Present Perfect: experience

We can use the Present Perfect to ask about life experiences. We often use it with ‘ever’:

• Tom: Have you ever been to London?
• Sue: Yes, I have.
• Tom: Me too. What about Paris?  Have you ever been to Paris?  
• Sue: No, I haven’t – but I’d love to go!

Have	I you we they	(ever)	Past Participle
Has	he she it

With short answers, we use:

Yes, I / you / we / they have. – Yes, he / she / it has.

No, I / you / we / they haven’t. – No, he / she / it hasn’t.

• Tom has been to London.
• Sue has been to London too.
• They have (both) been to London.
• Sue hasn’t been to Paris.
• Sue has never been to Paris.

I You We They	have haven’t (have not)	Past Participle
He She It	has hasn’t (has not)

The past participles of regular verbs end in ‘ed’:

• Tom has visited Big Ben.
• He has walked in Hyde Park.
• He has travelled on a red bus.

A lot of common verbs have irregular past participles:

• He has been to London.
• He has seen the river Thames.
• He has eaten fish and chips.

be → been	buy → bought
see → seen	drive → driven
eat → eaten	have → had
drink → drunk	write → written

Note: For a complete list of irregular verbs, see the Pre-intermediate course, 5.2 Verbs: irregular.

Present Perfect & Past Simple

Compare:

• Tom has been to London.  (Present Perfect)
• He went there in 2016.  (Past Simple)

We use the Present Perfect to talk about life experiences. We use the Past Simple when we talk about an action at a definite past time.

Adjectives: Common and Demonstrative

 

Common Adjectives

 

We use common (descriptive) adjectives to describe nouns. 

 

Adjectives usually go before nouns:

•  This is a nice house.
•  I am reading an interesting book.
•  We have a small dog.
•  I have blue eyes.

 

Adjectives can also go after link verbs such as be, look, feel, smell, sound and taste. They still describe a noun or nouns.

•  This car is fast.
•  It looks great!
•  That cake smells delicious!

Note: Adjectives of the same type require commas to separate them. ●  We have red, green, and gold lights.

 

Demonstrative Adjectives

 

Demonstrative adjectives this, that, these and those are used to point out or refer to specific people or things.

 

This/These

 

We use this and these (plural) to point out something that is nearby, close, or in our hands.

 

This is used with singular nouns:

•  This book is very old.
•  I would like this cake, please.

 

These is used with plural nouns:

•  These keys do not fit this door.
•  Can I get these shoes, mom?

 

That/Those

 

We use that and those (plural) to point out someone or  something that is farther away or not reachable.

 

That is used with singular nouns:

•  That house is about a mile away.
•  Who’s that girl over there?

Those is used with plural nouns:

•  Look at those hills! They are so beautiful.
•  I don’t like those pants.

 

We can use demonstrative adjectives and common adjectives together.

 

When we use both demonstrative and common adjectives, the demonstrative comes before the common (descriptive) adjective.

•  I love these new shoes I just got.
•  What is moving in those tall trees over there?
•  I don’t want that ugly animal in my house.

Imperative

 

We use Imperative to ask or tell people to do things:

• Open your books to page 24, please.
• Look at the picture.
• Read the questions and write your answers.

 

To make the imperative, we use the infinitive of the verb without ‘to’.

• Sit down!
• Marry me!

 

We use ‘Don’t’ for negative imperatives:

• Don’t write in pencil. Use a pen.
• Don’t use your dictionary too often.
• Please don’t forget to do your homework!

 

We often use ‘please’ to make imperatives less direct. ‘Please’ can come at the beginning or the end of the sentence.

• Please shut up!
• Don’t smoke here, please.

 

You can also use ‘let’s’ before the verb if you are including yourself in the imperative. The negative of ‘let’s’ is ‘let’s not’.

• Let’s play!
• Let’s have something to eat.
• Let’s not argue.
• Let’s not tell them about it.

 

We also use imperatives to give advice:

• Eat lots of fruit and vegetables.
• Drink lots of water.
• Do some exercise every day.

 

• Don’t eat too much chocolate.
• Don’t drink too many soft drinks.
• Don’t smoke.

 

We often use imperatives in recipes or manuals:

Making Pancakes

1. Put 125g of flour into a bowl.
2. Add three large eggs.
3. Pour in 250ml of milk.
4. Mix everything together well.
5. Heat a large frying pan.
6. Melt a little butter in the pan.
7. Pour some of the mixture into the pan.
8. Cook it for a couple of minutes.
9. Turn it over and cook the other side.
10. Put it on a plate.
11. Eat it with your favourite toppings.
12. Don’t eat too many!

 

Other common uses of imperatives:

• Have a good day / weekend / holiday.
• Enjoy your meal.
• Don’t work too hard.
• Don’t worry!

 

Verbs: infinitive

 

Infinitive is the base form of a verb. It names an action or state but it cannot show person, number, or mood.

 

Infinitives may be used with the particle ‘to’ in front of it (‘full infinitive’) or without ‘to’ (‘bare infinitive’):

 

full infinitive	bare infinitive
to be to have to make to sleep to go	be have make sleep go

 

Full infinitives may be used in a sentence in several ways:

 

1) as a subject of a sentence

• To err is human, to forgive divine.

 

2) in a phrase that expresses some purpose or intent

• My plan is to go to the zoo tomorrow.

 

3) after an indirect object

• My secretary told me to call you back.

 

4) after certain other verbs, like attempt, choose, decide, hope, manage, plan, promise, refuse, seem, and more:

• She attempted to find a free place in the hall.
• I hope to meet you here next month.
• Mike promised to be more attentive at school.

 

Bare infinitives are used:

 

1) after modal verbs (except for ought to, have to, be to)

• You should wear a warm coat.

 

2) after will/shall

• I shall call her tomorrow.

 

3) after verbs of perception

• She heard the door close.

 

4) after the verbs let, make, have

• Let him behave the way he wants.

 

5) after the expressions would rather/had better

• I would rather go to the cinema.

 

6) to form imperatives

• Enjoy your stay at our hotel!
• Pass me the salt, please.

Verbs: overview

 

We use verbs to talk about actions:

• He gets up at 7.30 every morning.
• They play football on Saturdays.
• I didn’t want to work yesterday.

 

We also use verbs to talk about states:

• The weather is very hot today.
• I don’t know the answer.
• She doesn’t like classical music.

 

Main Verbs

 

These are main verbs:

• He gets up at 7.30 every morning.
• They play football on Saturdays.
• I didn’t walk to work yesterday.

Main verbs carry meaning.

• The weather is very hot today.
• I don’t know the answer.
• She doesn’t like classical music.

 

Auxiliary Verbs

 

These are auxiliary verbs:

• I don’t know the answer.
• She doesn’t like classical music.
• I didn’t walk to work yesterday.

 

We can use them to form negatives and questions. For example, in the present simple tense:

 

Present Simple Negatives:

• I don’t know the answer.
• She doesn’t like classical music.

 

I You We They	don’t (do + not)	base verb
He She It	doesn’t (does + not)	base verb

 

Present Simple Questions:

• Do you know the answer?
• Does she like classical music?

 

Do	I you we they	base verb
Does	he she it	base verb

 

In the past simple:

• I didn’t walk to work yesterday.
• Did you walk to work yesterday?

 

We can also use them to form different tenses:

 

• He’s studying hard for an exam.
• I have never been to Canada.
• We have been learning English for two years.

 

Modal verbs

 

These are modal verbs (or modal auxiliary verbs):

• He can speak Japanese very well.
• You shouldn’t eat so much chocolate.
• I must not forget my Mum’s birthday.

We use modal verbs with main verbs to add to the meaning.