Modal continuous: possibility in progress
A light is on or a person is missing: describe what may be happening now and distinguish a possibility from a strong deduction.
Read and practiseAdventure journal
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Adjectives after look, feel, sound, smell and taste
Why does soup smell delicious, while a chef tastes carefully? Choose English adjectives for a subject's qualities and adverbs for performed actions.
Read and practiseShould I and should we: asking for advice
A decision can prompt a question with should. Ask for guidance about your own actions or a choice shared with others.
Read and practiseWhy don’t we and how about: making suggestions
A shared plan can begin with a friendly question. Compare two common suggestion patterns and choose the right verb form.
Read and practiseGerund clauses as subjects
An activity can be the subject of a sentence: form a clause with a verb ending in ing and give it singular agreement.
Read and practisePresent perfect or past simple: choose the time frame
Compare a present result or experience up to now with an event in a finished past period. Practise last month, so far and follow-up questions with when.
Read and practiseEvaluating actions with introductory it
An adjective can evaluate an action before the action is named. See how introductory it and an infinitive work together, including patterns with people.
Read and practiseAdjectives with prepositions and ing forms
An adjective and its preposition can introduce an activity: explore patterns such as interested in learning and good at making things.
Read and practisePresent perfect continuous: activity up to now
Form have or has been plus -ing for ongoing or recent activity. Describe duration, repeated routines and visible evidence without claiming a task is finished.
Read and practiseVerb plus preposition and -ing
Some verbs take a particular preposition before an action. See how the following verb takes the -ing form in everyday sentences.
Read and practiseWho performs an ing action?
Possessive and object forms before an ing clause identify its actor, with a difference in formality and sentence position.
Read and practisePerfect simple or continuous: result, activity and state
Choose a completed total, an activity in progress or a continuing state. Compare repaired with been repairing and learn why lived can work in either form.
Read and practiseAllow and permit with infinitives and gerunds
Permission can name the person involved or describe an activity in general. See how the verb pattern changes in each case.
Read and practisePrefer and rather than: comparing preferences
From drinks to daily activities, compare two choices with matching forms and express what you would rather do in a particular situation.
Read and practisePast perfect: look back from a past moment
Use had plus a past participle to connect an earlier event or state to a later past moment. Practise questions, time order and before with an unfinished action.
Read and practiseWould like or like: wishes and preferences
A cup offered now and a favourite drink express different ideas. Compare specific wishes and offers with general preferences.
Read and practiseWill or going to: intention, evidence and a decision now
Compare an existing intention with a decision made while speaking. Use going to for a prediction grounded in present evidence and recognise overlap with will.
Read and practiseQuestions and negatives with used to
Former habits and states come into focus through questions and negatives, including the spelling used after did and the less common alternative.
Read and practiseMyself and yourself for emphasis: doing it personally
A reflexive pronoun can highlight who did something personally, while by plus a reflexive pronoun can show that someone acted alone.
Read and practiseFuture continuous: an activity in progress later
Use will be plus -ing to picture an activity at a future moment or a temporary future routine. Practise negatives, plan questions and ongoing versus finished meaning.
Read and practiseSingular they: referring to one person
A person’s gender may be unknown, or their pronouns may be they and them. See how these forms work with singular reference.
Read and practiseIt, one and that: referring back to a noun
A lost key, a replacement cup or a comparison: the choice of pronoun shows whether the referent is the same item or another.
Read and practiseWould for past habits: repeated actions in a story
Use would and a base verb for recurring actions within an established past setting. Contrast those memories with a continuing past state and a single completed event.
Read and practiseGeneric you and formal one
Everyday speech and formal writing have different ways to talk about a general experience or rule that applies to people.
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