Dear friends! I will tell you about these problematic adjectives and how to use them correctly. We use them differently with/as singular and plural nouns. Besides, these adjectives can be used as nouns, both singular and plural.

1. Singular: another and the other.

Another means any other. We use it if there are more than two similar objects.

He is from another city. (There are more than two cities in the world)

My pen is out of ink. Will you give me another, please? (There are a few other pens on the table).

The other means the last one. Such a situation may occure when there are only two objects we speak about or we have already said something about all of them except the last.

There are two pens on the table. One of them is red, the other is black.

Two friends met and one of them asked the other.....

There are three pens on the table. One of them is red, another is blue, the other is black.

Speaking about liquids, powders or something like that we also use the other meaning the rest.

The water in the glass is warm. The other in the jug is icy.

2. Plural: others and the others.

Others mean some part of the rest while the others mean all the rest.

There are 10 cars in the parking. Some of them (for example, 4) are red, others (3) are white, the others (3) are black.

And now, I propose you to write some very short stories or some sentences using these words correctly.

Hi, my dear friends! You all write many emotional blogs and comments here and often use these words, but you often use them incorrectly. So, I will give you some simple explanations so that you will not make such mistakes in the future.

SO is used before an adjective or an adverb:

The day is so nice! (an adjective).

He was listening to me so attentively! (an adverb).

SUCH is used before a noun or an adjective(s) + a noun. If a noun is singular and countable, there must be the article "a" before it. If a noun is plural or uncountable, there should be no artilce.

It was such a nice day!

You shouldn't swim in such cold water.

They are such kind people!

As usual, there is an exception. If a noun is preceded by the words MANY/MUCH, FEW/LITTLE, we should use SO before that noun phrase.

There were so many people at the meeting there was nowhere to sit.

There was so much rain this last summer!

We have got so little gas we won't be able to pull to the gas station.

And now, I will ask you to write your very short emotional stories (or some sentences) using SO and SUCH correctly.

Have a great weekend!

My friends! Today I will tell you when and how to use the gerund correctly. The gerund is a part of speech combining the features of a noun and a verb. In the direct sense of the word, it is a noun from the front and a verb from behind. It means that we may use some prepositions and possessive pronouns before a gerund, while we use the complements and adverbs before it. A gerund defines a progreesive action. However, it is "more a noun than a verb", if I can say so. A gerund is mostly used as a complement.

Firstly, you should know  some verbs and adjectives/participles followed by the gerund/noun (but not by the infinitive). Here is the list:

to approve of

to give up

to rely on       

to worry about

to insist on     

to succeed in

to count on

to keep on

to go on

to think about

to think of      

to depend on  

to put off       

to object to

to look forward to

to confess to  

to complain of

to dream of

to thank for    

to excuse ( for)

to save from

to stop from

to look like    

to feel like     

to refrain from

to prevent from         

to forgive for

to decide against          

to apologize  for          

to accuse of

to congratulate on           

to warn against           

to suspect of

to enjoy         

to finish         

can't help

to deny        

to detest

to appreciate  

to mind

to avoid

to stop

to  delay

to admit

to want/need (after non-living subject)

to miss

to regret

to risk

to postpone    

to practice

to resent         

to quit

to recall

to resume

to resist

to involve

to start

to learn

to remember

to forget

to be fond of

to be proud of

to be sure of  

to be experienced in  

to be tired of  

to be ashamed of       

to be afraid of

to be good at  

to be bad at    

to be surprised at

to be sorry for

to be grateful for

to be famous for

to be right in

to be accustomed to

to be better off

to be (get) used to

to be intent on

to be interested in

to be capable of

to be successful in.

For example:

I enjoy traveling.

Here, the gerund is a simple complement. As you know, a complement always relates to a subject. However, if we have to say that the action defined by a gerund relates to another person, we should use a complex complement mentioning a person it relates to in a possessive form before a gerund.

For example:

I object to his coming to our place.

Now, a gerund may have two complements and a modifier of action(an adverb). They should follow a gerund in the following order: indirect complement, direct complement, modifier of action.

For example:

I am used to attending classes regularly.

I would appreciate your telling me everything.

Being partly a noun a gerund can be used as a subject. In this case a predicate must be singular, the 3d person:

Walkng is useful.

I will stop here and give you an assignment. I would ask you to write about 5 different sentences with the verbs from the given list using a gerund as a complex compound, preferably followed by complements and a modifier of action (an adverb).

And have a great weekend!

Hi, my dear friends! I was out for some time, but I am back and would like to propose you  one more easy challenge for you to warm up a little. In this challenge, you should write a short story (very short as I am still very busy) using both or any of the given pairs. 

BE/GET + adjective/past participle.

BE/START + present participle/ gerund.

You don't have to use all the words, only those you need to explain your mind.

I will explain using the examples.

He is sick (means he is not feeling good now).

He has got sick (means he started feeling sick or became sick).

He was laughing (means he was doing it at some moment in the past).

He started laughing (means he began laughing).

Here are the words I expect you to use in your stories:

To be/get dark;

To be/start driving;

To be/ get scared;

To be/start crying;

To be/get cold;

To be/start freezing;

To be/get home;

To be/start warming up;

To be/start relaxing;

To be/get asleep.

Have a great challenge! Hope, your stories will be a little horrifying and thrilling! Ha-ha!

My dear friends! From our previous grammar tests it is clear, that most of you have some problems with the Subjunctive Mood and conditional sentences. I have already explained about subjunctine here:

http://www.myenglishclub.com/group/improving-grammar-with-tanya-and-dan/forum/topics/grammar-terms.

Here is the link to the description of WOULD RATHER:

http://www.myenglishclub.com/group/improving-grammar-with-tanya-and...

So, now I will explain you the conditional sentences.

The Unreal Conditions

Such conditions are used to describe unreal actions.

It the conditional clause the predicate must be in the Subjunctive form.

Subjunctive Past is used when we speak about the present or the future actions.  All verbs except "to be" are used in the form of the Simple Past Tense, i.e., with the ending -ed for the regular verbs (lived, wanted) or in the second form for the irregular verbs (knew, came). The verb "to be" is used only in plural(were) for all persons (I were, he were....).

Subjunctive Perfect is used when we speak about the past actions. All verbs are used in the form of the Past Perfect Tense, i.e., had+past participle, passive (had been, had known). The Subjunctive Mood is used in subordinate clauses.

The predicate of the main clause must be

Would + the infinitive without “to” in the simple form for the present and future conditions.

Would + the infinitive without “to” in the perfect form for the past conditions.

1. The Unreal Condition in the Present and the Future

If I knew his phone number, I would call him right away (It means that I don't know his number and can't give him a call now).

2. The Unreal Condition in the Past

If it hadn't been so hot yesterday, we would have spent the day outside (It means, it was really very hot yesterday and I spent all the day in the hotel room).

3. The Mixed Condition.  We use such conditional sentences when the reason was in the past and the result is in the present or future.

If I had answered your questions yesterday, I wouldn't have to do it today

Now, we can replace would with could if we mean an ability, or with might if we mean low probability.

If he didn’t speak so quickly, I could understand him (He speaks quickly and I can’t understand him)

If I knew his address, I might call on him. (I don’t know his address)

If the fire brigade had arrived in time, it could have saved the house (It didn’t arrive in time and the house burnt down)

If the firemen hadn’t arrived in time, the house might have burnt down (They arrived in time and the house was saved)

Now, let’s consider the conditional sentences with one or two more subordinate clauses.

First, those clauses can’t contain any modal auxiliaries. Besides, to find the correct tense of the predicate in such a clause, we should compare the action it describes with the action described by the conditional clause. Like in the indicative sentences, there are three cases:

1.   Both actions are(were) simultaneous. In this case we use the simple or the progressive present (past) tenses.

2.   The action in the additional subordinate clause was earlier than that in the conditional clause. In this case we use the present perfect or simple past for the present conditions and the past perfect for the past conditions. This case is very rare.

3.   The action in the additional subordinate clause will (would) be in the future (future past). In general, in such a case we use ‘going to’ . We can also use the  progressive tenses (sometimes the simple tenses meaning some scheduled action) if we are 100% sure the action will/would take place.

Here are a few examples.

If I knew when he is coming, I would meet him.

If I had been told I was going to become a teacher, I wouldn’t have believed that.

If I knew he is sick, I would call on him.

If I had known he was sick, I would have called him.

If you had told me what had happened, we wouldn’t have quarreled.

If I knew he has left (left a few days ago) I wouldn’t call him.

Today I'd like to propose you the test where you should find and correct the mistakes again. This test is a little different from previous. First, all sentences are either subjunctive or conditional. Besides, you should correct only predicates. Moreover, in the conditional sentences the conditional clauses are correct. Please, don't try to change anything except the predicates and pay attention to the time modifiers.  I hope, the assignment is clear.

So, here is the test.

1. If people always thought what they sad, they wouldn’t be offended others.
2. If  he had known I had been in California, he would come there.
3. I wish that it didn’t happen so suddenly.
4. It is about time that those students learn the tenses.
5. If I thought, he lied, I didn’t talk to him.
6. If  you were coming my way, I were able to give you a ride.
7. If I had thought it would rain, I might take an umbrella.
8. If had listen to what I had been told, I wouldn’t have been fooled now.
9. I would rather that he will not come tomorrow.
10. If he had known what reaction my article might cause, I wouldn’t have published it.
11. If I had thought I waited, I could hurried up.
12. If I hadn’t been in a hurry when I pack, I might not forget some necessary stuffs.
13. If I were you, I would find a better job long ago.
14. He would rather that he didn’t meet her at all.
15. If she had found the right buyer when she is broke, she would have sold her house.

Good luck and have a great Sunday!

July 20. Here are the correct answers.

1. If people always thought what they say, they wouldn’t __ offend__ others.
2. If he had known I was in California, he would have come there.
3. I wish that it hadn’t happened so suddenly.
4. It is about time that those students learned the tenses.
5. If I thought, he lies, I wouldn’t talk to him.
6. If you were coming my way, I would be able to give you a ride.
7. If I had thought it was going to rain, I would have taken an umbrella.
8. If I had listened to what I was told, I wouldn’t be fooled now.
9. I would rather that he__ not come tomorrow.
10. If he had known what reaction my article was going to cause, I wouldn’t have published it.
11. If I had thought I was being waited, I would have hurried up.
12. If I hadn’t been in a hurry when I was packing, I might not have forgotten some necessary stuffs.
13. If I were you, I would have found a better job long ago.
14. He would rather that he hadn’t met her at all.
15. If she had found the right buyer when she was broke, she would have sold her house.

Thank you all for taking part!

My dear friends! Today I am up to no good!  Ha-ha! I am going to offer you one more writing challenge with the idiom TO BE UP TO! It is not as easy as you may think because this idiom may mean different things depending on a noun following it. Of course I am not going to keep you in the dark and will explain you a few uses of this expression.

to be up to something/tricks/mischief - to plan some unexpected action we shouldn't do.

to be up to high doh - to feel nervous, to worry.

to be up to no good - to plan something tricky, maybe offensive.

to be up to neck/ears in debt - to have huge debts, same as "to be in (the) red".

to be up to quality/standards - to match standards, to be of high quality.

to be up to date - to be modern, in fashion.

to be up to the mark - to rise to the occation, to have a good status, to stand well.

So, here is your assignment. You should write short stories using any of the given idioms or a few of them. You can write a few stories if you like. Of course, you can add some other idioms/phrasal verbs if you are sure how to use them. And, of course, we will correct you and explain your mistakes.

Good luck! And have a great weekend!

My friends! Taking part in Onee's game "Guess my Word" has just prompted me an idea of this challenge. Well, my idea is the following. I will give you the list of words describing our appearances and characters and will ask you to describe some person. It would be nice if you describe not only positive but also negative personalities, men as well as women. So, your creativity is limited only with the lenght of your compositions for us to be able to correct your mistakes. So, here is the list of words. Most of them are adjectives, but, of course you can use the appropriate nouns if you like. You don't have to use all of them, only those you need in your stories. Sure, you can add any adjectives describing people. So, here is my list.

Physical Features.

Hope to read your stories soon! I will ask you to post them here, OK?

Have a great weekend!

Dear friends! I am returning to the idea of your finding mistakes in my sentences. If you took part in all my blogs or, at least, read them you are supposed to have improved your grammar a little as we have already considered the most complicated parts of grammar: verbals, Subjunctive mood, prepositions, problem verbs, inversion, sequence of tenses and many other moments. So, in this test you should find all possible mistakes and correct them. Please, remember that you can’t change the general structure of a sentence. Besides, you shouldn’t change vocabulary unless it is a preposition, article, so/such, many/much, etc. On the other hand, you should correct the forms of pronouns, verbals, tenses, use inversion if necessary and so on. You can also change the place of an adverb if it is wrong. There may be only one or a few mistakes in each sentence and the mistakes I made are unpredictable. Of course, I will try to lead you to the correct answers and will explain all mistakes when you all are done.

So, here is the test.

1. He is not used to drive on so bad roads.
2. Never saw I such the beauty.
3. I heard his say that.
4.  It is no reason in refusing him.
5. Finishing the experiment a scholar published the article with the results obtained.
6. The fence surrounded the house was painted just.
7. She complained to him snoring in his sleep.
8. Hardly he entered than the phone rang.
9. If  she was only here!
10. This town is considered being founded over the Middle Ages.
11. Only when coming home he noticed he lost his wallet.
12. I would like he is much careful when drive.
13. If I knew when he came, I would meet him.
14. He got the perfect score. He should have studied hard.
15. Everything was covered by the snow and I thought it might snow all night long.

Well, such tests are not easy at all, they are very tricky and tough enough, but I believe you will give it a try and succeed. We never know what we are capable of until we try it out!

The dead line is May 30, but we can always change it if there is an interest, OK?

So, good luck and have a great weekend!

Here are the crrect answers and my explanations.

1. He is not used to driving on such bad roads.
2. Never have I seen such (a) beauty.
3. I heard him say/saying that.
4. There is no reason for refusing him.
5. Having finished/After finishing the experiment, a scholar had the article with the obtained results published.
6. The fence surrounding the house was just painted.
7. She complained of his snoring in __sleep.
8. Hardly had he entered when the phone rang.
9. If only she were here!
10. This town is considered to have been founded in/during the Middle Ages.
11. Only after coming/when he came home did he notice_ he had lost his wallet.
12. I would like him to be more careful (while) driving.
13. If I knew when he is coming/going to come, I would meet him.
14. He got a perfect score. He must have studied hard.
15. Everything was covered with (the) snow and I thought it must have been snowing/must have snowed all night long.

And now, let me explain all the mistakes in this test.

No1. A) “to be used to” (a habit in the past and present) must be followed by a gerund. B) We should use SUCH before nouns, while SO must be followed by an adjective/adverb.

No2. A) If we start a sentence with some adverbs, there must be partial inversion of the predicate.

You can read about the inversion here:

http://www.myenglishclub.com/forum/topics/daily-practice?groupUrl=improving-grammar-with-tanya-and-dan&groupId=2524315%3AGroup%3A5604024&id=2524315%3ATopic%3A5604055&page=5#comments

There is also an exercise for those who would like to train a little.

B) The correct tense is Present Perfect.

C) After SUCH should be either an article “a” or nothing as BEAUTY may me a countable noun if we mean a beautiful woman or an uncountable one if we mean something else, nature, architecture, etc.

No3. The verbs describing our ability to see, hear, feel and a few others must be followed by the Complex Object Infinitive without “to”. But those who replaced the infinitive with the present participle (saying) are also right. Such a construction also exists. Contrary to the infinitive describing a fact, the present participle describes a progressive process.

No4. A) I have already explained this mistake in my first test and you all seem to have corrected it. But let me tell you once again: in general, IT IS must be followed by an adjective.

B) The rules of Standard Written English require that we use a gerund in this sentence. So, the correct preposition after REASON is FOR.

No5. A) In the given sentence there is the present participle I and it is wrong because, first, the scholar finished his experiment and some later, he wrote an article. So, we may start this sentence either with the perfect participle I (Having finished) or with a gerund preceded by the preposition (after finishing).

B) First of all, let me explain my correction as no one tried to make it! As I have just said in A), the scholar wrote his article where he described the results of the experiment. In fact, he didn’t publish it himself. He had sent it to some publishing house where the article was published. So, to show this passive action, we should use the construction

                        Have + a noun + the past participle passive.

For example:

I want to have this stain removed (in the Cleaner’s).

I had my car fixed (It was not me who fixed it).

I have to say, we didn’t react to those who left the second part of this sentence without any corrections because it is not so principle in this sentence. It is obvious and the active voice is often used by native speakers in this situation. But in any service, we should use the construction I have just explained.

No6. I have already explained how to use participles and adverbs correctly. Just read the appropriate blogs.

http://www.myenglishclub.com/profiles/blogs/how-to-use-the-participles-correctly

http://www.myenglishclub.com/profiles/blogs/place-the-adverbs-correctly

No7. The verb COMPLAIN must be followed by a gerund and the correct preposition after this verb is OF.

No8. It is the same as No2 A). However, I have to add a few words. If we start with HARDLY the junction must be WHEN. But if we start with NO SOONER, it must be THEN (Both sentences have the same meaning).

No9. If we start a sentence with IF ONLY, a predicate in the subordinate clause must be in the Subjunctive mood. The sentence:

If only she were here!

Is an exclamation expressing our sorrow for her not being here.

No10.  All of you corrected the preposition. As to the construction of this sentence, its name is the Complex Subject Infinitive. In our sentence the infinitive describes an action that took place many centuries ago while the predicate is in the present tense. In this case we should use the perfect infinitive form.

No11. You all have corrected the wrong tense in the last clause. So, let me explain the rest.

A)This sentence starts with ONLY that must be followed by either a clause(when he came) or a preposition and gerund (after coming).

B) If we start with ONLY, there must be inversion of a predicate in the main clause.

No12. A) WOULD LIKE must be followed by the infinitive, in our case, it is the Complex Object Infinitive, so, a pronoun must be in an Object form (him).

B) It is obvious, in this sentence we need comparative MORE.

C) Again, it is obvious that WHEN DRIVE is wrong. The best way is to replace it with the present participle (driving) like CAREFUL DRIVING. However, this form of a participle may be preceded by WHILE. Your correction WHEN HE DRIVES is acceptable, but is not the best.

NO13. It is the present unreal condition. If I had meant the past, I would have left at least one correct predicate to demonstrate my idea.

No14. A) Most of you corrected the article and that is right as I didn’t say it was the best/highest/excellent mark. But this mistake is not that principle. B) I think the first sentence makes things clear: that guy studied hard to get a perfect score. So, the correct modal verb is MUST. It expresses our certainty about some past action, while MIGHT expresses our doubts.

No15. A) The correct preposition is WITH. We cover something/somebody with something other. The article THE is not a mistake, in fact. We may mean the snow we see in our yard/street, for example. B) It is a principle mistake. First, it is a past action. Besides, we are sure it was snowing at night. So, the correct modal verb is MUST and, of course, it must be followed by the perfect form of the infinitive. Both forms (perfect simple/perfect progressive) are correct. But, if we use the perfect progressive form, we will emphasize the time modifier (all night long).

My friends! If you have any questions about my explanations, feel free asking them!

Thanks each of you and all of you for participation!

Dear friends! As you all have some problems using participles, I decided to post this blog as I had promised. First, I will tell you some theory. In fact, you can read it in any grammar book, but I will try to make a long story short. So, let’s proceed!

The participle is a part of speech combining the features of a verb and an adjective/adverb. In English there is The Participle I and The Participle II. They fulfill different functions in a sentence.

The Participle I has the following forms:

In a sentence, the participle I is used as a modifier of action. The perfect forms are used when the action defined by the participle preceded the action defined by the predicate. If both actions are simultaneous, we use the simple form:

Looking at her he couldn’t help smiling. (He couldn’t help smiling while he was looking at her).

Having expressed his opinion, he left. (When he had expressed his opinion, he left).

The Participle II has the following forms:

The participle II is used as an adjective, i.e., a definition of a noun. The present active and the past passive forms can be used before a noun:

I couldn’t go to sleep because of a crying baby (a baby who was crying).

A stolen car hasn’t been found, yet. (A car that was stolen hasn’t been found)

The present passive form as well as two others followed by some words should be used after a noun:

The film showed on TV yesterday was great. (The film that was showed on TV yesterday was great)

The warmth being felt was coming from the heaters hidden in the walls. (The warmth that was felt was coming from the heaters hidden in the walls).

I saw a boy eating an ice cream. (I saw a boy who was eating an ice cream).

And now, I propose you a test to practice a little. Sure, I will explain all your mistakes and answer all your questions. In the test, you should replace the underlined subordinate clauses with the appropriate forms of the participle (where it is possible) and place them correctly.

1. The man who was standing in the lobby was a participant of the contest.
2. Children who play are usually very noisy.
3. The woman who is playing the piano is my friend.
4. The woman who played the piano yesterday is my friend.
5. The movies that are shot by Hollywood are always interesting.
6. The scholar who has written this article is abroad now.
7. After he had read a new fiction, he shared with us his opinion about it.
8. As I  knew him well, I didn’t ask any questions.
9. When we came to the stadium, we saw the game had already begun.
10. The house that is being constructed hasn’t been finished, yet.
11. We were sitting around the fire that was burning brightly.
12. The fiction that has been published recently was written two years ago.
13. The people who were slowly walking towards suddenly stopped.
14. Be careful when you drive in the rainy weather.
15. The wallet that was found has to be returned to the owner.

Let the deadline be May 25, OK?

Good luck!

Dear friends! Today I am starting a new blog. This time it is a test where you should fill in the blanks with the appropriate Problem Verbs.

Here is some theory for you to be able to succeed. There are three pairs of problem verbs:

Raise (regular) – rise (rose-risen);

Lay(regular) – lie(lay- lian);

Set(set-set) – sit (sat-sat).

The first verb in each pair is transitive, the other is intransitive. Let me remind you that a transitive verb can be used both in the active and the passive voices. So, in the active voice such a verb is always followed by a complement (object).  An intransitive verb can be used only in the active voice and there are not any complements after it. For example:

The crane raised a car (the active voice, a car is a complement).

A car was raised by the crane (the passive voice, again, there is a complement, i.e., the crane).

The sun rises every morning (the active voice only, there is no complement).

Now, here is your task: fill in the blanks with the appropriate Problem Verbs in the appropriate English Tenses or Verbal Forms.

1. We ___ up an appointment at 6p.m.
2. The editor decided to ___the picture in the upper left corner
3. They tried to ___ the explosion in the corner of the pantry.
4. He was ___ in the big city.
5. The carpenters ___ their instruments into the bow before they went for dinner.
6. The client ___ fire to his lawyer’s house because the attorney had lost the case.
7. ___ the flag the major delivered a speech.
8. If you ___ in such a pose for long, you may have cramp in your leg.
9. The manufacturer ___ the prices as a result of high demand for his production.
10. The food prices highly ___ during a few years.
11. He ___ from the chair.
12. Willing to answer the child ___ his hand.
13. The gas station ___ to the left of the supermarket.
14. Many workers were ___ off after the strike.
15. I like to ___ the table.
16. He ___ towards his guests.
17. Your framed picture ___ on my bedside table.
18. She ___ the cake into the oven.
19. Having looked for his glasses for 20 minutes he realized they had been ___ on the table all that time.
20. The doctor advised him to ___ in bed for a few days.

Of course, we will help you as usual leading you to the correct answers.

Let the deadline be May 23.

Good luck, my friends! Have a great weekend!

Hi, my friends! Today is the deadline for this test, so, I am posting the correct answers. Here they are:

1. We set up an appointment at 6p.m.
2. The editor decided to set the picture in the upper left corner
3. They tried to set the explosion in the corner of the pantry.
4. He was raised in the big city.
5. The carpenters had laid their instruments into the box before they went for dinner.
6. The client set fire to his lawyer’s house because the attorney had lost the case.
7. Having raised the flag the major delivered a speech.
8. If you sit in such a pose for long, you may have cramp in your leg.
9. The manufacturer raised the prices as a result of high demand for his production.
10. The food prices have highly risen during a few years.
11. He rose from the chair.
12. Willing to answer the child raised his hand.
13. The gas station lies to the left of the supermarket.
14. Many workers were laid off after the strike.
15. I like to lay/set the table.
16. He rose towards his guests.
17. Your framed picture sits on my bedside table.
18. She set the cake into the oven.
19. Having looked for his glasses for 20 minutes he realized they had been lying on the table all that time.
20. The doctor advised him to lie in bed for a few days.

Thanks everyone for taking part! I hope, it was useful plactice.

Dear friends! Having been teaching English for so many years, I see that many students have true problems with adverbs. I hope you will read what I have written and ask me questions if you have some. The following are basic grammar rules. Of course, in some particular sentences they may be violated because of this or that reason. So, I would like you to ask me the particular questions with examples, OK? Well, I am starting!

The greatest problem with adverbs is where to place them in a sentence.  Let's make a plan of this topic.

1. Parenthesis

2. Adverbs with different predicates (simple, compound, complex)

3. Adverbs used with the gerund

4. Adverbs with the infinitive

5. Adverbs with the participle.

6. Adverbs with adjectives.

Let's start from the beginning.

1. A parenthesis is one word or an expression that can be placed before a subject. Some adverbs can be used like that but not those we use in a sentence’s body. I have never seen the list of such adverbs and I doubt if there is one. I will list the most usable:

However, anyway, therefore, hence, nevertheless, moreover, also, since , yet (as however) and many others.

In good dictionaries they should be marked in the appropriate way.

2. How to use an adverb describing a predicate.

It depends on the tenses. First of all, there are some adverbs that are placed only inside a predicate.

They are:

often, usually, generally, rarely, seldom, sometimes, hardly (mostly the Simple Tenses)

still (mostly Continuous)

just, never, ever, already, always (mostly the Perfect Tenses)

I say "mostly" because they can be used in other tenses.

Let's consider some examples.

a) The Simple Present and Past Tenses.

We should place an adverb before all verbs (predicates) except "be":

I usually get up early.

I don’t usually get up early.

She rarely missed classes.

Does she rarely miss classes?

I just wanted to say what I mean.

If a predicate is "be", we place an adverb after it.

He is often late.

She is still single.

The same is about other adverbs:

I occasionally have a rest at the sea.

He is occasionally late for class.

 b) Present and Past Continuous

Being used with all compounds (the predicates consisting of two parts), an adverb must be before a notional verb:

I am still thinking about you.

Are you still studying at school?

He was attentively listening to what he was told.

c) Present and Past Perfect and Perfect Continuous.

In these tenses we place an adverb after have/has/had:

He has never been like that!

Has he ever been like that?

She has just arrived.

I have already been waiting for you for an hour!

How long have you already been waiting?

He knew the way as he had often been there before.

d) Future simple and continuous.

In these tenses an adverb should be after "will":

When I leave, I will often call you.

You will still be sleeping when I come back.

e) Future Perfect and Perfect Continuous.

An adverb should be after have:

I will have already got my diploma before you arrive.

She will have constantly been studying English for a year before you arrive.

There are a few adverbs always used at the end of a sentence. They are:

yet, lately, recently, before:

He hasn't come, yet.

I have seen him recently/lately.

Most of adverbs (except above-mentioned) can be used either inside(before) a predicate or after objects:

He attentively listened to my story

or

He listened to my story attentively.

If there is one object, it is of no matter where to place an adverb. However, if there are a few objects or some complex object, it is better  to place an adverb inside a predicate:

He kindly presented her a great car (two objects).

I attentively listened to him telling about his trip (complex object, participle).

3. If an adverb is used as a definition of a gerund, it is always placed directly after a gerund (if there are no objects) or after all objects:

She doesn't approve of his driving carelessly.

I would appreciate your sending me the documents immediately.

4. If an adverb is used as a definition of an infinitive, there may be two cases:

a) An adverb belongs to the group of the adverbs placed only inside a predicate. Such an adverb is used before an infinitive:

He promised never to do it again.

b) all other adverbs are used after an infinitive phrase:

I like to read slowly and attentively.

5. If an adverb is used as a definition of a participle, there may be a few cases:

a) The Participle II (used as a definition of a noun). In this case we place an adverb beforea participle:

The newly painted fence was still wet.

I couldn't go to sleep because of a noisily crying baby.

He managed to notice the light hardly being seen in the twilight. 

b) The Participle I (used as a modifier of action or time). There may be two cases:

      1) if there are no objects after a participle, an adverb is placed after a participle at the end of a sentence:

          The children were crossing the street laughing loudly.

But it should be before a participle at the beginning of a sentence.

Loudly laughing, the children were crossing the street.

      2) If there are objects or other modifiers after a participle, an adverb is usually placedbefore it:

          I saw a men slowly walking to the gate.

       If we use perfect forms , we usually place an adverb like this:

           Having quickly eaten his dinner he rushed out.

           She fainted having been suddenly informed about the crash.

As you can see, the principles of using adverbs defining predicates and verbals are the same.

6. If we use adverbs with adjectives we place an adverb before an adjective:

This book is very informative and interesting.

He turned out to be unexpectedly knowledgeable .

I hope, my explanations are clear enough. But if you still have some questions, just ask them. I am always glad to help.

And now, here is your test. Your task is to find the right place of an adverb in brackets.

1. I don’t call her (often).
2. I will have finished this translation by tomorrow (hardly).
3. He was walking up the hill (slowly).
4. I have found it out (recently).
5. Winter seemed to end (never).
6. He is used to attending classes (regularly).
7. She has been like that (always)
8. He is studying at the university (still).
9. Do you like to do nothing (sometimes)?
10. Having been asked a question (suddenly), he didn’t know what to say.
11. Walking on the street (slowly), I noticed a wallet lying on the pavement (suddenly).
12. Give up trying to reach your goals (never).
13. He is hungry (always).
14. When I called for her, she turned out not to be ready (yet).
15. The book referred (just) was translated from French.
16. Having looked through the morning mail (inattentively), he left for work.
17. My brother is fond of reading (greatly).
18. I can tell you how to do it (properly).
19. She misses lectures (rarely).
20. It is a book brought out (just).

As usual, there is a deadline. Let it be May 16.

Have a great Sunday and a wonderfull week!

Here are the correct answers.

1. I don’t often call her.
2. I will have hardly finished this translation by tomorrow.
3. He was slowly walking up the hill.
4. I have found it out recently.
5. Winter seemed never to end.
6. He is used to attending classes regularly.
7. She has always been like that.
8. He is still studying at the university.
9. Do you sometimes like to do nothing?
10. Having been suddenly asked a question, he didn’t know what to say.
11. Slowly walking on the street, I suddenly noticed a wallet lying on the pavement.
12. Never give up trying to reach your goals.
13. He is always hungry.
14. When I called for her, she turned out not to be ready, yet.
15. The book just referred, was translated from French.
16. Having inattentively looked through the morning mail, he left for work.
17. My brother is greatly fond of reading.
18. I can tell you how to do it properly.
19. She rarely misses lectures.
20. It is a book just brought out.

Thanks everyone and all of you for such active participation!

Hi, my dear friends! Today I'd like to post the test on the prepositions of action. First, this group of prepositions is the most problematic in use. Besides, just these prepositions are used in the phrasal verbs and reading your comments to Dan's blogs I see you have some problems choosing the correct preposition for this or that phrasal verb. So, before starting this test, you should read my explanations in the attached file.

Prepositions%20of%20action.doc

Your task is usual. You should fill in the blanks with the prepositions of action.

1. She came ____ to the door and opened it.
2. They were driving ____ the bridge. The bridge was ____ the canal.
3. The boy climbed ____ the wall.
4. She was looking ____ the street ____ the closed window.
5. He will be ____ in an hour.
6. My friend was walking ____.
7. A man was climbing ____ the hill ____ the narrow path.
8. We were boating ____ the river.
9. There are a lot of unemployed ____ here.
10. Take it ____ ____ here!
11. Go ____ this street ____ the next corner and turn right ____ the 25^th street.
12. There was nobody ____.
13. English is spoken all ____ the world.
14. He looked at a newcomer ____the paper he was reading.
15. He arrived at the Railroad station ____ of time.
16. He ate ____his dinner.
17. I cut the article ____ ____ the newspaper.
18. Don’t forget to plug ____ the iron.
19. I read your letter ____and ____.
20. Fill ____ my car.
21. The house burned ____.
22. He burned ____ the note.
23. He hung the flag ____ ____ the window.
24. The state flag is either lowered ____ or lighted ____ in the nighttime.
25. The worker was sawing ____ the old tree branches.

Well, I am setting the deadline and let it be May 9, OK?

Have a pleasant weekend!

My dear friends! As there are no new replies and it is the deadline today, I am posting the correct answers. Here they are:

1. She came up to the door and opened it.
2. They were driving along/on the bridge. The bridge was over/across the canal.
3. The boy climbed over the wall.
4. She was looking at the street through the closed window.
5. He will be back in an hour.
6. My friend was walking towards.
7. A man was climbing up the hill along/on the narrow path.
8. We were boating on/along/up/down the river.
9. There are a lot of unemployed over here.
10. Take it away from/out of here!
11. Go on/along this street to/up to the next corner and turn right onto the 25thstreet.
12. There was nobody around/in.
13. English is spoken all over the world.
14. He looked at a newcomer over the paper he was reading.
15. He arrived at the Railroad station ahead of time.
16. He ate up his dinner.
17. I cut the article out of the newspaper.
18. Don’t forget to plug off the iron.
19. I read your letter over and over.
20. Fill up my car.
21. The house burned down.
22. He burned up the note.
23. He hung the flag out of the window.
24. The state flag is either lowered down or lighted up in the nighttime.
25. The worker was sawing off the old tree branches.

And I'd like to add a few words. I think 6, 15 and 23 were the most complicated for you to guess. As to No 15, it is an idiom. So, either you know it or not. But No 23! According to my husband, it was one of the easiest, especially taking into account all our explanations. You are lucky not to live in the USA. Here, honor of the national flag is protected by law and if some authorities would have read your comments, you might have had great problems! Ha-ha-ha! Please, don't delete any comments, I am just kidding!

So, as usual, you can ask any questions about this test if you have any.

Thanks very much for participating!

Dear friends! Honestly, I didn’t expect you to have such great problems with the prepositions of time. So, I decided to post one more test for you to practice a little. I hope now it will be easier for you  to find the correct prepositions as I have already explained how to use them in my group.

Now, here is your task. You should fill in the blanks with the following prepositions: by,  in, for, during, within, till, until, until after, by the time. I have chosen the propositions that caused most of problems in the previous test.

1. She couldn’t find the classroom ___ class had begun.
2. I will have been working here ____ I get some better offer.
3. I will call back ____ an hour.
4. I will be waiting for your call ____ an hour and then, I will have to leave.
5. I was trying to call you ____ an hour.
6. He missed many lectures ____ the last semester.
7. He has been waiting for this meeting ____ many years.
8. Despite the heavy snowstorms ____ early spring, all the snow had melted ____ the mid-April.
9. He hadn’t been able to leave the city ____ the trial was over.
10. The conference will take place ____ two days.
11. He promised to make up his mind ____ two days.
12. ____ they got married, he had already been an open book for her.
13. She had been waiting for him on the bench in the park ____ it started raining.
14. He hadn’t been able to find his way ____ he asked the direction.
15. He was injured ____ the attack.
16.  Many fighters hadn’t lived ____ the end of the battle.
17.  The defenders of the town fought to the death ____ they were shelled.
18. He had known nothing about the accident ____ he was called by the police.
19. Never leave ___ tomorrow what you can do today.
20. Many palace rooms are opened for public ____ two weeks ____ summer.

As usual, we will help you. Let next Monday be the deadline for this test.

And now, have a great time guessing our riddles!

Here are the correct answers.

1. She couldn’t find the classroom until after class had begun.
2. I will have been working here until I get some better offer.
3. I will call back within/in an hour.
4. I will be waiting for your call for an hour and then, I will have to leave.
5. I was trying to call you for an hour.
6. He missed many lectures during the last semester.
7. He has been waiting for this meeting for many years.
8. Despite the heavy snowstorms (in) early spring, all the snow had melted by the mid-April.
9. He hadn’t been able to leave the city until after the trial was over.
10. The conference will take place in two days.
11. He promised to make up his mind within two days.
12. By the time they got married, he had already been an open book for her.
13. She had been waiting for him on the bench in the park until it started raining.
14. He hadn’t been able to find his way until after he asked the direction.
15. He was injured during the attack.
16.  Many fighters hadn’t lived till/until the end of the battle.
17.  The defenders of the town fought to the death until they were shelled.
18. He had known nothing about the accident until after he was called by the police.
19. Never leave for tomorrow what you can do today.
20. Many palace rooms are opened for public for two weeks in/during summer.

Please, ask your questions if you have any and thank you all for participating!

Dear friends! Today I am posting the test on the prepositions of time as I promised you yesterday. Your task is the same as in two previous blogs. You should fill in blanks with the prepositions of time. In the brackets are some explanations in italic. They are supposed to help you find the correct answers. Of course, we will help you as usual.

So, here is the test.

1. I have a day off ___ a day. (the day after tomorrow)
2. The negotiations will take place ___Tuesday morning.
3. The conference will be held ___10 a.m. ___November 25.
4. She got married a year ago and hasn’t called____. (I haven’t heard from her till now)
5. It had been raining ___a few hours ____the T-storm began. (First it was just raining, then the T-storm started)
6. I don’t like to get up early ___the morning.
7. Being a good typist she will type this report ___no time and ___the meantime you could prepare an article.
8. He will call ___noon sharp.
9. We were in love with each other ___we had met the first time.
10. I came across him ___the beginning of this month.
11. I like to read ___midnight.
12. I will have been back ___dinner time.
13. It is cold here ___winter.
14. He was an engineer ___ the past.
15. Mail from Africa is delivered three times ___ week.
16. This street is overcrowded ___morning ___night. (all day long)
17. He will be working here ____June 10.
18. I want to finish this work _____it starts getting dark.
19. We will discuss this problem ___his arrival. (When he arrives)
20. I hadn’t been able to get myself ready ___his arrival.
21. It was cold ____the flight.
22. He asked not to disturb him ___the next hour.
23. He promised to call ___15 minutes.
24. I had worked ___I got tired.
25. I worked ___late night.

As this task is on the prepositions of time, you should pay special attention to the tenses. In some examples this or that tense may prompt you what preposition is correct. And, of course, you should read our comments.

Let next Monday be the deadline, OK?

Good luck!

My dear friends! I see you have some problems with using English prepositions. Tomorrow I will post the correct answers to the first test. And now, I'd like to propose you one more test on prepositions. Your task is the same: just fill in blanks with the prepositions only. Don't try to fill them with some other words like nouns, verbs, etc. Besides, you can't change the text.

So, here is your new task.

____ the summer, we went___ vacation ___ Miami. We stayed ____ a lovely motel there. ____ the morning we would get up ____ 8.00, have breakfast and went ___ the beach. ____  noon we would have lunch ____ our room. ____ lunch we would eat sandwiches and fruits. ____ the afternoon we would go____ the pool area and sit ____ the sun ____ a while. ____ night we would take long walks ____ the beach or visit some friends who lived ____ 520 Volusia Avenue ____ Fort Launderdale.

Many people  ____ ____ the city stayed ____ that motel. Like we, they had been coming ____ that same motel ____ 1975. Most ____ them were ____ Ohio. ____ time ____ time we would eat out ____ the nice restaurant, where we didn't have to wait ____long ____ the waiter to serve us. ____ July it is usually very crowded, but this year ____ least, it wasn't as crowded as ____ the past. Once ____ a while we went ____ the movies ____ the theater ____ the corner ____ Las Ollas Boulevard and Castillo Avenue. We arrived there ____ no time ____ all ____ car.  The movie started ____ 7.00 sharp, so we got there just ____ time to buy some popcorn and find our seats ____ it started. ____ first, I thought I wouldn't enjoy it, but ____ the end, it turned ____ to be a very interesting movie. We decided to get a Coke ____ ____ the machine, but unfortunately it was ____ ____ order. So ____ place ____ Coke, we decided to get some ice cream ____ the Dairy Isle which was located ____ the corner ____ Harper Ave. and Washington st. ____ returning ____ our motel, I decided to finish reading my novel, but I didn't manage to finish it ___ midnight as I went ___ sleep.

I am setting the deadline. Let it be the next weekend, OK? We can always change it.

Have a nice time guessing!

My dear friends! Today is the deadline for this test. You all tried to do your best and gave us many pleasant moments as we see you are learning, gaining some more knowledge and it is the best praise for any teacher.

So, here are the correct answers.

In the summer, we went for vacation to Miami. We stayed at/in a lovely motel there. In the morning we would get up  at 8.00, have breakfast and went to the beach. At noon we would have lunch in our room. For lunch we would eat sandwiches and fruits. In the afternoon we would go to the pool area and sit in/under the sun for a while. At night we would take long walks along/on the beach or visit some friends who lived at 520 Volusia Avenue in Fort Launderdale.

Many people  from out the city stayed at that motel. Like we, they had been coming tothat same motel since 1975. Most of them were from Ohio. From time to time we would eat out at/in the nice restaurant, where we didn't have to wait for long for the waiter to serve us. In July it is usually very crowded, but this year at least, it wasn't as crowded as inthe past. Once in a while we went to the movies at the theater on/at the corner of  Las Ollas Boulevard and Castillo Avenue. We arrived there in no time at all by car.  The movie started at 7.00 sharp, so we got there just in time to buy some popcorn and find our seatsbefore it started. At first, I thought I wouldn't enjoy it, but in the end, it turned out to be a very interesting movie. We decided to get a Coke from out the machine, but unfortunately it was out of order. So in place of Coke, we decided to get some ice creamat the Dairy Isle which was located on/at the corner of Harper Ave. and Washington st.After returning to our motel, I decided to finish reading my novel, but I didn't manage to finish it till midnight as I went to sleep.

Of course, you can ask us any questions.

My dear friends! Today I propose you a test on the prepositions. Your task is quite clear: you should fill in the blanks with the correct prepositions like this:

1.I go _ the beach every day.

Your answer:

1. to

or you can rewrite the sentences like this:

1. I go to the beach every day.

This test will be easy enough, but I am planning to post a few blogs dedicated to the prepositions and my next tasks will be much more complicated. This one is just to find out what problems you have using English prepositions.

 So, here is your task.

1. The motel is right__ the beach.
2. She lives____ the 5th Avenue__ Boston.
3. The theater is ____the corner____ the 36^th Street.
4. We are sitting ____the middle___ the theater___the 15th row.
5. The President is delivering the speech___his people.
6. The plane is flying___the mist.
7. The wind is blowing___ the woods.
8. He can't get____ his loss.
9. The tires are worn ___    .
10. The temperature is___0°C. It is quite warm.
11. He is__ 30 years old. He is still young.
12. The tree is___ my window.
13. The tiger is___the cage. Don't let him___.
14. I am__ home. I am not___.
15. He isn't___ . He is__ the yard.
16. It is rather cold. She has her parka___ with a hood___.
17. The windows are___ ___the car. The conditioning isn't __. There is no air to breathe.
18. I like to walk ___the garden or___ the alley.
19. I usually meet him________ the airport_____ the terminal or right___the runway.
20. He was___   ___money and couldn't even buy any food.

I'd like to say that in some (but only some!) sentences there may be more than one correct prepositions. So, if you have a few versions, post them. We will try to lead you to the correct answers as usual. And, of course, when you add your replies, we will explain your mistakes.

Have a great weekend enjoying our new tasks!

My dear friends! You all made your best to correct your mistakes reading our comments.  You all were very persistent and hardworking although you were not very attentive from time to time.  None of you were perfect but I believe you’ve learned something new and haven’t wasted your time in vain. Today is a deadline for this test, so, I am posting the correct answers.

1. The motel is right on/at the beach.
2. She lives on the 5th Avenue in Boston.
3. The theater is on/at the corner of  the 36^th Street.
4. We are sitting in the middle of the theater in the 15th row.
5. The President is delivering the speech before/in front of/to/toward his people.
6. The plane is flying through/in the mist.
7. The wind is blowing through/in the woods.
8. He can't get over his loss.
9. The tires are worn down/out.
10. The temperature is above 0°C. It is quite warm.
11. He is under/below/about 30 years old. He is still young.
12. The tree is below/before/in front of/at my window.
13. The tiger is in the cage. Don't let him out.
14. I am at home. I am not out.
15. He isn't in/around. He is in the yard.
16. It is rather cold. She has her parka on with a hood up.
17. The windows are up in the car. The conditioning isn't on. There is no air to breathe.
18. I like to walk in/round the garden or along/on the alley.
19. I usually meet him at the airport in the terminal or right on the runway.
20. He was out of money and couldn't even buy any food.

I’d like to add a few words. I see you all have some problems with prepositions and I am going to post a few more tests and also to explain you at least the existing rules in our group. Prepositions are one of the most complicated parts of grammar. There are even special dictionaries where you may be lucky to find a word combination you need. So, you shouldn’t be disappointed or upset with your results. Just visit our group more often and take part in Daily Practice discussion. Also, I recommend that you watch some video on my page.

Now there is one more blog on prepositions and I am going to post one more on the prepositions of time. So, you will not be bored! Ha-ha-ha!

Of course, you may ask me any questions if you have them. They all will be answered.

Thank you all for taking part, for your desire to learn and for your good attitude and kind words we read every day! We both are happy to teach such students!

And have a great Sunday!

My dear friends! I see  you liked my grammar test so, I am posting one more. Your task is the same: to find and to correct the mistakes. Such tests without underlining are the most complicated as any word may be wrong including articles and prepositions. There may be a few mistakes in each sentence. I’d like to pay your attention to the following: it a grammar test, so the used vocabulary is out of the question, it is correct. I’ve seen that in the previous blog some learners tried to change the vocabulary. For example, the given sentence was:

His voice sounded pleasantly.

And the answer was:

His voice sounded beautifully.

There is no difference, as both sentences contain the same mistake. I think I made myself clear as to the vocabulary.

Those who didn’t take part in the first test can read the rules and explanations here:

http://www.myenglishclub.com/profiles/blogs/find-and-correct-a-mistake#comments

And now, here is your new task:

1. My husband wake up early and I, too.
2. Most Americans would not be happy without a TV, a few cars and working at the extra job.
3. It is a possibility to buy this house for a good price. (There may be two correct options).
4. I am looking forward to see you anywhere in Europe soon.
5. She spoke English as if she were American born.
6. A nice house surrounding with the high fence looked at the sea.
7. Only after coming home he realized he lost his walet
8. You are driving too fast that I enjoy the ride.
9. I would rather that he works in another company.
10. No sooner it started raining when we got wet.

My dear learners! This test is more complicated than the previous one. But I believe in you,  in your desire to learn and your ability to do it!

Let Tuesday be a deadline as many people visit the EC only on weekends.

And now, just enjoy a new challenge! 

My dear friends! Today is Friday and I am posting the correct answers with my explanations. But first, I'd like to say a few words. In such kind of tests we try to lead to the right answers, so you should be more attentive reading our comments. It is well-known that if a learner finds the answer himself, he will remember it forever. But if he just reads this answer, he may forget it very soon. After I had posted my comment about No2 in bold and said that something is wrong with the article there, three people managed not to notice that mistake again and it is so easy, it is basic grammar! Well, having analyzed the results of this test I can conclude that you all have problems with grammar! Ha-ha! The parts of grammar causing a lot of problems are the following:

1. The Inversion. A very few of you corrected No1 and none of you corrected No7. But some of you corrected No10.

2. The Prepositions. I think this part of grammar is your "favorite", ha-ha! As far as I remember, only one person noticed the wrong preposition in No3, not to say about No6 although No6 turned out to be easier as you felt there is a mistake and some of you corrected it.

3. The Participle. Many of you tried to replace it with the clause but there was no need to do it as you could only change the form of the participle. It is No6.

4. The Infinitive Complex Object (No8). Dear Abiba, Onee-chan! We have just explained it in our group and you both visit it!

5. The Subjunctive Mood. Many of you had true problems with No5 and No9. We have also explained it in our group.

And now, here are the correct sentences:

1. My husband wakes up early and so do I.
2. Most (of) Americans would not be happy without watching__ TV, having a few cars and working __ __ extra jobs (or ___televisions, a few cars and __ __ __extra jobs).
3. There is a possibility of buying this house at a good price. ( or It is possible to buy this house at a good price)
4. I am looking forward to seeing you somewhere in Europe soon.
5. She spoke English as if she had been American born (or She speaks English as if she were American born)
6. A nice house surrounded with the high fence looked over/on the sea.
7. Only after coming home did he realize_ he had lost his wallet
8. You are driving too fast for me to enjoy the ride.
9. I would rather that he worked in another company.
10. No sooner had it started raining when we got wet.

And here are my explanations.

1, 7 and 10 include the inversion and it is impossible to explain it in a few words. So, I will do in in my group. Here is the link:

http://www.myenglishclub.com/group/improving-grammar-with-tanya-and....

5 and 9. It is the Subjunctive Mood and we have already explained how to use it. Here is the link:

http://www.myenglishclub.com/group/improving-grammar-with-tanya-and...

As to the rest.

2. Speaking about American English, there was only one principle mistake: "a" before TV and none of you noticed it! It is the same in British. The words TV and television are used without any article. It is an exception. Speaking about Standard Written English, the enumeration was also wrong and you all tried to correct it. Now you can see two best versions.

3. At the very beginning I said there may be two options. They are:

It is + adjective + infinitive

or There is + noun + preposition + gerund

Besides, there was a wrong preposition. We say "to buy at a good price" but "to sell for a good price".

4. "To look forward" must be followed by a gerund. Besides, in most of affirmative sentences we use "some". 

6. There were two mistakes. The first one is a wrong form of the participle. The right form is the past participle passive, i.e., "surrounded". There was also a wrong preposition. The idea of the sentence was the following: if you look out of the windows of that house, you will see the sea. There are two phrasal verbs expressing that: "look over" and "look on", the last is American.

8. It is the Infinitive Complex Object. We have already explained how to use it. Here is the link:

http://www.myenglishclub.com/forum/topics/daily-practice?groupUrl=i...

Thanks everyone for taking part in my test. If you still have any questions related to grammar, just ask. 

We wish you all to have a great weekend!

My dear friends! I decided to join my “star husband”, Danny  Clark,  and to teach you some English, too. As I have been teaching English grammar and training for TOEFL for many years, you will be getting mostly grammar-based tasks from me. So, let’s start!

To begin with, here are 10 sentences. There is at least one grammar mistake in each of them. So, your task is to find the mistakes, to correct them, to explain them (if you can) and to give your examples.

For example:

The given sentence:

He left before I returned.

Your answer:

He had left before I returned.

Your explanation:

We use The Past Perfect Tense in complex sentences if one or more actions preceded others in the past.

Your example:

She went to the Post Office to mail the letter she had written the day before.

I believe, your task is clear, isn’t it?

Doing my tests you shouldn’t use error correctors , but you can look up grammar books. You shouldn’t  replace any words with others or change the structure of the sentences, you should just correct the mistakes. I also ask you to set off your corrections in bold.  Please, take into account  there may be more than one mistake in each sentence.

I’d like to add that the first five sentences are rather easy (the Intermediate level), the rest are more complicated, but I advise you all to try all 10. The idea of English level is rather relative!

So, there we go!

1. My boss, together with his family are going on vacation to Europe.
2. After I had returned home, I was reading all night long.
3. It is nothing to talk about!
4. His voice sounded pleasantly and everybody were enjoying his singing.
5. She has felt herself badly during a few days.
6. I am used to spend a few hours a day in the swimming pool.
7. I’d like he doesn’t know my phone number.
8. If he were more attentive at class, he wouldn’t have made so many mistakes in his homework.
9. He has twice more books than I.
10. Neither Dan nor me are going to taunt or humble you, my dear friends!

Now, I am giving you a few days to leave your replies and, of course, you shouldn’t read others. So, let’s set a deadline! Let it be Thursday, for example.  We can change it for sure if you need more (or less) time. Of course, I will be reading all your comments and answering your questions, if they are not concerned with the corrections of the mistakes I’ve made on purpose.

When I see no new replies, I will give you correct answers with explanations and some more examples.

Do you think it will work? If you have some ideas about alteration of modification of my task, I will gladly listen to your ideas and take them into consideration.

And now, just enjoy!

Dear friends! Today is Thursday and I am posting the correct answers for this test.

Here they are:

1. My boss, together with his family is going for vacation to Europe.
2. After I had returned home, I read all night long.
3. There is nothing to talk about!
4. His voice sounded pleasant and everybody was enjoying his singing.
5. She has felt ___bad for a few days.
6. I am used to spending (or I used to spend) a few hours a day at the swimming pool.
7. I’d like him not to know my phone number.
8. If he had been more attentive at class, he wouldn’t have made so many mistakes in his homework.
9. He has twice as many books as me (or I do).
10. Neither Dan nor I am going to taunt or humble you, my dear friends!

Now, I will explain all the mistakes I made on purpose for you to find them.

1. A) The subject is “My boss”, a singular noun..

        B)  We say “I am on vacation” or “On my vacation I was in Europe”

              But we say “For my vacation I am going to Europe”

     2. In a complex sentence one of the predicates MUST be in the form of the Past Simple Tense. “After” must be followed  by a verb in the Past Perfect Tense. So, the predicate in the main clause must be in the Past Simple Tense.

     3. “Nothing” is a pronoun used as a noun. “It is” must be followed by an adjective (or a noun or a numeral describing some time/distance concept). For example:

It is April.

It is the beginning of the month.

It is 2016.

It is 10 miles from here to the airport.

It is within a walking distance.

It is cold now.

It is pleasant to rest at the sea.

        4. A) the verb “sound” must be followed by an adjective.

            B) “everybody” is singular.

       5.  A) In the given sentence “to feel” is an intransitive verb and shouldn’t be followed by an

                 object (in American, we say “complement” meaning an object).

           B) If “to feel” is used as an intransitive verb it must be followed by an adjective.

           C) If we want to say how long an action has been taking place, the right preposition is

               “for”.

         6. We should say “I used to swim” meaning our habits in the past, but “I am used to swimming” meaning our habits in the past and the present. And, of course, nobody spends a few hours in the water (Danny has already explained you this moment). So, the preposition should be either “at” or “by”.

          7. Many verbs being used as predicates must be followed by the construction “to+infinitive” or “bare infinitive”.

           8. It is the unreal condition in the past, i.e., the conditional sentence of the third type. So, the predicate in the subordinate clause must be in the form of the Subjunctive Perfect.

            9. It is a Multiple Number Comparative", i.e. a comparative containing a multiplier like "twice", "half", "three times", etc. In this case we should use such a construction.

           10. “Neither Dan nor I” is a subject and, of course any pronoun must be in the subject form, i.e., “I”. Besides, if we use “neither…nor….” as a subject, the predicate must be same person and number as the word after “nor”. Here are a few examples:

Neither he nor his friends know her.

Neither his friends nor he knows her.

Now, if you have any questions, just ask me, please. Besides, we (Dan and I) started a new group dedicated to grammar and there I am going to explain some grammar related to this test. Sure, I have read all your answers and now I see which sentences are the most problematic for you.

Here is the link to our new group:

http://www.myenglishclub.com/group/improving-grammar-with-tanya-and-dan

Welcome! And thank you all for your great efforts and your desire to learn!

My dear friends! I'd like to wish each of you and all of you  to experience happiness of love and despair of being left alone, joy of being together and grief of losing what and whom you love, I wish you to burst in laughter and tears, to feel inspiration and disappointment, to learn from the mistakes of others and to make your own. I wish you to enjoy your lives, to stumble and to fall down but always to be able to rise. Otherwords, I wish you all to feel the storm of all emotions a human being can ever feel. Live your lives, don't try to be living corpses. Don't hide from reality and your feelings. What doesn't kill us, makes us invincible. That is what life is all about! But never lose your hope! It is well-known that hope is the last to die.

It seeems to sound a little sad on Valentive's Day, but life is not a piece of cake and we have to live through it not to be sorry for what we haven't done.

Well, I'd like to say that love is one of the greatest feelings  we can experience although it is based on our biochemistry. This feeling has always moved the world! And I am really happy that I have felt it and it has always been mutual! I wish you the same!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Always yours,

Tanya

Today is Christmas Eve, a family holiday, a very great tradition to find at least a few days during a year to see the parents and relatives, to forget and forgive all offences, to do something good and to think over our lives. We all need to have some spare time to estimate our actions and Christmas is the best time for that. It is time to confess in love, to express our feelings, to give out gifts, to do something charitable, to feel human beings full of love and understanding. It is time to stop millitary conflicts like they were stopped at the ancient times during the Olimpic Games. It is time of goodness and love! New Year always gives new hopes, new expectations and I wish all your dreams to come true! Let's live in peace with each other and ourselves!

Very Happy New Year Season to everyone! Have a lot of fun!