# Grammar Forms & Examples level
The present perfect continuous tense (also known as the present perfect progressive tense) shows that something started in the past and is continuing at the present time. The present perfect
continuous is formed using the construction has/have been + the present participle (root + -ing).
Examples:
Present Perfect
1
Continuous
I have been reading War and Peace for a month now.
Mia has been competing in flute competitions recently. (And she will continue to do so.) Telegram.me/TOEFLsharing ✪✪
I haven’t been feeling well lately. (And I am still sick now.)
link: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/present-perfect-continuous-tense
The FUTURE PERFECT PROGRESSIVE TENSE indicates a continuous action that will be completed at some point in the future. This tense is formed with the modal "WILL" plus the modal
"HAVE" plus "BEEN" plus the present participle of the verb (with an -ing ending): "Next Thursday, I will have been working on this project for three years."
Future Perfect Example:
2
Progressive By 2001 I will have been living in London for sixteen years. ✪✪
When I finish this course, I will have been learning English for twenty years.
Next year I will have been working here for four years.
Link: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/tenses/future_perfect_progressive.htm
This tense is composed of two elements: the perfect condtional of the verb 'to be' (would have been) + the present participle (base+ing).
This tense can be used in Type 3 conditional sentences. It refers to the unfulfilled result of the action in the if-clause, and expresses this result as an unfinished or continuous action. Again,
there is always an unspoken "but.." phrase.
Perfect Conditional Example:
3
Continuous If the weather had been better (but it wasn't), I'd have been sitting in the garden when he arrived (but I wasn't and so I didn't see him). ✪✪✪
If she hadn't got a job in London (but she did), she would have been working in Paris (but she wasn't).
If I'd had a ball I would have been playing football.
Link: https://www.ef.edu/english-resources/english-grammar/perfect-continuous-conditional
An infinitive is a phrase, consisting of the word to and the basic form of a verb, that functions as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb.
An infinitive will almost always begin with to followed by the simple form of the verb.
Example:
To go, even after all that trouble, didn’t seem worthwhile anymore. (subject)
Infinitive
4
noun/phrase
To sleep is the only thing Eli wants after his double shift waiting tables at the neighborhood café.(subject)
My goal is to write (Subject complement) Telegram.me/TOEFLsharing ✪✪✪
Emanuel turns his head and refuses to look (Direct object).
Link: https://www.dailywritingtips.com/5-uses-of-infinitives
http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/infinitive.htm
* Be about + to-infinitive refers to arranged actions that happen in the immediate future. It is often used with just.
* Be bound + to-infinitive is used to refer to future events which are certain or very likely to happen
* Be sure to expresses an action which is almost certain to occur. The present tense therefore gives a future meaning
BE ABOUT + TO- Example:
infinitive Hurry up! The ceremony is about to begin!
BE BOUND + TO-
5
infinitive
"Do you have a minute?" "I'm sorry, I'm just about to leave."
Kevin is stuck in a traffic jam, so he is bound to be late.
✪✪
BE SURE + TO- The weather is sure to be worse tomorrow.
infinitive
Link: https://www.grammaring.com/be-about-to-infinitive
https://www.grammaring.com/be-bound-to-infinitive
https://www.gymglish.com/en/english-grammar/be-sure-to
Need expresses necessity, or something lacking. It acts both as an ordinary verb and an auxiliary verb. As an ordinary verb (to need), it is conjugated with do/does/did and is followed by the infinitive with to. As
an auxiliary verb, it is mainly found in its negative and interrogative forms, but is rarely used.
Example:
You needn't do it if you don't want to. (It's not necessary to do it if you don't want to.)
Need as auxiliary
6 Need I come? (Is it necessary for me to come? Must I come?) ✪✪
verb (Needn't)
He need not ask my permission. We need hardly say that we are very grateful. Telegram.me/TOEFLsharing
Link: https://www.englishgrammar.org/uses-of-need/
https://www.gymglish.com/en/english-grammar/need
We use had better to refer to the present or the future, to talk about actions we think people should do or which are desirable in a specific situation. The verb form is always had, not have.
We normally shorten it to ’d better in informal situations. It is followed by the infinitive without to
Example:
The democratic movement had better concentrate on the immediate issues of the economy and security. (more formal)
Had better ('d
7
better)
I’d better go now before the traffic gets too bad. (informal) ✪✪
I’d better not leave my bag there.
Hadn’t we better ring the school and tell them Liam is sick?
Link: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/modals-and-modality/had-better
We use would rather or ’d rather to talk about preferring one thing to another. We use the phrases would sooner and would just as soon when we say that we prefer one thing to another
thing. They mean approximately the same as would rather
Example:
I’d rather not fly. I hate planes.
Would rather
8
Would sooner
She would rather have spent the money on a holiday. (The money wasn’t spent on a holiday.) ✪✪
I would rather they did something about it instead of just talking about it. (past simple to talk about the present or future)
I don’t really want to go back to France again this year. I’d sooner go to Spain.
Link: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/verb-patterns/would-rather-would-sooner
Verbals or verb forms can take on features of the passive voice.
Example:
Infinitive phrase in the passive voice:
Subject: To be elected by my peers is a great honor.
Object: That child really likes to be read to by her mother.
Modifier: Grasso was the first woman to be elected governor in her own right.
9 Passive Structures
Passive gerunds: Telegram.me/TOEFLsharing ✪✪
Subject: Being elected by my peers was a great thrill.
Object: I really don't like being lectured to by my boss.
Object of preposition: I am so tired of being lectured to by my boss.
Participial phrase:
[Having been] designed for off-road performance, the Pathseeker does not always behave well on paved highways.
Link: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/passive.htm
Neither and nor belong to the set of those negative polarity items which can stand first in a sentence, and trigger inversion, so that the verb or auxiliary precedes the subject.
Example:
Neither...nor -
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Inversion
Neither did she have cracks on her sides, nor was she beautiful. ✪✪✪
Neither do I speak French nor do I speak German.
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-z-Ot5rMTE
If we want to avoid mentioning the generalised agents we, they, people, everybody, one etc. with reporting verbs, we can use the following passive patterns:
it + passive reporting verb + that-clause
subject + passive reporting verb + to-infinitive
Reporting with ○ Some other reporting verbs that can be used in this way are: calculate, claim, consider, discover, estimate, expect, feel, hope, know, prove, report,
11
passive verbs say, show, think, understand, etc. ✪
Example:
It is known that my grandfather likes red wine. (Everybody knows that my grandfather likes red wine.)
My grandfather is known to like red wine. (Everybody knows that my grandfather likes red wine.)
Combinations of adjectives should be hyphenated.
Example:
easy-to-read content; one-of-a-kind dog; much-needed hyphens; well-written script
Compound
Telegram.me/TOEFLsharing
12 adjectives
Note:
Electronics salespeople have an unhealthy obsession with the state of the art. (state of the art as noun phrase)
✪✪
(Hyphenated Adj)
I bought a state-of-the-art coffeemaker, but it broke a week later and I returned it. (state-of-the-art as compound adjective)
Link: http://www.grammar.cl/english/compound-adjectives.htm
https://grammar.collinsdictionary.com/easy-learning/compound-nouns
A relative pronoun is a word that introduces a dependent (or relative) clause and connects it to an independent clause.
Who: Refers to a person (as the verb’s subject); Whom: Refers to a person (as the verb’s object); Which: Refers to an animal or thing; What: Refers to a nonliving thing; That: Refers to a
person, animal, or thing; Whose (Possessive Relative Pronoun); Whoever, Whomever, Whichever, and Whatever (Compound Relative Pronouns)
Example:
13 relative pronouns The woman who came to the door left flowers for you. ✪
She apologized to the boy whose glasses got broken.
Please tell whoever may call that I am not available.
The wardrobe, which contains several fur coats, leads to Narnia.
Link: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/relative-pronouns/
In formal styles we often put a preposition before the relative pronouns which and whom. In informal English we usually put the preposition later in the relative clause rather than at the
beginning.
Example:
Is that the man (who) she arrived with? (informal)
Relative pronoun as Is that the man with whom she arrived? (formal)
14
the object Telegram.me/TOEFLsharing ✪✪✪
of a preposition The tree (that) they had their picnic under was the largest and oldest in the park. (informal)
(which & whom) The tree under which they had their picnic was the largest and oldest in the park. (formal)
The tree was the largest and oldest in the park. They had their picnic under the tree. = The tree under which they had their picnic was the largest and oldest in the park.
Link: https://www.ef.com/english-resources/english-grammar/preposition-placement-relative-clauses/
http://portlandenglish.edu/blog/relative-clauses-prepositions/
An adverb clause of contrast can be reduced to an adverbial phrase expressing the same idea.
Example:
While walking to class, Anna found $10 on the sidewalk. (While Anna was walking to class, she found $10 on the sidewalk.)
Having finished my homework, I went to bed. (After I had finished my homework, I went to bed.)
Reduction Adverb
15
Clause
Being a doctor, George knew how to handle the situation. (Because he was a doctor, George knew how to handle the situation.) ✪✪
Link: https://www.showme.com/sh/?h=ez3zMBM
https://www.englishgrammar.org/reduced-adverb-clauses-part/
https://www.englishgrammar.org/reduced-adverb-clauses-part-ii/
An adjective clause that has a subject pronoun (which, that, or who) can also be shortened into an adjective phrase.
Example:
The cake to be eaten after dinner… . (The cake which will be eaten after dinner… .)
The woman making all the costumes … . (The woman who will make all the costumes… .)
16
Reduction Adjective
The explanation given in this book is outstanding. (The explanation which is given in this book is outstanding.)
Telegram.me/TOEFLsharing ✪✪
Clause
He is the student responsible for making a trouble in the class. (He is the student who is responsible for making a trouble in the class.)
Link: https://www.learnesl.net/reduction-of-an-adjective-clause-to-an-adjective-phrase/
https://www.spring.edu/webroom/practice_g6_adj_1.html
A that-clause is an example of a noun clause. It can be the subject or the object of the verb.
Example:
That she should forget me so quickly was rather a shock.
That clause as a
17
subject
That she delivered a marvelous performance pleased her parents. ✪✪
That his theory was flawed soon became obvious.
Link: https://www.englishgrammar.org/thatclause-noun-clause/
The subjunctive is a specific verb form. It usually expresses something that you wish for, or a hypothetical rather than actual situation.
Example:
I insist (that) he leave now.
I wish [that] he were here now.
Suppose that I were there now.
18 Subjunctive Would that it were true! Telegram.me/TOEFLsharing ✪✪
If he was in class yesterday, he learned it.
If he were in class today, he would be learning it.
Link: https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/grammar/when-to-use-the-subjunctive
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_subjunctive
When using the conditional with the verbs “be”, “have”, and “should”, the word "if" may be omitted.
Example:
Were the virus to reappear, hospitals would now be ready for it. (If the virus were to reappear, … or If the virus reappeared, hospitals would now be ready for it.)
Omission of "if",
19
with inversion
Had I known, I'd never have gone there. (If I had known, I'd never have gone there)
Should problems arise, we will seek professional help. (If problems arise, we will seek professional help.)
✪✪✪
Link: https://www.englishgrammar.org/conditional-clauses/
https://linguapress.com/grammar/conditionals.htm
When a negative adverb or expression is put at the beginning of a sentence, it is usually followed by auxiliary verb + subject. Inversion is also used after negative words like hardly, seldom,
rarely, little, never and after expressions containing only.
Example:
Under no circumstances can we appoint him as director.
In no clothes does Mary look good.
Nothing did Fred say. (Fred said nothing.)
20 Negative inversion At no party would he do a keg stand. ✪✪✪
Hardly had I reached the station when the train arrived.
Scarcely had I solved one problem when another cropped up. Telegram.me/TOEFLsharing
Only then did I understand what was happening.
Link: https://www.englishgrammar.org/inversion-negative-expressions/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_inversion
When adverbial or adjectival phrases starting with so are placed at the beginning of the sentence for emphatic effect, the subject and auxiliary are inverted.
Example:
Subject-auxiliary So quickly did he run that the others couldn't catch up with him. (He ran so quickly that the others couldn't catch up with him.)
inversion after
21
SO/SUCH +
So strong was the wind that we couldn't open the window. (The wind was so strong that we couldn't open the window.)
Such was the wind that we couldn't open the window. (The wind was such that we couldn't open the window.)
✪✪✪
adverb/adjective
Link: https://www.grammaring.com/subject-auxiliary-inversion-after-so-adverb-adjective-and-such
https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/46520/inversions-with-so-and-such
When only after, only if, only in this way etc. are placed at the beginning of the sentence for rhetorical effect, the subject and auxiliary are inverted.
Example:
Only after lunch can you play. (You can only play after lunch.)
Inversion after Only by guessing can you solve this puzzle. (You can only solve this puzzle by guessing.)
22 ONLY AFTER, ONLY Only if everybody agreed would I accept this position. (I would only accept this position if everybody agreed.) ✪✪
IF, etc., NOT UNTIL Only then did they discover his secret. (They only discovered his secret then.)
Not until I filled my glass did I notice that it was broken. (I didn't notice that my glass was broken until I filled it.)
Link: https://www.grammaring.com/only-after-only-if-only-in-this-way-etc-not-until
We use not only X but also Y in formal contexts. To add emphasis, we can use not only at the beginning of a clause. When we do this, we invert the subject and the verb.
Example:
Not only does he speak English but (he) also (speaks) Spanish.
Not only was it raining all day at the wedding but also the band was late.
23
Not only… but also,
Not only will they paint the outside of the house but also the inside.
Telegram.me/TOEFLsharing ✪✪✪
inversion
Not only is he handsome but (he is) also intelligent.
Not only did she forget my birthday, but she also didn’t even apologise for forgetting it.
Not only was she lacking in experience but also in relevant education.
Link: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/word-order-and-focus/not-only-but-also
Used for saying that when a particular activity, feeling etc increases, it causes something else to change at the same time.
Example:
The more fruit and vegetables you eat, the less chance you have of getting cancer.
The more I thought about Carrie’s suggestion, the more doubtful I became.
Double Comparatives
24 The more...the
We live in the information age, after all, and the more people who have access to that information, the better.
The more (people come to my party), the better. (A greater number (of people coming to my party) will make it (a) better (party).)
✪✪
more/less
The cheaper, the better.
The harder babies cry, the more quickly you feed them. Telegram.me/TOEFLsharing
Link: http://portlandenglish.edu/blog/double-comparatives-study-better-english/
A conjunctive adverb can join two main clauses. In this situation, the conjunctive adverb behaves like a coordinating conjunction, connecting two complete ideas. Notice, however, that you
need a semicolon, not a comma, to connect the two clauses.
A conjunctive adverb will also introduce, interrupt, or conclude a single main clause. In this situation, you will often need commas to separate the conjunctive adverb from the rest of the
sentence.
Here is the list: accordingly, also, besides, consequently, conversely, finally, furthermore, hence however, indeed, instead, likewise, meanwhile, moreover, nevertheless, next nonetheless,
otherwise, similarly, still, subsequently, then, therefore, thus
25 Conjunctive adverbs Example: ✪
The cat ate a bowlful of tuna; then, to the squirrels' delight, the fat feline fell asleep in the rocking chair.
At 10 a.m., Paul was supposed to be taking his biology midterm. Instead, he was flirting with the pretty waitress at the coffee house.
After mowing the yard in the hot sun, Pedro was too hungry to shower. He did wash his dusty hands, however.
Anna called to say her car would not start. Rafael will therefore have to walk to school.
Link: http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/conjunctiveadverb.htm
