Passive Voice

Use:       
The passive voice is used:
a) When the object of a sentence is more important than the subject
The city was destroyed by the volcano.

b) When the subject of the sentence is unknown.
This cheese was made in Canada.

 It is common in formal and scientific writing.

Form:
You can use the passive voice in all tenses. Use the correct form of be + the past participle of the verb.

Present Simple: I  you / they / we It / She / he	am are is	Past participle taken given built made eaten brought cooked left...	The workers collect the rubbish of Wednesdays. =>  The rubbish is collected on Thursdays.
Past Simple: you / they / we I / It / She / he	were  was		People built the castle over 800 years ago. =>  The castle was built over 800 years ago.
Present Perfect: I / you / they / we It / She / he	have been has been		Someone has taken my book! =>  My book has been taken!
Past Perfect: I / you / they / we / it / she / he	had been		When we arrived at the airport, someone had resold our tickets. =>  When we arrived at the airport, our tickets had been resold.
Modals I / you / they / we / it / she / he	can be will be would be must be should be could be		You must wear a hard hat in this area. =>  Hard harts must be worn in this area.

To mention who caused the action, use by.
The bins were emptied by the cleaning staff.

Reported Speech

Use:

Use reported speech to talk about what another person said in the past.

Eve:                       ‘I went to the party on Friday night’.
James:                  ‘Eve said that she had gone to the party on Friday night’.
                
Form:
1) When reporting speech, the verb in the sentence may shift to a past tense.

am / is / are	changes to	was / were
“I am fine.”		She said that she was fine.
present simple	changes to	past simple
“I like it.”		He said he liked it.
present continuous	changes to	past continuous
“She’s sleeping.”		He said that she was sleeping.
will	changes to	would
“I’ll be there.”		You said that you’d be there.
can	changes to	could
“I can come to the meeting.”		You said that you could come to the meeting.
past simple	changes to	past perfect
“I did the shopping.”		Tom said that he had done the shopping.
present perfect	changes to	past perfect
“I’ve read that book.”		I told him that I’d read the book.
past continuous	changes to	past perfect continuous
“She was walking home alone.”		He said that she had been walking home alone.
present perfect continuous	changes to	past perfect continuous
“I’ve been working,”		I told him that I’d been working.

2) To report speech, use He / She / I said (that) ...
 You can also use He / She told me (that)...; I told him / her (that)...
 
3) Don’t use quotation marks (“) when reporting speech.

4) References to times in the past also may need to change when using reported speech, if that time is no longer the same.

this morning / week / month	→	that morning / week / month
yesterday	→	the previous day
last week / month	→	the previous week / month
ago	→	earlier / previously
tomorrow	→	the following day
next week / month	→	the following week / month

Second Conditional

Use:       

The second conditional structure is used to talk about imaginary situations and the consequences. 
                Example: If I had a car, I could visit my friend.
                (But the truth is, I do not have a car, and I cannot visit my friend).            

The second conditional structure is also used to talk about imaginary abilities and the consequences. 
                Example: If I could fly, I wouldn’t need a car.
                (But the truth is, I cannot fly, and so I need a car.)

Form:
1)  Make the second conditional in this way.

If

I you he she...

past simple

,

I you he she...

would / wouldn’t ‘d could / couldn’t

verb (infinitive form)

Example:             If we had more money, we would buy that house.

Or

I you he she...

would / wouldn’t ‘d could / couldn’t

verb (infinitive form)

if

I you he she...

past simple

Example:             She’d be more successful if she worked harder.

2)  The verb to be can use were for all subjects. This is particularly true in the sentence: If I were you…
If I were you, I’d buy a bicycle.  

However, this rule is often overlooked.
If he were more careful, he wouldn’t break everything.  =>
If he was more careful, he wouldn’t break everything.

3)  To talk about imaginary abilities, use could.

If

I you he she...

could + verb (infinitive)

,

I you he she...

would / wouldn’t ‘d

verb (infinitive form)

Example:             If I could help you, I would!

4)  Notice that the infinitive verb after the modal verbs is not necessary if the meaning is clear. Don’t contract modal verbs when there is no infinitive verb present.

If I could pay, I’d...   =>   If I could pay, I would...

Common errors:
1) Many students write would after If
If I would have a lot of money, I would buy that car!        
=>           If I had a lot of money, I would buy that car!       

2) Many students forget to use could to talk about abilities.
                If I played the drums, I’d join a band.
=>           If I could play the drums, I’d join a band.  

Alternative Comparative forms

Use and Form:

These structures can be used to compare two things. They are alternatives to the comparative form (-er / more ...).

1)            Some phrases can be used to show that two things are identical.
the same (noun) as           My pen is the same as yours.
    His house is the same size as ours.

This phrase can be used with quantifiers:  such as just, exactly, almost, and nearly.
Your bag is exactly the same as mine!

2)            Some phrases can be used to show that two things are the same or nearly the same.
as (adjective / adverb) as              My bag was as expensive as yours.
He runs as quickly as me.

This structure is often used in literature to make similes.
  She’s as quiet as a mouse today.              
You’re as pretty as a picture!

You can use quantifiers such as: just, almost, nearly with these phrases.
  He runs almost as fast as me.
Your bag was nearly as expensive as mine.

3)            Other phrases focus on differences.
different from      His results are a bit different from ours.

This phrase can be used with quantifiers, such as slightly, a bit and a little.

not as (adjective) as        Your jacket isn’t as new as mine.
(negative verb) as (adverb) as    He doesn’t work as hard as I do.

This structure be used with the quantifiers quite, half and nearly.
  My job isn’t half as interesting as yours.   
  He doesn’t play the piano nearly as well as his sister.

4)            When comparing adverbs and adjectives, we sometimes re-write the auxiliary verb at the end of the sentences. If there is not auxiliary, you can write do, does or did. 
Julia is just as sociable as Maria is.
You can’t run as fast as I can!
I didn’t sleep as well as I did on Sunday night.

Common Mistakes:
Some students try to use the –er / more comparative form to make negative comparisons. However, not as … as is more common.
  I’m not taller than you.   =>            I’m not as tall as you.

Prepositions and prepositional phrases of place

Use: 

Use prepositions of place to describe where something is.

In is also used in these situations:
Countries, cities, villages	We live in France / in Paris / in Madrid.
the world	It’s the highest building in the world.
mountains and valleys	They have a cottage in the mountains / in a valley.
buildings	She works in a bank.
water	Don’t swim in the sea / the river / the lake.
the middle / centre	He lives in the middle of Paris / in the city centre.
books / films / newspaper	Which film was that actor in? I read about it in the newspaper.
On is also used in these situations:
walls, ceilings, doors, floor:	She hung the picture on the ceiling / the wall / the door.
surfaces	There’s a dirty mark on the page / table
the front / side/ back	There’s a label in on the box / bottle
left / right	The school is on the left.
Floors	Jim’s office is on the second floor.
lists / menus	What’s on the menu? Did you buy everything on the list?
roads	I live on Jackson street. The nearest gas station is on the motorway. The post box is on the way to work.
natural lines and borders	He lives on the coast. London is on the River Thames.
At is also used in these situations:
the top / bottom (of a page)	Sign your name at the top / bottom.
Directions:	Turn left at the traffic lights / roundabout / end of the street.
Position (next to something)	Wait at the traffic lights / corner / tree.
the front / the back	I wrote my name at the front / back of the book.
the beginning / the end	What happened at the beginning / end of the film?
events	I met him at a party / conference / football match
buildings	I’ll meet you at the airport / the station / home
Common mistakes:
1. Some students miss out part of the prepositional phrases.
I live next a small shop.=>	I live next to a small shop.
I parked the car in front the building. =>	I parked the car in front of the building.
2. Some students add a second preposition where it is not necessary.
Your bag is behind of the door.=>	Your bag is behind the door.

Question Tags

Use: 

Use question tags in two situations.
1) You are not sure if something is true, so you want to check. In this case, your voice should rise when you say the question tag.
                                                      ↗                                      
You’re not going now, are you?
                
2) You know something is true. You want to include/involve another person in the conversation. In this case, your voice should fall when you say the tag. It does not sound like a question.
                                                             ↘
He doesn’t live here now, does he?

Form:
Question tags are either:
1) positive statements with short, negative questions at the end.
These tags check something that you believe is true.
It’s Monday today, isn’t it?

2) negative statements with short, positive questions at the end.
These tags check something that you believe is false.
It’s not raining, is it?

Make question tags this way:

1) If there is an auxiliary verb or a modal verb, write it in the opposite form (positive or negative) at the end of the sentence. Then write the subject pronoun of the sentence.
Ian’s nice, isn’t he?
Laura hasn’t arrived yet, has she?
I can’t do anything to help, can I?
We won’t be late, will we?

Caution:
CAUTION: Use aren’t with I’m in questions tags.
I’m a bit careless, aren’t I?                           NOT       I’m a bit careless, am not I?

2) In present and past simple sentences, use do, does or did in the question tag.
Brian and Cathy don’t eat meat, do they?
Your dad lives abroad, doesn’t he?
Your friends enjoyed themselves, didn’t they?

3) Use a positive question tag after never.
Miles never goes out, does he?

May Might and Adverbs of Probability

May and MightUse: May and Might to talk about what will possibly happen in the future. May and Might meanmaybe will. They can refer to the future or the present.
Examples: I might have a pen in my bag.  ( = present use)
She may arrive tomorrow. ( = future use)
Form:May and Might are modal verbs, like can, will and should, so they follow the same rules.
1) Do not add ‘s’ to the third person singular.
He may come. NOT He mays come.
She might stay. NOT She mights stay.
2) To form a negative, add not after may and might.
He may not come.  She might not stay.
3) To form questions, invert may/might and the subject. However, questions with might are not common.
Might he be late?
4) May can be used with ‘I’ or ‘we’ to make requests. However, can and could are more common.
May I have some chocolate? May we go to the party?
5) May and Might are always followed by a verb in the infinitive form.
I might go. NOT I might to go.
She might stay. NOT She might staying.

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Will + adverbs of probabilityUse:You can use will and won’t with different adverbs to show how probable a future event is.
I’ll possibly go to the party. I’ll probably go to the party.I’ll definitely go to the party. I’ll certainly go to the party.Form:Note that will / ‘ll is used before the adverb, but won’t is used after the adverb.
I’ll probably see you later.
I probably won’t see you later.

Using Modals for Recommendations

Use: 

The following modals can be used to give recommendations.

must Must  can be used to give a strong recommendation.
You must see the Empire State Building while you are in New York.

have to You can also use have to for recommendations, but must is more common. Have to is generally used to talk about rules and things beyond your control. 
You have to see the Empire State Building while you are in New York.

should Should and ought to are used to give a suggestion.
You should try haggis while you are in Scotland.

could Could is used to give an option.
You could stay in a hotel, or you could stay at a guest house.

don’t have to Don’t have to is used to say that something isn’t necessary.
You don’t have to get a taxi; the metro is really fast and efficient.

shouldn’t Should is used to warn someone gently against doing something.
You shouldn’t walk home alone after dark.

mustn’t Mustn’t is used to warn someone strongly against doing something. 
You mustn’t go to that part of the city – it’s dangerous.

Form:
Must, should and could are modals. Modals follow the following rules.
1) Do not add ‘s’ to the third person singular. 
He must. NOT He musts
2) To form a negative, add not after the verb.
I shouldn’t. NOT I don’t should
3) To form questions, invert the modal verb and the subject. 
Must you? NOT Do you must?
4) Modals are always followed by a verb in the infinitive form.
I should go. NOT I should to go.   / I should coming.

Have to is a regular verb. 
1) Use Do / Does / Did to form questions.
Do you have to go? NOT Have you to go?
2) Have to is followed by a verb in the infinitive form.
I have to go. 
3) Use don’t / doesn’t / didn’t to form negative sentences.
I don’t have to go. NOT I haven’t to go.

Common Mistakes:
1. Many students use to after modal verbs.
You must to visit the museum. → You must visit the museum.

2. Some students write the question and negative form of have to incorrectly.
You haven’t to take the bus → You don’t have to take the bus.
Have you to go now? → Do you have to go now?