Table of English Tenses
Tense Affirmative/Negative/Question
Simple Present A: He speaks.
N: He does not speak.
Q: Does he speak?
Present A: He is speaking.
Progressive N: He is not speaking.
Q: Is he speaking?
Simple Past A: He spoke.
N: He did not speak.
Q: Did he speak?
Past A: He was speaking.
Progressive N: He was not speaking.
Q: Was he speaking?
Present Perfect A: He has spoken.
Simple N: He has not spoken.
Q: Has he spoken?
Use Signal Words
always, every …, never,
 action in the present taking
normally, often, seldom,
place once, never or several sometimes, usually
times if sentences type I (If
I talk, …)
 facts
 actions taking place one after
another
 action set by a timetable or
schedule
at the moment, just, just
 action taking place in the
now, Listen!, Look!, now,
moment of speaking right now
 action taking place only for a
limited period of time
 action arranged for the future
yesterday, 2 minutes ago,
 action in the past taking
in 1990, the other day,
place once, never or several last Friday
times if sentence type II (If
I talked, …)
 actions taking place one after
another
 action taking place in the middle
of another action
when, while, as long as
 action going on at a certain time
in the past
 actions taking place at the same
time
 action in the past that is
interrupted by another action
already, ever, just, never,
 putting emphasis on the result
not yet, so far, till now,
 action that is still going on up to now
 action that stopped recently
 finished action that has an
influence on the present
 action that has taken place once,
never or several times before the
moment of speaking
Present Perfect A: He has been speaking. all day, for 4 years, since
 putting emphasis on the course
Progressive N: He has not been speaking. 1993, how long?, the
Q: Has he been speaking? or duration (not the result) whole week
 action that recently stopped or is
still going on
 finished action that influenced the
present

Past Perfect A: He had spoken. already, just, never, not

 action taking place before a
Simple N: He had not spoken. yet, once, until that day
Q: Had he spoken? certain time in the past if sentence type III (If
 sometimes interchangeable with I had talked, …)
past perfect progressive
 putting emphasis only on
the fact (not the duration)

Past Perfect A: He had been speaking. for, since, the whole day,
 action taking place before a
Progressive N: He had not been speaking. all day
Q: Had he been speaking? certain time in the past
 sometimes interchangeable with
past perfect simple
 putting emphasis on the duration
or course of an action

Future I Simple A: He will speak. in a year, next …,

 action in the future that cannot be
N: He will not speak. tomorrow
Q: Will he speak? influenced If-Satz Typ I (If you ask
 spontaneous decision her, shewill help you.)
assumption: I think,
 assumption with regard to the probably, perhaps
future

Future I Simple A: He is going to speak. in one year, next week,

 decision made for the future
N: He is not going to speak. tomorrow
(going to) Q: Is he going to speak?  conclusion with regard to the
future

Future I A: He will be speaking. in one year, next week,

 action that is going on at a certain
Progressive N: He will not be speaking. tomorrow
Q: Will he be speaking? time in the future
 action that is sure to happen in
the near future

Future II A: He will have spoken. by Monday, in a week

 action that will be finished at a
Simple N: He will not have spoken.
Q: Will he have spoken? certain time in the future

Future II A: He will have been speaking. for …, the last couple of

 action taking place before a
Progressive N: He will not have been hours, all day long
speaking. certain time in the future
Q: Will he have been speaking?  putting emphasis on the course of
an action

Conditional I A: He would speak. if sentences type II

 action that might take place
Simple N: He would not speak. (If I were you, I would
Q: Would he speak? go home.)
Conditional I A: He would be speaking.
Progressive N: He would not be speaking.
Q: Would he be speaking?
 action that might take place
 putting emphasis on
the course / duration of the
action

Conditional II A: He would have spoken. if sentences type III

 action that might have taken
Simple N: He would not have spoken. (If I had seen that,
Q: Would he have spoken? place in the past I would have helped.)
Conditional II A: He would have been
 action that might have taken
Progressive speaking.
N: He would not have been place in the past
speaking.  puts emphasis on
Q: Would he have been
the course / duration of the
speaking?
action

English Tenses – Examples

Explanation Past Present Future

Simple Past Simple Present Future I Simple

action that takes place once, He played football He plays football He will / is going to
never or several times every Tuesday. every Tuesday. play football every
Tuesday.

actions that happen one after He played football He plays football He will play football
another and then he went and then he goes and then he will go
home. home. home.

state He loved football. He loves football. He will love football.

Past Progressive Present Progressive Future I Progressive

action going on at that moment He was playing He is playing He will be playing

football. football. football.

actions taking place at the He was playing He is playing He will be playing

same time football and she was football and she is football and she will
watching. watching. be watching.

Past Perfect Simple Present Perfect Future II Simple

Simple
 action taking place before a He had won five He has won five He will have won five
certain moment in time; matches until that matches so far. matches by then.
emphasises the result day.

Past Perfect Present Perfect Future II

Progressive Progressive Progressive

action taking place before a He had been playing He has been playing He will have been
certain moment in time (and football for ten football for ten playing football for
beyond), emphasises the years. years. ten years.
duration

Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives are used to modify nouns, e.g. The dog is loud. – What is the dog like? – loud

Adverbs are used to modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs, e.g. The dog barks loudly. – How does
the dog bark? – loudly

Comparison of Adjectives
Positive Form

Use the positive form of the adjective if the comparison contains one of the following expressions:

as … as

Example: Jane is as tall as John.

not as … as / not so … as

Example: John is not as tall as Arnie.

Comparative Form and Superlative Form (-er/-est)

 one-syllable adjectives (clean, new, cheap)
 two-syllable adjectives ending in -y or -er (easy, happy, pretty, dirty, clever)

positive form comparative form superlative form

clean cleaner (the) cleanest

Exceptions in spelling when adding -er / -est

 silent „e‟ is dropped

Example: late-later-latest

 final „y‟ after a consonant becomes i

 Example: easy-easier-easiest

 final consonant after short, stressed vowel is doubled

Example: hot-hotter-hottest

Comparative Form and Superlative Form (more/most)

 adjectives of three or more syllables (and two-syllable adjectives not ending in -y/-er)

positive form comparative form superlative form

difficult more difficult most difficult

Comparative Form and Superlative Form (irregular comparisons)

positive form comparative form superlative form

good better best

bad / ill worse worst

little (amount) less least

little (size) smaller smallest

much / many more most

far (place + time) further furthest

far (place) farther farthest

late (time) later latest

late (order) latter last

 near (place) nearer nearest

near (order) - next

old (people and older oldest

things)

old (people) elder eldest

Form and Comparison of Adverbs

Adverbs are used to express how something is done (adjectives express how someone or something is).

Example: The dog sleeps quietly. The dog is absolutely quiet.

Form

In general: adjective + -ly

adjective adverb

slow slowly

Exceptions in spelling

exception example

silent e is dropped in true, due, whole true → truly

y becomes i happy → happily

le after a consonant is dropped sensible → sensibly

after ll only add y full → fully

Adjectives ending in -ic: adjective + -ally (exception: public-publicly)

adjective adverb
fantastic fantastically

Adjectives ending in -ly: use ‘in a … way / manner’ or another adverb with similar meaning

adjective adverb

friendly in a friendly way

in a friendly manner

likely probably

Exceptions

adjective adverb (meaning) adverb (meaning)

good well

difficult with difficulty

public publicly

deep deep (place) deeply (feeling)

direct direct directly (=soon)

hard hard hardly (=seldom)

high high (place) highly (figurative)

late late lately (=recently)

most most mostly (=usually)

near near nearly (=almost)

pretty pretty (=rather) prettily

short short shortly (=soon)

The following adjectives are also daily, enough, early, far, fast, hourly, little, long,
used as adverbs (without low, monthly, much, straight, weekly, yearly, …
modification):

Comparison

Comparison (-er/-est)

Comparative Superlative
ending in -er ending in -est

one-syllable adverbs harder hardest

(hard)

adverbs with the same earlier earliest

form as adjectives (early)

Comparison (more / most)

Comparative formed Superlative formed

with more with most

adverbs ending in - more happily most happily

ly (happily)

Irregular comparisons

positive form comparative superlative

well better best

badly worse worst

 ill worse worst

little less least

much more most

far (place + time) further furthest

far (place) farther farthest

late (time) later latest

Adjective or Adverb
 Adjectives are used to modify nouns:

The dog is loud.

 Adverbs are used to modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs:

The dog barks loudly.

Linking Verbs

Some verbs can only be used with adjectives, others might change their meaning when used with an
adverb.

verb used with an adjective used with an adverb

look look good (= appearance) look well (= healthy)

feel feel good (= state of health/mind) feel well (= have a good sense of touch)

smell smell good (= odour) smell well (= have a good sense of smell)

taste taste good (= preference) taste well (= have a good sense of taste)

The following verbs can only be used with adjectives:

 be  keep  stay
 become  remain  turn
 get  seem
 grow  sound

Auxiliary Verbs
Auxiliary Verbs are the verbs be, do, have, will when they are followed by another verb (the full
verb) in order to form a question, a negative sentence, a compound tense or the passive.

The verb "be"

The verb be can be used as an auxiliary and a full verb. As an auxiliary we use this verb for compound
tenses and the passive voice. Note that be is an irregular verb:
Simple Present:

I am, he/she/it is, we/you/they are

Simple Past:
I/he/she/it was, we/you/they were
Past Participle:
been

You can tell that in the following sentences be is an auxiliary because it is followed by another verb
(the full verb). (For progressive forms use the "-ing" form of the full verb; for passive voice, use the past
participle of the full verb.)

Progressive Forms
Passive
Present Progressive:
Simple Present/Past:
He is playing football.
The house is/was built.
Past Progressive:
Present/Past Perfect:
He was playing football.
The house has/had been built.
Present Perfect Progressive:
Future I:
He has been playing football.
The house will be built.
Past Perfect Progressive:
He had been playing football.

"be" as a full verb

The verb be can also be a full verb. In this case, it's not followed by another verb. If be is used as a full
verb, we do not need an auxiliary in negative sentences or questions.
positive sentence:

They are fifteen years old.

negative sentence:
They are not fifteen years old.
question:
 Are they fifteen years old?

The verb "have"

The verb have, too, can be used both as an auxiliary and as a full verb. As an auxiliary we use this verb
to form compound tenses in active and passive voice. (Use the past participle of the full verb.)

Compound Tenses - Active Voice Compound Tenses - Passive Voice

Present Perfect Simple: Present/Past Perfect:

He has played football. The house has/had been built.

Past Perfect Simple:
He had played football. Note that have is an irregular verb, too:
Present Perfect Progressive: Simple Present:
He has been playing football.
Past Perfect Progressive: I/we/you/they have, he/she/it has
He had been playing football. Simple Past:
I/he/she/it/we/you/they had
Past Participle:
had

"have" in positive sentences

As a full verb have indicates possession. In British English, however, we usually use have
got (have being the auxiliary, got the full verb).
full verb:

I have a car.
auxiliary verb:
I have got a car.

"have" in negative sentences and questions

When we use have as a full verb, we must use the auxiliary do in negative sentences and questions. If we
use have got, however, we do not need another auxiliary.
have as a full verb:

I do not have a car.

Do I have a car?
have as an auxiliary verb:
I have not got a car.
Have I got a car?

The verb "will"

The verb will can only be used as an auxiliary. We use it to form the future tenses.

The auxiliary verb "will"

Future I:
 He will not play football.
Future II:
He will have played football.

The verb will remains the same for all forms (no "s" for 3rd person singular). The short form for negative
sentences is won't.'
Examples:

I will, he will
I will not = I won't

The verb "do"

The verb do can be both an auxiliary and a full verb. As an auxiliary we use do in negative sentences and
questions for most verbs (except not for be, will,have got and modal verbs) in Simple Present and Simple
Past. (Use the infinitive of the full verb.)

The auxiliary "do" in negative sentences

The auxiliary "do" in questions
Simple Present:
Simple Present:
He does not play football.
Does he play football?
Simple Past:
Simple Past:
He did not play football.
Did he play football?

The verb do is irregular:

Simple Present:

I/we/you/they do, he/she/it does

Simple Past:
I/he/she/it/we/you/they did

The full verb "do"

As a full verb we use do in certain expressions. If we want to form negative sentences or questions
using do as a full verb, we need another do as an auxiliary.
positive sentence:

She does her homework every day.

negative sentence:
She doesn't do her homework every day.
question:
Does she do her homework every day?

Sentences without the auxiliary "do"

In the following cases, the auxiliary do is not used in negative sentences/questions:

the full verb is "be"

 Example:

I am not angry. / Are you okay?

the sentence already contains another auxiliary (e.g. have, be, will)
Example:

They are not sleeping. / Have you heard that?

the sentence contains a modal verb (can, may, must, need, ought to, shall, should)
Example:

We need not wait. / Can you repeat that, please?

the question asks for the subject of the sentence

Example:

Who sings that song?

Modal Verbs and their substitutes

Modal verbs are for example may, can, must, should, need. They express an ability, permission, wish etc.
to do something. (I may, can, must swim.) Many modal verbs cannot be used in all of the English tenses.
That's why we need to know the substitutes to these modal verbs.

Modal Verb Substitute Example

must to have to I must swim. = I have to swim.

must not not to be allowed to I must not swim. = I am not allowed to swim.

can to be able to I can swim. = I am able to swim.

may to be allowed to I may swim. = I am allowed to swim.

need to have to I need to swim. = I have to swim.

need not not to have to I need not swim. = I don't have to swim.

shall / should/ to be supposed to / to be I shall / should / ought to swim. = I am supposed to

ought to expected to / to be to swim. / I am expected to swim. / I am to swim.
 Infinitive and Gerund
There are certain words in English that are usually followed by an infinitive or gerund. If you are not
sure whether to use the infinitive or gerund, check out our lists or look the words up in a dictionary.

Infinitive

Use

Certain words are followed by an infinite verb with or without ‘to’.

Use and Word Lists Example

as the subject of a clause To know you is to love you.

after certain expressions (without ‘to’) Why not go to the cinema?

after certain verbs (without ‘to’) I can swim.

after certain verbs (with ‘to’) He wants to swim.

after certain verbs with interrogatives (infinitive They don‟t know how to swim.
constructions)

after certain verbs with objects (without ‘to’) He made her swim.

after certain verbs with objects (with ‘to’) They wanted him to swim.

after certain adjectives and their comparisons It‟s easier to swim downstream.

after nouns deriving from the verbs mentioned We made a promise to swim. (derived from the
above verb ‘to promise’)

Gerund

Form

ing form of the verb

Exceptions in Spelling

Use

Certain words are followed by an Ing-Form.

Use and Word Lists Example

as the subject of a clause Cycling is good for your health.

after certain adjectives He‟s afraid of going by plane.

after certain prepositions Before going to bed he turned off the lights.

after certain verbs I enjoy cooking.

after certain verbs with prepositions I am looking forward to seeing you again.

after certain nouns We had problems finding our way back home.

Words followed either by Infinitive or Ing-Form

Use and Word Lists Example

same meaning I started to read. / I started reading.

same meaning but different use She forbids us to talk. / She forbids talking.

different meaning He stopped to smoke. / He stopped smoking.

infinitive or present participle I saw him go up the stairs. / I saw him going up the stairs.

Nouns - Articles, Plural and Possessive Case

Important things to keep in mind when using nouns are which article to use and how to form the plural
and how to form the possessive case.
Article
Direct article - the

example: the house

Indirect article a / an

a - if the first letter of the following word is pronounced like a consonant

example: a car, a university

an - if the first letter of the following word is pronounced like a vowel

example: an apple, an hour

Plural

general rule: singular form + s

example: a car - two cars

after s, ch, x, z the plural is formed by adding es

example: a box - two boxes

y after a consonant is changed to ie before the plural s

example: a city - two cities

But: y after a vowel is not changed

example: a boy - two boys

After o the plural is usually formed by adding es (this is not the case, however, with words used for
electric gadgets and music: radio, video, disco)

example: a tomato - two tomatoes

Possessive Case of Nouns

adding 's of phrase

usually used for people usually used for things

Ronny's brother the name of the school

If there is a relation to people when using the possessive case with unanimated things, often the s is
added instead of using an of phrase.
 example: Germany's economy or the ecomony of Germany

When using the possessive case with a time, s is added.

example: a three weeks' holiday

Passive Voice
Use of Passive

Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or
what is performing the action.

Example: My bike was stolen.

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did
it. Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:

Example: A mistake was made.

Form of Passive

Subject + finite form of to be + Past Participle (3rd column of irregular verbs)

Example: A letter was written.

Examples of Passive

Tense Subject Verb Object

writes a letter.
Simple Present Active: Rita

Passive: A letter is written by Rita.

Simple Past Active: Rita wrote a letter.

Passive: A letter was written by Rita.

Present Perfect Active: Rita has written a letter.

Passive: A letter has been written by Rita.

Future I Active: Rita will write a letter.

Passive: A letter will be written by Rita.

Hilfsverben Active: Rita can write a letter.

 Passive: A letter can be written by Rita.

Examples of Passive

Tense Subject Verb Object

is writing a letter.
Present Progressive Active: Rita

Passive: A letter is being written by Rita.

Past Progressive Active: Rita was writing a letter.

Passive: A letter was being written by Rita.

Past Perfect Active: Rita had written a letter.

Passive: A letter had been written by Rita.

Future II Active: Rita will have written a letter.

Passive: A letter will have been written by Rita.

Conditional I Active: Rita would write a letter.

Passive: A letter would be written by Rita.

Conditional II Active: Rita would have written a letter.

Passive: A letter would have been written by Rita.

Passive Sentences with Two Objects

Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects
becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends
on what you want to put the focus on.

Subject Verb Object 1 Object 2

wrote a letter to me.

Active: Rita

Passive: A letter was written to me by Rita.

Passive: I was written a letter by Rita.

 Participles
There are three kinds of participles in English: present participle, past participle and perfect participle.
You probably know the first two from certain tenses and adjective forms. Apart from that, participles are
also used to shorten sentences.

Past Participle

The past participle is the participle that you find in the third column of lists with irregular verbs. You
surely know this form:

 from perfect tenses (z. B. Present Perfect Simple) – I have spoken.

 from passive voice – The letter was written.
 as an adjective form – I was bored to death.

Perfect Participle

The perfect participle can be used to shorten or combine clauses that have the same subject if …

 … one action (the one where the perfect participle is used) is completed before the next action starts.

Example: She bought a bike and cycled home. – Having bought a bike, she cycled home.

 … one action has been going on for a period of time when another action starts.

Example: He had been living there for such a long time that he didn't want to move to another
town. – Having lived there for such a long time, he didn't want to move to another town.

The perfect participle can be used for active and passive voice.

 active voice: having + past participle (Having cooked, he set the table.)
 passive voice: having been + past participle (Having been cooked, the food looked delicious.)

The past participle can also be used to shorten or combine passive clauses that have the same subject.

Example: The boy was given an apple. He stopped crying. – Given an apple, the boy stopped crying.

Phrasal Verbs
Phrasal verbs are mainly used in spoken English and informal texts. (The more formal a conversation or
text, the less phrasal verbs are found.)

Phrasal verbs consist of a verb plus a particle (preposition, adverb). The particle can change the meaning
of the verb completely, e.g.:

 look up – consult a reference book (look a word up in a dictionary)

 look for – seek (look for her ring)
 look forward – anticipate with pleasure (look forward to meeting someone)
 There are no rules that might explain how phrasal verbs are formed correctly - all you can do is look
them up in a good dictionary and study their meanings. In our lists, you will find some frequently used
phrasal verbs and their meanings.

Frequently Used Phrasal Verbs with:

 break, bring, call, carry, come, do, fall, get, go, keep, look, make, put, run, set, take, turn

The following table contains rules for some of the most frequently used prepositions in English:

English Usage Example

 on  days of the week  on Monday

 in  months / seasons  in August / in winter

 time of day  in the morning
 year  in 2006
 after a certain period in an hour
of time (when?)

 at  for night  at night

 for weekend  at the weekend
 a certain point of  at half past nine
time (when?)

 since  from a certain point  since 1980

of time (past till
now)

 for  over a certain period  for 2 years

of time (past till
now)

 ago  a certain time in the  2 years ago

past

 before  earlier than a certain  before 2004

point of time

 to  telling the time  ten to six (5:50)

 past  telling the time  ten past six (6:10)

 to / till / until  marking the  from Monday to/till Friday

beginning and end of
a period of time
 till / until  in the sense of how  He is on holiday until Friday.
long something is
going to last

 by  in the sense of at the  I will be back by 6 o’clock.

latest  By 11 o'clock, I had read five
 up to a certain time pages.

Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)

English Usage Example

 in  room, building, street,  in the kitchen, in

town, country London
 book, paper etc.  in the book
 car, taxi  in the car, in a
 picture, world taxi
 in the picture, in
the world

 at  meaning next to, by an  at the door, at the

object station
 for table  at the table
 for events  at a concert, at
 place where you are to do the party
something typical (watch a  at the cinema, at
film, study, work) school, at work

 on  attached  the picture on the

 for a place with a river wall

 being on a surface  London lies on

the Thames.
 for a certain side (left,
right)  on the table

 for a floor in a house  on the left

 for public transport  on the first floor

 for television, radio  on the bus, on a

plane
 on TV, on the
radio
 by, next to,  left or right of somebody or Jane is standing
beside something by / next to /
beside the car.

 under  on the ground, lower than  the bag is under

(or covered by) something the table
else

 below  lower than something else  the fish are

but above ground below the surface

 over  covered by something else  put a jacket over

 meaning more than your shirt

 getting to the other side  over 16 years of

(also across) age

 overcoming an obstacle  walk over the

bridge
 climb over the
wall

 above  higher than something else, a path above the

but not directly over it lake

 across  getting to the other side  walk across the

(also over) bridge
 getting to the other side  swim across the
lake

 through  something with limits on  drive through the

top, bottom and the sides tunnel

 to  movement to person or  go to the cinema

building  go to London /
 movement to a place or Ireland
country  go to bed
 for bed

 into  enter a room / a building  go into the

kitchen / the
house

 towards  movement in the direction  go 5 steps

of something (but not towards the
directly to it) house

 onto  movement to the top of  jump onto the

something table
  from  in the sense of where from  a flower from the
garden

 across  getting to the other side  walk across the

(also over) bridge
 getting to the other side  swim across the
lake

 through  something with limits on  drive through the

top, bottom and the sides tunnel

 to  movement to person or  go to the cinema

building  go to London /
 movement to a place or Ireland
country  go to bed
 for bed

 into  enter a room / a building  go into the

kitchen / the
house

 towards  movement in the direction  go 5 steps

of something (but not towards the
directly to it) house

 onto  movement to the top of  jump onto the

something table

 from  in the sense of where from  a flower from the

garden

Other important Prepositions

English Usage Example

 from  who gave it  a present from Jane

 of  who/what does it belong to  a page of the book

 what does it show  the picture of a palace

 by  who made it  a book by Mark Twain

 on  walking or riding on  on foot, on horseback

horseback  get on the bus
 entering a public transport
vehicle

 in  entering a car / Taxi  get in the car

 off  leaving a public transport  get off the train
vehicle

 out of  leaving a car / Taxi  get out of the taxi

 by  rise or fall of something  prices have risen by 10

 travelling (other than walking percent
or horseriding)  by car, by bus

 at  for age  she learned Russian at 45

 about  for topics, meaning what about we were talking about

you

Pronouns (Personal, Possessive, Relative and Reflexive Pronouns)

Pronouns are words like I, me (personal pronouns) or my, mine (possessive pronouns).

Personal Pronouns - Subject Form

example: We have got some books.

Personal Pronouns - Object Form

example: The books are for us.

Possessive Adjectives

example: These are our books.

Possessive Pronouns

example: The books are ours.

Reflexive Pronouns

Possessive Adjectives and

Personal Pronouns
Pronouns
Reflexive
Pronouns
subject object possessive possessive
form form adjective pronoun

I me my mine myself

you you your yours yourself

he him his his himself

she her her hers herself

it it its its itself

we us our ours ourselves

you you your yours yourselves

they them their theirs themselves

example: He can carry the bags himself.

Relative Pronouns
example: This is the man who lives next door

Relative Pronouns

relative
use example
pronoun

who subject or object pronoun for people I told you about the
woman who lives next door.

which subject or object pronoun for animals and things Do you see the cat which is lying
on the roof?

which referring to a whole sentence He couldn‟t read which surprised

me.

whose possession for people animals and things Do you know the
boy whose mother is a nurse?

whom object pronoun for people, especially in non-defining I was invited by the
relative clauses (in defining relative clauses we professor whom I met at the
 colloquially prefer who) conference.

that subject or object pronoun for people, animals and I don‟t like the table that stands in
things in defining relative clauses (who or which are the kitchen.
also possible)

Relative Adverbs
A relative adverb can be used instead of a relative pronoun plus preposition. This often makes the
sentence easier to understand.

This is the shop in which I bought my bike.

→ This is the shop where I bought my bike.

relative
meaning use example
adverb

when in/on which refers to a time expression the day when we met him

where in/at which refers to a place the place where we met him

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker‟s exact words (direct
speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into
reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a
statement, question or request.

Statements

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

Type Example

direct speech “I speak English.”

reported speech He says that he speaks English.

(no backshift)

reported speech He said that he spoke English.

(backshift)
Type Example

direct speech “Why don‟t you speak English?”

with interrogative
reported speech He asked me why I didn‟t speak English.

direct speech “Do you speak English?”

without interrogative
reported speech He asked me whether / if I spoke English.

Requests

Type Example

direct speech “Carol, speak English.“

reported speech He told Carol to speak English.

Object Pronouns
singular: me, you, him, her, it

plural: us, you, them

Subject
Object Pronoun Noun
Pronoun

I Me

I talk to you. You talk to me. for oneself

You You

You talk to me. I talk to you. One person I talk to

He Him
a boy or a man
He calls you. You call him.

She
Her
a girl or a woman
She looks at
You look at her.
you.
 It It
an animal, an idea, a place, a situation, a thing,
time, weather, an emotion
It is a cat. You feed it.
one banana = it
It is a banana. You eat it.

We
Us
I + you = we
We talk
Someone talks tous.
together.
me + you = us

You
You
You learn
I teach youEnglish.
English.

They Them
people = they / them
They eat ice Someone gavethem ice
cream. cream.
things = they / them

VERBS

Infinitive Simple Past Past Participle

alight alighted, alit alighted, alit

arise arose arisen

awake awoke, awaked awoken, awaked

be was, were been

bear bore borne, born

beat beat beaten, beat

become became become

beget begot begotten

begin began begun

bend bent bent

bereave bereaved, bereft bereaved, bereft

beseech besought, beseeched besought, beseeched

bet bet, betted bet, betted

bid bade, bid bidden, bid, bade

bide bade, bided bided

bind bound bound

bite bit bitten

bleed bled bled

bless blessed, blest blessed, blest

blow blew blown

break broke broken

breed bred bred

bring brought brought

broadcast broadcast, broadcasted broadcast, broadcasted

build built built

burn burnt, burned burnt, burned

burst burst burst

bust bust, busted bust, busted

buy bought bought

can could (kein Participle)

cast cast cast

catch caught caught

choose chose chosen

cleave cleft, cleaved, clove cleft, cleaved, cloven

cling clung clung

clothe clothed, clad clothed, clad

come came come

cost cost cost

creep crept crept

crow crowed crew, crowed

cut cut cut

deal dealt dealt

dig dug dug

do did done

draw drew drawn

dream dreamt, dreamed dreamt, dreamed

drink drank drunk

drive drove driven

dwell dwelt, dwelled dwelt, dwelled

eat ate eaten

fall fell fallen

feed fed fed

feel felt felt

fight fought fought

find found found

flee fled fled

fling flung flung

fly flew flown

forbid forbad, forbade forbid, forbidden

forecast forecast, forecasted forecast, forecasted

forget forgot forgotten

forsake forsook forsaken

freeze froze frozen

geld gelded, gelt gelded, gelt

get got got, gotten

gild gilded, gilt gilded, gilt

give gave given

gnaw gnawed gnawed, gnawn

go went gone

grind ground ground

grip gripped, gript gripped, gript

grow grew grown

hang hung hung

have had had

hear heard heard

heave heaved, hove heaved, hove

hew hewed hewed, hewn

hide hid hidden, hid

hit hit hit

hold held held

hurt hurt hurt

keep kept kept

kneel knelt, kneeled knelt, kneeled

knit knitted, knit knitted, knit

know knew known

lay laid laid

lead led led

lean leant, leaned leant, leaned

leap leapt, leaped leapt, leaped

learn learnt, learned learnt, learned

leave left left

lend lent lent

let let let

lie lay lain

light lit, lighted lit, lighted

lose lost lost

make made made

may might (kein Participle)

mean meant meant

meet met met

melt melted molten, melted

mow mowed mown, mowed

pay paid paid

pen pent, penned pent, penned

plead pled, pleaded pled, pleaded

prove proved proven, proved

put put put

quit quit, quitted quit, quitted

read read read

rid rid, ridded rid, ridded

ride rode ridden

ring rang rung

rise rose risen

run ran run

saw sawed sawn, sawed

say said said

see saw seen

seek sought sought

sell sold sold

send sent sent

set set set

sew sewed sewn, sewed

shake shook shaken

shall should (kein Participle)

shear sheared shorn, sheared

shed shed shed

shine shone shone

shit shit, shitted, shat shit, shitted, shat

shoe shod, shoed shod, shoed

shoot shot shot

show showed shown, showed

shred shred, shredded shred, shredded

shrink shrank, shrunk shrunk

shut shut shut

sing sang sung

sink sank sunk

sit sat sat

slay slew slain

sleep slept slept

slide slid slid

sling slung slung

slink slunk slunk

slit slit slit

smell smelt, smelled smelt, smelled

smite smote smitten

sow sowed sown, sowed

speak spoke spoken

speed sped, speeded sped, speeded

spell spelt, spelled spelt, spelled

spend spent spent

spill spilt, spilled spilt, spilled

spin spun spun

spit spat spat

split split split

spoil spoilt, spoiled spoilt, spoiled

spread spread spread

spring sprang, sprung sprung

stand stood stood

steal stole stolen

stick stuck stuck

sting stung stung

stink stank, stunk stunk

stride strode stridden

strike struck struck

string strung strung

strive strove striven

swear swore sworn

sweat sweat, sweated sweat, sweated

sweep swept swept

swell swelled swollen, swelled

swim swam swum

swing swung swung

take took taken

teach taught taught

tear tore torn

telecast telecast, telecasted telecast, telecasted

tell told told

think thought thought

throw threw thrown

thrust thrust thrust

tread trod trodden

understand understood understood

wake woke, waked woken, waked

wear wore worn

weave wove woven

wed wed, wedded wed, wedded

weep wept wept

wet wet, wetted wet, wetted

win won won

wind wound wound

wring wrung wrung

write wrote written