english grammar through stories
En glish Gr a m m a r t h r ough St or ie s
by Alan Townend
En glish Gr a m m a r t h r ou gh St or ie s
Ta ble of Con t e n t s
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46.
47.
Present sim ple t ense or «I t never get s you anywhere» ........... 2
Present cont inuous or «What a perform ance! » ...................... 5
Fut ure t ense or «Jealousy»................................................. 7
Art icles in English or «Charlie t he Brave» ............................. 9
Progressive form s or «Going, going, gone! » ........................ 12
Passive voice or «Haunt ed» .............................................. 15
Relat ive pronoun ............................................................ 17
Usage of pronouns or «One t hing or anot her» ..................... 21
Preposit ions or «How I got t hat j ob» .................................. 22
Spot t he preposit ion ........................................................ 24
English adverb or «High hopes» ........................................ 25
Types of adverbs ............................................................ 27
I ndirect speech or «Say it again» ...................................... 30
Conj unct ions or «Joined up writ ing» .................................. 32
Condit ionals or «On condit ion» ......................................... 33
Subj unct ive or «Wishful t hinking» ..................................... 35
Reflect ions ..................................................................... 37
St art or begin? ............................................................... 39
Make or do? or «Doing t im e» ............................................ 41
Phrasal verb break or «Breaking up» ................................. 45
Expressions wit h break or «Have a break! »......................... 47
Phrasal verb bring or «Upbringing» .................................... 49
Phrasal verb hold or «Hold on» ......................................... 55
Phrasal verb t ake or «Take on» ......................................... 58
Phrasal verb look or «Look out ! » ....................................... 65
Phrasal verb go or «Going on» .......................................... 68
Phrasal verb run or «A Christ m as post m an» ....................... 71
Phrasal verb fall .............................................................. 73
Phrasal verb get ............................................................. 75
Word st ory: Healt h .......................................................... 77
Word st ory: Jokes ........................................................... 78
Word st ory: Dict ionary ..................................................... 79
Word st ory: Search engines ............................................. 80
Word st ory: Weat her ....................................................... 81
Saying it t wice or «Save our anim als» ................................ 82
Colour idiom s or «A silver lining» ...................................... 84
Cool expressions or «From one ext rem e t o t he ot her» .......... 86
Book expressions or «Have you seen t his book?» ................ 88
Greet ing expressions or «Well, hello! » ............................... 90
Sea expressions.............................................................. 92
Head expressions............................................................ 93
Expressions wit h t he word order or «Order int o chaos» ........ 95
Expressions wit h t he word nam e or «The nam e of t he gam e» 97
Usage of t he word chip or «Pot at oes» ................................ 99
Usage of t he word learn or «Learning t o learn?» .................101
Usage of t he word t urn or «My t urn» ................................103
Usage of t he word t alk or «Sm all t alk» ..............................105
Photocopiable
1
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En glish Gr a m m a r t h r ough St or ie s
by Alan Townend
1.
Pr e se n t sim ple t e n se or « I t n e ve r ge t s you
a n yw h e r e »
I n t his st ory you will find m any exam ples of how t he Present Sim ple
Tense can be used. As you know we use t he present sim ple for
t hings t hat are t rue in general, or for t hings t hat happen som et im es
or all t he t im e:
She likes black t ea.
I st art work at 9 o'clock and finish at 5: 30.
Wat er boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
We usually visit our friends on t he weekend.
You probably rem em ber t hat aft er he/ she/ it an «s» is added t o t he
verb as in t hese exam ples:
She speaks excellent French.
He som et im es calls her «m y darling».
I t m akes perfect sense t o m e.
When we want t o m ake a negat ive sent ence we use t he following
st ruct ure:
subj ect ( I / you/ we/ t hey) + auxiliary verb ( don't ) + m ain verb
( infinit ive)
subj ect ( he/ she/ it ) + auxiliary verb ( doesn't ) + m ain verb ( infinit ive)
Exam ples:
I don't speak Chinese.
You don't work very hard
She doesn't call m e every day.
When we want t o m ake a quest ion we also use don't aft er
I / you/ we/ t hey and doesn't aft er he/ she/ it :
Do you speak Chinese?
Does she work here?
What do you do for a living?
How do you usually get t o work?
Now enj oy t he following st ory and find t he present sim ple in it alics.
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En glish Gr a m m a r t h r ough St or ie s
by Alan Townend
« I t n e ve r ge t s you a n yw h e r e »
Andrew Sm odley is a nat ural worrier. I t is som et hing he has
inherit ed from his fat her — t he king of all worriers. But t hen t here
are t hose who are never happy unless t hey have a problem t o solve.
Andrew worried about t he weat her, t he st at e of t he pound, his
healt h, t he cost of living and once he even worried because he
t hought he wasn't worrying enough. But t hat was in t he past . Things
have changed because som et hing happened t o him exact ly t wo years
ago.
I t was in t he spring when leaves appear on t rees and nat ure
prepares herself for renewal. Ot her t hings happen t oo — people oft en
fall in love. Now Andrew doesn't have a rom ant ic disposit ion. He
never looks up at t he leaves st art ing t o grow, sighs and says: «Ah
here com es t he spring! » He sim ply t hinks t o him self: «I live in a
sm all village by a lit t le st ream and around t his t im e of year lot s of
creat ures st art t o wake up and m ake a lot of noise.» I n London,
which st ands on t he River Tham es, people m ake a lot of noise all t he
t im e.»
I apologize for t he sim plicit y of t hese st at em ent s but I want t o
illust rat e t he unim aginat ive nat ure which Andrew possesses. Towards
t he end of t his st ory I give exam ples t o show t he ext ent of t he
change t hat he underwent .
The ot her charact er in t his anecdot e is a young wom an called Sally
Fairweat her. She t oo lives in t his t iny and rem ot e village where
Andrew has his cot t age. Now Sally is an ent irely different ket t le of
fish. Her philosophy runs as follows: «Worrying never get s you
anywhere and life is t oo short t o wast e t im e im agining t he worst .»
I n a word she is t he com plet e opposit e in t em peram ent of Andrew.
Here com es anot her cliche: Opposit es at t ract . But you m ust
rem em ber t hat t wo years ago t he t wo m ain charact ers hadn't m et ,
which was surprising when you consider t he proxim it y of Andrew's
cot t age and Sally's flat . I f you t ake t he first left aft er t he post office,
you com e t o Sally's place and if you t ake t he second t urning t o t he
right aft er t hat you com e t o t he cot t age where Andrew lives.
The next part icipant in t his village dram a is t he weat her, which plays
a very significant part in English life. I t was lat e April and t he sun
had disappeared behind dark heavy rain clouds but Andrew had
already set off for t he local pub. Nat urally he had his um brella wit h
him and a heavy coat following t hat aphorism his m ot her always
used: «Never cast a clout ( rem ove an art icle of clot hing) before May
is out .»
Fort unat ely he m ade it t o t he pub before t he st orm broke. The
m om ent he crossed t he doorst ep an old schoolfriend com es up t o
Andrew, offers t o buy him a drink and t ells him not t o look so
worried. Andrew showed him t he newspaper headlines: «Pet rol
prices rise again.» — «But you haven't got a car» said his friend. —
«I know», ret ort ed Andrew, «st ill it m eans everyt hing else will go up
in price, t oo.»
Photocopiable
3
© www.english-test.net
En glish Gr a m m a r t h r ough St or ie s
by Alan Townend
Everyone in t he pub looks suit ably depressed at t his rem ark and
begins t o t hink of all t he price increases t hat will follow. The gloom is
palpable. Then suddenly t he door burst s open and in walks our
heroine, Sally looking like a drowned rat . Most people in t he pub
t hink t o t hem selves: «What a pret t y girl! » Andrew sees her as
som eone who is drenched and needs help. He walks over t o her and
asks if she is all right . For probably t he first t im e in his life Andrew
act ually t ransferred his worry from him self t o som eone else and he
m ixes her a special drink t o prot ect her from a possible cold. The
conversat ion went as follows: «I hear you live in t his village, t oo» —
«How do you know?» asked Andrew.
But Sally changed t he subj ect . «This drink t ast es delicious. How did
you m ake it ?» — «I put a drop of ginger ale and a piece of lem on in
t he alcohol and t hen st ir t horoughly. I always keep t hose t wo
ingredient s wit h m e when I go out at night .» Suddenly Sally looked
at her wat ch: «I m ust fly. My t rain leaves in t en m inut es.» — «Don't
forget t o t ake t hose t ablet s I suggest ed and let m e know how you
are.» — «I 'll let you know as soon as I com e back from London.»
And t hen she went .
I m m ediat ely Andrew st art ed t o worry. He didn't know her nam e, he
didn't know her address and he felt st range. He checks his pulse. He
t est s his m ent al facult ies: «Two and t wo m ake four.» I t was a
different sort of worry t hat was alm ost a concern. He want s t o see
her again. Wit hin seconds he rushed out of t he pub leaving his coat
behind, ran int o t he pouring rain wit h no um brella. What was
happening t o him ? He saw Sally st anding on t he plat form get t ing int o
t he t rain and t he t rain leaving t he st at ion. He j um ps down from t he
plat form ont o t he t rack and waves at t he t rain driver t o st op. The
t rain st ops and Andrew get s ont o it .
Six weeks aft er t his ext raordinary episode Sally got m arried. Andrew
doesn't worry any m ore now. He st ays calm . The obvious t im e when
people expect ed him t o st art worrying was during t he wedding
cerem ony in t he village church j ust over t wo years ago. As he says,
«I know what everyone was t hinking. They t hought I would I go t o
pieces. But I was perfect ly relaxed and I owe it all t o Sally. She is
cert ainly a wonderful wife. She sm iled at m e when we were st anding
at t he alt ar and I st opped worrying from t hat m om ent on. You can
see m e looking relaxed in t he newspaper pict ures especially t hat one
wit h t he capt ion:
ANDREW SMODLEY HANDS THE RI NG TO SALLY FAI RWEATHER'S
FUTURE HUSBAND.»
Photocopiable
4
© www.english-test.net
by Alan Townend
En glish Gr a m m a r t h r ou gh St or ie s
Ta ble of Con t e n t s
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
Present sim ple t ense or «I t never get s you anywhere» ........... 2
Present cont inuous or «What a perform ance! » ...................... 5
Fut ure t ense or «Jealousy»................................................. 7
Art icles in English or «Charlie t he Brave» ............................. 9
Progressive form s or «Going, going, gone! » ........................ 12
Passive voice or «Haunt ed» .............................................. 15
Relat ive pronoun ............................................................ 17
Usage of pronouns or «One t hing or anot her» ..................... 21
Preposit ions or «How I got t hat j ob» .................................. 22
Spot t he preposit ion ........................................................ 24
English adverb or «High hopes» ........................................ 25
Types of adverbs ............................................................ 27
I ndirect speech or «Say it again» ...................................... 30
Conj unct ions or «Joined up writ ing» .................................. 32
Condit ionals or «On condit ion» ......................................... 33
Subj unct ive or «Wishful t hinking» ..................................... 35
Reflect ions ..................................................................... 37
St art or begin? ............................................................... 39
Make or do? or «Doing t im e» ............................................ 41
Phrasal verb break or «Breaking up» ................................. 45
Expressions wit h break or «Have a break! »......................... 47
Phrasal verb bring or «Upbringing» .................................... 49
Phrasal verb hold or «Hold on» ......................................... 55
Phrasal verb t ake or «Take on» ......................................... 58
Phrasal verb look or «Look out ! » ....................................... 65
Phrasal verb go or «Going on» .......................................... 68
Phrasal verb run or «A Christ m as post m an» ....................... 71
Phrasal verb fall .............................................................. 73
Phrasal verb get ............................................................. 75
Word st ory: Healt h .......................................................... 77
Word st ory: Jokes ........................................................... 78
Word st ory: Dict ionary ..................................................... 79
Word st ory: Search engines ............................................. 80
Word st ory: Weat her ....................................................... 81
Saying it t wice or «Save our anim als» ................................ 82
Colour idiom s or «A silver lining» ...................................... 84
Cool expressions or «From one ext rem e t o t he ot her» .......... 86
Book expressions or «Have you seen t his book?» ................ 88
Greet ing expressions or «Well, hello! » ............................... 90
Sea expressions.............................................................. 92
Head expressions............................................................ 93
Expressions wit h t he word order or «Order int o chaos» ........ 95
Expressions wit h t he word nam e or «The nam e of t he gam e» 97
Usage of t he word chip or «Pot at oes» ................................ 99
Usage of t he word learn or «Learning t o learn?» .................101
Usage of t he word t urn or «My t urn» ................................103
Usage of t he word t alk or «Sm all t alk» ..............................105
Photocopiable
1
© www.english-test.net
En glish Gr a m m a r t h r ough St or ie s
by Alan Townend
1.
Pr e se n t sim ple t e n se or « I t n e ve r ge t s you
a n yw h e r e »
I n t his st ory you will find m any exam ples of how t he Present Sim ple
Tense can be used. As you know we use t he present sim ple for
t hings t hat are t rue in general, or for t hings t hat happen som et im es
or all t he t im e:
She likes black t ea.
I st art work at 9 o'clock and finish at 5: 30.
Wat er boils at 100 degrees Celsius.
We usually visit our friends on t he weekend.
You probably rem em ber t hat aft er he/ she/ it an «s» is added t o t he
verb as in t hese exam ples:
She speaks excellent French.
He som et im es calls her «m y darling».
I t m akes perfect sense t o m e.
When we want t o m ake a negat ive sent ence we use t he following
st ruct ure:
subj ect ( I / you/ we/ t hey) + auxiliary verb ( don't ) + m ain verb
( infinit ive)
subj ect ( he/ she/ it ) + auxiliary verb ( doesn't ) + m ain verb ( infinit ive)
Exam ples:
I don't speak Chinese.
You don't work very hard
She doesn't call m e every day.
When we want t o m ake a quest ion we also use don't aft er
I / you/ we/ t hey and doesn't aft er he/ she/ it :
Do you speak Chinese?
Does she work here?
What do you do for a living?
How do you usually get t o work?
Now enj oy t he following st ory and find t he present sim ple in it alics.
Photocopiable
2
© www.english-test.net
En glish Gr a m m a r t h r ough St or ie s
by Alan Townend
« I t n e ve r ge t s you a n yw h e r e »
Andrew Sm odley is a nat ural worrier. I t is som et hing he has
inherit ed from his fat her — t he king of all worriers. But t hen t here
are t hose who are never happy unless t hey have a problem t o solve.
Andrew worried about t he weat her, t he st at e of t he pound, his
healt h, t he cost of living and once he even worried because he
t hought he wasn't worrying enough. But t hat was in t he past . Things
have changed because som et hing happened t o him exact ly t wo years
ago.
I t was in t he spring when leaves appear on t rees and nat ure
prepares herself for renewal. Ot her t hings happen t oo — people oft en
fall in love. Now Andrew doesn't have a rom ant ic disposit ion. He
never looks up at t he leaves st art ing t o grow, sighs and says: «Ah
here com es t he spring! » He sim ply t hinks t o him self: «I live in a
sm all village by a lit t le st ream and around t his t im e of year lot s of
creat ures st art t o wake up and m ake a lot of noise.» I n London,
which st ands on t he River Tham es, people m ake a lot of noise all t he
t im e.»
I apologize for t he sim plicit y of t hese st at em ent s but I want t o
illust rat e t he unim aginat ive nat ure which Andrew possesses. Towards
t he end of t his st ory I give exam ples t o show t he ext ent of t he
change t hat he underwent .
The ot her charact er in t his anecdot e is a young wom an called Sally
Fairweat her. She t oo lives in t his t iny and rem ot e village where
Andrew has his cot t age. Now Sally is an ent irely different ket t le of
fish. Her philosophy runs as follows: «Worrying never get s you
anywhere and life is t oo short t o wast e t im e im agining t he worst .»
I n a word she is t he com plet e opposit e in t em peram ent of Andrew.
Here com es anot her cliche: Opposit es at t ract . But you m ust
rem em ber t hat t wo years ago t he t wo m ain charact ers hadn't m et ,
which was surprising when you consider t he proxim it y of Andrew's
cot t age and Sally's flat . I f you t ake t he first left aft er t he post office,
you com e t o Sally's place and if you t ake t he second t urning t o t he
right aft er t hat you com e t o t he cot t age where Andrew lives.
The next part icipant in t his village dram a is t he weat her, which plays
a very significant part in English life. I t was lat e April and t he sun
had disappeared behind dark heavy rain clouds but Andrew had
already set off for t he local pub. Nat urally he had his um brella wit h
him and a heavy coat following t hat aphorism his m ot her always
used: «Never cast a clout ( rem ove an art icle of clot hing) before May
is out .»
Fort unat ely he m ade it t o t he pub before t he st orm broke. The
m om ent he crossed t he doorst ep an old schoolfriend com es up t o
Andrew, offers t o buy him a drink and t ells him not t o look so
worried. Andrew showed him t he newspaper headlines: «Pet rol
prices rise again.» — «But you haven't got a car» said his friend. —
«I know», ret ort ed Andrew, «st ill it m eans everyt hing else will go up
in price, t oo.»
Photocopiable
3
© www.english-test.net
En glish Gr a m m a r t h r ough St or ie s
by Alan Townend
Everyone in t he pub looks suit ably depressed at t his rem ark and
begins t o t hink of all t he price increases t hat will follow. The gloom is
palpable. Then suddenly t he door burst s open and in walks our
heroine, Sally looking like a drowned rat . Most people in t he pub
t hink t o t hem selves: «What a pret t y girl! » Andrew sees her as
som eone who is drenched and needs help. He walks over t o her and
asks if she is all right . For probably t he first t im e in his life Andrew
act ually t ransferred his worry from him self t o som eone else and he
m ixes her a special drink t o prot ect her from a possible cold. The
conversat ion went as follows: «I hear you live in t his village, t oo» —
«How do you know?» asked Andrew.
But Sally changed t he subj ect . «This drink t ast es delicious. How did
you m ake it ?» — «I put a drop of ginger ale and a piece of lem on in
t he alcohol and t hen st ir t horoughly. I always keep t hose t wo
ingredient s wit h m e when I go out at night .» Suddenly Sally looked
at her wat ch: «I m ust fly. My t rain leaves in t en m inut es.» — «Don't
forget t o t ake t hose t ablet s I suggest ed and let m e know how you
are.» — «I 'll let you know as soon as I com e back from London.»
And t hen she went .
I m m ediat ely Andrew st art ed t o worry. He didn't know her nam e, he
didn't know her address and he felt st range. He checks his pulse. He
t est s his m ent al facult ies: «Two and t wo m ake four.» I t was a
different sort of worry t hat was alm ost a concern. He want s t o see
her again. Wit hin seconds he rushed out of t he pub leaving his coat
behind, ran int o t he pouring rain wit h no um brella. What was
happening t o him ? He saw Sally st anding on t he plat form get t ing int o
t he t rain and t he t rain leaving t he st at ion. He j um ps down from t he
plat form ont o t he t rack and waves at t he t rain driver t o st op. The
t rain st ops and Andrew get s ont o it .
Six weeks aft er t his ext raordinary episode Sally got m arried. Andrew
doesn't worry any m ore now. He st ays calm . The obvious t im e when
people expect ed him t o st art worrying was during t he wedding
cerem ony in t he village church j ust over t wo years ago. As he says,
«I know what everyone was t hinking. They t hought I would I go t o
pieces. But I was perfect ly relaxed and I owe it all t o Sally. She is
cert ainly a wonderful wife. She sm iled at m e when we were st anding
at t he alt ar and I st opped worrying from t hat m om ent on. You can
see m e looking relaxed in t he newspaper pict ures especially t hat one
wit h t he capt ion:
ANDREW SMODLEY HANDS THE RI NG TO SALLY FAI RWEATHER'S
FUTURE HUSBAND.»
Photocopiable
4
© www.english-test.net