Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ENGLISH COURSES
Semester 1 + 2
Nouns02
Pronouns.. 11
Simple tenses...31
Complex tenses...33
Modal auxiliaries.....47
Exercises..55
Indirect Speech.60
SEMESTER 1
Lesson One
Traditional grammar classifies words based on eight parts of speech: the verb,
the noun, the pronoun, the adjective, the adverb, the preposition, the conjunction, and
the interjection.
Each part of speech explains not what the word is, but how the word is used. In
fact, the same word can be a noun in one sentence and a verb or adjective in the next.
The next few examples show how a word's part of speech can change from one
sentence to the next.
Books are made of ink, paper, and glue.
In this sentence, "books" is a noun, the subject of the sentence.
Deborah waits patiently while Bridget books the tickets.
Here "books" is a verb, and its subject is "Bridget."
We walk down the street.
In this sentence, "walk" is a verb, and its subject is the pronoun "we".
The mail carrier stood on the walk.
In this example, "walk" is a noun, which is part of a prepositional phrase
describing where the mail carrier stood.
The town decided to build a new jail.
Here "jail" is a noun, which is the object of the infinitive phrase "to build."
The sheriff told us that if we did not leave town immediately he would jail
us.
Here "jail" is part of the compound verb "would jail."
They heard high pitched cries in the middle of the night.
In this sentence, "cries" is a noun acting as the direct object of the verb "heard."
The baby cries all night long and all day long.
But here "cries" is a verb that describes the actions of the subject of the
sentence, the baby.
Word categories
NOUN
PRONOUN
VERB
ADJECTIVE
ADVERB
PREPOSITION
CONJUNCTION
INTERJECTION
1.1. An overview of nouns
A noun: any word which names a person, place, thing, idea, animal, quality, or
action.
1. Count Nouns: anything which can be counted; singular and plural
Example: car - cars
2. Mass Nouns: entities which cannot be counted; they have no plural
form.
Example: money
3. Collective Nouns: groups of people or things; sing. and plural.
Example: herd - herds
4. Possessive Nouns: express ownership by adding an apostrophe.
Examples: (singular.) Kelly's anger (plural.) birds' feathers
Exercise:
Identify the part of speech of the underlined word in each of the following
sentences:
1. The clown chased a dog around the ring and then fell flat on her face.
2. The geese indolently waddled across the intersection.
3. Yikes! I'm late for class.
4. Bruno's shabby thesaurus tumbled out of the book bag when the bus
suddenly pulled out into traffic.
5. Mr. Frederick angrily stamped out the fire that the local hooligans had
started on his verandah.
6. Later that summer, she asked herself, "What was I thinking of?"
7. She thought that the twenty zucchini plants would not be enough so she
planted another ten.
8. Although she gave hundreds of zucchini away, the enormous mound left
over frightened her.
9. Everywhere she went, she talked about the prolific veggies.
10. The manager confidently made his presentation to the board of directors.
11. Frankenstein is the name of the scientist, not the monster.
12. Her greatest fear is that the world will end before she finds a comfortable
pair of panty-hose.
13. That suitcase is hers.
14. Everyone in the room cheered when the announcement was made.
15. The sun was shining as we set out for our first winter camping trip.
16. Small children often insist that they can do it by themselves.
17. Dust covered every surface in the locked bedroom.
18. The census taker knocked loudly on all the doors but nobody was home.
19. They wondered if there truly was honour among thieves.
20. Exciting new products and effective marketing strategies will guarantee the
company's success.
2. Word functions
Words can perform the following functions:
Unusual Sentences
2.2. Objects
A verb may be followed by an object that completes the verb's meaning. Two
kinds of objects follow verbs: direct objects and indirect objects. To determine if a
verb has a direct object, isolate the verb and make it into a question by placing
"whom?" or "what?" after it. The answer, if there is one, is the direct object:
Direct Object
The advertising executive drove a flashy red Porsche.
Direct Object
Her secret admirer gave her a bouquet of flowers.
The second sentence above also contains an indirect object. An indirect object
(which, like a direct object, is always a noun or pronoun) is, in a sense, the recipient
of the direct object. To determine if a verb has an indirect object, isolate the verb and
ask to whom?, to what?, for whom?, or for what? after it. The answer is the indirect
object.
Not all verbs are followed by objects. Consider the verbs in the following
sentences:
The guest speaker rose from her chair to protest.
After work, Randy usually jogs around the canal.
Verbs that take objects are known as transitive verbs. Verbs not followed by
objects are called intransitive verbs.
Some verbs can be either transitive verbs or intransitive verbs, depending on the
context:
Direct Object
I hope the Senators win the next game.
No Direct Object
Did we win?
2.3. Complements
Subject Complements
In addition to the transitive verb and the intransitive verb, there is a third kind of
verb called a linking verb. The word (or phrase) which follows a linking verb is called
not an object, but a subject complement.
The most common linking verb is "be." Other linking verbs are "become,"
"seem," "appear," "feel," "grow," "look," "smell," "taste," and "sound," among others.
Note that some of these are sometimes linking verbs, sometimes transitive verbs, or
sometimes intransitive verbs, depending on how you use them:
Linking verb with subject complement
He was a radiologist before he became a full-time yoga instructor.
Linking verb with subject complement
Your homemade chili smells delicious.
Transitive verb with direct object
I can't smell anything with this terrible cold.
Intransitive verb with no object
The interior of the beautiful new Buick smells strongly of fish.
Note that a subject complement can be either a noun ("radiologist", "instructor")
or an adjective ("delicious").
Object Complements
2.4. Apposition
When two words, clauses, or phrases stand close together and share the same
part of the sentence, they are in apposition and are called appositives.
In fact, an appositive is very much like a subject complement, only without the
linking verb:
subject complement
My brother is a research associate.
appositive
My brother the research associate works at a large polling firm.
subject complement
Jean became a magistrate.
appositive
I have never met Jean the magistrate.
2.5. An Adjective
An adjective modifies a noun or a pronoun by describing, identifying, or
quantifying words. An adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it
modifies.
2.6. An Adverb
An adverb can modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a phrase, or a
clause. An adverb indicates manner, time, place, cause, or degree and answers
questions such as "how," "when," "where," "how much".
While some adverbs can be identified by their characteristic "ly" suffix, most of
them must be identified by untangling the grammatical relationships within the
sentence or clause as a whole. Unlike an adjective, an adverb can be found in various
places within the sentence.
Exercise
Exercise 1: Divide each of the following sentences into its constituent parts of
speech and label each part:
1- Mary meticulously cleaned her room.
2- The girl is now a student at a large university.
3- His brother grew happier gradually.
4- It rained steadily all day.
5- He had given the girl an apple.
6- He gave me his phone number but I lost it.
7- They chose a dark brown paint.
8- They made him chairman every year.
9- The dancer moved gracefully.
10-The day was completely enjoyable.
6- A hot infusion of mint will stop your stomach-ache.
8- He gave me a handful of peanuts, a glass of tea and two cakes.
10- The mother looked at her children with pride.
Exercise 2: Look carefully at the word round and classify it in a accordance
with its use in the following sentences.
1- We meet him in any round table we do.
2- We went round by the bridge.
3- I was thinking, sitting round the fire.
4- He was speaking in rich round tones.
5- The sound went round and round.
Exercise 3: Lengthen the following sentences by adding different words
1- The elephant eats grass.
2- He lost his watch.
3- They write a letter.
4- They offered me a present.
5- We are human beings.
Lesson Two
Nouns
A few countable nouns are abstract: e.g. a hope, an idea, a nuisance, a remark,
a situation. An abstract noun refers to an idea/ a concept which exists only in our
minds. A number of abstract nouns can be used only as countables: e.g. a denial, a
proposal, a scheme, a statement. Many uncountable nouns are abstract: e.g. anger,
equality, honesty.
Compound nouns
Many nouns in English are formed from two parts (classroom) or, less
commonly, three or more (son-in-law, stick-in-the-mud). Sometimes, compounds are
spelled with a hyphen, sometimes not. They are usually pronounced with the stress on
the first syllable, but there are exceptions.
Single-word compound nouns:
There are many words which we no longer think of as compounds at all, even
though they are clearly made up of two words:
a 'cupboard, a 'raincoat, a 'saucepan, the 'seaside, a 'typewriter
Nouns formed with adjective + noun:
a 'greenhouse, a 'heavyweight, 'longhand, a 'redhead
Nouns formed with gerund + noun:
'drinking water, a 'frying pan, a 'walking stick
Here, the meaning is 'something that is used for doing something': e.g. a frying
pan (= a pan that is used for frying)
Nouns formed with noun + gerund
'horse-riding, 'sight-seeing, 'sunbathing
Here, the meaning is 'the action of': horse-riding (= the action of riding a
horse).
Plurals
The plural of a noun is usually made by adding 's' to the singular:
day, days dog, dogs house, houses
's' is pronounced /s/ after a p, k or f sound. Otherwise, it is pronounced /z/.
When 's' is placed after ce, ge, se or ze an extra syllable /iz/ is added to the
spoken word.
- Twelve nouns ending in f or fe drop the f or fe and add ves. These nouns are
calf, half, knife, leaf, life, loaf, self, sheaf, shelf, thief, wife, wolf:
loaf, loaves wife, wives wolf, wolves etc.
The nouns hoof, scarf, and warf take either s or ves in the plural:
hoofs or hooves scarfs or scarves wharfs or wharves
- Collective nouns, crew, family, team, government, staff firm committee etc.,
can take a singular or plural verb; singular if we consider the word to mean a single
group or unit:
Our team is the best
or plural if we take it to mean a number of individuals:
Our team are wearing their new shirts.
- Some words which retain their Greek or Latin forms make their plurals
according to the rules of Greek or Latin:
crisis, crises /'kraisis/, /'krais:z/ phenomenon, phenomena
erratum, errata radius, radii
memorandum, memoranda terminus, termini
oasis, oases
1- Mary used to keep.in her garden in her garden until they started to get
out.
2- A score of 40% may not be very good but it is certainly..on her last
mark.
3- After so many previous., it was inevitable that one of his films
would be unpopular.
4- is too short to, worry about keeping your house spotlessly clean.
5- I have had .of green vegetables ever since I was a child.
6- Our students study both .and literature in their English degree.
Exercise 2: Most of these sentences are wrong. Correct them when necessary:
1- The government need to impose taxes.
2- Susan is wearing a black jeans.
3- I need to buy a new pyjama.
4- An increase in taxes caused many crisis.
5- Where are you going to put your furniture?
6- Mathematics deal with calculating equations and matrix.
7- Has the police arrived yet?
8- It was a good suggestion.
9- There is sand in my shoes.
Exercise 3: If necessary, correct these sentences. If they are already correct, put
a .
1- Tony computers have been stolen.
2- When the teacher had called out the girls names, they all stepped forward.
3- We had to study Charles Dickens early novels at school.
4- I went to the newsagents to buy a paper.
5- There were hundreds of birds nests in the trees.
6- They are my mother-in-laws favourite sweets.
7- I took the books to Lewis house yesterday.
8- If they had been anyone elses paintings I wouldnt have gone to the
exhibition.
9- The worlds airlines are moving towards a total ban on smoking.
10- The readers letters page in the newspaper is full of complaints about the
article.
11- I met a cousin of the duke of Edinburgh last week.
1-John works for an airline. He doesnt fly, but hes one of the people who
work in the airport building. Ground staff.
2- He works in town in that area where there are shops, but no cars or buses are
allowed to go.
3- During the sales in the shops, there are a lot of people looking to buy things
at low prices
4- It is someone I often exchange letters with, but I have never met.
5- Were going on a holiday arranged by a travel company. It includes
accommodation, flights, and so on.
6- Portuguese is the first language I learned when I was a baby.
7- My friend cant talk. He uses hand and body movements to show what he
means.
Lesson Three
Pronouns
A pronoun can replace a noun or another pronoun. You use pronouns like "he,"
"which," "none," and "you" to make your sentences less cumbersome and less
repetitive.
Grammarians classify pronouns into several types, including the personal
pronoun, the demonstrative pronoun, the interrogative pronoun, the indefinite
pronoun, the relative pronoun, the reflexive pronoun, and the intensive pronoun.
Form of personal/reflexive pronouns and possessives:
A personal pronoun refers to a specific person or thing and changes its form to
indicate person, number, gender, and case.
3. Demonstrative Pronouns
4. Interrogative Pronouns
5. Relative Pronouns
You can use a relative pronoun is used to link one phrase or clause to another
phrase or clause. The relative pronouns are "who," "whom," "that," and "which." The
compounds "whoever," "whomever," and "whichever" are also relative pronouns.
You can use the relative pronouns "who" and "whoever" to refer to the subject
of a clause or sentence, and "whom" and "whomever" to refer to the objects of a verb,
a verbal or a preposition.
In each of the following sentences, the highlighted word is a relative pronoun.
You may invite whomever you like to the party.
The relative pronoun "whomever" is the direct object of the compound verb "may
invite".
The candidate who wins the greatest popular vote is not always elected.
In this sentence, the relative pronoun is the subject of the verb "wins" and
introduces the subordinate clause "who wins the greatest popular vote". This
subordinate clause acts as an adjective modifying "candidate."
In a time of crisis, the manager asks the workers whom she believes to be the
most efficient to arrive an hour earlier than usual.
In this sentence "whom" is the direct object of the verb "believes" and
introduces the subordinate clause "whom she believes to be the most efficient". This
subordinate clause modifies the noun "workers."
Whoever broke the window will have to replace it.
Here "whoever" functions as the subject of the verb "broke".
The crate which was left in the corridor has now been moved into the storage
closet.
In this example "which" acts as the subject of the compound verb "was left" and
introduces the subordinate clause "which was left in the corridor." The subordinate
clause acts as an adjective modifying the noun "crate."
I will read whichever manuscript arrives first.
Here "whichever" modifies the noun "manuscript" and introduces the
subordinate clause "whichever manuscript arrives first." The subordinate clause
functions as the direct object of the compound verb "will read."
6. Indefinite Pronouns
7. Reflexive Pronouns
You can use a reflexive pronoun to refer back to the subject of the clause or
sentence.
The reflexive pronouns are "myself," "yourself," "herself," "himself," "itself,"
"ourselves," "yourselves," and "themselves." Note each of these can also act as an
intensive pronoun.
Each of the highlighted words in the following sentences is a reflexive
pronoun:
Diabetics give themselves insulin shots several times a day.
The Dean often does the photocopying herself so that the secretaries can do
more important work.
After the party, I asked myself why I had faxed invitations to everyone in my
office building.
Richard usually remembered to send a copy of his e-mail to himself.
Although the landlord promised to paint the apartment, we ended up doing it
ourselves.
8. Intensive Pronouns
SEMESTER 2
PART A
I-Definition:
A paragraph is a distinct unit of thought usually a group of related sentences-
in a written or printed composition. A paragraph expresses or develops a topic. It is
usually part of an extended piece of writing, although in some situations you may
need only one paragraph to fulfill your purpose.
There are two kinds of paragraphs:
- Topical paragraphs: they develop a topic or an idea.
- Special paragraphs: they introduce or conclude a piece of writing or
provide a transition between major parts.
Note: In this chapter ,our concern is the topical paragraph. Essay writing is part of the
second year written expression syllabus.
As a matter of fact, the educated man use at least three languages. With
his family and his close friends, on the ordinary unimportant occasions of daily life,
he speaks much of the time, a monosyllabic sort of shorthand. On more important
occasions and when dealing with stranger sin his official or business relations he has
more formal speech, more complete, less allusive, politely qualified, wisely reserved.
In addition, he has some
acquaintance with the literary speech of his language. He understands this when he
reads it, and often enjoys it, but he hesitates to use it. In times of emotional stress hot
fragments of it may come out of him like lava, and in times of feigned emotions, as
when giving a commencement address, cold, greasy gobbets of it will ooze forth.
Bergen Evans.
The English Paragraph.
II- Indentation:
The first line of a Paragraph should be indented. To indent is to leave a
blank space at the beginning of the first line. Indentation shows to the reader
that you are starting a new paragraph . Indentation shows to the reader that you
are starting a new paragraph. Paragraphs should be indented uniformly- one
inch in a hand written manuscript, five spaces in a typewritten one.
Examples:
General: The works of James Agee often include information from several
information from several academic disciplines.
Limited: James Agees Let Us Now Praise Famous Men includes content drawn
from history, sociology, and philosophy.
General: Sometimes concerts can be dangerous.
Limited: Concert promoters could reduce the number and severity of spectator
injuries by following a few simple rule of crowd control.
General: Bolivia is an interesting country.
Limited: Bolivia has some spectacular mountains.
Often when a writer begins with a topic sentence, he or she will close with a
Clincher ,a sentence that restates the controlling idea in different words,
Summarizes the discussion or gives the writers response to the material, which
may be ironic or humorous.
As sources of ideas, professors simply cannot compete with books. Book can
be found to fit almost every need, temper or interest. Book can be read when
you are in the mood; they do not have to be taken in periodic doses. Books are
both more personal and more impersonal than professors. Books have an inner
confidence which individuals seldom show; they rarely have to be on the
defensive. Books can afford to be bold and courageous and exploratory; they do
not have to be so careful of boards of trustees, colleagues, and community
opinion. Books are infinitely diverse; they run the gamut of human activity.
Books can be found to express every point of view; if you want a different point
of view, you can read a different book. (incidentally, this is the closest
approximation to objectivity you are likely to get in humanistic and social
studies) even your professor is at his best when he writes books and articles; the
teaching performance rarely equals the written effort.
William G Carleton, Take Your College in Stride.
Exercises
Exercise 01: The following topic sentences are either too general or too factual.
Revise each to make it an effective topic sentence.
1- Many Americans try different diets from time to time.
2- Going to university is expensive.
3- Everyone believes that travel is educational.
4- Supermarkets usually have consumer complaint department.
5- Hollywood films have both good and bad features.
Exercise 02: Using one of the topic sentences you revised in exercise 01, develop a
complete paragraph.
The expository Paragraph developed by examples
Transitions
First of all- second- Finally- furthermore- once- sometimes- at other times
Parallel structure:
Eg1: He would confer
He would challenge
He would join
Eg2: He believed that .
Though his sense of humour.., he made learning more.
Note that a combination of transitions & parallel structure is advisable.
Too many transitions can make the paragraph appear overloaded.
Too many parallel structure makes a paragraph monotonous.
The narrative paragraph tells a story, just like a narrator in a play. The
purpose of a narrative paragraph is to tell a story about something that
happened. A narrative paragraph must have a topic sentence, details about the
event, and time order.
Example:
Cathay Williams was a former slave from independent Missouri, who
searched for a job after the civil war was over. She tried out for a cooking job in
the Union Army. But she found out she did not like cooking food for the soldiers.
She decided to become a seamstress for the army instead. But she soon found out
she did not like sewing uniforms for the soldiers, either. Cathay decided to join
the Buffalo Soldiers. But no women were allowed at that time to fight in the U.S.
Army. So Cathay changed her name to William Cathay and enlisted in the U.S.
Army. She loved her job as a soldier and was the only woman ever to be a
buffalo soldier.
The narrative paragraph describes an event or tells a story, usually in a
chronological order. For example, you can write a narrative paragraph detailing
what you did on your first day of school.
The narrative paragraph is often used to describe our routines.
Frequency adverbs (often, sometimes, usually) are used to say how often
something happens.
Example:
Every Saturday morning I get up at eight oclock. I immediately cook
breakfast and my daughter and my wife and I usually have breakfast together. I
usually go shopping. My daughter and wife usually go to the park to have some
fun with the other children in our neighborhood. After I do the shopping, I come
home and my wife and I clean the house. My wife then cooks lunch while my
daughter plays in her room and then we eat together. After lunch, we sometimes
go shopping. If we dont go shopping, we often go to the countryside for a nice
walk. We often get home quite late and have a small dinner. We usually watch a
film on TV and then go to bed at about eleven oclock.
Narrative paragraphs are often used to describe what a person does over
a period of time. Words like later are used to connect what happens.
Example:
Yesterday evening I got from work at 6 oclock. My wife had prepared
dinner which we ate immediately. After I had cleaned up the kitchen, we
watched TV for about an hour. Then we got ready to go out with some friends.
Our friends arrived at about 9 oclock and we chatted for a while. Later we
decided to visit a jazz club and listen to some music. We really enjoyed ourselves
and stayed late. We finally left at one oclock in the morning.
Exercise:
Choose a subject and develop a unified, coherent narrative paragraph. State a
clear topic sentence and use the necessary connectors.
THE DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH.
SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT.
The word spatial comes from the simpler word space. To a writer, spatial
development means listing the things to be written about in the order in which they
appear in space. If a writer follows a spatial development, details are arranged
according to their location and their relationship to each other.
Spatial development is especially suited to subject matter dealing with places or areas.
Such a development would work well if you were describing a limited interior such as
a classroom or the inside of a submarine. A description might be developed spatially
by following the order in which an observers eye would travel around the room-
from left to right, or from right to left. Spatial development would also be effective if
you were writing about a very broad area, such as the continent of Latin America or
the solar system.
Spatial transitions: Above, across from, adjacent to, also, up, under, before, below,
beyond, further, next to, close to, near to, down, around, here, in the distance, nearby,
on the left, on the right, opposite, on top of, beneath
Activities:
1- Identify the topic sentence.
2- Underline the spatial transitions in this paragraph.
3- How are the details arranged.
4- Below is a topic sentence for a spatial paragraph, followed by supporting
detail to develop the paragraph. On a sheet of paper, sketch out a map of a
college campus, locating each building where you think it belongs in relation
to other buildings . Then write out a paragraph beginning with the topic
sentence below. Add spatial transitions to introduce each of the eight buildings
according to their order of location.
Topic sentence: On Marias first visit to the college campus, she saw many buildings.
Supporting detail:
1- The administration building.
1- The library.
2- The classroom buildings
3- The faculty offices.
4- The student centre and cafeteria.
5- The bookstore.
6- The gymnasium and athletic fields.
7- The refectory room.
PART B
Grammar
SIMPLE TENSES
Contractions:
Did not is normally contracted in the negative and negative interrogative
Example: I didnt work Didnt you work?
Irregular verbs:
These vary considerably in their simple past form:
Examples: to speak spoke
To eat ate
To see saw
To leave left
The simple past form of each irregular verb must therefore be learnt, but once this is
done there is no other difficulty, as irregular verbs, like regular verbs have no
inflections in the past tense
The simple past is the tense normally use for the relation of past events.
It is used for actions completed in the past at a definite time. It is therefore used:
For a past action when the time is given.
Example: I met him yesterday.
When the time is asked about:
Example: When did you meet him?
When the action clearly took place at a definite time even though this time is not
mentioned:
Example: The train was ten minutes late.
Sometimes the time becomes definite as a result of a question and answer in the
present perfect:
Example: Where have you been? Ive been to the opera. Did you enjoy it?
The simple past tense is used for an action whose time is not given but which
occupied a period of time now terminated, or occurred in a period of time now
terminated
Examples: He worked in the bank for four years
She lived in Rome for a long time
My grandmother once saw Queen Victoria.
Did you ever hear Madonna sing?
The simple past tense is also used for a past habit:
Example: He always carried an umbrella.
He never drank wine.
The simple past is used in conditional sentences of type 2.
Example: If I met the queen, I would be very excited.
Examples:
Next week he is giving his first demonstration.
Miss La Belle is appearing at the Orange Grove Theater tomorrow night.
The ship is arriving this afternoon at three oclock.
We are taking the exam later this afternoon/
The present progressive can also express the beginning, progression, or end of an
action in the present time.
Examples:
It is beginning to get hot.
It is starting to rain again.
My writing is getting worse.
I am becoming a little irritated with you.
The movie is just beginning.
Note: The verb be is used in the progressive since it describes a general state of
being. There are instances , however when you do use the verb be in the
progressive.
Example:
My child is being obnoxious right now. Please excuse him;
In this instance, the progressive is used because the meaning is my child is acting
obnoxiously right now. The child is not generally obnoxious.
4- Past continuous:
Form: Subject + was, were + stem + ing.
Example: This time last year, I was living in Brazil.
Uses:
- We use the past continuous to say that somebody was in the middle of doing
something at a certain time. The action or situation had already started before this
time but had not finished.
Example: Yesterday Karen and Jim played tennis, they began at 10 oclock and
finished at 11.30. So at 10.30, they were playing tennis.
- We often use the past simple and the past continuous together to say that something
happened in the middle of something else.
Example: Tom burnt his hand when he was cooking the dinner.
- While I was working in the garden, I hurt my finger.
Exercises:
Exercise 01: Complete the sentences with one of the following verbs in the correct
form:
Look, make, have, work, learn, try, see.
1-You hard today? Yes? I have a lot to do.
2-Would you like something to eat? No thanks, I ..justlunch.
3- Maria English for two years.
4- You . A lot of noise. Could you be quieter? I .to concentrate.
5- Is Ann coming to the cinema with us? No, she alreadythe film.
6- Hello Tom, I for you all morning. Where have you been?
Exercise 02: Read the situation and write sentences from the words:
1- I invited Rachel to the party, but she couldnt come. (she arrange to do something
else)
2- You went to the cinema last night. You arrived at the cinema late. (the film already
begin)
3- I was very tires when I arrived at home. (I work hard all day).
4- I havent seen Alan for ages when (I last see him) (he try to find a job).
5- There was nobody in the room, but there was a small cigarette. (somebody smoke
in the room).
6- We were in a very difficult position (we not know what to do).
Exercise 03: Put the verbs into the correct form: will be doing or will have done.
1- Dont phone me between 7 and 8 we (have) dinner then.
2- Phone me after 8 oclock (we finish) by then.
3- Tomorrow afternoon we are going to play tennis from 3 oclock until 4.30, so at 4
oclock (we play) tennis.
4- Do you think (you still do) the same job in ten years time?
56 If you need to contact me (I stay) at the Hilton hotel until Friday.
Modal auxiliaries
General characteristics of modal auxiliaries
Verbs like can and may are called modal auxiliaries, though we often refer to them
simply as modals. We frequently use modals when we are concerned with our
relationship with someone else. We may, for example, ask for permission to do
something; grant permission to someone; give or receive advice; make or respond to
requests and offers, etc. We can express different levels of politeness by the forms we
choose and the way we say things.
You may/may not carry the authority of the speaker and is the equivalent of I
(personally) give you permission. You can/cannot is more general and does not
necessarily imply personal permission.
Granting /refusing permission is not confined to first and second persons:
Johnny/Frankie Can/cant Stay up late
May/may not/mustnt
For the past we use may have (done) or might have (done):
A: I wonder why Kay didnt answer the phone.
B: She may have been asleep. ( = perhaps she was asleep)
A: I cant find my bag anywhere.
B: You might have left it in the shop. ( perhaps you left it in the shop)
A: I was surprised that Sarah wasnt at the meeting.
B: She might not have known about it. ( = perhaps she didnt know)
A: I wonder why Colin was in such a bad mod yesterday.
B: He may not have been feeling well. ( = perhaps ha wasnt feeling well).
We also use may and might to talk about possible actions or happenings in the future:
I havent decided yet where to spend my holidays. I may go to Ireland. (= I
will go to Ireland)
Take an umbrella with you when you go out. It might rain later. ( = perhaps it
will rain)
The bus doesnt always come on time. We might have to wait a few minutes.
(= perhaps we will have to wait)
We may draw a distinction between the expression of possibility in this way (which
allows for speculation and guessing) and deduction based on evidence. Deduction,
often expressed with must be and cant be, suggests near-certainty:
Janes light is on. She must be at home. She cant be out.
For the past we use must have (done) and cant have (done). Study this example:
George is outside his friends house. He has rung the door bell three times but nobody
has answered. They must have gone out. (otherwise they would have answered).
The phone rang but I didnt hear it. I must have been asleep.
Ive lost one of my gloves. I must have dropped it somewhere.
Jane walked past me without speaking. She cant have seen me.
Tom walked straight into a wall. Ha cant have been looking where he was
walking
Study the structure:
must been (asleep / at work etc.)
I/you/he (etc.) cant have been doing / working etc.)
done / gone / known / had etc.
But there is a difference between must and have to /have got to and sometimes this
is important:
Need as a modal:
Need has only some of the characteristics of modal verbs in that it occurs in:
Questions: Need you go? Need you leave so soon? (= surely not/ I hope not)
Negatives: You neednt go.
In Yes/No question a negative answer is expected. Yes/No question with need? Can
be answered with must or neednt:
Need I type this letter again? Yes, you must. /No, you neednt.
Need + have + past participle behaves in the same way:
Need you have told him about my plans?
You neednt have told him about my plans.
Yes/No question with Need have ? can be answered: Yes, I had to. (no choice)
No, I neednt have. (I had a choice)
Lack of necessity can be expressed by neednt, dont have to and the more informal
havent got to (where got is often stressed)
You neednt do something = it is not necessary that you do it, you dont need to do
it:
You can come with me if you like but you neednt come if you dont want to.
( =it is not necessary for you to come)
Weve got plenty of time. We neednt hurry.
Neednt and dont need to are similar to dont have to.
Weve got plenty of time. We dont have to hurry.
Neednt have done: George had to go out. He thought it was going to rain so he took
the umbrella. But it didnt rain, so the umbrella was not necessary. So:
He neednt have taken the umbrella.
Compare neednt (do) and neednt have (done):
That shirt isnt dirty. You neednt wash it. (present lack of necessity)
Why did you wash that shirt? It wasnt dirty. You neednt have washed it.
(you washed it unnecessarily)
inadvisability prohibition: a scale of choice:
We can use modals and other verbs to express inadvisability and prohibition on a
scale which reflects a degree of choice. This scale may vary according to the
subjective point of view of the speaker.
Inadvisability shouldnt: Generally means in my opinion, it is inadvisable
to or it is
your duty not to.
oughtnt to: can be slightly stronger than shouldnt. It is
sometimes used to refer to regulations and duties
imposed from the outside: You oughtnt to park so
near the crossing. (= it is your public duty not to do
this).
had better not: is stronger than shouldnt and oughtnt to. It is
used to recommend future action on a particular
occasion, not in general. It carries a hint of threat,
warning or urgency. Youd better not overtake
here.
am/is/are not to: can be used for instructions: You are not to
park here.
cant is nearly as strong as mustnt to suggest something is
prohibited. You cant park here.
mustnt: conveys absolute prohibition. In the opinion of the
speaker, there is no choice at all. This opinion may
be subjective or may be supported by some outside
authority as in You must turn left. (e.g. there is a
road sign forbidding it) is an alternative to must.
prohibition
Dont have to and havent got to can never replace mustnt to convey prohibition .
Like neednt, they convey lack of necessity.
Mustnt conveys the strongest possible opinion of the speaker;
You really mustnt say things like that in front of your mother.
Julian mustnt hitchhike to Turkey on his own.
Prohibition reflecting external authority (in e.g. public notices , documents) is often
expressed as must not (in full):
Exercises
Exercise 1: Complete the sentences using can or (be) able to. Use can if possible;
otherwise use (be) able to.
1. George has traveled a lot. He ..speak four languages.
2. I havent .sleep very well recently.
3. Sandra drive but she hasnt got a car.
4. I cant understand Martin. Ive never..understand him.
5. I used to stand on my head but I cant do it now.
6. I cant see you on Friday but I meet you on Saturday morning.
7. Ask Catherine about your problem. She might ..help you.
Exercise 2: Complete the sentences with can / cant / could / couldnt + one of these
verbs:
Come eat hear run sleep wait
1. Im afraid I .to your party next week.
2. When Tim was 16, he was a first runner.. He 100 metres in 11 seconds.
3. Are you in a hurry? No, Ive got plenty of time. I ..
4. I was feeling sick yesterday. I anything.
5. Can you speak up a bit? I .you very well.
6. You look tired. Yes, I ..last night
Exercise 3: Complete the sentences using could, couldnt or was / were able to.
1. My grandfather was a very clever man. He .speak five languages.
2. I looked everywhere for the book but I .find it.
3. They didnt want to come with us at first but we to persuade them.
4. Laura had hurt her leg and .walk very well.
5. Sue wasnt at home when I phoned but I .contact her at office.
6. I looked very carefully and I .see a figure in the distance.
7. I wanted to bye some tomatoes. The first shop I went to didnt have any but I
.get some in the next shop.
8. My grandmother loved music. She the piano very well.
9. A girl fell into the river but fortunately we.rescue her.
10. I had forgotten to bring my camera so I .take any photographs.
Exercise 4: Put in must or cant
1. Youve been traveling all day. You ..be very tired.
2. That restaurant ..be very good. Its always empty.
3. That restaurant ..be very good. Its always full of people.
4. Youre going o holiday next week. You ..be looking forward to it.
5. It rained everyday during their holiday, so they .have had a very
good time.
6. Congratulations on passing your exam. You.be very happy.
7. You got here very quickly. You.have walked very fast.
8. Bill and Sue go away on holiday very often, so they .be short of
money.
Exercise 5: Read the situations and use the words in brackets to write sentences with
must have and cant have:
1. The phone rang but I didnt hear it. (I / asleep)
2. The jacket you bought is very good quality. (it / very expensive)
3. I havent seen the people next door for ages. (they / go away)
4. I cant find my umbrella. ( I / leave / it in the restaurant last night)
5. Don passed the exam without studying for it. (the exam / very difficult)
6. She knew everything about our plans. (she listen / to our conversation)
7. Fiona did the opposite of I asked her to do. (she / understand / what I said)
8. When I woke up this morning, the light was on. (I forgot / to turn it off)
9. The lights were red but the car didnt stop. (the driver / see / the red light)
10. I was woken up in the middle of the night by the noise next door. (the neighbours
/ have / a party)
Exercise 9: Complete these sentences with must or have to (in the correct form).
Sometimes it is possible to use either; sometimes only have to is possible:
1. Its later than I thought. I ..go now.
2. Jack left before the end of the meting. He ..go home early.
3. In Britain many children wear uniform when they go to
school.
4. When you came to London again, you .come and see me.
5. Last night Don became ill suddenly. We call a doctor.
6. You really..work harder if you want to pass the examination.
7. Im afraid I cant come tomorrow. I ..work late.
8. Im sorry I couldnt come yesterday. I work late.
9. Paul doesnt like his new job. Sometimes, he to work at
weekends.
10. Caroline may ..go away next week.
11. We couldnt repair the car ourselves. We..take it to a
garage.
12. Julia wears glasses. Shewear glasses since she was
very young.
Exercise 10: Read the situations and write sentences with should/shouldnt . Some
of these situations are past and some are present: (for example)
1. Im feeling sick. I ate too much. I shouldnt have eaten so much.
2. That man on the motorbike isnt wearing a helmet.
3. When we got to the restaurant, there were no free tables. We hadnt reserved one.
We
4. the notice says the shop is open everyday from 8.30. It is 9 oclock but the shop
isnt yet open.
5. The speed limit is 30 miles an hour, but Catherine is doing 50.
She..
6. I went to Paris. A friend of mine lives in Paris but I didnt go to see him wile I was
there. When I saw him later he said: You
7. I was driving behind another car. Suddenly the driver behind stopped without
warning and I drove into the back of his car. It wasnt my fault.
..
8. I walked into a wall. I wasnt looking were I was going.
Exercise 13: Complete the sentences using can, be able to, cant, could,
couldnt.
1- George traveled a lot. He ..speak four languages.
2- I cant understand Martin. Ive never ..understand him.
3- I used to .stand on my head but I cant do it now.
4- You look tired. Yes, I .sleep last night.
5- I was feeling sick yesterday. I .eat anything.
6- Im afraid I come to your party next week.
Exercise 14: Read the situations and use the words in brackets to write sentences with
must have and cant have.
1- The phone rang but I didnt hear it. (I /asleep).
2- Jane walked past me without speaking (she / see/ me).
3- The jacket you bought is very good quality (it / very / expensive).
4- I cant find my umbrella. (I / leave/ it in my office/ yesterday).
5- Fionna did the opposite of what I asked her to do. (she/ understand/ what I said).
Exercise 15: Write these sentences in a different way using may or might.
1- Perhaps Margaret is in her office.
2- Perhaps she is busy.
3- Perhaps she is working.
4- Perhaps she wants to be alone.
5- Perhaps she was ill yesterday.
6- Perhaps she went home early.
7- Perhaps she was working yesterday.
Indirect Speech
Indirect speech (sometimes called reported speech) doesnt use quotation
marks to enclose what the person said and it doesnt 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 usually have to be in the
past too.
Example: Direct: I am going to the cinema, he said.
Indirect: He said that he was going to the cinema.
Tense change: As a rule, when you report something someone has said you go back a
tense.
Direct Indirect
Present simple Past simple
Present continuous Past continuous
Present perfect simple Past perfect simple
Present perfect continuous Past perfect continuous
Past simple Past perfect
Past perfect Past perfect (no change)
Past perfect continuous Past perfect continuous (no change)
Will Would
Can Could
Must Had to
Shall Should
May Might
Note: There is no change to : could, would, should, might, and ought to.
You can use the present tense in reported speech if you want to say that something is
still true.
Example: My name has always been and will always be Lynne so:
Direct: My name is Lynne, she said.
Indirect: She said that her name was Lynne. Or: She said her name is Lynne.
- You can also use the present tense if you are talking about a future event.
Direct: Next weeks lesson is on reported speech, she said.
Indirect: She said next weeks lesson is on reported speech.
Time change:
If the reported sentence contains an expression of time, you must change it to fit in
with the time of reporting. We need to change words like here, yesterday if they
have different meanings at the time and place of reporting.
Example: Direct: Todays lesson is on presentations.
(+24 hours) Indirect: She said yesterdays lesson was on presentations.
Expressions of time if reported on a different day:
Direct Indirect
This That
Today yesterday
These Those
Now Then
A week ago A week before
Last week end The week end before
Here There
Next week The following week
Tomorrow The next day
In addition, if you report something said in a different place where you heard it, you
must change the place (here) to the place (there).
- Pronoun change:
In reported speech, the pronoun often changes.
Example: I teach English.
She said that she teaches English.
- Reporting verbs:
Said, told, and asked are the most common verbs used in indirect speech.
We use asked to report questions.
We use told with an object.
We usually use said without an object.
- Use of that in reported speech:
In reported speech, the word that is often used, However, that is optional.
In questions that is not used. We often use
Exercise: Write the following sentences in the reported speech.
1- He complained: The neighbours are noisy.
2- She thought: I bought some biscuits yesterday, but I cant find them in the
cupboard.
3- The teacher explained: The exam will be different this year.
4- The shop keeper assured me: The freezer will be delivered tomorrow.
5- The authorities warned us: The building is unsafe.
Conditionals
Conditional sentences have two parts: the if clause and the main clause.
Example: If it rains, I shall stay at home.
If it rains is the if clause, and I shall stay at home is the main clause.
There are three kinds of conditional sentences. Each kind contains a different pair of
tenses. With each type certain variations are possible.
There is no difference in time between the first and second types of conditional
sentences. Type 2, like type1, refers to the present or future, and the past tense in the
if clause is not a true past but a subjunctive, which indicates unreality (as in the first
example above) or improbability (as in the second example above)
Type2 is used :
-When the supposition is contrary to known facts:
Examples: If I lived near my office Id be in time for work (but I dont live near my
office)
If I were you Id plant some trees round the house (but I am not you)
-When we dont expect the action in the if clause to take place.
Examples: If a burglar came into my room at night, Id throw something at him.(but I
dont expect a burglar to come in)
If I dyed my hair blue, everyone would laugh at me (but I dont intend to
dye it).
Some if clauses can have either of the above meanings:
Examples: If he left his bicycle outside, someone would steal it.
If he left the bicycle could imply but he doesnt (present meaning) or but he
doesnt intend to (future meaning). But the correct meaning is usually clear from the
text.
At one time ambiguity of this kind was avoided by using were + infinitive instead of
the past tense in type2
Examples: If a burglar were to come........
If I were to dye my hair...........
If he were to leave.....................
If only:
Only can be placed after if and indicates hope, a wish or regret according to the
tense used with it.
If only + present tense will express hope:
Example: If only he comes in time = We hope hell come in time.
If only + past/past perfect expresses regret
Example: If only he didnt drive so fast/ If only you hadnt said liar
If only + would can express regret about a present action as an alternative to if only
+ past tense
Example: If only he would drive more slowly.
Exercises:
Exercise 01: Put the verb into the correct form:
1- They would be rather offended if I (not/ go).
2- If you took more exercise, you (feel) better.
3- Im sure Amy will lend you the money. Id be very surprised if she (refuse).
4- A lot of people would be out of work if the factory (close down).
5- Im sure Sue (understand) if you had explained the situation to her.