Basic English 2

Joel M. Torres
Instructor, College of Education
Central Luzon State University

OVERVIEW
I. Communication
II. The Speech Sounds
III. Morphemes and Word Formation
IV. Idiomatic Expression
V. Figurative Language
VI. Verbal Analogies
VII. Elements of Short Story
VIII. Literary Lexicons
IX. Reading Comprehension

Communication
Communication is a two-way
process by which information
is exchanged between or
among individuals through a
common system of symbols,
signs
and
behavior
(Martinez, 2001).

Verbal vs. Nonverbal and

Paralinguistics
Verbal communication is the
transmission of ideas, opinions,
feelings, emotions or attitudes
through the use of words (comments,
questions, reactions)
Nonverbal is the sending of messages
to another person utilizing methods or
means other than words (facial
expression, eye contact, gesture)

Levels of Communication
Intrapersonal
Interpersonal
Dyad
Small Group
Public Commuication

Communication Skills

Speech Sounds
Speech sounds are those of vowels
and consonants. A vowel sound is a
speech sound that is produced through
an open throat and mouth passage
without any hindrance or obstruction.
A consonant sound is one that is
pronounced with a certain degree of
obstruction and restriction at the lips,
inside the mouth and in the throat.

Speech Sounds
There are eleven recognizable vowel sounds
and twenty-four consonant sounds in English
and several more variants which include the
vowel
types
and
consonant
forms.
Unfortunately, however, the number of
sounds is more than the letters of the
English alphabet. Because of the multiplicity
of sounds a letter can have, linguists have
devised a scientific codification of sounds,
the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet),
where a symbol represents a distinct speech
sound (Flores & Lopez, 1984).

The English Vowel

Sample Test Item

All of the following

has /a/ sound
EXCEPT:
a.cough
c. rack
b.cap
d. hard

The Consonant Sounds

Bilabial [p, b] The two lips come together.
Labiodental [f, v] The upper teeth touch the lower
lip.
Dental [,] The tongue tip touches the upper teeth.
Alveolar [t, d] The tongue tip touches the alveolar
ridge.
Alveo- palatal [, ] The tongue tip or blade
touches the hard palate.
Velar [k, g] The root of the tongue touches or
comes near the velum.
Glotal [h] The vocal folds narrow.

The Consonant Sounds

Stop [p, d] The vocal tract is closed completely, with the lips for [p]
and with the tongue for [d], allowing air pressure to build up behind the
closure, which is then abruptly opened.
Fricative [ f, z] The vocal tract is partly closed, forcing air through the
constriction at a velocity high enough to produce hissing noise.
Nasal [m,n] As the oral cavity is closed, air flows through the nasal
cavity.
Liquids [l, r] The center of the tongue closes, and air escapes around
the sounds in the lateral [l]; the tongue tip curls upwards and back, and
the center of the tongue is hollow in a retroflex [r].
Affricate [, ] A complete closure is released into a partial closure;
or the sound begins as a stop but ends as a fricative.
Glide (semi vowel) [j, w] Vowel like sounds that precede or follow true
vowels.
Voiced/voiceless [b, d/p, t] The vocal folds vibrate in producing voiced
consonants but not voiceless ones.

Manner

Stop

Affricate

Fricative

Bilabial

Labiodental

Dental

Alveolar

Palatal

Velar

vl

Vl

vl

Liquid

Nasal

Glide

l, r
m

Glotal

Sample Item
All of the following are voiceless
consonant EXCEPT:
a. /p/
c. /k/
b. /t/
d. /b/

Stress
Stress is sometimes called accent. It is given to a
syllable by pronouncing it with force to give more
importance than the other syllables in the word. In
the word level, for example, the first syllable is
stressed because a) the first syllable is louder than
the second b) the first is higher in pitch, and c) the
length of the vowel is greater than that in the
second.
To enhance rhythm, students must learn to apply
stress, which is changes in pitch, force and
duration, and intonation which is the pattern or
melody of pitch changes.

Stress
Majority of two-syllable words are stressed on the first
syllable. (ABsence, ACcent, Selfish, Never, PROfile,
PUBlish, SUMmon, Finish, Actor, SURface, PURchase,
ARgue, Cocoa, Impious, Ensure, MENace, PREfix)
Compound nouns have a primary stress on the first
component and a secondary stress on the second.
(BLACKbird, HEADache, PASSport)
Compound verbs have a primary stress on the second
component and a secondary stress on the first.
(understand, overflow, underline)
Numbers ending in teen may receive the stress in the
last syllable to distinguish clearly between thirty and
thirteen for example.

Stress
Many words show a shift in stress to indicate their
use either as a noun, or as a verb.
Intensive-reflexive pronouns receive a stronger stress
on the second syllable (yourSELF, mySELF, herSELF)
Generally, when a suffix is added to a word, the new
form retains the stress on the same syllable or the
word from which it was derived. (HAppy-HAPpiness,
asSIGN- assignment, CLOUdy-CLOUdiness)
Words ending in tion, -sion, -ic, -ical, and ity always
have primary stress on the syllable preceding the
ending. (examiNAtion, adMIssion, economic, logical,
serenity)

acCOMpaniment

agREEment
asSOciate

comMITTee
comPETitor

contRIBute

deVElop
diPLOmacy
disTRIbute

eCONomy
exECutive

geOGraphy

hoRIzon
inEVITAble
lieuTENant

maCHInery
muNICipal
oPPonent

oRAtion
voCABulary
adVANtage

PHOto
PROverb
PAris

CLImate
eCOLogy
TRANquil

Sample Item

In what syllable does

the primary stress fall in
the word penicillin?
a.First
c. Third
b.Second
d. Fourth

Morphemes
the smallest meaningful unit in a
language

BEAUTIFUL = 2 morphemes
Beauty
-ful

Morphemes
Two Types of Morphemes
a. Free Morpheme
b. Bound Morpheme
b.1 derivational
b.2 Inflectional

Driver = 2 morphemes
Drive + er = Driver
Drive = free morpheme
-er = derivational

Drives = 2 morphemes
Drive + -s = Drives
Drive = free morpheme
-s = inflectional

Sample Item

How many morphemes are

present in the word
disentanglement?
a. Three
c. Five
b. Four
d. Six

Sample Item

All of the following

morphemes are
derivational EXCEPT
a. Babies
b. Development
c. Kingly
d. Blacken

Word Formation

Borrowing
Coining
Clipping
Acronym
Onomatopoeia
Compounding
Branding
Blending
Lexical Shift

Identify the word formation technique

that governs each word
1. PhD
2. Xerox
3. Simulcast
4. Kodak
5. Exam
6. Boom
7. I-Kim-Chui
8. Judo
9. SCUBA
10. rainbow

Imagery & Figurative Language

Animage is a word or sequence of words
that refers to any sensory experience
(Kennedy and Gioia 741).

Imagery

What are your five senses? Sight, Hearing, Touch, Taste,

and Smell
An image conveys a sense perception , i.e., a visual

picture, a sound, a feeling of touch, a taste, or an odor

Imagery = a noun used to refer to a set of related

images in poem or the totality of images in a poem:

Figures of Speech
Figurative language uses figures of speech to
convey unique images and create some sort
of special effect or impression.
A figure of speech is an intentional
deviation from the ordinary usage of
language.

Figures of Speech
Figure of speechword or phrase that makes a comparison
between seemingly unlike things.
He collapsed onto the grass like a half-empty flour sack.
from The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst

Youll come across figures of speechor figurative language

in poetry, in prose, and in everyday speaking and writing.

Figures of Speech
Figures of speech
are not literally true
make imaginative connections
express meaning in fresh and original
ways
often act as a kind of shorthand

Figures of Speech
Some figures of speech have become part of our everyday
language. We dont even think about the fact that they arent
literally true.

He didnt notice how quickly the time

flew by.
My heart leapt at the thought.
She must have gotten tied up in traffic.
His room is a pigsty.

Poetry works by comparison

Poets often create images or enhance

meaning by comparing one thing to another

for special effect.
A most important figure of speech is the

Metaphor

Metaphor
The term metaphor has two meanings, a

broad, more general meaning and a concise,

specific meaning.
All figures of speech which use association,
comparison, or resemblance can generally be
called types of metaphor, or metaphorical.
One specific figure of speech which compares
two things by saying that one IS the other is
called a metaphor.

Simile
A simile is a type of metaphor, a figure in which

an explicit comparison is made using the

comparative words like, as, resembles, than.
Similes are easy to spot.
(X is like Y: X is compared to Y in order to illustrate X
more fancifully, poetically, or effectively. But Y is not a
literal representation of X, not actual.)

The teams center looked like a skyscraper.

My love is like a red, red rose.
We were as quiet as frightened mice.

More similes
Kennedy and Gioia offer a good list of ways

to make a simile:
My love is like a red, red rose.
My love resembles a rose.
My love is redder than a rose.
She came out smelling like a rose! (767)

Metaphor
A metaphor also compares, but a metaphor is a bit

more sophisticated than a simile.

For one thing, in a metaphor, the words

like or as are missing. So readers have to

recognize the comparison on their own without
those easy words which help us to spot a simile so
quickly.

Metaphor (continued)
In a metaphor, a poet writes that X is Y. Readers
understand that we are not to take the comparison
literally, but that the metaphor helps us to see X in
a new way.
My brother is a prince.
Razorback Stadium was a slaughterhouse.

More metaphors
Richard was a lion in the fight.
Her eyes are dark emeralds. Her teeth are pearls.

But Avoid Mixed Metaphors (combining two or more

incompatible images in a single figure of speech):
Management extended an olive branch in an attempt
to break some of the ice between the company and
the workers.

Implied Metaphor
Kennedy and Gioia offer a kind of metaphor (767)
lacking the actual to be verb (is, am, are, was,
were and other such forms of the verb to be)
called
an Implied Metaphor
What is implied here about the speakers love?
Oh, my love has petals and sharp thorns.
Oh, I placed my love into a long-stemmed vase
And I bandaged my bleeding thumb.
And here, what is implied about the city and the subway?
The subway coursed through the arteries of the city.

Extended Metaphor
This kind of metaphor may run through an entire work. In

George Orwells Animal Farm, for example, the farm is

compared to a nation, with different possible forms of
goverance. This comparison extends throughout the novel.

Sometimes a poet will use an extended metaphor throughout

a poem rather than simply as one single figure of speech in

a poem.

Dead Metaphor
A dead metaphor has been so used and overused that it has

lost its power to surprise, delight, or effectively compare.

A clich is a dead metaphor, a phrase so often repeated that
it no longer has force:

He hit the nail on the head.

She was cool as a cucumber.
Jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.
This powerpoint show is crystal clear.

Avoid the use of clichs in your own writing!

Personification
Another kind of comparison is called
personification. Here, animals, elements of nature,
and abstract ideas are given human qualities.
John Milton calls time the subtle thief of youth (599).
Homer refers to the rosy fingers of dawn (599).
Other examples of personification
The stars smiled down on us.
An angry wind slashed its way across the island.

 The three main uses of figurative language needed

to read poetry are the previous:

Simile
Metaphor
Personification

But there are many other poetic devices used.

The more you recognize, the richer your
reading experience can be.
Here follow more figures of speech:

Oxymoron
Oxymoron - two contradictory terms are placed side by

side, usually for an effect of intensity:

darkness visible (John Milton)
burning ice
People often enjoy joking sarcastically by declaring certain
pairs of words to be oxymorons:

military intelligence

Hyperbole
Hyperbole (hy per bo lee) is intentional exaggeration or

overstating, often for dramatic or humorous effect:

Your predicament saddens me so much that I feel a

veritable flood of tears coming on:

Understatement
The intentional understatement is used for effect also:

Thank you for this Pulitzer Prize: I am pleased.

Another kind of understatement called Litotes occurs when

a negative is used to state a positive:

When I won the Pulitzer Prize, I was not unhappy.

Apostrophe
A person or thing which is absent is

addressed:
What thoughts I have of you tonight, Walt
Whitman (Ginsberg 599).
Oh sun, I miss you, now that its December.

Metonymy
In this figure (m tawn nimee) one thing is

replaced by another thing associated with it:

The Crown is amused (The Crown is the

Queen).
The White House is furious (The White

House is the President).

Synecdoche
Here, (sin nec duh kee) a part represents

the whole:
All hands on deck!
Lend me your ears.
Lets buy one hundred head of cattle!

Alliteration

A repetition of
initial consonant
sounds.

Alliteration
The sign reads:
Education:
The inculcation of
the
incomprehensible
into the
indifferent by the
incompetent.

Alliteration
If Peter
Piper picked
a peck of
pickled
peppers,
how many
pickled
peppers did
Peter Piper
pick?

Want more?
Figures of speech are numerous. The effective

practice of communication is called rhetoric, and

many, many figures of speech can be identified in
language use.
Some other figures are anachronism, euphemism,

pun, and onomatopoeia (o no mat o pee ya). In this

last figure, words are used to convey sound, like
bzzzz or cock-a-doodle-doo.
Oh no, you say? Here it comes!

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia

Words
written like
the sound
they make.

Onomatopoeia

Idioms

Words used
that have a
different
meaning than
the literal
meaning.
You cant tell a book by its
cover. Meaning: You cant
know a person by their looks
alone.

Identify what figurative language

is used in the following
1. Night o night move fast and help me

find my father.
2. He travelled seven boondocks just to
see you.
3. Silence speaks louder than voice.
4. They passed over the sleeping town.
5. Marius life is a jig-zaw puzzle.

Identify what figurative language

is used in the following
6. I think, my life is useless without you.
7. Alfredo is his shining star. .
8. Wind oh wind, bring me to my little

angels.
9. Silence he is, but beware he is full of
deceit.
10. Your answers to my letter are no less
precious to me.

Identify what figurative language

is used in the following
11. The sky cries when Lean failed to

answer the teaser question.

12. Ming-ming, our pet, is not prolific, in
fact she is giving birth every quarter.
13. A hundred silver wings passed over the
sleeping town.
14. His mind is a calculator.
15. Klick, klick, tha LSR Nikon camera
sounds.

Idioms

live out of a
suitcase
meaning
traveling all
the time.

name
dropper
Someone
who wants
others to
know they
associate
with
important
or famous
people.

Idioms

had a
ball
meaning
had a
good time

Idioms
Ill cross that bridge
when I come to it.
Meaning: Ill deal with
that when the time comes.
Dont burn your
bridges.
Meaning: Dont alienate
people that can help you,
or dont cut off your
connections to
opportunities.

Idioms

man on the
street meaning
the ordinary or
average man

Idioms
highway
robbery
meaning
charging too
much i.e. Some
credit card
interest rates
are highway
robbery.

Idioms

Example: I was late because I was

caught in a traffic jam.

Idiomatic Expression
An idiomatic expression is a combination of
words that means something different from
each word by itself.
For example, in the phrase "pulling
someone's leg," pulling means moving
something towards yourself, and theleg is
the part of the body above the foot.
But pulling someone's leg doesn't mean to
drag that person's leg; it means to try to
fool the person.

 It's raining cats and dogs today.

Maria felt like a fish out of water
on the first day of school.
He didn't have his coat on, and he
caught a cold.

 Last night my mom lost her temper.

I think that you will get a kick out
of the movie.
I let the cat out of the bag and told
her that I was moving.

VERBAL
ANALOGY

To answer an analogy
question you must:

Formulate and recognize the relationship

between the words in the given word
pair
Select the answer containing words
related to one another in most nearly
the same way
Recognize when two word pairs display
parallel relationships

Analogies test your ability

to:

Recognize the relationship between

the words in a word pair
Recognize when two word pairs
display parallel relationships

Analogies look like this:

STEM:WORDS ::
A. First pair
B. Second pair
C. Third pair
D. Fourth pair
E. Fifth pair

In what ways could two words

be related?
The relationship will always have to
do with the meaning of the words

Examples of possible
relationships

Synonyms or antonyms
A part to the whole
A member to the category that contains it
Cause to effect (or effect to cause)
Varying degrees of a quantity or quality
Object to function

Examples of possible
relationships

Problem and Solution Analogies

Verb Tenses Analogies
Performer and action Analogies
Object and Location Analogies
Rhyme Analogies
Things That Go Together Analogies

Here is one example of

each of these relationships
Synonyms

INFANT: BABY

GROWN-UP : ??

Antonyms

BIG : SMALL

FULL : ??

Part to whole

WHEEL : CAR

BRANCH : ??

Member to
Category

APPLE : FRUIT

CARROT : ??

Cause to Effect

SLIVER : PAIN

HEAT : ??

Matters of
Degree

WARM : HOT

COOL : ??

Object to
Function

TRUCK : TRANSPORT

OVEN : ??

PRACTICE
PLATOON:SOLDIER
HOT:SCALDING
STARVATION:BINGING
GILLS:BREATHING
PERSUASIVE:CONVINCING
SOCCER:SPORT

Examples
crying & laughing, fire & water, question
& answer
knife & kitchenware, knife & weapon,
red & color, pants & clothing,
cat & kitten, plant & seed, dog & puppy,
wolf & pack, tree & forest, seagull &
flock

Examples
flat & skyscraper, tired & exhausted,
warm & hot, cold & freezing
spin & dizzy, fire & burn, read & learn,
paint & painting, build & house, write &
letter
itch & scratch, unemployment & job
application, tired & sleep

Examples
walk & walked, eat & ate, sent & send
painter & paint, soldier & to fight,
scientist & to research
brick & wall, glass & window, glass &
light bulb, page & book
keyboard & to type, telephone & to call,
paintbrush & to paint

Examples
plane & hangar, dog & doghouse, tree &
forest
salt & pepper, statue & socket, fork &
knife
deer & steer, red & rod, glasses & mosses

Approaches that may be helpful

in answering analogy questions:
Try to establish a precise relationship
between the words in the given pair
Form a sentence that captures the
relationship between the two words
Then look for the answer choice
containing the word pair whose
relationship is closest to that of the
given pair and can be expressed in a
similar fashion

Example
APPLE : FRUIT ::
A. Salad : Mix
B. Orange: Banana
C. Juice : Can
D. Slice : Core
E. Carrot : Vegetable

How do you know if you

have a good sentence?

Look at the answer choices

If more than one answer choice
seems to fit, then your sentence is
too general
If none of them work, then your
sentence is too specific

Example
PEN : WRITE ::
A. Pencil : Sharpen
B. Ink : Blue
C. Letter : Compose
D. Knife : Cut
E. Mistake : Erase

Helpful Approaches cont:

Pay attention to the order of the words in the pair

Pay attention to the parts of speech
The relationships you need to explain will be
constant relationships
Analogy questions are vocabulary intensive
Remember that a single word can have several
different meaning
Never decide on the best answer without reading
all the answer choices
Practice recognizing and formulating relationships
between word pairs

Practice
Mnemonic : Remember ::
A. Amnesiac : Forget
B. Euphoria : Relax
C. Nostril : Smell
D. Audio : Hear
E. Glasses : See

Answer
Mnemonic : Remember ::
E. Glasses : See

SHORT STORY
ELEMENTS

Characters
Types: Protagonist and Antagonist
Kinds: Major and Minor
Classification:
flat/static, round/dynamic,
stereotype, the good/evil

Settings

Geographical
Time
Economic
Social

Plot (Pattern I)

Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution
Ending

Plot (Pattern II)

Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Denouement

Conflict

Man vs. Man

Man vs. Animal
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Himself

Point of View
First Person Narration
Third Person
-Objective
-Omniscient
Stream of consciousness
In the eyes of a child

Theme

Reading Comprehension

Happiness is one subject everyone thinks about but few

seems to understand. Some gain happiness and keep it.
Others momentarily grasp it, then lose it. A few never
experienced it at all. Yet, however elusive happiness may be,
it is attainable no matter how miserable you may have been in
the past.
What conclusion can be drawn from the selection?
a. A happy person is born, not made.
b. A person becomes unhappy as he becomes older.
c. One who has a sad past never experienced
happiness.
d. One may attain happiness in spite of some
unfortunate experience in life.

Reading Comprehension

Imee insisted that her son be baptized in

a catholic church, although her
protestant in-laws were not pleased
about it. Her first born twin as well as her
three other siblings who are all female,
were baptized in the Methodist Church.
With her husband who plans on
undergoing vasectomy, this baby boy
might be their last. And so, Imee was
determined to have her way this time no
matter what happens.

Reading Comprehension

1. What religion does Imee want her son to

acquire?
a. Catholicism b. Protestantism
c. Islam d. a&b
2.How many children does Imee have in all?
a. three
b. four c. five d, six
3.Who were against her plan to have her son
baptized in the Catholic Church?
a. The other children b. her husband
c. her in-laws
d. her parents

Reading Comprehension

4. The word it in the first paragraph refers to

__?
a. The sons baptism in the Catholic Church
b. Imees religion
c. Imees newborn son
d. the in-laws who were against the plan
5. It is implied that __
e. Imees in-laws dont like her
f. Imee is Catholic but her husband is not
g. Imees son wanted to be a Catholic too
h. Imees other children are not Catholic

Reading Comprehension

Rice, one of the worlds most important

and most versatile food came originally
from the wild pants in Asia. Some
archaeologist believe that the grain was
first cultivated in Southeast Asia and
Southern China. Excavations in China in
the early 1970s unearthed rice about
7,000 years old. Other historians say
rice originated in India dating back to
5,000 B.C., and North Thailand, rice was
found that was grown in 4,000 B.C.

Reading Comprehension

In Java, it is believed that the

rice is the gift of the goddess, Dewi
Sri to the people. Whereas in Japan,
legend has it that the sun goddess
sowed rice in the fields of heaven
and gave some of the seeds to the
descendants of the emperor to plant.

Reading Comprehension

Other countries for sure have their

own way of explaining how rice came
into being scientifically or
legendarily. But when and where did
rice originate shouldnt be our
concern, rather, we should learn how
to make use of this worlds most
prolific food in every way we can.

Reading Comprehension

1. Where did rice originate?

a. From the sun goddess
b. from the emperor
c. from the wild plants
d. from the unknown
2. In paragraph 2, the origin of rice is
purely __?
e. scientific b. experimental c. opinion
d. legendary

Reading Comprehension

3.All of the following statements are

true EXCEPT
a. Rice is a versatile food.
b. Rice is a grain.
c. Rice originated in Asian countries.
d. Rice grows only in China.

PRACTICE
TEST