Grammar R eference

Negative
M i\+ \ I am ('m) not playing
1.1 Present Simple he/she/it is not (isn't) playing
we/you/they are not (aren't) playing
Affirmative Questions
I l/we/you/they play Am I playing?
;|he/she/it plays Is he/she/it playing?
Are we/you/they playing?
Negative
Short Answers
pve/you/they don't play
B he/she/it doesn't play

Questions
Yes, I am.
Yes, he/she/it is.
Yes, we/you/they are.
No, I'm not.
No, he/she/it isn't.
No, we/you/they aren't.

Do l/we/you/they play? Spelling: make -» making, swim —►swimming,

Does he/she/it play?
study -» studying
Short Answers W e use the Present Continuous for
• actions that are in progress at or around the time of
Yes, l/we/you/they do. No, l/we/you/they don't. speaking.
Yes, he/she/it does. No, he/she/it doesn't.
W e 're w atching a DVD a bo ut elephants.
• actions that are temporary.
We use the Present Simple for M y cousin is staying with us this weekend.
facts or general truths. • situations that are changing or developing in the present.
My grandm other speaks five languages. Family members are living further and further away
routines or habits (often with adverbs of frequency). from each other.
My sister always plays volleyball at the weekend. • an annoying habit (often with always, continually,
permanent states. constantly and forever).
We live in Sevenoaks. M y b ro th e r is forever com plaining about his homework.
timetabled events in the future. • plans and arrangements for the future.
The film starts at 8 o'clock in the evening. W e 're visiting my aunt this Saturday.

Note: Some common time expressions that are often Note: Some common time expressions that are often used
used with the Present Simple are every d ay/w e ek/m o nth / with the Present Continuous are at the m oment, now, fo r
summer, every other day, once a week, twice a m onth, the tim e being, this m orning/afternoon/evening/w eek/
at the weekend, in January, in the m o rnin g/a fte rno on / m onth/year, today, etc.
evening, at night, on Tuesdays, on Friday mornings, etc. Jenny is g e ttin g m arried in Decem ber.
Jane visits her m other tw ice a week.
1.4 Stative Verbs
1.2 Adverbs of frequency
Some verbs are not usually used in continuous tenses. They
We use adverbs of frequency to say how often something are called stative because they describe states and not
lappens. They come before the main verb, but after the actions. To talk about the present, we use these verbs in
verb be. the Present Simple tense. The most common of these are:
Jeremy is often tire d in the m orning. • verbs of emotion: hate, like, love, need, prefer, want.
Susan rarely argues with her brother.
Jane loves her new house.
Mum always makes our birthday cakes.
• verbs of senses: feel, hear, see, smell, sound, taste.
Some common adverbs of frequency are:
This soup tastes delicious.
always (most often)
• verbs which express a state of mind: believe, doubt,
usually forget, imagine, know, remember, seem, suppose,
often think, understand.
sometimes I think that's a great idea!
rarely/hardly ever/seldom • verbs of possession: belong to, have, own, possess.
never (least often) This flat belongs to my aunt.
• other verbs: be, consist, contain, cost, include, mean.
1.3 Present Continuous Those curtains cost a fortune.
Some verbs can be both stative verbs and action verbs, but
Affirmative
with a different meaning. The most common of these verbs are:
I am ('m) playing • be
he/she/it is ('s) playing
John is very honest, (usual behaviour)
we/you/they are ('re) playing
Ken is being very rude, (at the moment; not his normal
behaviour)
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 G ram m ar Reference
• expect 1.6 Uncountable Nouns
I e xp e ct you enjoyed yo ur holiday, (expect = think or
Some nouns are uncountable. They do not have plural
believe)
forms.
I'm e xp e ctin g a le tte r from m y grandma, (expect = wait
advice history progress
for)
cheese hom ework research
• have
chocolate inform ation rubbish
Lucy has a lovely house, (have = own/possess)
equipm ent know ledge salt
Susan's having a g re a t tim e at her cousin's house!
fo o d luggage time
(have = experience) fru it milk traffic
Gerty's having lunch with her parents today, (have = fun money water
eating) furniture music weather
• look
We don't use a or an with uncountable nouns. We can use
She looks like her m other, (look like = resemble)
some and any.
A re yo u lo o kin g fo r yo ur keys? (look = search)
I'd like some cheese in my sandwich.
• taste
Have you g o t any hom ework tonight?
This soup tastes horrible! (taste = have a particular
W e always use singular verb forms with uncountable nouns
flavour)
Why are yo u ta stin g the sauce? (taste = test the This fruit is so delicious.
flavour) M ilk is g o o d fo r you.
• think Note: Some uncountable nouns end in -s. Remember to
I th in k you're m ad! (think = have an opinion) use a singular verb form with them
Jenny's th in kin g o f g oing to France, (think = consider) The news is n 't good.
• see M aths is my favourite subject.
'My uncle Paul is my mum's b ro th e r.' ’Oh, I see.' (see = W e can use phrases describing quantity with uncountable
understand) nouns to say how much we have. The most common of I
'I'm seeing W endy to m o rro w evening.' (see = meet) these phrases are:
• smell • a bag o f • a ja r o f
These flowers sm ell w onderful, (smell = have a • a b o ttle o f • a kilo o f
particular smell) • a bow l o f • a loa f o f
Why are you sm elling the milk? (smell = action of • a can o f • a num ber o f
smelling) • a carton o f • a packet o f
• weigh • a cup o f • a piece o f
Jill w eighs 48 kg. (weigh = have a particular weight) • a glass o f • a tin o f
I'm w e ig h in g my suitcase to see how heavy it is. (weigh
A bow l o f soup
= measure the weight) A glass o f w ater

1.5 Countable Nouns 1.7 Quantifiers

Most nouns are countable and have singular and plural W e use some with both uncountable and plural countable
forms. nouns in affirmative sentences and in requests or offers.]
sister —►sisters leaf —* leaves Here are some books fo r yo ur research.
family —* families child -» children Can you give me some advice?
to y —>toys woman —>women W ould you like some chocolate?
tom ato - » tomatoes fo o t —» feet
W e use any with both uncountable and plural countable
We usually use a or an with singular countable nouns. nouns in negative sentences and in questions.
a wedding D id Julia buy any fr u it at the market?
an opinion Sarah hasn't g o t any brothers.
We can use some, any or a number (eg three) with plural W e use a lo t/lo ts o f with both uncountable and plural I
countable nouns. countable nouns.
There are some birds in the park. There's a lo t/lo ts o f tra ffic today.
Are there any biscuits? There are a lo t/lo ts o f p e o p le in town.
W e're m oving house in th re e weeks.
We use a little with uncountable nouns and a few with I
We use singular or plural verb forms with countable nouns plural countable nouns in affirmative sentences.
depending on whether we are talking about one or more I like a little m ilk in my tea.
items. James always eats a fe w biscuits fo r breakfast.
A family g e t-to g e th e r is ju st what we need.
W e use much with uncountable nouns and many with plura
My sisters live in Hull.
countable nouns in negative sentences and in questions.
There w asn't much snow last night.
Note: Some countable nouns don't end in -s. Remember
Have m any o f y o u r friends seen that film?
to use a plural verb form with them.
Children are sometimes unkind.
His feet are very big!

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 Mm+Ъ Mum was m aking hamburgers fo r us at 7 o'clock last
night.
• two or more actions that were in progress at the same
2.1 Past Simple time in the past.
I was co oking while my bro the r was w atching TV.
Affirmative • giving background information in a story.
l/he/she/it/we/you/they cooked The sun was shining and the children w ere playing
outside when suddenly th e re was a loud bang.
Negative • an action that was in progress in the past that was
interrupted by another.
l/he/she/it/we/you/they didn't cook
We w ere g e ttin g ready to have dinner when the
Questions doo rb ell rang.

Did l/he/she/it/we/you/they cook? Note: Some common time expressions that are often
used with the Past Continuous are while, as, all day/w eek/
Short Answers m onth/year, at ten o'clock last night, last Sunday/week/
Yes, l/he/she/it did. No, l/he/she/it didn't. year, this m orning, etc.
Yes, we/you/they did. No, we/you/they didn't. M ario was w orking all n ight y e ste rd a y

Spelling: dance -» danced, travel - »travelled, 2.3 Used To & W ould

tidy -»tidied, play -» played W e use used to + bare infinitive for
• actions that we did regularly in the past, but that we
Note: Some verbs are irregular and do not follow these don't do now.
spelling rules. See a list of irregular verbs on Our family used to p ro d u ce olive oil when I was young.
I pages 174 & 175. • states that existed in the past, but that don't exist now.
I used to love eating o ut b ut now I prefer cooking at
We use the Past Simple for home.
• something that started and finished in the past.
W e use w ould + bare infinitive for actions that we did
John made some coffee a few minutes ago.
regularly in the past, but that we don't do now. W e don't
• past routines and habits (often with adverbs of
use it for past states.
frequency).
Their m other w ould cook something special at the
Sue never ate fast fo o d at school.
weekends.
• actions that happened one after the other in the past,
| for example when telling a story.
2.4 Be Used To & G et Used To
We w ent to the park and had a picnic.
W e use be used to + gerund/noun to talk about
Note: Some common time expressions that are often something that is usual or familiar.
used with the Past Simple are yesterday, last n ig h t/w e e k/ Her daughter is used to e atin g late at night.
month/summer, a w eek/m onth/year ago, twice a week, W e use g e t used to + gerund/noun to talk about the
once a month, at the weekend, in March, in the m ornin g/ process of something becoming familiar.
afternoon/evening, at night, on Thursdays, on M onday I am g e ttin g used to salty food. I d o n 't m ind it.
mornings, etc.
The farmer harvested the olives last week. Note: Be and g e t change depending on the tense that is
needed in the context.
2.2 Past Continuous He's used to w aking up early.
Julie has never g o t used to eating a lo t o f olive oil.
Affirmative
l/he/she/it was cooking
we/you/they were cooxing W h»+ ??
Negative 3.1 Present Perfect Simple
l/he/she/it was not (wasn't) cooking
we/you/they were not (weren't) cooking Affirmative
l/we/you/they have ('ve) seen
Questions he/she/it has ('s) seen
Was l/he/she/it cooking?
Negative
Were we/you/they cooking?
l/we/you/they have not (haven't) seen
Short Answers he/she/it has not (hasn't) seen
Yes, l/he/she/it was. No, l/he/she/it wasn't. Questions
Yes, we/you/they were. No, we/you/they weren't.
Have l/we/you/they seen?
Has he/she/it seen?
Spelling: write —* writing, travel —►travelling,
tidy -»tidying Short Answers
Yes, l/we/you/they have. No, l/we/you/they haven't.
We use the Past Continuous for Yes, he/she/it has. No, he/sne/it hasn't.
• actions that were in progress at a specific time in the past.

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