English Grammar Examples: Tenses, Clauses, and More
Verbal Tenses
Examples:
- I have never read such an interesting book / I haven’t had flu for five years. / I haven’t seen Frank for two months. / I haven’t visited London for fifteen years. / I haven’t visited Russia for ages.
- I started playing the piano twenty years ago.
- It is eight years since I read a play by George Bernard Shaw. / It is years since she enjoyed herself so much.
- It’s a long time since I last saw your wife. / It’s ages since I last saw a good film.
- It’s been a year since I met that famous writer. / It’s two months since she last phoned her mother.
- She has been drinking too much alcohol for two years. / She hasn’t written a poem for two years.
- They have been living in New York for two years. / We have not seen that movie for six months.
Contrast Connectors
Examples:
- Although it was very hot, she was wearing her winter clothes. / Although she had been vaccinated, she caught flu.
- Although she is (very) beautiful, she doesn’t have a boyfriend. / Although she ran well, she lost the race.
- Although the questions were difficult, she got a high mark in her exam.
- Despite being exhausted, he managed to finish reading the novel. / Despite being ill, she visited other countries.
- Despite being over seventy, Orson continued to cycle to work every day.
- In spite of being cold, we went to the countryside. / In spite of being poor, she was happy.
- In spite of the awful weather, they had a great time. / In spite of the horrible weather, we went skiing.
Causal Connectors
Examples:
- As it was raining, the children couldn’t go out to the playground. / As it was raining, the children stayed at home.
- As we don’t have enough money, we won’t buy that house.
- His parents got angry with him because he hadn’t behaved himself. / I stayed at home because I felt really tired.
- She sent off an application form, because she needed a job.
- Since it was much cheaper, we bought our tickets on the Web. / The children stayed up late because it was Friday.
Relative Clauses
Examples:
- Albert, who has just broken his ankle, is coming back from hospital tomorrow.
- Fiona, who is my boss, is smiling in the picture.
- I visited a village yesterday which I did not like.
- My new neighbours have got a baby whose name is Wendy.
- Shakespeare, who was a famous writer, wrote beautiful sonnets.
- That is the man whose brother is my new English teacher. / That is the woman whose husband is my boss.
- The Da Vinci Code, which was written by Dan Brown, is a best-seller.
- The man who(m) Sharon is going to marry is Eric’s brother. / The man, who(m) I saw later, was the president of the European Community.
- This is the man whose dog bit my brother in the park. / This is the man whose job is very dangerous.
- This is the ring which they didn’t pay for. / This is where we last had coffee together.
Reported Speech
Examples:
- He asked where the robbery took place. / He said that he had never seen anything so beautiful.
- He told them that he didn’t know.
- Martin suggested having dinner out that night. / Mary suggested going to the cinema on Tuesday.
- Michael suggested playing computer games.
- Sharon’s mother recommended going out in the afternoon.
- She asked him if he was coming to the party on Friday. / She asked how much that T-shirt was.
- She asked me what time my party started. / She asked Sheila where her brothers were.
- She ordered / begged / asked the students not to speak so loud.
- She said that she had read that book. / She told us not to be late.
- The man ordered us to keep off the grass.
- The policeman said that they would arrest them for illegal entry in the country.
- The teacher said that we had to hand our papers in at the end of that class. / The teacher told me to wait for him outside.
- The trainer told her to come back to the team.
- They asked me how much money I had put into the account.
- They have been living in New York for two years.
- Tim asked his mother if he could go to the disco. / Tim asked me what time the banks closed that day.
Passive Voice
Examples:
- English is spoken all over the world.
- Green paint can be made by mixing blue and yellow.
- He is considered to be an expert on cricket.
- I wasn’t told the secret.
- My house is being painted now.
- Penicillin was discovered in 1928 by Fleming.
- The instructions must be read first.
- The pieces of the broken toy were glued by the teacher.
- The stolen money has been found.
- The suspects aren’t obliged to say anything by the police.
- The window has been broken by the teenager in red.
- These letters should be posted.
- This tree is said to be over 400 years old.
- We have been given a Roald Dahl novel.
- We weren’t given the ticket by the shop assistant. / We weren’t told the answer by the teacher.
- We will be told the news tomorrow night.
- You will be fascinated by London. / You will be shocked by this story.
Have sth. Done
Examples:
- I am having my kitchen redecorated at the moment. / I am having my new car served next week.
- I had my hair cut last week. / I had my hair cut yesterday morning.
- I’ve had my television repaired (by the engineer).
- She has her eyes tested every year by the ophthalmologist. / She is going to have her car repaired next week.
- She’s having the windows mended. / You will have your hair cut tomorrow.
Modal Verbs
Examples:
- He can play golf.
- Her boyfriend may come to the wedding.
- I may finish work earlier than usual today. / I’m really looking forward to going to the theatre tomorrow.
- She might be his girlfriend. / She must be telling lies. / She must know you are here.
- Smoking is forbidden here.
- The fireman was able to rescue the child from the burning house.
- They may only open the museum in the morning. / They must be at home because the lights are on.
- We may be together soon.
- You are not allowed to have a bicycle.
- You don’t have to make your bed. / You needn’t make your bed.
- You mustn’t smoke in hospitals. / You mustn’t smoke in most restaurants. / You mustn’t smoke in this room.
- You should go to the dentist. / You should take some exercise. / You shouldn’t eat so many cakes.
- Your friend may call you on your birthday.
Gerund/Infinitive
Examples:
- Beth stopped smoking last December.
- Do you mind closing the door when you leave? / Do you mind posting this letter for me, please?
- He begged us not to shoot.
- He didn’t remember phoning his wife yesterday. / He tried to speak in English.
- I didn’t remember posting the letter. / I would like to have been invited.
- It is not easy to learn English.
- Sharon stopped eating junk food last May. / She stopped going to French lessons.
- Steve suggested telling Paul about it.
Questions
Examples:
- Could you tell me where the nearest cinema is?
- How long does it take you to get there? / How often do you have English classes?
- How often does he visit his parents? / How old is your grandfather?
- I wonder where my keys are.
- What did John buy? / What time does the next plane leave?
- When do you have to wear a uniform? / Where did you spend your holidays?
- Who drives 200 miles every day? / Who goes swimming twice a week?
- Who knew where the thief was hidden? / Who lives next door?
Comparatives
Examples:
- Apples are cheaper than bananas. / Apples aren’t as expensive as bananas.
- Gerard’s drawing is better than Albert’s drawing.
- His jokes are better than hers.
- India is poorer than Germany. / India is not as rich as Germany.
- It’s not as good as I thought it would be.
- Peter swims slower than Al. / Peter doesn’t swim as fast as Al.
- Sheila is less tall than her brother.
- The fish was worse than the meat. / The fish wasn’t as good as the meat.
- The novel is better than the film.
- You are better at English than me.
Superlatives
Examples:
- This is the first time I have read such an interesting book. / This is the most interesting book I’ve ever read.
- James Bond is the most famous fictional secret agent.
Conditional Sentences
Examples:
- If he had revised for the test, he wouldn’t have failed.
- If he hadn’t been so terrible to her, she wouldn’t have divorced him.
- If I earned much money, I could buy a new car.
- If I had a computer, I would be able to type the essay on English grammar.
- If I had known it was you, I would have opened the door.
- If I had made a note of it in my diary, I wouldn’t have forgotten about it.
- If I had studied enough, I wouldn’t have failed all my exams at the university.
- If I hadn’t forgotten Beth’s telephone number, I would have invited her.
- If I knew her address, I would be able to write to her / I could write to her.
- If my foot hadn’t hurt, I would have gone to the gym.
- If she had studied hard for the exam, she wouldn’t have made a lot of mistakes.
- If she wasn’t so busy, she could come to the party.
- If the tickets don’t arrive, we won’t be able to go.
- If we had had time, we would have visited the museum.
- If Wendy had studied for her test, she wouldn’t have failed.
- Unless the tickets arrive, we won’t be able to go.
- Unless we meet this month, it will be too late.
- Unless you hurry up, you won’t get tickets for the concert.
- Unless you listen carefully, you won’t understand the problem.
- Unless you review your notes tonight, you won’t do well tomorrow.
- Unless your boyfriend arrives before eight, we will have to leave.
- Unless your friend comes before ten, he will miss the train.
Wish Clauses
Examples:
- I wish I could speak French perfectly. / I wish I could speak German fluently.
- I wish I had gone shopping with you. / I wish I had got a car.
- I wish I had had time to see you last week. / I wish I had more free time these days.
- I wish I had remembered your birthday. / I wish I had told him everything.
- I wish I had worked hard enough last year. / I wish I hadn’t hit the dog on the head.
- I wish the weather hadn’t been so bad last weekend. / I wish we hadn’t accepted the invitation.
- I wish you could come along.
- Mary wished she hadn’t eaten so many cakes.
Common Phrases and Vocabulary
Controversial Issues: One of the most controversial issues in modern society.
Issues Facing Young People: One of the biggest issues facing young people.
Agreement/Disagreement: I agree with / I’m not agree with (should be: I disagree with).
Connectors and Examples:
- Due to (Debido a) – Example: Due to the rain, the event was canceled.
- For instance (Por ejemplo) – Example: For instance, consider the case of…
- Furthermore (Además/Es más) – Example: Furthermore, the evidence supports this conclusion.
- Nevertheless (Sin embargo, aun así) – Example: Nevertheless, we must continue our efforts.
- However (Aunque) – Example: However, there are some exceptions to this rule.
- In addition (Además) – Example: In addition to the above, we should also consider…
- Unless (A no ser) – Example: Unless you study, you will not pass the exam.
- Such as (Tal como) – Example: Animals such as dogs and cats are popular pets.
Various Verb Examples: The remaining text provides examples of various verb tenses and usage. These examples can be helpful for understanding how different verbs are used in context.