Advanced English

This week, we are going to talk about the past unreal conditional. Past unreal conditionals are often used to express wishes about the past. They often show  regret , or sad feelings about something that happened in the past. Here's an example: If I had studied, I would have passed the test. In this example, there is an  implied  wish that the speaker had studied. A conditional sentence has two parts. The first part is the  if  clause: "If I had studied." The second part is the  result  clause: "I would have passed the test." To form the past unreal conditional, use the  past perfect  in the  if  clause. Use  had  followed by a past  participle  verb to form the past perfect. In the result clause, use  would   have  followed by the past participle. Use past unreal conditionals to talk about how you would have acted differently if you had had more information. Basically,  if I ha...

Modals in the third conditional introduction We use  Third Conditional  (also known as the past hypothetical conditional) to talk about or write about past unreal situations, past situations that didn't actually happen. Since neither action took place, the condition is unreal. Consider the following examples. If I had not spent all my money, I would have lent you some. Meaning : I spent all my money earlier, so I wasn't able to lend you any. If we had not been so hungry, we would not have eaten such a large meal. Meaning : We were very hungry, so we ate a large meal. Forming the Third Conditional Formation Like the other conditionals, a third or hypothetical conditional sentence consists of two clauses, an  "if" clause  and a  main clause : Consider these examples. If I had had time ,  I would have helped you . Meaning : I wanted to help you, but I couldn't because I didn't have enough time. If the street had not been so ic...

Introduction These four questions are made with  modal verbs : Would you... ? Could you... ? Will you... ? Can you... ? Modal verbs are helping/auxiliary verbs that express ideas like  ability ,  permission , and  asking for assistance . Many modal verbs have more than one meaning. They are always followed by the simple form of a verb. For example: Could you  help me for a minute, please? This shows that the speaker is asking for help politely. To ask questions in a  very  polite way, use:  Would you/ Could you  (please) + simple verb + ...? For example: Would you please email that document to me? I need it ASAP*. Could you explain that again, please? I didn’t understand. *ASAP =  a s  s oon  a s  p ossible To ask questions in a  polite but more casual way , say:  Will you/ Can you  (please) + simple verb + ...? For example: Will you please answer the phone? I’m worki...

In English, wish is a powerful word for expressing your dreams, hopes and desires. Here are some examples: We wish you the best. Her mother wishes they would get married. I wish I had brought my camera. I wish to speak to the president. You will often hear wish in music, movie dialog, poetry and inspirational speeches. Let’s take a look at some of the tricky grammar issues with wish . A wish is a desire for a different reality. In general, wishes express desires that are unlikely to happen. If you say, “I wish I could fly,” it means you probably will not grow wings and learn to fly. A Unique Verb W ish follows a unique -- and rather confusing -- set of grammar rules. Wish uses the same verb back shifting rule as reported speech. Verb back shifting   A wish about the present uses a simple past main verb. He wishes he understood the lesson. In this example, understood is a simple past verb. Wish is often followed by that . That introduces a n...

Today we will answer a question about two misunderstood modal verbs. Modal verbs are helping verbs. They help us express things like necessity, permission, ability and possibility. For example, “I can bring the bag tomorrow” uses the modal verb “can” to express ability. Now, here is our question: Question: Hi! Can you tell me the difference between “must” and “have to”? -  Manuel Answer: Hello, Manuel. Thanks for writing! The modal verbs “must” and “have to” are very close in meaning. They both express a requirement or need to do something. First, let me tell you what  grammar  books say about these verbs. Then, I will tell you how we  really  use them. Grammar books say that: “Must” expresses that  the speaker  has decided that something is a requirement or necessity. And “have to” expresses that  someone else  has made something a requirement or necessity. An example would be a rule or law. But, in the real worl...

In the American television show Saturday Night Live, actors make jokes of realistic situations and people, like politicians and sports personalities. In one program, for example, sports reporters Pete and Greg discuss a women’s curling game between Finland and Paraguay. But it soon becomes clear that they do not understand the game. A player from Paraguay scores and the men say this: Pete: What an amazing curl – knocking team Finland right out of the house! Look at that – she is fired up. Bingo! Greg: Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. I have no idea what is happening. Pete: Neither do I, buddy. The rules of this game are baffling to me. You just heard Pete say, “Neither do I” to show agreement with Greg’s statement. Pete is saying that he also has no idea what is happening. Very short responses like this are extremely common for English speakers around the world. We use them in speech and informal writing every day. In English, we can use the words so, neither, too and eithe...

We often need to tell others what someone else said. There are two ways to do this. One is to say the same words and use quotation marks. That is "direct speech." The other method is to summarize, or tell  about  what someone said. This is called "reported speech." Before we get into the rules for  reporting  speech, here are the terms we are using to explain it. Subject noun or pronoun Reporting verb Conjunction Reported speech clause She said that she wanted a cookie. Rules for reporting speech To get this kind of sentence right, there are four things you should keep in mind: The first rule is to choose a reporting verb and tense . When did the speech happen? With current, repeated or recent events, the reporting verb is in the present tense. "He  says  he is hungry, so let's go to lunch." A habitual or repeated statement is in the present tense: "Everyone says the water is safe to drink." For reporting l...