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Tenses >> Past simple
In positive sentences, a
I was work in London. I worked in London. helping verb such as 'was'
or 'did' is not used.
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Tenses >> Present perfect tense
He's (he has) gone. He hasn't (has not) gone. Has he gone?
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Tenses >> Past perfect tense
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Tenses >> Future simple tense
I'll (I will) be there I won't (will not) be there Will you be there
tomorrow. tomorrow. tomorrow?
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Tenses >> 'Going to' future tense
I'm (I am) going to take I'm (I am) not going to Are you going to take a
my holidays in August. take a holiday this year. holiday?
He's (he is) going to watch He isn't (is not) going to Is he going to watch TV this
TV this evening. watch TV this evening. evening?
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Tenses >> Present continuous
They are still waiting for Are they still waiting for
you? you?
In questions the subject
Do they still waiting for Are they still waiting for
(they) and the auxiliary
you? you?
verb (be) change places.
Where they are waiting for Where are they waiting for
you? you?
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Tenses >> Past continuous
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Tenses >> Present perfect continuous tense (present perfect
progressive)
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Tenses >> Past perfect continuous tense
I'd (I had) been working I hadn't (had not) been Had you been working
hard. working hard. hard?
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Tenses >> Future simple continuous (progressive) tense
I'll (I will) be waiting there I won't (will not) be waiting Will you be waiting there at
at five o'clock. there at five o'clock. five o'clock?
Next year I'll (I will) have Next year I won't (will not) Will you have been working
been working in the have been working in the in the company for 10 years
company for 10 years company for 10 years next year?
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Conditionals >> Zero conditional sentences
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Conditionals >> First conditional
If I see him, I'll (I will) tell If you don't hurry, you'll What will you do if there is
him. miss the bus. a problem?
I'll tell him as soon as I will I'll tell him as soon as I see We use present simple in
see him. him. the if-clause.
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Conditionals >> Second conditional
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Conditionals >> Third conditional
If you had spoken to my If you had spoken to my The main clause has
mother, she would tell you mother, she would have would + have + past
where I was. told you where I was. participle.
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Verb structures >> Verb + bare infinitive
Verb + -ing
Verb + to infinitive
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Verb + object + to-infinitive structure
Modal verbs
Modal verbs >> Modal verbs and their negatives
positive negative
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Modal verbs >> Modal verbs in the past
present past
will be would be
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Modal verbs >> Should have (to express past obligation)
Must / have to
present past
He must be here.
It must be great. He must have been here.
(when we want to express a personal It must have been great.
opinion)
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Modal verbs >> Present probability - must / can't / may /
might / could
They both mean that it is possible that He might not be offered the job.
something will not happen or is not I may not pass the exam.
happening. I might not go to the match tomorrow.
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Modal verbs >> Past probability - must have / can't have /
might have / may have
We use must have to express that we They must have left early.
feel sure that something was true. He must have already gone.
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Prepositions
Prepositions >> Prepositions of place
Prepositions of place
IN ON AT
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Prepositions >> Prepositions of time
Prepositions of time
IN ON AT
We use during to talk about something He came to work during the morning
that happens within the same time as meeting.
another event.
We use over or in to talk about We've had a lot of problems over / in the
something that has been happening last few months.
continuously up until the present, or will We expect a rise in sales over / in the
happen continuously in the future. next few months.
We use for to say how long something I can only come for a few minutes.
continues. I was waiting for him for two hours.
We use until to say that something will We have to stay here until he comes.
continue up to a particular time. The concert went on until eleven o'clock.
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Prepositions >> Examples of some prepositional verbs
Prepositional verbs
to accept
to agree to something I don't think he will ever agree to such a
plan.
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Prepositions >> Prepositions after adjectives (1)
pleased with someone / something I was very pleased with his performance.
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Adjectives / adverbs
Adjectives
We use an adjective to describe the Can you see the young woman at the end
qualities of people, things, places, etc. of the street?
She was too frighten to say She was too frightened to Many adjectives are
a word. say a word. participle forms of verbs.
The -ed form describes how
I am very interesting in I am very interested in this someone feels (bored).
this problem. problem. The -ing form describes the
person or thing that causes
It was a bored film. It was a boring film. the feeling (boring).
Adjectives normally go in
She married a German, She married a tall, young, the following sequence:
young, tall lawyer. German lawyer. size-age-shape-colour-
origin-material-purpose.
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Adjectives / adverbs >> Use of adverbs
Adverbs
Forms of adverbs
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Adverbs - common mistakes
We use an adverb
(perfect - adjective,
The camera works
The camera works perfect. perfectly - adverb) when
perfectly.
we want to say how we do
something.
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Adjectives / adverbs >> Comparatives and superlatives of
adjectives
Adjectives ending in
big bigger the biggest
one vowel and one
hot hotter the hottest
consonant
Exceptions
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Adjectives / adverbs >> Irregular adverbs
Irregular adverbs
Most adverbs are formed by adding -ly to an adjective (e.g. slow - slowly). However,
there are some irregular adverbs.
adjective adverb
good well
fast fast
hard hard
late late
early early
daily daily
Reported speech
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Reported speech >> Structure of reported questions
She asked me if I have She asked me if I had been If the reporting verb (in this
been to Bristol? to Bristol. case ask) is in the past
tense, the tenses used in
the original sentence have
to be changed:
She asked me what I do for She asked me what I did I am becomes I was
a living. for a living. I can becomes I could
I have been becomes I had
been.
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Questions
Questions >> Forming questions
Structures of questions
We put wh- words (when, where, why, How long have you been waiting for me?
who, how, etc.) at the beginning of the Where is their office?
question. Which colour do you like best?
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Questions - common mistakes
What meant you by saying What did you mean by If there is no auxiliary
that? saying that? (helping) verb, we put do,
does or did before the
You like this film? Do you like this film? subject.
Where you are going this Where are you going this
afternoon? afternoon? We put an auxiliary verb
before the subject.
You did read the letter? Did you read the letter?
Does he knows your sister? Does he know your sister? When there is an auxiliary
verb, the main verb is in
Where will she studies? Where will she study? the infinitive form.
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Questions >> Forming indirect questions
Why do you want to work for our He asked me why I wanted to work for
company? their company.
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Various grammar rules >> All, the whole
All
The whole
All or the whole can be used with time all day / the whole day
expressions all morning / the whole morning
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Various grammar rules >> Already, yet
Already, yet
Various grammar rules >> Be used to, get used to, used to
Be used to
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Get used to
Used to
We use although to make the main Although he is much older than the
statement surprising or unlikely. others, he won the race.
Even though is the same as despite the I enjoyed the race, even though my
fact that. results weren't very good.
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Various grammar rules >> Ever, never
Ever, never
Just
Just means a short time ago. I have just seen him in the corridor.
I had just finished it when he came.
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Various grammar rules >> Structure of phrasal verbs
a verb + adverb +
put up with
preposition
Relative clauses
Non-defining relative clauses (extra Mr Fry, who speaks five languages, works
information clauses) are used to add as a translator for the EU.
extra information which is not necessary.
We put commas between the noun and a
non-defining relative clause. The area, which has very high
Who is used for people. unemployment, is in the north of the
Which is used for things. country.
That cannot be used.
The man who was sitting The man who was sitting
After a relative clause we
next to me he had a brown next to me had a brown
do not repeat the subject.
jacket. jacket.
The book what I bought The book that I bought was Only that or which are
was by Edward Lear. by Edward Lear. possible, not what.
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He lent me the book, which He lent me the book, which A relative clause can have
I found it very useful. I found very useful. only one direct object.
Some
Some:
a pen, some pens
is used with the plural form of nouns,
some water (uncountable)
and with uncountable nouns
Any
Any:
a pen, any pens
is used with the plural form of nouns,
any water (uncountable)
and with uncountable nouns
Tag questions
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A tag question is a question which we add to the end of a statement because we
would like to get an answer to our statement.
The tag contains a subject pronoun (it, he, she, etc.) which matches the subject of
the statement, and a verb which matches the verb in the statement.
It's very nice weather today, isn't it? It isn't a very nice weather today, is it?
She can speak English, can't she? She can't speak English, can she?
You have finished the work, haven't You haven't finished the work, have
you? you?
He will arrive on time, won't he? He won't arrive on time, will he?
You know him, don't you? You don't know him, do you?
He earned a lot of money, didn't he? He didn't earned much money, did he?
There is enough time, isn't there? There isn't enough time, is there?
Within
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Always, still
We use always to say that something I'll always remember the first time I met
exists for ever. her.
Still means 'continuing later than She is still living with her parents.
expected.' Why are you still talking about it?
It expresses that someting started in the They still haven't mended my car (They
past and is the same now. haven't mended my car yet).
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Various grammar rules >> As long as
As long as
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Various grammar rules >> Each, every
Each, every
In case
In case of
We use in case of to say what we should In case of burglary, don't touch anything
do if or when something happens. and call the police immediately.
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Various grammar rules >> Little, a little, few, a few
Little / a little
Few / a few
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Various grammar rules >> Relative pronouns
Relative pronouns
We use who when we talk about people. I don't know who told you that.
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Various grammar rules >> Say, tell
Say / tell
He said hello.
We use:say + something.
He said he was ill.
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Various grammar rules >> Speak, talk
Speak / talk
Speak and talk have similar meanings. How old were you when you learned to
They suggest that someone is using his speak?
voice, or that two or more people are
having a discussion. What are you talking about?
But we say:
Unless
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Writing business letters - Useful phrases: Yours
faithfully or Yours sincerely?
You already know how important it is to speak good English in an international
working environment. If you work for a company which does business abroad, you
probably read and write a lot of English, too. Writing, just like speaking, is
communication. In our letters and emails we need to express many things: authority,
gratitude, dissatisfaction, etc. Expressing ourselves well and with the correct level of
formality is an important skill.
In short, you want to give a professional image when you write to your customers
and business partners. To get you started, we've prepared some lists of standard
phrases. Take a look at:
Opening lines
Why do we need an opening line in a business letter or formal email?
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Thank you for your letter regarding ...
Closing lines
Why do we need a closing line in a business letter or email?
Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
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Dear Madam ... Yours faithfully
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Telephone language and phrases in English
How to answer and speak on the phone
Answering the phone Problems
• Could I speak to John Martin, please? • One moment, please. I'll see if
• I'd like to speak to John Martin, please. Mr Jones is available.
• Could you put me through to John Martin, • I'll put you through.
please? • I'll connect you.
• Could I speak to someone who … • I'm connecting you now.
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