Welcome to Easy Notes - English Grammar

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NOUNS

1. Nouns are words which name person,places,things and creatures.

•  names of individuals
•  names of particular places
•  names of certain things
•  names of creatures

2. Proper Nouns refer to specific individual people,places,things and creatures.Proper nouns always begin with a capital letter.                                                                                  
 

3. Common Nouns refer to general names people,places,things and creatures.
 

         
       

Exercise

Identify nouns in each sentence.

1. They are playing football at the field.
2. The boy is eating.
3. Cats are very cute.
4. Doctors work at a hospital.
5. Siti go to the market.

COUNTABLE AND UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS

1.Countable Nouns are nouns we can count. 

2. Determiners used with these nouns are a, an, a few, many, several, a large number.

3. Uncountable Nouns are nouns we cannot count. We only use singular verbs with uncountable nouns.

4. Determiners used with these nouns are a lot of, a little, some, plenty, any.

Exercise

Choose a suitable determiners provided in brackets.

1. Puan Mariam buys ( a little, a few) sugar at the market.
2. I have (many, some) money.
3. There is (a, several) orange on the table.
4. Katie buys (several, plenty) of balls.
5. Adli is (a, an) honest boy.

PRONOUNS

1. Pronouns take the place nouns.

2. Pronouns are also used when we want to refer to things but we do not name them.

3. Example of pronouns are she, he, it, they, we, I, you, her, him, them, us, hers, his, ours, theirs.

Exercise

Identify pronouns in each sentence.

1. I like her cat.
2. You are smart and intelligent.
3. She is learning French.
4. Ahmad is doing his homework himself.
5. I am eating.

ARTICLES

1.  Articles are a determiner.

2. A and an are indefinite articles used with singular countable nouns.

• A is used before a singular noun which starts with a consonant sound.
• An is used before a singular noun which starts with a vowel sound.
• The is a definite article.It is used:

     (i) to refer to a particular person/thing
     (ii) when there is only one such thing
     (iii) to refer to special names of mountains,oceans,rivers

Exercise

Choose a suitable articles provided in brackets.

1. Kamal is eating (a, the) a plate of fried noodles.

2. Eric buys (an, a) umbrella.

3. A cat is sleeping. (A, The) cat is mine.

4. Gopal is shopping at (the, a) Jaya Super Mall.

5. (A, The) Sun is very bright

ADJECTIVES

1. Adjectives  describe/tell us more about nouns. 

•         They describe more about the colours,shapes,sizes or conditions of nouns.
•         Adjectives can be used to compare nouns or pronouns. 

2.   Three degrees of comparison:

•          positive degree to compare two equal things/people
•          comparative degree to compare two unequal things/people 
•          superlative degree to compare three or more things/people

3. Adjectives is used to:

•          describe colours 
•          describes shapes                                                                                                                               
•          describes sizes 
•          describes conditions 

Exercise

Choose a suitable adjective provided in brackets.

1. The coffee is still (hot, high).
2. This pen is very (red, expensive).
3. Saiful's pillow is very (cold, soft).
4. The rainbow is (colourful, warm).
5. Careful! The floor is (wet, dry).

ADVERBS

1. Adverbs modify/ tell us more about verbs, adjectives or other adverbs.

2. Type of adverbs:

•    manner
•    place
•    time
•    frequency

Exercise

Choose a suitable adverb for each verb.

1. dance    (gracefully, nicely)
2. cry        (bitterly, foolishly)
3. sleep     (cautiously, soundly)
4. talk       (lightly, softly)
5. move    (swiftly, safely)

PREPOSITIONS

1. Prepositions are words which show:

• direction
• time
• place/ position

2. Examples of prepositions are into, at, by, in, over, to, on, off, from, across, behind, upon, 
    in front of and between.

Exercise

Choose a suitable preposition provided in brackets.

1. The boy jumps (on, over) the rock.
2. The cat is sleeping (over, under) the car.
3. Danial runs (across, into) the field.
4. The vase is (behind, upon) the box.
5. The hospital is (opposite, by) the bakery.

CONJUNCTIONS

1. Conjunctions join words, phrases or sentences together.

2. Example of conjunctions are and, as, if, but, after, before, although, either… or, neither… nor, 

    because, when, where, unless, since, then, until, whether, for, if, in order that, now that, or, so, 

    unless  and whenever.

Exercise

Choose a suitable conjunction provided in brackets.

1. (Now that, Whenever) Siti has arrived, lets go to the mall.

2. She will wait (since, until) her father came.

3. Gopal (and, or) Miller will play football together.

4. We must wash our hands (before, after) eating.

5. (Although, Whether) Rahman is a fat boy but he can run very fast.

MODALS

1. Modals are special verbs which have functions according to their meanings. They must always be used with action verbs which are placed immediately after them.

2. Must, have to, could, and should are example of modals.

3. Modals are used to

• Show the necessity of an action

• Show obligation

• Express a request

• Express advice

Exercise

Choose a suitable modals provided in brackets.

1. You (could, should) call your mother now.

2. (Could, Should) you pass me the pepper, please?

3. We (must, could) listen to Ahmad’s advice.

4. He (has to, have to) go home now.

5. You (should, must) tell me the truth.

PRESENT TENSE

1. The simple present tense is used for

• Habitual action/ action occurring in the present.

• Imperatives.

• General truths.

2. The present continuous tense    

• Is used when action is taking.  

• The verb to be (is, are, am) is placed before the verb.

• -ing is added to the verb.

3. The present perfect tense

• Shows an action which has happened or was just completed.

• Shows an action which began in the past and is still continuing.

• Shows an action which occurred at an unspecified  time in the past.

Simple Present Tense	Present Continuous Tense	Present Perfect Tense
I eat.	I am eating.	I have eaten.
Siti speaks with Jarjit.	Siti is speaking with Jarjit.	Siti has spoken with Jarjit.
They sleep.	They are sleeping.	They have slept.

Exercise

 Choose a suitable simple present tense provided in brackets.

1. Zikri (plays, play) with his brother.

2. We always (jog, jogs) at the park every evening.

3. The cat (jumps, jump).

4. The boy (sleep, sleeps).

5. Fifi (go, goes) to work.

PAST TENSE

1. The simple past tense is used

• When the actions were completed in the past.

• Regular verbs have –ed added to them.

• The verb to be is/am is changed to was.

• The verb are becomes were.

2. The past continuous tense is used

• To show an action that was happening at a particular time in the past.

• For two actions happening at the same time in the past.

3. The past perfect tense is used

• To show an action completed at a certain time in the past.

• For a sequence of actions that happened in the past.   

    

Simple Past Tense	Past Continuous Tense	Past Perfect Tense
I slept.	I was sleeping.	I had slept.
They ate.	They were eating.	They had eaten.
Amir swam.	Amir was swimming.	Amir had swum.

Exercise

Choose a suitable simple past tense provided in brackets.

1. We were (walked, walking) .

2. The sun (rose, risen) .

3. Lee Wei (play, played) football at the field.

4. Amir and Synthia were (jumping, jumped) .

5. He (were, was) eating.

FUTURE TENSE

1. The simple future tense is used for future action.

• Shall is used with I and we, and will with other nouns or pronouns.

• The …ing to form is used for future action. Unlike shall and will, it may be used            

            when a plan has been made. It can refer to things which are sure to happen.

2. Future continuous tense is an action that will be going at some time in the future.

3. Future perfect tense is an action that will be going at a certain time in the future.

Simple Future Tense	Future Continuous Tense	Future Perfect Tense
I shall go to school.	I shall be going to school.	I shall have gone to shool.
She will eat.	She will be eating.	She will have eaten.
They will sleep.	They will be sleeping.	They will have slept.
Azri will play.	Azri will be playing.	Azri will have played.
We shall jog.	We shall be jogging.	We shall have jogged.

Exercise

Choose the correct simple future tense provided in brackets.

1. He (will, shall) eat the noodles.

2. Fahmi, Ah Chong, Mutusami and I (will, shall) go to the library.

3. Father (will, shall) sleep.

4. The clock (will, shall) tick.

5. I (will, shall) watch television.

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

The subject in a sentence must always agree with the verb.

1. I and you take the plural verb. (Eventhough I mean singular but it is exceptional)

• I jog at the park.

• You pass the examination well.

2. A singular subject takes a singular verb. The verb ends with an s.

• He watches television.

• Jennifer cooks food at the kitchen.

3. Plural nouns take plural verbs.

• We are doing homework.

• They meet at the school hall.

4. Uncountable nouns take singular verbs.

• The air is very fresh.

• Salt is made from sea water.

5. Collective nouns take singular verbs.

• A flock of birds is flying.

• There is a glass of water on the table.

Exercise

 Choose the correct answers provided in brackets.

1. The boy (is, are) playing football.

2. We (eat, eats) at the restaurant.

3. Amir and Mei Mei (reads, read) books at the living room.

4. (Do, Does) you have a toothbrush?

5. I (have, has) a pen.

POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STATEMENTS

1. Positive statements tell us what is.

2. Negative statements tell us what is not.

3. In negative statements, we often use any to replace some and yet to replace      

    already.

Positive Statement	Negative Statement
Adli is sleeping.	Adli is not sleeping.
They are eating at a restaurant.	They are not eating at a restaurant.
That was my book.	That was not my book.
She buys some sugar at the market.	She doesn’t buy any sugar at the market.
Mei Mei is already in the sugar.	Mei Mei is not in the car yet.

Exercise

Change these statements into negative or positive statements.

1. Amir is reading a book.

 

2. We were not going to the market.

 

3. Gopal and Ah Choo are reading books at the library.

    

4. They are not playing football.

     

5. Adam is crying.

QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES

1. A short question  is usually followed by a positive or negative response.

2. Simple verbs like is, are, were, was, do, does and did can be used to start

    questions.

3. Positive statements start with yes and negative statements start with no.         

Question	Positive Response	Negative Response
Is this your cat?	Yes, it is.	No, it isn’t.
Are those our ball?	Yes, they are.	No, they aren’t.
Were we are running?	Yes, we were.	No, we weren’t.
Was he playing darts?	Yes, he was.	No, he wasn’t.
Do they are eating?	Yes, they do.	No, they don’t.
Does he is jogging?	Yes, he does.	No, he doesn’t.
Did you watch the movie?	Yes, I did.	No, I didn’t.

Exercise

Write suitable responses to these questions in the provided boxes.

1.Is he driving the car?

    

2.Were they sleeping?

     

3. Do you watch television?

     

4. Does she is having dinner?

 

5. Did we clean the room?

QUESTIONS TAGS AND RESPONSES

Question tags are added to the end of statements to change them into questions.

1. Negative tags are used with positive statements when the expected answer is yes.
    Example of negative tags include isn't she, aren't you, hasn't you, wasn't they, can' we etc.

2. Positive tags are used with negative statements when the expected answer is no.
    Example of positive tags include is she, are you, have we, does he etc.

Exercise

Choose a suitable question tag provided in  brackets.

1. They are playing football , (aren't they,weren't day) .
2. We were eating some snacks , (wasn't we,weren't we) .
3. Kamal is doing homework , (is he,was he) .
4. Shaun and Jarjit are sleeping , (are they,were they) .
5. The cat was playing , (is it,was it) .

SIMPLE SENTENCES

A simple sentence has only one subject and one predicate.

Subject	Predicate
Gopal	walks to the library.
A cat	sleeps under a car.
The cake	is delicious.
Amir and Adnan	go to school everyday.
They	play football at the field.

Exercise

Choose a suitable subject or predicate provided in  brackets.

1. My brother (runs,eats,sleeps) at 10 o'clock.
2. (They,He,It) jog at the park everyday.
3. Maniam lives in a (cave,bungalow,hotel) house.
4. That book is very (high,best,expensive) .
5. (Today,Yesterday,Last month) is a hot day.

COMPOUND SENTENCES

A compound sentence comprises of two or more simple sentences joined by conjunctions such as and, but, because, or, while and so.

1.Yesterday,Akmal and Ah Loy went to school.
2. William is intelligent but his brother isn't.
3. Rajoo did not come to school because he is sick.
4. It was Rahman or Lee that took the book.
5. He is watching television while eating some snacks.
6. We have to eat a balanced diet so we can be healthy.

Exercise

Choose a suitable conjunction provided in  brackets.

1. Do you have a brother (or,but,and) a sister?
2. Amin loves burgers (and,so,but) dislikes sausages.
3. Jefri go to the market to buy a shirt (while,and,because) a bottle of mineral water.
4. Mr. Choo is sad (so,because,but)his daughter ran away from the house.
5. Gopal  is doing homework (because,so,while) listening to music.