X-WORD

GRAMMAR

Based on the work of Linda A. Kunz, New York City

USING X-WORDS: 20 “YES-N0” QUESTIONS

Think of 20 questions that you can answer “yes” or “no” –

like: Is it small? to discover what your teacher has in the
bag. Write them down. Start each question with a different
X-word. You should get 20 different first words. THESE
WORDS ARE CALLED X-WORDS!!

NO NEGATIVES and NO REPEATS!

1. IS IT SMALL ?
2. CAN YOU EAT IT?
3.
4.
5.
 An X-WORD
CHART

The DO Family
do does did
The HAVE Family
have has had

am is are was were

The BE Family
can-could will-would
The MODAL Family
shall-should may-might
must
 The Forms of the Verb (Maximum 5!!!):

The Base Form - V1

The Continuous Form – V1+ing
The (past) Participle Form – V3

V1 V1+s V2 V1+ing V3

Eat Eats Ate Eating Eaten

Look Looks Looked Looking looked

 X-WORD-MAIN VERB MATCH UPS

do, does, did the base form

can, could, will, would, shall, (stand, know, bark . . .)
should, may, might, must [v1]

am, is, are, was, were the continuous form

(watching, dreaming . . .)
[v1+ing]

have, has, had the participle form

(decided, fallen, left . . . )
[v3]
The rules ALWAYS stay the same.
Consider the sentence:
will + V1 be + v1ing
The house will have been being painted for 10 hours by tomorrow.

have + V3 be + v3
 HIDDEN X-WORDS IN MAIN VERBS: THE
POWERFUL X-WORD DOES

WHERE IS THE X-WORD? IT IS HIDING!! The “s” in “loves” is really

the “s” of DOES

V/XS
BOB LOVES MARY.

HERE IS THE PROOF:

X V
YES-NO QUESTION: Does Bob love Mary?
X V
NEGATIVE STATEMENT: Bob doesn’t love Mary.
X V
EMPHATIC: BOB DOES LOVE MARY!!!
 HIDDEN X-WORDS IN MAIN VERBS: THE POWERFUL
X-WORD DID

WHERE IS THE X-WORD? IT IS HIDING!!

The “d” in “loved” is really the “d” of DID

V/XD
HERE IS THE PROOF:BOB LOVED MARY.

X V
YES-NO QUESTION: Did Bob love Mary?

X V
NEGATIVE STATEMENT: Bob didn’t love Mary.

X V
EMPHATIC: BOB DID LOVE MARY!!!
 HIDDEN X-WORDS IN MAIN VERBS: THE POWERFUL
X-WORD DO

WHERE IS THE X-WORD? IT IS HIDING!!

V/Xø
BOB AND FRED LOVE MARY.

HERE IS THE PROOF:

X V
YES-NO QUESTION: Do Bob and Fred love Mary?

X V
NEGATIVE STATEMENT: Bob and Fred don’t love Mary.

X V
EMPHATIC: BOB AND FRED DO LOVE
MARY!!!
 Putting a Sentence Together
Simple Basic Statements: complement
Subject x-word verb object
object where?
where? when?
when?

The teacher is writing something on the board now.

Simple yes/no questions:

X-word subject verb object where? when? ?

Wh (information) questions:
Wh-Q X-word subject verb object where? when? ?
 Using the Simple Tenses-
Present and Past (V1 and V2)
immediate remote
 a “now” fact  a “remote” fact
 a “timeless” fact

I live in Istanbul. I lived in New

York for 20 years.
Water boils at
100° Celsius
Using the Continuous Tenses:
(BE + V1ing)
 The action/happening was, is or will be
temporary
 The action/happening took, is taking, will
take

I was working last night.

It is raining right now.
She will be coming around the mountain when she comes.
Using the Perfect Tenses:
(HAVE + V3
 There must be 2 times
 A way of looking before.

I have seen G.O.R.A. 3 times. (looking before now at the 3 times I saw
the film.)
I came home at 8p.m. last night and found that my mother had made
me içli köfte. (going back to at p.m. and looking before that time)
My sister will have been married for 20 years by 2016. (going to 2016
and looking back to 1996.)
the PASSIVE tenses (BE + V3):
 When we don’t know the subject OR
 The object is more important!

Carpets are made in Turkey. (Who makes them? I don’t know!)

My wallet was stolen by that thief! (My wallet is much more
important.)

If I bake a cake, it will probably be eaten by Rasit.