We use an adverb to express a significant description to a verb, an adjective or another adverb. Simply put, it tells us HOW something happens. The rule is simple for regular adverbs as we often only need to add -ly to the end of an adjective.
Irregular adverbs on the other hand, disregard standard English spelling rules. Hence, they have to be memorized.
Here are some common irregular adverbs.
Adjectives
Irregular Adverbs
good
well
The show went well.
fast
fast
She drives too fast.
hard
hard
He studied hard for the exam
late
late
They arrived late at the party.
early
early
The package arrived early.
daily
daily
New articles are published daily.
Hard vs Hardly
She works hard because she’s looking forward for a promotion. – correct
She works hardly because she’s looking forward for a promotion. – incorrect (Hardly means “almost never”)
If we say, “She works hardly,” this means she hardly ever or rarely works which is opposite from the original context.
Late vs Lately
I came home late. – correct (To arrive home later than the expected time or very late at night.)
I came home lately. – incorrect (Lately means “recently”)
Late is both an adjective and an adverb while ‘lately’ is only an adverb of time which means recently.
Good vs. Well
Good is an adjective. Well is the adverb of good which describes how something is being done.
We use reported/indirect speech when someone said something and we need to tell it to others.
We use common reporting verbs such as ‘say’ and ‘tell’ or ‘ask’ if the direct speech is in a form of a question. Since we are talking about something that happened in the past, we use the past tense of the reporting verbs such as ‘said’, ‘told’, ‘asked’, etc.
It is optional to use the conjunction ‘that’ in a reported speech.
In reported speech, we usually use a tense that is one tense back in time from the tense in direct speech.
Examples:
Present Simple
Past Simple
“We like dancing”, they said.
They said (that) they liked dancing.
“I travel a lot”, Ana said
Ana said (that) she travelled a lot.
Present Continuous
Past Continuous
“I am drinking wine”, he told them.
He told them (that) he was drinking wine.
“We are playing outside”, John said.
John said (that) they were playing outside.
Present Perfect
Past Perfect
“We haven’t done our homework”, they said.
They said (that) they hadn’t done their homework.
“I have been to Barcelona”, she told me.
She told me (that) she had been to Barcelona.
Simple Past
Past Perfect
“Jane finished her work on Monday”, they said.
They said (that) Jane had finished her work on Monday.
“I lived in Catalonia for ten years”, he said.
He said he had lived in Catalonia for ten years.
However, when Past Perfect is used in the direct speech, no verb change is needed.
Past Perfect
Past Perfect
We had taken some lessons before”, they said.
They said (that) they had taken some lessons before.
“She had just returned from school”, she explained.
She explained (that) she had just returned from school.
Future Tense
Present Conditional
He said, “I will be in Los Angeles on Sunday”.
He said (that) he would be in Los Angeles on Sunday.
“We will sing at the concert next month”, they said.
They said (that) they would sing at the concert next month.
Future Continuous
Conditional Continuous
They said, “We‘ll be staying at home next weekend”.
They said (that) they would be staying at home next weekend.
“I won’t be attending the party tomorrow”, she said.
She said (that) she would not be attending the party tomorrow.
If what was said is still true, it’s not always needed to change the tense.
“The sky is blue”, Ana said.
Ana said the sky is blue.
“We go to the school near the church”, they said.
They said (that) they go to the school near the church.
Must and Have to are modal verbs that show necessity, obligation and prohibition. They have little differencesin their usage.
‘Must’ is used to imply that the obligation is personal. It is an obligation the speaker sets for himself. We can only use this form in the present and in the future.
Basic sentence structure:
subject + auxiliary verb must + main verb base
subject
auxiliary verb (must)
main verb (base form)
She
must
go
now.
Examples:
I must finish this task. (Finishing the task is an obligation the speaker took on himself)
I must go. (obligation set by the speaker)
I must learn how to drive. (obligation set by the speaker)
‘Have to’ also implies obligation. However, this obligation is something external. It is something someone else asked the speaker to do and the speaker cannot change it. We can use this form in the past, the present and the future.
Basic sentence structure:
subject + auxiliary verb + have + to-infinitive
subject
auxiliary verb
Main verb (have)
to-infinitive
Past Simple
She
had
to leave
early.
Present Simple
I
have
to eat
fast.
Future Simple
They
will
have
to meet
soon.
Examples:
I have to send the report as soon as possible. (Sending the report is a duty given to the speaker.)
They had to stay there longer. (They were required to stay longer)
I have to leave now. (Leaving now is required of the speaker)
For the question form, it is more common to use “have to’ than ‘must’. It is used to ask if something is required or an obligation.
Why do you have to go? – more common
Why must you go? – less common
Does he have to drive? – more common
Must he drive? – less common
What do we have to say? – more common
What must we say? – less common
The negative forms of these two have different meanings.
The negative form of ‘must’ is ‘must not’. It shows that something is not allowed.
He mustn’t sleep at work.
You must not leave the house.
They must not stay outside.
The negative form of ‘have to’ is ‘don’t have to’. It shows that something is not necessary but you can do it if you want to.
Would is a slightly more formal way of expressing repeated past habits that we no longer do. These past actions do not take place anymore.
The sentence construction usually starts with a subject followed by would and then the base form of the verb. Consequently, for the negative we use the same formula but we replace would with would not or the shorter form wouldn’t.
Subject + would/wouldn’t + base form of the verb
Examples:
Every weekend, I would go hiking.
When we were young, our parents would take us to the park every Sunday.
My teacher would give me after-school exercises everyday.
On rainy days, we wouldn’t go out.
When I was a child, my father wouldn’t give me the time of the day.
My next-door neighbor wouldn’t bat an eye whenever he heard noises from my apartment.
Would can also be used with always, often, constantly etc. when talking about repeated past actions.
As a teenager, I wouldalways sneak out of our house at night.
I would constantly correct my colleagues and they didn’t like it.
Back in college, I would often go to concerts.
In English, if an action only happened once, we do not use would + base form of the verb. Furthermore, don’t use it to talk about past states.
Examples:
I moved to Madrid in 2010. –(action that happened only once) I would move to Madrid in 2010. – incorrect
I used to be a writer. –(past state) I would be a painter. – incorrect
Both want and would like, as verbs, mean to desire or wish for something.
Want suggests a demand.
Would like is a more polite and formal way of expressing what you want.
Examples:
I want a soda. (could be urgent) I would like to have a soda. (more polite)
I want to have dinner with you. (could be demanding) I would like to have dinner with you. (more polite)
I want to speak to you. (could be urgent and demanding) I would like to speak to you. (more polite)
Want is always followed by a complement to have a complete thought. It could be a noun or pronoun as an object, a to-infinitive form of the verb or an object + verb.
Examples:
Do you want cookies? (noun object)
I don’t want them. (pronoun object)
Do you want to eat them? (to-infinitive)
The host wants him to try the cookies. (object + to-infinitive)
Would like is usually followed by verbs in the the to + infinitive form or an object.
Examples:
I would like to try them. (to try is an infinitive)
I would like to eat it. (to eat is an infinitive)
I would like to have pasta. (to have is an infinitive)
I would like a cup of coffee. (coffee is an object)
I would like a tour. (tour is an object)
I would like an orange juice. (orange juice is an object)
The short form of would like is ‘d like.
Examples:
I’d like a cup of coffee.
I’d like to try them.
I’d like to eat it.
Be mindful of the use of gerund with would like as it may change the meaning of the sentence.
Example:
I would like to dance. (This means right now I want/wish/desire to dance.)
I’d like dancing if I could. ( This means I would like to dance but I don’t know if I have a chance to actually dance or if I have the skills to dance. )
There are often confusions on using used to + infinitive and be/get used to+ gerund. These two are used in absolutely different context.
USED TO
We use used to to say that something existedor occurred repeatedly in the past that is no longer true.
Sentence structure:
Subject + used to + infinitive(base verb or simple form of the verb)
Examples:
I used to drive on the left side of the road.
She used to live in a big city.
They used to work long hours.
We use ‘did not use to’ to express it in the negative form. There is no need to add ‘d’ to use as did is already in the past tense.
I didn’t use to drive on the left side of the road.
BE USED TO
We use be used to indicate familiarity with something or a habit. Being used to something means it is not something strange or new to you.
Sentence structure:
subject + be +used to + gerund
Examples:
I am used to driving on the left side of the road.
She is used to living in a big city.
They are used to working long hours.
The negative for be used to is ‘be not used to’.
I am not used to driving on the left side of the road.
GET USED TO
This is related to ‘be used to’. However, ‘get used to‘ talks about the process of the subject becoming familiar with or getting accustomed to something. It could mean that the subject has just started doing something and is expected to it regularly/more often in the future.
Sentence structure:
subject + get + used to + gerund
Examples:
I am getting used to driving on the left side of the road.
She is getting used to living in a big city.
They are getting used to working long hours.
We use ‘not get used to’ to say it in the negative form.
I am not getting used to driving on the left side of the road.
Make and Do are two very common and quite similar verbs that we use. It can be confusing to know which one to use.
Remember:
We use Make when building, creating or producing something. It focuses on the result or product of an action.
Examples:
Make a plan.
Did you make that dress?
They made a decision.
We use DO when we talk about actions, tasks or general activities. It focuses on the act itself.
Examples:
I am doing some housework.
We will do some shopping tomorrow.
I did well in the interview.
We usually use things, everything, nothing, something, anything etc. when we use DO to talk about general activities.
Examples:
She does everything for me.
I did not do anything to help her.
They are doing nothing.
Below are some expressions with ‘do‘and ‘make‘.
Do
do exercise
I like doing exercise every morning.
do the laundry
They do the laundry on weekends.
do a job
She does that job well.
do nails
Alice likes to do her nails.
do research
They have to do more research.
do the dishes
You have to do the dishes after dinner.
Make
make dinner
I will make dinner tonight.
make noise
They always make noises.
make a choice
You have to make a choice now.
make a payment
I would like to make a payment.
make a promise
I made a promise to her.
make money
I make money by selling houses.
There are many standard expressions with ‘make’ and sometimes using ‘do’ makes more sense.
Please make your bed.
Making the bed means to arrange your pillows and sheets after you slept in it. It may make more sense to use do because you are doing the action of arranging your bed.
I will make a call to the client.
Make a call simply means to call someone. Again, it may seem that using do is a better choice because we are talking about the action of calling someone over the telephone.
