English ISL

7/30/2019 English ISL

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/english-isl 1/39

WEEK 1

(PARTS OF SPEECH/

WORD CLASSES)



PARTS OF SPEECH

Words are often named according to how they are used in sentences. These names for the words arecalled their parts of speech. The eight parts of speech in English are:

nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections.

Nouns

1. The names of persons, places, things, feelings, or ideas. Nouns usually answer the

questions who or what.

2. Nouns are often preceded by "noun markers," the words a, an, and the. The word answering "who

or what" asked after a noun marker will be a noun.

3. Nouns usually form a plural by adding an s. If you are unsure if a word is a noun, try adding s tomean more than one. If it works, the word is probably a noun.

4. Word endings -ance, -ancy, -ence, -ice, -ion, -ity, -ment, -ness, and -ure usually form nouns.

Verbs

1. Verbs are words which show action or doing. All sentences must have at least one verb.

2. A few verbs, called "linking verbs," express that someone or something exists or is a certain

way. Memorize them: be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being. They are always verbs.

3. Verbs change form to show a difference in time. If you change a sentence from present to past, or

past to present, the words which change are verbs.

4. Complete verbs may include two or more verbs working together and consisting of a main verb and

"helping verbs." The only words that can be helping verbs are:

can, could, will, would, shall, should, may, might, must -- (always helping verbs)

have, has, had, do, does, did,be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being -- (helping or main)

5. The endings -ify and -ize usually form verbs; -ing or -ed endings are common verb forms.

6. Check verbs by fitting them in one of the following: He or she _______. They _______.

Adjectives

1. Adjectives are words which describe only nouns. They tell what kind? or how many?

2. The noun markers a, an, and the are always adjectives.

3. Adjectives pile up in front of nouns. For example: the big, red, flashy car. All underlined words are

adjectives describing the noun car.

4. Adjectives may also follow a linking verb and describe the subject of a sentence. For example: The

car is big, red, and flashy.

5. The word endings -able, -ful, - ible, - ical, -ious, -ive, -y usually form adjectives.

Pronouns



1. Pronouns are words which take the place of nouns to keep from repeating the nouns over and over

in a sentence or paragraph.

2. The most common pronouns are: I, he, we, she, they, me, him, us, her, them, it, this, that, who,

which, what.

3. One form of pronoun shows possession or ownership. These possessive pronouns work likeadjectives, describing nouns. They include the words my, mine, his, her, hers, our, ours, their, theirs,

your, yours, its, and whose. Note that theydon‘t use apostrophes.

Prepositions

1. Prepositions are common words which begin prepositional phrases (groups of words which work

together). Prepositional phrases always start with a preposition and end with a noun or pronoun, and

the entire phrase describes other words.

2. Most prepositions indicate time, place, or position.

3. The most common prepositions are: at, to, with, from, for, of, on, in, into, onto,between, under, over,against, and around. Your textbook has a more complete list of prepositions.

Conjunctions

1. Conjunctions are words which hook words, phrases, or sentences.

2. The most common conjunctions are: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

Other common conjunctions are: because, when, while, as, since, although, whenever.

Check your textbook for a more complete list of these "subordinating conjunctions."

Adverbs

1. Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They answer the questions: how, when,

where, why, or under what conditions.

2. A number of words are always adverbs. They include: not, very, often, here, almost, always,never, there, and too.

3. Adverbs very often end with -ly. However, be careful: not all words ending in -ly are adverbs.

Interjections

1. Words which express emotion or are "fillers" in sentences, but which serve little other function are

called interjections.

For example: The underlined words in each of these sentences are interjections.

Oh, I am surprised. Ouch! I hit my hand. Yes, I am here.

Remember: The part of speech is determined by how a word is used in a sentence. The same

word may be a noun, verb, adjective, preposition, or conjunction according to how it is used.



Nouns and Pronouns

Nouns represent people, places, things, activities,

emotions, and ideas.

(1) a person

actor

(2) a place

Nicaragua

(3) a thing

pliers

(4) an emotion

love

(5) an idea

idea

Count Nouns and Noncount Nouns

ronouns represent nouns: I, you, he, she, it, we,

and they are....

Subject Pronouns

Singular Plural

I We

You You

He

They She

It

I am a teacher .

Noun: teacher

Pronoun: I

You are a student.

Noun: student

Pronoun: You

He is a guitar player

Noun: player

Pronoun: He

She is a mother .

Noun: mother.

Pronoun: she

It is a radio.

Noun: radio

Pronoun: It

http://www.learnamericanenglishonline.com/Blue%20Level/B19%20Count%20and%20Noncount%20Nouns.html











We are people.

Noun: people

Pronoun: We

(I + You) = We

I

+

you

You are students.

Noun: Students

Pronoun: You

Note: "You" can be

singular or plural

They are a family.

Noun: family

Pronoun: They

"They" is always plural.

It can be used for

people or things.

They are

wooden chairs.

Noun: chairs

Pronoun: They

"They" is a plural

pronoun for the chairs.

There are also....

Object Pronouns

Singular Plural

me us

you you

him

them her

It



WEEK 2

(PARTS OF SPEECH/

WORD CLASSES)



Adverbs / Adjectives / Linking Verbs

Adverbs

FORM

[adjective + ly]

There are also irregular adverbs such as "well" and "fast."

USE 1

Adverbs can be used to modify verbs.

Examples:

John walked quickly towards the door.

Sally sat silently waiting for somebody else to speak first.

USE 2

Adverbs can be used to modify adjectives.

Examples:

The redwood tree was impressively tall.

The blouse was outrageously expensive.

USE 3

Adverbs can be used to modify other adverbs.

Examples:

She spoke extremely confidently.

The cheetah ran incredibly quickly.

Adjectives

FORM

There are many different adjective endings including "-ive,"

"-ous," "-y," "-ful," "-ent" and many others. "Attractive,"

"envious," "lazy," "beautiful," and "intelligent" are alladjectives.

USE 1

Adjectives can be used to modify nouns.

Examples:

Jack drives a big car.

Sally writes beautiful poems.

USE 2

Adjectives often follow linking verbs (described below).

Examples:

Max is tall.

Sandra seems mad.

Linking Verbs

LIST

to appear

to be

to become

to feel

to get

to go

to grow

to look

to prove

to remain

to seem

to smell

to sound

to stay

to taste

to turn

USE

The linking verbs above are often followed by adjectivesinstead of adverbs. In such situations, the adjective

describes the subject of the sentence rather than the verb.

Study the examples below to learn the difference.

Examples:

Mary seemed sad. Correct

Mary seemed sadly. Not Correct

The cake tastes good. Correct

The cake tastes well. Not Correct

The train is slow. Correct

The train is slowly. Not Correct

James grew tired. Correct

Sarah remained calm. Correct

The milk went bad. Correct

The seas turned rough. Correct

The negotiations proved pointless. Correct

IMPORTANT

The verbs in the list above are not always used as linking

verbs. Compare the examples below.

Examples:

Sally grew angry.

"ANGRY " DESCRIBES S ALLY . I N THIS SENTENCE , " TO GROW " IS

BEING USED AS A LINKING VERB MEANING " TO BECOME ."

The plant grew quickly.

"QUICKLY " DOES NOT DESCRIBE THE PLANT , IT DESCRIBES THE

MANNER IN WHICH IT GROWS. I N THIS SENTENCE , " TO GROW " IS

NOT BEING USED AS A LINKING VERB.



Sentences: Simple, Compound, and Complex

A simple sentence is a sentence with one independent clause.

A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses.

A complex sentence is a sentence that contains one independent clause and one or more dependentclauses.

A compound-complex sentence contains two or more independent clauses and one or moredependent clauses.

Experienced writers use a variety of sentences to make their writing interesting and lively. Too many

simple sentences, for example, will sound choppy and immature while too many long sentences will be

difficult to read and hard to understand.

This page contains definitions of simple, compound, and complex sentences with many simple

examples. The purpose of these examples is to help the ESL/EFL learner to identify sentence basics

including identification of sentences in the short quizzes that follow. After that, it will be possible toanalyze more complex sentences varieties.

SIMPLE SENTENCE

A simple sentence, also called an independent clause, contains a subject and a verb, and it expresses a

complete thought. In the following simple sentences, subjects are in yellow, and verbs are in green.

A. Some students like to study in the mornings.

B. Juan and Arturo play football every afternoon.C. Alicia goes to the library and studies every day.

The three examples above are all simple sentences. Note that sentence B contains a compound subject,and sentence C contains a compound verb. Simple sentences, therefore, contain a subject and verb and

express a complete thought, but they can also contain a compound subjects or verbs.

COMPOUND SENTENCE

A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator. The coordinators are as

follows: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. (Helpful hint: The first letter of each of the coordinators

spells FANBOYS.) Except for very short sentences, coordinators are always preceded by a comma. In the

following compound sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the coordinators and the

commas that precede them are in red.

A. I tried to speak Spanish, and my friend tried to speak English.

B. Alejandro played football, so Maria went shopping.

C. Alejandro played football, for Maria went shopping.

The above three sentences are compound sentences. Each sentence contains two independent clauses,

and they are joined by a coordinator with a comma preceding it. Note how the conscious use of

coordinators can change the relationship between the clauses. Sentences B and C, for example, areidentical except for the coordinators. In sentence B, which action occurred first? Obviously, "Alejandro

played football" first, and as a consequence, "Maria went shopping. In sentence C, "Maria went shopping"first. In sentence C, "Alejandro played football" because, possibly, he didn't have anything else to

do, for or because "Maria went shopping." How can the use of other coordinators change the relationship



between the two clauses? What implications would the use of "yet" or "but" have on the meaning of the

sentence?

COMPLEX SENTENCE

A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. A complex

sentence always has a subordinator such asbecause, since, after, although, or when or a relative pronounsuch as that, who, or which. In the following complex sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green,

and the subordinators and their commas (when required) are in red.

A. When he handed in his homework, he forgot to give the teacher the last page.

B. The teacher returned the homework after she noticed the error.

C. The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow.

D. After they finished studying, Juan and Maria went to the movies.E. Juan and Maria went to the movies after they finished studying.

When a complex sentence begins with a subordinator such as sentences A and D, a comma is required atthe end of the dependent clause. When the independent clause begins the sentence with subordinators in

the middle as in sentences B, C, and E, no comma is required. If a comma is placed before thesubordinators in sentences B, C, and E, it is wrong.

Note that sentences D and E are the same except sentence D begins with the dependent clause which is

followed by a comma, and sentence E begins with the independent clause which contains no comma. The

comma after the dependent clause in sentence D is required, and experienced listeners of English will

often hear a slight pause there. In sentence E, however, there will be no pause when the independent

clause begins the sentence.

COMPLEX SENTENCES / ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

Finally, sentences containing adjective clauses (or dependent clauses) are also complex because they

contain an independent clause and a dependent clause. The subjects, verbs, and subordinators are

marked the same as in the previous sentences, and in these sentences, the independent clauses are alsounderlined.

A. The woman who called my mom sells cosmetics.

B. The book that Jonathan read is on the shelf.

C. The house which Abraham Lincoln was born in is still standing.

D. The town where I grew up is in the United States.

Adjective Clauses are studied in this site separately, but for now it is important to know that sentences

containing adjective clauses are complex.



WEEK 4

WEEK 4

(SENTENCE TYPES)



Tense Affirmative/Negative/Question UseSign

Wor

SimplePresent

A: He speaks.N: He does not speak.

Q: Does he speak?

action in the present taking place once, never or several times

facts

actions taking place one after another

action set by a timetable or schedule

alwaevery

nev

norm

ofte

seld

someti

usua

if sente

type I

I talk,

PresentProgressive

A: He is speaking.N: He is not speaking.

Q: Is he speaking?

action taking place in the moment of speakingaction taking place only for a limited period of time

action arranged for the future

at tmom

just, j

noListe

Look!,

right

Simple Past A: He spoke.

N: He did not speak.

Q: Did he speak?

action in the past taking place once, never or several

times

actions taking place one after another

action taking place in the middle of another action

yesterd

minu

ago,

1990,

other last Fr

if senttype I

I talke

Past

Progressive

A: He was speaking.

N: He was not speaking.

Q: Was he speaking?

action going on at a certain time in the past

actions taking place at the same time

action in the past that is interrupted by another action

whe

while

long

Present

PerfectSimple

A: He has spoken.

N: He has not spoken.Q: Has he spoken?

putting emphasis on the result

action that is still going on

action that stopped recently

finished action that has an influence on the present

action that has taken place once, never or several

times before the moment of speaking

alrea

ever, jnever,

yet, so

till noto n

PresentPerfect

Progressive

A: He has been speaking.N: He has not been speaking.

Q: Has he been speaking?

putting emphasis on the course or duration (not theresult)

action that recently stopped or is still going on

all day,years,

1993,

long?,

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simple-present



http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/present-progressive



http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simple-past


http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/past-progressive



http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/present-perfect-simple




http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/present-perfect-progressive



















finished action that influenced the present whole

Past Perfect

Simple

A: He had spoken.

N: He had not spoken.

Q: Had he spoken?

action taking place before a certain time in the past

sometimes interchangeable with past perfect

progressive

putting emphasis only on the fact (not the duration)

alrea

just, n

not y

once,that

if sent

type II

I hatalked

Past PerfectProgressive

A: He had been speaking.N: He had not been speaking.

Q: Had he been speaking?

action taking place before a certain time in the past

sometimes interchangeable with past perfect simple

putting emphasis on the duration or course of an action

for, sithe w

day, al

Future ISimple

A: He will speak.N: He will not speak.

Q: Will he speak?

action in the future that cannot be influenced

spontaneous decision

assumption with regard to the future

in a ynext

tomor If-Satz

(If you

her, shhelpy

assumI thi

proba

perh

Future ISimple

(going to)

A: He is going to speak.N: He is not going to speak.

Q: Is he going to speak?

decision made for the future

conclusion with regard to the future

in onenext w

tomor

Future I

Progressive

A: He will be speaking.

N: He will not be speaking.Q: Will he be speaking?

action that is going on at a certain time in the future

action that is sure to happen in the near future

in one

next wtomor

Future IISimple

A: He will have spoken.N: He will not have spoken.

Q: Will he have spoken?

action that will be finished at a certain time in the future by Moin a w

Future II

Progressive

A: He will have been speaking.

N: He will not have been speaking.

Q: Will he have been speaking?

action taking place before a certain time in the future

putting emphasis on the course of an action

for …,

last co

of hou

day l

Conditional I

Simple

A: He would speak.

N: He would not speak.Q: Would he speak?

action that might take place if sente

type(If I w

you, I

go ho

Conditional I A: He would be speaking.N: He would not be speaking.

action that might take place

http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/past-perfect-simple



http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/past-perfect-progressive



http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/future-1-will



http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/future-1-going-to



http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/future-1-progressive



http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/future-2-simple






http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/conditional-1-simple



http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/conditional-1-progressive




















Progressive Q: Would he be speaking? putting emphasis on the course / duration of the action

Conditional

II Simple

A: He would have spoken.

N: He would not have spoken.

Q: Would he have spoken?

action that might have taken place in the past if sente

type

(If I h

seen tI wo

hav

help

Conditional

II

Progressive

A: He would have been speaking.

N: He would not have been

speaking.Q: Would he have been speaking?

action that might have taken place in the past

puts emphasis on the course / duration of the action


















Tenses In Englisha) Present Tense

Simple Present Tense

A sentence is presented in simple present tense

when it is used to describe an action that's

happening at present and does not indicate

when the action is expected to end. Simple

present tense is used when:

The action that is taking place in general.

The action is not only occurring now; it repeats

after regular intervals of time.

To indicate facts those are generally true.

The action for relating habits and routines that

happen all the time, be it in the future, past or

present.

Structure:Verb "+s/es" form is used;

If subject is 3rd person singular.

The verb is used in its original form;

If subject is 1st and/or 2nd person singular.

If subject is 1st and/or 2nd person plural.

If subject is 3rd person plural.

Some Examples:

The sun sets in the west.

All the cars stop at this crossing.

Michael teaches social studies in a school.

That notice reads, ―No parking‖.

Rajdhani leaves at seven in the morning.

The teacher said if she works hard she will

pass.

There goes the taxi.

Do you play tennis?

He does not go to the temple.

Does he write novels?

Present Progressive Or Present

Continuous

Though the simple present and present

continuous tenses are used interchangeably,present continuous usually defines an act that

is going on at the time of speaking.

The sentences with present progressive tense

are used when:

Something is taking place now, while speakingand has a definite end as well.

When something is already decided and

arranged as well to perform it.

To indicate an undesirable habit.

Structure:

Use first form of the verb ―+ing‖

Singular 3rd person subject — use ‗is‘

Plural 1st, 2nd and 3rd person and singular 2nd person subject — use ‗are‘

1st person singular — use ‗am‘

In other words, it is "Subject + be (is, am, are)

+ Verb+ -ing + Object"

Some Examples:

Please wait for a moment, Shyam is talking toMary.

We are late; he will be waiting for us at therestaurant now.

Mom, I am playing football.

Are they still living here?

She is having her breakfast now.

I‘m planning to meet the Director tonight.

Present Perfect Tense

It's probably the most used tense form in

English Grammar and is also considered

difficult to understand. The Present PerfectTense explains the incident that has happenedin the past and that continues until the present

time.

Examples

For almost five generations, my family

members have been engineers.

In order to avoid delays in my work, I have

been doing it regularly.

I have always wanted to ride on this vehicle.



Present Perfect Continuous Tense

Usually, Present Perfect Continuous Tense is

used for a situation that has occurred in the

past and which continues until that moment.

Structure:

Use the first form of the verb + ―–ing‖

Singular subject (has been), Plural subject or I

(have been)

‗Since‘— if the point of time is mentioned.

‗For‘ — if the duration of time is specified.

Examples:

I have been eating apples today.

You have not been studying for the past month.

We haven‘t been playing with Mary since

Tuesday.

b) Past Tense

Simple Past Tense

Simple past tense is used to narrate

an action of the past. The verb in the

past tense ends with an '-ed' andhence, there are seven ways of

marking the irregular verbs in the pasttense. The most common being the

change of the vowel as in 'drink' -

'drank'.

Construction

Subject + verb + Object

Examples:

Katie worked in that office for almost four

years.

He passed away in 1999.

We went for the movie yesterday.

Three years ago, I studied at the Canada

University.

Past Continuous Tense

This from of tense indicates activities that have

already happened in the past and have been

completed before the time of mention. Thesesentences are formed with the help of an

auxiliary verb and giving the main verb an 'ing'

ending.

Structure

Subject + was/were + Verb in its -ing form +

Object

Examples:

He was washing the dishes, while she wascooking dinner.

I was working at 11p.m yesterday.

We were playing football when it started to rain.

She was reading a thriller novel when I called

her.

What were you doing when Sam arrived?

I was walking down the street yesterday when

the police van was patrolling the city.

Past Perfect Tense

This tense refers to a non-continuous action

that was already completed in the past. Such

sentences are formed by using the Simple

Past form of the auxiliary verb 'to have',followed by the past participle form of the

verb.

Structure

Subject + had + past participle form of verb +

Object

Example:

I had never seen such a beautiful before.

She understood the movie only becauseshe had read the book.

Clara had never been to a club before lastnight.

We didn‘t get a room in the hotel because

we had not booked in advance.

Past Perfect Continuous Tense A continuous action that was completed

sometime in the past falls under Past Perfect

Continuous tense. Such sentences are framed

by using the modal, 'had' + 'been' + the

present participle of the verb (-ing).

Structure:Subject + had + been + Verb (ing) + object

Example:

I had been playing the guitar all morning.



I had been sleeping all the way from the

beginning of the class.

He had been trying to call her.

Until this year, Neha had been going to a

village school.The baby had been crying out loud for minutes

when her mother fed her.

Future Tense

Simple Future Tense

This tense is used for those sentences whichrefer to the actions which will occur later, in

future. This requires a future tense auxiliary

verb even though the verb would be unmarked.

Examples:

You will be done before me.

She will not come tomorrow.

Will you come to play with me after school?

I will keep in touch with you.

I will reach home by 7p.m.

He will stay with us for 3 days.

Future Continuous Tense

This tense defines those acts which will be

continued at a future point of time. In order to

form a future continuous tense sentence, afuture auxiliary verb is required followed by a

main verb that ends with -ing.

Structure:

'will' + 'be' + present participle of the verb (ing).

Construction

Use first form of the verb (+ing)

1st and 2nd person — ‗Shall be‘

3rd person — ‗Will be‘

However, nowadays this distinction of 'will' and

'shall' is not followed. Instead, 'will' is used

wherever absolute conviction is required to beexpressed while the usage of 'shall' depends

on individual writing style.

Examples:

We assume that our representative will be

winning the elections that are to be held at the

end of April.

Today, she will be walking all the way to her house from her office.

I will be watching the new movie next week.

By this time tomorrow, I will be at

home watching T.V.

Future Perfect TenseThis tense is used to express an act that is

predicted to be finished within a certain spanof time in the future. Such sentences are

formed by 'will' + 'have' + 'past participle of the

verb'.

Examples:

By the end of the year, he will havesaved enough for his sister‘s wedding.

You will have left for London by the time this

bridge gets renewed.

Calvin will have gone by the time you reach

there by bus.

I will have walked 15 kms by this time.

How long will it have been since we were here

together?

Future Perfect Continuous TenseThis tense form indicates an action that is

continuous and, at some point in the future, it

will be completed. It is formed using the modal

'will/shall' + 'have' + 'been' + 'the past participle

of the verb (-ing)'.

Examples:

Next Saturday, I will have been working on thisassignment for three years.

Tomorrow, at this time, I shall have

been playing cricket since morning.

I will have been studying English for two hours

by the time you arrive here.

Tenses are critical to sensible and flawless

language. They help you convey your ideasclearly by way of words. They help indicate the

time of the statement and provide the reader

with a crystal-clear picture of incidents. Withmere practice, you will be able to grab all the

concepts of the correct usage of the tenses.



WEEK 5

(TYPES OF QUESTIONS)



English Closed Questions Yes/No Questions

In English, there are two basic types of questions: yes/no questions and wh- questions.

Yes/no questions are asked using be, have, do, or a modal verb. Yes/no questions always begin with

one of these verbs and can be answered with a simple yes or no, or with the question repeated as a

statement.

Note: It's impossible to ask a yes/no question without one of these auxiliary verbs.

He want a car? Does he want a car?

You going to eat with us? Are you going to eat with us?

BE

Use the verb be to ask about identity, description, location, and present or past activities andsituations.

Identity / Description

You can use be plus a noun or adjective to ask about the identity or description of a person, place, or

thing.

Am I your best friend? Yes (you are).

Is this interesting? No (it is not).

Are these islands part of Greece? Yes (they are).

Was his idea good? No (it wasn't).

Were they happy? Yes (they were).

Location

Be plus a prepositional phrase asks about present or past location.

Am I near your house? No (you aren't).

Is he in Panamá? Yes (he is).

Are we at the border yet? No (we're not).

Was his apartment above a bakery? Yes (it was).

Were the demonstrations downtown? No (they weren't).

Current activity / situation

To ask about a current activity or situation, use the present progressive: present tense of be + present

participle (verb+ing).

http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/esl/grammar/verb-be.html



http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/esl/grammar/verb-have.html



http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/esl/grammar/verb-do.html



http://www.elearnenglishlanguage.com/esl/grammar/modalverbs.html









Am I going with you and Tom? Yes (you are).

Is England adopting the euro? No (it isn't).

Are we seeing a play tonight? Yes (we are).

Is she working today? No (she isn't).

Past activity / situation

To ask about a past activity or situation, use the past progressive: past tense of be + present

participle.

Was it raining? Yes (it was).

Was Anna cooking? No (she wasn't).

Were the prisoners rebelling? Yes (they were).

Were they singing? No (they weren't).

Past event

To ask about something that happened to someone or something, use the passive voice: past tense

of be + past participle (verb + ed or en):

Was he given a reward? Yes (he was).

Was I chosen? No (you weren't).

Were you driven home in a taxi? Yes (we were).

Were dinosaurs killed by meteors? No (they weren't).

HAVE

Use the verb have to ask if some action has taken place or whether somebody has done something.

Notice that the auxiliary verb have is in the present tense* and the main verb is always a past

participle.

Has your brother left? No (he hasn't).

Have you flown before? Yes (I have).

Has the party started? Yes (it has).

Have the guests eaten? No (they haven't).

*It is possible to ask a yes/no question with had, but this is done in very specific situations and will be

explained in a future lesson.



DO

Use the verb do to obtain facts about people, places, or things.

Do is always followed by the subject and then a verb in the infinitive without to.

Do they smoke? No (they don't).

Does Bogotá get cold? Yes (it does).

Did it work? No (it didn't).

Do flying fish really fly? No (they don't).

Does running hurt your knees? Yes (it does).

Did teaching challenge you? Yes (it did).

MODALS

Use modal verbs to obtain more information about possibilities or uncertainties.

Modals are always followed by verbs in the infinitive without to.

Can we stay? Yes (we can stay).

Could this be true? Yes (it could be true).

Should they stop? No (they shouldn't).

May I help you? Yes (you may).

Will it rain? No (it won't rain).

Would you go with me? Yes (I would).

Remember: When asking a question with do or a modal verb, the main verb remains in the infinitive

without to.

Incorrect Correct

Do you to drink coffee? Do you drink coffee?

Does she to work here? Does she work here?

Can I to go with you? Can I go with you?

Should we to email her? Should we email her?

However, if there are two verbs in the infinitive after do, the second infinitive must use to.

Incorrect Correct







Do you want drink coffee? Do you want to drink coffee?

Does she like work here? Does she like to work here?

Did you need go home? Did you need to go home?

Remember: It's impossible to ask a yes/no question without an auxiliary verb.

He know your phone number? Does he know your phone number?

They returning today? Are they returning today?

Note that there are several ways to answer yes/no questions, especially with contractions.

Is he busy? No.

No, he isn't.

No, he's not.

No, he is not.

No, he isn't busy.

No, he's not busy.

No, he is not busy.



Basic Question Types

There are 3 basic types of question:

Yes/No Questions (the answer to the question is "Yes" or "No")

Question Word Questions (the answer to the question is "Information")

Choice Questions (the answer to the question is "in the question")

1. Yes/No Questions

auxiliary verb subject main verb Answer

Yes or No

Do you want dinner? Yes, I do.

Can you drive? No, I can't.

Has she finished her work? Yes, she has.

Did they go home? No, they didn't.

Exception! verb be simple present and simple past

Is Anne French? Yes, she is.

Was Ram at home? No, he wasn't.

2. Question Word Questions

question word auxiliary verb subject main verb Answer

Information

Where do you live? In Paris.

When will we have lunch? At 1pm.

Who(m) did she meet? She met Ram.

Who has run out? Ati has run out.

Who* ran out? Ati ran out.

Why hasn't Tara done it? Because she can't.


Where is Bombay? In India.



How was she? Very well.

*When who is subject there is normally no auxiliary verb in past simple and present simple.

3. Choice Questions

auxiliary verb subject main verb OR Answer In the question

Do you want tea or coffee? Coffee, please.

Will we meet John or James? John.

Did she go to London or New York? She went to London.


Is your car white or black? It's black.

Were they $15 or $50? $15.



Questions and tags

To ask a question in English you must usually use one of the auxiliary verbs (be, do, have) or a modalverb such as can, will, may. If you are expecting a yes/no answer, then the question starts with the

auxiliary or modal. Here are some examples:

Is she Japanese?

Do you like German food?

Can you play chess?

Have you seen Miho?

Must I go to school tomorrow?

Did you know the answer?

Is she coming to your party?

Will you be able to help me?

If you want more information than a simple yes/no answer, you must ask a question starting with one

of the following question words: what, where, when, why, which, who(m), whose, how. In this kind of question you also normally use an auxiliary or modal:

What did you say?

Where does she live?

When can you play chess?

Why must I go to school tomorrow?

Which book have you borrowed?

Who has taken my calculator?

Whose bag is this?

How did you know the answer?

* Note that questions starting with the question words what/who/whose do not need an auxiliary verb

in the simple present or past. For example: What happened? Who knows the answer? Whose parents

came to Open Day?

The questions what, which, whose are often followed by a noun (before the auxiliary/modal). The

question how is often followed by an adjective. Look at the following examples:

What time must we be there?

What kind of music do you listen to?

Which painting do you like the best?

Whose parents are coming to the meeting tomorrow?

How long have you lived in Germany?

How much money do you have?

How far is your house from the school?

Do a quiz on question words.

http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/auxil.htm



http://esl.fis.edu/grammar/rules/modal.htm




http://esl.fis.edu/vocab/q7v/ques_1.htm








We quite often want to ask a question containing a preposition. In spoken English the preposition is

usually put at the end of the question, as in the following examples?

Who did you go to the party with?

Who are you talking to?

What are you talking about?

Where is Miho from?

What did you say that for?

What kind of place do you live in?

Note: It is possible to begin questions with the preposition. ESL students should avoid this, however.

Even in written English such questions sound too formal: With whom did you go to the party? From

where is Miho?

A special type of question is the tag that English speakers put at the end of many statements. The

tags in the following sentences are shown in red:

It's a lovely day today, isn't it?

You live in Frankfurt, don't you?

Miho can't speak German, can she?

You haven't seen Miho, have you?

His parents are very old, aren't they?

You will remember to call me, won't you?

Tags are very common in spoken English, and have many functions. One of the common functions is

to start a conversation or help keep it going. The two basic rules about tag questions are:

If the statement is negative, the tag must be positive. If the statement is positive the tag must

be negative.- You don't like me, do you?

- You won't tell him my secret, will you?- He doesn't speak German, does he?

- You're coming to my party, aren't you?

- She's really good at chess, isn't she?- You haven't done your homework, have you?

The tense of the tag is determined by the tense of the auxiliary/modal verb of the statement that

precedes it. If the statement does not use an auxiliary/modal (i.e. it is in the present or past simple

tense), then the auxiliary to do must be used.- She comes from Korea, doesn't she?

- You like heavy metal music, don't you?

- He got top grade in the math test, didn't he?

- I really messed up, didn't I?

A problem with tags is getting the intonation right. Basically, it depends whether or not you are

expecting an answer to your question. Look at these two examples:

He's from Italy, isn't he? (flat or falling intonation - short pause before the tag - more a statement than

a question, not really expecting an answer)

He's from Italy, isn't he? (sharply rising intonation - longer pause before the tag - a question expecting

an answer)



WEEK 8 AND 9

(LISTENING & SPEAKING

SKILLS)



Listening Skills

Listening is the ability to accurately receive messages in the communication

process. Listening is key to all effective communication, without the ability to listen effectively

messages are easily misunderstood – communication breaks down and the sender of the messagecan easily become frustrated or irritated.

Listening is so important that many top employers give regular listening skills training for their employees. This is not surprising when you consider that good listening skills can lead to: better

customer satisfaction, greater productivity with fewer mistakes, increased sharing of

information that in turn can lead to more creative and innovative work.

Good listening skills also have benefits in our personal lives, including: a greater number of friendsand social networks, improved self-esteem and confidence, higher grades in academic work and

increased health and wellbeing. Studies have shown that, whereas speaking raises blood pressure,

listening brings it down.

Listening is not the same as hearing. Hearing refers to the sounds that you hear, whereas

listening requires more than that: it requires focus. Listening means paying attention not only to the

story, but how it is told, the use of language and voice, and how the other person uses his or her body. In other words, it means being aware of both verbal and non-verbal messages. Your ability to

listen effectively depends on the degree to which you perceive and understand these messages.

―The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the

most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.‖ Rachel Naomi Remen

We spend a lot of our time listening

Adults spend an average of 70% of their time engaged in some sort of communication, of this an

average of 45% is spent listening compared to 30% speaking, 16% reading and 9% writing. (Adler, R.et al. 2001).

http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/listening-skills.html





Based on the research of: Adler, R., Rosenfeld, L. and Proctor, R. (2001) Interplay: the process of

interpersonal communicating (8th edn), Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt.

10 Principles of Listening

See also: Verbal Communication

A good listener will listen not only to what is being said, but also to what is left unsaid or only

partially said.

Listening involves observing body language and noticing inconsistencies between verbal and non-

verbal messages. For example, if someone tells you that they are happy with their life but throughgritted teeth or with tears filling their eyes, you should consider that the verbal and non-verbal

messages are in conflict, they maybe don't mean what they say. Listening requires you to

concentrate and use your other senses in addition to simply hearing the words spoken.

Listening is not the same as hearing and in order to listen effectively you need to use more

than just your ears.

1. Stop Talking

―If we were supposed to talk more than we listen, we would have two tongues and one ear.‖ Mark

Twain.

Don't talk, listen. When somebody else is talking listen to what they are saying, do not interrupt, talk

over them or finish their sentences for them. Stop, just listen. When the other person has finishedtalking you may need to clarify to ensure you have received their message accurately.

2. Prepare Yourself to Listen

Relax. Focus on the speaker. Put other things out of mind. The human mind is easily distracted by

other thoughts – what‘s for lunch, what time do I need to leave to catch my train, is it going to rain –

try to put other thoughts out of mind and concentrate on the messages that are being communicated.

3. Put the Speaker at Ease

Help the speaker to feel free to speak. Remember their needs and concerns. Nod or use other

gestures or words to encourage them to continue. Maintain eye contact but don‘t stare – show you

are listening and understanding what is being said.

4. Remove Distractions

Focus on what is being said: don‘t doodle, shuffle papers, look out the window, pick your fingernails or

similar. Avoid unnecessary interruptions. These behaviours disrupt the listening process and sendmessages to the speaker that you are bored or distracted.

5. Empathise

Try to understand the other person‘s point of view. Look at issues from their perspective. Let go of

preconceived ideas. By having an open mind we can more fully empathise with the speaker. If thespeaker says something that you disagree with then wait and construct an argument to counter what

is said but keep an open mind to the views and opinions of others. (See our page: What is Empathy?)

6. Be Patient

A pause, even a long pause, does not necessarily mean that the speaker has finished. Be patient

and let the speaker continue in their own time, sometimes it takes time to formulate what to say and

how to say it. Never interrupt or finish a sentence for someone.

7. Avoid Personal Prejudice



http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/verbal-communication.html



http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/empathy.html








Try to be impartial. Don't become irritated and don't let the person‘s habits or mannerisms distract

you from what they are really saying. Everybody has a different way of speaking - some people are

for example more nervous or shy than others, some have regional accents or make excessive arm

movements, some people like to pace whilst talking - others like to sit still. Focus on what is being

said and try to ignore styles of delivery.

8. Listen to the Tone

Volume and tone both add to what someone is saying. A good speaker will use both volume and toneto their advantage to keep an audience attentive; everybody will use pitch, tone and volume of voice

in certain situations – let these help you to understand the emphasis of what is being said. (See our page on Effective Speaking for more)

9. Listen for Ideas – Not Just Words

You need to get the whole picture, not just isolated bits and pieces. Maybe one of the most difficult

aspects of listening is the ability to link together pieces of information to reveal the ideas of

others. With proper concentration, letting go of distractions, and focus this becomes easier.

10. Wait and Watch for Non-Verbal Communication

Gestures, facial expressions, and eye-movements can all be important. We don‘t just listen with our

ears but also with our eyes – watch and pick up the additional information being transmitted via non-verbal communication.

Find more at: http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/listening-skills.html#ixzz2QXcxXcrZ

http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/effective-speaking.html



http://www.skillsyouneed.com/ips/listening-skills.html#ixzz2QXcxXcrZ







WEEK 10

(READING SKILLS)



Reading skills

back You are expected to do much more reading at university than at school or

college; it's not called ‗reading for a degree' for nothing.

Here are five tips to help you improve your reading:

1. Styles of reading

2. Active reading

3. A tip for speeding up your active reading

4. Spotting authors' navigation aids

5. Words and vocabulary

1. Styles of reading

There are three styles of reading which we use in different situations:

Scanning: for a specific focus

The technique you use when you're looking up a name in the phone book: you

move your eye quickly over the page to find particular words or phrases that

are relevant to the task you're doing.

It's useful to scan parts of texts to see if they're going to be useful to you:

the introduction or preface of a book

the first or last paragraphs of chapters

the concluding chapter of a book.

Skimming: for getting the gist of something

The technique you use when you're going through a newspaper or magazine:you read quickly to get the main points, and skip over the detail. It's useful to

skim:

to preview a passage before you read it in detail

to refresh your understand of a passage after you've read it in detail.

Use skimming when you're trying to decide if a book in the library or bookshopis right for you.

Detailed reading: for extracting information accurately

Where you read every word, and work to learn from the text.

In this careful reading, you may find it helpful to skim first, to get a general

idea, but then go back to read in detail. Use a dictionary to make sure you

understand all the words used.

2. Active reading

When you're reading for your course, you need to make sure you're actively

involved with the text. It's a waste of your time to just passively read, the way

you'd read a thriller on holiday.

Always make notes to keep up your concentration and understanding.

http://www.studyskills.soton.ac.uk/getstart.htm





Here are four tips for active reading.

Underlining and highlighting

Pick out what you think are the most important parts of what you are reading.

Do this with your own copy of texts or on photocopies, not with borrowed

books.If you are a visual learner, you'll find it helpful to use different colours to

highlight different aspects of what you're reading.

Note key words

Record the main headings as you read. Use one or two keywords for each

point. When you don't want to mark the text, keep a folder of notes you make

while reading.

Questions

Before you start reading something like an article, a chapter or a whole book,

prepare for your reading by noting down questions you want the material toanswer. While you're reading, note down questions which the author raises.

Summaries

Pause after you've read a section of text. Then:

put what you've read into your own words;

skim through the text and check how accurate your summary is and

fill in any gaps.

3. A tip for speeding up your active reading

You should learn a huge amount from your reading. If you read passively,

without learning, you're wasting your time. So train your mind to learn.

Try the SQ3R technique. SQ3R stands for Survey, Question, Read,

Recall and Review.

Survey

Gather the information you need to focus on the work and set goals:

Read the title to help prepare for the subject

Read the introduction or summary to see what the author thinks are the key

points

Notice the boldface headings to see what the structure is

Notice any maps, graphs or charts. They are there for a purpose

Notice the reading aids, italics, bold face, questions at the end of the chapter.

They are all there to help you understand and remember.

Question

Help your mind to engage and concentrate. Your mind is engaged in learningwhen it is actively looking for answers to questions.

Try turning the boldface headings into questions you think the section should



answer.

Read

Read the first section with your questions in mind. Look for the answers, and

make up new questions if necessary.

Recall

After each section, stop and think back to your questions. See if you can

answer them from memory. If not, take a look back at the text. Do this as

often as you need to.

Review

Once you have finished the whole chapter, go back over all the questions fromall the headings. See you if can still answer them. If not, look back and

refresh your memory.

See also: Taking notes, Gathering information

4. Spotting authors' navigation aids

Learn to recognise sequence signals, for example:

"Three advantages of..." or "A number of methods are available..." leads you

to expect several points to follow.

The first sentence of a paragraph will often indicate a sequence:"One

important cause of..." followed by "Another important factor..." and so on,

until "The final cause of..."

General points are often illustrated by particular examples, for example:

General: Birds' beaks are appropriately shaped for feeding.

Particular: Sparrows and other seed-eating birds have short, stubby beaks;

wrens and other insect eaters have thin pointed beaks; herons and other fishhunters have long, sharp beaks for spearing their prey.

Whatever you are reading, be aware of the author's background. It is important

to recognise the bias given to writing by a writer's political, religious, social

background. Learn which newspapers and journals represent a particular

standpoint.

5. Words and vocabulary

When you're a graduate people expect you to use a vocabulary which is wider than a school-leaver's. To expand your vocabulary:

Choose a large dictionary rather than one which is ‗compact' or ‗concise'. You

want one which is big enough to define words clearly and helpfully (around1,500 pages is a good size).

Avoid dictionaries which send you round in circles by just giving synonyms. A

pocket dictionary might suggest: ‗impetuous = rash'.

A more comprehensive dictionary will tell you that impetuous means ‗rushing

with force and violence', while another gives ‗liable to act withoutconsideration', and add to your understanding by giving the derivation ‗14th

http://www.studyskills.soton.ac.uk/studytips/lecture_notes.htm#notes



http://www.studyskills.soton.ac.uk/studytips/gather_info.htm







century, from late Latin impetuous = violent'.

It will tell you that rash means ‗acting without due consideration or thought',

and is derived from Old High German rasc = hurried.

So underlying these two similar words is the difference between violence and

hurrying.

There are over 600,000 words in the Oxford English Dictionary ; most of them

have different meanings, (only a small proportion are synonyms).

Avoid dictionaries which send you round in circles by using very complicated

language to define the term you're looking up, leaving you struggling to

understand half a dozen new words.

Keep your dictionary at hand when you're studying. Look up unfamiliar words

and work to understand what they mean.

Improve your vocabulary by reading widely.

If you haven't got your dictionary with you, note down words which you don'tunderstand and look them up later.



Intonation and Stress - Key to Understanding and Being Understood

Correct intonation and stress are the key to speaking English fluently with good pronunciation.Intonation and stress refers to the music of the English language. Words that are stressed are key to

understanding and using the correct intonation brings out the meaning. After students have learned

basic consonant and vowel sounds, they should move on to learning to differentiate between

individual sounds by using minimal pairs. Once they are comfortable with individual words, theyshould move on to intonation and stress exercises such as sentence markup. The following exercisecan be used by students and teachers to further help with pronunciation by focusing on the stressing

content words rather than function words in the exercise below.

Intonation and Stress - Exercise Introduction

Say this sentence aloud and count how many seconds it takes.

The beautiful Mountain appeared transfixed in the distance.

Time required? Probably about 5 seconds. Now, try speaking this sentence aloud.

He can come on Sundays as long as he doesn't have to do any homework in the evening.

Time required? Probably about 5 seconds.

Wait a minute the first sentence is much shorter than the second sentence!

The beautiful Mountain appeared transfixed in the distance

He can come on Sundays as long as he doesn't have to do any homework in the evening

You are only partially right!

This simple exercise makes a very important point about how we speak and use English. Namely,

English is considered a stressed language while many other languages are considered syllabic. What

does that mean? It means that, in English, we give stress to certain words while other words arequickly spoken (some students say eaten!). In other languages, such as French or Italian, each

syllable receives equal importance (there is stress, but each syllable has its own length).

Many speakers of syllabic languages don't understand why we quickly speak, or swallow, a number of

words in a sentence. In syllabic languages each syllable has equal importance, and therefore equaltime is needed. English however, spends more time on specific stressed words while quickly gliding

over the other, less important, words.

Let's look at a simple example: the modal verb "can". When we use the positive form of "can" we

quickly glide over the can and it is hardly pronounced.

They can come on Friday . (stressed words underlined)

On the other hand, when we use the negative form "can't" we tend to stress the fact that it is the

negative form by also stressing "can't".

They can't come on Friday .

As you can see from the above example the sentence, "They can't come on Friday" is longer than

"They can come on Friday" because both the modal "can't" and the verb "come" are stressed.

http://esl.about.com/library/listening/blIPAconsonants.htm



http://esl.about.com/library/listening/blIPAvowels.htm



http://esl.about.com/od/pronunciationlessonplans/a/l_minpair.htm



http://esl.about.com/od/speakingadvanced/a/sscripting.htm









So, what does this mean for my speaking skills?

Well, first of all, you need to understand which words we generally stress and which we do not stress.

Basically, stress words are considered CONTENT WORDS such as

Nouns e.g. kitchen, Peter

(most) principal verbs e.g. visit, construct

Adjectives e.g. beautiful, interesting

Adverbs e.g. often, carefully

Non-stressed words are considered FUNCTION WORDS such as

Determiners e.g. the, a, some, a few

Auxiliary verbs e.g. don't, am, can, were

Prepositions e.g. before, next to, opposite

Conjunctions e.g. but, while, as

Pronouns e.g. they, she, us

Let's return to the beginning example to demonstrate how this affects speech.

The beautiful Mountain appeared transfixed in the distance . (14 syllables)

He can come on Sunday s as long as he doesn't have to do any homework in the evening . (22

syllables)

Even though the second sentence is approximately 30% longer than the first, the sentences take thesame time to speak. This is because there are 5 stressed words in each sentence. From this example,

you can see that you needn't worry about pronouncing every word clearly to be understood (we native

speakers certainly don't). You should however, concentrate on pronouncing the stressed words

clearly.

Now, do some listening comprehension or go speak to your native English speaking friends and listen

to how we concentrate on the stressed words rather than giving importance to each syllable. You will

soon find that you can understand and communicate more because you begin to listen for (and use inspeaking) stressed words. All those words that you thought you didn't understand are really not

crucial for understanding the sense or making yourself understood. Stressed words are the key to

excellent pronunciation and understanding of English.

http://esl.about.com/cs/intermediate/f/f_adverbs.htm


http://esl.about.com/od/intermediate_common_mistakes/a/Parallel-Structure.htm






Pronunciation Help - Sentence Stress

Take a look at the following list of stressed and non-stressed word types.

Basically, stress words are considered CONTENT WORDS such as

Nouns e.g. kitchen, Peter

(most) principle verbs e.g. visit, construct

Adjectives e.g. beautiful, interesting

Adverbs e.g. often, carefully

Non-stressed words are considered FUNCTION WORDS such as

Determiners e.g. the, a, some, a few

Auxiliary verbs e.g. don't, am, can, were

Prepositions e.g. before, next to, opposite

Conjunctions e.g. but, while, as

Pronouns e.g. they, she, us

Mark the stressed words in the following sentences. After you have found the stressed words,

practice reading the sentences aloud.

John is coming over tonight. We are going to work on our homework together.

Ecstasy is an extremely dangerous drug.

We should have visited some more castles while we were traveling through the back roads of France.

Jack bought a new car last Friday.

They are looking forward to your visiting them next January.

Exciting discoveries lie in Tom's future.

Would you like to come over and play a game of chess?

They have been having to work hard these last few months on their challenging experiment.

Shakespeare wrote passionate, moving poetry.

As you might have expected, he has just thought of a new approach to the problem

English ISL

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Transcript of English ISL