When, as soon as, until, by, once

when, as soon as, until, by, once

When

asking about time (When do you come home from work?)

one action follows the other (I’ll do it when I get home.). It doesn’t say that one action follows the other immediately.

We use present simple tense after ‚when‘ but the meaning is for the future:

When I come home tomorrow, I’ll cook dinner for you.

Will you call me when you get that parcel, please?

When they build the house next year, we’ll move in.

As soon as

we use it to say one action happens right after another (immediately after another)

We use present simple tense after ‚as soon as‘ but the meaning is for the future:

Call me as soon as you arrive home. (immediately after you get home!)

I will make me a coffee as soon as I arrive at work (the first thing I’ll do at work in)

I’ll open the parcel as soon as I get home.

Until, till (till is informal)

a situation continues up to a certain moment:

They worked from 9 till 5 yesterday.

We didn’t come home until very late on Friday night.

is often used with negative verbs:

He didn’t do it until the boss told him.

We didn’t leave the house until my parents arrived.

We use present simple tense after ‚until/till‘ for the future:

I won’t open it until you come back.

We won’t go until you give us some money.

By

an action happens at/before a certain moment in future

the latest possible time when an action happens

They’ll repair my car by next Tuesday. (it will be done before next Tuesday)

I’ll finish this book by summer. (it can be earlier than that)

Send me your report by tomorrow. (tomorrow is the deadline)

Once

after, as soon as at once: immediately

it is often used with perfect tenses

Once you’ve passed the test, you can drive my car.

Once he had come home, he called his mum.

I’ll do it at once (immediately).

Must / Have to

Must and Have to

Must – a strong obligation (in present tenses), also used in formal notices

Examples:

I must get up early tomorrow.

You must clean your room today.

She must let him go.

People must not leave their bags unattended.

Have to – less strong obligation

Examples:

I have to leave early tomorrow to catch an earlier bus.

You have to call me about dinner sometime.

He has to ask his wife before he goes.

She has to pick her daughter up from the school.

In past tenses, we use only ‚had to‘ for talking about obligation

Examples:

I had to leave work early yesterday.

You had to write that email.

He had to call his mum.

She had to talk to him.

We had to meet the deadline.

They had to sell their house in the country.

For future obligations we use will have to

Examples:

I will have to go to the dentist’s soon.

You’ll have to book a table for Friday.

He’ll have to give the money back.

She’ll have to buy a new dress for the staff party.

We’ll have to take a taxi back home tonight.

They’ll have to change their holiday destination because of a hurricane

See, look at, watch

See – you notice/register something by chance

I saw a black cat crossing the road this morning.

Have you seen Mary recently?

Did you see that?

Or for ‚complete experience‘ :

Have you seen the latest James Bond movie?

Did you see that rugby game at the weekend?

Look at – you pay attention to see something

Look at me!

Don’t look at me like that.

All students look at the page no.69.

I looked at her and saw that she was crying.

Watch – similar to ‚look at‘; meaning: following an ongoing situation carefully

I don’t watch sport on TV very often.

She likes watching documentaries about nature.

Are you watching any good TV series at present?

Watch and learn, I’ll show you.

© www.swotting.eu

See, look at, watch Practice

See, look at, watch practice

1) Do you ever ………… sport live?

2) Did you ……….. Jenny last weekend?

3) We didn’t ………… each other for a long time.

4) Do you like …………. news on TV?

5) Can you come here and have a …………, please?

6) All students ……………. page 69, please.

7) Are you …………. any good TV series at the moment?

8) She ………… me and I could ……….. that she was crying.

9) I like …………out of the window when travelling by train.

10) Would you like to go and ……. a film in the cinema with me?

11) You should come here and ………. this. It’s very unusual.

12) Don’t …………….. me like that. It wasn’t my fault.

13) Have you ever …………… a lion?

14) Let’s wait and …………what happens, OK?

Results:

1) Do you ever watch sport live?

2) Did you see Jenny last weekend?

3) We didn’t see each other for a long time.

4) Do you like watching news on TV?

5) Can you come here and have a look, please?

6) All students look at page 69, please.

7) Are you watching any good TV series at the moment?

8) She looked at me and I could see that she was crying.

9) I like looking out of the window when travelling by train.

10) Would you like to go and watch a film in the cinema with me?

11) You should come here and see (look at) this. It’s very unusual.

12) Don’t look at me like that. It wasn’t my fault.

13) Have you ever seen a lion?

14) Let’s wait and see what happens, OK?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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