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GRAMMAR
FOR STUDENTS OF
C.O.U.
Eloy M. Cebrián
ENGLISH
GRAMMAR
FOR STUDENTS
OF C.O.U.
Eloy M. Cebrián
Contents:
UNIT I: THE CONDITIONAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
I.1. CLASSIFICATION OF CONDITIONAL SENTENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1. Type I: Cause and effect = real conditional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2. Type II: hypothetical condition. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3. Type III: hypothetical and impossible condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
I.2. FURTHER INFORMATION ON
CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
.................................................................. 8
1. Inversion the conditional sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.-. if so and if not . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3. if only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4. Other words with conditional meaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.- Unless and if... not . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
UNIT II: MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
II.1 INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
II.2. ABILITY: CAN AND COULD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
1. Present and future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2. Past. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3. Conditional could . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4. Could with the perfect infinitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
II.3. POSSIBILITY: CAN AND COULD,
MAY AND MIGHT
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1. Theoretical possibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
2. Factual possibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3. May and might with the perfect infinitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4. Can and could with the perfect infinitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
II.4. PERMISSION: CAN AND COULD,
MAY AND MIGHT
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1. Asking for permission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2. Giving permission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3. Past permission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
II.5. OFFERS, INVITATIONS,
REQUESTS AND COMMANDS:
1
CAN AND COULD, WILL AND WOULD, SHALL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
a) Offers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
b) Invitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
c) Requests and commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
II.6. OBLIGATION: MUST, HAVE TO AND NEEDN'T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
II.7. DEDUCTION: MUST, CAN AND CAN'T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
II.8. ADVICE AND DUTY:
SHOULD, OUGHT TO AND HAD BETTER.
................................................................. 17
UNIT III: OTHER USES OF PRIMARY AND MODAL AUXILIARIES
........................................................................ 18
III.1. SPECIAL USES OF PRIMARY AUXILIARIES:
BE, HAVE, DO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1. The BE + INFINITIVE construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2. The HAVE + OBJECT + PAST PARTICIPLE construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
3. The HAVE + OBJECT + PRESENT PARTICIPLE construction . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4. DO: auxiliary verb in affirmative sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
III.2. SPECIAL USES OF MODAL AUXILIARIES:
WILL, WOULD, USED TO, SHOULD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
1. Commands expressed by will in the affirmative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2. Present habits expressed by will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3. Past habits expressed with used to and would . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4. Would rather/sooner + infinitive without to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5. wish (that) + subject + would . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
6. Should in subordinate clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2
................................................................. 34
1) Speculations or requests for information about a future event: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2) Requests for instructions or advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3) Offers: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
4) Suggestions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
V.10. COMMANDS, REQUESTS, ADVICE
IN INDIRECT SPEECH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
V.12. OTHER POINTS ON REPORTED SPEECH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
1. Must and Needn't . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2. Modal verbs with perfect infinitives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3.Conditional . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4.Exclamations and yes and no . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
5. That . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
UNIT VI: RELATIVE CLAUSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
VI.1. RELATIVE PRONOUNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
VI.2. DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
1. Defining relative clauses: persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
A) Subject: who or that . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
B) Object of a verb: whom or who or that . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
C) With a preposition: whom or that. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
D) Possessive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
2. Defining relative clauses: things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
A) Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
B) Object of a verb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
c) Object of a preposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
D) Possessive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3. The relative pronoun what . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4. Cleft sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
VI.3. NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
1. Use for persons: who , whom, whose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
A) Subject: who . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
B) Object: whom, who . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
C) Object of a preposition: whom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
D) Possessive: whose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2. Use for things: which, whose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
A) Subject: which . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
B) Object: which . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
C) Object of a preposition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
D) which with phrasal verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
D) Possessive: whose or of which . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
3. both / some / most / all / several / few etc. + of + whom / which . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
VI.4. CONNECTIVE RELATIVE CLAUSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
VI.4. WHOEVER, WHICHEVER, WHATEVER,
WHENEVER, WHEREVER, HOWEVER
................................................................. 46
UNIT VII: INFINITIVES, GERUNDS, PRESENT PARTICIPLES,
AND THAT-CLAUSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
VII.1. INFINITIVE WITHOUT TO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
1. Modal auxiliary verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
2. Let, make, hear, etc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
VII.2. INFINITIVE AS SUBJECT OF A SENTENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
VII.3. INFINITIVE AFTER VERB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
VII.4. VERB + OBJECT + INFINITIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
VII.5. INFINITIVE AFTER ADJECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
VII.6. FOR + OBJECT + INFINITIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
VII.7. INFINITIVE AFTER NOUN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
3
VII.8. INFINITIVE AFTER INTERROGATIVE
CONJUNCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
VII.9. INFINITIVE OF PURPOSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
VII.10. -ING FORM: TERMINOLOGY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
VII.11. -ING FORM WITH POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE OR 'S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
VII.12. -ING FORM AFTER A VERB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
VII.13. -ING FORM AFTER PREPOSITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
VII.12. TO + -ING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
VII.13. -ING FORM: SPECIAL CASES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
VII.14. -ING FORM OR INFINITIVE? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
VII.15. CLAUSES INTRODUCED BY THAT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
UNIT VIII: ARTICLES AND OTHER DETERMINERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
VIII.1. ARTICLES: BASIC INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
1. Determiners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
2. The use of articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
VIII.2. ARTICLES: COUNTABLE AND
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
VIII.3. TALKING ABOUT THINGS IN GENERAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
VIII.4. TALKING ABOUT THINGS IN PARTICULAR:
A / THE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
VIII.5. SOME, ANY OR NO ARTICLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
VIII.6. SOME, ANY, NO AND NONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
1.Some and any compared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
2. No and none . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
3. Compounds with some, any and no . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
VIII.7. ARTICLES: SPECIAL RULES AND EXCEPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
1. Common expressions without articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
2. Genitives (possessives) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3. Nouns as adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
4. Man and woman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5. Radio and television . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
6. Musical instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
7. All and both . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
8. Illnesses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
9. Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
10. Seasons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
11. Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
12. Exclamations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
13. Ships . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
14. Geographical areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
15. Place-names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
16. Special Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
VIII.8. ARTICLES: GOLDEN RULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
DISCOURSE MARKERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
a) FOCUSING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
b) STRUCTURING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
1.- Divisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
2.- Contrast with what came before . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.- Logical sequence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
4.- Exemplifying and excepting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
5.- Generalizing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
6.- Clarifying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
c) DISMISSAL OF A PREVIOUS DISCOURSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
d) SHOWING OUR ATTITUDE TO WHAT WE ARE SAYING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
e) ADDING FURTHER DETAILS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
4
f) QUOTING FROM A TEXT IN ORDER TO SUPPORT OR REJECT A STATEMENT
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
g) STARTING A SUMMARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
APPENDIX II
LIST OF IRREGULAR VERBS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Bibliography:
This manual contains material reproduced and adapted from the following sources:
5
UNIT I: THE CONDITIONAL
I.1. CLASSIFICATION OF CONDITIONAL SENTENCES
Conditional sentences are conveniently classified into three groups.
1. Type I: Cause and effect = real conditional. Both condition and result are very likely to occur.
a)
* May in the main clause denotes that the action will not automatically happen (as when will is used) even
if the condition is fulfilled: it expresses a possibility rather than a certainty.
* Can in the main clause means 'general ability' -the ability to do something any time you want to,
providing the condition is fulfilled.
Today you can easily travel abroad if you have enough money.
When the meaning is particular ability, i.e., the ability to perform a certain action at one particular moment,
will be able to is preferred.
If you lend me some money I will be able to travel to England next summer.
b)
IF PRESENT PRESENT
if one buys a car it costs money
* if + two present tenses is used to express automatic or habitual results. These sentences are statements
of universal truth or general validity, and in this type of sentence, if corresponds closely in meaning to when(ever)
C)
6
IMPERATIVE AND FUTURE
buy a car and it will cost you a fortune
Take my advice and your troubles will be over. (=If you take...)
D)
*We can suggest that something is unlikely to happen, or is not particularly probable by using should with if.
If you should run into Peter Bellamy, tell him he owes me a letter.
If I were the President, I would end unemployment in two weeks (It implies that the speaker is the
President)
If I won the lottery I would buy a Ferrari. (It implies that the speaker finds it very improbable that
he will ever win the lottery).
A)
* Note that could and might can replace would in conditional structures. In this case, could means would be able
to, and might means would perhaps or would just possibly.
* Were is often used instead of was after if, especially in a formal style, and in the expression If I were you...
If my nose were a little shorter I would be quite pretty.
If I were you I'd start packing now.
B)
7
IF WERE TO CONDITIONAL, COULD, MIGHT
if you were to buy a car it would cost you a lot of money
* We can use were to + infinitive in the if-clause. This makes a future possibility sound less probable; it can also
be used to make a suggestion more tentative.
3. Type III: hypothetical and impossible condition (since the condition was not fulfilled in the past, the
result of that condition never took place either). This is used for speculating about what would have happened if
things had been different.
A)
B)
In type I:
In type II:
type III:
8
2.-. if so and if not
These are two useful expressions which are used instead of complete clauses.
Have you go a free evening next week? If so, let's have dinner. (=if you have, let's...)
You may have some difficulty operating the machine at first. If so do not hesitate to telephone our
service department.
Is anybody feeling cold? If not, let's put the central heating off.
3. if only
If is used with only (usually with a past or past perfect tense) to suggest a strong wish or regret.
Supposing you fell in love with your boss, what would you do?
You can borrow my bike provided/providing you bring it back.
I'll give you the day off on condition that you work on Saturday morning.
You are welcome to stay with us, as long as you share the rent.
However, there are some cases where unless is impossible. In general, unless can be used in sentences that
say 'A will happen if it not stopped by B', but unless cannot be used in sentences that say 'A will result from B not
happening.' Compare:
I'll be back tomorrow unless there's a plane strike. (Or:... if there's not).
Let's have dinner out - unless you're too tired. (Or: ...if you're not...)
I'll be quite glad if she doesn't come this evening. (unless is impossible.)
She'd be pretty if she didn't wear so much make-up. (unless is impossible.)
I'll be surprised if he doesn't have an accident.
9
UNIT II: MODAL AUXILIARY VERBS
II.1 INTRODUCTION
* Auxiliary verbs can be classified into two groups:
1) Primary auxiliary verbs (be, have, do): these are used to make tenses, passive and questions. They
have an important grammatical meaning but no real lexical meanings.
2) Modal auxiliary verbs (can, could, may, might, must, will, would, shall, should, ought and need):
these verbs have lexical meaning and can be used to express a wide variety on senses.
* Modal auxiliaries have several points in common which make them quite different from other verbs:
1) They are not used (except sometimes in the negative) to talk about things which are definitely
happening, or have definitely happened. Modal verbs are used when we say that we expect things to
happen, or that events are possible, or necessary, or improbable, or impossible, or when we say that things
did not happen, or that we are not sure whether they happened.
I can't swim.
She could be in London or Paris or Tokyio - nobody knows.
I may come tomorrow if I have time.
You might have told me Frances was ill.
What would you do if you had a free year?
I think they should have consulted a doctor earlier.
2) Modal verbs have no -s on the third person singular; questions and negatives are made without do; they
are followed by the infinitive without to of other verbs (except for ought).
3) Modal verbs have no infinitives, and other expressions are used instead, when necessary.
4) Modal verbs have no past forms. Could and would are used with past meanings in some cases but
otherwise other expressions are used.
5) Modal verbs can be used with perfect infinitives to talk about things which did not happen, or which
we are not sure about, in the past.
10
II.2. ABILITY: CAN AND COULD
1. Present and future. -
* Can is usually used to talk bout the present, or about 'general ability' - the ability to do something any
time you want to.
Note that the only possible uncontracted negative o can is cannot (can not is not correct).
But can is often possible when people make present decisions about future ability.
We're too busy today, but we can repair your car tomorrow.
We can talk about that later.
Can you come to a party on Saturday?
2. Past.-
* Could is used for 'general ability', to say that you could do something any time you wanted to.
* Could is not used to talk about particular ability (to do something on one occasion) in the past. Instead,
we use was able to, managed to, or succeeded in.
He was a terrific liar: he could make anybody believe him.(General ability - could is correct.)
I talked for a long time, and in the end I managed to make her believe me. (One particular action - could
is impossible here).
* Note that the negative couldn't is used for both general and particular ability.
3. Conditional could.-
Could is also used in a conditional sense (meaning 'would be able to').
11
Sometimes we want to say that we had the ability to do something, but we didn't try to do it. There is a special
structure for this could + perfect infinitive (=could have + past participle)
I could have married anybody I wanted to. (=I was able to marry anybody..., but I didn't.)
I could have killed her! (=I was so angry that I was capable of killing her, but I didn't.)
You could have helped me! (=You were able to help me - why didn't you?)
a) Theoretical possibility: in the first example, we are saying that something can be done, but we are not talking
about the chances that it will happen. In this type of sentences can is normally used: everyone can be fed if we share
the world's resources.
b) Factual possibility: in the second example there is suggestion that somebody will not perhaps arrive in time:
we are talking about the chances of something actually happening, or being true. In this case may, might or could
are normally used: he may (might, could) not arrive in time.
1. Theoretical possibility.-
* Can is used to say that events and situations are possible (without talking about the chances of them
actually happening).
Sentences with can often give information about the characteristic behaviour of people of things.
Scotland can be very warm in September.
Gold can't be dissolved in hydrochloric acid.
To talk about the past could is used.
My grandmother could be very unpleasant at times.
2. Factual possibility.-
a. Future possibility. We don't use can to say that there is a chance that something will happen. Instead,
we usually use may or might (without any significant difference in meaning in modern English).
Could is used to give the idea that something is just possible, but not particularly likely.
b. Present possibility. May, might and could are also used to say that something is possibly true at the
moment of speaking.
12
You could be right, but I don't think you are.
This might be your big chance.
Might can also be used in this structure to say that a past event was possible, but didn't happen.
You were stupid to try climbing up there. You might have killed yourself.
* Could with the perfect infinitive is also used (as might was) to talk about an unrealized past possibility:
something that was possible but didn't happen.
You were stupid to go skiing there - you could have broken your leg.
It wasn't a good idea to throw the TV out of the window - it could have hit somebody.
This structure can be used to criticize people for not doing things.
You could have told me you had invited people to dinner. (=Why didn't you tell me ...?)
* To say that something was not a possibility, we say it couldn't have happened.
My parents wanted me to be a doctor, but I couldn't have put up with all those years of study.
* Could is rather more hesitant that can, and is used when you are not sure that you will get permission
(or when you don't want to sound too sure).
* May and might are used in a more formal style; they often suggest respect. Might is more hesitant, and
is not very common.
13
May I make a suggestion?
May I stop work a little earlier tonight.
Might I take the liberty of pointing out that you have made a small mistake?
Note that, in asking for permission, could and might are not past tenses; all four words refer to the future.
2. Giving permission.
When we give permission, we use can and may, but not could or might.
3. Past permission.-
In the past, could is used to say that one was allowed to do something at any time ('general permission').
When I lived at home, I could watch TV whenever I wanted to.
But we don't use could to talk about permission for one particular action in the past.
*Invitations can be expressed by will you? would you? or would you like?
* Requests can be expressed by will you? would you?. They can also be used without infinitives, placed
after an imperative.
But this is not very polite except when used between people who know each other very well.
* Commands can be expressed by will in the affirmative. This is a formal, impersonal type of command.
It implies the speaker's confidence that the order will be obeyed and is therefore much used in schools and in
military etc. establishments.
* Requests for orders or advice, offers, suggestions can be expressed by shall I? shall we?
a) Offers
I can lend you a pound till Wednesday, if that will help.
I could do the shopping for you, if you're tired.
Can I carry your bag?
Could I give you dinner one of these days.
In questions, may is also possible.
14
May I buy you a drink?
b) Invitations
Will you have a drink?
Would you like a drink?
Will you come to lunch tomorrow?
* Generally, when must is used, the obligation comes from the speaker (as in the two examples above).
If we talk about or report an obligation that comes from 'outside' (a regulation or an order from somebody else, for
example) must is possible, but have to is more common.
If the speaker adds his support or approval to the existing external authority he may use must.
Note that have is used here as an ordinary verb, so we must use auxiliary do in the interrogative and
negative.
15
Do you have to carry that heavy briefcase every day? You don't have to come tomorrow.
* In negative sentences, don't need to, needn't or don't have to are used to say that there is no obligation;
mustn't is used to tell people not to do things. Compare:
b) We use didn't have to, didn't need to and hadn't got to to express absence of obligation.
c) Prohibition is expressed with wasn't/weren't to, wasn't/weren't allowed to or expressions with similar
meaning.
You were not to arrive later than ten yesterday evening, so I must punish you.
Many Russians were not allowed to leave the USSR until "perestroika" arrived.
* In the future, however, the difference between the speaker's authority and external authority persists.
We use must for the first, and will have to for the second.
* Must is only used in this way in affirmative sentences. In questions and negatives, we use can and can't
instead.
That can't be the postman - it's only seven o'clock.
What do you think this letter can mean?
* Must is used with the perfect infinitive for deductions about the past (can and can't in questions and
negatives).
16
'The lights have gone out.' - 'A fuse must have blown.'
I don't think he can have heard you. Call again.
Where can John have put the matches? He can't have thrown them away.
* In most cases, both should and ought to can be used with more or less the same meaning. There is,
however, a very slight difference. When we use should, we give our own subjective opinion; ought to has a rather
more objective force, and is used when we are talking about laws, duties and regulations (or when we want to make
our opinion sound as strong as a duty or law). Compare:
* Should and ought to can also be used to talk about strong probability.
Good heavens - it's seven o'clock! I'd better put the meat in the oven.
You'd better hurry up if you want to get home before dark.
In negative structures, better comes before not (we don't say hadn't better).
* To talk about things which did not happen, although they were supposed to, we use should and ought
to with the perfect infinitive, or the was to construction.
17
BE, HAVE, DO
1. The BE + INFINITIVE construction
* This structure is often used to talk about arrangements which have been planned.
The Queen is to visit Japan next year. (=It has been arranged that the Queen...)
There's to be a rail strike on July 18th.
The structure can also be used in the past, to talk about arrangements which were planned. If the expected
event did not happen, the perfect infinitive can be used.
I felt nervous because I was to leave home for the first time.
I was to have started work last week, but I changed my mind.
Sometimes the reference is not to planned arrangements, but to 'destiny - things which were hidden in the
future, 'written in the stars'.
When we said goodbye, I thought it was for ever. But we were to meet again, many years later, under
very strange circumstances.
* Be + infinitive can also be used to give orders. (Parents often tell children to do things in this way.)
You're to do your homework before you watch TV. (You must do your homework...)
Tell her She's not to be back late.
They are about to start = They are just going to start/They are on the point of starting.
Note that this order of words, i.e. have + object + past participle must be observed as otherwise the
meaning will be changed:
When have is used in this way the negative and interrogative in its present and past tenses are formed with
do.
Do you have your windows cleaned every month?
I don't have them cleaned; I clean them myself.
He was talking about having central heating put in. Did he have it put in in the end?
Get can be used in exactly the same way as have above but is more colloquial:
Get is also used when we mention the person who performs the action. In this case we use an infinitive
18
construction:
The have + object + past participle construction can also be used colloquially to replace a passive verb,
usually one concerning some accident or misfortune. The meaning here is to experience an event or action by means
of an external agent.
He had two of his teeth knocked out in the fight = Two of his teeth were knocked out in the fight.
He had his fruit stolen before he had a chance to pick it up = His fruit was stolen before he etc.
1.- I'll have you driving in three days = as a result of my efforts, you will be driving in three days.
2.- If you give all-night parties you'll have the neighbours complaining.
If film-stars put their numbers in the telephone books they'd have everyone ringing them up.
you'll have in the first example conveys the idea 'this would happen to you'. Similarly they'd have in the
second example conveys the idea 'this would happen to them'.
1.- When we want to avoid repeating a verb which we have already used.
2.- For 'emotive emphasis', to show that we feel strongly about what we are saying.
When do is used with imperatives (e g Do sit down!), it often makes an invitation sound more polite,
welcoming or friendly.
3.- For 'contrastive emphasis', to show a contrast between, for example, true and false, or present and past,
or a rule and an exception.
19
WILL, WOULD, USED TO, SHOULD
1. Commands expressed by will in the affirmative
'You will stay here till you are relieved,' said the officer.
'All boys will attend roll-call at nine o'clock (school notice)
This is a formal, impersonal type of command, similar to must or is/are to but more peremptory. It implies
the speaker's confidence that the order will be obeyed and is therefore much used in schools and in military, etc.
establishments.
An Englishman will usually show you the way in the street (it is normal for an Englishman to act this
way).
Used to can have the forms either of an auxiliary verb (questions and negatives without do) or of an
ordinary verb (with do). The do-forms are more informal.
Did you use to play cricket at school? (or: Used you to play...?)
I didn't use to like opera, but now I'm getting interested. (Or: I used not to like opera..)
* Do not confuse used to + infinitive with the construction be used to. Be used to can be followed by a
noun or an -ing form. It has quite a different meaning for used to + infinitive. If you say that somebody is used to
(doing) something, you mean that he has done it or experienced it so often that it is no longer strange to him.
I've lived in Paris for six years now, so I'm quite used to the traffic.
When I was younger I was used to walking long distances, but now I'm out of practice.
Used to can be used to talk about states and situations as well as actions. Would can only be used for
repeated actions.
I used to have an old Rolls Royce. (I would... is impossible in cases like this.)
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4. Would rather/sooner + infinitive without to
There is no difference in meaning between these forms, but would rather is more often heard. would
rather/sooner is a very useful way of expressing preference. I/he etc. would rather/sooner can be used instead of
I prefer/he prefers.
I wish I knew his address = I'm sorry I don't know his address
I wish that he wrote more regularly = I'm sorry he doesn't write more regularly.
* wish + subject + past perfect tense expresses regret for a past situation or action.
* wish + subject + would can be used similarly, but only with actions which the subject can control, i.e.
actions he could change if he wished.
wish + would here expresses interest in the subject's willingness/unwillingness to perform the action:
I wish he would write more often = I'm sorry he isn't willing to write more often.
I wish he would wear a coat = I'm sorry he refuses to wear a coat.
I'll get some beer in case Aunt Mary comes. (She may come.)
I'll get some beer in case Aunt Mary should come. (She might come).
If you see Harry, give him my regards. (You may see him).
If you should see Harry, give him my regards. (You might see him.)
He turned the stereo very low so that he shouldn't disturb the old lady downstairs. (Or: ...in order
that he shouldn't...)
I always keep candles in the house in case there should be a power cut. (Or: ...in case there is...)
He didn't dare to leave the house lest someone should recognise him
3.- Should can be used in subordinate clauses when we are expressing the idea that something must be
done, or is important. This happens after verbs like command, order, insist, request, ask, suggest, advise,
recommend (especially in past sentences), and after adjectives like important, vital, essential, necessary,
eager, anxious, concerned.
21
He insisted that the contract should be read aloud.
I recommended that you should reduce your expenditure.
Was it necessary that my uncle should be informed?
I'm anxious that nobody should be hurt.
Ideas of this kind can also be expressed with the subjunctive (especially in American English)
or in other, simpler ways.
4.- Should is also used in subordinate clauses in sentences where we express personal reactions to events
(for instance, with words like amazing, interesting, shocked, sorry, normal, natural, it's a shame). In these
cases, too, should is more common in past sentences. The subjunctive is not possible here instead of
should.
It's astonishing that she should say that sort of things to you.
I was shocked that she shouldn't have invited Phyllis.
I'm sorry you should think I did it on purpose.
Do you think it's normal that the child should be so tired?
Sentences like these can be made without should. (I was shocked that she hadn't invited Phyllips;
I'm sorry you think...)
22
UNIT IV: THE PASSIVE VOICE
IV.I. ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE
* Compare the following two sentences:
In the first sentence, the person who did the action (your little boy) is the subject, and comes first;
then we say what he did ( with the verb, broke) and what he did it to (the object, my kitchen window). In
the second sentence, the opposite happens: we start by talking about the window (the object of the first
sentence has become the subject of the second); then we say what was done to it, and who this was done
by. The first kind of sentence, and the kind of verb form used in it, are called 'active'. The second kind of
sentence, and the kind of verb-form used, are called 'passive'.
* The choice between active and passive constructions often depends on what has already been
said, or on what the listener already knows. We usually like to start sentences with what is already known,
and to put 'new' information later in the sentence. In the first example above, the listener does not know
about the broken window, so the speaker makes it the object of the sentence. In the second example, the
listener knows about the window - it is being pointed out to him, he can see it- so the speaker uses a
passive construction; in this way he can put the window first, and keep the new information (who broke
it) for later in the sentence. Another example:
In the first sentence, John is somebody that the hearer knows; the news is that he has written a
play. The speaker prefers to put this at the end, so he begins with John and uses an active verb. In the
second sentence, a passive structure allows the speaker to begin with the play (which the hearer already
knows about), and to put the news (who wrote it) at the end.
* We often prefer to put longer and 'heavier' expressions at the end of a sentence, and this can be
another reason for choosing a passive structure. Compare:
The first sentence can easily be active or passive. But if the second sentence was active, the
subject would be very long (Mary wanting to tell everybody else what to do annoyed me). In this case, a
passive structure is more natural.
Passive structures are also used when we want to talk about an action, but we are not interested
in saying who (or what) did it.
The passive is especially common in descriptions of processes or rules, where the language used
is formal and the personal element is to be avoided.
23
Copper sulphate is made by mixing coper oxide and sulphuric acid.
Note the passive infinitive - to be invited, to be shot - and the perfect passive infinitive - (to) have been
hurt - in the last three examples. Passive -ing forms also exist.
IV.3. BY + AGENT
In sentences like The trouble was caused by your mother, the part of the sentence introduced by by is
called the agent. The agent in a passive sentence is the same person or thing as the subject of an active sentence.
Compare:
The agent is only expressed when it is important to say who or what something is done by. In most passive
sentences, there is no agent.
After some past participles which are used like adjectives. other prepositions are used instead of by to
introduce the agent.
24
He was shot (by the policeman) with a revolver.
The room was filled with smoke.
The lock was covered with paint.
When these verbs are used in the passive, there are two possibilities:
Her sister was given the car. (The indirect object -person- has become the subject of passive verb.)
The car was given to her sister. (The direct object -thing- has become the subject.)
Most often in such cases the person becomes the subject of the passive verb.
Other verbs used like this are pay, promise, refuse, tell, offer.
25
Most people saw him as a sort of clown.
The other children called him stupid.
I made the room beautiful
Passive sentences can be made with that or whether clauses as subjects. It is usually used as an
introductory subject.
Sentences like these cannot usually be made passive. We cannot say, for example, *Doris was wanted to
be the manager or *Our staff are liked to say what they think.
1) Verbs of asking, ordering, allowing etc can usually be used in the passive with a following infinitive.
I was asked to send a stamped addressed envelope.
She was told not to come back.
We are allowed to visit Henry once a week.
Other verbs in these group: advise, expect, forbid, mean, order, request, require, teach.
2) Many verbs of thinking, saying, etc can be used in the same way.
26
Other verbs in this category: believe, feel, presume, report, say, understand.
Note that with say the infinitive structure is only possible in the passive. Compare:
They say that he is famous in his own country. (Not: *They say him to be ...)
He is said to be famous in his own country.
With the other verbs in this group, too, the that-structure is more common than the infinitive
structure in active sentences.
3) A few verbs are followed, in the active, by an object and an infinitive without to. Examples are hear,
help, make, see. In the passive, the to-infinitive is used. Compare:
Not all prepositional verbs (see IV.8) can be used in passive structures. For example, we can say That
chair's not to be sat on or The children have been very well looked after, but we can't say *I was agreed with by
everybody or *The room was walked into. There are no clear rules about this; the student has to learn, one by one,
which expressions can be used in the passive.
27
UNIT V : REPORTED SPEECH
This way of quoting is called 'direct speech'. Usually the words quoted are introduced by one of the words
say or think put before the quotation. In writing, quotation marks ('...' or "...") are used. In literary writing, a large
number of other verbs are used (to add variety and to give additional information); for example, ask, exclaim,
suggest, reply, dry, reflect, suppose, grunt, snarl, hiss, whisper. And in literary writing the word order is more free;
the reporting verb can come in the middle or at the end of the quotation.
* The other way of quoting somebody's words or thoughts is to use the 'reported speech' construction (also
called 'indirect speech'). In this case, we talk about the idea that was expressed without quoting the exact words that
were used, and we connect it more closely to our own sentence (for example, by using that or whether).
So he comes into the pub and says (that) he'll have a pint.
And then I wondered whether he really meant it.
In reported speech, the tenses, word-order, pronouns and other words may be different from those in the
original sentence. Compare:
In some cases, words may disappear or be expressed in other ways (yes, no, well, exclamations and
questions-tags, for example, cannot be fitted into the reported speech construction.) Compare:
The verbs are 'more past' (because we are not talking at the same time as the speaker was). Compare:
28
Present Simple Past simple
'I like peaches' He said he liked peaches.
Present Progressive Past Progressive
'Is it raining?' He asked if it was raining.
Past Simple Past Perfect
'I didn't recognize you' She explained that she hadn't recognized me.
Present Perfect Past Perfect
'You've annoyed the dog.' I told her she'd annoyed the dog.
Past Progressive Past Progressive or Past Perfect Progressive
'I was joking.' He said he was joking (or:had been joking)
about the price about the price.
Past Perfect Past Perfect
'I hadn't seen her You said you hadn't seen her
before that day.' before that day.'
Shall / will Should / would
'We'll be late.' I was afraid we'd be late.
Can, may Could, might
'I can swim.' She thought she could swim.
'It may rain.' They said it might rain.
Would, could, might, Would, could, might,
ought, should ought, should
'You could be right.' I felt he could be right.
'That should be interesting.' She said it should be interesting.
Must Must or Had to
'I must go.' He said he must go. (or: ...had to go)
Note that we may have shall or should in direct speech, and would in reported speech (because of the
difference of person).
* When the 'reporting' verb is present, future, or present perfect, the tenses used are usually the same as
those in the speaker's original words. Compare:
'Will I be in time?'
She wants to know if she'll be in time.
'Was your operation successful?'
He'll certainly ask you if your operation was successful.
* Sometimes, even after past reporting verbs, the tenses are the same as the original speaker's. This happens
when we are reporting people saying things that are still true when we report them. Compare:
'How old are you?' - 'I beg your pardon?' - 'I asked how old you were.'
In sentences like these, we often use present tenses if we feel that we are reporting facts; we prefer past
tenses if we are not sure of the truth of what we report. Compare:
She told me she's getting married next June. (And I believe her.)
She told me she was getting married next June. (It may be true, it may not.)
29
V.3. OTHER CHANGES IN REPORTED SPEECH
* Pronouns and possessive adjectives normally change from first or second person to third person except
when the speaker is reporting his own words.
Pronoun changes may affect the verb when it is in the future or conditional.
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But if the speech is made and reported on the same day these time changes are not necessary.
Logical adjustments are of course necessary if a speech is reported one/two days after it is made.
One Monday Jack said to Tom:
If Tom reports this speech on the next day (Tuesday) he will probably say:
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= Ann promised to pay him/me etc. back the following week. or Ann said she would pay him back.
or Ann assured him that she would pay him back.
KIDNAPPERS: If you don't pay the ransom at once we'll kill your daughter.
= The kidnappers threatened to kill his daughter if he didn't pay the ransom at once.
or The kidnappers said that they would kill etc.
B) accuse + object + of, admit, deny, apologize for, insist on + gerund can sometimes be used instead of say that:
Inversion of say and noun subject is possible when say follows the statement:
say + to + person addressed is possible, but this phrase must follow the direct statement; it cannot
introduce it:
except with tell lies / stories / the truth, when the person addressed need not be mentioned:
tell used with direct speech must be placed after the direct statement:
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'I'm leaving at once.' Tom told me.
C) Other useful verbs are: add, admit, answer, argue, assure + object, boast, complain, deny, explain,
grumble, observe, point out, promise, remark, remind + object, reply. These can be used with direct or indirect
speech.
They can all introduce indirect statements. that should be placed after the verb:
D) murmur, mutter, shout, stammer, whisper can precede or follow direct statements or questions. Noun
subjects can be inverted as shown above:
There are, of course, a lot of other verbs describing the voice or the tone of voice, e.g. bark, growl, snarl,
sneer, roar, scream, shriek, yell. But these are more common with direct speech than with reported speech.
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* Before questions which do not have a question-word (like who, where, why), if or whether is used in
reported speech. Although normally we can use either, if is more usual than whether.
* Say can be used to introduce direct questions, but not reported questions. Compare:
These follow the ordinary rule about shall / will. Speculations are usually introduced by wonder:
These are expressed in indirect speech by ask, inquire etc., with should or the be + infinitive construction.
Requests for advice are normally reported by should.
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'What shall I do, mother?' she said.
= She asked her mother what she should do. (request for advice)
When a choice is required we normally use whether in indirect speech, whether + infinitive is sometimes
possible.
4) Suggestions:
* Questions beginning with will you / would you / could you? may be ordinary questions but may also be
requests, invitations, or, very occasionally, commands:
He said, 'Will you have a drink / Would you like a drink? (invitation)
= He offered me a drink.
or He asked if I would have / would like a drink.
Indirect commands, requests, advice are usually expressed by a verb of command / request / advise +
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object + infinitive.
A) Tell and ask are the reporting verbs normally used. As an alternative to these we can also use: advise, beg,
command, encourage, entreat, forbid, implore, invite, order, recommend, remind, request, urge, warn. (Note that
say is not normally used).
He said, 'Get your coat, Tom!' = He told Tom to get his coat.
'You had better hurry, Bill!' she said. = She advised Bill to hurry.
'Don't swim out too far, boys,' I said. = I warned/told the boys not to swim out too far.
forbid can also be used for prohibitions, but is more common in the passive than in the active:
'Yes, we have a room for you,' said the receptionist. 'If you'd just sign the register!'
= The receptionist said that they had a room for him and asked him to sign the register.
'Would you like to come for a drive with me?' said Andrew.
= Andrew asked/invited her to come for a drive with him.
'Forget all about this young man,' said her parents. 'Don't see him again or answer his letters.'
= 'His parents ordered her to forget all about the young man and told her not too see him again or answer
his letters.
In the passive we could say:
'She was ordered to forget all about the young man and forbidden to see him again or answer his
letters.
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'You had better not leave your car unlocked,' said my friends; 'there's been a lot of stealing from cars'
= My friends warned me not to leave my car unlocked as there had been a lot of stealing from cars.
'will you...?' sentences are normally treated as requests and reported by ask:
'Will all persons not travelling please go ashore, as the gangways are about to be taken away,' said
one of the ship's officers over the loudspeaker.
= One of the ship's officers asked all persons not travelling to go ashore...
E) suggest is another useful reporting verb, but note that it cannot be followed by the infinite:
Had to is also possible in reported speech, but this is really the past of have to, not must.
I said, 'If you can lend me the money I needn't go to the bank
= I said that if he could lend me the money I needn't / wouldn't have to go to the bank.
3.Conditional
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After a past reporting verb, we can sometimes use a 'conditional perfect' structure (past perfect in the main
clause, conditional perfect in the other). It depends on the meaning. Compare:
1 He said, 'If you called on me tomorrow, I could see you for half an hour'.
He said that if I called on him the next day he could see me for half an hour.
In the first example, the speaker was talking about something that might happen, and the conditional perfect
is not possible because it is only used for 'imaginary' situations. In the second example, the conditional perfect is
possible, because the speaker was talking about something that could not happen.
Exclamations beginning what a... and how... such as He said, 'What a dreadful night!' or 'How dreadful!' are
expressed in indirect speech by He said that it was ... So this example becomes: He said that it was a dreadful night.
Exclamations such as ugh! heavens! are usually reported by He exclaimed with / gave an exclamation of
disgust/surprise etc. Note also:
B) yes and no are expressed in indirect speech by subject + appropriate auxiliary verb:
5. That
After the commonest verbs of saying and thinking, that can be left out, particularly in a conversational
style.
That is not so often left out in a more formal style, and there are also many verbs (e.g. reply, telegraph)
after which that is necessary.
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He replied that we ought to invest half the profits. (Not: *He replied we ought to...)
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UNIT VI: RELATIVE CLAUSES
VI.1. RELATIVE PRONOUNS
* Relative pronouns do two jobs at once. They are used as the subjects or objects of verbs, like other
pronouns; at the same time, they join clauses together, like conjunctions. Compare:
What's the name of the blonde girl? She just came in?
What's the name of the blonde girl who just came in?
In the second example, who replaces she as the subject of came, and also allows to join the two sentences
into one.
* The most common relative pronouns are who, whom, which and that. Who and whom are used for
people; which is used for things.
* Whom (which refers to the object of a verb or a preposition) is rather unusual, especially in
conversational English. It is generally either left out, or replaced by who or that. It is almost impossible in clauses
that end with a preposition. Compare:
I think you should stay faithful to the person you're married to. (Or: ... the person who / that you're
married to.) (Conversational style).
Do you think one should stay faithful to the person to whom one is married? (Formal style).
* That can often (but not always) be used instead of whom or which, and quite often instead of who.
* After nouns referring to times and places, when and where can be used to mean at which or in which.
After the word reason, why is used to mean for which.
'who told me this' is the relative clause. If we omit this, it is not clear what man we are talking about.
Notice that there is no comma between a noun and a defining relative clause:
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The noise that he made woke everybody up.
The forms of relative pronouns used in defining relative clauses are as follows.
that is much less usual than who except after superlatives and after all, nobody, no one, somebody,
someone, anybody etc., when either who or that can be used.
He was the best king who / that ever sat on the throne.
All who / that heard him were delighted.
The object form is whom, but this is considered very formal and seldom used in spoken English. Instead
of whom, therefore, in spoken English we use who or that (that being more usual than who) and it is still more
common to omit the object pronoun altogether:
The girls whom he employs are always complaining about their long hours.
or The girls that he employs...
or The girl he employs... (relative pronoun omitted).
In formal English the preposition is placed before the relative pronoun, which must then be put into the
form whom:
In informal speech, however, it is more usual to move the preposition to the end of the clause. whom then
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is often replaced by that, but it is still more common to omit the relative altogether:
D) Possessive
B) Object of a verb
which or that, or no relative at all
The car which / that I hired broke down after five kilometres
or The car I hired broke down after five kilometres.
c) Object of a preposition
The formal construction is preposition + which, but it is more usual to move the preposition to the end of
the clause, using which or that or omitting the relative altogether:
the day when they arrived the year when he was born
D) Possessive
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whose + a clause is possible but can often be replaced by with + a phrase.
Be careful not to confuse the relative what with the connective relative which. Remember that which must
refer to a word or group of words in the preceding sentence, while what does not refer back to anything. The relative
what is also usually the object of a verb, while the connective which is usually the subject.
4. Cleft sentences
If we want to give a special importance to one part of a sentence, we can put it into a separate clause. There
are two common ways of doing this. One is to use the structure It is / was...that...; the other is to use What...is /
was.... Compare:
Harry told the police. It was Harry that told the police.
I need a beer. What I need is a beer.
The sentence with it gives special importance to Harry; the sentence with what emphasizes a beer.
Sentences like these are called 'cleft sentences' by grammarians (cleft means 'divided').
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For persons who who / whom whose
A) Subject: who
My neighbour, who is very pessimistic, says there will be no apples this year.
Peter, who had been driving all day, suggested stopping at the next town.
The pronoun cannot be omitted. whom is the correct form, though who is sometimes used in conversation:
The pronoun cannot be omitted. The preposition is normally placed before whom:
Mr Jones, for whom I was working, was very generous about overtime payments.
It is however possible to move the preposition to the end of the clause. This is commonly done in
conversation, and who then often takes the place of whom:
If the clause contains an expression of time or place, this will remain at the end:
Peter, with whom I played tennis on Sundays, was fitter than I was could become
Peter, who / whom I played tennis with on Sundays, was fitter than I was.
D) Possessive: whose
Ann, whose children are at school all day, is trying to get a job.
I congratulated Mrs Jones, whose son had won the high jump.
That tower block, which cost £5 million to build, has been empty for five years.
The 8.15 train, which is usually very punctual, was late today.
B) Object: which
that is not used here, and the which can never be omitted:
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C) Object of a preposition
The preposition comes before which, or (more informally) at the end of the clause:
Ashdown forest, through which we'll be driving, isn't a forest any longer
or Ashdown Forest, which we'll be driving through, isn't...
His house, for which he paid £10,000 ten years ago, is now worth twice as much.
or His house, which he paid £10,000 for ten years ago, is now...
Combinations such as look forward to, look after, put up with should be treated as a unit, i.e. the
preposition/adverb should not be separated from the verb:
This machine, which I have looked after for twenty years, is still working perfectly.
Your inefficiency, which we have put up with far too long, is beginning to annoy our customers.
whose is generally used both for animals and things. of which, for things, is possible but unusual except
in very formal English:
His house, whose windows were all broken, was a depressing sight.
The car, whose handbrake wasn't very reliable, began to slide backwards.
Her brothers, both of whom work in Scotland, ring her up every week.
I met the fruit-pickers, several of whom (or five etc. of whom) were university students.
The house was full of boys, ten of whom were his own grandchildren.
The buses, most of which were already full, were surrounded by an angry crowd.
I picked up the apples, some of which were badly bruised.
He went up the mountain with a group of people, few of whom were correctly equipped for such a
climb.
Connective clauses do not describe their nouns but continue the story. They can be replaced by and or but:
Sometimes it may be difficult to say whether a clause in this position is non-defining or connective. But
there is no need for students to make this distinction, as there is no difference between the two forms.
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More examples of connective clauses:
We can use one / two etc., some / several / few etc. + of + whom / which, as shown before.
I bought a dozen eggs, six of which broke when I dropped the box at my door.
He introduced me to his children, one of whom offered to go with me as a guide.
The lorry crashed into a queue of people, several of whom had to have hospital treatment.
A) whoever, whichever (pronoun and adjective) can mean 'the one who', 'he who', 'she who':
C) whoever, whichever, whatever, whenever, wherever, however can mean 'no matter who' etc.:
If I say 'heads, I win; tails you lose', I will win whatever happens or whichever way the coin falls.
Whatever happens don't forget to write.
I'll find him, wherever he has gone (no matter where he has gone).
whatever you do is often placed before or after a request / command to emphasize its importance:
however is and adverb of degree and is used with an adjective or another adverb:
I'd rather have a room of my own, however small (it is), than share a room.
However hard I worked she was never satisfied.
He lives in Wick, wherever that is. (I don't know where it is, and I'm not interested.)
He says he's a phrenologist, whatever that is. (I don't know what it is and I'm not very interested).
E) who ever? when ever? what ever? etc. may be written as separate words, but the meaning then changes. ever
here is not necessary in the sentence but is added to emphasize the speaker's surprise / astonishment / anger /
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irritation / dismay. It has the same meaning as on earth / in the world.
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UNIT VII: INFINITIVES, GERUNDS,
PRESENT PARTICIPLES,
AND THAT-CLAUSES
I must go now.
Can you help me?
I'd rather go alone.
You'd better see what she wants.
Need I do the washing up?
How dare you call me a liar.
When these verbs are used in the passive, they are followed by the to-infinitive.
In modern English, it is more common to begin the sentence with it ('preparatory subject'), and to put the
infinitive later.
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It's easy to make mistakes. (Instead of To make mistakes is easy.)
It was impossible to explain what I meant.
An -ing form is often used instead of an infinitive as the subject of a sentence, particularly when we are
talking about an activity in general. The -ing form can be put at the beginning of a sentence.
But if we are talking about one particular action, the infinitive is more usual.
In some of these cases, the second verb is the infinitive; in others, the -ing form is used. The choice
depends on the first verb. For instance, hope can be followed by an infinitive (or by a that-clause); enjoy is always
followed by an -ing form. Some verbs (eg try, remember) can be followed either by an infinitive or by an -ing form,
with a difference of meaning. Some verbs (eg think) cannot be followed directly by another verb.
In order to know what structures are possible after a particular verb, you should consult a good dictionary.
The commonest verbs which are followed directly by an infinitive are:
Some of these verbs can also be followed by the -ing form, often with a different meaning.
Some of these verbs, and a number of others, can be used in the construction verb + object + infinitive
(for example, I wanted her to come back early).
Note that these verbs are all followed by an infinitive with to (except sometimes dare).
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Want, allow, and some other verbs are normally used with an object and an infinitive.
The following list contains the commonest verbs which are used in this construction. Many of them can
also be used in other constructions (for instance, with an -ing form or a that-clause); for detailed information about
each verb you should consult a dictionary.
Think, believe, consider, know, fine, imagine, suppose and feel can be followed by object + infinitive, but
the structure is rather literary and not very common (though it is more frequent in the passive). These verbs are more
often used with a that-clause.
There are some common verbs that cannot be used in the structure verb + infinitive; for instance, suggest.
careless, clever, brave, wise, king, good, nice, honest, generous, cowardly, selfish, silly, wicked etc. can
also be used in this way.
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Adjectives in A above can be used here, and also strange, crazy, mad, odd, funny (= odd), extraordinary,
astonishing, amazing, pointless, ridiculous etc.
Other adjectives of this type are happy, glad, relieved, astonished, amazed, surprised, horrified, disgusted,
disappointed, sad.
E) An infinitive is often placed after the adjectives easy, hard, difficult, awkward, impossible, etc.:
F) apt, anxious, bound, due, inclined, liable, prepared, ready, reluctant, unwilling, willing can be followed by an
infinitive.
* When a verb is used with a preposition, this often comes at the end of the sentence in adjective +
infinitive structures.
* Enough and too are often used with an adjective + infinitive construction.
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VII.6. FOR + OBJECT + INFINITIVE
* After certain adjectives, the special structure for + object + infinitive is often used.
The same meaning could often be expressed with a that-clause (I'm anxious that the party should be a
success), but this is usually more formal in style.
A) Adjectives that express importance or urgency, for instance. important, essential, vital, necessary, pointless,
unimportant, unnecessary. The sentence is often introduced by It is.
B) Adjectives that express frequency, for instance, common, normal, unusual, rare. The It is structure is often used.
C) Adjectives that express personal reactions to the future, for instance, anxious, eager.
* The for-structure can also be used after certain nouns, for instance, plan, idea, suggestion.
Have you heard about the plan for Jack to stand for the Liberals in the General Election?
His idea is for us to travel in two different cars.
A) Nouns related to verbs: some nouns, like wish, refusal, offer, can be followed by infinitives, just like the related
verbs. Compare:
However, in many cases the verb and the noun are used in different structures.
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B) Other nouns: an infinitive is often used to say what will be done with something, or what effect it will have.
When we are talking in general (and not about a particular action), we can use for + -ing instead of the
infinitive, with a similar meaning.
C) When the infinitive is used with a preposition, another structure is possible: preposition + whom / which +
infinitive. This is more common in a formal style.
Mary needs a friend to play with. Or: ...a friend with whom to play.
He's looking for a place to live in. Or: ...a place in which to live.
I'm looking for something to clean the carpet with. Or: ... something with which to clean the carpet.
The verbs are know, ask, tell, explain, show, wonder, consider, find out, understand, and others with
similar meanings.
In negative sentences, in order not to or so as not to are used; the infinitive alone is not usually correct.
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After come, go, run, hurry up, stay, stop and some other verbs, and can be used instead of an infinitive of
purpose.
In fact, the distinction is not really as simple as this, and some grammarians prefer to avoid the terms
participle and gerund. Since the purpose of this grammar units is mainly a practical one, we will henceforth avoid
making the distinction between gerunds and participles, grouping both grammar concepts under the general
denomination of -ing forms.
In informal English it is more common to use forms like me, you, John instead, especially when these
forms are functioning as the grammatical object of the sentence.
Note that the verbs see, hear, feel, smell are not usually followed by possessive + -ing.
I saw him letting out of his car. (Not *I saw his getting...)
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contemplate forgive resent
delay give up resist
deny can't help risk
detest imagine can't stand
dislike involve suggest
endure leave off understand
enjoy mention
escape mind
For example:
You should check the oil before starting the car (Not: ...*before to start...)
He walked away without looking back. (Not: ...*without to look...)
You can't make an omelette without breaking the eggs
We got the job finished by working sixteen hours a day.
He's always talking about moving to the country.
I look forward to hearing from you.
VII.12. TO + -ING
Sentences like I look forward to hearing from you may seem strange, if you expect the verb in every to
+ verb structure to be the infinitive. The point is that to is really two different words. One of them is just a sign of
the infinitive. (It is used with most infinitives, but is left out in some cases, for example after can or must.)
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I'm not used to London traffic.
When this preposition is followed by a verb, we use the -ing form (as we do after all prepositions).
If you are not sure whether to is a preposition or not, try putting a noun after it. If you can, it is a
preposition (and is followed by the -ing form of a verb). Compare:
If to cannot be followed by a noun, it is not a preposition, and -ing is not used. You cannot say *I want
to dinner, so you do not say *I want to eating.
Common examples of to + -ing are: look forward to ...-ing, object to ...-ing, be used to ...-ing, in addition
to ...-ing, be accustomed to ...-ing (but be accustomed to + infinitive is also possible).
As well as getting on everybody's nerves, he's got a habit of borrowing money and forgetting to pay
it back.
Why don't you do something useful, like cleaning the flat?
There's nothing that depresses me more than waking up with a hangover on a wet Monday.
Is it any good trying to explain?
It's not much use my buying salmon if you don't like it.
It isn't worth repairing the car. (= The car isn't worth repairing)
advise go on propose
allow hate regret
attempt hear remember
can't bear intend see
begin like start
continue love stop
forbid permit try
forget prefer watch
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This is also the case with certain adjectives:
* With remember, forget, stop, go on and regret, the difference is connected with time. the -ing form refers
to things that happened earlier (before the remembering, forgetting, etc takes place); the infinitive refers to things
that happen after the remembering, etc.
A) Remember + -ing = remember what one has done, or what has happened
I shall always remember meeting you for the first time.
B) Forget + -ing = forget what one has done, or what has happened
I shall never forget seeing the Queen.
* With the adjective interested, the -ing form refers to what will (or may) happen, and the infinitive refers
to what has happened.
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Like + infinitive = choose to; be in the habit of; think it right to.
I like to get up early so that I can have plenty of work done before lunch.
I heard you talking and I didn't like to disturb you, so I went away.
Note that would like means 'wish' or 'want', and is always followed by the infinitive.
What would you like to do tomorrow? (Not: *What would you like doing tomorrow?)
* With love, hate and prefer there is not much difference between the two structures.
When we are referring to one particular occasion, it is more common to use the infinitive.
Would you like to have lunch now or would you prefer to wait?
I'll love to come and see you some time.
I hate to break things up, but it's time to go home.
I hate to mention it, but you owe me some money.
'Can I give you a lift?' - 'No, thanks, I prefer to walk.'
* Allow, advise, forbid and permit are followed by an -ing form when there is no personal object. If we
say who is allowed, advised, etc, the infinitive is used.
* After see, watch and hear, and -ing form suggests that we observe part of a complete action; when we
start looking or listening it is already going on. The infinitive is used when we want to suggest that we observe the
whole action from beginning to end.
When I walked past his house I heard him practising the violin
I heard Oistrakh play the Beethoven violin concerto last week.
When I glanced out of the window I saw Mary crossing the road.
I watched him step off the pavement, cross the road, and disappear into the post-office.
* Afraid of + -ing and afraid + infinitive can often both be used with little difference of meaning.
I'm afraid to fly / of flying.
I'm afraid to tell / of telling her.
However, when we are talking about things which happen to us unexpectedly, without our wanting or
choosing them, only the -ing form is possible.
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I'm afraid of crashing. (Not: *...to crash.)
I don't like to speak French because I'm afraid of making mistakes. (Not: *...to make...)
Compare:
I'm afraid of diving / to dive into the swimming pool. (= I don't want to do it.)
I'm afraid of falling into the swimming-pool. (= I don't want it to happen to me. Here *...to fall is
impossible.)
* Begin and start can be followed by an -ing or infinitive structures, usually with no real difference of
meaning. It is perhaps more common to use an -ing form when we are talking about the beginning of a long or
habitual activity.
How old were you when you first started playing the piano?
The -ing form is not used after a progressive form of begin or start.
After begin and start, the verbs understand and realize are only used in the infinitive.
* After propose, attempt, intend, continue, can't bear and be accustomed to, both structures are possible
with little difference of meaning, but the infinitive is probably more common after propose, attempt and intend.
* Sorry is used with an infinitive when we apologize for something that we are doing or about to do.
When we apologize for something that we have done, we use a perfect infinitive or for + -ing, or a
that-clause.
Sorry to have woken you up yesterday.
I'm sorry for waking you up (or for having woken you up) yesterday.
I'm sorry that I woke you up yesterday.
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confess know seem
declare learn show
decide make out stipulate
demand mean suggest
demonstrate notice teach
determine observe tell
be determined occur think
discover order threaten
estimate perceive turn out
expect presume vow
fear pretend warn
feel promise wish
find propose
Most of the above verbs can also take another construction (see sections on the infinitive and the -ing
form). Note however that a verb + that + subject construction does not necessarily have the same meaning as the
same verb + infinitive + -ing.
He saw her sweeping under the beds = He watched her sweeping etc.
but He saw that she swept under the beds could mean either 'He noticed that she did this'
or 'He made sure by supervision that she did this.'
The tense of the main verb will affect the tense in the noun that-clause:
that + subject + should can be used after a number of verbs (see unit III): agree, arrange, be anxious,
command, decide, demand, determine, be determined, order, resolve and urge instead of an infinitive construction,
and after insist and suggest instead of -ing.
* that + subject + verb can be used after be + adjectives expressing feeling: astonished, delighted, glad,
relieved etc.
* that + subject + verb can also follow an abstract noun such as belief, fact, fear, hope, report, rumour.
The rumour that prices were going to rise led to a rush on the shops.
* A that-clause can also be the subject of a sentence. Normally the sentence begins with it + be + adjective
/ noun.
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It is unfortunate that you were not insured.
It is a pity that he didn't come earlier.
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UNIT VIII: ARTICLES AND OTHER
DETERMINERS
Two determiners can not usually be used together. So it is not possible, in English, to say *the my uncle
or *the that man. We say either the uncle or my uncle, the man or that man, depending on the meaning.
Note also that another begins with the article an, so we cannot say *the another (two articles cannot be
used together). We say the other.
a) First of all, it makes a difference what kind of noun we are using. Articles are not used in the same way
with singular countable nouns (like cat, bridge), with plural countable nouns (like cats, bridges) and with
uncountable nouns (like water, rice).
b) Secondly, we use articles in one way if we are talking about things in general (for example or the
guitar, or life in general, or whisky), and we use them in a different way when we are talking about
particular examples of these things (for example, an Englishman, or a guitar that we want to buy, or the
life of Beethoven, or some whisky that we are drinking).
c) Thirdly, when we are talking about particular examples, it depends whether these are definite or
indefinite. If they are definite (in other words, if our hearer or reader knows exactly which ones we mean),
we normally use the. If we are talking about indefinite things (which our hearer doesn't know anything
about), we use articles differently (a, some, or no article).
Uncountable nouns are words like water, rice, energy, luck. These are things that we can divide (a drop
of water, a bowl of rice, a piece of luck), but not count. You cannot say *one water, *two waters, etc. These words
do not have plurals. The indefinite article a / an cannot be used with uncountable words.
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This is a list of English uncountable nouns which might lead foreign students into error: health, weather,
English, advice, information, travel, progress, research, news, luggage, furniture, knowledge, hair, toast. None of
these words, therefore, can be used with the indefinite article or take plural forms (news is a plural only in form,
not in meaning).
Some expressions, however, can be used to quantify or divide uncountable nouns. Here follows a list of
the most useful ones:
- a piece of news, advice, information, furniture, luck, chalk, iron, chocolate, toast, etc.
- a loaf bread.
- a clap of thunder.
- a kilo / pound / etc. of flour, etc.
- a pint / litre of beer, water, milk.
- a lump of sugar, earth, etc.
- a spoonful of sugar, medicine, etc.
- a sheet of paper.
- a great deal of money, enthusiasm, etc.
- a slice of bread, cake.
Note
1) A lot of words can be both countable and uncountable, with different meanings or uses (e.g. iron, an
iron; coffee, a coffee).
* The complete rules for the use of articles with countable and uncountable nouns are:
B) the can be used with all kind of nouns (the cat, the cats, the water).
C) Plural nouns and uncountable nouns can be used with no article (cats, water), but singular uncountable
nouns cannot.
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a /an the no article
singular
countable a cat the cat
plural
countable the cats cats
A very important point: singular countable nouns must always have an article (or another determiner like
my, this). We can say a cat, the cat, this cat my cat, but not *cat. There are some exceptions in expressions with
prepositions like by car, in bed. Do not leave out the article before the names of professions.
When we use an article with a plural or uncountable noun, the meaning is not general, but particular.
Compare:
He likes cars, girls, food and drink. (Not particular cars or girls - he likes them all.)
The cars in the garage belong to the girls who live next door. (Particular cars and girls.)
She loves life. (A very general idea - she loves everything in life.)
He is studying the life of Beethoven. (A particular life).
Note that society is usually used without an article when it means 'the society that we are living in', and
space has no article when it means 'the empty space between the stars'.
Society turns people into criminals and then locks them up.
Man has just taken his first steps into space.
Some expressions are 'half-general' - the middle between general and particular. If we talk about
eighteen-century music or poverty in Britain, we are not talking about all music or all poverty, but they are still
rather general ideas (compared with the music we heard last night or the poverty that I grew up in). In these
'half-general' expressions, we usually use no article. However, articles are often used when the noun is followed
by of. Compare:
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eighteen-century art the art of the eighteen century
African butterflies the butterflies of Africa
2) Another way of generalizing is to use a singular countable noun with an article. The indefinite article
(a / an) is often used in this way to talk about things in general.
A, here is rather like any. The sentences would mean almost exactly the same if we used plural nouns with
no article (e.g. One should give children plenty of encouragement.)
The definite article (the) is often used in generalizations with singular countable nouns. This is common
when we are talking about science and technology.
We also talk about the cinema and the theatre as general ideas.
1) The has a 'definite' meaning. We say the car, the girls, etc in two cases: (i) when our listener already
knows which car, which girls, etc we mean, and (ii) when we are telling him which car, which girls etc we mean.
Shut the door! (It is obvious which one - there is only one open.)
I had trouble with the car this morning. (I mean my car, of course.)
How did you like the film? (The listener knows which film is meant.)
Those are the girls who live next door. (The end of the sentence makes it clear which girls are meant.)
We use the with words like sun, moon, stars - if we talk about the sun, it is obvious which one is meant
(there is only one); and when we say the stars, it is the same (we mean all the stars).
2) Things can be particular (not general), but 'indefinite'. If we say Pass me a piece of bread or Let me buy
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you a drink, the piece of bread or the drink are not definite - it could be any one of several pieces of bread, any one
of several kinds of drink. If we say I met a friend of yours yesterday, it could also be any one of several - the listener
does not know which one. In cases like these, we do not use the. With singular countable nouns, we use a / an.
With uncountable and plural nouns, we express this 'indefinite' meaning by using either some / any or no
article.
We also use a / an when we say that a person or thing is a member of a particular class or group. or when
we say what people or things are like.
She's a doctor.
A sailor is a man who works is ships.
'What's that?' - 'It's an adjustable spanner.'
You're a beautiful girl.
No article is used with uncountable and plural words in this case; some and any are not used.
3) When we mention something for the first time, we will probably use an indefinite article (or some or
no article with uncountables and plurals), because our listener knows nothing about it. But when we mention the
same thing again, it becomes definite (because now he knows which one we mean).
A man came up to a policeman and asked him a question. The policeman didn't understand the
question, so he asked the man to repeat it.
Some / any are mostly used when we are talking about uncertain, indefinite or unknown numbers or
quantities. Compare:
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seven.)
Is there any more beer in the fridge? (indefinite quantity.)
We need beer, sugar, butter, eggs, rice and toilet paper. (The usual quantities.)
2) There is a special use of the strong form of some ([s¸m] ) with singular countable nouns.
In cases like these, some means 'I don't know about him / her / it, and I'm not very interested.'
any is used:
- In negative sentences.
2. No and none
no (adjective) and none (pronoun) can be used with affirmative verbs to express a negative; they are
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therefore an alternative to negative verb + any.
On the whole a negative verb + any is more usual than an affirmative verb + no / none.
Compounds with some, any and no follow the rules in 2 and 3 above.
Note the use of home instead of *to home (e.g. I'm going home)
When the above expressions are used with articles they have special meanings. Compare:
When with or without is followed by a singular countable noun, an article is normally necessary. We say
You can't get there without a car, not *...without car. However, articles are often dropped in double expressions
with prepositions, like with knife and fork, with hat and coat, from top to bottom, on land and sea, arm in arm, inch
by inch, day after day.
2. Genitives (possessives)
Articles are not normally used in genitive expressions when the first word is a proper name.
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John's coat.
America's economic problems.
3. Nouns as adjectives
When a noun is used as an adjective (before another noun), the first noun's article is dropped. Lessons in how to
play the guitar are guitar lessons; a spot on the sun is a sun spot.
Articles are used in the expressions listen to the radio, on the radio, but not in watch television, on
television (or on TV).
6. Musical instruments
We normally use the definite article in expressions like play the guitar, learn the piano. Note the difference
in the use of articles between the languages of classical music and jazz / rock.
(The definite article is not used with the names of games. compare play the piano, play the guitar, play
chess, play football)
We can say all year, all week, all day, all night, all summer, all winter, but not *all hour or *all century.
8. Illnesses
The names of illnesses are usually uncountable, and we talk about them with no article.
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I think I've got measles.
She's had appendicitis-
We say a cold, I've got a cold.
We say a headache, but other aches (toothache, earache, etc) are uncountable, with no article, in British
English.
9. Numbers
The indefinite article is used in a hundred, a thousand, a million, a billion, etc.
Note the use of the article in expressions like sixty pence a pound, seventy miles an hour, forty hours a week.
10. Seasons
We can say spring or the spring, in summer or in the summer, etc. There is very little difference between
the expressions with and without the article. The article is usually used in in the fall (US).
11. Positions
In certain constructions, the names of positions that people can occupy are used without articles.
Note (i) the name of the position is the complement, not the subject of the sentence (you cannot say
*Chairman came to lunch, with no article) (ii) these are 'unique' positions - there is only one Queen of England,
only one captain of the team.
Do not drop the indefinite article before the name of a profession or job in other cases. We say He's a
doctor or I don't want to be a secretary.
12. Exclamations
We don't leave out a / an in exclamations after what.
13. Ships
The definite article is used in the names of ships.
The Titanic.
The Queen Mary.
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We often use the with the words country, sea, seaside and mountains, even when we don't say which sea,
or which mountains, etc. are meant.
15. Place-names
We usually use the with the following kinds of place-names:
continents (Africa)
counties, states, departments, etc (Berkshire, Westphalia, Texas)
towns (Oxford)
streets (High Street)
lakes (Lake Windermere)
countries (Andorra, Brazil)
Exceptions: countries whose name contains a common noun (The People's Republic of China; The United
Kingdom of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland; The United Arab Emirates; The USA; The USSR)
We do not usually use articles in expressions which refer to the principal buildings of a town:
Oxford University
Cambridge Polytechnic
Westminster Abbey
Salisbury Cathedral
Bognor Town Hall
Wigan Police Station
Birmingham Airport
Names of single mountains usually have no article (Everest, Snowdon). But we use the with the names of
European mountains if their name has an article in the local language: Das Matterhorn = The Matterhorn; La Meije
= The Meije. Exception: the is not used before Mont(e): Le Mont Blanc is called Mont Blanc in English.
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Dictionary entries: palm inner surface of hand between wrist and fingers.
Lists: Take car to garage; buy buttons; pay phone bill...
Notes: In 17th century, balance of power between King and Nobles changed.
1) Do not use the (with plural and uncountable nouns) to talk about things in general.
Most mistakes with articles are made through breaking one of these rules.
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APPENDIX I
DISCOURSE MARKERS
These are words and expressions used to show the structure of a discourse.
a) FOCUSING.-
-talking about -with reference to -regarding
-as regards -as far as... is concerned
b) STRUCTURING.-
1.- Divisions:
-firstly,... secondly,... thirdly,.... finally -first of all -to begin with -for a start -in the first
place
-for one thing ..., for another thing
-on the one hand ..., on the other hand
-moreover -in addition -similarly -besides -as well as that -on top of that
-all the same -yet -still -however -on the other hand -nevertheless
-though -by contrast -in spite of that
5.- Generalizing:
-on the whole -in general -as a rule -at large -by and large -all in all -everything
considered
-in broad outline -broadly speaking -roughly speaking -generally speaking
-in most cases -in many cases
-to some extent -to such an extent that... -in short -to cut a long story short
-in a word
6.- Clarifying:
c) DISMISSAL OF A PREVIOUS DISCOURSE- expressions often used to mean 'what is said before doesn't
really matter -the main point is as follows'.
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-at any rate -anyway -anyhow -in any case -the real point is
-according to the text... -according to the author... -in the author's words...
-the text states that... - the text mentions that...
g) STARTING A SUMMARY:
- The text deals with... - The author's point / view / opinion is that...
- I think the text could be summarized in the following way:
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APPENDIX II
LIST OF IRREGULAR VERBS
Here follows a alphabetical list of the most common irregular verbs. Students should provide the corresponding
translations into Spanish.
be was been
were
do did done
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INFINITIVE PAST PAST PART. MEANING
go went gone
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INFINITIVE PAST PAST PART. MEANING
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INFINITIVE PAST PAST PART. MEANING
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