English...
Adverbs of Frequency
English Grammar Rules
We use some adverbs to describe how frequently we do an activity.
These are called adverbs of frequency and include:
| Frequency | Adverb of Frequency | Example Sentence |
|---|
| 100% | always | I always go to bed before 11pm. |
| 90% | usually | I usually have cereal for breakfast. |
| 80% | normally / generally | I normally go to the gym. |
| 70% | often* / frequently | I often surf the internet. |
| 50% | sometimes | I sometimes forget my wife's birthday. |
| 30% | occasionally | I occasionally eat junk food. |
| 10% | seldom | I seldom read the newspaper. |
| 5% | hardly ever / rarely | I hardly ever drink alcohol. |
| 0% | never | I never swim in the sea. |
* Some people pronounce the 'T' in often but many others do not.
The Position of the Adverb in a Sentence
An adverb of frequency goes before a main verb (except with To Be).
| Subject + adverb + main verb |
|---|
| I always remember to do my homework. |
| He normally gets good marks in exams. |
An adverb of frequency goes
after the verb
To Be.
| Subject + to be + adverb |
|---|
| They are never pleased to see me. |
| She isn't usually bad tempered. |
When we use an auxiliary verb (have, will, must, might, could, would,
can, etc.), the adverb is placed between the auxiliary and the main verb. This is also true for to be.
| Subject + auxiliary + adverb + main verb |
|---|
| She can sometimes beat me in a race. |
| I would hardly ever be unkind to someone. |
| They might never see each other again. |
| They could occasionally be heard laughing. |
We can also use the following adverbs at the start of a sentence:
Usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes, occasionally
- Occasionally, I like to eat Thai food.
BUT we cannot use the following at the beginning of a sentence:
Always, seldom, rarely, hardly, ever, never.
We use hardly ever and never with positive, not negative verbs:
- She hardly ever comes to my parties.
- They never say 'thank you'.
We use ever in questions and negative statements:
- Have you ever been to New Zealand?
- I haven't ever been to Switzerland. (The same as 'I have never been Switzerland').
We can also use the following expressions when we want to be more specific about the frequency:
- every day - once a month - twice a year - four times a day - every other week
How to form the Past Tense in English
The main rule is that for every verb in English, there is only one form of it in the past tense.
(The exception is the
Past tense of To Be, which has two forms:
was and
were)
This is totally different from other languages such as Spanish, French, Italian etc. where you change the verb ending for every subject.
For example: The past tense of the verb want is wanted.
Wanted is used as the past tense for all subjects/pronouns.
- I wanted
- You wanted
- He wanted
- She wanted
- It wanted
- We wanted
- They wanted
So you just have to learn one word to be able to use it in the past tense. In this case we just needed to learn the one word wanted which can be used for all subjects (or people).
Past Tense Regular Verbs
To change a regular verb into its past tense form, we normally add –ED to the end of the verb.
- play – played
- cook – cooked
- rain – rained
- wait – waited
Examples of sentences using regular verbs in the past tense
- Last night I played my guitar loudly and the neighbors complained.
- She kissed me on the cheek.
- It rained yesterday.
- Angela watched TV all night.
- John wanted to go to the museum.
Negative sentences in the Past Tense
We use didn’t (did not) to make a negative sentence in the past tense.
This is for regular AND irregular verbs in English.
(Exception is To Be and Modal Verbs such as Can)
Compare the following:
Present: They don’t live in Canada.
Past: They didn’t live in Canada.
The main verb (live in the example above) is in its base form (of the infinitive). The auxiliary DIDN’T shows that the sentence is negative AND in the past tense.
NOTICE: The only difference between a negative sentence in the present tense and a negative sentence in the past tense is the change in the auxiliary verb.
Compare the negative sentences in the examples below:
Present: You don’t need a mechanic.
Past: You didn’t need a mechanic.
Present: You don’t walk to work.
Past: You didn’t walk to work.
Present: He doesn’t speak Japanese.
Past: He didn’t speak Japanese.
Examples of negative sentences in the Past Tense
- I didn’t want to go to the dentist.
- She didn’t have time.
- You didn’t close the door.
- He didn’t come to my party.
- They didn’t study so they didn’t pass the test.
- We didn’t sleep well last night.
Plural Nouns
English Grammar Rules
In general the plural of a noun is formed by adding -S to the noun.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|
| car | cars |
| house | houses |
| book | books |
| bird | birds |
| pencil | pencils |
However:
1. When the noun ends in SS, SH, CH or X, we add -ES to the noun.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|
| kiss | kisses |
| wish | wishes |
| match | matches |
| box | boxes |
| fox | foxes |
- I have a box in my bedroom.
- I have three boxes in my bedroom.
2. When the noun ends in a VOWEL + Y, we add -S to the noun.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|
| boy | boys |
| holiday | holidays |
| key | keys |
| guy | guys |
3. When the noun ends in a CONSONANT + Y, we remove Y and add -IES to the noun.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|
| party | parties |
| lady | ladies |
| story | stories |
| nanny | nannies |
| city | cities |
4. If the noun ends in F or FE, we remove the F/FE and add -VES to the noun.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|
| life | lives |
| leaf | leaves |
| thief | thieves |
| wife | wives |
5. If the noun ends in IS, we change it to ES.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|
| analysis | analyses |
| basis | bases |
| crisis | crises |
6. There are a number of nouns that don't follow these rules. They are irregular and you need to learn them individually because they don't normally have an S on the end.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|
| man | men |
| woman | women |
| child | children |
| foot | feet |
| tooth | teeth |
| goose | geese |
| mouse | mice |
- There is a child in the park.
- There are many children in the park.
7. There are some nouns in English that are the same in the singular and the plural.
| Singular | Plural |
|---|
| fish | fish |
| sheep | sheep |
| deer | deer |
| moose | moose |
| aircraft | aircraft |
- I can see a sheep in the field.
- I can see ten sheep in the field.
Sometimes you will hear the word fishes (especially in songs) though it is grammatically incorrect.
Simple Present Tense
English Grammar Rules
The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal.
We use the present tense:
1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period.
- I take the train to the office.
- The train to Berlin leaves every hour.
- John sleeps eight hours every night during the week.
2. For facts.
- The President of The USA lives in The White House.
- A dog has four legs.
- We come from Switzerland.
3. For habits.
- I get up early every day.
- Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.
- They travel to their country house every weekend.
4. For things that are always / generally true.
- It rains a lot in winter.
- The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace.
- They speak English at work.
Verb Conjugation & Spelling
We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO).
In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person.
| Subject | Verb | The Rest of the sentence |
|---|
| I / you / we / they | speak / learn | English at home |
| he / she / it | speaks / learns | English at home |
The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb:
1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person.
- go – goes
- catch – catches
- wash – washes
- kiss – kisses
- fix – fixes
- buzz – buzzes
2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.
- marry – marries
- study – studies
- carry – carries
- worry – worries
NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S.
- play – plays
- enjoy – enjoys
- say – says
Negative Sentences in the Simple Present Tense
To make a negative sentence in English we normally use
Don't or Doesn't with all verbs EXCEPT
To Beand
Modal verbs (can, might, should etc.).
- Affirmative: You speak French.
Negative: You don't speak French.
You will see that we add don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the subject is I, you,we or they.
- Affirmative: He speaks German.
Negative: He doesn't speak German.
When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a negative sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence. We will see the reason why below.
Negative Contractions
Don't = Do not
Doesn't = Does not
I don't like meat = I do not like meat.
There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.
Word Order of Negative Sentences
The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English in the Present Tense using Don't or Doesn't.
| Subject | don't/doesn't | Verb* | The Rest of the sentence |
|---|
| I / you / we / they | don't | have / buy
eat / like etc. | cereal for breakfast |
| he / she / it | doesn't |
* Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.
Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.
Examples of Negative Sentences with Don't and Doesn't:
- You don't speak Arabic.
- John doesn't speak Italian.
- We don't have time for a rest.
- It doesn't move.
- They don't want to go to the party.
- She doesn't like fish.
Questions in the Simple Present Tense
To make a question in English we normally use
Do or Does. It has no translation in Spanish though it is essential to show we are making a question. It is normally put at the beginning of the question.
- Affirmative: You speak English.
Question: Do you speak English?
You will see that we add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question. We use Dowhen the subject is I, you, we or they.
- Affirmative: He speaks French.
Question: Does he speak French?
When the subject is he, she or it, we add DOES at the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a question. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the question. We will see the reason why below.
We DON'T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb To Be or Modal Verbs (can, must, might, should etc.)
Word Order of Questions with Do and Does
The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English using Do or Does.
| Do/Does | Subject | Verb* | The Rest of the sentence |
|---|
| Do | I / you / we / they | have / need
want etc. | a new bike? |
| Does | he / she / it |
*Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.
Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.
Examples of Questions with Do and Does:
- Do you need a dictionary?
- Does Mary need a dictionary?
- Do we have a meeting now?
- Does it rain a lot in winter?
- Do they want to go to the party?
- Does he like pizza?
Short Answers with Do and Does
In questions that use do/does it is possible to give short answers to direct questions as follows:
| Sample Questions | Short Answer
(Affirmative) | Short Answer
(Negative) |
|---|
| Do you like chocolate? | Yes, I do. | No, I don't. |
| Do I need a pencil? | Yes, you do. | No, you don't. |
| Do you both like chocolate? | Yes, we do. | No, we don't. |
| Do they like chocolate? | Yes, they do. | No, they don't. |
| Does he like chocolate? | Yes, he does. | No, he doesn't. |
| Does she like chocolate? | Yes, she does. | No, she doesn't. |
| Does it have four wheels? | Yes, it does. | No, it doesn't. |
However, if a question word such as who, when, where, why, which or how is used in the question, you can not use the short answers above to respond to the question.
