GRAMMAR ‘ON THE GO’

SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

1. The boy is eating in the canteen.

2. She eats bread every day.
3. The children are playing football happily.
4. Azura and I like reading books in the library.

In sentences 1 and 2, 'boy' and 'she' are the subjects. They are 'singular'. The verbs 'is' and
'eats' are also singular. So, the subjects and verbs in sentences 1 and 2 agree with each other.

In sentences 3 and 4, 'children' and 'Azura and I' are the subjects. They are 'plural'. The
verbs 'are' and 'like' are also 'plural'. Therefore, the subjects and verbs in sentences 3 and 4
agree with each other.

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VERB TO DO

1. Aliah does her homework every day.

2. Neelofa and Jasmin do their school project themselves.
3. My friend and I did the work ourselves last week.
4. Do you like to eat mangosteens?

Verbs ‘do’, ‘does’ and ‘did’ are called verbs ‘to do’. They mean ‘to perform a task’. Verbs
to do are also used to ask questions related to actions. We use ‘does’ for singular and ‘do’
for plural in Present Tense and we use ‘did’ in the Past Tense.

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PRONOUNS

Subject Object Possessive Possessive Reflexive

Adjective Pronouns
They them their theirs themselves
We us our ours ourselves
I me my mine myself
You you your yours yourself/yourselves
He him his his himself
She her her hers herself
It it it its itself

1. He has a new bicycle.

2. The bicycle belongs to him.
3. It is his bicycle.
4. The bicycle is his.
5. He cycles to the park himself.

The words in bold in the sentences show how pronouns are used.
They replace the nouns. Some pronouns can be personal such as ‘I’ and
‘me’, while others can be used to show possessions such as ‘my’ and
‘mine’.

SINGULAR PLURAL NOUNS

Look at picture A:

There is only one bottle. We use the word bottle

to show that there is only one bottle.
Bottle is a singular noun.

Look at picture B:

There are several bottles. We use the word

bottles to show that there is more than one bottle.
Bottles is a plural noun.

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PLURAL FORMS
Method Examples
1. By adding –s Boy….boys Car….cars
2. By adding –es Box…boxes Buffalo….buffaloes
3. By changing –y into –ies Puppy….puppies Lorry….lorries
4. By changing –f or –fe into –ves Leaf….leaves Knife….knives
5. By changing the vowels Tooth….teeth Man….men

VERB TO BE
1. I am buying the book for my father.
2. Qaisy is the cleverest boy in school.
3. They are sitting on the bench.
4. Elly was painting the house when her father came.
5. Zainal and Ejay were busy shopping for Hari Raya.

VERB SUBJECT EXAMPLES

am/ was I I am the owner.
I was here yesterday.
is/ was Singulatr Jenny is clever.
He was late this morning.
are/here You/plural You are my friend.
We were playing just now.

Fill in the blanks with the correct verbs.

1 Mr Harris one of the most fierce teacher in my school.
2 A herd of goats grazing at the field.
3 Each of the pupils given a set of pencil before the UPSR examination.
4 She watering the plants when she saw a big snake in her garden.
5 They busy decorating the class yesterday morning.

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FORMS OF VERBS

Base form -ing form Past simple Past participle

(everyday) (now) (yesterday) (already)
bite biting bit bitten
blow blowing blew blown
break breaking broke broken
bring bringing brought brought
buy buying bought bought
carry carrying carried carried
catch catching caught caught
change changing changed changed

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close closing closed closed
come coming came come
cry crying cried cried
dance dancing danced danced
dig digging dug dug
do doing did done
draw drawing drew drawn
drink drinking drank drunk
drop dropping dropped dropped
eat eating ate eaten
fall falling fell fallen
fight fighting fought fought
find finding found found
fly flying flew flown
get getting got got
give giving gave given
go going went gone
grow growing grew grown
hide hiding hid hidden
hold holding held held
hurry hurrying hurried hurried
join joining joined joined
jump jumping jumped jumped
laugh laughing laughed laughed
leave leaving left left
live living lived lived
look looking looked looked
make making made made
meet meeting met met
open opened opened opened
pay paying paid paid
ride riding rode ridden
ring ringing rang rung
rise rising rose risen
run running ran run
say saying said said
see seeing saw seen
sell selling sold sold
send sending sent sent
shine shining shone shone
show showing showed shown
sing singing sang sung
sit sitting sat sat
skip skipping skipped skipped
sleep sleeping slept slept
speak speaking spoke spoken
stand standing stood stood
stop stopping stopped stopped

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 take taking took taken
talk talking talked talked
teach teaching taught taught
tear tearing tore torn
tell telling told told
think thinking thought thought
throw throwing threw thrown
walk walking walked walked
wait waiting waited waited
wear wearing wore worn
write writing wrote written
yell yelling yelled yelled

I write a letter every day.

I am writing a letter now.
I wrote a letter yesterday.
I have written already.

The words ‘write’, ‘wrote’, ‘writing’ and ‘written’ tell us about an action
done at different times. They are called verbs and they can take different forms.
1 I (am reading/read) a book at the library now.
2 The calf (is drinking/was drinking) milk from its mother yesterday.
3 She (ate/has eaten) the bananas already.
4 The headmistress always (writes/wrote) something in her notebook.
5 The firemen (manage/managed) to put out the fire in less than thirty
minutes last night.

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ADJECTIVES

a little boy a leather purse a round table

The nouns above come with another word before them. These words tell us more about the
nouns. They are called adjectives. Adjectives can tell us about the numbers, shapes, sizes,
colours, and characteristics or features of each noun.

Fill in the blanks with correct adjectives.

1 The chocolate cake tastes than the strawberry cake.
2 Khadijah wore a dress during the wedding dinner
3 They live in a bungalow.
4 I bought a pair of leather shoes.
5 There is a square blue box on the table.

He is walking slowly.

ADVERB

How is the old man

walking?

Look at the speech bubbles. Read what they are saying. What are the verbs in their
sentences? Yes, they are ‘is walking’. The word ‘slowly’ tells us more about the verbs, It is
called adverbs.

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SENTENCE STRUCTURE
S – SUBJECT
Sv5w1h
V – VERB

5w – object/manner/place/reason/time (whom/what-how-where-why-when)

(who) (what verb) (what) (how) (where) (why) (when)

to join the next week.
Kamal practices football diligently on the field
school team

Rearrange the words or phrases to form complete sentences.

1 is laying/The turtle/in a hole/on the beach/its eggs

2 into the dustbin/ Salman/ is throwing/ the rubbish

3 the dried leaves/ Sunny/ was busy gathering/ using a rake

4 last week/ Puan Sarimah/ drove/ to the market/her car

5 went/ Mr Singam and his family/yesterday/at a beach/ for a picnic

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USEFUL IDIOMS
Here are some common English idioms and
phrases that will enrich your English
vocabu- lary and make you sound like a
native speaker in no time.
8. ‘Let the cat out of the bag’ – to acci-
dentally reveal a secret.
She lets the cat out of the bag about their
wedding plans.

1. ‘The best of both worlds’ – means you
can enjoy two different opportunities at
the same time.
She is working part-time and looking
after her kids at the same time to get
the best of both worlds.
2. ‘Speak of the devil’ - this means that
the person you’re just talking about
actually turns up at that moment.
“Hi Malek, speak of the devil, I was just
telling Salwa about your new car.”
3. ‘See eye to eye’ – this means agreeing
with someone. They finally saw eye to
eye on the business deal.
4. ‘Once in a blue moon’ – an event that
happens infrequently.
He only goes to the cinema once in a
blue moon.
5. ‘When elephants fly’ - something that
will never happen.
Whenelephantsflyshe’lltidyupherroom.
6. ‘To cost an arm and a leg’ -
something is very expensive.
The bungalow costs and arm and a leg.
7. ‘Apiece of cake’- something is very
easy.
The English test was a piece of cake.
9. ‘To feel under the weather’ – to not
feel well.
He is really feeling under the weather
today since he has a cold.
10. ‘To kill two birds with one stone’ – to
solve two problems at once.
Mike wanted to get away so he took his
father on a holiday. He killed two birds
with one stone.
11. ‘To cut corners’ – to do something
badly or cheaply.
They really cut corners when they built
the room. Now, the roof is leaking.
12. ‘To add insult to injury’ – to make a
situation worse.
To add insult to injury the car drove off
without stopping after knocking the man
off his bike.
13. ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover’
– to not judge someone or something
based solely on appearance.
I thought this locally made brand would
be horrible. It turns out you can’t judge
a book by its cover.
14. ‘Break a leg’ – means ‘good luck’(often
said to actors before they go on stage).
“Break a leg Tisha, I’m sure you will
win the competition.

USEFUL SIMILES
As big as an elephant
As black as coal
As blind as a bat
As bold as brass
As brave as a lion
As busy as a bee
As cheap as dirt
As clean as a whistle
As clear as crystal
As cold as ice
As cool as a cucumber
As cunning as a fox
As cute as a bug's ear
As dead as a doornail
As deaf as a post
As dry as a bone
As dull as dishwater
As easy as ABC
As fit as a fiddle
As free as a bird
As fresh as a daisy
As gentle as a lamb
As good as gold
As happy as a lark
As hard as nails
As heavy as lead
As helpless as a baby
As hot as blue blazes
As hungry as a bear
As innocent as a lamb

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 As large as life
As light as a feather
As loose as a goose
As mad as a hatter
As mad as a hornet
As nervous as a cat
As nutty as a fruitcake
As old as the hills
As pale as death
As playful as a kitten
As proud as a peacock
As quick as lightning
As quiet as a mouse
As regular as clockwork
As scarce as hen's teeth
As sharp as a razor
As sick as a dog
As silent as the grave
As slippery as an eel
As sly as a fox
Assmoothasababy'sbottom
As snug as a bug in a rug
As solid as the ground
we stand on
As sour as vinegar
As steady as a rock
As stiff as a board
As straight as an arrow
As strong as an ox
As stubborn as a mule
As sturdy as an oak
As sweet as pie
As tall as a giraffe
As thin as a rake
As tight as a drum
As timid as a rabbit
As useless as a chocolate
teapot
As warm as toast
As welcome as a skunk at
a lawn party
As white as snow
As wise as an owl

PROVERB

1. Better late than never - to do something that is right or well a little late is better than
not doing it at all.
2. Honesty is the best policy - being honest is the best way
3. A stitch in time saves nine - its better to deal with something immediately before it
gets worse
4. Afriend in need is a friend indeed - a friend who helps you in times of your need
is a true friend.
5. Where there is a will, there is a way - if you really want something then you will find
a way to do it.

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TIPS ON EFFECTIVE WRITING
014 Paper

Past Year’s Questions and Analysis

Section C (Question 3):
No Year Content Category Value
1 2005 Family outing – Bird Park event loving
2 2006 Geese chasing away a burglar incident gratitude
3 2007 Students helping an old lady event caring
4 2008 Science Project - Making a pickle event co-operation
5 2009 Helping mother to sell nasi lemak event thriftiness
6 2010 Treating a poor girl with ice cream incident generosity
7 2011 Saving a cat trapped on a tree incident caring
8 2012 Left a bag while going on a trip incident awareness
9 2013 Sharing tapioca cake with a neighbour event sharing
10 2014 A woman stung by a bee incident loving/caring
11 2015 A girl getting wet by rain incident wisdom

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