PART I

BASIC GRAMMAR IN USE

 CHAPTER I / ASKING QUESTIONS

In English there are two kinds of questions: yes or no questions, and questions starting with an
interrogative pronoun.

I / YES OR NO QUESTIONS

They are questions which are answered by yes or no, and they always begin with an auxiliary
(have, has, had / am, are, is, was, were / will, shall, would, should / do, does, did) or a
defective verb (may, might, must, can, could, dare, etc.)

Example : Were you at school yesterday ?

II / QUESTIONS STARTING WITH AN INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN

Who : to find a subject (person) ex : who did this ?

Whom : to find a complement (person), ex : to whom did he give the money ?
What : to find a subject (thing, animal), ex : what’s the matter ?
: to find a complement (thing animal), ex : what did he tell you ,

NB : If the question is to find a subject, we don’t use the auxiliary “to do” even if it is an
ordinary verb.

What for : to find the purpose, ex: What are you here for?
Why : to find the reason, ex : why did you come late ?
When : to find the moment ex: when are you coming back?
Where : to find the place, ex : where are they going ?
Which : to find the choice, ex : which dress do you prefer ?
Whose : to find the owner or possessor, ex : whose pen is this ?
How : to find the manner, ex : how did you repair your bike ?
How far : to find the distance, ex : how far is your school from your house ?
How long : to find the duration, ex : how long will you stay in Paris ?
: to find the length, ex : how long is this hedge
How often : to find the frequency, ex : how often do you go out dancing ?
How many : to find the number, ex : how many subjects do you have ?
How much : to find the price, ex : how much does this computer cost ?
: to find the quantity, ex : how much water did you fetch ?
How old : to find the age, ex : how old is your grand father
How tall : to find the height (person), ex : how tall is Abdou Diouf ?
How high : to find the height (thing), ex : how high is this wall ?
How deep : to find the depth, ex : how deep is this hole ?
How heavy : to find the weight, ex : how heavy is that sac of rice ?
How wide : to find the width, ex: how wide is this hall?

What + to be + subject + like = description

Ex : - What is the weather like ?
- What is your brother like?
 CHAPTER II / THE PASSIVE VOICE

To put a sentence in the passive voice, we must have in the active sentence: a subject doing the
action, a verb and a complement.

THINGS TO DO

1) Identification of the elements (subject, verb, complement)

2) The complement in the active sentence becomes subject in the passive sentence.
3) We introduce the auxiliary “to be” and we put it at the same tense and form as the verb
in the active sentence.

4) We add the past participle of the verb in the active sentence.

5) The subject in the active sentence becomes the complement of agent in the passive
sentence and is introduced by “by”

Example : - Abdou has killed the sheep

- The sheep has been killed by Abdou

NB 1 : If the subject in the active sentence is not well defined, meaning that, if it is a pronoun
or words like people, someone, somebody. We can omit the complement of agent.

Example : - They caught a bird

- A bird was caught.

NB 2 : If the verb in the active sentence is : “to give” or its synonym (to offer, to attribute, to
afford etc…) and if we have two complements : a direct one and an indirect one, then we
can have two passive sentences.

Example : - Teachers give good marks to clever students

- Good marks are given by teachers to clever students
- Clever students are given good marks by teachers.

NB 3 : If in the active sentence, we have a defective verb, we write it in the passive sentence
in the same form and tense before introducing the auxiliary “to be” which is in the infinitive
without “to”.

Example : - People mustn’t take these books away.

- These books mustn’t be taken away.
 CHAPTER III / THE REPORTED SPEECH

When we use the reported speech, we are repeating what we heard from another. This reporting
can be done on the spot or later.

I / REPORTED DONE ON THE SPOT

In this case, the verb of the main clause (prop. Principale) is in the present tense. There will be
no change of the verb’s tense in the subordinate.

Example : - Peter says : “I’m sick”

- Peter says that he is sick

II / REPORTED DONE LATER

In this case the verb of the main clause is in the past tense. In the subordinate, the verb’s tense
will change as follows :

Direct speech Indirect speech

* the present simple becomes the preterit (past simple)

* the present perfect becomes the past perfect
* the present continuous becomes the past continuous
* the future becomes conditional
* the past simple (preterit) becomes past perfect
* conditional becomes conditional perfect

III / REPORTED QUESTIONS

1) Questions starting with an interrogative pronoun

In questions, not only we change the tense of the verb but we must also change the word’s
order.

Example : -“Where are you going ?” The policeman said.

- The policeman asked us where we were going

2) Yes or No questions

Example : - She said : “Are you St-Michel students ?”

- She asked if we were St-Michel students
IV / REQUESTS AND ORDERS

We use the complete infinitive (to + verb) in requests and orders specially with “Tell & Ask”

Example : - The doctor said to me : “stay in bed for 2 days”

- The doctor told (asked) me to stay in bed for 2 days.

NB : Note that in the indirect style, the adverbs of time change as follows

 Yesterday → the day before

 Last week (month, year) → the previous week (month, year)
 Tomorrow → the day after
 Next week (month, year) → the following week (month, year)
 Today → that day
 Now → then

Note also “this” becomes “that” and “here” becomes “there”.

 CHAPTER IV / LES AUXILIAIRES DE MODALITES

CAN – MAY – MUST – SHALL – WILL – OUGHT TO – NEED DARE

I / GENERALITE

Les auxiliaires de modalités can, may, must, shall, will, ought to ainsi que need et dare, dans
certains de leurs emplois, ont une conjugaison incomplète, défective. C’est pourquoi on les
appelle aussi « verbes défectifs ».

Quatre d’entre eux ont deux formes : un présent et un préterit can (could), may (might), shall
(should), will (would)

Il ne prennent jamais de « s » à la 3ème personne du singulier.

Example : He can swim / he must go.

II / NOTION DE MODALITE

Le rôle principal des auxiliaires can, may, must, shall, will, ought to, need, dare est d’exprimer
diverses nuances de modalité. On les appelle auxiliaires de modalités (modals).
La modalité concerne l’attitude d’esprit du locuteur vis-à-vis de l’idée qu’il exprime Il précise
que l’action dont il parle lui paraît : certaine, possible, éventuelle, nécessaire, superflue,
inévitable, souhaitable, etc.

A – CAN

Il sert à exprimer

1) La possibilité ou la vraisemblance (selon l’opinion du locuteur)

Example : Anything can happen (tout peut arriver)

He can be cruel (il lui arrive d’être cruel)

NB : Le passé de can dans ces cas ci est could

2) La capacité physique ou faculté intellectuelle

Dans ce cas, can est équivalent de to be able to que l’on utilise pour conjuguer le prétérite ou
le futur.

Example : I can drive a car

I was able to drive a car
You can’t understand because you are a foreigner
You were not able to understand because you are a foreigner.
 3) La permission (le ton est plus familier qu’avec May)

Example : Can I use your pen ? (je peux utiliser ton stylo ?)

NB : Could I use your pen, est poli, May I est encore plus poli.

4) Il sert souvent d’auxiliaire pour conjuguer les verbes de perception involontaire

ainsi que to understand, to remember, to imagine

Dans ce cas on ne le traduit pas généralement :

Example : - Can you hear me ?

- M’entendez-vous?

- I can’t understand your feelings

- Je ne comprends pas vos sentiments

- Can you see that man?

- Vois-tu cet homme ?

B – COULD

Il peut être :

1) Le prétérit de can

Ex : Anything could happen (tout pouvait arriver)

2) Un prétérit modal à valeur de conditionnel de politesse

Ex : Could I have a glass of water ?

Pourrais-je avoir un verre d’eau ?

C – MAY

Il sert à exprimer :

1) Une incertitude, ou une éventualité

Ex : - He may be in England

- Il se peut qu’il soit en Angleterre

- She may come tonight

Il se peut qu’elle vienne ce soir

2) Une permission

Ici may s’emploie comme can, mais dans un style plus soigné
 Ex : - May I use your pen ?
- Puis-je me servir de votre stylo ?

3) Un souhait

Ex : - May you succeed

- Puissiez-vous réussir

- May God bless you

- Que Dieu vous bénisse

D – MIGHT

Il sert à exprimer :

1) Une incertitude, une éventualité, un risque (pour les faits présents ou futurs plus
souvent que passés)

En principe avec MIGHT, il y a une plus grande part de doute qu’avec May.

Ex : - Let’s hurry up they might be waiting for us

- Dépêchons-nous, il se pourrait qu’ils nous attendent

- It might rain this afternoon

- Il se pourrait qu’il pleuve cet après-midi

2) Une suggestion ou un reproche

Ex : - We might ask a policeman

- Nous pourrions demander à un agent

- You might at least help us

- Tu pourrais au moins nous aider

3) Une permission

Ici, might s’emploie comme may, mais dans un style très poli (demande timide), voir
cérémonieux.

Ex : - Might I use your pen ?

- Puis-je (me permettriez-vous de) utiliser votre stylo.
E – MUST

Il s’emploie pour :

1) Une forte probabilité, une quasi certitude, une conclusion logique

Ex : - You must be hungry

- Vous (tu) devez (dois) avoir faim.
- He hasn’t come, he must be ill.
- Il n’est pas venu, il doit être malade

- He has a big and nice house, he must be very rich

- Il a une très grande et belle maison, il doit être très riche.

2) Une nécessité, une obligation

Dans ce cas-ci, must peut avoir le sens de to have to quand l’information est impersonnelle.

Ex : - I must finish this work

- Je dois finir ce travail, ou bien
- Il faut que je finisse ce travail

- You must read this book

- Tu dois lire ce livre, ou bien
- Il faut que tu lises ce livre (je te le conseille vivement)

F – OUGHT TO

C’est le seul des auxiliaires qui soit suivi d’un infinitif complet. Comme should, il s’emploie
pour exprimer un conseil moral ou amical.

Ex : - You ought to be ashamed

- You should be ashamed
- Vous devriez avoir honte

- You oughtn’t to be so selfish

- You shouldn’t be so selfish
- Vous ne devriez pas être si égoïste.
 CHAPTER V / THE TENSES

A – THE PRESENT SIMPLE

I / USES

When using the present simple tense, we are not thinking only about the present. It is not
important whether the action is happening at the moment of speaking or not.

We use it :

- When we talk about habit in the present

Ex : I drink tea after lunch

- To talk about things in general

Ex : Nurses look after patients in hospital

- To say that something happens all the time and repeatedly

Ex : We go to school every day

- For general truths

Ex : The earth goes round the sun

- When we say how often we do things

Ex : I go to “Gaal gui” twice a week

II / ADVERBS

Usually, always, often, sometimes, frequently, generally, all the time, from time to time, every
+ unit of time (every minute, hour, day, week, etc.)

B – THE PRESENT CONTINUOUS

I / USES

We use the present continuous:

* To talk about actions happening at the very moment of speaking. It is the real present
tense in English.

Ex 1 : We are writing a lesson about the present continuous.

Ex 2 : The teacher is explaining, the students are listening.

* To talk about actions happening around the time of speaking.

 This means that I’m not doing the action at the moment of speaking.
I started it before and will continue it after.

Ex : I meet you somewhere and I tell you : “I’m reading a very interesting book”.

This does not mean that I’m reading a book in the street, but that.
I started reading it before I met you and I’ll continue reading it after.

* To talk about changing situations

Ex 1 : Life is getting harder and harder

Ex 2 : The world population is increasing very fast
Ex 3 : Your father is getting old.

* With “Today” or “This” + unit of time

Ex 1 : We are working very hard today

Ex 2 : We are sitting for our exam this year.

II / ADVERBS

Now, at the moment, presently etc.

NB : There are some verbs which are not normally used in continuous tenses. These verbs are
only used in simple tenses. Here is a list of them, but we can have some exceptions: Want,
like, belong, know, love (ing poetic form), remember, need, see, mean, forget, prefer, hate,
hear, believe, understand, seem, etc.

C – THE PRESENT PERFECT

I / USES

* We use the present perfect when the action is over but its results can be seen in the present.

Ex: When I say: “Abdou has cleaned the blackboard”.

I mean that Abdou has finished cleaning the blackboard, but the result of this action can be
noticed by looking at the blackboard which is cleaned now.

* When we use the present perfect, there is a connection with the present

Ex 1 : “I have lost my keys” = I don’t get them now

Ex 2 : “John has gone to Thiès” = Presently, John is at Thiès

* We use the present perfect to give new information or to announce a recent event

Ex : Don’t you know ? He has gone to London

* We use the present perfect when we talk about a period of time that continues up to the
present.

Ex : He went to Louga three years ago, and has lived there ever since.

* We use the present perfect after a superlative

Ex : Guelewar is the most exciting film I have ever seen.

* We can use the present perfect after the expression : “This is the 1st, 2nd time”.

Ex : This is the 2nd time he has lost his passport.

II / ADVERBS

Just, already, ever / never, yet (only in questions and negative sentences), recently, so far
(jusqu’ici), etc.

D – THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

I / USES

* We use the present perfect continuous when we talk about an action, (a long action)
which began in the past and recently stopped.

Ex : Your clothes are dirty. What have you been doing ?

* We also use the present perfect continuous to ask or say how long something has been
happening.

Ex : It is raining now. It began to rain two hours ago

We say : It has been raining for two hours.

NB : We often use the present perfect continuous in this way with specially : how long, since,
for.

II / DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS AND THE

PRESENT PERFECT SIMPLE

We use the present perfect continuous when we are interested in the action, but we use the
present perfect simple when we are interested in the result.

Ex : - Furtado’s clothes are covered with paint.

- Furtado has been painting the room (Action)
- The room was white but now it is blue
- Furtado has painted the room. (Result)
E – THE PAST SIMPLE (PRETERIT)

I / USES

We use the past simple (Preterit) to talk about actions or situations in the past, which have no
relation with the present.

Ex: We enjoyed our Christmas party.

NB : Very often, the simple past ends in “ed” this is for regular verbs. But many important
verbs are irregular. There is no rule about their preterit because each of them has its own form

Ex : Leave………………. Left
Go ………………….. went
Cost ………………… cost
Sing ………………… sang

II / ADVERBS

Yesterday, ago, once upon the time, one day, last + unit of time.

F – THE PAST CONTINUOUS

I / USES

We use the past continuous to say that someone was in the middle of doing something at a
certain moment in the past.
The action or situation had already started before that time, but had not finished.

II / ILLUSTRATION

Yesterday Serena and Venus Williams played tennis.

They started at 10 o’clock and they finished at 12 o’clock

Ex : - What were they doing at 11 o’clock ?

- They were playing tennis

This means that they were in the middle of the action of playing tennis.

G – PAST SIMPLE AND PAST CONTINUOUS

Very often we use the past continuous and the past simple together to say that something
happened in the middle of something else.

Ex 1 : Nafi burnt her hand when she was cooking

Ex 2 : Yesterday in the evening Ali was having a bath when the phone rang.

Compare : 1) When Tom arrived, we were eating dinner

2) When Tom arrived, we ate dinner

The first sentence means that we had already started eating before Tom arrived but we hadn’t
finished. We were in the middle of the action of eating when he arrived.

The second one means that Tom arrived and then we started eating dinner.
 PRACTICE

QUESTION-FORMATION

Ask questions to the underlined words

A / That night Peter took his bag and went to Thies

1 2 3 5
4

1) …………………………………………
2) ………………………………………….
3) ………………………………………….
4) …………………………………………..
5) ……………………………………………

B / The woman paid six hundred francs a box of cigarettes

1 2 3 4

1) …………………………………………….
2) ……………………………………………..
3) ……………………………………………..
4) …………………………………………….

C / In the eve of her examination, Sandra entered her room, switched on the computer and
1 2 3
typed the documents
4

1) ……………………………………………..
2) ……………………………………………..
3) …………………………………………….
4) ……………………………………………
 PASSIVE VOICE

I / Turn into the passive

1) They have stolen my father’s car

…………………………………………………………………………………

2) She was eating the soup greedily

………………………………………………………………………………….

3) The teacher gave bonuses to good students

………………………………………………………………………………….

4) They educated him in Europe

………………………………………………………………………………….

5) They will bring some water from the well

………………………………………………………………………………….

II / Reformulate the sentences using the prompts given

1) People are using guns to carry out horrible crimes

Guns…………………………………………………………………………….

2) They considered literacy as a way to a better life

Literacy…………………………………………………………………………

3) That difficult lesson won’t be understood by students

The students……………………………………………………………………..

4) All the plates were broken by the children

The children………………………………………………………………………

5) A new church is being built in our district

They ……………………………………………………………………………...
 REPORTED SPEECH

I / Turn into reported speech

1) Moussa said : “I’m living now in London”

……………………………………………………………………………………

2) They said : “Where are you going ?”

…………………………………………………………………………………….

3) Her father says : “My car was stolen a few weeks ago”

……………………………………………………………………………………..

4) The teacher said : “I want to go on holiday but I cannot afford it.”

……………………………………………………………………………………..

5) “Open the windows”: The boss said

……………………………………………………………………………………..

II / Reformulate the following sentences using the prompts given

1) “How can she be so strong ?”

They wanted to know……………………………………………………………….

2) “Who has got the solution?”

They wanted to know……………………………………………………………….

3) “Go back to your room”

My father ordered me………………………………………………………………..

4) “I’m sitting for my exam this year”

She pretended…………………………………………………………………………

5) “I’m sorry, I will never do it again”

He apologized and……………………………………………………………………
 MODALS

A – Complete the sentences using Can or be able to

1) Georges has travelled a lot. He ……………………………..speak four languages

2) Nowadays, anything……………………….happen.
3) I can’t understand Armelle, I’ve never……………………understand her.
4) Ask Rosalie about your problem. She might………………………help you.
5) This man…………………….be your father.

B – Complete the sentences with can/can’t/could/couldn’t + one of these verbs:

Come, eat, hear, run, sleep, wait

1) I’m afraid I ……………………….to your party next week

2) When Adrame was 16, he was a fast runner. He ………..…100 meters in 11 seconds.
3) I was feeling sick yesterday I ………………………anything.

C – Complete with must or can’t

1) You have been travelling all day. You ………………..….be tired

2) This restaurant……………………be very good. It is always full of people
3) This restaurant……………………be very good. It is always empty.

D – Complete the sentences using: must, mustn’t or needn’t

1) We haven’t got much time. We………….…………….hurry

2) We have got plenty of time. We……………………….hurry
3) Ndeye gave me a letter to post. I …………….………..remember to post it.
4) Ndeye gave me a letter to post. I……………………….forget to post it.
 TENSES

A – Put in the correct tense and form

1) We went out without……………………….where to go (to know)

2) Yesterday we………………to the cinema. (to go)
3) Oh! Our classroom is very nice now. They …………………..it (to paint)
4) When Susan entered the house, we ………………………(to eat)
5) I usually …………………on Sundays. (not to work)

B – Put the verbs in correct form, present simple or continuous

1) Hurry up! Everybody…………………..(to wait) for you.

2) How is your English? Not so bad. It…….(to improve) slowly
3) The earth………………….(to go) round the sun
4) Listen! These girls…………… (to talk) about you.
5) We usually have parties during the holidays but this year we ………… (not to have) any.

C – Put the verbs in the correct form, past simple or continuous

1) What………………….. (you to do) this time yesterday ? “I was asleep”

2) How fast…………………….(he to drive) when the accident…………….(to happen)?
3) We were in a very difficult situation. We ……………… (not to know) what to do.
4) I haven’t seen Alex for ages. When I last……………… (to see) him, he………………
(to try) to find a jobs in SUNEOR.
5) Aïcha………………..(to take) a photograph of me while I ……………..(not to look)