English
Usage & Grammar: Selected points
This page originally belonged to a
page about the Use of English paper (Paper 3) of the Cambridge Certificate of
Proficiency in English. After the revision of the Proficiency examination it is
no longer directly relevant to that paper. However, the usage and grammar
discussed below are still important for students of English to know, perhaps
especially for exam candidates.
The points remain listed in
descending order of importance - that is, the degree of importance which the
examiners appeared to attach to each of them in the 'old' exam format, to judge
from the number of times they asked questions about them. In other words, the
most important point comes first.
The -ing form used (mainly) as a noun,
including
-ing after a preposition
-ing as subject or object
-ing - other uses
We came very close to missing the train.
It includes what we can call the 'double object'
pattern, such as
Do you mind me smoking?
which can also be used with a preposition, as in
Would you object to me smoking? or
I'm tired of the manager always making
excuses.
Try to become familiar with all the variations that
are possible with the -ing form. One can use:
nouns + preposition + -ing: purpose in asking or
adjectives + preposition + -ing: responsible for
arranging
Or the preposition may be alone: without thinking
It is particularly important that you get used to the
way -ing is used:
as an auxiliary:
They deny having massacred the villagers.
with a negative:
What's his excuse for not telling us earlier?
as a passive auxiliary:
The letter led to the woman being suspected.
as an auxiliary which is both negative and
passive:
In spite of not being invited he insisted on
going.
with there:
There is absolutely no chance of finding it.
or
What point is there in arguing about it?
And look at a combination of there,
preposition, 'double object', negative and passive all in one sentence:
We can't do it if there's any risk of some
people not being informed in time.
A situation you may come across in tests which require
blanks to be filled in with suitable words is where you are given an -ing
form which shows that the missing word must be a preposition:
Success comes ...... keeping a cool head.
The missing word is from.
Examples of -ing as subject or object:
Keeping warm is the problem.
I distinctly remember telling you.
I regret having to say this, but I must.
And notice how the have to of obligation is
used quite naturally in its -ing form in that last sentence.
Look out, too, for other ways of using -ing.
It's no use arguing.
This is the new rule being applied.
Never having heard her sing, I can't judge.
Finish eating before you start work.
I would have no hesitation in recommending him.
etc. etc.
Tense problems.
You may be faced with tests where you have to change a
sentence in some way while keeping the original meaning. For instance:
There is little chance of Nina arriving today. Re-write starting It
is...
= It is unlikely Nina will arrive today.
This is a good example of how essential it is to keep
the 'real life' situation in mind, rather than calculating in an abstract,
formal way how to exchange one word for another. Many tense problems, however,
are connected to particular words and usages:
lately requires the Present Perfect, not the
Past, but
recently can be used with either;
would rather requires the Past tense
e.g. I'd rather you went tomorrow.
ago normally needs the Past, but
since must normally be used with the Present Perfect
e.g. I haven't seen her since we last met over
twenty years ago.
But notice
It is over twenty years since I last saw her. and
It was over twenty years since I had last seen her.
Also notice the difference in meaning between
She had already arrived ten minutes ago. and
She arrived ten minutes ago.
by tends to need the Future Perfect
He will have left by ten.
or the Past Perfect
He had (already) left by ten.
but with be
= He'll be there by ten. or He was
there by ten.
Words/phrases like yet, so far, up to
now need Present Perfect, not Past:
She's received no payment up to now.
first time needs Present Perfect or Past Perfect, not
Present or Past:
This is the first time I have swum with a
dolphin. or
It was the first time I had swum with a
dolphin.
while last time needs Future:
This is the last time I shall go swimming with
you.
And remember, don't be tempted to use a Future where
you should use a Present tense in Conditional and Time clauses; and make sure
you know when you need to use the Past Perfect. For examples of the Past
Perfect see Past Perfect below.
Conditional
sentence problems
Very often you may have to fill a blank with the correct
tense, and you may have to supply the right verb too. And this missing verb may
be something very 'English', as in
We ..................spend the night outside if you
hadn't had that brilliant idea.
where the missing phrase is would have had to -
in other words, a completely natural sentence, but full of had and have.
But you will often have to complete or supply the introductory phrase:
But for his basic stamina he would have died.
= Had it not been for his basic stamina he
would have died. Or: If it had not been for....
Note that this type of Conditional phrase is always
followed by a noun (or an ing noun) because of the preposition for.
The same applies to But for... , and Were it not for... .
The only reason I stay is my neighbour.
= Were it not for my neighbour I would not stay
(or: I would leave).
(This last example is yet another illustration of how
essential it is always to think about the 'real life' meaning. If you
don't, you may miss the negative would not stay, or the alternative of a
change to leave.) Another type of Conditional sentence beginning is:
Were he to say that...; Were she asked to pay...; Were
it permitted to continue...,
which all have to be followed by a would.
There is also
Had I known..., Had they told me..., followed by would
have.
You may come across sentences with blanks to be filled
that give you the conditional verb (or part of it) of the main clause, but
where you have to supply the beginning of the conditional clause, e.g.
(13).....the infection allowed to spread, it would
quickly (14).....to death.
where the missing words are Were and lead.
In past Proficiency exams you were always bound to be
tested at least once on inversion. There are several different types of context
in which inversion of subject and verb takes place. But apart from Conditional
sentences (see above), the examiners were normally concerned only with the type
where a sentence begins with a
Negative, a quasi-Negative (only
(rarely), hardly (ever), scarcely (ever), seldom, rarely, little etc.),or such,
so. E.g.:
Never have I heard such nonsense.
Little did they realize they would
never meet again.
So tired was she that she could not get up.
(Of course, when a Negative etc. is part of the
subject, there is no inversion, e.g.:
Only those over 2½ metres tall need apply.)
Inversion sentences take two forms.
(1) where the inversion is in the same clause as the
Negative etc.:
Seldom did she miss one of his
concerts.
(2) where the inversion is in the following clause:
Not until he returned home would she go to
bed.
(In (2) the whole of the first clause is the Negative;
it is an equivalent of Only then.) Another expression you may come
across is
No sooner (had she got through the door) than
(the telephone rang.
Watch out for tests where the inversion is already
'given' and tells you what the missing word must be The inversion already given in the next sentence makes only one
sort of word possible.
Workers are no longer getting shorter hours.
.........are trade unions able to protect their members as they were in the
past.
In many cases it is the Present Perfect that you will
need, e.g.:
should have told, could not have kept, could have
done, can't have been, might as well have gone, would have had to, should have
had, must have left.
In tests sometimes the Modal will be given, and you
will have (Future Modal!) to modify tense as well as verb:
Had our neighbours not been so kind we could never
have got to the station in time. Re-write starting It was only thanks
to...
= It was only thanks to our neighbours' kindness that
we were able to get to the station in time.
as (various uses)
One might almost
describe as as the most 'English' word in English. It is used in many
different ways.
not so much a Y as an X
come as a surprise
as a result of
As the temperature rises, so does the sea level.
As a citizen I need more information.
regarded as
as well as
as long as
struck her as...
...just as the
Greeks did later
twice as large as
I know nobody as
well-read as she is.
...as was common
in the past
I went to bed, as
I was very tired. (Causal as.)
As I entered the house I heard a bang. (Time as.)
what (sometimes whatever)
as a Relative or Exclamatory or Interrogative word
It has often been used as the missing word in cloze tests (texts with
blanks to be filled in).
It can be as subject:
What attracts most people is the free beer.
as object:
It can be kinder not to say what you really think.
They'll tell you what to do.
as exclamatory word:
They try to convince us what poor people they are.
as interrogative word:
His behaviour was so uncharacteristic that I didn't know what to
think.
than - if there is a than
there must be a Comparative
But sometimes in tests there will be a Comparative
given, and you have to supply than,
e.g.: In order to survive, the paper needs at least
100,000 readers. Re-write starting Not less...
= Not less than 100,000 readers are needed for
the paper to survive.
You may even have to supply both Comparative and than,
e.g.: The temperature has not kept as low as they
forecast. Re-write using rise
= There has been a bigger rise in temperature than
they forecast.
(Have you spotted the other point tested here? rise
in)
Watch out for
no sooner...than
No sooner had they started their meal than
there was a knock on the door.
no as an adjective
It's absolutely
certain he won't agree. Re-write using chance
= There's no
chance of him agreeing.
Active verbs that need
turning into Passive
For a less sweet mixture, simply add less
sugar.
= A less sweet mixture can...be obtained simply by adding less
sugar.
Notice that the passive verb may not be the same as the active verb.
You may also need to use a passive with an infinitive:
The investigators believe the accident occurred
without warning.
= The accident...is believed by the investigators to have
occurred without warning.
This usage is common with verbs such as believe, know, report, say
and think. Notice, too, in the last example, the use of a Perfect
Infinitive.
how as Object or Exclamatory word
They are discussing how to present
the report.
It's amazing how quickly these
plants grow.
Negatives
(avoid double!) and any(body/thing), hardly, scarcely, ever
Make sure
you never use a double negative, and remember that words like hardly and
scarcely count as negatives.
You
should never take your eyes off the road, whatever the circumstances. Re-write starting Under...
= Under no
circumstances should you ever take your eyes off the road."
The two
parties are almost exactly the same these days. Re-write using hardly
= There is hardly
any difference between the two parties these days."
Governments
very seldom enforce anti-pollution regulations. Re-write starting Hardly...
= Hardly
ever do governments enforce anti-pollution regulations.
Similarly: scarcely
anything, better than anyone, comes as no surprise to anybody
etc.
Past Perfect,
including Indirect Speech
He refused to pay the company until after completion
of the contract. Start Only when...
= Only when the contract had been completed
would he pay the company.
Have you noticed how many important points are being
tested here? Apart from the Past Perfect, there is Inversion, a noun turned
into a verb, which is a Passive, and a would of 'willingness'.
there
is/are...
- or there + other verbs
Look out particularly
for the use of there with other verbs - and tenses!: there seems to
be, there has been, there can't have been etc. etc.
although type sentences
(Concessive)
Study sentences with words or phrases such as although, but,
despite, in spite of, much as, though, including sentences replacing but
with although or vice-versa, and those of the type Brilliant though
he is..., Easy though it looks..., Quickly as she worked..., Try as he might...,
e.g.: He was exhausted, but worked on till he had finished.
Re-write starting Exhausted...
= Exhausted as he was, he worked on till he had finished.