2024-2025 SPRING SEMESTER

DBE302 GRAMMAR SYLLABUS

 By the end of the semester, 302 students will have practiced the grammar points listed in the table below.
 The underlined points with an asterisk are NOT in the coursebook or the handouts, so please make sure you
teach those points using your own examples.
 Please make sure you go over/revise the passive forms of the grammar points indicated in the syllabus as you
cover their active forms. (Please do not wait until Unit 8 to revise passive forms of these.) Both the active and
passive forms of these are included in the testing syllabus.
 Please note that ALL the language points in the Writing Handouts, including linking words, are included in the
grammar testing syllabus.
 Please note that students are responsible for all the objectives covered in the first semester (introduced in
High Note series (HN 2 & HN 3 -first three units), GHOs, RHOs, all vocab lists and other materials)
 Please tick each box after you teach each grammar point.

HIGH NOTE 3 (B1+/B2)

SPAN 1

MATERIAL GRAMMAR POINT Notes Tick

GHO 1
Used to and would
Only “used to” to talk about past states (with state verbs)
(e.g., I didn’t use to love yoga.)

”be used to” and “get used to” with various tenses (with
nouns and gerunds)

HIGH NOTE 3 Modal and related verbs: The passive forms of

UNIT 4  must when the obligation comes from the speaker these will be taught
Time to move (only in present tenses) later with the
 have to when the obligation comes from sb else or is Passive modals HO.
necessary because of a law or rule
*don’t/doesn’t have to to express absence of obligation
in the present and future

The “have to” structure can be used in other tenses:

e.g., had to, didn’t have to, will have to

*need to/ don’t need to

*needed to / didn’t need to

 mustn’t, can’t, and may not to talk about things that

are not allowed
 should and ought to to talk about duty or to give
advice (ought to is more formal)

*had better
Please also teach contracted form .’d better and negative
form had better not.
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“can, could, may” to ask for permission
(can is less formal than the others)
 can and could to make requests
 can to talk about possibility
 can to talk about present ability and could to talk
about past ability

* “could” to refer to general truths and frequent

occurrences: e.g., She could be aggressive at times.

 be able to to talk about ability with other tenses:

have/has been able to
will be able to
would like to be able to
*was/were able to

*giving, denying, or asking about permission in the PAST

and in the FUTURE with “be able to” and “be allowed to”

*be supposed to / be not supposed to

Relative clauses:
Defining relative clauses to give important information The coursebook lists
about sb/sth/a place etc. so that it is clear which one we are “why” (e.g., Can you
talking about tell me why you are
 who/that late?) as a relative
 which/that pronoun, but it is
 where taught as a noun
 whose clause in DBE.

Omission:
If the subject is different in the two clauses, the relative
pronoun can be omitted (e.g., …the book I bought)

Non-defining relative clauses to give additional information

about sb/sth/a place, etc. we are talking about.
With “commas”
We do not omit the relative pronoun, and we do not use
“that” as a relative pronoun.

*so do I, am I, etc. and neither do I/am I, etc. These can be taught

*I think/suppose/hope so while teaching key
*I hope/suppose/hope not phrases to agree on
p. 55 speaking
section.
*either (e.g., “I don’t think so either.”) You can teach this
point as you cover p.
55 in the speaking
section.
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GHO 2A Relative clauses 3:
Relative Clauses with prepositions and quantifiers
Reduced Relative Clauses
HIGH NOTE 3  Present simple to talk about timetables and Please remember to
UNIT 5 scheduled events revise the passive
The next step  Present continuous for future arrangements forms of “going to”
 Going to and “will.”
for personal plans and intentions
predictions based on evidence
 Will
for spontaneous offers, promises, and decisions
for predictions based on opinions and beliefs
with “probably”
 may/might/could to talk about possibilities and
uncertain predictions
 be about to to talk about sth that will happen in the
very near future
*was/were about to for imminent events in the past
(e.g., I was about to start the campaign.)

 adverbs of certainty: definitely, certainly, probably,

possibly, and their positions in positive and negative
sentences
 other phrases: be sure to verb, be likely/unlikely to
verb, I’m sure…will, I think…will, I don’t think…will

* plan/intend/mean to to talk about present and future

plans

*was/were going to to mention future in the past Please remember to

teach the passive
form of this tense.
 Future continuous to talk about The passive form of
actions which will be in progress at a particular time in the the future
future continuous is very
With “at+ time”, at this time next week/month/year, rare and will not be
tomorrow at + time” tested.
actions that will be in progress over a longer period of time
in the future
With “for …(over a year), then

 Future perfect to talk about Please remember to

actions or situations which will be completed before a introduce the
particular time in the future passive form of the
with “by+time” and “by the time + clause” future perfect.
with “…(two) hours from now, within …(100) years, in …
(ten) years’ time”

Future continuous. + By…, future perfect (e.g., At 9 p.m.

tomorrow we’ll be watching a match. By 11 p.m., the match
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 will have finished.)

*comparison of all common future forms: going to, will,

present continuous, present simple

HIGH NOTE 3  First conditional with “will”

UNIT 6  Second conditional with “would”
Do the right (“were” instead of “was” to be more formal or to give
thing advice with “If I were you”)

 Zero conditional

 Alternatives to if:
when in zero conditionals with little or no change in
meaning
unless
as soon as
provided that
until, after, before if sth happens at a specific time
Use of the comma in conditionals

GHO 3 Alternatives to if:

when in zero conditionals, unless, in case / in case of,
providing/provided (that) / so/as long as / on (the)
condition (that), supposing (that), suppose (that), what if,
whether or not / even if, “the comparative adj + the
comparative adj” and “the more + clause…the more +
clause”

HIGH NOTE 3 Reported speech

UNIT 7 Tense and modal changes in reporting statements (except
In the spotlight past perfect, would/could/should/might)
“tell/ask sb to do sth” in reporting positive and negative
imperatives (reporting orders and requests)

Changes in location:
here-there; this-that; these-those
Changes in time:
Now-then; today-that day; yesterday-the day before; last
week-the week before; tomorrow-the next/following day; a
week/month/year ago-a week/month/year before
Changes in pronouns and possessive adjectives

Reporting verbs: say, tell, reply, add, admit, agree, ask,

claim, complain, confess, explain, point out, predict,
promise, reply, warn, wish
*verbs of advice and recommendation: advise sb to do sth,
recommend doing sth, suggest doing sth

*tell vs say (with or without an object)

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 Reported questions:
Changes in tenses, location, time references, pronouns, etc.
Changes in word order, using if/whether or wh- question
words

*past beliefs and intentions in the passive (e.g., I thought

she would be killed)

 So/such…that “So, such, really, and

so + adj quite” appear on p.
(usually used in spoken English) 103 in the writing
*so + adj + that + clause and vocabulary
section.
such a/n + adj + noun
*such a/n + adj + noun that + clause

such + adj + plural noun OR uncountable noun

*such + adj + plural noun OR mass noun + that + clause

 Intensifiers:
really / quite + adj
a really + adj + noun
quite + adj
quite + a/an + adj + noun

*rather

*”ever” with superlatives in short form (e.g., This is the best “ever” can be taught
film ever.) while mentioning
the review on p.
103.
HIGH NOTE 3 The passive with Please assign the
UNIT 8 simple present Passives Voice
Consumers’ present continuous Worksheet.
world past simple
past continuous
present perfect
will future
modals: can, must, may, should

Functions:
to express the action is more important than the doer
to talk about actions whose doer we do not know
to describe a process
to sound formal

“by” to mention the doer

*”get” with the passive in informal speech to express

unexpected or dramatic change (e.g., get promoted, get
hurt)

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 *making passive statements with ditransitive verbs, such as
tell, give, bring: e.g., He was told a story. vs. A story was told
to him.

*past beliefs and intentions in the passive (e.g., I thought

she would be killed.)

GHO 4 Passive forms of modals and modal-like verbs: can, must, Some modal
should, could, may, might, have to, had to, need to, auxiliaries in GHO4
needed to, ought to, had better are already
introduced in HN U8.
This GHO aims to
supplement the
ones that are not
covered in the book.
Passive Voice Worksheet
GHO 5 Causatives (passive): have, make, let, get, allow, permit,
force, help
HIGH NOTE 3 The third conditional with would, could, might, and *may
UNIT 9
Power of nature
SPAN 2

NOTE: The language objectives and vocabulary in active vocabulary lists covered in the first span are also
included in the testing syllabus of the second span.
Wish clauses worksheet

UNIT 9 I wish/if only for regrets Please assign “wish

Power of nature *I wish/if only + simple past for regrets in the present clauses” worksheet.
*I wish/if only + past perfect for regrets about the past
*I wish/if only + would infinitive to talk about a present
situation that we would like to be different (often when we
find it annoying)
usually used to refer to other people: I wish I would
Note: If only tends to have a stronger meaning than I wish.

Negative yes/no questions (e.g., Isn’t it lovely? Isn’t it a nice You can teach this
picture? Wasn’t it a wonderful day?) point as you cover p.
129 in the Speaking
section.
revise “in order to” + “so that” p. 133 Writing
section includes
exercises on “in
order to” and “so
that”.
UNIT 10 Modals for speculation about the present
Justice for all -must in positive sentences, can’t in negative sentences
-could/may/might

Note: might is slightly less probable than the others

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 -may/might/could + be + verb-ing

Modals for speculation about the past Please remember to

-must have in positive sentences, can’t have/couldn’t have teach the passive
in negative sentences forms of these past
modals.
-might have/may have/could have

Modal for criticism about the past

*should have verb 3

Past Modals of Deduction Worksheet

HIGH NOTE 4 (B2 /B2+)

SPAN 2
MATERIAL GRAMMAR POINT Notes Tick

Unit 1 Question tags and echo questions

Get the With tenses, to be, and models
Message “shall we” as a tag question of “Let’s …”
The use of “they” with someone, no one, etc. in tag questions
“aren’t I” in tag questions with “I am”

Question tags for

• requests
With “could you/ won’t you”
• invitations
With “won’t you”
• commands
With “will you”
e.g., Don’t make a mess, will you?

Question tags in echo questions to show interest or express

surprise and make a conversation go smoothly

Will future:
Unit 2 • to make predictions based on our opinions or expectations
Looking with “I (don’t) think, I’m sure, I expect
Ahead with the following adverbs: “possibly, probably, definitely”
*changing position of the adverbs in positive and negative
statements
With “in a few years”
• to express a decision made at the moment of speaking

Going to future
• to talk about existing plans or intentions for the future
• to make a prediction based on evidence you have now
With future time expressions, such as “in the next few years, this
afternoon”

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Future Continuous:
• to talk about an action that will be in progress at a particular
time in the future
With “by” e.g., By the end of the century, more people will be
living in the country than in cities.
With “at” e.g., “Will you be working on it at 5:30?
With “in a few decades/years, in … years”
• to talk about events that will happen as part of the normal
course of events, or routine
e.g., She’ll be visiting her family at the weekend. (She does it
every weekend.)

Future Perfect to talk about

an action that will be completed before a particular time in the
future
with “in…time”: e.g., In 100 years’ time half the world’s
languages will have disappeared.
With “by + time, by then”

Future Perfect Continuous to focus on a duration of an action

which is still ongoing at some point in the future: The passive form of
With “for” e.g., I will have been living in Berlin for three years in this tense is very
July. rare and will not be
With “by” tested.
With “by the time”: By the time + simple present, future perfect
continuous

The Future Continuous, the Future Perfect and the Future

Perfect Continuous often used with “by” (2050, next year, then,
the time, etc.) and “in” (ten years, two months)

might, may, could to express different degrees of certainty while

talking about the future

be+adjective+infinitive to talk about how probable it is that a

future prediction will actually happen:
• be bound/certain/sure to (to talk about almost definite things)
• be likely to (to talk about probable things)
• be unlikely to (to talk about improbable things)

be planning/hoping to+infinitive and be thinking of+gerund to

talk about plans

be about to +infinitive to talk about something that is

happening very soon

be due to+infinitive to talk about timetabled events

be to+infinitive to talk about formal or official arrangements,

instructions, or commands

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Unit 3
Influences Present continuous and Past continuous to talk about a habit
which is repeated more than usual and which the speaker
finds unexpected or annoying
With “always, constantly, continually, forever”

Will/would to talk about behaviour which is typical or

characteristic of a person (to describe both pleasant and
annoying habits)
e.g., She’ll turn up at 11 and act as if nothing is wrong.
We’d spend the afternoons reading.

Used to + infinitive to talk about a past state or repeated past

actions

Used to vs. would:

 “used to” to talk about past states, NOT would

 “Used to” to introduce new topics, without a specific

time
e.g., I used to eat a lot of fast food, but now I eat healthy food.
 “would” to talk about topics that are established, usually
with a specific time
e.g., My dad used to work at nights. He would come home at 6
a.m. and we would have breakfast…

UNIT 4 When we are telling a story about the past, we usually use the
Inside story Past Simple for the main events and the Past Perfect Simple
and Past Perfect Continuous to provide background
information to those events.

Past Perfect Simple to talk about:

• the duration of states before a specific point in the past
With “for”
With “when”: past perfect + when + simple past
With “just” e.g., She had just run out of fuel when she
disappeared.

• completed earlier actions with a relevance to the time of the

story
e.g., He wrote about a spot that he had discovered on the
surface of Venus.

• experiences that happened before a specific point in the

past
With “by the time”: By the time + simple past + past perfect

Past Perfect Continuous to talk about:

• the duration of actions that began earlier in the past and
continued to the time of the story
With “for”
• earlier past processes with a relevance to the main events in
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 the story
e.g., He had an accident with a pair of scissors that he had
been playing with.

“when, after, because, as, before, by, by the time” with perfect
tenses
e.g., By the age of fifteen, he had completed his system.
He missed that event because he had been in hospital for 2
weeks.

Past Perfect Continuous to focus on the duration of an activity

or to explain a past result
With “for”
e.g., She was tired because she had been flying for hours.

Past Perfect Simple vs. Past Perfect Continuous

Past Perfect Simple for repeated actions when we say how
many times something happened: e.g., She had been visiting
him regularly. NOT She had been visiting him three times.

Negative inversion to add emphasis (special meaning) to a

sentence:
negative adverbial + auxiliary verb + subject + clause
e.g., I had never felt so afraid.→ Never had I felt so afraid.

Inversion with:
 seldom/rarely
 never/at no time
 hardly/barely/scarcely … when …
 under no circumstances/in no way
 no sooner
 not only … but also …
 little (did I/they know/imagine, etc.)

*describing present or future outcomes of a hypothetical

situation using initial 'only if' with inversion of subject and object
*should in hypothetical statements about the present and near
future with inversion and omission of “if” (e.g., Should you need
anything else, please call this number.)

UNIT 5 Infinitives
Making sense • to explain the purpose of an action
of the senses  after certain verbs: need, fail, agree, allow, appear, attempt,
encourage, expect, force, help*, persuade, plan, promise, refuse,
tend, happen
*help can also be followed by the infinitive without to.
• after certain adjectives: important, difficult, easy, helpful,
likely, unlikely
• after first, second, third, last, etc.
e.g., I’d be the last to help him!

Certain verbs + object + infinitive: enable, encourage, force

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Infinitive without “to” after “let” and “make” (make in the sense
of 1. cause 2. force)
e.g., They may make you feel happier. / My mom made me open
the window.
Let your heart slow down.

Gerunds (-ing form) as a noun

• as the subject of the sentence
• after certain verbs and verb phrases: avoid, involve, can’t
stand, can’t help, consider, don’t mind, enjoy, fancy, imagine,
risk, suggest, feel like, have difficulty
• after prepositions
risk of, sense of
prevent sth from
responsible for
without
•after “be used to” and “get used to”
 after the following conjunctions: “when, before, after, while”
Infinitive or gerund after the following verbs with no difference
in meaning:
begin, continue, hate, love, start

prefer + infinitive with to for a specific situation

e.g., I’d prefer to stayin tonight.

prefer + gerund to talk about general preferences

e.g., I prefer staying in to going out.

Infinitive or gerund after the following verbs with a change in

meaning:
remember +infinitive (to remember something, then do it)
remember +gerund (to do something and remember it later)
forget +infinitive (to forget about something, so you don’t do it)
forget +gerund (to do something and (not) forget it later)
try +infinitive (to make an effort to do something difficult)
try +gerund (to do something and see what happens)
NOTE: try + gerund often used for giving advice
stop +infinitive (to stop something in order to do something
else)
stop +gerund (to no longer do something)
like +infinitive (to do something because it is a good idea)
like +gerund (to enjoy something)

• feel, hear, listen to, see, watch + object + infinitive without to

to talk about a completed action after the verbs
e.g., I saw somebody fall in the water.
• feel, hear, listen to, see, watch + object + gerund to talk about
an action in progress
e.g., I saw him talking to the lifeguard.

need, deserve, require + gerund to convey a passive sense

11
 e.g., needs cleaning= needs to be cleaned

would rather, would sooner + infinitive without to

e.g., I’d rather go to the club.
My sister would rather not go to Italy.
With “than” e.g., It’s too hot there. I’d rather dive than lie on
the beach.
She said she’d sooner die than live in the countryside.

Note: I’d sooner is more formal than I’d rather.

would rather+ subject + past tense to say that we don’t want

somebody to do something
e.g., I’d rather you cleaned the bathroom.
I’d rather you didn’t go there alone.

*it is time + simple past

“Would rather and it is time” worksheet Outside Class

material
GHO 6 Gerunds and infinitives Part 2

-passive gerunds and passive infinitives

-gerunds and bare infinitives with verbs of perception
-continuous forms of infinitives

UNIT 6 must to talk about what is right or necessary Please remember to

Where we With “really” e.g., I really must stop smoking. teach the passive
live form of “have got
have to/have got to to talk about what is right or necessary to”.
when the obligation is from somebody else or from outside
Used with different tenses
(The difference between must and have to is very slight, and
often they are interchangeable.)

need to to talk about necessity (rarely used as a modal auxiliary

verb in modern English)
* Used with different tenses

be (not) required to /be (not) obliged to to refer to an ‘outside

authority’ that gives orders or sets rules
used with different tenses
e.g., He was required to get proper qualifications in order to
work as a doctor.
We are obliged to come to school on time.

should/shouldn’t, ought to/oughtn’t to to give our opinion or

advice (also sometimes used for rules and instructions)
with “really” e.g., You really ought to be an expert

be supposed to to talk about what should/shouldn’t happen

according to rules or according to what is generally expected
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(not used in continuous tenses)
e.g., They’re supposed to be free.

don’t have to/ don’t need to / needn’t to express lack of

necessity
e.g., He doesn’t have to be glamorous. (but it is not a problem if
he is)
Pupils don’t need to/needn’t do this.

NOTE: The past form of these verbs have differences in their

meanings:
She didn’t need to go there.(We don’t know if she went or not.)
She needn’t have gone there.(She went there, and now we
know she could have stayed away.)

can/can’t and could/couldn’t to describe ability or lack of ability

NOTE: To describe the completion of a specific action in the
past, use “be able to,” not “could” in affirmative sentences. In
negative sentences both “be able to” and “could” are possible
e.g., Paul wasn’t able to/couldn’t visit in person last Christmas,
but he was able to (NOT could) phone.

manage to do sth/ succeed in doing sth to mean to skillfully

handle something
can/could to ask for and give permission
be allowed / be permitted to do sth to express permission

mustn’t, can’t, couldn’t to say that something is not permitted

not allowed to do sth to express lack of permission

can to talk about things which are generally possible

e.g., It’s very hot here in summer but it can rain heavily in
winter.

could/might to say that a specific thing is possibly true

e.g., There could/might be life on other planets.

can/could to suggest a possible future action, not that it is likely

to happen
e.g., If we finish early tonight, we can/could go for a meal.

might to talk about an uncertain future intention

be likely to do sth to express possibility

be bound to do sth to express certainty
*be certain to to do sth to express certainty (e.g., I am certain to
pass the EPE.)
*be due to do sth to express expectedness (e.g., He was due to
fly this morning)

Quantifiers with comparatives:

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 much/ a lot / considerably / far / miles / significantly / way;
not nearly, nothing like, nowhere near to convey a big
difference
a bit / slightly / marginally to convey a small difference

compared with/to, in/by comparison with, whereas/but to

make comparisons

Articles
The indefinite article –a/an with a singular countable noun when
the listener doesn’t know which particular thing is being referred
to, or it doesn’t matter which one.
This is because:
a) it is one of many of the same class
b) we mention a person or thing for the first time

The definite article– the (with any noun) when it is known which
particular item is being referred to.
This is because the thing/person
a) was mentioned before
b) is unique:
c) is defined specifically by the words that follow
e.g., My grandmother is still the head of the family.

the with
• superlatives
• comparatives (when identifying one of a pair)
e.g., I have two dogs. The bigger (of the two) is my favourite.
• ordinal numbers
• decades, centuries
e.g., in the1950s; in the18th century

Zero article
• with plural and uncountable nouns when we make general
statements
• with words like prison, hospital, school, college, etc. when
we are talking about their purpose as an institution
e.g., I go to school every day.
• with most place names (exceptions: the USA, the UK, the Czech
Republic, the Hague)

Making sentences more emphatic using: You can find these

What/All/The way: points on p. 85 in
e.g., What you do is slide the door…/All you do is press…/The the speaking section
way (that) you do is… of the book.

UNIT 7 Reported speech to report what people said

Is it fair? by moving the original verb ‘one tense back’ (except for the Past
Perfect and some modal verbs)
by changing pronouns as necessary

By changing references to time, place, and this/that:

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here ➔there
now ➔then
tomorrow/next week ➔the following day/week or the next
day/week
yesterday/last week ➔the day/week before
tonight/today/this evening ➔that night/day/evening
this ➔that (in time expressions)
this/that ➔the

say(that) or tell+ object (that) to report statements

ask+ (object) + if/whether for yes/no questions to report
questions
tell+ object + (not) + infinitive to report commands
ask+ object + (not) + infinitive to report requests

reporting verbs: say, tell, ask, reply, answer, enquire, announce,

order

Modal verbs
can/may➔could/might
must➔must or had to
Other modal verbs (could, would, should, might) do not change.

It is not necessary to change the verb tenses in reported speech

when:
• we use a Present Simple/Present Perfect reporting verb
e.g., He says/has said he’ll be back next week.
• the statement is reported soon after it was said, so the
situation is still relevant
e.g., He said he’ll be back next week. (It’s the same week.)
• the reporter believes that the fact/opinion is still true
e.g., Dad said that secrets always come out in the end.
verbs to summarise what people say:
 verb + (that): explain, admit, agree, complain, deny,
insist, promise, recommend, regret
 verb + object + (that): warn, advise, persuade, promise,
remind, tell
 verb + (not) infinitive: offer, promise, agree, decide,
refuse, threaten
 verb + object + (not) infinitive: advise, encourage, ask,
invite, order, persuade, remind, tell, warn
 verb + (not) gerund: suggest, regret, admit, advise, deny,
recommend
 verb + preposition + (not) gerund: apologise for, insist
on, object to
 verb + object + preposition + (not) gerund: criticised sb
for being, accuse sb of, blame sb/sth for, congratulate sb
on, praise sb for, suspect sb of
 More than one pattern is possible with these verbs:
admit, advise, agree, deny, insist, promise, recommend,
regret, remind, suggest, warn
 that+should clause to provide information about the
15
 object with verbs that express the idea that an action is
necessary
e.g. demand, insist, propose, recommend, suggest (His
boss suggested that he should take a holiday.)
that + Present/Past Simple clause (e.g., He insisted that they
take/took the money.)
UNIT 8 Impersonal passive structures:
Digital say, think, believe, know, claim, estimate, expect + passive to
perspectives report beliefs and opinions

 it+passive+that clause to express present or past belief

e.g., It is believed that Berners-Lee would now be the
richest man in the world. (present belief)
It was revealed that hackers had interfered… (past belief)

 subject+passive+to-infinitive to express present belief

e.g., His new system, called Solid, is reported to be a platform.

•subject+passive (be+past participle) +perfect infinitive (to “subject+passive

have been+past participle) to express present belief about a (be+past participle)
past event +perfect infinitive
e.g., More than 700,000 people are believed to have been (to have been+past
affected by the virus. participle) to
express present
belief about a past
event” will not be
directly tested.
GHO7 Reduced Adverb Clauses
- reduced adverb clauses of time using the present and past
participle
- reduced adverb clauses of reason using the present, and past
participle
-reduced adverb clauses of manner using the present participle
-reduced adverb clauses of condition and concession using past
participle

Conditionals:
UNIT 9
Highs and  Zero conditional to talk about situations which are
lows always true
 First conditional with will/may/might/can/could +
infinitive to talk about a possible situation in the future
 Second conditional with would/might/could + infinitive
to talk about an unlikely or imaginary situation in the
present or future
was vs. were
 Third conditional with would/might/could have +
perfect infinitive to talk about an imaginary situation in
the past
 Mixed conditionals
-to talk about the effects of an imaginary present
situation/state on the past:
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 If + Past Simple, would (n’t ) have + perfect infinitive:
-to talk about the consequences in the present of an
imaginary past situation:
If + Past Perfect, would (n’t ) + infinitive

Wish / If only to express dissatisfaction and regret

 wish / If only + past to talk about present regrets
were vs. was in wish clauses
 wish / If only + Past Perfect to talk about past regrets
 wish / If only + would (not) + infinitive to express that we
want something to happen, or a situation to change
e.g., I wish you’d stop doing that! (I don’t like it when you
do it.)

 should (not) have + past participle to criticise a past

action
e.g., You shouldn’t have read that letter. (You read it and I’m
unhappy about this.)
 could have + past participle to talk about something that
was possible, but didn’t happen (We are unhappy about
the result)
e.g., You could have told me you were coming! (It was
possible for you to tell me, but you didn’t.)
 needn’t have + past participle to talk about something
that someone did in vain
e.g., You needn’t have brought food. There’s plenty here
already.

Mixed conditionals worksheet Outside class

material

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