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uncountable: Have a piece of my birthday cake. In this case the distinction is to some extent based on semantic grounds: a big cake which can be divided into portions functions as a mass noun, whereas a small cake an indivisible unit functions as a countable noun. English has for a long time displayed the tendency to allow mass nouns to be used as countables, meaning 'a portion of', 'a variety of' or 'an instance of'. Such a situation often occurs as regards nouns referring to food or other commodity, such as 'a variety of' or 'a portion of': 'What breads/coffees/flours/milks can you get in the local supermarket?' 'I'll have two teas, please.' In Present-Day English abstract nouns can be used with an indefinite article when a particular event or state is in focus: 'I would never have any one eat but what he likes and when he has an appetite' Examples of common uncountable nouns: (= no plural, no a/an) information, evidence, progress, news, scenery, work, logic, permission, traffic, furniture, chaos, permission, advice, behaviour, research, technology (pl. in the case of 'the new technologies') 'mass' nouns : money, cash, mathematics, linguistics, politics, athletics, mumps etc. substances : milk, petrol, sugar, oil Occasionally, nouns can be countable/uncountable, depending on the context so there is a change in meaning. Example: uncountable Advances in technology mean that Western medicine is highly expensive and highly specialised: a large amount of money may be spent on treating a relatively small number of conditions (for example: kidney machines, life support systems). Example: countable The new technologies of advanced ceramics and polymers have contributed to Japanese leadership in fields where synthetic materials can be substituted for natural minerals, thereby offsetting the Japanese disadvantages of few natural resources and cutting down the need to import large quantities of raw materials. ('monies' - banking jargon - usually 'funds') I bought a paper (= newspaper, countable) I bought some paper (= paper for writing on - uncountable) I had many interesting experiences during my time at Sussex (= things which happened to an individual - countable) Experience of economic upturn was limited in the 1980's (uncountable - knowledge of something happening in general).
About prepositions
The most common prepositions (simple and compound) are:aboard "about," "above," according to, "across," across from, "after," "against," ahead of, "along," along side, along with, amid, "among," apart from, "around," aside from, as of, "at," atop, baring, because of, "before," "behind," "below," "beneath," "beside," besides, "between," "beyond," "but," "by," by means of, concerning, considering,"despite," "down," "during," "except," "for," "from," "in," in addition to, in back of, in front of, in lieu of, in place of, in regard to, "inside," in spite of, instead of, "into," in view of, "like," "near," nearby, next to, "of," "off," "on," on account of, "onto," on top of, opposite, "out," out of, "outside," awing to, "over," "past," per, prior to, regarding, round, "since," "through," "throughout," "till," "to," together with, "toward (s)," "under," "underneath," "until," unto, "up," "upon," "with," "within," and "without."
English Teacher: OANA STANCULESCU ILIE Lexis School The Uses of the English Tenses. Short Tabel and Instructions of their Use
Type of Tense Simple Type of Action Expressed - actions occurring at regular intervals - general truths, or situations existing for a period of time - non-continuous actions - continuous, ongoing actions - non-continuous actions completed before a certain time - continuous, ongoing actions completed before a certain time
Simple Present Present Continuous Present Perfect Present Perfect Continuous Simple Past Past Continuous Past Perfect Past Perfect Continuous Simple Future Future Continuous Future Perfect Future Perfect Continuous
am/is/are am/is/are being have/has been have/has been being was/were was/were being had been had been being will (shall) **** be will (shall) be being will (shall) have been will (shall) have been being
past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle past participle
* In the Simple Present and Simple Past tenses of the Active Voice, the auxiliaries are used only for emphasis, and for the formation of questions and negative statements. Auxiliaries are never used with the Simple Present or Simple Past of the verb to be. ** When used without the auxiliary, the third person singular of the Simple Present, in the Indicative Mood of the Active Voice, has the ending s. *** When used without the auxiliary, the Simple Past form of the verb is used. For regular verbs, and for many irregular verbs, the Simple Past has the same form as the past participle. **** The other modal auxiliaries could, may, might, must, should and would form conjugations in the same way as will and shall.
Indicative Mood
Simple Present I show you show he shows she shows it shows we show they show Present Continuous I am showing you are showing he is showing she is showing it is showing we are showing they are showing Present Perfect I have shown you have shown he has shown she has shown it has shown we have shown they have shown Present Perfect Continuous I have been showing you have been showing he has been showing she has been showing it has been showing we have been showing they have been showing Simple Future I will (shall) show you will show he will show she will show it will show we will (shall) show they will show Simple Past I showed you showed he showed she showed it showed we showed they showed Past Continuous I was showing you were showing he was showing she was showing it was showing we were showing they were showing Past Perfect I had shown you had shown he had shown she had shown it had shown we had shown they had shown Past Perfect Continuous I had been showing you had been showing he had been showing she had been showing it had been showing we had been showing they had been showing Simple Conjugation with Would I would show you would show he would show she would show it would show we would show they would show 6
Future Continuous I will (shall) be showing you will be showing he will be showing she will be showing it will be showing we will (shall) be showing they will be showing Future Perfect I will (shall) have shown you will have shown he will have shown she will have shown it will have shown we will (shall) have shown they will have shown Future Perfect Continuous I will (shall) have been showing you will have been showing he will have been showing she will have been showing it will have been showing we will (shall) have been showing they will have been showing
Continuous Conjugation with Would I would be showing you would be showing he would be showing she would be showing it would be showing we would be showing they would be showing Perfect Conjugation with Would I would have shown you would have shown he would have shown she would have shown it would have shown we would have shown they would have shown Perfect Continuous Conjugation with Would I would have been showing you would have been showing he would have been showing she would have been showing it would have been showing we would have been showing they would have been showing
Subjunctive Mood
Simple Present I show you show he show she show it show we show they show Present Continuous I be showing you be showing he be showing she be showing it be showing we be showing they be showing Simple Past I showed you showed he showed she showed it showed we showed they showed Past Continuous I were showing you were showing he were showing she were showing it were showing we were showing they were showing
Present Perfect I have shown you have shown he have shown she have shown it have shown we have shown they have shown Present Perfect Continuous I have been showing you have been showing he have been showing she have been showing It have been showing we have been showing they have been showing
Past Perfect I had shown you had shown he had shown she had shown it had shown we had shown they had shown Past Perfect Continuous I had been showing you had been showing he had been showing she had been showing it had been showing we had been showing they had been showing
Present Perfect Continuous have been being you have been being he has been being she has been being it has been being we have been being they have been being Simple Past I was you were he was she was it was we were they were Past Continuous I was being you were being he was being she was being it was being we were being they were being Past Perfect I had been you had been he had been she had been it had been we had been they had been Past Perfect Continuous I had been being you had been being he had been being she had been being it had been being we had been being they had been being Simple Future I will (shall) be
Present Perfect Continuous I have been being shown you have been being shown he has been being shown she has been being shown it has been being shown we have been being shown they have been being shown Simple Past I was shown you were shown he was shown she was shown it was shown we were shown they were shown Past Continuous I was being shown you were being shown he was being shown she was being shown it was being shown we were being shown they were being shown Past Perfect I had been shown you had been shown he had been shown she had been shown it had been shown we had been shown they had been shown Past Perfect Continuous I had been being shown you had been being shown he had been being shown she had been being shown it had been being shown we had been being shown they had been being shown Simple Future I will (shall) be shown 9
you will be he will be she will be it will be we will (shall) be they will be Future Continuous I will (shall) be being you will be being he will be being she will be being it will be being we will (shall) be being they will be being Future Perfect I will (shall) have been you will have been he will have been she will have been it will have been we will (shall) have been they will have been Future Perfect Continuous I will (shall) have been being you will have been being he will have been being she will have been being It will have been being we will (shall) have been being they will have been being
you will be shown he will be shown she will be shown it will be shown we will (shall) be shown they will be shown Future Continuous I will (shall) be being shown you will be being shown he will be being shown she will be being shown it will be being shown we will (shall) be being shown they will be being shown Future Perfect I will (shall) have been shown you will have been shown he will have been shown she will have been shown it will have been shown we will (shall) have been shown they will have been shown Future Perfect Continuous I will (shall) have been being shown you will have been being shown he will have been being shown she will have been being shown it will have been being shown we will (shall) have been being shown they will have been being shown
Subjunctive Mood
Simple Present I be you be he be she be it be we be they be Present Continuous I be being you be being he be being 10 Simple Present I be shown you be shown he be shown she be shown it be shown we be shown they be shown Present Continuous I be being shown you be being shown he be being shown
she be being it be being we be being they be being Present Perfect I have been you have been he have been she have been it have been we have been they have been Present Perfect Continuous I have been being you have been being he have been being she have been being it have been being we have been being they have been being Simple Past I were you were he were she were it were we were they were Past Continuous I were being you were being he were being she were being it were being we were being they were being Past Perfect I had been you had been he had been she had been it had been we had been 11
she be being shown it be being shown we be being shown they be being shown Present Perfect I have been shown you have been shown he have been shown she have been shown it have been shown we have been shown they have been shown Present Perfect Continuous I have been being shown you have been being shown he have been being shown she have been being shown it have been being shown we have been being shown they have been being shown Simple Past I were shown you were shown he were shown she were shown it were shown we were shown they were shown Past Continuous I were being shown you were being shown he were being shown she were being shown it were being shown we were being shown they were being shown Past Perfect I had been shown you had been shown he had been shown she had been shown it had been shown we had been shown
they had been Past Perfect Continuous I had been being you had been being he had been being she had been being it had been being we had been being they had been being
they had been shown Past Perfect Continuous I had been being shown you had been being shown he had been being shown she had been being shown it had been being shown we had been being shown they had been being shown
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Table of English Tenses Tense Simple Present Affirmative/Negative/Question A: He speaks. N: He does not speak. Q: Does he speak?
Use action in the present taking place once, never or several times facts actions taking place one after another action set by a timetable or schedule action taking place in the moment of speaking action taking place only for a limited period of time action arranged for the future
Signal Words always, every , never, normally, often, seldom, sometimes, usually if sentences type I (If I talk, ) at the moment, just, just now, Listen!, Look!, now, right now
Present Progressive
Simple Past
action in the past taking place once, never or several times actions taking place one after another action taking place in the middle of another action
yesterday, 2 minutes ago, in 1990, the other day, last Friday if sentence type II (If I talked, ) when, while, as long as
Past Progressive
action going on at a certain time in the past actions taking place at the same time action in the past that is interrupted by another action
putting emphasis on the result action that is still going on action that stopped recently finished action that has an influence on the present action that has taken place once, never or several times before
already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now
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the moment of speaking Present Perfect Progressive A: He has been speaking. N: He has not been speaking. Q: Has he been speaking? putting emphasis on the course or duration (not the result) action that recently stopped or is still going on finished action that influenced the present
all day, for 4 years, since 1993, how long?, the whole week
action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect progressive putting emphasis only on the fact (not the duration)
already, just, never, not yet, once, until that day if sentence type III (If I had talked, )
A: He had been speaking. N: He had not been speaking. Q: Had he been speaking?
action taking place before a certain time in the past sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action
Future I Simple
action in the future that cannot be influenced spontaneous decision assumption with regard to the future
A: He is going to speak. N: He is not going to speak. Q: Is he going to speak? A: He will be speaking. N: He will not be speaking. Q: Will he be speaking?
decision made for the future conclusion with regard to the future
in a year, next , tomorrow If-Satz Typ I (If you ask her, she will help you.) assumption: I think, probably, we might , perhaps in one year, next week, tomorrow in one year, next week, tomorrow
action that is going on at a certain time in the future action that is sure to happen in the near future
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Future II Simple
A: He will have spoken. N: He will not have spoken. Q: Will he have spoken? A: He will have been speaking. N: He will not have been speaking. Q: Will he have been speaking? A: He would speak. N: He would not speak. Q: Would he speak?
by Monday, in a week for , the last couple of hours, all day long
Future II Progressive
action taking place before a certain time in the future putting emphasis on the course of an action
Conditional I Simple
action that might take place putting emphasis on the course / duration of the action
Conditional II Simple
A: He would have spoken. N: He would not have spoken. Q: Would he have spoken? A: He would have been speaking. N: He would not have been speaking. Q: Would he have been speaking?
if sentences type III (If I had seen that, I would have helped.)
Conditional II Progressive
action that might have taken place in the past puts emphasis on the course / duration of the action
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Auxiliary
The English tag question is made up of an auxiliary verb and a pronoun. The auxiliary has to agree with the tense, aspect and modality of the verb in the preceding sentence. If the verb was in the perfect tense, for example, the tag question uses has or have; if the verb was in a present progressive form, the tag is formed with am, are, is; and if the sentence has a modal verb, this is echoed in the tag: He's read this book, hasn't he? He read this book, didn't he? He's reading this book, isn't he? 16
He reads a lot of books, doesn't he? He'll read this book, won't he? He should read this book, shouldn't he? He can read this book, can't he?
Negation
English tag questions may contain a negation, but need not. When there is no special emphasis, the rule of thumb often applies that a positive sentence has a negative tag and vice versa: She is French, isn't she? She's not French, is she? These are sometimes called "balanced tag questions". However, it has been estimated that in normal conversation, as many as 40% of tags break this rule. "Unbalanced tag questions" (positive to positive or negative to negative) may be used for ironic or confrontational effects: Do listen, will you? Oh, I'm lazy, am I? Jack: I refuse to spend Sunday at your mother's house! Jill: Oh you do, do you? We'll see about that! Jack: I just won't go back! Jill: Oh you won't, won't you? Patterns of negation can show regional variations. In North East Scotland, for example, positive to positive is used when no special effect is desired: This pizza's fine, is it? (standard English: This pizza's delicious, isn't it?)
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