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All internet addresses given in this book were correct at the time of going to press. The author and publisher regret any inconvenience caused if addresses have changed or sites have ceased to exist, but can accept no responsibility for any such changes. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Harrison, Mark, 1955– author.
| Jakeman, Vanessa author. | Paterson, Ken, 1958– author. Title: Improve your grammar : the essential guide to accurate writing / Mark Harrison, Vanessa Jakeman, Ken Paterson. Description: Third edition.
| London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2022. | Series: Bloomsbury study skills | Includes index. | Summary: “Featuring clear guidance, plenty of examples, and short, targeted exercises in every unit, this guide is all a student needs to master the nuts and bolts of English grammar and tackle their written assignments with confidence”– Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2021047534 (print) | LCCN 2021047535 Subjects: LCSH: English language–Grammar–Handbooks, manuals, etc.
Classification: LCC PE1112 .2–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.gov/2021047534 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.gov/2021047535 ISBN: HB: 978-1-3509-3362-0 PB: 978-1-3509-3363-7 ePDF: 978-1-3509-3365-1 eBook: 978-1-3509-3364-4 Series: Bloomsbury Study Skills Typeset by Integra Software Services Pvt. To find out more about our authors and books visit www.com and sign up for our newsletters. The authors would like to dedicate this book to Morgan Terry. Contents Introduction1 How to use this book2 as a student as a tutor ▶▶ Key terms 1 Parts of speech4 explanation of grammar terms: nouns verbs: tense, auxiliary, modal, participle, infinitive, gerund adjectives adverbs prepositions pronouns articles linking words and phrases 2 Parts of a sentence6 rules for forming sentences: subject, verb and object clauses ▶▶ Key grammar 3 Singular or plural subjects and verbs8 singular verbs with singular subjects (One member of the panel was opposed to the proposal.) plural verbs with plural subjects (Most members of the panel were in favour of the proposal.) group nouns (police, government, etc.) + singular/plural verbs the number of/a number of/half of/50 per cent of/the majority of/the average + singular/ plural verbs 4 Correct tense formation10 present continuous (it is happening) and present simple (it happens) past simple (it happened) and present perfect (it has happened) past continuous (it was happening) and present perfect continuous (it has been happening) past perfect simple (it had happened) and past perfect continuous (it had been happening) special use of tenses in academic writing (as Godfrey explains) 5 Using more than one verb tense12 using the correct combination of verb tenses (The groups went into separate rooms so that they couldn’t hear each other.) reporting information (They reported that the results would have important effects.) vi Improve Your Grammar 6 Modal verbs14 should, must and have to ought to should have done (not should of done) could do and managed to do/was able to do/succeeded in doing did not need to and need not have must not have done and cannot have done 7 Using the passive16 active and passive verbs (The voters of Merthyr Tydfil elected Keir Hardie/Keir Hardie was elected by the voters of Merthyr Tydfil.) forming the passive why the passive is used passives with reporting verbs (Winston Churchill was known to suffer from short periods of depression.) 8 Direct and indirect questions18 direct questions (Why did it happen?) indirect questions (Nobody is sure why it happened.) 9 Conditionals (If …)20 ‘real’ conditionals (If you are self-employed, submitting a tax return is a legal requirement.) provided that/as long as unless ‘speculative’ conditionals (If fast broadband access were available, it would help local businesses.) had … (Had the company spent more on research, it might have remained competitive.) even if if it had not been for/Had it not been for/But for/Without (If it had not been for/But for the oil leak, BP would have made record profits.) if … were to/If it were not for (If the company were to relocate …/If it were not for its increased export sales …) 10 Using adverbs22 using an adverb (change rapidly/change extremely rapidly) forming adverbs adverbs for commenting (Clearly, this situation could not continue.) 11 Emphasising24 Only by … (Only by encouraging drivers to scale down the size of their cars will America succeed in reducing its dependence on oil.) What … (What the UK needs is a Minister of Transport with real vision.) It was … that/who (It was the tour operator who had to take responsibility.) emphatic adverbs (undoubtedly, entirely, indeed, quite, whatsoever) reflexive pronouns (The hotel can only improve if the management itself recognises the problem.) 12 Negative words and phrases26 no sooner … than/hardly … when (No sooner had one crisis passed than another arose.) on no account/under no circumstances/at no time/in no way (At no time did anyone consider the repercussions of this action.) Contents vii not since/not until/only when (Not until/Only when the economy improved did their popularity begin to rise.) neither … nor no matter how/what/who, etc.
(No matter how hard they tried, they could not improve the economy.) no, no one, nothing + positive verb (The policy pleased no one.) any, anyone, anything + negative verb (The policy did not please anyone.) double negatives 13 Gerunds and infinitives28 verb + ’-ing’ (avoid spending, suggest changing, etc.) verbs + infinitive (refuse to accept, fail to improve, etc.) verb + object + infinitive (Militant union officials warned/advised their colleagues not to accept the terms.) to + ’-ing’ (Managers were not accustomed to listening.) 14 Articles: a/an, the30 using a/an (He gave an opinion.) using and not using the (The opinion he gave was controversial./Opinions on this issue vary.) 15 Relative clauses: who, which, that, etc.32 defining relative clauses (A patent is a legal document that grants a monopoly.) non-defining relative clauses (Grace Hopper, who was born in 1906 in New York, developed machine-independent programming languages.) who and whom (Stephen Hawking is the physicist with whom the general public is most familiar.) whose (The Anti-Vivisection League is an organisation whose opposition to experiments on animals is well known.) of which, to which, in which (A European conference on embryo research, whose details/the details of which have not yet been announced, is likely to be held in Milan next year.) where (The treatment of anorexia nervosa and bulimia is an area in which/where there is a great deal of disagreement.) 16 Comparing and contrasting34 comparative adjectives (better) and superlative adjectives (best) comparative adverbs (more efficiently) and superlative adverbs (most efficiently) … than (better than/more efficiently than) (not) as … as (not as quickly as) 17 Describing similarities and differences36 modifying adjectives and adverbs (much greater than, slightly less powerful than, just as effective as) numerical comparisons (twice as many as, six times greater than) alike/like/similar, resemble in the same way/similarly, similarity, in common dissimilar/different/unlike, differ in contrast to/contrary to 18 Using noun phrases38 nouns instead of verbs, adjectives or phrases (coverage, sustainability, implementation) nouns using ’-ing’ forms (the cleaning of …) viii Improve Your Grammar nouns with compound adjectives (state-run organisations) nouns with ‘that.’ clauses (discuss the view that the plan was not feasible) ▶▶ Key punctuation 19 Commas (1): correct uses40 commas between parts of a sentence other correct uses of commas (He was born in Turku, the third largest city in Finland.