Past Perfect Continuous

Use:
The past perfect continuous is used when telling a story about the past. It is generally used alongside
other narrative tenses such as the past simple.

The past perfect continuous describes an event which was in progress for a period of time before
another event in the past. We use it when we do not want to say the events in the order they
happened.

Example:
A sentence with the events in the order they happened:
John was having trouble sleeping, so he went to the doctor late.

A sentence in which the events are NOT in order:

John went to the doctor because he had been having trouble sleeping.
The continuous event which happened before the other verb is in the past perfect tense.

b) Write any adverbs between had and been

They had already been waiting for half an hour.
Hed only been working there a week before he got fired.

Form:

I
you
had / d been + verb-ing
he / she / it
we hadnt
they

Past Perfect

Use:
a) The past perfect is a narrative tense. This means it is used when telling a story about the past.
It is used in the same paragraph as verbs in the past simple tense, and is often used in the same
sentence as a past simple verb.

The past perfect describes an event which happened before another event in the past. We use it
when we do not want to say the events in the order they happened.

Example:
A sentence with the events in the order they happened:
John went to the shop on the way home from work, so he got home late.
Both verbs are in the past simple.

A sentence in which the events are NOT in order:

John got home late because he had gone to the shop on the way home from work.
The event which happened before the other verb is in the past perfect tense.

b) The past perfect is also used in other structures such as:

I wish: I wish I had cleaned the house!
Third Conditional: If I had practiced harder, we might have won the competition.

Form:
I
you
had past participle
he / she / it
we hadnt
they

Write any adverbs between had and the past participle.

The film had already started.
The post had just been delivered.

Simple passive

Use:
The passive voice is used:
a) When the object of a sentence is more important than the subject
The city was destroyed by the volcano.

b) When the subject of the sentence is unknown.

This cheese was made in Canada.

It is common in formal and scientific writing.

Form:
You can use the passive voice in all tenses. Use the correct form of be + the past participle of the
verb.

Present Simple: Past participle The workers collect the rubbish of

I Wednesdays.
am
you / they / we => The rubbish is collected on
are
It / She / he Thursdays.
is
taken
Past Simple: given People built the castle over 800 years
you / they / we built ago.
were
I / It / She / he made => The castle was built over 800
was
eaten years ago.
brought
Present Perfect: Someone has taken my book!
cooked
I / you / they / we => My book has been taken!
have been left...
It / She / he
has been

Past Perfect: When we arrived at the airport,

I / you / they / we / it / she / he someone had resold our tickets.
had been
=> When we arrived at the airport,
our tickets had been resold.

Modals You must wear a hard hat in this area.

I / you / they / we / it / she / he => Hard harts must be worn in this
can be
area.
will be
 would be
must be
should be
could be

To mention who caused the action, use by.

The bins were emptied by the cleaning staf.

Past Modals for Deduction

Use and Form:
The following modals can be used to guess what happened in the past.

must have + past participle verb

Use this when you make a guess about the past, and you are almost certain that your guess is correct.
The chickens have escaped! How did they get out?
They must have got out under the gate. There is no other way out.

may have + past participle verb

might have + past participle verb
could have + past participle verb
Use this when you make a guess about the past, but you are only suggesting one possibility. You
are not certain you are correct.
The chickens have escaped! How did they get out?
They may have got out under the gate, or they might have escaped through this hole in the fence.

may not have + past participle verb

might not have + past participle verb
Use this when you make a guess about what didnt happen in the past, but you are only
suggesting one possibility. You are not certain you are correct.
Wheres John? Why isnt he at the meeting?
He may not have got the message. / He might not have received the message.
NOTE: may not is not contracted to maynt, and might not is rarely contracted to mightnt.
cant have + past participle verb
couldnt have + past participle verb
Use this when you make a guess about what didnt happen in the past, and you are almost certain that
your guess is correct.
The chickens have escaped! How did they get out?
They cant have got out under the gate. I fixed that yesterday.

NOTE: you cannot use: mustnt have + past participle verb to make deductions about the past.

Common Mistakes:
1. Many students do not take the opportunity to use these structures when they can.
Maybe I left my book at home. I may have left my book at home.
I think Robin went to the restaurant without us. Robin must have gone to the restaurant without
us.

2. Note that could have has the same meaning as might have and may have.
Why is Tom late?
He may / might / could have got stuck in traffic.

However, in the negative form the meaning is not the same.

Why is Tom late?
He may / might not have got your message. (NOT could not)
= Maybe he didnt get your message.

Couldnt have has the same meaning as cant have.

Why is Tom late?
Im not sure! He cant / couldnt have forgotten about the party!
= Im sure he didnt forget.

Mixed Conditionals
Use:
Mixed conditional sentences combine two different conditional patterns.
Several patterns can be used:

mixed first conditional sentences

First conditional sentences can use a variety of modal verbs.
If + present simple, can / may / might / will / should + verb (infinitive)
If you give me some money, I can buy some milk.
If I finish my homework, may I go out with my friends?
If you switch the photocopier off and on again, it should work.

First conditional sentences can also use going to, as well as will.
If + present simple, going to + verb (infinitive)
If you dont get ready soon, were going to be late!

The present continuous and going to can also appear in the If clause
If youre going to the shop, can you buy me some cola?
If youre going to pay him, make sure you get a receipt.

The present perfect may also appear in the If clause.

If youve finished your work, you can go home.

mixed third / second conditional

This combination describes an imagined event in the past and the present result.
If + past perfect, would + verb (infinitive)
If he'd taken the medicine, he wouldn't still be sick.
He wouldnt still be sick if hed taken the medicine.

mixed second / third conditional

This combination describes a situation which is never true, and the past consequence of this situation.
If + past simple, would have + verb (infinitive)
If you were better at speaking in public, the presentation would have been more successful.
The presentation would have been more successful if you were better at speaking in public.

Future perfect
Use:
 Use the future perfect to talk about an event that will be finished and complete before a
specified time in the future.

This time next week, Ill will have finished this project.

Phrases often seen with this use of the future continuous include:
By ..., This time next week..., In __ years time...; when + present simple; by the time + present
simple.
When you arrive, Ill have prepared the dinner.
By the time I get home, my mum will probably have tidied the house.

The future perfect is also use to make predictions about future events that will be complete
before a specified future time.

Do you think Mel will have eaten all the chocolate cake?
No, she wont have done that!

Form:
Make the future continuous this way:

Positive and Negative

I will have
you wont have
past participle
he / she it
we
they

Questions

I
you
Will have past participle?
he / she it
Wont we
they

Be going to is rarely used to make the future perfect tense.

Toms going to have finished his lecture by the time we get there.
Future perfect continuous
Use:

Use the future perfect continuous to talk about an event that will be in progress for some time
before a specified time in the future.

Janet will be really tired when we get home. She will have been looking after the children all day!

It can be used to make predictions about event that will be in progress before a specified time
in the future.

Joe wont mind that we are late. He wont have been waiting long.

It can be used to predict what was happening in the past.

What do you think the men were doing in the store room?
Dont worry. They will have been unpacking boxes.

Both the fixed future time and the length of time of are often mentioned in future perfect
continuous sentences.

By the end of this week, Ill have been working here for five months.
Fixed future time: the end of this week
Length of time: five months

But this is not always the case.

Anne will be in a bad mood at the party this evening because shell have been doing housework.

Form:
Positive and Negative

I will have
you wont have
been + verb-ing
he / she it
we
they

Questions

I
you
Will have been + verb-ing?
he / she it
Wont we
 they

Non Defining Relative Clauses

Use:
Use non-defining relative clauses to give extra information about a noun in a sentence, or part of a
sentence. The listener or reader does not need this information to understand the sentence.

Relative clauses can define the subject of the sentence:

Miranda, who used to go to the same university as me, is having a baby.

Or the object of a sentence:

We went to a lovely restaurant, where we both had steak.

Or the sentence as a whole.

She gave me some money, which was very nice of her.

Form:

Always put the relative clause as close as possible to the noun that you are describing.

Use who to give information about a person, whose to introduce a possession, and which to
give information about a thing. Do not use that.

Use where to give information about a place ONLY if you introduce another subject after
where. Otherwise, use which.

We met at Bristol University, where we both studied Biology.

We met at Bristol University, which is in the west of England.

Who, which, where and whose cannot be omitted in defining relative clauses.

As non-defining relative clauses are not necessary to understanding the sentence, they are
always placed within commas.

The man who lives next to me has five motorbikes.

In this sentence, who lives to me is necessary. Without it, the sentence (The man has five
motorbikes) is meaningless because it is not clear which man is being talked about. Therefore,
commas are NOT necessary.

Tom, who lives next to me, has five motorbikes.

In this sentence, who lives to me is not necessary. Without it, the sentence (Tom has five
motorbikes) still has meaning. Who lives next to me adds more information, therefore, commas ARE
necessary.
 Common Mistakes
Some Students do not put the non defining relative clause close to the noun it describes.

The chemicals flow into rivers, which are toxic. => The chemicals, which are toxic, flow into rivers.

will / be going to for prediction

Use:
Both be going to and will can be used to predict future events. In many cases they can be used
interchangeably.
Experts believe that the recession will continue.
Experts believe that the recession is going to continue.
However, in some cases they are used differently:

Use going to when there is evidence about what is going to happen.

Look at the time! Were going to be late!

Use will / wont when guessing about the future.

I bet Robin will be late again.

Will is often used with phrases such as I think, I expect, I dont think, I bet , Im
sure, I doubt if/that when making predictions

It is more common to use I dont think + will, not I think + wont

I think it wont rain => I dont think it will rain

Form:
be going to

Positive

I am / m going to verb (infinitive form)

you / we / they are / re

he / she / it is / s
 Negative

I m not going to verb (infinitive form)

you arent OR re not

he / she / it isnt OR s not

Questions

Am I going to verb (infinitive form) ?

Are you / we / they

Is he / she / it

Short Answers

I am. No, Im not.

Yes,
you / we / they are. you / we / they re not / arent

he / she / it is. he / she / it s not / isnt

will

Positive / Negative

will verb (infinitive form).

I / You / He / She / It / We / They
wont

I / you / he / she / it / we / they / verb (infinitive form)?

Will