english grammar guide
TRANSCRIPT
English Grammar Guide
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Adjectives
Comparative
Order
Possessive
Superlative
Used to
Common Adjectives
Personality Adjectives
Adverbials
Adverbs
Degree
Duration
Frequency
Manner
Place
Probability
Time
Comparative
Superlative
Articles
Case
Objective/Accusative
Possessive/Genetive
Subjective/Nominative
Clauses
Conditionals
Type I
Type II
Type III
Zero
Conjunctions
Coordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating Conjunctions
Correlatives
Determiners
Some vs Any
Gerunds and Infinitives
Nouns
Abstract Nouns
Collective Nouns
Common Nouns
Compound Nouns
Concrete Nouns
Countable/Uncountable Nouns
Gerunds
Plural Nouns
Predicate Nouns
Proper Nouns
Participles
Past Participle
Perfect Participle
Present Participle
Prepositions
Prepositions of Movement
Prepositions of Place
Prepositions of Time
Pronouns
Indefinite Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
Possessive Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns
Questions
Closed Questions
Open (Wh ..) Questions
Tag Questions
Reported Speech
Simple Capitalisation Guide
Simple Pluralisation Guide
Simple Prefixes Guide
Simple Punctuation Guide
Simple Question Guide
Simple Sentence Construction Guide
Simple Spelling Guide
Simple Suffixes Guide
Tenses
Simple
Past
Present
Simple Present as Future
Continuous
Past
Present
Present Continuous as Future
Perfect
Past Perfect Simple
Past Perfect Continuous
Present Perfect Simple
Present Perfect Continuous
Present Perfect Simple as Future
Present Perfect Continuous as Future
Future
The Future using going to
The Future using shall/will
Verbs
Action Verbs
Auxiliary Verbs
Finite / Non-finite Verbs
Irregular Verbs
Modal Verbs
Mood
Phrasal Verbs
Regular Verbs
Conjugation and Contraction
Some Very Important Verbs
To be
To do
To have
Do or make
Used to
List of Irregular Verbs
Voice
Active Voice
Passive Voice
Still couldn't find what you were looking for?
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or alternatively buy one of my recommended Grammar Books
Thanks to Bharadwaj (and others) for reporting broken links.
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Adjectives
Overview | Order | Possessive | Comparative | Superlative
Adjectives describe or give information about nouns or pronouns.
For example:-
The grey dog barked. (The adjective grey describes the noun "dog".)
The good news is that the form of an adjective does not change. It does not matter if the noun being
modified is male or female, singular or plural, subject or object.
Some adjectives give us factual information about the noun - age, size colour etc (fact adjectives -
can't be argued with). Some adjectives show what somebody thinks about something or somebody -
nice, horrid, beautiful etc (opinion adjectives - not everyone may agree).
If you are asked questions with which, whose, what kind, or how many, you need an adjective to be
able to answer.
There are different types of adjectives in the English language:
Numeric: six, one hundred and one
Quantitative: more, all, some, half, more than enough
Qualitative: colour, size, smell etc.
Possessive: my, his, their, your
Interrogative: which, whose, what
Demonstrative: this, that, those, these
!Note - The articles a, an, and the and the possessives my, our, your, and their are also
adjectives.
Opinion
Adjectives can be used to give your opinion about something.
good, pretty, right, wrong, funny, light, happy, sad, full, soft, hard etc.
For example:
He was a silly boy.
Size
Adjectives can be used to describe size.
big, small, little, long, tall, short, same as, etc.
For example:
"The big man." or "The big woman".
Age
Adjectives can be used to describe age.
For example:
"He was an old man." or "She was an old woman."
Shape
Adjectives can be used to describe shape.
round, circular, triangular, rectangular, square, oval, etc.
For example:
"It was a square box." or "They were square boxes."
Colour
Adjectives can be used to describe colour.
blue, red, green, brown, yellow, black, white, etc.
For example:
"The blue bag." or "The blue bags".
Origin
Adjectives can be used to describe origin.
For example:-
"It was a German flag." or "They were German flags."
Material
Adjectives can be used to describe material.
"It was a cotton cushion." or "They were cotton cushions."
Distance
Adjectives can be used to describe distance. l -- o -- n -- g / short
long, short, far, around, start, high, low, etc.
For example:
"She went for a long walk." or "She went for lots of long walks."
Temperature
Adjectives can be used to describe temperature.
cold, warm, hot, cool, etc.
For example:
"The day was hot." or "The days were hot."
Time
Adjectives can be used to describe time.
late, early, bed, nap, dinner, lunch, day, morning, night, etc.
For example:
"She had an early start."
Purpose
Adjectives can be used to describe purpose. (These adjectives often end with "-ing".)
For example:
"She gave them a sleeping bag." or "She gave them sleeping bags."
!Note - In each case the adjective stays the same, whether it is describing a masculine, feminine,
singular or plural noun.
When using more than one adjective to modify a noun, the adjectives may be separated by a
conjunction (and) or by commas (,).
For example:
"Her hair was long and blonde." or "She had long, blonde hair."
More examples:
Adjective Pretty Serious Fast Quiet
ExampleShe was a pretty
girl.
He was a serious
boy.It was a fast car.
They were quiet
children.
!Note - Adjectives that go immediately before the noun are called attributive adjectives.
Adjectives can also be used after some verbs. They do not describe the verb, adverbs do that.
Adjectives after a verb describe the subject of the verb (usually a noun or pronoun). They are called
predicative adjectives.
For example:
"David looks tired." The subject (in this case David) is being described as tired not the verb to
look.
There is also the adjective used to, which is explained here.
Adjectives
Used to something
The use of used to do is explained here. However, used to has another meaning, it can be used as an
adjective and we use it to talk about things that have become familiar, and are no longer strange or
new.
Used to usually comes after verbs such as be, get or become.
After a while you get used to the noise.
She will become used to the smell.
I was used to the web site.
You can also say that someone is used to doing something.
I'll never get used to getting up at six o'clock in the morning.
It took me a while until I was used to driving on the right-hand side of the road.
Adjective Order
Overview | Order | Possessive | Comparative | Superlative
Adjectives can be used to describe lots of things, from physical size, age, shape, colour, material, to
more abstract things like opinion, origin and purpose. We can use adjectives together to give a
detailed description of something. Adjectives that express opinions usually come before all others, but
it can sometimes depend on what exactly you want to emphasise.
For example:
"That nice, big, blue bag." (You like the bag.)
"That big, nice, blue bag." (You like the colour.)
When we group adjectives together there is a general rule for the position of each type adjective, these are:-
Position 1st* 2nd* 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th
Opinion Size Age Shape Colour Material Origin Purpose
Nice Small Old Square Black Plastic British Racing
Ugly Big New Circular Blue Cotton American Running
This is just a guide as you wouldn't normally see so many adjectives in one description.
For example:
"She had a big, ugly, old, baggy, blue, cotton, British, knitting bag." Is grammatically correct
but a bit too long-winded.
* You might swap opinion and fact adjectives depending on what you wish to emphasise:-
For example:
"She had a long, ugly nose." emphasising the length of her nose.
"He was a silly, little man." emphasising that the man was silly.
Common Adjectives Table
(A list of English adjectives with dictionary look up - double click on any word for its definition and
pronunciation)
Appearance | Condition | Feeling | Shape | Size | Sound | Speed | Taste | Time | Touch
Appearance Condition
adorable
alert
average
beautiful
blonde
bloody
blushing
bright
clean
clear
cloudy
alive
brainy
broken
busy
careful
cautious
clever
crazy
damaged
dead
difficult
easy
colourful
concerned
crowded
curious
cute
dark
dirty
drab
distinct
dull
elegant
fancy
filthy
glamorous
gleaming
graceful
grotesque
homely
light
misty
motionless
muddy
plain
poised
quaint
scary
shiny
smoggy
sparkling
spotless
stormy
strange
ugly
unsightly
unusual
fake
false
famous
forward
fragile
guilty
helpful
helpless
important
impossible
infamous
innocent
inquisitive
mad
modern
open
outgoing
outstanding
poor
powerful
puzzled
real
rich
right
robust
sane
scary
shy
sleepy
stupid
super
tame
thick
tired
wild
wrong
Feelings - negative Feelings - neutral Feelings - positive
afraid
angry
annoyed
anxious
arrogant
ashamed
awful
bad
bewildered
bored
concerned
condemned
confused
creepy
cruel
dangerous
defeated
defiant
depressed
disgusted
disturbed
doubtful
eerie
embarrassed
envious
evil
fierce
foolish
frantic
frightened
grieving
guilty
helpless
hungry
hurt
ill
jealous
lonely
mad
alright
calm
different
fair
fine
OK
pleasant
puzzled
agreeable
alert
amused
brave
bright
charming
cheerful
comfortable
cooperative
courageous
delightful
determined
eager
elated
enchanting
encouraging
energetic
enthusiastic
excited
exuberant
faithful
fantastic
friendly
frowning
funny
gentle
glorious
good
happy
healthy
helpful
hilarious
innocent
jolly
kind
lively
lovely
lucky
naughty
nervous
obnoxious
outrageous
panicky
repulsive
safe
scared
shy
sleepy
sore
strange
tense
terrible
tired
troubled
unusual
upset
uptight
weary
wicked
worried
obedient
perfect
proud
relaxed
relieved
silly
smiling
splendid
successful
thoughtful
victorious
vivacious
well
witty
wonderful
Shape Size Sound
broad
crooked
curved
deep
even
flat
hilly
jagged
round
shallow
square
steep
straight
average
big
fat
gigantic
huge
large
little
long
massive
medium
miniature
narrow
petite
cooing
deafening
faint
harsh
high-pitched
hissing
hushed
husky
loud
melodic
moaning
mute
noisy
thick
thin
triangular
uneven
short
skinny
small
tall
tiny
wide
purring
quiet
raspy
screeching
shrill
silent
soft
squeaky
squealing
thundering
voiceless
whispering
Speed Taste Time
fast
quick
rapid
slow
swift
bitter
bland
delicious
different
fresh
greasy
hot
juicy
repulsive
revolting
ripe
rotten
salty
sour
spicy
stale
strong
sweet
tasteless
tasty
terrible
wonderful
ancient
brief.
early
late
long
modern
new
old
old-fashioned
quick
short
young
Touch
blunt
boiling
breakable
breezy
broken
bumpy
chilly
clean
cold
cool
crooked
cuddly
curly
damaged
damp
different
dirty
dry
dusty
filthy
flaky
fluffy
fuzzy
greasy
grubby
hard
icy
loose
plastic
prickly
ripe
rough
rubbery
scratchy
shaky
shaggy
sharp
silky
slimy
slippery
smooth
soft
solid
steady
sticky
tight
uneven
unusual
unripe
warm
weak
wet
wooden
wooly
Possesive adjectives are used to show ownership or possession.
Subject pronoun Possessive adjective
I my
you your
he his
she her
it its
we our
they their
For example:
I own a laptop. = It is my laptop.
You own this computer (I presume). = It is your computer.
My husband owns a car. = It is his car.
My sister owns a house. = It is her house.
My dog owns a collar. = It is its collar.
We use this website. = It is our website.
Manchester United own a football ground. = It is their football ground.
Comparative form of Adjectives
Overview | Order | Comparison | Possessive | Superlative
When we compare two things or people we look at what makes them different from each other.
For example:
Tall / Short
The man on the left is taller than the man on the right.
The man on the right is shorter than the man on the left.
Fast / Slow
A car is faster than a bicycle.
A bicycle is slower than a car.
Comparative adjectives are used to show what quality one thing has more or less than the other. They
normally come before any other adjectives.
For example:
Big / Small
The red bag is bigger than the blue bag.
The blue bag is smaller than the red bag.
Forming the comparative
Form Rule For example
Words of one syllable ending in 'e'. Add -r to the end of the word.wide - wider
Words of one syllable, with one vowel and one
consonant at the end.
Double the consonant and add -
er to the end of the word. big - bigger
Words of one syllable, with more than one
vowel or more than one consonant at the end.Add - er to the end of the word. high - higher
Words of two syllables, ending in 'y'.Change 'y' to 'i', and add -er to
the end of the word.happy - happier
Words of two syllables or more, not ending in
'y'.
Place 'more' before the
adjective.
beautiful - more
beautiful
The following adjectives are exceptions to this rule:
'good' becomes 'better'
'bad' becomes 'worse'
'far' becomes 'farther' or 'further'
!Note - When comparing two things like this we put than between the adjective and the thing
being compared.
For example:-
"Mount Everest is higher than Mount Snowdon."
"Arguably, Rome is more beautiful than Paris.
Possessive Adjectives
Overview | Order | Possessive | Comparative | Superlative
Possesive adjectives are used to show ownership or possession.
Subject pronoun Possessive adjective
I my
you your
he his
she her
it its
we our
they their
For example:
I own a laptop. = It is my laptop.
You own this computer (I presume). = It is your computer.
My husband owns a car. = It is his car.
My sister owns a house. = It is her house.
My dog owns a collar. = It is its collar.
We use this website. = It is our website.
Manchester United own a football ground. = It is their football ground.
Superlative Adjectives
Overview | Order | Possessive | Comparative | Superlative
The superlative is used to say what thing or person has the most of a particular quality within a group or of its kind. Superlative adjectives normally come before any other adjectives.
Snowdon is not
the highest
mountain in
Britain, Ben
Nevis is.Mount Snowdon is 3,559
feet high.
Ben Nevis is 4,408 feet
high.
Forming the superlative
Form Rule For example
Words of one syllable ending in 'e'. Add -st to the end of the word.wide - widest
Words of one syllable, with one vowel and
one consonant at the end.
Double the consonant and add -
est to the end of the word. big - biggest
Words of one syllable, with more than one
vowel or more than one consonant at the
end.
Add - est to the end of the word. high - highest
Words of two syllables, ending in 'y'.Change 'y' to 'i', and add -est to
the end of the word.happy - happiest
Words of two syllables or more, not ending in
'y'.
Place 'the most' before the
adjective.
beautiful - the
most beautiful
The following adjectives are exceptions:
'good' becomes 'the best'
'bad' becomes 'the worst'
'far' becomes 'the furthest'
For example:
"Jill is the best student in the class ."
"Jack is the worst student in the class."
"In our solar system the planet Pluto is the furthest planet from the Sun."
!Note - superlatives are usually preceded by 'the'.
For example:
"The Rio de la Plata river, on the southeast coastline of South America, is the widestriver in
the world."
According to the List of World records Carol Yager (1960-1994), from Michigan,
is thefattest person ever to live, weighing 725 kg (1,600 lb).
"Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world."
"I think that Castle Combe is the prettiest village in England."
"Arguably, Rome is the most beautiful city in the world."
You can find a list of irregular adjectives here.
Irregular Adjectives
Adjective Comparative Superlative Example
bad worse the worst Historians say that Hitler was worse than
Mussolini. He was one of the worst dictators
the world has ever seen.
far further the furthestMars is further from the Sun than Earth. Pluto
is the furthest world from the Sun.
good better the bestHer English was better than the teacher's. She
was the best English student in the class.
old (age) elder the eldestMy elder sister Karen is the eldest in our
family.
Personality Adjectives Table
(A list of English adjectives used to describe people's personalities with dictionary look up - double
click on any word for its definition and pronunciation)
Positive | Negative
Positive
a - e f - p q - z
adaptable
adorable
agreeable
alert
alluring
ambitious
amusing
boundless
brave
bright
calm
capable
charming
cheerful
coherent
confident
cooperative
courageous
credible
fabulous
fair
faithful
fantastic
fearless
frank
friendly
funny
generous
gentle
good
happy
harmonious
helpful
hilarious
honorable
impartial
industrious
instinctive
jolly
quiet
receptive
reflective
relieved
resolute
responsible
righteous
romantic
sedate
selective
self-assured
sensitive
shrewd
silly
sincere
skilful
splendid
steadfast
stimulating
talented
cultured
dashing
dazzling
debonair
decisive
decorous
delightful
determined
diligent
discreet
dynamic
eager
efficient
enchanting
encouraging
enduring
energetic
entertaining
enthusiastic
excellent
excitable
exuberant
joyous
kind
kind-hearted
knowledgeable
likeable
lively
lovely
loving
lucky
mature
modern
nice
obedient
painstaking
peaceful
perfect
placid
plausible
pleasant
plucky
productive
protective
proud
punctual
thoughtful
thrifty
tough
trustworthy
unbiased
unusual
upbeat
vigorous
vivacious
warm
willing
wise
witty
wonderful
zany
zealous
Negative
a - e f - p q - z
abrasive
abrupt
abusive
aloof
ambiguous
angry
annoyed
anxious
arrogant
awful
bad
fanatical
fierce
finicky
flashy
flippant
foolish
forgetful
frantic
fretful
frightened
quarrelsome
repulsive
ruthless
sad
scary
secretive
selfish
silly
slow
sneaky
snobbish
belligerent
boorish
boring
callous
careless
clumsy
combative
confused
cowardly
crazy
creepy
cruel
cynical
dangerous
deceitful
defective
defiant
depressed
deranged
disagreeable
disillusioned
disturbed
domineering
draconian
embarrassing
envious
erratic
evasive
evil
furtive
greedy
grieving
grouchy
gruesome
grumpy
guarded
gullible
helpless
hesitant
horrible
hurtful
ignorant
irresolute
jealous
jittery
lacking
lazy
lonely
malicious
materialistic
mean
mysterious
naive
nasty
naughty
nervous
noisy
obnoxious
outrageous
over zealous
panicky
pathetic
possessive
spendthrift
squeamish
stingy
strange
sulky
tacky
tense
terrible
testy
thick-skinned
thoughtless
threatening
tight
timid
tired
tiresome
troubled
truculent
typical
uptight
vague
vengeful
venomous
volatile
voracious
vulgar
wary
wasteful
weak
wicked
worthless
wretched
More about adjectives
Adverbials
Adverbials modify or tell us something about the sentence or the verb. It may be a single adverb, a
phrase, or a prepositional phrase, or a clause element.
When an adverbial modifies a verb, it changes the meaning of that verb.
For example:-
The students looked at me.
The students looked at me anxiously. (The verb looked suddenly has a very different meaning).
When an adverbial modifies a sentence, the meaning of the sentence changes.
For example:-
I passed all of my exams.
Surprisingly, I passed all of my exams.
Word groups that are also considered to be adverbials can also modify verbs: a prepositional phrase,
a noun phrase, a finite clause or a non-finite clause.
Multi-word adverbials are sometimes called an adverbial phrases.
For example:-
I ran as quickly as I could, but I missed the bus.
If a whole clause acts as an adverbial, it's called an adverbial clause.
For example:-
I'll go to bed when the film ends.
Adverbs
Overview | Degree | Duration | Frequency | Manner | Place | Probability | Time |Comparative | Su
perlative
Adverbs can tell you where, when, how, why and to what extent something happens.
There are several different classes of adverb (see above).
They are often formed from adjectives or nouns be adding the suffix -ly.
For example: Quick becomes quickly, sudden becomes suddenly, intelligent becomes intelligently, . . .
To form an adverb from adjectives ending in -y change the y to i before adding the -ly.
For example: angry becomes angrily, busy becomes busily, . . .
To form an adverb from adjectives ending in -e drop the -e before adding the -ly.
For example: feeble becomes feebly, true becomes truly, . . .
Some adjectives ending in -ly need no changes.
For example: heavenly, . . .
However there are exceptions.
For example: sly becomes slyly, shy becomes shyly, . . .
Some adverbs do not end in -ly.
For example: fast, hard, straight, . . .
Adjective Pretty Serious Fast Quiet
ExampleShe was a pretty
girl.
He was a serious
boy.It was a fast car.
They were quiet
children.
Adverb Prettily Seriously Fast Quietly
ExampleThe bird sang
prettily.
The policeman
spoke seriously.
Schumacher drives
fast.
The woman spoke
quietly.
Adverbs can modify adjectives
An adjective can be modified by an adverb, which precedes the adjective.
For example:-
That's really nice.
Adverbs can modify adverbs
Some adverbs can modify others. As with adjectives, the adverb precedes the one it is modifying.
For example:-
She did it really well.
Adverbs can modify nouns
Adverbs can modify nouns to indicate time or place.
For example:-
The concert tomorrow.
The room upstairs.
Adverbs can modify noun phrases
Some adverbs of degree such as quite, rather, so, such ... can modify noun phrases.
For example:-
We had quite a good time.
They're such good friends.
Adverbs can modify determiners, numerals and pronouns
Adverbs such as almost, nearly, hardly, about, etc., can be used:
For example:-
Nearly everyone, who was invited, came to the party.
Adverbs can modify sentences
Some adverbs modify a whole sentence, not just a part of one.
For example:-
Luckily the car stopped in time. In this sentence luckily modifies the whole sentence, it shows that it
was good luck that the car stopped in time.
Adverbs of Degree
Overview | Duration | Frequency | Manner | Place | Probability | Time
Comparative | Superlative
Adverbs of degree tell us the strength or intensity of something that happens. Many adverbs are
gradable, that is, we can intensify them. Basically they answer the sort of question that asks How
much ...? or How little...?
Adverbs of degree include; adequately, almost, entirely, extremely, greatly, highly, hugely, immensely,
moderately, partially, perfectly, practically, profoundly, strongly, totally, tremendously, very, virtually
etc.
For example:-
The man drove badly. = The man drove really badly. - In this sentence really shows us just how badly
he drove.
They enjoyed the film. = They enjoyed the film immensely. - In this sentence immenselyshows us how
much they enjoyed the film.
These intensifiers are not gradable though, you cannot say The man drove extremely very badly.
Adverbs of Duration
Overview | Degree | Frequency | Manner | Place | Probability | Time | Comparative |Superlative
Adverbs of duration tell us how long something happened.
They include; briefly, forever, long, shortly, permanantly, temporarily . . .
For example:
"They were occupied." = "They were briefly occupied." - In this sentence briefly shows us the duration.
"The phone was out of order." = "The phone was temporarily out of order." - In this
sentence temporarily shows us the duration.
Adverbs of Frequency
Overview | Degree | Duration | Manner | Place | Probability | Time
Comparative | Superlative
Adverbs of frequency tell us how often something is done. These include; always, constantly,
continually, frequently, infrequently, intermittently, normally, occasionally, often, periodically, rarely,
regularly, seldom, sometimes, . . .
For example:
I always do my homework on time. - In this sentence always shows us the frequency.
She goes out occasionally. - In this sentence occasionally shows us the frequency.
Most frequent always
constantly
nearly always
almost always
usually
generally
normally
regularly
often
frequently
sometimes
periodically
occasionally
now and then
once in a while
rarely
seldom
infrequently
hardly ever
scarcely ever
almost never
Least frequent never
When something happens regularly at a fixed time we can use the following as adverbs:-
Every day = Daily
Every week = Weekly
Ever fortnight (two
weeks)= Fortnightly
Every month = Monthly
Every year = Yearly/Annually
For example:
I get a newspaper every day. = I get the newspaper daily.
I pay my rent every month. = I pay my rent monthly.
Adverbs of Manner
Overview | Degree | Duration | Frequency | Place | Probability | Time | Comparative| Superlative
Some adverbs tell us how an action is or should be performed.
Often these adverbs are formed by adding -ly to the end of an adjective.
Adjectives ending -l add -ly ; careful-carefully.
Adjectives ending -y change to -ily ; lucky-luckily
Adjectives ending -ble change to -bly ; responsible-responsibly
adjective adverb
anxious anxiously
bad badly
beautiful beautifully
capable capably
lucky luckily
quick quickly
weak weakly
For example:
The little girl ran quickly. In this sentence quickly modifies the verb ran (to run).
Adverbs of Place
Overview | Degree | Duration | Frequency | Manner | Probability | Time |Comparative | Superlativ
e
Adverbs of place indicate where something happens.
These include; abroad, anywhere, here, outside, somewhere, there, underground, upstairs ...
For example:
My passport is here in my bag.
Place Example
Upstairs The children were playing upstairs.
In London The people demonstrated in London.
Outside The children were playing outside.
English Grammar
Adverbs of Probability
Overview | Degree | Duration | Frequency | Manner | Place | Time | Comparative |Superlative
Adverbs of probability tell us the likelihood of something happening.
If you imagine playing dice, what's the likelihood (probability) of rolling a six? It's possible, but it's not
certain. You'll certainly throw something between one and six, but your not likely to throw two sixes.
English Grammar
Adverbs of Time
Overview | Degree | Duration | Frequency | Manner | Place | Probability
Comparative | Superlative
Adverbs of time
Some adverbs tell us when something happened.
These include:afterwards, later, now, soon, yesterday, . . ..
For example:-
Yesterday all my troubles seemed so far away. - In this sentence yesterday shows us when.
Other adverbs of time include:-
Time Example
Saturday, Sunday ... I am going to the shops on Monday.
Today I've been to the shops today.
Yesterday I went yesterday.
Next week/month/year I am going next week.
Last week/month/year I went last year.
Finally I finally went.
Eventually I eventually went to the shops.
Already I've already been to the shops.
Soon I'm going to the shops soon.
Just I'm just going to the shops.
Still I'm still at the shops.
Adverbs of Comparison
Overview | Degree | Duration | Frequency | Manner | Place | Probability | Time |Superlative
When we compare what two things or people do we look at what makes one different from the other.
Adverbs of comparison are used to show what one thing does better or worse than the other.
When an adverb ends in -ly, more is put in front of the adverb.
For example:-
"Jill did her homework more frequently."
The rule for forming the comparative of an adverb is if it has the same form as an adjective add the
suffix -er to the end.
For example:-
"Jill did her homework faster."
The following irregular adverbs are exceptions to this rule:
'well' becomes 'better'
'badly' becomes 'worse'
'little' becomes 'less'
For example:
"Jill was better."
"Jack was worse."
"To lose weight you need to eat less."
When comparing two things you need to put than between the adverb and what is being compared.
For example:-
"Jill did her homework faster than Jack."
"Jill did her homework more frequently than Jack."
Superlative form of Adverbs
Overview | Degree | Duration | Frequency | Manner | Place | Probability | Time
Comparative
The superlative form of an adverb is used to say what thing or person does something to the greater
degree within a group or of its kind. Superlatives can be preceded by 'the'. In general the superlative
forms of adverbs are the same as for superlative forms of adjectives.
The rule for forming the superlative of an adverb is if it has the same form as an adjective add the
suffix -est to the end.
For example:-
fast - "Jill ran the fastest."
When an adverb ends in -ly, most is put in front of the adverb.
For example:-
Frequently - "Jill did her homework most frequently."
The following irregular adverbs are exceptions:-
'well' becomes 'the best'
'badly' becomes 'the worst'
For example:
"Jill did the best in the test."
"Jack did the worst in the test."
Picture This - Adverbs of Manner - Comparative/Superlative
Greedy
He ate his dinner greedily.
ComparativeHe ate more greedily than usual.
SuperlativeHe ate the most greedily.
Loud
She played the radio loudly.
ComparativeShe played her radio more loudly than usual.
SuperlativeShe played the radio the most loudly.
Fast / Slow
Cheetahs run fast. .
Hedgehogs
walkslowly
Snails crawl
veryslowly.
Comparative
Cheetahs runfaster
thanhedgehogs.
Hedgehogs
walk more slowly
than cheetahs.
Snails crawl more
slowly
thanhedgehogs.
Superlative
Cheetahs movethe
fastest.
Snails move most
slowly.
Articles
General | A/an | The | No article
Articles
First the good news:There are only three articles in English: a, an and the.
There are two types of articles indefinite 'a' and 'an' or definite 'the'. You also need to know when not
to use an article.
The bad news is that their proper use is complex, especially when you get into the advanced use of
English. Quite often you have to work it out by what sounds right, which can be frustrating for a
learner.
Indefinite articles - a and an (determiners)
A and an are the indefinite articles. They refer to something not specifically known to the person you
are communicating with.
A and an are used before nouns that introduce something or someone you have not mentioned before:-
For
example:
"I saw an elephant this morning."
"I ate a banana for lunch."
A and an are also used when talking about your profession:-
For
example:
"I am an English teacher."
"I am a builder."
Note!You use a when the noun you are referring to begins with a consonant (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k,
l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, y or z), for example, "a city", "a factory", and "a hotel".
You use an when the noun you are referring to begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)
Pronunciation changes this rule. It's the sound that matters, not the spelling.
If the next word begins with a consonant sound when we say it, for example, "university"
then we use a. If the next word begins with a vowel sound when we say it, for example
"hour" then we use an.
We say "university" with a "y" sound at the beginning as though it were spelt "youniversity".
So, "a university" IS correct.
We say "hour" with a silent h as though it were spelt "our".
So, "an hour" IS correct.
(Lots of people get this wrong - including native speakers.)
Definite Article - the (determiners)
There are two ways to pronounce "the". One "thuh" and the other "thee". To learn when we use them
see the pronunciation files: How to pronounce "the".
Strong pronunciation Weak pronunciation
You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you are talking about.
For
example:
"The apple you ate was rotten."
"Did you lock the car?"
You should also use the when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.
For
example:
"She's got two children; a girl and a boy. The girl's eight and the boy's fourteen."
We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.
For
the North Pole, the equator
example:
We use the to talk about rivers, oceans and seas
For
example:
the Nile, the Pacific, the English channel
We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.
For
example:
the rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc..
However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.
For
example:
"I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing."
"What are your plans for the future?" / "She has a promising future ahead of her."
The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc.
In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation:
For
example:
"Harry's Bar is the place to go."
"You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?"
!Note - The doesn't mean all:-
For
example:
"The books are expensive." = (Not all books are expensive, just the ones I'm talking
about.)
"Books are expensive." = (All books are expensive.)
No article
We usually use no article to talk about things in general:-
Inflation is rising.
People are worried about rising crime. (Note! People generally, so no article)
You do not use an article when talking about sports.
For
example:
My son plays football.
Tennis is expensive.
You do not use an article before uncountable nouns when talking about them generally.
For
example:
Information is important to any organisation.
Coffee is bad for you.
You do not use an article before the names of countries except where they indicate multiple areas or contain the words (state(s), kindom, republic, union). Kingdom, state, republic and union are nouns, so they need an article.
For
example:
No article - Italy, Mexico, Bolivia, England
Use the - the UK (United Kingdom), the USA (United States of America), theIrish Republic
Multiple areas! the Netherlands, the Philippines, the British Isles