| order | relating to | examples |
| 1 | opinion | unusual, lovely, beautiful |
| 2 | size | big, small, tall |
| 3 | physical quality | thin, rough, untidy |
| 4 | shape | round, square, rectangular |
| 5 | age | young, old, youthful |
| 6 | colour | blue, red, pink |
| 7 | origin | Dutch, Japanese, Turkish |
| 8 | material | metal, wood, plastic |
| 9 | type | general-purpose, four-sided, U-shaped |
| 10 | purpose | cleaning, hammering, cooking |
| before a noun | after a verb |
| Even fourteen days after the earthquake, rescue workers were still finding live babies in the rubble. | Even fourteen days after the earthquake, rescue workers were still finding babies who were alive in the rubble. |
| It is very strange to see a lone wolf. They always stay together in groups called a ‘pack’. | It is very strange to see a wolf who is alone. They always stay together in groups called a ‘pack’. |
| There was a blazing fire in the cinema. It took many firemen to put it out. | The cinema was ablaze for many hours and it took many firemen to put out the fire. |
| The waves are fairly high in the winter.The waves are quite high in the winter. | an adverb of degree used before gradable adjective high. |
| The waves are this high in the winter.I can’t believe the waves are that high in the winter. | This high would usually be spoken with a gesture showing a specific height.That high refers to a statement made by someone about the height of the waves or to the moment of seeing the high waves. |
| The waves are over six metres high in the winter. | Six metres is a noun phrase. Certain adjectives expressing measurable features (e.g. height, thickness, age, time) may be modified by such noun phrases:The wall is half a metre thick.The clock is over 100 years old.Sorry, we’re half an hour early! |
| The waves were so high that they went onto the street! | So is the degree adverb before the adjective high. It needs the complement that they went onto the street in order to complete its meaning. |
| The waves are too high to go sailing. | Too is the degree adverb before the adjective high. It needs the complement to go sailing in order to complete its meaning. |
| The waves are as high as the wall in the winter. | To say that things are the same, we use as + adjective + as + complement. |
| The waves are higher than the wall in the winter. | To compare two things which are different, we add the suffix -er to the adjective before the complement. |
| How high are the waves? | A question about degree:how + adjective + verb + noun phrase? |
| How high the waves are! | An exclamation about degree:how + adjective + noun phrase + verb! |
| short | tall |
| big | small |
| full | empty |
| possible | impossible |
| black | white |
| It’s quite cold in here.I’m quite hungry now. Are you? | quite means ‘fairly’ |
| The situation in my old job was quite different. It was a very small new company.You’re quite right – the plane leaves at 3 pm, not 4 pm. | quite means ‘completely’In this context, quite is given extra spoken stress. |
| before the noun (attributive) | after the verb (predicative) |
| We can finish that job on Monday but this particular job needs to be done by today.(particular means ‘this and not any other/specific’) | My boss is very particular. He checks all our work very carefully. (particular means not easy to satisfy) |
| His late wife came from a very rich family. (late means ‘dead/deceased’) | The trains are always late on Sundays.(late means ‘not on time’) |
| There’s a certain amount of truth in that story. (certain means ‘some, but not a specific amount’) | The police are certain that the killer was known to the victim. (certain means ‘sure/definite’) |
| indefinite article | degree adverb | adjective | noun |
| a/an | fairlyverymoderatelyextremely | cold | day |
| indefinite article | adjective | degree adverb | noun |
| a | cold | enough | day |
| adjective phrase | noun | |
| She speaks in a | very slow | voice. |
| We never cycle in | heavy | rain. |
| I’d love a cup of | hot | chocolate. |
| determiner | adjective phrase | noun | |
| Sarah is | my | youngest | sister. |
| Where are | the | really big | bowls? |
| I know | some | very good | restaurants. |
| anyone | everyone | no one | someone |
| anybody | everybody | nobody | somebody |
| anything | everything | nothing | something |
| anywhere | everywhere | nowhere | somewhere |
| noun phrase | |||
| head | adjective phrase | ||
| There’s | nowhere | nice | to go for a walk here. |
| I have | nothing | good | to say about it as a holiday resort. |
| There’s | something | terribly sad | about saying goodbye, isn’t there? |
| Let’s go | somewhere | different. |
| Are they a similar colour? | adjective (in bold) with no complement |
| She was wearing a dress similar to the one that she wore when she first met her husband. | adjective (in bold) and complement (underlined) both after the noun head (dress) |
| I was living in a similar apartment to this one. | adjective (in bold) before the noun head (apartment); complement (underlined) after the noun head |
| nounphrase | adjective phrase + complement | ||
| Who is | the person | responsible for security? | |
| Fans | keen to get a ticket | waited all night in the queue. | |
| We have | a boat | ready to leave in an hour. |
| subject | linking verb | adjective phrase | |
| I | felt | sad. | |
| This soup | smells | really wonderful. | |
| She thought | the room | was | very strange. |
| That coffee | tastes | too strong. |
| careful | carefull | helpful | helpfull |
| grateful | gratefull | wonderful | wonderfull |
| powerful | powerfull | beautiful | beautifull |
| type of adjective | comparative | superlative |
| most adjectives | add -er:cheaper, richer, smaller, younger | add -est:cheapest, richest, smallest, youngest |
| adjectives ending in -e | add -r: finer, nicer, rarer | add -st: finest, nicest, rarest |
| adjectives with one vowel + one consonant: | double the final consonant and add -er:bigger, hotter, thinner | double the final consonant and add -est:biggest, hottest, thinnest |
| busy, busier, busiest | happy, happier, happiest |
| easy, easier, easiest | funny, funnier, funniest |
| clever, cleverer, cleverest | quiet, quieter, quietest |
| narrow, narrower, narrowest | simple, simpler, simplest |
| time | I never get up early at the weekends. |
| manner | Walk across the road carefully! |
| place | When we got there, the tickets had sold out. |
| degree | It’s rather cold, isn’t it? |
| frequency | I’m always losing my keys. |
| adjective | adverb |
| He was calm when I told him. | He behaved calmly. |
| That was a beautiful presentation, Carla. | Your work is beautifully presented, Carla. |
| adjective | adverb |
| This coconut is really hard. You’ll need a hammer to break it up. | You have to bang the door hard to shut it. |
| She drives a fast car. | They can swim quite fast now actually. |
| An outside light would be a really good idea for our house. | When I went outside, the light came on automatically. |
| I get a monthly pay cheque. | My company pays me monthly. |
| He plays the piano amazingly.He plays the piano really amazingly. | really is a degree adverb |
| She played golf skilfully this time.She played golf more skilfully this time. | more is a degree adverbmore skilfully is a comparative form |
| already | lately | still | tomorrow |
| early | now | soon | yesterday |
| finally | recently | today | yet |
| accurately | beautifully | expertly | professionally |
| anxiously | carefully | greedily | quickly |
| badly | cautiously | loudly | quietly |
| adjective | adverb |
| I was never a fast swimmer | Driving fast is dangerous |
| All of your answers were wrong. | People always spell my name wrong. |
| Is that the right time? | That builder never does anything right! |
| My hair is straight. | Let’s go straight to the airport. |
| absolutely | enough | perfectly | somewhat |
| a (little) bit | entirely | pretty | terribly |
| a lot | extremely | quite | too |
| almost | fairly | rather | totally |
| awfully | highly | remarkably | utterly |
| completely | lots | slightly | very |
| especially | just | mainly | particularly |
| generally | largely | only | simply |
| example | function |
| Sit quietly! | modifying a verb (sit) |
| Claire was rather quiet. | modifying an adjective (quiet) |
| That week seemed to go by incredibly slowly. | modifying another adverb (slowly) |
| It takes quite a lot of courage to jump from a plane. | modifying a noun phrase (a lot of courage) |
| I’m going for a run later so I don’t want to eat anything now. | modifying the whole clause (I’m going for a run) |
| Personally, I don’t like the plans. | modifying the whole sentence (I don’t like the plans).It gives the speaker’s attitude. We often use commas with the adverb when it modifies the whole sentence. |
| example | type | used to give information about |
| We walked very carefully across the floor. | manner | how something happens |
| Here is where I was born.That’s it. Right there. | place | where something happens |
| Dad got home very late. | time | when something happens |
| This pill will take away the pain temporarily. | duration | how long something happens |
| They almost never invite people to their house these days. | frequency | how often something happens |
| A: Want some sugar in your coffee?B: Only half a spoon, please. | focusing | something specific |
| That dog behaves incredibly stupidly! | degree | how much or to what degree something happens |
| The train will probably be late.It doesn’t necessarily mean that. | certainty or necessity | how certain or necessary something is |
| Unfortunately for me, I can’t speak Italian. | evaluative | the speaker’s opinion of something |
| Personally, I don’t see why the party has to start so early. | viewpoint | the speaker’s perspective or reaction |
| It rained very heavily this summer. Therefore, many of the vegetables were very small. | linking | relationships between clauses and sentences |
| type | position | example |
| manner | They usually go in end position.They sometimes go in mid position if the adverb is not the most important part of the clause or if the object is very long. | She ate quickly.She quickly ate her dinner and ran out. |
| place | They usually go in end position.They sometimes go in front position, especially in writing. | Can you come over here?We’ll be at that table there.Here she sat.Outside, there was a small pond. |
| time | They usually go in end position.They sometimes go in front position especially if we want to emphasise the adverb. | I’m flying to Edinburgh tomorrow.Today, I’m going to clean the house. |
| duration | They usually go in end position. | I’m not staying long. |
| frequency | They usually go in mid position.They sometimes go in front position.They can also go in end position.Always, ever and never do not usually go in front position. | We often have friends to stay.I usually get up late on weekends.I could never swim fast.Not: |
| degree | Really, very, quite usually go in mid position.A lot and a bit usually go in end position. | I really like those pink flowers.We go to Ireland a lot.I’d just like to change things a bit. |
| focusing | They usually go in mid position. | He simply walked out without saying a word. |
| certainty or obligation | Some go in mid position: probably, possibly, certainly.Others go in front position: maybe, perhaps or in end positions after a comma. | It’ll probably rain.Maybe Nick will know the answer.Can I get you a drink, or something to eat, perhaps? |
| viewpoint | They usually go outside the clause, often at the beginning.They can sometimes go in mid position, especially in formal writing. | Personally, I’d rather not go out.This must, frankly, be the craziest idea anyone has ever had. |
| evaluative | They usually go outside the clause, often at the beginning.They can sometimes go in mid position.In informal speaking they can go in end position. | Unfortunately, I forgot my swimming costume so I had to sit on the side and watch.We have stupidly forgotten the tickets.They missed the bus, apparently. |
| soon sooner soonest | fast faster fastest |
| hard harder hardest | near nearer nearest |
| early earlier earliest | far farther/further farthest/furthest |
| late later latest |
| A: How’s your mum?B: She’s feeling a good deal better, thanks. | A: How’s your mum?B: She’s feeling a lot better, thanks. |
| She always worries a great deal. | She always worries a lot. |
| amazing | excellent | horrified |
| awful | exceptional | huge |
| brilliant | fantastic | perfect |
| delighted | furious | stunning |
| essential | horrible | terrible |
| He wrote a book about the Spanish Civil War. | about is more general and slightly more informal. |
| He wrote a book on Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War. | on focuses on more specific and detailed information and is slightly more formal. |
| specific | approximate |
| Dinner is at six. | Dinner is about six. |
| We moved house three years ago. | We moved house about three years ago. |
| It’s twelve o’clock. | I am not surprised that it’s twelve o’clock. |
| It’s twelve o’clock already. | I’m surprised. I thought it was earlier. |
| neutral | formal |
| She hardly ever went on holiday. | Hardly ever did she go on holiday. |
| I had seldom seen so many people out on the streets. | Seldom had I seen so many people out on the streets. |
| Things are rarely as bad as you think they’re going to be. | Rarely are things as bad as you think they’re going to be. |
| She no longer works here.She doesn’t work here any longer. | She isn’t working here now. |
| She still works here. | She is working here now. |
| We’ll have to leave soon. | We’ll have to leave after a short time from now. |
| We’ll have to leave early. | We’ll have to leave before the usual or planned time, e.g. early in the morning, so that we do not arrive late. |
| I can’t remember him at all. I’ve even forgotten what he looks like. | typical position |
| I can’t remember him at all. I’ve forgotten what he looks like even. | more informal, used in speaking |
| He gave her a cake with 26 candles on. He even sang ‘Happy Birthday’. | The fact that he sang ‘Happy Birthday’ was unexpected. |
| He gave her a cake with 26 candles on. He also sang ‘Happy Birthday’. | He did two things: he gave her a cake and he sang. |
| It’s surely quicker if you have a computer. | It’s certainly quicker if you have a computer. |
| I think that it is quicker if you have a computer and I want you to agree. | I am certain that it is quicker if you have a computer. |
| She is very careful. | Very makes careful stronger. |
| She is too careful. | Too careful means ‘more careful than is necessary’. |
| All passengers must turn off their mobile phones. | refers to the whole group |
| Every passenger must turn off their mobile phone.(We use their instead of his or her to refer back to a singular noun (passenger) because we are referring to both male and female passengers.) | focuses on each individual member of the whole group |
| All the cast had food poisoning. They were forced to cancel the show. | all + determiner + noun |
| The whole cast had food poisoning. They were forced to cancel the show. | determiner + whole + noun |
| Whole families normally shared one room in the nineteenth century. | entire families |
| All families normally shared one bedroom in the nineteenth century. | each and every family |
| A: Is your sister still at university?B: Yes. She’s got one more year to do. | I know she was at university. Does that continue to be true? |
| A: Is your sister at university yet?B: No. She’s only 17. She’ll go next year. | I expect that she will go to university. Is she there now? |
| A: Is your sister already at university? She’s only 17!B: Yes. She started this year. She’s so clever they let her enter a year early. | I’m surprised if your sister is at university. I did not expect it to happen until later. |
| I haven’t finished yet. | I still haven’t finished. |
| You know, it’s dark now and she hasn’t arrived yet. | You know, it’s dark now and she still hasn’t arrived. |
| As your father, I’ll help you as much as I can. | The speaker is the listener’s father. |
| Like your father, I’ll help you as much as I can. | The speaker is not the father but wishes to act in a similar way to the father. |
| result | reason |
| He decided to go to the conference in Barcelona, | as he was in Spain anyway. |
| Are you angry with me | because I opened the letter? |
| Bilardo coaches his team by telephone,(Bilardo was the coach of the Argentinian football team) | since half of them play in Italy, France or Spain. |
| When you open the file, check the second page. | when meaning ‘after’ |
| I eat ice cream when I am on holiday. | when meaning ‘at the same time’ |
| Joan’s just gone to the shop. She’ll be back in about ten minutes. | Joan has not yet returned from the shop. |
| Joan’s just been to the shop. She bought some cakes. Would you like one? | Joan has returned from the shop. |
| She visits her father every morning and she always takes him the day’s newspaper. | seen from the viewpoint of the doer – she |
| She visits her father every morning and she always brings him the day’s newspaper. | seen from the viewpoint of the receiver – him |
| It can be dangerous to cycle in the city. | This expresses what the speaker believes is a general truth or known fact, or a strong possibility. |
| It could/may be dangerous to cycle in the city. | This does not express a general truth. The speaker is only expressing a weak possibility. |
| It’s dangerous to cycle in the city. | This expresses a real fact using the present simple. The speaker is certain and no modality is used. |
| asking for permission | formal/polite? | giving permission | formal/polite? |
| Can I ask you a question? | informal | Yes, you can.Yes, you may.Yes, you could. | informal |
| Could I use your phone? | more formal/polite | formal/polite | |
| May I use your phone? | even more formal/polite |
| [doer] Yolanda came to [receiver] her mother for help. | We use come when we see things from the receiver’s viewpoint (in this case the mother). |
| [doer] Melissa went to [receiver] her mother for help. | We use go when we see things from the doer’s viewpoint (in this case Melissa). |
| activity | damage | favour | job | task |
| business | drawing | gardening | laundry | test |
| cleaning | duty | harm | one’s best | washing (up) |
| cooking | exam(ination) | homework | painting | work |
| course | exercise | ironing | shopping |
| apology | coffee | excuse | love | offer | remark |
| assumption | comment | friends | lunch | phone call | sound |
| bed | complaint | guess | mess | plan | soup |
| breakfast | dinner | law | mistake | profit | speech |
| cake | effort | list | money | progress | statement |
| change | error | loss | noise | promise | tea |
| They went to Florida during the winter. | They went at one point in the winter. |
| They went to Florida for the winter. | They went from the beginning to the end of the winter. |
| Each one takes turns cooking dinner in the evenings. | Each stresses individual members of a group.Each refers to two or more people who share the work. |
| Everyone takes turns cooking dinner in the evenings. | Every stresses all the members of the complete group.Every refers to three or more people. |
| expect + object: | She’s expecting a second baby. |
| expect + to-infinitive: | We expect to move into our new flat next week. |
| expect + that-clause: | We expected that the guest house would have much better rooms. |
| expect + object + to-infinitive: | The company expects her to be early. |
| hope + to-infinitive: | I think you were hoping to see your family next week. |
| hope + that clause: | I hope that your sister recovers quickly from the operation. |
| hope + for: | [parents discussing the birth of their next child]We’ve already got two boys so we’re hoping for a girl. |
| wait (imperative): | Just wait here with the bags and I’ll go and get a taxi. |
| wait + for: | Don’t worry. I’ll wait for you. |
| wait + to-infinitive: | When the band arrived at the concert hall, a large crowd of screaming fans were waiting to greet them. |
| wait + for + object + to-infinitive:They’re waiting for him to make up his mind and won’t do anything until he does. |
| It was a fast train.We need to have a quick chat before the meeting. | Fast and quick are adjectives. |
| You walk very fast!Not: … | Fast and quickly are adverbs. |
| He lived in Oxford for 3 years and then he moved. (completed past)They’ve lived in Oxford for a couple of months. (began in the past and continues into the present)We’re going to stay in Oxford for three days and then we’re going to London for a day. (future plans) | For refers to periods of time, e.g. 3 years, 4 hours, ages, a long time, months, years. |
| They’ve lived in Oxford since 2004. | Since refers to a previous point in time. |
| hearing is an event. | listening is an action. |
| Suddenly I heard a noise. Someone was in the garden.Did you hear the thunder last night?[on the phone]The line is very bad. I can’t hear you. | I listened very carefully to what she said and wrote it all down.Do you listen to the radio in bed?George! Listen to me! I have something important to tell you. |
| If Giles comes back to the office, can you tell him I’ve gone home. | The speaker does not know whether Giles is coming back to the office. It is possible, but not definite. |
| When Giles comes back to the office, can you tell him I’ve gone home. | The speaker is certain that Giles is coming back to the office. |
| A: Whose is this ball?B: Mine. | Possessive pronoun mine used alone. |
| A: Whose is this ball?B: The dog’s.Not: | Possessive determiner its is not used alone. We repeat the noun which is being referred to. |
| We got the train home late. | describes when the activity happened |
| I got the late train home. | describes the train |
| base form | lay(put something down) | lie(be horizontal) | lie (say something that is not true) |
| past simple | laid | lay | lied |
| -ed form | laid | lain | lied |
| I watched ‘Phantom of the Opera’ last night on DVD. | I was at home. |
| I saw ‘Phantom of the Opera’ last night. | I was at a theatre or cinema. |
| We watched whales jumping out of the water. | Watch focuses on the process of seeing: we spent time looking at the whales. |
| We saw whales jumping out of the water. | See focuses more on the finished event. It doesn’t suggest that we spent much time looking at the whales. |
| He paid no attention to what I was saying. (stronger) | He didn’t pay any attention to what I was saying. |
| I’ve decided that I have no alternative. (stronger) | I’ve decided that I don’t have any alternative. |
| We parked opposite the hotel. | We parked in front of the hotel. |
| boy | woman | student | Maria |
| girl | teacher | president | Lennon |
| man | mother | John |
| book | tree | Manchester | name |
| computer | bird | idea | place |
| picture | dog | love |
| ending | examples |
| -age | postage, language, sausage |
| -ance/-ence | insurance, importance, difference |
| -er/-or | teacher, driver, actor |
| -hood | childhood, motherhood, fatherhood |
| -ism | socialism, capitalism, nationalism |
| -ist | artist, optimist, pianist |
| -itude | attitude, multitude, solitude |
| -ity/-ty | identity, quantity, cruelty |
| -ment | excitement, argument, government |
| -ness | happiness, business, darkness |
| -ship | friendship, championship, relationship |
| -tion/-sion | station, nation, extension |
| uncountable | countable |
| accommodation | a house, a flat, a place to live, a place to stay |
| baggage/luggage | a suitcase, a bag, a rucksack |
| bread | a loaf (of bread), a (bread) roll |
| lightning | a flash of lightning |
| luck | a stroke of luck |
| money | a note, a coin, a sum of money, a euro, a dollar |
| poetry | a poem |
| rain | a shower, a downpour, a storm |
| travel | a journey, a trip |
| work | a job, a task |
| Countable use | Uncountable use |
| We bought a new iron and an ironing board. | People believed that ships made of iron would sink. |
| I broke a glass yesterday. | The table was made of hardened glass. |
| Would you like a chocolate? | Would you like some chocolate? |
| Let’s get a paper and see what’s on at the cinema. | The printer has run out of paper. |
| ‘Hamlet’ is one of Shakespeare’s most famous works. | I had work to do so I couldn’t go out. |
| uncountable use | countable use |
| Good education is the best investment in Britain’s future.(education in general) | The first daughter had a very expensive education at a private school in France.(the time one person spent at school) |
| Love is like a physical pain for some people.(love in general/all love) | I’ve always had a love of poetry, ever since I was a child.(a specific liking for something) |
| They have a quiz every week, with questions about general knowledge.(all knowledge/knowledge in general) | The job requires a knowledge of statistics and basic computing.(a specific type of knowledge) |
| Time passes more and more quickly as you grow older.(time in general) | We had a great time in Ibiza. We didn’t want to come home.(a specific period of time) |
| singular | plural |
| a car | three cars |
| my house | some new houses |
| that cow | those cows |
| face - faces | school - schools |
| hole - holes | store - stores |
| monkey - monkeys | week - weeks |
| part - parts |
| singular | plural | rule |
| box, watch, bus | boxes, watches, buses | If the noun ends in -ch, -s, -sh, -x or -z, add -es. The plural ending -es. is pronounced /ɪz/ (/ˈbɒksɪz/, /ˈwɒtʃɪz/). |
| university, baby, ferry | universities, babies, ferries | If the noun ends in a consonant plus -y, change y to i and add -es. |
| wife, thief, loaf | wives, thieves, loaves | For some nouns ending in -f, change -f to -vesbut note: roof-roofs, belief-beliefs, cliff-cliffs. |
| potato, cargo, torpedo | potatoes, cargoes, torpedoes | If the noun ends in -o, add -esbut note: radio-radios, video-videos. |
| formula, phenomenon, crisis | formulae, phenomena, crises | Some nouns which come from Latin and Greek form their plurals in special ways. |
| singular | plural |
| child | children /ˈtʃɪldrən/ |
| man | men |
| woman | women /ˈwɪmɪn/ |
| tooth, foot | teeth /ti:θ/, feet /fi:t/ |
| mouse | mice /maɪs/ |
| sheep, fish, deer | sheep, fish, deer* |
| excite → excitement | grow → growth | invade → invasion |
| fly → flight | industrial → industrialisation | wide → width |
| binoculars | headphones | sunglasses |
| glasses | scissors | tweezers |
| jeans | pyjamas | tights |
| knickers | shorts | trousers |
| pants |
| belongings | outskirts |
| clothes | premises (buildings) |
| congratulations | savings (money) |
| earnings | stairs |
| goods | surroundings |
| likes/dislikes | thanks |
| audience | crew | public |
| committee | enemy | team |
| company | government | Manchester United |
| seen as a single unit | seen as individuals |
| The audience was larger than average and the concert was a success. | The audience were all cheering wildly. |
| The government is hoping that online voting will attract more young people to vote. | The government are all very nervous about the report, which will be published tomorrow. |
| Manchester United is the world’s most famous football club. | Manchester United are looking forward to meeting Valencia in the final next week. |
| male form | female form | neutral form |
| actor | actress | actor |
| chairman | chairwoman | chair or chairperson |
| headmaster | headmistress | headteacher or head |
| host | hostess | (social) host(on an aircraft) cabin attendant |
| policeman | policewoman | police officer |
| steward | stewardess | (on an aircraft) cabin attendant |
| waiter | waitress | waiter |
| male | female | neutral |
| bull | cow | cow |
| dog | bitch | dog |
| drake | duck | duck |
| nouns | preposition | examples |
| age, attempt, point | at | 18 is the age at which you are allowed to vote.Fisk is making his third attempt at the world record. |
| need, reason, responsibility | for | What’s the reason for your unhappiness?Nobody seems to have responsibility for the budget. |
| changes, differences, increase | in | Changes in society have meant that young people leave home earlier.There’s been a steady increase in the value of the euro. |
| inquiry, investigation, research | into | The police inquiry into the theft continues.She did some research into the causes of back pain. |
| cause, example, way | of | This is an example of international collaboration.We need to find another way of doing things. |
| approach, reaction, response | to | My reaction to it all was to try to forget it.Her response to the criticism was very strong. |
| address | Go to our website to get the address of your nearest branch.Not: … |
| advertisement | I saw an advertisement for a teaching job in Malawi which looked interesting.Not: … |
| awareness | There is a growing awareness of the impact of climate change among the young.Not: … |
| change | Changes in our diet have meant that more and more people suffer heart disease. (changes that happen)Not: The director of studies must be informed of any changes to the timetable. (changes that people purposely make)Not: … |
| congratulations | Congratulations on your new job!Not: |
| course | I’d like to do a course in computer programming if I could find a good one.Not: … |
| exhibition | We went to see an exhibition of Viking jewellery.Not: … |
| experience | Do you have any previous experience of working with children?(usually followed by the -ing form of a verb)Not: … She has ten years’ experience in television and radio. (usually followed by a noun)Not: … |
| increasedecreasegrowth | There has been an increase of 200,000 in the city’s population in the last ten years.(Of is used before numbers and quantities after increase/decrease/growth; in is used before the thing affected by the change.)Not: … |
| information | Can you give us some information on/about bus tours, please?Not: … |
| interest | He seems to have less interest in everything these days.Not: … |
| invitation | The invitation to the reception at the embassy arrived the next day.Not: |
| knowledge | For this job you need some knowledge of Portuguese.Not: He has an amazing knowledge of European history.Not: … |
| lesson | I need some lessons in how to set up a website.Not: |
| member | Can anyone become a member of your book club?Not: … |
| method | Questionnaires are not necessarily the best method of collecting sociological data.Not: … |
| need | We understand the need for change but we should move slowly.Not: … |
| newcomer | I was a newcomer to windsurfing so I was very nervous.Not: |
| place | I’d love to show you some of the nice places in my hometown.Not: … |
| possibility | The possibility of making contact with other intelligent beings in the universe is very small.Not: |
| problem | The problem of finding a good babysitter is one that many parents have faced.Not: |
| reason | I’ve never understood the reason for all these different forms we have to fill in.Not: … |
| risk | We all know the risks of getting a virus if we don’t protect our computer.Not: … |
| translation | She did a translation into English of some ancient Chinese poems.Not: … |
| visit | The visit to the temple was the high point of the holiday.Not: |
| uncountable noun | uncountable use | with a piece word |
| information | We need information about trains to Moscow. | She told me an interesting piece of information. |
| news | Do you have any news for us? | He told me a bit of news that shocked me. |
| furniture | We’re going to buy new furniture. | Two items of furniture were sold for more than £50,000 at the sale. |
| clothing | The workers all wore protective clothing. | The police found an article of clothing and some money. |
| piece word | common combinations | |
| least formalmost formal | bit of | fun, luck, time, work, paper, information, bread, money, news, gossip |
| piece of | paper, software, information, work, writing, furniture, wood, equipment, music, cloth, land | |
| item of | clothing, equipment, furniture, food, information, interest, business, jewellery, news | |
| article of | furniture, clothing (article is the least common piece word and is rather formal. It combines mostly with these two nouns). |
| group word | common combinations |
| bunch | flowers (and types of flowers such as roses, tulips), grapes, cherries (and other similar fruit), keys |
| crowd | people, onlookers, admirers, protesters, shoppers |
| flock | sheep, birds (and types of birds such as pigeons, geese) |
| gang | workers, kids, youths, teenagers, thieves, criminals |
| group | (can be used with most nouns) |
| herd | sheep, cattle, cows, goats (and similar animals) |
| pack | wolves, dogs, hyenas, cards, lies |
| set | glasses, cups, plates, keys, tools (and other objects which form a group because they share the same features), rules, standards |
| shoal | fish (and types of fish such as herring, cod) |
| swarm | bees, flies, ants (and other insects) |
| team | scientists, researchers, experts, designers, detectives |
| From my point of view, driving is not a good option. I get very tired if I drive more than about two hours. | In my opinion/In my view, in 100 years’ time people will still be wearing jeans. |
| How the speaker is personally affected by something. | A general opinion about the clothes people will be wearing in 100 years’ time. |
| the countryside | some paper | this old sofa |
| my father | five green chairs | each person |
| (a) few, fewer, fewest | every | most | that |
| (a) little | half | much | the |
| (an)other | her | my | their |
| a/an | his | neither | these |
| all | its | no | this |
| any | Jim’s, Anna’s, etc. | one, two, three, etc. | those |
| both | least | our | what |
| each | less | several | which |
| either | many | some | whose |
| enough | more | such | your |
| all | some /səm/ (weak form) |
| any (weak form) | zero determiner (i.e. no determiner) |
| enough |
| countable | uncountable | |
| Singular | A: Where would you like to sit?B: Any seat in the front row will be fine. (I don’t mind which seat/It’s not important which seat)Whose jacket is this? | Any information you can give me about the trains would be very useful.Whose advice do you listen to most, your parents’ or your teachers’? |
| Plural | Some students always turn up late for class. (certain students)There were no children at the hotel. | Some processed meat contains a high level of salt.I have no news for you. |
| (a) few, fewer | each | many | one, two, three, etc. |
| (a) little | either | more | several |
| another | enough | most | some |
| all | everyone | much | those |
| any | half | neither | which |
| both | less |
| before a noun | as a pronoun (no noun following) |
| Would you like some bread with your soup? | I’ve got a bar of chocolate here. Would you like some? |
| We didn’t have enough volunteers to make the project work. | A: Do you need more paper?B: No. I’ve got enough, thanks. |
| Several people complained about the slow service. | It’s not just one school that is in financial difficulty; there are several. |
| (a) few | either | less | neither | these |
| (a) little | enough | many | one, two, three, etc. | this |
| another | fewer | more | several | those |
| any | fewest | most | some | which |
| both | least | much | that | whose |
| each |
| determiner(s) | adjective(s) | noun modifier(s) | head noun |
| her | little | brother | |
| every | university | student | |
| three | big, old | kitchen | tables |
| my two | best | friends |
| quantifier(e.g. all, both, some) | article (a/an, the) | demonstrative (this, that, these, those) | possessive(e.g. my, her, our, Anna’s) | number(e.g. one, three, 26) | head noun |
| all (of) | the | children | |||
| both (of) | my | parents | |||
| his | two | sisters | |||
| many of | these | animals | |||
| the | three | girls | |||
| half | a | mile | |||
| none of | those | six | glasses | ||
| some of | our | friends |
| (a) few | enough | most |
| (a) little | every (every one of) | much |
| all | fewer | neither |
| another | fewest | no (pronoun form none) |
| any | least | one, two, three, etc. |
| both | less | several |
| each | many | some |
| either | more | which |
| without of | with of |
| Some people had gathered in the main square. (a fairly small number of people) | Some of the people in the hall sounded very angry. (a proportion of the particular group of people) |
| The school needs more teachers. (a greater number of teachers) | I wish we had more of this paper. I like the colour. (a greater quantity of this particular paper) |
| Few cities have solved the problems associated with traffic congestion. (not many cities) | Very few of the children seemed to know basic maths. (not many of the particular group of children) |
| Have you been to an ice rink? | Have you ever been to any ice rink? (an doesn’t make the noun ice rink specific) |
| Have you been to the ice rink? | The speaker and listener know the ice rink which is being referred to (e.g. the one in their town/the local one). The makes the noun ice rink specific. |
| Not specific | Specific (‘the one you and I know’) |
| Would you like an apple? | Would you like to try the apple pie? |
| Do you have a cat? | Have you seen the cat? |
| The lion roared. | The tree fell. |
| The lions roared. | The trees fell. |
| Books are so important in my life. | I mean all books in general. |
| The books were all over the floor. | I mean specific books (that you and I know). |
| Life is wonderful. (life in general) | The life of a soldier is full of danger. (specifically the life of soldiers, not life in general)She had a life of hard work. (one specific life) |
| History sometimes repeats itself. (history in general) | He wrote a book on the history of boxing. (specifically the history of boxing)The country has a history of going to war. (one specific history of one country) |
| I love my job.Not: | Does she want this book?Not: |
| without the | with the |
| She didn’t want to be in hospital but she was too ill to go home. (in hospital means being there as a patient) | She didn’t want to be in the hospital … (in the hospital means being in the building) |
| When I was at school, we didn’t have computers. (at school means being there as a student) | When I was at the school … (at the school means being in the building) |
| singular noun + ’s | plural noun + ’ |
| The girl’s bedroom(The bedroom belongs to one girl.) | The girls’ bedroom.(The bedroom belongs to more than one girl.) |
| noun + ’s or ’ | plural noun | pronunciation |
| The cat’s dinner is in the fridge. | The cats were running around the garden. | /s/ |
| The kids’ uncle gave them all some money. | The kids are getting impatient. | /z/ |
| George’s brother was there. | There are three Georges in my family. | /ɪz/ |
| determiners | pronouns |
| What’s in this box?That water tastes strange.I might get myself a pair of those shoes. | Come and look at this.That’s a very good idea.Can I have one of these? |
| dependent word(s) | head | dependent word(s) |
| love | ||
| him | ||
| the | moon | |
| a gold | ring | |
| the red | one | |
| good | food | |
| my own personal | website | |
| that | house | there |
| the longest | river | in the world |
| a | feeling | of isolation |
| the tall, blonde | woman | we met at Joanna’s house |
| particular example | whole class |
| my mother | women |
| the red star in the southern sky | the stars |
| New York | a big city |
| a nice day | my new armchair |
| a very happy life | that big, black umbrella |
| a university education | two 18th-century solid silver cups |
| a fur coat | the post-war economy |
| a recent government report |
| pre-head | head | complement | type |
| a | rise | in inflation | prepositional phrase |
| a | feeling | of fear and loneliness | prepositional phrase |
| the | idea | that schools should control their own finances | clause |
| the | fact | that the planet is getting warmer | clause |
| pre-head | head | postmodifier | type |
| an old | cottage | nearby | adverb phrase |
| a tall | man | with grey hair | prepositional phrase |
| that antique | table | she bought last year | clause |
| the | parcel | on my desk that Philip left for you | prepositional phrase (on my desk) + clause (that Philip left for you) |
| the | woman | in the black dress talking to Marcus | prepositional phrase (in the black dress) + clause (talking to Marcus) |
| pre-head | head | complement | postmodifier |
| the | claim | that he was a car thief | which appeared in several newspapers |
| a | feeling | of hope | that everyone shared |
| complement | postmodifier |
| We all felt a sense of despair. | The tall woman in the red skirt talking to Paula is a colleague of mine. |
| The head sense needs more information to complete its meaning. If we only said We all felt a sense, the meaning would not be complete; we need the complement. | The postmodifiers in the red skirt and talking to Paula help us to identify the woman but they are not necessary. The meaning (The tall woman is a colleague of mine.) would be complete without them. |
| noun phrase subject | verb | person and number | |
| I | hope | you enjoy Prague. | first person singular |
| We | were | awake all night. | first person plural |
| You | need | computer skills. | second person singular or plural |
| Our dog | loves | cats. | third person singular |
| Most students | get | part-time jobs. | third person plural |
| determiner | adjectives | nouns as modifiers | head |
| a | heavy | iron | gate |
| your | dark green, woollen | sweater | |
| my two | favourite | cowboy | films |
| Examples | Type of pronoun |
| I/me, you, we/us, she/her, it, they/them | personal |
| mine, ours, hers | possessive |
| ourselves, myself, himself | reflexive |
| who, whose, which, what | interrogative |
| this, that, these, those | demonstrative |
| -body, -one, -thing, one, you, they | indefinite |
| each other/each other’s, one another/one another’s | reciprocal |
| who, whom, whose, which, that | relative |
| somebody | someone | something | somewhere |
| anybody | anyone | anything | anywhere |
| nobody | no one | nothing | nowhere |
| everybody | everyone | everything | everywhere |
| subject | object | number | gender | person |
| I | me | singular | first | |
| you | you | singular or plural | second | |
| he | him | singular | masculine | third |
| she | her | singular | feminine | third |
| it | it | singular | third | |
| we | us | plural | first | |
| they | them | plural | third | |
| one | one | generic | third |
| personal pronoun | possessive determiner | possessive pronoun |
| I | my | mine |
| you (singular and plural) | your | yours |
| he | his | his |
| she | her | hers |
| it | its | its* |
| we | our | ours |
| they | their | theirs |
| one | one’s | one’s* |
| subject pronoun | reflexive pronoun |
| I | myself |
| you (singular) | yourself |
| he | himself |
| she | herself |
| it | itself |
| one | oneself |
| we | ourselves |
| you (plural) | yourselves |
| they | themselves |
| Agnes looked at herself in the mirror. | The subject and the object are the same. |
| Agnes looked at her in the mirror. | The subject and the object are different. Agnes is looking at someone else in the mirror. |
| As pronouns | With a noun head |
| Whose are these books? | Whose books are these? |
| Which did you buy? | Which sweater did you buy? |
| What is the number on the door? | What number is your house? |
| who | people and sometimes pet animals | defining and non-defining |
| which | animals and things | defining and non-defining; clause referring to a whole sentence |
| that | people, animals and things; informal | defining only |
| whose | possessive meaning;for people and animals usually; sometimes for things in formal situations | defining and non-defining |
| whom | people in formal styles or in writing; often with a preposition; rarely in conversation; used instead of who if who is the object | defining and non-defining |
| no relative pronoun | when the relative pronoun defines the object of the clause | defining only |
| more formal | less formal |
| There was only one person to whom the old man spoke. | There was only one person who the old man spoke to. |
| She smiled as she remembered the quiet scholar with whom she had shared a love of books. | She smiled as she remembered the quiet scholar who she had shared a love of books with. |
| more formal | more informal |
| Thomas Goldney III, in whose house and garden several generations of Bristol students have now lived, was described in the late 18th century as ‘a very curious gentleman’. | Thomas Goldney III, whose house and garden several generations of Bristol students have now lived in, was described in the late 18th century as ‘a very curious gentleman’. |
| more formal | more informal |
| The title of the poem indicates that the poet knows himself to be separated from the community in which he grew up. | I’ve never felt close to the community which I grew up in. |
| where | places | I know a restaurant where the food is excellent.(… a restaurant at which the food is excellent) |
| when | times | There isn’t a day when I don’t feel rushed off my feet.(… a day on which I don’t feel rushed …) |
| why | reasons | Do you know the reason why the shop is closed today?(… the reason for which the shop is closed …) |
| article | possessive | demonstrative | number | ||
| All | the | trees had died. | |||
| All | my | family were at the party. | |||
| All | this | food must be eaten today. | |||
| All | 25 | students took the test. |
| not any | no |
| There aren’t any biscuits left. They’ve eaten them all. | There are no biscuits left. They’ve eaten them all. |
| I’m selling my computer because I haven’t got any space for it.Not: … | I’m selling my computer because I’ve got no space for it. |
| There weren’t any technical problems. The singer had a sore throat so they cancelled the concert.Not: | There were no technical problems. The singer had a sore throat so they cancelled the concert. |
| You can come over for dinner any evening. | It doesn’t matter which one, or you can come every evening. |
| He came over for dinner every evening last week. | All of the evenings. |
| All she wanted was a few moments on her own. | some, a small number |
| She had few moments on her own. | not many/almost none |
| She saves a little money every month. | some, a small amount |
| They had little money to spend. | not much/almost nothing |
| A: Have you got any money?B: Yes, a little. | some, a small amount |
| A: Have you got any money?B: No, very little. | not much/almost nothing |
| Most desserts are sweet. | Desserts in general |
| The food at the party was delicious. He’d made most of the desserts himself. | A specific set of desserts (at the party) |
| What I liked most were the beautiful beaches.Not: | I liked the beautiful beaches more than anything else.Which beaches were the ones that you liked more than any others?We stayed on the beach for the majority of the time. |
| Haven’t they sold many tickets? | (No, they haven’t.)The speaker expects that they have sold a small quantity of tickets. |
| Haven’t they sold a lot of tickets? (or lots of) | (Yes, they have.)The speaker expects that they have sold a large quantity of tickets. |
| Isn’t there much food left? | (No, there isn’t.)The speaker expects that there is a small quantity of food left. |
| Isn’t there a lot of food left? (or lots of) | (Yes, there is.)The speaker expects that there is a large quantity of food left. |
| + | He’s got some homework.Not: | Some is most common in affirmative clauses. |
| – | He hasn’t got any homework.Not: | Any is most common in negative clauses. |
| ? + | Has he got any homework?Has he got some homework? | Any is more common in questions but we can use some when we are expecting the answer to be ‘yes’. |
| ? − | Hasn’t he got any homework?Hasn’t he got some homework? |
| When I see Gary, I’ll tell him that you said hello. | I will definitely see Gary. |
| If I see Gary, I’ll tell him that you said hello. | I may see Gary but I am not certain. |
| act | decide | guard | speak out |
| advise | demonstrate | have something | struggle |
| argue | discriminate | protest | testify |
| be | fight | react | vote |
| campaign | go | rebel |
| accusation | campaign | discrimination | protest |
| action | case | evidence | reaction |
| aggression | charge | fight | rebellion |
| appeal | complaint | law | |
| argument | defence | prejudice | |
| battle | demonstration | protection |
| When you get older, moving house gets harder. | One thing happens first and as a result the second thing is true. |
| As you get older, moving house gets harder.Not: | The two things happen at the same time. |
| We never go away at the New Year because the traffic is awful. | On New Year’s Day, the whole family gets together. |
| I’ll go and see my mother at the weekend if the weather’s okay. | The folk festival is always held on the last weekend in July. |
| I always work best in the morning. I often get tired in the afternoon. | The ship left the harbour on the morning of the ninth of November. |
| In the evening they used to sit outside and watch the sun going down. | It happened on a beautiful summer’s evening. |
| We went by train to Pisa.It’s easier to get there by car.Did you travel by plane? | by + mode of transport |
| I’ll have to go on the 5 am train.Barbara is travelling in Ann’s car.Have you ever travelled in a small plane? | on/in + determiner + mode of transport |
| I live by a football stadium. | The stadium is beside my house. |
| I live near a football stadium. | The stadium is in my neighbourhood. |
| She’s gone for a walk in the garden. | She is in the garden walking. |
| She walked into the garden. | She entered the garden. |
| about | beside | near | to |
| above | between | of | towards |
| across | beyond | off | under |
| after | by | on | underneath |
| against | despite | onto | unlike |
| along | down | opposite | until |
| among | during | out | up |
| around | except | outside | upon |
| as | for | over | via |
| at | from | past | with |
| before | in | round | within |
| behind | inside | since | without |
| below | into | than | |
| beneath | like | through |
| ahead of | except for | instead of | owing to |
| apart from | in addition to | near to | such as |
| as for | in front of | on account of | thanks to |
| as well as | in place of | on top of | up to |
| because of | in spite of | out of | |
| due to | inside of | outside of |
| That map you need is behind the filing cabinet.(basic spatial sense or position) | Everyone is behind the government.(behind = gives support) |
| Beyond the hotel were beautiful mountains.(basic spatial sense or position) | Learning Chinese in a year was beyond them all.(beyond = too difficult for) |
| adjectives | preposition | examples |
| aware, full | of | They weren’t aware of the time. |
| different, separate | from | Is French very different from Spanish? |
| due, similar | to | This picture is similar to the one in our living room. |
| familiar, wrong | with | What’s wrong with Isabelle? |
| good, surprised* | at | We were really surprised at the price of food in restaurants on our holiday. |
| interested | in | Lots of people are interested in Grand Prix racing but I’m not. |
| responsible, good | for | Exercise is good for everyone. |
| worried, excited | about | We’re really excited about our trip to Argentina. |
| anyway | like | right | you know |
| fine | now | so | I mean |
| good | oh | well | as I say |
| great | okay | mind you | for a start |
| firstly | in addition | moreover | on the other hand |
| secondly | in conclusion | on the one hand | to begin with |
| thirdly | in sum |
| and | in general | second | to sum up |
| and then | in the end | \*secondly | what’s more |
| first (of all) | last of all | so | well |
| \*firstly | next | lastly | a … b |
| for a start | on top of that | third(ly) |
| absolutely | fine | okay | wow |
| (all) right | good | quite (more formal) | yeah |
| certainly | great | really | yes |
| definitely | I see | sure | |
| exactly | no | wonderful | |
| that’s great/interesting/amazing/awful, etc. |
| actually | frankly | I think | (I’m) sorry |
| admittedly | hopefully | literally | surprisingly |
| amazingly | honestly | naturally | thankfully |
| basically | ideally | no doubt | to be honest |
| certainly | if you ask me | obviously | to tell you the truth |
| clearly | I’m afraid | of course | understandably |
| confidentially | I must admit | predictably | undoubtedly |
| definitely | I must say | really | unfortunately |
| essentially | in fact | sadly | |
| fortunately | indeed | seriously |
| apparently | kind of | perhaps | roughly |
| arguably | like | presumably | sort of/ kind of* |
| I think | maybe | probably | surely |
| just |
| There’s a new restaurant in town. We should probably try it next weekend. | The statement is hedged or softened so as not to sound too strong or forceful. |
| There’s a new restaurant in town. We should try it next weekend. | The statement is not hedged and it sounds more direct and forceful. |
| She sings very well. | well used as an adverb modifying sings |
| She is a very good singer. | good used as an adjective modifying singer |
| a bit | a little bit, a tiny bit | hardly | slightly |
| a little | barely | (only) just | somewhat |
| + noun phrase | + verb | + tag |
| What a beautiful day! | What a beautiful day it is! | What a beautiful day it is, isn’t it! |
| What bad luck! | What bad luck they had! | What bad luck they had, didn’t they! |
| How sweet! | How lovely! | How amazing! |
| Wow! | No way! |
| Gosh! | That’s amazing! |
| Good morning/afternoon/eveningHelloMorningHiHi there | more formalless formal |
| Good nightGoodbyeBye byeByeSee you laterSee you | more formalless formal |
| on special occasions | Happy New Year!Happy birthday! |
| to wish someone luck before an important event | Good luck! |
| to congratulate someone | Well done!Congratulations! (more formal) |
| Could you say that again, please?Would you say that again, please? | Please could you do that again?Please would you say that again? | Could you please say that again?Can we please change the subject? |
| This is the most common position for please in a request. | Please in front position can make the request sound stronger, like an order. | Please in mid position makes the request stronger. In this position please is often stressed. |
| [child to teacher]Please can I leave early today, Sir? | [employee to boss]Can I leave early today, please?Not: Please can I leave early today? |
| accepting | refusing |
| A: Would you like a biscuit?B: Yes, please. Thanks. | A: Would you like a biscuit?B: No, thanks. |
| softer | more direct |
| It’s kind of cold in here, isn’t it? Could we close the window? | It’s cold in here. Let’s close the window. |
| Could you just turn the radio down a little, please? | Turn down the radio. (The imperative is very direct when used in requests.) |
| Your playing could possibly be improved.[giving someone criticism on their musical performance]You may need to spend more time working a little bit on the rhythm. | You must improve your playing. You need to spend more time working on the rhythm. |
| I’ve lived here for two years and four months. | This might sound too factual or exact. |
| I’ve lived here for almost two and a half years. | This is more approximate and sounds less factual and exact. |
| The stadium must be completed on time. | The stadium must be completed in time for the Olympics. |
| It must be completed according to the schedule. | It must be completed with time to spare before the start of the Olympics. |
| The 24-hour clock | am and pm |
| 09.00 | 9.00 am |
| 11.45 | 11.45 am |
| 13.15 | 1.15 pm |
| 22.50 | 10.50 pm |
| 20 January 1993 | 14 November 2005 |
| 20 January 1993 = 20/1/1993 | 14 November 2005 = 14–11–2005 or 14.11.05 |
| Country/Region | Adjective | Person (noun) | People (plural noun) |
| Algeria | Algerian | an Algerian | the Algerians |
| Australia | Australian | an Australian | the Australians |
| America/the USA | American | an American | the Americans |
| Belgium | Belgian | a Belgian | the Belgians |
| Brazil | Brazilian | a Brazilian | the Brazilians |
| Europe | European | a European | the Europeans |
| Italy | Italian | an Italian | the Italians |
| Hungary | Hungarian | a Hungarian | the Hungarians |
| Morocco | Moroccan | a Moroccan | the Moroccans |
| Norway | Norwegian | a Norwegian | the Norwegians |
| Greece | Greek | a Greek | the Greeks |
| Iraq | Iraqi | an Iraqi | the Iraqis |
| Israel | Israeli | an Israeli | the Israelis |
| Thailand | Thai | a Thai | the Thais |
| China | Chinese | a Chinese | the Chinese |
| Portugal | Portuguese | a Portuguese | the Portuguese |
| Russia | Russian | a Russian | the Russians |
| Slovakia | Slovaks | a Slovak | the Slovaks |
| Switzerland | Swiss | a Swiss | the Swiss |
| Country/region | Adjective | Person (noun) | People (plural noun) |
| Britain | British | a British man/woman | the British |
| England | English | an Englishman/woman | the English |
| France | French | a Frenchman/woman | the French |
| Ireland | Irish | an Irishman/woman | the Irish |
| Spain | Spanish | a Spaniard | the Spanish |
| The Netherlands/ | Dutch | a Dutchman/woman | the Dutch |
| Holland | |||
| Wales | Welsh | a Welshman/woman | the Welsh |
| Denmark | Danish | a Dane | the Danes |
| Finland | Finnish | a Finn | the Finns |
| Poland | Polish | a Pole | the Poles |
| Sweden | Swedish | a Swede | the Swedes |
| Turkey | Turkish | a Turk | the Turks |
| traditional form | neutral alternative |
| fireman (m) | fire-fighter |
| policeman (m) policewoman (f) | police officer |
| headmaster (m) headmistress (f) | headteacher or head |
| waiter (m) waitress (f) | server (American English) |
| traditional form | neutral alternative |
| actor (m) actress (f) | actor |
| manager (m) manageress (f) | manager |
| poet (m) poetess (f) | poet |
| waiter (m) waitress (f) | waiter |
| traditional form | neutral alternatives |
| manpower (noun) | workers, workforce, staff, personnel, human resources |
| man (verb) | staff, be at, attend to |
| manmade (adjective) | artificial, synthetic |
| ellipsis | substitution |
| A: She could sleep in the study on the sofa.B: Yes, she could [sleep in the study on the sofa]. | The Chairman threatened to resign, and he finally did so in 2008. (did so = resigned) |
| A: Will you have another cake?B: I’d better not [have another cake]. I’m supposed to be on a diet. | A: Is Charlie coming too?B: I hope not. There’s only enough food for three. (not = Charlie isn’t coming) |
| Full form | Short form |
| Are you hungry? | You hungry? or Hungry? |
| Is this your pen? | This your pen? |
| A: Want to go for lunch now?B: Yeah, great.A: The Diner?B: That’s perfect. | A and B know each other well and they often go to lunch at The Diner. |
| A: Do you want to go for lunch now?B: Yeah, great.A: Do you want to go to The Diner?B: That’s perfect. | The full forms of the questions are correct but the full form of the second question sounds more formal than the short form. |
| (a) little | each | less | one(s) |
| another | either | many | other(s) |
| all | enough | much | several |
| any | few | neither | some |
| both | half | none |
| main clause | be, do, have, modal | subject pronoun |
| He’s working as a tour guide, | isn’t | he? |
| Your mother was Scottish, | wasn’t | she? |
| She plays the piano, | does | she? |
| The shops don’t open till 9.30, | do | they? |
| They’ve moved, | have | they? |
| You could sell it on the Internet, | couldn’t | you? |
| Don’t be late tonight, | will | you? |
| fairly sure | not so sure | ||
| We’ve met before, | haven↘’t we? | You were at Kim’s party, | weren↗’t you? |
| He’s not very happy, | is ↘he? | They’re not open today, | a↗re they? |
| non-standard dialect | standard English |
| We couldn’t never work with nobody like that. | We couldn’t ever work with anybody like that. |
| He never says nothing interesting to no one. | He never says anything interesting to anyone. |
| She has decided to accept the job. | formal |
| She’s decided to accept the job. | informal: She’s = contraction |
| The girl whom I met in Singapore was interested in working in Australia. | formal |
| The girl I met in Singapore was interested in working in Australia. | informal: relative clause without the relative pronoun whom |
| We went to Barcelona for the weekend. We have a lot of things to tell you. | formal |
| Went to Barcelona for the weekend. Lots to tell you. | Informal: ellipsis (more likely to be written or texted than spoken) |
| formal | informal |
| commence | start |
| terminate | end |
| endeavour | try |
| I’ve lived here for two years and four months. | This might sound too factual or exact. |
| I’ve lived here for almost two and a half years. | This is more approximate and sounds less factual and exact. |
| anybody | everybody | nobody | somebody |
| anyone | everyone | no one | somewhere |
| anywhere | everywhere | nowhere | someone |
| form | meaning |
| however | ‘any way at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter how’ |
| whatever | ‘anything at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter what’ |
| whichever | ‘any one at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter which’ |
| whenever | ‘any time at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter when’ |
| wherever | ‘any place at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter where’ |
| whoever | ‘any person at all’ or ‘it doesn’t matter who’ |
| do not → don’t | They don’t like salt in their food. |
| it is → it’s | It’s a long way to walk. |
| is not → isn’t | Isn’t that such a pretty dress? |
| you have → you’ve | You’ve broken my watch! |
| cannot → can’t | We can’t tell your father. |
| will not → won’t | She won’t eat any vegetables. |
| wh-word + ’s, ’d, etc. | What’s he doing? Who’d like some coffee? |
| commas | no commas |
| My brother, Philip, works at the local museum.(The speaker probably only has one brother.) | My brother Mark is a police officer. My brother Joe is still at university.(The speaker has more than one brother. Mark and Joe specify which brother we are talking about.) |
| aren’t | = | are not (we aren’t, you aren’t) |
| can’t | = | cannot |
| couldn’t | = | could not |
| didn’t | = | did not (I didn’t, they didn’t) |
| hasn’t | = | has not |
| haven’t | = | have not |
| isn’t | = | is not (she isn’t, it isn’t) |
| mustn’t | = | must not |
| shan’t | = | shall not |
| shouldn’t | = | should not |
| wasn’t | = | was not |
| weren’t | = | were not |
| won’t | = | will not |
| wouldn’t | = | would not |
| My sister’s got married. | = | My sister has got married. |
| John’ll be very happy. | = | John will be very happy. |
| Here’s the coffee. | = | Here is the coffee. |
| There’s your watch. | = | There is your watch. |
| Now’s your chance. | = | Now is your chance. |
| Where’s the milk? | = | Where is the milk? |
| What’s happened? | = | What has happened? |
| 20 January 1993 | 14 November 2005 |
| 20 January 1993 = 20/1/1993 | 14 November 2005 = 14–11–2005 or 14.11.05 |
| more personal | more detached and impersonal |
| We suggest that you leave the building after 8 pm. | It is suggested that you leave the building after 8 pm. |
| I should like to note a number of things here. | There are a number of things to note here. |
| more personal | more detached and impersonal |
| She will retire as company director in May next year. | Her retirement as company director will be in May next year. |
| more personal | more detached and impersonal |
| In this book I discuss and analyse the literature of the 1990s. | In this book the literature of the 1990s is discussed and analysed. |
| Arr. (arrival) | etc. (etcetera) |
| Dr. (doctor) | Prof. (professor) |
| dis + obey → disobey | mis + spell → misspell |
| dis + satisfied → dissatisfied | over + hear → overhear |
| in + humane → inhumane | super + human → superhuman |
| in + sane → insane | un + natural → unnatural |
| inter + national → international | un + sure → unsure |
| mis + rule → misrule | under + pass → underpass |
| in becomes il- before l | in becomes im- before m or p | in becomes ir- before r |
| illegibleilliterateillogical | immoralimmatureimpossible | irrelevantirresponsibleirreplaceable |
| noun plurals | verb -s forms |
| bus → buses | cross → crosses |
| church → churches | fetch → fetches |
| kiss → kisses | guess → guesses |
| noun plurals | verb -s forms |
| baby → babies | marry → marries |
| opportunity → opportunities | reply → replies |
| noun plurals | noun plurals/verb -s forms |
| tomato → tomatoes | echo → echoes |
| cargo → cargoes | embargo → embargoes |
| hero → heroes | go → goes (go [n] = attempt) |
| hop + -ed → hopped | slim + -ing → slimming |
| red + -ish → reddish | thin + -er → thinner |
| rub + -ed → rubbed | travel+ -er → traveller |
| sit + -ing → sitting | wet + -er → wetter |
| admit + -ing → admitting | prefer + -ed → preferred |
| forget + -ing → forgetting | transmit + -ed → transmitted |
| occur + -ence → occurrence | upset + -ing → upsetting |
| visit → visiting | enter → entered |
| Not: | Not: |
| approve + -al → approval | hope + -ing → hoping |
| fame + -ous → famous | invite + -ation → invitation |
| hate + -ed → hated | note + -able → notable |
| argue → argument | true → truly |
| due → duly | whole → wholly |
| amplify + -er → amplifier | happy + -ly → happily |
| busy + -ness → business | hurry + -s → hurries |
| day + -ly → daily | purify + -cation → purification |
| easy + -ly → easily | reply + -ed → replied |
| fury + -ous → furious | spy + -s → spies |
| ie | ei after c |
| achieve | ceiling |
| belief | conceit |
| diesel | deceive |
| niece | receipt |
| relieve | perceive |
| long vowel | short vowel |
| hate, fate | hat, fat |
| theme, impede | them, fed |
| dine, bite | din, bit |
| come | have | none | there |
| done | live (as a verb) | one | were |
| give | love | some | where |
| gone |
| British English | American English |
| analyse | analyze |
| aeroplane | airplane |
| centre | center |
| cheque (bank) | check |
| colour | color |
| criticise | criticize |
| defence | defense |
| labour | labor |
| neighbour | neighbor |
| programme | program |
| theatre | theater |
| actions | events | states |
| go | die | be |
| sing | happen | have |
| take | rain | know |
| sing /sɪŋ/ |
| verb (sang, sung) MAKE MUSIC 1. [I or T] to make musical sounds with the voice, usually a tune with words: |
| The children sang two songs by Schubert at the school concert. |
| [source: Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary] |
| base form | past simple | -ed form |
| open | opened | opened |
| love | loved | loved |
| watch | watched | watched |
| swim | swam | swum |
| go | went | gone |
| make | made | made |
| put | put | put |
| base form | -ing form | past simple | -ed form |
| look | looking | looked | looked |
| listen | listening | listened | listened |
| play | playing | played | played |
| work | working | worked | worked |
| base form | -ing form | past simple | -ed form |
| move | moving | moved | moved |
| face | facing | faced | faced |
| base form | -ing form | past simple | -ed form |
| study | studying | studied | studied |
| hurry | hurrying | hurried | hurried |
| base form | -ing form | past simple | -ed form |
| commit | committing | committed | committed |
| develop | developing | developed | developed |
| prefer | preferring | preferred | preferred |
| visit | visiting | visited | visited |
| base form | -ing form | past simple | -ed form |
| travel | travelling | travelled | travelled |
| control | controlling | controlled | controlled |
| watch | watches | She watches the news every night at ten o’clock. |
| pass | passes | Luckily, the bus passes by my house. |
| wish | wishes | She wishes that she had gone to university. |
| fix | fixes | My friend, who’s a mechanic, fixes our car for us. |
| base form | present simple | past simple | -ed form | ||
| be | Ishe, he, ityou, we, they | amisare | I, she, he, ityou, we, they | waswere | been |
| suffix | examples |
| -ate | appreciate, celebrate, congratulate |
| -en | frighten, soften, widen |
| -ify | identify, specify, qualify |
| -ise/-ize* | realise, recognise, modernize |
| prefix | examples |
| ad- | adapt, admit, advance |
| de- | deceive, deform, describe |
| im-/in- | impose, increase, inform |
| per- | perform, persuade, perceive |
| re- | recall, receive, reproduce |
| appear | feel | look | seem | sound |
| be | get | remain | smell | taste |
| become |
| as a main verb | as an auxiliary verb | |
| be | She’s a professional photographer. | He’s thinking of moving to New Zealand. |
| do | I need to do some work this evening. | Do you like Thai food, Jim? |
| have | The children have lunch at twelve o’clock. | We haven’t been to the cinema for ages. |
| can | may | must | should | would |
| could | might | shall | will |
| state (usually simple form) | action (simple or continuous) |
| I come from France.(This is where my home is.) | She is coming from France on Wednesday.He came from Italy yesterday. (travel from) |
| She is very friendly.(permanent quality or state) | She is being very unfriendly. (temporary behaviour) |
| We have two dogs. (own) | We’re having a meeting to discuss it. (hold a meeting)We had mussels for starter and prawns for main course. (eat) |
| Do you see what I mean?(understand) | Jane is seeing her boss today and she’s going to tell him she’s leaving.I don’t see Rebecca at work any more since I moved office. (meet) |
| Your dress looks nice.(appear) | What are you looking at?I never look at the price on the menu. (see with your eyes) |
| I like reading. | Like used as a state verb describing a permanent fact about me. |
| I’m not liking this book. | Like used as an action verb referring to the book I am reading but not enjoying at the moment. |
| She loves classical music. | Love used as a state verb to refer to a permanent fact about her. |
| She’s loving the CD you gave her. | Love used as an action verb referring to the CD which she is listening to and liking very much at the moment. |
| phrasal verb | more formal single word |
| We need to sort the problem out. | We need to solve/resolve the problem. |
| The team only had an hour to put the stage up before the concert. | The team only had an hour to erect/construct the stage before the concert. |
| (p = particle; o = object [underlined]) | |
| particle before the object | particle after the object |
| She brought [P] up [O] three kids all alone. | I brought [O] my children [P] up to be polite. |
| Do you want me to take [P] off [O] my shoes? | Come in. Take [O] your coat [P] off. |
| break down | get back | move in/out |
| carry on | go off | run away |
| drop off | hang on | set off |
| eat out | join in | wake up |
| break into (a house) | get over (an illness) | listen to |
| cope with (a difficult situation) | get on | look after (a child) |
| deal with (a problem) | get off | look at |
| depend on | go into | look for |
| do without | lead to | look forward to |
| associate … with | remind … of |
| protect … from | rob … of |
| provide … with | thank … for |
| Do you always look up every new word in a dictionary?Do you always look every new word up in a dictionary? | Phrasal verb: the object can come before or after the particle up. |
| Could you look after my bag while I go and buy the tickets? | Prepositional verb: the object is after the preposition.Not: Could you look my bag after … |
| catch up with | get on with | look out for |
| come up against | listen out for | look up to |
| do away with | look down on | put up with |
| face up to | look forward to | watch out for |
| get away with | look in on |
| fix … up with | put … down to | put … up to |
| let … in on | take … out on |
| meaning | auxiliary verb (+ form of main verb) | example |
| continuous | be + -ing form | I was thinking about you all day. |
| perfect | have + -ed form | The girls have all gone out together. |
| passive | be + -ed form | Val’s car was stolen from outside her house. |
| interrogative | do + subject + base form | Do they sell newspapers in your local shop? |
| negative | do + not + base form | It didn’t last very long. |
| emphatic | do (stressed) + base form | It does annoy me when they make so much noise. |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| subject | modal verb | perfect have | continuous be | passive be | main verb |
| must be followed by base form | must be followed by -ed form | must be followed by -ing form | must be followed by -ed form | ||
| Prices | rose. | ||||
| She | will | understand. | |||
| The builders | had | arrived. | |||
| The show | is | starting. | |||
| Four people | were | arrested. | |||
| Seats | cannot | be | reserved. | ||
| The printer | should | be | working. | ||
| He | must | have | forgotten. | ||
| Temperatures | have | been | rising. | ||
| William | has | been | promoted. | ||
| You | could | have | been | killed! |
| time | person | number | |
| He has lost his keys. | present | third | singular |
| We were taken to a big room. | past | first | plural |
| I was hoping to see Professor Jones. | past | first | singular |
| I could meet you next week. | – | – | – |
| base form | past simple | -ed |
| beat | beat | beaten |
| become | became | become |
| begin | began | begun |
| bend | bent | bent |
| bet | bet | bet |
| bite | bit | bitten |
| bleed | bled | bled |
| blow | blew | blown |
| break | broke | broken |
| breed | bred | bred |
| bring | brought | brought |
| build | built | built |
| burn | burnt/burned | burnt/burned |
| buy | bought | bought |
| catch | caught | caught |
| choose | chose | chosen |
| come | came | come |
| cost | cost | cost |
| cut | cut | cut |
| do | did | done |
| dig | dug | dug |
| draw | drew | drawn |
| dream | dreamt/dreamed | dreamt/dreamed |
| drink | drank | drunk |
| drive | drove | driven |
| eat | ate | eaten |
| fall | fell | fallen |
| feed | fed | fed |
| feel | felt | felt |
| fight | fought | fought |
| find | found | found |
| fly | flew | flown |
| forget | forgot | forgotten |
| forgive | forgave | forgiven |
| freeze | froze | frozen |
| get | got | got |
| give | gave | given |
| go | went | gone |
| grow | grew | grown |
| have | had | had |
| hear | heard | heard |
| hide | hid | hidden |
| hit | hit | hit |
| hold | held | held |
| hurt | hurt | hurt |
| keep | kept | kept |
| know | knew | known |
| lay | laid | laid |
| lead | led | led |
| lean | leant/leaned | leant/leaned |
| leave | left | left |
| lend | lent | lent |
| let | let | let |
| lose | lost | lost |
| make | made | made |
| mean | meant | meant |
| meet | met | met |
| pay | paid | paid |
| put | put | put |
| quit | quit | quit |
| read /ri:d/ | read /red/ | read /red/ |
| ride | rode | ridden |
| ring | rang | rung |
| rise | rose | risen |
| run | ran | run |
| say | said | said |
| see | saw | seen |
| sell | sold | sold |
| send | sent | sent |
| set | set | set |
| shake | shook | shaken |
| shine | shone | shone |
| shoe | shod | shod |
| shoot | shot | shot |
| show | showed | shown |
| shrink | shrank | shrunk |
| shut | shut | shut |
| sing | sang | sung |
| sink | sank | sunk |
| sit | sat | sat |
| sleep | slept | slept |
| speak | spoke | spoken |
| spend | spent | spent |
| spill | spilt/spilled | spilt/spilled |
| spread | spread | spread |
| speed | sped | sped |
| stand | stood | stood |
| steal | stole | stolen |
| stick | stuck | stuck |
| sting | stung | stung |
| stink | stank | stunk |
| swear | swore | sworn |
| sweep | swept | swept |
| swim | swam | swum |
| swing | swung | swung |
| take | took | taken |
| teach | taught | taught |
| tear | tore | torn |
| tell | told | told |
| think | thought | thought |
| throw | threw | thrown |
| understand | understood | understood |
| wake | woke | woken |
| wear | wore | worn |
| win | won | won |
| write | wrote | written |
| meaning | example |
| negative | I didn’t see you at the concert the other night. |
| question form | Do they open at nine o’clock on weekdays? |
| emphatic | He does look smart in his new suit! |
| neutral | emphatic |
| I like your new jacket. | I do like your new jacket! |
| She looks so tired. | She does look so tired! |
| I didn’t recognise your dad, but I recognised your mum. | I didn’t recognise your dad, but I did recognise your mum. |
| I like making jam.He likes telling jokes.They don’t like sitting for too long. | emphasis on the experience/action |
| We have a lot of fruit in the garden. I like to make jam every year.I prefer to sort out a problem as soon as I can.If you prefer not to go camping there are youth hostels nearby. | a habit or preference |
| have a baby | have a think |
| have a try | have a problem |
| have a go | have a feeling/sense |
| have an operation | have a clue/idea |
| have a long wait | have a laugh (informal, a good time) |
| have a shock | have a surprise |
| Present perfect | Past perfect |
| have + -ed form | had + -ed form |
| They have moved house. | We had paid in advance. |
| He’s studied a lot. (full form: has) | I’d known her for years. (full form: had) |
| Present perfect | Past perfect |
| Have you seen Maria? | Had they been waiting for long? |
| Not: | Not: |
| I haven’t eaten yet. | We hadn’t brought a map. |
| Not: | Not: |
| A: What is Martina’s new boyfriend like?B: He’s really nice. | What is his personality like? Is he nice? |
| A: What does Martina’s new boyfriend look like?B: He’s tall, with blond hair. | What is his appearance like? Is he handsome? |
| make a claim | make a mess | make a speech |
| make a complaint | make a mistake | make a start |
| make a concession | make a note | make a statement |
| make a date | make a phone call | make a wish |
| make a difference | make a point | make an appointment |
| make a fuss | make a profit/loss | make an effort |
| make a list | make a sound |
| Semi-modal need | Main verb need | Comment |
| Need it be so dark in here? (formal) | Does it need to be so dark in here? | In these examples, the meaning is the same for semi-modal need and main verb need + to. |
| You needn’t mention this to your father. | You don’t need to mention this to your father. |
| take a booking/reservation | take a holiday | take a risk |
| take a break | take a job | take a test |
| take a bus | take a look | take a train |
| take a chance | take a photograph | take a trip |
| take an exam | take a plane | take a walk |
| take after | take on |
| take apart | take out … on |
| take away | take over |
| take from | take up |
| take in | take to |
| take off |
| if | wish |
| It would be good if we had a bigger car. | I wish we had a bigger car. |
| It would be good if I knew how to use this DVD player. | I wish I knew how to use this DVD player. |
| active infinitive | passive infinitive |
| The police are determined to catch the murderer. | The police are confident that the murderer will be caught soon. |
| Come on, there’s work to do! | There was no more work to be done, so we left. |
| Let me help you. | She doesn’t want to be helped. |
| I didn’t want to drive home, so I got a taxi. | I’d always prefer to be driven by a local person when I’m in a foreign country. |
| agree | demand | long | pretend |
| aim | fail | love | promise |
| arrange | forget | manage | propose |
| ask | hate | mean | refuse |
| begin | help | need | remember |
| choose | hope | offer | try |
| claim | intend | plan | want |
| continue | learn | prefer | wish |
| decide | like | prepare |
| modal form | example |
| noun | There is a possibility of snow this evening. |
| adjective | It’s clear that the Prime Minister is worried about education. |
| adverb | I’m certainly not fed up with it. |
| modal verb | uncontracted negative | contracted negative |
| can | cannot (usually written as one word not two) | can’t /kɑnt/ |
| could | could not | couldn’t /ˈkʊdənt/ |
| may | may not | |
| might | might not | mightn’t /ˈmaɪtənt/ |
| will | will not | *won’t /wəʊnt/ or ’ll not |
| shall | shall not | *shan’t /ʃɑnt/ or ’ll not |
| would | would not | *wouldn’t /ˈwʊdənt/ or ’d not |
| should | should not | shouldn’t /ˈʃʊdənt/ |
| must | must not | mustn’t /ˈmʌsənt/ |
| You don’t need to dress smartly. | You needn’t dress smartly. |
| We don’t dare (to) tell him. | We daren’t tell him. |
| He’s her brother. She told me. | I know this fact for certain. I am not expressing an opinion about it. I am stating it as a fact. |
| He must be her brother. They look so much alike. | I am expressing an opinion about a fact because of the evidence that I have. |
| Jan always goes with us. | I’m not expressing an attitude or opinion about this action. |
| OK. Jan can go if she’s finished. | I’m controlling a possible action. I’m giving Jan permission. |
| meaning | which verb? | example |
| really certain | will | My birthday will be on a Monday this year. |
| won’t | I won’t have a party. | |
| shall | I shall have plenty to tell you when I see you. | |
| shan’t | I shan’t ask you to come again. | |
| must | The cakes must be ready soon. They’ve been in the oven for an hour. | |
| can’t | You can’t be hungry. You had a huge lunch. | |
| very likely | should | The traffic isn’t heavy. We should be there in an hour. |
| ought to | The traffic isn’t heavy. We ought to be there in an hour. | |
| possible | may | She may be a friend of Richard’s. |
| might | She might be a friend of Richard’s. | |
| could | She could be a friend of Richard’s. | |
| strong obligation | must | You must arrive at 6 to pick up the tickets. |
| have to | I have to go up to the hospital twice a week. | |
| need to | We need to win this game to get into the final. | |
| weak obligation | should | Children should look after their parents in old age. |
| ought to | Children ought to look after their parents in old age. | |
| no obligation | needn’t | I needn’t do it now. I’ll do it later. |
| don’t need to | I don’t need to do it now. I’ll do it later. | |
| don’t have to | I don’t have to do it now. I’ll do it later. | |
| permission | can | Can we go out now?You can go now if you’ve finished. |
| may | You may go now if you’ve finished.May I borrow a chair? | |
| could | Could we borrow the car? | |
| might | Might we have a little more time to finish the exam? (very formal) | |
| no permission | can’t | You can’t go in without a ticket. |
| may not | You may not enter while the exam is in progress. (formal) | |
| must not | You must not leave your bike in front of the fire exit. | |
| offer | will | I’ll get it. You stay there. |
| shall | Shall I go and make dinner? | |
| request | will | Will you close that door? |
| would | Would you close that door? | |
| could | Could you help me with this? | |
| promise | will | I’ll come back before 6. |
| decision | will | I think I’ll eat later. I’m not hungry now. |
| advice and suggestion | should | You should apply for that job. |
| ability | can | Can you swim underwater? |
| could | I could play much better ten years ago. | |
| general truth | can | Too much exercise can be bad for you. |
| may | A list of verbs may be found at the back of the book. |
| be to | be certain to | be meant to |
| be able to | be due to | be obliged to |
| be about to | be forced to | be set to |
| be allowed to | be going to | be supposed to |
| be bound to | be likely to/that | be sure to |
| appear | feel | know | reckon | suppose |
| believe | gather | look | seem | tend |
| expect | guess | promise | sound | think |
| allow | force | make | permit | require |
| demand | involve | mean | prohibit | want |
| forbid | let | oblige |
| Can you just have a quick look at the pasta? | Could you just have a quick look at the pasta? | Could is a little less direct. |
| Will you find me another pen? | Would you find me another pen? | Would is more polite. |
| You may want to change the formatting. | You might want to change the formatting. | Might is a little more formal and distant. |
| what was said | reported |
| I’ll answer the phone. | She said she would answer the phone. |
| If we’ve lost the customer’s order, we can’t blame that on anybody else, can we? | He said that if they’d lost the customer’s order they couldn’t blame that on anybody else, could they? |
| How much food shall I take? | She wondered how much food she should take. |
| The animals may be there but it may not be easy to see them because they are too small. | They said that the animals might be there but it might not be easy to see them because they were too small. |
| continuous | They may be coming sooner than we expected.He could be staying with friends in London. |
| past and continuous | She might have been waiting for us.I must have been chatting to him for 20 minutes. |
| Exercise can help reduce stress. | I believe this is a general truth or fact. |
| Exercise could help reduce stress. | I see this only as a possibility. |
| Finding a hotel in August can be difficult. | I believe this is a general truth or fact based on my experience or knowledge. |
| Finding a hotel in August could be difficult. | I see this only as a possibility. |
| It’s blue.I’m certain that it is blue. It’s a fact. | It could be blue. (present)I’m not certain that it is blue. |
| The storm will get worse.I’m certain that the storm will get worse. | The storm could get worse. (future)I’m not certain that the storm will get worse. |
| The restaurant may close. | It is likely that the restaurant will close. |
| The restaurant could close. | It is less likely that the restaurant will close. |
| The restaurant might close. | There is only a possibility that the restaurant will close but no one is very sure. |
| I’d better get a taxi. The buses are so slow. | It is a good idea, better, or advisable to get a taxi. |
| I’d rather get a taxi. I don’t like buses. | I prefer to get a taxi. |
| asking for permission | giving permission | refusing permission |
| May I leave the room? | Yes, you may. | No, you may not. |
| May we use your phone? | Yes, you may. | No, you may not. |
| A typical farmer’s cottage can be seen in the Ulster Folk Museum. | Both sentences express what the speaker believes to be a general truth about where the cottage is located. The speaker knows that there is a cottage in the museum and a visitor is able to see them there if they want to. May is more formal. |
| A typical farmer’s cottage may be seen in the Ulster Folk Museum. |
| I must buy some new clothes. Mine look so old. | The obligation is from me to buy new clothes. |
| I’ve got to buy some new clothes. I’m starting a new job as a teacher and we have to wear formal clothes. | The obligation is from the school to buy new clothes. |
| You must not give my credit card details to anyone.You mustn’t tell this to anyone. It’s a secret. | We use mustn’t to talk about something which is forbidden. |
| You don’t have to tell anyone. I will email everyone.We haven’t got to wear a uniform to work. | We use don’t have to/haven’t got to when something is not necessary. It is not forbidden. |
| Semi-modal need | Main verb need | Comment |
| Need it be so dark in here? (formal) | Does it need to be so dark in here? | In these examples, the meaning is the same for semi-modal need and main verb need + to. |
| You needn’t mention this to your father. | You don’t need to mention this to your father. |
| offer | Shall I carry your bag? |
| suggestion | Shall I call again on Thursday? |
| seeking advice | What shall we do with this? |
| formal | less formal |
| We shall remember this day forever. | We will remember this day forever. |
| formal | neutral |
| I/We should love to meet her again if I/we had a chance. | I/We would love to meet her again if I/we had a chance. |
| formal | neutral |
| I should think that a lot of people will be interested. | I would think that a lot of people will be interested. |
| I’ll see you later. I won’t be late. | Informal |
| I shall see you later. I shan’t be late. | Formal |
| Will you make dinner? | direct |
| Would you make dinner? | less direct |
| statement with will | reported |
| ‘I’ll pay for the food,’ said Tom. | Tom said that he would pay for the food. |
| Weather forecast:There will be clear skies in the morning but it will be cloudy for the afternoon. | The weather forecast said that there would be clear skies in the morning but that it would be cloudy for the afternoon. |
| advise | I’d advise you to keep working on your grammar. |
| imagine | I’d imagine it can’t be easy for you. |
| recommend | I’d recommend that you try this size. (formal) |
| say | I’d say you are about 40. |
| suggest | We’d suggest that you take this route. It’s more scenic. (formal) |
| think | It’s much further than Dublin, I would think. |
| Will you give me a wake-up call at 7 am, please? | Would you mind giving me a wake-up call at 7 am, please? |
| Will you excuse me just one second? | Would you excuse me just one second? |
| Using would makes the request more formal and polite. |
| tense | be form | + -ed form | examples | |
| present simple | amareis | + -ed form | Am I invited too?One or two new types of insect are found in Britain each year.It’s not made in China. | |
| present continuous | amareis | being | + -ed form | Am I being recorded?We’re already being served, thanks.That computer isn’t being used any more. |
| past simple | waswere | + -ed form | The story was reported in yesterday’s paper.We didn’t know what was in the boxes. They weren’t labelled. | |
| past continuous | waswere | being | + -ed form | Was he being examined?They were being watched carefully. |
| present perfect simple | havehas | been | + -ed form | Haven’t they been asked to the wedding?He’s been hurt. |
| past perfect simple | had | been | + -ed form | An important discovery had been made.Had he been injured in the war? |
| modal simple | canwillmight | be | + -ed form | Reservations can be accepted up to 24 hours before arrival.I don’t think I’ll ever be paid.Might we not be allowed to go in? |
| modal continuous | couldmaymust | be being | + -ed form | She couldn’t still be being interviewed.The photocopier may be being repaired.It must be being done now. |
| modal perfect simple | couldmust | have been | + -ed form | Do you think we could have been heard?The document must have been written when they sold the house. |
| The house has been being renovated for almost a year. | not common, we usually avoid this form |
| They have been renovating the house for almost a year. | preferred form |
| I had my hair cut. | Someone cut my hair. |
| I’ve cut my hair.I’d cut my hair. | I cut my own hair. |
| singular and plural | |||
| + | I, weshe, he, it, you, they | (full form)will or shallwill | work |
| I, she, he, it, you, we, they | (short form)’ll | ||
| − | I, weshe, he, it, you, they | (full form)will not or shall notwill not | work |
| I, weshe, he, it, you, they | (short form)won’t or shan’twon’t | ||
| ? +Will or ShallWill | I, weshe, he, it, you, they | work? | |
| ? −Won’t or Shan’tWon’t | I, weshe, he, it, you, they |
| singular and plural | |||
| + | I, she, he, it, you, we, they | will’ll | be working |
| − | I, she, he, it, we, you, theyI, she, he, it, you, we, they | (full form) will not(short form) won’t | be working |
| ? + Will? − Won’t | I, she, he, it, you, we, they | be working? |
| singular and plural | |||
| + | I, weshe, he, it, you, they | (full form)will or shallwill | have worked |
| I, she, he, it, you, we, they | (short form)’ll | ||
| − | I, weshe, he, it, you, they | (full form)will not or shall notwill not | have worked |
| I, weshe, he, it, you, they | (short form)won’t or shan’twon’t | ||
| ? + Will? − Won’t | I, she, he, it, you, we, they | have worked? |
| singular and plural | |||
| + | I, weshe, he, it, you, they | (full form)will or shallwill | have been working |
| I, she, he, it, you, we, they | (short form)’ll | ||
| − | I, weshe, he, it, you, they | (full form)will not or shall notwill not | have been working |
| I, weshe, he, it, you, they | (short form)won’t or shan’twon’t | ||
| ? + Will? − Won’t | I, she, he, it, you, we, they | have been working? |
| A: You’re not staying out in this rain, are you?B: Well I am going to, yes. | B definitely intends to stay out in the rain. |
| A: You’re not staying out in this rain, are you?B: Well I was going to, yes. | B intended to stay out but may have changed his mind. |
| + | I, she, he, it, you, we, they | worked. | |
| − | I, she, he, it, you, we, they | (full form)did not | work. |
| I, she, he, it, you, we, they | (short form)didn’t | ||
| ? + | Did I, she, he, it, you, we, they | work? | |
| ? – | (full form)Did I, she, he, it, you, we, they not | work? | |
| (short form)Didn’t I, she, he, it, you, we, they |
| /d/ | /t/ | /ɪd/ |
| after all vowel sounds and after voiced consonants (except /d/)/m/ /n/ /ŋ/ /l/ /g/ /dʒ/ /z/ /b/ /v/ | after all voiceless consonants (except /t/)/k/ /p/ /f/ /s/ /ʃ/ /tʃ/ | after /d/ and /t/ |
| cried, tried, hurried, weighed, smiled, planned, judged, sneezed, lived | picked, hopped, laughed, crossed, pushed, watched | decided, ended, landed, started, visited, waited |
| irregular verb | example in the past simple |
| be | She was afraid. |
| begin | The meal began with soup. |
| come | Everyone came to my house for the weekend. |
| do | Look what I did! |
| eat | The birds ate all of the bread. |
| fly | We flew from New York to Mexico City. |
| have | She had such a good time. |
| know | We knew each other well in college. |
| read | I read that book last year. (/red/) |
| sing | Her sister sang a beautiful song at the party. |
| tell | He told me a funny story. |
| wake | When she woke up, it was already 1 pm! |
| write | I wrote him an email to explain why I couldn’t meet him. |
| Events that happened once | He fell off his bike and his friends took him to a doctor.She ran out and she phoned my brother. |
| Events that happened more than once | They travelled to Italy every summer and always stayed in small villages on the coast.As children, we played all kinds of games on the street. |
| States | She looked a bit upset.Did you feel afraid? |
| Do you know Grace? She was in my class at primary school. | Do you know Grace? She was in my class at primary school in the 70s. |
| Past simple without a definite time reference: both speakers know when this time was and do not need to say it. They know each other well. | Past simple with a definite time reference: the speaker is not sure if the listener knows when she was at primary school. |
| [event 1] I turned off the light and [event 2] got into bed. | The first event in the past simple happened first. The second event in the past simple happened second, and so on. |
| [event 1] I got into bed and [event 2] turned off the light. |
| + | I, she, he, ityou, we, they | waswere | working. | |
| – | I, she, he, ityou, we, they | (full form)was notwere not | working. | |
| I, she, he, ityou, we, they | (short form)wasn’tweren’t | |||
| ? + | WasWere | I, she, he, ityou, we, they | working? | |
| ? – | (full form)WasWere | I, she, he, ityou, we, they | not | working? |
| (short form)Wasn’tWeren’t | I, she, he, ityou, we, they |
| + | I, she, he, it, you, we, they | (full form)had | worked. |
| I, she, he, it, you, we, they | (short form)’d | ||
| − | I, she, he, it, you, we, they | (full form)had not | worked. |
| I, she, he, it, you, we, they | (short form)hadn’t | ||
| ? + | Had I, she, he, it, you, we, they | worked? | |
| ? − | (full form)Had I, she, he, it, you, we, they | not | worked? |
| (short form)Hadn’t I, she, he, it, you, we, they |
| I’d been to five countries in Europe by 2001. | Past perfect: ‘time up to then’ (2001). |
| I’ve been to five countries in Europe. | Present perfect: ‘time up to now’. |
| + | I, she, he, it, you, we, they | (full form)had | been working. |
| I, she, he, it, you, we, they | (short form)’d | ||
| − | I, she, he, it, you, we, they | (full form)had not | been working. |
| I, she, he, it, you, we, they | (short form)hadn’t | ||
| ? + | Had I, she, he, it, you, we, they | been working? | |
| ? − | (full form)Had I, she, he, it, you, we, they | not | been working? |
| (short form)Hadn’t I, she, he, it, you, we, they |
| Doctors were treating patients in temporary beds and they were trying to do their best in a difficult situation. | Past continuous: writer chooses to show the events as ongoing at that time in the past. |
| Doctors treated patients in temporary beds and they tried to do their best in a difficult situation. | Past simple: writer chooses to show the events as finished. |
| At 4 pm last Tuesday, I was working in the office. | The past continuous emphasises the action or event in progress around a time in the past. The event (working) was in progress at 4 pm.The event was not completed at that time. |
| At 4 pm last Monday, I finished work early and went home. | The past simple emphasises the event that happened at a definite time in the past.The focus is not on events in progress but rather on the whole events (finished work, went home).The events were completed at that time. |
| I haven’t seen her for over 20 years. | The last time I saw her was over 20 years ago. |
| I didn’t see her for over 20 years and then I bumped into her last week. | I saw her last week but the last time I saw her before last week was over 20 years ago. |
| I finished my homework an hour ago. | Definite time in the past.I finished my homework at a time in the past (one hour ago). |
| I haven’t finished my homework yet. | From a time in the past up to now.I started my homework at a time in the past and it is not finished yet (yet means ‘up to now’). |
| We had a good day yesterday. | Definite time in the past. We had a good day in the past (yesterday). |
| We have had a good day so far. | From a time in the past up to now.The day has been good until now but it hasn’t finished yet. |
| We didn’t see Diana last week. | Definite time in the past (last week). |
| We haven’t seen Diana this week. | From the beginning of the week until now. |
| I didn’t have any lunch today. | Today is not finished but it is almost the end of the day and past lunchtime. |
| I haven’t had any lunch today. | It is still today and not too late to have lunch. |
| The music started when the curtains opened. | Past simple + past simple: the music started at the same time as the curtains opened. |
| The music had (already) started when the curtains opened. | Past perfect simple + past simple: the music started and then the curtains opened. |
| When she came through the door, everyone shouted, ‘Surprise! Happy Birthday!’. | Past simple + past simple: this sentence shows that as she came through the door, everyone immediately shouted ‘Surprise!’. |
| When she had read all the greetings cards, she made a short thank-you speech. | Past perfect simple + past simple: this sentence emphasises that she had finished reading the cards before she made her speech. |
| The builders had put up the scaffolding around the house. | Past perfect simple emphasises the completion of the action (the scaffolding is up). |
| The builders had been putting up the scaffolding when the roof fell in. | Past perfect continuous emphasises a continuing or ongoing action. |
| I’d waited an hour for the bus. | Past perfect simple emphasises the completion of the activity (the waiting is over). |
| I’d been waiting an hour for the bus. | Past perfect continuous focuses on the duration of the activity. |
| She’d always lived with her parents. | We don’t know how long. |
| She’d been living with her parents. | Suggests a temporary situation. |
| + | I, you, we, theyshe, he, it | work.works. | ||
| − | I, you, we, theyshe, he, it | (full form)do notdoes not | work. | |
| I, you, we, theyshe, he, it | (short form)don’tdoesn’t | |||
| ? + | DoDoes | I, you, we, theyshe, he, it | work? | |
| ? − | (full form)DoDoes | I, you, we, theyshe, he, it | not | work? |
| (short form)Don’tDoesn’t | I, you, we, theyshe, he, it |
| come → comes | order → orders | travel → travels |
| eat → eats | record → records | walk → walks |
| move → moves |
| verb | she, he, it | |
| When the verb ends in -ch, -ss, -sh, -x or -zz, we add -es. | watch | watches |
| miss | misses | |
| wash | washes | |
| mix | mixes | |
| buzz | buzzes | |
| When the verb ends in a consonant + -y we change y to i and add -es. | hurry | hurries |
| study | studies | |
| reply | replies | |
| But when the verb ends in a vowel + -y we just add -s. | pay | pays |
| enjoy | enjoys | |
| Have, go, do and be are irregular. | have | has |
| go | goes | |
| do | does | |
| be | is |
| + | I,you, we, theyshe, he, it | (full form)amare,is | working. | |
| I,you, we, theyshe, he, it | (short form)’m’re’s | |||
| − | I,you, we, theyshe, he, it | (full form)am notare notis not | working. | |
| I,you, we, theyshe, he, it | (short form)’m not’re not or aren’’s not or isn’t | |||
| ? + | AmAre,Is | Iyou, we, theyshe, he, it | working? | |
| ? − | (full form)AmAreIs | Iyou, we, theyshe, he, it | not | working? |
| (short form)Aren’tIsn’t | I, you, we, theyshe, he, it |
| be → being | eat → eating | order → ordering |
| cry → crying | fix → fixing | play → playing |
| do → doing | go → going |
| verb | -ing form | |
| When the verb ends in -e, we take off the -e and add -ing. | move | moving |
| face | facing | |
| come | coming | |
| When the verb ends in a vowel followed by a single consonant and if the last syllable is stressed, then the consonant is doubled. | commit | committing |
| prefer | preferring | |
| rub | rubbing | |
| BUT:cover | covering | |
| remember | remembering | |
| When the verb ends in a vowel + l, we double the consonant. | travel | travelling* |
| control | controlling |
| + | I, you, we, theyshe, he, it | (full form)havehas | worked. | |
| I, you, we, theyshe, he, it | (short form)’ve’s | |||
| − | I, you, we, theyshe, he, it | (full form)have nothas not | worked. | |
| I, you, we, theyshe, he, it | (short form)haven’thasn’t | |||
| ? + | HaveHas | I, you, we, theyshe, he, it | worked? | |
| ? − | (full form)HaveHas | I, you, we, theyshe, he, it | not | worked? |
| (short form)Haven’tHasn’t | I, you, we, theyshe, he, it |
| That house on the corner has been empty for three years.Not: … | For refers to periods of time, e.g. three years, four hours, ages, a long time, months, years. |
| That house on the corner has been empty since 2006.Not: … | Since refers to a previous point in time, e.g. last Monday, last year, 1987, yesterday. |
| The house was empty in 2006 and it is still empty now. (speaking in 2011) |
| American English | British English |
| Did you eat (yet)?Did you finish (already)? | Have you eaten (yet)?Have you finished (already)? |
| + | she, he, itI, you, we, they | hashave | been working. | |
| − | she, he, itI, you, we, they | (full form)has nothave not | been working. | |
| she, he, itI, you, we, they | (short form)hasn’thaven’t | |||
| ? + | HasHave | she, he, itI, you, we, they | been working? | |
| ? − | (full form)HasHave | she, he, itI, you, we, they | not | been working? |
| (short form)Hasn’tHaven’t | she, he, itI, you, we, they |
| She lives with her parents. | We use the present simple to talk about permanent facts and general truths. In this example we don’t expect the situation to change. |
| She’s living with her parents. | We use the present continuous to talk about something temporary.In this example we do expect the situation to change. |
| They speak Portuguese in Brazil. | A general, permanent fact. |
| A: What language are they speaking?B: They’re speaking Portuguese. | It’s happening now. I can hear it. |
| Hani smiles a lot. | A general fact or characteristic about Hani. |
| What are you smiling about? | An action around now. |
| I think she’s being really really rude. | I think she’s rude. |
| Her behaviour now. | A characteristic of her; she’s a rude person. |
| I’ve written the Politics essay. | Completed event. |
| I’ve been writing the Politics essay. | Ongoing activity: I’m still writing it. |
| I’ve thought about buying a laptop. | Suggests that I’m not thinking about it any more. |
| I’ve been thinking about buying a new laptop for a while but I haven’t decided which one to get. | Focuses on the action of thinking over a period of time up to now. |
| afford | demand | like | pretend |
| agree | fail | love | promise |
| arrange | forget | manage | refuse |
| ask | hate | mean (= intend) | remember |
| begin | help | need | start |
| choose | hope | offer | try |
| continue | intend | plan | want |
| decide | learn | prefer |
| admit | deny | finish | mind |
| avoid | dislike | give up | miss |
| (can’t) help | enjoy | imagine | practise |
| (can’t) stand | fancy | involve | put off |
| consider | feel like | keep (on) | risk |
| -ing form | to-infinitive |
| I love cooking Indian food.(emphasis on the process itself and enjoyment of it) | I like to drink juice in the morning, and tea at lunchtime.(emphasis more on the preference or habit) |
| She hates cleaning her room.(emphasis on the process itself and no enjoyment of it) | I hate to be the only person to disagree.(emphasis more on the result: I would prefer not to be in that situation.) |
| Most people prefer watching a film at the cinema rather than on TV.(emphasis on the process itself and enjoyment of it) | We prefer to drive during the day whenever we can.(emphasis more on the result and on the habit or preference. The speaker doesn’t necessarily enjoy the process of driving at any time of day.) |
| go on | need | remember | try |
| mean | regret | stop | want |
| -ing form | to-infinitive |
| Working in London means leaving home at 6.30.(Because I work in London, this is the result or consequence.) | I didn’t mean to make you cry.(I didn’t intend to make you cry.) |
| He went on singing after everyone else had finished.(He continued singing without stopping.) | She recited a poem, then went on to sing a lovely folk song.(She recited the poem first, then she sang the song.) |
| I tried searching the web and finally found an address for him.(I searched the web to see what information I could find.) | I tried to email Simon but it bounced back.(I tried/attempted to email him but I did not succeed.) |
| She stopped crying as soon as she saw her mother.(She was crying, and then she didn’t cry anymore.) | We stopped to buy some water at the motorway service area.(We were travelling and we stopped for a short time in order to buy some water.) |
| feel | notice | see |
| hear | overhear | watch |
| -ing | infinitive without to |
| She heard people shouting in the street below and looked out of the window.(emphasises that the shouting probably continued or was repeated) | I heard someone shout ‘Help!’, so I ran to the river.(emphasises the whole event: the person probably shouted only once) |
| A police officer saw him running along the street.(emphasises the running as it was happening) | Emily saw Philip run out of Sandra’s office.(emphasises the whole event from start to finish) |
| advise | hate | like | persuade | request |
| ask | help | love | prefer | teach |
| challenge | instruct | need | recommend | tell |
| choose | intend | order | remind | want |
| forbid | invite |
| accept | decide | insist | repeat |
| admit | discover | know | reply |
| agree | doubt | mean | say |
| announce | expect | mention | see |
| assume | explain | notice | show |
| believe | feel | pretend | state |
| check | find (out) | promise | suggest |
| claim | forget | prove | suppose |
| comment | guess | realise | think |
| complain | hear | reckon | understand |
| confirm | hope | remark | |
| consider | imagine | remember |
| advise | inform | remind |
| assure | persuade | tell |
| convince | promise | warn |
| admit | explain | point out | recommend | state |
| complain | mention | prove | say | suggest |
| ask | describe | get | need | take |
| attend | discuss | like | raise | telephone |
| believe | emphasise | join | receive | use |
| buy | enjoy | lose | say | want |
| consider | expect | love | suggest | watch |
| contact | find | make |
| appear | die | lie | sneeze |
| arrive | disappear | live | snow |
| come | fall | rain | wait |
| cough | happen | rise | work |
| transitive | intransitive |
| I just can’t eat hot food. | What time do you want to eat? |
| She entered the room looking nervous. | Do not enter. |
| He drives a van for a delivery firm. | I learnt to drive when I was twenty. |
| My father left school when he was fourteen. | We should leave now. |
| She won a competition and got a free trip to Copenhagen. | How was the match? Did you win? |
| Transitive (the subject does the action) | Intransitive (the action or event happens to the subject) |
| [S]He [V] opened [O] the door and walked in. | [S]The door [V] opened slowly. |
| [S]The teacher always [V] begins [O] each lesson with a quiz. | [S] The interviews [V] will begin at 2.30 pm. |
| They increased my salary last month. | Global temperatures are increasing. |
| Do you know how you work this camera? | How does this camera work? |
| ask | give | make | promise | show |
| bring | hand | offer | save | teach |
| charge | leave | owe | send | tell |
| find | lend | pay | serve | wish |
| fine |
| bring | lead | send | stand |
| drive | place | set | take |
| lay | put | show |
| feel (oneself) | have | need |
| find | leave | want |
| get | like |
| arrange | consider | enquire | imagine | predict | show |
| ask | decide | explain | judge | prove | tell |
| care | depend | find out | know | realise | think |
| check | discover | forget | learn | remember | wonder |
| choose | discuss | guess | mind | say | |
| confirm | doubt | hear | notice | see |
| arrange | decide | find out | learn | show |
| ask | discover | forget | notice | tell |
| check | discuss | imagine | remember | think |
| choose | enquire | judge | say | wonder |
| consider | explain | know | see |
| I like making jam.He likes telling jokes.They don’t like sitting for too long. | emphasis on the experience/action |
| We have a lot of fruit in the garden. I like to make jam every year.I prefer to sort out a problem as soon as I can.If you prefer not to go camping there are youth hostels nearby. | a habit or preference |
| He saw her drive off with a young man in the passenger seat. | The speaker observed the whole event. |
| Maria heard him coming up the stairs towards her room, and felt scared. | The action was in progress, happening, but not completed. |
| Do you like rice? | Would you like some rice? | Do you like dancing? | Would you like to dance? |
| asks about likes and dislikes in general | offers some rice | asks about likes and dislikes in general | invites you to dance |
| same subject (+ base form) | different subject (+ past simple clause) |
| I’d rather stay at home than go out tonight. | I’d rather you stayed at home tonight. |
| I’d rather not go out tonight. | I’d rather you didn’t go out tonight |
| PC | personal computer |
| 20p | twenty pence (said, informally, as twenty p) |
| WHO | World Health Organisation |
| full form | written abbreviation |
| Doctor | Dr |
| for example | e.g. (from the Latin equivalent: exempli gratia) |
| Gaze Limited | Gaze Ltd (Limited refers to a company) |
| Mister | Mr |
| ounces | oz |
| Street | St |
| page 38 | p. 38 |
| 5 kilometres | 5 km |
| full form | abbreviation |
| advertisement | advert; ad |
| decaffeinated | decaf |
| examination | exam |
| memorandum | memo |
| photograph | photo |
| full form | abbreviation |
| Timothy | Tim |
| Frederick | Fred |
| Pamela | Pam |
| Rajiv | Raj |
| commas | no commas |
| My brother, Philip, works at the local museum.(The speaker probably only has one brother.) | My brother Mark is a police officer. My brother Joe is still at university.(The speaker has more than one brother. Mark and Joe specify which brother we are talking about.) |
| affirmative | negative |
| [S] I [V] saw [X] them last week. | [S] I [V] didn’t see [X] them last week. |
| [S] Some courses [V] begin [X] in January. | [S] Some courses [V] don’t begin [X] until March. |
| affirmative | negative |
| Are there any blue ones? | Aren’t there any blue ones? |
| Why did he tell me? | Why didn’t he tell me? |
| affirmative | negative |
| Go! | Don’t go! |
| Leave the door open. | Don’t leave the door open. |
| Be happy. | Don’t be sad. |
| typical collocations | incorrect/untypical collocations |
| heavy rain | |
| high temperature | |
| scenic view | |
| have an experience |
| strongmakeexpress + a wishfulfil | Very few words can collocate with the noun wish. This makes wish a strong collocator. |
| weakapartment, beach, car, camera, chance,big + disappointment, fight, gun, lamp, moon, news,ocean, pain, pity, price, queue, table, umbrella,upset, wait, window | big can collocate with hundreds of words, therefore it’s a weak collocator. |
| whisk an egg | curly hair |
| winding road | blissfully ignorant |
| He put the cake in the oven.Not: | put must have a complement to say where something is put. Without the complement, the clause would not be complete. |
| We usually go away in the spring. | in the spring is an adjunct. It is not essential to complete the verb ‘go away’; it adds extra information. |
| ellipsis | substitution |
| A: She could sleep in the study on the sofa.B: Yes, she could [sleep in the study on the sofa]. | The Chairman threatened to resign, and he finally did so in 2008. (did so = resigned) |
| A: Will you have another cake?B: I’d better not [have another cake]. I’m supposed to be on a diet. | A: Is Charlie coming too?B: I hope not. There’s only enough food for three. (not = Charlie isn’t coming) |
| Carefully, he removed the lid.(fronted so as to focus on carefully) | He removed the lid carefully.(most common word order) |
| All of a sudden, it started to snow.(fronted so as to focus on all of a sudden) | It started to snow all of a sudden.(most common word order) |
| fronted prepositional phrase followed by verb + subject | most common word order |
| On the corner stood a little shop. | A little shop stood on the corner. |
| In front of me was the President of Chile. | The President of Chile was in front of me. |
| ← – – – – – – – – – – – – – – noun phrase – – – – – – – – – – – – –– – → | ||
| pre-head | noun head | post-head |
| My favourite | band | |
| The | woman | in the red dress |
| ← – – – – – – – – – – verb phrase – – – – – – – – – – – → | |||
| pre-head | verb head | post-head | |
| She | laughed. | ||
| My mother | can’t | swim. | |
| The plane | has | taken | off. |
| ← – – – – – – adjective phrase – – – – – – – → | ||||
| pre-head | adjective head | post-head | ||
| The food was | wonderful. | |||
| We saw a | very | big | fish. | |
| Is this | good | enough? |
| ← – – – – – adverb phrase – – – – – – → | |||
| pre-head | adverb head | post-head | |
| She dances | beautifully. | ||
| We studied | really | intensively. | |
| The machine seemed to work | well | enough. |
| ← – – – – – – – prepositional phrase – – – – – – – – → | |||
| pre-head | preposition head | post-head | |
| Your dinner is | on | the table. | |
| I’m not used | to | getting up early. | |
| The shop is | right | by | the bus station. |
| indirect + direct object | direct object + prepositional phrase with to/for |
| He always gives the class too much homework. | He always gives too much homework to the class. |
| I never buy her flowers. She’s allergic to them. | I never buy flowers for her. She’s allergic to them. |
| bring | lend | owe | show | tell |
| give | offer | promise | teach | write |
| buy | find | get | make | order |
| save |
| verb + object | We really enjoyed the evening. Thanks. |
| verb + no object | Paula smiled and left. |
| verb + two objects | They gave us coffee. |
| verb + wh-clause | I can’t believe what he told me. |
| verb + that-clause | I know (that) you’re telling the truth. |
| Declarative(statements) | [S] I [V] finished [X] the book last night. |
| Interrogative(questions) | [AUX] Did [S] you [V] study [X] Latin at school? |
| Imperative(orders, instructions) | [V] Leave [X] it on the chair, thanks. |
| Exclamative(expressing strong opinion or surprise) | What [S] a gorgeous dress [V] she’s wearing! |
| He married a famous writer. | a famous writer is a different person = the object |
| He became a famous writer. | become is a linking verb; a famous writer describes the subject = the same person as he |
| nouns | verbs | adjectives | adverbs |
| stationgovernmentcruelty | softenidentifyindustrialise | drinkableJapaneseuseless | carefullyeasilysadly |
| When you get older, moving house gets harder. | One thing happens first and as a result the second thing is true. |
| As you get older, moving house gets harder.Not: | The two things happen at the same time. |
| conditional clause | main clause |
| if + present simple | modal verb with future meaning (shall/should/will/would/can/could/may/might) |
| If he gets a job in Liverpool, | he’ll have to get up early. It’s a long drive. |
| If Sheila rings, | I might ask her to come over for dinner. |
| conditional clause | main clause |
| if + past simple | modal verb with future-in-the-past meaning (should/would/might/could) |
| If you asked her nicely, | she would say yes, I’m sure. |
| first conditional | second conditional |
| If the flight’s late, we’ll miss our connection.(it’s possible or likely that the flight will be late) | If there were more buses, we would leave the car at home.(it is unlikely that there will be more buses) |
| I’ll come and give a hand if you need help moving your stuff.(it is possible or likely that you will need help) | He would buy a flat if he had the money for a deposit.(it is unlikely that he will have the money) |
| conditional clause | main clause |
| if + past perfect | modal verb with future-in-the-past meaning (should/would/might/could) + have + -ed form |
| If they had left earlier, | they would have arrived on time. |
| true | likely/possible | less likely/less possible | impossible |
| real | first | second | third |
| If it snows, we get our skis out.(We do this every time it snows.) | If she gets the job, we’ll celebrate.(It is possible or likely she will get the job.) | If we had more students, we would run the course.(It is less likely or unlikely that we will get more students.) | If the rent had been lower, I would have taken the flat.(The rent was not low enough.) |
| Let’s take our swimming costumes in case there’s a pool at the hotel. | We don’t know if there is a pool there. |
| Let’s take our swimming costumes if there’s a pool in the hotel. | We will wait until we know about the pool before we decide. |
| conjunction | cause/reason | result |
| BecauseSinceAs | our local shop has closed, | I have to go a supermarket two miles away to get my groceries. |
| result | conjunction | cause/reason |
| I don’t buy the paper every morning any more | becausesinceasnow (that) | our local shop has closed. |
| cause/reason | conjunction | result |
| Our local shop has closed | so | I don’t buy the paper every morning any more. |
| action | conjunction | purpose/goal |
| I asked him to move | soso thatso asin order that (formal) | I could see the screen better. |
| conjunction | purpose/goal | action |
| SoSo thatIn order that | I could see the screen better, | I asked him to move. |
| main idea | contrast | |
| The meal was goodI want to lose weightLara cooked roast beef for meEdinburgh is an interesting place | but | expensive.I hate diets.I don’t eat meat.it takes a long time to get there. |
| main idea | althoughthough | contrast |
| Grace is an excellent athlete | she injured her leg recently. | |
| Harry is a great friend | we don’t see each other often. |
| contrast | main idea | |
| Although | the car was destroyed, | no one was injured in the crash. |
| Though | people say it’s dangerous, | I think it’s an amazing country. |
| action/event | conjunction | time |
| She was in a bad car accident | when | she was young. |
| We can’t play loud music | after | everyone has gone to bed. |
| Brush your teeth | before | you go to bed! |
| I’ll wait with you | until | the bus comes. |
| I’ve been very busy | since | I started my new job. |
| No one left the cinema | while | the movie was on. |
| I’ll call you | once | I arrive. |
| We always have an ice cream | as soon as | we get to the beach. |
| I bumped into her | as | I came out of the bank. |
| I’ll be there until five o’clock. | I’ll be there up to five o’clock, but not after. |
| I’ll call you by five o’clock. | I may call you before five o’clock but I will call you no later than five o’clock. |
| I’ll be there before dinner. | I’ll be there earlier than dinner time. |
| main idea | but | contrast |
| I love fruitThey’ve bought a house in Manchester | I am allergic to strawberries.they still haven’t sold their house in London. |
| direct question | indirect question |
| Do you like dogs? | I asked if she liked dogs. |
| Are you leaving now or are you staying for a bit longer? | He asked if I was leaving now or staying for a bit longer. |
| I like tea and coffee. | I like both tea and coffee. |
| I don’t like tea or coffee. | I don’t like tea and I don’t like coffee. |
| same subject | different subject |
| We’re not sure whether to stay here for dinner or go somewhere else.(whether + to + infinitive) | We’re not sure whether he’ll stay here for dinner or go somewhere else.(whether + finite clause) |
| We’re not sure whether we’ll stay here for dinner or go somewhere else.(whether + finite clause) |
| during the time something happens | a point in time |
| The phone rang while/when we were having dinner. | When the phone rang, she answered it immediately.Not: |
| affirmative non-finite clause | negative non-finite clause |
| To have given up such a good job would have been foolish. | Not to have invited James to our little party would have been impolite. |
| Thinking of my own situation, I decided it was time to talk to Dennis. | She left the house very quietly, not wishing to alarm anyone. |
| Cooked in a slow oven, this dish is delicious with baked potatoes. | Not funded by any government grants, the research team have to raise money from companies and individuals. |
| More formal/emphatic | Everyday situations |
| Why did she not phone and tell us? | Why didn’t she phone and tell us? |
| Does Ellen not like you very much? | Doesn’t Ellen like you very much? |
| He paid no attention to what I was saying. (stronger) | He didn’t pay any attention to what I was saying. |
| I’ve decided that I have no alternative. (stronger) | I’ve decided that I don’t have any alternative. |
| Question form | Statement as question |
| Is that your father? | That’s your father? |
| Do we pay at the end? | We pay at the end? |
| Has she worked in a hotel before? | She’s worked in a hotel before? |
| You went to Northbridge H↗igh School? | Rising intonation: I think you went to Northbridge High School but I am not sure. |
| You went to Northbridg↘e High School? | Falling intonation: I am very sure that you went to Northbridge High School. |
| A: Are you driving to college tomorrow?B: Yeah. I’m hoping to leave at 8 am.A: Could I have a lift with you? | A: Could I have a lift with you if you are driving to college?B: Yeah sure. I’m hoping to leave at 8 am. |
| The first question is introductory. A knows that B usually drives to college. The second question is more specific. By asking the question in two stages, the speaker is being less direct with the listener. | A asks B for a lift to college all in one question. This is correct too, but it is slightly more direct. |
| Polite | More polite |
| Can I ask a question? | Can I just ask a question, please? |
| May I ask a question? | May I just ask a question, please? |
| Could I ask a question? | Could I just ask a question, please? |
| Be: When are you leaving? | Who’s been paying the bills? |
| Do: Where do they live? | Why didn’t you call me? |
| Have: What has she done now? | What have they decided? |
| Modal: Who would she stay with? | Where should I park? |
| Who owns this bag? | Who is the subject of the sentence and this bag is the object. We use no auxiliary verb. |
| Who do you love most? | Who is the object of the sentence and you is the subject. We use the auxiliary verb do. |
| Affirmative with no auxiliary | Negative with auxiliary do |
| Who wants an ice cream? | Who doesn’t want an ice cream? |
| Which door opened? | Which door didn’t open? |
| As pronouns | With a noun head |
| Whose are these books? | Whose books are these? |
| Which did you buy? | Which sweater did you buy? |
| What is the number on the door? | What number is your house? |
| Be: Is she working very hard? | Were they travelling together? |
| Do: Does that taste okay? | Did you go to the concert? |
| Have: Have they eaten yet? | Had they visited Rome before? |
| Modal: Could you help me lift this? | Should I open the window? |
| Statement form (no auxiliary) | Question form |
| You usually walk to work. | Do you usually walk to work?Not: |
| You liked disco music in the 70s. | Did you like disco music in the 70s?Not: |
| Full form | Short form |
| Are you hungry? | You hungry? or Hungry? |
| Is this your pen? | This your pen? |
| A: Want to go for lunch now?B: Yeah, great.A: The Diner?B: That’s perfect. | A and B know each other well and they often go to lunch at The Diner. |
| A: Do you want to go for lunch now?B: Yeah, great.A: Do you want to go to The Diner?B: That’s perfect. | The full forms of the questions are correct but the full form of the second question sounds more formal than the short form. |
| When I see Gary, I’ll tell him that you said hello. | I will definitely see Gary. |
| If I see Gary, I’ll tell him that you said hello. | I may see Gary but I am not certain. |
| The couple posted a Christmas present to their daughter, who lives in South Africa. | The couple posted a Christmas present to their daughter.Their daughter lives in South Africa. |
| Using a relative clause means that there is no need to repeat ‘their daughter’. |
| This is the book which we’re reading at the moment. | We’re reading this book at the moment. |
| She’s the woman who I was talking about. | I was talking about the woman. |
| non-defining | defining |
| His brother, who works at the supermarket, is a friend of mine.He has only one brother, and that brother works at the supermarket. | His brother who works at the supermarket is a friend of mine.He has more than one brother. The one I’m talking about works at the supermarket. |
| It’s hoped that we will raise £10,000 for local charities, which help the homeless.The money is intended for local charities. All these local charities help the homeless. | It’s hoped that we will raise £10,000 for local charities which help the homeless.The money is intended for local charities. Some of these local charities help the homeless. There are other local charities as well as these. |
| The soldier who had gold stripes on his uniform seemed to be the most important one. | A defining relative clause which we can’t leave out; without this information we do not know which soldier the speaker is referring to. |
| The tour party was weakened when Gordon Hamilton, who played in the World Cup team, withdrew yesterday because of a back injury, which kept him out of the Five Nations Championship. | Non-defining relative clauses which we can leave out:The tour party was weakened when Gordon Hamilton withdrew yesterday because of a back injury. |
| who | people and sometimes pet animals | defining and non-defining |
| which | animals and things | defining and non-defining; clause referring to a whole sentence |
| that | people, animals and things; informal | defining only |
| whose | possessive meaning;for people and animals usually; sometimes for things in formal situations | defining and non-defining |
| whom | people in formal styles or in writing; often with a preposition; rarely in conversation; used instead of who if who is the object | defining and non-defining |
| no relative pronoun | when the relative pronoun defines the object of the clause | defining only |
| more formal | less formal |
| There was only one person to whom the old man spoke. | There was only one person who the old man spoke to. |
| She smiled as she remembered the quiet scholar with whom she had shared a love of books. | She smiled as she remembered the quiet scholar who she had shared a love of books with. |
| more formal | more informal |
| Thomas Goldney III, in whose house and garden several generations of Bristol students have now lived, was described in the late 18th century as ‘a very curious gentleman’. | Thomas Goldney III, whose house and garden several generations of Bristol students have now lived in, was described in the late 18th century as ‘a very curious gentleman’. |
| more formal | more informal |
| The title of the poem indicates that the poet knows himself to be separated from the community in which he grew up. | I’ve never felt close to the community which I grew up in. |
| where | places | I know a restaurant where the food is excellent.(… a restaurant at which the food is excellent) |
| when | times | There isn’t a day when I don’t feel rushed off my feet.(… a day on which I don’t feel rushed …) |
| why | reasons | Do you know the reason why the shop is closed today?(… the reason for which the shop is closed …) |
| reporting clause | reported clause |
| William said, | “I need your help.” |
| Then a man shouted, | “Get out of there, fast!” |
| The postman said | he had a package for us. |
| Clarissa told me | she’s thinking of moving to Canada. |
| add | comment | explain | offer | state |
| admit | complain | hint | order | suggest |
| advise | confess | inform | point out | threaten |
| agree | confirm | insist | promise | warn |
| announce | continue | interrupt | protest | wonder |
| answer | cry (= shout) | maintain | repeat | |
| ask | demand | note | reply | |
| claim | enquire | observe | shout |
| reporting clause first | reported clause | reporting clause second |
| Jimmy said, | ‘Let me have a look.’ | |
| Then the child asked, | ‘Are there any toys?’ | |
| ‘Hand it over at once!’ | he demanded. | |
| ‘I believe that too,’ | she added. |
| direct | indirect | reported clause | |
| statement | ‘I’m tired,’ I said. | I told them (that) I was tired. | that-clause |
| question | ‘Are you ready?’ the nurse asked Joel.‘Who are you?’ she asked. | The nurse asked Joel if/whether he was ready.She asked me who I was. | if-clause/whether-clausewh-clause |
| command | ‘Leave at once!’ they ordered. | They ordered us to leave at once. | to-infinitive clause |
| direct speech | indirect speech |
| I said, ‘I’m not very happy at work.’ | I told her I was not very happy at work. |
| They said: ‘We’re going home.’ | They told us they were going home. |
| He said, ‘Jane will be late.’ | He said that Jane would be late. |
| ‘I’ve been working,’ she said. | She said she had been working. |
| ‘What happened to make her so angry?’ he asked. | He asked what had happened to make her so angry. |
| direct | indirect | |
| present simple | → | past simple |
| present continuous | → | past continuous |
| present perfect simple | → | past perfect simple |
| present perfect continuous | → | past perfect continuous |
| past simple | → | past perfect simple |
| past continuous | → | past perfect continuous |
| future (will) | → | future-in-the-past (would) |
| past perfect | ↔ | past perfect (no change) |
| Direct speech | Indirect speech |
| He asked: ‘Had the girls already left?’ | He asked if the girls had already left. |
| direct speech | indirect speech | change | |
| will | ‘We will be there,’ he promised. | He promised they would be there. | will becomes would |
| shall | She said, ‘I shall need more money.’‘Shall I open it?’ she asked. | She said she would need more money.She asked if she should open it. | shall usually becomes wouldin reported questions, shall becomes should |
| can | ‘I can see you at 2.30,’ he added. | He added that he could see me at 2.30. | can becomes could |
| may | ‘I may be back later,’ she said.‘You may wait in the hallway,’ he said. | She said she might be back later.He said we could wait in the hallway. | may (possibility) becomes mightmay (permission) becomes could |
| must | She said, ‘You must pay by 30th April.’‘It must be awful to live in such a noisy place,’ she said. | She said we had to pay by 30th April.She said it must be awful to live in such a noisy place. | must (obligation) usually becomes had tomust (speculation) does not change |
| could | ‘We could sell it for about 2,000 euros,’ he said. | He said they could sell it for about 2,000 euros. | no change |
| should | ‘You should go there immediately,’ she said. | She said I should go there immediately. | no change |
| would | ‘I would buy it if I had the money,’ he said. | He said he would buy it if he had the money. | no change |
| might | ‘It might snow tonight,’ he warned. | He warned that it might snow that night. | no change |
| need | ‘You needn’t come till six o’clock,’ he said. | He said we needn’t come till six o’clock. | no change |
| direct | indirect | |
| ‘I don’t want to shock people,’ Tom said. | Tom said he didn’t want to shock people. | different speakers (I changes to he) |
| ‘I’ll look after Toby,’ I said. | I said I would look after Toby. | same speaker (no change) |
| ‘You need to be here at nine o’clock,’ George told Beatrice. | George told Beatrice she needed to be there at nine o’clock. | different speakers (you changes to she) |
| ‘I hope you will join us tonight,’ I said to James. | I told James I hoped he would join us that night. | same speaker (no change to I; you changes to he) |
| direct speech | indirect speech |
| I said, ‘I’ll meet you here tomorrow.’ | I told her I would meet her there the next/following day. |
| She said, ‘I do not wish to discuss it at this moment in time.’ | She said she did not wish to discuss it at that moment in time. |
| He said, “I want it now.” | He said he wanted it then/at that moment. |
| ‘I finished the job three weeks ago,’ the boy protested. | The boy protested that he had finished the job three weeks before. |
| direct | indirect | |
| this | → | that |
| these | → | those |
| now | → | then |
| yesterday | → | the day before |
| tomorrow | → | the next/following day |
| two weeks ago | → | two weeks before |
| here | → | there |
| announcement | complaint | explanation | response |
| answer | criticism | news | statement |
| argument | demand | offer | suggestion |
| claim | denial | promise | threat |
| comment | excuse | remark | warning |
| examples | prefixes |
| monorail, monolingual | mono- means ‘one’ |
| multipurpose, multicultural | multi- means ‘many’ |
| post-war, postgraduate | post- means ‘after’ |
| unusual, undemocratic | un- means ‘not’ or ‘opposite to’ |
| examples | suffixes |
| terrorism, sexism | -ism and -dom are used to form nouns |
| employer, actor | -er and -or are used to form nouns to describe people who do things |
| widen, simplify | -en and -ify are used to form verbs |
| reasonable, unprofitable | -able is used to form adjectives |
| unhappily, naturally | -ly is a common suffix used to form adverbs |
| PC | personal computer |
| 20p | twenty pence (said, informally, as twenty p) |
| WHO | World Health Organisation |
| full form | written abbreviation |
| Doctor | Dr |
| for example | e.g. (from the Latin equivalent: exempli gratia) |
| Gaze Limited | Gaze Ltd (Limited refers to a company) |
| Mister | Mr |
| ounces | oz |
| Street | St |
| page 38 | p. 38 |
| 5 kilometres | 5 km |
| full form | abbreviation |
| advertisement | advert; ad |
| decaffeinated | decaf |
| examination | exam |
| memorandum | memo |
| photograph | photo |
| full form | abbreviation |
| Timothy | Tim |
| Frederick | Fred |
| Pamela | Pam |
| Rajiv | Raj |
| nouns: car park, soap opera | pronouns: anyone, everything, nobody |
| adjectives: environmentally-friendly, fat-free | numerals: twenty-seven, three-quarters |
| verbs: daydream, dry-clean | prepositions: into, onto |
| adverbs: nevertheless, nowadays | conjunctions: although, however |
| noun + noun: earphones | verb -ing form + noun: parking ticket |
| verb base form + noun: rescue team | adjective + noun: blackboard |
| base word | prefixed word | type of meaning |
| possible | impossible | opposite |
| able | unable | opposite/negation |
| payment | non-payment | negation |
| war | pre-war | time (before) |
| terrestrial | extraterrestrial | place (outside of/beyond) |
| cook | overcook | manner (too much) |
| prefix | meaning | examples |
| anti- | against/opposed to | anti-government, anti-racist, anti-war |
| auto- | self | autobiography, automobile |
| de- | reverse or change | de-classify, decontaminate, demotivate |
| dis- | reverse or remove | disagree, displeasure, disqualify |
| down- | reduce or lower | downgrade, downhearted |
| extra- | beyond | extraordinary, extraterrestrial |
| hyper- | extreme | hyperactive, hypertension |
| il-, im-, in-, ir- | not | illegal, impossible, insecure, irregular |
| inter- | between | interactive, international |
| mega- | very big, important | megabyte, mega-deal, megaton |
| mid- | middle | midday, midnight, mid-October |
| mis- | incorrectly, badly | misaligned, mislead, misspelt |
| non- | not | non-payment, non-smoking |
| over- | too much | overcook, overcharge, overrate |
| out- | go beyond | outdo, out-perform, outrun |
| post- | after | post-election, post-war |
| pre- | before | prehistoric, pre-war |
| pro- | in favour of | pro-communist, pro-democracy |
| re- | again | reconsider, redo, rewrite |
| semi- | half | semicircle, semi-retired |
| sub- | under, below | submarine, sub-Saharan |
| super- | above, beyond | super-hero, supermodel |
| tele- | at a distance | television, telepathic |
| trans- | across | transatlantic, transfer |
| ultra- | extremely | ultra-compact, ultrasound |
| un- | remove, reverse, not | undo, unpack, unhappy |
| under- | less than, beneath | undercook, underestimate |
| up- | make or move higher | upgrade, uphill |
| words | suffix | new words |
| forget, use | -ful | forgetful, useful |
| state, govern | -ment | statement, government |
| complicate, create | -ion | complication, creation |
| suffix | examples of nouns |
| -age | baggage, village, postage |
| -al | arrival, burial, deferral |
| -ance/-ence | reliance, defence, insistence |
| -dom | boredom, freedom, kingdom |
| -ee | employee, payee, trainee |
| -er/-or | driver, writer, director |
| -hood | brotherhood, childhood, neighbourhood |
| -ism | capitalism, Marxism, socialism (philosophies) |
| -ist | capitalist, Marxist, socialist (followers of philosophies) |
| -ity/-ty | brutality, equality, cruelty |
| -ment | amazement, disappointment, parliament |
| -ness | happiness, kindness, usefulness |
| -ry | entry, ministry, robbery |
| -ship | friendship, membership, workmanship |
| -sion/-tion/-xion | expression, population, complexion |
| suffix | examples of adjectives |
| -able/-ible | drinkable, portable, flexible |
| -al | brutal, formal, postal |
| -en | broken, golden, wooden |
| -ese | Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese |
| -ful | forgetful, helpful, useful |
| -i | Iraqi, Pakistani, Yemeni |
| -ic | classic, Islamic, poetic |
| -ish | British, childish, Spanish |
| -ive | active, passive, productive |
| -ian | Canadian, Malaysian, Peruvian |
| -less | homeless, hopeless, useless |
| -ly | daily, monthly, yearly |
| -ous | cautious, famous, nervous |
| -y | cloudy, rainy, windy |
| suffix | examples of verbs |
| -ate | complicate, dominate, irritate |
| -en | harden, soften, shorten |
| -ify | beautify, clarify, identify |
| -ise/-ize | economise, realise, industrialize (-ise is most common in British English; -ize is most common in American English) |
| suffix | examples of adverbs |
| -ly | calmly, easily, quickly |
| -ward(s) | downwards, homeward(s), upwards |
| -wise | anti-clockwise, clockwise, edgewise |
| I gave [IO] Margaret [DO] a present. | Typical word order: IO + DO |
| I gave [DO] a present [PC] to Margaret. | Untypical word order: DO + PCPutting the prepositional complement at the end brings more emphasis and focus to the person who received the present. |
| Carefully, he removed the lid.(fronted so as to focus on carefully) | He removed the lid carefully.(most common word order) |
| All of a sudden, it started to snow.(fronted so as to focus on all of a sudden) | It started to snow all of a sudden.(most common word order) |
| fronted prepositional phrase followed by verb + subject | most common word order |
| On the corner stood a little shop. | A little shop stood on the corner. |
| In front of me was the President of Chile. | The President of Chile was in front of me. |