CHAPTER I

PARTS OF SPEECH
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
After completing this lesson, students are supposed to be able to:
recognize parts of speech
analyze sentences and understand them
construct good sentences.
A. INTRODUCTION
There are thousands of words in any language. But not all words have the same job. For
example, some words express "action". Other words express a "thing". Other words "join" one
word to another word. These are the "building blocks" of the language. Think of them like the
parts of a house. When we want to build a house, we use concrete to make the foundations or
base. We use bricks to make the walls. We use window frames to make the windows, and door
frames to make the doorways. And we use cement to join them all together. Each part of the
house has its own job. And when we want to build a sentence, we use the different types of word.
Each type of word has its own job.
We can categorize English words into 8 basic types or classes. These classes are called
"parts of speech". These are the words that you use to make a sentence. There are only 8 types of
word - and the most important is the Verb!

Verbs be, have, do, work

Nouns man, town, music
Adjectives a, the, 69, big
Adverbs loudly, well, often
Pronouns you, ours, some
Prepositions at, in, on, from
Conjunctions and, but, though
Interjections ah, dear, er, um

B. PARTS OF SPEECH TABLE

This is a summary of the 8 parts of speech*. You can find more detail if you click on
each part of speech.
part of
speech
Verb

Noun

function or "job"

example words

example sentences

action or state

(to) be, have, do,

like, work, sing,
can, must

EnglishClub.com is a web site. I

like EnglishClub.com.

thing or person

pen, dog, work,

music, town,
London, teacher,
John

This is my dog. He lives in my

house. We live in London.

Adjective

describes a noun

a/an, the, 2, some,

good, big, red, well,
interesting

I have two dogs. My dogs are

big. I like big dogs.

Adverb

describes a verb,
adjective or adverb

quickly, silently,
well, badly, very,
really

My dog eats quickly. When he

is very hungry, he eats really
quickly.

Pronoun

replaces a noun

I, you, he, she, some

Tara is Indian. She is beautiful.

Preposition

links a noun to
another word

to, at, after, on, but

We went to school on Monday.

Conjunction

joins clauses or
sentences or words

and, but, when

I like dogs and I like cats. I like

cats and dogs. I like dogs but I
don't like cats.

Interjection

short exclamation,
sometimes inserted
into a sentence

oh!, ouch!, hi!, well

Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are

you? Well, I don't know.

* Some grammar sources categorize English into 9 or 10 parts of speech. At EnglishClub.com,

we use the traditional categorization of 8 parts of speech. Examples of other categorizations are:

Verbs may be treated as two different parts of speech:

o Lexical Verbs (work, like, run)
o Auxiliary Verbs (be, have, must)
Determiners may be treated as a separate part of speech, instead of being categorized
under Adjectives

Parts of Speech Examples

Here are some sentences made with different English parts of speech:
verb

noun verb

noun

verb

verb

Stop!

John

John

is

working.

works.

pronoun verb

noun

noun

verb

adjective

noun

She

animals.

Animals

like

kind

people.

loves

noun verb

noun

adverb

noun verb

adjective

noun

Tara

speaks

English

well.

Tara

speaks

good

English.

pronoun verb

preposition

adjective

noun

She

to

the

station quickly.

ran

adverb

pron.

verb

adj.

noun

conjunction

pron.

verb

pron.

She

likes

big

snakes

but

hate

them.

Here is a sentence that contains every part of speech:

interjection

pron. conj.

adj.

noun verb

prep.

noun

adverb

Well,

she

young

John

to

school

slowly.

and

walk

Words with More than One Job

Many words in English can have more than one job, or be more than one part of speech. For
example, "work" can be a verb and a noun; "but" can be a conjunction and a preposition; "well"
can be an adjective, an adverb and an interjection. In addition, many nouns can act as adjectives.
To analyze the part of speech, ask yourself: "What job is this word doing in this sentence?"
In the table below you can see a few examples. Of course, there are more, even for some of the
words in the table. In fact, if you look in a good dictionary you will see that the word "but" has
six jobs to do:

word

verb, noun, adverb, pronoun, preposition and conjuction!

part of speech

example

noun

My work is easy.

verb

I work in London.

conjunction

John came but Mary didn't come.

preposition

Everyone came but Mary.

adjective

Are you well?

adverb

She speaks well.

work

but

well

interjection

Well! That's expensive!

noun

We ate in the afternoon.

afternoon
noun acting as adjective We had afternoon tea.

C. VERBS
1. What are Verbs?
The verb is king in English. The shortest sentence contains a verb. You can make a one-word
sentence with a verb, for example: "Stop!" You cannot make a one-word sentence with any other
type of word.
Verbs are sometimes described as "action words". This is partly true. Many verbs give the idea
of action, of "doing" something. For example, words like run, fight, do and work all convey
action.
But some verbs do not give the idea of action; they give the idea of existence, of state, of
"being". For example, verbs like be, exist, seem and belong all convey state.
A verb always has a subject. (In the sentence "John speaks English", John is the subject and
speaks is the verb.) In simple terms, therefore, we can say that verbs are words that tell us what a
subject does or is; they describe:

action (Ram plays football.)

state (Anthony seems kind.)

There is something very special about verbs in English. Most other words (adjectives, adverbs,
prepositions etc) do not change in form (although nouns can have singular and plural forms). But
almost all verbs change in form. For example, the verb to work has five forms:

to work, work, works, worked, working

Of course, this is still very few forms compared to some languages which may have thirty or
more forms for a single verb.
2. Verb Classification
We divide verbs into two broad classifications:
1. Helping Verbs
Imagine that a stranger walks into your room and says:

I can.
People must.
The Earth will.

Do you understand anything? Has this person communicated anything to you? Probably not!
That's because these verbs are helping verbs and have no meaning on their own. They are
necessary for the grammatical structure of the sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone.
We usually use helping verbs with main verbs. They "help" the main verb. (The sentences in the
above examples are therefore incomplete. They need at least a main verb to complete them.)
There are only about 15 helping verbs.
2. Main Verbs
Now imagine that the same stranger walks into your room and says:

I teach.
People eat.
The Earth rotates.

Do you understand something? Has this person communicated something to you? Probably yes!
Not a lot, but something. That's because these verbs are main verbs and have meaning on their
own. They tell us something. Of course, there are thousands of main verbs.
In the following table we see example sentences with helping verbs and main verbs. Notice that
all of these sentences have a main verb. Only some of them have a helping verb.
helping verb

main verb

John

likes

coffee.

You

lied

to me.

They

are

happy.

The children

are

playing.

We

must

go

now.

do

want

any.

not

Helping verbs and main verbs can be further sub-divided, as we shall see on the following pages.
Helping Verbs
Helping verbs are also called "auxiliary verbs".
Helping verbs have no meaning on their own. They are necessary for the grammatical structure
of a sentence, but they do not tell us very much alone. We usually use helping verbs with main
verbs. They "help" the main verb (which has the real meaning). There are only about 15 helping
verbs in English, and we divide them into two basic groups:
Primary helping verbs (3 verbs)
These are the verbs be, do, and have. Note that we can use these three verbs as helping verbs or
as main verbs. On this page we talk about them as helping verbs. We use them in the following
cases:

be
o
o

to make continuous tenses (He is watching TV.)

to make the passive (Small fish are eaten by big fish.)

have
o

to make perfect tenses (I have finished my homework.)

o
o
o
o

to make negatives (I do not like you.)

to ask questions (Do you want some coffee?)
to show emphasis (I do want you to pass your exam.)
to stand for a main verb in some constructions (He speaks faster than she does.)

do

Modal helping verbs (10 verbs)

We use modal helping verbs to "modify" the meaning of the main verb in some way. A modal
helping verb expresses necessity or possibility, and changes the main verb in that sense. These
are the modal verbs:

can, could
may, might
will, would,
shall, should
must
ought to

Here are examples using modal verbs:

I can't speak Chinese.

John may arrive late.
Would you like a cup of coffee?
You should see a doctor.
I really must go now.

Main Verbs
Main verbs are also called "lexical verbs".
Main verbs have meaning on their own (unlike helping verbs). There are thousands of main
verbs, and we can classify them in several ways:
Transitive and intransitive verbs
A transitive verb takes a direct object: Somebody killed the President. An intransitive verb does
not have a direct object: He died. Many verbs, like speak, can be transitive or intransitive. Look
at these examples:
transitive:

I saw an elephant.
We are watching TV.
He speaks English.

intransitive:

He has arrived.
John goes to school.
She speaks fast.

Linking verbs
A linking verb does not have much meaning in itself. It "links" the subject to what is said about
the subject. Usually, a linking verb shows equality (=) or a change to a different state or place
(>). Linking verbs are always intransitive (but not all intransitive verbs are linking verbs).

Mary is a teacher. (mary = teacher)

Tara is beautiful. (tara = beautiful)
That sounds interesting. (that = interesting)
The sky became dark. (the sky > dark)
The bread has gone bad. (bread > bad)

Dynamic and stative verbs

Some verbs describe action. They are called "dynamic", and can be used with continuous tenses.
Other verbs describe state (non-action, a situation). They are called "stative", and cannot
normally be used with continuous tenses (though some of them can be used with continuous
tenses with a change in meaning).
dynamic verbs (examples):

hit, explode, fight, run, go

stative verbs (examples):

be
like, love, prefer, wish
impress, please, surprise
hear, see, sound
belong to, consist of, contain, include, need
appear, resemble, seem

Regular and irregular verbs

This is more a question of vocabulary than of grammar. The only real difference between regular
and irregular verbs is that they have different endings for their past tense and past participle
forms. For regular verbs, the past tense ending and past participle ending is always the same: -ed.
For irregular verbs, the past tense ending and the past participle ending is variable, so it is
necessary to learn them by heart.
regular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

look, looked, looked

work, worked, worked

irregular verbs: base, past tense, past participle

buy, bought, bought

cut, cut, cut
do, did, done

Here are lists of regular verbs and irregular verbs.

One way to think of regular and irregular verbs is like this: all verbs are irregular and the socalled regular verbs are simply one very large group of irregular verbs.
Often the above divisions can be mixed. For example, one verb could be irregular, transitive and
dynamic; another verb could be regular, transitive and stative.

Verb Forms
English verbs come in several forms. For example, the verb to sing can be: to sing, sing, sang,
sung, singing or sings. This is a total of 6 forms. Not many, considering that some languages
(French, for example) have more than 30 forms for an individual verb. English tenses may be
quite complicated, but the forms that we use to make the tenses are actually very simple! With
the exception of the verb to be, English main verbs have only 4, 5 or 6 forms. To be has 9 forms.
Do not confuse verb forms with tenses. We use the different verb forms to make the tenses, but
they are not the same thing.
In this lesson we look at the forms of main verbs and helping (auxiliary) verbs, followed by a
quiz to check your understanding:

Forms of Main Verbs

Forms of Helping Verbs
Main Verb Forms Quiz

Forms of Main Verbs

Main verbs are also called "lexical verbs".
Main verbs (except the verb "be") have only 4, 5 or 6 forms. "Be" has 9 forms.

regular

irregular

V1

V2

V3

infinitive

base

past
simple

past
participle

present
participle

present simple, 3rd

person singular

(to) work

work

worked

worked

working

works

(to) sing
(to) make
(to) cut

sing
make
cut

sang
made
cut

sung
made
cut

singing
making
cutting

sings
makes
cuts

(to) do*
(to)
have*

do
have

did
had

done
had

doing
having

does
has

infinitive

base

past
simple

past
participle

present
participle

present simple

(to) be*

be

was,
were

been

being

am, are, is

In the above examples:

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

to work has 5 forms: to work, work, worked, working, works
to sing has 6 forms: to sing, sing, sang, sung, singing, sings
to be has 9 forms: to be, be, was, were, been, being, am, is, are

The infinitive can be with or without to. For example, to sing and sing are both infinitives. We
often call the infinitive without to the "bare infinitive".
At school, students usually learn by heart the base, past simple and past participle (sometimes
called V1, V2, V3, meaning Verb 1, Verb 2, Verb 3) for the irregular verbs. They may spend
many hours chanting: sing, sang, sung; go, went, gone; have, had, had; etc. They do not learn
these for the regular verbs because the past simple and past participle are always the same: they
are formed by adding "-ed" to the base. They do not learn the present participle and 3rd person
singular present simple by heart - for another very simple reason: they never change. The
present participle is always made by adding "-ing" to the base, and the 3rd person singular
present simple is always made by adding "s" to the base (though there are some variations in
spelling).
* Note that "do", "have" and "be" also function as helping or auxiliary verbs, with exactly the
same forms (except that as helping verbs they are never in infinitive form).
Example Sentences
These example sentences use main verbs in different forms.
Infinitive

I want to work
He has to sing.
This exercise is easy to do.
Let him have one.
To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Base - Imperative

Work well!
Make this.
Have a nice day.
Be quiet!

Base - Present simple

(except 3rd person singular)

I work in London.
You sing well.
They have a lot of money.

Base - After modal auxiliary verbs

I can work tomorrow.

You must sing louder.
They might do it.
You could be right.

Past simple

I worked yesterday.
She cut his hair last week.
They had a good time.
They were surprised, but I was not.

Past participle

I have worked here for five years.

He needs a folder made of plastic.
It is done like this.
I have never been so happy.

Present participle

I am working.
Singing well is not easy.
Having finished, he went home.
You are being silly!

3rd person singular, present simple

He works in London.
She sings well.
She has a lot of money.
It is Vietnamese.

Forms of Helping Verbs

All helping verbs are used with a main verb (either expressed or understood*). There are 2
groups of helping verbs:

Primary helping verbs, used mainly to change the tense or voice of the main verb, and
in making questions and negatives.
Modal helping verbs, used to change the "mood" of the main verb.

Study the table below. It shows the prinicipal forms and uses of helping verbs, and explains the
differences between primary and modal helping verbs.
* Sometimes we make a sentence that has a helping verb and seems to have no main verb. In
fact, the main verb is "understood". Look at the following examples:

Question: Can you speak English? (The main verb speak is "expressed".)
Answer: Yes, I can. (The main verb speak is not expressed. It is "understood" from the
context. We understand: Yes, I can speak English.

But if somebody walked into the room and said "Hello. I can", we would understand nothing!
Helping Verbs
Primary

Modal

do

(to make simple tenses, and questions

and negatives)

can

could

be

(to make continuous tenses, and the

passive voice)

may

might

have

(to make perfect tenses)

will

would

shall

should

must
ought (to)
"Do", "be" and "have" as helping verbs have
exactly the same forms as when they are main

Modal helping verbs are invariable. They

verbs (except that as helping verbs they are never

used in infinitive forms).

Primary helping verbs are followed by the main

verb in a particular form:

do + V1 (base verb)
be + -ing (present participle)
have + V3 (past participle)

"Do", "be" and "have" can also function as main

verbs.

always have the same form.

"Ought" is followed by the main verb in

infinitive form. Other modal helping verbs
are followed by the main verb in its base
form (V1).

ought + to... (infinitive)

other modals + V1 (base verb)

Modal helping verbs cannot function as

main verbs.

D. NOUNS
It's not easy to describe a noun. In simple terms, nouns are "things" (and verbs are "actions").
Like food. Food (noun) is something you eat (verb). Or happiness. Happiness (noun) is
something you want (verb). Or human being. A human being (noun) is something you are
(verb).
What are Nouns?
The simple definition is: a person, place or thing. Here are some examples:

person: man, woman, teacher, John, Mary

place: home, office, town, countryside, America
thing: table, car, banana, money, music, love, dog, monkey

The problem with this definition is that it does not explain why "love" is a noun but can also be a
verb.
Another (more complicated) way of recognizing a noun is by its:
1. Ending
2. Position
3. Function
1. Noun Ending
There are certain word endings that show that a word is a noun, for example:

-ity > nationality

-ment > appointment
-ness > happiness
-ation > relation
-hood > childhood

But this is not true for the word endings of all nouns. For example, the noun "spoonful" ends in ful, but the adjective "careful" also ends in -ful.
2. Position in Sentence
We can often recognise a noun by its position in the sentence.
Nouns often come after a determiner (a determiner is a word like a, an, the, this, my, such):

a relief
an afternoon
the doctor
this word
my house
such stupidity

Nouns often come after one or more adjectives:

a great relief
a peaceful afternoon
the tall, Indian doctor
this difficult word
my brown and white house
such crass stupidity

3. Function in a Sentence
Nouns have certain functions (jobs) in a sentence, for example:

subject of verb: Doctors work hard.

object of verb: He likes coffee.
subject and object of verb: Teachers teach students.

But the subject or object of a sentence is not always a noun. It could be a pronoun or a phrase. In
the sentence "My doctor works hard", the noun is "doctor" but the subject is "My doctor".
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
English nouns are often described as "countable" or "uncountable".

Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count. For example: "pen".
We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or more pens. Here are some more countable
nouns:

dog, cat, animal, man, person

bottle, box, litre
coin, note, dollar
cup, plate, fork
table, chair, suitcase, bag

Countable nouns can be singular or plural:

My dog is playing.
My dogs are hungry.

We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:

A dog is an animal.

When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word like a/the/my/this with it:

I want an orange. (not I want orange.)

Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:

I like oranges.
Bottles can break.

We can use some and any with countable nouns:

I've got some dollars.

Have you got any pens?

We can use a few and many with countable nouns:

I've got a few dollars.

I haven't got many pens.

"People" is countable. "People" is the plural of "person". We can count people:

There is one person here.

There are three people here.

Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements.
We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count "milk". We can count "bottles of milk"
or "litres of milk", but we cannot count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:

music, art, love, happiness

advice, information, news
furniture, luggage
rice, sugar, butter, water
electricity, gas, power
money, currency

We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb. For example:

This news is very important.

Your luggage looks heavy.

We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an
information" or "a music". But we can say a something of:

a piece of news
a bottle of water
a grain of rice

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

I've got some money.

Have you got any rice?

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:

I've got a little money.

I haven't got much rice.

Uncountable nouns are also called "mass nouns".

Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns:
Countable Uncountable
dollar

money

song

music

suitcase

luggage

table

furniture

battery

electricity

bottle

wine

report

information

tip

advice

journey

travel

job

work

view

scenery

When you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or uncountable.
Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable
Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning.
Countable

Uncountable

There are two hairs in my coffee!

hair

I don't have much hair.

There are two lights in our bedroom.

light

Close the curtain. There's too much light!

Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.

There are so many different noises in the
city.

noise

It's difficult to work when there is too much

noise.

Have you got a paper to read?

(newspaper)
Hand me those student papers.

paper

I want to draw a picture. Have you got some

paper?

Our house has seven rooms.

room Is there room for me to sit here?

We had a great time at the party.

How many times have I told you no?

time

Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest

works.

work I have no money. I need work!

Have you got time for a coffee?

Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a
glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example):

Two teas and one coffee please.

Proper Nouns (Names)

A proper noun is the special word (or name) that we use for a person, place or organization, like
John, Marie, London, France or Sony. A name is a noun, but a very special noun - a proper noun.
Proper nouns have special rules.
common noun

proper noun

man, boy

John

woman, girl

Mary

country, town

England, London

company

Ford, Sony

shop, restaurant

Maceys, McDonalds

month, day of the week January, Sunday

book, film

War & Peace, Titanic

Using Capital Letters with Proper Nouns

We always use a Capital Letter for the first letter of a proper noun (name). This includes names
of people, places, companies, days of the week and months. For example:

They like John. (not *They like john.)

I live in England.
She works for Sony.
The last day in January is a Monday.
We saw Titanic in the Odeon Cinema.

Proper Nouns without THE

We do not use "the" with names of people. For example:
Bill (not *the Bill)
first names
Hilary

Clinton
surnames
Gates
full names Hilary Gates
We do not normally use "the" with names of companies. For example:

Renault, Ford, Sony, EnglishClub.com

General Motors, Air France, British Airways
Warner Brothers, Brown & Son Ltd

If the full (registered) name of a company starts with "The", then we use "The" if we use the full
name, for example:

The Post Publishing Public Co., Ltd

We do not normally use "the" for shops, banks, hotels etc named after a founder or other person
(with -'s or -s). For example:
shops

Harrods, Marks & Spencer, Maceys

banks

Barclays Bank

hotels, restaurants

Steve's Hotel, Joe's Cafe, McDonalds

churches, cathedrals St John's Church, St Peter's Cathedral

We do not normally use "the" with names of places. For example:
towns

Washington (not *the Washington), Paris, Tokyo

states, regions Texas, Kent, Eastern Europe

countries

England, Italy, Brazil

continents

Asia, Europe, North America

islands

Corsica

mountains

Everest

Exception! If a country name includes "States","Kingdom", "Republic" etc, we use "the":

states

the United States, the US, the United States of America, the USA

kingdom the United Kingdom, the UK

republic

the French Republic

We do not use "the" with "President/Doctor/Mr etc + Name":

the president, the king

President Bush (not *the President Bush)

the captain, the detective Captain Kirk, Detective Colombo

the doctor, the professor Doctor Well, Dr Well, Professor Dolittle
my uncle, your aunt

Uncle Jack, Aunt Jill

Mr Gates (not *the Mr Gates), Mrs Clinton, Miss Black

Look at these example sentences:

I wanted to speak to the doctor.

I wanted to speak to Doctor Brown.
Who was the president before President Kennedy?

We do not use "the" with "Lake/Mount + Name":

the lake

Lake Victoria

the mount Mount Everest

Look at this example sentence:

We live beside Lake Victoria. We have a fantastic view across the lake.

We do not normally use "the" for roads, streets, squares, parks etc:
streets etc

Oxford Street, Trenholme Road, Fifth Avenue

squares etc Trafalgar Square, Oundle Place, Piccadilly Circus

parks etc

Central Park, Kew Gardens

Many big, important buildings have names made of two words (for example, Kennedy Airport).
If the first word is the name of a person or place, we do not normally use "the":
people Kennedy Airport, Alexander Palace, St Paul's Cathedral
places Heathrow Airport, Waterloo Station, Edinburgh Castle

Proper Nouns with THE

We normally use "the" for country names that include "States","Kingdom", "Republic" etc:
States

the United States of America/the USA

Kingdom the United Kingdom/the UK

Republic the French Republic
We normally use "the" for names of canals, rivers, seas and oceans:
canals the Suez Canal
rivers

the River Nile, the Nile

seas

the Mediterranean Sea, the Mediterranean

oceans the Pacific Ocean, the Pacific

We normally use "the" for plural names of people and places:
people (families, for example) the Clintons
countries

the Philippines, the United States

island groups

the Virgin Islands, the British Isles

mountain ranges

the Himalayas, the Alps

Look at these sentences:

I saw the Clintons today. It was Bill's birthday.

Trinidad is the largest island in the West Indies.
Mount Everest is in the Himalayas.

We normally use "the" with the following sorts of names:

hotels, restaurants the Ritz Hotel, the Peking Restaurant
banks

the National Westminster Bank

cinemas, theatres

the Royal Theatre, the ABC Cinema

museums

the British Museum, the National Gallery

buildings

the White House, the Crystal Palace

newspapers

the Daily Telegraph, the Sunday Post

organisations

the United Nations, the BBC, the European Union

We normally use "the" for names made with "of":

the Tower of London

the Gulf of Siam
the Tropic of Cancer
the London School of Economics
the Bank of France
the Statue of Liberty

Possessive 's
When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something, we usually add 's to a
singular noun and an apostrophe ' to a plural noun, for example:

the boy's ball (one boy)

the boys' ball (two or more boys)

Notice that the number of balls does not matter. The structure is influenced by the possessor and
not the possessed.
one ball

more than one ball

one boy
the boy's ball the boy's balls

more than one boy

the boys' ball the boys' balls

The structure can be used for a whole phrase:

the man next door's mother (the mother of the man next door)
the Queen of England's poodles (the poodles of the Queen of England)

Although we can use of to show possession, it is more usual to use possessive 's. The following
phrases have the same meaning, but #2 is more usual and natural:
1. the boyfriend of my sister

2. my sister's boyfriend
Proper Nouns (Names)
We very often use possessive 's with names:

This is Mary's car.

Where is Ram's telephone?
Who took Anthony's pen?
I like Tara's hair.

When a name ends in s, we usually treat it like any other singular noun, and add 's:

This is Charles's chair.

But it is possible (especially with older, classical names) to just add the apostrophe ':

Who was Jesus' father?

Irregular Plurals
Some nouns have irregular plural forms without s (man > men). To show possession, we usually
add 's to the plural form of these nouns:
singular noun

plural noun

my child's dog

my children's dog

the man's work

the men's work

the mouse's cage

the mice's cage

a person's clothes people's clothes

Noun as Adjective
As you know, a noun is a person, place or thing, and an adjective is a word that describes a noun:
adjective noun

clever

teacher

small

office

black

horse

Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. In that case, the first noun "acts as" an
adjective.
noun
as adjective noun
history

teacher

ticket

office

race

horse

The "noun as adjective" always comes first

If you remember this it will help you to understand what is being talked about:

a race horse is a horse that runs in races

a horse race is a race for horses
a boat race is a race for boats
a love story is a story about love
a war story is a story about war
a tennis ball is a ball for playing tennis
tennis shoes are shoes for playing tennis
a computer exhibition is an exhibition of computers
a bicycle shop is a shop that sells bicycles

The "noun as adjective" is singular

Just like a real adjective, the "noun as adjective" is invariable. It is usually in the singular form.
Right

Wrong

boat race

boat races

NOT boats race, boats races

toothbrush

toothbrushes

NOT teethbrush, teethbrushes

shoe-lace

shoe-laces

NOT shoes-lace, shoes-laces

cigarette packet cigarette packets NOT cigarettes packet, cigarettes packets

In other words, if there is a plural it is on the real noun only.

A few nouns look plural but we usually treat them as singular (for example news, billiards,
athletics). When we use these nouns "as adjectives" they are unchanged:

a news reporter, three news reporters

one billiards table, four billiards tables
an athletics trainer, fifty athletics trainers

Exceptions:
When we use certain nouns "as adjectives" (clothes, sports, customs, accounts, arms), we use
them in the plural form:

clothes shop, clothes shops

sports club, sports clubs
customs duty, customs duties
accounts department, accounts departments
arms production

How do we write the "noun as adjective"?

We write the "noun as adjective" and the real noun in several different ways:

two separate words (car door)

two hyphenated words (book-case)
one word (bathroom)

There are no easy rules for this. We even write some combinations in two or all three different
ways: (head master, head-master, headmaster)
How do we say the "noun as adjective"?
For pronunciation, we usually stress the first word:

shoe shop
boat-race
bathroom

Can we have more than one "noun as adjective"?

Yes. Just like adjectives, we often use more than one "noun as adjective" together. Look at these
examples:
car production costs: we are talking about the costs of producing cars
noun as noun as
adjective adjective

noun
costs

production costs
car production costs

England football team coach: we are talking about the coach who trains the team that plays
football for England
noun as noun as noun as
adjective adjective adjective noun
coach
team coach
football

team coach

England football

team coach

Note: in England football team coach can you see a "hidden" "noun as adjective"? Look at the
word "football" (foot-ball). These two nouns (foot+ball) have developed into a single noun
(football). This is one way that words evolve. Many word combinations that use a "noun as
adjective" are regarded as nouns in their own right, with their own dictionary definition. But not
all dictionaries agree with each other. For example, some dictionaries list "tennis ball" as a noun
and other dictionaries do not.
government road accident research centre: we are talking about a centre that researches into
accidents on the road for the government

noun as
adjective

noun as noun as noun as

adjective adjective adjective noun
centre
research centre
accident research centre
road accident research centre

government

road accident research centre

Newpapers often use many nouns together in headlines to save space. Look at this example:
BIRD HEALTH RESEARCH CENTRE MURDER MYSTERY
To understand headlines like these, try reading them backwards. The above headline is about a
MYSTERY concerning a MURDER in a CENTRE for RESEARCH into the HEALTH of
BIRDS.
Note, too, that we can still use a real adjective to qualify a "noun as adjective" structure:

empty coffee jar

honest car salesman
delicious dog food
rising car production costs
famous England football team coach

Compound Nouns
A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more words. A compound noun is usually
[noun + noun] or [adjective + noun], but there are other combinations (see below). It is important
to understand and recognize compound nouns. Each compound noun acts as a single unit and can
be modified by adjectives and other nouns.
There are three forms for compound nouns:
1. open or spaced - space between words (tennis shoe)
2. hyphenated - hyphen between words (six-pack)
3. closed or solid - no space or hyphen between words (bedroom)
Here are some examples of compound nouns:

noun

+ noun

adjective

+ noun

verb(-ing) + noun

bus stop

Is this the bus stop for the number 12 bus?

fire-fly

In the tropics you can see fire-flies at night.

football

Shall we play football today?

full moon

I always feel crazy at full moon.

blackboard

Clean the blackboard please.

software

I can't install this software on my PC.

breakfast

We always eat breakfast at 8am.

washing
machine

Put the clothes in the red washing machine.

swimming pool What a beautiful swimming pool!

noun

+ verb(-ing)

verb

+ preposition

noun

prepositional
phrase

sunrise

I like to get up at sunrise.

haircut

You need a haircut.

train-spotting

His hobby is train-spotting.

check-out

Please remember that check-out is at 12 noon.

mother-in-law My mother-in-law lives with us.

preposition + noun

underworld

Do you think the police accept money from the

underworld?

noun

truckful

We need 10 truckfuls of bricks.

+ adjective

Pronunciation
Compound nouns tend to have more stress on the first word. In the phrase "pink ball", both
words are equally stressed (as you know, adjectives and nouns are always stressed). In the
compound noun "golf ball", the first word is stressed more (even though both words are nouns,
and nouns are always stressed). Since "golf ball" is a compound noun we consider it as a single
noun and so it has a single main stress - on the first word. Stress is important in compound
nouns. For example, it helps us know if somebody said "a GREEN HOUSE" (a house which is
painted green) or "a GREENhouse" (a building made of glass for growing plants inside).
British/American differences
Different varieties of English, and even different writers, may use the open, hyphenated or closed
form for the same compound noun. It is partly a matter of style. There are no definite rules. For
example we can find:

container ship
container-ship
containership

If you are not sure which form to use, please check in a good dictionary.

Plural forms of compound nouns

In general we make the plural of a compound noun by adding -s to the "base word" (the most
"significant" word). Look at these examples:
singular
a tennis shoe

plural
three tennis shoes

one assistant headmaster

five assistant headmasters

the sergeant major

some sergeants major

a mother-in-law

two mothers-in-law

an assistant secretary of state three assistant secretaries of state

my toothbrush

our toothbrushes

a woman-doctor

four women-doctors

a doctor of philosophy

two doctors of philosophy

a passerby, a passer-by

two passersby, two passers-by

Note that there is some variation with words like spoonful or truckful. The old style was to say
spoonsful or trucksful for the plural. Today it is more usual to say spoonfuls or truckfuls. Both
the old style (spoonsful) and the new style (spoonfuls) are normally acceptable, but you should
be consistent in your choice. Here are some examples:
old style plural
(very formal)

new style plural

teaspoonful 3 teaspoonsful of sugar 3 teasponfuls of sugar

truckful

5 trucksful of sand

5 truckfuls of sand

bucketful

2 bucketsful of water

2 bucketfuls of water

cupful

4 cupsful of rice

4 cupfuls of rice

Some compound nouns have no obvious base word and you may need to consult a dictionary to
find the plural:

higher-ups
also-rans
go-betweens
has-beens
good-for-nothings
grown-ups

Note that with compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the first noun is like an adjective and
therefore does not usually take an -s. A tree that has apples has many apples, but we say an apple
tree, not apples tree; matchbox not matchesbox; toothbrush not teethbrush.

With compound nouns made of [noun + noun] the second noun takes an -s for plural. The first
noun acts like an adjective and as you know, adjectives in English are invariable. Look at these
examples:
long plural form becomes
100 trees with apples

plural compound noun

[noun + noun]
100 apple trees

1,000 cables for telephones 1,000 telephone cables

20 boxes for tools

20 tool boxes

10 stops for buses

10 bus stops

4,000 wheels for cars

4,000 car wheels

E. ADJECTIVES
An adjective is a word that tells us more about a noun. (By "noun" we include pronouns and
noun phrases.)
An adjective "qualifies" or "modifies" a noun (a big dog).
Adjectives can be used before a noun (I like Chinese food) or after certain verbs (It is hard).
We can often use two or more adjectives together (a beautiful young French lady).
It is sometimes said that the adjective is the enemy of the noun. This is because, very often, if we
use the precise noun we don't need an adjective. For example, instead of saying "a large,
impressive house" (2 adjectives + 1 noun) we could simply say "a mansion" (1 noun).
Determiners
Determiners are words like the, an, my, some. They are grammatically similar. They all come at
the beginning of noun phrases, and usually we cannot use more than one determiner in the same
noun phrase.
Articles:

a, an, the

Possessive Adjectives:

my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose

Other determiners:

each, every
either, neither
some, any, no
much, many; more, most
little, less, least
few, fewer, fewest
what, whatever; which, whichever
both, half, all
several
enough

A, An or The?
When do we say "the dog" and when do we say "a dog"? (On this page we talk only about
singular, countable nouns.)
The and a/an are called "articles". We divide them into "definite" and "indefinite" like this:
Articles
Definite Indefinite
the

a, an

We use "definite" to mean sure, certain. "Definite" is particular.

We use "indefinite" to mean not sure, not certain. "Indefinite" is general.
When we are talking about one thing in particular, we use the. When we are talking about one
thing in general, we use a or an.
Think of the sky at night. In the sky we see 1 moon and millions of stars. So normally we would
say:

I saw the moon last night.

I saw a star last night.

Look at these examples:

the

a, an

The capital of France is Paris.

I have found the book that I lost.
Have you cleaned the car?
There are six eggs in the fridge.

I was born in a town.

John had an omelette for lunch.
James Bond ordered a drink.
We want to buy an umbrella.

Please switch off the TV when you finish.

Have you got a pen?

Of course, often we can use the or a/an for the same word. It depends on the situation, not the
word. Look at these examples:

We want to buy an umbrella. (Any umbrella, not a particular umbrella.)

Where is the umbrella? (We already have an umbrella. We are looking for our umbrella,
a particular umbrella.)

This little story should help you understand the difference between the and a, an:
A man and a woman were walking in Oxford Street. The woman saw a dress that she liked in a
shop. She asked the man if he could buy the dress for her. He said: "Do you think the shop will
accept a cheque? I don't have a credit card."
My, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose
Warning! These are adjectives. Don't confuse them with pronouns!
We use possessive adjectives to show who owns or "possesses" something. The possessive
adjectives are:

my, your, his, her, its, our, their

whose (interrogative)

number

person

gender

possessive
example sentence
adjective

1st

male/female

my

This is my book.

2nd

male/female

your

I like your hair.

male

his

His name is "John".

female

her

Her name is "Mary".

neuter

its

The dog is licking its paw.

singular
3rd

plural

singular/plural

1st

male/female

our

We have sold our house.

2nd

male/female

your

Your children are lovely.

3rd

male/female/neuter

their

The students thanked their

teacher.

1st/2nd/3rd

male/female (not
neuter)

whose

Whose phone did you use?

Compare:
your = possessive adjective
you're = you are
its = possessive adjective
it's = it is OR it has
their = possessive adjective
they're = they are
there = adverb (I'm not going there / look over there / there is a car outside)
whose = possessive adjective
who's = who is OR who has
Be careful! There is no apostrophe (') in the possessive adjective "its". We use an apostrophe to
write the short form of "it is" or "it has". For example:
it's raining = it is raining
it's finished = it has finished
I'm taking my dog to the vet. It's broken its leg.
Each, Every
Each and every have similar but not always identical meanings.
Each = every one separately
Every = each, all

Sometimes, each and every have the same meaning:

Prices go up each year.

Prices go up every year.

But often they are not exactly the same.

Each expresses the idea of 'one by one'. It emphasizes individuality.
Every is half-way between each and all. It sees things or people as singular, but in a group or in
general.
Consider the following:

Every artist is sensitive.

Each artist sees things differently.
Every soldier saluted as the President arrived.
The President gave each soldier a medal.

Each can be used in front of the verb:

The soldiers each received a medal.

Each can be followed by 'of':

The President spoke to each of the soldiers.

He gave a medal to each of them.

Every cannot be used for 2 things. For 2 things, each can be used:

He was carrying a suitcase in each hand.

Every is used to say how often something happens:

There is a plane to Bangkok every day.

The bus leaves every hour.

Verbs with each and every are always conjugated in the singular.

Some, Any
Some = a little, a few or a small number or amount
Any = one, some or all
Usually, we use some in positive (+) sentences and any in negative (-) and question (?)
sentences.
some
+

any

I have some
money.

example situation
I have $10.

I don't have any

money.

I don't have $1 and I don't have $10 and I don't have

$1,000,000. I have $0.

Do you have any

money?

Do you have $1 or $10 or $1,000,000?

In general, we use something/anything and somebody/anybody in the same way as some/any.

Look at these examples:

He needs some stamps.

I must go. I have some homework to do.
I'm thirsty. I want something to drink.
I can see somebody coming.

He doesn't need any stamps.

I can stay. I don't have any homework to do.
I'm not thirsty. I don't want anything to drink.
I can't see anybody coming.

Does he need any stamps?

Do you have any homework to do?
Do you want anything to drink?
Can you see anybody coming?

We use any in a positive sentence when the real sense is negative.

I refused to give them any money. (I did not give them any money)
She finished the test without any difficulty. (she did not have any difficulty)

Sometimes we use some in a question, when we expect a positive YES answer. (We could say
that it is not a real question, because we think we know the answer already.)

Would you like some more tea?

Could I have some sugar, please?

Some grammarians do not consider determiners as adjectives, but give them a class of their own.
Adjective Order
There are 2 basic positions for adjectives:
1. before the noun
2. after certain verbs (be, become, get, seem, look, feel, sound, smell, taste)
adj. noun

verb adj.

1 I like big

cars.

My car is

big.

Adjective Before Noun

We sometimes use more than one adjective before the noun:

I like big black dogs.

She was wearing a beautiful long red dress.

What is the correct order for two or more adjectives?

1. The general order is: opinion, fact:

a nice French car (not a French nice car)

("Opinion" is what you think about something. "Fact" is what is definitely true about
something.)
2. The normal order for fact adjectives is size, age, shape, colour, material, origin:

a big, old, square, black, wooden Chinese table

3. Determiners usually come first, even though they are fact adjectives:

articles (a, the)

possessives (my, your...)
demonstratives (this, that...)
quantifiers (some, any, few, many...)

numbers (one, two, three)

Here is an example with opinion and fact adjectives:

adjectives
fact
deteropinion
miner
age shape
two

nice

noun
colour

old round red

candles

When we want to use two colour adjectives, we join them with "and":

Many newspapers are black and white.

She was wearing a long, blue and yellow dress.

The rules on this page are for the normal, "natural" order of adjectives. But these rules are not
rigid, and you may sometimes wish to change the order for emphasis. Consider the following
conversations:
Conversation 1
A "I want to buy a round table."
B "Do you want a new round table or an old round table?"
Conversation 2
A "I want to buy an old table".
B "Do you want a round old table or a square old table?"

Adjective After Certain Verbs

An adjective can come after some verbs, such as: be, become, feel, get, look, seem, smell, sound
Even when an adjective comes after the verb and not before a noun, it always refers to and
qualifies the subject of the sentence, not the verb.
Look at the examples below: subject verb adjective

Ram is English.
Because she had to wait, she became impatient.
Is it getting dark?

The examination did not seem difficult.

Your friend looks nice.
This towel feels damp.
That new film doesn't sound very interesting.
Dinner smells good tonight.
This milk tastes sour.
It smells bad.

These verbs are "stative" verbs, which express a state or change of state, not "dynamic" verbs
which express an action. Note that some verbs can be stative in one sense (she looks beautiful | it
got hot), and dynamic in another (she looked at him | he got the money). The above examples do
not include all stative verbs.
Note also that in the above structure (subject verb adjective), the adjective can qualify a pronoun
since the subject may be a pronoun.
Comparative Adjectives
When we talk about two things, we can "compare" them. We can see if they are the same or
different. Perhaps they are the same in some ways and different in other ways. We can use
comparative adjectives to describe the differences.
We can use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more things).
In the example below, "bigger" is the comparative form of the adjective "big":
A1 A2
A1 is bigger than A2.
Formation of Comparative Adjectives
There are two ways to make or form a comparative adjective:

short adjectives: add "-er"

long adjectives: use "more"

Short adjectives

1-syllable adjectives

2-syllable adjectives ending in -y

old, fast
happy, easy

Normal rule: add "-er"

old older

Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r

late later

Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant,

double the last consonant

big bigger

Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i

happy happier

Long adjectives

2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y

all adjectives of 3 or more syllables

Normal rule: use "more"

modern, pleasant
expensive, intellectual
modern more modern
expensive more
expensive

With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-er' or 'more':

quiet quieter/more quiet

clever cleverer/more clever
narrow narrower/more narrow
simple simpler/more simple

Exception
The following adjectives have irregular forms:

good better
well (healthy) better
bad worse
far farther/further

Use of Comparative Adjectives

We use comparative adjectives when talking about 2 things (not 3 or 10 or 1,000,000 things,
only 2 things).
Often, the comparative adjective is followed by "than".
Look at these examples:

John is 1m80. He is tall. But Chris is 1m85. He is taller than John.

America is big. But Russia is bigger.

I want to have a more powerful computer.
Is French more difficult than English?

If we talk about the two planets Earth and Mars, we can compare them as shown in the table
below:
Earth

Mars

Diameter (km)

12,760

6,790

Mars is smaller than Earth.

Distance from Sun (million km)

150

228

Mars is more distant from the Sun.

Length of day (hours)

24

25

A day on Mars is slightly longer than a day

on Earth.

Moons

Mars has more moons than Earth.

Surface temperature (degrees

Celcius)

22

-23

Mars is colder than Earth.

Although we use comparative adjectives when talking about two things (not three or more
things), in fact one or both of the things may be a group of things.

Mt Everest is higher than all other mountains.

Here, we are talking about hundreds of mountains, but we are still comparing one thing (Mt
Everest) to one other thing (all other mountains).
Superlative Adjectives
A superlative adjective expresses the extreme or highest degree of a quality. We use a superlative
adjective to describe the extreme quality of one thing in a group of things.
In the example below, "biggest" is the superlative form of the adjective "big":
ABC
A is the biggest.
We can use superlative adjectives when talking about three or more things (not two things).

Formation of Superlative Adjectives

As with comparative adjectives, there are two ways to form a superlative adjective:

short adjectives: add "-est"

long adjectives: use "most"

We also usually add 'the' at the beginning.

Short adjectives
1-syllable adjectives

old, fast

2-syllable adjectives ending in -y

happy, easy

Normal rule: add "-est"

old the oldest

Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st

late the latest

Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant,

double the last consonant

big the biggest

Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i

happy the happiest

Long adjectives
2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y

modern, pleasant

all adjectives of 3 or more syllables

expensive, intellectual

Normal rule: use "most"

modern the most

modern
expensive the most
expensive

With some 2-syllable adjectives, we can use '-est' or 'most':

quiet the quietest/most quiet

clever the cleverest/most clever
narrow the narrowest/most narrow
simple the simplest/most simple

Exception
The following adjectives have irregular forms:

good the best

bad the worst
far the furthest

Use of Superlative Adjectives

We use a superlative adjective to describe one thing in a group of three or more things. Look at
these examples:

John is 1m75. David is 1m80. Chris is 1m85. Chris is the tallest.

Canada, China and Russia are big countries. But Russia is the biggest.
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

If we talk about the three planets Earth, Mars and Jupiter, we can use superlative adjectives as
shown in the table below:
Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Diameter (km)

12,760

6,790

142,800

Jupiter is the biggest.

Distance from Sun (million

km)

150

228

778

Jupiter is the most distant from the

Sun.

Length of day (hours)

24

25

10

Jupiter has the shortest day.

Moons

16

Jupiter has the most moons.

Surface temp.
(degrees Celcius)

22

-23

-150

Jupiter is the coldest.

When we compare one thing with itself, we do not use "the":

England is coldest in winter. (not the coldest)

My boss is most generous when we get a big order. (not the most generous)

Gradable and Non-gradable Adjectives

Adjectives describe qualities (characteristics) of nouns.

Some qualities can vary in intensity or grade (for example: rather hot, hot, very hot; hot,
hotter, the hottest).
The adjective hot is gradable.

Other qualities cannot vary in intensity or grade because they are:

a. extremes (for example: freezing)
b. absolutes (for example: dead)
c. classifying (for example: nuclear)

The adjectives freezing, dead and nuclear are non-gradable.

Gradable Adjectives
A gradable adjective can be used with "grading adverbs" that vary the adjective's grade or
intensity. Look at these examples:
grading adverbs
a little, dreadfully, extremely, fairly,
hugely, immensely, intensely, rather,
reasonably, slightly, unusually, very

gradable adjectives
angry, big, busy, clever, cold, deep, fast,
+
friendly, good, happy, high, hot, important, long,
popular, rich, strong, tall, warm, weak, young

A gradable adjective can also have comparative and superlative forms:

EC Tip: "Gradable adjectives" are also called "qualitative adjectives". "Grading adverbs" are
also called "submodifiers".

big, bigger, the biggest

hot, hotter, the hottest
important, more important, the most important

Look at these example sentences:

My teacher was very happy with my homework.

That website is reasonably popular. But this one is more popular.
He said that Holland was a little cold and Denmark was rather cold. But Sweden was
the coldest.

EC Tip: The adjective dead is non-gradable because it is an absolute. Dead is dead. We cannot
be more or less dead. One person cannot be "deader" than another. Other absolutes include:
correct, unique, perfect
Non-gradable Adjectives
A non-gradable adjective cannot be used with grading adverbs:

It was rather freezing outside.

The dog was very dead.
He is investing in slightly nuclear energy.

Non-gradable adjectives do not normally have comparative and superlative forms:

freezing, more freezing, the most freezing

dead, deader, the deadest

nuclear, more nuclear, the most nuclear

Often, non-gradable adjectives are used alone:

EC Tip: Don't try to learn lists of gradable and non-gradable adjectives! It's better to understand
what makes an adjective gradable or non-gradable. This is a matter of logic and common sense.
Most native-speakers have never heard of gradable and non-gradable adjectives. They just "feel"
that it doesn't make sense to say "fairly excellent" or "very unique". You probably have the same
idea in your language.

It was freezing outside.

The dog was dead.
He is investing in nuclear energy.

However, a non-gradable adjective can be used with "non-grading adverbs" (which usually just
give the adjective extra impact), for example:
non-grading adverbs non-gradable adjectives
absolutely

awful

utterly

excellent

completely

terrified

totally

dead

nearly

impossible

virtually

unique

essentially

chemical

mainly

digital

almost

domestic

extreme

absolute

classifying

Here are some example sentences with non-gradable adjectives:

Her exam results were absolutely awful. She will have to take the exam again.
Is there anything like it in the world? It must be virtually unique.
It starts an essentially chemical reaction.

Adjectives that can be gradable and non-gradable

Some adjectives may have more than one meaning or sense. It's possible for the same adjective
to be gradable with one sense and non-gradable with another sense. For example:
adjective

common =

He's got a very old car.

gradable

not young

I saw my old boyfriend yesterday.

non-gradable former, ex-

He has some dreadfully common habits.

gradable

vulgar

"The" is a very common word in English.

gradable

prevalent

The two countries' common border poses problems. non-gradable shared

Adverbs used with gradable and non-gradable adjectives

The adverbs really (very much) and fairly and pretty (both meaning "to a significant degree, but
less than very") can often be used with gradable and non-gradable adjectives:
gradable

non-gradable

Please don't forget! It's really important. He was really terrified.

He's a fairly rich man.

It's a fairly impossible job.

He's pretty tall.

It's pretty ridiculous when you think about it.

"Quite" with gradable and non-gradable adjectives

The meaning of the adverb "quite" changes according to the type of adjective we use it with:

It's quite warm today.

adjective

quite =

gradable

fairly, rather

Are you quite certain? non-gradable completely, absolutely

Reference
Non-gradable adjectives
Although we don't recommend that you learn lists of non-gradable adjectives, here are some for
reference. You can decide for yourself whether they are extreme, absolute or classifying.
alive, awful, black, boiling, certain, correct, dead, domestic, enormous, environmental, excellent,
freezing, furious, gigantic, huge, immediately, impossible, miniscule, mortal, overjoyed, perfect,
pregnant, principal, ridiculous, superb, terrible, terrified, unique, unknown, white, whole

Non-grading adverbs
Again, no need to learn lists. Here are a few examples. There are many more. Remember that
you cannot use all non-grading adverbs with all non-gradable adjectives. Some collocate (go
together). Some don't.
absolutely, almost, completely, entirely, exclusively, fully, largely, mainly, nearly, perfectly,
practically, primarily, utterly, virtually

F. ADVERBS
Adverbs are an important part of speech. They usually answer questions such as how?, where?,
when?, how often? and how much?
What is an Adverb?

An adverb is a word that tells us more about a verb. It "qualifies" or "modifies" a verb (The man
ran quickly). In the following examples, the adverb is in bold and the verb that it modifies is in
italics.

John speaks loudly. (How does John speak?)

Afterwards she smoked a cigarette. (When did she smoke?)
Mary lives locally. (Where does Mary live?)

But adverbs can also modify adjectives (Tara is really beautiful), or even other adverbs (It works
very well). Look at these examples:

Modify an adjective:
- He is really handsome. (How handsome is he?)
- That was extremely kind of you.

Modify another adverb:

- She drives incredibly slowly. (How slowly does she drive?)
- He drives extremely fast.

Note that adverbs have other functions, too. They can:

Modify a whole sentence: Obviously, I can't know everything.

Modify a prepositional phrase: It's immediately inside the door.

Adverb Form
We make many adverbs by adding -ly to an adjective, for example:

quick (adjective) > quickly (adverb)

careful (adjective) > carefully (adverb)
beautiful (adjective) > beautifully (adverb)

There are some basic rules about spelling for -ly adverbs. See the table below:
Adjective ending

do this

adjective

adverb

most adjectives

add -ly

quick
nice
sole
careful

quickly
nicely
solely
carefully

-able or -ible

change -e to -y

regrettable
horrible

regrettably
horribly

-y

change -y to -ily

happy

happily

change -ic to -ically

-ic

economic

economically

But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. The words friendly, lovely, lonely and neighbourly,
for example, are all adjectives.
And some adverbs have no particular form. Look at these examples:

well, fast, very, never, always, often, still

Note that the form of an adverb can also change to make it comparative or superlative.
Kinds of Adverbs
Here you can see the basic kinds of adverbs.
Adverbs of Manner
Adverbs of Manner tell us the manner or way in which something happens. They answer the
question "how?". Adverbs of Manner mainly modify verbs.

He speaks slowly. (How does he speak?)

They helped us cheerfully. (How did they help us?)
James Bond drives his cars fast. (How does James Bond drive his cars?)

We normally use Adverbs of Manner with dynamic (action) verbs, not with stative or state
verbs.

He ran fast. She came quickly. They worked happily.

She looked beautifully. It seems strangely. They are happily.

Adverbs of Place
Adverbs of Place tell us the place where something happens. They answer the question "where?".
Adverbs of Place mainly modify verbs.

Please sit here. (Where should I sit?)

They looked everywhere. (Where did they look?)
Two cars were parked outside. (Where were two cars parked?)

Adverbs of Time
Adverbs of Time tell us something about the time that something happens. Adverbs of Time
mainly modify verbs.

They can answer the question "when?":

He came yesterday. (When did he come?)

I want it now. (When do I want it?)

Or they can answer the question "how often?":

They deliver the newspaper daily. (How often do they deliver the newspaper?)
We sometimes watch a movie. (How often do we watch a movie?)

Adverbs of Degree
Adverbs of Degree tell us the degree or extent to which something happens. They answer the
question "how much?" or "to what degree?". Adverbs of Degree can modify verbs, adjectives
and other adverbs.

She entirely agrees with him. (How much does she agree with him?)
Mary is very beautiful. (To what degree is Mary beautiful? How beautiful is Mary?)
He drove quite dangerously. (To what degree did he drive dangerously? How
dangerously did he drive?)

Adverb Position
When an adverb modifies a verb, there are usually 3 possible positions within the sentence or
clause:
1. FRONT - before subject

Now I will read a book.

2. MID - between subject + verb

3. END - after verb/object

I often
I read books

read books.

carefully.

When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it usually goes in front of the word that
it modifies, for example:

She gave him a

adverb

adjective

really

dirty

look.

adverb
We quite

adverb
often

study English.

The position of an adverb often depends on the kind of adverb (manner, place, time, degree). The
following table gives you some guidelines for placement based on the kind of adverb.
Warning: these are guidelines only, and not complete. There are many exceptions.
sentence
kind of adverb

mainly
modifies

usual position
adverb

manner

verbs

place

verbs

definite
tim
e

She stroked his hai

gently.
r
He was working

He finished the job

here.

END

yesterday
.

END

verbs
frequenc
y

go to Paris
.

MID

died.

MID

terribly

funny.

before adjectiv
e

really

fast.

before adverb

We often

I nearly

degree

END

verbs,
adjective
s and
adverbs

It was

He works

Adverbs of Frequency

Adverbs of Frequency are Adverbs of Time that answer the question "How frequently?" or "How
often?". They tell us how often something happens. Here are some examples:
a. daily, weekly, yearly
b. often, sometimes, rarely
You probably see a difference between a) and b) above. With words like daily we know exactly
how often. The words in a) describe definite frequency. On the other hand, words like often give
us an idea about frequency but they don't tell us exactly. The words in b) describe indefinite
frequency.
We separate them into two groups because they normally go in different positions in the
sentence.
Adverbs of definite frequency
Examples:

hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly

every second, once a minute, twice a year
once, twice, once or twice, three times

Adverbs of definite frequency, like all adverbs of definite time, typically go in END position.
Look at these examples:

Most companies pay taxes yearly.

The manager checks the toilets every hour.
The directors meet weekly to review progress.

Sometimes, usually for reasons of emphasis or style, some adverbs of definite frequency may go
at the FRONT, for example:

Every day, more than five thousand people die on our roads.

Adverbs of indefinite frequency

Examples:

never, seldom, sometimes, often, always

100% always, constantly
usually, normally
frequently, regularly
often

Adverbs of indefinite frequency mainly go in MID position in the

sentence. They go before the main verb (except the main verb "to
be"):

50% sometimes
occasionally
rarely, infrequently

We usually go shopping on Saturday.

I have often done that.
She is always late.

seldom
hardly ever

Occasionally, sometimes, often, frequently and usually can also go

at the beginning or end of a sentence:

0% never

Sometimes they come and stay with us.

I play tennis occasionally.

Rarely and seldom can also go at the end of a sentence (often with "very"):

We see them rarely.

John eats meat very seldom.

G. PRONOUNS
Pronouns are small words that take the place of a noun. We can use a pronoun instead of a noun.
Pronouns are words like: he, you, ours, themselves, some, each... If we didn't have pronouns,
we would have to repeat a lot of nouns. We would have to say things like:

Do you like the president? I don't like the president. The president is too pompous.

With pronouns, we can say:

Do you like the president? I don't like him. He is too pompous.

Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns represent specific people or things. We use them depending on:

number: singular (eg: I) or plural (eg: we)

person: 1st person (eg: I), 2nd person (eg: you) or 3rd person (eg: he)
gender: male (eg: he), female (eg: she) or neuter (eg: it)
case: subject (eg: we) or object (eg: us)

We use personal pronouns in place of the person or people that we are talking about. My name is
Josef but when I am talking about myself I almost always use "I" or "me", not "Josef". When I
am talking direct to you, I almost always use "you", not your name. When I am talking about
another person, say John, I may start with "John" but then use "he" or "him". And so on.
Here are the personal pronouns, followed by some example sentences:

personal pronouns
number

person gender

subject

object

1st

male/female

me

2nd

male/female

you

you

male

he

him

female

she

her

neuter

it

it

1st

male/female

we

us

2nd

male/female

you

you

3rd

male/female/neuter

they

them

singular
3rd

plural

Examples (in each case, the first example shows a subject pronoun, the second an object
pronoun):

I like coffee.
John helped me.

Do you like coffee?

John loves you.

He runs fast.
Did Ram beat him?

She is clever.
Does Mary know her?

It doesn't work.
Can the engineer repair it?

We went home.
Anthony drove us.

Do you need a table for three?

Did John and Mary beat you at doubles?

They played doubles.

John and Mary beat them.

When we are talking about a single thing, we almost always use it. However, there are a few
exceptions. We may sometimes refer to an animal as he/him or she/her, especially if the animal
is domesticated or a pet. Ships (and some other vessels or vehicles) as well as some countries are
often treated as female and referred to as she/her. Here are some examples:

This is our dog Rusty. He's an Alsation.

The Titanic was a great ship but she sank on her first voyage.
My first car was a Mini and I treated her like my wife.
Thailand has now opened her border with Cambodia.

For a single person, sometimes we don't know whether to use he or she. There are several
solutions to this:

If a teacher needs help, he or she should see the principal.

If a teacher needs help, he should see the principal.
If a teacher needs help, they should see the principal.

We often use it to introduce a remark:

It is nice to have a holiday sometimes.

It is important to dress well.
It's difficult to find a job.
Is it normal to see them together?
It didn't take long to walk here.

We also often use it to talk about the weather, temperature, time and distance:

It's raining.
It will probably be hot tomorrow.
Is it nine o'clock yet?
It's 50 kilometres from here to Cambridge.

Demonstrative Pronouns
demonstrate (verb): to show; to indicate; to point to
A demonstrative pronoun represents a thing or things:

near in distance or time (this, these)

far in distance or time (that, those)

singular

near

far

this

that

plural

these

those

Here are some examples with demonstrative pronouns, followed by an illustration:

This tastes good.

Have you seen this?
These are bad times.
Do you like these?

That is beautiful.
Look at that!
Those were the days!
Can you see those?

This is heavier than that.

These are bigger than those.

Do not confuse demonstrative pronouns with demonstrative adjectives. They are identical, but a
demonstrative pronoun stands alone, while a demonstrative adjective qualifies a noun.

That smells. (demonstrative pronoun)

That book is good. (demonstrative adjective + noun)

Normally we use demonstrative pronouns for things only. But we can use them for people when
the person is identified. Look at these examples:

This is Josef speaking. Is that Mary?

That sounds like John.

Possessive Pronouns
We use possessive pronouns to refer to a specific person/people or thing/things (the
"antecedent") belonging to a person/people (and sometimes belonging to an animal/animals or
thing/things).
We use possessive pronouns depending on:

number: singular (eg: mine) or plural (eg: ours)

person: 1st person (eg: mine), 2nd person (eg: yours) or 3rd person (eg: his)
gender: male (his), female (hers)

Below are the possessive pronouns, followed by some example sentences. Notice that each
possessive pronoun can:

be subject or object
refer to a singular or plural antecedent

number

person gender (of "owner")

possessive pronouns

1st

male/female

mine

2nd

male/female

yours

male

his

female

hers

1st

male/female

ours

2nd

male/female

yours

3rd

male/female/neuter

theirs

singular
3rd

plural

Look at these pictures. Mine is the big one. (subject = My picture)

I like your flowers. Do you like mine? (object = my flowers)

I looked everywhere for your key. I found John's key but I couldn't find yours. (object =
your key)

My flowers are dying. Yours are lovely. (subject = Your flowers)

All the essays were good but his was the best. (subject = his essay)
John found his passport but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her passport)
John found his clothes but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her clothes)

Here is your car. Ours is over there, where we left it. (subject = Our car)
Your photos are good. Ours are terrible. (subject = Our photos)

Each couple's books are colour-coded. Yours are red. (subject = Your books)
I don't like this family's garden but I like yours. (subject = your garden)

These aren't John and Mary's children. Theirs have black hair. (subject = Their children)
John and Mary don't like your car. Do you like theirs? (object = their car)

Notice that the following (with apostrophe [']) do NOT exist: her's, your's, their's
Notice that the interrogative pronoun whose can also be a possessive pronoun (an interrogative
possessive pronoun). Look at these examples:

There was $100 on the table and Tara wondered whose it was.
This car hasn't moved for two months. Whose is it?

Interrogative Pronouns
We use interrogative pronouns to ask questions. The interrogative pronoun represents the thing
that we don't know (what we are asking the question about).
There are four main interrogative pronouns: who, whom, what, which
Notice that the possessive pronoun whose can also be an interrogative pronoun (an interrogative
possessive pronoun).

person

subject

object

who

whom

thing

what

person/thing

which

person

whose

(possessive)

Notice that whom is the correct form when the pronoun is the object of the verb, as in "Whom
did you see?" ("I saw John.") However, in normal, spoken English we rarely use whom. Most
native speakers would say (or even write): "Who did you see?"
Look at these example questions. In the sample answers, the noun phrase that the interrogative
pronoun represents is shown in bold.
question

answer

Who told you?

John told me.

subject

Whom did you tell?

I told Mary.

object

What's happened?

An accident's happened.

subject

What do you want?

I want coffee.

object

Which came first?

The Porsche 911 came first.

subject

Which will the doctor see first?

The doctor will see the patient in

blue first.

object

There's one car missing. Whose hasn't

arrived?

John's (car) hasn't arrived.

subject

We've found everyone's keys. Whose did

you find?

I found John's (keys).

object

Note that we sometimes use the suffix "-ever" to make compounds from some of these pronouns
(mainly whoever, whatever, whichever). When we add "-ever", we use it for emphasis, often to
show confusion or surprise. Look at these examples:

Whoever would want to do such a nasty thing?

Whatever did he say to make her cry like that?
They're all fantastic! Whichever will you choose?

Reflexive Pronouns
reflexive (adj.) [grammar]: reflecting back on the subject, like a mirror
We use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause.
Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural).
There are eight reflexive pronouns:
reflexive pronoun

singular

myself
yourself
himself, herself, itself

plural

ourselves
yourselves
themselves

Look at these examples:

reflexive pronouns

the underlined words are NOT the same

person/thing

the underlined words are the SAME

person/thing

John saw me.

I saw myself in the mirror.

Why does he blame you?

Why do you blame yourself?

David sent him a copy.

John sent himself a copy.

David sent her a copy.

Mary sent herself a copy.

My dog hurt the cat.

My dog hurt itself.

We blame you.

We blame ourselves.

Can you help my children?

Can you help yourselves?

They cannot look after the babies.

They cannot look after themselves.

Intensive pronouns
Notice that all the above reflexive pronouns can also act as intensive pronouns, but the function
and usage are different. An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent. Look at these
examples:

I made it myself. OR I myself made it.

Have you yourself seen it? OR Have you seen it yourself?
The President himself promised to stop the war.
She spoke to me herself. OR She herself spoke to me.
The exam itself wasn't difficult, but exam room was horrible.
Never mind. We'll do it ourselves.
You yourselves asked us to do it.
They recommend this book even though they themselves have never read it. OR They
recommend this book even though they have never read it themselves.

Reciprocal Pronouns
reciprocal (adj.): given or done in return; [grammar] expressing mutual action
We use reciprocal pronouns when each of two or more subjects is acting in the same way
towards the other. For example, A is talking to B, and B is talking to A. So we say:

A and B are talking to each other.

The action is "reciprocated". John talks to Mary and Mary talks to John. I give you a present and
you give me a present. The dog bites the cat and the cat bites the dog.
There are only two reciprocal pronouns, and they are both two words:

each other
one another

When we use these reciprocal pronouns:

there must be two or more people, things or groups involved (so we cannot use
reciprocal pronouns with I, you [singular], he/she/it), and
they must be doing the same thing

Look at these examples:

John and Mary love each other.

Peter and David hate each other.
The ten prisoners were all blaming one another.
Both teams played hard against each other.
We gave each other gifts.
Why don't you believe each other?
They can't see each other.
The gangsters were fighting one another.
The boats were bumping against each other in the storm.

You probably notice that each other is used in more examples above than one another. That's
because in general we use each other more often than one another, which sounds a little formal.
Also, some people say that we should use one another only for three or more people or things,
but there is no real justification for this.

Indefinite Pronouns
An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing or amount. It is vague and "not
definite". Some typical indefinite pronouns are:

all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each, everybody/everyone, everything, few,

many, nobody, none, one, several, some, somebody/someone

Note that many indefinite pronouns also function as other parts of speech. Look at "another" in
the following sentences:

He has one job in the day and another at night. (pronoun)

I'd like another drink, please. (adjective)

Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural. However, some of them can be singular in
one context and plural in another. The most common indefinite pronouns are listed below, with
examples, as singular, plural or singular/plural.
Notice that a singular pronoun takes a singular verb AND that any personal pronoun should also
agree (in number and gender). Look at these examples:

Each of the players has a doctor.

I met two girls. One has given me her phone number.

Similarly, plural pronouns need plural agreement:

Many have expressed their views.

pronoun

meaning

example

another

an additional or different person or

thing

That ice-cream was good. Can I

have another?

anybody/anyone

no matter what person

Can anyone answer this

question?

anything

no matter what thing

The doctor needs to know if you

have eaten anything in the last
two hours.

each

every one of two or more people or

things, seen separately

Each has his own thoughts.

either

one or the other of two people or

things

Do you want tea or coffee? / I

don't mind. Either is good for
me.

enough

as much or as many as needed

Enough is enough.

everybody/everyone

all people

We can start the meeting because

everybody has arrived.

everything

all things

They have no house or

possessions. They lost
everything in the earthquake.

less

a smaller amount

"Less is more" (Mies van der

Rohe)

singular

little

a small amount

Little is known about his early

life.

much

a large amount

Much has happend since we met.

neither

not one and not the other of two

people or things

I keep telling Jack and Jill but

neither believes me.

nobody/no-one

no person

I phoned many times but nobody

answered.

nothing

no single thing, not anything

If you don't know the answer it's

best to say nothing.

one

an unidentified person

Can one smoke here? | All the

students arrived but now one is
missing.

other

a different person or thing from

one already mentioned

One was tall and the other was

short.

somebody/someone

an unspecified or unknown person

Clearly somebody murdered

him. It was not suicide.

something

an unspecified or unknown thing

Listen! I just heard something!

What could it be?

you

an unidentified person (informal)

And you can see why.

both

two people or things, seen together

John likes coffee but not tea. I

think both are good.

few

a small number of people or things

Few have ever disobeyed him

and lived.

fewer

a reduced number of people or

things

Fewer are smoking these days.

many

a large number of people or things

Many have come already.

others

other people; not us

I'm sure that others have tried

before us.

several

more than two but not many

They all complained and several

left the meeting.

plural

people in general (informal)

They say that vegetables are

good for you.

all

the whole quantity of something or

of some things or people

All is forgiven.
All have arrived.

any

no matter how much or how many

Is any left?
Are any coming?

more

a greater quantity of something; a

greater number of people or things

There is more over there.

More are coming.

most

the majority; nearly all

Most is lost.
Most have refused.

none

not any; no person or persons

They fixed the water so why is

none coming out of the tap?
I invited five friends but none
have come.*

some

an unspecified quantity of
something; an unspecified number
of people or things

Here is some.
Some have arrived.

such

of the type already mentioned

He was a foreigner and he felt

that he was treated as such.

they
singular or plural

* Some people say that "none" should always take a singular verb, even when talking about
countable nouns (eg five friends). They argue that "none" means "no one", and "one" is
obviously singular. They say that "I invited five friends but none has come" is correct and "I
invited five friends but none have come" is incorrect. Historically and grammatically there is
little to support this view. "None" has been used for hundreds of years with both a singular and a
plural verb, according to the context and the emphasis required.
Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause. It is called a "relative" pronoun
because it "relates" to the word that it modifies. Here is an example:

The person who phoned me last night is my teacher.

In the above example, "who":

relates to "person", which it modifies

introduces the relative clause "who phoned me last night"

There are five relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that*
Who (subject) and whom (object) are generally only for people. Whose is for possession.
Which is for things. That can be used for people** and things and as subject and object in
defining relative clauses (clauses that are essential to the sentence and do not simply add extra
information).
Relative pronouns can refer to singular or plural, and there is no difference between male and
female.
Look at these examples showing defining and non-defining relative clauses:
example sentences
S=subject, O=object, P=possessive

defining

notes

- The person who phoned me last night is

my teacher.
- The person that phoned me last night is
my teacher.

That is preferable

- The car which hit me was yellow.

- The cars that hit me were yellow.

That is preferable

- The person whom I phoned last night is

my teacher.
- The people who I phoned last night are
my teachers.
- The person that I phoned last night is
my teacher.
- The person I phoned last night is my
teacher.

Whom is correct but very

formal. The relative pronoun is
optional.

- The car which I drive is old.

- The car that I drive is old.
- The car I drive is old.

That is preferable to which.

The relative pronoun is
optional.

- The student whose phone just rang

should stand up.
- Students whose parents are wealthy pay
extra.
- The police are looking for the car whose
driver was masked.
- The police are looking for the car of

Of which is usual for things,

but whose is sometimes
possible

which the driver was masked.

- Mrs Pratt, who is very kind, is my
teacher.
S
- The car, which was a taxi, exploded.
- The cars, which were taxis, exploded.

O
nondefining

- Mrs Pratt, whom I like very much, is my

teacher.
- Mr and Mrs Pratt, who I like very much,
are my teachers.

Whom is correct but very

formal. Who is normal.

- The car, which I was driving at the time,

suddenly caught fire.
- My brother, whose phone you just heard,
is a doctor.

- The car, whose driver jumped out just

before the accident, was completely
destroyed.
- The car, the driver of which jumped out
just before the accident, was completely
destroyed.

Of which is usual for things,

but whose is sometimes
possible

*Not all grammar sources count "that" as a relative pronoun.

**Some people claim that we cannot use "that" for people but must use "who/whom"; there is no
good reason for such a claim.

Pronoun Case
Pronouns (and nouns) in English display "case" according to their function in the sentence. Their
function can be:

subjective (they act as the subject)

objective (they act as the object)
possessive (they show possession of something else)

The following table shows the different forms for pronouns depending on case.

personal pronouns

subjective case objective case

possessive
case

me

mine

2nd you

you

yours

he
3rd she
it

him
her
it

his
hers
its

1st

us

ours

2nd you

you

yours

3rd they

them

theirs

who

whom

whose

whoever

whomever

singular 1st

plural

relative/interrogative
pronouns

we

which/that/what which/that/what
indefinite pronouns

everybody

everybody

everybody's

A problem of case: Mary and I or Mary and me?

1. Mary and I are delighted to be here today. (NOT Mary and me)
2. The letter was addressed to Mary and me. (NOT Mary and I)
In 1, Mary and I are subjects, which is why the pronoun takes the subjective case ("I"). In 2,
Mary and I are objects, which is why the pronoun takes the objective case ("me"). An easy way
to check the correct case is to try the sentence without Mary. Would you say "I am delighted to
be here" or "Me am delighted to be here"? Would you say "The letter was addressed to me" or
"The letter was addressed to I"?

H. English Prepositions
A preposition is a word governing, and usually coming in front of, a noun or pronoun and
expressing a relation to another word or element, as in:

She left before breakfast.

What did you come for?

(For what did you come?)

English Prepositions List

There are about 150 prepositions in English. Yet this is a very small number when you think of
the thousands of other words (nouns, verbs etc). Prepositions are important words. We use
individual prepositions more frequently than other individual words. In fact, the prepositions of,
to and in are among the ten most frequent words in English. Here is a short list of 70 of the more
common one-word prepositions. Many of these prepositions have more than one meaning. Please
refer to a dictionary for
precise meaning and
usage.

aboard
about
above
across
after
against
along
amid
among
anti
around
as
at

before
behind
below
beneath
beside
besides
between
beyond
but
by

concerning
considering

despite
down
during

except
excepting
excluding

following
for
from

in
inside
into

like

minus

near

of
off
on
onto
opposite
outside
over

past
per
plus

regarding
round

save
since

than
through
to
toward
towards

under
underneath
unlike
until
up
upon

versus

via

with
within
without

English Preposition Rule

There is one very simple rule about prepositions. And, unlike most rules, this rule has no
exceptions.
Rule
A preposition is followed by a "noun". It is never followed by a verb.
By "noun" we include:

noun (dog, money, love)

proper noun (name) (Bangkok, Mary)
pronoun (you, him, us)
noun group (my first job)
gerund (swimming)

A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. If we want to follow a preposition by a verb, we

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

I would like to go now.

She used to smoke.

Here are some examples:

Subject + verb

preposition

"noun"

The food is

on

the table.

She lives

in

Japan.

Tara is looking

for

you.

The letter is

under

your blue book.

Pascal is used

to

English people.

She isn't used

to

working.

I ate

before

coming.

Answer to Quick Quiz: In these sentences, "to" is not a preposition. It is part of the infinitive
("to go", "to smoke").
Prepositions of Place: at, in, on
In general, we use:

at for a POINT
in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
on for a SURFACE

at

in

on

POINT

ENCLOSED SPACE

SURFACE

at the corner

in the garden

on the wall

at the bus stop

in London

on the ceiling

at the door

in France

on the door

at the top of the page

in a box

on the cover

at the end of the road

in my pocket

on the floor

at the entrance

in my wallet

on the carpet

at the crossroads

in a building

on the menu

at the front desk

in a car

on a page

Look at these examples:

Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.

The shop is at the end of the street.
My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two hours late.
When will you arrive at the office?
Do you work in an office?
I have a meeting in New York.
Do you live in Japan?
Jupiter is in the Solar System.
The author's name is on the cover of the book.
There are no prices on this menu.
You are standing on my foot.

There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.

I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.

Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard expressions:
at

in

on

at home

in a car

on a bus

at work

in a taxi

on a train

at school

in a helicopter

on a plane

at university

in a boat

on a ship

at college

in a lift (elevator)

on a bicycle, on a motorbike

at the top

in the newspaper

on a horse, on an elephant

at the bottom

in the sky

on the radio, on television

at the side

in a row

on the left, on the right

at reception

in Oxford Street

on the way

Prepositions of Time: at, in, on

We use:

at for a PRECISE TIME

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

at

in

on

PRECISE
TIME

MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG

PERIODS

DAYS and DATES

at 3 o'clock

in May

on Sunday

at 10.30am

in summer

on Tuesdays

at noon

in the summer

on 6 March

at dinnertime

in 1990

on 25 Dec. 2010

at bedtime

in the 1990s

on Christmas Day

at sunrise

in the next century

on Independence
Day

at sunset

in the Ice Age

on my birthday

at the moment

in the past/future

on New Year's Eve

Look at these examples:

I have a meeting at 9am.

The shop closes at midnight.
Jane went home at lunchtime.
In England, it often snows in December.
Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
There should be a lot of progress in the next century.
Do you work on Mondays?
Her birthday is on 20 November.
Where will you be on New Year's Day?

Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard expressions:
Expression

Example

at night

The stars shine at night.

at the weekend*

I don't usually work at the weekend.

at Christmas*/Easter I stay with my family at Christmas.

at the same time

We finished the test at the same time.

at present

He's not home at present. Try later.

Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common expressions:
in

on

in the morning

on Tuesday morning

in the mornings

on Saturday mornings

in the afternoon(s)

on Sunday afternoons

in the evening(s)

on Monday evening

When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.

I went to London last June. (not in last June)

He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)
I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)

I. CONJUNCTIONS
A conjunction is a word that "joins". A conjunction joins two parts of a sentence.
Here are some example conjunctions:
Coordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating Conjunctions

and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so

although, because, since, unless

We can consider conjunctions from three aspects.

Form
Conjunctions have three basic forms:

Single Word
for example: and, but, because, although

Compound (often ending with as or that)

for example: provided that, as long as, in order that

Correlative (surrounding an adverb or adjective)

for example: so...that

Function
Conjunctions have two basic functions or "jobs":

Coordinating conjunctions are used to join two parts of a sentence that are
grammatically equal. The two parts may be single words or clauses, for example:
- Jack and Jill went up the hill.
- The water was warm, but I didn't go swimming.

Subordinating conjunctions are used to join a subordinate dependent clause to a main

clause, for example:
- I went swimming although it was cold.

Position

Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.

Subordinating conjunctions usually come at the beginning of the subordinate clause.

Coordinating Conjunctions
The short, simple conjunctions are called "coordinating conjunctions":

and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so

A coordinating conjunction joins parts of a sentence (for example words or independent clauses)
that are grammatically equal or similar. A coordinating conjunction shows that the elements it
joins are similar in importance and structure:
+
Look at these examples - the two elements that the coordinating conjunction joins are shown in
square brackets [ ]:

I like [tea] and [coffee].

[Ram likes tea], but [Anthony likes coffee].

Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.
When a coordinating conjunction joins independent clauses, it is always correct to place a
comma before the conjunction:

I want to work as an interpreter in the future, so I am studying Russian at university.

However, if the independent clauses are short and well-balanced, a comma is not really essential:

She is kind so she helps people.

When "and" is used with the last word of a list, a comma is optional:

He drinks beer, whisky, wine, and rum.

He drinks beer, whisky, wine and rum.

The 7 coordinating conjunctions are short, simple words. They have only two or three letters.
There's an easy way to remember them - their initials spell:

For

And

Nor

But

Or

Yet

So

Subordinating Conjunctions
The majority of conjunctions are "subordinating conjunctions". Common subordinating
conjunctions are:

after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, until,
when, where, whether, while

A subordinating conjunction joins a subordinate (dependent) clause to a main (independent)

clause:

+
Look at this example:
main or
independent clause

subordinate or
dependent clause

Ram went swimming

although

it was raining.

subordinating
conjunction
A subordinate or dependent clause "depends" on a main or independent clause. It cannot exist
alone. Imagine that somebody says to you: "Hello! Although it was raining." What do you
understand? Nothing! But a main or independent clause can exist alone. You will understand
very well if somebody says to you: "Hello! Ram went swimming."
A subordinating conjunction always comes at the beginning of a subordinate clause. It
"introduces" a subordinate clause. However, a subordinate clause can sometimes come after and
sometimes before a main clause. Thus, two structures are possible:

+
Ram went swimming although it was raining.

+
Although it was raining, Ram went swimming.

J. INTERJECTIONS
Hi! That's an interjection. :-)
Interjection is a big name for a little word. Interjections are short exclamations like Oh!, Um or
Ah! They have no real grammatical value but we use them quite often, usually more in speaking
than in writing. When interjections are inserted into a sentence, they have no grammatical
connection to the sentence. An interjection is sometimes followed by an exclamation mark (!)
when written.
Interjections like er and um are also known as "hesitation devices". They are extremely common
in English. People use them when they don't know what to say, or to indicate that they are
thinking about what to say. You should learn to recognize them when you hear them and realize
that they have no real meaning.
The table below shows some interjections with examples.
interjection meaning

example

expressing pleasure

"Ah, that feels good."

expressing realization

"Ah, now I understand."

expressing resignation

"Ah well, it can't be heped."

expressing surprise

"Ah! I've won!"

expressing grief or pity

"Alas, she's dead now."

expressing pity

"Oh dear! Does it hurt?"

expressing surprise

"Dear me! That's a surprise!"

asking for repetition

"It's hot today." "Eh?" "I said it's hot

today."

expressing enquiry

"What do you think of that, eh?"

expressing surprise

"Eh! Really?"

inviting agreement

"Let's go, eh?"

expressing hesitation

"Lima is the capital of...er...Peru."

ah

alas
dear

eh

er

expressing greeting

"Hello John. How are you today?"

expressing surprise

"Hello! My car's gone!"

calling attention

"Hey! look at that!"

expressing surprise, joy etc

"Hey! What a good idea!"

hi

expressing greeting

"Hi! What's new?"

hmm

expressing hesitation, doubt or

disagreement

"Hmm. I'm not so sure."

expressing surprise

"Oh! You're here!"

expressing pain

"Oh! I've got a toothache."

expressing pleading

"Oh, please say 'yes'!"

ouch

expressing pain

"Ouch! That hurts!"

uh

expressing hesitation

"Uh...I don't know the answer to that."

uh-huh

expressing agreement

"Shall we go?" "Uh-huh."

um, umm

expressing hesitation

"85 divided by 5 is...um...17."

expressing surprise

"Well I never!"

introducing a remark

"Well, what did he say?"

hello, hullo

hey

oh, o

well

K. What Is A Sentence?
In simple terms, a sentence is a set of words that contain:
1. a subject (what the sentence is about, the topic of the sentence)
2. a predicate (what is said about the subject)
Look at this simple example:
<----- sentence ----->
predicate
subject
verb
You

speak

English.

The above example sentence is very short. Of course, a sentence can be longer and more
complicated, but basically there is always a subject and a predicate. Look at this longer example:
<----- sentence ----->
predicate
subject
verb
Ram and Tara

speak

English when they are working.

Note that the predicate always contains a verb. Sometimes, in fact, the predicate is only a verb:
<----- sentence ----->
predicate
subject
verb
Smoke

rises.

So we can say that a sentence must contain at least a subject and verb.
There is one apparent exception to this the imperative. When someone gives a command (the
imperative), they usually do not use a subject. They don't say the subject because it is obvious the subject is YOU! Look at these examples of the imperative, with and without a subject:
<----- sentence ----->
predicate
subject
verb
Stop!
Wait
You

a minute!

look!

Everybody look!
Note that a sentence expresses a complete thought. Here are some examples of complete and
incomplete thoughts:

complete thought?
He opened the door.
Come in, please.

YES

Do you like coffee?

people who work hard
NO
a fast-moving animal with big ears
Note also that a sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop* or a question
mark or an exclamation mark. Look at these examples:
People need food.
How are you?
Look out!
Actually, it is not easy to define a sentence. Grammarians do not all agree on what is or is not a
sentence. For the purposes of introduction, this page describes rather simple sentences. Of
course, sentences can be much longer and more complex, and these will be covered on other
pages.

* British English = full stop | American English = period

L. SUMMARY
When we want to build a sentence, we use the different types of word. Each type of word
has its own job. We can categorize English words into 8 basic types or classes. These classes are
called "parts of speech". There are only 8 types of word: verbs, nouns, adjective, adverbs,
pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. The most important is the Verb.
M. QUIZ
Parts of Speech Quiz
1

I bought a beautiful dress at the mall.

What did she ask you to do?

I left my shoes under the kitchen table.

If we finish our work quickly we can go to the movies.

On Saturdays I work from nine to five.

I want to go to a university in the United States.

I'm sure I have met your girlfriend before.

Well, I don't think I will be here to answer the phone.

Andy knocked on the door but nobody answered.

10

After lunch let's go out for a coffee.

Verb Classification Quiz

1

The grocery clerk will carry your bags out for you. (helping verb)

The mail arrived after I left. (intransitive)

I have already done my homework. (irregular)

That book you recommended sounds interesting. (linking)

I prefer cream rather than milk. (stative)

Jerry studies for three hours every day. (main)

We looked at all of the art in the museum. (regular)

Would you take a picture for us? (transitive)

I don't want to fight about who gets the car. (dynamic)

10

She seemed like an interesting person. (stative)

Main Verb Forms Quiz

1

Baking cookies is very easy. (present participle)

A bird sang to me this morning. (past simple)

I want to be a fireman when I finish school. (infinitive)

Have anything you like, except the champagne. (base)

We might not finish our work on time. (base)

I asked your brother to go to the store for me. (infinitive)

It is a sunny day today. (3rd sing. pres.)

We are in the kitchen doing the dishes. (pres. participle)

The dogs were fed an hour ago. (past participle)

10

He walks to my car with me at night. (3rd sing. pres.)

Proper Nouns Quiz

1

Let's have lunch at McDonalds . (proper nouns)

There are 12 months in a year. (common noun)

My favourite movie is Greece . (proper noun)

Lisa works as a programmer at Microsoft . (proper noun)

I live in a small town in England. (common noun)

My cousin lives in the USA / USA. (the USA)

I want to visit the Asia / Asia when I finish school. (Asia)

Call me when you arrive at hotel / the hotel. (the hotel)

I have a check-up with the Dr. Smith / Dr. Smith on Friday. (Dr. Smith)

10

We saw whales in Pacific / the Pacific Ocean. (the Pacific)

Compound noun quiz

Using compound nouns, can you shorten the following phrases?
a storeroom

1. a room for stores

a 300-cm tape measure

2. a tape for measuring up to 300 cms

the assistant restaurant manage

3. the assistant manager of the restaurant

an express-train station

4. a station for express trains

cable size

5. size of cables

cost reduction

6. reduction in cost

tw o three-month period

7. two periods of three months

3-pin plugs

8. plugs with 3 pins

tw o steel toolboxes

9. two steel boxes for the tools

10. the husband of my daughter

my son-in-law

Determiners Quiz
1

Lisa saw (a) shooting star yesterday.

Don't look directly at (the) sun.

Is there any milk left in (the) fridge?

I need to pack (an) apple for my lunch.

The dogs were (each) given a bone.

The police spoke separately to (each) suspect.

She was wearing a bracelet on (each) wrist.

She got her license without (any) problem.

I don't (anybody) think is coming to the party, except Judy and Stan.

10

I always keep (some) money in my wallet for emergencies.

Adjective Order Quiz

1

Andrea had a in her hair yesterday.

She lost a .

I bought oranges.

We met people at the conference.

The clown was wearing a hat.

The cookies that you .

Is it ?

The course you are .

My uncle wore a to the wedding.

10

Have you met that next door?

Gradable and Non-gradable Adjectives Quiz

1

I am happy to see you.

The cat was dead when the vet arrived.

To make tea, the water should be boiling.

Well done! Your homework is excellent.

Don't see that film! It's awful!

The terrified people ran for their lives.

I am reading a good book.

Are you sure? - Yes, I'm certain.

It's cold outside. In fact, it's nearly freezing.

10

The world is in a ridiculous situation. I laugh so much!

Adverbs of Frequency Quiz

1

Nancy and I [30%] go out for coffee together.

Andrea lives next door so we see her.

We meet at the Annual General Meeting.

My doctor checks my health .

It [0%] rains here in the summer.

we take the dog off his leash at the beach.

My sister two days of school in a row.

My boyfriend and I take vacations together quite .

Andy [10%] gets to visit with his cousins.

10

I went to college .

Adverbs Quiz
1 My grandfather walks extremely slowly.
2 Your roommate is quite shy, isn't she?
3 We rarely go to the movies on the weekends.
4 Our house is practically on the highway.
5 My niece reads well for a five-year-old.
6 Your friend Robert drives a fast car.
7 I never buy fruit at the grocery store.
8 My go dancing on Fridays.
9 bake a batch of cookies.
10 Please so that we can go shopping.

CHAPTER II

TENSES
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
After completing this lesson, students are supposed to be able to understand structure and use of
the tenses and make sentences using the right tense.
A. INTRODUCTION
In some languages, verb tenses are not very important or do not even exist. In English,
the concept of tense is very important. Many languages use tenses to talk about time. Other
languages have no tenses, but of course they can still talk about time, using different methods.
In this lesson we look at the idea behind tense, how to avoid confusing tense with time,
and the structure of the basic tenses, with examples using a regular verb, an irregular verb and
the verb be.
B. WHAT IS TENSE?
Tense (noun) is a form of a verb used to indicate the time, and sometimes the
continuation or completeness, of an action in relation to the time of speaking. (From Latin
tempus = time).
Tense is a method that we use in English to refer to time - past, present and future. Many
languages use tenses to talk about time. Other languages have no tenses, but of course they can
still talk about time, using different methods.
So, we talk about time in English with tenses. But, and this is a very big but:
we can also talk about time without using tenses (for example, going to is a special
construction to talk about the future, it is not a tense)
one tense does not always talk about one time (see Tense & Time for more about this)
Here are some of the terms used in discussing verbs and tenses.
1. Mood
indicative mood expresses a simple statement of fact, which can be positive (affirmative) or
negative
I like coffee.
I do not like coffee.
interrogative mood expresses a question
Why do you like coffee?
imperative mood expresses a command
Sit down!
subjunctive mood expresses what is imagined or wished or possible
The President ordered that he attend the meeting.
2. Voice
Voice shows the relationship of the subject to the action. In the active voice, the subject does the
action (cats eat mice). In the passive voice, the subject receives the action (mice are eaten by
cats). Among other things, we can use voice to help us change the focus of attention.

3. Aspect
Aspect expresses a feature of the action related to time, such as completion or duration. Present
simple and past simple tenses have no aspect, but if we wish we can stress with other tenses that:
the action or state referred to by the verb is completed (and often still relevant), for
example:
I have emailed the report to Jane. (so now she has the report)
(This is called perfective aspect, using perfect tenses.)
the action or state referred to by the verb is in progress or continuing (that is,
uncompleted), for example:
We are eating.
(This is called progressive aspect, using progressive [continuous] tenses.)
C. TENSE AND TIME
It is important not to confuse the name of a verb tense with the way we use it to talk
about time.
For example, a present tense does not always refer to present time:
I hope it rains tomorrow.
"rains" is present simple, but it refers here to future time (tomorrow)
Or a past tense does not always refer to past time:
If I had some money now, I could buy it.
"had" is past simple but it refers here to present time (now)
The following examples show how different tenses can be used to talk about different
times.
TIME
TENSE
past

present

future

I want a coffee.

I leave tomorrow.

likes

coffee.

I am having dinner.

I am taking my exam
next month.

Present Simple
She

Present Continuous
They
Present Perfect
Simple
Present Perfect
Continuous

are

I have seen ET.

living

in

London.

I have finished.

I have been playing

tennis.
We have been working for four hours.

Past Simple

I finished one hour

ago.

If she loved you now,

she would marry you.

If you came
tomorrow, you would

see her.
Past Continuous

I was working at 2am

this morning.

Past Perfect Simple

I had not eaten for 24

hours.

Past Perfect
Continuous

We had been
working for 3 hours.

Future Simple

If I had been
working now, I
would have missed
you.

If I had been
working tomorrow, I
could not have
agreed.

Hold on. I'll do it

now.

I'll see you tomorrow.

I will be working at
9pm tonight.

Future Continuous

I will have finished

by 9pm tonight.

Future Perfect
Simple

We will have been married for ten years next month.

They may be tired
when you arrive
because they will
have been working.

Future Perfect
Continuous

In 30 minutes, we will have been working for four hours.

D. BASIC TENSES
For past and present, there are 2 simple tenses + 6 complex tenses (using auxiliary verbs).
To these, we can add 4 "modal tenses" for the future (using modal auxiliary verbs will/shall).
This makes a total of 12 tenses in the active voice. Another 12 tenses are available in the passive
voice. So now we have 24 tenses.
24 Tenses
simple
tenses
ACTIVE

complex
tenses
formed with
auxiliary

past

present

future*

past

present

future

past perfect

present perfect

future perfect

past continuous

present continuous

future continuous

past perfect

present perfect

future perfect

verbs

PASSIVE

continuous

continuous

continuous

past

present

future

past perfect

present perfect

future perfect

past continuous

present continuous

future continuous

past perfect
continuous

present perfect
continuous

future perfect
continuous

Some grammar books use the word progressive instead of continuous. They are exactly the
same.
The use of tenses in English may be quite complicated, but the structure of English tenses is
actually very simple. The basic structure for a positive sentence is:
subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
An auxiliary verb is used in all tenses. (In the simple present and simple past tenses, the
auxiliary verb is usually suppressed for the affirmative, but it does exist for intensification.) The
following table shows the 12 tenses for the verb to work in the active voice.
structure
auxiliary

past

present

future*

I worked

I work

I will work

main verb

normal
simple
intensive

do

base

I did work

I do work

perfect

have

past participle

I had
worked

I have
worked

I will have
worked

continuous

be

present
participle -ing

I was
working

I am
working

I will be
working

continuous
perfect

have
been

present
participle -ing

I had been
working

I have been
working

I will have
been working

* Technically, there are no future tenses in English. The word will is a modal auxiliary verb and
future tenses are sometimes called "modal tenses". The examples are included here for
convenience and comparison.

This page shows the basic tenses with the regular verb work. It includes the affirmative
or positive form (+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?).
The basic structure is:
positive: + subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
negative: - subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb
question: ? auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:
base verb

past

past participle

present participle -ing

work

worked

worked

working

SIMPLE
do + base verb
(except future:
will + base verb)

SIMPLE PERFECT
have + past participle

CONTINUOUS
be + ing

CONTINUOUS
PERFECT
have been + ing

past

present

future

I did work
I worked

I do work
I work

I will work

I did not work

I do not work

I will not work

Did I work?

Do I work?

Will I work?

+ I had worked

I have worked

I will have worked

I had not worked

I have not worked

I will not have

worked

Had I worked?

Have I worked?

Will I have worked?

+ I was working

I am working

I will be working

I was not working

I am not working

I will not be working

Was I working?

Am I working?

Will I be working?

I had been
working

I have been
working

I will have been

working

I had not been

working

I have not been

working

I will not have been

working

Had I been
working?

Have I been
working?

Will I have been

working?

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

The basic structure is:

positive: + subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
negative: - subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb
question: ? auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:
base verb

past

past participle

present participle -ing

sing

sang

sung

singing

SIMPLE
do + base verb
(except future:
will + base verb)

SIMPLE PERFECT
have + past participle

CONTINUOUS
be + -ing

past

present

future

I did sing
I sang

I do sing
I sing

I will sing

I did not sing

I do not sing

I will not sing

Did I sing?

Do I sing?

Will I sing?

+ I had sung

I have sung

I will have sung

I had not sung

I have not sung

I will not have sung

Had I sung?

Have I sung?

Will I have sung?

+ I was singing

I am singing

I will be singing

I was not singing

I am not singing

I will not be singing

Was I singing?

Am I singing?

Will I be singing?

I have been
singing

I will have been

singing

+ I had been singing

CONTINUOUS
PERFECT
have been + -ing

I had not been

singing

I have not been

singing

I will not have been

singing

Had I been
singing?

Have I been
singing?

Will I have been

singing?

The basic structure of tenses for regular verbs and irregular verbs is exactly the same
(except to be). The only difference is that with regular verbs the past and past participle are
always the same (worked, worked), while with irregular verbs the past and past participle are not
always the same (sang, sung). But the structure is the same! It will help you a great deal to really
understand that.

English regular verbs change their form very little (unlike irregular verbs). The past tense
and past participle of regular verbs end in -ed, for example:
work, worked, worked
But you should note the following points:
1. Some verbs can be both regular and irregular, for example:
learn, learned, learned
learn, learnt, learnt
2. Some verbs change their meaning depending on whether they are regular or irregular, for
example "to hang":

regular

hang, hanged,
hanged

to kill or die, by dropping with a rope around the neck

irregular

hang, hung, hung

to fix something (for example, a picture) at the top so that the

lower part is free

3. The present tense of some regular verbs is the same as the past tense of some irregular verbs:
regular

found, founded, founded

irregular

find, found, found

Basic Tenses: Regular Verb

Regular Verbs List
There are thousands of regular verbs in English. This is a list of 600 of the more common
regular verbs. Note that there are some spelling variations in American English (for example,
"practise" becomes "practice" in American English).
accept
allow
applaud
add
amuse
attach
appreciate
admire
analyse
attack
approve
admit
announce
attempt
argue
advise
annoy
attend
arrange
afford
answer
attract
arrest
agree
apologise
avoid
arrive
alert
appear
ask

back
bake
balance
ban

beg
behave
belong
bleach

boil
bolt
bomb
book

branch
breathe
bruise
brush

bang
bare
bat
bathe
battle
beam

calculate
call
camp
care
carry
carve
cause
challenge
change
charge
chase
cheat
check
cheer
chew

dam
damage
dance
dare
decay
deceive
decide
decorate
delay
delight

earn
educate
embarrass
employ
empty
encourage

face
fade
fail
fancy

bless
blind
blink
blot
blush
boast

bore
borrow
bounce
bow
box
brake

choke
chop
claim
clap
clean
clear
clip
close
coach
coil
collect
colour
comb
command
communicate

bubble
bump
burn
bury
buzz

compare
compete
complain
complete
concentrate
concern
confess
confuse
connect
consider
consist
contain
continue
copy
correct

cough
count
cover
crack
crash
crawl
cross
crush
cry
cure
curl
curve
cycle

disapprove
disarm
discover
dislike
divide
double
doubt
drag
drain
dream

end
enjoy
enter
entertain
escape
examine

excite
excuse
exercise
exist
expand
expect

explain
explode
extend

fetch
file
fill
film

flash
float
flood
flow

force
form
found
frame

deliver
depend
describe
desert
deserve
destroy
detect
develop
disagree
disappear

dress
drip
drop
drown
drum
dry
dust

fasten
fax
fear
fence

fire
fit
fix
flap

flower
fold
follow
fool

gather
gaze
glow
glue

grab
grate
grease
greet

hammer
hand
handle
hang
happen
harass

harm
hate
haunt
head
heal
heap

identify
ignore
imagine
impress
improve
include

increase
influence
inform
inject
injure
instruct

jail
jam

jog
join

kick
kill

kiss
kneel

label
land
last
laugh
launch

man
manage
march
mark
marry
match

frighten
fry

grin
grip
groan
guarantee

guard
guess
guide

heat
help
hook
hop
hope
hover

hug
hum
hunt
hurry

invite
irritate
itch

intend
interest
interfere
interrupt
introduce
invent
joke
judge

juggle
jump

knit
knock

knot

learn
level
license
lick
lie

lighten
like
list
listen
live

load
lock
long
look
love

matter
measure
meddle
melt
memorise
mend

milk
mine
miss
mix
moan
moor

move
muddle
mug
multiply
murder

mate

mess up

mourn

nail
name

need
nest

nod
note

notice
number

obey
object
observe

obtain
occur
offend

offer
open
order

overflow
owe
own

pack
paddle
paint
park
part
pass
paste
pat
pause
peck
pedal
peel
peep
perform

permit
phone
pick
pinch
pine
place
plan
plant
play
please
plug
point
poke
polish

pop
possess
post
pour
practise
pray
preach
precede
prefer
prepare
present
preserve
press
pretend

prevent
prick
print
produce
program
promise
protect
provide
pull
pump
punch
puncture
punish
push

question

queue

race
radiate
rain
raise
reach
realise
receive
recognise
record
reduce
reflect

refuse
regret
reign
reject
rejoice
relax
release
rely
remain
remember
remind

remove
repair
repeat
replace
reply
report
reproduce
request
rescue
retire
return

rhyme
rinse
risk
rob
rock
roll
rot
rub
ruin
rule
rush

sack
sail
satisfy
save
saw
scare
scatter

shiver
shock
shop
shrug
sigh
sign
signal

soothe
sound
spare
spark
sparkle
spell
spill

stop
store
strap
strengthen
stretch
strip
stroke

scold
scorch
scrape
scratch
scream
screw
scribble
scrub
seal
search
separate
serve
settle
shade
share
shave
shelter

sin
sip
ski
skip
slap
slip
slow
smash
smell
smile
smoke
snatch
sneeze
sniff
snore
snow
soak

spoil
spot
spray
sprout
squash
squeak
squeal
squeeze
stain
stamp
stare
start
stay
steer
step
stir
stitch

stuff
subtract
succeed
suck
suffer
suggest
suit
supply
support
suppose
surprise
surround
suspect
suspend
switch

talk
tame
tap
taste
tease
telephone
tempt
terrify
test
thank

thaw
tick
tickle
tie
time
tip
tire
touch
tour
tow

trace
trade
train
transport
trap
travel
treat
tremble
trick
trip

trot
trouble
trust
try
tug
tumble
turn
twist
type

undress
unfasten

unite
unlock

unpack
untidy

use

vanish

visit

wail
wait
walk
wander
want
warm
warn
wash

waste
watch
water
wave
weigh
welcome
whine
whip

whirl
whisper
whistle
wink
wipe
wish
wobble
wonder

work
worry
wrap
wreck
wrestle
wriggle

x-ray

yawn

zip

yell

zoom

Basic Tenses: Irregular Verb

Irregular Verbs List
This is a list of some irregular verbs in English. Of course, there are many others, but
these are the more common irregular verbs.
V1
Base Form

V2
Past Simple

V3
Past Participle

awake

awoke

awoken

be

was, were

been

beat

beat

beaten

become

became

become

begin

began

begun

bend

bent

bent

bet

bet

bet

bid

bid

bid

bite

bit

bitten

blow

blew

blown

break

broke

broken

bring

brought

brought

broadcast

broadcast

broadcast

build

built

built

burn

burned/burnt

burned/burnt

buy

bought

bought

catch

caught

caught

choose

chose

chosen

come

came

come

cost

cost

cost

cut

cut

cut

dig

dug

dug

do

did

done

draw

drew

drawn

dream

dreamed/dreamt

dreamed/dreamt

drive

drove

driven

drink

drank

drunk

eat

ate

eaten

fall

fell

fallen

feel

felt

felt

fight

fought

fought

find

found

found

fly

flew

flown

forget

forgot

forgotten

forgive

forgave

forgiven

freeze

froze

frozen

get

got

got (sometimes gotten)

give

gave

given

go

went

gone

grow

grew

grown

hang

hung

hung

have

had

had

hear

heard

heard

hide

hid

hidden

hit

hit

hit

hold

held

held

hurt

hurt

hurt

keep

kept

kept

know

knew

known

lay

laid

laid

lead

led

led

learn

learned/learnt

learned/learnt

leave

left

left

lend

lent

lent

let

let

let

lie

lay

lain

lose

lost

lost

make

made

made

mean

meant

meant

meet

met

met

pay

paid

paid

put

put

put

read

read

read

ride

rode

ridden

ring

rang

rung

rise

rose

risen

run

ran

run

say

said

said

see

saw

seen

sell

sold

sold

send

sent

sent

show

showed

showed/shown

shut

shut

shut

sing

sang

sung

sit

sat

sat

sleep

slept

slept

speak

spoke

spoken

spend

spent

spent

stand

stood

stood

swim

swam

swum

take

took

taken

teach

taught

taught

tear

tore

torn

tell

told

told

think

thought

thought

throw

threw

thrown

understand

understood

understood

wake

woke

woken

wear

wore

worn

win

won

won

write

wrote

written

Basic Tenses: Be
This page shows the basic tenses with the verb be. It includes the affirmative or positive
form (+), the negative form (-) and the interrogative or question form (?).
The basic structure is:
positive (+): subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
negative (-): subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb
question (?): auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
But for simple past and simple present tenses, the structure is not the same. In fact, it's even
easier. There is no auxiliary verb. Here is the structure:
positive (+): subject + main verb
negative (-): subject + main verb + not
question (?): main verb + subject
These are the forms of the main verb be that we use to construct the tenses:
base

past simple past participle

present participle

present simple

be

was, were

being

am, are, is

been

SIMPLE
present simple or past
simple
(except future: will + be)

SIMPLE PERFECT
have + been

CONTINUOUS
be + being

past

present

future

I was

I am

I will be

I was not

I am not

I will not be

Was I?

Am I?

Will I be?

I had been

I have been

I will have been

I had not been

I have not been

I will not have been

Had I been?

Have I been?

Will I have been?

I was being

I am being

I will be being

I was not being

I am not being

I will not be being

Was I being?

Am I being?

Will I be being?

I had been being

I have been being

I will have been

being

I had not been

being

I have not been

being

I will not have been

being

CONTINUOUS PERFECT
have been + being

Had I been
being?

Have I been
being?

Will I have been

being?

In the following table, we see be conjugated for 12 basic tenses.

SIMPLE

singular

plural

past

present

future

was

am

will be

you

were

are

will be

he/she/it

was

is

will be

we

were

are

will be

you

were

are

will be

they

were

are

will be

past

present

future

had been

have been

will have been

you

had been

have been

will have been

he/she/it

had been

has been

will have been

we

had been

have been

will have been

you

had been

have been

will have been

they

had been

have been

will have been

past

present

future

was being

am being

will be being

you

were being

are being

will be being

he/she/it

was being

is being

will be being

we

were being

are being

will be being

you

were being

are being

will be being

they

were being

are being

will be being

PERFECT

singular

plural

CONTINUOUS

singular

plural

CONTINUOUS PERFECT

singular

plural

past

present

future

had been being

have been being

will have been being

you

had been being

have been being

will have been being

he/she/it

had been being

has been being

will have been being

we

had been being

have been being

will have been being

you

had been being

have been being

will have been being

they

had been being

have been being

will have been being

The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses. In each lesson we look at two
aspects of the tense:
Structure: How do we make the tense?
Use: When and why do we use the tense?
Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a quiz to check your
understanding.
Many English learners worry too much about tense. If you stopped 100 native English speakers
in the street and asked them about tense, 1 of them might give you an intelligent answer - if you
were lucky. The other 99 would know little about terms like "past perfect" or "present
continuous". And they would know nothing about aspect, voice or mood. But they can all speak
fluent English and communicate effectively. Of course, for ESL it helps to know about tenses,
but don't become obsessed with them. Be like those native speakers! Speak naturally!

E. PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE

1. How do we make the Present Simple Tense?
subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
do

base

There are three important exceptions:

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

subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

I, you, we, they

like

coffee.

He, she, it

likes

coffee.

I, you, we, they do

not

like

coffee.

He, she, it

does

not

like

coffee.

Do

I, you, we, they

like

coffee?

Does

he, she, it

like

coffee?

Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:

subject

main verb

am

French.

You, we, they are

French.

He, she, it

is

French.

am

not

old.

You, we, they are

not

old.

He, she, it

is

not

old.

Am

late?

Are

you, we, they

late?

Is

he, she, it

late?

2. How do we use the Present Simple Tense?

We use the present simple tense when:
the action is general
the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future
the action is not only happening now
the statement is always true

John drives a taxi.

past

present

future

It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future.

Look at these examples:

I live in New York.

The Moon goes round the Earth.
John drives a taxi.
He does not drive a bus.
We meet every Thursday.
We do not work at night.
Do you play football?

Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the present simple tense for situations that are not
general. We can use the present simple tense to talk about now. Look at these examples of the
verb "to be" in the present simple tense - some of them are general, some of them are now:
Am I right?
Tara is not at home.

You are happy.

past

present

future

The situation is now.

I am not fat.
Why are you so beautiful?
Ram is tall.
past

present

future

The situation is general. Past, present and future.

This page shows the use of the present simple tense to talk about general events. But note that
there are some other uses for the present simple tense, for example in conditional or if sentences,
or to talk about the future. You will learn about those later.
F. PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE
We often use the present continuous tense in English. It is very different from the simple
present tense, both in structure and in use.
Continuous tenses are also called progressive tenses. So the present progressive tense is
the same as the present continuous tense.
1. How do we make the Present Continuous Tense?
The structure of the present continuous tense is:
subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
be
base + ing
Look at these examples:

subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

am

speaking

to you.

You

are

reading

this.

She

is

not staying

in London.

We

are

not playing

football.

Is

he

watching

TV?

Are

they

waiting

for John?

2. How do we use the Present Continuous Tense?

We use the present continuous tense to talk about:
action happening now
action in the future
Present Continuous tense for action happening now
a) for action happening exactly now
I am eating my lunch.
past

present

future

The action is happening now.

Look at these examples. Right now you are looking at this screen and at the same time...

...the pages are turning.

...the candle is burning.

...the numbers are spinning.

b) for action happening around now

The action may not be happening exactly now, but it is happening just before and just after now,
and it is not permanent or habitual.

John is going out with Mary.

past

present

future

The action is happening

around now.

Look at these examples:

Muriel is learning to drive.
I am living with my sister until I find an apartment.
Present Continuous tense for the future
We can also use the present continuous tense to talk about the future - if we add a future
word!! We must add (or understand from the context) a future word. "Future words" include, for
example, tomorrow, next year, in June, at Christmas etc. We only use the present continuous
tense to talk about the future when we have planned to do something before we speak. We have
already made a decision and a plan before speaking.
I am taking my exam next month.
past

present

future

!!!
A firm plan or programme
exists now.

The action is in the future.

Look at these examples:

We're eating in a restaurant tonight. We've already booked the table..
They can play tennis with you tomorrow. They're not working.
When are you starting your new job?
In these examples, we have a firm plan or programme before speaking. The decision and plan
were made before speaking.
3. How do we spell the Present Continuous Tense?

We make the present continuous tense by adding -ing to the base verb. Normally it's
simple - we just add -ing. But sometimes we have to change the word a little. Perhaps we double
the last letter, or we drop a letter. Here are the rules to help you know how to spell the present
continuous tense.
Just add -ing to the base verb:
work

>

working

play

>

playing

assist

>

assisting

see

>

seeing

be

>

being

Basic rule

If the base verb ends in consonant + stressed vowel + consonant, double the last
letter:
s
t
o
p
stressed
consonant
consonant
vowel
(vowels = a, e, i, o, u)
Exception
1

stop

>

stopping

run

>

running

begin

>

beginning

Note that this exception does not apply when the last syllable of the base verb is
not stressed:
open

>

opening

If the base verb ends in ie, change the ie to y:

Exception
2

lie

>

lying

die

>

dying

If the base verb ends in vowel + consonant + e, omit the e:

Exception
3

come

>

coming

mistake

>

mistaking

I. PAST SIMPLE TENSE

The past simple tense is sometimes called the "preterite tense". We can use several
tenses and forms to talk about the past, but the past simple tense is the one we use most often.
1. How do we make the Past Simple Tense?
To make the past simple tense, we use:

past form only

or
auxiliary did + base form

Here you can see examples of the past form and base form for irregular verbs and regular
verbs:
V1
base

V2
past

V3
past participle

regular
verb

work
worked
explode exploded
like
liked

worked
exploded
liked

The past form for all

regular verbs ends in ed.

irregular
verb

go
see
sing

gone
seen
sung

The past form for

irregular verbs is
variable. You need to
learn it by heart.

went
saw
sang

You do not need the past participle

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

auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

did
base
The auxiliary verb did is not conjugated. It is the same for all persons (I did, you did, he did etc).
And the base form and past form do not change. Look at these examples with the main verbs go
and work:
subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

went

to school.

You

worked

very hard.

+
She

did

not go

with me.

We

did

not work

yesterday.

Did

you

go

to London?

Did

they

work

at home?

Exception! The verb to be is different. We conjugate the verb to be (I was, you were, he/she/it
was, we were, they were); and we do not use an auxiliary for negative and question sentences.
To make a question, we exchange the subject and verb. Look at these examples:
subject

main verb

I, he/she/it

was

here.

+
You, we, they were
I, he/she/it

was

in London.
not

there.

not

happy.

You, we, they were

Was

I, he/she/it

right?

Were

you, we, they

late?

2. How do we use the Past Simple Tense?

We use the past simple tense to talk about an action or a situation - an event - in the past. The
event can be short or long.

Here are some short events with the past simple tense:
The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday.
She went to the door.
We did not hear the telephone.
Did you see that car?
past

present

future

The action is in the past.

Here are some long events with the past simple tense:
I lived in Bangkok for 10 years.
The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years.
We did not sing at the concert.
Did you watch TV last night?
past

present

future

The action is in the past.

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the
past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a
few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the past simple
tense when:

the event is in the past

the event is completely finished
we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event

In general, if we say the time or place of the event, we must use the past simple tense; we cannot
use the present perfect.
Here are some more examples:

I lived in that house when I was young.

He didn't like the movie.
What did you eat for dinner?
John drove to London on Monday.
Mary did not go to work yesterday.

Did you play tennis last week?

I was at work yesterday.
We were not late (for the train).
Were you angry?

Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the past simple tense. We may use the past
continuous tense to "set the scene", but we almost always use the past simple tense for the action.
Look at this example of the beginning of a story:
"The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door
opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, and ordered a
drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drank his..."
This page shows the use of the past simple tense to talk about past events. But note that there are
some other uses for the past simple tense, for example in conditional or if sentences.
J. PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE
The past continuous tense is an important tense in English. We use it to say what we
were in the middle of doing at a particular moment in the past.
1. How do we make the Past Continuous Tense?
The structure of the past continuous tense is:
subject

auxiliary verb BE

main verb

conjugated in simple past tense

present participle

was
were

base + ing

For negative sentences in the past continuous tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and
main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these
example sentences with the past continuous tense:
subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

was

watching

TV.

You

were

working

hard.

He, she, it

was

not helping

We

were

not joking.

Mary.

Were

you

being

silly?

Were

they

playing

football?

The spelling rules for adding ing to make the past continuous tense are the same as for the
present continuous tense.
2. How do we use the Past Continuous Tense?
The past continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the past. The action
started before that moment but has not finished at that moment. For example, yesterday I
watched a film on TV. The film started at 7pm and finished at 9pm.
At 8pm yesterday, I was watching TV.
past

present

future

8pm
At 8pm, I was in the middle
of watching TV.

When we use the past continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time we
are talking about. Look at these examples:

I was working at 10pm last night.

They were not playing football at 9am this morning.
What were you doing at 10pm last night?
What were you doing when he arrived?
She was cooking when I telephoned her.
We were having dinner when it started to rain.
Ram went home early because it was snowing.

Some verbs cannot be used in continuous/progressive tenses.

We often use the past continuous tense to "set the scene" in stories. We use it to describe the
background situation at the moment when the action begins. Often, the story starts with the past
continuous tense and then moves into the simple past tense. Here is an example:
" James Bond was driving through town. It was raining. The wind was blowing hard. Nobody
was walking in the streets. Suddenly, Bond saw the killer in a telephone box..."

Past Continuous Tense + Simple Past Tense

We often use the past continuous tense with the simple past tense. We use the past continuous
tense to express a long action. And we use the simple past tense to express a short action that
happens in the middle of the long action. We can join the two ideas with when or while.
In the following example, we have two actions:
1. long action (watching TV), expressed with past continuous tense
2. short action (telephoned), expressed with simple past tense
past

present

Long action.
I was watching TV at 8pm.
8pm

You telephoned at 8pm.

Short action.

We can join these two actions with when:

I was watching TV when you telephoned.

(Notice that "when you telephoned" is also a way of defining the time [8pm].)
We use:

when + short action (simple past tense)

while + long action (past continuous tense)

There are four basic combinations:

I was walking past the car

when it exploded.

future

the car exploded

When

I was walking past it.

The car exploded

while I was walking past it.

While I was walking past the car

it exploded.

Notice that the long action and short action are relative.

"Watching TV" took a few hours. "Telephoned" took a few seconds.

"Walking past the car" took a few seconds. "Exploded" took a few milliseconds.

M. FUTURE SIMPLE TENSE

The future simple tense is often called will, because we make the future simple tense with the
modal auxiliary will.
1. How do we make the Future Simple Tense?
The structure of the future simple tense is:
subject

auxiliary verb WILL

main verb

invariable

base

will

V1

For negative sentences in the future simple tense, we insert not between the auxiliary verb and
main verb. For question sentences, we exchange the subject and auxiliary verb. Look at these
example sentences with the future simple tense:
subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

will

open

the door.

You

will

finish

before me.

She

will

not be

at school tomorrow.

We

will

not leave

yet.

Will

you

arrive

on time?

Will

they

want

dinner?

When we use the future simple tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and auxiliary
verb:
I will

I'll

you will

you'll

he will
she will
it will

he'll
she'll
it'll

we will

we'll

they will

they'll

For negative sentences in the future simple tense, we contract with won't, like this:
I will not

I won't

you will not

you won't

he will not
she will not
it will not

he won't
she won't
it won't

we will not

we won't

they will not

they won't

2. How do we use the Future Simple Tense?

No Plan
We use the future simple tense when there is no plan or decision to do something before we
speak. We make the decision spontaneously at the time of speaking. Look at these examples:

Hold on. I'll get a pen.

We will see what we can do to help you.
Maybe we'll stay in and watch television tonight.

In these examples, we had no firm plan before speaking. The decision is made at the time of
speaking.
We often use the future simple tense with the verb to think before it:

I think I'll go to the gym tomorrow.

I think I will have a holiday next year.
I don't think I'll buy that car.

Prediction
We often use the future simple tense to make a prediction about the future. Again, there is no
firm plan. We are saying what we think will happen. Here are some examples:

It will rain tomorrow.

People won't go to Jupiter before the 22nd century.
Who do you think will get the job?

Be
When the main verb is be, we can use the future simple tense even if we have a firm plan or
decision before speaking. Examples:

I'll be in London tomorrow.

I'm going shopping. I won't be very long.
Will you be at work tomorrow?

Note that when we have a plan or intention to do something in the future, we usually use other
tenses or expressions, such as the present continuous tense or going to.

N. FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE

1. How do we make the Future Continuous Tense?
The structure of the future continuous tense is:
subject

auxiliary verb WILL

auxiliary verb BE

main verb

invariable

invariable

present participle

will

be

base + ing

For negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we insert not between will and be. For
question sentences, we exchange the subject and will. Look at these example sentences with the
future continuous tense:
subject

auxiliary verb

auxiliary verb

main verb

will

be

working

at 10am.

You

will

be

lying

on a beach tomorrow.

She

will

not be

using

the car.

We

will

not be

having

dinner at home.

Will

you

be

playing

football?

Will

they

be

watching

TV?

When we use the future continuous tense in speaking, we often contract the subject and will:

I will

I'll

you will

you'll

he will
she will
it will

he'll
she'll
it'll

we will

we'll

they will

they'll

For spoken negative sentences in the future continuous tense, we contract with won't, like this:
I will not

I won't

you will not

you won't

he will not
she will not
it will not

he won't
she won't
it won't

we will not

we won't

they will not

they won't

We sometimes use shall instead of will, especially for I and we.

2.How do we use the Future Continuous Tense?
The future continuous tense expresses action at a particular moment in the future. The action
will start before that moment but it will not have finished at that moment. For example,
tomorrow I will start work at 2pm and stop work at 6pm:

At 4pm tomorrow, I will be working.

past

present

future
4pm
At 4pm, I will be in the
middle of working.

When we use the future continuous tense, our listener usually knows or understands what time
we are talking about. Look at these examples:

I will be playing tennis at 10am tomorrow.

They won't be watching TV at 9pm tonight.
What will you be doing at 10pm tonight?
What will you be doing when I arrive?
She will not be sleeping when you telephone her.
We'll be having dinner when the film starts.
Take your umbrella. It will be raining when you return.

Q. GOING TO
Intention
We use the special going to construction when we have the intention to do something before we
speak. We have already made a decision before speaking. Look at these examples:

I have won $1,000. I am going to buy a new TV.

We're not going to see my mother tomorrow.
When are you going to go on holiday?

In these examples, we had an intention or plan before speaking. The decision was made before
we spoke.
Prediction
We often use going to to make a prediction about the future. Our prediction is based on
evidence. We are saying what seems sure to happen. Here are some examples:

The sky is very black. It is going to snow.

It's 8.30! You're going to miss the train!
I crashed the company car. My boss isn't going to be very happy!

In these examples, the present situation (black sky/the time/damaged car) gives us a good idea of
what is going to happen.

We use will for prediction when we have no real evidence: "It will rain tomorrow." (It's
my feeling but I can't be sure.)
We use going to for prediction when there is some real evidence: "It's going to rain."
(There's a big, black cloud in the sky and if it doesn't rain I'll be very surprised.)

Present Continuous for Plan

We often use the present continuous tense to talk about the future. Of course, we normally use
the present continuous to talk about action happening in the present, but if we add a future
word, we can use it to talk about the future. (By "future word" we mean words or expressions
like tomorrow, next week, in June. The future word may be clearly expressed or understood from
the context.)
Sometimes there is no real difference between an intention (going to) and a plan (present
continuous). In this case, it doesn't matter which we use.

We're going to paint the bedroom tomorrow.

We're painting the bedroom tomorrow.

We use the present continuous only when a plan exists before we speak. Look at these
examples:

Mary is taking her music exam next year.

They can't play tennis with you tomorrow. They're working.

We're going to the theatre on Friday.

Present Simple for Schedules

When an event is on a schedule or timetable (for example, the take-off time for a plane), we
often use the present simple to express the future. We usually also use a future word (expressed
or understood) like tomorrow, at 6.30pm, next week.
Only a few verbs are used in this way, for example:

be, open, close, begin, start, end, finish, arrive, come, leave, return

Look at these sentences:

The train leaves Detroit at 9pm tonight.

John starts work next week.
Tomorrow is Thursday.
Future Time: Summary

When we speak, we choose the tense that we use. This is important in English, because
the tense we choose expresses more than just a simple fact. When we speak about the
future, the tense we choose can express how we "see" the future, even our personal
feelings about the future. It certainly expresses what we believe to be the probability (the
chance, the reality) of something happening or whether we have already decided to do it.
This table gives a simple scale of probability for each structure. It is not exact because
language is not a science, and there are many variables. This table should help you to
think about the "concept" of the future in English. This concept does not exist in all
languages, but it is rather important in English.

% probability before
speaker speaks of event
happening

structure

used for

example

0%

will

no plan

Don't get up. I'll answer the phone.

70%

going to

intention We're going to watch TV tonight.

90%

present
continuous

plan

I'm taking my exam in June.

99.999%

present simple

schedule

My plane takes off at 6.00am

tomorrow.

It is impossible in English to express the future with 100% certainty. (The speakers of
any language that can do this must all be billionaires!)

R. SUMMARY
Tense is a form of a verb used to indicate the time, and sometimes the continuation or
completeness, of an action in relation to the time of speaking. Tense is a method that we use in
English to refer to time - past, present and future. Many languages use tenses to talk about time.
Other languages have no tenses, but of course they can still talk about time, using different
methods.
The following table shows the 12 tenses for the verb to work in the active voice.
structure
auxiliary

past

present

future*

I worked

I work

I will work

main verb

normal
simple
intensive
perfect

do

base

I did work

I do work

have

past participle

I had
worked

I have
worked

I will have
worked

continuous

be

present
participle -ing

I was
working

I am
working

I will be
working

continuous
perfect

have
been

present
participle -ing

I had been
working

I have been
working

I will have
been working

S. QUIZ
Present Simple Tense Quiz
1

Do you (like) chocolate milk?

He (does) not want to come to the movies.

(Are) we too late to catch the bus?

It (is) a beautiful day today.

Sorry, Lisa (is) not here at the moment.

(Am) I correct?

Robert (does) not go to my school.

My parents (live) in a 2 bedroom apartment.

We (are) European.

10

You (are) so happy today!

Put the verb into the correct form.

Examples: Water _boils_ (boil) at 100 degrees Celcius.
George _doesnt go_ (not/go) to the movies very often.
How many languages _do you speak_ (you/speak)?
a. The swimming pool ___________ (open) at 9:00 and ___________ (close) at 6:30 every
day.
b. What time _______________________ (the banks/close) here?
c. I have a car, but I ______________(not/use) it very often.
d. How many cigarettes _________________(you/smoke) a day?
e. What ______________(you/do)? Im an electrical engineer.

f. Where __________________(your father/come) from? He ___________ (come)

from Mexico.
g. It ___________ (take) me an hour to get to work. How long ___________________
(it/take) you?
h. I ___________ (play) the piano, but I _____________ (not/play) very well.
i. I dont understand the word deceive. What
_________________________(deceive/mean)?
Read the sentences and correct them. The English is correct but the information is wrong.
Example:
The sun goes around the earth.
The sun doesnt go around the earth. The earth goes around the
sun.______________________________________________
a. The sun rises in the west.
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
b. Mice catch cats.
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
c. Carpenters make things from metal.
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
d. The Amazon River flows into the Pacific Ocean.
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Use the sentences to make questions. Begin your question with the word(s) in parentheses
().
Examples:
Tom plays tennis. (How often?) ___How often does Tom play tennis?___________________
I jog in the morning. (What time/usually?) _____What time do you usually jog?__________
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Ann watches television. (How often?) _____________________________________

I write to my parents. (How often?)_______________________________________
I have dinner in the evening (What time/usually?) ___________________________
Tom works. (Where?) __________________________________________________
I go to the movies. (How often?) _________________________________________
People do stupid things. (Why?) __________________________________________

g. The car breaks down. (How often? ________________________________________

Complete the following chart using the simple present.
Affirmative

Interrogative

Negative

I play tennis.
Does he live in London?
She doesnt like pizza.
They live in Australia.
Do they have two cars?
I dont speak Chinese.
He goes to school.
Does she speak English?
He doesnt play golf.
I work.

Present Continuous Tense Quiz

1

(Are) they coming over for dinner?

Maxwell (is) not sleeping on our sofa.

My mother-in-law is (staying) our house this week.

I (am eating) my dinner right now.

My sister (is learning) Spanish.

I (am working) at the hair salon until September.

We (are eating) at a fancy restaurant tonight. Jason decided this yesterday.

When do you (start) your new art class?

They are (opening) a new record shop downtown.

10

Melissa is (lying) down on her bed.

Put the verb into the correct form.

Examples: Please dont make so much noise. I am studying (study).

Lets go out now. It isnt raining (not/rain) anymore.
Listen to those people. What language are they speaking (they/speak)?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

Please be quiet. I ____________________ (try) to concentrate.

Look! It ___________________ (snow).
Why _____________________ (you/look) at me like that? Did I say something wrong?
You _____________________ (make) a lot of noise. Can you be a little bit quieter?
Excuse me, I _________________ (look) for a phone booth. Is there one near here?
(at the movies) Its a good movie, isnt it? ______________________ (you/enjoy) it?
Listen! Can you hear those people next door? They ___________________ (yell) at each
other again.
h. Why _______________________ (you/wear) your coat today? Its very warm.
i. I ____________________ (not/work) this week. Im on vacation.
j. I want to loose weight. I ___________________ (not/eat) anything today.
Put the words in order.
a. glasses for Im looking my
___________________________________________________
b. book kind are What of reading? you
___________________________________________________
c. crying? Why Pamela is
___________________________________________________

d. Why laughing? is everyone

___________________________________________________
e. for me? you Are waiting
___________________________________________________
f. are When leaving? you
___________________________________________________
g. in working is the moment Canada John at
___________________________________________________

h. the for same as Is you? Jennifer company working

___________________________________________________
i. population The world the of is fast very rising
___________________________________________________
j. English your Is better? getting
___________________________________________________
Complete these sentences using one of these verbs. You dont have to use all
and you can use some of them more than once.

the verbs

get become change rise improve fall increase

Example: The population of the world is rising very fast.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

The number of people without jobs ____________________ at the moment.

He is still sick, but he ____________________ better slowly.
These days food _____________________ more and more expensive.
The world _____________________. Things never stay the same.
The cost of living __________________. Every year things are more expensive.
George has gone to work in Spain. At first, his Spanish wasnt very good, but now
it ____________________.
g. The economic situation is already very bad, and it __________________ worse.
A friend of yours is planning to go on vacation very soon. You ask him about his plans.
Use the words in parentheses to make your questions.
Example: (where/go)? Where are you going?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

(how long/stay?) ___________________________________________________

(when/leave?) _____________________________________________________
(go/alone?) _______________________________________________________
(go/by car?) ______________________________________________________
(where/stay?) _____________________________________________________

Ann is going on vacation. Write sentences about her vacation plans. Use the words in
parentheses to write your sentences.
Example: (go/Hawaii) She is going to Hawaii.__
a. (leave/next Friday) ___________________________________________________
b. (stay/in Hawaii for two weeks) __________________________________________
c. (go/with a friend of hers) ______________________________________________

d. (stay/in a hotel) They _________________________________________________

e. (go/by plane) _______________________________________________________

Past Simple Tense Quiz

1

I (went) to the mall after school.

My brother (saw) a bear an hour ago.

(Did) Mike visit his grandmother last night?

Alex did not (work) last weekend.

(Were) Judy and Liz at last month's meeting?

We (were) not happy after the sad ending.

(Did) you see Jody's new dog yesterday?

Sorry, I (didnt) hear you at the door.

I (studied) English for two years.

10

What (did) you eat for lunch yesterday?

Read a sentence abpout the present and then write a sentence about the past.
Example: Carol usually gets up at 7:30. Yesterday she got up at 7:30.______
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

Carol usually wakes up early. Yesterday morning ____________________________

Carol usually walks to work. Yesterday ____________________________________
Carol is usually late for work. Yesterday ___________________________________
Carol usually has a sandwich for lunch. Yesterday ____________________________
Carol usually goes out in the evening. Yesterday evening ______________________
Carol usually sleeps very well. Last night ___________________________________

Put one of these verbs in each sentence:

hurt teach spend sell throw fall catch buy cost
Example: I was hungry, so I _bought_ something to eat at the store.
a. Toms father _____________ him ho to drive when he was 17.
b. Don _____________ down the stairs this morning and _____________ his leg.

c. We needed some money, so we _____________ the car.

d. Ann _____________ a lot of money yesterday. She ______________ a dress that
______________ $80.
e. Jim _____________ the ball to Sue, who _____________ it.
Write questions. A friend has just come back from vacation and you are asking about it.
Example: where/go? __Where did you go?_____
food/good? __Was the food good?___
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

how long/stay there? ______________________________________________?

stay in a hotel? ___________________________________________________?
go alone? ________________________________________________________?
how/travel? ______________________________________________________?
the weather/nice? _________________________________________________?
what/do in the evenings? ___________________________________________?
meet any interesting people? ________________________________________?

Put the verb into the correct form. Use the simple past.
Example: I _didnt go__ (not/go) to work yesterday because I __wasnt_ (not/be) well.
a. Tom _______________ (not/shave) this morning because he _________________
(not/have) time.
b. We ________________ (not/eat) anything because we ______________ (not/be) hungry.
c. I ________________ (not/rush) because I _______________ (not/be) in a hurry.
d. She ________________ (not/be) interested in the book because she
___________________ (not/understand) it.

Past Continuous Tense Quiz

Use the past continuous tense or simple past tense as appropriate.
1

My brother and sister (were) playing tennis at 11am yesterday.

(Were) you still working at 7pm last night?

At 8.30am today I (was) driving to work.

We (werent) sleeping at 11pm.

Why (was) he having lunch at 4pm?

met

Mary

(meet) John in town yesterday. He

w as w aiting

(wait) for me when I

Was he havin

(he/have) a shower when I

10

did not know

arrived

called

w as shoppin

(shop).

(arrive).
(call)?

(not/know) what to say (when) he asked that.

The telephone rang (while) we

w ere w atchi

(watch) TV.

Here is a list of some things that Ann did yesterday ( and the times at which she did them.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

8:45-9:15 had breakfast.

9:15-10:00 read the newspaper.
10:00-12:00 cleaned her apartment.
12:45-1:30 had lunch.
2:30-3:30 washed some clothes.
4:00-6:00 watched TV.

Now write sentences saying what she was doing at these times.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.

At 9:00 she was having breakfast.______________

At 9:30 ___________________________________
At 11:00 __________________________________
At 1:00 ___________________________________
At 3:00 ___________________________________
At 5:00 ___________________________________

A group of people were staying in a hotel. One evening the fire alarm went off. Use the
words in parentheses to make sentences saying what each person was doing at the time.
Example: (Don/take/a bath) __Don was taking a bath._________
a.
b.
c.
d.

(Ann/write/a letter in her room) ______________________________________

(George/get/ready to go out) ________________________________________
(Carol and Dennis/have/dinner) _______________________________________
(Tom/make/a phone call) ____________________________________________

Make sentences from the words in parentheses. Put the verbs into the correct form: simple
past (I did) or past continuous (I was doing).
Example: (I/fall/asleep when I/watch/TV) __I fell asleep when I was watching TV.___

a. (the phone/ring/while I/take a shower) ____________________________________

b. (it/begin/to rain while I/walk/home) ______________________________________
c. (we/see/an accident while we/wait/for the bus) _____________________________
Put the verb into the correct form: past continuous or simple past.
Example: While Tom _was cooking_ (cook) dinner, the phone _rang_ (ring).
a. George _______________ (fall) off the ladder while he _________________ (paint) the
ceiling.
b. Last night I _________________ (read) in bed when suddenly I ________________
(hear) a scream.
c. ______________________ (you/watch) TV when I called you?
d. Amy _____________________ (wait) for me when I __________________ (arrive).
e. I _____________________ (not/drive) very fast when the accident _____________
(happen).
f. I _________________ (break) a plate last night. I _____________________ (wash)
when it ________________ (slip) out of my hand.
g. Tom _________________ (take) a picture of me while I _____________________
(not/look).
h. We ___________________ (not/go) out because it ____________________ (rain).
i. What _______________________ (you/do) at this time yesterday?
j. I __________________ (see) Carol at the party. She ____________________ (wear) a
new dress.
Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate tenses
(simple past or past continuous).
Last night, while I ___________________ (do) my homework, Angela __________________
(call). She said she ____________________ (call) me on her cell phone from her biology
classroom at UCLA. I asked if she __________________ (wait) for class, but she said that the
professor was at the front of the hall lecturing while she _____________________ (talk) to me. I
couldnt believe she __________________ (make) a phone call during the lecture. I asked what
was going on. She said her biology professor was so boring that several of the students
____________________ (sleep) in class. Some of the students ___________________ (talk)
about their plans for the weekend and the student next to her ___________________ (draw) a
picture of a horse. When Angela _________________ (tell) me she was not satisfied with the
class, I ___________________ (mention) that my biology professor was quite good and
____________________ (suggest) that she switch to my class. While we
_____________________ (talk), I _________________ (hear) her professor yell, Miss, are you
making a phone call? Suddenly, the line went dead. I __________________ (hang) up the
phone and went to the kitchen to make dinner. As I ___________________ (cut) vegetables for a
salad, the phone ____________________ (ring) once again. It ____________________ (be)
Angela, but this time she ___________________ (not/sit) in class.

Put the verb into the correct form: past perfect continuous or past continuous.
Examples: Sue was leaning against the wall, out of breath _she had been running._ (run)
I tried to catch Sue but I couldnt. She _was running __(run) very fast.
a. Jim was on his hands and knees on the floor. He _____________________ (look) for his
contact lens.
b. We _________________________ (walk) along the road for about 20 minutes when a car
stopped and the driver offered us a lift.
c. When I arrived, everyone was sitting around the table with their mouths full. They
___________________________ (eat).
d. When I arrived, everyone was sitting around the table and talking. Their mouths were empty
but their stomachs were full. They ______________________________ (eat).
e. When I arrived. Ann _________________________ (wait) for me. She was annoyed because I
was late, and she __________________________ (wait) for a very long time.
Put the verbs into the correct form: past perfect continuous or past perfect.
I'm sorry I left without you last night, but I told you to meet me early because the show started at
8:00. I (try) _________________ to get tickets for that play for months, and I didn't want to miss
it. By the time I finally left the coffee shop where we were supposed to meet, I (have)
________________ five cups of coffee and I (wait) _________________ over an hour. I had to
leave because I (arrange) __________________ to meet Kathy in front of the theater.

When I arrived at the theater, Kathy (pick, already) _________________ up the tickets and she
was waiting for us near the entrance. She was really angry because she (wait) _______________
for more than half an hour. She said she (give, almost) ________________ up and (go)
__________________ into the theater without us.
Kathy told me you (be) __________________ late several times in the past and that she would
not make plans with you again in the future. She mentioned that she (miss) ________________

several movies because of your late arrivals. I think you owe her an apology. And in the future, I
suggest you be on time!
Future Time Quiz
1 Maybe (well go) out for dinner tonight.
2 I think the dog for a walk now.
3 I have 3 days off next week. visit my mother.
4 The clouds are very black. snow.
5 We the laundry tomorrow.
6 Alexander taking his driver's test next week.
7 The bus at 7:30 sharp.
8 Tomorrow the weekend.
9 Don't get up. the phone.
10 My plane at 3:00 PM on Sunday.

CHAPTER III
MODAL VERBS (MODAL AUXILIARIES)
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
After completing this lesson, students are supposed to be able to understand modal auxiliaries
and make sentences using modal auxiliaries.
A. INTRODUCTION
Modal auxiliary verbs may sound difficult but in fact they're easy. They are invariable
(no conjugation). And the main verb is always the "bare infinitive" (the infinitive without "to").
B. CAN, COULD, BE ABLE TO
Can and could are modal auxiliary verbs. Be able to is NOT an auxiliary verb (it uses the verb
be as a main verb). We include be able to here for convenience.
Can
Can is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use can to:

talk about possibility and ability

make requests
ask for or give permission

Structure of Can
subject + can + main verb
The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").

subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

can

play

tennis.

play

tennis.

play

tennis?

cannot
-

He
can't

Can

Notice that:

you

Can is invariable. There is only one form of can.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to"). We cannot say:

Use of Can
can: Possibility and Ability
We use can to talk about what is possible, what we are able or free to do:

She can drive a car.

John can speak Spanish.
I cannot hear you. (I can't hear you.)
Can you hear me?

Normally, we use can for the present. But it is possible to use can when we make present
decisions about future ability.
A. Can you help me with my homework? (present)
B. Sorry. I'm busy today. But I can help you tomorrow. (future)
can: Requests and Orders
We often use can in a question to ask somebody to do something. This is not a real question - we
do not really want to know if the person is able to do something, we want them to do it! The use
of can in this way is informal (mainly between friends and family):

Can you make a cup of coffee, please.

Can you put the TV on.
Can you come here a minute.
Can you be quiet!

can: Permission
We sometimes use can to ask or give permission for something:
A. Can I smoke in this room?
B. You can't smoke here, but you can smoke in the garden.
(Note that we also use could, may, might for permission. The use of can for permission is
informal.)

Could
Could is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use could to:

talk about past possibility or ability

make requests

Structure of Could
subject + could + main verb
The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").

subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

My grandmother

could

swim.

could not
-

She

walk.
couldn't

Could

your grandmother

swim?

Notice that:

Could is invariable. There is only one form of could.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive. We cannot say:

Use of Could
could: Past Possibility or Ability
We use could to talk about what was possible in the past, what we were able or free to do:

I could swim when I was 5 years old.

My grandmother could speak seven languages.
When we arrived home, we could not open the door. (...couldn't open the door.)
Could you understand what he was saying?

We use could (positive) and couldn't (negative) for general ability in the past. But when we talk
about one special occasion in the past, we use be able to (positive) and couldn't (negative).
Look at these examples:
Past
General

Specific Occasion

My grandmother could speak

Spanish.

A man fell into the river yesterday. The police were

able to save him.

My grandmother couldn't speak

Spanish.

A man fell into the river yesterday. The police couldn't

save him.

could: Requests
We often use could in a question to ask somebody to do something. The use of could in this way
is fairly polite (formal):

Could you tell me where the bank is, please?

Could you send me a catalogue, please?

Be able to
Although we look at be able to here, it is not a modal verb. It is simply the verb be plus an
adjective (able) followed by the infinitive. We look at be able to here because we sometimes use
it instead of can and could.
We use be able to:

to talk about ability

Structure of Be able to
The structure of be able to is:
subject + be + able + infinitive

subject

be
main verb

able
adjective

infinitive

am

able

to drive.

able

to drive.

able

to drive?

is not
-

She
isn't

Are

you

Notice that be able to is possible in all tenses, for example:

I was able to drive...

I will be able to drive...
I have been able to drive...

Notice too that be able to has an infinitive form:

I would like to be able to speak Chinese.

Use of Be able to
Be able to is not a modal auxiliary verb. We include it here for convenience, because it is often
used like "can" and "could", which are modal auxiliary verbs.
be able to: ability
We use be able to to express ability. "Able" is an adjective meaning: having the power, skill or
means to do something. If we say "I am able to swim", it is like saying "I can swim". We
sometimes use "be able to" instead of "can" or "could" for ability. "Be able to" is possible in all
tenses - but "can" is possible only in the present and "could" is possible only in the past for
ability. In addition, "can" and "could" have no infinitive form. So we use "be able to" when we
want to use other tenses or the infinitive. Look at these examples:

I have been able to swim since I was five. (present perfect)

You will be able to speak perfect English very soon. (future simple)
I would like to be able to fly an airplane. (infinitive)

C. HAVE TO, MUST, MUST NOT/MUSTN'T

Must is a modal auxiliary verb.
Have to is NOT an auxiliary verb (it uses the verb have as a main verb). We include have to
here for convenience.

Have to (objective obligation)

We often use have to to say that something is obligatory, for example:

Children have to go to school.

Note that we can use the have to expression in all tenses, for example:
I have to, I had to, I have had to, I will have to
Structure of Have to
Have to is often grouped with modal auxiliary verbs for convenience, but in fact it is not a
modal verb. It is not even an auxiliary verb. In the have to structure, "have" is a main verb. The
structure is:
subject + auxiliary verb + have + infinitive (with to)
Look at these examples in the simple tense:
subject
+

She

Did

auxiliary verb

main verb have infinitive (with to)

has

to work.

do not

have

to see

the doctor.

you

have

to go

to school?

Use of Have to
In general, have to expresses impersonal obligation. The subject of have to is obliged or forced
to act by a separate, external power (for example, the Law or school rules). Have to is objective.
Look at these examples:

In France, you have to drive on the right.

In England, most schoolchildren have to wear a uniform.
John has to wear a tie at work.

In each of the above cases, the obligation is not the subject's opinion or idea. The obligation is
imposed from outside.
We can use have to in all tenses, and also with modal auxiliaries. We conjugate it just like any
other main verb. Here are some examples:

subject

auxiliary verb

main verb have

infinitive

past simple

had

to work

yesterday.

present simple

have

to work

today.

future simple

will

have

to work

tomorrow.

present continuous

She

is

having

to wait.

present perfect

We

have

had

to change

the time.

modal (may)

They

may

have

to do

it again.

Must (subjective obligation)

We often use must to say that something is essential or necessary, for example:

I must go.

Structure of Must
Must is a modal auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb. The structure is:
subject + must + main verb
The main verb is the base verb (infinitive without "to").
Look at these examples:
subject

auxiliary must

main verb

must

go

You

must

visit

home.
us.

We

must

stop

now.

Like all auxiliary verbs, must CANNOT be followed by to. So, we say:

I must go now. (not *I must to go now.)

Use of Must
In general, must expresses personal obligation. Must expresses what the speaker thinks is
necessary. Must is subjective. Look at these examples:

I must stop smoking.

You must visit us soon.
He must work harder.

In each of the above cases, the "obligation" is the opinion or idea of the person speaking. In fact,
it is not a real obligation. It is not imposed from outside.
It is sometimes possible to use must for real obligation, for example a rule or a law. But
generally we use have to for this.
We can use must to talk about the present or the future. Look at these examples:

I must go now. (present)

I must call my mother tomorrow. (future)

We cannot use must to talk about the past. We use have to to talk about the past.
Must not, Mustn't (prohibition)
We use must not to say that something is not permitted or allowed, for example:

Passengers must not talk to the driver.

Structure of Must not

Must is an auxiliary verb. It is followed by a main verb. The structure for must not is:
subject + must not + main verb
The main verb is the base verb (infinitive without "to").
Must not is often contracted to mustn't.

Look at these examples:

subject

auxiliary must + not main verb

mustn't

forget

my keys.

You

mustn't

disturb

him.

Students

must not

be

late.

NB: like all auxiliary verbs, must CANNOT be followed by "to". So, we say:

You mustn't arrive late. (not You mustn't to arrive late.)

Use of Must not

Must not expresses prohibition - something that is not permitted, not allowed. The prohibition
can be subjective (the speaker's opinion) or objective (a real law or rule). Look at these
examples:

I mustn't eat so much sugar. (subjective)

You mustn't watch so much television. (subjective)
Students must not leave bicycles here. (objective)
Policemen must not drink on duty. (objective)

We can use must not to talk about the present or the future:

Visitors must not smoke. (present)

I mustn't forget Tara's birthday. (future)

We cannot use must not to talk about the past. We use other structures to talk about the past, for
example:

We were not allowed to enter.

I couldn't park outside the shop.

D. SHALL VERSUS WILL

The rule below about shall/will also applies to should/would, as described at the end.
People may sometimes tell you that there is no difference between shall and will, or even that
today nobody uses shall (except in offers such as "Shall I call a taxi?"). This is not really true.

The difference between shall and will is often hidden by the fact that we usually contract them in
speaking with 'll. But the difference does exist.
The truth is that there are two conjugations for the verb will:
1st Conjugation (objective, simple statement of fact)

Singular

Plural

Person

Verb

Example

Contraction

shall

I shall be in London tomorrow.

I'll

you

will

You will see a large building on the left.

You'll

he, she, it

will

He will be wearing blue.

He'll

we

shall

We shall not be there when you arrive.

We shan't

you

will

You will find his office on the 7th floor.

You'll

they

will

They will arrive late.

They'll

2nd Conjugation (subjective, strong assertion, promise or command)

Singular

Plural

Person

Verb

Example

Contraction

will

I will do everything possible to help.

I'll

you

shall

You shall be sorry for this.

You'll

he, she, it

shall

It shall be done.

It'll

we

will

We will not interfere.

We won't

you

shall

You shall do as you're told.

You'll

they

shall

They shall give one month's notice.

They'll

It is true that this difference is not universally recognized. However, let those who make
assertions such as "People in the USA never use 'shall'" peruse a good US English dictionary, or
many US legal documents which often contain phrases such as:

Each party shall give one month's notice in writing in the event of termination.

Note that exactly the same rule applies in the case of should and would. It is perfectly normal,
and somewhat more elegant, to write, for example:

I should be grateful if you would kindly send me your latest catalogue.

Shall versus Will

The rule below about shall/will also applies to should/would, as described at the end.
People may sometimes tell you that there is no difference between shall and will, or even that
today nobody uses shall (except in offers such as "Shall I call a taxi?"). This is not really true.
The difference between shall and will is often hidden by the fact that we usually contract them in
speaking with 'll. But the difference does exist.
The truth is that there are two conjugations for the verb will:
1st Conjugation (objective, simple statement of fact)

Singular

Plural

Person

Verb

Example

Contraction

shall

I shall be in London tomorrow.

I'll

you

will

You will see a large building on the left.

You'll

he, she, it

will

He will be wearing blue.

He'll

we

shall

We shall not be there when you arrive.

We shan't

you

will

You will find his office on the 7th floor.

You'll

they

will

They will arrive late.

They'll

2nd Conjugation (subjective, strong assertion, promise or command)

Singular

Plural

Person

Verb

Example

Contraction

will

I will do everything possible to help.

I'll

you

shall

You shall be sorry for this.

You'll

he, she, it

shall

It shall be done.

It'll

we

will

We will not interfere.

We won't

you

shall

You shall do as you're told.

You'll

they

shall

They shall give one month's notice.

They'll

It is true that this difference is not universally recognized. However, let those who make
assertions such as "People in the USA never use 'shall'" peruse a good US English dictionary, or
many US legal documents which often contain phrases such as:

Each party shall give one month's notice in writing in the event of termination.

Note that exactly the same rule applies in the case of should and would. It is perfectly normal,
and somewhat more elegant, to write, for example:

I should be grateful if you would kindly send me your latest catalogue.

E. WOULD
Would is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use would mainly to:

talk about the past

talk about the future in the past
express the conditional mood

We also use would for other functions, such as:

expressing desire, polite requests and questions, opinion or hope, wish and regret...

Structure of Would
subject + would + main verb
The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").
subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

would
+

She

like

tea.

like

whisky.

like

coffee?

'd
would not
-

She
wouldn't

Would

she

Notice that:

Would is never conjugated. It is always would or 'd (short form).

The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive. We cannot say:

I would to like coffee.

Be careful! Would and had have the same short form 'd:
He'd finished. (He had finished.)
He'd like coffee. (He would like coffee.)
Use of Would
would: Talking about the past
We often use would as a kind of past tense of will or going to:

Even as a boy, he knew that he would succeed in life.

I thought it would rain so I brought my umbrella.

Using would as as a kind of past tense of will or going to is common in reported speech:

She said that she would buy some eggs. ("I will buy some eggs.")
The candidate said that he wouldn't increase taxes. ("I won't increase taxes.")
Why didn't you bring your umbrella? I told you it would rain! ("It's going to rain.")

We often use would not to talk about past refusals:

He wanted a divorce but his wife would not agree.

Yesterday morning, the car wouldn't start.

We sometimes use would (rather like used to) when talking about habitual past behaviour:

Every weekday my father would come home from work at 6pm and watch TV.
Every summer we'd go to the seaside.
Sometimes she'd phone me in the middle of the night.
We would always argue. We could never agree.

would: Future in past

When talking about the past we can use would to express something that has not happened at the
time we are talking about:

In London she met the man that she would one day marry.

He left 5 minutes late, unaware that the delay would save his life.

would: Conditionals
We often use would to express the so-called second and third conditionals:

If he lost his job he would have no money.

If I had won the lottery I would have bought a car.

Using the same conditional structure, we often use would when giving advice:

I wouldn't eat that if I were you.

If I were in your place I'd refuse.
If you asked me I would say you should go.

Sometimes the condition is "understood" and there does not have to be an "if" clause:

Someone who liked John would probably love John's father. (If someone liked John they
would probably love John's father.)
You'd never know it. (for example: If you met him you would never know that he was
rich.)
Why don't you invite Mary? I'm sure she'd come.

Although there is always a main verb, sometimes it is understood (not stated) as in:

I'd like to stay. | I wish you would. (would stay)

Do you think he'd come? | I'm sure he would. (would come)
Who would help us? | John would. (would help us)

would: Desire or inclination

I'd love to live here.

Would you like some coffee?
What I'd really like is some tea.

would: Polite requests and questions

Would you open the door, please? (more polite than: Open the door, please.)
Would you go with me? (more polite than: Will you go with me?)
Would you know the answer? (more polite than: Do you know the answer?)
What would the capital of Nigeria be? (more polite than: What is the capital of Nigeria?)

would: Opinion or hope

I would imagine that they'll buy a new one.

I suppose some people would call it torture.

I would have to agree.
I would expect him to come.
Since you ask me I'd say the blue one is best.

would: Wish

I wish you would stay. (I really want you to stay. I hope you will stay.)
They don't like me. I'm sure they wish I'd resign.

Note that all of these uses of would express some kind of distance or remoteness:

remoteness in time (past time)

remoteness of possibility or probability
remoteness between speakers (formality, politeness)

would: Presumption or expectation

That would be Jo calling. I'll answer it.

We saw a police helicopter overhead yesterday morning. | Really? They would have been
looking for those bank robbers.

would: Uncertainty

He would seem to be getting better. (less certain than: He seems to be getting better.)
It would appear that I was wrong. (less certain than: It appears that I was wrong.)

would: Derogatory

They would say that, wouldn't they?

John said he didn't steal the money. | Well, he would, wouldn't he?

would that: Regret (poetic/rare) - with clause

This rare, poetic or literary use of would does not have the normal structure:

Would that it were true! (If only it were true! We wish that it were true!)
Would that his mother had lived to see him become president.

F. SHOULD
Should is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use should mainly to:

give advice or make recommendations

talk about obligation

talk about probability and expectation

express the conditional mood
replace a subjunctive structure

Structure of Should
subject + should + main verb
The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").

subject

auxiliary verb

main verb

He

should

go.

should not
-

He

go.
shouldn't

Should

he

go?

Notice that:

Should is invariable. There is only one form of should.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive. We cannot say:

He should to go.

There is no short form for should. The negative should not can be shortened to shouldn't.
Use of Should
should: Giving advice, opinions
We often use should when offering advice or opinions (similar to ought to):

You should see the new James Bond movie. It's great!
You should try to lose weight.
John should get a haircut.
He shouldn't smoke. And he should stop drinking too.

What should I wear?

They should make that illegal.
There should be a law against that.
People should worry more about global warming.

People often say "They should..." Usually, the "they" is anonymous and means the government,
or the company, or somebody else - but not us!
should: Obligation, duty, correctness
Another use of should (also similar to ought to) is to indicate a kind of obligation, duty or
correctness, often when criticizing another person:

You should be wearing your seat belt. (obligation)

I should be at work now. (duty)
You shouldn't have said that to her. (correctness)
He should have been more careful.
Should you be driving so fast?

should: Probability, expectation

We use should to indicate that we think something is probable (we expect it to happen):

Are you ready? The train should be here soon.

$10 is enough. It shouldn't cost more than that.
Let's call Mary. She should have finished work by now.

should: Conditionals
We sometimes use should (instead of would) for the first person singular (I) and first person
plural (we) of some conditionals:

If I lost my job I should have no money.

(If he lost his job he would have no money.)
We should be grateful if you could send us your latest catalogue.

This is not a very important distinction. (More about the use of shall/will and should/would.)
should: (If I were you I should...)
We often use the conditional structure "If I were you I should..." to give advice.

If I were you, I should complain to the manager.

If I were you I shouldn't worry about it.
I shouldn't say anything if I were you.

Note that we can omit "If I were you..." and just say:

I should complain to the manager.

I shouldn't worry about it.
I shouldn't say anything.

In these cases, the phrase "I should" really means something like "you should".
should: Pseudo subjunctive
We often use a special verb form called the subjunctive when talking about events that
somebody wants to happen, hopes will happen or imagines happening, for example:

The president insists that the prime minister attend the meeting.

However, this is much more common in American English. British English speakers would
probably convey the same idea using should:

The president insists that the prime minister should attend the meeting.

Here are some more examples:

Subjunctive
typically American English

Using should
typically British English

The president is insisting that pollution be

reduced.

The president is insisting that pollution should be

reduced.

The manager recommended that Mary join

the company.

The manager recommended that Mary should join

the company.

It is essential that we decide today.

It is essential that we should decide today.

It was necessary that everyone arrive on

time.

It was necessary that everyone should arrive on

time.

should: Why should..? | How should..?

If we don't understand (or agree with) something, we may use "Why should..?":

Why should it be illegal to commit suicide? It's your life.

"Why should..?" and "How should..?" can also indicate anger or irritation:

"Help me with this." | "Why should I?"

"Where are my keys?" | "How should I know?"

G. SUMMARY
H. QUIZ
Can, Could, Be able to Quiz
1

(Could) he understand what you were talking about?

My sister play tennis now.

I walk when I was less than a year old.

(Polite) you tell me what time it is, please?

My grandfather walk without any help last night.

I would like to play the piano.

How long have you drive?

I'll help you later.

Can you help me? I never understand this.

10

Will Man live forever one day?

Have to, Must, Must not Quiz

1

Yesterday I (had to) finish my Geography project.

She will wait in line like everyone else.

All employees on time for work.

We forget to take the chicken out of the freezer.

If you are under 13 you to get your parents' permission.

Your daughter may try on a few different sizes.

The doctor get here as soon as he can.

Do you work next weekend?

Bicyclists remember to signal when they turn.

10

Angela, you leave your clothes all over the floor like this.

Would Quiz
1

I knew he would (be) famous one day.

He said that help me.

I asked him to walk faster but he .

As children we would together every day.

Nobody knew that one day he be rich.

If you asked me say you were crazy.

Would you to go?

Do you think he'd help? | I'm sure .

He would to be improving.

10

We want to play tennis. I wish stop raining.

Should Quiz
1

You should (stop) smoking.

What do you think I do?

People should that the world has changed.

Those children be at school.

That motorcyclist be wearing a helmet.

You paid 99! It have cost more than 50.

If I won the lottery I buy a castle.

If I were you I complain.

The teacher demanded that John should harder.

10

Get me a drink | I? Get your own!

CHAPTER VII
PHRASAL VERBS AND OTHER MULTI-WORD VERBS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
After completing this lesson, students are supposed to be able to understand phrasal verbs and
other multi-words verbs and make sentences using phrasal and other multi word verbs.
A. INTRODUCTION
Phrasal verbs are part of a large group of verbs called "multi-word verbs". Phrasal verbs
and other multi-word verbs are an important part of the English language. Multi-word verbs,
including phrasal verbs, are very common, especially in spoken English. A multi-word verb is a
verb like "pick up", "turn on" or "get on with". For convenience, many people refer to all multiword verbs as phrasal verbs. These verbs consist of a basic verb + another word or words. The
other word(s) can be prepositions and/or adverbs. The two or three words that make up multiword verbs form a short "phrase" - which is why these verbs are often all called "phrasal verbs".
The important thing to remember is that a multi-word verb is still a verb. "Get" is a verb. "Get
up", is also a verb, a different verb. "Get" and "get up" are two different verbs. They do not have
the same meaning. So you should treat each multi-word verb as a separate verb, and learn it like
any other verb. Look at these examples. You can see that there are three types of multi-word
verb:

look

direct your eyes in a

certain direction

You must look before

you leap.

prepositional
verbs

look after

take care of

Who is looking after

the baby?

phrasal verbs

look up

search for and find

information in a
reference book

You can look up my

number in the telephone
directory.

phrasalprepositional
verbs

look
forward
to

anticipate with pleasure

I look forward to
meeting you.

single-word verb

multiword
verbs

Like many grammar books, we divide multi-word verbs into:

prepositional verbs
phrasal verbs
phrasal-prepositional verbs

Other grammars, however, call all multi-word verbs "phrasal verbs".

B. PHRASAL VERBS
Phrasal verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or words.
Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we make a
distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and
phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasal verbs proper.
Phrasal verbs are made of:
verb + adverb
Phrasal verbs can be:

intransitive (no direct object)

transitive (direct object)

Here are some examples of phrasal verbs:

examples
phrasal
verbs

direct
object
rise from bed

I don't like to get up.

cease to
function

He was late because his car broke

down.

put off

postpone

We will have to put off

the meeting.

turn down

refuse

They turned down

my offer.

get up
intransitive
phrasal
verbs
break down

transitive
phrasal
verbs

meaning

Separable Phrasal Verbs

When phrasal verbs are transitive (that is, they have a direct object), we can usually separate the
two parts. For example, "turn down" is a separable phrasal verb. We can say: "turn down my
offer" or "turn my offer down". Look at this table:

They

turned

They

turned

down

my offer.

transitive phrasal verbs are

separable
my offer

down.

However, if the direct object is a pronoun, we have no choice. We must separate the phrasal
verb and insert the pronoun between the two parts. Look at this example with the separable
phrasal verb "switch on":
direct
object
pronouns
must go
between
the two
parts of
transitive
phrasal
verbs

John

switched

John

switched

the radio

on.

John

switched

it

on.

John

switched

on

on

the radio.

These are all possible.

it.

This is not possible.

Separable or inseparable phrasal verbs? Some dictionaries tell you when phrasal verbs are
separable. If a dictionary writes "look (something) up", you know that the phrasal verb "look up"
is separable, and you can say "look something up" and "look up something". It's a good idea to
write "something/somebody" as appropriate in your vocabulary book when you learn a new
phrasal verb, like this:

get up
break down
put something/somebody off
turn sthg/sby down

This tells you whether the verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).
C. PREPOSITIONAL VERBS
Prepositional verbs are a group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another word or
words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we make a
distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs and
phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at prepositional verbs.

Prepositional verbs are made of:

verb + preposition
Because a preposition always has an object, all prepositional verbs have direct objects. Here are
some examples of prepositional verbs:
examples
prepositional verbs

meaning
direct object

believe in

have faith in the existence of

I believe in

God.

look after

take care of

He is looking after

the dog.

talk about

discuss

Did you talk about

me?

wait for

await

John is waiting for

Mary.

Prepositional verbs cannot be separated. That means that we cannot put the direct object between
the two parts. For example, we must say "look after the baby". We cannot say "look the baby
after":

prepositional verbs are

inseparable

Who is looking after the

baby?

This is possible.

Who is looking the baby

after?

This is not
possible.

It is a good idea to write "something/somebody" in your vocabulary book when you learn a new
prepositional verb, like this:

believe in something/somebody
look after sthg/sby

This reminds you that this verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).
D. PHRASAL-PREPOSITIONAL VERBS
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are a small group of multi-word verbs made from a verb plus another
word or words. Many people refer to all multi-word verbs as phrasal verbs. On these pages we
make a distinction between three types of multi-word verbs: prepositional verbs, phrasal verbs
and phrasal-prepositional verbs. On this page we look at phrasal-prepositional verbs.
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are made of:

verb + adverb + preposition

Look at these examples of phrasal-prepositional verbs:
examples
phrasal-prepositional
verbs

meaning

get on with

have a friendly relationship

with

He doesn't get on
with

his wife.

put up with

tolerate

I won't put up with

your
attitude.

look forward to

anticipate with pleasure

I look forward to

seeing you.

run out of

use up, exhaust

We have run out of

eggs.

direct
object

Because phrasal-prepositional verbs end with a preposition, there is always a direct object. And,
like prepositional verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs cannot be separated. Look at these
examples:

phrasal-prepositional verbs are

inseparable

We

ran out of

fuel.

We

ran out of

it.

It is a good idea to write "something/somebody" in your vocabulary book when you learn a new
phrasal-prepositional verb, like this:

get on with somebody

put up with sthg/sby
run out of something

This reminds you that this verb needs a direct object (and where to put it).

CHAPTER VIII
READING
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
After completing this lesson, students are supposed to be able to understand reading materials
and answer the questions about the topics.
A. INTRODUCTION
"Reading" is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting meaning
from them. When we read, we use our eyes to receive written symbols (letters, punctuation
marks and spaces) and we use our brain to convert them into words, sentences and paragraphs
that communicate something to us.
Reading can be silent (in our head) or aloud (so that other people can hear). Reading is a
receptive skill - through it we receive information. But the complex process of reading also
requires the skill of speaking, so that we can pronounce the words that we read. In this sense,
reading is also a productive skill in that we are both receiving information and transmitting it
(even if only to ourselves).
B. WHAT IS MANAGEMENT ?
Managers are those individuals who bring together the money, man power, materials, and
machinery necessary to operate a business. They must plan for the future, organize the
enterprise, direct the activities of employees, and control the entire business.
In common usage, managers are people who make decisions. When several persons get
together in an organization, one of them must fill the role of leader to supply orderly and
efficient handling of the business affairs. Management is the process of getting work done
through other persons. Managers do not produce a finished product, nor do they directly sell a
product to a customer. Instead they direct others to do these things.
The process of management includes planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the
activities of an enterprise to achieve specific objectives. Managers performs these functions in
varying degrees at different organizational levels. They are the basic managerial tasks.
Management has also been called the art of decision making, since managers spend so
much time choosing among alternative solutions to business problems.
In the organizational hierarchy large businesses ordinarily have at least three levels of
management. These three levels are (1) top or institutional management; (2) middle or
administrative management; (3) operating or supervisory management. Each level contributes a
different amount of major decision.
The highest level is top management, often referred to as senior managers or key
executives, who have usually had many years of varied experience. This level is composed of the
board of directors, the president or chief executive officer (CEO), and other corporate officers.
Top management develops broad plans for the company and makes important decisions about
many things as mergers, new products, and stock issues.

The next level of management, known as middle or administrative management, is

composed of plant superintendents and/or division managers. These managers have the
responsibility for developing the operating plans that implement the broader plans made by top
managers.
Operating management is the lowest level of management. It is primarily concerned with
putting into action plans devised by middle managers. Operating managers are often referred to
as first-line supervisors because they are responsible for supervising the workers who perform
the day-to-day operations.
Answer the following questions !
1. Define the meaning of manager !
2. What does a business need?
3. Why is the role of a leader needed?
4. What is management?
5. What are the basic managerial tasks?
6. Why is management called the art of decision making?
7. Who are at the level of top management?
8. What are the functions of top management?
9. Who are at the the level of middle management?
10. What are their functions?
11. What function does the operating management have?
12. Why are operating managers referred to as first-line supervisors?
C. AN ACCOUNTING OVERVIEW
Accounting is frequently called the language of business because of its ability to
communicate financial information about an organization. Various interested parties, such as
managers, potential investors, creditors, and the government, depend on a companys accounting
system to help them make informed financial decisions. An affective accounting system,
therefore, must include accurate collecting, recording, classifying, summarizing, interpreting,
and reporting of information on the financial status of an organization.
In order to achieve a standardized system, the accounting process follows accounting
principles and rules. Regardless of the type of business or the amount of money involved,
common procedures for handling and presenting financial information are used. Incoming money
(revenues) and outgoing money (expenditures) are carefully monitored, and transaction are
summarized in financial statements, which reflect the major financial activities of an
organization.
Two common financial statements are the balance sheet and the income statement. The
balance sheet shows the financial position of a company at one point in time, while the income
statement shows financial performance of a company over a period of time. Financial statement
allow interested parties to compare one organization to another and/or to compare accounting
periods within one organization. For example, an investor may compare the most recent income
statements of two corporations in order to find out which one would be a better investment.
People who specialize in the field of accounting are known as accountants. In the United
States, accountants are usually classified as public, private, or governmental. Public accountants

work independently and provide accounting services such as auditing and tax computation to
companies and individuals. Public accountants may earn the title of CPA(Certified Public
Accountant) by fulfilling rigorous requirements. Private accountants work solely for private
companies or corporations that hire them to maintain financial records, and governmental
accountants work for governmental agencies or bureaus. Both private and governmental
accountants are paid on a salary basis, whereas public accountants receive fees for their services.
Through effective application of commonly accepted accounting systems private, public,
and govermmental accountants provide accurate and timely financial information that is
necessary for organization decision making.
Comprehension
A.Answer the following question about accounting. Question with asterisks cannot be answered
directly from the text.
1. Why is accounting called the language of business?
2. How is a standardized accounting system achieved?
3. What are revenues and expenditures?
4. What do the balance sheet and income statement have in common? How are they different?
5. *How might the information contained in financial statements be useful to managers? *How
might creditors use this information?
6. How are accountans classified in the United States?
7. What kinds of services do public accountants provide?
8. What is a CPA? *Do you have a similar type of position in your country? *Explain.
9. *Which type of accounting-public, private, or governmental-appeals to you the most? *Why?
10. *What are some management decisions that might be based on accounting information?

B. Circle the letter of the answer that best completes each of the sentences below.
1. Accounting information is used by ______to help them make financial decisions.
a. managers
b. potential investors
c. creditors
d. all of the above
2. Regardless of the type of business or the amount of money ivolved :
a. all companies use identical accounting systems
b. balance sheets are more important than income statements
c. common procedures are used in handling financial information
d. no standardized accounting system is employed
3. Business monetary transactions are summarized in :
a. bank books
b. financial statements
c. computers
d. cash registers
4. Public accountants may earn the title of CPA by :
a. becoming governmental accountans
b. paying a fee

c. fulfilling rigorous requirements

d. obtaining a Bachelor of arts degree in accounting
5. Private and governmental accountatnts are paid on a____basis.
a. salary
b. monthly
c. fee
d. weekly
Vocabulary Exercises
A. Subtitute appropriate terms for the italicized words or phrases in the sentences below.
status agencies monitored maintain independently procedure fee hire rigorous solely
1. Many accounting departments have strict enterance requirements;
only the most qualified applicants are allowed to enter these programs. rigorous
2. The particular method used to process employee insurance claims may vary from company
to company. procedure
3. The stock market is closely watched every day. monitored
4. Rather than expand into foreign lines, the dress shop manager chose to deal only with
domestic fashion designers. solely
5. Although the consultants charge for services was high, his guidance and advice were well
worth the money. fee
6. The financial condition of a company is reflected in its financial statements. status
7. When the business began to expand, a second bookkeeper was brought in to help keep the
books. maintain
8. In the United States there are numerous organizations that provide services at the local,
state, and national levels. agencies
B. Complete the sentences with the noun, verb, and adjective forms provided.
1. Communication/to communicate/communicative
a. Supervisor should strive for two-way (communication) with their employees.
b. By using an overhead projector, the guest speaker was able (to communicate) his statistical
information clearly.
c. Because of the clerks highly developed (communicative) skills, she was given a position
that required her to deal directly with customers
2. Information/informed/informative
a. The owner (
) his employees that they would all receive a 5 percent pay increase.
b. Getting Acquainted with Accounting, by John L. Carey, is very (
) book.
c. Financial (
) is essential for organizational decision making.
3. Allowance/allowed/allowable
a. The supervisor lost control of his staff members after he (
) them to override his
decisions.
b. When the factory was built 50 years ago, little (
) was made for remodeling and

expansion.
c. Althought (

), smoking was discouraged in the lunch room.

4. Fulfillment/fulfill/fulfilling
a. At times the assembly line worker felt a lack of profesiomal (
)
b. When he was promoted to production supervisor, however, his job became much more
(
).
c. Before the accountant could became a CPA, she had to (
) a number of requirements.
5. Standars/has standardized/standard
a. The (
) paper size in United States for business letters and memorands is 8,5 x 11
inches.
b. The computer department (
) its procedures for storting and retrieving data.
c. Nowadays rigorous (
) are enforced in the area of food processing and packaging.
D. MULTINATIONAL CORPORATIONS
A company often becomes involved in international trade by exchanging goods or
services with another country-importing raw materials it may need for production or exporting
finished products to a foreign market. Establishing these trade relationships is the first step in the
development of a multinational business. At this stage, however the corporations emphasis is
still on the domestic market. As trade expands, the corporations dealing with companies or
people outside the home country of that corporation increase.
The corporation then begins to view the whole world as a base for production and
marketing operations. The next step in the development of a multinational business is focusing
on the world market. The company may establish a foreign assembly plant, engage in contract
manufacturing, or build a foreign manufacturing company or subsidiary. Therefore, a
multinational corporation is a company that is primarily based in one country and has production
and marketing activities in foreign countries.
Since World War II, multinational corporations have grown rapidly. The names and
products of many of the multinational have become well-known in the world marketplace:
International Business Machines (IBM), Royal Dutch Shell, Panasonic, Coca-Cola, and
Volkwagen. Coca-Cola, for example, now has operations in more than 180 countries.
A multinational corporation operates in a complex business environment. Cultural, social,
economic, political, and technological system vary from country to country. In order to operate
successfully, a multinational company needs a basic understanding and appreciation of the
foreign business environment.
Comprehension
A. Answer the following questions about multinationals. Questions with asteris (*) cannot be
answered directly from the text.
1. What is the first step in the development of a multinational business?
2. Where is the companys emphasis when it is simply trading with other countries?
3. What market does a multinational corporation focus on?
4. A company may establish its manufacturing operations in foreign countries. What are three
forms that these operations may take?
5. What is a multinational corporation?

6. When have multinationals grown rapidly? *Why do you think they have experienced this
period of rapid growth?
7. *What are some products that are produced by the following multinational corporations:
IBM, Coca-Cola, Panasonic, Shell, and Volkswagen?
8. *Why does a multinational corporation operate in a more complex business environment than
a domestic company?
9. *What are some of the social and political factors that can vary from country to country?
10. Why does a multinational corporation need a basic understanding of foreign business
environments? *How can a multinational gain this understanding?
B. Determine which of the following statement are true and which are false. Then put T or F in
the blanks. Rewrite false statements to make them true.
1. Multinaltional corporations have grown rapidly since 1945.
2. Any company engaged in international trade is a multinational business.
3. In order to operate successfully, a multinational company needs to be aware of national
and international business environments
4. A multinational corporation focuses on its home country, or domestic market.
5. A multinational company does not establish factories in foreign countries.
Vocabulary Exercises
A. Write down any terms that you did not understand in the reading. Find each term in the
reading, look at its context, and try to figure out the meaning. Discuss these terms with your
classmates.
B. Look at the terms in the left-hand colomn and find the correct synonyms or definitions in the
right-hand colomn. Copy the corresponding letters in the blanks.
1. corporation (line )
a. chiefly; principally
2. expand (line )
b. function in; work in
3. view (line )
c. change
4. stage (line )
d. a company having more than half of its stock owned by
another company
5. primarily (line )
e. increase the dimensions of
6. base (line )
f. growth; expansion
7. vary (line )
g. see; look at
8. subsidiary (line )
h. foundation
9. operate in (line )
i. a step in development
10. development (line )
j. a type of business organization formed by an association of
stockholders
C. Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph with the most appropriate terms form the list.
|base|operate|in appreciation of |expands
|vary|corporation|development |subsidiary|
|staged | involved in | view | relationship|
During the (
) of a corporation, the organizational structure may (
) over time
and pass through a number of stages . As the (
) grows, it (
) its operations. It
might become (
) setting up a (
) . Although the corporation still has a

primary or home base , establishment of a subsidiary allow the company to enter into new (
) with a (
) toward increasing its production and marketing capabilities.
TENSES
Pr Present; Ps-Past; S-Simple; C-Continuous; F-Future; Pf-Perfect
1. Pr.S He writes many letters everyday. (habitual action)
2. Ps.S He wrote m.1 yesterday. (occurred in the past)
3. Pr.C It is writing m.1 now. (is occurring right now)
4. Ps.C He was writing m.1 when it rained yesterday. (two actions in the past).
5. Pr.F He will write m.1 tomorrow. (will happen in the future).
6. Ps.F He would write m.1 yesterday, but he didnt have time.
7. Pr.Pf He has written m.1 already (has just happened now).
8. Ps.Pf He had written m.1 when it rained yesterday. (two actions in the past)
9. Pr.Fc He will be writing m.1 when you visit him tomorrow. (in the future)
10.Ps.Fc He would be writing m.1 when you visited him yesterday. (in the past)
11.Pr.FPf He will have written m.1 when you come tomorrow (in the future)
12.Ps.FPf He would have written m.1 when you come yesterday. (in the past)
13.Pr.Pfc He has been writing m.1 for two days until now. (continuosly from past until now).
14.Ps.Pfc He had been writting m.1 for two days until yesterday (continuosly from past to past)
15.Pr.Fpf.C He will have been writing m.1 for two days will tomorrow. (until in the future)
16.Pr.F.Pfc He would have been writing m.1 for two days until yesterday. (until in the past)

DAFTAR PUSTAKA
Azar, Schrampfer, Betty, Understanding and using English Grammar 2nd edition, Prentice Hall
Regents,1992.
Cherry L Hadikusumo, Business English, Bayumedia Publishing, 2003.
Echols, M, John, Shadily, Hassan, kamus Inggris-Indonesia, Gramedia, PT, Jakarta,1992.

Raymond Murphy, English Grammar In Use, Cambridge University Press, 1998.