Some Key Points Of English Grammar

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.
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? ('h ave' 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, 194-107)
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 extreme
ly
hard.
Peggy is high
ly
intelligent.
She is extraordinari
ly
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
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,
Peter Connell, Dietmar Schneider, Dieter Schöne, Marjorie Willey
Common irregular verbs
arise arose arisen
awake awoke awoken
be was/were been
bear bore borne
beat beat beaten
become became become
begin began begun
bend bent bent
bind bound bound
bite bit bitten
bleed bled bled
blow blew blown
break broke broken
bring brought brought
build built built
buy bought bought
 ✂✁
cast cast cast
catch caught caught
choose chose chosen
cling clung clung
come came come
cost cost cost
creep crept crept
cut cut cut
deal dealt dealt
dig dug dug
do did done
draw drew drawn
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
feed fed fed
feel felt felt
fight fought fought
find found found
fly flew flown
forbid forbade forbidden
foresee foresaw foreseen
forget forgot forgotten
forgive forgave forgiven
freeze froze frozen
get got got; (US) gotten
give gave given
go went gone
grow grew grown
hang hung; hanged (They hanged
him.)
hung; hanged (He was
hanged.)
have had had
hear heard heard
hide hid hidden
hit hit hit
hold held held
hurt hurt hurt
keep kept kept
know knew known
lay laid laid
lead led led
leave left left
lend lent lent
let let let
lie lay lain
lose lost lost
 ✂✁
make made made
mean meant meant
meet met met
mishear misheard misheard
mislay mislaid mislaid
mislead misled misled
misread misread misread
mistake mistook mistaken
misunderstand misunderstood misunderstood
overcome overcame overcome
overdo overdid overdone
overhear overheard overheard
oversleep overslept overslept
overtake overtook overtaken
overthrow overthrew overthrown
pay paid paid
put put put
read read read
rebuild rebuilt rebuilt
redo redid redone
rewrite rewrote rewritten
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
rise rose risen
run ran run
say said said
see saw seen
seek sought sought
sell sold sold
send sent sent
set set set
shake shook shaken
shed shed shed
shine shone; shined (He shined the
furniture.)
shone; shined (Her boots had
been shined.)
shoot shot shot
show showed shown
shrink shrank, shrunk shrunk
shut shut shut
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
sit sat sat
sleep slept slept
slide slid slid
slit slit slit
sow sowed sown, sowed
speak spoke spoken

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