Welcome

like + –ing
The verbs like, love and hate can be followed by a noun or a verb in the –ing form.
He likes science. / He likes solving science problems.

Present continuous
We use the present continuous to talk about actions that are in progress now.

+ – ?
I’m speaking. I’m not speaking. Is he/she/it speaking? (Yes, he/she/it is. /
He/She/It’s speaking. He/She/It isn’t speaking. No, he/she/it isn’t.)
Are you/we/they speaking? (Yes, you/we/they
You/We/They’re speaking. You/We/They aren’t
are. / No, you/we/they aren’t.)
speaking.
What are you doing, John? (I’m reading
a book.)

Past simple (regular verbs)

We use the past simple to talk about actions that happened in the past.
For regular verbs (e.g. listen, play, look), we add –ed (e.g. listened, played, looked).
If a verb ends in –e, we only add –d (e.g. practise > practised).
If a verb ends in –y, we change the –y to –ied (e.g. study > studied).

+ – ?
I listened. I didn’t listen. Did he/she/it listen? (Yes, he/she/it did. /
He/She/It listened. He/She/It didn’t listen. No, he/she/it didn’t.)
Did you/we/they listen? (Yes, you/we/they
You/We/They listened. You/We/They didn’t listen.
did. / No, you/we/they didn’t.)
What did you do yesterday? (I played tennis
yesterday.)

Grammar reference
 Time markers
We use time markers to talk about when something happened.
yesterday
He practised the piano yesterday.
on + [day of the week]
I cleaned my room on Sunday.
last + week/month/year
We watched that film last week.
[number] + week/month/year + ago
She learned to cook two years ago.

Unit 1
Describing people
We use look like to ask about people’s physical characteristics.
We use the verb be with adjectives and the verb have got with nouns.
What does she look like? She is tall and has got blue eyes.
What do they look like? They are good-looking and have got dark hair.
We use is/are like to ask about people’s personality characteristics.
What is he like? He’s sporty and clever.
What are they like? They’re hard-working.

Conjunctions
We use and to join two equal adjectives, phrases or sentences.
She’s friendly and talkative.
We use but to contrast two adjectives, phrases or sentences.
He’s bossy but kind.
We use because to give a reason for something.
I like them because they are helpful.

Grammar reference
 Unit 2
must and should
We use must to give orders / express obligation. Note:
• to indicate that there is no order/obligation we use don’t have to
• mustn’t means that something is not allowed.
You must respect the rules. (order/obligation)
You don’t have to go to bed early. (no order/obligation)
You mustn’t cheat. (not allowed)
We use should/shouldn’t to give advice.
You should be on time.
You shouldn’t be late.

mustn’t = must not

shouldn’t = should not

Adverbs of frequency
We use always, usually, often, sometimes and never to talk about the frequency in which we do
something, or how regularly something happens.
I always brush my teeth.
I usually make my bed.
I often go to bed early.
I sometimes tidy my room.
I never take out the rubbish.
Note the position of adverbs of frequency in positive and negative sentences and in questions:

+ – ?
I always brush my teeth. I don’t usually make my bed. Do you often go to bed early?
(Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.)

Adverbs of sequence
We use First, Then, Next and Finally to talk about the sequence in which we do something.
On Sunday ...
First, I make my bed.
Then I tidy my room.
Next, I take out the rubbish.
Finally, I do my homework.

96 Grammar reference
Unit 3
be good at + -ing
We say that someone is good at doing something. After the preposition at we use the –ing form of the
verb.
What are you good at? I’m good at playing computer games.
What aren’t you good at? I’m not good at acting.

Past continuous
We use the past continuous to talk about actions that were in progress in the past.

+ – ?
I was speaking. I wasn’t speaking. Was I speaking? (Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.)
He/She/It was speaking. He/She/It wasn’t speaking. Was he/she/it speaking? (Yes, he/she/it was. /
No, he/she/it wasn’t.)
You/We/They were You/We/They weren’t
Were you/we/they speaking? (Yes, you/we/they
speaking. speaking.
were. / No, you/we/they weren’t.)
What were you doing, John? (I was reading
a book.)

Open (Wh-) and closed questions

We answer open (Wh-) questions with specific information.
What were you doing yesterday at five o’clock? I was playing the drums.
What was he/she doing yesterday at five o’clock? He/She was skateboarding.
What were they doing yesterday at five o’clock? They were running a race.
We answer closed questions with yes or no.
Were you playing the drums yesterday at five o’clock? Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.
Was he/she skateboarding yesterday at five o’clock? Yes, he/she was. / No, he/she wasn’t.
Were they running a race yesterday at five o’clock? Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t.
Prepositions of time
We use prepositions at and on to give detail about when something happened.
at + [specific time]
I was doing my homework at 7.00 p.m.
on + [day of the week]
He was playing chess on Saturday.
in + [month/year/part of the day]
I did my homework in the afternoon.

Grammar reference 97
 Unit 2
4
there and
must is/are
should
We use must
there to
is and
give there
ordersare
/ express
to express
obligation.
quantityNote:
when we refer to nouns.
• to indicate that there is no order/obligation we use don’t have to
• mustn’t + means that something is not – allowed. ?
You
Theremust
is arespect
book. the rules. (order/obligation)
There isn’t a book. Is there a book? (Yes, there is. / No, there isn’t.)
You don’t have to
There is one book. go to bed early. (no order/obligation)
There isn’t one book. Is there one book? (Yes, there is. / No, there isn’t.)
You mustn’t cheat. (not allowed)
There are four books. There aren’t four books. Are there four books? (Yes, there are. / No, there
We use should/shouldn’t to give advice. aren’t.)
You should be on time.
You shouldn’t be late.

Plural
mustn’tnouns
= must not
To
shouldn’t =nouns
change from
should notsingular to plural:
For most nouns, we add –s.
desert > deserts
For nouns ending in –ch, –sh, –s, –x and –o, we add –es.
Adverbs of frequency
beach > beaches ; brush > brushes ; bus > buses ; box > boxes ; volcano > volcanoes
We use always, usually, often, sometimes and never to talk about the frequency in which we do
For nouns ending in a consonant + -y, we add –ies.
something, or how regularly something happens.
factory > factories
I always brush my teeth.
IFor nounsmake
usually ending
my in –f and –fe, we take off –f and –fe add –ves.
bed.
scarf
I often> go
scarves
to bed; wife
early.> wives
For some nouns,
I sometimes we room.
tidy my change the word to make the plural.
child > children ; person
I never take out the rubbish. > people
Note the position of adverbs of frequency in positive and negative sentences and in questions:

some/any + – ?
always
IWe brush and
use some my teeth.
any to referI to an usually
don’t makenumber
unspecified my bed.of items.
Do We often
you use go toinbed
some early?sentences. We
positive
use any in negative sentences and questions. (Yes, I do. / No, I don’t.)

+ – ?
There some
are of
Adverbs turtles.
sequence There aren’t any penguins. Are there any penguins? (Yes, there are. /
No,inthere
We use First, Then, Next and Finally to talk about the sequence whicharen’t.)
we do something.
On Sunday ...
First, I make my bed.
Then I tidy my room.
Next, I take out the rubbish.
Finally, I do my homework.

98 Grammar reference
Unit 5
3
going
be to at + -ing
good
use going
We say to with the
that someone is good bedoing
verb at to talksomething.
about things wethe
After planning toat
arepreposition dowe
in use the –ing form of the
the future.
verb.
What are you+good at? I’m good at playing computer
– games. ?
I’m going to wear those I’m not going to buy
What aren’t you good at? I’m not good at acting. that Am I going to use the wallet? (Yes, I am. / No,
jeans. bracelet. I’m not.)
He/She/It’s going to wear He/She/It isn’t going to wear it Is he/she/it going to use it when it rains? (Yes,
that watch. in winter. I am. / No, I’m not.)
Past continuous
You/We/They’re going to You/We/They aren’t going to Are you/we/they going to take your
We use the past continuous touse
talkthe
about actions that were in progress
swimsuit?in(Yes,
the Ipast.
Grammar reference
give someone a present. umbrella. am. / No, I’m not.)

+ – ?
I was speaking. I wasn’t speaking. Was I speaking? (Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.)
Whose … ? Was he/she/it speaking? (Yes, he/she/it was. /
He/She/It was speaking. He/She/It wasn’t speaking.
We use whose to ask about possession. No, he/she/it wasn’t.)
You/We/They were You/We/They weren’t
Whose wallet is this? Were you/we/they speaking? (Yes, you/we/they
speaking. speaking.
Whose gloves are these? were. / No, you/we/they weren’t.)
To answer about possession: What were you doing, John? (I was reading
a book.)
We can use –’s for a singular noun and –s’ for a plural noun.
This wallet is Jane’s.
These gloves are the boys’.
We
Open can(Wh-)
use possessive
and closedpronouns
questionsmine/yours/his/hers/ours/theirs + no object.
We belt is mine.
This answer open (Wh-) questions with specific information.
These gloves
What were you yours.yesterday at five o’clock? I was playing the drums.
aredoing
That shirt
What his/hers.
was ishe/she doing yesterday at five o’clock? He/She was skateboarding.
These books are ours.
What were they doing yesterday at five o’clock? They were running a race.
Those books are theirs.
We answer closed questions with yes or no.
We can
Were use
you possessive
playing adjectives
the drums my/your/his/her/our/their
yesterday at five o’clock? Yes, I was.+ /object.
No, I wasn’t.
Was my belt.
This ishe/she skateboarding yesterday at five o’clock? Yes, he/she was. / No, he/she wasn’t.
Were are your
These they gloves.
running a race yesterday at five o’clock? Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t.
This is his/her shirt.
Prepositions of time
These are our books.
We
Thoseuseare their books.at and on to give detail about when something happened.
prepositions
at + [specific time]
I was doing my homework at 7.00 p.m.
on + [day of the week]
this/these and that/those
He was playing chess on Saturday.
We use this/these to talk about things that are close to the speaker.
in + [month/year/part of the day]
This tracksuit is mine.
I did my homework in the afternoon.
These gloves are yours.
We use that/those to talk about things that are further away from the speaker. We can contrast
with this/these.
This book is mine and that book is yours.
These books are hers and those books are his.

Grammar reference 99
Unit 6
Past simple (irregular verbs)
For irregular verbs, we have to learn the past form:
make > made ; have > had ; come > came ; give > gave ; see > saw ; sing > sang ; bring > brought ;
meet > met ; eat > ate ; get > got ; fall > fell ; take > took ; can > could
The past simple of be is was/were.
Grammar reference
I was ; you were ; he/she/it was ; we were ; they were
We use the past form of the verb in positive statements.
I made a cake this morning.
We use the present form of the verb in negative statements and questions.
I didn’t make a cake this morning.
Did you make a cake this morning?

Past simple (questions)

We can use did to ask closed Yes/No questions in the past simple form.
Did you make a cake this morning? (Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.)
We can use where, when, what, who and why + did to ask open questions in the past simple form.
Where did you go on Saturday?
When did you arrive at the party?
What did you do at the party?
Who did you meet at the party?
Why did you leave the party early?

+ – ?
I fell. I didn’t fall. Did he/she/it fall? (Yes, he/she/it did. /
He/She/It fell. He/She/It didn’t fall. No, he/she/it didn’t.)
Did you/we/they fall? (Yes, you/we/they did. /
You/We/They fell. You/We/They didn’t fall.
No, you/we/they didn’t.)
What did you do this morning?
(I made a cake this morning.)

Grammar reference
Unit 7
Past simple (questions continued)
We use was/were to ask closed Yes/No questions in the past simple form of the verb be.
Was I late? (Yes, I was. / No, I wasn’t.)
Were you late? (Yes, you were. / No, you weren’t.)
Was he/she late? (Yes, he/she was. / No, he/she wasn’t.)
Were we late? (Yes, we were. / No, we weren’t.)
Were they late? (Yes, they were. / No, they weren’t.)
We can use did and was/were to ask about past activities.
Did you go to the cinema on Saturday afternoon? (Yes, I did. / No, I didn’t.)
Was the film good? (Yes, it was. / No, it wasn’t.)

Unit 8
Asking about nationalities and countries
We use the verb be to ask closed Yes/No questions about nationalities.
Is he Canadian? (Yes, he is. / No, he isn’t.)
Are you British? (Yes, I am. / No, I’m not.)
We use where + from to ask closed questions about countries.
Where is she from? She’s from Japan.
Where are you from? I’m from the United States.

Relative pronouns
We use who, which, where and that to give more information about:
• a person (who/that)
• a thing (which/that)
• a place (where).
He’s a cowboy. He plays the guitar.
> He’s a cowboy who plays the guitar. / He’s a cowboy that plays the guitar.
It’s an American film. It’s very famous.
> It’s an American film which is very famous. / It’s an American film that is very famous.
This is my gym. I go there twice a week.
> This is my gym where I go twice a week.

Grammar reference