ENGLISH GRAMMAR in SIGNS

 

CONTENTS

 

ENGLISH TENSES GUIDE................................................................................................................................... 3

ENGLISH TENSES – TABLE..................................................................................... 4

PASSIVE VOICE  ...................................................................................................... 16

WORD ORDER......................................................................................................... 21

THE ORDER OF ADJECTIVES................................................................................ 25

CONDITIONALS   ...................................................................................................... 27

REPORTED SPEECH  .............................................................................................. 33

REPORTED SPEECH IN SIGNS  ............................................................................. 35

THE INFINITIVE  AND THE  -ING FORM................................................................................................ 38

THE -ING FORM  /  GERUND    ................................................................................ 41

INFINITIVE   OR   -ING FORM .................................................................................. 41

 

NOTES    

 

TABLES

 

	PAST	PRESENT	FUTURE	FUTURE IN THE PAST
SIMPLE	X	X	X	X
CONTINUOUS	X	X	X	X
PERFECT	X	X	X	X
PERFECT CONTINUOUS	X	X	X	X

 

     

  ENGLISH GRAMMAR in SIGNS

      ENGLISH TENSES GUIDE

 

 Sooner or later most of the students learning the English language begin to feel depressed facing difficulties in understanding and using the seemingly complicated English tense system.

 The main task of the teacher is to show them what the English have so many tense forms of the verb for. Unlike as in many modern European languages that are inflected, in English, the word order is essential to the meaning of a sentence. Thus, we have to distinguish carefully between the subject and the predicate of the English sentence and remember that the change in word order brings with it a fundamental change in meaning.

 The suggested system of signs was designed to help students understand how, when and what for English tense forms are used. First appeared about 20 years ago our Grammar in Signs has been successfully applied in the teaching of English with hundreds of beginners and senior students both in this country and abroad. This Grammar Guide may seem to be oversimplified, but it is aimed to help the learners at the beginners’ level understand the basic rules of the English language and its tense system. Grammar varies with circumstances but something about it always remains constant.

          Tense in English as a rule means “time”.  English verbs tell us what action is and when it is occurring.    The core of the whole system is the combination of these three signs:

 

         The next step is to make sure that students realize the main rules of the English sentence construction, i.e. word order.           These rules could be shown by the following structures:

 

1.                 (+) affirmative  1. o(p) r… . 

subject comes first

2.                 ( -) negative  2. o pnot r… .     

3.                 (?) interrogative 3. p o r… ?           - help verb (as a rule) stands before the subject      (See also : WORD ORDER  section, page 10) Then comes the most difficult task for the teacher – to explain the students the necessity of existence of the sixteen tense forms in English. The following table might be of great help. When the students get used to implementing this table it is, as a rule, much easier for them to find the appropriate tense form of the verb and use it correctly. 

 ENGLISH TENSES                                                                                                                                                                  TABLE 1 

	PAST	PRESENT	FUTURE	FUTURE-IN-THE-PAST
	DID                                  	DO (DOES)            	WILL / SHALL*                            	WOULD / SHOULD* 
	1.  o … 2.  o did not … 3.  did   o …?	1.   o  (-s) … 2.   o do not … 3.   Does o…?	1.   o will  … 2.   o will not … 3.   Will / Shall o …?	1.  o would  … 2.  o would not … 3.  Would / Should o..?
	to be (was, were) to have* (had) 1. I was … 1. I had … 2. He was not … 2. He had not … 3. Were you …? 3. Had you …?	to be (am, is, are) to have* (has) 1.  I am … 1. I have… 2.  He is not … 2. He has not … 3.  Are you …? 3. Have you …?	I                                          you      We    †     shall*                    they     †   will                                             she, he, it	I                                  you we  †  should*           they           † would                       he, she, it
	yesterday, last year, ago, WHEN	every day, always, usually, generally  +	tomorrow, next week, in a month	the next day, the following week
	WAS / WERE                r ing	AM /   IS / ARE                    r ing	SHALL* /  WILL         BE                r ing	SHOULD* / WOULD       BE     r ing
	1.  o werer ing 2.  o was not r ing 3.  Were o   r ing ?	1.   o amr ing 2.   o is not r ing 3.   Are o  r ing ?	1. o will be r ing 2. o will not be r ing 3. Shall o  be r ing ?	1. o would be r ing 2. o would not be r ing 3. Should o   ber ing ?
	I he                              we she    †   was            you    †  were it                               they	I   -    am      he                     you                     she   †  is           we    †  are                     it                      they	shall not = shan’t will not   = won’t	should not = shouldn’t* would not  = wouldn’t
	at that time,  at 5 p.m. yesterday	now, at the moment, tonight* STATIVE	at 4 p.m. tomorrow, from 7 till 9 tomorrow
	HAD                               	HAVE (HAS) 	WILL / SHALL*     HAVE                       	WOULD / SHOULD*   HAVE	
	1.  o had … 2.  o had not … 3.  Had   o   …?	1.   o have  … 2.   o has not ... 3.   Have o   …?	1. o will have  … 2. o will not have … 3. Will o  have …?	1.  o would have     … 2.  o would not have … 3.  Would o  have   …?
		I                                     he we  †   have                 she †   has you                                it they
	by that time, by 5 o’clock yesterday	recently, already, just, never, ever,  yet	by 4 o’clock tomorrow, before, by then
	HAD BEEN         r-ing	HAVE BEEN      r-ing	WILL HAVE BEEN            r-ing	WOULD HAVE BEEN        r-ing
	1. o had been r ing 2. o had not been r ing 3. Had o been r ing ?	1. o have been r ing 2. o has not been r ing 3. Have o been r ing ?	1. o will have been r ing 2. o will not have been r ing 3. Will o have been r  ing?	1. o would have been r ing 2. o would not have been r ing 3. Should o have been r ing ?
	for the last two days, since, for	for, since, how long, lately, all day

 

  Too complicated? We don’t think so. Let’s take for instance the first tense form in the table: Past Indefinite /  Past Simple.

 

	PAST
	DID 	DID - help verb                                 - past tense form
	1.   o … 2.   o did not  … 3.   did  o  …?	-                    No help verb!       And the only case when the second form () of the English     verb is used. -                    Infinitive / the first form () of the main verb is used in      negative  and interrogative  sentences.
	to be (was, were) 1. I was … 2. He was not … 3. Were you …?     to have* (had) 1. I had … 2. He had not … 3. Had you …?	Some peculiarities of use: -        For the usage of to be in the past see: Past Continuous Table -        The teacher should explain here how to use such wordcombinations as “to have a bath”, etc. in negative and interrogative sentences in the Past Indefinite.
	yesterday, last year, two days ago, WHEN	When this form should be used.

  

Teachers using this table do have to explain certain peculiarities of the use of practically every tense form. 

In most cases a lot of sample sentences would help.                                                                                                                                  ▲

SAMPLE SENTENCES

       

       e.g.      1.  ( + )    o      … .   

                           He   went   home after school yesterday.                                   We  played  chess last Sunday.

 

                                      I   was   at home when she came.

	They had  a lot of money .
	She  had  a bath two hours ago .
2.  ( -- )	o     did not     … .
	He  did not go  to the library yesterday.
	We didn’t  play  chess on Monday.
	I  was not  at home  at that time.
	They  had not any money then. *
	She  did not have a bath yesterday.

                   3.  ( ? )          did    o     … ?

                                                  Did he  go  to school yesterday ?

                             What  did they do last Sunday ?

                            When  did  she  have  a bath?

                                  Were  you  at home when she came ?                                   Had   you  many friends at school ? *

     But :          Who  was  at home …?

                        Who  had a bath …?

                        Who  went  to school on Monday? etc.       

▲

Some more examples                                                                                                                                                                         NOTES

 

1.      Present Indefinite / Simple:       1.  We do it every day.                           

2.      He does not usually do it .

3.      Doyou always do it? 

2.      Past Indefinite:   1.  We did it yesterday. 

2.      She did not do it last week.

3.      Didthey do it two days ago?

3.      Future Indefinite:       1.  He will do it tomorrow.

2.      They will not do it next month.

3.      Shall we do it in a month?

4.      Future Indefinite-in- the Past:   1.  He said he would do it the following week.

2.      She said she would not do it that evening.

3.      Wouldyou do it if you had time?

5.      Present Continuous / Progressive :            1.  I am doing it at the moment.

2.      He is not doing it now.

3.      Are you doing anything special tonight?

6.      Past Continuous / Progressive: 1.  He was doing it when she came in.

2.       We were not doing it at that time.

3.       Was she doing it at 5 p.m. yesterday?

7.      Future Continuous / Progressive :     1. They will be doing it at 5 p.m. tomorrow.

	2. She will not be doing it then.
	3. Will you be doing it from 5 till 8 next Sunday?
8.  Future Continuous-in-the Past :	1. He said he would be doing it at that time.
	2. He said she would not be doing it at 5 p.m.
	3. Would you be doing it if you were free at 4?

9.         Present Perfect :        1. I have already done it.

2.   Hehas not done it yet.

3.   Have you done it ?

10.   Past Perfect:      1. She said she had done it two days before.

2.   He was sorry he had not done it by that time.

3.   Had she done it before you arrived?

11.   Future Perfect:          1. They will have done it by 6 o’clock  tomorrow.

2.      He will not have done it by then, I’m afraid.

3.      Will you have done it before we return home?

12.   Future Perfect-in- the Past :   1.  He said he would have done it before we returned.                   

2.      I would not have done it if you had not told me to.

3.      Would you have done it if you had had a chance?

13.   Present Perfect Continuous:     1. I have been doing it since 1989.

2.   He has not been doing it lately.

3.   Haveyou been doing it all day?

14.   Past Perfect Continuous: 1. He said he had been doing it since 1998.

2.   She said she had not been doing it for the last two days.

3.   Had you been doing it for a long time when I came?

15.   Future Perfect Continuous:   1. He will have been doing it for two hours  by 5 p.m.

2.   She will not have been doing it for a long time by then.

3.   Willhe have been doing it for 3 hours before I come back? 

16.   Future Perfect Continuous-in-the Past:     

                              He said he would have been doing it for two hours  by the time we arrived  the next day.  

Of course, the sophisticated table from pages 4-5 could be reduced to a somewhat simplified one (see below) but our students seem to prefer to use TABLE 1.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         TABLE 2

 

 

	PAST	PRESENT	FUTURE	FUTURE-IN-THE-PAST
	1. o … 2. o did not … 3. did   o …?	1.   o  (-s) … 2.   o do not … 3.   Does o …?	1.   o will  … 2.   o will not … 3.   Will / Shall o …?	1.   o would  … 2.   o would not … 3.   Would / Should o ?
	1.   o werer ing….   2.   o was not r ing   3.   Were o r ing ?	1.   o amr ing …   2.   o is not r ing   3.   Are o r ing ?	1.   o will be r ing  …   2.   o will not be r ing   3.   Shall o be r ing ?	1.   o would be r ing  …   2.   o would not be r ing   3.   Should o ber ing ?
	1. o had   … 2. o had not … 3. Had   o …?	1.             o have  … 2.             o has not ... 3. Have o …?	1.   o will have  … 2.   o will not have … 3.   Will o have …?	1.   o would have      … 2.   o would not have … 3.   Would o have    …?
	1.   o had beenr ing…   2.   o had not beenring   3.   Had o been r ing ?	1.   o have beenr ing…   2.   o has not been ring   3.   Have o been r ing?	1.   o will have been r ing…   2.   o will not have been ring   3.   Will o have been r  ing?	1.   o would have been r ing…   2.   o would not have been ring   3.   Should o have been r ing ?

 

SEE ALSO HERE

As you can see, there are some more signs used in the table:

            r -ing   -  Present Participle \ Participle I 

             -   Past Simple form

              -    Past Participle (the third form of the verb)\ Participle II

 

 

These signs help us explain such English tense forms as 

 Continuous  or  Progressive, Perfect,    structures with PASSIVE VOICE,     CONDITIONAL SENTENCES,       REPORTED SPEECH, etc.

 

▲

 

       GRAMMAR  PRESENTATION: ENGLISH TENSES IN SIGNS     

 

ENGLISH TENSES IN SIGNS              

 

 TIME OF ACTION

	PAST	PRESENT	FUTURE	FUTURE-IN-THE-PAST
	1.  o  … 2.  o did not … 3.  Did o …?	1.           o  (-s) … 2.           o do not … 3. Does o …?	1.  o will  … 2.  o will not … 3.  Will / Shall o …?	1.  o would  … 2.  o would not … 3.  Would  o ?
	1.  o were r ing …   2.  o was not r ing   3.  Were o r ing ?	1.  o am r ing …   2.  o is not r ing   3.  Are o r ing ?	1.  o will be r ing …   2.  o will not be r ing   3.  Will / Shall o be r ing ?	1.  o would be r ing …   2.  o would not be r ing   3.  Would o ber ing ?
	1. o had … 2. o had not  … 3. Had  o …?	1.  o have  … 2.  o has not ... 3.  Have o …?	1.  o will have  … 2.  o will not have … 3.  Will / Shall  o have …?	1.  o would have   … 2.  o would not have … 3.  Would o have  …?
	1.  o had been r ing…   2.  o had not beenring   3.  Had o been r ing ?	1.  o have been r ing…   2.  o has not been ring   3.  Have o been r ing?	1.  o will have been r ing…   2.  o will not have been ring   3.  Will o have been r ing ?	1.  o would have been r ing…   2.  o wouldn’t have been ring   3.  Would o have been r ing ?

 

ENGLISH TENSES IN SIGNS

  

PRESENT TIME ACTION

	PAST	PRESENT	FUTURE	FUTURE-IN-THE-PAST
	1.  o … 2.  o did not … 3.  Did o …?	1.           o  (-s) … 2.           o do not … 3. Does o …?	1.  o will  … 2.  o will not … 3.  Will / Shall o …?	1.  o would  … 2.  o would not … 3.  Would o ?
	1.  o were r ing ...   2.  o was not r ing   3.  Were o r ing ?	1.  o am r ing …   2.  o is not r ing   3.  Are o r ing ?	1.  o will be r ing …   2.  o will not be r ing   3.  Will / Shall o be r ing ?	1.  o would be r ing …   2.  o would not be r ing   3.  Would o ber ing ?
	1. o had … 2. o had not  … 3. Had  o …?	1.  o have  … 2.  o has not ... 3.  Have o …?	1.  o will have  … 2.  o will not have … 3.  Will / Shall  o have …?	1.  o would have   … 2.  o would not have … 3.  Would o have  …?
	1.  o had been r ing…   2.  o had not beenring   3.  Had o been r ing ?	1.  o have been r ing…   2.  o has not been ring   3.  Have o been r ing?	1.  o will have been r ing…   2.  o will not have been ring   3.  Will o have been r ing ?	1.  o would have been r ing…   2.  o wouldn’t have been ring   3.  Would o have been r ing ?

ENGLISH TENSES IN SIGNS

  

PAST TIME ACTION

	PAST	PRESENT	FUTURE	FUTURE-IN-THE-PAST
	1. o … 2. o did not … 3. Did o …?	1.           o  (-s) … 2.           o do not … 3. Does o …?	1.  o will  … 2.  o will not … 3.  Will / Shall o …?	1.  o would  … 2.  o would not … 3.  Would o ?
	1.  o were r ing ...   2.  o was not r ing   3.  Were o r ing ?	1.  o am r ing …   2.  o is not r ing   3.  Are o r ing ?	1.  o will be r ing …   2.  o will not be r ing   3.  Will / Shall o be r ing ?	1.  o would be r ing …   2.  o would not be r ing   3.  Would o ber ing ?
	1. o had … 2. o had not  … 3. Had  o …?	1.  o have  … 2.  o has not ... 3.  Have o …?	1.  o will have  … 2.  o will not have … 3.  Will / Shall  o have …?	1.  o would have   … 2.  o would not have … 3.  Would o have  …?
	1.  o had been r ing…   2.  o had not beenring   3.  Had o been r ing ?	1.  o have been r ing…   2.  o has not been ring   3.  Have o been r ing?	1.  o will have been r ing…   2.  o will not have been ring   3.  Will o have been r ing ?	1.  o would have been r ing…   2.  o wouldn’t have been ring   3.  Would o have been r ing ?

ENGLISH TENSES IN SIGNS

  

FUTURE TIME ACTION

	PAST	PRESENT	FUTURE	FUTURE-IN-THE-PAST
	1. o … 2. o did not … 3. Did o …?	1.           o  (-s) … 2.           o do not … 3. Does o …?	1.  o will  … 2.  o will not … 3.  Will / Shall o …?	1.  o would  … 2.  o would not … 3.  Would o ?
	1.  o were r ing …   2.  o was not r ing   3.  Were o r ing ?	1.  o am r ing …   2.  o is not r ing   3.  Are o r ing ?	1.  o will be r ing …   2.  o will not be r ing   3.  Will / Shall o be r ing ?	1.  o would be r ing …   2.  o would not be r ing   3.  Would o ber ing ?
	1. o had … 2. o had not  … 3. Had  o …?	1.  o have  … 2.  o has not ... 3.  Have o …?	1.  o will have  … 2.  o will not have … 3.  Will / Shall  o have …?	1.  o would have   … 2.  o would not have … 3.  Would o have  …?
	1.  o had been r ing…   2.  o had not beenring   3.  Had o been r ing ?	1.  o have been r ing…   2.  o has not been ring   3.  Have o been r ing?	1.  o will have been r ing…   2.  o will not have been ring   3.  Will o have been r ing ?	1.  o would have been r ing…   2.  o would not have been ring   3.  Would o have been r ing ?

     PASSIVE VOICE 

 

▲

       Active Voice and Passive Voice refer to the form of the verb. 

In the active, the subject of the sentence is the person or the thing doing the action /the doer/ but in the passive the action is done to the subject. 

In English the passive is used very commonly, though it is not a mere alternative to the active, and it occurs only with the verbs which are transitive /i.e. verbs that can be followed by an object /.  

 

And we should bear in mind that many verbs can be used both transitively and intransitively.                        e.g.      The door opened (by itself).

                                            The door was opened  (by somebody).

 

The students are usually a bit relieved when they are told that in Modern English not all the Active Voice tense forms are used in the Passive. 

 

 

In this structure the only element which changes its form is the help verb to be,  and the form of the main verb /i.e. its THIRD form, or Participle II / always remains unchanged. 

 

 

      Then we may proceed with the explanation of the PASSIVE TENSE FORMS using the following table: 

                                                              TABLE 3 

                  

PASSIVE VOICE	e.g.	▲ - to BE as a help verb	+ 
PRESENT INDEFINITE / SIMPLE	1.	AM  /  IS  /  ARE
PAST  INDEFINITE	2.	WAS  /  WERE
FUTURE  INDEFINITE	3.	WILL BE        SHALL
PRESENT CONTINUOUS	4.	AM  /  IS /  ARE    BEING
PAST CONTINUOUS	5.	WAS BEING        WERE
PRESENT  PERFECT	6.	HAVE BEEN  HAS
PAST  PERFECT	7.	HAD   BEEN
FUTURE  PERFECT	8.	WILL   HAVE   BEEN
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS	9.	HAS    BEEN  BEING       HAVE
FUTURE-IN-THE PAST   FORMS	10.	WOULD   BE
	11.	WOULD   HAVE  BEEN

As a rule, students understand the material much better if they are given a lot of tasks involving voice and tense transformation. e.g.

 

 

1. PRESENT INDEFINITE

                       ACTIVE  :        Our students  translate  English texts every day.

                       PASSIVE :       Every dayEnglish texts  are translated  by our students. 

 

2. PAST INDEFINITE

                       ACTIVE   :    We  wrote  this exercise yesterday.      

                      PASSIVE :      This exercise  was written  yesterday.

 

3. FUTURE INDEFINITE

                ACTIVE   :           The boy  will read  the book next week.

                PASSIVE  :               The book  will be read next week by him.  

 

4. PRESENT CONTINUOUS

                 ACTIVE   :          She  is cleaning  the window.

            PASSIVE  :        The window  is being cleaned  by her now.

 

5. PAST CONTINUOUS

                 ACTIVE   :          They  were watering  the flowers when I came in. 

                PASSIVE  :         The flowers  were being watered  when I came in.

 

 

6. PRESENT PERFECT

                 ACTIVE   :          We  have already done  this task.

                 PASSIVE  :          This task  has already been done  by us.

 

7. PAST PERFECT

                  ACTIVE   :          They  had cleaned  the room before she returned.

                  PASSIVE  :          The room  had been cleaned before she returned.

 

8. FUTURE PERFECT

             ACTIVE   :           He  will have finish  the work by Monday.

                      PASSIVE  :          By Monday the work  will have been finished  by him.

 

9. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

        ACTIVE   :           She has been telling me for ages that you are leaving.

          PASSIVE  :          I  have been being told (by her)for ages you are leaving.

 

10. FUTURE-IN THE- PAST  SIMPLE

               ACTIVE   :           They said they would finish the work the next day.

              PASSIVE  :          They said the work  would be finished the next day.

 

11. FUTURE-IN THE- PAST  PERFECT

                ACTIVE   :           She said she would have finished the work by 7p.m. that day.               PASSIVE  :          She said the work would have been finished by 7 p.m.

 

Very often you have to translate the sentences / both in the active and the passive / into your pupils’ mother tongue, 

carefully explaining the reason for the use of this or that tense/voice form of the verb.                                                            ▲

 

GRAMMAR  PRESENTATION

   PASSIVE VOICE IN SIGNS      to BE + 

 

 

PASSIVE	▲ - to BE as a help verb		SAMPLE  SENTENCES
PRESENT INDEFINITE  / SIMPLE	AM / IS / ARE	+ 	Every day English texts are translated by our students.
PAST  INDEFINITE  / SIMPLE	WAS / WERE		This exercise was written yesterday.
FUTURE  INDEFINITE	WILL / SHALL  BE		The book will be read next week by him.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS	AM / IS / ARE  BEING		The window is being cleaned by her now.
PAST CONTINUOUS	WAS / WERE BEING		The flowers were being watered when I came in.
PRESENT  PERFECT	HAVE / HAS  BEEN		This task has already been done by us.
PAST  PERFECT	HAD  BEEN		The room had been cleaned before she returned.
FUTURE  PERFECT	WILL  HAVE BEEN		By Monday the work will have been finished by him.
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS	HAS / HAVE BEEN  BEING		I have been being told (by her) for ages about it.
FUTURE-IN-THE PAST  FORMS	WOULD  BE		They said the work would be finished the next day.
	WOULD  HAVE BEEN		She said the work would have been finished by 7 p.m.

 

  ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN SIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Copyright © 2009 by lanagreg

      WORD ORDER

        

          As it has already been mentioned the core of the whole system of the Grammar in Signs      are three signs  (  o, p, r  ) and three basic word order structures:

 

 

 

        Students should always bear in mind these structures as they remain the same in all  English tense / voice forms, thus the main rule to be remembered is:

In the affirmative and negative sentences the subject comes first, then the predicate,   the object(s) and the adverbs ( of manner, place and time);  sometimes it is possible to put the adverb of time (and place) at the beginning of the sentence. 

▲

  WORD ORDER IN SIGNS                                                                                                                                                          TABLE 4

 

.		+     affirmative	o (p)   r    (whom)  (what )  (how)  (where ) (when ) .		1.
			¡ ¡  o (p)   r       … .		2.
		--    negative	o  p not      r… .		3.
			o (p) never r… .		4.
			o (p) hardlyr… .		5.
			o     r  no       … .		6.
?		general	p o   r   … ?		7.
		alternative	p o   r…  or  … ?		8.
		disjunctive	o   (p)      r     …, p not   ?		9.
			o    p not r    …,   p  ?		10.
		special	When Where        p   o  r … ?		11.
			Who    (What)       r(-s)… ?		12.
! ?		+	 … !		13.
			Let’s   … !		14.
			Do    … !!		15.
		?	Will you      …, please ?		16.
			Would you  …  ?		17.
		--	Let’s not      … !		18.
			Don’t        … !		19.
!	EXCLAMATORY		What	a lovely  girl   (nice weather)  !	20.
			How	beautiful it  was  there !	21.

    WORD ORDER                                                                                                                          GRAMMAR  PRESENTATION

 

1.  (+)  affirmative 2.  ( - )   negative 3.  (?)  interrogative

1.  o (p) 2.  o p not 3.  p o

r … . r … . r … ?

             

 

 

.		+ affirmative	o (p) r (whom) (what ) (how) (where ) (when ).		1.  She spoke English fluently at the lesson yesterday.
			¡ ¡  o (p) r … .		2.  Yesterday she spoke English fluently at the lesson.
		- negative	o  p not    r… .		3.  He does not speak English fluently.
			o (p) never r… .		4.  I have never been to Paris.
			o (p) hardlyr… .		5.  She can hardly read English.
			o  r  no    … .		6.  The boy has no friends at school.
?		general	p   o  r  … ?		7.  Did she speak English at the lesson yesterday?
		alternative	p  o  r…  or  … ?		8.  Did she speak English or Russian ?
		disjunctive	o  (p)     r  …, pnot   ?		9.  The boy is speaking English, isn’t he ?
			o  p not r  …, p  ?		10. You have never been to Paris, have you ?
		special	When Where   p  o  r … ?		11. When did he go there?       Where have you been all this time ?
			Who  (What)  r(-s)… ?		12. Who has been to Paris ?
!?		+	 … !		13. Go out !      You go out!
			Let’s    … !		14. Let’s go to the cinema !
			Do      … !!		15. Do go out !!
		?	Will you       …, please ?		16. Will you go out, please?!
			Would you  …  ?		17. Would you go out and ask him to wait ?
		-	Let’s not   … !		18. Let’s not go to the disco tonight !
			Don’t        … !		19. Don’t go there tonight !!
!	EXCLAMATORY		What	a lovely girl (nice weather) !	20. What a pretty woman !        What nasty weather !
			How	beautiful it was there !	21. How nice of you !

        

         ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN SIGNS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Copyright © 2009 by lanagreg

 In the interrogative sentence inversion takes place, that is, in most cases we use a help or auxiliary verb before the subject and the main verb of the sentence    stands after it. For sure, some sample sentences   would be of great help here as well.                                                                             NOTES ON WORD ORDER  

DECLARATIVE  SENTENCES
AFFIRMATIVE		+	1.      She spoke English fluently at the lesson yesterday. 2.      Yesterday she spoke English fluently at the lesson.
NEGATIVE		-	3.      He does not speak English fluently. 4.      I have never been to Paris. 5.      She can hardly read English. 6.      The boy has no friends at school.
INTERROGATIVE  SENTENCES   (QUESTIONS):
?	GENERAL		7.  Did she speak English at the lesson yesterday?
	ALTERNATIVE		8.  Did she speak English or Russian ?
	DISJUNCTIVE		9.        The boy is speaking English, isn’t he ? 10.   You have never been to Paris, have you ?  BUT:  Everyone is ready to go, aren't they ?          Nobody has been told, have they?              I am late, aren't I ?                                         Let's go home, shall we ?              Come in, will you / won't you ?                Post this letter for me, can / could / would / will you ?
	SPECIAL		11.   When did  she speak English ?      /     Where have you been all this time ? 12.   Who has been to Paris ?
IMPERATIVE  SENTENCES
!	+		13.   Go out !      You  go out! 14.   Let’s go to the cinema ! 15.   Do go out !! 16.   Will you go out, please?! 17.   Would you go out and ask him to wait ?
	-		18.   Let’s not go to the disco tonight !      /      Don’t let’s go there! 19.   Don’t go there tonight !!
EXCLAMATORY  SENTENCES				20.   What a pretty woman !     /    What nasty weather ! 21.   How nice of you !             /     How beautiful it was !

THE ORDER OF ADJECTIVES  

 

It would take a linguistic philosopher to explain why we say "little brown house"   and not "brown little house" or why we say "red Italian sports car"        and not "Italian red sports car." 

The order in which adjectives in a series sort themselves out is perplexing for people learning English as a second language.  Most other languages dictate a similar order, but not necessarily the same order. It takes a lot of practice with a language before this order becomes instinctive, because the order often seems quite arbitrary (if not downright capricious). 

There is, however, a pattern. 

You will find many exceptions to the pattern in the table below, but it is definitely important to learn the pattern of adjective order if it is not part of what you naturally bring to the language. 

 

 

 

The categories in the table (page 19) can be described as follows:

I.                   Determiners    — articles and other limiters. 

II.                SubjectiveObservation (Qualities)   — postdeterminers and limiter adjectives (e.g., a real hero, a perfectidiot) and adjectives subject     to subjective measure (e.g., beautiful, interesting) 

III.             Size and Shape  — adjectives subject to objective measure   (e.g., wealthy, large, round) 

IV.            Age        — adjectives denoting age (e.g., young, old, new, ancient) 

V.               Colour  — adjectives denoting colour (e.g., red, black, pale) 

VI.            Origin    — denominal adjectives denoting source of noun   (e.g., French, American, Canadian) 

VII.         Material  — denominal adjectives denoting what something is made of    (e.g., woollen, metallic, wooden) 

VIII.      Purpose, Use Qualifier    — final limiter, often regarded as part of the noun   (e.g., rocking chair, passengercar, book cover) 

▲

THE ROYAL ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

 

General (Subjective) Qualities

Physical Description

Particular Qualities

DETERMINER

(great) big

QUALITIES

little

SIZE

AGE

SHAPE

to

FLAVOUR

COLOUR

r-ing

ORIGIN



MATERIAL

PURPOSE, USE

a

beautiful

little

old

Italian

touring

car

four

big

gorgeous

red

silk

roses

her

short

black

hair

several

players

some

delicious

hot

Thai

food

 

     It would be folly, of course, to run more than two or three (at the most) adjectives together. 

     Furthermore, when adjectives belong to the same class, they become what we call coordinated adjectives, and you will want to put a comma between them:    the inexpensive, comfortable shoes.  The rule for inserting the comma works this way: 

 

 

We could say these are "inexpensive but comfortable shoes," so we would use a comma between them  (when the "but" isn't there). 

When you have three coordinated adjectives, separate them all with commas, but don't insert a comma between the last adjective and the noun (in spite of the temptation to do so because you often pause there): a popular, respected and good looking student.

▲

   CONDITIONALS IN SIGNS

For a scholar the following pages may seem to be at least too simplified if not totally grammatically incorrect. In this section we are going to talk about the first, second, third and zero conditionals, as a basis on which all other variations of conditional sentences are formed. And we dare say students, when they have realized the necessity of existence of 16 tense forms in English and know when and how these forms should be used, will understand the material better without knowing about Subjunctive I, Subjunctive II, Suppositional and Conditional Moods as they are often named in grammar books.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          TABLE 5

 

TIME	ACTION	TYPE	MAIN   CLAUSE		if  -  CLAUSE	e.g.
ALWAYS	Universal Truth	¡	o     (-s)		if        o    (-s)	1.   2.
FUTURE  /     PRESENT	R E A L condition	I	o   will   		if         o     (-s)	3.   4. 5. 6.
					when       unless as soon as
	HALF-REAL condition	II	would o       could             might		if    o    	7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
			--		I wish   o    
P A S T	UNREAL condition	III	would have   o could  have		if     o  had 	12. 13. 14.
			--		I wish    o  had 	15.
M I X E D			o would have  o would have  o would  o will 		if  o    (-s) if  o    if  o  had  if  o   	16.   17.   18.   19.

GRAMMAR CHARTS

			MAIN CLAUSE	if - CLAUSE	CONDITIONALS IN SIGNS
		¡	o     (-s)	if   o    (-s)	My father gives me a lift if I get up late.  If she can’t fall asleep, she reads a book.
		I	o   will 	if   o    (-s)	We’ll go for a walk if the weather is fine.
				when  unless  as soon as	They will do it when she arrives.     They will do it before she arrives.     They will do it as soon as she arrives.
		II	o   would        could       might	if  o   	She would go abroad if she lost her job.     If he was / were taller, he would become a policeman.     If she were here now, she could be helping us.
			--	I wish   o    	I wish I knew her phone number.     I wish they would stop playing the music so loudly.
		III	o   would have        could have    	if  o  had 	We would have saved time if we had gone by car.
			--	I wish   o  had 	I wish it had been warmer yesterday.
M I X E D			o would have   o would have  o would  o will 	if  o   (-s) if  o  if  o had  if  o 	He would have been rich by now if he is as clever as      you think him to be.     She wouldn’t have said that if she knew you better.     He would be better off now if he had had your  parents.     She won’t be on time if she missed the bus.

NOTES  ON CONDITIONALS

 

TYPE  O               (used when talking about something that is usual, universal, happens always)                           Only Present tense forms are used both in the main and if- clauses.

1.                                     My father gives me a lift if I get up late.

2.                                     If she can’t fall asleep, she reads a book.           In these sentences If means when or whenever.

 

TYPE  I                (used when we talk about something that is quite possible in the present or future) 

                    In the main clause we use Future Simple but only Present tense forms must be used in the subordinate (if- or time) clause.

3.                                     We’ll go for a walk if the weather is fine.

If it rains in the afternoon, they will stay at home. She will go abroad if she loses her job.

                    In the time clauses beginning with when, before, as soon as, until, a future verb form is not used as well.

4.                                     They will do it when she arrives.

5.                                     They will do it before she arrives.

6.                                     They will do it as soon as she arrives.

                          Sometimes it is necessary to use other Present tense forms (not only Present Simple) in the time and if- clauses.

      Ifhe has arrived at the station, he will be here soon.    If he is arriving today, he will phone us.       He will come here as soon as he has arrived.

       

TYPE  II       (used when we talk about imagined situations that might occur in the present or future)

   In the main clause we use would + Infinitive () and Past Simple in the if-clause (though the meaning of the whole     sentence is definitely future or present).

7.                                     She would go abroad if she lost her job.

Ifhe was / were taller, he would become a policeman.    I’d go abroad if I had more money.

               When we feel the imaginary consequences are less likely, we can use another modal verb instead of would in the main clause.

8.                                     She could help us if she were here.

Ifshe were here now, she could be helping us.

9.                                     He might tell us what to do if he knew the facts.

              When we want to say that we regret something, that it is not as we would like it to be we use wish-clause. Compare:

10.                                 I wish I knew her phone number.        I would telephone her if I knew her number.

As a rule would is not used in if-part of the sentence or after I wish but when we complain about something (in the present) or want something to change or somebody else to do something (in the future, of course) we can use  I wish…would/wouldn’t.

11.                                 I wish you wouldn’t drive so fast. It makes me nervous.      I wish they would stop playing the music so loudly.

▲

TYPE  III           (used when we talk about imagined situations / their outcome in the past)

 

                         In the main clause would have + Participle II () structure is used, and Past Perfect in the if-clause.

12.                                 We would have saved time if we had gone by car. 

13.                                 We could have stayed at home if it had been raining this morning.

 

                            To say we regret something that happened or didn’t happen in the past we use the Past Perfect after wish: 

14.                                 I wish it had been warmer yesterday.

15.                                 Do you wish you had studied languages instead of science?        

     

 MIXED CONDITIONALS

 

16.                                 type III                                           type I

               He would have been rich by now … if he is as clever as you think him to be.

 

17.                                 type III                                           type II

               She wouldn’t have said that ……..   if she knew you better.

 

18.                                 type II                                            type III

               He would be better off now  ……..    if he had had your advantages.

 

19.                                 type I                                              type II

               She won’t be on time   …………...     if she missed the bus.

▲

In addition, here is one more table, this time for advanced learners. 

   MOODS                                                                                                                                                                                                                              TABLE 6 

MOOD		MEANING	Action referred to				NOTES
			PAST	PRESENT		FUTURE
1.		мала  імовірність				SHOULD 	If …	If you should meet her, tell her to phone me.
		„щоб не”	SHOULD 				Lest …	She closed the door lest the children should catch cold.
		сумнівна, але бажана дія, що має відбутися згідно наказу, прохання   необхідна,  бажана дія,  яка може відбутись	SHOULD  HAVE       SHOULD 				It is ordered      necessary      important      desirable       recommended                   that…   He proposes      requests      advises  that…	It is necessary (that) he should go there at once. It is necessary (that) he go there at once.
2.			                              / be, have, be done /					He demanded that we should be attentive.  He demanded that we be attentive. It was important that he remain at school.
		,,щоб не”  / рідко /					Lest …	Mary dreaded lest he come in.
3.		нереальне  бажання	HAD 				I wish …	I wish you were here.
		„Час / Пора…”					It’s time…	It’s (high) time we went home.
		„наче, ніби”					As if … As though…	They spoke as if she were not there.
		бажана дія, що суперечить дійсності					If only …	If only he looked different.
		нереальна дія					If …	If I were you I wouldn’t think about it.
4.		нездійсненна умова	SHOULD WOULD  HAVE 	SHOULD / WOULD 				If you hadn’t come we would never have met.
		дія не відбулася					…but…	He’d have bought a map but the shop was closed.
		„якби не...”					But for …	But for the rain we would work in the garden today.
		„наче, ніби...”			WOULD  		As if…	The sky looked as if it would never clear…
		малоймовірно- здійсненне бажання			WOULD COULD 		I wish …	I wish she would come home. I wish you could give it to me.

 

  NOTES on Moods                                                                                                                                                Sample  sentences 

                       

 

1.    If you should meet her somewhere, tell her to phone me.

2.    She closed the window lest the children should catch cold.

3.    It is necessary that he should go there at once.                        I insist that you should consult a doctor. She suggested we should have eggs for breakfast.

 

 

1.    It is necessary (that) he go there at once.                          He demanded that we be attentive.        

    It was important that he remain at school. 

2.    Mary dreaded lest he come in.

 

3. Subjunctive II

4. Conditional Mood

    

1.              I wish you were here.          1.   Yesterday I would have said the same.     I wish I knew where you are.                If you hadn’t come we would never have met.     I wish I had not told you about it.          2. I should call on him but I have very little time.

2.              It’s (high) time we went home.        She would have bought a watch but the shop was

3.              They spoke as if she were not there.         closed.

             I felt as if I were being sent home. 3.     But for the rain we would work in the garden                He looked as if he had never seen me before.         today.

4.              If only he looked different.         It’s a pity I have no time. We would play chess. If only it could always be the spring.       4. The sky looked as if it would never clear before  If you had been there I would have seen you.      morning.

5.              If I saw him tomorrow I would tell him about it.       5.     I wish she would come home.

                        If I had met her I would have told her about it.     I wish you could give it to me.

                        If I were you I wouldn’t think about it.                                                 _▲

        REPORTED SPEECH

 

 We use Reported (or Indirect) speech when we want to tell someone what another person says or said. The reporting verb (say, tell, etc.) may be in the present or, which is more often, in the past (because reporting usually takes place in the past) and the tenses of the reported statement are often (but not always) affected by this. As a result, the tenses of the reported clause are

‘moved back’ (the so called backshift). A useful general rule is:

 

 

These rules of Sequence of Tenses are not difficult to understand:

 

Present Simple	_	Past Simple
Present Continuous	_	Past Continuous
Present Perfect	_	Past Perfect
Present Perfect Continuous	_	Past Perfect Continuous
Future Simple	_	Future-in the-Past
Past Simple	_	Past Perfect
Past Perfect	_	Past Perfect

 

 

The Past Perfect (as well as ‘past’ modals) is unchanged when reported, since no further backshift is possible. As a rule we use the Past Perfect form to report a statement which verb is in the Present Perfect, but we do not usually need to change the Simple Past in the direct speech into the Past Perfect unless we want to stress that one event happened before another.

   It is often necessary to make time and place changes in relation to the changes of verb tense forms in the reported clause of the sentences:

 

 

time       now                            _     then, immediately                today                          _           that day               tonight                       _           that night              this week                       _        that week               tomorrow                      _          the next day, the following day          next week                     _          the following week               the day after tomorrow  _          two days later             ago                                 _          before             yesterday                       _             the day before, the previous day              the day before yesterday  _           two days before

 

verbs	can	_     could
	may	_     might
	must	_     must,  had to
	will	_     would
come		_     go
bring		_     take

 

 

Such verbs as would, might, ought to, needn’t, used to, ‘perfect’ and ‘past’ modal forms  remain unchanged  in the indirect speech. 

▲

   REPORTED SPEECH IN SIGNS 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        TABLE 7

    REQUESTS, ORDERS                              Sample sentences       

                                 

She   He	told asked	me   us	to    not  to 	1 2	She told him to call on her as soon as possible. He asked me to give him a hand.
	warned begged invited advised reminded instructed			3 4 5 6 7 8	She warned them not to walk on the ice as it wasn’t thick. He begged me not to tell them the truth about the accident. They invited us to come in and look round. She reminded me to switch all the lights. I have been told to wait for her. He said not to wait for him. (the informal use)
We often use other words to express orders and requests.    Compare:
‘Have a cigarette.’   -  ‘Thank you’ ‘Let’s have a rest.’  -   ‘O.K.’ ‘Ask them what they would like to do.’				I offered her a cigarette and she accepted. She suggested having a rest and he agreed. I suggested (him/his) asking them what they would like to do.

 

 

    STATEMENTS                                               Sample sentences   

 

He   She   Ann	said told (me)	( that )	o           o       was ping o       had   o       would   o       should 	1 2	He said (that) he found the book interesting. She told him she was going home.
	pointed out exclaimed admitted agreed hoped remarked explained complained suggested			3 4 5 6 7 8 9	Ann pointed out that I had made a mistake in my test. He exclaimed with delight that he had passed the exam. She hoped we would have a good time in the mountains. I remarked that my door was being painted at the moment. He explained that the bus had broken down. She complained the alarm clock had stopped the day before. He suggested that we should leave the town at once.
Sometimes we may avoid complex sentences (with ‘that’ clause) and use other structures. COMPARE:						STATEMENTS
‘Miss Brown. This is Miss White.’ ‘You’d better wait in the car.’ ‘I won’t tell anyone.’ ‘You may take my torch’.   -   ‘No, thank you.’ ‘We’ll kill the boy if you don’t pay.’ ‘I won’t answer your questions!’ ‘Many happy returns! ‘   -   ‘Thank you.’ ‘I’m sorry for being late.’ ‘You are a liar!’ ‘You really must let me pay the bill.’				He introduced Miss Brown to Miss White. He advised her to wait in the car. She promised not to tell anyone. I offered him my torch but he refused. They threatened to kill the boy if we didn’t pay. He refused to answer their questions. We wished him many happy returns of the day, he thanked us. She apologized for being late. Ann accused him of lying to her. / She called him a liar. He insisted on paying the bill.

 

 

  QUESTIONS                                       Substitution table

 

He     She     Ann	asked  (me)        wondered        wanted to know	if   whether	o   (p) r … .	No inversion in the ‘question’ clause of the sentence after a question-word.
			…the cold wind was still blowing. …the apples in the orchard were ripe. …we had done our lessons.
		what where why how	…she was going to be. …they had been all that time. …we didn’t want to go there. …she would go to Spain.
		who	…had done the task.

                                                                                                                                        ▲

NOTES ON REPORTED SPEECH

  

* When reporting general questions we may use if or whether, especially after ask, want to know, wonder,                        but whether ispreferred when there are alternatives, and it conveys slightly greater doubt. 

               e.g.            Ann asked me whether I wanted coffee or tea. 

                                She wanted to know if / whether it was still raining. 

           He wanted to know whether or not we wanted dinner.        She wanted to know whether to phone them.

 

* Reporting permanent conditions and states we often use the simple present after a reporting verb in the past simply to show that they are matters of fact now.

          e.g.             He said that the earth goes round the sun.

                                We knew that Washington is the capital of the USA.

 

If we use past form in the ‘that’ clause it would mean that the fact is not true.                                       e.g.             He said that the sun went round the earth, it was ridiculous.                              We thought that the capital of the USA was Chicago.

        

* And in the end some notes on reporting Conditional statements. 

Changing Type I Conditional into indirect speech we have to backshift Simple Present to Simple Past and Future Simple to Future-in the-Past.

           

  Type I             ‘If you pass your exam, I’ll buy you a car,’ he promised.                          He said he would buy her a car if she passed her exam.

 

But in the case of Type II and Type III no changeis needed.  

           

  Type II             ‘If you passed your exam, I would buy you a car,’ he said.

                             He said that he would buy her a car if she passed her exam.

          

  Type III    ‘If you had passed your exam I would have bought you a car,’ he said.

                              He said that he would have bought her a car if she had passed her exam. 

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      THE INFINITIVE  AND THE  -ING FORM

 

          In the English language the base form of a verb (e.g. take) often functions as a predicate or its part in the sentence //or as an Infinitive. Since it is used without to this form is often called bare infinitive. We must teach our students to distinguish it from the to-infinitive(e.g. to take) where to is always used in front of the base form of the verb.

         The -ing form of the verb (e.g. taking) sometimes functions as a gerund (i.e. a kind of noun) and sometimes as a present participle or a part of the predicate (in the Continuous). Many verbs (as well as adjectives and nouns) can be followed by one or the other of these forms, and in some cases by both.

 

         THE INFINITIVE

 

         There are six forms of the Infinitive:    

       

	ACTIVE	PASSIVE
PRESENT INFINITIVE	(to) take	(to) be taken
PRESENT  PROGRESSIVE  INFINITIVE	(to) be taking	---
PERFECT / PAST INFINITIVE	(to) have taken	(to) have been taken
PERFECT /PAST PROGRESSIVE INFINITIVE	(to) have been taking	---

         

When we want to use an infinitive after the main verb-form of the sentence in most cases it is a to-infinitive. 

  So, the general rule is:      r + to ^   e.g.  She wants to go home now.             I want to be left alone.         

But every English rule has exceptions. That is why we must use bare infinitive after modal (can, must, may, might) and auxiliary (will, shall, would) verbs, after verbs ‘make’ and ‘let’ (and sometimes after ‘help’ and ‘dare’), after the verbs of perception such as ‘see’, ‘hear’, ‘feel’, and after the expressions had better, would rather, would sooner, etc. 

(See: Table 8)                      r +   	e.g.   He may be reading this book now.	He said he would read it later.
	She made him read the book.	Let’s take a taxi home.
	Would you help me (to) do it?	I saw her cross the street.
	You’d better give up smoking.	I’d rather take a taxi.

 Speaking about the INFINITIVE we can’t but mention the infinitive constructions or complexes. Let us study one more table.           TABLE 8

 

INFINITIVE
r  to 		r  
-   to express purpose (to / in order to / so as to) -   as the object of the verb -   adjective + to-infinitive -   noun + to-infinitive		after:  a) modal (except ought) & auxiliary verbs b)   to make, to let, sometimes to help, to dare c)    verbs of perception (see, hear, feel, etc.) d)   had better, would rather, would sooner
1.  PREPOSITIONAL INFINITIVE COMPLEX                                                 for +  Noun / Pronoun + to-infinitive
2.  OBJECTIVE INFINITIVE COMPLEX
r + Noun / Pronoun + to     r + Noun / Pronoun +  *      want, wish, desire, like, hate, intend                                      *     verbs of perception: see, hear, feel, watch,  notice, observe, **    think, consider, know, find, believe                             listen to, look at, smell, perceive  ***  advise, ask, allow, cause, command, compel, condemn, direct, **   make, have;   let                                  drive, enable, encourage, entitle, forbid, force, get, impel, induce, instruct, oblige,  order, permit, persuade, press, recommend, remind, request, teach, tell, urge, warn                                                   **** assist, bribe, challenge, charge, invite, tempt
3.  SUBJECTIVE INFINITIVE COMPLEX   / Nominative with the Infinitive /                                                       Noun / Pronoun + r to 
ACTIVE VOICE                                                 *    seem, appear, happen, chance, prove, turn out  **  aim, apply, decline, fail, hasten, hesitate, hurry, long, manage, offer,         prepare, refuse, seek, shudder, strive, struggle		PASSIVE VOICE                                                              *        say, report;                                                                                **      think, consider, know, find, believe, suppose, expect;            ***    see, hear, feel, watch, notice, observe;                                 ****  order, ask, request, allow, permit, make, force, cause, etc.
4.   WORD COMBINATIONS
to be sure / to be certain / to be (un)likely	to  

                                                                                            

   NOTES ON THE INFINITIVE COMPLEXES

 

Is it difficult for you to do this sum? 

   

2.    OBJECTIVE INFINITIVE COMPLEX

 

To-infinitive

*                  She wanted the boy to clean the room.                                                                            

**    He knew them to be honest.                                                                                             

***  They asked me to leave the room.       I got them to do the job.

 

Bare infinitive

*                  I heard him play the piano.                                                                                                        

** She made them clean the room.    I had him paint the door.     Let me go out.

 

BUT :    They were made to clean the room.                                                                        

 

(If the main verb of the sentence is in the Passive we never use Bare Infinitive after it. See also the next paragraph.)

 

           

Active Voice         *     He happened to have read the book.

           

Passive Voice         *        She is said to be well off.                                                                                                    

                                **      He is believed to have been killed in the last battle.                                           

                                      ***    He was noticed to enter the building .                                                                          

                                      ****  They were forced to surrender.

  

4.   WORD COMBINATIONS  WITH  INFINITIVES

 

Are you sure to have seen it?       She is very likely to be coming today.

THE -ING FORM   /   GERUND  /                

Here is one more exception from the rule    r + 

 

When we use another verb immediately after the verbs given below, we can only use an -ing form,  never an infinitive.                           r+  ing

 

 

admit,             adore,  anticipate,  appreciate,  avoid,  celebrate,          can’t stand,  complete,  consider,  contemplate,  delay,

deny,  detest,  discontinue,  discuss,          dislike,                    dispute,   endure,  enjoy,   escape,     excuse,    explain,

fancy,  feel like,    finish,    forgive,   can’t help,   get through,  give up,  hate,   hinder,  imagine,  keep (on),

like, loathe,  love,  it means,  mention,  mind,  miss,  pardon,  postpone,  practise,  prefer,

prevent, quit, recall,  recollect,  recommend,  report,  resent,  risk,    suggest,  tolerate,  understand.

 

 We should also remember that there are four forms of the  ing:

 

PRESENT	ACTIVE	taking	present  and  future reference
	PASSIVE	being taken
PERFECT	ACTIVE	having taken	action referred to the past
	PASSIVE	having been taken

 

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