GRAMATICAL RULES | Comunidadcobachemsad

ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY

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

SUBJECT PRONOUNS

The subject of a sentence is a person or thing that performs the action of the verb.

Subject pronouns are used to replace the subject (person or thing) of a verb.

We do NOT normally say:

John is tall and John is intelligent.

Saying the word "John" twice is repetitive and does not sound natural.

We replace the Subject (John) that appears the second time with a subject pronoun to avoid repetition (and in this case to avoid saying the name John again.)

So we would say:

John is tall and he is intelligent.

We replace the second "John" with the Subject Pronoun "He".

What are the subject pronouns in English?

These are the subject pronouns we use in English

Subject Pronoun	Singular or Plural - Who?	Masculine or Feminine
I	Singular - first person	masculine or feminine
You	Singular - second person	masculine or feminine
He	Singular - third person	only masculine
She	Singular - third person	only feminine
It	Singular - third person	object / thing / animal
We	Plural - first person	masculine or feminine
You	Plural - second person	masculine or feminine
They	Plural - third person	masculine or feminine

When do you use IT?

IT is normally used when we refer to objects, things, animals or ideas (and not normally people).

The dog is big. It is also hairy. (It = the dog)
My bed is small but it is comfortable. (It = my bed)

Sometimes when we don't know the sex of a baby (we don't know if it is a boy or girl), then we can use IT.

Their baby is very small. It only weighs 2 kilos. (It = the baby.)

We use IT we when talk about the time, weather or temperature.

It is five o'clock (= the time is five o'clock)
It is cold today. (= the weather is cold today.)
It is 30º outside right now. (= the temperature is 30º outside right now)

TO BE

To Be - Affirmative

Subject	To Be	Examples
I	am	I am from New Zealand.
You	are	You are Chilean.
He	is	He is twenty years old.
She	is	She is a nurse.
It	is	It is a big dog.
We	are	We are intelligent.
You	are	You are students.
They	are	They are married.

To Be - Contractions

Contractions of To Be are very frequent when we are speaking.

To Be	Contraction	Examples
I am	I'm	I'm from New Zealand.
You are	You're	You're Chilean.
He is	He's	He's twenty years old.
She is	She's	She's a nurse.
It is	It's	It's a big dog.
We are	We're	We're intelligent.
You are	You're	You're students.
They are	They're	They're married.

To Be - Negative Sentences

The negative of To Be can be made by adding not after the verb.

Subject	To Be	Examples
I	am not	I am not from Spain.
You	are not	You are not Australian.
He	is not	He is not thirty years old.
She	is not	She is not a secretary.
It	is not	It is not a small cat.
We	are not	We are not stupid.
You	are not	You are not teachers.
They	are not	They are not single.

To Be - Negative Contractions

There are two ways of forming contractions of To Be in negative sentences. One is with a contraction of the subject and the verb (e.g. I am = I'm) OR a contraction of the verb and not (e.g. are not = aren't)

I'm not from Spain.	---	--------------*
You're not Australian.	OR	You aren't Australian.
He's not thirty years old.	OR	He isn't thirty years old.
She's not a secretary.	OR	She isn't a secretary.
It's not a small cat.	OR	It isn't a small cat.
We're not stupid.	OR	We aren't stupid.
You're not teachers.	OR	You aren't teachers.
They're not single.	OR	They aren't single.

* Notice that the only possible contraction for I am not is I'm not.

To Be - Questions

To create questions with To Be, you put the Verb before the Subject.

Affirmative	You	are	happy.
	Subject	Verb

Question	Are	you	happy?
	Verb	Subject

Affirmative	Question
I am intelligent.	Am I intelligent?
You are a student.	Are you a student?
He is a pilot.	Is he a pilot?
She is from Spain.	Is she from Spain?
It is a big house.	Is it a big house?
We are ready.	Are we ready?
You are doctors.	Are you doctors?
They are rich.	Are they rich?

To Be - Short Answers

In spoken English, we usually give short answers in response to questions.

Are you a student? - Yes, I am (a student). The last part (a student) is not necessary. We use shorts answers to avoid repetition, when the meaning is clear.

Question	Short Answers**	Short Answers
Am I intelligent?	Yes, you are.	No, you aren't.
Are you a student?	Yes, I am.	No, I am not.
Is he a pilot?	Yes, he is.	No, he isn't.
Is she from Spain?	Yes, she is.	No, she isn't.
Is it a big house?	Yes, it is.	No, it isn't.
Are we ready?	Yes, we are.	No, we aren't.
Are you doctors?	Yes, we are.	No, we aren't.
Are they rich?	Yes, they are.	No, they aren't.

** With To Be, We don't use contractions in affirmative short answers unless there is additional information after it (in which case they are no longer considered short answers).

family

Padre	Father	Suegro	Father-in-law
Madre	Mother	Suegra	Mother-in-law
Hermano	Brother	Yerno	Son-in-law
Hermana	Sister	Nuera	Daughter-in-law
Hijo	Son	Cuñado	Brother-in-law
Hija	Daughter	Cuñada	Sister-in-law
Abuelo	Grandfather	Primo	Cousin
Abuela	Grandmother	Sobrino	Nephew
Nieto	Grandson	Sobrina	Niece
Nieta	Granddaughter	Tío	Uncle
Tía	Aunt

Cuerpo	Body	Pierna	Leg
Cabeza	Head	Rodilla	Knee
Cuello	Neck	Pie	Foot (feet)
Hombro	Shoulder	Uña	Nail
Brazo	Arm	Músculo	Muscle
Codo	Elbow	Hueso	Bone
Mano	Hand	Piel	Skin
Dedo	Finger	Pelo	Hair
Pecho	Chest	Espalda	Back
Barriga	Belly

SPELLING OF VERBS ENDING IN -ING

The following is a guide to the correct spelling of –ing forms of verbs and gerunds.

The general rule when changing a verb into its -ING form is just to add -ING to the end of the verb.

Infinitive	ING form
to feel	feeling
to go	going
to work	working
to sleep	sleeping

She wasn't feeling very well.
He is working on a new project.
The children are sleeping so be quiet.

Spelling exceptions

The following exceptions exist when spelling words ending in ING:

1). If the verb ends in an E we remove the E and add ING.

Infinitive	ING form
to live	living
to have	having
to make	making
to take	taking

People are living longer now than they were 100 years ago.
We are making a chocolate cake.
He was taking his time to get ready.

2). If the verb ends in a consonant + vowel + consonant, we double the final consonant and add ING.

Infinitive	ING form
to stop	stopping
to sit	sitting
to plan	planning
to get	getting
to swim	swimming

The policeman is stopping the traffic.
We are planning a surprise party for our teacher.
I think I am getting a cold.

3). If a two-syllable verb ends in a consonant + vowel + consonant, we do not double the final consonant when the stress is on the first syllable.

Infinitive	ING form
to happen	happening
to enter	entering
to offer	offering
to suffer	suffering

What is happening?
They are offering a discount.
Many people are suffering from a lack of food and water.

4). But, we do not double the final consonant when the verb ends in W, X or Y or when the final syllable is not emphasized.

Infinitive	ING form
to fix	fixing
to enjoy	enjoying
to snow	snowing

He fixing his bike.
We are enjoying this great weather.
It's snowing outside.

5). If the verb ends in IE we change it to YING.

Infinitive	ING form
to lie	lying
to die	dying
to tie	tying

I know you are lying to me!
You should water your plant more because I think it is dying.
The little boy is tying his shoelaces.

6). If the verb ends in consonant + vowel + L, we normally double the final L and add ING.

Note: In the United States (US) they do not double the L when the accent is on the first syllable.

Infinitive	ING form (UK)	ING form (US)
to travel	travelling	traveling
to marvel	marvelling	marveling

I have been travelling around South America for 6 months.
He was marvelling at her beauty.

7). If the verb ends in a stressed vowel + R, we double the final R and add ING.

Infinitive	ING form
refer	referring
defer	deferring

Are you referring to this one or that one?
They are thinking of deferring payment of their mortgage.

8). If the verb ends in an unstressed vowel + R, we do not double the final R and add ING.

Infinitive	ING form
to offer	offering
to suffer	suffering
to whisper	whispering

I am offering you a special deal.
He is now suffering the consequences of his actions.
I wonder what he is whispering in her ear.

THERE IS - THERE ARE

We use there is and there are to say that something exists.

Positive Sentences

We use there is for singular and there are for plural.

There is one table in the classroom.
There are three chairs in the classroom.
There is a spider in the bath.
There are many people at the bus stop.

Contractions

The contraction of there is is there's.

There's a good song on the radio.
There's only one chocolate left in the box.

You cannot contract there are.

There are nine cats on the roof.
There are only five weeks until Christmas.

Negative Form

The negative is formed by putting not after is or are:

There is not a horse in the field.
There are not eight children in the school.
There is not a tree in the garden.
There are not two elephants in the zoo.

The Negative contractions are:

There's not = There isn't

There are not = There aren't

There Are with ANY

When we want to indicate that a zero quantity of something exists we use there aren't any.

There aren't any people at the party.
There aren't any trees in my street.

We also use this structure with uncountable nouns:

There isn't any water in the swimming pool.
There isn't any sugar in my coffee.

Questions

To form a question we place is / are in front of there.

Again we use any with plural questions or those which use uncountable nouns.

We also use there is / are in short answers.

Is there a dog in the supermarket? - No, there isn't.
Are there any dogs in the park? - Yes, there are.
Is there a security guard in the shop? - Yes, there is.
Are there any polar bears in Antarctica? - No, there aren't.
Is there any ice-cream in the freezer? - Yes, there is.

How Many with Are There

If we want to find out the number of objects that exist we use How many in the following form:

How many + plural noun + are there (+ complement).

How many dogs are there in the park?
How many students are there in your class?
How many countries are there in South America?
How many Star Wars films are there?

DO - DOES

To make a question in English we normally use Do or Does. It is normally put at the beginning of the question.

Affirmative: You speak Spanish.
Question: Do you speak Spanish?

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 Spanish.
Question: Does he speak Spanish?

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 / buy eat / like etc.	cereal for breakfast?
Does	he / she / it	have / buy eat / like etc.	cereal for breakfast?

*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 speak English?
Does John speak French?
Do we have time for a quick drink?
Does it rain a lot in the South?
Do they want to come with me?
Does she like chocolate?

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 speak English?	Yes, I do.	No, I don't.
Do I need a dictionary?	Yes, you do.	No, you don't.
Do you both speak English?	Yes, we do.	No, we don't.
Do they speak English?	Yes, they do.	No, they don't.
Does he speak English?	Yes, he does.	No, he doesn't.
Does she speak English?	Yes, she does.	No, she doesn't.
Does it have four legs?	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.

Question Words with Do and Does

The order for making sentences with Questions words is the following:

Question Word	Do/Does	Subject	Verb
What	do	you	have for breakfast?
What	does	she	have for breakfast?
Where	do	you	live?
When	do	you	study?
How	do	you	spell your name?

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