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easy
." ('easy' describes 'assignment').well
.", "danced really well
.", "Drive carefully
."well
, carefully
, pleasantly
) to describe *how* an action verb is performed, not an adjective (good
, careful
, pleasant
).as ... as
Structure: Used for equality/inequality. Use the base form of the adjective or adverb between 'as' and 'as'. E.g., "not as expensive as
", "work as hard as
".more carefully
) or '-er' form (e.g., harder
) when comparing two actions using than
. E.g., "drives more carefully than
..."little
with uncountable nouns (like 'rain') for a small amount. E.g., "very little
rain".few
with countable nouns for a small number.many
with countable nouns for a large number.more
were not fully illustrated beyond being comparative).Neither...nor
/ Either...or
: The verb agrees with the subject *closer* to it. E.g., "Neither my mother nor my sisters are
...", "Neither students nor their teacher is
..."as well as
, along with
, together with
coming between subject parts do *not* change the subject number. The verb agrees with the *main subject* before the phrase. E.g., "The class monitor, as well as his friends, performs
...", "The Principal along with experts was
..."One of the...
: The subject is One
(singular) and takes a singular verb. E.g., "One of the boys is
working..." (But note the relative clause exception under that section).and
: Subjects joined by and
are usually plural and take a plural verb. E.g., "He and I have
(been)..."herd
, team
, etc.) usually take a singular verb when the group acts as a single unit. E.g., "The herd runs
..."pajamas
). E.g., "...the pajamas fit
me."Many words require specific prepositions. Examples covered:
lead to
(result/direction)belong to
(membership)accompanied by
(agent in passive)stare at
(target of gaze)respect for
(the respected entity)based on
(foundation)suspected of
(crime)interested in
(topic/activity)through
: Movement within and out of a passage (e.g., through
the tunnel).out of
: Movement from inside an enclosed space (e.g., came out of
the office).The preposition/particle changes the verb's meaning.
call off
: Cancel (e.g., parties were called off
).might
, could
(e.g., "He might
be his father.")must
(strong obligation): "You must
finish..."need
+ gerund (necessity): "My fingernails need
cutting."must
(strong positive deduction): "He must
be mad.", "They must
have a great chef."can't
(strong negative deduction/impossibility): "You can't
be hungry."must have
+ past participle (strong past deduction): "She must have
missed the bus."might have
+ pp, could have
+ pp (e.g., "There might have
been a demonstration.")needn't
(e.g., "You needn't
be hungry.")will be + -ing
): Used for an action that will be in progress at a specific time in the future. E.g., "...we will be having
dinner then."had + past participle
): Used for an action completed *before* another past action. E.g., "He had had
breakfast before he set out."will have been + -ing
) / Future Perfect (will have + pp
): Used for the duration of an action up to a specific point in the future. E.g., "...she will have been working
... for fifteen years."ran
out..."be
+ past participle. E.g., "She was overcome
" (Simple Past Passive). "His company is
greatly sought
after." (Present Simple Passive).-ing
form):fond of gardening
, look forward to hearing
).thankful for his coming
).finish doing
, deny committing
, dislike [doing something]
, resent [doing something]
).to
-Infinitive:It's + adjective
(e.g., It's best to dig
).be likely to show
, advised me to put
, want someone to do
).to
):let
(e.g., let me read
).being + past participle
(e.g., dislike being given
, resent being interrupted
).to be + past participle
(e.g., want to be respected
).although
, even though
, though
(connect clauses despite contradiction). however
(connects sentences/clauses showing contrast). E.g., "Although
she worked hard, she didn't pass." "We got wet although
we had an umbrella."because
, as
, since
(introduce the reason why). E.g., "I wanted to go back because
I was uneasy."so
(introduces the consequence). E.g., "I had to work late, so
I was tired."as soon as
(indicates immediate succession). E.g., "As soon as
they saw the tiger, they attacked."unless
(means 'if not'). E.g., "Impossible to succeed unless
one works hard."who
(subject), whom
(object - not explicitly tested here), whose
(possessive), that
(can replace who
in defining clauses).which
(subject/object), that
(can replace which
in defining clauses).where
(replaces 'in/at/on the place'), in which
, from where
.whose
(for people, animals, sometimes things). E.g., "...consultant whose
advice I rely on.", "...man whose
son plays..."who have
passed..." ('who' refers to plural 'girls').Form of BE + Past Participle
.be
+ pp).by
) or is omitted.being + pp
(gerund) or to be + pp
(infinitive) when the action expressed by the gerund/infinitive is received by the subject. E.g., resent being interrupted
, want to be respected
.be
verb and the subject. E.g., Was
the crime confessed?this
-> that
, these
-> those
, now
-> then
).(reporting verb) + that + clause
.(reporting verb) + if/whether + clause
(statement word order).(reporting verb) + Wh-word + clause
(statement word order).(reporting verb) + object + (not) + to-infinitive
.can
-> could
, will
-> would
), others may not (must not
for prohibition).ask
for questions, tell/warn/advise/order
for commands, request
for polite requests, wonder
for questions asked to oneself).do/does/did
.I am...
=> ..., aren't I?
culturally
to modify adjective diverse
; noun practice
vs. verb practise
[BrE spelling]).was waiting
with while
for simultaneous past actions).All
/Both
usually precede possessives (All my books
, Both his brothers
).a hundred rupees
).me
, him
, us
, etc.) after prepositions, including except
(e.g., except me
).often
) usually go before the main verb (except be
).