- •Contents
- •Introduction
- •Key to symbols
- •Starting test
- •1. Word classes: nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc
- •2. Sentence structure: subject, verb, object, etc
- •3 Direct and indirect objects
- •4 The present continuous
- •4 The present simple
- •5 Present continuous or simple?
- •7 State verbs and action verbs
- •Test 1 Present tenses (Units 4-7)
- •8 The past simple
- •9 The past continuous
- •10 Past continuous or simple?
- •Test 2 Past simple and past continuous (Units 8-10)
- •11 The present perfect (1)
- •12 The present perfect (2): just, already, yet; for and since
- •13 The present perfect (3): ever, this week, etc
- •14 Present perfect or past simple? (1)
- •15 Present perfect or past simple? (2)
- •Test 3 Present perfect and past simple (Units 11-15)
- •16 The present perfect continuous
- •17 Present perfect continuous or simple?
- •18 The past perfect
- •19 Review of the past simple, continuous and perfect
- •20 The past perfect continuous
- •TEST 4 Past and perfect tenses (Units 16-20)
- •21 Review of present and past tenses
- •TEST 5 Present and past tenses (Unit 21)
- •22 Introduction to the future
- •23 Will and shall
- •24 Be going to
- •25 Will and be going to
- •26 Present tenses for the future
- •27 When I get there, before you leave, etc
- •TEST 6 The future with will, be going to and present tenses (Units 23-27)
- •28 Will be doing
- •29 Will have done and was going to
- •30 Review of the future
- •Test 7 The future (Units 23-30)
- •31 The verb have
- •32 Short forms, e.g. it's, don't
- •33 Emphatic do
- •34 Yes/no questions
- •35 Short answers, e.g. Yes, it is.
- •37 Subject/object questions
- •38 Prepositions in wh-questions
- •39 Who, what or which?
- •TEST 8 Questions (Units 34-39)
- •40 Negative statements
- •41 Negative questions
- •42 Question tags, e.g. isn't it?
- •43 So/Neither do I and I think so
- •TEST 9 Questions, negatives and answers (Units 34-43)
- •44 Ability: can, could and be able to
- •45 Permission: can, may, could and be allowed to
- •46 Possibility and certainty: may, might, could, must, etc
- •47 Necessity: must and have to
- •48 Necessity: mustn't, needn't, etc
- •49 Should, ought to, had better and be supposed to
- •50 Asking people to do things
- •51 Suggestions, offers and invitations
- •52 Will, would, shall and should
- •53 It may/could/must have been, etc
- •Modal verbs (Units 44-53)
- •54 Passive verb forms
- •55 Active and passive (1)
- •56 Active and passive (2)
- •57 Special passive structures
- •58 Have something done
- •59 To be done and being done
- •The passive (Units 54-59)
- •60 Verb + to-infinitive
- •61 Verb + ing-form
- •62 Verb + to-infinitive or verb + ing-form?
- •63 Like, start, etc
- •64 Remember, regret, try, etc
- •TEST 12 Verb + to-infinitive or ing-form (Units 60-64)
- •65 Verb + object + to-infinitive or ing-form
- •66 Question word + to-infinitive
- •67 Adjective + to-infinitive
- •68 For with the to-infinitive
- •69 The infinitive with and without to
- •70 Verb/Adjective + preposition + ing-form
- •71 Afraid to do or afraid of doing?
- •72 Used to do and be used to doing
- •73 Preposition or linking word + ing-form
- •74 See it happen or see it happening?
- •75 Some structures with the ing-form
- •TEST 13 The infinitive and the ing-form (Units 65-75)
- •76 Ship and water: countable and uncountable nouns
- •77 A carton of milk, a piece of information, etc
- •78 Nouns that can be countable or uncountable
- •79 Agreemen
- •80 Singular or plural?
- •81 Pair nouns and group nouns
- •82 Two nouns together
- •TEST 14 Nouns and agreement (Units 76-82)
- •85 A/an, one and some
- •86 Cars or the cars?
- •87 Prison, school, bed, etc
- •88 On Friday, for lunch, etc
- •89 Quite a, such a, what a, etc
- •90 Place names and the
- •TEST 15 A/an and the (Units 83-90)
- •91 This, that, these and those
- •92 My, your, etc and mine, yours, etc
- •93 The possessive form and of
- •94 Some and any
- •95 A lot of, lots of, many, much, (a) few and (a) little
- •96 All, half, most, some, no and none
- •97 Every, each, whole, both, either and neither
- •TEST 16 This, my, some, a lot of, all, etc (Units 91-97)
- •98 Personal pronouns, e.g. I, you
- •99 There and it
- •100 Reflexive pronouns
- •101 Emphatic pronouns and each other
- •102 The pronoun one/ones
- •103 Everyone, something, etc
- •TEST 17 Pronouns (Units 98-103)
- •104 Adjectives
- •105 The order of adjectives
- •106 The old, the rich, etc
- •107 Interesting and interested
- •108 Adjective or adverb? (1)
- •109 Adjective or adverb? (2)
- •Test 18 Adjectives and adverbs (Units 104-109)
- •110 Comparative and superlative forms
- •111 Comparative and superlative patterns (1)
- •112 Comparative and superlative patterns (2)
- •TEST 19 Comparative and superlative (Units 110-112)
- •113 Adverbs and word order
- •114 Yet, still and already
- •115 Adverbs of degree, e.g. very, quite
- •116 Quite and rather
- •117 Too and enough
- •TEST 20 Adverbs and word order (Units 113-117)
- •118 Prepositions of place
- •119 In, on and at (place)
- •120 In, on and at (time)
- •121 For, since, ago and before
- •123 Preposition + noun, e.g. on holiday
- •124 Noun + preposition, e.g. trouble with
- •125 Adjective + preposition, e.g. proud of
- •TEST 21 Prepositions (Units 118-125)
- •126 Prepositional verbs, e.g. wait for
- •127 Verb + object + preposition
- •128 Phrasal verbs (1)
- •129 Phrasal verbs (2)
- •130 Phrasal verbs (3)
- •131 Verb + adverb + preposition
- •TEST 22 Verbs with prepositions and adverbs (Units 126-131)
- •132 Direct speech and reported speech
- •133 Reported speech: person, place and time
- •134 Reported speech: the tense change
- •135 Reported questions
- •136 Reported requests, offers, etc
- •TEST 23 Reported speech (Units 132-136)
- •137 Relative clauses with who, which and that
- •138 The relative pronoun as object
- •139 Prepositions in relative clauses
- •140 Relative structures with whose, what and it
- •141 The use of relative clauses
- •142 Relative pronouns and relative adverbs
- •143 Relative clauses: participle and to-infinitive
- •TEST 24 Relative clauses (Units 137-143)
- •144 Conditionals (1)
- •145 Conditionals (2)
- •146 Conditionals (3)
- •147 Review of conditionals
- •148 If, when, unless and in case
- •149 Wish and if only
- •TEST 25 Conditionals and wish (Units 144-149)
- •150 But, although and in spite of
- •151 To, in order to, so that and for
- •152 Review of linking words
- •152 Exercises
- •153 Links across sentences
- •Appendix 1. Word formation
- •Appendix 2: The spelling of endings
- •Appendix 3: Punctuation
- •Appendix 5: American English
- •Appendix 6: Irregular verbs
- •Key to the starting test
- •Key to the exercises
- •Key to the tests
Appendix 3: Punctuation
A Full stop (.), question mark (?) and exclamation mark (!)
A sentence ends with one of these punctuation marks. |
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Full stop: |
It's cold today. |
The office was closed. |
Please be careful |
Question mark: |
Who's that? |
Did you see the show? |
Could you wait, please? |
Exclamation mark: |
Oh, no! I don't believe it! |
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In the US a full stop is called a 'period'.
BSemi-colon (;)
We can use a semi-colon between two separate statements which are linked in meaning.
Melanie is a very kind person; she visits David in hospital every day.
We could also use a full stop here.
CColon (:)
We can use a colon before an explanation or before a list. Vicky felt nervous: she hated the dark. There wasn't much in the fridge: a couple of sausages, some butter, half a bottle of milk.
DDash (-)
A dash is rather informal. It is sometimes used instead of a colon or a semi-colon. I'm having a great time - there's lots to do here. Vicky felt nervous - she hated the dark.
E Comma (,)
We often use a comma when we link two statements with and, but or or.
Daniel was tired, and his feet were hurting. It's a really good camera, but I can't afford it.
Note the two subjects in each sentence: Daniel... his feet and It... I. When there is only one subject, we do not use a comma.
Daniel sat down and took his shoes off.
We can also use a comma when a sentence has a linking word like when or although.
When the office is busy, Sarah has to work late.
For commas with relative clauses, see Unit 141.
Sometimes a comma can separate off an adverb or a phrase.
Sarah, unfortunately, has to work late. On busy days, Sarah has to work late.
Here the commas separate off on busy days and unfortunately.
The rules about commas are not very exact. In general, commas are more likely around longer phrases. With a short phrase there is often no comma. On busy days Sarah has to work late. Sometimes she has to work late.
It is less usual to separate off something at the end of the sentence.
Sarah has to work late when the office is busy. She stayed late to get the work done. We do not usually put a comma before to expressing purpose.
We also use commas in a list of more than two. The last two are linked by and, often without a comma.
I went out with Rachel, Vicky, Emma and Matthew.
F Quotation marks (")
We put direct speech in quotation marks.
Laura said, 'You haven't put those shelves up yet.' 'I haven't had time,' replied Trevor. We normally use a comma to separate the direct speech from the rest of the sentence. The comma comes before the quotation mark. Quotation marks are also called 'quotes' or 'inverted commas'.
Double quotation marks are sometimes used. Laura said, "You haven't put those shelves up yet."
We can put quotation marks around titles.
Do you watch that American comedy series called 'Roseanne'? We often use quotation marks when we mention a word or phrase.
What does 'punctuation' mean? Rap music is also called 'hip hop'.
GHyphen (-)
We sometimes use hyphens in these structures. Compound noun: eating ice-cream
Compound expression before a noun: an oven-ready meal Noun formed from a phrasal verb: ready for take-off Noun
+ing-form: interested in rock-climbing
Before the last word of a compound number: a hundred and twenty-six people
After some prefixes: anti-aircraft guns Letter + noun: sending an e-mail
The rules about hyphens are not very exact. For example, you may see a compound noun written as phonecard, phone-card or phone card. Hyphens are not very frequent in British English, and they are used even less in American English. If you are unsure, it is usually safer to write two separate words.
H Apostrophe (')
Look at these examples.
Today we're going for a drive in the country. Everyone is looking at Nick's car.
We use an apostrophe (') in short forms, when there is a missing letter, e.g. we're (= we are). See Unit 32. We also use an apostrophe with s to form the possessive of a noun, e.g. Nick's car. See Unit 93.
ICapital letters
There are two capital letters (big letters) in this sentence.
The boss said I could leave early. We use a capital letter at the beginning of a sentence and for the word I.
We also use a capital letter to begin the names of people, places, companies, etc. |
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Mark and Sarah |
New Orleans |
the High Street |
Somerset House |
General Motors This |
includes the names of books, films, magazines, etc. All the important words start with a capital letter.
The Spy Who Loved Me Four Weddings and a Funeral Newsweek
We also use a capital letter for days of the week, months of the year, holidays and festivals,
historical times, nationalities and most abbreviations. |
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Monday |
August |
Easter |
the New Year |
the Industrial Revolution |
some Italian wine |
the UN (= the United Nations) |
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Appendix 5: American English
The differences between British and American English are mainly matters of pronunciation and vocabulary. There are also a few spelling differences such as British centre and colour and American center and color. There are some grammatical differences. Although they are not very great, those points that are most relevant to learners of English are explained here.
ASeem, look, etc
Compare these examples.
BRITISH |
AMERICAN |
In British English there can be a noun (e.g. pilot) after appear, feel, look, seem and sound.
She seemed (to be) a good pilot.
It looks (to be) a lovely evening.
I felt a fool.
B Present perfect and past simple (Units 11-15)
Americans do not say She seemed a good pilot.
They use to be or like after these verbs.
She seemed to be a good pilot. OR She seemed like a good pilot. It looks to be a lovely evening.
OR It looks like a lovely evening. I felt like a fool.
The British use the present perfect for recent actions, and especially with just, already and yet.
Bob has washed the dishes, look.
We've already eaten our lunch.
I've just seen Elaine.
Have you corrected your work yet?
The British normally use the present perfect with ever and never, not the past simple.
Have you ever played cricket?
The child has never seen snow before.
C Shall (Unit 23D)
Americans can use either the present perfect or the past simple in these sentences.
Bob has washed the dishes, look. OR Bob washed the dishes, look. We've already eaten our lunch. OR We already ate our lunch. I've just seen Elaine.
OR I just saw Elaine.
Have you corrected your work yet? OR Did you correct your work yet?
Americans normally use the past simple with ever and never, but the present perfect is possible.
Did you ever play baseball?
OR Have you ever played baseball? The child never saw snow before.
OR The child has never seen snow before.
The British use will for the future, but they can also use shall in the first person.
I will/I shall be here tomorrow. We will/We shall contact you.
Americans do not normally use shall for the future.
I will be here tomorrow. We will contact you.
The British use shall to make an offer.
Shall I make the coffee?
The British can use Shall we ...? for a suggestion.
Shall we go for a walk?
Americans normally use should.
Should I make the coffee?
Americans do not normally use shall in suggestions.
How about a walk?
Would you like to take a walk?
DGot and gotten
Both have and have got are used in Britain and in the US.
He has a lot of money./He's got a lot of money. (= He is rich.)
The British do not use gotten.
He's made a lot of money from his business activities.
Your driving has got better.
E Negatives and questions with have (Unit 31)
In the US, have gotten expresses an action.
He's gotten/made a lot of money from his business activities.
Americans also use gotten meaning 'become'.
Your driving has gotten better.
In Britain there are two different structures.
I haven't (got) enough time.
OR I don't have enough time. Has Carol got a computer?
OR Does Carol have a computer?
In the past tense, did is usual in both countries.
We didn't have tickets.
F Emphatic do (Unit 33C)
The British can use do with an imperative for emphasis.
Have a piece of cake.
OR Do have a piece of cake.
G Do for an action
The British can use do to refer to an action already mentioned.
I don't practise as often as I should (do). You'd better take your pill. ~ I already have
(done).
Americans normally use the auxiliary do.
I don't have enough time.
Does Carol have a computer?
Do with an imperative is less common in the US.
Have a piece of cake.
Americans do not use do in this way.
I don't practice as often as I should.
You'd better take your pill. ~ I already have.
HQuestion tags (Unit 42)
Both the British and the Americans can use question tags when talking about facts.
Blackpool is in Lancashire, isn't it? |
Las Vegas is in Nevada, isn't it? |
But in general Americans use tags much less often than the British. They do not use tags to persuade or to argue. A sentence like You aren't listening to me, are you? is British but not American. But Americans often use right? and OK? as tags.
I'll bring the luggage in, shall I? |
I'll bring the baggage in, OK? |
I Can't and mustn't (Unit 46C)
The British use can't to say that something is impossible.
I rang, but there's no reply. They can't be at home.
J Needn't and don't need to (Unit 48)
The British can use either form.
You needn't see the inspector.
OR You don't need to see the inspector.
K Group nouns (Unit 81B)
In Britain a group noun can usually take either a singular or a plural verb.
The crowd was/were getting restless. Sweden plays/play Germany tomorrow.
Americans can also use mustn't to say that something is impossible.
I called, but there's no reply. They can't be home./They mustn't be home.
Americans do not normally use needn't.
You don't need to see the inspector.
In the US a group noun takes a singular verb,
The crowd was getting restless. Sweden plays Germany tomorrow.
L The (Unit 86C and 87A)
The British use the with a musical instrument. / can play the piano.
The British say in hospital.
My sister is still in hospital.
M Numbers
Americans can leave out the.
I can play piano/play the piano.
Americans say in the hospital.
My sister is still in the hospital.
The British use and between hundred and the |
Americans can leave out and. |
rest of the number. |
six hundred twenty |
six hundred and twenty |
OR six hundred and twenty |
NDates
There are a number of different ways of writing and saying dates, but these are the most common.
BRITISH |
AMERICAN |
23 June |
June 23 |
'the twenty-third of June' |
'June twenty-third' |
'June the twenty-third' |
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The British write 23.6.98, and Americans write 6.23.98.
0 You and one (Unit 98C)
The British use you for people in general, including the speaker. In more formal English they can use one.
You/One can't be too careful
Americans use you for people in general. One is unusual,
You can't be too careful.
PSomewhere and someplace (Unit 103)
In informal American English, everyplace, someplace, anyplace and no place can be used as well as everywhere, somewhere, etc.
Let's find somewhere to eat.
Q Adjectives and adverbs (Unit 108)
Let's find somewhere/someplace to eat.
In informal speech we can sometimes use an adjective form instead of an adverb. Americans do this more than the British.
We had some really nice weather.
It certainly doesn't make things any easier.
RPrepositions (Units 118-126)
There are some differences in prepositions.
BRITISH
round/around the village towards/toward the west looking out of the window outside the town
We had some really nice/some real nice weather.
It certainly/sure doesn't make things any easier.
AMERICAN
around the village toward the west
looking out the window/out of the window outside the town/outside of the town
In American English there is a special use of through as a preposition of time.
He'll be on the road from Tuesday to/till |
He'll be on the road (from) Tuesday through |
Friday. |
Friday. |
They will stay in Brighton until the end of |
They will stay in Miami through April. |
April. |
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Note the prepositions after different.
BRITISH |
AMERICAN |
This cup is differentfrom/to the others. |
This cup is different from/than the others. |
Compare these expressions. |
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BRITISH |
AMERICAN |
in Bond Street
at the weekend, at weekends stay at home
a player in the team ten minutes past four twenty to seven write to me
talk to someone meet someone
on Fifth Avenue
on the weekend, on weekends stay home
a player on the team ten minutes past/after four
twenty to/of seven write me/write to me talk to/with someone meet with someone
SIn case (Unit 148D)
In case can have different meanings.
BRITISH |
AMERICAN |
Take an umbrella in case it rains. |
In case you're sick, you should call the office. |
(= because it may rain) |
(= if you're sick) |
TGo and...
Americans can leave out and from this structure.
I'll go and buy the tickets. |
I'll go buy/I'll go and buy the tickets. |
U The subjunctive
We can use expressions like I suggest that ... and It's important that ... to talk about what we want to happen. Look at these examples.
BRITISH |
AMERICAN |
Tim's parents have suggested that he gets a |
Tim's parents have suggested that he get a job. |
job/that he should get a job. |
It's important that everything go according to |
It's important that everything goes/everything |
plan. |
should go according to plan. |
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The British normally use the present simple or |
Americans normally use a form called the |
should. (They use the subjunctive only in formal |
'subjunctive', e.g. get, go. |
English.) |
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VIrregular verbs
In the past tense some verbs can have either an irregular t ending or the regular ed ending. These verbs are burn, learn, smell, spell, spill and spoil.
The British prefer the t ending, although ed is |
Americans normally use the ed ending, |
also possible. |
|
They burnt/burned the old sofa. |
They burned the old sofa. |
You've spelt/spelled this word wrong. |
You've spelled this word wrong. |
But we say e.g. a slice of burnt toast in both British and American English.
In Britain the verbs dream, lean and leap can be regular, or they can have a t ending.
I dreamt/dreamed about you. |
I dreamed about you. |
These three forms ending in t have the vowel sound /e/. For example, dreamt is pronounced /dremt/, and dreamed is pronounced /dri:md/.
The verb dive is regular in Britain but can be irregular in the US.
Craig dived into the water. |
Craig dived/dove into the water. |