Comparatives

In grammar, the comparative is the form of an adjective or adverb which denotes the degree or grade by which a person, thing, or other entity has a property or quality greater or less in extent than that of another, and is used in this context with a subordinating conjunction, such as than. The comparative is one of the degrees

There are two types of superlative: relative and absolute.

Relative: John is the smartest boy in the class.


Absolute: John is very smart.

Present Perfect

We use the Present Perfect to say that an action happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. You CANNOT use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc. We CAN use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as: ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so far, already, yet, etc.

Examples:

• I have seen that movie twenty times.
• I think I have met him once before.
• There have been many earthquakes in California.
• People have traveled to the Moon.
• People have not traveled to Mars.
• Have you read the book yet?
• Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
• A: Has there ever been a war in the United States?
  B: Yes, there has been a war in the United States.

Future with Going to

Going to future expresses a conclusion regarding the immediate future or an action in the near future that has already been planned or prepared.

Form of going to Future

	positive	negative	question
I	I am going to speak.	I am not going to speak.	Am I going to speak?
you / we / they	You are going to speak.	You are not going to speak.	Are you going to speak?
he / she / it	He is going to speak.	He is not going to speak.	Is he going to speak?

Use of going to Future

• an action in the near future that has already been planned or prepared
  example: I am going to study harder next year.
• a conclusion regarding the immediate future
  example: The sky is absolutely dark. It is going to rain.
  
  

Future with Will

Will future expresses a spontaneous decision, an assumption with regard to the future or an action in the future that cannot be influenced.

Form of will Future

	positive	negative	question
no differences	I will speak.	I will not speak.	Will I speak?

Use of will Future

• a spontaneous decision
  example: Wait, I will help you.
• an opinion, hope, uncertainty or assumption regarding the future
  example: He will probably come back tomorrow.
• a promise
  example: I will not watch TV tonight.
• an action in the future that cannot be influenced
  example: It will rain tomorrow.
• conditional clauses type I
  example: If I arrive late, I will call you.

Past Progressive

The past progressive puts emphasis on the course of an action in the past.

Form

	Positive	Negative	Question
I / he / she / it	I was speaking.	I was not speaking.	Was I speaking?
you / we / they	You were speaking.	You were not speaking.	Were you speaking?

Use of Past Progressive

• puts emphasis on the course of an action in the past
  Example: He was playing football.
• two actions happening at the same time (in the past)
  Example: While she was preparing dinner, he was washing the dishes.
• action going on at a certain time in the past
  Example: When I was having breakfast, the phone suddenly rang.

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