Saturday, May 10, 2014

All and whole

Here you can find some information with some exercises on 'all' and 'whole'.  Here is the key for the exercises.

Plans

Here are the four different functions we can use to talk about plans:

1. I will/shall call you in 10 minutes. (spontaneous)

2. I am going to spend the evening at home. (premeditated in spoken English)
    I will/shall be spending the evening at home. (premeditated in written English with an action verb)
    I will be in New York during Easter.  (premeditated in written English with a state verb)
3. I am flying to New York at 8:00AM tomorrow. (premeditated and arranged with an action verb)
    I am in New York during Easter. (premeditated and arranged with a state verb)
4. My Flight departs at 8:00AM tomorrow. (time-tabled event)

Here are some links to some exercises on this topic:

http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/goingtoorwill/menu.php

http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/presentformsforfuture/menu.php

http://www.englishgrammarsecrets.com/willbedoing/menu.php

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Linkers

The first and second parts of the documents on linkers are hereby available.  You can also find the key for the exercises here.  As you do the exercises, please remember the following three types of linkers we have identified:
  • Linkers that connect two parts of the same sentence as in the following example: We only have one week off for Easter, so we will be staying in Brussels.
  • Linkers that connect two separate sentences as in the following four examples, which are different ways of saying the same thing:
  1. We only have one week off for Easter.  Therefore, we will be staying in Brussels.
  2. We only have one week off for Easter; therefore, we will be staying in Brussels.
  3. We only have one week off for Easter.  We will, therefore, be staying in Brussels.
  4. We only have one week off for Easter; we will, therefore, be staying in Brussels.
  • Linkers that are covered under both the first and second types as in the four following examples:
  1. Besides giving his friend a lift after work, he helped her with her grocery shopping.
  2. He helped his friend with her grocery shopping, besides giving her a lift after work.
  3. I am afraid I am not allowed to help you with that question.  Besides, I do not know the answer myself.
  4. I am afraid I am not allowed to help you with that question; besides, I do not know the answer myself.
Note that the meaning of the word 'besides'  in the first two examples is different from its meaning in the last two examples.

In all these examples, please pay special attention to the punctuation.

Monday, January 13, 2014

State vs. action verbs

Here is  a document where you can find information and exercises on state vs. action verbs, along with key for the  exercises. (Source: English Grammar in Use: Intermediate by Raymond Murphy)

Here is a link for a webpage where you can find some  exercises on the same topic.   

Here you can find the list of verbs we have looked at. (Source: LONGMAN Advanced Learners’ Grammar by Mark Foley &  Diane Hall)

Position of adverbs

Here are the main rules and exceptions on the position of adverbs in sentences:

First rule: if there is only
one verb in the sentence, the adverb comes before the verb as in the following example: He usually comes to work on time.
Exception to the first rule: if the only verb in the sentence is 'to be', the adverb comes after the verb as in the following example:  He is usually on time.

Second rule: If there is
more than one verb in the sentence, the adverb comes after the first verb as in the following example: He has already arrived at work.
First exception to the second rule: if the first verb in the sentence is an auxiliary verb with 'to', i.e., have to, need to, ought to and used to, the adverb comes before the first verb as in the following example: He usually has to start working by 9:30 AM.
Second exception to the second rule: if the first verb in the sentence is a contracted negation, the adverbs 'probably', 'possibly' and 'certainly' come before the first verb as in the following example: He probably won't come to work on time.

These being the main rules and exceptions, there is more to this topic.  You can find more information on
this webpage, which also provides you with some exercises. 

Here is another document with exercises on the same topic.  You can find the key for the exercises here.

Tenses and key words

Here you can find many exercises on tenses.  I am also hereby making a list of all the tenses and key words available

Subject-Verb agreement

You can find a document on subject-verb agreement with exercises here.  The key for the exercises is available here.

Another document  is hereby available.