Learn English | A new lesson every week
Book your course now

Grammar

Participles

Average: 3.6 (18 votes)

Here are the common participles:

Verb – work

Peter is working from home at the moment. working present participle
Peter has worked here for almost two years. worked – past participle
Having worked here for two years, Peter was given a promotion. having worked – perfect participle

Adverbial expressions 2

Average: 3.5 (13 votes)

Here are some adverbial expressions. This is how and when they are used.

Purpose

to, in order to, in order that, so that
We had to install air conditioning to keep the offices cool in summer.
Peter went to the embassy so that he could get a visa.
Sarah phoned John in order to find out if he was available for dinner.

Time expressions

Average: 3.7 (61 votes)

Look at these time expressions. It is important to use the right preposition when using time expressions.

at + the exact time 
I usually wake up at half past six.

in + a period of time
She started working in the morning and left late in the evening.

on + a day  I was born on 13th June 1968
He had an amazing party on his birthday.

for + a length of time
I waited for Sarah for two hours.

Adverbial expressions

Average: 3.7 (15 votes)

Here are some sentence patterns with adverbial expressions:

Concession (with, although, though, even though, whether – or)

Although the dress was expensive, Sarah decided to buy it.
We went outside even though it was raining.
I'll never speak to Karen again whether she apologises or not.

Condition (with if, unless, on condition that, provided – providing that)

Prepositions 2

Average: 4.2 (19 votes)

Here are some ways that these prepositions are used:

Off

Get off the bus at the next stop.
The waitress knocked the bottle of wine off the table.
I've taken a week off work.

On

John's sitting on the chair next to Sarah.
I live on the 4th floor of this block.
I'm on duty this weekend.

Prepositions 1

Average: 3.5 (17 votes)

Here is a look at how certain prepositions are used:

About

She told me about her promotion.
The trip cost about €1000.
Do you know anything about painting?

Across

We walked across the square, taking in all the sights.

Against

Shoplifting is against the law.
I hope you didn’t lean against the wall. The paint’s still wet.

Using ‘the’ and no article

Average: 3.4 (25 votes)

‘The’ is used to refer to a definite person or thing:

With a superlative: This must be the hottest day of the year.

When there is only one: the sun, the moon, the end, the kitchen, the minister

We use the with some names of some rivers, oceans, rivers, newspapers etc.

We do not use the with the names of most countries

We do not usually use the before a plural noun unless we add more information to show which group we are talking about.

Using 'a' or 'an'

Average: 4.7 (6 votes)

'A' and 'an' mean 'a (any) one' but 'the' refers to someone or something already known.
Can I have a cake?
Can I have the cake with the cherries?

We use 'a' and 'an' when:
We mean one of many and not a special one.
Can you lend me a pen? - Have you got a car?

When we give a person's occupation.
She's an architect.

Adjectives ending in -ed or -ing

Average: 3.5 (35 votes)

Adjectives ending in -ed or -ing.

-ed: excited, interested, bored, annoyed, surprised.
-ing: exciting, interesting, boring, annoying, surprising.

The words above are a few of the adjectives that end in -ed or -ing. Their meaning can sometimes be confusing.

Adjectives ending in -ed show what has happened to a person or thing.
He was surprised by the result of his test.

Sentence structure

Average: 3.8 (16 votes)

We can make a sentence longer by adding more information about the person, thing or action in the sentence. With the following sentences we cannot divide them into two parts and make two sentences.