Mastering English Grammar: Verb Forms, Clauses, Conditionals, and More

Posted on Feb 21, 2025 in Translation and Interpreting

English Grammar Essentials

Verb Forms

Verb + to-infinitive: afford, agree, aim, appear, arrange, attempt, choose, consent, decide, demand, deserve, fail, hesitate, hope, hurry, learn, manage, neglect, offer, omit, plan, prepare, pretend, promise, refuse, seem, tend, threaten, volunteer, wait, wish, would like/love/prefer.

The following verbs + to-infinitive always have an object: dare, encourage, force, invite, order, persuade, remind, teach, tell, warn.

The following verbs + to-infinitive stems have an object: want, ask, expect, beg, help, intend, mean, need.

Verb + bare infinitive (no ‘to’): had better, would rather, help (to-infinitive or bare infinitive), let, make + object.

Verb + -ing: all verbs + preposition, admit, appreciate, avoid, can’t face, can’t help, can’t stand, carry on, confess, consider, delay, deny, detest, dislike, enjoy, fancy, feel like, finish, give up, imagine, involve, keep/keep on, mention, mind, miss, postpone, practice, prevent (+ object), put off, regret, resent, resist, risk, suggest.

Verb + to-infinitive or -ing (no change in meaning): begin, start, continue, like, hate, love, prefer, can’t bear, attempt, try.

Verb + bare infinitive or -ing (a slight change in meaning): feel, hear, notice, see, watch.

Verbs + full infinitive or -ing form with a change in meaning: remember, forget, try, stop, go on, learn/teach, like, mean, regret, consider/imagine.

Relative Clauses

Relative clauses are used to identify or give additional information about nouns or indefinite pronouns such as one, someone, somebody, something, another, other(s). They are also called adjective clauses because they are similar to adjectives.

Relative clauses are post-modifiers; they follow the noun or pronoun they describe, which we call the antecedent. They are a constituent of the noun phrase.

Types of Relative Clauses:

  • Defining (Restrictive or Identifying) Relative Clauses: Necessary to identify which member of a group we are talking about. Not between commas. Can use THAT instead of WHO or WHICH. Can sometimes leave out the relative pronoun.
  • Non-Defining (Non-Restrictive, Explicative, or Non-Identifying) Relative Clauses: The information is not necessary to identify the noun. Between commas. We don’t use THAT. We have to use the relative pronoun.

Conditional Sentences

A conditional clause is a type of adverb clause. They are subordinate clauses, they can’t stand on their own. They can be classified into 4 types:

Types of Conditional Sentences:

  • Zero Conditional: If I drink coffee, I don’t sleep. Situations that are true, habits & repeated actions. It refers to the present. For general truths or habits, if can be replaced with when & the meaning doesn’t change. Variation: imperative or modal in the main clause.
  • First Conditional: If you drink that much coffee, you won’t sleep. It refers to the future. There’s a future result. The sentence describes a real possibility; the action is likely to happen. We use it to promise, persuade, warn, or threaten someone.
  • Second Conditional: If you drank less coffee, you would sleep better. It’s a type of unreal conditional referring to the present or future. There is a hypothetical result. We use it to give advice.
  • Third Conditional: If you hadn’t drunk so much coffee, you would have slept better.

Contrast

We often want to indicate that the situation in the main clause is surprising or contrary to what one might expect in view of another situation. In order to do this, we need a coordinating conjunction, a preposition, a subordinating conjunction, or an adverb.

Contrast Words:

  • Coordinating Conjunctions: but, yet (written English). Still and anyway added for emphasis.
  • Prepositions: despite/in spite of + noun, despite/in spite of + pronoun, despite/in spite of + verb -ing, despite/in spite of + the fact that.
  • Subordinating Conjunctions:
    • although + clause
    • though + clause (can appear at the end)
    • even though + clause
    • while + clause: introduces something that may conflict with what is said in the main clause
    • whereas + clause
    • much as + subject + verb: much as I like her…
    • no matter + how/what
    • try as + subject + might
  • Adverbs: They are separated from the rest of the sentence with a comma.
    • however
    • nevertheless
    • on the other hand
    • even so
    • all the same

Reason

Reason Words:

  • Subordinating Conjunctions:
    • because: it emphasizes the reason
    • as: it emphasizes the action in the main clause
    • since: it emphasizes the action in the main clause
    • for: written English “we must begin planning now, for we don’t know what tomorrow will bring”
    • now (that): the event in the main clause follows another in time, but is also caused by the event in the subordinate clause. The verb in the reason clause is usually in present or present perfect.
  • Prepositions:
    • because of
    • on account of
    • due to
    • owing to
    • with
    • seeing that

Expressed in written English: the reason for, the reason why.