English grammar

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English Grammar
Welcome to English Club English Grammar for ESL learners. Many
of these grammar lessons also have quizzes to check your
understanding. If you still don't understand something, feel free to ask a
question at the Grammar Help Desk.
grammar (noun): the structure and system of a language, or of languages
in general, usually considered to consist of syntax and morphology.
What is Grammar?
English Grammar Terms (long version)
English Grammar Terms (short version)
The 8 English Parts of Speech
These are the words that you use to make a sentence. There are only 8
types of word - and the most important is the Verb!
 Verbs be, have, do, work
 Nouns man, town, music
 Adjectives a, the, 69, big
 Adverbs loudly, well, often
 Pronouns you, ours, some
 Prepositions at, in, on, from
 Conjunctions and, but, though
 Interjections ah, dear, er, um
What is Grammar?
Grammar is the system of a language. People
sometimes describe grammar as the "rules" of
a language; but in fact no language has rules*.
If we use the word "rules", we suggest that
somebody created the rules first and then
spoke the language, like a new game. But
languages did not start like that. Languages
started by people making sounds which
evolved into words, phrases and sentences. No

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commonly-spoken language is fixed. All languages change over time. What
we call "grammar" is simply a reflection of a language at a particular time.
Do we need to study grammar to learn a language? The short answer is
"no". Very many people in the world speak their own, native language
without having studied its grammar. Children start to speak before they
even know the word "grammar". But if you are serious about learning a
foreign language, the long answer is "yes, grammar can help you to learn a
language more quickly and more efficiently." It's important to think of
grammar as something that can help you, like a friend. When you
understand the grammar (or system) of a language, you can understand
many things yourself, without having to ask a teacher or look in a book.
So think of grammar as something good, something positive, something
that you can use to find your way - like a signpost or a map.
* Except invented languages like Esperanto. And if Esperanto were widely
spoken, its rules would soon be very different.
Glossary of English Grammar Terms
This glossary of English grammar terms relates to the English language. Some terms here may have
additional or extended meanings when applied to other languages. For example, "case" in some
languages applies to pronouns and nouns. In English, nouns do not have case and therefore no
reference to nouns is made in its definition here.
Term Definition
active voice one of two voices in English; a direct form of expression where the
subject performs or "acts" the verb; see also passive voice
eg: "Many people eat rice"
adjective part of speech that typically describes or "modifies" a noun
eg: "It was a big dog."
adjective clause seldom-used term for relative clause
adjunct word or phrase that adds information to a sentence and that can be
removed from the sentence without making the sentence
ungrammatical
eg: I met John at school.
adverb word that modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb

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eg: quickly, really, very
adverbial clause dependent clause that acts like an adverb and indicates such things as
time, place or reason
eg: Although we are getting older, we grow more beautiful each
day.
affirmative statement that expresses (or claims to express) a truth or "yes"
meaning; opposite of negative
eg: The sun is hot.
affix language unit (morpheme) that occurs before or after (or sometimes
within) the root or stem of a word
eg: un- in unhappy (prefix), -ness in happiness (suffix)
agreement
(also known as
"concord")
logical (in a grammatical sense) links between words based
on tense, caseor number
eg: this phone, these phones
antecedent word, phrase or clause that is replaced by a pronoun (or other
substitute) when mentioned subsequently (in the same sentence or
later)
eg: "Emily is nice because she brings me flowers."
appositive noun phrase that re-identifies or describes its neighbouring noun
eg: "Canada, a multicultural country, is recognized by its maple leaf
flag."
article determiner that introduces a noun phrase as definite (the) or indefinite
(a/an)
aspect feature of some verb forms that relates to duration or completion of
time; verbs can have no aspect (simple), or can have continuous or
progressive aspect (expressing duration), or have perfect or perfective
aspect (expressing completion)
auxiliary verb
(also called "helping
verb")
verb used with the main verb to help indicate something such as tense
or voice
eg: I do not like you. She has finished. He can swim.
bare infinitive unmarked form of the verb (no indication of tense, mood, person, or
aspect) without the particle "to"; typically used after modal auxiliary
verbs; see also infinitive
eg: "He should come", "I can swim"
base form basic form of a verb before conjugation into tenses etc
eg: be, speak
case form of a pronoun based on its relationship to other words in the
sentence; case can be subjective, objective or possessive

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eg: "I love this dog", "This dog loves me", "This is my dog"
causative verb verb that causes things to happen such as "make", "get" and "have";
the subject does not perform the action but is indirectly responsible
for it
eg: "She made me go to school", "I had my nails painted"
clause group of words containing a subject and its verb
eg: "It was late when he arrived"
comparative,
comparative adjective
form of an adjective or adverb made with "-er" or "more" that is used
to show differences or similarities between two things (not three or
more things)
eg: colder, more quickly
complement part of a sentence that completes or adds meaning to the predicate
eg: Mary did not say where she was going.
compound noun noun that is made up of more than one word; can be one word, or
hyphenated, or separated by a space
eg: toothbrush, mother-in-law, Christmas Day
compound sentence sentence with at least two independent clauses; usually joined by a
conjunction
eg: "You can have something healthy but you can't have more junk
food."
concord another term for agreement
conditional structure in English where one action depends on another ("if-then" or
"then-if" structure); most common are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd conditionals
eg: "If I win I will be happy", "I would be happy if I won"
conjugate to show the different forms of a verb according
to voice, mood, tense,number and person; conjugation is quite simple
in English compared to many other languages
eg: I walk, you walk, he/she/it walks, we walk, they walk; I walked,
you walked, he/she/it walked, we walked, they walked
conjunction word that joins or connects two parts of a sentence
eg: Ram likes tea and coffee. Anthony went swimming although it
was raining.
content word word that has meaning in a sentence, such as a verb or noun (as
opposed to a structure word, such as pronoun or auxiliary verb);
content words are stressed in speech
eg: "Could you BRING my GLASSES because I've LEFT them
at HOME"
continuous verb form (specifically an aspect) indicating actions that are in

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(also called
"progressive")
progress or continuing over a given time period (can be past, present
or future); formed with "BE" + "VERB-ing"
eg: "They are watching TV."
contraction shortening of two (or more) words into one
eg: isn't (is not), we'd've (we would have)
countable noun thing that you can count, such as apple, pen, tree (see uncountable
noun)
eg: one apple, three pens, ten trees
dangling participle illogical structure that occurs in a sentence when a writer intends to
modify one thing but the reader attaches it to another
eg: "Running to the bus, the flowers were blooming." (In the
example sentence it seems that the flowers were running.)
declarative sentence sentence type typically used to make a statement (as opposed to a
question or command)
eg: "Tara works hard", "It wasn't funny"
defining relative clause
(also called "restrictive
relative clause")
relative clause that contains information required for the
understanding of the sentence; not set off with commas; see also non-
defining clause
eg: "The boy who was wearing a blue shirt was the winner"
demonstrative pronoun
demonstrative adjective
pronoun or determiner that indicates closeness to (this/these) or
distance from (that/those) the speaker
eg: "This is a nice car", "Can you see those cars?"
dependent clause part of a sentence that contains a subject and a verb but does not form
a complete thought and cannot stand on its own; see also independent
clause
eg: "When the water came out of the tap..."
determiner word such as an article or a possessive adjective or other adjective
that typically comes at the beginning of noun phrases
eg: "It was an excellent film", "Do you like my new shirt?", "Let's
buysome eggs"
direct speech saying what someone said by using their exact words; see
also indirect speech
eg: "Lucy said: 'I am tired.'"
direct object noun phrase in a sentence that directly receives the action of the verb;
see also indirect object
eg: "Joey bought the car", "I like it", "Can you see the man wearing
a pink shirt and waving a gun in the air?"
embedded question question that is not in normal question form with a question mark; it
occurs within another statement or question and generally follows

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statement structure
eg: "I don't know where he went," "Can you tell me where it
is before you go?", "They haven't decided whether they should
come"
finite verb verb form that has a specific tense, number and person
eg: I work, he works, we learned, they ran
first conditional "if-then" conditional structure used for future actions or events that
are seen as realistic possibilities
eg: "If we win the lottery we will buy a car"
fragment incomplete piece of a sentence used alone as a complete sentence; a
fragment does not contain a complete thought; fragments are common
in normal speech but unusual (inappropriate) in formal writing
eg: "When's her birthday? - In December", "Will they come? -
Probably not"
function purpose or "job" of a word form or element in a sentence
eg: The function of a subject is to perform the action. One function
of an adjective is to describe a noun. The function of a noun is
to name things.
future continuous
(also called "future
progressive")
tense* used to describe things that will happen in the future at a
particular time; formed with WILL + BE + VERB-ing
eg: "I will be graduating in September."
future perfect tense* used to express the past in the future; formed with WILL
HAVE + VERB-ed
eg: "I will have graduated by then"
future perfect
continuous
tense* used to show that something will be ongoing until a certain
time in the future; formed with WILL HAVE BEEN + VERB-ing
eg: "We will have been living there for three months by the time the
baby is born"
future simple tense* used to describe something that hasn't happened yet such as a
prediction or a sudden decision; formed with WILL + BASE VERB
eg: "He will be late", "I will answer the phone"
gerund noun form of a verb, formed with VERB-ing
eg: "Walking is great exercise"
gradable adjective adjective that can vary in intensity or grade when paired with
a grading adverb ; see also non-gradable adjective
eg: quite hot, very tall
grading adverb adverb that can modify the intensity or grade of a gradable adjective
eg: quite hot, very tall

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hanging participle another term for dangling participle
helping verb another term for auxiliary verb
imperative form of verb used when giving a command; formed with BASE
VERB only
eg: "Brush your teeth!"
indefinite pronoun pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing or amount. It is
vague and "not definite".
eg: anything, each, many, somebody
independent clause
(also called "main
clause")
group of words that expresses a complete thought and can stand alone
as a sentence; see also dependent clause
eg: "Tara is eating curry.", "Tara likes oranges and Joe likes
apples."
indirect object noun phrase representing the person or thing indirectly affected by the
action of the verb; see also direct object
eg: "She showed me her book collection", "Joey bought his wife a
new car"
indirect question another term for embedded question
indirect speech
(also called "reported
speech")
saying what someone said without using their exact words; see direct
speech
eg: "Lucy said that she was tired"
infinitive base form of a verb preceded by "to"**; see also bare infinitive
eg: "You need to study harder", "To be, or not to be: that is the
question"
inflection change in word form to indicate grammatical meaning
eg: dog, dogs (two inflections); take, takes, took, taking, taken (five
inflections)
interjection common word that expresses emotion but has no grammatical value;
can often be used alone and is often followed by an exclamation mark
eg: "Hi!", "er", "Ouch!", "Dammit!"
interrogative (formal) sentence type (typically inverted) normally used when
asking a question
eg: "Are you eating?", "What are you eating?"
interrogative pronoun pronoun that asks a question.
eg: who, whom, which
intransitive verb verb that does not take a direct object; see also transitive verb
e.g. "He is working hard", "Where do you live?"
inversion any reversal of the normal word order, especially placing the auxiliary

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verb before the subject; used in a variety of ways, as in question
formation, conditional clauses and agreement or disagreement
eg: "Where are your keys?","Had we watched the weather report, we
wouldn't have gone to the beach", "So did he", "Neither did she"
irregular verb
see irregular verbs list
verb that has a different ending for past tense and past participle
forms than the regular "-ed"; see also regular verb
eg: buy, bought, bought; do, did, done
lexicon, lexis all of the words and word forms in a language with meaning or
function
lexical verb another term for main verb
linking verb verbs that connect the subject to more information (but do not
indicate action), such as "be" or "seem"
main clause another term for independent clause
main verb
(also called "lexical
verb")
any verb in a sentence that is not an auxiliary verb; a main verb has
meaning on its own
eg: "Does John like Mary?", "I will have arrived by 4pm"
modal verb
(also called "modal")
auxiliary verb such as can, could, must, should etc; paired with the
bare infinitive of a verb
eg: "I should go for a jog"
modifier word or phrase that modifies and limits the meaning of another word
eg: the house => the white house, the house over there, the house we
sold last year
mood sentence type that indicates the speaker's view towards the degree of
reality of what is being said, for example subjunctive, indicative,
imperative
morpheme unit of language with meaning; differs from "word" because some
cannot stand alone
e.g. un-, predict and -able in unpredictable
multi-word verb verb that consists of a basic verb + another word or words
(preposition and/or adverb)
eg: get up (phrasal verb), believe in (prepositional verb), get on
with(phrasal-prepositional verb)
negative form which changes a "yes" meaning to a "no" meaning; opposite
ofaffirmative
eg: "She will not come", "I have never seen her"
nominative case another term for subjective case
non-defining relative relative clause that adds information but is not completely necessary;

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clause
(also called "non-
restrictive relative
clause")
set off from the sentence with a comma or commas; see defining
relative clause
eg: "The boy, who had a chocolate bar in his hand, was still
hungry"
non-gradable adjective adjective that has a fixed quality or intensity and cannot be paired
with agrading adverb; see also gradable adjective
eg: freezing, boiling, dead
non-restrictive relative
clause
another term for non-defining relative clause
noun part of speech that names a person, place, thing, quality, quantity or
concept; see also proper noun and compound noun
eg: "The man is waiting", "I was born in London", "Is that
your car?", "Do you like music?"
noun clause clause that takes the place of a noun and cannot stand on its own;
often introduced with words such as "that, who or whoever"
eg: "What the president said was surprising"
noun phrase (NP) any word or group of words based on a noun or pronoun that can
function in a sentence as a subject, object or prepositional object; can
be one word or many words; can be very simple or very complex
eg: "She is nice", "When is the meeting?", "The car over there
beside the lampost is mine"
number change of word form indicating one person or thing (singular) or
more than one person or thing (plural)
eg: one dog/three dogs, she/they
object thing or person affected by the verb; see also direct
object and indirect object
eg: "The boy kicked the ball", "We chose the house with the red
door"
objective case case form of a pronoun indicating an object
eg: "John married her", "I gave it to him"
part of speech one of the classes into which words are divided according to their
function in a sentence
eg: verb, noun, adjective
participle verb form that can be used as an adjective or a noun; see past
participle,present participle
passive voice one of two voices in English; an indirect form of expression in which
the subject receives the action; see also active voice
eg: "Rice is eaten by many people"

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past tense
(also called "simple
past")
tense used to talk about an action, event or situation that occurred and
was completed in the past
eg: "I lived in Paris for 10 years", "Yesterday we saw a snake"
past continuous tense often used to describe an interrupted action in the past; formed
with WAS/WERE + VERB-ing
eg: "I was reading when you called"
past perfect tense that refers to the past in the past; formed with HAD + VERB-ed
eg: "We had stopped the car"
past perfect continuous tense that refers to action that happened in the past and continued to a
certain point in the past; formed with HAD BEEN + VERB-ing
eg: "I had been waiting for three hours when he arrived"
past participle verb form (V3) - usually made by adding "-ed" to the base verb -
typically used in perfect and passive tenses, and sometimes as an
adjective
eg: "I have finished", "It was seenby many people", "boiled eggs"
perfect verb form (specifically an aspect); formed with HAVE/HAS +
VERB-ed (present perfect) or HAD + VERB-ed (past perfect)
person grammatical category that identifies people in a conversation; there
are three persons: 1st person (pronouns I/me, we/us) is the speaker(s),
2nd person (pronoun you) is the listener(s), 3rd person (pronouns
he/him, she/her, it, they/them) is everybody or everything else
personal pronoun pronoun that indicates person
eg: "He likes my dogs", "They like him"
phrasal verb multi-word verb formed with a verb + adverb
eg: break up, turn off (see phrasal verbs list)
NB: many people and books call all multi-word verbs "phrasal verbs"
(seemulti-word verbs)
phrase two or more words that have a single function and form part of a
sentence; phrases can be noun, adjective, adverb, verb or
prepositional
plural of a noun or form indicating more than one person or thing; plural
nouns are usually formed by adding "-s"; see also singular, number
eg: bananas, spoons, trees
position grammatically correct placement of a word form in a phrase or
sentence in relation to other word forms
eg: "The correct position for an article is at the beginning of the noun
phrase that it describes"
positive basic state of an adjective or adverb when it shows quality but

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notcomparative or superlative
eg: nice, kind, quickly
possessive adjective adjective (also called "determiner") based on a pronoun: my, your,
his, her, its, our, their
eg: "I lost my keys", "She likes your car"
possessive case case form of a pronoun indicating ownership or possession
eg: "Mine are blue", "This car is hers"
possessive pronoun pronoun that indicates ownership or possession
eg: "Where is mine?", "These are yours"
predicate one of the two main parts (subject and predicate) of a sentence; the
predicate is the part that is not the subject
eg: "My brother is a doctor", "Who did you call?", "The woman
wearing a blue dress helped me"
prefix affix that occurs before the root or stem of a word
eg: impossible, reload
preposition part of speech that typically comes before a noun phrase and shows
some type of relationship between that noun phrase and another
element (including relationships of time, location, purpose etc)
eg: "We sleep at night", "I live in London", "This is for digging"
prepositional verb multi-word verb that is formed with verb + preposition
eg: believe in, look after
present participle -ing form of a verb (except when it is a gerund or verbal noun)
eg: "We were eating", "The man shouting at the back is rude", "I saw
Tara playing tennis"
present simple(also
called "simple present")
tense usually used to describe states and actions that are general,
habitual or (with the verb "to be") true right now; formed with the
basic verb (+ s for 3rd person singular)
eg: "Canada sounds beautiful", "She walks to school", "I am very
happy"
present continuous(also
called "present
progressive")
tense used to describe action that is in process now, or a plan for the
future; formed with BE + VERB-ing
eg: "We are watching TV", "I am moving to Canada next month"
present perfect tense that connects the past and the present, typically used to express
experience, change or a continuing situation; formed with HAVE +
VERB-ed
eg: "I have worked there", "John has broken his leg", "How
long haveyou been in Canada?"
present perfect tense used to describe an action that has recently stopped or an action

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continuous continuing up to now; formed with HAVE + BEEN + VERB-ing
eg: "I'm tired because I've been running", "He has been living in
Canada for two years"
progressive another term for continuous
pronoun word that replaces a noun or noun phrase; there are several types
includingpersonal pronouns, relative pronouns and indefinite
pronouns
eg: you, he, him; who, which; somebody, anything
proper noun noun that is capitalized at all times and is the name of a person, place
or thing
eg: Shakespeare, Tokyo, EnglishClub.com
punctuation standard marks such as commas, periods and question marks within a
sentence
eg: , . ? ! - ; :
quantifier determiner or pronoun that indicates quantity
eg: some, many, all
question tag final part of a tag question; mini-question at end of a tag question
eg: "Snow isn't black, is it?"
question word another term for WH-word
reciprocal pronoun pronoun that indicates that two or more subjects are acting mutually;
there are two in English - each other, one another
eg: "John and Mary were shouting at each other", "The students
accusedone another of cheating"
reduced relative clause
(also called "participial
relative clause")
construction similar to a relative clause, but containing
a participle instead of a finite verb; this construction is possible only
under certain circumstances
eg: "The woman sitting on the bench is my sister", "The
people arrested by the police have been released"
reflexive pronoun pronoun ending in -self or -selves, used when the subject and object
are the same, or when the subject needs emphasis
eg: "She drove herself", "I'll phone her myself"
regular verb
see regular verbs list
verb that has "-ed" as the ending for past tense and past participle
forms; see also irregular verb
eg: work, worked, worked
relative adverb adverb that introduces a relative clause; there are four in
English: where,when, wherever, whenever; see also relative
pronoun
relative clause dependent clause that usually starts with a relative pronoun such as

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who or which, or relative adverb such as where
eg: "The person who finishes first can leave early" (defining),
"Texas,where my brother lives, is big" (non-defining)
relative pronoun pronoun that starts a relative clause; there are five in
English: who, whom,whose, which, that; see also relative adverb
reported speech another term for indirect speech
restrictive relative
clause
another term for defining relative clause
second conditional "if-then" conditional structure used to talk about an unlikely
possibility in the future
eg: "If we won the lottery we would buy a car"
sentence largest grammatical unit; a sentence must always include
a subject (except for imperatives) and predicate; a written sentence
starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop/period (.), question
mark (?) or exclamation mark (!); a sentence contains a complete
thought such as a statement, question, request or command
eg: "Stop!", "Do you like coffee?", "I work."
series list of items in a sentence
eg: "The children ate popsicles, popcorn and chips"
singular of a noun or form indicating exactly one person or thing; singular
nouns are usually the simplest form of the noun (as found in a
dictionary); see alsoplural, number
eg: banana, spoon, tree
split infinitive situation where a word or phrase comes between the particle "to" and
the verb in an infinitive; considered poor construction by some
eg: "He promised to never lie again"
Standard English (S.E.) "normal" spelling, pronunciation and grammar that is used by
educated native speakers of English
structure word word that has no real meaning in a sentence, such as a pronoun or
auxiliary verb (as opposed to a content word, such as verb or noun);
structure words are not normally stressed in speech
eg: "Could you BRING my GLASSES because I've LEFT them
at HOME"
subject one of the two main parts (subject and predicate) of a sentence; the
subject is the part that is not the predicate; typically, the subject is the
first noun phrase in a sentence and is what the rest of the sentence "is
about"
eg: "The rain water was dirty", "Mary is beautiful", "Who saw
you?"

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subjective case
also called "nominative"
case form of a pronoun indicating a subject
eg: Did she tell you about her?
subjunctive fairly rare verb form typically used to talk about events that are not
certain to happen, usually something that someone wants, hopes or
imagines will happen; formed with BARE INFINITIVE (except past
of "be")
eg: "The President requests that John attend the meeting"
subordinate clause another term for dependent clause
suffix affix that occurs after the root or stem of a word
eg: happiness, quickly
superlative,superlative
adjective
adjective or adverb that describes the extreme degree of something
eg: happiest, most quickly
SVO subject-verb-object; a common word order where the subject is
followed by the verb and then the object
eg: "The man crossed the street"
syntax sentence structure; the rules about sentence structure
tag question special construction with statement that ends in a mini-question; the
whole sentence is a tag question; the mini-question is a question tag;
usually used to obtain confirmation
eg: "The Earth is round, isn't it?", "You don't eat meat, do you?"
tense form of a verb that shows us when the action or state happens (past,
present or future). Note that the name of a tense is not always a guide
to when the action happens. The "present continuous tense", for
example, can be used to talk about the present or the future.
third conditional "if-then" conditional structure used to talk about a possible event in
the past that did not happen (and is therefore now impossible)
eg: "If we had won the lottery we would have bought a car"
transitive verb action verb that has a direct object (receiver of the action); see
alsointransitive verb
eg: "The kids always eat a snack while they watch TV"
uncountable nouns
(also called "mass
nouns" or "non-count")
thing that you cannot count, such as substances or concepts; see
alsocountable nouns
eg: water, furniture, music
usage way in which words and constructions are normally used in any
particular language
V1, V2, V3 referring to Verb 1, Verb 2, Verb 3 - being the base, past and past
participle that students typically learn for irregular verbs
eg: speak, spoke, spoken

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verb word that describes the subject's action or state and that we can
change orconjugate based on tense and person
eg: (to) work, (to) love, (to) begin
voice form of a verb that shows the relation of the subject to the action;
there are two voices in English: active, passive
WH-question question using a WH-word and expecting an answer that is not "yes"
or "no"; WH-questions are "open" questions; see also yes-no question
eg: Where are you going?
WH-word
(also called "question
word")
word that asks a WH-question; there are 7 WH-words: who, what,
where, when, which, why, how
word order order or sequence in which words occur within a sentence; basic word
order for English is subject-verb-object or SVO
yes-no question question to which the answer is yes or no; yes-no questions are
"closed" questions; see also WH-question
eg: "Do you like coffee?"
zero conditional "if-then" conditional structure used when the result of the condition is
always true (based on fact)
eg: "If you dial O, the operator comes on"
* note that technically English does not have a real future tense
** some authorities consider the base form of the verb without "to" to be the true infinitive
Glossary of English Grammar Terms
Active Voice
In the active voice, the subject of the verb does the action (eg They killed
the President). See also Passive Voice.
Adjective
A word like big, red, easy, French etc. An adjective describes a noun or
pronoun.
Adverb
A word like slowly, quietly, well, often etc. An adverb modifies a verb.
Article
The "indefinite" articles are a and an. The "definite article" is the.

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Auxiliary Verb
A verb that is used with a main verb. Be, do and have are auxiliary
verbs. Can, may, must etc are modal auxiliary verbs.
Clause
A group of words containing a subject and its verb (for example: It was
late when he arrived).
Conjunction
A word used to connect words, phrases and clauses (for
example: and, but, if).
Infinitive
The basic form of a verb as in to work or work.
Interjection
An exclamation inserted into an utterance without grammatical connection
(for example: oh!,ah!, ouch!, well!).
Modal Verb
An auxiliary verb like can, may, must etc that modifies the main verb and
expresses possibility, probability etc. It is also called "modal auxiliary
verb".
Noun
A word like table, dog, teacher, America etc. A noun is the name of an
object, concept, person or place. A "concrete noun" is something you can
see or touch like a person or car. An "abstract noun" is something that you
cannot see or touch like a decision or happiness. A "countable noun" is
something that you can count (for example: bottle, song, dollar). An
"uncountable noun" is something that you cannot count (for
example: water, music, money).
Object
In the active voice, a noun or its equivalent that receives the action of the
verb. In the passive voice, a noun or its equivalent that does the action of
the verb.
Participle
The -ing and -ed forms of verbs. The -ing form is called the "present
participle". The -ed form is called the "past participle" (for irregular verbs,
this is column 3).

17
Part Of Speech
One of the eight classes of word in English - noun, verb, adjective, adverb,
pronoun, preposition, conjunction and interjection.
Passive Voice
In the passive voice, the subject receives the action of the verb (eg The
President was killed). See also Active Voice.
Phrase
A group of words not containing a subject and its verb (eg on the table, the
girl in a red dress).
Predicate
Each sentence contains (or implies) two parts: a subject and a predicate.
The predicate is what is said about the subject.
Preposition
A word like at, to, in, over etc. Prepositions usually come before a noun
and give information about things like time, place and direction.
Pronoun
A word like I, me, you, he, him, it etc. A pronoun replaces a noun.
Sentence
A group of words that express a thought. A sentence conveys a statement,
question, exclamation or command. A sentence contains or implies a
subject and a predicate. In simple terms, a sentence must contain a verb and
(usually) a subject. A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a
full stop (.), question mark (?) or exclamation mark (!).
Subject
Every sentence contains (or implies) two parts: a subject and a predicate.
The subject is the main noun (or equivalent) in a sentence about which
something is said.
Tense
The form of a verb that shows us when the action or state happens (past,
present or future). Note that the name of a tense is not always a guide to
when the action happens. The "present continuous tense", for example, can
be used to talk about the present or the future.

18
Verb
A word like (to) work, (to) love, (to) begin. A verb describes an action or
state.
English Parts of Speech
There are thousands of words in any language. But not all words have the
same job. For example, some words express "action". Other words express
a "thing". Other words "join" one word to another word. These are the
"building blocks" of the language. Think of them like the parts of a house.
When we want to build a house, we use concrete to make the foundations
or base. We use bricks to make the walls. We use window frames to make
the windows, and door frames to make the doorways. And we use cement
to join them all together. Each part of the house has its own job. And when
we want to build a sentence, we use the different types of word. Each type
of word has its own job.
We can categorize English words into 8 basic types or classes. These
classes are called "parts of speech".
It's quite important to recognize parts of speech. This helps you to analyze
sentences and understand them. It also helps you to construct good
sentences.
In this lesson, we have an overview of the eight parts of speech, followed
by a quiz to check your understanding:
 Parts of Speech Table
 Parts of Speech Examples
 Words with More than One Job
 Parts of Speech Quiz
Parts of Speech Table
This is a summary of the 8 parts of speech*. You can find more detail if
you click on each part of speech.
part of
speech
function or
"job"
example
words
example sentences
Verb action or state (to) be, have,
do, like, work,
EnglishClub.com is a web site.
Ilike EnglishClub.com.

19
sing, can, must
Noun thing or person pen, dog, work,
music, town,
London,
teacher, John
This is my dog. He lives in
myhouse. We live in London.
Adjective describes a noun a/an, the, 69,
some, good,
big, red, well,
interesting
My dog is big. I like big dogs.
Adverb describes a verb,
adjective or
adverb
quickly,
silently, well,
badly, very,
really
My dog eats quickly. When he
is very hungry, he
eats reallyquickly.
Pronoun replaces a noun I, you, he, she,
some
Tara is Indian. She is beautiful.
Preposition links a noun to
another word
to, at, after, on,
but
We went to school on Monday.
Conjunction joins clauses or
sentences or
words
and, but, when I like dogs and I like cats. I like
cats and dogs. I like dogs but I
don't like cats.
Interjection short
exclamation,
sometimes
inserted into a
sentence
oh!, ouch!, hi!,
well
Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are
you? Well, I don't know.
* Some grammar sources categorize English into 9 or 10 parts of speech.
At EnglishClub.com, we use the traditional categorization of 8 parts of
speech. Examples of other categorizations are:
 Verbs may be treated as two different parts of speech:
o Lexical Verbs (work, like, run)
o Auxiliary Verbs (be, have, must)
 Determiners may be treated as a separate part of speech, instead of
being categorized under Adjectives
Parts of Speech Examples »
Parts of Speech Examples

20
Here are some sentences made with different English parts of speech:
verb
Stop!
noun verb
John works.
noun verb verb
John is working.
pronoun verb noun
She loves animals.
noun verb adjective noun
Animals like kind people.
noun verb noun adverb
Tara speaks English well.
noun verb adjective noun
Tara speaks good English.
pronoun verb preposition adjective noun adverb
She ran to the station quickly.
pron. verb adj. noun conjunction pron. verb pron.
She likes big snakes but I hate them.
Here is a sentence that contains every part of speech:
interjectio
n
pron
.
conj
.
adj. nou
n
ver
b
prep
.
noun adver
b
Well, she and youn
g
John wal
k
to schoo
l
slowly.
Words with More than One Job »
Words with More than One Job
Many words in English can have more than one job, or be more than one
part of speech. For example, "work" can be a verb and a noun; "but" can be
a conjunction and a preposition; "well" can be an adjective, an adverb and
an interjection. In addition, many nouns can act as adjectives.

21
To analyze the part of speech, ask yourself: "What job is this word doing in
this sentence?"
In the table below you can see a few examples. Of course, there are more,
even for some of the words in the table. In fact, if you look in a good
dictionary you will see that the word buthas six jobs to do:
 verb, noun, adverb, pronoun, preposition and conjuction!
word part of speech example
work noun My work is easy.
verb I work in London.
but conjunction John came but Mary didn't come.
preposition Everyone came but Mary.
well adjective Are you well?
adverb She speaks well.
interjection Well! That's expensive!
afternoon noun We ate in the afternoon.
noun acting as adjective We had afternoon tea.
Nouns
It's not easy to describe a noun. In simple terms, nouns are "things" (and
verbs are "actions"). Like food. Food (noun) is something you eat (verb).
Or happiness. Happiness (noun) is something you want (verb). Or human
being. A human being (noun) is something you are (verb).
What are Nouns?
The simple definition is: a person, place or thing
teacher, school, book
Countable Nouns, Uncountable Nouns
Why is this important? Why do some nouns have no plural?
dog/dogs, rice, hair(s)
Proper Nouns (Names)

22
Do we say "Atlantic Ocean" or "the Atlantic Ocean"? Should I write
"february" or "February"?
Shirley, Mr Jeckyll, Thailand, April, Sony
Possessive 's
Adding 's or ' to show possession.
John's car, my parents' house
Noun as Adjective
Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. In that case, the first
noun is "acting as" an adjective.
love story, tooth-brush, bathroom
Compound Nouns
A compound noun is a noun that is made with two or more words.
tennis shoe, six-pack, bedroom
What are Nouns?
The simple definition is: a person, place or thing. Here are some
examples:
 person: man, woman, teacher, John, Mary
 place: home, office, town, countryside, America
 thing: table, car, banana, money, music, love, dog, monkey
The problem with this definition is that it does not explain why "love" is a
noun but can also be a verb.
Another (more complicated) way of recognizing a noun is by its:
1. Ending
2. Position
3. Function
1. Noun Ending

23
There are certain word endings that show that a word is a noun, for
example:
 -ity > nationality
 -ment > appointment
 -ness > happiness
 -ation > relation
 -hood > childhood
But this is not true for the word endings of all nouns. For example, the
noun "spoonful" ends in -ful, but the adjective "careful" also ends in -ful.
2. Position in Sentence
We can often recognise a noun by its position in the sentence.
Nouns often come after a determiner (a determiner is a word like a, an, the,
this, my, such):
 a relief
 an afternoon
 the doctor
 this word
 my house
 such stupidity
Nouns often come after one or more adjectives:
 a great relief
 a peaceful afternoon
 the tall, Indian doctor
 this difficult word
 my brown and white house
 such crass stupidity
3. Function in a Sentence
Nouns have certain functions (jobs) in a sentence, for example:
 subject of verb: Doctors work hard.
 object of verb: He likes coffee.
 subject and object of verb: Teachers teach students.

24
But the subject or object of a sentence is not always a noun. It could be a
pronoun or a phrase. In the sentence "My doctor works hard", the noun is
"doctor" but the subject is "My doctor".
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
English nouns are often described as "countable" or "uncountable".
In this lesson we look at:
 Countable Nouns
 Uncountable Nouns
 Nouns that can be Countable & Uncountable
Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are easy to recognize. They are things that we can count.
For example: "pen". We can count pens. We can have one, two, three or
more pens. Here are some more countable nouns:
 dog, cat, animal, man, person
 bottle, box, litre
 coin, note, dollar
 cup, plate, fork
 table, chair, suitcase, bag
Countable nouns can be singular or plural:
 My dog is playing.
 My dogs are hungry.
We can use the indefinite article a/an with countable nouns:
 A dog is an animal.
When a countable noun is singular, we must use a word
like a/the/my/this with it:
 I want an orange. (not I want orange.)
 Where is my bottle? (not Where is bottle?)

25
When a countable noun is plural, we can use it alone:
 I like oranges.
 Bottles can break.
We can use some and any with countable nouns:
 I've got some dollars.
 Have you got any pens?
We can use a few and many with countable nouns:
 I've got a few dollars.
 I haven't got many pens.
"People" is countable. "People" is the
plural of "person". We can count
people:
 There is one person here.
 There are three people here.
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into
separate elements. We cannot "count" them. For example, we cannot count
"milk". We can count "bottles of milk" or "litres of milk", but we cannot
count "milk" itself. Here are some more uncountable nouns:
 music, art, love, happiness
 advice, information, news
 furniture, luggage
 rice, sugar, butter, water
 electricity, gas, power
 money, currency
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb.
For example:
 This news is very important.
 Your luggage looks heavy.

26
We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns.
We cannot say "an information" or "a music". But we can say a something
of:
 a piece of news
 a bottle of water
 a grain of rice
We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:
 I've got some money.
 Have you got any rice?
We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:
 I've got a little money.
 I haven't got much rice.
Uncountable nouns are also called
"mass nouns".
Here are some more examples of countable and uncountable nouns. When
you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or
uncountable.
Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable
Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a
change of meaning.
Countable Uncountable
There are two hairs in my coffee! hair I don't have much hair.
There are two lights in our bedroom.
light
Close the curtain. There's too much
light!
Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise.
noise
It's difficult to work when there is too
much noise.
Have you got a paper to read? (=
newspaper)
paper
I want to draw a picture. Have you got
some paper?
Our house has seven rooms. room Is there room for me to sit here?
We had a great time at the party. time Have you got time for a coffee?
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's work I have no money. I need work!

27
greatest works.
Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are
usually uncountable. But if we are
thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say
(in a restaurant, for example):
 Two teas and one coffee please.
Adjectives
An adjective is a word that tells us
more about a noun. (By "noun" we
include pronouns and noun
phrases.)
An adjective "qualifies" or
"modifies" a noun (a bigdog).
Adjectives can be used before a
noun (I like Chinesefood) or after certain verbs (It is hard).
We can often use two or more adjectives together
(a beautiful young French lady).
Determiners
the, a/an, this, some, any
Adjective Order (with Quiz)
beautiful, long, dark brown
Comparative Adjectives
richer, more exciting
Superlative Adjectives
the richest, the most exciting
Adverbs
It is sometimes said that the adjective
is the enemy of the noun. This is
because, very often, if we use the
precise noun we don't need an
adjective. For example, instead of
saying "a large, impressive house" (2
adjectives + 1 noun) we could simply
say "a mansion" (1 noun).

28
An adverb is a word that tells us more about a verb. An adverb "qualifies"
or "modifies" a verb(The man ran quickly). But adverbs can also
modify adjectives (Tara is really beautiful), or even other adverbs (It
works very well).
Many different kinds of word are called adverbs. We can usually recognise
an adverb by its:
1. Function (Job)
2. Form
3. Position
1. Function
The principal job of an adverb is to modify (give more information about)
verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. In the following examples, the adverb
is in bold and the word that it modifies is in italics.
 Modify a verb:
- John speaks loudly. (How does John speak?)
- Mary lives locally. (Where does Mary live?)
- She never smokes. (When does she smoke?)
 Modify an adjective:
- He is really handsome.
 Modify another adverb:
- She drives incredibly slowly.
But adverbs have other functions, too. They can:
 Modify a whole sentence:
- Obviously, I can't know everything.
 Modify a prepositional phrase:
- It's immediately inside the door.
2. Form
Many adverbs end in -ly. We form such adverbs by adding -ly to the
adjective. Here are some examples:
 quickly, softly, strongly, honestly, interestingly

29
But not all words that end in -ly are adverbs. "Friendly", for example, is an
adjective.
Some adverbs have no particular form, for example:
 well, fast, very, never, always, often, still
3. Position
Adverbs have three main positions in the sentence:
 Front (before the subject):
- Now we will study adverbs.
 Middle (between the subject and the main verb):
- We often study adverbs.
 End (after the verb or object):
- We study adverbs carefully.
Adverbs of Frequency
always, sometimes, never...
Adverbs of Frequency
Adverbs of Frequency answer the question "How
often?" or "How frequently?" They tell us how often
somebody does something.
Adverbs of frequency come before the main verb
(except the main verb "to be"):
 We usually go shopping on Saturday.
 I have often done that.
 She is always late.
Occasionally, sometimes, often, frequently and usually
can also go at the beginning or end of a sentence:
 Sometimes they come and stay with us.
 I play tennis occasionally.
Rarely and seldom can also go at the end of a sentence (often with "very"):
100% always
usually
frequently
often
50% sometimes
occasionally
rarely
seldom
hardly ever
0% never

30
 We see them rarely.
 John eats meat very seldom.
Pronouns
Pronouns are small words that take the place of a noun. We can use a
pronoun instead of a noun. Pronouns are words
like: he, you, ours, themselves, some, each... If we didn't have pronouns,
we would have to repeat a lot of nouns. We would have to say things like:
 Do you like the president? I don't like the president. The president is
too pompous.
With pronouns, we can say:
 Do you like the president? I don't like him. He is too pompous.
Personal Pronouns
I, me, you, he, him, she...
Demonstrative Pronouns
this, that, these, those
Possessive Pronouns
mine, yours, his...
Interrogative Pronouns
who, what, which...
Reflexive Pronouns
myself, yourself, himself...
Reciprocal Pronouns
each other, one another
Indefinite Pronouns
another, much, nobody, few, such...
Relative Pronouns

31
who, whom, which...
Pronoun Case
subjective, objective, possessive
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns represent specific people or things. We use them
depending on:
 number: singular (eg: I) or plural (eg: we)
 person: 1st person (eg: I), 2nd person (eg: you) or 3rd person
(eg: he)
 gender: male (eg: he), female (eg: she) or neuter (eg: it)
 case: subject (eg: we) or object (eg: us)
We use personal pronouns in place of the person or people that we are
talking about. My name is Josef but when I am talking about myself I
almost always use "I" or "me", not "Josef". When I am talking direct to
you, I almost always use "you", not your name. When I am talking about
another person, say John, I may start with "John" but then use "he" or
"him". And so on.
Here are the personal pronouns, followed by some example sentences:
number person gender personal pronouns
subject object

32
singular 1st male/female I me
2nd male/female you you
3rd male he him
female she her
neuter it it
plural 1st male/female we us
2nd male/female you you
3rd male/female/neuter they them
Examples (in each case, the first example shows a subject pronoun, the
second an object pronoun):
 I like coffee.
 John helped me.
 Do you like coffee?
 John loves you.
 He runs fast.
 Did Ram beat him?
 She is clever.
 Does Mary know her?
 It doesn't work.
 Can the engineer repair it?
 We went home.
 Anthony drove us.
 Do you need a table for three?
 Did John and Mary beat you at doubles?
 They played doubles.
 John and Mary beat them.
When we are talking about a single thing, we almost always use it.
However, there are a few exceptions. We may sometimes refer to an animal
as he/him or she/her, especially if the animal is domesticated or a pet.

33
Ships (and some other vessels or vehicles) as well as some countries are
often treated as female and referred to as she/her. Here are some examples:
 This is our dog Rusty. He's an Alsation.
 The Titanic was a great ship but she sank on her first voyage.
 My first car was a Mini and I treated her like my wife.
 Thailand has now opened her border with Cambodia.
For a single person, sometimes we don't know whether to use he or she.
There are several solutions to this:
 If a teacher needs help, he or she should see the principal.
 If a teacher needs help, he should see the principal.
 If a teacher needs help, they should see the principal.
We often use it to introduce a remark:
 It is nice to have a holiday sometimes.
 It is important to dress well.
 It's difficult to find a job.
 Is it normal to see them together?
 It didn't take long to walk here.
We also often use it to talk about the weather, temperature, time and
distance:
 It's raining.
 It will probably be hot tomorrow.
 Is it nine o'clock yet?
Demonstrative Pronouns
to demonstrate (verb):
to show; to indicate; to point to
A demonstrative pronoun represents a thing or things:
 near in distance or time (this, these)
 far in distance or time (that, those)
near far

34
singular this that
plural these those
Here are some examples with demonstrative pronouns, followed by an
illustration:
 This tastes good.
 Have you seen this?
 These are bad times.
 Do you like these?
 That is beautiful.
 Look at that!
 Those were the days!
 Can you see those?
 This is heavier than that.
 These are bigger than those.
Do not confuse demonstrative pronouns with demonstrative adjectives. They are
identical, but a demonstrative pronoun stands alone, while a demonstrative
adjective qualifies a noun.
 That smells. (demonstrative pronoun)
 That book is good. (demonstrative adjective + noun)
Normally we use demonstrative pronouns for things only. But we can use them
for people when the person is identified. Look at these examples:

35
 This is Josef speaking. Is that Mary?
 That sounds like John.
Possessive Pronouns
We use possessive pronouns to refer to a specific person/people or
thing/things (the "antecedent") belonging to a person/people (and
sometimes belonging to an animal/animals or thing/things).
We use possessive pronouns depending on:
 number: singular (eg: mine) or plural (eg: ours)
 person: 1st person (eg: mine), 2nd person (eg: yours) or 3rd person
(eg: his)
 gender: male (his), female (hers)
Below are the possessive pronouns, followed by some example sentences.
Notice that each possessive pronoun can:
 be subject or object
 refer to a singular or plural antecedent
number person gender (of "owner") possessive pronouns
singular 1st male/female mine
2nd male/female yours
3rd male his
female hers
plural 1st male/female ours
2nd male/female yours
3rd male/female/neuter theirs
 Look at these pictures. Mine is the big one. (subject = My picture)
 I like your flowers. Do you like mine? (object = my flowers)

36
 I looked everywhere for your key. I found John's key but I couldn't
find yours. (object = your key)
 My flowers are dying. Yours are lovely. (subject = Your flowers)
 All the essays were good but his was the best. (subject = his essay)
 John found his passport but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her
passport)
 John found his clothes but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her
clothes)
 Here is your car. Ours is over there, where we left it. (subject = Our
car)
 Your photos are good. Ours are terrible. (subject = Our photos)
 Each couple's books are colour-coded. Yours are red. (subject =
Your books)
 I don't like this family's garden but I like yours. (subject = your
garden)
 These aren't John and Mary's children. Theirs have black hair.
(subject = Their children)
 John and Mary don't like your car. Do you like theirs? (object = their
car)
Notice that the following (with apostrophe [']) do NOT exist: her's, your's,
their's
Notice that the interrogative pronoun whose can also be a possessive
pronoun (an interrogative possessive pronoun). Look at these examples:
 There was $100 on the table and Tara wondered whose it was.
 This car hasn't moved for two months. Whose is it?
Interrogative Pronouns
We use interrogative pronouns to ask questions. The interrogative pronoun
represents the thing that we don't know (what we are asking the question
about).
There are four main interrogative pronouns: who, whom, what, which

37
Notice that the possessive pronoun whose can also be an interrogative
pronoun (an interrogative possessive pronoun).
subject object
person who whom
thing what
person/thing which
person whose (possessive)
Notice that whom is the correct form when the pronoun is the object of the
verb, as in "Whom did you see?" ("I saw John.") However, in normal,
spoken English we rarely use whom. Most native speakers would say (or
even write): "Who did you see?"
Look at these example questions. In the sample answers, the noun phrase
that the interrogative pronoun represents is shown in bold.
question answer
Who told you? John told me. subject
Whom did you tell? I told Mary. object
What's happened? An accident's happened. subject
What do you want? I want coffee. object
Which came first? The Porsche 911 came first. subject
Which will the doctor see first? The doctor will see the patient
in blue first.
object
There's one car missing. Whose hasn't
arrived?
John's (car) hasn't arrived. subject
We've found everyone's
keys. Whose did you find?
I found John's (keys). object

38
Note that we sometimes use the suffix "-ever" to make compounds from
some of these pronouns (mainly whoever, whatever, whichever). When
we add "-ever", we use it for emphasis, often to show confusion or surprise.
Look at these examples:
 Whoever would want to do such a nasty thing?
 Whatever did he say to make her cry like that?
 They're all fantastic! Whichever will you choose?
Reflexive Pronouns
reflexive (adj.) [grammar]: reflecting back on the subject, like a mirror
We use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of
the sentence or clause. Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-
selves" (plural).
There are eight reflexive pronouns:
reflexive pronoun
singular myself
yourself
himself, herself, itself
plural ourselves
yourselves
themselves
reflexive pronouns
the underlined words are NOT the same
person/thing
the underlined words are the SAME
person/thing

39
John saw me. I saw myself in the mirror.
Why does he blame you? Why do you blame yourself?
David sent him a copy. John sent himself a copy.
David sent her a copy. Mary sent herself a copy.
My dog hurt the cat. My dog hurt itself.
We blame you. We blame ourselves.
Can you help my children? Can you help yourselves?
They cannot look after the babies. They cannot look after themselves.
Intensive pronouns
Notice that all the above reflexive pronouns can also act as intensive
pronouns, but the function and usage are different. An intensive pronoun
emphasizes its antecedent. Look at these examples:
 I made it myself. OR I myself made it.
 Have you yourself seen it? OR Have you seen it yourself?
 The President himself promised to stop the war.
 She spoke to me herself. OR She herself spoke to me.
 The exam itself wasn't difficult, but exam room was horrible.
 Never mind. We'll do it ourselves.
 You yourselves asked us to do it.
 They recommend this book even though they themselves have never
read it. OR They recommend this book even though they have never
read it themselves.
Reciprocal Pronouns
reciprocal (adj.): given or done in return; [grammar] expressing
mutual action

40
We use reciprocal pronouns when each of two or more subjects is acting in
the same way towards the other. For example, A is talking to B, and B is
talking to A. So we say:
 A and B are talking to each other.
The action is "reciprocated". John talks to Mary and Mary talks to John. I
give you a present and you give me a present. The dog bites the cat and the
cat bites the dog.
There are only two reciprocal pronouns, and they are both two words:
 each other
 one another
When we use these reciprocal pronouns:
 there must be two or more people, things or groups involved (so we
cannot use reciprocal pronouns with I, you [singular], he/she/it), and
 they must be doing the same thing
 John and Mary love each other.
 Peter and David hate each other.
 The ten prisoners were all blaming one another.
 Both teams played hard against each other.
 We gave each other gifts.
 Why don't you believe each other?
 They can't see each other.
 The gangsters were fighting one another.
 The boats were bumping against each other in the storm.
You probably notice that each other is used in more examples above
than one another. That's because in general we use each other more often
than one another, which sounds a little formal. Also, some people say that
we should use one another only for three or more people or things, but
there is no real justification for this.

41
Indefinite Pronouns
An indefinite pronoun does not refer to any specific person, thing or
amount. It is vague and "not definite". Some typical indefinite pronouns
are:
 all, another, any, anybody/anyone, anything, each,
everybody/everyone, everything, few, many, nobody, none, one,
several, some, somebody/someone
Note that many indefinite pronouns also function as other parts of speech.
Look at "another" in the following sentences:
 He has one job in the day and another at night. (pronoun)
 I'd like another drink, please. (adjective)
Most indefinite pronouns are either singular or plural. However, some of
them can be singular in one context and plural in another. The most
common indefinite pronouns are listed below, with examples, as singular,
plural or singular/plural.
Notice that a singular pronoun takes a singular verb AND that any
personal pronoun should also agree (in number and gender). Look at these
examples:
 Each of the players has a doctor.
 I met two girls. One has given me her phone number.
Similarly, plural pronouns need plural agreement:
 Many have expressed their views.
pronoun meaning example
singular
another an additional or different
person or thing
That ice-cream was good. Can I
have another?
anybody/anyone no matter what person Can anyone answer this question?
anything no matter what thing The doctor needs to know if you have
eaten anything in the last two hours.
each every one of two or
more people or things,
Each has his own thoughts.

42
seen separately
either one or the other of two
people or things
Do you want tea or coffee? / I don't
mind. Either is good for me.
enough as much or as many as
needed
Enough is enough.
everybody/everyone all people We can start the meeting
because everybody has arrived.
everything all things They have no house or possessions.
They losteverything in the
earthquake.
less a smaller amount "Less is more" (Mies van der Rohe)
little a small amount Little is know about his early life.
much a large amount Much has happend since we met.
neither not one and not the other
of two people or things
I keep telling Jack and Jill
butneither believes me.
nobody/no-one no person I phoned many times
butnobody answered.
nothing no single thing, not
anything
If you don't know the answer it's best
to say nothing.
one an unidentified person Can one smoke here? | All the
students arrived but now one is
missing.
other a different person or
thing from one already
mentioned
One was tall and the other was short.
somebody/someone an unspecified or
unknown person
Clearly somebody murdered him. It
was not suicide.
something an unspecified or
unknown thing
Listen! I just heard something! What
could it be?
you an unidentified person
(informal)
And you can see why.
plural
both two people or things,
seen together
John likes coffee but not tea. I
think both are good.

43
few a small number of
people or things
Few have ever disobeyed him and
lived.
fewer a reduced number of
people or things
Fewer are smoking these days.
many a large number of people
or things
Many have come already.
others other people; not us I'm sure that others have tried before
us.
several more than two but not
many
They all complained and severalleft
the meeting.
they people in general
(informal)
They say that vegetables are good for
you.
singular or plural
all the whole quantity of
something or of some
things or people
All is forgiven.
All have arrived.
any no matter how much or
how many
Is any left?
Are any coming?
more a greater quantity of
something; a greater
number of people or
things
There is more over there.
More are coming.
most the majority; nearly all Most is lost.
Most have refused.
none not any; no person or
persons
They fixed the water so why
isnone coming out of the tap?
I invited five friends but nonehave
come.*
some an unspecified quantity
of something; an
unspecified number of
people or things
Here is some.
Some have arrived.
such of the type already
mentioned
He was a foreigner and he felt that he
was treated as such.
* Some people say that "none" should always take a singular verb, even
when talking about countable nouns (eg five friends). They argue that

44
"none" means "no one", and "one" is obviously singular. They say that "I
invited five friends but none has come" is correct and "I invited five friends
but none have come" is incorrect. Historically and grammatically there is
little to support this view. "None" has been used for hundreds of years with
both a singular and a plural verb, according to the context and the emphasis
required.
Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause. It is called
a "relative" pronoun because it "relates" to the word that it modifies. Here
is an example:
 The person who phoned me last night is my teacher.
In the above example, "who":
 relates to "person", which it modifies
 introduces the relative clause "who phoned me last night"
There are five relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that*
Who (subject) and whom (object) are generally only for people. Whose is
for possession.Which is for things. That can be used for people** and
things and as subject and object in defining relative clauses (clauses that
are essential to the sentence and do not simply add extra information).
Relative pronouns can refer to singular or plural, and there is no difference
between male and female.
Look at these examples showing defining and non-defining relative
clauses:
example sentences
S=subject, O=object, P=possessive
notes
defining S - The person who phoned me last night
is my teacher.
- The person that phoned me last night
is my teacher.
That is preferable
- The car which hit me was yellow.
- The cars that hit me were yellow.
That is preferable

45
O - The person whom I phoned last night
is my teacher.
- The people who I phoned last night
are my teachers.
- The person that I phoned last night is
my teacher.
- The person I phoned last night is my
teacher.
Whom is correct but very
formal. The relative
pronoun is optional.
- The car which I drive is old.
- The car that I drive is old.
- The car I drive is old.
That is preferable
to which. The relative
P - The student whose phone just rang
should stand up.
- Students whose parents are wealthy
pay extra.
- The police are looking for the
car whosedriver was masked.
- The police are looking for the car of
which the driver was masked.
Of which is usual for
things, but whose is
sometimes possible
non-
defining
S - Mrs Pratt, who is very kind, is my
teacher.
- The car, which was a taxi, exploded.
- The cars, which were taxis, exploded.
O - Mrs Pratt, whom I like very much, is
my teacher.
- Mr and Mrs Pratt, who I like very
much, are my teachers.
formal. Who is normal.
- The car, which I was driving at the
time, suddenly caught fire.
P - My brother, whose phone you just
heard, is a doctor.
- The car, whose driver jumped out just
before the accident, was completely
destroyed.
- The car, the driver of which jumped
out just before the accident, was
completely destroyed.
sometimes possible

46
*Not all grammar sources count "that" as a relative pronoun.
**Some people claim that we cannot use "that" for people but must use
"who/whom"; there is no good reason for such a claim.
Relative Pronouns
A relative pronoun is a pronoun that introduces a relative clause. It is called a
"relative" pronoun because it "relates" to the word that it modifies. Here is an
example:
 The person who phoned me last night is my teacher.
In the above example, "who":
 relates to "person", which it modifies
 introduces the relative clause "who phoned me last night"
There are five relative pronouns: who, whom, whose, which, that*
Who (subject) and whom (object) are generally only for people. Whose is
for possession.Whichis for things. That can be used for people** and things
and as subject and object in defining relative clauses (clauses that are
essential to the sentence and do not simply add extra information).
Relative pronouns can refer to singular or plural, and there is no difference
between male and female.
Look at these examples showing defining and non-defining relative clauses:
example sentences
S=subject, O=object, P=possessive
notes
defining S - The person who phoned me last
night is my teacher.
- The person that phoned me last
That is preferable
- The car which hit me was yellow.
- The cars that hit me were yellow.
That is preferable
O - The person whom I phoned last
- The people who I phoned last night
are my teachers.
- The person that I phoned last night
formal. The relative

47
is my teacher.
- The person I phoned last night is my
teacher.
- The car which I drive is old.
- The car that I drive is old.
- The car I drive is old.
That is preferable
to which. The relative
P - The student whose phone just rang
should stand up.
- Students whose parents are wealthy
pay extra.
- The police are looking for the
car whosedriver was masked.
- The police are looking for the car of
which the driver was masked.
sometimes possible
non-
defining
S - Mrs Pratt, who is very kind, is my
teacher.
- The car, which was a taxi, exploded.
- The cars, which were taxis,
exploded.
O - Mrs Pratt, whom I like very much, is
my teacher.
- Mr and Mrs Pratt, who I like very
much, are my teachers.
formal. Who is normal.
- The car, which I was driving at the
time, suddenly caught fire.
P - My brother, whose phone you just
heard, is a doctor.
- The car, whose driver jumped out
just before the accident, was
- The car, the driver of which jumped
out just before the accident, was
sometimes possible
*Not all grammar sources count "that" as a relative pronoun.
**Some people claim that we cannot use "that" for people but must use
"who/whom"; there is no good reason for such a claim.

48
Pronoun Case
Pronouns (and nouns) in English display "case" according to their function in the sentence.
Their function can be:
 subjective (they act as the subject)
 objective (they act as the object)
 possessive (they show possession of something else)
The following table shows the different forms for pronouns depending on case.
subjective case objective case
possessive
case
personal pronouns singular 1st I me mine
2nd you you yours
3rd he
she
it
him
her
it
his
hers
its
plural 1st we us ours
2nd you you yours
3rd they them theirs
relative/interrogative
pronouns
who whom whose
whoever whomever
which/that/wha
t
which/that/what
indefinite pronouns everybody everybody everybody's
A problem of case: Mary and I or Mary and me?
1. Mary and I are delighted to be here today. (NOT Mary and me)
2. The letter was addressed to Mary and me. (NOT Mary and I)
In 1, Mary and I are subjects, which is why the pronoun takes the subjective case ("I"). In 2,
Mary and I are objects, which is why the pronoun takes the objective case ("me"). An easy
way to check the correct case is to try the sentence without Mary. Would you say "I am
delighted to be here" or "Me am delighted to be here"? Would you say "The letter was
addressed to me" or "The letter was addressed to I"?

49
English Prepositions
A preposition is a word governing, and usually coming in front of, a noun
or pronoun and expressing a relation to another word or element, as in:
 She left before breakfast.
 What did you come for?
(For what did you come?)
List of Prepositions
A Simple Rule for Prepositions
Prepositions of Place
at the bus stop, in the box, on the wall
Prepositions of Time
at Christmas, in May, on Friday
English Prepositions List
There are about 150 prepositions in English. Yet this is a very small
number when you think of the thousands of other words (nouns, verbs etc).
Prepositions are important words. We use individual prepositions more
frequently than other individual words. In fact, the
prepositions of,to and in are among the ten most frequent words in English.
Here is a short list of 70 of the more common one-word prepositions. Many
of these prepositions have more than one meaning. Please refer to a
dictionary for precise meaning and usage.
 aboard
 about
 above
 across
 after
 against
 along
 amid
 among

50
 anti
 around
 as
 at
 before
 behind
 below
 beneath
 beside
 besides
 between
 beyond
 but
 by
 concerning
 considering
 despite
 down
 during
 except
 excepting
 excluding
 following
 for
 from
 in
 inside
 into
 like
 minus
 near
 of
 off
 on

51
 onto
 opposite
 outside
 over
 past
 per
 plus
 regarding
 round
 save
 since
 than
 through
 to
 toward
 towards
 under
 underneath
 unlike
 until
 up
 upon
 versus
 via
 with
 within
 without

52
English Preposition Rule
There is one very simple rule about prepositions. And, unlike most rules,
this rule has no exceptions.
Rule
A preposition is followed by a "noun". It is never followed by a verb.
By "noun" we include:
 noun (dog, money, love)
 proper noun (name) (Bangkok, Mary)
 pronoun (you, him, us)
 noun group (my first job)
 gerund (swimming)
A preposition cannot be followed by a verb. If we want to follow a
preposition by a verb, we must use the "-ing" form which is really a gerund
or verb in noun form.
Quick Quiz: In the following sentences, why is "to" followed by a verb?
That should be impossible, according to the above rule:
 I would like to go now.
 She used to smoke.
Here are some examples:
Subject + verb preposition "noun"
The food is on the table.
She lives in Japan.
Tara is looking for you.
The letter is under your blue book.
Pascal is used to English people.
She isn't used to working.
I ate before coming.

53
Answer to Quick Quiz: In these sentences, "to" is not a preposition. It is
part of theinfinitive ("to go", "to smoke").
Prepositions of Place: at, in, on
In general, we use:
 at for a POINT
 in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
 on for a SURFACE
at in on
POINT ENCLOSED SPACE SURFACE
at the corner in the garden on the wall
at the bus stop in London on the ceiling
at the door in France on the door
at the top of the page in a box on the cover
at the end of the road in my pocket on the floor
at the entrance in my wallet on the carpet
at the crossroads in a building on the menu
at the front desk in a car on a page
 Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.
 The shop is at the end of the street.
 My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two
hours late.
 When will you arrive at the office?
 Do you work in an office?
 I have a meeting in New York.
 Do you live in Japan?
 Jupiter is in the Solar System.
 The author's name is on the cover of the book.
 There are no prices on this menu.
 You are standing on my foot.

54
 There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
 I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.
Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard
expressions:
at in on
at home in a car on a bus
at work in a taxi on a train
at school in a helicopter on a plane
at university in a boat on a ship
at college in a lift (elevator) on a bicycle, on a motorbike
at the top in the newspaper on a horse, on an elephant
at the bottom in the sky on the radio, on television
at the side in a row on the left, on the right
at reception in Oxford Street on the way
Prepositions of Time: at, in, on
We use:
 at for a PRECISE TIME
 in for MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and LONG PERIODS
 on for DAYS and DATES
at in on
PRECISE
TIME
MONTHS, YEARS, CENTURIES and
LONG PERIODS
DAYS and
DATES
at 3 o'clock in May on Sunday
at 10.30am in summer on Tuesdays
at noon in the summer on 6 March
at dinnertime in 1990 on 25 Dec. 2010

55
at bedtime in the 1990s on Christmas Day
at sunrise in the next century on Independence
Day
at sunset in the Ice Age on my birthday
at the moment in the past/future on New Year's Eve
 I have a meeting at 9am.
 The shop closes at midnight.
 Jane went home at lunchtime.
 In England, it often snows in December.
 Do you think we will go to Jupiter in the future?
 There should be a lot of progress in the next century.
 Do you work on Mondays?
 Her birthday is on 20 November.
 Where will you be on New Year's Day?
Notice the use of the preposition of time at in the following standard
expressions:
Expression Example
at night The stars shine at night.
at the weekend I don't usually work at the weekend.
at Christmas/Easter I stay with my family at Christmas.
at the same time We finished the test at the same time.
at present He's not home at present. Try later.
Notice the use of the prepositions of time in and on in these common
expressions:
in on
in the morning on Tuesday morning
in the mornings on Saturday mornings
in the afternoon(s) on Sunday afternoons

56
in the evening(s) on Monday evening
When we say last, next, every, this we do not also use at, in, on.
 I went to London last June. (not in last June)
 He's coming back next Tuesday. (not on next Tuesday)
 I go home every Easter. (not at every Easter)
 We'll call you this evening. (not in this evening)
Prepositions of Place: at, in, on
In general, we use:
 at for a POINT
 in for an ENCLOSED SPACE
 on for a SURFACE
at in on
POINT ENCLOSED SPACE SURFACE
at the corner in the garden on the wall
at the bus stop in London on the ceiling
at the door in France on the door
at the top of the page in a box on the cover
at the end of the road in my pocket on the floor
at the entrance in my wallet on the carpet
at the crossroads in a building on the menu
at the front desk in a car on a page
 Jane is waiting for you at the bus stop.
 The shop is at the end of the street.
 My plane stopped at Dubai and Hanoi and arrived in Bangkok two
hours late.
 When will you arrive at the office?

57
 Do you work in an office?
 I have a meeting in New York.
 Do you live in Japan?
 Jupiter is in the Solar System.
 The author's name is on the cover of the book.
 There are no prices on this menu.
 You are standing on my foot.
 There was a "no smoking" sign on the wall.
 I live on the 7th floor at 21 Oxford Street in London.
Notice the use of the prepositions of place at, in and on in these standard
expressions:
at in on
at home in a car on a bus
at work in a taxi on a train
at school in a helicopter on a plane
at university in a boat on a ship
at college in a lift (elevator) on a bicycle, on a motorbike
at the top in the newspaper on a horse, on an elephant
at the bottom in the sky on the radio, on television
at the side in a row on the left, on the right
at reception in Oxford Street on the way
Conjunctions
A conjunction is a word that "joins". A conjunction joins two parts of a
sentence.
Here are some example conjunctions:
Coordinating Conjunctions Subordinating Conjunctions
and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so although, because, since, unless
We can consider conjunctions from three aspects.

58
Form
Conjunctions have three basic forms:
 Single Word
for example: and, but, because, although
 Compound (often ending with as or that)
for example: provided that, as long as, in order that
 Correlative (surrounding an adverb or adjective)
for example: so...that
Function
Conjunctions have two basic functions or "jobs":
 Coordinating conjunctions are used to join two parts of a sentence
that are grammatically equal. The two parts may be single words or
clauses, for example:
- Jack and Jill went up the hill.
- The water was warm, but I didn'tgo swimming.
 Subordinating conjunctions are used to join a subordinate
dependent clause to a main clause, for example:
- I went swimming althoughit was cold.
Position
 Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or
clauses that they join.
 Subordinating conjunctions usually come at the beginning of the
subordinate clause.
In this lesson we will look in more detail at:
 Coordinating Conjunctions
Coordinating Conjunctions
The short, simple conjunctions are called "coordinating conjunctions":
 and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so

59
A coordinating conjunction joins parts of a sentence (for example words or
independent clauses) that are grammatically equal or similar. A
coordinating conjunction shows that the elements it joins are similar in
importance and structure:
Look at these examples - the two elements that the coordinating
conjunction joins are shown in square brackets [ ]:
 I like [tea] and [coffee].
 [Ram likes tea], but [Anthony likes coffee].
Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that
they join.
When a coordinating conjunction joins independent clauses, it is always
correct to place a comma before the conjunction:
 I want to work as an interpreter in the future, so I am studying
Russian at university.
However, if the independent clauses are short and well-balanced, a comma
is not really essential:
 She is kind so she helps people.
When "and" is used with the last word of a list, a comma is optional:
 He drinks beer, whisky, wine, and rum.
 He drinks beer, whisky, wine and rum.
The 7 coordinating conjunctions are short,
simple words. They have only two or three
letters. There's an easy way to remember
them - their initials spell:
F A N B O Y S
For And Nor But Or Yet So
Subordinating Conjunctions
The majority of conjunctions are "subordinating conjunctions". Common
subordinating conjunctions are:

60
 after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that,
though, till, until, when, where, whether, while
A subordinating conjunction joins a subordinate (dependent) clause to a
main (independent) clause:
Look at this example:
main or
independent clause
subordinate or
dependent clause
Ram went swimming although it was raining.
subordinating
conjunction
A subordinate or dependent clause
"depends" on a main or independent
clause. It cannot exist alone. Imagine
that somebody says to you: "Hello!
Although it was raining." What do you
understand? Nothing! But a main or
independent clause can exist alone.
You will understand very well if
somebody says to you: "Hello! Ram
went swimming."
A subordinating conjunction always comes at the beginning of a
subordinate clause. It "introduces" a subordinate clause. However, a
subordinate clause can sometimes come after and sometimes before a main
clause. Thus, two structures are possible:
Ram went swimming although it was raining.
Although it was raining, Ram went swimming.
Interjections
Hi! That's an interjection. :-)
Interjections like er and um are also
known as "hesitation devices". They are
extremely common in English. People
use them when they don't know what to

61
Interjection is a big name for a
little word. Interjections are short
exclamations
like Oh!, Um orAh! They have
no real grammatical value but we
use them quite often, usually more in speaking than in writing. When
interjections are inserted into a sentence, they have no grammatical
connection to the sentence. An interjection is sometimes followed by an
exclamation mark (!) when written.
The table below shows some interjections with examples.
interjection meaning example
ah expressing pleasure "Ah, that feels good."
expressing realization "Ah, now I understand."
expressing resignation "Ah well, it can't be heped."
expressing surprise "Ah! I've won!"
alas expressing grief or pity "Alas, she's dead now."
dear expressing pity "Oh dear! Does it hurt?"
expressing surprise "Dear me! That's a
surprise!"
eh asking for repetition "It's hot today." "Eh?" "I
said it's hot today."
expressing enquiry "What do you think of that,
eh?"
expressing surprise "Eh! Really?"
inviting agreement "Let's go, eh?"
er expressing hesitation "Lima is the capital
of...er...Peru."
hello, hullo expressing greeting "Hello John. How are you
today?"
expressing surprise "Hello! My car's gone!"
hey calling attention "Hey! look at that!"
say, or to indicate that they are thinking
about what to say. You should learn to
recognize them when you hear them
and realize that they have no real
meaning.

62
expressing surprise, joy etc "Hey! What a good idea!"
hi expressing greeting "Hi! What's new?"
hmm expressing hesitation, doubt
or disagreement
"Hmm. I'm not so sure."
oh, o expressing surprise "Oh! You're here!"
expressing pain "Oh! I've got a toothache."
expressing pleading "Oh, please say 'yes'!"
ouch expressing pain "Ouch! That hurts!"
uh expressing hesitation "Uh...I don't know the
answer to that."
uh-huh expressing agreement "Shall we go?" "Uh-huh."
um, umm expressing hesitation "85 divided by 5
is...um...17."
well expressing surprise "Well I never!"
introducing a remark "Well, what did he say?"
Verbs
What Are Verbs?
 Verb Classification | Quiz
helping verbs: primary/modal
main verbs: transitive/intransitive, linking, dynamic/stative,
regular/irregular
Verb Forms | Quiz
to sing, sing, sings, sang, sung, singing
Tenses
I sing, I am singing, I have sung, I have been singing, I sang, I was singing

63
 English Tense System
 What is Tense?
 Tense & Time
 Basic Tenses
 Regular Verbs
 Irregular Verbs
 Be
 Present tenses Simple, Continuous, Perfect Simple, Perfect
Continuous
 Past tenses Simple, Continuous, Perfect Simple, Perfect Continuous
 Future tenses Simple, Continuous, Perfect Simple, Perfect
Continuous
Phrasal Verbs | Quiz
put out, look after, get on with
Conditionals | Quiz
if I win, if I won, if I had won
Modal Verbs
can, shall, must...
Gerunds (-ing) | Quiz
fishing is fun, I hate working
Questions | Quiz
Do you like me? Why do you like me?, Do you like me or him?
Tag Questions | Quiz
You like me, don't you?
Subjunctive | Quiz
She insists that he come
Active Voice, Passive Voice | Quiz
Cats eat mice, Mice are eaten by cats
Infinitive or -ing? | Quiz

64
I like to do, I like doing
Plural Verbs with Singular Subjects
the company do, the company does
Verb Meanings with Continuous Tenses | Quiz
Am I being silly?
Used to do / Be used to | Quiz
I used to do it, I am not used to it
Going to
I am going to do it
Future Time | Quiz
I will do it, I am going to do it, I am doing it, I do it
For & Since for Time | Quiz
for two days, since 1st April
Tenses
The English Tense System
The links below are to lessons for each of the 12 basic tenses. In each
lesson we look at two aspects of the tense:
 Structure: How do we make the tense?
 Use: When and why do we use the tense?
Some lessons look at additional aspects, and most of them finish with a
quiz to check your understanding.
Many English learners worry too much about tense. If you stopped 100
native English speakers in the street and asked them about tense, 1 of them
might give you an intelligent answer - if you were lucky. The other 99
would know little about terms like "past perfect" or "present continuous".

65
And they would know nothing about aspect, voice or mood. But they can
all speak fluent English and communicate effectively. Of course, for ESL it
helps to know about tenses, but don't become obsessed with them. Be like
those native speakers! Speak naturally!
Present Tense
I do, I do
Present Continuous Tense
I am doing, I am doing tomorrow
Present Perfect Tense
I have done
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
I have been doing
Past Tense
I did do, I did
Past Continuous Tense
I was doing
Past Perfect Tense
I had done
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
I had been doing
Future Tense
I will do
Future Continuous Tense
I will be doing
Future Perfect Tense
I will have done
Future Perfect Continuous Tense
I will have been doing
English Tense System
In some languages, verb tenses are not very important or do not even exist.
In English, the concept of tense is very important.
In this lesson we look at the idea behind tense, how to avoid confusing
tense with time, and the structure of the basic tenses, with examples using a
regular verb, an irregular verb and the verb be.
 What is Tense?
 Tense & Time
 Basic Tenses
 Regular Verbs

66
 Irregular Verbs
 Be
What is Tense?
Tense (noun): a form of a verb used to indicate the time, and sometimes the
continuation or completeness, of an action in relation to the time of
speaking. (From Latin tempus = time).
Tense is a method that we use in English to refer to time - past, present and
future. Many languages use tenses to talk about time. Other languages have
no tenses, but of course they can still talk about time, using different
methods.
So, we talk about time in English with tenses. But, and this is a very
big but:
 we can also talk about time without using tenses (for example, going to is a
special construction to talk about the future, it is not a tense)
 one tense does not always talk about one time (see Tense & Time for more
about this)
Here are some of the terms used in discussing verbs and tenses.
Mood
Indicative mood expresses a simple statement of fact, which can be
positive (affirmative) or negative
 I like coffee.
 I do not like coffee.
interrogative mood expresses a question
 Why do you like coffee?
imperative mood expresses a command
 Sit down!
subjunctive mood expresses what is imagined or wished or possible
 The President ordered that he attend the meeting.
Voice
Voice shows the relationship of the subject to the action. In the active
voice, the subject does the action (cats eat mice). In the passive voice, the
subject receives the action (mice are eaten by cats). Among other things,
we can use voice to help us change the focus of attention.
Aspect
Aspect expresses a feature of the action related to time, such as completion
or duration. Present simple and past simple tenses have no aspect, but if we
wish we can stress with other tenses that:
 the action or state referred to by the verb is completed (and often still
relevant), for example:

67
I have emailed the report to Jane. (so now she has the report)
(This is called perfective aspect, using perfect tenses.)
 the action or state referred to by the verb is in progress or continuing (that
is, uncompleted), for example:
We are eating.
(This is called progressive aspect, using progressive [continuous] tenses.)
Tense & Time
It is important not to confuse the name of a verb tense with the way we use
it to talk abouttime.
For example, a present tense does not always refer to present time:
 I hope it rains tomorrow.
"rains" is present simple, but it refers here to future time (tomorrow)
Or a past tense does not always refer to past time:
 If I had some money now, I could buy it.
"had" is past simple but it refers here to present time (now)
The following examples show how different tenses can be used to talk
about different times.
TENSE TIME
past present future
Present Simple I want a
coffee.
I leave tomorrow.
She likes coffee.
Present Continuo
us
I am
having dinne
r.
I am taking my
exam next month.
They are living in London.
Present Perfect
Simple
I have seen ET. I have
finished.
Present Perfect
Continuous
I have been
playingtennis.

68
We have been working for four
hours.
Past Simple I finished one
hour ago.
If
she loved yo
u now, she
would marry
you.
If
you cametomorro
w, you would see
her.
Past Continuous I was working at
2am this
morning.
Past Perfect
Simple
I had not eaten f
or 24 hours.
Past Perfect
Continuous
We had been
working for 3
hours.
If I had been
working now
, I would
have missed
you.
If I had been
working tomorro
w, I could not
have agreed.
Future Simple Hold on. I'll
do it now.
I'll see you
tomorrow.
Future Continuou
s
I will be
working at 9pm
tonight.
Future Perfect
Simple
I will have
finishedby 9pm
tonight.
We will have been married for ten years next month.
Future Perfect
Continuous
They may be tired
when you arrive
because they will
have been
working.
In 30 minutes, we will have been working for four
hours.

69
Basic Tenses
For past and present, there are 2 simple tenses + 6 complex tenses (using
auxiliary verbs). To these, we can add 4 "modal tenses" for the future
(using modal auxiliary verbs will/shall). This makes a total of 12 tenses in
the active voice. Another 12 tenses are available in the passive voice. So
now we have 24 tenses.
24 Tenses past present future*
ACTIVE simple
tenses
past present future
complex
tenses
formed
with
auxiliary
verbs
past perfect present
perfect
future perfect
past
continuous
present
continuous
future
continuous
past perfect
continuous
present
perfect
continuous
future perfect
continuous
PASSIVE past present future
past perfect present
perfect
future perfect
past
continuous
present
continuous
future
continuous
past perfect
continuous
present
perfect
continuous
future perfect
continuous
Some grammar books use the
wordprogressive instead
of continuous. They are exactly the
same.
The use of tenses in English may be quite complicated, but
the structure of English tenses is actually very simple. The basic structure
for a positive sentence is:

70
subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
An auxiliary verb is used in all tenses. (In the simple present and simple
past tenses, the auxiliary verb is usually suppressed for the affirmative, but
it does exist for intensification.) The following table shows the 12
tenses for the verb to work in the active voice.
structure past present future*
auxiliary main verb
simple normal I worked I work I will
work
intensive do base I did
work
I do
work
perfect have past
participle
I had
worked
I have
worked
I will
have
worked
continuous be present
participle
-ing
I was
working
I am
working
I will be
working
continuous
perfect
have
been
present
participle
-ing
I had
been
working
I have
been
working
I will
have
been
working
* Technically, there are no future tenses in English. The word will is a
modal auxiliary verb and future tenses are sometimes called "modal
tenses". The examples are included here for convenience and comparison.
Basic Tenses: Regular Verb
Regular verbs list
This page shows the basic tenses with the regular verb work. It includes
the affirmative or positive form (+), the negative form (-) and the
interrogative or question form (?).

71
The basic structure is:
positive: + subject + auxiliary verb + main verb
negative: - subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb
question: ? auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
These are the forms of the main verb that we use to construct the tenses:
base verb past past participle present participle -ing
work worked worked working
past present future
SIMPLE
do + base
verb
(except
future:
will + base
verb)
+ I did work
I worked
I do work
I work
I will work
- I did not work I do not work I will not work
? Did I work? Do I work? Will I work?
SIMPLE
PERFECT
have + past
participle
+ I had worked I have worked I will
have worked
- I
had not worked
I
have not worked
I
will not have wo
rked
? Had I worked? Have I worked? Will I have
worked?
CONTINU
OUS
be + ing
+ I was working I am working I will
be working
- I
was not working
I am not working I
will not be work
ing

72
? Was I working? Am I working? Will I
be working?
CONTINU
OUS
PERFECT
have been
+ ing
+ I had
beenworking
I have
beenworking
I will have
beenworking
- I
had not beenwor
king
I
have not beenwor
king
I will not have
beenworking
? Had I
beenworking?
Have I
beenworking?
Will I have
beenworking?
Regular Verbs List
There are thousands of regular verbs in English. This is a list of 600 of the
more common regular verbs. Note that there are some spelling variations in
American English (for example, "practise" becomes "practice" in American
English).
 accept
 add
 admire
 admit
 advise
 afford
 agree
 alert
 allow
 amuse
 analyse
 announce
 annoy
 answer
 apologise
 appear
 applaud
 appreciate
 approve
 argue
 arrange
 arrest
 arrive
 ask
 attach
 attack
 attempt
 attend
 attract
 avoid
 back
 bake
 balance
 ban
 bang
 bare
 bat
 bathe
 battle
 beam
 beg
 behave
 belong
 bleach
 bless
 blind
 blink
 blot
 blush
 boast
 boil
 bolt
 bomb
 book
 bore
 borrow
 bounce
 bow
 box
 brake
 brake
 branch
 breathe
 bruise
 brush
 bubble
 bump
 burn
 bury
 buzz

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