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Talent Search Program UPR- Rio Piedras

English (Ingls)
College Board Review
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Affirmative Statements
An affirmative statement states something that is true, or that it will happen. In an affirmative statement, the verb follows the subject. Example: o I am awake. (Correct) o They are ready. (Correct) o He are going (Incorrect. The helping verb should be is). o They is going (Incorrect. The helping verb should be are).

In the first example, the verb am follows the subject I. In the second example, the verb are follows the subject they. In written English, statements are always followed by a period. Statements and questions must begin with a capital letter. Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Use the words below to make these sentences as affirmative statements.

1. I / to read a book 2. it / to rain 3. he / to drive the car 4. they / to buy a computer

5. the cat / to sleep on the chair6. Jane and Emily / to do their homework-____________________________________________ 7. Bill / to wait at the bus stop- ____________________________________________________ 8. we / to listen to the radio- ______________________________________________________ 9. the children / to play a game- ____________________________________________________ 10. Laura / to walk the dog- _______________________________________________________

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Negative Statements
In the Simple Present of the verb to be, negative statements are formed by adding the word not after the verb. e.g. I am not awake. (Correct) They are not ready. (Correct) He are not going (Incorrect, the helping verb should be is) In the first example, not follows the verb am. In the second example, not follows the verb are.

Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Use the words below to make sentences as negative statements.

1. I / to read a book 2. it / to rain 3. he / to drive the car 4. they / to buy a computer

5. the cat / to sleep on the chair6. Jane and Emily / to do their homework- ___________________________________________ 7. Bill / to wait at the bus stop- _________________________________________________ 8. we / to listen to the radio- ___________________________________________________ 9. the children / to play a game- _________________________________________________ 10. Laura / to walk the dog- ____________________________________________________

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Tag Questions
A tag question is a question added at the end of a sentence. A tag question following an affirmative statement generally has the form of a negative question, with the meaning: Isnt that true? (In Spanish: Fuistes a la clase, verdad?) In some languages, such tag questions are invariable. However, in English, tag questions vary, depending on the verbs and subjects of the preceding statements. In spoken English, contractions are usually used in negative questions. In the contracted form of a negative question, the contraction of not follows immediately after the verb. For example: Without contractions To one person To one person To more than one person To more than one person Are you not awake? Is he not awake? Are we not awake? Are they not awake? With contractions Arent you awake? Isnt he awake? Arent we awake? Arent they awake?

In the following examples, the tag questions are underlined. Contractions are usually used in negative tag questions. For example: Affirmative statement I am awake. He plays today. I (do) work tomorrow. He played. You are awake. She is awake. We are awake. They are awake. Affirmative statement with tag question I am awake, am I not? He plays today, doesnt he? I work tomorrow, dont I? He played, didnt he? You are awake, arent you? She is awake, isnt she? We are awake, arent we? They are awake, arent they?

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Page |5 These examples illustrate how subjects and verbs of the preceding statements are repeated in tag questions. For instance, in the first example, the subject I and the verb am are repeated in the tag question. In the second example, the subject you and the verb are are repeated in the tag question. In spoken English, the expression arent I? (incorrect) is often used as a tag question. However, this is not considered to be grammatically correct in formal, written English.

Practice Exercises INSTRUCTIONS: Put in the correct question tags. Example: Peter works in the shop, Answer: Peter works in the shop, doesnt he?

1. She is collecting stickers, ____________________? 2. We often watch TV in the afternoon, ____________________? 3. You have brushed your teeth, ____________________? 4. John and Max dont like Math, ____________________? 5. Peter played handball yesterday, ____________________? 6. They are going home from school, ____________________? 7. Mary didnt do her homework last Monday, ____________________? 8. He could have passed the exam, ____________________? 9. Kevin will arrive tonight, ____________________? 10. Im clever, ____________________?

Modifiers
In grammar, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure; the removal of the modifier typically doesnt affect the grammaticality of the sentence. In English, adverbs and adjectives prototypically function as modifiers, but they also have other functions. Moreover, others can function as modifiers as the following examples show: Talent Search, 2012

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[Put it gently in the drawer]. (adverb in verb phrase) Spanish: [Coloque eso cuidadosamente en la gaveta]. She set it down [very gently]. (adverb in adverb phrase) He was [very gentle]. (adverb in adjective phrase) Spanish: El fue [bien cuidadoso]. [Even more] people were there. (adverb in determiner phrase) It ran [right up the tree]. (adverb in prepositional phrase) It was [a nice house]. (adjective in noun phrase) His desk was in [the faculty office]. (noun in noun phrase) [The swiftly flowing waters] carried it away. (verb phrase in noun phrase) I saw [the man whom we met yesterday]. (clause in noun phrase) She's [the woman with the hat]. (preposition phrase in noun phrase) It's not [that important]. (determiner in adjective phrase) [A few more] workers are needed. (determiner in determiner phrase) We've already [gone twelve miles]. (noun phrase in verb phrase) She is [two inches taller than I]. (noun phrase in verb adjective phrase) land mines (pre-modifier) mines in wartime (post-modifier) time immemorial (post-modifier)

Note:
A pre-modifier is a modifier placed before
the head (the modified component).

Determiners Determiners are words placed in front of a noun to

A post-modifier is a modifier placed after the head, for example:

make it clear what the noun refers to. For example: the word people by itself is a general reference to

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Page |7 some group of human beings. If someone says these people (esas personas), we know which group they are talking about, and if they say a lot of people, we know how big the group is. Classes of determiners Definite and indefinite articles: the, a, an Demonstrative: this, that, these, those 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 Question words: which, what, whose Defining words: which, whose

Modifier placement Since a modifier is a word or a phrase that describes something else, you should place it as close as possible to what it describes. If you dont, your intended meaning may not be clear. Check the unintentional meanings in the following sentences: El joven buscaba su mascota con la guitarra. The young girl was walking the dog in a short skirt. The dog was chasing the boy with the spiked collar.

You can see whats wrong. The dog isnt in a short skirt and the boy doesnt have a spiked collar. Because the modifier is misplaced, we have to think for a minute before we get the intended meaning. The correct versions are: El joven con la guitarra buscaba su mascota. The young girl in a short skirt was walking the dog. The dog with the spiked collar was chasing the boy. Talent Search, 2012

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Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Select the correctly written sentence in each group with emphasis in the placement of modifiers. 1. Select the correctly written sentence in this group. a. Spending way too much money on his old car, Freds salary just wasnt enough. b. Spending way too much money on his old car, Fred soon found he used more than his salary. 2. Select the correctly written sentence in this group. a. To become a respected politician, one must administer campaign funds carefully b. To become a respected politician, campaign funds must be carefully administered. 3. Select the correctly written sentence in this group. a. I like to listen to rock music doing my homework. b. I like to listen to rock music while I do my homework. 4. Select the correctly written sentence in this group. a. The soccer team only won four games in the last three years. b. The soccer team won only four games in the last three years. 5. Select the correctly written sentence in this group. a. Without a plan for the weekend, we decided to take in a Saturday matinee. b. Without a plan for the weekend, a Saturday matinee seemed a good idea at the time. 6. Select the correctly written sentence in this group. a. The children were delighted by the monkeys swinging wildly through the trees. b. Swinging wildly through the trees, the children were delighted by the monkeys. Talent Search, 2012

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Direct and Indirect Object Phrases

A direct object is a noun or pronoun that receives the action of a transitive verb in an active sentence or shows the result of the action. It answers the question What? or Whom? after an action verb.

For example: Mary burnt the toast. (What did Mary burn? The toast. toast is the direct object.

An indirect object precedes the direct object and tells to whom or for whom the action of the verb is done and who is receiving the direct object. There must be a direct object to have an indirect object. Indirect objects are usually found with verbs giving or communicating like give, bring, tell, show, take, or offer. An indirect object is always a noun or pronoun which is not part of a prepositional phrase. For example: She gave me the report. (Who received the report? Me.)

Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Read the sentence provided and choose whether the underlined phrase presents an example of a direct or an indirect object.

1. My boss speech caused a great amount of relief. a. Direct object b. Indirect object 2. The teacher is giving students a set of pencils. a. Direct object b. Indirect object 3. Give me your glasses. a. Direct object b. Indirect object 4. Ill call you a taxi. a. Direct object b. Indirect object
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5. They owe the landlord a small amount. a. Direct object b. Indirect object

Parallelism (Phrases in Series)

Phrases in a series need to be in the same form in order to make sense easily in a sentence. That is, if you have a series of coordinate (equally important) phrases in a sentence, you need to put them into the same grammatical form (all ing words, all past tense, all starting with nouns, etc.) in order to make sense. The form itself doesnt matter; the consistency does.

For example, the phrases in the following sentences do not agree in form, and have to be read over in order to make sense: Incorrect sense: Henry James Sr. liked reading and writing philosophy, discussing his ideas with his sons William and Henry and to offer opportunities to his children to pursue whatever interests developed. o Most phrases start with ing-words, so, to offer should be changed to offering to make sense. Correct sense: Henry James Sr. liked reading and writing philosophy, discussing his ideas with his sons William and Henry and offering opportunities to his children to pursue whatever interests developed.

Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Rewrite each sentence to fix all parallelism errors.

1. An actor knows how to memorize his lines and getting into character.

________________________________________________________________________

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P a g e | 11 2. Tell me where you were, what you were doing, and your reasons for doing it.

________________________________________________________________________

3. Clarks daily experiences include running, swimming, and to lift weights.

________________________________________________________________________

4. To donate money to the homeless shelter is helping people stay warm in the winter.

________________________________________________________________________

5. Jim likes to work outside and to help people.

________________________________________________________________________

6. We followed the path through the forest, over the hill, and we went across the river.

________________________________________________________________________
7. The writer was brilliant and was talented.

________________________________________________________________________
8. After the party, we want to either go to a movie or to a diner.

________________________________________________________________________
9. She told Jake to take out the trash, to mow the lawn, and be listening for the phone call.

________________________________________________________________________

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P a g e | 12 10. Marcie studied for the test by reviewing her class notes and she read her textbook.

________________________________________________________________________

Prepositions

A preposition links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence. The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object of the preposition. A preposition usually indicates the temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the sentence as in the following examples: The book is on the table. The book is beneath the table. The book is leaning against the table. The book is beside the table. She held the book over the table. She read the book during class.

Prepositions Time

English
on in days of the week

Usage

Example
on Monday in August / in winter in the morning in 2006 in an hour

months / seasons time of day year after a certain period of time(when?)

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at since for ago before to past to / till / until

for night for weekend a certain point of time (when?) from a certain point of time (past till now) over a certain period of time (past till now) a certain time in the past earlier than a certain point of time telling the time telling the time marking the beginning and end of a period of time

at night at the weekend at half past nine since 1980 for 2 years 2 years ago before 2004 ten to six (5:50) ten past six (6:10) from Monday to/till Friday

till / until

in the sense of how long something is going to last

He is on holiday until Friday. I will be back by 6 oclock. By 11 o'clock, I had read five pages.

by

in the sense of at the latest up to a certain time

Prepositions Place (Position and Direction)

English
in at

Usage
room, building, town, country book, paper etc. car, taxi picture, world meaning next to, by an object for table

Example
in the kitchen, in London in the book in the car, in a taxi in the picture, in the world at the door, at the station at the table

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for events place where you are to do something typical (watch a film, study, work) attached a street for a place with a river being on a surface for a certain side (left, right) for a floor in a house for public transport for television, radio left or right of somebody or something on the ground, lower than (or covered by) something else

at a concert, at the party at the cinema, at school, at work

on by, next to, beside

the picture on the wall I am on Cristina Street. London lies on the Thames. on the table on the left on the first floor on the bus, on a plane on TV, on the radio Jane is standing by / next to / beside the car. the bag is under the table the fish are below the surface put a jacket over your shirt over 16 years of age walk over the bridge climb over the wall a path above the lake walk across the bridge swim across the lake drive through the tunnel go to the cinema go to London / Ireland go to bed go into the kitchen / the house go 5 steps towards the house jump onto the table

under below

lower than something else but above ground covered by something else meaning more than getting to the other side (alsoacross) overcoming an obstacle higher than something else, but not directly over it getting to the other side (alsoover) getting to the other side

over

above

across

through

something with limits on top, bottom and the sides movement to person or building movement to a place or country for bed enter a room / a building

to into towards onto

movement in the direction of something (but not directly to it) movement to the top of something

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from

in the sense of where from

a flower from the garden

Other important Prepositions

English
from Of By On In Off out of By At about who gave it

Usage

Example
a present from Jane a page of the book the picture of a palace a book by Mark Twain on foot, on horseback get on the bus get in the car get off the train get out of the taxi prices have risen by 10 percent by car, by bus she learned Russian at 45 we were talking about you

who/what does it belong to what does it show who made it walking or riding on horseback entering a public transport vehicle entering a car / Taxi leaving a public transport vehicle leaving a car / Taxi rise or fall of something

travelling (other than walking or horseriding) for age for topics, meaning what about

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Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Complete the exercise according to the picture.

1. __________ the picture, I can see a woman. a) At b) In c) On 2. The woman is sitting __________ a table. a) At b) In front of c) On

3. She is sitting __________ a chair. a) At b) It c) On 4. There is another chair __________ the woman. a) Across b) Beside c) Opposite
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5. Her feet are __________ the table a) Beside b) On c) Under

INSTRUCTIONS: Complete the following sentences by writing the correct time-related preposition. 1. Peter is playing tennis ___________ Sunday. 2. My brother's birthday is ___________ the 5th of November. 3. My birthday is ___________ May. 4. We are going to see my parents ___________ the weekend. 5. ___________ 1666, a great fire broke out in London. 6. I don't like walking alone in the streets ___________ night. 7. What are you doing ___________ the afternoon? 8. My friend has been living in Canada ___________ two years. 9. I have been waiting for you ___________ seven o'clock. 10. I will have finished this essay ___________ Friday.

Pronouns

Pronouns are small words that take place of a noun. We can use a pronoun instead of a noun. Pronouns are words like: he, you, ours, themselves, some, each, etc. If we didnt have pronouns, we would have to repeat a lot of nouns. Without pronouns, we would say: Do you like the president? I dont like the president. The president is too pompous.

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P a g e | 18 With pronouns, we can say: Do you like the president? I dont like him. He is too pompous.

Types of Pronouns Personal pronouns: I, me, you, he, him, she Demonstrative pronouns: this, that, these, those Possessive pronouns: mine, yours, his Interrogative pronouns: who, what, which Reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, himself Reciprocal pronouns: each other, one another Indefinite pronouns: another, much, nobody, few, such Relative pronouns: who, whom, which Pronoun case: subjective, objective, possessive

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P a g e | 19 Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Use the correct personal pronouns. Watch the words in brackets. Example: ___ often reads books. (Lisa) Answer: She often reads books.

1. __________ is dreaming. (George) 2. __________ is green. (the blackboard) 3. __________ are on the wall. (the posters) 4. __________ is running. (the dog) 5. __________ are watching TV. (my mother and I) 6. __________ are in the garden. (the flowers) 7. __________ is riding the bike. (Tom) 8. __________ is from Bristol. (Victoria) 9. __________ has got a brother. (Diana) 10. Have __________ got a computer, Mandy?

Connectives
A connective, or a conjunction as it is more formally known, is a part of speech that connects two words, phrases, or clauses together. Examples of connectives

Connective
Whoever Whatever If

Translation
Quien quiera Lo que sea Si (si vieve)

Connective
Although Besides But

Translation
Aunque Adems Pero

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Meanwhile Moreover Nonetheless For While When As Furthermore Therefore However So And With

Mientras tanto Adems Sin embargo Para Mientras Cuando Si, como, cmo, cuan En adicin Por ende Sin embargo Lo que significa que Y Con

Since Consequently Alternatively Henceforward Until Notwithstanding Whereas Then Because Whenever After Nevertheless Yet

Desde Consecuentemente Alternativamente De aqu en adelante Hasta Con todo y que Considerando que Entonces Porque Cuando sea Despus No obstante Todava

Practice Exercises INSTRUCTIONS: Choose the correct connective to use in the sentence provided.

1. Karen is rich; ___, her cousin Kate is poor. a) therefore b) however c) otherwise

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P a g e | 21 2. Youd better take a taxi. ___, youll arrive late. a) moreover b) furthermore c) otherwise 3. I enjoy reading this new magazine. ___, it has good articles. a) moreover b) nevertheless c) however 4. Jack wasnt tired. ____, he took a nap. a) otherwise b) hence c) nevertheless 5. Phil was not thirsty; ___, he drank five glasses of water. a) however b) moreover c) furthermore 6. The kids didnt study. ___, they failed the course. a) therefore b) nonetheless c) otherwise 7. The weather was terrible. ___, we decided to delay our trip. a) furthermore b) besides c) therefore 8. You must buy the tickets; ___, we wont be able to see that play. a) otherwise b) although c) besides 9. The neighborhood isnt very interesting. I like the house, ___. a) moreover b) thus c) though

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P a g e | 22 10. We live in the same building; ___, we hardly see each other. a) however b) therefore c) furthermore

Subject-Verb Agreement

The subject and verb must agree in number: both must be singular, or both must be plural. Problems occur in the present tense because one must add an s or es at the end of the verb when the subject or the entity performing the action is a singular third person: he, she, it, or words for which these pronouns could substitute.

Notice the difference between singular and plural forms in the following examples: Singular Plural Your children sing. (They sing) Those birds do migrate. (They do)

The student sings. (He or she sings) The bird does migrate. (It does)
Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Select one answer from the choices provided after each sentence. The word you choose should fit the blank in the sentence. 1. Either the physicians in this hospital or the chief administrator ____ going to have to make a decision. a. is b. are

2. ______ my boss or my sisters in the union going to win this grievance? a. Is b. Are

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3. Some of the votes __________ to have been miscounted. a. seem b. Seems

4. The tornadoes that tear through this county every spring _____ more than just a nuisance. a. are b. is

5. Everyone selected to serve on this jury _____ to be willing to give up a lot of time. a. have b. has

6. Kara Wolters, together with her teammates, _________ a formidable opponent on the basketball court. a. presents b. present

7. He seems to forget that there __________ things to be done before he can graduate. a. are b. is

8. There _______ to be some people left in that town after yesterday's flood. a. have b. has

9. Some of the grain __________ to be contaminated. a. appear b. appears

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10. Three-quarters of the students __________ against the tuition hike. a. is b. are

Active and Passive Voice

In grammar, the voice (also called diathesis) of a verb describes the relationship between the action (or state) that the verb expresses and the participants identified by its arguments (subject, object, etc.). When the subject is the agent or doer of the action, the verb is in the active voice. When the subject is the patient, target or undergoer of the action, it is said to be in the passive voice. For example, in the sentence: The cat ate the mouse. o The verb "ate" is in the active voice. However, in the sentence: The mouse was eaten by the cat. o The verb phrase "was eaten" is passive. In: The hunter killed the bear. o the verb "killed" is in the active voice To make it passive: The bear was killed by the hunter. o Change to the receiving action instead of the active action.
Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Decide whether the sentences are written in Active or Passive. 1. They listen to music. a. Active b. Passive

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2. She is reading an e-mail. a. Active b. Passive

3. These cars are produced in Japan. a. Active b. Passive

4. Alan teaches Geography. a. Active b. Passive

5. German is spoken in Austria. a. Active b. Passive

6. Lots of houses were destroyed by the earthquake. a. Active b. Passive

7. Henry Ford invented the assembly line. a. Active b. Passive

8. The bus driver was hurt. a. Active b. Passive

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9. You should open your workbooks. a. Active b. Passive

10. Houses have been built. a. Active b. Passive

Verb Phrases

Verb phrases consist of one main verb and one or more helping verbs (also called auxiliary verbs). Example:

Sometimes they are separated:

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Reminder When we ask questions, the auxiliary verb comes at the beginning of the sentence, and the main verb comes later.

Words like never, not, and n't contraction are not part of the verb.

Another Important Detail Verb Phrases Act as Verbs. This seems obvious, right? They are made up of verbs. But, the point here is that although they are made up of different words, all of the words come together to act as one part of speech, a verb. Here are a few examples. The cheesecake might be exploding. Did you call Owen? Owen has become a great cook.

Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Identify the Verb Phrase in each sentence by underlining or circling it. 1. I am arriving in the morning. 2. I arrived as soon as possible. 3. She comes by every day. 4. Send me the package in the mail. 5. The new part was sent to me. 6. I am sending Jeff with the neighbors. 7. He should have tried again.
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8. The dog had suddenly come into the yard. 9. Has anyone taken out the trash? 10. Could they have been pointing at our car?

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives

Comparative adjectives compare the qualities of an object with another object. Example: This sandwich is tastier than the one I ate yesterday. o (it is comparing the sandwich with the other one) Superlative adjectives compare the qualities of an object with the rest of the objects with relatively similar qualities. Example: This sandwich is the tastiest of all the sandwiches Ive ever tasted. o (it is comparing the sandwich with all the sandwiches he/she has ever tasted) Even though the concept may seem easy to understand, there are specific rules to change words from the normal form to comparative/ superlative form. One-syllable adjectives: Form the comparative and superlative forms of a one-syllable adjective by adding er for the comparative form and est for the superlative.

One-Syllable Adjective Comparative Form tall old taller older

Superlative Form tallest oldest

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One-Syllable Adjective Comparative Form long longer

Superlative Form longest

Example: o Mary is taller than Max. o Mary is the tallest of all the students. o Max is older than John. o Of the three students, Max is the oldest. o My hair is longer than your hair. o Max's story is the longest story I've ever heard. Note: If the one-syllable adjective ends with an e, just add r for the comparative form and st for the superlative form.

Also, If the one-syllable adjective ends with a single consonant with a vowel before it, double the consonant and add er for the comparative form; and double the consonant and add est for the superlative form. Adjective Big Thin Fat Comparative Form bigger thinner fatter Superlative Form biggest thinnest fattest

Example: o My dog is bigger than your dog. o My dog is the biggest of all the dogs in the neighborhood. o Max is thinner than John. o Of all the students in the class, Max is the thinnest.
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o My mother is fatter than your mother. o Mary is the fattest person I've ever seen.

Two-syllable adjectives. With most two-syllable adjectives, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most. Two-Syllable Adjective peaceful pleasant careful thoughtful more peaceful more pleasant more careful more thoughtful most peaceful most pleasant most careful most thoughtful Comparative Form Superlative Form

Example o This morning is more peaceful than yesterday morning. o Max's house in the mountains is the most peaceful in the world. o Max is more careful than Mike. o Of all the taxi drivers, Jack is the most careful. o Jill is more thoughtful than your sister. o Mary is the most thoughtful person I've ever met.

Adjectives with three or more syllables For adjectives with three syllables or more, you form the comparative with more and the superlative with most.
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Adjective with Three or More Syllables generous important intelligent

Comparative Form

Superlative Form

more generous more important more intelligent

most generous most important most intelligent

Example:
o o o o o o

John is more generous than Jack. John is the most generous of all the people I know. Health is more important than money. Of all the people I know, Max is the most important. Women are more intelligent than men Mary is the most intelligent person I've ever met. Note: Even though these rules apply to almost every word, there are some exceptions to these rules. These are: Irregular Adjective Good Bad Far Little Many Comparative Form better worse farther less more Superlative Form best worst farthest least most

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Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Write the correct comparative or superlative adjective depending on what the sentence needs. 1. My suitcase is ________________ (+ large) than your suitcase. 2. This scarf is ________________ (+ beautiful) than the one in the window. 3. The palace Hotel was ________________ (+ expensive) than the Grosvenor. 4. John is a ________________ (+ good) gardener than Stuart. 5. They are not going to the ________________ (+ bad) hotel. 6. The palace is the ________________ (+ expensive) hotel. 7. John is the ________________ (+ good) gardener. 8. These are the ________________ (+ beautiful) colors. 9. Mr.Smith is ________________ (+ bad) today than yesterday. 10. I will go to the ________________ (+ amazing) air balloon ride ever.

Adverbs

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, nouns and other adverbs by answering the questions when, where, why, or under which conditions something happens or happened. For Example

a verb = He drove slowly. How did he drive? an adjective = He drove a very fast car. How fast was his car. another adverb = She moved quite slowly down the aisle. How slowly did she move?

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Adverbs frequently end in -ly; however, many words and phrases not ending in -ly serve an adverbial function and an -ly ending is not a guarantee that a word is an adverb. The words lovely, lonely, motherly, friendly, neighborly, for instance, are adjectives:

Example: That lovely woman lives in a friendly neighborhood.

Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Find the adjective in the first sentence and fill the gap with the adverb. 1. Joanne is happy. She smiles ____________________. 2. The boy is loud. He shouts ____________________. 3. Her English is fluent. She speaks English ____________________. 4. Our mum was angry. She spoke to us ____________________. 5. My neighbor is a careless driver. He drives ____________________. 6. The painter is awful. He paints ____________________. 7. Jim is a wonderful piano player. He plays the piano ____________________. 8. This girl is very quiet. She often sneaks out of the house ____________________. 9. She is a good dancer. She dances really ____________________. 10. This exercise is simple. You have to put one word in each space ___________________.

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Inference

Inference is when you use clues from a story to figure out something that the author doesnt directly tell you.

Example: Jimmy pulled hard on Sarahs braids. Poor Jimmy, he never saw the banana peel on the floor. Thats how he broke his arm.
o

(It doesnt tell us that he fell. However, we can infer that that was what happened to him because of the comment Thats how he broke his arm.)

Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: See if you can infer an implied or hidden message in each of the following selections. Turner almost wished that he hadnt listened to the radio. He went to the closet and grabbed his umbrella. He would feel silly carrying it to the bus stop on such a sunny morning. 1. Which probably happened? a. Turner realized that he had an unnatural fear of falling radio parts. b. Turner had promised himself to do something silly that morning. c. Turner had heard a weather forecast that predicted rain.

d. Turner planned to trade his umbrella for a bus ride.

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Larry, as your boss, I must say its been very interesting working with you, Miss Valdez said. However, it seems that our companys needs and your performance style are not well matched. Therefore, it makes me very sad to have to ask you to resign your position effective today. 2. What was Miss Valdez telling Larry? a. She would feel really bad if he decided to quit. b. He was being fired. c. He was getting a raise in pay.

d. She really enjoyed having him in the office.

No, Honey, I dont want you to spend a lot of money on my birthday present. Just having you for a husband is the only gift I need. In fact, Ill just drive my old rusty bucket of bolts down to the mall and buy myself a little present. And if the poor old car doesn't break down, Ill be back soon. 3. What is the message? a. I dont want a gift. b. Buy me a new car. c. The mall is fun.

d. Ill carry a bucket for you.

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Bill and Jessica were almost done taking turns choosing the players for their teams. It was Jessicas turn to choose, and only Kurt was left. Jessica said, Kurt. 4. We can infer that ________ a. Kurt is not a very good player. b. Jessica was pleased to have Kurt on her team. c. Kurt was the best player on either team.

d. Jessica was inconsiderate of Kurts feelings.

Using Context Clues To Derive Meaning

When we use context clues to derive meaning, we use whatever else is written in the sentence to know what a word or phrase really means.

Example: We wore his glasses to improve his ocular perception.

There are two words in this sentence that could present a problem: the word ocular and the word perception. If we dont know what the words ocular or perception mean, we can derive their meaning by using the words glasses and improve as context clues. We know that glasses improve our sight. Therefore, the word ocular could mean eyes and perception, what we perceive.
Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Use the context to help you define the term in bold. 1. Your anecdote was so funny. Please tell another one. a. A short account, usually personal b. anything owned that has value
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c. a personal letter d. act of helping

2. If you dont want to alienate people, you must be kind. a. to divide b. having an abundance of goods c. a foreigner d. to estrange

3. Sometimes people wont understand your abbreviations. You might want to spell them out. a. to set apart for a special purpose b. a shortened form or a word or phrase c. referring to beauty d. highly skilled; proficient

4. The farmer has a great deal of acreage. He will be planting for many weeks. a. Animals b. Tractors c. collection of acres d. barns

5. The pianist is quite adept. He plays beautifully. a. Wealthy b. highly skilled c. few skills d. poor

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6. Know who your enemies are. If you know your adversaries, you can strike early. a. Families b. Friends c. one who opposes another d. pets

7. Do you really mean that? I would like you to affirm your position. a. declare or state positively b. enemies c. friends d. contradict

8. One can find a collection of newer cars in the affluent section of the city. a. Poor b. Wealthy c. Business d. Rundown

9. We should give everyone an equal amount. I will see that funds are allocated properly. a. to act upon b. to divide and distribute c. to be wealthy d. to not care

10. You can either stay here or go to the store. Those are your alternatives. a. two meanings a. choices b. back and forth c. none of the above
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Authors Purpose

An author writes for many reasons. An author may give you facts or true information about a subject. Some authors write fiction stories or stories that are not true. They write these stories to entertain you. Other authors may write to persuade or to try to get you to do something. The general purpose of an author in its composition is often either to persuade, to inform, or to entertain. Below are a few examples of what compositions with certain purposes might be.

Informative: News article, essay Persuasive: Essay Entertainment: Novel, short story, essay.

Practice Exercises

INSTRUCTIONS: Read the descriptions of each item and determine the authors purpose in

writing it (to entertain, persuade, or inform). Then, in a sentence or two, explain your answer. 1. A story about a family trying to stick together and survive through the Great depression in the Midwest in the 1930s Authors Purpose: _____________________________

2. A section in a history book describing the conditions and causes of the Great depression in the Midwest in the 1930s Authors Purpose: _____________________________

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3. An instructional booklet describing how to operate an MP3 player Authors Purpose: _____________________________

4. An article where the author argues that an IPOD music player is better than a ZUNE Authors Purpose: _____________________________

5. A poem about why the IPOD is the greatest consumer electronic device ever made Authors Purpose: _____________________________

6. The story of a young athlete who takes steroids and his life and future fall apart Authors Purpose: _____________________________

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7. A medical report describing the effects of steroids on the human body Authors Purpose: _____________________________

8. A speech written by Jose Canseco listing the negative effects of steroids and urging young athletes to not use steroids Authors Purpose: _____________________________

9. A booklet containing the school rules and the consequences for violating those rules Authors Purpose: _____________________________

10. A story written about a young boy who moves to a new school and is bullied, but he gains self-confidence by joining a sports team and learns to stand up for himself. Authors Purpose: ___________________________

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Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement

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