RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Main Clause Relative Pronoun Relative Clausea) Tom is a doctor b) An encyclopedia is a bookc) A dolphin is a mammald) That’s the boy whowhich/that
which/that
whose treats sick people.contains useful information.lives in the sea.
bicycle was stolen. We use the relative pronouns who/what for people. We use the relative pronouns which/that for objects and animals. We use the relative pronoun whose for people to show possession.
THE DEFINITE ARTICLE The is used before:
Nouns which are unique (the moon, the Tower of London) Names of cinemas (the Odeon), hotels (the Hilton), theatres (The Theatre Royal), museums (The museum of modern art), newspapers/magazines (The European ), ships (The QE2), institutions (The Royal Academy of Art), galleries (The National Gallery) Names of rivers (the Thames), seas (the North Sea), groups of islands/states (the Orkney Islands, the USA), mountain ranges (the Alps), deserts (the Sahara Desert), oceans (the Atlantic), canals (the Suez Canal) and names or nouns with “of” (the Chamber of Horrors, the Valley of Death) note: the equator, the Artic/Antarctic, the South of France, the South/West/North/East Musical instruments, dances (the flute, the samba) Names of families (the Browns), nationalities ending in –sh, -ch or –ese (the Welsh, the Dutch, the Chinese, etc).Other plural nationalities are used with or without “the” [ (the) South Africans, (the) Americans, etc] Titles (the President, the Prince of Wales, the queen). The is omitted before titles with proper names (Queen Elizabeth II) Adjectives used as plural nouns (the blind, the elderly, the rich, the poor, etc.) and the superlative degree of adjectives/adverbs. e.g. He’s the most intelligent one here. Note: “most” used as a determined followed by a noun, does not take “the”. e.g. Most students failed the exams. But: The most interesting lecture was the one on endangered species.
The words: beach, cinema, city, coast, country(side), earth, ground, jungle, radio, pub, sea(side), sky, station, shop, theatre, village, weather, world, etc. but not before “man” (= people) e.g we went to the cinema last night. Note: “the” is optional with seasons. Morning, afternoon, evening, night e.g. I’ll come round in the morning. (but: at night, at noon, at midnight, by day/night, at 5 o’clock, etc). Historical reference/ events (the French revolution, the second World War) (but: World War II) Only, last, first (used as adjectives). E.g Alex is the first to come and the last to leave.The is omitted before:
Proper nouns (Paolo, Italy) Names of sports, games, activities, days, month, holidays, colors, drinks, meals and languages (not followed by the word “language”) e.g. I love polo. Can I speak Spanish? But: the Chinese language is fascinating. Names of countries (France), (but: the Netherlands, the Sudan, the Hague, the Vatican), cities (Vancouver), streets (Bond Street), (but: the High Street, the Strand, the Mall, the A11, the M4 motorway) squares (George Square), bridges (Tower Bridge) (but: the Bridge of Sighs, the Forth Bridge, the Sever Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge) parks (Central Park), stations (King’s Cross Station), individual mountains (Mount Everest), islands (Malta), lakes (Lake Ontario), continents (Asia) Possessive adjectives e.g . That is my car. Two-word names whose first word is the name of a person or a place (Glasgow Airport, Edinburg Castle) (but:The White House, because the first word “White” is not the name of a person or a place) Pubs, restaurants, shops, banks and hotels which have the name of their founder and end in –s or –s’s Tom’s Café, Harrods, Baring’s Bank) (but: the White Horse (pub) because “White Horse” is not the name of the founder)
Bed, church, college, court, hospital, prison, school, university when we refer to the purpose for which they exist e.g He goes to church every Sunday. (but: We have to be at the church at two o’clock to see the Vicar. Work (= place of work) never takes “the” . e.g I have to go to work now. The words home, father/mother when we talk about our own home/parents e.g. Mum is home now. Means of transport: by bus/by car/by plane, etc.(but: in the car, on the bus/train, etc. e.g. She came by bus. But: She was on the bus when the accident happened.) We say: flu/the flu, measles/the measles, mumps/the mumps (but: He’s got pneumonia.)SUCH – SO ….THAT
Such a/an are used before countable nouns in the singular. E.g. It was such a nice dress that I decided to buy it. Such is used before uncountable nouns or countable nouns in the plural. E.g. It was such bad weather that we stayed in. They were such friendly people that we all felt sorry to see them go. So is used before an adjective which is not followed by a noun. E.g. The dress was so beautiful that I decided to buy it.
OBLIGATION/PROHIBITION/ABSENCE OF NECESSITY
We use must (=have to) to express obligation .e.g. You must study hard or you’ll fail your test.
We use mustn’t (=have to) to express prohibition. E.g. you mustn’t tell lies.We use needn’t (= don’t have to, it’s not necessary) to express absence of necessity. E.g. you needn’t wake up early tomorrow. It’s Sunday.
REPORTED SPEECH
Say – tell
Say is used in direct and reported speech. In reported speech, it is followed by a that – clause. E.g. “I won’t go to Japan,” she said. She said that she wouldn’t go to Japan.
Tell is used in reported speech and has to be followed by a personal direct object (me, you, him, her, etc.) e.g. “I won’t go to Japan,” she said to me. She told me (that) she wouldn’t go to Japan.
Expressions with SAY, TELL
SAY say good morning/ evening, etc, say something, say one’s prayers, say a few words, say so, say no more, say for certain, say for sure.
TELL tell the truth, tell a lie, tell (sb) the time, tell sb one’s name, tell a story tell sb a secret, tell sb the way, tell one from another, tell sb’s fortune, tell sb so, tell the difference, etc.
Reported statements
Reported statements are usually introduced with say (that) or tell (that).e.g. “I am learning Spanish,” he said. → She said (that) she was learning Spanish. Personal pronouns and possessive adjectives change according to context. E.g. “I met a lot of people at the party,” he said. → He said that he had met a lot of people at the party.
Tenses change in reported speech as follows: Present simple → past simple e.g. “she makes clothes,” he said. → He said (that) she made clothes. Present continuous → past continuous e.g. “she is making a cake,” he said. → He said (that) she was making a cake. Past simple/present perfect → past perfect e.g. “she made/has made a cake,” he said. → He said (that) she had made a cake. Future simple → would + bare infinitive e.g. “she’ll make a cake,’ he said. → He said (that) she would make a cake.
Past perfect and past perfect continuous do not change in reported speech. Past simple changes to past perfect or remains the same. When the reported sentence contains a time clause, the tenses of the time clause do not change. e.g. “I left when it was getting dark,” he said. → he said (that) he left/had left when it was getting dark.
Tenses do not change in reported speech when:
The reporting verb (said, told, etc.) is in the present, future or present perfect. E.g. “I’ve always enjoyed going for long walks on the beach,” she says. → She says that she’s always enjoyed going for long walks on the beach. The speaker expresses general truths, permanent states or conditions e.g. “February the 14th is valentine’s day,” he said. → He said that February the 14th is Valentine’s Day. The reported sentence deals with type 2/type 3 conditionals, wishes or unreal past e.g. “ok boys, it’s time you went to bed,” mother said to us. → Mother told us that it was time we went to bed. The speaker is reporting something immediately after it was said (up to date). E.g. “the water is very cold,” he said. → That the water is very cold.
Note: if the speaker expresses something believed to be true, the tenses may change or remain the same .e.g. “cycling is good exercise,” he said. → He said cycling is good exercise.
Time words can change or remain the same depending on the time reference:
Direct speech reported speech
Tonight, today this week/month/year, now → that night, that day, that week /month → then, at the time, at once, immediately
yesterday, last night/week/month/year, → the day before, the previous night/weektomorrow, next week/month/year month/year
two days/months/years, etc. ago → two days/months/years, etc. before
e.g. „he is leaving next week, “she said. → She said (that) he was leaving the following week. (Out-of-date reporting) “I visited Pam last week,” she said. → She said (that) she visited Pam last week (up-to-date reporting)
Reported questions
Reported questions are introduced with ask, wonder, want to know, etc. We use affirmative word order and the question nark becomes a full stop. Inverted commas are omitted.
To report a question we use: a) ask + question word (who, where, which, when, how, etc.) when the direct question begins with a question word. e.g. “how can I ever thank you?” she asked. She asked how she could ever thank me. And b) ask + if/whether when the direct questions begins with an auxiliary verb (can, do, have, etc.). e.g. “could you tell me how to open the cupboard?” he asked. He asked if I could tell him how to open the cupboard. Tenses, personal pronouns, possessive adjectives, time words, etc. Change as in statements. e.g. “when are you having your party?” → She wondered when I was having my party. “Can you go to the supermarket for me?” → She asked me if I could go to the supermarket for her.LINKING WORDS
We can use also, furthermore, in addition, moreover, as well, what is more, etc. to link similar ideas and/or add more information. E.g. computers are extremely useful tools. Moreover, they save time and money. We can use however, but, on the other hand, although, but, etc. to link opposing ideas. E.g. computers are extremely useful tools. On the other hand, they shouldn’t replace humans.
REPORTED COMMANDS/REQUEST/ORDERS
To report commands, requests and orders we use a special introductory verb (e.g. warn, order, ask, request, suggest, etc.) followed by a to – infinitive, an – ing form or a that – clause depending on the introductory verb. E.g. “brush your teeth before you go to bed”, said the dentist. → The dentist advised me to brush my teeth before I go to bed. “Keep medicine out of children’s reach”, said the doctor. → The doctor warned us to keep medicine out of children’s reach.
Note: to report direct commands we usually use the imperative. E.g. “Stop talking”, the teacher said. The teacher told us to stop talking. “Don’t step on the grass”, said the gardener. The gardener asked us not to step on the grass.
To report negative commands and requests, we usually use not + to – infinitive. E.g. „Don’t go near the cliff, it’s dangerous“ the guide said. The guide told us not to go near the cliff because it was dangerous.
Introductory verb Direct speech Reported speech Introductory verb Direct speech Reported speechAgree + to – infinitive „Yes, I’ll type the letters. “ He agreed to type the letters. Admit + gerund „Yes, I lied to you. “ He admitted (to) lying/having lied to me.Offer „Shall I make coffee? “ He offered to make coffee. Accuse sb of „You broke the vase. “ She accused me of breaking/having broken the vase. Apologise for „I’m sorry I forgot to call you. “ He apologise for forgetting/having forgotten to call me.Promise „Of course I’ll write home every day. He promised to write home every day. Threaten „Give me all your money or I’ll shoot. “ He threatened to shoot if I didn’t give him all my money. Suggest „Let’s go to the beach. “ He suggested going to the beach.
Advise + sb + to – infinitive „You should see a doctor. “ He advised me to see a doctor. Deny „I didn’t call the police. “ He denied calling/having called the police.Ask „Could you do me a favour? “ He asked me to do him a favour. Agree + that -clause „Yes, it’s a really beautiful painting. “ He agreed that it was a beautiful painting.Beg „Please, please mummy don’t leave me alone“ She begged her mother not to leave her alone. Complain „You always arrive late. “ He complained that I always arrived late.
Command „Cease fire“ He commanded the soldiers to cease fire. Deny „I didn’t steal the money. “ He denied that he had stolen the money.
Invite „Would you like to go to the concert with me? “
She invited me to go to the concert with her. Promise „Of course I’ll come back. “ He promised that he would come back. Suggest „You’d better quit smoking. “ He suggested that I (should) quit smoking.Remind„Don’t forget to take your passport. “ He reminded me to take my passport.
Warn „Don’t touch the exhibits. “ He warned us not to touch the exhibits.
QUESTIONS IN THE PASSIVE VOICE
AS – LIKE