19 Key

Lesson 19-- Phrasal Verbs
( 19) PHRASAL VERBS

1. Introduction
2. Phrasal Verbs (Separable)
3. Phrasal Verbs (Non-separable)
4. Phrasal Verbs without an Object
5. Phrasal Verbs with an Object
6. Phrasal Verbs Intransitive
7. Phrasal Verbs Transitive
8. Three-word Phrasal Verbs
INTRODUCTION
A phrasal verb is a verb that is combined with a preposition (at, on, over, etc.) or adverb (back, down,
off, etc.), and together has its own special meaning. For example, get away means escape; and speak
up means speak louder.
Some phrasal verbs retain the meaning of the original verb while some others have meaning completely
different to the original verb.
EXAMPLE: I asked them to come in. (The phrasal verb come in means enter which is easily understood as
we are familiar with the meaning of the words: come and in.)
EXAMPLE: The deal fell through at the last minute. (The phrasal verb fell through means not completed
successfully which is different in meaning to the verb fell.)
Phrasal verbs can be separable or non-separable. When a phrasal verb is separable, a noun object
comes after the participle of the phrasal verb or comes between the verb and the participle. (A participle is
the word that is used in a phrasal verb. Examples of participle: at, in, on, off, away, etc.) If a phrasal verb
is non-separable, a noun or pronoun always comes after the participle.
PHRASAL VERBS (SEPARABLE)
The nouns come between the verbs and the participles, and the noun objects come after the participles
of the phrasal verbs.
Example: His part-time office job is to put the files away. (The noun files is between verb put and the
participle away.)
Example: She wrote my phone number down on a piece of paper.
Example: They called off the match due to bad weather. (Noun object comes after the participle.)
Example: He pointed out the accused to the police.
3. PHRASAL VERBS (NON-SEPARABLE)
In some phrasal verbs, the verb and the participle cannot be separated. An object cannot come between
the verb and the participle. It can come only after the verb and the participle. Usually, the noun and
pronoun come after the participles.
Example: He will look after my dog while I am away. (INCORRECT: He will look my dog after while I am
away.)
Example: They called on her when she was hospitalized. (call on = pay a brief visit)
Example: Jack ran into Jill while he was on his way home. (run into = meet by chance)
4. PHRASAL VERBS WITHOUT AN OBJECT
Some phrasal verbs do not take on an object.

Example: They told him to hurry up.
Example: We decided that we should get together more regularly.

Example: After what happened, he promised to speak up.
5. PHRASAL VERBS WITH AN OBJECT
Many phrasal verbs take an object.

Example: He turns off the light whenever he leaves the room.
Example: She puts her glasses on each time she goes out.
Example: They looked through the drawer but couldnt find it.
6. PHRASAL VERBS INTRANSITIVE
Phrasal verbs that are intransitive are not followed by a noun or an object.
Example: We invited them to join in. (No noun or object follows the phrasal verb.)
Example: When she heard what happened, she broke down.
Example: He shouted to them, Hurry up! (Verb + participle)
7. PHRASAL VERBS TRANSITIVE
Phrasal verbs that are transitive are followed by a noun or an object. The preposition cannot be separated
from the verb.
Example: Put on your cap. (INCORRECT: Put your cap on.)
Example: She tried on a shirt but it didnt fit. (Verb + preposition + noun)
(NOT: She tried a shirt on but it didnt fit.)
Example: Hes always looked up to him for his courage. (Verb + participle + preposition + pronoun)
In some cases, the preposition can be separated from the verb in a phrasal verb, and it is just as
acceptable, as follow:
Example: He takes off his jacket.
The adverb participle (off) can be separated from the verb and placed after the noun object (jacket)
CORRECT: He takes his jacket off.
8. THREEWORD PHRASAL VERBS
A phrasal verb can also be a three-word combination. Three-word phrasal verbs are non-separable. These
phrasal verbs are followed by the noun or pronoun. The three-word phrasal verb that is intransitive is not
followed by an object. But the three-word phrasal verb that is transitive is followed by an object.
Example: When we were young, we liked to hang out with each other.
Example: Their children grew up in a respectable neighbourhood.
Lesson 18- Clauses
( 18) CLAUSES
1. Introduction to Clauses
2. Adjective Clause
3. Adverb Clause
4. Noun Clause
5. Subjunctive in Noun Clauses
1. INTRODUCTION TO CLAUSES
CLAUSE: A clause is a group of related words what has a subject and a verb. There are two kinds of
clauses: independent clause and dependent clause.
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE: An independent clause is a complete sentence. It has a subject and a verb. It is
also known as a main clause
DEPENDENT CLAUSE: A dependent clause is not a complete sentence. It cannot stand alone in a
sentence without being joined to an independent clause.

ADJECTIVE CLAUSE: An adjective clause is a dependent clause that modifies a noun. It describes or
gives more information about a noun. An adjective clause is the same as a relative clause.
ADJECTIVE CLAUSE PRONOUNS: An adjective clause pronoun connects the dependent clause that is the adjective
clause, to the independent clause. Examples of an adjective clause pronoun are: who, whom, that, which, and
whose.
2. ADJECTIVE CLAUSE
An adjective clause describes or tells us more about a noun.

EXAMPLE: I have a friend who is a funny clown.
In the example, who is a funny clown is an adjective clause.

An adjective clause is a dependent clause and is never a complete sentence.
An adjective clause is formed with the use of the following words: who, that, whom.
a) This morning he fought with a little guy who was his best friend.
b) The man who walks with a slight limp was an international footballer.
c) I must say he is the most boring person who/that ever lives.
e) She is the only cousin whom I enjoy talking to.
f) The man whom you met yesterday is our new next-door neighbour.
In the examples, the adjective clauses are in bold.
In (a), the adjective clause who was his best friend follows and modifies a noun. It gives more
information about the noun.
In (b), an adjective clause can come in the middle of a sentence. It immediately follows the noun it
modifies.
In (c), in many cases who or that can be used to start an adjective clause.
In (d), only that can be used; that is used for animals or things; who is used for people.
In (e), whom is an object pronoun, and comes at the beginning of an adjective clause. Here, it refers to
cousin.
In (f), the adjective clause beginning with whom can occur in the middle of a sentence.
In (d), (e) and (f), the object pronouns that and whom can be omitted from the adjective clause as follow:
The money you gave me lasted only a week.
She is the only cousin I enjoy talking to.
The man you met yesterday is our new next-door neighbour.
Using which and that in adjective clause
a) The fire broke out in the warehouse. It swept through the factories.
b) The fire which broke out in the warehouse swept through the factories.
c) The fire that broke out in the warehouse swept through the factories.
In (a), we change It to which or that to make an adjective clause. It, which and that refer to the fire,
which is not a person so who cannot be used. Which refers to things; that refers to people or things.
In (b) and (c), which and that are used as the subject of an adjective clause, so they cannot be omitted.
EXAMPLE: The fire broke out in the warehouse swept through the factories. (INCORRECT)
However, which and that can be omitted if they are used as an object pronoun in an adjective clause,
as follow:
The fire which I saw swept through the factories.
The fire that I saw swept through the factories.
EXAMPLE: The fire I saw swept through the factories. (CORRECT)
Using whose in adjective clause

The man made a police report. His wife went missing three months ago.
The man whose wife went missing three months ago made a police report.
Whose shows possession. His wife is changed to whose wife to create an adjective clause. The
adjective clause here is whose wife went missing three months ago
My friend is a fireman. His house has burned down.
My friend is a fireman whose house has burned down.
The adjective clause is in bold. His house is changed to whose house to make an adjective clause.
Using where and when in adjective clause
The place where he flies his kites is very windy.
Where begins the adjective clause which is in bold. It is used to modify a noun of place.
Ill never forget the day when she kissed me.
When is used in an adjective clause to modify a noun of time.
Restrictive Adjective Clause and nonrestrictive Adjective Clause
A Restrictive Adjective Clause is necessary to the meaning of the sentence in which it appears. It
cannot be omitted from a sentence, for without this clause, the basic meaning of the sentence changes.
It is not set off by commas.
A Nonrestrictive Adjective Clause can be omitted from a sentence in which it appears without
affecting the basic meaning of the sentence. It merely gives more information about the noun it
modifies. It is separated form the main clause by commas.
3. ADVERB CLAUSE
An adverb clause modifies a verb. It contains a subject and a verb. As a dependent clause, it cannot
stand alone and must connect to an independent or main clause to form a complete sentence. An adverb
clause may come before or after the independent clause. When an adverb clause precedes an
independent clause, a comma is used to separate the clauses. When the adverb comes after the
independent clause, no comma is used.
KIND OF ADVERBIAL CLAUSES
Clauses of Time These clauses are used to show when something happens. .
Conjunctions used: after, as, as long as, before, since, until, while, when, whenever, as soon as,
and so long as.

EXAMPLE: You must clear up this mess before they arrive.
EXAMPLE: When she heard the news, she started to cry.
Clauses of Condition These clauses are used to talk about a possible situation.
Conjunctions used: if, unless, only if, even if, in case, and in the event that.
EXAMPLE: If he wasn't such a heavy smoker, he would be alive today.
EXAMPLE: I am going to take away your television unless you pay me back the
money.
Clauses of Reason These clauses are used to show why something happens.
Conjunctions used: because, as, since and now that.
EXAMPLE: As we're both tired, we agreed to stop playing.
EXAMPLE: She is very angry because of what you said.
Clauses of Manner These clauses are used to show the way something is done.
Conjunctions used: as, and like
EXAMPLE: As I already mentioned, none of you is going to go with me.
EXAMPLE: Don't treat me like you treat a slave.
Clauses of Purpose These clauses are used to show the purpose for doing something.
Conjunctions used: so that and in order that
EXAMPLE: I hold my pet cat up so that everyone can see it.
EXAMPLE: We locked the gate in order that no uninvited persons could come in.
Clauses of Contrast These clauses are used to show direct contrast - this thing is exactly the opposite of
that thing.
Conjunctions used: while and whereas
EXAMPLE: Jack is short, while Jill is tall.
EXAMPLE: His brother is rich, whereas he is poor.
Clauses of Place These clauses are used to show where something is or happens
Conjunctions used: where, wherever, anywhere and everywhere.
EXAMPLE: Why do you follow me wherever I go?
EXAMPLE:
She is taking me to the farm where I can see lots of scorpions.
4. NOUN CLAUSE
A noun clause has a subject and verb and functions as a noun. A noun clause is a dependent clause or
subordinate clause and is not a complete sentence. It must be connected to an independent clause. Noun
clauses usually begin with how, that, what, whatever, when, where, which, who, whoever, or why.
A noun clause is a dependent clause.
EXAMPLE: He knows where I live.
This complete sentence has an independent clause with the main subject (He) and verb (knows). Where I live
is a dependent clause called a noun clause connected to an independent clause (He knows).
A noun clause has its own subject and verb.
EXAMPLE: He knows where I live.
In this example, the noun clause is where I live. I is the subject of the noun clause; live is the verb of the noun
clause.
A noun clause can be used as a subject.
EXAMPLE: What she sang was a Hungarian folk song.
What she sang is a noun clause, and is also the subject of the sentence. The noun clause has its own
subject she and the verb sang.
A noun clause can be used as an object.
EXAMPLE: I saw what he did.
The noun clause is what he did. It is used as the object of the verb saw.
A noun clause can be used as the object of a preposition.
EXAMPLE: I always paid attention to what my father said.
In the example, what my father said is a noun clause. It is used as the object of the preposition to.
A noun clause can start with a question word.
EXAMPLE: I dont know where my bunch of keys is.
The noun clause is where my bunch of keys is.
A noun clause can begin with if or whether.
EXAMPLE: I dont know whether or not she will accept my proposal of marriage.
The noun clause: whether or not she will accept my proposal of marriage.
We can begin a noun clause with that.
EXAMPLE: My mother-in-law insists that the world is flat.
That the world is flat is the noun clause.
5. SUBJUNCTIVE IN NOUN CLAUSES
We use subjunctive verbs in sentences to express or stress wishes, importance or urgency. A subjunctive verb is
used in noun clauses beginning with that. It uses the simple form of a verb, and does not have present, past, or
future forms. It is neither singular nor plural.
EXAMPLE:
The leader demands that we be early for the trip.
We insisted that he honour the terms of the agreement.

The father recommended that she not go to the cinema alone.
It is important that everyone be told the truth.
His mother suggested that he see/should see a doctor.

Lesson 17- Verb + ing (Gerunds, Participles and Adjectives)
( 17) VERBS + -ING (GERUNDS, PARTICIPLES and ADJECTIVES)

1. The verb + ing used as a Noun or Gerund
2. The verb + ing used as the Present Participle
3. The verb + ing used as an Adjective.
The ing form is used in three ways:
a) The ing form is used as a noun (gerund)
EXAMPLE: Everyone in the family likes cooking.
b) The ing form is used as a verb (present participle).<
EXAMPLE: Adam is jogging in the park. / Eve saw a pickpocket stealing a wallet.
c) The ing form is used as an adjective.
EXAMPLE: They managed to save the drowning child.
1. THE VERB + ING USED AS A NOUN OR GERUND
Gerund is the ing form of a verb, and is used in the same ways as a noun. It is therefore used as a
subject or as an object in a sentence. It can also be used as a subject and an object within the same
sentence, as follow:
a) Washing his car is the only thing he does almost every Sunday.
b) She prefers any of the household chores to mopping. c) Skipping to him is a better alternative to
jogging.
The gerunds in the above sentences (washing, mopping, skipping, and jogging) are ing forms of the
verbs: wash, mop, skip and jog.
In (a), washing is the noun acting as the subject in the sentence.
In (b), mopping is the object in the sentence (the object of the preposition to.)
In (c), the two gerunds skipping and jogging act as subject and object of the
same sentence.
a) Using Gerund as Subjects or Objects
The gerunds are used as subjects or objects of a verb
Watching television is a waste of time.
Attending church regularly is important.
Smoking is very bad for you.
Working in a foreign country can be very difficult.
Learning a foreign language can be a real challenge.
My sister does not like cooking.
Every morning she goes jogging.
b) Verb + gerund
A gerund is used as the object of the verb, and it usually comes after the verb. A preposition is not
needed between the verb and the gerund.
EXAMPLE: They discussed getting married. (NOT: They discussed to getting
married.)
I like walking in the rain. (Verb like followed by gerund walking)
She enjoys playing with her puppies.

The dog stopped barking when I gave it a bone.
He has just finished painting the room.
Neil has consistently denied murdering his estranged wife.
We can use be used to / get used to + ing form of the verb
I was used to watching bird on the hill side, but I never have the time now.
Sarah is used to donating her blood at the medical centre.
After his wife died, he had to get used to looking after the kids on his own.
A negative statement using not can be used before the ing form.
I am frustrated not having enough money to buy her a birthday present.
c) Phrasal Verbs + Gerund
A phrasal verb consists of a verb and a preposition which together have its own
meaning.
EXAMPLE: cut down = to reduce the amount of something
The following phrasal verbs + gerund are in bold.
Julia carried on talking even though no one was listening. (Phrasal verb: carried
on)
Jack keeps on scratching his head and we wonder why. (Phrasal verb: keeps
on)
Jill gave up smoking last year.
He doesnt know when hell get around to doing the roof repair.
We stayed up watching the movie late last night.
d) Prepositions + Gerund
When there is a preposition + verb, we must use an ing form for the verb.
Prepositions + gerund are in bold as follow:
He is addicted to playing online games.
His parents were well accustomed to working hard.
She is very excited about meeting him for the first time.
Julia is very pleased with getting the desired exam results.
He will always be remembered for winning the first gold medal for the country.
We apologized for arriving late.
Jill has become interested in catching butterflies for fun.
Jack looks forward to running his own business.
We can use an ing form after such words as before, after and since.
Mr. Black usually says a prayer for good luck before going to bed.
Mrs. White felt quite scared after watching two crocodiles fight.
I have learned to be careful since knocking my head against the wall.
e) Gerund used in other expressions
Its no use crying over spilt milk.
This new gadget is for opening tinned food.
Where do you usually go for fishing?
One thing I hate most is ironing my clothes.
Now you regret being so rude to her.
If only you had stopped talking and listened to her.
We could go on dancing all night.
She prefers having dinner at home to eating outside.
I think your hair needs shampooing.
f) Gerund used in compound noun

The old man moves about with the help of a walking-stick.
She cleans the sitting-room almost every week.
The swimming-pool was most crowded at weekends.
2. THE VERB + ING USED AS THE PRESENT PARTICIPLE
a) The present participle is the verb + ing. It is used:

1. as the present continuous tense of the verb.
EXAMPLE: It is raining at the moment. / The dog is barking at the clown.
2. after an action verb.
EXAMPLE: He went fishing with his father. / They played catching the ball
on the beach.
3. after the verb and object , that is verb + object + present participle.
EXAMPLE: The detectives caught someone pickpocketing. / We saw a small dog chasing a cat.
Here, the verbs caught and saw are followed by the objects someone and dog, and then the
present participles pickpocketing and chasing. The use of present participle indicates the action was
still going on.
4. two actions are done by the same person and are happening at the same time.
EXAMPLE: Walking to the gate, he turned to wave to his neighbour.
b) Verb + preposition + ing form
I had to apologize for stepping on her toes.
Her main aim now is to concentrate on passing her exam.
We finally decided on holidaying in Hawaii.
Sometimes Jack and Jill think of going up the hill.
The gang of youth was arrested for fighting in the supermarket.
c) Linking word + ing form
Mr. Wood went to play golf in spite of feeling unwell.
Although joining the company only a year ago, shes already been
promoted twice.
Johnny has not been seen for a year since leaving home.
He never fails to turn off the light when leaving his room.
She is paid well for cleaning the office.
We always have hot drinks after swimming.
d) Using verbs and verbs + ing form.
We can use either the simple form of the verb or the ing form of a verb. There is very little
difference in meaning between the two forms.
a) I saw Jack walk along the river.
b) I saw Jack walking along the river.
c) I heard Jill sing in the bathroom.
d) I heard Jill singing in the bathroom.
There is no difference in meaning between (a) and (b), and (c) and (d). The ing form of a verb is better
used with while.
EXAMPLE: I saw Jack while he was walking along the river.
The use of while indicates an action is still going on. I heard Jill while she was singing in the bathroom
means the singing was still going on when I heard it.
3. THE VERB + ING USED AS AN ADJECTIVE
a) The adjective using verb + -ing is usually placed before the noun it modifies. 
Some nations are experiencing a dwindling population due to very

low birth rate.
There are people who doubt the disappearing rain forest contributes
to global warming.
b) The verb + -ing form can be used after possessive adjectives.
We do really appreciate your helping to get all this work done.
I will not tolerate his behaving in that manner again.
She said she doesn't mind our going over to her place for a chat.
Lesson 16- The Passive
( 16) THE PASSIVE

1. Active and Passive Voice
2. When to use the Passive Voice
3. Facts about Passive Voice
4. Verb with two objects
5. Passive Voice + Basic Modal Forms
1. ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE
An idea can be expressed in two different ways. We can do it by using a verb to indicate whether the
subject performs an action (active voice) or receives the action (passive voice).
Active voice: The verb is in the active voice when the subject (cat) does the action.
EXAMPLE: A cat ate the fish. (Verb: ate / Object: fish)
Here, the doer of the action is a cat and the verb ate is in the active voice. The object comes after the
verb.
Passive voice: When action is done to the subject, the verb is in the passive voice. The previous object
(fish) is now used as the subject.
EXAMPLE: The fish was eaten by a cat. (Verb: eaten / Subject: fish)
Here, action is done to the subject and the verb was eaten is in the passive voice. The subject comes
before the verb.
In changing a sentence, as above, from active voice to one in the passive voice, we make the object of
the active voice sentence the subject of the passive voice sentence. The verb used in a passive voice
sentence is formed by adding the past participle to to be (am, is, are, was, were, has been, have been, will
be, etc.) Passive verbs have the same tenses (simple present tense, present continuous tense, present perfect
tense, etc.) as active verbs.
Only verbs which take on an object can be changed to the passive. When we choose passive sentences,
we use the preposition by to show who or what does or has done the action. We use by only when we
have to.
2. WHEN TO USE THE PASSIVE VOICE
We use the active voice whenever we can. We use only the passive voice:
when we dont know who performs the action;
EXAMPLE: The bank was broken into last night.
when we know or it is important to know who performs an action.
EXAMPLE: This painting was done by my grandmother.
when the action itself is more important than the doer.
EXAMPLE: Siblings were tragically killed in a road accident.

when we are interested only in what happens rather than who or what did it;
EXAMPLE: The giant snake was killed in that village.
when we choose not to name the one who performs the action;
EXAMPLE: The work was poorly done.
when it is not important to know who does, or did the action;
EXAMPLE: All these wares were imported from Hong Kong.
when we dont want to take responsibility for something;
EXAMPLE: The matter is currently dealt with by someone.
when we wish to emphasize the person or thing acted on rather than the one who does it.
EXAMPLE: John was presented with a bravery award yesterday.
3. FACTS ABOUT PASSIVE VOICE
Note the following:

As evidenced above, in converting a sentence in active voice to a sentence in the passive voice, the
object of the active voice sentence becomes the subject of the passive voice sentence.
EXAMPLE: He drew the picture. / The picture was drawn by him.
Sentences in the passive voice do not make sense if the doers are not mentioned.
EXAMPLE: The match was won. (doers left out) as opposed to The match was won by Liverpool
A transitive verb is a verb that has an object that comes after it and so can be changed into the
passive voice.
EXAMPLE: Lee throws a ball. can be changed to A ball is thrown by Lee.
An intransitive verb is a verb that does not have an object following it and so cannot be changed into
the passive voice.
EXAMPLE: Lee walks away. (INCORRECT: Lee was walked away.)
The passive voice is often used to evade responsibility by people or organizations.
EXAMPLE: The report was lost by somebody. (Who is that somebody?)
EXAMPLE: All workers are encouraged to work overtime. (Encouraged by whom?)
Notices often use the passive voice.
EXAMPLE: Customers are advised to leave all their belongings here.
An active sentence when changed to a passive sentence conveys the same meaning. The only
difference is that the object in an active sentence is repositioned to become the subject in a passive
sentence, and the subject in the active sentence becomes the object in the passive sentence.
We need to be sure of what we are saying. If we are not sure of our facts, we can exercise caution by saying: It
is said that he is the culprit. / He is said to be the culprit.
It is possible to use get instead of to be, especially so in our everyday conversation.

EXAMPLE: I got cheated by the salesman. / They think he will get beaten in the race.
4. VERB WITH TWO OBJECTS
A verb can have two objects a person and a thing. Such a verb can have two possible passive voices.
EXAMPLE:
Active: The salesman shows Nick a new computer. / The salesman shows a new
computer to Nick.
Passive: Nick is shown a new computer.
Passive: A new computer is shown to Nick.
EXAMPLE:
Active: We lent Bob some money. / We lent some money to Bob.
10
Passive: Bob was lent some money.

Passive: Some money was lent to Bob.
5. PASSIVE VOICE + BASIC MODAL FORMS
Basic modal forms can also be used in the passive voice by combining:
modal + to be/to have been + past participle:
EXAMPLE:
will
I will write
it will be written
may
I may write
it may be written
may have
I may have written
it may have been written
We form the passive voice with the verb to be and the past particle.
The passive forms are:
Simple present tense

EXAMPLE: The letter is written by her. (Active: She writes the letter.)
Present continuous tense
EXAMPLE: The letter is being written by her. (Active: She is writing the letter.)
Present perfect tense
EXAMPLE: The letter has been written by her. (Active: She has written the letter.)
Simple past tense
EXAMPLE: The letter was written by her. (Active: She wrote the letter.)
Past continuous tense
EXAMPLE: The letter was being written by her. (Active: She was writing the letter.)
Past perfect tense
EXAMPLE: The letter had been written by her. (Active: She had written the letter.)
Simple future tense
EXAMPLE: The letter will be written by her. (Active: She will write the letter.)
Future perfect tense
EXAMPLE: The letter will have been written by her. (Active: She will have written the letter.)
Infinitive - EXAMPLE: The letter has to be written. (Active: She has to write the letter.)
Modals - EXAMPLE: The letter may be written. (Active: She may write the letter.)
Note: The present perfect continuous, the past perfect continuous, the future continuous, and the
future perfect continuous tenses are not normally used in the passive voice.
Lesson 15- Determiners and Quantifiers
( 15) DETERMINERS AND QUANTIFIERS

1. Determiners and Quantifiers
2. Classes of Determiners
3. Determiners and Pronouns
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
SOME and ANY

FEW, A FEW, LITTLE and A LITTLE
MUCH and MANY
EACH and EVERY
EACH ONE, EVERY ONE, ANY ONE, and ANOTHER ONE
THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE
10. A LOT OF and LOTS OF
11. ANOTHER and OTHER
11
12. BOTH and BOTH THE

13. SOMEBODY, SOMEONE, ANYBODY and ANYONE
14. EVERYBODY, EVERYONE, NOBODY and NO ONE
15. ANYTHING and ANYWHERE
16. ENOUGH
1. DETERMINERS AND QUANTIFIERS
Determiners are words that we put before nouns or noun phrases to make them clear as to what they
mean. A determiner tells us which or how many persons/things we are talking about. For example,
when we say his big house, we are describing one house which is not small and it belongs to him. Or
when we say those tall trees, we mean more than one tree and they are not short, and the trees are
not here but over there. Examples of most common determiners are the Definite Determiner, and a
and an which are the Indefinite Determiners.
Quantifiers answer the following two questions:
How much? this is used with only uncountable nouns. The words used with uncountable nouns are: a little,
a bit of, much, a great deal of, and a large amount of.
What you need is to put a little more salt to make it taste like soup.
There is a bit of broken glass under the chair.
I havent brought much money with me.
A great deal of her work is massaging the back of patients.
The drugs were sold for a large amount of hard cash.
How many? this is used with countable nouns. The words used with countable nouns are: a, an, one, each,
every, both, a couple of, a few, several, many, a number of, a large number of, and a great number of
EXAMPLE:
A rubber duck is floating in the bath.

An evil monster like him has no friends.
One page is missing from the book.
Each item is carefully checked.
Every child was given a lollipop.
Both donkeys are braying at the same time.
After a couple of drinks, he was unable to control his speech.
She cracked a few eggs into the mixture.
Someone stole several pigs from his farm.
I think he is putting too many eggs in one basket.
A number of you think I look overweight.
Illegal loggers cut down a large number of trees.
He has collected a great number of insects.
Quantifiers with countable and uncountable nouns use such words as: no, any, some, plenty of, a lot of,
lots of, most, and all.
EXAMPLE: There is a lot of work I have to do this week. (Uncountable noun)
EXAMPLE:
There were a lot of people watching the cockfight. (Countable noun)
Besides the common determiners like the articles stated above, there are other determiners such as:
some, any, that, those, this, whatever, and whichever. There are also determiners that express
quantity: few, little, both, each, every, all, many, several, enough, and no. Other determiners include
numerals which appear before a noun, and ordinal numerals which express sequence: Examples of
these are: one, two, ten and first, second, third.
2. CLASSES OF DETERMINERS
Determiners are classified as follow:

Definite and Indefinite articles: the, a, an
Demonstratives: this, that, these, those
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Possessives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their

Quantifiers: a few, a little, much, many, a lot of, most, some, any, enough, etc.
Numbers: one, ten, thirty, etc.
Distributives: all, both, half, either, neither, each, every
Difference words: other, another
Interrogatives: which, what, whose
Defining words: which, whose
3. DETERMINERS and PRONOUNS
A clear understanding of determiners and how they are used is important in order not to confuse with
pronouns. The following examples illustrate the differences between them.
Determiner
This car is very expensive.
That castle is haunted.
The blue parrot is mine
The candy bar in the box is
hers.
Pronoun
This is a very expensive car.
That is a haunted castle
My parrot is blue. (Possessive pronoun)
Her candy bar is in the box.
(Possessive pronoun)
As can be easily noticed, the determiner always appears before a noun while a pronoun takes the place of a
noun.
Some quantifiers can be used with countable nouns, some with uncountable nouns and some with both
countable and uncountable.
4. SOME and ANY
Some is used in positive sentences. Any is used for negative sentences.

EXAMPLE: I have some peanuts for the monkeys.
EXAMPLE: I dont have any peanuts for the monkeys.
We use some for questions with possible yes answers, and any for questions whose answers are uncertain
EXAMPLE: Do you want some medicine for your cough?
EXAMPLE: Is there any medicine for my cough?
Sometimes, we can use some and any instead of a/an when referring to quantity.
EXAMPLE: Is there a bird in that tree? Are there any birds in that tree?
EXAMPLE: There is an egg in the nest. There are some eggs in the nest.
We can choose not to use some and any when referring to quantity.
EXAMPLE: There is some coffee for you. = There is coffee for you.
EXAMPLE: Are there any apples in the fridge? = Are there apples in the fridge?
Some and any are used with countable nouns.
EXAMPLE: There are some letters for you.
EXAMPLE: Are there any letters in the mailbox?
Some and any are used with uncountable nouns.
EXAMPLE: There is some tea in the pot.
EXAMPLE: Is there any tea in the pot?
Some and any can be used without adding nouns if it is understood what is meant..
EXAMPLE: I can give you some. / Sorry, I dont have any to lend you.
Some and any have other uses
EXAMPLE: I have not seen a kangaroo for some years.
EXAMPLE: Any idea you have must not be ridiculous.
Some is not normally used in descriptions.
EXAMPLE: Hes got dark hair on his chest. (NOT: Hes got some dark hair on his chest.)
We do not use some to identify people or things.
EXAMPLE: Adam and Eve are family doctors. (NOT: Adam and Eve are some family doctors.)
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We can use some in questions.

EXAMPLE: Do you want some pineapple juice? (Uncountable noun)
EXAMPLE: Did you buy some scented flowers? (Countable noun)
Some can be used on its own, somewhat like a pronoun.
EXAMPLE: Most in the audience were enjoying the performance, but some were sleeping.
Any can be used in positive statements.
EXAMPLE: You can borrow any of my tools.
We can use any in interrogative sentences.
EXAMPLE: Are there any problems with your work?
Any can be used in a sentence with if.
EXAMPLE: If you had any brain, you wouldnt have done it.
5. FEW, A FEW, LITTLE and A LITTLE
Few and a few are used with plural countable nouns: few coconuts, a few coconuts. Little and a little are used with
uncountable nouns: little oil, a little oil.
Few and little are regarded as negative. When used, they imply scarcely any is available, almost none.
EXAMPLE: I have few clothes. / I have got little money. (= I have almost no clothes or
money.)
A few and a little describe a quantity that is viewed in a positive way, and as having some, but enough.
EXAMPLE: I have a few books. / I have got a little time. (= I still have some books or time.)
We use a few with plural countable nouns, and a little with singular uncountable nouns.
EXAMPLE: Only a little water is left in the trough for a few pigs to drink.
6. MUCH and MANY
Much is used with singular uncountable nouns, and many is used with plural countable nouns.
EXAMPLE: Dont put so much salt on your chips!
EXAMPLE: I saw many monkeys in the zoo.
Much and many can be used in negative sentences.
EXAMPLE: We dont earn much working here.
EXAMPLE: He doesnt have many fish in his aquarium.
Much and many can be used in question forms.
EXAMPLE: How much money do I owe you?
EXAMPLE: How many books have you read this year?
We use much or many in short negative forms without nouns in reply to questions.
EXAMPLE: Did you cook the pasta in plenty of boiling salted water? No, not much.
EXAMPLE: Did you see many bulls on the farm? Not many.
7. EACH and EVERY
Each and every have basically the same meaning.

We use each when we are thinking of all people or things but seen as individuals. When we use every (person), we mean all
(people, i.e. everyone).
EXAMPLE: Each person has two ears and a nose.
EXAMPLE: Every child deserves good education.
Each and every are used to refer to more than two.
EXAMPLE: Each member at the meeting had a free lunch.
EXAMPLE: Every member at the meeting had a free lunch.
Each can be used to mean only two while every can mean three or more or a large number.
EXAMPLE: Each player playing in the singles final has certain style. (= two players)
EXAMPLE: There were cars parked along every street in town. (= all the streets)
Each/every is used before a singular countable noun to talk about a whole group.
EXAMPLE: Each/every member of the gang was questioned for possible involvement in the crime.
We use of after each but not after every
EXAMPLE: Each of the areas is given a postal code. / Each one of the areas is given a postal code.
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EXAMPLE: Every of the areas is given a postal code. (INCORRECT)
Each can be used in the middle of a sentence or after a pronoun.

EXAMPLE: After the bitter quarrel, my girlfriend and I each went our separate ways.
Every can be used with some uncountable nouns.
EXAMPLE: He gave me every advice before I went for that climb.
8. EACH ONE, EVERY ONE, ANY ONE, and ANOTHER ONE
We use one of after each, every, any, another,

EXAMPLE: Each one of these apples is rotten.
EXAMPLE: Every one of the rooms was infested with cockroaches.
Every one [two words] is an expression of quantity. It can be used about any person or thing and is always used with an of
EXAMPLE: Every one of the residents in this neighbourhood owns their own home.
Everyone [one word] is an indefinite pronoun. It is only used about people and can never be followed by of.
EXAMPLE: Everyone, except me, has taken their bath.
Any is a determiner. Any one [two words] is used to refer to each one or all students of the class.
EXAMPLE: Any one who sleeps in class will be sent home.
Anyone [one word] used is a pronoun, and it refers to any person in the world.
EXAMPLE: Anyone who still believes the world is flat should think again.
Another is a determiner. Another one refers to an additional person.
EXAMPLE: Look! Another ostrich burying its head in the sand. / You can have another one joined your group.
9. THIS, THAT, THESE, THOSE
This and these are used to refer to people or things that are close to us, and that and those are used to talk about people or
things that are not near to us.
EXAMPLE: Look at this photo of the sun rising . / Ill speak to that policeman over there.
This and these are used for an action that is still going on. We use that and those to say about things that are finished.
EXAMPLE: Why are you telling me all this? / Listen to these voices, and tell me who they belong to.
EXAMPLE: Lets play that piece of music again. / Those strange noises came from the roof.
This/these is used for introduction and that/those for identification.
EXAMPLE: This is my best friend Colonel Sanders. / These are my twin brothers Laurel and Hardy.
EXAMPLE: That dog is a German shepherd.
EXAMPLE: Those that are flying around at night are a species of bat.
This, that, these and those can be used without adding nouns if the meaning is clear,
EXAMPLE: I hate this. / Stop pushing these. / Look at that. / Those were tricky.
10. A LOT OF and LOTS OF
A lot of and lots of mean the same,

EXAMPLE: I dont have a lot of money. / I dont have lots of money.
A lot of and lots of can be used for singular uncountable nouns or plural countable nouns.
EXAMPLE: A lot of/lots of sand has got into my shoes. (Uncountable nouns)
EXAMPLE: I can eat a lot f/lots of grapes when I want to. (Countable nouns)
When we use a lot of/lots of with a plural subject, we use a plural verb.
EXAMPLE: A lot of/lots of replies were received in response to her advertisement.
When we use a lot of/lots of with a singular subject, we use a singular verb.
EXAMPLE: A lot of/lots of false information was given to the tax authorities.
We use a lot of/lots of in positive statements.
EXAMPLE: We
had a lot of/lots of fun at the funfair.
11. ANOTHER and OTHER
Another is used with singular nouns.

Another is used to refer to:
an additional person or thing of the same kind.
EXAMPLE: You can have another pizza if you havent had enough.
a different person or thing.
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EXAMPLE: if this doesnt work, you have to find another method for resolving the disputes.
Other is used to refer to:

all people or things that are not the particular one being mentioned.
EXAMPLE: The football match may be postponed but the other sporting events are taking place.
more people or things in addition to the one being mentioned.
EXAMPLE: You have seen this antique shop but there are at least three antique shops nearby.
people or things which are different from the ones being mentioned.
EXAMPLE: Drowning
rats is just one way to eliminate them but there are other ways
12. BOTH and BOTH THE
Both and both the are used in the same way in reference to two particular persons or things.
EXAMPLE: Both books discuss the possibility of third world war.
EXAMPLE: Both the books discuss the possibility of third world war.
Both is used after an auxiliary verb, or after an auxiliary verb but before the main verb.
EXAMPLE: We are both regular partners in tennis.
EXAMPLE: They have both started to learn English together.
Both is used after a modal (e.g. can, could, may, might, etc.)
EXAMPLE: They can both speak five languages.
Both is used before the main verb
EXAMPLE: The pythons both escaped from their cage late last night.
Both is used as subject in a sentence.
EXAMPLE: Both of us have been quarrelling since this morning.
Both is used as object in a sentence.
EXAMPLE: I think I have fallen in love with both of you.
We can use of or without of after both when we are specific about what or who we are referring to.
EXAMPLE: We recognize both of the men responsible for the crime.
EXAMPLE: We recognize both the men responsible for the crime.
EXAMPLE: We recognize
both men responsible for the crime.
13. SOMEBODY, SOMEONE, ANYBODY and ANYONE
There is no difference in meaning between somebody and someone, and between anybody and anyone
EXAMPLE: There is somebody/someone at the door asking for donation.
EXAMPLE: Anybody/anyone can boil an egg.
When we use anybody and anyone, we are not being specific about who.
EXAMPLE: Its
an easy game to play. Anybody/anyone can play it.
14. EVERYBODY, EVERYONE, NOBODY and NO ONE
We use a singular verb after everybody, everyone, nobody and no one.

EXAMPLE: Everybody/everyone is beginning to feel very drunk after heavy drinking.
EXAMPLE: I want to sing a song but worried (that) nobody/no one wants to listen.
15. ANYTHING and ANYWHERE
In using anything and anywhere, we are not specific about what or where.
EXAMPLE: I am so hungry that I can eat anything for lunch.
EXAMPLE: We can sit anywhere you like.
We can use anything and anywhere for negative statements.
EXAMPLE: We dont know anything about the murder in the neighbourhood.
EXAMPLE: We didnt go anywhere yesterday.
We can use anything and anywhere for questions.
EXAMPLE: Did you get anything for me to eat?
EXAMPLE: We
took him in as he didnt have anywhere to stay.
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16. ENOUGH
Enough is placed before singular uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns in a sentence.
EXAMPLE: She has not enough olive oil to cook her favourite dish.
EXAMPLE: There arent enough chairs for everyone, so I sit on the floor.
We put enough after adjectives and adverbs in a sentence.
EXAMPLE: We think she is beautiful enough to win the beauty contest.
EXAMPLE: I couldnt pluck those pears as I couldnt jump high enough.
Lesson 14- Modifiers
( 14) MODIFIERS
1. Adjectives and Adverbs (and their phrases)
2. Comparatives and Superlatives
3. Emphasis words
4. Misplaced modifiers and Dangling participles.
5. Nouns as modifiers
A modifier is a word or a group of words that describes or limits another word or group of words. It gives
more details about the words it modifies. There are various types of modifier as mentioned above.
1. ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS (AND THEIR PHRASES)
An adjective modifies a noun or pronouns. An adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.
Both these adjectives and adverbs can also be used to show their comparatives and superlatives. By
adding er, comparison can be made of two people or things, and by adding est, more than two
persons, things or places can be compared. Modifiers are usually placed next to the words they modify.
An adjective modifies a noun
EXAMPLE:
There was a red kite high up in the cloudless sky.

In the sentence, red is an adjective modifying the noun kite, and cloudless is an adjective
modifying the noun sky. The word red tells us more about the kite, that is it is red in colour while
cloudless describes the sky as having no cloud. Other examples of adjectives preceding the nouns
they modify: small monkey, tall man, thick book.
An adjective modifies a pronoun.
EXAMPLE: I was happy with the way things went.
In this example, happy is an adjective modifying the pronoun I

An adverb modifies a verb.
EXAMPLE: She smiled broadly at me.
In this example, broadly modifies the verb smiled. It answers the question How did she smile?
An adverb modifies an adjective.
EXAMPLE:
They agree she is a very intelligent woman.

In this example, the adverb very modifies the adjective intelligent.
An adverb modifies an adverb.
EXAMPLE: Her pulse seemed exceptionally fast.
This example shows an adverb modifying another adverb. Exceptionally is an adverb, so is fast.
Further examples:
Verb / Verb Adverb
He works on his own. He works efficiently on his own.
They dig to get at the roots. They dig deep to get at the roots.
We ate lots of nice food. We ate up lots of nice food.
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Adjective / Adverb Adjective

She is happy on her new bicycle. She is very happy on her new bicycle.
He talks in a soft voice. He talks in a really soft voice.
We were patient with him. We were extremely patient with him.
Adverb / Adverb Adverb
Joe finishes his homework quickly. Joe finishes his homework pretty quickly.
He came immediately when I called. He came almost immediately when I called.
She ran fast in the race. She ran amazingly fast in the race.
Note: Adverbs commonly end in ly but not all. Examples are fast, here, there, etc. Some adjectives
end in ly, examples of which are: friendly, heavenly, etc.
Functions of adverbs
Adverb tells us:
how often something happens.
EXAMPLE: I always have a glass of milk before I go to bed.
in what manner something happens
EXAMPLE: She speaks loudly.
the place something happens
EXAMPLE: My bunch of car keys is on the table.
the time something happens
EXAMPLE: Yesterday we went to the cinema.
the intensity something happens
EXAMPLE: The patient is breathing very heavily.
Adjectival and adverbial phrases
An adjectival phrase is a phrase that is comprised of more than one word, and is used to modify a noun
or pronoun. This modifier usually is placed next to the noun it modifies as follow:
EXAMPLE: The meal in the restaurant was really delicious.
The phrase in the restaurant modifies the meal. It tells us about the meal and where it is available.
Adverbial phrases are used as modifiers. They must be easily identifiable with the word they modify.
EXAMPLE: They were highly delighted at the courts decision.
This example tells about their feeling which arose from the courts decision. The adverb modifier is highly
which describes how they felt. This word modifies the adjective delighted in the sentence. The adverbial
phrase at the courts decision tells us more about the legal process.
2. COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES
Comparatives can be either adjectives or adverbs. They are used to compare two persons, things or
places. Comparatives are created by adding er to either an adjective or adverb. Superlatives are used
to compare more than two people, things or places, and mostly created by adding est to adjectives or
some adverbs. However, if the word ends in y, make the comparative by changing the y to i and then
add er or est
Word
clever
fat
tall
happy
hairy
Comparative
cleverer
fatter
taller
happier
hairier
Superlative
cleverest
fattest
tallest
happiest
hairiest
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pretty
prettier
prettiest
Word
bad, badly
beautiful
far (additional)
far (distance)
good/well
intelligent
kindly
little
more
old (age)
old (position in family)
Comparative
worse
more beautiful
further
farther
better
more intelligent
kindlier
less
more
older
elder
Superlative
worst
most beautiful
furthest
farthest
best
most intelligent
kindliest
least
most
oldest
eldest
Word
sweet (adjective)
sweet (adverb)
Comparative
sweeter
more sweetly
Superlative
sweetest
most sweetly
The common mistake made is adding more to comparative or most to superlative.

EXAMPLE: weaker more weaker most weakest (INCORRECT)
weaker weaker weakest (CORRECT)
3. EMPHASIS WORDS
Emphasis words are used to emphasize an adjective or adverb. They do not make use of comparatives or
superlatives when making comparison of adjectives or adverbs. Often, grammatical mistakes are made when
adjectives are used instead of adverbs, and vice versa.
Real is an adjective, really is an adverb.
EXAMPLE: The government is aware of the real problems that these people face. (CORRECT real is an adjective
used to describe the noun problems.)
EXAMPLE: The government is aware of the really problems that these people face. (INCORRECT really is an
adverb; an adverb does not modify a noun)
EXAMPLE: We dont know what real happened. (INCORRECT adjective does not modify verb.)
EXAMPLE: We dont know what really happened. (CORRECT adverb modifying verb.)
Certain is adjective; certainly is adverb.
EXAMPLE: Not smoking has certainly made a real difference. (CORRECT certainly is an adverb and it modifies
the verb made)
EXAMPLE: Not smoking has certain made a real difference. (INCORRECT certain is an adjective and an adjective
does not modify a verb.)
EXAMPLE: Are you quite certainly about what happened? (INCORRECT)
EXAMPLE: Are you quite certain about what happened? (CORRECT)
4. MISPLACED MODIFIERS AND DANGLING PARTICLES
These are modifiers that are not clearly identified with the words they modify. The closer a modifier is to the word it
modifies, the clearer a sentence will be.
EXAMPLES:
I sitting on the couch, watching television. (INCORRECT)

Sitting on the couch, I watch television. (CORRECT)
Having seen the movie once, there is no reason to see it again. (INCORRECT)
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Having seen the movie once, I have no reason to see it again. (CORRECT)
Looking at the neighbour, the telephone rang. (INCORRECT it appears the telephone was
looking at the neighbour.)
I was looking at the neighbour when the telephone rang. (CORRECT)
5. NOUNS AS MODIFIERS
A noun can be used as a modifier to tell us a bit more about the noun it modifies. The modifier, in all cases,
immediately precedes the noun. When a noun is used as a modifier, it is in its singular form, as indicated by the
following examples:
EXAMPLES:
Chicken/tomato/vegetable soup We had a warm tomato soup as a starter.

Cargo/enemy/container/pirate ship It took an hour for the dockers to load the cargo ship.
Language/business/village school Shes a language school teacher.
Gift/shoe shop The gift shop also offers a large selection of leather goods at reasonable
prices.
Police/sheep/family/farm dog The police dog was sniffing round his heels.
Brick/concrete/stone/timber/wooden/airport/apartment/church/factory/farm/office
building We are renovating the old farm buildings after they were gutted by fire.
Hospital bed He lay in the hospital bed, reading his book.
University laboratory They are simulating the effects of weathering in the university
laboratory.
Farm/country/council/mansion/tree/summer house They rented a council house when they got married.
When a noun used as a modifier is combined with a number expression, the noun is singular and a hyphen is
used, as follow:
EXAMPLES:
Half-timbered house - They build their own half-timbered house overlooking the river.
One-man He does a one-man show in an open-air theatre.
Two-seater aircraft The pilot overshot the runway and crashed his two-seater aircraft.
Three-day event The three-day horse riding event will take place next week.
Four-bed house They lived in a four-bedroom house in the suburbs.
Five-month contract He has got a five-month contract to work on an offshore oil rig.
Six-year sentence He will have to serve a six-year sentence for burglary.
Seven-girl band She plays in a seven-girl rock band.
Eight-room mansion The historic eight-room mansion stands in 60 acres of parkland.
100-year-old - The 100-year-old mansion stands in 60 acres of parkland.
Lesson 13- Conditionals
( 13) CONDITIONAL
1. The First Conditional
2. The Second Conditional
3. The Third Conditional
A conditional sentence is made up of two parts: an if-clause and a main clause. When the if-clause
comes before the main clause, the two clauses are separated with a comma. When the main clause
comes before the if-clause, then no comma is necessary.
If Tom arrives early, well have dinner together. (If-clause comes before main clause.
Comma required.)
EXAMPLE:
EXAMPLE:
Well have dinner together if Tom arrives early. (Main clause comes before the if-
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clause. No comma required.)

There are three main types of conditional. They are commonly referred to as the first, second and third
conditionals (or the Type 1, Type 2 or Type 3 conditionals.)
1. THE FIRST CONDITIONAL
The simple present tense is used in the if clause, and the tense in the main clause is the simple
future tense.
EXAMPLE:
If you leave now, youll arrive home early.
If Clause - Main Clause

If + simple present tense - Simple future tense
If you leave now, - youll arrive home early.
We can turn the two clauses the other way round so that their positions are reversed as follow:
Simple future tense - if + simple present tense
Youll arrive home early - if you leave now.
Whether the if-clause or the main clause comes earlier, both conditional sentences as above are
acceptable.
With the first conditional, we use the present tense to talk about the future. We use this conditional
when the situation in the if-clause appears likely and there is a possibility of it happening.
EXAMPLE: If you help me with this, Ill buy you a drink. (You might help me)
EXAMPLE: If I see him tomorrow, Ill tell him the good news. (I might see him tomorrow)
The first conditional refers to the present condition that is real and a probable outcome.
EXAMPLE: If the weather remains fine, we will go to the beach.
EXAMPLE: If you continue to feel better, you will be out of the hospital soon.
Going to can be used in the first conditional to refer to a future event.
EXAMPLE: If she finishes work early, we are going to a restaurant for dinner.
EXAMPLE: If you dont hurry, we are going to miss the train.
2. THE SECOND CONDITIONAL
The simple past tense is used in the if clause, and the tense in the main clause is the present
conditional.
EXAMPLE:
If he asked, we would explain everything.

If + simple past tense - would/could/might + infinitive (to have)
If he asked, - we would explain everything.
We can also let the main clause precede the if-clause, as follow:
Would/could/might + infinitive (to have) - if + simple past tense
We would explain everything - if he asked.
The second conditional refers to the present or future.
We use Type 2 conditionals to describe:
what is absolutely impossible.
EXAMPLE: If your father were alive, he would be very proud of you.
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EXAMPLE:
If I were younger, I would do things differently.

Although the above two examples can use was instead of were as follow, the use of were is more
formal.
EXAMPLE: If your father was alive, he would be very proud of you.
EXAMPLE: If I was younger, I would do things differently.
a purely hypothetical situation.
EXAMPLE: If I cooked like her, I would open a restaurant. (I cant cook like her.)
EXAMPLE: If we earned more money, we would buy a bigger house. (We dont earn more money)
unlikely events or not probable now.
EXAMPLE: If she loved me, I would propose to her. (I dont think she loves me)
EXAMPLE: If my parents restored their broken relationship, Id* be very happy. (Its unlikely they will do
that)
imaginary situations that are unlikely to happen now or in the future.
EXAMPLE: If I won the lottery, I would buy a luxury yacht
EXAMPLE: If I married her, I would be the happiest man alive.
(* would is often shortened to d)
3. THE THIRD CONDITIONAL
The past perfect tense is used in the if clause, and the tense in the main clause is the prefect
conditional.
EXAMPLE:
If you had planned what to do, you would have done it successfully.

If + past perfect tense - would/could/might + perfect infinitive (to have)
If you had planned what to do - you would have done it successfully.
The main clause can come before the if-clause, as follow:
Would + perfect infinitive (to have) - if + past perfect tense
You would have done it successfully - if you had planned what to do
Would expresses a desired or predictable result.
could expresses a possible option.
We use Type 3 conditionals to:
express disappointment or regret about things that not possible to happen now.
EXAMPLE: If I had married her, I could have been a happier person.
EXAMPLE: If you had taken up teaching, you would have been better off.
talk about things that should have happened in the past, but didnt.
EXAMPLE: If you had requested information, the company would have provided it.
EXAMPLE: If I had completed my education, I would have been somebody else today.
imagine unrealistic situations
EXAMPLE: If I had worked harder, I would have become a professor.
EXAMPLE: If I had set up a business, I would have become very rich.
express regrets or criticism.
EXAMPLE: If he had got up earlier, he wouldnt have missed the bus.
EXAMPLE: If she had been patient, she would have got what she wanted.
Lesson 12- Modals
( 12) MODALS
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1. CAN and COULD

2. MAY and MIGHT
3. WILL and WOULD
4. SHOULD
5. MUST
6. HAD BETTER
7. HAVE TO
Modals, also referred to as modal verbs or modal auxiliaries, are words such as: can, could, may,
might, will, would, should, must, had better. These are helping verbs, each of which has more than one
meaning that we placed before the main verbs to express: ability, possibility, necessity, certainty, make
polite requests, or ask for permission, and more.
1. CAN and COULD
Can and could are modal verbs. They are used with other verbs to convey ideas such as possibility,
permission, etc.
We use can:
to talk about possibility and ability;
EXAMPLE: I can ride a horse.
EXAMPLE: He can speak three languages.
to make requests or give orders;
EXAMPLE: Can you buy me a can of beer?
EXAMPLE: Can you complete now what you are doing?
to ask for or give permission.
EXAMPLE: Can I come in now?
Note: we may also use could, may and might for permission.
when we decide we are able to do something for the present or future.
EXAMPLE: We can have our dinner now.
EXAMPLE: We can go swimming tomorrow.
Could is one of the modal verbs. We use could:
as the past tense of can.
EXAMPLE: Jane said she could get the tickets for us.
when we wish to be very polite.
EXAMPLE: Could I go now, please?
to show what was possible in the past.
EXAMPLE: He could cycle when he was four years old.
to ask someone to do something.
EXAMPLE: Could you buy some cigarettes for me?
to show the ability to do something.
EXAMPLE: My grandmother could speak Spanish.
to show that one is allowed to do something.
EXAMPLE: We could choose to do the course we wanted.
for an action now or in the future.
EXAMPLE: Its a nice day. We could go for a walk.
EXAMPLE: When I go to London next week, I could stay with my uncle
for something that should have been done in the past.
EXAMPLE: I was so tired. I could have slept the whole day.
with present perfect tense for things which were possible to happen but didnt or an event which
we are not sure about.
23
EXAMPLE:
EXAMPLE:
You could have taken a different route to avoid the traffic jam.
He could have broken the glass. / She couldnt have broken the glass.
Points to note:
We do not use can with infinitive verb.
EXAMPLE: We can play football today. (NOT: We can to play football today.)
We commonly use Can I to offer to do something
EXAMPLE: Can I help you to do it?
Sometimes it is necessary to use (be) able to in place of can.
EXAMPLE: I cant contact him. / I havent been able to contact him for two days. (It is not possible to
use can with present perfect tense).
Where the subject is singular, we do not add s to the verb following can or could
EXAMPLE: He can swim. (NOT: He can swims.)
EXAMPLE: We could smell burning. (NOT: We could smells burning)
Could is less sure than can, so we use could when we do not really mean what we say.
EXAMPLE: I am so hungry. I could eat the whole chicken. (NOT: I can eat the whole chicken).
2. MAY and MIGHT
We use may or might to:

make a suggestion or an assumption.
EXAMPLE: Everyone is looking for George. He may/might be in the toilet.
indicate that something is a possibility.
EXAMPLE: What we are told may/might be true.
possibly take the place of could.
EXAMPLE: That man over there looks like Mike. He could/may/might be Mike.
say about something that is possible to happen in the future.
EXAMPLE: We may visit them in Birmingham for the summer holidays.
EXAMPLE: They might go out later when the weather improves.
(For these two examples, we can also use might visit or may go.)
For something that happened in the past, we can use may have or might have.
house.
looking for him.
We use might, and not may, for an unreal situation
EXAMPLE: If I met her again, I might ask for her telephone number.
(It is quite unlikely that I meet her again, so I dont get to ask for her telephone number. We do not use
may here.)
We can use the continuing form with may/might.
EXAMPLE: I may/might be reading in the library this evening.
We can use be going with may/might.
EXAMPLE: We may/might be going to Australia next month. // We may/might go to
Australia next month. (These sentences do not change in meaning)
3. WILL and WOULD
We use will and would
for polite questions.
EXAMPLE: Will/would you phone me later?
for invitations
EXAMPLE: Will/would join us for a drink?
for offering something
EXAMPLE: Would/wouldnt you like a coffee or tea?
EXAMPLE: She may have been asleep when the burglar entered the
EXAMPLE: The police think he might have seen the robbery and are
24
for asking someone to do something

EXAMPLE: Will/would you please top grumbling about the weather?
4. SHOULD
We use should
for a strong suggestion.

EXAMPLE: You should go back to him. (Its not a must but it would be good to do so.)
For advice and recommendations.

EXAMPLE: You should not be going now. Its going to rain anytime.
for something that is right or morally right to do.

EXAMPLE: You should cut down on your heavy drinking.
when something is not right or normal.
EXAMPLE: they should be queuing up
for something or something fair to happen.
EXAMPLE: She has been shoplifting, so she should be caught.
for the present moment.
EXAMPLE: You look tired. You should go to bed now.
in place of ought to. (No difference in meaning here.).
EXAMPLE: I think you should/ought to make more time for yourself to relax.
with if.
EXAMPLE: If Jane should come while Im out, please tell her to wait
5. MUST
We use must when we feel something is true.

EXAMPLE: You have been talking for so long your mouth must be very dry now.
We use must when it is necessary to do something..
EXAMPLE: I havent seen my parents for a long while. I must visit them at the weekend.
We can use must for the present or future.
EXAMPLE: We must leave now before the weather gets worse.
EXAMPLE: We must leave very early tomorrow or we will be late.
We use must have for something that we think happened in the past.
EXAMPLE: He must have gone out while I was sleeping.
6. HAD BETTER
We usually use had better to give advice or warning or make a suggestion about something bad that is
likely to happen.
EXAMPLE: You are coughing loudly. You had better see a doctor.
EXAMPLE: I am overeating. I had better go on a diet.
EXAMPLE: We think she had better not befriend him. He is a drug addict.
Had better can be replaced by should/ought to and retain the meaning.
EXAMPLE: You are coughing loudly. You should/ought to see a doctor.
EXAMPLE: I am overeating. I should/ought to go on a diet.
EXAMPLE: We think she should/ought to befriend him. He is a drug addict.
7. HAVE TO
We use have to:

to show it is necessary to do something.
EXAMPLE: I have to leave now as they are waiting for me.
when circumstances dictate that we do something.
EXAMPLE: He has to see the doctor every month to treat his skin disorder.
for the present or future.
25
EXAMPLE: All of us have to attend a meeting

EXAMPLE: We have to work late tomorrow.
now.
with the past tense.

EXAMPLE: We had to do the training in order to be eligible.
in place of have got to. There is no difference in meaning.
EXAMPLE: I have to/have got to give a talk tomorrow.
Lesson 11- Punctuation
( 11) PUNCTUATION
1. Full stop/period (.)
2. Comma (,)
3. Question Mark (?)
4. Exclamation marks (!)
5. Colon (:)
6. Semicolon ( ; )
7. Apostrophe ( )
8. Hyphen ( - )
9. Quotation Marks ( )
10. Dash (-)
We use a variety of punctuation marks, such as full stop/period, comma, question mark, brackets, etc. in
our writing to separate sentences, phrases, etc., and to clarify their meaning. We need to familiarize
ourselves with some basic rules in order to use these punctuation marks correctly.
1. FULL STOP/PERIOD (.)
A full stop is placed at the end of each sentence to indicate the end of the sentence, which can be a
statement, request or command. A full stop is not used at the end of a phrase or subordinate clause.
Doing so does not create complete sentences.
EXAMPLE: When I saw her yesterday, she was wearing a red dress.
NOT: When I saw her yesterday. She was wearing a red dress. (When I saw her yesterday is an
adverb clause, which is not a complete sentence a full stop should not be used to end it.
The period is used after most abbreviations:
EXAMPLE: Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., Rev. Wed., Oct.
Most short versions of specific expressions end in a period.
EXAMPLE: A.M./a.m., P.M./p.m., p.a., e.g.
The trend today is towards writing abbreviations without a period.
EXAMPLE: IOU, FBI, US, UK.
Only one full stop is used if a sentence ends with an abbreviation.
EXAMPLE: Her biggest ambition is to successfully complete her M.A.
The period is used to show the shortened form of a word.
EXAMPLE: Opp., mo. (Written abbreviations of opposite, month)
A full stop is always placed inside quotation marks, whether or not it is part of the quotation.
EXAMPLE: John said, That runaway horse is not mine.
NOT: John said, That runaway horse is not mine.
2. COMMA (,)
A comma is used in the middle of, and never at the end of a sentence. This is done to make the sentence
clearer, especially to separate items in a list. However, overusing commas can complicate a sentence, or
render it meaningless. A comma is important to avoid any possibility of misunderstanding a sentence as
26
the following example shows:

While my father was eating, my mother was drinking.
While my father was eating my mother was drinking.
Without the comma, it appears my father was cannibalizing my mother.
A comma is used:
to separate words in a list
EXAMPLE: We saw monkeys, porcupines, lions and tigers in the zoo.
to show a pause in a sentence.
EXAMPLE: Yesterday, as I was jogging in the park, I saw a black baboon.
before inverted commas of actual words spoken.
EXAMPLE: He told us, I believe the world is flat.
to separate the name of the person spoken to.
EXAMPLE: Jane, let me show you how to do it.
to separate items in dates, that is day of week from the date, and day of month from the year.
st
EXAMPLE: He is marrying on Tuesday, 1 April.
st
,
EXAMPLE: The explosion happened on 1 January 2000.
to separate exclamations and expressions from the rest of the sentence.
EXAMPLE: Oh no, it cant be true.
EXAMPLE: Well, all I can say is its a waste of money.
after such words or phrases of course, therefore, for example, however, moreover, etc. when we
begin a sentence.
EXAMPLE: Of course, you are always right.
EXAMPLE: Moreover, the rent is high and the location is not perfect.
to separate parts of an address.
EXAMPLE: 999, Downing Street, Kingston.
to separate cities and states/provinces, states/provinces and countries.
EXAMPLE: Montana, USA.
to separate numbers that exceed three digits.
EXAMPLE: 2,000 / 20,000
to separate greetings and closings in letters,
EXAMPLE: Dear Diana, / Yours sincerely.
to separate more than one adjective that modifies a noun.
EXAMPLE: The short, puny man was a comedian.
to separate relative clause from the rest of the sentence.
EXAMPLE: The man, who lives next door, is a circus clown.
to separate two independent clauses which together form a compound sentence.
EXAMPLE: Jack is washing the car, and Jill is washing the dishes.
3. QUESTION MARK (?)
A question mark is placed at the end of a sentence to ask a question.

EXAMPLE: Whos that man wearing a cowboy hat? / Could you wait here for me, please?
EXAMPLE: Did you see the movie entitled The three legged man?
A full stop or comma is not used after a question.
EXAMPLE: Do you understand what I have been saying? Jennifer asked me.
NOT: Do you understand what I have been saying?, Jennifer asked me.
A question mark is used after a question that ends with an abbreviation.
EXAMPLE: You said you saw the UFO at about 7 p.m.?
When a question is being reported and not directly asked, a period, not a question mark, is used.
EXAMPLE: She asked, What are you looking at? (direct question)
EXAMPLE:
She asked what I was looking at. (indirect question)
27
4. EXCLAMATION MARKS (!)

An exclamation mark is used after interjections or commands. (An interjection is a word or phrase used to
express a strong feeling.) It expresses an emotion such as surprise, anger, fear, pain or pleasure.
EXAMPLE: What a complete waste of my time! / Sit over there and be quiet for an hour!
EXAMPLE: Hes here! Hes here! / We won! We won! / Quiet!
5. COLON (:)
A colon is used before a list and usually after as follows.
EXAMPLE: This box contains the following items: bandages, plasters, lotion, medicines and a pair of scissors.
It is used to separate the hour from the minutes when telling time .
EXAMPLE: 11:59 A.M., 11:59 P.M.
6. SEMICOLON >( ; )
A semicolon is used to join two sentences, independent clauses or a series of items which are closely connected in meaning.
EXAMPLE: He gives up smoking; obviously, he fears contracting one of the smoking-related diseases.
7. APOSTROPHE ( )
An apostrophe is used:
to form contractions by showing the numbers or letters that have been left out.
EXAMPLE: 86 =1986
EXAMPLE: I am = Im / we are = were / he will = hell / they would = theyd /dont = do not./ Ive = I have.
to form the possessive of a noun.
Add s to plural nouns that end in s: boys bicycles; friends houses; books covers
Add s to single noun or name: uncle's pipe; George's girlfriend; dog's tail; Thomas's car.
Add s to singular noun that end in s: actresss role; princesss lover; rhinoceross skin.
Add s to other plural nouns: childrens toys; womens clothes; mens boots.
Add s to a persons office or shop: Ill buy the pork at the butchers. / Ill be visiting Toms.
Add s only after the second name: Jack and Jills pail; Bonnie and Clydes loot.
to form the plural of abbreviations: many Dr.s; many M.D.s; many Ph.D.s.
for the plural of a number or letter: your ps; your cs; your 5s are too big.
8. HYPHEN ( - )
A hyphen is used to join two words or more to form compound words.
EXAMPLE: good-looking, pro-American, forty-one, mother-in-law.
9. QUOTATION MARKS ( )
A quotation mark is used to show the beginning and end of reported speech.
EXAMPLE: Stop looking at my hair. she said to me.
Use a quotation mark to show a quoted word, phrase or title.
EXAMPLE: War and Peace is a novel by Leo Tolstoy.
All punctuation marks that belong to a quote are enclosed inside the quotation marks of the quote.
EXAMPLE: She asked, Do you like me? (Correct)
EXAMPLE: She asked, Do you like me? (Incorrect)
If there is a quote within a quote, it should be enclosed by single quotation marks.
EXAMPLE: He said to me, I have read twice War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy.
A comma is used before the last quotation mark to separate the quote from the rest of the sentence.
EXAMPLE: Those horses are mine, said John Wayne.
A full stop is put before the last quotation mark when this quote is the last part of the sentence.
EXAMPLE: Mum said to me, Eat your lunch quietly.
Quotation marks are used to enclose a word or phrase when it is used.
EXAMPLE: What does anthropophagi mean? / He habitually says money cannot buy love.
28
10. DASH (-)

A dash is sometimes used instead of a colon or a semi-colon.
EXAMPLE: Quick! Go now the police are coming for you!
When dashes are used in a sentence, commas are not used to separate interrupting phrases.
EXAMPLE: She looked at the dresses a few of them deciding on the one she should buy.
NOT: She looked at the dresses, a few of them, deciding on the one she should buy.
Lesson 10- Agreement
( 10) AGREEMENT
1. A singular verb is used with a singular subject.
2. A plural verb is used with a plural subject.
3. The verb must agree with the subject and not the noun next to it.
4. More subject-verb agreement to remember.
Agreement is the condition that one word or a sentence part must agree with an earlier word, phrase, or
clause. Put simply, a subject must agree with its verb in number. Number means singular or plural. A
singular subject refers to one person, place, thing, or idea while a plural refers to more of each of them.
EXAMPLE:
My uncle has bushy eyebrows. They are running downstairs.

In the two sentences, the noun (=uncle) and pronoun (=they) are called the subjects.
The word uncle is a singular subject. The verb used with the subject must therefore be singular (=has).
The subject they is plural. The verb (=are) used with the plural subject is plural too.
1. SINGULAR VERB IS USED WITH SINGULAR SUBJECT
EXAMPLE:
My dog is my closest friend.

Subject dog is in the singular.
Verb is is in the singular.
She eats a lot of Belgian chocolate.
Subject She is in the singular.
Verb eats is also in the singular.
My friend and neighbour has been a magician for many years.
(Two nouns refer to the same person, so singular has is used.)
The nurse and sister of the patient cares for him.
(Nurse and sister are the same person, singular verb cares is used.)
Bread and butter is his only food.
(Bread and butter are usually combined and stand for one item, that is, food. Singular is is used.)
2. PLURAL VERB IS USED WITH PLURAL SUBJECT
EXAMPLE:
They have a large turkey farm.

Subject They is in the plural.
Verb have is also in the plural.
We eat lots of nice food at weekends.
Subject We is in the plural.
Verb eat is also in the plural.
The nurse and the sister of the patient care for him.
(Nurse and sister are different persons, plural verb care is used.)
3. THE VERB MUST AGREE WITH THE SUBJECT AND NOT THE NOUN NEXT TO IT
The verb must be made to agree with the subject and not with the noun next to it.
29
EXAMPLE:
Her box of chocolates are a birthday present. (INCORRECT)

The verb are in this sentence is used wrongly. Here, we are talking about a box of chocolates, and not just
chocolates. The subject of the sentence is box and not chocolates. The subject box is in the singular,
so the verb too must be in the singular, the verb therefore must be is not are.
The correct sentence should now be: Her box of chocolates is a birthday present.
MORE EXAMPLES:
The man with two bags are heading for the airport. (INCORRECT)
The man with two bags is heading for the airport. (CORRECT)
Subject = man, not bags / man = singular / verb = singular = is
His instruction to the boys were not clear. (INCORRECT)
His instruction to the boys was not clear. (CORRECT)
Subject = instruction, not boys / instruction = singular / verb = singular = was
The thieves who stole the money has escaped. (INCORRECT)
The thieves who stole the money have escaped. (CORRECT)
Subject = thieves, not money / thieves = plural / verb = plural = have
The cost of goods have gone up. (INCORRECT)
The cost of goods has gone up. (CORRECT)
Subject = cost, not goods / cost = singular / verb = singular = has
One of the boys are the leader. (INCORRECT)
One of the boys is the leader. (CORRECT)
Subject = one, not boys / one = singular / verb = singular = is
4. MORE SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT TO REMEMBER
1. When two nouns or pronouns are joined together by and, the verb should be in the plural.
The lion and the tiger are carnivorous animals. (NOT: is)
John and I were close colleagues. (NOT: was)
2. When two nouns refer to the same person or thing, the verb is in the singular.
My uncle and handyman is very useful. (NOT: are)
The owner and manager of the store is very friendly. (NOT: are)
3. If two nouns are treated as one entity, the verb must be in the singular.
Time and tide waits for no man. (NOT: wait)
Milk and fruit is a good diet. (NOT: are)
4. When a quantity or an amount is treated as a whole, the verb is singular.
Two hundred dollars nowadays is not a big sum.
She said seventy kilograms is her weight.
Ten kilometers is a long distance to walk.
The $100.00 you lent me was not enough.
How many cents is equal to one dollar?
Lesson 9- Conjunctions
( 9) CONJUNCTIONS
1. Coordinating Conjunctions
30
2. Correlative Conjunctions
3. Subordinating Conjunctions
4. Using conjunctions to join words and phrases
5. Using conjunctions to join nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverb
6. What to remember when using conjunctions
Conjunctions are words that join words, phrases, and clauses together. There are three types of
conjunctions: Coordinating Conjunctions; Correlative Conjunctions; and Subordinating
Conjunctions.
1. COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Coordinating conjunctions join words, phrases, or clauses, and are words such as: and, but, for, nor,
or, so, and yet.
Joining words, phrases and clauses.

Conjunctions join words:
EXAMPLE: Five and five is ten.
Conjunctions join phrases:
EXAMPLE:
The fisherman is happy walking along the beach and carrying a bucket full of fish.
They went up to receive the awards, full of smile and happy together.
Conjunctions join clauses:
EXAMPLE:
He walked to his car. He got into it..
He walked to his car and got into it.
Tom is 1.6 metres tall. Tom weighs 70 kilograms.
Tom is 1.6 metres tall and weighs 70 kilograms.
She is tired. She cannot sleep.
She is tired but she cannot sleep.
Using some coordinating conjunctions
EXAMPLE:
I missed the ending part and I'm guessing who the murderer is.
I'd like to go fishing but I'm too busy frying fish.
He finds it difficult to see clearly, for he is not wearing his glasses.
The audience wasn't very impressed by his performance, nor his jokes.
He doesn't have a sister or a wife.
The rain got heavier, so the match had to be abandoned.
He's only a little boy and yet he is able to carry such a heavy load.
2. CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS
Correlative conjunctions come in the form of pairs of words: either ... or; neither ... nor; both ... and;
not only ... but also, and whether ... or.
EXAMPLE:
You can have either this one or that one.
They are neither our friend nor our ally.
Pepe can both juggle and perform magic tricks.
He has not only been reprimanded but also faces possible expulsion.
I couldn't decide whether to marry her or her sister.
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3. SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Subordinating conjunctions are used to join a dependent clause - that is a clause that cannot stand
alone - to one that can, an independent clause.
EXAMPLE:
a) The whole project will fail unless we put in more money.
b) The tiger must be captured before it killed more villagers.
c) We still feel a bit hungry though we have eaten a lot.
In (a), unless we put in more money is a dependent clause; it cannot stand alone. It depends on the
independent clause: The whole project will fail. Here, the subordinating conjunction unless is used to
join the clauses.
In (b), the dependent clause is before it killed more villagers.
In (c), though we have eaten a lot is the dependent clause.
4. USING CONJUNCTIONS TO JOIN WORDS AND PHRASES
In using conjunctions to join words and phrases, some of the words are left out.
EXAMPLE: Will you have brandy? Will you have whiskey? = Will you have brandy or whiskey? Or joins the
words brandy and whiskey.
EXAMPLE: I have a car. I have a house. = I have a car and a house. And joins the phrase a car and a
house.
In both sentences some of the words are left out.
5. USING CONJUNCTIONS TO JOIN NOUNS, VERBS, ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
We can use conjunctions to join nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs:

EXAMPLE:
I have a pen and a book. (Joining two nouns: pen, book)

We joked and laughed. (Joining two verbs: joked, laughed)
She is tall and beautiful. (Joining two adjectives: tall, beautiful)
He eats quickly and noisily. (Joining two adverbs: quickly, noisily)
6. WHAT TO REMEMBER WHEN USING CONJUNCTIONS
When using conjunctions, remember the following:

Choosing the right conjunction is important to make the meaning clear.
EXAMPLE:
I have always been weak in mathematics, and I have never failed a test.
I have always been weak in mathematics, but I have never failed a test.
(Because the two sentences have opposite ideas, 'but' is more appropriately used.)
When and is used to connect two words or phrases within a sentence, no comma is used. Commas
are used only when and connects three or more items within a sentence.
EXAMPLE:
I ate a pizza and a toast. (No comma)
I ate a pizza, a toast, and an apple. (Commas)
Some conjunctions with accompanying words can be placed at the beginning or the end of a
sentence.
EXAMPLE:
I have a glass of milk before I go to bed. / Before I go to bed, I have a glass of milk.
When we use the conjunctions, we avoid repeating unnecessary words.
EXAMPLE:
32
You
need to know what rights you have. You also need to know how to use them.
You need to know what rights you have, and how to use them.
This is an expensive machine. It is an immensely useful machine.
This is an expensive but immensely useful machine.
The store has branches in Birmingham. It has branches in Manchester.
The store has branches in Birmingham and Manchester.
We didn't believe a word he said. We didn't believe his excuses.
We didn't believe a word he said, nor his excuses.
I have been to London. I have also been to Paris.
I have been to London and Paris
You can choose the white one. You can choose the black one.
You can choose the white one or the black one.
We can start a sentence with a conjunction or place it in the middle of a sentence.
EXAMPLE:
If he is not here soon, we shall leave without him.
We shall leave without him if he is not here soon.
When you see him, please talk to him about it.
Please talk to him about it when you see him.
Although she is my colleague, we hardly talk to each other.
We hardly talk to each other although she is my colleague.
Because the weather is bad, we decide not to go out.
We decide not to go out because the weather is bad.
Before I left, I cooked for them.
I cooked for them before I left.
After the accident, he decided to give up his job.
He decided to give up his job after the accident.
(We often use commas in sentences with conjunctions, especially in longer sentences and when we
start the sentence with the conjunction.)
It is important to remember that the verb must agree with the subject.
If both the subjects are singular, the verb which follows either ... or, neither ... nor must be in the
singular.
EXAMPLE: Either his daughter or his son is going out with him.
('Son' is a singular subject; so the singular verb 'is' is used.)
EXAMPLE: Neither the boy nor his brother plays football.
('brother' is a singular subject; 'plays' is singular verb)
If both subjects are plural, then the conjunctions either ... or and neither ... nor must be followed
by a plural verb.
EXAMPLE: Either the boys or the girls have to do it first.
('girls' is plural subject; 'have' is plural verb)
EXAMPLE: Neither you nor your parents are interested.
('parents' is plural subject; 'are' is plural verb)
If one subject is singular and the other is plural, the verb has to agree with the noun that
immediately precedes it.
EXAMPLE: Either she or they have borrowed the book.
('they' is plural subject; 'have' is plural verb)
EXAMPLE: Neither she nor her sisters are reading the newspaper.
('sisters' is plural subject; 'are' is plural verb)
EXAMPLE: Either the camels or the giraffe is the main attraction.
('giraffe' is singular subject; 'is' is singular verb)
EXAMPLE: Neither the dogs nor the cat has an owner.
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('cat' is singular subject, 'has' is singular verb)

Lesson 8- Prepositions
( 8) PREPOSITIONS
1. Prepositions of Time
2. Prepositions of Place
3. Prepositions of Direction
4. Compound prepositions
5. Proper usage of Prepositions
6. Prepositions + other parts of speech
Prepositions are mostly small words that are used before a Noun or Pronoun to show its relation to some
other word in the sentence. In other words, prepositions link a noun or pronoun to another noun or
pronoun in a sentence.
Prepositions are used to show when something happens (prepositions of time), where something happens
(prepositions of place) or where something is going (prepositions of direction).
EXAMPLE:
He said he'd surrender to the police at 2 o'clock tomorrow. (indicates time: at 2 o'clock)
The kettle which is on the stove started to whistle. (indicates a place: on the stove)
We walked towards the dark cave. (indicates direction: towards the cave.)
There are many prepositions, some of which are as follow:
about, after, along, among, before, behind, beside, between, by, for, from, in, into, like, near, of, off,
over, to, since, through, under, with, within, without
1. PREPOSITIONS OF TIME
Prepositions
can
be
used
to
convey
time.
EXAMPLES:
He
said
he
would
be
dead
before
his
next
birthday.
Tommy
lost
his
way
and
will
not
be
here
for
an
hour
yet.
Their
father
will
return
to
their
mother
within
a
year.
Jane
has
been
coughing
loudly
since
last
Sunday.
She
swore
that
she
would
never
talk
to
me
again
from
tomorrow.
Julia
is
always
knitting
at
lunchtime?
The
boss
is
always
sleepy
on
Monday
mornings.
He often builds a fat snowman in the winter.
2. PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE
Prepositions
of
place
tell
us
where
someone
or
something
is.
EXAMPLES:
I
I
The
We
We
How
The
sat
beside
a
snoring
lady
in
the
think
someone
is
hiding
behind
the
two
thieves
divided
the
loot
between
have
been
living
under
one
divided
the
pizza
among
come
my
car
keys
are
in
your
shirt
cow
jumped
over
the
cinema.
door.
them.
roof.
us.
pocket?
moon.
34
Don't go near her. She's got a bad cold.

3. PREPOSITIONS OF DIRECTION
Prepositions can be used to show movement, that is where someone or something is going.
EXAMPLES:
May
is
looking
I
went
into
her
Shall
we
cycle
The
bird
flew
I
think
she's
His
uncle
fell
The
baby
is
All my marbles roll down the hill.
after
room
her
sick
to
find
her
along
the
in
through
the
gone
to
the
into
the
crawling
towards
parrot.
crying.
beach?
window.
loo.
river.
me.
4. COMPOUND PREPOSITIONS
Some prepositions are composed of more than one word and are called compound prepositions.
EXAMPLES:
According to him, his wife is the most beautiful woman in town.

He had to retire because of ill health.
She parked her car right in front of mine.
You should do something instead of talking about it all the time.
They did not postpone the match in spite of the rain.
The circus clown is sitting next to her.
5. PROPER USAGE OF PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions are simple words but they are not as easy to use as they appear to be. Care should
therefore be exercised in using them. If used wrongly, they become adverbs and conjunctions and
convey different meanings as the following examples show:
EXAMPLES:
It was a kite that we looked above us. (adverb)

I noticed an air plane above the cloud. (preposition)
They waited outside the cinema for him. (adverb)
The sheep are outside the fence. (preposition)
We entered after her. (adverb)
He arrived after we had left. (conjunction)
I go jogging every day after work. (preposition)
6. PREPOSITIONS + OTHER PARTS OF SPEECH
Some nouns, adjectives and verbs can have a preposition after them.
EXAMPLES:
The hostages didn't give up hope of being released. (Noun + preposition)

No one believed him guilty of this terrible crime. (Adjective + preposition)
35
The audience laughed at her funny jokes. (Verb + preposition)

Lesson 7- Pronouns
( 7) PRONOUNS
1. Personal Pronouns
2. Reflexive Pronouns
3. Relative Pronouns
4. Possessive Pronouns
5. Demonstrative Pronouns
A Pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun. It refers to a person or thing without giving the name.
EXAMPLE:
Jim has a bicycle. He rides it every day.

The words He and it referred to in the second sentence are used for Jim and bicycle. The words He used
for Jim and it used for bicycle are called Pronouns. We use pronouns to avoid repetition of the same
words, which in this case are Jim and bicycle.
Most of the pronouns must be used independently, that is, without a noun following them.
EXAMPLE: This is a big house. (This is a pronoun as it occurs independently.)
But when a noun follows them, they are no longer pronouns.
EXAMPLE: This house is big. (This is followed by the noun, house. Here, this, as a determiner, describes
the noun, and so is not a pronoun.)
Pronouns are also used as subjects and objects in sentences. In the sentence above He rides it every
day, He and it are both pronouns He is the subject and it is the object.
1. PERSONAL PRONOUNS
These pronouns refer to people and so are called Personal Pronouns. However, the pronoun it is
included in personal pronouns although it does not usually refer to a person. What then are personal
pronouns? Personal pronouns are best explained by the table below:
Singular
Plural
Subject Object Subject Object

First
Person
Me
We
Us
Second
You
Person
You
You
You
He
She
It
Him
Her
It
They
They
They
Them
Them
Them
Third
Person
In the above table, Personal Pronouns stand for three persons: First Person; Second Person; Third
Person.
There are two types of Personal Pronouns:
(1) those used as subjects;
(2) those used as objects. (See above)
36
The Personal Pronoun must be of the same Number, Gender and Person as the Noun for which
it represents.
If the Noun is in the Singular Number, the Pronoun also must be in the Singular Number.
EXAMPLE: The boy is playing with his kite. He has a red kite.
EXAMPLE: The boys are playing with their kites. They have kites of various colours.
If the Noun is in the Feminine Gender, the Pronoun too must be in the Feminine Gender.
The girl is playing with her dog. She has a small dog.
John's sister likes to eat pizza. She eats it almost every day.
Jill has a boyfriend. He loves her very much.
EXAMPLE:
EXAMPLE:
EXAMPLE:
2. REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS
We use the Reflexive Pronouns when the action of the doer goes back to himself so that the Subject of
the sentence is the same person as the object.
EXAMPLE: He has hurt himself.
Pronouns like 'himself' are called Reflexive Pronouns. They always end in '-self or -selves'.
Reflexive Pronouns
Singular Plural
First Person (I)
myself
Second Person (you)
yourself yourself
Third Person (he,she,it)
himself
herself
itself
ourselves
themselves
themselves
themselves
The words in bold type can be used to make the action of a verb refer back to the subject. They are called
reflexive pronouns.
3. RELATIVE PRONOUNS
Relative Pronouns take the place of Nouns or Pronouns; they are used to join two sentences about the
same person or thing.
EXAMPLE: I know the man who lives next door.
Who refers to the noun 'man' which is just before it. Who is called a Relative Pronoun. It is placed at the
beginning of the clause 'who lives next door'. This clause tells us more about the man. It is an adjective
clause. A Relative Pronoun is therefore used to begin an adjective clause, which modifies Ihe noun that
precedes it.
Examples of relative pronouns: who, which, that, whom and whose.
'Who', 'whom' and 'whose' are used for people; 'which' and 'that' for animals or things; 'whom' is only
used as the object of a sentence; and 'whose' is used as a possessive.
We use who to join two sentences.

EXAMPLE: "The man is an artist. He drew that picture."
"The man who drew that picture is an artist."
We use whose to show possession or relationship.

EXAMPLE: "That is my uncle whose son is my cousin."
37
We use which or that in almost the same way as we use who but it refers to things, not human
beings. There is one other difference in the way we use who and which. After who we put a verb. After
which we can put a verb, a pronoun or a noun.
EXAMPLE: That is the camera which costs fifty dollars. (verb comes after 'which')
EXAMPLE: That is the camera which he bought. (pronoun comes after 'which')
EXAMPLE: That is the camera which John likes. (noun comes after 'which')
We use whom to make a statement about human beings. It is used in place of who (a) when it is
the object of a verb or (b) when it comes after a preposition.
EXAMPLE: (a) The man whom they caught was sent to prison.
EXAMPLE: (b) The man to whom you should speak is my uncle.
4. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
Possessive Pronouns are used to indicate ownership. They can be used without a Noun.
EXAMPLE: Take all those that are yours and don't touch anything that are mine.
(Pronouns 'yours' and 'mine' are used without Nouns.)
EXAMPLE:
Don't borrow the books that are hers; read those that are ours.
(Pronouns 'hers' and 'ours' are used without Nouns.)
The Possessive Case
Singular Plural
First Person
Mine
Second Person Yours

Third Person
His
Hers
Its
Ours
Yours
Theirs
Theirs
Theirs
5. DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS
The Demonstrative Pronoun is used to point out a thing or a person. Demonstrative pronouns are this,
that, these, and those. However, one has to exercise care when using demonstrative pronouns. The
words this and that when used alone, are pronouns; when used with Nouns they are Adjectives.
EXAMPLE: This is what I heard from him. (Pronoun)
EXAMPLE : This car is still new. (Adjective, used before the Noun, car)
EXAMPLE : That is not something I like. (Pronoun)
EXAMPLE : That girl does look familiar. (Adjective, used before the Noun,
girl)
We can replace that with the one.

EXAMPLE: Where is the bill that I handed to you this morning?
EXAMPLE : Where is the bill, the one I handed to you this morning?
Lesson 6- Articles
( 6) THE ARTICLES
1. Definite Article
2. Indefinite Article
3. When articles are not used
4. Difference in meaning with use of articles
5. Difference in meaning with or without the use of articles
38
The articles are the words: a, an, the, and are of two kinds:
Definite Article The
Indefinite Article A or An
There are rules governing the usage of a, an and the. By learning the rules, we may still not fully
understand their usage. However, there are ways to better understand how to use them and one effective
way is to read as much as we can.
1. DEFINITE ARTICLE
The is the definite article as it identifies a definite or particular noun that we know of. It is not about a
noun that has not been mentioned beforehand or a noun that we are unaware of.
EXAMPLE: I received a letter. The letter is from a former classmate. (CORRECT)
NOT: I received the letter. The letter is from the former classmate.
First sentence: I received the letter. Which letter is referred to?
Second sentence: The letter is from the former classmate. We know 'The letter' as it refers to the letter I
received (in the first sentence). / the former classmate There are many former classmates, which one?)
This shows how easily we can confuse the reader if we do not exercise care in using the.
'The' is used:
1. when the same thing or person is mentioned again, that is, a particular thing or person.
Example: I bought an orange. The orange is sweet.
2. when there is only one such thing.
Example: the earth, the sun, the moon.
3. before the names of famous buildings, etc.
Example: The Eiffel Tower, The Great Wall of China.
4. when a singular noun is used to point out a whole class, race, group, etc.
Example: The bear is a strong animal.
5. before the special names of a rivers, seas, oceans, mountain ranges, groups of islands, certain
organizations, political parties, and countries such as the U.S.A., the U.K., the U.S.S.R. and the U.A.R.
Example: The Nile, The Dead Sea, The Pacific Ocean, The Himalayas, The United Nations, The
Republican Party, etc.
6. before the names of holy or important books.
Example: The Koran, The Bible.
7. before an adjective when the noun is understood.
Example: The poor need help.
Example: No one seems to care for the homeless in the city.
More examples:
This is the boy you are looking for. (This means this is the particular boy you are looking for, not any
other boy.)
That is the cinema I went to yesterday. (I remember and am sure that is the cinema I went to and
not another cinema.)
While they were there, they visited the science museum. (They visited the particular museum which
39
is the only one in the country.)

2. INDEFINITE ARTICLE
The indefinite articles are a and an. We use them to show an unspecified noun, and not a special one, or
when we are speaking in general.
A is used:
before a word which begins with a consonant.
Example: There is a woman waiting for you.
before a singular, countable noun.
Example: A banana was all I had for lunch.
when we mention something for the first time.
Example: I saw a dog.
before a word with a long sound of u
Example: a university, a uniform, a useful book, a European, a unique opportunity.
Example: It would be a unique opportunity to travel in space.
before the word one because one is pronounced wun, as if it began with W.
Example: a one-way street, a one-eyed man, a one-year course, a one-day holiday, etc.
Example: I have a one-way ticket to travel from one place to another as I don't intend to visit a place twice.
An is used:
before a noun which begins with a vowel.
Example: They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away.
before a word which begins with a vowel sound or a silent h.
Example: an hour, an honest man, an heir, an honour, an honourable man, etc.
Example: An hour passed and she still hadn't arrived.
3. WHEN ARTICLES ARE NOT USED
Articles are not used:

1. before the name of a person:
Example: I am a fan of Michael Jackson. (NOT: I am a fan of the Michael Jackson)
2. before the name of a place, town, country, street, or road.
Example: Barcelona is a beautiful city. (NOT: The Barcelona is a beautiful city.)
3. before names of materials.
Example: Gold is found in Australia. (NOT: The gold is found in Australia.)
4. before abstract nouns used in a general sense.
Example: You cannot buy happiness. (NOT: You cannot buy a/the happiness.)
4. DIFFERENCE IN MEANING WITH USE OF ARTICLES
It helps to observe the following rules:

When we use two or more adjectives to describe the same person or thing, we use the article only
before the first adjective.
Example: He talked to a tall and blonde woman. (He talked to a (one) woman who was tall and blonde.)
When we use two or more adjectives to refer to more than one person or thing, we use the article
before each adjective.
Example: He talked to a tall and a blonde woman. (He talked to two women, one of whom was tall and the
other was a blonde.)
5. DIFFERENCE IN MEANING WITH OR WITHOUT THE USE OF ARTICLES
40
He
is
at
the
school.
He
is
at
a
school.
(We
He is at school. (He is a student and is learning.)
(We
don't
know
know
which
which
school.)
school.)
Lesson 5- Indirect Speech
( 5) INDIRECT SPEECH
1. Direct speech or quoted speech
2. Indirect speech or reported speech
3. Changing Direct Speech into Indirect Speech
4. Changes made when converting Direct to Indirect Speech
5. Reporting a question
There are two ways to report what a person says: Direct speech and Indirect speech. In Direct speech,
we use the exact words that someone says with the use of quotation marks. In Indirect speech, we report
what someone says without using their exact words. We dont use quotation marks with indirect speech,
but we have to change the pronouns and the tense of the verb.
1. DIRECT SPEECH
Direct speech is the repeating or quoting the exact words spoken by someone. When we use direct
speech, we use quotation marks to enclose the words spoken without changing any of them.
EXAMPLE:
He said to me, "Be careful!"

This is the Direct Speech. We merely repeat the exact words used by the speaker and keep the exact
words within quotation marks.
EXAMPLE: Quoting exactly what someone said: He said, Im going to hunt a tiger.
2. INDIRECT OR REPORTED SPEECH
Indirect speech refers to repeating what another person says. When we report what someone says, we
do not repeat exactly every word that was said. We normally change the tense of the words spoken as
what has been said is already in the past. We also make changes to pronouns and other changes where
necessary. Quotation marks are not used. We use our own words to repeat what the speaker said.
EXAMPLE:
He said to me, "Stop singing the same old song!" (Direct speech)
He told me to stop singing the same old song. (Indirect speech)
This is the Indirect or Reported Speech. We use the past tense when the main verb used by the speaker
is in the past tense. Here, we do not use the quotation marks. We use an infinitive (to be) and we repeat
the pronoun (He).
3. CHANGING DIRECT SPEECH INTO INDIRECT SPEECH
When we change Direct Speech into Indirect Speech, it is necessary to:

change all Present and Future Tenses in the Direct Speech into the Past Tenses in the Indirect
EXAMPLE: Direct: Write carefully!" he said to me. (Present Tense)
Indirect: He told me to write carefully. (Past Tense)
EXAMPLE: Direct: He said, "I am eating." (Present Continuous Tense)
Indirect: He said that he was eating. (Past Continuous Tense)
EXAMPLE: Direct: He said, "I have found the keys." (Present Perfect Tense)
Indirect: He said that he had found the keys. (Past Perfect Tense)
EXAMPLE: Direct: He said, "I shall call you tonight." (Future Tense)
Indirect: He said that he would call me tonight. (Future in Past
Tense)
change the pronoun from first person and second person to third person.
41
Direct: I have finished my homework.

Indirect: He said that he had finished his homework.
(First person to third person)
EXAMPLE: Direct: You have finished your homework early.
Indirect: He told them that they had
EXAMPLE:
told/asked
homework
early.
me
to
get
on
with
my
school
homework.
In most cases, we do not change the tense of the verbs in the Indirect Speech when:
the reporting verb is in the Simple Present tense (he says), the Present Perfect tense (she has told us)
or the Simple Future tense (I will tell him).
EXAMPLE:
Direct:
Im
tired,
he
says
every
evening.
(present
tense)
They
I
their
(Second person to third person)

sometimes we use more than one speech verb if the Direct Speech contains more than one
sentence.
EXAMPLE: Direct: Dont fight with your sister, my mother said. Get on with
your school homework.
Indirect:
My
mother
told
me
not
to
fight
with
my
sister.
She
done
are
will
late,
tell
she
him,
has
The
already
shop
told
is
shut.
us.(present
(future
perfect)
tense)
Indirect: Every evening he says (that) he is tired.

She has already told us (that) they are late.
I will tell him (that) the shop is shut.
We do not change the tense of verbs in Indirect Speech if they make a statement which is always
true or if the action is still continuing and a change of tense would give the wrong meaning.
EXAMPLE: Direct: He told us, The world is round.
Indirect: He told us that the world is round.
Direct: She said, My brother is living in Australia.
Indirect: She said that her brother is living in Australia. (She said
that her brother was living in Australia would indicate
her brother is no longer living in Australia which is not
true.)
4. CHANGES MADE WHEN CONVERTING DIRECT TO INDIRECT SPEECH
The following changes are made when we convert Direct to Indirect Speech. 
shall to should
will to would
may to might
can to could
has to had
The pronoun is changed in person from first and second to third. 
I becomes he or she
We becomes they
42
You becomes he, him, her or them

Changes are made to the following adjectives and adverbs:
this to that
these to those
now to then
today to that day
last night to on the previous night or the night before
tomorrow to the next day or the day after
here to there
yesterday to the previous day or the day before
thus to so; (in) that way
5. REPORTING A QUESTION
When reporting a question, ensure the question ends with a period rather than a question mark.
EXAMPLE:
The reporter asked, Why no one has been arrested? (direct question)
The reporter asked why no one has been arrested (indirect question)
Lesson 4- Adverbs
( 4) ADVERBS
1. Types of Adverbs
2. Comparison of Adverbs
3. Forming Adverbs from Adjectives
An adverb is a word that adds more to the meaning of a verb, an adjective or another adverb.
I dreamt about you last night. (dreamt=verb; last night=adverb)
The monster was incredibly ugly. (ugly=adjective; incredibly=adverb)
The heart patient collapsed quite suddenly. (suddenly=adverb; quite=adverb)
An adverb is usually placed after the verb when it is used in a sentence as follow:
He called yesterday.
The train will arrive soon.
They struggled hard to reach the top.
The patient is sleeping soundly.
Unlike adjectives, adverbs do not modify nouns.
CORRECT: The woman has a beautiful daughter. (Adjective)
INCORRECT: The woman has a beautifully daughter. (Adverb)
CORRECT: She was still sad about it. (Adjective)
INCORRECT: She was still sadly about it. (Adverb)
Some words can be both adverbs and adjectives as follow: far, hard, and long.
It is important to distinguish how they are used.
I don't live far away from here. (Adverb)
Where I live isn't far from here. (Adjective)
She worked quite hard. (Adverb)
She found the work quite hard. (Adjective)
If we exercise regularly, we may live longer. (Adverb)
If we exercise regularly, we may live longer lives. (Adjective)
43
1. TYPES OF ADVERBS
Adverb of Time This shows when an action or something is done or happens. It answers the question
"When?" It is either placed at the beginning or at the end of a sentence. When they are at the beginning, they are
often emphasized.
Example: I phoned you yesterday.
Example: I saw her a few months ago.
Example: Last week I saw them walking together.
Adverb of Place This shows where an action or something is done or happens. It answers the question
"Where?" Such adverbs are placed after the verb.
Example: I live here. / He fell down. / They are talking outside. / He walked in.
Example: We met her in the zoo.
Example: They like to walk along the river.
Adverb of Manner This shows how an action or something is done. It answers the question "How?" The
adverb is placed just after the verb when it is used in a sentence.
Example: She cried loudly. / He drives quickly. / She speaks softly.
Adverb of Degree or Quantity This answers the questions, "To what degree?" or "How much?" It is
usually placed before the adjective and the adverb.
Example: It is too dark for us to see anything. (Before adjective)
Example: Last night it rained very heavily. (Before adverb)
Adverb of Frequency This answers the question "How often?" Adverbs of frequency are very important
because we often use them. Examples of these adverbs include: never, rarely, seldom, hardly ever, occasionally,
sometimes, generally, usually, frequently, nearly always, often and ever. Also included are: quite, just, already,
almost and nearly.
Example: He will never have finished in time.
Example: Jane is rarely late for work.
Example: Peter seldom reads the Bible.
Example: Sue hardly ever wore lipstick.
Example: We only write to each other very occasionally.
Example: Sometimes he stays late in the office to complete his work.
Example: The proposal is not generally acceptable to the public.
Example: It is usually the man who proposes marriage.
Example: While overseas, he frequently phoned home.
Example: She's not nearly always right although she thinks she's always right.
Example: We always go to school by bus.
Example: Sharon has often forgotten her books.
Example: Does he ever come to play chess?
Affirmative Adverb (yes) and Adverb of negation (No) - examples of this adverb includes: yes, surely,
certainly, indeed, by all means, no, not at all, by no means.
Example: I hope my parent just for once will say yes to my latest idea.
Example: You must have heard about the haunted house surely?
Example: Certainly we'll try to rid this place of the foul odour.
Example: It would indeed help if I had a bodyguard.
Example: By all means eat whatever you want, but I think you will not be able to finish all the food.
Example: Oh no, not another breakdown at the traffic lights?
Example: It is not at all certain that the match will take place.
Example: It is by no means easy that we will finish it soon.
Interrogative Adverb (Question): When? Where? How? Why? How much/often?
Example: When was the last time you saw the accused?
44
Example: Where have you been all the while?

Example: How could you have overlooked all these mistakes?
Example: Why do you have to do such a stupid thing?
Relative Adverb: when, where, how, why
These words are the same in form as Interrogative Adverbs; but they are not questions.
Example: The time when he arrived is still unknown.
Example: The scene where the accident occurred is close to the hospital.
Example: He is the only one who knows how to do it.
Example: Nobody knows why he left in such a hurry.
2. COMPARISON OF ADVERBS
Similar to the comparison of adjectives, adverbs have three degrees of comparison the Positive, the
Comparative and the Superlative. Most adverbs which end in '-ly' form the Comparative with 'more' and
the Superlative with 'most'.
Positive
comfortably
happily
kindly
loudly
noisily
Comparative
more comfortably
more happily
more kindly
more loudly
more noisily
Superlative
most comfortably
most happily
most kindly
most loudly
most noisily
3. FORMING ADVERBS FROM ADJECTIVES
Adverbs are formed from adjectives by adding ly. However, not all words ending in ly are adverbs. The
following words are good examples of adjectives ending in ly: costly, deadly, friendly, kindly, likely, lively,
lowly, manly, sickly, and timely
Adverbs can be formed from nouns, adjectives and verbs. They end in '-ly' as follow:
Nouns
Adjectives
Verbs
Adverbs
beauty
beautifully
success
successfully
angry
angrily
foolish
foolishly
continue
continually
know
knowingly
Lesson 3- Adjectives
( 3) ADJECTIVES
(1) Kinds of Adjectives
(2) Comparison of Adjectives
(3) Forming Adjectives
(4) Correct Usage of Adjectives
Adjectives are words which tell us something about nouns, that is about a person, an animal, a thing or a place. They
usually come before the nouns they describe. But sometimes they come after the nouns as the following examples show:
Everyone
My
My
knows
old
grandpa
a
car
is
giraffe
didn't
quite
has
have
tall
long
air
and
rather
neck.
conditioning.
thin.
45
None
of
my
tables
is
round.
The words 'long', 'old', 'tall', 'thin' and 'round' tell us something about the nouns: giraffe, car, grandpa and tables. These
words called adjectives tell us about their shape, condition, and size. An adjective is therefore a word added to describe
a
noun
so
that
we
are
better
informed
about
the
noun.
Some words can be both adjective and adverbs. Examples are: early, fast, and late. It is important to distinguish how
they
are
used.
We
arrived
a
little
early
for
lunch.
(Adjective)
We
arrived
early
so
we
still
had
time
before
lunch.
(Adverb)
You
are
a
fast
driver
these
days.
(Adjective)
You
drive
fast
these
days.
(Adverb)
I
overslept
and
so
I
was
late.
(Adjective)
I
overslept
and
so
I
got
up
late.
(Adverb)
(1) KINDS OF ADJECTIVES
An adjective that tells us about the quality of the noun. Known as Descriptive Adjective or Adjective of
Quality, it tells us about the colour, shape, size or condition of a noun.Example: I love blue sky. / Look at his big, fat dog.
/ This square table has round legs.
An adjective that tells us about the quantity of the noun. This adjective is called an Adjective of Quantity. An
adjective of quantity tells us the quantity or amount, and that is 'how many' or 'how much'.Example: I have eaten five
apples. / The zoo has many monkeys. / He has so much money to buy so few things.
An adjective that tells us about the ownership of the noun. This adjective is called a Possessive Adjective. A
possessive adjective shows ownership or possession. It indicates that something belongs to a person or thing.Example:
That is her plastic duck floating in the bath. / Look at that elephant. Its tusks curve upwards.
An adjective which poses questions in an 'interrogative' manner. It is called an Interrogative Adjective. Like
most adjectives, an interrogative adjective comes before a noun.Example: Which monkey bit you? Whose trousers are
torn? What girl do you like?In the example, 'which', 'whose' and 'what' come before the nouns 'monkey', 'trousers' and 'girl'
respectively. They refer to the nouns and are therefore adjectives.
An adjective which specifies a noun. Called a Demonstrative Adjective, it is one that points out a fact about a
person or thing.Example: This boy entered the eating contest for fun. / That piglet is looking for its mother. / These
spiders have long legs. / Those faces are truly beautiful.In the example, 'this', 'that', 'these' and 'those' come before the
nouns 'boy', 'piglet', 'spiders' and 'faces'. They tell us something about the nouns and so are adjectives.
Adjectives which end in '-ing', e.g. an interesting film, an amazing player, an annoying habit.
Adjectives which end in '-ed', e.g. the damaged goods, the escaped prisoners, improved version.
(2)
We
use
Example:
We
use
Example:
We
use
Example:
COMPARISON
the
His
the
His
the
His
Positive
head
Comparative
head
Superlative
head
OF
degree
to
compare
two
is
as
big
as
degree
to
compare
two
is
bigger
than
degree
to
compare
three
or
is
the
biggest
in
Positive
bold
deep
near
rich
tall
Comparative
bolder
deeper
nearer
richer
taller
Superlative
boldest
deepest
nearest
richest
tallest
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
ADJECTIVES
equal
my
unequal
my
more
the
nouns.
head.
nouns.
head.
nouns.
family.
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careful
enjoyable
forgetful
useful
wonderful
more careful
more enjoyable
more forgetful
more useful
more wonderful
Positive
bad
good
little
Comparative
worse
better
less
most careful
most enjoyable
most forgetful
most useful
most wonderful
Superlative
worst
best
least
(3) FORMING ADJECTIVES

There are various ways to form adjectives from nouns and verbs as follow:
Add '-al' : music=musical; nation=national; person=personal
Add '-ful' : care=careful; doubt=doubtful; peace=peaceful
Add '-ic' : acrobat=acrobatic; artist=artistic; photograph=photographic
Add '-ive' : attract=attractive; effect=effective; act=active; instruct=instructive
Add '-ous' : mountain=mountainous; danger=dangerous; peril=perilous
Add '-y' : greed=greedy; oil=oily
Change 'y' to 'i' and add '-ful' : beauty=beautiful; pity=pitiful
Change 'y' to 'i' and add '-ous' : mystery=mysterious; glory=glorious
Drop 'e' and add 'y' : anger=angry; ease=easy; ice=icy
Drop 'e' and add 'al' : nature=natural; agriculture=agricultural
Adjectives can be formed from Nouns
Noun
accident
danger
length
star
wind
Adjective
accidental
dangerous
long
starry
windy
Adjectives can be formed from Verbs

Verb
Adjective
enjoy
enjoyable
help
helpful
obey
obedient
play
playful
talk
talkative
Adjectives can be formed from Adjectives
Adjective
comic
correct
elder
red
sick
Adjective
comical
corrective
elderly
reddish
sickly
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(4) CORRECT USAGE OF ADJECTIVES

We use some in a positive statement and any in a negative statement or a question. Example: I have
some money to buy a couple of lollipops. (Positive statement)
Example: I haven't any money to lend you. (Negative statement)
Example: Do you need to go to the toilet? (A question)
We use some with countable nouns and uncountable nouns.
Example: "I have caught some fish for you to cook", he said to her. (Countable noun)
Example: There is some rabbit stew in the pot. (Uncountable noun)
We can use some in a question if it is an invitation or a request.
Example: Would you like to have some goose soup? (Invitation)
Example: Will you please give me some medicine for my cough? (Request)
We can join some or any with one, body or thing to form compound words.
Example: He believed somebody has run away with his wife.
Example: The police are looking for someone with three gold teeth.
Example: He is hiding something under his bed.
Example: There wasn't anyone in the cemetery.
Example: It hasn't anything to do with you, so please stop asking.
Example: Has anybody seen my grandmother?
Lesson 2- Verbs
1. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
2. Linking Verbs
3. Auxiliary Verbs
4. The Finite Verb and The Infinitive
5. Action Verb/State Verb
6. Regular and Irregular Verbs
A verb is a word or more than one word that is used to express an action or a state of being. Every
sentence cannot be complete without a verb, thus making the verb the most important word as far as
sentence construction is concerned. In a sentence, a verb has a subject who does the action and an object
who receives the action.
It shows what action has taken place whether the subject performs the action, called active voice
(Example: Somebody stole my wallet) or receives the action called passive voice (Example: My wallet was
stolen.).
Verbs express tense, that is the time the action happens, and also the continuance or completion
of the action at the time of speaking. The verb tenses are past, present, and future. These tenses have
continuous and perfect forms.
1. TRANSITIVE AND INTRANSITIVE VERBS 
A transitive verb needs an object to complete the meaning of the sentence. An intransitive verb does not require an
object to make its meaning clear.
The Transitive verb
A transitive verb must have an object. Without an object, it does not convey a clear meaning.
EXAMPLE: He bought.
The question inevitably arises: What did he buy? No one knows the answer to this question as there is no direct
object to receive the action of the verb bought. The meaning becomes clear when an object is added as follows:
EXAMPLE: He bought a cake.
The subject of the verb He performs the action: bought. The object of the action verb bought is a cake
A transitive verb may take an indirect object. An indirect object is something or someone for whom the action is
48
carried out.
EXAMPLE: He bought her a cake.
The indirect object is her as its for her that the cake was bought. The indirect object usually precedes the direct
object.
The Intransitive verb
An intransitive verb does not require an object. Without an object, its meaning is not affected.
EXAMPLE: She swims.
The intransitive verb swims does not need an object to make the meaning clear.
EXAMPLE: The villagers caught a boar yesterday but it escaped this morning.
The verb caught is transitive as it has the direct object: boar; the other verb escaped is intransitive since it is
not followed by an object.
2. LINKING VERBS
Linking verbs link a subject to a word or phrase that describes or identifies the subject. They help to complete the
expression about the subject. Linking verbs do not take on a direct object but are followed by an adjective. Any
verb that expresses an action is not a linking verb.
The following are the characteristics of a linking verb:
Linking verbs are not action words.
He looked at me. (It tells us what he did = action verb)
She looked as if she was going to cry. (It doesnt tell us what she did, only how she appeared to be = linking
verb)
Linking verbs tell us what state the subject is in, what the subject is, etc.
He looked tired.
She is a nurse.
Linking verbs are followed by an adjective, but not a direct object; action words are modified by adverbs.
He feels fine. (feels is not an action verb; it is followed by an adjective.)
He feels the fine sand of the beach. (feels is an action verb.)
A pronoun following a linking verb should be in the subjective, not objective.
It was he they were looking for. (he = subjective pronoun)
Not: It was him they were looking for. (him = objective pronoun)
Linking verbs can be identified by replacing the verb with to be and see if it makes sense. If it does, it is a linking
verb. Otherwise, it isnt.
Lets use the following two sentences and replace the verb feels with is.
He feels fine. = He is fine. (The verb is a linking verb.)
He feels the fine sand of the beach. = He is the fine sand of the beach. (Not a linking verb.)
Using adverbs instead of adjectives with linking verbs will result in incorrect sentences, as shown here:
Example: Some common linking verbs: appear, become, feel, grow, look, seem, smell, sound, taste.
Andy appears calm. (NOT: Andy appears calmly.)
He became anxious about working for the first time. (NOT: He became anxiously about working for the first time.)
She feels sad. (NOT: He feels sadly.)
Cindy grew impatient with his strange behaviour. (NOT: Cindy grew impatiently with his strange behaviour
Diane looked beautiful in her new dress. (NOT: Diane looked beautifully in her new dress.) [endif]-->
Eddy seemed angry to me. (NOT: Eddy seemed angrily to me.) 
The pizza smelled delicious. (NOT: The pizza smelled deliciously.)
The idea sounds bad. (NOT: The idea sounds badly.)
The drink tastes sweet. (NOT: The drink tastes sweetly.)
3. AUXILIARY VERBS
Auxiliary verbs are used to combine with other verbs to form tenses, moods, questions, negative and passive
forms. The most common auxiliary verbs are: be (I am reading), have (They have arrived.), and do (We dont
want to go.)
49
Singular
Plural
I
am/have/to
We
are/have/do
You are/have/do
You
are/have/do
He
is/has/does
They are/have/do
She
is/has/does
They are/have/do
It
is/has/does
They are/have/do

In most sentences, you will have noticed that each one has two verbs.
EXAMPLE: Jill is riding an elephant.
EXAMPLE: Jack has gone with Jill to the zoo.
In the two examples, there are two verbs in each sentence riding and gone are known as the MAIN VERBS,
and they each has another verb before it. They are is and has, and these two verbs are known as AUXILIARY
VERBS. Auxiliary verbs are also called helping verbs. The word auxiliary means providing help. They help the
main verbs riding and gone by combining with them to show their tenses.
In the first example, is riding in Jill is riding an elephant tells us that the action is still going on, that is Jill is still
riding the elephant.
Auxiliary verbs do not normally exist alone in a sentence without the main verb.
CORRECT: I would like to be rich. / INCORRECT: I would to be rich. (Without auxiliary verb)
CORRECT: He should talk to her. / INCORRECT: He should to her. (Without auxiliary verb)
CORRECT: You must be joking. / INCORRECT: You must joking. (Without auxiliary verb)
However, auxiliary verbs without the main verbs are commonly used when the meaning is understood. This is
often found in replies or responses.
Will he help me? Yes, he will. / Can you do this? Yes, I can. / Does she know you? Yes, she does.
Here, the auxiliary verbs (will, can, does) are used without the main verbs (help, do,
know)
The following are types of auxiliary verbs:
Passive: This is used to show the passive form.
EXAMPLE: The elephant was given a quick bath.
Progressive: This shows the action is in progress.
EXAMPLE: The old lady is smiling at the elephant.
Perfective: This expresses an action completed in the past.
EXAMPLE: The monkey has eaten a banana.
Modal: Modals are used to express ability, permission or prediction.
EXAMPLE: You can use the car if you want.
EXAMPLE: She may feed the monkeys.
EXAMPLE: He will be a zoo-keeper some day.
EXAMPLE: We really should come here again.
Question: This is used to form questions.
EXAMPLE: Do you like those chimpanzees?
Negative statement: This is used to form negative statements.
EXAMPLE: I do not like those noisy monkeys.
Auxiliary verbs are often used in contracted forms. For instance, have is shortened to ve; is/has to s; and
had/would/should/could to d. In the latter case, care must be exercised to distinguish them correctly.
Im quite sure Ive lost my way. (= I am / = I have)
Its the biggest dog in the neighbourhood. (=It is)
Shes naturally curly hair. (= She has)
Theyd already gone home. (=They had)
Wed like to go now. (= We would)
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Hed stop thinking every girl dislikes him. (= He should)

Id speak seven languages. (= I could)
We can use auxiliary verb for emphasis.
EXAMPLE: I do like you.
4. THE FINITE VERB AND THE INFINITIVE
The Finite Verb

The finite verb is the verb that changes with the person and number of the subject. It also has tenses. Note the
following:
Person
First Person
Second Person
Third Person
Present Tense
Singular
Plural
I play
We play
You play
You play
He plays
They play
She plays They play
It plays
They play
The verb play changes with the subject (person). When the subject is in the third person singular, that is he, she,
or it, the verb changes into plays. It does not change when the subject is in the first and second person, that is I or
you and in the plural subject, that is, we, you, or they. The verb play is a finite verb.
Example of finite verb:
We go to the library.
He goes to the library.
They go to the library.
She goes to the library.
I go to the library.
(The finite verb is go)
The Infinitive
The infinitive is a verb that comes after the word to Note the infinitive does not change with the subject or person.
Example: to eat, to run, to see, to take:
My fat sister likes to eat spaghetti.
I have decided to run away from home.
We love to see your face.
She wants to take all my candy.
Infinitives are also used without to.
Example:Let him eat the bigger piece.
I think you had better go alone.
We see each other only on weekends.
Please take this along with you.
Infinitives are used without to after helping verbs called auxiliary verbs such as be, have, do, can, could, will,
would, shall, should, ought, may, might and must 
Example: He can drive me to the airport.
We should eat our dinner earlier tonight.
He may come over later this evening.
We must visit him at the hospital.
Where more than one infinitive is used in a sentence, consistency in using the infinitives is essential. The first
infinitive is always used with to. If the next infinite is preceded by to, the following infinitives must likewise have to
preceding them, or if it is used without to, the rest must be without to as well. See the following examples.
51
Correct: Each competitor has to paddle across the lake, cycle five kilometres, climb the steep hill and run down to
the finishing line.
Correct: Each competitor has to paddle across the lake, to cycle five kilometres, to climb the steep hill and to run
down to the finishing line.
Incorrect: Each competitor has to paddle across the lake, to cycle five kilometres, climb the steep hill and run
down to the finishing line.
5. ACTION VERB / STATE VERB
A verb can be an action verb or a state verb

An action verb can be used for an action that has happened or that is still taking place at the time of speaking or
that is done habitually.
He cycled to the shopping mall.
He is cycling to the shopping mall.
He cycles to work.
An action verb conveys the same meaning when used in the simple or continuous tense.
John read the newspaper. / John was reading the newspaper.
The Queen will meet the President. / The Queen will be meeting the President.
Some action verbs cannot be used in the continuous tense.
My father owns that building. (NOT: My father is owning that building.)
That book belongs to me. (NOT: That book is belonging to me.)
A state verb, also known as non-action verbs, refers to the condition of someone or the
state they are in, and is not normally used in the continuous tense.
The two neighbours hate the sight of each other. (NOT: The two neighbours are hating
the sight of each other.)
She believes everything that is told to her. (NOT: She is believing everything that is told
to her.)
Some state verbs when used in the continuous refer to feelings that occur briefly.
Were liking what we are doing.
Im regretting now what I did just now.
Were wishing the rain stops suddenly
As usual, hes being provocative.
There are words which we can use for action as well as state.
I see youre very happy with your new glasses. (state)
The doctor is not seeing any more patients. (action)
I have two dogs, one cat and a goldfish. (state)
What are we having for dinner tonight? (action)

She thinks you are getting the wrong idea about her. (state)
Were thinking of going with you. (action)
She looks gorgeous in this new dress. (state)

She is looking at a dress on sale. (action)
6. REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS>
There are two groups of verbs, termed regular or irregular, and are identified by how their simple past
tense and past participle are formed.
Regular verbs in this group of verbs, the simple past tense and past participle end in d or ed.
EXAMPLE: simple present tense touch; kill; pass; stop; rub.
simple past tense touched; killed; passed; stopped; rubbed.
past participle touched; killed; passed; stopped; rubbed.
Irregular verbs a verb that does not follow the usual pattern of grammar. If a verb is irregular, t
simple past tense and past participle do not end in d or ed. They vary as follow:
Where all three forms of an irregular verb are the same.
52
simple present tense cost; hurt; put; read; shut.

simple past tense cost; hurt; put; read; shut.
past participle cost; hurt; put; read; shut.
Where only the simple past tense and past participle are the same.
simple past tense carried; died; fitted; jumped; tried.
past participle carried; died; fitted; jumped; tried.
Where all three forms are different.
Example: simple present tense begin; choose; do; go; see
simple past tense began; chose; did; went; saw.
past participle begun; chosen; done; gone; seen.
EXAMPLE:
There are verbs which can be regular or irregular as follow:

simple present tense burn; dream; spell.
simple past tense burned/burnt; dreamed/dreamt; spelled/spelt.
past participle burned/burnt; dreamed/dreamt; spelled/spelt.
Lesson 1- Nouns
( 1) NOUNS
(1) Kinds of Nouns
(2) Singular and Plural Nouns
(3) Countable and Uncountable Nouns
(4) Nouns have Four Genders
(5) Forming Nouns
Nouns - are naming words for people, animals, places, things, and qualities. They can be recognized by
the articles - the, a an - that we place in front of them.
Nouns can be divided into proper nouns and common nouns. The names of particular people, animals,
places and things are called proper nouns. We begin a proper noun with a capital letter. Nouns that do not
refer to particular persons, animals, places and things are called common nouns. The first letter of a
common noun is not capitalized unless it is the first word in a sentence.
There are other kinds of nouns. A word that stands for a group of things is called a collective noun.
Nouns can be singular or plural. When you refer to one person, animal, place, or thing, you use a singular
noun. When you talk about two or more people, animals, places, or things, you want to use plural nouns.
There are countable and uncountable nouns. Countable nouns are things that can be counted like book,
car and house. Uncountable nouns cannot be counted such as milk, water, and flour.
Other nouns are names we use to refer to quality, idea, condition, etc. that are not concrete objects, and
they are known as abstract noun.
(1) KINDS OF NOUNS:

Common nouns - are names of people (e.g. man, aunt), things (e.g. book, car), animals (e.g. monkey,
armadillo) and places (church, beach).
Proper nouns - are special names of people (George Bush, Obama), things (Financial Times, Eiffel
Tower), animals (King Kong, Lassie) and places (London, Central Park). A proper noun begins with a
capital letter. Proper nouns also refer to times or dates on the calendar: Saturday, April. We can use
plurals for propre nouns in exceptional cases: "There are three Johns in my class." We can also use 'the'
53
for a proper noun in special circumstances: "It is no longer the London I had once visited."
Abstract nouns - An abstract noun is a quality or something that we can only think or rather than
something that we can see or touch (e.g. beauty, friendship). We can form abstract nouns from common
nouns (child - childhood); form verbs (know - knowledge); and from adjectives (happy - happiness).
Collective nouns - A collective noun is a name we use for a number of people, animals or things which
we group together and speak of as a whole. For example, a bunch of bananas, a litter of puppies.
(2) SINGULAR and PLURAL NOUNS

Most nouns are either singular or plural. Plural nouns are easily recognized by their ending with an '-s'. But
many plural nouns do not follow this same ending. The lists below show what different endings or suffixes
are added to the words to make them plural nouns.
A noun that shows only one person (e.g. a girl), thing (pencil), animal (tiger) or place (market) is called a
singular noun.
A noun that shows more than one person (e.g. girls), thing (pencils), animal (tigers) or place (markets) is
called a plural noun.
The following nouns are always plural and take a plural verb.
Police are charging him with the murder of the princess.
People in general are not very approachable.
Football team Liverpool are a very successful football team. (BUT: Liverpool is a
great city.)
Jeans*, knickers*, panties*, pants*, pyjamas*, shorts*, tights*, trousers*, and
underpants*
These trousers are not mine
Clogs*, sandals*, slippers*, and sneakers*.
Glasses* (= spectacles), binoculars*
My glasses are used only for reading.
Pincers*, pliers*, scissors*, shears*, tongs*
Pliers are a handy tool.
My garden shears trim the hedge very well.
Clothes
My clothes need to be washed but I don't have the time.
Earnings
Earnings in the agricultural sector have increased by 5% in the
fourth quarter.
Cattle
Cattle are reared for their meat or milk.
* "a pair of" can be used with these plural nouns.
+ Peoples when used in the plural (i.e. with 's') refers to peoples from more than one race or nation.
Example: the peoples of Asia.
How plural nouns are formed
By adding -es to nouns ending in -ch, -s, -sh and -x:
beach = beaches / peach = peaches / ditch = ditches / speech = speeches
boss = bosses / chorus = choruses / lens = lenses / pass = passes
bush = bushes / dish = dishes / lash = lashes / wish = wishes
fax = faxes / hoax = hoaxes / six = sixes / tax = taxes
By adding -es to nouns ending in -o:
buffalo = buffaloes / cargo = cargoes / echo = echoes / mosquito = mosquitoes
54
By adding -s to nouns ending in -o:

banjo = banjos / radio = radios / photo = photos / video = videos
By replacing 'y' with 'ies':
fly = flies / hobby = hobbies / lorry = lorries / puppy = puppies
By adding 's' to nouns ending in -y:
donkey = donkeys / key = keys / toy = toys / turkey = turkeys
By replacing 'f' or 'fe' with '-ves':
calf = calves / half = halves / life = lives / wife = wives
By adding 's' to nouns ending in -f:
chief = chiefs / dwarf = dwarfs / reef = reefs / roof = roofs
By changing vowels:
foot = feet / goose = geese / tooth = teeth / woman = women
Some nouns have same words for plural and singular:
aircraft = aircraft / deer = deer / music = music / sheep = sheep
Exceptional plural:
child = children / mouse = mice / ox = oxen / passer-by = passers-by
(3) COUNTABLE and UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS
Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted (e.g. oranges). Uncountable nouns are those that
cannot be counted (e.g. smoke). So how do we know whether or not a noun is countable or uncountable?
The noun is countable:
if we can use a/an before it. Example: I own a pony. / I play with an ostrich.
if we can use the word 'many' (and not 'much') to describe it. Example: She has many boyfriends.
(It's wrong to say: 'She has much friends.')
if we can express its quantity by using a number before it. Example: I have seven sisters.
if it takes on singular as well as plural.
The noun is uncountable:
if a/an is not normally used in front of it. Example: He is eating some rice. (NOT: He is eating a
rice.) Rice is treated as not countable, so some (which can be used for both countable and uncountable
nouns) is used with it.
if the word much can be correctly used with it. Example: How much rice have you eaten? (NOT:
How many rice have you eaten?)
if it is not possible to be counted (e.g. milk, oil, sand, sugar). However, we can make it countable by
having a quantity for it. Example: I have just bought two cartons or litres/liters of milk. (NOT: I have just
bought two milk.)
if it takes only a singular form
Some nouns can be used as countable or uncountable nouns. It depends on how we use them. Example:
I boil an egg. (Countable noun = one egg) / I like egg. (Uncountable noun, as it refers to egg in general.)
Countable and Uncountable Nouns are used with the following:
Countable Nouns
Uncountable Nouns
a, an, a few, several, many
some, plenty of, a lot of
a large number of
a little, much, some, plenty of

a lot of, a large amount of
a great deal of
(4) NOUNS HAVE FOUR GENDERS

1. Masculine Gender: The masculine gender is used for all males. Example: boy, man
55
2. Feminine Gender: The feminine gender is used for all females. Example: girl, woman
3. Common Gender: The common gender is used where the noun can be both male and female.
Example: child, cousin, friend, person, student
4. Neuter Gender: The neuter gender is used for things which have no life or sex. Example: table, chair
(5) FORMING NOUNS

Nouns can be formed from nouns, verbs and adjectives. They are formed by adding certain letters to
them.
Nouns
Nouns
widow
widowhood
friend
friendship
king
kingdom
Verbs
Nouns
add
addition
fail
failure
give
gift
Adjectives
Nouns
clean
cleanliness
sad
sadness
beautiful
beauty
QUICK REFERENCE
QUICK REFERENCE
Active voice: In an active sentence, the subject, either a person or thing does the action of the verb. (This
is in contrast to a passive sentence, in which the subject receives the action.) For example, He drew the
graffiti is an active sentence, and the verb drew is active.
Adjective: An adjective is a word or words that are used to describe or modify a noun (e.g. a big house)
or a pronoun (e.g. he is tall)
Adjective clause: An adjective clause describes or tells us more about a noun (e.g. I have a friend who is
a heavy drinker.) The adjective clause (in bold) acts as an adjective. It is a dependent clause that cannot
stand alone; it must be connected to an independent clause to form a sentence.
Adjective phrase: An adjective phrase is a group of words that modifies a noun (e.g. Tommy is the
manager responsible for the activities of the performers.) The adjective phrase (in bold) does not
contain a subject and a verb.
Adverb: An adverb is a word that modifies a verb (e.g. She cried loudly), adjective (e.g. You are a
physically strong man.), or another adverb (e.g. He played very badly in yesterdays final.)
Adverbial clause: An adverbial clause is a dependent clause that must be attached to an independent or
main clause to form a sentence. It acts as an adverb (e.g. After we had finished our discussion, we
went for a meal.) and is an adverb clause of time (in bold.)
Adverbial phrase: An adverbial phrase is a group of words that is used as an adverb. It tells us when,
how, where, etc. something happens (e.g. I fell down the stairs about a month ago.) The adverbial phrase
in bold consists of a preposition, article and a noun, and they function together as an adverbial phrase.
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Agreement: The number and person of the subject must agree with its verb. This means that a plural noun
must have a plural verb (e.g. The dogs are fighting over a bone) and a singular noun requires a singular
verb (e.g. A tiny spider is spinning a big web.) Or the pronoun must show the number, person, and gender
of the noun it replaces.
Antecedent: An antecedent can be a noun, phrase or clause that is represented by a following pronoun
(e.g. I met Jill, and she took me to a restaurant for a special treat.) In this example, Jill is the antecedent of
she. (Another example: Jack misplaced his car keys and he looked everywhere for them.) Here, Jack is
the antecedent of he and keys is the antecedent of them.
Antonym: Antonym is a word which means the opposite of another word. For example, good is the
antonym of bad. The antonyms of many words are formed by using a prefix such as un-, dis-, in-, mis-,
im-, etc. and also by changing -ful to-less as follow: kind unkind; like dislike; active inactive; spell
misspell; mobile immobile; careful careless.
Apostrophe: An apostrophe is a punctuation mark () used to indicate that you have omitted letters or
numbers (e.g. cant, July, 99). It is also used to show who or what something belongs to (e.g. Charles
wife, or monkeys tail.)
Appositive: Where two or more nouns or noun phrases are used, and clarify or describe the same thing.
The second of the two nouns renames or identifies with the first. (e.g. Her aunt, a public speaker, talks
about her meeting with an alien from another world.) In this example, her aunt and a public speaker are
in apposition.
Article: We use an article (a, an, the) before a noun to show whether the noun refers to a particular or
general thing. A and an are known as the indefinite article, and the is the definite article. We use a as an
article for nouns beginning with a consonant (e.g. a building, a donkey, a car, etc.), and an article for nouns
beginning with a vowel (e.g. an egg, an eagle, an uncle) or for nouns which begin with a vowel sound such
as the h in hour (e.g. an hour, an honour, an heir).
Auxiliary verb: An auxiliary verb is a verb (to be, to do or to have) that is used with a main verb to show
tense, moods, voices (active and passive), or to form questions, and the negatives which is not given by
the main verb of a sentence. The words in bold in the following sentences are auxiliary verbs: I would like
to go with you. / Why did you do such a stupid thing? / She has finished dressing.
Clause: A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb. A clause can be a complete sentence
known as the main clause or a part of a sentence called a dependent or subordinate clause. The main
clause can stand alone as a sentence, while a dependent clause has to be connected to the main or
independent clause to form a sentence. For example: After we had eaten our dinner, we went for an
hours drive. Dependent clause: After we had eaten our dinner; independent clause: we went for an hours
drive)
Collective noun. A collective noun (e.g. bunch, flock, herd,) is a singular noun that describes a group of
people, animals or things. Here, the group is treated as a single unit and the items that formed the group
are not thought of individually.
Colon: A colon is a punctuation mark (:) used in writing to introduce a list of things, clauses, an example,
etc.
Comma: The punctuation mark ( , ) that is used in writing to separate the single items in a list, show a
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slight pause or for dividing parts or clauses in a sentence.

Common noun: A common noun is any noun and does not refer to a particular person, place, or thing. For
example, car and pen are common nouns. These nouns are not capitalized.
Comparative: The form of an adjective or adverb expressing a greater amount, number, quality, size, etc.,
but not the highest possible in comparing two related nouns: persons, places, or things. For example,
stronger and more careful are the comparative forms of strong and careful.
Complement: A complement is one or more words that follows a verb and completes the predicate of a
sentence. A complement describes or explains the subject (e.g. My uncle is a bullfighter.) or the object
(e.g. He found her beautiful.) It is also known as a predicate complement. The noun bullfighter added
to the verb is is known as predicate noun, and the adjective beautiful added to the verb found is called
predicate adjective.
Complex sentence. Sentence containing one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.
Compound adjective: A compound adjective consists of two or more words together, and is used as an
adjective (e.g. ill-fated mission).
Compound noun: A compound noun is usually formed from a noun + noun combination to make a new
noun, and give more specific information about a person or thing (e.g. country house, cousin brother).
Some compound nouns are written as one word (e.g. headlight) while some consist of more than two
nouns (e.g. milk chocolate bar)
Compound sentence: A compound sentence has two or more simple sentences or independent clauses.
These sentences or clauses are joined by using a coordinating conjunction such as and, but, for, nor, or,
so, yet and a comma, or with a semicolon (;)
Compound-complex sentence: A compound-complex sentence has two or more independent clauses
and at least one dependent clause. For example:
We want to go overseas but we dont have the time until the summer holiday.
Independent clause independent clause dependent clause
Conditional: A conditional clause that expresses the condition that a situation must exist before something
else can happen (e.g. If you dont have the determination, you wont succeed in it).
Conditional sentence: A conditional sentence is one that begins with if or unless. We use if in a
sentence when we talk about possibilities. Here is an example of a conditional sentence with the if-clause
in bold: If we dont set off early, we will arrive late. We use a simple present tense in the if-clause and
simple future tense in the main clause. We can put the if-clause after the main clause as follow: We will
arrive late if we dont set off early. (The latter arrangement does not require a comma.) Other conditional
sentences are possible. For example: Had you not said it, I wouldnt have remembered.
Conjunction: A conjunction is the part of speech that is used to connect words, phrases, clauses or
sentences. The most common conjunctions are: Coordinating conjunction joins phrases or clauses of
equal value. Subordinating conjunction joins dependent clauses to independent clauses. Words such as
although, and, as, because, but, if, or, and while are conjunctions.
Coordinating conjunction: A word that is used to connect words, phrases, clauses, or sentences of equal
or same type, such as nouns or adjectives. It uses such words as: and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet).
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Correlative conjunction: A correlative conjunction consists of two parts that are frequently used together
but not necessarily placed next to each other to join sentences. Correlative conjunctions include such
words as: either . . . or, neither . . . nor, both . . . and, not only . . . but also, such as, etc.
Countable noun: A countable noun can be both singular and plural (e.g. ball/balls). A countable noun can
be counted with numbers such as every page, one monkey, two girls. It is preceded by a/an in the
singular: a hen, an egg. It has a plural form ending in s or es: four cups, five boxes. Some common nouns
can be countable or uncountable depending how it is referred to. For example, in I boil an egg, egg is a countable
noun as indicated by the an that comes before it. However, in I like egg, the reference is not so specific. It refers to
egg in general, and so egg is uncountable in the second example.
Dangling modifier: A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that does not relate to the noun that it should
modify. It exists mostly at the beginning of a sentence, but fails to modify the subject of the sentence. For
example, Arriving home, the clock began to strike twelve. This sentence is wrong grammatically. The
word arriving is a dangling modifier, because the sentence reads as if it is the clock which is arriving
home.
Dash: A dash is a punctuation mark ( ) used to enclose or separate parts of a sentence for the purpose of
adding extra information, marking a pause or representing omitted letters or words.
Demonstrative adjective: A demonstrative adjective acts as a determiner and identifies the person or
thing that is being referred to. For example, this boy, that house, these apples, those flies.
Demonstrative pronoun: A demonstrative pronoun is a pronoun such as this, that, these or those. It
is used to indicate specific people or things. For example, in the sentence These are my oranges, these
is a demonstrative pronoun. It is also used to indicate whether a person/s or a thing/s is/are here (this,
these) or over there (that, those).
Dependent clause: A dependent clause is subordinate to the main clause. It provides additional
information related to the main clause, and cannot form a sentence by itself. But it can form a sentence
when joined with a main clause to complete its meaning. For example, After he had finished his
homework, he went to bed. The dependent clause in bold cannot exist alone as a complete sentence.
Determiner: A determiner is a word that is used before a noun to show how the noun is being used. For
example, in these sentences, Julia is my third girlfriend and That girl over there is my second girlfriend
the words my and that are determiners. Other words used as determiners include: a, an, the, some, and
all.
Direct object: The direct object of a transitive verb illustrates the person or thing that receives the action
of the verb. The direct object, which may be a noun, pronoun, or noun/pronoun phrase, generally comes
after the verb, just as the subject comes before the verb. For example, in Beckam kicked the ball the
direct object is the ball.
Direct speech: Direct speech is the reporting of speech by repeating the words actually spoken, not
reported. For example, I have just returned from Timbuktu, she said.
Either: Either can be used as adverb, determiner, pronoun or as conjunction.
Used as adverb in negative sentences to mean too or also: My mother doesnt like to go to the dentist
and my father doesnt either.
Used as determiner when referring to a choice between two possibilities: Either one of you will have to
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wash the car.

Used as pronoun between two options: Either of the sons will help the father to paint the house.
Used as conjunction: We can either go now or later. It doesnt really matter. Either can also be used to
mean both: It was a memorable flight with beautiful girls sitting on either side of me.
Exclamation mark: A punctuation mark (!) that is written immediately after a sentence or word that expresses
surprise, anger or excitement.
Finite verb: A finite verb form shows the tense (e.g. They arrived. / They are arriving soon.), and
changes with the person (e.g. I am / You are / He is) and number of the subject (e.g. We go to school. /
She goes to school.) Every sentence must have a finite verb.
Feminine: Feminine is used to refer to the female gender form of a noun in English, such as waitress,
princess and nun.
Full stop/period: This sign is placed at the end of a sentence to mark the end of the sentence, or at the
end of a word that has been shortened.
Future tense: The tense of a verb that we use when referring to something yet to happen or exist. Other
divisions of the future tense are: simple future tense, future continuous tense, future perfect tense, future
perfect continuous tense, and future tense in the past (e.g. We decided we would meet again next week.)
Gerund: A form of a verb used as a noun by adding ing to the end of the verb. A gerund appears like the
present participle form of a verb (verb plus ing). But it is a verbal that performs a noun function (e.g.
Pulling this load is a lot easier than pushing it. / I resent his calling me big boy)
Gender: Gender refers to the classification of masculine, feminine and neuter, and the division of nouns,
pronouns, etc. into these different classes. For example, personal pronouns in English have gender in third
person singular: he, she, and it.
Homonym: A homonym is a word that has the same spelling or pronunciation as another, but is different in
meaning or origin. For example, the noun bear and the verb bear are homonyms; new and knew are
homonyms.
Hyphen: A hyphen is a punctuation mark (-) used to join syllables (e.g. hi-tech), two words (e.g. lefthanded) or words (mother-in-law) together, or to show that a word has been divided into two parts, one of
which is at the end of one line and the other part at the beginning of the next line.
If-clause: An if-clause is a conditional clause introduced by the word if. It expresses a condition that must
be fulfilled before another action can take place.
Imperative: The imperative form of a verb expresses a command or an order to someone to do something
that should be obeyed. For example, in Hurry up!, the verb hurry is in the imperative.
Indefinite pronoun: A pronoun that does not mention any person or thing in particular. For example, it
refers to unspecified person such as anyone, anybody or everyone; or unspecified thing such as anything
or something.
Independent clause: An independent clause is a group of words which can stand alone. It forms part of a
sentence or can form a complete sentence by itself because it has a subject and verb. For example, I was
dreaming of buying a big car when the phone rang. The independent clause in bold can form a
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separate sentence.
Indicative: The indicative shows the verb mood expressing a statement of fact. For example, Pitt loves tall
girls, the verb loves is in the indicative.
Indirect object: An indirect object tells us to whom or for whom the action of the verb is done. It always
appears with a direct object, and is usually a noun or pronoun receiving the direct object of the verb with
two objects. In the sentence, The teacher awarded her a book, her is the indirect object (to whom the
book was awarded). Book is the direct object.
Indirect speech: Another term for reported speech
Infinitive: The basic form of a verb that usually comes after the word to. For example, be, do or have
usually used with to in the form to be, to do or to have. An infinitive can also be used without to. For
example, Let me do it for you (Not: Let me to do it for you
Interjection: A word or a phrase used to show a short sudden expression of emotion such as surprise,
pain, pleasure, shock, etc. Interjections are followed by an exclamation mark. Ah!, Hey!, Oh!, or Wow! are
interjections.
Intransitive verb: An intransitive verb has a subject, and is used without needing an object to clarify its
meaning. For example, the baby cries; she smiles; her chocolate bar broke.
Irregular verb: An irregular verb is a word that does not follow the usual rules of grammar. The past tense
and past participle are not formed by adding the usual ed ending. For example, go is an irregular verb as
its past tense is: went, and past participle is: gone. Other examples of irregular verbs are: hurt (hurt, hurt);
fight (fought, fought); begin (began, begun).
Linking verb: A linking verb connects the subject with its qualities, or the adjective or noun that describes
it. She is intelligent (subject with a quality); Kate looks gorgeous (subject with an adjective); Bozo is a
clown (subject with a noun)..
Main clause: A main clause is one that can form a complete sentence on its own, and has a subject and a
predicate. This principal clause of a sentence is also called an independent clause. In the sentence I am
very thin but I eat like a horse, both I am very thin and I eat like a horse are main/independent clauses.
They can each exist as a separate sentence.
Main verb: The main verb describes the action or state of the subject, and is usually the only verb in the
sentence. The main verb is used with an auxiliary verb to provide information, for example about tense,
which is not given by the main verb of a sentence.(e.g. He has finished his homework). The main verb is
also used with a modal verb such as can, might and must to express an idea such as possibility that is
not expressed by the main verb of a sentence (e.g. He can go home now.)
Masculine: A masculine noun, pronoun, etc. belongs to a class of words that refer to the male sex or
gender of people or animals. For example, He is a masculine pronoun.
Misplaced modifier: Misplaced modifiers are those modifiers not easily identifiable with the word, phrase
or clause that they modify. For example: Having eaten his dinner, there was homework to do. The
phrase Having eaten his dinner is a modifier, but has nothing to modify. It is therefore a dangling modifier.
Correction: Having eaten his dinner, he had homework to do.
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Modal verb: A modal verb is an auxiliary verb that is used with another verb to express necessity,
possibility, permission, obligation or intention that is not expressed by the main verb of a sentence. Modal
verbs include: can, could, dare, had better, may, might, must, need, ought to, shall, should, will, would,
used to
Modifier: A modifier is a word or a phrase that is used with another word or phrase to describe, limit or add
to its meaning, or make the meaning of the words modified more precise. A modifier can be a noun (dog
collar), an adjective (beautiful sunset), or an adverb (jog steadily).
Non-finite verb: A non-finite verb is not limited by person, tense or number. It can be used in an
independent clause only when combined with an auxiliary verb (e.g. He can crawl. / She shouldmust
watch the horror movie.) The verb forms of non-finite verb are: infinitive (e.g. I went to fly a kite); gerund
(e.g. Swimming has reduced my weight); or participle (e.g. We are waiting to meet the new female boss)
smile more. / We
Non-restrictive: A non-restrictive relative clause does not add to the meaning of the word it modifies, it
merely gives additional information, which if taken out of the sentence, does not seriously affect the
meaning. We use commas before and after this clause. For example, in Our washing machine, which is
exported to various countries, is the latest model.
Noun: A noun is a word we use to name a person (barber), place (Antarctica), thing (puppet), substance
(gold) or quality (intelligence). There are different kinds of noun: common noun (mother, garden, toy),
proper noun (Tom), and abstract noun (courage). Other nouns include collective noun (herd), countable
noun (car) and uncountable noun (water). Nouns function as subjects, objects and adjectives.
Noun clause: A noun clause is one that behaves as a noun as a subject or object in a sentence. The
most common noun clause is the that-clause which is a clause that begins with that. An example of a
noun clause: that it will rain soon is very likely.
Noun phrase: A noun phrase is a group of words consisting of a noun or pronoun, and its modifiers and
determiners. It functions as a subject, object, or prepositional object. For example, in the following sentences: We
have bought the return ticket and Everyone could hear the boss shouting down the telephone, the noun phrases
are: the return ticket and the boss shouting down the telephone.
Object: An object is a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun representing the person or thing that is: affected
by the action of a verb (e.g. She baked the cake, cake is the object of the verb bake.) or joined by a
preposition to another word or phrase (e.g. shoulder as in A chimpanzee stood on his shoulder,
There are direct object and indirect object. A direct object is the person or thing that something is done
to, for example: in He wrote the letter, the direct object is the letter; in Santa Claus gave them the toys,
the indirect object is them.
Parallelism: Parallelism is about keeping the series of parts of speech, words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence or
list in the same form. If a parallel structure begins with a particular form of verb such as infinitive, it must stick to
similar verb form for the other parts that follow.
For example, Eve likes to sew, to read, and to cook. (This sentence is correct as to sew, to read, to cook are all
infinitives.) NOT: Eve likes to sew, to read, and cooking. (This sentence has two infinitives and one gerund, and so
lacks parallelism.)
Lacking parallelism: After the rescue work, we were very tired, very hungry and feeling great thirst.
Parallel: After the rescue work, we were very tired, hungry and thirsty.
Participle: A participle is a word that is formed from a verb and is used to form tenses of the verb by
adding ing for present participle (continuous tenses: climbing, running) or adding ed, etc. to form past
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participle (perfect tenses: kicked, given, lent), or as adjectives by adding ing or ed, etc. (rotting eggs,
escaped prisoner, hidden treasure). It can also be used to make compound forms of verb (e.g. is playing,
have taken)
Passive voice: In a passive sentence, the subject, either a person or a thing, receives the action of the
verb (that is, he was attacked), rather than the person or thing which causes the action (that is, it attacked
him). For example: He was attacked by a shark is a passive sentence, and the passive form of the verb
was attacked.
Past participle: A past participle is used to indicate time gone by, or a past action or state, and is formed by adding
ed to a regular verb, or en etc to an irregular verb. It is used with the verb have to form perfect tenses in the
active voice to express completed action such as My granddad has just fallen down the stairs. The past participle
is also used with the verb be to create all tenses in the passive voice such as The letter is written by her. / The
letter was written by her. / The letter will be written by her. Past participles are also sometimes used as adjectives,
for example The banned cigarette adverts were never shown again.
Period: A period is a punctuation mark in the form of a dot (.) used in a piece of writing to mark the end of
a sentence or an abbreviation, or to show a word that has been shortened or the finality of a statement
(e.g. Im not going, period).
Personal pronoun: Personal pronoun is a word used to replace a person or persons (which is/are also
subject/s or object/s) in speech or in writing. The person or persons can be the first person (I, me, we, us),
second person (you) or third person (he, him, she, her, they, them)
Phrasal verb: A phrasal verb is a phrase which consists of a verb and an adverb or preposition, or both
that gives a special meaning. Examples of phrasal verb: bump into, hang up, and get on.
Phrase: A phrase is a group of words which forms part rather than the whole of a sentence. It does not
have a subject or a verb, and so cannot stand alone as an independent unit. A phrase can serve as an
adjective, adverb or noun.
Plural: We use a plural word when we write or speak about more than one person or thing, etc. For
example, they is a plural pronoun of he or she, and women is the plural of woman. When we use a
plural noun, it is followed by a plural verb as follow: They are or They have
Positive: Positive expresses a simple quality of an adjective or adverb without comparison. For example:
clever or beautiful. Not cleverer or more beautiful (both are comparative) or cleverest or most beautiful
(both are superlative)
Possessive: A possessive denotes possession: a possessive adjective (e.g. my, his, our, elephants), noun
(uncles, Peters, princesses) or pronoun (e.g. mine, hers, ours, theirs) is used to show ownership.
Possessive adjective: Possessive pronouns have an adjective form such as my, your, his, her, its, our, their,
Alexanders, monkeys or countries (countries borders) which expresses who or what someone or something
belongs to. For example, your (is used as singular or plural) is a possessive form of you; and their is the
possessive case of they. All these possessive adjective forms are used before a noun.
Possessive noun: We use a possessive noun to show possession. Possessive nouns usually end in s (e.g.
Billys beard) or s (boys parents). In the boys parents, boys is a possessive noun.
Possessive pronoun: Possessive pronoun is derived from the personal pronoun, and indicates possession.
Mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, and theirs are possessive pronouns that show to whom or what someone or
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something belongs to. For example, yours (is used in the singular or plural) which means belonging to you is a
possessive form of you: My dog has a long tail; yours has no tail. This bicycle is yours. / Theirs which means
belonging to them is a possessive form of they: Our cat is black; theirs is white. These books are theirs.
Predicate: The predicate is the rest of the sentence except for the subject. So in He fell into the river, the
predicate is fell into the river. The predicate provides information about the subject.
Predicate adjective: See Complement
Predicate complement: See Complement
Predicate noun: See Complement
Preposition: A preposition is a word or phrase usually placed before a noun, pronoun, or gerund to show
time, place, direction, etc. It is connected to another word in the sentence, as in He arrived before we are
ready. In the sentence, before in bold is a preposition. At, in, into, with etc. are prepositions.
Prepositional phrase: A prepositional phrase is a group of words that begins with a preposition, and the
noun or pronoun that follow it. Examples of prepositional phrase are: after death, at war, in hospital, or near the
cemetery.
Present participle: A form of a verb that ends in -ing and follows another verb to show an action is continuing
such as He is flying his kite. It is used to form continuous tense such as She is asleep in a chair and snoring
loudly. It can also be used as adjective as in The passageway is full of stinking dustbins or a noun, e.g. in My
grandmother is charged with reckless driving.
Pronoun: A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or a noun phrase such as she in place of
Julia or that woman. A pronoun is also often used to refer to someone who has already been mentioned.
This is to avoid repeating his/her name (e.g. Adam is a physically strong man. He does boxing in his spare
time.)
Proper noun: Proper noun refers to the name of a particular person, place, thing, title, or organization and
is spelt with a capital letter. Examples of proper nouns are: Buddha, Mali, Union Jack, War and Peace or
United Nations.
Punctuation: The use of marks such as commas, full stops, etc. to separate sentences, phrases, or
introduce a question, etc. in writing.
Quantifier: A quantifier is a word such as some, many or much, or a phrase such as a little, a few or
a lot of that we place before a noun or noun phrase to show its quantity that we are talking about.
Question mark: The punctuation mark (?) that is put at the end of a sentence to show that it is a question.
Quotation mark: A pair of punctuation marks, either single ( ) or double ( ) used to enclose what
someone has written or said, quoted words, or a title.
Reciprocal pronoun: A pronoun that expresses mutual relationship by the subjects of the verb. Examples
are: each other, one another, etc.
Reflexive pronoun: A reflexive pronoun shows that the action affects the person who does the action that
is the object of a verb in a sentence is the same as its subject. In the sentence, She poured herself a bowl
of soup, poured is a reflexive verb and herself is a reflexive pronoun.
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Regular verb: A regular verb follows the usual way in changing its forms, especially the ending to express
a tense, etc. For example, a regular verb forms its past tense and past participle by adding ed: added,
added; jumped, jumped; laughed, laughed. To add, to jump and to laugh are therefore regular verbs. The
following verbs are not regular (irregular) verbs: to hit, hit, hit; to catch, caught, caught; to drink, drank,
drunk.
Relative clause: A relative clause is a subordinate clause that cannot exist independently. It is connected
to the rest of the sentence by a relative pronoun such as who, which, that, whom and whose. The
relative clause describes the noun that comes before it in the sentence. For example, in The man whose
car was stolen made a police report, the relative clause is whose car was stolen.
Relative pronoun: We use a relative pronoun such as who, which, that, whom and whose to begin a
relative clause. We replace a noun with one of these relative pronouns in the relative/dependent clause,
and connect it to the rest of the sentence. In the sentence The rabbit that we bought has escaped into the
forest, that is the relative pronoun, and that we bought is a relative/subordinate clause.
Reported speech: Reported speech refers to the act of reporting what someone has said without
repeating the exact words of the speaker. Sometimes known as indirect speech, reported speech
involves changes of pronoun (person) and tense, and the reported words of the speaker are in the
subordinate clause. For example, Ill meet you later for lunch. In reported speech, it becomes: He said
that he would meet me later for lunch. The subordinate clause is in bold.
Restrictive clause: We add the restrictive clause as a part of a sentence to specify which particular
person or thing is meant. It gives us essential information which we cannot ignore. We do not generally
use commas in this clause. For example, in The man who is wanted by the police is still at large, the
restrictive relative clause is who is wanted by the police
Run-on sentence: A run-on sentence has two independent clauses incorrectly joined without any
connecting words such as conjunctions, or without the correct punctuation, as the following examples
show:
Run-on sentence: This guy has some flaws, hes not the most awful person around here.
Correction: This guy has some flaws, but hes not the most awful person around here.
Run-on sentence: I like to listen to frogs croak, I dont know why.
Correction: I like to listen to frogs croak; I dont know why.
Semicolon: Semicolon is a punctuation mark (;) that is used in writing for separating independent parts of
a sentence, or words or items in a list.
Sentence: A sentence is a group of words that has two parts: a subject and a predicate. Together, they express a
complete thought, and convey a statement, question, exclamation, or instruction. A sentence begins with a capital
letter and ends with a full-stop or a question mark. The subject includes the noun or pronoun that indicates what the
subject is about. The predicate is the rest of the sentence and begins with the main verb. The predicate describes
the state of the subject or what the subject is doing.
In the sentence The ostrich is the fastest animal on two legs, the subject is The ostrich and the predicate: is the
fastest animal on two legs.
Sentence fragment: A sentence fragment occurs when a phrase, a dependent clause or an incomplete
sentence is allowed to stand on its own. A sentence fragment, like a sentence, may have a subject and a
verb, but unlike the sentence, it does not express a complete idea. The fragments happen in the following
ways:
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Fragment: This beautiful golden beach stretching for miles. (A phrase that should form part of a sentence.)
Complete: This beautiful golden beach stretching for miles is one of the most popular beach resorts in the
country.
Fragment: Someone broke into my room and stolen my wallet. (Wrong form of a verb is used.)
Complete: Someone broke into my room and stole my wallet.
Fragment: Because the weather was so awful. (A dependent clause incorrectly used as a sentence.)
Complete: We didnt enjoy the day because the weather was so awful.
Singular: When we write or speak about one person or thing, we use a singular noun and a singular verb.
The singular form of a verb refers to just one person or thing. For example, the singular of feet is foot.
Subject: A subject usually comes before a main verb and represents the person or thing that does the
action described by the verb (e.g. She slaps her boyfriend) or about which something is expressed (e.g.
Giraffes are tall), or is joined to a description by a verb (e.g. Kit flies his new kite). In each of the
examples, the subject is in bold, and the rest of the sentence tells us what the subject is or does. In a
passive sentence, the subject receives the action of a passive verb (e.g. His cat was bitten by her dog)
Subjunctive: The form of verb that is used to express doubts, wishes, or possibilities. For example, in I
wish I were an astronaut, were is in the subjunctive.
Subordinate clause: A subordinate clause is a dependent clause which is dependent on a main clause to
form a complete sentence. It adds information to the main clause, and serves as an adjective, adverb, or
noun in the sentence. For example, He had to give up his job because of his injured back, the
subordinate clause is in bold.
Subordinating conjunction: It is a conjunction that connects a subordinate clause to the main clause.
Words that begin the subordinate clause include: although, because, that, which, while, or who. For
example: He drank three glasses of water because he was very thirsty. The subordinate clause which is
in bold begins with a subordinating conjunction because.
Superlative: The superlative form of an adjective or adverb expresses the highest degree of quality when
comparing three or more persons or things of the same type. Examples of superlative: the funniest clown,
the wettest season, the eldest daughter, the largest population, the most haunted castle, the most
enjoyable evening, the best movie.
Synonym: Synonym is a word or phrase which has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word
or phrase. For example, big and large are synonyms.
Tense: Tense is a form of a verb that is used to show when something happens in the past, present or
future; or to show the time, continuance or completion of an action or state at the time of speaking. For
example, I am is the present tense; I was is past tense; and I will be is in the future tense.
Transitive verb: A transitive verb must have a direct object to complete the sense. For example, the
transitive verb broke in the sentence I broke my leg.
Uncountable noun: Uncountable noun means something that cannot be counted. It has only a singular form and
is not preceded by the indefinite articles of a or an. Examples of uncountable noun: beauty, blood, bread, electricity,
furniture, gold, happiness, information, luggage, milk, money, water. Some common nouns can be countable or
uncountable depending how it is referred to. For example, in I boil an egg, egg is a countable noun as indicated by
the an that comes before it. However, in I like egg, the reference is not so specific. It refers to egg in general, and
so egg is uncountable in the second example.
66
Verb: A verb is a word or group of words that is used to indicate an action, a state or that something
happens. For example: He goes by bus (action); Those creatures exist in the wild (state); Someone fired
the gun (something happens).
Verbal: A verbal is a word that is formed from a verb, and used as another part of speech. It does not act
as a verb, but functions as a noun, adjective or modifier. For example, Swimming is great exercise. In this
example, swimming is a verbal (or verbal noun) as it is derived from the verb swim. Examples of verbal
are: gerunds, infinitives, and participles.
Voice active/passive: The form of a verb that shows whether a sentence is active (the subject does an
action) or passive (the subject has an action done to it). For example, We fed the elephants is in the
active voice. The elephants were fed by us is in the passive voice
Introduction
PARTS OF SPEECH
Nouns: A Noun is a name; as in pencil, London, Robert, beauty.
Verbs: A verb is a word which tells us something about a person or thing. It is a telling word or a saying
word. It tells us what a person or thing does. It also tells us what a person or thing is or suffers (i.e. has done to
it).
Adjectives: An Adjective is a word which adds to the meaning of a Noun, that is, it tells something more about
the Noun; as in black cat.
Adverbs: An Adverb is a word which adds something to the meaning of a Verb, an Adjective or another
Adverb.
Examples: He speaks loudly.
She is very good.
He talks too loudly.
Indirect Speech: We use Indirect Speech to repeat what another person says.
The Articles: We use the Indefinite Article (a or an) before a singular countable noun and the Definite
Article (the) for something which is mentioned for the first time.
Pronouns: A Pronoun is a word used for or instead of a Noun; it shows the person or thing without actually
giving the name of the person or thing; as in he, she, it, and this.
Prepositions: A Preposition is a word which joins Nouns and Pronouns to other words.
Examples: The book is on the table.
Conjunctions: A conjunction is a word used to join words or groups of words together; as

Examples: Two and two makes four.
He is bad but you are
good.
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Possession: Possession or ownership makes use of Possessive Nouns (e.g. adding the apostrophe or s),
Possessive Adjectives (e.g. my) and Possessive Pronouns (e.g. mine) to show that something belongs to
someone or something.
MyEnglishGrammar.com
Introduction
This site on English grammar deals with the proper usage and structure of the language.
Learning grammar is essential to mastering a language. Hence, the grammar presented
here is to enhance literary skills of reading and writing of the learners.
Each part is clearly presented and briefly discussed in a way that facilitates quick
comprehension, followed by exercises. Questions in these exercises are carefully
formulated to ensure a reasonable comprehension.
Constant revision will be carried out. More topics relating to English grammar and exercises
will be continuously added.
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Lesson 19-- Phrasal Verbs

( 19) PHRASAL VERBS

Some phrasal verbs do not take on an object.

Example: We decided that we should get together more regularly.

Many phrasal verbs take an object.

sentence without being joined to an independent clause.

An adjective clause describes or tells us more about a noun.

In the example, who is a funny clown is an adjective clause.

Using whose in adjective clause

and so long as.

She is taking me to the farm where I can see lots of scorpions.

The leader demands that we be early for the trip.

We insisted that he honour the terms of the agreement.

His mother suggested that he see/should see a doctor.

( 17) VERBS + -ING (GERUNDS, PARTICIPLES and ADJECTIVES)

She enjoys playing with her puppies.

f) Gerund used in compound noun

a) The present participle is the verb + ing. It is used:

Some nations are experiencing a dwindling population due to very

( 16) THE PASSIVE

EXAMPLE: Siblings were tragically killed in a road accident.

Note the following:

It is possible to use get instead of to be, especially so in our everyday conversation.

4. VERB WITH TWO OBJECTS

Active: We lent Bob some money. / We lent some money to Bob.

Passive: Bob was lent some money.

I may have written

it may have been written

Simple present tense

Lesson 15- Determiners and Quantifiers

( 15) DETERMINERS AND QUANTIFIERS

SOME and ANY

10. A LOT OF and LOTS OF

11. ANOTHER and OTHER

12. BOTH and BOTH THE

A rubber duck is floating in the bath.

There were a lot of people watching the cockfight. (Countable noun)

Determiners are classified as follow:

Possessives: my, your, his, her, its, our, their

Some is used in positive sentences. Any is used for negative sentences.

We can use some in questions.

Each and every have basically the same meaning.

EXAMPLE: Every of the areas is given a postal code. (INCORRECT)

Each can be used in the middle of a sentence or after a pronoun.

We use one of after each, every, any, another,

A lot of and lots of mean the same,

had a lot of/lots of fun at the funfair.

11. ANOTHER and OTHER

Another is used with singular nouns.

Other is used to refer to:

12. BOTH and BOTH THE

both men responsible for the crime.

13. SOMEBODY, SOMEONE, ANYBODY and ANYONE

an easy game to play. Anybody/anyone can play it.

14. EVERYBODY, EVERYONE, NOBODY and NO ONE

We use a singular verb after everybody, everyone, nobody and no one.

took him in as he didnt have anywhere to stay.

Lesson 14- Modifiers

There was a red kite high up in the cloudless sky.

In this example, happy is an adjective modifying the pronoun I

They agree she is a very intelligent woman.

Adjective / Adverb Adjective

The common mistake made is adding more to comparative or most to superlative.