BASIC ENGLISH GRAMMER LESSONS

Singular and Plural Nouns

A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. Usually, the first page of a grammar book tells you about nouns. Nounsgive names of concrete or abstract things in our lives. As babies learn "mom," "dad," or "milk" as their first word, nouns should be the first topicwhen you study a foreign language. For the plural form of most nouns, add s. bottle – bottles cup – cups pencil – pencils desk – desks sticker – stickers window – windows For nouns that end in ch, x, s, or s sounds, add es. box – boxes watch – watches moss – mosses bus – buses For nouns ending in f or fe, change f to v and add es. wolf – wolves wife – wives leaf – leaves life – lives Some nouns have different plural forms. child – children woman – women man – men mouse – mice goose – geese Nouns ending in vowels like y or o do not have definite rules. baby – babies toy – toys kidney – kidneys potato – potatoes memo – memos stereo – stereos A few nouns have the same singular and plural forms. sheep – sheep deer – deer series – series species – species [Quiz 1.1] Choose the correct form of the noun in each sentence. 1)I have three (child, children). 2)There are five (man, men) and one (woman, women). 3)(Baby, Babies) play with bottles as toys. 4)I put two big (potato, potatoes) in the lunch box. 5)A few men wear (watch, watches). 6)I put a (memo, memos) on the desk. 7)I saw a (mouse, mice) running by. 8)There are few (bus, buses) on the road today. Count Nouns vs. Non-Count Nouns Count nouns Can be counted as one or more. pen, computer, bottle, spoon, desk, cup, television, chair, shoe, finger, flower, camera, stick, balloon, book, table, comb, etc. Take an s to form the plural. pens, computers, bottles, spoons, desks, cups, televisions, chairs, shoes, fingers, flowers, cameras, sticks, balloons, books, tables, combs, etc. Work with expressions such as (a few, few, many, some, every, each, these, and the number of). a few pens, a few computers, many bottles, some spoons, every desk, each cup, these televisions, the number of chairs, a few shoes, a few fingers, many flowers, some cameras, every stick, each balloon, these books, the number of tables, many combs, etc. Work with appropriate articles (a, an, or the). a pen, the computer, a bottle, the spoon, a desk, the cup, a television, the chair, a shoe, the finger, a flower, the camera, a stick, the balloon, a book, the table, a comb, etc. Do NOT work with much (for example, you would never say much pensor much computers). Non-count nouns Cannot be counted. They usually express a group or a type. water, wood, ice, air, oxygen, English, Spanish, traffic, furniture, milk, wine, sugar, rice, meat, flour, soccer, sunshine, etc. Generally cannot be pluralized. Work both with and without an article (a, an, or the), depending on the context of the sentence. Sugar is sweet. The sunshine is beautiful. I drink milk. He eats rice. We watch soccer together. The wood is burning. Work with expressions such as (some, any, enough, this, that, and much). We ate some rice and milk. I hope to see some sunshine today. This meat is good. She does not speak much Spanish. Do you see any traffic on the road? That wine is very old. Do NOT work with expressions such as (these, those, every, each, either, or neither). [Quiz 2.1] Choose all of the non-count nouns in the following list: wine, student, pen, water, wind, milk, computer, furniture, cup, rice, box, watch, potato, wood Possessive Nouns Possessive nouns are used to indicate ownership. Possessive nouns usually are formed by adding an apostrophe (') and s. John's book Kerry's car Grandma's mirror When a noun is plural and ends in s, just add an apostrophe ('). The kids' toys My parents' house The teachers' lounge If two people own one thing, add the apostrophe and s to the second person only. John and Mary's new house David and Sue's wedding Tom and Doug's car If two people own separate things, add the apostrophe and s for each person. Susan's and Beth's books Jean's and Dan's pants Ben's and Jim's offices [Quiz 3.1] Which of the following is not correct? 1)Dr. Hunts has a new computer. 2)Dr. Hunts's new computer is working well. 3)Dr. Hunts' computer is new Pronouns A pronoun takes the place of a noun. Example story: Mary is one of the heads of the ToJi Corporation. Mary works with Mr. James and Mr. James' son Tom. Mr. James and Mr. James' son Tom are experts in biochemistry. Mary, Mr. James, and Tom researched and invented a drug for cancer treatment. If the story above is written using pronouns: Mary is one of the heads of the ToJi Corporation. She works with Mr. James and his son Tom. He and his son Tom are experts in biochemistry. They researched and invented a drug for cancer treatment. Personal Pronouns Personal pronouns refer to a person: I go to school. You are a student. They are Koreans. He works here. We gave her food. The word ‘it' refers to an object: I drank it. It is big. They cut it into halves. Memorize the personal pronouns: First Second Third Male Female Neutral Singular Subject I you he she it Singular Object me you him her it Singular Reflexive myself yourself himself herself itself Plural Subject we you they Plural Object us you them Plural Reflexive ourselves yourselves themselves [Quiz 4.1] Write the correct pronoun in each blank. 1)I ate an apple.                     was delicious. 2)You look tired.                     should rest. 3)She is a teacher. I gave                    a book. 4)They are my friends. I like                     very much. 5)He saw the movie.                     was fun. 'Be' Verbs A verb shows action or a state of being. I go home. Home is my place to rest. I like the smell of my house. I feeltotally relaxed. Home refreshes me. At home, I get ready for a new day. "Be" verbs indicate a state of being. Verbs must match subjects. I am a doctor. He is sleepy. We are here. Negative sentences need ‘not' after the verb. I am not a doctor. He is not sleepy. We are not there. The verb comes first in interrogative sentences. Am I a doctor? Is he sleepy? Are we there? "Are not" (is not) can be shortened to "aren't" (isn't). He isn't sleepy. We aren't there. Remember the variations of "be" verbs: Present Negative Interrogative I am I am not Am I? You are You are not (aren't) Are you? He is He is not (isn't) Is he? She is She is not (isn't) Is she? It is It is not (isn't) Isn't it? We are We are not (aren't) Are we? You are You are not (aren't) Are you? They are They are not (aren't) Are they? [Quiz 5.1] Which of the following sentences are written correctly? 1)I am thirsty. 2)You are kind. 3)He am not sad. 4)She are not tall. 5)It is not moving. 6)We aren't tired. 7)Is they running? 8)Are you ready? Action Verbs Action verbs express action and are the most common verbs. Action verbs need s at the end with third-person, singular subjects. He eats bread. She walks to the station. It floats on the sea. Negative sentences need do not, does not, or did not. I do not eat bread. He does not eat bread. You did not walk to the station. It does not float on the sea. Interrogative sentences begin with do, does, or did. Do you eat bread? Does he eat bread? Does she walk to the station? Did they finish it? Do not can be shortened to don't, does not to doesn't, and did not to didn't. I don't eat bread. She doesn't walk to the station. It doesn't float on the sea. They didn't finish it. Remember the variations of action verbs: Affirmative Sentence Negative Sentence Interrogative Sentence I sing a song. I do not (don't) sing a song. Do I sing a song? You sing a song. You do not (don't) sing a song. Do you sing a song? He (she) sings a song. He (she) does not (doesn't) sing a song. Does he (she) sing a song? We sing a song. We do not (don't) sing a song. Do we sing a song? They sang a song. They did not (didn't) sing a song. Did they sing a song? [Quiz 6.1] Correct the verb errors in the sentences below. Some sentences may be correct as is. 1)I runs a marathon. 2)You look sleepy. 3)She do not dance. 4)Does you leave today? 5)We don't stay here. 6)It come with rice. Adjectives Adjectives describe or modify nouns. I like fairy tales. A fairy tale is an imaginary story that has unrealisticcharacters in a fantastic background. It makes me forget about thereal world and refreshes my tired mind. Adjectives generally appear immediately before the noun. A pretty girl Red flowers A long stick Heavy boxes Warm weather Commonly, adjectives of opposite meaning are formed by adding a prefix such as un, in, or dis. clear – unclear, important – unimportant, predictable – unpredictable, believable – unbelievable, common – uncommon, aware – unaware, ambiguous – unambiguous, conventional – unconventional, certain – uncertain definite – indefinite, correct – incorrect, comparable – incomparable, complete – incomplete, evitable – inevitable, expensive – inexpensive able – disable, assemble – disassemble, content – discontent, similar – dissimilar When using a string of adjectives, they should appear in a set order: size/shape + age + color + origin + material. A big brown house A small old English desk A beautiful black Italian leather purse Delicious Chinese food The + adjective describes a class or group of people and acts as a noun. the old, the young, the poor, the rich, the oppressed, the homeless, etc. This popular TV show is loved by the old. [Quiz 7.1] Write opposite adjectives using the appropriate prefix. 1) Clear –                      2) Definite –                      3) Correct –                      4) Expensive –                      5) Complete –                      [Quiz 7.2] Underline all adjectives in the following sentences. In the spring, red roses blossom in my cute small garden. The beautiful birds also sing in the big oak tree. Comparative and Superlative Adjectives Comparative adjectives compare two things. Superlative adjectives compare more than two things Commonly, adjectives that contain only one syllable or end in 'y' use 'er' to form comparatives and 'est' to form superlatives. For adjectives ending in y, change the 'y' to 'i' before adding the 'er' or 'est'. old – older – oldest young – younger – youngest pretty – prettier – prettiest long – longer – longest short – shorter – shortest bright – brighter – brightest close – closer – closest happy – happier - happiest Adjectives with two or more syllables do not change but instead addmore to form comparatives and most to form superlatives. respectable – more respectable – most respectable beautiful – more beautiful – most beautiful preferable – more preferable – most preferable hardworking – more hardworking – most hardworking Some adjectives have different forms of comparatives and superlatives. good – better – best bad – worse – worst little – less – least much (many) – more – most far – further - furthest The word than typically appears in comparative sentences. Amy is smarter than Betty. Chad is stronger than Dan. Greg is more diligent than his brother. I have more apples than he. She likes him more than me. Superlatives are typically accompanied by the word the. Tom is the oldest man in town. Paul is the tallest boy in the neighborhood. That shade of blue is the most beautiful color. This is the longest song that I have ever heard. [Quiz 8.1] Write the appropriate comparative or superlative form of the word cold in each blank. Yesterday was a cold day. Today is                      than yesterday. Tomorrow will be the                      day yet. [Quiz 8.2] Which of the following sentences is incorrect? 1)Mary is shorter than Jane. 2)The moon is more closer to the earth than the sun. 3)I have the best score on the exam. Adverbs Adverbs modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. An adverb tells more about a verb in the sentence. The fire engine runs fast. Listen to his speech carefully. I browse the web frequently. It rained hard. An adverb describes more about an adjective in the sentence. The news is very surprising! The coffee is extremely hot, so be careful. Nature is really amazing! An adverb modifies another adverb in the sentence. It rains very hard. Computers run much faster these days. I clean my room less frequently because I am busy. Commonly, adjectives can be changed to adverbs by adding 'ly'. slow – slowly quick – quickly comfortable – comfortably loud – loudly clear – clearly To change adjectives ending in 'y' into adverbs, change the 'y' to 'i' and add 'ly'. happy – happily easy – easily [Quiz 9.1] Choose the correct word form in the following sentences. 1)I spoke to you (careful, carefully) last time. 2)We talked about it (clear, clearly). 3)I sat on the (comfortable, comfortably) sofa. 4)My dog runs very (fast, faster). 5)Let’s install the new program (quick, quickly). Simple Tense Verb tense tells you when the action happens. There are three main verb tenses: present, past, and future. Each main tense is divided into simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive tenses. Present Past Future Simple finish finished will finish Progressive am/is/are finishing was/were finishing will be finishing Perfect have/has finished had finished will have finished Perfect Progressive have/has been finishing had been finishing will have been finishing Things to remember about simple tense:      a. Present tense is the original verb form.      b. Past tense has a few patterns.      c. Future tense needs will (shall) + verb. run I run a marathon twice a year. (present) I ran a marathon last year. (past) I will run a marathon next year. (future) eat I eat lunch in my office. I ate lunch an hour ago. I will eat lunch in one hour. see I see a movie once a week. I saw a movie yesterday. I will see a movie tomorrow. know I know it. I knew it the day before yesterday. I will know it by tomorrow. learn I learn English. I learned English the last two years. I will learn English next year. cook I cook my supper every night. I cooked our dinner already. I will cook breakfast tomorrow. [Quiz 10.1] Fill in the blanks with appropriate verb forms. 1)I                      a song at the concert yesterday. 2)He                      a letter to his girlfriend tomorrow. 3)I                      to the library to borrow some books this weekend. .