Grammar- Although/ Though / Despite / In Spite of

As conjunctions, although and though are interchangeable. Although is generally considered more formal than though, though both forms appear regularly in both formal and informal writing. 

Examples:

In these examples, although and though are the same:

·         Growth in Europe is maintaining momentum, though the risks related to peripheral economies have increased. [Globe and Mail]

·         Although the birds are just a small part of his business, carefully raising the pheasants from delicate eggs to beautifully feathered birds is clearly a passion. [The Age]

After although/though we use a subject + verb:

·          Although it rained a lot, we enjoyed our holiday.

·          I didn't get the job although I had all the necessary qualifications.

 Though is also an adverb meaning however or nevertheless. In this sense, though is not interchangeable with although, which is only a conjunction.

In these examples, though is an adverb and hence not interchangeable with although:

·         People are spending less on entertainment.  This weekend, though, theaters were packed. [Los Angeles Times]

·         There was another twist to come, though, as Pavlyuchenkova defied her flagging fortunes to win three games in succession. [Independent]

In spite of and despite in meaning are basically the same.  After in spite of or despite, we use a noun, a pronoun (this/that/what etc.) or -ing:

.

·         I didn't get the job in spite of having all the necessary qualifications.

Compare although and in spite of / despite:

·         Although the traffic was bad. I arrived on time. (not in spite of the traffic was bad)

·         In spite of the traffic, I arrived on time. (not in spite of the traffic was bad)

·         I couldn’t sleep although I was very tired (not despite I was tired)

·         I couldn’t sleep despite being very tired (not despite I was tired)

Grammar- ‘much’, ‘many’, ‘a lot’ & ‘too’, ‘too much’, ‘too many’

Many times people come across problems when they have to use the above words in the correct way. Take a look at the uses below, and see if you can finally get rid of these ‘silly mistakes’:

‘much’, ‘many’, ‘a lot’

• We usually use ‘a lot of’ in positive and negative sentences and questions. ‘A lot of’ is used with uncountable and plural countable nouns
• They’ve bought a lot of things for the reception.
• We will need a lot of people to give us a hand.
•  Did you really earn a lot of money from that deal?
• We usually use ‘much’ in negative sentences
• I don’t have much time for you today.
• NOTE:  ‘much’ can also be used in positive and questions, but in these cases the sentences become formal. For informal use, we normally prefer ‘a lot of’ in positives and questions.
• We usually use ‘many’ in negative sentences and questions
• I haven’t got many emails to write today.
• Have you taken many days off in the summer?
• NOTE:  ‘many’ can be used also in positive sentences, but in these cases the sentences become formal. For informal use, we normally use ‘a lot of’ in positive sentences.

 ‘too’, ‘too much’, ‘too many’

Remember – ‘too’ has a negative meaning. It does not have the same meaning as ‘really’

Example : NOT ‘the assistant was too kind’ BUT ‘the assistant was really kind’

TOO + adjective	It is too noisy in here to concentrate NOT – it’s too much noisy in here
TOO + adverb	They speak too quickly – I can never catch what they say NOT – they speak too much quickly
TOO MUCH + uncountable noun	Don’t drink too much wine else you won’t be able to stand up
Verb + TOO MUCH	I am working too much lately and need to take a few days off
TOO MANY + plural countable noun	We received too many complaints last week. We really need to find where the problem lies

Grammar- Some Rules of Gerunds and Infinitives

1. After verbs of feeling and opinion > Gerunds Verbs: admit, avoid, consider, deny, dislike, enjoy, fancy, feel like, finish, can’t help, involve, keep, mean, mind, miss, practise, risk, can’t stand, suggest e.g: A healthy life involves taking exercises.	1. After some verbs > Infinitives Verbs: aim, fail, intend, learn how, long, Manage, need, offer, plan, prefer, refuse, try, want e.g: You need to fill in the blanks.        Do you want to help us?
2. Expressions with “spend “> Gerunds Expressions: spend (one’s) time, spend (quantity) time. e.g: I spent my time reading English        books.	2. After adjective that describe how someone feel about something >Infinitives Adjectives: afraid, anxious, ashamed, careful, determined, free, frightened, happy, keen, quick, ready, sorry, willing e.g: We are happy to celebrate our fifth         anniversary.
3. After prepositions that follow a verb or an adjective > Gerunds Prepositions: be interested in, apologize for, be used to, accuse (someone) of, specialize in, succeed in, insist on e.g: Are you interested in taking photograps?	3. After adjectives to give an opinion about something > Infinitives Adjectives: agreeable, amusing, boring, difficult, easy, hard, impossible, nice, good, important, necessary e.g: It’s necessary to understand grammar.
	4. After verbs followed by an object > Infinitives VERBS: advise, allow, dare, encourage, forbid, force, instruct, order, permit, persuade, remind, teach, tell e.g: My English teacher advised me to listen to              English music. ­­
	5. After some adjectives which can be used in phrases with “be” > Infinitives Phrases: be supposed to, be expected to, be allowed to, be prepared to e.g:  You are not supposed to do every         question correct.

Some verbs can be followed by -ing or to-infinitive  with different meanings.

                                                                                                      Which means:

Stop	I’ve stopped watching cartoons.	= Stop an activity
	We stopped to go to the toilets at the petrol station.	= Stop in order to
Try	I ‘ve tried to understand his English, but I was unsuccessful.	= Make an effort
	Let’s try restarting the computer.	= See if it works
Remember	Remember to bring your portfolio to the class tomorrow.	= Don’t forget
	I remember collecting marbles in our old neighbourhood.	= Past memory
Regret	I regret to tell you that your application has been rejected.	=To apologise for something bad. =To inform something bad. This is    used in more formal situations.
	I regret not saying goodbye before leaving.	= To be sorry now for something we did in the past.

Grammar- Modals- deduction (past)

Have + past participle (‘have done’, ‘have been’, ‘have stolen’ etc.) is called the perfect infinitive. When we use modal verbs to talk about the present they are followed by an infinitive without ‘to’. When we use modal verbs to talk about the past they are followed by a perfect infinitive.

must + perfect infinitive

We use must + perfect infinitive when we feel sure about something in the past.

• ·        You must have been delighted when you found that everything was on sale. 
• ·         The thieves must have come in through the window. Look – it’s still open.
• ·         Oh no! Where’s my car? Someone must have stolen it!

might/may/could + perfect infinitive

We use might, may or could with the perfect infinitive to say that we think something was possible but we aren’t sure.

• ·         The thieves might have escaped by car but we can’t be sure.
• ·         He should be hour by now. He may have been delayed by a traffic jam or                         something.
• ·         I can’t find my purse. I could have left it in the supermarket but I just don’t know.

can’t + perfect infinitive

We use can’t + perfect infinitive when we feel sure something didn’t happen in the past.

• ·         I thought I saw John in town this morning but it can’t have been him – he’s in                     Greece this week.
• ·         I can’t have left it in the supermarket – I had it on the bus on the way home.
• ·         You can’t have read the instructions properly. They’re perfectly clear.

Grammar - Modals - Might, may, could and can

We can use Modal verbs  not only to speak about obligation or possibility, etc. but also to speak about  “deductions”. Most foreign students prefer to use the words ‘probably’, ‘perhaps’ or ‘maybe’ to express situations they are unsure of, but it is common for native speakers to use Modal verbs instead.

must

We use must when we feel sure that something is true because there’s very strong evidence.

·         He must live near here because he comes to work on foot. We don’t know where he lives but we’re sure it’s not far away.

·         Come inside and get warm – you must be freezing out there.

·         You’re a zookeeper? That must be very interesting.

·        
might, may, could

We use might, may or could to say that we think something is possible but we’re not sure.

·         Did you hear that? I think there could be a burglar downstairs. She’s not sure there’s a burglar but she thinks it’s possible.

·         He should be here by now but he might be stuck in traffic as it’s rush hour.

·         I’m not sure who they’ll select, but it may be Dan.

can’t

We use can’t when we feel sure something is not true.

·         It can’t be a burglar. All the doors and windows are locked. He doesn’t know it’s not a burglar but he feels sure it’s not.

·         It can’t be far away now. We’ve been driving for hours. Where’s the map?

·         Really? He has to work on Christmas Day? He can’t feel very happy about that.

Remember that all of these modal verbs – must, might, may, could and can’t have other uses.

Grammar - Inversion

Inversion is used to give emphasis or to be rhetorical in more formal situations, in political speeches, on the news, and also in literature. Some native speakers may also use them occasionally in day-to-day conversation. The structure of these phrases is similar to interrogative sentences even though they are not questions but statements. Inversion takes place after certain expressions if these expressions begin the sentence. Take a look at these examples:

Not only.....but also

Not only did we not get the pay rise we were promised, but we also had our luncheon vouchers taken off us.

At no time

At no time did I say I would accept to work late

No sooner.....than

This is used to refer to an event that quickly follows another. It is usually used with the past perfect, but sometimes with the simple past No sooner had I reached the door than I realised it was locked or No sooner did I reach the door than I realised it was locked. Not until Not until January will I have a holiday. Only after This is usually used with the simple past. Only after the film started did I realise that I'd seen it before.

Grammar - Say /Tell /Speak /Talk

 Say/Tell/Speak/Talk  

	Uses	Examples
Say	used with direct and indirect speech Say is most often used without a personal object. If we want to put a personal object after say, we use to.	She said that it was my last chance. He said, ‘Good morning.’ She said that she would be late. (not She said me...) And I say to all the people of this great country...
Tell	used with direct and indirect speech after tell, we usually say who is told, i.e., tell someone something only used to mean ‘instruct’ or ‘inform’ Tell is used to tell someone to do something Tell is not used before objects like a word, a name, a sentence, a phrase. Tell is used before words like ‘a lie’, ‘the truth’, ‘a joke’, etc We do not usually use it after tell to refer to a fact.	She told me that she would be late. She told me that it was my last chance. (not He told them, ‘Good morning.’) Tom’s mother told him to clean his room. Alice said a naughty word... (not Alice told a naughty word...) Sam always tells the truth when questioned by his grandparents ‘I’ll tell you tomorrow.’ (not I’ll tell you it tomorrow.)
Talk	There is not very much difference between speak and talk. Talk is the more usual word to refer to conversational exchanges and informal communication.	When she walked into the room everybody stopped talking.
Speak	is often used for one-way communication and for exchanges in more serious or formal situations. Speak is the usual word to refer to knowledge and use of languages.	I’ll have to speak to that boy -- he’s getting very lazy. After she had finished reading the letter, nobody spoke. She speaks three languages fluently.