Quick Answer The third conditional imagines a different past. The shape is If + had + past participle, then would have + past participle: If I had studied, I would have passed. It always describes something that did NOT happen — which is why it is the grammar of regret. See the Pattern First Read…
Quick Answer To report what someone said, move the verb one step back in time and change the words that point at people and time. “I am tired,” she said becomes She said she was tired. No quotation marks, and usually no that needed. See the Pattern First On the left is what the person…
Quick Answer Verb tenses tell you when something happens. There are three main tenses: past (it already happened), present (it is happening now), and future (it will happen later). For example: “She walked” is past, “She walks” is present, and “She will walk” is future. Past, Present, and Future — See the Pattern Look at…
Quick Answer The present tense has four forms. Each one shows a different way something happens “now”: simple present (habit: I eat), present continuous (right now: I am eating), present perfect (finished, but linked to now: I have eaten), and present perfect continuous (started before, still going: I have been eating). The Four Forms —…
Quick Answer Adjectives have three forms: the base form (tall), the comparative form (taller), and the superlative form (tallest). Use the comparative to compare two things. Use the superlative to compare three or more things. Tall, Taller, Tallest — See the Pattern Look at these sentences. The key words are in blue: Did you see…
Quick Answer The word media can be both singular and plural. Use a singular verb when you mean the whole news world as one thing. Use a plural verb when you mean different newspapers, channels, or websites. Singular: The media is covering the story all week. Plural: Different media are reporting different facts. Media: One…
Quick Answer The 5 English word pairs that trip up almost everyone are affect / effect, their / there / they’re, its / it’s, your / you’re, and then / than. They sound almost the same, but they mean very different things. Quick rule: if you can swap the word for it is, use it’s….
Quick Answer Alliteration is when words that are close together start with the same consonant sound. For example: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” The “p” sound repeats at the start of many words. Peter Piper Picked… — See How Alliteration Works Look at these examples. Can you hear the same sound repeating…
Quick Answer Hyperbole is when you exaggerate on purpose to make a strong point. It is not meant to be true — it is meant to show how you feel. Example: “I am so hungry I could eat a horse.” (You are not really going to eat a horse. You are just very hungry.) What…
Quick Answer A cliché is a phrase or idea that people have used so many times that it is not interesting or original anymore. For example: “Everything happens for a reason.” Common Clichés — You Have Heard All of These Before Look at these phrases. You probably know every single one: Did you notice? You…
