QUESTIONS

If you have a question without a question word (Who? What? Where? When? How?) you swap the subject and the verb around:

You are from Russia

Are you from Russia?

He is a physiotherapist

Is he a physiotherapist?

If you have an auxiliary verb in the question (be, do, have), the auxiliary verb goes before the subject:

Have you received my email?

Are you going now?

Are they laughing at me?

NB: Only the auxiliary verb goes before the subject, NOT the infinitive as well.

If there is no other auxiliary verb in the sentence we use do (+ infinitive if needed) to form the question:

Do you eat meat?

What does this word mean in English?

Did you remember to send that letter?

YOU DON'T USE 'DO' IF THERE IS ANOTHER AUXILIARY OR MODAL VERB IN THE QUESTION:

Can you tell me the time?

Have you seen John?

Are you ready?

You also don't use 'do' with the question words who, which, what, whose when they are the subject of the sentence, but you do use 'do' when they are the object of a sentence:

Who rang? ('Who' is the subject of this sentence)

Who did you ring? ('Who' is the object of this sentence)

What happened? ('What' is the subject)

What did she say? ('What' is the object)

A final point on prepositions - they generally go at the end of wh- questions:

What are you talking about?

Who did you go with?

reflexive pronouns

myself yourself himself herself itself oneself ourselves yourselves themselves

When do we use them?

As a direct object when the object and subject of the verb are the same:

I'm teaching myself Spanish

Don't cut yourself

The most common verbs that use reflexive pronouns are:

amuse blame cut dry enjoy help hurt introduce kill prepare satisfy teach

DON'T USE REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS WITH VERBS THAT DESCRIBE THINGS THAT PEOPLE

USUALLY DO THEMSELVES (e.g. wash, shave, dress), except for emphasis: I dressed myself this

morning for the first time since I broke my arm.

We also use reflexive pronouns as an indirect object when it's the same as the subject:

I bought myself a shirt (I bought him a shirt)

Pour yourself a drink (Would you get her a drink?)

We use by with a reflexive pronoun to show it was done alone and/or without help:

I live by myself

She walked home by herself

He prepared the whole meal by himself

We use a reflexive pronoun for emphasis:

The hospital itself is quite small but it has an excellent reputation

The consultant himself performed the operation

...and often at the end of the clause for extra emphasis:

I baked the bread myself

For super emphasis, we might add all by:

Did you do that all by yourself? (to a child)

I was left all by myself - it was scary (I want some sympathy!)

He managed to do it all by himself, despite his broken arm!

Examples:

Don't blame yourself for the accident

We can amuse ourselves for an hour or two

I never had any lessons - I just taught myself

How rude! She never even introduced herself!

It's a long time since they enjoyed themselves so much

It's a very clever machine. It turns itself off

He cut himself shaving

Ladies and gentlemen, there's loads of food, so please help yourselves!

reported speech

Reported speech is also known as ‘indirect speech’. Look at the following examples:

Direct speech - He said “I don’t want to go to the pictures tonight.”

Indirect speech - He said (that) he didn’t want to go to the pictures that night.

We are using ‘indirect speech’ if we are repeating or reporting what another person said or thought:

I went without you because you said that you didn’t want to go!

She always said that she would have liked to have visited Rome one day

We often drop the conjunction ‘that’:

You always said there was something strange about him and you were right!

He said he was going to confess everything and I believed him

Notice that when we use reported speech we usually use a different tense - this is because we’re speaking at a different time to the speaker. Look at the following changes:

Present simple → past simple

Present continuous → past continuous

Present perfect → past perfect

Past simple → past perfect

Past perfect → past perfect

“I go every Saturday” → He said he went every Saturday

“I’m thinking of moving to Italy” → She said she was thinking of moving to Italy

“I’ve been here for 20 minutes” → She said she had been here for 20 minutes

“I went to Rome in 2004” → He said that he had gone to Rome in 2004

“I’d left the party by 9 o’clock” → He said that he had left the party by 9 o’clock

Note also the following modal verb changes:

will → would

would → would

can → could

could →could

may → might

“I’ll go on Tuesday” → She said she would go on Tuesday

“I’d love to come!” → She said she’d love to come

“I can babysit if you’d like" → She said she could babysit if I’d like

“When I was ten I could do the splits” → She said that when she was ten she could do the splits

“I may be able to fit you in” → He said that he might be able to fit you in

Reported questions - the word order often causes problems! Remember that the subject usually goes before the verb:

“How's your father?” → I asked how your father was (not “how was your father")

“What’s the time?” → She asked what the time was (not “what was the time”)

“Are you coming on Saturday?” → He asked me if I was coming on Saturday

“Do you fancy a coffee?” → She asked me if I fancied a coffee

“Do you speak English?” → He asked me if I spoke English

NB question marks aren’t used.

A final point - we don't always change the tense if what the speaker said is still true or relevant and they used the present tense:

"There are several flaws in your argument." → He said that there are several flaws in your argument

"I feel really ill." → She said she feels really ill

say or tell?

You SAY something

You TELL someone something

SAY is most often used without a personal object and if there is one, we use 'to':

She said that she would be late

John said that he was tired

Anthony says that you have a new job

She said that she loved Michael

He said that he had to leave

She said that it was my last chance

She said to me

Tara said to Bill

She said to him

He said to her

We use SAY before a word, a name, a sentence, a phrase:

"Alice said a naughty word." "Stop telling tales!"

Can you say that sentence again?

SAY focuses on the actual words:

Someone said that the meeting had been cancelled

"Hello," she said

Tara said, "I love you Bill"

What did you just say?

Which is why we often use SAY with direct speech:

He said, "I"m not paying ten pounds for that!"

"Turn right," I said

TELL is used to instruct and inform, so it's NOT used with greetings, exclamations or questions. We usually mention who is told, apart from a few set expressions: tell the truth; tell a lie; tell a story; tell a joke; tell the difference; tell the time; to tell tales.

The focus is more on the message:

She told me she was going on holiday

She told me that it was my last chance

We use TELL more with a personal object, i.e. who is being told:

John told Janet that he was tired

Anthony tells me that you have a new job

Tara told Bill that she loved him

She told me that she loved John

He told everyone that he had to leave

TELL is also used with direct speech that is an instruction or information, orders or advice:

He told her, "Open the door quietly"

She told me, "I've never been to England"

He told me to sit down

They told me not to wait

Tell Neil to have a good holiday and forget her

"Turn right here," I told him

We don't usually use 'it' after TELL when referring to a fact:

"What time's the meeting?" - " I"ll tell you tomorrow." (Not "I'll tell you it tomorrow")

COMMON ERRORS:

Tara said Joe to go away - wrong because it's an instruction - Tara told Joe to go away (or "Go away Joe," said Tara)

Patrick said me that he was hungry - wrong because it's giving information - Patrick told me that he was hungry

He told them, "Good morning" - wrong because it's a greeting/exclamation/direct speech - "Good morning," he said to them

Mary told us, "What a nice idea!" - wrong because it's an exclamation and direct speech - Mary said to us, "What a nice idea!"

Often the difference is subtle and depends on the context of the sentence:

"What did you say to Bill?" - this person is interested in the general conversation

"What did you tell Bill?" - this person is more interested in the specifics of the conversation

SUMMARY:

SAY that (without a personal object)

SAY to (with a personal object)

SAY when focusing on the words being said

SAY direct speech

SAY greetings

SAY exclamations

SAY a word

SAY a name

SAY a sentence

SAY a phrase

TELL who (with a personal object)

TELL someone a message

TELL someone an instruction

TELL some information

TELL orders

TELL advice

"TELL the truth"

"TELL a lie"

"TELL a joke"

"TELL the difference"

"TELL the time"

"TELL tales"

since and for

We use for with various tenses when we want to explain how long something lasts:

I lived in that village for 19 years

I've been studying English for 5 years

I've known my husband for 25 years

I'll be in Italy for 4 days then France for 2

It had been snowing for a week and the road was blocked

The guests will have been here for 2 hours by the time you arrive

We use since when we refer to a starting point in time and only with the perfect tenses:

I've been a midwife since 1999

He's been feeling unwell since Friday

I've known Ruth since 1987 - we're good friends

I had known Tom since before the war so I was devastated to hear he had died

My guess is she would have been there since 9am because that's the time she started work

So - it would be incorrect to say:

I am a midwife since 1999

I know Ruth since 1987

Remember: the present perfect tense shows how the past is relevant now - I'm still a midwife, I still know Ruth, my long acquaintance with Tom has an impact on my feelings now about his death.

some and any

We use some and any when we don't need to be specific about amounts:

If you go to the shop we need some eggs

I need to light the fire. Have you got any matches?

You might notice that some is used in a more positive sense and any is used in questions and in a more negative sense:

I bought some beautiful flowers at the market today.

Did they have any roses? No, and they didn't have any violets either

It's interesting to note that, even though we use any in questions, if we are expecting a positive response, we use some!

Is there any more cake?

Would you like some more cake? Yes please, it's delicious!

such and so

These are easier than you think!

We use such and so when we want to express degrees or extremes - It was such a brilliant party! It was so cold I decided to stay in.

Use SUCH when you are describing a noun (plus an adjective if you want one)....

.... and use SO to emphasise the degree of an adjective or an adverb.

Easy!

There were such a lot of people at the concert we were lucky to get a seat

There were so many people at the concert we were lucky to get a seat

I can't believe you've lost your keys again - you're such an idiot!

You've lost your keys again? I can't believe you're so foolish!

She's such a beautiful girl - and so clever too!

Let's go to the beach - it's such a lovely day!

We had such fun at Tom's barbecue - it's such a shame you missed it!

We had so much fun at Tom's barbecue!

They were such expensive shoes I decided not to buy them

The shoes were so expensive I decided not the buy them in the end

She walked so quickly I could barely keep up with her

She's such a fast walker I could barely keep up with her

He speaks English so badly no-one understands a word he says

He speaks such bad English no-one understands a word he says

The biscuits were so delicious I ate the lot

They were such delicious biscuits I ate the lot

UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Countable nouns can be counted (three apples, twelve chairs), we can use the article a/an with them (a potato, an elephant) and they have plural forms (two dogs, three buses, four babies, five boxes).

Uncountable nouns are nouns that we see as masses and not individual objects. You can’t separate them or count them and they only have one form. Be careful, because some English uncountable nouns are countable in other languages! The best way to be sure is to check in a good dictionary. You don’t use the article a/an with uncountable nouns: I like music; He loves sugar. You can use ‘some’ if the number isn’t known or isn’t important: My flat is empty, I need to get some furniture; Stand back - give him some air! If we want to make an uncountable noun countable, we have to add an expression before it like a piece or an item: I want to give you a piece of advice; I heard an item of news on the radio that was very interesting; Could you get me a bag of flour from the cupboard?

Common uncountable nouns:

accommodation, administration, advice, alcohol, air, blood, bread, butter, cash, cereal, clothing, coke, cream, electricity, equipment, fabric, flour, fruit, furniture, guacamole, homework, honey, ice-cream, information, jewellery, juice, ketchup, knowledge, luck, luggage, makeup, management mayonnaise, meat, milk, money, music, news, noise, oil, pasta, pepper, perfume, permission, progress, publicity, research, rice, rubbish, salt, scenery, shampoo, soap, soup, stress, sugar, tea, toothpaste, traffic, vocabulary, water, wood, work, yoga, yoghurt.

You can use most determiners with countable and uncountable nouns:

No article - He doesn’t like apples/He doesn’t like fruit

The - Did you bring the chairs?/Did you bring the wine?

This - This fork is filthy!/I think this milk is off!

That - That dog is dangerous/That ice-cream tastes delicious

Some - Will you buy some oranges at the supermarket?/Will you buy some juice at the supermarket?

Any - We haven’t got any eggs/Have we got any tea?

No - No dogs allowed in the restaurant!/Hurry up! There’s no time to waste!

A lot of - There were a lot of children at the party/There was a lot of noise at the party

Enough - There aren’t enough chairs for everyone/There isn’t enough salt in this soup

All - All the biscuits have been eaten!/All the publicity has been negative!

BUT:

We use less with uncountable nouns (and few with countable nouns):

He earns less money than I do but his job is more interesting

(For more examples on few and less go to the Grammar Rays notes here:

https://www.goforwardenglish.com/grammar-rays-d-o)

We use much with uncountable nouns (and many with plural countable nouns):

I haven’t got much money

(For more examples on many and much go to the Grammar Rays notes here:

https://www.goforwardenglish.com/grammar-rays-d-o)

Some nouns can be used uncountably and countably and have slightly different meanings:

The statue was made of glass and was extremely fragile/Could you get me a glass of water please?

I put all the paper in the recycling box/Will you get me a paper from the newsagent?

Brazil has the highest coffee production in the world/Two coffees please!

I love chocolate!/Would you like one of these chocolates? They’re all different flavours!

My hair is too long - I must get it cut soon!/I found three blonde hairs on his jacket and I’m a brunette!

I haven’t got time to go to the gym!/We had a lovely time at the zoo - I've been there three times now!

She’s perfect for this job - she’s got a lot of experience/It was one of the most hideous experiences of my life!

I put a lot of thought into the present I bought him/I keep having horrible thoughts about an accident!

The conversation at the dinner party was extremely dull!/We’ve had two conversations about his future and still not decided anything!

Can you get a carton of orange from the fridge?/I’m starving - I only had an orange for lunch!

I love pizza but it’s so fattening!/I’ll have a pizza and a glass of fizzy water please

There wasn’t much light in the room and it was hard to see/Can you switch a light on?

I’ve stopped eating cake - I’m on a diet!/I’ll have a coffee and one of those little cakes with the cherry on top

There’s no space in my apartment for a new baby/I moved over and made a space for him next to me

I never eat ice-cream - it gives me brain freeze!/Let’s get an ice-cream - which flavour do you want?

verb complements (verbs after verbs)

Verbs in English can be followed by other verbs, not always in the same form. Sometimes, the second verb is in the infinitive (with or without 'to'), sometimes we use the gerund (-ing) and sometimes we can use either form, depending on the context! Unfortunately, there are no simple rules for deciding which form to use and they are sometimes used interchangeably - you have to LEARN EACH VERB and practise, practise, practise! (There is a general list of which verbs take which form below the following examples.)

Infinitives with 'to'

It's starting to snow

He doesn't want to go back to school

It seems to be raining again

I didn't agree to eat at that restaurant

*I ought to go now

Infinitives without 'to'

1. After modal auxiliary verbs (can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must)

You must leave now if you want to get there before the shop closes

Can you dance the fandango?

I would prefer to stay in tonight as it's pouring with rain

NB NOT: I must to improve (a very common mistake!)

*NB NOT OUGHT (I ought to improve my spoken English)

2. After 'had better'

You'd better go now if you want to avoid the traffic

I'd better write that letter now if I want it to arrive tomorrow

3. After let, make, see, hear, feel, notice

You never let me drive the car

He made me give all the money back

Did you see the train arrive?

4. After and, or, except, but, than, as, like

My dog loves to sit on the couch and watch TV

We had nothing to do except listen to the radio

I have to clean the house as well as look after the dog

Let's do something crazy like fly to Berlin for the weekend!

Object + infinitive

I'd like you to meet Bill

I want you to be pleased about it

I want you to listen

Why won't you let me explain? (no 'to' after let)

I heard her open the door (no 'to' after hear)

Gerunds

Pete enjoys watching TV

He's finished cooking the dinner

She's given up eating wheat

My doctor suggested doing a lot more exercise

Gerunds after prepositions

This is easy to remember as we always use a verb in the -ing form after a preposition:

You can't visit Rome without going to the Coliseum

I like to take a walk before eating my main meal

I mastered English by studying a little each day

They're talking about moving to Spain

They went to the beach instead of going to school

Don't forget 'to' is a preposition as well as an infinitive marker, and when it's a preposition, it takes the -ing form:

I look forward to going on my annual holiday

He objected to driving all the way back again

I can't get used to working 12 hours shifts!

She always preferred dancing to studying!

I never seem to get round to cleaning the bathroom

In addition to working all day, he studied at night too

NB: There is something called an infinitive of purpose. This is used in a situation where ‘to’ means in order to do something, and it’s not in the gerund form but in the infinitive. We see it very commonly after the verb stop and it causes problems because normally stop is one of the verbs followed by the gerund form: It's stopped raining; Can you please stop talking! Look at these examples:

I stopped to tie up my shoelace

He stopped in the street to answer his phone

He was so exhausted from work he stopped to retrain as a professional tennis coach

I stopped the car to let the pedestrian cross the road

Can you see the differences?

Stop talking! / I stopped to talk to the postman on the street

I stopped listening five minutes ago! / I stopped to listen to the band playing Christmas songs outside the shop

Can you stop watching TV and help me? / I had to stop to help my friend

Either form

Sometimes you can use the verb form in the infinitive or the gerund and it's just your personal preference (I can't bear to see you cry/I can't bear seeing you cry; I love to ski/I love skiing.) However, with some verbs there are subtle differences between the infinitive and the gerund forms depending on the context of the sentence and these differences take time to learn.

Remember and Forget

If we are looking back in time, we use the gerund:

I still remember seeing the ocean for the first time

He'll never forget getting his prize from the President

If we are looking forward in time to something that is still to be done or back at something that was still to do at the moment we forgot, we use the infinitive:

You must remember to iron your blue shirt so it's ready for tomorrow

I forgot to wash it, so I guess I'll have to wear the white one

Go on

If we just mean 'continue' we use the gerund:

She went on teasing him until he started to cry

If we use 'go on' to mean a change in activity we use the infinitive:

He started off as a doctor in paediatrics but then went on to be clinical director

Regret

When we are looking back at the past we use the gerund:

I regret wearing those high heels - my feet are killing me now!

We use the infinitive mostly with announcements of bad news:

We regret to announce that the performance has been cancelled due to illness

Advise, allow, permit, forbid

If there is no object we use the gerund:

I wouldn't advise leaving your front door unlocked

We don't allow speaking in the library

If there is an object, we use the infinitive:

I wouldn't advise you to leave your front door unlocked

We don't allow people to eat in the library

Sorry

It's the gerund for things in the past that we regret:

I'm sorry about saying I don't like your mother

It's the infinitive when we are apologising for current situations:

Sorry to disturb you

Sorry to keep you (waiting)

Certain, Sure of

If we are referring to the feelings of someone we are talking about, we use the gerund:

She seems very sure of passing her driving test on Monday

We use the infinitive to refer to our own feelings:

Please say you'll come! It's certain to be a brilliant party!

Interested

If we have a wish to do something we use the gerund:

I'm interested in training to be a vet

If it's a reaction to something we have learned, we use the infinitive:

I was interested to hear on the news that there is to be an election in May

If it's a wish to find out something, we can use either form:

I'm interested in seeing St Petersburg in the winter

I'll be interested to find out if you can really walk across the frozen river Neva

Verbs followed by the infinitive:

afford, agree, aim, appear, arrange, ask, be able, beg, care, choose, condescend, consent, dare, decide, deserve, expect, fail, get, happen, have, help, hesitate, hope, hurry, intend, leap, leave, long, manage, neglect, offer, ought, plan, prepare, pretend, proceed, promise, propose, refuse, seem, shoot, strive, swear, threaten, use, want, wish.

Verbs followed by an object + the infinitive:

advise, allow, ask, beg, bring, build, buy, cause, challenge, choose, command, dare, direct, encourage, expect, forbid, force, get, hate, have, help, hire, instruct, intend, invite, lead, leave, let, like, love, motivate, need, oblige, order, pay, permit, persuade, prefer, prepare, promise, mean, recommend, remind, request, send, tell, trouble, urge, want, warn, wish.

Verbs followed by the gerund:

admit, afraid of, appreciate, avoid, can't help, can't stand, catch, complete, consider, contemplate, delay, deny, detest, dislike, endure, enjoy, escape, excuse, fancy, feel like, finish, forgive, get through, imagine, involve, keep, mention, mind, miss, postpone, practise, prohibit, quit, recall, report, resent, resist, risk, spend (time), stop, suggest, tolerate, understand, waste (time).

PLUS:

admit to, approve of, argue about, believe in, burst out, care about, complain about, concentrate on, confess to, depend on, disapprove of, discourage from, dream about, feel like, forget about, give up, go on, insist on, keep on, leave off, object to, plan on, prevent (from), put off, refrain from, succeed in, talk about, think about, (get/be) used to, worry about.

Verbs followed by either the infinitive or the gerund:

advise, allow, attempt, be accustomed to, be committed to, begin, can't bear, come, continue, forbid, forget, go, go on, hate, hear, intend, learn, like, love, mean, permit, prefer, propose, regret, remember, see, start, stop, teach, try, watch.

Have you noticed when you look a verb up in the dictionary it’s followed by these letters: tr. or intr. ? They stand for transitive and intransitive and they describe verbs that are either followed by an object or not followed by an object.

Transitive verbs have to be followed by an object to complete the sentence (e.g. need, like, want, love, bring).

I want some cake

I love you

He brought his sister to the party

Intransitive verbs stand alone, without an object (e.g. arrive, wait, fall, die, smile, walk, sit, appear, snow, live, come (you can’t arrive or sit ‘something’).

He arrived late

She died on Tuesday

I walked all the way there

Some verbs can be both:

She sang

She sang a song

I left at six

I left my car keys at home

What time did you leave?

I left the office at six

The plane took off on time

I took off my shoes before going into the living room

He’s reading

He’s reading a magazine

She stopped in the middle of the road

She stopped the car at the lights

An example I often hear from students is I don’t need. This is incorrect because ‘need’ is a transitive verb and has to be followed by an object, so you should say I don’t need one or I don’t need it or I don’t need a new phone. Like and Want are also examples of transitive verbs and I often hear students say I don’t like or I don’t want when they should qualify it with an object - I don’t like cake, I don’t like Mondays, I don’t like it, I don’t want it.

One further point: when a transitive verb is followed by another verb, that second verb is in the infinitive:

I didn’t want to go to Paris

I don’t want to see that film

If you want to shorten the sentence and not repeat the verb (because its meaning is understood) you still use the ‘to’ part of the infinitive:

I didn’t want to

I don’t want to

I don’t need to

I don’t like to

GO FORWARD

WITH ENGLISH