Ways of talking about the future

1. When we know about the future we normally use the present tense.

• We use the present simple for something scheduled or arranged:

We have a lesson next Monday.
The train arrives at 6.30 in the morning.
The holidays start next week.
It is my birthday tomorrow.

• We can use the present continuous for plans or arrangements:

I’m playing football tomorrow.
They are coming to see us tomorrow.
We’re having a party at Christmas.

2. We use will to talk about the future:

• When we make predictions:

It will be a nice day tomorrow.
I think Brazil will win the World Cup.
I’m sure you will enjoy the film.

• To mean want to or be willing to:

I hope you will come to my party.
George says he will help us.

• To make offers and promises:

I'll see you tomorrow.
We'll send you an email.

• To talk about offers and promises:

Tim will be at the meeting.
Mary will help with the cooking.

3. We use (be) going to:

• To talk about plans and intentions:

I’m going to drive to work today.
They are going to move to Manchester.

• When we can see that something is likely to happen:

Be careful! You are going to fall.
Look at those black clouds. I think it’s going to rain.

4. We often use verbs like would like, plan, want, mean, hope, expect to talk about the future:

What are you going to do next year? I’d like to go to University.
We plan to go to France for our holidays.
George wants to buy a new car.

5. We use modals may, might, and could when we are not sure about the future:

I might stay at home tonight, or I might go to the cinema.
We could see Mary at the meeting. She sometimes goes.

6. We can use should if we think something is likely to happen:

We should be home in time for tea.
The game should be over by eight o’clock.

7. Clauses with time words:

In clauses with time words like when, after, and until we often use a present tense form to talk about the future:

I’ll come home when I finish work.
You must wait here until your father comes.
They are coming after they have had dinner.

8. Clauses with if:

In clauses with if we often use a present tense form to talk about the future:

We won’t be able to go out if it rains.
If Barcelona win tomorrow they will be champions.

WARNING: We do not normally use will in clauses with if or with time words:

I’ll come home when I will finish work.
We won’t be able to go out if it will rain rains.

But we can use will if it means a promise or offer:

I will be very happy if you will come to my party.
We should finish the job early if George will help us.

9. We can use the future continuous instead of the present continuous or going to for emphasis when we are talking about plans, arrangements and intentions:

They’ll be coming to see us next week.
I will be driving to work tomorrow.

EXERCISES

https://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/exercises/tenses/future.htm

https://worldwideenglishabc.wordpress.com/2015/08/13/exercise-other-ways-of-talking-about-the-future/

Connectors of contrast

As their name itself suggests sentence connectors are used to combine sentences. They also express the relationship between ideas. We can add variety and sophistication to our writing by using appropriate sentence connectors.

To show the contrast between two ideas we can use the following sentence connectors.

But, although, despite the fact that, however, nevertheless, despite, in spite of, yet

His rope was thin but it was strong.

He is fat but he runs fast.

Although the boy was injured, he didn’t give up.

Nevertheless is very formal. In a less formal style, we can use conjunctions like but or yet.

Nevertheless and however don’t combine two clauses. They are used to emphasize the fact that the point expressed by the second clause contrasts with the first. In writing, they are separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma.

He says that he is a socialist. However, he owns three houses and four luxury cars.

There was little chance of success. Nevertheless, we didn’t give up.

We went out in spite of the rain.

In spite of having a headache, I enjoyed the film.

Despite working hard, she failed the exam.

Grammar notes

In spite of is written as three words. It is the opposite of because of.

She got good marks in spite of her teacher. (= She had a bad teacher.)

She got good marks because of her teacher. (= She had a good teacher.)

EXERCISES:

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-exercise-although.php

connectors of addition cause and effect

Connectors or linkers are words or groups of words that help us connect words, phrases or sentences. Thanks to them, we can express relationships between ideas and improve our expression by making longer, more complex sentences.

 Connectors can be used to show contrast, purpose, sequence, etc.

CAUSE

·         Conjunctions followed by a complete sentence:

·         Because: it usally follows the main clause: Everybody likes her because she's very kind and friendly.

·         As and since are very similar. As is less formal than since. They are used when the reason is well known. The clauses that start with these words often begin the sentence:
As I was very tired, I went to bed early.
 Since you are not interested, I won't tell you about it.
(As and since can also be used as time connectors).

·         For suggests that the reason is given as an afterthought. For-clauses never come at the beginning of the sentence. For is mainly used in literary texts, therefore, it is very formal.
 We listened eagerly, for he brought news of our families.

·         Connectors followed by a noun, a noun phrase, a pronoun or a gerund:

·         Because of: They have had problems raising cash because of the credit crunch.

·         Due to and owing to are considered by many speakers as exact equivalents, but this is not so, because due to is adjectival (it follows a noun or pronoun), whereas owing tois adverbial (it complements a verb). Compare these examples:
The game was cancelled owing to torrential rain. 
The cancellation of the game was due to torrential rain.
If you are doubtful as to which of these you can use, here's a trick: try to substitute due to with “caused by” and see if it works. *The game was cancelled caused by torrential rain.* doesn't sound correct, so it's not possible to use due to in this case. On the other hand, The cancellation of the game was caused by torrential rain, sounds fine.
Owing to is interchangeable with because of: The game was cancelled because of torrential rain.

·         On account of: The nurse had to keep the baby in another room on account of my illness.

·         Thanks to suggests that there is some cause for gratitude, though it can be used sarcastically. She was given a scholarship thanks to her excellent grades.

RESULT OR CONSEQUENCE

·         Thus (very formal): He was the eldest son, and thus, heir to the title.

·         Therefore (formal, used mainly in written English): She is only seventeen and therefore not eligible to vote.

·         As a result: There has been a rise in the number of accidents. As a result, the government has decided to lower the speed limit. As a result of is followed by a noun, pronoun or gerund. Can you rewrite the previous example using as a result of?
 As a result of the rise in the number of accidents, the government... 

·         So (less formal): There was nothing on TV, so I decided to go to bed.

·         That's why: Cold temperatures kill mosquitos. That's why you won't see them in winter.

·         For this reason: The Colonel was confident that war was impending, and for this reason he hurried his preparations to leave the country.

·         Consequently (used especially in written English): This poses a threat to the food chain, and consequently to human health.

EXERCISES: 

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=5348

Verb + Gerund/ Infinitive with a change in meaning 

Some verbs have different meanings when they are follwed by a gerund or an infinitive.

forget

GERUND	INFINITIVE
looks back in the past	looks into the future
He'll never forget spending so much money on his first computer.	Don't forget to spend money on the tickets.

go on

GERUND	INFINITIVE
to continue with the same thing	to change the activity
Go on reading the text.	Go on to read the text.

mean

GERUND	INFINITIVE
sth. has to be done to get a result	intend to do sth.
You have forgotten your homework again. That meansphoning your mother.	I meant to phone your mother, but my mobile didn't work.

regret

GERUND	INFINITIVE
you did sth in the past and you are not happy about it	to tell bad news and you are not happy about it
I regret being late for school.	We regret to inform you that the flight has beeen delayed for another two hours.

remember

GERUND	INFINITIVE
looks back in the past	looks into the future
I remember switching off the lights when I went on holiday.	Remember to switch off the lights when you go on holiday.

stop

GERUND	INFINITIVE
to stop with an activity	to stop in order to do sth.
I stopped smoking.	I stopped to smoke.

try

GERUND	INFINITIVE
to test sth.	to do sth. that is not easy
I tried taking an aspirin but it didn't help.	Try to be quiet when you come home late.

The following words are a little more tricky.

like

I like reading books. = I like to read books.
There is normally no difference in meaning.

• Use the Gerund when like is used in the sense of 'enjoy'.
  Example: I like riding my bike.
• Use the Infinitive when you do sth. in the sense of a habit.
  Example: I like to do my homework in the afternoon. (I think, it is good to do my homework in the afternoon).

Mind the following examples:

• I like watching films.
• I would like to watch the film.

be afraid

Use the Gerund when you worry about sth.

• I'm afraid of having an accident.

In other cases there is no difference in meaning whether we use Gerund or Infinitive.

• I'm afraid to go by bike on this road. = I'm afraid of going by bike on this road.

need

If we use a Gerund after need, then the sentcene has a passive meaning:

• The window needs cleaning.

used to

The form to be used to + Gerund means that the person is familiar with sth.

• He is used to smoking. (He still smokes.)

The form used to + Infinitive means that the person did sth. in the past.

• He used to smoke. (He does not smoke any more.)

Attention!

• He is used to smoke. (This sentence is wrong.)

EXERCISES: 

http://www.englishexercises.org/makeagame/viewgame.asp?id=5401#a

PAST MODALS OF DEDUCTION

We can use modal verbs to talk about how sure or unsure we are about something in the past just as we use modals in the present with a slight change in the form.

He must be really happy about his promotion. (present deduction)

He must have been very happy when he was told about his promotion. (past deduction)

STRONG PROBABILITY

• Must 

MODERATE PROBABILITY

• Could
• Might 
• May

STRONG IMPROBABILITY

• Couldn't
• Must not

When we use a modal verb to talk about a situation where we are not expressing a fact but we are using deduction the form is MODAL + have + past participle (verb 3)

Must have + past participle

•          We use ‘must have + past participle’ when we are quite sure about something.
•          You must have been very pleased when you received the results of your exams.
•          He must have forgotten his phone at home again. He’s not answering.
•     I must have left my keys in the car. I can’t find them.

Might have/may have/could have + past participle

•          We use ‘might have/may have/could have + past participle’ when we are not sure about something but we think it was possible.
•          He was supposed to be here an hour ago but he could have been stuck in a traffic jam.
•         He may have said he was coming but I can’t really remember. I wasn’t listening.
•         I might have been here when I was a child but I can’t really remember.

Can’t have + past participle

•         We use ‘can’t have + past participle’ for things that we are sure did not happen in the past.
•         I can’t have left my phone at work. You phoned me when I was walking to my car. That’s it. It must be in the car.
•          You can’t have seen him this morning. He was with me all the time.
• 
  
•          She can’t have liked the show. She hates musicals.

EXERCISES:

http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/410-modals-of-possibility-and-probability-for-past-situations1.htm

EXPRESSING HABILITY

When we talk about ability, we mean two things.

First, we mean general ability. This is something that once you have learned you can do any time you want, like being able to read or swim or speak a language, for example.

The other kind of ability is specific ability. This mean something that you can or can't do in one particular situation. For example, being able to lift something heavy, or find somewhere you are looking for.

VERB + INFINITIVE

• be able
• I manage

VERB + BASE FORM

• can / can't
• could / couldn't
• verb + gerund

VERB + GERUND

• be capable of
• be incapable of
• be good at
• succed in

COULD

Could can be used in many different ways, to ask for permission, to make a request or to express ability when referring to the past. Was able to is sometimes used as an alternative to could when we are discussing ability or possibility. We tend to use could when we are talking about ability generally. Compare the following:

• By the time she was seven, she could already speak three languages.
•  She started the viola at the age of eight and after only six months she could play it quite well.
•   Her brother Jack was an excellent swimmer. He could beat anybody in his class.

                                                              

                               

WAS ABLE TO / MANAGED TO

We tend to use was able to or managed to if we are talking about what happened in a particular situation or are referring to a specific achievement:

• Were you able to / Did you manage to speak to him before he left home?
• ~ No, I'm sorry, I wasn't able to / didn't manage to reach him. 
• The fog came down and I wasn't able to / didn't manage to get to the top of the mountain.
• My brother wanted to carry on, but we managed to / were able to talk him out of it.

However, with verbs that refer to the five senses, see, hear, smell, feel, taste, and with verbs that refer to thought processes, understand, believe, remember, decide, we normally use could, even when we are talking about specific occasions:

• He was standing very close to me and I could smell the garlic on his breath.
• He asked me when Julie's birthday was, but I couldn't remember.
• I couldn't decide whether to ask him for a lift or not.
•  I could see that he'd been running.

                                                              

                               

UNABLE TO / NOT SUCCEED IN

Note that unable to is an alternative negative form of not able to and succeed in is a slightly more formal alternative to manage to. But remember that succeed in is followed by verb + ing, rather than verb + infinitive:

• We were unable to leave the room until the locksmith arrived and succeeded in unlocking the door.
•   I was unable to complete the report as several pieces of information were missing.
•  Having obtained them, I succeeded in completing it after a further two days.

BE ABLE TO

Note that can has no infinitive form, no -ing form, no perfect form and no future form. It cannot follow another modal auxiliary verb. On all of these occasions, we have to use be able to instead. Compare the following:

• I'd like to be able to swim like Jack. He swims like a fish.
• When I'm at the sea-side, I enjoy being able to take a swim every morning.
• Unfortunately, Jack hasn't been able to swim since his accident.
• Lets' hope he'll be able to resume his daily swimming training soon.
• I'm not a member, but can I swim in this pool? ~ Why don't you speak to the secretary? She may / might / should be able to help you.                                                              

                               

MANAGE = SUCCEED / COPE

We use the verbs manage to and manage a great deal in current English when we want to say that we are able to cope with a difficult situation or find time for a particular task. Compare the following:

•  It was very icy, but I managed to keep the car on the road.
•  
•  Veronica was very upset when Ben left her, but she managed to smile nevertheless.
•  
• She didn't really want to go to Mexico, but Tony managed to persuade her somehow.
• Can you help me put up my new shed? ~ I can manage a few hours in the morning, but I'm busy in the afternoon.
•  This is an ideal job for those who can only manage a few hours each week.
•  Can I give you a hand with that? ~ No, it's all right. I'll manage./ I can manage.
•  If you would like more practice more please visit our Message Board in the You, Me and Us part of our website.

h     EXERCISES:

http://usefulenglish.ru/grammar/modal-verbs-exercise-one