E V E RY DAY E N G L I S H

G R AM M AR
by

Steve n

Co l l i n s

A S e l f- S tudy Course in
E s s e nti al Eng li s h C onstructions
Upper- Intermediate a n d Adva n c e d

I S BN

0 -9 5 28358- 6- X

9 7 8 - 0 -9 5 2 8 358- 6- 8

www.everydayenglishbooks.com
M O N T S E R R AT

PU B L IS H IN G

M O N T S E R R AT
Ever y day
Copy r i g h t

P UB LI S HI N G

E n g l i sh
2 0 1 3

G r am m ar

St e ve n

Coll in s

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior
permission of the publisher.
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by trade or
otherwise be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the
publishers prior consent in any form of binding or cover, other than that it
is published and without a similar condition, including this condition, being
imposed on a subsequent purchaser.
First edition autumn 2013
Montserrat Publishing
practicalenglish@hotmail.co.uk
Illustrations
Alex Stead
www.alexsteadart.com
info@alexsteadart.com
Typesetting & Cover Design
Naroa Lizar Redrado
naroa.lizar@gmail.com

www.everydayenglishbooks.com

This book is dedicated to the many

thousands of lovely students I have
taught from all over the world.
Thank you.

Steven Collins was born in London in 1960. He grew up in Harrow

in Law at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He then decided to make a
he returned to London in 1993 to write this book and to open his
own school in Central London, specialising in practical English for
advanced students. However, in 2008 he retired from teaching to
concentrate full time on writing and publishing

Other books by the same author:

Everyday English Series with Audio CD

By Steven Collins

Vocabulary books
for advanced
students of English.
Available at all good
bookshops and online
stores including Amazon
Book 1

Book 2

www.everydayenglishbooks.com

Book 3

Introd ucti on
EVERYDAY ENGLISH GRAMMAR:
A SELF-STUDY COURSE IN ESSENTIAL ENGLISH CONSTRUCTIONS
UPPER-INTERMEDIATE AND ADVANCED

This upper intermediate-level handbook of 25 essential English

constructions mostly conjunctions, but with a few useful verbs and
prepositions too- will provide you with a much deeper understanding
of things you probably already know. It is not a reference book, but a
self-study course. Read and study it from beginning to end. It should
it, you will notice a big improvement in your understanding and use of
some very important, everyday English constructions.
The book is designed for upper intermediate students, but even if
Everything contained within it can be found in other books and online,
but not in as much detail, nor in such clear English.The detail is practical
detail rather than academic or technical; the information given is not
there to be clever, but to help you. It is information you really need to

on negative constructions and typical mistakes. The material is equally

suitable for students of both British and American English, and very
(Please note that this is
not an exam course book; Im just saying that it will help you in the free
writing sections of these exams.)
material is just as important and practical.

will test you on what you have learnt in each chapter. I hope you enjoy
There are no games and fun things to do.The fun is that you will enjoy
improving your use of English conjunctions and verbs, and feel much
Good luck
Steven Collins

C o n t e nt s

Chapter 1
For/Since
Providing/Provided that/As long as
Unless/Otherwise
In spite of/Despite
To suggest
Chapter 1 In Use

1
3
6
7
8
11

Chapter 2
I would prefer/I would rather
Even
By the time
Hardly
To wish
Chapter 2 In Use

14
16
18
20
22
27

Chapter 3
To rely on/Reliable
To look forward to
Worth
To succeed in/manage to
Would you mind?
Chapter 3 In Use

31
32
34
37
37
40

Chapter 4
In case
To warn
To get/be used to
To accuse of/blame on/for
So/Such
Chapter 4 In Use

43
45
46
50
52
55

Chapter 5
To steal/rob

58

Had better
Not onlybut also/even

61
62

Chapter 5 In Use

66

C ha pt er

One

For/Since
1a.

We use for when we say how long the action has been
in progress and since for the time at which the period began.
Ive been waiting (present perfect continuous) here for an
hour.
since 3.30.
for
since 2007.
has felt (present perfect) that way for many years.
since he was a child.
Note that the present perfect and present perfect continuous
tenses are generally used in sentence constructions with
for and since.
Typical mistakes:
Im standing (present continuous) in this queue for over 45
minutes.
since 2.15
Ive been standing (present perfect continuous) in this
queue for over 45 minutes.
Ive been standing in this queue since 2.15.
Remember:
and since.

use the present continuous with for

1b.

Negative examples:
havent called your mother for nearly two months.
havent called your mother since May.
havent lived in London for 10 years.
havent lived in London since 2002.
Note that the present perfect is generally used in a negative
sentence with for and since and not the present perfect
continuous.

2.
How long are you here for?
This may confuse you because it
you been here? It refers to the future.

mean How long have

will you be here for?

or
will you be staying?

This
3.

Im here for 6 months.

mean Ive been here for 6 months
Ill be here for 6 months.

Also take note of the following question with since

is it since you last saw your brother?
since I last saw my
brother.
The meaning is the same as
my brother since
, but the construction is quite different.
Note that the since clause above begins with it is (its six

months since) and the question starts with How long is it...
The adverb last comes aftersince, but before the verb
(saw)
(I last saw) which is used
rather that the present perfect (I havent seen) or present
perfect continuous (Ive been waiting).
since
since we last got to spend some
time together.

Providing/Provided that/As long as

1a.

These conjunctions all mean only if.

providing/
provided that/as long as I feel well.
Providing/Provided that/As long as you dont
Providing/Provided that/As long as you have
Please note that the conjunctions providing and provided
have no connection with the verb to provide; a completely
different meaning.

1b.

Note that providing/provided that/as long as

are, like most conjunctions, followed by the present simple
or present perfect tense and not the future.
Typical mistake:
providing/
provided that/as long as we will have
enough money.

providing/
provided that/as long as we have
enough money.
Remember
use the future after providing/
provided that/as long as.
2.

Please note that Providing/Provided that/As long as

should only be used for positive or neutral situations and
events; i.e. not negative ones.
Typical mistake:
providing/
provided that/ as long as I dont get a visa to stay
here.
if I dont get
a visa to stay here.
wrong because
however, are correct even though a negative construction is
situation.
Providing/Provided that/As long as you dont
see second
example under 1.a above)
providing/provided that/
as long as it doesnt rain.
Dont mind waiting describes a neutral situation and doesnt
rain is a positive event; so even though the construction is

3.

Providing/Provided that/As long as can also be

clause is in the conditional tense
constructions, is in the past
would
providing/provided that/
as long as I found a good job.
Providing/Provided that/As long as I was
I would marry someone a lot older than me.

providing I found a good job.

Unless/Otherwise
1a.

Unless

Otherwise means

unless you study hard.

will fail your exam if you dont study hard.)
otherwise you will fail your exam
(: or else you will fail your exam.)
unless I still have
(except if
otherwise I wont
be able to see you tomorrow.
Note that unless is followed by what you have to do, in the
present. Otherwise is followed by what will happen if you
future.

Typical mistake with unless

unless you dont clean your
room.
unless you clean your room.

negative. Unless
unnecessary.

2.

Otherwise can also mean apart from that

otherwise very suitable for my
needs.
or, differently

otherwise.

In spite of/Despite
1a.

In spite of and despite mean the same as although,

but the sentence construction is different. They must be
not a verb. Although is followed by
I was
Although I was
In spite of/Despite being
In spite of/Despite my tiredness
(not so
common)
in spite of/despite the fact (that) I was
tired.
in spite of/despite what her friends
think ( although her friends dont think he does)
the same
meaning.
Typical mistake:
In spite of/Despite I have been learning French for

In spite of/Despite the fact (that) I have been learning

French for many years
Remember:
use a verbal construction directly after
in spite of or despite.
1b.

Note also in spite of and despite have the same

meaning, but we
use of after despite. So, despite
of being tired is wrong.

1c.

Negative examples:
Although I wasnt
In spite of/Despite
In spite of/Despite
(not so common)
in spite of/despite the fact (that) I

To suggest
1.

To suggest means to propose an action.

with this verb.)
Typical mistake:
suggest you to go home.
suggest (that) you go home.
or
suggest you should go home
Remember:
but subject + present simple.

suggest,

suggest
she does? (not what do you suggest her to do?)
suggests we look somewhere else for a house.
(not suggests us to look)
2a.

Using suggest
suggested I go to bed.
suggested I should go to bed.
suggested I went to bed.

2b.

Negative examples
suggest (that) you dont see him
again. (not I suggest you not to see him again)
suggested we didnt go to that restaurant.
(not
not to go...)

3.

and not wanting to confuse you; but if you are going to use
suggest + a direct object pronoun, rather than a verb
clause, you need to use to before the pronoun.
suggest to me (not what can you
suggest me)?
suggest to
to me. (not I could suggest you)

4.

suggest.
suggested going to
the cinema. (= she suggested that we go)
suggests investing in Chinese companies
in spite of what some experts advise. (= suggests that we
invest)
suggests going
out. (= suggests that we go out)

My dad suggests we look somewhere else for a house.

(see page 9)

10

C ha pt er

O n e in Use
Dialogue

CONVERSATION BETWEEN FATHER AND DAUGHTER

ANNA:
DAD:

As long as I know where youre going.

ANNA:

I havent seen them for a long time; since

fact. I suggested
what happened last time.

despite

DAD:
ANNA:

unless
would be asked to leave.

DAD:

otherwise
you might never be allowed to go back there again.

ANNA:

DAD:

providing there are

In spite of
think the trains will still run. Enjoy yourselfand be careful!

11

Ch a pt er

O ne :

Answers on page 70
providing/ unless/ otherwise) you

1.

work very hard.

2.

3.

I a(have known/ know/ knew) him b(since/ despite/ for) many

years.
a(in

spite of/ despite of/ although) the fact

b(to stay/
staying/ we will stay) at home.
a(unless/

4.
b(brought/

otherwise/ providing) you

bring/ will bring) a bottle of wine with you. .

5.

Its a very long time a(for/ unless/ since) I last b(went/ have
been/ will be going) to that restaurant.

6.

(Despite I have/ In spite having/ Despite having) many friends

speak to/ to speak to/

7.

will speak to) the manager.

8.

I would have a dog a(as long as/ unless/ since) I b(will have/
have/ had) enough time to look after it properly.
unless/ otherwise/ in spite of) you might

9.

catch a cold.

12

10.

what to suggest b(him/ to him/ from him). Everything should be

provided that/ as long/ despite) it doesnt snow.

13