Grammar index English Communicate Level 8

1. Indirect questions
There are two main ways of asking questions directly and indirectly. Both have
the same meaning but indirect questions are used when we try to be more
polite, more formal or less confrontational. We usually use them when talking
to a person we dont know very well, or in professional situations, and their form is
a little different.
They are introduced by constructions like:
Do you know...?
Can you tell me...?
Can I ask you?
Could you tell me?
Do you think I could ask you?
Would you mind telling me?
Id like to know...
I wonder...
I wonder if I could ask you
I wonder if you could tell me
Compare the following sentences:
Direct question: Have they arrived?
Indirect question: Id like to know if they have arrived.
The first sentence expresses a direct question, the second one expresses an indirect
question, but the information we are asking for is the same.
As we can see, there are some differences between them:
In one case it is not necessary to use a question mark at the end. Nevertheless,
when we use constructions like Do you know...? or Can you tell me...? we need
to use a question mark, because these constructions are introduced by direct
questions.
We introduced the sentence by using if, so we expect an answer which is yes or
no. If the direct question is introduced by interrogative pronouns like Why,
How, Where, What, etc., in indirect questions, the question mark disappears.
Direct question: Why is he so angry?
Indirect question: Id like to know why he is so angry.
The order of subject and verb in the second sentence is affirmative, that means:
subject + verb.
Have a look at some examples about how to form indirect questions based on direct
questions.

Direct question: What time is it?

Indirect questions:
Do you know what time it is?
Can you tell me what time it is?
I wonder what time it is.
Id like to know what time it is.
Direct question: Can she swim?
Indirect questions:
Do you know if she can swim?
Can you tell me if she can swim?
I wonder if she can swim.
Id like to know if she can swim.
In the first example, the sentence is introduced by the interrogative pronoun what
and it maintains the indirect question. But in the second case, when we expect yes
or no as an answer, we need the particle if (or also whether) to form the
indirect question.

2. Relative clauses
Relative clauses are also known as adjective clauses because they behave like an
adjective that modifies a noun. This noun can be the subject or the object of a
sentence. The relative clauses go after the word they refer to.
Relative clauses are introduced by relative pronouns. The most prevalent relative
pronouns are:
who:

Referring to a person

which: Referring to a thing

that:

Referring to a person or a thing

TYPES OF RELATIVE CLAUSES

We have to distinguish between defining and non-defining relative clauses.
Defining relative clauses (specifying)
This type of relative clauses is used to specify the thing or person we refer to. That
means, it gives us clues to identify the subject out of a group of possible referents.
Have a look at this sentence:
A boy is wearing a blue jacket. He is very attractive.
We can make one sentence out of the two:
The boy who is wearing a blue jacket is very attractive.

As you can see, in the second sentence we substituted he with who adding
important information about the boy to identify him.
We use the relative pronoun who because we refer to a person.
Nevertheless, when we refer to a thing we use the relative pronoun which:
The house was expensive. I bought it last year.
The house which I bought last year was expensive.
In this example, we substituted it with which, adding again information without
which we couldnt know what the sentence refers to.
In both cases we could have used the relative pronoun that, which is used for
people and things:
The boy that is wearing a blue jacket is very attractive.
The house that I bought last year was very expensive.
Omission of the relative pronoun
In this type of relative clause (defining) the relative pronoun doesnt act like a
subject in the relative clause, and so it is possible to omit it.
The book that you gave me yesterday is exciting.
The book you gave me yesterday is exciting.
Here is the skirt that you gave me.
Here is the skirt you gave me.
We realise that, when a pronoun comes after the relative clause, we can omit the
relative, but not when there is a verb, because in that case it acts as a subject and
cannot be omitted.
Compare:
I know these children who are in the street.
This is the film that we saw last week. / This is the film we saw last week.
Non-defining relative clauses (explaining)
This type of clause is used to give more information about a person or a thing.
Nevertheless, this information is not important to identify the person or the thing we
are talking about. It is additional information is not essential.
These relative clauses have two main characteristics:
- They go between commas.
- The relative pronoun cannot be substituted with
that.
Our new house, which [not that] you saw last week, is very luxurious.
Compare the two following examples. One of them contains a non-defining relative
clause, and the other one contains a defining relative clause:

The boy who came to my house is my cousin.

My uncle Tom, who lives in Mexico, is coming to visit us.
In the first sentence, we are specifying the boy (one out of many) who is the
cousin.
In the second sentence we are saying that the uncle (who, by the way, lives in
Mexico) is going to visit us. Maybe you know him, maybe you dont, but the
comment is not necessary to help identify him.
In the following table we summarize all that in a more explicit way:
Defining relative clauses
(specifying)
All the relative pronouns can be used,
although the most usual one is that,
because it refers to people and to things.
The relative pronoun can be omitted, if it is
not the subject in the relative clause.
They are necessary for the universal
significance of the sentence.
They dont go between commas.
Non-defining relative clauses
(explaining)
We cannot use the relative pronoun that.
We remember that who refers to people
and which refers to things.
The relative pronoun cannot be omitted.
They are not necessary for the
understanding of the sentence, they only
give extra information.
They always go between commas.
Other relative pronouns are whose, where, when and what
Whose: This relative pronoun is used to express possession. It always refers to
people and we find it in both, defining and non-defining, relative clauses.
The woman bought some sweets. Her son is a doctor.
The woman whose son is a doctor bought some sweets.
In this sentence, we substituted her with whose because her refers to
woman. In this way, we make one sentece out of two senteces and avoid
repeating woman.
That is the man. His daughter is studying law.
That is the man whose daughter is studying law.
In this sentence, we substituted his with whose and therefore, we can make a
simple sentence.

Where: This relative pronoun is used to give information about a certain place.
Where usually substitutes words like here or there.
This is the shop. I bought my suit here.
This is the shop where I bought my suit.
In this example we substituted here with where. Note that the word here
doesnt appear anymore in the second sentence. The first two sentences become one
sentence.
That is the village. I was born there.
That is the village where I was born.
In this example we substituted there with where.
When: This relative pronoun is used to refer to time. Ususally it substitutes words
like year, month or week. In this case we can use that and when.
I remember that day. He visited us that day.
I remember the day when / that he visited us.
We put the two sentences together to make a single sentence by substituting that
day with when / that.
What: We use what to refer to something indefinite.
I couldnt hear what he said.
(The thing(s) that he said)
What happened was my fault.
(The thing(s) that happened)
But be careful, in other contexts it must be which:
The weather was really bad, which was a pity.
(The fact that the weather was bad)
They came to the party, which we didnt expect.
(The fact that they came)
what as a relative pronouns means the thing(s) that... and which in that
context means the fact that ....

3. Connectors
Connectors are, as the name suggests, words that are used to connect ideas. Their
use is very important in spoken and written English; especially in written texts and
large documents, because they help us to develop our ideas fluently.
If we dont use connectors, or we use them in a wrong way, we possibly make the
impression of an infantile, insecure or poor language.

We already know some basic connectors, like and, but, because, in order to,
etc., but now we are going to learn some more. Below they are classified
depending on the idea they express:
Showing contrast between the idea and the unexpected result:
Although
It is not separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence, but when it stands at
the beginning of a sentence, the two clauses are separated by a comma.
Example:
Although it was cold, I went swimming.
However
It is separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.
Example:
It was cold; however, we went swimming.
We all know that smoking is a bad habit.
However, people still smoke.
Nevertheless
It is separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.
Examples:
It was cold; nevertheless, we went swimming.
We all know that smoking is a bad habit.
Nevertheless, people still smoke.
Despite
It is not separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.
Example:
We went swimming despite the cold weather.
Showing the direct opposite of an idea:
However
It is separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.
Example:
Luke is nice; however, Glenn is very unpleasant.

On the other hand

It is separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.
Example:
Luke is nice. Glenn, on the other hand, is very unpleasant.
While
It is not separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.
Example:
John is nice, while Glenn is very unpleasant.
Showing a relation of cause and effect:
As
It is not separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence, but when it stands at
the beginning of a sentence, the two clauses are separated by a comma.
Example:
As she wasnt interested in rock music, she decided not to go to the concert.
Since
It is not separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence, but when it stands at
the beginning of a sentence, the two clauses are separated by a comma.
Example:
Since heavy rain is predicted for tonight, wed better stay at home.
Seeing that
It is not separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence, but when it stands at
the beginning of a sentence, the two clauses are separated by a comma.
Examples:
Seeing that she could do nothing about it, she decided to drop the subject.
Due to
It is not separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence, but when it stands at
the beginning of a sentence, the two clauses are separated by a comma.
Examples:
Due to the bad weather, we had to take a taxi.
The flight was cancelled due to the fog.
Expressing intention or purpose:

So that
It is not separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.
Example:
She turned off the TV so that her son could study.
Expressing consequence:
Therefore
It is used in the same way as so, but it is more formal. It is separated by a
comma from the rest of the sentence.
Example:
I did not study. Therefore, I failed the test.
I did not study. I, therefore, failed the test.
I did not study. I failed the test, therefore.
Developing a chain of thoughts:
Moreover
It is separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.
Example:
He is very healthy. He eats a balanced diet. Moreover, he does physical exercise
regularly.
Besides
It is usually separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.
Example:
He eats a balanced diet. Besides, he does physical exercise regularly.
Besides taking a balanced diet, he does physical exercise regularly.
In addition
It is not separated by a comma from the rest of the sentence.
Example:
In addition to taking a balanced diet, he does physical exercise regularly.

4. Verb + Object + Infinitive

In other units we have seen that there are verbs or constructions that require an
infinitive (want to, expect to,would like to, etc.) and others that require the gerund
of the verb that follows (hate, suggest, mind, etc.).

In this unit, we are going to see the verbs that are followed by an infinitive when
the subject of the second clause varies. Compare:
when the subject is the same
Verb + Infinitive
He wants to live with you.
when there are two subjects
Verb + Object + Infinitive
He wants Mary to live with you.
As you can see, the rule is to introduce the subject of the second sentence (or
subordinate clause) between the main verb and the infinitive, without changing the
rest of the sentence. In case that the second subject is a pronoun instead of a proper
noun, it has to be changed to the object form: me,you, him, her, it, us, you, them.
He wants her to live with you.
I want you to leave me alone.
I want him to start the course.
She wants us to see her flat.
He wants them not to run.
Here is a list with the most prevalent verbs that have these characteristics:
VERB
advise
allow
ask
expect
help

EXAMPLE
He advised me to leave that place.
They allowed me to use the car.
He asked her not to open the box.
I expected him to come earlier.
She helped me (to)* understandit.

invite

She invited us to go to her party.

order

He ordered them to do it.

permit

They permitted her to goswimming.

tell

I told you not to send that letter.

want

I want you to pay more attention.

Lets turn our attention to two verbs that follow the structure: Verb + Object +
Infinitive, but that have the particular characteristic that the infinitive goes without
to:
VERB

EXAMPLE

make
let
Help

He made his pupils repeat the

exercise.
My parents let you stay out late.
She helped me understand it.

*Help can be used without or with to.

5. Third conditional
Use: The third conditional is used to speak about the consequences which a certain
condition would have had, if it had been fulfilled in the past. But as it wasnt fulfilled,
now the consequence is impossible to happen.
If he had studied harder, he would have passed his exams. (But he didnt and so
he didnt pass them.)
If I had asked her to dance, we would have gone out together. (But I didnt and
now she goes out with somebody else.)
If he hadnt stolen the bag, the police wouldnt have caught him. (But he did,
the police caught him and now he is in prison.)
Form:
Subordinate clause:
If + Past Perfect
Main clause:
Conditional Perfect
IF + PAST PERFECT
CONDITIONAL PERFECT
If I had known, I would not have come.
If you had lived in Spain, you would have learntmore Spanish.
Like in the first and the second conditional, we always have to remember that:
The two parts of the sentence are exchangeable:
I would have bought it if I had had enough money. =
If I had had enough money, I would have bought it.

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There can be modal verbs. In this case, might or could + Present Perfect
instead of would of the Conditional Perfect. Compare:
If you had asked him, he would not have let you go.
If the condition would have been fulfilled, I am sure that this would have been the
consequence
But:
If you had asked him, he might not have let you go.
I dont know what would have happened if the condition would have been fulfilled,
but it is possible that this would have been the result.

6. Expressing cause and effect

We are going to see some connectors which are used to express the cause or
reason of a particular situation.
Because, As, Since
These connectors have the same meaning. They are followed by a clause and when
they go at the beginning of the whole sentence, main sentence or subordinated
sentence, they must be separated by a comma.
I didnt write you a letter as / because / since I was very busy.
As / Because / Since I was very busy, I didnt write you a letter.
Note: To express cause we can also use because of / due to + noun.
Compare:
As / Because / Since + Phrase
She was late because there was a lot of traffic.
Because of / Due to + Noun
She was late because of the traffic.

7. Reported questions
In English, there are two types of questions. The ones that can be answered by
Yes or No, known as Yes / No questions, and the ones that are introduced by
an interrogative pronoun, known as Wh-questions.

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Do you like swimming?

(we expect Yes or No)
What did you buy?
Yes / No questions
Putting a question with these characteristics into reported speech, needs the
following changes:
a) The verbal tenses change, moving back one step into the past.
b) The clause we are changing is introduced by if or whether.
c) We have to change deictic words, i.e. pronouns, expressions of time and place.
d) Although the interrogative clause has the structure of subject and verb inverted,
in its indirect form the structure is that of an affirmative clause.
e) These indirect clauses are introduced by the verbs like ask or want to know.
f) The questions in reported speech neither have quotation marks nor question
marks.
Do you like swimming? I asked him.
I asked him if he liked swimming.
In this example we changed the subject you to he, the present tense do you
like to the past tense liked, the structure is subject + verb, the modified clause
in reported speech is introduced by if.
Did you park your car here yesterday? Susan asked Peter.
Susan asked Peter if he had parked his car there the day before.
Will you come to my party? She asked Anne.
She asked her / wanted to know if Anne would go to her party.
Wh-questions
When the question in direct speech is introduced by an interrogative pronoun, this
one also introduces the clause in reported speech. The changes are the same.
Where did you buy this shirt? Anne asked Peter.
Anne asked Peter / wanted to know where he had bought that shirt.
Who came with you yesterday? I asked Anne.
I asked Anne / wanted to know who had come with her the day before.

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What have you eaten? I asked her.

I asked her / wanted to know what she had eaten.
In the second example, Who is the subject of the sentence and therefore no other
subject appears. There is no change in word order.
Compare:
What happened? I asked her.
I asked her what had happened.
(In this case, what is the subject.)
What have you bought? I asked her.
I asked her what she had bought.
(In this case, she is the subject.)

8. Command in reported speech

Commands usually stand in the imperative form. The necessary changes are:
a) The verb in imperative becomes infinitive with to.
b) The verb that introduces the direct command is tell and not say, because the
verb say doesnt mean command, but the verb tell does.
c) Tell is followed by the person who receives the command. We can also use the
verb order.
d) If the structure is negative, the infinitive must be negative. (not + to +
infinitive).
Open the door! Anne said to / told me.
Anne told me to open the door.
Be quiet! She said to / told him.
She told him to be quiet.
Dont do that! I said to / told Susan.
I told Susan not to do that.
Dont play with that! She said to / told me.
She told me not to play with that.
Now we have a look at the difference between the verbs to say and to tell.

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Regarding the form, the verb tell is followed by an indirect object, while the verb
say doesnt need any indirect object. In case that there is one, it is introduced by
to.
She told me that she was tired.
She said that she was tired.
She said hello to me.

9. Modal verbs in reported speech

We can also find modal verbs in the clauses of reported speech. Lets see which of
them change and how.
We have to move back one step in time. But some modals and semi-modals dont
have past forms or are always used in the past tense, like used to.
The modal verbs that dont change from direct speech to reported speech are:
VERB

DIRECT / INDIRECT

Would you mind opening the door?

He asked me if I would mind opening
the door.
You should / ought to buy a new
should / house.
ought to She said (that) I should / ought to
buy a new house.
Could you come to my house?
could
She asked me if I could go to her
house.
would

might
neednt

used to
had
better

It might rain.
She said (that) it might rain.
You neednt do the washing up.
She told me (that) I neednt do the
washing up.
I used to go swimming as a child.
He said (that) he used to go
swimming as a child.
We had better call the police.
She said (that) they had better call
the police.

Nevertheless, there are other modals that change when put into reported speech:
DIRECT

INDIRECT

may

might

I may go to the
theatre

She said (that) she might

go to the theatre.

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must

10.

had to

You must wear a

uniform
can

She said (that) I had to

wear a uniform.
could

I cant hear very

well
shall

She said (that) she

couldnt hear very well.
should

Shall I ring your

sister?

She asked if she should

ring my sister.

Connectors: Expressing purpose

In order to express purpose, we already know that we use the particle to followed
by the verb, or for followed by a noun.
I came here to have a coffee.
She works hard to earn more money.
He went out for a newspaper.
A lot of people work for money.
But there are other connectors that are used with the same meaning. These are:
in order to and so that.
In order to and to are followed by the verb, while so that is followed by a
sentence often containing a modal verb.
He bought a coffee maker to / in order to make coffee.
He bought a coffee maker so that he could make coffee.
We took a taxi so that we could get there early.
We took a taxi in order to / to get there early.
She speaks slowly so that he can understand.
She spoke slowly so that he could understand.
Some students have to work to / in order to pay for their studies.
Some students have to work so that they can pay for their studies.
In the following schema, we summarise the forms of expressing purpose that we
have seen until now, with structure and examples for each one:
FORMS OF EXPRESSING PURPOSE
Connector / Form
To
To + Verb
In order to
In order to + Verb *

Example
He went to buy some
medicines.
He went in order to buy
some medicines.

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So that
So that + Phrase
For
For + Noun

He went so that he could

buy some medicines.
He went for some
medicines.

* is a little more formal than to.

11.To have something done

The verb to have means to be the owner of something, but it also has other
meanings. In this paragraph, we are going to see the verb to have known as a
causative verb. We use to have something done when the person who carries out
the action is not the subject itself.
The structure to follow is:
Subject + have + object + past participle
+ rest of the sentence
I had my hair cut last week.
If we want to mention the agent of the action, we introduce him by the word by.
I had my hair cut by the hairdresser.
We can use nearly all tenses.
Lets see some examples:
I will have the house painted next week.
I have had the car repaired (by the mechanic).
I had the windows cleaned.

12. Expressing wishes and regret: I wish / If only

These forms are used to express wishes, when things are not as we want them to
be.
I wish I were rich.
In this case, the verb to be in past tense is were for all the persons, including
the first and third person singular.
In this chapter we are going to see two different ways of using the expressions I
wish and If only.

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a) I wish / If only + Past

We can see that, although the verb is in the past tense, we refer to the present or
the future. That means, we would like something to be different. We can use both
expressions, I wish and If only, in the same way.
I wish / If only I had more money.
I wish / If only Peter didnt live in Australia.
I wish / If only she were still living here.
I wish / If only I could travel to the moon.
b) I wish / If only + Past Perfect
In this case, we express wishes in the past or regret that something which has
happened in the past didnt happen in the way we would have wanted it to happen.
So, for that kind of sentence we use the Past Perfect tense.
I wish / If only I had studied harder.
I wish / If only she had bought that skirt.
I wish / If only it hadnt rained last night.
I wish / If only I had had a cat when I was a child.

13.

Asking for and expressing opinions

Asking for opinions

When we want to know somebodys opinion of something, we use the following
questions:
What do you think about / of ... ?
(the weather, my new car, your boss, etc.)
Whats your opinion of ... ?
(the team, the President, etc.)
Expressing opinions
In English, there are many forms to express our opinion. The most prevalent ones
are:
In my opinion ...
I think ...
I believe

+ phrase

I feel

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I find it / ... / -ing

Have a look at some examples for every form:
In my opinion people shouldnt smoke.
I think you should study law.
I believe things will be different in the future.
I feel I am not studying enough.
I find this movie / it / watching movies quite interesting.
We use the verb to agree to express that we share an opinion with somebody
else.:
I agree with Jim.
I agree that most people have no time for sports nowadays.
To express the opposite we use the verb to agree in its negative form or the verb to
disagree:
I dont agree with you.
OR

I disagree with you.

Agree and disagree can also be expressed in the following ways:

Agreements:
When we agree with an affirmative sentence that was said just before:
So + auxiliary + I
When we agree with a negative sentence that was said just before:
Neither + auxiliary + I
See some examples:
A- I like pop music.
B- So do I.
A-I dont like rock music.
B- Neither do I.
A- I can understand him.
B- So can I.
A- I cant imagine such a world.
B- Neither can I.
Note: Remember that, when we talk of auxiliaries that substitute a verb, the
auxiliaries that are required for the simple tenses is do and does (present) or did
(past).

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14. Modals in Perfect tenses

In perfect tenses, the modal verbs are formed by the modal followed by the perfect
infinitive.
Modal + have + participle
She cant have finished.
We are going to see all the forms and uses in this chapter.
Cant + have + participle
We use cant + have + participle when something couldnt possibly have
happened in a certain way.
You cant have written such a nice poem.
Must + have + participle
We use must + have + participle when we are so sure that something
happened in the past that we get our own logical conclusion.
Their car is parked there.
They must have caught the bus.
May + have + participle
We use may + have + participle when we are not absolutely sure about what
happened in a certain moment, but we suppose so. (Remember that may and
might indicate a possibility, whereby may marks a slightly higher possibility
than might.)
He may / might have come,
but I was out all day.
Could + have + participle
Could + have + participle can be used in two different ways:
a) When we express that we had the possibility to do something in the past, but we
didnt do it.
We could have visited the museum.
(but we didnt)
b) When we assume something that could have happened in the past. In this case
might / may + have + participle are exchangeables.
They could / might / may have taken a taxi.
(its possible, but we dont know)

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Should / Ought to + have + participle

Should / Ought to + have + participle is used to reproach about something
that should have been done, but wasnt. Also, when a good piece of advice wasnt
followed or somebody regrets not having done something.
You should / ought to have taken an umbrella.
I should / ought to have studied harder.
Would + have + participle
This form is called conditional perfect and it expresses the third type of the
conditional tense which we are going to explain in this chapter.
This form is used when we want to speak about something which is impossible to
happen because the moment already passed. As we can see, the sentence is left
incomplete. It would be followed by a hypothetical or conditional clause.
I would have gone to the party ... (but I cannot, because the party is already
over.)
I would have bought that book ...
(but the time has already passed.)

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