When you learn a new word, it's a good idea to learn whether it's countable or uncountable.

 Possessive Pronouns
 Certain pronouns called possessive pronouns show ownership. Some are used alone;
some describe a noun.
 Used alone: mine, yours, his, hers, ours, theirs, whose
 Correct: That computer is hers.
 Modify noun: my, your, his, her, its, our, their, whose
 Correct: That is her computer.
 Please note that none of the possessive pronouns are spelled with an apostrophe.
See Apostrophes with Pronouns for more on this.
 Possessive Pronouns with Gerunds
 Possessive pronouns are used to describe gerunds. Using the objective case confuses
the reader.
 Incorrect: You winning in spite of the odds inspired us all.
(Ambiguous and awkward. Do you inspire or does the winning inspire?)
 Correct: Your winning in spite of the odds inspired us all.
 Incorrect: We could not stand him whining about everything.
(Which could you not stand? Him? or His whining?)
 Because of the possible confusion, use possessive pronouns with gerunds.
 Correct: We could not stand his whining about everything.

Definition:
A type of sentence that gives advice or instructions or that expresses a request or command.
(Compare with sentences that make a statement, ask a question, or express an exclamation.)
An imperative sentence typically begins with the base form of a verb, as in Gonow! The
implied subject you is said to be "understood" (or elliptical): (You) go
now! (See You Understood.)
An imperative sentence ends with a period or an exclamation point.
For information about negating or softening an imperative sentence, see

A noun phrase includes a noun—a person, place, or thing—and the modifiers which
distinguish it.

You can find the noun dog in a sentence, for example, but you don't know which canine the
writer means until you consider the entire noun phrase: that dog, Aunt Audrey's dog, the dog
on the sofa, the neighbor's dog that chases our cat, the dog digging in the new flower bed.

Modifiers can come before or after the noun. Ones that come before might include articles,
possessive nouns, possessive pronouns, adjectives, and/or participles.
Articles: a dog, the dog

Possessive nouns: Aunt Audrey's dog, the neighbor's dog, the police officer'sdog

Possessive pronouns: our dog, her dog, their dog

Adjectives: that dog, the big dog, the spotted dog

Participles: the drooling dog, the barking dog, the well trained dog

Modifiers that come after the noun might include prepositional phrases, adjective
clauses,participle phrases, and/or infinitives.

Prepositional phrases: a dog on the loose, the dog in the front seat, the dogbehind
the fence

Adjective clauses: the dog that chases cats, the dog that looks lost, the dogthat
won the championship

Participle phrases: the dog whining for a treat, the dog clipped at the grooming
salon, the dog walked daily

Infinitives: the dog to catch, the dog to train, the dog to adopt

Less frequently, a noun phrase will have a pronoun as its base—a word like we, everybody,
etc.—and the modifiers which distinguish it. Read these examples:

We who were green with envy

We = subject pronoun; who were green with envy = modifier.

Someone intelligent

Someone = indefinite pronoun; intelligent = modifier.

No one important

No one = indefinite pronoun; important = modifier.

Can

Can is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use can to:

 talk about possibility and ability

  make requests
 ask for or give permission

Structure of Can

subject + can + main verb

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").

subject auxiliary verb main verb

+ I can play tennis.

- He cannot play tennis.

can't

? Can you play tennis?

Notice that:

 Can is invariable. There is only one form of can.

 The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to"). We cannot say:

Use of Can

can: Possibility and Ability

We use can to talk about what is possible, what we are able or free to do:

 She can drive a car.

 John can speak Spanish.
 I cannot hear you. (I can't hear you.)
 Can you hear me?

Normally, we use can for the present. But it is possible to use can when we make present decisions about fut

A. Can you help me with my homework? (present)

B. Sorry. I'm busy today. But I can help you tomorrow. (future)
CAN for Present Ability Games

can: Requests and Orders

We often use can in a question to ask somebody to do something. This is not a real question - we do not reall
to do something, we want them to do it! The use of can in this way is informal (mainly between friends and f

 Can you make a cup of coffee, please.

 Can you put the TV on.
 Can you come here a minute.
 Can you be quiet!

can: Permission

We sometimes use can to ask or give permission for something:

A. Can I smoke in this room?

B. You can't smoke here, but you can smoke in the garden.

(Note that we also use could, may, might for permission. The use of canfor permission is informal.)

Could

Could is an auxiliary verb, a modal auxiliary verb. We use could to:

 talk about past possibility or ability

 make requests

Structure of Could

subject + could + main verb

The main verb is always the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to").

subject auxiliary verb main verb

+ My grandmother could swim.

- She could not walk.

couldn't
? Could your grandmother swim?

Notice that:

 Could is invariable. There is only one form of could.

 The main verb is always the bare infinitive.

The main verb is always the bare infinitive. We cannot say:

Use of Could

could: Past Possibility or Ability

We use could to talk about what was possible in the past, what we were able or free to do:

 I could swim when I was 5 years old.

 My grandmother could speak seven languages.
 When we arrived home, we could not open the door. (...couldn'topen the door.)
 Could you understand what he was saying?

We use could (positive) and couldn't (negative) for general ability in the past. But when we
talk about one special occasion in the past, we use be able to (positive)
and couldn't (negative). Look at these examples:

Past

General Specific Occasion

+ My grandmother couldspeak A man fell into the river yesterday. The

Spanish. police were able to save him.

- My grandmothercouldn't speak A man fell into the river yesterday. The

Spanish. police couldn't save him.

COULD for Past Ability Games

could: Requests

We often use could in a question to ask somebody to do something. The use of could in this
way is fairly polite (formal):
  Could you tell me where the bank is, please?
 Could you send me a catalogue, please?

Be able to

Although we look at be able to here, it is not a modal verb. It is simply the verb be plus an adjective (able) fo
atbe able to here because we sometimes use it instead of can and could.

We use be able to:

 to talk about ability

Structure of Be able to

The structure of be able to is:

subject + be + able + infinitive

subject be able infinitive

main verb adjective

+ I am able to drive.

- She is not able to drive.

isn't

? Are you able to drive?

Notice that be able to is possible in all tenses, for example:

 I was able to drive...

 I will be able to drive...
 I have been able to drive...

Notice too that be able to has an infinitive form:

 I would like to be able to speak Chinese.

Use of Be able to
Be able to is not a modal auxiliary verb. We include it here for convenience, because it is often used like "ca
auxiliary verbs.

be able to: ability

We use be able to to express ability. "Able" is an adjective meaning: having the power, skill or means to do s
toswim", it is like saying "I can swim". We sometimes use "be able to" instead of "can" or "could" for ability
tenses - but "can" is possible only in the present and "could" is possible only in the past for ability. In addition
infinitive form. So we use "be able to" when we want to use other tenses or the infinitive. Look at these exam

 I have been able to swim since I was five. (present perfect)

 You will be able to speak perfect English very soon. (future simple)
 I would like to be able to fly an airplane. (infinitive)

Introductory there
JULY 4, 2010
In English, existence is usually indicated by the structure there + to be. Thereis actually an
adverb of place, but the introductory there has no adverbial sense. It is merely used to
introduce the sentence.
 There are two people in the room. (More natural than ‘Two people are in the room’.)
 There is a bridge over the river.
 There have been many such rumors.
 There is a hole in my tights.
There was a lot of noise in the street.
 There is no denying the fact that he stole the watch.
Note that in the last sentence we use a peculiar structure – no + gerund, which indicates
impossibility.
 There is no denying…= It is impossible to deny…
With plural subjects we use there are.
 There were many accidents last year.
Note that there is is also common before plural subjects in informal speech.
 There is some apples in the fridge. OR There are some apples in the fridge.
Introductory there can also be used with some intransitive verbs.
 There seems to be a problem.
 There came a knock at the door.
 There happened to be no on near to save the boy.
 There grew a warm friendship between the two.
 There spread a rumor that he had been killed.
Note that introductory there is not used in a sentence if there is a definite subject.
 John was at the party. (NOT There was John at the party.)

Simple Present Tense

In Simple Present, the action is simply mentioned and there is nothing being said about its
completeness. It is used to talk about an action which happens on a regular basis.
POSITIVE STATEMENTS

SUBJECT VERB REST OF THE SENTENCE

I study in Bal Bharti school.

You study in Bal Bharti school.

He studies in Bal Bharti school.

Mohan studies in Bal Bharti school.

The boy studies in Bal Bharti school.

She studies in Bal Bharti school.

Pooja studies in Bal Bharti school.

The girl studies in Bal Bharti school.

We study in Bal Bharti school.

You study in Bal Bharti school.

They study in Bal Bharti school.

The children study in Bal Bharti school.

Notice how we use ‘study’ for the subjects I, You, We, You and They and we use ‘studies’
for the subjects ‘He’ and ‘She’.
Simple Present Exercise 1
Simple Present Exercise 2
Simple Present Exercise 3
NEGATIVE STATEMENTS

SUBJECT DON’T (DO NOT) / VERB REST OF THE

 DOESN’T (DOES SENTENCE
NOT)

I don’t play football.

You don’t play football.

He doesn’t play football.

Mohan doesn’t play football.

The boy doesn’t play football.

She doesn’t play football.

Pooja doesn’t play football.

The girl doesn’t play football.

We don’t play football.

You don’t play football.

They don’t play football.

The men don’t play football.

Notice how we use ‘don’t’ for the subjects I, You, We, You and They
and we use ‘doesn’t’ for the subjects ‘He’ and ‘She’. The verb form remains the same for all
subjects.
INTERROGATIVE STATEMENTS / QUESTIONS

REST OF THE
DO / DOES SUBJECT VERB
SENTENCE

Do I sleep in the afternoon?

Do you sleep in the afternoon?

Does he sleep in the afternoon?

Does Mohan sleep in the afternoon?

Does the boy sleep in the afternoon?

 Does she sleep in the afternoon?

Does Pooja sleep in the afternoon?

Does the girl sleep in the afternoon?

Do we sleep in the afternoon?

Do you sleep in the afternoon?

Do they sleep in the afternoon?

Do the men sleep in the afternoon?

Notice how we use ‘Do’ for the subjects I, You, We, You and They
and we use ‘Does’ for the subjects ‘He’ and ‘She’. The verb form remains the same for all
subjects.
Simple Present Tense Exercise
RELATED PAGES
 Present Continuous Tense
 Present Perfect Tense
 Present Perfect Continuous Tense
 Simple Past Tense
 Past Continuous Tense
 Past Perfect Tense
 Past Perfect Continuous Tense
 Simple Future Tense
 Future Continuous Tense

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