BACHILLERATO GRAMMAR – SUMMARY

1. Question Formation
- Word Order: QUASI: QU=Question word, A= auxiliary verb, S=subject, I = infinitive (without to).
Then objects, other information.
Example: where have you put the books from the library?

-Auxiliaries- present do/does, past did, future will, conditional would.

Remember you don´t use an auxiliary for verbs: to be, have got and modal verbs (can, must etc.)

- If the question word is the subject do not use the auxiliary do

Examples: Who took the book away?
What makes you think that way?

Various Question Words

- Who? ¿Quién? - Who sings in the bath every morning?
- Whose? ¿De quién? - Whose book is this?
- What? ¿Qué? - What is this?
- What kind of.../What + noun – What kind of TV programme do you like? What music do you like?
- Which? ¿Qué? ¿Cuál? - Which book do you want?
- How? ¿Cómo? - How do you get to school?
- Where? ¿Dónde? - Where is the Post Office?
- When ¿Cuándo? - When do you get up?
- Why? ¿Por qué? - Why did you come?
- What about? (Sugerencias) - What about you? - What about going to the cinema?
- What ... like? ¿Cómo? - What's your brother like?
- What time? ¿A qué hora? - What time does the disco open?
- How far? ¿A qué distancia? - How far is your house from school?
- How long? ¿Cuánto tiempo? - How long have you studied English?
- How often? ¿Con qué frecuencia? - How often do you go to a concert?
- How old? ¿Qué edad? - How old is your grandmother?
- How high? ¿Qué altura? - How high is The Eiffel Tower?
- How many? ¿Cuántos/as? - How many friends have you got?
- How much? ¿Cuánto? - How much coffee do you want?

Example Exam Questions and answers:

1.Write the correct question for the underlined words:

Joe´s father is an expert climber.
What does Joe´s father do?

2.Write the correct question for the underlined words:

words:
She didn´t realize until the following day.
When did she realize?

3.Write the correct question for the underlined words:

I have paddle lessons three times a week.
How often do you have paddle lessons?

5.Write the correct question for the underlined

words:
She’s practised karate since she was a kid.
How long has she practised karate for?
2. PASSIVE – TO BE + PAST PARTICIPLE
We use the passive when:
- The object is more important than the subject:
Example: His daughter was run over by a motorbike.

The subject is unknown,unimportant or obvious:

Example: His uncle was killed (we don´t know how or by whom) in the Civil War
Spanish is spoken in this shop (obviously by the people who work there)

Transforming active sentences into passive sentences:

verb to be in the same tense as the main verb in the active sentence followed by the past participle (of the main verb).
Agents are added at the end preceded by “by”.

Examples:
- Active sentence: The police arrested TWO HUNDRED PEOPLE.
- Passive sentence: TWO HUNDRED PEOPLE were arrested by the police. (agents with by)
- Active sentence: Someone has given HIM a lot of money.
- Passive sentence: HE has been given a lot of money (by someone).#

#Only add an agent when necessary to the sentence. Here someone is NOT important, it can be omitted.

Example Exam Questions and Answers:

1.A professional photographer will take all the
photographs.
All the photographs will be taken by a professional photographer

2. People say that nuclear power stations are

dangerous.
It´s said that nuclear power stations are dangerous

3. The Headmaster greeted the new student.

The new student was greeted by the Headmaster

CAUSATIVES
Use when actions or services are done for the subject and not by the subject:

Have / Get + something + past participle of appropriate verb:

Examples of transforming a sentence into a causative:

I´m going to cut my hair > I´m going to have my hair cut
He fixed his car > He had his car fixed
I must paint my house > I must get my house painted

Example Exam Question and Answer:

1. John repaired my computer.
I had my computer repaired by John.

3. REPORTED SPEECH:
1. Tenses of the main verb change as below from direct to reported speech:
present simple/continuous/ perfect D past simple/continuous/perfect
past simple/continuous Dpast perfect simple/continuous
must Dhad to can D could
will D would shall D should
imperative D infinitive
Examples
: - "I must go" D He said he had to go.
- "I haven´t seen anybody" D She said she hadn´t seen anybody.
- "I´ll talk to Mr Jones" D He said he would talk to Mr Jones.

* Some tenses don´t change:

Would D would, could D could, might D might, should D should
* that after the main verb is optional: - He said he wasn´t going
- He said that he wasn´t going.

2. Other words that change with reported speech:

tomorrow D the next day / the following day
yesterday D The day before
here D there
this / that D the
this morning D that morning
today D that day
tonight D that night
next / on Tuesday D the following Tuesday
last Tuesday D the previous Tuesday
the day after tomorrow Din two days´ time
ago D before / previously

3. REPORTED QUESTIONS:
- Tenses AND word order changes
Examples: - What is the time? D She asked what time it was.
- How is your mother? D He asked me how my mother was.
- Use if or whether when there is no question word Wh-:
Example: - Did you see the film? D She asked whether I had seen the film

4. REPORTED IMPERATIVES:
- Use an infinitive:
Examples: - Stop D He told them to stop.
- Don´t go D He told me not to go.

- There´s a difference between reported offers and reported requests:

a) offer: "Would you like a cigarette?" D He asked if I would like a cigarette.
b) request: "Would you pass me a cigarette? D He asked me to pass him a cigarette.

5. REPORTING VERBS (OTHER THAN SAID):

Examples: - "Oh dear", she said, "I´m terribly sorry I´m late".
D She apologized for being late.
- "I know a good restaurant. Why don´t we go there?
D He suggested that we should go to a restaurant.
- Verbs followed by an infinitive: advise, invite, offer, promise, refuse, remind, warn
- Verbs followed by a gerund: apologize for, insist on, suggest
- Verbs followed by reported speech: agree, announce, boast, claim, concede..... that...
Example: "We´re going to get married in June", she said.
D She announced that they were going to get married in June.

Example Exam Questions and Answers:

1.“Have a seat, please”, Mr Block told me.
Mr Block told me to have a seat. (Imperative)
2. "I'm late because I missed the bus" she said.
She said she was late because she had missed the bus

3.Where do you live, Alice? Asked the White Rabbit

The White Rabbit asked Alice where she lived.

4. “Can you help me?”, he asked me.

He asked me to help him (Request)

4. RELATIVE CLAUSES:
DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES:
-To give important information about a person, place, or thing use a relative clause – relative pronoun + subject + verb.
- Use who for people, which for things, where for places. Use whose for “of who/ of which”
- that can substitute who/which.
-Examples
- That´s the man who / that wants to buy my house.
- That´s the house where I was born.
- It´s a book that / which tells you how to relax
- That´s the boy whose father plays for Real Madrid

NON-DEFINING RELATIVE CLAUSES:

-If a relative clause gives extra, non-essential information (the sentence makes sense without it), you must put it in
between commas (or a comma and a full stop).
- In these clauses you can´t replace who / which with that.
- Examples
-Stratford, where Shakespeare was born, is a beautiful town.
- My friend, who works in a bank, is getting married.
-This painitng, which is very old, is worth 2 million euros.

Example Exam Questions and Answers:

1. My sister is at university. She is studying law.
My sister, who is studying law, is at university. (non-defining)

3. That is the restaurant. I lost my briefcase there.

That is the restaurant where I lost my briefcase. (defining)

4. I usually buy my clothes in this shopping centre.

This is the shopping centre where I usually buy my clothes. (defining)

5. That woman’s son is my boyfriend.

That is the woman whose son is my boyfriend. (defining)

5. CONDITIONALS INCLUDING I WISH/IF ONLY:

1. There are three main types of conditionals:

-1º: POSSIBLE, refers to the present/future: If + present simple............. will / won´t + infinitive/ imperative
- If you come at ten, we´ll be ready.
- If you hear the alarm, get out as fast as you can

-2º: IMPROBABLE, refers to the present/future: If + past simple................... would / wouldn´t + infinitive
- If I lived by the sea, I would do a lot of swimming.
- If they asked me to work for them, I would accept.

-3º: IMPOSSIBLE, refers to the past: If + past perfect...... would/wouldn´t have + past participle
Examples:
.- If I had worked harder, I would have passed the exam.
- If you had asked me for tickets, I would have got you some.

SUBSTITUTES FOR IF IN CONDITIONAL SENTENCES.

a) Unless = if not, (a menos que, a no ser que):
- I´ll go home soon if the film doesn´t start D I´ll go home soon unless the film starts.
b) Provided that, on condition that, as long as = if and only if. ( siempre que, suponiendo que, con tal de que...)
- Provided that everybody agrees, we´ll have the meeting on Tuesday.
c) Supposing that, imagine, just suppose
- Just suppose it didn´t rain for four months, would we have enough water?
d) future time clauses - when, as soon as, until, in case

2. WISH / IF ONLY CONDITIONAL SENTENCES - OJALÁ

-WISH/IF ONLY + PAST SIMPLE

Use this to say you regret (are sorry about) a present situation
Examples:
I wish I had more money
If only I could leave this city

-WISH/IF ONLY + PAST PERFECT

Use this to say you regret (are sorry about) a past situation.
Examples:
I wish I hadn´t said that (but I did and now I´m sorry)
If only I´d worked harder at school

-WISH/IF ONLY + PERSON / IT + WOULD + INFINITIVE

-Use this to say what you want another person to do or not do (often because you are annoyed).
Examples:
I wish he would come
If only she would stop smoking

-When you want something to happen

Examples:
I wish it would stop raining
If only tomorrow would come

Example Exam Questions and Answers:

1. They were late because they missed the train.
If they hadn´t missed the train they wouldn´t have been late

2. If you don´t explain the situation to her, she won´t

understand.
Unless you explain the situation to her she won´t understand

3. Mary was sorry she had eaten so much.

Mary wished she hadn´t eaten so much.
6. COMPARATIVES/SUPERLATIVES
COMPARATIVES:
-Add -er on the end of one syllable adjectives and double single consonants:
fat > fatter, fresh > fresher

-Two syllable adjectives ending in y change to ier:

pretty > prettier, easy >easier.

-Common Irregular comparatives:

Good/well > better, bad/badly > worse, far > further

-Add more/less in front of longer adjectives/adverbs (2+ syllables):

more comfortable, less difficult etc.

Follow all comparatives with than and the thing you are comparing:
Examples:
A snail is slower than a tortoise, a mouse is smaller than a rat.
Jane drives more carefully than Claire but Claire is more intelligent than Jane.
This test is less difficult than the last one.

-Use as....as with positives to express similarities:

An apple is as tasty as a banana.

-Use as....as with negatives to express differences.

He doesn´t smoke as much as she does.

-Use the same as to express equality:

This book looks the same as that one to me.
.
SUPERLATIVES:
-Follow the same rules as comparatives but with -est instead of –er and most/least instead of more/less.
-Don´t use than after superlatives but do use the or a possessive adjective before them.

Examples:
It was the biggest burger I have ever seen.
Oslo is the most expensive city in Europe.
My best friend is Jane.

Common irregular superlatives:

Good/well > best, bad/badly > worst, far > furthest

Example Exam Questions and Answers:

1.New York is bigger than Madrid.
Madrid is not as big as New York

2.Fruit is healthier than chocolate.

Chocolate is not as healthy as fruit.

5. Her jokes are not as good as his.

His jokes are better than hers.
7.QUANTIFIERS
1.Large quantities:
-A lot of/lots of in + sentences. A lot where there is no noun.
-Much/many used in – and ? sentences but a lot of can also be used.
-Plenty= as much as we need and more
Examples:
They have a lot of money and lots of friends. They eat a lot.
There aren´t many cafes near here.
Do you watch much TV?
Don´t rush. We have plenty of time.

2. Small Quantities:
-little + countable nouns
-few + uncountable nouns
Examples:
We only have a little money, I only have a few coins.

3. Zero Quantity
-any for – negative sentences
-no for positive sentences
-none for short answers only (with no noun).
Examples:
There isn´t any room in the car. There´s no room in the car. Is there any room in the car? None.

4. More than you need/want

-too + adjective, too much + uncountable noun, too many + plural countable nouns.
Examples:
This city is too big, there´s too much traffic and there are too many tourists

5. Less than you need/want.

-enough before a noun but after an adjective.
Example:
There aren´t enough parks in this country and the bus service isn´t good enough.

Example Exam Question and Answer:

4. The boy isn’t tall enough to reach the medicine
cabinet.
The boy is too short to reach the medicine cabinet
8. MODAL VERBS:
Main modal verbs: can, could, must, should, ought to, may, might, need to, needn´t.
Modal verbs are followed by infinitives without to (except where otherwise stated).

1. CAN, COULD – Ability, possibility:

- CAN: know how to, be able to, be allowed to. - I can swim.
- Mary can speak Frech.
- You can sit here.
- My mother says I can´t go out tonight.
- COULD: past / conditional of can - I´m sorry I couldn´t come yesterday. If you gave me the money, I could do the
shopping.
* can and could can be used to make requests. Could is more formal: - Can I have a glass of water, please?
- Could you open the door for me, please?
* be able to is used instead of can in all verb tenses as can is only used in the present and could in the past.

CAN´T / CAN´T HAVE – Deduction, impossibility

CAN´T – When you are sure something is not true (Present): He can´t be a dentist, he never went to University.
CAN´T HAVE + past participle (Past): She can´t have stolen that money. She was with me at the time.

2. MUST, HAVE TO - Obligation:

- Must and have to mean the same thing in affirmative: - You must leave. ( = you can't stay)
- You have to leave. ( = you can't stay)
- Mustn´t and don´t have to have different meanings in negative: - You mustn´t leave. ( = obligation. You can't go)
- You don´t have to leave. ( = no obligation. You can go or stay).
* have to isn´t a modal verb but is used in place of must in all verb tenses, as must can only be used in the present.

MUST / MUST HAVE– Deduction, certainty

MUST - When you are sure something is true (Present): He must be rich, he drives a Porsche.
MUST HAVE + past participle (Past): He must´ve gone out. All the lights are off.

3. SHOULD, OUGHT TO – Advice / recommendations

You should go home, it´s late.
He ought to think before he speaks.
You should see the new Brad Pitt film. It´s fantastic.

4. NEED TO / NEEDN´T - Necessity

a) Needn't for when it isn´t necessary to do something:
- Teacher to students: You needn´t do any homework tonight.
- interrogativa: a) Do I need to apply for a visa?
b) Needn't have + PAST PARTICIPLE:
- I needn´t have got up early yesterday.( = it wasn't necessary, but I did it, and now I realize it wasn't necessary).

5. MAY/MIGHT – Deduction, possibility

When you think something is possibly true: She´s not at home, she might be working.
When there is a possibility that something will happen : He may come round tonight.

Example Exam Questions and Answers:

1. It isn´t necessary for you to buy me a present.
You needn´t/don´t have to buy me a present (lack of obligation)

2. Children are not allowed to play ball games here.

Children mustn´t play ball games here (prohibition)

3. Perhaps they have gone away on holiday.

They may/might have gone away on holiday.
9. GERUNDS & INFINITIVES:

Use a GERUND:
-When the verb is the subject of the sentence or as a noun:
Smoking is bad for you - She's good at swimming.
- After a preposition: - After closing the door...
- With specific verbs such as: like - love - start - stop - enjoy - miss
- dislike - hate - begin - finish - prefer - give up

Use to + INFINITIVE:
Meaning “for the purpose of”:
- I came here to see you. - I went to London to study English. - I drove to the airport to meet my parents.
- With specific verbs such as:
learn, remember, forget, promise, swear, agree, refuse, regret, try, fail, hope, hesitate, prepare, decide,
determine, manage, arrange, seem, want...

Use INFINITIVE without to:

-after modal verbs - shall, will, can, could, must,
- after make and let + noun/pronoun: - We let THEM go home.
- after "seeing, hearing, & feeling" verbs + noun/pronoun: - I saw HIM arrive

Other grammatical structures seen in past exams:

So/such – so + adjective. Such + adjective + noun:
Examples:
The jacket was so beautiful. I wanted to buy it straight away > It was such a beautiful jacket that I wanted to buy it
straight away.
It was such a lovely day > The day was so lovely.

Suggestions
Shall + subject + infinitive (without to)
Shall we go to the cinema tonight?

Let´s+ infinitive (without to)

Let´s go to the cinema tonight.

What about + gerund

What about going to the cinema tonight?

Why don´t/doesn´t + subject + verb?

Why don´t we go to the cinema tonight?

Preferences
Would rather + infinitive (without to):
I would rather go to dinner than to a club

Recommendations
Had better + infinitive (without to)
I had better put up my umbrella. It´s starting to rain.

Although/ Despite

I wonder

For/since