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VERB PATTERNS
VERBS + INFINITIVE OR -ING
Sometimes in a sentence, one verb follows another. For example: “I want to buy an electric car.” In
sentences like this, there are different possible patterns. For example:

• “I want to buy an electric car.”  VERB + INFINITIVE

• “I hate driving.”  VERB + -ING

Verb patterns are dependent upon the first verb and there are several different types. Some verbs have
more than one possibility. If a verb has two patterns, each one can have a different meaning or use.

THE FULL INFINITIVE FORM

The FULL INFINITIVE is used:

• AFTER CERTAIN VERBS  Advise, afford, agree, allow sb, appear, arrange, ask, attempt, be
allowed, choose, compel, dare, decide, demand, deserve, encourage, expect, fail, grow, hasten,
happen, hope, hurry, intend, invite, learn, long, manage, neglect, offer, pay, plan, pledge,
pretend, proceed, promise, refuse, remind, resolve, seek, seem, struggle, swear, tell, tend,
threaten, vow, want, wish, etc.  “He advised me to take a rest.”

• AFTER CERTAIN ADJECTIVES  Amazed, angry, delighted, difficult, disgusted, easy, first, glad,
happy, last, likely, obliged, sad, sorry, supposed, surprised, unable, etc.  “I was glad to hear
he had been promoted to manager.”

• WITH IMPERSONAL CONSTRUCTIONS + ADJECTIVE  “It was nice of him to send you roses.”

• WITH ONLY AND JUST (UNSATISFACTORY RESULT)  “He phoned only to say that he wouldn’t
be coming.”

• WITH SET EXPRESSIONS  To tell you the truth, to cut a long story short, to be honest/fair, etc.
 “To tell you the truth, I haven’t seen him since Monday.”

• AFTER CERTAIN NOUNS  Pleasure, nuisance, nightmare, etc.  “It’s a pleasure to see you.”

• AFTER QUESTION WORDS  Who, where, what, etc.  “I don’t know what to do.”

• WITH TOO AND ENOUGH  “She’s too old to drive a car.”; “He’s old enough to drive a car.”

• VERB + OBJECT + -INF  “The doctor advised the patient to rest.”; “The supervisor urged the
employees to submit the report.”; “Keith helped the lady (to) carry her bags.”; “They requested
him to leave.” (OFTEN USED WITH THE PASSIVE)

THE BARE INFINITIVE FORM

The BARE INFINITIVE is used:

• WITH MODALS  Can, could, may, might, shall, should, must, will, would.  “He can go if he
wants to.” (EXCEPTIONS  Ought to, be able to, have to)

• WITH NEED, DARE (AS AUXILIARY VERBS)  “You needn’t work today.”; “I daren’t talk to
him.” (DARE expressing COURAGE OR LACK OF COURAGE  BARE/FULL INF; DARE expressing
THREATS, WARNING, ANGER  BARE INF; DARE expressing CHALLENGE  FULL INF)

• WITH HAD BETTER/WOULD RATHER/WOULD SOONER  “You’d better go to bed.”; “She

would rather drive than take the train.”; “He would sooner lose everything than admit it.”
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• AFTER CERTAIN VERBS  Make (= force), let (= allow), see, hear, smell, feel, watch, notice (IN
ACTIVE VOICE – Notice, make, see, hear, tell, watch IN PASSIVE VOICE  FULL INF).  “He let
me watch TV.”; “They made Susan tell the truth.”; “I saw her leave the room.”; “I heard him say
that.”; “We watched them leave the apartment.”

VERBS OF PERCEPTION
INFINITIVE and PRESENT PARTICIPLE with VERBS OF PERCEPTION  See, hear, listen, watch.

“I heard her sing a lovely song.”  COMPLETE ACTION (PROBABLY WITH THE INTENTION OF DOING SO)

“I heard her singing a song as I walked past her room.”  JUST A PART OF IT (BY CHANCE AND POSSIBLY
NOT PAYING ATTENTION)

THE -ING FORM

The -ING is used:

• AFTER PREPOSITIONS  “I look forward to hearing from you.”; “I’m interested in applying for
the new job in the local newspaper.”; “The Prime Minister thought about implementing new
measures.”  PREPOSITIONS ARE ALWAYS FOLLOWED BY A GERUND

• AFTER CERTAIN VERBS  Admit (to), anticipate, appreciate, avoid, (can’t) help, (can’t stand),
consider, defer, delay, deny, detest, dislike, endure, enjoy, entail, escape (= avoid), envisage,
evade, fancy, finish, forgive, give up, hate, imagine, incur, involve, keep (on = continue), like,
loathe, love, mention, mind, miss, pardon, postpone, practise, prefer, prevent, put off, recall,
recollect, report, resent, risk, save, shirk, suggest, understand (hate, like, love and prefer when
used in the CONDITIONAL are followed by FULL INFINITIVE).  “He likes telling jokes.”

• WITH SET EXPRESSIONS  It’s no use/good, it’s (not) worth, there’s no point (in), feel like,
can’t stand, can’t help, be/get used to, be/get accustomed to, have difficulty (in), in favour of.

VERBS TAKING MULTIPLE PATTERNS

SUGGEST

• + -ING  “I suggested putting the matter to the committee.”

• + THAT + (SHOULD) + BARE INFINITIVE  “The doctor suggested that the patient should rest in
bed.”; “I suggest that we wait a while before we make any firm decisions.”

• + NOUN  “I suggested an Italian restaurant near the station to my relative.”

• - PRONOUN  “He suggested me to apply.”

CONSIDER

• + -ING  “I considered travelling to Japan.” (= THINK ABOUT)

• + (TO BE) + NOUN  “She is considered (to be) the right person for the job.”

• + THAT  “We consider that we should file for bankruptcy.”

• + PRONOUN + (TO BE)  “We don’t consider her (to be) the right person for the job.”

VERBS TAKING INFINITIVE OR -ING FORM WITHOUT A CHANGE IN MEANING

BEGIN, START, CONTINUE, CEASE, COMMENCE, OMIT (CONTINUOUS FORM  FULL INFINITIVE)

• + -ING  “He continued listening to the radio.”

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• + FULL INFINITIVE  “He continued to listen to the radio.”

ADVISE, ALLOW, PERMIT, RECOMMEND, INTEND (INTEND can take a GERUND in any case)

• + -ING  “He allowed eating in the classroom.”; “He recommended taking plenty of exercise.”

• + OBJECT + FULL INFINITIVE  “He allowed us to eat in the classroom.”; “He recommended us
to take plenty of exercise.”

STH NEEDS/REQUIRES/WANTS

• + -ING  “The car needs servicing.”

• + PASSIVE INFINITIVE  “The car needs to be serviced.”

VERBS TAKING INFINITIVE OR -ING FORM WITH A CHANGE IN MEANING

FORGET

• + -ING  Not to recall.  “I’ll never forget visiting that museum.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Not remember to do sth when you intend to.  “I forgot to visit the
museum.”

GO ON

• + -ING  Continue.  “He went on playing the piano in spite of the neighbour’s complaints.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Stop one action and start another.  “They first discussed the items on
the agenda and then went on to discuss the budget.”

LIKE

• + -ING  Enjoy.  “I like swimming.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Find sth good to do.  “I like to go to the market very early in the
morning so that I can select the best vegetables.”

• WOULD LIKE TO + INFINITIVE  Want to.  “I would like to meet your friend.”

MEAN

• + -ING  Involve, entail.  “It means changing the original plans.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Intend to.  “She means to discuss the matter with the headmaster.”

PROPOSE:

• + -ING  Suggest.  “I propose trying that new Chinese restaurant.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Intend.  “I propose to build three more classrooms.”

REGRET

• + -ING  Feel sorry about a past action.  “I regret buying this car because it is always
breaking down.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Be sorry to have to do sth.  “I regret to inform you that your application
has been rejected.”

REMEMBER

• + -ING  Recall.  “She remembers locking the door before leaving the house.”
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• + FULL INFINITIVE  Not forget to do sth when you intend to.  “Remember to lock the door
before you leave the house.”

TRY

• + -ING  Do as an experiment.  “They tried advertising their business in the local

newspaper.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Attempt.  “We tried to persuade him not to go, but he wouldn’t listen.”

STOP

• + -ING  Finish, stop permanently.  “They stopped talking when the teacher came in.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Stop sth temporarily, in order to do sth else.  “She stopped to talk to
her neighbour as she was taking her dog for a walk.”

UNDERSTAND/(BE) UNDERSTOOD

• + -ING  To understand sb else’s feelings or actions.  “I can understand his feeling angry
about their decision.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Give the impression.  “He is understood to agree that negotiations are
necessary.”

WANT

• + -ING  Need sth done.  “The battery’s flat; it wants recharging.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Wish.  “I want to extend my visa.”

DREAD

• + -ING  To fear greatly (general).  “I dread going to the doctor.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Be afraid (specific).  “I dread to think how much he may suffer.”

HATE

• + -ING  Feel sorry for what one is doing.  “I hate causing you inconvenience.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Hate what one is about to do.  “I hate to interrupt you but I need help.”

BE SORRY (FOR)

• + -ING  Apologise.  “I am sorry for shouting at you.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Regret sth/feel regret.  “I am sorry to hear of his illness.”

BE AFRAID TO/OF

• + -ING  Fear that the action expressed by the gerund may happen.  “She didn’t want to
drive the car; she was afraid of causing an accident.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Too frightened to do sth.  “She was afraid to drive the car.”

BE ASHAMED TO/OF

• + -ING  Present or previous action.  “She’s ashamed of lying, and swears she’ll never do it
again.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Subsequent action.  “She was ashamed to admit that she had lied.”
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PREFER

• + -ING  General.  “I prefer swimming to running.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  General.  “He prefers to study at night.”

• WOULD PREFER + FULL INFINITIVE  Specific action.  “I would prefer to be left alone.”

CAN’T/COULDN’T BEAR

• + -ING  General.  “I can’t bear telling people bad news.”

• + FULL INFINITIVE  Specific.  “I can’t bear to tell him the bad news.”

NON-FINITE FORMS OF THE VERB

NON-FINITE FORMS OF THE VERB are those verb forms that are NOT CONJUGATED. These forms include:

• GERUNDS

• INFINITIVES (BARE AND FULL INFINITIVE)

• PARTICIPLES (PAST AND PRESENT PARTICIPLE)

GERUND VS. PRESENT PARTICIPLE

They both take -ING, but the GERUND can only work as a NOMINAL EQUIVALENT, while the PARTICIPLE
can be an ADJECTIVAL EQUIVALENT, an ADVERBIAL EQUIVALENT or a COMPLEMENT.

PRESENT PARTICIPLE AS THE MAIN VERB IN CONTINUOUS TENSES

The part conjugated is the VERB “TO BE”, while the main verb is the PRESENT PARTICIPLE:

• “I am working.”

• “He was singing.”

• “They have been walking.”

• “We will be staying.”

• “She would have been expecting me.”

PRESENT PARTICIPLE AFTER VERBS OF PERCEPTION

Here, the PRESENT PARTICIPLE is working as a COMPLEMENT:

• “I heard someone singing.”

• “He saw his friend walking along the road.”

• “I can smell something burning!”

• “I watched the birds flying away.”

PRESENT PARTICIPLE IN ADVERBIAL CLAUSES

The PRESENT PARTICIPLE can be used in AC in what we call PARTICIPLE CLAUSES:

• “Whistling to himself, he walked down the road.”  He whistled to himself as he walked down
the road.
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• “Dropping the gun, she put her hands in the air.”  She dropped the gun and put her hands in
the air.

• “Putting on his coat, he left the house.”  He put on his coat and left the house.

• “Feeling hungry, he went into the kitchen and opened the fridge.”

• “Knowing that his mother was coming, he cleaned the flat.”

• “He whispered, thinking his brother was still asleep.”

RULE  The SUBJECT of the SUBORDINATED CLAUSE (PARTICIPLE CLAUSE) must be the same than the
one in the MAIN CLAUSE, otherwise we have a DANGLING PARTICIPLE:

• “Feeling tired, the principal let the teacher leave earlier.”  NOT GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT

• “Feeling tired, the teacher was allowed to go home.”  GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT

• “The teacher feeling tired, the principal let her go earlier.”  ABSOLUTE CONSTRUCTION

PRESENT PARTICIPLE IN REDUCED RELATIVE CLAUSES

We can use the PRESENT PARTICIPLE in order to REDUCE RELATIVE CLAUSES:

• “The girl sitting next to Tom is my friend.”

• “The boy painting the mural yesterday was a pupil of mine.”

• “The lady dancing at the party called Tina’s attention.”

PRESENT PARTICIPLE FUNCTIONING AS AN ADJECTIVE

The typical use of the PRESENT PARTICIPLE working as an ADJECTIVE:

• “It was an amazing film.”

• “Harry Potter is an interesting book.”

• “He was trapped inside the burning house.”

• “I found that book very boring.”

GERUND AS THE SUBJECT OF A SENTENCE

The best way to know whether the -ING is a GERUND or not, is to replace it by a NOUN:

• “Eating people is wrong.”  “Cannibalism is wrong.”

• “Hunting tigers is dangerous.”  “Tigers are dangerous.”

• “Flying makes me nervous.”  “Planes make me nervous.”

• “Brushing your teeth is important.”  “Clean teeth are important.”

• “Smoking causes lung cancer.”  “Cigarettes cause lung cancer.”

GERUND AS A COMPLEMENT OF THE VERB “TO BE”

Sometimes, if we don’t read a little bit deeper, this may be confused with other cases in which the
PARTICIPLE is preceded by the VERB “TO BE”:

• “One of his duties is attending meetings.”  GERUNDIAL PHRASE (SUBCP)

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• “The hardest thing about learning English is understanding the gerund.”  GERUNDIAL
PHRASE (SUBCP)

• “One of life’s pleasures is having breakfast in bed.”  GERUNDIAL PHRASE (SUBCP)

BE CAREFUL!

• “What I like about teaching is helping students.”  GERUND

• “She is helping the students.”  PARTICIPLE

GERUND AFTER A PREPOSITION

Whenever we have a PREPOSITION, what follows afterwards is a GERUND:

• “Can you sneeze without opening your mouth?”

• “She is good at painting.”

• “She avoided him by walking on the opposite side of the road.”

• “We arrived in Madrid after driving all night.”

• “There’s no point in waiting.”

• “She’s interested in painting.”

GERUND IN COMPOUND NOUNS

COMPOUNDS are UNITS, considered as a NOUN itself. Sometimes they are confused with a PARTICIPLE:

• “I’m giving Sally a driving lesson.”

• “They have a swimming pool in their back yard.”

• “I bought some new running shoes.”

GERUND IN A COMPOUND NOUN VS. PRESENT PARTICIPLE AS AN ADJECTIVE:

• “An interesting book.”  A book that is interesting.

• “A driving lesson.”  A lesson in which you learn how to drive. NOT  A lesson that drives.

PAST PARTICIPLE
The use of the PAST PARTICIPLE in many cases is quite similar to the use of the PRESENT PARTICIPLE.

PAST PARTICIPLE AS THE MAIN VERB IN PERFECT TENSES

• “I have worked.”

• “She has studied hard.”

• “When I arrived, she had already left.”

• “I have always wanted to have a pet.”

• “She has eaten everything!”

PAST PARTICIPLE AS THE MAIN VERB IN THE PASSIVE VOICE

This use of the PAST PARTICIPLE may be confused with its use as an ADJECTIVE:

• “Two men were arrested yesterday.”

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• “This book was written by Paul Aster.”

• “The TV has been repaired.”

PAST PARTICIPLE FUNCTIONING AS AN ADJECTIVE

• “He gave me a broken glass.”

• “I’m bored.”

• “She was tired.”  It can be confused with PASSIVE VOICE

PAST PARTICIPLE VS. PRESENT PARTICIPLE FUNCTIONING AS ADJECTIVES:

• “The movie is boring.”  TO TALK ABOUT THE PERSON, THING, OR SITUATION WHICH HAS
CAUSED THE FEELING (Active side of the situation  It causes people to feel bored)

• “The girl is bored.”  TO TALK ABOUT HOW SOMEONE FEELS (Animated entity)

PAST PARTICIPLE IN ADVERBIAL CLAUSES

• “Abandoned by his colleagues, the Minister was forced to resign.”

• “Shocked by the story, she started to cry.”

PAST PARTICIPLE WITH CAUSATIVE HAVE OR GET

• “I had my car repaired.”

• “She had her hair cut.”

• “I need to have my car fixed for tomorrow.”

PAST PARTICIPLE IN REDUCED RELATIVE CLAUSES

• “The TV repaired by my brother is broken again.”

• “The house sold last week is really beautiful.”

• “The dog rescued by Mary is really nice.”

ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
AC are always SUBORDINATED, so they are usually introduced by a SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION.

SEMANTIC CLASSIFICATION OF ADVERBIAL CLAUSES

• ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF TIME

• ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF PLACE

• ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF MANNER

• ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF PURPOSE

• ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF REASON

• ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF RESULT

• ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF CONDITION

• ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF CONCESSION

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CLASSIFICATION OF ADVERBIAL CLAUSES ACCORDING TO THE TYPE OF VERB

• FINITE CLAUSES  THEY HAVE A FINITE OR CONJUGATED VERB

• NON-FINITE CLAUSES  THEY HAVE A NON-FINITE VERB

• VERBLESS CLAUSES  THEY HAVE NO VERB

FINITE ADVERBIAL CLAUSES

• “Sarah has a right to spend her money as she pleases.”  AC OF MANNER

• “I took no notice of him, so he flew into a rage.”  AC OF RESULT

• “Although the hall was crowded, they managed to find seats.”  AC OF CONCESSION

• “Suppose he comes back, what are we to do?”  AC OF CONDITION

• “Where the fire had been, we saw nothing but blackened ruins.”  AC OF PLACE

NON-FINITE ADVERBIAL CLAUSES

We can have a PARTICIPLE or an INFINITIVE:

• “He wrote his best novel, while --- working on a freighter.”

• “Once --- published, the book caused a remarkable stir.”

• “She arrived early in order to --- get a good seat.”

• “Walking along the street, I met a friend.”

• “Born and bred a country man, he was bewildered by London.”

• “She arrived early to get a good seat.”

FINITE VS. NON-FINITE CLAUSES:

• “Turning to the left, you’ll find the place you want.”

• “If/When you turn to the left, you’ll find the place you want.”

• “Seeing that it was raining, George put on his mackintosh.”

• “As he saw that it was raining, George put on his mackintosh.”

VERBLESS ADVERBIAL CLAUSES

Also called ADVERBIAL PHRASES:

• “If in doubt, phone me.”  “If you are in doubt, phone me.”

• “Though well over sixty, he can walk a mile faster than I can.”  “Though he is well over sixty,
he can walk a mile faster than I can.”

• “He married her when a student at Harvard.”  “He married her when he was a student (…).”

LOOSE OR DANGLING PARTICIPLE

Whenever we have NON-FINITE CLAUSES, we have to make sure that the SUBJECT of the
SUBORDINATED CLAUSE is the same as the one of the MAIN CLAUSE, so as not to have a DANGLING
PARTICIPLE:
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• “Walking along the street, I met a friend.”  GRAMMATICAL

• “Walking up the stairs, my pen fell out of my pocket.”  UNGRAMMATICAL

• “Reading the evening newspaper, a dog started barking.”  UNGRAMMATICAL

We can FIX a DANGLING PARTICIPLE by using an ABSOLUTE CONSTRUCTION.

ABSOLUTE CONSTRUCTION
If the SUBJECT of the NON-FINITE CLAUSE happens to be different from the GRAMMATICAL SUBJECT of
the sentence but it’s EXPLICIT, the sentence is GRAMMATICAL. The NON-FINITE CLAUSE is called an
ABSOLUTE CONSTRUCTION:

• “Christmas Day being a holiday, the shops were all closed.”

• “Weather permitting, the match will be played on Sunday.”

• “The man entered the room, dagger in hand/his dagger being in his hand.”

• “The boy entered the room, his dog at his heels/his dog being at his heels.”

• “With her husband away, she felt free to do whatever she wanted.”

REPORTED SPEECH
We use REPORTED SPEECH when we are REPHRASING or RETELLING what somebody else said before, as
opposed to when we are QUOTING.

TYPES OF SPEECH
There are 2 types of SPEECH:

• DIRECT  The exact words someone said or wrote.

• INDIRECT  Retelling exactly what someone said or wrote, without using their actual words.

There are 3 types of DIRECT SPEECH that can be REPORTED:

• STATEMENTS  REPORTED USING THAT-CLAUSES

o “‘The plane will be late,’ they said.”  “They said (that) the plane would be late.”

• QUESTIONS  REPORTED USING WH-CLAUSES AND IF-CLAUSES

o “‘Why are you late?’ she asked.”  “She asked why I was late.”

o “‘Are you feeling well?’ he asked me.”  “He asked me if I was feeling well.”

• COMMANDS / REQUESTS  REPORTED USING THE FULL INFINITIVE

o “‘Don’t touch it!’ he said.”  “He told me not to touch it.”

o “‘Turn on the light, please,’ he said.”  “He asked me to turn the light.”

The most common REPORTING VERBS are SAY, TELL and ASK.

CHANGING FROM DIRECT INTO REPORTED SPEECH

RULE  In most cases, we have to MOVE 1 TENSE BACK.
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DIRECT SPEECH REPORTED SPEECH

SIMPLE PRESENT SIMPLE PAST
“‘I can’t stand that boy,’ she said” “She said (that) she couldn’t stand that boy.”

PRESENT CONTINUOUS PAST CONTINUOUS

“‘I’m having a nice time,’ she said” “She said (that) she was having a nice time.”

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE PAST PERFECT SIMPLE

“‘I’ve booked my summer holiday,’ he said” “He said (that) he had booked his summer holiday.”

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS

“‘I’ve been waiting for you all morning,’ he said” “He said (that) he had been waiting for me all morning.”

SIMPLE PAST PAST PERFECT

“‘I failed my driving test,’ he said” “He said (that) he had failed his driving test.”

SIMPLE FUTURE CONDITIONAL

“‘I’ll tidy my room tomorrow,’ she said” “She said (that) she would tidy her room the next day.”

FUTURE CONTINUOUS CONDITIONAL CONTINUOUS

“‘I’ll be working in Paris next year,’ he said” “He said (that) he would be working in Paris the following year.”

NOTE  PAST PERFECT SIMPLE AND CONTINUOUS DO NOT CHANGE THEIR FORMS IN REPORTED
SPEECH

To form a REPORTED QUESTION, we need to follow these steps:

• Use a reporting verb.

• Repeat the question word.

• Change the pronouns. “Where are you from?”  “He asked me where I was from.”

• Move the tense back.

• Use statement word order.

The following words also change:

• THIS/THESE  THAT/THOSE/THE

• HERE  THERE

• COME  GO

• BRING  TAKE

PRONOUNS and POSSESIVE ADJECTIVES change according to the meaning of the sentence.

• “He said, ‘I can’t do it myself.’”  “He said (that) he couldn’t do it himself.”

TIME EXPRESSIONS change as follows:

• TONIGHT  THAT NIGHT

• NOW  THEN/AT THAT TIME/AT ONCE/IMMEDIATELY

• NOW THAT  SINCE

• TODAY  THAT DAY

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• YESTERDAY  THE DAY BEFORE/THE PREVIOUS DAY

• TOMORROW  THE DAY AFTER/THE FOLLOWING DAY/THE NEXT DAY

• TOMORROW MORNING  THE MORNING AFTER/THE FOLLOWING MORNING/THE NEXT

MORNING

• LAST NIGHT  THE NIGHT BEFORE/THE PREVIOUS NIGHT

• THE DAY BEFORE YESTERDAY  TWO DAYS BEFORE

• THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW  IN TWO DAYS TIME/IN TWO DAYS

• THIS WEEK/MONTH/YEAR  THAT WEEK/MONTH/YEAR

• LAST WEEK/MONTH/YEAR/MONDAY  THE PREVIOUS WEEK/MONTH/YEAR/MONDAY

• NEXT WEEK/MONTH/YEAR/MONDAY  THE FOLLOWING WEEK/MONTH/YEAR/MONDAY

• TWO DAYS/YEARS AGO  TWO DAYS/YEARS BEFORE

NO CHANGE IN VERB TENSES IN REPORTED SPEECH

There is NO CHANGE in the case of:

• GENERAL TRUTHS, PERMANENT STATES AND CONDITIONS

• INTRODUCTORY VERBS IN THE PRESENT, FUTURE OR PRESENT PERFECT TENSE

• VERB IN UNREAL PAST  2ND COND., WISHES, IT’S TIME, WOULD RATHER, SUPPOSE, AS IF

• HAD BETTER, COULD, WOULD, USED TO, NEEDN’T HAVE, SHOULD, MIGHT AND OUGHT TO

• PAST SIMPLE OR PAST CONTINUOUS IN A CLAUSE OF TIME

• SOMETHING BELIEVED TO BE TRUE  VERB TENSE CAN CHANGE OR REMAIN UNCHANGED /

SOMETHING THAT IS NOT TRUE  VERB CHANGES

• UP-TO-DATE REPORTING.

MODAL VERBS IN REPORTED SPEECH

MODAL VERBS generally REMAIN UNCHANGED, but some of them change as follows:

• MUST  HAD TO/WOULD HAVE TO (OBLIGATION)

• MUST  UNCHANGED/SHOULD (ADVICE)

• MUSN’T  UNCHANGED/WASN’T TO/WEREN’T TO/COULDN’T/NEGATIVE INFINITIVE

• CAN  COULD (PRESENT)

• CAN  WOULD BE ABLE TO (FUTURE)

• SHALL  OFFERED (WILLINGNESS TO DO STH)

• SHALL  SHOULD (ADVICE)

• SHALL  WOULD (INFORMATION)

• NEEDN’T  UNCHANGED/DIDN’T NEED TO/DIDN’T HAVE TO (PRESENT)

• NEEDN’T  WOULDN’T HAVE TO (FUTURE)

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• MAY  MIGHT (PROBABILITY)

• MAY  MIGHT/COULD (PERMISSION OR CONCESSION)

If the REPORTING VERB is in a PAST VERB FORM, MODALS change where there is a PAST EQUIVALENT:

• WILL  WOULD

• CAN  COULD

• MAY  MIGHT

COULD, WOULD and MIGHT do NOT CHANGE. SHOULD usually REMAINS UNCHANGED. MUST does NOT
CHANGE when it expresses LOGICAL DEDUCTION.

REPORTING VERBS
• VERBS FOLLOWED BY THAT-CLAUSE  Add, admit, agree, announce, argue, believe, claim,
complain, confirm, consider, decide, deny, doubt, estimate, exclaim, expect (+ person), explain,
feel, hope, imply, inform sb, insist, mean, mention, object, persuade, predict, promise (+
person), reassure (+ person), reckon, remark, repeat, reply, report (+ person), say, state,
suggest, suppose, tell (+ person), think, threaten, warn (+ person).

• VERBS FOLLOWED BY PERSON + INFINITIVE  Advise, allow, ask, beg, command, encourage,
forbid, instruct, invite, order, permit, remind, tell, urge, warn, want.

• VERBS FOLLOWED BY SUBJUNCTIVE OR SHOULD  Advise, agree, demand, insist, prefer,

propose, recommend, request, suggest, urge.

• VERBS FOLLOWED BY INFINITIVE  Agree, demand, offer, promise, refuse, threaten.

• VERBS FOLLOWED BY GERUND  Accuse sb of, admit (to), apologise for, complain to sb about,
deny, insist on, suggest.

• VERBS FOLLOWED BY WHY/HOW-CLAUSE  Explain to sb.

ARTICLES
THE DEFINITE ARTICLE “THE”
It’s used BEFORE a SINGULAR, PLURAL, COUNTABLE OR UNCOUNTABLE NOUN that is DEFINED (because:
there is only one; there is only one in that context; we have already mentioned it.) It’s OMITTED BEFORE
NOUNS in the PLURAL, UNCOUNTABLE or ABSTRACT NOUNS, when we talk about them in GENERAL.

“THE” IS USED BEFORE:

• NAMES OF OBJECTS CONSIDERED UNIQUE  “the earth,” “the Eiffel Tower,” “the equator.”

• NAMES OF THEATRES, SHIPS, HOTELS, INSTITUTIONS, DOCUMENTS, PUBLIC BODIES,

NEWSPAPERS, HISTORICAL EVENTS, MUSEUMS, SOME JOBS, GROUP NOUNS, COLLECTIVE
PLURAL NOUNS  “the Rex,” “the Titanic,” “the Hilton,” “the RSPCA,” “the constitution,” “the
government,” “the Times,” “the Second World War,” “the British Museum,” “the dentist,” “the
public,” “the police,” “the audience.”

• NAMES OF SEAS, RIVERS, GROUPS OF ISLANDS, MOUNTAIN RANGES, GROUPS OF STATES,

GULFS, OCEANS, CANALS  “the Black Sea,” “the Nile,” “the Dodecanese,” “the Alps,” “the
USA,” “the Persian Gulf,” “the Pacific,” “the Panama Canal.”
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• PLACES WHOSE NAME CONTAINS A NOUN INCLUDED IN THE PROPER NAME OR WHICH HAVE
PLURAL NOUNS AS THEIR NAMES  “the Czech Republic,” “the United Kingdom,” “the
Netherlands,” “the Hague.”

• NAMES OF PEOPLE/FAMILIES IN THE PLURAL AND NATIONALITY/ETHNIC NOUNS  “the

Browns,” “the Americans,” “the Zulus.”

• ADJECTIVES USED AS NOUNS TO DESCRIBE GROUPS OF PEOPLE  “the rich,” “the poor,” “the
unemployed,” “the young,” “the handicapped.”

• ADJECTIVES DENOTING AN ABSTRACT QUALITY (SINGULAR)  “the absurd (= that which is

absurd),” “the mystical,” “the supernatural.”

• TITLES WITHOUT NAMES  “the Queen,” “the President.”

• MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS  “the piano.”

• INVENTIONS  “the wheel,” “the word processor.”

• THE SUPERLATIVE DEGREE OF ADJECTIVES/ADVERBS  “the richest,” “the fastest.”

• ONLY, LAST, FIRST (USED AS ADJECTIVES)  “the only person.”

• CLASS OF THINGS/ANIMALS  “The whale is a mammal.” (OR  “A whale is a mammal.”

“Elephants are in danger of becoming extinct.”)

“THE” IS OMITTED BEFORE:

• PROPER NOUNS  “Nick,” “Smith.”

• NAMES OF MEALS  “Dinner is served.” (IF SPECIFIC  “The dinner we had was excellent.”)

• NAMES OF SUBSTANCES  “Oil is produced in Alaska.”

• NAMES OF COUNTRIES, CITIES, MOST STREETS, PARKS, ADDRESSES, BUILDINGS, CONTINENTS,

MOUNTAINS, ISLANDS, LAKES  “Greece,” “Barcelona,” “Oxford Street,” “Hyde Park,” “3
McMillan St,” “Westminster Abbey,” “Europe,” “Everest,” “Cyprus,” “Lake Geneva.”

• “BED”, “SCHOOL”, “COLLEGE”, “UNIVERSITY”, “CHURCH”, “HOSPITAL”, “PRISON”, “MARKET”,

“SEA”, “COURT” WHEN REFERRING TO THEM FOR THE REASON THEY EXIST  “Tom goes to
school every weekday.” (BUT  “His mother went to the school to get his marks.”)

• “WORK” WHEN IT MEANS “PLACE OF WORK”  “He’s at work.”

• “HOME” WHEN IT MEANS “PLACE OF LIVING”  “She isn’t at home.” (BUT  “Paris is the
home of fashion!”)

• TITLES WITH PROPER NAMES  “Queen Elizabeth.” (BUT  “the Prince of Wales.”)

• “MOTHER/FATHER” WHEN WE REFER TO OUR MOTHER/FATHER  “Father is at work.”

• NAMES OF SPORTS, ACTIVITIES, AND COLOURS  “He likes playing tennis.” “She hates black.”

• NAMES OF DAYS, MONTHS, SEASONS  “We’ll meet on Monday.”

• COMPLEMENTS OR PREDICATIVES WITH UNIQUE REFERENCE  “He was elected president.”

“She was appointed headmaster.”

• MEANS OF TRANSPORT  “By car, train, boat, plane.”

• PARALLEL PHRASES  “They met face to face.” (BUT  “He punched him in the face.”)
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• NAMES OF ILLNESSES  “pneumonia,” “appendicitis,” “toothache.” (BUT  COMMON

ILLNESSES: “the measles,” “the flu,” “the mumps.” ALSO  “a cold,” “a headache.”)

ANAPHORIC OR CATAPHORIC USE OF THE DEFINITE ARTICLE

• “A man was waiting for her. The man had sparkling blue eyes.”

• “Another prospective buyer starts to tell them about the car they wanted to buy.”

SYNONYMS OR SITUATIONAL REFERENCES

• “He bought a blue Ford Escort. The vehicle was really expensive.”

• “Please, close the door.”

THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE “A/AN”

It can be used only with SINGULAR COUNTABLE NOUNS, when we DON'T DEFINE WHICH ONE we talk
about. SOME + PLURAL OR UNCOUNTABLE NOUN = A/AN + SINGULAR NOUN.

• “There are some documents on the desk.”  A NUMBER OF documents.

• “There’s some sugar in the jar.”  AN AMOUNT OF sugar.

A/AN CAN BE USED WITH:

• NOUNS  “a coffee,” “a tea,” “a sandwich,” “a pen,” “a pencil,” “an apple,” “a unicorn.”

• TIME EXPRESSIONS  “three times a week,” “two times a month.”

• PROFESSIONS  “a doctor,” “a teacher,” “a lawyer,” “an accountant.”

• MONEY  “a/one dollar.”

• FRACTIONS  “a/one quarter.”

• MEASUREMENTS  “a/one foot.”

• WEIGHT  “a/one kilo.”

• WHOLE NUMBERS  “a/one thousand.”

• PRICE/WEIGHT  “90 p a kilo.”

• FREQUENCY/FUEL  “three times a day.”

• DISTANCE/FUEL  “40 kilometres a litre.”

• DISTANCE/SPEED  “60 km an hour.”

• ILLNESSES  “a headache.”

UNSPECIFIC USE OF THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE

• “I’m looking for a millionaire.”  ANY millionaire.

GENERIC REFERENCE
• “A doctor is not better than their patients.”

• “The doctor is not better than their patients.”

• “Doctors are not better than their patients.”

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INVERSION OF ORDER
INVERSION means changing the usual order of words in a sentence. One of the typical structures we find
in INVERSION is putting the VERB BEFORE THE SUBJECT. Other structure is placing an ADVERB or
ADVERBIAL PHRASE at the beginning of the sentence. In order to have INVERSION we need a FRONTING,
which means placing at the front something that is usually at the end. Its main use is to give EMPHASIS
and it’s mainly used in FORMAL WRITINGS.

INVERSION TYPE 1 WITH AUXILIARY VERB  INTERROGATIVE/QUESTION ORDER

NEGATIVE, RESTRICTIVE OR EMPHATIC ADVERBS OR ADVERBIAL EXPRESSIONS

• SELDOM, RARELY, NOT ONLY… BUT (ALSO), LITTLE, NO SOONER… THAN, NOWHERE, NOT
ENVEN ONCE, IN NO WAY, SCARCELY/HARDLY/BARELY… WHEN, ON NO
OCCASION/ACCOUNT/CONDITION, IN/UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, ONLY IN THIS WAY,
ONLY THEN, NEVER, NEVER BEFORE, NEITHER/NOR/SO, WELL, AT NO TIME  “No sooner had
he got into the bath than the phone rang.” “Little did he know what was about to happen.”
“Well did he remember the night the earthquake struck.” “Under no circumstances should you
share your password with others.”

NOTE  TIME EXPRESSIONS:

• NEVER, RARELY, SELDOM  USUALLY USED WITH PRESENT/PAST PERFECT OR MODALS

• HARDLY, BARELY, SCARCELY, NO SOONER  USUALLY USED WITH PAST PERFECT

CLAUSES OR RESULT

• SUCH/SO, TO SUCH A DEGREE  “Such a brilliant pianist was he that he carried off all the
prizes.” “So disgusted were they by the bad language (that) they walked out.”

INVERSION IN THE MAIN CLAUSE

• ONLY AFTER, ONLY BY, ONLY IF, ONLY WHEN, NOT ONLY/UNTIL/TILL, NOT SINCE  “Only by
keeping a signal-fire burning did the woman manage to alert her rescuers.” “Not until she had
failed to make contact for over 24 hours did they contact the police.”

NOTE  EXPRESSIONS WITH ONLY  USUALLY USED WITH PAST SIMPLE

CONDITIONALS

• SHOULD I (TYPE 1), WERE I (TYPE 2), HAD I (TYPE 3)  “Were you a brighter fellow, you’d have
gone along with the scheme.”

INVERSION TYPE 2 WITHOUT AUXILIARY VERB  S/V POSITION CHANGE

AFTER ADVERBS AND ADVERBIAL EXPRESSIONS

• “There goes Tom!” (BUT  “There he goes!”)

• “Up went the balloon!” (BUT  “Up it went.”)

• “Here comes the sun.”

• “Along the street came the old lady.”

AFTER THE QUOTED WORDS OF DIRECT SPEECH

• “‘I’ve just finished,’ said Tom.” (BUT  “‘I’ve just finished,’ he said.”)