To Be

In English, a group of words is considered as a sentence when they have S + V.

Verb has two functions:
1. To describe actions; examples: run, study, sleep, etc.
2. To state an existence; examples: to be (am, is, are, etc.), seem, sound, etc.
To be is also recognized as one example of non-action verbs.
Example:
I tired it is not a sentence because theres no verb.
To make it sentence, we have to add a verb in the form of to be.
I am tired it is a sentence because am, which is an example of to be, works as verb.

Subject + Verb Agreement

Subject To Be
Pronouns Present Past Perfect Progressive Modal + be
I Am Was (Have) Been (Am) Being (Will) Be
he, she, it Is Was (Has) Been (Is) Being (Will) Be
you, we, they Are Were (Have) Been (Are) Being (Will) Be
Passive Form
Note: Have / Has / Had
Am / Is / Are / Was / Were FOLLOWED by Being in Passive Progressive Form
Modals (will, may, should, etc.)
All of them function as auxiliary verbs (helping verb).

Examples:
1. I am tired - They are tired.
2. He was confused We were confused.

Some subject pronouns are Indefinite Pronouns:

a. Indefinite Pronouns Singular:
Each Nobody No one Either
Everybody Everyone Neither
Somebody Someone
Anybody Anyone
Examples: 1. Everyone in my class is very sleepy.
2. Somebody was here.
3. Either Gina or Janice is the leader of the group.

b. Indefinite Pronouns Plural :

Few Some
Many Most
Examples: 1. Only few students were interested in joining the camp.
2. Most people are afraid of death.
3. Some friends of mine have been parts of my life since we were children.

Words after To Be

To Be can be followed by: 1. Non-verb

2. Verb

1. To Be followed by non-verb;
 a. Followed by NOUN Examples: 1. She was my teacher.
2. He is my brother.

b. Followed by ADJECTIVE Examples: 1. They are sick.

2. We were angry at him.

c. Followed by ADVERB OF PLACE Examples: 1. They have been here.

2. It should be there.

d. Followed by ADVERB OF TIME Examples: 1. The meeting is today.

2. The event was last week.

e. Followed by PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE Examples: 1. They are at the museum now.

2. Syria is in a war.

2. To Be followed by verb;
a. Followed by V-ing (PROGRESSIVE / CONTINUOUS)
Examples: a. They are playing football at the moment.
b. My son was sleeping when I arrived at home.
b. Followed by V3 PASSIVE
Examples: a. It is built in 1921
b. Those books were borrowed by Della.

Exercise SELECTING THE CORRECT FORMS OF TO BE

1. My guitar (are / is / be) out of tune.

2. Bryan and Sandy (was / were / are) at the party last night.
3. The brides dress (be / are / is) too large.
4. The sandwiches (be / are / is) for our picnic today.
5. Somebody (are / is / be) so angry with me that he or she has sent me some terror messages.
6. If you dont sleep now, you (is / are / will be) late tomorrow.
7. Either Gareth or Leon (is / are / be) in the bathroom.
8. The players (are / were / was) very exhausted after they completed the competition yesterday.
9. That car (is / was / were) extremely fast around ten years ago, but now, it (is / will be / be) quite
slow compared to the newly-produced cars with improved engines.
10. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who (is / will be / has been) the president of Indonesia, is trying to
build a better economic relation with Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, which ( is / are / have been)
located in the region of South-east Asia.
ARTICLES (A, AN, THE)

The function is to modify noun.

1. A / An: - Singular
- Not specific
(The person doesnt state a specific noun, or the person who is being talk to doesnt know
the noun.)
- Also stated for a noun in the first paragraph of a text and it is explained more in the
following paragraphs.

Rules:
a = a dog a university
a pencil , also a unit
a shirt a uniform
a glass

a is for words of which the first letter is pronounced as consonant.

an = an apple an hour
an ability , also an honest (answer)
an eraser
an object

an is for words of which the first letter is pronounced as vowel.

2. The : - Plural
- Specific Noun (both speakers know the noun).

Common and Proper Noun

- Common noun: Noun in general.
- Proper noun: Specific Noun without articles
Examples: I want to be a president.
I want to be like President Soekarno.

Noun as an Object
Direct and Indirect Object:
Direct Object, example: I sent her a letter. A letter = Object, a Direct Object.
2 Objects in one sentence; example: Ron bought his girlfriend a necklace.
his girlfriend = Indirect Object
a necklace = Direct Object
PRONOUNS
Pronouns are used to avoid repeating the nouns.

Subject and Object Pronouns

Noun: Subject Pronoun Object Pronoun

Singular 1st person I Me
2nd person You You
3rd person He, She, It Him, Her, It
Plural 1st person We Us
2nd person You You
3rd person They Them

Possessive Adjective and Possessive Pronouns

Possessive Adjective: still followed by noun
Possessive Pronouns: are not followed by noun

Noun: Possessive Adjective Possessive Pronouns

Singular 1st person My... Mine
2nd person Your... Yours
3rd person His.../Her.../Its... His, Hers, Its
Plural 1st person Our... Ours
2nd person Your... Yours
3rd person Their... Theirs

Reflexive Pronouns
The function is to tell the same subjects.
Noun: Reflexive Pronouns
st
Singular 1 person Myself
2nd person Yourself
3rd person Himself/Herself/Itself
Plural 1st person Ourselves
nd
2 person Yourselves
3rd person Themselves

Exercise PLACING THE CORRECT PRONOUNS.

1. Last night, Janice and David visited __________ aunt in the hospital.
2. My son is not good at sport as I expected him to be, but _______ is great at playing piano. Thats
why I am really proud of ______.
3. I thought I lost ______ cell-phone when I was at the department store. Luckily, Sharon brought it
to me, so I knew that I left it in ______ house.
4. This book belongs to me, but those ones belong to Claudia and Erin. Those books are _________.
5. My brother and I will cook the dinner by __________ tonight.
6. Vino loves ______ sister so much. ____ often brings her a doll or takes her to a cinema with him.
7. I cant stop blaming _______ (my own self) about the tragedy.
8. As long as you love me the way I love you, I will always be _________, and you will always
be_________.
9. Eric likes playing music. _______ is a major part of his life.
10. The twins are praying together before they blow the candle for their birthday. ________ dont
know that ________ father is preparing another surprise for ________.
ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS

ADJECTIVES
Adjectives modify NOUNS / PRONOUNS

What do adjectives modify? What kinds of information do adjectives modify?

Adjectives modify:
1. Whose: possessive forms are included as adjective
Examples: 1. Brians car.
2. An Athletes medal.
3. The players uniforms.

2. What kind of:

a. Adjective + Noun: (Pure Adjective)
new friends tall men warm weather rich man brave children
old cars crazy people strong reason slim models modern
equipment

b. V3 + Noun;
broken heart destroyed building fallen trees trained soldiers burnt house
sunk boat killed animal added time educated people well-paid jobs

c. V-ing + Noun:
missing piece soaring thunder sleeping children
howling wolf burning spirit flying bees

d. Noun + Noun:
strawberry cake iron sword leather jacket
science books electric guitar metal box

3. Which One:
This (singular) reachable That (singular) unreachable
These (plural) reachable Those (plural) unreachable
First, second, third... Last...
examples: These clothes are going to be brought for our vacation.
That door is locked.
Alexandra is my second daughter.

4. How Much / How Many + Noun

Key words: several..., most..., few..., much...., many...,
one..., two..., three..., four....

examples: Several people were arrested in accused of vandalism.

Few students have received scholarship.
Two people were found dying after they had been lost in the jungle.

We can use several adjectives to describe noun:

examples: The three new students
Harrys two history assignments
Precious sport award
Those rare old cars
 ADVERBS
Adverbs modify: Verbs, Adjectives, Other Adverbs

1. Adverb of Time (when):

examples:
Soon ; The new stadium is going to be built soon.
Tonight ; I will make the decision tonight.
Now ; We are studying now.

2. Adverb of Frequency; Always Never (seldom, often, sometimes, almost)

examples:
- She always makes me smile.
- His brother seldom comes home.
- They never let down their fans.

3. Adverb of place;
examples:
Here ; I have been waiting here for an hour.
There ; He likes to go to the stadium. Last night, he went there with his grandchildren.

4. Adverb of Manner; (Adjective + ly)

examples:
- Suddenly, he remembered that he had to lock the door.
- Father immediately went home after being told that my little brother was sick.
- The police officers are working tirelessly to arrest the bombers.
- She followed the instructions carefully.

4. In what degree???
examples:
Very ; He runs very fast.
Quite ; Those shoes are quite expensive for me.
Right ; Ill be right here waiting for you.
Placing the Adverb:
1. Between the main verb and the helping verb:
examples: - The team members are proudly showing the cup they have won.
- Brock has completely forgotten this material.

2. At the end of a sentence:

examples: - We met Karen accidentally.
- She walked away angrily.

3. In front:
examples: - Carelessly, she forgot to bring her purse.
- Unfortunately, they have missed the bus.

4. After main verb as long as there is no object:

examples: - He drives carefully.
- She answered honestly.
- We met accidentally Karen.
Exercise CHANGING ADJECTIVE TO ADVERB.

example: - The brave soldiers went to a confidential mission.

- The soldiers bravely went to a confidential mission.

1. Yohannas smile was bright.

-
2. He said goodbye in a bitter atmosphere.
-
3. Mary is a good dancer. (change dancer {noun} into verb {dance})
-
4. Gaby played the violin in front of many people in the concert hall with such a nervous feeling.
-
5. My sisters reply was enthusiastic.
-

Exercise UNDERLINING THE CORRECT WORD; EITHER ADJECTIVE OR ADVERB

1. Dani never did (good / well) in high school.

2. He has never been (real / really) interested in Math.
3. They dont attend class (regular / regularly).
4. Bryan has to develop his (mechanical / mechanically) skills in order to be successful.
5. His (real / really) interest is music.
6. He (ambitious / ambitiously) registered for five courses in his first semester. Dont you think it was
a very (ambitious / ambitiously) decision.
7. Joan runs extremely (quick / quickly). Since he was in elementary school, he has been recognized
as a (quick / quickly) runner.
8. They made a (brave / bravely) decision with some (high / highly) risks.
9. He walked alone in the middle of the night (fearless / fearlessly). It may be (dangerously /
dangerous) sometimes.
10. After graduating from his university, he (easy / easily) found a job.
Prepositions Time
English Usage Example
on days of the week on Monday
in months / seasons in August / in winter
time of day in the morning
year in 2006
after a certain period of time (when?) in an hour
at for night at night
for weekend at the weekend
a certain point of time (when?) at half past nine
since from a certain point of time (past till since 1980
now)
for over a certain period of time (past till for 2 years
now)
ago a certain time in the past 2 years ago
before earlier than a certain point of time before 2004
to telling the time ten to six (5:50)
past telling the time ten past six (6:10)
to / till / marking the beginning and end of a from Monday to/till Friday
until period of time
till / until in the sense of how long something is He is on holiday until
going to last Friday.
by in the sense of at the latest I will be back by 6
up to a certain time oclock.
By 11 o'clock, I had read
five pages.
Prepositions Place (Position and Direction)
English Usage Example
in room, building, street, town, country in the kitchen, in
book, paper etc. London
car, taxi in the book
picture, world in the car, in a taxi
in the picture, in the
world
at meaning next to, by an object at the door, at the
for table station
for events at the table
place where you are to do something at a concert, at the
typical (watch a film, study, work) party
at the cinema, at
school, at work
on attached the picture on the
for a place with a river wall
being on a surface London lies on the
for a certain side (left, right) Thames.
for a floor in a house on the table
for public transport on the left
for television, radio on the first floor
 on the bus, on a plane
on TV, on the radio

by, next to, left or right of somebody or something Jane is standing by /

beside next to / beside the car.
under on the ground, lower than (or covered by) the bag is under the
something else table
below lower than something else but above the fish are below the
ground surface
over covered by something else put a jacket over your
meaning more than shirt
getting to the other side (also across) over 16 years of age
overcoming an obstacle walk over the bridge
climb over the wall
above higher than something else, but not a path above the lake
directly over it
across getting to the other side (also over) walk across the
getting to the other side bridge
swim across the lake
through something with limits on top, bottom and drive through the
the sides tunnel
to movement to person or building go to the cinema
movement to a place or country go to London /
for bed Ireland
go to bed
into enter a room / a building go into the kitchen /
the house
towards movement in the direction of something go 5 steps towards the
(but not directly to it) house
onto movement to the top of something jump onto the table
from in the sense of where from a flower from the
garden
Other important Prepositions
English Usage Example
from who gave it a present from Jane
of who/what does it belong to a page of the book
what does it show the picture of a palace
by who made it a book by Mark Twain
on walking or riding on horseback on foot, on horseback
entering a public transport vehicle get on the bus
in entering a car / Taxi get in the car
off leaving a public transport vehicle get off the train
out of leaving a car / Taxi get out of the taxi
by rise or fall of something prices have risen by 10 percent
travelling (other than walking or by car, by bus
horseriding)
at for age she learned Russian at 45
about for topics, meaning what about we were talking about you