Grammar reference section

Articles

2. Nouns: singular, plural

3. There is /There are

ARTICLES

- There are only two types of articles in English: indefinite ‘a, an’ and definite ‘ the. ’

Indefinite articles ‘a’ and ‘ an’ have the meaning ‘one’or ‘any’, they are used with singular countable nouns also they are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before:

- I saw an elephant this morning.

- I ate a banana for lunch.

- A and an are used when talking about one’s profession:

- I am an English teacher.

- He is a builder.

- Definite article – ‘the’ is used with singular and plural nouns, countable and uncontable ones to talk about something specific.

- The apple you ate was rotten.

- Did you lock the car?

- You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.

- She's got two children; a girl and a boy.

- The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen.

- We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.

the North Pole, the equator

- We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas

a. the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel

- We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing (it is unique).

b. the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc.

However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.

c. I could hear the wind. / There's a cold wind blowing.

d. What are your plans for the future? / She has a promising future ahead of her.

The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc. In this use, ' the ' is usually given strong pronunciation.

e. Harry's Bar is the place to go.

f. You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?

Note:

The doesn't mean all:

- The books are expensive. = (Not all books are expensive, just the ones I'm talking about.)

- Books are expensive. = (All books are expensive.)

2. NOUNS: SINGULAR, PLURAL

singular + -s

singular	Plural
a car	two cars
a cassette	two cassettes

Add -es after sibilants:

singular	plural
a box	two boxes
a sandwich	two sandwiches
a suitcase	two suitcases
a rose	two roses
a garage	two garages

Substitute -y after consonant with -ies:

singular	plural
a city	two cities
a lady	two ladies

Add -s after vowel + y:

singular	plural
a boy	two boys
a day	two days

Nouns on -f or -fe:

add -s	substitute with -ves
singular	plural	singular	plural
a roof	two roofs	a thief	two thieves
a cliff	two cliffs	a wife	two wives
a sheriff	two sheriffs	a shelf	two shelves

Nouns on -o form the plural by adding -s or -es.

add -s	substitute with -ves
singular	plural	singular	plural
a disco	two discos	a tomato	two tomatoes
a piano	two pianos	a potato	two potatoes
a photo	two photos	a hero	two heroes

Some nouns can have two plural forms:

buffalo – buffalos / buffaloes
mosquito – mosquitos / mosquitoes
tornado – tornados / tornadoes

Irregular plural forms:

singular	plural
a man	two men
a woman	two women
a child	two children
a mouse	two mice
a tooth	two teeth
a goose	two geese
a foot	two feet
an ox	two oxen

3. THERE IS / THERE ARE

There is / There are is a common phrase in English, used to indicate that something exists or is in a certain location. The main subject follows the verb when there is/are is used.

- There is an apple on the table.

- There are some apples on the table.

- Are there any apples in the shop?

- There are no apples in my bag.

Other forms of the verb ‘to be’ can also be used with there is/there are.

- There will be a party at Bill's house on Saturday.

- There were four witnesses at the crime scene.

- There have been two robberies in the last five months.

Contractions are possible, but they are mostly used in informal speech.

- There's a fly in my soup.

- There're plenty of oranges left.

Appendix 3

GRAMMAR REFERENCE SECTION

1. Tenses: present, past and future

State verbs

Time clauses.

Question tags

Conditional sentences

4. Infinitive, Bare Infinitive, Gerund / -ing form

Comparative forms

Table of irregular verbs

TENSES

PRESENT TENSES

Present Simple Tense

We use the present simple:

· For permanent states. Tom works for a construction company.

· For daily routines, repeated and habitual actions. He plays tennis twice a week.

· For general truths and laws of nature. The sun sets in the west.

· For timetables and programmes to replace the future tense. The first flight to London leaves at 9 am.

· For sporting commentaries, reviews and narrations. Stevenson catches the ball and passes it to Johnson.

Time expressions used with the present simple: usually, often, always, sometimes, rarely, seldom; every day/week/month/year, etc, in the morning/afternoon/evening; at night/the weekend, on Fridays, etc.  

Present Continuous Tense

We use the present continuous

· For actions taking place at or around the moment of speaking. Tina is doing her homework at the moment.

· For fixed arrangements in the near future. I am going to the dentist tomorrow. I've already booked an appointment.

· F or currently changing and developing situations. The pollution is increasing.

· With adverbs such as always to express anger or irritation when an undesirable action happens too often but not always in reality. You ’re always forgetting to close the door.

Time expressions used with the present continuous: now, at the moment, at present, these days, nowadays, still, today, tonight, always, etc.  

Note:

1. Always + present simple: “every time”. I always have breakfast before I go to work.

2. Always + present continuous:“too/very often”. You are always complaining!

3. We cannot use never... again with the present simple. I am never going camping with you again. (NOT: I never go camping with you again).

Present Perfect Tense

We use the present perfect:

· For an action which started in the past and continues up to the present, especially with stative verbs such as be, have, like, know, etc. I have known Dave for years.

· For a recently completed action whose result is visible in the present. A new French restaurant has just opened in Bridge Street. We're going there for dinner tomorrow.

· For an action that happened at an unstated time in the past. The emphasis is on the action. The time that it occurred is unimportant or unknown. I have visited Portugal. (When? Unstated time.)

Note:

1. already is used in statements after the auxiliary verb and in questions after the main verb. I have already finished. Have you finished already?
2. yet is used in negative sentences after a negative contracted auxiliary verb or at the end of the sentence. She hasn’‘t yet finished the report. She hasn't finished the report yet.
3. still is used in statements and questions after the auxiliary verb or before the main verb. I am still painting thehouse. He still lives in Hong Kong.
4. However, still comes before the auxiliary verb in negations. She still hasn't finished her homework.

Time expressions used with the present perfect: for, since, already, always, just, ever, never, so far, today, this week/month etc, how long, lately, recently, still (in negations), etc.  

Present Perfect- Continuous Tense

We use the present perfect continuous:

· To put emphasis on the duration of an action which started in the past and continues up to the present, used with action verbs and with words and expressions such as for, since, all morning/day/year and How long? The boys have been playing football for hours.

· For an action which started in the past and which lasted for some time. The action may still be continuing or have finished already with the result visible in the present. For this situation two sentences are used. Ken is really tired. He has been working hard all week.

· To express anger, irritation, or annoyance. They have been listening to that loud music all night.

· For repeated actions in the past continuing to the present. I have been taking Spanish lessons at night school.

Note:

With the verbs live, work, teach and feel we can use the present perfect or the present perfect- continuous with no difference in meaning. He has taught/has been teaching at the school for more than twenty years.

Time expressionsused with the present perfect-continuous: For, since, how long, recently

STATIVE / STATE VERBS

Stative verbs are the verbs which describe a state rather than an action, they do not have a continuous tense. These verbs are:

· verbs of the senses (see, hear, taste, feel, look, sound etc). I can hear the train approaching.

· verbs of perception / opinion (agree, know, believe, understand, realise, remember, suppose, forget etc). I understand what you are saying.

· verbs which express likes and dislikes / verbs of feelings and emotions (like, dislike, love, adore, hate, enjoy, forgive, prefer, detest, etc). The children enjoy reading.

· and some other verbs (be, contain, include, belong, fit, need, matter, mean, cost, concern, depend, own, want, weigh, wish, have (possess), keep etc). That car belongs to Joe.

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