First Year Grammar I and II

1

FACULTY OF HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCESDEPARTMENT OF ENGLISHGRAMMAR 1 (FIRST YEAR / FIRST SEMESTER)

COURSE INFORMATION (2008 – 2009)

INTRODUCTIONGrammar 1 is a semestrial course which targets first-year students. It is a two-hour integrated course/ TD which introduces the theoretical grounds on which practical courses will draw. The course deals with the fundamental structures of English.

OBJECTIVESOne of the main objectives of this course is analysing/ identifying the components/ structures of the system/ grammar. The other aim is to draw attention to how this system functions to express meaning/ communicate. Grammar is form and function. By the end of the course, students will hopefully be capable of justifying the grammaticality/ungrammaticality of some practices. Students will use grammar structures accurately, meaningfully and appropriately.

REQUIREMENTSStudents are required to attend courses regularly. They should perform the assigned tasks. Class participation (asking/ answering questions) is encouraged. Extra-work is appreciated.

COURSE OUTLINEWeek 1: Course information / Objectives / Requirements / Evaluation...Week 2: Talking about grammar: Parts of speech/ Word classes/ Grammatical forms...Week 3: Basic grammatical elements (1): the clause, groups of clauses, clausal elements, essential/ non-essential constituents.Week 4: Basic grammatical elements (2): the subject, the predicator, the object.Week 5: The subject-verb agreement: nouns: rules, troublesome cases. Week 6: Adjectives and Adverbs.Week 7: The tense / aspect system (presentation).Week 8: The Simple aspect: Simple present, Simple past, Simple future.Week 9: The Perfect aspect: Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Future Perfect.Week 10: The Progressive aspect: Present Progressive, Past Progressive Future Progressive. Week 11: The Perfect progressive Aspect: Present Perfect Progressive, Past Perfect Progressive, Future Perfect Progressive. Week 12: Tense interaction.Week 13: Review.

2

Week 2 PARTS OF SPEECH / WORD CLASSES

In English, words are classified into 9 categories called Parts of Speech. These are:

Determiner/ Noun/ Pronoun/ Verb / Adverb / Adjective / Preposition / Conjunction /

Interjection.

1/ DETERMINERS: This category includes:

Articles: (definite: the ; indefinite: a, an)

Possessive adjectives: (my, your, his, her, its (and not it's), our, their)

Demonstrative adjectives: (this / these; that / those)

Quantifiers: much, many, little, few, a little, a few...)

2/ NOUNS: can be classified into different types:

Common nouns: millionaire, earthquake, silk, book...

Proper nouns: are capitalised as they name unique people, places, or things: Mozart,

New York, the Bible...

Abstract nouns: name a concept or an idea: peace, justice, faith, beauty...

Collective or Group nouns: name a group or collection of things, people or animals:

army, committee, government, crowd, team... (It is possible to choose either a singular

or plural verb after these nouns when they function as subjects: The committee meet /

meets every week). (It is more formal to choose the singular verb, EXCEPT when the

idea of 'plural' is strongly suggested: The audience were clapping and waving their

arms in excitement). ('Police' and 'Cattle' are collective nouns which are ALWAYS

PLURAL: The police said they were coming. The cattle are in the field).

3/ PRONOUNS: can be

Personal pronouns: they can function as SUBJECTS: (singular: I, You, He, She, It)

(plural: We, You, They): I worked as a bus driver while she worked as a waitress but

we were happy with our new life.

Personal pronouns: they can function as OBJECTS: (singular: me, you, him, her, it)

(plural: us, you, them): I saw you at the party last night but you didn't see me. / I

bought her a coat but she did not like it).

3

Possessive pronouns: They replace the possessive adjective + noun: (singular: mine,

yours, his, hers) (plural: ours, yours, theirs): This is my car. It's mine. / Is it his

money? No, it's ours. (note: the possessive “it’s” does not exist in English. The

expression one + of + possessive adjective + noun = noun + of + possessive pronoun:

He is one of my friends = He is a friend of mine) (She went on holiday with some of

her colleagues = She went on holiday with some colleagues of hers).

Reflexive pronouns: They are: (singular: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself)

(plural: ourselves, yourselves, themselves). (The indefinite pronoun 'one' has its own

reflexive as in 'one mustn't fool oneself.') (Other indefinite pronouns use himself or

themselves as in 'No person would fool himself / themselves or in 'Everybody

claimed himself / themselves innocent of the crime', the gender of 'person' and

'everybody' being indefinite.

Reflexive pronouns are used as objects of a verb when the action of the verb returns

to the doer, i.e. when subject and object are the same person, thus the reflexive

pronoun agrees in gender and in number with the subject it relates to: I cut myself

with a kitchen knife. / Blame yourself for the accident, don't blame the others! / We

have to find ourselves a new home. / The soldiers tried to defend themselves.

Reflexive pronouns are also used after a verb + preposition: (Most authors start by

writing about themselves. / She's all the time speaking to herself.

Reflexive pronouns can be used just for emphasis, to emphasise a noun or a pronoun:

The queen herself gave her the medal. / She spoke to the President himself. / She's

getting a divorce, she herself told me. / I did it myself.

Relative pronouns: who, whom, which, that etc.

4/ VERBS: There are 2 types of verbs:

Main (lexical) verbs: they have meaning on their own: eat, watch, play ... We can

classify them in several ways: (i) Transitive verbs: they take a direct object:

Somebody killed the President. (ii) Intransitive verbs: they do not have a direct

object: He died. (iii) Linking verbs: they link the subject to what is said about the

subject. They show equality (=) or a change to a different state or place (>). Linking

verbs are always intransitive (but not all intransitive verbs are linking verbs): Mary is

a teacher. (Mary = teacher) / That sounds interesting (that = interesting) / The sky

became dark (the sky > dark) / The bread has gone bad (the bread > bad). (iv)

Dynamic verbs: They describe action and can be used with continuous tenses. (v)

4

Stative verbs: They describe state (non-action, a situation) and cannot normally be

used with continuous tenses: be, like, love, prefer, wish, impress, please, surprise,

hear, see, sound, belong to, consist of, contain, include, need, appear, resemble,

seem...

Auxiliary verbs / Helping verbs: They are used with a main verb and they include

(i) Primary auxiliaries: They are used mainly to change the tense or voice of the

main verb and in making questions and negatives: be (to make continuous tenses: He

is watching TV / or to make the passive: Small fish are eaten by big fish), have (to

make perfect tenses (I have finished my homework), do (to make negatives: I do not

like you / to ask questions: Do you want some coffee?/ or to show emphasis: (I do

want you to pass your exam). (ii) Modal auxiliaries: (12) They are used to change the

"mood" of the main verb, in a wide range of meanings as they express concepts or

attitudes relating to recommendation, obligation, necessity and prohibition, permission

and refusal, possibility, expectation, probability and certainty, promise and intention,

ability and willingness. (There are 4 paired forms- can and could; may and might;

shall and should; will and would; 2 single forms – must; ought to; and 3 semi-modal

verbs: need; dare; used to: because they are partly like modal verbs and partly like

main verbs).

5/ ADVERBS: Adverbs modify:

Verbs: He ate rapidly and went to school.

Adjectives: He's extremely powerful.

Other adverbs: The children behaved perfectly well at the dinner party.

The sentence as a whole: She's certainly the best.

Adverbs are of different kinds: manner (bravely, greedily ...), time (now, soon ...),

place (there, here ...), frequency (always, usually ...), degree (rather, quite ...).

Intensifiers like very, too, so, enough ... are classified as adverbs. (He was so rude

that nobody accepted to talk to him).

Many adverbs are formed by adding ' ly ' to the corresponding adjectives: finally,

immediately, slowly ...

Adjectives ending in ' ly ' like daily, weekly, monthly ... can be both adverbs and

adjectives: (A daily newspaper (adj) ) / ( The mailman comes daily (adv).

Other adjectives ending in ' ly ' like friendly, lonely, likely cannot be used as

adverbs and have no adverb form

5

Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective: (He's a fast runner / He runs

really fast. / He has a hard job. / He works really hard. (The adverb hardly exists but

it has a completely different meaning. He hardly does anything the whole day

through. (Hardly = almost nothing).

6/ ADJECTIVES: They modify nouns.

Adjectives can be possessive (my car), demonstrative (this building), comparative

(older than) and superlative (the best).

Adjectives can come before the noun they modify: A rich man; A young lady. (Such

adjectives are called ATTRIBUTIVE adjectives).

Adjectives can come after verbs like 'be', 'become', 'seem' (linking verbs) and are thus

called PREDICATIVE adjectives: Tom became rich / She was young when she got

married.

Some adjectives change their meaning when moved from the position of 'attributive'

to 'predicative'. (An old friend = a friend I've known for along time / An old friend =

My friend is advanced in age). (A small farmer = a man who has a small farm / The

farmer is small = physically small)

Adjectives are invariable: A good boy / Good boys.

7/ PREPOSITIONS: are used before nouns and pronouns.

* A preposition is followed by the objective case: She went with me to the park.

( Prepositions will be dealt with in detail later).

8/ CONJUNCTIONS: are divided into 2 types:

Co-ordinating conjunctions: join words, phrases and independent clauses in simple

and compound sentences: and, but, so, therefore, or etc. (My father and I are fond of

dogs (simple sentence) / I wanted to speak but I felt my tongue tied (compound

sentence).

Subordinating conjunctions: are found in complex sentences: because, although,

that, while, as, when, since etc. (As the sun rose, the fog disappeared).

9/ INTERJECTIONS: are ' verbal tics ' found in speech (Oh! Well! I mean ...).

They must not appear in formal writing.

6

Practice:

I) WHAT KIND OF WORD IS IT?

1) Look at this news item:

A man in Colchester returned a library book yesterday thirty-four years late. Alex Williams, a

newsagent, found the book in his mother's house after she died recently. It was under some

old clothes at the bottom of a cupboard. The book was a romantic novel called "I See You

Everywhere". Alex's mother borrowed it thirty-four years ago, so Alex thought it was time to

take it back. The library will decide next week if Mr Williams has to pay the fine, which is

over two hundred pounds. "I hope they won't make me pay", he said anxiously. " Oh! It's a lot

of money, and I'm not a rich man".

Pick out example words illustrating the 9 different parts of speech in English.

1. Verb: .......................................................................................................................................

2. Noun: ......................................................................................................................................

3. Adjective: ...............................................................................................................................

4. Adverb: ..................................................................................................................................

5. Preposition: ............................................................................................................................

6. Determiner: ............................................................................................................................

7. Pronoun: ................................................................................................................................

8. Linking word: ........................................................................................................................

9. Interjection: ............................................................................................................................

2) Read this story and say what kind of words they are:

On Tuesday night, a burglar broke into a small shop in a small Sussex town and stole £600.

The shop sells burglar alarms! "It's terrible. We opened very recently, so we haven't had time

to fit an alarm," the manager said sadly.

1. On: ................................ 2. night: ................................ 3. a: ...................................

4. broke: .................................. 5. into: ....................................... 6. small: ............................

7. and: ..................................... 8. the: ......................................... 9. sells: .............................

10. it: ....................................... 11. terrible: ................................. 12. recently: .....................

13. so: ..................................... 14. we: ........................................ 15. time: ...........................

7

16. an: ..................................... 17. alarm: ................................... 18. manager: .....................

19. said: .................................. 20. sadly : ...................................

II) WORDS IN CONTEXT:

Some words belong to different classes in different contexts:

1. The book wasn't in the cupboard. (.................................)

I mustn't forget to book a hotel room. (..........................................)

2. He might have to pay some money. (.........................................)

I like the job, but the pay isn't very goods. (....................................)

3. I'm going to the shop. (...................................)

I don't want to shop on Saturday. (.......................................)

4. The door was open. (.....................................)

The burglar didn't open the door. (......................................)

5. You ought to fit an alarm. (....................................)

Our best player isn't fit. (............................................)

6. The alarm didn't ring. (..........................................)

The news will alarm everyone. (............................................)

III) DETERMINERS AND PRONOUNS:

1) There are different kinds of determiners and pronouns. Compare:

DETERMINERS PRONOUNS

Articles: a book, the library Personal pronouns: I, you, he, she, etc...

Possessive determiners: my ticket, your Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his,

house, his mother, her book, etc... hers, etc... (I've got mine.)

Demonstratives: this door, that time, Demonstratives: this, that, these, those

these keys, those pages. (This is nice.)

Quantifiers: a lot of money, most books, Quantifiers: a lot, most, some

some clothes Relative pronouns: who, which, that

We use a DETERMINER before a noun We use a PRONOUN instead of a

8

Determiner + noun

The book was in a cupboard. It was in a cupboard.

Look at this photo. Look at this.

I've got a lot of money. I've got a lot.

2) Read the dialogues and write an example of each kind of word:

DETERMINERS PRONOUNS

1. What's the matter with Article: .................. Personal: ................

that girl? ~ She's cut Demonstrative: ..............

herself on a tin. Article: ...........................

2. Is this your bag? ~ Possessive: ....................... Demonstrative: ..........

No, I've got mine here. Personal: ....................

Possessive: ................

3. We'll need lots of plates. ~ Quantifier: ........................ Personal: ......................

There aren't many, I'm Quantifier: ...................

afraid. Personal: ......................

4. What's this film about? Demonstrative: .................. Relative: .......................

~ A man who loses all Article: ..............................

his money at Monte Carlo. Quantifier: .........................

IV) RECOGNISE GRAMMATICAL FORMS:

Suffixes often give you a clue as to the meaning of a word and its grammatical position in a

sentence. These suffixes can tell you whether the word may be a noun, verb, adjective or

adverb.

1. Common noun endings:

-tion competition -ance deliverance -ence independence -ment agreement

9

-ism Budhism -ship friendship -ity community -er teacher

-or doctor -ee employee

2. Common verb endings:

-ize memorize -ate refrigerate -en lengthen -ify identify

3. Common adjective endings:

-y happy -ous mountainous -ious serious -able capable -al musical

-ic athletic -ful beautiful -less careless

4. Common adverb endings: -ly quickly

10

Week 3

BASIC GRAMMATICAL ELEMENTS (1)

Syntactic elements and structures of the clause

1. The independent clause or simple sentence is divided into two basic constituents: Subject

and Predicate.

2. The Predicate which tends to be the most informative part of the clause may consist

(i) simply of the Predicator always realised by a Verbal Group (Ex: Tom disappeared.) or

(ii) of a Predicator followed by one or more nuclear (essential, obligatory) constituents

(Ex: All the men wore dark suits) (He handed me a telegram) (Your idea sounds great!).

3. Within this category, we distinguish more specifically (this year) two types of Object

(Direct and Indirect).

4. In addition, the clause may contain optional non-nuclear elements which express inessential

circumstances. Ex: Tom disappeared suddenly after the concert.

5. The symbols used are as follow:

Subject: S Predicator P Direct Object Od Indirect Object Oi

1) Describe the difference(s) between these groups of clauses:

Group I: Good bye.

How do you do?

Thanks a lot.

How much?

Group II: She is happy.

My shoes were muddy.

The pedigreed dog with the rhinestone collar ran down the street without a leash.

The thunderstorms produced rain.

Group III: I'm going to the baker's and then I'm going to work.

I liked it but it didn't like me.

My shoes were muddy so I didn't go into the house.

Group IV: My shoes were muddy because I walked through the field.

Although it was raining, we still went for a walk.

I'm not sure that I want to go.

11

2 ) Identify the SP in the following clauses then draw some conclusions:

1/ I learned all this much later.

2/ The chef is a young man with a broad experience of the world.

3/ The fate of the land parallels the fate of the culture.

4/ Tom hired a car.

5/ I have sent them an invitation.

6/ The bell rang.

7/ Doctors recommend a less stressful life.

8/ The Ministry of Education awarded their son a grant.

9/ The Marketing Manager's ingenious plan to promote sales has failed.

10/ Your exam results were better than mine.

3) Bracket the non-essential constituent(s) in each of the following clauses:

1/ Many of the houses must have disappeared since my father's days.

2/ The pace of development was rapid.

3/ I explained briefly to Mrs Davies that there was a power cut.

4/ It seemed a good idea at the time.

5/ Can you tell me the way to the Post Office?

6/ I felt my face turn red.

7/ Somebody snatched my bag in the park.

8/ They strode in silence to the car-park.

9/ He helped the girl to her feet.

10/ I drew a deep breath.

12

Week 4

BASIC GRAMMATICAL ELEMENTS (2)

The Subject, the Predicator, the Object

I) The Subject is that element which must be present in declarative and interrogative clauses.

It is placed (i) before the Predicator in declarative clauses. (Ex: Unfortunately, everyone left

early.) (ii) in WH questions where the WH-element is Subject (Ex: Who came late last night?)

(iii) After the operator in Yes/No questions (Ex: Did everyone leave early?) and in WH

questions where the WH-element is not subject (Ex: Who did you see last night?)

Subjects determine number (singular or plural) and person concord with the verb.

Subjects can be realised by various classes of groups and clauses: (1) nominal, (2) finite

clause, (3) non-finite-clause, (4) anticipatory it + extra-posed finite or non-finite clause, (5)

empty or prop it, (6) presentative there, (7) prepositional group, (8) adverbial group, (9)

adjectival group

1) Identify the constituent which realises Subject function in each of the following

clauses. Entitle each class of groups and clauses.

(1).................................................................

1/ Cocaine can damage the heart as well as the brain.

2/ The precise number of heart attacks from using cocaine is not known.

(2)...................................................................

4/ That he failed to turn up surprised nobody.

5/ Why the library was closed for months was not explained.

(3)...................................................................

6/ To take such a risk was rather foolish.

7/ Run for President is what he may do.

8/ Having to go back for the tickets was a nuisance.

(4).................................................................

9/ In spite of the campaigns of a few thousand left-wingers, it is fairly certain that the bulk of

the English people were behind Chamberlain's foreign policy. More, it is fairly certain that the

13

same struggle was going on in Chamberlain's mind as in the mind of ordinary people. His

opponents professed to see in him a dark and wily schemer, plotting to sell England to Hitler,

but it is far likelier that he was merely a stupid old man doing his best according to his very

dim lights. It is difficult otherwise to explain the contradictions of his policy, his failure to

grasp any of the courses that were open to him. (George Orwell, England Your England.)

(5).........................................................................

10/ It is nearly three o'clock.

11/ It was a dark, windy night.

12/ It is eight hundred kilometres from here to Barcelona.

(6).............................................................................

13/ There's plenty of time.

14/ How many are coming? Well, there's Andrew and Silvia, and Jo and Pete.

(7).................................................................

15/ Before midday would be convenient.

16/ By plane costs more than by train.

(8)....................................................................

17/ Now is the time to act.

18/ Just here would be an ideal place for a picnic.

(9)..................................................................

19/ The handicapped are given special facilities in public places.

20/ The supernatural attracts many people.

II) The Predicator is the verbal component of a clause. It tells us whether the situation

expressed by the clause is a state, an action or an event. It specifies the time of event through

tense, the process of event through aspect, the assessment of event through modality, the

organization of event through voice (active or passive.)

(Ex: Our apartment in town is being redecorated: Present tense, Progressive aspect, Passive

voice, material process redecorate.)

14

(Ex: You must be joking (Modality, Progressive aspect, Present tense, Active voice, Verbal

process joke.)

The Predicator follows the Subject in declarative clauses and precedes the Subject in polar

interrogatives, if it is realised by Be or Have as main verbs. (Ex: Is that your car? / Have you

enough money?) Otherwise, it is discontinuous in polar interrogatives since the operator

precedes the Subject. (Ex: Does anyone here know how to give an injection?)

The Predicator is realised by a VG whose structure may consist of (i) a single finite form (ate,

reaches), (ii) a single non-finite form (saying, to be), or (iii) a longer Verbal Group, consisting

of the main verb preceded by one or more auxiliaries ( You can't possibly have finished

already!)

1) Read this conversation and fill in the table below:

- How's your new flat?

- Oh. It's okay, thanks. We've been there a month now, and I think we're going to like it.

We're decorating at the moment. You must come and see us when we've finished.

- Thanks. That'd be nice. You were lucky to find somewhere.

- Yes, we were getting pretty desperate. We'd been looking for ages and couldn't find

anywhere. The flat wasn't advertised. We heard about it through a friend. It's quite convenient

too. We get the train to work.

- What floor is the flat on?

- Well, we live at the top, but there are only four floors. If there was a lift, it would be perfect.

TENSE ASPECT MODALITY VOICE

Present

Past

The progressive

The perfect

The passive

15

2) Identify the different forms that realise the predicator:

So they blew in and I was at home and we had tea; and she rang up last week and said

she'd got to come and supervise this girl again, and could they come to lunch. So they

did. And then it turned out the girl had gone and got a chill or something, having heard

her supervisor was coming, so there was no supervision to do, so they stayed for a nice

long time and they may be coming again tomorrow.

SINGLE FORMS

FINITE NON-FINITE

LONGER VGs

III) The Direct Object is the single Object in a transitive clause, not mediated by a

preposition. It is placed immediately after the Predicator and can become Subject in a passive

clause. (Ex: The police have identified the victim / The victim has been identified by the

police..)

In clauses with two Objects, it follows the Indirect Object (Ex: Send them a telegram) and can

become Subject in a passive clause. (Ex: The telegram was sent).

The Direct Object can be realised by (1) a nominal group, (2) a finite clause, (3) a non-finite

clause, (4) anticipatory it + finite/non-finite clause, (5) a prepositional group of time or place.

16

The Indirect Object immediately follows the Predicator in clauses with two Objects (Ex:

Send them a telegram), can become Subject in a passive clause ( They were sent a telegram)

and has a prepositional paraphrase (Ex: A telegram was sent to them.)

1) Discuss the application of the criteria for identifying Direct Object in relation to the above

examples. Can they, for instance, be passivised?

1/ The police have identified the victim.

2/ I used to spend all my money on going to the cinema.

3/ Many people admire his work.

4/ Tom hurt their feelings.

5/ Tom waved the flag.

2) Identify the Direct Object and the class of unit which realises this function:

(1)..........................................................................

1/ He has lodged a complaint.

2/ Did you hear anything?

3/ She has made herself an extraordinary fancy-dress in the shape of a balloon.

(2)....................................................................

4/ Clarence had joined them to ask what the excitement was all about. When she told him that

the Rumanians had been summoned to a conference at Saltsburg, he shrugged, having

expected worse. She too felt that in a world so full of dangers, those that did not immediately

affect them could be put on one side. (Olivia Manning, Fortunes of War)

(3)...................................................................

5/ Many Londoners prefer to travel by train.

6/ Do you mind waiting a few minutes?

7/ They saw the thief filmed in the act.

17

(4)................................................................

............... ........... .............. ................... .....................................................

I find it strange that he refuses to come.

She might regard it insulting for you to leave now.

You must find it flattering having so many fans.

(5)...........................................................

8/ I would prefer before noon for a meeting time.

9/ Don’t choose by a swamp for a picnic.

18

Week 5

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

I) GENERAL RULE: There is agreement between a subject and a verb when the verb is

is /are, was/ were, has/ have or present simple. Compare:

SUBJECT VERB SUBJECT VERB

The window is open. The windows are open.

The road was wet. The roads were wet.

It has been raining. They have repaired the fence.

The soup tastes good. The biscuits taste nice.

Present tense

Verb ending Meaning Example

- S- (ONE) The boy runs.

- O- (MORE THAN ONE) The boys run.

II) TROUBLESOME CASES:

a. Noncount nouns subjects take a singular verb: The (food/ John's advice) is good.

b. In most cases, collective noun subjects take singular verbs, but if the group is viewed as

individual members, use a plural verb:

Our school team has won all its games. (= the team as a whole)

Our school team have won all their games. (= individual team members)

c. Subject nouns that are derived from adjectives and describe people take plural verbs:

The rich are in favour of a tax cut.

d. Some proper noun subjects that end in –s, such as names of courses, diseases, places, as

well as book and film titles and the word news take singular verbs:

Wales is a beautiful region. Mathematics is a difficult subject.

Measles often has side effects. The news was very good.

e. Plural subject nouns of distance, time and money that signal one unit take a singular verb:

Six hundred miles is too far to drive in one day.

f. Basic arithmetical operations (add, substract, multiply, divide) take singular verbs:

Four times five equals twenty.

19

g. For items that have two parts, when you use the word pair, the verb is singular, but without

pair, the verb is plural: My pair of scissors is lost. My scissors are lost.

h. Clausal subjects are singular even if the nouns referred to are plural:

What we need is more reference books.

i. Gerund (verb + ing) and non finite (to + verb) subjects take a singular verb:

Reading books is my hobby. To err is human.

j. With fractions, percentages and the quantifiers all(of), a lot of, lots of, verb agreement

depends on the noun coming after these phrases:

1) A singular noun, noun clause, or noncount noun takes a singular verb:

A lot of the (book/information) is about urban poverty.

2) A plural noun takes a plural verb: A lot of computers need to be repaired.

3) A collective noun can take either a singular or plural verb depending on the meaning:

All my family (lives/ live) in Ohio.

k. With each, every and everyone as subjects, use a singular verb:

Every student has a lunch box.

l. With a number of as subject, use a plural verb: A number of students are taking the exam.

m. With the number of as subject, use a singular verb:

The number of students taking the exam is 75.

n. With none as subject, use a singular verb: None of the magazines is here.

o. With either or neither as subject, use a singular verb: (Either/ neither) was acceptable to

me.

p. With correlative subjects either ........... or neither .............. nor, the verb agrees with the

closest subject: Either Bob or my cousins are going to do it.

Neither my cousins nor Bob is going to do it.

q. With there subjects, the verb is singular or plural depending on whether the noun phrase

following the verb is singular or plural:

There is one book on the table.

There are (three books/ a book and a pen) on the table.

Exercises:

1) Circle the right alternative and justify :

1/ 1,000 miles (is / are) a long distance.

2/ 5 years (is / are) a long time to spend on an M.A thesis.

20

3/ 2 million dollars (is / are) a lot of money.

4/ One plus one (is / are) two. Ten minus three (equals / equal) seven.

5/ A lot of nonsense (was / were) published about the incident.

6/ A lot of people (was / were) present when it happened.

7/ A number of students (have dropped / has dropped) that course.

8/ The number of students in this school (is / are) 2,000.

9/ The great majority (is / are) helpless.

10/ A majority of my friends (advises / advise) it.

11/ Ten per cent of fifty (is / are) five. Two thirds of nine (is / are) six.

2) Proof reading for subject-verb agreement: Check for subject-verb agreement.

Underline any subject-verb agreement errors; write the correct subject or the correct

verb form to eliminate the error.

Many species of bats is considered endangered. The bat population worldwide are declining.

Bats in Colorado is roosting in caves, hollow trees, beneath bridges, and in attics, cellars, and

mine tunnels. In the past, inactive mine were closed to prevent danger to people. Now the

Colorado Division of Wildlife operate a program to provide bat habitats in the inactive mines.

"Bat gates" are installed to allow bats to fly in and out. The man-made habitats in Colorado is

important for the conservation and preservation of the bat species.

3 ) Provide an example sentence illustrating each of the following concepts.

Underline the pertinent word(s) in each example.

a. collective noun subject: ........................................................................................................

b. noncount noun subject: ..........................................................................................................

c. third person singular present simple inflection: .....................................................................

d. a common noun ending in –s-: ...............................................................................................

e. a proper noun ending in –s-: ..................................................................................................

f. a disease: .................................................................................................................................

g. a title of a book/film: ................................................................................................................

h. a set of two: ..............................................................................................................................

21

Week 6 ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

I) ADJECTIVES: 1. Some common features: An adjective describes something (it tells us

what something is like). In the phrase a big town, the adjective big describes the town.

There are two main places where we can use an adjective: (i) Attributive/ pre-nominal

adjectives occur before a noun: You've got a nice garden. It was a dark night.

(ii) Predicative/ post-nominal adjectives occur after a noun, be and other copular

linking verbs: Your garden is nice. It was getting dark. The most common linking verbs

are: be, seem, appear, become, get, stay, look, feel, taste, smell...

To make an adjective stronger or weaker, we can use an adverb before the adjective:

You've got a really nice garden. It was getting quite dark.

2. Formal features: These are some common adjectival affixes: al, ful, less, able, ible, ar,

ic, ive, ous, y...

3. Nouns used as adjectives: a television programme, the garage door, a night club, apple

trees

4. Adjectives used as nouns: (i) Social/Economic: The rich, the poor, the strong, the weak,

the (under)privileged, the disadvantaged, the unemployed, the homeless, the hungry.

(ii) Physical/Health: The blind, the deaf, the sick, the disabled, the handicapped, the

living, the dead. (iii) Age: The young, the middle-aged, the elderly, the old.

5. Present and past participles: (i) An adjective ending in ing describes what something is

like, what effect it has on us. A game can be exciting, interesting, boring or disappointing.

(ii) An adjective ending in ed describes how we feel. We feel excited, interested, bored,

disappointed.

6. The order of adjectives: When two or more adjectives come before a noun, we have to

decide in what order to put them.

det how

good?

how

big?

how

old?

what

shape?

what

colour?

where

from?

made

of?

what kind?

what for?

noun

a small green Insect

Japanese Industrial companies

22

a wonderful new washing powder

awful plastic souvenirs

the Long narrow passage

a Nice wooden picture frame

1) Provide sentences illustrating the following terms:

a. attributive adjective: .................................................................................................................

b. predicative adjective: ...............................................................................................................

c. present participle adjective: .....................................................................................................

d. past participle adjective: ...........................................................................................................

2) What type of adjectives are these?

o. A man-eating tiger:

..................................................................................................................

p. A flea-bitten dog:

....................................................................................................................

q. A hard-working student:

..........................................................................................................

r. A much-loved story:

.................................................................................................................

3) Put these attributive adjectives into the right order:

a. - doll – pink – little – plastic – poor – the:

............................................................................

b. – grey – statue – ugly – an – wooden – old:

.........................................................................

c. – roses – long-stemmed – dozen – all of – the – very – American beauty –

....................................................................................................................................................

d. books – rare – history – last – quite – both of – John's –

......................................................................................................................................................

4) Express the following sentences differently using a pseudo-participial adjective formed

from the noun shown in italics:

23

a. his face was framed in a great beard.

b. You have shown great enterprise in setting up this firm.

c. The newspapers reported all the details of the case.

d. Conflicts often arise between countries that are neighbours.

e. We live in an ancient town with a great wall round it.

f. Dresses with designs of flowers on them are no longer in fashion.

5) Express the following NGs differently, using a compound adjective as modifier of the head

noun.

a. a story so scarifying that it raises the hair on your head.

b. an activity that consumes too much of your time.

c. cakes that have been made at home.

d. a speed that takes your breath away.

e. troops that are borne (transported) by air.

f. a plain that has been swept by the wind.

g. the performance that won an award.

h. a device that saves a great deal of labour.

6. Complete this conversation:

A: That was an excit........ film, wasn't it?

B: Oh, do you think so? I'm surpris............... you liked it.

I thought it was rather disappoint.............

A: Well, I was puzzl............ once or twice. I didn't understand the whole story. It was

confus.................. in places. But the end was good.

B: I was bor................ most of the time. I didn't find it a very interest............. film.

7. Choose the correct sentence:

1. Don't wake the dog. ( It's asleep / It's an asleep dog)

2. I've found this bag. (It's an old shopping bag / It's a shopping old bag)

3. The fish isn't dead. (It's alive / It's an alive fish)

4. I haven't got any money. (That problem is only / That's the only problem)

5. Go to the post office along here. (That post office is main / That's the main post office)

II) An adverb describes a verb. (i) Single-word adverbs are of various types:

24

Type tells us …. Examples

Manner how slowly, suddenly, eagerly, anxiously, carefully, hard.

Place where here, there, upstairs, outside, nearby.

Time when now, then soon, yesterday, once.

Frequency how often sometimes, always, ever, never, usually, occasionally.

Degree how much very, quite, almost, completely, fully, really.

Sentence certainly, probably, maybe, obviously, clearly, luckily

(ii) Some words are both adjectives and adverbs: hard, fast, high, low, deep, early, late, long,

near, straight, right, wrong. (Ex: We did some hard work / We worked hard)

(I came on a fast train / It went quite fast)

(iii) There are some pairs of adverbs with different meanings: hard and hardly, near and

nearly, late and lately, high and highly, free and freely.

(Ex: I tried hard but I didn't succeed / I've got hardly any money left)

(Luckily, I found a phone box quite near / I nearly fell asleep in the lecture)

(The coach arrived late / I've been very busy lately)

(The plane flew high above the clouds / The material is highly radioactive)

(We've got into the concert free / The animals are allowed to wander freely)

(iv) There are three main positions for adverbs:

(1) Front position / sentence-initial, at the beginning of a clause, when it relates to what has

gone before. (Ex: Sure enough, the police car stopped us) (Just hold a moment) (In the end,

our efforts will surely meet with success).

(2) Mid position, after an auxiliary verb, after be or before a simple-tense verb. (Ex: It doesn't

often rain here) (We've just booked our tickets) (You were probably right) (You probably

made the right decision) (I always get the worst jobs).

(3) End position / sentence-final. If there is an object, then the adverbial usually goes after it (I

wrapped the parcel carefully), or when it is new and important information (There was a

police car in front of us. It was going very slowly).

Exercises:

1) Why are the following ungrammatical?

a. Is he not ever going to finish his degree?

25

b. Rarely we can eat outside in the garden

c. Marvin does often not dance.

d. He can play sometimes handball after work.

e. Are you ever late to class? – I am never.

f. I speak fluently French.

g. We enjoy going in Boston to seafood restaurants.

h. Crying hysterically, the mother tried to calm the little girl down.

i. How often do you go to the beach? -Usually.

2) Read this story and then say what type of adverb each underlined word is:

A tourist was once (…………….) on a cruise to Rio de Janeiro. He was looking at the sights

and eagerly (………) taking photos. He had completely (………...) forgotten about the time.

When he realized that his ship was leaving soon, (…………) he rushed anxiously (………..)

to the docks. When he got there, (…………..) he saw that the ship was moving slowly

(……………) away from the dock. He tried to jump onto the ship and almost (……………)

succeeded. Unfortunately, (………….) he fell into the water. Luckily, (……………) some

sailors fished him out. Then (…………) they told him that it was the wrong ship. The right

one sailed an hour later. Well, everyone makes mistakes sometimes!(…………..)

3. Adjective or adverb? Put in the correct form:

I had a (strange – strangely) dream last night. I was in a garden. It was getting (dark – darkly)

and it was (terrible – terribly) cold. My head was aching (bad – badly). I was walking out of

the garden when (sudden – suddenly) I saw a girl sitting on a seat. She seemed very (unhappy

– unhappily). She looked up and smiled (sad – sadly) at me. I felt (anxious – anxiously) for

some reason. I wanted to be (friend – friendly) so I tried (hard – hardly) to think of something

to say. But I couldn't. I just stood there (foolish – foolishly).

26

Week 7

THE TENSE AND ASPECT SYSTEM(FORM / MEANING / USE)

Tense: a form of a verb used to indicate the time, points in a sequence preceding or following

a central point (Present) and sometimes the continuation or completeness of an action in

relation to the time of speaking. (from Latin: tempus = time).

Aspect: expresses a feature of the action related to time, an angle of vision of the event, such

as completion or duration.

Verbs be, have and do: can be used as:

The main verb in a sentence. My brother is still at school. / We have lunch at about

one o'clock. / I usually do my homework in my bedroom.

Auxiliary verbs to form tenses, questions and negative forms, and on their own (in

short answers, negative tags, etc.).

(i) We use be + verb + ing to form continuous tenses. – Present continuous: He's

studying to become a doctor. – Past continuous: I was talking to Charles the other

day.

(ii) We use have + past participle to form perfect tenses. – Present perfect: We've

been here for three months. – Past perfect: The film had started when we got there.

(iii) We use do in simple tenses (in the question and negative forms). – Present

simple: Does all your family live round here? – Past simple: I didn't get your e-mail.

Auxiliary verbs in questions and negatives: In continuous and perfect tenses, (i)

questions are formed by inverting the subject and auxiliary verb. Is he studying to

become a doctor? – How long have your brother and sister lived here? (ii) negatives

are formed by adding not to the verb. We often shorten this to n't. – She is not

working – She isn't working. / - He has not come home – He hasn't come home.

Auxiliaries used on their own. (i) Short answers: - Have you been here before? –

Yes, I have. – Does your family live in Paris? – My father does, but my mother

doesn't. (ii) Short questions and question tags: - My brother's gone to live in

Australia. – Has he? / - You were at home last night, weren't you?

The system is made of three tenses (Present, Past and Future) multiplied by their four aspects

(Simple, Perfect, Progressive and Perfect progressive)

27

1 ) Fill in this chart with the 12 tense-aspect combinations: (sell and sail)

Along the vertical axis, the ............... tenses are listed, ........................... and ...........................,

................................ is included only to account for the combinations related to future time.

Along the horizontal axis, the ........................ aspects are arrayed - ......................, .................. ,

............................... and their combination ................................................ .

Simple O

PerfectHave + Past Participle

Progressive Be +V + ing

Perfect Progressive Have been +V+ ing

Present

.............. / .............

............. / ...................... / ........................... / ..................

..... / ........ / ...............

..... / ........ / ...................... / ................................ / .........................

Past ..............................................................

...................................

........................................... / .............................. / ......................

..................................

..................................

Future

.............................

..................................................................................................

...................................

........................................................................................................

The ................ tenses are actually the ................. combinations of ..........................and aspect:

1. The present simple remains in its ........................... form (...................., .................... ) with

one exception - ................................................................. ( ......................., .................... ).

2. The present perfect combines a form of ................................. and ....................................... .

3. The present progressive combines a form of ...................................... and the ...................... .

4. The present perfect progressive combines the perfect form of .................. and the ............. .

5. The past simple is formed by using its past ......................... or .............................. form.

6. The past perfect is made with the past of ................................ followed by the .................... .

7. The past progressive combines the past form of .......................... followed by the ............. .

8. The past perfect progressive is formed with the past of ......................, followed by the past

participle of ...................................... and the ....................................... form of the main verb.

9. The future simple combines ....................................... with the ................ form of the verb.

10. The future perfect combines ...................................... and the ........................................... .

11. The future progressive combines ............................................ and the ............................. .

28

12. The future perfect progressive combines............................................ and the ................. .

2 ) Provide example sentences to illustrate the following terms. Underline the pertinent

word(s) in your examples:

a. Past simple: ......................................................................................................................

b. Past progressive: ...............................................................................................................

c. Past perfect simple: ............................................................................................................

d. Past perfect progressive: ....................................................................................................

e. Present simple: ...................................................................................................................

f. Present progressive: ...........................................................................................................

g. Present perfect simple: ......................................................................................................

h. Present perfect progressive: ...............................................................................................

i. Future simple: .....................................................................................................................

j. Future progressive: .............................................................................................................

k. Future perfect simple: .......................................................................................................

l. Future perfect progressive: ................................................................................................

3) Using the examples given above, answer the following questions:

a. What form of the verb is used for the present simple – first, second or third? .......................

b. What form of the verb is used for the past simple? ................................................................

c. What two things do all the perfect tenses have in common? ..................................................

d. What two things do all the continuous tenses have in common? ...........................................

e. What do all the future tenses have in common? .....................................................................

4) What are the aspects (and tenses) in the following:

a. I am coming with you.

b. He was strolling slowly down the lane.

c. You will be working with me.

d. She has bought a new car.

e. She had once lived with a member of the government.

f. They will have eaten all the food before we get here.

g. We have been visiting my grandmother, who is in hospital at the moment.

h. He had been drinking heavily before the accident.

i. They will have been expecting for us for hours.

29

5) Complete this diagram to sum up the core meanings of the tense-aspect system:

Prior -------------------------------------------------------- ...................................

Past Incomplete (event subject to change) --------- ..................................

Complete -------------------------------------------- ..................................

(event is conceived of as a whole); remoteness

Prior --------------------------------------------------------- ...................................

Present Incomplete ------------------------------------------ ....................................

Complete; immediate factuality ---------------- ....................................

Prior ---------------------------------------------------------- ....................................

Future Incomplete ------------------------------------------ ......................................

Complete; strong prediction -------------------- ......................................

6) OVERVIEW : Uses of tenses and aspects.

1/ Present simple Present progressive

A present state In the middle of an action

I (like) .................. comedies. I (watch).................... this comedy.

A permanent routine A temporary routine

I (work) ................ late most days. I (work) ................. late this week.

30

2/ Present perfect Past simple

An action in the period up to the present An action in the past

I (write) .......................... the letter. I (write) ................... the letter yesterday.

A series of actions up to the present A series of past actions

I (play) .................... basketball a few times. I (play) .............. basketball years ago.

A state up to the present A past state

I (be)......................... here for a week. I (be) .................... there for a week.

3/ Present perfect Present perfect progressive

Achievement Activity

I (teach) .......................... for 25 years. I (teach) ................................... for 25 years.

( So now it's time to think about doing ( I can't imagine doing anything else.)

something else.)

4/ Simple past Past progressive

Complete action Incomplete action

He (drown) ........................... in the lake. He (drown) ............................. in the lake,

So the lifeguard raced into the water.

5/ Simple past Past perfect

Completion before a past time period

I (answer) .................................................... before she (ask) .............................................. .

I (answer) .................................................... before she (ask) .............................................. .

6/ Present perfect progressive Past progressive

An action over a period up to the present An action over a period of past time

It (rain) ...................................... all day. It (rain) ........................ at the time.

7/ Past perfect progressive Past perfect

An action over a period up to a past time An action before a past time

It (rain) ................................. for hours. The rain (stop) ................. by then.

31

A state before a past time

The weather (be) .................. awful

8/ Future simple Future progressive

Definite plan less definite plan

We (go)…… to Everglades Park on our vacation. We (go)…………… to Everglades

Park on our vacation.

A prediction An action over a future period

Scotland (win) ..................... the game. I (work) ............................... all day.

An instant decision The result of a routine/ arrangement

I think I (buy) ..................... a ticket. I've got a job in a shop. I (work)

..................................on Saturday

9/ Simple future Future perfect

Event beginning with time mentioned. Event completed prior to some other

future event.

She (move)................................... when she She ( move) ............................ by

completes her studies. the time she completes her studies.

10/ Future perfect Future perfect progressive

Something that will be over in the future Habit, in the present which will

continue up until or through

specific future time.

At the end of the summer, we ( marry) On Christmas Eve, we

(live)........ ...................................... for 10 years. in the same house for 20

years.

32

Week 8 The English Tense and Aspect System: The Simple Aspect( Simple Present / Simple Past / Simple Future )

1) The Simple Present Tense: It conveys immediate factuality. It states facts, events, states

that are. Events are complete and neither further development nor change is suggested. It

stands in contrast to the Progressive Aspect. Ex: Computers are useful. / I love roses./ It's an

ugly scene.

How does the simple present tense express factuality, completeness and unchanging?

(i) Actions that do not change: habitual actions in the present. Ex: He visits his parents every

week.

(ii) General timeless truth: physical laws or customs. Ex: Muslims slaughter sheep in the Aid./

Water conducts electricity.

(iii) With Be and other stative verbs. Ex: There are beautiful views in Scotland./ The future

belongs to those who are determined.

(iv) In subordinate clauses of time/ condition when the main clause contains a future time

verb. Ex: I'll leave if he comes. / They will be better after the Americans leave.

(v) May express the future, (complete, unchanged action in the future) with future time

adverbials. Ex: We meet next week, same time and same room.

(vi) Present events, actions and procedures. Ex: You mix two eggs, then you add water and

you stir.

(vii) Present speech acts. Ex: I urge you to stop complaining all the time.

(viii) Conversational historical present, used to refer to past events in narration. Ex: "she gets

up, looks at all of them and goes out."

1) Justify the use and meaning(s) of the simple present tense in the following:

1. Steel (be) ................... a strong metal.

2. Gold (have) ............... a low melting-point.

3. Two and two (make) ................ four.

4. Silk (feel) .................. smooth to touch.

5. He (know)................. Morocco well.

6. This land (belong)....................... to them.

7. Those exercises (look) ..................... difficult.

8. He (work) ............................ in a company.

9. Many trees (lose) ..................... their leaves in autumn.

33

10. They (spend) ............................ most of their holidays abroad.

11. Pat Cash (beat) ................................ Ivan Lendl at Wimbledon.

12. Thousands (flee) ................................ war.

13. He was an average athlete. Suddenly, he (win) ............................... two Olympic medals.

14. I was just about to go to bed when all of a sudden, there (be) .................... a knock at the

door and Sam (rush) ............................. in.

15. It (be) ............................. one of Evelyn Waugh's best, I (think) ........................ I've

forgotten the details now but he (get) ............................... on the wrong train and

(end) ...................................... up in the wrong place and (find) ........................... that he

(be) ................................. in a place that (be) ............................ perfectly quiet and pzerfectly

innocent and there (be) ................................. no story and so he just (write) ..................... one.

16. We (want) ............................ to make good time. Kids (wave) ......................... to you

when you (ride) .............................. by and people (look) ............................. from their

porches to see who it (be) ............................. when you (stop) ............................. to ask

directions or information.

17. Wounded (tell) ............................... of terror march.

18. Queen Elizabeth (sail) ......................... from Southampton on May 24.

19. Ignorance (be) .......................... bliss.

20. Rose suddenly (leap) .................... to her feet, (go) ........................... to the table,

(grab) ............................... her purse, (sling) ........................... it on her shoulder and

(make) .................................. for right door.

21. Black coffee without sugar (taste) ....................... bitter.

II) The Simple Past Tense: It states facts (in common with the simple present tense) +

remoteness. The events are remote in time, finished, over and done with.

How does the simple past tense express notions of completeness and remoteness?

(i) A single definite completed event, action in the past. Ex: He took the Bac exam last year.

(ii) habitual or repeated actions in the past. Ex: It rained almost every day last winter.: he

published an article every month.

(iii) An event with duration that applied in the past and no longer applies to the present. Ex:

they lived in France for 20 years.

(iv) States in the past. Ex: he seemed so desperate.

(v) Imagined conditional (referring to present time) Ex: If he took better care of himself, he

wouldn't be absent so often.

34

(vi) Social distancing, indirectness and politeness. Ex: I wanted to ask if you could come to

see us./ Did you want to sit down and stay a while?

2) Put the verbs in the simple past tense and justify:

1.I (buy) ......................... some biscuits yesterday.

2. James Joyce (bear) ........................... in Dublin in 1882. He (live) ......................... in Ireland

until 1904 and (spend) ............................ the rest of his life abroad.

3. I once (know) .......................... a dancer from the Bolshoi Ballet.

4. We (drive) ................................ along the highway and he (tell) ....................... me about it.

5. As soon as they (see) ........................ us, they (disappear) ........................ into a doorway.

6. Mallory (begin) ............................. to re-start the engine, when the machine guns over the

pilot's wind-shield (open) ................................ fire on him. He (assume) .......................... that

the pilot was shooting blank ammunition. Then the first bullets (strike) .......................... the

metalled road a hundred feet ahead. The second burst (throw) .......................... the car onto its

flattened front tyres, (severe) .......................... the door pillar by the passenger seat and

(fill) ................................... the cabin with exploding gas. As the plane (climb) .........................

steeply, Mallory (brush) .............................. the glass from his chest and thighs. He

(leap) ...................................... from the car and (vault) ............................ over the metal

railing side beside the bridge, and his blood (run) ............................. through the water.

7. She (say) .......................... she would be glad to see us.

8. I (wonder) ................................... whether you (need) ........................... anything.

9. He talks as though he (own) ...................... the place.

10. If only we (have) ................................ more time!

III) The Simple Future Tense: It shares the simple aspect with the present and the past: the

expression of a complete event. However, the future does not express factually knowable

events. It is based on prediction.

Some aspects of strong predictability:

(i) An action to take place at a definite future time. Ex: London will host the Olympic Games

in 2010.

(ii) A future habitual action or state. Ex: After signing the contract, you will pay a monthly

rent of 500 D.

3) Put the verbs in the simple future and justify:

1. Belinda (be)....................... 40 next year.

35

2. The information superhighway (become) .................................... accessible to all by the

year 2008.

3. Megan (move) ................................ when she finishes her studies.

4. Joey (not take) .............................. the bar exam next month.

5. Nora (live) ............................. in Caracas until she improves her Spanish.

6. If you go, I (be) .......................... sorry.

7. You (find) ............................... petrol much more expensive in France.

8. The twenty-first century (not be) ................................ a century of peace.

9. After December, I (take) the 7.30 bus to go to work.

10. After his degree, he (earn)................................ a good salary in a secure job.

36

Week 9 The English Tense and Aspect System: The Perfect Aspect

(Present Perfect / Past Perfect / Future Perfect)

1) The Present Perfect Tense: It is used retrospectively to refer to a time prior to now.

Ex: Have you done your homework?

2) The Past Perfect Tense: It offers a retrospective point of view on some past time.

Ex: He had left before I arrived.

3) The Future Perfect Tense: It offers a retrospective point of view on some future time.

Ex: Mark will have finished all his tasks by the time we get there.

Perfect = retrospection = prior to present, past or future; an action in relation to some

point in time.

Expressions of the present perfect tense:

(i) A situation that began at a prior point in time and continues into the present. Ex: They have

been married since 1960.

(ii) An action occurring or not occurring at an unspecified prior time that has current

relevance. Ex: I have already seen that movie. Ex: I have not managed to get on well with my

neighbours.

(iii) A very recently completed action (often with just) Ex: they've just left the country.

(iv) An action that occurred over a prior time period and that is completed at the moment of

speaking. Ex: The price of petrol has almost doubled in the last few months.

(v) With verbs in subordinate clauses of time or condition. Ex: She won't be satisfied until she

has finished another chapter. Ex: If you have done your homework, you can watch TV.

Expressions of the past perfect tense:

(i) An action completed in the past prior to some other past event or time. Ex: She had worked

at the post office before 1960.

(ii) Imaginative conditional in the subordinate clause (referring to past time) Ex: If he had

been vaccinated, he would not have died.

Expressions of the future perfect tense:

37

(i) A future action that will be completed prior to a specific future time. Ex: I will have

finished all this work by 5 p.m.

(ii) A state or accomplishment that will be completed in the future prior to some other future

time or event. Ex: At the end of the summer, the Blakes will have been married for 10 years.

4) Discuss the difference in meaning between the use of the Past and the Perfect:

1. (a) His latest film set a new standard in horror and violence.

(b) his latest film has set a new standard in horror and violence.

2. (a) I was a colleague of hers, working in the same Department, for several years.

(b) I have been a colleague of hers, working in the same Department, for several years.

3. (a) How far did you get?

(b) How far have you got?

4. (a) Where did you go?

(b) Where have you been?

5. (a) What did you do?

(b) What have you done?

6. (a) She made a fool of herself in public.

(b) She has made a fool of herself in public.

7. (a) Mobile phones suddenly became popular with executives.

(b) Mobile phones have suddenly become popular with executives.

8. (a) That report that I gave you has a couple of serious errors.

(b) That report that I've just given you has a couple of serious errors.

9. (a) Did anyone go ahead with the project?

(b) Has anyone gone ahead with the project?

10. (a) I've accidently been cutting myself with the bread knife.

(b) I've accidently cut myself with the bread knife.

11. (a) I've written seven letters this morning.

(b) I wrote seven letters this morning.

12. (a) She has finished her exams.

(b) She finished her exams.

13. (a) He has lived in Notting hill all his life.

(b) He lived in Notting hill all his life.

14. (a) The P.M has resigned.

(b) The P.M resigned.

38

15. (a) Charlie Chaplin wrote an autobiography about Laurel and Hardy.

(b) Charlie Chaplin has written an autobiography about Laurel and Hardy.

5) What are the two points in time related by the perfect verb forms in each of the following sentences?

a. I was sent to school in Wales even though we'd been living in France for as long as I

could remember.

b. He has been going out with Emily since last August.

c. I will have worked for this company for ten years by next month.

6) Do the following sentences differ at all with regard to the ordering of events? (a) I had finished my homework before I practised the piano.

(b) I finished my homework before I practised the piano.

7) The word SINCE does not usually occur with the simple past tense. Why do you think

this is so?

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................................

39

Week 10 The English Tense and Aspect System: The Progressive Aspect (Present Progressive / Past Progressive / Future Progressive)

Meaning of the progressive aspect: continuous, imperfective (as it portrays an event in a

way that allows for it to be incomplete or somehow limited, always specific.

1) Expressions of the present progressive:

(i) An activity in progress in the present. Ex: They (plan) ................................. an attack now.

(ii) Extended present (action that will end and therefore lacks permanence expressed only by

the simple present: Ex: I (study) .................................................... English at the Faculty of

Human and Social Sciences in Tunis.

(iii) Temporary situation. Ex: Rachel (take) ..................................... care of her ageing parents.

(iv) Repetition or reiteration in a series of similar ongoing actions. Ex: Henry (kick) ................

the soccer ball around the backyard.

(v) Expresses future. (an event is planned, usually with a future time adverbial). Ex: They

(come) .......................................................... next week.

(vi) Emotional comment on present habit (usually co-occurring with frequency adverbs). Ex:

They (show- always - forever) .............................................. the same pictures. (disapproving)

He (help – always) ................................................................ the poor. (approving).

(vii) A change in progress. Ex: She (become) ..................................... more and more mature.

2) Expressions of the past progressive:

(i) An action in progress at a specific point of time in the past. Ex: he (walk) ........................

to school at 8.30 this morning.

(ii) Past action simultaneous with some other event that is usually stated in the simple past.

Ex: While Alex (travel) ................................................... in Europe, he ran into an old friend.

(iii) Repetition or reiteration of some ongoing past action. Ex: Jane (cough) ............................

coughing all night long.

(iv) Social distancing (which comes from the simple past + tentativeness of the past

progressive). Ex: I (hope) ................................................ you could lend me some money.

3) Expressions of the future progressive:

(i) Action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. Ex: He (take) .......................

the exam at 8.00 tomorrow.

40

(ii) Duration of some specific future action. Ex: He (collect) ........................money for the

next three years.

41

Week 11 The English Tense and Aspect System : The Perfect Progressive Aspect

(Present Perfect Progressive / Past Perfect Progressive / Future Perfect Progressive )

The sense of "prior" + the meaning of "incompleteness" inherent to the progressive aspect.

1) Expressions of the present perfect progressive:

(i) A situation or habit that began in the past (recent or distant) and that continues up to the

present (and possibly into the future). Ex: Burt (go) ..........................................out with Alice.

(ii) An action in progress that is not yet completed. Ex: I (read) ............................... that book.

(iii) A state that changes over time. Ex: They (get) .........................................better and better.

(iv) An evaluative comment on something observed over time triggered by current evidence.

Ex: You (drink) ............................................................... again.

2) Expressions of the past perfect progressive:

(i) An action or habit taking place over a period of time in the past prior to some other past

event or time. Ex: Carol (work) ...................................................hard, so her doctor told her to

take a vacation. She (try)............................................................ to finish her degree that year.

(ii) A past action in progress that was interrupted by a more recent past action.

Ex: We (plan) .................................................to vacation in Maine, but changed our minds.

(iii) An ongoing past action or state that becomes satisfied by some other event. Ex: I

(want) ..........................................................to see that play, so I was pleased when I won the

tickets.

3) Expressions of the future perfect progressive:

(i) Durative or habitual action that is taking place in the present and that will continue into the

future up until or through a specific future time. Ex: On Christmas Eve, we

(live) .................................................................................. in the same house for 20 years.

He (keep) ..................................................................... a journal for 10 years next month.

1) Compare the following pairs of sentences and justify which are acceptable:

1. a. I am believing you. b. I believe you.

.................................................................................................................................................

2. a. I see what you mean. b. I'm seeing what you mean.

..................................................................................................................................................

42

3. a. He knows a lot about our operation. b. He's knowing a lot about our operation.

...................................................................................................................................................

2) Consider these sentences and then decide if they refer to present time. If not, when are they

about and what time do they refer to?

A. My train leaves at 6 p.m.

B. She loves him.

C. I'm watching the cup final.

D. Water boils at 100%.

E. I'm flying to Paris on Monday.

3) Why are the following sentences ungrammatical?

a. William has bought it last Sunday.

b. I'm believing you.

c. Help! I will fall.

d. When Larry comes, I will go.

e. Phyllis was lived with her parents for 20 years.

4) Compare and contrast the following pairs of sentences:

1. a. I have read the book. b. I have been reading the book.

.....................................................................................................................................................

2. a. Stan sells vacuum cleaners. b. Stan is selling vacuum cleaners.

......................................................................................................................................................

3. a. Did you go to Yankee stadium? b. Have you gone to Yankee stadium?

.......................................................................................................................................................

43

Week 12

TENSE INTERACTIONS AND CONTRASTS

I) PRESENT SIMPLE VERSUS PRESENT CONTINUOUS

1. Present simple:

Positive form Negative form Question form

I / you / we / they work I /you /we /they don't (do not) work Do I / you / we / they work?

He / she / it works He / she / it doesn't (does not) work Does he / she / it work?

We use the Present Simple for (i) Repeated actions or habits: We go out every Saturday night.

(ii) Something we see as permanent: My sister works in a bank. (iii) Describing a state that

doesn't change: I look like my mother.

2. Present continuous:

Positive form Negative form Question form

I'm (am) working I'm not (am not) working Am I working?

You / we / they 're (are) working You / we / they aren't (are

not) working

Are you / we / they

working?

He / she / it 's (is) working He / she / it isn't (is not)

working

Is he / she / it working?

We use the Present Continuous for (i) things in progress now, at the moment of speaking: The

sun is shining and it's a beautiful day! (ii) temporary actions or situations that are happening

'around now': I'm reading a very good book at the moment. (iii) describing a situation which

is changing: People are working longer hours nowadays.

3. Present Simple versus Present Continuous: Sometimes either form is possible.

Compare the following pairs of sentences:

a- Why are you wearing glasses? ................................................................................................

Why do you wear glasses? .....................................................................................................

b- Linda is living with her parents. .............................................................................................

Linda lives with her parents. ..................................................................................................

c- What are you doing for Thanksgiving? ..................................................................................

44

What do you do for Thanksgiving? .........................................................................................

d- I am thinking about the answer. .............................................................................................

I think it is 144. ......................................................................................................................

e- Paola is the student who sits at the back of the class.

Paola is the student who is sitting at the back of the class.

f- My parents stay at the Metropole Hotel.

My parents are staying at the Metropole Hotel.

4. 'State' versus 'Action' verbs: Some verbs are rarely found in continuous forms. These are

verbs which describe 'states' (things which stay the same) rather than 'actions' (things which

can change). Some of the most common are verbs: (i) connected with emotions: hate, like,

love, want (ii) connected with understanding: believe, know, prefer, understand (iii)

connected with possession and unchanging qualities: belong, cost, weigh (iv) connected with

the senses: hear, smell, sound, taste.

II) PAST SIMPLE AND PAST CONTINUOUS1. Past Simple:

Positive formNegative form Question form

I / you / he / she / it / we / they

worked

I / you / he / she / it / we / they

didn't work

Did I / you / he / she /

it / we / they work?

I / you / he / she / it / we / they

left

I / you / he / she / it / we / they

didn't (did not leave)

Did I / you / he / she /

it / we / they leave?

Regular verbs: base form + ed

Irregular verbs: see list

Regular and irregular verbs:

subject + didn't + base form

Regular and irregular

verbs: did + subject +

base form

We use the Past Simple (i) for states and actions which happened in the past. We often say

when the action happened: I saw someone famous yesterday. (ii) The action can be short or

long, single or repeated: I dropped the glass and it broke on the floor / He took the train to

work every day. (iii) about states in the past: When I was young, I loved playing with my

toys.

45

2. Past Continuous:

Positive form Negative form Question form

I / he / she / it was working I / he / she / it wasn't working Was I / he / she / it working?

You / we / they were working You/we/ they weren't working Were you/ we / they working?

(i) We use the Past Continuous for actions in progress at a time in the past: I was living in

London then. Sometimes this includes a specific time or another (completed past action): We

were having breakfast at eight o'clock / I heard the news on the radio while I was driving

home. (ii) The Past Continuous often describes the situation or the background to a story. We

use the Past Simple for the main events: The sun was shining and I was walking along the

road. Suddenly, someone shouted to me ... (iii) Sometimes the Past Continuous action is

interrupted: They were talking about me when I walked in the room (= they stopped talking).

(iv) We use the Past Continuous for actions we see as incomplete: (I read a book about Italy

= I read it all) (I was reading a book about Italy on the plane = I probably didn't read it all).

3. Similarities with other continuous forms:

(i) Continuous forms describe activities in progress: He's reading the newspaper = he's in the

middle of it / He was reading the newspaper = he was in the middle of it. (ii) We use

continuous forms to emphasise that situations are temporary: She's staying with us at the

moment = temporary in the present / I was sleeping on a friend's sofa = temporary in the past.

(iii) We do not use continuous forms with state verbs: I hated vegetables when I was young

(not: I was hating vegetables when I was being young).

4. Compare the following pairs of sentences:

a- He was drowning in the lake, so a lifeguard raced into the water. ........................................

He drowned in the lake. .........................................................................................................

b- He left when I came in. ..........................................................................................................

He was leaving when I came in. .............................................................................................

c- They lived in Baltimore all their lives. ...................................................................................

They were living in Baltimore during the seventies. ..............................................................

III) PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE / PAST SIMPLE / PRESENT PERFECT

CONTINUOUS

46

1. Present perfect simple

Positive form Negative form Question form

I / we / you / they've

(have) worked

I / you / we / they haven't (have

not) worked

Have I / you / we worked?

He / she / it's (has)

worked

He / she / it hasn't (has not)

worked

Has he / she / it worked?

Subject + have / has +

past participle

Subject + haven't / hasn't + past

participle

Have / has + subject + past

participle

We use the Present perfect to talk about the past and the present together. The past action or

situation is connected to the present in various ways: (i) The state or action continues from the

past to the present: I've known her for many years = I still know her now. (ii) The results of

the past action are important in the present: He's lost his key = he doesn't have it now. (iii)

The time reference in the sentences includes the present: He's been ill all this week = this

week isn't finished. (iv) When we mean 'in my whole life', we do not give a specific time: I've

been to Spain lots of times = in my whole life.

2. Present perfect versus Past simple:

- We use the Past simple for completed actions that are in the past: Marilyn Monroe was

married three times (she is dead) / As a child, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents (I am

an adult now).

Compare these to similar Present perfect sentences: My friend has been married three times,

and she's only thirty (her life is not finished) / I've spent a lot of time abroad this year (this

year is not finished).

- Whether we use the Present perfect or Past simple often depends on how we see the action.

If we see it as related to the present, we use the Present perfect. If we see it as finished and in

47

the past, we use the Past simple, even if we do not mention the time. John's had an accident =

they've taken him to hospital / John had an accident = but he's okay now.

3. Time words with the Present perfect and Past simple:

a. Time words often found with the Past simple: (i) ago (five minutes ago, three months

ago, a thousand years ago) (ii) questions with when: When did you see him? (iii)

specific times in the past: yesterday, last night, last week.

b. Time words often found with the Present perfect: (i) periods of time which are still in

progress: all my life, this week, this year. (ii) Already, yet = before now. (iii) Ever = any

time in the past until now: Have you ever met anyone famous?

Remember: We use yet in questions and negatives to talk about actions that haven't

happened in the past, but we think could happen in the future. Maria hasn't phoned = maybe

she won't / Maria hasn't phoned yet = but she probably will later.

- There are many words or phrases which can take either the Present perfect or the Past

simple according to the context. I spoke to Robert this morning = it's afternoon /

evening now. / He was in prison for many years = he is not in prison now. / I've

never been to China = in my life until now.

4. Present perfect continuous:

Positive form Negative form Question form

I / you / we / they've been (have

been) working

I / we / you / they haven't

been working

Have I / we / you / they been

working?

He / she / it's been (has been)

working

He / she / it hasn't been

working

Has he / she / it been

working?

Subject + have / has + been +

ing

Subject + haven't /

hasn't + been + ing

Have / has + subject + been

+ ing

48

The Present perfect continuous is like the Present perfect simple. However, we use the Present

perfect continuous if (i) we want to emphasise that the action is long or repeated: She's been

trying to pass her driving test for years. (ii) The action is in progress, not complete: I've been

doing some work = perhaps, it is not finished / I've done my homework = it is finished. (iii)

The action is temporary/ He's been working in a bar this summer = but afterwards, he's going

to university. (iv) Like other continuous forms, we do not use it with 'state' verbs: I've known

Anne all my life ( not I've been knowing Anne all my life).

Remember: we often use for and since with the Present perfect simple and the Present perfect

continuous: (i) We use for to talk about a period of time = how long?/ I've known him for

several years. (ii) We use since to talk about a point of time = when? / I've known him since

2005.

5. Compare the following pairs: (Present perfect simple and Present perfect continuous)

a- I have been visiting my great-grandmother. ...........................................................................

I have visited my great-grandmother. .....................................................................................

b- I have been teaching for 25 years. ..........................................................................................

I have taught for 25 years. .......................................................................................................

c- Gail has been remodelling her home. ......................................................................................

Gail has remodelled her home. ................................................................................................

6) Compare the following pairs: (Past simple and Present perfect)

a- Sheila has joined the Sierra Club. ...........................................................................................

Sheila joined the Sierra Club. .................................................................................................

b- John Lennon was a creative genius. .......................................................................................

c- My father lived here all his life. .............................................................................................

My father has lived here all his life. .......................................................................................

d- Have you ever gone to Phoenix? ...........................................................................................

Did you go to Phoenix? .........................................................................................................

e- I've been to Japan twice already, but I still don't speak much Japanese. ...............................

IV) PAST PERFECT: Had + Past participle

Positive form Negative form Question form

49

I / you / he / she, etc ... 'd (had) done it.

I / you / he / she, etc .. hadn't (had not) done it

Had I / you / he / she, etc ... done it?

1. The Past perfect links one time in the past to another time further in the past: When we got

there, everyone had left.

Everyone left we got there

_________X_________________________X___________________________ future

PAST Present

2. Similarities with the Present perfect:

(i) The Present perfect is 'the past of the present’: It isn't Jane's first visit to Australia.

She's been there twice before.

(ii) The Past perfect is 'the past of the past': It wasn't my first visit to Australia. I'd been

there twice before.

3. Time words with the Past perfect:

With the Past perfect, we use many of the same time words that we use with the Present

perfect: We had been in Cairo for two months / since August. / I'd already / just / recently

passed my driving test. / It was the first / second / third time I'd met her. / By 5.30, everyone

had left = they left before this time. / By the time we arrived, the film had finished. / When I

got up, the others had already left. / We did the washing-up as soon as our guests had left.

4. Cases where the Past perfect is optional:

(i) We do not use the Past perfect when the sequence of events in the past is clear: I had a

shower and went to bed. (ii) If we use 'when' with the Past perfect, it means that the first

action was finished when the second action happened: The game had already started when

we arrived. (iii) With two past simple verbs, the two actions happened at more or less the

same time: The game started when we arrived.

5) Compare the following: (Past simple versus Past perfect)

a- By the end of the 1920's, women in the United States had won the right to vote.

..................................................................................................................................................

b- Pat had blamed them for the problem before he considered all the evidence.

50

...................................................................................................................................................

Pat blamed them for the problem before he considered all the evidence.

....................................................................................................................................................

c- Marion worked in an insurance company for 20 years and retired in 1997.

....................................................................................................................................................

d- When Marion became a photographer, she had finished her degree in fine arts.

...................................................................................................................................................

e- I answered before she had asked. ..........................................................................................

I answered before she asked. .................................................................................................

51

Week 13

I) BASIC GRAMMATICAL ELEMENTS 1 / 2

1 ) Identify the following symbols and make up a sentence :

SP :........................................................................................................................................

SPOd : ..................................................................................................................................

SPOiOd : .................................................................................................................................

2) Identify the underlined parts and state the class of unit which realises their functions:

1. ..............................

1- Having to go back for the tickets was such a nuisance: ..........................................................

2- It was impossible to leave: .......................................................................................................

3- The place is dangerous: .....................................................................................................

4- That he failed his exam surprised everybody: ........................................................................

5- There's plenty of fun: ..............................................................................................................

6- On foot is quite tiring: .............................................................................................................

7- Over there I'd leave it: .............................................................................................................

8- The old need special care: ........................................................................................................

2. ...............................

9- I rang up my uncle: ..................................................................................................................

10- I wanted to leave: ...................................................................................................................

11- He must have been mistaken: ................................................................................................

3. .............................

12- Do your homework: ...............................................................................................................

13- I recognize that hard work pays: ............................................................................................

14- I enjoy sleeping in the open: ..................................................................................................

15- I find it strange that he never helps: ......................................................................................

16- They went through the tunnel: ...............................................................................................

52

II) THE SUJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

1) Justify the role(s) of BE:

1- I'm a dancer: .......................... / I’m fat: .............................. / I'm in London: .......................

2- I'm dancing: .......................... / I’ve been told about it: .........................................................

2) Name types of copula verbs:

1. ..........................................................................................................................................

2. ..........................................................................................................................................

3. ...........................................................................................................................................

3) Justify the subject-verb agreement:

1-A lot of nonsense is said: .........................................................................................................

2- A lot of people came: ..............................................................................................................

3- Ten divided by five is two: .....................................................................................................

4- 100 Km. per hour is OK: ........................................................................................................

5- $ 100 is enough: .....................................................................................................................

6- A majority of people are poor: ...............................................................................................

7- The majority is poor: ..............................................................................................................

8- One half of the waste is toxic: ................................................................................................

9- A great number of guests have left: ........................................................................................

10- The number is important: .....................................................................................................

11- This pair of boots is quite expensive: ...................................................................................

12- Boots are the great fashion this winter: ................................................................................

13- Friends is a funny series to watch: .......................................................................................

14- Physics is quite difficult: ......................................................................................................

15- The commission is meeting today: .......................................................................................

16- The commission are meeting today: .....................................................................................

53

III) THE TENSE – ASPECT SYSTEM

1) Identify the tenses and aspects of the verbs and justify the meanings they convey:

A /.....................................................

a / ......................................................

1- If Cindy passes the bar exam, she'll be able to practise law: ...............................................

2- So he stands up in the boat and waves his arms to catch our attention... : ..........................

3- I resign from the commission: .............................................................................................

4- You cut the orange, you squeeze the halves, you pour the juice into the glass...: ...............

5- I have an important staff meeting tomorrow: ......................................................................

6- The earth rotates round the sun: .........................................................................................

7- It's a beautiful day: .............................................................................................................

8- I skim the New York Times at breakfast: .........................................................................

b. ...........................................................

9- The Toronto Blue jays won the World Series in 1999: ....................................................

10- It snowed almost every weekend last winter:..................................................................

11- If I walked home, it would take more than two hours: .................................................

12- He worked there for more than thirty years: ..................................................................

13- He owed me a lot of money: ..........................................................................................

14- Did you really want to stay longer?: ..............................................................................

c. ...................................................

15- She will sit for that exam next week: .............................................................................

16- After next month, she will take the 7.30 bus to school every morning: ..............................

17- He's so noisy. He'll wake up and he'll start playing with his instruments: .........................

18- He will live with that English family until he improves his English: .................................

19- If you leave now, you'll regret it: ........................................................................................

B. ......................................................

a. ..............................................

20- I've worked here since 1999: ..............................................................................................

21- I've already seen that movie: ..............................................................................................

22- I've just finished the work: ................................................................................................

54

23- The value of gold has doubled in the last four years: ........................................................

24- She won't come down until she has finished her homework: ............................................

25- If you have done your exercise properly, you can watch TV: ..........................................

b. .................................................

26- He had left before I came: .... .............................................................................................

27- If you had worked harder, you would have passed: ...........................................................

c. ................................................

28- I will have done all the work by 10: ..................................................................................

29- At the end of the summer, they will have been married for 10 years: ...............................

C/........................................................

a. ........................................................

30- He is working now: ...........................................................................................................

31- I'm studying English at the University of Tunis: .............................................................

32- I'm living with an uncle : .................................................................................................

33- He is cycling around the park: .........................................................................................

34- She's coming tomorrow: ..................................................................................................

35- He's always helping me: ...................................................................................................

36- He's always shouting: ......................................................................................................

37- He's becoming more and more like his father: .................................................................

b. ....................................................

38- He was walking to school at 8.30 this morning: ..............................................................

39- She was washing when the phone rang: ..........................................................................

40- He was coughing all night long: ......................................................................................

41- I was hoping you could lend me some money: ...............................................................

c. ......................................................

42- He will be sitting for an exam next week: ......................................................................

43- He will be doing research for the next three years: .........................................................

D......................................................

55

a. ....................................................

44- He has been going out with Alice: ...................................................................................

45- I've been reading this book: .............................................................................................

46- These students have been getting better and better: .........................................................

47- You've been drinking again! .............................................................................................

b. ..........................................

48- She had been trying to finish her degree that year: .........................................................

49- We had been planning to go to London but we changed our minds: ...............................

50- I had been waiting to see that movie, so I was happy when I won the tickets: .............

c. ..........................................

51- He will have been keeping a journal for 10 years next month: .......................................

56

GLOSSARY

Abstract noun refers to an idea, quality or action, something we cannot see or touch, e.g.

science, excitement, stupidity, routine. =/= concrete noun referring to something that we can

see or touch, e.g. man, bottle, grass, shop.

Action verb refers to something happening or changing, e.g. do, walk, buy, speak. =/= state

verb refers to something staying the same, e.g. be, belong, remain, know.

Active Someone stole my coat, but My coat was stolen is passive (be and passive participle).

Adjective big, new, special, famous. (attributive: the position of an adjective before a noun,

e.g. a cold day. =/= predicative: the position of an adjective after a linking verb such as be,

e.g. the day was cold.

Adverb expresses an idea such as how, when or where something happens, or how true

something is.

Agent the person, animal or thing doing the action. In an active sentence, it is the subject.

(Max told me the news. In a passive sentence, there is sometimes an agent after by: I was told

the news by Max.)

Agreement the choice of the correct verb forms after a subject. My ear hurts but my ears hurt.

Article A/ an is the indefinite article, and the is the definite article.

Aspect a verb can have continuous aspect (is walking, was looking) or perfect aspect (has

walked, had looked), or both (have been waiting).

Auxiliary verb a verb such as be, have, do, will, can, which we use with an ordinary verb.

Bare infinitive an infinitive without to, e.g. come, drive.

Base form the form of a verb without an ending, e.g. come, call, decide.

Clause 'We stayed at home' is a single clause. 'We stayed at home because it rained' has two

clauses. (main clause and sub clause). A clause always has a verb (stayed, rained). The verb

can be finite or non-finite. 'We all wanted to go out' (a finite clause with wanted and a non-

finite clause with to go).

Conditional clause a clause expressing a condition, e.g. If you need a ticket, I'll get you one.

Conjunction a word like and, but, because, when, that, which links two clauses.

Continuous a verb form with be and an active participle, e.g. The film is starting now.

57

Countable noun a noun that can be either singular or plural, e.g. bag(s), road(s), hour(s). =/=

Uncountable noun a noun that cannot have a/an in front of it and has no plural form, e.g.

gold, petrol, music.

Degree an adverb of degree is a word like very, rather, quite.

Demonstrative this, that, these, those are demonstrative determiners or pronouns.

Determiner a word that can come before a noun to form a noun phrase, e.g. a, the, this, my.

Direct object =/= Indirect object 'They gave the children presents'. 'Presents' is the direct

object and 'children' is the indirect object.

Direct speech is reporting someone's words by repeating them: "I know the answer," Karen

said =/= Indirect speech is giving the meaning in our own words Karen said she knew the

answer.

Echo question a form which requests the repetition of information, e.g. she's gone to Siberia

– Where has she gone?

Echo tag a short question form expressing interest, e.g. I play chess. –oh, do you?

Emphasis, emphatic, emphasize making a word or phrase more important, drawing special

attention to it.

Emphatic pronoun a pronoun such as 'myself' or 'themselves', emphasizing a noun phrase.

E.g. The queen herself visited the scene.

Empty subject 'It was raining', 'it' is an empty subject, it has no meaning, but we use it because

we need a subject.

End position at the end of a sentence =/= front position at the beginning of a sentence or

mid position in the middle of the sentence, after an auxiliary verb but before an ordinary

verb, e.g. I was just writing a note.

Finite verb like 'goes, waited, was causing, have seen, will be, can carry'. It either has a tense

(present or past) or a modal verb. It can be the verb in a simple one-clause sentence. =/= a

non-finite verb is an infinitive, gerund or participle, e.g. 'to go, waiting'.

Formal style to strangers, to be polite, or on official occasions (business letters) =/= informal

style in everyday conversation or when we write to a friend.

Full form (have) =/= short form ('ve).

Future continuous a form with 'will + have + active participle'. I will be playing golf all

afternoon.

58

Future perfect a form with 'will + have + past participle'. We will have saved enough money

soon.

Gender the words 'waiter' (male / masculine) and waitress (female / feminine) are different in

gender.

Gerund the ing-form of a verb used like a noun, e.g. Sailing is fun. I've given up smoking.

Idiom / idiomatic a group of words with a meaning which is different from the meanings of

the individual words, e.g. come off (succeed), make up your mind (decide).

Imperative the base form of the verb used to give orders, express good wishes, etc.. Wait

here. Have a good time.

Intransitive verb a verb that cannot take an object, e.g. Something happened =/= transitive

verb a verb that takes an object, e.g. We enjoyed the meal.

Invert / inversion changing the order, in a question, etc...

Linking verb like be, seem, become, look, feel.

Literary a formal style typical of literature and writing.

Main clause a sentence has one or more main clauses, e.g. It rained, or it rained and ii got

wet. A main clause can have a sub clause, e.g. I woke up (main clause) when the alarm went

off (sub clause). A main clause can stand on its own, but a sub clause is part of the main

clause.

Modal (auxiliary) verb will,, would, shall, should, can could, may, might, must, need, ought

to, dare.

Modifier / modify to change the idea by giving more information, e.g. a narrow street, a

tennis ball.

Ordinary verb like write, stay, sell, etc...

Past continuous a form with 'the past of be and an active participle'. It was raining all the

time.

Past perfect a form with 'had and a past participle'. I had answered the letter the week

before.

59

Past perfect continuous a form with 'had been and an active participle'. I saw that it had

been raining.

Past simple the past tense without an auxiliary. It stopped; they left.

Present continuous a form with 'the present of be and an active participle'. We are waiting.

Present perfect a form with 'the present of have and a past participle'. It has arrived.

Present perfect continuous a form with 'the present of have + been + active participle'. She

has been working all day.

Present simple without an auxiliary. We know; she travels.

Quantifier a word saying how many or how much, e.g. all, some, half, a lot of, enough, etc...

Question tag a short question added to the end of a statement, e.g. That was nice, wasn't it?

Question word like who, whom, what, which, whose, where, when, why, how.

Reflexive pronoun such as myself or themselves referring to the subject. David blamed

himself for the accident.

Relative clause that modifies a noun. The woman who called yesterday, the car you were

driving, people going home from work.

Relative pronoun like who, which, that in a relative clause. The person who started the

argument.

State verb refers to things which stay the same. Some of the most common are verbs (i)

connected with emotions: hate, like, love, want. (ii) connected with understanding: believe,

know, prefer, understand. (iii) connected with possession and unchanging qualities: belong,

cost, weigh. (iv) connected with the senses: hear, smell, sound, taste.

Sentence a statement, question, imperative or exclamation.

Verb of perception e.g. see, hear, feel, smell.

Verb of reporting e.g. say, tell, answer, promise, think.

Wh-question that begins with a question word, e.g. who, what, where, etc...

Word class a type of word such as a noun, adjective or preposition.

Yes/no question a question that can be answered yes or no, e.g. are you ready? – Yes, I am.

60

Grammar Two

61

GRAMMAR 2 (FIRST YEAR / SECOND SEMESTER)

INTRODUCTION

Grammar 1 is a semestrial course which targets first-year students. It is a two-hour integrated

course/ TD which introduces the theoretical grounds on which practical courses will draw.

The course deals with the fundamental structures of English.

OBJECTIVES

One of the main objectives of this course is analysing/ identifying the components/ structures

of the system/ grammar. The other aim is to draw attention to how this system functions to

express meaning/ communicate. Grammar is form and function. By the end of the course,

students will hopefully be capable of justifying the grammaticality/ungrammaticality of some

practices. Students will use grammar structures accurately, meaningfully and appropriately.

REQUIREMENTS

Students are required to attend courses regularly. They should perform the assigned tasks.

Class participation (asking/ answering questions) is encouraged. Extra-work is appreciated.

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1/2: The Future.

Week 3/4: Modals.

Week 5: Negation and Interrogation.

Week 6: Imperatives.

Week 7: Reference and Determination: Articles.

Week 8: Prepositions.

Week 9/10: Conditional Sentences.

Week 11/12: Clause Combinations.

Week 13: Revision.

62

The future There are different ways of expressing the future:

1. “ Will” and “shall”:– we will+ base form:

This book (change).............. your life forever.We (know).................. our exam results in June................. you still (love)................ me?This town (not be) ............................. the same again.

– “Will” often expresses the future as fact, something we cannot control. It expresses a prediction, a definite opinion about the future.

Southern England (stay)...................... cloudy tonight.My father (probably- be)........................in hospital for two weeks.

– We use “will” for an instant decision.

It’s raining. I (take) ..................... my umbrella.I think I (have) .......................the soup please.

Compare: I (buy)................................. some postcards. (I’m deciding now) I (buy)................................. some postcards. (I’ve already decided)

– “Will” expresses willingness:

I (translate) ...................this for you. (You speak Italian)– “Won’t” can express unwillingness or an emphatic refusal.The doctor (not come).......................... at this time of night.I (not put up)............................. with this nonsense.– “I’ll”, “we’ll” and “will you”, “won’t you” in offers, promises:

Offer: I (hold) ................ the door open for you.Promise: I promise I (do).......................... my best to help you.Invitation: (sit)....................... down?Request: (do)............................ something for me,

– When we can’t decide, we use “shall I”, “shall we” to ask for advice or suggestions.Where (put)............................. these flowers?What (do).............................. this weekend,(hold) ................................. the door open for you?

– We can use “shall” for a promise

You (be)........................ the first to know.– “Will” is used in formal orders. It emphasises the authority of the speaker.

We (leave) ............................... the building immediately Uniforms (wear).................................

2. “be going to” + base form:

63

- Can be used for a present situation that points to the future.It is ten already. We (be)................................. late.This fence (fall).........................................

- Can be used for a present intention:

I (start)....................................... my own business.I (not to live)....................................... here all my life.

3. Present tense forms for the future:- We use the present continuous for what someone has arranged to do.

I (meet) ..........................................Gavin at the club tonight.What (you do) ....................................... tomorrow?

- We use the present simple for the future, for what we see as part of a timetable.

The cup final (be) ......................on May 7th.We (change) ..................................... at Birmingham.What time (you arrive)............................. at Helsinki?

64

Modals

Modals are a very complex area of English grammar, so in this quick guide we will not be

able to go into much detail, but we will at least get an overall idea of what their function is in

a sentence. In an earlier section of this guide we looked at how the verb phrase can be broken

down into its constituent parts and we noted that one of these parts was called a modal

auxiliary verb. Just to remind you of the previous examples, a section of the chart has been

reproduced below:

SubjectModal

auxiliary verb

Primary

auxiliary verb(s)Main verb Object

Sarah can - sing opera

You should have been watching the baby

Before we look at some of the possible meanings of modal auxiliary verbs we need to have

some idea of what constitutes a modal in English and where they occur in a sentence. A few

more examples should enable us to answer the second of these points fairly quickly and easily

- the modals are in bold:

He should be here by now.

I could swim quite well when I was younger.

You mustn't blame yourself for this.

You might have discussed it with me first.

You can't be serious!

Could you open the window please?

Must you make so much noise?

She had to take her brother along with her.

We ought to be going.

It should be clear from these examples that the modal verb occupies the first position in verb

phrase, coming before any other auxiliary verb (like have or be) and the main lexical verb.

In questions the modal verb is simply inverted with the subject of the sentence as in examples

6 and 7 and it also carries the negative particle not (examples 3 and 5).

The subject of the sentence has no effect on the form of the modal since almost in all cases

they do not change at all.

65

So, a modal verb is quite simple as far as its form and position in various types of sentence are

concerned; but what exactly are the modal verbs in English? The chart below lists the main

modal auxiliaries that you are likely to meet and divides them into two categories pure

modals and semi-modals, although in most cases the distinction is merely formal and their

meanings are not affected by this division.

Pure modals Semi-modals

can ought to

could has/have (got) to

may be able to

might

shall

should

will

would

need ***

*** need is a special verb since as an auxiliary it is almost always negative and it is also a

lexical verb as in sentences like he needs to speak to you now, while it acts as a modal verb in

sentences such as you needn't come to work tomorrow where it has the same meaning as don't

have to.

The forms of pure modals

The main characteristics of the pure modals are:

they never change their form irrespective of the subject of the sentence

e.g. he can swim, not *he cans swim

following on from the above feature, they do not change to show past tense

e.g. she had to leave not *she musted leave

they all carry the negative of the sentence by the addition of not/n't

e.g. I can't remember not *I don't can remember

66

they all form questions by inversion with the subject of the sentence. 

e.g. should I stay?

they are all followed by the base form of the verb without the addition of to

e.g. he can swim not *he can to swim

The forms of semi-modals

You will notice that this type of modal is made up of two or more separate words, the last one

invariably being to. They are all modal in meaning but not in form as they behave differently

in a sentence from the pure modals. It is perhaps best to think of the semi-modals in the form

with the to infinitive that is given in the table rather than thinking of them as modals that

need to + base form. We need to look at the form of each individual semi-modal separately.

Be able to

We use this semi-modal to express possibility or the ability to do something, but unlike the

pure modals, be able to has a full range of tenses and also needs to inflect to show agreement

with its subject. For example:

He is able to offer you the best price possible.

We were able to get in to see the film.

They haven't been able to find the missing document.

So, you aren't able to help.

Notice that the negative is carried either by the be element or the auxiliary verb that is closest

to the subject of the sentence. It can also be accompanied by any of the pure modals:

I will be able to see you after lunch.

They might not be able to put us up for the night.

Has/have (got) to

This is used to express necessity or obligation to do something and shares some of the

features of be able to discussed above. The have element of the form has to change to agree

with its subject. Although it is normally used in the present tense, it also has its own past (had

to) and can be used with pure modals to show the future or the attitude of the speaker:

They have to be more punctual.

He has to take responsibility for the accident.

I had to help my father repair his car.

We will have to put this off until tomorrow.

You shouldn't have to suffer in silence.

67

You don't have to come if you don't want to.

He didn't have to do all the shopping.

From these few examples it should be clear that the negative not again attaches itself to the

auxiliary verb (modal or main) that comes immediately after the subject of the sentence.

Ought to

It is usually claimed that the meaning of ought to is the same as should whether it refers to

giving advice or making a logical deduction. So, to most native speakers the following

sentences with ought to and should feel the same:

You ought to see a doctor.

You should see a doctor.

They ought to have got back home by now.

They should have got back home by now.

In practice, most speakers tend to prefer should for negatives and questions because the ought

to and oughtn't ... to forms can sound rather clumsy and awkward.

Ought you to be doing that?

They oughtn't to (ought not to) do that.

Oughtn't we to leave now?

Meanings of modal verbs

The main function of modal verbs is to allow the speaker or writer to express their opinion of,

or their attitude to, a proposition. These attitudes can cover a wide range of possibilities

including obligation, asking for and giving permission, disapproval, advising, logical

deduction, ability, possibility, necessity, absence of necessity and so on. The problem with

each modal verb is that it can have more than one meaning and the interpretation of a

particular modal will depend heavily on the context in which it is being used. The following

examples should help to illustrate this point.

It might take more than a week. (possibility)

You might have told me about it! (showing disapproval)

He must take his medicine three times a day. (obligation)

He must be French. (logical deduction)

I can't lift that suitcase by myself. (ability)

That can't be the right answer. (logical deduction)

May I look at the questions now? (asking for permission)

They say it may snow tomorrow. (possibility)

68

You probably also noticed from the examples that notions like permission andpossibility can

be expressed using different modal verbs - this, of course, only serves to complicate matters

further since one modal verb can have more that one meaning, and one meaning can be

expressed by more than one modal verb. In the space that we have available here it would be

impossible to cover all the meanings of each of the modals, so as examples we will look at

some of the ways that obligation and logical deduction can be expressed.

Obligation

The two main modals here are must and have to. The difference between them is usually

given as follows: must is used to express an internal obligation that is imposed by the speaker,

while have to refers to rules and regulations that are imposed from outside the speaker. Again,

as with many points of grammar this is only intended as a rough guide.

To express a lack of obligation we cannot just automatically add not to the modal verbs

without thinking more carefully about it first. How do you feel about the following sentences

for instance?

He must sing loudly.

He mustn't sing loudly.

In the first sentence you would probably agree that this is obligation originating from, say, a

teacher or someone with authority. The second sentence, however, does not express a lack of

obligation but a prohibition to do something. The form that we use to express a lack of

obligation could be one of the following:

He doesn't have to get up early.

He doesn't need to get up early.

This lack of balance in the use of modals can cause many problems for people who are

learning English since it is quite illogical.

Logical deduction

This is another area of modal use that is fraught with difficulties for reasons similar to those

just discussed above. Look at the following sentences:

The telephone rings:

That'll be Frank.

That must be Frank.

That should be Frank.

That could be Frank.

69

That might be Frank.

That may be Frank.

The modal verbs used here have been listed in what many consider to be the order of

likelihood of something being true. You may or may not agree with this listing, but it gives

you some idea of some of the choices available for drawing logical conclusions from

situations. If we look at the negatives of these sentences, however, you can see just how much

more complex it can become:

That won't be Frank.

That mustn't be Frank.

That shouldn't be Frank.

That couldn't be Frank.

That mightn't be Frank.

Many of these sentences now denote completely different attitudes to the situation and you

may even agree that some of them are either not English or are only marginally acceptable.

The sentence which has probably moved furthest from its original intention is number 2

which sounds very odd. In fact, the negative of must when we talking about deduction

is can't - one more example of how complicated and counter-intuitive the system of English

modals can be.

Past time with modals

We noted earlier that the pure modals do not change to show tense. Most of these modals do

in fact have either present or future reference, but sometimes we need to refer back to the past.

With the semi-modals there is little problem, but how can we do this for pure modal verbs?

You may have picked up from some of the previous examples that one way to do this is to

insert have immediately after the pure modal. But this is not always the case since can has its

own past tense could when it refers to general ability. Some examples should help:

I can speak German.

I could speak German when I was seven years old.

You should see this film.

You should have seen this film.

Indonesia must be hot.

Indonesia must have been hot.

He could find his wallet.

He could have found his wallet.

70

Notice that in the third pair of sentences the meaning of must is logical deduction not

obligation. If we want to use must for obligation then the past tense is had to.

She must visit her mother.

She had to visit her mother.

From http://www.waylink-english.co.uk/?page=31320

71

Exams

72

Grammar One

I. Identify the tenses of the underlined verbs and justify their use. (3 points)

1. After he   had finished painting, he had a shower.………………………………………………………………………………………….2. He is always complaining about everything.…………………………………………………………………………………………..3. He was late. When he arrived at the airport, the plane had left.…………………………………………………………………………………………4. He drinks mineral water every day.………………………………………………………………………………………….5. Leif Ericson discovered Vinland while he was sailing towards the west.…………………………………………………………………………………………6. She has been living in this house for years.…………………………………………………………………………………………

II. Put the verb in brackets into the present perfect continuous or present perfect simple. (4 points)

1. He (drink) ………………………… too much recently.

2. Mary is still watching TV. She (watch) ……………………… TV all day.

3. Somebody (steal) ……………………. my keys. They are not on the table.4. He (read) ……………………… 20 pages so far.

5. Sorry I'm late. (you; wait) ……………………….long?

6. I (not see)…………………….. him since Monday.7. I (drive) ………………………. the same car for twelve years.8. You look tired! Yes I (work) ………………………. very hard.

III. Put the following adjectives into the right order: (3 points)1. A (Canadian; small; thin)……………………………….….….. lady.2. A (carving steel new)……………………………………..……Knife.3. A (blue sailing beautiful)……………………………….….…... boat.4. A (French new exciting)……………………………….….…… band.5. A (cotton dirty old) ………………………………..….…………tie.6. A (serving small Japanese)………………………………….… bowl.

VI. Identify and state the functions of the underlined constituents:(3 points)

1. Reading Shakespeare’s plays (1) is one of my favourite pastimes.

2. The burglars were preparing (2) to leave the country (3) when the officers caught them with the gold they had stolen.

73

3. To run for presidential elections (4) was a great challenge for a black politician like Barack Obama.

4. Whoever broke the vase (5) will have to pay for it.5. By the woods (6) is an excellent place for people to relax.

1………………………………………………………………………………………… 2………………………………………………………………………………………… 3………………………………………………………………………………………… 4………………………………………………………………………………………… 5…………………………………………………………………………………………. 6…………………………………………………………………………………………. V. Provide the present form of the verb in brackets and justify your answer: (5 points)

1. Either my mother or my father (be) ……………..coming to the meeting.…………………………………………………………………………………………2. The dog or the cats (be) …………………..outside.…………………………………………………………………………………………3. Either my shoes or your coat (be) …………………always on the floor.…………………………………………………………………………………………4. (be) ……………..the news on at five or six?…………………………………………………………………………………………5. Mathematics (be) ……………John's favorite subject, while Civics (be) ……….... Andrea's favorite subject.…………………………………………………………………………………………6. Eight dollars (be) …….………the price of a movie these days.…………………………………………………………………………………………7. The committee (debate)………………….. these questions carefully.…………………………………………………………………………………………8. The committee (lead) …………………very different lives in private.…………………………………………………………………………………………9. A number of trees (be) …………………... uprooted by the storm.………………………………………………………………………………………….

IV. Bracket the non essential constituents in the following sentences: (2 points)1. Despite the storm's destructiveness, the ship, with its crew of amateurs, might have

survived in more experienced hands.2. After the movie, Emma and her brother bought a birthday present for their mother.3. Her uncle and she walked slowly through the Inuit art gallery and admired the

powerful sculptures exhibited there.

74

Grammar Two

I. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate form of the future: present simple, “Be to”, and future simple, perfect, or continuous. (6 marks)

Notice on board of a ship: In the event of an emergency, all passengers (assemble) ………………………… on the boat deck.

- I don’t feel well enough to go to the station and meet him.- I (meet)…………….. him for you. But how…………….. I (recognize) ………..….. him?- He’s small and fair, and he (wear)…………………………. a white and black school cap.

Military order: Soldiers (remain)…………………..…………on duty till they are relieved.

This time next Monday I (sit)…………………………….in a Paris café reading Le Figaro.You (not read)…………………….…..You’ll be looking at all the pretty girls.

Loudspeaker announcement: The ship (leave)…………..…………………in a few minutes.

Now that the parking restrictions are becoming stricter, more people (use) …….…………………..public transport and (leave) ……………………..…their cars at home.

- I am going to Hyde Park to hear the people making speeches.- You’ll be too late. By the time you get there, they (finish)…………..……………their speeches and everybody (go) …………………………home.

II. Circle the correct and most appropriate alternative. (3 marks)

Candidates (may/ need/ should) not bring textbooks into the examination room. Nobody knows how people first came to these islands. They (will/ had to/ might)

have sailed from South Africa on rafts. A continuous white line in the middle of the road means that you (should/ need/

may) not overtake. Notice on a picture gallery: Cameras, sticks, and umbrellas (may/ have to/ must)

be left at the desk. In my district there is no gas laid on. People (must/ have to/ need) use electricity

for everything. If you go to a dentist with a private practice you (might/ needn’t/ have to) pay him

quite a lot of money.

III. Insert a definite or an indefinite article. If the article is unnecessary, insert the symbol Ø. (5 marks)

I can’t remember ..…exact date of…..storm, but I know it was ..… Sunday because everybody was at … church. On Monday, .….post didn’t come because ….. roads were blocked by fallen trees.

75

My aunt lived on ….. ground floor of ….. old house on…..river Thames. She was very much afraid of ..…burglars and always locked up…..house very carefully before she went to ….. bed. She also took ….. precaution of looking under ….. bed to see if ….. burglar was hiding there.“….. modern burglars don’t hide under ….. beds”, said her daughter. “I’ll go on looking just the same”, said my aunt.One morning she rang her daughter in triumph. “I found … burglar under … bed … last night”, she said, “and he was quite a young man.”

V. Identify the scope of negation in the following sentences. (2 marks)

He hasn’t eaten anything for twenty four hours. (…………………………………………...)

Never leave your luggage unattended. (……………………………/……………………….)

Not to attend the exam can be a serious problem. (………………………………………….)

VI. Decide whether the italicized item is a subject or vocative. (2 marks)

Don’t you sign or write your names on the exam sheets. (…………………………………..)

Don’t forget to take your pill, dear. (………………………………………………………..)

Let’s sing a hymn for freedom, come on, everybody sing at the same time! (………………)

Read the text, please. Yes, you John! (…………………………………………………...…)

VII. Identify the different meanings of the prepositions “at” and “to” in the following statements: (2 marks)

The program starts at eight o’clock in the evening. (…………………………………….....)

This painter is excellent at drawing winter landscapes. (…………………………………...)

He went to Town to see his old friends. (…………………………………………………...)

He issued orders to his soldiers to invade the town. (………...…………………………….)

76