ENGLISH

LESSON 1: PARTS OF SPEECH

PARTS OF SPEECH is used to describe the mechanism of the language, in other words, the grammar which is defined as
the art of speaking and writing the language correctly according to the rules in general. The parts of speech are noun,
pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction and interjection.
EIGHT PARTS OF SPEECH
1.NOUN is a name of anything. Nouns are names of person, place, thing or idea.
Person – family, Mr. Lee, brother, teacher, friend
Places – cities, country, Manila, Davao, China
Things – baseball, sand, flower, pencil
Ideas – honor, gratitude, peace, leadership, faith

GENERAL CLASSES OF NOUNS:

COMMON NOUNS – name applied to any one of a class of person, place, or thing. They are general nouns.
Examples: school, county, girl, street
PROPER NOUNS – name of a particular person, place, or thing. It should be written in a capital letter.
Examples: STI College of Iloilo, South Korea, Danica, Elm Street
COLLECTIVE NOUNS – name a group and is singular in form.
Examples: team, audience, school, colony, class
MASS NOUNS – names that can’t be counted
Examples: hair, sugar, water, sand, stars
CONCRETE NOUN – names a substance
Examples: chair, table, pen, book
ABSTRACT NOUN – names a quality, not a substance

NUMBER OF NOUNS
SINGULAR if it refers to one noun.
PLURAL if it refers to two or more nouns.

RULES IN FORMING THE PLURAL OF NOUNS

Most nouns add s to the singular form
Examples: boy + s = boys room + s = rooms

Nouns ending in a hissing sound (s, ch, sh, x, z) add es

Examples: box + es = boxes church + es = churches match + es = matches

Most nouns ending in f or fe change f to ve before adding s

Examples: calf – calves knife – knives leaf – leaves

Most nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant sound change y to I and add ed

Examples: city – cities lady – ladies reply – replies

Nouns ending in y after a vowel add s

Examples: key – keys alley – alleys monkey – monkeys

Some nouns ending in o preceded by a consonant add es

Examples: cargo – cargoes tomato – tomatoes hero – heroes
A few very common nouns add en or change the vowel or remain unchanged.
Examples: ox – oxen child – children sheep - sheep

Most compound nouns add s or es to the principal words of the compound.

Examples: bookcase – bookcases handful – handfuls runner-up – runners up

A few nouns are regularly plural in form but singular in meaning.

Examples: Statistics Mathematics Economics
Exercises in forming plural noun:

CASES OF NOUNS
NOMINATIVE – used as the subject, noun of address, predicate noun or appositive
Examples: Danica looks pretty in her red dress.
Celine, come and get your toys.
The winner in the oratorical contest is Christian.
Our new professor, Dr. Lopez, discusses the lesson well.

OBJECTIVE – used as direct object, indirect object, or object of the preposition.

Examples: The students are playing basketball.
Charles sent Lore a love letter.
The concert was held in the park.

POSSESSIVE – used to show ownership or possession

RULES IN FORMING POSSESSION!!

2. PRONOUN is a substitute for nouns. Pronouns identify person, place, thing, and idea without restating the noun.
An antecedent is the word for which a pronoun stands.
Example: Ruel brought his book in Science. ( RUEL is the antecedent of HIS)

KINDS OF PRNOUNS

 PERSONAL PRONOUNS
refer to the speaker ( I, me, we, us, mine, my, our, ours)
the person spoken to ( you, your, yours)
the person spoken about ( he, she, it, they, him, her, them, his, hers, its, their, theirs)

 INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS are used to ask questions (who, which, what, that, whom, whose, whoever,
whomever)

 DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS point out the person or thing referred to ( this, that, those, these).
This (singular) used to point near object
These (plural) used to point near objects
That (singular) used to point far object
Those (plural) used to point far objects

When one of these words modifies a substantive, it ceases to be a pronoun and becomes an adjective.
Examples: This is my responsibility. (pronoun)
This is a beautiful place. (pronoun)
This responsibility is expected from you. (adjective)
This place is conducive for relaxation. (adjective)
 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS
Singular – any, anybody, nobody, anyone, each, everyone, one, someone, somebody, every, either,
neither

plural – all, some, few, both, several

When one of these words modifies a substantive, it ceases to be a pronoun and becomes an adjective.
Examples: Many attended the party. (pronoun)
Many students attended the lecture today. (adjective)
Some do not like this story. (pronoun)
 Some students do not like this story. (adjective)

Below is a table of personal pronouns, their cases and persons

NOMINATIVE CASE OBJECTIVE CASE POSSESSIVE CASE

SINGULAR
1ST PERSON I ME MY, MINE
2ND PERSON YOU YOU YOUR, YOURS
3RD PERSON HE, SHE, IT HIM, HER, IT HIS, HER, HERS

PLURAL
1ST PERSON WE US OUR, OURS
2ND PERSON YOU YOU YOUR, YOURS
3RD PERSON THEY THEM THEIR, THEIRS

First person refers to the speaker.

Second person refers to the person spoken to.
Third person refers to the person(s) spoken about.

EXERCISES IN PRONOUNS

3. VERB
A verb is a word that shows action, links another word to the subject, helps another verb, or merely indicates
existence.
Examples:
Liza announced the result. (action verb; shows what the subject is doing)
The soup tastes delicious. (linking verb; links delicious to the subject soup)
The will enjoy the movie. (helping verb; will helps the verb enjoy to show action)
Our classmates are here. (merely indicates the existence of classmates)

FORMS OF VERB
 The base form; educate, learn, write
 The S-form or third person singular; educates learns, writes
 The ing-form or present participle; educating, learning, writing
 The past form; educated, learned, wrote

 An ACTION VERB expresses physical action or mental action.

Examples: landed, walk, laugh, eat sink (physical action verbs)
consider, wants, hoped, dream, realized, appreciate (mental action verbs)

 LINKING VERB does not express `action. It links a word in the predicate to the subject.
Examples: The gift looks nice. (The verb “looks” links “nice” to the subject gift.)
Dino is a computer programmer. (The verb “is” links “programmer” to the subject Dino.)

Some examples of linking verbs:

LINKING VERBS
be were shall be taste sound
am can be should be look appear
is could be will be smell remain
are has been would be stay become
was have been seem grow
feel

 The verbs taste, looks, feel, smell, sound, appear, become, seem, grow, remain, stay may be used as action
verbs as well as linking verbs, depending on the sense of the sentence.
Examples:
  Maria looks pretty in my dress. (“Looks” is a linking verb that links pretty to the subject Maria.)
 Maria looks for attractive but modest clothing. (“Looks” is an action verb. The subject is
 performing the action looking.)
 Norman appears handsome in his new tuxedo. (linking verb)
 Norman appears in the hall. (action verb)

 AUXILLIARY VERB or HELPING VERB helps the main verb to make a statement.
Examples:
Children must obey their parents. (The verb “must” helps the main verb obey to show action.)
Children must be obedient to their parents’ wishes. (The verb “must” helps the main verb be to
link obedient to the subject children.
We will be here next time. (The verb “will” helps the main verb be to indicate existence.
Examples:
be are been have do shall may would
am was being has does will might could
is were had did can must should

Note: The forms of “be” may be linking as well as helping verbs.

The forms of “have” and “do” may also be action verbs.
KINDS OF VERBS

1. REGULAR VERBS form their past tense by the addition of d, or ed to the base form. They have the
same form both for the past tense and past participle.

BASE FORM S-FORM PRESENT PARTICIPLE PAST AND PAST

PARTICIPLE
(THIRD PERSON ING-FORM
SINGULAR)
COOK COOKS COOKING COOKED
DECORATE DECORATES DECORATING DECORATED
PLAY PLAYS PLAYING PLAYED

2. IRREGULAR VERBS form their past tense and past participle in several ways.

BASE FORM PAST TENSE PAST PARTCIPLE

COME CAME COME
BREAK BROKE BROKEN
SEEK SOUGHT SOUGHT
CUT CUT CUT

3. LINKING VERBS are used to link or join the subject with a word in the predicate which relates to the
subject. The be form of the verb (am, is, are, was, were) is the most commonly used linking verb. Others are as
follows: become, seem, look, smell, appear, feel, taste, sound, remain.

Linking verbs in sentences:

My favorite color is red.
He looks great in black.
My friend became famous.

4. An ADJECTIVE is a modifier which describes or limits a substantiative – the noun, pronoun or noun equivalent. It may
be a word or a group of words. Adjectives answer the questions “Which one?” “What kind?” and “How many?”

The uses of adjectives

1.A noun modifier is usually placed directly before the noun it describes.
Ex. He is an intelligent man.
2. A predicate adjective follows a linking verb and modifies the subject.
Ex. He is happy.
 The movie seems interesting.
3. An article or noun marker are the other names for these adjectives: a, an, the
Ex. Dorothy was given an apple.
The teacher is awarded for her meritorious performance.
4. Possessive nouns and certain possessive pronouns are usually considered adjectives.
Ex. Dina’s stamp collection is complete, but her sister has not even started her own collection.

5. A Proper Adjective is a word formed from a proper noun and, like a proper noun, begins with a capital
letter.
Ex. Japan (proper noun) Japanese cuisine
Elizabeth Elizabethan costumes
Asia Asian nations

KINDS OF ADJECTIVES
1.Indefinite Adjective: some, many, much, several, few, a few, a little
a.with countable nouns: Ex. I have (many, several, few) books at home.
b.with uncountable nouns: Ex. I have (much, a great deal, little) information about that issue.
c. with both plural countable and uncountable nouns: Ex. He has (some, a lot of, enough)
money.
d. indefinite adjectives much, many, little and few may be modified by “too” and “very”.
Ex. You are making too much noise.

2. Numerals: one, two, three, etc. are cardinal numbers

Ex. He gave me three roses.
With numerals like first, second, third etc. are called ordinal numbers
Ex. We will discuss the third chapter.

3. Proper Adjective: Filipino flag, English language, Persian carpet, etc.

Ex. Persian carpets are on sale.

4. Descriptive Adjective: new, tall, blue, charming

Ex. The charming woman is my aunt.

5. Nouns that modify nouns: oak, paper, etc.

Ex. Here are your paper dolls.

6. Phrases and clauses that modify nouns:

Ex. The girl watching television is my sister.

7. A clause modifying a noun is usually introduced by a relative pronoun: that, which, who, whom, whose, and
Where
Ex. The man who is driving the car is my father.

5. An ADVERBS modifies a verb, adjective, another adverb, a verbal, a preposition, or a conjunction.

Adverbs answer the questions, “How?”, “Where?” , “When?”, “How often?”, and “To what degree?”
Adverbs do not modify nouns.

CLASSES OF ADVERBS
1.A simple adverb
Ex. She spoke kindly.
2. An interrogative adverb is used in asking questions.
Ex. Where have you been?

KINDS OF ADVERB
1.Adverb of manner (how)
Ex. He spoke (poorly, fluently, slowly.)
 Written exercise: Change the following adjectives to adverbs by adding ly.
1. slow 6. Careful
2. merry 7. Fast
3. graceful 8. Beautiful
4. quick 9. Easy
5. quiet 10. Neat

2. Adverb of time (when)

Ex. He is coming (tomorrow, next week, next month, tonight).
Written exercise: Underline the time expression used in each of the following sentences.
1.The doctor will check him up very soon.
2. Are you going to Baguio this summer?
3. I could not sleep well lately.
4. The students complained about their grades last week.
5. They will spend their vacation in Baguio in April.
6. My sister will see the dentist later on.
7. He hopes to graduate from high school next year.
8. It rained hard last night.
9. Mother is baking cake right now.
10. Yoly is happy everyday.

3. Adverb of place (where)

Ex. Let us meet in the restaurant.
The concert will be in the park.

4. Adverb of frequency (how often0

Ex. He writes to her (daily, regularly, weekly)

6. A PREPOSITION is a word that shows how a noun or a pronoun is related to some other words in the sentence.
Prepositions show relation between a word and a noun or pronoun that follows. It indicates.
a. place and position – at, in, across, below, above, between, behind, beyond
b. direction and motion – in, towards, out, about, around, through, by, down, over
c. time – at, before, after, during, since, until
Ex. I have been waiting for your call since last week.

FREQUENTLY USED PREPOSITIONS

ABOARD AMONG BETWEEN FROM OVER UNDERNEATH
ABOUT BETWEEN BEYOND IN PAST UNTIL
ABOVE AT BUT INTO SINCE UNTO
ACROSS BEFORE BY LIKE THROUGH UP
AFTER BEHIND DOWN NEAR THROUGHOUT UPON
AGAINST BELOW DURING OF TO WITH
ALONG BENEATH EXCEPT OFF TOWARD WITHIN
AMID BESIDE FOR ON UNDER WITHOUT

 Compound Prepositions
according to, by way of, in spite of, out of, as for, except for, instead of, regardless, because of, in front
of, on account of, with regard to

Note: Some prepositions are compound. They consist of more than one word but should not be taken one.

 A Prepositional Phrase consists of a preposition, its noun or pronoun object, and any modifiers of the object.
The sun sparked on the emerald waters.

 The object of the preposition is the noun or pronoun that completes the prepositional phrase. A preposition
must always have an object.
  A preposition may have a compound object.
We received a telegram from Jessica and Anita.

7. CONJUCTION is a word that joins words or groups of words.

Ex. And, but, or, for, yet, therefore, also, however, because, so that, as long as,
I will love you as long as the grass shall grow.

 The following conjunctions are called coordinating conjunctions: and, but, or, nor, for, yet

Ex. We like pancake and milk shake. (conjunction joining words)

Should we put it on a plate or in a bowl? (conjunction joining phrases)
We went fishing but caught no fish. (conjunction joining clauses)

 Some other coordinating conjunctions go in pairs: either-or, neither-nor, both-and, not only-but also. These are
called Correlative Conjunctions.

Ex. Both Jason and James bought bicycles with the money they saved.

Subordinating Conjunctions are used to introduce adverb clauses.

Ex. After, as, although, as if, as much as, as long as, as soon as, because, before, if, in order that, since,
so that, than, though, unless, until, when, whenever, while

Since he had real determination, he would not quit.

8. INTERJECTION expresses emotion, acts as a signal, or adds a conversational touch. It usually ends with an exclamation
point. It is an exclamatory word that is not related with the other words in the sentences.

An exclamation point is usually used after an interjection, but a comma may be used after a mild interjection.
Ex. Ouch! , What! , Wow! , Hurray!
Hurray! Miami Heat won.
Hurrah! The war is over!
Well, what do you know about that.

LESSON 2: PHRASES

A PHRASE is a group of related words used as a single part of speech. A phrase lacks a subject, a predicate or
both. Consequently, a phrase cannot be a sentence.

KINDS OF PHRASES

1. PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE consists of a preposition, its object and any modifiers of the object. In most prepositional
phrases, the preposition precedes the object.

Uses of prepositional phrase

 A prepositional phrase may be used as an adjective.

Modify nouns: That man with grey hair is my grandfather.

The girl in red is my cousin.

Modify pronouns: Riza is someone with humorous personality.

The victims are they from the Alpha Company.

 A prepositional phrase may be used as an adverb.

 Modify verb: She is in the room.
The wallet was with him.

Modify adjective: The girl feels comfortable with her new dress.
She is skilful with the new typrewriter.

Modify adverb: We should derive early in the morning.

She stays outside during an argument.

 A prepositional phrase may be used as noun.

Subject: After studying is the best time to relax.

Object of Preposition: We advanced to within a few steps from the commotion.
Subjective Complement: The best time to nap is after lunch.

2. An APPOSITIVE (or appositive phrase) is a noun or pronoun with or without modifiers that is tucked in beside another
noun or pronoun to identify or describe the person or thing it refers to:

Vanessa, my best friend, is an expert designer.

Elijah Patrick, a violinist, has staged a concert.

 An ESSENTIAL APPOSITIVE is necessary to the meaning of a sentence. Do not set it off from the rest of the
sentence.

Our moderator, Professor Vasquez, argued on the decision of the judges.

Her best friend and adviser Maureen Dave always reminds her of the importance of politeness.

 A NON-ESSENTIAL APPOSITIVE is not necessary to the meaning of the sentence. Therefore, you must set it off
with commas.

The award, a medal and a trophy, was given during the program.
Mr. Perez, a very close family, is planning to spend vacation with us.

3.VERBALS are forms of verbs that functions as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. Although verbals can function as
other parts of speech, they retain some of the properties of verbs. When a modifier or complement is used with a
verbal, a Verbal Phrase is formed.

KINDS OF VERBALS AND VERBAL PHRASE

1.A PARTICIPLE is a verb form that can function as an adjective

I found an interesting book in the grade school library.
Developing countries strive for economic survival.
The abandoned factory was destroyed during the typhoon.
The broken line was drawn by the kid.

Participle (form of verb) does not function as adjectives. They function as part of a verb phrase.

We could have been frightened by the bandit.

He is walking on a tightrope.

A PARTICIPIAL PHRASE consists of its modifiers and complements. The entire participial phrase functions as
an adjective to modify a noun or a pronoun.
 Creating the noise, the children teased their classmates.
The girl, bitten by the dog, cried for help.
Suddenly remembering his long examination in the afternoon, Tom ran to his room and studied.
Built with the sweat and blood of our people, the churches withstood the test of time.

An ABSOLUTE PHRASE is a special kind of phrase that it does not have any grammatical relation with the rest of
the sentences.

The rain having stopped, we continued our journey.

The music being played, the girls started to sing.

2. A GERUND is a verbal that ends in –ing and functions only as a noun. Although it performs the same functions
as a noun, a gerund has some of the properties of a verb.

Subject: Playing preoccupies children’s time.

Swimming is the best form of exercise.

Direct Object: We enjoyed boating.

I dislike her constant arguing with me.

Predicate Nominative: One of father’s hobbies is gardening.

Her favorite pastime is painting.

Indirect Object: He considers reading a try.

Appositive: My task, proofreading, interests me.

Her assignment, editing, improved her skills.

Object of the preposition: We support Nora’s idea of reviewing before taking the board exam.

Note: Do not confuse gerunds with participles. Remember that a participle can function as an adjective, but a
gerund always functions as a noun.

Participle: Have you seen my walking doll?

The winning team was disqualified.

Gerund: Walking is an exercise.

Winning is not everything.

A GERUND PHRASE consists of a gerund and its modifiers and complements used as a noun. A gerund phrase
may perform all the functions of a noun.

Subject: Coordinating with other members of the team requires patience.

Her mother’s constant nagging irritates her father.

Predicate Nominative: My child’s job was dusting the furniture.

My only refuge is asking the Lord for forgiveness.

Direct Object: The committee rejected raising funds.

I always hate saying goodbye.

Appositive: Her hobby, reading novels everyday, seems incredible.

The job order, covering and bookbinding, was finished in a week.
 Object of the preposition: He is admired for giving importance to the education of the children.
We should decipher the meaning by reading between the lines.

3. An INFINITIVE is a verbal that consists of the first principal parts or basic form of the verb. It is usually preceded by the
word to. An infinitive may function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. The infinitive has some of the characteristics of
verbs. It expresses action or condition, and it may be followed by a complement.

Noun: To see is to believe.

I want to go.

Adjective: The news to read is about the unexplained phenomenon.

The man to see is Jansen.

Adverb: It is hard to condemn somebody.

I watched the circus to satisfy my curiosity.

Note: Do not confuse infinitives with prepositional phrases. Remember that to plus a noun or pronoun is a
prepositional phrase while to plus a verb is an infinitive phrase.

Infinitive phrase: I plan to enrol this summer.

I whistle to inform the group that I’m coming.

Prepositional phrase: She referred her proposal to the manager.

He gave the gift to me.

AN INFINITIVE PHRASE consists of an infinitive and its modifiers and complements. It can function as a noun, an
adjective or an adverb.

Noun: I love to talk to strangers.

To condemn an innocent child is morally wrong.
Zenia’s plan is to travel in Europe.

Adjective The girl to watch in the world entertainment is Lea Salonga.

My plan to borrow a book to read tonight was realized.

Adverb: I raised my hand to acknowledge the applause.

LESSON 3: THE CLAUSE

1. A CLAUSE is a group of words which contains a subject and a predicate. It is usually considered a part of a sentence,
but when it is capable of standing alone, it is equivalent to a simple sentence.

Ana is the girl who wrote the letter.

The officer said, “Stop”. (The subject YOU is omitted.)

Clauses related to the sentence are classified as Independent (also called principal or main clause)
and Dependent (subordinate).

KINDS OF CLAUSES
1.The INDEPENDENT CLAUSES expresses a complete thought and can stand alone in a sentence.

Robert delivers papers before he comes to school.

The clause Robert delivers papers could stand alone, for it expresses a complete
thought.
 2. A DEPENDENT CLAUSE does not make sense when standing alone.
Robert delivers papers before he comes to school.
The clause before he comes to school does not make complete sense when standing
alone; it is dependent upon other words to give it complete meaning.

 A DEPENDENT CLAUSE may be used as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. The noun clause may be used in
variety of ways.

1.Noun clause used as a subject of the sentence.

That you try is commendable.

What to ask was the big problem.

2. Noun clause used as a direct object of a verb.

Don said that he tried.

I announced that he got the rank in class.

3. Noun clause used as object of the preposition.

We talked about what we could do.

The panel agreed on whom to send to the conference.

4. Noun clause used as predicate nominative/subjective complement.

The fact is that he won the first prize.

The trouble was that they left the party.

5. Noun clause used as an appositive to the subject.

The fact that he won is correct.

The reason why I am here is apparent.

6. Noun clause used as an appositive to the object of a verb.

You hardly explain the fact that he won despite all odds.
Nena does not know the reason why we laughed.

 A dependent clause that modifies a noun or a pronoun is called an ADJECTIVE CLAUSE.

Adjective clauses are introduced by relative pronouns: Who, Whom, Which, That, and Whose.
A relative pronoun serves two purposes (1) it introduces the clause, and (2) it serves a grammatical
function within the clause.

You are the only one who can help us. (Who is the subject of “can help”.)
He is the boy whom the scholarship was granted. (Whom is the object of the preposition “to”.)

LESSON 4 : SENTENCE PATTERNS

ELEMENTS OF A SENTENCE

• Subject – doer of the action/ topic of the sentence

• Predicate – states something about the subject
• Direct Object – receives the action done by the subject
• 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

BASIC SENTENCE PATTERNS

1. S-IV

An intransitive verb is a verb without a direct object.

Maria cooperated voluntarily.

S IV
Michael and Gabriel woke and yawned.

He prays everyday.

Students should study every night.

She reads silently.

2. S – LV – PN

A predicate nominative or a predicate noun completes a linking verb and renames the subject.

Teachers are our second parents.

S LV PN

Anne is the boss.

Whales and sharks are mammals.
The girl should be the captain.
My mother is a teacher.
Philippines is the “Pearl of the Orient Seas.”

3. S – LV – PA

A predicate adjective follows a linking verb and describes the subject.

Her pies are very sweet.

S LV PN

His behavior has been outrageous.

Niña is so beautiful.
That garbage on the street smells bad.
He is dead.
The man was very accommodating.

3. S – TV - DO

A transitive verb is a verb that requires both a subject and a direct object.

The students helped the barangay.

S TV DO

Someone ate my sandwich.

Mikko reads the dictionary for pleasure.
The campers fear the bears.
The board showed their approval.
I played the piano.

4. S – TV- IO – DO

Liza gave the children gifts.

S TV IO DO
 Mom will paint Gabriel a picture.
He will give Mrs. Perez the message.
Yvann surprised his sister with a reward.
I teach the students English.
Pearl sent Tom a book.

5. S – TV – DO – OC
An object complement is a noun, pronoun, or adjective which follows a direct object and renames it or tells what the
direct object has become.

He called the cashier beautiful.

S TV DO OC

The class elected Nadine president.

Cathy cut her hair short.
The child made her mother happy.
Many people find martial arts challenging.
Some pet owners consider their dogs their children.

LESSON 5 : BASIC RULES IN AGREEMENT AND GRAMMAR

1. A verb agrees with its subject in person and in number.

Wrong: They doesn’t’ understand what to do
Right: They don’t understand what to do.

2. The number of a noun in a phrase introduced by the preposition “of” does not affect the number of
verb.
Wrong: A list of books were made by Bong
Right: A list of books was made by Bong.

3. Compound subjects joined by and ordinarily take the plural form of the verb.
Wrong: Here comes Nanding and Manny.
Right: Here come Nanding and Manny.

4. When two or more singular subjects are joined by or nor, a singular form of the verb is required.
Wrong: A man’s success or failure lie in his hands.
Right: A man’s success or failure lies in his hands.

5. Interviewing phrases introduced by of,with, together with, as well as, including besides, no less than, in
addition to, accompanied by, not, do not affect the form of the verb.
Wrong: The teacher, together with her pupils were there.
Right: The teacher, together with her pupils was there.

6. Compound nouns joined by and use the singular form of the verb if they are regarded as a unit.
Example: Bread and butter was all he asked for.

7. When the subject and predicate nominative differ in number, the verb must agree with the subject not
the complement.
Wrong: The theme of the essay are the experiences of our heroes.
Right: The theme of the essay is the experiences of our heroes.

8. Compound subjects joined by either-or, neither-nor, not only-but also ordinarily take verbs agreeing in
number with the nearer subject.
Wrong: They doesn’t’ understand what to do
 Right: They don’t understand what to do.

9. When the subject comes after the verb make sure that the verb agrees with its subject.
Wrong: In this school is enrolled several alien students.
Right: In this school are enrolled several alien students.

10. Never begin a sentence with a participle that does not logically modify the subject of the sentence.
Wrong: Walking around the campus, the bell rang.
Right: Walking around the campus, I heard the bell rang.
11. Sentence elements that are grammatically connected should be closed together.
Wrong: I, after the class, went the movies.
Right: I went to the movies after my class.

12. Modifiers, should be placed as near as possible to the words they modify.
Wrong: She rushed into the room just as we are singing the last song
breathless with excitement.
Right: Breathless, with excitement, she rushed into the room just as we
are singing the last song.

13. Avoid dangling modifiers.

Wrong: Having taken the entrance examinations, the President of the
College accepted me.
Right: After I had taken the entrance examinations, the President of the
College accepted me.

14. Ordinarily, this and that take a singular form of the verb while these and those take the plural form of
the verb.
Examples: That is good idea.
These are times that try man’s soul.

15. The following indefinite pronouns are ordinarily used with the third person. They take the plural form
of the verb: all, both, few, many, several, some.
Examples: All were satisfied.
Both are to be blamed.

16. The following indefinite pronouns, whether singular or plural in meaning are ordinarily used with the
third person singular form of the verb: each, everybody, everyone, everything, any, anybody, anything,
other, somebody, someone, something, one, nothing, nobody, either, neither, another.
Examples: Each arrives on time.
Everything is in order.

17. The title of a book is considered singular.

Examples: “The Dialogues” of Plato is a great classic.

18. The word people, meaning many persons is plural.

People refer to different races.
Examples: The people were excited about the news.
The people vote for Erap’s candidates.

19. The expression the number of takes a singular form of the verb, while the expression a number of
takes the plural form of the verb.
Examples: The number of students in the class is limited.
A number of books are on reserve in the library.

20. Noun referring to money, time, measurement or distance that is preceded by an expression of amount
or quantity is considered singular and takes the singular form of the verb.
Examples: Five hundred is too much for that shirt.
Three weeks is a long time to wait for you.
 21. The number of the noun that follows an expression of fraction or portion determines the number of
the verb to be used.
Examples: One third of the apples are yours.
Half of the apple was eaten by rats.

22. Sentences introduced by it take the singular form of the verb.

Examples: It is time to say goodbye.
It hurts to say goodbye.

23. The number of the subject of a sentence introduced by there determines the verb to be used.
Examples: There is a man in the room.
There are days when she is lonely.
There are five schooldays in a week.

24. The verb taken an s when it is used in the third person singular of the presence tense.
Examples: Jerry plays chess vigorously.

25. The expressions, one of the, the number of, and a number of are always followed by plural nouns.
Examples: One of the boys is absent.
A number of books were stolen.
A number of apples were rotten.

26. Some nouns are always plural in form.

Examples: news, measles, mumps, pants, shorts, scissors, trousers.
The news for today is about the PNP’s corruption.

27. Nouns such as Mathematics, Statistics, Economics, Politics, Physics, are used with the singular form of
the verb when they refer to an area of study.
Examples: Physics is required for Science majors.
Politics, is not dirty per se, but the politicians are the ones making
it dirty.

28. Possession is usually shown by adding apostrophe (‘) or apostrophe (‘s) to a noun.
Examples: The boy’s club.
The ladies’ club.

29. The infinitive of a verb is always in the simple form.

Examples: To love is an adventure
Long ago, Bong’s dream was to live in a forest.
30. Nouns plural in form but singular in meaning (Singular form of the verb)
Examples: News, measles, mumps

31. Nouns singular in form but function collectively

Examples: information, food, equipment, jewelry.

LESSON 6 : VERB TENSES

1. THE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE IS USED:

 To express habits, general truths, repeated actions or unchanging situations, emotions and wishes: I play
basketball (habit); I work in London (unchanging situation); London is a large city (general truth)
 To give instructions or directions: You walk for two hundred meters, then you turn left.

EXAMPLES
He goes to school every morning.
She understands English.
He tries very hard.
She enjoys playing the piano.

Fill in the blanks with the correct simple present tense form of the verb (in parentheses):
EX: Jim reads (read) every day.

1. My brother ___________________ (go) to college.

2. I ___________________ (understand) English.
3. My friends always ___________________ (laugh) at my jokes.
4. The weather in California ___________________ (be) perfect.
5. Our cats ___________________ (sleep) all day.
6. Your dress ___________________ (look) very pretty.
7. My sister ___________________ (walk) very quickly.
8. We ___________________ (make) mistakes when we speak English.
9. I ___________________ (be) from Italy.
10. My brother ___________________ (have) two dogs

2. THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE indicates that an action is completed and has already taken place.

o Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his most famous speech in 1963.
[an action completed in the past].

o As a girl, she wondered how her college degree would help her career
[an action that occurred once or many times in the past but did not extend to the present].

Part 1: Write the past tense of the following words on the space provided.

Go _____ Take ______ Eat _______ Sleep ________ leave ________

Put _____ Have ______ Buy _______ Know ________Be __________

Part 2: Change the verb to the correct form

1. Ms. Dubman _______ the bus to school this morning. (take)

2. The students ________ around the classroom yesterday. (run)
3. When the weather was cold, everyone _________indoors. (stay)
4. The boss ________ his employee, “you’re fired.” (tell)
5. Laura ________ frightened when she moved to the Prairie. (be)

3. The FUTURE TENSE indicates that an action is in the future relative to the speaker or writer. The future tense employs
the helping verbs will or shall with the base form of the verb:

Will/shall + base form of the verb

 She will leave soon.

 We shall overcome.

The simple future is used:

 To predict a future event: It will rain tomorrow.

 With I or We, to express a spontaneous decision: I'll pay for the tickets by credit card.
 To express willingness: He'll carry your bag for you.
 In the negative form, to express unwillingness: The baby won't eat his soup.
  With I in the interrogative form using "shall", to make an offer: Shall I open the window?

1. With I in the interrogative form using "shall", to ask for advice or instructions:
What shall I tell the boss about this money?

2. With You, to give orders:

You will do exactly as I say.

Exercises: Fill in the spaces with the correct form of the verb in parentheses in simple future tense.

1) The house is dirty. I (clean) _______ ________ it on Monday.

2) (cook) _______ you ________ on Tuesday, please?
3) It looks like the washer is broken. I (ask) _______ _______ a repair man to come Wednesday.
4) Okay then, our group (meet) _______ ________ on Thursday.
5) Helga, (hike) _______ you _______ with us on Friday?
6) If necessary, we (carry) _______ ________ the supplies in our car Saturday.
7) John and Wes, (read) _______ you _______ to the children on Sunday?

4. USES OF PAST PERFECT TENSE had + past participle of the verb

 express an action that or state of being completed in the past before some other past actions or state of being.
 the earlier of the two past actions is expressed in the past perfect tense while the latter past action is expressed
in the simple past tense.

USE : Completed Action Before Something in the Past

The Past Perfect expresses the idea that something occurred

before another action in the past.

It can also show that something happened before a specific

time in the past.

Examples:

I had never seen such a beautiful beach before I went to Miami.

I did not have any money because I had lost my wallet.

Tony knew Istanbul so well because he had visited the city several times.

Had Susan ever studied Thai before she moved to Thailand?

She only understood the movie because she had read the book.

Exercise 1:

Put the verbs into the correct form (Past Perfect simple).

A. My little brother ate all of the cake that I _____________________ (make).

B. The waitress brought a dish that we _____________________ (not / order).

C. Last night I couldn't get in because I _____________________ (forget) my keys.

D. When we arrived at the station, the train _____________________ (go).

Exercise 2:

Put the Past Simple or the Past Perfect.

1. When their mom _______________ (come) home last night, the children _______________ (eat) their dinner.

2. Yesterday I _______________ (see) a woman who _______________ (be) at school with my grandfather. Isn't it
strange?

3. It started to rain and I _______________ (remember) that I _______________ (forget) to close my bedroom window

5. USES OF PRESENT PERFECT has/have + past participle of the verb

 expresses an action that started in the past and continues up to the present.
 expresses an action started and ended in the past.

USE 1

Unspecified Time before Now

. We use the Present Perfect to express an action happened at an

unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important.

You cannot use the Present Perfect with specific time expressions such
as: yesterday, one year ago, last week, when I was a child, when I lived in
Japan, at that moment, that day, one day, etc.

We can use the Present Perfect with unspecific expressions such as:
ever, never, once, many times, several times, before, so
Examples: for, already, yet, ever/never, etc.

 I have seen that movie twenty times.

 I think I have met him once before.
 There have been many earthquakes in California.
 People have traveled to the Moon.
 People have not traveled to Mars.
 Have you read the book yet?
 Nobody has ever climbed that mountain.
Exercises: A Fill in SINCE or FOR

1. He has been back ___________ two hours __________ 3 o’clock.

2. I haven’t seen him _________ over two months ________ Christmas.
3. You’ve been watching TV __________ you came home from school _____ most of the evening.
4. Carol has been looking after the baby _________ this morning ______ over four hours.

B. Complete these sentences using the Present Perfect Tense of the following verbs

be –clean –eat –have –rain –see

1. Chris ___________________ all the biscuits. (They are gone now.)

2. The boys ___________________ the car. (It looks beautiful now.)
3. Mrs. Wood _______________ a busy day. (She is tired now.)
4. It _________ not _________ for weeks. (The garden is very dry.)
5. I _________________ the film. (I know it.)

6. My sister _______________ to Paris several times. (She knows it.)