'presents'
i s the direct obj ect and 'children' is the indirect abj ect.
Direct speech : is reporting someone's words by repeating them Ex : 'I know the
answer, ' Karen said =/= Indirect speech i s giving the meaning in our own words
E x : Karen said she knew the answer.
Echo question : A form which requests the repetition of information, Ex : she's
gone to Siberia - Where has she gone?
Echo tag: a short question form expressing interest, Ex : I play chess. Oh, do you?
Emphasis, emphatic : emphasize making a word or phrase more important by
drawing special attention to it.
Em phatic pronoun : a pronoun such as 'myself or 'themselves', emphasizing a
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noun phrase Ex : The queen herself visited the scene.

E mpty subj ect: In 'It was raining', 'it' is an empty subj ect, it has no meaning, but
we use it because we need a subj ect.
End position : at the end of a sentence =/= front position at the beginning of a
sentence or mid position in the middle of the sentence, after an auxiliary verb but
before an ordinary verb, e.g. 1 was j ust writing a note.
Finite verb : such as 'goes ' , 'waited ' , 'was causing' , ' have seen ' , 'will be ' , 'can
carry' . It either has a tense (present or past) or a modal verb. It can be the verb in a
simple one-clause sentence. =/= a non-finite verb is an infinitive, gerund or
participle, Ex : 'to go ' , ' waiting ' , etc . .
Formal style: to strangers, to be pol ite, or on official occasions (business letters)
=/= informal style in everyday conversation or when we write to a friend .
Full form : (have) =/= short form ('ve)
Futu re progressive: A form with 'wi l l
playing gol f al l afternoon.

have + active participle' . Ex : I will be

Future perfect : a form with 'will have ' + past participle. Ex : We will have saved
enough money soon.
Gender: the words 'waiter' male/ masculine and ' waitress ' female/ feminine are
different in gender.
Geru n d : the ing-form of a verb used like a noun, Ex : Sailing is fun . I ' ve given up
smoking.
Idiom I Idiomatic : a group of words with a meaning which i s different from the
meanings of the individual words, Ex : come off ( succeed), make up your mind
(decide).
Imperative : the base form of the verb used to give orders, express good wi shes,
etc .. Wait here. Have a good time.
Intransitive verb : a verb that cannot take an object, Ex : Something happened=/=
Transitive verb a verb that takes an obj ect, Ex : I enj oyed the meal .
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Invert/ Inversion : changing the order, in a question, etc . .

Linking verb : such as be, seem, become, look, feel, sound etc . .
Litera ry : a style i n writing typical of l iterary texts.
Main clause : A sentence may have one or more main clauses; Ex : ( 1 ) It rained. I
( 2 ) It rained and it got wet. A main clause can have a sub clause, Ex : I woke up
(main clause) when the alarm went off (sub clause). A main clause can stand on its
own, but a sub clause is part of the main clause .
Modal auxilia ry : will, shall, should, can, could, may, might, must, need, ought, to,
dare .
Modifier: to change the idea by giving more information, Ex : a narrow street, a
tennis bal l .
Ordinary verb : such a s write, stay, sell , etc . .
Past progressive: A fo rm with ' be ' in the S imple Past+ an active participle. ' It
was raining all the time. '
Past perfect p rogressive : A form with 'had been ' + an active participle. ' I saw
that it had been raining. '
Present progressive : a form with ' be ' in the Simple Present +
' We are waiting. '

an

active partic iple.

Present perfect : A form with 'have ' in the present + past participle of the verb. ' It
has arrived ' .
Present perfect progressive : A form with ' have ' in the present + been + active
participle. ' She has been working all day. '
Quantifier: A word saying how many or how much, Ex: ' al l ' , ' some ' , ' hal f , ' a lot
of , ' enough ' , etc . .
Question tag: A short question added to the end of a statement. Ex: That was nice,
wasn't it?
Question word : such as who, whom, what, which, whose, where, when, why,
10 1

how.

Reflexive pronoun : such as ' myself or 'themselves ' referring to the subj ect Ex :
David blamed himself for the acc ident.
Relative clause : It modifies a noun . Ex : The woman who called yesterday. /The
c ar you were d riving. I People going home from work.
Relative pronoun : such as ' who ' , ' which ' , 'that' used in a relative clause; Ex : The
person who started the argument . . .
Simple past : The past tense without an auxiliary. Ex : It stopped. I They left.
State (stative) verb : refers to things which stay the same . Some of the most
common are verbs:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)

connected with emotions: hate, like, love, want.

connected with understanding: believe, know, prefer, understand.
connected with possession and unchanging qualities: belong, cost, weigh .

(iv) connected with the senses : hear, smell, sound, taste.

Simple present: without an auxiliary ; Ex : We know, she travels
Sentence : a statement, question, an imperative or exc l amation .
Verb of perception : Ex : see, hear, feel, smell etc . .
Verb o f reporting: Ex : say, tell, answer, promise, think etc . .
Wh-question : that begins with a question word, Ex : who, what, where, etc . .
Word class :
A type o f word such a s a noun, adj ective or preposition.
Yes/no question : a question that can be answered by yes or no.

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