RM 405 OTEK BUSINESS CENTRE OTEK ST.

BAGUIO CITY

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 BASIC ENGLISH COMMUNICATION SKILLS

8 PARTS OF SPEECH

NOUNS: a word that names a person, place, a thing or an idea.

Ex: teachers, bag, freedom

Proper Noun: name or title of a particular person, place, thing or idea; it always begins with a capital letter.
Ex: Lord Byron, Manila, Lassie

Common Noun: refers to a general example of a person, place, thing, or idea or to a general category of
people, places, things, or ideas; it is not capitalized.
Ex: poet, city, dog

Concrete Noun: name of material things, people and places as well as everything that can be perceived
through the senses.
Ex: Venus is a planet, not a star.
Ex: The principal particles of the atom are the proton, the neutron, and the electron.

Abstract Noun: name of qualities, emotions, conditions, and attitudes which have no material existence
Ex: Have you experienced the joy of seeing a beautiful sunset?
Ex: Love, justice, wisdom, and power are God's major qualities.

Compound Noun: consists of two or more words used together to name one person, place, or thing. One kind
of compound noun consists of two or more words joined together.
Ex: sky + diver = skydiver sun + glasses = sunglasses

 Another kind of compound noun consists of words joined by one or more hyphens.
Ex: light-year passers-by brother-in-law

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  A third kind of compound noun consists of two or more words that are used together, though not
joined, to create a single noun.
Ex: high school air force jet engine
 Compound noun can be proper nouns as well as common nouns.
Ex: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo lunar excursion module

Collective Noun: stands for a whole group of people, places, things or ideas.
Ex: A pride of lions lived in the zoo.

SOME COMMONLY USED COLLECTIVE NOUNS

family committee team herd troop

group jury club gaggle troop

brood crew litter platoon cast

bunch flock pack squad colony

Count Noun: refers to objects that can be counted.

Ex: books tables houses countries

Mass Noun: refers to things that cannot be counted individually.. They do not have plural forms. To make
them plural, we use expressions of quality.
Ex: love money food knowledge medicine kindness

 Gender of Nouns:
Masculine - refers to persons or animals of the male kind
Ex: groom lad king rooster
Feminine - refers to persons or animals of the female kind.
Ex: bride lass queen hen
Neuter - refers to object with no sex
Ex: house car package handkerchief

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 Common - refers to nouns that are either male or female

 FORMING THE PLURAL OF NOUNS:

1. Most nouns form the plural by adding -s to the singular.
( idea - ideas car - cars )

2. Nouns which end in s, sh, ch, x or z from the plural by adding -es.
(box - boxes dish - dishes )

3. Nouns ending in -y preceded by a consonant form the plural by changing -y to -i and adding -es.
(baby -babies city - cities )

4. Nouns ending in -y preceded by vowels form the plural by merely adding -s.
(toy-toys valley - valleys )

5. Some nouns ending in -f or -fe form the plural by changing -f or -fe to -v and adding -s or -es.
(self - selves life – lives)

6. Some nouns retain the f in the plural form.

(roof - roofs belief – beliefs)

7. Nouns ending in -o preceded by a vowel form the plural by adding -s.

(bamboo - bamboos radio-radios)

8. Nouns ending in -o preceded by a consonant form the plural by adding -es.

(hero - heroes tomato – tomatoes)

9. Words pertaining to music that end in -o form their plural by adding -s.
(solo - solos piano – pianos)

10. Some nouns show plural inflection by changes in form.

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 (Goose - geese child- children.)

11. Nouns ending in -sis change -i to -e in the plural.

(crisis - crises parenthesis-parentheses)

12. Foreign nouns ending in -us form the plural by changing the ending to -i.
(cactus - cacti fungus – fungi)

13.Nouns ending in -um or -on form the plural by changing the ending to -a,
(datum - data curriculum – curricula)

14. Compound nouns form the plural in different ways. In general, -s or -es is added to the most important
word.
brother-in-law - brothers-in-law spoonful - spoonfuls

15. Some nouns have the same singular and plural form.
deer – deer sheep - sheep

16. Some words are always plural

scissors eyeglasses

17.Plural of numerals and letters are formed by adding -s.

m's 7’s

PRONOUNS: a word that take the place of a noun.

 The noun that the pronoun replaces or refers to is called an antecedent.

 KINDS OF PRONOUNS
PERSONAL PRONOUNS - are used to refer to one or more person or things.
 First person - refers to the speaker/s.

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  Second Person - refers to the person being spoken to.
 Third Person - refers to person or persons spoken about.
DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS - tells which one or which group is referred to.
INTENSIVE PRONOUN - are the same words as the reflexive pronouns but are used to
draw attention to a noun in a sentence.
Ex: I wrote myself a song.
INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN - Introduce questions.
Ex: what which who whom whose
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS - refer to the people, places, and things in general
Ex: anybody everyone no one anyone much either nobody someone anything
both few many others several

VERB: A word that expresses an action or a state of being

Action Verbs- either physical or mental action.
Ex: The plane landed at NAIA a while ago.
Mother always hopes for the best.
Linking Verbs- is a verb that connects the subject of a sentence to the complement. It is sometimes
called a copula or a copular verb.
Ex: The sky is blue.
be being am is are was were

 Other forms of Linking Verbs (Examples)

appear grow seem stay
become look smell taste
feel remain sound get

Auxiliary Verbs- verbs used with main verbs to form verb phrases
Ex: form of be have do
be is do will

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 been was does would

am were did have

had has shall should
can could may might

 USING VERB TENSES

 SUBJECT-VERB-AGREEMENT

1. The subject and verb must agree in number.

Dennis drives his own car.
Many men today drive their own cars.

2. Compound subjects take plural verb.

Rose and Linda are best friends in school.
The doctors and nurses are distributing free medicines.

3. A compound subject referring to a single person takes the singular verb.

My confidant and adviser is my brother.
The secretary and treasurer of our class is a trustworthy classmate.

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4. Compound subjects modified by each and every are singular.
Every father and mother carries out the assigned role.
Each male and female student wears I.D. inside the school.

5. The verb agrees with its subject, not with the predicate nominative.
Books and magazines are the only material for his report.

6. When the compound subjects are joined by or, nor, either-or, neither-nor, the verb agrees with the
subject nearer it.
Neither the singers nor the composer is benefited by the concert.
Either Jim or his friends are volunteering to clean the mess.

7. When regarded as a unit, a collective noun is singular.

The committee stands firm to impose its decision.
The jury holds its verdict in abeyance.

8. When regarded as individuals, a collective noun is plural.

The audience are clapping their hands after each number.
The crowd are agitating over a dispute among themselves.

9. When preceded by the article a, the subject number is plural.

A number of poor children are afflicted by the epidemic.
A number of people have passed through the acid tests of life.

10. When preceded by the article the, the subject number is singular.
The number of absentees from the English class is reduced.
The number of enrollees generally decreases during the second semester.

11.The verb agrees with the affirmative, not with the negative subject.
The father, nor the mother, decides on the welfare of the family.

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 You, not I, are accountable for the loss of the book.

12. Singular indefinite pronouns like someone, anyone, each, neither, either, take the singular verbs.
Someone is by your side to support you at the confrontation.
Anyone is welcome to give his suggestions.

13. The plural indefinite pronouns such as all, both, several, few, many take plural verbs.
Many have been invited to my party.
Few have came and attended, however.

14.Many a followed by a singular noun takes singular verb.

Many a novel has been written on love.
Many a youngster today has already been aware of the crisis.

15. Nouns plural in form but singular in meaning takes singular verb.
Statistics provides the numerical data in question.
Politics is always associated with the "pulling of the string".

16. Scissors, refreshments, clothes, pliers, etc. are always plural.

Refreshments are now served at the canteen.

17. Impersonal pronoun it at the beginning of a sentence is followed by a singular verb.

It is his suggestions that finally take precedence.

18. An amount of money, space of time or unit of measurement even in plural form, takes a singular
verb.
Three meters of cloth makes a dress of my size.

19. Fractions are singular or plural depending upon the -of phrase.
One half of the class misses out the first period.

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 20. Adjectives used as nouns are considered plural.
The old need some recognition to feel that they belong.

21. Singular verbs are used with mathematical abstractions.

Four times eight is thirty-two.

22. The indefinite pronoun none is singular but may occasionally require a plural verb.
None of the students have done their homework.

ADJECTIVES: Words that modify a noun or a pronoun

 KINDS OF ADJECTIVES:
Compound Adjectives- out-going secretary, world class school
Descriptive - adjectives that tell about a quality
Ex: yellow big smooth soft
Limiting - denotes quantity or number, or limits in some way.
a. Numerical - three musketeers, first day
b. Demonstrative - this school, those days
c. Interrogative - what question, which project
d. Indefinite - some students, any idea
e. Possessive - our future, his fault
f. Articles - a senator, the president
g. Noun modifiers - stone house, coffee table

 DEGREES OF COMPARISON
POSITIVE- describes a quality or characteristics; it is the plain form of the adjective.
COMPARATIVE- used to compare two persons or things
SUPERLATIVE- used to compare three or more persons or things.

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a. All adjectives of one syllable and a few of two syllables have - er added to form the
comparative degree and -est to form the superlative degree.

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

small smaller smallest
dark darker darkest
tall taller tallest
long longer longest
tiny tinier tiniest

b. Most adjectives of two syllable and al adjectives of more than two syllables form
the comparative degree with the word more and the superlative degree with the
word most.

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

peaceful more peaceful most Peaceful

careful more careful most careful

thoughtful more thoughtful most thoughtful

pleasant more pleasant most pleasant

generous more generous most generous

c. The word less and least are used before all adjectives to indicate less of a quality.

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

important less important least important

famous less famous least famous

silly less silly least silly

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 hungry less hungry least hungry

painful less painful least painful

d. A few commonly used adjectives form their degrees of comparison irregularly.

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

many more most
good better best

far farther farthest

little less least
bad worse worst

ADVERB: Word that modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb

 KINDS OF ADVERB:
1. Adverb of manner - adverbs which tell how, e.g. softly, nicely.
2. Adverb of place - adverbs which tell where, e.g. here, overboard
3. Adverb of time - adverbs which tell when e.g. tomorrow, for two hours
4. Adverb of frequency - adverbs which tell how often e.g. always, sometimes
5. Intensifiers- adverbs which indicate degree

 DEGREES OF COMPARISON
1. Adverbs that end in –ly form their comparative and superlative degrees with the words more and
most.
POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
slowly more slowly most slowly

seriously more seriously most seriously

curiously more curiously most curiously

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 2. Most one-syllable adverbs form their degrees of comparison with –er and –est added to positive
degree

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

hard harder hardest
late later latest
fast faster fastest

3. A few commonly used adverbs form their comparative and superlative irregularly.
POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
badly worse worst
little less least
well better best

4. Certain adverbs cannot be compared such as:

Now Then Once Where
Never Ever There

PREPOSITION: words that expresses a relationship between a noun or a pronoun and another word in a
sentence

 Several compound prepositions that are made up of more than one word. These are considered as
single prepositions.
 This is usually followed by a noun or pronoun which is called the object of the preposition.
 Together, the preposition, the object, and the modifiers of the object form the prepositional phrase.
Ex: Life-giving knowledge is found in the Bible.

about above across after against

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 along among at behind below

beneath beside between beyond by

before concerning down during except

for from in into of

off on over past since

through through out toward under underneath

until unto up upon with

CONJUNCTION: connects individual words or group of words

 KINDS OF CONJUNCTIONS:
1. Coordinating Conjunctions – connect ideas of equal rank like word to word, phrase to phrase, or
clause to clause.
Ex: and but for nor yet
2. Correlative Conjunctions – consists of two or more words that work together as a set.
Ex: Either…or both…and not only…but also neither…nor whether…or
3. Conjunctive Adverbs – function like coordinating conjunctions. They usually connect independent
clauses which can stand by themselves as complete sentences.

consequently finally indeed moreover nevertheless

furthermore however instead still thus

4. Subordinating Conjunctions – used to introduce subordinate clauses.

Time : after, as, as long, as soon as, before, since, until, when, whenever, while,
Manner: as, as if, though
Cause: because
Condition: although, as long as, even if, even though, provided that, though, unless, while
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 Comparison: as, than
Purpose: in order that, so that, that

INTERJECTION: an exclamatory word or phrase that can stand by itself although it may appear in a
sentence
 Many interjections express strong emotions.

ah gee help aha

alas golly great hooray

dear me goodness hey Hurrah

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 ACTIVITY: VERB TENSES

Complete the sentences by providing the correct verb tense.

1. Hardly had the minister finished his speech when the earthquake ________ (shake) the stadium.

2. Everybody will be at the office at about 8:30 tomorrow as the meeting ________ (start) at nine o’clock.

3. That candidate who had been interviewed before we ________ (speak) to all the others is still my
favourite.

4. While climbing onto the mountain top, I ______________ (encounter) a strange animal which I’d never
seen before.

5. The chairman was sure that his plan would work out fine as no other member _________________
(oppose) it up to that time.

6. I wasn’t surprised to hear that Monica ___________ (have) an accident as she is a very reckless driver.

7. Since the very first day when the Umbrella Company embarked such a dangerous and risky lab-research,
very strange incidents ____________________ (take place) within the research complex.

8-9. Urbanization ____________________ (always / be) a problem which causes several environmental
challenges ever since the rate of migration ____________ (increase) after the industrial revolution.

10. When I ________ (come) home this evening, my parents had gone out for a walk.

11. By the time the troops ________ (arrive), the war will have ended.

12. By the year 2025, linguists __________________________ (study) the Indy-European language family
for more than 200 years.

13. Gasoline _____________ (become) a major problem for people for the last ten years, therefore, during
this time many people have preferred to sell their cars and buy smaller ones.

14. By the time he was 14. Wolfgang Mozart _________________ (compose) an enviable number of musical
pieces.

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15. Nothing in my life ___________ (be) so strong to stop me achieve my goals so far and I don’t think
anything will be.

16. Archaeologists _________________ (explain) recently that an ancient underground city around
Cappadocia has long wide corridors where there are many special areas for making cheese and wine.

17. I was amazed when he accepted a drink, since I _____________ _________ (always / assume) that he
was a teetotaller.

18. I ___________________ (play) tennis tomorrow but I won’t be able to do that because I have injured
my right ankle.

19. We _____________ (visit) the seashore many times before but last summer we enjoyed ourselves more
than ever.

20. According to a survey, thousands of vending machines __________ ________________ (have to be

converted) before the new coins have come into circulation.

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 ACTIVITY: SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

Complete the sentences by providing the correct verb form.

1. Many of my friends (disagree / disagrees) with me on this topic.

2. Fifteen Pounds (is / are) the price of that jacket.
3. Two hundred kilometres (seem / seems) a long distance to drive just for a party.
4. One-half of the students in the class (has / have) good marks on the test.
5. Several members of staff in the company (need / needs) a higher salary.
6. Neither the bread nor the cheese (is / are) fresh enough to eat.
7. Two chairs by the table in the dining room (is / are) broken.
8. Many politicians in public office (has / have) concerns about protecting the details of their private
lives.
9. Either my aunt or my uncle usually (help / helps) my parents.
10. The price of the pair of gloves (was / were) five Euros.
11. Both he and his father (has / have) the same medical problems.
12. Anyone who has had children (understand / understands) the importance of discipline.
13. My neighbour, encouraged by his wife, (give / gives) money to those in need.
14. Sean, my colleague and friend, (work / works) in an office.
15. Many (go / goes) on pilgrimage in the summer.
16. Many voters in the country in the north of England (refuse / refuses) to vote for the new candidate.
17. My father and mother (is / are) enjoying their vacation.
18. My best friend and confidant (has / have) decided to move away.
19. Either he or his assistant (is / are) responsible for the payroll.
20. Neither the students nor the teachers (agree / agrees) with the proposal.
21. The student or the committee members (write / writes) every day.
22. The committee members or the student (write / writes) every day.
23. Diabetes (affect / affects) many people around the world.
24. Never (has / have) the weather been so bad in the months of June and July.
25. Of all the grammar points I have studied in my weeks of English training, the most recent unit
(confuse / confuses) me the most for a variety of reasons.

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