1. NOUNS
Nouns are naming words. They name people, animals, places and things.
A. Common and Proper Nouns
Common nouns are the names of everyday things; the things we see, hear, smell, taste
and touch.
Words like room, composer, cat and computer are common nouns. Proper nouns are special names for particular people and things.
They include the names of places, the days of the week and the titles of books and films.
Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter. The words Hyderabad, Raju are proper nouns.
Sometimes, common nouns can be part of proper nouns. For example:
a. He travelled to space.
b. He had an amazing adventure.
c. My favourite cartoon is 'Space Adventure'.
The two words space and adventure are common nouns, but the name of the cartoon is
'Space Adventure', so this is a proper noun and must be written with capital letters.
B. Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Countable nouns refer to things that can be counted. They can also be called count nouns.
one cow two cows one chef two chefs one bag ten bags one house five houses one girl four girls one street three streets one car twenty cars one bottle eight bottles one tree twelve trees one balloon ninety balloons one dress two dresses one cat thirty cats one apple six apples one man a hundred men one chair nine chairs one horse sixteen horses
We can always count countable nouns, whether there is one or a million of them!
non-count nouns. NOTE:
1. Uncountable nouns have just one form. We don't change them to make a plural form. We don't need to add -s to the end of the noun.
For example:
music dirt rice luggage dust weather
flour homework milk
2. Since uncountable nouns are always singular, remember to use the correct form of the verb.
For example:
There is dust everywhere! I must clean the house. (NOT: There are dust everywhere. I must clean the house.)
3. Usually, we don't use a or an or a number with an uncountable noun. For example:
We’re having very hot weather. (NOT: We’re having a very hot weather.) 4. When we need to use uncountable nouns in a plural sense, we add words called
partitives.
For example:
The two pieces of luggage were left in the taxi. (NOT: The two luggages were left in the taxi.)
Note:
Remember that the verb needs to change depending on whether the partitive is singular or plural :
The piece of luggage was left in the taxi. (singular partitive and singular verb)
The two pieces of luggage were left in the taxi. (plural partitive and plural verb)
5. Some uncountable nouns are always plural. For example :
groceries clothes pyjamas shorts trousers jeans scissors spectacles news
We can say "I bought some jeans or I bought a pair of jeans". We shouldn't say "I bought a jean".
C. Singular and Plural Nouns
Nouns can be singular or plural.
1. Nouns have a singular form when they refer to one person or thing
2. Nouns have plural form when they refer to more than one person or thing.
3. When we make a plural noun, we usually add -S, for example, one apple (singular) becomes ten apples (plural).
Here are some examples of plural nouns with -s :
Bee − bees Piano − pianos Toy − toys Girl − girls Cup − cups Plate − plates Tree − trees Flower − flowers Road − roads Town − towns Book − books Cake − cakes
Note:
Not all countable nouns are formed in this way.
There are special spelling rules for making the plural form of some countable nouns.
1. When a singular noun ends in a hissing sound like -s, -ss, -tch, -x, -sh and -z, we add -es to make the plural form. For example :
bus − busses fox − foxes watch − watches waltz − waltzes wish − wishes kiss − kisses
But if the hissing sound is followed by a silent -e, then we just add –s to make the plural form:
maze − mazes base − bases noise − noises axe − axes
2. When a singular noun ends in -ch, we need to remember two things:
a. If the -ch is a soft sound, we add -es to make the plural form. For example: lunch − lunches sandwich − sandwiches
branch − branches church − churches
b. If the -ch is a hard sound, we add -s to make the plural form. For example: monarch − monarches eunuch − eunuches
3. When a singular noun ends in -y, we need to remember two things:
a. If there is a vowel in front of the -y, we add -s to make the plural form. For example:
key − keys toy − toys monkey − monkeys way − ways
b. If there is a consonant in front of the -y, first we change the -y to -i, then we add -es. For example:
baby − babies city − cities party − parties family − families
4. For most singular nouns ending in -O, we simply add -s to make the plural form. For example :
yoyo − yoyos photo − photos flamingo − flamingos piano − pianos
But there are some nouns ending in -O that take -es in the plural form : hero − heroes potato − potatoes
tomato − tomatoes volcano − volcanoes
There are also some nouns ending in -O that can take either -s or -es in the plural form :
eskimo Eskimos eskimoes
flamingo flamingos flamingoes
motto mottos mottoes
5. For singular nouns ending in -f or -fe, we can form the plural in two ways : a. Some nouns drop the -f or -fe and add -ves. For example :
half − halves life − lives loaf − loaves thief − thieves wolf − wolves shelf − shelves
b. Some nouns keep the -f or -fe and just add –s. For example :
safe safes reef reefs
roof roofs chief chiefs
6. Some nouns can be used in the singular or plural form without any change in spelling. The words before and after the noun tell us whether the noun is singular or plural. For example :
One sheep wandered out of the pen. (singular) Now, there are nine sheep left. (plural) a. A young deer played happily in the forest.
b. Deer live in the forest. (plural)
7. Some nouns are made up of more than one word, for example, son-in-law. These nouns are called compound nouns. To make the plural form of a compound noun, we add -s to the main word. For example:
son-in-law − sons-in-law passer-by − passers-by commander-in-chief − commanders-in-chief brother-in-law − brothers-in-law mother-in-law − mothers-in-law daughter-in-law − daughters-in-law
8. There are some countable nouns which have their own special plural forms. For example:
Singular Plural mouse mice louse lice foot feet child children crisis crises ox oxen man men woman women goose geese tooth teeth oasis oases die dice
radius radii or radiuses genius genii or geniuses formula formulae or formulas
D. Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are names given to people, animals or things that are grouped
together.
Here are some examples of collective nouns:
Collective Noun (living things) Collective Noun (non-living things)
an army of soldiers a bale of cotton / hay / paper
a band of musicians a batch of bread / cakes
a choir of singers a bunch of bananas / grapes
a class of pupils / students a chest of drawers
a clump of trees a cluster of diamonds / stars
a crew of sailors a clutch of eggs
a company of actors a collection of pictures / coins / stamps a flock of birds / sheep a comb of bananas
a gang of laboures / thieves a fleet o cars / ships
a herd of cattle / elephants a flight of aeroplanes / steps a litter of kittens / cubs / pups a galaxy of stars
a nest of ants / mice / rabbits a library of books / records / videos a pack of rascals / wolves a pack of cards / cigarettes / lies
a school of whales / dolphins / fish a pile of books / clothes / sand / rubbish a staff of servants / teachers / journalists a row of houses
a swarm of bees / insects a stack of books / boxes / papers a troop of soldiers / monkeys a string of beads
a troupe of dancers / performers a tuft of hair / grass
a team of players a wad of notes
Some adjectives can be used as collective nouns when we put the with them. The verb used is always plural.
For example:
The sick are cared for in a hospital.
E. Possessive Nouns
The possessive form of the noun shows that a parson owns something, or is connected to the noun that is talked about.
For example:
I have the man’s keys.
But I don’t know where the man’s car is!
Note:
1. To make the possessive form of the noun, we add an apostrophe and -s at the end of the noun.
1. For example:
a. I returned the man’s keys to him. b. That is Rani’s book.
2. If a noun (singular or plural) already ends in -s, we only add an apostrophe to indicate possession.
For example :
a. The boys’ bikes are over there. b. The teachers’ room is locked.
Nouns belong to groups.
This means that they can be masculine (male living things), feminine (female living things), common (male or female living things) or neuter (not male of female, and not living).
Words like baby, animal and cousin are nouns which have common gender. They can be male or female.
Words like house, bread and bicycle are nouns which are neuter. They’re not living things, and aren’t male or female.
Here is a list of some masculine and feminine nouns:
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
father mother boy girl brother sister king queen grandfather grandmother prince princess
uncle aunt bull cow nephew niece hero heroine
son daughter stallion mare husband wife headmaster headmistress
man woman
Many feminine nouns are formed by adding –ess to the end of a masculine noun. Here are some examples :
Masculine Feminine Masculine Feminine
author authoress lion lioness manager manageress host hostess murderer murderess emperor empress
waiter waitress leopard leopardess actor actress prince princess proprietor proprietress baron baroness
Many people feel that ending in ess are very old-fashioned these days, and that we should use the masculine form of the word to refer to male and female living things, especially when we talk about people.
In books and newspapers nowadays, the words actor and author can refer to both women and men.
G - ABSTRACT NOUNS
We know that the word – abstract – means having no material form. There are names given to things that have no material bodies.
We cannot touch these things as they have no bodies. So, we can simply feel them or think of them.
WHAT DO ABSTRACT NOUNS INCLUDE?
1. Words stating actions are called verbs. So, abstract nouns include nouns formed from verbs.
2. Words expressing qualities and feelings are called adjectives. So, abstract nouns include nouns formed from adjectives as well.
3. Words expressing states and facts are called nouns. So, abstract nouns include nouns formed from nouns also.
4. Names of arts, subjects of study, games, crafts, skills and sciences are also abstract nouns.
5. Words like time, day, noon, morning, evening, night, dawn, dusk, etc. are also abstract nouns.
Formation of abstract nouns: From adjectives:
broad – breadth long – length brave – bravery From common nouns:
child – childhood friend – friendship thief – theft From verbs:
laugh – laughter live – life know – knowledge
H. Compound Nouns
A compound noun is made up of two or more words.
When we put the words together, we have a new word with a new meaning. For example:
surf + board = surfboard sail + boat = sailboat day + dream =
daydream
This is how we can form compound nouns:
1. We can add one noun to another. For example:
2. We can add an adjective to a noun. For example: black + board = blackboard
high + way = highway bed + room = bedroom
2. PRONOUNS
A. Personal Pronouns
We use personal pronouns to refer to people, places or things without actually naming them.
For example:
The monkeys are climbing the tree to pick some fruit. They love bananas best of all.
One of the monkeys is climbing on the man. It wants a banana from the bucket! There are three groups of personal pronouns :
Group Personal Pronoun
First person (speaker) I, Me, We, Us
Second person (person spoken to) You Third person (not the speaker or the
person spoken to)
He, She, It, They, Him, Her, Them
I, me, he, she, him, her and it are singular.
We, us, they and them are plural.
You can be singular and plural. Note:
1. We can use personal pronouns such as I, he, she, it, you, they and we as subjects in sentences. (Subject pronouns)
For example:
a. I am in Primary Four.
b. This is my brother. He is in primary Three. c. My mother is a teacher. She teaches English. d. I have a pet dog. It is called Rocky.
2. We can use personal pronouns such as me, him, her, it, you, them and us as
objects in sentences. (Object pronouns)
For example:
a. My grandmother gave the apple to me.
b. David is my pen-pal. I sent a letter to him last week. c. Mona was hungry. I made a sandwich for her. d. The cat was thirsty, so I gave it some water.
I or Me
Do you every get confused about when you should use I and me? Sometimes, it is difficult to know which personal pronoun to use. Let’s read the following conversation to help us decide.
Mother: Who broke the window?
Boy 1: Not I!
Boy 2: Not me!
Problem: Which is correct: I or me?
Solution: The boys’ answers could be rewritten as: Boy1: I did not do it.
Boy2: Me did not do it. X
So I is correct.
We usually use me with the verb be. For example :
a. “Who is it?” “It’s me.”
b. There will only be me and you at the party.
c. There was only Mark, Bill and me at the playground.
B. Possessive Pronouns
We use possessive pronouns to show ownership or possession. There are three groups of possessive pronouns:
Group Personal Pronoun
first person mine, ours
second person yours
third person his, hers, theirs
For example:
This is her house. This house is hers. This is their car. This car is theirs.
2. We can use possessive pronouns in place of possessive nouns. For example:
a. This is the boy's bag. This bag is his.
b. Those books are the children's. Those books are theirs. c. That's the girl's bread. The bread is hers.
C. Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns generally refer back to the subject of the sentence.
The reflexive pronoun is the object of the sentence. There are three groups of reflexive pronouns:
Group Reflexive Pronoun
first person myself, ourselves
second person yourself, yourselves
third person himself, herself, itself, themselves
Which reflexive pronouns are singular? Which ones are plural?
Reflexive pronouns refer to the person or thing that is the subject. For example:
a. Betty injured herself while defending the goal. b. The spider spun itself an enormous web.
c. We gave ourselves a treat at the new Chinese restaurant in town. d. I baked this pie for myself.
The reflexive pronoun usually comes after the verb in the sentence.
It also has to agree with the subject, so as Betty in example a, is a girl, we must use
herself.
EMPHATIC PRONOUNS
Reflexive pronouns can also be used for emphasis, or when we want to say something strongly.
In this case, the reflexive pronoun comes immediately after the subject or subjects of the sentence.
For example: I myself painted this wonderful picture. Here are more examples using reflexive pronouns for emphasis :
a. We ourselves could never finish such a large pizza. b. You yourself must be responsible for this mess. c. The principal herself came to see me in hospital.
D. Demonstrative Pronouns
We use demonstrative pronouns to refer to nouns. They tell us which one.
The pronouns this, that, these and those point out a person, place or thing, especially from among others.
Let's look at some examples of demonstrative pronouns:
This is my latest trick... I shall turn the rabbits into frogs!
Oops! That was a big mistake!
Here are more examples using demonstrative pronouns : a. This is my house.
b. That is my principal's house.
c. These are sheep.
d. Those are goats.
When to use this, that, these and those?
When someone or something is near us, we use this and these and when the person or thing is not so close, we use that and those.
Now let's look at these examples:
a. This car is faster than that car.
b. These houses are nicer then those houses.
This car and these houses could be closer to the person who is
speaking.
That car and those houses could be further away.
E. Interrogative Pronouns
We use interrogative pronouns to ask questions. For example:
Nearby Far away
this (singular) that (singular) these (plural) those (plural)
What is that fruit? Who wants to buy some fruit? Which fruit would you like? I don’t like fruit !
Interrogative pronouns include who, whom, whose, which and what. We use who, whom and whose in questions about people.
We use which and what in questions about other living things and non-living things.
F. Distributive Pronouns
Distributive pronouns are those which show that persons or things are taken one at a time or in separate groups.
For example:
1. Each of the girls got a prize.
2. Either of the two roads leads to Hyderabad.
3. I bought two books, and neither of them is interesting.
In first sentence, ‘Each’ refers to two or more persons taken on by one. In second sentence, ‘either’ means one or other.
In third sentence, ‘neither’ also means one or other but in a negative sense.
• So, the pronouns, ‘each, either, neither’ refer to a number of persons or things, one at a time.
• These pronouns are always singular and, as such, are always followed by a verb in the singular.
G. Reciprocal Pronouns
There are only two reciprocal pronouns: each other and one another.
We use them to refer to people, places or things that are involved in the action described by the verb.
We use each other when referring to two people, places or things, and one another for more than two items, or groups of people, place or things.
Here are some examples of reciprocal pronouns : a. The twins really look like each other.
b. All the towns in the district were competing with one another for the 'Clean & Tidy' prize.
c. The two schools share a football field because they are next door to each
other.
H. Indefinite Pronouns
We use indefinite pronouns when we are not referring to any particular person or thing. They are singular and we use them with a singular verb.
Example:
Someone has stolen my wallet.
Did you see anyone running away with it?
1. The table shows the most common indefinite pronouns:
anyone no one none all
anybody nobody each some
someone nothing either many
somebody anything neither several
everyone something any few
everybody Everything both one
Let's look at some sentences using indefinite pronouns.
Indefinite pronouns that begin with some - refer to one person or thing, those beginning with any - refer to any person or thing,
Those with every - refer to all the people or all the things, and those with no - refer to no person or thing.
For example:
a. Can somebody help me?
b. I don’t mind who it is. It can be anybody. c. Everybody can help if they’d like.
d. Okay, so nobody wants to help me!
G. Relative Pronouns
The Relative pronouns – ‘who, whose, whom, that & which’ join two sentences and refer back to nouns going before them.
For example:
i. I met Raju. Raju is our class leader. I met Raju who is our class leader.
ii. We met a woman. Her son was given a reward. We met a woman whose son was given a reward. iii. The lady is my aunt. You met the lady at the door.
iv. I know the hostel. He lives in the hostel. I know the hostel that he lives in.
v. Chandra has found the purse. She had lost the purse. Chandra has found the purse which she had lost.
Rules of using the relative pronouns:
1. As a general rule, ‘who’ is used for ‘persons’ only. It may refer to a singular or plural noun. For example:
I went to see Mohan who is my friend. (Mohan – Singular)
I joined my friends who were playing in the park. (Friends – Plural) 2. ‘Whose’ and ‘whom’ are used in speaking of ‘persons’.
For example:
We met the travellers whose belongings were robbed. These are the boys whom the principal punished. 3. ‘Which’ is used for animals and things without life.’
For example:
The dog which chased the thieves was killed. The pen which I broke was not mine.
4. ‘That’ is used for persons, animals and things. For example:
The thief killed the dog that chased him. This is the shirt that you bought for me.
NOTE:
• The relative pronoun is generally omitted when it is the ‘object’ of a verb. For example:
The house (which) you see on the corner is empty. (‘which’ can be omitted)
• Though the object form is ‘whom’, nowadays ‘whom’ is often replaced by ‘who’ and ‘that’. For example:
He is the boy (whom / who / that) I bullied yesterday.
• The relative pronoun ‘whom’ is used after the preposition. The people with whom she came have now left.
However, the preposition may be placed at the end, using ‘who’ or ‘that’ or omitting.
For example:
The people she came with have now left.
3. DETERMINERS
A. The Indefinite Article
A and an are indefinite articles.
We usually use a in front of nouns that begin with a consonant sound, and an in front of nouns that begin with the vowels a, e, i, o, u.
Note:
So why do we say a university when this word starts with the vowel u? And why do we say an hour when this word starts with the consonant h?
⇒ Let's look at university first.
⇒ Say the word university. What sound comes at the beginning of the word?
⇒ It is you sound, the sound that is usually spelt with the letter y.
⇒ The you sound is a consonant sound.
We use a with any noun phrase that begins with a consonant sound, even if the first letter in the spelling is a vowel.
Try saying these other examples :
a union a unit a utility room
a unique experience a one-man band a European country a uniform a one-way street a U.F.O.
The word hour is all about sound too.
⇒ Say the word hour and see what sound you get at the beginning?
⇒ I get a short u sound, a bit like the u in under. And that's a vowel sound. We use an with any noun phrase that begins with a vowel sound, even if the first
letter in the spelling is a consonant.
This is especially true for words that have a silent h sound. Other examples are :
an honour an honest man an hourly train
Remember that a and an are only used with singular countable nouns and collective nouns.
Here is a summary of when to use the indefinite articles a and an : Noun Example Singular, Countable nouns She's a doctor. He's an artist.
Collective nouns A herd of cows eats grass in the field.
I was stung by a swarm of bees. Certain numbers a hundred, a thousand, a million
Certain quantities a dozen, a couple of, a pair of, a lot (of), a few, a little, a pound, an ounce, a gram
Measurements sixty kilometres an hour
B. The Definite Article
The is the definite article.
We use the when we talk about a particular or definite person or thing.
We use a and an when we talk about a person or a thing which is not so important or definite.
Take a look at these two sentences. How are they different?
It is raining outside. The mother of Rani is thinking in the following way. a. I hope Rani remembered to take a raincoat and an umbrella. b. I hope Rani remembered to take the raincoat and the umbrella. The second sentence uses the! Why?
In the second sentence, the mother might be thinking about a particular raincoat and umbrella, so she uses the definite article: the raincoat and the umbrella.
Whereas, in the first sentence, the raincoat and umbrella that the mother might be thinking about are not a particular raincoat or umbrella, so she uses the indefinite articles: a raincoat and an umbrella.
When to use ‘the’:
1. We use ‘the’ to talk about a particular person or thing that has been mentioned before. For example:
I've booked a ticket for a dance show. The ticket cost me Rs. 1000! 2. We also use the in front of superlatives.
For example:
b. I'm the best football player in the school.
3. We use ‘the’ to talk about unique things. Unique means that there is only one. There is only one earth, one sun and one sky.
For example :
I love the earth, the sun and the sky !
Last year, we visited the Great Wall of China.
4. When we say something general about a group or a class of the same animals, we normally use the singular form, so the word the needs to come before the noun.
For example:
The kangaroo carries its young in a pouch. Note:
We use the singular form of the noun, kangaroo, and so we must also use ‘the’, as ‘the’ comes before a singular countable noun.
When a plural countable noun is used in a general statement about animals,
the does not need to be used.
For example :
a. Gorillas are found in the rainforests of Central Africa. (NOT : The
gorillas are found in the rainforests of Central Africa.)
b. Ants are social insects. (NOT : The ants are social insects.)
5. We also put the before the name of a race of people, or the people of a country, if there is no plural form. If there is a plural form, we do not use the.
For example:
a. The Chinese have a long history. (There is no plural form of Chinese.)
b. Australians love going to the beach.
(Australians is a plural form so we do not need the.)
Note:
Usage of article in front of proper nouns
What about other proper nouns, like cities and countries? Do we need to use the definite article with them?
Most of the time, we do not need to use articles in front of I proper nouns. Look at these two sentences. Which one do you think is correct?
a. Last December, we visited the North America. b. Last December, we visited North America.
Sentence b. is correct because we don't need to use the with continents and countries.
Generally, we do not need to put an article before continents and countries.
But there are some countries, which have names that suggest that the country is made up of smaller units, that do need to have the as part of their name.
For example :
the United States of America the United Kingdom the Philippines the Netherlands
Here is a list of some proper nouns and common nouns that do not need an article before them :
Noun Example
roads We are going shopping along Jubliee Road.
Flower street is a famous street in Hyderabad. suburbs, villages, towns, cities My office is in Sankarapalli.
Kuala Lumpur is the capital of Malaysia.
lakes Lake Kolleru is in India.
The deepest lake in the world is Lake Baikal. individual mountains (Note that
mountain ranges take the article.)
Everest is the highest mountain in the world. (Everest is in the Himalayas.)
continents Thailand is in Asia.
Lions come from Africa.
states, and most countries Pune is in Maharastra, a state in India. U.P is a state in India
games She can play chess better than her older brother.
How about a game of badminton this afternoon?
illnesses The old man suffers from high blood pressure.
They were off school with chicken pox for two weeks.
festivals Christmas is always celebrated in December.
I love visiting family and friends at Pongal.
languages He speaks English and Telugu.
She can count to ten in Russian. But these proper nouns need the definite article the:
Proper Noun Example
The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world.
rivers Many Indians think the River Ganges is holy.
The Nile is the longest river in the world.
mountain ranges
(not individual mountains)
Mount Everest is part of the Himalayas.
Mont Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps. important buildings The National Library has a lot of books.
I'd love to see the Eiffel Tower in Paris. 6. We usually do not use articles with uncountable nouns.
For example :
a. People need food and water to stay alive.
(NOT: People need the food and the water to stay alive.) b. Flour is used to make bread.
(NOT: The flour is used to make the bread.)
Note:
But in some cases, uncountable nouns do need to take an article. For example :
a. Have you got a shampoo for oily hair?
(This sentence talks about a type of shampoo.) b. The water in this place is not safe to drink.
(This sentence talks about particular water, not water in general.)
C. The Zero Article
There are other times when we can leave out articles. Some books call this the zero article. Here is a list of when no article is needed before the noon :
No article needed Example
common expressions about place, time and movement
1. to/at/from/in school (church, hospital, college, university)
2. to/in/into/out of bed 3. at/from/leave home
4. by day (car, bus, bicycle, train, plane, boat, letter, mail, phone)
5. at night 6. to/at sea
8. all day (night, week, year, summer, winter)
double expressions knife and fork, husband and wife, day after day, from top to bottom
food and meals talked about in a general way
My dad likes curry, my mum prefers salad, but I love hamburgers.
Come for dinner tonight.
after ‘both’ Both (the) girls are good at football.
Both (the) letters were from my pen pal in the USA. after kind of and similar
expressions
What kind of animal is it? What sort of behaviour is that? What type of car did you buy? after amount and number
The scouts collected a large amount of cans.
The large number of people at the meeting was unexpected.
man and woman (plural, and man as a singular noun)
Men and women over twenty one can see the movie. Man lived in caves in prehistoric times. (The word man here is used in a general way and means all male and female people.)
days, months and
seasons when used in a general way
Meet me on Wednesday. My birthday is in August. In spring, birds make nests.
games She can play chess better than her older brother. How about a game of badminton this afternoon? illnesses The old man suffers from high blood pressure.
They were off school with chicken pox for two weeks. when we talk about
television as entertainment
I went on a course to learn how to write programmes for television.
when we talk about radio, cinema and theatre as art forms or jobs
Theatre and cinema can be similar. She works in radio.
4. VERBS
Verbs are words or groups of words that refer to actions and states (including our
thoughts and feelings).
Verbs are sometimes known as doing words. Let's look at some examples of verbs:
a. John threw the stick for the puppy to catch. b. My brother is a lawyer.
c. Tidy up your room immediately!
d. I was getting out of the bath when I slipped on the wet floor.
e. Mother won't be very happy when she discovers this mess. f. Janie hasn't finished her homework yet.
g. You can help me, can't you? h. Shall we meet at 6 p.m.?
The words in bold are all verbs. Verbs come in many different forms.
Let's take a closer look at the different types of verbs we commonly use.
A. Primary Verbs (Helping or Auxiliary verbs)
The verbs be, have and do are the primary verbs.
They can work by themselves as main verbs or they can work with other verbs. This is what the verbs be, have and do look like in their different forms:
Verb Simple Present Tens Simple Past Tens Present Participle Past Participle
be am, is, are was, were being been
have has, have had having had
do does, do did doing done
B. The Infinitive
The infinitive is the base form of a verb.
It is often used with to in front of it. We can add different endings to the infinitive to make new verb forms.
The infinitive is the most basic form of a verb.
It is how a verb looks before we add any endings, for example, to walk, which can be changed to walked or walking when we add endings.
Let's look at some examples of the infinitive form of the verb in sentences :
a. Paul has learned to swim.
b. I want to pass my exams, so I'm studying very hard. c. It's starting to rain.
All these infinitives follow another verb.
The infinitive can also follow a noun in a sentence. Here are some examples :
a. I went to the market to buy some food. b. Take a book to read in case you get bored. c. Sally hasn't got anything to wear to the party.
C. Participles
A participle is a form of a verb.
There are two main types: the present Participle usually ends in -ing, and the past
participle usually ends in -ed.
Here are some examples of participles in sentences: a. I heard a noise coming from the kitchen. b. Walking the dog was his favourite pastime.
c. They have booked to go to France next summer. d. Frightened by the storm, I hid under the blankets.
1. The present participle is the -ing form of a verb. We can use the present participle in several ways :
a. The present participle makes the continuous verb form. For example:
a. I am writing a letter to June about my travel plans.
b. We will be going to our grandmother's house on Saturday. c. They have been planning to meet up since last month. b. Sometimes, present participles serve as adjectives.
For example:
a. Please tell the screaming child to be quiet ! b. The braking dogs woke up most of the neighborhood. c. Sally is reading an interesting book.
c. Present participles can also serve as nouns. For example:
a. I like swimming as a form of exercise.
c. Dancing is a really enjoyable hobby.
2. The past participle usually takes an -ed ending.
However, there are many irregular verbs which have different endings for their past participles (see D. Irregular Verbs).
Let's look at the different ways in which we can use past participles: a. The past participle makes the perfect verb form.
For example:
a. Mark has not replied to my letter.
b. They will have started their tour by mid June.
c. We have been to Kuala Lumpur three times already. b. Sometimes, past participles serve as adjectives.
For example:
a. He is wearing ripped blue jeans.
b. The doctor put her broken arm in a plaster cast. c. Past participles can also serve as nouns.
For example:
a. The tortured will never forget their terrible experience. b. The doctors cared for the most wounded first.
3. The perfect participle
It is formed adding ‘having’ or ‘having been’ or ‘being’ before the past participle form of the verb (V3).
For example:
a. Having finished his work, he went home. b. Having heard the sad news, she fainted.
D. Gerund
A participle is a non-finite verb form that is used in compound forms of verbs or as an adjective.
So participles are called verbal adjectives.
A gerund is a verb form that resembles a present participle but is used as noun. For example:
• Walking is a perfect exercise. Swimming is my hobby. Uses of Gerunds
1. AS SUBJECT OF A VERB
• Drinking causes lot of accidents. Driving needs much care and
attention.
2. AS OBJECT OF A VERB
• Stop talking rubbish. Start doing the work. I am tired playing.
3. AS THE OBJECT OF A PREPOSITION
o She is good at dancing. o Children are fond of playing.
o Aren’t you interested in learning music? o I felt cold after coming out of the water.
o The police charged the arrested person with rioting.
4. AS THE COMPLEMENT OF A VERB
o Seeing is believing Giving is getting.
5. IN SHORT PROHIBITIONS
o No smoking No talking
6. IN POST-VERBIAL ACTIVITIES
o We shall go boating tomorrow Mummy went shopping yesterday. o The water began boiling. The child started weeping.
E. Regular and Irregular Verbs
Most verbs are regular, and we can add endings such as -s and -ed to change their forms in the present and past tenses.
Here are some examples of how regular verbs are formed:
Infinitive Simple Present Tense
Simple Past Tense
Present
Participle Past Participle
to jump jump / jumps jumped jumping jumped
to look look / looks looked looking looked
to like like / likes liked liking liked
However, some verbs are irregular and form their simple past tense and past participles in a different way.
Here are some examples of the most common irregular verbs :
Infinitive Simple Present Tense Simple Past Tense Present Participle Past Participle
to run run / runs ran running run
to go go / goes went going gone
to eat eat / eats ate eating eaten
to fly fly / flies flew flying flown
to find find / finds found finding found
to buy buy / buys bought buying bought
to do do / does did doing done
to be am / is / are was / were being been
to ride ride / rides rode riding ridden
to keep keep / keeps kept keeping kept
to catch catch / catches caught catching caught
to know know / knows knew knowing known
to fall fall / falls fell falling fallen
to leave leave / leaves left leaving left
to choose choose /chooses chose choosing chosen
to sell sell / sells sold selling sold
to think think / thinks thought thinking thought
to say say / says said saying Said
Some verbs remain unchanged in every other form except the third person singular
and the present participle.
Notice how the infinitives, simple past tense and past participles of the verbs in the table do not change :
Infinitive Simple Present Tens Simple Past Tens Present Participle Past Participle
to hit hit / hits hit hitting hit
to put put / puts put putting put
to cost cost / costs cost costing cost
to shut shut / shuts shut shutting shut
Remember that all verbs in the simple present tense change form in the third person
singular, when an -s is usually added.
Beware the third person singular when using the simple present tense !
F. Action Verbs
Verbs that refer to actions or things that happen are called action verbs. For example:
I was riding my bike when suddenly a car drove up behind me and hit me!
Tell me what happened.
The words in bold are verbs which refer to actions.
We use action verbs to refer to the physical movement carried out by a person or thing, or to describe something that happens to a person or thing.
a. I cook two eggs every morning, put them on a piece of toast and give them to my cat!
b. He closed and locked the windows before he went out.
c. The scouts pitched their tents, unpacked their gear, made a fire and prepared their dinner.
There are many action verbs because, most of the time, a person or thing needs to carry out a physical action in order to do something.
The table below shows us some more common action verbs:
G. Stative Verbs
Verbs that refer to states or conditions - that is, what a person or thing is like, or thinking or feeling, at a particular time - are called stative verbs.
1. We use stative verbs to explain how a person feels and what a person says and thinks, as well as to refer to other information about a person that does not involve physical
movement.
eat sleep pull push write
walk run jump move read
drink hold sit stand drive
look touch help take go
do make dress prepare clean
work play climb bend search
For example :
a. I am nine years old.
b. My parents seem to be very proud of my excellent results. c. Jimmy got angry when his friend didn't show up as planned. d. You look pretty in that new dress.
2. In the same way, stative verbs can also refer to the state or condition of a thing, how it feels, what it is like etc.
For example:
a. The cat's fur feels soft and fluffy. b. The milk is in the fridge.
c. The road appeared to be held up by traffic.
d. The salmon remembers the exact stream that it was born in and will always be able to find its way back there to die.
H. Saying Verbs
Verbs that express what we or other people say are called saying verbs.
There are many saying verbs which can explain in more detail the words we speak.
Say is the most c9mmon of these verbs, but there are many others that give us more
information about the manner in which we say something. Let's look at some examples of saying verbs :
a. “Go to your room!” My mother Shouted. b. “Go to sleep now, it’s late,” whispered Ben. c. “I’ll meet you there at 5.30 p.m.,” Katie replied.
d. The policemen reported that the burglar had been caught.
I. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Transitive verbs are verbs which take an object.
Here are some examples of transitive verbs:
a. Let’s invite Tom and Jonathan. (Not : Let’s invite.) b. She surprised us. (Not : She surprised.)
c. He introduced me to his mother. (Not : He introduced.)
• Notice how the sentences with transitive verbs do not sound right without the object in each case. Each verb needs the object to make sense.
Here are some examples of intransitive verbs :
a. Please sit down. b. I slept. c. We paused.
These short sentences make sense without an object because the verbs are intransitive, and so do not need an object.
Some verbs can be either transitive or intransitive. For example:
a. Singapore won. OR (Singapore won the game.) b. Let's eat. OR (I can't eat fish.)
c. They are playing. OR (They are playing chess.)
• Double objects: Certain transitive verbs such as give, ask, offer, promise, tell, etc, have two objects after them – a direct object and an indirect object.
o A direct object is usually the name of something and
o An indirect object is the one which denoted the person to whom something is given or for whom something is done.
o For example
The teacher gave him a book. The young man offered her a seat.
J. Phrasal Verbs
A phrasal verb consists of a verb and adverb or a preposition which gives it a special meaning.
Did you know that the verb put has a different meaning to the verbs put off or put on? But why?
a. Mother put the cake in the oven to bake for thirty minutes. b. I hope Miss Lang will put off the test until next week.
c. She should put on two jackets because it's very cold today. In these sentences we see three different examples of the verb put.
First, it is used as a main verb, and then, to change its meaning entirely, an adverb or preposition is added to form two completely different verbs from it :
In the examples, put off has the same meaning as postpone or delay, and put on
Put off verb + adverb
means the same as wear.
Some phrasal verbs are made up of both an adverb and a preposition. For example :
“I won’t put up with your bullying anymore!” cried the young boy.
put up with verb + adverb + preposition
Another meaning for put up with is tolerate.
Note:
Phrasal verbs are clever because they help us form many different verbs from the same infinitive or base verb.
In fact, there are even more phrasal verbs that we can make from put. Let's take a look at some examples :
a. The old lady puts away some money each month. (puts + away = saves) b. Can you put me up for two nights? (put + up = accommodate)
c. After three difficult hours, they finally managed to put out the fire. (put + out = extinguish)
d. He puts in fifty hours every week. (puts + in = works)
Remember that the infinitive form of the verb will change its form to indicate the tense, but the adverb or preposition remains the same.
Here are some more examples of phrasal verbs:
a. She went on singing after the music had stopped. (go + on = continue) b. Everyone says that I've taken after my father. (take + after = resemble) c. We stopped a thief from breaking into the house. (break + into = burgle) d. I shall look up the meaning in the dictionary. (look + up = find)
There are so many phrasal verbs in English that it's impossible to show them all in this unit.
But here are some of the many meanings that we can create from the verbs get and go in the meantime!
Phrasal Verb Meaning Example
get on progress; succeed He is sure to get on in life as he is a very talented boy.
get over forget; recover from My grandmother is finding it very hard to get over the death of my grandfather. get away escape The burglar got away empty-handed
because he was disturbed by the return of the owners.
get through complete and come to an end
I don't think I can get through this alone. get off alight; dismount;
disembark
We must get off at the next stop. get round find time or occasion to
do something
I still haven't got round to visiting Jane at her new house.
go on continue I’m so tired, I don’t know if I can go on. go off explode The bomb went off in the early hours of
the morning. go through endure; suffer;
experience
My grandfather went through some hard times as a boy.
go up increase The price of textbooks has gone up.
go over revise; study Go over units 3 and 4 for your homework,
please.
DICTIONARY ACTIVITY
If you look up the infinitive of a verb in the dictionary, there will usually be a list of all the phrasal verbs connected with that verb, along with their meanings.
Why not check the dictionary for phrasal verbs related to these common verbs - there are many of them!
take look come give call make break
5. SUBJECT AND VERB AGREEMENT
When we write or speak, we must be sure that the subject and the verb in our sentences
agree with each other in person and in number. This is known as agreement.
When the subject is singular, the verb must also be singular. When the subject is plural, the verb must also be plural. Let's look at some examples of agreement:
Singular Subject Singular Verb
She studies hard for her exams.
Jimmy loves going to the cinema.
The thief is stealing from the little old lady.
A dog doesn't like cats.
Swimming is a good form of exercise.
Mum has gone shopping.
Plural Subject Plural Verb
Jimmy and Johnny love going to the cinema. The thieves as stealing from the little old lady.
dogs don't like cats.
Swimming and tennis are good forms of exercise.
Mum and Dad has gone shopping.
Notice how the verbs need to change to agree with the subjects depending on the number of people or things that the sentence is referring to.
WHEN TO USE A SINGULAR VERB FOR AGREEMENT
1. We use a singular verb with singular countable nouns. For example:
a. This book is very interesting.
b. The child has done well in school this year.
2. We use a singular verb with uncountable nouns. For example:
a. Whole meal bread is good for you. b. The water in the stream was polluted.
3. We use a singular verb with nouns that have no singular form. For example:
a. Mathematics is a difficult subject for many students.
b. The news about the spreading virus has alarmed the entire country.
4. We use a singular verb with collective nouns that have a singular meaning. For example:
a. A chest of drawers is useful for storing clothes. b. My class was first in the competition.
c. The band plays beautifully.
5. We use a singular verb with singular pronouns. For example:
a. He lives in Hong Kong.
b. Nobody knows the answer.
c. Everyone watches the game with excitement. 6. We use a singular verb with singular demonstratives.
For example:
a. This is where the accident happened.
b. That was the best book I've ever read!
For example:
a. A little sugar is enough for me, thanks.
b. Some of the oil has left a stain on the tablecloth.
c. Much of the trouble was caused by two naughty children. 8. We use a singular verb with pairs of words that usually go together.
For example:
a. Fish and chips is a favourite of the British.
b. The pulley and chain was a simple invention that made moving things much easier.
9. We use a singular verb with money and other numbers. For example:
a. Fifty dollars is too much to pay for a pair of shoes.
b. Ten kilometres is not so far by bicycle.
c. Two weeks at the beach is perfect for a relaxing holiday. Note:
Even if we have a million dollars, we still refer to money as a singular subject, so it always takes a singular verb.
There is one million dollars in this suitcase!
WHEN TO USE A PLURAL VERB FOR AGREEMENT
1. We use a plural verb with plural countable nouns. For example:
a. The dogs are chewing their bones.
b. The boxes have been delivered to your house.
2. We use a plural verb when two or more singular nouns are joined by the connector ‘and’.
For example:
a. Mary and Alice are excellent singers.
b. Those gloves and the hat and scarf were essential for my trip to
Europe last February.
3. We use a plural verb with certain nouns that have no singular form. For example:
a. Your glasses are broken.
b. My trousers were ripped at the knee, so I sewed them.
Other nouns in this category include binoculars, pliers, tongs,
scissors, shears, pants, jeans, clothes, pyjamas, spectacles etc. 4. We use a plural verb with plural quantifiers.
For example:
a. Few people know basic first aid.
b. Many have not heard about the factory closing down. 5. We use a plural verb with collective nouns that have a plural meaning.
For example:
a. The police want information about the man who used to work here.
b. The authorities have put a stop to the protest. c. Packs of wolves hunt in the forest at night. Agreement of nouns and pronouns
It is important to remember that it is not only the subject and the verb of a sentence that changes in agreement, the rest of the sentence must also agree.
So nouns and pronouns need to match too. Here are some examples :
a. Every girl is entitled to her share of the food when she has done her work. b. Criminals with guns often put their hands in the air when they surrender.
c. This pair of binoculars has a scratch on its lens.
d. We have been living in our house for two years now and it suits us fine.
e. My parents bought me a computer for doing so well in my exams. Note:
1. The following words must be followed by a singular verb.
Each, either, neither, everyone, anyone, no one, one, someone, anybody, somebody, everybody, many, a.
2. Two nouns qualified by ‘each or every’ even though connected by ‘and’ take a singular verb.
For example: Every boy and every girl was given a packet of biscuits. 3. None is constructed in the singular or plural as the sense may require.
4. The following words always take a plural verb.
Both, few, a few, many, several
5. Much and a little take a singular verb
take a plural verb when they stand for countable nouns.
All, most, none, some
6. MODAL VERBS
Modal verbs or modals are helping verbs.
We use them with other verbs to help express meanings such as ability, possibility,
permission and obligation.
This is how modal verbs look in sentences: a. I can do that.
b. We must not be late. c. You may leave the room.
CAN
1. Can is used to express permission.
For example:
Raju: Can I go out to play with my friends now?
Raju is asking his parents for permission to go out to play with his friends.
The main verb in the question is go and, with the help of can, this verb expresses permission in Raju's question.
Here are more examples using can for permission: a. Can you open the window, please?
b. Can we leave school early today?
c. You cannot go out to play. You have to finish your dinner first. d. Jenny can stay up until 11 p.m. on a school night.
Note:
When can is used to express permission, it means that somebody is either allowed to or not allowed to do something.
In the question form, can asks permission to be allowed to do something.
2. Can is also used to express ability or inability.
For example:
Boy: I cannot write neatly, but I can speak well.
ability can
inability cannot
Note:
In the negative form, we put can and not as one word to form cannot; it can also be expressed as can't.
Here are more examples using can for ability or inability : a. He can carry that heavy box all by himself. b. Johnny cannot play tennis very well.
3. Can is also used to express possibility.
For example:
Teacher: You can come and visit tomorrow if you like.
The teacher is saying that it will be possible for the boy to visit him again. Here are more examples using can for possibility:
a. We can finish the job by tomorrow if we're paid more money. b. They can't be there already. They've only just left!
c. You can't do it like that!
Note:
The negative ‘can't’ suggests that it is not possible to do something in these sentences.
COULD
1. Could is used to express permission.
When we want to express permission in a more polite way, we use the modal
could.
Here are examples using could for permission : a. Could you shut the door, please?
b. Could we hand our homework in tomorrow instead, please?
Could is more polite to use than can when asking for permission to do something.
We can also add please to the end of such questions to make them sound even more polite.
2. Could is also used to make an offer or a suggestion. For example:
Man: I could give you a lift, if you'd like. Here are more examples using could :
b. We could go to the cinema. (suggestion)
MAY
1. We can use may as another way of expressing an offer politely.
2. Just as can and could are used to express permission, may can also be used as a more polite form of asking for permission to do something.
3. Another use of the modal may is to express possibility.
4. When we use may in its negative form, it expresses the meaning of not being allowed to do something.
Note:
It is important to know that may not cannot be shortened. We must always use the two words separately.
1. ‘Might’ is used as the past tense of ‘may’. For example:
a. You may not leave the table until you have finished your dinner.
b. "No, you may not watch television. It's getting late," my mum said to me.
SHOULD
1. Should is used to express advice.
We can use should to express advice in these ways. Here are more examples using should for advice:
• Asking for advice:
a. Which way should I go to get to the post office?
b. Do you think we should lock the door after you've gone out?
• Giving advice :
a. You should be more careful.
b. Johnny looks very tired. He should go to bed early.
2. We also use should to express obligation or duty.
OUGHT
TO
1. Ought to has the same meaning as should, but often sounds more polite. We use ought to in the same way as should to ask for and give advice.
a. You ought to be more careful.
b. Which way ought I to go to get to the post office?
2. We also use ought to to express obligation or duty. For example:
a. We ought to show respect to our elders. b. We ought not to talk loudly in the library.
MUST
1. ‘Must’ can also be used to express advice.
For example:
Girl: This book is so good. You really must read it!
⇒ We use must to give very strong advice to someone.
⇒ Here are more examples using must for advice : a. You must go to the hospital immediately.
b. You must tell me the truth if you want me to help you.
2. We use must to talk about things that either we have to do or should never do, because it also expresses obligation or duty.
For example:
a. Cinderella must leave the ball at midnight. b. I mustn't be late for class today.
OBLIGATION OR DUTY
Have you noticed that modals are often used to express obligation or duty?
We have seen that one of the uses of the modal verbs should, ought to and must is to express obligation or duty.
But how do we know which one to choose?
Must is stronger than should and ought to.
These sentences show how must has a stronger meaning than should and ought to : a. You should / ought to go to bed early because there's school tomorrow. b. You must go to bed early because there's school tomorrow.
Sentence a. suggests that the person goes to bed early,
stronger meaning than should/ought to.
Here are some more examples using must, should and ought to : a. You ought to visit your grandmother at the weekend. b. We must pay ten dollars for entry.
c. You should always lock the door when you go out. d. We must not tell lies.
NOTE:
It is important to remember that should and ought to suggest that we have a choice about what we do, whereas must really does not allow for choice, it requires that something is done (or not done if the sentence is negative).
WOULD
You use ‘would’ to express desires and requests politely, often adding ‘please’. For example:
Would you speak more quietly, please? We would take the room for three nights.
We would love to meet up with you in Hyderabad. You use ‘would you like’ to make offers.
For example:
Would you like a piece of cake?
7. ADJECTIVES
Adjectives are describing words that tell us more about the people or things they
describe.
There are lots of adjectives which we can use to make our stories more interesting.
A. DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES
Descriptive adjectives tell us about the colour, shape, size, texture and condition of a
noun.
For example:
a. Mary is messy.
b. Mary seems disorganised. c. Mary's room appears untidy.
3. Sometimes, we may want to use more than one adjective to describe something. For example:
a. A cute little puppy
d. A huge, long, black and yellow, African snake
When we use more than one adjective in this way, we need to place the adjectives in the right order before the noun.
This table shows us the correct order of adjectives:
Quality or opinion – size – shape – age – colour – nationality or origin – material
quality or opinion gorgeous, awful, happy, nice, bossy, warm, handsome
size huge, small, tall, short, towering
shape circular, triangular, rectangular, square, fat, skinny, slender
age ancient, new, modern, two-month-old
colour black, brown, yellow, white, pink
nationality or origin Egyptian, Australian, Thai, Vietnamese
material paper, plastic, metal, wooden, glass
Here are more examples of the order of adjectives :
a. Pinky is a beautiful, tall, slender, green mermaid who lives in a kingdom at the bottom of the ocean.
b. An ugly, short, fat, Australian man chased the pretty, young, fair lady.
B. ADJECTIVES OF QUANTITY
We use adjectives of quantify to show the amount or number of things. They often answer questions such as "How much ... ?" and "How many ... ?".
For example:
the blue sky a yellow submarine a pink carnation a happy occasion a colossal monument a enormous burger a tiny hairpin a narrow alley slimy skin
rough edges silky hair a bumpy road a fierce battle a polite child a cruel king
Read the following conversation among pirates when they found a treasure chest. Pirate 1: Ahha! There are several diamond necklaces.
Pirate 2: Here's another gold cup! Pirate 3: I can’t see any crowns. Pirate 4: There’s a lot of gold coins.
The words in bold are called adjectives of quantity or quantifiers.
1. The table lists some of the common adjectives of quantity that we use when we speak and write :
several many much a lot (of) some any
(a) few (a) little each every all (the) half
both (of) none (of) (the) other(s) another no either neither fewer less (a/the) whole plenty of enough Here are examples of these quantifiers in use :
a. Several pupils failed the exam because it was very difficult.
b. I ate so many cakes at the party that I was sick! c. We don't have much money left after our trip. d. We spent a lot of money on our trip.
e. Could I borrow some glue, please? f. Do you have any friends in London? g. I know a few people in London.
h. It took a little time, but he was pleased with the finished result. i. Each boy wears a tie to school.
j. I play tennis every day.
k. All the girls play in the netball team.
I. Greedy Gordon ate half the cake. m. Both of the twins are good at football.
n. None of the parents wanted their child to lose.
o. Do you have other clothes to change into? p. I have another pair of trousers, but no shirt. q. No teacher wants to see a student fail an exam.
r. Either Bob or Harry will win.
s. I was surprised that neither Bob nor Harry won. t. There are fewer empty seats than when I arrived. u. There are less empty seats than earlier.
