- •Contents
- •Identifying what you are talking about: determiners 50
- •3 Making a message 111
- •Indicating possibility 168
- •8 Combining messages 245
- •9 Making texts 272
- •Introduction
- •Note on Examples
- •Guide to the Use of the Grammar
- •Introduction
- •Glossary of grammatical terms
- •Cobuild Grammar Chart
- •Contents of Chapter 1
- •Identifying what you are talking about: determiners 54
- •3 Making a message 115
- •Indicating possibility 172
- •8 Combining messages 250
- •9 Making texts 276
- •Identifying people and things: nouns
- •Things which can be counted: count nouns
- •Things not usually counted: uncount nouns
- •When there is only one of something: singular nouns
- •Referring to more than one thing: plural nouns
- •Referring to groups: collective nouns
- •Referring to people and things by name: proper nouns
- •Nouns which are rarely used alone
- •Sharing the same quality: adjectives as headwords
- •Nouns referring to males or females
- •Referring to activities and processes: '-ing' nouns
- •Specifying more exactly: compound nouns
- •Referring to people and things without naming them: pronouns
- •Referring to people and things: personal pronouns
- •Mentioning possession: possessive pronouns
- •Referring back to the subject: reflexive pronouns
- •Referring to a particular person or thing: demonstrative pronouns
- •Referring to people and things in a general way: indefinite pronouns
- •Showing that two people do the same thing: reciprocal pronouns
- •Joining clauses together: relative pronouns
- •Asking questions: interrogative pronouns
- •Other pronouns
- •Identifying what you are talking about: determiners
- •The specific way: using 'the'
- •The specific way: using 'this', 'that', 'these', and 'those'
- •The specific way: using possessive determiners
- •The general way
- •The general way: using 'a' and 'an'
- •The general way: other determiners
- •Contents of Chapter 2
- •Identifying what you are talking about: determiners 54
- •3 Making a message 120
- •Indicating possibility 176
- •8 Combining messages 254
- •9 Making texts 280
- •Describing things: adjectives
- •Information focusing: adjective structures
- •Identifying qualities: qualitative adjectives
- •Identifying the class that something belongs to: classifying adjectives
- •Identifying colours: colour adjectives
- •Showing strong feelings: emphasizing adjectives
- •Making the reference more precise: postdeterminers
- •Special classes of adjectives
- •Position of adjectives in noun groups
- •Special forms: '-ing' adjectives
- •Special forms: '-ed' adjectives
- •Compound adjectives
- •Comparing things: comparatives
- •Comparing things: superlatives
- •Other ways of comparing things: saying that things are similar
- •Indicating different amounts of a quality: submodifiers
- •Indicating the degree of difference: submodifiers in comparison
- •Modifying using nouns: noun modifiers
- •Indicating possession or association: possessive structures
- •Indicating close connection: apostrophe s ('s)
- •Other structures with apostrophe s ('s)
- •Talking about quantities and amounts
- •Talking about amounts of things: quantifiers
- •Talking about amounts of things: partitives
- •Referring to an exact number of things: numbers
- •Referring to the number of things: cardinal numbers
- •Referring to things in a sequence: ordinal numbers
- •Referring to an exact part of something: fractions
- •Talking about measurements
- •Talking about age
- •Approximate amounts and measurements
- •Expanding the noun group: qualifiers
- •Nouns with prepositional phrases
- •Nouns with adjectives
- •Nouns with non-finite clauses
- •Contents of Chapter 3
- •Identifying what you are talking about: determiners 54
- •3 Making a message 124
- •Indicating possibility 181
- •8 Combining messages 258
- •9 Making texts 284
- •Indicating how many participants are involved: transitivity
- •Talking about events which involve only the subject: intransitive verbs
- •Involving someone or something other than the subject: transitive verbs
- •Verbs where the object refers back to the subject: reflexive verbs
- •Verbs with little meaning: delexical verbs
- •Verbs which can be used in both intransitive and transitive clauses
- •Verbs which can take an object or a prepositional phrase
- •Changing your focus by changing the subject: ergative verbs
- •Verbs which involve people doing the same thing to each other: reciprocal verbs
- •Verbs which can have two objects: ditransitive verbs
- •Extending or changing the meaning of a verb: phrasal verbs
- •Verbs which consist of two words: compound verbs
- •Describing and identifying things: complementation
- •Describing things: adjectives as complements of link verbs
- •Saying that one thing is another thing: noun groups as complements of link verbs
- •Commenting: 'to'-infinitive clauses after complements
- •Describing as well as talking about an action: other verbs with complements
- •Describing the object of a verb: object complements
- •Describing something in other ways: adjuncts instead of complements
- •Indicating what role something has or how it is perceived: the preposition 'as'
- •Talking about closely linked actions: using two verbs together in phase
- •Talking about two actions done by the same person: phase verbs together
- •Talking about two actions done by different people: phase verbs separated by an object
- •Contents of Chapter 4
- •Identifying what you are talking about: determiners 54
- •3 Making a message 124
- •Indicating possibility 185
- •8 Combining messages 262
- •9 Making texts 289
- •Statements, questions, orders, and suggestions
- •Making statements: the declarative mood
- •Asking questions: the interrogative mood
- •'Yes/no'-questions
- •'Wh'-questions
- •Telling someone to do something: the imperative mood
- •Other uses of moods
- •Negation Forming negative statements
- •Forming negative statements: negative affixes
- •Forming negative statements: broad negatives
- •Emphasizing the negative aspect of a statement
- •Using modals
- •The main uses of modals
- •Special features of modals
- •Referring to time
- •Indicating possibility
- •Indicating ability
- •Indicating likelihood
- •Indicating permission
- •Indicating unacceptability
- •Interacting with other people
- •Giving instructions and making requests
- •Making an offer or an invitation
- •Making suggestions
- •Stating an intention
- •Indicating unwillingness or refusal
- •Expressing a wish
- •Indicating importance
- •Introducing what you are going to say
- •Expressions used instead of modals
- •Semi-modals
- •Contents of Chapter 5
- •Identifying what you are talking about: determiners 54
- •3 Making a message 124
- •Indicating possibility 185
- •8 Combining messages 266
- •9 Making texts 293
- •The present
- •The present in general: the simple present
- •Accent on the present: the present continuous
- •Emphasizing time in the present: using adjuncts
- •The past
- •Stating a definite time in the past: the simple past
- •Accent on the past: the past continuous
- •The past in relation to the present: the present perfect
- •Events before a particular time in the past: the past perfect
- •Emphasizing time in the past: using adjuncts
- •The future
- •Indicating the future using 'will'
- •Other ways of indicating the future
- •Adjuncts with future tenses
- •Other uses of tenses
- •Vivid narrative
- •Firm plans for the future
- •Forward planning from a time in the past
- •Timing by adjuncts
- •Emphasizing the unexpected: continuing, stopping, or not happening
- •Time expressions and prepositional phrases Specific times
- •Non-specific times
- •Subordinate time clauses
- •Extended uses of time expressions
- •Frequency and duration
- •Adjuncts of frequency
- •Adjuncts of duration
- •Indicating the whole of a period
- •Indicating the start or end of a period
- •Duration expressions as modifiers
- •Contents of Chapter 6
- •Identifying what you are talking about: determiners 54
- •3 Making a message 124
- •Indicating possibility 185
- •8 Combining messages 271
- •9 Making texts 297
- •Position of adjuncts
- •Giving information about manner: adverbs
- •Adverb forms and meanings related to adjectives
- •Comparative and superlative adverbs
- •Adverbs of manner
- •Adverbs of degree
- •Giving information about place: prepositions
- •Position of prepositional phrases
- •Indicating position
- •Indicating direction
- •Prepositional phrases as qualifiers
- •Other ways of giving information about place
- •Destinations and directions
- •Noun groups referring to place: place names
- •Other uses of prepositional phrases
- •Prepositions used with verbs
- •Prepositional phrases after nouns and adjectives
- •Extended meanings of prepositions
- •Contents of Chapter 7
- •Identifying what you are talking about: determiners 54
- •3 Making a message 124
- •Indicating possibility 185
- •8 Combining messages 275
- •9 Making texts 302
- •Indicating that you are reporting: reporting verbs
- •Reporting someone's actual words: quote structures
- •Reporting in your own words: report structures
- •Reporting statements and thoughts
- •Reporting questions
- •Reporting orders, requests, advice, and intentions
- •Time reference in report structures
- •Making your reference appropriate
- •Using reporting verbs for politeness
- •Avoiding mention of the person speaking or thinking
- •Referring to the speaker and hearer
- •Other ways of indicating what is said
- •Other ways of using reported clauses
- •Contents of Chapter 8
- •Identifying what you are talking about: determiners 54
- •3 Making a message 124
- •Indicating possibility 185
- •8 Combining messages 279
- •9 Making texts 306
- •Adverbial clauses
- •Time clauses
- •Conditional clauses
- •Purpose clauses
- •Reason clauses
- •Result clauses
- •Concessive clauses
- •Place clauses
- •Clauses of manner
- •Relative clauses
- •Using relative pronouns in defining clauses
- •Using relative pronouns in non-defining clauses
- •Using relative pronouns with prepositions
- •Using 'whose'
- •Using other relative pronouns
- •Additional points about non-defining relative clauses
- •Nominal relative clauses
- •Non-finite clauses
- •Using non-defining clauses
- •Using defining clauses
- •Other structures used like non-finite clauses
- •Coordination
- •Linking clauses
- •Linking verbs
- •Linking noun groups
- •Linking adjectives and adverbs
- •Linking other word groups
- •Emphasizing coordinating conjunctions
- •Linking more than two clauses or word groups
- •Contents of Chapter 9
- •Identifying what you are talking about: determiners 54
- •3 Making a message 124
- •Indicating possibility 185
- •8 Combining messages 279
- •9 Making texts 310
- •Referring back
- •Referring back in a specific way
- •Referring back in a general way
- •Substituting for something already mentioned: using 'so' and 'not'
- •Comparing with something already mentioned
- •Referring forward
- •Leaving out words: ellipsis
- •Ellipsis in conversation
- •Contents of Chapter 10
- •Identifying what you are talking about: determiners 54
- •3 Making a message 124
- •Indicating possibility 185
- •8 Combining messages 279
- •9 Making texts 310
- •Focusing on the thing affected: the passive voice
- •Selecting focus: cleft sentences
- •Taking the focus off the subject: using impersonal 'it'
- •Describing a place or situation
- •Talking about the weather and the time
- •Commenting on an action, activity, or experience
- •Commenting on a fact that you are about to mention
- •Introducing something new: 'there' as subject
- •Focusing on clauses or clause elements using adjuncts Commenting on your statement: sentence adjuncts
- •Indicating your attitude to what you are saying
- •Stating your field of reference
- •Showing connections: linking adjuncts
- •Indicating a change in a conversation
- •Emphasizing
- •Indicating the most relevant thing: focusing adverbs
- •Other information structures Putting something first: fronting
- •Introducing your statement: prefacing structures
- •Doing by saying: performative verbs
- •Exclamations
- •Making a statement into a question: question tags
- •Addressing people: vocatives
- •Contents of the Reference Section
- •Identifying what you are talking about: determiners 54
- •3 Making a message 124
- •Indicating possibility 185
- •8 Combining messages 279
- •9 Making texts 310
- •Forming plurals of count nouns
- •Forming comparative and superlative adjectives
- •The spelling and pronunciation of possessives
- •Numbers
- •Cardinal numbers
- •Ordinal numbers
- •Fractions and percentages
- •Verb forms and the formation of verb groups
- •Finite verb groups and the formation of tenses
- •Non-finite verb groups: infinitives and participles
- •Forming adverbs
- •Forming comparative and superlative adverbs
- •Indirect object
- •Inversion
- •Verbal nouns
Destinations and directions
adverbs indicating destinations and targets 6.94 Adverbs can be used to indicate destinations and targets.
'I have expected you,' she said, inviting him inside.
No birds or animals came near.
The following adverbs are used to indicate destinations or targets:
|
aboard abroad ashore close downstairs downtown |
heavenward home homeward in indoors inland |
inside inward inwards near next door outdoors |
out of doors outside overseas skyward there underground |
upstairs uptown |
The comparative forms 'nearer' and 'closer' are more commonly used than 'near' or 'close'.
Come nearer.
'Deep', 'far', 'high', and 'low' are also used as adverbs indicating a destination or target but only when followed by another adjunct or modified in some other way.
The dancers sprang high into the air brandishing their spears.
The comparative forms 'deeper', 'further' (or 'farther'), 'higher', and 'lower' are also used, and so is the superlative form 'furthest' (or 'farthest). These do not have to be followed by another adjunct or modified in another way.
We left the waterfall and climbed higher.
People have to trek further and further from the villages.
relative direction 6.95 Adverbs can be used to indicate direction in relation to the particular position of the person or thing you are talking about.
Go north from Leicester Square up Wardour Street.
Don't took down.
...the part of the engine that was spinning around.
Mrs James gave a little cry and hurried on.
The wave of hot air knocked her backwards.
He turned left and began strolling slowly down the street.
They can also indicate the direction in which someone or something is facing in relation to the front of the place they are in.
The seats face forward.
The following adverbs are used to indicate direction of this sort:
|
ahead along back backward backwards forward forwards left on onward |
right sideways ~ anti-clockwise around clockwise down downward downwards east |
eastward eastwards north northward northwards north-east north-west south southward southwards |
south-east south-west round up upward upwards west westward westwards |
6.96 The adverbs 'round', 'about', and 'around' can indicate movement in several directions within a place.
...monkeys noisily rushing about.
They won't want anyone else trampling around.
The following adverbial expressions indicate repeated movement in different directions:
|
back and forth backwards and forwards from side to side |
hither and thither in and out round and round |
to and fro up and down |
At other times she would pace up and down outside the trailer.
Burke was walking back and forth as he spoke.
The Princess ran hither and thither in the orchard.
6.97 The following adverbs can be used to indicate movement away from someone or something:
|
aside |
away |
off |
out |
outward |
The farmer just laughed and rode away.
It took just one tug to pull them out.
The adverb 'apart' indicates that two or more things move away from each other.
I rushed in and tried to pull the dogs apart.
6.98 The following adverbs can be used to indicate movement along a road, path, or line:
|
alongside beside |
downhill downstream |
uphill upstream |
The water was now racing downhill between its narrowed stony walls.
It wasn't the moving that kept me warm; it was the effort of pushing Daisy uphill.
6.99 The following adverbs can be used to indicate movement across or past something:
|
across by |
over overhead |
past round |
through |
There's an aircraft coming over.
'Where are you going?' demanded Miss Craig as Florrie rushed by.
indefinite direction 6.100 The indefinite place adverbs are used to indicate a destination or direction when you want to be more general or vague.
He went off somewhere for a shooting weekend.
Dust blew everywhere, swirling over dry caked mountains.
There was hardly anywhere to go.
Soblen could have gone elsewhere.
'Nowhere' is mainly used metaphorically, to indicate lack of progress.
They were getting nowhere and had other things to do.
See paragraph 6.90 for more information on these indefinite adverbs.
adverbs as qualifiers 6.101 Like prepositional phrases, adverbs can also be used as qualifiers after nouns rather than as adjuncts after verbs.
...the man who watched him from the terrace above.
The man opposite rises, and lifts down her case.
People everywhere are becoming more conscious of inequality.
...the road south.