Tenses

1. Present tenses

1.1 Present Simple

FORM

The present simple is formed with the infinitive of the main verb. The negative and interrogative are formed with the present tense of the verb to do + infinitive.

Examples

I start work at 8.30 a.m.

When do I start work?

I don’t start work until 9.00 a..m. / He doesn’t start work until 9.00 a..m.

( Remember the -s in the third person singular.)

USE

1. For habitual and repeated actions.
	I play tennis.
2. With adverbs of frequency: often – usually – sometimes – seldom – rarely – always – occasionally – never
	He often arrives late.
3. Certain verbs are usually only used in the (present) simple form.
	verbs of the senses: see- hear- smell – notice – recognize verbs of emotion: want – desire – refuse – forgive – wish – care – love – hate – like – dislike verbs of thinking: think – feel – realize – understand – know – mean – suppose – believe – expect – remember – forget
4. For something that is permanently true.
	Water boils at 100 °C.

time diagram

I get up at 8.30 a.m. every day.

PAST NOW FUTURE

1.2 Present Continuous

FORM

This tense is formed with the present tense of the verb to be + present participle of the main verb.

I’m watching television.

What are you doing?

He isn’t coming.

USE

1. For actions happening at the moment of speaking.	She’s reading the newspaper.
2. For a temporary state.	The company is reorganizing its services.
3. For a definite arrangement in the near future.	They’re signing the contract tomorrow.

Some verbs are not usually used in the continuous form:

1. verbs of senses	see – hear – smell – notice - recognize
2. verbs of emotion	want – desire – refuse – forgive – wish – care – love – hate – like - dislike
3. verbs of thinking	think – feel – realize – understand – know – mean – suppose – believe – expect – remember - forget
4. verbs of possessing	own – owe – belong - possess
5. some other verbs	seem – appear (seem) – contain – consist – keep (continue) - matter

time diagram

PAST NOW FUTURE

I’m adjusting the rotation speed.

1.3 Present Perfect Simple

FORM

This tense is formed with the present tense of the verb to have + past participle of the main verb.

I’ve finished.

Where have you been?

I haven’t talked to him.

USE

We use this tense to connect past and present. We use to talk about

1. Actions in the recent past with ‘just, recently, already, at last, lately’
	He has just immersed the temperature probe into the molten steel.
2. General experience with ‘ever – never – before – so far’
	This is the highest carbon ratio I’ve ever seen.
3. The indefinite past: we are interested in what happened, not in when it happened.
	I ‘ve seen the report. (I know what it is about.) He has sold the company. They ‘ve had lunch.
4. Actions starting in the past and continuing to the present, with ‘for’ or ‘since”.
	The operation has been suspended for two months. The firm has had a Belgian branch since October last year.

time diagrams

I’ve just arrived.

PAST NOW FUTURE

Have you been to France?

PAST NOW FUTURE

They have revised their report.

PAST NOW FUTURE

We have conducted experiments on this phenomenon for almost twenty years.

PAST NOW FUTURE

1.4 Present Perfect Continuous

FORM

This tense is formed with the present perfect of the verb to be + present participle of the main verb.

I ‘ve been writing code for our new data-mining program.

Has she been trying to contact me?

She hasn’t been writing at all.

USE

We use this tense for actions started in the past, continuing to the present and probably continuing into the future. We often use it with “for” or “since”.

I’ ve been trying to persuade him for ten years now.

We ‘ve been practicingthis routine since last Wednesday.

time diagram

	I’ve been driving for twenty years.
1982 2002 PAST NOW FUTURE

	I’ve driven a Volkswagen for twenty years.
1982 2002 PAST NOW FUTURE

In the first example, we express a strong possibility that the action will continue into the future. In the second example, we are only interested in the past twenty years.

2. Past tenses

2.1 Past Simple

FORM

This tense is formed by adding -ed to the infinitive. The negative and interrogative are formed with the past tense of the verb to do + infinitive of the main verb.

They arrived at head quarters an hour ago.

When did he finalize this deal?

I didn’t finish until 12 o’clock.

USE

We use this tense:

1. For actions completed at a definite time in the past.
	We signed the contract last Friday at 2 o’clock.
2. For actions which are already completed in the past: the time is understood but not stated.
	Did you arrive in time?
3. The ‘unreal past tense’ is used after the verb ‘to wish’ and after words and phrases such as ‘if only; it’s time; suppose’ etc. The simple past tense implies that the speaker knows that the wish or the idea is impossible. Note that the wish refers to the present time.
	If I only knew his name. I wish I were at home now. If I were in his shoes, I would fix his wagon without much scruples. It’s time I went home.

time diagram

I arrived at 15.30 sharp.

PAST NOW FUTURE

2.2 Past Continuous

FORM

This tense is formed with the past tense of the verb to be + present participle of the main verb.

I was watching TV at 8 o’clock yesterday.

Where were you looking for my gasses this time?

I wasn’t eavesdropping at all!

USE

We use this tense:

1. To emphasize the continuity of the past action.
	She was playing tennis with a friend. He was discussing production planning for the coming week.
2. To describe an action in progress at a certain time in the past.
	At 6 p.m. I was still sleeping. At a quarter past nine I was having breakfast. Prices were going up all the time.
3. To describe an interrupted past action.
	When he arrived, I was studying the quarterly reports.
4. To express repeated past actions which caused irritation, annoyance. ( with always, forever)
	He was always trying to influence the presonnel director. She was forever paring her nails during meetings.

time diagram

1. I was working all day yesterday.

PAST yesterday NOW FUTURE

2. I worked all day yesterday.

PAST yesterday NOW FUTURE

While (1) emphasizes the continuity of the action, (2) only indicates that the action took place yesterday.

3. I was watching television at 8.30 last night.

PAST 8.30 NOW FUTURE

4. I watched television at 8.30 last night.

PAST 8.30 NOW FUTURE

Whereas 3. indicates that the action started before and continued after a certain point in time, 4.. indicates that the action happened at 8.30.

4. I was browsing through your report

when he knocked at my office door.

2.3 Past Perfect Simple

FORM

This tense is formed with the past tense of the verb to have + past participle of the main verb.

I had never seen so many measuring tools.

What assistance had he given?

He hadn’t expected this outcome.

USE

We use this tense to describe one past action happening before another past action.
	The customer had left the shop by the time I found his order form.
We use it when necessary to indicate the sequence of two actions.
	He had already cleared the screen when I got behind his desk.
We often us it when the second action is understood, but not stated.
	I hadn’t realized! (until you told me.)

time diagram

(1) When I had had dinner, I watched television.

had watched PAST dinner television NOW FUTURE

(2) I had dinnner before I watched television.

had watched PAST dinner television NOW FUTURE

In (1) the sequence of actions is expressed by the past perfect tense; whereas in (2) the sequence of actions is indicated by the use of before.

2.4 Past Perfect Continuous

FORM

This tense is formed with the past perfect tense of the verb to be + present participle of the main verb.

She had been working as a secretary for two years when she was promoted.

What had she been writing all day?

He hadn’t been listening to that tape for that long.

USE

We use this tense to describe a continuous past action happening before another past action. We often use it with for + time period.
	We had been waiting for thirty minutes when they arrived.
We use this tense to emphasize the continuity or duration of the past action.
	I had been waiting for my exam results for six weeks. (before I got them.)

time diagram

(1) I had been waiting for ten minutes when she arrived.

PAST ten minutes NOW FUTURE

(1) I waited for ten minutes before she arrived.

PAST I waited she arrived NOW FUTURE

Whereas in (1) the past perfect continuous indicates both the sequence of the actions and the continuity of the first action; in (2) the sequence of the actions is indicated by before.

3. Future tenses

3.1 Future Simple (with will)

FORM

This tense is formed with will + infinitive of the main verb.

I’ll see you later

When will you be there?

They won’t like in.

USE

We use this tensze to express a pure future. Actions expressed in the simple future are bound to happen because of the course of time. This means that the speaker has no power over the events, that he cannot control what will happen. For this reason this tense is also called the uncertain future.

He will be sixteen years old next Friday.

The baby will be born next month.

1. We often use this tense with particular verbs; such as think – know – believe – suppose – expect – hope to express beleifs, convictions, hope, expectationn, knowledge and opinions about the future.
	I think Brazil will win. I don’t suppose she will be promoted now.
2. We often use it with particular adverbs such as: probably – possibly –perhaps to express uncertainty about the future.
	He will probably ask the general manager. This matter will probably not be raised before the commission’s first meeting.
3. The simple present is used in conditional clauses and time clauses. The simple future is used in the main clause (not in the if-clause).
	He ‘ll help you if you ask him. I ‘ll tell him the news as soon as I see him. He ‘ll be arrested the moment he sets foot on Schengen soil.

3.2 Future with going to

FORM

This tense is formed with the present tense of the verb to be + going to + infinitive of the main verb.

I’ m going to watch this football match on TV tonight.

What are you going to do about this ?

She isn’t going to give this party next week.

USE

We use this tense to talk about present intentions and plans for future actions.
	I ‘m going to pass my exams next month. I ‘m going to spend two weeks in Spain this summer.
We also use going to in order to express subjective certainty on the part of the speaker.
	This boat is going to sink. It’s going to rain, by the look of it.

3.3 Future with Present Continuous

FORM

This tense is formed with the present tense of the verb to be+ present participle of the main verb.

She is getting married next Friday.

What are you doing next weekend?

They’re not coming home tonight.

USE

We use this tense to indicate definite future arrangements, actions planned in the near future. We nearly alwys use a future time expression with it.
	He ‘s starting his new job next Monday. I’ m taking the 11 o’clock train to Berlin.

Note: do not confuse intention ( to be + going to + verb) and arrangement (to be + present participle).
	I’m going to stay in London. = intention I’m going to London next weekend = arrangement

3.4 Future with Present Simple

FORM

This tense is formed with the infinitive of the main verb. The negative and interrogative are formed with the present tense of to do + infinitive.

The plane takes off at 7.30 local time.

The match begins at 14.00 hours.

You leave from Kennedy airport at noon, and arrive in Paris at 15.00 hours GMT.

USE

We use this tense to talk about planned future actions. We usually use it to describe travel plans, time tables, departures, arrivals.
	The bus leaves at 15.30. The reception starts at 19.00 hours. The ferry leaves Dover at 12.30 tomorrow and we arrive at Calais at 13.15.

3.5 Future Continuous

FORM

This tense is formed with the future simple of to be + present participle of the main verb.

We’ ll be flying to Rome this time next week.

What will you be doing this time next week?

They won’t be sitting in the classroom at 6 o’clock tomorrow.

USE

We use this tense for actions that will be in progress at a certain time in the future.
	At 11.45 next Friday, I ‘ ll be doing my chemistry exam. I’ ll be hiking through the States this time next year.

time diagram

	This time next week, I’ll be taking my driving test.
PAST NOW next week FUTURE

The future continuous is also used to express long-term arrangements, especially for travelling.
	The band will be travelling through Scandinavia at the end of the month. They will be giving three performances there.
The future continuous is also used to ask very polite questions about future activities. By using the future continuous tense, the speaker asking the questions shows that he does not want to influence the other person’s decision in any way at all.
	Where will you be having dinner, Sir? (secretary to boss) What will you be having, Madam? (waiter to customer)
The future continuous is also used to make deductions about what is happening at the moment of speaking.
	He will be working in his garden now. Otherwise, he would have heard the phone. She hasn’t begun making up the beds. She will still be doing the washing up.

3.6 Future Perfect Simple

FORM

This tense is formed with will + have + past participle of the main verb.

They ‘ll have finalized their business by noon.

Will they have copied all that material by Friday morning?

They won’t have organized this course by the end of this year.

USE

We use this tense to describe actions which we know will (or will not) be completed by a certain time in the future.
	I ‘ll have finished this book by the end of the week.

time diagram

	By the end of next week, I’ll have finished my exams.
PAST NOW end of next week FUTURE

3.7 Future Perfect Continuous

FORM

This tense is formed with the future perfect tense of to be + present participle of rthe main verb.

By the end of this year, we ‘ll have been experimenting with this for more than three months.

How long will you have been living there by the end of this year?

I won’t have been living living here for five years till the end of this year.

USE

We use this tense to describe continuous and repeated actions which begin befor a certain time in the future and will probably continue after that time.
	By the end of the next academic year, I’ll have been teaching for 26 years.

time diagram

By the end of the next academic year, I’ll have been teaching for 26 years

PAST 26 years NOW FUTURE end of next academic year

Passive Sentence

Passive Sentence

Terms : to be + past participle

To form the passive, take the following steps...

1. Take the object of the active verb and make it the subject of the passive verb (In the examples below, the object of the active verb is "my clothes").
2. Add the verb b to be in the same tense as the verb in the active sentence.
* Add the past participle of the active verb.
3. If the subject of the active verb has to be expressed (see functions below), it is usually introduced with by.

Present simple
Active: My mother washes my clothes
Passive: My clothes are washed by my mother.

Present continuous
Active: My mother is washing my clothes
Passive: My clothes are being washed by my mother.

Present perfect
Active: My mother has washed my clothes
Passive: My clothes have been washed by my mother.

Past simple
Active: My mother washed my clothes
Passive: My clothes were washed by my mother.

Past continuous
Active: My mother was washing my clothes
Passive: My clothes were being washed by my mother.

Past perfect
Active: My mother had washed my clothes
Passive: My clothes had been washed by my mother.

Future "will"
Active: My mother will wash my clothes
Passive: My clothes will be washed by my mother.

Future "going to"
Active: My mother is going to wash my clothes
Passive: My clothes are going to be washed by my mother.

Future continuous
Active: My mother will be washing my clothes
Passive: My clothes will be being washed by my mother.

Future perfect
Active: My mother will have washed my clothes
Passive: My clothes will have been washed by my mother.

Modal verbs
Active: My mother might wash my clothes
Passive: My clothes might be washed by my mother.

Active: My mother can wash my clothes
Passive: My clothes can be washed by my mother.

Active: My mother must wash my clothes
Passive: My clothes must be washed by my mother.

Functions and examples

We use the passive when who or what causes the action is not important or is not known, or when we want to focus on the action.

The rubbish is taken out every day.
(We don't know who takes the rubbish out, or maybe it's not important)

The Great Wall of China was built thousands of years ago.
(It's not important exactly who built it, we want to focus on the action of building)

The money has been stolen.
(We don't know who stole it, and we want to emphasise the action of stealing)

My windows are cleaned once a month.
(It's not important who cleans them. The action of cleaning is more important)

Important points

1. If there are two objects in the active sentence, two passive sentences are possible.

Active: They gave me 500 dollars to do the work.
Passive: I was given 50 dollars to do the work or 500 dollars was given to me to do the work.


2. Get is often used instead of be in informal spoken English.
I got offered the promotion.

The table got damaged in the fire.
I got asked to present the award.


3. The subject of the active verb (sometimes called the agent) is not usually expressed in passive sentences, because it is unknown or unimportant. However, if it is used, it is usually preceded with by.

The painting was done by Picasso.


4. When we talk about a tool used by an agent, it can be preceded by with.
The painting was done with oils on canvas

Narrative Text

Narrative Text

Purpose

The basic purpose of narrative is to entertain, to gain and hold a readers' interest. However narratives can also be written to teach or inform, to change attitudes / social opinions eg soap operas and television dramas that are used to raise topical issues. Narratives sequence people/characters in time and place but differ from recounts in that through the sequencing, the stories set up one or more problems, which must eventually find a way to be resolved.

Types of Narrative

There are many types of narrative. They can be imaginary, factual or a combination of both. They may include fairy stories, mysteries, science fiction, romances, horror stories, adventure stories, fables, myths and legends, historical narratives, ballads, slice of life, personal experience.

Features

• Characters with defined personalities/identities.
• Dialogue often included - tense may change to the present or the future.
• Descriptive language to create images in the reader's mind and enhance the story.

Structure

In a Traditional Narrative the focus of the text is on a series of actions:

Orientation: (introduction) in which the characters, setting and time of the story are established. Usually answers who? when? where? eg. Mr Wolf went out hunting in the forest one dark gloomy night.

Complication or problem: The complication usually involves the main character(s) (often mirroring the complications in real life).

Resolution: There needs to be a resolution of the complication. The complication may be resolved for better or worse/happily or unhappily. Sometimes there are a number of complications that have to be resolved. These add and sustain interest and suspense for the reader.

To help students plan for writing of narratives, model, focusing on:

• Plot: What is going to happen?
• Setting: Where will the story take place? When will the story take place?
• Characterisation: Who are the main characters? What do they look like?
• Structure: How will the story begin? What will be the problem? How is the problem going to be resolved?
• Theme: What is the theme / message the writer is attempting to communicate?

Language

• Action verbs: Action verbs provide interest to the writing. For example, instead of The old woman was in his way try The old woman barred his path. Instead of She laughed try She cackled.
• Written in the first person (I, we) or the third person (he, she, they).
• Usually past tense.
• Connectives,linking words to do with time.
• Specific nouns: Strong nouns have more specific meanings, eg. oak as opposed to tree.
• Active nouns: Make nouns actually do something, eg. It was raining could become Rain splashed down or There was a large cabinet in the lounge could become A large cabinet seemed to fill the lounge.
• Careful use of adjectives and adverbs: Writing needs judicious use of adjectives and adverbs to bring it alive, qualify the action and provide description and information for the reader.
• Use of the senses: Where appropriate, the senses can be used to describe and develop the experiences, setting and character:
• What does it smell like?
• What can be heard?
• What can be seen - details?
• What does it taste like?
• What does it feel like?
• Imagery
• Simile: A direct comparison, using like or as or as though, eg. The sea looked as rumpled as a blue quilted dressing gown. Or The wind wrapped me up like a cloak.
• Metaphor: An indirect or hidden comparison, eg. She has a heart of stone or He is a stubborn mule or The man barked out the instructions.
• Onomatopoeia: A suggestion of sound through words, eg. crackle, splat, ooze, squish, boom, eg. The tyres whir on the road. The pitter-patter of soft rain. The mud oozed and squished through my toes.
• Personification: Giving nonliving things (inanimate) living characteristics, eg. The steel beam clenched its muscles. Clouds limped across the sky. The pebbles on the path were grey with grief.
• Rhetorical Questions: Often the author asks the audience questions, knowing of course there will be no direct answer. This is a way of involving the reader in the story at the outset, eg. Have you ever built a tree hut?
• Variety in sentence beginnings. There are a several ways to do this eg by using:
• Participles: "Jumping with joy I ran home to tell mum my good news."
• Adverbs: "Silently the cat crept toward the bird"
• Adjectives: "Brilliant sunlight shone through the window"
• Nouns: "Thunder claps filled the air"
• Adverbial Phrases: "Along the street walked the girl as if she had not a care in the world."
• Conversations/Dialogue: these may be used as an opener. This may be done through a series of short or one-word sentences or as one long complex sentence.
• Show, Don't Tell: Students have heard the rule "show, don't tell" but this principle is often difficult for some writers to master.
• Personal Voice: It may be described as writing which is honest and convincing. The author is able to 'put the reader there'. The writer invests something of him/her self in the writing. The writing makes an impact on the reader. It reaches out and touches the reader. A connection is made.

Gerunds in English

Gerunds in English

In English, the gerund is identical in form to the present participle (ending in -ing) and can behave as a verb within a clause (so that it may be modified by an adverb or have an object), but the clause as a whole (sometimes consisting of only one word, the gerund itself) acts as a noun within the larger sentence. For example: Editing this article is easy.

In "Editing this article" (although this is traditionally known as a phrase, it is referred to as a non-finite clause in modern linguistics), the word "Editing" behaves as a verb; the phrase "this article" is the object of that verb. "Editing this article" acts as a noun phrase within the sentence as a whole, though; it is the subject of the verb "is."

Other examples of the gerund:

• I like swimming. (direct object)
• Swimming is fun. (subject)

Verb patterns with the gerund

Verbs that are often followed by a gerund include admit, adore, anticipate, appreciate, avoid, carry on, consider, contemplate, delay, deny, describe, detest, dislike, enjoy, escape, fancy, feel, finish, give, hear, imagine, include, justify, listen to, mention, mind, miss, notice, observe, perceive, postpone, practice, quit, recall, report, resent, resume, risk, see, sense, sleep, stop, suggest, tolerate and watch. Additionally, prepositions are often followed by a gerund.

For example:

• I quit smoking.
• We postponed making any decision.
• After two years of deciding, we finally made a decision.
• We heard whispering.
• They denied having avoided me.
• He talked me into coming to the party.
• They frightened her out of voicing her opinion.
• Kong is fighting for his love to JieJie.

Verbs followed by a gerund or a to-infinitive

With little change in meaning

begin, continue, start; hate, like, love, prefer

With would, the verbs hate, like, love, and prefer are usually followed by the to-infinitive.

• I would like to work there. (more usual than working)

In these examples, if the subject of the verb is not the subject of the second verb, the second verb must be a gerund (instead of an infinitive).

If one is watching sports on television, for example, one can react to the programs only as follows:

• I hate boxing.
• I love swimming.
• I enjoy golfing.

With a change in meaning

dread and hate:

These two verbs are followed by a to-infinitive when talking subjunctively (usually when using to think), but by a gerund when talking about general dislikes.

• I dread / hate to think what she will do.
• I dread / hate seeing him.

forget and remember:

When these have meanings that are used to talk about the future from the given time, the to-infinitive is used, but when looking back in time, the gerund.

• She forgot to tell me our plans. (She did not tell me, although she should have.)
• She forgot telling me our plans. (She told me, but then forgot having done so.)
• I remembered to go to work. (I remembered that I needed to go to work, and so I did.)
• I remembered going to work. (I remembered that I had gone to work.)

cannot bear:

• I cannot bear to see you suffer like this. (You are suffering now.)
• I cannot bear being pushed around in crowds. (I never like that.)

go on:

• After winning the semi-finals, he went on to play in the finals. (He completed the semi-finals and later played in the finals.)
• He went on giggling, not having noticed the teacher enter. (He continued doing so.)

mean:

• I did not mean to scare you off. (I did not intend to scare you off.)
• Taking a new job in the city meant leaving behind her familiar surroundings. (If she took the job, she would have to leave behind her familiar surroundings.)

advise, recommend and forbid:

These are followed by a to-infinitive when there is an object as well, but by a gerund otherwise.

• The police advised us not to enter the building, for a murder had occurred. (Us is the object of advised.)
• The police advised against our entering the building. (Our is used for the gerund entering.)

consider, contemplate and recommend:

These verbs are followed by a to-infinitive only in the passive or with an object pronoun.

• People consider her to be the best. – She is considered to be the best.
• I am considering sleeping over, if you do not mind.

regret:

• We regret to inform you that you have failed your exam. (polite or formal form of apology)
• I very much regret saying what I said. (I wish that I had not said that.)

try:

When a to-infinitive is used, the subject is shown to make an effort at something, attempt or endeavor to do something. If a gerund is used, the subject is shown to attempt to do something in testing to see what might happen.

• Please try to remember to post my letter.
• I have tried being stern, but to no avail.

Gerunds preceded by a genitive

Because of its noun properties, the genitive (possessive case) is preferred for a noun or pronoun preceding a gerund.

• We enjoyed their [genitive] singing.

This usage is preferred in formal writing. The objective case is often used in place of the possessive, especially in casual situations:

• I do not see it making any difference.

In some cases, either the possessive or the objective case may be logical:

• The teacher's shouting startled the student. (Shouting is a gerund, and teacher's is a possessive pronoun. The shouting is the subject of the sentence.)
• The teacher shouting startled the student. (Shouting is a participle describing the teacher. This sentence means The teacher who was shouting startled the student. In this sentence, the subject is the teacher herself.)

Either of these sentences could mean that the student was startled because the teacher was shouting.

Using the objective case can be awkward if the gerund is singular but the other noun is plural. It can look like a problem with subject-verb agreement:

• The politicians' debating was interesting.

One might decide to make to be plural so that debating can be a participle.

• The politicians debating were interesting.

Gerunds and present participles

Insofar as there is a distinction between gerunds and present participles, it is generally fairly clear which is which; a gerund-participle that is the subject or object of a preposition is a gerund if it refers to the performance of an action (but present participles may be used substantively to refer to the performer of an action), while one that modifies a noun attributively or absolutely is a participle. The main source of potential ambiguity is when a gerund-participle follows a verb; in this case, it may be seen either as a predicate adjective (in which case it is a participle), or as a direct object or predicate nominative (in either of which cases it is a gerund). In this case, a few transformations can help distinguish them. In the table that follows, ungrammatical sentences are marked with asterisks, per common linguistic practice; it should be noted that the transformations all produce grammatical sentences with similar meanings when applied to sentences with gerunds but either ungrammatical sentences, or sentences with completely different meanings, when applied to sentences with participles.

Transformation	Gerund use	Participle use
(none)	John suggested asking Bill.	John kept asking Bill.
Passivization	Asking Bill was suggested.	*Asking Bill was kept.
Pronominal substitution	John suggested it.	*John kept it.
Use as a noun	John suggested the asking of Bill.	*John kept the asking of Bill.
Replacement with a finite clause	John suggested that Bill be asked.	*John kept that Bill be asked.
Use with an objective or possessive subject	John suggested our asking Bill.	*John kept his asking Bill.
Clefting	Asking Bill is what John suggested.	*Asking Bill is what John kept.
Left dislocation	Asking Bill John suggested.	*Asking Bill John kept.

Descriptive text

Descriptive text

A descriptive text is a text which lists the characteristics of something. Take an example, the following is one of the text belongs to the descriptive text.

We get the purpose from the text above that description is used in all forms of writing to create a vivid impression of a person, place, object or event e.g. to: ·

• Describe a special place and explain why it is special.
• Describe the most important person in your live.
• Describe the animal’s habit in your report.

Descriptive writing or text is usually also used to help writer develop an aspect of their work, e.g. to create a particular mood, atmosphere or describe a place so that the reader can create vivid pictures of characters, places, objects etc. To complete our intention to, here are the characteristics based on descriptive writing or text, below;

As a feature, description is a style of writing which can be useful for other variety of purposes as:

• To engage a reader’s attention
• To create characters
• To set a mood or create an atmosphere
• To being writing to life

While in language function, descriptive writing;

• Aims to show rather than tell the reader what something/someone is like
• Relies on precisely chosen vocabulary with carefully chosen adjectives and adverbs.
• Is focused and concentrates only on the aspects that add something to the main purpose of the description.
• Sensory description-what is heard, seen, smelt, felt, tasted.Precise use of adjectives, similes, metaphors to create images/pictures in the mind e.g. their noses were met with the acrid smell of rotting flesh.
• Strong development of the experience that “put the reader there” focuses on key details, powerful verbs and precise nouns.

Beyond the characteristics stated on, descriptive writing also consists of generic structure in range as:

1. General statement
2. Explanation
3. Closing

Causative

Causative

Have + object + past participle (to have something done)
Have + object + bare infinitive (to have someone do something)

Functions and examples

1. We use causative have when arranging for someone to do something for us.

They repaired their car. (they did it themselves)
They had their car repaired. (they arranged for someone to repair it)
I cut my hair yesterday. (I cut it myself)
I had my hair cut yesterday. (I went to the hairdresser)


2. We also use causative have when someone does something to us.

Bill had his money stolen by a thief.

Important points

1. Get is possible instead of have, usually in informal spoken English.
I'm going to get my car fixed tomorrow.

2. We can also use to have someone do something to talk about giving instructions or orders (more common in American English).

I had my assistant type the report.
I'll have my lawyer look into it.

Procedure

Procedures help us do a task or make something. They can be a set of instructions or directions eg step by step method to germinate seeds. The text below is an example of a procedure. The labels show the structure and language features of procedure text.

• Procedures begin by outlining an aim or goal.
• Sometimes there is a list of the materials and equipment needed.
• The steps are then listed in order.

1. Simple Present Tense

Formula: Subject + V1 (s/es)

example: Spray water to moisten the seed bed.


2. Use imperative word