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KEY ENGLISH GRAMMAR

WORKSHEET # 3: VERBS

A. Explain the difference in meaning between the following sentences: 1.

a. There is nothing to do. b. There is nothing to be done. a- It’s boring. b- The situation is hopeless. / Nothing can be done about it.

2.

a. Tom’s certain of winning the race. b. Tom’s certain to win the race. Svartvik/Sager §121F a- He thinks he will win. Certain + an of-construction → It’s the subject’s view. b- Everyone thinks he will win. Certain + the infinitive → It’s the general view.

3.

a. He stopped talking about the matter. s

p

…………Od………………

b. He stopped to talk about the matter. §5.7.4 s

p

…………advl/reason………

a- First he was talking about the matter and then he stopped. What did he stop? → talking about it b- He stopped doing something else in order to talk about the matter. Why did he stop? → in order to talk about it 4.

a. I remembered posting the letter. b. I remembered to post the letter. §5.7.4 a- I remembered that I had posted the letter earlier. b- I didn’t forget to post it. Remember: Forget/regret/remember followed by a verb in the ing-form refer back in time – to what has/had already happened at the moment of remembering or forgetting. → (At the moment of remembering, the letter had already been posted.) Forget/regret/remember followed by a verb in the infinitive refer forward in time – to things one still has/had to do at the moment of remembering or forgetting. → (At the moment of remembering, the letter hadn’t been posted yet.) Compare: • I regret to say the answer is no. = Jag beklagar att jag måste säga att svaret är nej. • I regret saying the answer is no. = Jag ångrar att jag sade att svaret är nej.

2 5.

a. If they can’t get enough to drink when the pubs are open, God help them. b. If they can’t get enough to drink when the pubs are open, God helps them. §§5.6; 5.6.2 a- May God help them! (Gud hjälpe dem!) This is the subjunctive mood. It is not a statement of fact; instead, it expresses a wish or desire. In the subjunctive, verbs never take an –s in the 3rd person singular present tense. b- God will actually intervene and help them. The indicative mood is used for ordinary statements of fact. Subject-verb agreement is necessary → an –s is used on the verb in the 3rd person singular present tense.

B. Conditional sentences. Supply the correct form of the verb: §5.4.6 1. knit

I would knit another sock if I had more wool. The Conditional Type II Main clause: would+the infinitive Conditional clasue: the past tense

2. stop

We are going to play tennis this afternoon if it stops raining. The Conditional Type I Main clause: the future (will or be going to) Conditional clause: the present tense

3. give

If you had been in, I would have given it to you. The Conditional Type III Main clause: would+have+the past participle Conditional clause: the past perfect

4. eat

If Charles eats another cake, I am sure he will burst. The Conditional Type I Main clause: the future (will or be going to) Conditional clause: the present tense

5. be

If Stephen was (were) more reasonable, I think I would like him. The Conditional Type II Main clause: would+the infinitive Conditional clause: the past tense Note: the past subjunctive were is acceptable because this is a hypothetical situation.

6. not buy

Julie would not have bought the plate if it had not been in good condition. The Conditional Type III Main clause: would+have+the past participle Conditional clause: the past perfect

7. have

If you had had a map, you would have found the way. The Conditional Type III Main clause: would+have+the past participle Conditional clause: the past perfect

3 8. be

It would be easy for you to paint pictures if you knew how. The Conditional Type II Main clause: would+the infinitive Conditional clasue: the past tense

9. take

You would be taking / would take a great risk if you were to invest money in it. The Conditional Type II Main clause: would+the infinitive Conditional clause: the past tense

10. be

If the sentence that had ‘had’ had had ‘had had’ it would have been correct. The Conditional Type III Main clause: would+have+the past participle Conditional clause: the past perfect

C. What is the form of the verbs in italics, and why is this form used? Example: She writes novels. – a) simple form, present tense; b) permanent, regular event §§5.5; 5.5.1; 5.5.2; 5.5.3; 5.5.5; 5.1 and 10.4.4.1(the ing-form after prepositions) 1. Ron lives with his parents and always has. a) the simple form, present tense; b) permanent condition 2. It usually rains when we go on holiday. a) the simple form, present tense; b) repeated habitual action 3. When Jerry got home he was singing a happy song, but he stopped the moment Justine opened the door. a) the progressive form, past tense; b) an ongoing action that is taking was singing: place both before and after something else suddenly happens stopped/opened: a) the simple form, past tense; b) single events of short duration 4. I am going to London on a study visit next week. a) the progressive form, present tense; b) used about the future (together with an advl/time: next week) 5. Philip is always combing his hair. a) the progressive form, present tense; b) when the progressive form is used together with always, it signals irritation (subjectivity) 6. Philip always combs his hair before going to see Angela. combs: a) the simple form, present tense; b) habit (objective statement) going: a) the ing-form (not a tense!); b) the ing-form is used after a preposition (before) 7. The train gets to Madrid at 13.42. §5.4.5.1 a) the simple form, present tense; b) “tidtabellspresens”: the simple present is normally used about things that are scheduled to take place at a certain point in time. 8. I had to leave the party early, but when I left, everyone seemed to be having a good time. left: a) the simple form, past tense; b) single event of short duration

4 be having: a) the progressive infinitive (not a tense!); b) ongoing action that is taking place both before and after something else suddenly happens 9. Charlie read/was reading Oliver Twist last night. a) the simple or the progressive, past tense; b) the simple indicates that the action is finished, and the progressive indicates that the action is unfinished 10. Without looking up, he said that he wanted a divorce. a) the ing-form (not a tense!); b) the ing-form is used after a preposition (without)

Remember: The progressive is not a tense! Tense has to do with time—when something happened. These are the tenses: the past perfect (had done); the present perfect (have or has done); the past (did); the present (do or does); the future (will do). The progressive form and the simple form are aspects. Each tense exists in both the simple and the progressive aspect: -I had been singing. (the past perfect tense, the progressive form) -I had sung. (the past perfect tense, the simple form) -I have been singing. (the present perfect progressive) -I have sung. (the present perfect simple) -I was singing. (the past progressive) -I sang. (the past simple) -I am singing. (the present progressive) -I sing. (the present simple) -I will be singing. (the future progressive) -I will sing. (the future simple) Also remember: The progressive is not the same thing as the ing-form! The progressive is merely one of the uses of the ing-form. The ing-form is used: -After prepositions (without doing) -After certain verbs (enjoy doing) -After the adjectives busy and worth (busy doing) -In reduced clauses (Opening the door, she saw… = When she opened the door, she saw…) -As the subject in the clause (Reading is my hobby.) -In the progressive form (I am talking) The progressive can be easily recognised and distinguished from the other ing-forms because there is a form of the verb BE as well as a verb ending in –ing. D. What is the correct form of the verb - the -ing form or the infinitive? 1. She devoted herself to study/studying Arabic for many years. 2. Smith did not feel up to go/going. 3. They all used to go/going away for the winter. §5.5.2.6 4. They were all used to go/going away for the winter. §5.5.2.6 5. They bribed Vivienne to betray/betraying her friends. 6. The prisoner pleaded guilty to have/having smuggled the gold into France. 7. Peter agreed to be/(being) party to the contract.

5 8. He did it with a view to secure/securing a job with the firm. 9. I was authorized to sell/selling the house. 10. I wasn’t accustomed to drive/driving on icy roads. Remember: Sometimes ‘to’ is a preposition, in which case it is followed by the ing-form, and sometimes it is an infinitive marker, in which case it is followed by the infinitive. If you can replace the verb after ‘to’ with the pronoun ‘it’, then ‘to’ is a preposition: -They were all used to it. (going away) -I wasn’t accustomed to it. (driving on icy roads) But: -*They all used to it. (go away for the winter) Note: an asterisk (*) means that the example is incorrect.

E. Most of the following sentences contain errors that are often made. Correct the sentences that are wrong: 1. You needn’t to go there if you don’t want to. / You don’t need to go there… etc. §5.2.2.6 See comments on dare/need, key worksheet #2. 2. Who learnt you Spanish? → taught learn = lära sig teach = lära ut 3. I am used to get up early in the morning. §5.2.2.6 → getting used to + the infinitive = brukade be used to + the ing-form = vara van vid 4. Can you speak French? §5.2.2.1 Or Do you speak/know French? 5. I look forward to hear from you. §5.1; 10.4.4.1 → hearing After the expression look forward to, the infinitive cannot be used. Remember: after a preposition, you can have the ing-form but not the infinitive and not a that-clause. (‘Preposition + att är som hund och katt.’, ‘Preposition + ing är två nära ting.’) 6. He needs not come. §5.2.2.6 See question 1. 7. Do you mind my opening the window? §5.7.3 The ing-form is used after certain verbs – in this instance, mind. It is also possible—though more informal—to use the personal pronoun me instead of the possessive pronoun my. 8. We couldn’t make them to reveal the secret. §5.7.2 After have, let and make (active form), use the bare infinitive instead of the to-infinitive! 9. You do good coffee! §5.2.1.4 → make Do generally means perform whereas make means produce.

6 10. He uses to get up very early in the morning. §5.2.2.6 → usually gets up 11. Naturally I like that people tell me I am beautiful. → I like it when people tell me / I like people to tell me 12. It would be easier to decide if my wife would be here. §5.4.6 → was/were In a conditional construction, would is used in the main clause but not in the conditional clause. This is the Conditional Type II (would+the infinitive), so the conditional clause should have the past indicative was or possibly the past subjunctive were (because this is a hypothetical situation). 13. I wish my father were here. §5.6.2 The past subjunctive is used when talking about hypothetical situations. BE is the only verb that has a past subjunctive form. 14. Have you got used to live in a flat yet? §5.2.2.6 → living 15. If I had had the money, I would have moved many years ago. §5.4.6 The Conditional Type II Main clause: would+have+the past participle Conditional clause: the past perfect 16. She wants that I accompany her to that party. → me to 17. I couldn’t help to laugh when I saw his funny expression. §5.7.3 → laughing Certain verbs or expressions are followed by a verb in the ing-form. 18. I wish you would stop to chatter in class. §5.7.4 → chattering Certain verbs take on different meanings depending on whether it is followed by a verb in the infinitive or by a verb in the ing-form. stop chattering = sluta tjattra (i.e., you’re constantly talking and I want you to be quiet) stop to chatter = sluta /göra något annat/ för att tjattra (i.e. I wish you would stop doing whatever it is you are doing and start chattering instead)