Table of Contents
Introduction viii
How to use this Grammar xii
Glossary of grammatical terms xiv
Chapter 1 Referring to people and things 1
Nouns 3
Countable nouns
Uncountable nouns
Singular nouns
Plural nouns
Collective nouns
Proper nouns
Nouns that are rarely used alone
Adjectives used as nouns
Nouns referring to males or females
-Ing nouns
Compound nouns
Pronouns 31
Personal pronouns
Possessive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns
Generic pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns
Indefinite pronouns
Reciprocal pronounsa Relative pronouns
Interrogative pronouns
Determiners 40
Definite determiners: the
Definite determiners: this, that, these and those
Possessive determiners: my, your, their, etc.
The possessive form: apostrophe's ('s)
Indefinite determiners: all, some, many etc.
Indefinite determiners: a and an
Other indefinite determiners
Chapter 2 Giving information about people and things 71
Adjectives 73
Qualitative adjectives
Classifying adjectives
Colour adjectives
Showing strong feelings
Postdeterminers
Adjectives that are only used in front of a noun
Adjectives that always follow a linking verb
Position of adjectives in noun phrases
-Ing adjectives
-ed adjectives
Compound adjectives
Comparatives 98
Superlatives 100
Saying things are similar 103
Talking about different amounts of a quality 106
Saying things are different 111
Noun modifiers 114
Talking about amounts of things 116
Numbers 126
Cardinal numbers
Ordinal numbers
Fractions
Measurements
Age Approximate amounts and measurements 139
Expanding the noun phrase 141
With prepositional phrases
With adjectives
Nouns followed by to-infinitive, -ed participle, or-ing participle
Chapter 3 Types of verb 149
Intransitive verbs 153
Transitive verbs 156
Reflexive verbs 160
Delexical verbs: verbs with little meaning 162
Verbs that can be used both with and without an object 167
Verbs that can take an object or a prepositional phrase 170
Changing your focus by changing the subject 171
Reciprocal verbs 173
Verbs that can have two objects 175
Phrasal verbs 178
Compound verbs 188
Linking verbs 190
Adjectives after linking verbs
Nouns after linking verbs
Other verbs with following adjectives
Describing the object of a verb 198
Using a prepositional phrase after a linking verb 200
Using two main verbs together 203
Chapter 4 Expressing time: tenses and time adverbials 213
The present 216
The present simple
The present progressive
Time adverbials with reference to the present
The past 220
The past simple
The past progressive
The present perfect
The past perfect
Time adverbials with reference to the past
Expressing future time 225
Indicating the future using will
Other ways of talking about the future
Time adverbials with reference to the future
Other uses of verb forms 227
Using time adverbials to indicate past, present, or future 229
Yet, still, already, etc. 231
Time adverbials and prepositional phrases 234
Non-specific times 238
Expressing frequency and duration 241
Chapter 5 Modals, negatives, and ways of forming sentences 253
Making statements, the declarative form 256
Asking questions: the interrogative form 257
Yes/no-questions
Indirect questions
Question tags
Wh-questions
The imperative 266
Other uses of the declarative, the interrogative, and the imperative 268
Forming negative statements 270
Broad negatives 277
Using modals 280
Special features of modals
Uses of modals
Expressions used instead of modals
Semi-modals
Chapter 6 Expressing manner and place 311
Adverbs 318
Types of adverb
Comparative and superlative adverbs
Adverbs of manner
Adverbs of degree
Adverbs of place
Destinations and directions
Prepositions
Position of prepositional phrases
After verbs indicating movement
Showing position
Showing direction
Other uses of prepositional phrases
Prepositions used with verbs
Prepositional phrases after nouns and adjectives
Extended meanings of prepositions
Other ways of giving information about place 346
Chapter 7 Reporting what people say or think 349
Using reporting verbs 351
Reporting someone's actual words, direct speech 355
Reporting in your own words, reported speech 358
Reporting statements and thoughts
Reporting questions
Reporting orders, requests, advice, and intentions
Reporting uncertain things
Time reference in reported speech
Using reporting verbs to perform an action 369
Avoiding mention of the person speaking or thinking 370
Referring to the speaker and hearer 371
Other ways of indicating what is said 374
Other ways of using reported clauses 376
Chapter 8 Combining messages 379
Clauses and conjunctions 381
Time clauses
Conditional clauses
Purpose clauses
Reason clauses
Result clauses
Concessive clauses
Place clauses
Clauses of manner
Relative clauses
Nominal that-clauses 407
Non-finite clauses 410
Linking words, phrases, and clauses together 414
Chapter 9 Changing the focus in a sentence 425
The passive 427
Split sentences 435
Taking the focus off the subject, using impersonal it 437
Introducing something new: there as subject 442
Focusing using adverbials 444
Emphasizing 446
Putting something first 449
Introducing your statement 450
Focusing on the speaker's attitude 451
Exclamations 454
Addressing people 456
Chapter 10 Making a text hold together 459
Referring back 461
Referring forward 471
Showing connections between sentences: sentence connectors 472
Linking parts of a conversation together 475
Leaving words out 476
Reference section 483
The grammar of business English 517
The grammar of academic English 528
Index 541
