254 Grammar Reference Present Simple and Present Continuous We use the present simple for: *+ facts and permanent states. Tony works fora construction compary. + general truths and laws of nature. Heat lows fom hot to cold + habits and routines (with abways, usually eto. He usually cleans thecaron Sundays * timetables and prosrammes (in the future). My train departs ot 522 exactly, + sporting commentaries, reviews and narrations. Manson passes onthe far side and lips the crash barter *+ feelings and emotions. Hove Venice ita beautiful city. ‘The time expressions we use with the present simple are: usualy, often, abuays, every day/week/month year etc, in the moming/afternoorvevening, at nighvthe weekend, on Fridays, ete ‘We use the present continuous (to be + verb -ing): ‘+ for actions taking place at or around the moment of speaking. They are watching TV now. + for temporary situations. We are replacing the tiles in the bathroom this weekend, ‘© for fixed arrangements in the near future. We're walking over to the next village tomorrow. * for curently changing and developing situations. The neighbourhood is becoming quieter and quieter. with adverbs such as always to express anger or imitation at a repeated action. He is always using the hairdryer vehen Ineed it The time expressions we use with the present continuous are: now, at the moment, at present these days, ‘nowadays stil, today, tonight, etc Stative Verbs Stative verbs are verbs which describe a state rather than an action, and so do not usually have a continuous tense. These verbs are ‘+ verbs of the senses (see, hear, smell, taste, feel, look, sound, seem, appear, etc) The air smells fresh ‘+ verbs of perception (know, believe, understand, realise, remember, forget, etc) Junderstand how she feels. ‘+ verbs which express feelings and emotions (like, love, hate, enjoy, prefer, detest, desire, want, etc) Peter hhates going shopping * and some other verbs (be, contain, include, belong, fit, need, matter, cost, own, want, own, weigh, wish, have, keep, etc) | wish (hadn't said that ‘Some of these verbs can be used in continuous tenses, but with a difference in meaning, THINK Ithink hea verygood | Weare thinking about moving doctor (= believe) hhouse.= ate considering) HAVE Shehas.olargecollection of | fam having the time of my lie Plates. (= own, possess) | (= am experiencing) Sheis having a shower (is taking) Weare having supper (are eating) See {can see France rom up here. | 'm seeing the doctor next week is visible) (© am meeting) {see what you mean, inderstand) TASTE Theicecream tastes lite | Jane is tasting the milk to see it heaven, (= itis, has, the | itis hot (= is testing) flavour off SMELL Thecooking smells wonderful.| She is smelling the flowers. as the aroma) (is sniffing) ‘APPEAR ‘She appears o be new to the | Heis appearing inthe schoo! Job.(= seems to be) play (= is performing) FT His shit fits him perfect, | Tinais fitting new batteries in 's the right size) herclock (='s attaching) Notes: ‘© The verb enjoy can be used in continuous tenses to express a specific preference. Burt really enjoys going window shopping. (general preference) BUT: He's enjoying the concert very much. Specific preference) © The verbs look (when we refer to somebody's appearance), feel (experience a particular emotion), hurt and ache can be used in simple or continuous tenses with no difference in meaning, ‘My arms aching. = My arm aches. Adverbs of Frequency These include always, frequently, often, once, twice, sometimes, never, usually, ever, hardly ever, rarely, ‘occasionally, etc. ‘+ Adverbs of frequency are normally placed before the main verb. I often go to the cinema. | rarely attend ‘meetings.Grammar Reference ‘© However, adverbs of frequency are placed after the verb to be and efter auniliary verbs. James is frequently late for dinner "ve always wanted to go to Paris. Present Perfect ‘We use the present perfect (have + past participle) for: ‘+ an action that happened at an unstated time in the past. The emphasis is on the action. The time when it ‘occurred is unimportant or unknown, I have cleaned the ‘car Wendy has been to Spain twice. ‘+ an action which started in the past and continues up to. the present, especialy with stative verbs (see above) such as be, have, like, know, etc. | have known Jack for ‘twenty years. + arecently completed action, (have completed my History project. personal experiences or changes. He has shaved his ‘moustacheoft ‘The time expressions we use with the present perfect are: for since, already, always, jst, ever never, 50 far today, this ‘week/month etc how long, lately, recently stil (in negations), etc Present Perfect Continuous We use the present perfect continuous (have been + verb, ing): + to put emphasis on the duration of an action which started in the past and continues up to the present. We have been cutting the awn all afternoon. ‘© for an action which started in the past and lasted for some time. It may still be continuing or has finished already, with the result visible in the present. He’ bad- tempered because he has been overdoing things recently. ‘© to express anger, irtation or annoyance. He has been taking my coffee without asking me. * for repeated actions in the past continuing to the present. He has gor suntanned because he has been going tothe beach every weekend. ‘The time expressions we use with the present perfect continuous are: for since, how ong ..2, all day/morning/ ‘month etc, lately recently Note: with the verbs live, work, teach and feel we can use the present perfect or the present perfect continuous with no difference in meaning. He has lived/has been living in London forthe last ten years Past Simple We use the past simple: ‘+ for an action that occurred at a definite time (stated or implied) in the past. The milkman left the milk at 7 o'clock thismorning, + for actions that happened immediately after one another in the past. He opened the window and shouted tohis friend. ‘© for habits or states which are now finished. My mother worked on a faim when she was younger Note that used to can also be used instead of the past simple for habits/tepeated actions in the past ‘The time expressions we use with the past simple are: yesterday, then, when, How long ago ..., last nigh/week/ Imonth/year/Friday/October etc, three days/weeks etc ago, in 1999, etc Past Continuous We use the past continuous (was/were + verb -ing): ‘for an action which was in progress when another action interrupted it. We use the past continuous for the action in progress (longer action) and the past simple for the action which interrupted it (shorter action). We were playing cricket in the garden when it started orain. * for two or more simultaneous actions in the past. !was preparing dinner while John was doing his homework # for an action which was in progress at a stated time in the past. We don’t mention when the action started or finished. At7oidocklas right. 1was walking ome rom the gym. #10 describe the atmosphere, setting, etc and to give background information to a story. The cicados were singing and the sun was shining. | was sitting outside on the veranda when suddenly it went quit Note: When there are two past continuous forms in a sentence with the same subject, we can avoid repetition by just using the present participle ing form) and leave out the vvetb to be. They were walking along, they were whistling a tune, They were walking along, whistling a tune ‘The time expressions we use with the past continuous are: while, when, as, all morning/evening/day/wee, etc Past Perfect We use the past perfect (had + past participle): * for an action which happened before another past action of before a stated time in the past. Peter had finished his mea! by sixo‘clock ‘© for an action which finished in the past and whose result was visible at a later point in the past. He had twisted his knee a few days earlier and he was stil limping heavily ‘+ for a general situation in the past. appeared normal at fist. Everything had ‘The time expressions we use with the past perfect are: before after already, just fr snc, tut, when, bythe time, never etc 255256 Grammar Reference Past Perfect Continuous We use the past perfect continuous (had been + verb -ing): + to put emphasis on the duration of an action which started and finished in the past, before another action or stated time in the past, usually with for or since. 1 ‘had been swimming for about an hour when realised that had been swept out 1 sea. ‘= for an action which lasted for some time in the past and, whose result was visible in the past. He had been ‘running and he was breathing heavily The time expressions we use with the past perfect continuous are: for since, how long, before, until ete Used to Be going to We use be going to: ‘+ for plans, intentions or ambitions for the future. She's going to be apilot when she graduates * actions we have already decided to do in the near future. Guy is going to work on a summer camp during the holidays. * predictions based on what we can see or what we know, especially when there is evidence that something will happen. Those clouds look very rk i's going to rain tonight. ‘The time expressions we use with the future simple and bbe going to are: tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, tonight, s00n, next week/month/year/summer et, ina week/month etc We use used to + infinitive to refer to past habits or states. In such cases, used to can be replaced by the past simple ‘with no change in meaning. When the children were younger, they walked/used to walk to school every day. However, for an action that happened at a definite time in the past we use the past simple, not used to. He drove to work yesterday INOT Hewsedtodiveroworiyesterday) ‘Time expressions to talk about the past: ago ack in time from now) is used with the past simple. Ifnished lunch about an hour ago. since (= from a starting point in the past) is used with the present perfect (simple and continuous) havent been home since my sister got engaged. for «2 period of time) is used with the present perfect (simple and continuous). Theyve been playing chess for hours. already i used in statements and questions (to show surprise). I have already spoken to the doctor Have you eaten that ce cream already? yet is used with the present perfect in questions and negations. Have you fed the cat yet? I haven't started ‘cooking yet. Future Simple ‘We use the future simple (will + bare infinitive) for: © decisions made at the moment of speaking, It's cold in here, close the window. predictions about the future, based on what we think, believe or imagine, using the verbs think, believe, expect etc, the expressions be sure, be afraid etc, and the advetbs probably, certainly, perhaps etc. She will probably call him later ‘+ promises, threats, warnings, requests, hopes and offers Will you help me with the washing up? ‘= actions, events, situations which will definitely happen in the future and which we can’t control, Our youngest presenfuture | would rather sit the exam in June + would rather + perfect bare infinitive > past {bought a printer yesterday but fd rather have waited for the sales. + would rather + bare infinitive + than (+ bare infinitive) rdrather surf he net than wateh TV When the subject of would rather is different from the subject of the following verb, we use the following constructions: * would rather + past tense -» presentfuture 1rd rather Patrick gave up basketball because itis taking up 00 much ofhis time. * would rather + past perfect -+ past {rd rather you had told us the ruth, then we wouldn't have {gotinto such arow. The Unreal Past The past simple can be used to refer to the present when we tak about imaginary, unreal or impossible situations which are contrary to fects in the present The past perfect can be used to refer to imaginary, unteal or impossible situations which are contrary to facts in the past, The past simple is used with + type 2 Conditionals ~ ithe had the funds he would set up inbusines, + suppose/supposing ~ Suppose/Supposing he double- crossed you, what woukd youdo? ‘+ wishif only —Iwishatfonly had move free time would rather (present) ~ Fd rather you called him now. as iffas though ~ Ronald acts as iffas though he knew everybody + its (about/high) time ~ its (aboutshigh) time you got a job. The past perfect is used with + type 3 Conditionals ~ if he hadn't been so clumsy, he wouldn't have allen of the ladder + suppose/supposing ~ Suppose/Supposing you had been inaposton to help, would you have done so? ‘+ wishvif only —!wishfonly | hadn't caused such a fuss + Would rather (past) ~ Id rather you had not said anything * as iffas though - He didnt know anything obout piilosophy but he spoke about Plato as though/asifhe had ‘been a personal fiends Clauses of Purpose Clauses of purpose are used to explain why somebody does something. They are introduced with the following words! expressions, to - infinitive ~ Peter went 10 the library to borrow a book + in order to/s0 as to + infinitive (formal) ~ The staff voluntarily offered to work ovestime in order to finish the project on time. ‘so that + can/will(present/future reference) ~ Iwill give ‘you my mobile phone number so that you can contact me i there are any queries. + so that + could/would (past reference) ~ He set off at 8 o'clock so that he would be at the interview in plenty oftime. ‘+ incase + present tense (present or futute reference) ~ Leave the light on in the hallin case anyone tries to break in. ‘+ in case + past tense (past reference) ~ She had sent out fora pizza Incase we got hungry Note: in case is never used with will or would. ‘+ for + noun (expresses the purpose of an action) ~ We went to Mario’ for a pizza. * for + -ing form (expresses the purpose of something or its function) ~ Freezers are used for storing frozen food. = with a view to + -ing form ~ Graham's family bough the ld house with a view to redeveloping the site. We can express negative purpose by ‘= in order not to/so as not to + infinitive ~ / made an ‘inventory of the things that had to be taken $0 as not to omit ‘anything. ‘+ prevent + noun/pronoun (+ from) + -ing form ~ The ‘old lady covered up the leftover food to prevent the fies from getting att. The Definite Article the ‘We use the ‘+ with nouns when talking about something specific. Jo ‘owns a car and a motorbike. The car is red and the motorbike is blue. ‘+ with nouns that are unique (the solar system, the universe, ete). * with names of newspapers (the Guardian), cinemas (the ex), theatres (the Old Vic), museurs/art galleries (the Tate), ships (the Titanic), organisations (the EU). + with the names of rivers (the Ganges), groups of islands (the Canaries, mountain ranges (the Urals), deserts (the Sinai), oceans (the Atlantic), canals (the Suez), countries when they include words such as States, Kingdom, Republic (the Czech Republic), names or nouns with of (the House of Pariameni), in geographical terms such as the Antarctic/Arctic/equator the North of Italy the North/ SouthvEast/West ‘= with the names of musical instruments and dances (the violin, the waltz). * with the names of families (the Smiths) and nationalities tending in -sh, -ch oF -ese (the Chinese). Other nationalities can be used with or without the + with titles (the Ambassador the President) but not with titles including a proper name (Prince Charles)Grammar Reference + with adjecvevadverbs inthe superlative form (the best fis | have ever seen, but winen most is followed by a noun, it doesn't take the (most people enjoy going tothe theatre) ‘+ with the words day, morning, afternoon and evening Jewas early inthe morning and the sun was starting tose BUT: at night, at noon, at midnight, by day/night + with historical periodslevents (the last Ke Age, the Vietnam war) BUT: World War | * with the words only, last and first (used as adjectives). Site was the only one win came late + with the words station, cinema, theatre, library, shop, coast, sea(side), beach, countryside), city, jungle. world, ground, weather. They went fora ride olong the coast. We do not use the: ‘+ with uncountable and plural nouns when talking about something in general. Spray cans release CFCs which are harmful tothe ozone layer Teais avery popular beverage. ‘with proper nouns. Jenny works n a public brary * with the names of sports, games, activities, days, months, celebrations, colours, drinks and meals, We are Invited o some friends’ house on Wednesday. ‘with languages unless they are followed by the word language. David speaks German, Spanish and French BUT: The French language is spoken in parts of Afica. ‘with the names of countries which don't include the ‘word State, Kingdom or Republic. Germany, India, Australia. BUT there are some exceptions: the Netherlands, the Gambia, the Vatican. ‘+ with the names of streets (Oxford Street, Penny Lane BUT: the M6, the A42), squares (Trafalgar Squore), bridges (London Bridge BUT. the Golden Gate Bridge), parks (Central Park), railway stations (Euston, King’ Cross), mountains (Mount Everest), individual islands (Sardinia), lakes (Lake Windermere} and continents (Africa) with possessive adjectives or the possessive case. That is his bike. ‘+ with the names of restaurants, shops, banks, hotels, etc which are named after the people who started them (Harrods, Laura's Restaurant) ‘+ with the words bed, hospital, college, court, prison, school, university when we refer to the purpose for which they exist. The injured boy had to be taken to ‘hospital. BUT: We went to the hospital to visit Tony. ‘+ with the word work (= piace of work). He needs to be at work by 1Oo‘cock. ‘+ with the words home, mother, father, etc when we talk about our own home/parents. + with by + means of transport (by bus/erry/train/caretc) He traveled to York by train, + wath the names of illnesses. HeS got pneumonia. BUT: fu/the flu, measles/the measles, mumps/the mumps. Infinitive The to-infinitive is used! + t0 express purpose. Dovid phoned to talk about our plans fornextweek, after certain verbs (agree, appear, decide, expect, hope, plan, promise, refuse, etc). They expect to start the ‘construction work next weet. after would like, would prefer, would love, etc to express a specific preference. | would prefer to go to the ‘opera tis evening, ‘after adjectives which describe feelingvemotions (happy, sad, glad, etc); express wilingness/unwalingness ‘iling, eager, reluctant, etc); refer to a person's character (clever, kind, etc) and the adjectives lucky and fortunate. /1os very sad to hear tha! Bary lost his dog. Note: with adjectives that refer to character, we can also use an impersonal construction. it was kind of you to help David with his car + after too/enough. Itisn' cold enough to go shing. * to talk about an unexpected event, usually with only. finally reached the port only to find that the ferry had left without me, with it + be + adjective/noun. It was easy to find the turning afterall after be + first/second/next/last otc. He was the next person to shake my hand when Ireceived the award. after verbs and expressions such as ask, learn, explain, decide, find out, want, want to know, etc when they are followed by a question word. The Physics teacher explained how to solve the problem, Note: why is followed by subject + verb, NOT an infinitive. Iwonder why she didn’t tellus. ‘+ in the expressions to tell you the truth, to be honest, to sum up, to begin with, etc. To tell you the truth, | didn'texpect that he would tela lie Note: If two to-infinitives are linked by and or or, the to of the second infinitive can be omitted. !would lke to {go and see what is happening for myset ‘The infinitive without to is used after modal verbs. Robin can sing and dance. after the verbs let, make, see, hear and feel. They made him take out the entre contents ofthe suitcase. BUT: we use the to-infinitive after be made, be heard, be seen etc (passive form). He was made to empty his suitcase on the counter. Note: When see, hear and watch are followed by an «ing form, there 's no change in the passive. He sawme talking to Bob, Iwas seen talking to Bob, + after had better and would rather. We had better take the metro. help can be followed by either the to-infinitive or the infinitive without to. She helped me (to) move the sofa. Gerund (-ing form) The -ing form is used ‘+ 8s a noun. Driving without a licence is forbidden, ‘after certain verbs: admit, appreciate, avoid, confess, continue, deny, fancy, go (for activities), imagine, mind, miss, quit, save, suggest, practise. consider, prevent, etc. Fancy winning all that money? 259Grammar Reference 260 * after love, lke, enjoy, prefer, distike, hate to express general preference. Peter enjoys watching TV.BUT: for a specific preference (would like/ would. prefer/would love) we use a to-infinitive * after expressions such as be busy, i's no use, it’s (no) ‘9004, it’s (not) worth, what's the use of, can't help, there's no point in, can’t stand, have difficulty (in) have trouble, etc, There is no point in trying to convince him, he never listens to anybody + after spend, waste or lose (time, money, etd). He spent alot of money restoring his home. ‘after the preposition to with verbs and expressions such 25 look forward to, be used to, in addition to, object to, prefer (doing sth to sth els). He prefers walking to playing footbal ‘= after other prepositions. He was thinking of retiring in 0 few years. * after the verbs hear, listen to, notice, see, watch and feel to describe an incomplete action. | heard Tom speaking to Sam. (Lonly heard part ofthe conversation.) BUT: we use the infinitive without to with hear, listen 10, notice, see, watch and feel to describe the complete action. Iheard Tor ell the story Wheard the whole story.) ifference in meaning between the to-infinitive and the -ing form Some verbs can take either the to-infinitive or the -ing form with a change in meaning + forget + to-infinitive water the plants. forget + -ing form not remember ~ She forgot to jot recall ~ "never forget travelling around Japan. ‘+ remember+ to-infinitive = not forget ~ Did you rememberto put the cat out? remember + -ing form = recall ~ iemember meeting Tom at the cub. ‘mean + to-infinitive = intend to ~ fm sorry!never ‘meant to cause offence. mean + -ing form = involve ~ifidon' get this job, fm ‘afroid it will mean selling the caravan, + regret + to-infinitive = be sorry to (normally used in the present simple with verbs such as say, tell, inform) ~ We regret totellyou that your fight has been cancelled. regret +-ing form = feel sorry about ~ I regret losing contact with Fed. ‘+ try + to-infinitive = do one's best, attempt — We tried tocontact you but we couldn’ get through. try + ing form = do something as an experiment ~ Why don't you ty hitting it with a hammer? ‘+ stop + to-infinitive = stop temporarily in order to do something else ~ After a couple of hours, we stopped to have a break. stop + -ing form = finish doing something ~ At six ‘clock, everyone stopped talking and listened tothe rai. Comparisons As/ Like We use like: ‘© with nouns/pronouns-ing form to express similarity They treat hi like a servant. (He sn’ta servant.) ‘+ with feel, look, smell, taste. She looks like her mum, We use as: ‘+ to say what somebody or something really is. He works asa teacher. Comparatives and Superlatives We use the comparative to compare one person or thing with another, We use the superlative to compare one person or thing with more than one person or thing of the same group, We often use than after a comparative and the before a superlative. Hes taller than me. He’ the tallest person inmy family. Formation of comparatives and superlatives from adjectives and adverbs: + toone-syllable adjectives we add -(e)r to form the comparative and -(e)st to form the superlative close closer - closest Note: for one-sylable adjectives ending in a vowel +a consonant, we double the consonant big -bioger -biogest ‘+ to two-sylable adjectives ending in -ly, -y, -w we also ‘add -er /-est. narrow narrower - narrowest. Note: in adjectives ending in a consonant + y, we replace the -y with an «i, tiny tinler~riniest ‘+ other two-syllable adjectives or adjectives with more than two syllables, form comparatives and superlatives with more/most, Inteligent - more intelligent - most intelligent * to adverbs that have the same form as their adjectives we add -er/-est. hard - harder hardest + two-syllable or compound adverbs take more/most, slowly more slowly -mostslowy Note: lever, common, cruel, friendly, gentle, pleasant, polite, shallow, simple, stupid, quiet can form their comparatives and superlatives either with -er/-est or with more/most + Irregular forms ‘good — better — best / bad - worse — worst / much ~ more ~ most /little ~ less —least / far ~farther/further ~ farthest/furthest / manyfots ~ more—_most ‘Types of compariso + as + adjective + as (to show that two people or things are similar in some wa). In negative sentences we use not as/s0 as. Thesivercarisas expensive asthe redone. + less. + adjective + than (expresses the difference ‘between two people or things). The opposite is more. ‘than. Peteris less outgoing than hissiser