version 2.

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4/10/16

ENGLISH GRAMMAR GUIDE

FOR SECONDARY SCHOOL
TEACHERS IN SABAH
Ibrahim Jadoon
Fulbright Senior English Teaching Assistant

KOTA BELUD (2016)

MALAYSIAN-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON EDUCATIONAL EXCHANGE (MACEE)
Contact Ibrahim: +1-859-200-9355 (WhatsApp) | ikjadoon@gmail.com
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Hello!

Thank you for taking the time to pick up this guide. More importantly, thank you for reading past the title
pageI am afraid the word grammar will turn most readers away.

However, dont worrythis guide is written in everyday, jargon-less English and its nothing like a real
grammar textbook (for better and worse). Most English grammar textbooks are mind-numbingly
complex, even for native speakers like me, because theyre usually meant for linguists or grammarians.

This guide is meant to be practically useful for English teachers in Sabah.

I wrote this guide over two years while I taught English at SMK Taun Gusi in Kota Belud, Sabah, as a
Fulbright grantee serving as a Senior English Teaching Assistant. It comes from my experiences in
teaching Malaysian students and my knowledge as a native English speaker.

The primary goal of this guide is to build a common grammar foundation. If English grammar is like a
tree, this guide is the tree trunk and some important tree branches. Its not exhaustive (i.e., there arent
many leaves on this tree), but should prepare you well. Without this critical trunk, I think grammar
quickly becomes confusing and needlessly complex.

The guide is also includes frequently asked questions (FAQ) from teachers and students about weird
English quirks. Often there are logical and reasonable answers, tapi, macam semua bahasa-bahasa dalam dunia
ni, kadang-kadang lebih senang kalau kamu hafal ja, lah.

In a distant fantasy, every SMK/SK would create a school-specific grammar curriculum, share it among
the English teachers, and organize it into manageable grammar goals for each year of school. While thats
a tall order, I hope this guide helps schools move towards that goal.

A reading note: Ive written this guide as strictly true. Just to be clear: if I write always or must,
there are no exceptions. Of course, poems, songs, and English slang bend many grammar rules.

About me: Ive lived in the United States for 22 years. In 2013, I earned a Bachelor of Science in
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Centre College in Kentucky (yes, like KFC). After my degree, I
applied for this Fulbright Scholarship.

I taught Form 1 to Form 6, organized annual multi-day English camps (Form 4/5 the first year and Form
6 the second year), started an English school newspaper (a real one! message me if youre interested in the
Newspaper Guide), organized grammar workshops at nearby schools for English teachers and students,
and aided students in applying for USA-based scholarships.

I apologize in advance for any grave omissions or errors. Feel free to message me about anythingyes,
even grammar questions.
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Table of Contents
Preparing to Teach Grammar ............................................................................................................. iv
1. My Grammar Teaching Philosophy................................................................................................ iv
a. The two reasons why I love teaching grammar ............................................................................................................ iv
b. How do we teach confidence? ........................................................................................................................................ v
c. We need to enter the minds of our students. ............................................................................................................... v
d. All Malaysian students are smart enough to learn English grammar ....................................................................... v
e. If we cannot explain grammar simply, we do not understand it well enough. Full stop. .................................... v
f. Reducing student shyness ................................................................................................................................................ v
2. Practice is essentiallistening/notes are not enough ................................................................ vii
a. Students need to be reminded why practice is important ........................................................................................ vii
b. Practice exercises should only cover what has been taught. .................................................................................. viii
c. Use assessments FOR learning .................................................................................................................................... viii
d. Consider the flipped classroom ............................................................................................................................... viii
3. There are fun ways to teach & practice grammar ....................................................................... viii
a. Games work well to practice grammar ...................................................................................................................... viii
b. Grammar Discovery allows students to learn grammar naturally ....................................................................... xi
4. What is this guide and what is it not? ............................................................................................ xii
The English Grammar Guide ................................................................................................................1
5. Prerequisite Knowledge ......................................................................................................................1
b. The four main parts of speech........................................................................................................................................ 1
a. Fundamental grammar & sentence structure ............................................................................................................... 1
6. Nouns ....................................................................................................................................................2
a. What are nouns? ................................................................................................................................................................ 2
b. How many of a noun is very important in English .................................................................................................... 2
c. The plural principle! .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
7. Verbs .....................................................................................................................................................3
f. How to teach the chart .................................................................................................................................................... 5
g. Miscellaneous information .............................................................................................................................................. 8
a. Common irregular verbs .................................................................................................................................................. 9
b. How to pronounce -ed .............................................................................................................................................. 10
h. Subject-Verb Agreement (SVA) ................................................................................................................................... 11
i. Modal Verbs ..................................................................................................................................................................... 11
c. Modal Verbs list .............................................................................................................................................................. 12
j. Changing verbs into nouns ........................................................................................................................................... 14
8. Articles (a/an/the)............................................................................................................................ 15
b. To make a noun specific, we have many choices. ..................................................................................................... 15
c. To make a noun general, simply do not use any articles. ......................................................................................... 16
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d. The two article rules and the one exception: ............................................................................................................. 16

f. There are some similarities to BM ............................................................................................................................... 16
g. Situations where we omit articles ................................................................................................................................. 16
h. Rule for a versus an ................................................................................................................................................ 16
9. Pronouns............................................................................................................................................ 17
10. Nouns vs. adjectives vs. adverbs vs. verbs ................................................................................... 17
11. Prepositions ....................................................................................................................................... 17
a. Prepositions are words that connect nouns to nouns .............................................................................................. 17
d. Commonly Confused Prepositions .............................................................................................................................. 18
12. Miscellaneous grammar ................................................................................................................... 19
a. List of contractions: (borrowed from grammar.about.com) ................................................................................... 19
b. The difference between really and very .............................................................................................................. 19
c. Making negative verbs requires do/does/did ........................................................................................................ 19
d. Tidak, bukan, and tiada .................................................................................................................................................... 20
e. Yang requires to be ...................................................................................................................................................... 20
f. Neither, either, and both ................................................................................................................................... 20
g. Will vs would ........................................................................................................................................................... 20
h. The three meanings of the verb to have ................................................................................................................. 20
i. Many/much and few/little .................................................................................................................................... 20
j. Everyday vs every day ............................................................................................................................................ 21
k. Verbs must have a subject ............................................................................................................................................. 21
l. On / at / in for locations and time ......................................................................................................................... 21
m. Di sana and di sini ........................................................................................................................................................ 21
n. Creating questions: invert the subject + verb & the use of do ........................................................................... 21
o. Singular vs. Plural nouns ................................................................................................................................................ 22
p. Punctuation ...................................................................................................................................................................... 22
13. Resources that explain English grammar (correctly) ................................................................... 24
14. Resources where language questions are asked and answered .................................................. 25
15. Important topics I wish I had time to cover ........................................................................... 25
a. Phrasal verbs .................................................................................................................................................................... 25
b. Intransitive vs. transitive verbs ..................................................................................................................................... 25
c. Passive voice .................................................................................................................................................................... 26
d. Most of the rarer tenses ................................................................................................................................................. 26
e. Stylistic concerns ............................................................................................................................................................. 26
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Preparing to Teach Grammar

1. My Grammar Teaching Philosophy

a. The two reasons why I love teaching grammar
i. (#1) Give students concentrated exposure
1. Students with high English exposure will never have seen
They has a story. They will only have ever seen They
have a story. If we have lots of fluent English exposure, we
absorb grammar without ever learning a grammar rule.
2. This is how we naturally learn languagesor even football!
Watch enough official football games and you will learn the
rules without a teacher.
3. But, for students with low English exposure, both
sentences (They has a story and They have a story)
sound somewhat correctthat is the root of all English
grammar mistakes (tak pastimungkin?).
4. Grammar lessons give students the rules of English without
time-consuming exposure. They work excellently for
knowledge transferbut are not enough for long-term
memory. For long-term memory, practice is the only option.
ii. (#2) Sustainably increase student confidence
1. Sustainable confidence requires that students have a clear
understanding of the grammar they read, write, hear, and
speak. If they are repeatedly exposed to English without
understanding why English sentences are like this, they will
lose confidence slowly over time.
a. This confidence drain is easy to see in Form 4 and
Form 5 students, especially due to PT3 streaming.
After Form 1-3, if they still do not understand the
English in their classroom, they give up.
b. In psychology, this phenomenon is called learned
helplessness. If we fail at a hard task too many
times, then we give up on all tasks, easy or hard.
2. Without understanding grammar, students confidence will
always be fragile. Students are constantly exposed to correct
and incorrect English in Malaysia, so if their classes do not
address grammar, they will remain indecisive and
unconfident. Teaching the rules clears infectious
misconceptions that spread in students mindslike how
so many of my students write Iam how do all of them
make this same mistake? No native English text has ever
written those letters!
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b. How do we teach confidence?

i. Show students something that they think they cant do, encourage
them to work hard so they can do it, and then show them their
results. Repeat many times. The outcome is real, lasting confidence.
ii. Is this easy to do? Usually, no. But, its absolutely worth it.
c. We need to enter the minds of our students.
i. How will they interpret and receive our instruction?
ii. In other words, the sooner we forget our students, the sooner they
will forget our teaching.
d. All Malaysian students are smart enough to learn English grammar
i. Sometimes some teachers give up before the students
ii. Most of the grammar rules are not difficult; if Malaysian students
understand the difference between ke and kepada, they have enough
critical thinking skills to understand the difference between has and
have.
iii. I write critical thinking skills because using English grammar
correctly is a critical thinking exercise. Can students identify
patterns? Can students apply learned rules in new situations? Thus,
if taught properly, using English grammar engages critical thinking.
e. If we cannot explain grammar simply, we do not understand it well
enough. Full stop.
f. Reducing student shyness
i. Im hesitant to prescribe advice about child psychology, but some
common-sense methods promote student engagement without risk.
ii. This next section may seem harsh or unwelcome, but too often
students potentials are wasted because of poor discipline.
iii. Prohibiting rude laughter
1. If you already think laughing at students poor English is
irresponsible and only makes teaching harder, this section
wont tell you anything new. Im about to get on my
soapbox.
2. In America, students in a foreign language classroom
definitely commiserate, but rarely laugh derisively at
someones foreign language mistakes. In the Malaysian
schools I visited, however, laughing or poking fun at
students English was a common sight.
3. Why does this happen? This phenomenon happens in
Malaysia because a national mindset has filtered into
students minds.
a. English is viewed through two mindsets: the
colonial mindset or the global communication
mindset. In some countries, it is predominantly one
mindset or the other mindset.
b. In Malaysia (especially rural Malaysia), English is still
a colonial language, compared to its global language
status in other Commonwealth areas like Pakistan,
India, Hong Kong, etc.
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c. This status makes English in Malaysia a sign of

wealth, colonization, and modern societynot as a
tool for communication. Then, English can
become a bullying tool to exploit others in low-
discipline environments.
4. Those who laugh, usually, are trying to make themselves feel
more powerful. Its the same phenomenon with people who
feel insecure about their family, their intelligence, their
accomplishments, their happiness, their income, etc. The
laughter helps them overcome their own fears.
5. Advice: these people need to find their power somewhere
else (preferably through reflective thought and a dose of
reality), not at the expense of our students. I tell my
students,
a. If you laugh at someones English mistakes, I realize
one of two things about youeither
You are too lazy to help OR
You are not confident about your own
English.
6. From an outsiders perspective, its pitiful to see Malaysians
teachers and students laughing at English mistakes made by
other Malaysians. Its especially troubling because I havent
met a single Malaysian (nor American nor English person)
who speaks English without errors.
a. It only increases the time for Malaysias population to
be fluent in English.
b. Am I being understanding? Not really. Is it my
opinion? Yes. Can you disagree? Of course.
iv. The Cycle of Poor English vs The Productive Cycle
1. I show these two charts to my students; it can help them
visualize the consequences of their normal behavior.

Cycle of Poor English Cycle of Productivity

We feel too
We don't
shy or Understand
want to Be brave. Ask a
afraid to a little
practice question.
use English more.

Be the
main
character
We can't in the
We feel Feel like
improve movie of
Become
stupid / your life. practicing
without less shy.
not smart English.
practice
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v. Why to be careful with tough love

1. Every school has them, the hard-as-rocks English teachers.
Theyre useful. Ive been a recipient of tough love and I can
attest how successful it can be.
2. However, the most important thing to remember: tough
love only works if the recipient has enough self-confidence
already. If they dont have much self-confidence, tough love
backfires and destroys trust.
3. In other words, tough love can increase self-confidence, not
create it.
vi. Show students their progress
1. I did this by recording student speeches at the beginning of
the year and then again at the end of the year; then, I
showed students the comparisonit can be a startling
improvement.
a. I also forced students to write two good things they
did in their speeches and one thing to improve on.
Again, show them their progress. Students in
Malaysia can be persistently pessimistic about their
English.
2. Compliment students on their English; after every
conversation outside the classroom, I would tell students
one specific compliment about their English. Yes, for older
teachers and those who dont talk much to students, this
interaction can be weird, but its a choice. And yes, there is
always something to compliment, even if its basic.
Example compliments I used:
a. Good Englishthats right: your day, not you
day!
b. Great Englishgood job on I amnot I is,
right?
c. Nice Englishand Im happy you remembered to
use past tense because it already happened.
d. I was surprised how many students, even the
unmotivated ones and those with weak English, were
receptive and started talking more English to me!
2. Practice is essentiallistening/notes are not enough
a. Students need to be reminded why practice is important
i. Learning a language is like learning to cook penjaram. If you had only
read recipes, but never practiced in the kitchen, the first ten times
you cook penjaram, mungkin tidak sedap, kan? But, if you read recipe
books and practice, then, when you need to cook penjaram, it will
taste far better.
ii. If students dont understand this analogy: if you had only read
about Messi in sports magazines, but never practiced on the field,
will you play football well? Probably not.
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b. Practice exercises should only cover what has been taught.

i. When students, after properly listening and understanding a lesson,
cannot do their exercises, they lose confidence quickly.
c. Use assessments FOR learning
i. Assessments OF learning
1. Quizzes/tests/exams to measure students knowledge
2. High stress and infrequentstreaming classes or for post-
secondary entry
3. Examples: PT3, SPM, MUET, and semester exams
ii. Assessments FOR learning
1. Quizzes to help students learn or review
2. Low stress and frequentengage students in the learning
process (e.g., write questions that test a common mistake)
3. Examples: weekly quizzes or daily exit slips
a. Exit slip: small quiz (1-3 questions) reviewing only
that days material given at the end of class
b. The teacher cannot leave the room until all students
have finished their exit slips
d. Consider the flipped classroom
i. Normal class: learn in class practice at home
ii. Flipped class: learn at home practice in class
iii. It works best with higher motivation / mixed-ability classes
weaker students can review material slowly at home without feeling
rushed and then receive personalized attention in class. Stronger
students can review material quickly at home without feeling bored
and then complete the exercises in class with friends.
3. There are fun ways to teach & practice grammar
a. Games work well to practice grammar because they move the
psychological focus from correctness to success. Here are a few
grammar games that students enjoyed.
i. King/Queen of the Hill
1. Make students line up with one chair at the front of the line.
The first student sits down and becomes the current king
or queen of the hill.
king/queen
of the hill
A B C

2. Then, the king/queen & student A compete first: you give

them one simple grammar question (see examples below).
The first one to answer correctly is the winner and sits in the
chair; if its the king/queen, he/she stays sitting and student
A goes to the back of the line. If its student A, the
king/queen gets up and goes to the back of the line and
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student A becomes the new king/queen. Then, it is student

Bs turn. Repeat until desired.
3. You can repeat as many times as youd like. This game is
borrowed from Miller Radford, 2015 Kota Belud ETA.
4. Example grammar questions:
a. Subject-verb agreement
Give a subject (pronouns, locations, things,
names, etc.) and ask students to tell you the
appropriate verb. (They. Are!)
b. Irregular past tense
Give the base form of a word and ask
students to tell you the past tense form. (Do.
Did!)
c. Noun vs. adjective (advanced)
Give the noun form and ask students to tell
you the adjective form (Confusion. Confused
or confusing!)
ii. Catchphrase (advanced)
1. This game is quite popular in America, even at parties. There
are apps available to help facilitate (Heads Up is a popular
variation, but its only focused on vocabulary, not grammar).
2. Essentially, students sit in a circle and each student is given a
secret word. One by one, a student explains their word
without saying the word and the rest of the group tries to guess
the word. After a student correctly guesses a word, that
student then describes his/her own secret word.
3. Its best for vocabulary, but can be adapted for grammar
(especially verbs). See these sample words and answers.
a. Word: ate description: the past tense of eat!
b. Word: will description: we use this for the
future; I ____ drive to KK tomorrow.
c. Word: is description: this word means to be
and you use it for singular things, like He ____ not a
Malaysian.
iii. One Minute Speed Race
1. You make a worksheet with 50 easy-to-answer grammar
questions (fill-in-the-blank questions are best). You give each
student a copy and yourself one, too. Take one minute to
answer as many as possible. Everyone must stop writing at
the one-minute mark.
2. After the one minute has passed, provide answers for the
entire worksheet. Determine which student finished the
most in the allotted time. Through this system, you will
determine which student had the most correct answers and
that student is the winner.
3. The teacher also completes the worksheet because it gives
bright students a chance to compete with their teacher. This
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game is borrowed from Lee Newbury, Associate Professor

of Education at the Eastern Kentucky University & Model
Laboratory Middle School Science and Math Teacher,
Richmond, Kentucky.
iv. I am sure!
1. Split the class into teams; each team is given the same
amount of candy pieces. These pieces are their I am sure
pieces that they can offer if they feel sure about an answer.
2. Write a correct and incorrect sentence on the board. Each
team picks which sentence they think is correct and tells
how confident they are by offering some of their I am
sure candy pieces. If they are more confident, they offer
more pieces. Make sure to set a minimum offering number.
3. After each team has picked their answer and the number of
pieces they want to offer, you collect all of the offered candy
pieces. Then reveal the correct answer.
a. If one team picked the correct sentence, they earn all
of the I am sure pieces: the pieces they themselves
offered and the pieces from all the other losing teams.
b. If more than one team picked correctly, each of the
I am sure pieces from winning teams are returned
to each respective team and all of the I am sure
pieces from the losing teams are split among the
winning teams.
4. Repeat for a few rounds and team with the most pieces is
the winner. This game is borrowed from Miller Radford,
2015 Kota Belud ETA.
5. This activity is not based on chance or random luck; all of
the rewards/punishments come from students knowledge,
effort, and skill in English. The students control the
outcome.
v. Jeopardy
1. Split the class into teams. Create topics you want to review
and, within each topic, create five questions worth 100 to
500 points (in 100-point increments). 100-pt questions are
the easiest and 500-pt questions are the hardest.
a. Then, create this table on the board with questions
listed by category and point value only (do not reveal the
questions):

Verbs Nouns Adjectives

100-pt question 100-pt question 100-pt question
200-pt question 200-pt question 200-pt question
300-pt question 300-pt question 300-pt question
400-pt question 400-pt question 400-pt question
500-pt question 500-pt question 500-pt question
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2. One at a time, a team will pick one question to answer; say

the first team picks Verbs and they pick the hardest
question (500 points). If they answer it correctly, they will
earn 500 points and pick the next question. If they answer
incorrectly, they will lose 500 points and the next team picks
the next question. Yes, teams may have a negative point
total, i.e. if Team A gets the first question wrong, they will
have negative 500 points (Team A: -500 points).
a. If one team keep getting questions right, they
continue earning points and picking questions. Only
when they are incorrect do they lose their turn.
3. Erase the question (erase its point value) from the board
after it has been answered so students dont pick it again.
One round is complete when each team has picked at least
one question. You begin the next round by allowing the
team with the fewest number of points to pick the next
question.
4. At the end, after all questions have been used, it is Final
Jeopardy, one final question. However, before you reveal
the question, each team wagers some of their points (from 0
to all of their points) on how confident they feel they will
correctly answer this final question. After they wager, you
reveal the question. Every team answers this question and is
awarded points according to their wager (correct answers get
the wager number added to their total; incorrect answers get
the wager number deducted from their total).
b. Grammar Discovery allows students to learn grammar naturally
i. I made a video demonstration of this tool for the JPN; click below!

1. https://youtu.be/yDrAAFT3E7g
ii. I love Grammar Discovery because, by mimicking long-term
exposure, it is simple, quick, and effective: a holy grail of teaching!
iii. Like the they has and they have example, if we see the correct
pairing enough, we learn grammar without explicit instruction.
1. But, as always, if its easy for the students, that means its
(initially) hard for the teachers! So, this method will take
some planning.
iv. Students are given an English text that focuses on one grammar
rule. Then, students are asked to discover or find what the
grammar rule is by studying each example. Its critical thinking in
its most basic form.
v. If the students are advanced enough, you may use a news article or
other native-level English. But, make sure it has many examples
of the grammar rule you want to teach.
vi. I couldnt find an appropriate text for my students, so I just wrote
my own story about this, these and that, those. I made sure to
highlight each instance of these words.
 P a g e | xii

This monkey here is not big enough. All these monkeys here are not big
enough. These monkeys here are too small. Nobody will want these
monkeys here. This monkey here is sad. But, this monkey here should not
be sad: really, this monkey here should be happy because he is not big
enough.

But, look at that monkey there. That monkey there is huge. That monkey
there is with all those monkeys there. Those monkeys there are huge.
Those monkeys there are all big enough. Those monkeys there are just
right.

Those monkeys there are my dinner tonight.

vii. The grammar is simple: this for one and here, that for one and
there, those for many and there, and these for many and here.
Notice that after every use of these words, I write monkey or
monkeys and here or there.
viii. I give the students time to read the story and ask them to try to
discover what are the rulesI explain that where I wrote this, I
cannot use these or any other wordonly this is correct. I give
hints to look at neighboring words. Usually, they understand
quickly. Then, I start erasing the highlighted words and ask students
to tell me which word is appropriate (by looking at the neighboring
words).
ix. Finally, we play a game where I hold pen(s). I hold one pen close
and ask students what should it be called: the answer is this pen. I
hold the pen far and ask the students again; the answer is that
pen. Then, I hold two pens close, these pens, and finally two
pens far, those pens. I switch it up and play for a few minutes
until they really get the hang of it.

4. What is this guide and what is it not?

What is this guide?

A list of explanations to the most common questions I received from English

teachers and students at my school, SMK Taun Gusi in Kota Belud, Sabah
A starting point for English teachers to understand foundational grammar and build
grammar lessons appropriate for their level of students
o So many English grammar textbooks are meant for native speakers or
linguists; this guide is meant for practical teaching
Arranged by topic (not by level or teaching order)
o Except for Section 5 (Prerequisite Knowledge); that information should be
taught first
 P a g e | xiii

What is this guide not?

A comprehensive and in-depth overview of all important English grammar topics

Organizedinitially, this guide was just a reference for me when I gave grammar
workshops to teachers; so, some information is scattered around
A guide created for students to improve their grammar (my prose, structure, and
depth are aimed at English teachers, not students)
A magic tool that will give you the time or energy you need to teach grammar
o But, I hope the guide will make teaching grammar much easier!
 Page |1

The English Grammar Guide

5. Prerequisite Knowledge
a. Until students master these prerequisites, teaching them any other
grammar topic will be very difficult or impossible.
b. The four main parts of speech: nouns, verbs, adjectives, & adverbs
i. Noun: kata nama (person, place, thing, or idea)
1. Key idea: if you can count a noun, it can be singular or plural
ii. Verb: kata kerja
1. Key idea: some have # (singular/plural); all have tense (time)
iii. Adjective: words that describe nouns
iv. Adverb: words that describe adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs
c. These parts of speech are foundational to the rest of English grammar.
i. Students should be extremely confident identifying these parts of
speech: how can they understand past tense if they are not sure
what is a verb? How can they understand a/an/the if they are
dont understand what is a plural noun?
ii. I trust sentence diagramming. I gave 40 simple sentences to my
Form 4 students, asking them to underline all nouns, circle all
subjects, square all verbs, and connect adjectives to their nouns
with arrows. To make the exercise simpler, I dont use adverbs and
I treat articles as adjectives.
1. I have a big cat.

I have a big cat.

2. If students cant complete this activity, in my opinion, they

are not ready for other English grammar. All
misconceptions must be cleared at this point.
a. Fundamental grammar & sentence structure
iii. Subject + verb = typical sentence structure
1. The subject is the noun that does the action (siapa buat?)
2. The verb is the action (buat apa?)
iv. Word order
1. Adjectives are before nouns
a. I have a blue car.
b. I was born in the Kota Belud Hospital.
2. Adverbs can go before or after
a. I am walking quickly.
b. I am quickly walking.
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v. The use of to be (is/am/are/was/were/will be) is required in

English in at least these three common sentence structures:

1. Noun + [to be] + adjective

She was happy. I am confused. Who will be sad?

2. Noun + [to be] + noun

We were teachers. Where is she? Zulhisham will be a doctor.

3. Noun + [to be] + [preposition] + noun

I was at school. He is in town. She will be in KL.

1. These sentence structures are critically important in English.

They cannot be overemphasized.
vi. The use of plurals
1. In English, some verbs and some nouns can be made plural.
2. Plural and singular are not interchangeable; in every
sentence, only one option is correct.
3. If students do not understand plurals, they will make many
simple errors (e.g., I like vegetable.), article errors (e.g., I
have a many books.), and subject-verb agreement errors
(e.g., They was excited.)
4. See Section 6 for plurals with nouns and Section 7 for
plurals with verbs.
6. Nouns
a. What are nouns?
i. They are the same as BM, essentially.
1. People
a. Justin Bieber
4. Abstract things
b. teacher
a. education
2. Places
b. dream
a. Tuaran
5. Pronouns
b. school
a. I, we, you, he, etc.
3. Things
b. Me, us, him, etc.
a. book
b. hand
b. How many of a noun is very important in English
i. This is not the same as BM.
 Page |3

ii. In English, singular vs. plural can change an entire sentence. See
this example I showed my students:

This person is my friend.

These people are my friends.

iii. Important note #1: countable vs. uncountable. If you can put a
number before it (e.g., 4 ideas), then its countable. In the box
above on the previous page all countable nouns are underlined.
iv. Important note #2: (specific to nouns)
1. Car always and only refers to exactly one car.
2. Cars always and only refers to more than one car.
c. The plural principle!
i. For countable nouns, if you mean [generally] or [more than one],
the noun must be plural.
1. [Generally] means the category, not just one. For example,
Her hobby is reading books. Without the s, it means the
hobby is re-reading the same one book many times. This use
of plurals can be quite confusing for Malaysian students.
2. [More than one] is simpler. Below are words that always
indicate more than one and thus the noun must be plural:
a. all books
b. many ideas
c. most students
d. some people
e. few mistakes
f. #>1 (e.g., two, nineteen, etc.) cars
3. These rules are always true. I have many car is always
wrong. Many always means more than one, but car
always means one. This sentence does not make sense.
ii. All uncountable nouns are singular in subject-verb agreement (e.g.,
Education is vital to a successful life.)
iii. This plural principle is critically important; almost all Malaysians
Ive interacted with, child and adult, have difficulties here. There are
other rules regarding plurals, like spelling (Section 12), but they are
secondary to the above rules.
7. Verbs
a. Three papers are included
i. Tenses chart
ii. Irregular verb list
iii. -ed pronunciation worksheet
b. See the next page for the tenses chart.
 Page |4

c.
d.
e. Tensesff Chart
 Page |5

f. How to teach the chart

i. Here is the editable Publisher file. You are free to edit, but please
retain my name credit on the bottom-left.
1. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17012819/Com
mon%20English%20Tenses.pub
ii. This timeline as-is works best for Form 5 and Form 6, but with
appropriate editing, it could even be used in primary school. Its
purpose is to build a foundation: students build a grammar tree
trunk in their minds. Without a firm foundation, extra details (all
those branches) about tenses are quickly forgotten.
iii. Introduce the black Verb Forms box (bottom-right corner).
1. These are the four principle parts of a verb in English. These
parts must be memorized.
a. However, past participle should be removed for
Form 3 and below; its too confusing.
2. For all regular verbs, the parts are simple: base, add -ing
for process, and add -ed for past/past participle.
a. The 4th part, past participle, can (and likely should)
be taught later in Form 4, 5, and 6.
b. An important point: -ing does not only mean
sedang. It simply means process and can be used in
many ways.

I like talking. (noun herea gerund)

I am talking. (part of a present tense verb)
o I was talking (past tense example)
o I will be talking (future tense example)
I like talking animals. (adjective)

iv. Introduce the layout

1. A double-sided arrow in the middle of the page: left for past,
right for present
2. Three color-coded time divisions (past = orange, present =
purple, future = green)
a. Present simple is white and not inside one of the
major time divisions
3. The tenses
a. The format of each tenses box

Name of Tense
[how] [to] [write] [this] [tense]

Purpose/use of this tense.

Examples
 Page |6

b. Then, each tense box is connected to a specific black

time period on the timeline.
c. The traffic lights (i.e., lampu isyarat) meanings
Green: the action has started
Yellow: the action has ended, but the sentence
is not finished
Red: the action has ended
v. Introduce the 4 beginner tenses (these are written larger)
1. They are past simple, present simple, future simple, and
present continuous. These beginner tenses are required to
understand the advanced tenses. SVA is in Sec. 7H.
2. Future simple
a. Key points
No SVA, always uses the base form, and
always uses will
If you use a noun or adjective (instead of a
verb), you will need be
1. I will eat.
2. I will be happy.
b. An easy start because the grammar is just like BM
3. Past simple
a. Key points
Usually No SVA (sometimes To Be SVA)
The action began and already finished in the
pastthe action is not happening/true now
1. Notice the red light is still in the past!
Use the lights to guide your students.
2. I lived in Sabah. this means you
used to live in Sabahyou do not live
in Sabah now. This is crucial
because many Malaysian students
are confused. Past simple means the
action is already over!
If any verb happened before right now, it should
be in a past tense (e.g., past simple). Common
signal words that require past tense:
1. already
2. just now / earlier (tadi)
3. [time period] ago
4. yesterday
5. last [time/week/month/year]
6. in [year/month] before today
7. on [day/date] before today
8. this morning if it is afternoon, this
afternoon if it is evening, etc.
Irregular verbs must be memorized.
 Page |7

4. Present continuous
a. Key points
To Be SVA
Both to be + ing are required
This tense is special because it has no
beginning/endit means right now
5. Present simple
a. Key points
Usually Normal SVA (sometimes To Be SVA)
Most common tenseused for facts or
actions that are usually true
1. Thus, it is not strictly in past, present,
nor future!
b. Make sure students understand the difference
between present continuous & present simple. I give
sample sentences and ask students if they are true or
false.
I am sleeping. (falseI am teaching now).
I sleep. (trueI sleep a little every day.)
vi. Introduce the 4 advanced tenses (these are written smaller)
1. However, these tense will confuse students if they do not
understand the beginner tenses already. Be careful.
2. Present perfect
a. Key points
Normal SVA
Directly comparable with past simple: its just
like past simple, except it is still connected to
the present (maybe because it is still true)
1. Use the traffic lights!
Most of the time, present perfect uses a time
expression. Critically, because this tense
extends to the present, if you use a time
expression, it must include the present
1. A time expression tells us for how long
something has been happening
b. Examples are crucial for understanding:
I lived in Sabah. (meaning: in the past you
lived in Sabah, but now you live somewhere
else)
I have lived in Sabah for 5 years. (meaning:
for the past years and continuing now, you
have lived in Sabah).
 Page |8

3. Past continuous
a. Key points
To Be SVA
Used for past actions that were interrupted
Has a yellow light: used alone, the past
continuous leaves readers guessing (So, what
happened? Why didnt you finish?)
1. Thats the dotted line: past continuous
& past simple are often used together
b. While advanced, this tense is very common
4. Past perfect
a. Key points
No SVA
Used when two events happened in the past
and you want to emphasize the order
1. This tense is used for the first event,
while past simple is used for the
second event
Note the yellow light & connection to past
simple: without context, using past perfect
alone will confuse the reader
5. Future perfect
a. Key points
No SVA
Used when two events will happen in the
future and you want to emphasize the order
1. This tense is used for the first event,
while future simple is used for the
second event
Note the yellow light & connection to future
simple: without context, using future perfect
alone will confuse the reader
g. Miscellaneous information
i. Page 9 is a list of commonly used irregular verbs in English.
1. 99% of English verbs are regular: attach -ed at the end for
the past form. But, 1% are irregular, and, sadly, these are
extremely common verbs.
2. So, I made a list. These need to be memorized, but there are
some patterns. The My Words column is for students to
add any new irregular verbs they encounter.
ii. Page 10 contains a fill-in-the-blank exercise used to help students
with the three different pronunciations of ed.
iii. Students naturally want to pronounce every ed as id, like I
talk-id with my friend yesterday. But, as English pronunciation is
insane, thats incorrect. If the last sound is a k sound, we
pronounce ed as t. Thus, I talk-t with my friend yesterday.
 Page |9

Common Irregular Verbs

base form past form past participle form
About everything My Words
Can could could About activities
Do did done Run ran run
____________
Have had had Swim swam swum
a. CGet got gotten Sing sang sung ____________
oSee saw seen Sleep slept slept
m Let let let
m
Is/am was been About movement
____________
oAre were been Go went gone
n Meet met met ____________
i About things Drive drove driven
rKeep kept kept Ride rode ridden
____________
r Break broke Come came come
e broken Fall fell fallen
gBring brought ____________
brought About school
u
Build built built Draw drew drawn
l Choose chose Write wrote written
____________
a chosen Read (reed) read
r Feel felt felt (red) read ____________
v found found
Find Say said said
e gave given
Give Speak spoke
r Grow grew spoken
____________
b grown Hear heard heard
s Put put put Know knew known ____________
Lose lost lost Forget forgot
Lend lent lent forgotten
Make made made Sit sat sat
____________
Send sent sent Stand stood stood
Hold held held Teach taught taught ____________
Shake shook Tell told told
shaken Think thought
Steal stole stolen thought
____________
Take took taken Understand
Throw threw understood understood ____________
thrown
Wear wore worn About money
Cut cut cut Buy bought bought
____________
Tear tore torn Sell sold sold
Spend spent spent ____________
About food Pay paid paid
Eat ate eaten
Drink drank drunk
____________
Bite bit bitten
____________
 P a g e | 10

How to Pronounce -ed

1. Change the base form verbs into the past simple tense and fill in the blanks.

wait stay cook need want return visit mention

call wash miss decide watch play wrap seem
A: What did you do last night?
B: I ______________ badminton with Ralph.
A: Oh, how is Ralph?
B: He ______________ happy. But, his doctor said he ______________ some exercise so Ralph
______________ me to ask if I wanted to play a game of badminton.
A: That's great. The last time I saw Ralph, he ______________ that he wanted to lose weight.
B: Well, he's getting to play with me now. So, what did you do last night?
A: Nothing much. I ______________ home all evening.
B: Did you do anything at home?
A: Let me see. I ______________ my clothes. b. H
B: Sounds exciting.
o
A: I ______________ TV.
w
B: Amazing.
t
A: I _____________ a steak.
B: Wow.
o
A: And I ______________ my girlfriend's birthday present. p
B: When is her birthday? r
A: It's today. o
A: I ____________ her this morning. She _____________ from Dubai last night. n
B: She's been gone a long time. o
A: Yes, I ______________ her so much while she away. u
B: Did you do anything nice? n
A: She _____________ to eat outside instead of at home. So, I took her to an expensive c
restaurant. It was really nice. e
B: That's great.
A: We ate so much food. Then, we ______________ to go to the cinema. The cinema was busy. -
We ______________ for a long time to get the tickets, but the movie was really good. e
d
2. Fill in the three pronunciations by looking at the last sound in the base form.
Last sound: Last sound: Last sound:
d or t p, k, s, f, ch all other sounds
ed = /id/ ed = /t/ ed = /d/
 P a g e | 11

h. Subject-Verb Agreement (SVA)

i. The rules:
1. Normal SVA (all verbs except to be)

singular subjects I, You, plural subjects

verb form with s verb form without s

eats talks has eat talk have

2. To Be SVA
Present to be
singular subjects You, plural subjects I
is are am
Past to be
singular subjects, I You, plural subjects
was were
3. Miscellaneous notes:
a. Some/Any/Every/No + body/thing/one/where =
always singular (e.g., Everything is amazing.)
b. Tricky situations:
The fruits in the fridge [is/am/are] delicious.
My friends boss [has/have] three cars.
There [is/am/are] cars available for rent.
c. Collective nouns are usually singular
My family is very loving.
My class is eager to learn English.
d. Sentence diagramming and the I am sure! game above
are great ways to practice subject-verb agreement.
e. Some teachers overteach SVA, with all of the
complicated rules. Its too confusing; even we native
speakers re-write these ambiguous sentences.
i. Modal Verbs
i. These are special verbs; they assist other verbs. My English teacher
explained it as modal verbs = Robin vs. full verbs = Batman.
ii. Rule: modal + base form
1. I can help (helps, helping, helped).
2. I might not go (goes, going, went, gone).
iii. Most have multiple meanings. And, almost every Malaysian Ive
encountered has difficult with could.
 P a g e | 12

CAN MIGHT
1. Possibilities (present or future) 1. Possibilities unsure, conditional, or
a. It can be dangerous to leave suggestions (future)
your handphone unattended. a. He might go to the wedding,
2. Abilities (present) but he seems busy taking care of
a. I can speak English. his dragon.
3. Ask for/give permission (informal) 2. Ask for permission (formal)
a. Can I leave? a. Might I leave?
c. M b. Yes, you can leave. 3. Ask for something (formal)
4. o Ask for/give something (informal) a. Might you help me?
d a. Can you help me?
a b. Yes, I can help you. MIGHT + PRESENT PERFECT
l
V COULD 1. Possibilities unsure or conditional
e (past)
1. r Possibilities unsure, conditional, or a. He might have gone to the
bsuggestions (present or future) wedding, but I never saw him.
s a. It could rain today.
l b. It could be dangerous to leave
your handphone unattended if
MAY
i
you are in a public place.
s c. We could go to the store.
1. Possibilities unsure, conditional, or
suggestions (future)
2. t Abilities (past)
a. He may go to the wedding, but
a. "I could speak English yesterday,
he seems busy taking care of his
but today I forgot everything."
dragon.
3. Ask for permission (formal)
2. Ask for/give permission (formal)
a. Could I leave?
a. May I leave?
4. Ask for something (formal)
b. Yes, you may leave.
a. Could you help me?
3. Ask for something (formal)
a. May you help me?
COULD + PRESENT PERFECT
MAY + PRESENT PERFECT
1. Possibilities unsure or conditional
(past) 1. Possibilities unsure or unconditional
a. We could have arrived earlier if (past)
you didnt eat so much food at a. He may have gone to the
the restaurant. wedding, but I never saw him.
2. Abilities not used by choice (past)
a. I could have spoken to the fish,
but I didnt want people to think
I was weird.
b. You could have helped meI
was really tired.

MUST
1. Requirement (present or future)
a. You must stop at a stop sign.
b. You have not eaten all day. You
must be hungry.
MUST + Present Perfect
1. Requirement (past)
a. You must have stopped at the
stop sign on the way here.
b. You had not eaten all day
yesterday. You must have been
hungry.
SHOULD
1. Strong suggestion (present or future)
a. Ask Mr. Ibrahim; he should
know the capital of California.
b. We should go to the movies
after this because we already
bought tickets and the movie
starts in 15 minutes.
SHOULD + PRESENT PERFECT
1. Strong suggestion that was not followed
(past)
a. Mr. Ibrahim should have
known the capital of California.
b. We should have gone to the
movies earlier; we left too late.
WILL
1. Ask for/give something (informal)
a. Will you help me?
b. I will help you.
WOULD
1. Unfulfilled expectations
P a g e | 13
a. I thought Brazil would win that
game, but they lost.
2. Preferences (present or past)
a. When we were young, we
would chase each other on our
bicycles.
b. I would eat durian rather than
snakes.
If you want to choose:
1. Ask permission
a. Can I go to the toilet? informal
b. Could I go to the toilet? formal
c. May I go to the toilet? formal
d. Might I go to the toilet? formal
2. Give permission
a. Yes, you can go. informal
b. Yes, you may go. formal
3. Give something
a. I can help you. possibly
b. I will help you. definitely
4. Ask for something
a. Can you help me? informal
b. Will you help me? informal
c. Could you help me? formal
d. Would you help me? formal
e. Might you help me? formal
5. Possibility
a. He can eat. present or future
b. He could eat. unsure present
or future
c. He could have eaten.
unfulfilled past
d. He might eat. unsure future
e. He might have eaten. unsure
past
f. He may eat. unsure future
g. He may have eaten. unsure
past
6. Ability
a. He can speak. present or
future
b. He could speak true in past,
not true in present
c. He could have spoken
unfulfilled past
 P a g e | 14

j. Changing verbs into nouns

i. Why do we change verbs into nouns? In some sentence structures, we
cant use a verb. The most common situation is when connecting two
verbs.
ii. To connect two verbs, the second verb must be changed into a noun.
I dont know the linguistic reason why, but in my mind, verbs do
actions to nouns and so its weird if a verb does an action to another
verb.

verb #1 verb #2

My friend likes eats.

to eat (infinitive noun)

eat (verb)

eating (gerund noun)

verb #1 infinitive noun verb #1 gerund noun

My friend likes to eat. My friend likes eating.

iii. To change a verb into a noun, use 1) the infinitive or 2) gerund
1. Infinitive: to + base form
a. think (verb) to think (noun)
2. Gerund: -ing form
a. think (verb) thinking (noun)
iv. Depending on the #1 verb, verb #2 sometimes needs to be an
infinitive vs. a gerund.
a. Some #1 verbs prefer infinitive verb #2s
Ex. #1 verbs: need, decide, wait
1. I need to eat. (eating)
b. Some #1 verbs prefer gerund verb #2s
Ex. #1 verbs: miss (rindu), finish, avoid, practice
1. I practiced speaking. (to speak)
 P a g e | 15

c. Some #1 verbs can use either gerund/infinitive verb #2

with the same meanings
Ex. #1 verbs: like (suka), begin, love, continue
1. I like to eat. I like eating.
d. Some #1 verbs can use either gerund/infinitive verb #2,
but with different meanings
forget
1. I forgot to meet him. (i.e., we were
supposed to meet, but I forgot and went home)
2. I forgot meeting him. (i.e., we met once, but
I forgot that we had met)
v. Another situation to change verbs nouns: after a preposition.
1. Remember, prepositions connect nouns to nouns
2. If you want to connect a verb after a preposition, the verb must
be changed into a gerundnot an infinitive!
a. Those shoes are for [berlari].
b. Those shoes are for running.
8. Articles (a/an/the)
a. Before learning article rules, students must be able to do these 3 tasks:
i. Identify nouns (and quantity if countable)
1. Review Section 6 first.
ii. Understand when to use general vs. specific
1. general = any. Like a normal naked man asking for clothes:
any clothes are OK. Which clothes are not important.
2. specific = unique. Like a crazy naked man. Only these clothes
or my clothes or the clothes. Which clothes are important.
I need THE
I need clothes!
clothes.

This person just wants clothes. He doesnt This person only wants unique, specific clothes.
care which clothes. Any clothes are OK. Any clothes arent good enough.
iii. Understand we must be able to tell if a noun is general or specific
b. To make a noun specific, we have many choices.
i. I like this city. (this/that/these/those)
ii. I like my city. (my/your/his/her/its/our/their)
iii. I like Ibrahims city. (names for ownership)
iv. I like the city. (article: readers already know which one)
v. I like Kota Kinabalu. (only one K. Kinabalu in the worldalready specific)
 P a g e | 16

c. To make a noun general, simply do not use any articles. A noun is general by
default. The only exception is to use a/an if you mean just one of this noun.
I need a
cloth.

This man is very confident about his body.

He wants just one cloth, not clothes.

d. The two article rules and the one exception:

i. For general nouns, do not use articles
1. Unless you mean one general nounthen we must use a/an
ii. To change gen. nouns specific nouns, we must use words like the

what you want General General Specific

for one

what you use a/an no article the or other determiners

e. a/an have the same meaning as onethey are only used for countable,
singular nouns: we never say, I have a happiness. Or I have a books.
i. However, some abstract nouns have countable and uncountable forms:
I have an education. versus I think education is important.
f. There are some similarities to BM: a/an is like se in BM and the is most
similar to itu. However, these are only similar meanings, not similar uses!
Be careful how you use these analogies.
g. Situations where we omit articles
i. A noun used as an activity (versus as an object)

activity (w/o article) object (w/ article)

I go to bed at 11 o'clock. Don't jump on the bed.
She went to school yesterday. The school was too small.
I showered before breakfast. (The) breakfast was delicious.
She is in class. (The) class is in Room 102.

h. Rule for a versus an

Use a when
First sound is a consonant sound (school, boy, university [y sound], eulogy [y sound])
Use an when
First sound is a vowel sound (art, even, interesting, order, honest, honor, urn)
 P a g e | 17

9. Pronouns
Kalau dibuat Kepunyaan Kepunyaan
Kalau buat
kepada (adjective) (noun)
Saya I Me My Mine
Kamu You Your Yours
Dia (lelaki) He Him His
Dia (perempuan) She Her Hers
Mereka/Things They Them Their Theirs
Kita/kami We Us Our Ours
Ia/Thing It Its

a. I apologize if my BM is confusing. The key point is to establish the difference

between the subject and the object; most students naturally understand I
and me, but its hard for them to apply that rule to the other pronouns.
b. A few students were confused that mereka is used for things.
i. Where are the chairs? They are in the classroom.
ii. Whats wrong with the chairs? Their legs were broken.
c. Also, dia (he/she) is only for people or affectionately for animals.

10.Nouns vs. adjectives vs. adverbs vs. verbs

a. Some word forms overlap. ed can be a past tense verb or an adjective; y
can be an adjective or a noun.
i. Examples:
1. confusing (adjective & process part of a verb)
2. confused (adjective & simple past tense verb)
3. Health (noun) & honesty (noun)
4. Healthy (adjective) & honest (adjective)
ii. The only advice is consistent correction and careful practice. I
sympathize with all English learners here.

11. Prepositions
a. Prepositions are words that connect nouns to nouns
i. The general format: noun + preposition + noun
1. Examples: by, under, about, at, before, beside, for, of, etc.
ii. After a preposition, you can ONLY use a noun. If you want to use a
verb (as an activity), then it must be in the gerund form. See Section 7
subsection i for details.
1. These shoes are for [berjalan]
2. These shoes are for walking.
iii. See the next page for a list of commonly confused prepositions. These
were borrowed from the Espresso English website; see Section 13 for
more information about the website.
 P a g e | 18

d. C
o Commonly Confused Prepositions
m
m
o
n
l
y
C
o
n
f
u
s
e
d
P
r
e
p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n
s
 P a g e | 19

12.Miscellaneous grammar
a. List of contractions: (borrowed from grammar.about.com)

b. The difference between really and very

i. Both are adverbs that mean sangat, but we do not use very with
verbs.
1. It is really hot today. It is very hot today.
2. I really like English. I very like English.
ii. really is an interesting adverb because it easily modifies adjectives,
verbs, and other adverbs:
1. I have a really big car. (modifying an adjective)
2. I really like candy. (modifying a verb)
3. She walks really quickly. (modifying an adverb)
c. Making negative verbs requires do/does/did
i. Saya suka durian. = I like durian.
ii. Saya tidak suka durian. = I do not like durian.
iii. We must use do to say tidak. And now the SVA is with do/does,
NOT with the actual verb.
a. He likes durian.
b. He does not like durian.
 P a g e | 20

d. Tidak, bukan, and tiada

i. tiada = no or zero or dont have or not here
ii. tidak/bukan = not (except when its an answer: then, it is always
no)
e. Yang requires to be
i. Yang = [that/who/which] + [is/am/are/was/were/will be]
f. Neither, either, and both
i. These words are used when you have two options. For example, Do
you want chocolate or vanilla ice cream?
1. Neither: you want 0 out of 2
2. Either: you want 1 out of 2
3. Both: you want 2 out of 2
ii. If you say neither, that means you do not want chocolate and you do
not want vanilla.
iii. If you say either, that means both are OK, but only give me one; it
doesnt matter which one.
iv. If you say both, that means both are OK and give me both.
g. Will vs would
i. These are not interchangeable words. See the Modals Explanation in
Section 6 for a complete explanation.
ii. Would is only used for unfulfilled expectations of the past or
preferences.
iii. For example, RHB recently sent me an email stating, Confirm that the
URL is highlight in green. This would mean the website is secured.
1. This sentence should not be about the past and it shouldnt be
just a preference either. Online security should be absolute, so
will would have been more appropriate.
h. The three meanings of the verb to have
i. ada
1. He [had/has/will have] a car.
ii. perlu
1. He [had to/has to/will have to] study.
iii. Creating perfect tenses:
1. He had eaten before coming to school.
2. He has eaten already.
3. He will have eaten before he will sleep.
i. Many/much and few/little
i. Many/few are only for countable nouns, while much/little are
only for uncountable nouns. See 6b for further information.
1. I have many money. (uncountable; 3 monies??)
a. Should be much
2. I have many books. (countable; 3 books)
a. Books are countable so many here, not much
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ii. Informally, native speakers just use a lot of and not a lot of
because they have the same meaning but can be used with all nouns
j. Everyday vs every day
i. Everyday = biasa (an adjective)
ii. Every day = setiap hari (an adverb)
k. Verbs must have a subject
i. Can. is not a proper sentence in English; all verbs must be attached
to subjects.
l. On / at / in for locations and time
i. In is broad/blocks of time
1. Time: centuries, decades, years, seasons, months, weeks, parts
of the day
a. In the 1500s, in the 90s, in 2013, in January, in a week,
in the afternoon
2. Location: countries, cities, neighborhoods
a. In America, in New York City, in Hollywood
ii. On is in the middle
1. Time: days of the week, dates, weekend
a. On Tuesday, on the weekend
2. Location: streets and junctions
a. On Tun Fuad Stephen Road, on the corner
iii. At is exact and precise
1. Time: a specific hour
a. At 4:15pm, at 2 oclock
2. Location: a specific building / area
a. At school, at home, at 1530 Maple Road
m. Di sana and di sini
i. Many students translate these as at there and at here, but the word
at here is incorrect. We only use at with named locations, like
school or KK.
ii. Di sana & sana translate as there and di sini & sini translate as here
n. Creating questions: invert the subject + verb & the use of do
i. If the sentence uses to be verb or will verb, invert (flip/reverse)
the subject and the to be / will verb
1. She is smart.
a. Is she smart?
2. They will go to school tomorrow.
a. Will they go to school tomorrow?
3. I am excited.
a. Am I excited?
4. We are waiting.
a. Are we waiting?
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ii. If the sentence has any other verb, add the word do/does/did in the
beginning. And now the SVA is with do/does/did, NOT with the
actual verb.
1. She ate her breakfast.
a. Did she eat her breakfast?
2. She walks to school.
a. Does she walk to school?
o. Singular vs. Plural nouns
i. Some nouns have irregular plural spellings
1. Man men
2. Woman women
3. Person people
4. Child children
5. Foot feet
6. Tooth teeth
7. Mouse mice
ii. Spelling rules
1. Most words add s
a. Book books, cup cups, boy boys
b. Exception: see irregular plurals above
2. Most words that end in ch, sh, s, x, or z add es
a. Box boxes, watch watches, ax axes
b. Exception: stomach stomachs
3. Most words that end in a consonant + y add ies
a. Baby babies, country countries, spy spies
b. Vowel + y: boy -> boys, tray -> trays
4. Most words that end in f or fe change to ves
a. Thief thieves, elf elves, knife knives
b. Exception: roof roofs, giraffe giraffes
5. Some nouns that end in a consonant + o add es
a. Hero heroes, potato potatoes, volcano
volcanoes
b. Exceptions: piano pianos, photo photos
p. Punctuation
i. Full stop / period ( . )
1. Used to end complete sentences
2. Used to end indirect questions
a. I wondered why my students were sleepy this morning.
3. Used for abbreviations:
a. I went home to Washington, D.C., at 6 p.m. using the
train.
ii. Question mark ( ? )
1. Replaces the full stop to direct questions (required)
a. Why were my students sleepy this morning?
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iii. Exclamation point ( ! )

1. Replaces the full stop at the end of an emphatic statement
iv. Colon ( : )
1. Used to introduce a list or give an explanation
a. I want to travel to many countries: France, Zimbabwe,
Peru, and Kazakhstan.
b. I dont think thats fair: hes not old enough.
2. Think of the colon as a gate, inviting you to continue.
3. The previous sentence must be a complete sentence
a. I like to: eat food, sleep, and watch TV is incorrect
because I like to is NOT a complete sentence
v. Semicolon ( ; )
1. Replaces the full stop to connect two related sentences
a. My mother rarely goes to bed this early; she is afraid she
will miss some exciting evening activities.
2. Replaces the comma if the list is difficult to read
a. With commas: The students were from Richmond,
Kentucky, Charleston, South Carolina, New York City,
New York, and Washington, D.C.
b. With semicolons: The students were from Richmond,
Kentucky; Charleston, South Carolina; New York City,
New York; and Washington, D.C.
vi. Comma ( , )
1. Separate items in a list
2. Connect two independent clauses + coordinating conjunction
a. [clause 1] [comma] [coordinating conjunction] [clause 2]
Coordination conjunctions can be remembered
by FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so
b. I liked him, but he did not like me.
3. Separate an introductory element
a. On that day, we went home victorious.
4. Separate extra, peripheral information
a. My friend, who is 31, works at a zoo.
5. Separate coordinate adjectives (i.e., equal adjectives; if you can
put and or but between them, they are coordinate/equal)
a. That tall, handsome, quiet man was his father.
6. Separate our writing from quotes (see below, vii & viii)
a. In British English, the comma goes outside the quotes
7. To avoid confusion
a. Lets eat, grandmother.
Meaning: let us eat with grandmother
b. Lets eat grandmother.
Meaning: let us eat the person, grandmother
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8. Before and after a state with a city | before and after a year with
a date | between name and title | every 3 numbers
a. Richmond, Kentucky, is a lovely town.
b. July 4, 1776, was the first Independence Day.
c. She had $5,234,234 in her bank account.
vii. Quotation marks double ( )
1. Used to signify a quote within a quote
a. My teacher told me, I love teaching, after class
finished, said the student.
viii. Quotation marks single ( )
1. Used to signify quoted or spoken language
a. I am sad, Jim said.
13.Resources that explain English grammar (correctly)
a. When I am trying to wrap my head around a grammar topic, I go to the
internet. English grammar has already been explained thousands of times by
people much smarter than us, so why not use those resources? I usually open
all of these websites together, so that I can get a well-rounded explanation.
b. Englisch-Hilfen.de a website geared for Germans learning English. They
have thorough English grammar explanations, vocabulary lists, and exercises.
i. http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/
c. English Page a website with extremely thorough grammar explanations,
sometimes to the point of information overflow. Their article about modals
helped me a lot in writing that definition sheet.
i. http://www.englishpage.com/
d. Espresso English a website created by a native English ESL instructor
who offers paid courses, but much of her material is free. Her grammar
explanations are easier to understand, relatively speaking, and focus on
interactions with native speakers. If you ever want to adapt your English to
native-speaker English, this website will help. The preposition images are from
her website.
i. http://www.espressoenglish.net
e. English Club another website for ESL learners; its explanations are
moderately accessible and relatively thorough.
i. https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/
f. British Councils LearnEnglish another very thorough website; I use
this website as a tie-breaker, to clarify a rule where other websites have
conflicting information because of its official status. I also prefer their
diagrams versus other websites.
i. https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/grammar-and-
vocabulary
g. ESL at Frankfurt International School a website used at the Frankfurt
International School in Oberursel, Germany. However, its explanations are
more advanced and I never start at this website, but come here for
 P a g e | 25

clarifications. Lots of great English resources, besides the grammar

explanations.
i. http://esl.fis.edu/learners/index.htm
ii. As an aside, they link to my favorite online dictionary for learning the
meaning of a word: Reversos Collins English dictionary. Why is it
great? Because it explains the definition of a word how a native speaker
would explain it.
1. http://dictionary.reverso.net/english-cobuild/
14.Resources where language questions are asked and answered
a. Stack Exchange English: For asking serious, linguistic kinds of questions.
You can ask questions, search old questions, and people reply (there is a high
standard of what is an acceptable answer).
i. http://english.stackexchange.com/
b. QuickAndDirty Grammar Girl: For making sense of weird rules, figuring
out exceptions; it does not focus on linguistics, but instead on
communication.
i. http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl
c. English Forum: For asking English questions (basic to linguistic). It's similar
to Stack Exchange, but less formal: you can ask questions, search old
questions, and people reply. The answers might not be as rigorously-
researched as Stack Exchange, but most people who reply are native speakers.
And the people asking the questions are often ESL learners.
i. https://www.englishforums.com/English/
15.Important topics I wish I had time to cover
a. Phrasal verbs
i. If using lah/bah correctly make you sound like a native BM speaker,
using phrasal verbs correctly will make you sound like a native English
speaker.
ii. Like lah and bah, phrasal verbs can have many meanings, which
makes teaching them hard. But, even introducing the topic will help
prepare students for speaking like a native.
iii. However, they might not be so useful in Malaysia because of their
limited use in Malaysian English. I rarely heard Malaysians using
phrasal verbs, so using them might just confuse Malaysian listeners.
iv. If your students are interested in reading native English books or
listening to native English media, phrasal verbs are critical.
v. Examples: look after (read: take care), look back (read: remember a
memory), look over (read: review), look up (read: find information)
b. Intransitive vs. transitive verbs
i. My students make mistakes with this tricky grammar subject. In
English, some verbs must have an object they cant be used
alone.
 P a g e | 26

ii. Transitive verbs must transfer their actions to the object;

intransitive verbs can act aloneno need for an object.
1. An object is the noun that a verb acts on. See this example
sentence with the transitive verb give.
a. I give the book to him.
I = the subject
give = the verb (transitiverequires object)
the book = the direct object (it directly receives
the action from the verb)
to him = prepositional phrase with him as he
indirect object
iii. Examples
1. Transitive (must transfer action) [vt in dictionaries]
a. to fill: She fills ______. She fills what?
b. to want: I want _______. I want what?
c. to carry: They carry _______. They carry what?
2. Intransitive (cannot transfer action) [vi in dictionaries]
a. to sit: We sit. is OK
b. to arrive: I arrived. is OK
3. Transitive/Intransitive (can transfer action, but not required)
a. to eat: I eat and I eat durian are both OK
b. to read: I read and I read magazines are both OK
c. Passive voice
i. Important to learn because it is used so regularly in conversation
ii. The grammar is relatively simple; use to be + past participle. The
passive voice uses the past participle, but it can be used in any tense.
iii. Examples:
1. Past simple: The door was opened slowly.
2. Present continuous: The door is being opened slowly.
3. Future perfect: The door will have been opened slowly.
d. Most of the rarer tenses
i. I didnt include some of the less common English tenses.
ii. Examples: He has been waiting for two hours already. (present
perfect continuous), No, she wont be able to comeshe will be
travelling on her holiday by that time. (future simple continuous), I
knew that her dog would return, (future in past), and a few others.
e. Stylistic concerns
i. Grammar is a tool, but without appropriate style, even a
grammatically-correct sentence can be a poor sentence.
ii. Examples of common style mistakes which reduce comprehension
1. excessive use of that is/are
a. I have a car that is blue vs. I have a blue car
 P a g e | 27

We expect adjectives to go before nouns; if you

switch the order and add that is/are, readers
will not expect it. Its not wrong, but, if you use it
too much, readers can get tired of reading these
sentences.
2. unnecessary use of the passive voice
a. The food was eaten by the guests vs. The guests ate
the food
We have the same issue here with excessive
passive voice; our mind expects that, in English,
the first noun does the action and the second
noun receives the action. Passive voice flips this;
use it only when you need to.
3. double-negatives
a. I dont let them not help the others vs. I let them
help the others
Double-negatives are hard to read. Even native
speakers get confused and we have to pause as we
try to figure out what the writer was trying to say.
Any English teacher in America would say this is
an embarrassing sentence and you shouldnt write
it.
4. Repeating words
a. I had had a car before, but then I got a bike vs I had
owned a car before, but then I got a bike
had is the past tense of have and how to
create the past perfect tense. If you want the past
perfect of have, it is had had. But, every
English teacher in America would say that that is
a poor sentence.
b. I know that that is not correct vs I know that answer
is not correct
In English, that that is a little confusing. Again,
every English teacher in America would ask
his/her students to rewrite a sentence with that
that.