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Reported speech: indirect speech Indirect speech focuses more on the content of what someone said rather than their exact words. In indirect speech, the structure of the reported clause depends on whether the speaker is reporting a statement, a question or a command. direct indirect reported clause statement ‘I’m tired,’ I said. I told them (that) I was […]
Introduction One way of describing a person or thing is by saying that they have more of a particular quality than someone or something else. To do this, we use comparative adjectives, which are formed either by adding -er at the end of the adjective, or placing more before it, e.g. She’s more intelligent than her sister. […]
In English, if you want to follow a verb with another action, you must use a gerund or infinitive. For example: We resumed talking. (gerund – verb + ing) I want to see a movie. (infinitive – to + base verb) There are certain verbs that can only be followed by one or the other, and these verbs must […]
Make sure you use the correct tense when you talk about future plans in English. Here are some tips to do this, as well as other phrases to use when you talk about your plans with other people. (For more information about this, see our page on future forms.) When it isn’t definite We use […]
Discourse means ‘pieces of language longer than a sentence’. Some words and expressions are used to show how discourse is constructed. They can show the connection between what a speaker is saying and what has already been said or what is going to be said; they can help to make clear the structure of what […]
1 ‘higher than’: above or over Above and over can both mean ‘higher than’. Above is more common with this meaning.The water came up above/over our knees.Can you see the helicopter above/over the palace? 2 ‘not directly over’: above We use above when one thing is not directly over another.We’ve got a little house above […]
1 punctuation We usually write abbreviations without full stops in modem British English. Full stops (AmE ‘periods’) are normal in American English. Mr (AmE Mr.) = Mister (not usually written in full) kg (AmE kg.) = kilogram Ltd = limited (company ) 2 initial-letter abbreviations Some abbreviations are made from the first letters of several […]
Some styles of writing and speech have their own special grammar rules, often because of the need to save space or time.1 advertisements and instructionsSmall ads and instructions often leave out articles, subject or object pronouns, forms of be and prepositions.Single man looking for flat Oxford area. Phone 806127 weekends.Job needed urgently. Will do anything […]
meanings and use It is difficult to learn to use prepositions correctly in a foreign language. Most English prepositions have several different functions (for instance, one well- known dictionary lists eighteen main uses of at), and these may correspond to several different prepositions in another language. At the same time, different prepositions can have very […]