Grammar Notes

GRAMMAR NOTES MADAM ANNA
PARTS OF SPEECH
Learning Objectives
After this lesson, participants will be able to:
i. Identify the eight parts of speech in English

ii. Use the correct parts of speech in writing and speaking
1. NOUNS
Definition: Nouns are naming words. They are the names of people, places, animals, objects and
abstract things.
Types of nouns:
❖ Common nouns refer to anyone of a class of people, places, animals or objects.
Examples: technician, photographer, library, supermarket, butterfly, bear, carpet, lorry
❖ Proper nouns refer to the name of particular people, places, animals or objects. They begin
with a capital letter.
Examples: Misbun Sidek, Tun Dr. Mahathir, Parkson Grand, Muzaffar Hotel, Si Belang,
Garfield, Faber Castell, Samsung
❖ Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted. They can be singular (one) or plural
(more than one).
Examples:
Singular Plural
paper papers
class classes
man men
sheep sheep
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❖ Uncountable nouns are nouns that cannot be counted.

Examples: rice, flour, rain, ink, money, sugar
❖ Collective nouns refer to a group of people, a group of animals and a group of things
spoken of as a whole.
Examples: a class of students a board of directors
a school of whales a flock of birds
a bunch of grapes a bundle of sticks
❖ Abstract nouns refer to intangible things such as feelings, concepts, and qualities.
Examples:
anxiety, happiness (feelings)
calmness, integrity (concepts)
honesty, confidence (qualities)
2. PRONOUNS
Definition: Pronouns are used to replace a noun.
Types of pronouns:
❖ Subject pronouns ( I, he, she, it, we, you, they )
Examples:
a. Encik Razak is my neighbour. He lives at Bukit Perdana.
(noun) (pronoun)
b. Haris, Humaira and Haziq are siblings. They are Encik Razak’s children.
(noun) (pronoun)
c. UTeM is situated in Melaka. It is the first technical university is Malaysia.
(noun) (pronoun)
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❖ Object pronouns
Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns

I me
He him
She her
It it
We us
You you
They them
Examples:
a. I give him a cup of coffee.
b. He bought a present for me.
c. She puts it in a basket.
d. We invited them for a dinner.
❖ Possessive pronouns show that something belongs to somebody or something else.
Singular Possessive Plural Possessive

Pronouns Pronouns
mine yours
his ours
hers theirs
yours
its
Examples:
a. The computer belongs to me.
The computer is mine.
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b. The t-shirt belongs to you.

The t-shirt is yours.
c. Chong has a bicycle.

The bicycle is his.
d. The vase belongs to Puan Rohana.

The vase is hers.
e. The land belongs to us.

The land is ours.
f. This company belongs to Hana and Hani.

This company is theirs.
g. The cat is licking its tail.
❖ Relative pronouns are used to join two sentences about the same person, animal or object.
For people (who, whose, whom)

For animals or objects (which, that)
Examples:
a. I know the technician.
He works at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
I know the technician who works at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering.
b. Zabidi bought a motorcycle.

It is red in colour.
Zabidi bought a motorcycle which is red in colour.
c. The lady is my boss.

I waved her.
The lady to whom I waved is my boss.
d. This is Mr. Rama.

His son is in final year.
This is Mr. Rama whose son is in final year.
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❖ Relative pronouns are used when the action of the verb returns to the doer.
Subject Pronouns Relative Pronouns

I myself
He himself
She herself
It itself
We ourselves
You * yourself (singular)
yourselves (plural)
They themselves
Examples:
a. I repair the machine myself.
b. We must protect ourselves from coronavirus.
c. The rabbit hurts itself.
d. Zainah prepared the report herself.
e. You should defend yourself.
3. VERBS
Definition: Verbs are used to describe an action.
Types of verbs:
❖ Verb-to-be
Subject Present Past

Singular ( he, she, it ) is was
Plural ( we, they, you ) are were
I am was
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Examples:
a. Amin is a clerk.
b. They are my colleagues.
c. We were there during the accident.
d. Rizal was in the office yesterday.
e. I am on medical leave today.
❖ Having verbs

Singular ( he, she, it ) has had
Plural ( we, they, you ) have had
I have had
Examples:
a. Safiah has a big house.

b. I have a pet.
c. They have four children.
d. It has sharp teeth.
e. We had a breakfast at Mydin.
❖ Action verbs

*usually end with s or es
*Singular ( he, she, it ) writes
Plural ( we, they, you ) write wrote
I write
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Examples:
a. Masri does her tasks.

b. Joseph repairs the computers in the lab.
c. They play football at Sports Centre.
d. I did the experiments alone.
e. You did not pass the examination.
❖ Transitive verbs are used to tell what the subject does to the object.
Examples:
Shamil washes the van
(Subject) (Transitive Verb) (Object)
a. The captain kicks the ball.

b. The secretary prepares the minutes of meeting.
❖ Intransitive verbs are used to tell only the action of the subject.
Examples:
The man eats hungrily
(Subject) (Intransitive Verb) (Object)
a. The bell rings.

b. Ayu cooks well.
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4. ADJECTIVES
Definition: Adjectives are words that describe nouns.
Types of adjectives:
❖ Regular adjectives ( -er, est) / (more, most)

Examples:
a. short shorter shortest
b. deep deeper deepest
c. beautiful more beautiful most beautiful
d. important more important most important
❖ Irregular adjectives
Examples:
a. little less least
b. good better best
c. bad worse worst
❖ Adjectives of Quality describe more about the shape, size, colour, feeling and
characteristic of nouns.
Examples:
a. A round object rolls easily.
b. The big house is on fire.
c. Naemah wears a blue skirt.
d. The tall man is angry.
❖ Adjectives of Quantity describe the amount or number of things.

Examples:
a. Two men were looking for you
b. Many people at the pharmacy to buy face mask.
c. Karim spilt some oil on the cabinet.
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❖ Demonstrative Adjectives are used to point out the nouns that are being referred to.
Examples:
a. I want this file.
b. Please throw that plastic bag.
c. The young man drew these pictures.
d. Kassim caught those cats.
❖ Distributive Adjectives are used to show amount.

Examples:
a. Each participant must bring his own laptop.
b. Everyone is here.
c. Either parent can come for the meeting.
d. Neither man is good enough.
❖ Possessive Adjectives (my, his, her, your, our, their, its) are used with nouns to show
possession.
Examples:
a. My car is over there.
b. Your shoes are new.
c. His bag is the green one.
d. Her hair is long and black.
e. Their names have been left out.
❖ Interrogative Adjectives (what, which, whose) are used before nouns to begin questions.
Examples:
a. What movie is that?
b. Which flower do you want to buy?
c. Whose chair is this?
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5. ADVERBS
Definition: Adverbs are words that describe adjective, verb and other adverb.
Examples:
extremely cold (describing adjective)
listen carefully (describing verb)
quite clearly (describing other adverb)
Adverbs can be formed from adjectives by adding – ly.

Examples:
Adjective Adverb
beautiful beautifully
angry angrily
polite politely
bad badly
Types of adverbs:
❖ Adverbs of manner describe how an action is done.
Examples:
a. Mr. Rozal walks slowly.
b. He ate greedily.
❖ Adverbs of time describe when an action is done.

Examples:
a. She visited her friend last week.
b. Yesterday, I met my uncle.
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❖ Adverbs of frequency describe how often an action is done.

Examples:
a. My brother seldom wakes up late.
b. They always walk to campus.
❖ Adverbs of place describe where an action is done.

Examples:
a. The boy fell down.
b. I found my book here.
❖ Adverbs of degree describe to what extent of something.

Examples:
a. This sofa is too expensive.
b. Aiman slept very soundly.
❖ Interrogative Adverbs (where, when) are used to begin a question.

Examples:
a. Where are you going?
b. When did you hear the news?
6. PREPOSITIONS
Definition: Prepositions are words that show the relationship of one thing to another.
Examples:
a. The family reached home after midnight.

b. I received a postcard from Japan yesterday.
c. The ball rolled into the drain.
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Types of prepositions:
❖ Prepositions of place tell where something is.
Examples:
a. Kavita put the vase on the shelf.
b. Rahman sits near me in class.
c. His house is opposite my house.
d. The two men fishing by the river.
e. PJ Hilton Hotel is on the left of KFC restaurant.
❖ Prepositions of movement/direction tell where someone or something is moving to.

Examples:
a. Makcik Seha is going to the clinic.
b. The soldiers marched forward.
c. We climbed up the mountain yesterday.
d. He ran across the field to catch the ball.
e. The horse jumps over the fence.
❖ Prepositions of time are used to show specific time (at, on, in) and to show duration (by,
during, before, since, from…to…)
Examples:
a. The students have a study group at night.
b. I was born on 3 July 1977.
c. En. Zahar will be having a meeting in the afternoon.
d. We stay at home during the pandemic Covid-19.
e. Ahmad will be back before 10:00 pm.
f. The clinic opens from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.
g. We have not seen each other since last March.
h. They should be here by now.
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7. CONJUNCTIONS
Definition: Conjunctions are used to join two ideas.
Types of conjunctions:
❖ To show similarities (and, both, as well as, too, besides, also)

Examples:
a. Hasnah is selling oranges and grapes.
b. Both Chandran and Johari are working in UTeM.
c. My boss is kind as well as generous.
d. Ani walks to campus too.
❖ To show difference/contrast (but, however, although, whereas, unlike, while)

Examples:
a. Anna likes pizza but Najib likes burger.
b. Fairuz is studying at UTeM, unlike her sister who is studying at UKM.
c. While they were sleeping, the thief entered their house.
d. Although he cannot see well, he refuses to wear glasses.
❖ To show cause/reason (because, as, since)

Examples:
a. The boy cries because he is sick.
b. I did not recognise her since I had not seen her for a long time.
c. They already dismissed as the meeting has finished earlier.
❖ To show choice (or, either…or, neither…nor)

Examples:
a. You can see me either today or tomorrow.
b. The staff can submit their reports by hand or by email.
c. Neither my mother nor my father is coming for the event.
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❖ To show result (so, therefore, consequently)

Examples:
a. The handbag is expensive so I do not buy it.
b. Erni was sick therefore she could not go to the office.
c. He lost my pen consequently he had to buy me a new one.
❖ To show time (until, when)

Examples:
a. I was praying when the phone rang.
b. Please wait until your supervisor comes.
8. INTERJECTIONS
Definition: Interjections are words that someone makes to express his/her spontaneous
feelings or reactions. They are used to show the feelings of joy, sorrow, surprise,
pain, disliking, etc.
Some examples of interjections are:
Well done! Wow! Hooray! Oouuch! Congratulations! Oh!
a. Wow! Lisa is looking gorgeous.

b. Congratulations! You have passed the examination.
c. Oouuch! It is so painful.
d. Oh! I forgot to bring my wallet.
e. Hooray! I got the promotion.
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TENSES
Learning Objectives
After this lesson, participants will be able to:
❖ Identify the functions of present, past and future tenses

❖ Use the correct tenses in writing and speaking
The tense of a verb tells when a person did something or when something existed or happened.
In English, there are three main tenses: the present, the past, and the future.
1. Simple Present Tense

The simple present tense is used to:
❖ Describe an action that takes place habitually.

a. The bus is always late.
b. I start work at 8:00 am.
c. The students walk to class every morning.
❖ Describe a general truth or fact.

a. The earth is round.
b. Vitamins are good for our health.
c. The sun sets in the west.
REMINDER:
✓ Add an –s for the singular subjects such as he, she, it, Ramona, the committee.
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2. Simple Past Tense

The simple past tense is used to:
❖ Describe an action that happened in the past.

a. En. Shahir met his CEO yesterday.
b. We ate toasted bread and half boiled egg for breakfast just now.
c. They were here last night.
❖ Describe an action or situation that took place in the past and is now completed.
a. He went to university for four years.
b. My family lived in Sarawak in the 1990s.
c. Amir loved her for ages but never told her.
REMINDER:
✓ Add an –ed to most regular verbs.

report – reported
bump – bumped
open – opened
✓ Add –d to verbs which already end with –e.

place – placed
sterilise – sterilised
close – closed
✓ If the verb ends with –y and a consonant precedes the –y, change the –y to –ied.
simplify – simplified
apply – applied
cry – cried
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✓ If it is a one-syllable verb that ends with a vowel followed by a consonant, double the last
consonant before adding –ed.
grin – grinned
plan – planned
drop – dropped
✓ If it is a two-syllable verb with the stress on the second syllable, double the last
consonant before adding –ed.
occur – occurred
transmit – transmitted
prefer – preferred
✓ Irregular verbs do not follow any specific rule or pattern. Hence, you have to memorise
the past tense of these verbs.
bend – bent
choose – chose
hold – held
put –put
cut – cut
hit - hit
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3. Simple Future Tense

The simple future tense is used to:
❖ Describe an action or situation that will occur at some time in the future.
a. The staff will attend the department meeting shortly.
b. UTeM will purchase the latest model of sheer machine next month.
❖ Describe expectations or predictions of events that are uncertain.

a. I think France will win the World Cup this year.
b. Izani expects that he will pass with flying colours in the final examination.
❖ Describe the conditional situations, namely things that will or may happen if something
else occurs.
a. If it is hot, I will go swimming later.
b. You will get stressed out if you work all the time.
❖ Make promises or threats, or to state decisions at the time of speaking.

a. We will give you a lift.
b. Jane will call Lyana and find out how she is.
REMINDER:
✓ The simple present tense using will / shall is written as:

will / shall + base verb
✓ The pronouns I and We may use will and shall interchangeably.
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4. Present Continuous Tense

The present continuous tense is used to:
❖ Describe an action or a situation which is happening at the moment of speaking.

a. Puan Azura is demonstrating the new software in front of her lab assistants.
b. The technicians are repairing the old machines in the workshop.
❖ Describe a future arrangement.

a. The new staff is having a competency test tomorrow.
b. The students are coming back from semester break next month.
REMINDER:
✓ The present continuous tense is written as below:
Subject Affirmative Form Negative Form

Singular is + verb + -ing is + not + verb + -ing
Plural are + verb + -ing are + not + verb + -ing
I am + verb + -ing am + not + verb + -ing
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5. Past Continuous Tense

The past continuous tense is used to:
❖ Describe an action going on at a specific time in the past.

a. Malik was reading the newspaper this morning.
b. The boys were watching television after dinner last night.
❖ Describe an action that was interrupted or happened in the middle of a continuous

activity.
a. The phone rang while I was sleeping.
b. The police arrived when the thieves were attacking the house owner.
REMINDER:
✓ The past continuous tense is written as below:

Singular was + verb + -ing was + not + verb + -ing
Plural were + verb + -ing were + not + verb + -ing
I was + verb + -ing was + not + verb + -ing
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6. Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect tense is used to:
❖ Describe past actions where no time is specified.

a. En. Nizam has gone to the library.
b. The operators have checked the shredder thoroughly.
❖ Describe completed actions in the immediate past but the exact time is not specified.
a. The dean has just walked in his office.
b. Our engineers have just left the meeting.
REMINDER:
✓ The present perfect tense is written as below:

Singular has + past participle has + not + past participle
Plural have + past participle have + not + past participle
I have + past participle have + not + past participle
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7. Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect tense is used to:
❖ Describe an action or activity which had been completed before another action or activity
(also in the past).
a. When we entered the meeting room, the chairperson had already arrived.
b. Before the day of the exam, Saliza had finished all her revisions.
❖ Describe an event that took place sometime ago.

a. The factory had been closed since 1980.
b. Steam train engines had not been used in Malaysia since the diesel engines were
introduced.
REMINDER:
✓ The past perfect tense is written as below:

Singular had + past participle had + not + past participle
Plural had + past participle had + not + past participle
I had + past participle had + not + past participle
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GRAMMAR NOTES MADAM ANNA

After this lesson, participants will be able to:

i. Identify the eight parts of speech in English

❖ Common nouns refer to anyone of a class of people, places, animals or objects.

Examples: technician, photographer, library, supermarket, butterfly, bear, carpet, lorry

❖ Uncountable nouns are nouns that cannot be counted.

Definition: Pronouns are used to replace a noun.

❖ Subject pronouns ( I, he, she, it, we, you, they )

a. Encik Razak is my neighbour. He lives at Bukit Perdana.

c. UTeM is situated in Melaka. It is the first technical university is Malaysia.

Subject Pronouns Object Pronouns

❖ Possessive pronouns show that something belongs to somebody or something else.

Singular Possessive Plural Possessive

b. The t-shirt belongs to you.

c. Chong has a bicycle.

d. The vase belongs to Puan Rohana.

e. The land belongs to us.

f. This company belongs to Hana and Hani.

g. The cat is licking its tail.

For people (who, whose, whom)

b. Zabidi bought a motorcycle.

c. The lady is my boss.

d. This is Mr. Rama.

Subject Pronouns Relative Pronouns

Definition: Verbs are used to describe an action.

Subject Present Past

Subject Present Past

a. Safiah has a big house.

Subject Present Past

a. Masri does her tasks.

Shamil washes the van

(Subject) (Transitive Verb) (Object)

a. The captain kicks the ball.

The man eats hungrily

(Subject) (Intransitive Verb) (Object)

a. The bell rings.

Definition: Adjectives are words that describe nouns.

❖ Regular adjectives ( -er, est) / (more, most)

❖ Adjectives of Quantity describe the amount or number of things.

❖ Distributive Adjectives are used to show amount.

Adverbs can be formed from adjectives by adding – ly.

❖ Adverbs of time describe when an action is done.

❖ Adverbs of frequency describe how often an action is done.

❖ Adverbs of place describe where an action is done.

❖ Adverbs of degree describe to what extent of something.

❖ Interrogative Adverbs (where, when) are used to begin a question.

a. The family reached home after midnight.

❖ Prepositions of movement/direction tell where someone or something is moving to.

Definition: Conjunctions are used to join two ideas.

❖ To show similarities (and, both, as well as, too, besides, also)

❖ To show difference/contrast (but, however, although, whereas, unlike, while)

❖ To show cause/reason (because, as, since)

❖ To show choice (or, either…or, neither…nor)

❖ To show result (so, therefore, consequently)

❖ To show time (until, when)

a. Wow! Lisa is looking gorgeous.

After this lesson, participants will be able to:

❖ Identify the functions of present, past and future tenses

1. Simple Present Tense