The Passive


We use the active form to say what the subject does. For example:

•I speak English every day at work.
•I repaired the flat tire on the car.

We use the passive form to say what happens to people and things, to say what is done to them. For example:

•English is spoken here.
•The car is being repaired.

We use the passive form when we don't know who did the action. For example:

•The car was damaged while it was parked on the street.
•The shirts were made in Turkey.

We use the passive form when what was done is more important than who did it. For example:

•It was approved by Gerry last week.
•I was informed by the Human Resources Manager only two days ago.

Irregular verbs


All new verbs in English are regular.

•I photocopied the report.
•She faxed it to me.
•They emailed everybody about it.
•I googled my name and got more than 20 000 responses.

There are approximately 180 irregular verbs. You don't need to learn all of them because some of these are very rare but many others are very useful and you do need to know them.
What's the easiest way to learn them? Some people think you should learn a list 'by heart'. Others think you should not learn them at all – you will just gradually acquire them over time.
One useful method is to note down new irregular verbs as you meet them. It is useful to write these verbs (or any vocabulary you want to learn) in sentences and learn those rather than the individual word.
Which is easier to learn?

•stick stuck stuck
•I stuck the photo into my album.

Another technique is to classify the irregular verbs into 4 categories.
1. All forms the same

•set set set
•cost cost cost

2. Similar sound groups

•beat beat beaten
•eat ate eaten
•blow blew blown
•throw threw thrown
•drink drank drunk
•sing sang sung
•speak spoke spoken
•wake woke woken

3. The second and third forms are the same.

•bend bent bent
•sleep slept slept
•spend spent spent
•bring brought brought
•buy bought bought
•teach taught taught
•have had had
•pay paid paid
•say said said

4. The "unclassifiables"

•come came come
•do did done
•go went gone
•show showed show

As you meet new irregular verbs, try to decide in which category they fall.


Going to


There is no one 'future tense' in English. There are 4 future forms. The one which is used most often in spoken English is 'going to', not 'will'.

We use 'going to' when we want to talk about a plan for the future.

•I'm going to see him later today.
•They're going to launch it next month.
•We're going to have lunch first.
•She's going to see what she can do.
•I'm not going to talk for very long.

Notice that this plan does not have to be for the near future.

•When I retire I'm going to go back to Barbados to live.
•In ten years time, I'm going to be boss of my own successful company.

We use 'going to' when we want to make a prediction based on evidence we can see now.

•Look out! That cup is going to fall off.
•Look at those black clouds. It's going to rain soon.
•These figures are really bad. We're going to make a loss.
•You look very tired. You're going to need to stop soon.

We can replace 'going to go' by 'going'.

•I'm going out later.
•She's going to the exhibition tomorrow.


Can


We use 'can' to talk about 'possibility'.

•Can you do that?
•I can't manage to do that.
•You can leave your car in that parking space.
•You cannot smoke in here.

Notice that there are two negative forms: 'can't' and 'cannot'. These mean exactly the same thing. When we are speaking, we usually say 'can't'.

We use 'can' to talk about 'ability'.

•I can speak French.
•I can't drive.

We use 'can' to ask for and give permission. (We also use 'may' for this but is more formal and much less common.)

•Can I speak to you or are you too busy?
•You can use my phone.
•You can't come in.

We use 'can' in offers, requests and instructions.

•Can I help?
•Can you give me a hand?
•When you finish that, you can take out the garbage.

We use 'can' with 'see' 'hear' 'feel' 'smell' 'taste' to talk about something which is happening now . (Where you would use the present continuous with most other verbs.)

•I can smell something burning.
•Can you hear that noise?
•I can't see anything.

We can use 'can't' for deduction. The opposite of 'can't' in this context is 'must'.

•You can't be hungry. You've just eaten.
•You must be hungry. You haven't eaten anything all day.
•He was in London one hour ago when I spoke to him. He can't be here yet.


Could


'Could' can be used to talk about the past, the present or the future.

'Could' is a past form of 'can'

•When I was living in Boston, I could walk to work.
•He phoned to say he couldn't come.
•I could see him clearly but I couldn't hear him and then the videoconference line went dead.

'Could' is used to make polite requests. We can also use 'can' for these but 'could' is more polite.

•Could you help me, please?
•Could you lend me some money?
•Could I have a lift?
•Could I bother you for a moment?

If we use 'could' in reply to these requests, it suggests that we do not really want to do it. If you agree to the request, it is better to say 'can'.

•Of course I can.
•I could help you if it's really necessary but I'm really busy right now.
•I could lend you some money but I'd need it back tomorrow without fail.
•I could give you a lift as far as Birmingham.

'Could' is used to talk about theoretical possibility and is similar in meaning to 'might'.

•It could rain later. Take an umbrella.
•He could be there by now.
•Could he be any happier?
•It could be Sarah's.