Pre-Course Grammar Module

Transcription

1 Pre-Course Grammar Module [G]rammar provides you with the structure you need in order to organize and put your messages and ideas across. It is the railway through which your messages will be transported. Without it, in the same way as a train cannot move without railways, you won t be able to convey your ideas to their full extension. ~ Julio Foppoli

2 PRE-COURSE GRAMMAR MODULE TABLE OF CONTENTS Objectives Parts of Speech o Nouns o Pronouns o Verbs o Articles o Adjectives o Adverbs o Prepositions Verb Tense and Aspect o Present Simple o Present Continuous o Past Simple o Past Continuous o Present Perfect o Present Perfect Continuous o Past Perfect o Past Perfect Continuous o Future Simple o Future Continuous o Future Perfect o Future Perfect Continuous Review Questions Recommended Grammar Books and Online Resources 1

3 [G]rammar provides you with the structure you need in order to organize and put your messages and ideas across. It is the railway through which your messages will be transported. Without it, in the same way as a train cannot move without railways, you won t be able to convey your ideas to their full extension. ~ Julio Foppoli Objectives After finishing this chapter, the reader will be able to Identify and define different parts of speech, including nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, articles, pronouns, and prepositions. 2. Differentiate between countable and uncountable nouns. 3. Summarize the differences between indefinite and definite articles. 4. Demonstrate how to form comparative and superlative adjectives. 5. Demonstrate how to form comparative and superlative adverbs. 6. Define prepositions and explain why they are difficult for ESL learners. 7. Define verbs and different verb forms, including infinitives, gerunds, present participles, past participles, stative verbs, dynamic verbs, and auxiliary verbs. 8. Name and demonstrate the usage of the twelve tenses of English. 2

4 Parts of Speech Parts of speech are word categories such as nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, articles, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections. The first part of this chapter discusses different parts of speech, while the second part of this chapter focuses on English tenses. Nouns Nouns denote a person, place, thing, quality, animal, or idea. Nouns can be divided into proper nouns that refer to particular individuals and are capitalized (e.g. Willis Tower, Chicago, International TEFL Academy), and into common nouns, which are not capitalized and refer to objects in general (e.g. tower, city, or academy). In English, nouns are preceded by articles and adjectives: a happy student article adjective noun Countable and Uncountable Nouns: Nouns can also be divided into countable and uncountable (or non-count nouns or mass nouns). Countable nouns can be singular or plural (e.g. animal/animals, cat/cats, man/men, child/children), while uncountable nouns cannot be divided into separate elements (e.g. money, furniture, coffee, and love). ESL/EFL students need to memorize which words are countable and which ones are uncountable. Some nouns can be both depending on their meaning. For example, Our house has four rooms contains a countable version of room. However, Is there any room for me? uses an uncountable version of room. The chart below further illustrates the main differences between countable and uncountable nouns. Countable Nouns May be preceded by indefinite article a/an a banknote Take final s/-es in the plural 2 banknotes May be followed by a verb in singular or plural form: This banknote is green. These banknotes are green. Use the following expressions: many, a few / few o How many banknotes do you have? o I have a few banknotes. o I have few banknotes left. Uncountable Nouns (non-count nouns) May not be preceded by indefinite article a/an a money ( some money is used) Have no plural form; do not take a final s/-es moneys Always followed by a verb in singular form: Money is important. Use the following expressions: much, a little / little o How much money do you have? o I have a little money. o I have little money left. 3

5 Regular and Irregular Plurals: All countable nouns have singular and plural forms. To make a plural form, we usually need to add s, for example, one apple becomes two apples; however, some nouns have irregular plurals, for example, man becomes men. The chart below will help you understand regular and irregular plural forms. Regular Plural Nouns -s songs, books, pencils -es (words ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, -z) messes, brushes, churches, boxes -es (some words ending in -o) potatoes, tomatoes, heroes Irregular Plural Nouns** man men woman women child children person people mouse mice foot feet tooth teeth 1 goose 2 geese 1 deer 2 deer 1 fish 2 fish 1 sheep 2 sheep -ies (most words ending in y preceded by a consonant)* baby babies, sky skies -ves (some words ending in f or fe) knife knives, half halves *Note: we do not add ies to words that end in y preceded by a vowel, e.g. toy becomes toys; key becomes keys. **These are just some examples of irregular plural nouns. For a complete list, consult a comprehensive grammar book. Pronouns Pronouns replace nouns in order to avoid repetition. In the sentence below, she is a pronoun that replaces the proper noun Lizzy. Lizzy is a happy girl. She smiles all the time. The chart below contains personal subject pronouns. Person Singular Plural 1 st I we 2 nd you you 3 rd she/he/it they 4

6 This chart shows the other types of pronouns. Person Subject pronoun Possessive adjective Possessive pronoun Object pronoun Reflexive pronoun 1 st Person I my mine me myself Singular 2 nd Person you your yours you yourself Singular 3 rd Person he his his him himself Singular (male) 3 rd Person she her hers her herself Singular (female) 3 rd Person it its its it itself Singular (object) 1 st Person Plural we our ours us ourselves 2 nd Person Plural you your yours you yourselves 3 rd Person Plural they their theirs them themselves Verbs Most verbs are action words (sing, watch, run, jump). Sometimes, verbs express a state of being (be, exist) or occurrence (happen, become). Infinitives: The base form or bare infinitive is the form of the verb that one can find in a dictionary, e.g. walk, study, or draw. Sometimes teachers write a verb preceded by the particle to (to walk, to study, to draw) to indicate that it is the infinitive form of the verb. Regular and Irregular Verbs: Verbs can be divided into regular and irregular depending on how they form the past tense. See the chart below for examples. Regular verbs Irregular verbs Infinitive Past Simple Past Participle work worked worked listen listened listened decide decided decided study studied studied be (am, is, are) was/were been have had had do did done eat ate eaten break broke broken put put put 5

7 Gerunds and Present Participles: Other forms of verbs include gerunds and present participles. A gerund is a verb ending with ing that functions as a noun. A present participle has the same form, but it functions as a verb. Gerund = verb + -ing that functions as a noun Present Participle = verb + -ing that functions as a verb walk walking read reading swim swimming Compare: I like reading. (Here like is a verb and reading is a noun) Reading is my favorite leisure activity. (Here reading is a noun) I am reading now. (Here reading functions as a verb) I have been reading for the past three hours. (Here reading functions as a verb) Verbs Followed by Gerunds and Infinitives: Certain verbs in English are always followed by infinitives, while other verbs are followed by gerunds. Look at the examples below. Infinitives vs. Gerunds Verbs Followed by Infinitives Verbs Followed by Gerunds want: I want to eat. enjoy: I enjoy eating. decide: He decided to dance. practice: He practiced dancing. choose: I chose to go home. mind: I don t mind going home. agree: She agreed to dance with me. resume: We resumed dancing. Some verbs can be followed by either a gerund or an infinitive, such as like, start, or begin. I like to read books. / I like reading books. We began to study. / We began studying. It started to rain. / It started raining. Stative and Dynamic Verbs: Stative verbs (or non-continuous verbs) are verbs that cannot be converted to a present participle, i.e. you cannot add an ing ending. These verbs are things you cannot see someone doing such as emotion or abstract verbs (e.g. like, love, hate, want, need, be), opinion verbs (e.g. know, recognize), possession verbs (e.g. possess, own, belong), and sensory verbs (e.g. taste, smell, see). I want some fruit now. I am wanting some fruit now. (incorrect) She needs your help now. She is needing your help now. (incorrect) He owns that car. He is owning that car. (incorrect) 6

8 Mixed Verbs: Some verbs can be either dynamic or stative, depending on their meaning in context (e.g. have). These are called mixed verbs. I have a car. (Here, have means own) I am having fun. (Here, have means experiencing) Auxiliary Verbs: Auxiliary verbs are helping verbs. They help the main verb express the tense of the sentence. Auxiliary verbs do not carry semantic meaning. Examples of auxiliary verbs include be, do, have, and will. Adjectives She is teaching. (Here the verb is is helping the main verb teaching, so is is an auxiliary verb) She is a teacher. (Here the verb is carries semantic meaning, so it is the main verb and not an auxiliary verb) Adjectives are descriptive words that modify nouns. Adjectives usually precede nouns: This is a cute baby. That is a beautiful flower. She is wearing a colorful dress. Sometimes adjectives follow a describing verb, or copula, as in the following sentences: This baby is cute. This flower is beautiful. The dress is colorful. Adjectives have three forms: the base form, a comparative used to compare two items, and a superlative used to compare three or more items. The chart below shows how to form comparatives and superlatives. One syllable Two syllables ending in -y Two or more syllables Irregular Adjectives Base Form of Adjective small old happy pretty difficult beautiful good bad Comparative smaller older happier prettier more difficult more beautiful better worse Superlative smallest oldest happiest prettiest most difficult most beautiful best worst 7

9 Articles Articles are types of adjectives that give information about nouns. English has two articles: the definite article, the, and the indefinite article, a/an. We use the to modify specific or particular nouns, while we use a/an to refer to non-specific or non-particular nouns. the = definite article a/an = indefinite article For example, if we say, Let s go to the restaurant, we mean a specific restaurant. If we say, Let s go to a restaurant, we mean any restaurant, rather than a specific one. There are many more rules governing the use of definite and indefinite articles, though. Read the chart below for a general overview of these rules. Indefinite Article: a/an Use a before a consonant sound: a pear, a raincoat, a horse a university Use an before a vowel sound: (a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y in English) an apple, an umbrella an hour, an X-Ray image Use when objects are not specifically identified: There is a laptop on the table. Use only with singular countable nouns: a chair Other Uses: Membership in a group: o a teacher, an American citizen Expressions of quantity: o a number of, a lot of, a couple Certain numbers and fractions: o a hundred, a third When giving a price: o $2.00 a pound Definite Article: the Use the before both a vowel and a consonant sound: the apple, the pear Use when the noun is specific or particular: There is a laptop on the table. The laptop has many colorful stickers on it. Use with countable and uncountable nouns: the chair, the furniture Other Uses: When the object is unique: o the earth, the sun, the Statue of Liberty Before superlatives: o the best, the most talented With singular nouns to represent a class: o the Bengal tiger, the stingray With certain geographical names: o Rivers and oceans: the Nile, the Atlantic Ocean o Geographical areas: the Middle East, the South Pole o Certain countries: the United States 8

10 Adverbs Adverbs are describing words that usually modify verbs. Adverbs may also modify adjectives, other adverbs, or the whole sentence. She walked slowly. The very old lady walked quite slowly. Consequently, she missed the bus. Like adjectives, adverbs have three forms: the base form, a comparative used to compare two items, and a superlative used to compare three or more items. The chart below shows how to form comparatives and superlatives. Base Form of Adjective Base Form of Adverb Comparative Adverb Superlative Adverb Adverbs formed from adjectives by adding -ly Adverbs with the same form as adjectives Irregular adverbs slow beautiful hard fast good bad slowly beautifully hard fast well badly more slowly more beautifully harder faster better worse most slowly most beautifully hardest fastest best worst Prepositions Prepositions show a relationship between words in a sentence. Prepositions of place, such as on, in, next to, above, and below, describe the spatial relationship between two or more objects. Prepositions of place are relatively easy to teach; however, difficulty arises when teaching higher levels because specific words and phrases are always followed by certain prepositions. Here are some examples: I m on a bus, but I m in a car. I ll see you at 10:00 AM on Monday in There is a mistake in the picture on page 12. I m bad at math. (NOT with math) But I m bad with children. (NOT at children) I m interested in math. (NOT at math) She accused me of everything. (NOT for) But she blamed me for everything. (NOT of) 9

11 Verb Tense and Aspect Usually when we think about tenses, we think of three basic categories: the past, the present, and the future. English also has two aspects: perfect and progressive. Tense and aspect are often combined to indicate a specific time reference. Tense and aspect are best understood through examples, which will be presented in the rest of this chapter. It s important to remember that some languages do not have tenses as we understand them. For example, Mandarin Chinese uses time expressions, such as yesterday or last week, to indicate time reference. A translation from Mandarin Chinese might look like I eat pizza for lunch yesterday. In English, we have to conjugate the verb (change eat to ate) to express the same thought: I ate pizza for lunch yesterday. Different languages have different numbers of tenses. English has a total of twelve tense and tense-aspect combinations, summarized in the following table. Simple Continuous* Perfect Perfect Continuous* Present Present Perfect: Continuous: I have done my I am doing my homework. Here it homework now. is. Present Present Simple: I do my homework on the weekends. Past Future Past Simple: I did my homework yesterday. Future Simple: If I have time, I will do my homework tomorrow. Past Continuous: I was doing my homework when the telephone rang. Future Continuous: I will be doing my homework tomorrow morning. Past Perfect: I had done my homework before I went to bed last night. Future Perfect: I will have done my homework by 11:59 PM next Sunday. Present Perfect Continuous: I have been doing my homework since 6:00 AM this morning. Past Perfect Continuous: I had been doing my homework for three hours before I submitted it. Future Perfect Continuous: I will have been doing my homework for five hours by the time I finish it. *Continuous aspect is also known as progressive. They are used interchangeably. Thus, present continuous = present progressive. Similarly, present perfect continuous = present perfect progressive. 10

12 Present Simple The present simple uses the bare infinitive of the verb, except for the third person singular where an -s/-es ending is required: Subject + VERB (+ s/es in third person singular) I like apples. He likes apples. The present simple can be used to describe the following situations as summarized in the table below: Present Simple Description Explanation Examples Routines To describe repetitive personal actions or habits. I play football on Sundays. He always wears a tie for work. She is never late. Does he bike to Generalizations Schedules At present (stative verbs only) To describe generalizations, facts, and beliefs that are true over time. To describe near future events governed by timetables e.g., bus/train/plane/boat/class schedules. To describe events happening now, using stative verbs work every day? Birds fly. Cows do not fly. Paris is the capital of France. Iron is heavy. Feathers are light. Do dogs fly? The train for Paris leaves at 8:30pm. The flight from Toronto arrives at 11:25 am. The chemistry class begins at 9:00am. Does the bus from London arrive at 10pm? I am here now. Are you warm now? She does not like broccoli. Tom loves icecream. This house belongs to Jodi. 11

13 Present Continuous The present continuous uses the conjugated form of the verb to be + present participle (bare infinitive + -ing): Subject + am/is/are + VERB + -ing I am eating a sandwich. He is eating a sandwich. The present continuous can be used to describe the following situations: Present Continuous Description Explanation Examples At present To describe events happening right now. I am listening to the radio now. He is having breakfast. They are running. I am cleaning the kitchen now. What are you doing? Actions in progress To describe actions that are temporary. I am living in Chicago for the duration of this course. I am taking a biology class this semester. She is not reading any books right now. Near/ immediate future To describe near future events. I am leaving in 10 minutes. She is going out tonight. Is he flying to Boston today? Are they coming for dinner this Saturday? Repetition and irritation To describe annoying personal actions or habits. She is always teasing him. He is constantly interrupting me. They are always making me wait. 12

14 Past Simple The past simple uses the bare infinitive of the verb + -ed or irregular verb form: Subject + VERB + -ed or irregular form I watched TV yesterday. I went to the theater last Friday. The past simple can be used to describe the following situation: Past Simple Description Explanation Examples Past actions To describe an event that happened in the past. I watched a good movie yesterday. She went shopping last Sunday. They moved here from Boston 3 years ago. Where did you go last night? Past habits Longer actions in the past Sequence of past events To describe personal habits that are no longer true. To describe actions that took some time to complete. To describe past actions that happened in order. I studied Spanish in high school. She played the guitar when she was a teenager. What sports did you play when you were a child? She talked to her friend for two hours yesterday. It took me two years to learn how to play the guitar. Did you really spend seven years in Tibet? When I got home I had dinner and went to bed. After he finished breakfast, he went for a walk. Did you restart your laptop after you scanned it for viruses? 13

15 Past Continuous The past continuous uses the past form of the conjugated verb to be + present participle (bare infinitive + -ing): Subject + was/were + VERB + -ing I was watching TV. We were having breakfast. The past continuous can be used to describe the following situations: Past Continuous Description Explanation Examples Interrupted action in the past Specific time as an interruption Parallel actions To describe a longer event that was interrupted by a shorter action. To describe a longer action at a specific time in the past. To describe two actions which were happening at the same time. I was having breakfast when Tom called. She was listening to the radio when the lights went out. They were working in the garden when the storm started. What were they doing when the police arrived? At midnight, the kids were still playing with their new toy. Yesterday at 8pm, I was reading a book in my bed. At what time were you walking your dog yesterday? The kids were setting the table while I was making dinner. What was he doing while you were cleaning? Repetition and irritation To describe irritating or annoying past habits. He was always whistling. It annoyed everyone. She was constantly complaining about the rain. 14

16 Present Perfect The present perfect uses the conjugated form of the auxiliary verb to have + past participle (bare infinitive + -ed or irregular form): Subject + have/has + VERB + ed or irregular form I have visited Canada several times. He has been to Paris many times. The present perfect can be used to describe the following situations: Present Perfect Description Explanation Examples Unspecified time in the past To describe a past action that happened in unspecified or unfinished time* Duration of past action until now (stative verbs) 1. Experience 2. Change over time 3. Achievements 4. Uncompleted action you are expecting 5. The same action repeated at different times To describe actions that have started in the past 1) Experience: Have you ever been to Mexico? I have never had sushi before. He has read that book many times. 2) Change Over Time: She has grown a lot since the last time I saw her. 3) Achievements: I have taught ESL students before. 4) Uncompleted Action: I have not done my homework yet. 5) Same Action: They have attacked this city many times. I have been sick for the last three days. He has been away for five years. I have owned this car since and have continued until now, with stative verbs To better understand the idea of unspecified time, watch the following video: 15

17 Present Perfect Continuous The present perfect continuous uses the conjugated form of the auxiliary verb to have + been + present participle (bare infinitive + -ing): Subject + have/has + been + VERB + -ing I have been watching TV for over three hours. She has been waiting for the last hour. The present perfect continuous can be used to describe the following situations: Present Perfect Continuous Description Explanation Examples Duration of action until now To describe an action that started in the past and lasted a specific amount of time until now I have been cleaning the kitchen for two hours. He has been working on this assignment for two weeks. How long have you been reading this book? Recent events To describe recent events Recently, I have been eating too much chocolate. She has not been exercising lately. What have you been doing? Past Perfect The past perfect uses the past form of the auxiliary verb to have + past participle (bare infinitive + -ed or irregular form): Subject + had + VERB + -ed or irregular form I had lived in Boston before I moved to Chicago. She had studied Spanish before she moved to Spain. 16

18 The past perfect can be used to describe the following situations: Past Perfect Description Explanation Examples Completed past action before another action To emphasize that an event happened before another event in the past. They had lived in Poland before they moved to the U.S. She had read the book before she saw the screen adaptation. Duration before something in the past (stative verbs) To emphasize that an action started in the past and continued until another past action. Olivia had owned this car for 5 years before she sold it. I had had that necklace for many years before it got stolen. Past Perfect Continuous The past perfect continuous uses the past form of the auxiliary verb to have + been + present participle (bare infinitive + -ing): Subject + had + been + VERB + -ing I had been living in Boston for 5 years before I moved to Chicago. She had been studying Spanish for 3 years before she moved to Spain. The past perfect continuous can be used to describe the following situations: Past Perfect Continuous Description Explanation Examples Duration before another action in the past To describe the duration of an event that happened in the past before another past action. He had been driving this car for many years before it broke down. How long had you been living in Toronto before you moved to Vancouver? 17

19 Reason for something in the past To show cause and effect of actions in the past. I was hungry because I had been working all day long. They failed the test because they had not been studying. Future Simple The future simple uses the auxiliary verb will + the bare infinitive: Subject + will + VERB The future simple also uses the form be going to: Subject + am/is/are going to + VERB I will bring you some water. Mark will help him tomorrow. I am going to get some ice cream. It is going to rain tonight. The future simple can be used to describe the following situations: Future Simple Description Explanation Examples Voluntary actions: will To describe the speaker s willingness to do something. I will do my homework by myself. He will help her tomorrow. Will you go out with me? Promise: will Plan: be going to To promise something to someone. To express one s planned actions. I will let you know when I get there. I will clean the bathroom when I have time. I will not tell anyone. I am going to buy some wine for dinner. I am going to be a doctor when I grow up. What are you going to do with all those flowers? 18

20 Prediction: will or be going to To express prediction about the future. It is going to rain, or It will rain. In ten years time, the climate is going to get much warmer, or In ten years time, the climate will get much warmer. Future Continuous The future continuous uses the auxiliary verbs will + be + present participle: Subject + will + be + VERB + -ing I will be travelling to Paris when the game starts. The future continuous also uses the form be going to: Subject + am/is/are going to + be + VERB + - ing I am going to be travelling to Paris when the game starts. The future continuous can be used to describe the following situations: Future Continuous Description Explanation Examples Interrupted future action: will or be going to To describe that a continuous action in the future will be interrupted by a short event. I will be doing my homework when you come back from work. I am going to be sleeping when you arrive. Time: will or be going to To describe that a continuous action in the future will be interrupted by a specific time. At 7 PM, I will be having dinner. At noon, they will be studying at the library. What are they going to be doing at 5:30 PM tomorrow afternoon? 19

21 Parallel future actions: will or be going to Future Perfect To describe two actions that will be happening at the same time in the future. My sister will be doing the dishes and I will be making a dessert. While she will be reading a book, he will be watching a game. I am going to be doing homework and he is going to be watching TV. The future perfect uses the auxiliary verbs will + have + the past participle (bare infinitive + -ed or irregular form): Subject + will + have + VERB + -ed or irregular form By the time I move to Denver, I will have lived in San Diego for ten years. The future perfect also uses the form be going to: Subject + am/is/are going to + have + VERB + -ed or irregular form By the time I move to Denver, I am going to have lived in San Diego for ten years. The future perfect can be used to describe the following situations: Future Perfect Description Explanation Examples Completed future action before another one To describe an event that will have happened in the future before another future action. By the time you are 50, you will have learned from your mistakes. You are going to have saved some money by the time you buy such an expensive car. By the time I finish my workout, I will have burned 500 calories. 20

22 Duration of future action until another one To highlight that an action will continue until another future action. By Sunday, Tom will have had my tennis rackets for nearly two weeks. I am going to have learned a thousand words by the time my French course finishes. Future Perfect Continuous The future perfect continuous uses the auxiliary verbs will + have + been + the present participle (bare infinitive + -ing): Subject + will + have + been + VERB + ing I will have been learning Spanish for two years by the time I arrive in Madrid next year. The future perfect continuous also uses the form be going to: Subject + am/is/are going to + have + been + VERB + ing or irregular form I am going to have been learning Spanish for two years by the time I arrive in Madrid next year. The future perfect continuous can be used to describe the following situations: Future Perfect Continuous Description Explanation Examples Duration of future action until another one To highlight the duration of an action until another future action. You will have been driving for over five hours by the time you reach Vermont tomorrow. They are going to have been shopping for two hours by the time the store closes tonight. 21

23 Reason for something in the future To highlight the cause and effect of future actions. Tom will be tired by the time he gets home because he will have been driving for over five hours. They will win all the games when they go to the World Cup because they are going to have been practicing for over four years. Review Questions 1. What is a noun? How do we form plurals? 2. What are some differences between countable and uncountable nouns? 3. Name all the personal pronouns. 4. What is the difference between possessive adjectives and possessive pronouns? Form a few sentences to illustrate the difference. 5. What part of speech do adjectives modify? How do we form comparative and superlative adjectives? 6. What parts of speech do adverbs modify? How do we form comparative and superlative adverbs? 7. When do we use indefinite and definite articles? Name five different rules and give examples. 8. What are prepositions? Why are they difficult for ESL/EFL learners? 9. Define the following terms: verb infinitive gerund present participle past participle auxiliary verb 10. What are regular and irregular verbs? 11. Name a few stative verbs. How do we use them? 12. Explain the main difference between the present simple and present continuous. 13. Explain the main difference between the past simple and present perfect. 14. Explain the main difference between the past simple and past continuous. Can we use both of these tenses in one sentence? 15. When do we use past perfect? 16. Which two present tenses can be used to talk about the future? In what situations do we use them? 17. Give a few examples of future simple tense. When do we use this tense? 18. What is the difference between the future continuous and future perfect? Give a few examples of sentences. 22

24 19. Articles are one of the hardest grammar points to master for the vast majority of ESL/EFL students. Consult your grammar book and/or online resources and search for more rules about definite and indefinite articles. 20. Which tense/aspect is the hardest for you? Consult your grammar book and/or online resources and search for more explanations and examples of sentences in this tense. 23

25 Recommended Grammar Books and Online Resources: American English grammar: Understanding and Using English Grammar (with Answer Key and Audio CDs) by Betty Azar British English grammar: English Grammar in Use with Answers and CD-ROM by Raymond Murphy A Practical English Grammar by Audrey Thomson and Agnes Martinet Practical English Usage by Michael Swan Tenses: Articles: Guide to Grammar and Writing: 24