Verb + verb in infinitive

When one verb follows the other in the sentence, the second one is often in the infinitive form.

Examples:

We tried to persuade him but he wouldn’t change his mind.

I want to buy a new computer next month.

They promised to deliver the goods by the end of next week.

She forgot to call her boss that she had to postpone the meeting with a client.

You wish to get a mortgage approved.

I meant to tell you that when I last saw you.

These verbs are often followed by the infinitive:

attempt, arrange, expect, fail, forget, claim, hope, promise, pretend, offer, guarantee, intend, try, mean, seem, want, wish, plan

Verb + verb with ‚ing‘ (gerund)

Sometimes verbs change into the ‚ing‘ form when they follow another verb.

Examples:

I go shopping every Saturday.

You can’t give up trying!

He narrowly avoided hitting a pedestrian.

We will consider hiring you.

She can’t remember sending that letter.

He should quit smoking.

List of some verbs which are often followed by the verb in the ‚ing‘ form:

Admit, quit, give up, enjoy, can’t stand, resent, risk, suggest, look forward to, appreciate, involve, consider, mind, don’t mind, detest, delay, avoid, contemplate, deny, carry on, justify, remember, recommend, miss, put off, postpone, hate

Some verbs can be followed by either form without a big change in meaning, e.g.:

I started going to the gym or I started to go to the gym

But some verbs do change the meaning with form, typical is ‚stop‘:

He stopped to look out of the window. = He stopped whatever he was doing so he could look out of the window.

He stopped looking out of the window. = He was looking out of the window and then he stopped doing it.

© www.swotting.eu

Future continuous

Form:

shall / will be + verb + ing

Examples:

He will be sleeping all day tomorrow.

I’ll be working very hard next week.

They’ll be getting married this time next Saturday.

Usage:

We use it when we want to say that something will be in progress at a particular moment in the future.

Things are fixed or expected to be happening.

Examples:

He’ll be sitting on the plane to New York on Monday morning.

We’ll be lying on the beach this time next week.

At 2pm next Monday, I’ll be having lunch with our business partners.

Don’t call me tonight, I’ll be having a date.

When I’m lying on the beach, I’ll be thinking about you working hard.

It’s also possible to use ‚going to be + verb + ing:

I’m going to be sitting on the beach and thinking about you next week.

She is going to be teaching her first lesson ever this time tomorrow.

© www.swotting.eu

2^nd conditional

Usage:

We talk about an imaginary situation. It doesn’t relate to any specific time period.

Form:

If + past simple , would + present simple

In British English, it is possible to use ‚If I was‘ .

In American English only ‚If I were‘ is considered a correct form.

Examples:

If I was/were a manager here, I would make many changes.

(=BUT I am not a manager here)

If I won a lottery, I wouldn’t bother going to work and I would travel all over the world.

(=it’s not very likely I am going to win a lottery)

If they got a house to live in, they wouldn’t stay with her parents.

(= but they haven’t got a house to live in nor money to buy it)

If she married me, I would be the luckiest man alive!

( =I think she will not marry me, it’s just a wish!)

If the Humankind made contact with an extra-terrestrial life form, it would change our view on our place in the universe.

(= it is not probable that we ever make contact with any life forms on other planets)

We can also use this structure:

Was/Were I any very good with computers, I would work as a hacker.

Was she nicer to me, we still would be friends today.

© www.swotting.eu

Present perfect continuous

Form:

have/has been + verb + ing

Examples:

I have been washing up all morning.

You’ve been driving me mad all day.

He’s been running for 2 hours now.

She’s been learning to drive a lorry for the past year.

We’ve been going out for 3 years now.

They’ve been working in the garden all summer.

Usage:

1) We use ‚present perfect continuous to talk about actions which started in the past and still going on (I’ve been reading a book on horticulture)

or having an effect on present (It’s been raining. The ground is still wet).

We usually use present perfect continuous for short-time actions:

The man has been standing on the corner all afternoon. (we assume he’ll eventually go home)

For speaking about long-term or permanent actions it’s better to use present perfect simple:

I’ve moved house recently.

I’ve lived in London for 6 years now.

2) We also prefer to use PP continuous to talk about continuous change or development:

The Universe has been expanding for almost 14 billion years.

The human population has been steadily ageing.

3) We use PP continuous to emphasise the action itself:

I’ve been working really hard recently.

He’s been making a lot of noise since 6am.

When we want to focus on the result of the action, we use PP simple:

I’ve finished the book so now I know who killed the master.

She has completed that report in time. It’s done!

Some verbs are not usually used in progressive form, e.g.:

• 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    www.swotting.eu

Prefixes

These prefixes give words an opposite meaning:

de – often used with verbs

Activate – deactivate

Appreciate – depreciate

Promote – demote

dis – used with adjectives, nouns, verbs

Arm – disarm

Appear – disappear

Organised – disorganised

Order (noun) – disorder

il – used with adjectives starting with l

Legal – illeagal

Legitimate – illegitimate

im – used with adjectives starting with p, m

Possible – impossible

Partial – impartial

Mortal – immortal

in – used with adjectives, often starting with e, c

Effective – ineffective

Edible – inedible

Competent – incompetent

Complete – incomplete

ir – used with adjectives, often starting with r

Regular – irregular

Replaceable – irreplaceable

un – used with adjectives and verbs

Dress – undress (verb)

Tidy – untidy

Expected – unexpected

Wise – unwise

© www.swotting.eu

Used To

To be used to

We use this structure to talk about familiar things.

Form:

to be + used to + noun ( I am used to the noise from the street below)

to be + used to + verb + -ing ( I am used to having a cup of coffee in the morning)

Examples:

You are used to living in a busy city centre so you don’t have a problem falling asleep at night at weekends.

He is used to the life in the country where the life is not so hectic.

She is used to the cold weather in winter as she comes from Sweden.

We are used to busy social life as we have many friends in town.

They are used to driving to work every day but the high price of petrol might make them change their habits.

Negative sentences:

I am not use to being told what to do by my boss so I think I’ll look for a new job soon.

You are not used to living in the city centre and that’s why you find it difficult to fall asleep at night with all the traffic in the streets.

He is not used to working without supervision therefore someone should check on him from time to time.

She is not used to all the hustle and bustle of a busy shop on the High street. It will take some time for her to adjust to that environment.

We are not used to the slow and stress-free life in a village but it’s going to be nice to try it for a change.

They are not used to travelling to work by public transport but they have no choice for their car was stolen last week.

Questions:

Are you used to drinking tea or coffee in the morning?

Is he used to the quiet life in the country?

Is she used to living alone after moving out from her parents‘ house?

Are we used to the life in London after moving there last month?

Are they used to having a busy social life?

To get used to

We use ‚get used to‘ to say that something new becomes familiar over time.

Examples:

I started working night shifts and it took me some time to get used to it.

You will get used to living above a busy street soon.

He got used to being a boss very quickly.

She got used to her new flatmate after a few weeks.

We will never get used to living in the country, I’m afraid.

New accounting software has been introduced in the office and the people are slowly getting used to the new system.

Over time, people will get used to any novelty.

You can’t go out for a smoke any time you want! Get used to it.

Negative:

I can’t get used to my mother being around every weekend since she moved to a flat across the street.

You couldn’t get used to travelling to work by bus but eventually you did because you had no choice.

He can’t get used to wearing dental braces.

She didn’t get used to her new boss so she left.

We can’t get used to being woken up by our baby son four times a night.

They couldn’t get used to the life in a city so they moved back to the country.

Questions:

I have to get up very early to catch a train to college. Will I ever get used to it?

Can you get used to sharing a house with other people?

Did he get used to the new system quickly?

Her husband works evening shifts in a factory. Can she get used to it?

Will we get used to my mother visiting us every other day?

Can people get used to an oppressive regime?

Used to, would

We can replace ‚used to‘ with ‚would‘ when talking about past routines.Very often there are more actions than one.

Examples:

When I was a child, I used to/would spend my summer break at my grandparents‘. I used to/would get up late and used to/would meet with my fiends and we used to/would spend our days playing outside or swimming in a lake.

She used to run a shop on the High Street where she used to/would greet her customers with a radiant smile and people used to/would call in just to say hello to her.

© www.swotting.eu

Conjunctions of time

Despite talking about future, we never use future tenses in time clauses (sentences after the conjunctions).

For talking about past events, we often use perfect tenses (past and present).

Usage:

We use them to talk about future or past events.

When

We use when to say that something will happen after previous action is over.

Examples:

When I get home, I’ll take a shower and go shopping.

When I finish my shopping, I’ll cook my dinner and I’ll go to the pub.

When you come and join me in the pub, we’ll discuss your intentions to get married.

When we finish discussing that, you will not want to get married.

Unless

(= if + negative)

Examples:

You won’t get married, unless you really have to.

Unless you were completely stupid, you took precautions to stay out of trouble.

We will not help you unless you ask for our intervention.

Do not bother me with your complains unless you want me to sort them out for you.

Till/until

Meaning: ‚up to the moment specified‘

Examples:

I’ll wait here until you come and pick me up, OK?

He won’t move till the end of the tenancy agreement.

We’ll keep walking until we drop dead from exhaustion.

She likes to shop till she drops.

Once

Meaning: when, as soon as, immediately after one action

Examples:

We’ll open the champagne once you arrive.

He dropped his bags once he had walked through the door.

She took off her dress once he had walked in.

You’ll be fine once you get used to the new rules imposed by the manager.

Hardly………when/ no sooner………..than

We use these to say one action started just when the first one had finished

Examples:

The show had hardly begun when my phone went off (started to ring).

I had hardly sat down when my wife arrived.

No sooner had the door shut than I realised I had forgotten my keys inside. (I locked myself out)

We had no sooner walked into the shop than the fire alarm went off.

After

Meaning: One action followed by another

Examples:

When/After you have finished with the essay, you will have to leave the classroom.

When/After you have finished with your task, hand it over to your supervisor.

• both these sentences relate to the future

© www.swotting.eu

Must not

We say ‚must not‘ when there is an OBLIGATION NOT to do something. It is wrong to do something.

It is also possible to use ‚can’t‘.

Must not is very formal and is used in public notices, e.g. Passengers must not eat on the bus.

Examples:

You must not do it! = You can’t do it. (I strongly advice you NOT to do it)

You mustn’t smoke here! (it is forbidden to smoke here)

She mustn’t tell her parents about that. (I feel strongly that she shouldn’t tell them)

Customers must not take more than 3 items at the time into the fitting rooms. (notice in a shop)

For past and future tenses we use ‚have to‘

Need not

We use ‚ need not/ don’t need to‘ when there is NO OBLIGATION to do something.

Also, when we say ‚ needn’t, we emphasise the fact that it’s not necessary to do something.

Present tense

Speaker’s authority:

You needn’t tell me straight away. It can wait.

I needn’t go there tomorrow. I can go there some time next week.

External authority:

You don’t need to decide right now because the boss said it could wait a bit longer.

He doesn’t need to get up early tomorrow because it’s Saturday.

Past tense

We use only one form: didn’t need to .

Examples:

We were told we didn’t need to pack a sunscreen when going to Norway for our holiday.

He didn’t need to send me all the relevant details immediately but he did so. (it wasn’t urgent to do so)

We didn’t need to look for a hotel in London because we stayed with our friends there.

Future tense

Speaker’s authority:

We use ‚needn’t‘ form also for the future

Examples:

You needn’t go there next week. I’ll go there instead.

You needn’t turn off your mobile during the exam but you’ll have to hand it over to the examiner.

External authority:

We use ‚ won’t need to‘ when talking about future.

Examples:

You won’t need to come in and sign the contract, they’ll post it to you.

People won’t need to worry about the global warming if they reduce the output of CO2 dramatically very soon.

© www.swotting.eu

Reported speech

In English we change the main verb in the sentence when we use reported speech (someone said something).

Example:

She says she likes olives …………………. She said that she liked olives.

List:

Present simple ………………………………………………………………..Past simple

She lives in Prague…………………………………………………She said she lived in Prague.

Present continuous……………………………………………………………….Past continuous

I’m working hard today……………………………………He said (that) he was working hard today.

Present perfect …………………………………………………………………Past perfect

I haven’t seen him for ages………………………..She said (that) she hadn’t seen him for ages.

Present perfect continuous…………………………………………Past perfect continuous

I’ve been living here for a while now…………He said he had been living here for a while now.

Past simple………………………………………………………………………Past perfect simple

We loved the show!………………………………….They said (that) they had loved the show.

Past perfect = no change

am going to ………………………………………………………………………was going to

I’m going to fly to Paris some time this year……………..He said he was going to fly to Paris…..

Will ………………………………………………………………….would

I’ll do it!……………………………………………………………..She said (that) she would do it.

Can ……………………………………………………………………………….could

I can be there at 5pm……………………………………………She said she could be there at 5pm.

May …………………………………………………………………..might

You may see the Lunar eclipse this month……………….You might see the Lunar eclipse….

Might = no change

must …………………………………………………………………..had to

You must do it now……………………………………………He said we had to do it now.

© www.swotting.eu

Passive (advanced forms)

Present perfect

Active: The city council has recently announced an increase in the council tax.

Passive: An increase in the council tax has been announced by the city council.

Form:

have/has + been + past participle or regular verb + ed

Examples:

Active: Someone has told us to wait here until further notice.

Passive: We have been told to wait here until further notice.

Active: They haven’t repaired my car yet.

Passive: My car hasn’t been repaired yet.

Active: They have cancelled the concert.

Passive: The concert has been cancelled.

Past perfect

Active: They had done it before we arrive to the cottage.

Passive: It had been done before we arrived to the cottage.

Form:

had + been + past participle or regular verb +ed

Examples:

Active: He had finished cooking before the game started on TV.

Passive: The cooking had been finished before the game started on TV.

Active: I had sent that email before I left work yesterday evening.

Passive: That email had been sent before I left work yesterday evening.

Active: We had asked you for your opinion before we distributed this report.

Passive: You had been asked for your opinion before we distributed this report.

Future perfect

Active: Our team will have finished this report by the end of next week.

Passive: This report will have been finished by the end of next week.

Form:

will + have been + past participle or regular verb +ed

Examples:

Active: I will have ordered it before you come back from your holiday.

Passive : It will have been ordered before you come back from your holiday.

Active: It will have been 13 years this year since we got married.

Passive: We will have been married for 13 years this year.

© www.swotting.eu