English Grammar Explanations and Rules (Elementary)

Comparison of disyllabic adjectives

Disyllabic adjectives ending with y, er, ow, le are compared with -er, -est.

Comparison of all the other adjectives

All the other adjectives are compared with more, most.

Comparison of special adjectives

Special adjectives can be compared with -er, -est or more, most.

 

NB! Irregular Comparison Forms NB!

(not) as … as

Ann is as tall as Mary.

I think tomorrow it will be as hot as today.

This test was not as difficult as the last one.

Past Simple

Use of the Past Simple.

The Past Simple is used to write and talk about completed actions that happened in a time before the present. It is the basic form of the past tense in English. Study the following information how to form the simple past and how to form the negation and questions.

Regular Verbs

How to form: Infinitive + ed = 2nd form

Examples:

walk + ed = walked

laugh + ed = laughed

want + ed = wanted

Note:

cry – cried – y » i

carry – carried – y » i

love – loved – no e

hope – hoped – no e

stop – stopped – if you speak a short vowel » doubling

drop -dropped – if you speak a short vowel » doubling

 Key words: yesterday, last week (month, Monday, October,etc.), in 1984, ago.

Irregular Verbs

**Ссылка на переход на таблицу неправильных глаголов.

Negation of the Past Simple

How to form: didn’t (= did not) + 1st form

He didn’t go to her last party. They didn’t like his story.

BUT: was not (wasn’t), were not (weren’t), could not (couldn’t)

Questions in the Past Simple

How to form: did + 1st form

Did he go to her last party? Did they like his story?

Where did they live? How did she feel?

Question word – did – person – verb

Was he angry? Were they late? Could they swim?

Personal Pronouns

Prepositions of Place

AT – IN – ON

General Information

AT

We use at for a point: at the window – at the entrance – at the door – at the end of the street – at the station – at the top

Bill is waiting for you at the bus stop.

ON

We use on for a surface: on the wall – on the ceiling – on the floor – on a page – on a cover

Have you seen the notice on the notice board?

IN

We use in for an enclosed space: in the garden – in the house – in London – in the water – in her bag – in a row – in a town

There is nobody in the room. She lives in a small village.

Special Information

AT

1. We say that someone is at an event: at a party – at a pop concert – at a conference – at a meeting.

Tom is at a party.

2. We say at with buildingswhen we say where the event(film, concert, etc.) takes place.

Where were you yesterday? At the cinema. The meeting took place at the headquarters.

3. We say at someone’s house.

We were at Bill’s house last Thursday.

4. We say at for a place which is a part of our journey.

We stopped at a very nice village. Does the train stop at Nashville?

ON

1. We use on with small islands.

She spent her holiday on a small island.

2. We say that a place is on the coast / on a river / on a road.

London is on the river Thames. Portsmouth is on the south coast of England.

IN

1. We say in when we talk about a buildingitself.

The rooms in Tom’s house are small.

2. We usually say in with townsand villages.

His parents live in York.

Note these expressions

AT

at home – at work – at school – at university – at college – at the station – at an airport – at the seaside – at sea (on a voyage) – at reception – at the corner of a street – at the back / front of a building / cinema / group of people, etc. – arrive at with other places or events

IN

in the newspaper – in bed – in hospital – in prison – in the street – in the sky – in an armchair (sit) – in a photograph – in a picture – in a mirror – in the corner of a room – in the back / front of a car – arrive in a country or town

ON

on a farm – on the left – on the right – on the ground floor – on the first, second,… floor – on the way – on the chair (sit) – on the radio – on television – on a horse – on the corner of a street – on the back / front of a letter / piece of paper etc.

TO – INTO – BY

TO

We say go / come / travel / fly / walk / return / drive / have been etc. to a place or event.

Last year we flew to London. We went to work at seven.

INTO

We say go into / come into etc. = enter a room / building etc..

He opened the door and went into the room.

BY

We say by to say how we travel.

We went to Paris by plane. I usually go to work by bike / by car / by underground / by bus.

BUT:

We say on foot.

We cannot use by if you say my car / the train / a taxi.

We use in for taxis and cars. I was in a taxi when she called me.

We use on for bike / public transport. I rode to school on my bike.

Prepositions of Time

AT

We use at with times: at 5 o’clock – at 11.45 – at midnight – at lunchtime

Tom usually gets up at 7 o’clock.

We use at in these expressions: at night – at Christmas – at the moment / at present – at the same time – at weekends – at the age of…

ON

We use on with dates and days: on 12 March – on Friday(s) – on Friday morning(s) – on Sunday afternoon(s) – on Saturday night(s) – on Christmas Day (but at Christmas)

IN

We use in for longer periods of time: in April – in 1986 – in winter – in the 19th century – in the 1970s – in the morning(s) / in the afternoon(s) / in the evening(s)

In + period of time = a time in the future:

Jack will be back in a week. The train will leave in a few minutes.

In + how long it takes to do something

I learned to drive in four weeks.

DURING

We use during + noun to say when something happens: during the film – during our holiday – during the night

We met a lot of interesting people during our holiday. I fell asleep during the film.

FOR

We use for + a period of time expressing duration: for six years – for two hours – for a week

I’ve lived in this house for six years. They have been watching TV for two hours.

SINCE

We use since + a starting point, a specific time: since April – since 1992 – since 8 o’ clock

It has been raining since one o’ clock. They’ve known each other since they were at school.

UNTIL

We use until/till to say how long a situation continues: 

Let’s wait until it stops raining. I stayed in bed until half past nine.

FROM – TO

We use from – to + beginning and end of a period

Last evening, we watched TV from 5 to 8 o’ clock.

Present Progressive

Use of the Present Progressive. The Present Progressive is also called present continuous. It is used to indicate actions happening at the time of speaking or used for planned future actions.

Key words: look, listen, now, at the moment, still, at present

How to form the Present Progressive

I am + verb + ing – I am playing.

he, she, it is + verb + ing – The bird is singing.

you, we, they are + verb + ing – We are dancing.

Look, Ann is running down the street.

She is sleeping now.

Listen, I‘m talking to you!

 

Negation

I am not (I’m not) + ing form

he, she, it is not (isn’t) + ing form

you, we, they are not (aren’t) + ing form

 

Question

Are they learning for the test?

Form of to be – subject – ing form

 

NB! Spelling Note:

take – taking – no e

make – making – no e

run – running – When a short vowel is spoken → doubling of the consonant

sit – sitting – When a short vowel is spoken → doubling of the consonant

lie – lying – ie → y

What’s The Time?

How to tell the time in English

a.m. – p.m.

a.m. = ante meridiem = the time from midnight to noon = from 00:00 to 12:00

p.m. = post meridiem = the time from noon to midnight = from 12:00 to 24:00

The 24-hour clock is the most commonly used time notation in the world today.

But in English speaking countries the 12-hour clock is the dominant system of time written and spoken.

The 24-hour clock is only used by the military in the United States and Canada.

 

24-hour and 12-hour clock

Simple Future Tense

How to form the Simple Future

will + infinitive (=1st form) – They will be late. / He will come.

Short form: will = ‘ll – They’ll be late. / He’ll come.

Negation: will not = won’t – They will not be late / He won’t come.

Question: Will …. ? – Will they be late? / Will he come?

 

Key words: tomorrow, next week (month, year, summer, Monday, weekend,…), in 2020…

I think I will meet her tomorrow.

I hope he will be back before 9.30.

I suppose I‘ll be there at five. 

Use of the Simple Future

1. to talk about future actions we can’t influence or control.
2. to foretell future actions or to express hopes, expectations, fears, offers, promises, refusals,… .

Key words: I’m sure, I believe, I expect, I hope, I suppose, I think, I’m afraid, I wonder, I fear, I worry, I promise, I guess or perhaps, possibly, surely, probably, maybe

3. with I / we for spontaneous reactions or making promises. I shall is sometimes used instead of I will.