All Grammar:

Parts of Speech

 Noun: person, place, thing, idea (plural nouns usually end in S)

o Common Nouns: name a category of people, places, things, or ideas
(general)
 father, car, religion, city
o Proper Nouns: name the specific person, place, thing, or idea
 Stephen Pax, Madrid, Porsche, Islam
o Possessive nouns: Mary’s, James’, dog’s tail, brother’s bike
o Countable nounsnouns we can count with numbers: one banana; for
singular countable nouns we can use definite and indefinite articles/ for
plural countable nouns, we only use ‘the’
o Uncountable nounsnouns we cannot count; always singular-can only use
the definite article ‘the’
 Pronoun: stands for or replaces a noun: must agree in number and gender
o She, him, they, it, we, I, you subject pronouns (object pronouns are the
same but used as the object)
 Possessive Pronouns—show that a noun belongs to the pronoun
 Mine, Hers, His, Ours, Theirs, Yours, Its
 Verb: a word that shows what the subject does, is, or receives
o Verbs describe actions, states, events, or situations
o Many irregulars, and non-action verbs
 He works, she buys, they love, I am
 Adjective: describe or modify nouns
o Come before nouns—ex. The green purse.
 Possessive Adjectives: used to show something belongs to
somebody; come before nouns and cannot be used without nouns
 My, Her, His, Our, Their, Your, Its—ex. My purse is cool.
 Adverb: describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb
o Adverbs of frequency: He never smokes. modifies how he smokes
o My mother dances very well. very modifies the adverb well, which
modifies the verb dances
 Article: a, an, the modify nouns
o The: definite article used when we want to make a noun specific—can be
plural or singular
o A and An: indefinite article used when a noun is not specific—only
singular because they mean one
 A before a consonant sound ex. A car
 An before a vowel sound ex. An apple
 Demonstratives: This, That, These, Those
 o This to talk about a noun close to us: singular countable or uncountable
nouns
o These is the plural of this: used to talk about plural countable nouns
o That to talk about a noun that is far from us: singular countable or
uncountable nouns
o Those is the plural of that. Used to talk about plural countable nouns which
are far from us
 Prepositions: tell place or time
o In, at, on, between, in front of, behind, next to, near, under, across from,
about
o Ex. Her purse is on the counter.
 Conjunctions: join two words, clauses, or parts of a sentence (3 types)
o Coordinating conjunctions: 7 FANBOYS; for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
 Used to join equal parts of a sentence (two words, two phrases or
two clauses).
 John and Peter are studying math. conjunction joins two nouns
(subjects)
 She studied history, but she works at a bank. conjunction joins
two main clauses
 Professor Higgins spends most of his time in the library and in the
lab. conjunction joins two prepositional phrases

For-reason, And-addition, Nor-connecting two negative ideas, But-contrast or

difference, Or-choice or negative consequence, Yet-formal contrast, So-result

 For & So can only connect clauses

 Or can show negative consequence when connecting clauses
 Nor has a question-like structure:
 He doesn’t want to study, nor does he want to work.
 Negative clause, +nor +auxiliary verb+ subject+ main verb
o Correlative Conjunctions: consist of two parts; same rules as coordinating
conjunctions
 Either…or
 Neither…nor
 Not only…but (also)
 Both…(and)
o Subordinating Conjunctions: Connect a main clause with a subordinate
clause (subordinate clauses do not have a complete meaning by themselves
and depend on a main clause in the same sentence not to be a fragment)
 Although, Even though, Though, Whereas,
While-contrast/opposition
 Ex. While Tom went to university, his brother did not.
 Even if-concession (yielding)
  Ex. Tom may fail his anatomy exam even if he studies hard.
 Because, As, Since-reason
 Ex. Tom went to university because he wanted to be a
doctor.
 So (that)-purpose
 Ex. Tom went to university so that he could become a
doctor.
 If, Unless-Condition
 Ex. Unless you go to university, you can’t be a doctor.
 Before, After, Until, Since, When, Whenever, While, As-Time
 Ex. Since Tom became a doctor, he has been very happy.
 Ex. While we were talking, his phone rang.
 Ex. As I was baking, my mother called.
 Interjection: a sentence showing emotion that stands on its own
o Ex. Wow! No way! Oh no!
 Similar to an onamonapia (sp?): a word that describes a sound
 Bang! Bow-wow! Woof!
 Phrases: meaningful group of words which do not contain a verb
o Ex. She is studying IN THE LIBRARY.prepositional phrase
o Ex. Students MISSING A TEST must make it up within ten days.Participial
phrase
 Clauses: meaningful group of words which contain 1 verb and its subject.(2 types)
o Main clause: clause with a complete meaning that can stand alone in a
sentence
 Ex. Paul is studying mathematics. main clause
 Ex. Paul is studying mathematics, and Jane is studying
biology.both main clauses
o Subordinate clause: a clause which does not have a complete meaning by
itself and depends on a main clause in the same sentence.
 Ex. After he finishes his B.A., he will go abroad for a master’s
degree. First one subordinate; second clause main.
 3 TYPES OF SUBORDINATE CLAUSES:
o Adverb Clauses: make up the widest category of subordinate clauses
(time clauses, reason clauses, result clauses, “if” clauses, concessive
clauses, etc.) They are used as adverbs, that is, they modify verbs.
 Ex. She had found a job as a translator, before she graduated.
 The time clause modifies the verb FOUND in the main
clause.
 In most adverb clauses, we may begin a sentence with either the
adverb clause (comma) or the main clause (no comma)
 Ex. After he graduated, he joined the army. first is adverb
  He joined the army after he graduated.2nd is adverb, no
comma
o Adjective Clauses: are used as adjectives, that is, they modify nouns
or noun equivalents; they come immediately after the word it modifies, and
therefore can sometimes be within the main clause; can never begin the
sentence
 2 types: defining (restrictive) and non-defining (non-restrictive)
 Defining Adjective Clauses: give essential
information to define or identify the person or thing being
talked about
o You cannot understand the sentence without the
relative clause
o Who, Whom, Which, That, Whose, Where, When
(relative pronouns that are used to introduce the
adjective clause)
o Ex. Students who miss a test must make it up within
ten days. The adjective clause modifies the noun
students in the main clause.
o Ex. The package that arrived this morning is on the
desk.
 Non-defining Adjective Clauses: not necessary to
define or identify the noun they refer to
o Who, Whom, Which, Whose, Where, Whenclause is
always separated by commas
o THAT cannot be used!!
o Ex. The desk in the corner, which is covered in
books, is mine.
o Noun Clauses: are used as nouns; that means that a noun clause can be
used as a subject, as the object of a verb, as the object of a preposition, or
as a complement
 Ex. He loves what he is studying. The noun clause is the object
of the verb ‘loves’ in the main clause
 Ex. He only likes to talk about what he is studying. The noun
clause is the object of the preposition ‘about’ in the main clause.
 Ex. What he is studying seems boring to most people. The noun
clause is the subject of the verb ‘seems’ in the main clause.
 Ex. His favorite occupation is what he is studying. The noun
clause is the complement of the subject ‘his favorite occupation’ in
the main clause.
 Sentences: a unit which contains one or more clauses. There are 3 kinds of
sentences: simple, compound, and complex.
 o Simple: contains 1 clause, which is necessarily the main clause.

Ex. She studied law.
o Compound: contains two or more main clauses.
Ex. She studied law, but she never became a lawyer. (both main)
o Complex: contains at least one main and at least one subordinate clause.
 Ex. She studied law, but she never became a lawyer because she
didn’t like it.
 Ex. After she studied law, she went to drama school and became an
actress because she didn’t want to be a lawyer. 2 underlined are
subordinate; the other 2 italics are main clauses.
 Conditionals

Simple Present Tense—used for situations that do not normally change, are generally
true, express habit

 Often used with adverbs of frequency

 Form infinitive without to, used with S (ES) for third person singular
 Negative form uses auxiliary (helping) verb do/ does not or doesn’t
 Questions also use auxiliary verb do/does
o Yes/ No—Do/ Does…? Wh- Where does she work

Ex. I usually leave for the gym by 7 a.m. (routines)

Ex. I occasionally have tea when I get to the office. (Habits)

Ex. I teach English at English Time. (General state)

Ex. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. (Facts)

Ex. Money can’t buy happiness. (Truths)

Ex. A dog is a man’s best friend. (Opinions)

Ex. The bus leaves at 6pm tomorrow. (Future scheduled events-require time
expression!)

Neg. Ex. She doesn’t work every day.

Neg. Ex. I don’t work at a bank.

Question: Does she work? Where does she work?

Now

_______xxxxxxxxxxxxx_______

Adverbs of Frequency used with Simple Present Tense

 Always -100 percent

 Usually 90%
 Often 80%
 Frequently 70%
 Generally 60%
 Sometimes 50%
 Occasionally 40%
 Seldom 30%
 Rarely 20%
 Almost Never 10%
 Never –0 percent

Expressions of Frequency: We use HOW OFTEN to ask about the frequency of an

action-

 Every: morning, evening, night, day, week, month, year, summer, weekend, etc.
 Once: a day, a week, a month, a year
 Twice: a day, a week, a month, a year
Time Expressions: usually come at the end of a sentence, but they can also come at the
beginning

 At + hourly time
 In + the morning, the afternoon, the evening, the summer
 On + weekends, weekdays, Sundays, etc.

Present Continuous Tense

 Formed using BE+ verb+ ING

Am +verb+ ING Neg. Am+ NOT+ verb+ ING ?: Am+ I+ verb+ ING?

IS+ verb+ ING Neg. Is+ NOT+ verb+ ING ?: Is+(s)he, it+ verb+
ING?

Are+ verb+ ING Neg. Are+ NOT+ verb+ ING ?: Are+ we, they, you+ verb+
ING?

 The action is happening at the same time you are saying the sentence.
 Also describes activities in progress or temporary states.
 They have a definite start and finish, but can describe actions taking a few
minutes or many years.

Ex. She is talking to the teacher now.

Ex. We are learning the present continuous form right now.

Ex. I am still doing my homework.

Ex. John is singing Dinosaur Jr. songs right now.

Neg. Ex. I am not writing a paper right now.

Neg. Ex. He isn’t talking at the moment.

Question: Is he still reading?

Question: Why is she talking?

Time Expressions: now-present moment, right now-at the time the speaker is saying
the sentence, at the moment-action is in progress, still-used to say something is
happening in the present and stress that we are surprised it has not finished.
  We can use the present continuous to describe future plans when using BE +
Going+ To

Ex. I am going to The Cure concert next week. must use future time
expressions

Simple Past Tense: for actions that happened in the past VERB 2

Regular verbs: add “ed” to the verb

Ex. Walked, talked, looked, watched, cooked

Irregular verbs: memorize their past forms

Ex. Bought, made, saw, wore, stood

Time Expressions: yesterday, yesterday morning, last night, last week, last
month, last year, 5 years ago, 5 minutes ago, etc.

Past tense of BE: was, were Neg. wasn’t, weren’t Q: was+sub+complement?