COMPARISONS OF ADJECTIVE

Labels: Adjective Share As you know adjectives are used to describe the nouns and here I wish to show you that they are also used to compare two or more different objects while describing them. Here are two rules for use in such comparison: 1. Positive, Comparative & Superlative The Positive is used when speaking of or describing an object, eg. short, big. The Comparative is used when comparing two objects and is formed by adding -er to the Positive, e.g. shorter, bigger. The Superlative is used when speaking of more than two objects and is formed by adding -est to the Positive e.g. shortest, biggest. Positive big far fast gay great high late long old small smart tall thin Comparative bigger farther faster gayer greater higher later longer older smaller smarter taller thinner Superlative biggest farthest fastest gayest greatest highest latest longest oldest smallest smartest tallest thinnest

The following are exceptions to the rule which you will have to learn by heart. Positive Comparative Superlative bad worse worst good better best little less least many more most much more most Examples:

Peter is shorter than his brother by almost a head. He is the least surprised over the news compared to the others. I am older than you by 5 years. Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.

2. Using More & Most for adjectives with two or more syllables Generally for adjectives of two or more syllables more is used comparatively, and most is used superlatively, e.g. careful, more careful, most careful. Positive Comparative Superlative beautiful more beautiful most beautiful

brilliant cautious comfortable generous gracious handsome ignorant Examples:

more brilliant more cautious more comfortable more generous more gracious more handsome more ignorant

most brilliant most cautious most comfortable most generous most gracious most handsome most ignorant

This sofa is the most comfortable among all displayed in the showroom. Sally is more beautiful now compared to herself before the makeover. Kelly is the most brilliant kid in the whole classroom. Uncle Sam is the most generous among the members of this big family.

Adverbs

An Adverb is a word which modifies or adds to the meaning of a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. Adverbs may be divided, according to their use, into the following classes:TIME before, now, since, then, already, soon, seldom Example:- We have met before PLACE here, there, everywhere, nowhere. Example:- They came here yesterday. MANNER badly, easily, slowly, well. Example:- The tall boy won easily. DEGREE almost, much, only, quite, very, rather Example:- The old lady walked very slowly. NUMBER once, twice. Example:- They ran twice round the playground. QUESTIONING where, when, how. Example:- When did you see him? AFFIRMATION and NEGATION yes, certainly, no, not Example:- She can certainly swim. I have not read the book (Many adverbs are often used as connecting words and therefore become conjunctions.) NOTE The majority of Adverbs are formed from corresponding Adjectives by adding ly, e.g. quickly, bravely, seriously, happily, clearly, slowly, quietly, angrily, fatally, suitably.

Examples: Dinner will soon be ready. (time) There lay the object of our search. (place) The man walked slowly across the field. (manner) The apples were quite good. (degree) I once saw an eagle kill a rabbit. (number) Where did you find that knife? (questioning) He can certainly boast about his adventures. (affirmation) We did not go to the concert. (negation)

Articles
Labels: Articles Share An article is a word that combine with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. There are only 3 articles in the English Language in two categories; the definite article (the) and the indefinite article (a, an). Definite article (the) A definite article (the) is used before singular and plural nouns that refer to a particular member of a group. The cows are in the field. Indefinite article (a, an) An indefinite article(a, an) is used before singular nouns that refer to any member of a group. An is used when the next word begins with a vowel or a silent (unpronounced) h, as in an animal or an hour. A cow is an animal. Partitive article (some, any) A partitive article indicates an indefinite quantity of a mass noun; there is no partitive article in English, though the words some or any often have that function. Do have some fun with any of these toys. Zero article A zero article is the absence of an article; for example, in indefinite plural: Cows and dogs are animals. for example, in definite proper noun I am climbing Mount Everest as opposed to I am climbing the highest mountain In informal writing, such as notes or appointments , the definite article and some other particles are often omitted, for example, Must pick up clothes

Conjunctions
Labels: Conjunction Share

What are Conjunctions? Conjunctions are words used to link words, phrases and clauses to make them into a more meaningful sentence. For examples:

Abdul is singing while taking a shower. Are buses and taxis considered public transportation? I can meet you before you leave.

There are 3 categories of conjunction:1. Coordinating Conjunctions ~~ and, but, or, nor, for, so , yet ~~ You use coordinating

conjunction to join individual words, phrases and independent clauses. Please note that but and for can be used as prepositions. 2. Subordinating Conjunctions ~~ after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, then, that, though, till, until, when, where, whether, while ~~ A subordinating conjunction introduces a dependent clause showing the relationship between the independent clause(s) and the dependent clause(s). 3. Correlative Conjunctions ~~ bothand, eitheror, neithernor, not onlybut also, soas, whetheror ~~ Correlative conjunctions always appear in pairs. They are used to link relevant in a sentence. Technically correlative conjunctions consist simply of a coordinating conjunction linked to an adjective or an adverb.

Countable Nouns vs Uncountable Nouns Labels: Nouns

UnCountable Nouns A countable noun is the name of anything that we can count in both the singular and plural forms. The opposite of countable noun is the uncountable noun and the collective nouns. For example: The boys helped to keep the toys after playing Uncountable Nouns An uncountable noun also called the mass noun is a noun that does not have a plural form which you could not count. An uncountable noun always take a singular verb (is, was) in a sentence. Uncountable nouns are similar to collective nouns and are the opposite of countable noun. For example: The air is fresh and the sand is pearly white. (since air and sand are uncountable, is (verb) is used even if we are refering to abundant of air and plenty of sand. Note: Both countable and uncountable nouns are concrete nouns. Nouns that can be made countable and uncountable I borrowed this from a website for its clear explanation Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning. Countable Nouns There are two hairs in my coffee! There are two lights in our bedroom. Shhhhh! I thought I heard a noise. Uncountable Nouns I dont have much hair. Close the curtain. Theres too much light! Its difficult to work when there is too much noise.

Have you got a paper to I want to draw a picture. read? (= newspaper) Have you got some paper? Our house has seven rooms. We had a great time at the party. Macbeth is one of Shakespeares greatest works. Is there room for me to sit here? Have you got time for a coffee? I have no money. I need work!

Note: Drinks are uncountable but if we wish to order a cup of coffee or 2 glasses of orange juice we can say one coffee and two orange juice please.

What is Preposition?

Labels: Preposition Share

Its quite common for people to misuse prepositions. At times, I even hear some people say Ill get down the train in the Central Station, when actually it should have been, Ill get off the train at the Central Station. For non-native speakers, this thing about using the appropriate prepositions is a little bit difficult and confusing. However, I hope that this entry will be able to clear out some confusion about the subject. What is a Preposition? Its a word that shows relationship between a noun or a pronoun and another word. It takes an object and connects that object with some other word in the sentence. Kinds of Prepositions I. Common Prepositions about, above, after, among, at, against, before, from, for, except, behind, in, by, near, inside, of, into, concerning, off, like , down, on, to , during, over, toward, under, up, with, within, without, from, like II. Prepositional phrases In the closet For an hour III. Phrasal Prepositions apart from, as well as, along with, in spite of, in accordance with, in view of, in addition to, because of, in place of, on account of, back of, together with, with regard to, contrary to

Tenses - The 12 Basic Tenses

Labels: Tenses Share

1. The Past Simple Tense When your wish to say that something happened, took place, or was finished at some time in the past, you should use the Past Simple Tense. I spoke We spoke You spoke You spoke He/She/It spoke They spoke I travelled to Europe last year I read an interesting book yesterday. We spent last summer at the seaside. We met at the cinema two days ago. He fell off his horse last Monday.

When you wish to say that something happened that it was a persons habit to do something again and again in the past, you should use either the Past Simple Tense or the words used to (do something). When I was a boy I studied hard. OR When I was a boy I used to study hard. OR When I was a boy it was my habit to study hard. Years ago men believed that the earth is flat. OR Years ago men used to believe that the earth was flat. OR Years ago it was the habit of men to believe that the earth was flat.

2. The Present Simple Tense When you wish to say that the person does a thing always, sometimes, often, everyday, every week, usually etc, you should use the Present Simple Tense. I go We go You go You go He/She/It goes They go I go to school every morning. (It is my habit to go to school every morning.) I eat my dinner every night at eight oclock. (It is my habit to eat my dinner at eight oclock every night.) Men wear light suits in summer. My father works in an office. I always wake up early in the morning. Lazy boys usually fail in their examinations.

3. The Future Simple Tense When you wish to say that something is going to happen, take place, or finish at some time in the future, you should use the Simple Future Tense. I shall go We shall go

You will go He/She/It will go

You will go They will go

He will return next week. We shall finish our work in half an hour. Our examination will begin next month. I shall give you what I owe you in a day or two. Will you go with me to the cinema tomorrow?

4. The Past Continuous Tense The Past Continuous Tense is used when we wish to speak of an action which is unfinished at some time in the past. I was speaking We were speaking You were speaking You were speaking He/She/It was speaking They were speaking

I was writing a letter when he entered the room. The boys were making a noise as I was coming up the steps. She was reading a book when the boy behind her kicked her. While we were travelling to school yesterday, I saw an accident. He jumped off the train while it was moving.

5. The Present Continuous Tense When you wish to say that something is happening now or at this moment, you should use the Present Continuous Tense. I am writing We are writing You are writing You are writing He/She/It is writing They are writing It is raining (now). (It is raining at this moment.) The sun is shining (now). The sun is setting (now). My father is writing a letter (now).

6. The Future Continuous Tense Just as the Present Continuous Tense is used as a definite immediate future, so the Future Continuous is used as a definite but not-so- immediate future. I shall be seeing We shall be seeing You will be seeing You will be seeing He/She/It will be seeing They will be seeing I shall be seeing you next week to discuss further. My mother will be seeing the doctor next Friday. The girls will be playing basket ball next Sunday. We shall be starting our third semester in September. He will be coming home for good by the end of this year.

7. The Past Perfect Tense I had seen We had seen You had seen You had seen He/She/It had seen They had seen Look at this sentence:-

After he had broken the window he ran away. In this sentence there are two actions in the Past:(a) The action of breaking (b) The action of running away The action of breaking took place before the action of running away, and we therefore show this by putting the action that took place first in the Past Perfect Tense 8. The Present Perfect Tense I have seen We have seen You have seen You have seen He/She/It has seen They have seen Look at the following sentences:I have turned on the light This means that I turned on the light some time ago and that it is still on. One result, therefore, of my past action is that the light is on at the present moment. Another result is that you may read a book, if you wish or do anything else, since the room is no longer in darkness. I have opened the window.

This means that I opened the window at some time in the past and that it is still open. As a result of my past action, the window is open now. Also, fresh air can now come into the room through the open window.
9. The Future Perfect Tense I shall have written We shall have written You will have written You will have written He/She/It will have written They will have written Look at this sentence:I shall have read this book by six oclock tonight.

This means that I have not yet read this book, but at six oclock tonight, that is, at a time in the future, the reading of the book will be past. 10. The Past Perfect Continuous Tense I had been working We had been working You had been working You had been working He/She/It had been working They had been working The past perfect continuous tense is quite like the past perfect tense except it expresses longer actions in the past before another action in the past. Look at the following examples:

The nurse was very exhausted as she had been working a 20-hour shift. It was past her bedtime. She had been waiting to get home since 10 oclock. My muscles ached after yesterdays jog. I had not been running for a while now.

11. The Present Perfect Continuous Tense I have been sitting We have been sitting You have been sitting You have been sitting He/She/It has been sitting They have been sitting When you are using the Present Perfect Continuous Tense in speaking or informal writing you may contract the subject and the first auxiliary verb:For example: Ive, Weve, Youve, Hes, Shes, Its, Theyve or Tonys.

Ive been sitting and reading for nearly 5 hours now. Theyve been working since dawn.

There are 2 uses for the present perfect continuous tense and are usually used in connection to the present and now or an action that started in the past and is still continuing now. a. An action which has just recently stopped

I am sleepy (now) because I have been waking up early these few days. The dog needs some water as it has been running. I am feeling tired. I have been working very hard lately.

b. An action continue till now

I have been waiting for him since this morning. ( I am still waiting) She has been studying for her exam since 6 am (She is still studying now) Peter has been crying for his mother since last night (he is still crying now)

(Note here that we always use for and since in the present perfect continuous tense when we use it for (b) the action to continue till now) 12. The Future Perfect Continuous Tense I will have been playing We will have been playing You will have been playing You will have been playing He/She/It will have been playing They will have been playing When you are using the Future Perfect Continuous Tense in speaking or informal writing you may contract the subject and the first auxiliary verb:For example: Ill, Well, Youll, Hell, Shell, Itll, Theyll We usually use the future perfect continuous tense for long action before some time in the future. And this tense is used to:

Determine how long the action will be in progress in the future Show the length of time the action will be in the future State the results of the action in the future Indicate a continuous action at a stated point and continue into the future Identify 2 future actions, one after another

Some examples of the future perfect continuous tense are:

We will have been staying in this house for 3 years by end of December. By next year, my daughter will have been studying 4 years in the University. In two minutes, we will have been waiting one hour for the bus. Michael will have been working for 5 years next May. The bus driver will have been transporting my children for 2 years end of this month. The children will be tired as they will have been traveling for over 10 hours. My husband will have been working in China 8 years this February.