Category: Grammar

Adjective + Preposition + Gerund

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

Gerunds are commonly used after an adjective-preposition combination.

FORM: adjective + preposition + gerund

Take a look at these examples below:

used to She is very used to working long hours as she works in a hospital.
hooked onThey are hooked on going to the gym.
fearful of Kyle is fearful of getting into an argument with his mother.
nervous aboutThe expectant mother is nervous about finding out that there’s something wrong with her unborn baby.
tired of She is tired of helping her friend who doesn’t seem to have any plans for the future.
capable ofThey are capable of teaching him proper karate techniques.
devoted to Anna’s mother is devoted to finding her a husband.
worried about Arthur was worried about messing up this presentation.
content with My parents are content with living in the same little town for all of their lives.
committed to The police are committed to catching the criminal redhanded.
disappointed with Jennifer was disappointed with coming in last in that race she recently joined.
concerned about The firefighters were concerned about not having enough time to put out the fire in that building.
discouraged by Allan was discouraged by not getting the answer he was hoping for from his girlfriend.
excited about His whole team was excited about launching their new product.
famous for The pharmaceutical company became famous for discovering a vaccine for the deadly virus.
fond of They are not very fond of listening to foreign music.
frightened of Laura is frightened of being stuck in an elevator.
guilty of The syndicate is guilty of counterfeiting branded bags and shoes.
happy about They are happy about receiving this great news.
interested in Are you interested in joining the military?
involved in Many people were involved in coming up with this brilliant idea.
known for This band is known for singing some rock songs.
opposed to She was opposed to going in that direction.
proud of They were proud of having a doctor for a son.
remembered forMeryl Streep will be remembered for starring in some very famous films.
responsible for The design team is responsible for creating the logo for the company.
scared of Andy is scared of jumping off a cliff.
terrified of The president is terrified of being assassinated by his political enemies.
tired from They are tired from traveling all month.
sick of Anthony is sick of saying the same thing.

Adjectives: Mitigators

Level: Intermediate – Advanced

Mitigators are used to make an adjective become less strong. They are the opposite of intensifiers. Some common examples of mitigators are: fairly, rather,  pretty, and quite.

The team was fairly convinced he had nothing to do with them winning.

By the end of the week, everyone was rather exhausted.
The food wasn’t cheap, but it was quite delicious.

He had a pretty good time hanging out with his girlfriend’s friends. (Informal)

QUITE

When the mitigator ‘quite’ is used with neutral adjectives, adding ‘quite’ makes them less strong.

They were quite loud.

( = They were loud but not very loud. )

My job is quite boring.

( = My job is boring but not very boring. )

On the other hand, when ‘quite’ is used with strong adjectives, they then mean ‘absolutely’.

Their behavior was quite awful.

( = Their behavior was absolutely awful. ) 

As a team, they are quite brilliant.

( = As a team, they are absolutely brilliant. )

Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Level: Intermediate – Advanced

The Present Perfect Continuous is formed with – has/have + been+ present participle.

has/have + been + -ing

They have been practicing all afternoon.
Have you been practicing all afternoon?
She has not been practicing all afternoon.

The Present Perfect Continuous is used to express that the action began in the past and has continued up to present. Time phrases such as ‘for a few minutes’, ‘for several weeks’, ‘for today’, ‘since last week’, etc. are used together with the Present Perfect Continuous.

We have been dealing with this issue almost all morning.
He has been waiting for her for hours.
They have been winning since the beginning of the tournament.
How long has it been boiling?

Additionally, it doesn’t always need to have a duration but the words “recently” and “lately” need to be added in this case.

She has been feeling really lonely lately.
Have you been going to the gym recently?

NOTE: Always, only, never, ever, still, just etc. are normally placed in the middle of the auxiliary verb “has/have” and “been”.

She has only been working here for a few months.

Intensifiers with Comparatives and Superlatives

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

The following intensifiers often go together with comparative adjectives:

much a great deal
far a good deal
a lot a good bit
quite a lot a fair bit

They are much richer than us.
This pair of shoes is far more expensive than that bag.
Madrid is a lot bigger than Sevilla.
It’s quite a lot calmer now after the storm has passed.

The intensifiers much and far are used with comparative adjectives before a noun.

The UK is a much bigger country than Japan.
He is a far better tennis player than Federer.

The intensifiers easily and by far are used with superlative adjectives.

She is easily the greatest singer of all time.
This was by far the most challenging thing I’ve ever had to do.

Make or Do (Advanced)

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

MAKE

MAKE is used when you create or construct something.

The company based in Madrid makes the most modern computers.
She needs to make more verses for her new song.
Did she really make that dress herself?

DO

DO is used for activities in general. In this case, do is usually followed by something, nothing, anything or everything.

It is so frustrating that they did not do anything about the issue.
Carla is sick of doing everything at work.
Is he doing anything interesting during his vacation?

NOTE: What do you do? = What’s your job?

There are a lot of collocations with make and do. Unfortunately, there are no specific rules that can help you remember how to use both words correctly. All you can do is to familiarize yourself with all of them. Below is a list of words that come with either make or do.

DO

do xx kph (miles per hour) Most motorists do more than 30 mph through the city. It’s beyond the speed limit.
do badly They did very badly at the preliminaries, so they’ll have to do better next game.
do your best It’s alright if you make mistakes in your sentences. Just do your best.
do business It’s been great doing business with this company. Everyone’s just very efficient and professional.
do chores I’m going to spend the weekend doing chores at home.
do a course After losing his job, Sam decided to do a course in German at a local language institute.
do a crossword One of her favorite activities is doing crosswords.
do damage His PR team couldn’t do much after the scandal he got involved in. The damage to his image has been done.
do the dishes / the washing up Everyone I know hates doing the dishes.
do a drawing She was able to have many things accomplished because her kids spent hours doing their drawings.
do your duty/responsibility Do your duty as a citizen, go out and vote this election.
do an exam She’s going to have to do a certification exam to get the job promotion.
do exercise How long have you been doing this exercise?
do an exercise To improve your English skills, make sure to do grammar exercises in your free time.
do someone a favor Do me a big favor and clean your room!
do the gardening My grandparents who live in the countryside spend most of their days doing the gardening.
do good She tries to good by donating blood for sick children at that hospital.
do you good Take a lot of rest this weekend. This will do you good for sure.
do your hair/your nails Hurry up and do your hair already! We’re late!
do harm He is so gentle, you wouldn’t think he’d do any harm on others.
do homework I have so much homework to do this afternoon. I can’t go out with you.
do a job I thought they did an excellent job in this film.
do the laundry / the washing I have no other plans but to do the laundry this weekend.
do paperwork It’s so tedious doing all this paperwork.
do research Do not just believe everything you read online. Do your research too.
do the shopping I do all the shopping for my grandmother ever since she became bed-ridden.
do time (in prison) It was hard for him to find a job after he’d done some time in prison.
do well My children are doing well at their new school.
do work Do you have a lot of work today?

MAKE

make amends In order to achieve peace on earth, nations should amend their differences.
make an appointment/arrangements I have to make an appointment with my doctor for tomorrow.
make an attempt She made an attempt in wining him back.
make believe A lot of children likes to play make believe. It lets them think more creatively.
make certain You have to make certain that they are going to sign this deal.
make a decision/change/choice/comment/complaint/confession The couple needs to make a decision on whether they are going to get a divorce or not.
make a difference She tries her best to be good and to make a difference in her community.
make an effort You need to make an effort in practicing your speaking skills.
make an error/a mistake I think they made an error on my bill. I’ve already paid for everything this month.
make an excuse Stop making an excuse on doing things that make you happy. Just do it.
make  a face She didn’t like what he said so she made a face.
make a fool of someone If you continue with this project, you’re only going to make a fool of yourself in front of the board of directors.
make a fortune His family made a fortune from selling old cars.
make fun of Stop making fun of his accent.
make one’s mind up John and Mary need to make their mind up about buying this house.
make a scene My greatest worry is for her to make a scene at the event if she gets too drunk again.
make progress The scientists are proud to announce that they have made progress in coming up with a vaccine against the virus.

Past Continuous Tense (Advanced)

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

The past continuous is formed by combining the past tense of the be-verb and the –ing form of a verb.

was/were + -ing (was/were doing)

This tense is used when speaking about something that happened before and after another past action.

The students were revising for their test when the teacher entered the room.

COMPARE: The student revised when (= after) the teacher entered the room.

It is also very typical to use it at the beginning of a story.

Two days ago, he was fixing the roof when …
Last month, as she was starting to learn Chinese, …

It can also be used for something that happened before and after a definite time.

It was 10 o’clock. I was reading a book.

COMPARE: At 10 o’clock, I read (= started reading) a book.

Another use of this tense is to express that something continued to happen for a period of time.

My back was aching.
The team was losing.

It is also used for talking about something that happened repeatedly.

I was practicing my speech every day, three times a day.
The members were organizing a protest against their leader.
Dan and Selena were always bickering.

It can also be used with verbs to express change or growth.

The company was growing sluggishly.
Her French was improving.
His hair was turning grey.
The climate was changing adversely.

The past continuous is NEVER used with stative verbs. The past simple is used instead.

CORRECT: When they decided to get a divorce, they really needed a lawyer.

WRONG: When they decided to get a divorce, they really was needing a lawyer.

Prepositions of time:in/on/at

Level: Beginner-Intermediate

The prepositions at, in and on are often used in English to talk about times.

Here are some examples of their usage:

At

Specific Time:
Example:
at 7 o’clock
at midnight
at noon

Holiday Period:
Example:
at Christmas
at Easter

Meal Time:
at lunchtime
at dinnertime

Expressions:
at present
at the moment
at night

In

Months:
in April
in May

Seasons:
in summer
in winter

Years:
in 1990
in 2020

Decade:
in the 50s
in the 70s

Centuries:
in the 18th century

Long Periods:
in the present
in the past
in the ice age

Parts of the day:
in the morning
in the afternoon
in the evening

On

Days:
on Tuesday
on my birthday
on Halloween

Dates:
on 15th of August
on May 4th
on our wedding

Parts of a day:
on Monday morning
on Saturday evening

Adverbial Phrases Of Frequency, Time And Place

Level: Beginner-Intermediate

An adverb or adverbial phrase is one or more words that change the verb in a sentence. There are 3 main types of adverbial phrases: time, place, and frequency (how often something happens).

Adverbs that change the meaning of a sentence and tells us how often or how frequently something happens are called adverbs of frequency.
Example:
hourly.
annually.
usually
often
seldom
daily

Adverbs that change the meaning of a sentence and tells us when something happens are called adverbs of time.
Example:
today
tomorrow
over the summer
this week / this month / this year
next week / next month / next year
last week / last month / last year
the day before yesterday

Adverbs that change the meaning of a sentence and tells us where something happens are called adverbs of place.
Example:
here
down
there
up
back
up front
around the corner
near the (place)
away from
under the bed
in the box
out in the street

Personal Pronouns

Level: Beginner-Intermediate

A personal pronoun is a short word we use as a simple substitute for the proper name of a person.

There are two cases of personal pronouns: subject pronouns and object pronouns.

SUBJECT PRONOUNS
I
-I went to school.
you
-You are my friend.
she
-She is my sister.
he
-He studied hard.
it
-It is a boy!
we
-We went home early.
they
-They are not here yet.

OBJECT PRONOUNS
me
-Give me your phone.
you
-Mom will talk to you.
her
-Take her to the hospital.
him
-Please drive him home.
it
-I had to buy it.
us
-Please give us food.
them
-Throw them away!

Modals – Deductions about the Past

Level: Intermediate-Advanced

Modal verbs for deduction are used when trying to see whether something is true or not. The way we choose these modal verbs is an indication of how big we think the possibility is. Some modals of deductions about the past are must have, might have/may have, and can’t have/couldn’t have.

Compare:

She must be really exhausted from working all day. (present deduction)
She must have been very exhaused when she had to work all day. (past deduction)

must have


Must have + past participle is used to express certainty about something.

She couldn’t find her purse. She must have left it at the restaurant.
Allan must have had the flu. He didn’t show up at any of his appointments today.
We’ve got enough money. Michelle must have saved on her meal earlier.

might have / may have


Might have or may have + past participle is used to express the possibility that something happened.

I might have bought the wrong brand. Can you please ask Mom to check?
Joe thinks his wife may have left with her lover.

Note: Might have is the less formal form compared to may have. Could have is another possible form to be used in such context but it is not that very common.

can’t have / couldn’t have

Can’t have and couldn’t have + past participle are used to express that it is not possible for something to happen.

They can’t have left the party yet because their car is still outside.
Andrea thought she saw her old university professor this morning but it couldn’t have been her – she moved abroad years ago.