Sentences using the

ENGLISH LANGUAGE are

relevant in SPEAKING and
WRITING
LISTENING and READING
Even VIEWING
Choosing the Right Words
Writing Effective Sentences
(Function and Structure)
***NEED to
REVISIT BASIC GRAMMAR

Dr. Elsie L. Dajao, Facilitator of

Learning
Graded Quick Review of
BASIC GRAMMAR
(10/26/2023) Thursday
*** Online Class
Working and Communicating with Teams
(Future Nursing /Pol Sci Professionals )
Dealing with Correct English
Usage
Thank God! Thanks to God!
Thank God is short for I thank God. It is like the way
we shorten I thank you to Thank you.
Thus, we do not say Thanks God or thanks you.
If we want to use the plural thanks, you say Thanks to
God which is the short form of I give thanks to God.

Thank God, we’re home safe!

Thanks to God, I got my health back!
Grammar
◼ the set of rules that govern the usage of
English language. A strong grasp of
English grammar is therefore of greatest
importance as each of you traverses in
your future career.
◼ Most non-native English speakers make
grammatical mistakes while speaking in
English. Improving grammar takes time
and effort but it is well worth it.
 Function Words
Function words are also known as:

structure words
grammatical words
grammatical functors
grammatical morphemes
function morphemes
form words
empty words

According to James Pennebaker, "function words account

for less than one-tenth of 1 percent of your vocabulary but make up
almost 60 percent of the words you use."
Content Words vs. Function Words
1. Function words include
determiners, conjunctions, prepositions,
pronouns, auxiliary verbs, modals, qualifiers,
and question words.

2. Content words are words with specific

meanings, such as nouns, adjectives, adverbs,
and main verbs (those without helping verbs.)
In the sentence, "The demonic terrorists murdered
mercilessy the innocent men ,women and children
in Israel,
The content words are:
terrorists , men, women, children Israel (nouns)
demonic, (adjectives)
mercilessly (adverb)
murdered (main verb)

Function words include:

the (determiner)
In (preposition)
and (conjunction)
Qualities/Things to consider to
become a Good Speaker
◼ Loudness – audability, ability to be heard, subdued,
moderate, energetic

◼ Clarity- distinctiveness of every syllable or word as it

is recited” don’t eat your words!’

◼ Pronunciation- sound we apply to a word is

determined by the use of standard usage

◼ Grammar- accepted usage of a language

Review on the Basics
◼ Phrasing, Blending, Rhythm, Intonation

◼ Stressing ( common problem)

What Is STRESSING or
EMPHASIZING ?Word Stress?
It is the intensity or force given
to a speech sound or utterance, a
syllable , or a word, producing
relative loudness.
We Stress syllables or words to
give added meaning and to make
them stand out above the other
syllables or words.
Kinds of Stress:
Primary (‘)- extreme loudness,
vowels are given full value
Words maybe stressed or accented
in the first, second, third, or fourth
syllable.
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: put the primary
mark above a vowel!

◼ Ex: 1.Europe 2. Lagoon

3.population 4.pronunciation
◼ A. Two- syllable Words- most of these words
are stressed on the FIRST syllable.
◼ 1. minutes 2. robot 3.colleague 4.
Shepherd
◼ However , other two-syllable words are
stressed on the SECOND syllable.
◼ sincere cashier lapel eclipse
taboo bamboo shampoo sardines
◼ B. Compound Nouns – they are usually
stressed on the first component.
◼ Footwear handbag toothbrush
classroom
◼ daytime hotdog bookstore railroad
◼ C. Compound Verbs – stressed on the
SECOND component.
◼ offset downgrade
◼ overcome bring up
◼ flashback playoff
◼ flashback playoff
◼ knockout stopover
◼
Reflexive or intensive pronouns are usually
stressed on the SECOND syllable.
myself himself itself
ourselves
E. Numbers ending in TY or IETH are
stressed on the FIRST syllable; those ending in
TEEN or TEENTH are stressed on the
SECOND.
sixty seventeen
twentieth eighteenth
ninety fifteen
ninetieth nineteenth
◼ F. Suffixes – when a suffix is added to a word , the new word that
is formed is stressed on the SAME syllable on the basic word.

◼ profit- profitable
◼ lazy - laziness
◼ happy -happiness
◼ loyal - loyalty

However, words ending with suffixes –tion, - sion, - ic, ical, and –ity
almost always are accented on the syllable preceding the ENDING.
◼ creation revision terrific musical
◼ maturity
◼ devotion extension specific critical plurality
G . Functional Shift – words which maybe used
as nouns/adjectives or verbs usually show a
change in stress. Nouns/adjectives are
stressed on the FIRST while the verbs are on
the SECOND.
NOUN VERB
◼ concert concert
◼ rebel rebel
◼ survey survey
◼ record record
◼ protest protest
◼ progress progress
◼ accent accent
◼ compact compact
◼ compress compress
◼ convict convict
◼ H. Other Examples
1. Primary stress on the FIRST syllable

pedestal testimony
ceremony category
supervisor triangle
requisite nominative
allergy laboratory
noticeable hospitable
2. Primary stress on the SECOND syllable.
distribute barometer
percentage repetitive
semester condolence
advertisement associate
distinguish establish
professor ingredient
◼
3. Primary stress on
the THIRD syllable

retardation antecedent
persevere magazine
elementary disconnect
documentary disadvantage
personnel guarantee
4. Primary stress on the
FOURTH syllable
affiliation authoritarian
misunderstand classification
appreciation contemporary
exaggeration encyclopedia
Graded Task:
Extemporaneous Speech

◼Give your favorite

life quotations
Writing: Essential in
ACADEMIC Communication
Important TIP:

USE SPECIFIC WORDS

Typically, specific words serve business
writers better than general words
because specific words are vivid
Please submit the completed report by
Wednesday, November 11, 2023.

Congratulations on your recent honor

Sales skyrocketed this month

Typically, specific words serve business
writers better than general words
because specific words are vivid
Congratulations on being named Lasallian
student of the month

Please submit the completed report as soon

as possible

Sales increased 10 percent this month.

Sometimes, however, general words serve better than specific words. In
getting along with others, general statements can be useful; they can
negative ideas from getting more emphasis than they deserve. In addition
,writers who don’t have specific information or for some reason don’t
want to divulge it use general words.

◼ Thank you for the explanation of your

financial status.
◼ Frank told me about what happened last
week
◼ Frank told me about the tragedy in your
family
◼ Thank you for writing me about your
problems wih creditors and the possibility of
filiing for bankruptcy
Avoid Camouflaged verbs
◼ Camouflaged verb- is a verb that has been
needlessly transformed to a noun. Words
with endings such as - ion, - ment, - ant, -
ent, -ence, -ance, ency often change verbs
into nouns.
◼ CV- increases the sentence length and
slow comprehension because they are
abstract and thus difficult for the receiver to
envision
 CV vs SV
◼ Confirmation of the date will be received from the
president.
◼ The president will confirm the date
◼ Cancellation of the flight to Ozamiz was necessary
because of weather conditions
◼ The management team has been directed to identify a
plan to create a reduction in shipping costs by 20
percent.
◼ The management team has been directed to identify a
plan to reduce shipping costs by 20 percent.
◼ The flight to Ozamiz was canceled because of weather
conditons.
Eliminate Cliche
◼ Phrases that have became overused are called
cliches. Cliches can make readings monotonous
Choose Simple Informal words