ALQAWAREER MODEL SCHOOL

STUDENTSHANDBOOK
FOR
INTERMIDIATE COURSE

Lecture notes on:

 Tenses
 Verb
 Adverb
 Sentence

BY:
SA’ADU KABIR SULAIMAN
Tenses
Basically there are three tenses in English language but each of these three Is sub divided into
four
Below are the tenses
1. Present tense
2. Past tense
3. Future tense

Present tense: this tense is divided into four:

1. Simple present
2. Present continuous tense
3. Present perfect tense
4. Present perfect continuous tense

1. Simple present : this is the tense that is used to express the habitual action.

Examples:
1. Ahmad brushes his teeth every morning.
2. Khadija cooks the food daily.
3. The students play in the morning.
4. The girl dances beautifully.
5. The baby cries in the night.

How to ask questions using simple present tense?

Use,do/does,at the beginning of the sentence, then followed by subject and verb.
Look carefully,that if the subject is singular,does should be used,and if the subject is plural,do
should be used.

Examples;
1. Does Ahmad brush his teeth every morning?
2. Does Khadija cook the food daily?
3. Do the students play in the morning?
4. Does the girl dance beautifully?
5. Does the baby cry in the night?
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STATEMENTS USING SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE
A. POSITIVE STATEMENTS
1. Sani goes to school every day.
2. John goes to the church every Sunday.
3. Fatima attends the dinner in the night.
4. Samuel sells fruits every day.
5. we go to the mosque daily.

B.NEGATIVE STATEMENTS
1. Sani does not go to school every day.
2. John does not go to the church every Sunday.
3. Fatima does not attend the dinner in the night.
4. Samuel does not sell fruits every day.
5. We do not go to the mosque daily.

1. PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE: This is the tense that is used to express an action whih is
taking place at the moment of the speaking.

Examples:
1. Ahmad is eating the food.
2. Nuhu is washing the plates.
3. Khadija is cooking the yam.
4. They are playing football.
5. We are dancing on the floor.

QUESTION USING PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE.

Use, IS or ARE at the beginning of the sentence and followed by subject and verb.
However, IS should be used with a singular subject while ARE should be used with plural
subject and the verb should be in ING form.
Examples:
1. Is Ahmad eating the food?
2. Is Nuhu washing the plates?
3. Is Khadija cooking the food?
4. Are they playing football?
5. Are we dancing on the floor?

POSITIVE STATEMENT USING PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE.

1. Ahmad is drinking the water.
2. Khadija is driving the car.
3. They are writing exams.
4. John is jumping with a rope.
5. We are clapping our hands.

NEGATIVE STATEMENT USING PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE.

a. Ahmad is not drinking the water.
b. Khadija is not driving the car.
c. They are not writing exams.
d. John is not jumping with a rope.
e. We are not clapping our hands.

3. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE: This tense is used to express an action which has just
happened.

Examples:
1. Ahmad has driven the car.
2. Khadija has eaten the food.
3. We have written the test.
4. I have drunk then the water.
5. She has swept the room.

HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS USING PRESENT PERFECT TENSE?

To ask a question using this tense one should put HAS/HAVE at the beginning of the sentence,
then followed by the subject and the verb.
Note: that if the subject is singular HAS should be used but if the subject is plural HAVE should
be used.
Examples
1. Has Ahmad driven the car?
2. Has Khadija eaten the food?
3. Have we written the test?
4. Have I drunk the water?
5. Has she swept the room?

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STATEMENT USING PRESENT PERFECT TENSE.

POSITIVE STATEMENT.
1. Ahmad has driven the car.
2. Khadija has eaten the food.
3. We have written the test
4. The students have played football.
5. John has done the assignment.

NEGATIVE STATEMENT
1. Ahmad has not driven the car.
2. Khadija has not eaten the food.
3. We have not written the test.
4. The students have not played football.
5. John has not done the assignment.

PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE; This is used to show that an action has been
taking place since a point of time in the past and in progress up till now.
Examples;
1. I have been reading a novel.
2. We have been waiting for you.
3. You have been learning English.
4. She has been writing a letter.
5. He has been building the house.
How to ask question using present perfect continuous tense? Note that HAS/HAVE should be
used at the beginning of the sentence and then followed by the subject and verb.
 Examples;
1. Have I been reading a novel?
2. Have we been waiting for her?
3. Have you been learning English?
4. Has she been building the house?
5. Has he been writing a letter?

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STATEMENT USING PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

TENSE.
POSITIVE STATEMENT
1. It has been raining heavily.
2. They have singing a song.
3. You have been learning English.
NEGATIVE STATEMENT
1. It has not been raining heavily.
2. They have not been singing a song.
3. You have not been learning English.

PAST TENSE
This tense is divided into four and these are;
1. Simple past tense
2. Past continuous tense
3. Past perfect tense
4. Past perfect continuous tense

SIMPLE PAST TENSE

This is used to express an action that happened and ended in the past i.e it was completed in the
past.
Examples;
1. She wrote a letter.
2. Ahmad drove the car.
3. They built the house.
4. We waited for her.
5. It rained heavily yesterday.
HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS USING SIMPLE PAST TENSE?
Note that DID should be used at the beginning of the sentence then followed by the subject and
the verb.
EXAMPLES;
1. Did she write a letter?
2. Did Ahmad drive the car?
3. Did they build the house?
4. Did we wait for her?
5. Did it rain heavily yesterday?
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STATEMENT USING SIMPLE PAST TENSE
A. POSITIVE STATEMENT
EXAMPLES;
1. She killed the rat.
2. Bola kicked the ball.
3. They went to school.
4. Ado swept the class.
5. Binta slept on the bed.

NEGATIVE STATEMENT
EXAMPLES;
1. She did not kill the rat.
2. Bola did not kick the ball.
3. They did not go to school.
4. Ado did not sweep the class.
5. Binta did not sleep on the bed.

PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE

Past continuous tense is used to express an action that was in progress or it is incompleted in the
past.
Examples;
1. Khadija was writing a letter.
2. Bola was kicking the ball.
 3. They were eating rice.
4. We were coming from school.
5. The man was watching the main gate.

HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS USING PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE?

Note that WAS/WERE should be used at the beginning of the sentence then followed by the
subject and the verb.However if the subject is singular WAS should be used while if the subject
is plural WERE should be used.

EXAMPLES;
1. Was Khadija writing a letter?
2. Was Bola kicking the ball?
3. Were they eating the rice?
4. Were we coming from the school?
5. Was the man watching the main gate?

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STATEMENT USING PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE.

POSITVE STATEMENT
EXAMPLES;
1. Mother was cooking the food.
2. Children were playing football.
3. Father was coming from the farm.
4. She was watching television.
5. Ahmad was drinking the water.

NEGATIVE STATEMENT
EXAMPLES;
Mother was not cooking the food.
Children were not playing football.
Father was not coming from the farm.
She was not watching television.
Ahmad was not drinking the water.
PAST PERFECT TENSE
This is used to express an action that had completed earlier before another action began.
Examples;
1. I had read a story book.
2. She had written a letter.
3. He had learnt English
4. They had come by road.
5. We had brought the drinks.

HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS USING PAST PERFECT TENSE?

HAD should be used before the subject and then followed by the verb.
Examples;
1. Had I read a story book?
2. Had she written a letter?
3. Had he learnt English
4. Had they come by road?
5. Had we brought drinks?

POSITVE AND NEGATIVE STATEMENT USING PAST PERFECT TENSE

POSITIVE STATEMENT
EXAMPLES;
1. They had built the house.
2. It had rained heavily.
3. You had sung a song.
4. The boy had killed the snake.
5. Ahmad had visited him.

NEGATIVE STATEMENT
EXAMPLES;
1. They had not built the house.
2. It had not rained heavily.
3. You had not sung a song.
4. The boy had not killed the snake.
5. Ahmad had not visited him.
PAST PERFEC CONTINUOUS TENSE
This tense is used to show that an action had been in progress up to when another action began.
Examples;
1. She had been writing a letter.
2. They had been coming to school.
3. He had been waiting for her.
4. He had been driving the car.
5. We had been learning English

HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS USING PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE?

HAD should be used before the subject and then followed by the verb in the sentence.
Examples;
1. Had she been writing a letter?
2. Had they been coming to school?
3. Had he been learning English
4. Had we been waiting her?
5. Had he been driving the car?

POSITIVE STATEMENT OF PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE;

1. I had been writing on the board.
2. She had been talking to her.
3. They had been coming to the field.
4. Ahmad had been going to school.
5. Sani had been marking the assignments

NEGATIVE STATEMENT OF PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

Examples;
1. I had not been writing on the board.
2. She had not been talking to her.
3. They had not been coming to the field.
4. Ahmad had not been going to school.
5. Sani had not been marking the assignments.
FUTURE TENSE
This tense is also divided into four classes namely;
1. Simple future tense
2. Future continuous tense
3. Future perfect tense
4. Future perfect continuous tense
5.
1. Simple future tense; This tense is used to that an action will take place in the future.
Examples;
1. Mother will cook the food for the dinner.
2. We shall visit our uncle on Friday.
3. He will write on the board.
4. I shall read a letter.
5. She will write a letter.

HOW TO ASK QUESTIONS USING SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE?

WILL and SHALL should be used at the beginning of the sentence then followed by
subject and the verb.
Examples;
1. Will mother cook the food for the dinner?
2. Shall he write on the board?
3. Shall I read a letter?
4. Shall we visit our uncle on Friday?
5. Will she write a letter?

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STATEMENT USING SIMPLE FUTURE TENSE

POSITIVE STATEMENT.
1. We shall go out for break.
2. She will cook the food.
3. He will write on the board.
4. I shall attend the dinner.
5. John will mark the test.
NEGATIVE STATEMENT
1. We shall not go out for break.
2. She will not cook the food.
3. He will not write on the board.
4. I shall not attend the dinner.
5. John will not mark the test.
THE FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE
This is used to show that some action will be in progress in the future.
Examples;
1. I shall be reading a novel.
2. We shall bewriting for her.
3. He will be learning English
4. They will be coming to the field.
5. It will be raining heavily.
How to ask questions using future continuous tense note that SHALL/WILL should be used
before the subject then followed by the verb BE in the sentence.
Examples;
1. Shall I be reading a novel?
2. Shall we be writing for her?
3. Will he be learning English
4. Will they be coming to the field?
5. Will it be raining heavily?

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STATEMENT USING FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE

POSITIVE STATEMENT
1. I shall be waiting for you.
2. We shall be coming to your house.
3. She will be driving to Abuja
4. Sani will be marking the test.
5. Khadija will be attending the dinner.
NEGATIVE STATEMENT
1. I shall not be coming to your house.
2. We shall not be waiting for you.
3. She will not be driving to Abuja
4. Sani will not be marking the test.
5. Khadija will not be attending the dinner.

FUTURE PERFECT TENSE; This is used to show that some action will be finished in the
future.
Examples;
1. We shall have seen the film.
2. I shall have written the letter.
3. She will have cooked the food.
4. They will have visited the zoological garden.
5. She will have drawn the picture.
How to ask questions using future perfect tense? SHALL AND WILL should be used then
followed by the subject plus HAVE and then the verb in the sentence.
Examples;
1. Shall I have written the letter?
2. Shall we have seen the film?
3. Will she have cooked the food?
4. Will they have visited the zoological garden?
5. Will she have drawn the picture?

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STATEMENT USING FUTURE PERFECT TENSE

POSITIVE STATEMENT
1. I shall have written the letter.
2. They will have visited the zoological garden.
3. The book will have fallen on the floor.
4. The students will have done the assignment.
5. We shall have gone to school.
NEGATIVE STATEMENT
1. I shall have not written the letter.
2. They will have not visited the zoological garden.
3. The book will have not fallen on the floor.
4. The students will have not done the assignment.
5. We shall have not gone to school.

FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE

This is used to show that some action will have been in progress in the future.
Examples;
1. I shall have been reading a book.
2. We shall have been writing for her.
3. He will have been learning English
4. They will have been coming to school.
5. She will have been washing the plate.

How to ask questions using future perfect continuous tense?

Note that SHALL and WILL should be used then followed by the subject plus HAVE and BEEN
and then the verb in the sentence.
Examples;
1. Shall I have been reading a book?
2. Shall we have been writing for her?
3. Will he have been learning English?
4. Will they have been coming to school?
5. Will she have been washing the plates?

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STATEMENT USING FUTURE PERFECT

CONTINUOUS TENSE
POSITIVE STATEMENT
1. She will have been sweeping the floor.
2. We shall have been running in the field.
3. He will have been driving his car.
4. Ahmad will have been going to school.
5. John will have been attending the dinner.
NEGATIVE STATEMENT
1. She will have not been sweeping the floor.
2. We shall have not been running in the field.
3. He will have not been driving his car.
4. Ahmad will not been going to school.
5. John will have not been attending the dinner.

VERB
Verb can be defined as a word which expresses an action or state of being of a person or thing,in
other word verb is an action word.
Examples;
GO
DO
WORK
SWEEP
SLEEP
DANCE
WRITE
IS
HAS
DRINK
Examples in the sentences;
1. Ahmad goes to school every day.
2. Khadija cooks the food daily.
3. Sani is a student.
4. Fatima sweeps the floor.
5. Musa is a boy.

TYPES OF VERB
Basically there are two types of verb such as;
1. Lexical verb
2. Auxiliary verb
 1. Lexical verb; This is a verb that can show the action physically,
Examples;
Drink
Sweep
Kill
Write
Go
Cry
Note that all the above verbs show the action physically.

FORMS OF LEXICAL VERB

There are two forms of lexical verb, namely;
a. Singular Lexical Verb
b. Plural Lexical Verb

a. Singular Lexical Verb; It is a singular when it carries S,ES,IES at the back of the word.
Examples;
Does
Works
Goes
Kills
Drinks
Sweeps
Marks
Dances
Cooks
Eats
1. Musa does the assignment.
2. Ahmad works at the night.
3. Sani goes to school.
4. John kills the snake.
5. Fatima drinks the water.
 6. The boy sweeps the class.
7. The teacher marks the tests.
8. The girl dances beautifully.
9. Khadija cooks the food.
10. Samuel eats the food.

Plural lexical verb; it is a plural when it does not carry S,ES,IES

Examples;
Do
Work
Go
Kill
Drink
Sweep
Mark
Eat
Cook
Dance
1. They do the assignment.
2. We work at the night.
3. The students go to school.
4. We drink the water.
5. The boys sweep the class.
6. The teachers mark the tests.
7. We eat the food.
8. The girls dane beautifully
9. They cook the food.
10. We drink the water.

AUXILIARY VERB; this verb is divided into three categories such as;
a. Primary auxiliary verb
b. Modal auxiliary verb.
c. Anomalous auxiliary verb.
Primary auxiliary verb; these are;
Is
Are
Am
Were
IS, WAS, AM are singular
ARE,WERE are plural
Examples;
1. He is
2. He was
3. I am
4. I was
5. We are
6. We were

Modal auxiliary verb; these verbs include;

Will
Shall
Would
Should
Can
Could
May
Might
Dare
Must
Need
Anomalous auxiliary verb; these verbs include;
Has
Have
Had
Has;it is a singular
Have;it is a plural
Had;it is the past tense of both has and have.
Forms of verb.
There are three forms of verbs namely;
1. Transitive and Intransitive verb.
2. Regular and Irregular verb.
3. Finite and Non finite verb.

1. Transitive verb; this is the verb that an action is transferred from the subject to the
object i.e from the doer of the action to the receiver.
Examples;
1. Ahmad ate the food.
2. The boy killed the rat.
3. I drank the water.
4. Khadija cooked the food.
5. We saw the girl.
Intransitive verb; this is the verb that an action does not transferred from the doer to the
receiver.
Examples;
1. The boy fell down.
2. The car stopped suddenly.
3. Musa walked out.
4. The girl cried in the night.
5. John laughed loudly.
REGULAR AND IRREGULAR VERB
REGULAR VERB; This is the verb that its past tense and past participle end with ED.
Examples;
PRESENT PAST TENSE PAST PARTICIPLE
Look Looked Looked
Dance Danced Danced
Kill Killed Killed
Collect Collected Collected
Receive Received Received
Shout Shouted Shouted
Present Presented Presened
Work Worked Worked
Rain Rained Rained
Name Named Named

IRREGULAR VERB; This is a verb that its past tense and past participle does not end with ED
but it has just only vowel change;
Examples;

PRESENT PAST PAST PARTICIPLE

Come Came Come
Write Wrote Written
Do Did Done
Sweep Swept Swept
Sleep Slept Swept
Drink Drank Drunk
Go Went Gone
Give Gave Given
Speak Spoke Spoken
Arise Arose Arisen

FINITE AND NON FINITE VERB

FINITE VERB; A verb which shows time or a verb which limited by number,person,gender of
the subject is known as a Finite Verb.
Examples;
1. Ahmad writes letters
2. They write letters
3. We have written letters
4. I shall write letters
In the examples,the Verb WRITE has been changed according to the number,person,and tense of
the subject.So the various forms of the verb WRITE are examples of Finite Verb.
NON FINITE VERB; A verb which does not show time or a verb which is not limited by
number, person and tense of the subject is known as a Non Finite Verb.
Examples;
1. Ahmad tries to sing.
2. They try to sing.
3. I have tried to sing.
In the examples the verb SING has remained unchanged in spite of the changes in
number, person, and tense of the subject and therefore the verb SING is a Non
Finite Verb. But the verb TRY has changed according to the changes in the
person,number and tense of the subject. Hence it is a Finite Verb.

ADVERB
Adverb; A word which modifies the meaning of a verb,an adjective or another adverb is
known as an adverb.
Examples;
1. She writes quickly.
2. Bukola is very smart.
3. He explained the poem fairly well

KINDS OF ADVERBS; Adverbs are divided into eitht kinds on the basis of their use;
1. Adverb manner
2. Adverb place
3. Adverb time
4. Adverb of frequency
5. Adverb of certainty
6. Adverb degree
7. Interrogative adverb
8. Relative adverb

Adverb of manner; An adverb used to show how an action is done is known as an adverb of
manner.
Examples;
1. They lived happily.
2. Bukola walks gracefully.
3. She speaks fluently.
Adverb of place; An adverb used to show where an action is done is known as an adverb of
place.
Examples;
1. I went there.
2. She stood near the gate.
3. Please come here.
; 3.Adverb of time; An adverb used to show when an action is done is known as an adverb of
Time.
Examples;
1. My father is not at home now.
2. She will come here soon.
3. She came late yesterday.

Adverb of Frequency; An adverb used to show how often an action is done is known as an
adverb of Frequency.
Examples;
1. They talked to each other again.
2. We visited Jos twice.
3. They never go to film

Adverb of certainty; An adverb used to show definiteness of the action is known as an adverb
of certainty.
Examples;
1. Surely,she loves me.
2. I shall certainly help you.
3. Janet is obviously very clever.
Adverb of Degree; An adverb used to show how much or in what degree or to what extent an
action is done is known as an adverb of degree.
Examples;
1. We have eaten enough.
2. I am feeling much better.
3. He is very great.
7.Interrogative adverb; An adverb used to ask question is known as an interrogative adverb.
Examples;
1. when will you come?
2. How long will you stay in Abuja?
3. Where did you go yesterday?
8. Relative adverb; An adverb used to relate two clauses or statement is known as a relative
adverb.

Examples;
1. I did not know where she had gone.
2. Do you know when Bukola came here.
3. I don’t know why she went to kafanchan.

SENTENCE
A sentence can be defined as the group of words which contains subject and predicate
and also at the same time make a complete sense.
Examples;
1. Ahmad is my son.
2. Khadija is my daughter.
3. We are friends.
4. Sani is my teacher.
5. I have a car.
ELEMENTS OF SENTENCE
There are five elements of sentence namely;
1. Subject
2. Verb
3. Object
4. Complement
5. Adjunct
1. Subject; this is anything person or thing that performs an action in the sentence,or it can be
anything which the writer or speaker is talking about.however it can be a singular or plural.Look
at the following sentences;
1. Ahmad ate the food.
2. Khadija cooked the food.
3. Sani taught the class.
4. John killed the snake.
5. I drank the water.

The above underlined words are singular subjects.

1. Ahmad and Khadija are my students.
2. John and his sister is coming.
3. They are here now.
The about underlined words are plural subjects.
2. OBJECT; This is anything person or thing that receives an action,it can be singular or plural
and also it can be noun or pronoun.
Examples;
1. Ahmad ate the food.
2. Khadija cooked the food.
3. Sani taught the class.
4. John killed the snake.
5. I drank the water.
The above underlined words are objects.
3.VERB; This is a word which expresses an action or state of being of a person or thing in a
sentence.
Examples;
1. Ahmad ate the food.
2. Khadija cooked the food.
3. Sani taught the class.
4. John killed the snake.
5. I drank the water.
The above underlined words are verbs.
4.COMPLEMENT; This is a word that is used to complete the meaning of the sentence.
Examples;
1. Ahmad goes to school every day.
2. Peter went to Abuja yesterday.
 3. Sani is coming from the market.
The above underlines are the complements.
5. ADJUNCT; This is a word that is used to tell when,where,how,and why an action takes place.
Examples;
1. Ahmad is here now.
2. Musa went to school yesterday.
3. She eats the food quickly.
The above underlined words are Adjuncts.
TYPES OF SENTENCE
There are five types of sentence such as;
1. Declarative sentence
2. Interrogative sentence
3. Imperative sentence
4. Exclamatory sentence
5. Optative sentence
1. Declarative sentence; A sentence that states or declares something is called an Assertive
or Declarative sentence.
Examples;
1. Abuja is the capital of Nigeria.
2. Yoruba is spoken in Western Nigeria.
3. Chinua Achebe is a Nigerian writer.
4. Dr. Muhammad is my teacher.
2. Interrogative sentence; A sentence that asks a question is called an interrogative
sentence.
Examples;
1. What do you want?
2. Do you know English?
3. Have you ever been to America?
4. Where did you go yesterday?
3. Imperative sentence; A sentence that expresses a command,a request,suggestion is called
an imperative sentence.
Examples;
1. Please post the letter.
2. Can you lend me fifty naira?
 3. May I use your phone?
4. Could you wait for me outside?

Exclamatory sentence; A sentence that expresses some strong or sudden feeling is called an
Exclamatory sentence.
Examples;
1. What a shame!
2. What a beauty!
3. What a great success!
4. How brilliant Ahmad is!
5. How happily they are living!
6. How difficult the question paper is!

5. Optative sentence; A that expresses a wish, probability or supposition is

called an optative sentence.

Examples;
1. I wish you were my son.
2. If I had wings, I would fly.
3. May God help you in your attempt.
4. If Ahmad had been my son,I would have been happier.
5. She ought to been married by now.
6. We wish she would be with us.