Articles

When to use: A/An

Use a or an when it is not necessary to know which noun is being referred to in the sentence. A or an
are usually used when one refers to countable, singular and non-specific nouns (such as, dog, cat,
boy, girl, etc.).
A is used before nouns beginning with a consonant sound.
For instance: a school, a teacher, a portable item, a playground
An is used before nouns beginning with a vowel sound.
For instance: an apple, an orange, an olive, an egg
Watch for nouns beginning with vowels that sound like a long u, such as
university. Use a before these noun exceptions. For instance: a university, a union, a eulogy
Watch for nouns or adjectives beginning with consonants that sound like a vowel, such as
hour. Use an prior to these noun/adjective exceptions.
For instance: an hour, an honorable mention

When to use: The

The cow ran from the horse. (Both nouns, cow and horse, are countable and specific nouns.)
Use the when referring to singular and plural nouns that are specific. The cow is a specific cow
that is being referred to, not just any cow.
Jacks luck was not good. (Luck is an uncountable noun; therefore, no article is used).

Uncountable Nouns
We usually treat uncountable nouns as singular. We use a singular verb.
We do not usually use the indefinite article a/an with uncountable nouns. We cannot say "an
information" or "a music". But we can say a "something" of:

a piece of news

a bottle of water

a grain of rice

We can use some and any with uncountable nouns:

I've got some money.

Have you got any rice?

We can use a little and much with uncountable nouns:

I've got a little money.

I haven't got much rice.

Comparative Adjectives

short adjectives: add "-er"

long adjectives: use "more"

Short adjectives: add -er

examples

1-syllable adjectives

old, fast

2-syllable adjectives ending in -y

happy, easy

RULE: add "-er"

old older

Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -r

late later

Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last
consonant

big bigger

Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i

happy
happier

Long adjectives: use more

examples

2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y

modern, pleasant

all adjectives of 3 or more syllables

expensive, intellectual

RULE: use "more"

modern more modern

expensive more expensive

Exception: The following adjectives have irregular forms:

good better
well (healthy) better
bad worse
far farther/further

Short adjectives

1-syllable adjectives

old, fast

2-syllable adjectives ending in -y

happy, easy

RULE: add "-est"

old the oldest

Variation: if the adjective ends in -e, just add -st

late the latest

Short adjectives

Variation: if the adjective ends in consonant, vowel, consonant, double the last
consonant

big the biggest

Variation: if the adjective ends in -y, change the y to i

happy the
happiest

Long adjectives

2-syllable adjectives not ending in -y

modern, pleasant

all adjectives of 3 or more syllables

expensive, intellectual

RULE: use "most"

modern the most modern

expensive the most expensive

Exception: The following adjectives have irregular forms:

good the best

bad the worst

far the farthest/furthest

What is a Modal Auxiliary verb?

A Modal Auxiliary verb is a type of irregular verb that is accompanied by an infinitive (simple) verb.
The Modal Auxiliary verb shows the modality of the meaning of the sentence, which means that is
shows the 1 .probability a) Can: I can probably run five miles, but I am not sure.
b) Could: I could run five miles when I was a teenager,

2) To Show Ability: The ability to do something.

a) Can: I can run five miles.
b) Could: I could run five miles tomorrow as I am too busy to go running today.
3) To Show Obligation: Shows the responsibility or requirement to do something.
a) Must: My trainer told me that I must run every day to prepare for the marathon.
b) Should: My doctor told me that I should run three days a week for my health.
4) To Show Permission: Shows whether something is allowed.
a) May: Mother, may I please join a running club? No, you may not join the running club.
b) Could: Mother, could I go for a run now? I have finished all of my homework.

Modal Auxiliary Verb Form

Can
May
Must
Shall
Will

Preterite-Present Form
Could
Might
None exists
Should
Would

Do not use the word to after a Modal Auxiliary verb.

Example: I won't run.
Do not use: I won't to run.
Use Modal Auxiliary verbs only with the infinitive (simple) form of the verb. The infinitive follows
immediately after the verb.
Example: I can run.
Do not use: I can running.
Add not to make Modal Auxiliary verbs negative.
Example: She could not run.
Example: She must not run.

Which vs That
If the phrase is essential to the meaning or context of the sentence, then use THAT.
If the phrase is not essential to the meaning or context of the sentence, then use WHICH.
In this sentence, both of the words are listed. We can break it down and see the proper word to use.

Base form

be
begin
break

Past tense

was/were
began
broke
brought

Past participle

been
begun
broken
brought

Base form

bring
buy
build
choose
come
cost
cut
do
draw
drive
eat
feel
find
get
give
go
have
hear
hold
keep
know
leave
lead
let
lie
lose
make
mean
meet
pay
put
run
say
see
sell
send
set
sit
speak
spend
stand
take
teach
tell
think
understand
wear
win
write

Past tense

bought
built
chose
came
cost
cut
did
drew
drove
ate
felt
found
got
gave
went
had
heard
held
kept
knew
left
led
let
lay
lost
made
meant
met
paid
put
ran
said
saw
sold
sent
set
sat
spoke
spent
stood
took
taught
told
thought
understood
wore
won
wrote

Past participle

bought
built
chosen
come
cost
cut
done
drawn
driven
eaten
felt
found
got
given
gone
had
heard
held
kept
known
left
led
let
lain
lost
made
meant
met
paid
put
run
said
seen
sold
sent
set
sat
spoken
spent
stood
taken
taught
told
thought
understood
worn
won
written

question forms
1: moving an auxiliary to the front of the clause:
They will come Will they come?

He might come Might he come?

2: or by moving a modal to the front of the clause:

They will come Will they come?

He might come Might he come?

3: The present simple and the past simple have no auxiliary. We make questions by adding the
auxillary do/does for the present simple or did for the past simple:
They live here Do they live here?

John lives here

Does John live here?

Present tense
Presente Simple Use

something that is true in the present: Im nineteen years old. He lives in London.

something that happens again and again in the present: I play football every weekend

something that is always true : The adult human body contains 206 bones.

something that is fixed in the future : The school term starts next week.

Presente continous Use

for happening at the moment of speaking: Im just leaving work. Ill be home in an hour.

is happening before and after a given time: At eight oclock we are usually
having breakfast.
for something which we think is temporary: Michael is at university. Hes studying history
to show that something is changing, growing or developing: The children are
growing quickly.
for something which happens again and again: Its always raining in London

for something which has been arranged or planned: Mary is going to a new school next
term.

present perfect = present tense of the verb have + past participle (since/ for)
present perfect continuous = have/has been + -ing form of the verb

We use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk about:

past action recently-stopped

past action still-continuing

Use

for something that started in the past and continues in the present:
Theyve been married for nearly fifty years.
She has lived in Liverpool all her life.

for something we have done several times in the past and continue to do:

Ive played the guitar ever since I was a teenager.

He has written three books and he is working on another one.
Ive been watching that programme every week.

We often use a clause with since to show when something started in the past:

Theyve been staying with us since last week.

I have worked here since I left school.
Ive been watching that programme every week since it started.

when we are talking about our experience up to the present:

Note: We often use the adverb ever to talk about experience up to the present:
My last birthday was the worst day I have ever had.
Note: and we use never for the negative form:
Have you ever met George?
Yes, but Ive never met his wife.

for something that happened in the past but is important at the time of speaking:
I cant get in the house. Ive lost my keys.
We use the present perfect of be when someone has gone to a place and returned:

A: Where have you been?

B: Ive just been out to the supermarket.
A: Have you ever been to San Francisco?
B: No, but Ive been to Los Angeles.
But when someone has not returned we use have/has gone:
A: Where is Maria? I havent seen her for weeks.
B: She's gone to Paris for a week. Shell be back tomorrow.
We often use the present perfect with time adverbials which refer to the recent past:
just; only just; recently;
Scientists have recently discovered a new breed of monkey.
We have just got back from our holidays.
or adverbials which include the present:
ever (in questions); so far; until now; up to now; yet (in questions and negatives)
Have you ever seen a ghost?
Where have you been up to now?
Have you finished your homework yet?
No, so far Ive only done my history.
WARNING:
We do not use the present perfect with an adverbial which refers to past time which is finished:
I have seen that film yesterday.
We have just bought a new car last week.
When we were children we have been to California.
But we can use it to refer to a time which is not yet finished:
Have you seen Helen today?
We have bought a new car this week.

Past tense
Past simple

something that happened once in the past: They got home very late last night
something that happened again and again in the past: We swam a lot while we were on
holiday.

something that was true for some time in the past : I lived abroad for ten years.

we often use phrases with ago with the past tense : I met my wife a long time ago.

Past continuous

for something which continued before and after another action:

The children were doing their homework when I got home

to show that something continued for some time: My head was aching.
Past perfect
We use the verb had + past participle for the past perfect: I had finished the work.
The past perfect continuous = had been + -ing form of the verb:
I had been finishing the work
She had been going.
The past perfect is used in the same way as the present perfect, but it refers to a time in the past,
not the present.
use the past perfect tense:

for something that started in the past and continued up to a given time in the past:
When George died he and Anne had been married for nearly fifty years.
She didnt want to move. She had lived in Liverpool all her life.
We normally use the past perfect continuous for this:
She didnt want to move. She had been living in Liverpool all her life.
Everything was wet. It had been raining for hours.

for something we had done several times up to a point in the past and continued to
do after that point:
He was a wonderful guitarist. He had been playing ever since he was a teenager.
He had written three books and he was working on another one.
I had been watching the programme every week, but I missed the last episode.
We often use a clause with since to show when something started in the past:
They had been staying with us since the previous week.
I was sorry when the factory closed. I had worked there since I left school.
I had been watching that programme every week since it started, but I missed the last
episode.

when we are reporting our experience and including up to the (then) present:

My eighteenth birthday was the worst day I had ever had.

I was pleased to meet George. I hadnt met him before, even though I had met his wife several
times.

for something that happened in the past but is important at the time of reporting:
I couldnt get into the house. I had lost my keys.
Teresa wasnt at home. She had gone shopping.
We use the past perfect to talk about the past in conditions, hypotheses and wishes:
I would have helped him if he had asked.
It was very dangerous. What if you had got lost?
I wish I hadnt spent so much money last month.

After appear and seem we often use to be:

She appeared to be an intelligent woman.
He seemed to be angry.

Common verbs with for and an indirect object are:

give

book

lend

buy

offer

get

pass

cook

post

keep

read

bring

sell

make

send

pour

show

save

promise

find

tell

Common verbs with to and an indirect object are:

Comparative Form and Superlative Form (irregular comparisons)

positive
form

comparative
form

superlative form

good

better

best

bad / ill

worse

worst

little
(amount)

less

least

little (size)

smaller

smallest

much / many more

most

far (place +
further
time)

furthest

far (place)

farther

farthest

late (time)

later

latest

late (order)

latter

last

near (place) nearer

nearest

near (order) -

next

old (people
and things)

older

oldest

old (people) elder

eldest

adjective

adverb (meaning) adverb (meaning)

good

well

difficult

with difficulty

public

publicly

deep

deep (place)

deeply (feeling)

direct

direct

directly (=soon)

hard

hard

hardly (=seldom)

high

high (place)

highly (figurative)

late

late

lately (=recently)

most

most

mostly (=usually)

near

near

nearly (=almost)

pretty

pretty (=rather)

prettily

short

short

shortly (=soon)

The following adjectives

daily, enough, early, far, fast, hourly, little, long,
are also used as adverbs
low, monthly, much, straight, weekly, yearly,
(without modification):