Expressing a wish or a regret

Use of I wish / if only:

There are three distinct types of  I wish / if only  sentences:

1. Wish, wanting change for the present or future with the simple past.
2. Regret with the past perfect.
3. Complaints with would + verb.

Expressing a wish:

Form:

If only / I wish + simple past

Example:

If only I knew how to use a computer. (I don’t know how to use a computer and I would like to learn how to use it)

Use:

• To express a wish in the present or in the future.
• The simple past here is an unreal past.
• When you use the verb to be the form is “were”.
  Example:
  I wish I were a millionaire!

Expressing regret:

Form:

If only / I wish + past perfect

Example:

If only I had woken up early. (I didn't wake up early and I missed my bus.)

Use:

• To express a regret.
• The action is past.

Passive Voice

The passive vs the active voice:

The Active Voice	The Passive Voice
Most countries in Latin America speak Spanish.	Spanish is spoken in most countries in latin America.

Use of the passive voice:

1. Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.
   Example: "A letter was written."
   The focus, here, is on the fact that a letter was written. We don't know, however, who wrote it.
2. Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:
   Example: A vase was broken.
   Focus, here, is on the fact that a vase was broken, but we don't blame anyone. Compare this to: "You broke the vase."

Form of the passive voice:

Subject + the appropriate form of to be + Past Participle

NOTE: The appropriate form of to be = To be is put in the the tense of the active voice main verb.
When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

• The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
• The form of the verb is the appropriate form of to be (the tense of the active voice main verb) + the past participle.
• The subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped.)

Example:

Active	Nancy	makes	tea
	subject	verb	object
Passive	Tea	is made	(by Nancy)
	object becoming subject	verb	subject becoming object or is dropped

Examples of the passive voice:

Tense		Subject	Verb	Object
Simple Present	Active:	Nancy	makes	tea.
	Passive:	Tea	is made	by Nancy.
Present Progressive	Active:	Nancy	is making	tea.
	Passive:	Tea	is being made	by Nancy.
Simple Past	Active:	Nancy	made	tea.
	Passive:	Tea	was made	by Nancy.
Past Progressive	Active:	Nancy	was making	tea.
	Passive:	Tea	was being made	by Nancy.
Present Perfect	Active:	Nancy	has made	Tea.
	Passive:	Tea	has been made	by Nancy.
Past Perfect	Active:	Nancy	had made	tea.
	Passive:	Tea	had been made	by Nancy.
Future simple	Active:	Nancy	will make	tea.
	Passive:	Tea	will be made	by Nancy.
Future perfect	Active:	Nancy	will have made	tea.
	Passive:	Tea	will have been made	by Nancy.
Conditional	Active:	Nancy	would make	tea.
	Passive:	Tea	would be made	by Nancy.
Modals	Active:	Nancy	can make	tea.
	Passive:	Tea	can be made	by Nancy.

Passive voice sentences with two Objects:

Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.

Active/Passive	Subject	Verb	Object 1	Object 2
Active:	Nancy	offered	a flower	to me.
Passive:	A flower	was offered	to me	by Nancy.
Passive:	I	was offered	a flower	by Nancy.

Impersonal Passive:

Study these examples:

• They say that the planet is in danger.
• It is said that the planet is in danger.

Free Indirect Speech

What is free indirect speech?

Free indirect speech is also called as free indirect discourse, free indirect style, or discourse indirect libre in French.)

While indirect speech conveys the report in the words of the reporter, with verbs generally 'backshifted' in tense and changes in pronouns and adverbials of time and place are made to align with the time of reporting; free direct speech lacks a reporting clause to show the shift from narration to reporting, it is often used in fiction to represent the mental reactions of characters to what they see or experience.

Indirect speech vs free indirect speech

Similarities:

Free indirect speech resembles indirect speech in shifting tenses and other references

Differences:

There is generally no reporting clause in free indirect speech and it retains some features of direct speech (such as direct questions and vocatives).

Examples:

Direct speech:

He sat down on the sofa carelessly. "Why are they asking me to contribute to the project?" he asked.

Indirect speech:

He sat down on the sofa carelessly and asked himself why they were asking him to contribute to the project.

Free indirect speech:

He sat down on the sofa carelessly. Why are they asking him to contribute to the project?

Fewer vs. Less

Fewer or less?

Fewer and less can be confusing. Although both words are used as comparatives, they are used differently. Here are the rules.

Fewer

Fewer is used with countable nouns, things that can be counted or that normally have a plural such as friends, books, students..
Examples:

• There are fewer customers theses days than last summer.
• I should eat fewer candies.
• There are fewer cookies in the box

Less

Less is used with uncountable nouns, things that can't be counted or that don't normally have a plural such as money, bread, water...

A little or a few, little or few

A little, a few, very little, very few

The expressions a little and a few mean some or enough.
The expressions (very) little and (very) few mean hardly any or not enough.
A little, a few, (very) little and (very) few are quantifiers

Study the following examples:

Examples	Meaning
I've got a little money. I'm going to the cinema.	some/enough
I've got a few friends. We meet everyday.
I've got (very) little money. I need to borrow some.	hardly any / not enough
I've got (very) few friends. I need to make new friends.

The rules:

Affirmative sentences:

A little, a few, (very) little and (very) few are generally used in affirmative statements, not negatives or questions.

Countable and uncountable nouns:

1. A little and (very) little are used with uncountable nouns (money, bread, water...)
2. A few and (very) few are used with countable nouns (friends, tables, teachers..)

(See more about countable and uncountable nouns here.)

Much, many and a lot

Much, many, a lot:

"Much", "many", and "a lot of" indicate a large quantity of something, for example "I have a lot of friends " means I have a large quantity of friends.
Much, many, and a lot are quantifiers.

Study the examples below:

How much money have you got?	I haven't got much money.
	I have got a lot.
	I have got a lot of money.
How many students are in the classroom?	There aren't many.
	There are a lot.
	There are a lot of/lots of students.

In the interrogative forms we use:

• much with uncountable nouns. (money, bread, water...)
  Example:
  How much money/bread/water...is there?
• many with countable nouns. (students, desks, windows...)
  Example:
  How many students/teachers/desks... are there?

(See the lesson on countable and countable nouns )

Some and Any

Use of some and any

Some and any are used to state the quantity, amount of something. When using some or any, the exact number is not stated. Some and any are quantifiers.
Some and any can be used when:

1. The exact number is not known.
2. The exact number is not important or relevant.
3. Some and any are used with countable and uncountable nouns.

Study the following tables:

Interrogative	Affirmative	Negative
Are there any tomatoes in the fridge?	Yes, there are some.	No, there aren't any.
Is there any orange juice?	Yes, there is some.	No, there isn't any.

Offering	Responding
Would you like some coffee?	Yes please I'd like some.

Making a request	Responding
Would you mind lending me some money?	Of course here you are.

The rules of some and many:

SOME:

Use some in positive (affirmative) sentences. Some is used for both countable and uncountable nouns.

Examples:

I have some friends.( friends is countable)
I'd like some water. (water is uncountable)

ANY:

Use any for countable and countable nouns in:

1. interrogative sentences.
   Examples: Have you got any cheese?
   Have you got any friends?
2. negative sentences.
   Example:He hasn't got any cheese
   He hasn't got any friends in Chicago.

EXCEPTION:

Use some in questions when offering or requesting something.
Example:

• Would you like some bread? (offer)
• Can I have some water, please? (request)

Quantifiers

What are quantifiers?

A quantifier is a word or phrase which is used before a noun to indicate the amount or quantity:
'Some', 'many', 'a lot of' and 'a few' are examples of quantifiers.
Quantifiers can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
Examples:

There are some books on the desk
He's got only a few dollars.
How much money have you got?
There is a large quantity of fish in this river.
He's got more friends than his sister.

Examples of quantifiers

With Uncountable Nouns

• much
• a little/little/very little *
• a bit (of)
• a great deal of
• a large amount of
• a large quantity of

With Both

• all
• enough
• more/most
• less/least
• no/none
• not any
• some
• any
• a lot of
• lots of
• plenty of