Grammar Challenge 5

Wish + Past Perfect

To express regrets about past events, we use the subject, followed by wish/wishes, followed by the past perfect (subject + had/hadn't + past participle).

Positive

subject	wish(es)	past perfect
I	wish	I had bought	a new coat

Negative

subject	wish(es)	past perfect
she	wishes	she hadn't bought	a new coat

Question

Do/does	subject	wish	past perfect
Does	she	wish	she hadn't bought	a new coat?

Regret

To express regrets about past events, you can use the verb regret with an -ing verb, or with not and an -ing verb, or with a noun.

subject	regret(s)	verb-ing OR noun
I	regret	taking my umbrella not taking my umbrella it

'-ed' and '-ing' adjectives

-ing adjectives are used to describe things: 'The lecture was boring.'
-ed adjectives are used to describe our feelings: 'I felt very bored.'

-ed form	-ing form
annoyed	annoying
bored	boring
confused	confusing
embarrassed	embarrassing
surprised	surprising
worried	worrying
interested	interesting

Question Tags

A question tag is a short question at the end of a sentence, which we use to find out information or check information that we already have. This is how you form question tags:

Positive sentence - negative tag	You will do it quickly, won't you?
Negative sentence - positive tag	She isn't happy, is she?
Main verb - use 'do'	We went to the party, didn't we?
Pronouns	Yuki and Tomo are Japanese, aren't they?

Grammar Challenge 4

Time prepositions

Prepositions are small grammatical words that usually go before nouns and pronouns. There are many different prepositions that are used to describe where things are, how things happen and when things happen, for example. In this Grammar Challenge we focus on the prepositions we use with certain time expressions.

At – for times of the day	at half past 7 at midnight at sunset at breakfast time
On - for days and dates	on the 5th of June on Tuesdays, on Saturday morning on Christmas day
In - for longer periods of time	in April in 1987 in the winter of 1976 in the 1930s
No preposition – for some time words	next last tomorrow yesterday

Used to / didn't use to

When talking about things that we did in the past but don't do now we can use the expression used to. The negative form, to talk about things which we didn't do in the past but do now, is didn't use to.

Positive sentences	I used to smoke 20 cigarettes a day. I used to eat loads of junk food.
Negative sentences	I didn't use to do any exercise. I didn't use to swim very well.
All pronouns take used to / didn't use to	I You She He It We They	used to / didn't use to	eat a lot of sweets. eat meat. live in the city. have long hair.

Used to and didn't use to are only used to talk about past habits. There is no present form. To talk about present habits we can use the present simple. When using these structures there are often two parts to the sentence, something about the past and something about the present, for example:

I used to drive to work but now I go by car.
I didn't use to like coffee but I love it now.


Continuous Passives

This week, we're continuing our discussion of passives with a look at continuous passives.

here are four main elements to a continuous passive sentence: the 'passive subject', the verb 'to be', the word 'being', and the past participle of the verb.

Present continuous passive

passive subject	'to be'	being	past participle
The bridge	is	being	painted	this year
The interviews	are	being	held	in the office

Past continuous passive

passive subject	'to be'	being	past participle
The bridge	was	being	painted	last year
The interviews	were	being	held	in the office

Simple Passives

There are three main elements to a simple passive sentence: the 'passive subject', the verb 'to be' and the past participle of the verb.

Present simple

passive subject	'to be'	past participle
Paper	is	made	from wood
Tigers	are	found	in India

Past simple

passive subject	'to be'	past participle
The bridge	was	opened	in 1977
The pyramids	were	built	by the Egyptians

Because / because of

Do you ever get confused over when to use because and when to use because of? Well, help is at hand in today's episode of grammar challenge! Taka from Japan is up for the challenge... but are you?

Because and because of are both used to introduce reasons. Because is a conjunction, and is followed by a subject and verb. Because of is a preposition, and is followed by a noun phrase or verb-ing

Because

because	subject	verb
because	he	felt	ill, he didn't go to the party

Because of

because of	noun phrase or verb-ing
because of	his illness	he didn't go to the party
because of	feeling ill

'Need + verb-ing'

Sometimes it's useful to talk about fixing or improving things, but without saying who is going to do it. To do this, we can use need + verb-ing.

To talk about fixing or improving things, you can use need with an -ing verb. There are three parts to this structure. First, you name the thing – my hair, or the car, or my shoes. Then you say 'need' - or 'needs' - and finally, a verb with –ing.
Positive

subject	need(s)	verb-ing
My hair	needs	cutting
The curtains	need	washing

Negative

subject	doesn't / don't	need	verb-ing
My hair	doesn't	need	cutting
The curtains	don't	need	washing

Question

do/does	subject	need	verb-ing
Does	my hair	need	cutting?
Do	the curtains	need	washing?

Uncountable nouns

English learners of all levels sometimes struggle with countable and uncountable nouns. Although most people understand that 'water' and 'bread' are uncountable, how about 'advice', 'equipment', 'luggage'...?

Nouns are usually countable or uncountable. Numbers, plurals and the articles 'a' and 'an' are NOT normally used with uncountable nouns.

accommodation	equipment	information	patience	rubbish
advice	furniture	luggage	pollution	weather

Grammar Challenge 3

Still, yet and already

Today we present some basic information for understanding the meaning of these adverbs and where to put them in sentences.

We use 'still' to talk about something, a situation or an action, that's continuing, often for a longer time than expected. It hasn't changed or stopped. 'Still' usually goes in the middle of the sentence, before the verb.

Still
Are you	still	married to him?
Is she		unemployed?
I'm		living with my parents.
They		haven't replied.

We use 'yet' mostly in questions and negative sentences. Using 'yet' shows that we're expecting something to happen or have happened. In spoken English 'yet' almost always comes at the end of the sentence or question and is commonly used with the present perfect.

Questions with 'yet'
Have you tidied your room Has he come home Has she finished Have they seen the film	yet?

Negative statements with 'yet'
You haven't met her He hasn't done it She hasn't spoken to him They haven't paid	yet?

We use 'already' to talk about things that have happened, often earlier than expected. It usually goes in the middle or the end of sentence, just before or after the verb and is also commonly used with the present perfect.

Present perfect with 'already'
Have you two	already	met?
He's done it She's fixed it They've sold their car

Present perfect continuous

You look tired! What have you been doing? This question uses the present perfect continuous, the verb form we use to talk about an activity that's recently stopped or just stopped and that has a connection with now.

Positive form

Subject	to have	been	present participle
I You We They	have 've	been	painting the kitchen. playing tennis. watching TV.
He She It	has 's

Negative form

Subject	to have	been	present participle
I You We They	have not haven't	been	smoking. playing tennis. working hard.
He She It	has not hasn't

Question form

Question word	to have	subject	been	present participle
What	have	I you we they	been	doing? eating? waiting for?
	has	he she it

For and since

For and since are two words which are often used in present perfect sentences when saying how long something has been happening. In this programme we learn how to use the different words.

FOR
We use for when we mention the length of time:

for

24 hours. two days. three hundred years. a few years.

Some extra information about for
It is possible to leave out the word for in positive sentences. For example: "I've lived here for seven years." / "I've lived here seven years." Both are perfectly correct.

But in negative sentences we almost always use for.

"She hasn't seen him six months" is wrong. "She hasn't seen him for six months" is correct.

With expressions like all morning, all my life or all day, we never use for:

"He's lived there all his life," not "He's lived there for all his life."

SINCE
We use 'since' when we mention a point in time in the past when something started:

since

yesterday morning . 1707. I was at university. they moved to London. he left home.

Present continuous

The present continuous is a verb form which we use to talk about things that are happening at the moment of speaking and for things that are happening around now.

For example:

At the moment I'm typing this text on the computer.
(This is happening at this exact moment)

At the moment I'm reading a very interesting book about the history of diving.
(I'm not reading it at this exact moment but it is something that I am doing around this period of time)

Positive

Subject	to be	present participle
I	am 'm	living in Birmingham studying at university waiting for a train
You We They	are 're
He She It	is 's

Negative

Subject	to be	present participle
I	am not 'm not	smoking these days working very hard at the moment answering the phone today
You We They	are not aren't
He She It	is not isn't

Must / mustn't

Must is a word that is used to talk about an obligation, something you have to do, like following a law or a rule. In this programme we look at how to use this word and its negative form, mustn't.

STRUCTURE	must / mustn't + base form
Positive sentences	I must do my homework. She must wear a uniform.
Negative sentences	We mustn't talk in here! You mustn't steal.
All pronouns take must/mustn't	I You She He It We They	must / mustn't	have a visa. buy a ticket. smoke in here. have long hair.

Have to / don't have to

Sometimes in life there are obligations or rules. There are things which you do not have a choice in, like wearing a uniform at school, for example. One structure we use to talk about these rules is have to. This programme is all about have to and its negative form, don't have to. Don't have to is used when there is no obligation to do something.

Positive
We use 'have to' to talk about things we must do, things we are obliged to do.

Subject	have to / has to	base form of verb
I You We They	have to	wear a uniform. get up early on Sundays. study hard.
He She	has to

Negative
We use 'don't have to' to talk about things we have a choice about, things we aren't obliged to do.

Subject	don't / doesn't have to	base form of verb
I You We They	don't have to	wear a uniform. get up early on Sundays. study hard!
He She	doesn't have to

Present perfect

The present perfect is a verb form which links the past and present. We use it when we talk about an action or state which started in the past and which continues up to the present time.

For example:

I've lived in London since 1994.

I started living in London in 1994 and I still live in London now.

Positive

Subject	have / has	past participle
I You We They	have 've	studied a lot this term. been teaching here for years. lived here for six years.
He She It	has 's

Negative

Subject	have not / has not	past participle
I You We They	have not haven't 've not	bought anything yet. been teaching for long. studied a lot this term.
He She	has not hasn't 's not

Question

Has / Have	subject	ever	past participle
Have	I you we they	(ever)	ridden a horse? read Harry Potter? met anyone famous?
Has	he she

Grammar Challenge 2

Should have

In this programme we examine should have - a way of talking about regretable past actions.

When we want to talk about mistakes we made in the past, we can use 'should have' with a past participle.

Positive and Negative:

subject	should have / shouldn't have	past participle
Matt	should have	worn	a clean shirt.
He	shouldn't have	been	late.

Question form:

should / shouldn't	subject	have	past participle
Should	Matt	have	worn	a clean shirt?
Shouldn't	he	have	arrived	early?

Second conditional

In this programme we look at the second conditional - a way of talking about impossible or unlikely events or situations.

To talk about an impossible or improbable situation, we can use if and the past simple together with would and the infinitive:

Positive and Negative:

If	Past simple	Would / wouldn't	Infinitive (without to)
If	you lost your passport	it would	take ages to get another one.
If	it cost me a fortune	I wouldn't	be able to take you on holiday again.

Question:

If	Past simple	Would / wouldn't	Infinitive (without to)
If	it cost me a fortune	would I	be able to take you on holiday again?
If	I couldn't take you on holiday	wouldn't we	save a lot of money?

To, for, so that

In this programme we look at three ways to talk about the reason for doing something.

o talk about purpose, or the reason why we do things, we can use for + verb-ing, we can use the infinitive with to, and we can use so that + subject + verb.

Noun or pronoun	'for' + verb-ing
I'm bringing some pots and pans...	for cooking
Action or event	Infinitive with 'to'
We've got some water...	to make tea
Action or event	'so that' + subject + verb
I'm taking some extra blankets...	so that we don't get cold

Reported speech

If someone tells you something and you want to tell another person, can use 'direct speech' or 'reported speech'. Find out the differences in this programme.

In reported speech, we usually put the verb in the reported clause back one tense:

Direct speech		Reported speech
Present "I'm from Spain." Present Perfect "I've been married for years." Past "I stole it."		Past She told me that she was from Spain. Past Perfect He said he had been married for years. Past Perfect She admitted she had stolen it.

In direct speech we use inverted commas to show the exact words the person said.
For example:

"I'm from Spain."

In reported speech, we don't use inverted commas.

Will & going to

These are two of the many ways we have of talking about the future in English. In this programme we contrast these forms and find out when to use each one.

As we've seen in a previous Grammar Challenge 'going to' is used to describe a plan or decision that you have made about the future. We use 'will' for decisions which we make at the moment of speaking, something which hasn't been planned before.

For example, in a restaurant:

Waiter: What would you like?
Customer: (looking at the menu) Mmm, I think I'll have the steak.

Will is a modal form. It always stays the same whatever the subject and is followed by a base infinitive (the infinitive without 'to'.) Although the form of 'will' doesn't change we usually contract it to 'll.

Subject	will	base infinitive
I s / he you we they	will 'll	go to bed now. have an early night. go to the shops, if you like. answer the door. bring a cake. look after it for you.

Future plans

Using 'going to' and the present continuous are two ways we can talk about our future plans and arrangements in English. In this programme we learn more about them and the differences between them.

Both the present continuous and 'going to' can be used to talk about future plans and arrangements even though they are present forms. This is because the future plan has already been made and exists in the present, it is not something which is decided at the moment of speaking.

Often there is very little difference between the two forms and you can use either, however we tend to use the present continuous for a fixed arrangements, such as appointments.

Present continuous
Subject	to be	verb + ing
I	am 'm	babysitting tonight. studying this weekend. not doing anything next week. seeing the dentist on Tuesday. seeing friends at the weekend. meeting at 12.00 with the bank manager.
S / he	is 's
You We They	are 're

For intentions and decisions we'd normally use 'going to'.

Going to
Subject	to be	going to	base infinitive
I	am 'm	going to	watch a film tomorrow. do the shopping later. take the train. start music lessons soon. study really hard at the weekend.
S / he	is 's
You We They	are 're

Present perfect and past simple

There are many situations in English when we mix the verb forms which we use. In this programme we look at breaking news with the present perfect and describing the details with the past simple.

When giving news we quite often use the present perfect to announce what has happened. We then switch to the simple past to give the details. For example:

"The President has just quit! He left his office a few minutes ago for the last time. It was a complete surprise to all of his staff."

Present perfect
subject	has/have	past participle
I You We They	have 've	shocked the boss. heard the news. quit.
He She	has 's

Present perfect (negative)
subject	have / has not	past participle
I You We They	have not haven't 've not	said anything. found a new job yet. said if she's coming back.
He She	has not hasn't 's not

Present perfect question form
have / has	subject	past participle
Have	I you we they	heard the news? seen the boss today? resigned?
Has	he she

Grammar Challenge 1

So... that and such... that

are used to describe reasons and results.

So + adjective + that

Subject & verb	so	adjective	that	(result)
The ice-cream was	so	good	that	I ordered a second bowl

Such + adjective + noun + that

Subject & verb	such	adjective + noun	that	(result)
It was	such	good coffee	that	I drank three cups
It's	such	a great restaurant	that	I'll definitely go again

Between and among

Between distinguishes two or more separate things – and is followed by countable or uncountable, single or plural nouns. Among means 'one of many', and usually goes with plural nouns.
between

clause	between	noun(s) – referring to individual things
He shared the money equally	between	Jake and Mary

among

clause	among	plural nouns
Her exam results put her	among	the top 10% of students in her group

Verb, object, to + infinitive

We use this structure to report requests, advice, encouragement and warning.

Certain verbs may be followed by an object and then by an infinitive with to – I told you to do it. The negative infinitive is formed with not – I told you not to do it.

subject	verb	object	(not) to + infinitive
Marco's mother	ordered	him	to get into	the car.
Elena	told	the children	not to touch	the glasses.

The following verbs take this pattern:
advise allow ask beg command encourage	forbid force instruct invite oblige order	permit persuade remind tell want warn

Reported questions

Say who was talking and use a reporting verb. Repeat the question word, or use if or whether for yes / no questions. Statement word order, change the pronouns and move the tense back if necessary.

Use a reporting verb...

She asked if we were going over for tea.

For yes / no questions, use if or whether...

She asked if we were going over for tea.

Repeat question words...

She also asked how we were going to get there.

Use statement word order, change pronouns and move the tense back if necessary...

She asked if we were going over for tea.

Reported speech

In reported speech, we usually put the verb in the reported clause back one tense:

Direct speech		Reported speech
Present "I'm from Spain." Present Perfect "I've been married for years." Past "I stole it."		Past She told me that she was from Spain. Past Perfect He said he had been married for years. Past Perfect She admitted she had stolen it.

In direct speech we use inverted commas to show the exact words the person said.
For example:

"I'm from Spain."

In reported speech, we don't use inverted commas.

Unless

We can use unless in place of except if and only if to talk about the conditions under which something can happen.

Unless with a subject and verb means only if or except if in positive and negative sentences. The other part of the sentence gives the possible result.

possible result	unless	subject and verb
I'm not going to dance	unless	you ask me.
I won't go by car	unless	it's a long way.
We can go to the park	unless	someone has a better idea.

unless	subject and verb	possible result
Unless	we're there by 8 o'clock	we won't get anything to eat.
Unless	Elena wants to take a taxi	we can go by bus.
Unless	you tell me who broke the cup	I will make you pay for it.

Let and Allow

We often use let and allow to discuss permission.

Both let and allow can be used to talk about giving and refusing permission.

Let

subject	let	object	infinitive or prepositional phrase
They	let	me	go out and get a drink.
They	wouldn't let	me	back in.

Allow

subject	let	object	infinitive with to
They	allowed	me	to go out and get a drink.
She	won't allow	anyone	to smoke in the office.

Allow (passive)

passive subject	verb 'to be'	allowed	infinitive with to
He	wasn't	allowed	to go out and get a drink.
Nobody	is	allowed	to smoke in the office.