FIVE USES OF
1. MAY/ MIGHT
2. CAN/ COULD
3. MUST
4. OUGHT TO
5. WILL/WOULD
6. SHALL/SHOULD
7. PRONOUN IT
8. INDEFINITE ARTICLE
9. DEFINITE ARTICLE
10. ZERO ARTICLE
11. TO INFINITIVE
12. BARE INFINITIVE
13. GERUND
14. VERBS FOLLOWED BY GERUND / INFINITIVE
15. INVERSION
16. ADVERBS WITH DIFFERENCE IN MEANING
17. SUBJONCTIVE
18. PRESENT SIMPLE
19. PRESENT CONTINUOUS
20. PRESENT PERFECT
21. PAST SIMPLE
22. PAST CONTINUOUS
23. PAST PERFECT
24. FUTURE
1. MAY/ MIGHT
GRANT/ REFUSE PERMISSION : They may go.
HAVING PERMISSION : we may go!
REQUEST PERMISSION: May I smoke here?
POSSIBILITY in the present/ future: They may/ might come today/ tomorrow.
PURPOSE CLAUSES: He studies hard so thay he may take the exam.
IDEAL CONCESSION: However frightened you may be, you must remain calm.
SPECULATION ABOUT PAST: He might have left earlier than usual.
UNCERTAIN RESULT: If we had taken the other road, we might have arrived
earlier.
CRITICISM : You might have helped him with his math exercises.
WISH: May you be happy!
STRONG REQUEST: You might tell me why they haven’t finish painting.
2. CAN/ COULD
PERMISSION: You can take my car for a ride.
STRONG RECOMMENDATION: You can forget about your holiday.
ABILITY: I can swim.
POSSIBILITY: You can’t swim there because the river is polluted.
DEDUCTION: he can’t be out his car is still here.
WITH VERBS OF PERCEPTION: I can see a bird, is that true?/ I looked up and I
couldn’t see anything.
3. MUST
OBLIGATION/ COMPULSION : You must be back before five o’clock.
NECESSITY : We must see what can be done about it.
DEDUCTION: He must be working late at the office.
ESTIMATING STATEMENTS : He must be over eighty.
PROHIBITION: Visitors must not feed the animals.
STRONG ADVICE: You must not speak like that to your parents.
4. OUGHT TO
MORAL OBLIGATION/ DUTY: You ought to go and see your grandmother , she
is ill.
LOGICAL DEDUCTION: If they started at down, they ought to be there by now.
UNFULFILLED DUTY: You ought to have told him that the bus had gone.
5. WILL/ WOULD
INTENTION/ WILLINGNESS: I will come with you to the theatre.
PROMISE: You will stay here.
SUPPOSITION: He’ll be there by noon.
ESTIMATION: This hall will hold a thousand people.
PURPOSE: I’ll give you a lift so that you will get there on time.
GENERAL TRUTHS: Oil will float on water.
SUBJONCTIVE AFTER WISH: I wish he would come with me.
INVITATION: Will you have some more tea?
POLITE REQUEST: Will you show me how to do this?
PREFERENCE: I would rather stay at home.
6. SHALL/ SHOULD
THREAT: You should it whether you like it or not.
PROMISE: You shall have a bicycle for your birthday if you’re good.
REQUEST FOR ORDERS/ ADVICE: Shall I tell him what’s happened?
OFFERS: Shall I help you pack?
SUGGESTIONS: Shall we meet at the theatre?
ADVICE: You should eat more fruit.
DEDUCTION: He should be here by now.
OPINION: I think the police should arrest hooligans.
NEGATIVE PURPOSE CLAUSE: He left early so that he shouldn’t miss the train.
ACTION NOT LIKELY TO HAPPEN: If anyone should call tell him to send for
me.
7. THE PRONOUN IT
SINGULAR NOUN ( a thing/ place/ organization/ animal/ abstract) : Have you
listened the concert? It was fabulous.
BABY/ CHILD UNKNOWN SEX : How old is it?
PREFERENCE TO THE CONTENT OF:
- A PRECEDING CLAUSE: You are late. It is not my fault.
- A FOLLOWING CLAUSE. It was unbelievable. They actually welcomed me.
FACT ALREADY MENTIONED: It all happened a long time ago.
SUBJECT OF IMPERSONAL VERBS: It appears. It is said.
WEATHER/ CLOCK/ DATE: It has been raining. It’s 7 o’clock. It’s Saturday.
DEMONSTRATIVE: It is me that’s responsible.
8. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE
NEW NOTION: A boy and a girl were arguing in front of me.
ONE/ A CERTAIN: Mary has a black dress . / A mrs. Brown called to see you.
EXAMPLE OF A CLASS: It is said an elephant never forgets.
INSTEAD OF NUMERAL: a hundred, not a word, once at a time, once a month.
BEFORE PROFESSION/ CLASS: She is a singer.
IN FRONT OF ‘FEW/ LITTLE’ : I have a little money left.
9. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE
UNIQUE OBJECTS/ NOTIONS: the Sun, the Moon, the Universe, the Lord
SHIPS/ TRAINS/ PLANES: the Orient Express, the Queen Mary
NEWSPAPERS/ THEATRES/ MUSEUMS: the Ritz Hotels, the Opera
GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES:
- Oceans, seas, rivers: the Danube, the Black Sea
- Mountain ranges: the Pyrinees, the Himalaya’s
- Countries in plurals: the Netherlands
ORDINAL NUMBERS: the third man
WITH MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: to play the piano/ the guitar
SUPERLATIVES: Mary was by far the best player of all.
GENERALIZATION ABOUT A SPECIES: The rose originally comes to us from
China.
ADJECTIVES USED AS A NOUN: The strong should protect the old.
NOUN INTRODUCED EARLIER: Tom has bought a cat. The cat was black.
10. THE ZERO ARTICLE :
NAMES OF PERSONS: I met Tom at the library.
NAMES OF UNIVERSITIES/ COLLEGES: Oxford University, Trinity College
PHRASES ABOUT GAMES: to play tennis/ football
LANGUAGES/ SCHOOL SUBJECTS: English, French, Maths
NAMES OF FESTIVALS: Easter, Christmas
COUNTRIES/ TOWNS: Romania, London, Greece
LAKE/ STREETS/ PARKS: Oxford Street, Hyde Park
GENERAL SENSE: Cats dislike feeling their feet wet.
ABSTRACT NOUNS: He is interested in Chinese art.
MAN/ HUMANITY/ MANKIND/ SOCIETY: Man created an environment for his
own.
PREPOSITIONAL COMBINATIONS: by hand, on foot, from top to toe, by
chance.
11. TO INFINITIVE ( LONG INFINITIVE)
After ADVISE, AGREE, DECIDE, EXPEECT, HOPE, MANAGE, OFFER,
PLAN, PROMISE, REQUEST: He promised to take him to the zoo.
After BE + ADJECTIVE : It will be nice to see them again.
TOO/ ENOUGH: It’s too expensive to eat there.
After ASK, KNOW, LEARN, REMEMBER+ WHO/ WHAT/ WHERE/ HOW:
Do you know how to play the piano?
To express PURPOSE: She wet out to buy some bread.
12. BARE INFINITIVE( SHORT INFINITIVE)
After HEAR, SEE, WATCH, MAKE, LET: I heard him sing in the bathroom.
After MODAL VERBS: You can go there if you like.
After WOULD RATHER/ SOONER/ HAD BETTER.: I’d rather stop now.
IN THE EXPRESSIONS: let drop, let go, hear say,
AFTER DARE/ NEED: I dare not wake him.
13. GERUND
After PREPOSITIONS: Without saying a word, he left the room.
VERBS+ OBLIGATORY PREPOSITIONS ( INSIST ON, RELY ON, STOP
FROM): He insisted on doing all the wotk alone.
BE+ ADJ+ PREPOSITION ( BE AFRAID OG, BE CAPABLE OF, BE USED
TO, BE GOOD AT): He is good at telling lies.
After STOP/ FINISH/ DETEST, AVOID/ RISK/ ADMIT/ IMAGINE/ ENJOY:
He enjoys listening to music.
After TO LOOK FORWARD TO/ TO GET USED TO/ TO BE USED TO:
After IT’S NO USE/ IT’S NO GOOD/ IT’S USELESS: It’s no use crying …
In the EXPRESSIONS KEEP SOMEONE WAITING/ WORKING/
STANDING: He kept me waiting for three hours.
14. VERBS FOLLOWED BY GERUND/ INFINITIVE WITH DIFFERENT
MEANING
BEGIN: She began singing. – She began to sing. ( profession)
STOP: He stopped smoking hor health reason. –He stopped to rest for few minutes.
NEED: The house needs cleaning.—He needs to call his boss.
REMEMBER: I remember mentionis the meeting. – He remembered to turn of the
lights.
MEAN: The agreement means accepting other decisions.—I mean to leave that
meeting with a new contract.
15. INVERSION
QUESTIONS: Is Mary taking an exam today?
AFTER NEGATIVE ADVERBIALS: seldom, rarely, little, barely, nowhere,
never, not( even) once, on no account, only by, hardly, no sooner: Barely they had
entered the office when everybody shouted “ surprise!!’.
IN THE MAIN CLAUSE ( when the subordinate begins with only/ after/ by/ of)
Only after she closed the door, did she realized how dark it was.
SO/ NEITHER/ NOR: I love chocolate. So do I.
SHOULD/ WERE/ HAD- REPLACING IF – If I were you- Were I you, I wouldn’t
trust him.
SO/ SUCH……THAT: Such was the force of the storm that trees were broken.
16. ADVERBS WITH DIFFERENCE IN MEANING WHEN ADDING –LY
HIGH- HIGHLY- The kite flew high in the sky./ He was highly placed.
LATE- LATELY- Nick arrived late at work./ What have you been doing lately?
NEAR- NEARLY- She lives near. / It took nearly an hour to get here.
HARD- HARDLY- She is working hard these days./ I could hardly hear him.
FREE- FREELY- Children under 6 can travel free. / We can now travel freely
within Europe.
DEEP/ WARM/ COLD- DEEPLY, WARMLY/ COLDLY ( emotional sense)
17. SUBJUNCTIVE
AFTER VERBS EXPRESSING WISH/ WILL: I wished my brother had been here.
AFTER AS IF / AS THOUGH: He looks as if he had seen a ghost.
AFTER WOULD RATHER/ SOONER: I’s rather stay at home.
AFTER HAD BETTER/ BEST: You’d better sit down and read something.
AFTER IT’S TIME/ IT’S HIGH TIME/ ABOUT TIME: It’s high time we left.
AFTER SUPPOSE : Suppose I be chosen, what can I do
IF ONLY/ WOULD TO: If only he were a better student.
AFTER IMPERSONAL EXPRESSION: It’s impossible/ It’s fair/ It’s
improbable/ It’s natural,/It’s strange: It’s impossible that he win the competition.
AFTER PURPOSE/ Suggest/ INSIT/ ORDER/ ADVICE/ DEMAND/ ASK.: I
propose that James be made a member of the committee.
18. PRESENT SIMPLE
GENERAL TRUTH: Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
PERMANENT/ REPEATED ACTION: He goes to school every day.
ALL THE STATEMENTS : The sun rises in the East.
FOR FUTURE TIME: Tomorrow is Monday.
INTRODUCE QUONOTATIONS: Shakespeare says…
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
SPORT COMMENTARIES
19. PRESENT CONTINUOUS
ACTIONS HAPPENING IN THE MOMENT OF SPEAKING: He is watching a
movie now.
TEMPORARY ACTIONS: Everyday he goes to school by bus, but today he is
travelling by his own car.
REPEATED ACTION THAT ANNOYS THE SPEAKER: He is always talking
during my lessons.
FUTURE PLAN: Next week we are flying to Rome.
WITH TO GROW/ TO GET- expressing Transition- It is getting colder. She is
getting married.
20. PRESENT PERFECT
PAST WITH PRESENT RELEVANCE : The taxi has arrived.
PERIOD UP TO THE PRESENT: I lived in Chicago since 1992.
INDEFINITE PAST: He has always played tennis.
FUTURE IN SUBORDINATE CLAUSES OF TIME: We’ll go to have lunch as
soon as we have visited the museum.
RECENT THING ( JUST, ALREADY, RECENTLY, YET): They have just left.
EXPERIENCES IN OUR LIVES: Have you ever visited London?
THINGS FINISHED SO FAR.: I’ve read 100 pages of this book.
21. PAST SIMPLE
ENDED ACTION: I lived in London for 10 years.
UNIQUE EVENT IN THE PAST: Napoleon died on St. Helen.
IMMEDIATE PAST: What did you say?- asked Annie
PAST ABILITY: The little girl swam like a fish.
HABITUAL ACTIONS IN THE PAST: wvery day we got up early and went to
school.
INDIRECT SPEECH: He told me he was there.
22. PAST CONTINUOUS
AN ACTION IN PROGRESS AT A CERTAIN MOMENT IN THE PAST:
Yesterday at this time he was cooking dinner.
2 OR MORE ACTIONS HAPPENING AT THE SAME TIME IN THE PAST:
While mom was cooking dinner, dad was watching tv.
A DURRATIVE ACTION INTERRUPTED BY A NON DURRATIVE ONE:
While I was crossing the street I saw an accident.
A REPEATED ACTION IN THE PAST THAT ANNOYS THE SPEAKER:
Every time when I wanted to reast, my father was fixing the car.
IMPLY GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT: It was getting darker.
23. PAST PERFECT
ACTION WHICH HAPPENED BEFORE ANOTHER PAST ACTION: He had
already gone to bed when his dad come home.
ACTION WHICH FINISHED IN THE PAST AND WHOSE RESULT WAS
VISIBLE IN THE PRESENT: When I saw Peter yesterday he was happy. He had
won the lottery
PAST EQUIVALENT OF SIMPLE PAST/ PRESENT PERFECT in reported
speech: He said that he had left everything in its usual place on Friday.
ADVERBIAL CLAUSES OF TIME INSTEAD OF FUTURE PERFECT: Her
son told her that he would write as soon as he had got home.
ACTION BEGUN BEFORE A GIVEN PAST MOMENT : I had been at home for
about two hours when you rang me up.
24. FUTURE
SHALL/ WILL: Mary will be here soon.
BE GOING TO: I am going to read you some of my poems.
BE ABOUT TO : Look! The show is about to start!
BE DUE TO: The plane is due to land at 2 o’clock.
PRESENT CONTINUOUS: I’m meeting my relatives at 2 o’clock.
PRESENT SIMPLE: Jim’s plane leaves at 2.