ENGLISH GRAMMAR Class I
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. MODULE I: PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND AUXILIARES, PRONOUNS, PLURALS, PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE AND TIME 2. MODULE II: PRESENT SIMPLE IN AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES, NEGATIVE AND QUESTIONS, ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY, QUESTION WORDS 3. MODULE III: COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS, SOME AND ANY, MUCH/MANY/A LOT OF, FEW/LITTLE, COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE FORM 4. MODULE IV: PRESENT CONTINUOUS IN AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES, NEGATIVE AND QUESTIONS, PRESENT SIMPLE VS PRESENT CONTINUOUS 5. MODULE V: PAST SIMPLE, PAST SIMPLE WITH REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS, NEGATIVE AND QUESTIONS WITH PAST SIMPLE, EXPRESSIONS OF TIME
MODULE I - AUXILIARES Personal pronouns: A personal pronoun refers to a specific person or thing and changes its form to indicate person, number, gender and case. A subjective personal pronoun indicates that the pronoun is acting as the subject of the sentence. The subjective personal pronouns are "I," "you," "she," "he," "it," "we," "you," "they The verb TO BE: we use the verb to be to show the status or characteristics of something or someone. It says what I am, what you are orwhat something is. The verb HAVE/HAVE GOT: "Have" and "have got" are both used to show possession. Pronouns Affirmative Negative Questions I Am Am not Am I? He/She/It Is Is not (isn t) We/You/T hey I He/She/It We/You/T hey Are Have got Has got Have got Are not (aren t) Have not got (Haven t got) Has not got (Hasn t got) Have not got (Haven t got) Is he/she/it? Are We/You/Th ey? Have I? Has he/she/it? Have We/You/Th ey?
MODULE I - PRONOUNS PRONOUNS: Subject, Object, Possessive Subject Pronouns - I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they function as the subject of a sentence Object Pronouns - me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them serve as the object of a verb. Possessive Pronouns - mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs show that something belongs to someone. Note that the possessive pronouns are similar to possessive adjectives (my, his, her). The difference is that the object follows the possessive adjective but does not follow the possessive pronoun. For example - Possessive Pronoun: That book is mine. - Possessive Adjective: That is my book. Possessive adjectives - my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their are often confused with possessive pronouns. The possessive adjective modifies the noun following it in order to show possession.
MODULE I - PLURALS Rule: In general, the plural is formed by adding an S at the end of the noun. Example: a tree - trees, a girl girls Rule: Nouns that end with an -s, -sh, -ch, -z and x add -ES Example: dish - dishes, bus - buses, peach peaches Be Careful! Some of the most common exceptions are: man - men, child - children, woman - women, person people Many animals do not have a plural form: Example: fish - fish, deer - deer
MODULE I - PREPOSITIONS PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE AND TIME: IN We use in with months - in May seasons - in winter country - in Greece city or town names - in New York times of the day - in the morning, afternoon or evening BUT at night! ON We use "on" with specific days - on Friday, on New Year's Day, on April the 19thAmerican English - "on the weekend OR on weekends" AT We use "at" with specific times - at 7 o'clock, at 6.15at night specific places in a city - at school British English - "at the weekend OR at weekends" TO We use "to" with verbs which show movement such as go and come - He goes to school. She returned to the shop. They are coming to the party tonight.
MODULE II PRESENT SIMPLE Listed below are uses with examples of the present simple tense. Permanent or long-lasting situations, Regular habits and daily routines. Facts, Feelings, Opinions and states of mind, Timetables and schedules Examples: The store opens at 9 o'clock. She lives in NewYork. Common present time expressions include: usually, always, often, sometimes, on Saturdays, at weekends (on weekends US English), rarely, on occasion, never, seldom
MODULE II PRESENT SIMPLE (Structure) Positive: In the positive form add an 's' to the base form of the 3rd person singular. If the verb ends in -y preceded by a consonant, change the -y to -ies. I, You, We, They -> eat lunch at noon. He, She, It -> works well in any situation. Negative: Conjugate the helping verb 'do' not (don't and doesn't) the base form of the verb to make negatives. I, You, We, They -> don't enjoy opera. He, She, It -> doesn't belong to the club. Questions: Conjugate the helping verb 'do' (do or does) the base form of the verb in question forms. Do -> I, you, we, they -> work in this town? Does -> he, she, it -> live in this city?
MODULE II ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY Adverbs of frequency tell us how often something happens/is the case, happened/was the case, will happen/will be the case, etc. There are lots of them. Here are some examples :always, constantly, typically, continuously, usually normally mostly generally commonly largely regularly, often frequently, sometimes occasionally, rarely, hardly ever, seldom, never Where do they come in the sentence? If the sentence has one verb in it (e.g. no auxiliary verb) we usually put the adverb in the middle of the sentence, i.e. after the subject and before the verb: We often go to the cinema. The adverb usually comes after the verb "be": I am always late
MODULE II QUESTION WORDS Question words are used to ask about specific qualities, times, places, people, etc. They are different from yes / no questions (Do you live in France?). Who Use: Asking about people What Use: Asking about things or activities What kind of / type of Use: Asking about specific things or characteristics What time Use: Asking for a specific time What... Like Use: Asking about characteristics When Use: Asking about general or specific times Where Use: Asking about places How Use: Combined with many words to ask questions about specific characteristics, qualities, quantities, etc. For example: How much (price, quantity), How long (length), How often (frequency) Which Use: Asking to specify a thing or person from a number of things or people
MODULE III COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS Countable nouns are individual objects, people, places, etc. which can be counted. Nouns are considered content words meaning they provide the people, things, ideas, etc. about which we speak. Uncountable nouns are materials, concepts, information, etc. which are not individual objects and can not be counted: information, water, understanding, wood, cheese, etc. Uncountable nouns are always singular. Use the singular form
MODULE III SOME AND ANY We use "some" in positive sentences. We use some for both countable and uncountable nouns. Example: I have some friends. We use "any" in negative sentences or questions. We use any for both countable and uncountable nouns. Example: Do you have any cheese? - He doesn't have any friends in Chicago. We use "some" in questions when offering or requesting something that is there. Example: Would you like some bread? (offer) - Could I have some water? (request)
MODULE III MUCH, MANY, A LOT OF 'Much' and 'Many' are used in negative sentences and questions. 'Much' is used with uncountable nouns such as 'rice': Examples: How much money have you got?, There isn't much rice left. 'Many' is used for countable nouns such as 'apples A lot of' and 'lots of' can be used with both count and uncountable nouns. 'A lot of' and 'lots of' are used in positive sentences: Examples: There is a lot of water in that jar. He's got lots of friends in London. 'A little' and 'a few' indicate a quantity or number. 'Little' and 'few' indicate a limited quantity. Use 'a little' with uncountable nouns. Example: There is a little wine in that bottle. Use 'a few' with countable nouns. Example: He has a few friends in NewYork.
MODULE IV PRESENT CONTINUOUS The present continuous tense is generally used to express something happening at the moment of speaking. It is not used to express everyday habits and routines. Everyday habits and routines are expressed using the present simple tense. It is also important to remember that the present continuous is only used with action verbs. Things that are happening now, at the moment. Example: What are you doing? Actions happening in a period around the present moment in time. Example: I'm reading "The Surgeon's Mate" by Patrick O'Brian. Future plans and arrangements. Example: What are you doing tomorrow afternoon? Common present continuous time expressions include: at the moment, now, today, this week, this month, tomorrow, next week (for future arrangements ), currently.
MODULE IV PRESENT CONTINUOUS Affirmative sentence: the verb to be + main verb with ing at the end. I'm (I am) -> working today. You're (You are) -> working today. He's (He is) -> working today. She's (She is) -> working today. It's (It is) -> working today. We're (We are) -> working today. You're (You are) -> working today. They're (They are) -> working today. Negative sentence: the negative form of the verb to be + main verb with ing at the end I'm not (I am not) -> coming this evening. You aren't (You are not) -> coming this evening. He isn't (He is not) -> coming this evening. She isn't (She is not) -> coming this evening. It isn't (It is not) -> coming this evening. We aren't (We are not) -> coming this evening. You aren't (You are not) -> coming this evening. They aren't (They are not) -> coming this evening.
MODULE IV PRESENT CONTINUOUS Questions: question word+ the verb to be + subject+ main verb with ing at the end What -> are you -> doing this afternoon? What -> is he -> doing this afternoon? What -> is she -> doing this afternoon? What -> is it -> doing this afternoon? What -> are we -> doing this afternoon? What -> are you -> doing this afternoon? What -> are they -> doing this afternoon?
MODULE IV PESENT SIMPLE VS PRESENT CONTINUOUS Present Simple: Use the present simple to talk about activities or routines which take place on a regular basis. Present Continuous: Use the present continuous to speak about what is happening at the present moment in time, around the present moment, or for a future scheduled event. State verbs cannot be used in the continuous forms. Here is a list of common state verbs :believe, understand, think (opinion), want, hope, smell, taste, feel, sound, look, seem, appear
MODULE V PAST SIMPLE Use the past simple to talk about activities or routines which take place at a specified time in the past. The past simple is used to express a finished past action which occurs at a specific moment in the past. The following time signifiers often indicate a specific point in time.last ago in... (plus a year or month) yesterday when... (plus a phrase) Positive Form: Subject + past form of verb + object(s) + time
MODULE V PAST SIMPLE WITH REGULAR OR IRREGULAR VERBS In the positive form, for regular verbs, add an -ed to the base form of the verb. If the verb ends in -y preceded by a consonant, change the -y to -ied. Example: We played football yesterday, She studied English yesterday Irregular verbs must be studied IRREGULAR VERBS be - was/were become became, begin began, break broke, bring brought, build built, buy - bought, come came, cost cost, cut- cut, do did, drink drank, eat - ate find found, fly flew, get got, give gave, go went, have had, keep kept, know knew, leave - left make - made meet - met pay - paid put - put read - read say - said see -saw sell - sold send sent, speak - spoke spend - spent take - took teach - taught tell - told think - thought
MODULE V PAST SIMPLE WITH NEGATIVE AND QUESTIONS Negative Form: Subject + did + not + base form of verb + object(s) + (time) Examples: They didn't expect to see you at Christmas. She didn't understand the question. Question Form: (Wh?) + did + subject + base form of verb + (object(s))+ (time)? Examples: Where did you study French? When did you arrive last week?
MODULE V EXPRESSIONS OF TIME Time Expressions Often Used in the Past: last - used when speaking about the previous week, month or year. Example: They went on holiday last month. yesterday - used when speaking about the previous day Example: I visited my best friend yesterday. ago - used when speaking about X days, weeks, months, years before. NOTE: 'ago' follows the number of days, weeks, etc. Example: We flew to Cleveland three weeks ago. in - used with specific years or months Example: She graduated in 1976. when - used with a past time clause Example: I played tennis every day when I was a teenager.