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English Grammar Step by Step:
• Unit 1: Negative and interrogative sentences
• Unit 2: Short answers
• Unit 3: Question tags
• Unit 4: Questions and exclamations
• Unit 5: So, neither, nor, either
• Unit 6: Be, used to, would, be/get/become used to, dare, have, get, become, grow, go, turn, fall and feel
• Unit 7: Verb tenses: forms
• Unit 8: Irregular verbs
• Unit 9: Verb tenses: uses
• Unit 10: Personal pronouns, possessives and reflexive pronouns
• Unit 11: The genitive case
• Unit 12: Singular and plural nouns
• Unit 13: Gender
• Unit 14: A, an, some, any, no, not, none, each, every and the; compounds of some, any, no and every
• Unit 15: Neither, not...either, none, not...any, both and all
• Unit 16: A few, few, a lot, lots, a little, little, many, much, no and plenty
• Unit 17: Enough, too, so and such
• Unit 18: Comparative and superlative sentences
• Unit 19: The adjective order
• Unit 20: Relative clauses
• Unit 21: Do and make
• Unit 22: Modal verbs
• Unit 23: Infinitives, gerunds and present participles
• Unit 24: Conditional sentences
• Unit 25: Passive sentences
• Unit 26: Reported speech
• Unit 27: Purpose
• Unit 28: Word order
• Unit 29: Inversion
• Unit 30: Connectors
• Unit 31: Prepositions
• Unit 32: Phrasal verbs
Intermediate English Grammar:
• Unit 9: Irregular verbs
English Grammar for Beginners:
• Unit 1: A, an, some any and the
• Unit 2: Some, any + body/one, + thing, + where
• Unit 3: Personal pronouns and possessives
• Unit 4: Reflexive pronouns, the reciprocal pronoun "each other" and object pronouns
• Unit 5: List of irregular verbs
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English Grammar Step by Step
UNIT 1 - Page 2
NEGATIVE AND INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
Transform the following sentences into the negative
and the interrogative.
12 Example: (See unit 7, part 10.)
They’ll go/They will go.
They won’t go/They will not go.
Will they go?
a He’ll get back early.
b Tom will drop us a line.
c She’ll beat you at chess.
d It’ll be postponed.
e She’ll ask for it.
13 Example: (See unit 22, sections 10 and 11.)
He may come back. (possibility)
He may not come back. (May not is not usually contracted.)
Do you think (that) he will come back? (Avoid May he...?,
as it is very unusual for possibility.
Compare this section with section 15 in unit 2.)
a He may speak out against the closure of the factory at
b They may denounce him to the police as a bank robber.
c We may stay here for good.
d She may look us up the next time she comes to our town.
e He may forgive them if they speak frankly.
14 Example: (See unit 22, sections 10 and 11.)
He might come back. (Might suggests a smaller possibility
He might not come back. (Mightn’t is possible, but
not very usual.)
Do you think (that) he will come back?
a The sky might be overcast tomorrow.
b It might be cloudy this afternoon.
c It might be your aunt.
d She might pass her examination.
e They might win the race.
15 Could is the past or conditional form of can. We generally
prefer cannot to could not for possibility and permission:
They could need another blanket tonight. (possibility)
They cannot/can’t need another blanket tonight.
Do you think they could need another blanket tonight?
He could use her car tomorrow. (permission and suggestion)
He cannot/can’t use her car tomorrow.
Could he use her car tomorrow?
However, cannot is not possible when the meaning of could
He could read when he was four. (past ability)
He couldn’t/could not read when he was four.
Could he read when he was four?
Cannot is impossible if we have an if-clause with
a past tense or a past perfect tense:
He could do it for you if he had time.
He couldn’t/could not do it for you if he had time.
Could he do it for you if he had time?
a He could take my father’s van if he had a driving-licence.
(an if-clause with a past tense)
b We could take an extra lump of sugar.
(permission and suggestion)
c She could follow my advice. (possibility)
d I could swim very well when I was a child. (past ability)
e It could be too late now. (possibility)
16 Revision exercise.
a He’s looking forward to meeting her again.
b They put off our appointment. (simple past)
c She cancelled our date.
d We can rely on them.
e Our plane took off on time.
f Our plane landed on time.
g I look after my sister.
h You’re a good novelist.
i It’s got four bedrooms.
j He’s been waiting for the removal van since three o’clock.
k They will take her away.
l He may be working with his daughter.
m They complained about the wine.
n It brought her round.
o It could work. (possibility)
p He means it.
q The storm woke him up.
r These old shoes are worn out.
s She’ll dust the sitting room.
t It might be foggy tomorrow.
u There is a spider.
v She’s head over heels in love with him.
w They can ruin your life.
x He bullies a lot of people.
y She buys everything she likes.
z They reached the summit in full daylight.
You must come to class in good time.
You needn’t/need not come to class in good time.
Must/Need you come to class in good time?
Semantically speaking, the opposite of must for obligation
or strong advice is need not; must not has a different
meaning (prohibition). See unit 22, sections 19, 20, 21,
24, 25, 26 and 27.
a They must come to our aid.
b He must take exercise.
c We must finish our essay by tomorrow evening.
d She must ring him up tonight.
e It must be done.
He should sing at the concert.
He shouldn’t/should not sing at the concert.
Should he sing at the concert?
He ought to go there in her place.
He oughtn’t/ought not to go there in her place.
Ought he to go there in her place?
Should and ought to are usually interchangeable.
See unit 22, sections 26, 27, 29, 30, 31 and 33.
a They should grow vegetables.
b He should go jogging tomorrow.
c We ought to leave now.
d They ought to free their hostage.
e She should take an aspirin.
She would go abroad if she had enough money/
She’d go abroad if she had enough money.
She wouldn’t/would not go abroad if she had enough money.
Would she go abroad if she had enough money?
Would is the conditional or past form of will. See example
12 in this unit, and units 7 (part 14) and 9 (section 71).
a He would shut up if he were you.
b He would leave that paragraph out.
c They’d call Margaret up if she had a phone.
d She’d resign if she could find another job.
e His dog would eat the meat up.
20 Example: (See unit 6, part 4, section 9,
and unit 7, parts 7 and 8.)
He had cleaned her flat when she came home.
He hadn’t/had not cleaned her flat when she came home.
Had he cleaned her flat when she came home?
a She had eaten her lunch when I went to see her.
b They had been working hard since they were sixteen.
c The clock had stopped when we got home.
d She had read the novel when I asked her about it in class.
e You had watered the plants when I came into the garden.
21 Revision exercise.
a He should bring a lot of food with him.
b There could be another enemy. (possibility)
c They could be wrong. (possibility)
d She smashed up her mother’s car.
e He’ll smash your face.
f She’s getting on very well with her new painting.
g This is beyond him.
h He had done his homework when the teacher entered
i She’d forgive you if you were kinder to her.
j They get on his nerves.
k They drive her up the wall.
l She drives him crazy.
m They detest drinking alcohol.
n He’ll be held prisoner.
o I stepped in a ripe tomato.
p They have just released the tiger from its cage.
q It collapsed.
r She swam across the lake.
s You must come home early tonight.
t She can repair the oven.
u He’s got a lot of comics.
v It was getting dark.
w She may take my advice.
x They might arrive in Paris tonight.
y We ought to stay here.
z The man with a pistol scared the living daylights
out of her.
See unit 22, sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14,
15, 17 and 18.
Author: Miquel Molina i Diez
Pages: 1, 2 and the key
1 Negative and interrogative sentences (Page 2 and the key)
2 Short answers (Page 2 and the key)
3 Question tags (Page 2 and the key)
4 Questions and exclamations (Page 2 and the key)
5 So, neither, nor, either (the key)
6 Be, used to, would, be/get/become used to, dare, have, get, become, grow, go, turn, fall and feel (Page 2 and the key)
7 Verb tenses: forms (Page 2 and the key)
8 Irregular verbs
9 Verb tenses: uses (Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, Page 5 and the key)
10 Personal pronouns, possessives and reflexive pronouns (Page 2 and the key)
11 The genitive case (the key)
12 Singular and plural nouns (Page 2 and the key)
13 Gender (the key)
14 A, an, some, any, no, not, none, each, every and the; compounds of some, any, no and every (Page 2, Page 3 and the key)
15 Neither, not...either, none, not...any, both and all (the key)
16 A few, few, a lot, lots, a little, little, many, much, no and plenty (the key)
17 Enough, too, so and such (the key)
18 Comparative and superlative sentences (Page 2 and the key)
19 Adjective order (the key)
20 Relative clauses (Page 2 and the key)
21 Do and make (the key)
22 Modal verbs (Page 2, Page 3 and the key)
23 Infinitives, gerunds and present participles (Page 2 and the key)
24 Conditional sentences (Page 2 and the key)
25 Passive sentences (the key)
26 Reported speech (Page 2 and the key)
27 Purpose (the key)
28 Word order (the key)
29 Inversion (the key)
30 Connectors (Page 2 and the key)
31 Prepositions (Page 2, Page 3 and the key)
32 Phrasal verbs (the key)