Grammar Reference

*1-Articles :
A-( a, an) are used before :
1- singular countable nouns which know nothing about :*- I bought a book.
2- names of professions (jobs): *- She is a teacher.
3- expressions of measurements: a litre , an hour..
B- (the) is used before:
1-a noun that we have mentioned :*- I bought a book. The book is about history.
2- a noun identified with “of”: *- This is the book of my friend.
3- adjectives to specify a category of people or things: the rich, the poor, the British…………..
4- noun that refers to an object that the only one that exists: the sun, the moon, the pyramids………………
5- names of inventions: the television, the radio, the telephone…………………….
C- ϕ (0 article) is used before:
1- uncountable nouns: 0water, 0money, 0time2- uncount abstract nouns: 0love, 0liberty,0 happiness………
3- proper nouns: 0Mohammed, Omar, Hamza 4- Unidentified plural nouns: we are expecting 0illnesses.
5- general references: 0people, 0life, …………………

*2- Quantifiers:
1- Uncountable nouns: How much..? (quantity) much#little
a- All of it-/ a great deal of= a lot of = much-/ half -/ some= a little – /little= not much- /none of it
100% / 90/ / 50/ /30/ /10/ /0%/
2- Countable nouns: How many? (number) many# few
a- All of them/a lot of= lots of=many/ half of them/ a few = some/ few= not many/
none of them
100 90 50 30 10
0

*3-Expressing condition:
1- If we boil (100°) water, it evaporates.
If + present simple = present simple ( scientific truth).
2- If you work harder, you will succeed.
If + present simple= Future simple ( will: prediction).
3- If I had money, I would buy a new house.
If + Simple past= Would + verb infinitive (unreal present).
3- If I had worked harder last year, I would have succeeded.
If + past perfect= would+ have+ verb past participle ( unreal past).
Note: A*- “If” can be replaced by: “provided/ providing that, as long as, but only if”.
*- Provinding that you work harder, you will succeed./ You will succeed but only if you work harder.
B*- Unless= except if= if+not
*- Unless you work harder, you will not succeed./ You will not succeed except if you work harder.

*4- Expressing “advice”:

a- We (should=‘d better= ought to= are advised to) stop corruption.
We ( shouldn’t=‘d better not= ought not to= aren’t advised) give bribes.
b-You should work harder. If I were you, I would work harder.
You shouldn’t be passive. If I were you, I wouldn’t be passive.
 *5-Expressing Obligation:
We (must = are obliged to ) respect the law.
6*- Expressing necessity:
We ( need to = have to) respect each other./ It is necessary to respect each other.
7*- Expressing prohibition:
We mustn’t break the law. It is ( forbidden= prohibited to) break the law.
8*- Expressing absence of obligation:
We don’t ( need= have) to use this book. It isn’t necessary to use this book.
9*-Active/ passive voice:
People imitate goods. Goods are imitated by peole
imitated were imitated
are imitating are being imitated
have imitated have been imitated
had imitated had been imitated
were imitating were being imitated
will/ can/ may.. will/can/may be imitated

Active Passive
S+ V+O …………..O( passive subject) + to “be” ( takes the form of the verb) + the verb ( past participle)+ by
+S(agent).
They are downloading our music. Our music is being downloaded by them.

*10-Expressing wishes:
A- Present wish: wish + simple past
*- I don’t have money. I can’t buy a car.
*- I wish I had money to buy a car.
*- If only I had money to buy a car.
*- If/ suppose I had money, I could/ would buy a car.
B- Past wish: wish+ past perfect
*- I didn’t work hard. I didn’t succeed.
*- I wish I had worked hard to succeed.
*- If only I had worked hard to succeed.
*- If/suppose I had worked hard, I would have succeeded.
C- Future wish: wish + would/could + verb infinitive
*- I want to live in a corruption-free society.
*- I wish/ if only I would live in a corruption-free society.
*11- It’s high/about time (+ verb “simple past”)
*- Governments should eradicate corruption.
*- It’s high/ about time governments eradicated corruption.

*12- Expressing purpose:

*- The students do their best. They want to succeed
. Their purpose is
Their goal is

*- The students do their best in order to succeed. (verb infinitive).

So as to/ to
For succeeding .(v ing).

*- The students do their best (so that/ in order that) they will succeed.
*13- Expressing cause/ effect:
*- He has a bad behaviour. His friends leave him.
*- Cause: - His friends leave him (because, since, as) he has a bad behaviour.
- His friends leave him (because of, owing to, due to, for) his bad behaviour.
*- Consequence:
- He has a bad behaviour, (as a result, as a consequence, therefore, thus, consequently, so)his friends
Leave him.
-He has such a bad behaviour that his friends leave him. (such+ a noun clause+ that).
- He is so bad that his friends leave him. (so+adjective+that).
*14- Expressing concession: ( 02 opposite aspects about the same element).
*- He is a good qualified teacher. He hasn’t found a job yet.
*-Though/ although/eventhough/ despite the fact that/ in spite of the fact that he is a good qualified
teacher, he hasn’t found a job yet.
*- He is a good qualified teacher, (but/ however/yet) he hasn’t found a teacher yet.
*15- Expressing contrast: (comparing 02 different elements).
*- Stars shine with their own light. Planets give off no light.
*- Unlike/ contrary to stars which shine with their own light, planets give off no light.
*-Stars shine with their own light, (while/ whereas/but/ however/yet/by contrast) planets give off
no light.

*16- Expressing similarity:

*- Neptune is so distant from the sun. Pluto is so distant from the sun.
*- Both Neptune and Pluto are so distant from the sun.
*- Like Neptune, Pluto is so distant from the sun.
*- Pluto and Neptune are similar in their further distance from the sun.
*- Pluto and Neptune have the same further distance from the sun.
DIRECT / REPORTED SPEECH

DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH

-Reporting verb in the present “say” -No change
“I am a student”,he says He says that he is a student
-Reporting verb in the past
1-*present simple 1-*past simple
“I write my lesson” ,he said He said that he wrote his lesson.
2-*present perfect 2-*past perfect
“I have written my lesson”- has written He said that he had written his lesson.

3-*present continuous 3-*past continuous

“I am writing my lesson” He said that he was writing his ………..
 Am/is + V ing Was +v+ing
Are +v+ing Were +v+ing
4-*Past simple 4-*past perfect
“I wrote my lesson” He said that he had written his lesson.
5*-Past continuous 5-*Past perfect continuous
“I was writing …….” He said that he had been writing…….
Modals

*Must – will- shall- can –may *-had to –would- should- could- might
“I must work hard” He said that ha had to work hard.

Time and place markers

*Yesterday *The day before/ the previous day
*tomorrow *The day after /the next day/the following
day
*today *that day
*tonight *that night
*”I wrote my lesson two days ago” *he said that he had written his lesson two
days before that day.
*now *then, at that moment
*this- these- here *that- those-there

Pronouns -I said that I wrote my………

“I write my lesson”,I- you- he- she said -You said that you wrote your………..
-He said that he wrote his………..
-She said that she wrote her ……………..

“We write our lesson”, we- you-they -we said that we wrote our lesson.
-you said that you wrote your lesson.
-they said that they wrote their lesson.

Questions
*Yes/ No Questions

*-“did you write your lesson?”, he asked *-He asked me if I had written my …
me/him/her/you/us/them. -He asked him if he …………his……
-He asked her if she…………….her….
-He asked you if you …………….your…
-He asked us if we……………….our…….
-He asked them if they………..their……
*WH Questions
1-*”What are you doing now?” 1-*He asked me what I was doing then.
2-*He asked us why we had been absent the
2-*”Why were you absent yesterday?” day before.
3-*Where will you go tomorrow?” 3-*He asked you where you would go the
following day.

*- Stative verbs: verbs that don’t accept “ing” form.

*- feelings: like, love, hate *-thinking: think, believe, understand, remember, know
 *- perception: see, smell, touch, hear, taste *- wants: want, prefer
*-being/having: seem, own, belong, appear, possess…..
*- Expressing time:
*- After Tarik Ibn-Ziad had crossed the Straits of Gibraltar, he delivered his most famous speech.(02
actions in the past)
(after, as soon as, when)+ past perfect+ past simple
( before, by the time) + past simple+ past perfect.
*- Tarik Ibn-Ziad didn’t deliver his speech until he had crossed………………….

Pronunciation

Stress
I – Stress on the first syllable* Nouns and adjectives :
Two syllable nouns and adjectives are stressed on the first syllable.
N →TUtor – TAble – COUNtry – SURgeon .Adj → DIRty – HAppy –CAREful ANgry .
II – Stress on the second syllable * Verbs : Two syllable verbs are stressed on the second syllable.
exPORT – deCIDE – beGIN .
* Some exceptions : Open – COver FInish – PUblish – HAppen –SHORten – Omit
III– Words ending in :
1/ “ ic, ics ” are stressed on the second syllable from the end. MAgic – geoGRAphic – geoLOgic .
2/ “ ion, sion, tion ” are stressed on the syllable before the last . eduCAtion – soLUtion – traDItion .
3/ “ cy, ty, thy, phy, gy, ence, ate, ent ” are stressed on the third syllable from the end.deMOcracy -
responsiBIlity – phiLOsophy – geOlogy – COMpetence .
4/ “ cial, tial, cient, cious, ian, rian, ish, ity, ety, ia, ive ” are stressed on the syllable immediately before
them. aBOlish – soCIety – vegeTArian – bacTEria – deLIcious .

*-Final”ed”:
1. If the final sound of the verb’s root form is a vowel o / b, g, v ,z ,j ,dj(ge), m , n ,l ,r ,η/, the final
”ed”in the past simple or past participle is pronounced /d/ E.g. hurry/ hurried open / opened
2. If the final sound of the verb’s root form is/ p, k, f, s, tƒ(ch),θ,ƒ(sh)/ the final ”ed” in the past simple
and the past participle is pronounced /t/ E.g. clap/ clapped Kiss/ kissed
3. If the final sound of the verb’s root form is / t, d / the final “ed” in the past simple and the past
participle is pronounced /id/ E.g. paint/painted offend/ offended
*-Final”s”:
1. If the final sound of the word’s root form is a vowel or / b, g, v ,z ,j ,dj, m , n ,l ,r ,η/, the final ”s” is
pronounced /z/ E.g. opens, plays.......
2. If the final sound of the word’s root form is/ p, t, k, f, ,θ, / the final ”s” is pronounced /s/ E.g.claps..
3. If the final sound of the word’s root is/s, z, ƒ(sh), tƒ(ch), j ,dj (ge)/ the final “s” is pronounced /iz/
E.g. bosses, misses, villages, washes......................
*- Silent letters :
*- know, knight…….(k+n at the beginning, « k » is silent.
*- fight, light,…”silent “gh”. *- listen, castle, often “silent”t” .
*- silent”w”: whole, write……. *-silent”h”: why, what, where…….
*-silent”r”: teacher, brother, door,..(final”r”) * - report, earth…(“r” followed by a consonant).
With My Best Wishes