Grammar for Everyday English
Everyday Canadian English relies on a handful of grammar structures for describing plans, past events, and requests. This chapter reviews tenses, conditionals, indirect questions, and articles in familiar daily situations. Each point is practiced one sentence at a time.
Past Perfect for Earlier Actions
When one past event happens before another, the earlier one uses the past perfect: 'By the time we arrived, the rain had stopped.' This tense makes the order of events clear.
Conditionals and Indirect Questions
A first conditional describes a real plan: 'If I have time tomorrow, I'll drop off the package.' Indirect yes/no questions use 'if' or 'whether': 'She asked me if I could help.'
Articles and Subject Agreement
Use 'a' for a single, non-specific thing ('find a seat'). Watch subject-verb agreement with quantity phrases: 'a lot of people were there' takes a plural verb.