CAPITALIZATION, ARTICLES,

CONDITIONALS,
COMMON GRAMMER MISTAKES,
CONJUNTIONS
 CAPITALIZATION

Capitalization means using a capital letter (for Example, A instead of a). The use of
capital letters helps readers read your writing without confusion.

Always capitalize the following :

The first word in a sentence
• I grew up in Indonesia
• She left a message on my phone

The pronoun I
• This country is where I dreamed of

The first letter of a proper noun (specific name)

• I graduated from the Islamic University of Riau
• I like Coca Cola
• This letter is from Abdullah

The first letter of months, days, and holidays (but not seasons)
• To day is June 8, 2014
• Atika’s birthday is this Thursday
• The shops are closed on Friday pray
• This winter is going to be very cold
The first letter of nationalities, religions, races of people, and languages
• We often eat Italian food
• I want to master many languages, such as Spanish, Korean, and Chinese
• There is one big Moslem mosque in my town

The first letter in a person’s title

• This is Dr. Simon
• I got it from Mr. Tom

Geographic areas : cities, states, countries, mountains, oceans, rivers, etc

• My destination is Paris, France
• Hawaii is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean

Historical periods
• The Renaissance began in the 14th century
• The Qing Dynasty is the last dynasty in China

The first letter of each major word in the title of a book, movie, article, etc
• Tolstoy’s War and Peace is my favorite novel
• I found the article “ How to Write a Good Cover Letter” in this magazine
 EXERCISE :

Capitalization Worksheet
The following worksheet provides you with ten sentences with no capital letters at
all. Identify which letters should be capitalized, and then use the answer key to
check and see if you are correct and if you get them all.
1. i visitied mr. smith, the chairman of the board, on september 10.
2. president smith gave a speech in which he said "resigning is not an option."
3. may i visit the oval office, president?
4. he loved the book, which was called "a day in france."
5. the federal bureau of investigations (f.b.i.) looks into crimes, and the bureau
also protects america.
6. i am originally from the south but now i live in the north.
7. my courses this semester include english, science, and math 100.
8. the state board collects state and federal taxes.
9. september and october are the prettiest months of autumn.
10. the book, "the big red dog" is a hit among children: they enjoy reading about
the dogs adventures.
 ARTICLES

The 3 articles in English :

• a
• an
• the

The learner has to decide noun-by-noun which one of the articles to

use.

The word a (which becomes an when the next word begin with a vowel
: a, i, u, e, o) is called the indefinite article, because the noun it goes
with is indefinite or general. The meaning of the article a is similar to
the number one, but one is stronger and gives more emphasis. It is
possible to say : I have a book or I have one book, but the second
sentence emphasize that I do not have two or three or some other
number of books.

The word The is known as the definite article and indicates a specific
thing. The difference between the sentences : I sat on a chair and I sat
on the chair is that second sentence refers to a particulars, specific
chair, not just any chair.
Many nouns, especially singular forms of countable nouns must have an article. In
English, it is not possible to say I sat on chair without an article, but a
demonstrative or possessive adjective can be used instead of article as in the
sentences I sat on that chair and I sat on his chair.

Article are not used :

Before the name of a person
• I am a fan of Michael Jackson (not A or The Michael Jackson)

Before the name of a place, town, country, street or road

• Barcelona is a beautiful city (not A or The Barcelona)

Before name of material

• Gold is found in Papua (not A or The Gold)

Before Abstract nouns used in a general sense

• We love all beauty (not a beauty or The beauty)
 CONDITIONALS
What are conditionals in English grammar ?

Sometimes we call them “if clauses”. They describe the result of

something that might happen (in the present or future) or might have happened
but didn’t (in the past). They are made using different English verb tenses.

There are 4 kinds :

The Zero Conditional : if + simple present, ... Simple present
We can make a zero conditional sentence with 2 simple present verb. This
conditional is used when the result will always happen.

• If you heat water to 100 degrees, it boils

• If you touch a fire, you get burned
• If babies are hungry, they cry
• You get water if you mix hydrogen and oxygen

The First Conditional : if + simple present, … will + infinitive

It’s used to talk about things which might happen in the future. Of course, we
can’t know what will happen in the future, but this describe possible things, which
could easily come true.

• If it rains tomorrow, we’ll go to the cinema

• If I study hard today, I’ll go to the party tonight
• If I have enough money, I’ll buy some new shoes
• She’ll be late if the train is delayed
• She’ll miss the bus if she doesn’t leave soon
The Second Conditional : if + simple past, … would + infinitive
It has two uses. FIRST, we can use it to talk about things in the future that
are probably not going to be true. Maybe I’m imagining some dream for
example :

• If I had a lot of money, I would travel around the world

• If I met the Queen of England, I would say hello
• She would pass the exam if she ever studied. (she never studies, so this
won’t happen)
• If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house. ( I probably won’t win the
lottery)

SECOND, We can use it to talk about something in the present which is

impossible, because it’s not true.

• If I had his number, I would call him. (I don’t have his number now, so it’s
impossible for me to call him)
• If I were you, I wouldn’t go out with that man.
The Third Conditional : if + past perfect, … would + have + past participle
It talk about the past. It’s used to describe a situation that didn’t happen
and to imagine the result of this situation.

• If I had gone bed early, I would have caught the train

• If we had taken a taxi, we wouldn’t have miss the plane
• She would have become a teacher if she had gone to university
• If I hadn’t eaten so much, I wouldn’t have felt sick. (but I did eat a lot,
and so I did feel sick)
• He would have been on time for the interview if he had left the house at
nine
 EXERCISE :
Conditional Worksheet
1. If we meet at 9:30, we (to have) plenty of time.
2. Lisa would find the milk if she (to look) in the fridge.
3. The zookeeper would have punished her with a fine if she (to feed) the animals.
4. If you spoke louder, your classmates (to understand) you.
5. Dan (to arrive) safe if he drove slowly.
6. You (to have) no trouble at school if you had done your homework.
7. If you (to swim) in this lake, you'll shiver from cold.
8. The door will unlock if you (to press) the green button.
9. If Mel (to ask) her teacher, he'd have answered her questions.
10. I (to call) the office if I was/were you.

ANSWEAR :

1. If we meet at 9:30, we will have plenty of time.

2. Lisa would find the milk if she looked in the fridge.
3. The zookeeper would have punished her with a fine if she had fed the animals.
4. If you spoke louder, your classmates would understand you.
5. Dan would arrive safe if he drove slowly.
6. You would have had no trouble at school if you had done your homework.
7. If you swim in this lake, you'll shiver from cold.
8. The door will unlock if you press the green button.
9. If Mel had asked her teacher, he'd have answered her questions.
10. I would call the office if I was/were you.
 COMMON GRAMMAR MISTAKES
Wrong : I have visited Niagara Falls last weekend.
Right : I visited Niagara Falls last weekend.

Wrong : The woman which works here is from Japan

Right : The woman who works here is from Japan

Wrong : She was boring in the class

Right : She was bored in the class

Wrong : She’s married with a dentist

Right : She’s married to a dentist

Wrong : I must to call him immediately.

Right : I must call him immediately.

Wrong : Although it was raining, but we had the picnic.

Right : Although it was raining, we had the picnic.

Wrong : I enjoyed from the movie.

Right : I enjoyed the movie.

Wrong : I look forward to meet you

Right : I look forward to meeting you
Wrong : I like very much ice cream
Right : I like ice cream very much

Wrong : She can to drive

Right : She can drive

Wrong : Where I can find a bank ?

Right : Where can I find a bank ?

Wrong : I’ve been here since three months

Right : I’ve been here for three months

Wrong : My boyfriend has got a new work

Right : My boyfriend has got a new job (or just “has a new job”)

Wrong : She doesn’t listen me

Right : She doesn’t listen to me

Wrong : You speak English good

Right : You speak English well

Wrong : I didn’t meet nobody

Right : I didn’t meet anybody

Wrong : You should not to smoke

Right : You should not smoke
 CONJUNCTIONS

A conjunction is a word that “joins”. A conjunction joins two parts of a

sentence.

Coordinating Subordinating
Conjuntions Conjuntions
And, but, or, nor, for, Although, because,
yet, so since unless

We can consider conjunctions from three aspects :

FORM
Conjuntions have 3 basic forms :
• Single word
for example : and, but, because, although
• Compound (often ending with as or that)
for example : provided that, as long as, in order that
• Correlative (surrounding an adverb or adjective)
for example : so … that
 CONJUNCTIONS

FUNCTION
Conjuntions have 2 basic function or “jobs” :
• Coordinating conjuntions are used to join two parts of a sentence that are
grammatically equal. The 2 parts may be single words or clauses.
for example : The water was warm, but I didn’t go swimming

• Subordinating conjuntions are used to join a sub ordinate dependent clause

to a main clause.
for example : I went swimming although it was cold

POSITION
Conjuntions have 2 basic function or “jobs” :
• Coordinating conjuntions always come between the words of clauses that
they join

• Subordinating conjuntions
 EXERCISE :
Conjunction Exercises
The following seven questions are sample conjunction exercises. The answers are
below:

1. I like chicken ____ not fish.

A. And B. Since C. But D. For E. Or

2. ____ it rains on Sunday, I will not be able to drive.

A. And B. Where C. Either D. If E. How

3. I like both dogs ______ cats.

A. Also B. But C. And D. If E. Until

4. The items are on sale in the local store _____ not online.
A. But B. And C. Though D. Or E. Nor

5. Neither my mother _____ my father will be able to attend the party on

Sunday.
A. Or B. But not C. And D. Nor E. But also

6. Luke was late to the party ______ his car broke down on the highway.
A. If B. Because C. While D. Although E. Where