Learn tips on how to teach grammar and usage from our editors and grammar experts. 

Grammar & Usage

<h3>Yee-haw! It&#39;s (not &quot;its&quot;) an apostrophe roundup!</h3>

<p>August 15, 2014, is International Apostrophe Day! This tiny but important punctuation mark can be seen all over the Internet lately in social media images mocking its (not &#39;it&#39;s&#39;) misuse. English language learners (not to mention native speakers) often have trouble using this little guy correctly. In honor of this holiday and in the hopes of lessening the confusion over this diminutive mark, I&#39;ve rounded up all the posts I&#39;ve written on this topic into one place. ESL Library also has a NEW lesson in our Writing section: <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/1832" target="_blank">How to Use an Apostrophe</a>. Students learn and practice using apostrophes correctly, and they see many examples of common errors. In my opinion, all textbooks should include a helpful lesson like&nbsp;this!</p>

<h3>Possessives</h3>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/forming-the-possessive-of-words-ending-in-s" target="_blank">Forming the Possessive of Words Ending in -S</a></p>

<h3>Commonly Confused Words</h3>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-tips-on-its-and-its-2" target="_blank">Teaching Tips on It&#39;s and Its</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-tips-on-theyre-their-and-there/" target="_blank">Teaching Tips on They&#39;re, Their</a><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-tips-on-theyre-their-and-there/" target="_blank">, and There</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-tips-on-youre-and-your" target="_blank">Teaching Tips on You&rsquo;re and Your</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/teaching-tips-whos-vs-whose" target="_blank">Teaching Tips: Who&#39;s Vs. Whose</a></p>

<h3>Holidays</h3>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/when-to-write-new-years-new-year-and-new-year" target="_blank">When to Write &ldquo;New Year&rsquo;s&rdquo;, &ldquo;New Year&rdquo;, and &ldquo;new year&rdquo;</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/valentines-day-capitalization-and-punctuation-rules" target="_blank">Valentine&rsquo;s Day Capitalization and Punctuation Rules</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/saint-patricks-or-st-patricks-paddy-or-patty" target="_blank">Saint Patrick&#39;s or St. Patrick&#39;s? Paddy or Patty?</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/april-fools-day-capitalization-and-punctuation-rules" target="_blank">April Fools&rsquo; Day Capitalization and Punctuation Rules</a>, <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/happy-beatles-day-or-is-it-beatles-day" target="_blank">Happy Beatles Day! (Or Is It Beatles&#39; Day?)</a></p>

<h3>For Us Canucks</h3>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tim-hortons-hortons-or-hortons-donut-or-doughnut" target="_blank">Tim Hortons, Hortons&#39;, or Horton&#39;s? Donut or Doughnut?</a></p>

<h3>Practice</h3>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/74/lessons/1832" target="_blank">How to Use an Apostrophe </a>&nbsp;</p>


Apostrophe Roundup

https://esllibrary-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1476/Tanya_Grammar_Banner.png

<blockquote>
<p>I can hardly wait to discuss this expression!</p>
</blockquote>

<p><em>I can hardly wait</em> is a popular expression in English, along with <em>I can&rsquo;t wait</em> and <em>I&rsquo;m looking forward to it</em>. Recently I&rsquo;ve come across a few instances of <em>I can&rsquo;t hardly wait</em>. Is this construction possible? Is it grammatical? Let&rsquo;s take a closer&nbsp;look!</p>

<h1>Short Answer</h1>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>I can hardly wait.</th>
			<td>Correct</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>I can&rsquo;t hardly wait.</th>
			<td>Incorrect (but see &ldquo;Long Answer&rdquo;&nbsp;below)</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p><em>Hardly</em> is an adverb that means <em>barely</em>, <em>scarcely</em>, or <em>almost not</em>. <em>I can hardly wait</em> means that you almost can&rsquo;t wait&mdash;in other words, you are very excited about something and don&rsquo;t want to wait for&nbsp;it.</p>

<p>The main reason that you might hear <em>I can&rsquo;t hardly wait</em> is that people are mixing two very common expressions (<em>I can&rsquo;t wait</em> and <em>I can hardly wait</em>) together by mistake. There was also a 1998 movie called <em><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127723/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Can&rsquo;t Hardly Wait</a></em>, which probably added to the confusion. When you say <em>I can&rsquo;t hardly wait</em>, the meaning is <em>I almost can&rsquo;t not wait</em> or <em>I don&rsquo;t find it hard to wait</em>, which is probably not the intended&nbsp;meaning!</p>

<h1>Long Answer</h1>

<p>Many people have argued that <em>I can&rsquo;t hardly wait</em> contains a double negative and therefore the meaning is positive. However, according to <em>Merriam‑Webster&rsquo;s Dictionary of English Usage</em> (under the entry for &ldquo;hardly&rdquo;), <em>hardly</em> is an approximate negative, not a true negative, and when combined with a true negative, the result is a &ldquo;weakened negative&rdquo; expression, not a positive one. <em>Merriam‑Webster</em> gives this&nbsp;example:</p>

<blockquote>
<p>&ldquo;I got up and tried to untie her, but I was so excited my hands shook so I couldn&rsquo;t hardly do anything with them.&rdquo;</p>

<p class="attribution">&mdash;Mark Twain, <em>Huckleberry Finn</em>,&nbsp;1884</p>
</blockquote>

<p>In that example the character did untie her, but it was difficult to do (i.e., he almost couldn&rsquo;t make his hands work). If Twain had written &ldquo;&hellip;so I couldn&rsquo;t do nothing with them,&rdquo; this double negative would mean that he didn&rsquo;t untie her (i.e., he did nothing with his hands). Could Twain have written &ldquo;&hellip;so I could hardly do anything with them&rdquo;? Yes, I believe the meaning would have been the same as with <em>couldn&rsquo;t hardly</em>&mdash;he almost couldn&rsquo;t untie her, but he did. The bottom line is that <em>can&rsquo;t hardly</em> is, in fact,&nbsp;possible.</p>

<h1>Conclusion</h1>

<p>In my opinion, stick with <em>I can hardly wait</em>. The meaning is clear and you will please English teachers and grammarians alike. If you say or write <em>I can&rsquo;t hardly wait</em>, most people will think you&rsquo;ve made a mistake, so it&rsquo;s best to avoid&nbsp;it.</p>


Can Hardly Wait or Can't Hardly Wait?

https://esllibrary-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1475/Tanya_Grammar_Banner.png

<p>Unlike languages such as Spanish or Japanese, English pronunciation doesn&rsquo;t reflect the spelling of many of the words in the language. English speakers and language learners alike have trouble remembering the spelling of certain words. For me, one of those words was &ldquo;<strong>independence</strong>.&rdquo;&nbsp;I could never remember if it ended in ‑ance or&nbsp;‑ence!</p>

<p>When I started teaching English years ago, I finally memorized &ldquo;independence&rdquo; so that I wouldn&rsquo;t make a mistake when teaching my students. Over the years, I often saw students (especially my TOEIC students) struggling with the spelling of ‑ance/‑ence nouns and ‑ant/‑ent adjectives. I found that giving them a reference list and reviewing the words from time to time was helpful, so I decided to create a printable list for this blog post. With <strong>Independence Day</strong> right around the corner, what better time to review the spelling of these&nbsp;suffixes?</p>

<h1>Word List</h1>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2159"><img alt="Screenshot of -ance/-ence word list" height="auto" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/246/content_103_Common-Words-Ending-in-ance-and-ence.png" width="400" /></a></p>

<p class="caption"><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2159">Common Words Ending in ‑ance &amp; ‑ence</a> &ndash; Grammar &amp; Usage&nbsp;Resources</p>

<h1>Notes</h1>

<h2>Note #1</h2>

<p>Point out to students that there is no difference in pronunciation between ‑ance and ‑ence (or between ‑ant and ‑ent). This is because these suffixes don&rsquo;t carry any stress and are both pronounced with the unstressed schwa sound <span class="inlineBlock">/ə/</span>. (I.e., the last syllable in &ldquo;importance&rdquo; sounds exactly the same as the last syllable in &ldquo;independence&rdquo;&mdash;the same goes for &ldquo;important&rdquo; and&nbsp;&ldquo;independent.&rdquo;)</p>

<h2>Note #2</h2>

<p>There are other ‑ance nouns that don&rsquo;t have corresponding ‑ant adjective forms, such as <em>appearance</em>, <em>performance</em>, <em>substance</em>, and <em>tolerance</em>. Similarly, common ‑ence nouns that don&rsquo;t have corresponding ‑ent adjective forms include <em>audience</em>, <em>consequence</em>, <em>experience</em>, <em>preference</em>, and&nbsp;<em>sentence</em>.</p>

<p>If you want to get into more detail with your students, the <a href="http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/words-ending-in-ance-and-ence" target="_blank">Oxford Dictionaries</a> blog has a great article on spelling tips for <a href="http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/words/words-ending-in-ance-and-ence" target="_blank">words ending in ‑ance and&nbsp;‑ence</a>.</p>


Common Words Ending in -ance & -ence

https://esllibrary-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1470/Tanya_Grammar_Banner.png

<blockquote>
<p>After this lesson, I hope my students understand when to use these verbs. Actually, I wish they already&nbsp;understood!</p>
</blockquote>

<p>This week our head writer, Tara Benwell, is working on a <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons" target="_blank">Discussion Starters</a> lesson plan about <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/72/lessons/1283" target="_blank">Hosting the World</a>, a lesson on hosting huge events like the World Cup or the Olympics. This lesson includes a review of the verbs&nbsp;<em>hope</em> and <em>wish</em>, so I decided to make a comparison chart that you can use in class. I also included a printable exercise sheet at the end. We hope this post helps your students keep the different grammar patterns for these two verbs&nbsp;straight!</p>

<h1>Hope Vs. Wish</h1>

<p><em>Hope</em> and <em>wish</em> have very similar meanings. We use them to express our desire for something different from how it is now. In a nutshell, <em>hope</em> mainly expresses a desire that is <strong>possible</strong> or <strong>likely</strong> to happen. <em>Wish</em> usually expresses a desire that is <strong>impossible</strong> or <strong>unlikely</strong> to happen. To express a future desire, <em>hope</em> usually takes a simple present verb, and <em>wish</em> mostly follows the pattern of the <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/an-easy-way-to-teach-conditionals">second conditional</a> (i.e., using <em>would</em> and other past patterns). In the past, <em>wish</em> follows the pattern of the <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/an-easy-way-to-teach-conditionals">third conditional</a> (i.e., using <em>had +&nbsp;p.p.</em>).</p>

<p><img alt="Hope Vs. Wish Chart" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2176/content_Hope-Vs-Wish_Chart.png" /></p>

<p><a href="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/2179/Hope-Vs.-Wish4.pdf">Download PDF</a></p>

<h1>Notes</h1>

<p>Sentences with <em>hope</em> and <em>wish</em> are usually followed by a <strong>noun clause</strong> starting with <em>that</em>. In English, we often drop <em>that</em> from noun clauses, especially in informal speaking and writing. Point this out to students by giving them these two examples, which have the same meaning: <em>I hope that I pass the test. / I hope I pass the test</em>. You may also want to point out that it is possible, though less common, to use <em>hope</em> and <em>wish</em> with other types of phrases (e.g., <em>I hope to pass the test. / I wish for rain&nbsp;tomorrow.</em>)</p>

<h1>Was or Were?</h1>

<p>Because <em>wish</em> is a <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/tips-for-teaching-the-subjunctive" target="_blank">subjunctive verb</a>, it follows the same pattern as the second conditional where the <em>Be</em> verb is concerned (i.e., traditional grammar dictates we should always use <strong><em>were</em></strong> and never <em>was</em>, even when the subject is <em>I</em>, <em>he</em>, <em>she</em>, a singular count noun, or a non‑count noun, as demonstrated in the chart above). But should we teach this to our students when so many native speakers ignore this rule? Well, I like to advise my students to follow this rule (since it is the &ldquo;correct grammar&rdquo;), but I do point out that it is becoming less popular these days to do so. Whether this is because it&rsquo;s becoming a fossilized mistake or because English is legitimately evolving away from the formality of the subjunctive is an argument for another&nbsp;day!</p>

<h1>Practice</h1>

<p><img alt="Hope or Wish Practice?" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2177/content_Hope-Vs-Wish_Practice.png" /></p>

<p class="caption"><a href="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/3631/Hope-Vs.-Wish-Practice3__1_.pdf" target="_blank">Download Hope Vs. Wish Exercises PDF</a></p>

<h2>Answers</h2>

<table>
	<thead>
		<tr>
			<th>Part&nbsp;A</th>
			<th>Part&nbsp;B</th>
		</tr>
	</thead>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>
			<ol>
				<li>hope</li>
				<li>hope</li>
				<li>wishes</li>
				<li>wish</li>
				<li>wishes</li>
			</ol>
			</td>
			<td>
			<ol>
				<li>were finished</li>
				<li>is</li>
				<li>had helped</li>
				<li>pay</li>
				<li>would stop</li>
			</ol>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>References</h1>

<p>Azar, Betty Schrampfer. <em>Understanding and Using English Grammar</em>, second edition. Prentice Hall Regents,&nbsp;NJ.</p>

<h1>Bonus Question</h1>

<p>Can your students tell you what tenses and patterns were used in the introductory sentences to this post?</p>

<h2>Answers</h2>

<h3>Sentence #1</h3>

<h4>&ldquo;After this lesson, I hope my students understand when to use these&nbsp;verbs.&rdquo;</h4>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Verb</th>
			<td>hope</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Tense</th>
			<td>future</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Pattern</th>
			<td>hope / present</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h3>Sentence #2</h3>

<h4>&ldquo;Actually, I wish they already&nbsp;understood.&rdquo;</h4>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Verb</th>
			<td>wish</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Tense</th>
			<td>present</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Pattern</th>
			<td>wish / past</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>


Hope Vs. Wish

https://esllibrary-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1469/Tanya_Grammar_Banner.png

<h3>Which team is your favorite?</h3>

<p>Will you be discussing the World Cup in class? The <a href="http://www.fifa.com" target="_blank">2014 FIFA World Cup</a> runs from June 12 to July 13, and millions of people around the world will be watching and rooting for their favorite team. This sport is known as &quot;football&quot;&nbsp;to most of the world, but &quot;soccer&quot;&nbsp;in the US and Canada. Did you know that football/soccer is the world&#39;s most popular sport? It is played by 250 million players in over 200 countries. Starting today, the 32 qualifying teams will compete for the chance to be the World Cup champions! In honor of the first day of the World Cup, let&#39;s talk about the word &quot;team&quot;! When I was writing a blog post for another site,&nbsp;I wrote &quot;Who is your favorite team?&quot;&nbsp;Then I started questioning whether &quot;who&quot;&nbsp;was the correct question word to use. Should it be &quot;what&quot;? Should it be &quot;which&quot;?</p>

<h3>Who or What?</h3>

<p>The short answer is that anything goes. &quot;Team&quot;&nbsp;is one of those collective nouns that can be thought of as <em>the</em>&nbsp;<em>people who make up the team</em> or <em>the unit itself</em>. If you&#39;re thinking of <em>team</em> as <em>people</em>, you can use &quot;who&quot;&nbsp;(e.g., Who is your favorite team?). If you&#39;re thinking of <em>team</em> as a <em>unit</em>, you can use &quot;what&quot;&nbsp;(e.g., What is your favorite team?). However, neither of those questions sounded quite right to me.</p>

<h3>Which?</h3>

<p>So what&#39;s the&nbsp;best answer? In my opinion, to avoid confusion, it&#39;s better to reword a question and use &quot;which.&quot;&nbsp;I reworded &#39;Who is your favorite team?&quot;&nbsp;to &quot;Which team is your favorite?&quot;&nbsp;You can&#39;t go wrong with &quot;which&quot;&nbsp;because it can be used for either&nbsp;<em>people&nbsp;</em>or&nbsp;<em>a unit</em>.</p>

<h3>Singular or Plural Verb?</h3>

<p>While we&#39;re at it, should it be &quot;The team <strong>is</strong> playing in the championship game&quot;&nbsp;or &quot;The team <strong>are</strong> playing in the championship game&quot;? In American English, you usually use a singular verb for collective nouns, so &quot;is&quot;&nbsp;is correct in the example above. However, in British English, you can use either a singular verb (if you&#39;re referring to the&nbsp;<em>unit</em>) or a plural verb (if you&#39;re referring to the&nbsp;<em>people</em>). My advice is to use the singular verb&mdash;you can&#39;t go wrong!</p>

<h3>Related Materials:</h3>

<ul>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1895">World Cup&nbsp;&ndash; Low Intermediate Lesson Plan</a></li>
	<li><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/93/lessons/1894">The World Cup - Intermediate Lesson Plan</a></li>
</ul>

<p>Go team!</p>

Team: Who, What, or Which?

https://esllibrary-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1468/Tanya_Grammar_Banner.png

<blockquote>
<p>She looked nervous after she looked nervously at her&nbsp;watch.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Most students know that the <em>Be</em> verb takes an adjective, not an adverb. But what about other stative, non‑action verbs such as <em>look</em>, <em>appear</em>, and <em>feel</em>? These verbs can take both an adjective and an adverb! The confusion lies in the fact that these verbs have both non-action and action&nbsp;meanings.</p>

<h1>Trick</h1>

<p>Can you use the <em>Be</em> verb in place of <em>look</em>, <em>appear</em>, or&nbsp;<em>feel</em>?</p>

<ul>
	<li>If you can, then it&rsquo;s usually a non‑action verb and should take an&nbsp;<strong>adjective</strong>.</li>
	<li>If you can&rsquo;t, then it&rsquo;s usually an action verb and should take an&nbsp;<strong>adverb</strong>.</li>
</ul>

<h1>1. Look</h1>

<h2>Non-Action + Adjective</h2>

<p><em>Look</em> can be a non‑action verb that can describe someone&rsquo;s appearance. We use this verb to explain how someone else looks/appears to the&nbsp;speaker.</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<ul>
	<li>I think she <strong>looks</strong> very happy. (Trick: <em>I think she <strong>is</strong> very happy.</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;correct)</li>
	<li>He <strong>looks</strong> tired today. (Trick: <em>He <strong>is</strong> tired today.</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;correct)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Action + Adverb</h2>

<p><em>Look</em> is also an action verb that means to use one&rsquo;s eyes to see&nbsp;something.</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<ul>
	<li>He <strong>is looking</strong> carefully at the schedule. (Trick: <em>He <strong>is being</strong> carefully at the schedule.</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;incorrect)</li>
	<li>She <strong>looked</strong> furtively at him from across the room. (Trick: <em>She <strong>was</strong> furtively at him from across the room.</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;incorrect)</li>
</ul>

<h1>2. Appear</h1>

<h2>Non-Action + Adjective</h2>

<p><em>Appear</em> can be a non‑action verb that can describe someone&rsquo;s appearance. We use this verb to explain how someone else looks/appears to the&nbsp;speaker.</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<ul>
	<li>My teacher <strong>appears</strong> tired today. (Trick: <em>My teacher <strong>is</strong> tired today.</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;correct)</li>
	<li>He <strong>appeared</strong> nervous this morning. (Trick: <em>He <strong>was</strong> nervous this morning.</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;correct)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Action + Adverb</h2>

<p><em>Appear</em> is also an action verb that means to show up&nbsp;suddenly.</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<ul>
	<li>She <strong>appeared</strong> quickly once the bell rang. (Trick: <em>She <strong>was</strong> quickly once the bell rang.</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;incorrect)</li>
	<li>The flowers <strong>appeared</strong> suddenly in the magician&rsquo;s hand. (Trick: <em>The flowers <strong>were</strong> suddenly in the magician&rsquo;s hand.</em> = Be careful; <em>appear</em> must take an adverb here but the <em>Be</em> verb does make&nbsp;sense.)</li>
</ul>

<h1>3. Feel</h1>

<h2>Non-Action + Adjective</h2>

<p><em>Feel</em> can be a non-action verb that can describe someone&rsquo;s emotions or physical state. We use this verb to explain how the speaker feels or how a speaker thinks someone else&nbsp;feels.</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<ul>
	<li>I <strong>feel</strong> stressed out at work. (Trick: <em>I <strong>am</strong> stressed out at work.</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;correct)</li>
	<li>She must <strong>feel</strong> excited since it&rsquo;s her graduation day . (Trick: <em>She must <strong>be</strong> excited since it&rsquo;s her graduation day.</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;correct)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Action + Adverb</h2>

<p><em>Feel</em> is also an action verb that means to touch something. This use is not as common as the non‑action&nbsp;verb.</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<ul>
	<li>I <strong>felt</strong> quickly for my phone to make sure it was still in my pocket. (Trick: <em>I <strong>was</strong> quickly for my phone to make sure it was still in my pocket.</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;incorrect)</li>
	<li>She <strong>felt</strong> the fabric carefully before she bought it. (Trick: <em>She <strong>was</strong> the fabric carefully before she bought it.</em>&nbsp;=&nbsp;incorrect)</li>
</ul>

<h1>Practice</h1>

<p><img alt="Adjective or Adverb?" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/2180/content_look-appear-practice.png" /></p>

<p class="caption"><a href="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/attachments/2181/Adjective-or-Adverb1.pdf" target="_blank">Download the Adjective or Adverb&nbsp;PDF</a></p>

<h2>Answers</h2>

<ol>
	<li>nervous</li>
	<li>nervously</li>
	<li>happy</li>
	<li>frantically</li>
	<li>frantic</li>
	<li>sleepily</li>
	<li>sick</li>
	<li>excited</li>
	<li>suddenly</li>
	<li>good</li>
</ol>

<p>Can you think of any other verbs like this? Add them to the comments&nbsp;below.</p>


Look, Appear, Feel + Adjective or Adverb?

https://esllibrary-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1467/Tanya_Grammar_Banner.png

<p><em>Updated June 2016</em></p>

<blockquote>
<p>How often do you study adverbs of&nbsp;frequency?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Students study <em>adverbs of frequency</em> (aka <em>adverbs of time</em>, <em>frequency adverbs</em>) early on because they are used with the simple present tense. These handy adverbs are used to convey<em> how often</em> an action is done. But because we have so many ways to indicate&nbsp;frequency in English, it can be difficult for learners to remember the meaning difference for these&nbsp;adverbs.</p>

<p>I&rsquo;ve found that using percentages when teaching adverbs of frequency really helps students comprehend the differences in meaning. Share our chart in class, and then try the fun activity suggested at the end of this&nbsp;post!</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2234" target="_blank"><img alt="Screenshot of our Adverbs of Frequency resource" height="auto" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/218/content_103_Adverbs-of-Frequency_US.png" width="320" /></a></p>

<p class="caption">Grammar &amp; Usage Resources &ndash; <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2234" target="_blank"Adverbs of&nbsp;Frequency</a></p>

<h1>Sentence Patterns</h1>

<h4>1. Adv + V</h4>

<h4>2. BE + Adv</h4>

<p>These adverbs come&nbsp;<strong>before</strong>&nbsp;the main verb (unlike Adverbs of Manner, which come after the verb) and are usually used with the simple present tense. Remind students of the Be verb exception, where these adverbs come&nbsp;<strong>after</strong>, not before, the Be&nbsp;verb.</p>

<h2>Examples</h2>

<ul>
	<li>I <strong>always</strong> eat breakfast. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;V)</li>
	<li>She <strong>often</strong> goes swimming after school.&nbsp;(Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;V)</li>
	<li>Our teacher <strong>never</strong> lets us into the class if we&rsquo;re late. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;V)</li>
	<li>He is <strong>always</strong> tired. (BE&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv)</li>
	<li>They are <strong>almost never</strong> here. (BE&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Notes</h2>

<ol>
	<li>Because they&rsquo;re so common, some frequency adverbs can be moved around in the sentence and assume other adverb positions. <em>Sometimes</em>, <em>often</em>, and <em>usually</em> fall into this category. We can say, with the same meaning in each case,&nbsp;<em>Sometimes he is late</em>, <em>He is sometimes late</em>, and <em>He is late&nbsp;sometimes</em>.</li>
	<li>The position of <em>not very often</em> is an exception to the normal rule. We add <em>not</em> to the auxiliary verb <em>do</em> (before the verb), and <em>very often</em> goes at the end of the sentence (e.g., <em>She doesn&rsquo;t go to parties very&nbsp;often</em>).</li>
	<li>Though usually used with the simple present tense, it is possible to discuss frequency using other tenses. For example, we can say <em>I always ate breakfast when I was a child</em> (simple past) and <em>I will never eat broccoli when I grow up</em> (simple&nbsp;future).</li>
</ol>

<h1>Activity</h1>

<p>I often do this simple, student‑produced activity after introducing adverbs of frequency. Encourage students to try using all the adverbs in the scale above (make sure they&rsquo;re not just repeating &ldquo;sometimes&rdquo; over and&nbsp;over).</p>

<h2>Step #1</h2>

<p>Distribute five slips of paper to each student and have them write an action on each slip. Give some examples such as &ldquo;eat pizza,&rdquo; &ldquo;sing in the shower,&rdquo; &ldquo;call a friend,&rdquo; etc. They can also write silly ones like &ldquo;see a UFO&rdquo; or &ldquo;star in a&nbsp;movie&rdquo;!</p>

<h2>Step #2</h2>

<p>Collect the slips of paper and mix them up. Divide students into group of four or five. Divide up the slips and hand them out to the&nbsp;groups.</p>

<h2>Step #3</h2>

<p>Have students take turns picking up a card and forming a question using &ldquo;how often.&rdquo; Each group member should answer using an adverb of&nbsp;frequency.</p>

<h1>Practice</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/2241" target="_blank">Adverbs of Frequency</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1626" target="_blank">Adverbs of Manner</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons/1648" target="_blank">Adverbs of Time</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/89/lessons/1585" target="_blank">Simple Present: How often do&nbsp;you?</a></li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/91/lessons/2006" target="_blank">Daily Routines</a></li>
	<li class="flashcards"><a href="https://ellii.com/flashcard_genres/4/flashcard_categories/27" target="_blank">Daily Routines Flashcards</a></li>
</ul>

<p>For more tips on adverbs, see <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/7-adverb-patterns/" target="_blank">7 Adverb Patterns</a> on our&nbsp;blog.</p>


Adverbs of Frequency

https://esllibrary-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1466/Tanya_Grammar_Banner.png

<h1>Who uses whom?</h1>

<p>Last week&rsquo;s post was all about <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/restrictive-non-restrictive-adjective-clauses/" target="_blank">Adjective Clauses</a> (aka Relative Clauses)&mdash;the two types and their punctuation rules. This week, I thought I&rsquo;d focus on another aspect of adjective clauses which can cause confusion for students: <strong>choosing which pronoun to use</strong>. Sometimes there are four or five choices for one&nbsp;sentence!</p>

<p>When students are presented with all the relative pronoun options, they can get a bit overwhelmed. I&rsquo;ve found that presenting them on a <strong>scale of formality</strong> really helps to clear things up. For simplicity, the scales show restrictive adjective clauses where the relative pronoun is the <strong>object</strong> of the clause&mdash;that way, students can see the most options. Notes on changes for non-restrictive clauses and subject pronouns are included below the&nbsp;scales.</p>

<h1>People</h1>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>more formal</th>
			<td>whom</td>
			<td>The man <strong>whom I met yesterday</strong> was&nbsp;kind.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>&uarr;</th>
			<td>who</td>
			<td>The man <strong>who I met yesterday</strong> was&nbsp;kind.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>&uarr;</th>
			<td>that</td>
			<td>The man <strong>that I met yesterday</strong> was&nbsp;kind.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>less formal</th>
			<td>&empty;</td>
			<td>The man <strong>I met yesterday</strong> was&nbsp;kind.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p><em>Who</em>, <em>that</em>, or <em>&empty;</em> (no pronoun) are all very common when the relative pronoun is the <strong>object</strong> of the adjective clause (i.e., there is another noun or pronoun&mdash;&ldquo;I&rdquo; in the examples above&mdash;following the relative pronoun). I usually suggest using <em>who</em> or <em>that</em> when writing and dropping the pronoun when&nbsp;speaking.</p>

<p>Point out to students that when the relative pronoun is the <strong>subject</strong> of the adjective clause, there are only two options: <em>who</em> or <em>that</em>, with <em>who</em> being slightly more formal than <em>that</em>. We cannot drop the pronoun when it&rsquo;s the subject of the clause. (E.g., <em>The man <strong>who called me</strong> was a telemarketer</em> and&nbsp;<em>The man <strong>that called me</strong> was a telemarketer</em> are the only correct&nbsp;options).</p>

<p>Should we teach students to use <em>whom</em>? It&rsquo;s very formal and not so common these days, but I believe we should at least point it out to students, making sure to tell them that it&rsquo;s rarely used in speaking or writing (unless the writing is quite formal) but that they may come across it while reading. Don&rsquo;t forget to mention that <em>whom</em> is&nbsp;<strong>only&nbsp;</strong>possible when it&rsquo;s the <strong>object</strong> pronoun in the adjective clause&mdash;it&rsquo;s never possible as the subject pronoun. (E.g., we can say <em>The person <strong>whom I talked to</strong> at the meeting finally called me</em> but we <strong>can&rsquo;t</strong> say <em>The person <strong>whom called me</strong> was a telemarketer</em>. There must be another noun or pronoun following&nbsp;<em>whom</em>.)</p>

<h1>Things</h1>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>more formal</th>
			<td>which</td>
			<td>The book <strong>which I read yesterday</strong> was&nbsp;good.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>&uarr;</th>
			<td>that</td>
			<td>The book <strong>that I read yesterday</strong> was&nbsp;good.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>less formal</th>
			<td>&empty;</td>
			<td>The book <strong>I read yesterday</strong> was&nbsp;good.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p>For restrictive clauses like the examples above (i.e., no commas are used), <em>which</em> is more formal and not often used in Canadian and American English. In British English, it&rsquo;s still fairly common. In Canadian and American English, <em>that</em> is more acceptable for restrictive clauses, while <em>which</em> is the better choice for non-restrictive clauses (e.g., <em>The Hobbit, <strong>which was a great book</strong>, was made into a movie.</em>) See <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/restrictive-non-restrictive-adjective-clauses/" target="_blank">Restrictive &amp; Non-Restrictive Adjective Clauses</a> for more information. For restrictive clauses, I usually suggest using <em>that</em> when writing and dropping the pronoun when&nbsp;speaking.</p>

<p>Point out to students that when the relative pronoun is the <strong>subject</strong> of the adjective clause, there are only two options: <em>which</em> or <em>that</em>, with <em>which</em> being more formal than <em>that</em> (and not commonly used in restrictive clauses). We cannot drop the pronoun when it&rsquo;s the subject of the clause. (E.g., <em>The book <strong>that was on sale</strong> was recommended to me</em> is the best option in Canadian and American&nbsp;English).</p>

<h1>Places</h1>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>more formal</th>
			<td>in which</td>
			<td>The city <strong>in which I live</strong> is&nbsp;beautiful.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>&uarr;</th>
			<td>which</td>
			<td>The city <strong>which I live in</strong> is&nbsp;beautiful.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>&uarr;</th>
			<td>where</td>
			<td>The city <strong>where I live</strong> is&nbsp;beautiful.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>&uarr;</th>
			<td>that</td>
			<td>The city <strong>that I live in</strong> is&nbsp;beautiful.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>less formal</th>
			<td>&empty;</td>
			<td>The city <strong>I live in</strong> is&nbsp;beautiful.</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<p>For other adjective clauses involving places, times, etc., putting the preposition before the pronoun is very formal. As with <em>whom</em>, I&rsquo;d tell my students not to do that (except possibly in very formal writing) but I&rsquo;d mention that they might see it when reading.</p>

<p>The other pronouns are all commonly used. It&rsquo;s hard to classify <em>where</em> and <em>when</em> on the formality scale&mdash;they can be used for both formal and informal situations. For these cases, I usually suggest using <em>where/when</em> or <em> that</em> when writing and dropping the pronoun when speaking. Note that these pronouns are always the <strong>object</strong> of the clause, never the&nbsp;subject.</p>

<h1>Practice</h1>

<ul class="resources">
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1612" target="_blank">Adjective Clauses</a> &ndash; Grammar Practice Worksheets</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1611" target="_blank">Adjective Phrases</a> &ndash; Grammar Practice Worksheets</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/89/lessons/1552" target="_blank">Relative Clauses &ndash; He&rsquo;s a person who&hellip;</a> &ndash; Basic Grammar Sentences</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/89/lessons/1551" target="_blank">Relative Clauses &ndash; He&rsquo;s the person who&hellip;</a> &ndash; Basic Grammar Sentences</li>
	<li class="lesson"><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/90/lessons/1647" target="_blank">Adjective Clause and Phrase Stories</a> &ndash; Grammar Stories</li>
</ul>


Relative Pronouns – Formality Scales

https://esllibrary-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1465/Tanya_Grammar_Banner.png

<h3>Working hard or hardly working?</h3>

<p>Words that have the same adjective and adverb form can be confusing for students (e.g.,&nbsp;<em>I bit the <strong>hard</strong> cheese</em><em> [adj]</em>, <em>I studied <strong>hard</strong>&nbsp;[adv]).</em> But what about when an adverb has two forms, such as <em><strong>hard</strong></em> and <em><strong>hardly</strong></em>? These tricky adverbs have different forms depending on the sentence position and/or meaning. Devoting a lesson to these adverbs is a great idea&mdash;it will cause less confusion when students come across them and will give students a chance to practice them. Read on for an analysis of four of the most common adverbs with two forms, and get your students to try the practice exercise at the end to test what you&rsquo;ve taught&nbsp;them.</p>

<h1>Close &amp;&nbsp;Closely</h1>

<h2>Close</h2>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Meaning</th>
			<td>
			<p>near in space or time</p>

			<p>(Note that <em>closely</em> can often be used in place of&nbsp;<em>close</em>.)</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Position</th>
			<td>after a verb</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Example</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>Don&rsquo;t drive so <strong>close</strong> to the car in front of&nbsp;you.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>Closely</h2>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Meaning</th>
			<td>near in space or&nbsp;time</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Position</th>
			<td>
			<p>before or after a&nbsp;verb</p>

			<p>(Point out to students that before a verb, only <em>closely</em> can be used&mdash;never&nbsp;<em>close</em>.)</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Examples</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>They are <strong>closely</strong>&nbsp;related.</li>
				<li>She worked <strong>closely</strong> with me on the&nbsp;project.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Hard &amp; Hardly</h1>

<h2>Hard</h2>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Meaning</th>
			<td>with a lot of effort</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Position</th>
			<td>after a verb</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Example</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>You&rsquo;ll have to work <strong>hard</strong> if you want to impress your&nbsp;boss.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>Hardly</h2>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Meaning</th>
			<td>almost not at all</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Position</th>
			<td>before a verb or before a pronoun with &ldquo;any‑&rdquo; or &ldquo;no‑&rdquo;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Examples</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>I <strong>hardly</strong> got any work done with all the&nbsp;noise.</li>
				<li><strong>Hardly</strong> anyone showed up for my&nbsp;party.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Late &amp;&nbsp;Lately</h1>

<h2>Late</h2>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Meaning</th>
			<td>after an expected time</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Position</th>
			<td>after a verb</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Example</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>I slept&nbsp;<strong>late</strong> again, so I&rsquo;m going to get in trouble with my&nbsp;teacher.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>Lately</h2>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Meaning</th>
			<td>recent time</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Position</th>
			<td>at the beginning or end of a&nbsp;sentence</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Examples</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li><strong>Lately</strong>, I&rsquo;ve been worried about my&nbsp;future.</li>
				<li>I&rsquo;ve been worried about my future&nbsp;<strong>lately</strong>.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Slow &amp;&nbsp;Slowly</h1>

<h2>Slow</h2>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Meaning</th>
			<td>
			<p>the opposite of&nbsp;<em>fast</em></p>

			<p>(Note that <em>slowly</em> can usually be used in place of <em>slow</em>, but it is more common to use <em>slow</em> after verbs of movement. Some people object to <em>slow</em> being used as an adverb, but it has been in use for over four centuries, according to <em>Merriam-Webster&rsquo;s&nbsp;Dictionary</em>.)</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Position</th>
			<td>after verbs of movement</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Example</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>Go <strong>slow</strong> so that you don&rsquo;t slip on the&nbsp;ice.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h2>Slowly</h2>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Meaning</th>
			<td>the opposite of <em>fast</em></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Position</th>
			<td>
			<p>before or after a&nbsp;verb</p>

			<p>(Point out to students that before a verb, only <em>slowly</em> can be used&mdash;never&nbsp;<em>slow</em>.)</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Examples</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>She <strong>slowly</strong> stood up to give her&nbsp;presentation.</li>
				<li>She walked <strong>slowly</strong> to the front of the&nbsp;room.</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<h1>Exercise</h1>

<h2>Questions</h2>

<ol>
	<li>My friend arrived _______ to the party. <strong>(late&nbsp;/&nbsp;lately)</strong></li>
	<li>He worked _______ with his boss during that project. <strong>(close&nbsp;/&nbsp;closely)</strong></li>
	<li>I hate when people drive _______ on the freeway. <strong>(slow&nbsp;/&nbsp;slowly)</strong></li>
	<li>The mother told her son to stay _______ to her as they walked through the crowd. <strong>(close&nbsp;/&nbsp;closely)</strong></li>
	<li>We&rsquo;ve _______ begun our presentation. <strong>(hard&nbsp;/&nbsp;hardly)</strong></li>
	<li>Have you heard from your sister&nbsp;_______&nbsp;? <strong>(late&nbsp;/&nbsp;lately)</strong></li>
	<li>The man _______ woke up from his nap. <strong>(slow&nbsp;/&nbsp;slowly)</strong></li>
	<li>The students have been studying _______ for weeks. <strong>(hard&nbsp;/&nbsp;hardly)</strong></li>
</ol>

<h2>Answers</h2>

<ol>
	<li>My friend arrived <strong>late</strong> to the&nbsp;party.</li>
	<li>He worked <strong>closely</strong> with his boss during that&nbsp;project.</li>
	<li>I hate when people drive <strong>slow (or slowly)</strong> on the&nbsp;freeway.</li>
	<li>The mother told her son to stay <strong>close</strong> to her as they walked through the&nbsp;crowd.</li>
	<li>We&rsquo;ve <strong>hardly</strong> begun our&nbsp;presentation.</li>
	<li>Have you heard from your sister&nbsp;<strong>lately</strong>?</li>
	<li>The man <strong>slowly</strong> woke up from his&nbsp;nap.</li>
	<li>The students have been studying <strong>hard</strong> for&nbsp;weeks.</li>
</ol>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2158" target="_blank"><img alt="Adjectives with Two Forms resource" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/67/content_103_Adverbs-with-Two-Forms_US.png" /></a></p>

<p class="caption">Grammar &amp; Usage Resources &ndash; <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2158" target="_blank">Adverbs with Two&nbsp;Forms</a></p>

<h2>Bonus Question</h2>

<p>Can your students guess which adverbs belong in the following famous quote? Can they explain the&nbsp;meaning?</p>

<blockquote>
<p>Are you working __________ or __________ working? <strong>(hard&nbsp;/&nbsp;hardly)</strong></p>
</blockquote>

<p>Other adverbs with two forms that you may wish to explore with your students include: fair/fairly, fine/finely, free/freely, high/highly, just/justly, most/mostly, near/nearly, pretty/prettily, right/rightly, sharp/sharply, well/goodly, wide/widely, and&nbsp;wrong/wrongly.</p>

<p>For more tips about adverbs, see my post on the <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/7-adverb-patterns/" target="_blank">7&nbsp;Adverb&nbsp;Patterns</a>.</p>


Adverbs with Two Forms

https://esllibrary-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1463/Tanya_Grammar_Banner.png

<blockquote>
<p>Actually, my coworkers often tell me quite emphatically that adverbs are really confusing for their&nbsp;students&hellip;</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Whereas most parts of speech have one or two sentence patterns, adverbs have at least seven! Different types of adverbs are introduced at different levels&mdash;frequency adverbs usually come first at the lower levels, followed by adverbs of manner and adverbs to describe adjectives and other adverbs, ending with viewpoint adverbs at the higher levels. However, I&rsquo;ve found it quite beneficial to lay out all seven patterns at once (usually with an intermediate-level class) because students can more easily grasp the different uses and meanings. This is especially useful for prep for tests like the TOEIC, where students must be able to recognize all possible patterns in the grammar section of the test. Keep reading for an analysis of the adverbs used in the introductory sentence (or scroll down to the end of this&nbsp;post).</p>

<h1>The 7 Adverb Patterns</h1>

<ol>
	<li>Adv + V</li>
	<li>BE + Adv</li>
	<li>V + Adv</li>
	<li>V + Adv + V</li>
	<li>Adv + Adv</li>
	<li>Adv + Adj</li>
	<li>SVO + Adv / Adv + SVO</li>
</ol>

<h1>Explanations &amp; Examples</h1>

<h2>Adverbs of Frequency</h2>

<p><strong>Patterns #1 and 2</strong> relate to adverbs of frequency (i.e., adverbs that explain <strong>how often</strong> an action occurs). These adverbs come <strong>before</strong> the main verb and are usually used with the simple present tense. Remind students of the Be verb exception, where these adverbs come <strong>after</strong>, not before, the Be verb. Adverbs of frequency include the words <em>always</em>, <em>almost always</em>, <em>frequently</em>, <em>usually</em>, <em>often</em>, <em>sometimes</em>, <em>seldom</em>, <em>not very often</em>, <em>almost never</em>, and&nbsp;<em>never</em>.</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<ul>
	<li>I &nbsp;<strong>always</strong> eat breakfast. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;V)</li>
	<li>She <strong>often</strong> goes swimming after school. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;V)</li>
	<li>Our teacher <strong>never</strong> lets us into the class if we&rsquo;re late. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;V)</li>
	<li>He is <strong>always</strong> tired. (BE&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv)</li>
	<li>They are <strong>almost never</strong> here. (BE&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv)</li>
</ul>

<h3>Notes</h3>

<h4>Note #1</h4>

<p>Because they&rsquo;re so common, some frequency adverbs can moved around in the sentence and assume other adverb positions <em>Sometimes</em>, <em>often</em>, and <em>usually</em> fall into this category. We can say, with the same meaning in each case, <em>Sometimes he is late, He is sometimes late,</em> and <em>He is late&nbsp;sometimes</em>.</p>

<h4>Note #2</h4>

<p>The position of <em> ot very often</em> is an exception to the normal rule. We add <em>not</em> to the auxiliary verb <em>do</em> (before the verb), and <em>very often</em> goes at the end of the sentence (e.g., <em>She doesn&rsquo;t go to parties very&nbsp;often</em>).</p>

<h2>Adverbs of Manner</h2>

<p>Adverbs of manner <strong>modify verbs</strong>, and they represent the majority of adverbs. These adverbs use <strong>patterns&nbsp;#3 and 4</strong>&mdash;they come <strong>after</strong> the verb if there is only one verb, such as with the simple present or simple past, and they come <strong>after the first part of the verb</strong> if the verb has two or more parts, such as with the present progressive, simple future, present perfect, present perfect progressive, passive, etc. These adverbs are usually formed by adding <em>‑ly</em> to the adjective form. Adverbs of manner are used to say <strong>how</strong> an action is performed (i.e., the manner in which it is&nbsp;performed).</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<ul>
	<li>The teacher spoke <strong>slowly</strong> so that the students could understand. (V&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv)</li>
	<li>He stood <strong>awkwardly</strong> at the front of the class. (V&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv)</li>
	<li>The students read <strong>silently</strong>. (V&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv)</li>
	<li>I am <strong>quickly</strong> learning that honesty is the best policy. (V&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;V)</li>
	<li>He has <strong>confidently</strong> stated that he will run in the election next year. (V&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;V)</li>
	<li>If you study for that test, you will <strong>needlessly</strong> be wasting your time because I heard it&rsquo;s going to be easy. (V&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;V&nbsp;+&nbsp;V)</li>
</ul>

<h3>Notes</h3>

<h4>Note #1</h4>

<p>Not all adverbs of manner have an <em>‑ly</em> ending. Some exceptions include <strong>well</strong>, <strong>fast</strong>, <strong>hard</strong>, <strong>late</strong>, and&nbsp;<strong>far</strong>.</p>

<h4>Note #2</h4>

<p>Some adverbs can move around into other adverb positions. For example, we can say, with no change in meaning, <em>I am quickly learning that honesty is the best policy</em> and <em>I am learning quickly that honesty is the best policy</em>. But mention to your students that you can&rsquo;t change the position for every adverb and that V&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;V will almost always be&nbsp;correct.</p>

<h2>Modifying Adverbs</h2>

<p>Adverbs not only modify verbs, they can also <strong>modify adjectives and other adverbs</strong>, as in <strong>patterns&nbsp;#5 and 6</strong>. These types of adverbs come <strong>before</strong> the adjective or adverb they are describing, and are used for <strong>emphasis</strong> (for a big or small amount). These adverbs include <em>really</em>, <em>very</em>, <em>so</em>, <em>too</em>, <em>pretty</em>, <em>quite</em>, <em>fairly</em>, <em>slightly</em>,&nbsp;etc.</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<ul>
	<li>He is <strong>very</strong> tall. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adj)</li>
	<li>My cat is <strong>pretty</strong> lazy. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adj)</li>
	<li>I finished the test <strong>quite</strong> quickly. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv)</li>
	<li>My friend runs <strong>really</strong> fast. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv)</li>
</ul>

<h2>Adverbs of Viewpoint</h2>

<p>The adverbs of <strong>pattern&nbsp;#7</strong> are usually introduced in higher-level classes. I know them as viewpoint adverbs, but I&#39;m sure there are many other names such as adverbs of opinion, adverbs of stance, commenting adverbs, etc. These adverbs <strong>give a point of view or emphasis</strong> to an entire thought/sentence, and they almost always come at the <strong>beginning</strong> (usually followed by a comma) or <strong>end</strong> of the sentence or clause (usually preceded by a comma). They include <em>actually</em>, <em>basically</em>, <em>clearly</em>, <em>surely</em>, <em>ideally</em>, <em>honestly</em>, <em>theoretically</em>,&nbsp;etc.</p>

<h3>Examples</h3>

<ul>
	<li><strong>Basically</strong>, I think his theory is faulty. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;SVO)</li>
	<li><strong>Clearly</strong>, we have more work to do. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;SVO)</li>
	<li><strong>Actually</strong>, she believes that the earth is flat. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;SVO)</li>
	<li>She believes that the earth is flat, <strong>actually</strong>. (SVO&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv)</li>
	<li><strong>Surely</strong>&nbsp;there is a way to improve the system. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;SVO)</li>
	<li>There is a way to improve the system, <strong>surely</strong>. (SVO&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv) (Note that <em>surely</em> usually doesn&rsquo;t use a comma at the beginning, but it should be preceded by one if it&rsquo;s at the&nbsp;end.)</li>
</ul>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5>Note</h5>

<p>In more formal writing and speaking, these adverbs can also be inserted, with commas before and after, into the middle of a sentence. (E.g., <em>She believes, actually, that the earth is&nbsp;flat.</em>)</p>
</div>

<h1>Final Notes</h1>

<p>This post didn&rsquo;t deal with the adverbs used in adverb clauses and phrases. I&rsquo;ll write about these adverbs some other time, but I&rsquo;ll discuss them briefly in case your students ask about them while you&rsquo;re explaining the seven patterns. <strong>Conjunctive adverbs</strong> (or <strong>adverbs of time</strong>, among other names) are adverbs that are followed by a clause or phrase. These adverbs include <em>when</em>, <em>after</em>, <em>before</em>, <em>while</em>, <em>as</em>, <em>since</em>, <em>until</em>, etc. For example, the adverb <em>after</em> is used in the sentence <em>After he graduates, he will get a job</em> (or <em>He will get a job after he graduates</em>). Its purpose is to join the two clauses and denote a time relationship (first he will graduate, then he will get a&nbsp;job).</p>

<h1>Practice</h1>

<p>Did you figure out what was happening in the introductory sentence? See if your students can analyze all the adverbs after you&rsquo;ve taught them the seven&nbsp;patterns!</p>

<h2>Answer</h2>

<ul>
	<li><em>Actually</em> is modifying the whole sentence (Adv of Viewpoint +&nbsp;SVO).</li>
	<li><em>Often</em> is modifying the verb <em>tell</em> (Adv of Frequency +&nbsp;V).</li>
	<li><em>Quite</em> is modifying the adverb <em>emphatically</em> (Modifying Adv +&nbsp;Adv).</li>
	<li><em>Emphatically</em> is modifying the verb <em>tell</em> (V + Adv of&nbsp;Manner).</li>
	<li><em>Really</em> is modifying the adjective <em>confusing</em> (Modifying Adv +&nbsp;Adj).</li>
</ul>


7 Adverb Patterns

https://esllibrary-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1462/Tanya_Grammar_Banner.png

<h3>How long can one verb&nbsp;be?</h3>

<p dir="ltr">When a verb is comprised of four parts, it starts to get complicated&mdash;and that&rsquo;s exactly what happens with the future perfect progressive (<em>will + have + been + -ing verb</em>). The future perfect and the future perfect progressive are rarely used in English, so should we bother teaching these tenses to our students?</p>

<p dir="ltr">My opinion is that if students will come across it, we need to teach it to them at some point (but you can definitely wait until they&rsquo;re at an advanced level). Just be sure to mention that since it&rsquo;s unusual to know for sure what will happen at two points in the future, these tenses are rarely used. Also, they are quite formal, and we usually substitute the simple future and the future progressive for a more informal style.</p>

<p dir="ltr">For advanced students and those taking a test like the TOEIC, TOEFL, IELTS, etc., here&rsquo;s a tried-and-true method for making the future perfect and future perfect progressive as clear as&nbsp;possible.</p>

<h3>Future Perfect: WILL + HAVE +&nbsp;P.P.</h3>

<p>The future perfect is formed with the future modal <em>will</em>, the base verb <em>have</em>, and the <em>past participle</em> of the main verb. It is used when you think <strong>the first future action will finish before the second future action</strong>. The following diagram will help illustrate this to your&nbsp;students:</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/34/content_Tanya_Future-Perfect-Vs-Future-Perfect-Progressive_Chart-1.png" /></p>

<p>Make sure you point out that a&nbsp;<strong>simple present</strong> verb is used in the dependent clause, so students need to be careful of the subject (the verb will end in&nbsp;<em>-s</em> for the following subjects:&nbsp;<em>she</em>, <em>he</em>,<em> it</em>, a singular count/countable noun,&nbsp;and a&nbsp;non-count/uncountable&nbsp;noun).</p>

<h3>Future Perfect Progressive: WILL + HAVE + BEEN + ING&nbsp;VERB</h3>

<p>The future perfect progressive is formed with the future modal <em>will</em>, the base verb <em>have</em>, the past participle <em>been</em>, and the <em>-ing</em> form of the main verb. It is used when you think <strong>the first future action will continue until the second future action</strong>. The following diagram will help illustrate this to your&nbsp;students:</p>

<p><img alt="" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/35/content_Tanya_Future-Perfect-Vs-Future-Perfect-Progressive_Chart-2.png" /></p>

<p>Again,&nbsp;a&nbsp;<strong>simple present</strong> verb is used in the dependent clause, so students need to determine if the subject requires an&nbsp;<em>-s&nbsp;</em>ending.</p>

<p>Note: If you want to elaborate for more advanced students, you can explain that the future perfect progressive is formed by combining the future perfect (<em>will + have + p.p.</em>) plus the basic progressive pattern (<em>be + -ing verb</em>). Since the past participle of the Be verb is <em>been</em>, you get <em>will + have + been + -ing verb</em>. Also note that <em>have</em> will never be <em>has</em> (no matter what the subject is) because it is always <em>modal + base&nbsp;verb</em>.</p>

<h3>Comparison Chart</h3>

<p>To compare the two verb tenses and show your students examples, use the following <strong>verb&nbsp;chart</strong>.</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2157"><img alt="Future Perfect Vs. Future Perfect Progressive – Resource" src="https://esllibrary.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/ckeditor/pictures/36/content_103_Future-Perfect-Vs-Future-Perfect-Progressive.png" style="width: 400px; height: 518px;" /></a></p>

<p class="caption">Grammar &amp; Usage &ndash; <a href="https://ellii.com/resource_categories/103/resources/2157">Future Perfect Vs. Future Progressive</a></p>

<h3>Important Note</h3>

<p>When giving your students examples, it is very important to <strong>mix up the order</strong> of the independent and dependent clauses. Make sure that you give some examples where the <strong>independent clause</strong> comes first (with the future perfect or future perfect progressive tense), and others where the <strong>dependent clause</strong> comes first (with the simple present tense).</p>

<p>Point out that when the dependent clause comes first, students must use a <strong>comma</strong> between the clauses. Showing both types of examples also means that students won&rsquo;t incorrectly memorize &ldquo;<em>will + have + been + p.p.</em> first, <em>present verb</em> second,&rdquo;&nbsp;which can cause&nbsp;errors.</p>

<h3>Practice with Ellii Lessons</h3>

<p>Try our <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1614">Grammar Practice Worksheet lesson on the Future Perfect</a>. This lesson has over 16 pages of practice&mdash;try using some in class on different days, assign some for homework, and use one or two as a&nbsp;quiz.</p>

<p>We also have a lesson on the <a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1972">Future Perfect Progressive</a>, which includes exercises that combine both tenses.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://ellii.com/courses/88/lessons/1997">Verb Tense Review 2 &ndash; The Perfect Tenses</a> contains even more practice exercises that compare these two tenses.</p>


Future Perfect Vs. Future Perfect Progressive

https://esllibrary-staging.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/post/title_image/1460/Tanya_Grammar_Banner.png

<p>A few weeks ago, I blogged about <a href="https://ellii.com/blog/so-such-too/" target="_blank">So, Such &amp; Too</a>. I mentioned that these commonly confused words often trip students up because they have similar meanings and grammatical functions. Two other words that students have trouble keeping straight are <strong><em>too</em></strong> and <strong><em>enough</em></strong>. While their meanings are basically the opposite of each other, these two terms have similar grammatical functions. However, teaching students the different sentence patterns helps to minimize the&nbsp;confusion!</p>

<h1>Too</h1>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Patterns:</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>TOO + ADJ</li>
				<li>TOO + ADV</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Meaning:</th>
			<td><em>Too</em> has the meaning of <em>very</em> or <em>a lot</em>, and it is usually used for <strong>negative</strong> cases. <em>Too</em> means that something is incomplete or unable to be completed (it basically means&nbsp;<em>can&rsquo;t</em>).</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Function:</th>
			<td>This adverb comes <strong>before</strong> the adjective or adverb it&rsquo;s&nbsp;describing.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Examples:</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>The test was <strong>too difficult</strong> to finish on time. (too&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adj)</li>
				<li>It&rsquo;s<strong> too cold</strong> to go skiing today. (too&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adj)</li>
				<li>She speaks <strong>too quickly</strong>. I can&rsquo;t understand what she&rsquo;s saying. (too&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv)</li>
				<li>Don&rsquo;t wait <strong>too long</strong> before registering for the course. (too&nbsp;+&nbsp;Adv)</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5>Note</h5>

<p>The pattern <em>too + Adj/Adv</em> is often followed by an infinitive verb (<em>to&nbsp;+&nbsp;base&nbsp;V</em>).</p>
</div>

<h1>Enough</h1>

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<th>Patterns:</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>ADJ + ENOUGH</li>
				<li>ADV + ENOUGH</li>
				<li>ENOUGH + N</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Meaning:</th>
			<td><em>Enough</em> has the meaning of completion or satisfaction, and it is usually used for <strong>positive</strong> cases. <em>Enough</em> refers to the correct amount of&nbsp;something.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Function:</th>
			<td>When functioning as an adverb, <em>enough</em> comes <strong>after</strong> the adjective or adverb it&rsquo;s describing. When functioning as an adjective, it comes <strong>before</strong> a&nbsp;noun.</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<th>Examples:</th>
			<td>
			<ul>
				<li>The instructions were <strong>clear enough</strong> for me to assemble the unit myself. (Adj&nbsp;+&nbsp;enough)</li>
				<li>Was your internet connection <strong>fast enough</strong> to download that file on time? (Adj&nbsp;+&nbsp;enough)</li>
				<li>He spoke <strong>slowly enough</strong> for everyone to understand. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;enough)</li>
				<li>I couldn&#39;t run <strong>fast enough</strong> to win the race. (Adv&nbsp;+&nbsp;enough)</li>
				<li>There was <strong>enough pizza</strong> for everybody. (enough&nbsp;+&nbsp;N)</li>
				<li>Did you bring <strong>enough money</strong> on your trip? (enough&nbsp;+&nbsp;N)</li>
			</ul>
			</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

<div class="whiteBox">
<h5>Note</h5>

<p>The patterns <em>Adj/Adv + enough</em> and <em>enough + N</em> are often followed by <em>for + N</em> or an infinitive verb (<em>to +&nbsp;base&nbsp;V</em>).</p>
</div>

<h1>Summary</h1>

<p>Use <em>too</em> for negative situations and <em>enough</em> for positive ones. <em>Too</em> comes before the adjective or adverb it&rsquo;s describing, while <em>enough</em> comes after the adjective or adverb. <em>Enough</em> comes before a noun, whereas <em>too</em> is never used before a&nbsp;noun.</p>

<p>I hope that was clear <em>enough</em>,</p>

<p>Tanya</p>
