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Each, every – used with singular nouns

There a garden outside every house in our street.

I have breakfast at home every morning.

My dad gets upset every time he watches the news on TV.

My sister has got 3 cats and each one of them is of a different breed.

Each one of my friends has got a tablet computer except me.

At my first teaching job, I taught a class of 6 students and each one was from a different country.

I’ve read some books by Terry Pratchett and I enjoyed each and every one of them.

A couple of (always two) – used with plural nouns

Jane and Mike make a very nice couple.

I’ve got a couple of good friends I can rely on and I don’t need any more.

A bunch of (4-5 units) – used with plural nouns

She received a bunch of flowers for her birthday from her boss.

There was a bunch of hooligans at a local football match.

Few, a few – used with plural nouns

Few people turned up for a show. (less than expected)

Few painters are as famous as Picasso. (not many)

A few people arrived early for a shareholders‘ meeting. (a modest number)

There were a few teething problems with a project. (some but not many)

He’s read just a few books in his life so far. (just a few = very small number)

She’s got only a few good friends. (only a few = very small number)

Many, several, number of – used with plural nouns

They haven’t got many children.

I’ve driven a number of cars in my life.

We’ve seen that film several times.

Much, a large amount of, a great deal of – used with uncountable nouns

I haven’t got much money.

We haven’t got much free time while studying at university.

He can drink a large amount of beer without getting sick.

You can find a great deal of information on the internet but you can’t trust much of it.

Little, a little – used with uncountable nouns

I can’t go on holiday this year because I’ve got little money . (not enough)

She’s got little time to waste, she’s very busy. (not much)

He’d like to buy a new laptop computer once he’s saved a little money. (decent amount)

We’ve got a little time to spare so let’s go for a coffee.

A lot of, lots of – used with both uncountable and plural nouns

A lot of children spend too much time playing computer games in their bedrooms.

It will cost a lot of money to the taxpayers in the future.

You should eat lots of fruit every week.

Plenty (a right amount or more) – used with both uncountable and plural nouns

There’s plenty of food on the table, just help yourselves.

We’ve got plenty of pets at home and we don’t want any more.

They’ve got plenty of money so they don’t need to worry about anything.

Enough (just the right amount) – used with both uncountable and plural nouns

I’ve got enough money to buy a new mobile.

We’ve got enough time to get a coffee before the train leaves.

There were enough people at the party to play Monopoly.

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Verb phrases with: ‚DO‘ and ‚MAKE‘

DO

do homework (She’s doing her homework right now.)

do the housework / gardening (I do housework every Saturday.)

do a sport / exercise (He doesn’t do any sports.)

do the washing up (Go and do the washing up, please.)

do the shopping (We need to do the shopping for the weekend.)

do a subject (Maths, English, etc.) at school (She’s doing French this term.)

do the accounts (My mum is doing my accounts.)

do a course in ICT/ psychology, etc. (I’d like to do a course in counselling.)

do one’s best (I did my best to pass the test)

do drugs (= take drugs) (Don’t do drugs. They’ll kill you in the end.)

do some work (Stop hanging about and do some work.)

do the right thing (It’s not always easy to do the right thing.)

do research (They’re doing some more research on ADHD.)

do well/badly (We all did really badly in the Maths exam.)

Make

make breakfast/lunch/dinner/a cake (I’ve made breakfast for you.)

make some tea/ coffee/ a drink (Can you make some tea, please?)

make progress/ headway (We haven’t made any progress in the negotiations.)

make a choice (As a manager, you’ll have to make difficult choices.)

make friends/ enemies (Don’t try to make many enemies, please.)

make a difference (She’s trying to make a difference in her new role as a magistrate.)

make a deal (agree on a contract = They made a deal with the unions on a pay rise)

make a trip (Last weekend we made a trip to the mountains.)

make money (=earn money)

make a mistake (I made a couple of mistakes in my last progress test.)

make a plan (Let’s make a plan before we hit the road, shall we?)

make love (= to have a sexual intercourse)

make concessions (We all have to make concessions in a relationship.)

make arrangements (They’ve made arrangements over the phone.)

make a speech (= give/deliver a speech)

make a decision (Managers have to make quick decisions.)

make trouble/ a noise/ problems/ a mess

make an effort (= to try)

make notes (I forgot to make notes when she spoke.)

make the bed (= tidy up the bed)

make changes (New boss has made a few changes in our office.)

make a list (=write a list)

make a fast/slow recovery (He made a slow recovery after the horrific car crash.)

make a phone call (= call somebody)

make somebody happy/ laugh/ sad (That comedy made me laugh a lot.)

make threats (= to threaten somebody)

make gossips ( Stop making gossips about me and Jane, please!)

make ill/sick (Food I ate made me sick. I spent all night in the bathroom.)

make jokes (Stop making jokes about Paul’s clothes. It’s not polite.)

make a small talk (British people like to make a small talk to avoid silence.)

make an excuse (Stop making excuses and get on with it.)

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Past perfect continuous

Usage:

We use it when we want to say that something had been going on until a certain moment in the past.

Both actions happened in the past and no connection to present.

Examples:

He had been living in the UK for 6 years when he enrolled on a teacher training course. ( He had lived there for some time and THEN he went on a course.)

The music had been playing loudly for 2 hours when the neighbours started to complain. (First the music was playing for some time and THEN the complaining has started.)

Form:

had been + verb + ing

Examples:

The debate had been going on for some time when the last delegates arrived.

When I got home I saw that she had been crying.

They hadn’t been playing computer games any more when I came home.

He was sweaty and out of breath when I met him. Had he been running?

She had been working hard ‚till the day she had a cardiac arrest.

We had been doing homework before we went out to play.

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Conditionals summary

1^st conditional

Usage:

We use the 1^st conditional to say something can happen when the condition is fulfilled. It relates to present and future.

Form:

If + present simple , future simple

Examples:

If you want to buy a car, you’ll have to save some money.

If we keep polluting the Earth, we will destroy our civilisation.

If I have got some time this week, I will go to the theatre.

If he doesn’t study hard, he will fail his exams at school.

If it doesn’t rain soon, the harvest won’t be much.

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, I wouldn’t split up with her.

3^rd conditional

Usage:

We talk about situations that didn’t happen in the past.

Form:

If + past perfect , would have + past participle

Examples:

If I had known about you coming over, I would have thrown a welcome party.

( = but I didn’t know)

If they had found him earlier, they could have saved his life.

(= But the found him too late)

If she hadn’t worn a seatbelt, she would have sustained serious injuries.

(= But she wore a seatbelt, fortunately)

If you had told me about you losing a job, I would have set up an interview with my boss.

( I couldn’t do anything because you didn’t tell me)

If he had married married her, they wouldn’t have been very happy for long.

(= but he didn’t marry her and that saved him from future problems)

We can also use this structure:

Had I known about your health problems, I wouldn’t have asked you about the loan.

Had she met her husband at university, she would have been married by now.

Had they not missed their plane last night, they would have been in the USA by now.

Mixed conditional

Usage:

We sometimes mix second and third conditional to talk about hypothetical situation in the past with present/future  consequences.

Examples:

If you hadn’t drunk that much last night, you would be fine today.

If you had told me earlier, we wouln’t be in trouble today.

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