Grammar Express

3rd Edition

Essentials of English Grammar

Grammar EXPRESS

Anne Gagnon Pierre Richard

Table of Contents SECTION I

Parts of Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adjectives of Comparison (taller, more intelligent, the highest, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Comparing Degrees of Equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Comparing Degrees of Inferiority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Comparing and Superlative Degrees of Superiority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Irregular Comparatives and Superlatives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adverbs and Placement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8 Adverbs of Frequency (sometimes, often, never, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Adverbs of Manner (abruptly, well, fast, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Adverbs of Interrogation (when, where, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Adverbs of Degree / Intensity (completely, quite, etc.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Adverbs of Position (here, there, down, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Adverbs of Time (soon, now, later, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Adverbs of Quantity (almost, many, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Sentence Adverbs (actually, surely, certainly, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Adverbs of Comparison (as … as, less … than, the least, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Comparative Degree of Equality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Comparative Degree of Inferiority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Comparative and Superlative Degrees of Superiority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

1

Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1 Definite Article (the). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Indefinite Articles (a, an). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 No Article (Ø). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Nouns

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Rules for Spelling Plural Nouns (-s, -es). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Countable and Uncountable Nouns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common Uncountable Nouns (no -es or -es form) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nouns as Modifiers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Possessive Forms (‘s / s’ and of the, of + pronoun) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2 3 3 3 3

Pronouns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5

Personal Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Subject Pronouns (I, you, he, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Object Pronouns (me, you, him, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Possessive Pronouns (my / mine, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Reflexive Pronouns (myself, yourself, herself, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Demonstrative Pronouns (this, that, these, those) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Relative Pronouns (who, that, which, etc.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interrogative Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Impersonal and Indefinite Pronouns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adjectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6 6 6 7 7

6 Possessive Adjectives (my, your, his, etc.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Demonstrative Adjectives (this, that, these, those) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Adjective Word Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Prepositions and Adverbs: Time, Position, Movement and Manner. . . . . .

Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Movement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Manner. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Prepositions and Adverbs: Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Prepositions and Adverbs: Movement and Manner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conjunctions

11 11 11 11 11 12 13

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Coordinating Conjunctions (and, yet, for, so, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tip: FANBOYS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Meaning of Coordinating Conjunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Subordinating Conjunctions (when, because, if, etc.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Meaning of Subordinating Conjunctions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

14 14 14 15 15

SECTION II Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Forms, Tenses and Modals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Basic Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conjugation – Main Verbs in the Affirmative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Verb to be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

All Other Verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conjugation – Main Verbs in the Negative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Verb to be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

All Other Verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Conjugation – Auxiliary Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Continuous Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Perfect Forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16 16 16 16 16 17 17 17 17 17 17

iii

Table of Contents Interrogative Forms: Yes / No Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Verb to be . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

All Other Verbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Modal Auxiliaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tag Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interrogative Forms: Information Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Meaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Summary of Form: Question Formation for Tenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Information Questions Using Modal Auxiliaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Verb Tense Overview

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Simple Present (I was, you speak, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Present Continuous (I am doing, she is talking, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Simple Past (I talked, you did, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Past Continuous (I was talking, you were doing, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Present Perfect (I have talked, you have seen, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Present Perfect Continuous (I have been visiting, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Past Perfect (I had started, you had started, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Past Perfect Continuous (I had been smoking, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Simple Future (I will talk, you are going to see, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Future Continuous (I will be talking, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Future Perfect (I will have eaten, etc.) .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Future Perfect Continuous (I will have been teaching, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Non-Continuous Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Intellectual States and Emotions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Perceptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Qualities and States of Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Active and Passive Voices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Modal Auxiliaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Present and Future Meanings (must, have to, should, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Past Meanings (can, could, would have, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Verbs as Gerunds

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gerunds as Subjects (Skiing is fun, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gerunds as Objects (I love eating, etc.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Special Structures With Gerunds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common Go + Gerund Constructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Gerunds as Objects of Prepositions (instead of sleeping, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common Verb-Preposition Combinations Followed by Gerunds. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Verbs of Perception and the Gerund. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Verb Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common Irregular Verbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Spelling Regular Verbs in the Past. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common Irregular Verbs by Sound and Spelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common Phrasal Verbs (call up, get together, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18 18 18 18 18 19 19 19 19

20

20 20 21 21 22 22 23 23 24 24 25 25 26 26 26 26 27 28 28 29

30

30 30 30 30 30 31 31

32 32 35 35 37

SECTION III

Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

41

Sentence Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

41

Punctuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

43

Capitalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Direct vs. Indirect Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Transitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

46 47 48

Phrases (in the box, etc.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Clauses (Before I speak, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Types of Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adjective (Relative) Clauses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Noun Clauses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Adverbial Clauses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Period. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Comma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Semicolon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Colon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Hyphen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Exclamation Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Question Mark. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Apostrophe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Transitions to Add an Idea (first, next, and, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Transitions to Show Cause and Effect (so, hence, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Transitions to Show Contrast (but, nevertheless, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Transitions to Show Example (for example, such as, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Transitions to Show Time (afterwards, later, soon, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Transitions to Show Summary (in brief, to conclude, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SECTION IV

Helpful Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

41 41 42 42 42 42 43 43 44 44 44 45 45 45

48 48 49 49 49 49

50

Common Preposition Combinations

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Nouns + Prepositions (fear of, rise in, etc.). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Verbs + Prepositions + Nouns (be in the rain, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Verbs/Adjectives + Prepositions (crash into, devoted to, etc.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Confusing Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Words that Sound the Same or Look Alike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Commonly Misspelled Words and Canadian Spellings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Advanced Sentence Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Faulty Pronoun Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dangling Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Misplaced Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Faulty Parallelism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

54 55 56 58 58 58 59 59

Parts of Speech

Use the before names of: oceans, seas, groups of lakes, rivers, mountain ranges, geographical areas, deserts, forests and gulfs.

• the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea, the St. Lawrence River, the Great Lakes, the Rockies, the Alps, the equator, the Middle East, the Sahara Desert, the Black Forest, the Gulf of Mexico

*See “No Article” box below for exceptions.

Indefinite Articles

Please note that verbs are covered in a separate section titled Verbs.

Articles Definition: Articles are modifiers. They are placed before a noun and / or an adjective and noun. In other words, they are a type of adjective (For more on adjectives, see p. 6). There are two categories of articles: the definite article (the) and indefinite articles (a, an).

The indefinite articles a and an modify nouns that describe a generality.

• It is warm in the classroom. Please open a window. (any window)

Use a with words that begin with a consonant sound.

• A mother often tells a bedtime story to a child. (no specific mother, story or child)

Use an with words that begin with a vowel sound.

• An apple a day keeps the doctor away. (any apple, any day)

An is used before words that begin with a silent / h /. One hears the vowel sound, not the / h /.

• She is an honest woman.

• He charges an hourly rate.

• What an honour it was!

• Prince William is an heir to the throne.

No Article Definite Article The is used to modify a singular or plural noun that has been specified.

• The apple in my hand was picked yesterday. (a particular apple; not just any apple) • Please give me the phone. (a particular phone)

The is also used with inventions and species of animals.

• The computer has replaced the typewriter.

Use the with an uncountable noun only when the noun describes something or somebody specific.*

• Ø Coffee is good in the morning.

• The coffee in this can comes from Brazil.

Parts of Speech

• The giant panda is in danger of extinction.

No article is used in front of plural nouns when you make a generalization.

• Ø Cars are expensive these days.

• Raising Ø teenagers can be difficult at times.

Do not use the before the names of: lakes, bays, a single mountain, continents, states, provinces, cities, countries* and streets.

• Ø Lake Memphremagog, Ø Lake Massawippi, Ø Hudson Bay, Ø Bay of Fundy, Ø Mont Orford, Ø Mont Tremblant, Ø Europe, Ø North America, Ø Vermont, Ø Maine, Ø Alberta, Ø Ontario, Ø Montreal, Ø Toronto, Ø Canada, Ø France, Ø Peel Street

*Exceptions: Country names that include “united,” a plural form, or “of” require the: the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the People’s Republic of China, etc.

1

Parts of Speech

2

Nouns Ending in -f or -fe

Nouns

When a one-syllable noun ends in -f or -fe, change the -fe to -ves.

Definition: A noun describes a person (Michel), place (Montréal), thing (desk) or quality (honesty); it also describes an idea (discovery), an animal (dog) or an activity (work / fishing / exercise). Nouns can be proper (Boston / Mr. Jones), common (cities / trout), abstract (hatred / jealousy), concrete (egg / trees) or collective (football team / jury).

Rules for Spelling Plural Nouns Regular Spellings

knife, knives; life, lives; self, selves

Exceptions: chief, chiefs; gulf, gulfs; roof, roofs; safe, safes

Nouns Ending in -o Usually when a noun ends in -o preceded by a consonant, add -es.

hero, heroes; mosquito, mosquitoes; potato, potatoes

If a vowel precedes the -o, add only -s.

radio, radios; zoo, zoos

Irregular Spellings Some nouns have irregular plural spellings.

cactus, cacti; child, children; crisis, crises; foot, feet; goose, geese; man, men; mouse, mice; ox, oxen; person, people; tooth, teeth; woman, women

Add -s to most countable nouns to form the plural.

tree, trees; individual, individuals; apple, apples

Add -es when a singular noun ends in -s, -z, -ch, -sh, or -x.

class, classes; buzz, buzzes; couch, couches; bush, bushes; tax, taxes

Some nouns have the same spelling in the singular and the plural.

deer, fish, means, moose, series, sheep

Add only -s when a final -ch ending sounds like / k /.

epoch, epochs; stomach, stomachs; monarch, monarchs

Some nouns of Latin and Greek origin still retain the plural form from their original language.

analysis, analyses; crisis, crises; criterion, criteria; datum, data; phenomenon, phenomena; stimulus, stimuli; thesis, theses

Nouns Ending in -y When a noun ends in -y preceded by a consonant, change the y to i and add -es.

lady, ladies; library, libraries; party, parties

When a noun ends in -y preceded by a vowel, add only an -s.

day, days; tray, trays; valley, valleys

Always Plural Some nouns are always in the plural.

clothes, (nail) clippers, jeans, pants, scissors, shorts, tools, tweezers

Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Possessive Forms (’s / s’ and of the, of + pronoun)

Most nouns are countable.

• They have five children.

• There are nine chairs in this room.

Some abstract nouns are uncountable.

• Freedom is often taken for granted.

• Integrity is necessary in business.

Many concrete nouns are uncountable.

• Paper is very expensive now.

• Water is good on a hot day.

Common Uncountable Nouns (no -s or -es form) Never put a / an before any of these uncountable nouns: acceptance

coffee

garbage

pasta

accommodation

conscience

information

permission

adolescence

environment

literature

progress

advice

equipment

love

pronunciation

baggage

excellence

luggage

research

bread

fiction

money

travel

breath

furniture

news

water

To show possession, use -’s at the end of a singular noun. Also add -’s to the end of a plural noun that does not end with -s.

• I found Nancy’s shoes under her bed.

• The children’s parents were sad to see them leave for school.

Use -’s to form the plural of lower-case letters and numbers* if misreading is likely.

Upper-case letters take -s only.

• Remember to dot all your i’s and cross all your t’s.

• Mary earned three As and two Bs. • She scored three 9.3s.

• Roll 7’s to win.

• 1960s 2000s ’00s

* References to decades are written without an apostrophe.

If the possessor or “owner” is plural (ends in -s or -es), the apostrophe (’) is added at the end without another -s.

• He read the students’ reports.

• I don’t know who the horses’ owner is.

When the name of a person ends with an -s, add -’s or only an apostrophe (’) at the end.

• Charles’s mother got a raise. or • Charles’ mother got a raise.

Add -’s to each name to indicate individual ownership, but only to the final name to indicate joint ownership.

• Sam’s and Jane’s schools were playing each other in basketball. (Sam and Jane go to different schools.)

• Sam and Jane’s school was playing in the tournament. (Sam and Jane go to the same school.)

An -’s is used with the indefinite pronouns one, other, someone, somebody, nobody, anyone to show possession.

• Here is somebody’s book.

• Nobody’s lesson was ready.

When speaking about things, we are more likely to use a phrase with of.

the leg of the chair; the colour of the room; the sound of his voice; the size of the house, etc.

Use a possessive noun with expressions of time.

yesterday’s storm, a week’s visit, today’s class

Nouns as Modifiers When a noun precedes another noun, the first noun acts as an adjective. It never takes an -s in the plural form.

• My friend bought some concert tickets.

• I like the shower curtains with the fish designs.

When a combination of two or more nouns precedes another noun, this combination is an adjective and must be hyphenated.

These noun modifiers do not take the plural form.

• The one-hundred-dollar bill is made of plastic.

• My nine-year-old nephew will be going to a camp this summer.

Parts of Speech

3

Parts of Speech

12

Prepositions and Adverbs: Position above

across

among

around (1)

The girls are peeking around the corner.

around (2)

She is above the clouds.

The big doors are across the street from us.

There is one red apple among the green ones.

at

at the bottom of

behind / in back of

below

beside / by / next to

His fingers are behind his back. / His hand is in back of his body.

The sofa is below the frame.

They are standing beside / by / next to their boxes.

inside

near

The woman is at the bottom of the stairs.

They are at the mall between

He is between two rock faces. on (3)

The motorcyclist is on his bike.

in

Someone’s hand is in the cookie jar!

The smaller doll is inside the larger doll.

The ball is near the line.

on top of

over

outside

We’re on top of the mountain.

The hand is over the candle.

For now, the washroom is outside the house.

The child’s arms are wrapped around the tree.

on (1)

on (2)

She is lying on the beach.

Darn.

Now I have a spot on my shirt.

under / underneath

His head is under / underneath his laptop.

Prepositions and Adverbs: Movement and Manner across

around

She is running across the finish line.

The ride goes around twenty times.

down

into

The skier went down the mountain. past

along

at

away from

He is knocking at the door.

They are walking away from us.

onto

out of

over

The boy is looking into the bag.

The milk is being poured onto the cereal.

The hand is coming out of the ground.

The taxi is driving over the bridge.

through

toward(s)

under

up

He is walking along the river.

She is climbing up the rope.

The sedan went past the SUV.

The arrow went through the apple.

She is walking toward(s) us.

The gondola is passing under the bridge.

as

at

by

in

on

He is dressed (up) as Santa Claus.

The father is shouting at his son.

They go there by bus / metro / train, etc.

The woman is dressed in red.

They went there on foot.

Parts of Speech

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16

Verbs

Intransitive verbs cannot take an object.

Examples of exclusively intransitive verbs: ache, arrive, blush, bluster, die, thrive

• My heart aches.

• She arrived early.

• Most redheads blush easily.

• I could have died of embarrassment!

• The plant is thriving in the sun.

Many verbs can take an object or not: leave, fight, read, talk, sleep, walk, watch

• Do you like to read books? (with object – books) • Do you like to read? (no object) • I become nervous when I talk to people. (with object – people) • I become nervous when I talk. (no object)

* Check a dictionary when in doubt.

Conjugation – Main Verbs in the Affirmative

Forms, Tenses and Modals Definition: Verbs express an action (We work often.), condition (His health is getting worse.) or state of being (She seems tired.).

Modal auxiliaries provide a different tone to your sentence (You should see a doctor. = advice; You mustn’t turn right on a red light in Montreal. = forbidden action)

The Verb to be (contracted forms are in parentheses) Simple Present I was

I will be (I’ll be)

he / she / it is (he’s / she’s / it’s)

he / she / it was

you / we / they are (you’re / we’re / they’re)

you / we / they were

you / he / she / it / we / they will be (you’ll be / he’ll be / she’ll be / it’ll be / we’ll be / they’ll be)

All Other Verbs I / we / you / they

work, play, do, pass, watch, push, box, do, etc.

he / she / it

works, plays, has, passes*, buzzes*, watches, pushes, boxes, does, etc.

Simple Past

I / you he / she / it we / you / they

worked, played, did**, made**, ran**, etc.

Simple Future

I / you he / she / it we / you / they

will work, will play, will do, etc.

Basic Forms* Infinitive

Present Participle

Past Participle

appear

to appear

appearing

appeared

listen

to listen

listening

listened

sleep

to sleep

sleeping

slept

Transitive verbs require a direct or indirect object.

Examples of transitive verbs: buy, sell, make, put, discuss

• Put the book on the table. (direct object = book; indirect object = the table) • Jana buys her mom chocolate. (direct object = chocolate; indirect object = her mom)

Simple Future

I am (I’m)

Simple Present

Base form

Simple Past

* The third person singular takes an -s or -es in the present tense, unless an auxiliary verb is used. Note that the -es is used with verbs ending in -s, -z,-ch, -sh, -x and sometimes -o. ** For regular verbs, add the -ed ending. For a list of irregular verbs, see pages 32 to 36.

Conjugation – Main Verbs in the Negative

Conjugation – Auxiliary Verbs

The Verb to be (contracted forms are in parentheses)

Continuous Forms

Simple Present I am not (I’m not) he / she / it is not (isn’t) you / we / they are not (aren’t)

Simple Past I / he / she / it was not (wasn’t)

Simple Future I / you / he / she / it / we / they will not be (won’t be)

you / we / they were not (weren’t)

All Other Verbs (contracted forms are in parentheses) Simple Present

Simple Past Simple Future

The verb to be is used for all continuous verb tenses (present, past and future continuous). (The terms continuous and progressive are synonymous.)

Normally, the main verb in the third person singular takes an -s with all tenses, except with the auxiliaries will and do / did.

Present Continuous

Past Continuous

Future Continuous

I am doing.

I was doing.

I will be doing.

He / She / It is climbing.

He / She / It was climbing.

He / She / It will be climbing.

You / We / They were swimming.

You / We / They will be swimming.

I / we / you / they

do not (don’t) work, play, do, pass, watch, push, box, do

You / We / They are swimming.

he / she / it

does not (doesn’t) work, play, have, pass, buzz, watch, push, box, do

See also modal auxiliaries, pages 28 and 29.

I / you / he / she / it / we / you / they

did not (didn’t) work, play, have, pass, buzz, watch, push, box, do

I / you / he / she / it / we / you / they

will not (won’t) work, play, do

Perfect Forms The verb to have is used for all simple perfect tenses.

Present Perfect

Past Perfect

Future Perfect

I have played.

I had played.

I will have played.

Note: Avoid using the contracted forms in formal writing.

He / She / It has eaten.

He / She / It had eaten.

He / She / It will have eaten.

Never use a negative modifier (no, not, never) with other negative words such as no one, nothing, neither, none, nowhere, etc.

Incorrect: There isn’t nothing in the cupboard.

Correct: There isn’t anything in the cupboard.

You / We / They have arrived.

You / We / They had arrived.

You / We / They will have arrived.

Note: The words any, anyone, anybody, anything, anywhere and ever are not negative.

Incorrect: She doesn’t never go nowhere.

Correct: She doesn’t ever go anywhere.

Verbs

Use to have + been for all perfect continuous tenses.

Present Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect Continuous

Future Perfect Continuous

I have been texting.

I had been texting.

I will have been texting.

He / She / It has been texting.

He / She / It had been texting.

He / She / It will have been texting.

You / We / They have been texting.

You / We / They had been texting.

You / We / They will have been texting.

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Verbs

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Interrogative Forms: Yes / No Questions These questions require an answer of either yes or no.

The Verb to be

Invert the subject and the verb in any sentence to form a yes / no question.

We are having fun! g Are we having fun?

Simple Present

• He is my classmate. g Is he my classmate?

Simple Past

• They were glad to see me. g Were they glad to see me?

Modal Auxiliaries Invert the first auxiliary and the subject in any sentence to form a yes / no question with most modals.

Modals: can, could, may, might, must, should, would, had better

• She can (not)* be there. g Can(’t)* she be there?

• He could motivate you to do better. g Could he motivate you to do better?

• He may come along. g May he come along?

• We might go tomorrow. g Might we go tomorrow?

• We must prepare it today. g Must we prepare it today?

• I should tell him the truth. g Should I tell him the truth?

• You would like to be more challenged. g Would you like to be more challenged?

• We had better do the homework. g Had we better do the homework?

Modals that require the do auxiliary to form the negative: have to / used to*

• I have to go? g Do you have to go?

• He used to play soccer. g Did he used to play soccer?

All Other Verbs Simple Present To form questions in the simple present, add do or does.*

• You have a car. g Do you have a car?

• Andreas goes to university. g Does Andreas go to university?

Present Continuous

• Are you coming soon?

Present Perfect

• Have you finished?

Simple Past Use did to form questions in the simple past.*

• They had fun yesterday. g Did they have fun yesterday?

• I forgot my keys again. g Did I forget my keys again?

Past Continuous

• Was he writing on the map?

Past Perfect

• Had he finished his meal?

Simple Future and be going to

• Will he do that?

• Are you going to do that?

Simple Future Perfect

• Will he have written the book report by then?

* With do, does and did, the main verb is in the infinitive.

* See pages 28 and 29 for more on negative forms of modals.

Tag Questions To form a tag question, invert the subject and verb. When the main clause is positive, use a negative form of the verb plus the subject of the main sentence. When the main clause is negative, use a positive form of the verb plus the subject.

• He is late, isn’t he?

• He wasn’t late, was he?

• They were late, weren’t they?

• They weren’t late, were they?

Sentences Phrases A phrase has no subject and no verb. Phrases consist of a few words that make no sense by themselves.

Sentence Structures Definition: A sentence is composed of a subject, a verb, and often an object or complement. It must also express a complete thought.

She (subject) lives (verb) all alone in this huge apartment (object).

Roland (subject) is (verb) an engineer (complement).

Simple Sentence – A simple sentence has only one independent clause, but it can have more than one subject or verb.

• Paul and Marc share an apartment.

• Go to the store and buy a loaf of bread.

• Karen and Anne went home and ate dinner.

Compound Sentence – A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses joined by a semicolon or a coordinating conjunction.

• I came; I saw; I conquered.

Complex Sentence – A complex sentence is composed of one or more dependent clauses and one independent clause.

Sentences

Appositive Phrase – An appositive phrase acts as a noun (or noun equivalent). It precedes or follows another noun and identifies or explains it.

• John Glenn, the first man in space, made another space voyage at the age of 77.

Verbal Phrase – A verb is part of a verbal phrase when it does not function as a verb in a sentence.

• Wearing a hat when you ski is a good idea.

Prepositional Phrase – A prepositional phrase consists of a preposition and its object (a noun or pronoun). A prepositional phrase is sometimes used as an adjective or adverb.

• Let’s go to the movies tonight.

• He ordered a hamburger with mustard and relish.

Clauses All clauses contain a subject and verb, but not all clauses are sentences. Clauses can be independent or dependent.

• I came, I saw and I conquered.

Independent Clause – An independent clause can stand by itself; it contains a subject, verb and often an object.

• I write.

• I write books.

• He was interrupted by his friends.

• While I was reading, the phone rang.

• When I arrived home, I saw that the lights were still on.

Dependent Clause – A dependent clause cannot stand by itself. Although it contains a subject and verb (and sometimes an object), it needs an independent clause to complete it.

X When he was doing his assignment.

When he was doing his assignment, he was interrupted by his friends.

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Sentences

42

Types of Clauses Adjective (Relative) Clauses – Adjective or relative clauses are dependent clauses that modify a noun or pronoun.

An adjective clause is introduced by a relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, that, which).

• People who do not eat much and exercise a lot are normally in good shape.

Note: Whose is the possessive form of who.

Whom is the object form of who.

• People whose native language is Spanish often have difficulty pronouncing the / v / sound in English.

• To whom are you speaking?

Use commas to set off defining relative clauses.

The punctuated sentence carries a different meaning.

• My brother, who likes to smoke, is trying to quit.

(Meaning: I have only one brother, and he likes to smoke. The relative clause defines one characteristic of my brother.)

• My brother who likes to smoke is trying to quit.

(Meaning: I have more than one brother, but I am referring to the one who likes to smoke.)

Noun Clauses – Noun clauses act as subjects, direct objects, indirect objects,

or objects of prepositions in dependent clauses.

Noun clauses are introduced by the following: that, what, who(ever), whom(ever), where, how, why, whether (not), whatever, whichever (one), wherever, however, if.

• No one knows where he lives.

• To whom is she writing?

• Whatever you want is yours.

A noun clause can come from a statement that introduces a dependent clause beginning with that.

• Everyone knows that we’re going to move.

If a noun clause begins with that and acts as a direct object, that can be omitted.

However, when following adjectives of emotion and feeling, the clause is considered to be adverbial and that must be used.

She claims that she is the best student in the class. OR She claims (that) she is the best student in the class.

They are proud that they graduated.

X They are proud (that) they graduated.

Adverbial Clauses – Adverbial clauses express real or unreal conditions.

These conditional statements consist of a conditional clause introduced by “if” and followed by a result clause.

“If” clauses can express: Hypothetical or present unreal* results “if” + simple past verb [if clause] would + base form [result clause]

• If I spoke English well, I would get a different job. (Hypothetical result: He / She would change her / his job.)

• If I had the time, I would go to the party.

(Reality: He / She has no time.)

Past unreal results

“if” + past perfect verb [if clause] would + present perfect verb [result clause]

• If I had known you were coming, I would have baked a cake.

(Reality: I didn’t know you were coming.)

Future possibility “if” + present verb form [if clause] will + base form [result clause]

• If I have time tomorrow, I will go to the party.

(Future possibility: She / He will go to the party.)

* The verb to be has a special form in the if clause of a present unreal-conditional clause.

Were is used in all persons.

X If I was a millionaire, I would take it easy for the rest of my life.

If I were a millionaire, I would take it easy for the rest of my life.

X If she was honest, her life would be easier.

If she were honest, her life would be easier.

Punctuation

To set off adjective clauses (extra information that is not essential to the meaning of the sentence).

• The CN Tower, which is a famous tourist attraction in Toronto, is an impressive structure.

The use of punctuation in English differs considerably from other languages. One very important note: never leave a space between a word and the punctuation mark that follows it.

Note: When the clause contains essential information, no comma is needed.

• The man wearing an old grey sweater is my father. (Information about the sweater is necessary because it identifies which man.)

To set off conjunctive adverbs (moreover, however, nevertheless …).

• They enjoy one another’s company; however, they do not wish to live together.

To set off modifying phrases within a main clause.

• My mother, as a matter of fact, lost thousands of dollars in 1987.

To set off additional parts of dates or addresses.

• The meeting was held on October 2, 1984, in Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada.

Note: If a date or address contains only one item of information, it is not set off from the rest of the sentence.

The meeting was held on October 2 in Sherbrooke.

X The meeting was held on October 2, in Sherbrooke.

Do not use a comma if only the month and year are given, or if the date appears as day– month–year.

The war in the Pacific ended in August 1945.

X The war in the Pacific ended in August, 1945.

1 January 2001 X l, January, 2001

In a direct quotation, a comma usually precedes or follows the quotation.

• He said, “Thank you very much for your help.”

• “Thank you very much for your help,” he said.

The Period (.)

End a sentence with a period.

Go to the corner and turn right.

Use a period after some abbreviations.

Mr., Ms., Dr., M.D., Ph.D.

Most abbreviations composed of initial letters of names or organizations are written without periods.

CEGEP, CBC, MIT, UQAM

The Comma (,) Commas help to clarify the meaning of sentences by separating or enclosing elements.

Use a comma: Before coordinating conjunctions (and, but, nor, for, so, yet) that join two or more independent clauses.

• He is normally cheerful, but today nothing is going his way.

• We were running late, so we called to let them know.

After a subordinate clause that introduces a sentence.

• When he arrived home, he immediately put the concert tickets on the table.

Between similar types of adjectives*.

Cameron made his reputation as an intelligent, talented entrepreneur.

X He’s a charming, old diplomat.

Note: Adjectives that precede compound nouns cannot be separated by commas, and the word order cannot be reversed.

This is a fine French restaurant.

X This is a French, fine restaurant.

She is an expert civil engineer.

X She is a civil, expert engineer.

Sentences

* For more on adjective word order, see the memory aid on page 6.

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Helpful Lists

lack of sthg* love of marriage to sby* memory of sthg painting by (+ artist) preference for reaction to reason for reputation for sthg

responsibility for rise in sthg rise of sby shortage of sthg song by (+ recording artist) story about supply of sthg talent for sthg

* sthg = something / sby = somebody (These combinations must be followed by the specified object. Others can take either type of object.)

Verbs + Prepositions + Nouns BE + Noun

Common Preposition Combinations The appropriate way of combining nouns, verbs or adjectives with prepositions is a constant problem for learners of English. The lists that follow are practical but not definitive. Check a good dictionary, or even a collocation dictionary, for other combinations.

Nouns + Prepositions addiction to sthg* advantage of / to anxiety about belief in book by (+ author) congratulations on sthg credit for sthg decline in sthg decrease in sthg delay in sthg demand for

devotion to disadvantage to / of sthg discussion about example of sthg experience in sthg fall in sthg fear of increase in sthg independence from interest in knowledge of

be (also meet and other verbs) at the cinema / a party, etc. be (also study and other verbs) at school / college / university, etc. be in a picture / photo / image / painting, etc. be (also walk and other verbs) in the rain be in a suit / raincoat / shirt / skirt / jeans, etc. be (also go) on a cruise / a boat / a bike / a train / foot, etc. (= ride on / travel by) be on a page be on time (= to arrive at the expected time) be on a street / boulevard / bridge / highway, etc.

GO + Prepositions + Noun go (also travel) by car / bike / bus / train / boat / plane / land / sea / air go to the cinema / the theatre / a party, etc. go to school / college / university, etc. go to a street / city / province / country, etc.

Other Verbs + Prepositions + Noun arrive in time (= to not arrive late) made of / from silk / wool / cotton / rubber / leather, etc write (also draw and other verbs) in pen / pencil / ink, etc.

Verbs / Adjectives + Prepositions Please note that wherever the abbreviations sby (= somebody) and sthg (= something) do not appear, it means that this preposition combination works with both a person or a thing.

Remember to insert the verb to be before all adjective and passive forms: be absent from …, be absolved of …, etc.

A absent from sthg absolved of sthg according to accused of sthg accustomed to acquainted with adamant about sthg adapt to add to sthg addicted to adjacent to admire sby for sthg affected by afraid of agree with sby about sthg alarmed / sby at sthg align with amazed at angry about sthg angry with sby annoyed with / by answer to anxious about sthg apologize to sby for sthg

appeal to apply for sthg approve of argue about sthg argue with sby armed with sthg arrested for sthg arrive in (a place) ashamed of ask sby about / for sthg attached to attracted to associated with aware of away from B bad at sthg banned from sthg based on sthg (on) behalf of sby believe in belong to benefit from sthg biased about sthg

blame on sby blamed for sthg bored with / by borrow sthg from sby C capable of sthg care about care for certain of sthg charged with sthg choose between close to cluttered with sthg coincide with sthg comment on sthg committed to compare to / with compatible with compensated for sthg complain about complain to sby comply with composed of concentrate on sthg

concerned about confess to confide in sby confronted by confronted with sthg confused with / about sthg congratulate sby for / on (doing) sthg connected to conscious of consent to sthg consist of sthg consistent with content with contribute to sthg convicted of sthg convinced of sthg count on cover with sthg cram into sthg crash into crowded by crowded with sthg D deal with decide between

decide on dedicate to delight with sthg derive from sthg deterred from sthg devoted to die of sthg differ from different from / than disappointed with discouraged by discriminated against discuss with sby disgusted with disillusioned with dispose of disqualified for sthg dissatisfied with distinguished from distracted from divided into sthg dragged into sthg dream of (= imagine) sthg dream about (while sleeping)

(continued)

Helpful Lists

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3rd Edition

Grammar EXPRESS

Grammar Express offers concise, easy-to-understand charts and explanations of essential English grammar. It is designed for English learners at the secondary level or higher. To be used in conjunction with any material, this work covers a broad range of practical grammar points for autonomous work or in-class use: • Noun types and spelling, adjective forms, adverb placement and prepositions • Overview of verb tenses, question forms, modal auxiliaries, gerund forms, irregular verbs, spelling and phrasal verbs • Sentence types, punctuation, capitalization and transitional expressions • Common preposition combinations, confusing expressions, a guide to commonly misspelled words and Canadian spelling

CODE DE PRODUIT : 214506

ISBN 978-2-7617-6246-5