AEC Advance Grammar

AEC (AFGHAN EDUCATIONAL COMPLEX) Serve people
Contents
Parts of Speech................................................................................................................................. 13
Noun............................................................................................................................................................ 13
Types of Noun ............................................................................................................................................. 13
Use of CAPITAL LETTER for proper noun. ............................................................................................... 14
Use of “THE” for proper noun. ................................................................................................................ 14
Countable and Uncountable Nouns ........................................................................................................ 15
Countable and Uncountable Nouns ............................................................................................................ 15
Countable Nouns. ................................................................................................................................... 15
Uncountable Nouns. ............................................................................................................................... 16
Use of Uncountable Nouns. .................................................................................................................... 16
Changing Uncountable nouns into countable nouns.............................................................................. 16
Regular Verbs. ......................................................................................................................................... 18
Verb ......................................................................................................................................................... 18
Base form or V1 ...................................................................................................................................... 18
Past simple or V2 .................................................................................................................................... 18
Past participle or V3 ................................................................................................................................ 18
Present participle .................................................................................................................................... 18
Irregular Verbs. ....................................................................................................................................... 18
Verb ......................................................................................................................................................... 18
Base form or V1 ...................................................................................................................................... 18
Past simple or V2 .................................................................................................................................... 18
Verb ......................................................................................................................................................... 19
Base form or V1 ...................................................................................................................................... 19
Past simple or V2 .................................................................................................................................... 19
Main Verbs and Auxiliary or Helping verbs............................................................................................. 19
Main Verbs and Helping verbs (Axilliary) .................................................................................................... 19
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Modal Verbs (Modal auxiliaries) ................................................................................................................. 20

Transitive and intransitive verbs ................................................................................................................. 21
Transitive Verbs. ..................................................................................................................................... 21
Intransitive sentence. ............................................................................................................................. 21
Modal Verbs (Modal auxiliaries) ................................................................................................................. 23
Transitive and intransitive verbs ................................................................................................................. 23
Transitive Verbs. ..................................................................................................................................... 23
Intransitive sentence. ............................................................................................................................. 24
Use of comparative adjective. .................................................................................................................... 24
Use of Superlative adjective. ...................................................................................................................... 25
Formation of adverb ................................................................................................................................... 26
Adverbs of Manner ................................................................................................................................. 26
Adverbs of Place...................................................................................................................................... 26
Adverbs of Time ...................................................................................................................................... 26
Adverbs of Frequency ............................................................................................................................. 26
Types/Kinds of Adverb ..................................................................................................................... 27
Types of Adverb .......................................................................................................................................... 27
Adverbs of Manner ..................................................................................................................................... 28
Adverbs of Place.......................................................................................................................................... 28
Adverb of time ............................................................................................................................................ 28
Adverb of frequency ................................................................................................................................... 28
Pronoun ...................................................................................................................................................... 29
Types of Pronoun .................................................................................................................................... 29
Personal Pronouns. ................................................................................................................................. 30
Examples. ........................................................................................................................................... 30
Types of Pronoun ........................................................................................................................................ 30
Personal Pronouns ...................................................................................................................................... 30
Namber ............................................................................................................................................... 30
Person................................................................................................................................................. 30
Personal Pronoun .............................................................................................................................. 30
Subject ................................................................................................................................................ 30
Object.................................................................................................................................................. 30
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Possessive Pronouns ................................................................................................................................... 31

Namber ............................................................................................................................................... 31
Person................................................................................................................................................. 31
Possessive Pronoun........................................................................................................................... 31
Reflexive Pronoun. ...................................................................................................................................... 32
Namber ............................................................................................................................................... 32
Person................................................................................................................................................. 32
Subject ................................................................................................................................................ 32
Reflive Pronoun ................................................................................................................................. 32
Relative Pronouns. ...................................................................................................................................... 33
Demonstrative Pronouns. ........................................................................................................................... 34
Preposition .................................................................................................................................................. 36
Types of Preposition ............................................................................................................................... 36
Types of Preposition ................................................................................................................................... 37
Prepositions for Time. (in, on, at) ............................................................................................................... 37
Preposition for Place. (in, on, at) ................................................................................................................ 38
Preposition for Direction. (to, toward, through, into) ................................................................................ 39
Preposition for Agent. (by).......................................................................................................................... 39
Preposition for device, instrument or machine. ......................................................................................... 39
Prepositional Verb ...................................................................................................................................... 40
Conjunction ................................................................................................................................................. 40
Types of Conjunction. ........................................................................................................................ 41
Coordinating Conjunction. ...................................................................................................................... 41
Examples. ........................................................................................................................................... 41
Types of Conjunction. ................................................................................................................................. 41
Coordinating Conjunction. ...................................................................................................................... 42
Subordinating Conjunctions. ................................................................................................................... 43
Correlative Conjunction. ......................................................................................................................... 43
Subject and Predicate ............................................................................................................................. 45
Subject ................................................................................................................................................... 45
Predicate ............................................................................................................................................... 45
Present Continuous..................................................................................................................................... 48
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FORM ................................................................................................................................................. 48
USE 1 Now ......................................................................................................................................... 48
USE 2 Longer Actions in Progress Now ....................................................................................... 48
USE 3 Near Future ........................................................................................................................... 49
USE 4 Repetition and Irritation with "Always".......................................................................... 49
REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs/ Mixed Verbs ................................................................... 50
ADVERB PLACEMENT ..................................................................................................................... 50
ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................ 50
Simple Present ............................................................................................................................................ 50
FORM ................................................................................................................................................. 50
USE 1 Repeated Actions ................................................................................................................. 51
USE 2 Facts or Generalizations ..................................................................................................... 51
USE 3 Scheduled Events in the Near Future ............................................................................... 52
USE 4 Now (Non-Continuous Verbs) ............................................................................................ 52
ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................ 53
Present Perfect ........................................................................................................................................... 53
FORM .................................................................................................................................................. 53
USE 1 Unspecified Time Before Now ............................................................................................... 53
How Do You Actually Use the Present Perfect?............................................................................... 54
TOPIC 1 Experience ........................................................................................................................... 54
TOPIC 2 Change Over Time............................................................................................................... 54
TOPIC 3 Accomplishments ............................................................................................................... 55
TOPIC 4 An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting ..................................................................... 55
TOPIC 5 Multiple Actions at Different Times .................................................................................. 55
Time Expressions with Present Perfect........................................................................................... 56
USE 2 Duration From the Past Until Now (Non-Continuous Verbs) ............................................. 57
ADVERB PLACEMENT ....................................................................................................................... 57
ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................. 57
Present Perfect Continuous ........................................................................................................................ 58
FORM ................................................................................................................................................. 58
USE 1 Duration from the Past Until Now .................................................................................... 58
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USE 2 Recently, Lately .................................................................................................................... 58

IMPORTANT ..................................................................................................................................... 59
REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs/ Mixed Verbs ................................................................... 59
ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................ 59
Simple Past .................................................................................................................................................. 60
FORM ................................................................................................................................................. 60
USE 1 Completed Action in the Past ............................................................................................. 60
USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions ........................................................................................... 60
USE 3 Duration in Past ................................................................................................................... 61
USE 4 Habits in the Past ................................................................................................................. 61
USE 5 Past Facts or Generalizations ............................................................................................ 62
IMPORTANT When-Clauses Happen First .................................................................................. 62
ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................ 63
Past Continuous .......................................................................................................................................... 63
FORM .................................................................................................................................................. 63
USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Past ............................................................................................... 63
USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption ........................................................................................... 64
USE 3 Parallel Actions ....................................................................................................................... 64
USE 4 Atmosphere ............................................................................................................................. 65
USE 5 Repetition and Irritation with "Always" ............................................................................... 65
While vs. When .................................................................................................................................. 65
REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs ....................................................................... 66
ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................. 66
Past Perfect ................................................................................................................................................. 67
FORM .................................................................................................................................................. 67
USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Past ................................................................. 67
USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Past (Non-Continuous Verbs) ...................................... 67
IMPORTANT Specific Times with the Past Perfect ......................................................................... 68
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ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................. 69

Past Perfect Continuous.............................................................................................................................. 69
FORM ................................................................................................................................................. 69
USE 1 Duration Before Something in the Past ........................................................................... 69
USE 2 Cause of Something in the Past.......................................................................................... 70
Past Continuous vs. Past Perfect Continuous ............................................................................ 70
REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs .................................................................. 71
ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................ 71
Simple Future .............................................................................................................................................. 72
FORM Will ......................................................................................................................................... 72
FORM Be Going To ........................................................................................................................... 72
USE 1 "Will" to Express a Voluntary Action................................................................................ 72
USE 2 "Will" to Express a Promise ............................................................................................... 73
USE 3 "Be going to" to Express a Plan .......................................................................................... 73
USE 4 "Will" or "Be Going to" to Express a Prediction ............................................................. 74
IMPORTANT ..................................................................................................................................... 74
No Future in Time Clauses ............................................................................................................. 74
ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................ 75
FORM Future Continuous with "Will" .............................................................................................. 75
FORM Future Continuous with "Be Going To " ............................................................................... 75
USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Future ........................................................................................... 75
Future Continuous ...................................................................................................................................... 76
USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption in the Future .................................................................... 76
USE 3 Parallel Actions in the Future ................................................................................................ 77
USE 4 Atmosphere in the Future ...................................................................................................... 77
REMEMBER No Future in Time Clauses .......................................................................................... 77
AND REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs............................................................... 78
ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................. 78
Future Perfect ............................................................................................................................................. 79
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FORM Future Perfect with "Will" ................................................................................................. 79

FORM Future Perfect with "Be Going To" ................................................................................... 79
USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Future ....................................................... 79
USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Future (Non-Continuous Verbs) ......................... 80
REMEMBER No Future in Time Clauses ...................................................................................... 80
ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................ 81
Future Perfect Continuous .......................................................................................................................... 81
FORM Future Perfect Continuous with "Will" ........................................................................... 81
FORM Future Perfect Continuous with "Be Going To" ............................................................. 81
USE 1 Duration Before Something in the Future ....................................................................... 82
USE 2 Cause of Something in the Future ..................................................................................... 82
Future Continuous vs. Future Perfect Continuous ................................................................... 83
AND REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs ......................................................... 84
ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................ 84
Future in the Past ........................................................................................................................................ 84
FORM Would..................................................................................................................................... 85
FORM Was/Were Going To ............................................................................................................ 85
USE 1 Future in Past ........................................................................................................................ 85
ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................ 86
Types of Verbs............................................................................................................................................. 87
Group I Normal Verbs ..................................................................................................................... 87
Group II Non-Continuous Verbs ................................................................................................... 87
Group III Mixed Verbs .................................................................................................................... 88
Used To ....................................................................................................................................................... 91
FORM ................................................................................................................................................. 91
USE 1 Habit in the Past ................................................................................................................... 91
USE 2 Past Facts and Generalizations.......................................................................................... 91
"Used to" vs. Simple Past................................................................................................................ 92
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ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................ 92

EXERCISES AND RELATED TOPICS ............................................................................................... 92
Would Always ............................................................................................................................................. 93
FORM ................................................................................................................................................. 93
USE 1 Habit in the Past ................................................................................................................... 93
REMEMBER "Would Always" is Different ................................................................................... 93
Forms Related to "Would Always" ............................................................................................... 94
ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................ 94
Active / Passive Verb Forms ........................................................................................................................ 95
Active Form ...................................................................................................................................... 95
Passive Form .................................................................................................................................... 95
Active / Passive Overview ............................................................................................................. 95
Reported Speech........................................................................................................................................ 98
Direct and Indirect Speech ............................................................................................................... 98
Table for change in tense of reported speech for all TENSES. .................................................................. 105
DIRECT SPEECH...................................................................................................................................... 105
INDIRECT SPEECH .................................................................................................................................. 105
PRESENT TENSE ......................................................................................................................................... 105
PRESENT SIMPLE changes into PAST SIMPLE.............................................................................. 105
PRESENT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST CONTINUOUS ......................................................... 105
PRESENT PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT ........................................................................ 105
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS ....................... 106
PAST TENSE ............................................................................................................................................... 106
PAST SIMPLE changes into PAST PERFECT .................................................................................. 106
PAST CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS ............................................... 106
PAST PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT (tense does not change) ...................................... 106
FUTURE TENSE .......................................................................................................................................... 107
FUTURE SIMPLE TENSE WILL changes into WOULD .................................................................. 107
FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE WILL BE changes into WOULD BE ............................................. 107
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE WILL HAVE changes into WOULD HAVE .......................................... 107
Questions which can be answered in YES/NO. ..................................................................................... 108
Question which cannot be answered in YES/NO. ................................................................................. 109
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Present modals are changed to past modals ................................................................................. 109

Direct Speech ........................................................................................................................................ 109
Indirect Speech ..................................................................................................................................... 109
Indirect speech for sentence having MODALS, “can, may, must, should, ought to” ........................... 109
CAN changes into COULD...................................................................................................................... 109
MAY changes into MIGHT ..................................................................................................................... 110
MUST changes into HAD TO.................................................................................................................. 110
Indirect speech for sentence having MODALS, should, ought to, might, would, and could” .................. 110
The modal will not change in indirect speech ...................................................................................... 110
Direct Speech ........................................................................................................................................ 110
Indirect Speech ..................................................................................................................................... 110
THESE MODALS DO NOT CHANGE Would, could, might, should, ought to” ....................................... 110
Would.................................................................................................................................................... 110
Could ..................................................................................................................................................... 110
Might ..................................................................................................................................................... 111
Should ................................................................................................................................................... 111
Ought to ................................................................................................................................................ 111
Direct Speech ........................................................................................................................................ 111
Indirect Speech ..................................................................................................................................... 111
Direct Speech ........................................................................................................................................ 112
Indirect Speech ..................................................................................................................................... 112
Would.................................................................................................................................................... 112
Could ..................................................................................................................................................... 112
Might ..................................................................................................................................................... 112
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Should ................................................................................................................................................... 113

Ought to ................................................................................................................................................ 113
Indirect speech of imperative sentence. .............................................................................................. 113
Indirect speech of exclamatory sentences. .......................................................................................... 114
Changes in time and adverbs in indirect speech. ..................................................................................... 116
Common Rules ...................................................................................................................................... 116
Reported Speech...................................................................................................................................... 117
Direct and Indirect Speech ............................................................................................................. 117
Table for change in tense of reported speech for all TENSES. .................................................................. 124
DIRECT SPEECH...................................................................................................................................... 124
INDIRECT SPEECH .................................................................................................................................. 124
PRESENT TENSE ......................................................................................................................................... 124
PRESENT SIMPLE changes into PAST SIMPLE.............................................................................. 124
PRESENT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST CONTINUOUS ......................................................... 124
PRESENT PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT ........................................................................ 124
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS ....................... 125
PAST TENSE ............................................................................................................................................... 125
PAST SIMPLE changes into PAST PERFECT .................................................................................. 125
PAST CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS ............................................... 125
PAST PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT (tense does not change) ...................................... 125
FUTURE TENSE .......................................................................................................................................... 126
FUTURE SIMPLE TENSE WILL changes into WOULD .................................................................. 126
FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE WILL BE changes into WOULD BE ............................................. 126
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE WILL HAVE changes into WOULD HAVE .......................................... 126
Questions which can be answered in YES/NO. ..................................................................................... 127
Question which cannot be answered in YES/NO. ................................................................................. 128
Direct Speech ........................................................................................................................................ 128
Indirect Speech ..................................................................................................................................... 128
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Direct Speech ........................................................................................................................................ 129
Indirect Speech ..................................................................................................................................... 129
Would.................................................................................................................................................... 129
Could ..................................................................................................................................................... 129
Might ..................................................................................................................................................... 130
Should ................................................................................................................................................... 130
Ought to ................................................................................................................................................ 130
Direct Speech ........................................................................................................................................ 130
Indirect Speech ..................................................................................................................................... 130
Direct Speech ........................................................................................................................................ 131
Indirect Speech ..................................................................................................................................... 131
Would.................................................................................................................................................... 131
Could ..................................................................................................................................................... 131
Might ..................................................................................................................................................... 131
Should ................................................................................................................................................... 132
Ought to ................................................................................................................................................ 132
Indirect speech of imperative sentence. .............................................................................................. 132
Indirect speech of exclamatory sentences. .......................................................................................... 133
Changes in time and adverbs in indirect speech. ..................................................................................... 135
Common Rules ...................................................................................................................................... 135
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Articles .................................................................................................................................................... 136

Types of Articles .................................................................................................................................... 136
Definite Article: (the) ....................................................................................................................... 136
Indefinite Article: (a/an) ................................................................................................................. 136
Rules for using Indefinite Article (a/an) ...................................................................................... 136
Rules for using definite Article (the) ............................................................................................. 137
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Parts of Speech
• Noun
• Verb
• Adjective
• Adverb
• Pronoun
• Preposition
• Conjunction
• Interjection
Noun
Noun is a word which names a person, a place or a thing.
For example chair, table, book, New York, computer, cup, boy, John, hospital, Newton,
garden, room, man, Paris, doctor, and pen are nouns because each of these words is a name
of a person, a place or a thing.
Examples.
Chair, table, book, cup, computer, picture, (names of things)
New York, Paris, Canada, Toronto, school, hospital, cinema, garden, (names of places)
John, Newton, R.H Stephen, Einstein, man, boy, doctor (names of persons)
Types of Noun
There are two main types of noun.
 • Common Noun
 • Proper Noun
Common Noun.
Name of a common or a non-specific thing, place, or person is called common noun.
Common noun refers to a non-specific or non-particular thing, place or person.
For example, book, pen, room, garden man, girl, road, camera, month, day, chair, school, boy,
car, are common nouns because each of these nouns refers to a common thing, place or
person.
Proper Noun.
Name of a particular or a specific thing, place or person is called proper Noun.
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For example BMW Car, April, Monday, Oxford University, New York, America, John, Newton,
Einstein, R.H Stephen, are proper nouns because each of these nouns refers to a particular
thing, place or person.
If a common noun is specified it becomes a proper noun. For example day is a common
noun but if it is specified like Monday or Friday, it becomes proper noun. Similarly car is a
common noun but if it is specified like BMW Car, it becomes proper noun.
Use of CAPITAL LETTER for proper noun.
The first letter of proper noun is always written in capital letter.
Examples.
He lives in Paris.
She studies in Oxford University.
Author of this book is John Stephen.
Laws of motion were presented by Newton
The richest person of the world is Bill Gates.
Use of “THE” for proper noun.
1. The article “the” is used before some proper nouns. Here are some rules for the use
of article “the” before proper nouns.
2. Article “the” is not used before the name of countries, cities, for example New York,
Mexico, Canada, Toronto, London, Paris, America. But if the name of country or city
or place expresses group of places or lands or states, then article “the” will be used
before it. For example, the Philippines, the Netherlands, the United States
3. Article “the” is not used before the name of universities, for example Oxford
University, Yale University, or Columbia University. But if the name of university is
written in a order that it includes the word “of” then article “the” will be used before
it, for example, the University of British Colombia, the university of Oxford, the
University of Toronto.
4. Article “the” is used before names composed of both common noun and proper
noun, for example the New York city, the Dominion of Canada, the River Nile
5. “The” is used before the names of laws, principles, theories or devices, for example,
the Pythagorean Theorem, the Fahrenheit Scale, the Law of Newton, the Allais
effect. But if the proper noun is used in possessive form, no article will be used, for
example Newton’s Laws of Motion, Hooke’s Law of Elasticity, Dalton’s Law of Partial
Pressures.
6. “The” used by the name of ocean, sea, river, dessert or forest (except lakes and fall)
for example the Pacific Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Sahara, the Black Forests.
7. “The” is used before the names of buildings, hotels, libraries having particular
names, for example the Brunel Hotel, the Lahore Museum, the Library of Congress,
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8. “The” is used before the name of a geographical region and points on globe, for
example the Middle East, the West, the Equator, the North Pole
9. “The” is usually used before the names of organizations for example, the Association
of Chartered Accountants, the World Health Organization,
Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable Nouns.
A noun which can be counted is called countable noun.
For example, "book" is countable noun because we can count it and can say one book, two
books, three books and so on. Pen, chair, cup, room, man, baby, bottle, dog, cat are examples
countable nouns. A countable noun can be singular as well as plural. Article “a” or “an” is
used before singular noun but not before plural noun. If a singular noun starts with
consonant letter then “a” is used before it, i.e. a book, a cat, a pen. If a singular noun starts
with............................
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Countable Nouns.
A noun which can be counted is called countable noun.
Pen is countable noun because we can count it and can say one pen, two pens, three pens or
more pens. Pen, chair, cup, room, man, baby, bottle, dog, cat are examples countable nouns.
Singular and Plural noun (Countable Noun)
A countable noun can be singular as well as plural. Article “a” or “an” is used before
singular noun but not before plural noun.
If a singular noun starts with consonant letter then “a” is used before it, i.e. a book, a cat, a
pen. If a singular noun starts with a vowel letter or with consonant which sounds like
vowel in that word, “an” is used before it i.e. an apple, an umbrella, an onion, an hour.
Plural noun (Countable Noun)

Plural noun means more than one person, place or thing. Word “chair” is a singular noun
but word “chairs” is plural noun.
1. Plurals are usually formed by adding –s or –es to singular noun for examplebook–
books, cat–cats, box–boxes, tax–taxes. If a word ends with “y”, the “y” is changed to “I”
then –es is added to make it plural, for example, baby–babies, lady–ladies. There may
be some exceptions.
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2. Some plural are formed in different ways for example, man–men, child–children,
leaf–leaves, wife–wives, foot–feet, toot–teeth, datum–data, basis–bases. Such plurals
are called irregular plural forms.
3. Some nouns have same plural and singular form, for example, sheep–sheep, deer–
deer, swine–swine.
Uncountable Nouns.
Uncountable noun refers to substances which cannot be counted.
For example, water is an uncountable noun because we cannot count it. We cannot say, one
water or two water. Such substances which cannot be counted in terms of numbers are
called uncountable noun.
Examples: Water, milk, bread, honey, rain, furniture, news, information, pleasure, honesty,
courage, weather, music, preparation, warmth, wheat are examples of uncountable nouns.
Use of Uncountable Nouns.

Uncountable nouns are usually treated as singular noun for auxiliary verbs in sentence but
articles “a or an” are usually not used before uncountable nouns.
Examples.
Water maintains its level.
Necessity is the mother of invention
His preparation was not good.
The Weather is very pleasant today.
This information is very helpful in solving the problem.
The warmth of sun causes evaporation of water.
Uncountable nouns may be used as countable noun when it refers to an individual thing.
For example life is uncountable noun but it be used as countable noun if refers to
individual, lives.
Example.
It was feared that two lives had been lost.
We can also use word like “some, any, no, little, more etc” before uncountable nouns if
needed in sentence.
Examples.
They have no information about the accused.
There is little milk in the glass.
Changing Uncountable nouns into countable nouns.

We can change uncountable noun into countable noun if we specify a unit or measuring
standard for it. For example “water” is an uncountable noun but we can make it countable
by saying one glass of water or two glass of water etc. In this example we selected a unit
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that is glass. We can also say one litre of water or one cup of water etc. By selecting such
units or measuring standards we can change uncountable noun in to countable which can
be counted in terms of numbers.
Examples.
Uncountable – countable
Bread – a piece of bread.
Wheat – a grain of wheat.
Milk – a glass of milk
Information – a piece of information
Verb
Verb is a word which shows action or state of something.

Examples. Write, run, eat, drink, catch, clean, speak, laugh, weep, are some verbs
He is writing a letter.
In the above example, the verb “write” tells us about the action (writing) of the subject
(he). A verb has its subject in sentence and verb tells us what its subject does, did or will do.
Verbs describe action or state. Most verbs describe action, such verbs are called “dynamic
verb”, for example write, eat, run, speak. Some verbs describe state of something, such
verbs are called “stative verb” and are not usually used in continuous tense for example be,
impress, please, surprise, belong to, consist of, resemble, seem
Examples.
He works in a factory(action)
I boughta computer. (action)
John seems happy. (state)
He resembles his brother (state)
Some verbs can be used as dynamic verb as well as stative verb.
Example.
She looks very beautiful. (look as stative verb)
She looked at black board. (look as dynamic verb)
Forms of verb according to tense or time of action.

Verb has three forms according to tense.
 Base form 2. Past Simple 4. Past participle
For example, go—went—gone. “Go” is base form, “went” is past simple form, and “gone” is
past participle form. These three form may also be named as 1st form, 2nd form and 3rd
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form of verb, which are denoted by V1, V2 and V3 respectively. “ing” is added to base form
verb to make present participle which can be used with auxiliary verb “to be” in continuous
tense, for example, go—going, eat—eating, laugh—laughing.
Formation of past simple and past participle

On the basis formation of past simple and past participle, verb is divided into
 •Regular verbs
 •Irregular verbs
Regular Verbs.
Some verbs form their past simple and past participle form by adding “-ed” to their base
form, such verbs are called regular verbs, for example laugh—laughed—laughed, look—
looked—looked.
Some examples
Base form or Past participle Present
Verb Past simple or V2
V1 or V3 participle
To advise Advise advised advised Advising
To allow Allow allowed allowed Allowing
To enjoy Enjoy enjoyed enjoyed Enjoying
To rain Rain rained rained Raining
To smile Smile smiled smiled Smiling
Irregular Verbs.
Some verbs form their past simple and participle in different ways for example, buy—
bought—bought, eat—ate—eaten, such verbs are called irregular verbs.
Some examples
Base form or Past simple or Past participle Present
Verb
V1 V2 or V3 participle
To know Know knew known Knowing
To go Go went gone Going
To drink Drink drank drunk Drinking
To hold Hold held held Holding
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To write Write wrote written Writing
Some verbs remain same in past simple and past participle.

Some example
Base form or Past participle Present
Verb Past simple or V2
V1 or V3 participle
To cut Cut cut cut Cutting
To shut Shut shut shut Shutting
To spread Spread spread spread Spreading
To put Put put put Putting
To read Read read read reading
Main Verbs and Auxiliary or Helping verbs

A sentence can have both main verb and helping verb (auxiliary verb).
Main verb: A verb which has major meaning in terms of action are called main verb,i.e.
write, buy, eat etc.
Helping verb: A verb which supports the main verb to form the structure of sentence,
according a specific tense, is called helping verb or auxiliary verb, i.e. is, am, have, was, had,
is, will etc.
Main Verbs and Helping verbs (Axilliary)

Helping verb: A verb which supports the main verb to form the structure of sentence
(according to a specific tense) and give us information about the time of action expressed
by main verb, is called helping verb or auxiliary verb, i.e. is, am, have, was, had, is, will etc.
Main verb has real meaning and tells more about action while helping verb has no (or little)
meaning if it is alone but it adds time information about action if used with main verb to
specify the tense or time of the main verb. The examples below will help in better
understanding.
She is eating an apple. (“eat” is main verb while “is” is helping verb)
She was eating an apple. (“eat” is main verb while “was” is helping verb)
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The main verbs in these sentences “eat” convey the information about the action which is
done on an apple, while the helping verbs in these sentences "is, and was" tells us the about
the time of action by referring to specific tense. In first sentence with helping verb "is"
action (eating an apple) is being done right now in the present time while in the second
sentence with hepling verb "was" action (eating an apple) was being done in past.
It means the MAIN VERB CONVEYS the meaning of action with a little information about its
time, but the HELPING VERB (also called auxilliary Verb) tell us more about the time of
action. Helping verbs and main verbs together make a structure of sentence of a specific
tense (action and its time)
Use of helping verbs.

There are three primary helping verbs, be, do, and have, which are majorly used in tenses.
 Be (am, is, are). Forms of “be” are used for continuous tenses.
Example. She is laughing. (Present Continuous tense)
 Have (have, has, had). Forms of “have” are used in perfect tense.
Example.
He has completed his work. (Present prefect tense)
He had bought a car. (Past perfect tense)
 Do(do, does, did). Forms of “do” are used in indefinite(simple) tenses i.e. present simple
tense or past simple tense.
Example.
They do not play chess. (Present simple tense)
I did not see him. (Past simple)
Modal Verbs (Modal auxiliaries)

Modal verbs are used to express ideas such as ability, possibility, intention or necessity.
Examples.
 Can, could (ability)

 May might (possibility)
 Will, shall, would (intention)
 Should (necessity)
 Must (necessity)
 Ought to
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Modal verbs can be used before main verb as helping verbs.

Examples
I can play violin.
It may rain today.
You must learn the test-taking strategies.
I will call you.
Transitive and intransitive verbs
Transitive Verbs.
A verb which needs to have object in sentence is called transitive verb.
Transitive verbs should have an object in sentence because without subject it does not
covey complete meaning.
Example.
He bought ______.
There should be some object in this sentence for verb “buy”. Without an object the verb
“bought” does not give complete meaning. To make it more meaningful we use some object
for verb “bought” i.e book or computer or car.
He bought a book.
or
He bought a computer.
or
More examples.
John is eating a mango.
He has completedhis work.
I caught a bird in bushes.
She wrote a story.
Intransitive sentence.
A verb which does not need to have object in sentence is called intransitive.
Intransitive verb can give complete meaning with an object in sentence for it.
Example.
He slept.
She is laughing.
It has rained.
He is running.
They arrived.
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Main Verbs and Helping verbs (Auxiliary)
Helping verb: A verb which supports the main verb to form the structure of sentence
(according to a specific tense) and give us information about the time of action expressed
by main verb, is called helping verb or auxiliary verb, i.e. is, am, have, was, had, is, will etc.
Main verb has real meaning and tells more about action while helping verb has no (or little)
meaning if it is alone but it adds time information about action if used with main verb to
specify the tense or time of the main verb. The examples below will help in better
understanding.
She is eating an apple. (“eat” is main verb while “is” is helping verb)
She was eating an apple. (“eat” is main verb while “was” is helping verb)
The main verbs in these sentences “eat” convey the information about the action which is
done on an apple, while the helping verbs in these sentences "is, and was" tells us the about
the time of action by referring to specific tense. In first sentence with helping verb "is"
action (eating an apple) is being done right now in the present time while in the second
sentence with hepling verb "was" action (eating an apple) was being done in past.
It means the MAIN VERB CONVEYS the meaning of action with a little information about its
time, but the HELPING VERB (also called auxilliary Verb) tell us more about the time of
action. Helping verbs and main verbs together make a structure of sentence of a specific
tense (action and its time)
Use of helping verbs.
There are three primary helping verbs, be, do, and have, which are majorly used in tenses.
 Be (am, is, are). Forms of “be” are used for continuous tenses.
Example. She is laughing. (Present Continuous tense)
 Have (have, has, had). Forms of “have” are used in perfect tense.
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Example.
He has completed his work. (Present prefect tense)
He had bought a car. (Past perfect tense)
 Do(do, does, did). Forms of “do” are used in indefinite(simple) tenses i.e. present simple
tense or past simple tense.
Example.
They do not play chess. (Present simple tense)
I did not see him. (Past simple)
Modal Verbs (Modal auxiliaries)

Modal verbs are used to express ideas such as ability, possibility, intention or necessity.
Examples.
 Can, could (ability)

 May might (possibility)
 Will, shall, would (intention)
 Should (necessity)
 Must (necessity)
 Ought to
Modal verbs can be used before main verb as helping verbs.

Examples
I can play violin.
It may rain today.
You must learn the test-taking strategies.
I will call you.
Transitive and intransitive verbs
Transitive Verbs.
A verb which needs to have object in sentence is called transitive verb.
Transitive verbs should have an object in sentence because without subject it does not
covey complete meaning.
Example.
He bought ______.
There should be some object in this sentence for verb “buy”. Without an object the verb
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“bought” does not give complete meaning. To make it more meaningful we use some object
for verb “bought” i.e book or computer or car.
He bought a book.
or
or
More examples.
John is eating a mango.
He has completedhis work.
I caught a bird in bushes.
She wrote a story.
Intransitive sentence.
A verb which does not need to have object in sentence is called intransitive.
Intransitive verb can give complete meaning with an object in sentence for it.
Example.
He slept.
She is laughing.
It has rained.
He is running.
They arrived.
Use of comparative adjective.
Comparative adjectives are used to express characteristic of one thing in comparison to

another thing (one thing). It makes comparison between two things(only two things not
more than two).
Word “than” is mostly used after comparative adjective but sometimes other words “to”
may be used after comparative adjective. See the following examples.
Examples.
She is taller than Mary.
A cup is smaller than a glass.
He is junior to me.
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Chinese is more difficult than English.

Paris is more beautiful than New York.
Use of Superlative adjective.
Comparative adjectives are used to express characteristic of one thing in comparison to

other things (many things). It makes comparison among things more than
two. Superlative is the highest degree of a thing in comparison to other things. A
superlative adjective means that a object is surpassing all others (things in comparison) in
quality or characteristic. For example, John is the most intelligentstudent in his class. It
means John is surpassing all other students in his class and no other student in his class is
as intelligent as John.
Article “the” is used before superlative degree. “In” or “of” etc is used after the superlative
and modifying noun in sentence.
Examples.
Bills Gate is the richest person in world.
Brunel is the most beautiful hotel in England.
Mount Everest is the highest mountain in world.
She is the tallest girl in class.
Our generation is the most modern.
His house is the biggest in the street.
The winter is the coldest time of year.
Adverb
Adverb is a word which modifies (gives more information about) a verb or adjective or
other adverb.
For example,
He replied.
He replied quickly.
The word “quickly” is an adverb which gives more information about verb “reply” in the
above example. The adverb “quickly” in above example tells us about the verb “reply” that
the reply was given quickly or with no time delay.
Similarly an adverb may also modify adjective or other adverb or other part of speech
except the noun.
Examples (adverbs modifying verbs).
He was driving carelessly.
John can speak French fluently.
They live happily.
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Marry is laughing loudly.

He goes to school daily.
We sometimes get confused.
He met me yesterday.
Guests will come here.
Examples (adverbs modifying adjectives).
Note: The bold words (in following examples) are adverbs and the underlined words are
adjectives.
It is a very difficult problem.
He is seriously ill.
This book is really nice.
The story of “crazy man” was truly funny.
You are too weak to walk.
Examples (adverbs modifying other adverbs).
Note: The bold word (in following examples) is an adverb and underlined word is the
other adverb.
John drives very slowly.
He was talking too much angrily.
He ran fast enough to catch the bus.
They live very happily.
Formation of adverb
1. Most of adverbs are formed by adding “-ly” to adjectives. For example,happily,

easily, quickly, angrily, correctly, fluently, proudly, loudly, rapidly, immediately etc
1. A few adverbs exists without “-ly”. For example, fast, slow, deep, far, hard, high,
wrong, right, low, well, tight, straight, there, here, close, late, very, too, not
Examples.
Adverbs of Manner Adverbs of Place Adverbs of Time Adverbs of Frequency
Happily Here Now Sometimes
Sadly There Then Often
Easily Near Yesterday Usually
Rudely Somewhere Today Seldom
Loudly Outside Tomorrow Frequently
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Fluently Inside Late Daily
Rapidly Ahead Early Generally
Angrily High Again Occasionally
Greedily Top Tonight Again and again
Wildly Bottom Soon Never
Types/Kinds of Adverb
Adverb modifies verb by giving us the following information.

How the action occurs
Where the action occurs
How many times action occur
At which time the action occurs
Intensity of action
Adverbs are categorized on the basis of it information it gives, into the following categories.
1. Adverbs of manner
2. Adverb of place
3. Adverb of time
4. Adverb of frequency
Types of Adverb
Adverb modifies verb by giving us the following information.
1. How the action occurs

2. Where the action occurs
3. How many times action occur
4. At which time the action occurs
5. Intensity of action
Adverbs are categorized on the basis of it information it gives, into the following categories.
1. Adverbs of manner
2. Adverb of place
3. Adverb of time
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4. Adverb of frequency
Adverbs of Manner
These adverbs tell us that in which manner the action occurs or how the action occurs or
occurred or will occur.
Examples.
She speaks loudly.
He was driving slowly.
You replied correctly.
He runs fast.
They solved the problem easily.
Listen to me carefully.
Adverbs of Place.
Adverb of place tells us about the place of action or where action occurs/occurred/will
occur.
e.g. here, there, near, somewhere, outside, ahead, on the top, at some place.
Examples.
He will come here.
The children are playing outside.
He was standing near the wall.
They were flying kites on the top of hill.
He lives somewhere in New York.
She went upstairs.
Adverb of time
These adverbs tell us about the time of action. e.g. now, then, soon, tomorrow, yesterday,
today, tonight, again, early, yesterday.
Examples.
I will buy a computer tomorrow.
The guest came yesterday.
Do it now.
She is still waiting for her brother.
He got up early in the morning.
Adverb of frequency
Adverbs of frequency tell us how many times the action occurs or occurred or will occur.
e.g. daily, sometimes, often, seldom, usually, frequently, always, ever, generally, rarely,
monthly, yearly.
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Examples.
He goes to school daily.
She never smokes.
He is always late for class.
They always come in time.
Barking dogs seldom bite.
The employees are paid monthly.
The employees are paid every month.
Pronoun
Pronoun is a word that is used instead of a noun, e.g. he, she, it, they, his, her, him its etc.
Example.
John is an intelligent student. He goes to school daily. He studies a lot. He is making
preparation for examination. He will get high marks examination.
In the above paragraph pronoun “he” is used instead of noun “John”. If we do not use
pronoun in above paragraph we will have to use the noun “John” again and again in each
sentence. So, the purpose of pronoun is to avoid the repetition of a noun.
Examples. He, she, it, they, you, I, we, who, him, her, them, me, us, whom, his, its, their, your,
mine, our and whose, myself, himself, herself , yourself, which, this, that these, those, are the
pronouns which are mostly used.
Pronoun can be divided into following groups.
 Personal Pronouns: e.g. I, you, He, she, it, they, who, me, him, her, them, whom
 Possessive Pronouns: e.g. yours, mine, his, hers, ours, theirs,
 Reflexive Pronouns: e.g. myself, himself, herself, itself, yourself, ourselves, themselves
 Reciprocal Pronoun: e.g. each other, one another
 Relative Pronouns: e.g. who, whom, whose, which, that
 Demonstrative Pronoun: e.g. this, these, that, those
Types of Pronoun
There five types of pronoun

1. Personal Pronoun
2. Possessive Pronoun
3. Reflixive Pronoun
4. Relative Pronoun
5. Demonstrative Pronoun
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Personal Pronouns.
Personal pronoun describes a particular person or thing or group.
Personal pronoun describes the person speaking (I, me, we, us), the person spoken to
(you), or the person or thing spoken about (he, she, it, they, him, her, them).
Examples.
Types of Pronoun
There five types of pronoun
1. Personal Pronoun
2. Possessive Pronoun
3. Reflixive Pronoun
4. Relative Pronoun
5. Demonstrative Pronoun
Personal Pronouns
Personal pronoun describes a particular person or thing or group.
Personal pronoun describes the person speaking (I, me, we, us), the person spoken to
(you), or the person or thing spoken about (he, she, it, they, him, her, them).
Example.
He helps poor.
The pronoun “he” in above sentence describes a person who helps poor.
Use of Personal Pronouns.

Personal Pronoun
Namber Person
Subject Object
1st Person I Me
Singular 2nd Person You You
3rd Person He, She, It Him, Her, It
1st Person We Us
Plural 2nd Person You You
3rd Person They Them
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Examples.
She is intelligent
They are playing chess.
He sent me a letter.
It is raining.
We love our country.
The teacher appreciated them.
I met him yesterday.
He gave her a gift.
Did you go to home?
Possessive Pronouns
Possessive Pronoun indicates close possession or ownership or relationship of a
thing/person to another thing/person.
e.g. yours, mine, his, hers, ours, theirs, hers,
Example.
This book is mine.
The pronoun “mine” describes the relationship between book and a person (me) who
possesses this book or who is the owner of this book.
Namber Person Possessive Pronoun

1st Person Mine
Singular 2nd Person Yours
3rd Person Hers, his, its
1st Person Ours
Plural 2nd Person Yours
3rd Person Theirs
Examples.
That car is hers.
Your book is old. Mine is new.
The pen on the table is mine.
The smallest cup is yours.
The voice is hers.
The car is ours not theirs.
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I have lost my camera. May I use yours?

They received your letter. Did you received theirs.
Note: Possessive adjectives (my, her, your) may be confused with possessive pronouns.
Possessive adjective modifies noun in terms of possession. Both possessive adjective and
possessive show possession or ownership, but possessive adjective is used (with noun) to
modify the noun while Possessive pronoun is used instead (in place of) a noun.
Examples.
This is my book. (Possessive adjective: “my” modifies the noun “book”)
This book is mine. (Possessive pronoun: “mine” is used instead of noun “to whom the book
belongs”)
Reflexive Pronoun.
Reflexive pronoun describes noun when subject’s action affects the subject itself.
e.g himself, yourself, herself, ourselves, themselves, itself are reflexive pronouns.
Reflexive pronouns always act as objects not subjects, and they require an interaction
between the subject and an object.
Namber Person Subject Reflive Pronoun

1st Person I Myself
Singular 2nd Person You Yourself
3rd Person He, she, it Himself, Herself, Itself
1st Person We Ourselves
Plural 2nd Person You Yourselves
3rd Person They Themselves
Examples.
I looked at myself in the mirror.
You should think about yourself.
They prepared themselves for completion.
She pleases herself by think that she will win the prize.
He bought a car for himself.
He locked himself in the room.
He who loves only himself is a selfish.
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Note: Reflexive noun can also be used to give more emphasis on subject or object. If a
reflexive pronoun is used to give more emphasis on a subject or an object, it is
called “Intensive Pronoun”. Usage and function of intensive pronoun are different from
that of reflexive pronoun.
For example, she herself started to think about herself.
In the above sentence the first “herself” is used as intensive pronoun while the second
“herself” is used as reflexive pronoun.
See the following examples of intensive pronouns.
Examples. (Intensive Pronouns)
I did it myself. OR. I myself did it.
She herself washed the clothes.
He himself decided to go to New York.
She herself told me.
Reciprocal Pronouns.
Reciprocal Pronouns are used when each of two or more subjects reciprocate to the other.
or
Reciprocal pronouns are used when two subjects act in same way towards each other, or,
more subjects act in same way to one another.
For example, A loves B and B love A. we can say that A and B loves each other.
There are two reciprocal pronouns
 Each other
 One another.
Examples.
John and Marry are talking to each other.
The students gave cards to one another.
The people helped one another in hospital.
Two boys were pushing each other.
The car and the bus collided with each other.
The students in the class greeted one another.
Relative Pronouns.
Relative Pronoun describes a noun which is mentioned before and more information is to
be given about it.
Or
Relative pronoun is a pronoun which joins relative clauses and relative sentences.
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For example, It is the person, who helped her.

In this sentence the word “who” is a relative pronoun which refers to the noun (the person)
which is already mentioned in beginning of sentence (It is the person) and more
information (he helped her) is given after using a relative pronoun (who) for the noun (the
person).
Similarly, in above sentence the pronoun “who” joins two clauses which are “it is the
person” and “who helped her”.
Examples. The most commonly used five relative pronouns are, who, whom, whose, which,
that.
“Who” is for subject and “whom” is used for object. “who” and “whom” are used for people.
“Whose” is used to show possession and can be used for both people and things. “Which” is
used for things. “That” is used for people and things.
Examples.
It is the girl who got first position in class.
Adjective is a word that modifies noun.
The man whom I met yesterday is a nice person.
It is the planning that makes succeed.
The boy who is laughing is my friend.
It is the boy whose father is doctor.
The car which I like is red.
Demonstrative Pronouns.
Demonstrative pronoun is a pronoun that points to a thing or things.

e.g. this, that, these, those, none, neither
These pronouns point to thing or things in short distance/time or long distance/time.
Short distance or time: This, these.
Long distance or time: That, those.
Demonstrative pronouns “this and that” are used for singular thing while “these or those”
are used for plural things.
Examples
This is black.
That is heavy.
Can you see these?
Do you like this?
John brought these.
Those look attractive.
Have you tried this.
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Preposition
Preposition is a word that shows relation between noun or pronoun and the other words in
sentence.
e.g. in, on, at, to, with, under, above, into, by, of etc
Preposition is always used before a noun or pronoun and shows the relation of the noun or
pronoun to the other words in sentence. The following examples will help in better
understanding.
Example.
Subject + Verb Preposition Noun
The cat was sleeping on table
He lives in Paris
She looked at Stranger.
He will come in January.
Wedding ceremony will be held on 20th December.
I was waiting for you
Someone is knocking at The door.
She came by bus.
Prepositions show many relations (for different nouns) in sentence. On the basis of relation
they show, preposition may be divided into following categories.
 Preposition for time e.g. in, on, at, etc.

 Preposition for place e.g. in, on, at, etc
 Preposition for direction e.g. to, towards, into, through etc.
 Preposition for agent e.g. by
 Preposition for device, instrument or machines. e.g. on, by, with, etc.
 Prepositions used after verbs to make prepositional verb. e.g. look at, look after, laugh at
Types of Preposition
The types of preposition are as follows:

1. Preposition for Time
2. Preposition for Place
3. Preposition for Direction
4. Preposition for Agent
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5. Preposition for Instrument

6. Prepositional Phrase
Types of Preposition
The types of preposition are as follows:

1. Preposition for Time
2. Preposition for Place
3. Preposition for Direction
4. Preposition for Agent
5. Preposition for Instrument
6. Prepositional Phrase
Prepositions for Time. (in, on, at)

Prepositions used for time of different natures are in, on at etc.
Preposition Time Nature

In 1. Month or Year.
e.g. in January, in 1985
2. Particular time of day or month or year
e.g. in morning, in evening, in first week of January, in summer, in winter
3. Century or specific time in past etc
e.g. in 21st century, in stone age, in past, in future, in present
On 1. Day
e.g. on Monday
2. Date
e.g. on 5th of March, March 5
3. Particular day
e.g. on Independence Day, on my birthday,
At 1. Time of clock
e.g. at 5 O’clock, at 7:30 PM
2. Short and precise time
e.g. at noon, at sunset, at lunch time, at bed time, at the moment, at the
same time
Examples.
He was born in 1945.
She will go to New York on 25th of March.
The concert will begin at 7 O’clock.
He gets up early in the morning.
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We enjoyed a lot in the summer.

The president will deliver speech to public on Independence Day.
She received a lot gifts on her birthday.
Where were you at the lunchtime?
I will call you at 12 A.M
Preposition for Place. (in, on, at)

Prepositions “in, on or at” are usually used for different places.
 “In” is usually used for place which have some boundary (boundary may physical or
virtual).
 “On” is used for surface
 “At” is used for specific place.
Preposition Place Nature

In Place having some boundary (physical or virtual boundary)
Examples.
In hall
In school
In a building
In a box
In a car
In library
In garden
In America
In room
In cupboard
On Surface of something.
Examples.
On a table
On blackboard
On a page
On the wall
On the roof
On a map
At Specific Place.
Examples.
At the entrance
At the bottom of glass
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At front of the chair

At bus stop
At the edge of roof
Examples
She lives in New York.
Students study in library.
The wedding ceremony will be held in the hall.
There are some books on the table.
The teacher wrote a sentence on blackboard.
He was flying kite on the roof.
Her parents were waiting for her at the entrance of school
There was a huge gathering at bus stop.
His house is at the end of street.
Preposition for Direction.

(to, toward, through, into)
Prepositions like to, towards, through, into are used to describe the direction. Following
examples will help in better understanding.
Examples.
She went to the library.
He jumped into the river.
He ran away when he felt that someone was coming toward him.
Preposition for Agent. (by)

Preposition for agent is used for a thing which is cause of another thing in the sentence.
Such prepositions are by, with etc. Following examples will help in better understanding.
Examples.
This book is written by Shakespeare.
The work was completed by him.
The room was decorated by her.
The tub is filled with water.
Preposition for device, instrument or machine.

Different preposition are used by different devices, instruments or machines. e.g. by, with,
on etc. Following examples will help in better understanding.
Examples.
She comes by bus daily.
He opened the lock with key.
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Prepositional Verb
A prepositional phrase is a combination of a verb and a preposition. It is just a verb
followed by a preposition.
Prepositional Phrase = Verb + Preposition
Some verbs need particular prepositions to be used after them in sentences having a direct
object. Such a verb with its required preposition is called a prepositional phrase.
For example
He knocks at the door.
In above sentence “knock at” is prepositional phrase which contains a verb “knock” and a
preposition “at”. Without the use of correct preposition after a prepositional verb in a
sentence, the sentence is considered to be grammatically wrong. For example if we say, “he
knocks the door”, it is wrong because it lacks the required preposition “at”. So the correct
sentence is “he knocks at the door”.
Prepositional Verbs are transitive and they have a direct object in sentence. Some of the
frequently used preposition verb are, laugh at, knock at, listen to, look at, look for, look
after, wait for, agree to, agree with, talk about, talked to
Examples.
She is listening to music.
She looked at the blackboard.
We believe in God.
They were waiting for the teacher.
Do you agree with me?
Do you agree to my proposal?
Someone is knocking at the door.
You should not rely on her.
Conjunction
Conjunction is a word that connects words, phrases, clauses or sentences. e.g. and, but, or,
nor, for, yet, so, although, because, since, unless, when, while, where are some conjunctions.
Examples.
She tried but did not succeed.
He does not go to school because he is ill.
John and Marry went to the cinema.
He thought for a moment and kicked the ball.
I waited for him but he didn’t come.
You will be ill unless you quit smoking.
We didn’t go to the market because it was raining outside.
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Single word Conjunction: Conjunction having one word

e.g. and, but, yet, because etc.
Compound Conjunction: Conjunction having two or more words

e.g. as long as, as far as, as well as, in order that, even if, so that etc
Types of Conjunction.
There are three types of conjunctions
 Coordinating Conjunction
 Subordinate Conjunction
 Correlative Conjunction
Coordinating Conjunction.
Coordinating conjunction (called coordinators) joins words, phrases (which are similar in
importance and grammatical structure) or independent clauses.
Coordinating conjunctions are short words i.e. and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.
Coordination conjunction joins two equal parts of a sentence,
 Word + word
 Phrase + phrase
 Clause + clause
 Independent clause + independent clause.
Examples.
Types of Conjunction.
Conjunction is a word that connects words, phrases, clauses or sentences. e.g. and, but, or,
nor, for, yet, so, although, because, since, unless, when, while, where etc.
There are three types of conjunctions
 • Coordinating Conjunction
 • Subordinate Conjunction
 • Correlative Conjunction
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Coordinating Conjunction.
Coordinating conjunctions (called coordinators) join words, phrases (which are similar in
importance and grammatical structure) or independent clauses.
Coordinating conjunctions are short words i.e. and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.
Coordination conjunction joins two equal parts of a sentence,
 Word + word
 Phrase + phrase
 Clause + clause
 Independent clause + independent clause.
Examples.
Word + word: She likes tea and coffee.
Phrase + phrase: He may be in the room or on the roof.
Clauses + clause: What you eat and what you drink affect your health.
Independent clause + independent clause: The cat jumped over the mouse and the
mouse ran away.
In the following examples, coordinating conjunctions join two words of same importance.
She likes pizza and cake. (pizza and cake)
I bought a table and a chair. (table and chair)
He may come by bus or car. (bus or car)
In the following examples, conjunction joins two independent clauses. Independent
clause is a clause which can stand alone as a sentence and have complete thought on its
own.
I called him but he didn’t pick up the phone.
I advised him to quit smoking, but he didn’t act upon my advice.
He became ill, so he thought he should go to a doctor.
He shouted for help, but no body helped her.
He wants to become a doctor, so he is studying Biology.
Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join. A
comma is used with conjunction if the clauses are long or not well balanced.
If both clauses have same subjects, the subject of 2nd clause may not be written again. See
the following examples
She worked hard and succeeded.
The player stopped and kicked the ball.
He became ill but didn’t go to doctor.
Marry opened the book and started to study.
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Subordinating Conjunctions.
Subordinating conjunctions (called subordinators) join subordinate clause (dependent
clause) to main clause.
e.g. although, because, if, before, how, once, since, till, until, when, where, whether, while,
after, no matter how, provided that, as soon as, even if,
MAIN CLAUSE + SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
SUBORDINATE CLAUSE + MAIN CLAUSE
Subordinate clause is combination of words (subject and verb) which cannot stand alone
as a complete sentence. Subordinate clause is also called dependent clause because it is
dependent on main clause. Subordinate clause usually starts with relative pronoun (which,
who, that, whom etc). Subordinate clause gives more information in relation to main clause
to complete the thought.
Subordinating conjunction joins subordinate clause to main clause. Subordinating
conjunction always come before the subordinate clause, no matter the subordinate clause
is before main clause or after the main clause.
Examples.
He does not go to school because he is ill.
I will call you after I reach my home.
I bought some cookies while I was coming from my office.
They played football although it was raining.
Although it was raining, they played foot ball.
As far as I know, this exam is very difficult.
I have gone to every concert since I have lived in New York.
You can get high grades in exam provided that you work hard for it.
Correlative Conjunction.
These are paired conjunctions which join words, phrases or clauses which have reciprocal
or complementary relationship.
The most commonly used correlative conjunctions are as follows
Either … or
Neither … nor
Whether … or
Both … and
Not only … but also
Examples.
Neither John nor Marry passed the exam.
Give me either a cup or a glass.
Both red and yellow are attractive colours.
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I like neither tea nor coffee.

He will be either in the room or in the hall.
John can speak not only English but also French.
Interjection
Interjections are short words which show strong feeling or emotions.

e.g. oh, ah, wow, hurrah, alas, ouch, Oops, aha, hey, etc
Interjections are short exclamations which express strong or sudden feeling of
 • Joy
 • Sorrow
 • Wonder
Exclamation sign is used after interjections.

Examples.
Hurrah! We won the competition.
Ouch ! It hurts.
Wow! What a nice shirt.
Hey ! what are you doing?
Alas! My parents are dead.
Oh! I forgot to bring my purse.
Besides these specific interjections, a normal word can also be used as interjection if it is
used to express feeling or emotion.
No! Don’t touch it, its hot.
What! I am selected for the job?
Help! I am about to fall.
Well ! I will try my level best.
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Subject and Predicate
A sentence is group of words which expresses a complete thought

i.e. He ate an apple.
A sentence consists of two parts i.e. subject and predicate.
Sentence = Subject + Predicate
Subject
The part of sentence which performs some action in a sentence is called Subject. A subject
is sometimes also defined as the part of sentence which is being spoken about in sentence
(especially in sentences having a static verb). A subject has a close relationship to what is
being discussed in sentence. A subject can be a noun, pronoun, noun clause or noun phrase.
Examples
He is flying a kite.
John is driving a car.
She ate an apple
I wrote him a letter.
Predicate
The part of sentence which tells about the subject is called predicate.
Examples
He is flying a kite.
John is driving a car.
She ate an apple
I wrote him a letter.
Subject refers to the actor of a sentence. The part of a sentence about which something
is told in a sentence is the subject of sentence. While the part of a sentence that tells
something about subject is the predicate of sentence.
Example.
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In the above example, “she” is a subject because it performs an action of washing clothes.
We can also say that “she” is a subject because something (that she is washing her clothes)
is told about it in sentence. While the rest part of the sentence “is washing her clothes” is
predicate of sentence because it tells something (washing her clothes) about the subject.
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Present Continuous
FORM
[am/is/are + present participle]
Examples:
 You are watching TV.

 Are you watching TV?
 You are not watching TV.
Complete List of Present Continuous Forms
USE 1 Now
Use the Present Continuous with Normal Verbs to express the idea that something is
happening now, at this very moment. It can also be used to show that something is not
happening now.
Examples:
 You are learning English now.

 You are not swimming now.
 Are you sleeping?
 I am sitting.
 I am not standing.
 Is he sitting or standing?
 They are reading their books.
 They are not watching television.
 What are you doing?
 Why aren't you doing your homework?
USE 2 Longer Actions in Progress Now
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In English, "now" can mean: this second, today, this month, this year, this century, and so
on. Sometimes, we use the Present Continuous to say that we are in the process of doing a
longer action which is in progress; however, we might not be doing it at this exact second.
Examples: (All of these sentences can be said while eating dinner in a restaurant.)
 I am studying to become a doctor.

 I am not studying to become a dentist.
 I am reading the book Tom Sawyer.
 I am not reading any books right now.
 Are you working on any special projects at work?
 Aren't you teaching at the university now?
USE 3 Near Future
Sometimes, speakers use the Present Continuous to indicate that something will or will not
happen in the near future.
Examples:
 I am meeting some friends after work.

 I am not going to the party tonight.
 Is he visiting his parents next weekend?
 Isn't he coming with us tonight?
USE 4 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"
The Present Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea
that something irritating or shocking often happens. Notice that the meaning is like Simple
Present, but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always" or "constantly"
between "be" and "verb+ing."
Examples:
 She is always coming to class late.

 He is constantly talking. I wish he would shut up.
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 I don't like them because they are always complaining.
REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs/ Mixed Verbs

It is important to remember that Non-Continuous Verbs cannot be used in any continuous
tenses. Also, certain non-continuous meanings for Mixed Verbs cannot be used in
continuous tenses. Instead of using Present Continuous with these verbs, you must
use Simple Present.
Examples:
 She is loving this chocolate ice cream. Not Correct

 She loves this chocolate ice cream. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
The examples below show the placement for grammar adverbs such as: always, only, never,
ever, still, just, etc.
Examples:
 You are still watching TV.

 Are you still watching TV?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 Right now, Tom is writing the letter. ACTIVE

 Right now, the letter is being written by Tom. PASSIVE
Simple Present
FORM
[VERB] + s/es in third person
Examples:
 You speak English.

 Do you speak English?
 You do not speak English.
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Complete List of Simple Present Forms
USE 1 Repeated Actions
Use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is repeated or usual. The action
can be a habit, a hobby, a daily event, a scheduled event or something that often happens. It
can also be something a person often forgets or usually does not do.
Examples:
 I play tennis.
 She does not play tennis.
 Does he play tennis?
 The train leaves every morning at 8 AM.
 The train does not leave at 9 AM.
 When does the train usually leave?
 She always forgets her purse.
 He never forgets his wallet.
 Every twelve months, the Earth circles the Sun.
 Does the Sun circle the Earth?
USE 2 Facts or Generalizations
The Simple Present can also indicate the speaker believes that a fact was true before, is true
now, and will be true in the future. It is not important if the speaker is correct about the
fact. It is also used to make generalizations about people or things.
Examples:
 Cats like milk.

 Birds do not like milk.
 Do pigs like milk?
 California is in America.
 California is not in the United Kingdom.
 Windows are made of glass.
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 Windows are not made of wood.

 New York is a small city. IT IS NOT IMPORTANT THAT THIS FACT IS UNTRUE.
USE 3 Scheduled Events in the Near Future
Speakers occasionally use Simple Present to talk about scheduled events in the near future.
This is most commonly done when talking about public transportation, but it can be used
with other scheduled events as well.
Examples:
 The train leaves tonight at 6 PM.

 The bus does not arrive at 11 AM, it arrives at 11 PM.
 When do we board the plane?
 The party starts at 8 o'clock.
 When does class begin tomorrow?
USE 4 Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)
Speakers sometimes use the Simple Present to express the idea that an action is happening
or is not happening now. This can only be done with Non-Continuous Verbsand
certain Mixed Verbs.
Examples:
 I am here now.
 She is not here now.
 He needs help right now.
 He does not need help now.
 He has his passport in his hand.
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 Do you have your passport with you?
ADVERB PLACEMENT
Examples:
 You only speak English.

 Do you only speak English?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 Once a week, Tom cleans the car. ACTIVE

 Once a week, the car is cleaned by Tom. PASSIVE
Present Perfect
FORM
[has/have + past participle]
Examples:
 You have seen that movie many times.

 Have you seen that movie many times?
 You have not seen that movie many times.
Complete List of Present Perfect Forms
USE 1 Unspecified Time Before Now
We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before
now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific
time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I
lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN use the Present Perfect with
unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far,
already, yet, etc.
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Examples:
 I have seen that movie twenty times.

 I think I have met him once before.
 There have been many earthquakes in California.
 People have traveled to the Moon.
 People have not traveled to Mars.
 Have you read the book yet?
 Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
 A: Has there ever been a war in the United States?
B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.
How Do You Actually Use the Present Perfect?
The concept of "unspecified time" can be very confusing to English learners. It is best to
associate Present Perfect with the following topics:
TOPIC 1 Experience
You can use the Present Perfect to describe your experience. It is like saying, "I have the
experience of..." You can also use this tense to say that you have never had a certain
experience. The Present Perfect is NOT used to describe a specific event.
Examples:
 I have been to France.

THIS SENTENCE MEANS THAT YOU HAVE HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING IN FRANCE. MAYBE YOU
HAVE BEEN THERE ONCE, OR SEVERAL TIMES.
 I have been to France three times.
YOU CAN ADD THE NUMBER OF TIMES AT THE END OF THE SENTENCE.
 I have never been to France.
THIS SENTENCE MEANS THAT YOU HAVE NOT HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF GOING TO FRANCE.
 I think I have seen that movie before.
 He has never traveled by train.
 Joan has studied two foreign languages.
 A: Have you ever met him?
B: No, I have not met him.
TOPIC 2 Change Over Time
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We often use the Present Perfect to talk about change that has happened over a period of
time.
Examples:
 You have grown since the last time I saw you.

 The government has become more interested in arts education.
 Japanese has become one of the most popular courses at the university since the
Asian studies program was established.
 My English has really improved since I moved to Australia.
TOPIC 3 Accomplishments
We often use the Present Perfect to list the accomplishments of individuals and humanity.
You cannot mention a specific time.
Examples:
 Man has walked on the Moon.

 Our son has learned how to read.
 Doctors have cured many deadly diseases.
 Scientists have split the atom.
TOPIC 4 An Uncompleted Action You Are Expecting
We often use the Present Perfect to say that an action which we expected has not
happened. Using the Present Perfect suggests that we are still waiting for the action to
happen.
Examples:
 James has not finished his homework yet.

 Susan hasn't mastered Japanese, but she can communicate.
 Bill has still not arrived.
 The rain hasn't stopped.
TOPIC 5 Multiple Actions at Different Times
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We also use the Present Perfect to talk about several different actions which have occurred
in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the process is not complete and
more actions are possible.
Examples:
 The army has attacked that city five times.

 I have had four quizzes and five tests so far this semester.
 We have had many major problems while working on this project.
 She has talked to several specialists about her problem, but nobody knows why
she is sick.
Time Expressions with Present Perfect
When we use the Present Perfect it means that something has happened at some point in
our lives before now. Remember, the exact time the action happened is not important.
Sometimes, we want to limit the time we are looking in for an experience. We can do this
with expressions such as: in the last week, in the last year, this week, this month, so far, up
to now, etc.
Examples:
 Have you been to Mexico in the last year?

 I have seen that movie six times in the last month.
 They have had three tests in the last week.
 She graduated from university less than three years ago. She has worked for three
different companies so far.
 My car has broken down three times this week.
NOTICE
"Last year" and "in the last year" are very different in meaning. "Last year" means the year
before now, and it is considered a specific time which requires Simple Past. "In the last
year" means from 365 days ago until now. It is not considered a specific time, so it requires
Present Perfect.
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Examples:
 I went to Mexico last year.

I WENT TO MEXICO IN THE CALENDAR YEAR BEFORE THIS ONE.
 I have been to Mexico in the last year.
I HAVE BEEN TO MEXICO AT LEAST ONCE AT SOME POINT BETWEEN 365 DAYS AGO AND NOW.
USE 2 Duration From the Past Until Now (Non-Continuous Verbs)
With Non-Continuous Verbs and non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the Present
Perfect to show that something started in the past and has continued up until now. "For
five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all durations which can be used
with the Present Perfect.
Examples:
 I have had a cold for two weeks.

 She has been in England for six months.
 Mary has loved chocolate since she was a little girl.
Although the above use of Present Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and
non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, the words "live," "work," "teach," and "study" are
sometimes used in this way even though they are NOT Non-Continuous Verbs.
ADVERB PLACEMENT
Examples:
 You have only seen that movie one time.

 Have you only seen that movie one time?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 Many tourists have visited that castle. ACTIVE
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 That castle has been visited by many tourists. PASSIVE
Present Perfect Continuous
FORM
[has/have + been + present participle]
Examples:
 You have been waiting here for two hours.

 Have you been waiting here for two hours?
 You have not been waiting here for two hours.
Complete List of Present Perfect Continuous Forms
USE 1 Duration from the Past Until Now
We use the Present Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and has
continued up until now. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since Tuesday" are all
durations which can be used with the Present Perfect Continuous.
Examples:
 They have been talking for the last hour.

 She has been working at that company for three years.
 What have you been doing for the last 30 minutes?
 James has been teaching at the university since June.
 We have been waiting here for over two hours!
 Why has Nancy not been taking her medicine for the last three days?
USE 2 Recently, Lately
You can also use the Present Perfect Continuous WITHOUT a duration such as "for two
weeks." Without the duration, the tense has a more general meaning of "lately." We often
use the words "lately" or "recently" to emphasize this meaning.
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Examples:
 Recently, I have been feeling really tired.

 She has been watching too much television lately.
 Have you been exercising lately?
 Mary has been feeling a little depressed.
 Lisa has not been practicing her English.
 What have you been doing?
IMPORTANT
Remember that the Present Perfect Continuous has the meaning of "lately" or "recently." If
you use the Present Perfect Continuous in a question such as "Have you been feeling
alright?", it can suggest that the person looks sick or unhealthy. A question such as "Have
you been smoking?" can suggest that you smell the smoke on the person. Using this tense in
a question suggests you can see, smell, hear or feel the results of the action. It is possible to
insult someone by using this tense incorrectly.
REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs/ Mixed Verbs

continuous tenses. Instead of using Present Perfect Continuous with these verbs, you must
use Present Perfect.
Examples:
 Sam has been having his car for two years. Not Correct
 Sam has had his car for two years. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
Examples:
 You have only been waiting here for one hour.

 Have you only been waiting here for one hour?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
59
 Recently, John has been doing the work. ACTIVE

 Recently, the work has been being done by John. PASSIVE
NOTE: Present Perfect Continuous is less commonly used in its passive form.
Simple Past
FORM
[VERB+ed] or irregular verbs
Examples:
 You called Debbie.

 Did you call Debbie?
 You did not call Debbie.
Complete List of Simple Past Forms
USE 1 Completed Action in the Past
Use the Simple Past to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time
in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may not actually mention the specific time, but they do
have one specific time in mind.
Examples:
 I saw a movie yesterday.

 I didn't see a play yesterday.
 Last year, I traveled to Japan.
 Last year, I didn't travel to Korea.
 Did you have dinner last night?
 She washed her car.
 He didn't wash his car.
USE 2 A Series of Completed Actions
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We use the Simple Past to list a series of completed actions in the past. These actions
happen 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and so on.
Examples:
 I finished work, walked to the beach, and found a nice place to swim.
 He arrived from the airport at 8:00, checked into the hotel at 9:00, and met the
others at 10:00.
 Did you add flour, pour in the milk, and then add the eggs?
USE 3 Duration in Past
The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in the past. A duration
is a longer action often indicated by expressions such as: for two years, for five minutes, all
day, all year, etc.
Examples:
 I lived in Brazil for two years.

 Shauna studied Japanese for five years.
 They sat at the beach all day.
 They did not stay at the party the entire time.
 We talked on the phone for thirty minutes.
 A: How long did you wait for them?
B: We waited for one hour.
USE 4 Habits in the Past
The Simple Past can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have
the same meaning as "used to." To make it clear that we are talking about a habit, we often
add expressions such as: always, often, usually, never, when I was a child, when I was
younger, etc.
Examples:
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 I studied French when I was a child.

 He played the violin.
 He didn't play the piano.
 Did you play a musical instrument when you were a kid?
 She worked at the movie theater after school.
 They never went to school, they always skipped class.
USE 5 Past Facts or Generalizations
The Simple Past can also be used to describe past facts or generalizations which are no
longer true. As in USE 4 above, this use of the Simple Past is quite similar to the expression
"used to."
Examples:
 She was shy as a child, but now she is very outgoing.

 He didn't like tomatoes before.
 Did you live in Texas when you were a kid?
 People paid much more to make cell phone calls in the past.
IMPORTANT When-Clauses Happen First
Clauses are groups of words which have meaning but are often not complete sentences.
Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when I dropped my pen..." or "when
class began..." These clauses are called when-clauses, and they are very important. The
examples below contain when-clauses.
Examples:
 When I paid her one dollar, she answered my question.

 She answered my question when I paid her one dollar.
When-clauses are important because they always happen first when both clauses are in the
Simple Past. Both of the examples above mean the same thing: first, I paid her one dollar,
and then, she answered my question. It is not important whether "when I paid her one
dollar" is at the beginning of the sentence or at the end of the sentence. However, the
example below has a different meaning. First, she answered my question, and then, I paid
her one dollar.
Example:
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 I paid her one dollar when she answered my question.
ADVERB PLACEMENT
Examples:
 You just called Debbie.

 Did you just call Debbie?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 Tom repaired the car. ACTIVE

 The car was repaired by Tom. PASSIVE
Past Continuous
FORM
[was/were + present participle]
Examples:
 You were studying when she called.

 Were you studying when she called?
 You were not studying when she called.
Complete List of Past Continuous Forms
USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Past
Use the Past Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The
interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple Past. Remember this can be a real
interruption or just an interruption in time.
Examples:
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 I was watching TV when she called.

 When the phone rang, she was writing a letter.
 While we were having the picnic, it started to rain.
 What were you doing when the earthquake started?
 I was listening to my iPod, so I didn't hear the fire alarm.
 You were not listening to me when I told you to turn the oven off.
 While John was sleeping last night, someone stole his car.
 Sammy was waiting for us when we got off the plane.
 While I was writing the email, the computer suddenly went off.
 A: What were you doing when you broke your leg?
B: I was snowboarding.
USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption
In USE 1, described above, the Past Continuous is interrupted by a shorter action in the
Simple Past. However, you can also use a specific time as an interruption.
Examples:
 Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.

 At midnight, we were still driving through the desert.
 Yesterday at this time, I was sitting at my desk at work.
IMPORTANT
In the Simple Past, a specific time is used to show when an action began or finished. In the
Past Continuous, a specific time only interrupts the action.
Examples:
 Last night at 6 PM, I ate dinner.

I STARTED EATING AT 6 PM.
 Last night at 6 PM, I was eating dinner.
I STARTED EARLIER; AND AT 6 PM, I WAS IN THE PROCESS OF EATING DINNER.
USE 3 Parallel Actions
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When you use the Past Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses the
idea that both actions were happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.
Examples:
 I was studying while he was making dinner.

 While Ellen was reading, Tim was watching television.
 Were you listening while he was talking?
 I wasn't paying attention while I was writing the letter, so I made several
mistakes.
 What were you doing while you were waiting?
 Thomas wasn't working, and I wasn't working either.
 They were eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good time.
USE 4 Atmosphere
In English, we often use a series of parallel actions to describe the atmosphere at a

particular time in the past.
Example:
 When I walked into the office, several people were busily typing, some were
talking on the phones, the boss was yelling directions, and customers were
waiting to be helped. One customer was yelling at a secretary and waving his
hands. Others were complaining to each other about the bad service.
USE 5 Repetition and Irritation with "Always"
The Past Continuous with words such as "always" or "constantly" expresses the idea that
something irritating or shocking often happened in the past. The concept is very similar to
the expression "used to" but with negative emotion. Remember to put the words "always"
or "constantly" between "be" and "verb+ing."
Examples:
 She was always coming to class late.

 He was constantly talking. He annoyed everyone.
 I didn't like them because they were always complaining.
While vs. When
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Clauses are groups of words which have meaning, but are often not complete sentences.
Some clauses begin with the word "when" such as "when she called" or "when it bit me."
Other clauses begin with "while" such as "while she was sleeping" and "while he was
surfing." When you talk about things in the past, "when" is most often followed by the verb
tense Simple Past, whereas "while" is usually followed by Past Continuous. "While"
expresses the idea of "during that time." Study the examples below. They have similar
meanings, but they emphasize different parts of the sentence.
Examples:
 I was studying when she called.

 While I was studying, she called.
REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs

continuous tenses. Instead of using Past Continuous with these verbs, you must use Simple
Past.
Examples:
 Jane was being at my house when you arrived. Not Correct

 Jane was at my house when you arrived. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
Examples:
 You were just studying when she called.

 Were you just studying when she called?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 The salesman was helping the customer when the thief came into the store. ACTIVE
 The customer was being helped by the salesman when the thief came into the
store. PASSIVE
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Past Perfect
FORM
[had + past participle]
Examples:
 You had studied English before you moved to New York.

 Had you studied English before you moved to New York?
 You had not studied English before you moved to New York.
Complete List of Past Perfect Forms
USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Past
The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the
past. It can also show that something happened before a specific time in the past.
Examples:
 I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Kauai.

 I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.
 Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.
 Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?
 She only understood the movie because she had read the book.
 Kristine had never been to an opera before last night.
 We were not able to get a hotel room because we had not booked in advance.
 A: Had you ever visited the U.S. before your trip in 2006?
B: Yes, I had been to the U.S. once before.
USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Past (Non-Continuous Verbs)
With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the
Past Perfect to show that something started in the past and continued up until another
action in the past.
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Examples:
 We had had that car for ten years before it broke down.
 By the time Alex finished his studies, he had been in London for over eight years.
 They felt bad about selling the house because they had owned it for more than
forty years.
Although the above use of Past Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and
IMPORTANT Specific Times with the Past Perfect
Unlike with the Present Perfect, it is possible to use specific time words or phrases with the
Past Perfect. Although this is possible, it is usually not necessary.
Example:
 She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them
in 1996.
MOREOVER
If the Past Perfect action did occur at a specific time, the Simple Past can be used instead of
the Past Perfect when "before" or "after" is used in the sentence. The words "before" and
"after" actually tell you what happens first, so the Past Perfect is optional. For this reason,
both sentences below are correct.
Examples:
 She had visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them
in 1996.
 She visited her Japanese relatives once in 1993 before she moved in with them in
1996.
HOWEVER
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If the Past Perfect is not referring to an action at a specific time, Past Perfect is not optional.
Compare the examples below. Here Past Perfect is referring to a lack of experience rather
than an action at a specific time. For this reason, Simple Past cannot be used.
Examples:
 She never saw a bear before she moved to Alaska. Not Correct
 She had never seen a bear before she moved to Alaska. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
Examples:
 You had previously studied English before you moved to New York.
 Had you previously studied English before you moved to New York?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 George had repaired many cars before he received his mechanic's license. ACTIVE
 Many cars had been repaired by George before he received his mechanic's
license. PASSIVE
Past Perfect Continuous
FORM
[had been + present participle]
Examples:
 You had been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived.
 Had you been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived?
 You had not been waiting there for more than two hours when she finally arrived.
Complete List of Past Perfect Continuous Forms
USE 1 Duration Before Something in the Past
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We use the Past Perfect Continuous to show that something started in the past and
continued up until another time in the past. "For five minutes" and "for two weeks" are
both durations which can be used with the Past Perfect Continuous. Notice that this is
related to the Present Perfect Continuous; however, the duration does not continue until
now, it stops before something else in the past.
Examples:
 They had been talking for over an hour before Tony arrived.
 She had been working at that company for three years when it went out of
business.
 How long had you been waiting to get on the bus?
 Mike wanted to sit down because he had been standing all day at work.
 James had been teaching at the university for more than a year before he left for
Asia.
 A: How long had you been studying Turkish before you moved to Ankara?
B: I had not been studying Turkish very long.
USE 2 Cause of Something in the Past
Using the Past Perfect Continuous before another action in the past is a good way to show
cause and effect.
Examples:
 Jason was tired because he had been jogging.

 Sam gained weight because he had been overeating.
 Betty failed the final test because she had not been attending class.
Past Continuous vs. Past Perfect Continuous
If you do not include a duration such as "for five minutes," "for two weeks" or "since
Friday," many English speakers choose to use the Past Continuous rather than the Past
Perfect Continuous. Be careful because this can change the meaning of the sentence. Past
Continuous emphasizes interrupted actions, whereas Past Perfect Continuous emphasizes a
duration of time before something in the past. Study the examples below to understand the
difference.
70
Examples:
 He was tired because he was exercising so hard.

THIS SENTENCE EMPHASIZES THAT HE WAS TIRED BECAUSE HE WAS EXERCISING AT THAT EXACT
MOMENT.
 He was tired because he had been exercising so hard.
THIS SENTENCE EMPHASIZES THAT HE WAS TIRED BECAUSE HE HAD BEEN EXERCISING OVER A
PERIOD OF TIME. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT HE WAS STILL EXERCISING AT THAT MOMENT OR THAT HE HAD
JUST FINISHED.
REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs

continuous tenses. Instead of using Past Perfect Continuous with these verbs, you must
use Past Perfect.
Examples:
 The motorcycle had been belonging to George for years before Tina bought it. Not
Correct
 The motorcycle had belonged to George for years before Tina bought it. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
Examples:
 You had only been waiting there for a few minutes when she arrived.
 Had you only been waiting there for a few minutes when she arrived?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 Chef Jones had been preparing the restaurant's fantastic dinners for two years
before he moved to Paris. ACTIVE
 The restaurant's fantastic dinners had been being prepared by Chef Jones for two
years before he moved to Paris. PASSIVE
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Simple Future
Simple Future has two different forms in English: "will" and "be going to." Although the two
forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often express two very different
meanings. These different meanings might seem too abstract at first, but with time and
practice, the differences will become clear. Both "will" and "be going to" refer to a specific
time in the future.
FORM Will
[will + verb]
Examples:
 You will help him later.

 Will you help him later?
 You will not help him later.
FORM Be Going To
[am/is/are + going to + verb]
Examples:
 You are going to meet Jane tonight.

 Are you going to meet Jane tonight?
 You are not going to meet Jane tonight.
Complete List of Simple Future Forms
USE 1 "Will" to Express a Voluntary Action
"Will" often suggests that a speaker will do something voluntarily. A voluntary action is one
the speaker offers to do for someone else. Often, we use "will" to respond to someone else's
complaint or request for help. We also use "will" when we request that someone help us or
volunteer to do something for us. Similarly, we use "will not" or "won't" when we refuse to
voluntarily do something.
Examples:
72
 I will send you the information when I get it.

 I will translate the email, so Mr. Smith can read it.
 Will you help me move this heavy table?
 Will you make dinner?
 I will not do your homework for you.
 I won't do all the housework myself!
 A: I'm really hungry.
B: I'll make some sandwiches.
 A: I'm so tired. I'm about to fall asleep.
B: I'll get you some coffee.
 A: The phone is ringing.
B: I'll get it.
USE 2 "Will" to Express a Promise
"Will" is usually used in promises.
Examples:
 I will call you when I arrive.

 If I am elected President of the United States, I will make sure everyone has access
to inexpensive health insurance.
 I promise I will not tell him about the surprise party.
 Don't worry, I'll be careful.
 I won't tell anyone your secret.
USE 3 "Be going to" to Express a Plan
"Be going to" expresses that something is a plan. It expresses the idea that a person intends
to do something in the future. It does not matter whether the plan is realistic or not.
Examples:
 He is going to spend his vacation in Hawaii.

 She is not going to spend her vacation in Hawaii.
 A: When are we going to meet each other tonight?
B: We are going to meet at 6 PM.
 I'm going to be an actor when I grow up.
 Michelle is going to begin medical school next year.
 They are going to drive all the way to Alaska.
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 Who are you going to invite to the party?

 A: Who is going to make John's birthday cake?
B: Sue is going to make John's birthday cake.
USE 4 "Will" or "Be Going to" to Express a Prediction
Both "will" and "be going to" can express the idea of a general prediction about the future.
Predictions are guesses about what might happen in the future. In "prediction" sentences,
the subject usually has little control over the future and therefore USES 1-3 do not apply. In
the following examples, there is no difference in meaning.
Examples:
 The year 2222 will be a very interesting year.

 The year 2222 is going to be a very interesting year.
 John Smith will be the next President.
 John Smith is going to be the next President.
 The movie "Zenith" will win several Academy Awards.
 The movie "Zenith" is going to win several Academy Awards.
IMPORTANT
In the Simple Future, it is not always clear which USE the speaker has in mind. Often, there
is more than one way to interpret a sentence's meaning.
No Future in Time Clauses
Like all future forms, the Simple Future cannot be used in clauses beginning with time
expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless, etc.
Instead of Simple Future, Simple Present is used.
Examples:
 When you will arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Not Correct
 When you arrive tonight, we will go out for dinner. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
Examples:
 You will never help him.
74
 Will you ever help him?

 You are never going to meet Jane.
 Are you ever going to meet Jane?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 John will finish the work by 5:00 PM. ACTIVE

 The work will be finished by 5:00 PM. PASSIVE
 Sally is going to make a beautiful dinner tonight. ACTIVE
 A beautiful dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight. PASSIVE
Future Continuous has two different forms: "will be doing " and "be going to be doing."
Unlike Simple Future forms, Future Continuous forms are usually interchangeable.
FORM Future Continuous with "Will"
[will be + present participle]
Examples:
 You will be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
 Will you be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight?
 You will not be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
FORM Future Continuous with "Be Going To "
[am/is/are + going to be + present participle]
Examples:
 You are going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
 Are you going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight?
 You are not going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives tonight.
REMEMBER: It is possible to use either "will" or "be going to" to create the Future
Continuous with little difference in meaning.
USE 1 Interrupted Action in the Future
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Future Continuous
Use the Future Continuous to indicate that a longer action in the future will be interrupted
by a shorter action in the future. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an
interruption in time.
Examples:
 I will be watching TV when she arrives tonight.

 I will be waiting for you when your bus arrives.
 I am going to be staying at the Madison Hotel, if anything happens and you need to
contact me.
 He will be studying at the library tonight, so he will not see Jennifer when
she arrives.
Notice in the examples above that the interruptions (marked in italics) are in Simple
Present rather than Simple Future. This is because the interruptions are in time clauses,
and you cannot use future tenses in time clauses.
USE 2 Specific Time as an Interruption in the Future
In USE 1, described above, the Future Continuous is interrupted by a short action in the
future. In addition to using short actions as interruptions, you can also use a specific time
as an interruption.
Examples:
 Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to be eating dinner.

I WILL BE IN THE PROCESS OF EATING DINNER.
 At midnight tonight, we will still be driving through the desert.
WE WILL BE IN THE PROCESS OF DRIVING THROUGH THE DESERT.
REMEMBER
In the Simple Future, a specific time is used to show the time an action will begin or end. In
the Future Continuous, a specific time interrupts the action.
Examples:
76
 Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to eat dinner.

I AM GOING TO START EATING AT 6 PM.
 Tonight at 6 PM, I am going to be eating dinner.
I AM GOING TO START EARLIER AND I WILL BE IN THE PROCESS OF EATING DINNER AT 6 PM.
USE 3 Parallel Actions in the Future
When you use the Future Continuous with two actions in the same sentence, it expresses
the idea that both actions will be happening at the same time. The actions are parallel.
Examples:
 I am going to be studying and he is going to be making dinner.

 Tonight, they will be eating dinner, discussing their plans, and having a good
time.
 While Ellen is reading, Tim will be watching television.
NOTICE "IS READING" BECAUSE OF THE TIME CLAUSE CONTAINING "WHILE." (SEE EXPLANATION
BELOW)
USE 4 Atmosphere in the Future
In English, we often use a series of Parallel Actions to describe atmosphere at a specific

point in the future.
Example:
 When I arrive at the party, everybody is going to be celebrating. Some will be

dancing. Others are going to be talking. A few people will be eating pizza, and
several people are going to be drinking beer. They always do the same thing.
REMEMBER No Future in Time Clauses
Like all future tenses, the Future Continuous cannot be used in clauses beginning with time
Instead of Future Continuous, Present Continuous is used.
77
Examples:
 While I am going to be finishing my homework, she is going to make dinner. Not

Correct
 While I am finishing my homework, she is going to make dinner. Correct
AND REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs

continuous tenses. Instead of using Future Continuous with these verbs, you must
use Simple Future.
Examples:
 Jane will be being at my house when you arrive. Not Correct

 Jane will be at my house when you arrive. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
Examples:
 You will still be waiting for her when her plane arrives.
 Will you still be waiting for her when her plane arrives?
 You are still going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives.
 Are you still going to be waiting for her when her plane arrives?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be washing the dishes. ACTIVE

 At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will be being washed by John. PASSIVE
 At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going to be washing the dishes. ACTIVE
 At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are going to be being washed by John. PASSIVE
78
Future Perfect
Future Perfect has two different forms: "will have done" and "be going to have done."
Unlike Simple Future forms, Future Perfect forms are usually interchangeable.
FORM Future Perfect with "Will"
[will have + past participle]
Examples:
 You will have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.
 Will you have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.?
 You will not have perfected your English by the time you come back from the U.S.
FORM Future Perfect with "Be Going To"
[am/is/are + going to have + past participle]
Examples:
 You are going to have perfected your English by the time you come back from the
U.S.
 Are you going to have perfected your English by the time you come back from the
U.S.?
 You are not going to have perfected your English by the time you come back from
the U.S.
NOTE: It is possible to use either "will" or "be going to" to create the Future Perfect with
little or no difference in meaning.
Complete List of Future Perfect Forms
USE 1 Completed Action Before Something in the Future
The Future Perfect expresses the idea that something will occur before another action in
the future. It can also show that something will happen before a specific time in the future.
Examples:
79
 By next November, I will have received my promotion.

 By the time he gets home, she is going to have cleaned the entire house.
 I am not going to have finished this test by 3 o'clock.
 Will she have learned enough Chinese to communicate before she moves to
Beijing?
 Sam is probably going to have completed the proposal by the time he leaves this
afternoon.
 By the time I finish this course, I will have taken ten tests.
 How many countries are you going to have visited by the time you turn 50?
Notice in the examples above that the reference points (marked in italics) are in Simple
Present rather than Simple Future. This is because the interruptions are in time clauses,
USE 2 Duration Before Something in the Future (Non-Continuous Verbs)
With Non-Continuous Verbs and some non-continuous uses of Mixed Verbs, we use the
Future Perfect to show that something will continue up until another action in the future.
Examples:
 I will have been in London for six months by the time I leave.
 By Monday, Susan is going to have had my book for a week.
Although the above use of Future Perfect is normally limited to Non-Continuous Verbs and
Like all future forms, the Future Perfect cannot be used in clauses beginning with time
Instead of Future Perfect, Present Perfect is used.
Examples:
 I am going to see a movie when I will have finished my homework. Not Correct
 I am going to see a movie when I have finished my homework. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
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Examples:
 You will only have learned a few words.

 Will you only have learned a few words?
 You are only going to have learned a few words.
 Are you only going to have learned a few words?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 They will have completed the project before the deadline. ACTIVE
 The project will have been completed before the deadline. PASSIVE
 They are going to have completed the project before the deadline. ACTIVE
 The project is going to have been completed before the deadline. PASSIVE
Future Perfect Continuous
Future Perfect Continuous has two different forms: "will have been doing " and "be going to
have been doing." UnlikeSimple Future forms, Future Perfect Continuous forms are usually
interchangeable.
FORM Future Perfect Continuous with "Will"
[will have been + present participle]
Examples:
 You will have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally
arrives.
 Will you have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally
arrives?
 You will not have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane finally
arrives.
FORM Future Perfect Continuous with "Be Going To"
[am/is/are + going to have been + present participle]
81
Examples:
 You are going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane
finally arrives.
 Are you going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane
finally arrives?
 You are not going to have been waiting for more than two hours when her plane
finally arrives.
NOTE: It is possible to use either "will" or "be going to" to create the Future Perfect
Continuous with little or no difference in meaning.
USE 1 Duration Before Something in the Future
We use the Future Perfect Continuous to show that something will continue up until a
particular event or time in the future. "For five minutes," "for two weeks," and "since
Friday" are all durations which can be used with the Future Perfect Continuous. Notice that
this is related to the Present Perfect Continuous and the Past Perfect Continuous; however,
with Future Perfect Continuous, the duration stops at or before a reference point in the
future.
Examples:
 They will have been talking for over an hour by the time Thomas arrives.
 She is going to have been working at that company for three years when it
finally closes.
 James will have been teaching at the university for more than a year by the time
he leaves for Asia.
 How long will you have been studying when you graduate?
 We are going to have been driving for over three days straight when we get to
Anchorage.
 A: When you finish your English course, will you have been living in New Zealand
for over a year?
B: No, I will not have been living here that long.
Notice in the examples above that the reference points (marked in italics) are in Simple
Present rather than Simple Future. This is because these future events are intime clauses,
USE 2 Cause of Something in the Future
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Using the Future Perfect Continuous before another action in the future is a good way to
show cause and effect.
Examples:
 Jason will be tired when he gets home because he will have been jogging for over
an hour.
 Claudia's English will be perfect when she returns to Germany because she is going
to have been studying English in the United States for over two years.
Future Continuous vs. Future Perfect Continuous
If you do not include a duration such as "for five minutes," "for two weeks" or "since
Friday," many English speakers choose to use the Future Continuous rather than the Future
Perfect Continuous. Be careful because this can change the meaning of the sentence. Future
Continuous emphasizes interrupted actions, whereas Future Perfect Continuous
emphasizes a duration of time before something in the future. Study the examples below to
understand the difference.
Examples:
 He will be tired because he will be exercising so hard.

THIS SENTENCE EMPHASIZES THAT HE WILL BE TIRED BECAUSE HE WILL BE EXERCISING AT THAT
EXACT MOMENT IN THE FUTURE.
 He will be tired because he will have been exercising so hard.
THIS SENTENCE EMPHASIZES THAT HE WILL BE TIRED BECAUSE HE WILL HAVE BEEN EXERCISING FOR
A PERIOD OF TIME. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT HE WILL STILL BE EXERCISING AT THAT MOMENT OR THAT
HE WILL JUST HAVE FINISHED.
Like all future forms, the Future Perfect Continuous cannot be used in clauses beginning
with time expressions such as: when, while, before, after, by the time, as soon as, if, unless,
etc. Instead of Future Perfect Continuous, Present Perfect Continuous is used.
Examples:
 You won't get a promotion until you will have been working here as long as
Tim. Not Correct
 You won't get a promotion until you have been working here as long as
Tim. Correct
83
AND REMEMBER Non-Continuous Verbs / Mixed Verbs

continuous tenses. Instead of using Future Perfect Continuous with these verbs, you must
use Future Perfect .
Examples:
 Ned will have been having his driver's license for over two years. Not Correct
 Ned will have had his driver's license for over two years. Correct
ADVERB PLACEMENT
Examples:
 You will only have been waiting for a few minutes when her plane arrives.
 Will you only have been waiting for a few minutes when her plane arrives?
 You are only going to have been waiting for a few minutes when her plane arrives.
 Are you only going to have been waiting for a few minutes when her plane arrives?
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 The famous artist will have been painting the mural for over six months by the
time it is finished. ACTIVE
 The mural will have been being painted by the famous artist for over six months
by the time it is finished. PASSIVE
 The famous artist is going to have been painting the mural for over six months by
the time it is finished. ACTIVE
 The mural is going to have been being painted by the famous artist for over six
months by the time it is finished. PASSIVE
Future in the Past
Like Simple Future, Future in the Past has two different forms in English: "would" and "was
going to." Although the two forms can sometimes be used interchangeably, they often
express two different meanings.
84
FORM Would
[would + VERB]
Examples:
 I knew you would help him.

 I knew you would not help him.
FORM Was/Were Going To
[was/were + going to + VERB]
Examples:
 I knew you were going to go to the party.

 I knew you were not going to go to the party.
USE 1 Future in Past
Future in the Past is used to express the idea that in the past you thought something would
happen in the future. It does not matter if you are correct or not. Future in the Past follows
the same basic rules as the Simple Future. "Would" is used to volunteer or promise, and
"was going to" is used to plan. Moreover, both forms can be used to make predictions about
the future.
Examples:
 I told you he was going to come to the party. PLAN

 I knew Julie would make dinner. VOLUNTARY ACTION
 Jane said Sam was going to bring his sister with him, but he came alone. PLAN
 I had a feeling that the vacation was going to be a disaster. PREDICTION
 He promised he would send a postcard from Egypt. PROMISE
Like all future forms, Future in the Past cannot be used in clauses beginning with time
Instead of using Future in the Past, you must use Simple Past.
Examples:
85
 I already told Mark that when he would arrive, we would go out for dinner. Not
Correct
 I already told Mark that when he arrived, we would go out for dinner. Correct
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 I knew John would finish the work by 5:00 PM. ACTIVE

 I knew the work would be finished by 5:00 PM. PASSIVE
 I thought Sally was going to make a beautiful dinner. ACTIVE
 I thought a beautiful dinner was going to be made by Sally. PASSIVE
86
Types of Verbs
Before you begin the verb tense lessons, it is extremely important to understand that NOT
all English verbs are the same. English verbs are divided into three groups: Normal Verbs,
Non-Continuous Verbs, and Mixed Verbs.
Group I Normal Verbs
Most verbs are "Normal Verbs." These verbs are usually physical actions which you can see
somebody doing. These verbs can be used in all tenses.
Normal Verbs
to run, to walk, to eat, to fly, to go, to say, to touch, etc.
Examples:
 I eat dinner every day.

 I am eating dinner now.
Group II Non-Continuous Verbs
The second group, called "Non-Continuous Verbs," is smaller. These verbs are usually
things you cannot see somebody doing. These verbs are rarely used in continuous tenses.
They include:
Abstract Verbs
to be, to want, to cost, to seem, to need, to care, to contain, to owe, to exist...
Possession Verbs
to possess, to own, to belong...
Emotion Verbs
to like, to love, to hate, to dislike, to fear, to envy, to mind...
Examples:
 He is needing help now. Not Correct

 He needs help now. Correct
 He is wanting a drink now. Not Correct
 He wants a drink now. Correct
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Group III Mixed Verbs
The third group, called "Mixed Verbs," is the smallest group. These verbs have more than
one meaning. In a way, each meaning is a unique verb. Some meanings behave like "Non-
Continuous Verbs," while other meanings behave like "Normal Verbs."
Mixed Verbs
to appear, to feel, to have, to hear, to look, to see, to weigh...
List of Mixed Verbs with Examples and Definitions:
to appear:
 Donna appears confused. Non-Continuous Verb

DONNA SEEMS CONFUSED.
 My favorite singer is appearing at the jazz club tonight. Normal Verb
MY FAVORITE SINGER IS GIVING A PERFORMANCE AT THE JAZZ CLUB TONIGHT.
to have:
 I have a dollar now. Non-Continuous Verb

I POSSESS A DOLLAR.
 I am having fun now. Normal Verb
I AM EXPERIENCING FUN NOW.
to hear:
 She hears the music. Non-Continuous Verb

SHE HEARS THE MUSIC WITH HER EARS.
 She is hearing voices. Normal Verb
SHE HEARS SOMETHING OTHERS CANNOT HEAR. SHE IS HEARING VOICES IN HER MIND.
to look:
 Nancy looks tired. Non-Continuous Verb

SHE SEEMS TIRED.
 Farah is looking at the pictures. Normal Verb
SHE IS LOOKING WITH HER EYES.
to miss:
 John misses Sally. Non-Continuous Verb

HE IS SAD BECAUSE SHE IS NOT THERE.
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 Debbie is missing her favorite TV program. Normal Verb

SHE IS NOT THERE TO SEE HER FAVORITE PROGRAM.
to see:
 I see her. Non-Continuous Verb

I SEE HER WITH MY EYES.
 I am seeing the doctor. Normal Verb
I AM VISITING OR CONSULTING WITH A DOCTOR. (ALSO USED WITH DENTIST AND LAWYER.)
 I am seeing her. Normal Verb
I AM HAVING A RELATIONSHIP WITH HER.
 He is seeing ghosts at night. Normal Verb
HE SEES SOMETHING OTHERS CANNOT SEE. FOR EXAMPLE GHOSTS, AURA, A VISION OF THE FUTURE,
ETC.
to smell:
 The coffee smells good. Non-Continuous Verb

THE COFFEE HAS A GOOD SMELL.
 I am smelling the flowers. Normal Verb
I AM SNIFFING THE FLOWERS TO SEE WHAT THEIR SMELL IS LIKE.
to taste:
 The coffee tastes good. Non-Continuous Verb

THE COFFEE HAS A GOOD TASTE.
 I am tasting the cake. Normal Verb
I AM TRYING THE CAKE TO SEE WHAT IT TASTES LIKE.
to think:
 He thinks the test is easy. Non-Continuous Verb

HE CONSIDERS THE TEST TO BE EASY.
 She is thinking about the question. Normal Verb
SHE IS PONDERING THE QUESTION, GOING OVER IT IN HER MIND.
to weigh:
 The table weighs a lot. Non-Continuous Verb

THE TABLE IS HEAVY.
 She is weighing herself. Normal Verb
SHE IS DETERMINING HER WEIGHT.
Some Verbs Can Be Especially Confusing:
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to be:
 Joe is American. Non-Continuous Verb

JOE IS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN.
 Joe is being very American. Normal Verb
JOE IS BEHAVING LIKE A STEREOTYPICAL AMERICAN.
 Joe is being very rude. Normal Verb
JOE IS BEHAVING VERY RUDELY. USUALLY HE IS NOT RUDE.
 Joe is being very formal. Normal Verb
JOE IS BEHAVING VERY FORMALLY. USUALLY HE IS NOT FORMAL.
NOTICE: Only rarely is "to be" used in a continuous form. This is most commonly done
when a person is temporarily behaving badly or stereotypically. It can also be used when
someone's behavior is noticeably different.
to feel:
 The massage feels great. Non-Continuous Verb

THE MASSAGE HAS A PLEASING FEELING.
 I don't feel well today. Sometimes used as Non-Continuous Verb
I AM A LITTLE SICK.
I am not feeling well today. Sometimes used as Normal Verb
I AM A LITTLE SICK.
NOTICE: The second meaning of "feel" is very flexible and there is no real difference in
meaning between "I don't feel well today" and "I am not feeling well today."
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Used To
FORM
[used to + VERB]
Example:
 I used to go to the beach every day.
It is better not to use "used to" in questions or negative forms; however, this is sometimes
done in informal spoken English. It is better to ask questions and create negative sentences
using Simple Past.
USE 1 Habit in the Past
"Used to" expresses the idea that something was an old habit that stopped in the past. It
indicates that something was often repeated in the past, but it is not usually done now.
Examples:
 Jerry used to study English.

 Sam and Mary used to go to Mexico in the summer.
 I used to start work at 9 o'clock.
 Christine used to eat meat, but now she is a vegetarian.
USE 2 Past Facts and Generalizations
"Used to" can also be used to talk about past facts or generalizations which are no longer
true.
Examples:
 I used to live in Paris.

 Sarah used to be fat, but now she is thin.
 George used to be the best student in class, but now Lena is the best.
 Oranges used to cost very little in Florida, but now they are quite expensive.
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"Used to" vs. Simple Past
Both Simple Past and "Used to" can be used to describe past habits, past facts and past
generalizations; however, "used to" is preferred when emphasizing these forms of past
repetition in positive sentences. On the other hand, when asking questions or making
negative sentences, Simple Past is preferred.
Examples:
 You used to play the piano.

 Did you play the piano when you were young?
 You did not play the piano when you were young.
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 Jerry used to pay the bills. ACTIVE

 The bills used to be paid by Jerry. PASSIVE
More About Active / Passive Forms
EXERCISES AND RELATED TOPICS
 Past Repetition Simple Past, "Used to" and "Would Always."
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Would Always
FORM
[Would always + VERB]
Examples:
 You would always take your surfboard with you when you went to the beach.
 Would you always take your surfboard with you when you went to the beach?
 You would not always take your surfboard with you when you went to the beach.
USE 1 Habit in the Past
Like "used to" and Simple Past, "would always" expresses the idea that something was an
old habit which stopped in the past. It says that an action was often repeated in the past,
but it is not usually done now. Unlike "used to" and Simple Past, "would always" suggests
that someone willingly acted that way and sometimes expresses annoyance or amusement
at the habit. It also often suggests the habit was extreme. To express the opposite idea, we
can say "would never" to indicate that someone never did something in the past, but now
they do.
Examples:
 She would always send me strange birthday gifts.

 Sam and Mary would always choose the most exotic vacation destinations.
 Sally would not always arrive early to class. She came late once or twice.
 Ned would always show up at our house without calling first.
 Mindy would not always walk to school. Sometimes, she took the bus.
 Christine would always come late to the meetings.
 Jeff would never pay for drinks when we went out together with our friends.
REFUSING TO DO SOMETHING OR NORMALLY NOT DOING SOMETHING IS ALSO A FORM OF HABIT.
REMEMBER "Would Always" is Different
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"Would always" is not exactly the same as "used to" or the Simple Past. "Would always"
cannot be used to talk about past facts or generalizations. It can only be used for repeated
actions.
Examples:
 Sarah was shy, but now she is very outgoing. Correct

 Sarah used to be shy, but now she is very outgoing. Correct
 Sarah would always be shy, but now she is very outgoing. Not Correct
Forms Related to "Would Always"
In addition to "would always," English speakers often use "would constantly," "would
often," "would forever" or simply "would." Although the last form "would" is correct, it is
not suggested because it can easily be confused with other verb forms such as
the Conditional or Future in the Past. Similarly, speakers can use "would rarely," "would
occasionally" and "would seldom" to express the idea that an action was not often repeated.
Examples:
 Jerry would come to the parties every weekend.

 Jerry would constantly bring his girlfriend to the parties.
 Jerry would often bring his best friend to the parties.
 Jerry would occasionally bring his older brother to the parties.
 Jerry would seldom bring his sister to the parties.
 Jerry would never bring his younger brother to the parties.
ACTIVE / PASSIVE
Examples:
 My mother would always make the pies. ACTIVE

 The pies would always be made by my mother. PASSIVE
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Active / Passive Verb Forms
Sentences can be active or passive. Therefore, tenses also have "active forms" and "passive
forms." You must learn to recognize the difference to successfully speak English.
Active Form
In active sentences, the thing doing the action is the subject of the sentence and the thing
receiving the action is the object. Most sentences are active.
[Thing doing action] + [verb] + [thing receiving action]
Examples:
Passive Form
In passive sentences, the thing receiving the action is the subject of the sentence and the
thing doing the action is optionally included near the end of the sentence. You can use the
passive form if you think that the thing receiving the action is more important or should be
emphasized. You can also use the passive form if you do not know who is doing the action
or if you do not want to mention who is doing the action.
[Thing receiving action] + [be] + [past participle of verb] + [by] + [thing doing action]
Examples:
Active / Passive Overview
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Active Passive
Simple Once a week, Tom cleans the Once a week, the house is
Present house. cleaned by Tom.
Present Right now, Sarah is writing the Right now, the letter is being
Continuous letter. written by Sarah.
Simple Past Sam repaired the car. The car was repaired by Sam.
Past The salesman was helping the The customer was being helped by
Continuous customer when the thief came the salesman when the thief came
into the store. into the store.
Present Many tourists have visited that That castle has been visited by
Perfect castle. many tourists.
Present Recently, John has been Recently, the work has been being
Perfect doing the work. done by John.
Continuous
Past Perfect George had repaired many cars Many cars had been repaired by
before he received his mechanic's George before he received his
license. mechanic's license.
Past Perfect Chef Jones had been The restaurant's fantastic

Continuous preparing the restaurant's dinners had been being
fantastic dinners for two years prepared by Chef Jones for two
before he moved to Paris. years before he moved to Paris.
Simple Future Someone will finish the work by The work will be finished by 5:00
WILL 5:00 PM. PM.
Simple Future Sally is going to make a beautiful A beautiful dinner is going to be

BE GOING TO dinner tonight. made by Sally tonight.
Future At 8:00 PM tonight, John will be At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes will
Continuous washing the dishes. be being washed by John.
WILL
Future At 8:00 PM tonight, John is going At 8:00 PM tonight, the dishes are
Continuous to be washing the dishes. going to be being washed by John.
BE GOING TO
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Future Perfect They will have completed the The project will have been
WILL project before the deadline. completed before the deadline.
Future Perfect They are going to have The project is going to have been
BE GOING TO completed the project before the completed before the deadline.
deadline.
Future Perfect The famous artist will have been The mural will have been being
Continuous painting the mural for over six painted by the famous artist for
WILL months by the time it is finished. over six months by the time it is
finished.
Future Perfect The famous artist is going to The mural is going to have been
Continuous have been painting the mural for being painted by the famous artist
BE GOING TO over six months by the time it is for over six months by the time it is
finished. finished.
Used to Jerry used to pay the bills. The bills used to be paid by Jerry.
Would Always My mother would always The pies would always be made by
make the pies. my mother.
Future in the I knew John would finish the I knew the work would be
Past work by 5:00 PM. finished by 5:00 PM.
WOULD
Future in the I thought Sally was going to I thought a beautiful dinner was
Past make a beautiful dinner tonight. going to be made by Sally tonight.
WAS GOING TO
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Reported Speech
Direct and Indirect Speech
Direct Speech | Indirect Speech

Tense Change | Time Change | Pronoun Change
Reporting Verbs | Use of 'That'
We often have to give information about what people say or think. In order to do this you
can use direct or quoted speech, or indirect or reported speech.
Direct Speech / Quoted Speech
Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted
speech)
Here what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for
word.
For example:
She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations."
or
"Today's lesson is on presentations", she said.
Indirect Speech / Reported Speech
Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to
enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word.
When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported
speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who
spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.
For example:
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Direct speech Indirect speech
"I'm going to the cinema", he said. He said he was going to the cinema.
Tense change
As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense: (the tense on
the left changes to the tense on the right):
Present simple Past simple

›
She said, "It's cold." She said it was cold.
Present continuous Past continuous

›
She said, "I'm teaching English online." She said she was teaching English online.
Present perfect simple

Past perfect simple
She said, "I've been on the web since ›
She said she had been on the web since 1999.
1999."
Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

She said, "I've been teaching English for › She said she had been teaching English for
seven years." seven years.
Past simple Past perfect

›
She said, "I taught online yesterday." She said she had taught online yesterday.
Past continuous Past perfect continuous

›
She said, "I was teaching earlier." She said she had been teaching earlier.
Past perfect Past perfect

She said, "The lesson had already started › NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already
when he arrived." started when he arrived.
Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

She said, "I'd already been teaching for › NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been
five minutes." teaching for five minutes.
Modal verb forms also sometimes change:
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will would
She said, "I'll teach English online › She said she would teach English online
tomorrow." tomorrow.
can could
›
She said, "I can teach English online." She said she could teach English online.
must had to
She said, "I must have a computer to teach › She said she had to have a computer to teach
English online." English online.
shall should
›
She said, "What shall we learn today?" She asked what we should learn today.
may might
›
She said, "May I open a new browser?" She asked if she might open a new browser.
!Note - There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to.
"I might go to the cinema", he said. He said he might go to the cinema.
You can use the present tense in reported speech if you want to say that something is still
true i.e. my name has always been and will always be Lynne so:-
She said her name was Lynne.
"My name is Lynne", she said. or
She said her name is Lynne.
You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event.
Direct speech (exact quote) Indirect speech (not exact)
"Next week's lesson is on reported She said next week's lesson will be on reported
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speech", she said. speech.
Time change
If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in with the
time of reporting.
For example we need to change words like here and yesterday if they have different
meanings at the time and place of reporting.
Now + 24 hours - Indirect speech
She said yesterday's lesson was on

presentations.
"Today's lesson is on presentations." or
She said yesterday's lesson would be on

presentations.
Expressions of time if reported on a different day
this (evening) › that (evening)
today › yesterday ...
these (days) › those (days)
now › then
(a week) ago › (a week) before
last weekend › the weekend before last / the previous weekend
here › there
next (week) › the following (week)
tomorrow › the next/following day
In addition if you report something that someone said in a different place to where you
heard it you must change the place (here) to the place (there).
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For example:-
At work At home
"How long have you worked here?" She asked me how long I'd worked there.
Pronoun change
In reported speech, the pronoun often changes.
For example:
Me You
Direct Speech
She said, "I teach English online."
"I teach English online", she said.
"I teach English online." Reported Speech
She said she teaches English online.
or
She said she taught English online.
Reporting Verbs
Said, told and asked are the most common verbs used in indirect speech.
We use asked to report questions:-
For example: I asked Lynne what time the lesson started.
We use told with an object.
For example: Lynne told me she felt tired.
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!Note - Here me is the object.
We usually use said without an object.
For example: Lynne said she was going to teach online.
If said is used with an object we must include to ;
For example: Lynne said to me that she'd never been to China.
!Note - We usually use told.
For example: Lynne told me (that) she'd never been to China.
There are many other verbs we can use apart from said, told and asked.
These include:-
accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed, apologised, begged, boasted,

complained, denied, explained, implied, invited, offered, ordered, promised,
replied, suggested and thought.
Using them properly can make what you say much more interesting and informative.
For example:
He asked me to come to the party:-
He invited me to the party.
He begged me to come to the party.
He ordered me to come to the party.
He advised me to come to the party.
He suggested I should come to the party.
Use of 'That' in reported speech
In reported speech, the word that is often used.
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For example: He told me that he lived in Greenwich.
However, that is optional.
For example: He told me he lived in Greenwich.
!Note - That is never used in questions, instead we often use if.
For example: He asked me if I would come to the party.
The sneaky comma
I'm British, so I only tend to place the comma inside quotation marks when it's part of the
sentence being quoted.
"I didn't notice that the comma was inside the quotation marks," Lynne said, "but Hekner
did."
That said, I read so much American literature, that even I tuck them away sometimes.
Really, no one has set in stone what the rules of the English language are. It's a diverse
language, and the rules that exist have arisen through usage, and they can change in exactly
the same way, so maybe it doesn't matter, but it's best to be consistent. (Thanks Hekner.)
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Table for change in tense of reported speech for all TENSES.
TENSE CHANGE - IN - INDIRECT SPEECH

Present simple tense into Past simple
Present Continuous tense into Past continuous
Present Perfect tense into Pas perfect
Present Perfect Continuous into Past perfect continuous
Past simple into Past Perfect
Past Continuous into Past Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect into Past Perfect
Future simple, will into would
Future Continuous, will be into would be
Future Perfect, will have into would have
Examples.
DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH
PRESENT TENSE
PRESENT SIMPLE changes into PAST SIMPLE
He said, “I write a letter” He said that he wrote a letter.
She said, “he goes to school daily” He said that she went to school daily.
They said, “we love our country” They said that they loved their country
He said that he did not like computer.
He said, “he does not like computer”
PRESENT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST CONTINUOUS
He said, “he is listening to the music” He said that he was listening to the music.
She said, “I am washing my clothes” She said that she was washing her clothes.
They said, “we are enjoying the weather” They said that they were not enjoying the
weather.
I said, “it is raining”
She said, “I am not laughing” She said that she was not laughing.
PRESENT PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT
She said, “he has finished his work” She said that he had finished his work.
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He said, “I have started a job” He said that he had started a job.
I said, “she have eaten the

meal” I said that she had eaten the meal.
They said that they had not gone to New
They said, “we have not gone to New York. York.
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

He said, “I have been studying since 3
He said that he had been studying since 3
O’clock”
O’clock.
She said, “It has been raining for three

She said that it been raining for three days.
days.”
I said that she had been working in this

I said, “She has been working in this office
office since 2007.
since 2007”
PAST TENSE
PAST SIMPLE changes into PAST PERFECT
He said to me, “you answered correctly” He said to me that I had answered correctly.
John said, “they went to cinema” John said that they had gone to cinema.
He said, “I made a table” He said that he had made a table.

She said, “I didn’t buy a car” She said that she had not bought a car.
PAST CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

They said that they had been enjoying.
They said, “we were enjoying the weather”
He said to me that he had been waiting for

He said to me, “ I was waiting for you”
me.
I said that it had been raining.
I said, “It was raining”
She said, “I was not laughing”
She said that she not been laughing.
PAST PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT (tense does not change)
She said, “She had visited a doctor” She said that she had visited a doctor.
He said, “I had started a business” He said that he had started a business.
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I said, “she had eaten the meal” I said that she had eaten the meal.
They said, “we had not gone to New York. They said they had not gone to New York.
FUTURE TENSE
FUTURE SIMPLE TENSE
WILL changes into WOULD
He said, “I will study the book” He said that he would study the book.
She said, “I will buy a computer” She said that she would buy a computer.
They said to me, “we will send you gifts” They said to me that they would send you
gifts.
I said, “I will not take the exam” I said that I would not take the exam.
FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE

WILL BE changes into WOULD BE
I said to him that I would be waiting for him.
I said to him, “ I will be waiting for him”
She said that she would be shifting to a new

She said,” I will be shifting to new home”
home.
He said, “I will be working hard”

He said that he would be working hard.
He said, “he will not be flying kite”

She said that he would not be flying kites.
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
WILL HAVE changes into WOULD HAVE
He said that he would have finished the
He said, “I will have finished the work”
work.
She said, “they will have passed the

She said that they would have passed the
examination”
examination.
He said, “I will have gone”

He said that he would have gone.
Note: The tense of reported speech may not change if reported speech is a universal truth
though its reporting verb belongs to past tense.
Examples.
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Direct speech: He said, “Mathematics is a science”

Indirect Speech: He said that mathematics is a science.
Direct speech: He said, “Sun rises in east”
Indirect Speech: He said that sun rises in east. (Tense didn’t change because
reported speech is a universal truth thought its reporting verb
belongs to past tense)
Indirect speech for Interrogative (question) sentence.
For changing interrogative (question) sentence into indirect speech we have to observe the
nature of question and then change it into indirect speech according to it rules for indirect
speech. A question can be of two types. One type which can be answered in only YES or NO
and other type which needs a little bit explanation for its answer and cannot be answered
in only YES or NO.
Examples
Do you like music? (It can be answered in YES or NO)
How are you? (It cannot be answered in YES or NO but it needs a little bit
explanation i.e, I am fine.)
Questions which can be answered in YES/NO.

To change questions (which can be answered in yes or no) into indirect speech, word “if” or
“whether” is used before the question in indirect speech. Rules for change in tense of
question sentences are same as for change in normal tenses in indirect speech but sentence
will not start with the auxiliary verb of the tense. The word “that” is not used between
reporting verb and reported speech as conjunction in indirect speech for question
sentence. Question mark is not used in indirect speech.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said to me, “do you like music?”
Indirect Speech: He asked me if I liked music. (Not, did I like music)
Or Indirect Speech: He asked me whether I liked music.
Direct speech: She said, “Will he participate in the quiz competition?”

Indirect Speech: She asked me if he would participate in quiz competition.
Direct speech: I said to him, “are you feeling well?”
Indirect Speech: I asked him if he was feeling well.
Direct speech: They said to me, “did u go to school?”
Indirect Speech: They asked me if I had gone to school.
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Direct speech: He said to me, “Have you taken the breakfast?”

Indirect Speech: He asked me if I had taken the breakfast
Question which cannot be answered in YES/NO.
To change such questions into indirect speech, the words “if” or “whether” is not used. The
tense of the question is changed according to the rules for change in normal tenses in
indirect speech but sentence will not start with the auxiliary verb of the tense. The word
“that” is not used between reporting verb and reported speech as conjunction, in indirect
speech for question sentence. Question mark is not used in indirect speech.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said to me, “how are you?”
Indirect speech: He asked me how I was. (Not, how was I)
Direct speech: Teacher said to him, “what is your name?”
Indirect speech: Teacher asked him what his name was.
Direct speech: She said to him, “why did you come late?”
Indirect speech: She asked him why he had come late.
Direct speech: He said, “when will they come?”
Indirect speech: He asked when they would come.
Direct speech: She asked his son, “why are you crying?”
Indirect speech: She asked her son why he was crying.
Indirect speech for sentence having MODALS, “can, may, must,
Present modals are changed to past modals
Direct Speech Indirect Speech

Indirect speech for sentence having MODALS,
“can, may, must, should, ought to”
CAN changes into COULD
He said, “I can drive a car” He said that he could drive a car.
She said, “he can play a violin.” She said that he could play a violin.
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They said, “we can climb on a hill” They said that they can climb on a hill.
MAY changes into MIGHT

He said, “I may buy a computer” He said that he might buy a computer.
She said, “he may visit a doctor.” She said that he might visit a doctor.
They said, “they may go to zoo” They said that they might go to zoo.
MUST changes into HAD TO
He said that he had to work hard.
He said, “I must work hard”
She said that they had to carry on their

She said, “they must carry on their work”
work.
I said to him, “you must learn the test-taking

I said to him that he had to learn the test-
strategies”
taking strategies.
Indirect speech for sentence having MODALS, should, ought to, might, would, and could”
The modal will not change in indirect speech

THESE MODALS DO NOT CHANGE
Would, could, might, should, ought to”
Would
They said, “we would apply for a visa” They said that they would apply for visa.
He said, “I would start a business. He said that he would start a business.
She said, “I would appear in exam” She said that she would appear in the exam.
Could
She said, “she could play a piano” She said that she could play a violin.
They said, “we couldn’t learn the lesson” They said they couldn’t learn the lesson.
He said, “I could run faster” He said that he could run faster.
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Might
He said, “guests might come” He said that guest might come.
She said, “it might rain” She said that it might rain.
John said, “I might meet him” John said that he might meet him.
Should
He said, “I should avail the opportunity” He said that he should avail the opportunity.
She said, “I should help a him” She said that she should help him.
They said, “we should take the exam” They said that they should take the exam.
Ought to
He said to me that I ought to wait for him.
He said to me, “you ought to wait for him”
She said that she ought to learn method of
She said, “I ought to learn method of study” study.
They said, we ought to attend our classes” They said that they ought to attend their
classes.

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work.

strategies”
taking strategies.

Would
Could

Might
112
Should
Ought to
classes.
Indirect speech for exclamatory and imperative sentences.
Indirect speech of imperative sentence.

A sentence which expresses command, request, advice or suggestion is calledimperative
sentence.
For example,
• Open the door.
• Please help me.
• Learn your lesson.
To change such sentences into indirect speech, the word “ordered” or “requested” or
“advised” or “suggested” or “forbade” or “not to do” is added to reporting verb depending
upon nature of imperative sentence in reported speech.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said to me, “please help me”
Indirect Speech: He requested me to help him.
Direct speech: She said to him, “you should work hard for exam”
Indirect Speech: He suggested him to work hard for exam.
Direct speech: They said to him, “do not tell a lie”
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Indirect Speech: They said to him not to tell a lie.

Direct speech: He said, “open the door”
Indirect Speech: He ordered to open the door.
Direct speech: The teacher said to student, “do not waste time”
Indirect Speech: The teacher advised the students not to waste time.
Direct speech: He said, “please give me glass of water”
Indirect Speech: He requested to give him a glass of water.
Direct speech: Doctor said to me, “Do not smoke”
Indirect Speech: Doctor advised me not to smoke.
Direct speech: The teacher said to him, “Get out”
Indirect Speech: The teacher ordered him to get out.
Indirect speech of exclamatory sentences.

Sentence which expresses state of joy or sorrow or wonder is called exclamatory sentence.
For example.
• Hurrah! We won the match.
• Alas! I failed the test.
• Wow! What a nice shirt it is.
To change such sentences, the words “exclaimed with joy” or “exclaimed with sorrow” or
“exclaimed with wonder” is added in the reporting verb depending upon the nature of
exclamatory sentence in indirect speech.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said, “Hurrah! I won a prize”
Indirect Speech: He exclaimed with joy that he had won a prize.
Direct speech: She said, “Alas! I failed in exam”
Indirect Speech: She exclaimed with sorrow that she failed in the exam.
Direct speech: John said, “Wow! What a nice shirt it is”
Indirect Speech: John exclaimed with wonder that it was a nice shirt.
Direct speech: She said, “Hurrah! I am selected for the job”
Indirect Speech: She exclaimed with joy that she was selected for the job.
Direct speech: He said, “Oh no! I missed the train”
Indirect Speech: He exclaimed with sorrow that he had missed the train.
Direct speech: They said, “Wow! What a pleasant weather it is”
Indirect Speech: They exclaimed with wonder that it was a pleasant weather.
Changes in pronoun in Indirect Speech.
114
The pronoun (subject) of the reported speech is changed according to the

pronoun of reporting verb or object (person) of reporting verb (first part of sentence).
Sometimes the pronoun may not change.
1. First person pronoun in reported speech i.e. I, we, me, us, mine, or our, is changed
according to the pronoun of reporting verb if pronoun in reporting verb is third person
pronoun i.e. he, she, it, they, him, his, her, them or their.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said, “I live in New York”
Indirect speech: He said that he lived in New York.
Direct speech: They said, “we love our country”
Indirect speech: They said that they loved their country
2. First person pronoun in reported speech i.e. I, we, me, us, mine, or our, is not changed
if the pronoun (Subject) of reporting is also first person pronoun i.e. I or we.
Examples.
Direct speech: I said, “I write a letter”
Indirect speech: I said that I wrote a letter.
Direct speech: We said, “we completed our work”
Indirect speech: We said that we completed our work.
3. Second person pronoun in reported speech i.e. you, yours is changed according to the
person of object of reporting verb.
Examples.
Direct speech: She said to him, “you are intelligent”
Indirect speech: She said to him that he was intelligent.
Direct speech: He said to me, “you are late for the party”
Indirect speech: He said to me that I was late for the party.
4. Third person pronoun in reported speech i.e. he, she, it, they, him, his, her, them or
their, is not changed in indirect speech.
Examples.
Direct speech: They said, “he will come”
Indirect speech: They said that he would come.
Direct speech: You said, “they are waiting for the bus”
Indirect speech: You said that they were waiting for the bus.
115
Changes in time and adverbs in indirect speech.

Time and adverbs are changed in indirect speech.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said, “I will buy a book tomorrow”
Indirect speech: He said that he would buy a book the next day.
Direct speech: She said, “I am happy now”
Indirect speech: She said that she was happy then.
Direct speech: He said, “I like this book”
Indirect speech: He said that he liked that book.
Common Rules
Today changes to that day/the same day
Tomorrow changes to the next day/the following day
Yesterday changes to the day before/the previous day
Next week/month/year changes to the following week/month/year
Last week/month/year changes to the previous week/month/year
Now/just changes to then
Ago changes to before
Here changes to there
This changes to that
116
Reported Speech
Direct and Indirect Speech
Direct Speech | Indirect Speech

Tense Change | Time Change | Pronoun Change
Reporting Verbs | Use of 'That'
We often have to give information about what people say or think. In order to do this you
can use direct or quoted speech, or indirect or reported speech.
Direct Speech / Quoted Speech
Saying exactly what someone has said is called direct speech (sometimes called quoted
speech)
Here what a person says appears within quotation marks ("...") and should be word for
word.
For example:
She said, "Today's lesson is on presentations."
or
"Today's lesson is on presentations", she said.
Indirect Speech / Reported Speech
Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech), doesn't use quotation marks to
enclose what the person said and it doesn't have to be word for word.
When reporting speech the tense usually changes. This is because when we use reported
speech, we are usually talking about a time in the past (because obviously the person who
spoke originally spoke in the past). The verbs therefore usually have to be in the past too.
For example:
117
"I'm going to the cinema", he said. He said he was going to the cinema.
Tense change
As a rule when you report something someone has said you go back a tense: (the tense on
the left changes to the tense on the right):
Present simple Past simple

›
She said, "It's cold." She said it was cold.
Present continuous Past continuous

›
She said, "I'm teaching English online." She said she was teaching English online.
Present perfect simple

Past perfect simple
She said, "I've been on the web since ›
She said she had been on the web since 1999.
1999."
Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

She said, "I've been teaching English for › She said she had been teaching English for
seven years." seven years.
Past simple Past perfect

›
She said, "I taught online yesterday." She said she had taught online yesterday.
Past continuous Past perfect continuous

›
She said, "I was teaching earlier." She said she had been teaching earlier.
Past perfect Past perfect

She said, "The lesson had already started › NO CHANGE - She said the lesson had already
when he arrived." started when he arrived.
Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous

She said, "I'd already been teaching for › NO CHANGE - She said she'd already been
five minutes." teaching for five minutes.
Modal verb forms also sometimes change:
118
will would
She said, "I'll teach English online › She said she would teach English online
tomorrow." tomorrow.
can could
›
She said, "I can teach English online." She said she could teach English online.
must had to
She said, "I must have a computer to teach › She said she had to have a computer to teach
English online." English online.
shall should
›
She said, "What shall we learn today?" She asked what we should learn today.
may might
›
She said, "May I open a new browser?" She asked if she might open a new browser.
!Note - There is no change to; could, would, should, might and ought to.
"I might go to the cinema", he said. He said he might go to the cinema.
You can use the present tense in reported speech if you want to say that something is still
true i.e. my name has always been and will always be Lynne so:-
She said her name was Lynne.
"My name is Lynne", she said. or
She said her name is Lynne.
You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event.
Direct speech (exact quote) Indirect speech (not exact)
"Next week's lesson is on reported She said next week's lesson will be on reported
119
speech", she said. speech.
Time change
If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in with the
time of reporting.
For example we need to change words like here and yesterday if they have different
meanings at the time and place of reporting.
Now + 24 hours - Indirect speech
She said yesterday's lesson was on

presentations.
"Today's lesson is on presentations." or
She said yesterday's lesson would be on

presentations.
Expressions of time if reported on a different day
this (evening) › that (evening)
today › yesterday ...
these (days) › those (days)
now › then
(a week) ago › (a week) before
last weekend › the weekend before last / the previous weekend
here › there
next (week) › the following (week)
tomorrow › the next/following day
In addition if you report something that someone said in a different place to where you
heard it you must change the place (here) to the place (there).
120
For example:-
At work At home
"How long have you worked here?" She asked me how long I'd worked there.
Pronoun change
In reported speech, the pronoun often changes.
For example:
Me You
Direct Speech
She said, "I teach English online."
"I teach English online", she said.
"I teach English online." Reported Speech
She said she teaches English online.
or
She said she taught English online.
Reporting Verbs
Said, told and asked are the most common verbs used in indirect speech.
We use asked to report questions:-
For example: I asked Lynne what time the lesson started.
We use told with an object.
For example: Lynne told me she felt tired.
121
!Note - Here me is the object.
We usually use said without an object.
For example: Lynne said she was going to teach online.
If said is used with an object we must include to ;
For example: Lynne said to me that she'd never been to China.
!Note - We usually use told.
For example: Lynne told me (that) she'd never been to China.
There are many other verbs we can use apart from said, told and asked.
These include:-
accused, admitted, advised, alleged, agreed, apologised, begged, boasted,

complained, denied, explained, implied, invited, offered, ordered, promised,
replied, suggested and thought.
Using them properly can make what you say much more interesting and informative.
For example:
He asked me to come to the party:-
He invited me to the party.
He begged me to come to the party.
He ordered me to come to the party.
He advised me to come to the party.
He suggested I should come to the party.
Use of 'That' in reported speech
In reported speech, the word that is often used.
122
For example: He told me that he lived in Greenwich.
However, that is optional.
For example: He told me he lived in Greenwich.
!Note - That is never used in questions, instead we often use if.
For example: He asked me if I would come to the party.
The sneaky comma
I'm British, so I only tend to place the comma inside quotation marks when it's part of the
sentence being quoted.
"I didn't notice that the comma was inside the quotation marks," Lynne said, "but Hekner
did."
That said, I read so much American literature, that even I tuck them away sometimes.
Really, no one has set in stone what the rules of the English language are. It's a diverse
language, and the rules that exist have arisen through usage, and they can change in exactly
the same way, so maybe it doesn't matter, but it's best to be consistent. (Thanks Hekner.)
123
Table for change in tense of reported speech for all TENSES.
TENSE CHANGE - IN - INDIRECT SPEECH

Present simple tense into Past simple
Present Continuous tense into Past continuous
Present Perfect tense into Pas perfect
Present Perfect Continuous into Past perfect continuous
Past simple into Past Perfect
Past Continuous into Past Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect into Past Perfect
Future simple, will into would
Future Continuous, will be into would be
Future Perfect, will have into would have
Examples.
DIRECT SPEECH INDIRECT SPEECH
PRESENT TENSE
PRESENT SIMPLE changes into PAST SIMPLE
He said, “I write a letter” He said that he wrote a letter.
She said, “he goes to school daily” He said that she went to school daily.
They said, “we love our country” They said that they loved their country
He said that he did not like computer.
He said, “he does not like computer”
PRESENT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST CONTINUOUS
He said, “he is listening to the music” He said that he was listening to the music.
She said, “I am washing my clothes” She said that she was washing her clothes.
They said, “we are enjoying the weather” They said that they were not enjoying the
weather.
I said, “it is raining”
She said, “I am not laughing” She said that she was not laughing.
PRESENT PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT
She said, “he has finished his work” She said that he had finished his work.
124
He said, “I have started a job” He said that he had started a job.
I said, “she have eaten the

meal” I said that she had eaten the meal.
They said that they had not gone to New
They said, “we have not gone to New York. York.
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

He said, “I have been studying since 3
He said that he had been studying since 3
O’clock”
O’clock.
She said, “It has been raining for three

She said that it been raining for three days.
days.”
I said that she had been working in this

I said, “She has been working in this office
office since 2007.
since 2007”
PAST TENSE
PAST SIMPLE changes into PAST PERFECT
He said to me, “you answered correctly” He said to me that I had answered correctly.
John said, “they went to cinema” John said that they had gone to cinema.
He said, “I made a table” He said that he had made a table.

She said, “I didn’t buy a car” She said that she had not bought a car.
PAST CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

They said that they had been enjoying.
They said, “we were enjoying the weather”
He said to me that he had been waiting for

He said to me, “ I was waiting for you”
me.
I said that it had been raining.
I said, “It was raining”
She said, “I was not laughing”
She said that she not been laughing.
PAST PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT (tense does not change)
She said, “She had visited a doctor” She said that she had visited a doctor.
He said, “I had started a business” He said that he had started a business.
125
I said, “she had eaten the meal” I said that she had eaten the meal.
They said, “we had not gone to New York. They said they had not gone to New York.
FUTURE TENSE
FUTURE SIMPLE TENSE
WILL changes into WOULD
He said, “I will study the book” He said that he would study the book.
She said, “I will buy a computer” She said that she would buy a computer.
They said to me, “we will send you gifts” They said to me that they would send you
gifts.
I said, “I will not take the exam” I said that I would not take the exam.
FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE

WILL BE changes into WOULD BE
I said to him that I would be waiting for him.
I said to him, “ I will be waiting for him”
She said that she would be shifting to a new

She said,” I will be shifting to new home”
home.
He said, “I will be working hard”

He said that he would be working hard.
He said, “he will not be flying kite”

She said that he would not be flying kites.
FUTURE PERFECT TENSE
WILL HAVE changes into WOULD HAVE
He said that he would have finished the
He said, “I will have finished the work”
work.
She said, “they will have passed the

She said that they would have passed the
examination”
examination.
He said, “I will have gone”

He said that he would have gone.
Note: The tense of reported speech may not change if reported speech is a universal truth
though its reporting verb belongs to past tense.
Examples.
126
Direct speech: He said, “Mathematics is a science”

Indirect Speech: He said that mathematics is a science.
Direct speech: He said, “Sun rises in east”
Indirect Speech: He said that sun rises in east. (Tense didn’t change because
reported speech is a universal truth thought its reporting verb
belongs to past tense)
Indirect speech for Interrogative (question) sentence.
For changing interrogative (question) sentence into indirect speech we have to observe the
nature of question and then change it into indirect speech according to it rules for indirect
speech. A question can be of two types. One type which can be answered in only YES or NO
and other type which needs a little bit explanation for its answer and cannot be answered
in only YES or NO.
Examples
Do you like music? (It can be answered in YES or NO)
How are you? (It cannot be answered in YES or NO but it needs a little bit
explanation i.e, I am fine.)
Questions which can be answered in YES/NO.

To change questions (which can be answered in yes or no) into indirect speech, word “if” or
“whether” is used before the question in indirect speech. Rules for change in tense of
question sentences are same as for change in normal tenses in indirect speech but sentence
will not start with the auxiliary verb of the tense. The word “that” is not used between
reporting verb and reported speech as conjunction in indirect speech for question
sentence. Question mark is not used in indirect speech.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said to me, “do you like music?”
Indirect Speech: He asked me if I liked music. (Not, did I like music)
Or Indirect Speech: He asked me whether I liked music.
Direct speech: She said, “Will he participate in the quiz competition?”

Indirect Speech: She asked me if he would participate in quiz competition.
Direct speech: I said to him, “are you feeling well?”
Indirect Speech: I asked him if he was feeling well.
Direct speech: They said to me, “did u go to school?”
Indirect Speech: They asked me if I had gone to school.
127
Direct speech: He said to me, “Have you taken the breakfast?”

Indirect Speech: He asked me if I had taken the breakfast
Question which cannot be answered in YES/NO.
To change such questions into indirect speech, the words “if” or “whether” is not used. The
tense of the question is changed according to the rules for change in normal tenses in
indirect speech but sentence will not start with the auxiliary verb of the tense. The word
“that” is not used between reporting verb and reported speech as conjunction, in indirect
speech for question sentence. Question mark is not used in indirect speech.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said to me, “how are you?”
Indirect speech: He asked me how I was. (Not, how was I)
Direct speech: Teacher said to him, “what is your name?”
Indirect speech: Teacher asked him what his name was.
Direct speech: She said to him, “why did you come late?”
Indirect speech: She asked him why he had come late.
Direct speech: He said, “when will they come?”
Indirect speech: He asked when they would come.
Direct speech: She asked his son, “why are you crying?”
Indirect speech: She asked her son why he was crying.

128


work.

strategies”
taking strategies.

Would
Could
129
Might
Should
Ought to
classes.

130


work.

strategies”
taking strategies.

Would
Could

Might
131
Should
Ought to
classes.
Indirect speech for exclamatory and imperative sentences.
Indirect speech of imperative sentence.

A sentence which expresses command, request, advice or suggestion is calledimperative
sentence.
For example,
• Open the door.
• Please help me.
• Learn your lesson.
To change such sentences into indirect speech, the word “ordered” or “requested” or
“advised” or “suggested” or “forbade” or “not to do” is added to reporting verb depending
upon nature of imperative sentence in reported speech.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said to me, “please help me”
Indirect Speech: He requested me to help him.
Direct speech: She said to him, “you should work hard for exam”
Indirect Speech: He suggested him to work hard for exam.
Direct speech: They said to him, “do not tell a lie”
132
Indirect Speech: They said to him not to tell a lie.

Direct speech: He said, “open the door”
Indirect Speech: He ordered to open the door.
Direct speech: The teacher said to student, “do not waste time”
Indirect Speech: The teacher advised the students not to waste time.
Direct speech: He said, “please give me glass of water”
Indirect Speech: He requested to give him a glass of water.
Direct speech: Doctor said to me, “Do not smoke”
Indirect Speech: Doctor advised me not to smoke.
Direct speech: The teacher said to him, “Get out”
Indirect Speech: The teacher ordered him to get out.
Indirect speech of exclamatory sentences.

Sentence which expresses state of joy or sorrow or wonder is called exclamatory sentence.
For example.
• Hurrah! We won the match.
• Alas! I failed the test.
• Wow! What a nice shirt it is.
To change such sentences, the words “exclaimed with joy” or “exclaimed with sorrow” or
“exclaimed with wonder” is added in the reporting verb depending upon the nature of
exclamatory sentence in indirect speech.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said, “Hurrah! I won a prize”
Indirect Speech: He exclaimed with joy that he had won a prize.
Direct speech: She said, “Alas! I failed in exam”
Indirect Speech: She exclaimed with sorrow that she failed in the exam.
Direct speech: John said, “Wow! What a nice shirt it is”
Indirect Speech: John exclaimed with wonder that it was a nice shirt.
Direct speech: She said, “Hurrah! I am selected for the job”
Indirect Speech: She exclaimed with joy that she was selected for the job.
Direct speech: He said, “Oh no! I missed the train”
Indirect Speech: He exclaimed with sorrow that he had missed the train.
Direct speech: They said, “Wow! What a pleasant weather it is”
Indirect Speech: They exclaimed with wonder that it was a pleasant weather.
Changes in pronoun in Indirect Speech.
133
The pronoun (subject) of the reported speech is changed according to the

pronoun of reporting verb or object (person) of reporting verb (first part of sentence).
Sometimes the pronoun may not change.
1. First person pronoun in reported speech i.e. I, we, me, us, mine, or our, is changed
according to the pronoun of reporting verb if pronoun in reporting verb is third person
pronoun i.e. he, she, it, they, him, his, her, them or their.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said, “I live in New York”
Indirect speech: He said that he lived in New York.
Direct speech: They said, “we love our country”
Indirect speech: They said that they loved their country
2. First person pronoun in reported speech i.e. I, we, me, us, mine, or our, is not changed
if the pronoun (Subject) of reporting is also first person pronoun i.e. I or we.
Examples.
Direct speech: I said, “I write a letter”
Indirect speech: I said that I wrote a letter.
Direct speech: We said, “we completed our work”
Indirect speech: We said that we completed our work.
3. Second person pronoun in reported speech i.e. you, yours is changed according to the
person of object of reporting verb.
Examples.
Direct speech: She said to him, “you are intelligent”
Indirect speech: She said to him that he was intelligent.
Direct speech: He said to me, “you are late for the party”
Indirect speech: He said to me that I was late for the party.
4. Third person pronoun in reported speech i.e. he, she, it, they, him, his, her, them or
their, is not changed in indirect speech.
Examples.
Direct speech: They said, “he will come”
Indirect speech: They said that he would come.
Direct speech: You said, “they are waiting for the bus”
Indirect speech: You said that they were waiting for the bus.
134
Changes in time and adverbs in indirect speech.

Time and adverbs are changed in indirect speech.
Examples.
Direct speech: He said, “I will buy a book tomorrow”
Indirect speech: He said that he would buy a book the next day.
Direct speech: She said, “I am happy now”
Indirect speech: She said that she was happy then.
Direct speech: He said, “I like this book”
Indirect speech: He said that he liked that book.
Common Rules
Today changes to that day/the same day
Tomorrow changes to the next day/the following day
Yesterday changes to the day before/the previous day
Next week/month/year changes to the following week/month/year
Last week/month/year changes to the previous week/month/year
Now/just changes to then
Ago changes to before
Here changes to there
This changes to that
135
Articles
English language has two articles, “the and a/an”. An article is used for a noun. An article
like an adjective modifies a noun.
For example, a book, the book, a cup, the cup, an umbrella, the umbrella
The article “the” is called definite article and the article “a/an” is called indefinite article.
Types of Articles
There are two articles in English language.
1. Indefinite article: a/an

2. Definite article: the
An article is used before a noun or an adjective modifying a noun.
Definite Article: (the)

The definite article "the" is used for a definite, specific or particular noun.
Example. He bought the shirt.
The article “the” before the noun “shirt” in above sentence means that the shirt, he bought,
is a specific or particular shirt and not any shirt.
Indefinite Article: (a/an)

The definite article “a/an” is used for indefinite, non-specific or non-particular (common)
noun.
Example. He bought a shirt.
The article “a” before shirt in above sentence means that the shirt he bought is any shirt
and not a specific shirt.
Rules for using Indefinite Article (a/an)

The article form “a” is used before a word (singular) beginning with a consonant, or a
vowel with a consonant sound.
e.g. a book, a cat, a camera, a university, a European
The article form “an” is used before a word (singular) beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)
or consonant with vowel sound (or beginning with mute h ).
e.g. an apple, an elephant, an umbrella, an hour,
1. Before a singular noun which is countable
e.g. He bought a book
She is eating an apple.
136
2. Before a singular noun which refers to a class of things.

e.g. An orange is rich in vitamins.
3. Before a name of a profession
e.g. She wants to be a doctor
He is an engineer.
4. For certain expressions of quantity
e.g. a lot of, a few, a couple, a dozen
5. For certain numbers.
e.g. a hundred, a thousand, a million
6. Before a singular, countable noun in exclamation.
e.g. What a beautiful flower!
What a nice shirt!
7. Article a/an is not used before uncountable nouns
e.g. water, milk, sand etc
Rules for using definite Article (the)

The article “the” can be used both before a singular and plural noun according to the
following grammatical rules. e.g. the book, the books
1. Before the place, object or group of object which is unique or considered to be unique
and geographical region and points on globe.
e.g. the earth, the moon, the sky, the stars, the north pole, the equator
2. For a noun which becomes definite or particular because it is already mentioned and is
being mentioned a second time.
e.g. The teacher helped a student and the student became happy.
3. For a noun made specific or definite in a clause or a phrase.
e.g. The old lady, The girl with blue eyes, The boy that I saw, The nice red shirt
4. Before superlatives, and first, second,.. etc, and only
e.g. The best day, The only method, the second month,
5. Before a phrase composed of a proper and common noun
e.g. The New York city, The river Nile, The library of Congress
6. Before the names of organizations
e.g. The Association of Chartered Accountants, The World Health Organization
7. Before names of scientific principles, theories, laws etc. e.g. the Pythagorean theorem,
the laws of Newton, The Fahrenheit Scale. But no article will be used for these names if
written in forms like, Newton’s Law, Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures, Hook’s Law of
Elasticity
8. Article “the” is not used for names of universities if written in forms like Oxford
University, Yale University, Columbia University. But article “the” is used if names of
university are written in forms like The University of Oxford, The University of
Yale, The University of Toronto.
137
9. Article “the” is not used for names of countries of places. e.g. New York, America,
Mexico, Japan, London. Butarticle “the” is used for a name, if it expresses a group of
place, states, or land. e.g. The United States, The Philippines, The Netherlands
138

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AEC (AFGHAN EDUCATIONAL COMPLEX) Serve people

Modal Verbs (Modal auxiliaries) ................................................................................................................. 20

Possessive Pronouns ................................................................................................................................... 31

USE 2 Recently, Lately .................................................................................................................... 58

ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................. 69

FORM Future Perfect with "Will" ................................................................................................. 79

ACTIVE / PASSIVE ............................................................................................................................ 92

Present modals are changed to past modals ................................................................................. 109

Should ................................................................................................................................................... 113

MUST changes into HAD TO.................................................................................................................. 129

Articles .................................................................................................................................................... 136

Noun is a word which names a person, a place or a thing.

There are two main types of noun.

Use of “THE” for proper noun.

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Singular and Plural noun (Countable Noun)

Plural noun (Countable Noun)

Use of Uncountable Nouns.

Changing Uncountable nouns into countable nouns.

Verb is a word which shows action or state of something.

Forms of verb according to tense or time of action.

 Base form 2. Past Simple 4. Past participle

Formation of past simple and past participle

To allow Allow allowed allowed Allowing

To enjoy Enjoy enjoyed enjoyed Enjoying

To rain Rain rained rained Raining

To smile Smile smiled smiled Smiling

To go Go went gone Going

To drink Drink drank drunk Drinking

To hold Hold held held Holding

To write Write wrote written Writing

Some verbs remain same in past simple and past participle.

To shut Shut shut shut Shutting

To spread Spread spread spread Spreading

To put Put put put Putting

To read Read read read reading

Main Verbs and Auxiliary or Helping verbs

Main Verbs and Helping verbs (Axilliary)

Use of helping verbs.

Example. She is laughing. (Present Continuous tense)

Modal Verbs (Modal auxiliaries)

 Can, could (ability)

Modal verbs can be used before main verb as helping verbs.

Transitive and intransitive verbs

Main Verbs and Helping verbs (Auxiliary)

Use of helping verbs.

Example. She is laughing. (Present Continuous tense)

Modal Verbs (Modal auxiliaries)

 Can, could (ability)

Modal verbs can be used before main verb as helping verbs.

Transitive and intransitive verbs

Use of comparative adjective.

Comparative adjectives are used to express characteristic of one thing in comparison to

Chinese is more difficult than English.

Use of Superlative adjective.

Comparative adjectives are used to express characteristic of one thing in comparison to

Marry is laughing loudly.

1. Most of adverbs are formed by adding “-ly” to adjectives. For example,happily,

Sadly There Then Often

Easily Near Yesterday Usually