Comparison of adjectives

Comparison of adjective describe the difference of quality and position. And the volume of the difference is called Degree of comparison.

Examples:

• Sskib is a good player. [positive]
  
  
• Sakib is better than Watson. [comparative]
  
  
• Sakib is the best of all. [superlative]

Degree of comparison rules:

Add “er” in the comparative and “est” in the superlative to adjectives ending in a double consonant or a single consonant if there is a double Vowel before consonant.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
strong rich poor high deep cold bold tall hard black	Stronger richer poorer higher deeper colder bolder taller harder blacker	strongest richest poorest highest deepest coldest boldest tallest hardest blackest

Add “double consonant+er” in the comparative and “double consonant +est” in the superlative to adjectives ending in a single consonant or a single Vowel.

Positive	Comparative	Superlative
Big thin red hot fat	Bigger thinner redder hotter fatter	Biggest thinnest reddest hottest fattest

Possessive adjectives

How to use possessive adjectives?

We can use possessive adjectives to show ownership.

• Here is my mother.
• This is our school.
• It is my pen.

Subject pronoun	Possessive adjective
I	My
We	Our
You	Your
He	His
She	Her
They	Their
It	Its

Here is the difference between the possessive pronoun and the possessive adjective.

Possessive pronouns	Possessive adjectives
This pen is mine.	This is my pen.
This school is ours.	This is our school.
Which book is yours?	Which is your book?

Function of adjectives.

How to use adjectives?

We can use adjectives to describe the size.

• He is a tall man.
• You are a little boy.
• This is a short film.

We can use adjectives to describe the shape.

• The earth is round.
• This is a square box.
• It was a triangular shape.

We can use adjectives to describe colour.

• The sky is blue.
• The green is sign of peace.
• This is a black board.

We can use adjectives to describe distance.

• It is so far.
• I have open a business for a long time.
• He went for a long walk.

We can use adjectives to describe temperature.

• Do not put your hand in the hot water.
• Today is very cold.
• The day was hot.

We can use adjectives to describe quality.

• He was an honest man.
• The boy is very poor.
• She was a rich man.

We can use adjectives to describe nationality.

• I am Bangladeshi.
• This computer is German.
• This was a French flag.

Adjectives

What is the adjective?

Adjectives give various information about noun and pronoun. The form of an adjective does not change depending on the number or gender of the noun.

Examples:

• He is a good boy. [male]
  
  
• She is a good girl. [female]
  
  
• There is a green mango in the box. [singular]
  
  
• There are some green mangoes in the box. [plural]

Classes of adjective

• Qualitative adjectives: age, colour, size, smell etc.
  
  
• Quantitative adjectives: all, half, more, some etc.
  
  
• Numeric adjectives: one, three,six, one hundred etc.
  
  
• Demonstrative adjectives: that, this, those, these etc.
  
  
• Interrogative adjectives: what, which, whose etc.
  
  
• Possessive adjectives: my, our, their, her etc.

Note: (a) Who and which are not used in interrogative adjective.

(b) The articles a , an, the also are one kind of adjective.

Please click here to know more about adjective.

Stative verbs

What is the stative verbs?

There are some verbs in English which are not used in continuous tenses. They often describe states that last for some time. These are called the stative verbs or non-continuous.

Here is a list of the stative verbs:

love	astonish	contain
smell	mean	fit
know	suppose	belong
matter	realise	consist
depend	understand	seem
see	prefer	need
agree	appear	want
recognise	like	believe
own	sound	look
mind	taste	hate
remember	promise	satisfy
disagree	surprise	impress
please	hear	think
doubt	possess	concern
feel	imagine	dislike
wish	be	have
deserve	involve	include
deny	measure	possess

Example:

• I see what you mean.
  
  
• I have a dog.
  
  
• The bed feels soft.
  
  
• I think you are right.
  
  
• Honey tastes sweet.

 

Modal verb

What is the modal verbs?

There are some verbs in English which are different from normal verbs. They never use “s, es” for the third person singular, they do not use “to” for the infinitive, they make an interrogative by turnover. These are called the modal verbs.

Here is a list of the modal verbs:

shall             should

will               would

can              could

may             might

must            ought to

How to use the modal verbs?

We can use the modal verbs to talk about habit, ability, possibility, advice,permission.

Ability

• I can play football.
• She can speak English.
• You can not do this.

Possibility

• It may rain now.
• He is sick, so he could not come.
• Water is boiling, so it must be very hot.

Habit

• He will always be late.
• When she came to me, we would often go to cinema.
• You would often lose your pen.

Advice and obligation

• We should learn English properly.
• Students must study regularly.
• We should stop smoking.

Permission

• can I use this pen?
• You may use it.
• May I come in sir?

   

Gerunds and Infinitives

We should know the difference between gerund and infinitive. Because it is a little difficult to use gerunds and infinitives.

We can use gerunds [verb + ing]: after prepositions, as the subject/object of a sentence, after certain verbs.

Example:

• He gave me the book before leaving. [after preposition]
• Smoking is a bed habit. [as a subject]
• I dislike waiting for you. [after certain verb]

We can use “to” + infinitives: after adjectives, to show purpose, after certain verbs.

Example:

• It is easy to say but difficult to do. [after adjective]
• I have come here to see you. [to show purpose]
• We decided to marry. [certain verb]

Here are some verbs that can be used in gerunds

• Avoid: I avoided talking to her.
• Dislike: I dislike walking on the street.
• Finish: He has finished preparing for the examination
• Discuss: We discussed living together.
• Enjoy: I enjoy singing.

Verbs like: miss, practice, mind, appreciate, consider, risk, admit, deny, mention, involve, complete etc.

Here are some verbs that can be used in the infinitive with “to”

• Climb: He climbed to be a singer.
• Wait: I waited to see her.
• Seem: you seemed to be nonsense.
• Offer: She offer to love me.
• Plan: I plan to buy a new car.
  
  
  
  
  
  

Verbs like: agree, ask, want, promise, hope, learn, manage, demand, choose, refuse, tend etc.

Please click here to know more about the infinitive without “to”

The infinitive

Infinitive

Infinitive with “to”/To + infinitive.

We can use “to + infinitive” after adjective.

• It is impossible to break up easily.
• He is weak to walk.
• It is easy to speak English.

We can use “to + infinitive” to show purpose.

• He came to me to borrow a pen.
• We came to Malaysia to visit.
• I have come here to watch a movie.

We can use “to + infinitive” after certain verb.

• I hope to pass the examination.
• She agreed to marry me.
• You decided to love me.

Please click here to know more about certain verbs.

Infinitive without “to”/infinitive.

We can use “infinitive without “to” after perception verb.

• She heard you close the door.
• I saw her walk away.
• We saw the child go away.

We can use “infinitive without “to” after “make”, “let” and “help”.

• She made me love her.
• Let us go for a walk.
• Please help me borrow a book.

We can use “infinitive without “to” after modal verb.

• He can speak English well.
• We should leave smoke.
• Outsiders should not allow.

Please click here to know more about modal verbs.

Simple future

What is the simple future tense?

The simple future tense describes a time of an action in the future. This tense of any verb has two parts, one is the present form of the verb of “To be” [shall, will] another is the infinitive without “to”. Here is describe how to make and use it.

How to use the simple future tense?

We can use the simple future to talk about future facts, prediction for future events, requests, willingness, promises.

we are talking about future facts.

• I will go to Dhaka tomorrow.
• The train will leave at seven o'clock.
• Will you go now?

we are talking about prediction for future.

• I think he will pass the examination this year.
• It will rain tomorrow.
• May be she will come to me again.

we are talking about requests.

• Will you give me a pen?
• Will you tell me please?

we are talking about promises.

• I will never disturb you.
• I will give up smoking.

Formation of simple future tense.

Person/number	Affirmative	Interrogative	Negative
1st person/singular	I will/shall eat rice.	Shall/will I eat rice?	I will/shall not eat rice.
2nd person/singular	You will eat rice.	Will you eat rice?	You will not eat rice.
3rd person/singular	He/she will eat rice.	Will he/she eating rice?	He/she will not eat rice.
1st person/plural	We shall/will eat rice.	Shall/will we eat rice?	We Shall/will not eat rice.
2nd person/plural	You will eat rice.	Will you eat rice?	You will not eat rice.
3rd person/plural	They will eat rice.	Will they eat rice?	They will not eat rice.

Note: We can use “shall” with We and I to make an offer or suggestion, but in the modern English shall is dated.

Past perfect continuous

What is the past perfect continuous tense?

Past perfect continuous tense of any verb has two parts, one is the past perfect of the verb of “To be” [had been] another is the present participle form [principle verb + ing] of the verb. Here is described how to make and use it.

How to use the past perfect continuous tense?

We use the past perfect continuous to talk about a situation in progress, We can use this tense about a reason of something in the past.

Examples:

• I had been working here for five years.
  
  
• Before I changed jobs, I had been working in this office.
  
  
• It had been raining for few minutes and the streets were wet.
   
• I had been working here since 1999.

• It had been raining since morning.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    Formation of past perfect continuous tense.
  
  
  
  

  Person/number	Affirmative	Interrogative	Negative
  1st person/singular	I had been reading.	Had I been reading?	I had not been reading.
  2nd person/singular	You had been reading.	Had you been reading?	You had not been reading.
  3rd person/singular	He/she had been reading.	Had he/she been reading?	He/she had not been reading.
  1st person/plural	We had been reading.	Had we been reading?	We had not been reading.
  2nd person/plural	You had been reading.	Had you been reading?	You had not been reading.
  3rd person/plural	They had been reading.	Had they been reading?	They had not been reading.

  
  
  
  

Past perfect

What is the past perfect tense?

The past perfect describes what happened before a point in the past. The tense makes it clear which is happened first between two event. Past perfect tense of any verb has two parts, one is the past form of the verb of “To have” [had] another is the past participle form of the verb. Here is described how to make and use it.

How to use the past perfect tense?

We can use the past perfect to talk about a completed action before something else in the past. We can use this tense to explain a reason for something in the past.

we are talking about a completed action before something else in the past.

• When we came, the train had left .
• When her mother went, the baby had cried.
• He had gone out, when I arrived in the room.

we are talking about to explain a reason for something in the past.

• It had snowed yesterday, so the plane did not arrive.
• He had eaten rice, so he was not hungry.
• I had been sick, so I can not come,
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Formation of present perfect tense.
  
  
  
  

  Person/number	Affirmative	Interrogative	Negative
  1st person/singular	I had eaten rice.	Had I eaten rice?	I had not eaten rice.
  2nd person/singular	You had eaten rice.	Had you eaten rice?	You had not eaten rice.
  3rd person/singular	He/she had eaten rice.	Had he/she eaten rice?	He/she had not eaten rice.
  1st person/plural	We had eaten rice.	Had we eaten rice?	We had not eaten rice.
  2nd person/plural	You had eaten rice.	Had you eaten rice?	You had not eaten rice.
  3rd person/plural	They had eaten rice.	Had they eaten rice?	They had not eaten rice.

  
  
  Note: In every field, we can use “had” [the verb of 'to be'] for the past perfect tense.