40453كتاب دراسات لغوية الفرقة الأولى

English Department
A Course of Linguistics for First Year Students
2021/2022 (First Semester)
Introduction to
Phonetics &
Minia University, Faculty of Al-Alsun
Grammar
Dr. Muhammad J. H. Abdullatief

Lecturer in Linguistics & Translation Studies
Introduction to Phonetics & Grammar Muhammad J. H. Abdullatief
Table of Contents
Preface 4
Part I: Phonetics
Unit 1: Differences between Spelling and Pronunciation 6
Unit 2: International Phonetic Alphabet 11
Unit 3: Types of Sounds 16
Unit 4: Consonants: Plosives 22
Unit 5: Fricatives (1) 29
Unit 6: Affricates 32
Unit 7: Nasals 35
Unit 8: Laterals 40
Unit 9: Semi Vowels & Approximants 44
Unit 10: Classification of Vowels 49
Unit 11: Short Vowels 52
Unit 12: Long Vowels 54
Unit 13: Diphthongs 58
Unit 14: Review Exercises 61
Part II: Grammar
Unit 1: Testing Students’ Grammatical Knowledge 68
Unit 2: Nouns 78
Unit 3: Pronouns 87
First Year 2 First Semester

Unit 4: Adjectives 96
Unit 5: Adverbs 105
Unit 6: Review of Adjectives and Adverbs 109
Unit 7: Verbs 118
Unit 8: Articles 139
Unit 9: Conjunctions (1) 143
Unit 10: Conjunctions (2) 146
Unit 11: Prepositions 150
Unit 12: Determiners 153
Unit 13: Tenses (1) 157
Unit 14: Review Exercises 164
References 174
Course Description 175

Preface
This course of linguistics is specifically concerned with phonetics and phonology.
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. It has many branches. The four core
areas of linguistics deal with the description of the structure of a language at four
different levels. (1) Phonetics and phonology deal with pronunciation, or, more
precisely, with speech sounds and the sound system. (2) Morphology covers the
structure of words. (3) Syntax explains sentence patterns. (Morphology and
syntax, often combined into morphosyntax, have traditionally been referred to as
grammar.) (4) Lexicology and semantics describe the vocabulary, or lexicon, and
explore different aspects of meaning.
There are various other branches of linguistics, sometimes referred to as
macrolinguistics. Most of these are interdisciplinary fields because they overlap
with other sciences. For example, Sociolinguistics connects linguistics with
sociology. It is concerned with language variation according to age, sex, social
class, etc. Historical Linguistics connects linguistics with history and is concerned
with language change and with the origin of words.
Phonetics
Phonetics is the study of how speech sounds are produced, transmitted, and
received. It divides concrete utterances into individual speech sounds. It can then
be divided into three distinct phases: (1) articulatory phonetics which describes in
detail how the speech organs in the vocal tract are used in order to produce, or
articulate, speech sounds (2) acoustic phonetics which studies the physical
properties of speech sounds, i.e., the way in which the air vibrates as sounds pass
from speaker to listener, and (3) auditory phonetics which investigates the
perception of speech sounds by the listener, i.e. how the sounds are transmitted
from the ear to the brain, and how they are processed.
Let’s now turn to talk about phonetics in detail.
Muhammad J. H. Abdullatief

PART 1
PHONETICS

Unit (1)
Differences between Spelling and Pronunciation
In English, more than in other languages, it is obvious that the spelling and
pronunciation of words do not match. Take the words bone, done and gone
(linguists use italics when they write about words), which are spelled with the
same vowel letter but are actually pronounced with three different vowels. Bone
rhymes with tone, done rhymes with fun and gone has the same vowel as rock. Or
take the words rijf, loaf and tough. They all end with the same sound but the
spelling varies from <ff> to <f> and <gh> (linguists use the pointed brackets < >
when referring to a spelling - the technical term for a spelling symbol is
grapheme).
Think about the words ‘dog’ and ‘cat’. Each of these contains three letters and also
three sounds or segments. The sounds into which each word can be divided are as
follows:
‘dog’: <d> as in ‘doughnut’, <o> as in ‘off’, and <g> as in ‘goat’.

‘cat’: <c> as in ‘camel’, <a> as in ‘and’, and <t> as in ‘table’.
However, spelling can be misleading, as there is not always a simple match
between sounds and letters. ‘Fox’ has four sounds, as the <x> letter represents two
sounds: a sound like that at the start of ‘kite’, followed by one like that at the start
of ‘socks’. In fact, if we think about the sounds at the end of ‘fox’ and ‘socks’, we
can hear they are the same, even though the spelling is different. Therefore, when
thinking about phonetics, it will be very important not to think about the spelling of
a word when we want to think about its sounds. The technical term for the level of
spelling is the orthographic level. The technical name for the sound level is the
phonetic level.

Another example of how the orthographic (spelling) and sound levels are separate
comes from the existence of homographs and homophones. Homographs are
words that sound different but are spelt the same. For example, ‘polish’ may mean
‘furniture polish’ or refer to a person or thing that comes from Poland.
Homophones, on the other hand, are words that sound the same but are spelt
differently. For example, ‘dough’ and ‘doe’, and ‘cue’ and ‘queue’ are
homophones for all English speakers. There are other cases, however, where a
person’s accent will determine whether a pair of words are homophones or not. For
most speakers of Southern English, ‘luck’ and ‘look’ do not sound the same.
‘Luck’ is pronounced with the same vowel as ‘strut’, while ‘look’ has the same
vowel as ‘foot’. For most speakers of Northern English, both will be pronounced
with the same vowel as ‘foot’, so they are homophones. However, speakers from
certain parts of the north, such as Lancashire, may pronounce ‘look’ with the same
vowel as ‘goose’, and ‘luck’ with the same vowel as ‘foot’ so they are not
homophones.
Accents
It is important to say at this point that the way a person pronounces a word will
vary according to where they were born, grew up and live, as well as their ‘social
class’. Languages have different accents. The word accent is often confused with
dialect. We use the word dialect to refer to a variety of a language which is
different from others not just in pronunciation but also in such matters as
vocabulary, grammar and word order. Differences of accent, on the other hand, are
pronunciation differences only.
The accent that we concentrate on and use as our model is the one that is most
often recommended for foreign learners studying British English. It has for a long
time been identified by the name Received Pronunciation (usually abbreviated to

its initials, RP), but this name is old-fashioned and misleading: the use of the word
“received” to mean “accepted” or “approved” is nowadays very rare, and the word
if used in that sense seems to imply that other accents would not be acceptable or
approved of. Since it is most familiar as the accent used by most announcers and
newsreaders on BBC and British independent television broadcasting channels, a
preferable name is BBC pronunciation.
In talking about accents of English, the foreigner should be careful about the
difference between England and Britain; there are many different accents in
England, but the range becomes very much wider if the accents of Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland (Scotland and Wales are included in Britain, and together
with Northern Ireland form the United Kingdom) are taken into account. Within
the accents of England, the distinction that is most frequently made by the majority
of English people is between northern and southern.
This course deals almost entirely with BBC pronunciation. There is no implication
that other accents are inferior or less pleasant-sounding; the reason is simply that
BBC is the accent that has usually been chosen by British teachers to teach to
foreign learners, it is the accent that has been most fully described, and it has been
used as the basis for textbooks and pronunciation dictionaries.
Whose pronunciation are we describing?
The notion of a standard variety
In all linguistic research, we have to define the language variety that we are
concerned with by delineating the speech community and/or the text type. For
example, we can investigate the Manchester dialect, the language used in e-mail
messages, or the speech of children in conversations with their peers.

In language teaching, on the other hand, it is customary to use a more idealized

standard variety, or simply standard, as a model. A standard variety is the form of a
language that is generally associated with educated speakers. And even though it
may have a regional base, we regard it as regionally neutral in that it can be found
anywhere in a country. A standard is therefore a sociolect, rather than a dialect.
The standard variety of English in Great Britain is called Standard British English
(popularly referred to by such non-linguistic terms as King's English, Queen's
English, BBC English, or Oxford English). The standard variety spoken in the
United States is called General American (English) or Standard American English.
A standard variety has a fixed grammar and vocabulary, but its pronunciation may
vary according to the regional origin, social group, or ethnicity of the speaker. We
use the term accent to refer to the way a variety is pronounced. It is quite possible,
then, that a standard variety is spoken in different accents. One of these accents
usually carries the most prestige, and is used as a model in the teaching of
pronunciation. The most prestigious accent of Standard British English, for
example, was first called Public School Pronunciation and renamed Received
Pronunciation, or simply RP, in the 1920s. There is no widely used term for the
most prestigious accent of General American, but it is sometimes referred to as
Network Standard or Network English.
Received Pronunciation is associated with the dialect spoken in the south-east of

England. The word received may seem awkward in this construction, but it is used
here in the sense 'generally accepted as proper'. RP was initially described by the
British phonetician Daniel Jones (1881-1967) in the first edition of his English
Pronouncing Dictionary in 1917. And although RP is probably the most discussed
accent around the world, it is important to note that it is a minority pronunciation
unlikely ever to have been used by more than 3 to 4 per cent of the British

population. Most educated speakers of British English speak a modified RP or near

RP. RP is also the accent used in practically all British dictionaries and
introductory textbooks.
Exercises
1. Give three different names that have been used for the accent usually used
for teaching the pronunciation of British English.
2. What is the difference between accent and dialect?
3. How many sounds (phonemes) do you think there are in the following
words?
a) love b) half c) wrist d) shrink e) ought
4. How many sounds and how many letters do the following words have:
knee, spring, debt, wrapped, fire, stall, key, pint, lamb, print

Unit (2)
International Phonetic Alphabet
How do we write down spoken language?
Traditional spelling
In order to describe somebody's individual pronunciation or the sounds of a

language variety, we need a method of writing down sounds as accurately as
possible. The first method that comes to mind is the traditional alphabetical
spelling system, also called orthography. It does, after all, relate speech sounds to
letters. In most languages, however, the relationship between speech and writing is
not very consistent. In English, one particular sound may be represented by
different letters or combinations of letters. The second sound in the word he, for
example, is represented differently in see, sea, seize, people, key, Caesar, believe,
amoeba, machine, and silly. Conversely, the same letters may indicate different
sounds, such as the a in dad, father, many, call, village, and Dame. According to
one statistical analysis, there are 13.7 different spellings per sound, and 3.5 sounds
per letter. And some letters, like the b in debt, have no sound at all in certain
words.
The rather confusing nature of English spelling can be explained by the long
tradition of printing in England. When in 1476 William Caxton, who had learnt the
art of printing in Cologne, set up the first printing house just outside London, the
orthography became less variable, and many subsequent sound changes were not
accompanied by changes in the spelling. The spellings of many words in English
today are therefore based on the pronunciation used in the time from Chaucer to
Shakespeare. Another factor that contributed to the discrepancy between sound and
spelling is the unusually high number of loanwords which have entered the English

language throughout its history and retained their original spelling. On the other
hand, one study suggests that there are fewer than 500 words in English whose
spelling is wholly irregular. If this is true, it seems that many of these words are
among the most frequently used words in the language.
Attempts to eliminate spelling irregularities can be traced back to the 16th century.
Spelling reform has been promoted by such illustrious people as Benjamin
Franklin, Charles Darwin, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Andrew Carnegie, Theodore
Roosevelt, and George Bernard Shaw, in addition to numerous language
professionals. In Britain, the Simplified Spelling Society advocates changes in the
spelling system, as does the Reformed Spelling Association in the United States.
So far, however, no attempt to change English orthography has shown any sign of
success.
Phonetic transcription
If we want to write down speech sounds as accurately as possible, we cannot

depend on traditional spelling. We need a method that relates sounds to letters or
symbols more systematically: Each sound must be represented consistently by the
same symbol, and, conversely, there must be a separate symbol for each distinctive
sound. Such a one-to-one correspondence between speech and writing is referred
to as a phonographic relationship. The symbols that we use to represent speech
sounds in this manner are phonetic symbols. A whole set of them form a phonetic
alphabet. Marks that we can add to indicate slight alterations to the usual value of
a phonetic symbol are called diacritics. The term phonetic transcription refers to
the process of writing down spoken language in phonetic symbols as well as to the
resultant written text.

The International Phonetic Alphabet
The most widely used phonetic alphabet, and one that provides suitable symbols
for the sounds of any language, is the International Phonetic Alphabet, or IPA.
This is the phonetic alphabet used in this manual. It was first published in 1889 by
the International Phonetic Association in France and has since then been revised
and corrected in various ways. It was initially developed by a group of
phoneticians, including Daniel Jones, from a concept proposed by the Danish
linguist Otto Jespersen (1860-1943). (The abbreviation IPA stands for both the
alphabet and the association.) The International Phonetic Alphabet is used, with
minor modifications, in almost all English-language dictionaries, except for
American publications. The IPA does not, however, provide the means for a
prosodic transcription, i.e., it cannot indicate suprasegmental features like rhythm
or intonation. Apart from a mark to indicate stress, there is no generally agreed
system for writing down the prosody of speech.
While some IPA symbols have been specially devised, quite a few of them look
like ordinary Roman letters. They have probably been included for purely practical
reasons, such as the facilitation of the printing process, but their inclusion has one
serious disadvantage: The Roman letters used in the IPA may be misleading
because they do not always represent the sounds that a speaker of English would
expect. When memorising the symbols of the IPA and the corresponding sounds, it
is therefore not advisable to be guided by your knowledge of the conventional
ABC. Learn every symbol as though you had never seen it before!
In order to distinguish phonetic symbols from letters, phonetic symbols are

enclosed either in square brackets, [ ], if they are used to represent a concrete
utterance, or in slashes, / /, when they indicate speech sounds as part of the sound
system. Letters are enclosed within pointed brackets,< >, or they appear in single

quotation marks, or in italics. Thus [p] represents an actual sound, / p / indicates an

abstract sound and our shared knowledge of its function within the sound system,
and <p>, ‘p', or p is an ordinary letter.
/ɪ/ as in 'pit' /pɪt/ /i:/ as in 'key' /ki:/

/e/ as in 'pet' /pet/ /ɑː/ as in 'car' /kɑː/
/æ/ as in 'pat' /pæt/ /ɔː/ as in 'core' /kɔː/
/ʌ/ as in 'putt' /pʌt/ /uː/ as in 'coo' /kuː/
/ɒ/ as in 'pot' /pɒt/ /ɜː/ as in 'cur' /kɜː/
/ʊ/ as in 'put' /pʊt/
/ə/ as in 'about', upper' /əbaʊt/, /ʌpə/
/eɪ/ as in 'bay' /beɪ/ /əʊ/ as in 'go' /ɡəʊ/

/aɪ/ as in 'buy' /baɪ/ /aʊ/ as in 'cow' /kaʊ/
/ɔɪ/ as in 'boy' /bɔɪ/
/ɪə/ as in 'peer' / pɪə/

/eə/ as in 'pear' / peə/
/ʊə/ as in 'poor' / pʊə/
/p/ as in 'pea' /pi:/ /b/ as in 'bee' /bi:/

/t/ as in 'toe' /təʊ/ /d/ as in 'doe' /dəʊ/
/k/ as in 'cap'/kæp/ /g/ as in 'gap' /gæp/
/f/ as in 'fat' /fæt/ /v/ as in 'vat' / væt/
/θ/ as in 'thing' /θɪŋ/ /ð/ as in 'this' /ðɪs/
/s/ as in 'sip' / sɪp/ /z/ as in 'zip' / ˈzɪp/
/ʃ/ as in 'ship' /ʃɪp/ /ʒ/ as in 'measure' /meʒə/
/h/ as in 'hat' / hæt/ /l/ as in 'led' / led/
/m/ as in 'map' / ˈmæp/ /r/ as in 'red' / ˈred/
/n/ as in 'nap' / næp/ /j/ as in 'yet' / jet/
/ŋ/ as in 'hang' / ˈhæŋ/ /w/ as in 'wet' / ˈwet/
/tʃ/ as in 'chin' / ˈtʃɪn/ /dʒ/ as in 'gin' / dʒɪn/

Exercises
1. Transcribe the following words phonemically in both RP and GA (check a
good dictionary for the solution):
a. jungle d. bridges
b. abbreviation e. camera
c. confused f. obtain
2. Transcribe the following words:
a) bake d) bought g) bored

b) goat e) tick h) guard
c) doubt f) bough i) pea

Unit (3)
Types of Sounds
All the sounds we make when we speak are the result of muscles contracting. The
muscles in the chest that we use for breathing produce the flow of air that is needed
for almost all speech sounds; muscles in the larynx produce many different
modifications in the flow of air from the chest to the mouth. After passing through
the larynx, the air goes through what we call the vocal tract, which ends at the
mouth and nostrils; we call the part comprising the mouth the oral cavity and the
part that leads to the nostrils the nasal cavity. Here the air from the lungs escapes
into the atmosphere. We have a large and complex set of muscles that can produce
changes in the shape of the vocal tract, and in order to learn how the sounds of
speech are produced it is necessary to become familiar with the different parts of
the vocal tract. These different parts are called articulators, and the study of them
is called articulatory phonetics.
Below is a diagram that is used frequently in the study of phonetics. It represents

the human head, seen from the side, displayed as though it had been cut in half.
You will need to look at it carefully as the articulators are described, and you will
find it useful to have a mirror and a good light placed so that you can look at the
inside of your mouth.
The Articulators

1. The pharynx is a tube which begins just above the larynx. It is about 2 cm
long in women and about 5 cm in men, and at its top end it is divided into
two, one part being the back of the oral cavity and the other being the
beginning of the way through the nasal cavity. If you look in your mirror
with your mouth open, you can see the back of the pharynx.
2. The soft palate or velum is seen in the diagram in a position that allows air
to pass through the nose and through the mouth. Yours is probably in that
position now, but often in speech it is raised so that air cannot escape
through the nose. The other important thing about the soft palate is that it is
one of the articulators that can be touched by the tongue. When we make
the sounds /k/, /g/ the tongue is in contact with the lower side of the soft
palate, and we call these velar consonants.
3. The hard palate is often called the "roof of the mouth". You can feel its
smooth curved surface with your tongue. A consonant made with the
tongue close to the hard palate is called palatal. The sound /j/ in 'yes' is
palatal.
4. The alveolar ridge is between the top front teeth and the hard palate. You
can feel its shape with your tongue. Its surface is really much rougher than
it feels, and is covered with little ridges. You can only see these if you have
a mirror small enough to go inside your mouth, such as those used by
dentists. Sounds made with the tongue touching here (such as /t/, /d/, /n/)
are called alveolar.
5. The tongue is a very important articulator and it can be moved into many
different places and different shapes. It is usual to divide the tongue into
different parts, though there are no clear dividing lines within its structure.
The figure below shows the tongue on a larger scale with these parts shown:
tip, blade, front, back and root.

Subdivisions of the tongue
6. The teeth (upper and lower) are usually shown only at the front of the
mouth, immediately behind the lips. This is for the sake of a simple
diagram, and you should remember that most speakers have teeth to the
sides of their mouths, back almost to the soft palate. The tongue is in
contact with the upper side teeth for most speech sounds. Sounds made with
the tongue touching the front teeth, such as English /θ/, and /ð/, are called
dental.
7. The lips are important in speech. They can be pressed together (when we
produce the sounds /p/, /b/), brought into contact with the teeth (as in /f/,
/v/), or rounded to produce the lip-shape for vowels like /u:/. Sounds in
which the lips are in contact with each other are called bilabial, while those
with lip- to-teeth contact are called labiodental.
The seven articulators described above are the main ones used in speech, but there
are a few other things to remember. Firstly, the larynx could also be described as
an articulator - a very complex and independent one. Secondly, the jaws are
sometimes called articulators; certainly we move the lower jaw a lot in speaking.
But the jaws are not articulators in the same way as the others, because they cannot
themselves make contact with other articulators. Finally, although there is
practically nothing active that we can do with the nose and the nasal cavity when
speaking, they are a very important part of our equipment for making sounds
(which is sometimes called our vocal apparatus), particularly nasal consonants

such as /m/, /n/. Again, we cannot really describe the nose and the nasal cavity as
articulators in the same sense as (1) to (7) above.
Phonemes & Phones
Those speech sounds that are referred to as "having a function within the sound
system" are called phonemes. A single phoneme can distinguish the word cab
from cap, serve from surf, and fool from full. A phoneme can therefore be defined
as the smallest distinctive, or contrastive, unit in the sound system of a language.
To put it in other words, a phoneme contrasts meaningfully with other speech
sounds. It is important to remember that phonemes are abstract, idealised sounds
that are never pronounced and never heard. Actual, concrete speech sounds can be
regarded as the realisation of phonemes by individual speakers, and are referred to
as phones. Phonetic symbols which represent phonemes are enclosed in slashes, //.
Phones, the true phonetic symbols, occur in square brackets, [ ].
If we want to establish what phonemes there are in a sound system (also called a
phonemic system or phoneme inventory), we need to find pairs of words that differ
in meaning and in only-one sound. Each of the two contrasting sounds in such a
minimal pair is a distinct phoneme. We have shown, then, that the final sounds in
cab and cap are phonemes because the two words are a minimal pair. The same is
true of the final sounds in serve/surf, and the middle sounds in fool/full. Note that
orthography is absolutely irrelevant here: The words write and rhyme, even though
very different in their spelling, contrast only in their final sounds and are therefore
a minimal pair. The spelling of week and weak, on the other hand, differs in only
one letter, but the two words are pronounced identically and are therefore not a
minimal pair.

Every language has its own phoneme inventory, of course, but the phonemes
sometimes also vary from dialect to dialect or from accent to accent. The phoneme
inventory of most American English accents, for example, does not include the
sound that most British speakers pronounce as the second sound in the word shop.
Instead, American speakers usually use sounds with the quality of the second
sound in father or the second sound in saw.
Consonants & Vowels
The words vowel and consonant are very familiar ones, but when we study the
sounds of speech scientifically we find that it is not easy to define exactly what
they mean. The most common view is that vowels are sounds in which there is no
obstruction to the flow of air as it passes from the larynx to the lips. A doctor who
wants to look at the back of a patient's mouth often asks them to say "ah"; making
this vowel sound is the best way of presenting an unobstructed view. But if we
make a sound like /s/, /d/ it can be clearly felt that we are making it difficult or
impossible for the air to pass through the mouth. Most people would have no doubt
that sounds like /s/, /d/ should be called consonants. However, there are many
cases where the decision is not so easy to make. One problem is that some English
sounds that we think of as consonants, such as the sounds at the beginning of the
words 'hay' and 'way', do not really obstruct the flow of air more than some vowels
do. Another problem is that different languages have different ways of dividing
their sounds into vowels and consonants; for example, the usual sound produced at
the beginning of the word 'red' is felt to be a consonant by most English speakers,
but in some other languages (e.g. Mandarin Chinese) the same sound is treated as
one of the vowels.
If we say that the difference between vowels and consonants is a difference in the
way that they are produced, there will inevitably be some cases of uncertainty or

disagreement; this is a problem that cannot be avoided. It is possible to establish

two distinct groups of sounds (vowels and consonants) in another way. Consider
English words beginning with the sound /h/; what sounds can come next after this
/h/? We find that most of the sounds we normally think of as vowels can follow
(e.g. /e/ in the word 'hen'), but practically none of the sounds we class as
consonants, with the possible exception of /j/ in a word such as 'huge' /hjuːʤ/. Now
think of English words beginning with the two sounds /bɪ/; we find many cases
where a consonant can follow (e.g. /d/ in the word 'bid', or /l/ in the word 'bill'), but
practically no cases where a vowel may follow. What we are doing here is looking
at the different contexts and positions in which particular sounds can occur; this is
the study of the distribution of the sounds and is of great importance in
phonology. Study of the sounds found at the beginning and end of English words
has shown that two groups of sounds with quite different patterns of distribution
can be identified, and these two groups are those of vowel and consonant. If we
look at the vowel-consonant distinction in this way, we must say that the most
important difference between vowel and consonant is not the way that they are
made, but their different distributions.
Exercises
1. Draw a diagram showing the seven basic articulators and define each of
them.
2. What is the difference between a phoneme and a phone?
3. What is the difference of a consonant and a vowel?

Unit (4)
Consonants: Plosives
Voicedness and voicelessness: The state of the glottis
All English sounds, pass through the glottis, which we have defined as the space
between the vocal folds, located behind the Adam's apple in the voice box, or
larynx. If the glottis is narrow, i.e., if the vocal folds are together, the air-stream
forces its way through and causes the vocal folds to vibrate. Sounds produced in
this way are called voiced. You can check whether a sound is voiced either by
placing a finger on either side of the larynx or by closing your ears with your
fingers while you speak. When you say the word zeal, for example, you should be
able to sense the vibration of the vocal folds for the entire time that you take to
pronounce the word because all three sounds are voiced.
If the glottis is open, i.e., if the vocal folds are apart, the air passes through without
causing the vocal folds to vibrate. Sounds produced in this way are called
voiceless. When you use the two tests to check which sounds in the word seal are
voiced and which are voiceless, you will find that you do not sense any vibration
of the vocal folds on the first sound, and that the vibration sets in on the second
sound. This means that the first sound in seal is voiceless, and the other two are
voiced. When we whisper, we are making all speech sounds voiceless, even the
sounds in zeal and the final two in seal.
A third possibility is that the glottis is closed, i.e., the vocal folds are firmly
pressed together, and the airstream is stopped completely. Such a glottal closure
can produce only one sound, which is called a glottal stop or glottal plosive.

For English consonants it is usual to use a categorisation based on only three

features of their production: intensity of articulation, manner of articulation, and
place of articulation.
Intensity of articulation: Lenis and fortis
The voiced/voiceless contrast discussed above is usually accompanied by a

difference in the force with which the airstream is pushed up. Voiced sounds are
usually made with a relatively weak breath force, or little muscular tension. This is
called a lenis articulation. Voiceless sounds, on the other hand, are made with more
force, or higher tension. This is called a fortis articulation.
Place of articulation
All English sounds are made with air that is pushed up from the lungs. In the
production of approximately two thirds of these sounds, the airstream is obstructed
in the throat, technically called the pharyngeal cavity or pharynx, or in the vocal
tract before it leaves the body through the mouth or nose. These sounds are called
consonants. An important feature for the description of consonants is the exact
place where the airstream is obstructed. The place of articulation names the speech
organs that are primarily involved in the production of a particular sound. To
produce a consonant, there is usually one active, mobile, lower speech organ that
moves and makes contact with a passive, immobile, upper speech organ.
There are nine possible places of articulation in English. They are usually labelled
according to the immobile, upper speech organ used in their production. The
mobile, lower speech organ always lies directly opposite.
(1) Bilabial sounds are produced with both lips. There is only one fortis bilabial
in English, namely /p/ as in peach, whereas there are two lenis bilabials, /b/
as in banana and /m/ as in mango.

(2) Labiodental sounds are produced by a movement of the lower lip against
the upper teeth. There is one fortis labiodental in English, /f/ as in film, and
one lenis labiodental, /v/ as in video. The bilabials and labiodentals form one
larger group, the labials, because they all make use of the lips.
(3) Dental, or interdental, sounds are made with the tongue tip and rims
between the upper and lower teeth or against the upper teeth. The two
dentals in English are often popularly called "teeaitch" because of their
spelling. They are the fortis /θ/, and, as in thin and the lenis /ð/as in this.
(4) Alveolar sounds are made with the tongue tip coming near or touching the
bony ridge behind the upper teeth, called the alveolar ridge. The two fortis
alveolars are /t/ as in tiger and /s/ as in snake. The four lenis alveolars are /d/
as in dolphin, /z/ as in zebra, /n/ as in nightingale, and /l/ as in leopard.
(5) Postalveolar sounds are made with the tongue tip approaching or touching
the rear of the alveolar ridge or the area just behind it. There is only one
postalveolar in English, namely the lenis /r/ as in red.
(6) Palatoalveolar sounds are made with the tongue tip touching the alveolar
ridge, and with a simultaneous raising of the blade of the tongue towards the
hard palate. The two fortis palatoalveolars in English are /tʃ/ as in cheese
and /ʃ/ as in sherry. The two lenis palatoalveolars are /dʒ/ as in gin and /ʒ/
as in measure.
(7) Palatal sounds are produced when the body of the tongue comes near or
touches the (hard) palate. The lenis /j/ as in yes is the only palatal in English.
(8) Velar sounds are made by placing the back of the tongue against or near the
velum, or soft palate. There is one fortis velar in English, namely /k/ as in
Canada, whereas there are three lenis velars, /g/ as in Greenland, /n/ as in
England, and /w/ as in Wales. The /w/ phoneme is different from the other
English velars in that it is labialised, which means that it is pronounced with

rounded lips. The lips, then, are a secondary place of articulation. The /w/
phoneme is therefore more specifically described as labiovelar. A place of
articulation which adds some quality to the main articulation is called
secondary articulation.
(9) Glottal sounds are produced in the larynx when air passes through the
glottis. The only English phoneme that is articulated in this way is the fortis
/h/ as in hat. The glottal stop, [?], would also belong in this category, but it
is not an English phoneme. In some non-standard British accents, it is a
pronunciation variant of the /t/ phoneme in certain phonetic environments,
as in the words better and butter.
Manner of articulation
The manner of articulation refers to the type or degree of closure of the speech
organs. There are six different manners of articulation in English.
(1) Plosives, or stops, are sounds for which the speaker makes a complete
closure at some point in the vocal tract, builds up the air pressure while the
closure is held, and then releases the air explosively through the mouth.
English has three fortis plosives, namely /p/ as in peach, /t/ as in tiger, and
/k/ as in Canada. The three lenis plosives are /b/ as in banana, /d/ as in
dolphin, and /g/ as in Greenland. The glottal stop [?] is a fortis plosive, but
we have already noted that it is not an English phoneme.
(2) Fricatives are made when air forces its way through a very narrow gap
between two speech organs, thereby producing audible friction. The
fricatives are the fortis /f/ as in film, /h/ as in hat, /θ/ as in thin, /s/ as in
snake and /ʃ/ as in sherry, and the lenis /v/ as in video and /ð/ as in this, /z/
as in zebra and /ʒ/ as in measure.

(3) Affricates are sounds that consist of two elements. The first element is a
plosive. This means that affricates, too, require a complete closure in the
vocal tract, but the air is released slowly enough to produce friction, which
we hear as a hissing s-like sound. This second element is articulated in the
same place, i.e., with the same speech organs, as the preceding plosive. We
therefore say that the two elements are homorganic sounds. There are two
affricates in English: the fortis /tʃ/ as in cheese and the lenis /dʒ/ as in gin.
(An affricate, then, is represented by one symbol consisting of two
characters.)
(4) Nasals have a complete closure in the vocal tract as well. They stand out
from all other English phonemes, however, in that the velum, or soft palate,
is lowered, so that air escapes through the nose. In the production of English
nasals, usually all the air escapes through the nose. Other languages have
nasals where some air also passes through the mouth, as in the final sound
in the French word bon. The three English nasals are all lenis sounds: /m/ as
in mango, /n/ as in nightingale, and /ŋ/ as in England. All other English
phonemes are usually produced with the velum raised, so that the passage to
the nasal cavity is blocked, and the air escapes only through the mouth. In
order to distinguish them from nasals, these sounds are sometimes called
orals. We cannot actually feel our velum moving, but there is a simple test
that shows us whether the velum is lowered or raised, and the effect that the
position has on the sound quality: While you are pronouncing one of the
three English nasals, stop your nose and release it again. You will hear how
the quality changes when the airstream through the nose is blocked. Try the
same with any other English sound and you will find that the sound quality
does not change a bit. Why? Because in oral sounds, the passage through
the nose is already blocked at the velum.

(5) Laterals, or more specifically lateral approximants, are also made with air
that escapes around the sides of a partial closure of the speech organs.
English has only one lateral, namely the lenis /l/ as in leopard, where the tip
of the tongue touches the centre of the alveolar ridge.
(6) Approximants are generally made with a wider gap between the speech
organs than is the case in the production of fricatives. The speech organs
approach each other, but they do not touch each other. The three English
approximants are all lenis phonemes: /r/ as in red, /j/ as in yes, and /w/ as in
Wales. Lateral approximants and approximants are grouped together and
referred to as frictionless continuants because none of them involves
audible friction.
Plosives
To give a complete description of a plosive consonant we must describe what

happens at each of the following four phases in its production:
• The first phase is when the articulator or articulators move to form the
stricture for the plosive. We call this the closing phase.
• The second phase is when the compressed air is stopped from escaping. We
call this the compression phase.
• The third phase is when the articulators used to form the stricture are moved
so as to allow air to escape. This is the release phase.
• The fourth phase is what happens immediately after (iii), so we will call it
the post-release phase.
English has six plosive consonants: /p/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /d/, /g/. The glottal plosive /?/
occurs frequently but it is of less importance, since it is usually just an alternative
pronunciation of /p/, /t/, /k/ in certain contexts. The plosives have different places

of articulation. The plosives /p/, /b/ are bilabial since the lips are pressed together;
/t/, /d/ are alveolar since the tongue blade is pressed against the alveolar ridge.
Normally the tongue does not touch the front teeth as it does in the dental plosives
found in many languages. The plosives /k/, /g/ are velar; the back of the tongue is
pressed against the area where the hard palate ends and the soft palate begins.
EXERCISES
1. Group the sounds represented by the underlined letters in the words below
according to the degree of obstruction, using the terms you have learnt in
this unit.
door shore saw jaw nor chore war gore
four more paw law raw bore core your
vote tore zoom think sing there horse treasure
2. Consider how the sounds represented by the underlined letters are made in
the following pairs of words. Which features (intensity, place, or manner)
distinguish the sounds and hence the words from each other? Write the IPA
symbol for each of these sounds.
rope robe
right ride
home hope
link sing
leave leap
word bird
think zinc
yeast feast

Unit (5)
Fricatives (1)
Fricatives are consonants with the characteristic that air escapes through a narrow
passage and makes a hissing sound. Fricatives are continuant consonants, which
means that you can continue making them without interruption as long as you have
enough air in your lungs. Plosives are not continuants. You can demonstrate the
importance of the narrow passage for the air in the following ways:
• Make a long, hissing /s/ sound and gradually lower your tongue so that it is
no longer close to the roof of the mouth. The hissing sound will stop as the
air passage gets larger.
• Make a long /f/sound and, while you are producing this sound, use your
fingers to pull the lower lip away from the upper teeth. Notice how the
hissing sound of the air escaping between teeth and lip suddenly stops.
English has quite a complex system of fricative phonemes. They can be seen in the
table below:
Place of Articulation
Labiodental Dental Alveolar Post-alveolar Glottal
Fortis (“voiceless”) /f/ /θ/ /s/ /ʃ/ /h/
Lenis (“voiced”) /v/ /ð/ /z/ /ʒ/
With the exception of glottal, each place of articulation has a pair of phonemes,
one fortis and one lenis. This is similar to what was seen with the plosives. The
fortis fricatives are said to be articulated with greater force than the lenis, and their
friction noise is louder. The lenis fricatives have very little or no voicing in initial
and final positions, but may be voiced when they occur between voiced sounds.
The fortis fricatives have the effect of shortening a preceding vowel in the same

way as fortis plosives do. Thus, in a pair of words like ice /aɪs/ and eyes /aɪz/, the
/aɪ/ diphthong in the first word is considerably shorter than /aɪ/ in the second. Since
there is only one fricative with glottal place of articulation, it would be rather
misleading to call it fortis or lenis (which is why there is a line on the chart above
dividing /h/ from the other fricatives).
We will now look at the fricatives separately, according to their place of

articulation. /f/, /v/ (example words: 'fan', 'van'; 'safer', 'saver'; 'half, 'halve')
These are labiodental: the lower lip is in contact with the upper teeth. The
fricative noise is never very strong and is scarcely audible in the case of v.
/θ/, /ð/ (example words: 'thumb', 'thus'; 'ether', 'father'; 'breath', 'breathe')
The dental fricatives are sometimes described as if the tongue were placed
between the front teeth, and it is common for teachers to make their students do
this when they are trying to teach them to make this sound. In fact, however, the
tongue is normally placed behind the teeth with the tip touching the inner side of
the lower front teeth and the blade touching the inner side of the upper teeth. The
air escapes through the gaps between the tongue and the teeth. As with f, v, the
fricative noise is weak.
/s/, /z/ (example words: 'sip', 'zip'; 'facing', 'phasing'; 'rice, 'rise')
These are alveolar fricatives, with the same place of articulation as /t/, /d/. The air
escapes through a narrow passage along the centre of the tongue, and the sound
produced is comparatively intense.
/ʃ/, /ʒ/ (example words: 'ship' (initial /ʒ/ is very rare in English); 'Russia',
'measure'; 'Irish', 'garage')

These fricatives are called post-alveolar, which can be taken to mean that the
tongue is in contact with an area slightly further back than that for /s/, /z/. If you
make /s/, then /ʃ/, you should be able to feel your tongue move backwards.
The air escapes through a passage along the centre of the tongue, as in /s/, /z/, but
the passage is a little wider. Most BBC speakers have rounded lips for /ʃ/, /ʒ/, and
this is an important difference between these consonants and /s/, /z/. The fricative
/ʃ/ is a common and widely distributed phoneme, but /ʒ/ is not. All the other
fricatives described so far (/f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/) can be found in initial, medial
and final positions, as shown in the example words. In the case of /ʒ/, however, the
distribution is much more limited. Very few English words begin with /ʒ/ (most of
them have come into the language comparatively recently from French) and not
many end with this consonant. Only medially, in words such as 'measure' /meʒə/,
'usual' /juːʒʊəl/ it is found at all commonly.
/h/ (example words: 'head', 'ahead', 'playhouse')
The place of articulation of this consonant is glottal. This means that the
narrowing that produces the friction noise is between the vocal folds. If you
breathe out silently, then produce /h/, you are moving your vocal folds from wide
apart to close together. However, this is not producing speech. In reality,
practically all English speakers omit the /h/ in non-initial unstressed pronunciations
of the words 'her', 'he', 'him', 'his' and the auxiliary 'have', 'has', 'had'.
EXCERCISES
1. Transcribe the following words phonemically:
a) fishes e) achieves
b) shaver f) others
c) sixth g) measure
d) these h) ahead

Unit (6)
Affricates
Affricates are rather complex consonants. They begin as plosives and end as
fricatives. A familiar example is the affricate heard at the beginning and end of the
word church. It begins with an articulation practically the same as that for /t/, but
instead of a rapid release with plosion and aspiration as we would find in the word
'tip', the tongue moves to the position for the fricative /ʃ/ that we find at the
beginning of the word 'ship'. So, the plosive is followed immediately by fricative
noise. Since phonetically this affricate is composed of /t/ and /ʃ/ we represent it as
/tʃ/, so that the word 'church' is transcribed as /ʧɜːʧ/.
However, the definition of an affricate must be more restricted than what has been
given so far. We would not class all sequences of plosive plus fricative as
affricates; for example, we find in the middle of the word 'breakfast' the plosive /k/
followed by the fricative /f/. English speakers would generally not accept that /kf/
forms a consonantal unit in the way that /tʃ/ seems to. It is usually said that the
plosive and the following fricative must be made with the same articulators - the
plosive and fricative must be homorganic. The sounds /k/, /f/ are not homorganic,
but /t/, /d/ and /ʃ/, /ʒ/, being made with the tongue blade against the alveolar ridge,
are homorganic. This still leaves the possibility of quite a large number of
affricates since, for example, /t/, /d/ are homorganic not only with /ʃ/, /ʒ/, but also
with s, z, so /ts/, /dz/ would also count as affricates. We could also consider /tr/,
/dr/ as affricates for the same reason. However, we normally only count /tʃ/, /dʒ/
as affricate phonemes of English.

Although /tʃ/, /dʒ/ can be said to be composed of a plosive and a fricative, it is

usual to regard them as being single, independent phonemes of English. In this
way, /t/ is one phoneme, /ʃ/ is another and /tʃ/ yet another. We would say that the
pronunciation of the word 'church' /ʧɜːʧ/ is composed of three phonemes, /tʃ/, /ɜː/
and /tʃ/.
/ʧ/, /ʤ/: Palato-alveolar Affricate
/ʧ/, /ʤ/ are the only two affricate phonemes in English. The first of this pair is
voiceless and fortis while the other is voiced and lenis. The first sound, /ʧ/, is a
combination of the voiceless fortis alveolar /t/ and its voiceless fortis but palato-
alveolar counterpart, /ʃ/. The second sound, /ʤ/, combines the voiced lenis
alveolar, /d/, with the voiced lenis palato-alveolar, /ʒ/. This is the reason they are
described as palato-alveolar consonants. Like the plosive sounds, they completely
obstruct or stop the airflow in the oral tract; but unlike the plosive sounds, do not
abruptly release the pent-up air with an explosion, but by gentle release. This is
why they are called affricate consonant sounds.
/ʧ/ Can occur as: <ch>, <tch>, <t> as in e.g.: choice, catch, feature.
When initial: choice, chess; medial: orchard, wretched; and final: catch, batch.
/ʤ/ Can occur as: <j>, <g>, <dg>, <gg>, <dj>, <de>, <di>, <ch> as in: gem,
bridge, suggest, adjective, grandeur, soldier.
When initial: joy, jam; medial: budget, urgent; and final: large, judge.
EXERCISES
1. Give the appropriate three-term description for each of the following sounds
(e.g. [k]: voiceless velar plosive):
/θ/ /b/ /f/ /ʃ/ /j/ /t/

2. Give the appropriate phonetic symbol for each of the following sounds:
(a) a voiced palato-alveolar fricative
(b) a voiced alveolar plosive
(c) a voiced velar plosive
(d) a voiced dental fricative
(e) a voiced labio-dental fricative
3. What phonetic property distinguishes each of the following pairs of sounds (e.g.
/p/ and /b/: voicing; /s/ and /ʃ/: place of articulation; /t/ and /s/: manner of
articulation)?
(a) /k/ and /g/
(b) /b/ and /d/
(c) /d/ and /z/
(d) /z/ and /ʒ/
(e) /ʃ/ and /ʒ/
(f) /d/ and /g/
4. Describe the position and action of the articulators during the production of the
following sounds (e.g. /d/: the blade of the tongue forms a constriction of
complete closure with the alveolar ridge; the vocal cords are vibrating):
/v/ /θ/ /k/ /b/

Unit (7)
Nasals
The basic characteristic of a nasal consonant is that the air escapes through the
nose.
For this to happen, the soft palate must be lowered; in the case of all the other
consonants and vowels of English, the soft palate is raised and air cannot pass
through the nose. In nasal consonants, however, air does not pass through the
mouth; it is prevented by a complete closure in the mouth at some point. If you
produce a long sequence /dndndndndn/ without moving your tongue from the
position for alveolar closure, you will feel your soft palate moving up and down.
The three types of closure are: bilabial (lips), alveolar (tongue blade against
alveolar ridge) and velar (back of tongue against the palate). This set of places
produces three nasal consonants--/m/, /n/, /ŋ/--which correspond to the three places
of articulation for the pairs of plosives p b, t d, k g.
The consonants /m/, /n/ are simple and straightforward with distributions quite
similar to those of the plosives. There is in fact little to describe. However, /ŋ/ is a
different matter. It is a sound that gives considerable problems to foreign learners,
and one that is so unusual in its phonological aspect that some people argue that it
is not one of the phonemes of English at all. The place of articulation of /ŋ/ is the
same as that of /k/, /g/; it is a useful exercise to practise making a continuous /ŋ/
sound. If you do this, it is very important not to produce a /k/ or /g/ at the end --
pronounce the /ŋ/ like /m/ or /n/.

We will now look at some ways in which the distribution of /ŋ/ is unusual.
i) In initial position we find /m/, /n/ occurring freely, but /ŋ/ never occurs in
this
position. With the possible exception of /ʒ/, this makes /ŋ/ the only English
consonant that does not occur initially.
ii) Medially, /ŋ/ occurs quite frequently, but there is in the BBC accent a rather
complex and quite interesting rule concerning the question of when /ŋ/ may
be pronounced without a following plosive. When we find the letters ‘nk’ in
the middle of a word in its orthographic form, a /k /will always be
pronounced;
however, some words with orthographic ‘ng’ in the middle will have a
pronunciation containing /ŋɡ/ and others will have /ŋ/ without /ɡ/. For
example, in BBC pronunciation we find the following:
A B
‘finger’ /fɪŋɡə/ ‘singer’ /sɪŋə/
‘anger’/æŋɡə/ ‘hanger’/hæŋə/
In the words of column A the /ŋ/ is followed by /ɡ/, while the words of column B
have no /ɡ/. What is the difference between A and B? The important difference is
in the way the words are constructed -- their morphology. The words of column
B can be divided into two grammatical pieces: ‘sing’ + ‘-er’, ‘hang’ + ‘-er’. These
pieces are called morphemes, and we say that column B words are
morphologically different from column A words, since these cannot be divided
into two morphemes. ‘Finger’ and ‘anger’ consist of just one morpheme each.

We can summarise the position so far by saying that (within a word containing the
letters ‘ng’ in the spelling /ŋ/ occurs without a following /ɡ/ if it occurs at the end
of a morpheme; if it occurs in the middle of a morpheme, it has a following /ɡ/.
Let us now look at the ends of words ending orthographically with ‘ng’. We find
that these always end with /ŋ/; this /ŋ/ is never followed by a /ɡ/. Thus, we find that
the words ‘sing’ and ‘hang’ are pronounced as /sɪŋ/ and /hæŋ/. Unfortunately,
rules often have exceptions. The main exception to the above morpheme-based
rule concerns the comparative and superlative suffixes ‘-er’ and ‘-est’. According
to the rule given above, the adjective ‘long’ will be pronounced /lɒŋ/, which is
correct. It would also predict correctly that if we add another morpheme to ‘long’,
such as the suffix ‘-ish’, the pronunciation of /ŋ/ would again be without a
following /ɡ/. However, it would additionally predict that the comparative and
superlative forms ‘longer’ and ‘longest’ would be pronounced with no /ɡ/
following the /ŋ/, while in fact the correct pronunciation of the words is: ‘longer’
/lɒŋɡə/ ‘longest’ /lɒŋɡɪst/. As a result of this, the rule must be modified: it must
state that comparative and superlative forms of adjectives are to be treated as
single-morpheme words for the purposes of this rule. It is important to remember
that English speakers in general (apart from those trained in phonetics) are quite
ignorant of this rule, and yet if a foreigner uses the wrong pronunciation (i.e.
pronounces /ŋɡ/where /ŋ/ should occur, or /ŋ/ where /ŋɡ/ should be used), they
notice that a mispronunciation has occurred.
iii) A third way in which the distribution of /ŋ/ is unusual is the small number of
vowels it is found to follow. It rarely occurs after a diphthong or long vowel,
so only the short vowels /ɪ/, /e/, /æ/, /ʌ/, /ɒ/, /ʊ/, /ə/ are regularly found
preceding this consonant.

The velar nasal consonant /ŋ/ is, in summary, phonetically simple (it is no more
difficult to produce than /m/ or /n/) but phonologically complex (it is, as we have
seen, not easy to describe the contexts in which it occurs).
The nasal sounds will have sounded a bit like the voiced plosives at the same
place of articulation. So /ŋ/ sounds somewhat like /g/, /m/ like /b/ and /n/ like
/d/. This is because the articulation of nasals and plosives is similar in many
respects.
When producing a nasal sound, the actions in the oral cavity are the same as
for a plosive at the same place of articulation. So, to produce an /n/ sound, the
tongue tip approaches the alveolar ridge, touches it, and then moves away again,
as it does for /d/. The vocal folds vibrate throughout. However, we know that /d/
and /n/ do not sound identical. The reason for this is the position of the velum.
We have already met the velum as a passive articulator, and the place of
articulation for /k/, /g/, and /ŋ/. However, the velum can also move up and down.
When it is raised, it seals off the nasal cavity so that air cannot escape through the
nose. This is known as velic closure. When the velum is lowered, air can escape
through the nose. The effect of a lowered velum when producing a nasal is that the
air does not build up behind the closed articulators. It cannot pass them, but, as the
velum is lowered, the air can and does escape through the nose. As we will see
shortly, the position of the velum is also a crucial factor when describing other
sounds.
The crucial difference between a nasal and a plosive is that the velum is
lowered for a nasal and raised for a plosive, yet they both have a complete blockage
to air in the oral cavity. This means that, in nasal sounds, air can make its way to
the nasal cavity, where it vibrates with a characteristic sound. You may also hear
nasals called nasal stops, as the air in the oral cavity is stopped completely, even

though it can escape through the nose. Thus, manner of articulation is not just
about degree of stricture, but also about whether air flows into the nasal cavity.
EXERCISES
1. For each of the sounds below, you should now be in a position to give all
three labels: voice, place and manner.
Symbol Voice Place Manner

/m/
/f/
/tʃ/
/ð/
/k/

a) sofa c) steering
b) verse d) breadcrumb
e) square g) bought
f) anger h) nineteen
3. When the vocal tract is in its resting position for normal breathing, the
soft
palate is usually lowered. Describe what movements are carried out by the
soft palate in the pronunciation of the following words:
a) banner b) mid c) ang

Unit (8)
Laterals
The /1/ phoneme (as in ‘long’ /lɒŋ/, ‘hill’ hɪl/) is a lateral approximate. This is a
consonant in which the passage of air through the mouth does not go in the usual
way along the centre of the tongue; instead, there is complete closure between the
centre of the tongue and the part of the roof of the mouth where contact is to be
made (the alveolar ridge in the case of /1/). Because of this complete closure along
the centre, the only way for the air to escape is along the sides of the tongue. The
lateral approximant is therefore somewhat different from other approximants, in
which there is usually much less contact between the articulators. If you make a
long /1/ sound you may be able to feel that the sides of your tongue are pulled in
and down while the centre is raised, but it is not easy to become consciously aware
of this; what is more revealing (if you can do it) is to produce a long
sequence of alternations between /d/ and /1/ without any intervening vowel. If you
produce /dldldldldl/ without moving the middle of the tongue, you will be able to
feel the movement of the sides of the tongue that is necessary for the production of
a lateral. It is also possible to see this movement in a mirror if you open your lips
wide as you produce it. Finally, it is also helpful to see if you can feel the
movement of air past the sides of the tongue; this is not really possible in a voiced
sound (the obstruction caused by the vibrating vocal folds reduces the airflow), but
if you try to make a very loud whispered /1/, you should be able to feel the air
rushing along the sides of your tongue.
We find /1/ initially, medially and finally, and its distribution is therefore not
particularly limited. In BBC pronunciation, the consonant has one unusual
characteristic: the realisation of /1/ found before vowels sounds quite different

from that found in other contexts. For example, the realisation of /1/ in the word
‘lea’ /li:/ is quite different from that in ‘eel’ /i:l/.The sound in ‘eel’ is what we call
a “dark 1”; it has a quality rather similar to an [u] vowel, with the back of the
tongue raised. The phonetic symbol for this sound is ɫ. The sound in ‘lea’ is what is
called a “clear 1”; it resembles an [i] vowel, with the front of the tongue raised (we
do not normally use a special phonetic symbol, different from /1/, to indicate this
sound). The “dark 1” is also found when it precedes a consonant, as in ‘eels’ /i:lz/.
We can therefore predict which realisation of /1/ (clear or dark) will occur in a
particular context: clear /1/ will never occur before consonants or before a pause,
but only before vowels; dark /1/ never occurs before vowels. We can say that clear
/1/ and dark /1/ are allophones of the phoneme /1/ in complementary distribution.
Most English speakers do not consciously know about the difference between clear
and dark /1/, yet they are quick to detect the difference when they hear English
speakers with different accents, or when they hear foreign learners who have not
learned the correct pronunciation. You might be able to observe that most
American and lowland Scottish speakers use a “dark /1/” in all positions, and don’t
have a “clear /1/” in their pronunciation, while most Welsh and Irish speakers have
“clear /1/” in all positions. Another allophone of /1/ is found when it follows /p/,
/k/ at the beginning of a stressed syllable. The /1/ is then devoiced (i.e. produced
without the voicing found in most realisations of this phoneme) and pronounced as
a fricative. The situation is similar to the aspiration found when a vowel follows
/p/, /t/, /k/ in a stressed syllable: the first part of the vowel is devoiced.

EXERCISES
1. Which of the following words is the /l/ likely to be “dark” (velarized)?

1) alive
2) Carl
3) pal
4) kill
5) play
6) Loom
2. In the next two sets of words, the distinctive differences between the
sounds represented by the underlined letters are even greater. Think
about how the sounds differ and write the IPA symbol for the sounds. Can
you think of any other sets of minimal pairs which show how sounds
contrast meaning?
home Rome comb

rice vice nice
your four jaw
ship hip lip
thin shin chin
horse
source force course
gap
tap map nap

3. Give a complete description of the consonant sound represented by the

symbol and then supply an English word containing the sound.
Example: /tʃ/
Answer: voiceless alveolopalatal affricate
Word: cherry
a. /θ/
b. /ŋ/
c. /ʒ/
d. [ɫ]
e. /r/
f. /j/
g. /ɡ/
4. Give the phonetic symbol representing the consonant sound described and
then supply an English word containing the sound.
a. voiced alveolopalatal affricate
b. aspirated voiceless bilabial plosive
c. voiced alveolar nasal
d. voiceless labiovelar fricative
e. voiceless labiodental fricative
f. voiceless glottal fricative

Unit (9)
Semi Vowels & Approximants
All consonants generally have two things in common: (a) They are made with an
obstruction of air, and (b) they typically occur at the margins of syllables. By
contrast, the sounds that (a) are produced without any obstruction of air, and (b)
usually occur at the centre of syllables are called vowels. The English frictionless
continuants, i.e., the lateral approximant, /l/, and the approximants, /r/, /j/, /w/,
however, do not fit neatly into the consonant category nor into the vowel category.
We have so far regarded them as consonants because they always appear at the
margins, and never at the centre, of syllables. This can be illustrated by words like
lot, car, yes, and wax, and by the fact that tlp or trp,
for example, are not possible words in English. We see, therefore, that the
frictionless continuants are consonants from a phonological point of view. On the
other hand, they are produced with almost no obstruction of air. In the case of /j/,
for example, the obstruction is only great enough to cause audible friction after /p,
t, k/ at the beginning of a syllable, as in the words pupil, tune, and queue. In the
case of /w/, we hear friction only after /t, k/, as in twin or quite. From a purely
phonetic point of view, then, the frictionless continuants are (almost) vowels.
In order to reflect their intermediate status, all frictionless continuants may be

regarded as semi-vowels. They are sometimes also called glides because, when
articulating these sounds as parts of actual words, the tongue moves in gliding
fashion either towards or away from a neighbouring vowel. Most linguists,
however, refer only to /j/, /w/ as semi-vowels, or glides.
Alternatively, we can reserve the traditional terms consonant and vowel to refer
only to the phonological properties of sounds. This would mean that we refer to

those
sounds that typically occur at the margins of syllables as consonants, and to those
that usually occur at the centre as vowels.
The consonants /j/ and /w/
These are the consonants found at the beginning of words such as ‘yet’ and ‘wet’.
They are known as approximants. The most important thing to remember about
these phonemes is that they are phonetically like vowels but phonologically like
consonants (in earlier works on phonology they were known as
“semivowels”). From the phonetic point of view the articulation of /j/ is practically
the same as that of a front close vowel such as [i], but is very short. In the same
way /w/ is closely similar to [u]. If you make the initial sound of ‘yet’ or ‘wet’ very
long, you will be able to hear this. But despite this vowel-like character, we use
them like consonants. For example, they only occur before vowel phonemes; this is
a typically consonantal distribution. We can show that a word beginning with /w/
or /j/ is treated as beginning with a consonant in the following way: the indefinite
article is ‘a’ before a consonant (as in ‘a cat’, ‘a dog’), and ‘an’ before a vowel (as
in ‘an apple’, ‘an orange’). If a word beginning with /w/ or /j/ is preceded
by the indefinite article, it is the ‘a’ form that is found (as in ‘a way’, ‘a year’).
Another example is that of the definite article. Here the rule is that ‘the’ is
pronounced as /ðə/ before consonants (as in ‘the dog’ /ðə dɒɡ/, ‘the cat’ /ðə kæt)
and as /ði/ before vowels (as in ‘the apple’ /ði æpl/). This evidence illustrates why
it is said that /j/, /w/ are phonologically consonants. However, it is important to
remember that to pronounce them as fricatives (as many foreign learners do), or as
affricates, is a mispronunciation. Only in special contexts do we hear friction noise
in /j/ or /w/; this is when they are preceded by /p/, /t/, /k/ at the beginning of a
syllable, as in these words:

‘pure’/pjʊə/ (no English words begin with /pw/)

‘tune’/tju:n/ ‘twin’/twɪn/
‘queue’ /kju:/ ‘quit’ /kwɪt/
The consonant /r/
This consonant is important in that considerable differences in its articulation and

its distribution are found in different accents of English. As far as the articulation
of the sound is concerned, there is really only one pronunciation that can be
recommended to the foreign learner, and that is what is called a post-alveolar
approximant. An approximant, as a type of consonant, is rather difficult to
describe; informally, we can say that it is an articulation in which the articulators
approach each other but do not get sufficiently close to each other to produce a
“complete” consonant such as a plosive, nasal or fricative. The difficulty with this
explanation is that articulators are always in some positional relationship with each
other, and any vowel articulation could also be classed as an approximant -- but
the term “approximant” is usually used only for consonants.
The important thing about the articulation of /r/ is that the tip of the tongue
approaches the alveolar area in approximately the way it would for a /t/ or /d/, but
never actually makes contact with any part of the roof of the mouth. You should be
able to make a long /r/ sound and feel that no part of the tongue is in contact with
the roof of the mouth at any time. This is, of course, very different from the “r-
sounds” of many other languages where some kind of tongue-palate contact is
made. The tongue is in fact usually slightly curled backwards with the tip raised;
consonants with this tongue shape are usually called retroflex. If you pronounce
an alternating sequence of /d/ and /r/ /drdrdrdrdr/ while looking
in a mirror you should be able to see more of the underside of the tongue in the r
than in the /d/, where the tongue tip is not raised and the tongue is not curled back.

The “curlingback” process usually carries the tip of the tongue to a position
slightly further back in the mouth than that for alveolar consonants such as /t/, /d/,
which is why this approximant is called “post-alveolar”. A rather different r sound
is found at the beginning of a syllable if it is preceded by /p/, /t/, /k/; it is then
voiceless and fricative. This pronunciation is found in words such as ‘press’,
‘tress’, ‘cress’.
One final characteristic of the articulation of /r/ is that it is usual for the lips to be
slightly rounded; learners should do this but should be careful not to exaggerate it.
If the lip-rounding is too strong the consonant will sound too much like /w/, which
is the sound that most English children produce until they have learned to
pronounce /r/ in the adult way.
The distributional peculiarity of /r/ in the BBC accent is very easy to state: this
phoneme only occurs before vowels. No one has any difficulty in remembering this
rule, but foreign learners (most of whom, quite reasonably, expect that if there is a
letter ‘r’ in the spelling then /r/ should be pronounced) find it difficult to apply the
rule to their own pronunciation. There is no problem with words like the following:
i) ‘red’ /red/ ‘arrive’ /əraɪv/ ‘hearing’ /hɪərɪŋ/
In these words, /r/ is followed by a vowel. But in the following words there is no
/r/ in the pronunciation:
ii) ‘car’ /kɑː/ ‘ever’ /ɛvə/ ‘here’ /hɪə/
iii) ‘hard’ /hɑːd/ ‘verse’ /vɜːs/ ‘cares’ /keəz/
Many accents of English do pronounce /r/ in words like those of (ii) and (iii) (e.g.
most American, Scots and West of England accents). Those accents which have /r/
in final position (before a pause) and before a consonant are called rhotic accents,

while accents in which /r/ only occurs before vowels (such as BBC) are called
non-rhotic.
Following is a table containing all English consonants:
EXERCISES
1. List all the consonant phonemes of the BBC accent, grouped according to
manner of articulation.
a) sofa c) steering
b) verse d) breadcrumb
e) square g) bought
f) anger h) nineteen
3. When the vocal tract is in its resting position for normal breathing, the soft
palate is usually lowered. Describe what movements are carried out by the soft
palate in the pronunciation of the following words:
a) banner b) mid c) angle

Unit (10)
Classification of Vowels
Phonetically, vowels are produced without any obstruction of air, and,

phonologically, vowels usually occupy the centre of a syllable. Even though most
languages have over twice as many consonants as vowels, in a way, vowels can be
seen as predominant: They carry most of the loudness, pitch, and tone of voice that
we perceive in concrete utterances, and since their sound quality varies
considerably from region to region, vowels make up most of the characteristics that
distinguish different accents of the same language. Different accents may even
have different vowel systems. The typical Scottish pronunciation of English, for
example, has only 10 vowel phonemes whereas RP has 12. The predominance of
vowels is also reflected in the origin of the word consonant: It comes from the
Latin word consonans, which means 'sounding together'. This implies that
consonants do not comfortably occur alone. They usually sound together with
vowels.
What are the criteria that we use to describe English vowel phonemes? It is
important to note, here, that all English vowels are typically voiced, so that voicing
would not count as a distinctive feature anyway. Even the place of articulation,
which is one of the three distinctive features for the description of consonant
phonemes, is of no relevance here because the airstream is not obstructed
by the speech organs. The intensity of articulation, on the other hand, does
contribute to the distinction between vowel phonemes, but it is not nearly as
important as it is for the description of consonants, and most linguists therefore
neglect this feature altogether.

What we are left with, then, and what we solely rely on is the manner in which the
English vowels are articulated. In our discussion of the manners of articulation of
consonants in the previous lesson, we moved from total closure of the speech
organs to a narrowing between them. Since vowels are produced without any
obstruction of air, none of the categories in that progression applies here.
Furthermore, we have learnt that all English sounds, except the three nasal
consonants, are usually oral sounds, which are produced with the velum raised and
air escaping only through the mouth. It follows that all English vowels are orals,
and that this feature can therefore not distinguish different vowel phonemes either.
But apart from the raising of the velum, the different manners of vowel articulation
also involve slight movements of the tongue and lips.
The manner of articulation of vowels is fairly restricted. The airstream passes the
oral cavity relatively unhindered; the particular vowel sounds are created by
altering the resonating characteristics of the vocal tract through tongue position and
the position of the lips. Vowels are usually classified according to three
characteristics: vowel height, vowel location and lip position. Vowel height refers
to the highest point of the tongue in relation to the roof of the mouth. A high vowel
such as /i:/ in bee is produced with the tongue close to the roof of the mouth; for
a low vowel such as /ɑː/ there is a considerable gap between tongue and roof of
the mouth. Mid vowels such as /e/ in bed are articulated with the tongue in mid
position between high and low. Vowel location refers to the section of the
tongue that is raised during the production of the vowel. In front vowels such as
/i:/, the front of the tongue is raised towards the hard palate. In back vowels such
as /u:/, the back of the tongue is raised towards the velum. Central vowels such
as the vowel /ɜː/ in her are produced with a raised centre part of the tongue. The
lips can be either rounded as for the production of /u:/ or unrounded

(sometimes also spread) for vowels such as /i:/. The vowel /i:/ in beat is thus
classified as a high, front, unrounded vowel.
All vowels can be divided into two main categories: diphthongs and
monophthongs. Diphthongs are gliding vowels in the articulation of which there is
a continuous transition from one position to another. Diphthongs are to be
contrasted in this respect with so-called pure vowels, or monophthongs—i.e.,
unchanging, or steady-state, vowels. Though they are single speech sounds,
diphthongs are usually represented, in a phonetic transcription of speech, by means
of a pair of characters indicating the initial and final configurations of the vocal
tract. Many of the vowel sounds in most dialects of English are diphthongs—e.g.,
the vowels of “out” and “ice,” respectively.
EXERCISES
1. Describe the position of the body of the tongue and the

lips in the production of the following vowels:
/i:/ /u:/ /e/
2. Give an appropriate vowel symbol for the vowel in each of the following
words, as you would utter them. Say (a) whether the vowel is rounded or
not, (b) how back or front it is, and (c) how low or high it is:
pit apt stock bet put putt
3. Read or write in normal orthography the short text below:

Unit (11)
Short Vowels
Of the 12 vowel phonemes in RP and in most other English accents: 5 are typically
long, and 7 typically short.
Short vowels
(1) The middle sound in fish, represented by /ɪ/. The part of the tongue between
the front and the centre is raised to just above mid-close position, and the
lips are slightly spread. A mid-close front-central vowel.
(2) The first sound in egg, represented by /e/. The front of the tongue is raised
between mid-close and mid-open position, and the lips are slightly spread. A
mid front vowel.
(3) The first sound in apple, represented by /æ/. The front of the tongue is
raised between mid-open and fully open position, and the lips are slightly
spread. A mid-open-open front vowel.

(4) The second sound in butter, represented by /ʌ/. The centre of the tongue is
raised between mid-open and fully open position, and the shape of the lips is
neutral. A mid-open-open central vowel.
(5) The first sound in olive, represented by /ɒ/. The back of the tongue is
lowered to almost fully open position, and the lips are slightly rounded. An
open back vowel.
(6) The second sound in pudding, represented by /ʊ/. The part of the tongue
between the centre and the back is raised to just above mid-close position,
and the lips are rounded. A mid-close central-back vowel.
(7) The third sound in spaghetti, the first sound in ago, or the last sound in
mother, represented by /ə/. The centre of the tongue is raised between mid-
close and mid-open position, and the lips are in a neutral shape. A mid
central vowel.
This last vowel, /ə/, is called schwa. It stands out from all other vowels, and
requires some further comment. The term schwa comes originally from
Hebrew, where it means 'emptiness' and designates a Hebrew vowel of the same
quality. You may have noticed that the schwa is articulated in practically the
same manner as the long vowel /ɜː/, and therefore the quality of the two sounds
is also virtually the same. This is the only exception to the general observation
that a difference in length is accompanied by a difference in sound quality. (We
should note, however, that there is considerable variation in the way speakers
produce the schwa. For example, it is usually more open in word-final position.)
But even if the quality of the schwa and /ɜː/ is more or less identical, the
function of these two sounds is quite different: Whereas /ɜː/ occurs only in
stressed syllables, the schwa occurs solely in unstressed syllables.

The short /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ also often occur in unstressed syllables, but, unlike the
schwa, they may occur in stressed syllables as well. Most unstressed syllables
contain a schwa, which makes this vowel the most frequently occurring sound
in English. One study has shown that almost 11 per cent of the sounds uttered in
an English conversation are schwas. The /ɪ/ makes up around 8 per cent,
whereas /ʊ/ occurs much less frequently with less than 1 per cent. For
comparison, the most frequent consonant is /n/ with around 8 per cent. Such a
frequency count shows the important function that the schwa fulfils in
unstressed syllables, and underlines the predominance of vowels over
consonants. Many languages do not have a sound that occurs in most unstressed
syllables. The speakers of these languages may thus find it difficult to
pronounce unstressed syllables when they learn English.
It should be added that some linguists analyse the schwa as a pronunciation

variant of all English vowel phonemes in unstressed syllables, rather than as a
phoneme in its own right. They prove the validity of their approach with word
pairs like compete/competition or analysis/analyse, where /i:/ and
/æ/ seem to be neutralised, or reduced, to a schwa. The schwa is therefore
sometimes called a neutral vowel, or reduced vowel.
EXERCISES
1. Write the short vowels in the following words as IPA symbols and categorise
them as close, open, or mid. Then categorise them as either front, back, or
central vowels.
peak, pork, park, pack, perk, peck, pick, put, spook, pot, upper, puck
bid, bad, bog, bored, bard, bed, boot, bud, wood, about, bird, bead
eat, drink, work, cook, chat, fuss, rest, start, walk, wash, food, sofa

Unit (12)
Long Vowels
The symbols for long vowels are followed by a length mark made of two
vertical dots. This length mark is not really necessary because every vowel has
its own symbol, but it reminds us that some vowels are usually relatively long,
and it seems to have established itself as an agreed standard. We now list the 5
long vowel phonemes, describe their manner of articulation, and label them
according to the two distinctive features:
(1) The last sound in the word bee, represented by the symbol /i:/. The front of
the tongue is raised so that it almost touches the palate, and the lips are
slightly spread. A close front vowel.
(2) The second sound in bird, represented by /ɜː/. This sound is also well
known as a hesitation sound, usually spelt er. The centre of the tongue is
raised between mid-close and mid-open position, and the lips are in a
neutral shape. A mid central vowel.
(3) The third sound in starling, represented by /ɑː/. The part of the tongue
between the centre and the back is lowered to fully open position, and the
lips are in a neutral shape. An open central-back vowel.
(4) The second sound in horse, represented by /ɔː/. The back of the tongue is
raised between mid-close and mid-open position, and the lips are rounded.
A mid back vowel.
(5) The middle sound in goose, represented by /u:/. The back of the tongue is
raised so that it almost touches the palate, and the lips are moderately
rounded. A close back vowel.

Intensity of articulation: Lax and tense
The intensity of articulation also contributes to the distinction between vowel

phonemes. It is not nearly as important here, however, as it is for the description of
consonants, where it is one of the distinctive features. Linguists distinguish
between lax vowels which are articulated with relatively weak breath force, and
tense vowels which are produced with more energy. These labels correspond to the
terms lenis and fortis, which we use to describe the intensity of consonant
articulation.
Since all English vowels are typically voiced, it goes without saying that there
cannot be a correlation between the intensity of vowel articulation and voicing, as
there is with consonants. There is, however, a correlation between the intensity of
vowel articulation and vowel length: All lax vowels are short vowels, and all tense
vowels are long. Another interesting regularity is that all five tense, long vowels
have lax, short counterparts that are roughly articulated in the same manner. We
have already encountered one such pair, namely /ə, ɜː/, where there is practically
no difference in the manner of articulation (and sound quality) at all. The
difference between these two sounds, in terms of articulatory phonetics, lies merely
in their length and, as we now know, in the intensity of their articulation. We also
know, however, that a difference in length is normally accompanied by a
difference in sound quality. Thus, the members within the remaining
four pairs are not articulated in exactly the same way. In the pair /ɑː, ʌ/, the tense,
long member is articulated with a slightly lower tongue position than its lax, short
counterpart. This seems to be another exception, since the tense, long members in
the last three pairs, /i:, ɪ/, /ɔː, ɒ/ , and /u:, ʊ/, are all produced with the tongue
slightly higher. In the vowel chart above, the tense-long/lax-short pairs are
indicated by ovals.

EXERCISES
1. Write the IPA symbols for the long vowels in the following words:
heel, rib, leg, back, thumb, arm, body, jaw, foot, tooth,
girl, finger, hair, ear, cure, eye, face, boy, nose, brow
iron, player, employer, mower, shower

Unit (13)
Diphthongs
Diphthongs and triphthongs
The quality of the English long and short vowels remains relatively constant while
they are being pronounced, i.e. the speech organs do not usually change their
position during articulation. These vowels are therefore called pure or plain
vowels, or monophthongs. In addition to these monophthongs, RP and most other
English accents have 8 vowel sequences consisting of two sounds. More precisely,
they start with a monophthong, and the quality then changes towards, but never
quite reaches, another monophthong through a gliding movement of the tongue.
These vowel sequences are called gliding vowels, vowel glides, or diphthongs. A
vowel chart indicating the starting points and tongue movements of all English
diphthongs is given in the figure below.

Diphthongs can be divided into three groups:
(1) Centring diphthongs move towards schwa. There are 3 centring diphthongs in
English, namely /eə/ as in the word air, /ɪə/ as in ear, and /ʊə/ as in tour. The
starting points of the last two diphthongs are usually slightly higher than the
position of the monophthongs /ɪ/ and /ʊ/, but we nevertheless use the same
symbols, just as we use our familiar symbols for the second elements of
diphthongs although the corresponding sounds (in this case the schwa) are
not actually reached. The last diphthong, /ʊə/, is not used very much in RP. It
is often replaced with /ɔː/.
(2) Closing diphthongs move towards a closer vowel. Of the 5 closing
diphthongs in English, 3 move towards /ɪ/, namely /eɪ/ as in face, /aɪ/ as in
mind, and /ɔɪ/ as in voice. The symbols representing the first elements of /aɪ/
and /ɔɪ/ are new to us because the corresponding sounds are not monophthong
phonemes of RP. The articulation of [a] is similar to /ʌ/, except that it is more
open and more front. And [ɔ] is articulated exactly like /ɔ:/, but it is shorter, as
the missing length mark indicates. The 2 remaining closing diphthongs move
towards /ʊ/, namely /əʊ/ as in nose and /aʊ/ as in mouth. The symbol
representing the first element of /aʊ/ may be quite misleading. It
looks as though it is identical with the first element of /aɪ/, and this is what we
would expect from a consistent phonetic alphabet. Unfortunately, however,
even though we use the same symbol, the [a] in /aʊ/ is somewhat different
from the [a] in /aɪ/. The first element in /aʊ/ is very similar to /ɑ:/, but slightly
more close and more front.
(3) Opening diphthongs move towards a more open vowel. They do not exist in
English.

It is important to note that a diphthong is conventionally analysed as one vowel

phoneme. We would say, then, that words like face, voice, and mouth consist of
three phonemes. This means that, strictly speaking, RP and most other English
accents have 20 vowels, rather than just 12.
English also has typical vowel sequences that consist of three sounds. They are
called triphthongs. The 5 English triphthongs are /eɪə/ as in player, /aɪə/ as in
fire, /ɔɪə/ as in royal, /əʊə/ as in lower, and /aʊə/ as in flour. Unlike diphthongs,
however, triphthongs are not analysed as separate vowel phonemes. They are
interpreted as closing diphthongs followed by a schwa. The word royal, then,
consists of four phonemes: /r/, /ɔɪ/, /ə/, and /l/.
EXERCISES
1. Write down the diphthongs in the following words as IPA symbols and group
them according to whether they are centring, closing to /ɪ/, or closing to /ʊ/.
boat, bay, beer, moor, by, boy, bear, bound
pie, poison, pier, poor, paste, poke, pair, pound
tour, waist, toast, care, fear, write, boil, house

Unit (14)
Review Exercises
1. What is phonetics?
2. Why do we say that sound and spelling are different levels of analysis?
3. How do we define spoken consonants and vowels?
4. Divide the following list of words into those containing two, three and four
sounds.
hand case door gold list four mail loan hay ball high disk
5. Compare the words on the left to the CV structures on the right and find the
mistakes in each, assuming a non-rhotic accent.
think CCVCC
union VCVVC
finch CVCCC
summit CVCCVC
five CVCV
metre CVCCV
knave CCVC
6. Match the CV structures on the left to the words on the right, assuming a non-
rhotic pronunciation. There should be only one match for each.
CVC eulogy
CVCC music
CCVCVC trumpet
CVCV catches
CCCVCC cover

CCVCCVC thought
CVCVC stripes
CVCVCV bank
7. How do humans produce speech sounds?
8. Where are the vocal folds found?
9. What is the difference between voiced and voiceless sounds?
10.The following are all English names for places. Divide the list into words that
start with voiceless or voiced sounds.
London Glasgow Cardiff Dublin Belfast
11.Divide the following words into those pluralised with an /s/ and those pluralised
with /z/. You might find it useful to transcribe them first.
hat cap fad bag back cliff heath sieve
12.Match the transcription on the right to the words on the left. SSBE
pronunciation is used, and there should only be one match for each.
hid /bVθ/
kitty /bVðə/
hit /kVtV/
foal /kVtVn/
vole /hVt/
both /hVd/
kitten /fVl/
bother /vVl/

13.How would you define place of articulation?
14.What are all the places of articulation used in SSBE?
15.What is the difference between a passive and an active articulator?
16.Match the symbols on the left with the places of articulation on the right. There
will only be one match for each one.
/p/ postalveolar
/z/ labiodental
/f/ palatal
/ð/ velar
/tʃ/ alveolar
[ʔ] dental
/j/ bilabial
/ŋ/ glottal
17.For each set of sounds below, please find the odd one out. Note that you will
need to be careful, as the odd one out may be different from the others in
terms of either voicing or place of articulation.
a) /t/ /d/ /p/ /n/
b) /s/ /z/ /θ/ /k/
c) /b/ /v/ /dʒ/ /f/
d) /p/ /tʃ/ /r/ /dʒ/
18.For each section below, find appropriate words according to the instructions
you are given.
a) Find words that rhyme with ‘can’, but which start with bilabials. There
should be three.

b) Find words that are like ‘make’, except that they finish with an alveolar
sound in place of /k/. There should be six. Remember to keep the vowel
the same and not to think about spelling.
c) Find words where the first two sounds are exactly like those in ‘tut’,
but which end with a velar sound instead of the final /t/. There
should be three.
19.How would you define manner of articulation?
20.What is the difference between a nasal and a plosive at the same place of
articulation?
21.Think about the sounds at the start of each word below. There will be two
examples of each MOA found in English, treating median and lateral
approximants as separate manners, so divide them up accordingly.
lentil
fish
mayonnaise
bagel
rice
pasta
cheese
noodles
yogurt
jam
sausage
lemon

22. You now know the three most important features of consonants. Look at the
groups of consonants below and work out which is the odd one out in each
group. The difference could be in voice, place, manner or one of the larger
manner classes.
a) /b p v dʒ n l r/
b) /ɡ l t d n s z/
c) /f ʃ ʒ θ v w ð/
d) /n l r w d j m/
23. Decide whether the statements below are true or false. If they are false, explain
why.
a) The velum is lowered for /ɡ/.
b) All nasals are sonorants.
c) All voiced sounds are sonorants.
d) The air is turbulent during the production of a fricative.
e) Air flows over the sides of the tongue for /j/.
24. Each of these transcriptions of English words contains errors, in that

symbols have been included that are used for English spelling but do
notrepresent an English sound in the IPA. Spot the errors, correct them and give
a VPM for the erroneous consonant symbols.
a) quick /qwVc/
b) ring /RVNG/
c) box /BVx/
25.What features are used to describe the articulation of vowels?
26.What are the symbols for all the vowels in SSBE?

27. Match the symbols on the left to the appropriate word on the right.
Assuming SSBE, there will only be one match for each one.
/ɪə/ part
/ɑ/ boy
/eə/ cow
/u/ mass
/æ/ hair
/ɪ/ gin
/ɔɪ/ plume
/aʊ/ hear

PART 2
GRAMMAR

Unit (1)
Testing Students’ Grammatical Knowledge
The most important unit of structure is the sentence. Most of the other
grammatical units are parts that go together to form a sentence. However, that
leaves us with the question ‘What is a sentence?’ and there has been some dispute
about the definition. The traditional view of the sentence seems as good a jumping-
off point as any—a unit of language that can stand alone and make sense. The
following are all complete in themselves, make sense and are, therefore, all
sentences:
We ran.
The boy kicked the ball.
They played hard and they won.
Look over there!
Minor sentences
The following examples are also all complete in themselves and make sense and
are, therefore, sentences. They are known as minor sentences or irregular
sentences. They are called minor sentences because they lack some of the other
usual grammatical features of a sentence. For example, a minor sentence often
lacks a subject and a predicate. Minor sentences are most common in spoken
English and in conversation in literary fiction. They are also common in certain
kinds of written English such as notices, labels and adverts. The following are
examples of minor sentences:
No!
Nonsense!
How terrible!
Good try!
Taxi!
No entry.
Once bitten, twice shy.

Major sentences
Other sentences are known as major sentences or regular sentences. A major
sentence usually has a subject and predicate. The following are examples of
major sentences:
We ran.
The boy kicked the ball.
Mother baked a cake.
Subject and predicate
Basically, a sentence is a combination of two grammatical units—the subject and
the predicate.
Subject
The subject of a sentence refers to what the sentence is about, often the person or
thing that carries out the action of the verb. The subject usually gives a clear idea
of what the sentence is about. The subject can be a noun, a noun phrase, a
pronoun, a subordinate clause, or an infinitive. In the following sentences the
underlined words form the subject of the sentence, and the subjects are nouns:
Children play in the park.
Money is extremely important to him.
In the following sentences the underlined words form the subject of the sentence,
and the subjects are noun phrases:
A heatwave has been forecast.
Several unhappy employees have complained to the management.
Representatives from the firm have issued a statement to staff.
James, my brother-in-law and dear friend, has just died.
and the subjects are pronouns:

They were found guilty.

We won the battle.
In the following sentences the underlined words form the subject of the sentence
and the subjects are subordinate clauses:
Who she was remained a mystery.
Why he left has not yet been revealed.
and the subjects are infinitives:
To do that would be unforgivable.
To get there is going to be very difficult.
Dummy subject
A dummy subject sometimes has no intrinsic meaning but is inserted to maintain
a balanced grammatical structure.
It has started to rain.
There is nothing else to say.
Directives
In sentences which are directives the subject often does not appear, but is implied,
as in:
Get this out of here.
Predicate
The predicate refers to the part of a sentence or clause that gives information
about the subject. It is basically all the parts of a clause or sentence that are not
contained in the subject. It can either be a single verb or a number of elements.
The little girl fell.
The tired old man slept soundly.
The tired old man slept like a log.

Object
Very often the predicate contains an object. The object of a sentence is the part of
a sentence that is acted upon or is affected by the verb. It usually follows the verb
to which it relates. There are two possible forms of object in a sentence or clause—
a direct object or an indirect object.
Direct object
A direct object refers to the person or thing that is directly affected by the action
described by the verb. The direct object can be
a noun…… The girl hit the ball.
a pronoun……….. She hit him.
a noun phrase………….. He has bought a large Victorian house.
a noun clause…………..I know what he means.
Indirect object
An indirect object usually refers to the person who benefits from the action
described by the verb, often by receiving something.
Her father sent the school a letter.
Direct and indirect objects
If there is a direct object and an indirect object in a sentence or clause, the
indirect object is almost always placed before the direct object, as in:
I gave the boy the sweets.
However, if both the direct and indirect objects are pronouns the direct object is
sometimes placed first, especially in informal speech, as in:
That is my book. Give it to me, please.
NB: Verbs and indirect objects
Some verbs commonly take an indirect object as well as a direct object. These
include bring, buy, give, send, show, tell.

An indirect object can be preceded by the word to or for.

Her father sent a letter to the school.
Complement
In a sentence where the verb is a linking verb, such as be, become, seem, etc, what
follows the verb in a predicate is called not an object, but a complement.
Mark is a policeman.
He seems an honest man.
Punctuation of sentences
A sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop or an equivalent
punctuation mark, such as a question mark or exclamation mark.
Types of sentence
Traditionally five types of sentence are recognized. These are statements,
negative sentences, questions, directives or commands and exclamations.
Statements
Statements are sentences that ‘state’ something or give information. They are
sometimes called declarative sentences because they ‘declare’ something. In most
statements the subject comes before the verb.
The boy hit his sister.
The man attacked the old woman.
Negative sentences
A negative sentence is one that makes a negative, rather than a positive, statement.
This is usually created by the inclusion of a word such as not, nothing or never.
The word not is sometimes contracted to n’t. When not or n’t is used it is
accompanied by an auxiliary verb.
We did not invite her.
I didn’t see him.

Questions
Questions are sentences that seek information of some kind. They are followed by
a question mark (?) and they often involve the inversion of the subject and an
auxiliary or modal verb, as in:
Do you play the piano?
Have you written to him?
There are three main types of questions: yes-no questions, wh-questions and
alternative questions.
Yes-no questions
Yes-no questions are designed to seek a reply in the affirmative or negative,
whether the reply is just ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or whether this is amplified in some way, as
in:
Is the house occupied just now?
Tag questions
Some yes-no questions are tag questions in which the questioning part is in the
tag at the end of the sentence. The following are examples of tag questions, with
the tags in bold:
She’s a lawyer, isn’t she?
He’s not here yet, is he?
Wh-questions
Wh-questions begin with a word beginning with wh, such as why, where, when,
who and what, as in: What do you want?
Where did he go?
When did you last see her?
Alternative questions

Alternative questions require a reply that refers to the options given in the
sentence. They contain the conjunction ‘or’.
Did you come by bus or train?
By train.
Is the party on Friday or Saturday?
It’s on Saturday.
Exclamatory questions
Exclamatory questions are sentences which have the structure of questions but
which are actually used as exclamations and end with an exclamation mark. They
are really seeking the listener’s agreement rather than seeking an answer.
Wasn’t that a wonderful meal!
Hasn’t she changed!
Rhetorical questions
Rhetorical questions are also sentences that have the structure of questions and
they end in a question mark. However, the speaker does not require an answer to
these questions.
Who does she think she is?
How should I know?
Question by tone of voice
Directives
Directives, which are also called commands (although they are not all actually
commands), are sentences that instruct someone to do something. In some
directives an actual command is being given and this is followed by an
exclamation mark, as in:
Keep quiet!
There is usually no subject in a directive and the verb is in its basic or infinitive
form. In this kind of structure the verb is said to be in the imperative mood.

Stand up!
Help me, please!
Some directives begin with the word ‘let’ or the word ‘do’, as in:
Let me help.
Do come in.
Exclamations
Exclamations are sentences expressed by someone who is impressed, excited or
roused by something. Exclamations sometimes take the form of a single word or a
minor sentence but they can also be major sentences, often beginning with
‘what’ or ‘how’. Exclamations always end with an exclamation mark (!).
Ouch!
What a day!
How pretty you look!
Sentence length
As we have seen above, sentences, particularly minor sentences, can be extremely
short. They can even be one word. On the other hand, sentences can be extremely
long. There is no restriction on the length of sentences, except, of course, that they
should not be so long that they are confusing or unintelligible. Usually, relatively
short sentences make for greater clarity. However, a series of sentences should not
all be so short that the effect is too abrupt or jerky. Apart from clarity, there is the
question of style when it comes to sentence length. From the point of view of good
style, it is important to vary the length of your sentences. A mixture of sentence
lengths makes a piece of prose seem more interesting.
EXERCISES
1. Which of the following are minor sentences?
Have you finished?
Rubbish!
This food is tasteless.

How simply delicious!

2. Underline the subject in the following sentences.
They own several flats in the area.
Skating is her latest hobby.
Anne has become engaged to Peter.
To study hard should be your main concern.
3. Underline the predicate in the following sentences.
The old lady slipped on the ice.
He left suddenly without warning.
The soldiers moved slowly and cautiously.
The young man was violent and vindictive.
4. Which of the underlined words in the following sentences form direct
objects and which form indirect objects?
The applicant gave the official the necessary information.
Each guest brought a bottle of wine.
She recognized an old colleague.
The child sent her mother a birthday card.
5. Which of the underlined words in the following sentences form
complements?
They became best friends.
We made great changes to the system.
His friends blame themselves.
She seems a very caring person.
6. Which of the following sentences are negative sentences?
We have something important to tell you.
I have never seen anything like it.
He didn’t ever love her.

She saw something move the undergrowth.

7. Replace the full stop with the appropriate punctuation mark at the end of
any of the following sentences which are questions.
Where he went is a mystery to us all.
She has been gone a long time, hasn’t she.
What did he say in reply.
Did she go abroad on holiday or stay at home.
8. Which of the following questions are likely to be rhetorical questions?
How can God do this to me?
Where is the nearest bus stop?
No one is serving me—am I invisible?
Do you know where we are?
9. Which of the following sentences are compound sentences and which are
complex sentences?
He enjoyed his work and he was very good at it.
While she was good at her work, she didn’t enjoy it very much.
I won’t go unless it stops raining.
We had intended going but it started to rain very heavily.

Unit (2)
Nouns
Often called a ‘naming word’ in primary schools, a noun is used to refer to a
person, thing or quality. Nouns are a very common feature of language and they
are categorized into various classifications as follows.
Common and proper nouns
A common noun refers to something of which there are many examples and so is
very common. The following words are examples of common nouns:
apple, band, car, city, country, day, dog, man, month, planet, religion, street.
A proper noun, on the other hand, refers to something in particular of which there
is only one example. Unlike common nouns, proper nouns begin with a capital
letter. Thus, the following words are examples of proper nouns:
Volkswagen (trade name of type of car), Jack, Sweden, Wednesday,
Concrete and abstract nouns
A concrete noun refers to something that you can touch.
bag, carpet, door, flower, grape, hand, lake, monkey, orange, pan, road, shoe
An abstract noun refers to something that you cannot touch. In other words, it
refers to a quality, concept or idea.
anger, beauty, Christianity, courage, danger, fear, greed, happiness, loyalty
Countable and uncountable nouns
A countable noun, also known as a count noun, is a noun that can be preceded by
the word ‘a’ and can exist in a plural form. When the plural form is used it is not
usually preceded by a determiner, but is used alone. Most concrete nouns are
countable.
city (plural cities), gate (plural gates), foot (plural feet), hat (plural hats)

An uncountable noun, also known as an uncount noun, is a noun that cannot

usually be preceded by the word ‘a’ or ‘an’ and does not usually exist in a plural
form. Abstract nouns tend to be uncountable.
poverty, luggage, information. sugar, education
Verbal noun
When the present participle functions as a noun it is known as a verbal noun or
gerund. The verbal noun is so called because, although formed from a verb, it
functions as a noun, acting as the subject of a sentence. In the following sentences
the underlined words are verbal nouns or gerunds:
Smoking is bad for your health.
Stealing is a crime.
Jogging is good exercise.
NB: Countable and uncountable nouns
Some nouns exist in both countable and uncountable forms. One example is the
word cake which is countable in the example
The child ate three cakes.
and uncountable in the example
Do you have some cake?
Another example is the word light
The lights in the house suddenly went out.
She was depressed by the lack of light in the winter.
In some situations it is possible to have a countable version of what is usually an
uncountable noun. Thus, although the word sugar is usually considered
uncountable, it can be used colloquially as a countable noun in the example
I take two sugars (= teaspoonfuls of sugar).
Similarly, word tea can be used colloquially as a countable noun in the example
I’ll have two teas without sugar, please.

Sometimes the verbal noun can act as the object of a sentence.

I don’t enjoy swimming.
She hates dancing.
She gave up smoking.
Nouns or pronouns that qualify verbal nouns or gerunds should be in the
possessive case:
My mother hates my smoking in her house.
The head teacher objected to our wearing casual clothes on the school trip.
In these sentences the words my and our are both in the possessive case.
However, there is a general tendency to think of gerunds as being a very difficult
area of the English language. The result is that most people do not understand that
the gerund should be preceded by a noun or pronoun in the possessive case and
they, instead, use an object, as in:
My mother hates me smoking in her house.
The head teacher objected to us wearing casual clothes on the school trip.
Although ungrammatical, such usage is becoming more and more common.
Collective nouns
A collective noun is a singular noun that refers to a group of things or people
when the whole group is being considered. In the following phrases the underlined
word is a collective noun:
a pack of wolves, a flock of sheep, a herd of cattle, a school of whales, a shoal of
herring, a fleet of ships, a pride of lions, a swarm of flies, a gaggle of geese, a
constellation of stars.
Singular and plural forms of nouns
Regular singular forms of nouns
Most English nouns have a different ending for ‘one’ of something (called the
singular form) than they do for ‘more than one’ (called the plural form). In the
case of the majority of nouns the plural is formed regularly simply by adding s or

es to the singular, as in bat/bats, monkey/monkeys, church/churches. In cases

where the singular noun ends in a consonant followed by y then the plural form
regularly becomes ies, as in fairy/fairies.
Regular plural forms of nouns
The following is a list of common nouns with their regular plural forms:
banana (bananas), berry (berries), bush (bushes)
Irregular plural forms of nouns
Some nouns do not form their plural in the above regular ways. Instead their plural
forms are said to be irregular. Some irregular plurals are formed, not by adding
an ending to the singular form, but by changing the vowel in the singular forms, as
in man/men, or by having a completely different form from the singular, as in
mouse/mice. A few irregular plural forms are formed by adding ‘en’ to the
singular form, as in ox/oxen. In the case of the word child the letter r is added
before the en. Some nouns ending in f form irregular plurals ending in ves, as in
loaf/loaves.
NB: Irregular and regular forms
The word hoof can either have the irregular plural form hooves or the regular
plural form hoofs. The word roof usually has the regular plural form roofs.
Foreign plural forms of nouns
Some nouns in English have a plural form that follows the spelling rules of the
foreign language from which they are derived, as in stimulus (stimuli), bacterium
(bacteria), criterion (criteria), and phenomenon (phenomena).
Unchanging plural form
Some irregular plural forms are the same as the singular form of the noun. These
include sheep, salmon and grouse (the game bird).
Nouns used only in the plural form
There are some words, such as jeans, scissors and trousers, which are only used in
the plural form and have no singular equivalent form. To refer to any of these in
the singular the construction a pair of jeans, scissors or trousers is used.

NB: Foreign plurals

In modern English there is a tendency to anglicize the plural forms of foreign
words. Many of these co-exist with the original foreign plural form, as thesaurus
(thesauri/thesauruses). Other examples include formula (formulae/formulas),
appendix (appendices/appendixes), index (indices/indexes) and gateau
(gateaux/gateaus). In the case of the words appendix and index the two plural
forms are used in different contexts. The plural appendices is used in a literary
context, as in the appendices added as additional information to a book, whereas
the plural appendixes is used in a medical context, as in the surgical removal of
appendixes. The plural indices is usually used in a mathematical context, whereas
the plural indexes is usually used in a literary context to refer to a guide to a book.
Gender of nouns
Many languages, such as French and German, are affected by the concept of
grammatical gender. Thus, in French the word hill is feminine (la colline)
according to grammatical gender, although in gender in the real world it would be
neuter. Similarly, the German word for a mountain (der Berg) is masculine in
terms of grammatical gender, although in the real world it is neuter. This is not true
of English because English nouns tend to be grouped according to the natural
distinctions of sex, or, where appropriate, absence of sex. Thus, we have the
gender categories of masculine, feminine and neuter and a man or boy is
classified as masculine, a girl or woman is classified as feminine and a table or
chair as neuter.
The words in the following list are masculine:
bridegroom, brother, duke, drake, emperor, father, husband, king,
The words in the following list are the feminine equivalents of the words in the
masculine list: bride, sister, duchess, duck, empress, mother, wife, queen,
The words in the following list are neuter:
apple, bottle, car, desk, egg, house, letter, newspaper, road, shoe, town, window.
Dual gender

Some nouns in English, such as child, can either refer to a male or a female, unless
the sex is indicated in the context:
adult, architect, artist, athlete, baby, author, cousin, doctor, parent, secretary,
Feminine forms
Some words in the dual gender category, such as author, poet, sculptor and
proprietor, were formerly automatically assumed to be masculine and they had
feminine forms, as in authoress, poetess, sculptress and proprietrix. The rise of the
Women’s Movement in the 1960s with its concern for the equality of women in
society gave rise to a corresponding concern for sexism in language. Words such
as authoress and poetess were thought to be sexist and are now generally thought
to be unacceptable. However, some feminine forms, such as waitress, are still in
common use and both actor and actress are used for a female actor.
Person in compound nouns
The need to remove sexism from language also resulted in the increase in use of
the word person to form compounds that could refer to either a man or a woman
and were, therefore, of dual gender. Such words include chairperson and
spokesperson. These replaced chairman and spokesman which were hitherto
thought to be able to apply to a man or a woman, although they sounded
masculine.
Compound nouns
Many nouns, known as compound nouns, consist of two or more words. A
compound noun is a fixed expression that is made up of more than one word and
functions as a noun in a sentence or clause. Most compound nouns consist of two
nouns or an adjective and a noun, but some, such as cover-up and make-up, are
derived from phrasal verbs and some, such as passer-by and looker-on, are
derived from a noun plus adverb. A few compound nouns consist of a letter of the
alphabet and a noun, as in X-ray and U-turn.
Some compound nouns are written as two words, as in estate agent, some are
separated by a hyphen, as in pen-friend, and some are written as one word, as in
housewife. Sometimes which style of writing you use for compound nouns is a
matter of choice. For example, babysitter can also be written as babysitter and

spinoff can be written as spinoff. If you want to be consistent in your writing, it is

best to select a reliable dictionary and follow its recommendations. The words in
the following list are all examples of compound nouns:
air conditioning, bank account, blood pressure, coffee jug, doorstep, fairy tale
Plural forms of compound nouns
The plural forms of compound nouns vary according to the type of words they are
made up of. If the final word of a compound noun is a countable noun, the plural
form of the countable noun is used when the compound noun is made plural, as in
swimming pools, police stations, letter-boxes and coffee jugs.
Compound nouns that are directly derived from phrasal verbs usually have a
plural form ending in s, as in cover-up/cover-ups and show-off/show-offs. In the
case of compound nouns which consist of a count noun and an adverb the plural
form of the noun is used before the adverb when the compound noun is in the
plural form, as in passers-by and lookers-on.
Nouns and noun phrases in apposition
A noun or noun phrase is said to be in apposition when it is placed next to another
noun or noun phrase and provides further information about it, especially by saying
something that identifies or describes it. In such a situation, the main noun or
phrase and the amplifying noun or phrase refer to the same person or thing. In the
following sentences the underlined words are in apposition:
My eldest brother, the acting head of the firm, has called a shareholder meeting.
My nearest neighbour, the owner of Grange Farm, has kindly offered to check in
on my house while I am away.
EXERCISES
1. Which of the following nouns are proper nouns and so should be spelt with
a capital letter?
lion, child, tuesday, book, october, castle, venus, america, region, mount everest,
day, sunshine, uncle william, ocean, new york, city, chapel, flower, oak, atlantic,
queen elizabeth.

2. Which of the following are concrete nouns and which are abstract nouns?
hat, sorrow, basket, folly, tyre, sadness, floor, mountain, grief, bliss, hut, ceiling,
silence, lamp, faith, computer, gluttony, dish, rug, depression, contentment,
dustbin, hatred, plum, sofa, clarity, portrait, finger, hospitality, tool, enmity.
3. Which of the following are countable nouns and which are uncountable
nouns?
happiness, saucer, source, discretion, fence, lawn, misery, cooker, information,
beach, location, luggage, bottle, forest, poem, inspiration, jewel, milk, suitcase,
music, poetry, essay, literature, choir, legislation, beauty, cookery, knowledge.
4. Underline the words in the following sentences which are verbal nouns:
Walking is excellent exercise.
Smoking can kill you.
She hates dancing.
He has taken up running.
She enjoys swimming.
5. What is the collective noun for a group of the following?
wolves, cattle, flies, lions, stars, herring, geese, sheep, ships, whales.
6. Give the plural forms of the following words.
house, table, friend, dog, road, elephant, umbrella, banana, taxi, berry, bush,
march, variety, kiss, lady, story, porch, child, loaf, wolf, tooth, woman.
7. Give the singular forms of the following words.
feet, geese, scarves, wives, halves, sheep, criteria, larvae, phenomena, bacteria,
formulae, appendices.
8. Write down the words in the following list which are of feminine gender.
nephew, town, widow, empress, car, bridegroom, duchess, road, drake, sister,

desk, niece, duke, waitress.

9. Write down the words in the following list that can be of dual gender.
artist, egg, writer, shoe, widower, king, poet, author, doctor, letter, princess,
teacher, newspaper, bride, drake, parent, student, waitress, singer, athlete.
10. Give the plural forms of the following compound nouns.
passer-by, swimming pool, looker-on, coffee pot, show-off, police station,
letterbox,
cover-up.
11. Underline the phrase in each of the following sentences which is in
apposition to a noun phrase.
The most important people involved, the pupils in the school, have not been
consulted at all.
My favourite house, the one we saw last, is far too expensive for our budget.
Her cousin Mark, a senior partner in the firm, has just been arrested for fraud.
The local beach, a favourite meeting-place for teenagers, has been closed
temporarily.

Unit (3)
Pronouns
Pronouns
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun or noun phrase in a sentence.
I bought an apple and ate it.
I phoned Jane and invited her to dinner.
There are several types of pronoun and they are categorized as follows.
Personal pronouns
A personal pronoun is a pronoun that is used to refer back to someone or
something that has already been mentioned. Of the different kinds of pronoun the
personal pronouns are the most common. There are three types of personal
pronoun, according to their function in the sentence. The subject pronoun is used
as the subject of a sentence; the object pronoun is used as the object of a sentence;
the possessive pronoun is used to indicate that a person or thing belongs to, or is
associated with, another person or thing. In sentence 1 below, the underlined word
is a personal subject pronoun, in sentence 2 the underlined word is a personal
object pronoun and in sentence 3 the underlined word is a possessive pronoun.
1 I looked after the children.
2 The grandparents looked after her.
3 That car is mine.
Personal pronouns are also categorized according to person.
I and we: the first person personal pronoun
The first person personal pronoun refers to the person who is speaking or writing
when referring to himself or herself. The first person personal pronoun, in the
singular form, is I and, in the plural form, we, when it acts as the subject of a
sentence. When it is the object of a sentence the singular form is me and the plural
form is us. The possessive form of the first person personal pronoun in the singular
form is mine and in the plural form is ours.

She said, ‘I am going home.’

‘We have very little money left,’ she said to her husband.
‘I think he hates me,’ Jane said.
‘It’s obvious that she deceived us,’ said Jim.
‘That book is mine,’ said Anne.
‘We won,’ said Bill, ‘and so the prize is clearly ours.’
You: the second person personal pronoun
The second person personal pronoun refers to the person or thing that is being
addressed in the sentence. The second person personal pronoun is you, whether
it is the pronoun or object of the sentence and whether it is singular or plural.
Unlike in some languages, the second person personal pronoun does not alter its
form in English. The possessive form of the second person personal pronoun is
yours in both singular and plural forms.
You should have told me earlier, Jane.
Someone has called you.
This pen is yours, Jim, is it?
NB: Me and I
Many people are confused about when to use I and when to use me. It is often
wrongly assumed that the use of the word me is less polite than that that of the
word I. In fact, the pronoun I should be used as the subject of a sentence, as in:
Jim and I are going on holiday together.
The pronoun me should be used as the object of a sentence, as in:
They invited my brother and me to tea.
Exception Except in very formal contexts, it is now considered quite acceptable to
say “It is me.” although, strictly speaking, this use is ungrammatical and it should
be
“It is I.” However, this sounds very stilted and it is rarely used.

NB: Between, I and Me

There is some confusion as to whether the preposition between should be followed
by I or me. Because between is followed by an object, the correct answer is me, as
The dog stood between me and the gate.
It is wrongly assumed that the use of me is less polite than that of I.
He, she, it and they: the third person personal pronoun
The third person personal pronoun refers to a third party, not to the speaker or
writer of the sentence or to the person being addressed. The third person personal
pronouns are, in the singular form, he, she and it and, in the plural form, they,
when the personal pronoun is the subject of the sentence. When the third person
personal pronoun is the object of the sentence it takes the form of him, her or it in
the singular form and, in the plural form, them. The possessive forms of the third
person personal pronoun in the singular are respectively his, hers or its. In the
plural the possessive form is theirs.
He left school last year.
I drove her to the station.
The stolen car is theirs.
NB: Personal pronouns and sexist language
Until fairly recently, it was very common to use a masculine personal pronoun to
refer to a noun where the gender was not known, as in:
If a student does not attend classes regularly he will be asked to leave college.
When the movement towards the removal of sexist language from the English
language began, this use of he was considered to be sexist and such sentences
required to be rephrased.
The problem is that this is not easy to do. Where possible, the easiest way of doing
this may be to turn the whole sentence into the plural, as in:
If students do not attend classes regularly they will be asked to leave college.

Alternatively, the easiest course of action may be to use ‘he or she’ or ‘he/she’
instead of he, as
If the applicant is successful he or she (he/she) will be expected to start work next
week.
This last way round the problem is felt by many people to be clumsy, particularly
in spoken or informal English. The solution often used now is ungrammatical in
nature. Thus, instead of using ‘he/she’ many people use ‘they’ instead, although
the rest of the sentence is left in the singular form.
Instead of saying
Every student has been instructed that he/she must register for the exams by the
end of December.
they say
Every student has been instructed that they must register for the exams by the end
of December.
The use of the third person personal pronoun in plural form in such contexts is
becoming more and more common, frequently being used in textbooks and
dictionaries and even more so in newspapers, magazines and works of fiction.
Possessive pronouns
Possessive pronouns see first person personal pronouns, second personal
pronouns and third personal pronouns.
Reflexive pronouns
Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves and refer back to a noun or pronoun that
has been mentioned earlier in the sentence.
myself, ourselves, yourself, yourselves, himself, herself, itself, themselves.
I cut myself with the breadknife.
You will have to wash yourself in cold water.
Reflexive pronouns can also be used for emphasis, as in the following sentences:
The town itself is not very attractive, but the surrounding countryside is beautiful.

The headmaster himself decided on the boys’ punishment.

NB: Emphatic pronouns
Reflexive pronouns which are used, as above, for emphasis are sometimes known
as emphatic pronouns. Reflexive pronouns can also be used to indicate that
someone has done something alone without the help of anyone else, as in:
The bride made that beautiful dress herself.
The young couple are planning to build the house themselves.
Reciprocal pronouns
Reciprocal pronouns are pronouns which are used to indicate a two-way
relationship or to convey the idea of reciprocity. The reciprocal pronouns are
each other and one another.
The two sisters have hated each other from childhood.
The children are always calling one another unpleasant names.
Demonstrative pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns are used to indicate or point to things or people. The
demonstrative pronouns are this, that, these and those. The demonstrative
pronouns this and these are used to refer to something or someone close to the
writer or speaker, while that and those are used to refer to something further away.
I’m sure this is my book.
That is definitely Dad’s car.
These are my favourite flowers.
Those are very expensive houses.
Indefinite pronouns
Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that are used to refer to people or things without
specifying exactly who or what they are.
anyone, anybody, anything, everyone, everybody, everything, someone,
somebody, something, no one, nobody, nothing.

Is anyone there?
Does everyone have a drink?
Nothing matters now.
NB: No one
Unlike the other indefinite pronouns no one is written as two words. Some other
pronouns are sometimes classified as indefinite pronouns. See distributive
pronouns below.
Distributive pronouns
Some pronouns were traditionally known as distributive pronouns but are now
also variously known as indefinite pronouns or universal pronouns. Often such
pronouns are followed by an ‘of’ construction.
all, both, each, either, neither, more, most, some.
We thought a few workers would be declared redundant, but, in the end, all kept
their jobs.
The three boys were involved in the crime and each deserves to be punished.
I am very impressed by these two projects and think that either of them would suit
our purpose well.
Interrogative pronouns
Interrogative pronouns are pronouns which are used to ask questions. They are
among words sometimes called wh-words because they all begin with the letters
‘wh-’.
who, whom, to whom, whose, which, what.
Who is used as the subject of an interrogative sentence, while the object in formal
or written English is whom. In informal or spoken English the object of an
interrogative sentence is often who. The interrogative pronoun to whom is
confined to formal or written English.
Who has got the job?
Whom did she blame?

Whose is the blue car?

Relative pronouns
Relative pronouns are pronouns that introduce a relative clause. The relative
pronoun refers back to a noun or noun phrase in the main clause, called the
antecedent. In each case the antecedent is the word immediately before the
relative pronoun.
who, whom, whose, which, that
There’s the man who stole the car.
She was the only person whom I could trust.
That’s the man whose permission we need for the project to go ahead.
EXERCISES
12. Write out those of the following sentences that contain a personal pronoun
used as the subject of a sentence, underlining the relevant personal pronoun.
You must leave right away.
People simply don’t trust you.
She didn’t tell us what to do.
They nearly killed their victim.
13. Write out the following sentences filling in the blanks with either me or I.
Jack asked ... to give you this.
Jane and … are going on holiday together.
He is going to play chess against ….
Can Sue and … come to the party?
14. Write out any of the sentences below that contain a reflexive pronoun used
as an emphatic pronoun, underlining the relevant emphatic pronouns.
The children themselves should choose a book to be read aloud.
We hurt ourselves badly when falling off our skis.

We ourselves helped him as much as we could, but others did nothing.

Doctors think that he harmed himself deliberately.
15. Underline the words in the following sentences which are demonstrative
pronouns.
This is not the ring which I lost.
Let me have a look at those.
That is an attractive plant.
16. Underline the words in the following sentences which are indefinite
pronouns.
Nothing has been done to remedy the situation.
I didn’t see anything which I wanted to buy.
Something must be seriously wrong.
17. Underline the words in the following sentences which are interrogative
pronouns.
Who made this mess?
Why change jobs now?
Whose is the briefcase on the chair?
Which do you like best?
18. Underline the words in the following sentences which are relative
pronouns.
I think I know the man who did this.
There is the woman whose car was in the accident.
He doesn’t know who she is.
Here is the book which won first prize.
19. Underline the antecedent in each of the following sentences.
Here are the keys which he lost.

That is the student who was accused of cheating.

The boy whose bike this is was injured in the accident.
The newspaper that first published the story got the facts wrong.

Unit (4)
Adjectives
An adjective is a word that describes or gives more information about nouns or
pronouns. An adjective is said to qualify a noun or pronoun because it limits the
word it describes in some way by making it more specific. Thus, qualifying the
word book with the adjective red means that we know that we are concentrating on
a red book and that we can forget about books of any other colour. Similarly,
qualifying the word car with the word large means that we know that we are
concentrating on a large car and that we can forget about cars of another size.
Adjectives usually tell us something about the colour, size, quantity, quality or
classification of a noun or pronoun.
She wore a white dress.
It was a tiny dog.
Gradable and non-gradable adjectives
Most adjectives are gradable adjectives. Such adjectives refer to qualities that can
vary in degree. Such adjectives can take a comparative and a superlative form or
can be accompanied by an adverb of degree such as very. Adjectives which do not
take a comparative and superlative form and cannot be modified by an adverb of
degree are called non-gradable adjectives.
In the following sentences the underlined words are gradable adjectives:
He drove a small car.
It was a bright shade of red.
In the following sentences the underlined words are non-gradable adjectives:
There was a wooden fence round the garden.
It was a plastic toy.

Position of adjectives
Adjectives can be placed immediately before nouns or they can be joined to their
relevant nouns by a verb. A few adjectives go directly after the noun. Adjectives
are classified as follows in this respect.
Attributive adjectives
Attributive adjectives are placed immediately before the nouns which they
qualify.
The blue dress suited her very well.
They lived in a huge house.
NB: Attributive position
Some adjectives are found only in the attributive position.
my former boss
her chief reason for being here
Predicative adjectives
Predicative adjectives are joined to their relevant nouns by a verb. They are so
called because they help to form the predicate of a sentence.
The curtains in the bedroom were blue.
The dog was huge.
Some adjectives are followed by a preposition such as to, of or with. In the
following sentences the underlined words form a predicative adjective plus
preposition:
The bug was resistant to the antibiotics.
She is allergic to eggs.
He is afraid of his boss.
Post-modifiers
Adjectives which are post-modifiers go immediately after the noun which they
qualify.

The president-elect takes over the presidency at the beginning of the year.
The soldier is to appear before a court martial.
Qualitative adjectives
There are various types of adjectives. The two main groups are qualitative
adjectives and classifying adjectives. Qualitative adjectives tell you something
about a quality that someone or someone has, as in:
sad, happy, wealthy, foolish, intelligent.
In the following sentences the underlined words are qualitative adjectives:
He is a violent man.
It was an effective remedy.
Please give a brief description.
NB: Qualitative adjectives include adjectives relating to size, such as tiny and
massive.
Classifying adjectives
Classifying adjectives identify the particular class that something belongs to. For
example, if you take the noun pain, there are various kinds or classes of pain such
as mental pain, physical pain and emotional pain. The adjectives mental, physical
and emotional are all examples of classifying adjectives.
It is not a democratic government.
They need a financial system.
The country has an agricultural economy.
Colour adjectives
Colour adjectives identify the colour of something, as in black, red, yellow,
purple and brown. In order to give a more precise description of a colour you can
precede the colour adjective with a word such as dark, pale, bright, light, deep.
She has light brown hair.
He wore a dark blue shirt.

It was a bright green hat.

If you wish to be less precise about the colour of something you can add the suffix
–ish to the relevant colour, as in greenish, yellowish.
Number adjectives
See number determiners.
Emphatic adjectives
Emphatic adjectives are adjectives which you place in front of a noun to
emphasise your feelings about something or to emphasise the degree of something,
as in absolute, pure.
The play was an utter disaster.
It was pure magic.
She is a complete fool.
Interrogative adjectives
The adjectives which? and what? are known as interrogative adjectives. They are
used to ask questions about the nouns which they qualify.
Which book would you like to borrow?
What school did you go to?
Demonstrative adjectives
Formerly demonstrative determiners were commonly known as demonstrative
adjectives. See determiners and demonstrative determiners.
Possessive adjectives
Formerly possessive determiners were commonly known as possessive
adjectives. See determiners and possessive determiners.
Compound adjectives
Compound adjectives are made up of two or more words, usually separated by a
hyphen.
a grey-haired man a part-time post

a black-and-white cat an air-conditioned office

Order of adjectives
If several adjectives are used to qualify a noun they tend to be placed in a certain
order. The usual order is qualitative adjectives, such as pretty, adjectives relating to
size, such as large, verb participles used as adjectives, such as exciting, depressing,
broken, disappointed, worried, adjectives relating to colour, such as orange,
adjectives relating to nationality or region, such as American or northern,
adjectives relating to classification, such as wooden, Victorian, followed by
adjectives relating to purpose or use such as dining table. The following sentences
show the usual sequence of adjectives:
They live in a pretty little white house.
She wore a beautiful short black dress.
There was a large deep circular pond in the garden.
NB: Order of adjectives
English is a very flexible language and the usual order of adjectives can be
changed for emphasis.
Adjectives used as nouns
Sometimes adjectives can be used as nouns, especially when they are preceded by
the definite article. In the following sentences the underlined words are adjectives
used as nouns. It is sometimes considered offensive to use this construction, such
as the disabled, as it can sound as though you are just lumping people together
rather than considering them as individuals:
There are few opportunities for the unemployed around here.
The poor seem to keep getting poorer.
The old are often lonely.
Sometimes colour adjectives function as nouns without the definite or indefinite
article:
Yellow is meant to make people feel more optimistic.
Blue is her favourite colour.

He always wears black.

NB: List commas
In cases where there is a list of adjectives before a noun, the use of commas
between the adjectives is now optional although it was formerly standard practice.
When the adjective immediately before the noun has a closer relationship with it
than the other adjectives, and indeed often helps to define the noun, no comma
should be used before that adjective, as
We want to buy some large juicy green peppers.
Adjective or adverb?
Some words can be used both as adjectives and adverbs. Which part of speech
they are is obvious from the context in which they appear. The word early is an
adjective in the first of the following sentences and an adverb in the second.
We caught the early train.
The train left early and we missed it.
Comparative forms of adjectives
Many adjectives have a comparative form used to indicate that something has
more of a quality than something else. It is mostly qualitative adjectives that take
comparative forms, although a few colour adjectives can also do so.
Some adjectives add -er to the absolute form to form their comparative form such
as braver and louder. Some other adjectives are preceded by the word more to
form their comparative form such as more beautiful and more suitable.
Which is the correct form of the comparative to use is often largely a matter of
length. Adjectives which consist of one syllable, such as loud, usually add -er to
make louder.
Comparative and number of syllables
When a one-syllable adjective ends in a single vowel followed by a single
consonant, the consonant is doubled before the -er ending is added, as in big,
bigger. Some adjectives which consist of two syllables form their comparative by
adding -er. This is especially true of adjectives which end in -y, such as
merry/merrier, but it is also true of some other two-syllable adjectives such as

clever/ cleverer and quiet/quieter. In other cases, such as famous or careful, the
comparative form is formed with more, as in more famous, more careful. In some
cases the comparative of a two-syllable adjective can be formed either by adding -
er to the positive or absolute form or by preceding this with more. Thus the word
gentle can have the comparative form gentler or more gentle and the word pleasant
can have the comparative form pleasanter or more pleasant.
Adjectives which consist of three or more syllables usually have comparative
forms using more, such as more dangerous. Some three-syllable adjectives which
begin with the prefix -un can form their comparative forms by adding -er, such as
unhappy/unhappier, unlucky/unluckier.
She is prettier than her sister.
It was a brighter day.
This is a politer/more polite way of saying the same thing.
This is certainly a pleasanter/more pleasant way of spending the day.
That is an even more ridiculous idea.
Irregular comparatives
The adjectives good and bad have the irregular comparative forms better and
worse, as in a good day/a better day and a bad experience/a worse experience.
No comparative form
Some adjectives have only an absolute form and do not normally have a
comparative form. These include mere, perfect, real, right, unique and utter.
Superlative forms
You can also describe something by saying that something has more of a quality
than anything else of its kind. In order to do this you use the superlative form of
an adjective. The regular superlative form of an adjective is formed in the same
way as the comparative form, except that the comparative ending -er is replaced by
the superlative ending -est, and the word more, which is used to form the
comparative, is replaced by the word most. Thus, in the following sentences the
underlined words are examples of the superlative form of adjectives:
I want the largest size.

She was the most beautiful woman there.

Irregular superlatives
The adjectives good and bad have the irregular superlative forms best and worst, as
in a good day/the best day and a bad experience/the worst experience.
No superlative form
Some adjectives have only an absolute form and do not normally have a
superlative form. These include mere, perfect, real, right, unique and utter.
EXERCISES
1. Which of the underlined adjectives in the following sentences are
attributive and which are predicative?
It was a delightful trip.
The bride was beautiful.
She has an interesting job.
The job was boring.
2. Write out the following sentences replacing the blanks with the
appropriate prepositions.
There was a garden, but it was devoid … flowers.
He is not at all good … administration.
Do you think they are capable … such deceit?
Some people are naturally resistant … the disease.
3. Write out the sentences which contain an emphatic adjective, underlining
the emphatic adjectives.
She is an absolute idiot to trust that man.
She gave the right answer.
The whole evening was a total success.
It was a true story.

4. Write out those of the following sentences which contain an adjective,

underlining the adjectives.
He ran fast, but failed to win the race.
The early flight leaves at 7 a.m.
If you arrive late you will not be allowed into the concert.
5. Write out the following sentences, inserting in each blank the comparative
form of the adjective given in bold in brackets.
She is … than ever. (lovely) The streets here are much … than they are in
other areas of the town. (dirty) This week’s lecture was … than last week’s.
(interesting) Her story is even … than that of the other orphans. (sad) They
are… now than they have ever been. (unhappy) You must be … when
walking in that area. (careful).

Unit (5)
Adverbs
The main function of an adverb is to give more information about a verb. An
adverb is said to modify a verb because it limits the word it describes in some
way. Thus, modifying the verb walk with the adverb quickly means that we know
that we are concentrating on walking quickly and that we can forget about walking
in any other way. Adverbs can also modify other adverbs, as in extremely
suddenly, adjectives, as in gravely ill, prepositions, as in just after dinner and
conjunctions as in exactly what he said. An adverb is usually a single word. When
a group of words performs the same function as an adverb it is known as an
adverbial phrase or adverbial.
Types of adverb
There are various types of adverb—adverbs of time, frequency, duration, place,
manner and degree, as well as interrogative adverbs.
Adverbs of time
Adverbs of time indicate when something has happened. They include words such
as then, now, afterwards, before, later.
I’ll see you soon.
They haven’t seen him lately.
It was her birthday today.
Adverbs of frequency indicate how frequently something happens. They include
words such as often, always , never, and seldom.
It always snowed at Christmas there.
We rarely meet these days.
He never drinks alcohol.
Adverbs of duration indicate how long something lasts or occurs. They include
words such as always, briefly, permanently, indefinitely.
She is living with her grandmother temporarily.

He has been suspended from his job indefinitely.

I haven’t known her long.
Adverbs of place are used to indicate where something happens or takes place.
They include such words as here, there, near, downstairs and indoors.
He has gone overseas.
They live nearby.
She went inside.
Adverbs of manner indicate how something happens or the circumstances in
which something happens. They are frequently formed by adding -ly to an
adjective and they include carefully, easily, hurriedly, plainly, quickly, safely,
suddenly, willingly. A few of them end in -wise, -ways or -wards.
She was neatly dressed.
He smiled vaguely.
They spoke eloquently.
Adverbs of degree are used to indicate the degree to which an action is performed.
Many of them are formed by adding -ly to an adjective and they include fairly,
moderately, remarkably, very and partly.
I enjoyed the film immensely.
I was tremendously pleased by the unexpected gift.
She was hugely impressed by the efforts of the children.
Adverbs of emphasis
A small group of adverbs of degree are known as adverbs of emphasis. These are
formed from emphatic adjectives and include absolutely, entirely, really, utterly
and positively.
We totally disagree with you.
I was utterly devastated by the news.
I quite agree.

Interrogative adverbs
Interrogative adverbs are among the wh-words which are used to ask wh-
questions and include when, where, how and why.
When did you last see him?
Where was the money hidden?
How are you feeling?
EXERCISES
1. Write out the sentences which contain an adverb, underlining the adverbs.
She was very pretty.
He was smartly dressed.
The man is an utter fool.
He utterly adores her.
She enjoyed her time at university tremendously.
The campaign was a huge success.
He was once a supremely successful chef.
It was a regular occurrence.
2. Write down the adverbs of duration and the adverbs of frequency in the
following sentences.
Jack never tells lies.
I worry about him constantly.
The couple plan to leave here permanently.
Sue is forever talking of looking for another job.
They stopped over briefly in Singapore on their way to Australia.
We seldom see our old friends.
The boys often play football on Saturdays.

3. Rewrite the following sentences inserting in the blanks an adverb formed

from the adjective given in bold type in brackets.
I met her ... on the way to the station. (accidental)
He won ... and went on to the next round. (easy)
You must proceed ... and be aware of the danger. (careful)
She acted ... without thinking. (foolish)
He left his job quite ... in a panic. (sudden)
You have to decide ... if you want the job. (quick)

Unit (6)
Review of Adjectives and Adverbs
Adverbs and adjectives both describe, but they’re used differently.

Adverbs modify Adjectives modify
verbs nouns
adjectives pronouns
other adverbs
For example: For example:
My sister drives carefully. Mike was tired after the race.
1. Look at the sentences below and decide whether an adverb or adjective is
needed. Circle your choice. Then underline the word it modifies. (Hint:
adverbs usually, but not always, end in “ly”).
1. The house looked (empty, emptily).
2. Jason pitched (wild, wildly).
3. The choir sang (good, well).
4. Those hills look (beautiful, beautifully).
5. The teams were matched (even, evenly).
6. The cheese on this cracker tastes (strange, strangely).
7. You print so (neat, neatly).
8. Ron arrived (prompt, promptly) at ten.
9. I go to the gym (regular, regularly).
10. The snow fell (steady, steadily).
11. The solution to the crime seemed (obvious, obviously).

2. Determine whether each underlined word below is an adjective or an

adverb.
1. The woolly mammoth is believed to be the ancestor of the modern
elephant.
2. She jumped up suddenly and left the room.
3. This recipe calls for coarsely ground nuts.
4. The early bird gets the worm.
5. She speaks so softly that I can hardly hear her.
6. She has curly blond hair and blue eyes.
7. “Come here, quickly,” she said, “and help me get this curtain hung.”
8. At the pet shop a cuddly little kitten snuggled up to me, and I almost
bought it.
9. A nicely trimmed hedge is an asset to a yard.
10. His kingly bearing makes him a perfect choice for the role of pharaoh in
our play.
11. That oil painting is absolutely magnificent!
12. Toothpaste ads on television always feature models with gleaming,
pearly teeth.
13. “I’m the greatest,” he said jokingly, as he flexed his almost nonexistent
muscles.
3. For each of the following sentences, identify the underlined word as either
an adjective or an adverb.
1. Music has accompanied drama since old times.
2. Beethoven, a composer, tirelessly devoted himself to his music.
3. He often worked late.
4. In the old days, musical selections were performed live by great pianists.
5. Beethoven was terribly shocked when he learned he was losing his
hearing when he was in his late twenties.

6. His condition gradually worsened.

7. Music in silent films (films with no talking) had little, if any, connection
to the on-screen action and presented little variation from one scene to the
next.
8. Today music plays a special role in the production of movies.
9. Can you think of any good movie soundtracks?
10. Recently, I saw a movie that had a really good soundtrack.
4. Identify each of the underlined words as either an adjective or an adverb.
1. Karaoke became a major trend in Japan and around the world.
2. Many people sing karaoke, even though some sing poorly.
3. The concept of karaoke is not a new one.
4. The word “karaoke” means “empty orchestra” in Japanese.
5. Powerful speakers play the background music.
6. Meanwhile, the lyrics are displayed on a large screen.
7. Sometimes the lyrics move by too quickly and singers get lost.
8. What do you think is the most popular song for karaoke singers?
9. Karaoke can be challenging when the songs are chosen randomly for you.
10. Karaoke is so fun, I am sure it will be around for a long time.
5. Choose the correct item from the choices in the parentheses.
1. He (correct, correctly) defined the terms. The answer sounded (correctly,
correct).
2. She (quickly, quick) adjusted the fees. She adapted (quick, quickly) to any
situation.
3. He measured the floor (exact, exactly). They proved to be (perfectly,
perfect) (exact, exactly) measurements.
4. The stillness of the tomb was (awfully, awful). The tomb was (awfully,
awful) still.

5. It was a (dangerously, dangerous) lake to swim in. The man was

(dangerous, dangerously) drunk. The gas smelled (dangerously,
dangerous).
6. She performed (magnificent, magnificently). It was a (magnificent,
magnificently) beautiful performance.
7. Her voice sounds (beautifully, beautiful). She sang the song (exact,
exactly) as it was written. We heard it (perfectly, perfect).
8. He was a very (sensibly, sensible) person. He acted very (sensible,
sensibly).
9. Mike wrote too (slow, slowly) on the exam. He always writes (slow,
slowly).
10. Talk (softly, soft) or don't talk at all. The music played (softly, soft).
11. Andrea knows the material very (good, well). She always treats us
(good, well).
12. You must send payments (regular, regularly). We deal on a (strictly,
strict) cash basis.
13. The mechanic's tools were (well, good). The foreman said that his work
was (good, well) done.
14. She worked (careful, carefully) with the sick child. She was a very
(careful, carefully) worker.
15. He did not pass the course as (easy, easily) as he thought he would.
16. I find this novel very (interesting, interestingly). It was (interesting,
interestingly) written.
6. Write down the correct form of the word in parentheses (adjective or
adverb).
1. Tom is (slow) _____. He works _____.
2. Sue is a (careful) _____ girl. She climbed up the ladder _____.
3. The dog is (angry) _____. It barks _____.
4. He acted (excellent) _____. He's an _____ actor.

5. They learn English (easy) _____. They think English is an _____

language.
6. Max is a (good) _____ singer. He sings _____.
7. It's (awful) _____ cold today. The cold wind is _____.
8. Dogs rely on their noses as they can smell (extreme / good) _____. If that
is true, why does dog food smell so (terrible) _____?
9. The little boy looked (sad) _____. I went over to comfort him and he
looked at me _____.
10. I tasted the soup (careful) _____ but it tasted (wonderful) _____.
7. Identify the underlined word as either an adjective or an adverb.
1. He's a dangerous driver.
2. He ate his dinner very quickly.
3. She's a bad speller.
4. Suddenly the wind changed directions.
5. Please try to be more careful.
6. He walks so heavily in those boots.
7. She plays the piano perfectly.
8. He is a quick talker, but he never listens.
9. She writes very badly.
10. There was a loud noise last night. Did you hear it?
11. She's a careful driver, I think.
12. Our guest left quite abruptly.
13. The stranger approached the wood cautiously.
14. The flowers smelled fragrant.
15. My little sister is five years old.
16. The children screamed frantically when they saw a ghost.

8. Identify the word that is being described by the underlined adjective.

1. A violent storm uprooted a large tree in the front yard.
2. The hot sun beat down on the thirsty animals.
3. The kangaroo has short forelegs and a large, thick tail.
4. A number of famous writers are buried in Westminster Abbey.
5. The traveler, tired and weak, struggled with a heavy trunk.
6. The official guides at the United Nations can speak a number of different
languages.
7. The charming, handsome couple celebrated their fiftieth wedding
anniversary.
8. My glasses are dirty.
9. The swimmer felt happy after she won the relay race.
10. This ground looks swampy.
9. Identify the word that is underlined as either an adjective, noun, or
pronoun.
1. The science book is on the shelf.
2. The airplane ride was exciting.
3. My favorite school subject is science.
4. My favorite school subject is science.
5. I spilled ink on the desk top.
6. The desk in the corner is mine.
7. The swimming class has five students.
8. Swimming is my favorite sport
9. Each person did the assignment.
10. This is my favorite television show.

11. Whose gloves are these?

12. Most of the answers are correct.
13. I chose that subject for my speech.
14. Most puppies sleep for many hours a day.
10.Write all the proper adjectives on a sheet of notebook paper. Not every
capitalized word is a proper adjective, and many sentences will have more
than one.
1. The remains of several Roman roads can be seen in England today.
2. American tourists in Paris enjoy going to the Eiffel Tower.
3. The Shakespearean actors were dressed in Elizabethan costumes.
4. Two Italian dishes which Americans enjoy are lasagna and spaghetti.
5. Many French words were added to the English language.
11.Identify the adverb for each of the following sentences and identify the
word that adverb is modifying (describing).
1. Speak now or forever hold your peace.
2. Yesterday, Mrs. Blue thoughtfully assigned two brief assignments.
3. Today, the students will arrive early.
4. She did well on the first test, but she failed the second test miserably.
5. The skaters put on a very exciting show.
6. The runner was an unusually fast starter.
7. Kangaroos are extremely fast animals.
8. They look quite awkward when they jump.
9. The great red kangaroo is surprisingly tall.
10. Before 1900, fingerprinting was very rarely used by the police.
11. People used their fingerprints quite often to protect themselves from
forgers.
12. Fingerprinting has been used much longer than we ordinarily think.

13. The expert worked quite rapidly.
12.Select the underlined word in each sentence that is an adjective.

1. Grandpa always told us exciting tales about his boyhood in the “old
country.”
2. He will probably be reelected, since his performance during his term in
office has been outstanding.
3. Among older workers there is less absenteeism and greater productivity.
4. This painting appears to be an exact copy of an earlier work.
5. Visiting the site of the ancient city of Troy was an experience I will never
forget.
6. Bud’s reply to the teacher’s question was instantaneous.
7. The salesman said he was nervous because it was his first day on the job.
8. Helen is the most sensible girl in this group.
9. I wonder how Vivian can afford to wear the very latest styles.
10. Vigorous exercise several times a week is recommended for keeping
muscles in good condition.
11. As he stared at the trophy, he pictured himself making the crucial hit that
won the game.
12. Neglected children often have serious psychological problems that get
them into trouble.
13. Water shortages in parts of the United States have prompted the growing
of xeric plants (those requiring less water).
13.Rewrite the words in brackets as adverbs.
1. [In a rough way of] speaking, Beethoven and the great composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart were contemporaries.
2. The two crossed paths only [one time] or [two times].

3. This was not because they disliked each other; on the contrary,
Beethoven, who was the younger of the two had [at all times] admired
Mozart [in a way that is tremendous].
4. [In a way that is tragic] for music lovers, Mozart died at the age of thirty-
five.
5. Rumors [in not much time] began to spread that Mozart had [in actual
terms] been murdered by a music rival.
6. [It is alleged], Antonio Salieri, who was a friend of Mozart’s and a fellow
composer, poisoned the young genius.
7. According to legend, Salieri was [to an extreme degree] jealous of
Mozart.
8. Mozart was by all indications one of the most [in a remarkable way]
gifted musicians who ever lived.
9. Salieri, by comparison, was only [in a moderate way] talented.
10. The relationship between the two composers is [in a thorough way]
explored in a movie called Amadeus.

Unit (7)
Verbs
In simple terms the verb is known as a ‘doing word’— you might have been told
this in primary school. In many ways this description is an oversimplification and
unduly restrictive since it tends to overlook the fact that, although many verbs do
express action, many simply indicate a condition or state. The description also
excludes auxiliary verbs, modal verbs, etc. Never the less, the verb is usually the
word in a sentence that is most concerned with the action and it is usually essential
to the structure of a sentence. The verb is usually the most important part of the
predicate. Verbs have a number of functions. In particular, they indicate tense,
voice, mood, number and person. Verbs are classified as regular verbs and
irregular verbs.
Regular verbs
Most verbs are regular verbs, occasionally known as weak verbs. They are
described as regular because they obey certain rules, especially regarding the
forming of tenses. Regular verbs obey the following such rules:
1. Regular verbs add the ending -s to the base or infinitive form of the verb, as in
walk, play and look, to form the third person singular of the present tense, as
in:
he walks, it plays, she looks.
While the rest of the present tense is formed by using just the base or infinitive
form, as in: I walk, you play, they look. The present participle of regular verbs is
formed by adding the ending -ing to the base form, as in walking, playing, looking.
If the base form ends in -e the e is usually omitted before the -ing ending is added,
as in: hating, loving, loathing.
2. Regular verbs add the ending -ed to the base (or the ending -d if the base form
already ends in -e) to form the past tense. This applies to all persons, as in:
I walked, they played, you killed, he worked, she loved, they hated.

Irregular verbs
Irregular verbs do not obey the rules which apply to regular verbs. In particular,
they deviate from the pattern of adding -ed or -d to the infinitive form to form the
past tense and past participle forms.
Categories of irregular verbs
Irregular verbs fall into several categories when it comes to forming the past
tense and past participle forms.
1. One category concerns those verbs which have the same form as the infinitive
form in the past tense and past participle forms, as in: to cut:
I cut my hand yesterday.
I have cut myself.
infinitive past tense past participle
bet bet bet
burst burst burst
cast cast cast
cost cost cost
cut cut cut
hit hit hit
hurt hurt hurt
put put put
set set set
shut shut shut
split split split
spread spread spread

2. Another category includes those irregular verbs which have two past tenses
and two past participles, the past tenses having the same forms as the past
participles, such as spoil, spoiled/spoilt, have spoiled/spoilt.
burn burned/burnt burned/burnt
dream dreamed/dreamt dreamed/dreamt
dream dreamed/dreamt dreamed/dreamt
dwell dwelled/dwelt dwelled/dwelt
hang hanged/hung hanged/hung
kneel kneeled/knelt kneeled/knelt
lean leaned/leant leaned/leant
leap leaped/leapt leaped/leapt
learn learned/learnt learned/learnt
light lighted/lit lighted/lit
smell smelled/smelt smelled/smelt
speed speeded/sped speeded/sped
spill spilled/spilt spilled/spilt
spoil spoiled/spoilt spoiled/spoilt
weave weaved/woven weaved/woven
wet wetted/wet wetted/wet
3 Another category includes those irregular verbs which have past tenses that
never end in -ed and which have the same form as that of the past participles.
bend bent bent
build built built

dig dug dug

feel felt felt
fight fought fought
find found found
get got got
hear heard heard
hold held held
keep kept kept
lay laid laid
lead led led
leave left left
lend lent lent
lose lost lost
make made made
mean meant meant
meet met met
pay paid paid
say said said
sell sold sold
send sent sent
shine shone shone
sit sat sat
sleep slept slept
spend spent spent
stand stood stood

stick stuck stuck

strike struck struck
swing swung swung
teach taught taught
tell told told
think thought thought
understand understood understood
weep wept wept
win won won
4. Another category includes irregular verbs which have regular past tense forms
ending in -ed or -d and two possible past participles, one of which is regular and
the same as the past tense.
mow mowed mowed/mown
prove proved proved/proven
sew sewed sewed/sewn
show showed showed/shown
sow sowed sowed/sown
swell swelled swelled/swollen
swell swelled swelled/swollen
5. Another category includes irregular verbs which have past tenses and past
participles which are different from each other and different from the infinitive.
bear bore borne
begin began begun
bite bit bitten

blow blown blew

break broke broken
choose chose chosen
do did done
draw drew drawn
drink drank drunk
drive drove driven
eat ate eaten
fall fell fallen
fly flew flown
forbid forbade forbidden
forgive forgave forgiven
forget forgot forgotten
freeze froze frozen
give gave given
grow grew grown
hide hid hidden
know knew known
lie lay lain
ride rode ridden
rise rose risen
ring rang rung
see saw seen
shake shook shaken
shrink shrank shrunk

speak spoke spoken

steal stole stolen
swear swore sworn
swim swam swum
take took taken
tear tore torn
throw threw thrown
wake woke woken
wear wore worn
write wrote written
Tense
One of the most important functions of the verb is to indicate the time at which an
action takes place, whether someone or something is doing something, was doing
something or will do something. This is expressed by tense and in many languages
this is marked by inflection. In English, tense is marked by inflection only in the
present tense and the past tense. Thus, in the case of the verb to walk the third
person singular masculine of the present tense is he walks and the third person
singular masculine of the past tense is he walked. There are several tenses in
English. The major ones are present tense, past tense and future test, but there
are other categories relating to these.
Present tense
The present tense indicates an action now going on or a state now existing. It uses
the base form, also known as the infinitive form, of the verb, as walk, run, make,
go but it changes in the third person singular when it adds -s to the base form,
sometimes with a spelling change, as walks, runs, makes, goes. There are two
forms of the present tense, the simple present tense and the continuous present
tense.
Simple present tense
The simple present tense is used to indicate an action that is currently going on.

He works in the city.

I want some food.
The simple present tense is also used to indicate something that is always or
generally true.
The world is round.
Three and three make six.
The simple present tense is also used to indicate an action that is regular or
habitual.
I rise at seven.
He drinks whisky.
The simple present tense is also used with some adverbs or adverbials of time to
refer to a time in the future.
They leave early.
The holidays start tomorrow.
The continuous present tense, also called the progressive present tense, is used
when you are talking about something that is happening at the very moment when
you are speaking or when you are referring to an action continuing over a period of
time, including the present, and not complete at the time when you are referring to
it. This tense is formed using the present tense of the verb to be, is and are, and the
present participle, ending in -ing of the main verb. It frequently occurs in a
contracted form, such as I’m for I am, you’re for you are, aren’t for are not etc.
We are having a picnic.
I am studying the report.
The continuous present tense is also used with some adverbs or adverbials of
time to refer to a time in the future.
We are having a meeting next week.
He’s leaving next month.
Past tense

The past tense refers to an action that has taken place before the present time. In
the case of regular verbs it is formed by adding -ed to the base or infinitive form
of the verb, as walked, looked, started, failed. For the past tense of irregular
verbs.
There are two forms of the past tense, the simple past tense and the continuous
past tense.
Simple past tense
The simple past tense is used to refer to an event or state that occurred at some
point in the past.
The car crashed into the van.
I cracked the vase.
The simple past tense is also used to indicate a regular or repeated action in the
past, as in:
They worked night shift.
The children attended the local primary school.
Continuous past tense
The continuous past tense, also called the progressive past tense and the
imperfect tense, is used to refer to a continuing action that happened in the past
and is probably now complete. This tense is formed by using the past tense of the
verb to be, was and were, and the present participle, ending in -ing, of the main
verb, as in: We were living in the area at the time.
You were building your house that year.
The continuous past is also used to refer to an event in the past that occurred
during the course of another event.
They were walking to the shops when they saw her across the road.
I was running down the hill when I tripped and fell.
Perfect tense

The present perfect tense, also known as the perfect tense, is another tense which
refers to the past. It is formed using the present tense of the verb have and the
past participle of the main verb (see past participle and irregular verbs, as in:
I have looked everywhere for it.
It is used to refer to an action that began in the past but continues into the present
time or to refer to an action in the past which has results continuing to the present.
He has lived in France for over thirty years.
Floods have destroyed thousands of books in the warehouse.
The present perfect tense also exists in a continuous or progressive form
indicating an action in the past that is still going on.
I have been living abroad for many years now.
We have been thinking of buying a new house.
Past perfect tense
The past perfect tense, also known as the pluperfect tense, also refers to the past.
It is formed using the past tense of the verb have and the past participle of the
main verb (see past participle and irregular verbs), as in:
We had discussed the matter in detail.
The past perfect tense is used to refer to a past action that took place at an earlier
time than another action, there sometimes being a causal link between the events,
as in: She went round to see him after she had received his message.
It is also used to refer to an action that continues right up to, or relates to, a single
point in the past, as in: By the end of the year the project had been abandoned.
His condition had deteriorated since I last saw him.
The past perfect tense also exists in a continuous or progressive form.
We had been working on the project for three months by then.
They had been hoping that we would fail.
Future tense
The future tense describes an action or state that will occur at some point in the
future. The future tense is formed by using will or shall with the infinitive form of

the main verb. It is used to predict or say what is likely to happen in the future, as
in: Work will begin next week.
Traditional grammar
According to traditional grammar rules shall should be used with I and we, and will
should be used with you, he/she/it and they, as in:
We shall arrive in time for tea.
I shall take the bus to work today.
Again, according to traditional rules, this order is reversed for emphasis and will is
then used with I and we, as in: I will succeed at this, believe me.
We will have the house of our dreams one day.
Modern usage
In modern usage things have changed and, increasingly, will is the preferred form
in most modern contexts, whether these be spoken or written contexts, in all but
the most formal. The only exception to this is the use of shall as used with I and we
when questions are being asked, and, even then, this is a fairly formal context, as
in: Shall we proceed?
Shall I go on?
You will require to give references.
You can also use be about to or be going to with the infinitive form of the main
verb to refer to the future. In the following sentences the underlined words refer to
the future: I am going to see her today.
You are about to discover what happened.
The continuous future tense is used to refer to a future action. It is formed by
using will be or shall be followed by the present participle of the main verb, often
in a contracted form, as I will be working late tonight and I’ll be announcing the
date of the exam tomorrow.
The continuous future tense is used to describe an action that will, or is likely to,
take place in the future but emphasizing that the action will go on over a period of
time, or to refer events that have been planned or arranged for the future.
They will be changing the computer system tomorrow.

He will be reporting the matter to the police.

The future perfect tense is formed by using will have or shall have followed by
the past participle of the main verb. It is used to predict that a future action will be
completed by a particular time or to make deductions, as in:
The decorators will have finished the room by this evening.
You will have realized by now that I am quite serious.
The future perfect continuous tense is used to refer to an action that will have
been completed at a point in the future, emphasizing that the action will have been
continuing over a period of time.
Many people will have been saving for years for this trip.
We will have been travelling for two years by the summer.
Mood
Mood is one of the categories into which verbs are divided. These moods are
called the indicative mood, the imperative mood and the subjunctive mood. The
word mood in this sense acquired its meaning because it was said to show the
attitude or viewpoint that a particular verb indicated.
Indicative mood
The indicative mood of a verb is used to make a factual statement, as in:
They have three children.
The parking restrictions apply on working days.
Imperative mood
The imperative mood of a verb is used to give orders or instructions or to make a
request, as in:
Be quiet!
Shut the door behind you.
Subjunctive mood
The subjunctive mood was originally a term used in Latin grammar where it was
used to express a wish, supposition, doubt, improbability or other nonfactual

statement. The subjunctive mood in English is used to express hypothetical

statements, as in:
If I were you I would forget all about it.
The word were is in the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood is also used in
certain formal clauses beginning with that, as in:
I demand that she pay me in full immediately.
It is also used in certain fixed expressions, such as So be it!
NB: Modern use of the subjunctive mood
The subjunctive mood can sound rather stilted in modern usage and many people
either ignore it, perhaps being ignorant of its true use, or else choose to avoid it.
For example
I insist that he apologizes immediately
instead of
I insist that he apologize immediately
is considered quite acceptable, especially in all but the most formal contexts.
Voice
Voice with reference to verbs has nothing to do with the voice that makes sounds.
Instead, it denotes two ways of looking at the action of the verb. Transitive verbs,
verbs which take an object, can either be in the active voice or the passive voice.
Active voice
In the case of sentences using the active voice of the verb, the subject performs
the action described by the verb. Thus, in the sentence
The boy threw the ball.
the verb threw is in the active voice because the subject of the sentence The boy is
performing the action of throwing.
Passive voice
In the case of sentences using the passive voice of the verb the subject is the
recipient of the action of the verb. Thus, in the sentence

The ball was thrown by the boy.

the verb was thrown is in the passive voice because the subject of the sentence
The ball is having the action of throwing performed on it.
He was fatally wounded.
A woman was found dead.
As you will see from the examples given in Active voice and Passive voice above,
it is often quite easy to convert active form to passive form and vice versa.
Verbs in the active voice are much more commonly used in English than verbs in
the passive voice. Overuse of the passive voice can sound rather formal and
unnatural and it can make sentences sound unnecessarily complicated. However, it
should not be avoided altogether. For example, it is a useful construction when it is
not yet known who carried out the action of the verb, as in:
A young man has been murdered.
It is also useful, especially to people such as journalists, in sentences such as the
following where it is not known whose opinion is being given:
It is believed that such conditions may occur again.
However, this habit of generalization should not be overdone. Also, the passive
construction is often used in pieces of scientific or other specialist writing where
the question of who exactly is performing the action of a verb is not important, as
in:
A sample of the bacterium is being tested under lab conditions.
Transitive verb and intransitive verb
We have seen above that it is only transitive verbs which are affected by voice.
Transitive verbs are verbs which can take a direct object. In the sentence The
men love their children. the noun children is a direct object and the verb love is
transitive. On the other hand, in the sentence Snow fell yesterday. the verb fell
(fall) is intransitive because it does not take an object. Similarly, in the sentence
The situation improved. the verb improved (improve) is intransitive.
Many verbs can be either transitive or intransitive according to context. Thus,

in the sentence They both play the piano. the verb play is transitive, while, in the
sentence The children play on the beach every day.
the verb play is intransitive.
Linking verb
A linking verb, also called a copula or copular verb, is a verb that ‘links’ a
subject with its complement. Unlike other verbs, linking verbs do not denote an
action but indicate a state. The most common linking verb is be, as in: He is a
fool. Others include become, seem, appear, look, as in: You seemed rather an
anxious person.
and He looks a new man.
Auxiliary verb
An auxiliary verb is a verb that is used with a main verb to form certain tenses
and to form a negative or question and to form the passive voice. The main
auxiliary verbs are be, have and do. These are also known as primary auxiliary
verbs and all three can also be used as main verbs, as in: The house is very old.
I have a book.
I do a lot of work in the garden.
The verb be is used as an auxiliary verb with the -ing of the main verb to form the
continuous present tense, as in:
We are thinking of moving house
She is attending school.
The verb be is used with the past participle of the main verb to form the passive
voice, as in: The car was parked here
Her hands were covered in blood.
The verb have is used as an auxiliary verb with the past participle of the main
verb to form the present perfect tense and the past perfect tense as in:
We have opened the box.
I had assumed that the two of you were old friends.

The verb be is used as an auxiliary verb with the main verb to form negative
sentences, as in: She is not accepting the job.
The work is not finished yet.
The verb do is also used as an auxiliary verb with the main verb to form negative
sentences, as in: I do not believe you.
She did not love him.
The verb do is also used as an auxiliary verb with the main verb to form
questions, as in: Do they still live here?
Did they go by bus?
The verb do is also used as an auxiliary verb with the main verb to emphasize the
main verb, as in: The bus does stop here, I’m sure.
The shop does open on Sundays.
Modal auxiliary verb
A modal auxiliary verb is a verb that is used with a main verb to help it express a
wide range of meanings including possibility, probability, ability, permission,
prediction, obligation, suggestions, requests, invitations, offers, promises etc. The
main modal auxiliary verbs are can, could, may, might, will, shall, would, should,
must, ought to. Modal auxiliary verbs, unlike primary auxiliary verbs, cannot
be used as main verbs, having only one form
The child can ride a bike.
She could stay there if she wanted to.
You may borrow the car if you return it by lunchtime.
He might still have the receipt for the book.
We should get there before nightfall.
Those who make fraudulent claims shall be prosecuted.
Will you have some more tea?
Would you take a seat over there, please.
We must get there before dinner.

You must leave at once.

Concord
Concord or verb agreement refers to the fact that a verb must ‘agree’ with the
subject in number. In other words a singular subject must be accompanied by a
singular verb, as in: The boy loves chocolate.
And a plural subject must be accompanied by a plural verb, as in: The boys love
chocolate.
Concord is not a big issue in English since verbs in English generally have the
same form, irrespective of number, apart from the change of form in the third
person singular of the present tense when -s or -es is added to the base form. A
difficulty arises when a subject takes the form of a singular noun linked to a plural
noun by of, as in: A number of problems.
Although it is grammatically correct to use a singular verb, as in the sentence A
number of problems has arisen it is common in modern usage to have the verb
agreeing with the plural noun because it is nearest to it, this sounding more natural,
as in: A number of problems have arisen.
Sometimes it depends on whether the writer or speaker wishes to emphasize the
unity of the group of things or people referred to or whether the individual
components are to be emphasized. Thus, in the sentence A collection of his
paintings is to be displayed at the town hall the verb is singular because the
paintings are being regarded as a single entity. However, in the sentence A
collection of miscellaneous valuable objects were found in the thief’s house the
verb is in the plural form because the emphasis is on the number of individual
objects. This duality of singular and plural verbs also arises with regard to some
collective nouns. Thus in the sentence The family is what matters most to her the
verb is singular, whereas in the sentence The family are coming from all parts of
the world to be home for Christmas the verb is plural.
Parts of a verb
Infinitive
The infinitive, or base, is the form of a verb when used without any indication of
person, number or tense. There are two forms of the infinitive. One is the to
infinitive form, as in: They wished to leave.

The child has nothing to do.

The other form of the infinitive, without to, is sometimes called the base
infinitive. This form consists of the base form of the verb without to, as in:
We saw him fall. and She watched him go.
NB: The split infinitive
The split infinitive is an infinitive that has had another word in the form of an
adverb placed between itself and to, as in to rudely push and to quietly accept.
This was once considered a bad grammatical error, but the split infinitive is
becoming acceptable in modern usage. In any case, it sometimes makes for a
clumsy sentence if one slavishly follows the correct form.
Participles
There are two participles. One is the present participle which is formed by
adding the ending -ing to the base or infinitive form, as in going. If the base form
ends in -e, the -e is usually removed before the -ing ending is added, as making.
The other is the past participle which is formed by adding the ending -ed to the
base or infinitive form.
Present participle
The present participle is used with parts of the verb be to form the continuous
present tense and other continuous tenses, as in: I am waiting and She was
watching. The present participle can also function as an adjective, positioned
next to the noun which it modifies.
no running water, the sinking ship, the protesting crowd, the whispering
onlookers, the crumbling sea,
The present participle can also function as a noun. (verbal noun). The present
participle is also used in participial phrases.
Past participle
In regular verbs, the past participle has the same form as the past tense. In the
case of irregular verbs, however, the past participle is formed in different ways.
The past participle is used with parts of the verb have to form the perfect tense
and other perfect tenses. The past participle is also used in participial phrases.

EXERCISES
1. Which of the following are parts of regular verbs?
walked, looked, stuck, met, smiled, kept, held, seemed, hated, meant, climbed,
2. Write down the past tense of the following irregular verbs.
do, swim, drink, fly, rise, blow, tear, throw, write, shut, choose, tell, think,
3. The following sentences contain underlined verbs in the past tense. Rewrite
the sentences to contain the same verbs but in the continuous past tense.
The man stood outside the shop.
The church bells rang out.
The children slept peacefully.
The mother rocked the cradle slowly.
4. Which of the following underlined verbs are in the future tense?
We will go immediately.
I am cleaning the house just now.
They will need a visa to cross the border.
He was sure of success.
We have finished the job.
5. Which of the following underlined verbs are in the subjunctive mood,
which are in the imperative mood and which are in the indicative mood?
If I were the head teacher, I would exclude the bullies immediately.
Get out now!
He sells a wide range of electrical goods.
The parking regulations apply only in the city centre.
Watch out!
We walk to work every morning.

6. In the following sentences which of the underlined verbs are in the active
voice and which are in the passive voice?
Rain is spoiling the picnic.
He was driving the lorry dangerously.
She was supported by her husband.
Someone has stolen a valuable painting from the art gallery.
A bicycle has been stolen from the shop by a gang of youths.
7. In the following sentences which verbs are transitive and which are
intransitive?
Snow fell that night.
They need a place to live.
They painted the front door.
Things went well.
A man suddenly appeared.
They welcomed their guests warmly.
8. Write out the sentences which contain a linking verb, underlining each of
the linking verbs.
The ghost, apparently, appeared last night.
She appears a different person since her counselling sessions.
We looked carefully at samples.
He looked in the mirror.
She looks a suitable enough candidate for the job.
9. Write out the sentences which contain a modal auxiliary verb, underlining
each of the modal auxiliary verbs.
Could you give me some assistance?
She does have talent.
They might get there in time, if the traffic’s light.

Jack did know the accident victim.

She should pass the driving test first time.
She has lost her memory.
10.Write out the sentences which contain the base infinitive of a verb,
underlining each base infinitive.
I heard him go.
We wished him to leave.
We watched the children play.
I have to go now.
He saw her die.
Have you something important to say?

Unit (8)
Articles
Definite and indefinite articles
The definite and indefinite articles are often categorized as determiners.
Definite article
The definite article is the and it can be used in various ways. It can be used in a
sentence to refer back to a person or thing that has already been mentioned or
identified.
In the following sentences the is used in this way:
Mrs Brown gave birth to a boy and the boy was called John.
I was asked to choose a restaurant and the restaurant I chose was The Olive Tree.
Father bought a new dog and the dog is a Labrador.
The definite article can also be used to identify someone or something as the only
one of its kind. In the following sentences the is used in this way:
He is reading the Bible.
Tourists often visit the Tower of London.
He has been declared the new Prime Minister of the UK.
The definite article is used to refer to a whole class or group of things or people.
In the following sentences the is used in this way: Lions belong to the big cats.
She really does not like the English.
Because of a long-lasting family feud the Smiths did not speak to the Simpsons at
John and Jane’s wedding.
Less commonly, the definite article can be used to indicate the unique quality of
someone or something. In this context the is emphasized and is pronounced thee.
In the following sentences the is used in this way:
In the sixties it was the restaurant to go to in London.
It is currently the city venue for fashionable wedding receptions.

The musical is the show to see this Christmas.

Indefinite article
The form of the indefinite article is either a or an. The form a is used before
words that begin with a consonant sound such as a box, a garden, a road, a star, a
wall. The form an is used before words that begin with an initial vowel sound such
as an apple, an egg, an igloo, an ostrich, an uncle.
NB: It’s the sound that counts
It is the sound of the initial letter and not the spelling that counts in this case. Thus,
a is used before words beginning with the letter u when these are pronounced as
though they began with the consonant y, as a unit. Similarly, an is used before
words beginning with the letter h where this is not pronounced, as an heir, an hour,
an honest man. Formerly it was quite common to use an before words which begin
with the h sound and also begin with an unstressed syllable, as an hotel, an historic
occasion, an habitual criminal and an hereditary disease. Nowadays, it is more
usual to use a in these cases, as in a hotel, a historic occasion, a habitual criminal,
a hereditary disease.
The indefinite article can also be used in various ways. It can be used in the same
way as the adjective one. In the following sentences a/an is used in this way:
The town is exactly a mile away.
We waited an hour for the bus to come.
A year ago we were happy, but things have changed.
NB: Just the one
If you wish to stress that you are referring to just one of something, rather than to
several, you use the pronunciation ay to rhyme with hay, as in:
I wanted a (ay) biscuit, not a packet of them.
It’s OK to have a (ay) drink, but you will certainly not be fit to drive if you have
half a bottle of wine.
The indefinite article is also used to refer to or single out a specific person or
thing. In the following sentences a/an is used in this way:
Jim married a girl called Mary from the next village.

The family had a black cat called Sooty.

Sue is going out with a young man called Tom.
The indefinite article is also used with an indefinite meaning, in the same way that
any is. In the following sentence a/an is used in this way: He was as big as a
house.
An island is a piece of land entirely surrounded by water.
A paediatrician is a doctor who specializes in children’s illnesses.
The indefinite article is also used in the following way, with the word ‘for’
implied but omitted before it: The grapes are £3 a kilo.
The gardener will charge you £12 an hour.
The cake is £2 a slice.
NB: Zero article
The absence of both the definite or indefinite articles is sometimes referred to as
zero article. The following sentences contain examples of this: We
went by train.
He is in hospital.
Have you had lunch?
She’s at work.
EXERCISES
(A)
1. Fill in the gaps with the correct article (a, an, the, 0) when necessary.
I am from Winchester, Hampshire. Winchester is______ city in ____ United
Kingdom. I live in ____ town called _____ Taunton which is on ______ River
Tone. I live in ___ house in ______ quiet street in _____ countryside. ____
street is called “Hudson Street” and _____ house is more than 100 years old! I
am ___ English lecturer at _____ college near _____center of _____town. I
like _____ books, music and taking _____ photographs. I usually have _____
lunch at college. I usually go ___home by___ car. We have all kinds of
food in _____ England. I like ______ Polish food very much. Sometimes, I go

to _____ Polish restaurant in Bath. ____ restaurant is called “Magda’s”. _____

Polish food is delicious
(B)
1. Robert and Jessica went to ____ party last night.
2. Can you tell me how to get to ____ cinema from here?
3. ____ college is closed today.
4. Gregory is one of ____ strangest people I know.
5. I recommend you try ____ tomato soup at this restaurant.
6. ____ beer is not good for you.
7. Would you like to see ____ film?
8. ____ apple a day keeps ____ doctor away.
9. I can't believe I failed ____ yesterday's test!
10. Do you have ____ dictionary that I can borrow?
11. There were many dogs in the park. One dog was ____Dalmatian.
12. Pandas and ____ tigers are both endangered animals.
13. Magda is wearing ____ blue dress with red shoes
14. Bornholm is ___ island in the Baltic Sea.
15. Christmas comes once ___ year.
16. ___ owl is ___ bird.
17. The Severn is ____ river.
18. Jane went to the shop to buy ____ bread.
19. Hania broke ____ glass when she was washing-up.
20. Tom took ____ umbrella as it was raining heavily.
21. This is ____ easy question.
22. Stephen could you speak ____ little louder.
23. May I have your ____ phone number?
24. I have never seen ____ UFO.
25. May I ask you ___ question?
25. Ismail is ____ best teacher in our school.
26. What is ____ name of the next station?
27. My friend has ____ my car today.
28. I went to ____ sea during my summer holiday.
29. Is there ____ cash machine near here?

Unit (9)
Conjunctions (1)
A conjunction is a linking word used to join words, word groups or clauses. There
are two types of conjunction, coordinating conjunctions and subordinating
conjunctions.
Coordinating conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions are conjunctions which join elements which are of
equal status. These units may be words, word groups or main clauses.
Coordinating conjunctions include and, but, or, yet and, in pairs and often for
emphasis, both…and, either…or, neither…nor.
In the following sentences the underlined words are coordinating
conjunctions which link words:
The women and children left the sinking ship first.
She’s an artist and a writer.
He was wearing a hat and gloves.
He is an intelligent and enthusiastic young man.
It was a difficult and embarrassing problem.
The firm was being run efficiently and economically.
He was tall, dark and handsome.
She was poor but happy.
It was a small but comfortable house.
She was elderly but extremely fit.
They worked slowly but confidently.
You can serve fruit or cheese at the end of the meal.
Did you or your husband witness the crime?
Is that good or bad news?
The teacher was firm yet fair.
She was both pretty and clever.
He is both a coward and a bully.
They are either stupid or naïve.
She is either foolish or deceitful.

They are neither skilled nor experienced.

We have neither sufficient money nor sufficient time to undertake this task.
In the following sentences the underlined words are coordinating conjunctions

which link main clauses:
He has asked Anne to marry him, and she has accepted.
The students live in Leeds, and they travel here every day.
He was born in England, but he lives in Australia.
They can stay here, or they can go home.
Students can either live in flats, or they can live in halls of residence.
EXERCISES
1. Write out the sentences which contain a coordinating conjunction,
underlining each of the coordinating conjunctions.
The girls and boys go into the school by different entrances.
You can have either tea or coffee.
I’ll wait till they turn up.
We decided not to go because of the rain.
She was very old but in good health.
I know when to leave.
Did you or your brother see your mother before you left for school?
I get angry whenever I catch sight of him.
2. Combine the following sentences with a coordinating conjunction (for, and,

nor, but, or, yet, so). Remember to insert a comma before each coordinating
conjunction.
1) She went to work. She did not want to go.
2) The scientists trained him well. They helped him find a job when his
training was through.
3) Polar bears are fierce, territorial animals. Grizzly bears are the same.
4) Mark told me not to come with him. He looked longingly at me as I left.
5) I will not give in to you. I will not let you push me around.
6) He loves to drive during the day. They will let him drive before 9pm.
7) My cat was hungry. It had not eaten since breakfast.

8) They couldn’t think of anything better to do. They decided to baby-sit for
the family.
9) A book can be a lot of fun to read. A book can be boring.
10) That movie looks great! I would love to come see it with you.
3. Find the independent clauses that seem to make sense when put together.
Then combine the independent clauses using a coordinating conjunction
(for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). Remember to insert a comma before each
coordinating conjunction.
1) Kris likes Lebron James.
2) The Steelers played against the Ravens.
3) Tommie did not eat breakfast.
4) Joselyn and Ashley took home their spelling list.
5) He went to the cafeteria for breakfast.
6) Wasana likes to play tetherball.
7) Shaniya wanted to stay inside during recess to finish her work.
8) Marabella took a math test in Mrs. Scheeler's class.
9) Nakiya likes Kobe Bryant.
10) The Steelers lost to the Ravens.
11) Jasmine pulled three cards in class.
12) He could not go on the field trip.
13) Ms. Gaviola was sick.
14) Arishma wanted to go outside at recess to play.
15) A substitute teacher taught her class.
16) He forgot his field trip permission slip form.
17) Dayond likes to play basketball.
18) She went to Mrs. Harbison's class for a timeout.
19) They did not complete last night's spelling homework.
20) She earned an A on her math test.

Unit (10)
Conjunctions (2)
Subordinating conjunctions
Subordinating conjunctions are used to link a subordinate clause or dependent
clause to the main clause. Subordinating conjunctions may introduce an
adverbial clause, a comparative clause, a relative clause, or a noun clause.
Subordinating conjunctions introducing adverbial clauses
These are clauses which have a function in a sentence similar to that of an adverb
or an adverbial phrase. They add information about time, place, concession,
condition, manner, purpose and result.
Subordinating conjunctions introducing adverbial clauses of time include
after, before, since, when, whenever, while, until, as soon as. In the following
sentences the underlined word/words form a conjunction introducing an adverbial
clause of time:
As soon as the babysitter comes, we will set off.
I smile whenever I see the child’s happy face.
I’ll wait until your friend comes.
Subordinating conjunctions introducing adverbial clauses of place include
where, wherever, everywhere. In the following sentences the underlined word is a
conjunction introducing an adverbial clause of place:
I forget where I left the package.
Wherever the actor goes, photographers follow.
Subordinating conjunctions introducing adverbial clauses of purpose include
in order (to), to, so as to, so that. In the following sentences the underlined
word/words form a conjunction introducing an adverbial clause of purpose:
We left the party early so as to catch the last bus home.
To get there on time we’d have to leave now.

I saved money all year so that I could afford to go on holiday to South Africa.
Subordinating conjunctions introducing adverbial clauses of reason include
because, since, as, in case. In the following sentences the underlined word/words
form a conjunction introducing an adverbial clause of reason:
We need to leave very early in case the traffic is very heavy on the motorway.
Because it’s raining heavily we’ll have to cancel the picnic.
Since he committed the crime he should accept the punishment.
Subordinating conjunctions introducing adverbial clauses of result include so
that. The words so and that can be separated, so coming before an adjective or
adverb in the main clause and that being the first word in the subordinate clause. In
the following sentences the underlined word/words form a conjunction introducing
an adverbial clause of result:
He hit his opponent so hard that he knocked him out.
He spoke clearly so that everyone heard every word.
Subordinating conjunctions introducing adverbial clauses of condition include
unless, if, provided (that), providing, as long as. In the following sentences the
underlined word/words form a conjunction introducing an adverbial clause of
condition:
I’ll go provided you come with me.
As long as you’re happy I’m happy to do what you ask.
If he stays I’m leaving.
Subordinating conjunctions introducing adverbial clauses of manner include
as though, as if, as, like. In the following sentences the underlined word/words
form a conjunction introducing an adverbial clause of manner:
He walked as though he were in pain.
She smiled broadly as if she were very happy.

Subordinating conjunctions introducing adverbial clauses of concession

include although, though, even though, whereas, while, whilst. In the following
sentences the underlined word/words form a conjunction introducing an adverbial
clause of concession:
She still loves him although he treated her badly.
Even though I dislike him personally I admire his work.
While Mary is an excellent cook neither of her sisters can even boil an egg.
EXERCISES
1. Underline the subordinating conjunctions in the following sentences.
We realized that he was quite ill.
She sang while he played the piano.
Although he is very talented he has been unable to find a job.
If you leave now you will get the last bus.
I’ll tell them the good news as soon as I see them.
I’ll get there before dinner provided the traffic is not too heavy.
After dinner he was so tired that he fell asleep in his chair.
2. Please fill in the blanks using the appropriate conjunction. Use commas
where necessary.
1. He behaves ___ _________ he rules the world.

2. We started moving _____ he took his foot off the brake.
3. I am going to go _____ __ my parents say I can’t.
4. ___________ _____ kill living animals for food, I am going to become a
vegetarian.
5. I waited ________ my mom paid for the groceries.
6. I ran _____________ I was scared.
7. We will go running ______ we tie our shoes.
8. We can eat lunch ___________ you like.
9. ______________ I get happy I smile.
10.I’m not leaving ________ you say you’re sorry.
11.We cannot go skiing __________ we have skis.

12.I turned the key __ _______ __ start the car.

13.I want to go ________ money grows on trees.
14.We got to the scene of the crime right _______ the robbers ran away.
15. ___ we can’t find work here, we’ll have to move to a place ________ we
can.
16.__________________ I am only 5’3” tall, I _________ love playing
basketball.
17.__________________ you finish eating your vegetables, you may eat
cake.
18.____________ ____ complain about not being able to do the things I
want, I will work to achieve my dreams.
19.______ ____________ it is cold out, I’m not going to wear my jacket.
20.We will start work _________ the sun rises.
3. Identify any subordinate clauses, and underline subordinating

conjunctions.
1. the bar fight finished with a bang
2. after the boy swept up the broken glass
3. as the sun fell over Frisco
4. and they walked around the rainy streets
4. Correct any punctuation errors in the following sentences.
1. She plays guitar, when she sings.

2. As they harvested tomatoes they spoke little.
3. The crimes persisted although the police always roamed the street.
4. James Brown is funkiest, because he dances better than anyone.

Unit (11)
Prepositions
A preposition is used to show the relationship, such as time or place, between a
noun or pronoun and the rest of a sentence, clause or phrase. The preposition
usually comes before the noun it refers to or ‘governs’. There are two types of
preposition, simple prepositions and complex prepositions.
Simple prepositions
Simple prepositions are often very short words, such as at, by, in, of, off, on, to
and up, but also include such words as among, before, behind, during and
through.
The cakes are on the table.
The cat is up the tree.
She sleeps during the day.
They left before dawn.
We arrived after dinner.
I will stay there for three weeks.
He is a young man of great talent.
She carried a bag with a black handle.
I will go with them.
Complex prepositions
Complex prepositions consist of two or three words. These include ahead of,
because of, instead of, on account of, by means of and on behalf of.
She attended the conference in spite of illness.
He had to retire on account of his age.
They are not rich in terms of money.
They have a dog in addition to the three cats.

EXERCISES
1. Write out the following sentences, underlining the simple prepositions.
I stayed there for six months.
She is a person of considerable wealth.
She did the shopping during her lunch hour.
They live in the house with the green door.
I will pay by cheque.
The money is on the kitchen table.
2. Write out the sentences which contain a complex preposition, underlining

the complex prepositions.
He was invited, but his sister went instead.
My colleague was ill and so I went to the conference instead of her.
He had to take early retirement on account of his ill health.
He won the race in spite of his injured back.
I can’t pay for the work in full, but here is some money on account.
He has promised to speak for her at the complaints tribunal.
3. Write the correct preposition in each of the blanks in the sentences below.
Choose from: in, on, at, by, to, from and for.
N.B. Sometimes more than one answer is correct.
1. We must finish this report ______ December 31 at the very latest.
2. Every morning, Mr. Johnson arrives ______ the office ______ 8 AM.
3. We never work ______ Sundays.
4. Marie was born ______ a cold, snowy day ______ January. More
precisely, she was born ______ January 20.
5. Pierre comes ______ Lac Saint-Jean, but he has lived ______ Quebec
City since he got married.
6. I bought this necklace ______ the store today. It is ______ my mother. I
am going to give it ______ her ______ her birthday.

7. Have another piece of cake. I made it ______ you.

8. John has been transferred ______ another branch ______ Montreal. He
and his family will be moving ______ Montreal this summer.
9. Catherine took a pen ______ her desk drawer and wrote down the
message.
10.Alice isn’t here right now. She is probably ______ the conference room
discussing the new project with the others.
11.Most of us work best ______ the morning when we are well rested.
12.Please put the box ______ the counter. I will put it away later.
13.At the end of the day, William puts away his things. He leaves his
calendar and planning book on the desk, but everything else goes ______
a drawer or ______ his briefcase.
14.We are usually quite busy ______ the fall.
15.Janet works hard during the week, so ______ the weekend, she likes to
relax.

Unit (12)
Determiners
A determiner is a word that is used in front of a noun or pronoun to

give some information about it. Formerly, determiners were classified as
adjectives. However, because, unlike adjectives, determiners do not, strictly
speaking ‘describe’ a noun or pronoun, the modern grammatical practice is to
draw a distinction between them. Thus, the category determiner has been
created.
Types of determiner
Definite and indefinite articles
Demonstrative determiners
Formerly known as demonstrative adjectives, demonstrative determiners are
used to point out or indicate the nouns which they qualify. The demonstrative
determiners are this, that, these and those, as in this book, that house, these
flowers and those girls.
This cake is absolutely delicious.
Who is that man over there?
Those red grapes are delicious.
These green grapes are sour.
Possessive determiners
When you wish to indicate that something belongs to someone or something or that
it is connected in some way with someone or something you use the possessive
determiners my, our, your, his/her/its, their. Formerly, possessive determiners
were commonly known as possessive adjectives.
I would like my book back, please.
Where are your children?
Dad let me borrow his car.
Unfortunately, the dog broke its leg in the accident.

(See possessive pronouns under personal pronouns.)

Indefinite determiners
The indefinite determiners, also called general determiners, are used to qualify
nouns or pronouns when you are talking about people or things in a general or
indefinite way, without identifying them. The indefinite or general determiners
include all, any, both, each, either, every, few, little, less, many, much, more,
neither, no, several, some and neither:
Any room in the hotel will do.
Both students are to blame.
Neither house is really suitable.
Either bus will take you to the village.
Every car has been damaged.
Many books were destroyed in the fire.
Few patients have survived such an operation.
No facts are known yet.
Some gardens are beautifully kept.
Several buses go into the centre of town.
Little information has been released.
We have enough children to start a new class.
There have been more accidents on that stretch of road.
Number determiners
Numbers when they are used before a noun are sometimes classified as
determiners, and sometimes as adjectives. Numbers such as one, two, ten,
twenty, etc are called cardinal numbers, while numbers such as first, second,
tenth, twentieth, etc are called ordinal numbers.
We only have one chance to succeed.
There are seven people in the house.

More than sixty soldiers died in the battle.

This is the third time he’s been in prison.
This is the little girl’s fourth birthday.
They’re celebrating their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.
EXERCISES
1. Write out the sentences which contain ordinal numbers and underline
these numbers.
They have six children.

Jack is her second husband.
The businessman owns three local companies.
The baby is their first grandchild.
There were five members of the gang.
This is your third, and final, warning.
There is only one thing to be done.
2. Write out the sentences which contain indefinite determiners and underline
these determiners.
That man looks ill.
He owns this house.
Several trains have been cancelled today.
Few victims recovered.
Her dog attacked my cat.
Less help was given to pensioners this year.
The monkey broke out of its cage.
These paintings are lovely.
Both men were charged with the offence.
Is this your coat?
Neither jacket is mine.
Every bag must be searched.
There is no room in the hall for all these people.
We do not have enough information on which to act.

3. Write out the sentences which contain possessive determiners and

underline these determiners.
You lied to me.

This book is mine, not yours.
He parked his car in the next street.
She took her children with her.
Jack and Sue have left their flat empty for the whole summer.
We must get back there before nightfall.
I think this note book is yours.
Our rose garden is lovely at this time of year.
They need to take action right away.
Their assistance is required.
Your experience will be invaluable.
His attitude to his work annoys his colleagues.
Her neglect of her children is absolutely shameful.

Unit (13)
Tenses (1)
11 Present simple
+ verb / verb + -s She works in London.

– do/does not + verb He doesn’t work in London.
? do/does … + verb? Where do you work?
We use the present simple:

● to say when things happen if they take place regularly:
They eat lunch at two o’clock.
● to talk about permanent situations:
I work in London.
● to state general truths:
Those bags sell really fast.
The moon goes round the earth.
● to talk about habits and how often they happen:
You buy new clothes every Saturday.
● to describe the plots of books and films:
The story begins and ends in Spain. The year is 1937.
2 Present continuous
+ am/is/are + verb + -ing He’s working in London this week.

– am/is/are not + verb + -ing I’m not working in London this week.
? am/is/are … + verb + -ing? Are you working in London this week?
We use the present continuous:
● to talk about the present moment:

I’m wearing a pair of old jeans.
I’m looking at a blue bag right now.

● to suggest that an action is temporary, often with words like now, at the moment,
at present or just:
They’re eating lunch at the moment.
I’m working in London this week. (= I don’t usually work in London)
● for an action around the time of speaking, which has begun but is not finished:
I’m cleaning my room.
I’m looking round the shops. (Millie isn’t looking round at this moment – she
has stopped to talk to Lisa – but she plans to continue looking round later.)
● for changing or developing situations:

Navy blue bags are getting really fashionable.
The Earth’s temperature is rising.
● with a word like always or continually if we want to criticise or complain:

You’re always buying new clothes! (= you buy too many)
He’s always complaining about things.
● with always when something unexpected happens several times:

I’m always meeting my neighbour John near the station. I guess he works
somewhere near there.
State verbs
These verbs are nearly always used in a simple rather than a continuous tense.
They are mostly about thoughts, feelings, belonging and the senses:
… that leather bag you want to get (not you are wanting to)
You don’t deserve to hear it. (not you aren’t deserving to)
The following are some important state verbs:

● thoughts: believe, know, mean, realise, recognise, remember, suppose,
understand, feel (= believe), think (= believe):
I think you’re wrong.
We feel this decision is right.
● feelings: adore, dislike, despise, hate, like, love, want, wish, prefer:
They despise me because of the way I’m living.

● belonging: belong, have (= possess), own, possess:

It belongs to my father.
The manager has the biggest company car.
● senses: smell, taste, hear, see:

This sauce tastes great.
I hear what you’re saying to me, but I don’t agree.
Do you see anything you want to buy here?
We use can with these verbs to show we are talking about this moment:
I can see you’re tired.
I can hear someone in the next room.
● other state verbs: need, contain, deserve, fit, seem, look (= seem), look like,
matter, weigh:
This medicine contains aspirin.
Mark weighs 70 kilos.
! Think is not a state verb when it refers to what someone is doing, not what they
believe:
I’m thinking about my holiday.
! Have can be continuous when it does not mean ‘possess’:

Steve is having a difficult time at college this term.
Can I phone you back later? We’re having lunch right now.
! Taste and smell can be continuous when they refer to what someone is doing:
I’m tasting the sauce.
! Listen to, watch and look at are not state verbs and can be continuous:
We’re listening to music and Diane is watching a DVD upstairs.
! See can be continuous when it means ‘meet with’:

Lara’s at the medical centre. She’s seeing a doctor about her sore throat.
! Weigh can be continuous when it refers to what someone is doing:

The shop assistant is weighing the cheese.

4 The verb to be
The verb to be is nearly always used in a simple rather than a continuous tense.
When it is continuous it emphasises that a situation is temporary. It often describes
a person’s behaviour:
You’re being so impatient! (Millie doesn’t believe that Lisa is normally an
impatient person.)
My brother is being very nice to me this week. I wonder what he wants!
Francis is filling in a form online, so we’re all being quiet as we don’t want him
to make any mistakes.
5 Present Perfect
(verb + ed for regular verbs
FORM: subject+ has/have + past participle
3rd column for irregular verbs)
I have never been to the U.S.A.

Examples:
He has already talked to the teacher.
We haven’t done our homework.

Negative:
He hasn’t talked to the teacher.
Have you done your homework yet?

Question:
Has he talked to the teacher?
REMEMBER THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN have been AND have gone
Ex: Where’s John? He’s gone to the supermarket.
Susan has been in London twice
Usage
• We use the present perfect to talk about experiences in general, or things that
happened in an unspecified past or about actions that still have a relation with the
present.
• We use it with FOR and SINCE:
I haven’t studied for three months
I haven’t studied since June
FOR indicates the duration of the action(for ten minutes, a couple of days, ten

years, a while, a long time, ages…)

SINCE indicates the moment when the action started (since two o’clock, May,
1984, last Saturday…)
We use it with the following adverbs:
Recently, lately.
• McEwan has recently written a new novel ( or He has written a new novel
recently).
• Ever, never: to talk about experiences in an unspecified time during our lives.
Have you ever read any novel by McEwan?
He has never tried fish and chips.
• Just and already in positive sentences (between have and past participle):
I’ve just written an email.
He has already seen a doctor
• Still in negative sentences to say that something hasn’t changed.
POSITION: soon after the subject
Example: I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.
• Not….yet: in negative sentences to say that something hasn’t happened but we
think it will happen.
POSITION: at the end of the sentence.
Ex: We haven’t invited Susan yet
• Yet ? In questions to ask if something has already happened.
Ex: Have you closed the door yet?
Present perfect simple vs. present perfect continuous

Present perfect simple Present perfect continuous
• It tells us about the result of an • It tells us about the duration of the

action. It’s also used when we talk action.
about quantities.
Ex: I started reading at 3 o’clock. I have Ex: I started reading at 3 o’clock. I’ve
read 20 pages so far. been reading for two hours!
Yesterday I started painting my house. Yesterday I started painting my
I’ve painted 3 rooms so far. house. I’ve been painting for a day!

Remember: we don’t use the continuous form with state verbs! (be, have,
belong, need, want; believe, know, think, understand, imagine, remember, like,
love, prefer; hear, taste, sound)
EXERCISES
1. Choose the correct sentence from each pair.
1 a My brother lives with us until he can find a flat of his own.
b My brother is living with us until he can find a flat of his own. ✓
2 a Megan goes to Hong Kong every January.
b Megan’s going to Hong Kong every January.
3 a I don’t have enough money for a long holiday this year.
b I’m not having enough money for a long holiday this year.
4 a Everyone needs a break from work sometimes.
b Everyone is needing a break from work sometimes.
5 a What period of history do you study this term?
b What period of history are you studying this term?
6 a The team manager looks bad-tempered in public, but he’s always being very
kind to young players.
b The team manager looks bad-tempered in public, but he’s always very kind to
young players.
2. Complete these sentences with the present simple or present continuous

form of the verbs.
1 My father knows (know) all about mending cars, but nothing about bicycles.
2 This pie …..(smell) a bit odd. What’s in it?
3 I …….(like) the jacket of this suit, but unfortunately the trousers ………..(not fit)
me any more.
4 You’re very quiet this evening. What ……….(you / think) about?
5 Who ………..(be) that man? Why ……..(your sister / be) so rude to him?
She ………….(have) such beautiful manners normally.

3. Fill in the gaps with the present perfect simple or present perfect
continuous form of the verbs.
1. ___________________ (you / buy) your train ticket yet?
2. The kitchen is a complete mess! What ___________________ (the children /
do)?
3. Julie ___________________ (learn) to drive for six years!
4. Amanda ___________________ (already / have) lunch, so she’ll meet us later.
5. How much coffee ___________________ (she / drink) this morning?
6. Simon ___________________ (write) three books.
7. I ___________________ (do) everything I needed to do today! Hurray!
8. It ___________________ (not / rain) all summer, so the garden is dead.
9. I ___________________ (read) your book. Here it is, thank you.
10. She ___________________ (forget) how to get to my house.
11. I ___________________ (work) in the garden all day and I need a rest.
12. She ___________________ (make) three cakes. They look delicious!
13. David feels great these days. He ___________________ (get) up early lately.
14. We ___________________ (always / hate) rush hour traffic.
15. Recently, I ___________________ (study) a lot. My exams are in a few weeks.
16. We ___________________ (write) this book for months and months.
17. I ___________________ (always / love) chocolate.
18. I ___________________ (want) to go back to university for a long time.
19. What’s that delicious smell? ___________________ (you / cook)?
20. I ___________________ (watch) seven films this week!

Unit (14)
Review Exercises
1. In the space at the right of each sentence, write the part of speech of the
underlined word. In making your decision, ask yourself how the word
functions in the sentence.
1. We took an express train. _______________________
2. A train whistle sounded in the distance. _______________________
3. I will train your dog. _______________________
4. Cross the street on a green light. _______________________
5. Turn right at the next cross street. _______________________
6. She was wearing a gold cross. _______________________
7. The boss will fire me. _______________________
8. The fire department is always ready. _______________________
9. We saw a large fire in the distance. _______________________
10. He has a bald head. _______________________
11. Who is head usher? _______________________
12. She will head the freshman class. _______________________
13. He can field a ball faster than other players. _______________________
14. The new athletic field is ready for use. _______________________
15. A field mouse scampered by. _______________________
16. Everyone left the building in a hurry. _______________________
17. I sat on the left side of the room. _______________________
18. Turn left at the next corner. _______________________
19. Let’s walk around. _______________________
20. They walk around the block _______________________
2. Write complete sentences using the underlined words as directed.
1. play as a verb
…………………………………………………………………………
2. play as a noun
…………………………………………………………………………
3. scratch as a verb
…………………………………………………………………………
4. scratch as a noun
…………………………………………………………………………
5. light as a noun

…………………………………………………………………………
6. light as an adjective
…………………………………………………………………………
7. light as a verb
…………………………………………………………………………
8. bus as a noun
…………………………………………………………………………
9. bus as an adjective
…………………………………………………………………………
10. Sunday as an adjective
…………………………………………………………………………
11. Sunday as a noun
…………………………………………………………………………
12. dance as a verb
…………………………………………………………………………
13. dance as an adjective
…………………………………………………………………………
14. pepper as a verb
…………………………………………………………………………
15. pepper as an adjective
…………………………………………………………………………
16. pepper as a noun
…………………………………………………………………………
17.silver as an adjective
…………………………………………………………………………
18. silver as a noun
…………………………………………………………………………
19. fast as an adjective
…………………………………………………………………………
20. fast as an adverb
…………………………………………………………………………
21. fast as a verb
…………………………………………………………………………

3. Circle the nouns in the following paragraphs.

As he turned to go, he spat speculatively. There was a sharp, explosive
crackle that startled him. He spat again. And again, in the air, before it could fall to
the snow, the spittle crackled. He knew that at fifty below spittle crackled on the
snow, but this spittle had crackled in the air. Undoubtedly it was colder than fifty
below—how much colder he did not know. But the temperature did not matter. He
would be in to camp by six o’clock; a bit after dark, it was true, but the boys would
be there, a fire would be going, and a hot supper would be ready. As for lunch, he
pressed his hand against the protruding bundle under his jacket. It was also under
his shirt, wrapped up in a handkerchief and lying against the naked skin. It was the
only way to keep the biscuits from freezing. He smiled agreeably to himself as he
thought of those biscuits, each cut open and sopped in bacon grease, and each
enclosing a generous slice of fried bacon.
He plunged in among the big spruce trees. The trail was faint. A foot of
snow had fallen since the last sled had passed over, and he was glad he was
without a sled, travelling light. In fact, he carried nothing but the lunch wrapped in
the handkerchief. He was surprised, however, at the cold. It certainly was cold,
he concluded, as he rubbed his numb nose and cheekbones with his mittened
hand. He was a warm-whiskered man, but the hair on his face did not protect the
high cheekbones and the eager nose that thrust itself aggressively into the frosty
air.
4. Circle the verbs or verb phrases in each quote.
I’m a 4-wheel-drive pickup type of guy. So is my wife.
Mike Greenwell, baseball player
Twenty-three is old. It’s almost twenty-five, which is like almost mid-twenties.
Jessica Simpson, singer
Wal-mart . . . do they, like, make walls there?
Paris Hilton, heiress
I get to go to lots of overseas places, like Canada.
Britney Spears, singer
It is wonderful to be here in the great state of Chicago.
Dan Quayle, former VP of the United States

I have opinions of my own—strong opinions—but I don’t always agree with them.

George Bush, former President of the United States
I cannot tell you how grateful I am—I am filled with humidity.
Gib Lewis, speaker of the Texas House
I don’t want to ever, ever do something in life that isn’t fun. Ever.
Jennifer Love Hewitt, actress
We’re going to move left and right at the same time.
Jerry Brown, former Governor of California
Pitching is 80% of the game. The other half is hitting and fielding.
Mickey Rivers, baseball player
We’re just physically not physical enough.
Denny Crum, basketball coach
The doctors X-rayed my head and found nothing.
Dizzy Dean, baseball player
We’re going to turn this team around 360 degrees.
Jason Kidd, basketball player
I feel safe in white because, deep down inside, I’m an angel.
P-Diddy, musician
5. Circle the adjectives in the following passage. Do NOT include the articles.
Draw an arrow from the adjective to the noun or pronoun it modifies
(describes).
When I came to again, I was sitting under an oak tree, on the grass, with a
whole beautiful and broad country landscape all to myself—nearly. Not entirely;
for there was a fellow on a horse, looking down at me—a fellow fresh out of a
picture book. He was in old-time iron armor from head to heel, with a helmet on
his head the shape of a nail-keg with slits in it; and he had a shield, and a sword,
and a prodigious spear; and his horse had armor on, too, and a steel horn projecting
from his forehead, and gorgeous red and green silk trappings that hung down all
around him like a bedquilt, nearly to the ground.
“Fair sir, will ye joust?” said this fellow.
“Will I which?”
“Will ye try a passage of arms for land or lady or for—”

“What are you giving me?” I said. “Get along back to your circus, or I’ll
report you.”
Now what does this man do but fall back a couple of hundred yards and then
come rushing at me as hard as he could tear, with his nail-keg bent down nearly to
his horse’s neck and his long spear pointed straight ahead. I saw he meant
business, so I was up the tree when he arrived.
He allowed that I was his property, the captive of his spear. There was
argument on his side—and the bulk of the advantage—so I judged it best to humor
him. We fixed up an agreement whereby I was to go with him and he was not to
hurt me. I came down, and we started away, I walking by the side of his horse. We
marched comfortably along, through glades and over brooks, which I could not
remember to have seen before—which puzzled me and made me wonder—and yet
we did not come to any circus or sign of a circus. So I gave up the idea of a circus,
and concluded he was from an asylum. But we never came to an asylum—so I was
up a stump, as you may say. I asked him how far we were from Hartford. He said
he had never heard of the place; which I took to be a lie, but allowed it to go at
that. At the end of an hour we saw a far-away town sleeping in a valley by a
winding river; and beyond it on a hill, a vast gray fortress, with towers and turrets,
the first I had ever seen out of a picture.
“Bridgeport?” said I, pointing.
“Camelot,” said he.
6. Circle the adverbs in the passage below. Draw an arrow from the adverb to
the verb, adjective, or adverb it modifies.
Just as we were about to depart, Herr Delbruck (the maitre d’hotel of the
Quatre Saisons, where I was staying) came down bareheaded to the carriage and,
after wishing me a pleasant drive, said to the coachman, “Remember you are back
by nightfall for you know what night it is.”
Johann answered with an emphatic, “Ja, mein Herr,” and, touching his hat,
drove off quickly. When we had cleared the town, I said, after signalling to him to
stop: “Tell me, Johann, what is tonight?”
He crossed himself, as he answered laconically: “Walpurgis nacht.” Then he
took out his watch, a great, old-fashioned German silver thing as big as a turnip

and looked at it, with his eyebrows gathered together and a little impatient shrug of
his shoulders.
The road was pretty bleak, for we were traversing a sort of high windswept
plateau. As we drove, I saw a road that looked but little used and which seemed to
dip through a little winding valley. It looked so inviting that, even at the risk of
offending him, I called Johann to stop. I told him I would like to drive down that
road. He made all sorts of excuses. This somewhat piqued my curiosity, so I asked
him various questions. He answered fencingly and repeatedly looked at his watch
in protest.
Finally I said, “Well, Johann, I want to go down this road. I shall not ask you
to come unless you like; but tell me why you do not like to go, that is all I ask.”
For answer he stretched out his hands appealingly to me and implored me not to
go. There was just enough of English mixed with the German for me to understand
the drift of his talk. He seemed always just about to tell me something—the very
idea of which evidently frightened him; but each time he pulled himself up saying,
“Walpurgis nacht!”
7. Write each preposition in the sentences below.
1. Mrs. Calloway was an important part of Welty‘s early reading life.
2. The rules made by Mrs. Calloway seemed ridiculous to a young reader.
3. The library’s rules were the same for all.
4. The important thing for Eudora Welty was having books available.
5. Welty read books by any author about any topic.
8. Write an appropriate preposition to replace each blank. Try to use a
different preposition in each sentence.
1. People ………..library cards can take home any of the books on the shelves.
2. All……… the branches are available to anyone with a library card in the city.
3. There are library rules………. children and adults.
4. A librarian is usually available to help you find your way……….the library.
5. Short story collections are……… the fiction section.
6. ……….this library is a wonderful section of young-adult fiction.
7. The section is………..the back wall.
8. You can find it………. the librarian’s desk.
9. The librarian’s desk is……. the reference section.

10. The reference section is……… the rare-book room and the fiction section.
9. Write the prepositional phrases from each sentence. Underline the object
of each preposition.
1. Researchers needing information about fine arts or early printed books may
go to the Morgan Library in New York City.
2. Near the Capitol in Washington, D.C., is the Folger Shakespeare Library.
3. Opposite the Folger, across the street, sits the huge Library of Congress.
4. The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University is housed
inside a six-story glass enclosure on campus.
5. Because of the excellent collections within these libraries, scholars can study
any subject along with you and me.
10.Write the correct pronoun for each sentence.
1. Books were Mrs. Calloway’s subject, and she made rules about (they, them).
2. To (who, whom) did Mrs. Calloway’s rules apply?
3. The rules applied equally to the two of (they, them ), Eudora and her mother.
4. Eudora read so many books that she seemed to race through (they, them).
5. According to (she, her), she started to read as soon as she returned from the
library.
6. Although Eudora may not have liked Mrs. Calloway, despite (she, her), the
girl certainly enjoyed reading.
7. Although Eudora does not mention her father in this passage, her love of
books may have been influenced by (he, him).
8. I, too, have always loved having books around (I, me).
9. My family and I always keep stacks of unread books near (we, us).
10. Without (they, them) we feel lost.
11.The following sentences are about Eudora Welty’s life. Identify each
underlined word as a preposition or an adverb. If the word is a preposition,
write its object or objects.
1. One Writer’s Beginnings is Eudora Welty’s book about her own life.
2. The book discusses how the effects of her early years in the South come
through in her stories.
3. Eudora Welty is an important Southern writer known for both her short

stories and her novels.

4. In a library drawer, Welty’s father kept musical instruments of all kinds.
5. Welty often looked inside to see the wonderful instruments.
12.Underline each prepositional phrase and draw an arrow to the word it
describes. Write whether the phrase functions as an adjective or an adverb.
1. Mrs. Calloway was an important part of Welty’s early reading life.
2. Mrs. Calloway’s rules were tiresome for an ardent reader.
3. Welty said everyone except her mother was afraid of Mrs. Calloway.
4. Mrs. Calloway asked everyone for silence.
5. The library’s rules applied to adults and children.
6. Eudora rode her bike to the library.
7. Because of her love of books, she obeyed Mrs. Calloway’s rules.
8. Eudora read books by any author.
9. A critic said parts of One Writer’s Beginnings are a gift from Welty to her
readers.
10. The Weltys had five encyclopedias in the bookcase in the living room.
13.Combine each pair of sentences below by using the conjunction in
parentheses to form a compound sentence, compound subject, or
compound object. Write whether your sentence is a compound sentence or
a sentence with a compound subject or a compound predicate.
1. What do you think of your local library? How do you use your library? (and)
2. Consider the function of the library. Also think about the ways in which it
serves the community, (and)
3. Our library is in a municipal building. The same building houses the town
government, (and)
4. Some libraries provide a place for community meetings. Other libraries are just
for reading and research, (or)
5. Small towns have limited funds for a library. Small towns may join with other
nearby communities to form a regional library, (but)
6. Large cities have more than one library. Each of those libraries may house a
specialized collection, such as business or health and medicine, (and )
7. No library can contain all the books its users need. Interlibrary loans allow
readers to borrow books from other libraries, (but)
8. At the library, people can exchange community information and post notices.
People can pick up tax forms and other printed material, (either, or)
9. A library exhibit can highlight special events and seasonal activities. The exhibit

can suggest reading related to the topic, (or)

10. Libraries often have special collections of books for children. Libraries may
provide story hours, films, and workshops for children, (and)
14.Write fifteen sentences, following the directions given below.
SAMPLE Write a sentence that begins with an interjection and contains a
compound predicate.
ANSWER Oh, I fell and skinned my knee!
1. Write a sentence with a compound subject.
2. Write a compound sentence joined by the conjunction and.
3. Write a sentence that begins with an interjection followed by a comma.
4. Write a sentence with a compound predicate.
5. Write a sentence that uses the correlative conjunction either,or.
6. Write a sentence that is preceded by an interjection followed by an exclamation
mark.
7. Write a compound sentence joined by the conjunction but.
8. Write a sentence that includes a prepositional phrase with a compound object.
9. Write a sentence that uses the conjunctions both and and.
10. Write a compound sentence that is joined by the conjunction or and contains an
interjection.
11. Write a sentence that begins with a prepositional phrase in which the object is a
pronoun.
12. Write a sentence that ends with a prepositional phrase in which the object is
made up of two pronouns.
13. Write a sentence in which one part of the compound object of a preposition is a
pronoun.
14. Write a compound sentence that contains a preposition of more than one word.
15. Write a sentence that contains two prepositional phrases, one used as an
adjective and one as an adverb.
15.Rewrite the passage, correcting the errors in spelling, capitalization,

grammar, and usage. Add any missing punctuation. There are ten errors.
Janet Fish
Janet Fish’ early interest in art is similar to Eudora Welty’s love of books. Her
ambiton from early childhood was to be a sculptor. Fish’s mother was a sculptor
and her grandfather was a painter. Fish studied sculpture, printmaking and abstract

painting in college, but painting was to become her lifes work. The effects of light
on various surfaces are especially interesting to she. The painting Toby and Claire
Reading show the importance of light and color for her. Although Fish’s paintings
are realistic, her art is strongly influence by she training in abstract painting. The
painting Toby and Claire Reading mirror Eudora Welty’s early love of books.
16.Rewrite each item, following the directions in parentheses.
SAMPLE The Maya wrote their history……stone monuments. (Add a preposition.)
ANSWER on
1. Information was written……..clay tablets in Mesopotamia and on papyrus in
Egypt. (Add a preposition. Write whether the prepositional phrase is used as an
adjective or an adverb.)
2. Papyrus was a writing material made…….. the fibers of water reeds. (Add a
preposition. Draw an arrow from the prepositional phrase to the word it
describes.)
3. …………the fragile nature of papyrus, many ancient writings have not survived.
(Begin with a preposition of more than one word.)
4. Ptolemy I made the Alexandrian Library the greatest in the ancient world.
Ptolemy II made the Alexandrian Library the greatest in the ancient world.
(Use a conjunction to form one sentence with a compound subject.)
5. It is amazing that not a trace of such a great library has ever been found. (Add an
interjection.)
6. In 1859 British archaeologists found thousands of clay tablets. Scholars have not
been able to understand the writing on them. (Use a conjunction to form a
compound sentence.)
7. To ………., the cuneiform script on the tablets has been an unbreakable code.
(Add an object pronoun to replace the words the archaeologists.)
8. Monks in monasteries copied religious works such as the Bible. They preserved
the works of ancient scholars. ( Use a conjunction to write one sentence with a
compound predicate.)
9. Paper made books easier to produce. Movable type made books easier to
produce. (Use a pair of correlative conjunctions to write one sentence with a
compound subject.)
10. ……… the invention of the printing press, it took many hours of hand-copying
to produce a Bible. (Add a preposition.)

References
▪ Skandera, P. & Burleigh, P. (2005). A Manual of English Phonetics and

Phonology: Twelve Lessons with an Integrated Course in Phonetic
Transcription. Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag Tübingen
▪ Roach P. (2009). English Phonetics and Phonology (4th edition).

Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
▪ Carr, P. (2012). English Phonetics and Phonology: An Introduction (2nd

edition). West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell.
▪ Gut, U. (2009). Introduction to English Phonetics and Phonology. Frankfurt:

PETER LANG.
▪ Knight, R. (2012). Phonetics: A coursebook. Cambridge: Cambridge UP.
▪ Kirkpatrick, B. (2014). Better English Grammar. Glasgow: Geddes &

Grosset.
▪ https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/
▪ https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/
▪ https://www.grammarbank.com

English Department
1
EN11205
Phonetics and
Grammar
-- 4
-- 112
ILOS 3

5 1
English Department
Phonetics and Phonology: 4

Differences between spelling and pronunciation
International Phonetic Alphabet
Types of sounds (consonants and vowels) with
examples
Plosives
Fricatives (1)
Fricatives (2)
Nasals; Revision
Laterals
Semi vowels
Classification of vowels and how far they are different
from consonants
Short vowels
Long vowels
Diphthongs
General review of sound and phonemic transcription
Review of vowels
Introduction to connected speech
Word stress
Strong and weak forms
Elision
Phonemes and allophones
Rhythm
Midterm exam
Linking sounds
Intonation (1)
Intonation (2)
Linking sounds and intonation
Grammar:
Nouns
Pronouns
5 2
English Department
Adjectives
Adverbs
Review of adjectives and adverbs
Verbs; Revision
Articles
Conjunctions (1)
Conjunctions (2)
Prepositions
Determiners
Review of grammar (nouns, adverbs and verbs)
Tenses (4 tenses)
Tenses (4 tenses)
Tenses (4 tenses)
Conditionals (1)
Conditionals (2)
Phrases
Clauses (dependent)
Causes (independent)
Midterm exam
Types of sentences
Punctuation (1)
Punctuation (2)
Modal verbs (1)
Modal verbs (2)

5 3
English Department
%10
Marks, J. (2012). English Pronunciation in Use. Elementary. Ernst Klett Sprachen.

Hancock, M. (2012). English Pronunciation in Use. Intermediate. Ernst Klett
Sprachen.
Murphy, R. (2013). Essential Grammar in Use. CUP.
O'Connor, J. D. (1980). Better English Pronunciation. Cambridge University Press.
Hewings, M. (2012). English Pronunciation in Use. Advanced. Ernst Klett Sprachen.
Hewings, M. (2005). Advanced grammar in use. Ernst Klett Sprachen.
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English Department

A Course of Linguistics for First Year Students

2021/2022 (First Semester)

Dr. Muhammad J. H. Abdullatief

Unit 1: Differences between Spelling and Pronunciation 6

Unit 2: International Phonetic Alphabet 11

Unit 3: Types of Sounds 16

Unit 4: Consonants: Plosives 22

Unit 5: Fricatives (1) 29

Unit 9: Semi Vowels & Approximants 44

Unit 10: Classification of Vowels 49

Unit 11: Short Vowels 52

Unit 12: Long Vowels 54

Unit 13: Diphthongs 58

Unit 14: Review Exercises 61

Part II: Grammar

Unit 1: Testing Students’ Grammatical Knowledge 68

First Year 2 First Semester

Unit 5: Adverbs 105

Unit 6: Review of Adjectives and Adverbs 109

Unit 7: Verbs 118

Unit 8: Articles 139

Unit 9: Conjunctions (1) 143

Unit 10: Conjunctions (2) 146

Unit 11: Prepositions 150

Unit 12: Determiners 153

Unit 13: Tenses (1) 157

Unit 14: Review Exercises 164

Course Description 175

First Year 3 First Semester

First Year 4 First Semester

First Year 5 First Semester

‘dog’: <d> as in ‘doughnut’, <o> as in ‘off’, and <g> as in ‘goat’.

First Year 6 First Semester

First Year 7 First Semester

Whose pronunciation are we describing?

The notion of a standard variety

First Year 8 First Semester

In language teaching, on the other hand, it is customary to use a more idealized

Received Pronunciation is associated with the dialect spoken in the south-east of

First Year 9 First Semester

population. Most educated speakers of British English speak a modified RP or near

a) love b) half c) wrist d) shrink e) ought

First Year 10 First Semester

In order to describe somebody's individual pronunciation or the sounds of a

First Year 11 First Semester

If we want to write down speech sounds as accurately as possible, we cannot

First Year 12 First Semester

The International Phonetic Alphabet

In order to distinguish phonetic symbols from letters, phonetic symbols are

First Year 13 First Semester

quotation marks, or in italics. Thus [p] represents an actual sound, / p / indicates an

/ɪ/ as in 'pit' /pɪt/ /i:/ as in 'key' /ki:/

/eɪ/ as in 'bay' /beɪ/ /əʊ/ as in 'go' /ɡəʊ/

/ɪə/ as in 'peer' / pɪə/

/p/ as in 'pea' /pi:/ /b/ as in 'bee' /bi:/

First Year 14 First Semester

2. Transcribe the following words:

a) bake d) bought g) bored

First Year 15 First Semester