Download Grammar for Trainee Teachers by Colette Godkin for ATC Language

Grammar for Trainee Teachers
by Colette Godkin for ATC Language Schools
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
Contents
1. Title page
2. Introduction
3. Checklist
4. List of Grammatical Terms
5. Sentence structure
6. Verbs
7. Nouns
8. Pronouns
9. Relative clauses
10. Adjectives
11. Adverbs
12. Determiners
13. More about verbs
14. Practice tasks
15. Appendices
2
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.2
3
Introduction
As native speakers, we usually know when an English sentence or
phrase
is
right
or
wrong,
but
we
don't
always
know
why
this
is
so.
Explaining the reasons to someone else is yet another challenge! This
challenge becomes easier with experience, but we hope this booklet will get
you
started.
Our
aim
in
this
text
is
to
introduce
you
to
the
main
grammatical points with which you will need to be familiar when teaching
English as a foreign or second language.
At the end of the booklet there is a list of further resources which
you can consult for more detailed information on any of the points covered.
In
the
sections
of
terminology
used,
reflect
and
on
this
booklet,
example
I
sentences
understand
the
have
and
topic.
included
some
In
short
explanations
tasks
addition,
to
there
of
the
help
you
are
further
exercises on some of the topics at the end of the booklet. Use these for
further practice as you see fit.
At
the
beginning
of
the
booklet,
there
is
a
list
of
common
grammatical terms. You can refer to this if you come across any unfamiliar
terms in the text and you can also use it to test yourself when you reach
the end of this booklet. Learning a list of grammatical terms can seem a
little daunting, and maybe more than a little dull, but it's important to
be familiar with these terms as they are a shorthand for understanding the
grammar rules. In addition, these are the terms which English learners will
see in textbooks and which they may already have learnt in school; so, it's
important that everyone in the classroom is speaking the same (grammatical)
language. However, when using these terms with learners, we need to make
sure that everyone in the classroom is in fact familiar with them, bearing
in mind as well, that there can be more than one accepted term to describe
some
of
these
concepts.
(This
point
is
also
worth
remembering
when
searching the index of a grammar book).
Finally, we would like you to reflect on how well you have understood
each topic as you work your way through the text and exercises. There is a
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
4
checklist on the next page, which we would like you to complete and which
we will use to identify those areas you would like further help with.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
5
1.3. Checklist
Please tick the appropriate column after you have completed each
section of the booklet. We will use this information to identify those
areas trainees would like further help with. Please also write down any
questions that occur to you about the topic and we will do our best to
answer them during the Grammar Troubleshooting session of the training
course.
Topic
I
I'm
understand
not
this :-)
about this confused
:-/
Naming
the
parts
of a sentence
Word
order
in
sentences, negatives and
questions
The
uses
of
auxiliary verbs
The
uses
of
participles
Uses
of
infinitives and gerunds
The
between
difference
the
present
simple and continuous
The
difference
between the past simple
and continuous
I'm
sure still
:-(
My questions...
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
The
future
different
structures
and
their uses
The
uses
of
the
present perfect tense
The
between
perfect
difference
the
present
simple
and
use
the
continuous
The
of
past perfect tense
The
between
perfect
difference
the
past
simple
and
continuous
How
are
modal
different
verbs
to
other
verbs
The
uses
of
the
different modal verbs
Countable
and
uncountable nouns
Subject,
reflexive,
object,
possessive,
and relative pronouns
Comparative
and
Superlative adjectives
Types and position
of adverbs
Comparative
and
6
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
7
Superlative adverbs
Uses
of
definite
and indefinite articles
Quantifiers
1.4. List of Grammatical Terms
Term
Definition
Examples (the example of the
defined term is in italics)
Adjective
An adjective
gives
information
a red balloon
an overwhelmed teacher
about a noun.
Adverb
An
gives
about
adverb
information
a
verb,
adjective
an
He is walking slowly.
He is really tired.
He is walking very slowly.
or
another adverb.
Article
Definite
article: the
Indefinite
Turn
left
by
the
supermarket.
I
need
to
buy
a
good
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
articles:
a/an.
8
dictionary.
An
apple
a
day
keeps
the
doctor away.
Aspect
A
have
verb
can
He is walking towards us.
I was looking in
continuous
aspect
(is
walking,
was
looking)
or
perfect
(has
aspect
walked,
looked),
had
or
the shop
window when I saw it.
I had looked everywhere for
them.
I have been waiting for you
for two hours!
both
(have
been
waiting).
Auxiliary
verb
The
be,
verbs
have,
can
be
and
used
do
I have read many words.
as
I don't understand.
auxiliary verbs to
a
main
verb
make
to
different
tenses
I am reading this page.
Did
negatives,
passives.
Modal
verbs
are
a
type
of auxiliary verb.
Base form
The
form
is
base
the
infinitive of the
verb without 'to'.
to
school
My car was stolen last week.
aspects,
and
go
yesterday?
and
questions
you
Read
Eat
Walk
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
9
[Also known as the
bare
infinitive,
the
infinitive
without
'to'
or
sometimes just the
infinitive.]
Clause
A clause is
a
part
of
a
sentence
and
typically consists
[I
will
tomorrow]
money
pay
[if
you
today.]
you
lend
(There
back
me
are
the
two
clauses in the above sentence.)
of a subject and a
verb.
Compound
noun
A
compound
noun
consists
of
more
than
one
shopkeeper
mail-box
traffic light
word.
Conjunction
A
I will pay you back tomorrow
conjunction
words,
links
phrases,
clauses
and
sentences.
if you lend me the money today.
I'm
tired
and
hungry,
but
However,
we
still happy.
It
was
late.
didn't want to go home.
Countable
noun
Countable
nouns
have
a
singular
plural
can
A cat
and
form
follow
An egg
Ten cats
and
a,
an
or a number.
Determiner
A determiner
gives
more
Hand me that book, please.
Where is my pen?
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
specific
We have no bananas.
information
a
10
about
noun.
Common
determiners
are:
the,
those,
her,
both,
my,
all,
several, no, etc.
Direct
object
A
direct
object
is
person
the
or
affected
I gave a watch to Mary.
The dog ate a bone.
thing
by
a
verb.
Direct
speech
Direct
speech
'We
refers
to
Gerund
The
'I'll
Waking
call
you
tomorrow,'
up
early
is
difficult.
I'm thinking about going on
a noun and ends in
holiday.
Imperative
The
Please
imperative is the
base
form
verb,
of
the
which
is
switch
off
mobile
phones.
Don't speak with your mouth
full.
used for orders.
Indirect
object
The indirect
object
the
the
I like listening to music.
is the form of a
-ing.
bananas,'
she promised.
gerund
verb which acts as
no
manager said.
the exact words a
speaker has said.
have
refers
person
I gave Mary a watch.
to
I gave a watch to Mary.
or
He fed the dog a bone.
thing who receives
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
11
the benefit of the
verb.
Indirect
speech
Indirect
The manager said they had no
speech
(or
reported
speech)
reconstructs
the
bananas.
She promised that she would
call him the next day.
content of what a
speaker
says
rather
than
repeating
the
exact words.
Infinitive
The form of
the
verb
with
'to'. (Also known
To read
To eat
To walk
as 'the infinitive
with to'.)
Intransitiv
e verb
A verb which
Look!
can't be followed
Sit down.
by an object. Many
I sneezed.
verbs can be both
transitive
and
intransitive,
sometimes
with
difference
a
in
meaning.
Irregular
verb
An irregular
verb
does
not
bring, brought, brought
speak, spoke, spoken
follow the normal
swim, swam, swum
rules.
take, took, taken.
irregular
All
verbs
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
are
irregular
past
their
12
in
form
past
and
participle,
some
and
are
irregular
also
in
the
present tense.
Modal verb
These
verbs
Can I help you?
modify the meaning
It might rain.
of
a
can,
main
verb:
You
could,
may,
umbrella.
might,
will,
would,
shall,
should
bring
an
should, must.
Noun
A
noun
identifies
Barack Obama
a
Lassie
person, animal or
Dublin
Proper
thing.
nouns
give
to
names
people,
animals,
and
places
things.
page
cheese
happiness
They
are always written
with
a
capital
Common
letter.
nouns
refer
more
to
general
objects
and
concepts.
Noun phrase
A
noun
Dublin
in
July
was
quite
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
phrase is a
of
words
group
made
or
more
The
is
the
information.
at
receiving
The 99 red balloons caused a
stir.
object
person
thing
This page contains a lot of
words
which modify it.
Object
hot.
up
of a noun and one
13
or
I visited Dublin.
I gave the flowers to Mary.
the
end
of
the verb's action.
Objects
can
direct
be
or
indirect.
Passive
voice
a
A passive is
My car was stolen.
clause
I had my nails done.
or
sentence where the
object of the verb
comes
verb
before
the
phrase,
and
The
window
was
broken
by
vandals.
the subject may or
may
not
be
mentioned.
Past
participle
The
past
participle is the
form
used
the
verb
after
the
of
auxiliary
verbs
'have' and 'be' to
make
perfect
tenses or passives
I have walked.
He had done it before they
arrived.
They were given an award.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
respectively.
14
For
regular verbs, the
past participle is
the base form + ed.
Perfect
tense
A
perfect
tense consists of
a form of the verb
'have'
and
the
past participle.
They
have
been
there
many
times.
I
realised
I
had
left
my
keys in the car.
We will have finished dinner
by 6pm.
Phrasal
verb
A
phrasal
verb is made up of
verb
a
They got up very late.
He gets on with everyone.
+
particle(s).
The
particle is either
an
adverb
or
a
preposition.
Preposition
A
The book is in my hand.
preposition
is
word
shows
which
the
a
connection
between objects or
ideas,
for
He looked at his watch.
The party started after they
arrived.
New Year's Eve is before New
Year's Day.
example, in terms
I'm afraid of them.
of location, time,
I'm tired of talking to you!
etc.
A
preposition
commonly
by
a
is
followed
noun,
a
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
pronoun
or
15
the
gerund (-ing form
of a verb).
Present
participle
The
present
participle is the
form
of
ending
which
the
verb
in
–ing
is
after
be
the
I
looking
forward
to
hearing from you.
How
long
have
you
been
reading this?
I wasn't talking to you.
used
to
am
form
continuous
aspect.
Pronoun
A pronoun is
a
word
replaces
a
I
am
looking
which
hearing from you.
noun,
Whose
e.g. he, they, my,
bag
is
forward
this?
to
It's
mine.
etc.
Regular
verb
A
verb
regular
I work hard every day.
follows
the
John wanted to go there.
rules
for
I
normal
making the present
tense,
the
tense,
and
have
listened
to
the
programme.
past
the
past participle.
Relative
pronoun
A
relative
pronoun is a word
like
who,
That's the guy who started
the argument.
which,
that in a relative
I visited the house in which
I used to live.
clause.
I met many people that knew
her.
Subject
The
subject
Michael walks.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
does the action or
experiences
16
I feel confused.
the
state described by
the verb
Tense
The tense is
the
form
verb
of
which
whether
the
shows
we
are
Present tense: I refuse, he
knows, we are
Past
tense:
I
refused,
he
enjoy
yourself
at
knew, we were
talking about the
present
or
the
past
Transitive
verb
A transitive
verb
must
followed
be
by
an
Did
you
the party?
I want an ice cream.
object.
Uncountable
noun
Uncountable
nouns do not have
a
I need some information.
I drink lots of water.
distinction
between
the
singular
and
plural
forms
and
cannot be counted
because
cannot
they
be
easily
divided:
information,
water, music.
Verb
A
verb
describes
action or state.
an
Do
See
Listen
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
Seem
Be
17
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
18
1.5. Sentence Structure
Task 1: How would you define a sentence?
A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop,
question mark or exclamation mark. A sentence consists of one or more
clauses. A clause is a sequence of words which must contain a verb phrase.
The verb phrase can be a single word:
Sun and sand spring to mind.
or a group of words:
We were singing at the tops of our voices.
The police could arrive at any time now.
Each verb phrase within a clause is performed by the subject, which
appears in the majority of cases before the verb. The object, on the other
hand, usually appears after the verb and undergoes the process of the verb.
In the following clauses, the subjects are in italics whilst the objects
are underlined and the verb phrases are in bold:
Stories from mythology often make a particular point.
We will remember them.
Joan always tells the truth.
Men in purple tuxedos sometimes smoke cigarettes.
You can see that the subject and object can be a single word like a
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
19
pronoun (we, them) or noun (Joan) or an extended noun phrase (Men in purple
tuxedos).
1.5.1. Subject-Verb-Object
This is the normal ordering of clause elements in English, which
makes English an SVO (subject–verb–object) language. Some languages follow
a different default word order and some are quite flexible in terms of word
order. In English, this SVO sequence can sometimes be changed, but this is
usually for emphatic or stylistic reasons or in passive sentences:
Cabbage I will not touch. (OSV)
This did she. (OVS)
He was arrested by the police. (OVS) [passive sentence]
Task 1:
What is the difference in meaning between these pairs of sentences?
1a. Dog bites man.
1b. Man bites dog.
2a. I fed the horse an apple.
2b. I fed an apple the horse.
1.5.2. Negative sentences
Task 1:
Can you change the following sentences from positive to
negative statements?
I eat breakfast every day.
I have a car.
I saw that film.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
20
John's watching the football match.
I have been to Turkey.
I'll call you tomorrow.
What element(s) did you add to make the negatives? Was it the same
for each statement?
Answer: You added the negative word not (n't) and, for some of them,
you added the auxiliary verb do/did. You added do/did if there wasn't an
auxiliary verb in the original positive statement. In the sentence I eat
there is only one verb, which is the main verb, but in I have been there
are two verbs - be is the main verb and have is an auxiliary.
I don't eat breakfast every day.
I don't have a car.
I didn't see that film.
John isn't watching the football match.
I haven't been to Turkey.
I won't call you tomorrow.
Task 2: Now make the statements below negative.
I'm tired.
He's bored.
They were confused.
Do you notice a difference to those in Task 1? What do these positive
statements have in common?
Answer: We don't add the auxiliary do/did to these to make them
negative because the main verb here is be. This a very irregular verb,
which is the exception to many grammatical rules.
I'm not tired.
He isn't bored.
They weren't confused.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
21
1.5.3. Questions
Task 1: Look at the following questions:
Did you see them?
Have you eaten yet?
Why do you do that every day?
Where will you be later?
Could you help me?
Are you listening?
How would you describe the elements of these questions and the order
of these elements in grammatical terms? Even though there is a variety of
tenses and structures in these questions, can you see a pattern?
Answer: In questions, the normal word order is auxiliary verb
–
subject – main verb. Sometimes there is a question word (who, what, where,
why, when, which, how) at the beginning. Where there is no auxiliary in the
positive
structure
(compare
you
saw
with
you
have
eaten),
we
use
the
auxiliary verb do in the present and did in the past. After do/did we use
the base form of the main verb.
Task 2: The following questions don't follow the above rule. What do
these questions have in common?
Are you busy?
How are you?
What time is it?
Were you there?
Answer: They all have be as the main verb. For questions with be, we
just invert the normal subject-verb order of the positive statement (You
are) to verb-subject (Are you?) and we don't use an auxiliary verb.
Task 3: In the questions below, there is no auxiliary verb either,
but for a different reason.
Who wants tea?
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
22
Who opened the door?
What happened to you?
Which costs more?
Where is the subject of each verb (want, opened, happened, costs)?
Answer: If the question word refers to the subject of the verb, there
is no auxiliary verb.
Who wants tea? We want tea.
What happened to you? An accident happened to me. (More naturally: I
had an accident.)
Task 4:
What is the answer to each of these questions? Why are the
answers different?
What do rabbits eat?
What eats rabbits?
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
23
1.6. Verbs
1.6.1. Infinitves
The infinitive is the
form of the verb with to, e.g. to read, to
eat, to walk, etc. This form is also sometimes known as 'the infinitive
with to', to distinguish it from 'the infinitive without to', e.g. read,
eat, walk. For clarity (and economy), some grammar books refer to 'the
infinitive without to' as the base form of the verb. In this document, I'll
be using the terms infinitive and base form for the to walk and walk forms
respectively.
1.6.2. Auxiliary verbs and Main verbs
Auxiliary verbs modify main verbs. They are divided into primary
auxiliary verbs (be, have, do), which modify the the tense or aspect of the
main verb, and modal auxiliary verbs, which modify the meaning.
1.6.3. Participles
There are two types of participle: present and past. The present
participle is the verb + -ing, e.g. to shop - shopping, to work - working.
The past participle of regular verbs is the same as the past tense (verb +
ed), e.g. love - loved, try - tried, and for irregular verbs it is the
third form of the verb listed in Appendix 1, e.g. fly - flew - flown. We
use these participles in combination with the auxiliary verbs be
and have
to make various verb tenses, aspects and the passive voice, e.g
I am
writing this and so far I have written many words. Many words have been
written by me.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
24
Some spelling issues:
1. Notice in the example of shop above, that there is a spelling
change when we add -ing. This also happens when we add -ed to make the past
participle
shopped.
participles.
Can
you
The
final
think
of
consonant
any
other
is
doubled
verbs
where
when
this
we
make
happens?
the
By
doubling the final consonant, we preserve the pronunciation of the original
verb - think about how you would pronounce stoped (similar to coped) versus
stopped. The rule for this spelling change is that if the last syllable of
the word is stressed and there is one vowel followed by one consonant in
this syllable, then we double the consonant. An example of this is the verb
commit where the last syllable is stressed (which means it is the longest
and loudest syllable in the word). The participles of commit are committing
and committed.
Note that (as always in English) there are exceptions to the above
spelling rule. How does travel - travelling - travelled break the rule?
Answer: the final consonant is doubled, even though the last syllable is
unstressed.
2. The spelling of regular past participles can also be unusual
sometimes. An example of this is the y in try changing to an i in tried.
Think of other verbs which end in y. Do all of these change to an i in the
past? Examples: cry - cried, play - played, enjoy - enjoyed, etc. Why does
y sometimes change to i and sometimes not? It's related to vowels and
consonants again. What comes directly before the y in the verbs where the y
changes? A consonant.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
25
1.6.4. Tenses and Aspects
There are three basic tenses in English: past, present and future.
Different verb structures allow us to communicate whether we are talking
about past, present or future time. Within these general times, we can use
aspects to communicate more subtle differences. For example, is there a
difference in meaning between: "I walk down the street" and "I'm walking
down the street"? They are both in the present, but which one is happening
right now and which one do I do regularly? The second sentence is the
action taking place in this moment - this is an example of the continuous
aspect.
The aspects we will be looking at are the simple, continuous and
perfect.
A note on terminology: Although it is technically correct to refer to
I'm eating as the present tense, continuous aspect, for convenience this is
generally just called the present continuous tense.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
26
1.6.4.1. Simple and Continuous Aspects
The continuous aspect consists of the auxiliary verb be + present
participle (-ing participle).
The
tense
is
contained
in
the
auxiliary
verb,
i.e.
if
we
use
am/are/is it's the present continuous, but if we use was, it's the past
continuous.
He is working.
He was working.
He will be working.
The
simple
aspect
just
means
'not
continuous'
and
is
used
when
contrasting the aspects. So we could say either the past simple tense or
just the past tense.
Examples of tenses and simple and continuous aspects:
Simple
Continuous
Past
He worked.
He was working.
Present
He works.
He is working.
Future
He will work.
He
will
be
working.
The continuous aspect gives the idea of an action which is incomplete
at a particular point in time, e.g. When you called me, I was watching
Eastenders means I was in the middle of watching the show when you called.
Task
1:
The
continuous
tenses
are
used
to
communicate
different
ideas. Can you match each example sentence in the tables below with its
use?
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
27
Uses of the present continuous:
Example
Use
1. I'm reading this page.
A. A future arrangement.
2. I'm reading 'War and Peace'.
B. Describing an action which
is taking place right now.
3. She's meeting her friends at
the cinema tonight.
C. Describing an action which
is
ongoing,
even
if
it's
not
happening at this exact minute.
4. You're always listening to
music when I'm trying to study.
D. When used with 'always', a
repeated, irritating action.
5. They're living in London.
E. A temporary state.
Answers: 1-B, 2-C, 3-A, 4-D, 5-E
Uses of the past continuous:
Example
Use
1. He was walking to work when
A. In progress before and after
he found €50 on the street.
a specified point in time.
2. He told me he was working
that night.
length of time.
3. We were talking on the phone
for hours.
4.
She
B. In progress over a specified
C. Reporting later what someone
had said in the present continuous.
was
walking
home
the storm started.
Answers: 1-D, 2-C, 3-B, 4-A
when
D.
To
set
action in a story.
the
scene
for
the
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
28
Uses of the future continuous:
Example
Use
1. This time next week I'll be
A. Stating a matter of course
lying on a beach.
in the future.
2. Don't call her now; she'll
be having her dinner.
3.
I'll
be
working
B. Making a supposition about
the present.
from
home
from now on.
C. Predicting what will be in
progress before and after a specified
time in the future.
Answers: 1-C, 2-B, 3-A
1.6.4.1.1. Stative and Dynamic verbs
Task 1: Which sentence in each pair below do you think is more
natural?
I understand this. Or I'm understanding it.
How about?
I like you. Or I'm liking you.
I need some help. Or I'm needing some help.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
The
first
example
in
each
is
the
correct
answer.
The
above
29
are
examples of stative verbs, i.e. verbs which are not normally used in the
continuous aspect, although there are exceptions. Verbs which can be used
in a continuous form are called dynamic verbs.
Stative
verbs
include
verbs
of
the
senses
and
for
mental
and
emotional states. Below are some common examples:
Hear, look, see, smell, sound, taste, seem, appear, believe, know,
like, love, hate, prefer, realise, remember, think [have an opinion], want,
wish, agree, disagree, mean, promise, belong, depend, include, need, own,
weigh, and have [when it's used to mean possess].
Some stative verbs can also be used dynamically, but with a different
meaning, e.g. 'I think it's important' is an opinion [stative], but 'I'm
thinking about it' is an idea you are forming in your head right now
[dynamic].
1.6.4.2. Present Simple and Continuous
For most verbs the present simple tense is quite straightforward: we
just use the base form of the verb for I/you/we/you/they and add 's' to the
base form for he/she/it. For example, we say I work but she works.
There are some exceptions to this rule, however. The spelling of some
verbs changes further in the third person (he/she/it) and some verbs change
both spelling and pronunciation.
I try
- he tries [y changes to ie]
I watch - she watches [add -es]
I go - he goes [add -es]
I do - she does [add -es and pronunciation changes]
I have - she has [-ve changes to -s]
The verb be changes a lot in the different persons:
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
30
I am
You are
He/she/it is
We are
You are
They are
Uses of the present simple:
This tense is used for regular and habitual events, for facts and for
jobs.
Negatives:
We add the auxiliary verb do/does + not to the base form to make the
negative of verbs in the present simple (with the exception of be and the
modal verbs). We often contract do/does and the not, particularly when
speaking.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
I eat cheese.
-
31
I do not eat cheese.
I don't eat cheese.
She lives here.
-
She does not live here.
She doesn't live here.
For be and the modal verbs, we simply add not after the verb:
I am - I am not.
He is - He is not / He isn't. / He's not.
We are - We are not / We aren't. / We're not.
They must. - They must not. / They mustn't.
Questions:
Questions also use the auxiliary do/does, but at the beginning of the
phrase, followed by the subject and then the base form of the verb.
You work. - Do you work?
We can of course add question words and further information before
and after this basic question structure:
Why do you work so hard?
Negative questions use don't at the start of the question:
Why don't you work harder?
Questions with be and modal verbs just change the word order:
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
32
He's happy. - Is he happy?
He isn't tired. - Isn't he tired?
You can swim. - Can you swim?
1.6.4.3. Past Simple and Continuous
Most verbs in English are regular in the past, which means we add ed/-d to the base form to make the past simple:
I work - I worked
I dance - I danced
Unfortunately for learners, the most common verbs are almost all
irregular. What verbs do you think you use most often during the day? Did
you think of be, have, eat, drink, go, get? What are these verbs in the
past? Example: I get up every day at 6am, but this morning I got up at 7.
These verbs have to be learnt (or learned if you're American) by
heart.
This
takes
time,
but
the
good
news
is
that
learners
will
be
regularly exposed to these due to the fact that they are so common. In
addition, although the irregular forms may seem quite random at first (go went; eat - ate), some patterns can be discerned (come-came; become became). Some irregular verbs are quite uncommon and learners may choose
not to learn them. A full list of irregular verbs is included in Appendix
1.
Note that there are some verbs, such as learn, which are irregular in
British English, but regular in American English. Both forms are considered
to be correct.
Negative forms:
We add the auxiliary verb did + not to the base form to make the
negative of verbs in the past simple (with the exception of be and the
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
33
modal verbs). We often contract did and not, particularly when speaking.
I ate cheese.
-
I did not eat cheese.
I didn't eat cheese.
She lived here.
-
She did not live here.
She didn't live here.
For be and the modal verbs, we simply add not after the verb:
I was - I was not./ I wasn't.
He was - He was not / He wasn't.
We were - We were not / We weren't.
They could. - They could not. / They couldn't.
Questions:
Questions also use the auxiliary did, but at the beginning of the
phrase, followed by the subject and then the base form of the verb.
You worked. - Did you work?
Of course, we can add question words and further information before
and after this basic question structure:
Why did you work so hard?
Negative questions use didn't at the start of the question:
Why didn't you work harder?
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
34
Questions with be and the modal verbs just change word order, as in
the present tense:
He was happy. - Was he happy?
He wasn't tired. - Wasn't he tired?
You could swim when you were younger. - Could you swim when you were
younger?
Uses of the past simple:
The past simple is used for completed past events.
1.6.4.4. Future Structures
In English we have several ways of speaking about the future which,
as native speakers, we use automatically in different situations without
analysing our reasons.
Task 1: Look at the following sentences and match the beginnings to
the endings that seem most natural to you:
1. I will fly to Milan
A. at 20.00.
2. I'm flying to Milan
B.
according
to
the
weather
forecast.
3.
The
President
will
fly
Rome
to
C. and meet the Pope as part of
his official visit.
4. The plane leaves
D. I think.
5. It will rain tonight,
E. if you're leaving now.
6. It's going to rain tonight
F. some day when I can afford
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
35
it.
7. I'm going to take a holiday
G. I promise.
in Italy this summer
8. I'll call you back later
H. but I haven't booked it yet.
9. Oh, I'll come with you
I.
tonight;
I've
bought
my
ticket.
Answers: 1-F, 2-I, 3-C, 4-A, D-5, 6-B, 7-H, 8-G, 9-E
Task 2: Now match each of the sentence beginnings above with the name
of the structure:
I. Present simple
II. be going to + verb
III. Future simple (will + base form)
IV. Present continuous
Answer: I-4, II-6,7, III-1,3,5,8,9, IV-2
Task
3:
Now
match
the
example
sentences
to
the
meanings
communicated:
Example
1.
coffee?
Shall/Will
Used to mean...
I
make
you
a
A. A promise or threat
being
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
2. Oh, I'll come with you if
36
B. An offer
you're leaving now.
3. I'll call you back later, I
C. A prediction
promise.
4.
The
President
will
fly
to
D. A spontaneous decision
Rome and meet the Pope as part of his
official visit.
5. The plane leaves at 20.00.
E. A supposition
6. My car won't start!
F. Refusal
7.
It
will
8.
Don't
rain
tonight,
I
G. Request
think.
call
them
now;
they
won't be home yet.
H. A formal announcement of a
schedule
9. I'm flying to Milan tonight;
I've bought my ticket.
I.
A
plan
which
has
already
been decided
10. I'm going to take a holiday
J. A prediction with evidence
in Italy this summer, but I haven't
booked it yet.
11. Will you do me a favour?
K.
An
arrangement,
usually
mentioning time
12. It's going to rain tonight
L. A timetable
according to the weather forecast.
Answer: 1-B, 2-D, 3-A, 4-H, 5-L, 6-F, 7-C, 8-, 9-K, 10-I, 11-G, 12-J
So
you
see,
we
can
communicate
different
meanings
by
choosing
different future structures.
Task 4: Think about the difference between these two mini-dialogues:
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
37
Boss: Have you spoken to that client yet?
Employee: Not yet. I'm calling him this afternoon.
Boss: Have you spoken to that client yet?
Employee: Not yet. I'll call him this afternoon.
Which
employee
is
communicating
to
the
boss
that
everything
is
already in hand?
Answer: the first one
What about 'shall'?
'Shall' is sometimes used in place of 'will' for the future. It is
more common in Britain and it is mainly used only in the first person for
predictions, promises, suggestions and offers, e.g. 'Shall I open it for
you?'
1.6.4.5. Perfect aspect
1.6.4.5.1. Present perfect
The present perfect tense can be seen as the link between the past
and the present. For example, if I've been working here for four years, my
action of 'work' is both a past and a present action: it started four years
ago and is still continuing today.
Situations where the past and present are connected include:
(1) an action which started in the past and is still continuing
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
38
(2) an action which happened recently, e.g. I've just finished a
really interesting book
(3) an action which happened at an unspecified time in the life of a
living person, e.g. I've seen that film already
When we use the present perfect tense in English, we can't mention a
finished past time. When a past time is mentioned, we are completely in the
past and must use a past tense. I can't say 'We've done that yesterday';
instead we have to say 'We did that yesterday'.
Why can I say 'I've had too much coffee this morning' at 11am, but I
can't say this at 2pm?
Answer: Because this morning isn't finished at 11am, but at 2pm it's
a finished past time.
The structure of the present perfect tense is subject + have/has +
past participle. This tense is called the present perfect as the verb have
is in the present form.
There is also a continuous form of this tense, the present perfect
continuous. Remember: continuous tenses contain a form of be and the -ing
form of the main verb. So, the present perfect continuous is the present
perfect of the verb be and an -ing form. An example is: I have been working
here for 4 years.
Although
present
perfect
simple
actions
may
either
have happened
recently or at any time in someone's life, the present perfect continuous
refers to something which is recent or still continuing. This tense is used
to focus on the action itself (rather than the result) or to focus on the
duration of the action.
Compare: 'I've been working all night on my essay' with 'I've worked
hard on my essay and now it's finished.'
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
39
If you were annoyed at being kept waiting by a friend, would you say
to them: 'I've waited for an hour!' or 'Ive been waiting for an hour!'?
1.6.4.5.2. Past perfect
There are other perfect tenses in addition to the present perfect and
they
all
have
a
similar
structure,
which
is
a
form
of
have
+
past
participle. The tense is contained in the auxiliary verb have, which means
the past perfect is had + past participle, e.g. I closed the door and then
realised I had left my keys inside.
The past perfect is the past of the past. In other words, when we are
telling a story in the past and we want to talk about an action which
happened before the main action (a flashback), we use the past perfect.
This means that the past perfect always exists in combination with and in
relation to the past tense. In the above example, the main actions, in
chronological order are: 1. I closed the door and 2. I realised. Leaving my
keys inside happened at an earlier time than these actions, and so this
part of the story is in the past perfect.
Note: Native speakers sometimes use the past simple instead of the
past perfect where the order of the events in time is obvious from the
context.
Example: We travelled to many countries before we settled down here.
The uses of the past perfect continuous mirror those of the present
perfect and refer to continuous events before the main past event, e.g. He
had been walking for hours when he found the shelter.
The past perfect is also used as the past of the present perfect in
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
40
indirect speech.
1.6.4.5.3. Future perfect
Perfect tenses look back:
Just as the present perfect looks back at the past from the point of
view of the present and the past perfect looks back at an earlier past from
a point in the past, so the future perfect looks back at an earlier future
from a point in the future.
The future perfect simple predicts events expected to have happened
by a specific future time, e.g. 'By the end of this year I will have
visited France', while the future perfect continuous describes predicted
continuous actions up to a future time, e.g. He will have been working here
for twenty years by the time he is 50.
1.6.5. Modal auxiliary verbs
The modal auxiliary verbs (also called modal verbs) are:
Can
Could
Will
Would
Shall
Should
May
Might
Must
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
41
Modals verbs are auxiliary verbs as they are always used with a main
verb whose mood (or meaning) they alter. The modal verb is placed first in
the verb phrase and is followed by a verb (either an auxiliary verb or a
main verb) in the base form.
Consider how the modal verbs change the meaning of the verb swim in
the following verb phrases:
I swim
I can swim
I will swim
I should swim
Task 1: Can you match them to their appropriate sentence endings?
1. I swim
A. tomorrow if I have time.
2. I can swim
B. because I took lessons as a
child.
3. I will swim
C. every day.
4. I should swim every day
D. because it's good for me.
Answers: 1-C, 2-B, 3-A, 4-D
Modal verbs are grammatically unusual because, as we saw earlier,
they don't take -s in the third person in the present and they form
negatives and questions differently to other verbs. They also have no
infinitive form (to can doesn't exist) and they have no past form (there is
no I musted).
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
42
Uses:
Modal
verbs
express
a
range
of
meanings
including
possibility,
certainty, permission, volition, obligation, necessity and prediction. The
exercise below looks at most of the main uses.
Task 2: Match the example sentence with the use of the modal in the
right-hand column (as in the example):
Modal
Examples
Can/can't
1.C
I
Uses
can
meet
A.
you at nine. / I can't Requesting/granting/refusing
swim.
something/permission
2._ Can I borrow
€50?
B.
Expressing
surprise/disbelief/negative
3._
You
can't deduction
still be hungry after
eating all that!
4._
I
_
can
The
Expressing
(in)ability
hear
someone upstairs.
5.
C.
D. Expressing tendency
E. Expressing perception
alarm or lack thereof
can sound at any time.
Could/couldn't
1.
_
He
could
play the piano before
he could read.
2.
_
Could
A. Suggesting
B.
Requesting
something/permission
you
pass me the butter?
3. _ It couldn't
C.
Expressing
past
(in)ability
D.
Expressing
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
43
be Linda; she's in the impossibility/surprise/convict
USA.
ion/negative deduction
4. _ Could that
be June at the door?
5.
always
_
go
We
E.
Expressing/questioning
could possibility
there
by
car.
May/may not
1. _ May I leave
the table?
A. Wishing/cursing
B.
2. _ It may well Requesting/granting/refusing/p
be time to leave.
3.
_
ermission
May
(slightly
more
the formal than can)
C.
road rise with you.
Expressing
4. _ It may be possibility
old,
but
it
still
_
You
D. Conceding
works.
Might/mightn't
1.
A.
mightn't recognise her Expressing/questioning
now.
call
possibility
2.
_
You
in
if
might
you
used
with
possibility
3.
_
I
just
might be tempted.
like
Commonly
have this adverb to express slight
time.
Would/wouldn't
B.
_
Would
me
to
show
you
a
tentative
A. (stressed) commenting
you on predictability of someone's
around?
past action
_
Would
please be quiet?
3.
Making
request
1.
2.
C.
_
We
you
B. Offering something
C.
would event/repeated
Habitual
state
in
the
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
often
go
there
44
on past
holidays when I was a
D. Requesting/commanding
child.
E. Future in the past.
4.
_
say
that,
she?
She
She
would
wouldn't
was
selling
it.
5. _ He finished
school
that
year
and
would soon find a job.
Should/shouldn't
1. _ Passengers
for
Limerick
change
at
should something
Limerick
Junction.
B. Expressing obligation
C. Advising
2. _ People who
live
A. Expressing desire for
in
D.
In
certain
that
glasshouses clauses
shouldn't
throw
stones.
E.
Expressing
logical
expectation
3.
_
It
should
_
I
should
work now.
4.
like
to
see
that
report.
5. _ Funny that
you should say that.
Must/mustn't
1.
_
We
really
must be going now.
2.
_
You
A. (stressed) rhetorical
question implying disapproval
must
B.
Deducing
the
cause
stay longer next time of/reason for something
you visit.
C.
(stressed)
firm
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
45
3. _ You mustn't invitation/recommendation
tell a soul.
4.
_
D. Expressing obligation
Must
you
make such a mess?
5.
answering
_
He
his
E.
Commanding
or
advising strongly
isn't
phone.
He must have switched
it off.
Answers:
Can/can't: 1-C, 2-A, 3-B, 4-E, 5-D
Could/couldn't: 1-C, 2-B, 3-D, 4-E, 5-A
May/may not: 1-B, 2-C, 3-A, 4-D
Might/mightn't: 1-A, 2-C, 3-B
Would/wouldn't: 1-B, 2-D, 3-C, 4-A, 5-E
Should/shouldn't: 1-B, 2--C, 3-E, 4-A, 5-D
Must/mustn't: 1-D, 2-C, 3-E, 4-A, 5-B
Modals in the past:
So, if modals have no past form, what do we do if we need to use a
modal with a past meaning? Some of these verbs can be used in both the
present and the past, e.g. I could help you if you like / I could touch my
toes when I was younger, while others are substituted with another verb in
the past, e.g. I must exercise every day now. / I had to exercise every day
when I was in school. In the case of could, we use this in the past to mean
a general ability
in the past (I could drive a car when I was 18), but we
use was/were able to for a specific achievement (I was able to pass my
driving test on the first attempt).
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
46
For some meanings, we can use a different structure: modal + have +
past participle. This is called a perfect modal. Compare, for example, I
should speak to her every day. / I should have spoken to her yesterday, but
I didn't. This structure is used for actions which were not carried out,
such as things I should have, would have or could have done, but I didn't.
We can also use this structure to speculate about the past, e.g. He might
have been there, but I didn't see him / They must have left already, their
car is gone.
Semi-modal verbs:
There are also a number of verbs which we call semi-modal verbs as
they don't follow all the grammatical rules for modal verbs. The semi-modal
verbs are have to, ought to, need (some uses) and dare.
Task 3: Given what you now know about the grammar of modal verbs,
which modal verb rules do the following sentences obey or break?
1. I ought to take more exercise.
2. He oughtn't to have spoken to you like that.
3. Do you have to make so much noise?
4. I had to wake up early yesterday.
5. You needn't do it if you don't want to.
6. Need you work so hard?
7. Do you need to work so hard?
8. I daren't make any noise.
9. Who dares disturb me?
Answer: 1,2,4 - breaks modal rules by using to; 3,7 - break modal
rules by using auxiliary do; 9- breaks modal rules by adding -s; 5,6,8 obey modal rules.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
47
1.6.6. Gerunds
A gerund is a verb form which ends in -ing, e.g. I love eating
chocolate. However, this is not the same as the present participle (notice
there is no auxiliary verb in the above example). The gerund can be viewed
as the noun form of the verb. In the above example, I could replace the
verb eating with a noun and say I love chocolate. Essentially, any time we
want to put a verb where we would usually put a noun in the sentence, that
verb will be in the gerund (-ing) form.
Task 1: Can you replace the noun phrases in the following sentences
with a gerund?
Cigarettes are bad for your health.
I hate my walk to work.
I'm enjoying this book.
Answer: Smoking / Walking to work / Reading this book
1.6.6.1. Gerunds vs Infinitives
In some sentences we need to choose whether to use a gerund or an
infinitive form of a verb.
1. When two verbs appear one after the other in a phrase, the second
verb is either an infinitive or a gerund.
Examples: I like listening to music.
He enjoys playing football.
John started to walk slowly.
My friends recommended eating at this restaurant.
Try to relax!
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
48
The choice of infinitive or gerund depends on the first verb.
Task 1: What form would you use after these verbs? Try inventing an
example sentence to check, e.g. You can't avoid meeting them [gerund].
Answer: gerund: avoid, can't help, deny,can't face, fancy, feel like,
finish, give up, imagine, keep (on), mind, miss, postpone, practice, put
off, risk, spend time, can't stand, suggest
Infinitive: agree, dare, decide, expect, fail, happen, hope, manage,
mean, offer, prepare, pretend, promise, refuse, seem, wish
2. Some verbs can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive,
often with a difference in meaning.
Task 2: Try the following exercises:
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
49
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
50
3. We use an infinitive to explain our reason for doing something,
e.g.
I
came
here
to
learn
English.
This
is
called
the
infinitive
of
purpose.
4. A gerund always follows a preposition, e.g. I'm interested in
learning English.
5. When a verb is the subject or object of a sentence, we put it in
the gerund form.
Examples: Learning English is important.
I hate ironing my clothes.
6. Some verbs are followed by the base form, e.g. let, make, allow,
etc., and some can be followed by the base form or the infinitive, e.g.
help - He helped us to find it. / He helped us find it.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
51
1.7. Nouns
1.7.1. Countable and Uncountable nouns
Why is it OK to say I need some information, but not I need some
informations, or I'll give you a piece of advice, but not I'll give you an
advice?
This is because some nouns in English can't be used in the plural,
while others have both a singular and a plural form. These latter nouns are
called countable nouns and can be counted, while the former cannot be
counted and are therefore called uncountable nouns and take only singular
verbs.
Task 1: Can you divide the following list of nouns into countable and
uncountable?
coffee, luck, sheep, person, oil, sand, child, wool, pasta, week,
milk,
rice,
happiness,
idea,
time,
money,
house,
dog,
news,
policy,
politics, travel, deer.
Countable e.g. a car/two cars
Uncountable
e.g.
some
water,
but not a water or five waters
Answer:
Countable: sheep,
person,
child,
week,
idea,
house,
dog,
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
52
policy, deer
Uncountable:
coffee,
luck,
oil,
sand,
wool,
pasta,
milk,
rice,
happiness, time, money, news, politics, travel
Task 2:
Are there any general qualities shared by the uncountable
nouns?
Answer: The uncountable nouns are often things which exist as a mass,
rather than objects which are clearly individual. They can also be abstract
nouns, representing concepts rather than physical objects.
Some nouns can be used both countably and uncountably, but with a
difference in meaning. Think about the difference between I'd like some
cake [U] and I'd like some cakes [C] or France produces a lot of wine [U]
and France produces a lot of wines [C] = different types of wine.
We can add another noun + of before an uncountable noun in order to
be able to count it, e.g. we can't count sand, but we can count grains of
sand. A common general word for this purpose is 'piece', e.g. a piece of
paper/advice/furniture.
Some
uncountable
nouns
have
their
own
specific
nouns, e.g. a stroke of luck, a clap of thunder.
As well as affecting counting, the countable/uncountable distinction
is essential for the questions 'How much?' and How many?'.
Task 3: Which question should you use with
much eggs do you need?
a countable noun? How
Or How many eggs do you need? What about milk?
Answer: How many eggs do you need? How much milk do you need?
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53
1.8. Pronouns
A pronoun stands for a noun or noun phrase, e.g. I've lost my wallet
- I don't know where I left it. Sometimes the pronoun stands for a longer
phrase or a complete sentence, e.g. I left my wallet on the bus. I don't
know why I did that. What does the pronoun that stand for here? Answer: I
left my wallet on the bus.
There are several different types of pronoun which we will look at in
the following sections.
1.8.1. Personal pronouns
1.8.1.1. Subject and Object pronouns
Earlier,
we
looked
at
the
Subject-Verb-Object
sentence
structure
which is usual in English. When we replace a noun with a personal pronoun,
we use different pronouns depending on whether the noun we are replacing is
the subject or object of the sentence. For example in the sentence: Mary
saw John, Mary is the subject (doing the action) and John is the object.
So, when we substitute pronouns for nouns, we say She saw him. Conversely,
the sentence John saw Mary would give us He saw her.
Task 1: Can you fill in the missing subject and object pronouns in
the following table?
Person
Subject pronoun
1st person singular
I
2nd person singular
Object pronoun
you
3rd person singular
1st person plural
2nd person plural
you
3rd person plural
they
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54
1.8.1.2. Reflexive pronouns
What's happening in this picture?
The queen is looking at the queen in the mirror.
Task 1: Which noun can we replace with a pronoun in this sentence?
What pronoun will we use?
Answer: The queen is looking at herself in the mirror.
When the subject and object of the verb are the same, we use a
reflexive pronoun.
The queen [subject] is looking [verb phrase] at the queen [object] in
the mirror.
Task 1: Can you add the reflexive pronouns to the following table?
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55
1st person singular
2nd person singular
3rd person singular
/ herself /
1st person plural
2nd person plural
3rd person plural
Answer:
myself,
yourself,
himself/herself/itself,
ourselves,
yourselves, themselves
There are some other uses of reflexive pronouns, usually to add
emphasis, e.g. 'I made it myself' and 'The house itself isn't bad, but the
neighbourhood is terrible'.
1.8.1.3. Reciprocal pronouns
In this picture, what is happening?
The queen is looking at the witch and the witch is looking at the
queen.
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56
Alternatively, we could say The queen and the witch are looking at
each other.
Or
The queen and the witch are looking at one another.
The meanings of each other and one another are identical, although
one another is considered to be more formal.
1.8.1.4. Possessive Pronouns
This conversation is a little unnatural:
A: Whose car is that?
B: It's my car.
A: Really? It's not really your car, is it? I think it's their car.
B: OK, it's not really my car - it's her car.
How can we reduce the number of mentions of 'car' in the above
dialogue?
A: Whose car is that?
B: It's mine.
A: Really? It's not really yours, is it? I think it's theirs.
A: OK, it's not really mine - it's actually hers.
As before, we can substitute a pronoun to avoid repeating the noun.
We substitute a possessive pronoun (mine) for the possessive adjective +
noun (my car).
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
Answer:
me/my/mine;
you/your/yours;
him/his/his;
57
her/her/hers;
us/our/ours; them/their/theirs; whose/whose
1.8.1.5. Gender-neutral pronoun
In the past, when we wanted to refer to an unidentified person, whose
gender is therefore unknown, it was common to say he, as in:
Every teacher should prepare his lesson and he should arrive on time
to class.
A gender-neutral alternative is he/she (or his/her in the first part
of the above example). For brevity, particularly in speech, they is now
common.
Every teacher should prepare their lesson and they should arrive on
time to class.
1.8.2. Indefinite pronouns
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58
Someone/body/thing
Anyone/body/thing
Everyone/body/thing
No one/nobody/thing
Indefinite pronouns are singular, but they may be take a plural
gender-neutral pronoun:
Everyone was invited to take a copy away with them.
Someone was holding their hat in front of their face in the photo.
No-one can call themselves a dentist without being qualified.
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59
1.9. Relative clauses
Task 1: Look at the following text. Could you make it shorter and
less repetitive?
(1) That is a man. (2) The man works in my office.
Answer: That is the man who works in my office.
We
can
use
relative
clauses
to
combine
separate
ideas
into
one
sentence. Ideas (1) and (2) above can be linked using a relative pronoun.
In this example the relative pronoun is who. Here, the main clause is 'That
is the man' and the the relative clause is 'who works in my office'. A
relative clause can also be in the middle of the main clause, e.g. 'The man
who works in my office is on holidays'.
Task 2: Can you combine the following pairs of sentences using the
relative pronouns: who, which, that, where, or whose?
I saw a woman. She was wearing a green coat.
They bought a house. The house needed some repairs.
Cork is a city. I first met Jim in Cork.
He saw a boat. The boat was not very expensive.
The man is not very nice. His dog bit me.
Answer:
I saw a woman who was wearing a green coat.
They bought a house which needed some repairs.
Cork is the city where I first met Jim.
He saw a boat which was not very expensive.
The man whose dog bit me is not very nice.
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60
Uses of relative pronouns:
Relative pronoun
Use
That or which
Refer
(which
Example
to
things
sounds
more that/which
boat
he
saw
was
blue.
formal)
Who or that
The
Refer to people
The woman who owed
me
money
never
paid
me
back.
whose
Is
used
for
The man whose dog
possession and can refer bit me is not very nice.
to people or things
Where / in which
Refer to location
This
is
the
town
where/in which I used to
live.
When / on which
Refer to time
The
in
June
first
was
Sunday
the
day
when/on which we met.
whom
This is the object
Joe was the person
form of 'who' and is used with whom she wished to
after prepositions
speak.
Defining relative clauses:
A
defining
relative
clause
(also
called
an
identifying
relative
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61
clause) gives essential information which is necessary to identify what you
are referring to. For example, if I said 'The man is not very nice', your
first question would be: 'What man are you talking about?' Here, you need
the information 'whose dog bit me' to identify the man: The man whose dog
bit me is not very nice.
In a defining relative clause, if the relative pronoun is the object
of the verb in the relative clause, the pronoun can be left out.
The boat that he saw was blue. = The boat he saw was blue.
The relative pronoun that is referring to the boat.
Break this down to two sentences: He saw a boat. The boat was blue.
You can see that the boat is the object of the verb saw.
Non-defining (non-identifying) relative clauses:
By contrast, if I said 'My brother is not very nice', you would
understand who I'm talking about. If I said 'My brother, whose dog bit me,
is not very nice', the 'whose dog bit me' part is extra information and
isn't essential for identifying who I'm talking about. In this example,
'whose dog bit me' is a non-defining relative clause.
The pronoun that isn't used in non-defining relative clauses, e.g.
Someone stole his bike, which he'd only bought the day before, not Someone
stole his bike, that he'd only bought the day before.
A non-defining relative clause is separated from the main clause be a
comma/commas, as in the above examples.
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62
Task 3: Bearing this in mind, look at the following examples. How
many brothers does each speaker have in the following situations?
1. My brother who lives in New York has got a new job.
2. My brother, who lives in New York, has got a new job.
Answer: Speaker 1 has more than one brother and Speaker 2 has only
one brother.
Task 4: Why is the monster's girlfriend upset about his message? What
could
he
have
done
punctuation-wise
in
order
to
prevent
misunderstanding?
Answer: My girlfriend, who I upset, is so important to me.
this
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63
1.10. Adjectives
Adjectives are words that modify nouns.
1.10.1. Types of adjective
Adjectives usually come before the noun they describe, e.g. I have a
blue car, but sometimes they come after the noun they describe, e.g That
car is blue. Why do you think this is? The adjectives which come after the
noun are following a verb such as be or seem.
Many adjectives are formed from verbs. A lot of past participles can
be used as adjectives, e.g. stolen, bored, exhausted, etc. Other adjectives
come
from
the
present
participle
(-ing)
of
the
verb,
e.g.
boring,
exhausting, amusing, etc. Can you think of any others?
Task 1: The difference in meaning between an -ed and -ing adjective
can cause some confusion for students. Some day, inevitably, you will hear
a student wail: "Teacher! I'm boring!" (Resist the temptation to agree with
them.) How would you explain the difference between boring and bored?
Answer: The -ing participle describes the effect of something or
somebody,
while
the
past
participle
describes
a
person's
feeling
or
reaction. Giving a few examples will help clarify this.
1.10.2. Order of adjectives
As native speakers, we automatically put a list of adjectives in a
certain order before a noun. So we know that a nice small red toy car is
correct, but a red toy small nice car is not. Unfortunately this order
doesn't come automatically to students and must be learnt.
Task 1: Can you put these adjectives in the order which feels right
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
64
to you?
I bought a green Chanel beautiful handbag.
Answer: I bought a beautiful green Chanel handbag.
In
reality,
you
will
rarely
see
a
phrase,
containing
as
many
adjectives as old red Spanish leather riding boots, but the above order
list is useful for understanding why some orders just seem right and others
don't.
Remember,
it's
possible
to
break
this
order
rule,
usually
for
emphasis, e.g. to contrast a Chanel green handbag with a Penneys green
handbag.
1.10.3. Gradable and ungradable adjectives
Task 1: Which of these phrases seems more natural to you?
We had a very nice day.
We had an absolutely nice day.
Answer: The first one.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
Some
adjectives
are
stronger
than
others,
describing
65
extreme
qualities like wonderful, awful, freezing, etc., while adjectives like good
and bad are considered to be weaker. This affects the adverbs we can put
with them. The strong adjectives are called non-gradable adjectives and can
be preceded by strong adverbs like absolutely, completely, really, quite,
etc.
The weaker adjectives are gradable (for example, there can be varying
degrees or grades of good) and these are preceded by weaker adverbs like
very and fairly. Really and quite can also be used with these adjectives,
although there can be a difference in meaning when we use quite with
gradable
and
ungradable
adjectives.
Compare
good.
1.10.4. Comparative and Superlative adjectives
quite
wonderful
with
quite
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66
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67
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68
1.11. Adverbs
Like adjectives, adverbs are used for description. An adverb gives us
more information about an action, e.g. he ran quickly, but as well as
modifying a verb as in this example, it can also give more information
about an adjective, another adverb or even a whole sentence.
Examples of the above:
A happily married man
A very happily married man
Fortunately, Jim was a very happily married man.
Most
adverbs
are
formed
by
adding
-ly
to
the
adjective,
e.g.
fortunate - fortunately. Some adjectives, e.g. very, hard, fast, etc. don't
end in -ly, and some words can function as both adjectives and adverbs.
He has a fast car. (fast is an adjective)
He drives fast. (fast is an adverb)
1.11.1. Types of adverbs
We classify adverbs according to type, although some adverbs appear
in more than one category as they have several different meanings.
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69
Type of adverb
Examples
manner
Slowly, quickly, well, suddenly
time
Then,
soon,
yesterday,
still,
yet, already
Place and direction
Here, there, home, forward
frequency
Always, often, hardly ever
Degree
Completely, hardly, too, Very,
extremely, quite
focusing
Discourse
Only, just, also, too
marker
(modify
the
Suddenly, frankly
whole sentence)
1.11.2. Position of adverbs
Adverbs frequently come before the word they are modifying, e.g. very
happy, really well. However, the position of an adverb within a verb phrase
depends on its type. We will look at some of these in the following
sections. Note that these rules can sometimes be broken for emphasis and
stylistic reasons.
1.11.2.1. Adverbs of time and place
These usually go at the end of a phrase, but can go at the beginning
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70
for emphasis.
Classes start tomorrow. / Tomorrow, classes start.
When we have both time and place together in a phrase, the place
adverb normally goes before the time.
I'll meet you here at six.
The time adverbs still, already and yet can occur in the middle of a
phrase or at the end.
She still likes it. / She likes it still. (less common)
She had already been there. / She had been there already.
I haven't yet done the work. / I haven't done the work yet.
1.11.2.2. Adverbs of frequency
Adverbs of general frequency, e.g. rarely, always, usually go before
the main verb or after be.
She rarely speaks.
She is usually quiet.
When there are one or more auxiliary verbs, they follow the first
auxiliary verb.
She has rarely spoken.
I should never have told him.
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
Adverbs of definite frequency go at the end of a phrase.
We speak to each other daily.
1.11.3. Comparative and Superlative Adverbs
71
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72
1.12. Determiners
A determiner gives more specific information about a noun. Common
determiners are: the, those, my, her, both, all, several, no, etc.
1.12.1. Articles
A, an and the are known as articles.
Indefinite articles (a / an):
We use a before a consonant sound and an before a vowel sound, for
example: a dog, a university, an orange, an hour, an X-ray. Note that it's
the sound and not the spelling of the word which matters.
A/an is singular and can mean 'any example of something', e.g. A
spider
has
eight
legs.
I'd
like
a
cup
of
coffee.
A/an
can
mean
'a
particular one' if we don't say exactly who or which, e.g. A man called
while you were out.
In the plural or with uncountable nouns we use no article or some.
Definite article (the):
When we use the we are referring to a particular one where both the
speaker and the listener know who/which it is.
I bought some new shoes, but the shoes were too tight. [I use the in
the
second
sentence
as
you
know
I'm
referring
to
the
shoes
which
I
mentioned in the previous sentence.]
Could you open the window? [Here, maybe there is only one window in
the room or I'm pointing to the window I mean. Contrast this with 'Could
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
you
open
a
window?'
where
this
is
more
than
one
option
and
I'm
73
not
specifying which I mean.]
Task 1:
We can also use the in generalisations with singular countable nouns,
to talk about a whole class of things.
Who invented the telescope?
I can't play the piano.
The cheetah is the fastest animal on land.
Institutions and everyday locations:
There are some common expressions which don't use an article after a
preposition:
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74
School, university, college, church, work, home, hospital, prison,
bed, town, holiday, etc.
I'm going to school.
He's in hospital at the moment.
However, we use the definite article when we are referring to a
specific building rather than the institution. Compare "He's in the prison"
and "He's in prison".
Place names:
Although most place names have no article, some do.
Task 2: Which of the following use the?
Africa, Germany, Czech Republic, Ireland, Republic of Ireland, United
States, Dublin, Texas, Middle East, O'Connell Street, Lake Michigan, Mount
Everest, Himalayas, Seychelles, Dublin Airport, Atlantic, Liffey, Sahara,
Savoy Cinema, Ritz Hotel.
What do you think are the general rules?
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75
1.12.2. Demonstratives
This, that, these and those are used as adjectives before a noun
(that book) and as pronouns on their own. They demonstrate which noun we
are referring to. For example, there is a difference between saying I want
a book and I want that book. These pronouns can also refer to an earlier
part of a conversation or text, e.g.
A: We need more money for this project.
B: That's not our only problem.
If a student asked you what the difference was between this, that,
these and those, how would you explain it to them?
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76
1.12.3. Possessive adjectives
Possessive
adjectives
can
also
be
called
possessive
determiner
pronouns and, like all determiners, they give us information about the noun
which follows, e.g. I lost my wallet.
my
your
his / her / its
our
your
their
1.12.4. Quantifiers
A quantifier is a word which comes before a noun (or adjective(s) +
noun) and describes how much or how many of that noun we are talking about,
e.g. I have both books here.
The quantifiers are all, both, half, much, many, some, any, another,
enough, either, more, a lot, a few, etc. and numbers.
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77
Countable and uncountable nouns:
We saw earlier that we use How many with countable nouns and How much
with uncountable nouns. We use many and much in negatives as well as in
questions: I don't have much money or many books. However, much is very
formal in positive statements, e.g. There was much trouble in the streets;
therefore, we prefer to use a lot of / lots of in this situation, and these
quantifiers can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
Other quantifiers which are specific to one type of noun or the
other are (a) few and (a) little. This is why we ask for a little milk [U]
and eat a few biscuits [C]. Fewer and less are the comparative forms of few
and little respectively, although this distinction isn't always respected,
to the despair of the Grammar Police.
Partitives:
Most quantifiers can be followed by the preposition of, e.g. most of
the students, to refer to part (most) of a larger group (the students). If
you are referring to a specific or definite group by using the or an
alternative determiner, you must use of, e.g. most of the students, some of
my friends. Exceptions to this rule are all, both and half: all of the
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
78
students / all the students, both of the dogs / both dogs, half of the
crowd / half the crowd.
The
preposition
of
is
not
used
with
non-specific
or
indefinite
groups, e.g. most people, most students, all countries.
Some and any:
In
general
some
is
used
in
affirmative
statements
and
any
in
questions and negatives.
A: I'm going to make some muffins. Have you got any sugar or milk?
B: I have some milk but I don't have any eggs, sorry.
But what about this? We have hardly any milk. This is a positive
statement, but we can use any here as hardly is an adverb with a negative
meaning, similar to rarely and seldom.
Another situation which breaks the above rule is where we use some in
questions, e.g. Have you got some sugar?
What
answer
is
the
speaker
expecting
here?
Probably
a
positive
answer. Think about the difference in the expected answers between: Would
you like some more cake? And Would you like any more cake?
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79
1.13. More about verbs
1.13.1. Passive voice
1.13.1.1. Passive voice
We use the terms active voice and passive voice to talk about ways of
organising information in a clause. The active voice is the typical word
order in English. This means we put the subject first in the sentence. The
subject is the 'doer' or agent of the verb:
Edward Barnes designed these houses in the 1880s. (active)
[Subject]
[verb]
[object]
In the passive voice, the person or thing that the action was done to
comes first in the sentence. In the above sentence this is the object
'these houses'. Because the most important information in a sentence is
usually at the beginning, the object becomes the focus of the sentence. We
can leave out the 'doer' or agent, or we can place the 'doer' in the phrase
by + 'doer':
These houses were designed in the 1880s. (passive without agent)
These houses were designed in the 1880s by Edward Barnes. (passive +
by + agent)
Note: some grammar books refer to the word/phrase at the beginning of
a passive sentence as the 'subject' but this can cause confusion with the
subject of the active construction. Calling this initial word/phrase the
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80
object, as it is the object of the active verb, reduces confusion.
We use the passive when we want to change the focus of a clause, e.g.
in the above sentence, we are more interested in the houses than the
architect. We also use the passive if the doer of the verb is not important
or not known or if we do not want to say who the doer is.
In addition, we use the passive to be impersonal and create distance.
We often use passives without agents in academic and technical contexts
when the process or actions are more significant than who or what did them:
A sample was taken and injected into a tube.
Passive forms:
The most common passive structure is be + past participle:
Five
million
people
watch
the
show
every
week.
(active,
present
simple of watch)
The show is watched by five million people every week. (passive,
present simple of be + past participle of watch)
Tenses and the passive:
We use passive forms of tenses in the same way as we use their active
equivalents. For example, we use the present simple in the passive to talk
about general or permanent states, or general facts we think are true at
the present time:
Mr Lloyd and Mrs James teach Geography. (present simple active)
Geography
is
taught
by
Mr
Lloyd
and
Mrs
James.
(present
simple
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
81
passive)
Task
1:
Can
you
put
your
own
examples
of
active
and
passive
structures into this table?
Tense
Active
Present simple
People
apples.
Present Continuous
Past simple
Past continuous
Future simple
Future continuous
Future
with
be
going to
Present
perfect
Present
perfect
simple
continuous
Past perfect simple
Past
perfect
continuous
Future
perfect
Future
perfect
simple
continuous
Modal verbs
Perfect modal
Infinitive
Gerund
Passive
often
eat
Apples
eaten.
are
often
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82
We don't often use perfect continuous forms (have/has/had/will have
been being + -ed form) in a passive structure. We usually find a way to
reword sentences like this.
The house has been being renovated for almost a year. (not common, we
usually avoid this form)
They have been renovating the house for almost a year. (preferred
form)
Some verbs are more common in the passive than the active voice.
These include be born, be populated, be stranded, be taken aback:
Where were you born?
Thousands
of
passengers
have
been
stranded
at
airports
all
over
Europe after heavy snowfalls.
Verbs with two objects
When verbs have two objects, either object can begin the passive
structure, depending on what we want to focus on:
Her mother gave each child a present. (active)
A present was given to each child (by her mother). (passive)
Each child was given a present (by her mother). (passive)
Passives with an agent
We use the preposition by to introduce the doer or the agent of the
action. We use this structure when the agent is important:
Mr Ward has been arrested by the FBI.
The community was destroyed by a flood in 1862.
When the subject of the passive clause is not the real agent of the
verb, we use other prepositions in passive structures:
I'd been decorating the bedroom and I was covered in paint. (Paint
isn't the real agent; I am the agent; I was painting.)
When the doer or agent of the action is an instrument, we use with:
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83
The door was smashed open with a hammer.
Passives without an agent
Passive structures without an agent are very common. We use these
structures when an agent is not important, or is unknown or obvious:
All applications must be received before 31 July.
The data was analysed and the results have just been published.
I walked to work. The car's being repaired.
Task 2: Why do you think passives were used in the following signs?
1.13.1.2. Get passive
Get may be used instead of be in many cases. This is usually more
colloquial than the be passive.
The windows got broken. (Someone broke the windows.)
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84
In some contexts using get avoids ambiguity. As broken is a past
participle, the passive with be
gives us 'The windows were broken'. Now
it's unclear whether this was just the state of the windows or whether
there was an action involved, i.e. Someone broke the windows.
1.13.1.3. Causative passive
He's getting his hair coloured. (Someone is colouring his hair.)
We
had
our
wooden
floors
painted.
(Someone
painted
our
wooden
floors.)
We use these structures more commonly in speaking. They are similar
to the passive because the agent of the action is not the subject, e.g. in
the first sentence 'he' is the agent but he is not doing the action of
colouring. This is called the causative passive, as the agent causes the
action to be done, i.e. he organised and paid for the colouring of his hair
by someone else.
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1.13.2. Direct and Indirect speech
In indirect speech (also called reported speech), we report what was
said in direct speech. We often use the verbs say, tell, ask to do this.
Examples of direct speech: "I don't understand," she said.
Indirect speech: She said she didn't understand.
We can also offer a commentary on the indirect speech by changing the
reporting verb, e.g. She complained that she didn't understand is not the
same as she She explained that she didn't understand.
We can also report thoughts:
"It's going to rain," he thought.
He thought it was going to rain.
"What am I doing here?"
She wondered what she was doing there.
Tense changes:
When the reporting verb is in the past tense e.g. she said, the
reported statement usually moves backwards in time, as in the above example
where I don't understand becomes she didn't understand.
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Task 1:
Answer: simple present - simple past; present continuous (also called
present progressive) - past continuous/progressive; present perfect - past
perfect; simple past - past perfect; will - would
Reported questions:
When
we
report
questions,
the
word
order
changes
from
typical
question word order to statement word order:
"Are you happy?" she asked.
She asked if I was happy. [The same word order as in the statement: I
was happy.]
Notice that the subject pronoun changes as well; you becomes I in
this example.
To report a yes/no question, we use if or whether:
"Would you like some cake?" they asked.
They asked me if I would like some cake. / They asked whether I would
like some cake.
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Reported commands/advice/requests:
The infinitive is generally used when reporting commands, advice and
requests.
"Close the door."
He told me to close the door.
"Can you help me?"
He asked us to help him.
"Don't do that."
They advised us not to do that.
Other changes:
As well as changing the verb tense and person in reported speech,
other words can change too because the original speaker's 'here' and 'now'
are not the same as the reporter's:
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88
1.13.3. Phrasal verbs
Phrasal verbs are verbs made up of a verb + particle (particle =
adverb or preposition). They are very common in English, particularly in
spoken English. There are also three part phrasal verbs (verb + adverb +
preposition). The meaning of the phrasal verb is different to the meaning
of the original verb and to the literal meaning of the verb + preposition.
For example, look up at the sky is a literal use of the verb look +
preposition, but look up that word in a dictionary is a phrasal verb.
In the cartoon above, turn down is a phrasal verb and, like many
phrasal verbs, it has more than one meaning. To native speakers, to turn
and to turn down the volume and to turn down an offer are three very
different verbs, but to a learner these look confusingly similar. The
meanings
of
phrasal
verbs
must
be
learnt,
guessed from understanding the separate parts.
as
they
can't
generally
be
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89
Grammatically, phrasal verbs are often divided into four categories:
Example
Type
He didn't turn up.
Verb + adverb, intransitive
He didn't turn up the radio. /
Verb
He didn't turn the radio/it up.
+
adverb
+
object,
transitive
The
separable,
verb
and
meaning
adverb
the
object
are
can
come between them.
He looked into the matter.
Verb + preposition + object
He got away with it.
Verb + adverb + preposition +
He
secret.
didn't
let
me
in
on
the object
Verb
+
object
preposition + object
+
adverb
+
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Tasks:
90
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Answers:
91
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92
1.14. Tasks for further practice
1.14.1. Terminology
Activity 1: See how many of the grammatical terms you can find in
this wordsearch.
Can you remember what they mean? Can you give an example for each
term?
SUBJECT
ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
ARTICLE
CLAUSE
CONJUNCTION
COUNTABLE
DETERMINER
IMPERATIVE
INFINITIVE
INTRANSITIVE
IRREGULAR
NOUN
OBJECT
PREPOSITION
PRONOUN
TRANSITIVE
UNCOUNTABLE
VERB
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93
1.14.2. Sentence strutcure
Activity 2.3.5:
Can you explain what's wrong with these sentences and then correct
them?
1.14.3. Verb tenses
Choose
the
correct
tenses
in
the
following
texts
(past
present perfect, or past perfect, simple or continuous forms):
simple,
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
94
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.3.1. Present simple
1.14.3.2. Present continuous
95
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1.14.3.3. Present simple and Continuous
96
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97
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.3.4. Present perfect
98
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99
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100
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101
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1.14.3.5. Present perfect and past simple
102
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.3.6. Past simple
103
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104
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105
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.3.7. Past continuous
106
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.3.8. Past simple and continuous
107
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.3.9. Past perfect
108
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109
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.3.10. Past perfect continuous
110
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.3.11. Future structures
111
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
112
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.4. Gerund or infinitive
113
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114
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115
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.5. Modal verbs
1.14.5.1. Modals of speculation
116
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.5.2. Ability
117
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.5.3. Permission
118
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.5.4. Obligation
119
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1.14.6. Countable and uncountable nouns
120
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1.14.8. Relative clauses
121
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122
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123
1.14.9. Adjectives
1.14.9.1. Comparatives and superlatives
What are the comparative and superlative forms of each of these
adjectives?
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124
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.9.2. Adjective order
Spot the joke:
125
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.11. Determiners
1.14.11.1. Articles
126
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.12. Passive voice
127
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.13. Direct and Indirect speech
128
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
1.14.14. Phrasal verbs
129
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1.14.15. Prepositions
130
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131
1.1. Appendix 1: Table of Irregular verbs
Notes:
1. be has several irregular forms:
Present: (I) am, (she, he, it) is, (you, we, they) are
Past: (I, she, he, it) was, (you, we, they) were
Past participle: been
2. Most irregular verbs, however, are only irregular in the past
simple and past participle.
3. Where two forms are given in the table below, the first is usual
in British English and the second in US English.
base
past simple
past participle
beat
beat
beaten
become
became
become
begin
began
begun
bend
bent
bent
bet
bet
bet
bite
bit
bitten
bleed
bled
bled
blow
blew
blown
break
broke
broken
breed
bred
bred
bring
brought
brought
build
built
built
burn
burnt/burned
burnt/burned
buy
bought
bought
catch
caught
caught
choose
chose
chosen
form
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
come
came
come
cost
cost
cost
cut
cut
cut
do
did
done
dig
dug
dug
draw
drew
drawn
dream
dreamt/dreamed
dreamt/dreamed
drink
drank
drunk
drive
drove
driven
eat
ate
eaten
fall
fell
fallen
feed
fed
fed
feel
felt
felt
fight
fought
fought
find
found
found
fly
flew
flown
forget
forgot
forgotten
forgive
forgave
forgiven
freeze
froze
frozen
get
got
got/gotten
give
gave
given
go
went
gone
grow
grew
grown
have
had
had
hear
heard
heard
hide
hid
hidden
hit
hit
hit
hold
held
held
hurt
hurt
hurt
132
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
keep
kept
kept
know
knew
known
lay
laid
laid
lead
led
led
lean
leant/leaned
leant/leaned
learn
learnt/learned
learnt/learned
leave
left
left
lend
lent
lent
let
let
let
lose
lost
lost
make
made
made
mean
meant
meant
meet
met
met
pay
paid
paid
put
put
put
quit
quit
quit
read
read
read
ride
rode
ridden
ring
rang
rung
rise
rose
risen
run
ran
run
say
said
said
see
saw
seen
sell
sold
sold
send
sent
sent
set
set
set
shake
shook
shaken
shine
shone
shone
shoe
shod
shod
133
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
shoot
shot
shot
show
showed
shown
shrink
shrank
shrunk
shut
shut
shut
sing
sang
sung
sink
sank
sunk
sit
sat
sat
sleep
slept
slept
speak
spoke
spoken
spend
spent
spent
spill
spilt/spilled
spilt/spilled
spread
spread
spread
speed
sped
sped
stand
stood
stood
steal
stole
stolen
stick
stuck
stuck
sting
stung
stung
stink
stank
stunk
swear
swore
sworn
sweep
swept
swept
swim
swam
swum
swing
swung
swung
take
took
taken
teach
taught
taught
tear
tore
torn
tell
told
told
think
thought
thought
throw
threw
thrown
underst
understood
understood
134
Grammar for Trainee Teachers
and
wake
woke
woken
wear
wore
worn
win
won
won
write
wrote
written
135
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136
1.2. Appendix 2: References and Useful resources for further study:
A
Concise
Grammar
for
English
Language
Teachers
-
Penston
[TP
Publications]
How English Works - Swan and Walter (Oxford University Press)
Practical English Usage - Swan (Oxford University Press)
English Grammar for Today – Carter et al. (Cambridge)
Grammar
with
Laughter
-
George
Woolard
(Language
Publications)
Timesaver Visual Grammar - Fletcher & Munns (Scholastic)
Teaching