My English Corner for 4th ESO
Monday 21 October 2024
Grammar - Adverbs of frequency
Sunday 26 May 2024
Tuesday 14 May 2024
Future Simple
- Shall is used to indicate a promise or a threat , while will can be used for making promises or threats.
- Both help in talking about present, as well.
ATTENTION:
In Simple Future Tense, we do not add any suffixes like –s, ed, etc. at the end of the verbs. We use will/shall as an auxiliary verb with first forms of the verbs after the subjects. (For “will” and “shall” without separating the subjects as singular or plural – the rule applies to all subjects in the same way)
CONTRACTIONS:
For “WILL”;
will –> ‘ll Ex: I‘ll come back.
will not –> won’t Ex: I won’t study.
For “SHALL”
shall not –> shan’t Ex: We shan’t make any agreement.
FUTURE TENSE WITH “SHALL”
The use of shall as an auxiliary verb has been greatly reduced in recent times. We see it only in formal writings. However, we can use or see “shall” as stated below.
“Shall” is mainly used to make an offer and a suggestion or to ask for advice with subjects “I“ and “We”in questions.
Examples:
- Shall I open the window? ( offer )
- Shall we go to the theatre tonight? ( suggestion )
- What shall I wear? ( advice )
- What shall I tell her? ( advice )
Sunday 7 April 2024
Saturday 6 April 2024
Difference between if I was and if I were
I was
We use “I was” or “If I was” when we talk about real things that actually happened in the past.
Examples:
- When I was 10 years old, I used to play soccer every day.
- I was really happy to hear that you passed your test yesterday.
- My high school teachers would give me extra homework if I was late for class.
- I apologize if I was rude. I didn’t mean it.
- I’m very sorry if I wasn’t clear enough.
I were
We use the phrase “If I were” when we want to talk about unreal or hypothetical situations (second conditional). We also use it when we are wishing for something. It’s called the subjunctive mood.
SECOND CONDITIONAL
- If I were rich, I would buy a house in Dubai.
- If I were you, I wouldn’t do that.
- I wouldn’t work every day if I weren’t a police officer.
- I would be more active if I were younger.
- If he were taller, he could play basketball.
NOTE: with he, she and it we can use was (instead of were) in informal speaking.
Example: If she was here, she’d know what to do.
WISH
- I wish I were able to run 20 km
- I wish I were a doctor.
- I wish I were 20 years old again.
- She wishes she were a top model.
- He wishes he were richer.
Second Conditional
We use the second conditional to talk about hypothetical or imaginary situations in the present or future.
In the if-clause we use simple past or past continuous.
In the other clause (consequence/result), we can use would, could or might.
Form: IF + SUBJECT + PAST SIMPLE, WOULD + INFINITIVE VERB
"IF I WON A FREE PLANE TICKET, I WOULD GO TO JAPAN"
-Negative: IF + SUBJECT + DIDN'T + INFINITIVE, WOULD(N'T) + INFINITIVE VERB
"IF I DIDN'T WORK SO MUCH, I WOULDN'T BE SO TIRED"
-Questions: IF + SUBJECT PAST SIMPLE, (QUESTION WORD) WOULD + SUBJECT + INFINITVE
"IF YOU COULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD YOU GO?"
For the verb be, we usually start our sentence with If + subject + were
For examples:
If I were rich, I’d buy a Ferrari
If he were/ was rich, he’d buy a Porsche.
When we want to give advice, we always use If I were …
Examples:
If I were you, I wouldn’t go there.
If I were you, I’d travel to Brazil instead of Australia.
Things to note!
-Past simple ALWAYS follows 'IF'
-You can change the order of the clauses e.g.
"I would go to Japan if I won a free plane ticket"
-'COULD' can replace 'WOULD' to make the situation less probable
First Conditional
Do these exercises: