ENGLISH GRAMMARClass I

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. MODULE I: PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND AUXILIARES, PRONOUNS, PLURALS, PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE AND TIME

2. MODULE II: PRESENT SIMPLE IN AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES, NEGATIVE AND QUESTIONS, ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY, QUESTION WORDS

3. MODULE III: COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS, SOME AND ANY, MUCH/MANY/A LOT OF, FEW/LITTLE, COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE FORM

4. MODULE IV: PRESENT CONTINUOUS IN AFFIRMATIVE SENTENCES, NEGATIVE AND QUESTIONS, PRESENT SIMPLE VS PRESENT CONTINUOUS

5. MODULE V: PAST SIMPLE, PAST SIMPLE WITH REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERBS, NEGATIVE AND QUESTIONS WITH PAST SIMPLE, EXPRESSIONS OF TIME

MODULE I - AUXILIARES

Personal pronouns: A personalpronoun refers to a specific person orthing and changes its form to indicateperson, number, gender and case. Asubjective personal pronoun indicatesthat the pronoun is acting as thesubject of the sentence. The subjectivepersonal pronouns are "I," "you," "she,""he," "it," "we," "you," "they”

The verb TO BE: we use the verb “to be”to show the status or characteristics ofsomething or someone. It says what Iam, what you are or what something is.

The verb HAVE/HAVE GOT: "Have" and"have got" are both used to showpossession.

Pronouns Affirmative Negative Questions

I Am Am not Am I?

He/She/It Is Is not (isn’t)Is he/She/It?

We/You/They

AreAre not(aren’t)

AreWe/You/They?

I Have got

Have notgot(Haven’tgot)

Have I?

He/She/It Has gotHas not got(Hasn’tgot)

Hashe/She/It ?

We/You/They

Have got

Have notgot(Haven’tgot)

HaveWe/You/They?

MODULE I - PRONOUNS

PRONOUNS: Subject, Object, Possessive

Subject Pronouns - I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they function as the subject of asentence

Object Pronouns - me, you, him, her, it, us, you, them serve as the object of a verb.

Possessive Pronouns - mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, yours, theirs show thatsomething belongs to someone. Note that the possessive pronouns are similar topossessive adjectives (my, his, her). The difference is that the object follows thepossessive adjective but does not follow the possessive pronoun. For example -Possessive Pronoun: That book is mine. - Possessive Adjective: That is my book.

Possessive adjectives - my, your, his, her, its, our, your, their are often confused withpossessive pronouns. The possessive adjective modifies the noun following it inorder to show possession.

MODULE I - PLURALS

Rule: In general, the plural is formed by adding an –S at the end ofthe noun.

Example: a tree - trees, a girl – girls

Rule: Nouns that end with an -s, -sh, -ch, -z and –x add -ES

Example: dish - dishes, bus - buses, peach – peaches

Be Careful! Some of the most common exceptions are: man - men,child - children, woman - women, person – people

Many animals do not have a plural form: Example: fish - fish, deer -deer

MODULE I - PREPOSITIONS

PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE AND TIME:

IN We use in with months - in May seasons - in winter country - inGreece city or town names - in New York times of the day - in themorning, afternoon or evening BUT at night!

ON We use "on" with specific days - on Friday, on New Year's Day, onApril the 19thAmerican English - "on the weekend OR on weekends"

AT We use "at" with specific times - at 7 o'clock, at 6.15at nightspecific places in a city - at school British English - "at the weekend ORat weekends"

TO We use "to" with verbs which show movement such as go andcome - He goes to school. She returned to the shop. They are comingto the party tonight.

MODULE II – PRESENT SIMPLE

Listed below are uses with examples of the present simple tense.

Permanent or long-lasting situations, Regular habits and dailyroutines.

Facts, Feelings, Opinions and states of mind, Timetables and schedules

Examples: The store opens at 9 o'clock. She lives in NewYork.

Common present time expressions include: usually, always, often,sometimes, on Saturdays, at weekends (on weekends US English),rarely, on occasion, never, seldom

MODULE II – PRESENT SIMPLE(Structure)

Positive: In the positive form add an 's' to the base form of the 3rdperson singular. If the verb ends in -y preceded by a consonant, changethe -y to -ies.

I, You, We, They -> eat lunch at noon. He, She, It -> works well in anysituation.

Negative: Conjugate the helping verb 'do' not (don't and doesn't) thebase form of the verb to make negatives.

I, You, We, They -> don't enjoy opera. He, She, It -> doesn't belong tothe club.

Questions: Conjugate the helping verb 'do' (do or does) the base formof the verb in question forms. Do -> I, you, we, they -> work in thistown? Does -> he, she, it -> live in this city?

MODULE II – ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY

Adverbs of frequency tell us how often something happens/is thecase, happened/was the case, will happen/will be the case, etc.There are lots of them. Here are some examples :always,constantly, typically, continuously, usually normally mostlygenerally commonly largely regularly, often frequently, sometimesoccasionally, rarely, hardly ever, seldom, never

Where do they come in the sentence? If the sentence has one verbin it (e.g. no auxiliary verb) we usually put the adverb in the middleof the sentence, i.e. after the subject and before the verb: We oftengo to the cinema.

The adverb usually comes after the verb "be": I am always late

MODULE II – QUESTION WORDS

Question words are used to ask about specific qualities, times, places, people, etc. They are different from yes / no questions (Do you live in France?).

Who Use: Asking about people

What Use: Asking about things or activities

What kind of / type of Use: Asking about specific things or characteristics

What time Use: Asking for a specific time

What ... Like Use: Asking about characteristics

When Use: Asking about general or specific times

Where Use: Asking about places

How Use: Combined with many words to ask questions about specific characteristics, qualities, quantities, etc. For example: How much (price, quantity), How long (length), How often (frequency)

Which Use: Asking to specify a thing or person from a number of things or people

MODULE III – COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

Countable nouns are individual objects, people, places, etc. which can be counted. Nouns are considered content words meaning they provide the people, things, ideas, etc. about which we speak.

Uncountable nouns are materials, concepts, information, etc.which are not individual objects and can not be counted:information, water, understanding, wood, cheese, etc.

Uncountable nouns are always singular. Use the singular form

MODULE III – SOME AND ANY

We use "some" in positive sentences. We use some for bothcountable and uncountable nouns. Example: I have somefriends.

We use "any" in negative sentences or questions. We use anyfor both countable and uncountable nouns. Example: Do youhave any cheese? - He doesn't have any friends in Chicago.

We use "some" in questions when offering or requestingsomething that is there. Example: Would you like somebread? (offer) - Could I have some water? (request)

MODULE III – MUCH, MANY, A LOT OF

'Much' and 'Many' are used in negative sentences and questions. 'Much' isused with uncountable nouns such as 'rice': Examples: How much moneyhave you got?, There isn't much rice left. 'Many' is used for countablenouns such as 'apples’

A lot of' and 'lots of' can be used with both count and uncountable nouns.'A lot of' and 'lots of' are used in positive sentences: Examples: There is a lotof water in that jar. He's got lots of friends in London.

'A little' and 'a few' indicate a quantity or number. 'Little' and 'few' indicatea limited quantity. Use 'a little' with uncountable nouns. Example: There isa little wine in that bottle. Use 'a few' with countable nouns. Example: Hehas a few friends in NewYork.

MODULE IV – PRESENT CONTINUOUS

The present continuous tense is generally used to express somethinghappening at the moment of speaking. It is not used to express everyday habitsand routines. Everyday habits and routines are expressed using the presentsimple tense. It is also important to remember that the present continuous isonly used with action verbs.

Things that are happening now, at the moment. Example: What are you doing?

Actions happening in a period around the present moment in time. Example:I'm reading "The Surgeon's Mate" by Patrick O'Brian.

Future plans and arrangements. Example: What are you doing tomorrowafternoon?

Common present continuous time expressions include: at the moment, now,today, this week, this month, tomorrow, next week (for future arrangements ),currently.

MODULE IV – PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Affirmative sentence: the verb “to be” + main verb with –ing at the end.

I'm (I am) -> working today. You're (You are) -> working today. He's (He is) -> working today. She's (She is) -> working today. It's (Itis) -> working today. We're (We are) -> working today. You're (You are) -> working today. They're (They are) -> working today.

Negative sentence: the negative form of the verb “to be” + main verb with –ing at the end

I'm not (I am not) -> coming this evening. You aren't (You are not) -> coming this evening. He isn't (He is not) -> coming thisevening. She isn't (She is not) -> coming this evening. It isn't (It is not) -> coming this evening. We aren't (We are not) -> coming thisevening. You aren't (You are not) -> coming this evening. They aren't (They are not) -> coming this evening.

MODULE IV – PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Questions: question word+ the verb “to be”+ subject+ mainverb with –ing at the end

What -> are you -> doing this afternoon? What -> is he -> doing this afternoon? What -> is she -> doing this afternoon? What -> is it -> doing this afternoon? What -> are we -> doing this afternoon? What -> are you -> doing this afternoon? What -> are they -> doing this afternoon?

MODULE IV – PESENT SIMPLE VS PRESENT CONTINUOUS

Present Simple: Use the present simple to talk aboutactivities or routines which take place on a regular basis.

Present Continuous: Use the present continuous to speakabout what is happening at the present moment in time,around the present moment, or for a future scheduled event.

State verbs cannot be used in the continuous forms. Here is alist of common state verbs :believe, understand, think(opinion), want, hope, smell, taste, feel, sound, look, seem,appear

MODULE V – PAST SIMPLE

Use the past simple to talk about activities or routines whichtake place at a specified time in the past.

The past simple is used to express a finished past actionwhich occurs at a specific moment in the past.

The following time signifiers often indicate a specific point intime.last ago in ... (plus a year or month) yesterday when... (plus a phrase)

Positive Form: Subject + past form of verb + object(s) + time

MODULE V – PAST SIMPLE WITH REGULAR OR IRREGULAR VERBS

In the positive form, for regular verbs, addan -ed to the base form of the verb. If theverb ends in -y preceded by a consonant,change the -y to -ied.

Example: We played football yesterday,She studied English yesterday

Irregular verbs must be studied

IRREGULAR VERBS

be - was/were become – became, begin –began, break – broke, bring – brought, build –built, buy - bought , come – came, cost – cost,

cut- cut, do – did, drink – drank, eat - atefind – found, fly – flew, get – got, give – gave,go – went, have – had, keep – kept, know –

knew, leave - left make - made meet - metpay - paid put - put read - read say - said see

-saw sell - sold send – sent, speak - spokespend - spent take - took teach - taught tell -

told think - thought

MODULE V – PAST SIMPLE WITH NEGATIVE AND QUESTIONS

Negative Form: Subject + did + not + base form of verb + object(s) +(time)

Examples:

They didn't expect to see you at Christmas. She didn't understandthe question.

Question Form: (Wh?) + did + subject + base form of verb +(object(s))+ (time)?

Examples:

Where did you study French? When did you arrive last week?

MODULE V – EXPRESSIONS OF TIME

Time Expressions Often Used in the Past:

last - used when speaking about the previous week, month or year. Example:They went on holiday last month.

yesterday - used when speaking about the previous day Example: I visited mybest friend yesterday.

ago - used when speaking about X days, weeks, months, years before. NOTE:'ago' follows the number of days, weeks, etc. Example: We flew to Clevelandthree weeks ago.

in - used with specific years or months Example: She graduated in 1976.

when - used with a past time clause Example: I played tennis every day when Iwas a teenager.