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1b. Uncountable nouns have no plural: they refer to things you cannot count. Here are
examples of concrete nouns (referring to the physical world) which are not countable.
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Uncountables refer to masses which we cannot easily think of as consisting of separate
items: i.e. liquids, powders. We can divide many of these masses into subgroups, which
are also uncountable:
material: cotton, wool, silk, nylon
meat: beef, pork, lamb, chicken
ex.: Are these socks made of wool or of cotton?
I prefer lamb to chicken.
Types of uncountables
To remember easily, think of substances, liquids, gases, and abstract ideas as
uncountable. In the lists of words in a – e, those uncountable nouns which have
subgroups of uncountable nouns are marked in bold italic type.
a. Substances:
wood, plastic, leather, cement, chalk, plaster, paint, sand, coal, rock, paper
material: cloth, cotton, silk, wool, nylon
metal: iron, gold, silver, brass, lead
food: flour, rice, bread, wheat, rye, sugar, salt, pepper, meat, fish, fruit, butter, cheese,
jam
fur, skin, hair, ice, snow, rain, soil, grass, land, ground
b. Liquids:
water, milk, coffee, tea, oil, petrol <G.B.>, gasoline <U.S.>, juice, alcohol
c. Gases:
air, smoke, steam, oxygen, hydrogen
d. Others (You might expect some of these to be plural, but they are not!):
furniture, luggage, baggage, money, pay, noise, traffic, music, accomodation
e. Abstract ideas:
information, knowledge, advice, education, fiction, (outer) space, time, power,
experience, history
NOTE: News looks like a plural noun, but in fact it is singular uncountable.
Ex.: There’s not much news on the radio today.
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Note also that work, homework and housework are uncountable.
countable uncountable
(i) Do you have a pleasant job? (But not: … *a pleasant work)
(ii) Those meals you cooked were delicious (But not: *Those foods…)
(iii) I bought two loaves (of bread) (But not: … *two breads)
uncountable countable
(i) It’s made of wood. (But not: *made of tree)
(ii) There’s too much traffic. (But not: *too much vehicle)
(iii) I sold all the furniture. (But not: *all the table)
Some and all the are occasionally followed by a singular countable noun. But this is
exceptional.
Ex.: That was some party! (= ‘a very special party’)
I’ve eaten all the loaf. (=’the whole loaf’)
Many nouns have both countable and uncountable uses. Some common examples:
countable uncountable
A dozen (=12) eggs, please. There’s some egg on your chin.
I’ve told him so many times. We’ve wasted so much time.
The crowd threw rocks at us. a tunnel through hard rock.
a strong wind; light winds There’s a lot of wind about.
She gave a talk on sailing. That’s foolish talk.
the bright lights of the city Light travels very fast.
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Some more examples: a glass – (some) glass; a cake – (some) cake; two papers – (some)
paper.
For many nouns, the countable use is for separate items or things, but the uncountable use
is for (an amount of) the material or substance. For example: two onions – (some) onion; a
(whole) cheese – (some) cheese; a chicken – (some) chicken.
A countable noun can also describe ‘a kind or type of X’, where X is the uncountable
noun.
Ex.: Gold and silver are valuable metals. (‘kinds of metal’)
This store sells health foods and baby food(s).
Oak is a hard wood.
We sometimes change an uncountable noun into a countable noun. For instance, nouns
for liquids as tea and coffee are usually uncountable, but we can use them as countable nouns
meaning (a) ‘a glass or cup of X’, or (b) ‘a type of X’.
Ex.: A tea and two coffees, please.
This is an excellent mineral water from Belgium.
NOTE: The meaning of a noun does not always help us to decide whether it is
uncountable. For example, traffic, furniture, baggage (G.B. luggage), money, news refer to a
group of separate things. But English treats them as uncountable; we could say that English
‘sees’ these as a mass.
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The plural
The nouns which have a plural form are called countable nouns. Most nouns are
countable.
The regular plural form of a noun adds –s (or –es) to the singular.
Ex.: week – weeks; cup – cups; plan – plans; law – laws; uncle – uncles; toy – toys
Most nouns add –s, but if the noun already ends in –s or –z, -x, -ch, -sh, it adds –es.
Ex.: bus – buses; buzz – buzzes; box – boxes; peach – peaches; bush – bushes
QUANTITY
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General introduction to quantity
Activities
3. Use the verbs in brackets in the singular or in the plural (present tense) as required by
the subject:
1. My family (be) at the seaside.
2. Our basketball team (play) tonight.
3. Mathematics (be) an exact science.
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4. People (like) travelling today.
5. Our group (be) made up of fifteen students.
6. The crowd (be) gathered in front of the stadium gates.
7. The government (agree) to take the necessary steps to improve the living conditions.
8. The staff (be) composed of almost twenty persons.
9. The army (be) camped near the river.
7. Supply (the) little, a little, (the) few, a few in the following sentences:
1. I’d like to make … remarks in connection with the topic under discussion.
2. I know … of the men.
3. I know … about the man. There’s nothing definite that I could say.
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4. Please, hurry, there is … time left. … spare time I have after work is always spent on
shopping or doing a lot of housework. Now there is … time left, so we can go to the
next bookshop to buy the latest books and magazines.
5. She has a fairly good command of French and, besides, knows … German.
6. … weeks from now he’ll be miles and miles away.
7. There are … books on civil law in our library. … books on civil law I have read are
very difficult.
8. It’s no use asking him about it. He has … experience in this matter.
9. He had very … friends (hardly any friends).
10. The chairman said … words (some words).
11. There was very … water in the flowerpot.
12. May I have … wine, please?
13. She had … biscuits and … milk and felt much better.
14. There is … soup left so I cannot give you a second helping.
9. Substitute (a) few, many, (a) little, much, a lot of in place of ‘a small quantity’, ‘a
large number’, etc.
For example:
John drinks a large quantity of coffee. John drinks a lot of coffee.
Mary had a small number of good friends. Mary had a few good friends.
He doesn’t eat a large quantity of bread. He doesn’t eat much bread.
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7. They have a small quantity of money.
8. He had a small number of toys.
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VERBS, VERB TENSES, IMPERATIVES
Some grammarians believe that tense must always be shown by the actual form of the
verb, and in many languages present, past and future are indicated by changes in the verb forms.
On this reckoning, English really has just two tenses, the present and the past, since these are the
only two cases where the form of the basic verb varies: love, write (present); loved, wrote (past).
However, it is usual (and convenient) to refer to all combinations of be + present
participle and have + past participle as tenses. The same goes for will + bare infinitive to refer to
the future (It will be fine tomorrow). But we must remember that tense in English is often only
loosely related to time.
Tenses have two forms, simple and progressive (sometimes called ‘continuous’). The
progressive contains be + present participle:
simple progressive
present: I work. I am working.
past: I worked. I was working.
present perfect: I have worked. I have been working.
past perfect: I had worked. I had been working.
future: I will work. I will be working.
future perfect: I will have worked. I will have been working.
Both simple and progressive forms usually give a general idea of when an action takes
place. But the distinction between the two is not according to the time when an action takes place
(time is indicated by tense), but to our perception of it (how we perceive the action). For
instance, the progressive forms tell us that an activity is (or was, or will be, etc.) in progress (or
under development), or thought of as being in progress.
This activity may be in progress at the moment of speaking:
What are you doing? – I’m making a cake.
or not in progress at the moment of speaking, but during a limited period of time:
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I’m learning to type. (i.e. but not at the moment of speaking)
Or the activity may be temporary or changeable:
Fred was wearing a blue shirt yesterday.
Or the activity may be uncompleted:
Vera has been trying to learn Chinese for years.
Our decision about which tense to use depends on the context and the impression we
wish to convey.
Some verbs are not generally used in progressive forms. They are called stative because
they refer to states (e.g. experiences, conditions) rather than to actions. In a sentence like:
She loves/loved her baby more than anything in the world.
loves (or loved) describes a state over which the mother has no control: it is an involuntary
feeling. We could not use the progressive forms (is/was loving) here.
Dynamic verbs, on the other hand, usually refer to actions which are deliberate or
voluntary (I’m making a cake) or they refer to changing situations (He’s growing old), that is, to
activities, etc., which have a beginning and an end. Dynamic verbs can be used in progressive as
well as simple forms. Compare the following:
progressive forms simple forms
1. Dynamic verbs with progressive and simple forms:
I’m looking at you. I often look at you.
I’m listening to music. I often listen to you.
2. Verbs which are nearly always stative (simple forms only):
- I see you.
- I hear music.
3. Verbs that have dynamic or stative uses:
deliberate actions states
I’m weighing myself. I weigh 65 kilos.
I’m tasting the soup. It tastes salty.
I’m feeling the radiator. It feel hot.
Stative verbs usually occur in the simple form in all tenses. We can think of ‘states’ in
categories like:
1. Feelings: like, love, etc.
2. Thinking/believing: think, understand, etc.
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3. Wants and preferences: prefer, want, etc.
4. Perception and the senses: hear, see, etc.
5. Being/seeming/having/owning: appear, seem, belong, own, etc.
Sometimes verbs describing physical sensations can be used in simple or progressive
forms with hardly any change of meaning:
Ooh! It hurts! = Ooh! It’s hurting.
Can/can’t and could/couldn’t often combine with verbs of perception to refer to a
particular moment in the present or the past where a progressive form would be impossible:
I can smell gas. = I smell gas.
In extended speech or writing we usually select a governing tense which affects all other
tense forms. The problem of the ‘sequence of tenses’ is not confined to indirect speech. Our
choice of tense may be influenced by the following factors:
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A past tense normally attracts another past:
He told me he was a good tennis-player.
In the second example only a more complete context would tell us whether he was a good
tennis-player refers to the past (i.e. ‘when he was a young man’) or to present time. A speaker or
writer can ignore the ‘proximity rule’ and use a present tense after a past, or a past after a present
in order to be more precise:
He told me he is a good tennis-player. (i.e. he still is)
He tells me he used to be a good tennis player.
However, combinations such as you say you are or you told me you were tend to form
themselves automatically. That is why we can refer to the idea of ‘sequence of tenses’ in which
present usually combines with present, and past usually combines with past.
1.1 We add –s or –es to the base form of the verb in the third person singular
I work We work
You work You work
He works
She works They work
It works
1.2 In the interrogative and negative, we add the auxiliary DO, conjugated in the present.
The main verb following the auxiliary is in the bare infinitive:
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Do I work? Do we work?
Do you work? Do you work?
Does he work?
Does she work? Do they work?
Does it work?
The function of the auxiliary verb (DO) is grammatical, while the function of the main
verb (work) is lexical. As we have the verb DO conjugated, we no longer need to conjugate the
main verb, and that is why we cannot have combinations like *Does he works? or *She does not
works.
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I sometimes stay up till midnight.
She visits her parents every day.
We commonly use the simple present to ask and answer questions which begin with How
often?:
How often do you go to the dentist? – I go every six months.
Questions relating to habit can be asked with ever and answered with e.g. never and
sometimes not…ever:
Do you ever eat meat? – No, I never eat meat.
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The present progressive tense
The interrogative is formed by the inversion between the subject and auxiliary verb:
Am I working? Are we working?
Are you working? Are you working?
Is he working?
Is she working? Are they working?
Is it working?
The negative is formed by adding the negation (not) after the auxiliary:
I am not working. We are not working.
You are not working. You are not working.
He is not working.
She is not working. They are not working.
It is not working.
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He’s working at the moment, so he can’t come to the telephone.
Actions in progress are seen as uncompleted:
He’s talking to his girlfriend on the phone.
We can emphasize the idea of duration with still:
He’s still talking to his girlfriend on the phone.
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I’m always hearing strange stories about him.
Sometimes there can be implied complaint in this use of the progressive when it refers to
something that happens too often:
Our burglar alarm is forever going off for no reason.
3.4 The simple present in synopses (e.g. reviews of books, films, etc.)
Kate Fox’s novel is an historical romance set in London in the 1880’s. The action takes
place over a period of 30 years…
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3.5 The performative simple present
We use the simple present tense to describe performative utterances, that is, utterances
that in themselves constitute actions (e.g. in rituals, customs): uttering the verb is actually
performing an activity. Sometimes the adverb hereby is used:
I baptize you John.
I pronounce you man and wife.
I declare the session open.
I hereby consent to your decision.
3.6 The simple present and present progressive in newspaper headlines and e.g.
photographic captions
The simple present is generally used to refer to past events:
FREAK SNOW STOPS TRAFFIC
DISARMAMENT TALKS BEGIN IN VIENNA
The abbreviated progressive refers to the future. The infinitive can also be used for this
purpose:
CABINET MINISTER RESIGNING SOON (or: TO RESIGN SOON)
The simple past is formed by adding –ed to the base verb. The form is the same for all
persons:
I worked. We worked.
You worked. You worked.
He worked.
She worked. They worked.
It worked.
The interrogative and negative are formed with the auxiliary do conjugated in the simple
past, i.e. DID:
Did I work? Did we work?
Did you work? Did you work?
Did he work?
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Did she work? Did they work?
Did it work?
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2.2 Spelling of the regular past
The regular past always ends in –d:
arrive/arrived
Verbs ending in –e add –d: e.g. phone/phoned, smile/smiled. This rule applies equally to
agree, die, lie, etc.
wait/waited
Verbs not ending in –e add –ed: e.g. ask/asked, clean/cleaned, follow/followed.
stop/stopped
Verbs spelt with a single vowel letter followed by a single consonant letter double the
consonant: beg/begged, rub/rubbed.
occur/occurred
In two-syllable verbs the final consonant is doubled when the last syllable contains a
single vowel letter followed by a single consonant letter and is stressed: pre`fer/preferred,
re`fer/referred. Compare: `benefit/benefited, `differ/differed and `profit/profited, which are
stressed on their first syllables and which therefore do not double their final consonants. In AmE
labeled, quarreled, signaled and traveled follow the rule. In BE labelled, quarrelled, signalled
and travelled are exceptions to the rule.
cry/cried
When there is a consonant before –y, the y changes to i before we add –ed: e.g.
carry/carried, deny/denied, fry/fried, try/tried. Compare delay/delayed, obey/obeyed,
play/played, etc. which have a vowel before –y and therefore simply add –ed in the past
The form of the past tense simple is the 2nd form in the list of irregular verbs. The form is
the same for all persons:
I left. We left.
You left. You left.
He left.
She left. They left.
It left.
The interrogative and negative are formed with the auxiliary DID + the bare infinitive of
the main verb:
Did I leave? Did we leave?
Did you leave? Did you leave?
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Did he leave/
Did she leave? Did they leave?
Did it leave?
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4.2 Past habit
Like used to, the simple past can be used to describe past habits:
I smoked forty cigarettes a day till I gave up.
The association of the past tense with adverbials that tell us when something happened is
very important. Adverbials used with the past tense must refer to past (not present) time. This
means that adverbials which link with the present (before now, so far, till now, yet) are not used
with past tenses.
Some adverbials like yesterday, last summer and combinations with ago are used only
with past tenses:
I saw Jane yesterday/last summer.
Ago, meaning ‘back from now’, can combine with a variety of expressions to refer to the
past: e.g. two years ago; six months ago; ten minutes ago; a long time ago:
I met Robert Parr many years ago in Czechoslovakia.
The past is often used with when to ask and answer questions:
When did you learn about it? – When I saw it in the papers.
When often points to a definite contrast with the present:
I played football every day when I was a boy.
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Other adverbials can be used with past tenses when they refer to past time, but can be
used with other tenses as well:
adverbs: I always liked Gloria.
I often saw her in Rome.
Did you ever meet Sonia?
adverbial/prepositional phrases: We left at 4 o’clock/on Tuesday.
We had our holiday in July.
adverbial clauses: I waited till he arrived.
I met him when I was at college.
as + adverb + as: I saw him as recently as last week.
The past progressive is formed with the auxiliary be conjugated in the past
(WAS/WERE) + the –ing form of the main verb:
I was working. We were working.
You were working. You were working.
He was working.
She was working. They were working.
It was working.
The interrogative is formed by the inversion of the auxiliary and the subject:
Was I working? Were we working?
Were you working? Were you working?
Was he working?
Was she working? Were they working?
Was it working?
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He was not working.
She was not working. They were not working.
It was not working.
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2.4 Repeated actions
This use is similar to that of the present progressive:
When he worked here, Roger was always making mistakes.
The simple past combines with other past tenses, such as the past progressive and the past
perfect, when we are talking or writing about the past. Note that the past progressive is used for
scene-setting. Past tenses of various kinds are common in story-telling, biography,
autobiography, reports, eye-witness accounts, etc.:
On March 14th at 10.15 a.m. I was waiting for a bus at the bus stop on the corner of
Dover Road and West Street when a black Mercedes parked at the stop. Before the driver (had)
managed to get out of his car, a number 14 bus appeared…
It was evening. The sun was setting. A gentle wind was blowing through the trees. In the
distance I noticed a Land Rover moving across the dusty plain. It stopped and two men jumped
out of it.
It was just before the Second World War. Tom was only 20 at the time and was living
with his mother. He was working in a bank and travelling to London every day. One morning, he
received a mysterious letter. It was addressed to ‘Mr Thomas Parker’.
The present perfect is formed with the present of have + the past participle (the third
form of the verb). For regular verbs, the past participle has the same form as the simple past
tense: e.g. arrive, arrived, have/has arrived. For irregular verbs, the simple past and the past
participle can be formed in a variety of ways: e.g. drink, drank, have drunk.
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I have worked. We have worked.
You have worked. You have worked.
He has worked.
She has worked. They have worked.
It has worked.
The interrogative is formed by means of the inversion between the subject and the
auxiliary have:
Have I worked? Have we worked?
Have you worked? Have you worked?
Has he worked?
Has she worked? Have they worked?
Has it worked?
The negative is formed by adding the negation NOT after the auxiliary:
I have not worked. We have not worked.
You have not worked. You have not worked.
He has not worked.
She has not worked. They have not worked.
It has not worked.
Students speaking other European languages sometimes misuse the present perfect tense
in English because of interference from their mother tongue. The present perfect is often wrongly
seen as an alternative to the past, so that a student might think that I’ve had lunch and I had
lunch are interchangeable. It is also confused with the present, so that an idea like I’ve been here
since February is wrongly expressed in the present with I am.
The present perfect always suggests a relationship between present time and past time. So
I’ve had lunch implies that I did so very recently. However, if I say I had lunch, I also have to
say or imply when: e.g. I had lunch an hour ago. Similarly, I’ve been here since February shows
a connection between past and present, whereas I am here can only relate to the present and
cannot be followed by a phrase like since February.
In the present perfect tense, the time reference is sometimes undefined; often we are
interested in present results, or in the way something that happened in the past affects the
present situation. The present perfect can therefore be seen as a present tense which looks
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backwards into the past (just as the past perfect is a past tense which looks back into an earlier
past). Compare the simple past tense, where the time reference is defined because we are
interested in past time or past results. The following pairs of sentences illustrate this difference
between present time and past time:
I haven’t seen him this morning. (i.e. up to the present time: it is still morning)
I didn’t see him this morning. (i.e. the morning has now passed)
4.1 The present perfect + adverbials that suggest ‘up to the present’
We do not use the present perfect with adverbs relating to past time (ago, yesterday, etc.).
Adverbial phrases like the following are used with the present perfect because they clearly
connect the past with the present moment: before (now), It’s the first time…, so far, so far this
morning, up till now, up to the present. Adverbs like ever (in questions), and not…ever or
never (in statements) are commonly (but not exclusively) used with the present perfect:
I’ve planted fourteen rose-bushes so far this morning.
She’s never eaten a mango before. Have you ever eaten a mango?
It’s the most interesting book I’ve ever read.
Olga hasn’t appeared on TV before now.
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- an adverb: I saw Fiona in May and I haven’t seen her since.
- a preposition: I’ve lived here since 1980.
Since, as a conjunction, can be followed by the simple past or present perfect:
I retired in 1980 and came to live here. I’ve lived here since I retired. (i.e. the point when
I retired: 1980)
I have lived here for several years now and I’ve made many new friends since I have
lived here. (i.e. up to now)
For + period of time often occurs with the present perfect but can be used with any tense.
Compare:
I’ve lived here for five years. (and I still live here)
I lived here for five years. (I don’t live here now)
I am here for six weeks. (that’s how long I’m going to stay)
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- yet, in questions, for events we are expecting to hear about: Have you passed your
driving test yet? or in negatives, for things we haven’t done, but expect to do: I
haven’t passed my driving test yet.
- still, at last, finally: I still haven’t passed my driving test. (despite my efforts)/ I
have passed my driving test at last. (after all my efforts)
The present perfect is never used in past narrative (e.g. stories told in the past, history
books). Apart from its common use in conversation, it is most often used in broadcast news,
newspapers, letters and any kind of language-use which has connexion with the present.
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The simple past perfect tense
The past perfect is formed with the auxiliary have conjugated in the past = HAD + the
past participle (the 3rd form of the verb):
I had worked. We had worked.
You had worked. You had work.
He had worked.
She had worked. They had worked.
It had worked.
The interrogative is formed by the inversion of the subject and the auxiliary:
Had I worked? Had we worked?
Had you worked? Had you worked?
Had he worked?
Had she worked? Had they worked?
Had it worked?
It is sometimes supposed that we use the past perfect simply to describe ‘events that
happened a long time ago’. This is not the case. We use the simple past for this purpose:
Anthony and Cleopatra died in 30 B.C.
Adverbs often associated with the present perfect: already, ever, for (+ period of time),
just, never, never…before, since (+ point of time) are often used with the past perfect to
emphasize the sequence of events:
When I rang, Jim had already left.
The boys loved the zoo. They had never seen wild animals before.
2.2 The past perfect as the past equivalent of the present perfect
The past perfect sometimes functions simply as the past form of the present perfect:
Juliet is excited because she has never been to a dance before.
Juliet was excited because she had never been to a dance before.
This is particularly the case in indirect speech.
Used in this way, the past perfect can emphasize completion:
I began collecting stamps in February and by November I had collected more than 2000.
Yet can be used with the past perfect, but we often prefer expressions like until then or
by that time. Compare:
He hasn’t finished yet.
He hadn’t finished by yesterday evening.
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3. Obligatory and non-obligatory uses of the past perfect
We do not always need to use the past perfect to describe which event came first.
Sometimes this is perfectly clear, as in:
After I finished, I came home.
The sequence is often clear in relative clauses as well:
I wore the necklace (which) my grandmother (had) left me.
We normally use the simple past for events that occur in sequence:
I got out of the taxi, paid the fare, tipped the driver and dashed into the station.
‘I came, I saw, I conquered,’ Julius Caesar declared.
But there are instances when we need to be very precise in our use of past or past perfect,
particularly with when:
When I arrived, Anne left. (i.e. at that moment)
When I arrived, Anne had left. (i.e. before I got there)
In the first sentence, I saw Anne, however briefly. In the second, I didn’t see her at all.
The past perfect combines with other past tenses (simple past, past progressive, past
perfect progressive) when we are talking or writing about the past. It is used in story-telling,
biography, autobiography, reports, eye-witness accounts, etc. and is especially useful for
establishing the sequence of events:
When we returned from our holidays, we found our house in a mess. What had happened
while we had been away? A burglar had broken into the house and had stolen a lot of out things.
(Now that the time of the burglary has been established relative to our return, the story can
continue in the simple past). The burglar got in through the kitchen window. He had no difficulty
in forcing it open. Then he went into the living-room…
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Note the reference to an earlier past in the following narrative:
Silas Badley inherited several old cottages in our village. He wanted to pull them down
and build new houses which he could sell for high prices. He wrote to Mr Harrison, now blind
and nearly eighty, asking him to leave his cottage within a month. Old Mr Harrison was very
distressed. (The situation has been established through the use of the simple past. What follows
now is a reference to an earlier past through the use of the simple past perfect.) He had been
born in the cottage and stayed there all his life. His children had grown up there; his wife had
died there and now he lived there all alone
The present perfect progressive is formed with the auxiliary be conjugated in the present
perfect = HAVE BEEN + the –ING form. The past perfect progressive is formed with the
auxiliary be conjugated in the past perfect = HAD BEEN + the –ING form.
present/past perfect progressive
I have/had been working. We have/had been working.
You have/had been working. You have/had been working.
He has/had been working.
She has/had been working. They have/had been working.
It has/had been working.
The interrogative is formed by the inversion of the first auxiliary (have/had) and the
subject.
Have/had I been working? Have/had we been working?
Have/had you been working? Have/had you been working?
Has/had he been working?
Has/had she been working? Have/had they been working?
Has/had it been working?
The negative is formed by adding the negation to the first auxiliary (have/had):
I have/had not been working. We have/had not been working.
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You have/had not been working. You have/had not been working.
He has/had not been working.
She has/had not been working. They have/had not been working.
It has/had not been working.
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2.3 The present/past perfect progressive for drawing conclusions
We use the progressive (seldom the simple) forms to show that we have come to a
conclusion based on direct or indirect evidence:
Your eyes are red. You’ve been crying.
Her eyes were red. It was obvious she had been crying.
The present perfect progressive often occurs in complaints:
This room stinks. Someone’s been smoking here.
The simple future is formed with WILL and the base form of the verb:
I will work. We will work.
You will work. You will work.
He will work.
She will work. They will work.
It will work
The interrogative is formed by inversion between the subject and the auxiliary:
Will I work? Will we work?
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Will you work? Will you work?
Will he work?
Will she work? Will they work?
Will it work?
2.2 Contractions
Shall does not contract to ‘ll in writing. Will contracts to ‘ll in writing and in fluent, rapid
speech after vowels, but ‘ll can also occur after consonants. So we might find ‘ll used: e.g.
-after names: Tom’ll be here soon.
-after common nouns: The concert’ll start in a minute.
-after question-words: When’ll they arrive?
2.3 Negatives
Will not contracts to ‘ll not or won’t; shall not contracts to shan’t.
I/We won’t or shan’t go. (I/We will not or shall not go.)
In AmE shan’t is rare and shall with a future reference is unusual.
37
- future progressive: I will be seeing.
- future perfect: I will have seen.
- future perfect progressive: I will have been seeing.
38
Lack of certainty, etc. can be conveyed by using will with adverbs like perhaps, possibly,
probably, surely:
Ask him again. Perhaps he’ll change his mind.
Some adverbials like tomorrow are used exclusively with future reference; others like at
4 o’clock, before Friday, etc. are used with other tenses as well as the future:
I’ll meet you at 4 o’clock.
Now and just can also have a future reference:
This shop will now be open on June 23rd.
I’m nearly ready. I’ll just put my coat on.
The future progressive is formed with the auxiliary be conjugated in the future:
WILL/SHALL BE + the –ING form:
I will/shall be working. We will/shall be working.
You will be working. You will be working.
He will be working.
She will be working. They will be working.
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It will be working.
The interrogative is formed by inversion of the subject and the first auxiliary (will):
Will/shall I be working? Will/shall we be working?
Will you be working? Will you be working?
Will he be working?
Will she be working? Will they be working?
Will it be working?
The negative is formed by adding the negation to the first auxiliary (will):
I will/shall not be working. We will/shall not be working.
You will not be working. You will not be working.
He will not be working.
She will not be working. They will not be working.
It will not be working.
In some contexts, the future progressive sounds more polite than will, especially in
questions when we do not wish to appear to be pressing for a definite answer:
When will you finish these letters? (e.g. boss to assistant)
When will you be seeing Mr White? (e.g. assistant to boss)
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Sometimes there really is a difference in meaning:
Mary won’t pay this bill. (she refuses to)
Mary won’t be paying this bill. (futurity)
Will you join us for dinner? (invitation)
Will you be joining us for dinner? (futurity)
Won’t you come with us? (invitation)
Won’t you be coming with us? (futurity)
The future perfect simple is formed with WILL HAVE + the past participle (3rd form)
of the main verb:
I will/shall have worked. We will/shall have worked.
You will have worked. You will have worked.
He will have worked.
She will have worked. They will have worked.
It will have worked.
The future perfect progressive is formed with WILL HAVE BEEN + the –ING form of
the main verb:
I will/shall have been working. We will/shall have been working.
You will have been working. You will have been working.
He will have been working.
She will have been working. They will have been working.
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It will have been working.
The interrogative is formed by inversion of the first auxiliary (will) and the subject:
future perfect simple/progressive
Will/shall I have worked/been working? Will/shall we have worked/been working?
Will you have worked/been working? Will you have worked/been working?
Will he have worked/been working?
Will she have worked/been working? Will they have worked/been working?
Will it have worked/been working?
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The ‘going to’ – future
The ‘going to’ – future is formed with the verb be conjugated in the present + going to +
the base form of the main verb:
I am going to work. We are going to work.
You are going to work. You are going to work.
He is going to work.
She is going to work. They are going to work.
It is going to work.
The interrogative is formed by inversion of the subject and the verb be:
Am I going to work? Are we going to work?
Are you going to work? Are you going to work?
Is he going to work?
Is she going to work? Are they going to work?
Is it going to work?
Intention can be emphasized with adverbs like now and just which are generally
associated with present time:
I’m now going to show you how to make spaghetti sauce.
I’m just going to change. I’ll be back in five minutes.
The use of be going to refer to the remote future is less common and generally requires a
time reference:
She says she’s going to be a jockey when she grows up.
If we want to be precise about intentions and plans, we use verbs like intend to, plan to,
propose to, rather than going to:
They’re going to build a new motorway to the west. (vague)
They propose to build a new motorway to the west. (more precise)
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Though be going to can combine with go and come, the present progressive is preferred
with these verbs for reasons of style. We tend to avoid going to next to go or come (e.g. going to
go/going to come):
I’m going/coming home early this evening.
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BE ON THE POINT OF + -ING
I am on the point of working. We are on the point of working.
You are on the point of working.
He is on the point of working. Etc.
2.2 The use of ‘be about to’, ‘be on the point of’
These constructions are used to refer to the immediate future:
Look! The race is about to start.
On the point of conveys even greater immediacy:
Look! They’re on the point of starting!
The use of just with be about to and be on the point of increases the sense of immediacy,
as it does with the present progressive:
They’re just starting!
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The future-in-the-past
1. The future-in-the-past
The future-in-the-past can be expressed by was going to, was about to, was to, was to
have + past participle, was on the point of, was due to and (in more limited contexts) would.
These forms can refer to events which were planned to take place and which did take place.
I couldn’t go to Tom’s party as I was about to go into hospital.
or refer to an outcome that could not be foreseen:
Little did they know they were to be reunited ten years later.
However, the future-in-the-past can also be used to describe events which were
interrupted (just…when):
We were just going to leave when Jean fell and hurt her ankle.
or to describe events which were hindered or prevented (…but):
I was to see/was going to see/was to have seen Mr Kay tomorrow, but the appointment
has been cancelled.
Note the possible ambiguity of:
I was going to see Mr Kay. (the meeting did or did not take place)
compared with:
I was to have seen Mr Kay. (I did not see him)
The future-in-the-past is often used in narrative to describe ‘events that were destined to
happen’:
Einstein was still a young man. His discoveries had not yet been published, but they were
to change our whole view of the universe.
Would can also express future-in-the-past in such contexts:
We had already reached 5.000 meters. Soon we would reach the top.
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The imperative
We use the imperative for direct orders and suggestions and also for a variety of other
purposes. Stress and intonation, gesture, facial expression, and, above all, situation and context,
indicate whether the use of this form is friendly, abrupt, angry, impatient, persuasive, etc. The
negative form is usually expressed by Don’t. The full form (Do not) is used mainly in public
notices. Here are some common uses:
1. Direct commands, requests, suggestions:
Follow me. Shut the door (please). Don’t worry!
2. Warnings:
Look out! There’s a bus! Don’t panic!
3. Directions:
Take the 2nd turning on the left and then turn right.
4. Instructions:
Use a moderate oven and bake for 20 minutes.
5. Prohibitions (e.g. in public notices):
Keep off the grass! Do not feed the animals!
6. Advice (especially after always and never):
Always answer when you’re spoken to! Never speak to strangers!
7. Invitations:
Come and have dinner with us soon.
8. Offers:
Help yourself. Have a biscuit.
9. Expressing rudeness:
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Shut up! Push off!
The imperative, e.g. Wait here!, might be addressed to one person or several people: you
is implied. However, we can get the attention of the person or people spoken to in the following
ways:
1. You + imperative:
You wait here for a moment.
Intonation and stress are important. If, in the above example you is unstressed, the
sentence means ‘this is where you wait’. If it is stressed, it means ‘this is what I want you to do’.
When you is stressed, it might also convey anger, hostility or rudeness:
You mind your own business!
You try teaching 40 noisy children five days a week!
Don’t (not you) is stressed in the negative:
Don’t you speak to me like that!
2. You + name(s) or name(s) + you:
You wait here, Jim and Mary, you wait there.
3. Imperative + name or name + imperative:
Drink up your milk, Sally! Sally, drink up your milk!
4. Imperative + reflexive:
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Enjoy yourself. Behave yourself.
5. We can use words like everybody, someone with the imperative when we are talking to
groups of people:
Everyone keep quiet! Keep still everybody!
Nobody say a word! Somebody answer the phone please.
Any compounds are used after negative commands:
Don’t say a word anybody! Don’t anybody say a word!
6. We use let’s for 1st person plural imperative:
Let’s take a taxi!
Let’s is often associated with shall we?:
Let’s take a taxi, shall we?
The negative of Let’s in suggestions is:
Let’s not/Don’t let’s argue about it.
Informally, Let’s can relate to I in e.g. offers and requests:
Let’s give you a hand. (=I’ll) Let’s have a look. (=Can I?)
Tags like will you?, won’t you?, can you?, can’t you?, could you? and would you?
can often be used after an imperative for a variety of purposes: e.g.
- to express annoyance/impatience with will/won’t/can’t you? (rising tone):
Stop fiddling with that TV, will you/won’t you/can’t you?
- to make a request (can you? for neutral requests; could/would you? for more polite
ones); or to sound less abrupt:
Post this letter for me can you?/could you?/would you?
- to offer polite encouragement or to make friendly offers and suggestions (will you?
and won’t you?):
Come in, will you/won’t you? Take a seat, will you/won’t you?
- to obtain the co-operation of others with Don’t…will you?:
Don’t tell anyone I told you, will you?
And note why don’t you as a tag in: e.g.
Go off for the weekend, why don’t you?
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8. Double imperatives joined by ‘and’
Some imperatives can be followed by and and another imperative where we might expect
a to-infinitive:
Go and buy yourself a new pair of shoes. (Not *Go to buy)
Come and see this goldfish. (Not *Come to see)
Come and play a game of bridge with us. (Not *Come to play)
Wait and see. (Not *Wait to see)
Try and see my point of view. (Note: Try to is also possible)
In American English go is sometimes followed by a bare infinitive:
Go fetch some water. (=Go and fetch)
A to-infinitive can follow an imperative to express purpose:
Eat to live; do not live to eat.
Activities
1. Read the following in the third person singular. Do not change the object if it
is plural. Note that after certain consonants the final –es is pronounced as a
separate syllable.
1. They wish to speak to you. (he)
2. Buses pass my house every hour.
3. They help their father. (he)
4. We change planes at Heathrow.
5. You watch too much TV. (he)
6. They worry too much. (he)
7. I cash a cheque every month. (he)
8. I always carry an umbrella. (she)
9. They wash the floor every week. (she)
10. His sons go to the local school.
11. These hens lay brown eggs.
12. Rubber balls bounce.
13. These figures astonish me.
14. Do you like boiled eggs? (he)
15. These seats cost $10.
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16. They fish in the lake. (he)
17. Elephants never forget.
18. They usually catch the 8.10 bus.
19. They sometimes miss the bus.
20. I mix the ingredients together.
21. The rivers freeze in winter.
22. They fly from London to Edinburgh.
23. The carpets match the curtains.
24. They realize the danger.
25. I use a computer.
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25. The last train leaves at midnight.
3. Put the verbs in brackets into the present continuous tense. In Nr. 25, have is
used as an ordinary verb and can therefore be used in the continuous.
1. She (not work), she (swim) in the river.
2. He (teach) his boy to ride.
3. Why Ann (not wear) her new dress?
4. The aeroplane (fly) at 2,000 metres.
5. What Tom (do) now? He (clean) his shoes.
6. This fire (go) out. Somebody (bring) more coal?
7. It (rain)? – Yes, it (rain) very hard. You can’t go out yet.
8. Why you (mend) that old shirt?
9. You (not tell) the truth. – How do you know that I (not tell) the truth?
10. Who (move) the furniture about upstairs? – It’s Tom. He (paint) the front bedroom.
11. Mrs. Jones (sweep) the stairs outside her house.
12. What you (read) now? I (read) Crime and Punishment.
13. It is a lovely day. The sun (shine) and the birds (sing).
14. Someone (knock) at the door. Shall I answer it? – I (come) in a minute. I just (wash)
my hands.
15. She always (ring) up and (ask) questions.
16. Why you (make) a cake? Someone (come) to tea?
17. Where is Tom? – He (lie) under the car.
18. Can I borrow your pen or you (use) it at the moment?
19. You (do) anything this evening? – No, I’m not. – Well, I (go) to the cinema. Would
you like to come with me?
20. We (have) breakfast at 8.00 tomorrow as Tom (catch) an early train.
21. Ann usually does the shopping, but I (do) it today as she isn’t well.
22. Why you (type) so fast? – You (make) a lot of mistakes.
23. Mother (rest) now. She always rests after lunch.
24. They (dig) an enormous hole just outside my gate. – Why they (do) that for?: - I don’t
know. Perhaps they (look) for oil.
25. What (make) that terrible noise? – It’s the pneumatic drill. They (repair) the road.
4. Put the verbs in brackets into the simple present or the present continuous.
1. Cuckoos (not build) nests. They (use) the nests of other birds.
2. You can’t see Tom now; he (have) a bath.
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3. He usually (drink) coffee but today he (drink) tea.
4. What she (do) in the evenings? – She usually (play) cards or (watch) TV.
5. I won’t go out now as it (rain) and I (not have) an umbrella.
6. The last train (leave) the station at 11.30.
7. He usually (speak) so quickly that I (not understand) him.
8. Ann (make) a dress for herself at the moment. She (make) all her own clothes.
9. Hardly anyone (wear) a hat nowadays.
10. I’m afraid I’ve broken one of your coffee cups. – Don’t worry. I (not like) that set
anyway.
11. I (wear) my sunglasses today because the sun is very strong.
12. Tom can’t have the newspaper now because his aunt (read) it.
13. I’m busy at the moment. I (redecorate) the sitting room.
14. The kettle (boil) now. Shall I make the tea?
15. You (enjoy) yourself or would you like to leave now? – I (enjoy) myself very much. I
(want) to stay to the end.
16. How you (get) to work as a rule? – I usually (go) by bus but tomorrow I (go) in
Tom’s car.
17. Why you (put) on your coat? – I (go) for a walk. You (come) with me? – Yes, I’d
love to come. You (mind) if I bring my dog?
18. How much you (owe) him? – I (owe) him $5. – You (intend) to pay him?
19. You (belong) to your local library? – Yes, I do. – You (read) a lot? – Yes, quite a lot.
– How often you (change) your books? – I (change) one every day.
20. Mary usually (learn) languages very quickly but she (not seem) able to learn modern
Greek.
21. I always (but) lottery tickets but I never (win) anything.
22. You (like) this necklace? I (give) it to my daughter for her birthday tomorrow.
23. I won’t tell you my secret unless you (promise) not to tell anyone. – I (promise).
24. You always (write) with your left hand?
25. You (love) him? – No, I like him very much but I (not love) him.
26. You (dream) at night? – Yes, I always (dream) and if I (eat) too much supper I (have)
nightmares.
27. The milk (smell) sour. You (keep) milk a long time?
28. These workmen are never satisfied; they always (complain).
29. We (use) this room today because the window in the other room is broken.
30. He always (say) that he will mend the window but he never (do) it.
31. You (know) why an apple (fall) down and not up?
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32. You (write) to him tonight? – Yes, I always (write) to him on his birthday. You
(want) to send any message?
33. Tom and Mr Pitt (have) a long conversation. I (wonder) what they (talk) about.
34. You (believe) all that the newspapers say? – No, I (not believe) any of it. – Then why
you (read) newspapers?
35. This car (make) a very strange noise. You (think) it is all right? – Oh, that noise (not
matter). It always (make) a noise like that.
36. The fire (smoke) horribly. I can’t see across the room. – I (expect) that birds (build) a
nest in the chimney. – Why you (not put) wire across the tops of your chimneys? –
Tom (do) that sometimes but it (not seem) to make any difference.
5. Put the verbs in the following sentences into the simple past tense.
1. I go to work by bus.
2. I meet her on Tuesdays.
3. He always wears black.
4. I make cakes every day.
5. She gets up at 6.30.
6. He understands me.
7. He shuts the shop at 6.00.
8. She speaks slowly.
9. He leaves the house at 9.00.
10. I read a chapter every night.
11. You eat too much.
12. I see him every day.
13. He cries when he is hurt.
14. Who knows the answer?
15. I think I know it.
16. The curtain rises at 8.00.
17. He takes the dog out twice a day.
18. We buy them here.
19. I dream every night.
20. He often feels ill.
21. I know what he wants.
22. I usually pay him $5.
23. It smells odd.
24. It costs $50.
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25. My back hurts.
26. We drink water.
27. His roses grow well.
28. He rides every day.
29. He puts up his prices every year.
30. He sleeps badly.
6. Put the verbs in the following sentences into (a) the negative and (b) the
interrogative.
1. She saw your brother.
2. We heard a terrible noise.
3. He slept till 10.00.
4. He looked at the picture.
5. They drank all the wine.
6. They set out early enough.
7. She thought about him.
8. The police caught the thief.
9. He hid the letter.
10. She found her watch.
11. His nose bled.
12. My mother chose this hotel.
13. She lent you enough money.
14. Keiko taught Japanese.
15. Tom hurt his foot.
16. He broke his arm.
17. His wife came at 8.00.
18. He lost his wallet.
19. His son wrote a novel.
20. They flew to New York.
21. Ann drew you a map.
22. Tom laid the table.
23. Mr Pitt fell downstairs.
24. She lost her way.
25. He forbade her to leave.
26. I sent it to the laundry.
27. Jack kept the money.
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28. He drove slowly.
29. They spent it all.
30. She sold the car.
31. Jean rang the bell.
32. The sun rose at 6.00.
33. The boys ran home.
34. He shook the bottle.
35. He forgave her.
36. They broadcast an appeal for money.
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21. While he (learn) to drive he had twenty-five accidents.
22. He had a bad fall while he (repair) the roof.
23. The exam had just began and the candidates (write) their names at the top of their
papers.
24. Just as I (wonder) what to do next, the phone rang.
25. Detective: I’m afraid I must ask you both what you (do) yesterday at 10.20 p.m.
Mr X: I (play) cards with my wife.
Mr Y: I (listen) to a play on the radio.
8. Put the verbs in brackets into the simple past or the past continuous tense.
1. I lit the fire at 6.00 and it (burn) brightly when Tom came in at 7.00.
2. When I arrived the lecture had already started and the professor (write) on the
blackboard.
3. I (make) a cake when the light went out. I had to finish it in the dark.
4. I didn’t want to meet Paul so when he entered the room I (leave).
5. Unfortunately when I arrived Ann just (leave), so we only had time for a few words.
6. He (watch) TV when the phone rang. Very unwillingly he (turn) down the sound and
(go) to answer it.
7. He was very polite. Whenever his wife entered the room he (stand) up.
8. The admiral (play) cards when he received news of the invasion. He (insist) on
finishing the game.
9. My dog (walk) along quietly when Mr Brown’s Pekinese attacked him.
10. When I arrived she (have) lunch. She apologized for starting without me but said that
she always (lunch) at 12.30.
11. He always (wear) a raincoat and (carry) an umbrella when he walked to the office.
12. What you (think) about his last book? – I (like) it very much.
13. I (share) a flat with him when we were students. He always (complain) about my
untidiness.
14. He suddenly (realize) that he (travel) in the wrong direction.
15. He (play) the guitar outside her house when someone opened the window and (throw)
out a bucket of water.
16. I just (open) the letter when the wind (blow) it out of my hand.
17. The burglar (open) the safe when he (hear) footsteps. He immediately (put) out his
torch and (crawl) under the bed.
18. When I (look) for my passport I (find) this old photograph.
19. You looked very busy when I (see) you last night. What you (do)?
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20. The boys (play) cards when they (hear) their father’s step. They immediately (hide)
the cards and (take) out their lesson books.
21. He (clean) his gun when it accidentally (go) off and (kill) him.
22. He (not allow) us to go out in the boat yesterday as a strong wind (blow).
23. When I last (see) her she (hurry) along the road to the station. I (ask) her where she
(go) and she (say), ‘London’, but I don’t think she (speak) the truth because there (not
be) any train for London at that time.
24. The tailor said, ‘Your suit will be ready on Monday.’ But when I (call) on Monday he
still (work) on it.
25. The teacher (come) into the classroom unusually early and one of the boys, who
(smoke) a cigarette, (have) no time to put it out. So he (throw) it into the desk and
(hope) for the best.
26. A little later the teacher (notice) that smoke (rise) from the desk. ‘You (smoke) when
I (come) in?’ he (ask).
27. While I (swim) someone (steal) my clothes and I (have to) walk home in my
swimsuit.
28. The men (say) that they (work) on the road outside my house and that they (want)
some water to make tea.
29. He (say) that he (build) himself a house and that he (think) it would be ready in two
years.
30. At 3.00 a.m. Mrs White (wake) her husband and (say) that she (think) that someone
(try) to get into the house.
31. Why you (lend) him that book? I still (read) it. – I’m sorry. I (not know) that you still
(read) it.
32. I (come) in very late last night and unfortunately the dog (wake) up and (start) to
bark. This (wake) my mother who (come) to the top of the stairs and (say), ‘Who is
there?’
33. I (say), ‘It is me,’ but she (not hear) me because the dog (bark) so loudly, so she (go)
back to her room and (telephone) the police.
9. Put the verbs in brackets into the present perfect tense, and fill the spaces by
repeating the auxiliary.
1. Where you (be)? – I (be) to the dentist.
2. You (have) breakfast? – Yes, I ….
3. The post (come)? – Yes, it ….
4. You (see) my watch anywhere? – No, I’m afraid I ….
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5. Someone (wind) the clock? – Yes, Tom ….
6. I (not finish) my letter yet.
7. He just (go) out.
8. Someone (take) my bicycle.
9. The phone (stop) ringing.
10. You (hear) from her lately? – No, I ….
11. I just (wash) that floor.
12. The cat (steal) the fish.
13. You (explain) the exercise? – Yes, I ….
14. There aren’t any buses because the drivers (go) on strike.
15. You (have) enough to eat? – Yes, I (have) plenty, thank you.
16. Charles (pass) the exam? – Yes, he ….
17. How many bottles the milkman (leave)? – He (leave) six.
18. I (live) here for ten years.
19. How long you (know) John? – I (know) him for ten years.
20. Would you like some coffee? I just (make) some.
21. Mary (water) the flowers? – Yes, I think she ….
22. You (not make) a mistake? – No, I’m sure I ….
23. Why you (not mend) the car? – I (not have) time.
24. You ever (leave) a restaurant without paying the bill? – No, I ….
25. I (ask) him to dinner several times.
26. He always (refuse).
27. You ever (ride) a camel?
28. I (buy) a new carpet. Come and look at it.
29. He (post) the letter?
30. Why he (not finish)? He (have) plenty of time.
31. I often (see) him but I never (speak) to him.
32. You ever (eat) caviar? – Yes, I ….
33. We just (hear) the most extraordinary news.
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(a) Yes, I ….
(b) Yes, I (be) there last night.
2. Have you wound the clock?
(a) Yes, I ….
(b) Yes, I (wind) it on Monday.
3. Have you ever eaten snails?
(a) No, I ….
(b) Yes, I (eat) some at Tom’s party last week.
4. Has she fed the dog?
(a) Yes, I think she ….
(b) Yes, she (feed) him before lunch.
5. Have they repaired the road?
(a) No, they ….
(b) They only (repair) part of it so far.
6. Have they done their homework?
(a) Yes, they (do) it all.
(b) Yes, they (do) it before they left school.
7. Have you found the matches?
(a) No, I ….
(b) No, I (not find) them yet.
8. Have you made the coffee?
(a) Yes, I ….
(b) I (make) some yesterday: we can use that.
9. Have you seen him lately?
(a) No, I ….
(b) No, I (not see) him since Christmas.
10. Have you been here before?
(a) No, I ….
(b) Yes, I (be) here several times.
11. Have you been to the opera this week?
(a) Yes, I ….
(b) Yes, I (go) to Faust on Friday.
12. Have you ever driven this car?
(a) Yes, I (drive) it once or twice.
(b) Yes, I (drive) it when you were away.
13. Has he missed the train?
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(a) No, he ….
(b) Yes, he ….It (go) five minutes ago.
14. Have they been through Customs?
(a) Yes, they ….
(b) Yes, their luggage (be) examined at Dover.
15. Has he spoken to her?
(a) Yes, he ….
(b) Yes, he (speak) to her on Friday.
16. Have you spent all your money?
(a) No, I only (spend) half of it.
(b) Yes, I ….
17. Has his temperature gone down?
(a) No, it ….
(b) Yes, it (go) down last night.
18. How much have you saved since Christmas?
(a) I (not save) anything.
(b) I (save) $100.
19. Have you seen his garden?
(a) No, I (not see) it yet.
(b) I (see) the house on Monday but I (not see) the garden.
20. Have you paid the bill?
(a) Yes, I ….
(b) Yes, I (pay) it while you were away.
21. Have you ever flown a plane?
(a) No, I ….
(b) Yes, I (fly) when I was at university.
22. Has your dog ever bitten anyone?
(a) Yes, he (bite) a policemen last week.
(b) Yes, he (bite) me twice.
23. Have you planted your flowers?
(a) Yes, I (plant) them on Tuesday.
(b) No, I … yet.
24. Has he written to the paper?
(a) Yes, he ….
(b) Yes, he (write) at once.
25. Have you ever drunk vodka?
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(a) No, I ….
(b) I (drink) it once in Russia but I (not drink) it since.
11. Put the verbs in brackets into the present perfect or simple past tense. Fill the
spaces by repeating the auxiliary used in the preceding verb.
1. Where is Tom? – I (not see) him today, but he (tell) Mary that he’d be in for dinner.
2. I (buy) this in Bond Street. – How much you (pay) for it? – I (pay) $100.
3. Where you (find) this knife? – I (find) it in the garden.
4. I (lose) my black gloves. You (see) them anywhere? – No, I’m afraid I …. When you
last (wear) them? – I (wear) them at the theatre last night. – Perhaps you (leave) them
at the theatre.
5. Do you know that lady who just (leave) the shop? – Yes, that is Miss Thrift. Is she a
customer of yours? – Not exactly. She (be) in here several times but she never (buy)
anything.
6. He (leave) the house at 8.00. – Where he (go)? – I (not see) where he (go).
7. He (serve) in the First World War. – When that war (begin)? – It (begin) in 1914 and
(last) for four hours.
8. Who you (vote) for at the last election? – I (vote) for Mr Brown. – He (not be)
elected, (be) he? – No, he (lose) the election.
9. You (like) your last job? – I (like) it but then I (quarrel) with my employer and he
(dismiss) me. – How long you (be) there? – I (be) there for two weeks.
10. I (not know) that you (know) Mrs Pitt. How long you (know) her? – I (know) her for
ten years.
11. That is Mr Minus, who teaches me mathematics, but he (not have) time to teach me
much. I only (be) in his class for a week.
12. You (hear) his speech on the radio last night? – Yes, I …. – What you (think) of it?
13. I (not know) that you (be) here. You (be) here long? – Yes, I (be) here two months. –
You (be) to the Cathedral? – Yes, I (go) there last Sunday.
14. You ever (try) to give up smoking? – Yes, I (try) last year, but then I (find) that I was
getting fat so I (start) again.
15. You (see) today’s paper? – No, anything interesting (happen)? – Yes, two convicted
murderers (escape) from the prison down the road.
16. Mary (feed) the cat? – Yes, she (feed) him before lunch. – What she (give) him? –
She (give) him some fish.
17. How long you (know) your new assistant? – I (know) him for two years. – What he
(do) before he (come) here? – I think he (be) in prison.
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18. I (not see) your aunt recently. – No. She (not be) out of her house since she (buy) her
colour TV.
19. The plumber (be) here yet? – Yes, but he only (stay) for an hour. – What he (do) in
that time? – He (turn) off the water and (empty) the tank.
20. Where you (be)? – I (be) out in a yacht. – You (enjoy) it? – Yes, very much. We
(take) part in a race. – You (win)? – No, we (come) in last.
21. How long that horrible monument (be) there? – It (be) there six months. Lots of
people (write) to the Town Council asking them to take it away but so far nothing
(be) done.
22. I just (be) to the film War and Peace. You (see) it? – No, I ….Is it like the book? – I
(not read) the book. – I (read) when I (be) at school. – When Tolstoy (write) it? – He
(write) it in 1868. – He (write) anything else?
23. Hannibal (bring) elephants across the Alps. – Why he (do) that? – He (want) to use
them in battle.
24. Where you (be)? – I (be) to the dentist. – He (take) out your bad tooth? – Yes, he ….
– It (hurt)? – Yes, horribly.
25. She (say) that she’d phone me this morning, but it is now 12.30 and she (not phone)
yet.
26. I just (receive) a letter saying that we (not pay) this quarter’s electricity bill. I (not
give) you the money for that last week? – Yes, you … but I’m afraid I (spend) it on
something else.
27. How long you (be) out of work? – I’m not out of work now. I just (start) a new job. –
How you (find) the job? – I (answer) an advertisement in the paper.
28. You (finish) checking the accounts? – No, not quite. I (do) about half so far.
29. I (cut) my hand rather badly. Have you a bandage? – I’ll get you one. How it
(happen)? – I was chopping some wood and the axe (slip).
30. How you (get) that scar? – I (get) it in a car accident a year ago.
31. You (meet) my brother at the lecture yesterday? – Yes, I …. We (have) coffee
together afterwards.
32. He (lose) his job last month and since then he (be) out of work. – Why he (lose) his
job? – He (be) very rude to his boss.
33. What are all those people looking at? – There (be) an accident. – You (see) what
(happen)? – Yes, a bicycle (run) into a lorry.
34. I (phone) you twice yesterday and (get) no answer.
35. Originally horses used in bull fights (not wear) any protection, but for some time now
they (wear) special padding.
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36. That house (be) empty for a year. But they just (take) down the ‘For Sale’ sign, so I
suppose someone (buy) it.
12. Put the verb in brackets into the present perfect continuous tense.
1. I (make) cakes. That is why my hands are all covered with flour.
2. Her phone (ring) for ten minutes. I wonder why she doesn’t answer it.
3. He (overwork). That is why he looks so tired.
4. Have you seen my bag anywhere? I (look) for it for ages.
5. What you (do)? – I (work) in the laboratory.
6. He (study) Russian for two years and doesn’t even know the alphabet yet.
7. How long you (wait) for me? – I (wait) about half an hour.
8. It (rain) for two days now. There’ll be a flood soon.
9. We (argue) about this for two hours now. Perhaps we should stop!
10. I (bathe). That’s why my hair is all wet.
11. You (drive) all day. Let me drive now.
12. How long you (wear) glasses?
13. I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. I (try) to make a telephone call to Rome.
14. You (not eat) enough lately. That’s why you feel irritable.
15. He (speak) for an hour now. I expect he’ll soon be finished.
16. The radio (play) since 7 a.m. I wish someone would turn it off.
17. I (shop) all day and I haven’t a penny left.
18. We (live) here since 1977.
19. I’m on a diet. I (eat) nothing but bananas for the last month.
20. The children (look) forward to this holiday for months.
21. That pipe (leak) for ages. We must get it mended.
22. Tom (dig) in the garden all afternoon and I (help) him.
23. I (ask) you to mend that window for six weeks. When are you going to do it?
24. How long you (drive)? – I (drive) for ten years.
25. The trial (go) on for a long time. I wonder what the verdict will be.
26. It (snow) for three days now. The roads will be blocked if it doesn’t stop soon.
27. Mary (cry)? – No, she (not cry), she (peel) onions.
28. He walked very unsteadily up the stairs and his wife said, ‘You (drink)!’
29. You usually know when someone (eat) garlic.
30. Ever since he came to us that man (try) to make trouble.
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13. Put the verbs in brackets into the present perfect or the present perfect
continuous tense. (In some cases either could be used.)
1. We (walk) ten kilometres.
2. We (walk) for three hours.
3. You (walk) too fast. That’s why you are tired.
4. I (make) cakes for the party all the morning.
5. How many you (make)? – I (make) 200.
6. That boy (eat) seven ice-creams.
7. He (not stop) eating since he arrived.
8. The driver (drink). I think someone else ought to drive.
9. I (plant) 100 flowers.
10. I (plant) flowers all day.
11. What you (do)? – We (pick) apples.
12. How many you (pick)? – We (pick) ten basketfuls.
13. I (sleep) on every bed in this house and I don’t like any of them.
14. He (sleep) since ten o’clock. It’s time he woke up.
15. He (ride); that’s why he is wearing breeches.
16. I (ride) all the horses in this stable.
17. What a lovely smell! – Mary (make) jam.
18. The students (work) very well this term.
19. I only (hear) from him twice since he went away.
20. I (hear) from her regularly. She is a very good correspondent.
21. I (grease) my car. That’s why my hands are so dirty.
22. I (polish) this table all the morning and she isn’t satisfied with it yet.
23. I (work) for him for ten years and he never once (say) ‘Good morning’ to me.
24. He (teach) in this school for five years.
25. I (teach) hundreds of students but I never (meet) such a hopeless class as this.
26. Why you (be) so long in the garage? – The tyres were flat; I (pump) them up.
27. I (pump) up three tyres. Would you like to do the fourth?
28. I (look) for mushrooms but I (not find) any.
29. He (cough) a lot lately. He ought to give up smoking.
30. You (hear) the news? Tom and Ann are engaged! – That’s not new; I (know) it for
ages!
31. I (try) to finish this letter for the last half-hour. I wish you’d go away or stop talking.
– I hardly (say) anything.
32. The driver of that car (sound) his horn for the last ten minutes.
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33. It (rain) for two hours and the ground is too wet to play on, so the match (be)
postponed.
34. He (hope) for a rise in salary for six months but he (not dare) to ask for it yet.
35. Mr Smith, you (whisper) to the student on your right for the last five minutes. You
(help) him with his exam paper or he (help) you?
36. Why you (make) such a horrible noise? – I (lose) my key and I (try) to wake my wife
by throwing stones at her window. – You (throw) stones at the wrong window. You
live next door.
14. Fill the spaces in the following sentences by using for or since.
1. We’ve been fishing … two hours.
2. I’ve been working in this office … a month.
3. They’ve been living in France … 1970.
4. He has been in prison … a year.
5. I’ve known that … a long time.
6. That man has been standing there … six o’clock.
7. She has driven the same car … 1975.
8. Things have changed … I was a girl.
9. The kettle has been boiling … a quarter of an hour.
10. The central heating has been on … October.
11. That trunk has been in the hall … a year.
12. He has been very ill … the last month.
13. I’ve been using this machine … twelve years.
14. We’ve been waiting … half an hour.
15. Mr Pitt has been in hospital … his accident.
16. He hasn’t spoken to me … the last committee meating.
17. I have been very patient with you … several years.
18. They have been on strike … November.
19. The strike has lasted … six months.
20. It has been very foggy … early morning.
21. They have been quarrelling ever … they got married.
22. I’ve been awake … four o’clock.
23. I’ve been awake … a long time.
24. We’ve had no gas … the strike began.
25. I’ve earned my own living … I left school.
26. Nobody has seen him … last week.
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27. The police have been looking for me … four days.
28. I haven’t worn low-heeled shoes … I was at school.
29. He had a bad fall last week and … then he hasn’t left the house.
30. He has been under water … half an hour.
31. That tree has been there … 2,000 years.
32. He has been Minister of Education … 1983.
33. I’ve been trying to open this door … forty-five minutes.
34. He hasn’t eaten anything … twenty-four hours.
35. We’ve had terrible weather … the last month.
36. Nobody has come to see us … we bought these bloodhounds.
15. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word in capitals and so that the
meaning stays the same.
a) You have missed the beginning of the film. HAS
The film has already started.
b) I can’t seem to stop sneezing lately. BEEN
………………………………………………..
c) Paul is different from what he used to be. HAS
………………………………………………..
d) This has been my home for thirty years. HAVE
………………………………………………..
e) Eating Chinese food is new to me. BEFORE
………………………………………………..
f) Is there any news? HAPPENED
………………………………………………..
g) I bought my car in 1985 and I’m still driving it. BEEN
………………………………………………..
h) I don’t know where my keys are. HAVE
………………………………………………..
i) Sue doesn’t have her dictionary with her; it’s at home.HAS
………………………………………………..
j) Tony hasn’t been to Paris before. FIRST
………………………………………………..
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16. Put each verb in brackets into a suitable tense. All sentences refer to past time.
a) I realised that someone was stealing (steal) my wallet when I felt
(feel) their hand in my pocket.
b) When I ……… (phone) Helen last night she ……… (wash) her hair
and she ……… (not finish) when I finally ……… (get to) her house.
c) Peter ……… (offer) me another drink but I decided I ……… (drink)
enough.
d) Nobody ……… (watch), so the little boy ……… (take) the packet of
sweets from the shelf and ……… (put) it in his pocket.
e) I ……… (not realise) that I ……… (leave) my umbrella on the bus
until it ……… (start) to rain.
f) At school I ……… (dislike) the maths teacher because he ………
(always pick) on me.
g) Wherever Marion ……… (find) a job, there was someone who
……… (know) that she ……… (go) to prison.
h) It was only much later I ……… (find out) that during all the time I
……… (write) to my penfriend, my mother ……… (open) and
reading the replies!
i) I ……… (not understand) what ……… (go on). Several people
……… (shout) at me, and one ……… (wave) a newspaper in front
of my face.
j) I ……… (know) I ……… (do) well in my exams even before I
……… (receive) the official results.
17. Put each verb in brackets into a suitable past tense. Only use the past perfect
where this is absolutely necessary.
This time last year I (1) was cycling (cycle) in the rain along a country road in France
with a friend of mine. We (2) ……… (decide) to go on a cycling holiday in Normandy. Neither
of us (3) ……… (go) to France before, but we (4) ……… (know) some French from our time at
school and we (5) ……… (manage) to brush up on the basics. Now we (6) ……… (wonder) if
we (7) ……… (make) the right decision. We (8) ……… (plan) our route carefully in advance,
but we (9) ……… (forget) one important thing, the weather. It (10) ……… (rain) solidly since
our arrival and that night we (11) ……… (end up) sleeping in the waiting room at a railway
station. Then the next morning as we (12) ……… (ride) down a steep hill my bike (13) ………
(skid) on the wet road and I (14) ……… (fall off). I (15) ……… (realise) immediately that I (16)
……… (break) my arm, and after a visit to the local hospital I (17) ……… (catch) the next train
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to Calais for the ferry home. Unfortunately my parents (18) ……… (not expect) me home for a
fortnight, and (19) ……… (go) away on holiday. So I (20) ……… (spend) a miserable couple of
weeks alone, reading Teach Yourself French.
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A) is going to be ready in a minute. B) will have been
ready in a minute. C) will be ready in a minute.
h) Can you send me the results as soon as you
A) hear anything? B) are hearing anything? C) will have
heard anything?
i) You can try asking Martin for help but
A) it won’t do you any good. B) it’s not doing you any
good. C) it won’t be doing you any good.
j) Don’t worry about the mistake you made, nobody
A) will notice. B) is noticing. C) will be noticing.
20. Rewrite each sentence, beginning as shown, so that the meaning stays the same.
a) I don’t suppose you have heard the news.
You won’t have heard the news.
b) The Prime Minister expects a victory for his party.
The Prime Minister believes that ………………………
c) A new manager will take Mr Brown’s place in the new year.
Mr Brown is ……………………………………………
d) I’ve been in this company for three years, come the end of the
month.
By the end of the month I ……………………………...
e) Why don’t you come to see us during lunch?
Why don’t you come to see us when we ………………
f) What exactly do you intend to do?
What exactly are you …………………………………..
g) The arrival of the train has been delayed, I’m afraid.
The train will …………………………………………..
h) Let’s leave at the end of the next lecture.
As soon as ……………………………………………..
i) There will be a team members’ meeting tomorrow.
The team members …………………………………….
j) This book will take me two years to write.
In two years’ time ……………………………………..
21. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word in capitals. Do not change
the word in any way.
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a) What time is the train for Nottingham? LEAVE
What time does the train for Nottingham leave?
b) What do you intend to do now? GOING
…………………………………………………
c) You’ll find me waiting outside the station. BE
…………………………………………………
d) Who will be your assistant on this project? WORKING
…………………………………………………
e) Scientists are on the point of making a vital ABOUT
breakthrough.
…………………………………………………
f) Maria is pregnant again. HAVE
…………………………………………………
g) I’ll be home late. UNTIL
…………………………………………………
h) No one knows who is going to win the match. WHAT
…………………………………………………
i) David is bound to be here on time. WON’T
…………………………………………………
j) Mary and Alan’s wedding is next weekend. MARRIED
…………………………………………………
22. Decide whether the pairs of sentences A) and B) could be equally acceptable in
the context given, or whether one is more appropriate.
a) You can’t leave early,
A) we’re having a meeting.
B) we’re going to have a meeting.
(both acceptable, but A more appropriate)
b) We’ve run out of fuel.
A) What are we doing now?
B) What are we going to do now?
c) Oh dear, I’ve broken the vase.
A) What will your mother say?
B) What is your mother going to say?
d) According to the weather forecast,
A) it’ll rain tomorrow.
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B) it’s going to rain tomorrow.
e) I’d like to call round and see you.
A) What’ll you be doing in the morning?
B) What are you doing in the morning?
f) I’ve got nothing to do tomorrow so
A) I’ll get up late.
B) I’m going to get up late.
g) It’s my eighteenth birthday next month so
A) I’m having a party.
B) I’ll be having a party.
h) Why don’t you come with us?
A) It’ll be a great trip.
B) It’s going to be a great trip.
i) When you get to the airport
A) someone will wait for you.
B) someone will be waiting for you.
j) Shut up, will you!
A) I’m getting angry in a minute.
B) I’m going to get angry in a minute.
23. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word or words in capitals. Do not
change the words in any way.
a) I intended to call you yesterday, but I forgot. GOING
I was going to call you yesterday, but I forgot.
b) We used to spend Sunday afternoons working in WOULD
the garden.
…………………………………………………………
c) Paul had the irritating habit of making trouble. ALWAYS
…………………………………………………………
d) Diana wasn’t always as rude as that. BE
…………………………………………………………
e) I felt happy about the improvement in Jean’s BETTER
condition.
…………………………………………………………
f) I wasn’t very keen on sport in those days. USE
…………………………………………………………
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g) I might possibly go to the theatre tonight. WAS
…………………………………………………………
h) I had to go past your house so I decided to drop in. PASSING
…………………………………………………………
i) Susan booked out before we got to her hotel. BY THE
TIME
…………………………………………………………
j) What did you do at the moment of the explosion? WHEN
…………………………………………………………
24. Put each verb in brackets into a suitable past tense. Only use the past perfect
where this is absolutely necessary.
Harry went back to the camp the following morning, but it was in some confusion.
Soldiers (1) were wandering (wander) around carrying equipment from one place to another, but
there (2) ……… (not seem) to be any purpose to what they (3) ……… (do). Harry (4) ………
(never be) in an army camp before, but it (5) ……… (not take) a genius to realise that most of
the officers (6) ……… (take) the first opportunity to abandon the men and head for safety. He
(7) ……… (try) to phone the newspaper, but something (8) ……… (happen) to the telephone
lines. He (9) ……… (try) to find out what exactly (10) ……… (go on), when the first plane (11)
……… (fly) low over the camp. A wooden building a few hundred yards away suddenly (12)
……… (disappear) in an explosion of flame. Before long bombs (13) ……… (explode) all
around him, and then everything (14) ……… (go) quiet. The planes (15) ……… (vanish) as
suddenly as they (16) ……… (appear). Smoke (17) ……… (rise) from burning buildings. A
dead man (18) ……… (lie) next to Harry, the first dead person he (19) ……… (ever see). And
suddenly it (20) ……… (begin) to rain.
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MODAL AUXILIARIES
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3. Secondary function of modal verbs
In their secondary function, nine of the modal auxiliaries (not shall) can be used to
express the degree of certainty/uncertainty a speaker feels about a possibility. They can be
arranged on a scale from the greatest uncertainty (might) to the greatest certainty (must). The
order of modals between might and must is not fixed absolutely. It varies according to situation.
For example, one arrangement might be:
might very uncertain
may
could
can be right
You should
ought to have been right
would
will
must almost certain
You are right cetain
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must must not mustn’t
ought to ought not to oughtn’t to
need need not needn’t
dare dare not daren’t
4.2 Questions
Yes/No questions are formed as for be, have and do. We begin with the modal, followed
by the subject and then the main verb:
May we leave early?
In question-word questions, the question-word precedes the modal:
When may we leave?
With Yes/No questions, the modal used in the answer is normally the same as the one
used in the question:
Can you come and see me tomorrow? – Yes, I can./No, I can’t.
Modals also behave like be, have and do in tag questions:
You can do it, can’t you?
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3) Modals have no –ing form (compare being, having, doing).
Instead of –ing, we have to use another verb or verb-phrase:
I couldn’t go/I wasn’t able to go home by bus, so I took a taxi. (=Not
being able to go home by bus, I took a taxi.)
4) Modals have no –(e)s in the 3rd person singular (compare is,
has, does):
The boss/He can see you now. (No –s on the end of can)
5) Each modal has a basic meaning of its own. By comparison,
as auxiliaries, be/have/do have only a grammatical function.
6.2 ‘Progressive’
There is no progressive form for modals. But we can put the verb that follows a modal
into the progressive form:
Meg is phoning her fiancé. (present progressive)
Meg may be phoning her fiancé. (modal + be + verb-ing)
Meg may have been phoning her fiancé. (modal + have been + -ing)
It is the phoning that is or was in progress, not ‘may’.
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6.3 ‘Past’
Would, could, might and should can be said to be past in form, but this usually has little
to do with their use and meaning. They can be called ‘past’ when used in indirect speech:
He says you can/will/may leave early. (present)
He said you could/would/might leave early. (past)
Must can express past time only in indirect speech; otherwise it has to be replaced by
have to:
He told us we must wait (or we had to wait) until we were called.
She asked her boss if she must work (or had to work) overtime.
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You must have seen him can mean:
I assume (now) you have seen him. (i.e. before now; equivalent to the present perfect)
I assume (now) you saw him. (i.e. then; equivalent to the past)
I assume (now) you had seen him. (i.e. before then; equivalent to the past perfect)
Activities
1. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word in capitals, and so that the
meaning stays the same.
a) I’m sure that’s Marion. WILL
That’ll be Marion.
b) Jim keeps giving me presents. WILL
…………………………………………………………………….
c) It makes no difference if we call it off. MAY
…………………………………………………………………….
d) Don’t bother lying to me. HAVE
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…………………………………………………………………….
e) The burglar might come back, so change all the locks. CASE
…………………………………………………………………….
f) Although it’s summer, the temperature is more like winter. MAY
…………………………………………………………………….
g) You should leave before Jack gets back. HAD
…………………………………………………………………….
h) That is not typical of Helen’s behaviour. WOULDN’T
…………………………………………………………………….
i) It would be impossible to tell Sally the truth. POSSIBLY
…………………………………………………………………….
3. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word in capitals, and so that the
meaning stays the same.
a) I expect this beach will be deserted. SHOULD
This beach should be deserted.
b) This climb is possibly dangerous. COULD
……………………………………………………………..
c) Arthur is sometimes really irritating! CAN
……………………………………………………………..
d) You can’t borrow my car! WON’T
……………………………………………………………..
e) How about going to the theatre instead? COULD
……………………………………………………………..
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f) Do you want me to turn off the oven, or not? SHOULD
……………………………………………………………..
g) I don’t think Harry is likely to resign. WOULD
……………………………………………………………..
h) I’m not sure this isn’t the way to Norwich. CAN’T
……………………………………………………………..
i) It would be all the same if we gave up now. MIGHT
……………………………………………………………..
j) Please turn off the light before leaving. SHOULD
……………………………………………………………..
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5. Complete each sentence with a suitable word or phrase.
a) How funny that you should say that!
b) The heating comes on automatically. You …………… turn it on.
c) The people here …………… be really unfriendly.
d) Of course I’ll help! I …………… possibly let you do it on your own.
e) The team …………… good without Sue at centre-forward.
f) Of course you can’t sleep if you …………… drink so much coffee!
g) It’s a lovely hotel. And the staff …………… more helpful.
h) You …………… be very critical sometimes.
i) George …………… it there if he has stayed there for so long.
j) You …………… right, but I still don’t agree with you.
6. Insert the correct form of may/might except in 10 and 36, where a be allowed
form is necessary.
1. It … rain, you’d better take a coat.
2. He said that it … rain.
3. We … as well stay here till the weather improves.
4. … I borrow your umbrella?
5. You … tell me! (I think I have a right to know.)
6. Candidates … not bring textbooks into the examination romm.
7. People convicted of an offence … (have a right to) appeal.
8. If he knew our address he … come and see us.
9. … I come in? – Please do.
10. When he was a child he … (they let him) do exactly as he liked.
11. I think I left my glasses in your office. You … ask your secretary to look for them for
me. (request)
12. He … be my brother (I admit that he is) but I don’t trust him.
13. I … never see you again.
14. He … be on the next train. We … as well wait.
15. If we got there early we … get a good seat.
16. The police … (have a right to) ask a driver to take a breath test.
17. You ought to buy now; prices … go up.
18. I’ll wait a week so that he … have time to think it over.
19. He isn’t going to eat it; I … as well give it to the dog.
20. You … at least read the letter. (I think you should)
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21. You … have written. (I am annoyed/disappointed that you didn’t.)
22. We’d better be early; there … a crowd.
23. Nobody knows how people first came to these islands. They … have sailed from
South America on rafts.
24. You … (have permission to) use my office.
25. He said that we … use his office whenever we liked.
26. I don’t think I’ll succeed but I … as well try.
27. You ought to go to his lectures, you … learn something.
28. If we can give him a blood transfusion we … be able to save his life.
29. Two parallel white lines in the middle of the road mean that you … not overtake.
30. If I bought a lottery ticket I … win $1000.
31. If you said that, he … be very offended.
32. I wonder why they didn’t go. – The weather … have been too bad.
33. Warning: No part of this book … be reproduced without the publisher’s permission.
34. He has refused, but he … change his mind if you asked him again.
35. … I see your passport, please?
36. He … (negative) drive since his accident. (They haven’t let him drive.)
7. Use must not or need not to fill the spaces in the following sentences.
1. You … ring the bell; I have a key.
2. Notice in cinema: Exit doors … be locked during performances.
3. You … drink this: it is poison.
4. We … drive fast; we have plenty of time.
5. You … drive fast; there is a speed limit here.
6. Candidates … bring books into the examination room.
7. You … write to him for he will be here tomorrow.
8. We … make any noise or we’ll wake the baby.
9. You … bring an umbrella. It isn’t going to rain.
10. You … do all the exercise. Ten sentences will be enough.
11. We … reheat the pie. We can eat it cold.
12. Mother to child: You … tell lies.
13. You … turn on the light; I can see quite well.
14. You … strike a match; the room is full of gas.
15. You … talk to other candidates during the exam.
16. We … make any more sandwiches; we have plenty now.
17. You … put salt in any of his dishes. Salt is very bad for him.
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18. You … take anything out of a shop without paying for it.
19. You … carry that parcel home yourself; the shop will send it.
20. You … clean the windows. The window-cleaner is coming tomorrow.
21. Mother to child: You … play with matches.
22. Church notice: Visitors … walk about the church during a service.
23. I … go to the shops today. There is plenty of food in the house.
24. You … smoke in a non-smoking compartment.
25. Police notice: Cars … be parked here.
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17. Perhaps he swam across. – No, he … (do) that; he can’t swim.
18. Do you remember reading about it in the newspapers? – No, I … (be) abroad at the
time.
19. He … (walk) from here to London in two hours. It isn’t possible.
20. He was very sick last night. – The meat we had for supper … (be) good.
21. There was a strike and the ship couldn’t leave port. – The passengers … (be) furious.
22. We went to a restaurant and had a very good dinner for $10. – You … (have) a very
good dinner if you only paid $10.
23. I have just watered the roses. – You … (water) them. Look, it’s raining now!
24. That carpet was made entirely by hand. – It … (take) a long time.
25. The door was open. – It … (be) open. I had locked it myself and the key was in my
pocket.
9. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word in capitals, and so that the
meaning stays the same.
a) It wasn’t very nice of you not to invite me to your party! MIGHT
You might have invited me to your party!
b) Thank you very much for buying me flowers! SHOULDN’T
………………………………………………………………
c) It wouldn’t have been right to let you do all the work on your own.
COULDN’T
………………………………………………………………
d) I don’t believe that you have lost your keys again! CAN’T
………………………………………………………………
e) Mary was a talented violinist at the age of ten. PLAY
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10. Complete each sentence with a suitable word or phrase.
a) Don’t worry that Carol is late, she might/could have missed the train.
b) I begged David to accept some money, but he …………… hear of it.
c) That was a lucky escape! You …………… been killed!
d) It was supposed to be a secret! You …………… told her!
e) I spent last week at the beach because I didn’t …………… go to school.
f) The plane is late. It …………… landed by now.
g) You …………… met my brother. I haven’t got one!
h) There is only one solution. The butler …………… done it.
i) It was lovely. We …………… a better holiday.
j) So it was you who set off the fire alarm for a joke! I …………… known!
12. Put one suitable word in each space. Words with ‘n’t’ count as one word.
a) I could have become a millionaire, but I decided not to.
b) You ……… have been here when Helen told the boss not to be so lazy!
c) Peter wasn’t here then, so he ……… have broken your vase.
d) I ……… have bought the car, but I decided to look at a few others.
e) If you felt lonely, you ……… have given me a ring.
f) Don’t take a risk like that again! We ……… have lost because of you.
g) It’s been more than a week! You ……… have some news by now!
h) We were glad to help. We ……… have just stood by and done nothing.
i) You really ……… have gone to so much trouble!
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j) I ……… have thought that it was rather difficult.
14. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains a modal auxiliary and so that the
meaning stays the same.
a) The police refused to do anything about my noisy neighbours.
……………………………………………………………………
b) Jean’s boss was extremely kind to her.
……………………………………………………………………
c) Why didn’t you back me up!
……………………………………………………………………
d) Our worrying so much was a waste of time.
……………………………………………………………………
e) It’s just not possible for the cat to have opened the fridge!
……………………………………………………………………
f) George knew how to ride a bicycle when he was five.
……………………………………………………………………
g) I wanted to go to the party, but it was snowing hard.
……………………………………………………………………
h) It would have been possible for Helen to give us a lift.
……………………………………………………………………
i) It’s possible that the last person to leave didn’t lock the door.
……………………………………………………………………
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j) School uniform wasn’t compulsory at my school.
……………………………………………………………………
15. Rewrite each sentence, beginning as shown, so that the meaning stays the
same.
a) Although you are in charge, it doesn’t give you the right to be rude.
You may be in charge, but it doesn’t give you the right to be rude.
b) I recommend going to Brighton for a week.
I think ………………………………………………………………
c) It’s typical of Steve to lose his keys!
Steve would ………………………………………………………...
d) I suppose Kate is quite well off.
I should ……………………………………………………………..
e) I am as happy as possible at the moment.
I couldn’t ……………………………………………………………
f) Although I tried hard, I couldn’t lift the suitcase.
Try …………………………………………………………………..
g) I’m sure that Peter will be on time.
Peter is ………………………………………………………………
h) Fancy you and I having the same surname!
It’s odd ……………………………………………………………...
i) If I were you I’d take up jogging.
I think ……………………………………………………………….
j) Do we have to leave so early?
Need ………………………………………………………………..
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