English language grammar exercises, Exercises of English

Download English language grammar exercises and more Exercises English in PDF only on Docsity! Time expressions for tenses in English and their position in the sentence ** Frequency adverbs (e.g. often, always, never, sometimes, generally, seldom, rarely, ever, frequently etc.) usually go in the following positions:  before the main verb  after the verb be  between the auxiliary verb and the main verb  before used to and have to Before the main verb I often visit my parents. He always buys comics. They hardly ever visit us. I seldom read foreign periodicals. After the verb be Subject + be + adverb + complement He is always late for college. I am often ready for work at 6 am. He is never worried about his finances. I am never asked to speak at public meetings. They are rarely invited to parties. Between the auxiliary verb and the principal verb - Present /Past Perfect Simple/ Will-future I have always thought of standing for election. He has always done justice to all. We shall never explore such opportunities. He will hardly ever appreciate your kind gesture. I have sometimes managed to hoodwink others. It has rarely caught my attention. Used to and have to are always placed after the adverbs. The fire brigade always has to be ready for emergencies. We sometimes used to go for long drives. When the auxiliaries are to be stressed, they are sometimes put after the adverbs. I often am worried about my finances. We never should take such risks. Now, let’s take an example of a frequency adverb and see how we can insert it in different sentences for each tense. Still, there can be adverbs that cannot be used with all tenses. Be aware that there may be several options, depending on what the speaker wants to put emphasis on. Neither the rules nor the examples pretend to be exhaustive. Remember that the positions listed here may not be suitable in all contexts. In some cases, the position of the adverb may also modify its meaning. Never Present Simple: I never wear dark colours.  In questions we use “ever” instead: Do you ever wear….?  We use 'ever' in negative sentences if we have 'not'. I don’t ever wear red. Past Simple: Grandpa never visited Africa. Present Perfect Simple: I have never seen Africa.  We use 'ever' in negative sentences if we have 'not': I haven’t ever seen that movie.  We use 'ever' with negative adverbs like 'hardly' or 'barely' or 'scarcely' and in sentences with 'nothing' or 'nobody' or 'no one'. first verb (auxiliary): The experiment has always been done like this. They may never have used this method. 3. End Position: Subject + Verb + Adverb He spoke about his plans at the meeting. She has been attending the English class regularly. She talks with her best friend sometimes. They will meet us at the weekend. I am seeing Tim tomorrow. I will be playing tennis from 9 to 12 tomorrow. Adverbs used in one, two or all three positions 1. Adverbs used mostly in mid position frequency: always, ever, hardly ever, never, often, rarely, seldom degree: almost, hardly, nearly, quite, scarcely probability: certainly, definitely, probably time: just He has never attended an international conference. I quite/really/barely understand what you mean. He is probably back. 2. Adverbs used mostly in front or mid position frequency/time: sometimes, usually; eventually, finally I sometimes work till late at night. Sometimes, I work till late at night. 3. Adverbs used mostly in mid or end position Frequency: constantly, continuously, regularly Degree: completely, entirely, greatly Time: already, lately, recently The temperature was constantly rising. The temperature was rising constantly. I completely agree with you. I agree with you completely. 4. Adverbs used mostly in end or front position Place: above, here, there, at home, upstairs time/frequency: in January, last year; as a rule, from time to time, once probability: maybe, perhaps Remember: - With adverbs of place, time and frequency, the end position is more common; the front position is used to give importance or draw attention to the adverb: You will find a more detailed description below. Below you will find a more detailed description. I offered him help once, but he refused it. Once I offered him help, but he refused it. I started to learn English last year. Last year, I started to learn English. - With maybe and perhaps, the front position is more common. Perhaps, you should ask him for help. Maybe we can go and ask them about the discounts. 5. Adverbs used in any of the three positions Manner: briefly, carefully, easily, quickly, slowly time/frequency: now, soon, immediately, suddenly; occasionally aspect: economically, financially, logically, scientifically, technically probability: apparently, certainly, clearly, evidently, obviously Manner: In this chapter we briefly examine the …… Briefly, I think we should join this project. (in brief) Let me describe briefly how we ……. He explained the situation briefly. Not: He explained briefly the situation. !! If the verb has an object, the adverb comes after the object. Only when the object is long, the adverb may precede it: We considered briefly our next steps in that unexpected situation. Time: The situation suddenly changed. The situation changed suddenly. Suddenly, the situation changed. The mid position is the most common. The end position draws attention to the adverb. The front position is the least common; it is used to raise interest in what is coming next. Aspect: Technically, this is no problem. This is no problem, technically. This is, technically, no problem. The end and front positions are the most common. Probability: This is obviously a mistake. This is a mistake, obviously. Obviously, this is a mistake.