Tag: structure

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Structure: ‘a / an / the 1’

What are articles and when do we use them?

In grammar terms, articles are ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’. These are some of the most common words in English and in many Western European languages there are article systems that are similar to articles in English, but with some differences.

Use: We use articles to indicate if something we are talking about is known to the speaker and the listener (it’s definite) or if it’s something which is not known to both the speaker and listener (it’s indefinite). Let’s look at an example.

eg Before my flight I was in the lounge.

In this sentence the speaker is indicating to the listener (by saying ‘the lounge’) that he/she knows the lounge (perhaps it’s the lounge that the speaker usually goes to, or it’s the only lounge in the airport). Whatever the reason, the speaker is indicating that the listener already knows about the lounge (it’s definite).

Let’s look at a second example.

We punctured a tyre after landing.

In this sentence the speaker is indicating to the listener (by saying ‘a tyre’) that he/she doesn’t know about the burst tyre. A plane has many tyres so it’s impossible to know which one was punctured. Later in the conversation however, the speaker my say;

…we’ll have to replace the punctured tyre.

In this sentence, ‘punctured tyre’ has become definite (‘the punctured tyre’) because it was mentioned previously, even though you don’t know which specific tyre was punctured, you know that the punctured tyre exists, and that’s why it has become definite.

Tip: Information that begins as indefinite becomes definite. ie Something which you first describe as ‘a plane’ then becomes ‘the plane’ when you mention it again.

Check out the diagram below and our other posts on articles to find out more about definite and indefinite articles.

Diagram of how to use a, an & the.
How to use a, an & the.

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Structure: ‘all vs every 1’

Fly High English - Structure

This time in our structure help we talk about the difference between ‘all’ and ‘every’. These two words have similar meanings but are used in different ways. Check out the diagram below for more information and don’t forget to be careful with the difference between ‘all day’ and ‘every day’.

Diagram of the differences between all and every.
All vs every.

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Structure: ‘Present perfect 3’

Present perfect for ‘news / updates’

In ‘present perfect 1‘ we talked about ‘have you ever….?’ questions.

In ‘present perfect 2‘ we talking about ‘finished time references’ and ‘unfinished time references and how they relate to the present perfect and past simple.

Now we want to add some other situations when the present perfect can be used.

We can use the present perfect when giving new information or updates.

When giving new information or updates to somebody you can use the present perfect. Usually this information is recent and the person listening doesn’t know the new information or the update.

Example: Imagine a controller and pilot speaking in a non-routine situation. The pilot has a medical situation on board and is talking to the controller.

Pilot: We have requested a doctor on board and she has checked the passenger. The passenger has a heart problem and the doctor has given him some medication.

All of these present perfect verb forms give new information or are updates for the controller about the situation.

Another situation when we can use the present perfect is when an action has a connection to now.

If an the action happened in the past, you use the present perfect to indicate that the effect exists in the present. So if you cut (past simple) your finger in the past maybe it’s fine now.

However, if you’ve cut (present perfect) your finger it suggests that maybe you are bleeding or that there is still a present effect of the cut (it could be painful).

These two uses – giving new information or updates and an action has a connection to now – don’t have to be separate. It’s possible for something to be new information and have a connection to now. Indeed, that’s quite common.

Tip: Don’t worry about trying to separate giving new information or updates and an action has a connection to now. If you think you action relates to one or both of these you’ll use the present perfect.

In fact, it’s possible for an action to happen in an ‘unfinished time reference‘ (present perfect 2), to be ‘new information‘ and ‘to have a connection to now‘, but we don’t have to worry about that, we just use the present perfect.

Check out the diagram below for more information and examples. Try to write some examples of your own.

Diagram of how to use the present perfect.
How to use the present perfect 3.

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Structure: ‘do something vs have something done’

Fly High English - Structure

This time in our structure help we talk about the difference between, ‘do something’ and ‘have something done’. It’s an important difference that tells the listener who performed the action. If you do something; write a report for example, you do the action. On the other hand, if you ‘have something done’; if you ‘have the report written’, you don’t do it yourself, but ask, pay, instruct or perhaps order another person to do it. For more difficult activities, it common to have them done by another person who is more experienced in that activity. So for example, you probably won’t replace the tyre if you’re the pilot, you’ll probably ‘have the tyre replaced’ by a mechanic, a person who is more familiar with that kind of job. In the ‘have something done’ structure the verb ‘have’ determines the time reference, so it’s possible you had something done or that you will have something done. Check out the diagram for more information and read the extra examples below.

Diagram of the difference between 'do something' and 'have something done'.
The difference between ‘do something’ and ‘have something done’.

Extra examples
He irons his shirt.
He has his shirt ironed. (Perhaps the hotel organises this action)

She removed the passenger from the flight.
She had the passenger removed from the flight. (Perhaps the police did this action)

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Structure: ‘Present Perfect 2’

Present perfect vs past simple

In ‘Present perfect 1’ (click here), we talked about a specific situation where you can use the present perfect, to ask ‘have you ever …?’ questions. This time we want to talk about positive statements and also to compare the present perfect with the past simple.

To compare these two tenses it’s necessary to think about two time references: finished time and unfinished time.

When we think about the time reference ‘yesterday’, it’s clear that ‘yesterday’ is finished. Similarly, ‘last week’, ‘last month’ and ‘last year’ are also finished.

Tip: With ‘finished time’ references use the past simple.

In contrast to that, with ‘unfinished time’ references such as ‘this week’, ‘this year’, ‘this month’ etc… it’s clear that they aren’t finished.

Tip: With ‘unfinished time’ references use use the present perfect.

In some situations the time of day will determine if you should use the past simple or present perfect. In the morning for example the time reference ‘this morning’ is unfinished so you use the present perfect with it.

In the afternoon the time reference ‘this morning’ is finished so you should use the past simple in that situation. Check out the diagram below for more information, write some examples of your own and read them out loud to help you remember them.

Diagram of how to use the present perfect.
How to use the present perfect 2.

Tip: Understanding the difference between ‘finished time references’ and ‘unfinished time references’ will help you a lot to use the present perfect correctly.

Very often we begin with a present perfect sentence and then use the past simple, then maybe the present simple and then something else. We don’t use the present perfect in isolation, we use it with other common tenses.

Let’s imagine you are talking to a friend on Wednesday.

Oh man…I’ve flown a lot this week (unfinished time). I flew ten hours on Monday (finished time) and twelve hours on Tuesday (finished time) and now I’m really tired.

As we can see in the example above, we use a mix of tenses together to talk about different time references.

Tip: In these situations you need to know your time reference before you select your verb and tense even though the time reference is usually at the end of the sentence.

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Structure: ‘Conditionals 4’

Fly High English - Structure

This time in our structure help we continue to talk about conditional sentences. This time we’re talking about the third conditional. Similar to the zero, first and second conditionals, it has two parts, an ‘if’ part and the ‘other part’. You can change the order of these two parts without changing the meaning of the sentence. In the third conditional, the ‘if part’ relates to the ‘unreal past’, a past situation that didn’t occur. If you want to talk about a ‘real situation’, which is common, use the past simple. For unreal situations, and their imagined results, we use the third conditional. Check out the diagram below for more information and examples, then try to write some sentences of your own.

Diagram of the form and use of the third conditional.
Third conditional

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