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Grammar hints

Some key points of English grammar

Dear students,

English grammar can be very complex, and no one is familiar with `everything that may be acceptable`. It is, however, very well possible for non-native speakers of English to master basic structures. Below you will find a list of items which are `essential` and a survey of common irregular verbs which you should familiarize yourself with before you take the test "Grammatische Grundkenntnisse". The selection of the material is largely based on points you may find difficult. The list makes no claim to be exhaustive.

1. VERB GROUP

Questions (Eastwood: units 34, 36-39, 41, tests 8 & 9, Murphy: units 48-49)

Do you know him?
Did you ask her? (past tense in 'did', not in 'ask')
Who saw you? (subject question) Wer hat dich gesehen?
Who did you see? Wen hast du gesehen?
What are you looking at?
I don't know where he is. (indirect question)

Question tags (basic patterns) (Eastwood: 42, Murphy: 51)

She loves him, doesn't she?
She doesn't love him, does she?
You haven't seen her, have you?
They had breakfast at 8 o'clock, didn't they? ('have' is sometimes a full verb)

Short replies (Eastwood: 43, Murphy: 50)

A: I went there yesterday.
B: So did I. I did too.
A: I've read two books by Tom Sharpe.
B: So have I.
A: I didn't go there yesterday.
B: Neither/Nor did I. I didn't either.

Tenses/Aspect ( Eastwood: 8-17, tests 2 &3, Murphy: 7-14)

Past tense if there is a time gap, irrespective of what may be said in German.
Ich habe ihn gestern/vor einer Minute/letztes Jahr/1999 gesehen.
I saw him yesterday/a minute ago/last year/in 1999.

for and past tense

Ich habe zwei Jahre hier gewohnt.
I lived here for two years. (I don't live here any more.)

Pre-present tense if there is no time gap.

I've just seen him.
I haven't seen him yet.

Pre-present tense with since for something that began in the past and is still going on. Don't be misled by the tense in the German sentence.

Ich wohne hier seit 1998 ...

I've lived/ been living here since 1998/since March/since Christmas/since my wife died. (point of time)

Seit wann kennst du ihn?

Since when/How long/have you known him? ('know' is not used in the expanded form)

Ich habe das Buch seit Anfang Februar.

I've had this book since the beginning of February.

for and pre-present tense:

Ich kenne ihn schon jahrelang.

I've known him for years. (period)

Ich habe das Buch seit zwei Wochen.

I've had this book for two weeks.

NB: Das ist das erste Mal, daß ich im Krankenhaus bin.
This is/It's the first time I've been in hospital.
(The present tense cannot be used in the above sentence.)

Conditionals (Eastwood: 144-149, test 25, Murphy: 37-39)

I'll ask him if he comes. If he comes, I'll ask him.
I'd ask him if he came.
If I were/was you, I'd ask him.
I would have asked him if he had come. If he hadn't crossed the road, hewouldn't have been run over.

Modality (Eastwood: 44-53, test 10, Murphy: 32, 35, 44)

Shall we sit here? (Wollen wir ...)
You are to deliver these flowers before 11. (Du sollst ...)
OPEC representatives are to meet in London next Wednesday.
You mustn't do it. Du darfst es nicht tun.
You don't have to do it. Du brauchst es nicht zu tun.
John is said to be ill.
He is said to have killed his wife.

Passive Voice (Eastwood: 54-59, test 11, Murphy: 41-43)

A decision will not be taken until tomorrow.
The room is being cleaned.
The windows should have been cleaned, but they weren't.
He might have got the job if he had not been late for the interview.
She wasn't offered the job.
Have they been shown the new machine?
Five people are still unaccounted for.
Priscilla was stung by a bee.

Causation(Eastwood: 58, Murphy: 45)

I have my hair cut once a month.
How often do you have your hair cut?

Gerund/infinitive (Eastwood: 60-75, tests 12 & 13, Murphy: 52-57, 59-62)

1. Verbs followed by the gerund, not the infinitive

admit
avoid
consider
delay
deny
enjoy
fancy
finish
give up
imagine
involve
look forward to
mind
miss
postpone
practise
risk
suggest

NB: This book is worth reading.

2. Verbs followed by the infinitive, not the gerund

attempt
decide
decline
offer
plan
refuse
threaten

NB:
I'd rather (= I would rather) stay at home than go to the theatre. (= I would prefer to stay at home.)
I'd better (= I had better) return the money. (= It would be better if I returned the money.)

3. Verbs that can be followed by either the infinitive or the gerund, with a difference in meaning

remember doing sth - sich erinnern, etwas getan zu haben

She remembered posting the letter.
Sie erinnerte sich, den Brief aufgegeben zu haben.

remember to do sth - daran denken/nicht vergessen, etwas zu tun

She remembered to post the letter.
Sie vergaß nicht, den Brief aufzugeben.

stop doing sth - mit etwas aufhören

She stopped writing.
Sie hörte auf zu schreiben.
He stopped looking at the girl.
Er hörte auf, das Mädchen zu betrachten.

stop to do sth - innehalten/etwas abbrechen, um etwas anderes zu tun

He stopped to look at the girl. = He stopped in order to look at the girl.
Er hielt an, um das Mädchen zu betrachten.

try doing sth - etwas versuchsweise tun, es mit etwas versuchen ( experiment)

Try adding some pepper next time.

try to do sth - versuchen, etwas zu tun (attempt)

She tried to open the door but didn't succeed.

regret

He regrets saying that. (reference to past)
Es tut ihm leid, das gesagt zu haben.
We regret to inform you that this book is out of print. (reference to present or future)
Es tut uns leid, Ihnen mitteilen zu müssen, daß das Buch nicht mehr erhältlich ist.

NB: used to

I'm used to getting up early. (adjective)

Ich bin es gewohnt, früh aufzustehen.

I used to get up up early. (modal verb)

Früher stand ich zeitig auf./Ich pflegte zeitig aufzustehen.

'In former times' cannot be used in the above sentence. It may be used to refer to the distant past, but there are very often better phrases, eg 'in the past', 'in the old days'.

NB: difficulty: We had no difficulty (in) finding the garden.

2. NOUN GROUP

Nouns/noun phrases which are problematic for Germans (countable/uncountable; singular/plural) (Eastwood: 77-82, test 14, Murphy: 68-70)

The furniture was very expensive.
'Information', 'advice', 'furniture' and a few others cannot be used with the indefinite article and in the plural.

information = Information(en) Who gave you the information?

If you want to refer to a single item you can say 'a piece of information', 'a piece of furniture'

Plural verb:

Where are the scissors/trousers?
The police have arrested Theodore.

Singular verb:

Seven miles is too far for me to walk.
Five years is a long time.
Three thousand pounds was stolen in the robbery.
Hier sind die Nachrichten, gesprochen von Peter Barker.

Here's the news, read by Peter Barker

NB:
a 13-year-old girl
1 Dollar = 1 dollar, 12 Dollar = 12 dollars
I have a car /my own car/a car of my own. (ein eigenes Auto)

Noun modifiers

Determiners/Quantifiers (Eastwood: 87, 91-97, test 16, Murphy: 81-90)

Articles

a book
a university [j ....] (before semivowel)
an old man
an hour ago
Society has a right to see thieves punished.
the death penalty (but capital punishment)
the environment

Quantifiers (C/U)

She doesn't write many letters.
I don't drink much wine.
Susan eats a lot of rice/apples.
Non-count nouns:
little - less - least (milk, money, sugar, etc)
I have little money. (negative)
I have a little money. (positive)

Count nouns:

few - fewer - fewest (friends)
I have few friends/only a few friends. (negative)
I have a few friends. (positive)

Some, any

Sheila has some questions.
Are there any questions?
I don't have any questions.
Any pen will do.

Neither, either

Neither hotel is expensive. (not one or the other)
I don't like either hotel. (not one or the other)
We could go to either bar. (one or the other)

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Relative clauses (Eastwood: 137-143, test 24, Murphy: 91-96)

defining relative clauses (They are essential to make the meaning of the sentence clear.)

The woman who lives next door is very friendly.
I know a lot of people who live in Manchester.
The windows that were broken have now been repaired.
Is he the man you gave the money to?
I saw some people whose car had broken down.
This is the house whose roof needs repairing.
All (that) we know is that he never took the money.
Wer es sich nicht wirklich leisten kann, sollte nicht an der Expedition teilnehmen.

Anyone who can't really afford it, should not take part in the expedition.

non-defining relative clauses (They could be left out without changing the basic message of the sentence.)

Goethe, who died in 1832, was a famous writer.
Our car, which is quite old, is still reliable.
I'd like you to meet our secretaries, some of whom are bilingual.

NB: She helped him, which was a good thing.

3. ADJECTIVAL GROUP (Eastwood: 106, 108-112, 114, tests 18 & 19, Murphy: 99, 100, 104-107)

Adjectives as complements

This is/seems/appears/looks/sounds/tastes/smells/good.

Comparison of adjectives

new - newer - newest
easy - easier - easiest
difficult - more difficult - most difficult
bad - worse - worst
late - later - latest (with reference to 'time')
latter - last (with reference to 'order')
farther - farthest (referring to 'distance')
further - furthest (distance; figurative use)
near - nearer - nearest (place)
next (sequence)

NB: She is the same age as Peter.

as ... as
not so ... as
not as ... as
older than

4. ADVERBIAL GROUP (cf adjectival group)

She works methodically/fast/hard/well.
He works extremely hard.
Peggy is highly intelligent.
She is extraordinarily good.

Comparison of adverbs

easily - more easily - most easily
badly - worse - worst
well - better - best

Phrases in which comparatives are used

The sooner the better.
The earlier we leave, the sooner we (will) arrive.

5. PREPOSITIONAL GROUP (Eastwood: 118-125, test 21, Murphy: 120-135)

Prepositions before nouns

In spite of/Despite the rain, we enjoyed ourselves.
at night - at Christmas - at the moment - at the age of
I'll be back by Monday. Tell me by Thursday whether or not you can come to the meeting.
By the time you get to the shops, they will be shut. (by = not later than)
('Till' or 'until' would be wrong in those sentences.)
I saw it on TV - similar to
in the town of Dessau - in der Stadt Dessau; similiarly: in the state of Iowa

Prepositions after verbs

depend on
rely on
succeed in
She was discriminated against.
He was operated on.

NB: No preposition in 'Let's discuss it.'

Prepositions after adjectives

characteristic of
independent of
typical of

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We hope that the examples will help you find your way around in grammar books so that you can successfully organise your work.

Yours grammatically,

Your Language Practice Team

Common irregular verbs
Common irregular verbs.pdf (81,5 KB) vom 13.01.2017

This is not a substitute for grammar books, which should be worked through in addition, eg Eastwood, J. (2000). Oxford Practice Grammar (with answers). Oxford: Oxford University Press, Murphy, R. (1994). English Grammar in Use (with answers). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

NB: In formal written English contracted forms are usually avoided. In this survey the shorter forms prevail.

VERB GROUP

Questions (Eastwood: units 34, 36-39, 41, tests 8 & 9, Murphy: units 48-49)

Do you know him?

Did you ask her? (past tense in 'did', not in 'ask')

Who saw you? (subject question) Wer hat dich gesehen?

Who did you see? Wen hast du gesehen?

What are you looking at?

I don't know where he is. (indirect question)

Question tags (basic patterns) (Eastwood: 42, Murphy: 51)

She loves him, doesn't she?

She doesn't love him, does she?

You haven't seen her, have you?

They had breakfast at 8 o'clock, didn't they? ('have' is sometimes a full verb)

Short replies (Eastwood: 43, Murphy: 50)

A: I went there yesterday.

B: So did I. I did too.

A: I've read two books by Tom Sharpe.

B: So have I.

A: I didn't go there yesterday.

B: Neither/Nor did I. I didn't either.

Tenses/Aspect ( Eastwood: 8-17, tests 2 &3, Murphy: 7-14)

Past tense if there is a time gap, irrespective of what may be said in German.

Ich habe ihn gestern/vor einer Minute/letztes Jahr/1999 gesehen.

I saw him yesterday/a minute ago/last year/in 1999.

for and past tense

Ich habe zwei Jahre hier gewohnt.

I lived here for two years. (I don't live here any more.)

Pre-present tense if there is no time gap.

I've just seen him.

I haven't seen him yet.

Pre-present tense with since for something that began in the past and is still going on. Don't be misled by the tense in the German sentence. Ich wohne hier seit 1998 ...

I've lived/ been living here since 1998/since March/since Christmas/since my wife died. (point of time)

Seit wann kennst du ihn?

Since when/How long/have you known him? ('know' is not used in the expanded form)

Ich habe das Buch seit Anfang Februar.

I've had this book since the beginning of February.

for and pre-present tense:

Ich kenne ihn schon jahrelang.

I've known him for years. (period)

Ich habe das Buch seit zwei Wochen.

I've had this book for two weeks.

NB: Das ist das erste Mal, daß ich im Krankenhaus bin.

This is/It's the first time I've been in hospital.

( The present tense cannot be used in the above sentence.)

Conditionals (Eastwood: 144-149, test 25, Murphy: 37-39)

I'll ask him if he comes. If he comes, I'll ask him.

I'd ask him if he came.

If I were/was you, I'd ask him.

I would have asked him if he had come. If he hadn't crossed the road, he wouldn't have been run over.

Modality (Eastwood: 44-53, test 10, Murphy: 32, 35, 44)

Shall we sit here? (Wollen wir ...)

You are to deliver these flowers before 11. (Du sollst ...)

OPEC representatives are to meet in London next Wednesday.

You mustn't do it. Du darfst es nicht tun.

You don't have to do it. Du brauchst es nicht zu tun.

John is said to be ill.

He is said to have killed his wife.

Passive Voice (Eastwood: 54-59, test 11, Murphy: 41-43)

A decision will not be taken until tomorrow.

The room is being cleaned.

The windows should have been cleaned, but they weren't.

He might have got the job if he had not been late for the interview.

She wasn't offered the job.

Have they been shown the new machine?

Five people are still unaccounted for.

Priscilla was stung by a bee.

Causation(Eastwood: 58, Murphy: 45)

I have my hair cut once a month.

How often do you have your hair cut?

Gerund/infinitive (Eastwood: 60-75, tests 12 & 13, Murphy: 52-57, 59-62)

1. Verbs followed by the gerund, not the infinitive

admit
avoid
consider
delay
deny
enjoy
fancy
finish
give up
imagine
involve
look forward to
mind
miss
postpone
practise
risk
suggest
NB: This book is worth reading.

2. Verbs followed by the infinitive, not the gerund

attempt
decide
decline
offer
plan
refuse
threaten
NB:
I'd rather (= I would rather) stay at home than go to the theatre. (= I would prefer to stay at home.)
I'd better (= I had better) return the money. (= It would be better if I returned the money.)

3. Verbs that can be followed by either the infinitive or the gerund, with a difference in meaning

remember doing sth - sich erinnern, etwas getan zu haben

She remembered posting the letter.

Sie erinnerte sich, den Brief aufgegeben zu haben.

remember to do sth - daran denken/nicht vergessen, etwas zu tun

She remembered to post the letter.

Sie vergaß nicht, den Brief aufzugeben.

stop doing sth - mit etwas aufhören

She stopped writing.

Sie hörte auf zu schreiben.

He stopped looking at the girl.

Er hörte auf, das Mädchen zu betrachten.

stop to do sth - innehalten/etwas abbrechen, um etwas anderes zu tun

He stopped to look at the girl. = He stopped in order to look at the girl.

Er hielt an, um das Mädchen zu betrachten.

try doing sth - etwas versuchsweise tun, es mit etwas versuchen ( experiment)

Try adding some pepper next time.

try to do sth - versuchen, etwas zu tun (attempt)

She tried to open the door but didn't succeed.

regret

He regrets saying that. (reference to past)

Es tut ihm leid, das gesagt zu haben.

We regret to inform you that this book is out of print. (reference to present or future)

Es tut uns leid, Ihnen mitteilen zu müssen, daß das Buch nicht mehr erhältlich ist.

NB: used to

I'm used to getting up early. (adjective)

Ich bin es gewohnt, früh aufzustehen.

I used to get up up early. (modal verb)

Früher stand ich zeitig auf./Ich pflegte zeitig aufzustehen.

'In former times' cannot be used in the above sentence. It may be used to refer to the distant past, but there are very often better phrases, eg 'in the past', 'in the old days'.

NB: difficulty: We had no difficulty (in) finding the garden.

NOUN GROUP

Nouns/noun phrases which are problematic for Germans (countable/uncountable; singular/plural) (Eastwood: 77-82, test 14, Murphy: 68-70)

The furniture was very expensive.

'Information', 'advice', 'furniture' and a few others cannot be used with the indefinite article and in the plural.

information = Information(en) Who gave you the information?

If you want to refer to a single item you can say 'a piece of information', 'a piece of furniture'

Plural verb:

Where are the scissors/trousers?

The police have arrested Theodore.

Singular verb:

Seven miles is too far for me to walk.

Five years is a long time.

Three thousand pounds was stolen in the robbery.

Hier sind die Nachrichten, gesprochen von Peter Barker.

Here's the news, read by Peter Barker

NB:

a 13-year-old girl

1 Dollar = 1 dollar, 12 Dollar = 12 dollars

I have a car /my own car/a car of my own. (ein eigenes Auto)

Noun modifiers

Determiners/Quantifiers (Eastwood: 87, 91-97, test 16, Murphy: 81-90)

Articles

a book

a university [j ....] (before semivowel)

an old man

an hour ago

Society has a right to see thieves punished.

the death penalty (but capital punishment)

the environment

Quantifiers (C/U)

She doesn't write many letters.

I don't drink much wine.

Susan eats a lot of rice/apples.

Non-count nouns:

little - less - least (milk, money, sugar, etc)

I have little money. (negative)

I have a little money. (positive)

Count nouns:

few - fewer - fewest (friends)

I have few friends/only a few friends. (negative)

I have a few friends. (positive)

Some, any

Sheila has some questions.

Are there any questions?

I don't have any questions.

Any pen will do.

Neither, either

Neither hotel is expensive. (not one or the other)

I don't like either hotel. (not one or the other)

We could go to either bar. (one or the other)

Relative clauses (Eastwood: 137-143, test 24, Murphy: 91-96)

defining relative clauses (They are essential to make the meaning of the sentence clear.)

The woman who lives next door is very friendly.

I know a lot of people who live in Manchester.

The windows that were broken have now been repaired.

Is he the man you gave the money to?

I saw some people whose car had broken down.

This is the house whose roof needs repairing.

All (that) we know is that he never took the money.

Wer es sich nicht wirklich leisten kann, sollte nicht an der Expedition teilnehmen.

Anyone who can't really afford it, should not take part in the expedition.

non-defining relative clauses (They could be left out without changing the basic message of the sentence.)

Goethe, who died in 1832, was a famous writer.

Our car, which is quite old, is still reliable.

I'd like you to meet our secretaries, some of whom are bilingual.

NB: She helped him, which was a good thing.

ADJECTIVAL GROUP (Eastwood: 106, 108-112, 114, tests 18 & 19, Murphy: 99, 100, 104-107)

Adjectives as complements

This is/seems/appears/looks/sounds/tastes/smells/good.

Comparison of adjectives

new - newer - newest

easy - easier - easiest

difficult - more difficult - most difficult

bad - worse - worst

late - later - latest (with reference to 'time')

latter - last (with reference to 'order')

farther - farthest (referring to 'distance')

further - furthest (distance; figurative use)

near:

nearer - nearest (place)

next (sequence)

NB: She is the same age as Peter.

as ... as

not so ... as

not as ... as

older than

ADVERBIAL GROUP (cf adjectival group)

She works methodically/fast/hard/well.

He works extremely hard.

Peggy is highly intelligent.

She is extraordinarily good.

Comparison of adverbs

easily - more easily - most easily

badly - worse - worst

well - better - best

Phrases in which comparatives are used

The sooner the better.

The earlier we leave, the sooner we (will) arrive.

PREPOSITIONAL GROUP (Eastwood: 118-125, test 21, Murphy: 120-135)

Prepositions before nouns

In spite of/Despite the rain, we enjoyed ourselves.

at night - at Christmas - at the moment - at the age of

I'll be back by Monday. Tell me by Thursday whether or not you can come to the meeting.

By the time you get to the shops, they will be shut. (by = not later than)

('Till' or 'until' would be wrong in those sentences.)

I saw it on TV - similar to

in the town of Dessau - in der Stadt Dessau; similiarly: in the state of Iowa

Prepositions after verbs

depend on
rely on
succeed in
She was discriminated against.
He was operated on.

NB: No preposition in 'Let's discuss it.'

Prepositions after adjectives

characteristic of
independent of
typical of