RÉPUBLIQUE DU SÉNÉGAL

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UNIVERSITÉ CHEIKH ANTA DIOP

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FACULTÉ DES LETTRES ET SCIENCES HUMAINES

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DÉPARTEMENT D’ANGLAIS

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GRAMMAIRE ANGLAISE
Licence 2
Ressources Pédagogiques

Enseignant : Jean Christophe FAYE

Docteur en Linguistique anglaise
1
 PROGRAMME DU COURS DE GRAMMAIRE
ANGLAISE

SEMESTRE 1

I- TENSE, TIME AND ASPECT (Formations, Forms and Uses)

1- Future/ Conditional
2- Modal Auxiliaries
3- Simple Present
4- Present Continuous
5- Present Perfect/ Present perfect continuous
6- Preterit/ Past continuous
7- Past perfect/ Past perfect continuous

SMESTRE 2

I- NOUNS
1- Countable Nouns
2- Uncountable Nouns
3- Compound Nouns
4- Determiners
4-1- Articles
4-2- Quantifiers

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 Description du contenu

Le cours de grammaire anglaise est un cours annuel. Il se fait au premier et au second

semestre. Il a pour objectif de permettre aux étudiants d’approfondir les connaissances de base
de la grammaire anglaise.

Objectif principal
Le cours de grammaire anglaise de la Licence 2 vise à permettre aux étudiants d’approfondir
les connaissances de base, notamment les temps grammaticaux qui constituent les fondements
pour une bonne maîtrise de la langue. Ce qui leur permettra d’avoir des compétences en
grammaire, en traduction etc. et de pouvoir manier la langue, aussi bien à l’oral qu’à l’écrit.

1- FUTURE
1-1- The Simple Future
The Simple Future is used:
 To predict and speculate (after verbs like hope, think, expect): I hope he will arrive on
time
 For suggestions, promises and offers: Example: I will always help you.
 For formal announcements: Example: the Queen will open the new Underground
station tom.
 For spontaneous decisions: Example: what do you fancy? oh, I will have a whisky

1-2- The future continuous:

 It is used for an action that will be happening in a certain time in the future.
Ex: this time next week I will be working in Lisbon
1-3- The future perfect:
 It is used for an action that will already be in the past by a certain time in the future.
Ex: In five years, I will have finished my studies

1-4- Other ways of expressing the Future

 Simple present: used for timetables and impersonal events: class starts on
Wednesday
 Present continuous used for comments, descriptions, etc. He is flying tomorrow
 Be going to: used to indicate either determination on the part of the speaker or
situations or arrangements that are unlike to be changed: I am going to resign

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  Be about to: used for an action that is due to take place at any moment: The teacher
is about to leave
 Be to: used in formal announcements, planned actions: the PM is to call emergency
 Be due to: used for something which is expected: my sister is due to arrive on
Wednesday
 Be bound to/to be likely to: used for an action that is probably going to take place in
the future: he will come this afternoon: 100 certainty on the part of the speaker; he is
bound to come this afternoon: the speaker is almost certain 98; he is likely to come
this afternoon: the speaker is reasonably certain

1-5- IF CLAUSES
 If + present = future : if I have money I will go to London
 If + present = present: If I have money I go to London
 If + present perfect= future/ future perfect: If I have won the loto visa I will go/ I will
have gone to USA
 If + preterit = conditional: if I had money I would go to London
 If + past perfect = conditional past: if I had had money I would have gone to London
 If + past perfect = had + subject + pp: if I had known = had I known I would have
gone
 If + Negation = Unless: Unless I have / If I do not have money I will not go to USA

2- MODAL AUXILIARIES

MUST
 Obligation (enunciator)
 Prohibition (must in a negative sentence)
 Necessity
 Probability

HAVE TO
 Obligation
 Necessity
 Translation of DEVOIR and FALLOIR (MUST or HAVE TO)

MAY
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  permission
 prohibition
 possibility
 eventuality
 Probability
 Prayer

CAN
 permission
 capacity
 ability
 knowledge
 possibility

MAY & CAN

 Permission (MAY): expectation of a negative answer; distance…

 Permission (CAN): expectation of a positive answer; closeness…
 Possibility (CAN)
 Possibility (MAY)
Translation of “Pouvoir”: MAY, CAN…

SHALL
(sceal= to be obliged, “devoir” in old English)
 commitment,
 determination,
 threat,
 suggestion (interrogative form)
 promise,
 order,
 Prediction
 Recommendation

WILL
(“vouloir” in old English)
 compatibility,
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  volition, will,
 obviousness,
 prediction,
 concordance,
 promise

SHOULD
SHOULD = SHALL + ED
 No referral to the predication due to ED
 Conflictual or discordancy values
 Duty: Children should obey their parents
 Advice, recommendation: you should see a doctor
 Break or breaking off: you should not make mistakes
 Constraint: you should drive so fast
 Reproach, regret: should + have + pp
 If + subject + should = “si par hazard” (supposition)
 Surprise: it is + adjective + that + subject + should
SHOULD & OUGHT TO

WOULD
 Past habit (with the frequency)
 will or volition, refusal
 consent, approval: would you sign here? and would + rather
 Preference: Would rather, would prefer
MIGHT

 Probability between the grammatical subject and the predicate

 presupposition
COULD
 capacity, competence
 Knowledge
 Ability
 Probability
Translation of “Devoir”, “Falloir”, “Pouvoir and vouloir” by the Modals auxiliaries

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3- SIMPLE PRESENT
USE

 To express a habitual action; as, they go to school every morning. We get up every day
at five o'clock.
 To express general truths; as, the sun rises in the east.
 In exclamatory sentences beginning with here and there to express what is actually
taking place in the present; as, here comes the train! There he goes!
 In vivid narrative, as substitute for the Simple Past; as, Soharab now rushes forward
and deals a heavy blow to Rustam. Immediately the Sultan hurries to his capital.
 To express a future event that is part of a fixed timetable or fixed programme: The
next flight is at 7am tomorrow morning. The match starts at 9 o'clock. The train leaves
at 5.20. When does the coffee house reopen?
 Note also the other uses of the Simple Present Tense. (1) It is used to introduce
quotations; as, Keats says, ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’.
 It is used, instead of the Simple Future Tense, in clauses of time and of condition; as,
He shall wait till you finish your lunch. If it rains we shall get wet.
 As in broadcast commentaries on sporting events, the Simple Present is used, instead
of the Present Continuous, to describe activities in progress where there is stress on
the succession of happenings rather than on the duration.
 The simple present is also used to talk about some proverbs. Birds of a feather flock
together; might is right.
 It is used to describe a sudden action happening at the moment of speaking but without
any comment. Sadio passes the ball to I. Sarr., he goes forward shoots and scores
 To sum up, the simple present is used to talk about the objectivity

4- PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Use:
 For an action going on at the time of speaking; they are playing (now). The boys are
playing tennis.
 For a temporary action which may not be actually happening at the time of speaking;
as, I am reading ‘So long a letter! (but I am not reading at this moment).
 For an action that has already been arranged to take place in the near future; as, he
is going to the cinema tonight. My uncle is arriving tomorrow.

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  It has been pointed out before that the Simple Present is used for a habitual action.
However, when the reference is a particular obstinate habit, something which persists,
for example, in spite of advice or warning- we use the Present Continuous with an
adverb like always, continually, constantly. My dog is very silly: he is always running
out into the road.
 To summarize, the present continuous is used to deal with the subjectivity.

NB: The following verbs, on account of their meaning, are not normally used in the
continuous form: (1) Verbs of perception, e.g., see, hear, smell, notice, recognize. (2)
Verbs of appearing. e.g., appear, look, seem. (3) Verbs of emotion, e.g., want, wish,
desire, feel, like, love, hate, hope, refuse, prefer. (4) Verbs of thinking, e.g., think,
suppose, believe, agree, consider, trust, remember, forget, know, understand, imagine,
mean, mind. (5) Have (= possess), own, possess, belong to, contain, consist of, be (except
when used in the passive), e.g. However, the verbs listed above can be used in the
continuous tenses with a change of meaning: She is tasting the soup to see if it needs more
salt. (Taste= lest the flavor of) I am thinking of going to Malaysia. (Think of = consider
the idea of)

5- PRESENT PERFECT

Use:
 To indicate completed activities in the immediate past (with just); He has just gone out.
 To express past actions whose time is not given and not definite; In other words, when
we are making an assessment of an action. Have you read So long a letter? I have never
known him to be angry.
 To describe past events when we think more of their effect in the present than of the
action itself; I have learnt my lessons. I have finished my work
 To denote an action beginning at some time in the continuing up to the present moment
(often with since- and/or-phrases). In this case we talk about the result of the action: I
Have known him for a long time. He has been ill since last week. We have lived here for
ten years.
 the present perfect is also used with some phrases like: it is the first, second…time +
subject

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6- SIMPLE PAST

Use:
In English, there are two basic uses of the preterit which are, on the one hand, the expression
of an inherent property to the grammatical subject and on the other hand the events re-presentation
of the extra-linguistic world. In some grammar books, these uses of the preterit are presented as
“Temporal use” and “non-Temporal use” or “chronological” and “non-chronological use”. When
the preterit refers to the past, one can talk about the “chronological preterit” in so far as –ED, as a
tense, is effectively used to refer to the past. In this case, there is a match between tense and time
(according to some grammarians, the preterit is used as a tense, but others regard it as a time).
 Temporal use: when the action happened in the past and ended in the past
 To indicate a complete action in the past.
 To indicate fixed action in time
 With ago
 to express habit in the past (used to or would)
 With clauses of time and condition instead of the conditional
 Non temporal use: when the action has not happened
 after some phrases such as: once upon a time, it is high time + subject
,subject+ act, behave (simple present)…+as (if or though) + subject; subject + wish
(simple present) +subject

7- PAST PERFECT

Use:

The past perfect is used when:

 There is anteriority of two actions in the past Ex: The students had been in class for
two hours when the teacher entered.
 There is subject plus verb (preterit) plus the nth time plus subject. Ex: It was the first
time they had come late.
 There is subject plus verb (preterit) plus (high, about…) time plus subject. It was (high)
time we had started our classes.
 There subject plus verb (preterit) plus as if plus subject. He behaved as if he had been
the coordinator

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 SEMESTRE 2
1- Countable Nouns
Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted. They have both singular and plural forms. Ex:
Car, man, bottle, house, key, idea, accident, ,dog, cat, animal, man, person, cup, plate, fork
table, chair, suitcase, bag, etc.
Countable nouns can be used with articles such as a/an and the, numbers or quantifiers such as
a few, a lot and many, etc.
 That’s a good suggestion
 Do you have an umbrella?
Thus, countable nouns have both singular and plural forms. But as for the latter, there are two
types: The regular plural and the irregular plural.

Regular plural
Noun + S; after nouns ending with m; n; t; p; b; g, etc. ex: dog=dogs
Noun + ES; after nouns ending with o; ss; ch; sh; z; x, etc. ex: church= churches; box= boxes
Noun + IES; after nouns ending with y preceded by a consonant. Ex: baby= babies;

Irregular plural
Noun+ en ; ren; ex: ox= oxen ; child= children
Shift of vowels:
a→ e; ex: man → men; woman → women
oo→ ee; ex : tooth→ teeth; foot→ feet
i → e; ex: analysis → 𝑎𝑛𝑎𝑙𝑦𝑠𝑒𝑠; thesis → theses
Latin origin
us→ i ; ex: alumnus → alumni; stimulus → stimuli
um → a; ex: curriculum → curricula ; datum → data
Greek origin
On → a; ex: criterion→ criteria ; phenomenon→ phenomena

Nouns always with “s”

Nouns designating sciences: linguistics, mathematics, statistics, economics, etc.

2- Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns are nouns that cannot be counted for they are regarded as mass or whole things.
In other words, they are either in plural or in singular, but they cannot be both in singular and

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plural. They are nouns which cannot be used with the indefinite article (a/an). They designate:
 Abstractness: ex: knowledge, homework, research, money, permission, etc.
 Ideas and experience: ex: advice, information, news, luck, overtime, etc.
 Materials and substances: ex: water, rice, cement, milk, gold, etc.
 Food and drink: juice, wine, meat, bread, cheese, coffee, milk, etc.
 Group or collection of things: furniture, equipment, rubbish, luggage, etc.
 Weather: weather, thunder, rain, snow, etc.

Uncountable Nouns always in plural:

Advice, care (soins), clothing, damage, homework (devoirs) evidence, fruit, furniture, hair,
housekeeping (taches menageres), information, leisure, luggage, mail, news, overtime (heures
supplementaires), produce, rubbish, trouble (ennuis), music, rain, bread, etc.

Uncountable Nouns always in plural:

Damages (indemnites), alms (aumone), ashes, belongings, clothes, grounds (parcs), odds
(chances), perks (avantages), congratulations, thanks, workings (fonctionnement), surroundings,
savings, goods

Nouns that are both countable and uncountable, but with a change of meaning depending
on the context.

 He rent five rooms vs Is there room to spend the night (‘rooms’ vs ‘space’)
 I bought a paper vs I bought some paper (‘magazine’ vs ‘paper’)
 There is a hair in my soup vs she has beautiful hair (‘one single hair’ vs ‘hair on her
head’)
 There are interesting experiences on our vacation vs you need experience for this job
(‘things that happen to us’ vs ‘knowledge of something because you have done it before’)

Uncountable nouns can be used with words expressing singularity or extraction.

 Some sugar — a bag of sugar

 Some milk — a bottle of milk
 Some millet — a bowl of millet
 Some dust — a speak of dust
 Some grass — a blade of grass
 Some lightening — a flash of lightening 

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  Some money — a sum of money
 Some soap — a bar of soap 

3- Compound Nouns

A compound noun is a noun that is made up of more than one word. It acts as a single unit and
can be by modified by adjectives and other nouns. Most frequently it is a combination of two
elements. There are several forms:

Noun + Noun
Bank-account, ex: He went to check his bank-account.
Postman, ex: The postman put the documents in the letter-box.
Teacup, ex: Mary gives him the teacup
Staffroom, ex: The teachers are in the staffroom
Newspaper, ex: He is reading the newspapers

Adjective+ Noun
Blacklist, ex: His name is in the blacklist.
Greenhouse, ex: He is in the greenhouse
Old age, ex: She is in old age

Adverb + Noun
Outpatient, ex: Modou’s father is an outpatient
Overcoat, ex: John always uses an overcoat
Downfall, ex: He did a downfall

Verb + Adverb
Breakaway, ex: Breakaway is not good
Walkover, ex: They have a walkover
Sendoff, ex: He did a very interesting sendoff

Verb+ Preposition
What a beautiful swimming pool!
Please remember that check-out is at 12 noon.

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Noun+ Prepositional phrase
His brother- in-law is a famous politician.
Do you think the police accept money from the underworld?
Noun+ Adjective
We need 10 truck full of bricks

Plural forms of compound nouns

Generally, the plural of a compound noun is made by adding -s to the "base word" (meaning
the most "significant" word).
Examples:
Singular Plural
School teacher school teachers
Headmaster headmasters
Mother-in-law mothers-in-law
Toothbrush toothbrushes
Woman-doctor women-doctors

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4- Articles

The definite article: “The”

Main uses

“The” can be used when the enunciator refers to a specific person, animal or thing, to specific
persons, animals or things, and when they are sure that their interlocutor understands which person(s),
animal(s) or thing(s) they refer to:

 The boy is coming. (Everybody understands me. Compare with: “a boy is coming”: any boy).
 I went to see the headmaster (there is only one headmaster in the school).
 They are opening the bridge tomorrow (my interlocutor knows which bridge I am talking about)
 Are you spending the night in the university (this specific night: tonight).
 The red car stopped and its driver fired instantly (this car was mentioned before).
 I met the woman who sold you the pyjamas (not any woman, but a specific one )

“The” is used before some nouns referring to only one person, one thing or group, for instance,
before specific names or proper nouns (there is no ambiguity)

 The King arrives today. (But: King Mohamed VI, President Obama, etc. Cf. further).
 I’ll visit the Pyramids on Christmas.
 I met the Pope during his visit.
 I often read The Koran.

“The” is used for “specific name” that can be a planet, an element or an atmospheric phenomenon.

The sun, the moon, the wind, the rain, the weather, the snow, the sea, etc.

“The” is used before some count nouns used in the singular to refer to generalities.
 He often appears on the screen (the screen = cinema in general).
 One must respect the law (the law = the system of laws).

“The” can be used with plural family names to refer to the family as a group.

 The NDIAYES love to vacation in Paris.

 My sister lives next door to the Obamas.

“The” is also used in proper names consisting of noun(s) and/or adjective(s) + noun

 The Empire State Building, The English Channel, etc.

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“The” is used in hotel names; ex: The Hilton, The Hotel Vancouver, etc.

“The” is used for newspapers; ex: The Vancouver Sun, The New York Times, The Boston Globe, etc.

“The” is used for currencies; ex: the loonie, the Euro, the peso, etc.

“The” is used before some nouns referring to means of communication or transportation

functioning as a system.
 I never took the train between Bignona and Dakar. (But: “I travel by train, bus, etc.)
 The telephone is rather cheap here.
 Yes, I saw it on the television.

“The” is used before singular nouns referring to musical instruments.

 Mané doesn’t play the piano. (But: “… doesn’t play tennis”.)

“The” can be used before nouns referring to species or human types

 Do you like the dog?
 No, I prefer the cat. (We can also say here: “dogs”, “cats”, etc. But we say: “man is…”, “woman
likes…”).

“The” is generally used in time expressions like these:

 He had a fever in the afternoon.
 Cécile promises to consider it in the future.

“The” is used with superlative adjectives (for comparatives and superlatives, cf. further)
 Françoise is the funniest girl on the campus.
 This book is the least expensive of all.

“The” is used before comparative adjectives or adverbs in expressions like the following:
 The more it rains, the happier the peasants get (plus il pleut, plus les paysans…).
 The cheaper the better (le moins cher est le meilleur).
 The more she tries to be beautiful the uglier I find her (plus elle essaie d’être belle, plus elle
devient vilaine à mes yeux = plus je la trouve vilaine).

“The” is generally used before names of rivers, mountains:

 The Senegal (river) The Gambia The Mediterranean; The Nile
 The Alps (mountain) The Atlas The Himalaya; The Kenya

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 Zero article
Abstract nouns used in a general sense

 Crime does not pay. (The speaker refers to crime in general. But, it is possible to
say:“can you describe the crime” when referring to a specific crime).
 Honesty is the best policy.

Things considered as an amount or compound rather than a separate unit when they are
undefined

Bread (but: “the loaf of bread”), water, iron, salt, air, dust, travel, rubbish, etc.

Nouns referring to seasons, days of the week, etc.

 If winter comes, can spring be far behind? (But, it is possible to say: “the
winterI spent there”… Or “the winter is getting closer”. In these examples, I
am not referring to winter in general, but to a specific winter).
Nouns referring to illnesses

 There are some ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

 Ebola is devastating their country.
 He suffers from bronchitis.

Nouns referring to games or sports.

 They enjoy playing soccer

 She plays chess (les échecs)
 He plays tennis. (Remember: “He plays the piano”, “He plays the guitar”, etc.)

With expressions of situation like to/at sea, to/at/out of work, in/out of town, in/out of office, etc.
If, however, you start talking about somewhere concrete or some place in particular, the definite
article is required.
Before television as a medium, only as an appliance.

 I watched a show on television and left my cup on the television.

In front of most roads, streets, parks, squares, monument or bridges
 Robson Street, Stanley Park, Robson square, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace,
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 McDonald’s, Oxford University, etc.

Nouns referring to subjects of study or languages

 He is teacher Grammar and linguistics.

 She could speak Sereer, Arabic and Chinese.

The indefinite article: “a” /“an”

Forms and pronunciation:

“A” is used before a consonant sound and “an” before a vowel sound. “A” is
pronounced [ei] and “an” [æn] when they are accented (mark of emphasis)

Uses

A/AN is used when you are talking about things in general, NOT a specific thing.
 He needs a flat. (Not a specific flat, any flat).
 Birame wants a bicycle. (Not a particular bicycle, a bicycle in general).

A/an is used when talking about a thing which is new, unknown, or introduced to the
interlocutor for the first time. They can as well be used when you are asking about the
existence of something.
 I rent a room (the room is being introduced for the first time).
 Birame is a Professor (this is new information to the interlocutor).
 Do you have a flat (asking about the existence of the flat).
The indefinite article is also used before uncountable nouns such as: pity, shame,
disgrace, relief,hurry, mess, fuss, etc.

 You're a disgrace to the profession

 What a fuss about nothing!

It is used after link verbs to introduce a complement.

 He has become a soldier
 I am a scientist.
 He looks like a fool.
It is used with a noun in apposition:
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  I want to introduce you to Youssou, a great friend of mine.
 Pericles, a comedy by Shakespeare, is hardly ever staged.
It is often used after a preposition

 He learns with a torch

 He is in a complicated situation.
 She is behaving as a lady.

It is used after “such” and “what”

 He’s such a handsome guy.

 What a lovely day!
 I have never seen such a big house.

The indefinite article is also used in the following expressions

 She has a guilty conscience

 I cannot travel on an empty stomach



5- QUANTIFIERS

BIG QUANTITY SUFFICIENT SMALL INSUFFICIEN WHOLE UNIQUE

QUANTITY QUANTITY T QUANTITY QUANTITY QUANTITY
COUNT UNCO COUNT UNCO COUN UNCO COU UNCO COUN UNC COU UNCO
UNT UNT T UNT NT UNT T O NT
Many Much, Enough Enough, Few Little, Few Little All All one
A lot of A lot A few A little A few A little Some Some Whole Whol
Several of Some Some Some Some Any e
Lots of
most

DISTRIBUTIVE
QUANTITY

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 Documents à consulter:

ADAMCZEWSKI, Henri. & Claude Delmas. 2004. Grammaire Linguistique de l’Anglais.

Paris: Editions Armand Collins.

ADAMCZEWSKI, Henri. & Jean Pierre Gabilan. 1993. Les Clés de la Grammaire Anglaise.
Paris: Edition Armand Collins.

BOUSCAREN, Janine & M. Moulin, H. Odin. 1996. Pratique Raisonnée de la Langue. Paris:
Edition OPHRYS.

GABILAN, Jean- Pierre. 2006. Grammaire expliquée de l’anglais. Ellipses Edition Marketing

GARNIER, Georges, Guimier, Claude ; DILYS Rosalind (2004/2005), l’Epreuve de

Linguistique à l’Agrégation d’Anglais. Armand Colin

JESPERSEN, Otto. 1970. A Modern English grammar on historical principles, Part II: Syntax
(1st Vol.). London: Allen and Unwin.

LAPAIRE, Jean Rémi & Wilfrid Rotge. 2000. Linguistique et Grammaire de l’anglais.
Toulouse: Presses Universitaires du Mirail.

LARREYA, Paul & Claude Rivière. 2014. Grammaire explicative de l’anglais. Edition:
Pearson France

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