ENGLISH FOR STUDENTS

Simple Tense Verb tense tells you when the action happens. There are three main verb tenses: present, past, and future. Each main tense is divided into simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive tenses.  Simple Progressive Perfect Perfect Progressive Present finish am/is/are finishing have/has finished have/has been finishing Past finished was/were finishing had finished had been finishing Future will finish will be finishing will have finished will have been finishing Things to remember about simple tense:      a. Present tense is the original verb form.       b. Past tense has a few patterns.       c. Future tense needs will (shall) + verb.  run I run a marathon this year. (present) I ran a marathon last year. (past) I will run a marathon next year. (future) eat I eat lunch now. I ate lunch an hour ago. I will eat lunch in one hour. see I see a movie once a wee...

Adverbs Adverbs modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.  An adverb tells more about a verb in the sentence. The fire engine runs  fast . Listen to his speech  carefully . I browse the web  frequently . It rained  hard . An adverb describes more about an adjective in the sentence. The news is  very surprising ! The coffee is  extremely  hot, so be careful. Nature is  really  amazing! An adverb modifies another adverb in the sentence. It rains  very hard . Computers run  much faster  these days. I clean my room  less frequently  because I am busy. Commonly, adjectives can be changed to adverbs by adding 'ly'. slow – slowly quick – quickly comfortable – comfortably loud – loudly clear – clearly To change adjectives ending in 'y' into adverbs, change the 'y' to 'i' and add 'ly'. happy – happily easy – easily

Comparative and Superlative Adjectives Comparative adjectives compare two things. Superlative adjectives compare more than two things Commonly, adjectives that contain only one syllable or end in 'y' use 'er' to form comparatives and 'est' to form superlatives. For adjectives ending in y, change the 'y' to 'i' before adding the 'er' or 'est'. old – older – oldest young – younger – youngest pretty – prettier – prettiest long – longer – longest short – shorter – shortest bright – brighter – brightest close – closer – closest happy – happier - happiest Adjectives with two or more syllables do not change but instead add  more  to form comparatives and  most  to form superlatives. respectable – more respectable – most respectable beautiful – more beautiful – most beautiful preferable – more preferable – most preferable hardworking – more hardworking – most hardworking Some adjectives have different forms of comparati...

Adjectives Adjectives describe or modify nouns. I like fairy tales. A fairy tale is an  imaginary  story that has  unrealistic  characters in a  fantastic  background. It makes me forget about the  real  world and refreshes my  tired  mind. Adjectives generally appear immediately before the noun. A  pretty  girl Red  flowers A  long  stick Heavy  boxes Warm  weather Commonly, adjectives of opposite meaning are formed by adding a prefix such as  un ,  in , or  dis . clear – unclear, important – unimportant, predictable – unpredictable, believable – unbelievable, common – uncommon, aware – unaware, ambiguous – unambiguous, conventional – unconventional, certain – uncertain definite – indefinite, correct – incorrect, comparable – incomparable, complete – incomplete, evitable – inevitable, expensive – inexpensive able – disable, assemble – disassemble, content – discontent, simil...

Action Verbs Action verbs express action and are the most common verbs. Action verbs need s at the end with third-person, singular subjects. He  eats  bread. She  walks  to the station. It  floats  on the sea. Negative sentences need do not, does not, or did not. I do not eat bread. He does not eat bread. You did not walk to the station. It does not float on the sea. Interrogative sentences begin with do, does, or did. Do you eat bread? Does he eat bread? Does she walk to the station? Did they finish it? Do not can be shortened to don't, does not to doesn't, and did not to didn't. I don't eat bread. She doesn't walk to the station. It doesn't float on the sea. They didn't finish it. Remember the variations of action verbs: Affirmative Sentence Negative Sentence Interrogative Sentence I sing a song. I do not (don't) sing a song. Do I sing a song? You sing a song. You do not (don't) sing a song. Do you sing a song? He (she...

'Be' Verbs A verb shows action or a state of being. I  go  home. Home is my place to rest. I  like  the smell of my house. I  feel  totally relaxed. Home  refreshes  me. At home, I  get  ready for a new day. "Be" verbs indicate a state of being. Verbs must match subjects. I  am  a doctor. He  is  sleepy. We  are  here. Negative sentences need ‘not' after the verb. I am not a doctor. He is not sleepy. We are not there. The verb comes first in interrogative sentences. Am I a doctor? Is he sleepy? Are we there? "Are not" (is not) can be shortened to "aren't" (isn't). He isn't sleepy. We aren't there. Remember the variations of "be" verbs: Present Negative Interrogative I am I am not Am I? You are You are not (aren't) Are you? He is He is not (isn't) Is he? She is She is not (isn't) Is she? It was It was not (wasn't) Was it? We are We are not (aren't) Are we? You are You ar...

Pronouns A pronoun takes the place of a noun.  Example story : Maleesha is one of the heads of the Medical Faculty  Maleesha works with Mr. Jaya and Mr. Jaya's son Thiru. Mr. Jaya and Mr. Jaya's  son Thiru are experts in biochemistry. Maleesha, Mr. Jaya, and Thiru researched and invented a drug for cancer treatment.  If the story above is written using pronouns : Maleesha is one of the heads of the Medical Faculty .  She  works with Mr. Jaya and  his  son Thiru.  He  and  his  son Thiru are experts in biochemistry. They  researched and invented a drug for cancer treatment.  Personal Pronouns Personal pronouns refer to a person: I  go to school. You  are a student. They  are Koreans. He  works here. We  gave her food. The word ‘it' refers to an object: I drank  it . It  is big. They cut  it  into halves. Singular Subject Singular Object Singu...

Possessive Nouns Possessive nouns are used to indicate ownership. Possessive nouns usually are formed by adding an apostrophe (') and s. Jothy's book Keerthi's car Grandma's mirror When a noun is plural and ends in s, just add an apostrophe ('). The kids' toys My parents' house The teachers' room If two people own one thing, add the apostrophe and s to the second person only. Jerald and Mary's new house Denuka and Susan's wedding Thilina and Disa's car If two people own separate things, add the apostrophe and s for each person. Sunethra's and Berty's books Jean's and Dulari's pants Babu's and Jiffry's offices

Count Nouns vs. Non-Count Nouns Count nouns Can be counted as one or more. pen, computer, bottle, spoon, desk, cup, television, chair, shoe, finger, flower, camera, stick, balloon, book, table, comb, etc. Take an s to form the plural. pens, computers, bottles, spoons, desks, cups, televisions, chairs, shoes, fingers, flowers, cameras, sticks, balloons, books, tables, combs, etc. Work with expressions such as (a few, few, many, some, every, each, these, and the number of). a few pens, a few computers, many bottles, some spoons, every desk, each cup, these televisions, the number of chairs, a few shoes, a few fingers, many flowers, some cameras, every stick, each balloon, these books, the number of tables, many combs, etc. Work with appropriate articles (a, an, or the). a pen, the computer, a bottle, the spoon, a desk, the cup, a television, the chair, a shoe, the finger, a flower, the camera, a stick, the balloon, a book, the table, a comb, etc. Do NOT work with  mu...

Singular and Plural Nouns A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea. Usually, the first  page  of a grammar  book  tells you about  nouns .  Nouns  give  names  of concrete or abstract  things  in our  lives . As  babies  learn " mom ," " dad ," or " milk " as their first  word ,  nouns  should be the first  topic  when you study a foreign  language .  For the plural form of most nouns, add s. bottle – bottles cup – cups pencil – pencils desk – desks sticker – stickers window – windows For nouns that end in ch, x, s, or s sounds, add es. box – boxes watch – watches moss – mosses bus – buses For nouns ending in f or fe, change f to v and add es. wolf – wolves wife – wives leaf – leaves life – lives Some nouns have different plural forms. child – children woman – women man – men mouse – mice goose – geese Nouns ending in vowels like y or o do not have d...

Unique Personalities Vocabulary A. = Adjective   ADV. = Adverb   IDM. = Idiom   N. = Noun   V. = Verb cynical A. seeing little or no good in other people, believing that people do good things for bad reasons eccentric A. having strange, unusual or abnormal habits or tastes  This term is less insulting than strange, weird or bizarre. egotistical A. thinking too highly of oneself, considering oneself better than others imaginative A. creative, having much imagination indecisive A. unable to decide quickly, not knowing what choice to make picky A. hard to please, too careful in choosing something sensible A. practical, reasonable, something that makes sense sensitive A. easily feels emotion, easily hurt emotionally  can be positive or negative sophisticated A. representing high culture, very experienced in life  thoughtful A. often doing things to make other people feel good