Basic English grammar contents

1. Use of English
Basic Use of English contents review

3. Perfect and Progressive forms
• Aspect
• They give us a perspective on a situation.
• PERFECT: Action is complete
• PROGRESSIVE: Action is ongoing / in progress
• Perfect and Progressive combine with all the
TENSES (present, past and future)

4. Difference: Tense or Aspect?
• I am ill
• I was ill
• I have worked
• I’m working
• I study English
• I had studied English.

5. Difference: Tense or Aspect?
• I am ill
• I was ill
• I have worked
• I’m working
• I study English
• I had studied English.
• Tense
• Aspect
• Tense and Aspect

6. Perfect forms
• It’s the first time I have been on a plane.
• When I arrived, the guests had left.
• By this time tomorrow, I will have finished
my exams.
• He must have left his office hours ago.
• Having studing German, I was able to work in
Berlin that summer.

7. Progressive forms
• John is listening to the radio.
• At this time yesterday, John was listening to
the radio.
• At this time tomorrow, John will be listening
to the radio.
• The thief appers to be hiding in the
countryside.
• They have been running three miles.

8. Perfect progressive forms
• They have been running three miles.
• They have run three miles.
• They are running three miles.

9. Special uses of the progressive
• Future value
• Annoyance
• Polite distancing

10. Future value
• I’m visting my in-laws this weekend.
• I was meeting my friends that afternoon.
(future in the past)

11. Annoyance
• Always
• Constantly
• He is constantly arriving late to class.

12. Polite distancing
• I was wondering whether you could give me a
hand with the project.

14. Conjunctions AND, BUT, OR
• If we have any of these conjuntions, both clauses
must be in the same tense and aspect.
• He arrived late and the teacher punished
him.
• I don’t like going shopping but skiing.
• Do you prefer walking or running?

16. Voices
• Active voice  I bought a house.
• Passive voice  A house was bought (by me).
• In passive voice:
▫ Be + past participle
▫ Object becomes the subject
▫ Subject becomes a by-phrase (optional)
• I’ll write a paper  A paper will be written.

17. Complex passive voice
• People think that she is a good student –
ACTIVE
• It’s thought that she is a good student –
PASSIVE
• She is thought to be a good student – PASSIVE

18. Complex passive voice
• Complex passive sentences usually involves
REPORTING VERBS
• The focus is on the information, not on who
thinks, reports, believes, etc.
• We use perfect infinitive to express anteriority.
• We use progressive infinitive to express
ongoingness.

19. Double passive sentences
• S + V + IO + DO
• I give Mary a pen - Active
• S + V + DO + IO
• I give a pen to Mary - Active

20. Double passive sentences
• Both objects can be the subject.
• I give Mary a pen. – ACTIVE
• A pen is given to Mary (by me) – PASSIVE
• Mary is given a pen (by me) – PASSIVE

22. Finite and non-finite forms
• Finite forms express tense (present, past,
future): she sings
• Non-finite forms don’t express tense:
▫ Infinitive: to sing
▫ Bare infinitive: sing
▫ Past participle: sung
▫ Present participle / gerund: singing

23. Complex forms: finite or not?
• I am leaving
▫ Am: Finite
▫ Leaving: Non-finite
▫ Finite
• If there’s any finite
form, then this is a
finite complex
form.
• Having finished
▫ Having: Non-finite
▫ Finished: Non-finite
▫ Non-finite
• If there’s none finite
form, then this is a
non-finite complex
form.

25. Two types
• Deontic modality
▫ Obligation (must, have to)
▫ Ability (can, be able to)
▫ Permition (can, may)
▫ Advice (should, ought to)
• Epistemic modality
▫ Probability (might, may)

26. MAY: Deontic or epistemic?
• You may go.
• It may rain.

27. MAY: Deontic or epistemic?
• You may go.
▫ Permition
 DEONTIC
• It may rain.
▫ Probability
 EPISTEMIC

28. NEED: A tricky verb
• NEED can be a LEXICAL VERB or a MODAL
VERB.
• You don’t need to be tall to play football.
▫ General lack of necessity
• You don’t need to come if you are tired.
• You needn’t come if you are tired.
▫ Specific lack of necessity

29. NEED: A tricky verb
• In past:
• It was sunny when I left. I didn’t need to take
my umbrella. (so I didn’t)
• It stopped raining five minutes after I left. I
needn’t have taken my umbrella. (but I took it)

30. Kinds of verbs
• Lexical verbs VS Modal (and Auxiliary) verbs.

31. Kinds of verbs
Lexical verbs Modal and Auxiliary verbs
• Followed by an infinitve with
TO
▫ I need to go.
• Negation with DO + NOT
▫ I don’t want to leave.
• Question formed with DO.
▫ Do I leave tomorrow?
• Verb agreement with subject.
▫ I go, he goes.
• Followed by the bare infinitive
▫ You may go.
• Negation with NOT
▫ I may not go.
• Question formed by inversion.
▫ May Susan go?
• Verb doesn’t agree with
subject.
▫ I can, he can.

33. Expressing wishes
• I wish...
• Rather / Better

34. I wish…
• I wish [+ Past (Simple, Progressive, Perfect, etc)]
▫ I wish I had travelled more when I was young.

35. Some sentences to practise
• I would like to be able to afford a country
house.
▫ I wish… I was able to afford a country house.
• It’s a pity I didn’t bring my camera with me.
• I would like to go out more at the weekend.
• I would love tobe lying on a beach in the
Bahamas right now.

36. Some sentences to practise
• It’s a pity I didn’t bring my camera with me.
▫ I wish I had brought my camera with me.
• I would like to go out more at the weekend.
• I would love tobe lying on a beach in the
Bahamas right now.

37. Some sentences to practise
• It’s a pity I didn’t bring my camera with me.
• I would like to go out more at the weekend.
▫ I wish I went out more at the weekend.
• I would love tobe lying on a beach in the
Bahamas right now.

38. Some sentences to practise
• It’s a pity I didn’t bring my camera with me.
• I would like to go out more at the weekend.
• I would love tobe lying on a beach in the
Bahamas right now.
▫ I wish I was lying on a beach in the Bahamas right
now.

39. Rather / Better
• Two different structures:
▫ WOULD RATHER + Infinitive (without TO)
▫ HAD BETTER + Infinitive (without TO)
• Both can be written as “ ’d ”.
▫ I’d rather = I would rather
▫ I’d better = I had better

40. Rather / Better
• I would prefer to travel abroad this summer.
▫ RATHER: I’d rather travel abroad this summer.
• He should pay more attention in class.
▫ BETTER: He’d better pay more attention in class.

41. Let’s practice!
• She would prefer not to work on Saturdays.
▫ RATHER:
• She should not skip classes.
▫ BETTER:
• I would prefer that you stopped playing the
piano in the evenings.
▫ RATHER:

42. Let’s practice!
• She would prefer not to work on Saturdays.
▫ RATHER: I would rather not work on Saturdays.
• She should not skip classes.
• I would prefer that you stopped playing the
piano in the evenings.

43. Let’s practice!
• She would prefer not to work on Saturdays.
• She should not skip classes.
▫ BETTER: She had better not skip classes.
• I would prefer that you stopped playing the
piano in the evenings.

44. Let’s practice!
• She would prefer not to work on Saturdays.
• She should not skip classes.
• I would prefer that you stopped playing the
piano in the evenings.
▫ RATHER: I’d rather you stopped playing the
piano in the evenings.

46. Emphasis techniques
• We emphasise information by means of:
▫ INTONATION.
▫ ADVERBIALS.
▫ WORD ORDER.
 Fronting
 Clefting
 Inversion

47. Intonation
• He saw you in Barcelona.
• He saw YOU in Barcelona.
• He SAW you in Barcelona.
• HE saw you in Barcelona.

48. Adverbials
• I’m sure you were there.
• I’m ABSOLUTELY sure I saw you.
• I’m EXTREMELY sure I saw you.
• I’m TOTALLY sure I saw you.

49. Word order
• Fronting
• Clefting
• Inversion

50. Fronting
• The basic sentence word order is S + V + O.
• I don’t care what he wants.
• What he wants, I don’t care.

51. Fronting: Try yourself!
• The climbers went up the rocky slope.
• It’s unbelievable that he passed the exam.
• It’s my dream to visit Japan.

52. Fronting: Try yourself!
• The climbers went up the rocky slope.
▫ Up the rocky slope went the climbers.
• It’s unbelievable that he passed the exam.
▫ That he passed the exam is unbelievable.
• It’s my dream to visit Japan.
▫ Visiting Japan is my dream.
▫ To visit Japan is my dream. (Subject: Pres. Part.)

53. Clefting
• I need a holiday.
• My brother sent a letter.
• I just want to sleep.
• She hid the money under the mattress
• I came to say goodbye.

54. Clefting
• I need a holiday.
▫ What I need is a holiday.
• My brother sent a letter.
• I just want to sleep.
• She hid the money under the mattress
• I came to say goodbye.

55. Clefting
• I need a holiday.
• My brother sent a letter.
▫ It was my brother who sent a letter.
• I just want to sleep.
• She hid the money under the mattress
• I came to say goodbye.

56. Clefting
• I need a holiday.
• My brother sent a letter.
• I just want to sleep.
▫ All I want is to sleep.
• She hid the money under the mattress
• I came to say goodbye.

57. Clefting
• I need a holiday.
• My brother sent a letter.
• I just want to sleep.
• She hid the money under the mattress
▫ The place where she hid the money was under the
mattress.
• I came to say goodbye.

58. Clefting
• I need a holiday.
• My brother sent a letter.
• I just want to sleep.
• She hid the money under the mattress
• I came to say goodbye.
▫ The reason why I came is to say goodbye.

59. Inversion
• I have never seen such a beautiful place!
▫ Never have I seen such a beautiful place!
• Adverb phrase / Prep phrase + Auxiliary / Modal / Verb “to be” + Subject.

60. Inversion
• I have seldom heard something so convincing!
▫ Seldom have I heard something so convincing!
• You can’t tell her the result.
▫ Under no circumstances can you tell the result.
• I was able to truly appreciate him when he dead.
▫ Only after his death was I able to truly appreciate
him.

61. Inversion
• We understood only then what she meant.
▫ Only then did we understand what she meant.
• Hardly had I arrived when the telephone.
• No sooner had they closed the door than the
alarm went off.
• Not until he read her diary did he fully
understand how much she had loved him.

62. Use of English