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GRAMMAR REFERENCE
Unit 2 1 Module 1
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS - the assistants
Adjectives and adverbs make language more interesting. They allow us to express
things in detail. What did it/they look like, how was it done?
Adjectives assist nouns and include words such as, big, small, beautiful. They also
include colours, numbers and nationalities.
A string of adjectives:
eg It was a wet windy night. If using three or
more use a comma after all, except the last
eg It was a cold, wet, windy night.
A verb tells us what is being or was/will be done and the adverb tells us how.
Unit 2 2 Module 1
How and well are adverbs. How do you do?
Very well, thank you.
How come?
It depends on the sentence. eg He drove a fast car.
‘Fast’ describes the car (noun),
therefore it is an adjective.
He drove the car fast.
This time ‘fast’ describes the manner in
which he was driving (verb), therefore it
is an adverb.
eg hurried(ly) supposed(ly)
undoubted(ly) joking(ly)
loving(ly)
Unit 2 3 Module 1
The aim of the self-check exercises in this unit is to give you the opportunity to put the
theory explained in each chapter into practice. Some of the exercises are open-ended
and they can have multiple answers. These come without answer keys. Other
exercises do have correct answers. The answer keys to these are found at the end of
the unit. (Please note that our tutors do not comment on self-check exercises).
Unit 2 4 Module 1
ARTICLES
a is used before ALL consonants except silent h: a bank, a cow, a door, etc
a/an is used before a singular countable noun: I need a ticket for the concert.
It’s time you had a holiday.
before half, when half follows a whole number: one and a half
kilos, a half-share.
Unit 2 5 Module 1
The definite article - the
the is used When the object is unique or considered to be so: the earth, the
equator.
When referring to a family: the Smiths (ie Mr & Mrs Smith and
possibly their children as well)
Before Titles containing of: The Duke of Liverpool, The King of Spain.
Unit 2 6 Module 1
USE OF CAPITALS
Whilst there are some rules for the employment of capitals, in many instances it is a
matter of taste; but in all instances consistency is important.
Initial capitals should be used for proper nouns eg The test will be held on the
last Saturday in July. They are going to live in North Yorkshire. We use a capital N
here because North Yorkshire is a specific place. If we are referring to an area in
general do not use capital letters eg Cornwall is in the south-west of England.
Personal titles need a capital letter. Mrs Jones, His Grace the Duke of Tesolshire.
Key words in titles of publications, stage productions and musical works etc. ‘A
Place in the Sun’, ‘Much Ado about Nothing’, ‘The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba’.
Acronyms (words formed from either the initial letters of other words or a mixture
of words and syllables) NATO, NUT, ROSPA, NIMBY.
Only write whole words in capitals if you are requested to, ie when completing a
form you may be asked to ‘WRITE IN BLOCK CAPITALS’, or, if you wish to draw
attention to something important, ‘NO SMOKING’, ‘DANGER’, ‘FIRE EXIT’.
Never write entirely in capitals. From the following short passage you will see
that it is (a) difficult to read and (b) confusing.
Unit 2 7 Module 1
PUNCTUATION
Full stops, commas, colons, semi-colons, dashes, brackets (round) and [square],
hyphens, question marks, exclamation marks, quotation marks (single and double).
It's used to
denote an abbreviation, though the trend now is to omit the full stop.
4 a.m. 4 am
It is still used when abbreviating days and months eg Mon. 10 Sept. However,
unless space is limited, it is frowned upon to abbreviate in this way.
THE COMMA ,
Use
When listing three or more items in a sentence. eg She won medals for swimming,
riding and playing hockey.
When merging two sentences with a conjunction. eg You can gain an INTESOL
qualification not only by distance learning, but also by attending a two-week
residential course.
Unit 2 8 Module 1
THE COLON :
Use
To separate the result from that which precedes it. The trains were often late and
unreliable: he decided to look for a job nearer his home. The use of the colon
brings home to the reader the seriousness of the situation.
THE SEMI-COLON ;
to indicate a slight break in a sentence. No one was able to complete the test; there
was a misprint on the paper.
when making lists such as invitees to an event. The guests included: Tom Smith,
General Secretary; James Brown, Accountant; etc
THE DASH -
Used as
a pause, when the dash separates a part of the sentence which has a strong
connection with the other part of the sentence. It was not a daffodil - it was a
narcissus, dancing in the breeze.
THE HYPHEN -
Used to
Unit 2 9 Module 1
QUOTATION MARKS ' "
Single and double. Modern practice is to use single marks for all quotations unless
there is a quotation within a quotation.
Limit its use to exclamatory sentences and phrases. Get out! What a beautiful baby!
The only real problem here is not using it when it is required or using it when it is not
needed.
I wonder if you could call into this office next week. This is not a question it's a
statement.
The students (from all parts of the world) who study with INTESOL have to work very
hard to gain their qualification.
Unit 2 10 Module 1
THE APOSTROPHE
Who would believe that such a little mark could be so universally misunderstood.
Indeed it is probably the most misunderstood and frequently misused punctuation mark
in the English language.
It really is quite simple.
Providing it is well taught, students should rarely have a problem with its use. To
someone who knows how to use it, its misuse can prove to be cause for real irritation
and concern. So here goes, let's make sure that in future everyone who learns English
becomes an expert in the use of the apostrophe. Many people live in fear and dread of
the apostrophe and either pretend it doesn't exist, or liberally splatter the page with
apostrophes on every 's'. However, to use the apostrophe incorrectly is more of a crime
than not to use one at all.
IT'S USED TO
show that something has been omitted
Hello, I'm Jack, what's your name? The 'a' in 'am' has been substituted by an
apostrophe, also the 'i' in 'is'.
Mornin' thro'
indicate ownership
Becomes
This is fairly straightforward; the apostrophe shows that Jane owns the dog.
What happens if the name of the person who owns the dog ends in 's', eg. James or
Phyllis?
Even though this is grammatically correct, it is more usual to omit the final 's' and
simply put the apostrophe at the end of the name; this automatically indicates
possession.
Unit 2 11 Module 1
singular and plural
Mr Jones and Mrs Jones = The Joneses (this indicates more than one, nothing has
been omitted and as yet we have not mentioned anything belonging to them). However,
if we discuss the car belonging to Mr and Mrs Jones
this becomes
One cake, ten cakes - it doesn’t matter how many there are, an apostrophe is not
required. However as soon as something belongs to the cake an apostrophe is
required eg The cake's stand was almost a metre high.
NB Please note that ‘its’ showing ownership does not follow the apostrophe rule.
Unit 2 12 Module 1
SELF-CHECK 2.
Read through the following passage and make the necessary corrections.
Look out for the misuse of capital letters and punctuation; apostrophes
either left out or put in the wrong place and there may be the odd spelling
error and grammatical error lurking around somewhere. See how many
you can find. Thirty-seven = excellent, below thirty = more revision!
renowned for it’s Cheese, picturesque black and white ‘magpie’ houses,
It is regarded as one of the finest diary farming areas’ in the country and
has more cow’s to the acre than anywhere else in the World.
some farms are still producing the top qwality ‘Farmhouse’ cheese.
From any vantage point, on the Peckforton and bickerton Hills, the
quilt of hedges and fields’ with small copse’s and hedgerow trees. on a
Sunny day, hundreds of ponds (many of them old marl pits) glint and
shine, Well-managed hedges and ponds are excellent habitat’s for Wild
Unit 2 13 Module 1
The Town of nantwich as much to offer architecturally and historically.
Unit 2 14 Module 1
COUNT AND MASS NOUNS
Proper nouns are names of people, places and trade names etc.
Put the following into the correct column: child, music, tennis, ice, money,
city, furniture, fear, knowledge, briefcase.
Unit 2 15 Module 1
THE GERUND
The ‘ing’ form of the verb used rather like a noun, eg. jumping, walking, singing, speaking
etc.
The passive gerund Present: Her effort was rewarded by being given a
substantial pay rise.
Take your pick Some verbs can take the infinitive or gerund without the meaning
being altered.
I’ll never forget missing the flight; I was stranded for a week.
Unit 2 16 Module 1
sorrow or shame getting booked.
(put, go)
(get, set)
6. When the skater felt the ice ………… ……………….. he hurried to the edge
crack)
Unit 2 17 Module 1
PREPOSITIONS
Words that help us to answer questions such as, when and where, and link elements
eg noun, pronoun or participles.
Position
Usually, but not always, written before (pre) the noun etc.
We are told to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition and whilst it is perhaps best
to conform in formal writing or speech, it is considered acceptable in informal language
to move the preposition to the end eg
Where is the shop from which you bought your dress? - Where's the shop you bought it
from?
With whom are you going? - Who are you going with?
Phrasal verbs
Unit 2 18 Module 1
SELF-CHECK 5. PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions: for, off, across, away, over, of, up, after, down, along, out,
back, into, in, to, about, through, on, up.
Write sentences to show how make up can be used in six different ways.
Unit 2 19 Module 1
SPELLING RULES
ei or ie?
We all know the rule ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’
ie ei after c ei exceptions
field ceiling counterfeit either
grief conceive seize neither
niece deceive weir
relief perceive weird
thief receive
verbs/nouns
If, in its basic form, the consonant is preceded by only one vowel, then double it for
the past tense/participles and related noun, if applicable.
Unit 2 20 Module 1
a vowel sound + a consonant
single 'l'
Basic Verb Past tense drop 'y' add Present participle add
'ied' 'ing'
cry cried crying
lobby lobbied lobbying
Unit 2 21 Module 1
PLURALS
Exceptions
Nouns ending in 'f' or 'fe' are inconsistent. Some take 'fs' others 'ves'
Unit 2 22 Module 1
PROBLEM AREAS
Unit 2 23 Module 1
TENSES
The word ‘tense’ is a grammatical term for time. In all European languages we can
communicate in various forms of the Present, Past or Future Tense. We can say what
we do, what we did or what we will do.
They speak
She replies (add -s or -es for the third person singular)
We hear
the present tense of the verb ‘to be’ plus the present participle or gerund
of the main verb, indicated below:
to be gerund
They are speaking
Nobody is listening
I am studying
Usually when the verb infinitive ends in -e this will be omitted before
adding -ing and often when the infinitive is monosyllabic and ending in a
consonant the latter is doubled.
Unit 2 24 Module 1
When do we use it?
- To say what is happening now
(the action has already started and has not ended: this would include
comments about the weather and what people are wearing)
eg At the moment they are sitting in front of the television.
NB The Present Continuous/Progressive can also be used when talking about plans
for the future
These are two tenses that join the past to the present
I’ve mended my bicycle [ie the job is done and the bike is now
available for use].
NB When using verbs such as work or live there is no difference in meaning between
continuous and simple.
eg Dawn has been working in the Slough office for two years.
has worked
Unit 2 25 Module 1
Both of the above are compound tenses. The Simple tense has two components: the
Present tense of the verb ‘to have’ and the past participle of the main verb
The regular form of the Past Simple ends in -ed and this will be the same as the past
participle in such tenses as the Present Perfect and the Past Perfect. However with
irregular forms this is not always the case. Note a few common examples below.
a) The Past Simple is the only past tense with one component.
Non-native speakers often confuse it with the Present Perfect. The Past
Simple is used to describe actions that finished in the past. The inclusion
of a time phrase reminds us that this is the case.
eg We visited the Channel Islands last summer.
She lost her camera whilst on holiday.
The shooting party left two hours ago.
Whereas the Past Simple is used for complete actions in the past, the
Past Continuous (Past Simple of ‘to be’ plus the gerund of the main verb)
is used to describe incomplete actions going on in the past. A single
complete action can occur whilst a continuous action goes on in the
background.
eg It was raining when I stepped outside
Unit 2 26 Module 1
The Past Continuous can also be used as a descriptive tense, particularly with people
and weather.
eg He was wearing short grey trousers.
The moon and stars were shining brightly.
This is a compound tense (Past Simple of ‘to have’ plus past participle of
the main verb) which native speakers often avoid using.
eg ‘He said he had forgotten his dinner money’ is the correct version of
‘He said he forgot his dinner money’
Plainly the forgetting occurred before the saying. The Past Perfect is the
past tense you use to say what happened earlier than a certain point of
time in the past.
This tense is ‘had been’ plus the gerund of the main verb.
Imagine a continuous action leading up to a single event in the past.
eg Peter had been waiting for the bus for a good half hour when it
suddenly appeared.
e) Used to (do)
Unit 2 27 Module 1
Was/were going to is used to express an intention in the past which
frequently does not translate into action.
eg I was going to paint the ceiling at the weekend but I just didn’t have
the time.
He was going to catch the early train but was prevented from doing
so because he had to stay behind at work.
a) Going to
b) Will/shall
Both will and shall are often used as the first word in a sentence to
express a function.
Will, for example, is used to make a request
or to give an order
Unit 2 28 Module 1
Will, however, tends to be the more versatile of the two. In addition it can
be used:
a.i. to predict
eg It’ll rain tomorrow
(It will)
Will/shall and the verb ‘to be’ plus the gerund are used to describe an
action over a period of time in the future.
This takes the form of will have plus the past participle of the main verb
and is used to express a completed action in the future.
eg By the time you arrive at the port the boat will have set sail.
Will he have completed his thesis before he goes abroad?
The tense is used to predict how long something will last, viewed up to a
point in the future.
eg On 20th January I will have been working for this company for
thirty years.
[Action started before time of speaking]
Unit 2 29 Module 1
4. The Conditional Form
This is made up of ‘would’ plus the infinitive of the main verb. ‘Should’ is
possible instead of ‘would’ with the first person.
The Conditional occurs in the following cases:
If we examine ‘if’ clauses more closely we will see there are three types of Conditional.
eg If you finish your work on time, we’ll pay a visit to the science
museum. (we will)
Unit 2 30 Module 1
In the third type we find that the opposite really happened to what is expressed in the
‘if’ clause. It can be described as impossible because it has already taken place and
cannot be changed.
eg You would have passed your exams if you had devoted more
time to your studies.
[You didn’t devote more time and you didn’t pass]
If she hadn’t fallen asleep she would have seen the lunar eclipse.
[She did fall asleep and she didn’t see the eclipse]
SELF-CHECK 6. TENSES
Construct three sentences of the type above with the following jumbled
words:
Unit 2 31 Module 1
VERBS
When you use a verb you are focusing on the action that takes place within a sentence.
Without a verb you do not have a sentence.
STRUCTURE OF VERBS
In the section on tenses you will have observed there are simple and compound tenses
(ie composed of more than one part). In a simple tense you only have the main verb)
In a compound tense you will find, as well as the main verb, an auxiliary (or ‘helping’)
verb
Having studied the tenses of English already, can you say which other tenses make
use of the verb ‘to have’?
He had refused
There is a third auxiliary verb: the verb ‘to do’ which is used to make questions and
negatives in simple tenses.
eg Does she take sugar? Did I leave my umbrella behind? She doesn’t take sugar
Unit 2 32 Module 1
All three of the above verbs (have, be and do) can also be used as main verbs.
eg He is being silly
There are occasions when you may have more than one auxiliary verb. This is usually
in a sentence where the passive voice is being used; here the subject of the sentence
is not responsible for the action described by the verb, but instead is on the receiving
end of that action.
eg The boy is being questioned by the police The artefacts have been stolen
SELF-CHECK 7. VERBS
Identify each of the underlined words saying whether they are main or
auxiliary verbs, giving any extra information necessary, as in the course
notes.
Unit 2 33 Module 1
8. They don’t shoot rabbits, do they?
This group of verbs has no infinitive - you cannot say ‘to must’ - and has no ‘s’ on the
3rd person singular. Questions are constructed by reversing the order of the subject and
the verb, and ‘do’ is not used to form a negative.
By doing the self-check you will be able to see which verbs are modals.
NB Most modal verbs have no past forms, could and would being the exceptions.
eg She must cancel her appointment
would become in the past:
She had to cancel her appointment
‘Must have cancelled’ means something completely different.
Exercise 1(a)
1. must 8. could
2. should 9. shall
3. would 10. find
4. swim 11. will
5. may 12. can
6. read 13. write
Unit 2 34 Module 1
7. ought 14. might
Exercise 1(b)
Which four of the above are not modal verbs? Can you say why?
Exercise 2
Try placing another verb after each of the ten modal auxiliaries you have
identified above. Which modal is the exception to the rule given, and can
be followed by ‘to’?
Phrasal Verbs
There are thousands of phrasal verbs in the English language which for foreigners can
be quite difficult to learn and take some time getting used to.
These verbs consist of two or more parts: an ordinary verb (eg put, take, look) and a
small word or particle such as off, down, up, aside etc.
For example: What phrasal verb can you use instead of the underlined word in
the following sentence?
Some phrasal verbs have more than one particle, eg get on with, go through with,
snap out of
One final point to note about the particle is that it does not always come immediately
after the verb.
Unit 2 35 Module 1
SELF-CHECK 9. PHRASAL VERBS
Exercise 1
Find a phrasal verb from the list on the right for each of the single words on
the left.
Exercise 2
1. seek 6. demolish
2. wait 7. ridicule
3. maintain (payments) 8. remove
4. discover 9. withdraw (money)
5. inherit 10. enter
Particles
on into at for
Unit 2 36 Module 1
(both lists can be used more than once)
Self-check 2:
renowned for its cheese, picturesque black and white ‘magpie’ houses,
It is regarded as one of the finest dairy farming areas in the country and has
Most of the famous Cheshire cheese is now made in creameries, but some
From any vantage point (no comma here) on the Peckforton and Bickerton
patchwork quilt of hedges and fields with small copses and hedgerow trees.
glint and shine. Well-managed hedges and ponds are excellent habitats for
The Town of Nantwich has much to offer architecturally and historically. The
Museum brings together various aspects (no comma here) of the town’s
history and gives fascinating glimpses of the life of people through the years.
Unit 2 37 Module 1
There is also a permanent display of cheese making, once a major industry
on local farms.
Self-check 3:
Self-check 4:
1. forcing
2. working, gaining
3. meeting
4. to put, going
5. to get/getting, to set
Self-check 7:
2) Sell – main
Unit 2 38 Module 1
4) Have – auxiliary, had – main
Self-check 8:
1a)
must, should, would, may, ought, could, shall, will, can, might
1b)
swim, read, find, write – these have tense forms and require another verb to form a
question or negative.
2)
ought
Self-check 9:
1)
1–g
2–j
3–e
4–i
5–b
6–d
7–a
8–f
9–c
10 – h
Unit 2 39 Module 1
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Unit 2 40 Module 1