Learn It before' or 'ago' 'before' - any time before now Before means: at some unknown time before now.

It does not say when. Therefore we would say: I know that chap. I've met him somewhere before. Have you been here before? ~ No, I've never been here before. This is my first time. We normally use the present perfect tense because the effect of meeting or seeing someone or being somewhere is still felt in the present. Simple past is also possible because we are talking about unknown occasions in the past, but it is less likely: I know that chap. I met him somewhere before. Were you here before? ~ No, I was never here before. This is my first time. 'ago' - at a certain time before now Ago tells us how long before the present time something happened. It tells us when and gives us a time or a date. Because we are referring to a specific time in the past, the simple past is used: Your mother phoned five minutes ago. Can you phone her back? I saw her for the first time at film festival in Cannes some twenty years ago. 'before' - at a certain time before then Ago always counts back from the present time. Note that if we are counting back from a past time, before or earlier or previously are used, not ago: I met him at the AIDS conference in Durban in December 2002 when he told me that he had contracted AIDS four years before. ( = 6 years ago) Last year I went back to my hometown that I had left ten years before and discovered that the house I grew up in was no longer standing. (= left home 11 years ago) Last year I returned to my hometown that I had left ten years ago and discovered that the house I grew up in had been demolished (= left home 10 years ago) 'before' - conjunction and preposition as well as adverb Note that before can be used as a conjunction or preposition as well as an adverb.

If before is used as a conjunction, it often connects two clauses together which discuss past events. But note that it can also be used with a present tense in the subordinate clause to indicate future activity. Compare the following: They left the dining table before I had finished my meal. How rude of them! He knelt down to say his prayers before he got into bed. I shall read all the reports before I decide what action to take. It can also link clauses denoting habitual current activity with the simple present: I always shave before I take a shower. You must take off your shoes before you enter the mosque. If before is used as a preposition, it usually refers to time, not to place when in front of is preferred. Compare the following: To stay young and beautiful, try to get to bed before midnight each night. To stay in shape, I try to go for a jog and a swim in the sea every morning before breakfast. There were so many tall people in front of me that I could see nothing of the procession as it passed by. participles as adjectives barking dogs [ yes ] barked dogs [ no ] There are not very many adjectives formed from verb participles, Tutul, that can be used in both -ed and -ing forms. You can often get a sense of what works and what doesn't by transforming the participial adjective into a participial clause. If it doesn't make sense as a participle in a clause, it is unlikely to make sense as a participle adjective. Consider the following: The barking dogs kept me awake all night. The dogs that were barking kept me awake all night. The barked dogs kept me awake all night. The dogs that had been barked kept me awake all night.

Barking works in the first pair of examples because -ing forms when used as adjectives have similar meanings to active verbs. Barked doesn't work in the second pair of examples because most past participles have passive meanings when they are used as adjectives. Dogs can be washed, dried, combed, brushed, fed and walked, but they can't be barked. That is something they do themselves. abandoning child [ no ] abandoned child [ yes ] Abandon (meaning to leave someone when you should stay with them) is commonly used in passive structures. For this reason, abandoned works as an adjective, but abandoning does not. Compare the following: The abandoned child cried for three days without stopping. The child that had been abandoned cried for three days. The abandoning child was so unhappy she cried for three days. The child which was abandoning was so upset she cried for three days. Abandoning doesn't work because children cannot abandon themselves, though the unfortunate ones are sometimes abandoned by their parents. There are a few participial adjectives that can be used in both -ing and -ed forms, but note the differences in meaning, depending on active or passive use in these examples below. broken hearts [ yes ] breaking waves [ yes ] She is suffering from a broken heart Her heart has been broken by his cruel behaviour. The breaking waves pushed the surfboard further out to sea. Huge waves breaking on the beach pushed the surtboard out to sea. alarmed houses [ yes ] alarming reports [ yes ] Alarmed houses afford some protection against burglary. Houses which are alarmed afford some protection against burglary.

Alarming reports are coming in that refugees are being racially abused. Reports are coming in that refugees are being racially abused. This alarms me. A small number of verbs have past participles that can be used as adjectives before nouns with active meanings. Note with these examples there may not be so much change in meaning between the -ing and -ed forms: falling/fallen [ yes ] advanced/advancing [ yes ] developing/developed [ yes ] The falling leaves covered the path and made it quite slippery. The leaves that were falling covered the path and made it slippery. The fallen trees blocked the road and only pedestrians could get through. The trees that had fallen blocked the road and made it quite impassable. When we think of countries that are still developing and countries that have developed, it is true to say that: a) developing countries need as much help as they can get. b) it is the developed nations which should provide it. This class is appropriate only for advanced students. It is suitable for students who have advanced beyond level five. The advancing army surrounded the city and cut off all its supply lines. The army, which was advancing rapidly, had cut off the city by nightfall.
'Incredible' and 'unbelievable' These two adjectives, incredible and unbelievable, are quite interchangeable and to these two you could add a third: unimaginable. They all describe things or events which are so amazing that they cannot be imagined or believed. Adverbial forms are incredibly, unbelievably and unimaginably. You can substitute any of these adjectives or adverbs under discussion as you wish: 'When she died, Aunt Isobel left me an incredible amount of money so much I didnt know what to do with it!'

'I intend to work incredibly hard over the summer so that I pass my exams in September.' 'My performance at the Christmas concert was unbelievably bad.' 'The weather on the mountain yesterday was unbelievable. There was no chance of us getting to the top.' 'The operation was performed under almost unimaginable conditions. It is unbelievable that he survived.' 'The new computer game was unimaginably difficult. Neither Mike nor I could work out how to progress from level 1 to level 2.'

Adverb/adjective collocations: utterly excited? utter - utterly Utterly doesn't go with excited because if you are excited about something that is normally a positive emotion and both utter and utterly (meaning complete/completely) have negative meanings and are used only in negative contexts: To say that we'll be landing on Jupiter in 2010 is utter nonsense. If you think that, then you are a complete and utter fool. To spend all day window-shopping, especially at Christmas, is an utter waste of time. They had no means of support and were utterly dependent on their parents. To suggest that there should be a total ban on smoking is utterly ridiculous.

complete - completely Complete and completely are much more neutral and can be used in positive, neutral and negative contexts: Jon has sent me ten red roses and that has come as a complete surprise. I'm a pessimist and she's an optimist so she's the complete opposite of me. He has lied to me so there is a complete breakdown of trust between us. The PM's treatment for an irregular heartbeat has been completely successful. When I go on holiday next year, I'm looking for something completely different. Dozens of homes have been completely destroyed in the floods.

However, despite the flexibility of this adjective/adverb, we cannot say completely excited. One of the hallmarks of a proficient language learner is knowing which adverbs collocate with which adjectives. So, which adverbs go best with excited? terrible - terribly One of the most common adverbs used with excited is terribly. Note that the adjective terrible (meaning horrible, dreadful, awful) can only be used in negative contexts but the adverb terribly can describe extreme behaviour in both negative and positive contexts.: What's wrong? You look terrible. ~ I'm in terrible pain. His sudden death came as a terrible shock to the entire family. Prison life is terrible and I have the most terrible nightmares every night. The children were terribly upset when their pet dalmation puppy died. Children in Britain get terribly excited on Christmas morning when they come down to open their presents.

awful - awfully Note that awful and awfully follow a similar pattern. As an adjective, awful is used only in negative contexts, but as an adverb awfully has both negative and positive meanings: It's an awful shame that she's unable to come back home for the holidays. She was late and I was worried that something awful had happened to her. He was awfully drunk. It was an embarrassment to have him there. He may get on your nerves, but he has always been awfully nice to me. She's awfully pretty, don't you think? The most striking person in the room! It's awfully good of you to find the time to help us with this. awesome Note that awesome, meaning very impressive and sometimes a little frightening is a favourite adjective used by young people and people in the media currently:

Thierry Henry's ability as a footballer is just awesome. It was an awesome party. We danced all night and then watched the sun coming up over the sea. No better way to welcome in the New Year. enough/sufficient/adequate enough sufficient Enough (where the second syllable is pronounced as in puff or stuff) and sufficient are very similar semantically, meaning as much as is needed: I dont have enough time to finish reading this report before the meeting. But I have sufficient information to know what the outcome should be. We have sufficient evidence to convict him for the crimes he has committed. adequate Adequate is also close in meaning to enough and sufficient. It suggests that something is good enough or large enough for a particular purpose: This country will never maintain an adequate supply of trained teachers if so many leave the profession after four or five years. This little car is perfectly adequate for any driving you need to do in town. His computer skills were adequate for the type of work required of him. inadequate insufficient Note that the negative of sufficient and adequate can be formed with the prefix in-. For the negative of enough we have to use not: The level of funding available for the training of teachers is inadequate. I have insufficient resources to be able to deal effectively with this problem. We dont have enough milk if everybody wants cappuccino. enough as an adverb Enough can also be used as an adverb to modify an adjective, an adverb or a verb. When it is used in this way, it comes after the adjective, adverb or verb: In this climate its not warm enough to go out without a jumper in the evening. Youve missed him, Im afraid. You didnt get up early enough. I didnt work hard enough so I was unsuccessful in the exam. I didnt revise enough so I didnt pass the exam.

Modifying adverbs, of course, are normally placed before the adjectives or adverbs that they modify, so if we want to use the less common sufficiently in these examples instead of enough, they will look like this: In this climate its not sufficiently warm to go out without a jumper at night. Youve missed him, Im afraid. You didnt get up sufficiently early. I didnt work sufficiently hard so I was unsuccessful in the exam. I didnt revise sufficiently so I didnt pass the exam. enough as a pronoun Enough can also be used alone without a noun when the meaning is clear: Ive only saved up 250. Will that be enough for this type of holiday? Some more dressing on your salad? ~ Oh no, I have quite enough, thanks. Enough of + determiner / pronoun Before determiners (this, the, etc) and pronouns we use enough of: Ive had quite enough of this fruit salad, thanks. Its a bit too sweet for my liking. I didnt read it all, but I read enough of the report to get the main idea. I answered all the questions, but I didnt get enough of them right to pass the driving test. As you can see, Celine, enough is commonly used in a wider variety of contexts than sufficient or adequate. I havent mentioned all of them, but that is enough for today! Enough is enough! as we say when we want to indicate that we wish to bring something to an end.
effect' 'affect' and 'efficient' 'effective'

affect effect Affect and effect are often confused, Warda, even by native speakers of English. The most important thing to remember is that affect is used as a verb and effect is normally used as a noun. When they are used in this way, they are similar in meaning, signifying influence, impact or change. Compare the following: 'The really hot weather affected everybodys ability to work.' 'I know my neighbours play loud music late at night, but that doesnt affect me.I can sleep through anything.' 'The number of tourists travelling to Britain this year has not been affected by the strength of the pound.'

'The tablets which he took every four hours had no noticeable effect on his headache.' 'My words of comfort had little effect. She just went on crying and wouldnt stop.'

Note: we talk about someone or something having an effect on something or someone. If we use effect as a verb, it means to carry out or to cause something to happen, but it is used only in very formal English. Consider the following: 'Repairs could not be effected because the machines were very old.' efficient effective These two qualitative adjectives are often confused, Kisy. If somebody or something is efficient, then he, she or it works in a well-organised way, without wasting time or energy. Consider the following examples: 'She was efficient in everything she did and was frequently commended for exemplary service to the organisation.' 'He hasnt made very efficient use of his time in revising for these exams: he has made no notes and his concentration spans appear to last for no longer than ten minutes.' 'This engine is really efficient, it can run for 30 km on only 1 litre of fuel.'

If something is effective, it works well and produces the results that were intended. Consider the following examples: 'These tablets really are effective. My headaches much better now.' 'The only effective way to avoid hay fever at this time of the year, if you are a sufferer, is to stay indoors.' Busy 'with' or 'about' I have not heard 'What are you busy about?' before and find it unnatural. What are you busy with?' as in 'What are you busy with this morning?' is fine as a question, but I don't think you would repeat busy with in your reply. Instead, if you were a university lecturer, you might say: 'Oh, I've got so much to do. I've got essays to mark and reports to write and then I've got to go to the Dean's reception before lunch You often use busy directly with the present participle, as in: 'I was busy ironing when Jeremy arrived.' No preposition is then required. 'Flammable' or 'inflammable'? Negative prefixes, un-, in-, im-, il-, dis-, etc.

There is no difference in meaning and little or no difference in use. Chemicals, gases or cloth materials that are flammable / inflammable catch fire and burn easily. Perhaps, in usage, cloth materials are usually described as inflammable. So we might say: 'The material from which these car seats are made is highly inflammable. And conversely, certain gases or chemicals may be thought of as flammable. So we might say: 'Aircraft fuel is highly flammable'. But there are no hard and fast patterns.

All this is somewhat strange, because usually when we add a prefix such as in- or un- or dis- to the beginning of adjectives, adverbs and verbs, we give them the opposite meaning. Try this activity. Draw half a dozen columns on a large piece of paper and insert a prefix heading in each column. Perhaps leave one or two columns empty for new prefix headings as they occur to you. Your piece of paper should look something like this: uniminildisir-

Then, over a period of time, write in as many adjectives with a negative meaning using these prefixes that you can think of. To help you get started, you might like to test your knowledge against these opposites. Print out this exercise, fill in the missing words and then check your answers against the answer key. The first one is done for you. Opposite of: happy: We were really unhappy with the way the party was going

'good' and 'well' good = adjective well = adverb Therefore it has to be we eat well as we are describing how we eat and drink. It might be said that adverbs answer the question How? whilst adjectives answer the question What sort of? Study the following: 'She speaks good Japanese.' 'She speaks Japanese well.' 'She speaks Japanese better than I do.'

Note that better is the comparative form of both good and well In English, we often play around with basic language, whether consciously or unconsciously, for effect. So, whilst 'we eat well and drink well' would be grammatically correct, 'we eat good and drink well' may be more effective in terms of impact because it breaks the grammatical rule. I would not recommend it, however, if you are taking an exam, but it will sound good over a drink with friends.

Why not sound well in this particular example? It is because when we use verbs such as be, seem, appear, sound, look, feel, smell, taste, they are followed by adjectives rather than adverbs as we are describing the subject of the sentence rather than the action of the verb. So we have: 'She looks really good in those clothes.' 'The food at the reception tasted really good - better than the food we had last year.' 'There's no way he'll get a distinction, but the work he's done appears good enough for a pass.' 'I felt really good when she congratulated me on winning the essay prize

For similar reasons we would talk about: A good-looking woman. A good-natured boy. (good describes his nature) But we would also say: A well-dressed woman. (well tells us how she dresses) A well-behaved boy. (well tells us how he behaves) Look up good and well in your dictionaries to see if you can find further examples of adjectives formed in this way. The only time when well can be used as an adjective by itself is when we are talking about someone's health. Here well means in good health. Compare the following: 'How are you today?' 'Fine. Very well, thanks. / Not very well, actually.' 'I often feel unwell when I'm on a boat, but as soon as I get off, I'm fine. Note that the expression well and good is used to indicate that you find a particular situation satisfactory or acceptable. Thus, we might say: 'If you can do the job in less time and leave early, I don't mind. That's (all very) well and good.' 'If you want to stay here on your own over Christmas, well and good Incidentally, there is now a trend among young people, particularly in the 18 - 25 age range, to use well instead of very in expressions like: 'I am well happy with that.' 'I was well tired last night. 'She was well pleased with her birthday present.' Again it breaks the rule and is effective in the impact it makes. Well used in this way often refers to exceptional circumstances or is used as a summary statement. I wonder if this creative use of the English language has reached you yet in your part of the world? As well as' and 'in addition to'

think it all depends on whether it is used as part of an adverbial phrase when making comparisons, in which case the infinitive or simple form of the verb is the norm, or whether it is used as a conjunction introducing clauses of comparison and similar in meaning to in addition to, in which case the '-ing' pattern is required. Let us compare the two usages: as + adj + as + clause/phrase as + adv + as + clause/phrase For example: 'I saw as many as three thousand people at the concert.' 'He was badly injured, but I did as much as I could to make him comfortable.' 'I waited for as long as I dared, but when it got dark, I went home.' 'Please come as quickly as you can. My father is very ill.' 'The Irish played as well as the Scots but didn't convert as many attempts on goal.' 'Richardson was as good an actor as Gieldgud (was).'

Note that if an adjective is placed between as and the noun, a / an must be placed after the adjective. What is interesting in your example, Van Anh, is that if you say: 'I can swim as well as cook well', you are stating that these are two things that you can do, whereas if you say: 'I can swim as well as I can cook', you are stating that you can do both these things to an equal degree of proficiency. When we use as well as - similar in meaning and usage to in addition to - as a subordinating conjunction, the '-ing' form in the verb which follows is required: 'As well as playing tennis with Steve three times during the week, I (also) play badminton with my wife at the weekend.' 'In addition to working on his Ph.D. dissertation, he (also) translates articles for The Weekly Review.

Note here that the adverb as well is similar in meaning to as well as and is often used as an alternative to too. Note that both as well and too must be used at the end of the sentence: 'We enjoyed a rare night out last night. We ate at Luigi's, and went to the cinema as well.' ( = As well as eating out, we (also) went to the cinema.) 'We eat well here in Sardinia. The wine is excellent too.' 'My wife is a chemist and both her parents were chemists as well.' Note the special use of as long as which is similar in meaning and use to provided that. Both are more emphatic forms of if and are used to introduce conditions: 'As long as you promise to help me, I don't mind cooking for twelve people on Easter Sunday.'

'I'll join you on this skiing holiday, provided I can have my own room at the hotel.'

beside' / 'besides' and 'toward' / 'towards'

t is quite important not to confuse them, for they are different in meaning and usage. beside Beside is a preposition, similar in meaning to 'next to', 'at the side of' or 'by': 'Where is the apple orchard?' 'Its right beside the main road. You cant miss it!' 'We were lying beside the pool when the phone rang. It was his boss wanting to know why he wasnt at work.'

It is often used with verbs such as 'standing', 'sitting', 'lying'. It is also used in the expression beside the point when referring to something that is not relevant to the subject under discussion: 'Modern art isnt really art at all!' 'Thats beside the point when so many young people respond to it with such interest. They regard it as art. besides Besides is a preposition, meaning 'in addition to', 'as well as' or 'apart from': 'What exam subjects are you taking besides English and maths?' 'Were there any boys at the party besides Matt and Dillon?'

It can also introduce a participial phrase: 'Besides bruising his face, he cut his lip and bloodied his nose.' Besides also functions as an adverb, meaning 'as well', 'furthermore' or 'anyway'. It is often used to introduce an afterthought. Consider these examples: 'Its too late to start a round of golf now. We shall never finish before dark. Besides, its starting to rain.' 'He doesnt have very much money and he doesnt have very many prospects. Besides, hes far too young to think of getting married.' toward - towards What about towards and toward? One of my own students was worried that there might be similar pitfalls in store for her when using these prepositions. Well, I can re-assure all of you that these prepositions can be used quite interchangeably and that there is no difference in meaning. The only slight difference in usage is that toward is perhaps more characteristic of American English and towards more usual in British English. Toward or towards means 'in the direction of':

'Can you see that light over there?' 'I think its coming towards us.' 'There are always more mosquitoes in the air toward evening. Have you noticed?

'yet' and 'but', 'so' and 'hence', 'for example' and 'for instance' Used as a conjunction, yet is similar in meaning to but, but it has a stronger effect on the reader or listener. Compare: 'The sun was shining and there was no wind, yet it was unusually cold.' 'The sun was shining and there was no wind, but it was unusually cold.' There is perhaps more of a surprise associated with the former statement. Note that you can put and in front of yet when it comes at the beginning of a clause, but of course this is not possible with but, so you can say: 'The cyclists were tired and hungry, all but exhausted, (and) yet they refused to give up in their attempt to finish the race.'

So as a linking word between two clauses or sentences is similar in meaning to hence, though hence is much more formal. Compare: 'Paul didn't have enough money for the train ticket, so he had to go to the cashpoint before he could travel.' 'It is clear to us now that drug abuse can never be beneficial to the user; hence we seem to have got it wrong in suggesting that it may sometimes be acceptable.' In spoken English, we often begin a sentence with so, thus making a link with what has been said before: 'We couldn't find the key, so we couldn't open the door.' 'So what did you do?'

For example and for instance are completely interchangeable, so it is just a matter of personal preference as to which you decide to use: 'There are a number of rules you must abide by. For instance, you may not use the swimming pool unsupervised.' 'You have all made silly mistakes on this trip. John, for example, failed to secure the boat properly and Adam took the jet ski out when the sea was far too rough. Use of 'so' and 'such' f so here means 'in this way' or 'thus', it would normally come immediately after the main clause: 'Miles looked older than his brother, so revealing a strange maturity.' ('so' = less formal) 'Miles looked older than his brother, thus revealing a strange maturity.' ('thus' = more formal)

However, if you are using so or such for emphasis to mean 'to a very great degree or extent', their position immediately before the adjective is correct. But take care using these two forms. It has to be such before a noun or before an adjective plus noun. So it will be: 'Miles looked older than his brother, revealing such a strange maturity.'

So is obviously used in a similar way, but is placed before adjectives standing alone or before adverb plus adjective, thus: 'She was so indescribably beautiful that we couldn't take our eyes off her.' Remember: such + noun so + adjective such + adjective + noun so + adverb + adjective The noun with such is normally preceded by the indefinite article: 'We had such a good time at Henry's party.' 'I've been working far too hard today and I've got such a headache now.' 'She really embarrassed me. She is such a fool.'

Occasionally, in certain expressions, when the noun has a gradeable meaning, the indefinite article is dropped: 'Such lovely countryside (around here)!' 'Such awful weather (these days)!' 'We had such fun at Henry's party!' 'I don't know how you have such patience (when dealing with such awkward customers).' Frequently heard examples of so in this sense might include: 'I'm so glad you are here!' 'He was so pleased to see her.' 'Don't go so fast! Slow down!' 'What's so funny about that?' 'I'm so tired! It's as if I haven't slept for a week.' 'I love you so much!' You will already have noticed from at least one of the above examples that so and such are often followed by 'that'-clauses suggesting result or consequence. Note that when plural nouns are used after such, the article is, of course, omitted. 'I'm so glad (that) you could come!' 'It had been so hot on the journey (that) we had to drink a litre of water when we arrived home.'

'There was so much to do on that holiday (that) nobody ever got bored.' 'They were such good swimmers (that) they had no difficulty swimming across the fast-flowing river.' 'She prepared such good meals (that) no one ever thought of going out to eat.' 'I've got such a high temperature (that) I'm hoping (that) my husband will drive me straight to the surgery when he gets home from work.'

There is one exception to the general rule as set out above and that is that only so can be used with indefinite determiners much and many and it is more usual with little and few when these are followed by a noun. We therefore have the new pattern: so + determiner + noun 'So many sun-worshippers had crowded on to the beach that there was no space left for my towel.' 'I'm sure there will be so much noise in the restaurant that I shan't be able to hear what anybody is saying.' 'I had so little rest over the weekend that I couldn't go to work on Monday morning.' 'There were so few leaves on the tree that it was pointless to try to shelter from the rain beneath it.'

You cannot say: 'such many sun-worshippers', or 'such much noise' and it would be unusual to say: 'such few leaves' or 'such little rest'. Finally compare: 'Such little people!' ('Little' here is used as an adjective meaning 'small'.) 'So few people!' ('Few' here is used as a determiner meaning 'not very many'.)

Inversion after negative expressions and 'only... Quite often in English, certain expressions with a restrictive or negative meaning are placed at the beginning of a sentence. The reason for doing so is to emphasize the point that you want to make. It is striking, original or surprising in some way. And whenever you make such a statement, inversion is necessary. So, it has to be: 'Only at night do bats leave their cave.' 'Only after I had returned home did I realize that I had left my watch in Emma's bathroom.' nversion is also used after the not only ... but also construction: 'Not only did we visit Cuba's capital, Havana, (but) we also spent three days exploring the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador.'

Inversion is also found in expressions containing the word 'no', when placed at the beginning of the sentence:

'Under no circumstances are you (allowed) to walk home from school alone.' 'In no way will I agree to sharing an office with Ben.

The same rule operates for 'seldom', 'hardly', 'scarcely', 'rarely', 'never', 'never before' and 'no sooner': 'Never before had I seen such realistic dinosaurs as there were in the BBC television series.' (This is a reference to a recent BBC series. If you want to know more have a look at the web site - Walking with Dinosaurs.) 'No sooner had I arrived at the station than the train came in.' 'Rarely do we see such brightly-coloured birds.' 'Seldom do we walk on such green grass.' 'Scarcely had we finished lunch when the bell rang for afternoon classes.' Remember, you are registering surprise, or something similar, when you do this. If it is inappropriate to be so emphatic, you would say: 'We had scarcely finished lunch when the bell rang for afternoon classes.'