Category: Grammar Reference

There are 3 rules regarding the comparative and superlative forms of adjectives: 1. For short adjectives (adjectives with 1 syllable) we add -er in the comparative form and -est in the superlative form: Short adjective Comparative Superlative small tall cheap long smaller than taller than cheaper than longer than the smallest the tallest the cheapest the longest Examples: Comparatives France is smaller than Argentina. Cheese is cheaper than caviar. The Tower of London is older than the […]

When we ask for permission to do something we use can, could, may. May is the most formal. Examples Can I go to the party? Could I ask a question? May I sit here?   If we want to be more polite we can use the following construction: Do you mind if I base form of verb Do you mind if I open the window? Do […]

When we want to say how often something is done, we can use an adverb of frequency. The adverb generally goes directly before the main verb and after the auxilary verb. Examples: I never go to the beach. They usually have dinner at 5pm. He hardly ever drinks coffee. They can always go out on Saturdays. If we want to specify how often something is done we use this […]

We use can and could to talk about ability. We use can in the present and could in the past. can She can play the guitar. Can you speak Spanish? They can’t ride a bike. could She could read when she was three. My grandmother could play the piano very well. They couldn’t come last year because of the bad weather. Can and could are modal verbs and so have no infinitive, gerund or past […]