English relative clauses

There are two types of relative clauses in English: those that add extra information (non-defining relative clauses) and those that modify (or define) the subject of the sentence (defining relative clauses).

Defining clauses

These clauses define the noun and they identify which thing or person we are referring to.

Things

"The present which he bought me is beautiful."

People

"The man who has started an English course is from Spain."

Using whom

Whom is used to refer to the object of the verb.

The people with whom I was sitting were very noisy.

However, it is hardly ever used in spoken English. Instead, "who" is used with the preposition:

The people who I was sitting with were very noisy.
To whom are you speaking? = Who are you speaking to?
For whom are you buying the present? + Who are you buying the present for?

Using that

In spoken English, "that" is often used instead of "which", "whom"or "who".

"The present that he bought me is beautiful."

"The man that has started an English course is from Spain."

When, where and whose

When: Is there another time when (that) I can call you?

Where: Can you tell me where I can buy wrapping paper?

Whose: (possessive) Have you seen the TV show whose catchphrase is "Deal no deal?"

Omitting that, who and which

If the pronoun ("that", "who", "which") is the object of the verb, it can be omitted.

"The company that she works for is based in London." ("That"is an object pronoun.)

= "The company she works for is based in London." ("That"can be omitted.)

But:

"The company that employs her is based in London." ("That" is a subject pronoun.)

The company employs her (the company is the subject). In this case, it is not possible to omit "that". You need the pronoun because it is the subject of the verb.

Non-defining relative clauses

These clauses add further information.

"My students, who are all adults, are learning English to get a better job."

"The textbooks, which the students like, have lots of helpful examples."

Commas are used to separate the relative clause from the rest of the sentence.

"That" cannot be used instead of "who"or "which" in non-defining relative clauses.

You can use "some", "none", "all" and "many" with "of which" and "of whom" to add extra information:
My students, many of whom are from Europe, are learning English to get a better job.
The textbooks, some of which the students like, have helpful examples.

Comparing defining and non-defining relative clauses

The meaning of the sentences changes if you use a non-defining clause rather than a defining clause. Compare the following:

Non-defining
The students, who had revised hard, passed the exam. (All the students revised and they all passed the exam.

Defining
The students who had revised hard passed the exam. (Only some of the students revised, and these were the ones who passed the exam.)

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Time expressions in English

There are many words and expressions to refer to time. You can use these to sequence events and to make stories and anecdotes more interesting.

The present – permanent

Use the present simple tense to refer to permanent situations in the present.

I now live in a small town.
Nowadays I live in a small town.
These days, I don't have much of a social life.

The present – temporary

Use the present continuous tense to refer to temporary situations in the present.

At present / At the moment I'm living in a small town.
For the time being I'm living in a small town, but I hope to move soon.

Talking about a period of time in the past

My mother started work as a nurse in the 1960s.
In those days she lived in London.
Back then nurses were badly paid.
At that time, nurses lived in special accommodation.

Talking about a single event in the past

At one time she lost her door key and had to stay in a hotel.
On one occasion she nursed the son of a famous politician.

Sequencing events in the past

There are many ways to sequence events in the past. Here are some of the more common ones.

After (in the middle of a sentence)
Afterwards / After that / After a while (at the beginning of a sentence)
Then / Before (in the middle or at the beginning of a sentence)
Before that / Previously / Until then (At the beginning of a sentence)
By the time (in the middle of a sentence followed by a past perfect tense)
By then / by that time (at the beginning of a sentence)

I went shopping after I finished work.
I worked all day in the office. Afterwards / After that, I went shopping.
I went shopping. After a while, I got bored.
I worked before I went shopping.
I went shopping at 6pm. Before that / Previously / Until then I had worked all day in the office.
I worked all day, then I went shopping.
I was desperate to go shopping by the time I had finished work.
I worked until 6pm. By then / By that time, I was glad for the opportunity to go shopping.

Other expressions to refer to the next event in a story

Later on
Before long
At that moment / Suddenly
Meanwhile
At the same time
Simultaneously (a more formal way of saying meanwhile / at the same time)

I worked and then went shopping. Later on I met some friends for pizza.
I waited for a while in the restaurant. Before long, the waiter came up and asked me…
At that moment / Suddenly, I heard the door slam.
Meanwhile / At the same time / Simultaneously my phone started to ring.

People who are no longer "around"

An ex-president = no longer the president: "The ex-president of France is still influential."
A previous / former boss: "A previous boss taught me how to make presentations."
"My former boss now works for a different company."
My late wife = my wife who has died: "My late wife painted watercolours."

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How to Learn English Grammar

Step 1
Make a plan. Try to get an overview of English grammar from a text book or online resource. Note the grammar points you need to work on and plan to work on each for at least a few day.

Step 2
Identify common mistakes. People who speak the same language often make the same mistakes in English grammar. For example, many Russian speakers have trouble using "a" and "the" in English. Find out what grammar points are often difficult for speakers of your native language. Pay extra attention to learning those grammar points.

Step 3
Find some grammar exercises. To learn English grammar well, you'll need to practice each grammar point until you can use it easily. Look for a book of grammar exercises that also has answers. Online activities and quizzes can also help. Focus on just one grammar point each time you study.


Step 4
Pay close attention to grammar when you read English. When you're trying to learn correct English grammar, it's not enough to understand general idea of what you read. You'll need to understand exactly why each sentence is written that way. When you read a sentence, ask yourself if can make similar sentences. If you can't or you're not sure, find text book exercises for those grammar points and practice.

Step 5
Translate from your native language into English. When you write or speak your own thoughts, it's easy to avoid complicated grammar. When you translate, you have to work with whatever is on the page, even if the grammar is difficult. Start translating simple things like advertisments and then move to newpapers and magazine articles. Translating dialog in plays is another good way to practice.

Step 6
Ask native speakers for advice. If you know any native English speakers, ask if they could check some of your writing now and then. If there are no native English speakers near you, look online for language learning forums or language exchange sites. Just remember if the native speaker is not a teacher, he or she may not be able to explain grammar rules.

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English relative clauses

There are two types of relative clauses in English: those that add extra information (non-defining relative clauses) and those that modify (or define) the subject of the sentence (defining relative clauses).

Defining clauses

These clauses define the noun and they identify which thing or person we are referring to.

Things

“The present which he bought me is beautiful.”

People

“The man who has started an English course is from Spain.”

Using whom

Whom is used to refer to the object of the verb.

The people with whom I was sitting were very noisy.

However, it is hardly ever used in spoken English. Instead, “who” is used with the preposition:

The people who I was sitting with were very noisy.
To whom are you speaking? = Who are you speaking to?
For whom are you buying the present? + Who are you buying the present for?

Using that

In spoken English, “that” is often used instead of “which”, “whom”or “who”.

“The present that he bought me is beautiful.”

“The man that has started an English course is from Spain.”

When, where and whose

When: Is there another time when (that) I can call you?

Where: Can you tell me where I can buy wrapping paper?

Whose: (possessive) Have you seen the TV show whose catchphrase is “Deal no deal?”

Omitting that, who and which

If the pronoun (”that”, “who”, “which”) is the object of the verb, it can be omitted.

“The company that she works for is based in London.” (”That”is an object pronoun.)

= “The company she works for is based in London.” (”That”can be omitted.)

But:

“The company that employs her is based in London.” (”That” is a subject pronoun.)

The company employs her (the company is the subject). In this case, it is not possible to omit “that”. You need the pronoun because it is the subject of the verb.

Non-defining relative clauses

These clauses add further information.

“My students, who are all adults, are learning English to get a better job.”

“The textbooks, which the students like, have lots of helpful examples.”

Commas are used to separate the relative clause from the rest of the sentence.

“That” cannot be used instead of “who”or “which” in non-defining relative clauses.

You can use “some”, “none”, “all” and “many” with “of which” and “of whom” to add extra information:
My students, many of whom are from Europe, are learning English to get a better job.
The textbooks, some of which the students like, have helpful examples.

Comparing defining and non-defining relative clauses

The meaning of the sentences changes if you use a non-defining clause rather than a defining clause. Compare the following:

Non-defining
The students, who had revised hard, passed the exam. (All the students revised and they all passed the exam.

Defining
The students who had revised hard passed the exam. (Only some of the students revised, and these were the ones who passed the exam.)

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Adjectives

Knowing what is an adjective and what is an adverb is very important in English grammar. For example, the following sentences are typical mistakes, caused by confusion over the difference between adjectives and adverbs.

“He works hardly.” (”He works hard.”)
“She writes good.” (”He writes well.”)
“It’s a really problem.” (”It’s a real problem.”)

Adjectives describe nouns.
“A good student.”
“A nice day.”
“He is interesting.”

Adverbs describe verbs or adjectives.
“He eats well.”
“She learns quickly.”
“A well-known book.”
“I’m really tired.”

Problems

1. Some adjectives and adverbs have the same form.

“She’s a fast driver.” (adj)
“She drives fast.” (adv)

“TOEFL is a hard exam.” (adj)
“The students work hard.” (adv)

“She has straight hair.” (adj)
“He went straight home.” (adv)

2. Not all adverbs end in -ly.

“He is a good student.”
“She works well with others.”

3. Some adverbs have two meanings.

Hard
“He works hard.”
“I hardly know him.” (barely)

Close
“She sat close to the conductor on the bus.” (next to)
“I listened closely to what he said.” (paying attention)

Dead
“You’re dead right!” (completely right)
“This snake is deadly - watch out for it.” (fatal)

Fair
“He was fairly treated by the Immigration authorities.” (justly)
“It’s fairly cold today.” (quite)

Fine
“How do you feel? Fine.” (well)
“Finely chop the tomatoes.” (in small pieces)

Free
“The english-at-home.com website is free of charge.” (no money needed)
“Children can play freely in this park.” (no limits to their freedom)

High
“We’ll need to raise prices high in order to survive.” (high prices)
“I think highly of him.” (a high opinion)
“He’s highly paid.” (very well paid)

Late
“He arrived late for the meeting.” (not on time)
“There have been a few complaints lately.” (recently)

Right
“She walked right up to him and demanded to see the manager.” (didn’t stop until she got close to him)
“He rightly thought that he was going to lose his job.” (correctly thought)

Wrong
“He wrongly told her that he had been promoted.” (incorrectly)
“This is spelt wrong.” (incorrect)
(You can only use ‘wrong’ when it’s after the verb.)

4. Some words that end in -ly are not adverbs, but are adjectives.
For example, lovely, friendly, silly, lonely.

“She is silly.”
“She behaves in a silly way.”

“Her children are lovely.”
“He treated her in a lovely way.”

5. Some verbs are followed by adjectives.

“You look good today!”
“This soup tastes nice.”
“He seems pleasant.”
“I don’t feel very happy at the moment.”

In these examples, you are describing the subject (such as ‘the soup’) rather than the verb (’tastes’).

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Frequency

Here are some ways to say how often you do something.

always
often / frequently
usually / generally
sometimes / occasionally
hardly ever / rarely
never

For example, “I always drink coffee in the morning” means I drink coffee every morning.

Be careful of the pronunciation of “rarely”. The “are” part of the word is spoken like the word air. The word has two syllables - ‘rare’ and ‘ly’.

Putting these expressions into a sentence

These words go before the main verb.

“She often goes to the beach in summer.”

They go after the verb ‘to be’.

“He is occasionally late for meetings.”

They go after ‘modal’ or ‘auxiliary’ verbs.

“It can sometimes get cold in the UK.”

“I have never been to the USA.”

‘From time to time’ is an expression that means the same as ’sometimes’. It normally goes at the end of a sentence.

For example, “I go to restaurants from time to time.”

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English Articles

In English, knowing when to use ‘a’ or ‘the’ can be difficult. Fortunately, there are rules to help you, but you need to know what type of noun you are using.

Grammar rule 1

When you have a single, countable English noun, you must always have an article before it. We cannot say “please pass me pen”, we must say “please pass me the pen” or “please pass me a pen” or “please pass me your pen”.

Nouns in English can also be uncountable. Uncountable nouns can be concepts, such as ‘life’, ‘happiness’ and so on, or materials and substances, such as ‘coffee’, or ‘wood’.

Grammar rule 2

Uncountable nouns don’t use ‘a’ or ‘an’. This is because you can’t count them. For example, advice is an uncountable noun. You can’t say “he gave me an advice”, but you can say “he gave me some advice”, or “he gave me a piece of advice”.

Some nouns can be both countable and uncountable. For example, we say “coffee” meaning the product, but we say “a coffee” when asking for one cup of coffee.

Grammar rule 3

You can use ‘the’ to make general things specific. You can use ‘the’ with any type of noun - plural or singular, countable or uncountable.

“Please pass me a pen” - any pen.
“Please pass me the pen” - the one that we can both see.

“Children grow up quickly” - children in general.
“The children I know grow up quickly” - not all children, just the ones I know.

“Poetry can be beautiful”- poetry in general.
“The poetry of Hopkins is beautiful” - I’m only talking about the poetry Hopkins wrote.

More uses of articles in English

Rivers, mountain ranges, seas, oceans and geographic areas all use ‘the‘.
For example, “The Thames”, “The Alps”, “The Atlantic Ocean”, “The Middle East”.

Unique things have ‘the’.
For example, “the sun”, “the moon”.

Some institutional buildings don’t have an article if you visit them for the reason these buildings exist. But if you go to the building for another reason, you must use ‘the’.

“Her husband is in prison.” (He’s a prisoner.)
“She goes to the prison to see him once a month.”

“My son is in school.” (He’s a student.)
“I’m going to the school to see the head master.”

“She’s in hospital at the moment.” (She’s ill.)
“Her husband goes to the hospital to see her every afternoon.”

Musical instruments use ‘the‘.
“She plays the piano.”

Sports don’t have an article.
“He plays football.”

Illnesses don’t have an article.
“He’s got appendicitis.”
But we say “a cold” and “a headache”.

Jobs use ‘a’.
“I’m a teacher.”

Countries
We don’t use ‘a’ if the country is singular. “He lives in England.” But if the country’s name has a “plural” meaning, we use ‘the’. “The People’s Republic of China”, “The Netherlands”, “The United States of America”.

Continents, towns and streets don’t have an article.
“Africa”, “New York”, “Church Street”.

Theatres, cinemas and hotels have ‘the’.
“The Odeon”, “The Almeira”, “The Hilton”.

Abbreviations use ‘the’.
“the UN”, “the USA”, “the IMF”.

We use ‘the’ before classes of people.
“the rich”, “the poor”, “the British”.

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Some and Any

We use some and any with uncountable nouns and plural nouns. The general rule is that you use “some” in positive sentences and “any” in negative sentences and questions.

“I have some ideas.”
“I don’t have any ideas.”
“Do you have any ideas?”

However, we can also use “some” in questions.
“Would you like some tea?” (I expect the answer to be “Yes”.)

When we use some in a question, we limit what we are offering the other person.

For example, “Can I get you something to drink? - Coffee, or tea?” means I am offering you a limited choice of things to drink.

When we use “any” in a question, we are not limiting the choice.

For example, “Would you like anything to drink?” includes a whole range of things to drink.
“Do you have any questions?” (You can ask me anything you like!)

We can also use any in positive sentences which have a negative meaning. We often use “any” with “hardly”, “without” or “never”.

“There’s hardly any petrol left in the car - we need to go to a garage.”
“He went out without any money on him.”
“She never has any problem understanding.”

How much do you know about using some and any? Click the Test Yourself button on the right!

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Using Few / Little in English

We use a few and a little to mean “not very much” or “not very many”. Whether you use a few or a little depends on what type of noun you are describing.

For example, “A few people came to the party.” We use a few with plural, countable nouns.

“There’s a little coffee left, if you would like some.” We use a little with uncountable nouns.

We can also use few and little (without “a”) for a more negative meaning. For example, “there’s little point in calling” (= there’s not much point calling).

“Few people understand” (not many people understand), compared to “a few people understand” (some people understand).

In spoken English, we can also say not many, or only a few to mean “few” and “only a little” or “not much” to mean “little”.

When we make comparisons, we use fewer for plural nouns and less for uncountable nouns.
For example, “There are fewer people here than last year” or “he drinks less coffee than I do”.

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Using Lots of

In spoken English we often use lots of or a lot of. In written English, it is more common to write many (for countable plural nouns) or a great deal of (for uncountable nouns) in positive statements.

A common mistake is to use lot of. For example, “There are lot of accidents on this road”. To avoid making this mistake, remember either to use a before lot, or to make lot plural - lots.

We can say either a lot of or lots of before a noun. For example, “There are a lot of people here” or “There are lots of people here”. There isn’t any difference between the two expressions.

We can also use a lot as an adverb to say how much you do something. For example, “She talks a lot“.

A lot is also used in short answers. For example, “Do you like swimming?”, “Yes, a lot.”

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Linking words

Linking words help you to connect ideas and sentences, so that people can follow your ideas.

Giving examples

For example
For instance
Namely

The most common way of giving examples is by using for example or for instance.

Namely refers to something by name.

“There are two problems: namely, the expense and the time.”

Adding information

And
In addition
As well as
Also
Too
Furthermore
Moreover
Apart from
In addition to
Besides

Ideas are often linked by and. In a list, you put a comma between each item, but not before and.

“We discussed training, education and the budget.”

Also is used to add an extra idea or emphasis. “We also spoke about marketing.”

You can use also with not only to give emphasis.

“We are concerned not only by the costs, but also by the competition.”

We don’t usually start a sentence with also. If you want to start a sentence with a phrase that means also, you can use In addition, or In addition to this…

As well as can be used at the beginning or the middle of a sentence.

“As well as the costs, we are concerned by the competition.”

“We are interested in costs as well as the competition.”

Too goes either at the end of the sentence, or after the subject and means as well.

“They were concerned too.”

“I, too, was concerned.”

Apart from and besides are often used to mean as well as, or in addition to.

“Apart from Rover, we are the largest sports car manufacturer.”

“Besides Rover, we are the largest sports car manufacturer.”

Moreover and furthermore add extra information to the point you are making.

“Marketing plans give us an idea of the potential market. Moreover, they tell us about the competition.”

Summarising

In short
In brief
In summary
To summarise
In a nutshell
To conclude
In conclusion

We normally use these words at the beginning of the sentence to give a summary of what we have said or written.

Sequencing ideas

The former, … the latter
Firstly, secondly, finally
The first point is
Lastly
The following

The former and the latter are useful when you want to refer to one of two points.
“Marketing and finance are both covered in the course. The former is studied in the first term and the latter is studied in the final term.”

Firstly, … secondly, … finally (or lastly) are useful ways to list ideas.

It’s rare to use “fourthly”, or “fifthly”. Instead, try the first point, the second point, the third point and so on.

The following is a good way of starting a list.

“The following people have been chosen to go on the training course: N Peters, C Jones and A Owen.”

Giving a reason

Due to / due to the fact that
Owing to / owing to the fact that
Because
Because of
Since
As

Due to and owing to must be followed by a noun.

“Due to the rise in oil prices, the inflation rate rose by 1.25%.”

“Owing to the demand, we are unable to supply all items within 2 weeks.”

If you want to follow these words with a clause (a subject, verb and object), you must follow the words with the fact that.

“Due to the fact that oil prices have risen, the inflation rate has gone up by 1%25.”

“Owing to the fact that the workers have gone on strike, the company has been unable to fulfil all its orders.”

Because / because of

Because of is followed by a noun.

“Because of bad weather, the football match was postponed.”

Because can be used at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. For example, “Because it was raining, the match was postponed.”

“We believe in incentive schemes, because we want our employees to be more productive.”

Since / as

Since and as mean because.

“Since the company is expanding, we need to hire more staff.”

“As the company is expanding, we need to hire more staff.”

Giving a result

Therefore
So
Consequently
This means that
As a result

Therefore, so, consequently and as a result are all used in a similar way.

“The company are expanding. Therefore / So / Consequently / As a result, they are taking on extra staff.”

So is more informal.

Contrasting ideas

But
However
Although / even though
Despite / despite the fact that
In spite of / in spite of the fact that
Nevertheless
Nonetheless
While
Whereas
Unlike
In theory… in practice…

But is more informal than however. It is not normally used at the beginning of a sentence.

“He works hard, but he doesn’t earn much.”
“He works hard. However, he doesn’t earn much.”

Although, despite and in spite of introduce an idea of contrast. With these words, you must have two halves of a sentence.

“Although it was cold, she went out in shorts.”
“In spite of the cold, she went out in shorts.”

Despite and in spite of are used in the same way as due to and owing to. They must be followed by a noun. If you want to follow them with a noun and a verb, you must use the fact that.

“Despite the fact that the company was doing badly, they took on extra employees.”

Nevertheless and nonetheless mean in spite of that or anyway.

“The sea was cold, but he went swimming nevertheless.” (In spite of the fact that it was cold.)
“The company is doing well. Nonetheless, they aren’t going to expand this year.”

While, whereas and unlike are used to show how two things are different from each other.

“While my sister has blue eyes, mine are brown.”

“Taxes have gone up, whereas social security contributions have gone down.”

“Unlike in the UK, the USA has cheap petrol.”

In theory… in practice… show an unexpected result.

“In theory, teachers should prepare for lessons, but in practice, they often don’t have enough time.”

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Like and As

Like and as are often confused in English. They can both be used to talk about how things are similar.

Like is followed by a noun or pronoun. For example, “I’m like my sister”, or “Like my sister, I have brown eyes.”

As is followed by a subject and verb. For example, “She’s a good student, as her brother was before her.”

However, in spoken English, like is often used instead of as. “She’s a good student, like her brother was before her.”

As is used with a preposition, such as, “As in the 1960’s, the population explosion will cause some problems.”

We can use as in certain expressions, such as “as you know”, “as you requested”, “as we agreed”.

We also use as…..as to give comparisons. For example, “He’s as clever as his sister.”

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“If” sentences

There are four main types of if sentences in English, often called conditional sentences.

These sentences are in two halves, with the if part in one half and the other part where you can use words such as can, will, may, might, could and would.

If + present form + present form

“If you heat ice, it melts.”

In this type of sentence, you could use when instead of if. It’s always true that when you heat ice it melts. This is why this type of sentence is sometimes called a zero conditional.

If + present form, + will, can or may

“If I am late, I will call you.”

“If you need me, you can call me at home.”

“If it gets any hotter, we may have a thunder storm.”

In these sentences (or first conditional sentences), there is a strong possibility that the first part (coming after if) is going to happen. The second part says what will happen as a result.

If + past form + would, could or might

“If I got a pay rise, I would buy a new car.”

“If you left your job, you could travel around the world.”

“If you were nicer to him, he might lend you the money.”

In these sentences, the first part with if shows that the event is unlikely to happen. In English, we often use this type of sentence (called a second conditional) to talk about hypotheses, or imaginary future events.

For example, “If I was President of the United States, I would change some laws.” But I know that I’ll never be the President of the USA - I’m just saying what I would do if I was in his/her position. Note: in American English, it is correct to use “if I were…” In British English, it’s more common to say “if I was…”

If + past perfect + would/might/could have done

“If I had revised, I would have passed my exams.”

“If we had gone out earlier, we might have got to the cinema on time.”

“If you had told me there was a problem, I could have helped.”

In these sentences (or third conditional sentences), the first part of the sentence with if didn’t happen. So there is no possibility of the second part of the sentence happening. I didn’t revise, so I didn’t pass my exams and there is nothing I can do about it now. English speakers use this type of sentence to show how things could have been different.

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How to use Passives in English

Compare these two English sentences:
Active = “The doctor gave me a prescription”
Passive = “I was given a prescription”

In the first sentence, the focus is on ‘the doctor’. In the second sentence, the focus is on ‘I’.

When to use the passive

To change the focus of a sentence.
In the passive sentence above, we can make the object and action (’me’ and ‘gave a prescription’) more important than the subject (’the doctor’).

If we don’t know who does an action.
“My bicycle has been stolen” - I don’t know who has stolen it.

If we don’t want to say who did something.
“The lights were left on all night.” (I don’t want to say that you left the lights on.)

If it is obvious who does something.
“I was given a prescription” - I know that only doctors give prescriptions, so I don’t need to add “by the doctor”.
“He was arrested” I know that the police arrest people, so I don’t need to add “by the police”.

Forming a passive sentence in English

Firstly, you need to make the object into the new subject.

me - I
you - You
him / her - He / She
us - We
them - They

Then you make the verb passive.
Put the verb “to be” into the same tense as the verb in the active subject. For example “gave” is the past simple tense. The past simple form of “to be” is “was” or “were”.

Present simple - is /are
Present continuous - is / are being
Present perfect - has / have been
Simple past - was / were
Past continuous - was / were being
Modals will, can etc - will be, can be etc.

Then add the past participle of the verb. For example “gave” - “given”.

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Prepositions and adjectives

In English grammar, it’s sometimes hard to remember which preposition is used with which adjective. The list below is a handy reference for the more common adjectives.

afraid of
“I’m afraid of heights.”
also scared of, frightened of

angry about something
“She was angry about the new rules at work.”

angry with someone
“He was angry with his son for coming home late.”

bad at something
“The student was bad at Geography.”
also good at

crazy about something
“She was crazy about the Spice Girls and had all their CD’s.”

different from or to something / someone
“The English are different from the Americans.”

happy to do something
“She was happy to help.”
also glad to and pleased to

happy for someone
“I was happy for him when he passed his exam.”
also pleased for

happy with someone / something
“The boss was happy with his work.”
also pleased with and satisfied with

ill with something
“She’s ill with the flu.”

nice to someone
“Be nice to him - he’s had a bad day.”

polite to someone
“The policeman was very polite to me.”

ready to do something
“I’m ready to start work now.”

ready for something / someone
“It takes me an hour to get the children ready for school.”

responsible for something / someone
“She felt responsible for her children.”

tired from doing something (physically tired)
“I’m tired from all this hard work.”
also exhausted from

tired with or of something (fed up, bored with)
“She was tired of taking the train to work every day and decided to drive instead.”

typical of someone
“It’s typical of her to do that for you - she always offers to help.”

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Prepositions of time

Using the right preposition in English can be a problem. Here are the most common ones used to talk about time, place and transport.

Time

in a century
“There were many inventions in the twentieth century.”

in a year
“She left school in 1987.”

in a month
“He’s leaving in January.”

in a season
“We usually go on holiday in summer.”

in a part of the day
“I’m leaving in the morning, not in the evening.”

during or in - when something happens
“Muslims fast during / in Ramadan.”
“It rained during / in the night.”

for - how long something takes
“She played tennis for an hour.”

at Christmas or at Easter
“Christians celebrate at Christmas and at Easter.”

at the weekend
“I play tennis at the weekend.”

at night
“I go to sleep at night.”

at a time
“The appointment is at four o’clock in the afternoon.”

on a day
“The appointment is on Monday.”

on a date
“I’m leaving on 12 December.”

Place

on or on top of
“The remote control is on the table.”

above (higher than)
“Look at the clock above the mantelpiece.”

under or underneath
“The keys are under the mat.”

beneath (old fashioned word to mean under)

below (lower than)
“The chart below shows the annual figures.”
“It was below freezing last night.”

next to “A is next to B in the alphabet.”

between “B is between A and C in the alphabet.”

opposite
“The bank is opposite the supermarket. If you walk outside the bank, you can see the supermarket in front of you, on the other side of the road.”

across
“Walk across the road, to the other side.”

round / around
“It’s round the corner - you can’t see it from here.”

Transport

on a train, a bus, a plane, a bicycle

get on / off a train / a bus / a plane / a bike

in a car

get in / out of a car

go by car / train / plane / bus

go on foot

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English Prepositions and Verbs

This list will help you remember English verbs and prepositions. Practise using them as much as possible to feel more confident.

accuse someone of something
“He accused her of stealing.”

agree with someone / something
“I agree with you - you are absolutely right.”

agree to do something
“She agreed to wait for him.”

agree on something
“We’ve agreed on all the major points.”

apply for
“I’m going to apply for a new job.”

apologise for something
“She apologised for being late.”

ask someone to do something
“She asked him to do the shopping for her.”

ask someone for something
“She asked her boss for a day off.”

believe in
“I believe in hard work.”

belong to
“This pen belongs to me.”

blame someone for doing something
“He blamed her for driving too fast.”

blame something on someone
“He blamed the accident on her.”

borrow something from someone
“He borrowed some money from the bank.”

care about something
“I don’t care about money.”

care for someone
“She really cares for her grandmother.”

take care of something / someone
“Please take care of yourself on holiday.”

complain to someone (about something)
“He complained to her about the food.”

concentrate on something
“The student concentrated on her homework.”

congratulate someone on doing something
“He congratulated her on passing her exam.”

consist of something
“The department consists of five people.”

depend on someone
“She depended on her friends for support.”

explain something to someone
“She explained the new system to them.”

listen to someone
“The students listened to their teacher.”

look at something
“Look at that view - it’s wonderful.”

look for something / someone
“Will you help me look for my book?”

look after someone
“I need to look after my mother - she’s ill.”

pay someone for something
“Can you pay me for the shopping later?”

prefer someone / something to someone
“I prefer coffee to tea.”

protect someone from something
“A scarf will protect you from the cold.”

provide someone with something
“They provide families with housing.”

regard someone as
“She regarded her sister as her best friend.”

rely on someone / something
“Can I rely on you to get the shopping?”

search for someone / something
“The police searched the building for bombs.”

spend money / time on
“I spent all my money on books as a student.”

think about someone / something
“I think about you all the time.”

think about / of doing something
“I’m thinking about / of buying a new car.”

think of something
“I’ve just thought of a new idea.”
“What do you think of the new magazine?”

translate from something into something else
“Don’t translate from English into French.”

wait for someone
“I waited an hour for him, then went home.”

warn someone about
“The doctor warned her about smoking.”

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Direct and Indirect Questions in English

Direct questions - yes / no questions in English.

1. He likes swimming.
2. He can swim long distances.
3. He is a good swimmer.

To make sentence 1 into a question, you need to add does. The does goes before he.

Does is only used if the subject is he, she or it - in all other cases, use do.

The verb like goes after the subject, but it doesn’t have an ’s’ on the end.

Remember: after auxiliary verbs (like do, does, have, can, etc.) the verb is in the infinitive, without ‘to’.

“Does he like swimming?” Not “Does he likes swimming?” or “Do he like swimming?”

If the sentence is in the past tense (he liked swimming), we use the past form of ‘do’ or ‘does’, which is did. The verb ‘like’ is still in the infinitive without ‘to’.

For example, “Did he like swimming?” Not “Did he liked swimming?”

To make sentence 2 into a question, you don’t need to use ‘does’ because you already have an auxiliary verb - can. So you put the can before he.

“Can he swim long distances?” Not “Can swim he long distances?” or “Does he can swim long distances?”

To make sentence 3 into a question, use is as the auxiliary.

“Is he a good swimmer?” Not “Does he is a good swimmer?” or “Does he be a good swimmer?”

Direct questions - “wh” questions

What is your name?
Why do you want this job?
How much do you earn?
How soon can you start?
When did you see the advertisement?
Where do you live?
Which newspaper did you see the advertisement in?
Who gave you my name?

After the “wh word” (what, why, how, when, etc) comes the auxiliary (do, does, did or can), then the subject (you) , then the rest of the question.

Note: if ‘who’, ‘which’ or ‘what’ are the subject of the question, you don’t need an auxiliary.

For example, “What happened?” Not “What did happen?” The thing that happened is what - the subject of the question.

“Who saw you?” Someone saw you - who was it?

Compare with “Who did you see?” You saw someone - who was it?)

“Which company made a profit?” A company made a profit - which company was it?

Compare with “Which company did you work for?” You worked for a company - which one was it?

Indirect questions in English

If you want to ask a question that is quite sensitive, try using one of the indirect phrases below:

Can you tell me…
Could you tell me…
I’d be interested to hear…
I’d like to know…
Would you mind telling me…

These questions are followed by either about, a “wh word” or if. Then you add the subject, then the sentence.

You don’t need an ‘auxiliary’, such as ‘do’, ‘does’, ‘did’, or ‘can’.

“Can you tell me what you like most about your present job?” Not “Can you tell me what do you like?”

“I’d be interested to hear about your experiences.”

“Would you mind telling me if you have applied for a similar position before?”

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Question Tags

Question tags are used in English to encourage someone to carry on talking. We use these question tags when we want to ask a question, or if we want someone to agree with us.

She doesn’t like swimming, does she?
(No, she doesn’t.)

He can’t cook, can he?
(No he can’t.)

He’s interesting, isn’t he?
(Yes, he is.)

We’ve been here before, haven’t we?

How to make question tags

To make a question tag in English, use the auxiliary verb (if there is one) in the sentence.

She doesn’t like… (doesn’t is the auxiliary)

He can’t cook… (can’t is the auxiliary)

He’s interesting… (is is the auxiliary)

We’ve been here… (have is the auxiliary)

Negative and positive tags

If the auxiliary is negative, the tag is positive.

NEGATIVE
She doesn’t like…

…does she?
POSITIVE

If the auxiliary is positive, the tag is negative.

POSITIVE
He’s interesting…

…isn’t he?
NEGATIVE

No auxiliary?

If there isn’t an auxiliary in the verb, use the right form of ‘do’ instead.

He likes tennis, doesn’t he?

You saw her last week, didn’t you?

We don’t know that for a fact, do we?

Pronunciation

If your voice goes up on the tag, you make a question. If your voice drops on the tag, then you aren’t making a question, but you are asking someone to agree with you.

Test yourself!
Click on the button on the right to test yourself on question tags.

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Reported Speech

Sometimes you need to tell people about your conversations and change direct speech into indirect speech. When you do this, you need to make sure that the tenses are correct.

For example, Karen says to Peter: “My job is very interesting.” Peter then wants to report this conversation to Sarah a week later. He says: “Karen said that her job was interesting.”

When you report a conversation, the tense changes:

“My job is very interesting” becomes: She said that her job was very interesting.

Tense changes

“I’m going swimming” - She said she was going swimming.

“I haven’t seen the film” - She said she hadn’t seen the film.

“I have been working all morning” - She said she had been working all morning.

“I was working all week” - She said she had been working all week.

“He went on holiday to Greece” - She said he had gone on holiday to Greece.

Sentences that are already in the “had done” form remain the same:

“I hadn’t seen him before” - She said she hadn’t seen him before.

Reporting modal verbs

Modal verbs also go back one tense.

Will becomes would.

For example: “I will see him later” - She said she would see him later.

Can becomes could.

For example: “I can swim” - She said she could swim.

May becomes might.

For example: “It may become colder over night” - He said it might become colder over night.

Direct speech using would, could, might and should all stay the same in reported speech.

“You should speak more” - He said I should speak more.

Reporting questions

When you report questions, the word order changes to look like a normal statement.

For example: “Can you help me?” - She asked me if I could help her.

“What’s the time?” - He asked her what the time was.

Other changes

Time expressions also change in reported speech.

today - that day

tomorrow - the day after / the next day

yesterday - the day before / the previous day

now - then

next week - the week after

last week - the week before / the previous week

Other expressions that change:

here - there

this - that

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