ARTICLES

Types of ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’.

articles
‘a’ used before words that begin with consonants sounds
or words which begin with the vowel ‘u’ but has a
consonant sound (you).
Example :
a) a boy e) a university
b) a flower f) a unit
c) a pineapple g) a unique school
d) a zebra h) a one-way street
‘an’ used before words which begin with vowels (a, e, i, o,
u) or words which begin with the silent ‘h’.
Example :
a) an ant g) an umbrella
b) an apple h) an hour
c) an earring i) an honour
d) an elephant j) an honest girl
e) an insect
f) an onion
‘the’ definite article and is used with plural countable nouns
and also to show something that is special and one of
its kinds in the world.
Example :
a) The sun is setting in the west.
b) The air is fresher in the countryside.
To refer to a particular person, animal, thing or place.
Example : a)The white cat is under the chair.
b) That is the car which honked at me
yesterday.
 NOUNS
1. Nouns can be countable or uncountable.

Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns

(can be counted) (cannot be counted)

pen car oil water

boy bag sand curry

house key dust rice

cat plate ink paper

2. Can be used in the following ways.

Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns

a lot of books a little oil

many pencils a lot of water

a few houses plenty of sand

plenty of cars some rice

a few bags much ink

several keys less butter

some books more money

a large number of cows a large amount of curry

a small number of durians a small amount of petrol

 a lot of  positive statements, negative statements, questions.

 some  positive statements, questions.

 any  negative statements, questions

 COLLECTIVE NOUNS
 Used to refer to people, animals or things as a unit.

People
1. a band of musicians 9. a patrol of policemen
2. a choir of singers 10. an army of soldiers
2. a class of pupils 11. a staff of servants
3. a caravan of gypsies 12. a team of players
4. a batch of students 13. a tribe of natives
5. a gang of prisoners 14. a troupe of artistes
6. a crew of sailors 15. a panel of judges
7. a crowd of people 16. a party of friends

Animal
1. an army of ants 11. a plague of locusts
2. a brood of chickens 12. parliament of owls
3. a cloud of flies 13. a shoal of fish
4. a nest of mice 14. a smack of jellyfish
5. a gaggle of geese 15. a team of oxen
6. a flight of swallows 16. a swarm of bees
7. a flock of birds 17. a pack of wolves
8. a troop of monkeys 18. a pride of lions
9. a litter of kittens 19. a flock of birds
a litter of puppies a flock of sheep
10. a school of dolphins 20. a herd of buffaloes
a school of whales a herd of elephants
Things / Plants
1. a string of pearls 11. a garland of flowers
2. a bale of cotton 12. a layer of dirt
3. a bowl of rice 13. a queue of vehicles
4. a bunch of keys 14. a pack of cards
5. a cluster of coconuts 15. a bouquet of flowers
6. a column of smoke 16. a tuft of grass
7. a bundle of sticks 17. a wad of currency
8. a suit of clothes 18. a cloud of dust
9. a clutch of eggs 19. a comb of bananas
10. a crate of fruits 20. a set of tools
 SINGULAR AND PLURAL NOUNS
 A singular noun  1 person, animal, place or thing.

 A plural noun  more than 1 person, animal, place or thing.

1) The letter ‘s’ is usually added to form a plural noun.

b) fruit – fruits

c) girl – girls

d) lamp – lamps

e) song – songs

2) For nouns which end with ‘s’, ‘x’, ‘sh’ and ‘ch’, the plural is formed by adding ‘es’.

a) class – classes

b) box – boxes

c) dish – dishes

d) match – matches

3) For a noun which ends with ‘y’ preceded by a consonant, the letter ‘y’ is changed into ‘ies’ to

form the plural.

a) activity – activities

b) berry – berries

c) lorry – lorries

d) puppy – puppies

4) For a noun which ends with ‘y’ preceded by a vowel (ay, ey, oy, uy), the letter ‘s’ is added to

form the plural.

a) boy – boys

b) day – days

c) key – keys
5) For a noun which ends with the letter ‘o’ preceded by a vowel, the letter ‘s’ is added to form

the plural.

a) radio – radios

b) studio – studios

c) bamboo – bamboos

d) piano – pianos

e) zoo – zoos

6) For a noun which ends with the letter ‘o’ preceded by a consonant, ‘s’ or ‘es’ is added to form

the plural.

a) photo – photos

b) potato – potatoes

c) hero – heroes

7) For a noun which ends with the letter ‘f’ or ‘fe’, the plural form is made by either adding the

letter ‘s’ or by changing ‘f’/ ‘fe’ to ‘ves’.

a) leaf – leaves

b) knife – knives

c) half – halves

d) thief - thieves

e) roof - roofs

f) safe – safes

g) chef – chefs

8) Some nouns are called irregular as their plural form is spelt very differently from the

singular form.

a) ox – oxen c) goose – geese

b) child – children d) mouse – mice

 PRONOUNS
Singular Plural
First I We
Second You You
Third He / She / They
It

Subject of the verb Object of the verb

Singul I like to play My parents took me out.
ar badminton. I called you last night.
You are late. The teacher scolded him.
He is an engineer. They found her in the
She is an only child. room.
It is a Persian cat. The car knocked it down.
Plural We visited the They are waiting for us.
museum. The teacher praised
They won the singing them.
competition.
Personal Possessive Possessive Reflexive
Pronouns Adjectives Pronouns Pronouns
I my mine myself
You your yours yourself
He his his himself
She her hers herself
It its its itself
We our ours ourselves
They their theirs themselves

This is my The bag is I paint the

bag. mine. picture myself.
This is your The book is You have to do
book. yours. it yourself.
This is his The pen is his. He writes the
pen. The pencil is poem himself.
This is her hers. She cut the
pencil. The kennel is fruit herself.
This is its its. The dog
kennel. The house is scratched
That is our ours. itself.
house. The chairs are We saw it
These are theirs. ourselves.
their chairs. They helped
themselves.
 ADJECTIVES
Comparison of Adjectives (Regular)

Positive Comparative Superlative

1 big bigger than the biggest
2 brave braver than the bravest
3 bright brighter than the brightest
4 busy busier than the busiest
5 cheap cheaper than the cheapest
6 clean cleaner than the cleanest
7 clear clearer than the clearest
8 clever cleverer than the cleverest
9 cold colder than the coldest
10 cool cooler than the coolest
11 cruel crueler than the cruelest
12 dark darker than the darkest
13 deep deeper than the deepest
14 dirty dirtier than the dirtiest
15 fat fatter than the fattest
16 friend friendlier than the friendliest
17 great greater than the greatest
18 happy happier than the happiest
19 hard harder than the hardest
20 healthy healthier than the healthiest
Comparison of Adjectives (By adding ‘more’ and ‘most’)

Positive Comparative Superlative

1 beautiful more beautiful most beautiful
2 careful more careful most careful
3 comfortabl more most
e comfortable comfortable
4 dangerous more dangerous most dangerous
5 difficult more difficult most difficult
6 exciting more exciting most exciting
7 expensive more expensive most expensive
8 famous more famous most famous
9 helpful more helpful most helpful
10 intelligent more intelligent most intelligent
11 joyful more joyful most joyful
12 obedient more obedient most obedient
13 peaceful more peaceful most peaceful

Comparison of Adjective (Irregular)

Positive Comparative Superlative

bad worse worst
good better best
little less least
many more most
much more most
 CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunction Usage Example
and To join two - Sandy likes singing.
sentences with the - Sandy likes dancing.
same or similar ideas Sandy likes singing and dancing.
but To join two - I want to go Singapore by bus.
sentences with - He insists on taking the plane.
different ideas I want to go Singapore by bus but he
insists on taking the plane.
because To give reason - Danny was punished.
- He did not do his homework.
Danny was punished because he did not
do his homework.
so To show cause and - The children are tired.
effect - They go to bed early.
The children are tired so they go to bed
early.
or To show a choice or - Would you prefer tea?
possibility can be - Would you prefer coffee?
made Would you prefer tea or coffee?
if To show a condition - You work harder.
- You will pass your examination.
If you work harder, you will pass your
examination.
although To show contrast - It is raining heavily.
(beginning / middle) - They continue with the climb.
Although it is raining heavily, they
continue with the climb.

- Nobody wants to live in that mansion.

- It is beautiful.
Nobody wants to live in that mansion
although it is beautiful.
 Wh-question Words

Wh-question Usage Example

Word
Who To ask about Who are you?
people Who is the man?
Who is your mother?
Who is your best friend?

What To ask about What is this?

things or What is in your bag?
something What are they doing?
general. What does he want?
What did you do
yesterday?

Which Choices Which is your pen?

between a few Which is the capital?
possibilities Which book is better?
(people, things / Which shirt should I
places) wear?

Why To ask the Why are you here?

reason for Why is the bag wet?
something Why is he going out?
Why do you want to be a
singer?
Whose To ask about Whose pencil is this?
who the owner Whose ruler is this?
of something is Whose car is that?
/ belong to Whose books are these?
(possessives)
Where To ask about Where are you?
places Where is the ruler?
Where do you live?
Where is the car key?

When To ask about When is your brother’s

the time birthday?
something When are we going home?
happens When did you come?
When will you leave?

How To ask about How are you?

the way how How was your trip?
something is How do you cook the
done / quality, fish?
quantity How do you get to
London?
Verbs ‘to be’, ‘to have’ and ‘to do’
Verb Present Past Example
Tense Tense
to be He is the head prefect.
is I am a boy.
was
am She was in Langkawi
yesterday.
These boys are my nephews.
are were
We were there last month.
to She has a yellow raincoat.
have has You have a dictionary.
had
have He had a football practice
yesterday.
to do She does the housework
every day.
does
did We do our work quietly.
do
They did their homework
just now.

Subject-Verb Agreement

Singular Plural

is are

has have

does do