basic english grammar

He is She is It is He's She's It's He is not She is not It is not He isn't She isn't It isn't or He's not She's not It's not Plural or We're not or You aren't Are They aren't or They'

English Skills

Am/is/are + what/who?

To be is the most common verb in the English language It can be used as an auxiliary or a main verb.

Question ? Positive Statement + Negative Statement

-Singular Written Form or spoken for emphasis Contracted

Form (spoken) Written Form or spoken for emphasis

Contracted Form (spoken)

or You aren't

Is he?Is

she?

Is it?

He is She is

It is

He's She's It's

He is not She is not

It is not

He isn't She isn't

It isn't

or He's not She's not It's not Plural

or We're not

or You aren't

Are

They aren't

or They're not

Uses

Am/Is/Are

The verbs am / is / are are used

the form of the present continuous

Am/Are Is

Question - ? "Am I disturbing you?" "Is this your coat?"

Positive Answer + Yes "Yes you are We're very busy." "Yes, it is"

Negative Answer - No "No you're not We aren't very busy." "No, it isn't"

Introductions, greetings and farewells

Follow the dialogue

Mr Bean meets Mrs Breuer, one of his students, and her husband in the street

Mrs Breuer: Not too bad Mr Bean, this is my husband Michael, Michael this is Mr Bean my English teacher

When leaving, you say "Goodbye".

"Bye" is more informal.

When leaving at night, you say "Goodnight" When going to bed you say "Goodnight"

PEOPLE AND PLACES + WHERE?

CAPITALISATION RULES

People's names always start with a

CAPITAL LETTER My name is Lynne Hand.

LETTER I come from England.

LETTER I live in Darmstadt.

No, this isn't Italy This is Northern Ireland No, Northern Ireland isn't in Italy Northern

Ireland is in the United Kingdom

The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast

This is the United Kingdom No, the United Kingdom isn't in America

The United Kingdom is in Europe

England, Wales and Scotland are countries in Britain England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are countries

in the United Kingdom

This is England.

Q - Is England a city?

A - No, England isn't a city England is a country.

Q - And London Is London a city or a country?

A - London is a city, a capital city London is the capital city of England.

Q - Is London in Germany?

A - No, London isn't in Germany London is in England.

Now you - make up the same dialogue for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Q - Is Wales ?

A - No, Wales

Who is this?/Who are they?

Who is this? What is her name? Where does she come from? Where does she live? What nationality is she?

It's Ingrid Her name is Ingrid Bergman She comes from Sweden She's dead She's Swedish

Who is this? What is his name? Where does he come from? Where does he live? What nationality is he?

It's Napoleon His name is Napolean Bonaparte. He comes from France He's dead He's French

Who are they? What are their names? Where do they come from? Where do they live? What nationality are they?

They're 'The Beatles'

Their names are John Lennon, Paul

McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison

They come from England

John Lennon and George Harrison are dead Paul lives in England and Ringo lives in Monte Carlo

They're British

The Rhyming Alphabet

The following letters rhyme with each other

Naturally speaking

When two letters appear next to each other we say "double "

Follow the dialogue

oWhat's your full name please •My first name is Sonja and my last

name Pascalli

•Sorry , what was your last name

oI'm sorry I don't understand

Could you repeat that more

oHow do you write that? Could

you spell it please? P-a-s-c-a-double l-i

•And your first name please? Sonja

•And what is your telephone

Checking understanding - What to say

"My name is Mr Bean."

" " "?" "My name is ????." "My name is Mr Bean."

"I'm sorry I didn't hear

that Could you speak a

little louder please?"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand." "Could you repeat your name please?" Could you spell that please?

"I said, my name is Mr

Bean!"

"My name is Mr Bean, your name is - and mine is Mr Bean." "My name is Mr Bean." "B-e-a-n."

Rhymes and Songs

One, two, three, four, five, Once I caught a fish alive Six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Then I let it go again.

One, two - buckle my shoe , three, four - knock on the door, five, six - pick up sticks, seven, eight - open the gate, nine, ten - a big fat hen.

Ten Green Bottles

Written By: Anon

Ten green bottles

Hanging on the wall Ten green bottles

Hanging on the wall And if one green bottle Should accidentally fall There'll be nine green bottles Hanging on the wall Nine green bottles Hanging on the wall Nine green bottles Hanging on the wall And if one green bottle Should accidentally fall There'll be eight green bottles Hanging on the wall Eight green bottles Hanging on the wall Eight green bottles Hanging on the wall And if one green bottle Should accidentally fall There'll be seven green bottles Hanging on the wall

Seven green bottles

Hanging on the wall

Seven green bottles

Hanging on the wall

And if one green bottle Should accidentally fall There'll be six green bottles

Hanging on the wall

Six green bottles

Hanging on the wall

Six green bottles

Hanging on the wall

And if one green bottle Should accidentally fall There'll be five green bottles

Hanging on the wall

Five green bottles

Hanging on the wall Five green bottles

Hanging on the wall And if one green bottle Should accidentally fall There'll be four green bottles Hanging on the wall Four green bottles

Hanging on the wall Four green bottles

Hanging on the wall And if one green bottle Should accidentally fall There'll be three green bottles Hanging on the wall Three green bottles

Hanging on the wall Three green bottles

Hanging on the wall And if one green bottle Should accidentally fall There'll be two green bottles Hanging on the wall

Two green bottles

Hanging on the wall

Two green bottles

Hanging on the wall

And if one green bottle Should accidentally fall There'll be one green bottles

Hanging on the wall

One green bottle

Hanging on the wall

One green bottle

Hanging on the wall

If that one green bottle Should accidentally fall There'll be no green bottles Hanging on the wall

Unit2

More about people + titles Questions

CAPITALISATION RULES

Nationalities always start with a CAPITAL LETTER. I am English

Where do you come from? = Where were you born or raised.

Where do you live? = Where do you live now.

For example:

Me: - "I come from England, but I live in Germany."

What to say

"What's your name?" "It's Lynne Hand." "My name is Lynne Hand."

"Where do you come from?" "From England." "I come from England."

"Where do you live?" "In Darmstadt." "I live in Darmstadt."

"What nationality are you?" "I'm English." "My nationality is English."

When asked questions about themselves people often give short one-word answers:-

"What country do you come from?" "England"

"What nationality are you?" "English."

Naturally Speaking

Follow the dialogue

Master

Young male Note: Used with the first name.

Rarely used today.

Master William

Ms Female (married or unmarried) Note: Often used in business. Ms Roddick

Present continuous - positive Present continuous form=am/is/are + verb + ing (something is

happening NOW) You can use the short forms

Am

Am/Is/Are doing

Spelling Tip:

Words ending in two consonants - add ing To walk walk + ing walkingWords ending in two vowels + consonant To sleep sleep + ing sleepingWords ending in vowel + g To jog jog + ging joggingWords ending in vowel + m To swim swim + ming swimmingWords ending in vowel + n To run run + ning runningWords ending in vowel + p To shop shop + ping shoppingWords ending in vowel + t To put put + ting putting

Words ending in e To phone phon + ing phoning

Pronunciation - Short forms

Present continuous - negative

Learn It

In the negative=add not after am/is/are (something is not happening NOW).

I'm not ing | He/she/it isn't ing | You/we/they aren't ing.

"I'm not sitting I'm standing."

"He's not (he isn't) standing He's sitting."

"She's not (she isn't) running She's walking."

"It's not (it isn't) walking It's running "

"They're not (they aren't) working They're playing "

"We're not (we aren't) watching television We're surfing the Net."

Spelling Tip:

Using a dictionary

Dictionaries come in many sizes and kinds Small dictionaries are called pocket or compact, larger dictionaries are often called shorter and very large

dictionaries are often called greater.

Small dictionaries are useful for finding everyday spellings and meanings Some dictionaries have pictures to show the meanings of words They are good for checking words that can be confused:-

horse n a four-legged animal with hooves

hoarse adj of the voice, rough or croaking

In a dictionary after the word they tell you what kind

Present continuous – question

What am I doing? What is he/she/it doing?

What are we/you/they doing?

Am/Is/Are doing

What are we doing? "We're surfing the Internet We're not (We aren't) watching television."

What to say - Open and closed questions

Answering Yes

Closed Question - answer =

"Am I learning English?" "Yes, you're learning English." "Yes, you are." or "Yes."

"Is he/she learning English?" "Yes, he/she's learning English." "Yes, he/she is." or "Yes."

"Are you learning English?" "Yes, I'm learning English." "Yes, I am." or "Yes."

"Are we learning English?" "Yes, we're learning English." "Yes, we are." or "Yes."

"Are they learning English?" "Yes, they're learning English." "Yes, they are." or "Yes."

Answering No

Closed Question - answer = yes

"Am I learning German?" "No, I'm not learning German." "No, I'm not." or "No."

"Is he/she learning German?" "No, he/she's not (he/she isn't) learning German." "No, he/she's not (he/she isn't)." or "No."

"Are you learning German?" "No, you're not (you aren't) learning German." "No, you're not (you aren't)." or "No."

"Are we learning German?" "No, we're not (we aren't) learning German." "No, we're not (we aren't)." or "No."

"Are they learning German?" "No, they're not (they aren't) learning German." "No, they're not (they aren't)." or "No."

Answering in full

Open Question - can't

"What are you doing?" "I'm learning English." "Learning English."

"What is he doing?" "He's learning English." "Learning English."

"What is she doing?" "She's learning English." "Learning English."

"What are we doing?" "We're learning English." "Learning English."

"What are they doing?" "They're learning

English." "Learning English."

Naturally You:- "Are you learning English?"

speaking:-Me: - "No, I 'm not."

You:- "What are you doing?"

Me: - "I 'm teaching English."

You:- "What language are you learning?"

Me: - "I 'm learning German."

Colours

C o l o ur s

BlackWhiteRedBlueYellowOrangeGreenPurplePink

Poem to help you remember your colours

I Can Sing a Rainbow (by Arthur Hamilton) Red and yellow and pink and green, Purple and orange and blue,

I can sing a rainbow, Sing a rainbow, Sing a rainbow too!

Listen to your heart, Listen to your heart, And sing everything you feel,

I can sing a rainbow, Sing a rainbow, Sing a rainbow too!

Red and yellow and pink and green, Purple and orange and blue,

I can sing a rainbow, Sing a rainbow, Sing a rainbow too!

Unit 3

Present simple - positive

In the third person (he, she, it) form, the verb takes an s

For example:

Every Monday Mr Bean wakes up at 6.00 am.

He gets up at 6.15 am, and goes to the bathroom.

He usually has a shower, then he has a shave and brushes his teeth.

He eats breakfast at about 7.00 am.

After breakfast he reads the newspaper.

At 7.30 am he goes to work.

Things Mr Bean does every Monday morning.

Present simple - negative

The Present Simple - "don't" = do not | "doesn't" = does not

In the third person (he, she, it) form, the negative form of the verb to do takes an s For

Things Mr Bean does and doesn't do on Saturday mornings.

On Saturday Mr Bean doesn't wake up at 6.00 am He wakes up at 8.00 am

He doesn't get up at 6.15 am He gets up at 9.00 am

He doesn't go to the office He goes to the bathroom

He doesn't have a shower He has a bath

After his shower he doesn't have a cup of coffee He has a shave and brushes his teeth

He doesn't eat breakfast at about 7.00 am He eats breakfast at about 10.00 am

After breakfast he doesn't read the newspaper He goes for a run

After his run he doesn't go to work He usually visits friends

Present simple & present continuous

Remember It

! "What do you do?" = What is your job? vs "What are you doing?" = What are you

actually doing right now?

The Present Simple vs Present Continuous - when do we use them?

Things that are

always true.

Regular and repeated actions (always, often, sometimes, never).

General facts about our lives.

Something that is happening now.

Temporary situations.

To describe change, development, progress.

"Water boils at 100

degrees."

"I always boil the

kettle before I make the tea."

- "The kettle isn't

"I like English."

"It often snows in

the winter." "I enjoy snow."

"It isn't snowing, the

-Lets ask a few questions about Mr Bean.

Q- "What does Mr Bean do?"

A- "He's a teacher."

Q- "Is he sitting?"

A- "No, he isn't sitting, he's standing Q- "What does he teach?"

A- "He teaches English."

Q- "What is he doing?"

A- "He's holding a flag." Q- "Where does he work?"

A- "He works at a language school in London."

Q- "Is he working there today?"

A- "No, he isn't working there today, it's shut." Q- "What is he doing today? A- "He's driving to Nottingham."

Q- "Does he often drive to Nottingham."

A- "No, he usually takes the train."

Unit 4

Time 1 - on the hour

The times of the

00.01 - 12.00 12.01 to 18.00 18.01 to 22.00 22.01 - 24.00

Time 2 - quarter past, half past etc.

How to ask the time

•Excuse me What time is it

•It's twelve thirty

•Excuse me Could you tell

me the time please?

•It's about half past eleven

or

•It's about eleven thirty

Time 3 - opening times when

Questions

Learn It

Time (3)- Prepositions used with time

More Questions

"What time do you open?"

at

"We open at nine o'clock

"What time do you close?"

at

"We close at six o'clock

The days of the

week:-"Monday’s child is fair of face,

Tuesday’s child is full of grace,

Wednesday’s child is full of woe,Thursday’s child has far to go,

Friday’s child is loving and giving,Saturday’s child works hard for living,But the child that is born on a Sunday

Is bonny and blithe, and good and gay."