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It's all about time. Things can happen now, in the future or in the past.

The tenses simply show the time of an action or state of being as shown by a verb.

The verb ending is changed (conjugated) to show what time it is referring to.

Time can be split into three periods The Present (what you are doing), The Past (what you did) and The Future (what you are going to do, or hope / plan to do ).

The tenses we use to show what time we are talking about are split into the Simple, Continuous and Perfect tenses.

In English we use two tenses to talk about the present and six tenses to talk about the past. There are several ways to talk about the future some of which use the present tenses, these are:

Present	Simple Present
	Present Continuous
Past	Simple Past
	Past Continuous
	Present Perfect Simple
	Present Perfect Continuous
	Past Perfect Simple
	Past Perfect Continuous
Future	Using the Simple Present
	Using the Present Continuous
	Using the Present Perfect Simple
	Using the Present Perfect Continuous
	Using going to
	Using shall/will

Simple Tenses

The simple tenses are used to show permanent characteristics of people and events or what happens regularly, habitually or in a single completed action.

Continuous Tenses

The continuous tenses are used when talking about a particular point in time.

Perfect Tenses

Sometimes you need to give just a little bit more information about an action or state...and that is where the perfect tenses come in.

The perfect tenses are used when an action or situation in the present is linked to a moment in the past. It is often used to show things that have happened up to now but aren't finished yet or to emphasize that something happened but is not true anymore. When they end determines which of them you use.

Perfect tenses are never used when we say when something happened i.e. yesterday, last year etc. but can be used when discussing the duration of something i.e. often, for, always, since etc..

The Future Tenses

Discussing the future in English can seem complicated.The present simple, present continuous, present perfect simple and the present perfect continuous can all be used and often it is possible to use more than one structure, but have the same meaning.

- See more at: http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/tensetext.html#sthash.MkwbxEVE.dpuf

J Mix

J Match

Too and Enough

Too and enough indicate degree. They are used with adjectives.

• Too means more than what is needed.
• Enough means sufficient.

Examples

He is too old to play football with the kids.
Dave is intelligent enough to do the write thing.

Use of too and enough

1.Enough precedes adjectives and adverbs:

He isn't old enough to watch this program.
We're not walking quickly enough.

2.Enough may also precede nouns:

We have enough money . 
I have not got enough money to buy this computer.

3.Too comes before adjectives and adverbs:

It's too hot to wear that coat.
I was driving too fast.

4. Too may also come before nouns when it is used with the expressions too much and too many.

a. Too much is used before uncountable nouns.

There is too much salt in this food.

b. Too many is used before countable nouns

There are too many students in this classroom.

Use of some and any

Some and any are used to state the quantity, amount of something. When using some or any, the exact number is not stated. Some and any are quantifiers.
Some and any can be used when:

1. The exact number is not known.
2. The exact number is not important or relevant.
3. Some and any are used with countable and uncountable nouns.

Study the following tables:

Interrogative	Affirmative	Negative
Are there any tomatoes in the fridge?	Yes, there are some.	No, there aren't any.
Is there any orange juice?	Yes, there is some.	No, there isn't any.

Offering	Responding
Would you like some coffee?	Yes please I'd like some.

Making a request	Responding
Would you mind lending me some money?	Of course here you are.

The rules of some and many:

SOME:

Use some in positive (affirmative) sentences. Some is used for both countable and uncountable nouns.

Examples:

I have some friends.( friends is countable)
I'd like some water. (water is uncountable)

ANY:

Use any for countable and countable nouns in:

1. interrogative sentences.
   Examples: Have you got any cheese?
   Have you got any friends?
2. negative sentences.
   Example:He hasn't got any cheese
   He hasn't got any friends in Chicago.

EXCEPTION:

Use some in questions when offering or requesting something.
Example:

• Would you like some bread

  For and Since for Time

  We lived there for five years.
  He has been away since Tuesday.
  We often use for and since when talking about time.
  for + period: a "period" is a duration of time - five minutes, two weeks, six years. For means "from the beginning of the period to the end of the period".
  since + point: a "point" is a precise moment in time - 9 o'clock, 1st January, Monday. Since means "from a point in the past until now".
  Look at these examples:

  for a period from start to end	since a point from then to now
  >===<	x===>|
  for 20 minutes for three days for 6 months for 4 years for 2 centuries for a long time for ever	since 9am since Monday since January since 1997 since 1500 since I left school since the beginning of time
  all tenses	perfect tenses

  for

  For can be used with all tenses. Here are a few examples:
  • They study for two hours every day.
  • They are studying for three hours today.
  • He has lived in Bangkok for a long time.
  • He has been living in Paris for three months.
  • I worked at that bank for five years.
  • Will the universe continue for ever?
  We do not use for with "all day", "all the time":
  • I was there all day. (not for all day)

  since

  Since is normally used with perfect tenses:
  • He has been here since 9am.
  • He has been working since he arrived.
  • I had lived in New York since my childhood.
  We also use since in the structure "It is [period] since":
  • It was a year since I had seen her.
  • How long is it since you got married?
  ? (offer)
• Can I have some water, please? (request)

J Cross

WHAT IS AN ADJECTIVE?"

Simply put adjectives are descriptive words. Adjectives are used to describe or give information about things, ideas and people: nouns or pronouns.

For Example:-

The grey dog barked. (The adjective grey describes the noun "dog".)

The most common question an adjective might answer is "What kind of ...?"

The good news is that in English the form of an adjective does not change, once you have learnt it that's it and it does not matter if the noun being described is male or female, singular or plural, subject or object. Yay!

Some adjectives give us factual information about the noun - age, size colour etc (fact adjectives - can't be argued with).

Some adjectives show what somebody thinks about something or somebody - nice, horrid, beautiful etc (opinion adjectives - not everyone may agree).

If you are asked questions with which, whose, what kind, or how many, you need an adjective to be able to answer.

There are different types of adjectives in the English language:

• Numeric: six, one hundred and one etc.
• Quantitative: more, all, some, half, more than enough etc.
• Qualitative: colour, size, smell etc.
• Possessive: my, his, their, your etc.
• Interrogative: which, whose, what etc.
• Demonstrative: this, that, those, these etc.

!Note - The articles a, an, and the are a special kind of adjective called articles, and the possessives my, our, your, and their are sometimes known as possessive adjectives.

Colour

Adjectives can be used to describe colour.

blue, red, green, brown, yellow, black, white, etc.

For Example:

• "The blue bag." or "The blue bags".

Opinion

Adjectives can be used to give your opinion about something.

 

good, pretty, right, wrong, funny, light, happy, sad, full, soft, hard etc.

For Example:

• He was a silly boy. / She was a silly girl.

Size

Adjectives can be used to describe size.

big, small, little, long, tall, short, same as, etc.

For Example:

• "The big man." or "The big woman".

Age

Adjectives can be used to describe age.

For Example:

• "He was an old man." or "She was an old woman."

Shape

Adjectives can be used to describe shape.

round, circular, triangular, rectangular, square, oval, etc.

For Example:

• "It was a square box." or "They were square boxes."

Origin

Adjectives can be used to describe origin.

 

For Example:-

• "It was a German flag." or "They were German flags."

Material

Adjectives can be used to identify the material something is made of.

• "A wooden cupboard." or "Wooden cupboards."

!Note - In English we often change nouns into adjectives.

For Example: glass - a glass vase / metal - a metal tray etc.

Distance

Adjectives can be used to describe distance.

  l -- o -- n -- g  / short

long, short, far, around, start, high, low, etc.

For Example:

• "She went for a long walk." or "They went for lots of long walks."

 

Temperature

Adjectives can be used to describe temperature.

cold, warm, hot, cool, etc.

For Example:

• "It was a hot day" or "We eat ice cream on hot days."

Time

Adjectives can be used to describe time.

 

late, early, bed, nap, dinner, lunch, day, morning, night, etc.

For Example:

• "She had an early start."

 

Purpose

Adjectives can be used to describe purpose. (These adjectives often end with "-ing".)

For Example:

• "She gave them a sleeping bag." or "She gave them sleeping bags."

!Note - Have you noticed how the adjective stays the same, whether it is describing a masculine, feminine, singular or plural noun? Nice huh?

When using more than one adjective to modify a noun, the adjectives may be separated by a conjunction (and) or by commas (,).

For Example:

• "Her hair was long and blonde." or "She had long, blonde hair."

More examples:

Adjective	Pretty	Serious	Fast	Quiet
For Example:	She is a pretty girl.	He was a serious boy.	It could be a fast car.	They were quiet children.

!Note - Adjectives that go immediately before the noun are called attributive adjectives.

Adjectives can also be used after some verbs. They do not describe the verb, adverbs do that.

Adjectives after a verb describe the subject of the verb (usually a noun or pronoun).

For Example:

• "Lynne looks tired."

The subject (in this case Lynne) is being described as tired not the verb to look.

There is also the adjective used to, which is such a beast that it gets its own section - Used To.

- See more at: http://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/adjectivetext.html#sthash.u28gDOUa.dpuf

J Cloze

FACTUAL DESCRIPTIVE
What is a factual description?
A factual description describes a particular, place or thing. Its purpose is to tell about the subject by describing its features without including personal opinions. A factual description differs from an information report because it describes a specific subject rather than a general group.

Examples of factual description texts include:
1. Descriptions of a particular building
2. Descriptions of a specific animal
3. Descriptions of a particular place.
4. Descriptions of a specific person.

Features of A Factual Description

Constructing features of a factual description
A typical description has an opening paragraph including the subject of the description, followed by a series of paragraphs each  describing one feature of the subject. There can also be a final concluding section that signals the end of the description.

Grammatical features of a factual description
Factual description usually include the following grammatical features:
1. verbs in the present tense
2. adjectives to describe the features of the subject
3. topic sentences to begin paragraphs and organise  the various aspects of description.

The factual description scaffold:
1. A general opening statement in the first paragraph
a. This statement introduces the subject of the description to the audience.
b. It can give the audience brief details about the when, where, who,or what of the subject.

2. A series of paragraphs about the subject:
a. Each paragraph usually begins with a topic sentence.
b. The topic sentence previews the details that  will be contained in the remainder of the paragraph.
c. Each paragraph should describe one feature of the subject.
d. These paragraphs build the description of the subject.
3. A conclusion paragraph ( optional )
The concluding pargraph signals the end of the text.

J Quiz

Possessive Pronouns

We use possessive pronouns to refer to a specific person/people or thing/things (the "antecedent") belonging to a person/people (and sometimes belonging to an animal/animals or thing/things).

We use possessive pronouns depending on:

• number: singular (eg: mine) or plural (eg: ours)
• person: 1st person (eg: mine), 2nd person (eg: yours) or 3rd person (eg:his)
• gender: male (his), female (hers)

Below are the possessive pronouns, followed by some example sentences. Notice that each possessive pronoun can:

• be subject or object
• refer to a singular or plural antecedent

number	person	gender (of "owner")	possessive pronouns
singular	1st	male/ female	mine
	2nd	male/ female	yours
	3rd	Male	his
		female	hers
plural	1st	male/ female	ours
	2nd	male/ female	yours
	3rd	male/ female/ neuter	theirs

• Look at these pictures. Mine is the big one. (subject = My picture)
• I like your flowers. Do you like mine? (object = my flowers) 
• I looked everywhere for your key. I found John's key but I couldn't findyours. (object = your key)
• My flowers are dying. Yours are lovely. (subject = Your flowers) 
• All the essays were good but his was the best. (subject = his essay)
• John found his passport but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her passport)
• John found his clothes but Mary couldn't find hers. (object = her clothes) 
• Here is your car. Ours is over there, where we left it. (subject = Our car)
• Your photos are good. Ours are terrible. (subject = Our photos) 
• Each couple's books are colour-coded. Yours are red. (subject = Your books)
• I don't like this family's garden but I like yours. (object = your garden) 
• These aren't John and Mary's children. Theirs have black hair. (subject = Their children)
• John and Mary don't like your car. Do you like theirs? (object = their car)

Notice that the following (with apostrophe [']) do NOT exist: her's, your's, their's

Notice that the interrogative pronoun whose can also be a possessive pronoun (an interrogative possessive pronoun). Look at these examples:

• There was $100 on the table and Tara wondered whose it was.
• This car hasn't moved for two months. Whose is it?

Possessive Adjectives

English Grammar Rules

Possessive adjectives are used to show possession or ownership of something. While we use them when we refer to people, it is more in the sense of relationship than ownership.

The possessive adjectives in English are as follows:

Subject	Possessive Adjective
I	My
You	Your
He	His
She	Her
It	Its
We	Our
You (pl)	Your
They	Their

The possessive adjective needs to agree with the possessor and not with the thing that is possessed.

Examples

• My car is very old.
• Her boyfriend is very friendly.
• Our dog is black.
• Their homework is on the table.

Like all adjectives in English, they are always located directly in front of the noun they refer to. (Possessive Adjective + Noun)

We do not include an S to the adjective when the noun is plural like in many other languages.

Examples:

• Our cars are expensive. (Correct)
  Ours cars are expensive. (Incorrect)

However, the verb that is used needs to be in agreement with the noun - if the noun is singular then the verb is singular; if the noun is plural then the verb is plural.

Examples:

• My pen is black. (Singular)
  My pens are black. (Plural)
• Our child is intelligent. (Singular)
  Our children are intelligent. (Plural)

Its vs. It's

Be careful not to confuse its and it's.

Its = The possessive adjective for It.
It's = a contraction of it is.

Reflexive Pronouns

reflexive (adj.) [grammar]: reflecting back on the subject, like a mirror

We use a reflexive pronoun when we want to refer back to the subject of the sentence or clause. Reflexive pronouns end in "-self" (singular) or "-selves" (plural).

There are eight reflexive pronouns:

	reflexive pronoun
singular	myself yourself himself, herself, itself
plural	ourselves yourselves themselves

Look at these examples:

non-reflexive the underlined words are NOT the same person/thing	REFLEXIVE pronouns the underlined words are the SAME person/thing
John saw me.	I saw myself in the mirror.
Why does he blame you?	Why do you blame yourself?
David sent him a copy.	John sent himself a copy.
David sent her a copy.	Mary sent herself a copy.
My dog hurt the cat.	My dog hurt itself.
We blame you.	We blame ourselves.
Can you help my children?	Can you help yourselves?
They cannot look after the babies.	They cannot look afterthemselves.

Intensive pronouns

Notice that all the above reflexive pronouns can also act as intensive pronouns, but the function and usage are different. An intensive pronoun emphasizes its antecedent. Look at these examples:

• I made it myself. OR I myself made it.
• Have you yourself seen it? OR Have you seen it yourself?
• The President himself promised to stop the war.
• She spoke to me herself. OR She herself spoke to me.
• The exam itself wasn't difficult, but the exam room was horrible.
• Never mind. We'll do it ourselves.
• You yourselves asked us to do it.
• They recommend this book even though they themselves had never read it. OR They recommend this book even though they had never read itthemselves.