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How to Write a Simple English Sentence

BALA 110/MALA 110

By Allen Vander Pol, M.Div., D.Min.

2017

MINTS International Seminary14401 Old Cutler Road

Miami, FL 33158United States of America

Phone: 786-573-7001Email: president @mints.edu

Simple English Sentence Outline

Preface

Course IntroductionJustificationObjectivesRequirementsBenefitsClass Record

The Lessons

Lesson One: Nouns, Pronouns and AdjectivesA. Nouns

1. The Idea of a Noun2. Common and Proper Nouns3. Concrete and Abstract Nouns4. Singular and Plural Nouns5. Collective Nouns6. Countable and Uncountable Nouns

B. PronounsC. Adjectives

1. The Idea of Adjectives2. Possessive Adjectives3. Degrees of Comparison in Adjectives4. Articles5. Determiners6. Quantifiers

SummaryEssay Assignment and Homework for Lesson One

Lesson Two: Prepositional Phrases and Noun PhrasesA. Prepositions and their Phrases

1. Prepositions and their Objects2. Prepositional Phrases3. Prepositional Phrases Which belong to Prepositional Phrases

B. Noun Phrases1. The Idea of a Noun Phrase2. Word Order in a Noun Phrase3. Word Order of Adjectives4. Determiners5. Summary of Order of Adjectives

C. Plural Noun Phrases1. Plural Pronouns as Subject2. Modifiers of Plural Pronouns as Subjects3. Adjectives in the Plural Noun Phrase

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4. Possessive Pronouns in Plural Noun Phrases5. Possessive Pronouns Which a Plural Noun Changes6. Demonstrative Pronouns in Plural Noun Phrases

D. Summary of Prepositional Phrases and Noun PhrasesSummaryEssay Assignment and Homework for Lesson Two

Lesson Three: The Verb, Verb Tense and AdverbsA. The Verb

1. Verbs of Action2. Verbs of Existence3, Auxiliary Verbs

B. Verb Tense1. The Idea of Tense2. Three Perspectives on Time3. Topics which Help Us with Verb Tenses4. The "s" in Present 3rd Singular Verbs

C. Forming Verbs in Six Tenses1. First Step: we list the principle parts of the verb.2. Second Step: we apply the method of forming tenses.3. Third Step: we check our work to see if we have used auxiliary verbs

correctly.D. Adverbs

1. The Purpose of Adverbs2. Kinds of Adverbs3. Adverbs and Degrees of Comparison

SummaryEssay Assignment and Homework for Lesson Three

Lesson Four: X-Words, Sentence Trunk and AgreementA. X-Words

1. The List of X-Words2. Using X-Words to Find the Subject of a Sentence

B. The Sentence Trunk1. The Basic Elements of the Sentence2. The Meaning of "Subject"3. The Meaning of "Predicate"

C. Rules which Govern Agreement in the TrunkSummaryEssay Assignment and Homework for Lesson Four

Lesson Five: Types of Verbs and Word Order in PredicatesA. Helping VerbsB. Transitive Verbs and Words Which Follow Them

1. Definition of Transitive Verbs

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2. Other Direct Objects3. The Case of Direct Objects4. Transitive Verbs with Helping Verbs5. Indirect Objects

C. Intransitive Verbs1. The Idea of Intransitive Verbs2. Intransitive Verbs with Helping Verbs

D. Linking Verbs1. The idea of Linking Verbs2. A List of Linking Verbs

E. Word Order in PredicatesSummaryEssay Assignment and Homework for Lesson Five

Lesson Six: Adverbs: Where They BelongA. Uses of Adverbs

1. Adverbs of Manner2. Adverbs of Place3. Adverbs of Time4. Adverbs of Definite Frequency5. Adverbs of Indefinite Frequency6. Adverbs of Certainty7. Adverbs of Completeness8. Connecting Adverbs9. Commenting Adverbs10. Focusing Adverbs11. Adverbs with Negative Verbs12. Adverbs with Emphatic X-Words13. Summary of Uses of Adverbs

B. Positions for Adverbs1. The Three Main Positions2. Influences on Word Order of Adverbs3. Summary of Adverbs in Word Order

C. Examples of Sentences with AdverbsSummaryEssay Assignment and Homework for Lesson Six

Lesson Seven: Objective Complements and the Passive VoiceA. Objective Complements

1. The Idea of an Objective Complement2. The Word Order of Objective Complements3. Words which Appear with Objective Complements4. Summary on Objective Complements

B. Passive Verbs1. Voices of Transitive Verbs

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2. Forming Passive Verbs3. Passive Verbs and Indirect Objects4. Why We Use the Passive Voice5. When to Use the Passive Voice6. Summary on Passive Verbs

Essay Assignment and Homework for Lesson Seven

Lesson Eight: Review of Word OrderA. Word Order of Basic Sentences

1. Word Order with Intransitive Verbs2. Word Order with Linking Verbs3. Word Order with Transitive Verbs4. Summary of Basic Sentence Word Order

B. Word Order of Noun PhrasesC. Word Order of Adverbs

1. One-Word Adverbs2. Adverb Phrases

SummaryEssay Assignment and Homework for Lesson Eight

The Help Notes

Help Note A: Letters and SyllablesA.A: LettersA.B: Syllables

Help Note B: Parts of SpeechB.A: Parts of SpeechB.B: Definitions of the Parts of Speech

Help Note C: NounsC.A: Definition of NounC.B: Various Categories of NounsC.C: The Formation of Plural Nouns

Help Note D: PronounsD.A: Definition of PronounD.B: Personal PronounsD.C: Demonstrative PronounsD.D: Reflexive PronounsD.E: Indefinite PronounsD.F: Relative PronounsD.G: Interrogative Pronouns

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Help Note E: Articles and AdjectivesE.A: ArticlesE.B: Adjectives

Help Note F: The VerbF.A: The idea of a VerbF.B: Voice (Active and Passive)F.C: Verb Tenses

Help Note G: AdverbsG.A: Purpose and Kinds of AdverbsG.B: The Main Positions of AdverbsG.C: Categories of Adverbs and Their Positions

Help Note H: PrepositionsH.A: Lists of PrepositionsH.B: Relationships Which Prepositions IndicateH.C: The Place of PrepositionsH.D: The Meaning of PrepositionsH.E: Prepositions as Adverbs

Bibliography

Coordinator's Manual

Class ScheduleHomework AnswersFinal ExamFinal Exam Answers

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Simple English Sentence Preface

Preface

The author has designed this course for students who do not use English as their first—or local—language. Many MINTS students study courses in English. They must complete their written assignments in English. Hopefully, this course will assist them when they write.

This course will guide students to write a basic English sentence. Possibly another course will follow to cover more complex topics. Yet this course seeks to cover the basics of a basic English Sentence.

Texts on the English language tend to focus on one of the following: 1) English grammar, 2) the appropriate words to use when we say phrases, or 3) the proper order of words in an English sentence. Few books treat all of these topics together. Perhaps most students who learned English as their first language studied the first topic, English grammar. Knowing the second topic—which words to use—guides students when they write. For example, it helps them know whether to write, “Water is different than fire,” or “Water is different from fire.” (The second sentence uses the correct word.) Studies in English as a second language sometimes focus on this second approach.

But the third topic—the proper order of words—also has special importance for those who study English. Modern linguistics has recognized the significance of word order for the English sentence. Linguistics studies human methods of communicating through language. It studies the different strategies of communication which each language uses. So, when linguists study English, word-order forms one of their important topics of study.

Different languages rely on different features of a sentence to define each word's place in that sentence. In other words, each language has unique influences which shape its sentences. For example, Biblical Greek uses inflection—changes in word forms—to show which word serves, for example, as the subject. English uses word order to show which word stands in the subject position. The meaning changes, for example, when you change “The cat hurt the dog” to “The dog hurt the cat.” Writers who learned English as adults perhaps understand the significance of English word-order less than they understand other features of the language. This author has come to the conviction that English writers need a firm understanding of how word order functions in the English sentence. We reflect this when the course says that a word "stands" in a certain place. This means its position defines its purpose in the sentence.

This course follows a specific plan to reach its goal. The eight lessons will discuss primarily the word-order of an English sentence. Since word order overlaps with grammar, we also give extensive attention to basic English grammar. To assist students, we include appendices--"Help Notes"-which assist students in correcting the most common mistakes in word order and grammar. May the Lord use this course to begin equipping students to complete their written assignments for MINTS to God’s glory.

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Simple English Sentence Introduction

Course Introduction

JustificationEveryone who writes in English--including MINTS students--needs a basic understanding of how words function in the language. This course seeks to explain the use of each word in a simple English sentence. It uses English grammar and English word order to clarify the importance of each word in the simple English sentence.

Objectives1. Students will learn the basic English grammar which shapes every English

sentence.2. Students will learn about the importance of word order in the English

sentence. They will learn how to use it to enhance their communication in English.

3. Students will gain experience in writing an essay in English. The writing assignment of each lesson provides concrete steps for students to reach the goal of writing a essay about theed readings in books concerning punctuation, word order, and grammar.

Requirements1. Attendance (15%)2. Class Homework (30%)

Students will complete homework for each lesson. The first sets of questions at the end of the lessons, evaluate whether students understand the important points of each lesson. The remaining questions challenge students to use the information of the lesson and Help Notes. All questions will teach students.

3. Readings (15%)Bachelors Students must read 150 pages on the English language. Master's students must read 450 pages. They must also write a reading report--1 page of report for each 100 pages of reading.Students must receive the approval of the coordinator for the material which they read. We suggest the following:Casagrande, June. The Best Punctuation Book, Period. Berkeley: Ten Speed

Press, 2014. (232 pages)Strunk, William Jr. and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th Ed. Needham

Heights, MA: Longman--A Pearson Education Company, 2000. (95 pages)

Thurman, Susan. The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need: A One-Stop Source for Every Writing Assignment. Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2003. (160 pages)

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Simple English Sentence Introduction

These books do not stress word order, as this course does. Yet they provide excellent help in the areas which they address: punctuation and grammar.

4. Dictionary.Students must own a good dictionary. For beginners, we recommend:Oxford American Dictionary for Learners of English. 2011For more experienced English writers, we recommend: Oxford American Dictionary. 3rd ed. 2010.For those who use the internet we recommend:The Oxford Dictionary Online. 7 October 2017 <https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/oed>.

5. Essay (20%)Writing assignments at the end of the lessons assign steps to follow to complete the course essay.

6. Exam (20%)

Benefits1. Students will gain exposure to English grammar and the significance of word

order in English.2. Students will gain experience with English word order through the writing of

the essay and the completion of the homework at the end of each lesson,3. Students will learn to evaluate their own writing in terms of the course's

instruction.

Class RecordName of Student

Level of

Study

Attendance15%

Homework30%

Reading15%

Essay20%

Exam20%

Final Grade100%

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Simple English Sentence Lesson One

Lesson One:

Nouns, Pronouns and Adjectives

We begin our study of the English sentence by introducing some of the words which appear near the beginning of most sentences. We will explain important topics concerning nouns, pronouns and adjectives.

A. NOUNS (See Help Note C)

1. The Idea of a Noun

A noun states the name of a person, place, thing or idea. Yet when we say, "name," we do not always mean the name of one specific thing. Usually we mean a general name for something.

Example 1.1 The man and his wife moved their family to a different house.

We have underlined the four nouns in this sentence. We call an adult human male a "man." We use the word, "wife," to refer to a married woman. The parents and their children form a group which we call a "family." We call the building there they live together their "house." Each person or thing in the sentence has a distinct name. But we do not know which man the sentence describes. The sentence also does not tell us the specific house where the family lives. Nouns often use general names which we use also to refer to other people and other places where people stay.

2. Common and Proper Nouns

English grammar speaks of two "classes" of nouns: common nouns and proper nouns. We used four common nouns in example 1.1. None of them named a specific person or place. A common noun gives the general name of a person, place or thing. "Boy," for example, exists as the name of any male human child. But "Paul" refers to a specific human male. Some boys have the name, "Paul." In many places where boys play football together, "Paul" will refer to just one of the boys. So "Paul" usually tells us specifically which boy we mean. Therefore, "Paul" gives us an example of a proper noun.

We give proper names to specific human beings, pets, countries, months of the year, books and schools. We capitalize the first letter of a proper noun. The following two columns of words help us compare common nouns to proper nouns:

Commons Nouns Proper Nounscity Delhi

country Kenyanewspaper New York Times

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street Broadway Streettower Eiffel Towerman Nelson Mandela

ocean Pacific Ocean

3. Concrete and Abstract Nouns

A person can see every noun which we mentioned in Example 1.1. So, we call each of those nouns, "concrete" nouns. Traditional English grammar refers to a "concrete noun" to mean the name of anything that we can see, hear, feel, smell, or touch. But science can measure things which we cannot experience. For example, we cannot see or feel radio waves. Yet science can measure them; so, we call radio waves "concrete nouns" also because they exist as real objects in the universe. Other concrete nouns include, "air," "tree" "animal" and "road."

But some nouns give us the names of things which we cannot experience with the five senses. Also, we cannot measure them. For example, we cannot touch or see "an idea." Therefore, we call "idea" an abstract noun. Other abstract nouns include, "loyalty" and "condition."

We do not mention the distinction between concrete and abstract nouns because we need to know how to label each noun. Rather, we mention the distinction only to show that our definition of a noun—the name of a person, place or thing—applies even to abstract nouns, such as "ideas."

4. Singular and Plural Nouns

Most languages distinguish between singular and plural nouns. “Singular” resembles the English word “single.” Both words refer to one. So, a singular noun refers to one person, place, or thing. Plural in English refers to more than one. As an example, we refer to one young female human as a "girl." We refer to more than one as "girls." Usually we list the singular form of a noun as the basic form. After we know how to write the singular noun, we use it to find the way to write the plural form.

The regular pattern for plural nouns shows us how to give most nouns their plural forms. But many exceptions exist to make it very confusing to know when to use the regular pattern. A student needs an English dictionary to help in writing plural forms. If we form the plural of a noun according to the regular pattern, a dictionary does not give us the plural of that noun. But, when a word does not follow the general pattern, the dictionary will usually tell us its plural form. (e.g. concerning “man” the OED says “pl. men.” This means that we write the plural of "man" by writing "men."). 1 When a student becomes familiar with the way a dictionary shows plural nouns, the process becomes easy for the writer who uses it.

1 Oxford American Dictionary for Learners of English, 2011. All of the illustrations from a dictionary in this course come from the OAD.

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We begin with the general pattern of forming plural nouns. Then we will explore some of the more important exceptions. We cannot cover all of the exceptions. But we hope to include enough of them for students to recognize most patterns of irregular plural nouns.

We encourage students to consult Help Note C.C to read a fuller explanation than this lesson provides concerning how to worm plural nouns.

a. Plural Nouns Which End with "s"

1) The Basic Pattern

Most frequently we change a singular noun to a plural noun by adding the letter “s” to the end of the singular noun. For example, we can speak of one tree and of two tree s. We can also write about 100 trees or a forest of trees. One tree has no “s;” any other number of trees has “s” at the end. So, we write the plural of “tree” as “trees.”

Some singular nouns have final sounds which make it difficult merely to add a final "s." These nouns end with “sh”, “ch”, “s”, “x”, or “z.” We form the plural of these words by adding “es.” We offer two examples:

Singular Pluralbus buses

crash crashes.

Words with the endings that we have just listed require a vowel sound between the final sound of their singular form and the additional “s" of the plural form. 2 So, we form the plural by saying and writing “es” at the end. The examples which we give here and in Help Note C.C illustrate how we do this.

Often dictionaries do not give the plurals for words in this category unless the plural forms an exception to this rule.

2) Plural for Nouns Which End with "y"

When a singular noun ends with a consonant and “y,” we change the “y” to “i” and add “es.” The following example illustrates this method:

Singular Pluralbaby babies

In this example the consonant letter, b, stands immediately before the final “y. Therefore, the final “y” becomes an “i” in the plural form; then we add “es.”

2 The English vowels include: a, e, i, o, u; sometimes y also belongs to the vowels. We call all other English letters “consonants.” See Help Note One, "Letters" which describes consonants and vowels.

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When a proper noun ends with a consonant before the final "y," we do not use this method of forming the plural. So, we write Kennedys (not Kennedies) and Februarys (not Februaries.)

Also, we do not change the end of word when the final “y” comes after a vowel. For example, we spell the plural of “donkey” as “donkeys.” Also, the singular “monkey” becomes the plural “monkeys.”

3) When a singular word ends with “o”

Singular nouns which end with "o" will follow one of these patterns when we write their plural forms:

First, when a singular noun ends with “o,” we often write the plural by adding “es” to the singular noun.

Singular Pluralecho echoes

Second, some singular nouns which end with “o” let us form the plurals in two different ways. We can write their plurals by ending them with either “s” or “es.” The following illustration demonstrates this:

Singular Pluralmosquito mosquitos or mosquitoes

When the final “o” comes after a vowel, we write the plural with only a final “s.” Examples of this include:

Singular Pluralradio radios

Also, most words ending with “o” and coming from another language (in recent history) receive a plural form with only the final “s:”

Singular Pluralkilo kilos

4) Nouns Which End with "f" or "fe"

We form the plurals of nouns which end with "f" or "fe" in a variety of ways.

First, to enable the pronunciation of the plural of words ending with the "f" sound, we often change the "f" to "v" and add "es."

Singular Pluralcalf calveslife lives

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Second, some words which end with "f" can have two acceptable plural forms.Singular Plural

dwarf dwarfs or dwarveshoof hoofs or hooves

Third, some singular nouns which end with "f" or "fe" require us to write their plurals by adding only the final “s.”

Singular Pluralroof roofschief chiefs

Students should consult their dictionaries to know for sure how to write the plurals of words which end with "f" or "fe." They can also read Help Note C.C to find more examples of nouns in each of these categories.

b. Plurals which have no “s” ending

So far, we have described groups of plural nouns which usually receive a final "s." But other nouns do not receive a final "s" to assume a plural form.

For example, we must change some singular nouns significantly to form their plurals. These plurals do not end with "s." The following examples demonstrate this:

Singular Pluralchild childrenfoot feet

Some nouns do not change from singular to plural. They include the following:Singular Pluralbarracks barracks

deer deer

Some English nouns which come from another language have plurals which come from their original language. They include:

Singular Pluralbasis bases (Greek

criterion criteria (Greek)

Sometimes English makes a compound noun by connecting a preposition or another word to a noun with a hyphen. We form plural of compound nouns by writing the noun in its plural. The following examples demonstrate what we mean:

Singular Pluralpasser-by passers-by

mother-in-law mothers-in-law

Some words appear only in the plural form. They include: cattle, police, staff, the British, jeans, glasses (which we wear to correct our vision), congratulations, and outskirts.

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c. Summary on Singular and Plural Nouns

We have demonstrated the great complexity of the English singular-plural noun system. Yet we have not given all the possible examples for any category. We hope that, by receiving exposure to the complicated system, students will take the sure route: consult a dictionary to know how to write the plural form of a noun. Help Note C.C gives more examples for students to study.

5. Collective Nouns

A collective noun has a singular form. But it refers to a group. The singular includes a collection of people or things. We give examples of collective nouns:

group armyflock herd

family teamfleet crowd

American English usually treats collective nouns as singular nouns. British English usually treats collective nouns as plural nouns. This difference becomes clear when we look at the verbs and pronouns which accompany collective nouns in each language.

American English: The committee wants to finish its work soon.British English: The committee want to finish their work soon.

6. Countable and Uncountable Nouns

We cannot count what some English nouns refer to. For example, we cannot count “air.” We can count containers of air. But we do not count the air inside each container. We call "air" an “uncountable noun.” Other examples of uncountable nouns include: wool, coffee, juice, ink, weather, and time. We can count cups of coffee; but we cannot count the liquid, coffee. If someone in a restaurant asks, “How many coffees do you want?” he probably means, “How many flavors (or cups) of coffee do you want?” We can count flavors; we do not count coffee.

We can summarize the characteristics of uncountable nouns in this way: “In general, we cannot put numbers in front of noncount [uncountable] nouns. Furthermore, they [uncountable nouns] do not have a plural form.”3

3 Robert Krohn, and the Staff of the English Language Institute, English Sentence Structure (Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1971) 57.

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Sometimes this distinction between countable and uncountable nouns becomes complicated. For example, some uncountable nouns seem very close in meaning to some countable nouns. We give some examples:

Countable Nouns Uncountable Nounsvegetable fruit

a glass (what we use to drink water) glass (what we use to make a window)a piece of advice advice

hair (a strand of hair) hair (the hair on a person’s head)

Since the distinction between countable and uncountable nouns can confuse us, the writer should consult a dictionary to find out when to treat a noun as countable or uncountable. Students should remember these two rules for uncountable nouns:

do not put a number before an uncountable noun (not, “a car’s tires have four air”).do not write an uncountable noun in a plural form (not, “people breathe airs”).

B. PRONOUNS (see Help Note D: Pronouns)

Pronouns form one of the most complicated parts of English grammar. We have provided extensive notes on pronouns in Help Note D. Therefore, this section mostly explains how to use pronouns.

Pronouns take the place of nouns. This gives us the ability to add variety to our writing. For example, instead of writing "Paul" every time we refer to Paul in an essay, we can use the words, "he" or "him," from time to time. Also, pronouns let us refer to nouns with shorter references. For example, instead of writing "the British Parliament" every time we refer to it, American English sometimes writes "it;" British English would refer to the Parliament with "they." Both systems replace "parliament" with a pronoun.

Whenever we use pronouns we need to clarify what we mean when we use them. For example, if we write an entire paragraph about how "it" has grown, we may leave the reader wondering if you have written about a tree, a horse, or the British government. However, if we use a noun in the first sentence of the paragraph to tell the reader what has grown, later sentences in the paragraph may say "it." The reader will understand what we mean.

We can use pronouns in almost any way we use nouns. We can use pronouns as sentence subjects, objects of the prepositions, and direct objects (this course explains these terms in later lessons). We can also use pronouns to show possession, the fact that something belongs to someone.

Yet we need to use pronouns with greater care than nouns require; pronouns change more than nouns do. The following examples demonstrate what we mean:

Example 1.2 The boy received the gift which the man gave the boy.Example 1.3 He received the gift which the man gave him.

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The two sentences can mean the same thing. Example 1.2 uses "boy" as both the subject and the indirect object (the course covers these topics in a later lesson). We need to notice that "boy" has two uses in Example 1.2; but the two uses of the noun in this sentence look the same. Example 1.3 uses pronouns instead of "boy." We use one pronoun, "He," for the subject; we use the other pronoun, "him," for the indirect object. Due to their different uses, these pronouns have different forms. This demonstrates that we need greater skill when we use pronouns than when we use only nouns. Help Note D.B clarifies the main point of this paragraph.

Students should study the Help Note D on pronouns so that they understand their complexity very well.

C. ADJECTIVES (see Help Note E: Articles and Adjectives)

1. The Idea of Adjectives

We use adjectives to describe (or modify) nouns and pronouns. Adjectives answer the following questions: What kind? How many? Whose? and Which? We give some examples:

Example 1.4 red book (tells "what kind")Example 1.5 five books (tells "how many")Example 1.6 my book (tells "whose")Example 1.7 that book (tells "which")

Lesson Two tells us how to use each kind of adjective. We need to note the adjectives which tells us "what kind." We call them "descriptive adjectives." Perhaps we use descriptive adjectives more than any other kind.

2. Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives answer the question. "whose?" They tell us about ownership. We give an example: "

Example 1.8 Joe's cap"

Example 1.8 tells us that the cap belongs to Joe. The words, "the cap of Joe," mean the same thing. In the phrase, "Joe's cap," we call "Joe's" the possessive adjective. This phrase illustrates some important things. First, the possessive adjective uses a noun, "Joe," and gives it a possessive form. Second, the noun becomes a possessive adjective when we add an apostrophe (" ' ") and an "s." This tells us how to form the possessive of most possessive adjectives.

We face four situations when we make possessive adjectives. We illustrate each situation:

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a. When a Singular does not End with "s"

We use the method that we used when we wrote "Joe's."Noun Possessive Adjectivetree tree's shade

b. When a Singular Proper Noun Ends with "s"

Sometimes a proper noun ends with an "s." The name, "Jesus," for example, does this. In this case, we add only an apostrophe to the end of the name. We pronounce it like we pronounce the singular proper name.

Noun Possessive AdjectiveJesus Jesus' word

c. When a Plural Noun Ends with "s"

We use an "s" to make most nouns plural. In this case also, we add only an apostrophe at the end of the plural word. We give some examples:

Plural Noun Possessive Adjectivetrees trees' leaves

The possessive adjective, "trees'" whose that we refer to the leaves of more than one tree.

d. When a Plural Noun does not End with "s"

When the plural noun does not end with an "s," we form the possessive adjective in the same way that we would make a singular noun possessive:

Plural Noun Possessive Adjectivewomen women's purses

mice mice's food

Help Note E.B gives more examples of each way of forming a possessive noun.

3. Degrees of Comparison in Adjectives (See Help Note E.B)

Adjectives can give us "degrees of comparison." This means they can tell us which noun has more or less of a certain quality. Take, for example, the loudness of a sound. We can call a sound "a loud sound," a "louder sound" or the "loudest sound." When we say, "loud sound," we do not compare the sound to another. When we say "louder sound" we compare the sound to one other, not-as-loud sound. We call "louder" the comparative degree. When we say, "loudest sound," we compare it to at least two other not-as-loud sounds. We call "loudest" the superlative degree.

Our way of forming degrees of comparison depends on the length of the adjective. When we use adjectives with one syllable, we use the pattern which we demonstrated with "loud." Comparative adjectives with one syllable end with "-er." Superlative adjectives with one syllable end with "-est."

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When we use most adjectives with two or more syllables, we use "more" and "most" before the adjective. This method of forming degrees of comparison has the same meaning as "-er" and "-est" at the end of shorter adjectives.

When we use a two-syllable adjective which ends with "-y," we end the comparative with "ier." We write the superlative form by ending it with "-iest." So we write the comparative form of "funny" as "funnier." We write the superlative form as "funniest." We use "more" and "most" when an adjective ending in "-y" has more than two syllables.

A significant number of irregular comparative adjectives also exists. This means that, for these adjectives, we do not form degrees of comparison with the methods we have mentioned so far. For example, when we form the degrees of comparison for "bad," we say, "bad, worse, worst."

The dictionary will give the degrees of comparison when an adjective follows an irregular pattern.

Finally, we can compare adjectives with "less and least." This approach compares things in an order opposite to the order we have used so far. For example, we could describe a flute as "loud," a trumpet as "louder," and a drum as "loudest." We could also describe the drum as "loud," the trumpet as "less loud," and the flute as "least loud." This system does not use suffixes, such as "-er" and "-est." It uses "less" and "least" before adjectives; this resembles our use of "more" and "most" before adjectives.

We illustrate three approaches to forming degrees of comparison with this list:

Positive Comparative Superlative4

One-syllable Adjectives weak weaker weakest(2-syllable ending in "y") heavy heavier heaviest

loud less loud least loud

Longer Adjectives ancient more ancient most ancientdifficult more difficult most difficult

Irregular Adjectives good better bestmany more most

4 We use the "positive" when an adjective does not make a comparison; we use "comparative" when the adjective compares one noun to another; we use "superlative" when we compare a noun to three or more others.

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4. Articles (See Help Note E.A)

The articles include the following words: a, an, the. We encourage students to read Help Note E.A. It gives a longer summary of the Articles than we give here. But we include the following information here to ensure that students do not miss the most important points.

First, we need to know when to use "a" and when to use "an." We call both "a" and "an" indefinite articles. They have the same meaning. They fulfill the same purpose. We use "a" before a word which begins with a consonant sound. We use "an" before a word which begins with a vowel sound.

Second, we need to know when to use "the" and when to use "a" or "an." The writer can ask a question to help him decide. He can ask, "Does the reader know which one I mean?" If the reader does not, the writer should use "a" or "an." If the reader does know which one the writer has in mind, the writer should use "the."

Third, do not use "a" or "an" before a singular uncountable noun or before any plural noun.

Fourth, if a singular countable noun has no other determiner in the sentence, always use an article.

5. Determiners

Some grammars regard determiners as different from adjectives. We treat them as a group of adjectives which have a specific use.

Determiners include three kinds of words: articles (which we just discussed), possessive pronouns (which we discussed earlier in this lesson), and demonstrative pronouns. We list them here:

Articles: a, an, thePossessive Pronouns: my, our, your, his, her, its, theirDemonstrative Pronouns: this, these, that, those

If we use a determiner, we will use only one determiner before each noun.We use the determiner before all other adjectives which the noun.

Lesson Two explains the use of determiners more fully.

6. Quantifiers

We may think of quantifiers as a special kind of determiner. The rules which we have just listed for determiners apply to quantifiers as well. However, we must use great care to use quantifiers well. We use different quantifiers before single, uncountable, and plural nouns. Students will gain skill in using them gradually as they improve their English.

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Quantifiers tell us how many or how much. We list the most important quantifiers below:

some, several, any, noeach, every, either, neither,much, many, more, most,(a) little, less, least; (a) few, fewer, fewest;enough; all, both, half,what, whatever, which whichever.5

Students should study Help Note E.B to learn how to use each one.

SUMMARY

This lesson gives basic instruction concerning nouns, pronouns, and adjectives. We summarized what we mean by common and proper nouns, concrete and abstract nouns, singular and plural nouns, collective nouns, and countable and uncountable nouns. When we learn how to form singular and plural nouns we can recognize some patterns which tell how to write plural nouns. We also learned the necessity of using the dictionary to gain certainty concerning how to write plural nouns.

When we discussed pronouns, we summarized some of the most important rules for using them. We also strongly encouraged students to read Help Note D.B, which concerns pronouns.

When we summarized adjectives, we reviewed important information which concerns possessive adjectives, degrees of comparison, articles, determiners, and quantifiers. We included a brief summary concerning how to form possessive adjectives and degrees of comparison. We urged students to read Help Note E.A, which teaches about the articles. Help Note E.B clarifies the complicated details while tell us how to use quantifiers.

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT AND HOMEWORK FOR LESSON ONE

A. Essay Assignment: Write a one-page essay in the following way:a. Write the essay about your parents, grandparents and possibly other

ancestors who seem important to your life. Write what you remember about their lives. You may include their names, where they lived, the work they did and important memories you have of them. If some have already died you may describe your memories of their deaths.

b. Limit your essay to your family members who have lived before you. Future essay assignments will require you to write about your own life. Future

5 Swan 135 (not a direct quote).

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essays will also give you opportunity to express why these family members before you seem important to you today.

c. Begin each paragraph with a sentence which introduces the topic of the paragraph. Also, conclude each paragraph with a sentence which summarizes it.

d. Limit your essay to approximately one page. We do not want two or more pages.

e. Give this one-page essay a name or title.f. Make sure that your writing follows the instruction which Lesson One gives.

B. Homework Assignment: The homework for each lesson gives students up to 10 points. Each question states how many points a student can earn and how many correct answers the student needs to receive the points. Students should contact the Help Notes as well as the lessons to find the answers.

1. Comprehension Questions (3 pts. for 9 correct answers)a. What is a noun? b. What is a proper noun? c. What is a plural noun? d. Use the basic pattern to explain how we change a regular singular noun to

make it a plural noun? e. How can we find out whether to form the plural of a noun in the regular way

or in a different way? f. What is a pronoun? g. What questions do adjectives answer? h. How do we write the possessives of most singular nouns which do not end

with "s"? i When do you use forms for positive adjectives, comparative adjectives, and

superlative adjectives? (Explain when we use each one.) j List the three categories of words which we call determiners.

2. Use a variation of the regular pattern to write the plural of each noun (1 pt. for 8 correct answers):

Singular Pluralwrench ____________________

tax ____________________wish ____________________fizz ____________________

dress ____________________monkey ____________________misery ____________________

currency ____________________strategy ____________________

berry ____________________

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3. Use a dictionary to write the plural of each noun (1 pt. for 8 correct answers):Singular Pluraldomino ___________________torpedo ___________________

silo ___________________trio ___________________

salvo ___________________shelf ___________________wolf ___________________reef ___________________thief ___________________belief ___________________

4. Use a dictionary to write the plural of each compound noun: (2 pts. for 4 correct answers). If your dictionary does not tell you, use the information you have from the course to make a decision.

Singular Pluralbrother-in-law ___________________

attorney general ___________________Member of Parliament ___________________

Secretary of state ___________________doorman ___________________

5. Use a dictionary; write the countable nouns. Draw a line under them (1 pt. for all correct answers):

cloth ditch man labor roof

cat dog mate lack riot

chaos dock mission lava ruler

chart disrepair mockingbird laughter rubber

6. Write the correct determiner for each noun phrase (1 pt. for 4 correct answers).a. this or these very little flowering plantb. a or the joyful Christmas songsc. this or these funny joke of yoursd. my or those job at the markete. a or our responsibilities at school

7. Write the article appropriate for each blank (1 pt. for 8 correct answers). a. I don’t know most of them. But I know _____ man named John.b. Once I saw _____ program on TV which I never forgot.c. He was _____ most cruel person I have ever met.

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d. She was _____ amazing lady.e. Only one person wore a yellow shirt. I recognize _____ shirt.f. Tell me _____ idea that occurred to you today.g. _____ motor on my motorbike will not start.h. _____ building with the red roof is a factory.i. Have you ever read _____ book that I wrote?j. _____ member of your family told me that you were ill.

8. Write “this,” “these,” “that,” or “those" for each blank (1 pt. for all correct answers). a. Have you read ________ book in my hand?

b. I prefer _______ pictures near me compared to _______ pictures in the other room.

c. The trees in the forest stand much taller than ______ tree by your house.d. These questions which the teacher asks today seem more difficult than _____

which he asked yesterday.

9. Write the comparative and superlative of each adjective (1 pt. for 8 correct answers.Positive Comparative Superlative

a. wonderful __________ __________b. calm __________ __________c. beautiful __________ __________d. simple __________ __________e. bright __________ __________

10. Write the best possessive pronoun for each blank (1 pt. for 4 correct answers):a. Look at __________ (mine or his) dirty face.b. That red motorbike is _________ (theirs or me).c. __________ (Your or The) problem will not last long.d. I like those shoes of __________ (his or him).e. I have appreciated __________ (my or ours) time with you.

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Simple English Sentence Lesson Two

Lesson Two

Prepositional Phrases and Noun Phrases

This lesson presents two very important elements which appear in many English sentences. When we know how to write these elements, we can face some of the most basic challenges of writing in English.

A. PREPOSITIONS AND THEIR PHRASES (See Help Note H)

1. Prepositions and their Objects

Help Note H.A lists the most commonly-used prepositions. The list does not include all prepositions. But it helps students find most of the prepositions that they will use.

A preposition expresses a relationship between two words. We can describe the relationship with three ideas:

a) Prepositions express three kinds of relationships: 1) between a noun and a noun, 2) between a verb and a noun, and 3) between an adjective and a noun.6 Each preposition in a sentence will express one of these relationships.

b) A preposition stands between the two related words. It stands in the sentence between the noun and the noun, between the verb and the noun or between the adjective and the noun.

c) We call the noun which follows the preposition, “the object of the preposition.”

We give the following examples:

Example 2.1: . . . the leaves of the tree. . .

In this phrase, “of” stands as the preposition. It stands between two nouns, “leaves” and “tree.” It expresses a relationship between “leaves” and “tree.” “Of” tells us that the leaves belong to the tree. Furthermore, we call “tree”—the noun which follows "of"—the object of the preposition.

Example 2.2: He ran into the wall.

In this sentence “into” expresses a relationship between the verb, “ran,” and the noun, “wall.” “Into” tells where he ran. Again, we call the noun “wall”—which follows the preposition—"the object of the preposition.”

6 Usually, the rules which tell us how to use nouns also apply to how we use pronouns. So, a preposition also expresses a relationship between a noun and pronoun, and between a verb and pronoun. However, this author cannot think of an example where a preposition expresses the relationship between a pronoun and a noun, where the pronoun appears first.

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Example 2.3: He became angry with his neighbor.

In this phrase the preposition, “with,” expresses a relationship between the adjective “angry” and the noun “neighbor.” It tells the reason for his anger. “Neighbor” stands as the object of the preposition.

Every preposition has an object which follows it. The object of the preposition will always consist of a noun or pronoun.

2. Prepositional Phrases

In Examples 2.1 and 2.2 “the” appears before the object of the preposition to modify it. In Example 2.3 "his" stands before the object of the preposition. These words serve as adjectives which help to identify the nouns which follow them. But we can add more adjectives to stand between the preposition and its object. We give two examples. First, we add underlined words to Example 2.1:

Example 2.4: . . . the leaves of the tall oak tree. . .

We have added “tall oak” to example 2.1. As adjectives, “tall” and “oak” modify “tree” (or make specific which tree we mean). “Tree” remains the object of the preposition. As a result, three words now stand between the preposition and its object: the, tall, and oak.

Now we add words to Example 2.2:

Example 2.5: He ran into the thick red wall.

Once again we added two adjectives, “thick” and “red,” between the preposition and the object of the preposition.

We call the preposition, its object, and the words which modify the object a “prepositional phrase.” So, the prepositional phrase in Example 2.4 says, “of the tall oak tree.” The prepositional phrase in Example 2.5 says, “into the thick red wall.”

3. Prepositional Phrases Which Belong to Prepositional Phrases

Often a sentence will include a prepositional phrase which belongs to another prepositional phrase. The second prepositional phrase modifies the object of the preposition which stands before it. We give an example:

Example 2.6: He ran into the thick red wall near his house.

This example adds “near his house” to the sentence in Example 2.5. The preposition, “near,” stands between “wall” and “house.” It expresses a relationship between “wall” and “house.” "His" stands as an adjective which tells us whose house.

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We can say that the prepositional phrase which begins with “into” includes all these words: “into the thick red wall near his house.” All the words in this sentence after the preposition serve to describe “wall,” the object of the preposition. The prepositional phrase which begins with “near” says, “near his house.” So, Example 2.6 has a prepositional phrase which belongs to a prepositional phrase.

We can describe a prepositional phrase as a group of words which begins with a preposition; it also includes its object and the words which modify the object.

We should notice that Example 2.2, Example 2.5 and Example 2.6 all express the same basic idea. The idea says, “he ran into the wall.” Example 2.5 adds two adjectives which tell us about the size and color of the wall. Example 2.6 adds a prepositional phrase which tells about the location of the wall. These additions add details to the basic idea. But they do not change the basic idea.

B. NOUN PHRASES

A “phrase,” includes a group of words which has the following characteristics:a) The group of words forms one purpose in the sentence. (A prepositional

phrase gives an example of a phrase. As we have seen, prepositional phrases consist of words which join a preposition to fulfill one purpose in the sentence: to modify a noun, a verb or an adjective.)

b) The phrase does not include both a subject and a verb. A phrase may contain the sentence’s main subject. It may contain the sentence’s main verb. But a phrase will not contain both. (We call groups of words which contain both a subject and a verb, a “clause.”)

1. The Idea of a Noun Phrase

In this part of the course we describe only a noun phrase. This consists of a noun and the words close to the noun which modify it. This section on noun phrases will contain some of the most important information in this course.

We can begin by looking at the largest prepositional phrase which we have written so far. It belongs to Example 2.6: “into the thick red wall near his house.” If we remove the first preposition (“into”), we have a noun phrase. It says:

Example 2.7: the thick red wall near his house.

This noun phrase includes a prepositional phrase which modifies the main noun of the noun phrase. After we wrote the sentence of Example 2.2, we added to it to form Examples 2.5 and 2.6. Each time we made additions, we saw that the additions all modify the noun, “wall.” These words, with the noun which they describe, fulfill the characteristics of a noun phrase:

a) they include a main noun (or pronoun)

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b) they join for the one purpose of telling us about that noun, and c) they do not include both a subject and a verb of a sentence.

A noun phrase consists of a noun (or pronoun) and all the words before and after it which modify the noun. We identify the main noun in Example 2.7 as “wall.” The rest of the phrase describes “wall”. The phrase uses the following words to describe it: 1) “the,” 2) “thick,” 3) “red,” 4) “near his house.” We list the three words, “near his house,” as one unit; as a prepositional phrase, it serves the purpose of telling the location of the wall. Individual words in "near his house" do not describe "wall." For example, "his" describes "house," not "wall." But the three words together--"near his house"--describe "wall."

2. Word Order in a Noun Phrase

Each word in a noun phrase has a specific place in the sentence. It would not work in English to change the word-order of Example 2.7. For example, we should not write:

the thick wall red near his house, or

the thick near his house red wall.

English requires a specific word order. It does not allow us to move most of the words to other places within the noun phrase. So, we give the following principles which determine our word order for noun phrases in English:

Write the words of a noun phrase in the following order: 1) adjectives which modify the noun, 2) the noun (or pronoun), 3) prepositional phrases which modify the noun, and 4) clauses which modify the noun.7

We show how Example 2.7 follows this order.

The Order Example 2.71) adjectives which modify the noun: “the thick red”2) the noun “wall”3) prepositional phrases which modify the noun “near his house”4) clauses which modify the noun (Example 2.7 has no

clauses in the noun phrase.)

7 We will discuss clauses in a future course.

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3. Word Order of Adjectives

We need to say more about the word order of adjectives which modify a noun in a noun phrase. Michael Swan presents a basic structure that we can use to write adjectives in the correct order.8 He tells us about:

1) descriptive adjectives, 2) adjectives which appear before descriptive adjectives and 3) adjectives which appear after descriptive adjectives.

This may seem complicated to the student who reads this for the first time. However, the homework assignment will show how to apply this information in writing.

a. Descriptive Adjectives

We begin with what Swan calls “descriptive adjectives.” Descriptive adjectives answer the question, "What kind?" They tell us the size, shape, color, and other features of the noun. The English writer should organize descriptive adjectives in a specific order. He encourages us to identify the kind of information which adjectives give. Then he recommends that we use them in this order:

size age shape color origin material noun

a) fat old white horseb) new Italian bootsc) enormous round brown German glass mug

According to this order, we write the descriptive adjectives in the noun phrases in this way:

a) fat old white horseb) new Italian bootsc) enormous round brown German glass mug.

Sometimes a writer will think of a descriptive adjective which does not fit exactly in one of these categories. But the list helps the writer to understand approximately where to place his descriptive adjectives.

b. Adjectives before Descriptive Adjectives

These adjectives give the context of the noun. They tell us, for example, where the noun belongs in a group (first, next, last, sixth) or how many exist in all. Or they tell us the writer’s opinion of the noun. Adjectives of opinion include: lovely, wonderful, beautiful, and silly. These adjectives do not tell us about the noun itself. Rather, they tell us how it belongs to others. Or they tell us what the author thinks of it. Swan arranges these adjectives before descriptive adjectives in this way:

8 Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005) 11-12.

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number: number: opinion nounin a sequence how many

last three wonderful daysThe phrase, using these words, says: "last three wonderful days."

c. Noun Modifiers after Descriptive Adjectives

Sometimes we use nouns to describe nouns. The following examples demonstrate this: tennis racket and car factory. The underlined nouns serve as adjectives which modify other nouns. They state the purpose for the nouns which follow them.

We can combine the three categories of adjectives which we have mentioned so far to illustrate how we might use them together. A noun phrase could say:

three, beautiful, old, white, tennis rackets.

Example 2.8: three beautiful old white tennis rackets

4. Determiners

So far we have not mentioned the first word of many noun phrases. Sometimes English grammars call the word, “determiners.” (This course also refers to them as adjectives because they function as adjectives in noun phrases.) Determiners include:

a. articles (a/an and the). Students should study them by reading the Help Note E.A on articles and adjectives.

b. possessive pronouns (my, your, his, her, its, our, their). Students should study them by reading the Help Note D.B on pronouns; look for possessive personal pronouns.

c. demonstrative pronouns (this, these, that, those). Students should study them by reading the Help Note D.C on pronouns; look for demonstrative pronouns.

Students should remember these important points: If a noun phrase includes a determiner, it will use only one determiner at the beginning of the phrase, andWhen we use pronouns as subjects, the subject will not have determiners, adjectives, or prepositional phrases to modify it.

We use the next two Examples to illustrate important points.

Example 2.9: this thick red wall near his house

“This”—a demonstrative pronoun—begins the group of adjectives: this, thick, red. “His” (a possessive pronoun) stands as the only adjective in the prepositional phrase, “near his

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house.” This shows that, when a prepositional phrase belongs to a prepositional phrase, the second prepositional phrase may have its own determiner.

Example 2.10: my fat old white horse

We may also say “the fat old white horse,” or “that fat old white horse.” But we should not use more than one determiner from the first three types. For example, we may not say, “the my fat old white horse.”

Example 2.11: He said that he loves her.

The subject, "he"—a pronoun which forms the subject—will stand alone as the subject; it will not have modifiers before it. We may say, "The compassionate father said that he loves her." In this case "the compassionate father, takes the place of "he." "The compassionate father" does not contain a pronoun. So, it may include an article ("the") and an adjective ("compassionate"). But when the subject consists of a pronoun, we may not use an article or adjective with it.

5. Summary of Order of Adjectives.

We can give a complete summary of where to place adjectives in a noun phrase. Adjectives appear in the follow this order:

First – determiners: articles, possessive pronouns and demonstrative pronouns (we use no more than one in each noun phrase). Second - modifiers before descriptive adjectives: number in sequence, number of how many, and expressions of the author’s opinion;Third - descriptive adjectives: size, age, shape, color, origin, material; andFourth – modifiers after descriptive adjectives: noun adjectives.

C. PLURAL NOUN PHRASES

1. Plural Pronouns as Subjects

We should use a pronoun only when we make clear beforehand to whom the pronoun refers. The context must make clear whether we use a singular pronoun or a plural pronoun as the subject of the next sentence. Consider the second sentence in each of the following examples:

Example 2.12: Thomas doubted that Jesus rose from the dead. He wanted proof of Jesus’ resurrection. ("He" takes the place of "Thomas.")

Example 2.13: The people of Jerusalem doubted that Jesus rose from the dead. “They wanted proof of Jesus’ resurrection. ("They" takes the place of "people.")

Only a plural pronoun may take the place of a plural noun. Plural pronouns which we use as subjects include: "we," "you," and "they."

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2. Modifiers of Plural Pronouns as Subjects

This lesson has already stated that a pronoun as subject will not have determiners , adjectives, or prepositional phrases to modify it. This applies to singular and plural pronouns. Therefore, the second sentences in both Examples 2.12 and 2.13 cannot have an article (a/an or the) or an adjective before "He" or "they."

3. Adjectives in the Plural Noun Phrase

In general adjectives and prepositional phrases do not change when we turn a singular noun phrase into a plural noun phrase. We can compare similar noun phrases which differ only in the number of their main nouns.

Example 2.14: Singular: the old brown horse of farmer JohnExample 2.15: Plural: the old brown horses of farmer John

Example 2.14 uses a singular main noun; example 2.15 uses a plural main noun. The adjectives before the main nouns and the prepositional phrases after the main nouns remain exactly the same.

4. Possessive Pronouns in Plural Noun Phrases

Help Note D.B discusses various kinds of personal pronouns. It mentions possessive pronouns, which show possession. Here we want to note that the same possessive pronouns modify both singular and plural nouns. We give examples to show what we mean:

Example 2.16: I like the colors of my coat.

Example 2.17: I like the colors of my coats.

We should notice that “my” describes both coat (singular) and coats (plural). The possessive pronoun does not change to plural with the plural noun. In both cases “my” tells others that I own the coat or the coats.

We give another example:

Example 2.18: We like the colors of my coat.

In this example the singular subject, “I,” in Example 2.16 becomes the plural “we” in Example 2.18. So, this sentence talks about more than one person who like a coat which I own. We do not write, “We like the color of our coat,” or “We like the color of our coats.” In sentences which refer to a coat which I own, we use “my” to modify “coat.” A change in the subject does not change this.

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Now suppose we refer to coats which have different owners. In that case, we can say one of the following sentences:

Example 2.19: I like the color of their coats. (This assumes that all their coats have the same color.)

Example 2.20: We like the colors of their coats.

Krohn et. al. states the principle this way: possessives pronouns have the same form for singular and plural nouns. 9

5. Possessive Pronouns Which a Plural Noun Changes

If differences show up between a singular noun phrase and a similar plural noun phrase, they will probably show up in the determiner at the beginning of the phrase and in a possessive pronoun which refers to the subject. We give the following examples.

Example 2:21: An old man sat in his chair.Example 2:22: Old men sat in their chairs.

Example 2:21 uses the singular "man" as the subject. Example 2:22 uses the plural "men" as the subject. The change in subjects produces two other changes. First, example 2:22 cannot use "a" or "an" as a determiner at the beginning of the subject phrase. Help Note E.A (See A/An with plural and singular nouns) gives rules which tell us how to use articles (a, an, the). The third rule says, “Do not use “a” or “an” before uncountable nouns or before plural nouns.”10

Second, we must change the singular "his" (in Example 2:21) to the plural "their" (in Example 2:22) because we have changed the subject from the singular "man" to the plural "men." The possessive pronouns which we have underlined refer to the subjects of the sentences. They must agree with the number of the subjects.

6. Demonstrative Pronouns in Plural Noun Phrases

Help Note D.C includes a short description of demonstrative pronouns. It says that two demonstrative pronouns point to things which seem close to the speaker. Two other demonstrative pronouns point to things which seem far (or further) from the speaker. We give the chart which the Help Note provides:

Sing. Pl.Closer this these

Further that those9 Krohn 64.10 We may use "the" at the beginning of a plural noun phrase. However, Help Note 5 on "When to Use 'The' or 'A/An'" shows that this changes the meaning of the sentence. "The" does not mean the same as "a/an.")

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Each kind of demonstrative pronoun has a singular form and a plural form. Demonstrative pronouns which modify plural nouns include only “these” and “those.” We give this principle for demonstrative pronouns at the beginning of a plural noun phrase:

When a plural noun phrase begins with a demonstrative pronoun, it should begin with “these” or “those.”

D. SUMMARY OF PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES AND NOUN PHRASES

We began this lesson by discussing the prepositional phrase. Second, we discussed noun phrases. We can say the following to summarize this information:

a. Every prepositional phrase begins with a preposition.b. The preposition expresses a relationship between a noun, verb or adjective

before the preposition to a noun after the preposition.c. We call the noun which follows the preposition, “the object of the

preposition.”d. The preposition, its object, and the words which describe the object form the

prepositional phrase.d. When we remove the preposition from the prepositional phrase, we have a

noun phrase. In other words, a prepositional phrase consists of a preposition with the noun phrase which follows it.

e. A noun phrase includes a noun and the words which describe it.

We can summarize the order of words in a noun phrase:a. Determiners (use only one; when necessary follow rules for plural noun

phrases)1) articles (e.g. a, an, the)2) possessive pronouns (i.e. her, your)3) demonstrative pronouns (i.e. this, those)

b. Modifiers before the descriptive adjectives1) numbers in sequence (i.e. fifth)2) number of how many (i.e. five)3) expressions of author’s opinion (i.e. wonderful)

c. Descriptive Modifiers1) size (i.e. big)2) age (i.e. old)3) shape (i.e. round)4) color (i.e. green)5) origin (i.e. Greek)6) material (i.e. wooden)

d. Modifiers after descriptive adjectives (noun adjectives; i.e. soccer ball)e. The Main Nounf. Prepositional Phrases which modify the noung. Clauses which modify the noun

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SUMMARY

This lesson has summarized prepositional phrases and noun phrases. We have stressed the importance of the order of words when we write these phrases.

We learned that a prepositional phrase begins with a preposition. Each prepositional phrase has at least one noun or pronoun which stands as the object of the preposition.

Often the prepositional phrase includes words which modify the object of the preposition. We summarized the order of the modifiers: determiners, modifiers (adjectives), prepositional phrases, and clauses. The object of the preposition stands between the modifiers (adjectives) and prepositional phrases. We also learned that the prepositional phrase without the preposition forms a noun phrase. So, the order of words in a prepositional phrase matches the order of words in all noun phrases.

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT AND HOMEWORK FOR LESSON TWO

A. Essay Assignment: Write a one-past essay in the following way:a. Write the essay about the first six years of your life. Summarize what adults older than you have told you about your early life. Also summarize what you remember. You may describe: where you lived, if you grew up with brothers and sisters, if you went to church, what you remember about your first years in school, and other important things about your early years.b. Begin each paragraph with a sentence which introduces the topic of the paragraph. Conclude each paragraph with a summary sentence at the end of the paragraph.c. Limit your essay to approximately one page. d. Give this one-page essay a name or title.e. Make sure that your writing follows the instruction which Lessons One and Two give.

B. Homework Assignment: Complete the ten exercises for Lesson Two in the Homework Manual. Students should rely on this lesson and on Help Notes E and H to complete the homework.

1. Comprehension Questions (3 pts. for 9 correct answers):

a. The lesson says that prepositions express relationship between two words. 1) What kinds of words in the relationship can stand before the preposition?2) what kind of related word stands after the preposition?

b. What do we call the noun in the prepositional phrase?c. What words belong to a prepositional phrase?d. What word of a prepositional phrase do we drop to form a noun phrase?e. Write these in the order in which they appear in a noun phrase:

Adjectives before the noun

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Clauses which modify the nounThe nounPrepositional phrases which modify the noun

f. What three kinds of words can we use as determiners?g. How many determiners may we use in a noun phrase?h. Write in order all parts of a noun phrase (In this answer "adjectives" forms

one part)________________________________________________________________________________

i. Which adjectives may we use in a noun phrase when a pronoun is the subject?

j. What rule does the lesson give concerning the use of an article in a plural noun phrase?

2. Write the prepositions in this list. (2 pts for 17 correct answers; 1 pt. for 8-16 correct answers) (See Help Note 8)

forfour

beforean

workat

onto within

fivemy

afterinto

strongredor

besidebeyond

singcareful

near

oververyup

cupword

againstbatsideon

under

preferto

toothe

withuntil

insix

uponbook

bybye

rinserun

sincebeneath

itslearn

acrosssincere

3. For each prepositional phrase: (3 points) write the preposition (1 point if you do this correctly with at least 8 piositions) write the object of the preposition (1 point if you do this correctly in at least 8

prepositional phrases) write the adjectives. (1 point if you do this correctly in at least 8 prepositional

phrases)

Example: We will look in the empty house.prep: - in OP - house Adj.: - the, empty

a. He walked into the deep dark forest.b. He spoke with all his friends.c. She went into the white house near the river.d. He saw people with long black hair.e. She looked for the thick black book about math.f. They sat at the long table in the blue classroom.g. He looked for his new red motorbike.

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h. They talked about their new school uniforms.

4. Use the rules for word order to write the words in proper noun phrases (1 pt. for 8 correct answers). Example. my, motorbike, new, red

my new red motorbike

a. brown, horse, old, tall, the_________________________________________________________________

b. English, my, teacher, wonderful_________________________________________________________________

c. last, our, tasty, tea, wonderful_________________________________________________________________

d. black, cow, his, thin_________________________________________________________________

e. green, shade, the, tree, wide_________________________________________________________________

f. man, old, the, wise_________________________________________________________________

g. book, classic, fascinating, the, theology_________________________________________________________________

h. assignment, difficult, his, writing_________________________________________________________________

i. dining, long, our, table, wooden_________________________________________________________________

j. beautiful, bushes, flowering, red, their_________________________________________________________________

5. Write the noun phrase of each sentence. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)a. The teachers of our school can work for you today.b. The beautiful and powerful horse will run today.c. The wide dark clouds reduce sunlight.d. The thatched-roofed house has sheltered many.e. You should try to know the people of your village.f. You can easily read the entire book.g. The dry footpath will guide you.h. The paved road will last many years.i. He knows the roads in the forest.

6. What two features describe a phrase? (1 point)

7. Write pronouns for each blank so that the owner does not change. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)

Example: We will find our lost dog.

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I will find our lost dog.

a. I will look at your car.We will look at __________ car.

b. My glasses have the same color as his.__________ glasses have the same colors as theirs.

c. Do you want to play with his toy plane?Do we want to play with __________ toys?

d. He rides his motorbike when he travels to school.He rode one of __________ motorbikes when he traveled to many cities.

e. I call your house and my house "our houses."We call _________ houses and my house "our houses."

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Simple Sentence Homework Lesson Three

Lesson Three:

The Verb, Verb Tense and Adverbs

As we introduce the English verb, we need to discuss three important topics. First, we will attempt to define what we mean by "verb." Second, we will explain what we mean by verb tense. Third we will explain how to form the six most common tenses.

After discussing verbs, we will give a brief description of adverbs. Some of the discussion on adverbs will correspond with what we said already about adjectives.

A. THE VERB (See Help Note F)

The verb exists as one of the parts of speech in the English language. Students can read a summary of the parts of speech in Help Note B. The Help Note defines a verb as "a word which describes the existence or action of something."

1. Verbs of Action

Verbs most frequently tell us about action which the subject of the sentence performs. Verbs can tell about physical action; these verbs include: "jump," "say," "work," and "stand." Verbs can also refer to mental action; these verbs include: "remember," "think," "believe," and "worry." This second group of action verbs does not describe action that we can see; nevertheless, these verbs describe actions of the mind.

2. Verbs of Existence

Other verbs can refer to a thing’s existence or a person’s existence. These verbs include: "was," "is," and "will be." So, a person may say, "I was there." This sentence does not say what "I" did. It says only that I existed at a certain place.

3. Auxiliary Verbs

Some verbs help main verbs to express action or existence. We call these verbs which help, "auxiliary verbs" or helping verbs. In some parts of the course, we will call these verbs, "X-words." Auxiliary verbs play very important roles in the English verb system. Some auxiliary verbs help us form verb tenses.

B VERB TENSE

1. The Idea of Tense

The tense of the verb says something about the time when an action or existence occurs. As we will see, the time of an action can become a complicated matter. Yet we must

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constantly keep in mind this basic idea: tense helps us understand the time of an action or of the existence of something

2. Three Perspectives on Time

We can speak of present, past, and future tenses. This means that the action or existence: 1) takes place in the present, 2) took place in the past, or 3) will take place in the future.

But the English tense system involves more distinctions than this. We can look at each of the three references to time—present, past, and future—from three perspectives on time. We call these perspectives on time simple, perfect and continuous.

a. The Simple Tenses

Simple tenses include the simple present tense, the simple past tense, and the simple future tense. We call these tenses "simple" because they provide the simplest perspective on time. They merely tell us whether something happens now, happened in the past, or will happen in the future. We give examples of each simple tense:

Simple Present Simple Past Simple Future

I eat my food. I ate my food. I shall eat my food.

He enjoys visiting He enjoyed vising He will enjoy visitinghis friends. his friends. his friends.

Each simple tense tells us when the action occurs. But none tells us when the actions begin or end. Also, they do not tell us if actions take place before another action or after it.

Beginning at this point, we end our use of the word, "simple" most of the time. We will usually call the simple present, "present;" we call the simple past, "past" and the simple future, "future." We will use "simple" only to distinguish a simple tense from a perfect tense (See the next section.). But, many English grammars do not use "simple" to refer to present.

The next two perspectives give this kind of additional information on time

b. The Perfect Tenses

When we say "perfect" to describe a verb tense, we do not mean that it has no mistakes or no sin. Rather, "perfect" here means, complete or finished. A perfect verb tense tells us when an action or existence has reached (or will reach) its finishing point. The action does not continue afterwards.

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1) The present perfect tense tells us that the action came to an end before the present time.

2) The past perfect tense tells us that the action came to an end before a past time.

3) The future perfect tense tells us that the action will end before a future time.

We can give examples of each.

Example 3.1: Present Perfect Tense: I have eaten my breakfast. (This means that I have already completed eating the breakfast.)

Example 3.2: Past Perfect Tense: I had eaten my breakfast when you came. (This means that I had finished my breakfast before you came in past.).

Example 3.3: Future Perfect Tense: When you visit me tomorrow morning, I shall already have eaten my breakfast. (This means that I will complete my breakfast before the time when you come in the future.)

Whereas simple tenses tell us when something occurs, perfect tenses tell us when something has reached—or will reach—its end.

c. The Continuous Tenses

Most older English grammars, recognized only the simple and perfect tenses. But present-day grammars add another feature of time which they say tense can communicate. This additional perspective views time from a perspective almost opposite to the perfect tenses. Instead of looking at events as completed (as perfect tenses do), this additional perspective views events as continuing or progressing. So, the present continuous tense views an event or existence which continues in the present. The past continuous tense views an event or existence which continued in the past. The future continuous tense views an action or existence which will continue in the future. We give an example of each.

Example 3.4 Present Continuous Tense: I am eating my food.Example 3.5 Past Continuous Tense: I was eating my food.Example 3.6 Future Continuous Tense: I shall be eating my food.

We can summarize the three perspectives on time in this way: 1) Simple tenses tell us of events or existence.2) Perfect tenses tell us of completed events or existence. 3) Continuous tenses tell us of continuing events or existence.

On rare occasions, an author will also use perfect continuous tenses. These tenses tell us that a continuing activity either ended in the past, has ended in the present, or will end in the future. We show how to write them in Help Note F.C.

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Present and past verbs can stand alone as verbs. All other tenses use auxiliary verbs. So, as examples, the present tense says, "I eat." But the future tense says, "I shall eat." And the past perfect tense says, "I had eaten." (We have underlined the auxiliary verbs.)

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3. Topics which Help Us with Verb Tenses

a. Abbreviations for Tenses

To help us discuss verb tenses, we give that we will use frequently:

cont. continuousfut. futureinf. infinitiveperf. perfect.

pp. past participlepres. presentpres. part. present participlept. - past

Before we learn how to form each tense, we need help concerning three topics. We will not explain how each topic helps us until we begin the next main section of this lesson.

b. Person and Number

Sometimes verbs tell us about person and number.

By person we mean information concerning who (or what) the sentence refers to. 1) A verb in the first person shows that the author writes about himself or

about a group of people to whom the author belongs. 2) A verb in the second person shows that the author describes his reader or

readers--his audience. 3) A verb in the third person shows that the author describes someone or

something which does not include the author or his audience.

In the tables which follow, we use 1st, 2nd, and 3rd to refer to first person, second person, and third person.

By number we mean that the sentence presents the action or existence either of a singular subject or of a plural subject.

1) A singular subject consists of only one person or thing. 2) A plural subject includes two or more people or things.

In the tables which follow we will use "Sing." and "Pl." to refer to singular and plural.

c. Principle Parts of Verbs

Principle Parts form another topic which we need to understand when we work with verbs. By "principle" we mean basic. Nearly every verb has five basic forms, or principle parts. We use one of these basic forms whenever we form a verb tense.

We begin this topic by listing five principle parts of English verbs. The second line gives their abbreviations which we use frequently in this course. They include:

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Infinitive Present Past Past PresentParticiple Participle

inf. pres. pt. pp. pres. part.

Though at least five principle parts exist in English, we believe that we need to learn only three of them. We have placed the three principle parts which we need to know in the middle of our list.

We can follow a method of learning the middle three principle parts for a verb. We need only to complete each of these sentences with a verb:

For the present, complete this: "Today I __________."For the past, complete this: "Yesterday I __________."For the past participle, complete this: "Many times I have __________."

1) Principle Parts of Regular Verbs

If we take the verb, "follow," we would complete the sentences, which we have just stated in these ways:

"Today I follow." "Follow" states the present principle part."Yesterday I followed." "Followed" states the past principle part."Many times, I have followed." "Followed" states the past participle.

If we take the verb, "love," we would write:"Today I love." "Love" states the present principle part."Yesterday I loved." "Loved" states the past principle part."Many times, I have loved." "Loved" the past participle.

So, we can list the principle parts of "follow" and "love" as:


inf. pres. pt. pp. pres. part.to follow follow followed followed following

to love love loved loved loving

We call "follow" and "love" regular verbs because their principle parts conform to the pattern of most English verbs. To form the past and past participle of a regular verb, we merely add "-ed" or "-d" to the end of the present verb form. So, the past and past participle of "follow" and "love" end with "d" or "ed."

To form the other two principle parts we begin with the 1 st person singular present tense of the verb:

1) to form the infinitive, we write "to" before the 1 st person singular present ; and2) to form the present participle, we add "ing" to the end of the 1 st person singular present.

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So, the infinitive of "follow" says, "to follow." The present participle of "follow" says, "following."

These rules apply to every English verb except the verb "be." The following words give the principle parts of "be."


inf. pres. pt. pp. pres. part.to be am was been being

2) Principle Parts of Irregular Verbs

Irregular verbs do not follow the pattern of "love" and "follow." Consider the following irregular verbs:


inf. pres. pt. pp. pres. part.

to eat eat ate eaten eatingto write write wrote written writingto ring ring rang rung ringing

Each irregular verb has its own pattern; often its pattern does not match the pattern of any other verb.

We noted that the past participles of regular verbs end with "d" or "ed." Irregular verbs differ slightly from this rule. Their past participles usually end with "d," "n," or "t." Some teachers call the past participle the "d-n-t" form. Yet past participles of irregular verbs do not all end with "d," "n," or "t." For example, the past participle of "ring" ends with "g."

When we write often, we learn through experience the principle parts of the most frequently-used irregular verbs. We can find the important principle parts of irregular verbs in the dictionary. For example, the OAD tells us the important principle parts of irregular verbs. Like other dictionaries, it lists a verb according to its present principle part. When it gives other principle parts, it uses "pt." before a verb's past tense. It uses "pp." before a verb's past participle. It uses "pres. part." for present participle. The principle parts of verbs give us another reason for owning and using a dictionary.

d. Principle Parts of Two Important Verbs.

Before we can write verbs in all of their tenses we need to know the principle parts of "have" and "be."

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1) Principle Parts of the Verb "Have"


inf. pres. pt. pp. pres. part.to have have had had having

In order to write some tenses, we need to know how to write the present, past and future of the verb "have." We list them here:

pres. of "have"

Sing. Pl.

1st have have

2nd

have have

3rd has have

pt. of "have"

Sing. Pl.

1st had had

2nd

had had

3rd had had

fut. of "have"

Sing. Pl.

1st shall have shall have2nd will have will have3rd will have will have

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2) Principle Parts of "be"

We also need to know the present, past and past participle of the verb "be." We list them here:

pres. of "be"

Sing. Pl.1st am are2nd

are are

3rd is are

pt. of "be"

Sing. Pl.1st was were2nd

were were

3rd was were

pp. of "be"

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Sing. Pl.

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1st been been2nd

been been

3rd been beenStudents should memorize the principle parts of "have" and "be."

4. The "s" in Present 3rd Singular Verbs

Students should know a feature of nearly all 3 rd person singular present verbs. The 3rd

person singular present almost always has an "s" at the end of the verb. The verbs, "have" and "be" illustrate this feature (seen in "has," "is"). If the verb consists of one word, that word will end with an "s" in the 3rd person singular present form. If the verb includes an auxiliary verb to form a present perfect or a present continuous present, the first auxiliary verb has the final "s." We give a few examples of singular verbs:

The pres. of "run"1st run2nd run3rd runs

The pres. perf. of verb "do:1st have done2nd have done3rd has done

The pres. of "laugh"1st laugh2nd laugh3rd laughs

The pres. perf. cont. of "work"1st have been working2nd have been working3rd has been working

We can call the present 3 rd person singular verb the "s-form" because in almost every instance in English an "s" appears as the last letter of the first word in the verb.

C. FORMING VERBS IN SIX TENSES

Help Note F.C gives specific examples of writing verbs in all tenses. Here we summarize how to write only six tenses: present, past, future, present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect. We have decided not to explain how to form the continuous tenses in this lesson because writers of essays should not use them often. Help Note F.C includes information which explains how to write all tenses, including some of the continuous tenses.

Our approach to writing verbs in their tenses follows three steps:1. First, we list the principle parts of a verb.2. Second, we apply the method of forming tenses.3. Third, we check our work to see if it uses auxiliary (helping) verbs

correctly.

We follow these three steps for the regular verb "follow" and the irregular verb "write."

1. First Step: we list the principle parts of the verbs:

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Inf. Pres. Pt Pp. Pres. Part.to follow follow followed followed followingto write write wrote written writing

2. Second Step: we apply the method of forming tenses:

Though forming tenses may seem very difficult to the student, we summarize part of the process by giving the following principles.

a. All tenses include a form of the main verb. In "I wrote" and "we shall write," a form of the basic verb, "write," appears. The first uses the past principle part; the second uses the present principle part to form a future tense.

b. The form of the main verb stands as the last word in every tense. For example, the last word in the future tense, "we shall write," consists of the present participle part of "write." In the past perfect, "I had written," the last word consists of the past participle of "write."

c. Simple present tense and simple past tense verbs stand alone without auxiliary verbs.

d. All other tenses use auxiliary (or helping) verbs. 1) Every form of the future tense includes "shall" or "will." 2) Every perfect tense begins with a form of "have" and ends with

the past participle of the verb. (symbolized below by "form of 'have' + and pp.)

e. The first auxiliary verb will change to express the specific tense and person. (Two examples: 1) When a verb requires a final "s" for the 3rd

person singular, the "s" becomes the last letter of the first auxiliary verb; 2) The first auxiliary verb in the first person of future tenses, usually consists of "shall," but other future verbs usually use "will.")

To illustrate, we apply these principles for both the singular 1st person and the singular 3rd person.

Present Past FutureSimple I follow I followed I shall follow

He follows He followed He will followI write I wrote I shall write

He writes He wrote He will write

Perfect I have followed I had followed I shall have followed(form of He has followed He had followed He will have followed"have" I have written I had written I shall have written

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+ pp.) He has written He had written He will have written

3. Third Step: we check our work to see if we have used auxiliary (helping) verbs correctly.

D. ADVERBS

Like adjectives, adverbs describe or modify. Adjectives modify nouns and pronouns. Adverbs modify verbs, adverbs and adjectives. Consider how we use and adverb "really" in the following examples:

Example 3.7: He really ran fast to the tall building.Example 3.8: He ran really fast to the tall building.Example 3.9: He ran fast to the really tall building.

In Example 3.7 "really" modifies the verb "ran;" in this sentence "really" means he "truly" ran or ran "energetically." So, the sentence means that he truly ran fast. In Example 3.8 "really" modifies the adverb "fast;" in this sentence it means "very." The sentence means that he ran "very" fast. In Example 3.9 "really" modifies the adjective "tall;" here also it means "very." So, the third sentence means that he ran to the "very" tall building. The position of "really" in each sentence tells us what "really" modifies. In each case "really" modifies the word--verb, adverb, or adjective--which follows it.

1. The Purpose of Adverbs

Adverbs answer the questions: How? When? Where? Why? How often? and To what extent (how much or how long)? In the three examples which we gave, "really" answers the question, "to what extent?" It answers that question concerning a verb, and adverb, and an adjective.

2. Kinds of Adverbs

a. Simple Adverbs: Some adverbs stand as adverbs simply because they have the meaning of an adverb. In that situation, we use them as one-word adverbs without adding a word or syllable onto it. Simple adverbs include: always, often, never, there, and often.

b. Adjectival Adverbs: We form some adverbs by adding "-ly" at the end of adjectives. We give some examples:

Adjective Adverbquick quicklyslow slowly

endless endlesslyexcited excitedlyusual usually

Usually adverbs which end with "-ly" answer the question "how?"

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c. Verifying Adverbs: Some adverbs express the truthfulness of a statement or deny its truth. Adverbs which express truthfulness include these words: yes, certainly. Adverbs which deny the truthfulness of a statement include: no, not, and never.

d. Prepositional Adverbs: Sometimes we use prepositions as adverbs. In this case the preposition does have an object of the preposition. Rather, it functions as an adverb.

We can give a few examples of what we mean:Preposition Adverb

I ran down the road. Please sit down.The boy climbed up the wall. When will he wake up?

Sometimes, when we use prepositions as adverbs, grammars call them "adverb particles." Also, sometimes they call the verb with a particle a "phrasal verb." They use this term to describe a verb and preposition which seem together to form one verb. Examples of phrasal verbs include: "break down," "give up." and "put off."11

e. We could have mentioned even more kinds of adverbs. We have mentioned these only give the impression that adverbs exist with different purposes; also, they come from different kinds of words.

3. Adverbs and Degrees of Comparison

Like some adjectives, some adverbs express degree. This means they compare the action of one thing to the action of another thing.

To express the comparative degree of one-syllable adverbs, we add "-er" to the end of the adverb. When one-syllable adverbs compare three of more actions, we add "-est" to form the superlative of the adverb. When we use adverbs which have two or more syllables to make comparisons, we form the comparative by writing "more" before the adverb. We add "most" before the adverb to form the superlative.

We need to remember a small difference between adjectives and adverbs in the way they express degrees of comparison between. Lesson One says that we show comparison with two-syllable adjectives which end with "-y" by adding "-ier" and "iest." So, we write the comparative of funny as "funnier;" we write its superlative as "funniest." We do not follow this practice with adverbs. Two-syllable adverbs which end with "-y" use "more" and "most" to form degrees of comparison. So, the adverb, "gladly," says "more gladly" in the comparative and "most gladly" in the superlative.

11 Swan 15.

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We must also mention irregular adverbs. Often, they do not follow the patterns which we have just summarized. A dictionary will tell us how to form their degrees of comparison.


One-syllable fast faster fastestAdverbs slow slower slowest

Longer Adverbs swiftly more swiftly most swiftlyquietly more quietly most quietly

Irregular Adverbs well better best

SUMMARY

We have introduced the English verb by explaining what a verb does. It states the action or existence of a noun or pronoun.

We introduced the idea of verb tense. We learned that verb tense informs us about time. The present tense tells us about present time. The past tense tells us about what happened or existed in the past. The future tense tells us about the future. The present, past and future belong to the group of tenses which we call the simple tenses.

Next, we explored variations of the three tenses. The perfect tenses tell us about the time when an event already came to its close. The continuous tenses tell us when an event continues or continued. The perfect continuous tenses tell us when an event in progress came to its close.

We explained how to form six tenses. We must use a form of the main verb. Often, we also use different forms of "be" and "have." Students need to learn which form of the verb to use for each tense. They also need to know how to use "be" and "have" to express tense and number for each tense. This very difficult lesson for many students will prove helpful when students write essays.

Finally, we introduced students to the adverb. We summarized some ways we use to form adverbs. We also summarized how to form degrees of comparisons with adverbs. We will discuss the word order to use with adverbs in a future lesson.

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT AND HOMEWORK FOR LESSON THREE

A. Essay Assignment: Write a one-page essay in the following way:a. Write a one-page essay about when you went to school.

12 We use the "positive" when an adverb does not make a comparison; we use "comparative" when the adverb compares one verb to another; we use "superlative" when we compare a verb to at least three or more others.

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b. Tell how specific teachers influenced you. Summarize what you liked learning the most.

c. Begin each paragraph with a sentence which introduces the topic of the paragraph. Conclude each paragraph with a sentence which summarizes the paragraph.

d. Limit your essay to one page.e. Make sure that your writing follows the instruction which Lessons One

through Three give.f. Give your essay a title.

B. HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT: Complete the ten exercises for Lesson Three in the Homework Manual. Students should rely on this lesson and on Help Notes F and G to complete the homework.

1. Comprehension Questions (3 pts. for 9 correct answers)a. What two things can a verb express?b. What do tenses tell us?c. Name the three simple tenses.d. Name the three perfect tenses.e. How do the simple and perfect tenses differ in their perspective on time?f. What do continuous tenses tell us?g. What do we mean by the person and number of a verb?h. Which principle part of the verb do we use to form perfect tenses?i. What verb form uses the s-form?j What principle part of the verb do we use to form continuous tenses?

2. State the tense of each verb. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)

Example:rides simple present

a. will travel _________________________________b. had run _________________________________c. will have eaten _________________________________d. is coming _________________________________e. has played _________________________________f. sat _________________________________g. sits _________________________________h. had been going _________________________________i will be singing _________________________________j. had stumbled _________________________________

3. Use your dictionary to write the past and past participle of these verbs. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)

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Present Past Past Participle

Example: feel felt felta. work _________________ _________________b. disagree _________________ _________________c. sing _________________ _________________d. factor _________________ _________________e. draw _________________ _________________

4. Identify the tense of these forms of "have." (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)

Examplehad past

a. had had _________________________________b. have _________________________________c. shall have _________________________________d. have had _________________________________e. will have had _________________________________

5. Identify the tense of these forms of "be." (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)

a. will _________________________________b. was _________________________________c is _________________________________d. had been _________________________________e. has been _________________________________

6. Write the forms of the simple past tense of the verb "rejoice." (1 pt. for 5 correct answers)

Sing. Pl.1st ___________________ __________________2nd ___________________ __________________3rd ___________________ __________________

7. Write the forms of the simple past of the verb "sing." (1 pt. for 5 correct answers)Sing. Pl.

1st ___________________ __________________2nd ___________________ __________________3rd ___________________ __________________

8. Write the forms of the present perfect of the verb "cast." (1 pt. for 5 correct answers)

Sing. Pl.1st ___________________ __________________2nd ___________________ __________________

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3rd ___________________ __________________

9. Write the forms of the continuous past of "build." (1 pt. for 5 correct answers)Sing. Pl.

1st ___________________ __________________

2nd ___________________ __________________

3rd ___________________ __________________

10. Write the comparative and superlative forms of these adverb. A dictionary may help you. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)

Positive Comparative Superlative

a. swiftly __________ __________

b. calmly __________ __________

c. well __________ __________

d. fast __________ __________

e. thoroughly __________ __________

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Simple Sentence Homework Lesson Four

Lesson Four

X-Words, Sentence Trunk and Agreement

We have discussed nouns and noun phrases. We have also learned important properties of verbs.

In this lesson, we join nouns and verbs to form basic sentences. But first, we will discuss X-words, which help us identify the subject. Next, we will discuss the basic features of a sentence. Finally, we will explore how to make sure that the subject and verb work together in the sentence.

A. X-WORDS

We follow Robert Allen and others who refer to “X-words.”13 Traditional English grammars call them auxiliary verbs or helping verbs--as we have done so far. But the name, X-words, refers to the position where auxiliary verbs stand in verb phrases. Other parts of the verb phrase stand, for example, in the "Y-position."

1. The list of X-Words

We list the most common X-words here:am, is are, was, were (and other forms of “to be”)can (can’t) could (couldn’t)do (don’t) does (doesn’t) did (didn’t)have (haven’t) has (hasn’t) had (hadn’t)may might must (mustn’t)shall should (shouldn’t)will (won’t) would (wouldn’t)

We need to explain parts of this list. First, all the words in a row (from left to right) belong together. For example, “do,” “does,” and “did” appear in one row. This shows that “do” sometimes appears as “does” (in the 1rd singular present tense) and sometimes as “did” (in the past tense). Similarly, sometimes we change “have” to “had” (in the past and past perfect tenses). All the words in the same row have the same basic meaning.

Second, some words appear between parentheses. For example, “(don’t)” appears after “do.” The words in parentheses show us what happens when we add “not” to an X-word. So, if we choose to write “will not,” we could also write “won’t.” The apostrophe (’) tells us that the speaker has omitted the vowel “o” of “not.” The two syllables of “will not” have become a one-syllable word, “won’t.” We call this shortened form a “contraction.”

13 Robert Allen, Rita Pompian and Doris Allen, Working Sentences, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, Inc.-Harper, 1975.

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English speakers often use contractions when they speak. But, many professors do not permit students to use contractions when they write. We include contractions in our list of X-words to remind students that “don’t” means “do not;” “can’t” means “cannot.”

2. Using X-Words to Find the Subject of a Sentence

We follow a few steps with X-words to find the subject phrase of a sentence:

a) Write a statement which includes an X-word. (In examples 4.1 through 4.4 we underline the X-words.)

Example 4.1: Statement: I can write in English.

b) Rewrite the sentence into a question which someone can answer with only “yes” or “no.” To form such questions, we place the X-word at the beginning of the question.

Example 4.2: Question: Can I write in English?

Notice that we can answer this question with "Yes" or "No" as the answer.

c) Find all the words which appear before the X-word in the statement and after the X-word in the question. These words form the subject phrase.

In this case, only “I” appears before “can” in the statement and after “Can” in the question. Therefore, “I” stands as the only word of the subject in Example 4.1.

We give another example, with a sentence that includes the X-word “does.”

Example 4.3: Statement: The tall boy with the red hat does like dogs.

Example 4.4: Question: Does the tall boy with the red hat like dogs?

Notice, again, that we can answer the questions with "Yes" or "No."

“The tall boy with the red hat” includes all the words which stand before “does” in the statement and after “does” in the question. Therefore, the full subject phrase of the sentence says, “the tall boy with the red hat.” Students will note that this full subject phrase forms a noun phrase, which we describe in Lesson Two. The noun in the noun phrase which all the other words modify—"boy"—forms the subject of the sentence.

Next, we consider a statement where an X-word does not appear.

Example 4.5: Statement: The tree near my house stands tall.

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Since this statement does not include an X-word, we need to supply one before we can write a question. We can rewrite the statement to say:

Example 4.6: Statement: The tree near my house does stand tall.14

Notice, again, that someone can answer the question with "Yes" or "No."

Now we can write a question which has the answer of yes or no:

Example 4.7: Question: Does the tree near my house stand tall?

The words which stand before the X-word in Example 4.6 and after the X-word in Example 4.7 say, “the tree near my house.” Therefore, “the tree near my house” forms the subject phrase.

We need, next, to find the subject of a sentence which includes a negative word, such as “no,” “not.” Sentences with these words in the verbs do not affirm something as true. Rather, they deny an idea.

Example 4.8: Statement: I do not like to watch television.

This denies the idea that I like to watch television. (It does not state what I do like.) When we write the question, we remove the negative word. To make a question from this sentence, we remove “not.” So, the question says:

Example 4.9: Question: Do I like to watch television?

Since only “I” appears in the sentence before the X-word, “do” and after the X-word in the question, we conclude that “I” forms the subject of the sentence.

Finally, we look at a statement which uses the word “never.” For example:

Example 4.10: Statement: The short old man will never fly on a plane.

To write a question which we can answer with "yes" or "no," we change “never” to “ever.” Then we write the question. The question says:

Example 4.11: Question: Will the short old man ever fly on a plane?

The words before the X-word in the statement and after the X-word in the question say “the short old man.” These words form the subject phrase of the sentence.

14 Notice that the “s” at the end of “stands” in Example 4.5 appears as the last letter of “does” in Example 4.6; "does" takes the s-form because it belongs to a present 3rd person singular verb phrase. We should not write “does stands” in Example 4.6; the s-form appears at the end of only the first auxiliary verb in a verb phrase.

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As we begin to discuss the basic parts of the sentence, we can use what we have just studied to help us find the subject and subject phrase of a sentence.

B. THE SENTENCE TRUNK15

1. The Basic Elements of the Sentence

A trunk forms the center of a tree. Branches attach to the tree. Branches connect to the roots through the trunk. Every part of a tree has a connection to the trunk.

A sentence also has a trunk—the central part to which every other part of the sentence has a connection. The trunk includes both the subject and the verb.

When we write the most basic sentence possible, we must include at least four elements:1) We must capitalize the first letter;2) We must include a subject;3) We must include a verb; and4) We must end the sentence with a punctuation mark: a period (.)—which

some people call a "full stop"--a question mark (?), or an exclamation mark (!).

Example 4.12 Mary reads.

This short sentence satisfies all the requirements of a sentence. Besides the capital letter and period, the sentence includes a subject and a verb, which form the trunk of this sentence.

However, command sentences usually take the form of only one word.

Example 4.13: Come!

This command means, "You come." Usually a command does not state the subject; it gives only the verb. Nevertheless, it always implies "you" as the subject. Example 4.13 implies "you." So, a command does not contradict the idea that a sentence has both a subject and a verb.

2. The Meaning of "Subject"

Since various grammars use "subject" differently, we need to understand how we use the word in this course. We use "subject" to refer to the word (or words) which identifies what the sentence tells us about.

15 I borrow the term from Allen et. al., 43ff.

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Sometimes grammars identify the subject as the subject noun along with the rest of the phrase which describes it. For example, some grammars identify the subject of Example 4.10 as "the short old man." This course calls these words "the subject phrase." We call the main noun in the phrase--"man'"--the subject of the sentence.

We give an example of a sentence with a longer subject phrase to make the point.

Example 4.14 The old man with the red hat will never fly again.

In this sentence "The old man with the red hat" forms the entire noun phrase. It includes adjectives ("the," "old") and a prepositional phrase ("with the red hat"). Both the adjectives and the prepositional phrase describe the noun, "man." So, we call "man" the subject; and we call "The old man with the red hat" the subject phrase.

3. The Meaning of "Predicate"

We explain the meaning of predicate both by describing the words that belong to it and by explaining what a predicate does. First, the predicate includes almost all of the words which do not belong to the subject phrase. Second, we can say what the predicate does. In older English, people said "predicate" to mean "preach" of "declare." In English grammar, we say "predicate" to refer to the words which declare or say. The predicate says what the subject does; or it declares the condition of the subject. So, the subject (and subject phrase) tells us what the sentence talks about; the predicate tells us what the subject does.

Sometimes a grammar book will identify only the main verb as the predicate. But we usually define the predicate to include both the main verb of the sentence and all the words which assist it to tell us what the subject does. We identify the predicate of Example 4.14 as "will never fly again." "Will fly"--the future tense of fly--stands as the main verb. "Never" and "again" exist as adverbs which answer the question, "When?" Therefore, the words, "will never fly again" all help to declare something about the old man with the red hat. They form the predicate.

We also need to understand that the subject phrase and the predicate both have central words. We can reduce the subject phrase to the subject; we can reduce the predicate to the main verb. The sentence trunk consists of the subject and verb.

When we know the subject and the verb, we can write sentences with clarity. We improve the clarity of a sentence by keeping the subject and verb close together. William Strunk wrote, "The subject of a sentence and the principal [main] verb should not, as a rule, be separated by a phrase or clause that can be transferred to the beginning."16

We illustrate. A person may choose to write, "Moses, in an outburst of anger, killed the Israelite." "Moses" stands as the subject; "killed" stands as the verb. We find, in

16 William Strunk, Jr., and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th Ed. (Needham Heights, MA: Longman--A Pearson Education Company, 2000) 29.

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between them, a prepositional phrase, "in an outburst of anger." Strunk's advice says that we should find a place for the prepositional phrase where it does not separate the subject from the verb. He suggests the beginning of the sentence. With the change, the sentence reads, "In an outburst of anger Moses killed the Israelite." This word order gives strength to the sentence trunk: "Moses killed."

So, a sentence fulfills two purposes: 1) it identifies its subject, and 2) it uses the predicate to state something about the subject. We form the sentence trunk by including the subject and main verb.

C. Rules which Govern Agreement in the Trunk17

Often students do not understand how to express the relationship between the subject and the verb. When we write some tenses, we use the same verb forms for all subjects. But the most frequently-used tenses change verb forms as the subject changes. When the subject changes, the writer must make sure that the verb agrees with the new subject in person and number.

To begin our discussion of agreement, we remind students to read Lesson One where it discusses plural nouns. When a plural noun stands as the subject in a sentence, we call it a plural subject.

We can give the following rules which help us identify almost all plural subjects.

a. When a word refers to one person, place, thing or idea, we regard it as singular. When it refers to more than one, we regard it as plural.

b. A verb agrees with the number of its subject. In other words, the number (singular or plural) of the subject will determine the form (singular or plural) of the verb.

We can give an example of this rule when we use the word "deer." Students may remember that we spell the singular and plural forms of "deer" in the same way. Suppose we see one deer walking across the road. In that situation, we say:

Example 4.15 The deer walks across the road."

Notice that we use "walks," an s-form verb, which we use only in the present tense for 3 rd

person, singular. "Walks" tells us that "deer" means one animal in this sentence. The subject, "deer" and verb, "walks," agree in person (3rd person) and number (singular).,

Now, suppose we see many deer walking across the road. We say:

17 We depend on: John E. Warriner, English Grammar and Composition: Second Course, Franklin Ed. (Orlando: Harcourt Brace Janovich, 1982) 141-155.

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Example 4.16 The deer walk across the road.

In this case, we say "walk," which we use for present tense 3 rd person, plural. The verbs in Examples 4.15 and 4.16 give the only clues which tell us whether one or more than one deer walks across the road. Examples 4.15 and 4.16 both demonstrate agreement in person and number between subject and verb.

Now we give another example:

Example 4.17 The deer walked across the road.

This gives almost the same sentence as examples 4.15 and 4.16. But we made one change: we wrote the verb in the past tense. Usually the past tense does not change from 3rd person singular to 3rd person plural. So, Example 4.17 uses the past verb for both a singular or a plural noun. Only the context can show us whether we mean one (singular) or more than one (plural) "deer."

These examples demonstrate two rules: a. Subject and verb must agree in person and number, b. The verb form agrees with (or matches) the subject in person (1st,

2nd, or 3rd person) and number (singular).

Now we add a third rule:

c. A prepositional phrase does not change rule b. Or we could say, the number of a subject does not change when a prepositional phrase follows the subject.

Consider the following sentences:

Example 4.18 The dog barks loudly.

Example 4.19 The dog with the brown spots barks loudly.

These sentences have several similarities. First, both use the singular "dog" as their subjects. Second, both use the present verb for 3rd person singular, "barks"—the s-form. But Example 4.19 places a prepositional phrase between the subject ("dog") and the verb ("barks"). Furthermore, the preposition has a plural object, "spots." Still each sentence needs the same agreement between the singular subject and its present 3 rd person singular verb. As rule "c." says, the prepositional phrase does not change the rule which requires agreement in person and number between subject and verb.

We add more rules which govern agreement between subject and verb.

d. We treat these indefinite pronouns as singular: each, either, neither, one, everyone, everybody, no one nobody, anyone, anybody, someone,

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somebody (see Help Note 4 on indefinite pronouns). They need singular verbs.

e. We treat these indefinite pronouns as plural: both, few, several, many. They need plural verbs.

f. We can treat some indefinite pronouns as either singular or plural: some, any, none, all, and most. Their use will determine whether agreement requires a singular verb or a plural verb.

Example 4.20: Each loves the book.

Example 4.21: Both love the book.

Example 4.22: Some of the people love the book.

Example 4.23: Some of the book fascinates me.

In Example 4.22 we treat "some" as plural because the prepositional phrase after it defines "some" as plural (see the last paragraph in Help Note D.E on Indefinite Pronouns). In Example 4.23 "some" refers to a part of the book. In this case, we treat "some" as singular because it refers to a part of a singular noun.

g. More than one subject joined by "and," form a plural subject.

Example 4.23: Matthew and Luke eat the meal.

Example 4.24: The prophets and the apostles eat the meal.

Example 4.25: Paul and the 12 apostles eat the meal.

All of the underlined present verbs in these three examples follow plural subjects. "Matthew and Luke"—a combination of two singular nouns—form a plural subject because "and" joins them; in this case the verb tells us about two (plural) people. "Paul and the 12 apostles"—a combination of a singular and a plural noun—also forms a plural subject; "and" joins them. So, we use the verb for 3rd plural in each of these sentences. In other words, we do not write, "Matthew and Luke eats the meal."

h. When we join singular subjects with "or" or "nor," we use a singular verb.

Consider the following examples:

Example 4.26: Matthew or Luke eats the meal.

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The sentence does not tell us exactly who eats. But we know that either Matthew or Luke eats the meal. Since only one eats it, we use "eats," the s-form of eat for present singular 3rd person verbs.

i. Treat phrases which state amount—of time, of money, of measurement, of weight. of volume, or of fractions—as singular nouns when we consider the phrase as a unit.

Example 4.27: Twenty kilograms seems like a heavy weight.

The subject phrase, "Twenty kilograms," states one amount of weight. So, we use a present singular verb for 3rd person--the s-form, "seems."

Example 4.28: Thirty hours lasts a long while.

Example 4:28 uses "Thirty hours" as its subject phrase. Since "thirty hours" expresses an amount of time, we write the verb which follows it in the s-form, for 3 rd person singular present.

j. The titles of books and the names of organizations or countries take singular verbs.

Example 4.29: The United States belongs to North America.

"The United States" looks like a plural noun phrase. Yet it gives us the name of one country. So, we used "belongs," the s-form, which we use for 3rd person singular present subjects.

Example 4.30: War and Peace is a massive book.

We write War and Peace (in italics) to show that it gives the name of a book. The words, War and Peace, form the name of one book. So, we use "is," the present 3 rd person singular (the s-form) of the verb "be."

SUMMARY

Lesson Four introduced a few topics which enables us to begin to write sentences. First, we explored what we call X-words (usually called auxiliary verbs); we learned how to use X-words to find the saw that a sentence includes a subject phrase and a predicate; we can reduce each part and say that a sentence has a subject and a verb. A trunk consists of only the subject and main verb. We also summarized the need for agreement between subject and verb. A plural subject needs a plural verb. A singular subject needs a singular verb. We discussed how to apply this rule with different kinds of subjects.

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ESSAY ASSIGNMENT AND HOMEWORK FOR LESSON FOUR

A. Essay Assignment: Write a one-page essay in the following way:

a. Write a one-page essay about your family today. Possibly you have married in your adult life; possibly, you have children. You may also wish to write about the present situation of your parents. Summarize your life with your family.b. Begin each paragraph with a sentence which introduces the topic of the paragraph. Conclude each paragraph with a summary sentence at the end of the paragraph.c. Limit your essay to approximately one page. We do not want two or more pages.d. Give this one-page essay a name or title.e. Try to follow the instruction which you learned in Lessons One through Four.

B. Homework Assignment: Complete the ten exercises for Lesson Four in the Homework Manual.

1. Comprehension Questions (3 pt. got 9 correct answers)

a. According to Lesson Four, how do we use X-words to find the subject phrase of a sentence?

b. What do we do if the sentence does not have an X-word? c. What do we do when the sentence with an X-word uses the word, "never?"d. What four things do we need to include to form a sentence trunk?e. What do we mean by sentence subject?f. What do we mean by subject phrase?g. What do we mean by predicate?h. What does the predicate do to the subject?i. How must subject and verb agree in a sentence?j. When the subject has two singular nouns which we connect with "and," do

we use a plural verb or a singular verb?

2. Write the X-words in each sentence. If the sentence does not have an X-word, write the missing X-word (2 pts. for 8 correct answers)

a. I can work for you today.b. The beautiful and powerful horse will run in the race today.c. The wide dark clouds reduce the sunlight that we see.d. The thatched-roofed house has sheltered many from the severe rain storm.e. You should try to know the pastor better.f. You can easily read the entire book.g. The dry footpath will guide you to my house.h. The paved road will last many years.i. He knows what I said.j. I enjoy listening to the people sing.

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3. Rewrite each sentence in #2 so that it asks a question which someone can answer with “yes” or “no.” (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)

4. Based on answers for 3 and 4, write the subject phrase of each sentence. (In some sentences, the subject phrase consists of only one word) (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)

5. Each "sentence" lacks one of the four necessary parts. Rewrite the sentence so that it includes all of the necessary parts. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)

a. Do youb. you worked.c. She.d. Thinks.e. The rain fell

6. Write the subject phrase of each sentence; on another line write the predicate. (1 pt. for 4 correctly marked sentences)a. The man with the red hat reads many books every year.b. The sun will shine tomorrow.c. The large crowds of young people sang their favorite songs.d. Does the man with the red hat read many books every year?e. We will travel to the coast of Australia tomorrow.

7. Write the predicate of each sentence. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)a. We will study English grammar.b. God created the heavens and the earth.c. All of the horses in the field looked up at the car.d. Peter and John walked into the temple.e. All the people of the city loved their beautiful park.

8. If we can use the s-form of the verb, write "s-form" for the sentence. If we should not use the s-form, write "no 's'" to the sentence (1 pt. for 8 correct answers).

Example: He will tell you about his boat.Answer: no s

a. We think___ about your visit every day.

b. She will talk___ about all of her friends.

c. She talk___ about all of her friends.

d. The man in the red hat look___ at the blue had.

e. You like___ the story about Martin Luther King.

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f. They have come___ to this store many times.

g. The trees will change___ their color in the autumn.

h. The class seem___ difficult.

i. The classes seem___ difficult.

j. The man with the red hat ride___ on the horse with the white mane.

9. Follow the instructions for question 8 with these sentences also. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)

a. People with a desire to serve God study___ the Bible.

b. The man with many motorbikes ride___ on the roads every day.

c. Isaac and Imo encourage___ each other in their work.

d. Juan encourage___ Isaac and Imo in their work.

e Isaac or Imo encourage___ Juan in this work.

10. Follow the instruction for 8 with these sentences also. Check the Dictionary if you do not know if a word is singular of plural. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)

a. Athens welcome___ millions of visitors every year.

b. The people of Athens welcome___ millions of visitors every year.

c. One hundred points weigh___ very much.

d. Ten o'clock seem___ like the right time for our meeting.

e. Two hours seem___ like too much time for the meeting.

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Simple Sentence Homework Lesson Five

Lesson Five

Types of Verbs and Word Order in Predicates

So far, we have discussed basic information concerning English verbs. For example, in the previous lesson we explain how main verbs must agree in person and number with the subject of a sentence.

This lesson will discuss how most verbs also relate to words which follow them. Different kinds of verbs have different kinds of words after them. For example, after verbs such as "love" and "hit," we expect a noun which tells us who the person loves or what the person hit. After a verb such as "try" we may expect a phrase which includes a verb. Possibly the sentence says, "try to eat." Almost every verb, has a specific kind of word or phrase which follows it.

This lesson will present four basic types of verbs. We will also discuss the words which follow each type.

A. HELPING VERBS

Sometimes English grammars call the verbs which we discuss here, "auxiliary verbs." We mention helping verbs first because students read about them in Lesson Four when we discussed X-words. Both phrases--"X-words" (which speaks of their position in a verb) and "helping verbs" (which tells us about their role in a verb phrase)--refer to auxiliary verbs.

In this section, we need most to understand that helping verbs belong to the main verb.

Example 5.1: The tallest boy in our village will eat.

We can identify the subject phrase because the sentence includes an X-word, "will." If we turn the sentence into a question which receives the answer of "yes" or "no," we say, "Will the tallest boy in our village eat?" The words before "will" in the sentence and after "will" in the question say, "the tallest boy in our village." These words form the subject phrase.

The subject consists of only one word, "boy." The two words before "boy" consist of adjectives--"the" and "tallest" which describe "boy." "In our village" forms a prepositional phrase which describes "boy."

But we cannot reduce the main verb, "will eat," to only one word. "Will eat" forms the simple future verb. As we saw in Lesson Three, many verbs include helping (or auxiliary) verbs to form their tenses. Verbs also include helping verbs to affect the meaning in other ways. "Can help," for example expresses help which a person has the ability to give. "Will help" states what he will do. For a variety of reasons, the verb of a sentence frequently consists of a helping verb and the main verb.

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B. TRANSITIVE VERBS AND WORDS WHICH FOLLOW THEM

1. Definition of Transitive Verbs

A direct object consists of a noun or pronoun which follows the verb. It answers the question "who?" or "what?" which we ask after the verb.

Example 5.2: The tallest boy in our village will eat his meal.

We have underlined two words which we added to Example 5.1. We can ask, "The tallest boy in our village will eat what?" The sentence gives the answer: "his meal." "His meal" tells us what the boy will eat.

"His meal" forms a noun phrase. It includes a possessive pronoun, "his," which modifies "meal." We call the noun, "meal," the "direct object."

Example 5.3: I see the man with the yellow hat.

"I" forms the subject. "See" forms the verb. We can ask: "I see what?" The sentence answers that I see "the man with the yellow hat."

The word before "man"--"the"--forms an article which refers to "man." All other words in the sentence, "with the yellow hat," form a prepositional phrase which modifies "man." When we remove all modifiers, the sentence says, "I see man." Since "man" answers the question, "see who," we call "man" the direct object of the verb, "see."

We call a verb which has a direct object, a transitive verb.

We call it transitive because the verb transfers (or moves) action from the subject to an object. The action comes from the subject; it goes to the direct object.

2. Other Direct Objects

A direct object always consists of a noun or pronoun. In the following example the direct object consists of a pronoun.

Example 5.4: I saw him.

A transitive verb can have more than one direct object. The following sentences gives examples:

Example 5.5: I love music and art.

Example 5.6: I shook my head and my feet.

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We can call a verb transitive if nouns or pronouns which follow the verb answer the questions, "who?" or "what?"

3. The Case of Direct Objects

Like an object of the preposition, the direct object takes the "objective case." This does not affect a noun which stands as the direct object. But it makes a difference when a pronoun stands as the direct object.

Help Note D.B (see Forms of Personal Pronouns) mentions objective pronouns when it lists "Object Pronouns." We notice there that the Help Note lists "me," "him," "us," and "them" as object pronouns. It lists "I," "he," "we," and "they" as subject pronouns, which we use when these pronouns form the subjects of sentences.

Example 5.7: I saw him.

Example 5.8: I spoke to him.

Both of these sentences use "I," a subject pronoun, for their subjects. We have underlined both of the object pronouns. In Example 5.7, we can ask, "I saw who?" The sentence answers with the direct object, "him." In Example 5.8 "to him" forms a prepositional phrase in which "him" stands as the object of the preposition. Example 5.7 would speak incorrectly if it said, "I saw he" or "I saw they". Example 5.8 would speak incorrectly if it said, "I spoke to he" or "I spoke to they." Like an object of the preposition, a direct object must take the "object form.

Similarly, Example 5.7 would speak incorrectly if it said, "Me saw him." "Me" comes from the list of object pronouns. We need a subject pronoun because it stands in the position of the subject. So, the correct sentence says "I [subject pronoun] saw him [object pronoun]."

4. Transitive Verbs with Helping Verbs

Transitive verbs can have helping verbs. We give an example:

Example 5.9: The man can see the tree.

In this sentence "man" stands in the position of the subject. "Can see" stands in the position of the verb. "Tree" stands in the position of the direct object. Since "can see" has a direct object, we call "can see" (including the helping verb) a transitive verb.

5. Indirect Objects

A sentence with a direct object often has an indirect object. The indirect object answers the questions "to whom?" "to what?" "for whom? or "for what?"

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Example 5.10: I gave the boy some cookies.

The verb, "gave," stands as the main verb. When we ask, "gave what?" the sentence answers that "I gave some cookies." "Cookies" stands as the direct object. "Boy" answers the question, "to whom?" To whom did I give some cookies? I gave some cookies to the boy. We call "boy" the indirect object.

Example 5.11: She bought her son a new shirt.

"She" forms the subject. "Bought" forms the verb. "Shirt" forms the direct object (She bought what? She bought shirt.). "Son" stands as the indirect object; "son" tells us that she bought the shirt for her son.

When a pronoun forms the indirect object, we must use object pronouns. So, we could rewrite Example 5:11 this way:

Example 5.12: She bought him a new shirt.

We may not write, "She bought he a new shirt." We use "he" only when it takes the place of the subject. We use "him" when it stands in the position of an object: the object of the preposition, the direct object, or the indirect object.

The indirect object appears before the direct object. It answers when we ask the verb one of these questions: "To whom?" "For Whom?" "To what?" "For what?"

C. INTRANSITIVE VERBS

1. The Idea of Intransitive Verbs

The word, "intransitive" means "not transitive." This means that an intransitive verb does not have a direct object. Linking verbs, which we will discuss next, belong to the category of intransitive verbs.

A verb can function as an intransitive verb in one sentence; the same verb can function as a transitive verb in another. We give examples.

Example 5.13: The man sees.

The verb, "sees," stands as an intransitive verb; it has no direct object. The sentence may merely mean that the man can see.

Example 5.14: The man sees the tree.

These two examples demonstrate that a transitive verb in one sentence can function as an intransitive verb in another sentence. In Example 5.14 we call the verb, "see," a transitive verb because it has a direct object, "tree."

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2. Intransitive Verbs with Helping Verbs

Intransitive verbs can have helping verbs. We give an example:

Example 5:15: The man can see.

When we ask, "can see what?" we conclude that the sentence does not answer the question. The sentence may merely mean that the man has eye sight. The presence of the helping verb, "can," does not determine whether the verb of this sentences forms a transitive verb or an intransitive verb. Rather, the fact that the sentence has no direct object helps us identify the verb as intransitive.

D. LINKING VERBS

1. The Idea of Linking Verbs

Linking verbs form a fourth kind of verbs. Linking verbs do not show action. Rather, they express a condition by linking the subject to another noun or adjective which appears after the verb in the predicate.

a. Linking Verbs with Predicate Adjectives

Example 5.16: The man is friendly.

"Man" forms the subject; "is" states the verb. "Friendly" follows the verb; it also describes the subject, "man." We say that "is" links (or connects) "man" to "friendly." Since "friendly" describes the subject, "man," "friendly" forms an adjective. Since "friendly" stands in the predicate, we call it a "predicate adjective," which follows the linking verb.

Example 5.17: The man seems friendly.

Again, "man" forms the subject; "seems" states the verb. "Friendly" follows the verb; it also describes the man. It tells us how the man seems to the speaker. "Friendly" stands as the predicate adjective.

Example 5.18: The soup tasted good.

"Soup" forms the subject; "tasted" forms the verb. "Good" follows the verb; if also describes the "soup." So "tasted" links the subject to "good." "Good" stands as the predicate adjective.

b. Linking Verbs with Predicate Nouns

So far only predicate adjectives have followed the linking verbs which we have used. But linking verbs can also link the subject to predicate nouns.

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Example 5.19: My teacher is a woman.

"Teacher" stands as the subject of this sentence. "Is" functions as the verb; it links "teacher" to the noun, "woman," by saying the gender, or sex, of the teacher.

Example 5.20: Joe remains the chairman of our committee.

"Joe" forms the subject; "remains" states the verb. "Chairman" follows the verb, "remains;" the noun, "chairman," also tells us about the subject, "Joe." So, "chairman" forms the predicate noun of this sentence." But "chairman" also has a second function in the sentence. Chairman" stands as the main noun of a noun phrase. The phrase says, "the chairman of our committee." Despite the noun phrase at the end of the sentence, we can reduce the sentence to its main elements: "Joe remains chairman."

We can summarize the idea of a linking verb: a linking verb links the subject to a noun or adjective which follows the verb in the predicate.

c. The Purpose of Linking Verbs

Most words which describe the subject belong to the subject phrase. Lesson Two shows how we can pack many thoughts about the subject into a list of adjectives and prepositional phrases which stand in the subject phrase. But linking verbs provide a tool which places a description of the subject in the predicate. The predicate with a linking verb tells about the subject. If a predicate noun follows the linking verb, the sentence answers the question, "What job does the subject still have?"

Example 5:21 Joe remains chairman.

This tells us what Joe continues as chairman of the group.

If a predicate adjective follows the linking verb, the sentence answers the question, "What is the subject like?"

Example 5:22 The soup tasted good.

This tells us something about what the soup is like. It is good soup. Linking verbs make the predicate to focus on the subject. With a linking verb, the sentence never goes away from the topic of the subject. This helps us understand the purpose of linking verbs.

d. The Case of Pronouns in the Predicate Noun Position

We have said that we use object a pronoun to stand in the place of the direct object, the indirect object, and the object of the preposition. Parts of the sentence which we call "objects" require objective pronouns. But pronouns can also stand in the position of a predicate noun. These pronouns refer to the subject; so they which take the nominative case in the sentence.

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Example 5.23: That fireman was he.

Suppose you describe a fireman who performed a brave rescue in a burning building. Later, as you tell the story, you see the fireman who performed the rescue. So, you point to him and say, "That fireman was he."

"Fireman" stands in the position of subject. "Was" forms the linking verb. "He" exists as a pronoun; it stands in the position of predicate noun. We use the subject pronoun, "he," (the nominative case), when it takes the place of the predicate noun. Many English speakers incorrectly say, "That fireman was him." But English grammar requires the subject case for pronouns which function as predicate nouns.

Example 5.24: This is she.

Suppose your name is Marcia. You answer someone on the phone who says, "May I speak to Marcia?" A good answer would say, "This is she." You should not say, "This is her" (See Help Note B.D on Forms of Personal Pronouns.). The pronoun appears in the case of the noun which the pronoun replaces.

2. A List of Linking Verbs18

Linking verbs usually come from a short list of words. Linking verbs include:

a. Forms of "be:" am, is, are, was, were, be being been.b. Verb phrases which end with "be" or "been:" shall be, will be, can be,

might be, has been, have been, had been, would have been, might have been, etc.

c. Other verbs: seem, appear, look, become, grow, taste, feel smell, sound, remain, stay.

If a word functions as a linking verb in the present, it can also serve as a linking verb in other tenses. For example, since the present tense verb in "He looks healthy" forms a linking verb, the past tense verb in "He looked healthy" also forms a linking verb.

American English, perhaps more than British English, frequently uses linking verbs. However, most experts in writing discourage writers from frequently using them.19

18 Warriner's 80.19 E. g. William Strunk Jr. and E. B. White, The Elements of Style, 4th Ed. (Needham Heights, MA: Longman--A Pearson Education Company, 2000) 18.

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3. Predicate Nouns and Direct Objects

It may seem that a predicate noun also forms a direct object. See the following example:

Example 5.25: My teacher is a man.

"Teacher" forms the subject. "Is" forms the verb. We can ask, "Teacher is what?" The answer says, "Teacher is man." So, students might ask, "May we call "man" the direct object?"

We answer, "No." One simple reason explains. A direct object refers to something different from the subject; the predicate noun refers to the same think as the subject. In Example 5.20 "teacher" and "man" refer to the same person. The verb which stands between them links them together. Compare this to Example 5.14: "The man sees the tree." Clearly "man" and "tree" do not refer to the same thing. "Sees" does not identify the tree as the man. It does not link "man" to "tree" as though the two refer to the same person. The man sees something outside of himself; he sees a tree. Hopefully this explains how transitive verbs says things about subjects differently from how linking verbs tell us about subjects. Transitive verbs inform us of action which one noun or pronoun does to another. Linking verbs give two words--one before the verb and another after the verb--which refer to the same person or thing.

E. WORD ORDER IN PREDICATES

In Lesson Two we give an almost thorough description of word order in a noun phrase. This means we explain where words belong in the subject phrase and prepositional phrase. But, we cannot list with similar precision how to arrange words in the predicate. Especially adverbs, which belong primarily to the predicate, can stand in a great variety of places in the sentence. We devote the entire next lesson to the placement of adverbs.

Yet here we can say some things about the basic structure of most predicates. Predicates usually belong to the second half of a sentence. They follow a general pattern. We present that general order in this last section of this lesson.

The beginning student should know the following parts of predicates in the following order:20

a. X - X-words (See Lesson 4)b. M - Mid-position adverbs (See Lesson 6)c. Y - Basic Verb (See Lesson 3)d. Z - Direct Object, Predicate Noun or Predicate Adjective (see this lesson)

20 As mentioned in Lesson 4, we have borrowed the name, "X-words," from Robert Allen. He also refers to the "Y-position" in sentences. But he means a different aspect of the predicate than we mean here. We choose X, Y and Z to refer to various parts of the predicate. We use the last three letters of the English alphabet because usually the predicate forms the end of the sentence.

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We refer to X, Y and Z as names of the main parts of a predicate. We will not include all of these parts in every sentence that we write. But when we use any part of the predicate, we must place it where it belongs. These parts must always appear in this order.

Adverbs also belong to predicates. Some adverbs interrupt the flow of the predicate. The location between the X-word and the main verb forms the place where we usually write these adverbs. So, the M-position constitutes a very important place in the predicate. Therefore, we give it special attention. We have already described first, third and fourth parts of the predicate. We will comment on each of these four parts only briefly here.

a. X-words

As we stated in Lesson Four, X-words consist of helping (or auxiliary) verbs. If we write a tense other than the present or past tenses, we use X-words to form the other tenses. So, X-words help us write tenses. Often X-words also reflect the s-form of 3rd person singular verbs. For example, "has written," the verb for "write" in the present perfect 3 rd person singular, places the final-s in the X-word, "has." Verbs in the X-position play a very important part in the English verb system.

b. Mid-position Adverbs

Adverbs appear in a variety of places in the predicate. But when we use adverbs within the verb, we usually place them between x-words and the basic verb. The next lesson will deal with this topic in much more detail.

c. Basic Verb

Every tense uses one of the principle parts of the verb. Usually that principle part shows up after the X-words and after mid-position adverbs.

d. Direct Object, Predicate Noun or Predicate Adjective

Sometimes we will find these words before a verb in poetry or when the sentence emphasizes a point in an unusual way. However, we nearly always add these words after the basic verb.

Yet we need to explain this a little more. The direct object and the predicate noun may form the main nouns of noun phrases. So, the direct object will not always stand as the word immediately after the basic verb. We give an example:

Example 5.26: The crane will quickly drop the very heavy car.

"Crane" stands as the subject." "Will" stands as the X-word which assists in forming the future tense of verb, "will drop." "Quickly" stands as a mid-position adverb within the verb.

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"Drop" exists as the basic verb in "will drop." "Car" acts as the direct object; it answers the question, "Crane will drop what?" "The" and "very heavy" modify the direct object, "car."

In this sentence the direct object, "car," does not stand immediately after the verb. However, the direct object belongs to a noun phrase, "the very heavy car." This phrase, which has "car" as its main noun, does stand immediately after the verb.

Example 5:27: My teacher is the old man with the yellow hat.

"Teacher" stands in the sentence as the subject. "Is" stands as the linking verb. "Man" is the predicate noun." "Is" links my "teacher" to "man." But "man belongs to a noun phrase, "the old man with the yellow hat." "The" acts as the article. "Old" acts as an adjective which modifies "man." "With the yellow hat" forms a prepositional phrase which modifies "man."

In this sentence, word which forms the predicate noun--"man"--does not immediately follow the verb. But the noun phrase where we find "man" does follow the verb.

SUMMARY

This lesson explains important parts of the predicates. It lists four different kinds of verbs; it also shows the kinds of words which follow some of them. A helping verb belongs to the main verb. Usually a basic form of a verb will follow it. We noted that we have already dealt with helping verbs when we called them X-words (or auxiliary verbs).

Transitive verbs always have direct objects which follow them. A direct object consists of a noun or pronoun. It receives the action of the verb. We can ask the verb, "who?" or "what?" (For example, "What did the goat kick?" The answer to that question will give us the direct object: "The goat kicked the bucket.")

Intransitive verbs do not have direct objects. Some intransitive verbs have no nouns or adjectives which follow them in the predicate. Many intransitive verbs stand alone in the predicate.

Linking verbs belong to intransitive verbs. A noun or adjective follows a linking verb. The linking verb links the subject to the noun or adjective which follows the verb. The verb tells us that the predicate noun gives another word for the subject; or the linking verb tells us that the predicate adjective describes the subject.

Finally, we presented the basic word order of the predicate of a sentence. At least four basic parts may belong to every predicate. When the predicate includes them, the basic parts usually appear in the following order: X-word, mid-position adverbs, basic verbs, and direct object or predicate noun or predicate adjective.

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT AND HOMEWORK FOR LESSON FIVE

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A. Essay Assignment: Write a one-page essay in the following way:a. Write a one-page essay about your religious faith today. You may summarize

the basic beliefs of your religion. (Do not write the summary which you think the teacher wants you to write; write what you actually believe about God, about the most significant problem of mankind, and about the solution for that problem.) Explain how you came to adopt this faith as your own.

b. Begin each paragraph with a sentence which introduces the topic of the paragraph. Conclude each paragraph with a summary sentence at the end of the paragraph.

c. Limit your essay to approximately one page. We do not want two or more pages.

d. Give this one-page essay a name or title.e. Try to follow the instruction which you learned in Lessons One through Five.

B. Homework Assignment: Complete the ten exercises for Lesson Five in the Homework Manual.

1. Comprehension Questions (3 pts. for 9 correct answers)a. List all the X-words (also used as helping verbs) in Lesson Fourb. What relationship do helping verbs have to the main verb? c. Define a transitive verb. d. How do we find the direct object?e. What case do pronoun direct objects take? f. Can a transitive verb have a helping verb? g. What important words follow linking verbs? h. What word does the predicate adjective describe? i. What case do pronoun predicate nouns (pronouns) take? j. Write the basic order of a predicate.

2. Write the helping verb which appears in the sentence. (2 pts. for 8 correct answers)a. I shall see you in the morning. __________________b. You have seen an amazing sunset. ___________________c. The tree is standing in the way. ____________________d. We must go before the storm comes. ____________________e. This book can teach everything you need to know about cooking. ______________f. I had thought about it many times before you told me. _________________g. I could not imagine a bigger problem at school. ____________________h. I must remain. ____________________i. Were you there during the sunset? __________________j. I am having a great time! _________________

3. Write the direct object of each sentence. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)a. I shall see you in the morning. _________________b. You have seen an amazing sunset. _________________

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c. This book can teach you everything. _________________d. I could not imagine a bigger problem at school. _________________e. The man with the yellow hat loves the monkey. __________________f. The driver drove the car all the way to the city. ________________g. He drank the cup of tea. _________________h. The very long song about color brought tears to my eyes. ________________i. The long-burning candle made a wonderful smell in the room. ________________j. The light of the kerosene lantern attracted many bugs that evening. __________

4. If a sentence has an indirect object, write it. If the sentence does not have an indirect object, write "none." (1 pt. for 8 correct answers.)a. I shall see you in the morning. ___________________b. This book can teach you everything. _________________c. I must remain. ________________d. The man with the yellow gave the monkey some peanuts. ________________e. I poured a cup of coffee. _________________f. I taught them the complete math lessons. ________________g. The teacher laughed wildly at the joke. ____________________h. You can give it to me after the course. __________________i. Please show me the book. ____________________j. He poured John a cup of coffee. ____________________

5. Write the correct pronoun. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)a. That investigator saw (he or him). ____________________b. The picture resembles (he or him). ____________________c. The woman wanted to talk to (she or her). __________________d. The crowd noticed (we or us). _________________e. The traveler saw (they or them). __________________

6. Write the predicate adjective. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)a. The lovely bright red flower seemed very large. ____________________b. The new motorbike motor bike was fast. _________________c. Her answers can be confusing. _________________d. The moon eclipse would have been spectacular. ____________________e. The joke is bad. _________________

7. Write the predicate noun. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)a. The problem is the difficulty of the situation. __________________b. The new building will be the tallest structure in the city. ________________c. The forest became a national park. _________________d. The woman remained a great lady. __________________e. The greatest influence on the weather has been the clouds. ________________

8. Write the correct pronoun. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)a. I saw (they or them) every day. _______________b. The tallest trees overshadowed (they or them). ________________

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c. The forest by the lake amazed (we or us). ______________d. Pilate was (he or him). ______________e. The problem was (him or he). ______________

9. For each sentence: (2 pts. for all correct answers; 1 pt. for 9 correct answers)1) Write to identify the verb as transitive (T), intransitive (I) or linking (L).2) Identify the important word after the verb: direct object (DO), predicate

noun (PN) or predicate adjective (PA) follows the verb;3) Write the word which you identify in 2).

Example: The song includes words of praise.T DO words

Verb Word after Verb Write the Word

a. I liked the shade tree. T I L DO PN PA

b. The tree stood by the

shed.

T I L DO PN PA

c. The goat was lame. T I L DO PN PA

d. The sacrifice was a lamb T I L DO PN PA

e. We went to church. T I L DO PN PA

f. He had seen the rainbow. T I L DO PN PA

g. The speech was good. T I L DO PN PA

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Simple Sentence Homework Lesson Six

Lesson Six:

Adverbs: Where They Belong21

Lesson Three gives a brief introduction to adverbs. Adverbs modify verbs, adverbs and adjectives. This lesson explores more deeply how we use adverbs by discussing where we place them. This lesson discusses three main topics: the different uses of adverbs, the three main positions for adverbs, and the uses which belong in each position.

A. USES OF ADVERBS (See Help Notes B.B and G.C)

English grammars often define adverbs as words which answer the questions: how? where? when? and to what extent? One-word adverbs answer these questions; the prepositional phrases which function as adverbs also answer these questions. We will deal mostly with one-word adverbs.

Although we can summarize the uses of some adverbs with these questions, we need to include more uses before we can understand where to place most adverbs in a sentence. We give a longer list of uses in this section.

The first three uses of adverbs answer the questions, how? where? and when?

1. Adverbs of Manner (answer "how?")

Adverbs of Manner tell us how something happens or how a person did something. Frequently adverbs of manner end with "-ly." We give some examples: slowly, happily, quickly, quietly, softly (as in "He spoke softly."), slow, hard (as in "I work hard."), and well. Prepositional phrases can also function as Adverbs of Manner. For example, a boy can say, "I pushed with all my strength." If an adverb tells us how something occurred, if probably belongs to Adverbs of Manner.

2. Adverbs of Place (answer "where?")

Adverbs of Place tell us where something happens. These adverbs include: here, there, upstairs, outside, and away. Prepositional phrases can function as Adverbs of Place. A mother may say to her child, "I will talk to you inside the house." Probably students can identify Adverbs of Place more easily than other kinds of adverbs.

21 We rely heavily on Swan 20-25, where we find the main concepts in this lesson. We have, however, rearranged his information.

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3. Adverbs of Time (answer "when?")

Adverbs of time tell us when an event happens. They include yesterday, and today. We use prepositional phrases as Adverbs of Time. For example, a worker may say, "I will leave my work in one hour."

Other kinds of adverbs answer the question, "to what extent?" But this question, "to what extent?" can mean a variety of things. We can speak of the extent of frequency ("how often?"), the extent of certainty ("how certain?"), or the extent of completeness ("how complete?"). In fact, we can list at least four kinds of adverbs which refer to "extent;" each refers to extent in a unique way.

4. Adverbs of Definite Frequency (answer "how often?")

Adverbs of Definite Frequency tell us how often an event occurs. These adverbs include: weekly, daily, and always. Adverbs of Definite Frequency give specific information so that we know approximately when the next event will take place.

5. Adverbs of Indefinite Frequency (answer "how often?")

Adverbs of Indefinite Frequency tell us approximately how often an event occurs. But they also make clear that we cannot tell when the next event will take place. Adverbs of Indefinite Frequency include occasionally, sometimes, often, usually, and seldom.

6. Adverbs of Certainty (answer "how certain?")

Adverbs of Certainty include the following: certainly, definitely, clearly, obviously, probably, maybe and perhaps. The first four words in this list communicate the writer's great certainty. With the last three words the author says that the author has less certainty. So, Adverbs of Certainty do not all express full confidence about the truth of an idea. Rather, they all communicate only how much certainty the writer has.

7. Adverbs of Completeness (answer "how complete?")

The writer who uses an Adverb of Completeness does not always tell us that someone accomplished a task completely. Some of these adverbs tells us that the subject did not complete the task. Yet all of them refer to how much completeness the subject achieved. We give examples of Adverbs of Completeness: completely, practically (as in, "He built the house practically by himself."), almost, nearly, partly, quite, scarcely, and hardly.

Besides adverbs which we use to answer questions, some adverbs fulfill other purposes.

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8. Connecting Adverbs (connect a clause to what came before)

Connecting Adverbs fulfill the purpose of connecting what goes before them to what goes after. Connecting Adverbs include these: next, suddenly, however, then. Some Connecting Adverbs express time--that one event follows another. Sometimes, they express a great difference between two events. But, in all cases, they express a kind of relationship between the words before the adverb and the words which follow it.

Example 6.1: I went to the shop. Then I went home.Example 6.2: I like coffee. However, I enjoy chocolate more.

9. Commenting Adverbs (express the author's opinion)

Commenting Adverbs include the following: fortunately, surprisingly, unexpectedly. These words all tell us how the writer responds to what he writes. Or, they may express how a person in the story responds.

10. Focusing Adverbs (focus on--or emphasize--part of the sentence)

Focusing adverbs emphasize one part of a sentence. We write these adverbs just before the word or group of words which they emphasize.

Example 6.3: We will travel for only two days.

The adverb, "only," stresses that the trip will last a short time--only two days. So, we write "only" just before "two."

Example 6.4: I enjoy looking at trees especially in the autumn.

This writer probably lives in the northern hemisphere where trees often display bright yellow and red leaves in the autumn. Since the adverb, "especially," modifies the prepositional phrase, "in the autumn," we place "especially" just before that phrase.

Sometimes Focusing Adverbs stress the need for something small. Example 6.5: You need only one more point.

"One" stands as an adjective which modifies the Direct Object, "Point." The adverb, "Only," modifies "one" to emphasize that one point does not require much more effort.

Sometimes Focusing Adverbs stress the need for something large.Example 6.6: You need only God's help.

"God's" stands as an adjective which modifies the Direct Object, "help." "Only," which modifies "God's," emphasizes that you have such a great need that only God can help you. In this case "only" focusses on the greatness of your need for God's help. Focusing Adverbs include also, just, even, only, mainly, mostly, either, neither, and nor.

Some adverbs go with specific kinds of verbs.

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11. Adverbs with Negative Verbs (verbs which include "not" or have "not" in a contraction, such as "don't")

When the sentence emphasizes the negative, we place the adverb before the negative verb.Example 6.7: I really don't read books.

When the sentence does not emphasize the negative, we place the adverb after the negative word.

Example 6.8: I don't really read books.

Example 6.7 stresses more forcefully than Example 6.8 that I do not read books.

12. Adverbs with Emphatic X-Words

When a verb has an X-word which we want to emphasize, we place the adverb before the X-word.

Example 6.9: He surely has made a lasting impression.

"Has made" stands as the verb; "has" stands as the X-word which belongs to the verb phrase. The position of the adverb ("surely") before "has" gives the adverb strong emphasis.

When the sentence does not emphasize the adverb, we write the adverb after the X-word.

Example 6.10: He has surely made a lasting impression.

The change in the position of the adverb, "surely," makes Example 6.10 a weaker sentence than Example 6.9.

13. Summary of Uses of Adverbs

We have not listed all of the ways we use verbs. However, we have listed the most important uses. Adverbs often answer important questions. Sometimes they state relationships between words before and after them. Sometimes adverbs express the author's opinion; sometimes they emphasize. Finally, we learned that we place adverbs in different positions when we choose to emphasize them with negative verbs or with X-words.

B. POSITIONS FOR ADVERBS

Now, we must look at the positions in the sentence where we usually place adverbs. This will help us know where we place adverbs which have different uses.

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1. The Three Main Positions

Three main positions exist in a sentence for most adverbs:a) in the front position--the first words of a sentence or clause,22 b) in the end position--the last words of the sentence or clause, andc) in the mid-position--"Mid-position adverbs usually go before one-part

verbs, after auxiliary verbs, and after am/are/is/was/were."23 This means that we write mid-position adverbs before one-word verbs and in the M-position which we described in Lesson Five.

General patterns exist concerning the position where we place each adverb. We have listed where we place many of them in Help Note G.C, concerning adverbs.

2. Influences on Word Order of Adverbs

We cannot write precise rules concerning where to place each adverb. Many sentences do not follow the rules which people have tried to make. Yet some tendencies of English exist which effect where we place words. We mention some of them here.

a. Closeness of Verb and Object

"We do not usually put adverbs between a verb and its object."24 We give an example: We should not write:

Example 6:11: The man rode quickly his motorbike.

In this sentence, "man" stands as the subject; "rode" stands as the verb; and "motorbike" provides the direct object. "Quickly" answers the question: "rode how?" In this lesson, we have called it an "adverb of manner." This sentence does not form good English as we have written it. We say this because "quickly" stands between the verb and its object. We can move "quickly" to one place or another to form a proper sentence. First, we can place it before the verb:

Example 6.12: The man quickly rode his motorbike.

Second, we can place the adverb after the object:

Example 6.13: The man rode his motorbike quickly.

These two changes both form good English sentences. Both preserve (or keep) the tendency of English to keep verb and object close together.

22 We expect, in a second course, to explain more about clauses. For now, we can state merely that a sentence forms one example of a clause.23 Swan 19.24 Swan 16.

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b. The position in a sentence for emphasis

In English, we often change word order to give emphasis. We can emphasize an adverb at the end of a sentence. We can use the two proper sentences in the previous paragraph to illustrate:

Example 6.12: The man quickly rode his motorbike.Example 6.13: The man rode his motorbike quickly.

The story may describe a man who saw an injured animal on the side of the road. Next, the man rode his motorbike quickly to get some help. We could use one of these two sentences. Example 6.13 stresses the urgency and quickness of the man's ride more than Example 6.12 does.

Strunk states the characteristic this way: "Place the emphatic words of a sentence at the end."25 After explaining this instruction, he continues with advice which authors should know concerning all of their writing:

The principle that the proper place for what is to be made most prominent is the end applies equally to the words of a sentence, to the sentences of a paragraph, and to the paragraphs of a composition.26

In other words, when you write a sentence, a paragraph, or an essay, place your most important information at the end (but before the final summary).

We can give one application of this advice for communicating emphasis. When we write a group of sentences, each new sentence adds information which the sentences before did not include. The new information which a sentence gives forms its emphasis. Therefore, we usually place that new information at the end of the sentence. Though other tendencies of English will also affect how we form a sentence, the author should consider how to communicate the emphasis of a sentence.

4. Summary of Adverbs in Word Order

This section explains the complexity of applying word order to adverbs. Writers need to know the different uses English has for adverbs. They also need to know the three primary places where we write adverbs. Then, they should study the tables which we give in Help Note G.C; these tables will help students understand the subtleties of word order for Adverbs. Finally, students should consult dictionaries for help. The OAD, for example, often explains some of the more common ways to use adverbs in phrases.

25 Strunk 32.26 Strunk 33.

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C. EXAMPLES OF SENTENCES WITH ADVERBS

To help students apply this lesson, we give several examples of sentences with an incorrect use of adverbs. Using the information in Help Note G.C, we will explain how to change each one to make it a correctly written sentence. We follow the same steps with each sentence.

Mistaken Sentence 1: She however goes to the city daily with very tall buildings.

Step 1: Subject and Verb"She" stands as the subject; "goes" stands as the verb.

Step 2: Modifiers"daily" (adverb of definite frequency) modifies "goes""to the city" (prepositional phrase; functions as an adverb of place) modifies

"goes.""with very tall buildings" (prepositional phrase functions as adjective)

modifies "city""very" (adverb of completeness, says how "tall") modifies "tall)

Step 3: One-word adverbs"however," "daily," "very"

Step 4: Analyze where one-word adverbs may go"however," a connecting adverb, should stand in the front position"daily," an adverb of definite frequency, may stand in the end position for

emphasis. It may also stand before the one-word verb."very" modifies "tall" and should stand before "tall"

Step 5: Write some possible correct sentences.However, she goes to the city with the very tall buildings daily.However, she daily goes to the city with the very tall buildings.

We choose the underlined sentence for several reasons. First, the connecting adverb, "however" stands in the front position in both possible sentences; it belongs there. Second, "daily" at the end of the first sentence, stands far from "goes," which it modifies. Third, "daily" may stand before the verb, "goes;" this word order places the adverb closer to its verb.

Mistaken Sentence 2: The sun shown here yesterday brightly.

Step 1: Subject and Verb"sun" stands as the subject; "shown" stands as the verb.

Step 2: Modifiers

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Since each modifier has only one word, we discuss all of them in the next step.

Step 3: One-word adverbs"here" (adverb of place) modifies "shown""yesterday" (adverb of time) modifies "shown""brightly" (adverb of manner) modifies "shown"

Step 4: Analyze where one-word adverbs may goAll three adverbs may stand in the end position.Under the table of Adverbs in the End Position (see Help Note G.C) we read

that we should write three kinds of adverbs in a specific order: adverb of manner, adverb of place, adverb of time.

"here" (adverb of place) may go in the front position and the mid-position"yesterday" (adverb of time) may be in the front position (when we don't

emphasize time) and the end position (when we emphasize time)."brightly" (adverb of manner) may go in the front position and the end

position.

Step 5: Write possible sentencesThe sun shown here brightly yesterday.Yesterday the sun shown brightly here.Here the sun shown brightly yesterday.Yesterday the sun brightly shown here.

We choose the underlined sentences as our best options. Both make good English. Several reasons may explain why the underlined sentences sound best to English listeners. First, the subject and verb stand next to each other. Second, "yesterday" and "here" may stand in the front position. We choose to place one of them there to simplify the list of remaining adverbs that stand together at the end of the sentence.

Mistaken Sentence 3: Surprisingly joyfully the birds daily sang their songs.

Step 1: Subject and Verb"birds" stands as the subject; "sang" stands as the verb; "songs" stands as the

direct object.

Step 2: ModifiersSince each modifier has only one word, we discuss all of them in the next step.

Step 3: One-word adverbs"surprisingly" (commenting adverb) modifies "sang""joyfully" (adverb of manner) modifies "sang""daily" (adverb of definite frequency) modifies "sang"

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Step 4: Analyze where one-word adverbs may go"surprisingly" (commenting adverb) usually begins a sentence"joyfully" (adverb of manner) goes in mid-position because it ends with "-ly""daily" (adverb of definite frequency) may go in end position or in mid-

position

Step 5: Write possible sentencesSurprisingly, the birds joyfully sang their songs daily.The birds surprisingly sang their daily songs joyfully

We chose the underlined sentence because it places the adverbs where Step 4 says they may go.

Mistaken Sentence 4: Definitely the arrow almost missed the target.

Step 1: Subject and Verb"arrow" stands as the subject; "missed" stands as the verb.

Step 2: ModifiersSince each modifier has only one word, we discuss all of them in the next step.

Step 3: One-word adverbs"definitely" (adverb of certainty) modifies "missed""almost" (adverb of completeness) modifies "missed"

Step 4: Analyze where one-word adverbs may go"definitely" (adverbs of certainty) may go in front or mid-position. But it usually appears in the front position."almost" (adverb of completeness) goes in mid-position

Step 5: Write possible sentencesDefinitely the arrow almost missed the target.The arrow almost definitely missed the target.

We began with the underlined sentence. We choose it as the correct one. We do not accept the second sentence because it changes the meaning. Since "definitely" usually stands in the front position, we place it there to separate it from the other adverb, "almost."

CONCLUSION

This lesson introduces the reader to the complexity of adverbs. The lesson summarizes some of the many uses of adverbs. These uses as well as some other factors affect where adverbs appear in the sentence.

The lesson states the three main places in a sentence where we can find adverbs. Adverbs can appear at the beginning of the sentence, at the end of the sentence, and in the

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middle position. The middle position stands either before a one-word verb or after the X-word (auxiliary verb) in a verb phrase. The use of the adverb helps to determine the position where an adverb will appear. Students who feel unfamiliar with English will need much experience with English in order to learn the position of adverbs well.

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT AND HOMEWORK FOR LESSON SIX

A. Essay Assignment: Write a one-page essay about the struggles and joys which you experience due to your faith. You may describe the primary causes of these experiences and the effects which you see in your life.a. Begin each paragraph with a sentence which introduces the topic of the

paragraph. Conclude each paragraph with a sentence which summarizes the paragraph.

b. Limit your essay to one page.c. Make sure that your writing follows the instruction which Lessons One

through Three give.

B. Homework Assignment: Students should rely on this lesson and on Help Note G to answer the questions.

1. Comprehension Questions (3 pts. for 9 correct answers)a. What question does an adverb of manner answer? b. What questions does an adverb of time answer? c. Explain the difference between adverbs of indefinite frequency and

adverbs of definite frequency. d. Give three examples of the two kinds of adverbs which we mention in c.

of indefinite frequency of definite frequency1) 1)2) 2)3) 3)

e. Where do we place the adverb when we want it to emphasize a negative word in the verb?

f. Name the three positions where adverbs usually appear. 1)2)3)

g. Explain what each position means.1)2)3)

h. Where in a sentence do we generally place the thought which we want to emphasize?

i. According to the lesson, which sentence places the adverbs in the correct place? 1) I stupidly forget to finish my school work.2) Amazingly, I rather like reading.

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3) Normally, I fast do my work.j. According to the lesson, which sentence places the adverbs in the

correct place? 1) Here I can joyfully sing continually.2) Joyfully I can continually sing here.3) Continually I here can sing joyfully.

2. Adverbs of Time (1 pt. for 3 correct answers)a. List six adverbs of manner.b. When they do not end with "-ly" in what position do adverbs of matter

usually appear?c. Identify the correct sentence below. Answer:

1) Well, his journey went.2) His journey went well.

3. Adverbs of time (1 pt. for all 3 correct answers)a. List six adverbs of time?b. In what positions can adverbs of time appear?c. Identify the correct sentence below. (answer only one)

1) Yesterday I washed my clothes.2) I washed yesterday my clothes.

4. Which of these two sentences stresses the negative word? (1 pt. for 2 correct answers)a. I don't really like to read.b. I will never read.

5. Which sentence makes an emphatic use of an X-word? (1 pt. correct answer)a. I can help you really well.b. You can help me very well.c. I really can help you well.

6. a) How does "closeness" between verb and object affect where we place an adverb?

b) Identify the correct answer below: a. He swept thoroughly the floor.b He swept the floor thoroughly.(Number 6 receives 1 pt. for 2 correct answers)

7. Identify the 2 correct sentences below (1 pt. for 2 correct answer.):a. Certainly, she will wash the floor tomorrow.b. She will certainly was the floor tomorrow.c. She will wash the floor certainly tomorrow.

8. Identify the correct statement below (1 pt. for correct answer):a. Rather he liked his work.

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b. He rather liked his work.c He liked his work rather.

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9. Identify the 2 correct statements below (1 pt. for correct 2 correct answers):a. Here I chose to build my house.b. I here chose to build my house.c. I chose to build my house here.

10. Identify the correct statement below (1 pt. for correct answer):a. Next, he drove to his house.b. He next drove to his house.c. He drove to his house next.

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Simple Sentence Homework Lesson Seven

Lesson Seven:

Objective Complements and the Passive Voice

Lesson Seven forms the last lesson which discusses parts of the predicate. The first topic in this lesson, objective complements, has small importance for English writers. People who write for MINTS probably use them infrequently. Yet students will meet objective complements in their reading; students need to know how to understand them. The second topic, the passive verb, forms a very important subject. Many writers of theology use passive verbs frequently. We give more attention to this second subject because some languages do not use passive verbs. Therefore, students may need more help to understand how to use the passive verb.

A. OBJECTIVE COMPLEMENTS

1. The Idea of an Objective Complement

Without stating it, we have discussed the idea of complement already. Lesson Five describes linking verbs. We learn there that a noun or adjective follows a linking verb to form a predicate noun or a predicate adjective. Predicate nouns and predicate adjectives stand in the predicate. But they tell us about the subject of the sentence. Sometimes people call predicate nouns and predicate adjectives "subjective complements." In this case "complement" refers to something that goes with something else. So, a subjective complement consists of a predicate adjective or predicate noun in the predicate that goes with the subject.

Objective complements--the first topic of this lesson--resemble subjective complements in several ways. First, objective complements can consist either of nouns or adjectives. Second, objective complements stand in the predicate of a sentence. Third, objective complements inform us about nouns just as subjective complements do. However, a major difference also exists. Though subjective complements tell us something about the subject of the sentence, objective complements tell us something about the direct object of the sentence.

Some sentences which include a direct object also use an additional word which tells us more about the direct object. We call these additional words, "objective complements." The objective complement goes with the direct object. The following two examples help explain:

Example 7.1 He painted the house.Example 7.2 He pained the house red.

In both sentences "painted" stands as the main verb. When we ask, "painted who or what?" we answer, "He painted the house." So, in both sentences, "house" stands as the

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direct object. Example 7.2 adds an adjective, "red." This tells us the effect on the direct object, house, that his painting has. His painting made the house "red." So, we call the adjective, "red" the objective complement adjective.

Example 7.3 The people elected him.Example 7.4 The people elected him president.

In both sentences "elected" stands as the main verb. "Him" stands as the direct object. In Example 7.4 the noun, "president," tells us the effect which an election had on "him." The people's electing made him "president." So "president" stands as the objective complement noun. These examples show how a sentence can use an adjective or a noun after the direct object to form an objective complement.

2. The Word Order of Objective Complements

We should notice the word order. Example 7.2 may not say, "He painted red the house." English word order does not permit this. Example 7.4 does not say, "The people president elected him." Some languages may use this word order. But English does not. Usually objective complements follow the direct object.

However, we need to explain what we have just said further. Consider this sentence:

Example 7.5 The people elected him the first president of the company.

In this sentence, the objective complement consists of the main noun of a noun phrase, "the first president of the company." (These words follow the proper word order for a noun phrase. Lesson Two teaches us to follow this general word order: adjectives, main noun, prepositional phrase.) We can say that the noun phrase, which has the objective complement noun as the main noun of the phrase, immediately follows the directive object.

3. Words which Appear with Objective Complements

Objective complements do not appear with every direct object. They appear most often when we use verbs which mean "make," (such as elect, appoint, name, choose, or render) or "consider" (such as think, or describe). We give some examples:

Example 7.6 Jesus named the twelve disciples his apostles.Example 7.7 I thought your comment foolish.

In example 7.6, "named" stands as the verb; here it means appointed. "Disciples" stands as the direct object. "Apostles" stands as the objective complement noun. "Apostles" tells us the effect of Jesus' naming them; he appointed them to become his apostles. In example 7.7 "thought" gives the main verb; here it means to consider. "Comment" stands as the direct object. "Foolish" gives the result of my thinking about your comment; it seemed foolish to me. "Foolish" stands as the objective complement adjective. Example 7.6 has an objective

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complement due to "named"--a verb which means "make." Example 7.7 has an objective complement due to "thought"--a verb which means "consider." These examples show how some verbs prepare the reader for an objective complement later in the sentence.

Objective complements often appear when we place certain words--like "as" and "to be"--after the direct object. These indicators of an objective complement can stand between the direct object and the objective complement. We give examples:

Example 7.8 I regarded your comment as foolish.Example 7.9 I believed Mary to be dependable.

In Example 7.8 "regarded" stands as the main verb. "Comment" forms the direct object. "Foolish" stands as the objective complement adjective. "Foolish" tells us the effect of my thinking about (regarding) your comment. In Example 7.9 "believed" forms the main verb; it means, I made this conclusion about Mary. "Mary" stands as the direct object. "Dependable" constitutes the objective complement adjective. "Dependable" summarizes my conclusion about Mary. These examples show how we can use a few short phrases after the direct object to introduce the objective complement.

4. Summary on Objective Complements

Objective complements may confuse the new reader of English. So, we summarize them with these statements:

1) Objective complements appear in sentences which have direct objects. (This implies that they appear only in sentences which have transitive verbs--see Lesson Five.)

2) Nouns and adjectives can stand in the position of the objective complement.3) The objective complement stands in the sentence after the direct object.4) The objective complement states an effect which the verb makes on the

directive object.5) Objective complements usually appear in sentences which use verbs that

mean "make" or "consider."6) Objective complements often appear after "to be" and "as" when these words

stand behind the direct object.

B. PASSIVE VERBS

Before going further, perhaps the student should read again what Lesson Five says about transitive verbs. It tells us that a sentence with a transitive verb has at least three important words: the subject, the verb and the direct object. The verb describes the action of the sentence; the subject performs the action; the direct object receives the action.

Example 7.10 The tree provided shade for the exhausted sheep.

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In this sentence "tree" stands in the position of the subject. "Provided" stands as the verb. And "shade" states the direct object. Since the verb has a direct object we call "provided" a transitive verb.

1. Voices of Transitive Verbs

So far, we have described only one kind of transitive verb. But transitive verbs can take a form different from what we have used so far in this course. We re-write the thought of Example 7.10 to give an example.

Example 7.11 Shade was provided by the tree for the exhausted sheep.

In both sentences we have written "tree" in italics (slanted letters). We have underlined the verbs of both sentences. And we have written "shade" in bold each time. Though the sentences give basically the same information, they differ in important ways:

a. the direct object, "shade," in Example 7.10 has become the subject in Example 7.11;

b. the subject, "tree" in Example 7.10 has become an object of a preposition in Example 7.11; and

c. the verb in Example 7.10 has changed from active to the passive voice in Example 7.11.

The active voice in Example 7.10 states what the subject ("tree") did. The passive voice in Example 7.11 states the action which the subject (shade") received. With the passive voice the direct object of the first sentence has become the subject of the second sentence.

We can give other examples of the change from active to passive.Example 7.12 The rain watered the land. (Active)

The land was watered by the rain. (Passive)

Example 7.13 The man drives his motorbike fast. (Active)The motorbike is driven fast by the man. (Passive)

Example 7.14 The musician will play his drum. (Active)The drum will be played by the musician. (Passive)

Example 7.15 Orange trees had produced abundant fruit before last year. (Active)Abundant fruit had been produced by orange trees before last year. (Passive)

We have written each example in a different tense. Both sentences in Example 7.12 appear in the past tense. The sentences in Example 7.13 both appear in the present tense. Example 7.14 shows active and passive in the future tense. Example 7.15 illustrates the two voices in the perfect past tense. So, voice does not refer to tense. We can write both the active voice and the passive voice in all of the tenses.

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Yet in each example we form the passive voice in the same way: 1) the direct object of the active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb; 2) the subject of the active verb becomes the object of a preposition; and 3) the active verb and passive take different forms to reflect what receives the action.

2. Forming Passive Verbs

Passive verbs have two parts: a. the form of be which reflects the person and tense that we want, andb. the past participle of the verb.

We need to follow steps when we form passive verbs. We give examples of this with the verbs, "follow" and "sing."

First, we use the form of "be" with the person and tense which we choose.3rd person singular present of be: "is"

Second, we need to find the past participle of both verbs. We give their principle parts:

inf. pres. pt. pp. pres. part

to follow follow followed followed followingto sing sing sang sung singing

We can find the past participles in the fourth column.

Third, we combine steps 1 and 2: 1) write the form of "be" first; and 2) write the past participle second.

"He is followed.""The song is sung."

(We have underlined the form of "be." We have written the past participle with bold letters.

When we follow these steps for other situations we get the following:1st person plural present perfect: We have been feared.2nd person singular future: You will be loved.3rd person plural past perfect: They had been forgotten.

When the writer follows these three steps, he will write passive verbs correctly.

3. Passive Verbs and Indirect Objects

Lesson Five includes an explanation about indirect objects. We remind students with an example:

Example 7.16 She bought her son a new shirt.

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This example gives the same sentence as Example 5.11 in Lesson Five. "She" stands in the position of the subject. "Bought" stands as the verb. When we ask "Bought who or what?" we answer, "Bought a shirt." The noun, "shirt" stands as the direct object. Yet the word, "son," stands in an important position. It tells us for whom she bought the shirt. So "son" forms the indirect object.

We can turn this active sentence into a passive sentence in this way:

Example 7.17 A new shirt was bought by her for her son.

This uses the direct object of Example 7.16 to stand as the subject of the passive verb.

4. Why We Use the Passive Voice

The write may choose to write a sentence in the passive voice for several reasons:a. To describe an action when we do not know what did it. If we know

that someone in a football game kicked the ball, but we do not know who kicked it, we may write, "The ball was hit."

b. To describe an action when we do not want to reveal who did it . Suppose the football, which a specific player kicked, hit the player's mother. We might not want to tell her that her son kicked it. Then, we might merely say, "The ball was hit."27

c. To give attention to the action instead of the actor. d. To enable the writer to place the more interesting information at the

end of the sentence. Suppose you wish to surprise someone with the information that you painted a picture. In that case you might say, "That painting was painted by me!"

e. The keep the same subject. Possibly you would like to tell a story of a long wait at the doctor's office. You may write, "Nico waited for two hours; then the doctor saw him." In this case you refer to two subjects: "Nico," and "doctor." Since you began to tell the story about Nico, you. Possibly you would like to tell a story of a long wait at the doctor's office. You may write, "Nico waited for two hours; then the doctor saw him." In this case you refer to two subjects: "Nico," and "doctor." Since you began to tell the story about Nico, you may want to keep him as the subject: "Nico waited for two hours; then he was seen by a doctor."28

A writer may have other reasons for using the passive voice. Often writers have good reasons.

5. When to Use the Passive Voice

27 John E. Warriner, English Composition and Grammar: Benchmark Edition (Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988) 577.28 Swan 338.

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Though good reasons exist for using the passive voice, most experts in English writing advise us to use passive verbs infrequently. They stress that passive verbs seem less forceful compared to active verbs. Sometimes passive verbs make the writer seem like he's trying to hide something. When we use passive verbs only rarely, our writing will seem more clear and forceful. Possibly the following contrast will make this point:

The confession of the deity of Christ is drawn from the manifold witness of the New Testament. As the Logos Incarnate, Christ is revealed as being not only preexistent to creation but eternal. He is said to be in the beginning with God and also that He is God (John 1:1-3)29

We draw our confession of the deity of Christ from the manifold witness of the New Testament. Scripture reveals Christ as the Logos Incarnate, not only preexistent to creation but eternal. John 1:1-3 says that he was in the beginning with God and that he is God.

We have underlined the passive verbs which appear in the first column. In the second column, we have underlined the active verbs which replace the passives. The first column has one advantage: all three sentences have a reference to Christ as their subjects. Yet the second column has the advantage of clarity concerning who performs the actions. The active verbs in the second also seem more direct and clear. We believe this comparison shows the advantage of using active verbs most of the time.

6. Summary on Passive Verbs

We can write transitive verbs in two voices: active voice and passive voice. Active verbs have direct objects--nouns or pronouns--which receive the action of the verbs. The subjects of active verbs cause the action of verbs. The subjects of passive verbs, receive the action. Therefore, the direct object of an active verb usually appears as the subject of the passive verb.

We write a passive verb by including the form of "be" which the subject and tense require. Then we write the past principle part of the verb.

Authors may have good reasons for using passive verbs. We listed some of the more common reasons. However, experts in English recommend that writers use passive verbs sparingly. Passive verbs usually communicate less clearly than active verbs do.

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT AND HOMEWORK FOR LESSON SEVEN

A. Essay Assignment: Write the essay to summarize your hopes and plans for the future of your life. Include how you rely on the Lord to guide you; possibly you plan to rely on your friends for advice.

29 R. C. Sproul, Essential truths of the Christian Faith (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1992) 77.

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a. Begin each paragraph with a sentence which introduces the topic of the paragraph. Conclude each paragraph with a summary sentence at the end of the paragraph.

b. Use two passive verbs in this assignment.c. Limit your essay to approximately one page. d. Give this one-page essay a name or title.e. Make sure that your writing follows the instructions of Lesson One through

Seven.

B. Homework Assignment: Complete the ten exercises for Lesson Seven in the Homework Manual. Students should rely on this lesson and on Help Note F to complete some of the work.

1. Comprehension Questions (3 pts. for 10 correct answers)a. What main difference exists between subjective complements and objective

complements.b. What two kinds of objective complements exist in English?c. What kinds of verbs usually have objective complements after their direct

objects?d. What do objective complements say about the verb?e. Define a transitive verb.f. Define the difference in meaning between a transitive active verb and a

transitive passive verb.g. Change this active sentence into a passive sentence:

"The boy threw the ball."h. Change this passive sentence into an active sentence:

"The tree was destroyed by the wind."i. What two parts of verbs do we include when we write a passive verb?j. What two words in a transitive active sentence can become the subject of a

transitive sentence?

2. a) Write the objective complement which appears in each sentence.b) Identify the objective complement (OC) as an adjective or a noun

(2 pts. for 8 correct answers).a. The teacher appointed John the leader of his class.

Complement: OC noun or OC adjectiveb. The mother considered her son wise.

Complement: OC noun or OC adjectivec. The man's generous gift made the poor woman happy.

Complement: OC noun or OC adjectived. The man with the paint brush painted the house red.

Complement: OC noun or OC adjectivee. I imagined the storm dangerous.

Complement: OC noun or OC adjective

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3. Identify each sentence as active or passive. (2 pts. for 9 correct) a. The animal was kicked by the cruel farmer. b. The crowd of countless people was amused by the show. c. The farmer was kicking the door. d. The crowd enjoyed the show. e. The drummer had played his drum frequently before he performed. f. The drum was played frequently by the drummer. g. The house was built by my grandfather. h. My grandfather was raised in the house. i. The man with the yellow hat was found by the monkey. j. The monkey with the yellow hat loved the man.

4. Write these active sentences as passives in the same tense as the active sentences. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)a. I will play the game after I return from school.b. I see completed the job when I wanted.c. The sunlight warms the water in the lake.d. The mouse has eaten the cheese.e. The man with the yellow hat found the monkey.

5. Identify each verb as active of passive. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)a. grew __________________b. painted __________________c. was seen __________________d. teaches __________________e. will ride __________________f. is hoped __________________g. shall be needed __________________h. has been imagined __________________i. has read __________________j. stood __________________

6. Write each of these passive verbs in the active voice; do not change the tense. (2 pts. for eighteen correct answers)a. was written __________b. is sung __________c. had been built __________d. will be planted __________e. was shown __________f. was being hit __________g. has been seen__________h. is loved __________i. have been seen __________j. was hit __________

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7. Write these passive sentences as active sentences in the same tense as the passive sentence. (2 pts. for 8 correct answers)a. The book was read by many studentsb. The aroma was produced by countless flowers.c. The loud noise was produced by the new motorbike.d. The course on theology is being studied by the whole school.e. Snakes are hated by many children.f. The people were counted by government officials in the census.g. The lady was elected by the people to rule the country.h. The story of the past will be told by the fathers.i. The songs were sung energetically by the congregation.j. The books were closed by the children before they went to sleep.

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Simple Sentence Homework Lesson Eight

Lesson Eight:

Review of Word Order

In this last lesson, we summarize what we have said throughout the course about word order.

We depend on basic word orders to make English sentences. For example, a statement has a basic word order; a question follows another word order. Writers who know the language well may take exceptions to the word order which we promote in this course. They can do this well when they have full command of the language. This course advocates a basic word order for English statements; beginning writers need to rely on it before they experiment with their own distinctive styles.

A. WORD ORDER OF BASIC SENTENCES

We write each English sentence to fulfill one of four purposes. In this course, we explain primarily how to write a declarative sentence. To clarify the purpose of a declarative sentence, we state the purposes for all four different types of sentences:

A declarative sentence makes a statement. It is followed by a period. . . .An interrogative sentence asks a question. It is followed by a question mark. . . An imperative sentence gives a command or makes a request. It is followed by a period. Strong commands are followed by exclamation points. . . . An exclamatory sentence shows excitement or expresses strong feeling. It is followed by an exclamation point.30

When the writer does not ask a question, give a command or express strong emotion, he declares something. He writes a declarative sentence. He names what he writes about; this means, he identifies his subject. Then, he predicates (or makes a statement) about the subject. We write declarative sentences when we want to inform others about our subject. We write most sentences in our essays as declarative sentences.

We tell about our subject with different kinds of verb. In this section, we will summarize the word order which each kind of verb requires.

Nearly all of the sentences in this section have the same subject phrase: "the man with the yellow hat." Lesson Two tells us the order to use when we write noun phrases. The noun phrase at the beginning of these sentence follows the instruction of Lesson Two; we cannot change the word order of the subject and its noun phrase. The main noun of this phrase, "man," forms the subject of each sentence. It has modifiers: 1) a determiner, "the;" and 2) a prepositional phrase, "with the yellow hat." We use the same subject phrase each time so we can focus primarily on the kinds of verbs and the word order which each verb requires in the predicate.

30 Warriner, Warriner's English Grammar 20-21.

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1. Word Order with Intransitive Verbs

An intransitive verb does not have a direct object. We demonstrate this with two contrasting sentences:

Example 8.1 The man with the yellow hat sang.Example 8.2 The man with the yellow hat sang his song.

In both sentences "sang" stands as the verb. But the verb in Example 8.2 has direct object, "song." Since "sang," in Example 8.2 has a direct object after it; we call it a transitive verb. Since "sang" in Example 8.1 has no direct object; we call it an intransitive verb.

These examples illustrate that the same verb can stand as a transitive verb in one sentence and as an intransitive verb in another sentence. Usually the verb itself does not determine how we classify the verb. The verb's use in a sentence determines how we label the sentence.

An intransitive sentence has an intransitive main verb. Its sentence has a simple word order:

subject + verb

When we give this word order, we mention only the basic words of the sentence. Many words in the sentence may modify the subject. Many other words may also modify the verb. Yet the subject stands as the main word in the subject phrase; the verb stands as the main word in the predicate.

When the subject phrase consists of only one word, we call it the "subject." Usually the subject and all the words the describe it stand together at the beginning of the sentence. Similarly, the verb and most of the words that modify the verb usually stand in the second half of the sentence.

We give an example:

Example 8.3 The man with the yellow hat ran very slowly with his monkey.

"Ran" forms the main verb of this sentence. The words, "ran very slowly with his monkey," form the complete predicate. The sentence does not have a direct object. So, we call the verb, "ran," an intransitive verb.

We cannot change most of the word order of this sentence. We may change the word order slightly in the predicate. Instead of "ran very slowly with his monkey" we can write, "ran with his monkey very slowly." We have changed the order of two phrases which modify the verb. Yet the basic order of the sentence--subject + verb--remains the same in almost all intransitive sentences.

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2. Word Order with Linking Verbs

Linking verbs form a group (a subset) of intransitive verbs; they have no direct object. However, a noun or adjective always follows a linking verb. We place most words which describe the noun in the noun phrase--at the beginning of the sentence. Yet the linking verb forms a tool which allows us to describe the subject in the predicate as well.

Example 8.4 The man with the yellow hat is funny.Example 8.5 The man with the yellow hat is the animal keeper.

"Is" stands as the verb in both sentences; this verb links or connects the subject ("man") with another word. In Example 8.4 "is" connects "man" with the predicate adjective, "funny." In example 8.5 "is" connects "man" with the predicate noun, "keeper." The predicate adjective, "funny," and the predicate noun, "keeper," tell us about the subject, "man."

We cannot change the word order of these two sentences which use linking verbs. The order of the words gives each word its meaning in the sentence. We could change the order of Example 8.5. But it would make another sentence. It would change the meaning slightly. We give an example of this. We could write:

Example 8.5a The animal keeper is the man with the yellow hat.

This links "keeper" to "man," as Example 8.5 does. However, in Example 8.5 the predicate noun answers a different question compared to what the predicate noun in Example 8.5a answers. Example 8.5 answers the question, "What does the man with the yellow hat do?" It answers that he keeps animals. Example 8.5a answers the question, "Who keeps the animals?" The predicate noun phrase ("the man with the yellow hat") identifies which person keeps the animals.

In these sentences with linking verbs, the basic word order remains the same:

subject + verb + predicate adjective or predicate noun.

3. Word Order with Transitive Verbs

A transitive verb has a direct object afterwards. Declarative sentences with transitive verbs all follow the same basic word order:

subject + verb + direct object.

We can give an example:

Example 8.6: The man with the yellow hat quickly ate his bread.

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"Ate" stands as the verb. " Quickly" functions as an adverb; it tells us how the man ate. "Bread" stands as the direct object. If we ask, "Ate what?" the sentence answers that he ate "bread." The sentence follows the word order:

subject + verb + direct object

Example 8.7: The man with the yellow hat quickly gave me his bread.

Here the verb changes from "ate" to "gave." If we ask "gave what?" we learn from the sentence that he gave "bread." So, "bread" stands as the direct object. But "me" stands between the verb and the direct object. It stands as the indirect object; it tells who he gave the bread to. So, the word order of the basic words looks like this:

subject + verb + indirect object + direct object.

The basic word order for transitive verbs does not change. Yet we inserted a fourth part, the indirect object. Usually it stands between the verb and direct object.

Example 8.8: The man with the yellow hat considered his bread the best.

The subject remains the same. The verb, "considered," stands after the subject phrase. When we ask, "Considered what?" we answer "bread," which forms the direct object. "The best" stands as the objective complement adjective. So the word order follows this pattern:

subject + verb + direct object + objective complement adjective

We added the objective complement at the end of the standard word order for transitive verbs. We add one more example for transitive verbs:

Example 8.9: The man with the yellow hat considers himself a good baker.

"Considers," stands as the verb. When we ask "Considered who or what?" we answer with a pronoun, "himself." The man "considers himself." "Baker," a noun, tells us what he thinks about himself: a good baker. We call "baker" the objective complement noun. The basic word order matches what we have said already about sentences with transitive verbs. Yet in this sentence an addition--the objective complement noun--stands after the direct object.

subject + verb + direct object + objective complement noun

4. Summary of Basic Sentence Word Order

We can summarize word order in declarative sentences in the following way:a. All verbs require the basic same word order for subject and verb:

subject + verb.b. A linking verb adds a predicate adjective or predicate noun after the

verb: subject + verb + predicate adjective or predicate noun.

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c. A transitive verb adds a noun (or pronoun) after the verb to stand as the direct object:

subject + verb + direct object.d. A transitive verb may add other words as well:

1) indirect object: subject + verb + indirect object + direct object; or

2) objective complement: subject + verb + direct object + objective complement).

B. WORD ORDER OF NOUN PHRASES

Word order within noun phrases remains very stable. In other words, we do not change the order of words which belong to a noun phrase. This remains true wherever we use the noun phrase in a sentence. In this section, we hope to demonstrate what we mean.

We will use a noun phrase which we have not used in this lesson. The phrase says, "this old round tree with unusual leaves." "Tree stands as the main noun." "This" stands as a demonstrative pronoun, which belongs to the determiners. Therefore, the phrase should begin with "this." "Old" (age) and "round" (shape) stand as descriptive adjectives in the order we learned to use them in Lesson Two. "With unusual leaves" forms a prepositional phrase. "With" stands as the preposition; the noun, "leaves," serves as the object of the preposition. "Unusual" stands as an adjective which modifies "leaves." This entire phrase follows the order which Lesson Two gives us for noun phrases: adjectives which modify the main noun + the main noun + a prepositional phrase which modifies the main noun.

We can use this noun phrase as the subject of a sentence. We give an example:

Example 8.10: This old round tree with unusual leaves gives much shade.

"Gives" stands as the verb; shade stands as the direct object; and "much" stands as the adjective which modifies "shade."

We can use the same noun phrase as the direct object of a sentence:

Example 8.11: I like this old round tree with unusual leaves.

We can use it as the object of the preposition:

Example 8.12: I sat under this old round tree with unusual leaves.

It can also stand in the position of the indirect object:

Example 8.13: He gave this old round tree with unusual leaves a short glance.In this case "gave" stands as the verb. When we ask "gave who or gave what?" we answer "gave a glance." So "glance' forms the direct object.

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We have demonstrated how a noun phrase does not change its word order when we use it as another part of the sentence. We can place the phrase almost wherever we place a noun in the sentence. In fact, we could replace the entire phrase with "this tree;" it would still make good sense. For example, we apply this change to Example 8.13:

Example 8.14: He gave this tree a short glance.

We see that, by replacing a noun phrase with its main noun, we still have a good sentence.

C. WORD ORDER OF ADVERBS

Lessons Five and Six present information about the places of adverbs in a sentence. We summarize that information in this lesson. We also expand this topic by presenting word order for adverb phrases.

1. One-Word Adverbs

Lesson Six gives this advice concerning where we place adverbs in a sentence:Three main positions exist in a sentence for most adverbs:

a) in the front position--the first words of a sentence or clause,31 b) in the end position--the last words of the sentence or clause, andc) in the mid-position--"Mid-position adverbs usually go before one-part

verbs, after auxiliary verbs, and after am/are/is/was/were."32 This means that we write mid-position adverbs before one-word verbs and in the M-position which we described in Lesson Five.

Help Note G.C teaches that we cannot use every adverb in all of these positions. But we can place a small number of adverbs in all three positions. We will use the adverb, "often"--an adverb which expresses indefinite frequency--to illustrate.33

Example 8.15: Often, he ran to the store to buy bread. Example 8.16: He ran to the store to buy bread often.Example 8.17: He often ran to the store to buy bread.

In Example 8.15 we placed the adverb, "often," in the front position. It stands as the first word of the sentence. In Example 8.16 "often" stands in the end position. It appears as the last word of the sentence. In Example 8.17 "often" appears in the mid-position. It stands between the subject and verb. We write it just before the one-word verb, "ran." These three sentences all have the same meaning. We can move some adverbs in a greater variety of positions than most other words in the sentence.

31 We expect, in a second course, to explain more about clauses. For now, we can state merely that a sentence forms one example of a clause.32 Swan 19.33 "Often appears in Help Note G in two lists--Adverbs in End Position and Adverbs the Mid-position. However, we can also place "often" in the Font Position. Notice that "etc." appears at the end of Front Position adverbs which express indefinite frequency.

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However, we cannot write all adverbs in each of these positions. We use the adverb of time, "today," as our example.

Example 8.17: Today you will meet your teacher.Example 8.18: You will meet your teacher today.

These two sentences mean the same; both sentences use correct word order.

But we cannot place "today" in the mid-position.

Example 8.20: You will today meet your teacher.

We have placed "today" incorrectly in the mid-position--between the X-word ("will") and the main verb ("meet"). We may place the adverb, "often," in the mid-position; we cannot place "today" in that position.

This section in the lesson reminds students of the three main places where adverbs stand in the sentence. Some adverbs may stand in all three places. However, many cannot stand in all of them. Students should consult Help Note G.G to learn where we may place many adverbs. Sometimes, dictionaries give help when they provide examples of adverbs in sentences and phrases.

B. Adverb Phrases

Sometimes phrases serve a sentence as adverbs. These phrases answer the questions which adverbs answer: how? where? when? how why?34 Prepositional phrases especially can stand in the front position and end position--where adverbs often appear.

We give some examples:

Example 8.21: In the darkness of night the robber stole the man's motorbike.Example 8.22: The robber stole the man's motorbike in the darkness of night.

In both examples the prepositional phrase, "In the darkness of night" answers the questions, when? or where? So, the phrase expresses time and place. Help Note G says that adverbs which express either time or place may appear in the Front Position and the End Position. Usually, we do place adverb phrases in the Mid-position.

We give other examples:

Example 8.23: In an instant, the runner stopped running.Example 8.24: The runner stopped running in an instant.

34 Working Sentences 56.

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The phrase, "in an instant," answers the question, how?

We give yet more examples:

Example 8.25: Because she wanted to settle down, Betty married Bill.Example 8.26: Betty married Bill because she wanted to settle down.

In these examples, "because she wanted to settle down," states Betty's reason. The phrase answers the question, "why?"

We believe we have shown that some phrases, which answer the questions, how? where? when? and why?--questions which adverbs answer--can stand in the Front Position and the End Position in a sentence. When writers shift these phrases from one position to the other, they do not change the meaning of the sentence.

SUMMARY

This final lesson of the course summarizes and explores basic word order in the English sentence. First, we summarized the word order of a basic English sentence. We stated that usual order in the sentence, which includes subject and predicate. We said that English usually places the subject and its modifiers before the verb and its modifiers. This basic word order of subject + verb does not change when the verb requires additional important words to follow the main verb. We place a predicate adjective or a predicate noun after linking verb. We place a direct object after a transitive verb. When we use an auxiliary verb to supplement the main verb, it also does not change this order of Subject + Verb.

We summarize word order with noun phrases. We remind students of the detailed word order of adjectives in a noun phrase. We also demonstrate that this order does not change whether the noun phrase stands as the subject or direct object of the sentence. It does not change if we use the noun phrase as the object of the preposition. Noun phrases can appear in various places of the sentence; yet, the word order in a noun phrase remains the same.

We explore the word order of adverbs. We learn that an adverb may stand as the first word of a sentence, as the last, and in the middle of a verb. By changing the place of the adverbs, we do not change the meaning of the sentence much. However, the place of adverbs may affect a subtle emphasis which the author intends.

Finally, we explore adverb phrases. These often consist of prepositional phrases which stand in the place of adverbs. Adverb phrases usually stand at the front position or the end position. When we move an adverb phrase from the front to end position, we do not change the meaning of the sentence.

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ESSAY ASSIGNMENT AND HOMEWORK FOR LESSON EIGHT

A. Essay Assignment: Combine all of your one-page essays which you have written so far into your course essay. Each one-page essay now forms a section of the course essay. You should arrange your course essay in the following order:a. Begin with a title page. This must include: 1) your name, 2) the title of your

essay, 3) the name of this course, 4) your coordinator's name, and 5) the date when you must hand in the essay.

b. The second page should present an outline. Write the name of the course essay on top. Below the title each line of the outline should include: 1) a capitol letter (from the alphabet, the first line should begin with "A," the next line beings with "B," and so on; 2) a period; 3) a space; and 4) the name of the heading of the section (one-page essay).

c. Write a one-paragraph introduction which tells the reader what the essay will include. It should say "Introduction" on top as its heading. It should be the first section of the essay. The Introduction appears just after the outline.

d. Arrange your seven short essays in the order in which the course assigns them. Use your title for each short essay as the section heading; then place the words of your short essay below to form the section.

e. Write a one-paragraph "Summary," at the end of your course essay. Write "Summary" above it as its heading. Be sure to list the Summary in your outline.

B. Complete the ten exercises for Lesson Eight in the Homework Manual. Students should rely on this lesson and on Help Note F to complete some of the work.

1. Comprehension Questions (3 Pts. for 9 correct answers)a. State the purpose of an interrogative sentence.b. State the purpose of a declarative sentence.c. State the word order of a sentence with an intransitive verb have.d. State the word order of a sentence with a direct object.e. State the word order of a sentence that has an objective complement noun.f. What changes to we make to the word order of a noun phrase when

change it from a subject phrase to the object of the preposition?g. In what three positions do we usually write adverbs?h. Where is the Mid-position?i. How does meaning of a sentence change when we move an adverb from

the front position to the end position?j. In what positions do we usually place adverb phrases?

2. Identify the sentences with the correct word order (1 pt. for all correct answers.)a. The tree stands very tall.b. Stands the tree very tall.c. Very tall stands the tree.d. The sun bright sunshine gave.e. The sun gave very bright sunshine.

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f The man the boy gave some candy.g. The man gave the boy some candy.h. I regarded the man very kind.i. The church is very large.j. The church very large is.

3. Use this noun phrase to complete the following statements. Remember to use the appropriate capital letters and punctuation (1 pt. for 3 correct answers):

noun phrase: the beautiful sunset at the end of the day.

a. ____________________________________________calmed my mind.b. You did not see ____________________________________________. c. I hope you can look at____________________________________________.

4. Write these sentences with adverbs in the positions which the instructions say.a. Sentence: I must leave you. (1 pt. for 2 correct answers)

1) Write the sentence with "today" in the front position.2) Write the sentence with "today" in the end position.

b. Sentence: I will look for your lost dog. (1 pt. for 2 correct answers)1) Write the sentence with "carefully" in the mid-position2) Write the sentence with "carefully" in the end position.

c. Sentence: I saw the dangerous lion. (1p.t for 2 correct answers)1) Write the sentence with "suddenly" in the front position.2) Write the sentence with "suddenly" in the mid-position.

d. Sentence: I enjoyed seeing the animals in the zoo. (1pt, for 2 correct answers)1) Write the sentence with "continually" in the mid-position2) Write the sentence with "continually" in the front position.

5. Write these sentences according to the instructions givena. Sentence:

I shall surely leave this place tomorrow. (1 pt. for 2 correct answers.)1) Write this sentence with "tomorrow" in the front-position.2) Write the sentence with "surely" in front position>

b. Question: Will he come? (1 pt. for 1 correct answer)1) Write the question with "surely" in the mid-position.

c. Sentence: The awesome sunset in the West impressed me. (1 pt. for2 correct answers.1) Write the sentence with "deeply" in the end position.

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2) Write the sentence with "deeply" in the mid-position.

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Simple Sentence Homework Help Note A: Letters and Syllables

Help Note A: Letters and Syllables

A.A: LETTERS

1. Vowels and Consonants

The English alphabet consists of twenty-six letters. Often people say that the twenty-six letters include five vowels and twenty-one consonants. But that does not state the whole truth. The five vowels include A, E, I, O, and U. Yet, when "U" follows the letter "Q," "U" does not function as a vowel. In that situation "U" functions as a consonant.

Furthermore, sometimes "Y" functions as a vowel. This occurs most commonly when "Y" stands as the last letter of a word. For example, in the word "funny," the "Y" behaves like a vowel. But "Y" can also behave as a vowel inside a word. The first "Y" in the word "symphony" gives an example of this. In fact, "symphony" has two "Y"s; both behave as vowels in this word. On the other hand, "Y" often behaves like a consonant. Consider the words, "your," "yam," and "year." In each of these words, we use "Y" as a consonant.

2. Sounds of Vowels and Consonants

Students may wish to know the difference between vowels and consonants. The difference comes from the sounds which the letters make in words. We can explain generally how vowels behave. We speak vowel sounds without restricting the movement of air with the throat, tongue or lips. We do not slow the flow of air down when we speak a vowel sound.

When we say consonantal sounds, we usually block or slow down the flow of air in some way. So, with the word, "shame," we slow down the flow of air with the "sh" by placing our teeth together and letting air pass between them and the tongue immediately behind the teeth. We restrict the flow of air also when we say the "m" by closing our mouths and making air flow through the nose while our voice speaks. Think of the word, "get." We stop the flow of air briefly in the throat when we pronounce the "g;" we restrict air also when we pronounce the "t" by stopping the flow of air with the tongue and front teeth. In a third example, "when," we restrict the flow of air when we pronounce "wh." We tighten our lips to create a very narrow passage for the air to flow through until we open our mouths wider. The "n" restricts the flow of air when we place the tongue against the back of the front teeth while our voice speaks. We call the letters which produce each of these restricting sounds "consonants."

These descriptions of our use of vowels and consonants do not give complete definitions of these two classes of letters. Yet they give the student an idea of their basic differences.

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Simple Sentence Homework Help Note A: Letters and Syllables

A.B: SYLLABLES

In some lessons we refer to syllables. Several syllables can work together to form one word. Or a word can consist of only one syllable. We can hear syllables when we clap hands with our speech. So, when we say, "family" we will clap three times: "fam-i-ly." When we say, "lonely," we clap two times: "lone-ly." So, "family" has three syllables; "lonely" has two syllables. The word, "may" has one syllable because we clap only once when we say it.

We give two helpful observations about syllables. First, every syllable has only one vowel sound. A syllable may have more than one vowel. For example, "read" has two vowels. But we pronounce only one vowel sound, which sounds like "e." The word "fam-i-ly" has three vowel sounds: "a" "i" and "y." Each vowel sound in this word belongs to a different syllable. "Lone-ly" has two vowel sounds: "o" and "y." These two sounds belong to different syllables. (We do not pronounce the "e" in "lonely.")

Second, a dictionary tells us how to separate a word into its syllables. When it lists a word, most dictionaries place a space between the syllables with a small dot in the space. So, the OAD lists "syllable" this way: "syllable." This tells us that the word "syllable" has three syllables; it also shows which letters belong to each syllable.

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Simple Sentence Homework Help Note B: Parts of Speech

Help Note B: Parts of Speech

B.A: PARTS OF SPEECH

1. Eight Parts of Speech

English uses eight different kinds of words to form sentences. But usually a sentence does not use all of them. However, every word in the sentence belongs to one of these kinds of words. And a sentence may include more than one of each kind. For example, many sentences include more than one noun.

We list the eight kinds of words:

nounpronounadjective

verbadverb

prepositionconjunctioninterjection

We call the eight kinds of words “the eight parts of speech.”

2. Eight Parts of Speech in the Dictionary

When a dictionary gives the definition of a word, it also tells us what part of speech the word belongs to.

a. For example, the OAD can define “father” this way:

father noun [C] 1 a person’s male parent: John looks exactly like his father.

Explanation: a) After “father,” “noun” describes “father” as a noun. b) “[C]” labels “father” as a countable noun. c) Next, the dictionary gives a meaning of “father” when we use it as a noun. d) Finally, it gives a sentence as an example of how to use “father” when it has this meaning.

b. The OAD also defines “father” this way:

father verb [T] to become a father: to father a child.

Explanation: a) After “father," “verb” describes “father” as a verb. b) “[T]” labels the word as a transitive verb. c) Next, the dictionary gives a meaning of “father” when we use it as a verb. d) Finally, it gives a phrase as an example of how to use the word with this meaning.

This shows that we can use “father” as a noun or as a verb. Whenever a sentence uses the word “father,” the word always functions in the sentence as a part of speech.

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We list the eight parts of speech with the abbreviations which dictionaries often use for them:

n. - nounpron. - pronounadj. - adjective

vb. (or v.)- verbadv. - adverb

prep. - prepositionconj. - conjunctioninterj. (or int.)- interjection

Sometimes the OAD uses the full name of a part of speech (i.e. interjection, noun, verb). It labels other parts of speech with abbreviations (i.e. adj., adv., conj., prep., pron.)

B.B: DEFINITIONS OF THE PARTS OF SPEECH

We give a basic definition for each part of speech:

1. Noun – the name of a person, place, thing or idea.Example: The boy went to Delhi on the bus.

Explanations: a) When we call a noun “the name,” we do not always mean a personal name. We call a young human male, a “boy.” So we use “boy” as the name for all young human males. b) When a noun names a “thing” we do not mean only a physical object, such as a tree or motorbike. In this case “thing” can also refer to a thought, or feeling. "Freedom" exists as an idea. It gives the name for the idea, for example, about a person's experience after release from prison. So we use "freedom" also as a noun.

2. Pronoun – a word which takes the place of a noun. Example: He bought a bag of mangoes.

Explanations: a) In this case “He” takes the place of a person’s name. b) In another sentence “it” can take the place of the word tree, or the name of any other thing. So, when we refer to a palm tree, a person can say, “I cannot climb it.” The pronoun, "it," takes the place of the noun "tree."

3. Adjective – a word which usually modifies a noun; sometimes it modifies another adjective.

Example: The five tall trees give abundant shade.

Explanation: By “modify” we mean that an adjective tells us about a noun or pronoun. They can tell us how many (“five”), what kind (“abundant”), or which one (“The”).

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4. Verb – a word which describes the existence or action of something, which we call the subjects of the sentence. Auxiliary verbs help main verbs to describe the action or existence of the subject.

Examples: I am hungry. The dog wants some food. He will help you.

All of the words which we wrote in bold stand as verbs in their sentences.

Explanations: 1) "Am" describes my existence, or condition. 2) "Wants" describes the action (inside the dog's mind). 3) "Will Help" includes two words which form a verb together; "will" stands as an auxiliary verb.

5. Adverb – a word which modifies a verb, adjective, or adverb.Example: Yesterday, the very fast runner ran away effortlessly.

Explanation: By “modify” we mean that the adverb tells us about a verb, adverb, or adjective. It tells us how ("effortlessly"), how much ("very"), where ("away") and when ("yesterday").

6. Preposition – a word which shows a relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word which appears earlier in the sentence. It can express relationships of time, place, direction, as well as others.

Example: The cow stood under the shade of the tree.

Explanations: 1) In this sentence “under” expresses a connection between the verb "stood" and the noun “shade.” It expresses a relationship of place. 2) “Of” makes a connection between the noun “shade” and the noun “tree.” It expresses the relationship of source.

7. Conjunction – a word which joins words or groups of words together.Example: The cat and dog fought over the pillow.

Explanation: “And” joins “cat” and “dog” to tell us that both fought over the pillow.

8. Interjection – a word which expresses emotion but does not otherwise belong to the sentence.

Example: Oh! you surprised me.

Explanation: “Oh!” expresses fear or surprise because someone frightened or surprised the speaker. But it does not change the meaning of the sentence, “You surprised me.”

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Simple Sentence Homework Help Note C: Nouns

Help Note C: Nouns(See Lessons One and Two)

C.A: DEFINITION OF NOUN

The name of a person, place, thing, or idea. See Lesson One, A.1.

C.B: VARIOUS CATEGORIES OF NOUNS

1. Abstract Noun - A noun which refers to an idea of general quality. It does not refer to a physical object. See Lesson One, A.3.

2. Collective Noun - A singular noun which refers to a group. See Lesson One, A.5.

3. Common Noun - A noun which gives a general name for a person, place, thing, or idea. It does not give the name of a specific person, place think or idea. See Lesson One, A.2.

4. Compound Noun - A noun which we form by using more than one word. We often connect the words with hyphens; mother-in-law forms one example of this. See Lesson One A.4.

5. Concrete Noun - A noun which refers to something we can see, hear, smell, touch or taste. See Lesson One, A.3.

6. Countable Noun - Sometimes called "Count Noun." The countable noun refers to things which we can count. We can write plural forms of them. We can introduce them with "a" or "an." See Lesson One, A.6.

7. Possessive Noun - A noun which says who owns something. This course treats possessive nouns as possessive adjectives. See Lesson One, C.2.

8. Proper Noun - The name of a specific person, place, thing or idea. See Lesson One, A.2.

C.C: THE FORMATION OF PLURAL NOUNS

1. Plural Nouns which end with "s"We provide a fuller explanation of material found in Lesson One, A.4.

a. The Basic Pattern: Most frequently we change a singular noun into a plural noun by adding the letter “s” to the end of the singular noun.

Singular Pluralstudent students

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hand handsdoctor doctors

motorbike motorbikesteacher teachers

b. When a word’s final sound competes with a final “s”:35 When a singular noun ends with “sh”, “ch”, “s”, “x”, or “z,” we form the plural by adding “es.” We offer some examples:

Singular Pluralchurch churches

bus busesbox boxes

crash crashes.

c. When a final “y” comes after a consonant: When a singular noun ends with a consonant and “y,” we change the “y” to “i” and add “es.” Some examples demonstrate this method:

Singular Pluralbaby babieslady ladies

party parties

In these examples the letters (b, d, t) immediately before the final “y” all belong to the consonant letters. Therefore, the final “y” becomes an “i” in the plural form; then we add “es.” We do not use this method of forming the plural of proper names. We write Kennedys (not Kennedies) and Februarys (not Februaries).

d. When a final "y" comes after a vowel: We do not change the “y” to “i” and add “es.” For example, we spell the plural of “donkey” as “donkeys.” Also, the singular “monkey” becomes the plural “monkeys.”

e. When a singular word ends with “o:” In many cases, when a singular noun ends with “o,” we write the plural by adding “es” to the singular noun. We give some examples:

Singular Pluralecho echoeshero heroes

potato potatoes

Some singular nouns which end with “o” permit us to form the plurals in two different ways. We can write their plurals by ending them with either “s” or “es.” The following list shows this:

35 The author is indebted to Swan, pp. 514-4 for this these principles and examples.

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Singular Pluralmosquito mosquitos or mosquitoestornado tornados or tornadoesvolcano volcanos or volcanoes

When the final “o” comes after a vowel: We write the plural with only a final “s.” Examples of this include:

Singular Pluralradio radioszoo zoos

Also, most words ending with “o” which have entered the English language from another language in recent history receive a plural form with only the final “s:”

Singular Pluralcommando commandos

kilo kilosEskimo Eskimos

When a student has not memorized these variations of the regular pattern, he will keep his writing free from errors only if he consults a dictionary.

f. Words which end with “f” or “fe:” The pattern we give here does not apply to all nouns which end with “f” or “fe.” But a significant list of words changes the “f” to “v” and adds “es.” We give some examples:

Singular Pluralcalf calveswife wiveshalf halvesleaf leaveslife livesloaf loaves

Words like dwarf, hoof, scarf, and wharf can take the plural form which we see above. So, for example, we may write the plural of “dwarf” as “dwarves.” But we may form the plurals of these words simply by adding an “s;” so we may also write the plural of “dwarf as “dwarfs”.

Other singular words which end in “f” or “fe” require us to write their plurals by adding only the final “s.” For example, we must write the plural of "roof" as "roofs." We must write the plural of "chief" as "chiefs." Students should consult their dictionaries to know for sure how to write the plurals of words which end with "f" or "fe."

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2. Plural Nouns Which do not Add an “s” Ending

a. Words which change the singular form: We change some singular nouns significantly to form their plurals. The following list demonstrates this:

Singular Pluralchild childrenfoot feetman men

mouse miceox oxen

person people

b. Words with the Same Singular and Plural Forms: Some words do not change from singular to plural. They include the following:

Singular Pluralbarracks barracks

headquarters headquarterscrossroads crossroads

species speciesdeer deer

c. Words with Plurals from Foreign Languages: Some English words have plurals which come from their original language. They include:

Singular Pluralbasis bases (Greek

criterion criteria (Greek)analysis analyses (Latin)corpus corpora (Latin)kibbutz kibbutzim (Hebrew)

d. Compound Nouns: Sometimes English makes a compound noun by connecting a preposition or another word to a noun with a hyphen. We form plurals of compound nouns by writing noun in its plural. The following examples demonstrate what we mean:

Singular Pluralpasser-by passers-byrunner-up runners-up

mother-in-law mothers-in-law

e. Nouns with no Singular Form: Some words appear only in the plural form. They include: cattle, police, staff, the British, jeans, glasses (which we wear to correct our vision), congratulations, and outskirts.

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3. Summary of Singular and Plural Nouns

We have demonstrated the great complexity of the English singular-plural noun system. Yet we have not given all the possible examples for any category. We hope that, by receiving exposure to the complicated system, students will take the sure route: consult a dictionary whenever you do not know how to write the plural form of a noun.

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Simple Sentence Homework Help Note D: Pronouns

Help Note D: Pronouns(See Lessons One and Two)

D.A: Definition of Pronoun

Pronouns take the place of nouns. For example, we can use the pronoun “he” when we write about a man named Thomas. We can refer to a girl as “she” when we do not need to mention her name. Sometimes pronouns refer to things such as rocks and trees. We can use the pronoun “it” when we refer to one of them; we can say “them” when we mean more than one rock or tree. This Help Note will explain how we use several kinds of pronouns.

D.B: PERSONAL PRONOUNS

1. The List of Personal Pronouns - Personal pronouns include the following words:

Singular Plural1st person I, my, mine, me, we, our, ours, us,2nd person you, your, yours you, your, yours3rd person he, his, him, she, her, hers, it, its, they, their, theirs, them.

We have placed pronouns which refer to one person or thing, in the "Singular" column. We have placed pronouns which refer to more than one person or thing, in the "Plural" column.

We call the pronouns in the first row (from “I” to “us”) “first person pronouns;” they refer to the writer, to the writers, or to the group of people whom the writer represents. We call the pronouns in the second row (beginning with “you”) “second person pronouns;” we use them to refer to the people to whom we speak or write; second person refers to the writer's audience. We call the third row (beginning with “he”) “third person pronouns;” they refer to all other people or things; "third person" refers to everyone who does not belong to the writer or the audience. As we continue to refer to persons, we will use "1st" "2nd" or "3rd." As we continue to list singular and plural pronouns, we will use "Sing." and "Pl."

2. Forms of Personal Pronouns

Usually the English language does not change the form of words to show how we use them in a sentence. For example, the word “tree” stays the same when we use it as a subject or a direct object. But English pronouns change from singular to plural and from 1st person to 2nd or 3rd. The first table demonstrates how much English pronouns change.

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a. Personal Pronouns as Subjects (Nominative Case)

Table D.1: Pronouns as Subjects (Nominative Case)Sing. Pl.

1st I we2nd you you3rd he, she it they

b. Personal Pronouns as Objects: Direct Object, Object of Preposition, Indirect Object (Objective Case)

Table D.2: Pronouns as Objects (Objective Case)Sing. Pl.

1st me us2nd you you3rd him, her, it them

We need to know how to use the First and Second Tables of Pronouns. The pronouns in Table D.1 appear in as sentence as the subject or the predicate noun. The pronouns in Table D.2 appear in the sentence as objects of the preposition, direct objects and indirect objects. We give an example.

Suppose I write about a boy named John. After mentioning his name in the first sentence, I can refer to John again without mentioning his name. To do this, I use pronouns. So the next two sentences can say,

Example D.1: “He has memorized 10 Bible verses. I taught him.”

We have underlined the two pronouns which refer to John. The first underlined pronoun (“He”) appears in the first table, “Pronouns as Subjects.” “He” stands as the subject of the sentence which says, “He has memorized 10 Bible verses.” The second underlined pronoun (“him”) appears in the second table, “Pronouns as Objects.” “Him” stands as the Direct Object of the sentence which says, “I taught him.” This demonstrates how pronouns which we use as subjects of sentences and Predicate nouns always come from the first table. This also illustrates how we use pronouns from the second table when we use them as direct objects, objects of prepositions, and indirect objects.

c. Possessive Personal Pronouns: Pronouns used to Show Possession (Possessive Case)

Some pronouns tell us that a person owns or controls something. If I say, “the book of me,” I mean that I own the book. But good English usually does not say, “the book of me.” Rather we say or write, “my book.” Students will notice that “my” appears

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only in the third table of pronouns (which follows). Usually we write, “my,” we show possession.

English includes two basic types of possessive pronouns. Sometimes we use them as adjectives. Sometimes we use them to take the place of nouns.

1) Possessive Pronouns which we use in the Adjective Position

Table D.3: Possessive Pronouns in Adjective PositionSing. Pl.

1st my our2nd your your3rd his, her, its their

We use possessive pronouns most frequently as adjectives. This means that they appear in the adjective position. Lesson Two refers to this type of possessive pronoun when it tells us that we can use possessive pronouns as determiners. Table Three lists these possessive pronouns which we use as adjectives.

2) Possessive Pronouns which we use in the Noun Position

We place another kind of possessive pronoun in the noun possession. This second type of pronoun never functions as a determiner.

Table D.4: Possessive Pronouns in Noun PositionSing. Pl.

1st mine ours2nd yours yours3rd his, hers, its theirs

The following two examples show how to use possessive pronouns as nouns:

Example D.2: I saw three books on the table. I picked yours up and brought them home.

Example D.3: That book of yours now sits on the table.

Example D.2 uses “yours” as the direct object of “picked up.” Example D.3 uses “yours” as the object of the preposition. In both examples, we place “yours” in positions where nouns usually appear. We can use all of the pronouns in the Fourth Table of Pronouns similarly.

Students will notice that some pronouns appear in more than one table. For example, “her” appears in Table D.2 and Table D.3. “You” appears in the first and second tables. The context will determine the use when we write them.

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D.C: DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUNS

1. Pointing Pronouns

Table D.5: Possessive PronounsSing. Pl.

closer this thesefarther that those

Demonstrative pronouns help make clear which thing or person we mean. Demonstrative pronouns seem to point to things. We can imagine someone pointing to a specific house when she says, “I live in this one.”

2. Pronouns which Indicate Physical Distance

Demonstrative pronouns also indicate the distance of something from the speaker. Maybe I will say,

Example D.4: “I don’t like this shirt. I like that one better.”

This example shows that the shirt which I like lies further from me than the one I do not like.

We can also use plural demonstrative pronouns:

Example D.5: Look at the shirts on the store shelf. These cost more than those.

The word, “these,” tells the reader which shirts lie closer to the speaker than "those" do.

3. Pronouns which Indicate Emotional Distance

Or demonstrative pronouns can suggest an emotional distance from the speaker. I may say,

Example D.6: “That man always disagrees with me.”

The words, “that man,” seem to keep him at a distance because I do not want to come close to him. So demonstrative pronouns can tell which stands at a greater distance from us. Or they tell which feels farther from us.

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D.D: REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

Table D.6: Reflexive Pronouns

Sing. Pl.1st Myself Ourselves2nd Yourself Yourselves3rd Himself, Herself, Itself, Oneself Themselves

We use reflexive pronouns usually when the pronoun refers to a noun which appears earlier in the sentence. The reflexive pronoun directs us back to that word to find what it means.

1. Reflexive Pronouns as Direct Objects

We give several examples:

Example D.7: The dog licked itself.

Example D.8: We enjoyed ourselves during the party.

We have underlined the direct objects in these two sentences. In the first sentence, the direct object, “itself” refers to “dog.” It means that the dog licked the dog. In the second sentence, the direct object, “ourselves” refers to “we.”

2. Emphatic Reflexive Pronouns

Sometimes we use reflexive pronouns to emphasize. We may emphasize what seems like a surprise. Or we may emphasize that we mean only some of the possibilities.

Example D.9: The manager himself came to compliment me for my work.

This emphasizes what surprises us. We might expect co-workers to encourage each other. But the manager’s encouragement seemed unusual.

Example D.10: The picture itself seems beautiful. But the frame has the wrong colors.

People often like a picture with its frame. In this case, the picture seems attractive; its frame does not. The example shows how to use a reflexive pronoun when you emphasize only one of the two parts that the person noticed.

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3. Emphatic Reflexive Pronouns after as , like , but and except

Sometimes we use emphatic reflexive pronouns instead of personal pronouns after as, like, but and except.

Example D.11: Basketball seems like an easy sport for tall people such as yourself.

We would not say, “such as you.” English uses “yourself” in this sentence.

4. Reflexive Pronouns in Lists.

Sometimes we use reflective pronouns when we give a list of people.

Example D.12: Five people came for the meal: John, Mary, Thomas, Peter and myself.

5. Oneself, Ourselves

Sometimes we use the reflexive pronoun to mean that the person did something all alone.

Example D.13: You studied by yourself.

The sentence means that you studied alone. Or, you studied without someone else’s help.

6. Reflexives and Possessives

Reflexive pronouns do not show ownership as possessive pronouns do. So, we often use “my own” or “their own”

D.E: INDEFINITE PRONOUNS

Often a pronoun does not refer to a specific person or thing. We call them "indefinite" pronouns. We regard some indefinite pronouns as singular. We regard others as plural. We can use still another group as either singular or plural. Since the number of the subject determines the form of verb that we use, we need to know the number of an indefinite pronoun; this will help us choose the correct verb form to go with the indefinite pronoun.

We give the following lists:

1. Singular Indefinite Pronouns: each, either, neither, one, everyone, everybody, no one, nobody, anyone, anybody, someone, somebody

Notice that most singular indefinite pronouns end either with "-body" or "-one."

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Example D.14: One of the trees stands near the house.

Example D.15: Neither stands near the house.

Since we use singular indefinite pronouns, we write the verb, "stands," (the s-form) which we use with 3rd person singular subjects.

2. Plural Indefinite Pronouns: both, few, several, many

Example D.16 Both stand near the house.

Since we use the plural indefinite pronoun, "both," we write the verb, "stand" which we use with 3rd person plural subjects.

3. Indefinite Pronouns, Either Singular or Plural: some, any, none, all, most

Example D.17: Some of the birds have flown away.

Example D.18: Some of the light has disappeared.

Both examples use the indefinite pronoun, "some," as the subject of the verb. Since "some," in Example D.17, refers to the plural noun, "birds," we use the verb which works with 3rd person plural. Example D.18, refers to the singular noun, "light." So, we use the present verb, "has" which follows 3rd person singular subjects.

D.F: RELATIVE PRONOUNS

We use relative pronouns when we write relative clauses (a topic which we do not cover in this course). Relative pronouns take the number of their antecedent (the earlier word to which the pronoun refers). They take the case which their position in the relative clause requires. We list them according to their use in the relative clause. This means some will appear in more than one list.

1. Relative Subject Pronounswho, whoever, which, what, that

2. Relative Object Pronounswhom, whomever, which, that, whatever

3. Relative Possessive Pronounswhose

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D.G: INTERROGATIVE PRONOUNS

Often we use interrogative pronouns as the first word of a question. Sometimes interrogative pronouns follow prepositions. We use some of the relative pronouns as interrogative pronouns. Interestingly, all interrogative pronouns begin with the letter "w." We give a list of the interrogative pronouns:

who, whom, whose, what, which

Example D.19: What is your name?Example D.20: To whom will you give it?

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Simple Sentence Homework Help Note E: Articles and Adjectives

Help E: Articles and Adjectives(see Lessons One and Two)

E.A: ARTICLES (SEE LESSON ONE)

1. Number of Articles

English has two basic articles: a. the indefinite article which we spell as a or an, b. the definite article which we spell as the.

Sometimes we refer to "a" or "an" as "a/an" because they really refer to the same word.

We can use both the indefinite and definite articles as determiners (see Lesson One).

2. When to use "a" or "an"

American English uses, “a” when the word which follows begins with a consonant sound. We use “an” when the word which follows begins with a vowel sound.

We illustrate this rule with several words which begin with “h”. We say:an honor a horrible crimean heir a history bookan herb a heresy

The first syllable of “honor” sounds like “on.” It begins with the sound of the short “o,” which is a vowel. “Heir” sounds like “air.” It begins with a vowel sound. “Herb” sounds like “urb.” It also begins with a vowel sound. In each of these examples, we do not pronounce the first letter (“h”). We say a vowel sound as the first sound of each of these words. Therefore, we say “an honor;” we use “an” when the word which follows begins with a vowel sound.

“Horrible,” “history,” and “heresy” all begin with the breathing sound which “h” often produces at the beginning of a word. Since the breathing sound is consonantal, we use “a” before each of them.

We also give examples with other nouns:an apple a tree

an elephant a bookan octagon a train

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The nouns in the left column all begin with a vowel sound. We use “an” before them. The nouns in the right column all begin with a consonant sound. Therefore, we use “a” before them.

3. How we Pronounce "the"

As we have said in the previous section, we say the indefinite articles in two different ways; so we spell it in two different ways. We also say "the" in two different ways, but we always spell "the" one way.

When we use "the" before a word which begins with a vowel sound, we say "the" to sound like "thee." When say "the" before a word which begins with a consonant sound, we say "thuh." We illustrate by using the sound that we that we say instead of the spelling we use:

"thee" honor "thuh" horrible crime"thee" heir "thuh" history book"thee" herb "thuh" heresy

We stress that we always spell it "the," though we pronounce it in two different ways

4. When we Use "the" or a/an (By “a/an” we mean “a or an.”)

Trying to distinguish between "the" and "a/an" creates a very difficult problem for many students. Even for English speakers, the distinction between “an” and “the” proves very difficult to explain. We follow Michael Swan’s basic explanation.36

We choose "a/an" when we do not believe the audience knows which one we mean. We use "the" when we believe the listener or reader does know which one we mean. For example, if the speaker says, “I saw a cat,” the speaker assumes that the listener does not know which cat the speaker saw. But if the speaker says, “I saw the cat,” the speaker assumes that the listener knows which cat the speaker saw.

Before the writer uses "the" such as in "the book," a writer has two basic ways to make clear which thing he means. First, he can make it clear in sentences before. So, if the writer has made clear in earlier sentences which book he means, the writer may write in the next sentence: “And I read the book from cover to cover.” But if the writer describes a book which the reader does not know about, he may write, “I read a book from cover to cover.” This rule applies only to most singular nouns.

Second, the writer can identify the thing that he means in the sentence which mentions it. So, a writer could write, “I gave to Mr. Allen the book which sits on his

36 Swan 52-66.

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desk.” In this sentence “on his desk” identifies the book if only one book sits on Mr. Allen’s desk. So the author used “the,” the definite article.

Example E.1: I saw the mouse. (“The” stands before a singular noun which the reader knows about. It assumes possibly that the reader also saw the same mouse. Or it may assume that the reader knows about the mouse because the writer has described it.)

Example E.2: I saw a mouse in the kitchen.(“A” stands before a singular noun which the reader does not know about.)

5. A/An with plural and singular nouns.

If you cannot count it, or if you use a plural noun, do not place an article before the noun.

Example E.3: I strongly dislike vermin.(“Vermin” sometimes means small unpleasant animals. Sometimes people refer to mice as vermin. We cannot count how many animals “vermin” means because it refers to an unknown number of animals. So, here, vermin appears as an uncountable noun. It has no article before it.)

Example E.4: I strongly dislike mice.(We do not use an article before a plural noun, such as “mice,” the plural of “mouse.”)

We can use the summary which Michael Swan gives:

When you write, ask whether "The reader knows which one I mean?”1) If you answer, “Yes,” use “the.”2) If you answer, “No,” use “a” or “an” for a singular countable noun.

We need to add three more basic rules:3) Do not use “a” or “an” before uncountable nouns or before plural nouns. We

can say "the air" but we may not say, "an air" (we cannot count "air.") We may say "the apples" (plural); we may not say, "an apples."

4) Do not use articles with other determiners. For example, do not write, “my a friend.” As a possessive pronoun used as an adjective, “my” stands as a determiner. One rule for determiners says that we may use only one of the first three kinds with a noun.

5) Singular countable nouns should always have a determiner. If we do not use another determiner, we must use “a,” “an” or “the.”

Examples E.5: Write: “Michael is a teacher;” not “Michael is teacher.”Write: “Give it to the cat;” not “give it to cat.”

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E.B: ADJECTIVES (SEE LESSON ONE)

1. Possessive Adjectives

By "Possessive Adjectives" we mean nouns which show possession or ownership. These nouns function like adjectives in a sentence; they tell us about another noun. Therefore, this course discusses them in the Help Note on Adjectives.

We give principles and examples concerning how to form possessive adjectives:

a. When a singular noun does not end with "s"

Usually we write an apostrophe after the word; then we write "s."Noun Singular Possessive AdjectiveDavid David's captree tree's shade

wind wind's powerAbraham Abraham's children

b. When a singular proper noun Ends with "s"

Sometimes a proper noun ends with an "s." The name, "Jesus," for example, does this. In this case, we add only an apostrophe to the end of the name. We pronounce it like we pronounce the singular proper name.

Noun Singular Possessive AdjectiveJesus Jesus' wordJames James' letter

Mr. Rogers Mr. Rogers' neighborhood

c. When a plural noun ends with "s"

Most plural nouns have an "s" at the end. (We use an "s" to make most nouns plural). In that case also, we add only an apostrophe at the end of the plural word. We give some examples:

Plural Noun Plural Possessive Adjectivetrees trees' leaves

friends friends' conversationpainters painters' artwork

d. When a plural noun does not end with "s"

When the plural noun does not end with an "s," we form the possessive adjective in the same way that we would make a singular noun possessive:

Plural Noun Plural Possessive Adjectivewomen women's purses

mice mice's food

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2. Degrees of Comparison

We illustrate three approaches to forming degrees of comparison with this list:


One-syllable weak weaker weakestAdjectives tall taller tallest

(and 2-syllable s heavy heavier heaviestadjective funny funnier funniest

ending with "y") silly sillier silliest

Longer ancient more ancient most ancientAdjectives difficult more difficult most difficult

difficult less difficult least difficultdelightful more delightful most delightfultechnical more technical most technical

interesting more interesting most interesting

Irregular good better bestAdjectives bad worse worst

many more most

3. Determiners (see Lesson One)

4. Quantifiers (see Lesson One)

Quantifiers tell us how many or how much. We list the most important quantifiers below:

some, several, any, noeach, every, either, neither,much, many, more, most,(a) little, less, least; (a) few, fewer, fewest;enough; all, both, half,what, whatever, which whichever.38

We use these quantifiers in different situations. The following instructions help us to use them in different situations. To understand the examples, remember that “tree” belongs to countable nouns. “Water” belongs to uncountable nouns.

37 We use the "positive" when an adjective does not make a comparison; we use "comparative" when the adjective compares one noun to another; we use "superlative" when we compare a noun to three or more others.38 Swan 135 (not a direct quote).

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For singular countable nouns use: “each” and “every” Examples – "every tree;" not "every trees;" not "every water"

For plural countable nouns use: “several,” “many,” “few,” “fewer,” “fewest,” and “both” Examples – "few trees;" not "few tree;" not "few water"

For uncountable nouns use: “either,” “neither,” “much,” “more,” “most,” “little,” “a little,” “less” and “least” Examples – "much water;" not "much tree;" not "much trees"

For uncountable nouns and plural countable nouns use: “some,” “any,” “enough,” and “all” Examples – "all water;" "all trees;" not "all tree"

For all nouns use: “no,” “half,” “what,” “whatever,” “which,” “whichever” Examples – "no tree;" "no trees;" "no water"

We need to say more concerning how we use “some” and “any.”39

“Some” refers to an unknown singular thing, unclear number of plural countable things and an unclear amount of uncountable things. Examples – "some tree;" "some trees;" "some water"

Use “any” instead of “some” in negative expressions (which use “no,” “not,” “never”). Examples - “not any tree,” “not any trees,” and “not any water” all obey this rule

Use either “some” or “any” in questions. When the word modifies a countable singular thing, use only “any.” Examples - Do you own any (not some) tree? (tree is a countable singular noun)Do you own some (or any) trees? Do you have any (or some) water?

Exceptions exist when we use quantifiers in unusual ways. However, students should learn the normal use for each quantifier.

Our use of quantifiers changes when we include “of.” For example, a person may say, “each child,” or “each of my children.” “Each” has a singular meaning in both instances. But, “each” functions differently in the two phrases. In the first, it functions as an adjective which modifies child. In the second, it functions as the pronoun which a prepositional phrase modifies. We give these examples only to alert students to understand how they use quantifiers. Knowing how we may use them will help us use quantifiers correctly

39 Swan 51

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Simple Sentence Homework Help Note F: Verbs

Help Note F: The Verb (see Lessons Three, Five, Seven and Eight)

F.A: THE IDEA OF A VERB: Lesson Three begins with and explanation of the idea of verb.

F.B: VOICE (Active and Passive): See Lesson Seven.

F.C: VERB TENSES

1. The Idea of Tense

Lesson One explains the idea of verb tense. This Help Note assists students in writing various verb tenses.

2. The Principle Parts of the English Verb

We use the principle parts of verbs when we form tenses. Therefore, we give the pattern of regular verbs; we also give examples of the main irregular verbs.

We can follow a method of learning the middle three principle parts for a verb. We need only to complete each of these sentences with a verb:

For the present, complete this: "Today I __________."For the past, complete this: "Yesterday I __________."For the past participle, complete this: "Many times I have __________."

So we can use the regular verb, "play." We say:Today, I play. (the present tense of play)Yesterday, I played. (the past tense of play)Many times, I have played. (the past participle of play)

We can use the irregular verb, "rise". We say:Today, I rise. (the present tense of rise)Yesterday, I rose. (the past tense of rise)Many times, I have risen. (the past participle of rise)

Before we list principle parts, we list common abbreviations for words which refer to tense and to principle parts:

cont. continuousfut. futureinf. infinitivepart. participleperf. perfect

pp. past participlepres. presentpres. part. present participlept. past

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We give the 5 principle parts of the regular verb, "play."


inf. pres. pt. pp. pres. partto play play played played playing

We give the 5 principle pars of the most frequently used irregular verbs


inf. pres. pt. pp. pres. part.to rise rise rose risen rising

to raise raise raised raised raisingto lay lay laid laid layingto lie lie lay lain lyingto set set set set settingto sit sit sat sat sitting

to beat beat beat beaten beatingto break break broke broken breakingto write write wrote written writingto shake shake shook shaken shakingto bring bring brought brought bringing

to go go went gone goingto know know knew known knowing

In each line we wrote three principle parts in bold because these three help us most in writing the verb tenses.

3. Guidelines for Writing TensesThough forming tenses may seem very difficult to the student, we summarize the process by giving the following principles.

a. All tenses include a form of the main verb. In "I wrote" and "we shall have been writing" a form of the basic verb, "write," appears each time. The first sentence uses the past principle part; the second uses the present participle.

b. The form of the main verb stands as the last word in every tense. For example, the last word in the future perfect continuous tense, "we shall have been writing" consists of the present participle of "write."

c. All continuous tenses use the present participle of the main verb. For example, the future perfect continuous, "shall have been writing," ends with the present participle of "write."

d. Only the simple tense and the past tense verbs do not use auxiliary verbs.

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e. All other tenses use auxiliary (or helping) verbs. 1) Every form of the future tense includes "shall" or "will." (Future for

1st person usually uses "shall;" all other futures usually use "will.")2) The first auxiliary verb will change to express the specific tense and

person. (For example, compare these two sentences: "I have liked it." and "He has liked it." "Has," the auxiliary verb in the second sentence, ends with the s-form to show 3rd singular. Clues of tense and person appear in the first auxiliary verb.)

We give the first table to summarize how to form the tenses. (Notice the words which we write with bold, underlining, and italics.)

Simple TensesWrite: the form of the main verb to express the tense and number

Perfect TensesWrite: the form of "have" to express the tense and number(and) the past participle of the main verb

Continuous TensesWrite: the form of "be" in a simple tense to express the tense and number(and) the present participle of the main verb

Perfect Continuous TensesWrite: the form of "be" in a perfect tense to express the tense and number.(and) the present participle of the main verb

We give examples of the instructions in the table above.) Simple Tenses

Pres. 3rd sing he writesPt. 2nd sing you wroteFut. 1st pl. we will write

Perfect Tenses

pres. perf. 1st sing I have writtenpt. perf. 2nd pl. you had writtenfut. perf. 3rd sing she will have written

Continuous Tenses

pres. cont. 1st pl. we are writing pt. cont. 2nd sing . he was writingfut.cont.3rd pl. they will be writing

Perfect Continuous Tenses

pres. perf. cont. 3rd sing she has been writingpt. perf. cont. 3rd pl. They had been writingfut. perf. cont. 2nd. pl. You will have been writing

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The following page shows how we write all the tenses, with all three persons, for both singular and plural. We use the regular verb, "wrote."

4. Guidelines for Passive Writing Tenses (See Lesson Seven for the meaning of the passive tenses.

a. All passive tenses use the tense of "be." For example: the passive present tense uses the present of "be." The passive past perfect tense uses the past perfect tense of "be." The form of "be" stands in the front position of the passive verb.

b. The past participle of the verb stands in the final position of the passive verb. For example, all passive forms of "like" past participle, "liked," as the final word.

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"Be" in Tenses which English uses)

Present Tensepres.

Sing. Pl.1st am are2nd are are3rd is are

Present Perfect Tensepres. of "have" + pp.

Sing. Pl.1st have been have worked2nd have been have worked3rd has been have worked

Present Continuous Tensepres. of "be" + pres. pt.

Sing. Pl.1st am being are being2nd are being are being3rd is being are being

Past Tensept.

Sing. Pl.1st was were2nd were were3rd was were

Past Perfect Tensepast. of "have" +pp.

Sing. Pl.1st had been had worked2nd had been had worked3rd had been had worked

Past Continuous Tensepast of "be" + pres. pt.

Sing. Pl.1st was being were being2nd were being were being3rd was being were being

Future Tenseshall/will + pres.

Sing. Pl.1st shall be shall be2nd will be will be3rd will be will be

Future Perfect Tensefut. of " have" + pp.

Sing. Pl.1st shall have been shall have been2nd will have been will have been3rd will have been will have been

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Tenses of "love" in Active Indicative

Present Tensepres.

Sing. Pl.1st love love2nd love love3rd loves love

Present Perfect Tensepres. of "have" + pp.

Sing. Pl.1st have loved have loved2nd have loved have loved3rd has loved have loved

Present Continuous Tensepres. of "be" + pres. part.

Sing. Pl.1st am loving are loving2nd are loving are loving3rd is loving are loving

Present Perfect Continuous Tensepres. perf. of "be" + pres. part.

Sing. Pl.1st have been

lovinghave been

loving2nd have been

lovinghave been

loving3rd has been

lovinghave been

loving

Past Tensept.

Sing. Pl.1st loved loved2nd loved loved3rd loved loved

Past Perfect Tensept. of "have" +pp.

Sing. Pl.1st had loved had loved2nd had loved had loved3rd had loved had loved

Past Continuous Tensep.t of "be" + pres. part.

Sing. Pl.1st was loving were loving2nd were loving were loving3rd was loving were loving

Past Perfect Continuous Tensept. perf. of "be" + pres. part.

Sing. Pl.1st had been

lovinghad been

loving2nd had been

lovinghad been

loving3rd had been

lovinghad been

loving

Future Tenseshall/will + pres.

Sing. Pl.1st shall love shall love2nd will love will love3rd will love will love

Future Perfect Tensefut. of " have" + pp.

Sing. Pl.1st shall have loved shall have loved2nd will have loved will have loved3rd will have loved will have loved

Future Continuous Tensefut. of "be" + pres. part.

Sing. Pl.1st shall be loving shall be loving2nd will be loving will be loving3rd will be loving will be loving

Future Perfect Continuous Tensefut. of ""be" + pres. part.

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Sing. Pl.1st shall have been

lovingshall have been

loving2nd will have been

lovingwill have been

loving3rd will have been

lovingwill have been

loving

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Tenses of "Love" in Passive Indicative in Tenses which English uses.

Present Tensepres. "be" + pp. of "love"

Sing. Pl.1st am loved are loved

2nd are loved are loved3rd is loved are loved

Present Perfect Tensepres. of "have" + pp. of "love"

Sing. Pl.

1st have been loved

have been loved

2nd have been loved

have been loved

3rd has been loved

have been loved

Present Continuous Tensepres. of "be" + pres. pt. of "have"

Sing. Pl.

1st am being loved

are being loved

2nd are being loved

are being loved

3rd is being loved

are being loved

Past Tensept. of "be" + pp. of "love

Sing. Pl.1st was loved were loved2nd were loved were loved3rd was loved were loved

Past Perfect Tensept. of "have" +pp. of "love"

Sing. Pl.1st had been

lovedhad been

loved2nd had been

lovedhad been

loved3rd had been

lovedhad been

loved

Past Continuous Tensepast of "be" + pres. pt. "have"

Sing. Pl.

1st was being loved

were being loved

2nd were being loved

were being loved

3rd was being loved

were being loved

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Future Tensefuture of "be" + pp. of "love".

Sing. Pl.1st shall be loved shall be loved2nd will be loved will be loved3rd will be loved will be loved

Future Perfect Tensefut. of " have" + pp. of "love"

Sing. Pl.1st shall have been

lovedshall have been

loved2nd will have been

lovedwill have been

loved3rd will have been

lovedwill have been

loved

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Simple Sentence Homework Help Note G: Adverbs

Help Note G: Adverbs(See Lesson Three)

G.A: PURPOSE AND KINDS OF ADVERBS

See Lesson Three.

G.B: THE MAIN POSITIONS OF ADVERBS (See Lesson Six)

Lesson Six lists the 3 main positions where we usually place adverbs. We list them:

1. Front PositionAdverbs in this position stand as the first words of a sentence or clause

2. End PositionAdverbs in this position stand as the last words of a sentence or clause.

3. Mid-positionThese adverbs stand: a) before a one part verb, or b) after the auxiliary verb. By "one-part verb" we mean a verb which consists of one word. If the verb includes an auxiliary verb, the mid-position adverb stands between the auxiliary verb and the main verb.

Example G.1: I shall surely stand to speak at the meeting.

In this sentence "shall stand" stands as a simple future tense verb. We stated in one of the lessons, that all tenses, except for the simple present and simple past tenses, include auxiliary verbs. In this simple future "shall" stands as the auxiliary verb. So, we placed the mid-position adverb, "surely," after the auxiliary.

Example G.2: I have surely been standing to speak at the meeting.

In this sentence "have been standing" forms a continuous imperfect verb. The adverb, "surely," stands after the first auxiliary verb, "have,"

Example G.3: The six-day war did surely and quickly pass.

The man very, "did pass," includes the auxiliary verb "did." This sentence has two adverbs which "and" connects. The three words which have the function of an adverb--"surely and quickly"--appear together after the auxiliary verb.

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G.C: CATEGORIES OF ADVERBS AND THEIR POSITIONS

We summarize which adverbs usually stand in each of the three main positions for adverbs.

1. Adverbs in the Front Position

Kind of Adverb Usually in Front Possibly in Front Commentof place here, there,

upstairs, etc.when the sentence does not focus on these adverbs

of time today, soon, afterwards, etc.

when we do not emphasize them

of indefinite frequency

usually, normally, sometimes always, never, etc.

Usually these adverbs stand in the mid-position

of certainty maybe, perhaps, etc.

probably, definitely, certainly, etc.

connecting then, next, besides, anyway, suddenly, however, etc.

commenting fortunately, surprisingly, etc.

usually begin a sentence

2. Adverbs in the End Position

Kind of Adverb Usually in End Possibly in End Commentof manner fast, well, hard,

slowly, badly nicely, softly, etc.

When they end with "-ly" they can go in mid-position

of place around, here, there, etc.

can go in front position

of time today, afterwards, finally, before, eventually, already, soon, still, last, etc.

We can place them in the end position when we want to emphasize time.

of definite frequency

daily, weekly, etc. in end position if the sentence focuses on them


usually, normally, often, frequently, sometimes,

in the end position when we emphasize them.

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occasionally, etc.

Usually we write adverbs of manner, place, and time in that order.

3. Adverbs in Mid-position

Kind of Adverb Usually in Mid- Possibly in Mid- Commentof manner angrily, slowly,

suddenly, seriously, etc.

when they end with "-ly" can go in mid-position.

of definite frequency

daily, weekly, always, etc.

in end position if the sentence focuses on them


usually, sometimes, never, always, ever, often, seldom, sometimes, etc.

of certainty probably, certainly, clearly, definitely, obviously, etc.

"maybe" and "perhaps" usually appear in the front position

of completeness completely, practically, almost, nearly, quite, rather, partly, hardly, scarcely, etc.

If the verb has more than one X-word, these adverbs will usually appear after all of the X-words

commenting fortunately, stupidly, etc.

focusing usually go before the words they modify; therefore, they appear in many places in sentences.

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Simple Sentence Homework Help Note H: Prepositions

Help Note H: Prepositions (See Lesson Two)

Lesson One contains important information about prepositions and prepositional phrases.

H.A: LISTS OF PREPOSITIONS

1. Most Frequently Used Prepositions

aboardaboutaboveacrossafter

againstalongamid

amongaround

atbefore

behindbelow

beneathbeside

betweenbeyond

but (except)by

downduringexcept

for

fromin

intolikenear

ofoffon

overpastsince

through

throughoutto

towardunder

underneathuntiluntoup

uponwith

within without

2. Compound Prepositions: This term refers to prepositions which we form with more than one word:

according toalongside of

due to

in case ofin front ofin spite of

instead ofowing to

with the exception of

Many more compound prepositions exist. Students can find the last word of all compound prepositions in the first list. In other words, the last word of "owing to" appears in the first list; "to."

H.B: RELATIONSHIPS WHICH PREPOSITIONS INDICATE

1. Prepositions of Time. Prepositions which express relationships of time include: about, after, at, before, between, during, since, throughout, until

2. Prepositions of Place or Space. Prepositions which express relationships of space include: aboard, about, above, across, against, along, amid, among, around, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond, by, from, in, into, near, off, on, over, past, through, to, toward, under, underneath, unto, up, upon, within.

3. Prepositions of Direction. These prepositions assume movement in the sentence. They show the relationship of an object with the direction of movement.

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Prepositions of movement include: across, against, beyond, between, into, and through.

We have not listed all the relationship which prepositions express. Also, we have not listed all examples of the relations which we have listed. We believe these lists will help students understand the purpose of prepositions.

H.C: THE PLACE OF PREPOSITIONS

Usually, a preposition expresses a relationship between a word which appears before the preposition and a noun or pronoun which appears after the preposition. We can summarize the relationships with these three ideas:a) Prepositions express relationships within three different pairs of words: 1)

between a noun and a noun, 2) between a verb and a noun, and 3) between an adjective and a noun.40 Each preposition in a sentence will express one of these relationships.

b) A preposition stands between the two related words. It stands in the sentence between the noun and the noun, between the verb and the noun or between the adjective and the noun.

c) We call the noun which follows the preposition, “the object of the preposition.”

A noun, verb, or adjective appears before the preposition. The preposition and its prepositional phrase modify, or describe, the word which comes before the preposition.

H.D: THE MEANING OF PREPOSITIONS

Learning the meanings of prepositions requires very careful study. Michael Swan wrote:

It is difficult to learn to use prepositions correctly in a foreign language. Most English prepositions have several different functions (for instance, one well-known dictionary lists eighteen main uses of at), and these may correspond to several different prepositions in another language. At the same time, different prepositions can have very similar uses (in the morning, on Monday morning, at night). Many nouns, verbs and adjectives are normally used with particular prepositions: we say the reason for, arrive at, angry with somebody, on a bus. Often the correct preposition cannot be guessed, and one has to learn the expression as a whole. In some expressions English has no preposition where one may be used in another language; in other expressions the opposite is true.41

40 Usually, the rules which tell us how to use nouns also apply to how we use pronouns. So a preposition also expresses a relationship between a noun and pronoun, and between a verb and pronoun. However, this author cannot think of an example where a preposition expresses the relationship between a pronoun and a noun, where the pronoun appears first.41 Michael Swan, Practical English Usage. 3rd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005) 425).

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Usually a good English dictionary for learners of English will explain how to use prepositions more clearly than a dictionary for experienced English speakers.

H.E: PREPOSITIONS AS ADVERBS

Sometimes, a preposition acts as an adverb. This occurs when a noun does not follow it to stand as the object of the preposition. We give two examples:

Example H.1: To keep his friends from fighting John stood between.Example H.2: The boys played soccer outside.

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Simple Sentence Homework Bibliography

Bibliography

Allen, Robert L. English Grammars and English Grammar. New York: Paideia Book-Charles Scribner’s, 1972. Allen compares traditional grammars with linguistic grammars. He introduces sector analysis which he advocates as the appropriate linguistic approach to use for English grammar.

Allen, Robert L, Rita Pompian, and Doris Allen. Working Sentences. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell-Harper, 1975. This book, along with others in this Bibliography, forms the basis of the approach which this course takes. This book gives specific applications of the linguistics for which Allen’s other book in this list gives the theory.

Krohn, Robert, and the Staff of the Michigan English Language Institute. English Sentence Structure. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1971. The authors base their work on the findings of linguistics. As a result, the work will not satisfy strict grammarians. The work provides a nearly-comprehensive treatment.

Oxford American Dictionary for Learners of English . The course uses this dictionary whenever it needs to give an illustration from a dictionary. This dictionary, along with the more advanced Oxford Advanced American Dictionary for Learners of English gives thoroughgoing help for writers who need assistance as they navigate through the English language.

Strunk, William Jr. and E. B. White. The Elements of Style. 4th Ed. (Needham Heights, MA: Longman--A Pearson Education Company, 2000. Strunk's work (with White's later additions) constitutes an enduring classic which urges writers to use only necessary, well-chosen words.

Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford Press, 2005. Swan’s work offers very detailed help for students who want to learn the nuances of word usage in English.

Warriner, John E. English Composition and Grammar: Benchmark Edition. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1988. See comment on the following source.

----------. Warriner's English Grammar and Composition: Second Course. Franklin Ed. Orlando: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982. Warriner's grammar covers grammar from a traditional approach. He treats the subject matter thoroughly.

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Simple Sentence Homework Coordinator's Manual

Coordinator's Manual

Class Schedule

A MINTS course typically includes Orientation Classes, Study Classes and the Final Exam.

A. Orientation Classes (1 hour each)

1. First HourIntroduce all people involved in the course.Introduce the course format.Review Lessons One and Two.

2. Second HourReview Lessons Three and Four.Review the Schedule for remaining Orientation sessions.

Explain assignments and their due dates during the Study Classes. Clarify that students must write out all homework answers.

3. Third Hour Review Lessons Five and Six.Summarize the essay assignments and reading assignment.

4. Fourth HourReview Lessons Seven and Eight.Review requirements for the Exam.

Students will see sentences which they have not seen before.They may have a dictionary (not on a laptop).

B. Study Classes (3 hours each)

Coordinator marks attendance.Coordinator marks grades for the activities performed in each study class.Coordinator subtracts points for absence in class and late assignments.

1. First Study SessionStudents hand in homework on Lessons 1 & 2.Students discuss homework.Coordinator leads students in discussion of all major points in Lessons 1 & 2.Students read their writing assignment for Lessons 1 & 2.Students appointed for this Session read their Reading Reports.Review what is due at the next Study Session.

2. Second Study Session

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Students hand in homework on Lessons 3 & 4.Students discuss homework.Coordinator leads students in discussion of all major points in Lessons 3 & 4.Students read their writing assignments for Lessons 3 & 4.Students appointed for this Session read their Reading Reports.Review what is due at the next Study Session.

3. Third Study SessionStudents hand in homework on Lessons 5 & 6.Students discuss homework.Coordinator leads students in discussion of all major points in Lessons 5 & 6.Students read their writing assignments for Lessons 5 & 6. Students appointed for this Session read their Reading Reports.Review what is due at the next Study.

4. Fourth Study SessionStudents hand in homework for Lesson 7 & 8.Students discuss homework.Coordinator leads students in discussion of all major points in Lessons 7 & 8.Students read their writing assignments for Lesson 7.Students appointed for this Session read their Reading Reports.

C. Final Exam (up to 1 hour)Receive final Essays.Give test.Collect Test.

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Homework

Each question states how many points a student can earn and how many correct answers the student needs to receive the points. Coordinator will use personal discernment in assigning points. For example, if the instruction says that 8 correct answers deserves 2 points, the coordinator may give 1 point for 4 correct answers.

A perfect homework score receives 100 points. This score equals 30% of the grade for the course. After adding the total points that the student earned, the coordinator can multiply the total by .3; this will give number to write in the class record for homework.

Lesson One

1. (3 pts. for 9 correct answers)a. a name of a person, place, or thingb. a name of a specific person, place, or thingc. a name for more than one person, place, or thingd. To make the noun plural, we add an "s" at the end of the regular singular

noun.e. We look for the singular word in the dictionary.f. A word which takes the place of a noung. What kind? How man? Whose? Which?h. We add an apostrophe and an "s" at the end of the singular word.i. We use the positive form when we make no comparisons. We use the

comparative when we compare only two things. We use superlative when we compare three of more things.

j Determiners include articles, possessive pronouns and demonstrative pronouns.

2. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers):wrench wrenches

tax taxeswish wishesfizz fizzes

dress dressesmonkey monkeysmisery miseries

currency currenciesstrategy strategies

berry berries

3. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers):domino dominoestorpedo torpedoes

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silo silostrio trios

salvo salvos or salvoesshelf shelveswolf wolvesreef reefsthief thievesbelief beliefs

4. (2 pts. for 4 correct answers). brother-in-law brothers-in-law

attorney general attorney's general or attorney generalsMember of Parliament Members of Parliament

Secretary of state secretaries of statedoorman doormen

5. (1 pt. for all correct answers):cat ditch man roof

dog mate riotdock mission ruler

charge mockingbird

6. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers).a. thisb. thec. thisd. mye. our

7. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers):a. the b. a c. the d. an e. that or thef. an g. the h. thei. the or a j. a

8. (1 pt. for all answers correct).a. this b. these c. that

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d. those

9. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers).Positive Comparative Superlative

wonderful more wonderful most wonderfulcalm calmer calmest

beautiful more beautiful most beautifulsimple simpler simplestbright brighter brightest

10. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers):a. hisb. theirsc. your d. hise. my

Homework Coordinator's Manual - Lesson Two

1. (3 pts. for 9 correct answers):a. 1) noun, verb, or adjective

2) noun (or pronoun)b. the object of the prepositionc. the preposition, the object of the preposition, words which modify the objectd. The prepositione. 1 (Adjectives before the noun)

4 (Clauses which modify the noun)2 (The noun)3 (Prepositional phrases which modify the noun)

f. articles, possessive pronouns, demonstrative pronounsg. oneh. Determiners

Modifiers before descriptive adjectives (numbers, author's opinion)Descriptive adjectivesModifiers after descriptive adjectives (noun adjectives)

i. We use no adjectives.j. We may not use "a" or "an"

2. (2 pts. for 17 correct answers; 1 pt. for 8-16 correct answersfor after over to bybefore into against with beneathat beside on until acrossonto beyond under uponwithin near

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3. (3 pts: 1 pt. for at least 8 prepositions; 1 pt. for at least 8 correct objects of the preposition; 1 pt. for at least correct adjectives in 8 prepositional phrases)

prepositions obj. of prep. adjectivesa. into forest the, deep, darkb. with friends all, hisc. into house the, white

near river thed. with hair long, blacke. for book the, thick, blackf. at table the, long

in classroom the, blueg. for motorbike his, new, redh. about uniforms their, new, school

4. (1 point for 8 correct sentences)a. the old tall brown horseb. my wonderful English teacherc. our last wonderful tasty tead. his thin black cowe. the wide green shade treef. the wise old mang. the fascinating classis theology bookh. his difficult writing assignmenti. our long wooden dining tablej. their beautiful red flowering bushes

5. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)a. The teachers of our school b. The beautiful and powerful horse c. The wide dark clouds d. The thatched-roofed house e. the people of your village.f. he entire book.g. The dry footpathh. The paved road

many years.i. the roads in the forest.

6. (1 point for two correct answers)a. A phrase consists of a group of words which work together to serve one

purpose in the sentence.b. A phrase does not include both a noun and a verb.

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7. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers).a. yourb. my c. hisd. hise. your

Homework Manual – Lesson Three

1. (3 pts. for 9 correct answers)a. action or a state of beingb. The tells us the time when an action takes place or when something exists.c. The simple present tense, the simple past tense, and the simple future tense.d. The present perfect tense, the past perfect tense, and the future perfect tense.e. Simple tenses tell us generally when action takes place. The perfect tenses

tell us about the time when action is completed.f. Continuous tenses tell us when action continues.g. 1) The person of a verb tells us which person or people does or do the

action. (English uses 1st person to tell us what the speaker or speakers do; it uses the 2nd person to tell what the people who listen to the speaker do; it uses 3rd person to tell us what others do.)2) The number of a verb tells us whether one (singular) or more (plural) performs the action of the verb.

h. We use the past participle.i. The present tense, 3rd person singular.j We use the present participle

2. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)a. will travel simple futureb. had run past perfectc. will have eaten future perfectd. is coming present continuouse. has played present perfectf. sat simple pastg. sits simple presenth. had been going continuous past perfecti will be singing continuous futurej. had stumbled past perfect

3. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)Present Past Past Participle

a. work worked workedb. disagree disagreed disagreedc. sing sang sungd. factor factored factored

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e. draw drew drawn

4. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)a. past perfectb. presentc. futured. present perfecte. future perfect

5. (1 pt. for 4 correct answersa. futureb. pastc presentd. past perfecte. present perfect

6. (1 pt. for 5 correct answers)Sing. Pl.

1st rejoiced rejoiced2nd rejoiced rejoiced3rd rejoiced rejoiced

7. (1 pt. for 5 correct answers) Sing. Pl.

1st sang sang2nd sang sang3rd sang sang

8. (1 pt. for 5 correct answers)Sing. Pl.

1st have cast have cast2nd have cast have cast3rd has cast have cast

9. (1 pt. for 5 correct answers) Sing. Pl.

1st was building were building2nd were building were building3rd was building were building

10. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)Positive Comparative Superlative

a. swiftly more swiftly most swiftlyb. calmly more calmly most calmlyc. well better best

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d. fast faster fasteste. thoroughly more thoroughly most thoroughly

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Homework Manual – Lesson Four

1. Comprehension Questions (3 pts. for 9 correct answers)a. We write the sentence in the form of a question which we can answer with a

"yes" or "no." The words which appear before the X-word in the sentence and after the X-word in the question form the subject phrase of the sentence.

b. We supply an X-word to the sentence. Then we will use it when we form a sentence.

c. We change "never" to "ever." Then we change the sentence into a question in the normal the normal way to get an answer of "yes" or "no."

d. 1) We should capitalize the first letter; 2) we should include a subject; 3) we should include a verb; 4) we should end the sentence with a punctuation mark.

e. We mean the noun or pronoun which the sentence tells us about.f. We mean the subject and all the words in the sentence which modify (or

describe) the subject.g. We mean all the words in the sentence which do not belong to the subject

phrase.h. It predicates, or tells us something about, the subject.i. The verb must match the subject's person and number. For example, if the

sentence uses a plural subject, it must use a verb appropriate for a plural subject.

j. We use a verb appropriate for a plural subject.

2. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)a. canb. willc. (do) (means we must provide it)d. has e. should f. can g. will h. will i. (does)j. (do)

3. (2 pts. for 8 correct answers)a. Can I work for you today?b. Will the beautiful and powerful horse run in the race today?c. Do the wide dark clouds reduce the sunlight that we see?d. Has the thatched-roofed house sheltered many from the severe rain storm?

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e. Should you try to know the pastor better?f. Can you easily read the entire book?g. Will the fry footpath guide you to my house?h. Will the paved road last many years?i. Does he know what I said?j. Do I enjoy listening to the people sing?

4. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)a. Ib. the beautiful and powerful horsec. the wide dark cloudsd. the thatched-roofed housee. youf. youg. the paved roadh. hej. I

5. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers) a. Do you?b. You worked.c. She looks. (student may use another appropriate verb)d. He thinks. (student may also use "she" or "it.")e. The rain fell.

6. (1 pt. for 4 correctly marked sentences)a. The man with the red hat reads many books every year.b. The sun will shine tomorrow.c. The large crowds of young people sang their favorite songs.d. Does the man with the red hat read many books every year?e. We will travel to the coast of Australia tomorrow.

7. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)a. will study English grammar.b. created the heavens and the earth.c. looked up at the car.d. walked into the temple.e. loved their beautiful park.

8. (1pt. for 8 correct answers)a.b.c. sd. se.

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f.g.h. si.j. s

9. (1 pt. 4 correct answers.)a.b. s c.d. s e s

10. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)a. sb.c. s d. s e. s

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Homework Manual – Lesson Five

1. (3 pts. for 9 correct answers)a. am, is are, was, were (and other forms of “to be”)

can (can’t) could (couldn’t)do (don’t) does (doesn’t) did (didn’t)have (haven’t) has (hasn’t) had (hadn’t)may might must (mustn’t)shall should (shouldn’t)will (won’t) would (wouldn’t)

b. They belong to the main verb.c. A verb with a direct objectd. We say the verb and ask "who?" or "what?" If the sentence answers that

questions with a noun of pronoun which follows the verb, we call that noun or pronoun the direct object.

e. Object (objective) casef. Yesg. Predicate noun or predicate adjective.h. The subjecti. The subject nominative casej. 1) X-Words (helping or auxiliary verbs)

2) Mid-position adverbs3) The Basic Verb

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4) Direct object, predicate noun, or predicate adjective

2. (2 pts. for 8 correct answers)a. shall b. havec. isd. muste. canf. hadg. couldh. musti. werej. am

3. (1 pt. for 9 correct answers)a. youb. sunsetc. everythingd. probleme. monkeyf. carg. cuph. tearsi. smellj. bugs

4. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)a. NONEb. youc. NONEd. monkeye. NONEf. themg. NONEh. NONEi. mej. John

5. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)a. himb. himc. herd. use. them

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6. (1 Point for 4 correct answers)a. largeb. fastc. confusingd. spectaculare. bad

7. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)a. difficultyb. structurec. parkd. ladye. clouds

8. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)a. themb. themc. usd. hee. he

9. (2 pts. for all correct answers; 1 pt. for 9 correct answers)a. T DO treeb. Ic. L PA lamed. L PN lambe. If. T DO rainbowg. L PA good

Homework Manual – Lesson Six

1. (3 pts. for 9 correct answers)a. How?b. When?c. Both answer the question, "how often?" But:

1) Adverbs of indefinite frequency tell us approximately how often. We cannot tell when the next even will occur.

2) Adverbs of definite frequency tell us more precisely how often something occurs. We know approximately when the next

event will occur.d. (of indefinite frequency) (of definite frequency)

1) occasionally 4) weekly

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2) often 5) daily3) often 6) always

e. The adverb goes before the negative word.f. 1) the front position

2) the end position3) the mid-position

g. 1) Front position adverbs stand as the first words of a sentence.2) End position adverbs stand as the last words of a sentence.3) Mid-position adverbs stand after a one-word verb or after the X-word

in the verb.h. When we can, we place the emphasized thought at the end of a sentence.i. bj. a

2. (1 pt. for 3 correct answers)a. fast, well, hard, slowly, badly nicely, softly (also, other possibilities)b. The end position.c. 2

3. (1 pt. for all 3 correct answers)a yesterday, today, afterwards, finally, before, eventually (also, other

possibilities)b. front position and end positionc. 1

4. (1 pt. for correct answer)a

5. (1 pt. for correct answer)c

6. (1 pt. for 2 correct answers)1) When possible we try to keep a verb and the direct object as close as possible. Therefore, if we can place an adverb in the front position or the end 2) b

7. (1 pt. for 2 correct answer): a, b

8. (1 pt. for correct answer): b

9. (1 pt. for correct 2 correct answers): a, c

10. (1 pt. for correct answer): a

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Homework Manual – Lesson Seven

1. (3 pts. for 9 correct answers)a. Subjective complements tell us about the sentence subject; objective

complements tell us about the direct object.b. An objective complement adjective and an objective complement noun.c. Verbs which mean "make" and "consider."d. They state the effect that the verb has on the direct object.e. A verb which has a direct object.f. With a transitive active verb the subject causes the action of the verb on the

direct object. With a transitive passive verb the subject receives the action of the verb.

g. "The ball was thrown by the boy."h. "The wind destroyed the tree."i. 1) We write a form of be (or to be) to reflect the person and tense; and

2) We write the past participle.j. Either 1) the direct object or 2) the indirect object.

2. (2 pts. for 8 correct answers).a. complement: John OC noun or OC adjective?b. complement: wise OC noun or OC adjective?c. complement: happy OC noun or OC adjective?d. complement: red OC noun or OC adjective?e. complement: dangerous OC noun or OC adjective?

3. (2 pts. for 9 correct answers) a. passiveb. passivec. actived. activee. activef. passiveg, passiveh. passivei. passivej. active

4. (1 pt. for 4 correct answers)a. The game will be played by me after I return from school.b. The job was completed by me when I wanted.c. The water in the lake is warmed by the sunlight.d. The cheese has been eaten by the mouse.e. The monkey was found by the man with the yellow hat.

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5. (1 pt. for 8 correct answers)a. activeb. activec. passived. activee. activef. passiveg. passiveh. passivei. activej. active

6. (2 pts. for 8 correct answers)a. wroteb. singsc. had builtd. will plante. showedf. was hittingg. has seenh. lovesi. have seenj. hit

7. (2 pts. for 8 correct answers)a. Many students read the book.b. Countless produced the aroma.c. The new motorbike produced the loud noise.d. The whole school is studying the course on theology.e. Many children hate snakes.f. Government officials counted the people in the census.g. The people elected the lady to rule the country.h. The fathers will tell the story of the past.i. The congregation sang the songs energetically.j. The children closed the books before they went to sleep.

Homework Manual – Lesson Eight

1. (3 pts. for 9 correct answers)a. It asks a questionb. It makes a statement.c. subject + verbd. subject + verb + direct objecte. subject + verb + direct object + objective complement nounf. The word order of the noun phrase remains the same.

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g. The front position; the end position; and the mid-position.h. 1) before a one part verb, 2) after an auxiliary verb (X - Word)i. The meaning of the sentences does not change.j. In the front position or the end position

2. (1 pt. for all correct answers) The correct answers:a. The tree stands very tall.e. The sun gave very bright sunshine.h. I regarded the man very kind.i. The church is very large.

3. (1 pt. for 3 correct answers):a. The beautiful sunset at the end of the day calmed my mind.b. You did not see the beautiful sunset at the end of the day.b. I hope you can look at the beautiful sunset at the end of the day.

4. a. (1 pt. for 2 correct answers)Today I must leave you.I must leave you today.

b. (1 pt. for 2 correct answers)I will carefully look for your lost dog.I will look for your lost dog carefully.

c. (1pt. for 2 correct answers)Suddenly, I saw the dangerous lion.I suddenly saw the dangerous lion.

d. (1pt. for 2 correct answers)I continually enjoyed seeing the animals in the zoo.Continually, I enjoyed seeing the animals in the zoo.

5. a. (1 pt. for 2 correct answers.)Tomorrow, I shall surely leave this place.Surely, I shall leave this place tomorrow.

b. (1 pt. for 1 correct answer)Will he surely come?

c. (1 pt. for 2 correct answers)The awesome sunset in the West impressed me deeply.The awesome sunset in the West deeply impressed me.

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Final Exam: How to Write a Simple Sentence

Name ________________________________ Date _______________________________

Students may use a dictionary for this exam.

(2 pts. for each question)

1. Write the plurals of these nounsshelfwomanladysongtaxberryboycardictionarybook

2. Sentence: I will study this book before the evening.Subjectverbdirect objectprepositionobject of the prepositionall adjectives (State what each modifies.)

3. Sentence: I desired the good grade.subjectverbwrite the verb in passive voicewrite the passive sentence

4. Sentence: The very funny clown makes people laugh.Write this as a question which someone can answer with "yes' or "no."Write the full subject phrase

5. Sentence: Thomas wants your attention.Write the verb.What tense is the verb?Write the verb in the past perfect tense.Write the verb in the present continuous tense.Write the verb in the future perfect tense.

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6. Sentence: You will thank your friend for his kindness.a Write the adverb, "surely" in the mid-position.b. Write the adverb, surely, in the front position.

7. Sentence: I will travel to my home.a. Write the adverb, "tomorrow" in all the positions where you may.

8. Underline the countable nouns:chaosmanairwaterruler

9. Change the sentences as the instructions say:Sentence: I gave the book.Write this sentence with "Mary" as the indirect object.

Sentence: The people elected him.Add all of these changes for form a longer sentence:

Add the objective complement, "president"Add the adverb "recently."Add the adverb "gladly"Add the prepositional phrase: "with some hesitation"Add the prepositional phrase: "who knew him"

10. Sentence: We saw the broken branch.Add all of these changes to form a long sentence:

Add the prepositional phrase: "after the storm"Add the adjective "tree."Add the prepositional phrase, "on the road.Add the adjective, "palm"

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Exam Answers

Students receive 2 points for correctly answering the questions under each number (such as the six elements under number 2). When a student answers half correctly, give the student 1 pt.

1. shelveswomenladiessongstaxesberriesboyscarsdictionariesbooks

2. Iwill studybookbeforeeveningthis modifies book; the modifies evening

3. Idesiredwas desiredThe good grade was desired by me.

4. Does the very funny clown make people laugh?the very funny clown

5. wantpresent (or simple present)had wantedis wantingwill have wanted

6. You will surely thank your friend for his kindnessSurely you will thank you friend for his kindness.

7. Tomorrow I will travel to my home.I will travel to my home tomorrow.

8. man, ruler9. I gave Mary the book.

Recently, with some hesitation, the people who knew him gladly elected him president. (the best answer)

orWith some hesitation, the people who knew him gladly elected him president

recently.

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10. After the storm, we saw the broken palm tree branch on the road.or

We saw the broken palm tree branch on the road after the storm.

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Biographical Facts

Allen Vander Pol grew up in the state of Washington (U. S. A.) in a Christian home; he came to faith in Christ at an early age. He received a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Seminary, Philadelphia. For 30 years, he served churches in New Zealand and the United States as pastor. Before coming to MINTS, he also taught in Nigeria, Ukraine, and Haiti. He has written courses for MINTS mostly in systematic theology. He and his wife, Marcia, were married in 1981; they have four children.

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mintsespanol.commintsespanol.com/.../BALA_110-MALA_110-English_Sent… · Web viewDifferent languages rely on different features of a sentence to define each word's place in that