Grammar Codes |
[C] countable:
|
a noun that has both a singular and a plural form: He lent me
a book about photography. | Some of
the books were very old. |
[U] uncountable: |
a noun that has no plural form and refers to something that cannot be counted:
the importance of education | a bucket
of water |
[I] intransitive: |
a verb that has no object: Jack sneezed. | House
prices are rising. |
[T] transitive: |
a verb that is followed by an object, which can be either a noun phrase or a clause: I love
chocolate. | She said she was too busy. |
I remember going on holiday there. |
[singular] |
a noun that is used only in the singular,
and has no plural form: The room has a modern feel. | a sprinkling
of snow |
[plural] |
a noun that is used only in the plural, and has no
singular form: His clothes were soaking wet. | Those
are my scissors. |
[linking verb] |
a verb that is followed by a noun or
adjective complement that describes the subject of the
verb: I felt very tired. | Her
father is a doctor. | Your
dinner’s getting cold. |
[always + adv/prep] |
shows that a verb must be
followed by an adverb or a preposition: She went
upstairs. | Robert put the letter in his
briefcase. |
[not in progressive] |
shows that a verb is not used in the
progressive form, that is, the -ing form after ‘be’:
I admire his work. (not I am admiring his work) | I don’t know
where it is. |
[no comparative] |
shows that an adjective is not used in
the comparative or superlative form, that is, not with -er
and -est, or ‘more’ and ‘most’: He played
a key role in the negotiations. |
[only before noun] |
shows that an adjective can be used
only before a noun: the main reason for her visit |
You poor thing! |
[not before noun] |
shows that an adjective cannot be
used before a noun: I don’t even know if he’s
still alive. | I’m glad
you’re here. |
[only after noun] |
shows that an adjective is used only
immediately after a noun: some matters to be discussed before the
meeting proper |
[sentence adverb] |
shows that an adverb modifies a
whole sentence: Fortunately no one was hurt. |
[+adj/adv] |
shows that an adverb of degree is used
before adjectives and adverbs: The room was very dark. |
We’ve got to act fairly quickly. |
[also + plural verb BrE] |
shows that a group noun can
take a plural verb in British English: The team are feeling
confident. |
Patterns |
[+about] [+along] shows that a word can be followed
immediately by a particular preposition or adverb:
I’m worried about Rachel. | The
children skipped along. |
throw sth at sb/sth shows that a verb can be followed by
an object and a particular preposition: Tom threw a cushion
at her. |
request that shows that a word can be followed by a clause
beginning with ‘that’: He requested that his name
be removed from the list of candidates. |
surprised (that) or tell sb (that) shows that a word can be followed by a clause
beginning with ‘that’, or the word ‘that’ can be left out: I’m surprised
you didn’t know that. | Bill told me you were
here. |
decide who/what/whether etc or ask (sb) who/what/ where etc
shows that a word can be followed by a clause beginning with a word such as ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘whether’
or ‘where’: I can’t decide what to do. |
I asked her what she meant. | I’m
not sure where James is. |
try to do sth or order sb to do sth shows that a word can be followed by an
infinitive: Try to forget about it. | He ordered
them to leave. | He’s sure to win. |
help do sth or see sb/sth do sth shows that a verb can be followed by an
infinitive without ‘to’: This can help prevent
infection. | Did anyone see them leave? |
enjoy doing sth or hear sb doing sth
shows that a verb can be followed by a present participle:
I enjoy meeting new people. | Peter could hear
them laughing. |
bring sb sth shows that a verb can be followed by an
indirect object and then a direct object: Could you bring us
the bill? | Let me buy you a drink. |