... definitions, so we have many English grammars (or grammar books),which vary in their coverage and their accuracy. The largest English dictionaryis the scholarly twenty-volume OxfordEnglish Dictionary, ... (1.7-10)Standard English 14Variation In standard English 151.41.51.61.91.10The spread of English in second-language countries 8 English pidgins and English as an internationallanguage 12Correct English ... 16Good English 17 Chapter 2The Scope and Nature of Grammar SummaryWhat is grammar? (2.1-3)2.1 Types of grammar books 23 2.3 Theories of grammar 252.2 Descriptive and prescriptivegrammar...
... main meaning of can is be able to:Canyou swim? =Areyou able to swim?I canspeak English. = I am able to speak English. Dave canride a bike. = Dave is able to ride a bike.Note that:1 can doesn’t ... 48 – ‘what if . . .?’In Language point 41 we saw how the PRESENT CONTINUOUSis often used in English to mean the FUTURE. Sometimes we use thePRESENT SIMPLEin the same way, as for example ... – the first one has beendone for you.1 Julie can swim. Julie is able to swim.2 Can they speak English? _________________ ?3 Dave isn’t able to come. _________________ .4 Can you see the screen?...
... and now I’m leaving!9 This place has changed a lot ____ we were here last.10 I’ve been learning English ____ a long time.Exercise 5Choose the correct verb from the brackets for each sentence ... Fiona since yesterday.6 (Have you been/Are you) waiting here long?7 I (learn/’ve been learning) English for five years.8 The kids (are/have been) playing football since ten o’clock.Dialogue 4 ... overfrom Denmark to visit.NIELS: Do you remember when I came over to visit last year?DAVE: Of course I do! You arrived in the evening aftercoming over on the ferry and driving straight here.When...
... nothing happens to it.(i-viiiB,001-328B) whl bk.indd 15 3/16/09 12:33:55 PM 14 Noun PhrasesOf course the possessive forms of nouns can signal many things besides ownership. Often we use the ... is a component of the computer. In this section, however, we are going to focus solely on how English forms the possessive. Before Shakespeare’s time the possessive form of nouns was spelled...
... a new coat of paint. 6. They had a big victory despite all the odds. 7. A new painting by the English painter Turner has just been discovered. 8. I had no illusions about my chances. 9. The...
... is human, to forgive is divine. Infi nitive phrases differ from gerund phrases in one respect. English speakers often prefer to move longer infi nitive phrases to the end of the sentence, putting ... nitives with or without modi-fi ers and/or complements. Infi nitive phrases can play three of the basic four noun roles: subjects, objects of verbs, and predicate nominatives. Unlike gerund phrases,...
... alike both inverted with the subjects.) There is no standard name in traditional grammar for the verbs in modern English that can be inverted to form yes-no questions. The verbs that can be inverted ... is then inverted with the subject just like any other auxiliary verb. This dummy verb, is, of course, the verb do. Here are some examples using this dummy auxiliary verb. Let’s start with ... verb is the actual historical source of the do used in yes-no questions and negatives in modern English. ) This intermediate sentence now contains an auxiliary verb that can be inverted in the...