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1. Use the Continuous Aspect When Referring to a
Progressive or Temporary Action
“Aspect” means that when we use verbs, we can focus on either the action itself (the
action is seen as continuous, progressive, temporary, happening at the moment of
speaking) or on the result of the action (the action is simple, general, habitual).
Each verbal tense has two aspects: continuous and simple. This means that whenever
the action happens (past, present or future), we can focus on either the action itself
(continuous aspect) or the result of the action (simple aspect).
The continuous aspect is formed with the auxiliary verb “to be” used in the intended
tense, plus the “-ing” form of the verb.
Example:
Have a look at the following table to understand how each aspect works for each of
the tenses:
CONTINUOUS
TENSE SIMPLE ASPECT
ASPECT
To practice, try filling in the gaps with the right form of each verb given in
parentheses. (Answers are at the end of the post.)
1. My cat ___ (drink) all the milk by the time we got home.
2. She ___ (think) about buying a new car because the one she has is old.
3. I ___ (write) an email, so I can’t help you do the dishes.
4. He ___ (write) a lot of emails as part of his job.
5. It’s almost 10 p.m. and we still ___ (decided) what to eat yet.
You can do more exercises to practice aspect online.
2. Use “the” for Defined Things, People or Places
The definite article is used for things, people or places that are “defined” for the
speakers. This means that the speakers know precisely what thing, person or place
they are talking about.
You probably read a lot of rules about when to use “the,” but all of them can be
reduced to one idea: We use the definite article when the things, people or places we
are referring to are defined. Have a look at the following list of situations when we
use “the”:
With people/things mentioned before, so it’s clear who/what you are referring to
from the context.
We are staying in a nice hotel. The hotel is in the center of the city.
In the second sentence above, we already know what hotel we are talking about: the
hotel mentioned in the first sentence.
Since “the lake” and “the Internet” are seen as unique, the speaker knows what they
are. So these things are, again, defined.
With nouns followed by a defining relative clause (a clause that describes a
person or thing we are talking about).
The book you gave me is nice.
“Book” is defined, because it’s the book that “you gave me,” not just any book.
In this first example, “ice cream” is defined because it’s not just any ice cream. It’s a
special one, it’s the best one ever. “Best” is a superlative, just like “most expensive,”
“most colorful,” “nicest” and “quickest.”
In our second example, the question is again clearly defined for the speaker, who has
counted the questions and knows that this particular question is the second one.
With names of countries that have plurals in them or that include the
words “republic” or “kingdom.”
the United States of America
the Czech Republic
the Netherlands
This situation may not be as clear as the other ones. To simplify it, just think of the
words “states” and “republic” as being defined for the speaker. The speaker specifies
which states and which republic they are talking about: the United States (as opposed
to any random state) and the Czech Republic (as opposed to any other republic).
With names of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands,
canals and oceans.
the Arctic
the Alps
the Nile
In this case, you can generalize that plurals are used with “the.” As for the other
geographical locations, there is no logical generalization you can make. You simply
need to learn them the right way from the start.
If you are still new to this rule, it may be easier for you to make best use of it in
writing. In the TOEFL writing section, try to leave a few minutes at the end of the test
to proofread your work. Since you can only make small changes in such a short time,
you can rethink whether you used “the” correctly.
If you realize the thing, person or place is in fact undefined, new or not specified, you
can simply erase “the.” The more you practice, the faster you’ll be able to use “the”
correctly in speaking too!
Have a look at these sentences. Decide if you have to use “the” or nothing in the gaps:
Some learners confuse adjectives with adverbs, so let’s look at both parts of speech
one at a time, beginning with adjectives.
Adjectives
[Noun] + to be + [adjective]
This same structure is used with verbs that can be replaced by “be” (feel, look, taste,
smell, sound, appear, seem), as seen in the following examples:
The soup tastes/smells/looks/seems good.
The soup is good.
Cashmere feels nice.
Cashmere is nice.
The music sounds perfect.
The music is perfect.
In all these examples, “good,” “nice” and “perfect” describe the noun, not the verb, so
they are adjectives (not adverbs). That’s why it would be incorrect to say “Cashmere
feels nicely.” “Nice” describes “cashmere,” not “feels,” so it’s an adjective, not an
adverb.
Adverbs
Adverbs are usually formed from adjectives by adding -ly at the end of the adjective.
Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.
Example of an adverb describing a verb:
The bird sang beautifully.
“Beautifully” describes the verb “sang.” You can ask, “How did the bird sing?” and
you get the answer, “beautifully.”
Example of an adverb describing an adjective:
She is a really nice girl.
“Really” refers to the adjective “nice.” To be sure, you can ask “How nice?” and get
the answer “really nice.”
Example of an adverb describing another adverb:
She talked very loudly.
“Very” describes the adverb “loudly.” If you ask “How loudly?,” you get the answer
“very loudly.”
Spelling adverbs
When using adverbs in writing, many students don’t get the spelling right. How many
l’s? Why two l’s and not just one?
Let’s make this simple for you once and for all. Whenever you have to use such
adverbs in the TOEFL written exam, look at the adjective it comes from. If the
adjective ends in an “l,” when you add -ly you get two l’s. As simple as that!
beautiful + ly = beautifully
interesting + ly = interestingly
Practice correct spelling and use of adjectives and adverbs online and by filling in the
gaps below with the right form of the word given in brackets:
11. She ___ (careful) took the baby out of the car.
12. The puzzle was ___ (extreme) difficult.
13. She remained ___ (calm) despite the turbulences.
14. The ___ (recent) launched product was much better than the ___ (old) version.
15. She made an ___ (unfortunate) mistake.
4. “Who,” “Whom” and “Which” Are Not Interchangeable
“Who” refers to people, “which” refers to things and “that” can refer to both people
and things. Here are some examples:
The only exception is that “which” can be used when you have a group of people and
you want to select one.
“Whom” refers to people. Many people overuse “whom” to sound more academic.
The rule is to use “who” when you refer to the subject of a clause, and to use “whom”
when referring to the object of a clause.
You can use this simple shortcut to decide if you should use “who” or “whom”:
For example:
When proofreading your writing in the TOEFL exam, double check if you used
“who,” “which” and “whom” correctly. Remember that “which” is generally used to
refer to things. Since these are short words, you can easily make corrections fast,
without changing too much of the sentence structure you originally used.
Practice these rules online and by filling in the gaps below with the right word:
“who,” “which” or “whom.”
16. The person to ___ you are referring no longer works here.
17. I liked the book ___ you gave me.
18. ___ invited you here?
19. I’m not sure ___ kid was here first.
20. Give my regards to your brother, ___ was my classmate in high school.
5. The Future Is Not Used in Time and Conditional
Clauses
You cannot use “will” to refer to the future in time and conditional clauses. Time
clauses usually begin with a time expression, such as “when,” “as soon as,” “while,”
“until,” “after,” “before,” “as.” Conditional clauses usually start with “if.”
You simply need to omit “will” (to refer to the future) so that instead of the future
simple, you will use the present simple.
Similarly, instead of the future continuous, you should use the present continuous in
time and conditional clauses.
The future perfect changes into the present perfect and the future perfect continuous
changes into the present perfect continuous.
Wrong: If she will have finished the book, she can give us the main ideas.
Right: If she has finished the book, she can give us the main ideas.
In the TOEFL speaking exam, you may be asked to talk about the future. You have to
pay extra attention to the words and expressions given above so that you don’t use
“will” after them. In the written test you have the advantage of more thinking time.
When proofreading, make sure you cross out any “will”s used after time expressions
and “if.”
To become faster at deciding if “will” can be used or not, practice online and by
deciding if the sentences below are correct or not:
21. Whatever I do, my daughter will not listen to me.
22. If she will play the piano at night, we can ask her to take a break.
23. When I have talked to him, I’ll know what he thinks.
24. Before the doctor will see you, you have to do some tests.
25. If you will write her an email, she may change her mind.
6. The Present Perfect Is Used When There Is a
Connection with the Present
You have probably read a lot of rules about when to use the present perfect and when
to use the past. You can reduce them all to one simple rule: If the speaker feels there
is a connection with the present, then the present perfect should be used.
If the action is in the past and is seen as separate from the present, then you should use
the past. Have a look at the following situations in which we use the present perfect
and the past and check out how this simple rule applies:
So in the speaking exam, whenever you have to decide really quickly between the two
tenses, try to think about how important the action still is in the present. If it affects
the present in any way, then you should use the present perfect.
In writing, you have more time to decide, but don’t overthink it. Just remember that
when the action happened at a specified time in the past, with no connection with the
present, you should use the past.
If you are still not sure, remember to practice as much as you can online. You can
start by filling in the gaps below with the right form of the verb in parentheses:
26. I ___ (never tasted) such a good pie before!
27. I ___ (see) him in the park two hours ago, so he can’t be at home.
28. How long ___ (you, wait) here?
29. She ___ (just, talk) to her father on the phone so we know he is safe.
30. They ___ (buy) a new car so they are selling the old one.
7. Do Not Use Inversions in Embedded Questions
Embedded questions are used when you want to make a question more polite and less
direct. You form embedded questions by using a short introductory phrase, such as
After the introductory phrase you should not use an inversion like in normal
questions.
Examples:
Only use a question mark at the end if the introductory phrase is a question.
Can you tell me how long you have been living here?
(The introductory phrase “Can you tell me?” is a question.)
I want to know how long you have been waiting here.
(The introductory phrase “I want to know” is not a question.)
In the TOEFL integrated speaking test, you may have to sum up points made by
speakers in dialogues. It’s important to get embedded questions right when doing this.
For instance, if you hear:
John wanted to know how many courses did Mary have to take. (Incorrect)
Practice embedded questions online, after you rewrite the following questions:
31. When will they move to the new location?
I wonder ___
Tell me___
There are several phrases you can use to express contrast in English, but they don’t all
follow the same structure. Look at these examples and the structures used with each of
them:
“However” can be used both at the beginning and at the end of the sentence,
“nevertheless” is used only at the beginning and “though” is used only at the end of
the sentence.
Her attitude is not positive at all. However, she has very good technical skills.
Her linguistic skills are far from excellent. She excels in her determination to
learn, however.
This has been a tough year for the company. Nevertheless, there is hope for growth
this year.
The rooms were very spacious and the food delicious. The location wasn’t
ideal, though.
Such phrases are used a lot in the TOEFL exam because they help connect complex
ideas. You’ll probably hear many of them in the academic lectures you’ll listen to. In
the reading passages they will help you establish connections between main ideas.
They will also be of great use in speaking when you have to express contrast between
the reading and the listening passages or between the ideas of two different speakers.
If you use them correctly in writing, they will help organize ideas more effectively
and you are sure to gain extra points.
That’s why it’s really important to get the structures right and to use them
interchangeably so you can avoid repetition. You know how! By practicing them a lot.
Join the sentences below using the words given in parentheses to obtain complex
sentences that express contrast:
36. The weather was nice. The hotel facilities were terrible. (although)
37. Her presentation was very good. The audience was not impressed. (however good)
38. She is making progress with writing. She is still struggling with speaking. (despite)
39. The car is very fast. It’s too unsafe for me. (though)
40. The marketing campaign went really well. We didn’t sell much. (even though)
Learning grammar may seem like a lot of hard work. The good part about it is that it
gives you the structure and confidence you need to learn a language correctly. In
exam situations, you need that confidence. It can help you gain time and points!
Whenever you proofread your writing or try to express an idea in speaking, you can
rely on the rules you learned, they stay the same. The whole trick is to keep practicing
them!
Answer Key
1. had drunk
2. is thinking / has been thinking
3. am writing
4. writes
5. haven’t decided
6. The (price of gas)
7. the (global economy)
8. — (chocolate), the (candy)
9. the (sugar), the (white bowl)
10. — (People)
11. carefully
12. extremely
13. calm
14. recently, old
15. unfortunate
16. whom
17. which/that
18. Who
19. which
20. who
21. Correct
22. Incorrect. Correct version: If she plays the piano at night, we can ask her to take a
break.
23. Correct
24. Incorrect. Correct version: Before the doctor sees you, you have to do some tests.
25. Incorrect. Correct version: If you write her an email, she may change her mind.
26. have never tasted
27. saw
28. have you been waiting
29. has just talked
30. have bought
31. (I wonder) when they will move to the new location.
32. (Can you tell me) how often you come here?
33. (Tell me) what time you finished writing the email.
34. (I want to ask you) if you got any free samples.
35. (I’d like to know) if they told you where to wait.
36. Although the weather was nice, the hotel facilities were terrible.
37. However good her presentation was, the audience was not impressed.
38. Despite making progress with writing, she is still struggling with speaking.
39. The car is very fast. It’s too unsafe for me, though.
40. Even though the marketing campaign went really well, we didn’t sell much.