Transitional Words to Connect Ideas
also
in addition
furthermore
moreover
likewise
similarly
hence
thus
for these reasons therefore
in view of the foregoing
so
on the other hand thereafter
however
so then
on the contrary
formerly
heretofore
so forth
contrariwise
Appendix 1: Irregular Verbs
VERB
PAST TENSE
PAST/PASSIVE
PARTICIPLE
VERB
PAST TENSE
PAST/PASSIVE
PARTICIPLE
arise
be
bear
beat
become
begin
bend
bet
arose
was, were
bore
beat
became
began
bent
bet
find
flee
fly
forbid
bound
bit
found
fled
flew
forbad (e)
/fə’bæd/
forgot
forgave
froze
got
found
fled
flown
forbidden
bind
bite
bleed
blow
break
breed
bring
broadcast
build
burn
bled
blew
broke
bred
brought
broadcast
built
burnt
burned
burst
bought
caught
chose
came
cost
crept
cut
dealt /delt/
dug
dived
dove (US)
did
drew
dreamt
/dremt/
dreamed
drank
drove
ate
fell
fed
felt
fought
arisen
been
borne
beaten
become
begun
bent
bet
betted
bound
bitten
bit
bled
blown
broken
bred
brought
broadcast
built
burnt
burned
burst
bought
caught
chosen
come
cost
crept
cut
dealt /delt/
dug
dived
burst
buy
catch
choose
come
cost
creep
cut
deal /di:l/
dig
dive
do
draw
dream
/dri:m/
drink
drive
eat /i:t/
fall
feed
feel
fight
done
drawm
dreamt
/dremt/
dreamed
drunk
driven
eaten
fallen
fed
felt
fought
forget
forgive
freeze
get
forgotten
forgiven
frozen
got
gotten (US)
give
gave
given
go
went
gone
grind
ground
ground
grow
grew
grown
hang
hung
hung
have
had
had
hear /hiə/
heard /hɜ:d/
heard/hɜ:d/
hide
hid
hidden
hit
hit
hit
hold
held
held
hurt
hurt
hurt
keep
kept
kept
kneel
knelt
knelt
know
knew
known
lay
laid
laid
lead
led
led
lean /li:n/
leant /lent/
leant /lent/
leaned
leaned
leap /li:p/
leapt /lept/
leapt /lept/
leaped
leaped
learn
learnet
learnt
learned
learned
leave
left
left
lend
lent
lent
let
let
let
lie
lay
lain
light
lit
lit
lighted
lighted
lose
lost
lost
make
made
made
mean /mi:n/ meant /ment/ meant
/ment/
meet
met
met
mow
mowed
mown
mowed
VERB
PAST TENSE
PAST/ PASSIVE
PARTICIPLE
pay
put
read /ri:d/
ride
ring
rise
run
say /seɪ/
see
seek
sell
send
set
sew
paid
put
read /red/
rode
rang
rose
ran
said /sed/
saw
sought
sold
sent
set
sewed
shake
shine
shoot
show
shook
shone
shot
showed
shrink
shrank
shrunk
shut
sang
sank
sat
slept
slid
smelt
smelled
spoke
speeded
spelt
spelled
spent
spilt
spilled
spun
spat
split
spoilt
spoiled
spread
sprang
paid
put
read /red/
ridden
rung
risen
run
said /sed/
seen
sought
sold
sent
set
sewn
sewed
shaken
shone
shot
shown
showed
shrunk
shut
sing
sink
sit
sleep
slide
smell
speak
spell
spend
spill
spin
spit
split
spoil
spread
spring
shut
sung
sunk
sat
slept
slid
smelt
smelled
spoken
speeded
spelt
spelled
spent
spilt
spilled
spun
spat
split
spoilt
spoiled
spread
sprung
VERB
PAST TENSE
PAST/PASSIVE
PARTICIPLE
stand
steal
stick
sting
stink
stood
stole
stuck
stung
stank
stunk
strode
struck
swore
swept
swam
swung
took
taught
tore
told
thought
threw
trod
understood
woke
waked
wore
wove
weaved
wept
won
wound
wrote
stood
stole
stuck
stung
stunk
stride
strike
swear
sweep
swim
swing
take
teach
tear
tell
think
throw
tread
understand
wake
wear
weave
weep
win
wind
write
stridden
struck
sworn
swept
swum
swung
taken
taught
torn
told
thought
thrown
trodden
understood
woken
waked
worn
woven
weaved
wept
won
wound
written
The verbs in this list are also irregular when
speed
sped
sped
they have a prefix, e.g. overtake-overtookovertaken, foretell-foretold-foretold.
A few verbs have irregular present simple
forms:
VERB
PAST TENSE
be
he/she/it is
do
go
have
say
I am; you/we/they are;
he/she/it does /dΛz/
he/she/it goes/gəυz/
he/she/it has
he/se/it says /sez/
GRAMMAR SUMMARY
1. PRESENT TENSES
Present Simple
Use
We use the Present Simple to talk about:
 activities that we repeat regularly
(routines, habits).
My mum and dad always watch my
documentaries.
 permanent situations and states.
I don’t like doing with groups.
 general truths.
An ethnographer studies different
races of people.
Common time adverbials with the Present
Simple: always, usually, regularly, every
morning, often, sometimes, twice a week, from
time to time occasionally, rarely, seldom, once
a month, hardly ever, never.
Present Continuous
Use
We use the Present Continuous to talk about:
 activities that are going on at the time
of speaking.
Right now she is probably giving a
lecture. (now, at this moment)
 activities that happen regularly but
only for a limited period of time
(temporary routines or habits).
I’m learning Chinese. (I’m having
lessons but not necessarily at the
actual time of speaking)
Common time adverbials with the Present
Continuous: just, now, at the moment, at
present, while.
Present Perfect
Use
We use the Present Perfect to talk about:
 past events and activities with results
or consequences in the present.
I’ve had some professional success.
(I’m now well-established in my field)
 a single or repeated action in the past,
when we don’t know or are not
interested in when it happened.
He’s lived with the Amazon Indians. (it
doesn’t matter when he lived there)
Common time adverbials with this use of the
Present Perfect: before, ever, never, often,
already / yet (already in statements, yet in
questions and negative sentences)
 things that started in the past and
continue up till now.
She’s been a traveller since her midtwenties.
Common time adverbials with this use of the
Present Perfect: always, all my life, since, for.
Since/for
Since tells us about a point in time when the
activity began:
We’ve been best friends since we were kids.
For tells us about the period of time that the
activity has taken:
We’ve been best friends for years.
2. STATE AND ACTIVITY VERBS
In English, verbs can be divided into two
groups: activity verbs and stat verbs. Activity
verbs describe activities and can be used in
simple and continuous tenses. State verbs
describe stated and are not usually used in
continuous tenses. Here are the most common
stat verbs:
Verbs related to activities of the mind: admit,
agree, believe, know, mean, prefer, realise,
remember, think, understand, want
Verbs related to emotions: adore, care, like,
dislike, love, hate, hope
Having and being: appear, be belong, contain,
have, include, need, seem, possess, own
Verbs related to senses: feel, hear, look, see,
smell, sound, taste.
Some state verbs can also refer to an activity.
In this meaning they can be used in a
continuous tense:
We have a second-hand car. (have = possess >
state)
She is having some tea. (have = drink >
activity)
I think it’s a great idea. (think = believer >
state)
I’m thinking about my exam. (think = consider
> activity)
I feel I can’t go through with it. (feel = believer
> state)
How are you feeling ? (feel = experience >
activity)
Verbs related to senses are followed by
adjectives, not adverbs: The roses look and
smell beautiful.
3. would and used to
We use would and used to to talk about things
that happened regularly in the past but no
longer happen now.
She used to have more friends than anyone
else I’ve known.
They would walk around with one trouser leg
shorter than the other.
We use would only to talk about activities, and
used to to talk about activities and states.
We would/used to go mushroom-picking in
autumn.
My little sister used to be very shy.
4. PAST PERFECT
Use
We use the Past Perfect to talk about an event
or situation in the past which happened before
other past events.
The police arrested the man who had broken
into a jeweller’s shop.
We use the Past Perfect and the Past Simple in
one sentence, to show the order of past events.
Compare the following sentences:
When I arrived, she left. (I arrived and then she
left)
When I arrived, she had left. (She left before I
arrived)
Form
The Past Perfect is formed in this way:
Subject + had + the third form of the verb
I had met him before.
Had Tom begun his project before anyone else
did?
They hadn’t moved their house earlier.
5. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
Use
We use the Present Perfect Continuous to talk
about:
 a repeated or continuous activity that
started in the past and hasn’t been
finished.
I’ve been going everywhere by bike in
the last two months.
 an activity from the recent past which
has consequences in the present.
He’s been doing his science project all
night. (That’s why he’s so sleepy now)
Form
The Present Perfect Continuous is formed in
this way:
Subject + have/has + been + -ing
You’ve been studying very hard.
Has Steve been complaining about it?
We haven’t been waiting for you long.
6. PRESENT PERFECT AND PRESENT
PERFECT CONTINUOUS
We use the Present Perfect to talk about a
finished activity (achievement) and the Present
Perfect Continuous to talk about an unfinished
activity.
I’ve read Hamlet. (I’ve finished reading it)
I’ve been reading Hamlet. (I haven’t finished
reading it)
We use the Present Perfect to focus on a result
of an activity, especially when we give a
number or quantity. We use the Present
Perfect Continuous to focus on the activity
itself, especially to explain visible
consequences of it.
He’s run three miles. (focus on the result: he’s
covered the distance of three miles)
He’s been running for an hour. (focus on the
activity and its consequences: this is what he’s
been doing for the last hour and why he is
exhausted now)
7. THE PASSIVE
Use
We use the Passive when:
 we don’t know or care who the ‘doer’
of the action is/was.
The press conference will be held in
the hotel lobby.
 When the ‘doer’ is obvious.
The ceremony was reported in the
news last night.
 When the action itself is more
important than who does/did it.
Hundreds of people are attacked in
the streets every day.
Sometimes we also use the Passive to put
more emphasis on the ‘doer’ of the action. We
add ‘by + noun’ at the end of the sentence to
say who the ‘doer’ is/was.
Manchester United were beaten by AC Milan.
Form
Present Simple
Active Someone regularly steals cars in the
area.
Passive Cars are regularly stolen in this area.
Past Simple
Active He submitted the report last Monday.
Passive The report was submitted last Monday.
Present Continuous
Active They are writing the book now.
Passive The book is being written now.
Past Continuous
Active They were renovating the buildings
when I was there last.
Passive The buildings were being renovated
when I was there last.
Present Perfect
Active They have offered me a new position.
Passive I have been offered a new position.
Past Perfect
Active She had booked the hotel before.
Passive The hotel had been booked before.
will
Active I will give her the money.
Passive She will be given the money.
can
Active Someone can easily do it.
Passive It can easily be done.
Be going to
Active They are going to cancel the trip.
Passive The trip is going to be cancelled.
We use will + infinitive without to:
 to express a sudden decision made at
the moment of speaking –OK, I’ll help
you.
 to express an intention or promise –
I’ll bring the book back tonight.
 to express a prediction based on
opinions or beliefs – I think she will
win the competition.
 to make a request or an offer – Will
you hold this bag for me?
8. to have / get something done
We use may/might + infinitive without to to
express an uncertain prediction – They may not
be very happy about our visit.
Use
We use the structure have/get something done
when we want to say that we ask someone
else to do something for us. Compare the
sentences:
I fixed the washing machine. (I did it myself)
I had my washing machine fixed. (I asked
someone to fix it for me)
Form
Tense
Present Simple
Past Simple
Present
Continuous
Past
Continuous
Present Perfect
Past Perfect
will
must
be going to
have/get something done
I have/get my hair cut.
I had/got my hair cut.
I’m having/getting my hair
cut.
I was having/getting my hair
cut.
I’ve had my hair cut.
I had had my hair cut.
I will have/get my hair cut.
I must have/get my hair cut.
I’m going to have/get my
hair cut.
9. THE FUTURE
In English we don’t have one future tense. We
use several forms to talk about different ideas
about the future.
We use be going to + infinitive without to:
 to express an intention – I’m going to
study law.
 to express a prediction based on
something we can observe now – It’s
going to rain.
We us the Present Continuous to talk about
future events we have arranged – I’m going out
with Mark tonight.
We use the Present Simple to talk about future
events that we cannot change – My train
leaves in two hours.
10. MODALS FOR SPECULATION
We use the following modal verbs to speculate
about the present and the past:
must – to express a strong conviction that
something is/was true
may/might/could – to express a possibility
that something is/was true
may not/might not – to express a possibility
that something is/was not true
can’t – to express a strong conviction that
something is/was not true
We use:
 modal + infinitive with out to to
speculate about unlimited present
time.
He must work very hard. (= I’m sure he
generally works very hard)
They can’t have a lot of money. (= I
don’t think they generally have a lot of
money)
 modal + be + -ing to speculate about
something happening at the moment.
They may not be having fun. (= I don’t
think they are having fun)
She could be thinking about her test.

(= It’s probable that she’s thinking
about her test now)
modal + have + the third form of the
verb to speculate about the past.
They might have got lost. (Perhaps
they got lost)
Emma must have been very upset. (=
I’m sure she was upset)
11. CONDITIONAL REVIEW
Zero Conditional
The Zero Conditional is formed in this way:
If + Present Simple, Present Simple
We use the Aero Conditional to describe rules
and situations where one event always follows
the other. In these sentences if = when.
If you want to study in the USA, you have to
pass an exam in English.
First Conditional
The First Conditional is formed in this way:
If + Present Simple, will + infinitive without to
We use the First Conditional to talk about
possible future events that depend on other
future events.
If I pass my exams, I’ll go on a long holiday.
Other possible patterns in the First Conditional:
If + Present Simple, can/may + infinitive
without to
If we save enough money, we can go on
holiday.
If + Present Simple, imperative
If he turns up, tell him to give me a ring.
unless
In First and Zero Conditionals we sometimes
use the conjunction unless + Present Simple:
You don’t get fit unless you exercise regularly.
(= you don’t get fit if you don’t exercise
regularly)
She won’t do well at English unless she studies
harder. (= she won’t do well at English if she
doesn’t study harder)
Note that after unless we cannot use a
negative verb.
Second Conditional
The Second Conditional is formed in this way:
If + Past Simple, would/could/might + infinitive
without to
We use the Second Conditional:
 to talk about imagined, impossible or
unlikely events in the future.
If I had enough money. I would love to
do something like that. (the condition
is unlikely and the sentence refers to
the future)

to talk about impossible present
her test now)
situations.
If they were older, they could go there
on their own. (the situation is
impossible to fulfil now ant the
sentence refers to the present)
12. THIRD CONDITIONAL
The Third Conditional is formed in this way:
If + Past Perfect, would/could/might + perfect
infinitive
We use the Third Conditional to talk about
unreal situations in the past and to imagine
things that did not happen.
If I had got a good job, I would have saved
more money. (But I didn’t get a good job and
didn’t save much money)
13. wish and should have
wish
We use wish to express regrets:
 Wish + past tenses expresses regrets
about the present.
I wish I had more free time. = I’d like
to have more free time at present.
 Wish + Past Perfect expresses regrets
about the past.
I wish we had gone rock climbing last
weekend. = I regret we didn’t go rock
climbing last weekend.
should
 We use should(n’t) + infinitive without
to to suggest changes in the present.
The classes should be smaller.
 We use should(n’t) + perfect infinitive
to express regrets about the past.
I shouldn’t have gone to that school.
14. REPORTED REQUESTS AND
ORDERS
When we report a request or command, we
often use the pattern ask/tell/order someone
+ infinitive:
The teacher asked the students to close their
books.
When the request or command is negative, we
use the pattern
ask/tell/order someone not + infinitive:
The doctor told them not to worry.
15. REPORTED STATEMENTS
Use
When we report what someone has said, we
change the pronouns.
‘I understand you,’ said Ann. > Ann said (that)
she understood him.
‘You wanted to help us.’ said Tim. > He said
(that) she had wanted to help them.
When we report what someone said in the
past, we have to change the tense in the
Reported Speech. See the table below for
these changes.
Form
Original tense and
message
Present Simple:
I need it.
Present Continuous:
He’s sleeping.
Present Perfect:
She’s gone out.
Present Perfect
Continuous:
It’s been working OK.
Past Simple:
We won.
Past Continuous:
He was snoring.
Will: I’ll do it.
be going to:
She’s going to be late.
First Conditional:
We’ll go there if you
want us to.
Reported Speech
Past Simple:
He said he needed it.
Past Continuous:
They said he was
sleeping.
Past Perfect:
He said that she had
gone out.
Past Perfect
Continuous:
He said it had been
working OK.
Past Perfect:
She said they had
won.
Past Perfect
Continuous:
She said he had been
snoring.
Would: She said she
would do it.
Was/were going to:
He said she was going
to be later.
Second Conditional:
They said they would
go there if he wanted
them to.
Note that the Past Perfect, and the Second and
Third Conditionals don’t change in the
Reported Speech.
We usually change time and place expressions
in the Reported Speech:
now > then, at that time; at the moment > at
that moment; today > on that day; yesterday >
the day before; last week > the week
before/the previous week; tomorrow > the next
day/the following day; here > there
16. REPORTED QUESTIONS
In reported questions we use ask, want to
know + when, where, how, what, etc. We use
the same word order as in statements:
Where do you come from? > She asked me
where I came from.
If there is no question word, we add if or
whether.
Do you speak French? > He wanted to know
If/whether I spoke French.
17. VERBS FOLLOWED BY –ing Form or
infinitive
Here are examples of verbs that are followed
by –ing form (also called gerund) or an
infinitive:
Verbs + -ing form: adore, avoid, consider, enjoy,
finish, hate like, love, don’t mind, prefer, risk,
can’t stand, suggest
I avoid getting stuck in traffic jams by taking
back routes.
Note that love, like and hate can also be
followed by an infinitive.
Verbs + infinitive: afford, agree, choose, decide,
expect, help, learn, manage, need offer, plan,
promise, refuse, want, would like/love/prefer
We agreed to discuss the problem in private.