UNIT 1

Grammar

1. Personal Pronouns

Personal pronouns tell which person or thing we are speaking about.

The personal pronouns in English are:

Singular Plural

I We

You You

He They

She

It

2. Verb "to be"

The verb "be" means to exist.

It is a linking verb, it links a subject and a thing connected with that subject.
The present simple forms of "to be" are as follow:

Singular Plural

I am We are

You are You are

He is They are

She is

It is

3. First Sentences

English is a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) language - meaning that sentences are made with the subject first,
then the verb, and finally the object. Using the above grammar we can now make basic English sentences,
for example:
- I am a teacher
- She is happy
- They are students

Languages like French and Chinese are also SVO languages, but other languages are different. For
example, Japanese, Korean and Persian are Subject-Object-Verb languages, so you wouldn't say "She is
happy", you'd say "She happy is"!\\\
UNIT 2

Grammar

1. Present Simple Negatives - Verb "to be"

Present Simple negatives and questions using the verb "to be"are formed differently from other questions.
To make negatives you simply insert "not" before the verb "to be".

- Statement: You are a doctor.

- Negative: You are not a doctor.
- Statement: They are cats.
- Negative: They are not cats.

Here is the negative form of the verb "to be" in the Simple Present:

Singular Plural

I am not We are not

You are not You are not

He is not They are not

She is not

It is not

2. Present Simple Questions

To make questions you simply invert the subject and the verb.

- Statement: You are a doctor.

- Question: Are you a doctor?
- Statement: They are cats.
- Question: Are they cats?

Simple Present Question verbs are as follows:

Singular Plural

Am I (a teacher) ? Are we ...?

Are you ...? Are you ...?

Is he ...? Are they ...?

Is she ...?

Is it ...?

3. Short Answers
We can often answer these questions with a short answer using the verb "to be". For example:
- Are you a teacher?
- Yes, I am / No, I am not.

- Is he a student?
- Yes, he is. / No, he is not.

Note that in spoken English we usually use contractions with the negative form. For example:
- No, I am not = No, I'm not.
These contractions will be studied in a later Unit.
UNIT 3

Grammar

1. Contractions

Many verbs have short forms which are used particularly in spoken English. For example: "I am happy
today" = "I'm happy today". The short forms of the verb "to be" are as follows:

Singular Plural

I am = I'm We are = We're

You are = You're You are= You're

He is = He's They are = They're

She is = She's

It is = It's

Be careful not to confuse it's with its. It's means "it is", but its is a possessive form we'll study later.

2. Negative Contractions - Simple Present Verb "to be"

There are two main short forms for the negative of the verb "to be": "You are" becomes "You're not" or
"you aren't". For example:

- She is not happy = She isn't happy = She's not happy.

- We are not singers = We aren't singers = We're not singers

The short forms for the negative verb "to be" are as follows:

Singular Plural

I am not = I'm not = I amn't* We are = We're not = We aren't

You are not = You're not = You aren't You are= You're not = You aren't

He is not = He's not = He isn't They are = They're not = They aren't

She is not = She's not = She isn't

It is not = It's not = It isn't

* "I am" Negative Contraction

You can say "I am not", and you can say "I'm not", but you can't say "I amn't".

3. Negative Contractions - Simple Present

Simple Present negatives contract in two ways: "do not" becomes "don't" and "does not" becomes
"doesn't". For example:

- Statement: I do not like pizza = I don't like pizza.

- Questions: He does not drive a car = He doesn't drive a car.

And just in case you need it, here's a table of Simple Present contractions.

Singular Plural

I do not = I don't We do not = We don't

You do not = You don't You do not = You don't

He does not = He doesn't They do not = They don't

She does not = She doesn't

It does not = It doesn't

Now give some exercises a try!

UNIT 4

Grammar

1. Present Simple

The Simple Present is used to make statements about the present time. It is used in the following ways.

- Permanent facts: These sentences give facts which are always true.
It is cold in winter. - The sun shines. - Fish live in water.

- Present facts: These sentences are true now.

I work at home. - She plays the piano.
"I work at home" doesn't mean I am working right now, but it does mean that in my present condition I
work at home.

- Habitual actions: I get up at 8.00. - They come here every day.

These actions are repeated regularly, so they are considered a present reality and are expressed in the
Simple Present.

Here is the verb "to give in the Simple Present:

Singular Plural

I give We give

You give You give

He gives They give

She gives

It gives

2. Spelling Rules for the Present Simple

If you look above you'll see the spelling doesn't change, except for the third person singular (He, She, It)
which adds an "s" to the verb. For example "I eat - He eats".

Sometimes other spelling rules also apply to He, She and It. All the following verbs add "es" instead of "s":

The short forms for the negative verb "to be" are as follows:

Verb Endings Spelling Examples

Verbs ending in -o add -es do - does, go - goes

Verbs ending in -s add -es pass - passes, kiss - kisses

Verbs ending in -x add -es fix - fixes, mix - mixes

Verbs ending in -ch add -es match - matches, catch - catches

Verbs ending in -sh add -es push - pushes, rush - rushes

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Verbs ending in a consonant and -y often change try - tries, cry - cries
the -y to -ies:

Verbs such as "buy" have no consonant before the buy - buys, pay - pays.
"y", so you simply add -s
as usual.

Click below for exercises on the Present Simple

UNIT 5

Grammar

1. Simple Present Negatives

Simple Present negatives and questions are used in the same situations as Simple Present statements:
for permanent facts, present fact, and habitual actions.

- Permanent facts: I do not speak Japanese. - Fish do not live in water.

- Present facts: I do not work at home. - She does not play the piano.

- Habitual actions: I do not get up at 8.00. - They do not come here every day.

To make a negative sentence we put do or does after the subject. Because of this, the verb that
follows do/does + not is always in the bare infinitive form.
For example:
"I do not like pizza." is correct, but
"I do not likes pizza is incorrect" - you don't need to add an "s" to the verb "like".
Do and does come from the verb "to do", which is often used as an auxiliary verb in English.

Here is the negative form of the verb "to give" in the Simple Present:

Singular Plural

I do not give We do not give

You do not give You do not give

He does not give They do not give

She does not give

It does not give

2. Simple Present Questions

To make Simple Present Questions you put do or does before the subject. For example: - Statement: I
speak Japanese.
- Questions: Do I speak Japanese?
- Statement: She likes pizza.
- Questions: Does she like pizza?
As with negatives, the verb after do or does (and the subject) is always in the bare infinitive form. It is the
auxiliary verb "to do", do or does, which changes.

Simple Present Question verbs are as follows:

Singular Plural
Do I like (pizza) ? Do we like ...?

Do you like ...? Do you like ...?

Does he like ...? Do they like ...?

Does she like ...?

Does it like ...?

Negative questions are also possible but are used for several more advanced ways. We'll deal with them
later!
UNIT 6

Grammar

1. Prepositions of Place

Prepositions show relationships between things. For example: "The lamp is on the table" contains the
preposition "on". This word shows the spatial relationship between the lamp, and the table.

The most common prepositions of place are: in, on, under, next to, in front of, behind, at.

Look at the following pictures to learn their meaning:

In, on, under, in front of, and behind are clear from the pictures above. Example sentences are:
- The dog is in the box.
- The cat is under the table.
- The man is next to the building.

At however is a more abstract concept - it is used to refer to a point in space, usually a point on a line.
See below for more explanation.

2. In, On, At

In is used to show somethng that surrounds or encloses us. For example:

- I sleep in my bedroom.
- The desk is in the room.

In is also used for geographical areas such as cities and countries, for example: "I live in London" or "I live
in England".

On is used to show something that is on a surface. For example:

- I sleep on my bed.
- The paper is on the desk.

On is also used for street names, for example: "I live on Orchard Road".

At is used to show something that is at a particular point, often as part of a line. For example:
- He is at the bus stop.
The bus stop is one point in a line of bus stops.
- John is at the bank.
John is at a particular place or point, the bank. The bank is part of his journey and also part of a street,
both of which can be seen as lines.

At is also used for complete addresses, for example: "I live at 22 Orchard Road, London, England."

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So why do we live "on a street" but "in a city"? And how can you know for sure when to use in, on, or at?
It depends on the perspective of the speaker, and what is considered acceptable in English. These are
questions that all English learners encounter and they cannot be completely answered through rote
memorization or lists of rules. As your exposure to English grows you will gain enough experience to be
able to decide for yourself which is correct. Simply keep trying to understand, and eventually you will.

Now give some exercises a try!

UNIT 7

Grammar

Prepositions of Time

Prepositions of time show the time something happens. For example: "I get up at 7.00" shows the time I
get up.

Some of the most common prepositions of time are: in, on, at, from, to.

In

In is used for morning, afternoon, and evening. For example:

- I study Japanese in the afternoon.
- He gets up early in the morning.

In is also used for other periods of time, including months, seasons, years, centuries, and ages. For
example:
- My birthday is in March.
- The Portuguese came to Japan in 1542.
- Flowers grow in spring.

On

On is almost always used for some kind of day. For example:

- My birthday is on March 29th.
- I go to church on Sunday.
- We visit my family on New Year's Day.
Compare: He gets up early in the morning.
But: He gets up early on Monday morning.

At

At is used for a particular time. For example:

- I study Spanish at 2.00.
- He gets up at 7.30.
- I come home at lunchtime.

At is also used for used for night.

Compare: I sleep in the afternoon.
But: I sleep at night.

From - to

From and to are used to show the start and end of a defined period of time. For example:
- I work from 9.00 to 5.00.
- Our vacation is from January 5th to February 1st.
UNIT 8

Grammar

1. Question Words

Question words are used to ask what we are talking about.

Questions using question words follow this order: Question word - Auxiliary verb - Subject.
Here are some question words and example sentences:

Question Word Usage Example

What To ask about the nature of things What color do you like?
and substances. What time is it?

Where To ask about location. Where are you?

Who To ask about identity Who is he?

Whose Top ask about posession Whose pen is this?

Why To ask about reason and purpose Why are you happy?

To ask about time When do you get up?

When
To ask about a set of choices. Which one do you want?
Which
How has several usages, How do you make coffee?
How including asking about process
and method.

To make a question with question words in the Simple Present, you simply make a normal question, and
then put a question word in front. For example:

With the verb "to be":

- Statement: His name is Tyler.
- Question: Is his name Tyler?
- With a Question Word: What is his name?

With the verb "can":

- Statement: His name is Tyler.
- Question: Is his name Tyler?
- With a Question Word: What is his name?

With other verbs:

- Statement: I like flowers.
- Question: Do you like flowers?
- With a Question Word: Why do you like flowers?

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UNIT 9

Grammar

1. Object Pronouns

Subjects are what a sentence is about. For example:

- I like rice.
In this sentence I is the subject - I is what the sentence is about.

Objects are what is affected by the action of the subject. For example:
- I want a table.
- I am reading a book.

Object pronouns are used instead of object nouns, usually because we already know what the object is.
- My friend's name is Hyun Ju. I really like her.
- I like this book. I read it every day.

The Subject and Object Pronouns are as follows:

Singular Plural

I - Me We - Us

You - You You - You

He - Him They - Them

She - Her

It - It

Subject pronouns are not normally used on their own in short answers. We use object pronouns, for
example:
- Who wants some candy? Me! / Not me!
- Who wants some candy? I / Not I! This is very unusual.
UNIT 10

Grammar

1. There is / there are

"There" is a kind of pronoun used to show something you know exists.

Compare these two sentences:

- "A fly is in my soup."
- "There is a fly in my soup!"
The first sentence is factual and impersonal. The fly is the subject, and the soup is the object. In the
second sentence the object is "a fly in my soup", so the subject is "There". "There" functions as a kind of
dummy subject that represents a more personal perspective, rather than a factual statement.

Especially in spoken English we usually use the contraction "there's", rather than "there is".

Here are the forms of "there" in the Simple Present.

Statements Questions

There's a tree in my garden. Is there a restaurant here?

There are books on the desk. Yes, there is. / No, there isn't

Negatives

There isn't a computer in my bedroom.

There aren't any cinemas here.

There is usually subject-verb agreement when using there is/there are. For example:
- There are ten students in my class.
- There is ten students in my class.

Sometimes however we can use "there is" with compound subjects, for example:
There's a bank and a post office near my house.

Click below for exercises!

UNIT 11

Grammar

1. Countable Nouns

All nouns are countable or uncountable. Countable nouns have the following properties.

- They can be counted, for example 1 apple, 2 apples, ...etc.

- They can be made plural.
- They can take the indefinate article a/an.

2. Uncountable Nouns

Uncountable nouns have the following properties.

- They usually can't be counted, for example 1 money, 2 money, ...etc.

- They usually can't be made plural.
- They usually don't take the indefinate article a/an.

Some is often used for plural nouns. For example:

- I have some apples.
- I have some food.
This is covered later in more detail.

Here are some common countable and uncountable nouns.

Countable Uncountable

apple time
tree rice
person beef
dog money
kilo information
liter help

Countable nouns often refer to individual things, and physical things. For example: a person, a tree, a kilo.

Uncountable nouns often refer to non-individual things, and abstract things. For example rice is not an
individual thing, it's seen as group of hundreds of small grains. Love and sadness are abstract, not
physical things.

3. Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Some nouns can be countable and uncountable, depending on how they are used. For example:

- Countable : A glass of milk. Here glass refers to one container made of glass.
- Uncountable : You can see through glass. Here glass doesn't refer to one thing, it refers to glass as a
substance.

- Countable: He has many papers. Here papers refers to some of the individual documents.
- Uncountable: Paper is made from wood. Here paper is not an individual thing, but a general substance.

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