Download Grammatical Features of English

Verbs
There are two classes of verbs: auxiliary verbs and all other verbs (ordinary verbs).
Auxiliary verbs? To be, to have, to do, to dare, to need, to be able (can), may, must, will, shall, ought and
used. Most verbs are known by their infinitives (to work, to play, to be, to have) but some of the auxiliaries
have no infinitive: may, must, shall
Auxiliary Verbs
To be, to have, to do, to dare, to need, to be able (can), may, must, will, shall, ought and used
Auxiliary verbs help to form tenses, e.g. I am waiting
They are used with infinitives to suggest possibility, permission, ability and obligation.
E.g. He may come tomorrow. I can type. You should stop now. I need to leave soon. I have to work. He dared
to speak in front of her.
Auxiliaries are often contracted, e.g. He can not go= he can’t go. I am here= I’m here.
They are also used in question tags,
E.g. He can’t go, can he?
And, they are used in comparisons,
E.g. Tom runs faster than you do. Tom ran faster than you did.
Modal Auxiliary Verbs
Verbs which describe how an action can or should be taken (and the reverse- what should not happen). One
of the meanings of modal verbs is to do with degrees of certainty: modal verbs can be used to say for
instance that a situation is certain, probable, possible or impossible, e.g. we could, we must, we have to , we
can’t, we might not, we shouldn’t, they have to, they mustn’t, they will have to, they may, could we not.., etc.
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Phrasal Verbs
When a participle (preposition or adverb) is added to a verb, it results in a new word/meaning.
E.g. He came across a rare book.
E.g. He came up with a brilliant idea.
E.g. He came down with a cold.
E.g. He ran into an old friend.
E.g. He ran up an enormous bill.
E.g. He ran over his best friend’s cat.
Tenses
The Simple Present Tense
Used to describe habitual actions, everyday events, abilities, preferences.
On Monday I go to/ I eat/ I like
Adverbs are often used to describe frequency, e.g. always, usually, often, on Mondays, twice a year
This tense can be used to talk about planned events, e.g.
We leave at 5.00 and arrive at 6.00. Then we catch the plane.
The Present Continuous Tense
Used to describe current circumstances and actions
I am drawing/ writing/listening to
For an action happening about this time
I am reading a book about the Tudors
For a definite arrangement in the future
I am going to finish my book tomorrow
For dramatic narrative
He is coming up to the first jump when a man runs in front of him
With always, suggests a repeated action which may be annoying or accidental
He is always saying that/ I am always falling for tall, blue eyed people
NB. Verbs which are not normally used in the continuous tense include: see, hear, smell, notice, recognise,
want, desire, refuse, forgive, wish, care, live, hate, adore, like, love, dislike, think, understand, know, mean,
suppose, believe, remember, forget, trust, own, owe, belong, possess, seem, signify, contain, consist,
concern, matter
The Past Perfect (simple past)
Used to describe completed actions
I walked/worked
Some past tense forms are irregular
Spoke, ate, and did,
Often used when the time is given
I met him at four o’clock
Used for special events
My mother once heard Joan Baez sing.
And for a past habit, e.g. They never went to Cornwall for their holidays in the old days.
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The Past Continuous Tense (also referred to as past imperfect/past progressive)
This tense is chiefly used for past actions which continued for some time but which exact limits are
unknown
It was getting darker and darker
Can be used with the simple past to describe an interruption of some kind.
It was getting darker and darker, when he heard the sound of a fire alarm.
Used in descriptions and for casual speech
He was eating his breakfast, listening to the radio and feeling more than a little happy with his world. I was
talking to Tim the other day.
The Present Perfect Tense
Use of the present form of the verb to have,
E.g. I have worked
Used to describe experience in the past over a period of time which is not defined in terms of start times
and finish times.
I have worked with children for a long time.
Used with adverbs such as lately, recently, yet, never, always, seldom, frequently
Used with a time expression describing a period of time
For two years, since, all my life, never, always,
Can sometimes be used to describe an action which began in the past and finishes at the moment of
speaking
It has been very wet recently but it’s beginning to get a bit drier now.
Often used in questionnaires to establish frequency
How often have you...?
The Present Perfect Continuous Tense
This is made up by the present perfect of the verb to be plus the present participle, e.g. I have been
working
This tense is used for an action which began in the past and is still continuing or has only just finished. Can
be used for emphasis, an apology, reported speech.
He told me that he has been very busy for quite some time.
The Past Perfect Tense (Pluperfect)
Use of the verb to have in the past form i.e. had with the past participle
Used with since, for, always, never, until, till, when
He had just left the office when his mobile phone rang. He had never seen the girl before.
It can be used to describe an action which happened in the distant past and is still continuing or which
preceded a following action. Useful for establishing a sequence of events or a change in circumstances or
events
He had been in the school for four years when the war started.
He had smoked for most of his life until his wife died.
The Past Perfect Continuous Tense
Use of the verb in to have (had) with the present participle
He had been leaving the office when I met his friend.
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This tense is used in a similar way to the past perfect tense but there are subtle differences, e.g. by six
o’clock I had mended the puncture. (The action was finished)
I had been mending the puncture when....... (The action may not have been completed and may have occurred
at the same time as something else)
The Future
The future can often be expressed using the simple present and the present continuous, e.g.
We leave here at six.
She is leaving at the end of this week.
Where are you going?
Are you coming in?
Some verbs have to take shall or will, e.g. to know, to feel
Not ‘I am knowing’ but ‘I shall know tonight’
Not ‘You are feeling better tonight’ but ‘You will feel better tonight’.
Future with intention?
Often expressed using the verb ‘to go’ plus the infinitive form of the verb e.g.
I am going to buy a car.
Will and shall are used with the infinitive without the word ‘to’, e.g.
I shall buy a car next week.
Future Continuous
This tense is formed with the future tense of the verb to be plus the present participle which expresses a
future without intention and which may continue for some time without definite limits, e.g. I shall be
working from home tomorrow.
Future Perfect
Shall/will plus perfect infinitive (without to), e.g.
I shall have worked for sixty hours by the end of next week.
This tense can be used to describe an action which at a given time will be in the past, e.g.
I shall have taken my final exams in two years’ time.
The Past Participle and the Perfect Infinitive
The past participle of regular verbs is the same as the simple past form (work, worked, worked). The past
participle of irregular verbs varies and must be learnt. (Speak, spoke, spoken/ eat, ate, eaten/do, did, done)
The perfect infinitive is formed with ‘to have’ and the past participle, e.g. to have worked, to have spoken,
to have eaten, etc.
Conditional
Type 1- Probable condition
If he runs all the way, he will catch the train (talking about a set of related circumstances)
Type 2- Improbable condition
If I dropped this, it would explode (talking about a set of possible circumstances)
Type 3- Impossible Condition
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If I had known you were going to buy that car, I would have warned you against buying it. (In other words, I
didn’t know and you bought the car)- The condition can’t be fulfilled as the action has already happened.
Sometimes we use the conditional when talking about alternatives and when describing what someone else
would do in a similar position. E.g.
If he were to take the M1 instead of the A1, his journey will take much longer.
If I were you, I wouldn’t marry him!
If only he hadn’t gone via the M1, he would be there by now!
Active and Passive Voice
There are two special forms for verbs called voice:
1. Active voice
2. Passive voice
The active voice is the "normal" voice. This is the voice that we use most of the time. You are probably already
familiar with the active voice. In the active voice, the object receives the action of the verb.
The cat ate the fish.
The children tickled the cat.
The passive voice is less usual in everyday speech but is commonly used in scientific texts. In the passive voice,
the subject receives the action of the verb. The object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb.
The fish was eaten by the cat.
The cat was tickled by the children.
My wallet has been stolen.
100 people are employed by the school.
Subject Verb Agreement
The basic rule states that a singular subject takes a singular verb while a plural subject takes a plural verb. When
used as subjects, words such as:
 each, either, neither
 another
 anyone, anybody, anything
 someone, somebody, something
 one, everyone
 everybody, everything
 no one, nobody, nothing
take singular verbs, e.g.
Each child is given a prize.
Everyone is welcome.
Someone is watching me.
Other words such as
 none, any, all
 more, most, some
may take either singular or plural verbs, depending on the context, e.g.
Some of the apple is rotten.
Some of the apples are rotten.
Singular subjects joined by "or," "nor," "either . . . or," or "neither. . . nor" take a singular verb, e.g.
Neither the man nor the woman was present at the ceremony.
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Prepositions
A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the
preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition. A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial
or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence as in the following examples:
The book is on the table.
The book is beneath the table.
The book is leaning against the table.
The book is beside the table.
She held the book over the table.
She read the book during class.
In each of the preceding sentences, a preposition locates the noun "book" in space or in time. A prepositional
phrase is made up of the preposition, its object and any associated adjectives or adverbs. A prepositional phrase
can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
The most common prepositions are "about," "above," "across," "after," "against," "along," "among," "around," "at,"
"before," "behind," "below," "beneath," "beside," "between," "beyond," "but," "by," "despite," "down," "during,"
"except," "for," "from," "in," "inside," "into," "like," "near," "of," "off," "on," "onto," "out," "outside," "over," "past,"
"since," "through," "throughout," "till," "to," "toward," "under," "underneath," "until," "up," "upon," "with," "within,"
and "without."
Adverbial Phrases
The children climbed the mountain without fear.
In this sentence, the preposition "without" introduces the noun "fear." The prepositional phrase "without fear"
functions as an adverb describing how the children climbed.
There was rejoicing throughout the land when the government was defeated.
Here, the preposition "throughout" introduces the noun phrase "the land." The prepositional phrase acts as an
adverb describing the location of the rejoicing.
The spider crawled slowly along the banister.
The preposition "along" introduces the noun phrase "the banister" and the prepositional phrase "along the
banister" acts as an adverb, describing where the spider crawled.
The dog is hiding under the porch because it knows it will be punished for chewing up a new pair of shoes.
Here the preposition "under" introduces the prepositional phrase "under the porch," which acts as an adverb
modifying the compound verb "is hiding."
The screenwriter searched for the manuscript he was certain was somewhere in his office.
Similarly in this sentence, the preposition "in" introduces a prepositional phrase "in his office," which acts as an
adverb describing the location of the missing papers.
Noun phrases .
A noun phrase has a noun as its head. The modifiers may be:
determiners
He carried the bags
possessives
She brought Mary's bags
adjectives
The heavy bags are downstairs
prepositional phrases
The bridge over the river
clauses
The pub we went to
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A noun phrase does the work of a noun in a sentence. It can be:
the subject:
The red balloon soared upwards.
the object:
I read that book about dinosaurs
the complement:
She wants to be a doctor.
possessive
my best friend’s father
the object of a preposition
looked over the fence
Adjectival phrases
Adjectival phrases either


expand noun phrases or
complete the verb (act as the complement)
For example:
They are really enthusiastic.
The adjective enthusiastic is modified by the adverb really to form the
adjectival phrase. It is the complement of the verb are.
They are keen on football.
The adjective keen combines with the prepositional phrase, on football. The
head of the phrase is keen, and the phrase describes the keen-ness, so it’s an
adjectival phrase.
the unusually tall boy
The adjective tall is modified by the adverb unusually to form the adjectival
phrase. It expands the noun phrase the boy.
Pronouns
Pronouns are small words that take the place of a noun.
Personal Pronouns
I, you, her, she it, we, you, they, me, us, him, her, them
Demonstrative Pronouns
this, that, these, those
Possessive Pronouns
mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs
Interrogative Pronouns
who, what, why, where, when, whatever
Reflexive Pronouns
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, oneself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves
Reciprocal Pronouns
each other, one another
Indefinite Pronouns
another, much, nobody, few, such...
Relative Pronouns
who, whom, which...
Indefinite Pronouns
anything, anybody, anyone, something, somebody, someone, nothing, nobody, none, no one
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Determiners
Determiners are used in front of nouns to indicate whether you are referring to something specific or something of
a particular type. Determiners are different from pronouns in that a determiner is always followed by a noun.
Therefore personal pronouns ( I , you , he , etc.) and possessive pronouns (mine, yours, his, etc.) cannot be
determiners. The definite and indefinite articles- a/an/the are all determiners.
You use a specific determiner when people know exactly which thing(s) or person/people you are talking about.
The specific determiners are:
the definite article : the
demonstratives : this, that, these, those
possessives : my, your, his, her, its, our, their
For example:"The dog barked at the boy."
"These apples are rotten."
"Their bus was late."
You use general determiners to talk about people or things without saying exactly who or what they are.
The general determiners are:
the indefinite articles : a, an
few
fewer
a few
both
less
a little
each
little
all
either
many
another enough
more
any
every
most
much
neither
no
other
several
some
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