Verbs with prepositions and particles

Lesson-20

Most English verbs can be followed by prepositions or adverb particles. Examples are: switch off, turn down, walk down, look at, stare at, sit down etc.

• Please sit down.
• Can you switch off the light?
• Why are you staring at me?
• I saw Alan as I was driving down the street.
• She ran into the room crying.
• John fell off the ladder and broke his arm.

Some verbs and prepositions/particles are always used together. Examples are: look at, stare at, throw at, listen to, switch off etc. These combinations are often called phrasal verbs. Note that the meaning of a phrasal verb is sometimes very different from the meanings of the two parts taken separately.

• The meeting has been put off. (= The meeting has been postponed.) (The meaning of put off is not the same as the meanings of put and off.)

Verbs with prepositions and particles together

A few verbs can be used with both an adverb particle and a preposition. Examples are: put up with, get on with and look out for.

• I can’t put up with her.

Word order

When prepositions are used with verbs, they usually go before objects.

• He fell off the ladder. (NOT He fell the ladder off.)

Adverb particles can go before or after noun objects.

• She switched off the heating. OR She switched the heating off.

Note that particles always go after pronoun objects.

• She switched it off. (NOT She switched off it.)

Articles with countable and uncountable nouns

Lesson-19

Countable nouns are the names of separate people or objects which we can count. Uncountable nouns are the names of materials, liquids and other things which we do not see as separate objects.

We can use the indefinite article (a/an) with singular countable nouns. A plural countable noun cannot be used with indefinite articles. Countable nouns (both singular and plural) can also be used with numbers.

• A cat
• Two cats
• A boy
• Two boys

We cannot use the indefinite article or numbers with uncountable nouns.

• Water (NOT a water) (NOT two waters)
• Weather (NOT a weather) (NOT two weathers)

A singular countable noun usually has an article or other determiner with it. We say, the cat, my cat or this cat, but not just cat. Plural and uncountable nouns can be used with or without an article or other determiner.

Exceptions

Many nouns which are normally uncountable are treated as countable in some cases.

• Have you got a good shampoo? (Although shampoo is an uncountable noun, it is treated as countable to express the meaning of ‘a type of’.)
• Three coffees, please. (= three cups of coffees)

Some nouns that are countable in other languages are uncountable in English. Examples are: information, advice, news, scenery, accommodation etc.

Gradable adjectives and adverbs

Lesson-18

Some adjectives and adverbs refer to qualities that are gradable – for example stories can be more or less interesting, jobs can be more or less difficult. Other adjectives and adverbs refer to qualities that are not gradable. Examples are: perfect, round, impossible or dead. Nothing can be more perfect or round.

Gradable adjectives and adverbs can be used with degree modifiers like too, as, so, enough, extremely, very, rather, pretty, quite, fairly, a little, a bit etc.

• The tea is too hot.
• She looked rather unhappy.
• We are very glad to meet you.

A bit and a little are mostly used with adjectives and adverbs expressing negative ideas.

Note that enough goes after the adjective or adverb it modifies.

• She is old enough to know better. (NOT She is enough old to know better.)

Indeed can be used after very + adjective/adverb. It cannot be used without very.

• It is going to be very difficult indeed. (NOT It is going to be difficult indeed.)

Notes

Not very shows quite a low degree.

• She isn’t very tall. (= She is quite short.)
• I wasn’t very impressed. (= I wasn’t impressed at all.)

Note that the degree modifiers very, too, as, so, and how are not used with much before adjectives and adverbs.

• I am very happy. (NOT I am very much happy.)
• She is too fat. (NOT She is too much fat.)
• I don’t care how difficult it is. (NOT I don’t care how much difficult it is.)

Past verb forms with present or future meaning

Lesson-17

A past tense form does not always have a past meaning. In some kinds of sentences we use past verb forms to talk about the present or future.

 

After if, unless, supposing etc.

 

After if, unless and words with similar meanings, we often use past verb forms to talk about the present or future.

 

    * You look as if you were frightened.

    * If I got my rise, I would buy a car.

    * If you caught the early morning flight, you could be in Singapore by supper-time.

 

After it’s time, would rather and wish

 

Past verb forms can be used with a present or future meaning after these expressions.

 

    * I wish I had more money.

    * Ten o’clock – it is time you went home.

 

In questions and requests

 

We can make questions, requests and offers sound more polite by using past tenses. Common expressions are I wondered, I thought, I hoped etc. Past progressive verb forms like I was wondering are even more polite.

 

    * I was hoping you could lend me a pound.

    * I wondered if you were free this evening.

 

Modal auxiliaries

 

The modal auxiliaries could, should, might and would usually have present reference.

 

    * Could you help me with my homework?

    * Would you mind my smoking?

Irregular verbs

Lesson-16

English has many irregular verbs. Students should make sure that they know all of them. Here is a list of the more common irregular verbs. For a complete list of irregular verbs, see a good dictionary.

Infinitive	Simple past	Past participle
Arise	Arose	Arisen
Awake	Awoke	Awoken
Bet	Bet, betted	Bet, betted
Beat	Beat	Beaten
Become	Became	Become
Begin	Began	Begun
Bend	Bent	Bent
Bind	Bound	Bound
Bite	Bit	Bitten
Bleed	Bled	Bled
Blow	Blew	Blown
Break	Broke	Broken
Bring	Brought	Brought
Build	Built	Built
Burn	Burned/burnt	Burned/burnt
Buy	Bought	Bought
Catch	Caught	Caught
Choose	Chose	Chosen
Come	Came	Come
Cost	Cost	Cost
Cut	Cut	Cut
Deal	Dealt	Dealt
Dig	Dug	Dug
Do	Did	Done
Draw	Drew	Drawn
Dream	Dreamt/dreamed	Dreamt/dreamed
Drink	Drank	Drunk
Drive	Drove	Driven
Eat	Ate	Eaten
Fall	Fell	Fallen
Feed	Fed	Fed
Fight	Fought	Fought
Find	Found	Found
Fly	Flew	Flown
Forget	Forgot	Forgotten
Forgive	Forgave	Forgiven
Freeze	Froze	Frozen
Get	Got	Got/gotten
Give	Gave	Given
Go	Went	Gone/been
Grow	Grew	Grown
Hang	Hung	Hung
Have	Had	Had
Hear	Heard	Heard
Hide	Hid	Hidden
Hit	Hit	Hit
Hold	Held	Held
Hurt	Hurt	Hurt
Keep	Kept	Kept
Know	Knew	Known
Lay	Laid	Laid
Lead	Led	Led
Lean	Leant/leaned	Leant/leaned
Learn	Learnt/learned	Learnt/learned
Mean	Meant	Meant
Read	Read	Read
Ride	Rode	Ridden
Shake	Shook	Shaken
Sink	Sank	Sunk
Speed	Sped	Sped
Steal	Stole	Stolen
Spoil	Spoilt/spoiled	Spoilt/spoiled
Swing	Swung	Swung
Teach	Taught	Taught
Throw	Threw	Thrown
Wear	Wore	Worn
Write	Wrote	Written