CONTENTS

1 The Article………………………………………………………………………...3
2 Nouns………………………………………………………………………….....10
3 Pronouns………………………………………………………………………....14
4 Adjectives………………………………………………………………………..20
5 Verbs (The English Tenses)……………………………………………………...24
6 Modal verbs……………………………………………………………………...54
7 Passive voice……………………………………………………………………..62
8 Direct and indirect speech………………………………………………………..67
9 Conditional clauses……………………………………………………………....72
10 Time clauses……………………………………………………………………...78
11 Relative clauses…………………………………………………………………..80
12 Hypothetical meaning (Subjunctive)……………………………………………..87
13 Participleč………………………………………………………………………...91
14 Infinitive.…………………………………………………………………………95
15 Gerund……………………………………………………………………………99
16 Adverbs………………………………………………………………………….102
 PREDGOVOR

Zbirka gramatičkih vežbanja Grammar Practice namenjena je studentima

Megatrend univerziteta koji uče engleski jezik kao strani i to na srednjem nižem,
srednjem i srednjem višem nivou učenja.
Ona obuhvata program iz gramatike engleskog jezika određen programom
engleskog jezika kao stranog na fakultetima Megatrend univerziteta. Nastala je iz
potrebe da se udžbenik poslovnog engleskog jezika koji je trenutno u upotrebi na
poslovnim studijama i studijama ekonomije Megatrend univerziteta, Market Leader
(pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper-intermediate) obogati gramatičkim
vežbanjima. Tako ova zbirka predstavlja dopunski materijal osnovnom udžbeniku, i
namenjena je kako za vežbanje na času, tako i za individualni rad studenata kod kuće.
Cilj zbirke je da ponudi obilje materijala za one gramatičke elemente koji
studentima predstavljaju teškoće u učenju, i da doprinese razvijanju njihove
sposobnosti razumevanja tekstova na engleskom jeziku koji su im potrebni u
profesionalnim studijama. Sva objašnjenja pre vežbanja pisana su na engleskom
jeziku jer smatramo da će to biti od koristi studentima u toku rada na samim
vežbanjima, ali i kasnije. Materijal je raspoređen tako što se najpre daje kratki pregled
gramatičkih pravila na engleskom jeziku sa primerima, a zatim slede vežbanja za
svaku gramatičku jedinicu. Taj pregled gramatike koji prethodi vežbanjima ima za cilj
da pomogne studentima u utvrđivanju starog, kao i pri usvajanju novog gradiva.
Iako se gramatika ne uči radi nje same, smatramo da učenjem gramatike
poboljšavamo komunikaciju. Da bi student ovladao jednim stranim jezikom i njime
uspešno komunicirao potrebno je dosta vežbe. Verujemo da će ova zbirka kroz data
vežbanja pomoći studentima da popune praznine koje su do sada imali u znanju
gramatike i tako što bolje ovladaju jezikom koji uče.

Autor

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 1 The Article

1.1 The words a/an and the are called ‘articles’: a/an is the indefinite article, and the
the definite article.

The form a is used before a word beginning with a consonant, or a vowel with a
consonant sound:
a woman a dog a one-way street
The form an is used before words beginning with a vowel: a, e, i, o, u or words
beginning with a mute h:
an apple an egg an orange an island
an umbrella an hour
A/an is the same for all genders:
a man a woman a duke a duchess
an actor an actress a car
The is the same for singular and plural and for all genders:
The girl the boy
The man the woman
The book the books

1.2 The Indefinite article is used1:

• before a countable singular noun when it is mentioned for the first time and
represents no particular person or thing:
A man and a woman were sitting in the hall.
She bought an ice-cream.
• before a countable singular noun which is used as an example of a class of things:
A car must be insured. (all cars/any car)
A rose is a flower.
• to denote number one: one of a number of possible objects or ideas
Would you like a sandwich?
He has a brother and a sister.
• before the names of professions and nationalities:
He is a doctor. Monica is an Italian. Richard is a protestant.
She will become an actress one day.
• in certain expressions of quantity and certain numbers:
a great deal of a hundred
a lot of a thousand
a couple a million
a dozen
• in expressions of price, speed, frequency;
$10 a kilo five times a day
sixty kilometers an hour
The General Annual Meeting is held once a year.

1
Use of definite and indefinite article is given in: Thompson, A.J., and Martinet, A.V.(1987:15-24)

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• in some exclamations before singular nouns:
What a day! Such a lovely dress!
It was such a boring evening!
• in front of Mr./Mrs./Miss followed by someone’s surname when that person is a
stranger to the speaker:
a Mr. Jones, a Mrs. Taylor

1.3 The article is NOT used:

• before plural nouns:
a dog > dogs
an apple > apples
• before uncountable nouns
They decided to buy new furniture.
There is no news about them.
• before names of meals used in a general sense,
We have breakfast at nine.
He was invited to dinner.
But the article is used if the speaker is referring to a particular meal:
Are you coming to the dinner that the Smiths are organizing in London next
week?
• before mass nouns used in a general sense
Butter is made from cream.
Wheat is grown in Canada.
• before abstract nouns used in a general sense
Life can be very hard sometimes.
He got used to hard work.
Money can’t buy you love.
But the definite article is used before abstract or mass nouns that are limited or
qualified:
The life we have here is hard.
The work that we do...
The milk in the fridge is not fresh.
• before plural nouns used in a general sense
Books are Tom’s best friends.
But if the plural noun is determined by the context the definite article is used:
The books that are on the table are mine.
• before most proper nouns
Pierre comes from France.
There will be a concert in Hyde Park.
Do you know where Oxford Street is?
• before the names of lakes, capes and mounts
Lake Palic, Mount Everest, Cape Cod
Except when these words are followed by of:
The Lake of Como, The Cape of Good Hope, The Mount of Olives
• before titles followed by a proper noun
King George, Professor Smith, Lord Byron, President Lincoln
• with the names of languages,
Maria speaks Spanish and Italian fluently.
• before the names of the months, season and festivals

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 I like New York in spring.
We all gather at Easter/on Boxing Day.
John’s birthday is in September.
• before the names of sports
They play basketball and football at school.
• before the names of streets, parks, squares, bridges and airports
Gazela Bridge, Central Park, Republic Square, Victoria Station,
Barajas Airport, Wall Street
• with words like cook, nurse, postman, teacher when they have the meaning
‘our cook/postman’
Look what postman has brought, a letter for you!
Since they have the function of names here, the omission of the article is natural.

1.4 The Definite Article is used:

• when the object or group of objects is unique or considered to be unique:
the earth the Moon the sky the stars the equator
the Bible, The Lord The east the west
• before a noun which is definite because it is being mentioned the second time:
We saw a girl in the street. The girl was wearing faded jeans.
Once upon a time there was a little boy who lived in a cottage. The cottage
was in the country and the boy had lived there all his life.
• before the names of certain historical periods:
the Renaissance, The Middle Ages, The Restoration
• before a noun determined by a phrase or clause:
the boy that we saw the school he went to
the house with iron gate the road to Madrid
the fourteenth of April the book on the table
• before a noun which by reason of locality can represent only one particular thing:
Put it in the refrigerator.
Mary is in the kitchen.
I left the keys on the table.
• before the name of a country that is a union of smaller entities:
The Netherlands, The United States, The United Kingdom
• before groups of islands:
The West Indies, The Bahamas, The Philippines,
• before the names of rivers, chains of mountains and oceans:
The Thames, The Sava, The Danube, The Pacific, The Alps, The Andes,
• before the names of ships, trains and airplanes:
The Queen Mary, The Flying Scotsman, The Orient Express,
• before the names of hotels, shops, institutions, museums, art galleries, theatres,
cinemas:
The Hyatt Hotel, The Odeon Cinema, The National Theatre,
The Prado Museum, The National Gallery
• before the names of the well-known monuments and buildings:
the Eiffel Tower, the Coloseum, the Empire State Building
• before a singular countable noun to make a generalization about a species:
The horse was gradually replaced by the tractor.
The steam engine was a remarkable discovery.

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 The dog is man's best friend.
• before the names of musical instruments used in general sense:
Mrs. Robinso plays the piano.
• before the superlatives used attributively
This is the funniest story I have ever heard.
• before adjectives used as nouns denoting a whole class
the rich the poor the black the white
• before the group of people belonging to the same nationality and the family name
when we refer to the whole family:
the Italians, The Dutch,
The Simpsons live in Chicago.
• before the names of the daily newspapers:
The Times, the Guardian, the Telegraph, The Politika
• before mass and abstract nouns when they are not used in general sense, but in
particular situations
The cheese I bought this morning smells odd.
The love of Romeo and Juliet was immortal.

Exercises

A Rewrite the sentences by inserting a/an or the where necessary:

1. Would you like apple? Would you like an apple? X

2. How often do you go to dentist? _____________________
3. Could you close door, please? _____________________
4. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. It was mistake. _____________________
5. Excuse me, where is bus station, please? _____________________
6. I have problem. Can you help me? _____________________
7. I’m just going to post office. I won’t be long. _____________________
8. There were no chairs, so we sat on floor. _____________________
9. Have you finished with book I lent you? _____________________
10. My sister has just got job in bank in Manchester. _____________________
11. We live in small flat in city centre. _____________________
12. There’s supermarket at the end of street I live in. ______________________

B Put in a/an or the

1. This house is very nice. Has it got ____ garden?

It’s a beautiful day. Let’s sit in ____ garden.
I like living in this house, but it’s a pity that ____ garden is too small.
2. Can you recommend ____ good restaurant?
We had dinner in ____ very nice restaurant.
We had dinner in ____ best restaurant in town.
3. She has ____ French name, but in fact she’s English, not French.
What’s ____ name of that man we met yesterday?
We stayed at a very nice hotel – I can’t remember ____ name now.
4. There isn’t ____ airport near where I live. ____ nearest airport is 70 miles away.
Our flight was delayed. We had to wait at ____ airport for three hours.

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 Excuse me, please. Can you tell me how to get to ____ airport?
5. ‘Are you going away next week?’ ‘No, ____ week after next.’
I’m going away for ____ week in September.
Gary has a part-time job. He works three mornings ____ week.

C Supply a (n) or the where necessary:

1. There is ____ cloud in ____ sky.

2. I would like to see ____ head of ____ sales department. I have ____ complaint.
3. ____ children love ____ sweets.
4. It’s good for you to be out in ____ fresh air. Let’s go for a walk in ____ park.
5. Give me ____ pencil and ____ piece of paper.
6. This morning I bought ____ newspaper and ____ magazine. ____ newspaper is in
my bag, but I can’t remember where I put ____ magazine.
7. I saw ____ accident this morning. ____ car crashed into ____ tree. ____ driver of
____ car wasn’t hurt, but ____ car was badly damaged.
8. There are two cars parked outside: ____ blue one and ____ grey one.____ blue
one belongs to my neighbours; I don’t know who ____ owner of ____ grey one is.
9. My friends live in ____ old house in ____ small village. There is ____) beautiful
garden behind ____ house. I would like to have ____ garden like that.
10. I have to get some money from ____ bank. Is there ____ bank near here?

D Fill in the gaps in the following dialogue with a, an, the or (-) if no article is
needed:

The ghastly guest guide

A: Working as a hotel manager, you must have some interesting stories to tell about guests.
B: Yes, indeed. Although we have (1) ____ many very charming clients, some of our guests
do incredible things.
A: Such as?
B: Well, (2) ____ people will steal anything. All kinds of things go from (3) ____ hotels,
including (4) ____ dinner plates. One couple stole (5) ____ sheets and blankets from their
bed, but one of the maids saw them do it. So (6) ____hall porter who carried their luggage
down, took (7) ____ sheets and blankets out and replaced them with (8) ____ set of telephone
directories.
We also get some very unreasonable requests. I worked at (9) ____ hotel in (10) ____
London where (11) ____ couple wanted to have (12) ____ dinner all on their own in (13)
____ hotel ballroom, with (14) ____gypsy violinists and (15) ____ palm tree. And they also
wanted to be able to see (16) ____ moon!
Some people completely destroy their rooms. One couple managed to spill (17) ____
coffee over an area nine metres square. And they didn’t even tell us about it. It was
everywhere – on (18) ____TV, across (19) ____ floor and on (20) ____ bedclothes!

E Fill in the gaps with the appropriate article (a, an, the) where necessary:

1. There was ____ knock on ____ door.I opened it and found ____ small dark man
in ____ blue overcoat and ____ woollen cap.
2. He said he was ____ emplyee of ____ gas company and had come to read ____

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 meter.
3. But I had ____ suspicion that he wasn’t speaking ____ truth because ____ meter
readers usually wear ____ peaked caps.
4. However, I took him to ____ meter, which is in ____ dark corner under ____stairs
(____ meters are usually in ____ dark corners under ____ stairs).
5. I asked if he had ____ torch; he said he disliked torches and always read ____
meters by ____ light of ____ match.
6. I remarked that if there was ____ leak in ____ gas-pipe there might be ____
explosion while he was reading ____ meter.
7. He said, ‘As ____ matter of ____ fact, there was ____ explosion in ____ last
house I visited; and Mr. Smith, ____ owner of ____ house, was burnt in ____
face.’
8. ‘Mr. Smith was holding ____ lighted match at ____ time of ____ explosion.’
9. To prevent ____ possible repetition of this accident, I lent him ____ torch.
10. He switched on ____ torch, read ____ meter and wrote ____ reading down on
____ back of ____ envelope.
11. I said in ____ surprise that ____ meter readers usually put ____ readings down in
____ book.
12. He said that he had had ____book but that it had been burnt in ____ fire in ____
Mr. Smith’s house.
13. By this time I had to come to ____ conclusion that he wasn’t ____ genuine meter
reader; and ____ moment he left ____ house I rang ____ police.
14. Are John and Mary ____ cousins?
No, they aren’t ____ cousins; they are ____ brother and ____ sister.
15. ____ fog was so thick that we couldn’t see ____ side of ____ road. We followed
____ car in front of us and hoped that we were going ____ right way.
16. I can’t remember ____ exact date of ____ storm, but I know it was ____ Sunday
because everybody was at ____ church. On ____ Monday ____ post didn’t come
because ____ roads were blocked by ____ fallen trees.
17. Peter thinks that this is quite ____ cheap restaurant.
18. A: ‘There’s been ____ murder here’. B: ‘Where’s ____ body?’
A: ‘There isn’t ____ body.’ B: ‘Then how do you know there’s been ____
murder?’
19. Number ____ hundred and two, ____ house next door to us, is for sale.
It’s quite ____ nice house with ____ big rooms. ____ back windows look out on
____ park.
20. I don’t know what ____ price ____owners are asking. But Dry and Rot are ____
agents. You could give them ____ ring and make them ____ offer.
21. ____postman’s little boy says that he’d rather be ____ dentist than____doctor,
because ____ dentists don’t get called out at ____ night.
22. Just as ____ air hostess (there was only one on the plane) was handing me ____
cup of ____ coffee ____ plane gave ____ lurch and ____ coffee went all over
____ person on ____ other side of ____ gangway.
23.There was ____ collision between ____ car and ____ cyclist at ____ crossroads
near ____ my house early in ____ morning. ____cyclist was ____taken to hospital
with ____ concussion. ____ driver of ____ car was treated for ____ shock.____
witnesses say that ____ car was going at ____ seventy miles ____ hour.
24. Professor Jones, ____ man who discovered ____ new drug that everyone is
talking about, refused to give ____ press conference.

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25. We’re going to ____ tea with ____ Smiths today, aren’t we? Shall we take ____
car? We can go by ____ car if you wash ____ car first. We can’t go to ____Mrs
Smith’s in ____ car all covered with ____ mud.
26. He got ____ job in ____ south and spent ____ next two years doing ____ work he
really enjoyed.

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 2 Nouns

2.1 There are four kinds of nouns in English:

• common nouns: dog, man, table
• proper nouns: France, Madrid, Mrs. Johnson, Tom
• abstract nouns: beauty, charity, courage, fear, joy
• collective nouns: crowd, flock

2.2 A noun can function as:

• the subject of the verb: Tom arrived.
• the complement of the verbs be, become, seem: Maggie became an actress.
• the object of the verb: I met Margaret.
• the object of a preposition: You can’t rely on Tom.
A noun can also be in the possessive case: Mary’s dress.

2.3 There are two grammatical numbers in English: singular, to denote one, and
plural, to denote more than one. Only countable nouns can be used in the plural2.

The plural of a noun is usually made by adding -s to the singular:

dog, dogs cat, cats rose, roses
Nouns ending in o, ch, sh, ss or x form their plural by adding -es:
tomato, tomatoes brush, brushes box, boxes
church, churches kiss, kisses
but words of foreign origin or abbreviated words ending in o add s only:
dynamo, dynamos kimono, kimonos piano, pianos
soprano, sopranos kilo, kilos photo, photos
This suffix is pronounced /s/ when added to a word ending in any voiceless consonant
except /s/, /∫/, /t∫/
book > books cat > cats
It is pronounced /z/ when added to a word ending in any voiced sound except the
consonants /z/, / / and / /:
dog > dogs bird > birds day > days
It is pronounced /iz/ when added to a word ending in the sounds: /s/, /∫/, /t∫/,/z/, / / and
/ /:
horse > horses rose > roses judge > judges
brush > brushes rouge > rouges bench> benches

Nouns ending in y following a consonant form their plural by dropping the y and
adding -ies:
baby, babies country, countries fly, flies, lady, ladies
Twelve nouns ending in f or fe drop the f or fe and add -ves. These nouns are calf,
half, knife, leaf, life, loaf, self, sheaf, shelf, thief, wife, wolf:
loaf, loaves wife, wives
Other words ending in f or fe add s in the ordinary way:
2
On plural of nouns, see Thompson, A.J., and Martinet, A.V.(1987:25-28). and Grba, G. i
Radovanović, K., (1996:64).

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 cliff, cliffs safe, safes

The nouns with irregular plural are:

man – men woman – women child – children
foot – feet tooth – teeth ox – oxen
mouse – mice louse – lice goose – geese

Some words have the same form for singular and plural:
sheep, swine, deer, fish

We have the unchanged plural in some words showing number and measurement or
weight:
two dozen eggs; three hundred pounds; four thousand people;
But these words take –s when they have no numeral in front of them,
e.g. dozens of eggs, hundreds of pounds; thousands of books;

Some nouns are never used in the singular, e.g. the names of
-articles of dress: trousers, pants, pajamas, shorts, drawers, clothes
-tools and instruments consisting of two parts: scissors, pliers, spectacles, glasses
-names of diseases: measles, mumps
-names of some games: billiards, cars, dominoes, draughts, bowls

2.4 Grammatical case is the relation in which one noun or pronoun stands to some
other word in the sentence, or the form of the noun or pronoun which shows that
relation. In modern English there is only one case ending for nouns, the possessive (or
genitive).

The Possessive (Genitive) Case

The possessive form of the noun (also called the ‘Saxon Genitive’) is formed as
follows:
• for singular nouns, by adding –‘s
The girl’s book
Tom’s bicycle
Orvell’s novels
With some names, mostly classical ones, ending in –s, we use only the apostrophe:
Sophocles’ plays Hercules’ labours
• for plural nouns ending in –s by adding apostrophe only:
The boys’ bicycle
The soldiers’ horses
• for plural noun not ending in –s by adding -‘s
The men’s room
The women’s hats
The children’s toys

Exercises:

11
A Classify the nouns in bold into: a) concrete, b) abstract, c) common or d) proper:

1. They wish the happy couple long life and happiness.

2. Richard has a good knowledge of French and is making progress.
3. How many books are there in the library?
4. The old bridge is in danger of collapsing
5. Sally broke two of my glasses last week.
6. This vase is made of glass
7. Do they drink much coffee in Turkey?
8. Two coffees and some mineral water, please.

B Give the plural forms of these nouns, and read them out:

1. step, coat, rock, bed, tale, place, rose, badge

2. bus, glass, box, brush, bench
3. lorry, diary, day, boy, dictionary, country, turkey, valley
4. wife, wolf, leaf, calf, cliff, staff, roof
5. man, woman, child, goose, tooth, mouse, foot
6. sheep, deer, fish

C Which of those nouns have no plural form?

sister, luggage, information, father, room, advice, furniture, space, night

toy, machinery, equipment, courage, strength, dish, fish, news, intelligence, business

D Put the following sentences into the plural:

1. A table is made of wood.

2. I have a cat and a dog.
3. A man wears trousers.
4. There is a fly in his glass.
5. A sheep gives milk and wool.
6. An orange can be refreshing on a hot day.

E Which of the following nouns have no singular form?

books, women, trousers, cats, pants, fingers, shirts,

dogs, men, pajamas, spectacles, leaves, clothes, lice,
trees, scales, fields, banks, scissors, paths, compasses

F In each group of nouns, pick out one that is different from the others and give the
reason for your choice.

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1. boxes, trousers, flowers, names
2. children, trees, lice, mice
3. pajamas, books, pants, shorts
4. goats, sheep, deer, swine
5. teeth, geese, pages, men,
6. countries, flies, days, lorries
7. oxen, ducks, feet, women

G Put into the Saxon Genitive:

1. He was brought up by his ______________ sister. (mother)

2. It is the ______________ duty to attend their ________________ education.
(parents, children)
3. My ________________ sister came to visit me. (boy-friend)
4. I was completely taken in by the _________________ disguise. (thief)
5. I will have a two _________________ vacation (months)
6. Whose is this hat? I think it’s _______________ (Father)
7. But if she has gone, I shall sleep at ___________________ (Mrs. Vesey)
8. The man stood at least fifty ___________________ distance from where I stood.
(yards)
9. _____________ father is an engineer. (Charles)
10 The __________________ faces showed that they took their work seriously.
(members)

H Introduce possessive case into each of the following sentences:

1. He found the nest of the birds on the top of the corner.

2. The house of my brother is in the country.
3. I knew that it must be a walk of at least two hours.
4. The views of my opponent are not worth mentioning.
5. The boy-friend of my daughter is planning to take her on a holiday.
6. Although it was a holiday of a few weeks only, we could not forget it.
7. The wedding of John and Mary was celebrated at the most luxurious hotel.

3 Pronouns

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3.1 A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun. Pronouns may be classified into the
following:
personal possessive demonstrative
reflexive interrogative indefinite
relative

Pronouns may show number, person, gender and case. The table of personal pronouns
illustrates this3.

singular plural
nominative objective nominative objective
1st person I me we us
2nd person you you you you
3rd person he him
she her they them
it it

In addition to the possessive case, there are two cases in English, the nominative case
and the objective case. The form of nouns in English is the same, no matter whether
they are in the nominative case or in the objective case. The case of nouns is shown
by word order, i.e. the position of that noun within a sentence. But some pronouns are
inflected to show case.

3.2 Unlike possessive adjectives, which can be used only before a noun, the
possessive pronouns may stand alone. Here is the list of possessive adjectives and the
corresponding possessive pronouns4:

Possessive Adjective Possessive Pronoun

This is my car. This car is mine.
This is your car. This car is yours.
This is his car. This car is his.
This is her car. This car is hers.
This is our car. This car is ours.
This is your car. This car is yours.
This is their car. This car is theirs.
History has its lessons and fiction has its.

Here are some examples of possessive pronouns:

Ours is the only garden in the street with oak trees in it.
Their school is much older than yours.
He took the bone from his dog and gave it to hers.
The possessive pronouns can also be used with the ‘double possessives’: of +
possessive pronoun:
He is a friend of mine.
I gave her some books of mine in exchange for some of hers.
It was no fault of his that we were not there on time.
3.3 The demonstrative pronouns are: this, that, these, those, such.
This is what I want you to do.

3
The table is taken from Eckersley, C.E. and Eckersley, J.M., (1963:97).
4
On possessive pronouns, see Eckersley, C.E. and Eckersley, J.M., (1963:108).

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 This is my brother and these are my sisters.
My seat was next to that of the Mayor.
Just compare Chopin’s waltzes with those of today.
These pronouns, besides taking the place of a noun, suggest the idea of a
position with regard to the speaker, this (these) being nearer in space or time, that
(those) being more distant.
There is this seat here, near me, ot there is that one in the fifth row. Which will
you have, this or that?
Such is a demonstrative pronoun or a demonstrative adjective. It is an
adjective in sentences like this:
I had such a busy week.
You mustn’t allow such things to happen.
It is pronoun in:
Franz is the captain of the team, and, as such, must decide who is to beat first.
Such is life!

3.4 The reflexive pronouns5 are formed by adding –self (plural –selves) to the
possessive adjectives of the first and second person, and to the objective case form of
the personal pronouns of the third person. The forms are:

singular plural
1st person myself ourselves
2nd person yourself yourselves
3rd person himself
herself themselves
itself
oneself -

These pronouns have two functions. They can be a) reflexive and b)

emphasizing. A reflexive pronoun indicates that the action expressed by the verb
passes from the subject back again to the subject and not to any other person or thing,
i.e. the person denoted by the subject and the person denoted by the object are
identical:
I am teaching myself English.
The children helped themselves to the sandwiches.
One should try to see oneself as others see one.
Make yourself at home.
She saw herself in the looking-glass.

The emphasizing ‘-self’ pronouns have exactly the same form as the reflexive
pronouns but their function is different. They are always strongly stressed and they
are used for the sake of emphasis. The emphasizing pronoun can get after the word for
which it stands, but it is usually placed at the end of the sentence:
I saw him do it myself.
The president piloted the plane himself.
You all know what you should do yourselves.
In these sentences the emphasizing pronouns could be omitted without
destroying the sense of the sentence.

5
On refexive pronouns, see Eckersley, C.E. and Eckersley, J.M.(1963:113).

15
 Sometimes emphasizing pronouns have the meaning ‘alone’ or ‘without help’,
in which case they generally have by with them:
This is a machine that works by itself.
Don’t you feel lonely living here all by yourself?

3.5 The Interrogative pronouns are who (whom, whose), which, what. They are
used in forming questions and they always precede the verb:
Who brought this letter?
Which do you prefer, coffee or tea?
What have they said about the meeting?
Whose is that car?
Who(m) did they see?
The interrogative pronouns are invariable for gender and number. Who is used
only for persons. It may be singular or plural and may be used to stand for a
masculine noun or a feminine one:
Who broke the window? Tom did.
Who will send this letter for me? Sally will.
Who is the nominative form, and the objective form is whom:
Who(m) did you see? I saw Sally.
To whom did you give the letter? Or Who did you give the letter to?
Whom is the ‘literary’ form and is preferred in writing. In conversation it is generally
replaced by who. Whose is the possessive case.
Whose are these gloves and whose is this umbrella?

What is generally used for things. It may be singular or plural, subject or

object, and it has no possessive form.
What is this? What are those strange objects?
What is his name?
What can stand for activity:
‘What are you doing?’ ‘Cleaning the car.’
What is used to ask for a person’s professions:
What is that woman talking to your mother? She’s a nurse.

Which is used for things and persons, singular or plural, subject or object. It
has no possessive case. It is used to present a choice from a limited number:
Which of you boys can do this exercise?
Which of these streets leads to the main square?

3.6 Indefinite pronouns are: some (-thing, -body, -one), any (-thing, -body, -one),
all, one, none, no (-thing, -body, -one), every (-thing, -body, -one), other, another,
much, less, (a) few, (a) little, enough, each, either, neither. Many of these words can
also be used adjectively as determinatives:
Have you got any matches? (adjective). Ask John if he has any. (pronoun)
I wish I had some red roses. (adjective). I shall try to grow some next year.
(pronoun)

3.7 Relative pronouns are: who (nominative), whom (objective), whose

16
(possessive), which, that, what. They have the same forms for singular or plural,
masculine or feminine.
Who, whom and whose are used for persons:
The man who said that was my brother.
He is one of the men whom I can trust.
This is a man whose wife lives in Chicago.
Which is a relative pronoun used only for things or animals:
The current, which is very rapid, makes the river dangerous.
The letter which was sent five days ago has finally arrived.
But if the animal is named, it is thought of as a ‘person’ and the pronoun who could
be used:
Our dog Jack, who had been lost for two days, was found and brought home
by a policeman.
With collective nouns denoting persons, which is used if the noun is regarded as
singular, who(m) if it is regarded as plural:
The Manchester team, which played so well last season, has done badly this
season. The team, who are just getting their tickets, will meet on the platform
at 5.30.
Which is used when the antecedent is a whole sentence:
He invited us to dinner, which was very kind of him.
That may be used to refer to the nominative or objective case, singular or plural,
persons or things:
They live in a house that was built in the 19th century
Do you have everything that you need?
What is used when the antecedent is not expressed. It is a relative pronoun and an
antecedent in one word:
Tell me what you need to know.

Exercises:

A Complete the sentences using myself/yourself etc. + the following verbs in the
correct form:

blame burn enjoy expresshurt introduce put

1. Steve introduced himself to the other guests at the party.
2. Bill fell down some steps, but fortunately he didn’t _____________________.
3. It isn’t Sue’s fault. She really shouldn’t ______________________________.
4. Please try and understand how I feel. _________________________ in my
position.
5. The children had a great time at the beach. They really __________________.
6. Be careful! That pan is very hot. Don’t _______________________________.
7. Sometimes I can’t say exactly what I mean. I wish I could ___________________
better.

B Put in myself/yourself/ ourselves... or me/you/us...:

17
1. Julia had a great holiday. She enjoyed herself.
2. It’s not my fault. You can’t blame _________.
3. What I did was really bad. I’m ashamed of ____________.
4. We’ve got a problem. I hope you can help ____________.
5. ‘Can I take another biscuit?’ ‘Of course. Help ______________!.
6. You must meet Sally. I’ll introduce ____________ to her.
7. Don’t worry about us. We can look after _______________.
8. I gave them a key to our house so that they could let _____________ in.
9. I didn’t want anybody to see the letters, so I blamed ______________.

C Write new sentences with the same meaning. Change the underlined words and
use the structure: double possessive:

1. I am meeting one of my friends tonight. I’m meeting a friend of mine tonight.

2. We met one of your relatives. We met a _______________________.
3. Henry borrowed one of my books. Henry __________________________.
4. Liz invited some of her friends to her flat. Liz_______________________.
5. We had dinner with one of our neighbours. __________________________.
6. I went on holiday with two of my friends. __________________________.
7. I met one of Jane’s friends at the party. __________________________.

D Complete the sentences using on my own / by myself:

1. Did you go on holiday on your own?

2. I’m glad I live with other people. I wouldn’t like to live on _______________.
3. The box was too heavy for me to lift by ____________________.
4. ‘Who was Tom with when you saw him?’ ‘Nobody, he was by ____________.
5. Very young children should never go to school by ________________.
6. She doesn’t know many people, she is always by ________________.
7. I don’t like strawberries with cream. I like them on ______________.

E Give the possessive pronouns for the words in italics:

1. His marks are higher than the ones I gained.

2. John’s sister has an even better post than the one he holds.
3. You have some fine strawberries. The ones in our garden are not so good.
4. The coat she is wearing does not belong to her.

F Fill in the blanks with suitable indefinite pronouns or adjectives:

1. Is there ____ ink in the pot? No, ______

2. Will you have ____ more tea? There’s plenty in the pot.
3. Are you doing anything tonight? No, ________.
4. Can ____ tell me the right time?
5. Tell me ____ you know, and ____ will be well.
6. Look at my hands. ____ is on the table and the ____ on my knee.

18
7. Now they are ____ under the table!
8. One man’s meat is ____’s poison.
9. ____ must look after himself.

G Are the words in italics pronouns or adjectives:

1. Don’t leave all your books on the floor.

2. Every dog has his day.
3. This may please some, but not all.
4. Everyone in that house is mad.
5. All the gentlemen were in evening dress.

H Correct or improve the following sentences:

1. Which sweater will you have, the green one or the blue?
2. My brother has three children and my sister two ones.
3. We see us twice a week.
4. Mary has any friends but her sister has nothing.
5. None of the two boys is suitable for this post.
6. Both of these boys is unsuitable for this post.

I Complete the following sentences and justify your choice of the words you use. If
more than one word can be used, explain the meaning:

1. Do you think the postman has brought ____ letters today?

2. That bicycle must have cost ____ about $50.
3. ____ succeeded, ____ failed, but ____ had worked hard.
4. Has ____ lost this purse? Yes, ____ has, but ____ can discover who.
5. ____ was delighted with the ruise.
6. What work is he doing? He never does ____ .
7. There is a penny in one of my hands. Is it in this ____ or the ____ ?
8. ____ knows the trouble I’ve taken over this exercise.

4 Adjectives

19
4.1 The traditional definition of an adjective is ‘a word used to describe or give more
information about a noun’ or ‘a word that qualifies a noun, adds to its meaning6’. The
noun house can be used to signify any house. ‘The big house’ tells more about the
house.

4.2 The main kinds of adjectives are7:

-demonstrative: this, that, these, those
-distributive: each, every, either, neither
-quantitative: some, any, no, little, few, many, much, one,
-interrogative: which, what, whose
-possessive: my, you, his, her, its, our, your, their
-of quality: stupid, slim, wet, silver, light, oval

4.3 Both present participles and past participles can be used as adjectives. Present
participle adjectives like interesting, amusing, boring, shocking are active and mean
‘having this effect’. Past participle adjectives like interested, amused, bored, shocked
are passive and mean ‘affected in that way’.
The lecture was boring.
The pupils were bored.
The scene was shocking.
The visitors were shocked.

4.4 Adjectives in English have the same form for singular and plural, masculine and
feminine nouns:
A bad boy bad boys
A bad girl bad girls
The exceptions are the demonstrative adjectives this and that, which change into
these and those before plural nouns:
this car these cars
that machine those machines

4.5 Adjectives can be used in two ways: attributively and predicatively.

Adjectives are used attributively when they qualify a noun:
Mr. Brow has just bought a new, powerful and very expensive car.
Adjectives are used predicatively when they form the predicate with the verb to be or
other verbs of incomplete predication. So in the sentence:
That is a new house.
the adjective new is used attributively.
In the sentence:
That house is new.
the adjective is used predicatively.

Other examples of the predicative use of adjectives after verbs are:

Richard is very tired. The dog was hungry. That boiler makes the water hot.
Tom has fallen asleep. Mary dyed her hair brown.

6
The definition is given in C.E.Eckersley and J.M.Eckersley, (1963:64).
7
This division is given in A.J.Thompson and A.V.Martinet (1987:33).

20
Most adjectives can be used attributively or predicatively. But some, especially those
that begin with a-, can only be used predicatively:
asleep, afraid, awake, alone, aware, alive, afloat, ashamed, content, exempt,
unable

4.6 Comparison of adjectives

When one thing is compared or contrasted with another in respect of a certain
attribute we use comparison. Comparison can express equality, superiority or
inferiority, i.e. it can say whether two people or things possess some quality in the
same degree (equality) or in different degrees (superiority or inferiority). It can also
express supremacy of one person or thing in respect of an attribute.
There are three degrees of comparison: positive, comparative and superlative.

positive comparative superlative

old older oldest
hot hotter hottest
careful more careful most careful

Equality is expressed by the positive degree:

Harry is as old as William. It is just as hot today as it was yesterday.
Mary is as careful as Margaret.
Superiority is expressed by the comparative degree:
George is older than William. It is hotter today than it was yesterday.
Elizabeth is more careful than Margaret.
Inferiority is expressed by using ‘less...than’:
Margaret is less careful than Elizabeth.
It is less hot today than it was yesterday.
But it would be far more usual to say:
Margaret is not so (as) careful as Elizabeth.
It isn’t so (as) hot today as it was yesterday.
Supremacy is expressed by the superlative degree. The adjective in the superlative
degree is always preceded by the definite article:
That was the happiest day of his life.
He is the oldest man in the village.

With one-syllable adjectives (except right, wrong, real), two-syllable adjectives

ending in a vowel sound or syllabic –l, and certain two-syllable adjectives that have
their stress on the first syllable (quiet, pleasant, common, narrow) the comparative
and superlative degrees are formed in the following way:

positive comparative superlative

clear clear+er the clear+est
sweet sweet+er the sweet+est
soft soft+er the soft+est

With most two-syllable adjectives that have their stress on the first syllable and
adjectives with more than two syllables the comparative and superlative degrees are
formed in the following way:

positive comparative superlative

21
 beautiful more beautiful the most beautiful
surprising more surprising the most surprising
splendid more splendid the most splendid

Some adjectives have irregular comparisons8:

positive comparative superlative
bad worse the worst
far farther the farthest
further the furthest
fore former the foremost
the first
good better the best
late later the latest
latter the last
much more the most
many
old older the oldest
elder the eldest
in inner the innermost
the inmost
out outer the outermost
utter the outmost
up upper the uppermost
the utmost

Exercises

A Complete the sentences using a superlative or a comparative of the adjectives in

brackets9:

1. We stayed at the cheapest hotel in the town. (cheap)

2. Our hotel was cheaper than all the others in the town. (cheap)
3. The United States is very large, but Canada is ___________. (large)
4. What’s _____________________ country in the world/ (small)
5. I wasn’t feeling well yesterday, but I feel a bit __________________ today. (good)
6. It was an awful day. It was _________________________ day of my life. (bad)
7. What is ___________________ sport in your country? (popular)
8.xEverest is _________________ mountain in the world. It is
_____________________than any other mountain. (high)
9. We had a great holiday. It was one of _________________________ holidays
we’ve ever had. (enjoyable)
10.I prefer this chair to the other one. It’s _________________________.
(comfortable)
11.What’s _______________________ way of getting from here to the station?
(quick)
12.Sue and Kevin have got three daughters. _________________is 14 years old. (old)

8
The table is taken from C.E.Eckersley and J.M.Eckersley, (1963:72)
9
The exercises A, B, C, and D are taken from Murphy, R. (2005:213-217)

22
B Complete the sentences using as...as + the following:
bad comfortable fast long often quietly soon well well-qualified

1. I’m sorry I’m late. I got here as fast as I could.

2. It was a difficult question. I answered it __________________________ I could.
3. ‘How long can I stay with you?’ ‘You can stay ________________________ you
like.’
4. I need the information quickly, so let me know _________________________
possible.
5. I like to keep fit, so I go swimming ___________________________ I can.
6. I didn’t want to wake anybody, so I came in ____________________ I could.

In the following sentences use just as...as:

7. I’m going to sleep on the floor. It’s _________________________the bed.
8. Why did he get the job rather than me? I’m ___________________him.
9.xAt first I thought he was nice, but really he’s ______________________everybody
else.

C Write a new sentence with the same meaning:

1. Richard is younger than he looks. Richard isn’t ________as old as he looks.

2. I didn’t spend as much money as you. You ____spent more money than me.
3. The station was nearer than I thought. The station wasn’t _________________
4. The meal didn’t cost as much as I expected. The meal cost _______________
5. I go out less than I used to. I don’t __________________________________
6. Karen’s hair isn’t as long as it used to be. Karen used to _________________
7. I know them better than you do. You don’t ___________________________
8.xThere are fewer people at this meeting than at he last one. There
aren’t____________________________________.

D Use the words in brackets in the correct form to complete the sentences:

1. I like warm weather.

The warmer the weather, the better I feel. (feel)
2. I didn’t really like him when we first met.
But the more I got to know him,_________________________________(like)
3. If you’re in business, you want to make a profit.
Te more goods you sell, _____________________________________(profit)
4. It’s hard to concentrate when you are tired.
The more tired you are, ______________________________________ (hard)
5. Kate had to wait a very long time.
The longer she waited, ____________________________ (impatient/become)

23
 5 Verbs

5.1 There are two classes of verbs in English10:

- the auxiliary verbs: to be, to have, to do, can, could, will, would, shall, should,
must, may, might, ought, need, dare, used;
- all other verbs, which may be called ordinary verbs:
to play, to buy, to dance, to visit
The auxiliary verbs are devided into:
- principal auxiliaries: to be, to have, to do
- modal auxiliaries: can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must, ought,
- semi-modals: to need, to dare, used
Auxiliaries help to form a tense or an expression. They combine with present
or past aprticiples or with infinitives to form the tenses of ordinary verbs:
She is expecting a baby. Paul has already arrived. I didn’t get it.
They combine with infinitives to indicate permission, request, possibility,
obligation etc: Tom can swim. May I join you? They could be there
already.

The principal auxiliaries

Form
Infinitive Present tense Past tense Past participle
to be am, is, are was been
to have have, has had had
to do do, does did done

Usage
The auxiliary verbs are used with lexical verbs:
- to form the continuous and perfect tenses
I am working. I have worked.
- to form the passive voice:
He is seen. He was seen.
- to form the negative and interrogative in the simple present and past tenses:
I don’t have a car. Did he leave a message?
- in short answers:
Do you have a car? No, I don’t.
- with neither/nor or so in short answers:
I don’t have much time. Neither do I.
I bought the book. So did I.

Modal auxiliaries will be discussed in a separate chapter.

English verbs have the following qualities11: tense (The Present Tense, The
Present Perfect, The Past Tense, The Past Perfect, The Future Tense, The Future
Perfect), voice (active and passive), mood (indicative, subjunctive and imperative),
number (singular and plural), person (the first, second and third) and aspect
(progressive, non-progressive).

10
On classes of verbs, as well as auxiliary verbs see A.J.Thompson and A.V.Martinet, (1987:105, 109).
11
On the qualities of verbs see A.J.Thompson and A.V.Martinet, (1987:105-116) and C.E.Eckersley
and J.M.Eckersley, (1963:143-230)

24
 All verbal forms in English could also be divided into finite and non-finite
12
forms . The verbs that can form the predicate by themselves are finite verbs. The
latter are infinitives, participles, and gerunds. They do not have the qualities of person
and number. Besides their ‘verb’ qualities, they also have some qualities of nouns,
adjectives and adverbs. They will be discussed in a separate chapter.

5.2 Ordinary verbs: active tenses – form

Present Simple He works.

Continuous He is working.
Perfect He has worked.
Perfect continuous He has been working.
Past Simple He worked.
Continuous He was working.
Perfect He had worked.
Perfect continuous He had been working.
Future Simple He will work.
Continuous He will be working.
Perfect He will have worked.
Perfect continuous He will have been working.
Present Conditional He would work.
Conditional continuous He would be working.
Perfect Conditional He would have worked.
Conditional continuous He would have been working.

5.3 The Present

5.3.1 The Simple Present Tense

Form
In the affirmative the simple present has the same form as the infinitive, except in the
third person singular where it adds an ‘s’.

Affirmative Interrogative Negative Negative interrogative

I play Do I play? I do not play Do I not play?
You play Do you play? You do not play Do you not play?
He/she/it plays Does he/she/it play? He/she/it do not play Does he/she/it not play?
We play Do we play? We do not play Do we not play?
You play Do you play? You do not play Do you not play?
They play Do they play? They do not play Do they not play?

Contractions:
The verb do is normally contracted in the negative and negative interrogative:
I don’t play, she doesn’t play, don’t you play? don’t they play?

The main use of the Simple Present Tense:

• is to express habitual actions. In this case it is often used with adverbs or adverbial
phrases such as: always, never, occasionally, often, sometimes, usually, every
week, on Mondays, twice a year, or with time clauses expressing routine or
habitual actions:
12
The definition is given in C.E.Eckersley and J.M.Eckersley A Comprehensive English Grammar,
p.143.

25
 He always works at week-ends.
Our dog barks a lot at night.
It is also used:
• to express permanent truths:
The Sun rises in the East.
• for future formal arrangements, i.e. for a planned future action or series of actions,
particularly when they refer to a journey:
We leave the hotel at 10.00 next Tuesday and arrive in Paris at 13.00.
We spend two hours at the Eifel Tower and leave again at 15.00
• by radio commentators at sport events or for dramatic narrative. This is
particularly useful when describing the action of a play or an opera:
Ronaldo moves up to the net.
When the curtain rises, Julie is writing at her desk. Suddenly the
window opens and a masked man enters.
• for instructions:
First you press the red button.
• in certain time clauses instead of a future form:
We’ll call her when you come.
• in type 1 conditional sentences:
If I see him I’ll tell him about it.
• in newspaper headlines:
BRITAIN MOVES HIGHER IN BRIBERY LEAGUE
FASHION VICTIM FIGHTS BACK

5.3.2 The Present Continuous Tense

Form
The present continuous tense is formed with the present tense of the auxiliary verb be
and the present participle:
Affirmative Interrogative Negative
I am playing Am I playing? I am not studying.
You are playing Are you playing? You are not playing.
He/she/it is playing Is he/she/it playing? He/she/it is not playing.
We are playing Are we playing? We are not playing.
You are playing Are you playing/ You are not playing.
They are playing Are they playing? They are not playing.
Negative interrogative is also possible: Are you not playing? Isn’t he playing?

Contractions
The verb be can be contracted in the following way:
Affirmative Negative Negative interrogative
I’m playing I’m not playing Aren’t I playing?
You’re playing You’re not / you aren’t Aren’t you playing?
He’s playing playing Isn’t he playing?
He’s not / he isn’t playing

The Present Continuous Tense is used:

• for an action happening at the moment of speaking.
We are watching a film on TV.
It is snowing.
Why are you shouting at me?

26
• for an action happening about this time but not necessarily at the moment of
speaking:
He is Learning French.
Jane is taking guitar lessons.
• for informal plans for the near future, with a future time reference and generally
with verbs of movement (come, arrive, leave, visit). Here we are talking about
definite arrangement in the near future and this is the most usual way of
expressing one’s immediate plans:
I am leaving tomorrow morning.
Are you doing anything tomorrow evening? Yes, I am going out with Jane.
• for repeated actions with adverbs like always, forever; usually when the frequency
annoys the speaker:
You’re always doing stupid things!
He is always losing things: keys, money…
• for temporary situations or actions that may not be in progress at the moment of
speaking.
They are working in Budapest at the moment.
• for polite enquiries:
I’m wondering if you could do me a favour.

Some verbs (often called verbs of perception) are generally not used in the
continuous tenses13 and have only one present tense, the simple present. These verbs
can be grouped as:
-verbs of the senses: appear, feel, hear, look, see, smell, notice, observe,
resemble, seem, taste
-verbs expressing feelings and emotions: admire (respect), adore, appreciate
(value), desire, detest, dislike, fear, hate, love, like, mind (care), prefer, respect, value,
want, wish
-verbs of mental activity: agree, appreciate (understand), assume, believe,
detest, expect (think), feel (think), forget, forgive, know, matter, mean, need, perceive,
realize, recognize, remember, see (understand), suppose, think (have an opinion),
trust (believe, have confidence in), understand, wonder
-verbs of possession: belong to, owe, own, possess

A few of the above verbs, however, may be used in a continuous tense when
expressing certain ideas. These are feel, smell, taste, see, think, be and have.

Feel when followed by an adjective may indicate the subject’s emotions or physical
or mental condition, e.g. angry/pleased, happy/sad, hot/cold, tense/relaxed,
nervous/confident. In that case it is used in the simple tenses but can also be used in
the continuous:
Do you still feel hungry?
You can never tell what he's feeling.
Stop exercising if you feel any pain.
Feel meaning ‘touch’ can be used in the continuous:
The nurse was feeling his forehead to see if he had a fever.

13
This division is given in A.J.Thompson and A.V.Martinet, (1987:156) and Grba, G. i Radovanović,
K.,(1995:40).

27
 He was feeling for the gun in his pocket.
Smell is not used in the continuous form when it means ‘to notice or recognize a
particular smell/scent/odour’, but it can be used with smell meaning ‘sniff at’
Smell these roses - aren't they lovely? (They have a nice smell.)
Do you smell smoke?
She’s smelling the flowers. (She’s using her nose.)
Taste
As a link verb, taste is not used in the continuous:
This coffee tastes bitter. (has a bitter taste)
She was tasting the cream to see if it was sweet enough. (She is putting a
spoonful in her mouth.)
See
See can be used in the continuous when it means ‘meet by appointment’ (usually for
business), date someone or when it means ‘visit’:
I am seeing my solicitor this morning.
They are seeing the sights with one of our guides.
My daughter is seeing an older man. I don’t like that.
Think can be used in the continuous when no opinion is given or asked for:
What are you thinking about? (What is going on in your mind?)
I am thinking about the play we saw last night.
When opinion is expressed, the verb think is used in the simple present:
I think they will come (I believe this).
What do you think about this programme?

Verbs be and have, when expressing permanent state or possession, are used in the
simple tense. But when they express a temporary situation, can be used in the
continuous:
She is clever. (permanent state)
Now you are being silly. (temporary state)
He has a nice house. (possession)
He is having breakfast. (temporary situation)
We are having nice weather this week. (temporary situation)

Exercises (The Present Continuous and Present Simple Tense)

A Circle the correct form of the verbs:

Dear Karen,
I’m having / I have a great time here in England. My university term isn’t
starting / doesn’t start until the autumn, so I’m taking / take the opportunity to
improve my English. I’m staying / stay with some English friends who are owning /
own a farm. On weekdays I’m catching / I catch a bus into Torquay to go to language
classes. I’m making / I make good progress, I think. My friends say / are saying my
pronunciation is much better than when I arrived, and I’m understanding / I
understand almost everything now. At weekends I’m helping / I help on the farm. At
the moment they’re harvesting / they harvest the corn and they’re needing / they need

28
all the help they can get. It’s quite hard work, but I’m liking / I like it. And I’m
developing / I develop some strong muscles!
Do you come / Are you coming to visit me at Christmas? I’m spending / I
spend the winter holiday here at the farm. My friends are wanting / want to meet you
and there’s plenty of space. But you must bring your warmest clothes. It’s getting ? It
gets very cold here in the winter.
Let me know as soon as you’re deciding / you decide. And tell me what you’re
doing / you do these days.
Do you miss me?
Love,
Paul

B Supply the correct form of the verbs in brackets, either simple present or present
continuous tense

1. Every Monday, Sally (drive) __________ her kids to football practice.

2. Usually, I (work) ___________________ as a secretary at ABT, but this summer I
(study) _______________ French at a language school in Paris. That is why I am in
Paris.
3. Shhhhh! Be quiet! John (sleep) ____________________.
4. Don't forget to take your umbrella. It (rain) ___________________________.
5. I hate living in Seattle because it (rain, always) __________________________.
6. I'm sorry I can't hear what you (say) _________________________ because
everybody (talk) ______________________so loudly.
7. Justin (write, currently)____________________ a book about his adventures in
Tibet. I hope he can find a good publisher when he is finished.
8. A: Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?
B: Oh, I'm sorry, I can't. I (go)________________________ to a movie tonight
with some friends.
9. The business cards (be, normally) ______________________ printed by a
company in New York. Their prices (be)___________________ inexpensive, yet the
quality of their work is quite good.
10. This delicious chocolate (be) ___________________made by a small chocolatier in
Zurich, Switzerland.

C Read the Trekking Journal and supply the correct tense of the verbs in brackets:

November 12, 1997

Today (be) __________ the second day of my trek around Mount Annapurna. I am
exhausted and my legs (shake) __________; I just hope I am able to complete the
trek. My feet (kill, really) __________ me and my toes (bleed) __________, but I
(want, still) __________ to continue.

Nepal is a fascinating country, but I have a great deal to learn. Everything (be)
__________ so different, and I (try) __________ to adapt to the new way of life here.
I (learn) __________a little bit of the language to make communication easier;

29
unfortunately, I (learn, not) __________ foreign languages quickly. Although I
(understand, not) __________ much yet, I believe that I (improve, gradually)
_____________.

I (travel, currently) __________with Liam, a student from Leeds University in

England. He (be) __________ a nice guy, but impatient. He (walk, always)
____________ ahead of me and (complain) that I am too slow. I (do) __________my
best to keep up with him, but he is younger and stronger than I am. Maybe, I am just
feeling sorry for myself because I am getting old.

Right now, Liam (sit) with the owner of the inn. They (discuss) __________ the
differences between life in England and life in Nepal. I (know, not) __________the
real name of the owner, but everybody (call, just) __________ him Tam. Tam (speak)
__________English very well and he (try) __________ to teach Liam some words in
Nepali. Every time Tam (say) __________a new word, Liam (try) __________to
repeat it. Unfortunately, Liam (seem, also) __________to have difficulty learning
foreign languages. I just hope we don't get lost and have to ask for directions.

D Choose the right tense: the present simple or present continuous tense:

1. He (smoke) a lot but he (try) to cut down.

2. ‘Why you (stare) at that fat man?’
‘I (not mean) to be rude. I (think) I (know) him’
3. ‘That (smell) good. What you (cook)?’
‘I (grill) some steak. I usually (fry) it but I (know) grilling is healthier’.
4. ‘What you (do)?
‘I (look) at your old school photographs. In this one you (play) football. You
(look) terrible! You (have) mud all over you, and your nose (bleed).’
5. Mrs Pound (not work) this week. She (look after) her grandson while her daughter
(be) in hospital.
6. She (go) to exercise classes three times a week. She (get) slimmer and her health
(improve).

5.3.3 The Present Perfect Tense

Form
The present perfect tense is formed with the present tense of the verb have and the
past participle. The past participle in regular verbs has exactly the same form as the
simple past: worked, watched, played etc. In irregular verbs, the past participles vary.
The interrogative is formed by inverting the auxiliary and subject. The negative is
formed by adding not to the auxiliary:

Affirmative Interrogative Negative

I have watched have I watched? I have not watched
You have watched have you watched? you have not watched
He/she/it has watched has he/she/it watched? he/she/it has not watched
We have watched have we watched? we have not watched
You have watched have you watched? you have not watched
They have watched have they watched? they have not watched
Negative interrogative: have you not worked? Hasn’t he worked? etc.

30
The Present Perfect Tense is used:
• to state a present result of a past action. The time may be unspecified:
I have washed my hair. (My hair is clean now.)
But often a time reference is given:
-recent time like just, lately, recently, already, yet:
He has just arrived (He is here now)
-an unfinished period that includes the present: today, this morning/after-
noon/week, etc.
Have you heard the weather forecast today?
-or indicating repetition: several times, often:
I’ve seen him several times at the university.

• to describe states and actions which began in the past and lasted up until now:
-with since/for:
I haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast.
I haven’t had anything to eat for three hours.
Sometimes time is measured from a past action:
He hasn’t been to football practice since he hurt his wrist.
-with time references like before (now) ever, never, up till now, so far:
Have you ever visited San Francisco?
American English often uses the Simple Past tense with ever, never, already
and yet instead of the Present Perfect:
Did you ever see such a thing?
He just went out.
• in Time clauses instead of a future form:
I’ll ask him as soon as he has finished.

5.3.4 The Present Perfect and The Simple Past Tense compared:

The present perfect (on of the present tenses) tells us about the situation now:
I have lost my key – meaning that I don’t have my key now. The past simple tells us
only something about the past. If somebody says ‘Se lost her keys’ they don’t tell us
whether she has the keys now or not. They only tell us that she lost her keys at some
time in the past.
We use the present perfect for new or recent happenings:
I’ve repaired the TV. It’s working OK now.
We use the past simple for things that are not recent or new:
Mozart was a composer. He wrote more than 600 pieces of music.
We use the present perfect to give new information. But if we continue to talk about
it, we normally use the past simple:
A: Ow! I’ve burnt myself.
B: How did you do that?
A: I picked up a hot dish.

31
 Exercises: (The Present Perfect and The Simple Past Tense)

A14 Are the underlined parts of these sentences right or wrong? Correct them where
necessary:

1. I’ve lost my key. I can’t find it anywhere. OK_____________

2. Have you eaten a lot of sweets when you were a child? Did you eat……………__
3. I’ve bought a new car. You must come and see it. ________________
4. I’ve bought a new car last week. ________________
5. Where have you been yesterday evening? ________________
6. Lucy has left school in 1999. ________________
7. I’m looking for Mike. Have you seen him? ________________
8. Have you been to Paris? Yes, many times. ________________
9. I’m very hungry. I haven’t eaten much today. ________________
10. When has this book been published? ________________

B Put the verb into the correct form, present perfect or past simple:

1 I don’t know where Lisa is. Have you seen (you/see) her?
2 When I _______________ (get) home last night, I ______________ (be) very tired and
3 _______________ (go) straight to bed.
4 A: ________________ (you/finish) painting the bedroom?
B: Not yet. I’ll finish it tomorrow.
5 George _________________ (not/be) very well last week.
6 Mr. Clark ________________ (work) in a bank for 15 years. Then he gave it up.
7 Molly lives in Dublin. She ________________ (live) there all her life.
8 I don’t know Carol’s husband. I _________________ (never/meet) him.
9 A: Is Martin here? B: No, he _______________ (go) out.
A: When exactly ________________ (he/go) out? B: About ten minutes ago.

C Put the verb into the correct form, present perfect or past simple:

1 It stopped raining for a while, but now it’s raining again. (stop)
2 The town is very different now. It has changed a lot (change)
3 I did German at school, but I ____________ most of it now. (forget)
4 The police _____________ three people, but later they let them go. (arrest)
5 What do you think of my English? Do you think it ________________? (improve)
6 A: Are you still reading the paper?
B: No, I ______________ with it. You can have it. (finish)
7 I _______________ for a job as a tourist guide, but I wasn’t successful. (apply)
8 Where’s my bike? It _________________ outside the house, but it’s not there now. (be)
9 Look! There’s an ambulance over there. There _____________ an accident. (be)
10 A: Have you heard about Ben? He _____________ his arm. (break)
B: Really? How ________ that _________? (happen)
A: He ________________ off a ladder. (fall)

14
The exercises A, B and C are taken from Murphy R.(2005:29-31)

32
D Put the verbs in brackets into the right form, the past simple or the present perfect
tense15:
1. He (sweep) the balcony yesterday, and it’s already dirty.
2. A long time ago people (think) that the sun (go) round the earth.
3. The oil tanker just (sink).
4. He ever (lie) to you?
5. How tall you (grow)!
6. They (be) here since two o’clock.
7. She (walk) to work every day last month.
8. When I last (see) him, he was looking for his dog in the park.
9. She (wear) a beautiful blue dress at the opening night yesterday.
10. Paul: I (play) football since I (be) five years old.
Tom: You (play) since you (come) to England?
Paul: Oh yes. I (play) quite a lot. I (join) a club the day after I (arrive).
11. I just (hear) that Peter is in Australia.
Oh, you (not know)? He (fly) out at the beginning of the month.
You (hear) from him? Does he like the life?
Yes, I (get) a letter last week. He (tell) me about his job. But je (not say)
whether he (like) the life or not. Perhaps it’s too soon to say. He only
(be) there three weeks.
12. Old Ben (sell) newspapers just inside the station entrance, and my father
always (buy) his evening paper from him as he (leave) the station on his way home.
But one day my father (arrive) home without his paper. ‘Ben (not be) there this
evening, ’he (say). ‘I hope he (not be taken) ill’.
13. Tom (meet) Paul at lunch time and (say), I (not see) you at the bus stop this
morning. You (miss) the buss?
‘I (not miss) it’, (reply) Paul. ‘I (not miss) a bus for years. But this morning George
(give) me a lift”.
14. I last (drink) champagne at my brother’s wedding.
15. She (not feel) well for some time.
16. Justin and I are friends. I (know) him since I (be) a freshman a high school.
17. This is the first time I (eat) frogs.
18. When you (meet) this beautiful girl? I (meet) her two days ago.
19. Well, one thing is certain. Your English (improve) since you (start) to do
grammar exercises.
20. I (meet) Doris in August, but I (not see) her since.
21. Since the term (begin) , we (have) five tests.
22. Have you got a bandage or a band-aid? I (cut) my foot. – How … it (happen)? – I
(step) on a piece of glass.

5.3.5 The Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Form
The Present Perfect Continuous Tense is formed by the present perfect of the verb to
be and the present participle.

15
The exercise is adapted from A.J. Thompson and A.V. Martinet, Exercises 2, (1987:87).

33
 Affirmative I have been watching, he has been watching…
interrogative Have you been watching? Has he been
watching?.
Negative I have not/haven’t been watching
Negative interrogative Have I not/haven’t I been watching

It is used
• to emphasize that an action has been in progress throughout a period which began
in the past and lasted up till now or is still continuing:
I have been working in this school for five years.
How long have you been playing basketball?
• to refer to a past activity which is related to the present because of its results:
You have been fighting again. (Your suit is torn, you have bruises on your
face.)
Mary has been crying. (Her eyes are red.)
We understand that the activity has recently finished.

With some verbs like expect, hope, lie, look, live, rain, sleep, snow, stay, study,
learn, wait, work, sit, stand, lie, play, want there is often little or no difference
between sentences in simple or continuous tense. Thus an action which began in the
past and is still continuing or has just finished can be expressed by either the present
perfect simple or the present perfect continuous tense:
I have worked in this school for five years.
I have been working in this school for five years.
In other cases there is a difference in meaning:
He has been selling his house for months. (action incomplete)
He has sold his house. (action complete)
Certain groups of verbs are generally not found in the continuous tenses, although
this depends on the meaning of the verb:
be, know, own, understand, want, care, prefer, hate, like, believe, mean,
have (possession), see (perception)
For example: I have had this video recorder for five years. (have = possession)
I have been having dinner. (Activity can be expressed in the
continuous)
I have seen Mary today. (see=perception)
I have been seeing Mary. (I’ve been meeting Mary).
There is a difference in the simple present perfect and an action in the present
perfect continuous:
a) I’ve polished the car. means that the job has been completed
b) I’ve been polishing the car. shows how I have spent the last hour or
two. It does not necessarily mean that the job has been completed.

34
 Exercises (The Present Perfect Continuous Tense)

A For each situation, write two sentences using the words in brackets16:

1. Tom started reading a book two hours ago. He is still reading it and now hw is on page 53.
(read/for two hours) He has been reading for two hours.
(read/53 pages so far) He has read 53 pages so far.
2. Rachel is from Australia. She is travelling round Europe at the moment. She began her
3. trip three months ago.
(travel / for three months) She __________________________________________
(visit / six countries so far) _____________________________________________
3. Patrick is a tennis player. He began playing tennis when he was ten years old. This year he
is national champion again – for the fourth time.
(win / the national championships / four times) _____________________________
(play / tennis since he was ten) __________________________________________
4. When they left college, Lisa and Sue started making films together. They still make films.
(make/five films since they left college) They ______________________________
(make/films since they left college) ______________________________________

B Past activity/present result17:

Put the verbs in brackets in the Present Perfect Continuous tense. Match the
sentence with one of the comments on the left.
1. Bud has got cuts and bruises on his face. a. He (fight) again.
2. Fiona’s eyes are red. b. The children (eat) them all `
afternoon.
3. Kenneth has a bad cough. c. She (cry).
4. The whole town is covered with snow. d. He (smoke) too much.
5. There are few biscuits left. e. It (snow) for some time.
6. Laura doesn’t talk much. f. Something (bother) her.
7. My computer is switched on. g. Somebody (use) it.
8. The whole region is flooded. h. What… you (do)?
9. Kirk is completely exhausted i. It (rain) hard for days.
10.You look tired. j. He (practice) weight lifting for
hours.

C Complete the sentences with the present perfect or the present perfect continuous
tense of the verbs in brackets. The adverbs in italics should be put in the right
position18:

1. I ____________ (write) the letter, so perhaps you would post it for me.
2. For the last two years, he ____________ (write) a history of the Civil War.
3. A: What you ____________(do) for the last half hour? B: I ____________(sit)
here working at this problem.
4. We always ____________ (live) in a bungalow, so it will seem strange when we
move into a house.
16
The exercise is taken from Murphy, R. (2005:21)
17
The exercise is taken from Grba G., K Radovanovic, (1995:57)
18
The exercise is taken from B.D. Graver (1988:81)

35
5. How you ____________ (keep)? Well, I hope.
6. You look very upset. What _____________ (happen)?
7. He shouldn’t drive this evening. He ____________ (drink).
8. I’d better not drive. I already ____________ (drink) quite a lot.
9. The meat must be nearly ready. It ____________ (cook) for nearly an hour.
10. You ____________ (not finish) that book yet? You ____________ (read) it for
more than a week.
11. I wonder if John ____________ (forget) my number. I ____________ (expect)
him to call for the past two hours.
12. I’m sorry we’re late. You ____________ (wait) long?
13. A: How long ____________ (know) you the truth? B: I only just ____________
(find out), but I ____________ (find out) a lot of other things recently.
14. If he ____________ (ask) me that question once, he ____________ (ask) me
dozen times.

D Put the verbs in brackets into the right tense, either the present continuous or the
present perfect continuous tense19:

1. It (rain) all week. I hope it stops by Saturday because I want to go to the beach.
2. A: Where is Gary?
B: He (study, at the library) for his German test on Wednesday. In fact, he (review)
for the test every day for the last week.
3. You look really great! (You, exercise) at the fitness center ?
4. Frank, where have you been? We (wait) for you since 1 P.M..
5. A: What is that sound?
B: A car alarm (ring) somewhere down the street. It (drive) me crazy - I wish it
would stop! It (ring) for more than twenty minutes.
6. Joseph's English (improve, really), isn't it? He (watch) American television
programs and (study) his grammar every day since he first arrived in San Diego.
Soon he will be totally fluent.
7. A: You look a little tired. (You, get) enough sleep lately?
B: Yes, I (sleep) relatively well. I just look tired because I (feel) a little sick for the
last week.
A: I hope you feel better soon.
B: Thanks. I (take, currently) some medicine, so I should feel better in a couple of
days.

5.4 The Past

5.4.1 The Simple Past Tense

Form
The simple past tense in regular verbs is formed by adding ed to the infinitive:
Infinitive: to play
Simple past: played
The same form is used for all persons: I played, you played, he/she/it played…

19
The exercise is taken from www.englishpage.com ,Verb Tense Tutorial.

36
The interrogative of regular and irregular verbs is formed with did + subject +
infinitive:
Did I play? Did you play?....
The negative of regular and irregular verbs is formed with did not (didn’t) + the
infinitive:
I did not / didn’t play
You did not/didn’t play
Negative interrogative is also possible:
Did you not/ didn’t you play?
Irregular verbs vary considerably in their simple past form, for example:
the infinitive: to bring, to come, to write, to sing
simple past: brought, came, written, sang
Therefore, the simple past tense of each irregular verb must be learnt separately. Yet,
there are some similarities in the past tense forms of some verbs, i.e. some similarities
in changing patterns. So it is easier for the students to memorize them if they are
grouped according to their past tense (also past participle) forms, for example:

infintve simple past past participle

cut cut cut
put put put
shut shut shut
hurt hurt hurt
buy bought bought
think thought thought
bring brought brought
fight fought fought
seek sought sought
catch caught caught
teach taught taught
begin began begun
sing sang sung
drink drank drunk
fly flew flown
blow blew blown
throw threw thrown
keep kept kept
sleep slept slept
weep wept wept
speak spoke spoken
break broke broken
write wrote written
take took taken

The Simple Past tense is used :

• to talk about events, actions or situations which happened in the past. There are
often time references like yesterday, last week, last year, ago, in 1898 or some
other past action indicating past time:
Columbus discovered America in 1492.
Our neighbours were very friendly when we moved into our new apartment.
If we do not use time references, we imply them:
We saw our friends at the club (i> e. when we were there)
• to describe habitual action in the past:
He always studies hard when he was in college.

37
• after ‘wish’ and ‘if only’ to express wishful thinking about the present
I wish I knew what was going on. If only we had more time!
• In type 2 conditional sentences
If I knew, I would tell you.

5.4.2 The Past Continuous Tense

Form
The past continuous tense is formed by the past tense of the verb to be and the present
participle:
Affirmative Interrogative Negative
I was watching was I watching? I was not watching
you were watching were you watching? you were not watching
he/she/it was watching was he/she/it watching? he/she/it was not watching
we were watching were we watching? we were not watching
you were watching were you watching? you were not watching
they were watching were they watching? they were not watching
Negative contractions: I wasn’t watching; you weren’t watching…
Negative interrogative: was he not/wasn’t he watching?

The Past Continuous tense is used:

• for an action (temporary) that was going on from the beginning to the end of a
past period of time:
I was studying all morning.
We often use all to emphasize continuity: all morning, all weekend, all day
yesterday, all year.
• for two parallel actions in the past:
While I was doing my homework, my brother was listening to the radio.
• for an action which was going on when something else happened:
He was talking to his friends when his father called him.
• for repeated actions with, for example, always:
When I knew him, he was always borrowing money.
There is a suggestion of irritation here.
• for polite inquiries:
I was wondering if you could help me.
• the past continuous can be used as a past equivalent of the present continuous:
She said: ‘I am working on a new project’.
She said she was working on a new project.
• also, just as the present continuous can be used to express a definite future
arrangement:
We’ve packed everything, we are leaving early in the morning.
thus, the past continuous can express the same planning for the future, but in the
past:
They’d packed everything, they were leaving early the next morning.
• with always to express the repeated past action, whereby the speaker’s annoyance
is implied:
She was always losing things: keys, books etc.
Mrs. Jones was always ringing me up early in the morning.

38
 Exercises (The Simple Past and Past Continuous Tense)

A Choose the correct form of the verbs:

Thomas Edison started / was starting work on the railway when he was twelve,
selling newspapers and snacks. There were long periods with nothing for him to do so
he built / was building himself a little laboratory in the luggage van where he could
carry out experiments when he didn’t sell / wasn’t selling things to passengers.
Another way that he occupied / was occupying himself was by reading. He joined a
library and read / was reading every single book in it. One day, when he waited / was
waiting at the station he noticed / was noticing a small boy who played / was playing
by the track, unaware that a train approached / was approaching. Edison ran / was
running out and grabbed / was grabbing the child just in time. The child’s father was
so grateful that he offered / was offering to teach Edison to be a telegraph operator.
Edison accepted the offer and soon he had / was having regular lessons. After a year,
he was good enough to get a job in the telegraph office. He continued to read and
experiment, whenever he had / was having time. At twenty-one he left / was leaving
the telegraph office to devote all his time to being an inventor. He went / was going
on to invent the electric light bulb, the phonograph and the movie camera.

B What were you doing at these times? Write the sentences using either the past
continuous or the past simple tense. The first two have been done as the examples for
you20:

1 (at 7 p.m. yesterday evening) I was watching a film on TV.

2 (at 4 p.m. last Thursday)
3 (at 9:30 yesterday morning)
4 (at noon yesterday)
5 (at 5:30 this morning)
6 ( two hours ago)
I was in a car on my way home.
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________
_________________________

C Put the verbs in brackets into the correct form, either simple past or past
continuous:

1 Jenny was waiting (wait) for me when I arrived (arrive).

2 ‘What _________________ (you/do) at this time yesterday?’ ‘I was asleep’.
3 ‘______________________ (you/go) out last night? ‘No, I was too tired.’
4 How fast ___________________ (he/drive) when the accident
________________ (happen)?
5 Paul _________________ (take) a photo of me while I _________________
(not/look).
6 We were in a very difficult position. We _________________ (not/know) what to
do.
7 I haven’t seen Bob for a long time. When I last _________________ (see) him, he
_________________ (try) to find himself a new job.
8 I ________________ (walk) along the street when suddenly I
_________________ (hear) footsteps behind me. Somebody ________________

20
The exercises B and C are taken from Murphy, R. (2005:13).

39
 (follow) me. I was scared and I ________________ (start) to run.
9 When Bob was a small boy, he ______________ (want) to be a pilot.

D Complete the following paragraphs with suitable verbs. Use either the past simple
or past continuous tense:

• John Blake was born in London in 1969. He went to work in France when he
was nineteen. While he (2) ____________ in a restaurant in Paris, he (3)
____________ Luisa, an Italian student. He (4) ____________ her to marry him, but
she wouldn’t. Heartbroken, he (5) ____________ to England. Three years later, John
(6) ____________ along a street in London when he (7) _____________ Luisa. She
(8) ___________ London with a friend called Maria. When John and Maria (9)
____________ , they fell in love at first sight, and got married the following year.

• I had a terrible time last Saturday. It was rather cold, but quite sunny, so after
lunch I (1) walked into town. I (11) ____________ to buy a pullover. I (12)
______________ in the window of a clothes shop when someone (13)
_____________ my wallet. While I (14) _______________ home, it (15)
_______________ to rain and I arrived home cold and miserable. I (16)
_______________ to have a hot bath. I (17) _______________ ready to have my bath
when the doorbell (18) _______________. It was a salesman and it took me several
minutes to get rid of him. Unfortunately, all the time he (19) ________________ to
me the water (20) _______________. You can imagine the state of the bathroom!

5.4.3 The Past Perfect

Form
The Past Perfect Tense is formed with the past tense of the verb have: had and the
past participle:
Affirmative I had played, You’d played, He’d played…
Interrogative Had he played? Had they played?
Negative I had not played, you hadn’t played…
Negative interrogative Had you not/ hadn’t you played? …

The past perfect is used:

• as the past equivalent of the present perfect:
Present: Ann has just left. If you hurry you’ll catch her.
Past: When I arrived Ann had just left.
• to refer to ‘an earlier past’, i.e. to describe the first of two or more actions in the
past:
The train had already gone, so we waited for the next one.
We often use conjunctions like: when, before, after, as soon as, by the time,
the moment, immediately. The past perfect is used with these conjunctions if we
wish to emphasize that one action was completed before another one started:
When/After he had found a job, he rented a one-room flat for himself.
He had found a job before he rented a flat.
• in reported speech
He said that he had found a job.

40
• after ‘wish’ and ‘if only’ to express wishful thinking about the past:
I wish I hadn’t stayed so long at the party last night.
If only we hadn’t forgotten out passports!
• in Type 3 conditionals
If she had studies harder, she would have passed the test.
Note: We generally try to avoid having a succession of verbs in the Past Perfect in
a single sentence:
We heard that our friends had lost their way in town and drove into a petrol
station to ask for directions.

5.6.4 The Past Perfect Continuous Tense

Form
The past perfect continuous tense is formed with the past perfect of the verb to be:
had been and the present participle:
Affirmative I had been watching
Interrogative Had you been watching?
Negative You had not/hadn’t been watching
Negative interrogative Had you not / hadn’t you been watching?

It is not used with verbs which are not normally used in the continuous forms, except
with want and sometimes wish21
The boy was delighted with his new knife. He had been wanting one for a long
time.
This tense has no passive forms.

The past perfect continuous has the same relation to the past perfect as the present
perfect continuous has to the present perfect. The Past Perfect Continuous tense is
used
• to emphasize that one action had taken place earlier than another and that the
earlier action had been happening
a) continuously: He had been practicing when we arrived,
b) repeatedly: I had not been sleeping well, so I went to see a doctor.
• in reported speech
She told me she had been studying all morning.
• in Type 3 conditionals
If you had been wearing a warm coat, you wouldn’t have caught cold.

Exercises

A Supply the Past Perfect tense form of the verbs in brackets:

1. Somehow I felt that I (meet) that man before.

2. I noticed that we (take) the wrong road.
3. She said that she (have) lunch at home.
4. I realized that I (make) two mistakes in my test.
5. Helen (shut) all the windows before the storm started.

21
Underlined by A.J.Thompson and A.V. Martinet, (1987:179).

41
 6. We didn’t know they (choose) Peter for a TV quiz.
7. It was my first time in an airplane. I was very nervous because I never (fly)
before.
8. We didn’t leave until we (finish) our work.
9. I couldn’t enter because I (lose) my door key.
10. He (send) me a cheque, I went to the bank to cash it.

B22 Supply the suitable form of the verbs in brackets, either the past perfect or the
past perfect continuous tense:

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 theatre.
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! several movies
because of your late arrivals. I think you owe her an apology. And in the future, I
suggest you be on time!

C Supply the suitable form of the verbs in brackets: the past simple tense, present
perfect or past perfect:

1. When I ________(arrive) home last night, I discovered that Jane ________

(prepare) a beautiful candle-lit dinner.
2. Since I began acting, I _________ (perform) in two plays, a television commercial
and a TV drama. However, I ________ (speak, never even) publicly before I came
to Hollywood in 1985.
3. By the time I got to the office, the meeting _________ (begin, already) without
me. My boss _________ (be) furious with me and I _________ (be) fired.
4. When I _________ (turn) the radio on yesterday, I _________ (hear) a song that
was popular when I was in high school. I _________ (hear, not) the song in years,
and it _________ (bring) back some great memories.
5. Last week, I __________ (run) into an ex-girlfriend of mine. We __________ (see,
not) each other in years, and both of us _________ (change) a great deal. I
_________ (enjoy) talking to her so much that I _________ (ask) her out on a date.
We are getting together tonight for dinner.
6. When Jack _________ (enter) the room, I _________ (recognize, not) him because

22
The exercises B and C are taken from www.englishpage.com , Verb Tense Tutorial.

42
 he _________ (lose) so much weight and __________ (grow) a beard. He looked
totally different!
7. The Maya established a very advanced civilization in the jungles of the Yucatan;
however, their culture _________ (disappear, virtually) by the time Europeans first
_________ (arrive) in the New World.
8. I _________ (visit) so many beautiful places since I __________ (come) to Utah.
Before moving here, I _________ (hear, never) of Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches or
Canyon lands.

D Put the verbs in brackets into the right tense, continuous or non-continuous23:

1.a. Look, I (have) ______ two tickets for the circus.

1.b. Look, I (hold) ______ two tickets for the circus.
2.a. We (be) ______ there for more than half an hour by the time the show began.
2.b. We (wait) ______ there for more than half an hour by the time the show began.
3.a. Sam (sit) ______ in the seat next to me when the clown threw a bucket of water at
me.
3.b. Sam (be) ______ in the seat next to me when the clown threw a bucket of water
at me.
4.a. One clown was juggling while he (balance) ______a glass of wine on his head.
4.b. One clown was juggling while he (have) ______ a glass of wine on his head.
5.a. I (love) ______ the circus ever since I was a child.
5.b. I (go) ______ to the circus ever since I was a child.
6.a. Right now, I (see) ______ two elephants doing tricks in the ring.
6.b. Right now, I (look) ______ at two elephants doing tricks in the ring.

E24 Supply the right tense of the verbs in brackets, the Past Simple, Present Perfect
or Past Perfect tense:

1. When I (arrive) home last night, I discovered that Jane (prepare) a beautiful candle-
lit dinner.
2. Since I began acting, I (perform) in two plays, a television commercial and a TV
drama. However, I (speak, never even) publicly before I came to Hollywood in 1985.
3. By the time I got to the office, the meeting (begin, already) without me. My boss
(be) furious with me and I (be) fired.
4. When I (turn) the radio on yesterday, I (hear) a song that was popular when I was in
high school. I (hear, not) the song in years, and it (bring) back some great memories.
5. Last week, I (run) into an ex-girlfriend of mine. We (see, not) each other in years,
and both of us (change)
a great deal. I (enjoy) talking to her so much that I (ask) her out on a date. We are
getting together tonight for dinner.
6. When Jack (enter) the room, I (recognize, not) him because he (lose) so much
weight and (grow) a beard. He looked totally different!
7. The Maya established a very advanced civilization in the jungles of the Yucatan;
however, their culture (disappear, virtually) by the time Europeans first (arrive) in the

23
The exercise is taken from www.englishpage.com, Verb Tense Tutorial
24
Taken from www.englishpage.com, Verb Tense Tutorial

43
New World.
8. I (visit) so many beautiful places since I (come) to Utah. Before moving here, I
(hear, never) of Bryce Canyon, Zion, Arches or Canyonlands.

5.5 The Future

There are several ways of expressing future in English. They are listed below:

• The ‘future simple’ will/shall + infinitive

• The Future Continuous Tense
• The Future Perfect Tense
• The Present Continuous Tense
• The Simple Present Tense
• The be going to form
• The Future Perfect Continuous Tense
• To be + infinitive (for future plans)
• To be about + infinitive / to be on the point of + gerund

5.5.1 Future Simple

Form
The Future Simple is formed with will/shall and the infinitive
Affirmative Interrogative Negative
I will/I’ll play / I shall play Shall I play? I will not/won’t play/
You will/you’ll play Will you play? I shall not /I shan’t play
He will play Will he play? You will not/you won’t play
We will play/we’ll play/we shall play Shall we play? He will not/he won’t play
You will play Will they play? We will not/won’t play/we shall
They will play Will they play? not play /we shan’t play
You will not/ won’t play
They will not/won’t play

Negative interrogative: will he not/won’t he play? etc.

The Future Simple tense is used

• for actions that will take place some time in the future, i.e. when we express our
opinions, assumptions, speculations about the future or merely predict what will
happen. These may be introduced by verbs such as assume, believe, hope, expect,
doubt, be afraid, suppose, think etc:
I’ll meet you in the café tomorrow afternoon.
(I suppose) they will sell the house.
(I believe) he will join us for dinner.
• for future habitual actions which we assume will take place:
Spring will come again and birds will build nests.
They will build new blocks of flats in this area.
• for future (formal) arrangements:
The wedding will take place at the church.
• idiomatically, i.e. to express a habit or custom in the present:
Boys will be boys.

44
• in Type 1 conditionals and time clauses
If he decides to go, he’ll let us know.
When it gets warmer the snow will start to melt.
• in newspapers and news broadcasts, for formal announcements of future plans and
for weather forecasts. In conversation such statements would normally be
expressed by the present continuous or be going to form.
Newspapers: The President of the company will give a press release
tomorrow.
Sunny weather will persist in coastal areas.

Note25: The general rule of shall for the 1st person singular and plural and will for the
rest applies to British English. American English prefers will for all persons.

The use of first person will and shall

Formerly will was used for intention:

I will wait for you. (I intend to wait for you)
Shall was used when there was no intention of the speaker:
I shall be 25 next month.
We shall know the results next week.
Shall, used as above, is still found in formal English, but is o longer common in
conversation. Instead we usually used will:
I will be 25 next week.
We’ll know the results next week.
Shall is still used in interrogative:
Let’s take a taxi, shall we?
Shall we take a taxi?
Shall I take these to your room?
Shall is sometimes used to express determination of the speaker:
We shall fight and we shall win. (a speech)
I shall be there, I promise you.
Won’t can be used with all persons to express negative intention:
Little Tommy won’t do his homework. (meaning he refuses to do it)

5.5.2 Future Continuous Tense

Form
This tense is made up of the future simple of to be and the present participle. In the
first person, will is more usual than shall, except in the interrogative:
Affirmative I/we will/shall be working
He/she/it/you/they will be working
Interrogative Shall/will I/we be working?
will he/she/it/you/they be working?
Negative I/we will/shall not be working
He/she/it/you/they will not be working
Negative interrogative will he not/won’t he be working?

25
This is underlined by Grba, G. and Radovanovic, K. (1995:62).

45
The Future Continuous tense is used
• for actions that will be taking place and continuing at some point in future time:
At one o’clock I’ll be having lunch.
There is a suggestion of probability here. Sometimes we know a person’s habits so
well that we can almost say with certainty what he or she will be doing at a given time
in the future:
Mother will be coming to visit us for Christmas.
• for future arrangements:
He will be leaving at five.
• for polite questions:
Will you be seeing Mary tomorrow morning?
Note: In all these cases the Future Simple can be used, but the continuous tense
emphasizes continuity.

Exercises

A Put the verbs in brackets into the right form, either future simple or future
continuous tense26:

1. Sandra: Where is Tim going to meet us?

Marcus: He (wait) for us when our train arrives. I am sure he (stand) on the platform
when we pull into the station.
Sandra: And then what?
Marcus: We (pick) Michele up at work and go out to dinner.

2. Ted: When we get to the party, Jerry (watch) TV, Sam (make) drinks, Beth (dance)
by herself, and Thad (complain) about his day at work.
Robin: Maybe, this time they won't be doing the same things.
Ted: I am absolutely positive they (do) the same things; they always do the same
things.

3. Florence: Oh, look at that mountain of dirty dishes! Who (wash) all of those?
Jack: I promise I (do) them when I get home from work.
Florence: Thanks.
Jack: When you get home this evening, that mountain will be gone and nice stacks of
sparkling clean dishes (sit) in the cabinets.

4. Doug: If you need to contact me next week, I (stay) at the Hoffman Hotel.
Nancy: I (call) you if there are any problems.
Doug: This is the first time I have ever been away from the kids.
Nancy: Don't worry, they (be) fine.

5. Samantha: Just think, next week at this time, I (lie) on a tropical beach in Maui
drinking Mai Tai's and eating pineapple.
Darren: While you are luxuriating on the beach, I (stress) out over this marketing
project. How are you going to enjoy yourself knowing that I am working so hard.
Samantha: I 'll manage somehow.

26
www.englishpage.com, Verb Tense Tutorial

46
Darren: You're terrible. Can't you take me with you?
Samantha: No. But I (send) you a postcard of a beautiful, white-sand beach.
Darren: Great, that (make) me feel much better.

5.5.3 Future Perfect Tense

Form
The Future Perfect Tense is formed with will/shall and perfect infinitive
It is usually used
• with a time expressions beginning with by: by then, by that time, by the end of
the year, i.e. for actions that will have finished by or before a certain time in the
future:
They will have completed their French course by next spring.
When I leave school next June, I will have had English classes for eight years.
How many English books will you have read by that time?

Exercises

A Supply the Future Perfect Tense27:

1. Stay here five or ten minutes. The rain ___________ (stop) by then.
2. …he _________ (repair) the bike by five o’clock?
3. They _________ (clean) the room tomorrow before we come to class.
4. You _________ (hear), I expect, that Mary is going to be married.
5. It’s 10 o’clock. They __________ (get) home by now.
6. Before they leave, they __________ (visit) every museum in town.
7. By the end of this month they __________ (open) the new supermarket.
8. If you come this late tomorrow, we __________ (complete) the work alone.
9. By the time you arrive, they ___________ (eat) the whole pie without you.

5.5.4 The Simple Present used for the future

This tense can be used with a time expression for a definite future arrangement,
timetables, itineraries and schedules:
Catharine starts school on Monday.
The championship ends on August 29th.
The plane takes off at 5:30.
We leave at six, arrive in Dublin at ten and take the plane on…
Although the present continuous can be used for definite future arrangements, the
present simple sounds more formal.

27
The exercise is adapted from Grba, G. and Radovanovic K, (1995:66).

47
 Exercises

A Put the verbs in brackets into the right form, either simple present or future simple
tense:

1. Today after I (get) out of class, I (go) to a movie with some friends.
2. When you (arrive) in Stockholm, call my friend Gustav. He (show) you around the
city and help you get situated.
3. A: Do you know what you want to do after you (graduate)?
B: After I (receive) my Master's from Georgetown University, I (go) to graduate
school at UCSD in San Diego. I (plan) to complete a Ph.D. in cognitive science.
4. If it (snow) this weekend, we (go) skiing near Lake Tahoe.
5. Your father (plan) to pick you up after school today at 3:00 o'clock. He (meet) you
across the street near the ice cream shop. If something happens and he cannot be
there, I (pick) you up instead.
6. If the people of the world (stop, not) cutting down huge stretches of rain forest, we
(experience) huge changes in the environment during the twenty-first century.
7. If Vera (keep) drinking, she (lose, eventually) her job.
8. I promise you that I (tell, not) your secret to anybody. Even if somebody (ask) me
about what happened that day, I (reveal, not) the truth to a single person.
9. She (make) some major changes in her life. She (quit) her job and go back to
school. After she (finish) studying, she (get) a better paying job and buy a house.
She is going to improve her life!
10. Tom (call) when he (arrive) in Madrid. He (stay) with you for two or three days
until his new apartment (be) available.

5.5.5 The Present Continuous used as a future form

The present continuous can express a definite arrangement in the near future:
I am taking an exam in October. (this implies that I have entered for it)
When using this tense as a future form time must be mentioned, as other wise there
may be confusion between present and future. Also, future cannot be expressed in this
way with the verbs not normally used in the continuous form:
I am meeting him tonight but I will know tonight. Not I am knowing tonight.

5.5.6 The be going to form used as a future form

This form, be going to + the full infinitive, is used to express intention and prediction.
When it expresses the speaker’s intention to perform a certain action it is always
premeditated and there is the idea that some preparation for the action has been made.
I am going to meet Tom at the station at six.
But there is a difference between this form and present continuous when they express
future. While
I am meeting Tom at the station
implies that Tom and the speaker have made an arrangement to meet, in the
example:
I am going to meet Tom at the station at six.

48
 means that this is the speaker’s intention only and that Tom may get a
surprise.
When it is used for prediction, this form expresses the speaker’s feeling of
certainty. The time may not be mentioned, but the action is expected to happen in the
near or immediate future:
Look at the sky! It’s going to rain.
Listen to the wind. We’re going to have big waves on the beach.

5.5.7 The be + infinitive form

This form expresses some future formal arrangement or a command:
There is to be a meeting at ten.
You are to wait. That is an order.

5.5.8 The be about + infinitive form

This construction refers to the immediate future:
The fireworks are about to explode!

Exercises (different ways of expressing future)

A Put the verbs in brackets into the right form, either future simple or be going to
form28:

1. A: Why are you holding a piece of paper?

B: I (write) a letter to my friends back home in Texas.
2. A: I'm about to fall asleep. I need to wake up!
B: I (get) you a cup of coffee. That will wake you up.
3. A: I can't hear the television!
B: I (turn) it up so you can hear it.
4. We are so excited about our trip next month to France. We (visit) Paris, Nice and Grenoble.
5. Sarah (come) to the party. Oliver (be) there as well.
6. A: It is so hot in here!
B: I (turn) the air conditioning on.
7. I think he (be) the next President of the United States.
8. After I graduate, I (attend) medical school and become a doctor. I have wanted to be a
doctor all my life.
9. A: Excuse me, I need to talk to someone about our hotel room. I am afraid it is simply too
small for four people.
B: That man at the service counter (help) you.
10. As soon as the weather clears up, we (walk) down to the beach and go swimming.

B Put the verbs in brackets into the right form, either future simple or be going to
form29:

1. Mark: What are you doing with those scissors?

Beth: I (cut) that picture of the ocean out of the travel magazine.
Mark: What (you, do) with it?
Beth: I (paint) a water colour of the ocean for my art class, and I thought I could use

28
Adapted from www.englishpage.com, Verb Tense Tutorial.
29
Exercises B, C and D are taken from www.englishpage.com, Verb Tense Tutorial.

49
this photograph as a model.

2. Mark: (You, do) me a favour Sam?

Sam: Sure, what do you want me to do?
Mark: I (change) the broken light bulb in the lamp above the dining room table. I need
someone to hold the ladder for me while I am up there.
Sam: No problem, I (hold) it for you.

3. Gina: Where are you going?

Ted: I (go) to the store to pick up some groceries.
Gina: What (you, get)?
Ted: I (buy) some milk, some bread, and some coffee.

4. John: Wow, it's freezing out there.

Jane: I (make) some coffee to warm us up. Do you want a piece of pie as well?
John: Coffee sounds great! But I (have) dinner with some friends later, so I'd better
skip the pie.
Jane: I (go) to dinner tonight too, but I'm having a piece of pie anyway.

5. Frank: I heard you're taking a Spanish class at the community college.

Tom: Yeah, I (go) to Guatemala next spring and I thought knowing a little Spanish
would make the trip easier.
Frank: I (visit) my brother in Marseilles next year. Maybe I should take a French
class.
Tom: I have a course catalogue in the other room. I (go) get it, and we can see
whether or not they're offering a French course next semester.

6. Michael: Do you think the Republicans or the Democrats (win) the next election?
Jane: I think the Republicans (win) the next election.
John: No way! The Democrats (win).

7. Susan: We (go) camping this weekend. Would you like to come along?
Sam: That sounds great, but I don't have a sleeping bag.
Susan: No problem. I (lend) you one. My family has tons of camping gear.

8. Barbara: I (buy) a new car this weekend, but I'm a little worried because I don't
really know much about cars. I'm afraid the salesman (try) to take advantage of me
when he sees how little I know.
Dave: I used to work for a mechanic in high school and I know a lot about cars. I (go)
with you to make sure you are not cheated.

9. Gina: Fred and I (visit) Santa Fe next summer. Have you ever been there?
Margaret: My family lives in Santa Fe! I (give) you my parents' phone number. When
you get to Santa Fe, just call them and they (give) you a little tour of the town. They
can show you some of the sights that most tourists never see.

10. Pam: Can you see my future in the crystal ball? What (happen) next year?
Fortune Teller: You (meet) a man from the East Coast, perhaps New York or maybe
Boston. You (marry) that mystery man.
Pam: Forget the man! I want to know if I (get) a new job.

50
C Put the verbs in brackets into the right form: the simple present, future simple,
present continuous or future continuous tense:

1. Right now I am watching T.V. Tomorrow at this time, I (watch) __________ T.V.
as well.
2. Tomorrow after school, I (go)__________ to the beach.
3. I am going on a dream vacation to Tahiti. While you (do) __________ paperwork
and (talk) __________ to annoying customers on the phone, I (lie) __________ on a
sunny, tropical beach. Are you jealous?
4. We (hiding) __________ when Tony (arrives) __________ at his surprise party. As
soon as he opens the door, we (jump) __________ out and (scream) __________ ,
"Surprise!"
5. We work out at the fitness centre everyday after work. If you (come) __________
over while we (work) __________ out, we will not be able to let you into the house.
Just to be safe, we (leave) __________ a key under the welcome mat so you will not
have to wait outside.
6. While you (study) __________ at home, Magda (be) __________ in class.
7. When I (get) __________ to the party, Sally and Doug (dance) __________ , John
(make) __________ drinks, Sue and Frank (discuss) __________ something
controversial, and Mary (complain) __________ about something unimportant. They
are always doing the same things. They are so predictable.
8. When you (get) __________off the plane, I (wait) __________ for you.
9. I am sick of rain and bad weather! Hopefully, when we (wake) __________ up
tomorrow morning, the sun (shine) __________ .
10. If you (need) __________ to contact me sometime next week, I (stay)
__________ at the Sheraton in San Francisco.

D Cumulative Verb Tense Review: put the verbs in brackets into the right form30:

1. You look really great! (You, exercise) at the fitness center?

2. A: What (you, do) when the accident occurred?
B: I (try) to change a light bulb that had burnt out.
3. I (have) the same car for more than ten years. I'm thinking about buying a new one.
4. If it (snow) this weekend, we (go) skiing near Lake Tahoe.
5. A: What do you call people who work in libraries?
B: They (call) librarians.
6. I came to England six months ago. I started my economics course three months
ago. When I return to Australia, I (study) for nine months and I (be) in England for
exactly one year.
7. Sam (arrive) in San Diego a week ago.
8. Samantha (live) in Berlin for more than two years. In fact, she (live) there when the
Berlin wall came down.
9. If Vera (keep) drinking, she (lose, eventually) her job.
10. The Maya established a very advanced civilization in the jungles of the Yucatan;
however, their culture (disappear, virtually) by the time Europeans first (arrive) in
the New World.
11. Shhhhh! Be quiet! John (sleep).

30
Taken from www.englishpage.com, Cumulative verb tense review, Verb tense practice test

51
12. It (rain) all week. I hope it stops by Saturday because I want to go to the beach.
13. Listen Donna, I don't care if you (miss) the bus this morning. You (be) late to
work too many times. You are fired!
14. I am sick of rain and bad weather! Hopefully, when we (wake) up tomorrow
morning, the sun (shine).
15. I have not traveled much yet; however, I (visit) the Grand Canyon and San
Francisco by the time I leave the United States.
16. I (see) many pictures of the pyramids before I went to Egypt. Pictures of the
monuments are very misleading. The pyramids are actually quite small.
17. In the last hundred years, traveling (become) much easier and very comfortable. In
the 19th century, it (take) two or three months to cross North America by covered
wagon. The trip (be) very rough and often dangerous. Things (change) a great deal
in the last hundred and fifty years. Now you can fly from New York to Los
Angeles in a matter of hours.
18. Joseph's English (improve, really), isn't it? He (watch) American television
programs and (study) his grammar every day since he first arrived in San Diego.
Soon he will be totally fluent.
19. When I (arrive) home last night, I discovered that Jane (prepare) a beautiful
candle-lit dinner.
20. If you (need) to contact me sometime next week, I (stay) at the Sheraton in San
Francisco.

E Cumulative Verb Tense Review: put the verbs in brackets into the right form31:

1. When Carol (call) last night, I (watch) my favorite show on television.

2. I (work) for this company for more than thirty years, and I intend to stay here until I
retire!
3. Sharon (love) to travel. She (go) abroad almost every summer. Next year, she plans
to go to Peru.
4. Thomas is an author. He (write) mystery novels and travel memoirs. He (write)
since he was twenty-eight. Altogether, he (write) seven novels, three collections of
short stories and a book of poetry.
5. We were late because we had some car problems. By the time we (get) to the train
station, Susan (wait)
for us for more than two hours.
6. Sam (try) to change a light bulb when he (slip) and (fell).
7. Everyday I (wake) up at 6 o'clock, (eat) breakfast at 7 o'clock and (leave) for work
at 8 o'clock. However, this morning I (get) up at 6:30, (skip) breakfast and (leave)
for work late because I (forget) to set my alarm.
8. Right now, Jim (read) the newspaper and Kathy (make) dinner. Last night at this
time, they (do) the same thing. She (cook) and he (read) the newspaper. Tomorrow
at this time, they (do, also) the same thing. She (prepare) dinner and he (read). They
are very predictable people!
9. By this time next summer, you (complete) your studies and (find) a job. I, on the
other hand, (accomplish, not) anything. I (study, still) and you (work) in some new
high paying job.
10.The students (be, usually) taught by Mrs. Monty. However, this week they (be)

31
Taken from www.englishpage.com, Cumulative verb tense review, Verb tense final test

52
taught by Mr. Tanzer.

11. Jane talks on the phone.

Bob has been talking on the phone for an hour.
Mary is talking on the phone.
Who is not necessarily on the phone now?

12. I'm going to make dinner for Frank.

I'm making dinner for Judy.
I'll make dinner for Mary.
I make dinner for Ted.
I will be making dinner for Tony.
Who are you offering to make dinner for?

13.Jane left when Tim arrived.

Bob left when Tim had arrived.
Tim arrived when Mary was leaving.
John had left when Tim arrived.
After Tim arrived, Frank left.
Who did not run into Tim?

14.Jane is talking in class.

Bob always talks in class.
Mary is always talking in class.
Whose action bothers you?

15.Jane never left Jamestown.

Bob has never left Jamestown.
Who is still alive?

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 6 Modal verbs

Modal or defective verbs are a group of verbs that have certain characteristics
which they, and they only possess and which distinguish them from all other verbs.
Modals are: can, could, may, might, shall, should, will, would, must, need, dare,
used to, ought to. They are all followed by the infinitive of some other verb, they
form the interrogative by means of inversion and they form negative forms by adding
not.

The basic uses if the modal CAN are to express:

• ability
Little Tommy can swim.
• lack of ability:
She cannot dance.
We can say that somebody is able to do something, but can is more usual:
We are able to see the sea from our front-room window.
• permission (informal)
Can I use your bicycle? (Do I have your permission?)
• lack of permission, i.e. prohibition:
You can’t have my skates! (You don’t have my permission)
The phrases to be allowed to and to be permitted to are also used to express
permission.
The students are not allowed to smoke in the classrooms.
• possibility
This project can be realized in less than two months.
• impossibility
I’m afraid this watch can’t be repaired.
• a characteristic or quality that shows itself occasionally:
It can show a lot here during January and February.
Madrid can be extremely hot in August.
She can be unpleasant when she wants to.
• disbelief, when used in its negative form
It just can’t be raining again!

The modal COULD is used to denote:

• ability in the past
Little Tommy could swim when he was five.
We also use could to say that somebody had the general ability or permission to do
something:
My grandfather could speak five several languages.
During the summer holiday we were free. We could do what we wanted.
• lack of ability in the past
Although I spoke little Italian, I couldn’t understand a word the man was
saying.
• We use could for general ability, but if we want to say that somebody did

54
something in a specific situation or that some action was successfully completed at
one specific moment, we use was/were able to or managed to:
Having practiced daily, Barry was able to (managed to) win the race.
The fire was spreading so quickly that at that moment, but luckily all the
people managed to escape.

The difference in meaning could be seen in the following two examples:

Paul was an excellent chess player in his early twenties, he could beat
anybody.
Paul and my father played chess yesterday. Paul played very well, but father
managed to beat him.
In the negative either wasn’t able to or couldn’t may be used:
My grandfather couldn’t swim.
Last time Paul played very well and father couldn’t beat him.
• permission
Could I borrow your dictionary? (Do I have your permission?)
• lack of permission in the past:
The children couldn’t stay out late last night. (They didn’t have my
permission)
• possibility
He could drop by this evening. (this is possible)
• Impossibility in the past
We couldn’t cross to the other side because the wooden bridge was destroyed
by the river. (it was impossible)
• a characteristic or quality showing itself occasionally, but in the past:
He could sit in the corner doing nothing for hours.
In comparison with can, could expresses actions which are less realistic, for example:
I can stay with Pierre when I go to France. (realistic)
Maybe I could stay with Pierre when I go to France. (possible, but less
realistic)
• disbelief
It just couldn’t be true! (It’s hard to believe)

The modal MAY is used to express

• permission (used in this sense, may sounds more formal than can)
May I take your umbrella?
My husband may take a day off whenever he wants.
• prohibition
That’s enough Tommy, you may not have another ice-cream.
The phrases to be allowed to and to be permitted to are also used to express
permission or prohibition.
We were not allowed/permitted to enter without an invitation.
Will I be allowed/permitted to enter without an invitation?
• possibility
She may come before dinner. (this is possible)

The modal MIGHT is used to express:

• permission (sounds more formal and more polite than may)
Might I ask you a question?

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• possibility (expresses less of a possibility than may)
This is what I believe to be the truth. Of course, I might be wrong.
It might rain, but … I think we can go on with the game outside.
The modal MUST is used to express:
• A necessity or obligation
You must be in your office before nine in the morning.
Don’t tell anybody what I said. You must keep it a secret.

• Strong probability / logical conclusion

He must be home by now! (This is very probable)
You’ve been travelling all day. You must be tired.

• Prohibition
You mustn’t go out without a coat.
You must keep it a secret. You mustn’t tell anybody else.
Since must has no infinitive or participial forms, we use the phrase have to:
We had to wait for ages. (It was necessary for us to wait)
He has had to wear glasses for several years.
They will have to do the test again.
The phrase have to expresses external obligation or necessity to do something. But,
we use must to give our own opinion (for example, to say what we think is necessary,
or to recommend someone to do something, i.e. must expresses obligation or
compulsion from the speaker’s viewpoint).
I haven’t spoken to Mary for ages. I must phone her. (I say this is necessary)
Mark is a really nice person. You must meet him ( I recommend this)

We use have to (not must) to say what someone is obliged to do. The speaker is not
giving his/her opinion:
I have to work from 8.30 to 5.30 every day. (a fact, not an opinion)
Jane has to travel a lot for her work.

The difference in meaning between must and have to can be easily seen in the
following examples:
You must go now. ( It’s late and I want to go to bed.)
What a pity you have to go now. (It’s time for you to catch your train.)
He must stay the night. (I/we press him to do so.)
He has to stay the night. (He can’t get back tonight, there are no trains.)
Must is often used in written rules and instructions:
Applications for the job must be received by 18 May.
(exam instructions) You must write your answers in ink.

The verb NEED can be used both as a lexical (full) verb and a modal. In both cases it
expresses:
• necessity / obligation
Need I sign my name? (Is it necessary?)
• absence of necessity or obligation
She needn’t do any extra work. (It isn’t necessary)
• When used as a lexical or full verb, need has the usual negative and question
forms:

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 I need to see you right away. Do they need to buy food?
He doesn’t need to go yet.
But in the interrogative and negative forms it can also appear as a modal:
He needn’t telephone. Need you make so much noise?

Full form Modal

You don’t need to tell me. You needn’t tell me.
Does he really need to go? Need he really go?
Yes, he does. Yes, he must.
No, he doesn’t. No, he needn’t.

NEEDN’T (don’t have to) / MUSTN’T

While the first example expresses the absence of obligation, the second one expresses
prohibition:
You must hurry, but you needn’t run. (It isn’t necessary to run.)
You must hurry, but you mustn’t run. (Running is prohibited.)
Here are some more examples:
You don’t have to tell him, but you can if you want to.
I don’t have to be at the meeting, but I’ll go anyway.
I promised I would be on time. I mustn’t be late.
This year I must book my holiday far in advance.

SHALL and WILL are used to

• refer to events that will happen some time in the future, and as such, they form the
Simple Future Tense:
Katarina will be ten next October.
The performance will begin at 9 p.m.
• express willingness or unwillingness to do something:
I’ll do my best to help you. (I am willing to do this.)
He won’t drive when he is tired.
• make polite requests or suggestions:
Shall I call a taxi for you?
Shall I open the window?
Will you have some more coffee?
• express determination or insistence:
You shall do as you are told.
I will come back some day. (determination)

Besides its usage in conditional sentences and reported speech, the modal SHOULD
can express:
• a duty or obligation
I should tidy my room one of these days.
You shouldn’t talk to your father like that.
Should is not as strong as must or have to. So when we say: ‘You should apologize’,
we mean it would be a good thing to do, but it’s up to you to decide.
• probability
He should be in his office by this time. (but the speaker is less certain than
when he uses must)

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• suggestion
You look tired. You should go to bed.
If you don’t feel well, you should see the doctor.
• someone’s expectations
She’s been studying hard for the exam, so she should pass.
(I expect her to pass)
There are plenty of hotels in the town. It shouldn’t be difficult to find
somewhere to stay. (I don’t expect it to be difficult).

Besides its usage in conditional sentences and reported speech, the modal WOULD
can be used to:
• express willingness:
Would you mind not smoking in here? (Are you willing …?)
• make polite suggestions and requests
Would you like something to drink?
Would you be so kind as to remove your hat? I can’t see the stage.
• Express habitual activity in the past
When we were kids, my brother would take me to all sorts of places, and we
would always be together. (He did that every time).
The construction used to with the infinitive also refers to the repeated past activity,
but it implies that the activity no longer happens:
She used to visit us quite often when she lived in the neighbourhood.
Would is used after ‘wish’ and ‘if only’ to express wishful thinking about the future:
I wish he would stop being such a nuisance!
If only she would come on time!

The modal OUGHT TO is mostly used to express

• A duty or obligation (more of an obligation than should but less than must):
You ought to be careful when coming back home alone. (This is good advice.)
• Possibility
Tom and his wife ought to be on their honeymoon by now. They got married
last Sunday and went to some islands. (This is possible)

The verb DARE can be used both as a lexical (full) verb with the usual negative and
interrogative forms, but it could also be used as a modal:
She doesn’t dare to go out alone. Does she dare go out alone?
She dare not go out alone. Dare she go out alone?
In both cases dare means ‘to have the courage to do something’.

The verb USED TO has only one form, the past tense. It is used to contrast past and
present, to express something that existed or was done in the past (generally a
repeated action), but no longer exists or is done now:
That is the house where we used to live. (but we don’t live there any longer)
He used to smoke fifty cigarettes a day. (but he doesn’t do so now)

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 Exercises

A Complete the sentences using can or be able to. Use can if possible; otherwise use
be able to:

1. Gary has travelled a lot. He can speak five languages.

2. I haven’t been able to sleep very well recently.
3. Nicole _______________ drive, but she hasn’t got a car.
4. I used to _________________ stand on my head, but I can’t do it now.
5. I can’t understand Martin. I’ve never ___________________ understand him.
6. I can’t see you on Friday, but I ____________________ meet you on Saturday
morning.
7. Ask Katherine about your problem. She might ___________________ help you.

B Complete the sentences using could, couldn’t or managed to:

1. My grandfather travelled a lot. He could speak five languages.

2. I looked everywhere for the book, but I couldn’t find it.
3. They didn’t want to come with us at first, but we managed to persuade them.
4. Laura had hurt her leg and _____________________ walk very well.
5. Sue wasn’t at home when I phoned, but I ______________________ contact her at
her office.
6. I looked very carefully and I _______________________ see somebody in the
distance.
7. I wanted to buy some tomatoes. The first shop I went to didn’t have any, but I
___________________ get some in the next shop.
8. My grandmother loved music. She ____________________ play the piano very
well.
9. A girl fell into the river, but fortunately we __________________ rescue her.
10. I had forgotten to bring my camera, so I ____________________ take any
photographs.

C Put in must or can’t:

1 You’ve been travelling all day. You must be tired.

2 The restaurant __________be very good. It’s always full of people.
3 The restaurant __________ be very good. It’s always empty.
4 I’m sure I gave you the key. You _________ have it. Have you looked in your bag?
5 You’re going on holiday next week. You ________be looking forward to it.
7 Congratulations! On passing your exam. You ________ be very pleased.
8 You got here very quickly. You ________ have walked very fast.
9 Bill and Sue always travel business class, so they ________ be short of money.

D Complete each sentence with a verb in the correct form:

1 ‘Where’s Sam?’ “I’m not sure. He might be having lunch.’

2 ‘Who is that man with Emily?’ “I’m not sure. It might _________ her brother.’

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3 A: Who was the man we saw with Anna yesterday?
B: I’m not sure. It may ________ her brother.
4 A: What are those people doing by the side of the road?
B: I don’t know. They might _____________ for a bus.
5 ‘Do you have a stamp?’ ‘No, but ask Simon He may ___________ one.’

E Complete the sentences using might be able to or might have to + a suitable word:

1. I can’t help you, but why don’t you ask Jane? She might be able to help you.
2. I can’t meet you this evening, but I ________________________ you tomorrow.
3. I’m not working on Saturday, but I ________________________ on Sunday.
4. I can come to the meeting, but I ________________________ before the end.

F In some of these sentences, must is wrong or unnatural. Correct the sentences

where necessary:

1. It’s later than I thought. I must go. OK (have to is also correct)

2. I must work every day from 8.30 to 5.30. I have to work……………____
3. You must come and see us again soon. _____________________
4. Tom can’t meet us tomorrow. He must work. _____________________
5. I must work late yesterday evening. _____________________
6. I must get up early tomorrow. I have lots to do. _____________________
7. Julia wears glasses. She must wear glasses since _____________________
she was very young.

G Complete the sentences with mustn’t or don’t/doesn’t have to:

1. I don’t want anyone to know about our plan. You mustn’t tell anyone.
2. Richard doesn’t have to wear a suit to work, but he usually does.
3. I can stay in bed tomorrow morning because I __________________ go to work.
4. Whatever you do, you ___________________ touch that switch. It’s very
dangerous.
5. There’s a lift in the building, so we __________________ climb the stairs.
6. You _________________ forget what I told you. It’s very important.
7. Sue __________________ get up early, but she usually does.
8. Don’t make so much noise. We _____________________ wake the children.
9. I _____________________ eat too much. I’m supposed to be on a diet.
10. You _____________________ be a good player to enjoy a game of tennis.

H Complete the sentences with must, mustn’t or needn’t:

1. We haven’t got mush time. We must hurry.

2. We’ve got plenty of time. We needn’t hurry.
3. We have got food at home, so we _____________ go shopping today.
4. Gary gave me a letter to post. I _____________ remember to post it.
5. Gary gave me a letter to post. I _____________ forget to post it.

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6. There’s plenty of time for you to make up your mind. You _____________ decide
now.
7. You ____________ wash those tomatoes. They’ve already been washed.
8. This is a valuable book. You _____________ look after it carefully and you
____________ lose it.
9. A: What sort of house do you want to buy? Something big?
B: Well, it ______________ be big– that’s not so important. But it _______________
have a nice garden – that’s essential.

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 7 Passive Voice

If the person or thing denoted by the subject of a sentence is the doer of the
action, then that form of the verb is the active voice:
The boy broke the window. (active voice)
If the person or thing denoted by the subject of a sentence is the receiver or sufferer of
the action, than the form of the verb is the passive voice:
The window was broken by the boy. (passive voice)
The passive voice is formed by the appropriate tense of the verb to be and the past
participle of the main verb.

active passive:
BE + past participle
of the main verb
infinitive to make to be made
the present simple tense John makes it. It is made.
the present Continuous Tense John is making it. It is being made.
the past simple tense John made it. It was made.
the past continuous tense John was making it. It was being made.
the present perfect tense John has made it. It has been made.
the past perfect tense John had made it. It had been made.
the future tense John will make it. It will be made.
modals in the passive John could make it. It could be made.

The passive voice is not merely a transformation from the active voice, able to
replace it without any change of meaning. There is a difference of emphasis. When
we want to emphasize the performer of the action, we generally use the active voice;
when we want to emphasize the action, or the receiver of the action, we use the
passive voice. For example in the sentence:
John is rewriting the text.
Our interest is on John, and the sentence could be an answer to the question: ‘What is
John doing?’
On the other hand, in the sentence:
The text is being rewritten by John.
The emphasis is on the text and the fact that it is being rewritten. Thus, this sentence
could be an answer to the question: ‘What is happening to the text?’ We are also not
concerned with who is doing it and the agent could easily be omitted. This is
particularly the case when the agent is vague, unimportant or unknown. For example,
in turning the following sentence from active to passive voice:
People in Japan make good cars.
The answer should be:
Good cars are made in Japan. NOT
Good cars are made in Japan by people.

Sometimes it is necessary to mention the agent of the action in order to make

the meaning clear:
The lectures were organized by the Department of Latin American studies.
As it could be seen from the chart, the modal verbs are followed by the passive
infinitive:
The earthquake could have destroyed the whole village.
The whole village could have been destroyed by the earthquake.

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 They may cancel my trip to New York.
My trip to New York may be cancelled.

Someone should deal with this problem.

This problem should be dealt with.
As it could be seen from the previous example, if the verb is followed by a
preposition or an adverb in the active sentence, it must be retained in passive, as well.
Impersonal constructions in the passive are often used with the following
verbs: say, think, feel, expect, know, believe, understand, consider, find, report,
suppose. Here are some examples:
People say that he is a talented actor.
It is said that he is a very talented actor. or
He is said to be a very talented actor.

Notice on a Melbourne coast:

We expect the penguins to arrive about 8 p.m.
The penguins are expected to arrive about 8 p.m.
If the idea we are talking about refers to an earlier state or action, then the perfect
infinitive is used:
People believe that he improved the company operations.
He is believed to have improved the company operations.

We use the construction have something done to say that we arrange for somebody
else to do something for us. Thus, there is a difference in meaning in
Tom repaired the gate. , meaning that he did it himself, whereas in the
sentence:
Tom had the gate repaired. It is clearly indicated that he arranged for
somebody else to repair it. We should be careful with the word order, because the past
participle comes after the object in this construction:

have object past participle

Tom had the roof repaired.
Where will you have your hair cut?
They are having their living-room redecorated at the moment.
How often do you have your car serviced?

We can also say ‘get something done’, instead of ‘have something done’
mostly in informal spoken English:
I really think you should get your hair cut shortly, Bob!
Sometimes the construction ‘have/get something done’ is used to denote the
action that happens to somebody or their belongings without their will, i.e. they have
not arranged for this to happen:
They got all their money stolen while they were on holiday in Barcelona.

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 Exercises:

A Complete the sentences using one of these verbs in the correct form, present or
past:
cause damage hold invite make
overtake show surround translate write
1. Many accidents are caused by dangerous driving.
2. Cheese ____________________ from milk.
3. The roof of the building ___________________________ in a storm a few days
ago.
4. You ____________________________ to the wedding. Why didn’t you go?
5. A cinema is a place where films __________________.
6. In the United States, elections for president ____________________ every four
years.
7. Originally the book _______________________ in Spanish, and a few years ago it
____________________ into English.
8. Although we were driving quite fast, we ____________________ by a lot of other
cars.
9. You can’t see the house from the road. It ____________________ by trees.

B Rewrite these sentences. Instead of using somebody, they, people etc., write a
passive sentence:

1. Somebody cleans these offices every day. The offices are cleaned every day.
2. They cancelled all the flights because of the fog. All ….
3. People don’t use this road much. This road….
4. Somebody accused John of stealing money. John ….
5. How do people learn languages? How…
6. Somebody warned the tourists not to go a guide. The tourists….

C Make sentences from the words in brackets. Sometimes the verb is active,
sometimes passive:

1. There’s somebody behind us. (I think /we/ follow) I think we’re being followed.
2. The room looks different. (you / paint / the walls?) Have you painted the walls?
3. My umbrella has disappeared. (it /steal!) It _______________________________.
4. Sally gets a higher salary now. (she / promote) She ________________________.
5. We can’t use our office at the moment. (it /redecorate) It_____________________.
6. I wonder how Jane is these days. ( I / not / see /for ages)_____________________.
7. The photocopies broke down yesterday, but now it’s OK. (it/work/again; it/repair).
It _____________________. It ______________________________.

D Write the sentences in another way, beginning with the words provided:

1. They didn’t give me the information I needed.

I wasn’t given the information I needed.
2. The asked me some difficult questions at the interview.
I ___________________________________________

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3. Tom’s colleagues gave him a present when he retired.
Tom ________________________________________
4. Nobody informed us about the meeting.
We _________________________________________
5. How much will they pay you or the work?
How much will you ____________________________
6. Has anybody told you what to do?
Have you ____________________________________

E We can use get instead of be in the passive, so in the sentence:

There was a fight at the party, but nobody was hurt.
was could be replaced by got: ….., but nobody got hurt.
Complete the sentences using get/got + the following verbs:
ask damage hurt pay steal stop use

1. They was a car crash at the crossroads yesterday morning, but luckily nobody got
killed.
2. These tennis courts don’t __________________ very often. Not many people want
to play.
3. I used to have a bicycle, but it ___________ a few months ago.
4. You work hard, but you don’t ________________ very much, do you?
5. Last night I ____________________ by the police as I was driving home. They
were looking for someone.
6.xPlease pack these things very carefully. I don’t want them to
____________________.
7 People often want to know what my job is. I often ____________________
that question.

F Write these sentences in another way, beginning as shown. Use the underlined
word each time:

1. It is expected that the strike will end soon. The strike is expected to end soon.
2. It is expected that the weather will be good tomorrow.
The weather is ________________________________________
3. It is believed that the thieves got in through a window in the roof.
The thieves ___________________________________________
4. It is thought that the prisoner escaped by climbing over a wall.
The prisoner __________________________________________
5. It is reported that the building has been badly damaged by the fire.
The building __________________________________________
6. It is said that the company is losing a lot of money.
The company _________________________________________
7. It is believed that the company lost a lot of money last year.
The company _________________________________________

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G Use the words in brackets to complete the sentences. Use the structure have
something done:

1. We are having the house painted (the house / paint) at the moment.
2. I lost my key. I’ll have to _________________________ (another key / make)
3. When was the last time you ________________________ ( your hair / cut)?
4. This coat looks dirty. You must _______________________ (it / clean).
5. If you want to wear earrings, why don’t you __________________________ (your
ears / pierce)?
6. Gary was in a fight last night. He _______________________ (his nose / break)
7. Did I tell you about Jane? She ___________________________ (her handbag /
steal) last week.

H Rewrite the following sentences using the correct form of have + an object + the
past participle of an appropriate verb:

1. The hairdresser cut my hair last week.

I _________________________________
2. Some painters are painting the Wilson’s house.
The Wilsons ________________________
3. The tailor has turned my trousers up.
I _________________________________
4. A pickpocket stole my friend’s wallet.
My friend __________________________
5. A photographer took a photo of us.
We _______________________________
6. An optician tested my eyes.
I ________________________________
7. The dry-cleaner is cleaning my new jacket.
I ________________________________
8. A repairman has fixed our refrigerator.
We ______________________________
9. The man from the supermarket delivers their groceries.
They ____________________________
10.There’s something wrong with my car. The mechanic is going to service it next
week.
I ______________________________

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 8 Direct and Indirect Speech

There are two ways of reporting or repeating someone else’s words in

communication. When we use someone’s exact words, we use the direct speech. In
writing these words are put between inverted commas. In indirect speech we give the
same meaning, we retell someone’s words, but repeat them in a different form from
their original. Indirect speech is not separated by inverted commas in writing.
’Don’t leave your wet umbrella on the table’, the man said. (Direct speech)
The man told me not to leave my wet umbrella on the table. (Indirest speech)
Reporting someone’s words from direct to indirect speech involves many
changes. When the reporting verb is in one of the present tenses (The Present Simple,
Present Continuous, Present Perfect) or future tenses, there is no change of tense in
the words reported. There is only the necessary change of pronoun:
’I would like to come with you.’
Mary says (that) she would like to come with us.

‘We live in a small house in the suburb.’

Josh says that they live in a small house in the suburb.

Statements in Indirect Speech have the same meaning as in Direct Speech, but
they are only given in a different form from those originally spoken. When turning
direct statements into indirect ones a change may occur in
a) punctuation
b) pronouns
c) the conjunction that may appear joining direct statements and indirect forms:
If the reporting verb is in the repent or future tenses there is no change of tense in the
reported words:
“I know this is our great chance.”
Ann says (that) she knows this is our great chance.

“Tom lost one of my books and never apologized.”

Ann says (that) Tom lost one of her books and never apologized.
When direct Questions are turned into an indirect questions:
-the interrogative construction of the direct question is replaced by the statement
construction in the indirect question;
-the connective joining the indirect question to the principal clause is if or whether,
except when the direct question begins with an interrogative such as Who? What?
Why? etc., in which case this interrogative is the connective.
“Is Charles your brother?”
Ann wants to know if Charles is my brother.
“Where do you live?”
The girl asks me where I live.

In indirect questions there is not much difference in meaning between whether

and if: He asked me if (whether) I had seen the film.
Whether usually expresses a doubt and an alternative possibility or a choice
between two alternatives:
I don’t know whether I should go or stay here.
Whether is also used before an infinitive:
She hasn’t decided whether to sail or fly to America.

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 When a direct Command is turned into an indirect one, the following changes
occur:
-the verbs used are: order, command, tell, ask, request;
-a direct object representing the person ordered is introduced;
-the imperative form of the verb in the direct command becomes the corresponding
infinitive;
“Go away!” He orders us to go away.
OFFICER: (to soldiers): Fire!
The officer commands the soldiers to fire.

“Don’t all answer at once”.

The teacher tells them not to answer all at once.

When the reporting verb is in the past tense, all the verbs in direct speech are changed
to their corresponding past form. There are also changes of other parts of speech
(pronouns, adverbs).
“Are you coming with us tomorrow?”
Tom asked Ann if she was coming with them the next day.
“The guests left yesterday.”
The receptionist said that the guests had left the day before.

When the reporting verb is in the past tense (He said that…) all the verbs in
direct speech are generally (but not always) replaced by corresponding verbs in the
past tense. The changes are:

Tense Tense
PRESENT SIMPLE PAST SIMPLE
PRESENT CONTINUOUS PAST CONTINUOUS
PRESENT PERFECT PAST PERFECT
becomes
PAST SIMPLE PAST PERFECT
FUTURE TENSE FUTURE IN THE PAST
shall and will should and would

Examples:

Direct
I write home every week.
I am going to the supermarket.
We have just arrived.
I wrote a letter to my brother.
They will join us on Friday.
Indirect
She said that she wrote home every week.
He said that he was going to the
supermarket.
She said they had just arrived.
She said that she had written a letter to her
brother.
He said that they would join them on
Friday.

When a statement or question is reported at a later time, other non-verbal changes

may be necessary. Thus, the words denoting ‘nearness’ become the corresponding
words denoting remoteness:

Direct speech Indirect speech

today the same day/that day
tomorrow the next/following day

68
 next week/year the following week/year
yesterday the day before
last month / year the month /year before
here there
(two weeks) ago (two weeks) before
this/these that/those
now immediately /then

For example:
“I saw the boy here in this room today.”
He said that he had seen the boy there, in that room that day.
“I spoke to them yesterday”.
He said that he had spoken to them the day before.

In some cases verbs do not change their tense when they are put into reported speech:
• verbs in past tenses after wish, would rather, as if, as though, it’s time
“I wish you were here.”
He said (that) he wished you were there.
“It’s time we took some serious measures”.
She said (that) it was time they took some serious measures.

• the verbs might, could, should, ought to, had better, used to:
“He might come today”. She said (that) he might come that day.
“We had better leave now” She said (that) they had better leave then.

• the verbs in Type 2 and 3 conditionals:

“I would help them if they asked me”
She said that she would help them if they asked her.

“I would have helped them if they had asked me”.

She said that she would have helped them if they had asked her.

It is not always necessary to change the verb in reported speech. If you report
something and the situation ‘hasn’t changed’, you do not need to change the verb to
the past:
Paul said: ”My new job is very interesting.”
Paul said that his new job is very interesting.
(The situation hasn’t changed. The job is still interesting.)
You can also change the verb to the past:
Paul said that his new job was very interesting.

Exercises

A Put the following sentences into Reported Speech, introducing them with a verb in
the Present, present Perfect, or Future Tenses:

1. I am going to town with my sister.

2. I want to speak to you.
3. He is ready to some with us.

69
4. I have been shopping all the morning.
5. You can do it if you try.
6. We are living in another house now.

B Put the following sentences into Reported Speech, introducing them with a verb in
the Past Tense:

1. I met him last year.

2. They will be here soon.
3. She’s just been to the butchers.
4. The clock will never work again if you try to mend it.
5. I shall try to be in time today. I’m sorry I forgot to come yesterday.
6. Tommy hasn’t done his homework.
7. I’ve sold all those you gave me yesterday.
8. She’ll be here in half an hour and she isn’t late.

C Put the following sentences into Reported Speech, introducing them with a verb in
the Past Tense:

1. How did you do that? (They wanted to know…)

2. Why are you so sad?
3. Which book is she taking?
4. When are you beginning your holiday?
5. Why hasn’t he not eaten anything?
6. Are you enjoying yourself?
7. Do you sleep in the afternoon?
8. Did the greengrocer have any fresh vegetables?
9. Is it time to go?
10.Do I look all right?
11.Have the children put away their toys?
12.Does your car always make a nasty smell?
13.Shall I do it before tomorrow?
14.Shall we have time to finish? (They wondered…)
15.Shall I send it to you by post?
16.Can you tell me why you are so sad?
17.Do you know how far it is to the station?
18.What do you think you are doing?
19.How can one tell is she is speaking the truth?
20.Have you any idea when you’ll be this way again?

D Put into Reported Speech, using the verb indicated:

1. Go away! (he told)

2. Pay at once! (they ordered)
3. Sit down! (we asked)
4. Come at five o’clock! (he told)
5. Hold this! (she asked)
6. Look out! (I told)
7. Do it again! (teacher told)

70
8. Wash your face! (mom said)
E Complete the sentences with say or tell (in the correct form):

1. Ann said goodbye to me and left.

2. _______us about your holiday. Did you have a nice time?
3. Don’t just stand there! ________ something!
4. I wonder where Sue is. She ________ she would be here at 8 o’clock.
5. Dan _______ me that he was bored with his job.
6. The doctor ________ that I should rest for at least a week.
7. Don’t ________ anybody what I ________ . It’s a secret just between us.
8. ‘Did she ________ you what happened?’ ‘No, she didn’t _______ anything to me’.
9. Gary couldn’t help me. He ________ me to ask Caroline.
10.Gary couldn’t help me. He ________ to ask Caroline.

F The following sentences are direct speech:

• Don’t wait for me if I’m late.

• Please slow down!
• Hurry up!
• Mind your own business.
• Can you open your bag, please?
• Will you marry me?
• Don’t worry, Sue.
• Could you get a newspaper?
• Do you think you could give me a hand, Tom?

G Now choose one of these to complete each of the sentences below. Use reported
speech.

1. Bill was taking a long time to get ready, so I told him to hurry up.
2. Sarah was driving too fast, so I asked _____________________.
3. Sue was nervous about the situation. I told _________________.
4. I couldn’t move the piano alone, so I ______________________.
5. The customs officer looked at me suspiciously and ___________.
6. Tom was going to the shop, so I __________________________.
7. The man started asking me personal questions, so I ___________.
8. John was very much in love with Mary, so he _______________.
9. I didn’t want to delay Helen, so I _________________________.

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 9 Conditional Clauses

Conditional Clauses are complex sentences which show the condition under
which some action in the main clause is realized. A conditional sentence contains an
(subordinate) adverbial ‘if clause’, which states the condition, and a main clause
which indicates the result of the condition. The conjunctions and phrases these
subordinate clauses begin with are: if, unless, if not, in case (that), on condition (that),
supposing, provided, whether… or, as long as. The conditional clauses are classified
into three types: Real, Potential and Unreal Conditional.

Real Conditional – Type 1

They express a future idea that is practical or possible under the stated
condition, i.e. they have future time reference.

Subordinate clause Main clause

if The Simple Present Tense will + infinitive
can
may
must

If she comes earlier, she will join us to dinner.

If the weather is fine, we can all go fishing.
If the roads are icy, there may be more accidents.
If the teacher insists, we must finish the exercise.

If the main idea of the conditional clause is to express a habit which is the
result of some conditions, both the main and subordinate clause contain the Present
Simple tense:

If it snows, the roads are slippery.

If you heat water, it boils.
If she has enough time, she usually walks to school.

Exercises

A Complete the following sentences:

1. If she has classes in the morning, he (go) to his karate club in the afternoon.
2. If it is very cold, Jake (light) a fire in the fireplace.
3. They (take) a bus if they want to go downtown.
4. If it is a warm day, Ann (wear) only a light jacket.
5. Betty (make) herself a snack at noon if her mother is not a t home.
6. If the team goes on tour, the fans (like) to see the players off.
7. The spectators (cheer) enthusiastically if their team scores a goal.

Sometimes the main clause contains the imperative instead of the Future Tense:
If it snows, be sure to wear your boots.
If you are late to work, take a taxi.

72
In Type 1 conditionals, will comes in the main clause, not in the if-clause, but there is
an exception when we wish to be very polite:

If you will kindly wait here, I’ll be back in a moment.

will = be willing to

B Complete the sentences with the following verbs:

be, bring, buy, feel, give, go, have, need, remember, see, stay, tell, throw, wait
1. If the shop is closed, ____ to the drugstore.
2. If you know anything about it, please ____ me.
3. If you are going to the kitchen, ____ me a plate.
4. ____ me a drink, if you have the money.
5. Let’s ____ at home if you (not) ____ like going to the fair.
6. Lend him some money, if he ____ it.
7. If it is out of date, ____it away.
8. If you see Jane, ____ me to her.
9. If you see Jane, ____ her my love.
10. (not) ____ so stubborn if you want people to cooperate with you.

When the condition (if clause) seems less likely, or you want to be more
polite, should can be used.
If he should call, I’ll arrange a meeting with him .
If you should see Mary, please tell her to give me a ring..
Should = by any chance
If is frequently omitted:
Should he come, I’ll arrange a meeting with him.
Should you see Mary, please tell her to give me a ring.

C Rewrite the following sentences using should:

1. If he happens to forget, I’ll remind him.

2. If by any chance she phones while I’m out, I’ll ask her to call back.
3. What will you do if by some chance he refuses to help you?
4. What will they do if by some chance it gets colder?
5. If you happen to be interested, please let me know.

Clauses beginning with unless (if … not) are also a kind of conditional.
Unless is stronger than if … not, almost a kind of threat. The main clause is often in
the negative:
I won’t write unless you write first.

D Rewrite the sentences using unless:

Example: I won’t do it if you don’t help me.

I won’t do it unless you help me.

73
1. If you don’t have a visa, you can’t enter this country.
2. We won’t hold a meeting if he doesn’t come.
3. Nobody will speak to you if you don’t apologize.
4. I shall forget it if I don’t write it down.
5. The bank won’t give you a loan if you don’t have an account with them.
6. They won’t give you the job if you don’t know the language.
7. He can’t wake up on time if he doesn’t set his alarm clock.

E Supply if or unless in the following sentences:

1. I’ll answer the phone ____ you wish.

2. You won’t learn much ____ you work harder.
3. You’ll never get a good job ____ you finish college.
4. We won’t go out ____ it stops raining.
5. ____ the weather is warm, I can sunbathe in the garden.
6. The won’t answer the door ____ you ring three times.
7. ____ we have flu, we stay at home.
8. They certainly won’t give you permission to enter ____ you have a pass.
9. We usually walk to school ____ we have enough time.
10. ____ the roofer doesn’t come soon, the rain will leak inside.

Potential conditional - Type 2

Type 2 conditionals are also called potential conditionals because they describe
something that is possible, but not probable, the result of unlikely circumstances.
These sentences make a hypothesis which may be contrary to the fact in the present
with the past tense in the if clause and the conditional present in the main clause.
They have present or future time reference.

Subordinate clause Main clause

if The Simple Past Tense Would + infinitive
or Subjunctive could
should
might

If I had more time, I would certainly spend it with my family.

If he did his best in the exam, he should succeed.
If I had a Ferrari, I could take you for a drive.
If you told the truth, she might believe you.
If I were you, I would take that job.

Exercises:

A Complete the following sentences:

1. Would you drive a car if you (not have) a driving license?

2. If she (be) in love with him, she would marry him.
3. If she didn’t know the answer, she (not can) tell you.

74
4. If he (not spend) so much money, he would have some at the end of the moth.
5. I would talk to him if he (apologize).
6. What would happen if I (touch) this button?
7. What would you do if someone (break) into your flat?
8. If you (go) by plane, how long would it take to get to Dublin?
9. Would the staff be happy if they (get) a rise in salary?
10. English (be) easier to speak if it (not have) irregular verbs.
11. I (buy) a new computer program if I (can) afford it.
12. If I (be) s member of the jury, I (choose) Miss Taiwan as Miss Universe.

B Put the verbs in brackets into the right tense. The following example will help you:

People don’t have wings.

If people (have)wings, they (can) fly.
If people had wings, they could fly.

1. I don’t live on my own.

I think I (be) happier if I (live) on my own.
2. My parents don’t understand me.
If they (understand )me better, I (talk) to them about my problems.
3. You are not very practical.
I (try) to be more down to earth if I (be) you.
4. She doesn’t plan for the future.
If she (plan) for the future, her life (be) more organized.
5. I live in the suburbs.
If I (live) in the centre, I (not spend) so much time in trams and buses every
day.

Would comes in the main clause as well as in the if-clause in the following cases:
1. if you want to be very polite:
If you would let us know immediately, we would be most obliged.
2. to express annoyance or a strong wish
If only you wouldn’t be so rude, we wouldn’t have so many complaints about
your work.
You would like Chinese food if only you would try it.

C Make the following sentences sound more polite. The following example will help
you:
If you help me, I’ll be grateful
If you would help me, I would be grateful.

1. If you do something about it, I’ll be grateful.

2. If you accept our invitation, we’ll be pleased.
3. If you make an appointment for me with the bank manager, I’ll appreciate it.
4. If you attend our meeting, we’ll be obliged.
5. If you let us take a photo, we’ll be grateful.

75
Unreal Conditional - Type 3

Type 3 conditionals are also called unreal conditional because they describe
something that never happened, the result of circumstances that never existed. Thus
they have the past time reference.

Subordinate clause Main clause

if The Past Perfect Tense Would + infinitive
could
should
might

If you had come on time, the boss wouldn’t have got angry.
If he had only tried harder, he should have succeeded.

If she had tried once more, she could have persuaded him to join us.
If I had been careful, I might not have fallen in love with the wrong person .

In a literary style, if can be omitted from the condition, so that the inversion is used
Had he only tried, he would have succeeded.
Had they known, they never would have made such a mistake.

Conditional can be introduced with other conjunctions besides if: even if, on
(the) condition that, provided (providing) that, suppose, supposing:

Exercises

A Rewrite these sentences using the conjunction in brackets:

1. If you (not tell) anyone else, I’ll let you in on a secret. (provided that)
2. I can’t go to the party if I (find) something suitable to wear. (even if)
3. I could do the crossword puzzle if I (have) a good dictionary. (provided that)
4. You can’t have another helping of ice cream if there (be) enough to go around.
(even if)
5. We could redecorate our room if the shop (supply) all the wall paper we chose.
(on the condition that)
6. If you (lose) all your money, what would you do? (supposing)
7. If you (feel) ill, would you have gone to the concert? (suppose)
8. He can get an interpreter’s job if he (study) the language. (provided that)
9. Would you get a good mark if you (make) several spelling mistakes. (even if)
10. If I (be) short of money, would you lend me some? (supposing)

B Complete the following sentences:

1. I wasn’t hungry. If I (be) hungry, I (eat) all the sandwiches.

2. She didn’t take the medicine. If she (take) medicine, she (feel) better.
3. We didn’t know you were waiting. If we (know) you were waiting, we (come)
sooner.

76
4. You didn’t explain it to him. He (understand) if you (explain) it to him.
5. You didn’t tell me you were coming. If you (tell) me you were coming, I (prepare)
dinner for you.
6. I liked the area where I lived. If I (not like) the area where I lived, I (move).
7. He stopped gambling. If he (not stop) gambling, he (lose) everything he had.

C For each situation, write a sentence beginning with if:

1. I wasn’t hungry, so I didn’t eat anything.

If I’d been hungry, I would have eaten something.
2. The accident happened because the road was icy.
_______________________________________
3. I didn’t know that Joe had to get up early, so I didn’t wake him up.
______________________________________
4. I was able to buy the car only because my parents lent me the money.
_______________________________________
5. Karen wasn’t injured in the crash because she was wearing a seat belt
_______________________________________
6. I didn’t get a taxi because I didn’t have any money.
_______________________________________

D Conditional sentences – mixed types:

1. If John had driven that car, he (not do) ________ a thing like that.
2. It your mother were very old, she (not live) _______ alone.
3. If you went to the house, no doubt you (find) ________ him in the library.
4. If that man crosses my threshold, I (strike) ________ him across the face.
5. If we (be) _______ in doubt, he would explain it to us again.
6. If I had been sure you were still listening to those old records, I (not throw)
________ them away.
7. If it starts raining we (be) _______ compelled to take shelter.
8. We (be) _______ most grateful if you would sign the contract with us.
9. If it hadn’t been for my wife, I (be) _______ asleep when the thief broke in.

E Finish the sentences with a suitable expression:

1. If you don’t drive more slowly…

2. I am sure that if it all happened again…
3. If I were a millionaire…
4. Would you mind if I…
5. I will let you know if…
6. If I had thrown up my work and gone to a far off land…
7. If you got lost in a big town…
8. If you had to go to Canada, what…
9. If he ate less, …

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 10 Time Clauses

Adverbial clauses of time are introduced by whenever, when, as, as soon as,
as long as, by the time (that), before, while, after, (not) until, till, the moment, the
day, the time, the month, the year, immediately, now (that). An adverbial clause of
time tells us when something happens. If a time clause refers to the future, we use a
present or present perfect form:

I will let you now as soon as we get the results.

I will come and see you as soon as our guests have left.

Here are some more examples:

We shall draw the curtains when it gets dark.
I saw John as I was coming here.
I shall be very happy once I have done with my exams.
After he had packed his things, he left the house and took a taxi to the airport.
It started pouring the moment we got out.
Now that you know the whole story you can make your own decision.

Time clauses can be shortened by using a participle if the subject of the time
clause and the main clause are the same:
• the present participle is used to denote two simultaneous actions:
As he was typing the letter, he realized there was somebody in the office.
Typing the letter, he realized there was somebody in the office.
• the perfect participle is used to denote earlier action:
After he had done everything he was expected to, John sat down to rest.
Having done everything he was expected to, John sat down to rest.
In adverbial clauses of time referring to future, we use, as it is already said
above, we use one of the present tenses. In some sentences, there may be little
difference in meaning between the present simple and the present perfect in the time
clause:
I shall leave as soon as the meeting ends/has ended.
In other cases, however, there could be difference in meaning32. Thus the sentence
Come over and see us when our guests leave. suggests that the arrival of one
set of visitors will coincide with the leaving of the other, whereas the sentence
Come over and see us when our guests have left. clearly indicates that ‘our
guests’ will no longer be with us when our visitors come.

Exercises

A Rewrite the sentences, using the imperative or a future form in one clause, and the
present perfect in the other33:

1. I (let) you know as soon as I (finish).

________________________________________

32
The difference in meaning is underlined by B. D. Graver,(1988:82-83).
33
The exercise is taken from B. D. Graver, Advanced English Practice, (1988), p.83.

78
2. (Not start) on Section 2 until you (complete) all the questions in Section 1.
________________________________________
3. (Not make up) your mind until you (have) a chance to give the matter some
thought. ____________________________________
4. I (be) ready for some lunch by the time I (finish) digging the garden.
________________________________________
5. We’re going to Scotland next summer. It (be) the first time we (spend) a holiday
there. ______________________________________
6. You (get) used to our methods when you (work) here a bit longer. And once you
(get) used to our methods, you (find) the job a lot easier.
_______________________________________
7. As soon as we (trash out) this problem we (be able) to go ahead.
________________________________________
8. Please (not turn on) your mobile phone until after the plane (land).
________________________________________

B Shorten the following sentences using a participle34:

Example: While they were sitting in the sun, they could see the hills in the distance.
Sitting in the sun, they could see the hills in the distance.
After he worked all night, he felt he needed a rest.
Having worked all night, he felt he needed a rest.

1. As Hank was walking down the street, he met an old friend.

_______________________________________________
2. When I finished the exercise, I set down to write a letter.
_______________________________________________
3. When you are writing a business letter, you should begin with ‘Dear Sir’
________________________________________________
4. After she read the article, she did a crossword puzzle.
________________________________________________
5. When they finally opened the door, they found a broken key in the lock.
________________________________________________
6. As soon as they put on their coats, they said goodbye.
________________________________________________
7. As Mr. Newman was approaching the town, he slowed down.
________________________________________________
8. After he had taken several photos, Walter closed his camera.
________________________________________________
9. As soon as he had received the message, he rushed out of the house.
________________________________________________
10. As he had been chosen for the team, Andy moved to the capital.

34
The exercise is taken from G. Grba, K. Radovanovic, Better English 2, p.215.

79
 11 Relative clauses

Relative clauses are introduced by relative pronouns: who (nominative), whom

(objective), whose (possessive), which, that for persons and things, and the adverbs
where and when. There are two types of relative clauses: defining (restrictive), and
non-defining (non-restrictive) relative clauses.

A defining relative clause35is essential to the meaning of the sentence:

My friend who lives in London is an architect.
(the who clause tells us which friend)
The relative pronoun (except whose) can be omitted if it is the object of the
verb or of a preposition in the clause:
This is the car (that) my father bought.
That is the boy (that) I was telling you about.

People Things
Subject who, (that) that (which)
Object (that) (that)
Preposition (that)…preposition (that)…preposition
Possessive whose of which (whose)

A non-defining (non-restrictive) relative clause is a clause which adds

information that is not essential to the meaning of the sentence. It represents
additional information, but the sentence could do without it.
My friend Thomas, who lives in London, is an architect.
(here the who clause just adds information)
Mrs. Smith, whom we met this morning, is going to support our project.
Paul Jones, who works in my department, has just been promoted.

Non-defining relative clauses36 are typical of written English. The clause

introduced by a relative pronoun is separated from the rest of the sentence by
commas. The relative pronoun cannot be omitted.

People Things
subject …,who…, …, which…,
object …, whom…, …,which…,
preposition …,preposition + whom…, …,preposition + which…,
(…,who… preposition) (…,which…preposition)
possessive …, whose… …,of which…,
(…,whose)…,

35
The table is taken from G. Grba, K. Radovanovic, (1995:210).
36
The table is taken from G. Grba, K. Radovanovic, Better English (1995:211).

80
 Exercises

A Add the missing relative pronoun. Note that defining relative clauses are never
preceded by a comma in writing37:

1. The man….you want has just left.

2. The lady .…was here yesterday has gone to London.
3. The magazine….you lent me is very interesting.
4. The chair …. was broken is now mended.
5. The old man… .lives next door has just died.
6. Women…. work in hospitals are to be admired.
7. The cigarette… .you are smoking is a Player’s.
8. The girl …. lives opposite my house is very pretty.
9. The fish.…I ate yesterday was not good.
10. The street…. leads to the school is very wide.
11. The flowers.… I cut this morning are still fresh.
12. The dress… .you are wearing is lovely.
13. The person …. is sitting next to me is not very clever.
14. The man .…cut your hair did it very badly.
15. The music….the orchestra is playing is a Strauss waltz.

B Link the sentences with a defining relative clause, omitting who or which where
possible:

1. I know the company. Jack works for it.

I know the company Jack works for.
2. Have you been to the sports shop? It has very expensive trainers.
______________________________________________________
3. I met a woman. She lives next door to Clare.
______________________________________________________
4. We are going to see the new James Bond film. Everybody is taking about it.
______________________________________________________
5. Joan reads a lot of books. They tell you how to be a success in business.
______________________________________________________
6. Look! There’s the new teacher. I told you about her.
______________________________________________________
7. I’m wearing the leather jacket. My mother gave it to me for the birthday.
______________________________________________________
8. Did you meet the man? He won the London Marathon.
______________________________________________________

C Add relatives where needed:

1. The knife….we use to cut bread with is very sharp.

2. The man.…I gave the book to has died.
3. The shop.… we buy our cakes from is shut.

37
The exercises B and C are taken from Thompson and Martinet, Exercises 2, (1987:92).

81
4. The girl.…works in the box-office is my sister.
5. I’m afraid that’s all .…I’ve got.
6. The paint on the seat .… you are sitting on is still wet.
7. The ties…. my boy-friend wears are awful.
8. Any man .… listens to you is a fool.
9. The old gentleman.… lives across the road has got married for the fifth time.
10. The horse….you were telling me about yesterday came in last.
11. The man… .you see at the desk is the secretary.
12. The girl…. mother I was talking to has left the room.
13. This is the room…. I first met my wife in.
14. All the people.…I have ever met have disliked him.
15. Any paper…. you read will give the same story.

D Complete the letter with who, which or where:

Dear Carol,
I’m having a great time here in Canada. It really is a beautiful country. I’ve
got a room with a family. I’m enclosing a photo of them _____ I took last week.
The girl _____ is holding the dog is the daughter, Tina. The mother is called
Sarah. She’s the one _____ is sitting on the left. Her husband, Roy, is the man in the
dark jacket. The boy _____ is sitting on the right is their thirteen-year-old son,
Dominic. Their other son, Richard, is standing between Tina and Roy. The dog is
called Rufus. Have you ever met a dog _____ liked ice cream? This one does. The
park _____ I took the photograph is quite near their house. It’s beautiful round there!

See you soon.

Best wishes,
Sue

E Use the chart below to write sentences about your stay in New York: non-defining
relative clauses with which and where:

You are in New York..

Name Type Location When
RESTAURANTS

Alfredo Italian Uptown Yesterday

Bibliotheque French Midtown Last Wednesday
Sam Wo Cantonese Downtown Next Monday
SHOPS

Bloomingsdale’s Department store Lexington Avenue Tomorrow

Unique Boutique West Broadway The day after tomorrow
Dean and Deluca Food store Broadway Two days ago
CLUBS

The Factory Jazz SoHo Last Saturday evening

The Bottom Line Rock Chelsea Yesterday
Kilimanjaro Reggae and salsa Queens Tomorrow

82
1 Yesterday O went to Alfredo’s, which is an Italian restaurant in Uptown Manhattan.
2 ___________________________________________________________________
3 ___________________________________________________________________
4 Tomorrow I’m going to Bloomingdale’s, which is a department store on Lexington
Avenue.
5 ___________________________________________________________________
6 ___________________________________________________________________
7 Last Saturday evening I went to a club in SoHo called The Factory, where you can
listen.
8 ___________________________________________________________________
9 ___________________________________________________________________

F Add the missing relative. Note that non-defining relative clauses are separated in
writing by a comma38:

1. The Pope, …I had never heard before, spoke on the wireless last night.
2. He met my mother, from… he got the news of my marriage.
3. The teacher in the next class, …name I can never remember, makes a lot of noise.
4. The elephant, ….is an animal that never that never forgets, lives more than a
hundred years.
5. My wife, to…you were speaking just now, wants you to come to dinner.
6. He is a famous scientist, about…many books have been written.
7. The chief of police, …work is very important, takes care of the public safety.
8. Geometry, about …I know nothing, seems a very dull subject.
9. The King, …life has been devoted to his country, deserves his popularity.
10. My bank manager, with…I was speaking yesterday, is concerned about the state
of my account.
11. Beethoven, …music you have just been listening to, was one of the world’s finest
composers.
12. Your eldest son, …I happened to meet just now, has become a remarkably
handsome boy.
13. The lark, … has a very sweet song, builds its nest on the ground.
14. Chess, ….is a very old game, is difficult to play.
15. Mme Curie, …discovered radium, is one of the greatest women of our age.

G Look at the information given about the following people and join two facts with
a who clause to make a sentence.

1. FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT (1869 – 1959)

An architect. Designed the Guggenheim Museum in new York.
2. ERNEST HEMINGWAY (1898 – 1961)
One of America’s most famous novelist. Wrote A Farewell to Arms and For Whom
the Bell Tolls.
3. GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898 – 1937)
A composer. Wrote the music for the folk-opera Porgy and Bess.

38
Taken from Thompson and Martinet, Exercises 2, (1987:94).

83
4. MARGARET MEAD (1901 – 1978)
An anthropologist. Became famous through her studies of people in different
cultures.
5. MARTIN LUTER KING (1929 – 1968)
A black clergyman and civil rights leader. Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.
6. MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE (1904 – 1971)
The first woman photo journalist. Took photographs all over the world for Life
magazine.

1. Frank Lloyd Wright, who was an architect, designed the Guggenheim Museum in
New York.
2. Ernest Hemingway, ……………………………………………………………….
3. George Gershwin, …………………………………………………………………
4. Margaret mead, ……………………………………………………………………
5. Martin Luther King, ……………………………………………………………….
6. Margaret Bourke-White, ………………………………………………………….

H Combine the following ideas by means of defining or non-defining relatives, using

a contact clause wherever possible39:

1. Is that the new station? You pointed it out to me last week.

2. This is the man. I gave money to him this morning.
3. My younger sister has just got married. You met her at my house last week.
4. Who would stay away from home as he does? He has such a charming life.
5. A old soldier sits begging on the pavement. His legs were shot away in the last
war.
6. My stepmother is not very kind to me. I’m living with her.
7. Bring me the cigarettes. I left them on the table. The table stands on the
window.
8. What was the name of the girl? She came here last night.
9. The matter has been settled. You were arguing about it last night.
10. Tom had been driving all day. He was tired and wanted to stop.
11. Ann had been sleeping in the back of the car. She felt quite fresh and wanted to
go on.
12. Paul wanted to take the mountain road. His tyres were nearly new.
13. He gave orders to the manager. The manager passed them on to the foreman.
14. We lit a fire. It soon dried out our clothes.
15. I met Mary. She asked me to give you this.

I Are these sentences right or wrong? Correct them where necessary40:

1. I don’t like stories who have unhappy endings. stories that have
2. What was the name of the person who phoned you? Ok
3. Where’s the nearest shop who sells newspapers? ______________
4. The driver which caused the accident was fined €500. ______________

39
Taken from Thompson and Martinet, Exercises 2,(1987:93).
40
The exercise is taken from R.Murphy, (2005:185).

84
5. Do you know the person that took these photographs? ______________
6. We live in a world what is hanging all the time. ______________
7. Dan said some things about me that were not true. ______________
8. What was the name of the horse it won the race? ______________

J Put in that or what where necessary. If the sentence is already complete, leave the
space empty41:

1. I gave her all the money __-___ I had. (all the money that I had is also correct)
2. Did you hear what they said?
3. They gave their children everything ______ they want.
4. Tell me _____ you want and I’ll try to get it for you.
5. Why do you blame me for everything _____ goes wrong?
6. I won’t be able to do much, but I’ll do _____ I can.
7. I won’t be able to do much, but I’ll do the best _____ I can.
8. I don’t agree with _____ you’ve just said.
9. I don’t trust him. I don’t believe anything _____ he says.

K Complete each sentence using a relative clause with a preposition. Choose from
the box42:

We went to a party last night you can rely on Gery we were invited to a wedding
I work with some people I applied for a job you told me about a hotel
You were looking for some I saw you with a man
books

1. Are these the books you were looking for?

2. Unfortunately we couldn’t go to the wedding ________________________.
3. I enjoy my job. I like the people __________________________________.
4. What’s the name of the hotel ____________________________________?
5. The party _____________________ wasn’t very enjoyable.
6. I didn’t get the job ________________________________.
7. Gery is a good person to know. He’s somebody ______________________.
8. Who was that man _______________________________ in the restaurant?

L Read the information and complete each sentence using either relative defining
or non-defining clause. Use commas where necessary43:

1. There’s a woman living next door to me. She’s a doctor.

The woman who lives next door to me is a doctor.
2. I’ve got a brother called Rob. He lives in Australia. He’s a doctor.
My brother Rob, who lives in Australia, is a doctor.
3. There was a strike at the car factory. It began ten days ago. It is now over.
The strike at the car factory_____________________________________.

41
The exercise is taken from R.Murphy, (2005:187).
42
The exercise is taken from R.Murphy, (2005:187).
43
The exercise is taken from R.Murphy, (2005:191).

85
4. I was looking for a book this morning. I’ve found it now.
I’ve found _______________________________.
5. London was once the largest city in the world, but the population is now falling.
The population of London ______________________________________.
6. A job was advertised. A lot of people applied for it. Few of them had the necessary
qualifications.
Few of _________________________________.
7. Amy has a son. She showed me a photo of him. He’s a policeman.
Amy showed me _________________________.

86
 12 Hypothetical meaning (Subjunctive)

Subjunctive is used to express the imaginary situations, states and actions like
wishes, suppositions, doubts, fears etc. There are three Subjunctive forms of the
verb44: The Present Subjunctive, the Past Subjunctive and the Past Perfect
Subjunctive.
The Present Subjunctive of all verbs other than the verb to be is identical with
the Simple Present Tense Indicative, except that the third person singular form is the
same as in all the other persons (i.e. without the –s ending). The Present Subjunctive
form of to be is be for all persons.
The Past Subjunctive is identical with the Simple Past Tense Indicative, except
that the verb to be has were for all persons.
The Past Perfect Subjunctive is identical in form with the Past Perfect
Indicative.
The subjunctive forms are used in small number of constructions. The Present
Subjunctive is used:
- to express a wish or a prayer:
God save the Queen.
Heaven forbid that…
Heaven help us.
Be that as it may…

A wish can also be expressed by may + infinitive:

May you be happy all your life.

- after verbs expressing a will or wish for the future, and after verbs like propose,
suggest, ask, request, order, insist, command, demand etc. This is mainly in very
formal English, especially in legal English:
It is our wish that he do what he pleases.
I propose that the Secretary’s resignation be accepted.
The King ordered that the man be released.

In this case the subjunctive is often replaced by the construction should + the
infinitive:
It is our wish that he should do what he pleases.
I propose that the Secretary’s resignation should be accepted.

The Past Subjunctive is used:

- in conditional sentences implying improbability or unreality
If I were you, I should accept the offer.
If he were really interested in buying the property, he would make a serious
offer.
- after such expressions as: “I wish (that)…, Suppose (that)…, I would rather …., as
if…, as though…, if only…., It’s time…, It’s high time…, would to God….:

I wish he visited us more often.

It’s high time you stopped fooling around.
Suppose (that) the teacher caught us cheating in the test!

44
The subjunctive is described in C.E.Eckersley and J.M.Eckersley (1963:226-228).

87
 He ran as if his life depended on it.
It’s time we went home.

The Past Subjunctive is usually concerned with present time, the past tense is
used for something unreal or wished-for now.
It’s a lovely day, I wish I were at the seaside now.

The Past Perfect Subjunctive is used to speak of the past time, i.e. when the
supposition or wish was all in the past:
If only I had know the answer yesterday!
It was a lovely day yesterday. I wish I had been at the seaside then.

Exercises:

A Wishful thinking about the present: complete the following sentences by choosing
the correct form of the verb in brackets:

1. It’s high time I (start) ________ studying for my June exams.

2. My boyfriend wishes he (can) ________ find a job.
3. If I (be) ________ you, I wouldn’t ask too many questions.
4. I wish I (know) ______ her better.
5. If only I (can) ______ lose some weight! I am too fat for my new bathing suit.
6. If only I (have) ______ more free time for my children and family.
7. I wish it (not be) _________ so cold today.

B Wishful thinking about the past: use the information given to make wishes or
regrets:

1. You didn’t come with us on a trip. I wish…

2. I spent all the afternoon trying to fix the car. If only…
3. You didn’t tell me about their divorce. If only…
4. I didn’t have enough money for a new car. I wish…
5. Tom didn’t take my advice. If only…
6. I was not informed about the meeting. I wish…
7. She never had enough time for herself. If only…

C Put the verb in brackets into the right form:

1. I wish I (know) _________her new address.

2. It’s high time little Tommy (go) __________to bed.
3. I wish I (not break) _______________ that vase!
4. I feel as if my head (be) ___________ on fire.
5. He acts as if he (know) ___________ Spanish perfectly.
6. Don’t you wish you (come) _____________ earlier?
7. If only he (not lie) ______________ to the police!
8. It’s high time you (have) ___________ a haircut and (get) ________ a proper job.
9. If only you (tell) ________ me earlier about the cancellation.
10.If only I (not eat) __________ so much garlic!

88
D Imagine you are in these situations. For each situation, write a sentence with
I wish45:
1. You’ve eaten so much and now you feel sick.
You say: I wish I hadn’t eaten so much.
2. There was a job advertised in newspaper. You decided not to apply for it. Now you
regret that. You say: I wish ________________________
3. When you were younger, you never learned to play a musical instrument. Now you
regret this.
You say: _____________________________
4. You have invited too many people to the party. Now you think you’re going to be
exhausted because there is nobody to help you prepare the food.
You say: _____________________________
5. You haven’t booked the tickets for your favourite concert in advance. Now you
realize they are all sold out.
You say: ____________________________.

E Put in had better or should where suitable46:

1. I have an appointment in ten minutes. I ’d better go now or I’ll be late.

2. It’s a great film. You should go and see it. You’ll really like it.
3. I _________ get up early tomorrow. I’ve got a lot to do.
4. When people are driving, they _________ keep their eyes on the road.
5. I’m glad you came to see us. You ________ come more often.
6. She’ll be upset if we don’t invite her to the wedding, so we ________ invite her.
7. I think everybody _________ learn a foreign language.

F Put the verbs in brackets into the right form47:

1. He treats us as if we (be) _____ all idiots!

2. He treated us as if we (be) _____ all idiots!
3. If only he (be)_______ insured!(But he wasn't).
4. I'll pay you by cheque monthly. I'd rather you (pay) _____ me cash weekly.
5. I'm sorry I didn't book a seat! I wish I had booked a seat.
6. I am sorry we accepted the invitation. I wish we hadn't accepted the invitation.
7. It's a pity you are leaving tonight. I wish you were not leaving tonight.
8. It's a pity I haven't got a work permit. I wish I had a work permit.
9. I'm sorry you didn't see the film. If only you had seen the film.
10.I wish I (know) ______ what is wrong with my car.
11.He walks as if he (have) ____ a wooden leg.
12.Suppose you (not know) _____ where your next meal was coming from?
13.I hate driving. I'd much rather you (drive) _____.
14.If only he (know) _____then that the desease was curable!

45
The exercise is taken from R.Murphy, (2005:81).
46
The exercise is taken from R.Murphy, (2005:71).
47
Taken from Thompson and Martinet, Exercises 2, (1987:95)

89
G Fill in the gaps in the following sentences with a correct form of the verbs in
brackets. In some of the sentences there is more than one possibility:

1. I wish I ______ (study) harder. The exam is tomorrow and I’ve only revised half
the course.
2. We wish you ______ (come) for Christmas. The rest of the family will all be here.
3. I wish I ______ (can/drive) a car.
4. I wish I ______ (have) a faster computer.
5. I wish you ______ (not do) that. It drives me crazy.
6. I wish you ______ (be) here. You’d love it!
7. I wish you ______ (tell) me the answer. I’ll never guess.
8. I wish I ______ (know) more vocabulary. I keep forgetting the words for things.
9. If only I ______ (not do) that. I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.
10.If only I ______ (can afford) that dress. It rally suits me.
11.I’d rather we ______ (we/stay) at home tonight. I’m a bit tired.
12.I’d rather you ______ (not lend) him that book. It was a present from my
grandfather.
13.It’s time you ______ (leave) for the airport. You have to check in two hours before
the time on your ticket.
14.Just suppose someone ______ (recognize) you. They’ll probably have reported you
to the police.
15.Suppose we ______ (arrive) a bit earlier. Then we’ll be able to help Mary with the
food.

H Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence.
Use the word in bold and other words48:

1. I’m sorry I didn’t phone him. wish

I ________________ him.
2. How about buying her a CD? suppose
Just _____________ her a CD.
3. I regret saying that to her. only
If _______________ that to her
4. You should go to bed now. time
It’s ______________ to bed.
5. I would prefer to have a light lunch. rather
I ________________ a light lunch.
6. I’d prefer you not tell him. wish
I ________________ him.
7. it really annoys me the way you click your fingers. wish
I _________________click your fingers.
8. I am really sorry he isn’t here. only
If ________________ here.
9. Shouldn’t you start revising for your exams now? time
It’s _______________ for your exams.

48
Taken from Thompson and Martinet, Exercises 2, (1987:97)

90
 13 Participles

As it is already mentioned above, participles belong to the non-finite verb

forms. They cannot form the predicate of the sentence by themselves. The participles
are: the present participle, the past participle and the perfect participle. The following
table gives their active and passive forms:

present past perfect

active taking taken having taken
passive being taken taken having been taken
The present participle is formed by adding -ing to the infinitive, for example:
working, sitting, watching…
The perfect participle is formed by the present participle of the verb have and
the past participle, for example:
having written, having finished, having done
The past participle of regular verbs is formed by adding ed or d to the
infinitive, for example:
worked, played, visited
For the past participle of irregular verbs see the list of irregular verbs
Participles are used49:
• to form verb tenses:
-the present participle is used in the continuous tenses:
we are working
-the past participle is used in the perfect tenses and passive voice:
they have already gone
• as adjectives:
-attributively, i.e. before a noun
an exciting film running water
stolen money written test
-predicatively, i.e. as part of the predicate
The film was very exciting.
The money was stolen from the house yesterday evening.
• to replace a relative pronoun +verb (refers to present participle)
People who wish to see the caves should register in advance.
People wishing to see the caves should register in advance.
• with verbs of perception like see, hear, feel, smell, listen, notice, watch followed
by object and present participle
I could see her crossing the street.
We heard someone moaning in the dark.
• with the verbs go, come, spend, waste, be busy (refers to present participle):
They are going riding/shopping/sailing/hiking.
He spends much time travelling.
He wasted all the afternoon trying to repair the car.
• to shorten relative clauses and clauses of time and cause
The boy standing over there is my brother.
The film shown at the Odeon is a hit.

49
The table and the use of participles are given in G.Grba, K.Radovanovic, (1995:83, 84).

91
• to replace a main clause – when two actions by the same subject occur
simultaneously, it is possible to express one of them by present participle/past
participle:
She walked away. She was smiling as she went. She walked away smiling.
He enters. He is accompanied by his friend. He enters accompanied by his
friend.
The perfect participle is used with two actions with the same subject, one
immediately following the other:
Having done all his work, he turned off the light and left the office.
In this case the perfect participle emphasizes that the first action is complete
before the second one starts.
• in the absolute participle construction, in which the participle does not refer to the
subject of the main clause but has its own subject:
The holidays being over, we must get back to our studies.
Their homework done, the kids decided to go out and play.
• in the causative use of have, i.e. have + object + past participle construction:
She had her hair cut last week.
When will you have the TV set repaired?

Exercises

A Complete the following sentences using the participles of the following verbs50:

follow, train, leave, expect, fascinate, boil, close, plan, increase, fry, take, do, know

1. Have you got any ____ meat in the freezer?

2. Complete the ____ sentences.
3. We have just seen a ____ film. It was great!
4. Do you like ____ potatoes, or do you prefer to have them ____?
5. Children enjoy circus acts featuring ____ elephants.
6. The employees will be hoping for ____ salaries.
7. ____ to get a promotion, Donald worked harder than ever.
8. ____ for traffic now, the road will be repaired very quickly.
9. ____ to stay at youth hostels, the boys thought they could travel cheaper.
10.____ the classroom, the students walked down the hall and out into the playing
field.
11.____ the woman’s purse, the pickpocket slipped unnoticed through the crowd.
12. ____ all the grammar exercises, the students hoped to do well on the next test.
13. ____ The ice on the river ____ thick, the explorers decided to cross it.
14. Not ____ where to go, the tourists asked for directions.
15. ____ by her friends, Betty had to walk home alone.

50
The exercise is taken from G.Grba, K.Radovanovic (1995:83).

92
B Complete the following sentences with the appropriate form of the verb in brackets
Here, the past participle is used as an adjective51.:

1. The teacher gave us a _____ exercise. (write)

2. He has been an ____ observer of the political scene for a long time. (interest)
3. The work ____ (finish), we sat down for a cup of coffee.
4. Which do you prefer: _____ eggs (boil) or ____ (fry)?
5. I like ____ (soothe) music.
6. The bill ____ (pay), we left the restaurant.
7. Do you buy (freeze) ____ food?
8. The doctor found that a woman had a ____ (break) wrist.
9. Nobody lived in that ____ (abandon) house.
10.The magician performed some very ____ (astonish) tricks.

C Complete the sentences for each situation. Use the word in brackets + -ing or-ed52:

1. The film wasn’t as good as we expected. (disappoint…)

a The film was disappointing.
b We were disappointed with the film.
2. Donna teaches young children. It is a very hard job, but she enjoys it. (exhaust…)
a She enjoys her job, but it’s often ______________.
b At the end of a day’s work, she is often _______________.
3. It’s been raining all day. I hate this weather. (depress…)
a The weather is ______________.
b This weather makes me ________________.
c It’s silly to get _____________ because of the weather.
4. Clare is going to Mexico next month. She has never been there before. (excit…)
a It will be an _____________ experience for her.
b Going to new places is always _______________.
c She is really _____________ about going to Mexico.

D Make one sentence from two. Complete the sentences with an –ing clause53:

1. A bell was ringing. I was woken up by it.

I was woken up by a bell ringing.
2. A man was sitting next to me on the plane. I didn’t talk much to him.
I didn’t talk much to the ___________________________________.
3. A taxi was taking us to the airport. It broke down.
The _____________________________________________ broke down.
4. There’s a path at the end of this street. The path leads to the river.
At the end of this street there’s a ____________________________.
5. A factory has just opened in the town. It employs 500 people.
A ___________________________________ has just opened in the town.
6. The company sent me a brochure. It contained the information I needed.
The company sent me _____________________________________.

51
The exercise is taken from G.Grba, K.Radovanovic (1995:85).
52
The exercise is taken from R.Murphy, (2005:197).
53
The exercises D and F are taken from R.Murphy, (2005:195).

93
E Make one sentence from two, beginning as shown. Each time make an –ed clause.

1. The boy was injured in the accident. He was taken to hospital.

The boy injured in the accident was taken to hospital.
2. A gate was damaged in the storm. It has now been repaired.
The gate ____________________________ has now been repaired.
3. A number of suggestions were made at the meeting. Most of them were not very
practical.
4. Most of the _______________________________ were not very practical.
5. Some paintings were stolen from the museum. They haven’t been found yet.
The ______________________________ haven’t been found yet.
6. A man was arrested by the police. What was his name?
What was the name of _________________________?

94
 14 Infinitive

Infinitives belong to the non-finite verb forms, together with participles. The forms of
infinitive are given in the following table54:

present infinitive to do
present continuous infinitive to be doing
perfect infinitive to have done
perfect continuous infinitive to have bee doing
present infinitive passive to be done
perfect infinitive passive to have been done

The infinitive can be used:

• as the subject of a sentence
To explain would simply be a waste of time.
To lean out of the window is dangerous.
But it is more usual to place the pronoun it first, and move the infinitive to the end of
the sentence:
It is dangerous to lean out of the window.
• as the object or the complement of a verb:
He offered to pay in advance.
The most frequent verbs which can be followed directly by the infinitive are55:
agree, appear, arrange, ask, bother, choose, claim, consent, decide, demand,
be determined, fail, forget, guarantee, happen, hope, learn, manage, offer, plan,
prepare, be prepared, pretend, promise, prove, refuse, remember, seem, swear, tend,
threaten, try, volunteer
• to express commands or instructions:
You are to wait here until I get back.
• to express purpose
He phoned (in order )to see if you are ok.
He walked faster in order not to (so as not to) be late.
• after certain adjectives (angry, glad, happy, sorry, fortunate, likely, lucky)
I am glad to inform you that your application was accepted.
Infinitive also appears with certain adjectives used with too or enough
I am too tired to go out tonight.
John is smart enough not to say anything wrong.

An infinitive is used without to (‘bare infinitive’):

• after modals, certain verbs (let, make, see, hear, feel), had better, would rather
He may get a job. We’d better buy some bread.
She won’t let us go downtown. I’d rather have some tea.
But, the verb help you can use the infinitive with or without to:
Help me (to) do it.

The perfect infinitive is formed of the verb to have and past participle:
to have worked, to have spoken

54
The table is taken from Thompson and Martinet, (1987:212).
55
The list is taken from Thompson and Martinet, (1987:214).

95
It is used56
• with was/were to express unfulfilled plan or arrangement:
The house was to have been ready today. (but it isn’t)
• with should, would, might and could to form the perfect conditional:
If I had seen her I would have invited her.
• with should and ought to express an unfulfilled obligation, or, in the negative, a
wrong or foolish action:
We should have invited her. (but we didn’t)
I shouldn’t have lied to them.
• with could to express past unused ability or past possibility:
I could have made a lot of money. (but I didn’t)
• with might/could to indicate the speaker’s indignation or annoyance at the non-
performance of an action:
He might have told me! (I am annoyed that he didn’t tell me)
• with may/might in speculations about past actions:
He may/might have left. (It is possible that he (has) left)
• with can’t/couldn’t to express negative deduction:
He can’t/couldn’t have moved the piano himself.
• with must to express affirmative deduction:
He must have come this way, here are his footprints.
• with needn’t to express an unnecessary past action
You needn’t have read that book. It was not on the reading list.

Exercises

A Complete the following sentences with the appropriate infinitive57:

1. The boys were happy ____ (take) to the lake for a swim. (present, passive)
2. They were lucky ____ (forgive) for their rude behaviour. (present, passive)
3. They were delighted ____ (see) each other again. (present, active)
4. We expect ____ (see) our friend next weekend. (continuous)
5. Joan was delighted ____ (obtain) a new job so soon. (perfect, active)
6. We hope ____ (spend) a week or so in the mountains. (continuous)
7. She must ____ (warn) about the danger of pickpockets. (present, passive)
8. They could ____ (leave) earlier but they weren’t ready. (perfect)
9. We plan ____ (travel) in Europe next summer. (continuous)
10.He should ____ (punish) for misconduct. (perfect, passive)
11.She made the children ____ (practice) the song again. (present, active)
12.I might ____ (go) to the rock concert tonight. (continuous)
13.They are ____ (bring) money for the excursion. (present, active)
14.They were proud ____ (select) for the basketball team. (perfect passive)

56
The use is given in Thompson and Martinet, (1987:226, 227).
57
The exercises from A to E are taken from G.Grba, K.Radovanovic (1995:87-97).

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B Use the adjectives from the box with the given verbs to complete the sentences.
Here is an example: I was sorry to hear that you were ill.

surprised disappointed astonished happy sad

pleased amazed relieved glad

1. I was really ____ your invitation last week. (get)

2. Thank you for your letter. I am ____ that you are keeping well. (hear)
3. I’m ____ that your father is ill. I hope he gets better soon. (hear)
4. Hello! I’m so glad you could come. I’m really ____ you again. (see)
5. When I walked into my room I was ____ that everything was in a mess. (find)
6. Was Charlie ____ you when you visited him? (see)
7. We were ____ that you found your lost bag. (hear)

C Make sentences using the words in brackets. The first one has been don for you:

0 Charlie left the door unlocked when he went out. (careless)

It was careless of Charlie to leave the door unlocked when he went out.
1. Justin gave up his job and he needs some money. (stupid)
2. Ann lent me her dictionary (generous)
3. He makes the same mistake again and again (careless)
4. The Johnsons invited me to stay with them over the weekend. (nice)
5. Sheila offered to help me. (kind)
6. He left without saying goodbye. (not polite)
7. It was raining, and Caroline put her straw hat on. (silly)
8. Timothy bought oil shares and earned money. (clever)

D Use the following words to complete these sentences. The first one has been done
for you:
first man/walk last person/see last one/ leave
first person/ complain first skier/reach last/arrive
first/help first student/finish

0. The next train to arrive at platform 2 will be the 5.35 to Edinburgh.

1. Nobody has seen Ginger for days. Who was ____ her?
2. Who was ____ on the moon?
3. We always have to wait for you. She’s always ____ .
4. When anything goes wrong, Charlie is always ____ .
5. On the contrary, when something is wrong, Daisy is always ____ .
6. Whenever we have a party, Jack is always _____. He stays to the very end.
7. _____ the finishing line wins the race.
8. _____ the test does not always get the best mark.

E Join the following pairs of sentences using an infinitive to express purpose:

1. Lucy wrote a letter. She wanted to ask about a job.

2. I didn’t stay in the sun too long. I didn’t want to get a sunburn.

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3. The police drove faster. They wanted to catch up with the other car.
4. Norma typed very slowly. She didn’t want to make any mistakes.
5. He made a fire in the stove. He wanted to heat the room.
6. They took their vacation in September. They wanted to avoid the crowds.
7. He made a fire in the stove. He wanted to heat the room.
8. You must stay at home with the flu. You don’t want to get any complications.
9. The Browns stopped at the roadside café. They needed to have a rest and some
refreshment.

F After the modals the present infinitive refers to present time, and the perfect
infinitive refers to past time. Use the suitable modal and the perfect infinitive of the
verbs in brackets in the following sentences. In some cases more than one answer is
possible:

1. We had a really good holiday. It ___________ (be) better!

2. I’ve lost one of my gloves. I _______________ (drop) it somewhere.
3. There was a man standing outside the café. He ________________ (wait) for
somebody.
4. I can’t find Jeff anywhere. I wonder where he is. He _______________ (go)
shopping.
5. You _____________ (tell) me you weren’t coming! I _____________ (wait) for so
long in the rain!
6. A:’I tried to phone you last week. We had a party and I wanted to invite you’
B: That was nice of you, but I ______________ (come) anyway. I was away all
last week.
7. I was woken up in the night by the noise next door. The neighbours
_______________ (have) a party.
8. I wonder why Kate didn’t answer the phone. Well, she __________________ (be)
asleep.
9. They were half way here 30 minutes ago. They ________________ (arrive) by
now.
10.You _____________________ (go) shopping this morning. I
_________________________(do) it after work. (It was possible for me to do it).
11.When I got back to my car, the door was unlocked. I __________________
(forget) to lock it.
12.You ____________________ (told) your parents about your marks weeks ago.
Now it will be even more difficult.

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 15 Gerund

Form:
present perfect
active taking having taken
passive being taken having been taken

The gerund can be used58:

• as the subject of a verb: Swimming is good exercise.
• as the object of a verb: I enjoy swimming.
• after prepositions: I am fond of swimming.
• after certain adjectives: Is the book worth reading?
She is busy making dinner.
• after certain verbs (admit, anticipate, mind, keep)
Would you mind closing the door?
She kept asking me about John.
• with the possessive adjective or object form of a personal pronoun when the
subject of the verb does not apply to the gerund:
I don’t mind his/him using my dictionary. (He is using my dictionary. I don’t
mind it)
• after phrasal verbs (be for/against, care for, give up, see about…)
Would you see about hiring a boat for this afternoon?
• after the expressions (can’t bear, can’t stand, it’s no use, it’s no good, be
accustomed to, be used to, there is no point in, look forward to)
It’s no use over spilt milk.
• after go with verbs denoting physical activity:
I’m going sailing this afternoon.
• for action that are prohibited:
No parking No smoking Talking is not allowed

Some verbs can be followed by an infinitive or a gerund: begin, bear (can’t bear),
continue, forget, hate, intend, like, love, learn, need, omit, prefer, regret, remember,
stop, start, try.
In some cases, generally verbs expressing feelings (like, live, hate) there is very
little difference in meaning, only that the infinitive suggests momentary action while
the gerund suggests continuing action59:
I like singing I like to sing.
I love dancing I love to dance.
In other cases there is considerable difference:
I remember going to the post office. (I did this)
Remember to go to the post office. (you should do this)
I’ll never forget dancing with him. (I danced with him)
Don’t forget to dance with him. (You should dance with him)
She stopped talking. (She was no longer talking)
She stopped to talk with her neighbour. (She stopped what she was

58
The use of gerund is given in G.Grba, K.Radovanovic (1995:100).
59
This difference in meaning is given in G.Grba, K.Radovanovic (1995:108).

99
 doing so she could talk.)
I now regret having been so unkind. (I was unkind)
We regret to inform you that your son has had an accident. (A polite
way of giving bad news)

Exercises

A Gerund is used after certain verbs followed by prepositions. Some of these verbs
are: accuse of, approve of, apologize for, congratulate on, decide against, dream of,
forgive for, insist on, object to, prevent from, stop from, succeed in, suspect of, think
about/of, warn against. Complete the following sentences using gerund.

1. I apologized ____ (keep) him waiting.

2. My parents don’t approve ____ money. (borrow)
3. Are you thinking ____ medicine? (study)
4. The man was suspected ____ a speculator. (be)
5. I congratulated my friend ____ the entrance exam at the Faculty of Civil
Engineering (pass)
6. Nobody prevent him ____ to court to be a witness (come)
7. I have never dreamed ____ the scholarship for young athletes (win)
8. Please forgive me ____ to you. (not write)
9. why did you decide ____ to New Jersey? (move)
10. Why was he accused ____ ? (cheat)
11. I warned him ____ that used car. (buy)
12. Did she succeed ____ the world record? (beat)
13. The police inspector stopped everyone ____ the room (leave)
14. Why do you insist ____ them? (invite)
15. I hope you don’t object ____ our ____ until midnight? (sing)

B Use the perfect gerund to complete these sentences. Here is an example:

(She had met me) She didn’t mention…
She didn’t mention having met me.

1. (She hasn’t slept all night). She complains of …

2. (The policeman had seen the stolen car). The policeman reported…
3. (He switched out the light before he left). He remembers…
4. (He got wet at the football game). His cold was due to…
5. (They had been invited). They were very pleased at…
6. (I forgot to inform you). I apologize for…
7. (She made several mistakes). She admits…
8. (I wore my sister’s new sweater). I deny…

C Join the following pairs of sentences using a gerund with or without the possessive
form of a personal pronoun as necessary:

1. Please forgive me. I bumped into you.

2. She dances. She likes it.

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3. He is always late. I don’t mind it.
4. They treated us well. We never forgot it.
5. I get up early. I never like it.
6. He helped me. I appreciate it.
7. He always gets to class late. She doesn’t approve of it.
8. She stayed up late. They objected to it.
9. I fell off my chair. Can you imagine this?
10.I go out alone at night. My parents dislike this.
11.He got into trouble. We were afraid of this.
12.Please excuse me. I am late.

D Complete the sentences with either gerund or infinitive60:

1. When I’m tired, I enjoy watching television. It’s relaxing. (watch)

2. It was a nice day, so we decided ________ for a walk. (go)
3. It’s a nice day. Does anyone fancy ________for a walk?(go)
4. I’m not in a hurry. I don’t mind ________ . (wait)
5. They don’t have much money. They can’t afford __________ out very often. (go)
6. I wish that dog would stop __________. It’s driving me mad. (bark)
7. Our neighbour threatened __________ the police if we didn’t stop the noise. (call)
8. We were hungry, so I suggested __________ dinner early. (have)
9. Hurry up! I don’t want to risk __________ the train. (miss)
10.I’m still looking for a job, but I hope __________ something soon. (find)
11.They denied __________ the money. (steal)
12.I don’t enjoy __________ very much (drive)
13.I don’t want __________ out tonight. I’m too tired. (go)
14.I can’t afford __________ out tonight. I don’t have enough money. (go)
15.Our team was unlucky to lose the game. We deserved __________.(win)
16.Why do you keep __________ me questions? Can’t you leave me alone? (ask)
17.I refuse __________ any more questions. (answer)
18.Please remember __________ the door when you go out. (lock)
19.I don’t remember __________ you any money, it must be a mistake. (lend)
20.I believe that what I said was fair. I don’t regret __________ it. (say)

60
The exercise is taken from R.Murphy, (2005:113).

101
 16 Adverbs

Adverbs, like adjectives, are modifiers. They modify or add to the meaning of verbs,
adjectives or other adverbs, for example:
He drives quickly. (modifying a verb)
His work isn’t good enough. (modifying an adjective)
She plays extremely well. (modifying an adverb)
Some adverbs are single words: yet, down, too, then; some are derived from adjectives
by the addition of a sufix: quickly, smoothly, carefully; and again some others are
formed from two words: anywhere, however, sometimes.

Adverbs are classified according to their meaning61, i.e. according to the way
in which they answer questions asking when, where, how an action is done into:
• adverbs of manner (they express how an action is done)
She did it perfectly.
Every soldier fought bravely.
• adverbs of time (expressing when an action is/was/will be done)
I’ll do it tomorrow.
We met years ago.
Adverbs of time commonly used are: after(wards), already, before, immediately,
late(ly), once, presently, shortly, soon, still, today (romorrow, tonight), when,
yesterday, yet.
Adverbs of frequency also belong to adverbs of time: always, often, frequently,
sometimes, occassionally etc. These adverbs answer the question ’how often’.
• adverbs of place (expressing where an action is/was/will be done)
I’ll be waiting here.
I’ve looked everywhere for my umbrella.
• adverbs of degree (answering the question ’to what degree/extent’)
Are you quite sure we are on the right track?
That’s all right.
Adverbs of degree are not generally used with verbs; they are used with adjectives or
other verbs: very good, quite sure, all right, tooquickly, nearly there...
• interrogative adverbs, which are used in questions:
How did you get there?
Why did she say that?
• adverbs of quantity, amount and number
Helen knows little about it.
She has won the championship twice.
• relative adverbs (when they are used to introduce a clause)
I remeber the day when she told me she was leaving.
That is the room where he used to paint during summer months.

Comparison of adverbs is similar to comparison of adjectives:

• Adverbs of one syllable form their comparative by adding –er and the
superlative by adding –est:
near – nearer – nearest
hard – harder – hardest

61
This classification is given by C.E. Eckersley and J.M. Eckersley (1963: 252).

102
 •adverbs of more than one syllable form their comparative by using more , and
their superlative by most:
quickly – more quicly – most quickly
carefully – more carefully – most carefully
• some adverbs have irregular comparison:
well – better – best
little – less – least
much – more – most
badly – worse – worst
far – farther – farthest (of distance only)
further – furthest (used more widely)
Many adverbs do not have degrees of comparison, for example: here, there, now,
then, once, very etc.

The Formation of Adverbs

Many adverbs of manner and some adverbs of degree are formed by adding -ly to the
corresponding adjectives:
slow > slowly careful > carefully extreme > extremely

Some adverbs have the same form as adjectives62:

Adjectives Adverbs
This is a very fast train. It goes very fast.
He is a hard worker. He works hard.
He has gone to the Far East. We didin’t walk very far.
It is a straight road. He runs straight for miles.
He spoke in a low voice. He spoke low but clearly.
’The ealrly bird catches the worm’ Very early in his career he got a promotion.
He went on a long journey. I won’t be long.
Do you have enough time to do the work? He didn’t try hard enough.

Adverbs with two forms:

Adjective Adverb
There is a bright moon tonight. The moon shines bright (brightly).
The goods were very cheap. I bought them cheap (cheaply).
I went by a direct route. The goods will be sent direct to you and not to
our agent (the adverb directly = at once).
That is a very high building. The birds are flying high. He was highly praised
for his work.
James was late for his lesson. He came late. I have not heard from him lately
(for some time).
She is a prettyt girl. That is a pretty (fairly) good picture.

With verbs like taste, smell, feel an adjective, not and adverb is used:
The milk tastes sour. The rose smells sweet. The fur feels soft.

62
The two tables come from C.E. Eckersley and J.M. (1963: 255-259).

103
 Exercises – adverbs

A63 Supply one of the following words with or without –ly:

clear, early, fair, slow, fast, high, hard, late, loud, wide
1. The ____ bird catches the worm.
2. ____ we’ve had a serious of natural disasters.
3. Drive ____ if you don’t want to have an accident.
4. Can a sparrow fly as ____ as an eagle?
5. Chuck was taken off the team beacuse he didn’t play ____.
6. If you want me to understand you must speak more ____ .
7. On ____ days I can____ see the planes on the airfield.
8. Mary had ____ any money left when she finished shopping.
9. We need employees who are ____ trained and reliable.
10 The skiers were coming down the slope ____ . We got out of the way quickly.
11Keep ____ of the machinery. You might get hurt.
12If you want to succeed, you must try ____ .
13 You’re never on time. You always come ____.
14We could ____ walk when our feet sank deep into the snow.

B64 Read the sentences and circle the right form, adverb or adjective:

1. Jack spoke (confident/confidently) to the audience urging them to elect him

president of the union. He knew he had a (good/well) chance of winning the
election.
2. Melanie (quick/quickly) ate her lunch. She knew the meeting was
(important/importantly) and she didn't want to be late.
3. Sophie lived in Thailand for several years. She speaks Thai (fluent/fluently), and
she knows the culture very (good/well).
4. The (hot/hotly), humid weather made it difficult to enjoy the tropical beach. Miriam
seemed more (uncomfortable/uncomfortably) than relaxed.
5. The entrance examination is (extreme/extremely) challenging. Very few people
make it into the (prestigious/prestigiously) medical school.
6. This airline's (complete/completely) lack of organization is astounding. I have been
very (patient/patiently) up to this point, but I am going to lose my temper if they
don't find my baggage immediately.
7. The young girl sings (amazing/amazingly) well for someone her age. Her
performance was (spectacular/spectacularly) to say the least.
8. The skies became surprisingly (dark/darkly) as the moon moved between the Earth
and the Sun. As the eclipse progressed, the people in the streets stood
(silent/silently) waiting for the sun's warmth to return.
9. Although Beth speaks (soft/softly) and seems quite (timid/timidly), she is the
leading expert in her field. Don't underestimate her abilities.
10. After the medieval cathedral was (tragic/tragically) burnt down last year, the city
(quick/quickly) rebuilt it stone for stone. It looks exactly the same as it did before

63
The exercise is taken from Grba, G. and Radovanovic, K. (1995:146).
64
The exercise is taken from www.englishpage.com

104
 the fire.
11. We (gradual/gradually) noticed changes in Diane's personality; she became
(quiet/quietly) and withdrawn from her friends and family. We finally realized that
we had to do something about her drinking problem before it was too late.
12. Nicole grew (tired/tiredly) from the hours of overtime at work. It became quite
(obvious/obviously) that she needed a long vacation.
13. The tomato plants grew (quick/quickly) in the rich soil. Mrs. Burdon intended to
use the home grown tomatoes to make her (delicious/deliciously) tempting
lasagna.
14. Mr. Reed (generous/generously) donated $1,000,000 to the law school's
scholarship fund. With this money, they will be able to help low-income students
cope with the (increasing/increasingly) cost of education.
15. Tim is (good/well) known for his sense of humor. Last Saturday, when he told the
joke about the fireman and the school teacher, everybody there started laughing
(uncontrollable/uncontrollably).

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1. Alexander, L.G., Fluency in English, Longman Group Limited, London,

1970.
2. Allen, Stannard W., Living English Structure, Longmans, Green and Co.Ltd.,
London, 1960.
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Foreign Students, Longmans, Green and Co.Ltd., London, 1963.
4. Foll, D. and Kelly, A. First Certificate Avenues, Coursebook, CUP,
Cambridge, 1996.
5. Graver, B. D., Advanced Business Practice, OUP, Oxford, 1988.
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10 Hlebec, B., Gramatika engleskog jezika za srednje škole, Zavod za udžbenike
I nastavna sredstva, Beograd, 1991.
11 Jones, L. New Cambridge Advance English, Students’ Book, CUP, UK, 2001.
12 Murphy, R., Essential Grammar in Use, A Self-study Reference and Practice
Book of English for Elementary Students with Answers, CUP, Cambridge,
1990.
13 Murphy, R., English Grammar in Use, A Self-study Reference and Practice
Book of English for Intermediate Students with Answers, CUP, Cambridge,
2005.
14 Popović, Lj., i Mirić, V., Gramatika englskog jezika sa vežbanjima, Naučna
knjiga, Beograd, 1983.
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16 Stojilović, M., Practise Your English, Viša tehnička škola za industrijski
menadžment, Kruševac, 1995.
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19 Thompson, A.J., and Martinet, A.V., A Practical English Grammar,
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