in spite of / despite / although

In spite of, despite and although are all used to show a contrast but there are differences in the structures used with them. In spite of / despite After in spite of and despite we use a noun or a pronoun.

We enjoyed our camping holiday in spite of the rain. Despite the pain in his leg he completed the marathon. Despite having all the necessary qualifications, they didnt offer me the job.

Remember that the gerund (-ing form) is the noun form of a verb. The only difference between in spite of and despite is the of.

Despite of the bad weather, there was a large crowd at the match.

Although After although we use a subject and a verb.

We enjoyed our camping holiday although it rained every day. Although he worked very hard, he didnt manage to pass the exam. The holiday was great although the hotel wasnt very nice.

We can use in spite of and despite with a subject and verb if we include the expression the fact that.

In spite of the fact that he worked very hard, he didnt manage to pass the exam. Despite the fact that he worked very hard, he didnt manage to pass the exam.

Even though Even though is a slightly stronger form of although.

We decided to buy the house even though we didnt really have enough money. You keep making that stupid noise even though Ive asked you to stop three times.

Like although, even though is followed by a subject and a verb.

it and there

English clauses always have a subject: His father has just retired. Was a teacher. > He was a teacher. Im waiting for my wife. Is late. > She is late. Look at the time! Is half past two.> Its half past two. except for the imperative (see more) Go away. Play it again please. If we have no other subject we use there or it. there We use there as a dummy subject with part of the verb be followed by a noun phrase. (see Clauses, sentences and phrases): to introduce a new topic: There is a meeting this evening. It will start at seven. There has been an accident. I hope no one is hurt. with numbers or quantities: There was a lot of rain last night. There must have been more than five hundred in the audience. to say where something is: There used to be a playground at the end of the street. There are fairies at the bottom of the garden. I wonder if there will be anyone at home. with an indefinite pronoun or expressions of quantity and the to-infinitive: There is nothing to do in the village.. There was plenty to read in the apartment There was nothing to watch on television. There is a lot of work to do If we want to show the subject of the to-infinitive we use for: There is nothing for the children to do in the village.. There was plenty for us to read in the apartment There was nothing for them to watch on television. There is a lot of work for you to do. with an indefinite pronoun or expressions of quantity and an -ing verb:

There is someone waiting to see you. There were a lot of people shouting and waving. We use a singular verb if the noun phrase is singular: There is a meeting this evening. It will start at seven. There was a lot of rain last night. There is someone waiting to see you. We use a plural verb if the noun phrase is plural: There are more than twenty people waiting to see you. There were some biscuits in the cupboard. There were a lot of people shouting and waving. It We use it to talk about: times and dates: Its nearly one oclock. Its my birthday. weather: Its raining. Its a lovely day. It was getting cold. to give an opinion about a place: Its very cold in here. It will be nice when we get home. Its very comfortable in my new apartment. to give an opinion followed by to-infinitive: Its nice to meet you. It will be great to go on holiday. It was interesting to meet your brother at last. to give an opinion followed by an -ing verb: Its great living in Spain. Its awful driving in this heavy traffic. It can be hard work looking after young children.

Using "it" to talk about people We use it to talk about ourselves: on the telephone: Hello. Its George. when people cannot see us: [Mary knocks on door] Its me. Its Mary. We use it to talk about other people: when we point them out for the first time: Look. Its Sir Paul McCartney. Whos that? I think its Johns brother. when we cannot see them and we ask them for their name: [telephone rings, we pick it up] Hello. Who is it? [someone knocks on door. We say:] Who is it?

this, that, these and those

Why do we use this and these? We use this (singular) and these (plural) as pronouns: - to talk about people or things near us: This is a nice cup of tea. Whose shoes are these? - to introduce people: This is Janet. These are my friends, John and Michael. WARNING: We dont say These are John and Michael. We say This is John and this is Michael. - to introduce ourselves to begin a conversation on the phone:

Hello, this is David, Can I speak to Sally? Why do we use that and those? We use that (singular) and those (plural): - to talk about things that are not near us: Whats that? This is our house, and thats Rebeccas house over there. Those are very expensive shoes. - We also use that to refer back to something someone said or did:

Shall we go to the cinema? Yes, thats a good idea. Ive got a new job. Thats great. Im very tired. Why is that?

this, these, that, those with nouns We also use this, these, that and those with nouns to show proximity We use this and these for people or things near us: We have lived in this house for twenty years. Have you read all of these books? and that and those for things that are not near us: Who lives in that house? Who are those people?

one and ones

We use one (singular) and ones (plural) to avoid unnecessary repetition. See those two girls? Helen is the tall one and Jane is the short one. Which is your car, the red one or the blue one? My trousers are torn. I need some new ones. See those two girls. Helen is the one on the left. Lets look at the photographs. The ones you took in Paris. We often use them after Which ... in questions:

You can borrow a book. Which one do you want? There are lots of books here. Which ones are yours?

questions
Which question word to use? We use who to ask questions about people: Who is that? Who lives here? Who did you see? We use whose to ask about possession: Whose coat is this? [or] Whose is this coat? Whose book is that? [or] Whose is that book? Whose bags are those? [or] Whose are those bags? We use what to ask questions about things: What is that? What do you want? We use which to ask someone to choose something: Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Ive got two books. Which do you want? We can also use what and which with nouns: What subjects did you study at school? What newspaper do you read? Which newspaper do you read the Times or the Guardian? Which book do you want? Which one is yours? Questions with prepositions: Questions ending in prepositions are very common in English. After Who, Which or What we often have a preposition at the end of the sentence: Who does this book belong to? What are you looking for? Which university did you go to? What country do you come from?

reflexive pronouns
The reflexive pronouns are:
Singular: Plural: myself - yourself - himself - herself - itself ourselves - yourselves - themselves

When we use a reflexive pronoun We use a reflexive pronoun: as a direct object when the object is the same as the subject of the verb: I am teaching myself to play the piano. Be careful with that knife. You might cut yourself. We can use a reflexive pronoun as direct object with most transitive verbs, but these are the most common:
Amuse Hurt blame introduce cut kill dry prepare enjoy satisfy help teach

Some verbs change their meaning slightly when they have a reflexive pronoun as direct object:

Would you like to help yourself to another drink? = Would you like to take another drink. I wish the children would behave themselves. = I wish the children would behave well. He found himself lying by the side of the road. = He was surprised when he realised that he was at the side of the road. I saw myself as a famous actor. = I imagined that I was a famous actor. She applied herself to the job of mending the lights. = She worked very hard to mend the lights. He busied himself in the kitchen. = He worked busily in the kitchen. I had to content myself with a few Euros. = I had to be satisfied with a few Euros.

We do not use a reflexive pronoun after verbs which describe things people usually do for themselves, such as wash, shave, dress:

He washed [himself] in cold water. He always shaved [himself] before going out in the evening. Michael dressed [himself] and got ready for the party. We only use reflexives with these verbs for emphasis: He dressed himself in spite of his injuries. Shes old enough to wash herself. as indirect object when the indirect object is the same as the subject of the verb: Would you like to pour yourself a drink. Weve brought ourselves something to eat. as the object of a preposition when the object refers to the subject of the clause: They had to cook for themselves. He was feeling very sorry for himself.
Warning

But we use personal pronouns, not reflexives, after prepositions of place... He had a suitcase beside him. and after with when it means "accompanied by": She had a few friends with her. We use a reflexive with the preposition by... when we want to show that someone did something alone and/or without any help: He lived by himself in an enormous house. She walked home by herself. The children got dressed by themselves. I prepared the whole meal by myself. to emphasise the person or thing we are referring to: Kendal itself is quite a small town. especially if we are talking about someone very famous: Sir Paul McCartney himself sang the final song. We often put the reflexive pronoun at the end of the clause when we are using it for emphasis:

I baked the bread myself. She mended the car herself

reciprocal pronouns: each other and one another

We use the reciprocal pronouns each other and one another when two or more people do the same thing. Traditionally, each other refers to two people and one another refers to more than two people, but this distinction is disappearing in modern English.

Peter and Mary helped one another. = Peter helped Mary and Mary helped Peter. We sent each other Christmas cards. = We sent them a Christmas card and they sent us a Christmas card. They didnt look at one another. = He didn't look at her and she didn't look at him.

We also use the possessive forms each others and one anothers: They helped to look after each others children. We often stayed in one anothers houses. NOTE: We do not use reciprocal pronouns as the subject of a clause.

indefinite pronouns
The indefinite pronouns are:
somebody anybody nobody everybody someone anyone no one everyone something anything nothing everything

We use indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things without saying exactly who or what they are. We use pronouns ending in -body or -one for people, and pronouns ending in -thing for things: Everybody enjoyed the concert. I opened the door but there was no one at home. It was a very clear day. We could see everything. We use a singular verb after an indefinite pronoun:

Everybody loves Sally. Everything was ready for the party. When we refer back to an indefinite pronoun we normally use a plural pronoun: Everybody enjoyed the concert. They stood up and clapped. I will tell somebody that dinner is ready. They have been waiting a long time. We can add -'s to an indefinite pronoun to make a possessive. They were staying in somebodys house. Is this anybodys coat? We use indefinite pronouns with no- as the subject in negative clauses (not pronouns with any.) Anybody didnt come >> Nobody came. We do not use another negative in a clause with nobody, no one or nothing: Nobody came. Nothing happened. We use else after indefinite pronouns to refer to people or things in addition to the ones we already mentioned. All the family came, but no one else. If Michael cant come well ask somebody else. So that's eggs, peas and chips. Do you want anything else?

relative pronouns
The relative pronouns are:
Subject Who Which That Object who(m) which that Possessive whose whose

We use who and whom for people, and which for things. Or we can use that for people or things. We use relative pronouns:

 after a noun, to make it clear which person or thing we are talking about: the house that Jack built the woman who discovered radium an eight-year-old boy who attempted to rob a sweet shop in relative clauses to tell us more about a person or thing: My mother, who was born overseas, has always been a great traveller. Lord Thompson, who is 76, has just retired. We had fish and chips, which is my favourite meal. But we do not use that as a subject in relative clauses. We use whose as the possessive form of who: This is George, whose brother went to school with me. We sometimes use whom as the object of a verb or preposition: This is George, whom you met at our house last year. This is Georges brother, with whom I went to school. But nowadays we normally use who: This is George, who you met at our house last year. This is Georges brother, who I went to school with. When whom or which have a preposition the preposition can come at the beginning of the clause... I had an uncle in Germany, from who[m] I inherited a bit of money. We bought a chainsaw, with which we cut up all the wood. or at the end of the clause: I had an uncle in Germany who[m] I inherited a bit of money from. We bought a chainsaw, which we cut all the wood up with. We can use that at the beginning of the clause: I had an uncle in Germany, that I inherited a bit of money from. We bought a chainsaw, that we cut all the wood up with.

Determiners and quantifiers

General and specific determiners

Determiners are words which come at the beginning of the noun phrase. They tell us whether the noun phrase is specific or general. Determiners are either specific or general Specific determiners: The specific determiners are:

the definite article: the possessives: my, your, his, her, its; our, their, whose demonstratives: this, that, these, those interrogatives: which

We use a specific determiner when we believe the listener/reader knows exactly what we are referring to: Can you pass me the salt please? Look at those lovely flowers. Thank you very much for your letter. Whose coat is this? General determiners: The general determiners are:

a; an; any; another; other; what

When we are talking about things in general and the listener/reader does not know exactly what we are referring to, we can use a uncount noun or a plural noun with no determiner: Milk is very good for you. (= uncount noun) Health and education are very important. (= 2 uncount nouns) Girls normally do better in school than boys. (= plural nouns with no determiner) or you can use a singular noun with the indefinite article a or an: A woman was lifted to safety by a helicopter. A man climbing nearby saw the accident. We use the general determiner any with a singular noun or an uncount noun when we are talking about all of those people or things: Its very easy. Any child can do it. (= All children can do it) With a full licence you are allowed to drive any car. I like beef, lamb, pork - any meat. We use the general determiner another to talk about an additional person or thing:

Would you like another glass of wine? The plural form of another is other: I spoke to John, Helen and a few other friends. Quantifiers We use quantifiers when we want to give someone information about the number of something: how much or how many.

interrogative determiners: which and what

We use "which" as a determiner to ask a question about a specific group of people or things: Which restaurant did you go to? Which countries in South America have you visited? When we are asking a general question we use "what" as a determiner: What films do you like? What university did you go to?

indefinite article: a and an

1. We use the indefinite article, a/an, with count nouns when the hearer/reader does not know exactly which one we are referring to: Police are searching for a 14 year-old girl. 2. We also use it to show the person or thing is one of a group: She is a pupil at London Road School.
Police have been searching for a 14 year-old girl who has been missing since Friday. Jenny Brown, a pupil at London Road School, is described as 1.6 metres tall with short blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a blue jacket, a blue and white blouse and dark blue jeans and blue shoes. Anyone who has information should contact the local police on

0800349781.

3. We do not use an indefinite article with plural nouns and uncount nouns: She was wearing blue shoes. (= plural noun) She has short blonde hair. (= uncount noun) Police have been searching for a 14 year-old girl who has been missing since Friday. Jenny Brown, a pupil at London Road School, is described as 1.6 metres tall with short blonde hair. She was last seen wearing a blue jacket, a blue and white blouse and dark blue jeans and blue shoes. Anyone who has information should contact the local police on 0800349781.

4. We use a/an to say what someone is or what job they do: My brother is a doctor. George is a student. 5. We use a/an with a singular noun to say something about all things of that kind: A man needs friends. (= All men need friends) A dog likes to eat meat. (= All dogs like to eat meat)

definite article: the

The definite article the is the most frequent word in English. We use the definite article in front of a noun when we believe the hearer/reader knows exactly what we are referring to. because there is only one: The Pope is visiting Russia. The moon is very bright tonight. The Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979.

This is why we use the definite article with a superlative adjective: He is the tallest boy in the class. It is the oldest building in the town. because there is only one in that place or in those surroundings:
We live in a small village next to the church. Dad, can I borrow the car? (the church in our =village) = (the car that belongs to our family)

When we stayed at my grandmothers (the beach near my house we went to the beach every =grandmothers house) day. Look at the boy in the blue shirt over there. (the boy I am pointing =at)

because we have already mentioned it: A woman who fell 10 metres from High Peak was lifted to safety by a helicopter. The woman fell while climbing. The rescue is the latest in a series of incidents on High Peak. In January last year two men walking on the peak were killed in a fall. We also use the definite article: to say something about all the things referred to by a noun: The wolf is not really a dangerous animal (= Wolves are not really dangerous animals) The kangaroo is found only in Australia (= Kangaroos are found only in Australia) The heart pumps blood around the body. (= Hearts pump blood around bodies) We use the definite article in this way to talk about musical instruments: Joe plays the piano really well.(= George can play any piano) She is learning the guitar.(= She is learning to play any guitar) to refer to a system or service: How long does it take on the train. I heard it on the radio. You should tell the police. With adjectives like rich, poor, elderly, unemployed to talk about groups of people:

Life can be very hard for the poor. I think the rich should pay more taxes. She works for a group to help the disabled. The definite article with names: We do not normally use the definite article with names: William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet. Paris is the capital of France. Iran is in Asia. But we do use the definite article with: countries whose names include words like kingdom, states or republic: the United Kingdom; the kingdom of Nepal; the United States; the Peoples Republic of China. countries which have plural nouns as their names: the Netherlands; the Philippines geographical features, such as mountain ranges, groups of islands, rivers, seas, oceans and canals: the Himalayas; the Canaries; the Atlantic; the Atlantic Ocean; the Amazon; the Panama Canal. newspapers: The Times; The Washington Post well known buildings or works of art: the Empire State Building; the Taj Mahal; the Mona Lisa; the Sunflowers organisations: the United Nations; the Seamens Union hotels, pubs and restaurants*: the Ritz; the Ritz Hotel; the Kings Head; the Dj Vu *Note: We do not use the definite article if the name of the hotel or restaurant is the name of the owner, e.g.,Browns; Browns Hotel; Morels; Morels Restaurant, etc. families:

the Obamas; the Jacksons

quantifiers
We use quantifiers when we want to give someone information about the number of something: how much or how many. Sometimes we use a quantifier in the place of a determiner: Most children start school at the age of five. We ate some bread and butter. We saw lots of birds. We use these quantifiers with both count and uncount nouns:
all more any most enough no less none of a lot of some lots of

and some more colloquial forms:

plenty of heaps of a load of loads of tons of etc.

Some quantifiers can be used only with count nouns:

both each either (a) few fewer neither several

and some more colloquial forms:

a couple of hundreds of thousands of etc.

Some quantifiers can be used only with uncount nouns:

a little (not) much a bit of

And, particularly with abstract nouns such as time, money, trouble, etc:, we often use:
a great deal of a good deal of

Members of groups You can put a noun after a quantifier when you are talking about members of a group in general Few snakes are dangerous. Both brothers work with their father. I never have enough money. but if you are talking about a specific group of people or things, use of the as well Few of the snakes are dangerous. All of the children live at home. He has spent all of his money. Note that, if we are talking about two people or things we use the quantifiers both, either and neither:
One supermarket Two supermarkets* More than two supermarkets

The supermarket was Both the supermarkets closed were closed. The supermarket wasn't open I dont think the supermarket was open. Neither of the supermarkets was open. I dont think either of the supermarkets was open.

All the supermarkets were closed None of the supermarkets were open I don't think any of the supermarket were open

*Nouns with either and neither have a singular verb. Singular quantifiers: We use every or each with a singular noun to mean all:
There was a party in every street. Every shop was decorated with flowers. Each child was given a prize. There were parties in all the =streets. All the shops were decorated =with flowers. All the children were given a =prize.

There was a prize in each competition.

There were prizes in all the =competitions.

We often use every to talk about times like days, weeks and years: When we were children we had holidays at our grandmothers every year. When we stayed at my grandmothers house we went to the beach every day. We visit our daughter every Christmas. BUT: We do not use a determiner with every and each. We do not say: The every shop was decorated with flowers. The each child was given a prize.

possessives: nouns
We use a noun with s with a singular noun to show possession: We are having a party at Johns house. Michael drove his friends car. We use s with a plural noun ending in -s: This is my parents house. Those are ladies shoes. But we use s with other plural nouns: These are mens shoes. Childrens clothes are very expensive. We can use a possessive instead of a noun phrase to avoid repeating words:
Is that Johns car? Whose coat is this? No, its Marys [car]. Its my wifes [coat]. >No, its Marys. >Its my wifes.

possessives: adjectives

Can you match these possessive adjectives to the right personal pronouns: its, your, my, their, our, her, his
Subject I You He She It We They Object me you him her it us them Possessive

We use possessive adjectives: to show something belongs to somebody: Thats our house. My car is very old. for relations and friends: My mother is a doctor. How old is your sister? for parts of the body: Hes broken his arm. Shes washing her hair. I need to clean my teeth.

possessives: pronouns
Can you match these possessive pronouns to the right personal pronouns and possessive adjectives: yours, mine, theirs, ours, hers, his

Subjec t I You He She It We They

Object me you him her it us them

Possessive adjectives my your his her its our their

Possessive pronouns

We can use a possessive pronoun instead of a noun phrase:

Is that Johns car? No, its [my car] Is it [your coat]? Her coat is grey, >No, its mine.

Whose coat is this? Her coat is grey, [my coat]is brown

>Is it yours? mine is brown.

We can use possessive pronouns after of. We can say: Susan is one of my friends. or Susan is a friend of mine. but not Susan is a friend of me riend of Susan

or

I am one of Susan's friends. or I am a friend of Susan's. but not I am a fpossessives: questions

We use whose to ask questions:
Pattern A Whose coat is this? Whose book is that? Whose bags are those? or or or Pattern B Whose is this coat? Whose is that book? Whose are those bags?

possessives: pronouns up possessives: reciprocal pronouns

Adjectives
We use adjectives to describe nouns. Most adjectives can be used in front of a noun: They have a beautiful house. We saw a very exciting film last night. or after a link verb like be, look or feel: Their house is beautiful. That film looks interesting.

adjectives: -ed and -ing

A lot of adjectives are made from verbs by adding -ing or -ed: -ing adjectives: The commonest -ing adjectives are:

amusing shocking

surprisi frighteni ng ng

interesti disappointi excitingtiring ng ng worryingboring terrifyin annoying g

If you call something interesting you mean it interests you. If you call something frightening you mean it frightens you. I read a very interesting article in the newspaper today. That Dracula film was absolutely terrifying. -ed adjectives: The commonest ed adjectives are:
annoyed tired disappointed bored closed frightened excited worried delighted

If something annoys you, you can say you feel annoyed. If something interests you, you can say you are interested. The children had nothing to do. They were bored.

order of adjectives
Sometimes we use more than one adjective in front of a noun: He was a nice intelligent young man. She had a small round black wooden box. Opinion adjectives: Some adjectives give a general opinion. We can use these adjectives to describe almost any noun:
good bad lovely strange

beautiful awful

nice important

brilliant wonderful

excellent nasty

Some adjectives give a specific opinion. We only use these adjectives to describe particular kinds of noun: Food: tasty; delicious Furniture, buildings: comfortable; uncomfortable People, animals: clever; intelligent; friendly We usually put a general opinion in front of a specific opinion: Nice tasty soup. A nasty uncomfortable armchair A lovely intelligent animal Usually we put an adjective that gives an opinion in front of an adjective that is descriptive: a nice red dress; a silly old man; those horrible yellow curtains We often have two adjectives in front of a noun: a handsome young man; a big black car; that horrible big dog Sometimes we have three adjectives, but this is unusual: a nice handsome young man; a big black American car; that horrible big fierce dog It is very unusual to have more than three adjectives. Adjectives usually come in this order:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Material

General Specific Size Shape Age Colour Nationality opinion opinion

We use some adjectives only after a link verb:

afraid content sorry alive glad sure alone ill unable asleep ready well

Some of the commonest -ed adjectives are normally used only after a link verb: annoyed; finished; bored; pleased; thrilled We say: Our teacher was ill. My uncle was very glad when he heard the news. The policeman seemed to be very annoyed but we do not say: We had an ill teacher. When he heard the news he was a very glad uncle He seemed to be a very annoyed policeman A few adjectives are used only in front of a noun: north south east west We say: He lives in the eastern district. There were countless problems with the new machinery. but we do not say: The district he lives in is eastern The problems with the new machinery were countless. northern southern eastern western countless occasional lone eventful indoor outdoor

comparative and superlative adjectives

We use comparative adjectives to describe people and things: This car is certainly better but its much more expensive. Im feeling happier now. We need a bigger garden We use than when we want to compare one thing with another: She is two years older than me. New York is much bigger than Boston. He is a better player than Ronaldo. France is a bigger country than Britain.

When we want to describe how something or someone changes we can use two comparatives with and: The balloon got bigger and bigger. Everything is getting more and more expensive. Grandfather is looking older and older. We often use the with comparative adjectives to show that one thing depends on another: When you drive faster it is more dangerous > The faster you drive, the more dangerous it is. When they climbed higher it got colder > The higher they climbed, the colder it got. Superlative adjectives: We use the with a superlative: It was the happiest day of my life. Everest is the highest mountain in the world. Thats the best film I have seen this year. I have three sisters, Jan is the oldest and Angela is the youngest .

intensifiers
We use words like very; really and extremely to make adjectives stronger: Its a very interesting story Everyone was very excited. Its a really interesting story. Everyone was extremely excited We call these words intensifiers. Other intensifiers are: amazingly - exceptionally - incredibly - remarkably - particularly We also use enough as an intensifier, but enough comes after its adjective: If you are seventeen you are old enough to drive a car. I cant wear those shoes. Theyre not big enough. Intensifiers with strong adjectives: When we want to describe something or someone as exceptional you can use a strong adjective. Strong adjectives are words like: Enormous; huge = very big Tiny = very small

Brilliant = very clever Awful; terrible; disgusting; dreadful = very bad Certain = very sure Excellent; perfect; ideal; wonderful; splendid = very good Delicious = very tasty We do not use very with these adjectives. We do not say something is "very enormous" or someone is "very brilliant". With strong adjectives, for intensifiers we normally use: absolutely - exceptionally - particularly - really - quite The film was absolutely awful. He was an exceptionally brilliant child. The food smelled really disgusting.
Warning!

Intensifiers with particular adjectives Some intensifiers go with particular adjectives depending on their meaning: Im afraid your wife is dangerously ill. He was driving dangerously fast. The car was seriously damaged. Fortunately none of the passengers was seriously hurt Some intensifiers go with particular adjectives. For example we use the intensifier highly with the adjectives successful, intelligent, likely and unlikely: He was highly intelligent. Shes a highly successful businesswoman but we do not say: We had a highly tasty meal. That is a highly good idea. We use the intensifier bitterly with the adjectives disappointed, unhappy and cold: I was bitterly unhappy at school. We were bitterly disappointed to lose the match. It can get bitterly cold in winter. You need to use your dictionary to find what sort of nouns these intensifiers go with. Intensifiers with comparatives and superlatives:

We use these words and phrases as intensifiers with comparative adjectives: much - far - a lot - quite a lot - a great deal - a good deal - a good bit - a fair bit He is much older than me. New York is a lot bigger than Boston. We use much and far as intensifiers with comparative adjectives in front of a noun: France is a much bigger country than Britain. He is a far better player than Ronaldo. We use these words as intensifiers with superlatives: easily - by far - far The blue whale is easily the biggest animal in the world. This car was by far the most expensive.

mitigators
Mitigators are the opposite of intensifiers. When we want to make an adjective less strong we use these words: fairly - rather - quite By the end of the day we were rather tired. The film wasnt great but it was quite exciting. and in informal English: pretty We had a pretty good time at the party. We call these words mitigators.
Warning quite

When we use quite with a strong adjective it means the same as absolutely: The food was quite awful. = The food was absolutely awful. As a child he was quite brilliant. = As a child he was absolutely brilliant. Mitigators with comparatives:

We use these words and phrases as mitigators: a bit - just a bit - a little - a little bit - just a little bit - rather - slightly Shes a bit younger than I am. It takes two hours on the train but it is a little bit longer by road This one is rather bigger. We use slightly and rather as mitigators with comparative adjectives in front of a noun: This is a slightly more expensive model than that. This is rather bigger one than that. Adjectives as intensifiers: We use some adjectives as intensifiers: absolute total - complete utter - perfect real We say: Hes a complete idiot. They were talking utter nonsense. but we do not say: The idiot was complete. The nonsense they were talking was utter.

noun modifiers
We often use two nouns together to show that one thing is a part of something else: the village church; the car door; the kitchen window; the chair leg; my coat pocket; London residents
Warning

We do not use a possessive form for these things. We do not talk about: The cars door; the kitchens window; the chairs leg We can use noun modifiers to show what something is made of:

a gold watch; a leather purse; a metal box We often use noun modifiers with nouns ending in -er and -ing: an office worker; a jewellery maker; a potato peeler; a shopping list; a swimming lesson; a walking holiday. We use measurements, age or value as noun modifiers: a thirty kilogram suitcase; a two minute rest; a five thousand euro platinum watch; a fifty kilometre journey; We often put two nouns together and readers/listeners have work out what they mean. So:

an ice bucket = a bucket to keep ice in an ice cube = a cube made of ice an ice breaker = a ship which breaks ice the ice age = the time when much of the Earth was covered in ice.

Sometimes we find more than two nouns together: London office workers; grammar practice exercises Position of noun modifiers Noun modifiers come after adjectives: The old newspaper seller A tiring fifty kilometre journey

Adverbials
Why do we use adverbials? We use adverbs to give more information about the verb. We use adverbials of manner to say how something happens or how something is done: The children were playing happily. He was driving as fast as possible. We use adverbials of place to say where something happens: I saw him there. We met in London.

We use adverbials of time to say when or how often something happens: They start work at six thirty. They usually go to work by bus. We use adverbials of probability to show how certain we are about something.

Perhaps the weather will be fine. He is certainly coming to the party.

how we make adverbials

An adverbial can be an adverb: He spoke angrily. They live here. We will be back soon. or an adverb with a quantifier: He spoke really angrily. They live just here. We will go quite soon. We will go as soon as possible. or a phrase with a preposition: He spoke in an angry voice. They live in London. We will go in a few minutes.

where they go in a sentence

Where do adverbials go in a sentence? We normally put adverbials after the verb: He spoke angrily. They live just here. We will go in a few minutes. or after the object or complement: He opened the door quietly. She left the money on the table.

We saw our friends last night. You are looking tired tonight. But adverbials of frequency (how often) usually come in front of the main verb: We usually spent our holidays with our grandparents. I have never seen William at work. But if we want to emphasise an adverbial we can put it at the beginning of a clause: Last night we saw our friends. In a few minutes we will go. Very quietly he opened the door. If we want to emphasise an adverb of manner we can put it in front of the main verb: He quietly opened the door. She had carefully put the glass on the shelf.

adverbs of manner
Adverbs of manner are usually formed from adjectives by adding ly: bad > badly; quiet > quietly; recent > recently; sudden > suddenly but there are sometimes changes in spelling: easy > easily; gentle > gently If an adjective ends in ly we use the phrase in a . way to express manner: Silly > He behaved in a silly way. Friendly > She spoke in a friendly way. A few adverbs of manner have the same form as the adjective: They all worked hard. She usually arrives late. I hate driving fast. Note: hardly and lately have different meanings: He could hardly walk = It was difficult for him to walk. I havent seen John lately = I havent seen John recently. We often use phrases with like as adverbials of manner: She slept like a baby. He ran like a rabbit.

Adverbs of manner and link verbs We very often use adverbials with like after link verbs: Her hands felt like ice. It smells like fresh bread. But we do not use other adverbials of manner after link verbs. We use adjectives instead: They looked happily happy. That bread smells deliciously delicious.

adverbials of place

We use adverbials of place to describe: Location We use prepositions to talk about where someone or something is. Examples:

He was standing by the table. Youll find it in the cupboard. Sign your name here at the bottom of the page.

Direction We use adverbials to to talk about the direction where someone or something is moving. Examples:

Walk past the bank and keep going to the end of the street. The car door is very small so its difficult to get into.

Distance We use adverbials to show how far things are: Examples:

Birmingham is 250 kilometres from London. We were in London. Birmingham was 250 kilometres away.

adverbials of location
Location We use prepositions to talk about where someone or something is:
above among at by on behind in opposite below in between outside beneath inside over

beside between near round next to through

under underneath

He was standing by the table. She lives in a village near Glasgow. Youll find it in the cupboard.

We use phrases with of as prepositions:

at the back of at the top of on top of at the bottom of at the end of in the middle of

at the front of in front of

There were some flowers in the middle of the table. Sign your name here at the bottom of the page. I cant see. Youre standing in front of me. We can use right as an intensifier with some of these prepositions: He was standing right next to the table. There were some flowers right in the middle of the table. Theres a wood right behind our house.

adverbials of direction
Direction We also use prepositional phrases to talk about direction:

across onto

along out of

back past

back to through

down to

into towards

She ran out of the house. Walk past the bank and keep going to the end of the street. We also use adverbs and adverb phrases for place and direction:
abroad everywhere outdoors away here anywhere indoors downstairs inside there downwards nowhere upstairs

outside somewhere

I would love to see Paris. Ive never been there. The bedroom is upstairs. It was so cold that we stayed indoors. We often have a preposition at the end of a clause: This is the room we have our meals in. The car door is very small so its difficult to get into. I lifted the carpet and looked underneath.

adverbials of distance
Distance We use adverbials to show how far things are: Birmingham is 250 kilometres from London. Birmingham is 250 kilometres away from London. It is 250 kilometres from Birmingham to London. Sometimes we use a preposition at the end of a clause: We were in London. Birmingham was 250 kilometres away. Birmingham was 250 kilometres off.

adverbials of time

Adverbials of time
We use adverbials of time to say: when something happened: I saw Mary yesterday. She was born in 1978. I will see you later. There was a storm during the night. for how long : We waited all day. They have lived here since 2004. We will be on holiday from July 1st until August 3rd. how often (frequency): They usually watched television in the evening. We sometimes went to work by car. We often use a noun phrase as a time adverbial:
yesterd last one ay week/month/year day/week/month tomorro next the day after w week/month/year tomorrow today this the day before week/month/year yesterday last Saturday

next Friday the other day/week/month

time and dates

We use phrases with prepositions as time adverbials: We use at with: clock times: at seven oclock - at nine thirty - at fifteen hundred hours mealtimes: at breakfast - at lunchtime - at teatime and in these phrases: at night - at the weekend - at Christmas - at Easter

 We use in with: seasons of the year: in spring/summer/autumn/winter - in the spring /summer/autumn/winter years and centuries: in 2009 -in 1998 - in the twentieth century months: in January/February/March etc. parts of the day: in the morning - in the afternoon - in the evening. We use on with: days: on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday etc - on Christmas day - on my birthday. dates: on the thirty first of July - on June 15th Note: We say at night when we are talking about all of the night: When there is no moon it is very dark at night. He sleeps during the day and works at night. but we say in the night when we are talking about a short time during the night: He woke up twice in the night. I heard a funny noise in the night. We use the adverb ago with the past simple to say how long before the time of speaking something happened: I saw Jim about three weeks ago. We arrived a few minutes ago. We can put time phrases together: We will meet next week at six oclock on Monday. I heard a funny noise at about eleven oclock last night. It happened last week at seven oclock on Monday night.

how long
We use for to say how long: We have been waiting for twenty minutes. They lived in Manchester for fifteen years. We use since with the present perfect or the past perfect to say when something started: I have worked here since December. They had been watching since seven oclock in the morning. We use from to/until to say when something starts and finishes:

They stayed with us from Monday to Friday. We will be on holiday from the sixteenth until the twentieth.

how often
The commonest adverbials of frequency are:
always rarely never seldom normally sometimes occasionally usually often

We usually put adverbials of frequency in front of the main verb: We often spend Christmas with friends. I have never enjoyed myself so much. but they usually come after the verb be: He was always tired in the evening. We are never late for work. We use the adverbial a lot to mean often or frequently. It comes at the end of the clause: We go to the cinema a lot. but before another time adverbial: We go to the cinema a lot at the weekend. We use much with a negative to mean not often: We dont go out much. (= We dont go out often) We use how often or ever to ask questions about frequency. How often comes at the beginning of the clause: How often do you go to the cinema? How often have you been here? ever comes before the main verb: Do you ever go to the cinema at the weekend? Have you ever been there? Longer frequency phrases, like every year or three times a day usually come at the end of the clause:

I have an English lesson twice a week. She goes to see her mother every day.

already, still, yet and no longer

We use still to show that something continues up to a time in the past present or future. It goes in front of the main verb: The children still enjoyed playing games. They are still living next door. We will still be on holiday. or after the present simple or the past simple of be: Her grandfather is still alive. They were still unhappy. We use already to show that something has happened sooner than it was expected to happen. Like still, it comes before the main verb: The car is OK. Ive already fixed it. It was early but they were already sleeping. or before the present simple or past simple of the verb be: It was early but we were already tired. We are already late. We use yet in a negative or interrogative clause, usually with perfective aspect (especially in British English), to show that something has not happened by a particular time. yet comes at the end of the sentence: It was late, but they hadnt arrived yet. Have you fixed the car yet? She wont have sent the email yet.

adverbials of probability Adverbials of probability

We use adverbials of probability to show how certain we are about something. The most frequent adverbials of probability are: certainly - definitely - maybe - possibly clearly - obviously - perhaps - probably

maybe and perhaps usually come at the beginning of the clause: Perhaps the weather will be fine. Maybe it wont rain. Other adverbs of possibility usually come in front of the main verb: He is certainly coming to the party. Will they definitely be there? We will possibly come to England next year. but in after am, is, are, was, were: They are definitely at home. She was obviously very surprised.

comparative adverbs
We can use comparative adverbs to show change or to make comparisons: I forget things more often nowadays. She began to speak more quickly. They are working harder now. We often use than with comparative adverbs I forget things more often than I used to. Girls usually work harder than boys. Intensifiers: We use these words and phrases as intensifiers with these patterns: much - far - a lot - quite a lot - a great deal - a good deal - a good bit - a fair bit I forget things much more often nowadays. Mitigators: We use these words and phrases as mitigators: a bit - just a bit - a little - a little bit - just a little bit - slightly She began to speak a bit more quickly

superlative adverbs

We can use superlative adverbs to make comparisons: His ankles hurt badly, but his knees hurt worst. It rains most often at the beginning of the year. Intensifiers: When we intensify a superlative adverb we often use the in front of the adverb, and we use these words and phrases as intensifiers: easily - much - far - by far

count nouns
Count nouns have two forms: singular and plural. The singular form refers to one person or thing: a book; a teacher; a wish; an idea The plural form refers to more than one person or thing: books; teachers; wishes; ideas Singular count nouns Singular count nouns cannot be used alone. They must have a determiner: the book; that English teacher; a wish; my latest idea or a quantifier: some new books; a few teachers; lots of good ideas or a numeral: two new books; three wishes Plural forms: We usually add s to make a plural noun: book > books; school > schools; friend > friends We add -es to nouns ending in ss; -ch; -s; -sh; -x class > classes; watch > watches; gas > gases; wish > wishes; box > boxes

When a noun ends in a consonant and -y we make the plural in -ies... lady > ladies; country > countries; party > parties but if a noun ends in a vowel and -y we simply add -s: boy > boys; day > days; play > plays Some common nouns have irregular plurals: Man > men; woman > women; child > children; foot > feet; person > people Plural count nouns do not have a determiner when they refer to people or things as a group: Computers are very expensive. Do you sell old books?

uncount nouns
Some nouns in English are uncount nouns. We do not use uncount nouns in the plural and we do not use them with the indefinite article, a/an. We ate a lot of foods > We ate a lot of food We bought some new furnitures > We bought some new furniture Thats a useful information > Thats useful information We can use some quantifiers with uncount nouns: He gave me some useful advice. They gave us a lot of information. Uncount nouns often refer to:

Substances: food; water; wine; salt; bread; iron Human feelings or qualities: anger; cruelty; happiness; honesty; pride; Activities: help; sleep; travel; work Abstract ideas: beauty; death; fun; life

Common uncount nouns There are some common nouns in English, like accommodation, which are uncount nouns even though they have plurals in other languages:

advice

baggag equipment furniture homework information e news traffic

knowledge luggage machinery money

Let me give you some advice. How much luggage have you got? If we want to make these things countable, we use expressions like:
a piece of... pieces of... a bit of... bits of... an item of... items of...

Let me give you a piece of advice. Thats a useful piece of equipment. We bought a few bits of furniture for the new apartment. She had six separate items of luggage. but we do not use accommodation, money and traffic in this way.

common problems with count/uncount nouns

1: Uncount nouns used as count nouns Although substances are usually uncount nouns... Would you like some cheese? Coffee keeps me awake at night. Wine makes me sleep. ... they can be also used as count nouns:
Id like a coffee please. Id like a [cup of] coffee.

May I have a white wine.

May I have a [glass of] white wine.

They sell a lot of coffees.

They sell a lot of [different kinds of] coffee.

I prefer white wines to red.

I prefer [different kinds of] white wine to = red.

They had over twenty cheeses on sale. This is an excellent soft cheese.

They had over twenty [types of] cheese on = sale. This [kind of] soft cheese is excellent.

2: Some nouns have both a count and an uncount form: We should always have hope. George had hopes of promotion. Travel is a great teacher. Where did you go on your travels?

3: Nouns with two meanings Some nouns have two meanings, one count and the other non count: His life was in danger. There is a serious danger of fire. Linguistics is the study of language. Is English a difficult language? Its made of paper. The Times is an excellent paper. Other words like this are:
business tax death time industry victory marriage use power work property

4: Uncount nouns that end in -s Some uncount nouns end in -s so they look like plurals even though they are singular nouns. These nouns generally refer to:
Subjects of study: Activities: Games: mathematics, physics, economics, etc. gymnastics, athletics, etc. cards, darts, billiards, etc.

Subjects of study: Diseases:

mathematics, physics, economics, etc. mumps, measles, rabies, etc.

Economics is a very difficult subject. Billiards is easier than pool or snooker. 5: Group nouns Some nouns, like army, refer to groups of people, animals or things, and we can use them either as singular nouns or as plural nouns.
army family media audience flock public committee gang regiment company government staff crew group team enemy herd

We can use these group nouns either as singular nouns or as plural nouns:

My family is very dear to me. I have a large family. They are very dear to me. (= The members of my family) The government is very unpopular. The government are always changing their minds.

Sometimes we think of the group as a single thing:

The audience always enjoys the show. The group consists of two men and three women.

Sometimes we think of the group as several individuals;

The audience clapped their hands. The largest group are the boys.

The names of many organisations and teams are also group nouns, but they are usually plural in spoken English:

Barcelona are winning 2-0. The United Oil Company are putting prices up by 12%.

6: Two-part nouns

A few plural nouns, like binoculars, refer to things that have two parts.
glasses pyjamas trousers jeans scissors tweezers knickers shorts pincers spectacles pants tights pliers trainers

These binoculars were very expensive Those trousers are too long. To make it clear we are talking about one of these items, we use a pair of I need a new pair of spectacles. Ive bought a pair of blue jeans. If we want to talk about more than one, we use pairs of : Weve got three pairs of scissors, but they are all blunt. I always carry two pairs of binoculars.

proper nouns
Names of people, places and organisations are called proper nouns. We spell proper nouns with a capital letter: Mohammed Ali; Birmingham; China; Oxford University, the United Nations We use capital letters for festivals: Christmas; Deepawali; Easter; Ramadan; Thanksgiving We use a capital letter for someones title: I was talking to Doctor Wilson recently. Everything depends on President Obama. When we give the names of books, films, plays and paintings we use capital letters for the nouns, adjectives and verbs in the name: I have been reading The Old Man and the Sea. Beatrix Potter wrote The Tale of Peter Rabbit You can see the Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Sometimes we use a persons name to refer to something they have created:

Recently a Van Gogh was sold for fifteen million dollars. We were listening to Mozart. Im reading an Agatha Christie.

ability, permission, requests and advice

The modal verbs are can, could, may, might, shall, should, will and would. The modals are used to do things like talking about ability, asking permission making requests, and so on. Ability: We use can to talk about someones skill or general abilities: She can speak several languages. He can swim like a fish. They cant dance very well. We use can to talk about the ability to do something at a given time in the present or future: You can make a lot of money if you are lucky. Help. I cant breathe. They can run but they cant hide. We use could to talk about past time: She could speak several languages. They couldnt dance very well. We use could have to say that someone had the ability/opportunity to do something, but did not do it: She could have learned Swahili, but she didnt have time. I could have danced all night [but didn't]. Permission: We use can to ask for permission to do something: Can I ask a question, please? Can we go home now. could is more formal and polite than can: Could I ask a question please? Could we go home now?

may is another more formal and polite way of asking for permission: May I ask a question please? May we go home now? We use can to give permission: You can go home now if you like. You can borrow my pen if you like. may is a more formal and polite way of giving permission: You may go home now, if you like. We use can to say that someone has permission to do something: We can go out whenever we want. Students can travel free. may is a more formal and polite way of saying that someone has permission: Students may travel free. Instructions and requests: We use could you and would you as polite ways of telling or asking someone to do something: Could you take a message please? Would you carry this for me please? Could I have my bill please? can and will are less polite: Can you take a message please? Will you carry this for me please? Suggestions and advice: We use should to make suggestions and give advice: You should send an email. We should go by train. We use could to make suggestions: We could meet at the weekend. You could eat out tonight. We use conditionals to give advice:

Dan will help you if you ask him. Past tenses are more polite: Dan would help you if you asked him. Offers and invitations: We use can I and to make offers: Can I help you? Can I do that for you? We can also use shall I Shall I help you with that? Shall I call you on your mobile? We sometime say I can ... or I could ... or Ill (I will) ... to make an offer: I can do that for you if you like. I can give you a lift to the station. Ill do that for you if you like. Ill give you a lift to the station. We use would you like (to) ... for invitations: Would you like to come round to morrow? Would you like another drink? We use you must or we must for a very polite invitation: You must come round and see us. We must meet again soon. Obligation and necessity We use must to say that it is necessary to do something: You must stop at a red light. Everyone must bring something to eat. You can wear what you like, but you must look neat and tidy. Im sorry, but you mustnt make a noise in here. We use had to for this if we are talking about the past: Everyone had to bring something to eat. We could wear what we liked, but we had to look neat and tidy.