- •1 Past simple
- •2 Past continuous
- •3 Past perfect simple
- •4 Past perfect continuous
- •5 Used to/would
- •1 Present perfect simple
- •2 Present perfect continuous
- •1 States
- •2 Events
- •1 It’s time
- •2 I’d rather
- •3 I’d prefer
- •1 It as a ‘preparatory’ subject
- •2 It as a ‘preparatory’ object
- •1 Obligation/necessity
- •2 Prohibition
- •3 Lack of obligation/necessity
- •4 Advice
- •5 Opportunity/free choice
- •6 Permission
- •7 Ability
- •1 Logical deduction/assumption
- •2 Possibility
- •Verbless clauses
- •Inversion in conditional sentences
- •In case
- •1 For emphasis
- •2 To describe cause
- •Verbs which can also take a that-clause are marked in the lists below.
- •3 Cleft sentences with relative clauses
- •1 Going to
- •2 Present continuous
- •4 Future continuous
- •5 Future perfect, future perfect continuous
- •6 Could, may, might
- •7 Present simple
- •9 Other expressions
- •1 Indirect statements
- •2 Indirect questions
- •3 Sequence of tenses
- •4 Paraphrasing
1 It as a ‘preparatory’ subject
It can be used as the subject of a sentence referring forwards to a noun or phrases occurring later. This may be done:
if the subject is a long phrase. Usually in English longer or more complicated phrases are placed towards the end of the sentence. A common pattern here is It + be + adjective + that-clause.
It was clear that everything he’d ever done had been for his own benefit.
to place the main topic at the end of the sentence. This is where new information is usually found, and this information can therefore be emphasised.
It is vital for Alicia to go to London.
2 It as a ‘preparatory’ object
It may also act as the object of a sentence, referring forwards to a noun or phrase. Again, this puts the noun or phrases in a more emphatic position, and allows a longer phrases to be used.
She finds it difficult to walk to the shops on her own.
They thought it strange that he had not told anyone.
Note: It also has the following non-emphatic uses.
to refer back to something that has already been mentioned. This may be a singular noun, or a genera idea.
Many products sink without trace soon after they’re been launched. Why? Well, a lot of it is to do with
marketing.
as an empty or ‘dummy’ subject when talking about dates, times and the weather.
It’s six o’clock
It’s cold
UNIT 5
Modals and related expressions (1) (p.70)
Modal and semi-modal verbs give us information about the speaker’s attitude towards or judgement of an event, e.g. Is it desirable? Is it necessary? Is it probable?
The type of information provided by modals can also be given through structures with adjectives (It is advisable to …), adverbs (probably) and lexical verbs (I forbid you to …). It is useful to learn these expressions together with the related modal verbs.
Note: Modal verbs are verbs such as can, must, will, should, etc. They always come first in the verb phrase, and do not have a 3rd person ‘s’ ending. They are followed by the ‘bare’ infinitive (infinitive without to).
He could have told her earlier.
Semi-modals have some, but not all, of these features.
He ought to tell someone.
He has to see her now.
1 Obligation/necessity
Present/future
I must/have to finish now. I/I’ll have to go soon.
Past
We had to get the report finished that day.
Other expressions
She needs to get more information.
She’s got to go now.
He was obliged to give up his job.
Strong shoes will be necessary.
You are to wait here until I give your permission to leave.
Note: In conversation English, have to is much more common than must. (We generally use have to when the obligation is imposed on us from outside, rather than from our own feelings or beliefs.)
2 Prohibition
Present/future
You mustn’t touch that, it’s dangerous.
You can’t go in there – it’s not allowed.
Other expressions
It is forbidden to walk on the grass.
You are not allowed to go there.
Smoking is prohibited. (formal)
You are not to run in the corridors.
Mobile phones are banned in my school.