Present Continuous, There is/are, Countables, Past Simple
Unit 4: Present Continuous
Affirmative
- I am playing
- You are playing
- He is playing
- She is playing
- It is playing
- We are playing
- You are playing
- They are playing
This tense uses the auxiliary verb “to be” and the -ing form of the main verb.
Negative
- I am not playing
- You are not playing
- He is not playing
- She is not playing
- It is not playing
- We are not playing
- You are not playing
- They are not playing
The negative form adds “not” after the auxiliary verb “to be”.
Interrogative
- Am I playing?
- Are you playing?
- Is he playing?
- Is
Mastering Relative Clauses and Reported Speech
Defining Relative Clauses
Defining Relative Clauses
The teacher is the person who decides the final mark (defining)
Non-Defining Relative Clauses
The teacher, who gave me a zero in the exam, is always grumpy.
Formal Structures
The preposition goes before the relative pronoun.
Ex: This is the school in which I study.
Ex: The teacher to whom I talked yesterday is the best ever.
Informal Structures
The preposition goes after the relative pronoun (normally at the end) + (the relative pronoun can be omitted).
Ex:
Read MoreThe Black Cat: Setting, Characters, and Themes
Setting
Place: The story opens in the cell of a prisoner the day before he is to be executed by hanging. After introducing himself to readers as a man who underwent a horrifying experience, the prisoner writes down the details of this experience, which led to his imprisonment and scheduled execution. The events in his tale are set at his home and in a tavern.
Time: Although these events take place over several years, the recounting of them in writing takes place on a single day in the narrator’s prison
Read MoreAdjectives, Modals, Phrasal Verbs, and Compound Adjectives
Adjectives Ending in -ed and -ing
Adjectives ending in -ed generally describe emotions—they tell us how people feel. Adjectives ending in -ing generally describe the thing that causes the emotion.
- Amazed (surprised) / Amazing (causing surprise)
- Annoyed (upset) / Annoying (causing annoyance)
- Bored (feeling weary and restless) / Boring (causing boredom)
- Exhausted (very tired) / Exhausting (causing tiredness)
- Frightened (afraid or anxious) / Frightening (causing fear)
- Frustrated (feeling annoyed and discouraged)
Timmy the Hedgehog: A Billwood Love Story
Once upon a time in a city named Billwood, there was a hedgehog named Timmy. He had grown up in the bad part of the city and was classed as the future leader of the infamous gang, “The Boy Wonders.” The gang had been robbing and controlling the city for generations, all the way back to Stevie Bonder, who started it in 1890.
The gang nearly had full control of the city. The only thing they needed to do was kill the mayor, a wildcat named Bobby Smith. The gang’s leader, a bear named Boris, had planned
Read MoreVerb Tenses in English: Usage and Examples
| Tense | Usage | Auxiliary | Verb Form | Examples | Time Expressions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past Simple | Indicates an action completed at a definite time in the past. | did | -ed (regular verb) or irregular |
| Last, ago, yesterday |
| Past Perfect | Indicates a past action completed before another past action. | had | Past participle |
| Before, after, already, just, for, since, until, when, never, by |
| Past Continuous | Indicates an action that started in the past |