Parts Of Speech: Noun A noun is a naming word. It names a person, place, thing, idea, living creature, quality, or action.

Examples: cowboy, theatre, box, thought, tree, kindness, arrival Verb A verb is a word which describes an action (doing something) or a state (being something). Examples: walk, talk, think, believe, live, like, want Adjective An adjective is a word that describes a noun. It tells you something about the noun. Examples: big, yellow, thin, amazing, beautiful, quick, important Adverb An adverb is a word which usually describes a verb. It tells you how something is done. It may also tell you when or where something happened. Examples: slowly, intelligently, well, yesterday, tomorrow, here, everywhere Pronoun A pronoun is used instead of a noun, to avoid repeating the noun. Examples: I, you, he, she, it, we, they Conjunction A conjunction joins two words, phrases or sentences together. Examples: but, so, and, because, or Preposition A preposition usually comes before a noun, pronoun or noun phrase. It joins the noun to some other part of the sentence. Examples: on, in, by, with, under, through, at Interjection An interjection is an unusual kind of word, because it often stands alone. Interjections are words which express emotion or surprise, and they are usually followed by exclamation marks. Examples: Ouch!, Hello!, Hurray!, Oh no!, Ha! Article An article is used to introduce a noun. Examples: the, a, an Comparative Degree in adjective: Only one syllable, ending in E. Examples: wide, fine, cute Add -r: wider, finer, cuter Add -st: widest, finest, cutest Only one syllable, with one vowel and one consonant at the end. Examples: hot, big, fat Double the consonant, and add -er: hotter, bigger, fatter Double the consonant, and add -est: hottest, biggest, fattest Only one syllable, with more than one vowel or more than one consonant at the end. Examples: light, neat, fast Add -er: lighter, neater, faster Add -est: lightest, neatest, fastest Two syllables, ending in Y. Examples: happy, silly, lonelyChange y to i, then add -er: happier, sillier, lonelier Change y to i, then add -est: happiest, silliest, loneliest Two syllables or more, not ending in Y. Examples: modern, interesting, beautiful Use more before the adjective: more modern, more interesting, more beautiful Use most before the adjective: most modern, most interesting, most beautiful

2. How to use comparatives and superlatives Comparatives Comparatives are used to compare two things. You can use sentences with than, or you can use a conjunction like but. Jiro is taller than Yukio. Yukio is tall, but Jiro is taller. Superlatives Superlatives are used to compare more than two things. Superlative sentences usually use the, because there is only one superlative. Masami is the tallest in the class. Yukio is tall, and Jiro is taller, but Masami is the tallest. Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives 1. Forms of Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives Person 1st singular 2nd 3rd (female) 3rd (male) 3rd (neutral) 1st plural 3rd plural Pronoun mine yours hers his its ours theirs Adjective my your her his its our their

2. Using Possessive Pronouns and Adjectives A possessive pronoun is used instead of a noun: Julie's car is red. Mine is blue. A possessive adjective is usually used to describe a noun, and it comes before it, like other adjectives: My car is bigger than her car. Remember: There are no apostrophes in possessive pronouns and adjectives. The dog wagged its tail. It's is not a possessive pronoun or adjective it means it is: It's not my dog. Reflexive Pronoun: A reflexive pronoun is a special kind of pronoun. It is usually used when the object of a sentence is the same as the subject, as you will see below. Each personal pronoun (such as I, you, and she) has its own reflexive form. This introduction will explain what the different forms of reflexive pronouns are, and when they are used. The forms of reflexive pronouns

Personal Pronoun I you (singular) you (plural) he she it we they

Reflexive Pronoun myself yourself yourselves himself herself itself ourselves themselves

When to use a reflexive pronoun Reflexive pronouns are used in three main situations. Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and object are the same. I hurt myself. The band call themselves Dire Straits. He shot himself. They are used as the object of a preposition, when the subject and the object are the same. I bought a present for myself. She did it by herself. (She did it alone.) That man is talking to himself. They are used when you want to emphasize the subject. I'll do it myself. (No one else will help me.) They ate all the food themselves. (No one else had any.) Impersonal It and There Introduction In many kinds of English sentences, you will find the word it or the word there in the subject position. These are usually impersonal sentences sentences where there is no natural subject. This introduction will help you to understand when to use it and when to use there. 1. Impersonal it When to use it Examples Talking about weather Its raining. Its cold. It was sunny yesterday. Identifying something Who is it? Its me. What is it? Its a cat. Talking about time What time is it? Its five oclock. What day is it? Its Thursday. Talking about distance How far is it to Toronto? Its 4000 kilometers.

2. Impersonal there Impersonal there is used to say that something exists in a particular place: Singular Plural There is a book on the table.

There are three men in the car.

Introduction Adverbs describe the time when something happens, the place where something happens or how something happens. They tell us more about verbs. We can ask these questions: Question When? Where? How? Adverbs of Manner Let's work on adverbs of manner! Read this example: Tom drove carefully along the narrow road. How did Tom drive? Carefully! In what way did Tom drive? Carefully! Compare: Tom is a careful driver. Here, careful is an adjective and gives more information about what kind of driver Tom is. Adjectives usually follow the verb to be and come before a noun. How can we make adverbs? Usually, we make adverbs by adding ly to the end of an adjective. Examples: nice nicely clear clearly Sometimes, we must change the y at the end of the adjective and add ily to make the adverb. Examples: heavy heavily lazy lazily Be careful! Some adjectives end in ly and are NOT adverbs. Answer Type yesterday, today, now, later... adverbs of time here, there, everywhere, home, away, ... adverbs of place slowly, happily, well... adverbs of manner

Examples: She is a lovely woman. They are very friendly, aren't they? Now we know how to use adverbs of manner to describe more about the way we do things. Let's look at three more examples. Can you find the adverbs? My mother sings beautifully, but my father sings very badly. When I was a child, I couldn't swim very quickly, but now I can! They don't like the teacher because she speaks so loudly. Be careful! There are some very common exceptions!! Good is an adjective. Your pronunciation is very good. Well is an adverb. You speak very well. He can't play tennis well. The words fast, late, and hard are adjectives and adverbs. Adjective Mary was a fast runner in high school. The bus was late. John is a hard worker. Adverb Mary could run very fast. (not fastly) The bus arrived late today. (not lately*) John works hard every day. (not hardly**)

*Lately is an adverb, but it means recently. I have been feeling tired lately. **Hardly is an adverb, but it means almost not at all. She hardly ate anything today. Now, we need to know how to compare how things are done. You can follow the same rules that we use with adjectives! Example: Ann speaks French fluently. Jack can't speak French fluently. Ann speaks French more fluently than Jack, OR Jack speaks French less fluently than Ann, OR Jack doesn't speak French as fluently as Ann. Ann speaks French the most fluently in the whole office. This is the superlative. It compares three or more people/things. Example:

Bob studies seriously. Dan doesn't study seriously. Bob studies more seriously than Dan, or... Dan studies less seriously than Bob, or... Dan doesn't study as seriously as Bob. Bob studies the most seriously of all the students in his class. Do you remember those exceptions above? (fast/late/hard/well) Let's see how to compare ideas with these! Examples: Margaret runs faster than me, but Bob runs the fastest on our team. Joe arrives home later than his children. His wife arrives home the latest in the family. Sally works much harder than her sister in the family business, but her brother works the hardest. My mother sings better than my father. In fact, my mother sings the best in our whole family! Zero Conditional: The zero conditional is a structure used for talking about general truths things which always happen under certain conditions. This page will explain how the zero conditional is formed, and when to use it. 1. The structure of a zero conditional sentence A zero conditional sentence consists of two clauses, an if clause and a main clause (In most zero conditional sentences you can use when or if and the meaning will stay the same.): if clause main clause If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils. If the if clause comes first, a comma is usually used. If the if clause comes second, there is no need for a comma: main clause if clause Water boils if you heat it to 100 degrees, We use the same verb form in each part of a zero conditional: the simple present tense: if clause if + subject + simple present verb main clause subject + simple present verb 2. Using the zero conditional The zero conditional is used to talk about things which are always true such as scientific facts and general truths: Example Explanation If you cross an international date line, the time changes. This always happens every time you cross a date line. If it rains, the grass gets wet. This is basically always true the rain makes the grass wet.

Wood doesn't burn if there is no air. air in order to burn. No air = no fire. Fist Conditional

This is a scientific fact wood needs

The first conditional (also called conditional type 1) is a structure used for talking about possibilities in the present or in the future. This page will explain how the first conditional is formed, and when to use it. 1. The structure of a first conditional sentence A first conditional sentence consists of two clauses, an "if" clause and a main clause: if clause main clause If you study hard, you will pass the test. If the "if" clause comes first, a comma is usually used. If the "if" clause comes second, there is no need for a comma: main clause You will pass the test if clause if you study hard.

We use different verb forms in each part of a first conditional: main clause You will pass the test HEADER beautiful 2. Using the first conditional if clause if you study hard. HEADER beautifully Example Ann sings beautifully.

The first conditional is used to talk about things which are possible in the present or the future things which may happen: Example If it's sunny, we'll go to the park. Paula will be sad if Juan leaves. If you cook the supper, I'll wash the dishes. possible. Inroduction: A coordinating conjunction is a word which joins together two clauses which are both equally important. This page will explain the most common coordinating conjunctions and how to use them. 1. What is a clause? A clause is a unit which contains a subject and a verb. For example, It was raining is a clause; the subject is it, and the verb is was raining. Every sentence MUST contain at least one clause, but it may contain more than one. For example: It was raining, so I took my umbrella. This sentence contains two clauses, It was raining and I took my umbrella. They are independent clauses because each one would be a good sentence on its own each one is a Explanation Maybe it will be sunny that's possible. Maybe Juan will leave that's possible. Maybe you will cook the supper that's

complete thought. 2. Joining clauses together with coordinating conjunctions Examine the example sentence one more time: It was raining, so I took my umbrella. The two clauses in the sentence are joined together with the word so. This is a coordinating conjunction. It is used to join two independent clauses which are equally important. A coordinating conjunction usually comes in the middle of a sentence, and it usually follows a comma (unless both clauses are very short). These are the most important coordinating conjunctions: Conjunction and joins two similar ideas together UVic. but joins two contrasting ideas or joins two alternative ideas order a pizza. so shows that the second idea is the result of the first These conjunctions are also used: nor (joining two negative alternatives) for (meaning because) yet (meaning but) Function Example

He lives in Victoria, and he studies at John is Canadian, but Sally is English. I could cook some supper, or we could She was sick, so she went to the doctor.

3. Using coordinating conjunctions There are three things to remember when using coordinating conjunctions: Coordinating conjunctions join independent clauses. Each clause must be a complete thought which could be a sentence on its own. With coordinating conjunctions, put the conjunction in the middle. You may see some sentences starting with but or and, but this is usually wrong, so it's best to avoid it. With coordinating conjunctions, use a comma unless both clauses are very short. Basic Subordinating Conjunctions Introduction A subordinating conjunction is a word which joins together a dependent clause and an independent clause. This page will explain the most common subordinating conjunctions and how to use them. 1. What is a dependent clause? A clause is a unit which contains a subject and a verb. For example, It was raining is a clause; the subject is it, and the verb is was raining. A dependent clause is a clause which cannot

exist on its own; it needs a main (or independent) clause to go with it. For example: Because it was raining, I took my umbrella. This sentence contains two clauses, Because it was raining and I took my umbrella. The first clause does not mean anything on its own. If you say Because it was raining, and nothing else, people will not be able to understand what you mean. However, I took my umbrella is an independent clause we can understand what it means even if it is alone. 2. Joining clauses together with subordinating conjunctions Examine the example sentence one more time: Because it was raining, I took my umbrella. The important word here is because. This is a subordinating conjunction. It is used to show the relationship between the two clauses. A subordinating conjunction usually comes at the beginning of the dependent clause, but the dependent clause itself can be before the main clause (usually followed by a comma) or after it (sometimes following a comma): Although it was hot, he was wearing a coat. He was wearing a coat although it was hot. 3. Important subordinating conjunctions Some of the most important subordinating conjunctions fall into two groups: contrast, and cause and effect. Conjunction although (even) though whereas while John is short, whereas Mary is tall. because as since between ideas Since I have no money, I can't go to the movie. Imperatives Introduction Imperative sentences are used for many reasons: Reason to give advice or suggestions Dont eat too much chocolate. to give directions blocks. to give instructions in oil. Save your document and put it in a new folder. Example Exercise four times a week. Turn right at the bank and walk three Cut the onions into small pieces and fry Function Example

express contrast between ideas Although she's small, she's very strong.

show a cause/effect relationship I lost my job because I was often late.

to give orders or commands (Please) be quiet! Do your homework. to give warnings Watch out! Dont drive after drinking. to make a polite request Please turn off the light, Mary. Close the window please, Janice. to offer an informal invitation Bring a friend to the party if you like. Join us for dessert, Cathy! Notice that the subject of these sentences (you) is not written or spoken. It is the same for singular and plural subjects. (You) turn left at the corner and drive two kilometers. Sally and Mark, stand up please. In order to make the negative form, simply say: Do not + simple verb... or Dont + simple verb... Do not run across the road, children. Dont smoke in the airport please. Be careful! Do not use the imperative in formal situations with an employer or a teacher. They are too direct. Come to lunch Mrs. Rivers. Wrong! Good!

Would you like to join us at lunch, Mrs. Rivers?