ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF

OTHER LANGUAGES
 LEARNING AND MASTERING
ENGLISH
Learning English is like learning to cook:


Begin with basic ingredients ( parts of speech:
noun,pronouns,adjectives,adverbs , etc.)

Mix them together ( with basic grammar
guidelines)

Season to taste (punctuate)

Serve with appropriate garnishes and
conventions ( spelling)
PARTS OF SPEECH—BUILDING
BLOCKS OF GOOD ENGLISH
 NOUNS
 PRONOUNS
 VERBS
 ADJECTIVE
 ADVERBS
 PREPOSITIONS
 CONJUNCTIONS
 INTERJECTIONS
NOUNS
A noun is a part of
speech that names a:

Person

Place

Thing

Idea

Animal

Quality

activity
Below are some examples of nouns.
Notice their variety (different types).


Juan is reading. ( a person)

Dallas is north of Houston. ( a place, a place)

The rock is very heavy. ( a thing)

Philosophy is very interesting. ( an idea)

My cat is chasing the mouse. ( an animal)

Overcoming fear requires courage ( quality)

Writing is important . ( an activity)
 BRAIN TICKLERS: EXERCISES
Identify the nouns in each of the sentences
below.
1. Ms. Garcia is my language arts teacher.
2. She has lived in the United States for 5 years.
3.Reading is an important skill to learn.
4.We read stories from all over the world.
5. Reading and writing English well will take time
and hard work.
 Learning Nouns is fun. We can group
them into : COMMON NOUNS and
PROPER NOUNS

Common Noun Proper Noun

 girl  Rosa
 city  Chicago
 holiday  Christmas
 month  January
 country  United States
 building  Capitol
 PROPER NOUN & COMMON
NOUN
Proper noun names Common Noun names
specific people, generally
places and things. people, places and
things.
 Rosa  girl
 United States  country
 Capitol  building
 BRAIN TICKLERS : EXERCISES
Identify the common nouns and the proper
nouns.
1.By 1750, Great Britain controlled a large area of
North America
2.The British controlled the land from what is now
Maine to the northern border of Florida.
3.This land was home to nearly one million
Europeans
4.The climate allowed them to grow tobacco and
rice.
OTHER WAYS TO GROUP NOUNS
 CONCRETE OR
COUNTABLE
NOUNS
 ABSTRACT OR
NONCOUNTABLE
NOUNS
 COLLECTIVE
NOUNS
CONCRETE OR COUNTABLE
NOUNS

 Can be touched
 Can be seen
 Can be counted

two cats
five pencils
Ms. Garcia
ABSTRACT OR NONCOUNTABLE
NOUNS
Names an idea,a thought
or feeling
 Can not be touched
 Can not be seen

Can not be counted

friendship
humor
fear
happiness
COLLECTIVE NOUNS
A collective noun is a
concrete noun which
is used to describe a
group of people or
things that is
considered a single
unit.
 family nation
 glass majority
 team band
 BRAIN TICKLERS : EXERCISES
Identify the abstract nouns, the concrete nouns
and the collective nouns

1.Ms. Vu is our social studies teacher.

2. Our class is learning about the English
language.
3. The United States is a democracy.
4. All of us believe that honesty is the best policy.
SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS
A singular noun refers A plural noun refers to
to a single more than one
person,place,thing, person,place,thing,ani
animal,quality or action. mal or action.
 dog

dogs
 book

books
 camera

cameras

computer

computers
 RULES IN MAKING SOME SINGULAR
NOUNS TO PLURAL NOUNS
Rule 1. If the last sound of the word is s, ch,sh
you must add an es to change the singular
noun to a plural noun.

Singular Plural
class ----------- classes
match------------matches
dish---------------dishes
 Rule 2. When a noun ends in a consonant
followed by a y, drop the y and add ies to
make it plural.

Singular Plural

 baby  babies
 lady  ladies
 country  countries
 Rule 3.If the noun ends with a y and
preceded by a vowel,add an s to make the
noun plural

Singular Plural
 boy  boys
 donkey  donkeys
 bay  bays
 Rule 4.For most nouns ending in fe or f,
drop the fe or f then add v and an es

Singular Plural
 wife  Wives
 scarf  Scarves
 leaf  leaves
 BRAIN TICKLERS :
MAKE ALL THESE NOUNS PLURAL

 Church  Word
 Flower  House
 Wish  Belief
 Birthday  Knife
 Housewife  Family
 EXCEPTIONS
Some nouns ending in f can be made plural by
adding an s

staff

belief

reef

cliff

cuff

roof

surf
 EXCEPTIONS
Some nouns, whether they are written in the
singular or plural , have the same spelling.

 Deer
 Fish
 Beer
 EXCEPTIONS
Nouns ending with an o are a little confusing
when writing their plurals. There are no rules
here—check the dictionary. Some end in s,
others in es.

 tomato--------------tomatoes
 potato--------------potatoes
 piano---------------pianos
 EXCEPTIONS
Some nouns completely change their spelling
when they become plural. Consult the
dictionary.

 man---------------------men
 foot----------------------feet
 child---------------------children
 SOME UNUSUAL NOUNS
The following nouns don't have plural:

 Furniture  Dust
 Hardware  Air
 Money  Water
 Sugar
 SOME NOUNS ARE ALWAYS
PLURAL

 Trousers
 Clothes
 Cattle
 Scissors
 BRAIN TICKLERS :
Write the plural of the singular noun of the
following words:

Window

Life
 Tomato
 Knife

Mouse

Rodeo
 Leaf

Thief

Radio
 Yes, nouns own or possess something.
They are called POSSESIVE NOUNS.
To make a singular To make a plural noun
noun a possessive possessive, add an
noun add an apostrophe ' if the word
ends with an s,if it does
apostrophe ' and not, add apostrophe and
then add an s s
 girl ---girl's 
dog—dogs'
That is the girl's bag. Dogs' bark at strangers.
 Henry---Henry's  children—children's
Henry's books are These are children's toys.
missing.
 BRAIN TICKLERS : Write the possessive
form of each of the nouns below:
1. deer
2. cafeterias
3.tigers
4.tree
5.Ms. Jones
4.thief
5.thieves
6.leaves
 PRONOUNS

Pronoun—is a word
that are used in place
 it
of a noun.
 them 
By using a
 she pronoun,you can refer
 those to people,places,or
things which have
 he already been

this mentioned without
using the same noun
 who every time.
 PRONOUNS
Without pronouns With pronouns

 Tricia thinks that  Tricia thinks that he

Johny should lend should lend his
Johny's textbook to textbook to his
Johny's cousin. cousin.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF
PRONOUNS
 Personal
 Possessive
 Reflexive
 Demonstrative
 Relative
 Interrogative
 Indefinite
PERSONAL PRONOUNS—can take the place of
proper & common nouns that represent one more
persons or things
Examples:
I Us
She You
It They
Me Them
He We
 PERSONAL PRONOUNS
Maria went to school this morning.
 She went to school this morning
Juan wanted to go to the zoo,but the zoo was
closed.
 Juan wanted to go to the zoo, but it was
closed.
Debbie and I are working on essay writing.
 We are working on essay writing.
BRAIN TICKLER : Replace the underlined
nouns with personal pronouns.
1.Ms. Smith teaches our class about geography.
2.Carlos and Luis are learning about the climate
of the southeastern United States.
3. Luis and I looked at the map to locate the
southeastern states.
4.Ms. Smith told our class that climate is the
weather conditions that occur throughout a
region.
PRONOUN CASES

 SUBJECTIVE

 OBJECTIVE

 POSSESSIVE
 SUBJECTIVE AND OBJECTIVE
CASE PRONOUNS
Subjective—pronouns Objective—when
used as subject of the pronouns are used as
sentence direct objects.

 She hit the ball.  The ball hit her.

 We cooked chili .  The chili was cooked

by us.
 WHEN TO USE SUBJECTIVE-
OBJECTIVE CASES PRONOUNS
Number Person Subjective Objective
singular first I me
second You you
third he,she,it him,her,it
plural first We us
second You you
third They them
relative Who whom
pronoun Whoever whomever
PRONOUNS IN THE SUBJECTIVE
CASE
Incorrect:
 Me went to the store with my mother

Correct:
 I went to the store with my mother.
Pronouns following the verb “ to be”
Examples of verbs that are a form of to be:

Am

Are

Is

Was

Were

Will be
The pronoun after a form of the verb to be is
called complement.Complements must be
written/spoken in a subjective case.
Complement Pronouns in a Subjective
case—after the “verb to be”
Examples:
1.It is I who lost the book. ( correct)
2. It is me who lost the book ( incorrect)

Why is the no. 1 sentence correct?

 PRONOUNS IN THE OBJECTIVE
CASE
Examples

 Sara made cookies for Jane and she.

(incorrect)

 Sara made cookies for Jane and her.

( correct)
BRAIN TICKLERS: Write correct or incorrect
for the following sentences regarding the
use of pronouns
1. John and me are learning about butterflies in
science class.
2. Ms. Garcia told we that butterflies have 3 body
parts : a head,thorax and an abdomen.
3. I asked her what a thorax was.
4.Her said it was the butterfly's chest.
5.Whom knows where the abdomen is ?
 POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
Review:
 Possessive pronouns are used to show
ownership of something

Adding an apostrophe ' forms the possessive
case of nouns.
Example:
 Bob's desk is messy.
 The cat's claws are sharp.
 The use of Possessive Pronoun
before or after a noun
Before a noun After a noun
 My  Mine
 Your  Yours
 His  His

Her 
Hers
 Its  It
 Our  Ours
 Your  Yours
 Their  Theirs
 whose  Whose
 EXAMPLES:
 I saw her mother in the store.
The mother in the store is hers.

 Is this your backpack?

Is this backpack yours?
 BRAIN TICKLERS: Fill in the correct
possessive pronoun in the following
sentences
1.” Is this dog___? “ Joe asked me.(your,yours)
2. '' Yes, that is_____dog ,” I answered.
(my,mine)
3. A dog is _______family's pet ( our,ours)
4._____name is Heidi ( Her,Hers)
5._____textbook has some interesting facts about
cats. ( Our,Ours)
REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS—are used to
reflect or refer back nouns or pronouns
in the sentence
Subjective Objective Reflexive Pronoun
I me myself
you you yourself
he him himself
she her herself
it it itself
us we ourselves
they them themselves
 Examples in the use of Reflexive
Pronouns
 He surprised himself.

 When Carla was playing the scissors,she

accidentally cut herself.

 Our neighbors prepared the food themselves

for our block party last summer.
 BRAIN TICKLERS: use a reflexive
pronoun for the following sentences.

1. The female tiger was in a cage by_____.

2. The elephants helped_______to some food.

3. I_____would like to take care of the elephants.

 DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS—stand in for the

name of a person,place or thing that must be pointed to .

 This
 That
 These
 Those

This and these—refer to

things that are nearby.
That and those refer to
things that are distant.
Examples of sentences with
Demonstrative Pronouns
1. This plate I am
holding is hot.
2.Show me those on
the top shelf.
3.That was my brother
you met last week.
4. These are the books
I can carry in my
backpack
BRAIN TICKLERS—use the correct
demonstrative pronouns
1. ______are just one of the 40,000 kinds of
spiders in the world. (That, Those)

2.My friends are ______sitting in the bleacher

drinking beer. ( these, those)

3. _______umbrella by the door is Marcia's.

(That, This)
 RELATIVE PRONOUNS—Introduce
clauses( part of the sentence) that
describe nouns or pronouns.
 Who 
The student who
wrote the story is
reading it to the class.
 Whom 
(The student-the student who
wrote the story-is reading it to
the class).
 Which 
The building that
stood on the corner
 That has been turn down.

(The building-the building on
the corner-has been torn
down.)
 RELATIVE PRONOUNS CAN
SUBSTITUTE THESE NOUNS:
Relative Pronouns Nouns

 WHO ,WHOM PERSONS


THAT
THINGS,PLACES
(followed by restrictive (sometimes people)
clause)

 WHICH
(followed by nonrestrictive Things, Places
clause)
 EXAMPLES IN USING RELATIVE
PRONOUNS


The teacher who was nice to me gave me a
candy.


The airplane that flew from Mexico is sitting on
the runway.


The math problems which I just finished,are
completely right.
BRAIN TICKLERS—use the correct
relative pronoun
1.The road ___ is closed is the one I take home.
( which ,that )
2.The girl___smiled at me yesterday is here.
( who, whom)
3.The car,___is green, is out of gas. ( which,that)
4. The window____is in the back of the house,is
broken ( which,whom)
 INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS—are
usually used as the beginning of questions.

Which backpack do
you like better?

Who 
Who wants more ice

Whom cream?

Whose

To whom does this
coat belong?

Which 
What time does the

What movie begin?

Whose name is on
the winning raffle?
Interrogative pronouns can also be used
within a sentence to ask a question.

 Ms. Jones, our social studies teacher,

wondered who would score the highest grade
on her test.

As Luis got out of the car,his mother asked him
what time he wanted her to pick him up.
 The teacher didn't know whose lunch she was
holding.
BRAIN TICKLERS—use the correct
interrogative pronoun.
1. Tracy asked the boys___team won the game.
( who, whose)
2.My brother is the runner ____won the
marathon. ( who, which)
3.Sara wanted to ask ____ student's drawing the
judges like best. ( whom,which)
4.____did you invite to dance? ( who, whom)
5.____car is parked in front of the school.(whose,
who)
 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS—are pronouns that
replace nouns without specifying which nouns
are replaced.
 Everyone 
Nothing Much
 Anyone 
Anything Each
 Something 
Either Some
 Somebody 
Neither Nobody
 All 
None Several
 More 
Both Least
 Many 
Most Lots
 Little 
Few
 Less 
Plenty
 EXAMPLES IN THE USE OF
INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

 Does anyone know the answer to the first

problem?
 That is more than I wanted.
 Each has his toys in the bedroom.
 Nobody likes to be lost in the woods.
BRAIN TICKLERS—use the correct
indefinite pronoun
1. From reading a map, ___can be learned.
( much,plenty)
2. ____ have a scale to show the distances
between places. ( all, everyone)
3.______can determine the relationship between
the map distance and the real distance.
( anyone,something)
4._____are found in the legend or map key.
( many, everyone)
 MAKING PRONOUNS AGREE

An important rule for writing and speaking
English is that a pronoun must agree with its
antecedent ( the word to which it refers).

In other words, the antecedent is the word you
would have to repeat in a sentence if you
couldn't use a pronoun.

Agreement requires using a plural pronoun with
a plural antecedent. And using singular pronoun
with a singular antecedent.
ex. Maria had lost her purse.
The salesmen left their laptops in the room.
 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS : SINGULAR OR
PLURAL
SINGULAR PLURAL SINGULAR OR PLURAL
Anybody few all
Anyone many any
Each several either
Everybody lots more
Everyone both most
Nobody neither
Somebody none
Someone some
BRAIN TICKLERS: use the correct
indefinite pronoun
1. Several boys spent ___time watching tv.
( his,their)
2.Anybody can write well if ____work hard .
( he,she,they)
3.Few are in ______rooms. ( her,his, their)
4.Nobody is done with _____project
( his,her,their)
5. More should write in______journal
(his,her,their)
VERBS
 RUN
 SMILE
 EAT
 SING
 DANCE
 JUMP
 CRY
 SCREAM
REVIEW: 2 PARTS OF THE SENTENCE

 SUBJECT ( WHO)

 PREDICATE
( WHAT)
VERB
 Verb—describes what
the noun is doing.
 It is the “ what” of a
sentence.

Ben reads a book.

ACTION VERB—describes the
action of the subject
 Ms. Vu sang a song.
 Mr. Jones walks his
dog.
 Train conductor
opened the doors
simultaneously.
 Jane smiles every
time she sees me.
 BRAIN TICKLERS: select the action verb
from the list on the right that best completes
the sentence.
1. Robots differ from use
computers because attached
computers don't have
bodies___attached to comes
them. roll
2.Some robots___on walk
legs made of metal or
plastic. power

3.Others___along on
motorized wheels.
 LINKING VERBS—link or connect the
subject of the sentence to the predicate of
the sentence.
Forms of the Verbs “to be”: Forms of the verbs:

am, 
To seem

To appear
 being

To feel

will be 
To taste

can be 
To look
 have 
To grow

To remain
 is

To smell

are 
To sound
 was 
To stay
 were 
To become
LINKING VERBS--examples
1.Ms. Garcia is my
Social Studies
teacher
2. Carlos was the
goalie for his soccer
team.
3. The girls are happy.
4. Nate feels lonely.
 How do you tell if a verb is an
action verb or a linking verb?
 If you can substitute am, is or are for the verb
and the sentence makes sense, you have a
linking verb.
 If after the substitution, the sentence makes no
sense, the verb is an action verb.

 Juan jumps over the fence

 Juan is over the fence
HELPING VERB—is a verb that is added to another verb
to make the meaning of a sentence clearer.

can might
could must
do shall
does should
have will
has would
had be
may being
am, are, is, was, did
 Helping Verbs : examples

 James may study his vocabulary words tonight.

 James should study his vocabulary words tonight.

 James can study his vocabulary words tonight.


James will study his vocabulary words tonight.
VERB TENSES: PRESENT, PAST
& FUTURE

The tense of a verb

tells whether that
action or state of
being is occurring in
the present, occurred
in the past, or will
occur in the future.
 The Present Tense—describes something
that exists or is happening now.

Tom answers the
question the teacher
asks the class.
 To form the present 
Bonnie helps her
tense, you usually
mother prepare
add an s to the verb
dinner.
when the subject is
singular. 
Miguel writes his diary
every night.

Marvin throws the
ball.
Past Tense.. requires significant changes in
their spelling to form past tense.
 Pam answers the  Pam answered the
questions the teacher questions the teacher
asks the class. asks the class.
 Bonnie helps her  Bonnie helped her
mother prepare mother prepare
dinner. dinner.
 Miguel writes his  Miguel wrote his diary
diary every night. every night.
 The FUTURE Tense describes something that will happen. You
usually add the helping verb will or shall to the main verb to show
the future tense.

 Pam answers the  Pam will answer the

questions the teacher questions the teacher
asks the class. asks the class.
 Bonnie helps her  Bonnie will help her
mother prepare mother prepare
dinner. dinner.
 Miguel writes his  Miguel shall write his
diary every night. diary every night.
CONFUSING VERB PAIRS : LAY &
LIE
LAY & LIE
 Lay means to put or place something.
 Lie means to rest or recline.

Mary needs to lie down and rest. ( incorrect)

Mary needs to lie down and rest. ( correct)

Please lie your sleeping bag next to mine.

Please lay your sleeping bag next to mine.
CONFUSING VERB PAIRS: SET &
SIT

SET--- means to put something somewhere.
 SIT--- means to sit down.

 Ms. Byrnes will set down in the chair. ( incorrect)

Ms. Byrnes will sit down on the chair . ( correct)

Pam, did you sit the plates on the table?(incorrect)

Pam, did you set the plates on the table?( correct)
CONFUSING VERB PAIRS: LET &
LEAVE
 Let means to allow.
 Leave means to allow to remain.

“Will you leave me to go with you Leah?”

“ Will you let me go with you Leah ?”

John will let his books on my desk.

John will leave his books on my desk.
 BRAIN TICKLERS: CONFUSING VERB
PAIRS—choose the correct verb
 Will you please ___in your seats immediately.
(set ,sit)
 My mother is going to __me to keep the dog .
( let, leave)
 The cat wants to __on the sofa with Katie.
( lay, lie)
 Please___ me have a turn. ( let, leave)
 VERBALS—are words whose roots are
verbs but function as other parts of speech.

3 types of verbals:

 Gerunds
 Participles
 Infinitives
How to make a GERUND: add ing to the end of a verb.
There's also a change in spelling (dropping the last letter
and then adding ing)
 write----writing
 dance—dancing Important note:
 Adding ing to the verb
Good writing requires is one step to make a
lots of hard work and word a gerund.
patience.  The other step is to
make sure it's used
as noun.
Dancing with the stars
is a television hit for
many seasons.
 More examples on Gerunds:
 Study Studying in a quiet place
like a library, helps me to
remember more.

 Speak Speaking in front of people

requires confidence.

Exercising everyday is a
 Exercise good way to stay healthy
and fit.
PARTICIPLE

 It is a form of a verb
which ends in ing,
ed, en, d.

 It is used as an
adjective or adverb
 Examples of PARTICIPLES in a
sentence.
 Scared, the kitten ran under the parked car.

 The woman walking into the classroom is

Mr. Jones.

 I saw Carlos swimming in the pool.

 INFINITIVES
An INFINITIVE consists of the basic form of the
verb, usually preceded by a preposition to .
Infinitives can function as nouns, adjectives or
adverbs.

 To learn requires hard work. ( as a noun)

 Tom had many lessons to learn . ( as an
adjective)
 Dan likes to learn about faraway places . ( as
an adverb)
 BRAIN TICKLER: Determine whether the
underlined word is a verb,verbal
(gerund,participle,infinitive)
1. Healthy eating should be a goal for all of us.

2. I am eating more fruits to improve my health.

3. Uninformed, many people eat a poor diet.

4.She tries to eat 3 pieces of fruit everyday.

5. Healthy snacking is one of the keys to good nutrition

and good health.
 SHORT REVIEW: PARTS OF
SPEECH
 NOUNS & PRONOUNS—name people, places,
things, ideas.

 VERBS---describe the actions of those people,

places and things.

WHO + WHAT = MAIN IDEA

(Noun/Pronoun) + (Verb) = Main Idea
 MODIFIERS
A modifier ---is a word or group of words that
describes or limits another word or group of
words.

 ADJECTIVES
 ADVERBS
 ADJECTIVES
An adjective –is a word or group of words that
modifies or describes a noun or a pronoun.

Adjectives answer questions such as :

 Which one?--- The square paper is Ted's.

 How many? --- There are 3 rings on the table.
 What kind of? -- Maria's blue backpack is here.
ARTICLES – are special types of adjectives that point

to nouns. They must always appear before nouns.

2 groups of articles:
 Indefinite articles ( an , a )
 Definite articles ( the )

When to use :
 an—use it before nouns that begin with a vowel
(a,e, i, o,u )
 a----use it before nouns that begin with a
consonant ( all letters that are not vowels)
EXAMPLES IN USING “A”, “AN”
& “The”

Adam gave Eve an apple.

An angel guards the door of the garden of Eden.

A rod held by Moses, parted the Red Sea.

A gift , truly unexpected, came four days before
my birthday.

The way to Jerusalem is as varied as your
plans.

The route is dangerous to travel at night.
BRAIN TICKLERS : choose the right
article
1. The bald eagles are ( a, an) symbol of beauty
and power.
2.The bald eagle is not bald, but rather has
( a,an) group of white feathers on top of its
head.
3.Lots of salmon live in ( a, the ) rivers of Alaska.
4.Salmon are ( a, an) important part of (a,an)
eagle's diet.
 DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES

A demonstrative adjective –points out a particular person
or thing and answers the question which one or which
ones.
Examples : this, these, that, those
this and these---point out people or things nearby in time or
distance.
 I like this sweater.

These oranges are sweet.
that and those-- point out people or things farther away in
time and distance.

That test we had last week was difficult.

Gone are those days when we did not have to study.
 BRAIN TICKLERS : select the
correct demonstrative adjective
1. ( This, That) man sitting next to me is my
father.
2. (Those, These) men over there are my uncles.
3. Uncle Ben gave me ( this, that) jacket I'm
wearing.
4.( That, This) woman who just left was my Aunt
Leonor.
5. I am going to learn ( this, these) vocabulary
words on ( this, these ) worksheet.
 INDEFINITE ADJECTIVES
Indefinite adjectives—describe general, rather than
specific qualities.
Examples : all, another, any, both, each, either, few,
many, more, most, other, several, some
 Some students enjoy writing stories.
 Many students don't submit their writing assignments
on time.
 Most students recognize the importance of writing
clearly.
 The teacher gave same instructions to both classes.
BRAIN TICKLERS: choose the right
indefinite adjective.
1. (Both, Most) college freshmen feel anxious on
their first examination.
2. (Many, More) studies are needed to establish
the truth about college anxiety.
3. The professor wants ( either, all ) the first class
or the last class to lead the writing contest.
4. (Other,Any) students feel anxious about Ms.
Smith as the new dean of the college.
 ADVERBS
An adverb modifies ( changes) verbs, other adverbs
and adjectives.
Adverbs can also modify an entire sentence or a clause.
Adverbs answer questions such as :
 When
 Where
 How

How much
 Why
 ADVERBS : EXAMPLES
 The grass was very wet.
 The students cheered loudly.
 Pam called me on the telephone yesterday.
 The snow melted suddenly when the sun shone
brightly.
 The cloudy skies made the day gloomy for
many.

The taxi driver dropped me off here.
 BRAIN TICKLERS: underline the
adverb on the following sentences.
1. The Geekcorps is very similar to the Peace
Corps in its goal to help the less fortunate
people of the world.
2. It's a nonprofit organization that places
volunteers in developing nations badly needing
technology.
3. Typically, the volunteers have recently earned
engineering or computer science degrees.
IMPROVING YOUR WRITING WITH
ADJECTIVES..rewrite the following
sentences by using adjectives.

 There is a tree in
John's backyard. It
has branches.

 The dog is walking

toward the child.
 COMBINING SENTENCES...improve
/rewrite the following “ choppy” sentences.
Choppy means--uneven,irregular.

 Pam is wearing a cotton shirt. Pam is wearing a

blue shirt.

 Danny owns an old car. Danny owns a noisy

car.
BRAIN TICKLERS: combine the following two
sentences into one—using their adjectives.

1.Carlos ate two peppers. Carlos ate green

peppers.
2.Maria is honest. Maria is kind-hearted.
3.Katrina is carrying a black purse. Katrina is
carrying a little purse.
4.John's father bought a new car. John's father
bought a blue car.
5.The dirt is brown. The dirt is cold.
 BRAIN TICKLERS: select the
correct adjective or adverb
1. Some of the more ( popular, popularly)
celebrations are Christmas, Hanukkah,Cinco de
Mayo,Ramadan and the Chinese New Year.
2. Many celebrations and traditions contribute to
the ( rich,richly) diversity of the United States.
3. Many of these celebrations include ( wonderful,
wonderfully ) ornate clothing.
4. Hanukkah is a Hebrew word that
(literal,literally) means “dedication”.
 DEGREES OF ADJECTIVES &
ADVERBS
There a 3 degrees of 1.Use the positive degree
adjectives and when you're describing a
single person,action or
adverbs: thing.
2.Use comparative degree
when you're comparing
1. Positive degree two people things or
2. Comparative degree actions.
3 Superlative when you're
3.Superlative degree comparing more than 2
people ,actions or things
 Most one-syllable and some two syllables form
the comparative and superlative degrees by
adding er or est
Positive Comparative Superlative
sweet sweeter sweetest
happy happier happiest


I am eating a sweet piece of candy.

I am now eating the sweeter of the two pieces of
candy.

This is the sweetest piece of candy I have ever
eaten!
If an adjective has more than two syllables,it usually forms
the comparative and superlative degrees by preceding the
positive degree with the word more & most .

Positive Comparative Superlative

intelligent more intelligent most intelligent
extensive more extensive most extensive

 The dog is an intelligent animal


A chimpanzee is more intelligent than a dog.
 A whale may be the most intelligent of all animals.
 There are few adjectives that are
exceptions to these rules:

Positive Comparative Superlative

good better best
bad worse worst


My mother made us a good lunch.

My mother made us a better lunch.

My mother made us the best lunch ever.
 Most adverbs form the comparative and
superlative forms by using more & most.
Positive Comparative Superlative
easily more easily most easily
slowly more slowly most slowly

 Ronald easily ran the distance.

 Ronald ran the distance more easily than
Gianni.
 Of all the runners, Ronald ran the distance most
easily
 Exceptions for the adverbs ( not
using more or most)

Positive Comparative Superlative

hard harder hardest
fast faster fastest
soon sooner soonest


I ran fast.
 Carlos ran faster than I did.

Luis ran fastest of all runners.
 BRAIN TICKLERS: select the correct
degree of the adjective or adverb.
1. I ( real, really) enjoy going to the beach.
2. We saw ( more,most ) fish jumping out of the
water than we did last time.
3.While we were watching, one ( sudden,
suddenly) jumped out of the water.
4.Unfortunately, it was the ( hotter, hottest) day of
the year.
5.We were ( careful, carefully ) not to get
sunburned.
SHORT REVIEW –PARTS OF
SPEECH

 NOUNS
 PRONOUNS
 VERBS
 ADJECTIVES
 ADVERBS
 PREPOSITIONS
A PREPOSITION is a word that shows the
relationship between a noun or pronoun and
another noun or pronoun.

 Jose's dog is under the table.

 My bag is in the closet.
 The hawk flew across the cloudless sky.
2 MAJOR GROUPS OF
PREPOSITIONS

SIMPLE
PREPOSITION

COMPOUND
PREPOSITION
 SIMPLE PREPOSITIONS—simple because
they're formed from simple words,most of which have 2
syllables.
about, along,above, past, since, through,
among,across, throughout, to, toward,
after,around,after, at, under, up, upon,
against, behind, which, within, without
below,beside,
between,beyond,
by,concerning, down,
during, except, for,
in,into, like, of, off
on, onto, out, over
Sentences with simple prepositions:

 Carla fell off her bicycle.

 The textbook is on the desk.
 Ramon hid behind the post.
 Linda put her homework in her backpack.
 The moth moved toward the light.

Chris jumped into the water
COMPOUND PREPOSITIONS—are
about 2 or 3 words in length.

in front of, instead of, in favor of, in spite of, next

to, prior to,similar to, subsequent to

 Sam's car is parked in front of the store.

 Andrew sat next to Ariel at the pep rally.
 We were late because of the heavy traffic.
 Common Preposition Errors
Adding unnecessary Using 2 prepositions
simple prepositions. where only 1 is
 Incorrect needed

Ms. Shey
 Incorrect
asked,”Where have Don't go near to the
you been at ?” growling dog.
 Correct  Correct
Ms. Shey asked, Don't go near the
“Where have you growling dog.
been ?”
 BRAIN TICKLERS: identify the unnecessary simple
preposition
1. The adult male polar bear is the largest among
of the bear family.
2.The adult male polar bear weighs in between
800 and 1200 pounds.
3. When born, most polar bears weigh like under
a pound
4.Seals hunt for the fish living in under the water
beneath the ice.
5. Polar bears live off of seal meat.
 COMPOUND PREPOSITIONAL
PHRASES
Compound prepositional phrase is a series of
prepositional phrases that act like a single
preposition.

Examples:
 With regard to
 With respect to
 In reference to

In order to
 AVOID USING COMPOUND
PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
Keep your sentences concise and simple.
 Incorrect:
In order to write more concisely,eliminate compound
prepositional phrases.

Correct:
To write more concisely, eliminate compound prepositional
phrases.
 Incorrect:
At this point in time, we are writing well.
 Correct:
Now, we are writing well.
 Keep it simple : use SIMPLE
PREPOSITION instead of Compound
Prepositional Phrases
Compound
prepositional phrase:
Simple Preposition:

At this point in time  Now

At that point in time  Then

By means of  By

By reason of  Because

During the course of  During

For the purpose of  For

In excess of  More

Continuation: use simple preposition
instead of compound prepositional
phrases
Compound: Simple:ike

In terms of 
In

In close proximity 
Near

With reference to 
about,concerning

With regard to 
about,concerning

In a manner similar to 
Like

On the basis of 
By, from

In the event that 
If

In order to 
To

In favor of 
For
 
BRAIN TICKLERS: use simple prepositions
for the underlined phrases
1. A this point in time, it is clear that smoking is
bad for your health.
2.There are many important facts with reference
to smoking.
3. On the basis of research, it is know that even
smoking a few as one to 4 cigarettes a day can
have serious health consequences.
4. In order to increase your chances of not
smoking,avoid people who do.
5.Smoking causes in excess of 80% of all lung
cancers.
 CONJUCTIONS ( another part of
speech)
A conjunction—is a word that joins words or
group of words in a sentence.

 My friends and I are going to the mall.

 We are going today or tomorrow.
 I want to go to the mall today,but my friends
want to go to the mall tomorrow.
TYPES OF CONJUCTIONS
 COORDINATING
CONJUNCTIONS

 CORRELATIVE
CONJUNCTIONS

 SUBORDINATING
CONJUNCTIONS
 COORDINATING CONJUNCTION
Coordinating conjunction connects words or word
groups that perform the same function in a sentence.
There are seven coordinating conjunctions:
 But ( joins two contrasting ideas)

Or ( offers a choice )
 Yet ( means “ but”)
 For ( means “because”)

And ( means “ in addition to”)
 Nor ( joins two negative alternatives)

So ( shows the second idea is the result of the first)
 Sentences with Coordinating
Conjunctions:

Carlos and Martha are coming to my party.

Aisha never drinks coffee nor tea.

Abraham Lincoln was a man of few words but of
many deeds.

Sam could not remember where he left his
books or when he handed his homework.

It was raining ,so the bus was late.

Raymund worries about his grades,yet he
always does well.
CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTIONS
 either or
 Correlative  neither nor
conjunction connect  not but
words or word
groups.
 not only but
 both and
 They appear in pairs.
 although yet
 whether or
 Sentences with CORRELATIVE
CONJUNCTIONS:

 Either you want to go to the movies with me,or

you don't want to go to the movies with me.
 Neither Leonor nor Regina knew where Brenda
was.
 We saw not one but two lions.
 Her movements were not only unusual but also
funny.
 SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Subordinating conjunction join the main part ( important part ) of
the sentence with the supporting part (detail).
TIME

After, once, when, as, till, whenever,
before,until, while
STATING A CONDITION

As if, if, unless, as though, provided, how,
where, wherever
COMPARE & CONTRAST

Although, than, that, though
CAUSE & EFFECT

Because, since
Sentences with SUBORDINATING
CONJUNCTIONS

After Social Studies class, it is time for lunch

Until it stops raining, we will have to stay inside.

John hangs around my house as if he lives
here.

My new puppy wants to go wherever I go.

We walked past where the lightning had
struck the tree

My brother is taller than my father

I did well on the test because I had studied.
 BRAIN TICKLERS: Underline the
subordinating conjunction on the following
sentences:
1. Although we have seen fires on television,most
people don't know much about fires.
2.Before you know it, a small flame can turn into a major
house fire.
3. Once a fire gets started, it takes only minutes for it to
fill a house with smoke.
4.If you wake up to fire, the dark smoke will disorient
you.
5. Once the fire gets burning, the temperature can reach
500 degrees or more at your eye level.
INTERJECTIONS---the last lesson
on the parts of speech
Examples of
interjections:
 An Interjection—is a
word or a group of  Ah, goodness, oh
words that expresses dear, wow,
a feeling or emotion  Uh oh, oh my,
such as golly,hooray, oh no,
anger,surprise,pain or hurrah, oh,
happiness.
 Shh, ouch, okay, aha,
ugh, ahh
 USING INTERJECTIONS:
 It's a part of speech but it has no grammatical
relationship to the other words around it.
 Its purpose is to allow the speaker or writer to
express a feeling or an emotion.
 Use an exclamation point ! after an interjection
that expresses strong feeling or emotion.
 Use a comma , after an interjection that
expresses mild feeling or emotion.
 EXAMPLES OF SENTENCES
WITH INTERJECTIONS
 Aha! I thought you were the one who planned
my surprise birthday party.
 Hooray ! Our soccer team is in the first place.
 Wow ! I can't believe it's Friday already.
 Ouch ! I hit my finger with the hammer.
 Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you standing there.
 Shh, please be quiet.
 BRAIN TICKLERS: Underline the
interjection on the following sentences.
1. Wow ! Did you know the first Olympics were
held over 2700 years ago in 776 B.C.?
2. “Aha ! “ exclaimed Pam. I learned the Olympic
games got their name from Olympia, the Greek
city where they first took place.
3. Oh my, this is interesting. All wars were
stopped during the Olympics so that the
athletes and spectators could enjoy the
competition.
LEARNING THE VOWEL SOUNDS
( a, e, i,o,u)
Examples of Short Examples of Long
vowel sounds: vowel sounds:
 Flavor
 Act  Bake
 Cat  Cake
 Man  Tame
 Plant  Drain
 Dance  Gain

Bat 
Say
 Lap
LET'S PRACTICE ON THE SHORT AND LONG
VOWEL SOUNDS FOR “A”
 Climate change refers to changes in our climate
that have occurred since the early part of the
1900s.
 Weather is the state of atmosphere at a given
time and place.
 Atmospheric gases are mostly nitrogen ( 78%)
and oxygen ( 21%).
 Acid rain is formed when sulfur dioxide
combines with water vapor in the atmosphere.
 SHORT AND LONG VOWEL
SOUNDS FOR “E”
Examples of SHORT Examples of LONG
VOWEL SOUNDS: VOWEL SOUNDS:
 Be  Genes
 He  Scene
 Me  Meal
 Pet  Seal
 Set  Peal
 bet  deal
 LET'S PRACTICE ON THE SHORT AND
LONG VOWEL SOUNDS OF “E”

I dread to eat my aunt's bread

Sea exploration by Europeans was possible due
to many technological developments like the
sextants and chronometer.

Because of the Gold Rush, some settlers left the
East Coast and traveled to California.

They went ashore the next day and pitched the
church tent under the shade of an oak tree.

Spain and Mexico gave people land grants to
start ranchos and encourage settlers.
 SHORT AND LONG VOWEL
SOUNDS FOR “I”
Examples of the Short Examples of the Long
Vowel Sounds: Vowel Sounds:

English 
Mild

Bit 
Bind

Fish 
Drive

Lit 
Kind

Sit 
Slide

In 
Tile

pit 
vile
 LET'S PRACTICE ON THE SHORT AND
LONG VOWEL SOUNDS OF “i”

The three states of matter are liquid, solid and
gas

A physical property is anything you can observe
about an object using your senses.

Matter is everything made of atoms and
molecules and anything that has a mass.

Oxygen as a gas still has same properties as
liquid oxygen.

When ice cube melts, a physical change occurs.

Mice is the plural form of mouse.
 SHORT AND LONG VOWEL
SOUNDS OF “O”
Examples of Short Examples of Long
Vowel Sound: Vowel Sound:

Block  No
 So

Odd
 Torso

Shock  Mole

Clone  Pole

Done  Boat

Load 
Toe ( toh)
 Doe ( doh)

corn

Do ( doo)
LET'S PRACTICE ON THE SHORT AND LONG
VOWEL SOUNDS OF “o”
 The human body is mostly water
 The solar system consists of the sun and the
objects that orbit around it.
 A planet does not give off its own light.
 The four planets closest to the sun are the inner
planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.
 Gravity is the force that holds the planets in
orbit around the sun.
SHORT AND LONG VOWEL SOUNDS OF
“U”
Examples of Short Examples of Long
Vowel sounds: Vowel sounds:
 bounce  Human
 ounce  Humid
 pound  Humility
 bound  Hubris
 sound  Puritan
 mouse  Punitive
LET'S PRACTIVE WITH THE SHORT
AND LONG VOWEL SOUNDS OF “u”
 You should come to school everyday.
 Aluminum foil is an example of a good
conductor.
 A silver spoon conducts heat easily, but a
wooden spoon would not.
 Tungsten fuses, or melts only at extremely high
temperatures (3370 degrees).
 Fusible is something capable of being fused or
melted by heating.
STRESS ( EMPHASIZE) CERTAIN SYLLABLES
& NONSTRESS OTHERS

Stress is the relative emphasis given to certain

syllables in a word.
Stressed syllables have higher pitch, longer
duration, and fuller vowels than unstressed
syllables.
 Tyrant ty-rant
 Telegraph tel-e-graph
 Decimal dec-i- mal
 THE SILENT LETTERS : Inert &
Empty letters
Inert letters—are letters that are sometimes
heard or not heard:

 Resign (g is not heard)

 Resignation (g is heard)
 Malign ( g is not heard)
 Malignant ( g is heard)
Empty Letters—are letters that “remain
silent” when the word is pronounced.

 Silent b : dumb, thumb

 Silent c: indict
 Silent ch: yacht
 Silent d: bridge
 Silent g: foreign,sign,design,assign
 Silent h: rhinoceros,spaghetti
 Silent k: knee,knit,knob,know,knuckle
Empty Letters—are letters that “remain
silent” when the word is pronounced.

 Silent l : calf,talk,could, should, would

 Silent m: mnemonic
 Silent n: autumn,column
 Silent p: raspberry,receipt
 Silent t: castle, listen,whistle

Silent w: answer,wrap,
wreath,wreck,wring,wrong,write
THE FINAL “E”--is a marker that affects
the sound of other letters in a word

 mat ----mate

 fat------fate

 hat-----hate
HOMOPHONES—are words that sound
alike but have different spelling and
meanings.

 bear ---bare ( bair)

 brake—break
 fare-----fair
 hear---here
 its-----it's

to----too
 there—their--they're
 ADDITIONAL HOMOPHONES

right---- write--- rite

ascent-- assent

hour----our

by---buy

sight—site

ewe----you---yew

for---fore---four

heard—herd--hurd

there—their---they're

to---too----two

weather--whether--wither
 PUNCTUATION MARKS
Period .
Question Mark ?
Comma ,
Colon :
Semi Colon ;
Quotation Marks “ “
Exclamation Point !
Apostrophe '
Parentheses ( )
 LETTERS> SYLLABLES>
WORDS>SENTENCES> PARAGRAPHS > story
etc.

What is a sentence?
It's a group of words that contain a subject and a
predicate,and expresses a complete thought

 I am studying English grammar and

pronunciation.
 Types of Sentences: DECLARATIVE,
INTERROGATIVE,IMPERATIVE,EXCLAMATORY

Declarative sentence—states or explains something.

 Sylvia baked a chocolate cake.
Interrogative--- asks a question.
 Who baked the chocolate cake?
Imperative—commands someone to do something.
 You bake the cake today.
Exclamatory---shows excitement or strong emotion.
 What a delicious cake !
 BRAIN TICKLERS: decide whether each of the
following sentences is declarative,interrogative,
exclamatory or imperative.

1.That's a scary ride !

2.You can ride your bike but you have to be

careful.

3. It's a beautiful day today to walk in the park.

4. Are you going to study tonight?

 BEYOND SIMPLE SENTENCE—
make your writing interesting
Compound sentence—  Complex sentence-
contains 2 or more includes one
independent clauses independent clause &
(subject & predicate) one or more
but no dependent dependent clauses.
clause.  To improve your
 I went to John's writing, you should
house but he was not read books
there. suggested by your
 Carlos studied the teacher.
whole night but he
failed the test.
 WHAT IS A PARAGRAPH?
A paragraph consists of two or more sentences
which which express a single thought or topic.
3 parts of a paragraph:
 Topic sentence—tells what the paragraph is all
about
 Supporting sentences—provide details about
the topic sentence
 Concluding sentence—summarizes the
paragraph & a transition to the next paragraph.
 ESSAYS AND STORIES
Essay—a short literary
composition.
Story—is about
When you write an something that
essay you're usually happened (non-
doing one of the fiction) or something
following: you have made up

Describing a ( fiction)
person,place or thing

Stating your opinion
about a certain topic

Analyzing something
 The STRUCTURE OF ESSAYS &
STORIES
3 PARTS:

The Introduction—consists of one or more
paragraphs. It must be catchy and interesting to
get the reader's attention.

The Body---it's the longest section of your essay
or story. It provides supporting paragraphs to
the introduction.

The Conclusion—the last part which
summarizes your essay/story or brings the story
to an end.
 THE WRITING PROCESS
1. Select a topic
2. Do your research
3. Write a thesis statement ( a summary or
purpose for writing). Put it in one topic sentence.
4.Develop an outline.
5. Write a first draft
6. Edit and re-write your drafts until you have a
final version.