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English
Usage & Grammar: Selected points
This page originally belonged to a page about the Use of English paper
(Paper 3) of the
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.
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.
Inversion
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.
Modal
verb tenses
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.
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.
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.
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