(On the telephone) ‘Hello, is James there?’ ‘No, he is not here.’ (NOT No, he is not there.)

Can you put this chair in that corner over there?

Why are you standing alone there? Come over here and talk to us.

I wish he was here with me.

Can you come here? (NOT Can you come there?)

Can you go there? (NOT Can you come there?)

Here and there cannot be used as nouns. That means they can’t be the subject or object of a verb.

This place is very cold. (NOT Here is very cold.)

But you can say, It is very cold here.

Did you like that place? (NOT Did you like there?)

Here and there often begin clauses. Note the word order:

Here is / here comes

There is / there goes

Here comes the bus! (NOT Here the bus comes!)

There goes the dinner bell! (NOT There the dinner bell goes.)

There is Peter. (NOT There Peter is.)

Pronoun subjects come directly after here and there.

Here it comes. (NOT Here comes it.)

There he goes. (NOT There goes he.)

Have you got any typing paper? (Here the noun paper is uncountable.)

I am going out to buy a paper. (= I am going out to buy a newspaper.) Here the noun paper is countable because we are actually referring to something made of the material called paper.

Have you got any tea? (Uncountable)

Could I have two teas? (Countable)

Many abstract nouns can have both uncountable and countable uses. The uncountable form is used with a ‘general’ meaning whereas the countable form has a ‘particular’ meaning.

Don’t hurry – take your own time. (Here time is used as an uncountable noun.)

Have a nice time. (Here time is used as a countable noun.)

I had a strange experience last week. (Here experience is used as a countable noun.)

I have got enough experience for the job. (Here experience is used as an uncountable noun.)

Singular countable nouns are sometimes used as uncountables with quantifiers like much, enough, a lot of or plenty of.

She has got too much chin. (Chin is usually a countable noun, but in this case it is used as an uncountable.)

Note that we use much with uncountable nouns and many with countable nouns.

She is the most beautiful woman in the world. (NOT She is the most beautiful woman of the world.)

I am the happiest woman in the world. (NOT I am the happiest woman of the world.)

He is the best player in the team. (NOT He is the best player of the team.)

But of can be used before plural nouns and pronouns.

She is the fastest player of them all. (NOT She is the fastest player in them all.)

Of can also be used before singular quantifiers like lot and bunch.

He is the best of the lot.

Infinitives after superlatives

An infinitive structure can be used after a superlative. This has the same meaning as a relative clause.

Who is the youngest person to become the President of the US? (= Who is the youngest person who has become the President of the US?)

This structure can also be used after words like first, last and next.

She is the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. (= She is the first woman who has won the Nobel Prize for Literature.)

I will telephone you after I have seen Peter.

After you have completed this form, give it to the secretary.

We will not accept the offer until they have agreed to our conditions.

I will come back after I have had my lunch.

I understand that you have decided to accept the job.

Instead of the present perfect tense, we can use simple present tense in these sentences. Note that the simple present tense doesn’t put an emphasis on the completion of the action.

I will telephone you after I see Peter.

After you complete this form, give it to the secretary.

We will not accept the offer until they agree to our conditions.

A past perfect tense can be used in the subordinate clause when the verb in the main clause is in the past tense. Here the past perfect tense is used to show that one thing is completed before another starts.

After he had finished his studies, he went to the US.

He wrote his first book after he had returned from Nigeria.

Study the following examples.

By reducing a noun clause into a phrase

A complex sentence can be converted into a simple sentence by reducing a noun clause into a noun phrase.

Complex: I know that he is an honest guy.

Simple: I know him to be an honest guy.

Complex: We could not figure out what he said.

Simple: We could not figure out the meaning of his words.

Complex: I believe that God exists.

Simple: I believe in God’s existence.

By reducing an adjective clause

Complex: Those that are helpless deserve our pity.

Simple: The helpless deserve our pity.

Complex: The statue that is made of marble was bought from Jaipur.

Simple: The marble statue was bought from Jaipur.

Complex: We saw trees that were laden with fruits.

Simple: We saw trees laden with fruits.

By reducing an adverb clause into a phrase

Complex: They took shelter under a tree because they were driven by the rain.

Simple: Driven by the rain, they took shelter under a tree.

Complex: He lost all hope because he was deceived by his own friends.

Simple: Deceived by his own friends, he lost all hope.

She read for a while and then fell asleep.

Do not disturb a sleeping baby. (BUT NOT Do not disturb an asleep baby.)

The vessel is still afloat.

A floating leaf (BUT NOT an afloat leaf)

Afloat cannot be used before a noun.

He was afraid.

John is a frightened man. (NOT John is an afraid man.)

Afraid cannot be used before a noun.

The adjectives ill and well are mostly used in the predicative position. Before a noun, we use other words with similar meanings.

He is very well.

He is a healthy man. OR He is a fit man. (NOT He is a well man.)

She is ill.

Who looks after sick people? (NOT Who looks after ill people?)

Ill is not normally used before a noun.

Peter is strolling across his garden one sunny morning. Suddenly he notices a bird stumbling awkwardly as it tries to run away from him. It is dragging the feathers of one wing over the ground, while it flaps the other wing. Wishing to help the poor bird, which appears to be hurt, David hurries after it.

The simple present tense is common in summaries of plays, stories etc.

In Act I, Hamlet meets the ghost of his father. The ghost tells him…

Commentaries

In commentaries, the use of tenses is similar. The simple present tense is used for the quicker actions and events. The present continuous tense is used for longer actions and situations.

Instructions and demonstrations

We often use present tenses to give instructions, directions and demonstrations.

‘How do I get the railway station?’ ‘Go straight on to the traffic lights, then you turn right…’

First I put some butter into a frying pan and light the gas; then while the butter is melting I take some cashew nuts and raisins and …

Simple present: is / are + broken; is / are + painted

The furniture is broken up for firewood.

The rooms are painted.

Present continuous: is / are + being + broken; is / are + being + painted

The furniture is being broken up for firewood.

The rooms are being painted.

Present perfect: has / have + been + broken; has / have + been + painted

The furniture has been broken up for firewood.

The rooms have been painted.

Simple past: was / were + broken; was / were + painted

The furniture was broken up for firewood.

The rooms were painted.

Past continuous: was / were + being + broken; was / were + being + painted

The furniture was being broken up for firewood.

The rooms were being painted.

Past perfect: had + been + broken; had + been + painted

The furniture had been broken up for firewood.

The rooms had been painted.

Simple future: will + be + broken; will + be + painted

The furniture will be broken up for firewood.

The rooms will be painted.

Future perfect: will + have + been + broken; will + have + been + painted

The furniture will have been broken up for firewood.

The rooms will have been painted.

The passive forms of future continuous and present perfect continuous are unusual.

Simple present

I work; he/she/it works; they/we work; you work

Present continuous

I am working; he/she/it is working; they/we are working; you are working

Present perfect

I have worked; he/she/it has worked; they/we have worked; you have worked

Present perfect continuous

I have been working; he/she/it has been working; they/we have been working; you have been working

Simple past

I worked; he/she/it worked; they/we worked; you worked

Past continuous

I was working; he/she/it was working; they/we were working; you were working

Past perfect

I had worked; he/she/it had worked; they/we had worked; you had worked

Past perfect continuous

I had been working; he/she/it had been working; they/we had been working; you had been working

Simple future

I will/shall work; he/she/it will work; they will work; we will /shall work; you will work

Future continuous

I will/shall be working; he/she/it will be working; they will be working; we will/shall be working; you will be working

Future perfect

I will/shall have worked; he/she/it will have worked; they will have worked; we will/shall have worked; you will have worked

Future perfect continuous

I will/shall have been working; he/she/it will have been working; they will have been working; we will/shall have been working; you will have been working

Note the structure: subject + verb + it + complement + infinitive / clause

She made it clear that she was not interested in marrying him. (More natural than ‘She made that she was not interested in marrying him clear.’)

He made it clear that he couldn’t accept our proposal.

I find it difficult to work with her.

My health problems made it difficult for me to find a good job.

I thought it strange that she hadn’t returned yet.

James made it clear what he wanted.

Grammar notes

This structure is not normally used when there is no adjective or noun complement after the verb. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. Common examples are: I like it when / I hate it when etc.

I like it when she smiles.

The idiom ‘I take it that’ means ‘I assume that’.

I take it that you won’t be coming with us. (= I assume that you will not be coming with us.)

This structure is also possible when the object is an –ing form.

I find it interesting listening to her speeches.