Should, ought to

Should

We use ‚should‘ to say that something is a good idea, to recommend and to give advice.

It is often a polite way of saying that you must/not do something.

It is also used to make predictions about future.

Form:

should + verb without ‚to‘

Examples:

I should take an umbrella, it’s going to rain later.

Should I call you back later?

You should wear a seat belt every time.

You shouldn’t smoke.

He should buy himself a new pair of shoes.

He shouldn’t come to work late every day.

She should get a better job if she wants to earn more money.

She shouldn’t put her makeup on when driving.

People should smile more.

People shouldn’t drink and drive. It’s dangerous and illegal in many countries.

The weather forecast says that it shouldn’t rain tomorrow afternoon.

Ought to

We use ‚ought‘ in a very similar way to ‚should‘ but it is more formal and less common.

It may sound old-fashioned.

Form:

ought to + verb in infinitive

Examples:

You ought to go and apologise to her.

Ought she to come here today?

We oughtn’t to be here.

They ought to arrive at about 5pm.

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For/Since

For and Since

For

We use ‚for‘ when we give a time period.

It is often used in present perfect a past tense.

Examples:

I worked at M&S for 3 years. (not there any more)

I have worked in a bank for 2 years. (still working there)

Q: How long have you lived there? A: I’ve lived there for 12 years.

Since

We use ‚since‘ when we say when some action has started.

After ‚since‘ goes some concrete point in time.

We usually use ‚since‘ with present prefect tenses but it’s possible to use with the past simple (depending on circumstances)

Examples:

I have been a teacher since January 2010.

She has been married since summer last year.

He has wanted to be a fighter pilot since he was a little boy.

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Passive

Passive

Present simple

Active verb: Tom drives a car.

Passive verb: A car is driven by Tom.

The object in active (a car) corresponds to the subject in passive.

In active we say what the subject does and in passive we say what happens to the subject.

Examples:

Active: My mum does all the cooking.

Passive: All the cooking is done by our mum.

Active: Stephen writes a book.

Passive: A book is written by Stephen.

Form:

is/are + past participle (told, swam, made…etc.) or regular verb + ed

Examples:

The car is driven by my dad.

My homework is done by my older brother.

Important decisions are made by the whole family.

Some people don’t like to be told what to do.

Men are usually paid more than women.

Present continuous

Active: We are playing football at the moment.

Passive: Football is being played at the moment.

Form:

is/ are being + verb in past participle (irregular verbs) or verb + ed

Examples:

Cars are being driven all over the world.

People are being killed while the politicians are arguing.

Children are being exploited and nobody cares.

Environment is being polluted by man’s actions every day.

Past simple:

Active: They built this house in 1848.

Passive: This house was built in 1848.

Form:

was/were + past participle or regular verb + ed.

Examples:

Active: Our common friend introduced us to each other.

Passive: We were introduced by a common friend.

Active: Sheila ordered a book on birds in the library.

Passive: A book on birds was ordered by Sheila.

Past continuous

Active: My wife was cooking dinner when I arrived.

Passive: The dinner was being cooked by my wife when I arrived.

Form:

was/were + being + past participle or regular verb + ed

Examples:

The house was being built when they lost their jobs.

The children were being watched by a teacher when the incident happened.

He was being guided across the road when the lorry drove past fast.

Future

Active: Our representative will meet you at the airport.

Passive: You‚ll be met by our representative at the airport.

Form:

will be + past participle or regular verb + ed

Examples:

You’ll be asked to leave if you keep interrupting.

We’ll be notified by the letter soon.

I’ll be told when I arrive to the convention.

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Present perfect simple

Present perfect simple

Note: We use it when thinking about past and present as one thing

Unfinished time period (started in the past and still going on):

I’ve lived there for 6 years (and still there today)

He’s worked there since college (and still there)

Effect on present:

He has washed his car today. (the car is clean)

Mary has won some money in a lottery. (and still has some of it left)

He has acquired a decent command of Swedish when he lived in Stockholm.

(he can speak Swedish now)

News headlines (things just happened):

The plane has crashed in Russia killing everyone on board.

The Torries and LibDem has agreed to form a coalition government after the General election.

Unspecified time (the ‚when‘ is not important, but the action is):

I’ve been to Paris.
She has met George Michael.

He has seen many strange things at his job as a lorry driver.

Time words ever, before, recently, yet, already, ever, never:

Have you ever been to Italy?

I’ve recently visited Rome.

They have never been to Paris before.

The train has already left.

They have recently left Bristol for Bournemouth.

Form:

I/you/we/they: have + past participle or regular verb

he/she/it: has + past participle or regular verb

Positive statements:

I’ve met him once before.

You’ve been to work today (it’s still today)

He’s lived with his parents since the divorce.

She’s been married for 11 years now.

It’s been lovely weather all this week. (it’s Thursday today)

Negative statements:

I haven’t been to Russia yet.

She hasn’t left the house all day.

We haven’t watched much TV lately.

They haven’t told their friends about having a baby.

Questions:

Have you seen Pete today? Yes, I have / No, I haven’t.

Has he left yet? Yes, he has / No, he hasn’t.

Have they got married recently? Yes, they have / No, they haven’t.

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Can – be able to

‚Can‘ or ‚to be able to‘

 

In present tense we can use both for ability.

Form:

I can swim = I’m able to swim.

You can speak English = You’re able to speak English.

He can’t play tennis = He isn’t able to play tennis.

She can read Japanese = She is able to read Japanese.

We can’t meet you tonight = We are not able to meet you tonight.

They can call us if they want. = They are able to call us if they want.

Question form:

Can you speak Chinese? No, I can’t.

Are you able to swim across the English channel? Yes, I am.

Is he able to play golf? No, he isn’t

Is she able to get up? Yes, she is.

Are we able to make it to the meeting on time? Yes, we are.

Are they able to arrive on time? No, they aren’t.

When talking about past abilities, we use ‚could‘ or ‚ was/were able to‘.

Form:

I could run a mile in under 12 minutes = I was able to run a mile in under 12min.

You were able to play squash before your knee accident.

He wasn’t able to play the piano when he was 5 years old.

She wasn’t able to speak Italian before the course.

We weren’t able to ski when we were 7.

They were able to play the violin when they were young.

Question form:

Were you able to hold your breath for more than 2 minutes before you started smoking? Yes, I was.

Was he able to walk straight after drinking 8 pints of lager last night? No, he wasn’t.

Was she able to climb up the lamppost when she was a little girl? Yes, she was.

Were we able to go out and have fun when we were single? Yes, we were.

Were they able to work all night behind bar in their teens? No, they weren’t.

For future abilities we use ‚will be able to‘

Form:

I’ll be able to drive a car one day.

You’ll be able to play rugby well if you train hard.

He won’t be able to speak German if he doesn’t study.

She’ll be able to play the piano it she practises regularly.

We’ll be able to run a marathon after a long and hard training.

They won’t be able to remember anything when they’re old.

Question form:

Will I be able to run a marathon one day? No, you won’t

Will you be able to speak English well one day? Yes, you will.

Will he be able to play the violin next year. No, he won’t.

Will she be able to swim when we go on holiday? Yes, she will.

Will we be able to remember the memo from the meeting? No, you won’t.

Will they be able to call me tomorrow morning? Yes, they will.

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Articles

A r t i c l e s

a/an (an indefinite article)

When speaking about something for the first time and represents NO particular thing or person, it can also mean one (a man = 1 man)

a hat, a university, a man, a woman

Example of class of things:

A car must be insured = All cars must be insured.

A child needs love = All children need love.

With a noun complement: It was an earthquake. He’s an actor.

In certain expressions of quantity: a lot of a dozen of a couple of

With certain numbers: a hundred a thousand a million

Before half when half follows a whole number:

one and a half of kilos or a kilo and a half

In expressions of price, speed, ratio etc. (can be used instead of ‚per‘):

65p a kilo £1.37 a litre 70 miles an hour

‚a‘ can be placed before Mr/Miss/Mrs when the speaker doesn’t know the person:

a Miss Jones, a Mr Hyde, a Mrs Smith

We don’t use a/an before plural nouns:

a dog – dogs, a man – men, a child – children

Or before meals: We have breakfast at 7 o’clock. BUT I had a good lunch yesterday.

The (definite article)

When object is unique or considered to be unique:

the earth, the sky, the sun

Before a noun which has become definite as a result of being mentioned for the second time:

She bought a car. The car is a red convertible.

Before a noun made definite by the addition of a phrase or clause:

The girl in a blue dress.

The man in a funny hat.

The dog I found in the streets.

Before a noun which by reason of locality can represent only one thing:

Pass me the wine, please. (wine on the table)

He’s in the garden. (garden of this house)

Before superlatives and ordinal numbers used as adjectives and only:

The best place……

The first car ……..

The only one to………

The + singular noun can represent a class of animals and things:

The whale is in danger of becoming extinct.

The beer is the best Czech export.

BUT man (as a race) has NO article:

Man is on the top of the food chain.

‚The‘ can be used before a member of a certain group of people:

The independent shopkeeper is under pressure from the retail chains.

The + adjective represents a class of people:

the old = all old people

the rich = rich people

‚The‘ is used before certain proper names of seas, rivers, groups of islands, mountain ranges, deserts, regions, plural names of countries or when include republic, united etc.

The Atlantic ocean, The Thames, The Virgin islands, The Alps, The Riviera

The Sahara,  The Netherlands, The Czech republic, The UK, The UAE

Exceptions: The Hague, The Yemen, The Sudan, The City (city of London)

‚The‘ is used when name has a form of noun + of + noun:

The Gulf of Mexico

The Cape of Good Hope

The United States of America

With north, south etc. when these are nouns meaning the whole region:

in the north of Spain

in the south of England

on the left/right

With the names of newspapers when it is the part of the name:

The Times / The Sunday Times

The Sun

The Economist

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In, On, At for place

Prepositions of place in, on, at

AT

at home, at work, at the office, at school/university, at a party

at certain points: at the bridge, at the junction/crossroads, at the corner

Stations, airport, destinations

The train arrived at Paddington 25min late.

We landed at Heathrow airport 15min ahead of schedule.

Outside and inside of buildings as a meeting point

Be at the cinema at 6 o’clock!

I’ll meet you at the train station in the morning.

The plane is boarding at the gate 6.

Activity in a type of building

There is no good film at the Odeon cinema this weekend.

We were at the Opera last night.

Name of companies

I used to work at M&S.

My mother works at MoD (Ministry of Defence).

He got his dream job at Jaguar.

At sea (sailing), at the seaside

We had a pleasant cruise at the sea.

They’re looking forward to their holiday at the seaside.

Top, bottom

There’s a restaurant at the top of the hill.

The wreck is at the bottom of the sea.

IN

in bed, in hospital, in prison, in the army, in the street(s), in the city centre, in the corner(inside), in the book, in the newspapers

in the sea (in the water) : I swam in the sea on my holiday.

In the sky, in the rain, in a tent, in a hat

Inside buildings and large areas

There are six of us in the office.

There are 3 bedrooms in our flat.

It’s hard to find water in the desert.

Last night he slept on a bench in a park.

When talking about places

She lives in Prague.

They visited a famous gallery called Louvre in Paris.

Small or private means of transport

They will come in a taxi.

She picked me up at my home in her car.

We want to go sailing in a boat.

Countries

Most people in the USA don’t know where Europe is.

Beer in England is completely different to Europeans lagers.

People in Australia like having a BBQ very often.

When describing pictures

You can see two obscure figures in the picture.

The woman depicted in the picture is the artist’s mother.

Four corners of the world

in the south, in the east

in the north, in the west

ON

on the hill, on the roof, on the corner, on foot

On a surface

There are two cups on the table.

Picture is hanging on the wall.

Public transport.

“I’m on a bus, can you call me back later, please?“

She doesn’t like travelling on a train.

I wish I could sleep on a plane to kill some time.

Personal 2-wheel vehicles

on a bicycle

on a motorbike

Place on a line from A to B

Stratford is on the river Avon.

We stopped at Reading on our train journey to Oxford.

Hammersmith station is on Piccadilly line.

When giving directions

Take the second street on the right.

Turn left on the corner.

It’s on your left/right.

Go straight on (keep walking straight ahead).

On TV

What’s on, tonight?

I watched some rubbish on TV last night because I was bored.

Cyberspace

on the Internet, on the website

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In, On, At for time

Prepositions of time IN, ON, AT

IN

Parts of day

I left house at 6 o’clock in the morning and arrived home late in the evening.

They’re going to the cinema in the afternoon.

Month

He will start his new job in January.

She was born in October.

Seasons

We’ll buy a new car in spring, insure it in summer, use it in autumn and sell it in winter.

Years

The USA was founded in 1776.

The French Revolution started in 1789.

Centuries

The Battle of Agincourt took place in the 15th century.

Some great advanced in medicine were made in the 20th century.

In time = with time to spare

ON

Days

They will arrive on Monday and leave on Thursday.

It was lovely weather on Saturday.

My car broke down on Friday.

Dates

She was born on 14th June. (say: the 14th of June)

WTC was destroyed by terrorists on September 11th.

Holidays

He proposed to her on St. Valentine’s day.

We usually visit my parents on Christmas Day.

I had a terrible hangover on the New Year’s Day.

On time = at the last moment

AT

at midnight, at noon, at midday

Burglar alarm went of at midnight last night.

I don’t have time to eat my lunch at noon.

She likes having a quick snack at midday.

o’clock

I have to get up at 5am tomorrow.

The train is leaving at 7.30am on Saturday.

The film starts at 8 o’clock.

Short periods

We’ll visit her parents at the weekend.

People eat and drink a lot at Christmas.

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Adverbs of frequency

Adverbs of frequency

We use these adverbs to say how often an action happens.

These adverbs are:

always = 100%

usually

often

sometimes = 50%

occasionally

rarely

hardly ever

never = 0%

Examples:

I always go to a pub on Friday after work.

You usually leave house at 7am on weekdays.

He often calls his parents.

She sometimes goes to the cinema.

We occasionally go to the theatre.

We rarely go on holidays in winter.

They hardly ever drive to work.

I never go to work by train.

Negative:

I don’t always go shopping on Friday. (I sometimes go on Saturday)

You don’t usually buy muesli. (but today you will buy some)

He doesn’t often call my father. Or: He doesn’t call his father very often.

We don’t normally use ‚not‘ with: occasionally, rarely, hardly ever. They have a negative meaning already.

Questions:

We use ‚How often do/does……………..?‘ to find out the frequency of the action.

We use ‚Do you ever….? when we don’t know IF the action happens at all.

Do you ever go to the gym? No, never.

We can also ask:

Do you always go there?

Does he sometimes drink beer?

Does she usually go shopping on Monday?

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Present continuous tense

Present continuous

We use ‚present continuous‘ to express that:

  1. something is happening right now

  2. something is happening at present period repeatedly. We also expect the action to finish at a definite point.

Form:

to be (is/are) + verb+ing

Spelling:

study, play, etc. = studying, playing (‚y‘ at the end)

write, ride, etc. = writing, riding (vowel at the end)

shop, put, etc. = shopping, putting (from the end combination consonant-vowel-consonant, the last consonant doubles)

Examples:

I am writing a letter to my dad. (happening right now)

You are shopping at M&S every Friday. (repeated activity at present)

He is studying history at university. (only this term, when it’s finished, it’s finished)

She is reading an interesting book about Greek mythology at present. (it doesn’t mean that she is reading the book at this very moment!)

It is raining outside. Take an umbrella, will you?

We are driving to work every day this week.

They are visiting her parents in Bolton this weekend.

Negative:

I am not going to school any more.

You aren’t taking a train to work this month.

He isn’t staying with his friends in Nice for a week. He is staying in a B&B.

She is not preparing for her exams properly and thus she will fail them all.

It isn’t snowing today.

We are not learning to drive this year. Maybe next year.

They are not talking to each other at the moment. (we expect it to finish)

Questions:

On the phone: ‚Are you out tonight?‘ Yes, I am.

Is he drinking with you? No, he isn’t.

Is she telling them about her plans for next year? Yes, she is.

Is it raining outside? No, it isn’t.

Are we watching TV tonight? Yes, we are.

Are they staying with you this week? No, they aren’t.

We also use ‚present continuous‘ for the future arrangements WHEN those arrangements are about 99.9% certain to happen. Only the end of the world could change our plans! (so to speak )

There are some verbs which are not normally used in ‚present continuous‘ tense.

Using them in ‚present continuous‘ could change their meaning! BUT it is possible to use some of them in informal English.

This is a list of some commonly used verbs:

  • verbs of senses: feel, hear, see, smell, sound, taste
  • verbs of feelings: love, hate, like, want, fear, respect, admire, adore, dislike, wish, prefer, impress, concern
  • verbs of mental activity: agree, believe, expect, know, mean, remember, trust, understand, recognise, realise, suppose, imagine, doubt
  • verbs of possession: belong, own, owe, possess
  • other verbs: astonish, appear, deny, seem, surprise, consist, include, fit, involve

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