Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Tense
Affirmative/Negative/Question
Use action in the present taking place once, never or several times facts actions taking place one after another action set by a timetable or schedule action taking place in the moment of speaking action taking place only for a limited period of time action arranged for the future action in the past taking place once, never or several times actions taking place one after another action taking place in the middle of another action action going on at a certain time in the past actions taking place at the same time action in the past that is interrupted by another action putting emphasis on the result action that is still going on action that stopped recently finished action that has an influence on the present action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking
Signal Words always, every , never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually if sentences type I (If I talk, )
Simple Present
Present Progressive
at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now
Simple Past
yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday if sentence type II (If I talked, )
Past Progressive
already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now
A: He has been speaking. N: He has not been speaking. Q: Has he been speaking?
putting emphasis on the course or duration (not the result) action that recently stopped or is still going on finished action that influenced the present action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive putting emphasis only on the fact (not the duration) action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action action in the future that cannot be influenced spontaneous decision assumption with regard to the future decision made for the future conclusion with regard to the future
all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long?, the whole week
already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day if sentence type III (If I had talked, )
A: He had been speaking. N: He had not been speaking. Q: Had he been speaking?
in a year, next , tomorrow If-Satz Typ I (If you ask her, shewill help you.) assumption: I think, probably, perhaps in one year, next week, tomorrow
Future I Simple A: He is going to speak. N: He is not going to speak. Q: Is he going to speak? (going to) Future I Progressive A: He will be speaking. N: He will not be speaking. Q: Will he be speaking?
in one year, next week, action that is going on at a certain tomorrow time in the future action that is sure to happen in the near future action that will be finished at a certain time in the future action taking place before a certain time in the future putting emphasis on the course of an action action that might take place if sentences type II (If I were you, I would go home.) by Monday, in a week
A: He will have spoken. N: He will not have spoken. Q: Will he have spoken?
A: He will have been speaking. N: He will not have been speaking. Q: Will he have been speaking?
Conditional I Simple
Conditional I Progressive
action that might take place putting emphasis on the course / duration of the action action that might have taken place in the past action that might have taken place in the past puts emphasis on the course / duration of the action if sentences type III (If I had seen that, I would have helped.)
A: He would have spoken. N: He would not have spoken. Q: Would he have spoken? A: He would have been speaking. N: He would not have been speaking. Q: Would he have been speaking?
Explanation
Past
Present
Future
Simple Past action that takes place once, never or several times He played football every Tuesday.
Future I Simple He will / is going to play football every Tuesday. He will play football and then he will go home. He will love football.
state
Past Progressive action going on at that moment He was playing football. actions taking place at the same time He was playing football and she was watching.
Present Progressive Future I Progressive He is playing football. He is playing football and she is watching. He will be playing football. He will be playing football and she will be watching.
Future II Simple
action taking place before a certain moment in time; emphasises the result
Past Perfect Progressive action taking place before a certain moment in time (and beyond), emphasises the duration He had been playing football for ten years.
Present Perfect Progressive He has been playing football for ten years.
Future II Progressive He will have been playing football for ten years.
Comparison of Adjectives
Positive Form Use the positive form of the adjective if the comparison contains one of the following expressions: as as Example: Jane is as tall as John. not as as / not so as Example: John is not as tall as Arnie.
clean
cleaner
(the) cleanest
Exceptions in spelling when adding -er / -est silent e is dropped Example: late-later-latest final y after a consonant becomes i
Example: easy-easier-easiest final consonant after short, stressed vowel is doubled Example: hot-hotter-hottest
difficult
more difficult
most difficult
positive form
comparative form
superlative form
good
better
best
bad / ill
worse
worst
little (amount)
less
least
little (size)
smaller
smallest
much / many
more
most
further
furthest
far (place)
farther
farthest
late (time)
later
latest
late (order)
latter
last
near (place)
nearer
nearest
near (order)
next
older
oldest
old (people)
elder
eldest
slow
slowly
true truly
y becomes i
happy happily
sensible sensibly
full fully
fantastic
fantastically
Adjectives ending in -ly: use in a way / manner or another adverb with similar meaning adjective adverb
friendly
likely
probably
good
well
difficult
with difficulty
public
publicly
deep
deep (place)
deeply (feeling)
direct
direct
directly (=soon)
hard
hard
hardly (=seldom)
high
high (place)
highly (figurative)
late
late
lately (=recently)
most
most
mostly (=usually)
near
near
nearly (=almost)
pretty
pretty (=rather)
prettily
short
short
shortly (=soon)
daily, enough, early, far, fast, hourly, little, long, low, monthly, much, straight, weekly, yearly,
harder
hardest
earlier
earliest
more happily
most happily
well
better
best
badly
worse
worst
ill
worse
worst
little
less
least
much
more
most
further
furthest
far (place)
farther
farthest
late (time)
later
latest
Adjective or Adverb
Adjectives are used to modify nouns: The dog is loud. Adverbs are used to modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs: The dog barks loudly. Linking Verbs Some verbs can only be used with adjectives, others might change their meaning when used with an adverb. verb used with an adjective used with an adverb
look
feel
smell
taste
stay turn
Auxiliary Verbs
Auxiliary Verbs are the verbs be, do, have, will when they are followed by another verb (the full
verb) in order to form a question, a negative sentence, a compound tense or the passive.
He will not play football. Future II: He will have played football. The verb will remains the same for all forms (no "s" for 3rd person singular). The short form for negative sentences is won't.' Examples: I will, he will I will not = I won't
The verb do is irregular: Simple Present: I/we/you/they do, he/she/it does Simple Past: I/he/she/it/we/you/they did
Example: I am not angry. / Are you okay? the sentence already contains another auxiliary (e.g. have, be, will) Example: They are not sleeping. / Have you heard that? the sentence contains a modal verb (can, may, must, need, ought to, shall, should) Example: We need not wait. / Can you repeat that, please? the question asks for the subject of the sentence Example: Who sings that song?
must
to have to
must not
not to be allowed to
can
to be able to
may
to be allowed to
need
to have to
need not
not to have to
to be supposed to / to be expected to / to be to
Infinitive
Use Certain words are followed by an infinite verb with or without to. Use and Word Lists Example
I can swim.
He wants to swim.
Gerund
Form ing form of the verb
Exceptions in Spelling
Use Certain words are followed by an Ing-Form. Use and Word Lists Example
I enjoy cooking.
after certain verbs with prepositions I am looking forward to seeing you again.
Words followed either by Infinitive or Ing-Form Use and Word Lists Example
same meaning
same meaning but different use She forbids us to talk. / She forbids talking.
different meaning
Article
Direct article - the example: the house Indirect article a / an a - if the first letter of the following word is pronounced like a consonant example: a car, a university an - if the first letter of the following word is pronounced like a vowel example: an apple, an hour Plural general rule: singular form + s example: a car - two cars after s, ch, x, z the plural is formed by adding es example: a box - two boxes y after a consonant is changed to ie before the plural s example: a city - two cities But: y after a vowel is not changed example: a boy - two boys After o the plural is usually formed by adding es (this is not the case, however, with words used for electric gadgets and music: radio, video, disco) example: a tomato - two tomatoes
Ronny's brother
If there is a relation to people when using the possessive case with unanimated things, often the s is added instead of using an of phrase.
example: Germany's economy or the ecomony of Germany When using the possessive case with a time, s is added. example: a three weeks' holiday
Passive Voice
Use of Passive Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action. Example: My bike was stolen. In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it. Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows: Example: A mistake was made. Form of Passive Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs) Example: A letter was written. Examples of Passive Tense Subject Verb Object
Simple Present
Active: Passive:
writes
a letter.
is written wrote was written has written has been written will write will be written can write
Simple Past
Active: Passive:
Present Perfect
Active: Passive:
Future I
Active: Passive:
Hilfsverben
Active:
Passive:
A letter
can be written
by Rita.
Present Progressive
Active: Passive:
Rita A letter Rita A letter Rita A letter Rita A letter Rita A letter Rita A letter
is writing
a letter.
is being written was writing was being written had written had been written will have written will have been written would write would be written would have written would have been written
by Rita. a letter. by Rita. a letter. by Rita. a letter. by Rita. a letter. by Rita. a letter. by Rita.
Past Progressive
Active: Passive:
Past Perfect
Active: Passive:
Future II
Active: Passive:
Conditional I
Active: Passive:
Conditional II
Active: Passive:
Passive Sentences with Two Objects Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on. Subject Verb Object 1 Object 2
Rita A letter I
wrote
a letter
to me.
to me a letter
by Rita. by Rita.
Participles
There are three kinds of participles in English: present participle, past participle and perfect participle. You probably know the first two from certain tenses and adjective forms. Apart from that, participles are also used to shorten sentences. Past Participle The past participle is the participle that you find in the third column of lists with irregular verbs. You surely know this form: from perfect tenses (z. B. Present Perfect Simple) I have spoken. from passive voice The letter was written. as an adjective form I was bored to death. Perfect Participle The perfect participle can be used to shorten or combine clauses that have the same subject if one action (the one where the perfect participle is used) is completed before the next action starts. Example: She bought a bike and cycled home. Having bought a bike, she cycled home. one action has been going on for a period of time when another action starts. Example: He had been living there for such a long time that he didn't want to move to another town. Having lived there for such a long time, he didn't want to move to another town. The perfect participle can be used for active and passive voice. active voice: having + past participle (Having cooked, he set the table.) passive voice: having been + past participle (Having been cooked, the food looked delicious.) The past participle can also be used to shorten or combine passive clauses that have the same subject. Example: The boy was given an apple. He stopped crying. Given an apple, the boy stopped crying.
Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are mainly used in spoken English and informal texts. (The more formal a conversation or text, the less phrasal verbs are found.) Phrasal verbs consist of a verb plus a particle (preposition, adverb). The particle can change the meaning of the verb completely, e.g.: look up consult a reference book (look a word up in a dictionary) look for seek (look for her ring) look forward anticipate with pleasure (look forward to meeting someone)
There are no rules that might explain how phrasal verbs are formed correctly - all you can do is look them up in a good dictionary and study their meanings. In our lists, you will find some frequently used phrasal verbs and their meanings. Frequently Used Phrasal Verbs with:
break, bring, call, carry, come, do, fall, get, go, keep, look, make, put, run, set, take, turn The following table contains rules for some of the most frequently used prepositions in English:
English
Usage
Example
on in
after a certain period of time (when?) for night for weekend a certain point of time (when?)
at
since
from a certain point of time (past till now) over a certain period of time (past till now) a certain time in the past earlier than a certain point of time telling the time telling the time
since 1980
for
for 2 years
ago
2 years ago
before
before 2004
ten to six (5:50) ten past six (6:10) from Monday to/till Friday
till / until
in the sense of how long something is going to last in the sense of at the latest up to a certain time
by
in
room, building, street, town, country book, paper etc. car, taxi picture, world
in the kitchen, in London in the book in the car, in a taxi in the picture, in the world at the door, at the station at the table at a concert, at the party at the cinema, at school, at work the picture on the wall London lies on the Thames. on the table on the left on the first floor on the bus, on a plane on TV, on the radio
at
place where you are to do something typical (watch a film, study, work) attached for a place with a river being on a surface for a certain side (left, right) for a floor in a house for public transport for television, radio
on
Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car. the bag is under the table
under
on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else lower than something else but above ground covered by something else meaning more than getting to the other side (also across) overcoming an obstacle
below
the fish are below the surface put a jacket over your shirt over 16 years of age walk over the bridge climb over the wall a path above the lake walk across the bridge swim across the lake drive through the tunnel go to the cinema go to London / Ireland go to bed
over
above
higher than something else, but not directly over it getting to the other side (also over) getting to the other side
across
through
something with limits on top, bottom and the sides movement to person or building movement to a place or country for bed enter a room / a building
to
into
go into the kitchen / the house go 5 steps towards the house jump onto the table
towards
movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it) movement to the top of something
onto
from
a flower from the garden walk across the bridge swim across the lake drive through the tunnel go to the cinema go to London / Ireland go to bed
across
getting to the other side (also over) getting to the other side
through
something with limits on top, bottom and the sides movement to person or building movement to a place or country for bed enter a room / a building
to
into
go into the kitchen / the house go 5 steps towards the house jump onto the table a flower from the garden
towards
movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it) movement to the top of something
onto
from
English by on
Usage
Example
from of
who gave it who/what does it belong to what does it show who made it walking or riding on horseback entering a public transport vehicle entering a car / Taxi
a present from Jane a page of the book the picture of a palace a book by Mark Twain on foot, on horseback get on the bus
in
off
leaving a public transport vehicle leaving a car / Taxi rise or fall of something
out of by
get out of the taxi prices have risen by 10 percent by car, by bus she learned Russian at 45 we were talking about you
at about
Pronouns (Personal, Possessive, Relative and Reflexive Pronouns) Pronouns are words like I, me (personal pronouns) or my, mine (possessive pronouns). Personal Pronouns - Subject Form example: We have got some books. Personal Pronouns - Object Form example: The books are for us. Possessive Adjectives example: These are our books. Possessive Pronouns example: The books are ours. Reflexive Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
subject form
object form
possessive adjective
possessive pronoun
me
my
mine
myself
you
you
your
yours
yourself
he
him
his
his
himself
she
her
her
hers
herself
it
it
its
its
itself
we
us
our
ours
ourselves
you
you
your
yours
yourselves
they
them
their
theirs
themselves
Relative Pronouns
example: This is the man who lives next door
who
which
which
whose
whom
object pronoun for people, especially in non-defining relative clauses (in defining relative clauses we
conference.
that
subject or object pronoun for people, animals and things in defining relative clauses (who or which are also possible)
Relative Adverbs
A relative adverb can be used instead of a relative pronoun plus preposition. This often makes the sentence easier to understand. This is the shop in which I bought my bike. This is the shop where I bought my bike.
relative adverb
meaning
use
example
when
in/on which
where
in/at which
refers to a place
reported speech He says that he speaks English. (no backshift) reported speech He said that he spoke English. (backshift)
reported speech He asked me why I didnt speak English. direct speech without interrogative reported speech He asked me whether / if I spoke English. Requests Do you speak English?
Type
Example
direct speech
Object Pronouns
singular: me, you, him, her, it plural: us, you, them
Subject Pronoun I I talk to you. You You talk to me. He He calls you. She She looks at you.
Noun
for oneself
It It is a cat. It is a banana. We We talk together. You You learn English. They They eat ice cream.
an animal, an idea, a place, a situation, a thing, time, weather, an emotion one banana = it
Us I + you = we Someone talks tous. me + you = us You I teach youEnglish. Them Someone gavethem ice cream. people = they / them things = they / them
VERBS
Infinitive Simple Past Past Participle
alight
alighted, alit
alighted, alit
arise
arose
arisen
awake
awoke, awaked
awoken, awaked
be
was, were
been
bear
bore
borne, born
beat
beat
beaten, beat
become
became
become
beget
begot
begotten
begin
began
begun
bend
bent
bent
bereave
bereaved, bereft
bereaved, bereft
beseech
besought, beseeched
besought, beseeched
bet
bet, betted
bet, betted
bid
bade, bid
bide
bade, bided
bided
bind
bound
bound
bite
bit
bitten
bleed
bled
bled
bless
blessed, blest
blessed, blest
blow
blew
blown
break
broke
broken
breed
bred
bred
bring
brought
brought
broadcast
broadcast, broadcasted
broadcast, broadcasted
build
built
built
burn
burnt, burned
burnt, burned
burst
burst
burst
bust
bust, busted
bust, busted
buy
bought
bought
can
could
(kein Participle)
cast
cast
cast
catch
caught
caught
choose
chose
chosen
cleave
cling
clung
clung
clothe
clothed, clad
clothed, clad
come
came
come
cost
cost
cost
creep
crept
crept
crow
crowed
crew, crowed
cut
cut
cut
deal
dealt
dealt
dig
dug
dug
do
did
done
draw
drew
drawn
dream
dreamt, dreamed
dreamt, dreamed
drink
drank
drunk
drive
drove
driven
dwell
dwelt, dwelled
dwelt, dwelled
eat
ate
eaten
fall
fell
fallen
feed
fed
fed
feel
felt
felt
fight
fought
fought
find
found
found
flee
fled
fled
fling
flung
flung
fly
flew
flown
forbid
forbad, forbade
forbid, forbidden
forecast
forecast, forecasted
forecast, forecasted
forget
forgot
forgotten
forsake
forsook
forsaken
freeze
froze
frozen
geld
gelded, gelt
gelded, gelt
get
got
got, gotten
gild
gilded, gilt
gilded, gilt
give
gave
given
gnaw
gnawed
gnawed, gnawn
go
went
gone
grind
ground
ground
grip
gripped, gript
gripped, gript
grow
grew
grown
hang
hung
hung
have
had
had
hear
heard
heard
heave
heaved, hove
heaved, hove
hew
hewed
hewed, hewn
hide
hid
hidden, hid
hit
hit
hit
hold
held
held
hurt
hurt
hurt
keep
kept
kept
kneel
knelt, kneeled
knelt, kneeled
knit
knitted, knit
knitted, knit
know
knew
known
lay
laid
laid
lead
led
led
lean
leant, leaned
leant, leaned
leap
leapt, leaped
leapt, leaped
learn
learnt, learned
learnt, learned
leave
left
left
lend
lent
lent
let
let
let
lie
lay
lain
light
lit, lighted
lit, lighted
lose
lost
lost
make
made
made
may
might
(kein Participle)
mean
meant
meant
meet
met
met
melt
melted
molten, melted
mow
mowed
mown, mowed
pay
paid
paid
pen
pent, penned
pent, penned
plead
pled, pleaded
pled, pleaded
prove
proved
proven, proved
put
put
put
quit
quit, quitted
quit, quitted
read
read
read
rid
rid, ridded
rid, ridded
ride
rode
ridden
ring
rang
rung
rise
rose
risen
run
ran
run
saw
sawed
sawn, sawed
say
said
said
see
saw
seen
seek
sought
sought
sell
sold
sold
send
sent
sent
set
set
set
sew
sewed
sewn, sewed
shake
shook
shaken
shall
should
(kein Participle)
shear
sheared
shorn, sheared
shed
shed
shed
shine
shone
shone
shit
shoe
shod, shoed
shod, shoed
shoot
shot
shot
show
showed
shown, showed
shred
shred, shredded
shred, shredded
shrink
shrank, shrunk
shrunk
shut
shut
shut
sing
sang
sung
sink
sank
sunk
sit
sat
sat
slay
slew
slain
sleep
slept
slept
slide
slid
slid
sling
slung
slung
slink
slunk
slunk
slit
slit
slit
smell
smelt, smelled
smelt, smelled
smite
smote
smitten
sow
sowed
sown, sowed
speak
spoke
spoken
speed
sped, speeded
sped, speeded
spell
spelt, spelled
spelt, spelled
spend
spent
spent
spill
spilt, spilled
spilt, spilled
spin
spun
spun
spit
spat
spat
split
split
split
spoil
spoilt, spoiled
spoilt, spoiled
spread
spread
spread
spring
sprang, sprung
sprung
stand
stood
stood
steal
stole
stolen
stick
stuck
stuck
sting
stung
stung
stink
stank, stunk
stunk
stride
strode
stridden
strike
struck
struck
string
strung
strung
strive
strove
striven
swear
swore
sworn
sweat
sweat, sweated
sweat, sweated
sweep
swept
swept
swell
swelled
swollen, swelled
swim
swam
swum
swing
swung
swung
take
took
taken
teach
taught
taught
tear
tore
torn
telecast
telecast, telecasted
telecast, telecasted
tell
told
told
think
thought
thought
throw
threw
thrown
thrust
thrust
thrust
tread
trod
trodden
understand
understood
understood
wake
woke, waked
woken, waked
wear
wore
worn
weave
wove
woven
wed
wed, wedded
wed, wedded
weep
wept
wept
wet
wet, wetted
wet, wetted
win
won
won
wind
wound
wound
wring
wrung
wrung
write
wrote
written