تبیان، دستیار زندگی

The first lesson begins with a review of some of the basics you need to improve your English grammar. We begin with a brush-up guide to grammar terminology provided to help you understand all the grammar instruction in the course. If you find this sheet difficult, don"t worry! The next part of this lesson reviews the present simple and continuous tenses (something I"m sure you"ve already studied!) and finishes with a review of pronouns and definite and indefinite articles.

Grammar Terminology Reference

Understanding grammar terminology is necessary to follow grammar instruction. This is especially true in upper level ESL and EFL classes. This understanding is sometimes taken for granted and students who are not familiar with this terminology can have a hard time following the lesson. In order to help with this problem, this feature presents an extract with a follow-up guide giving examples of the most important terminology. By quickly reviewing this reference sheet, you can quickly brush-up your or your class" understanding of key grammar terminology, while at the same time reviewing some basic grammar concepts.

Each grammar terminology reference is presented in bold followed by a number. Explanations of these reference numbers follow at the end of the extract.

Extract: Frank Sinatra"s Sublimely Ironic Crooning Style
Frank Sinatra (1) was one of the (2) most important representatives of the "crooning" style of singing. When played in the background (3), this style of singing stirs an extremely emotional response. (4) However (5), on closer listening, Frank Sinatra"s sublime (6) artistry not only triggers this emotional response, but (7) also brings about a sly smile as the listener recognizes the subtler ironies of his (8) delivery.
It is this (9) often unique presentation which (10) calls for repeated listening. (11) Indeed, (12) Sinatra"s perfect (13) mastery of vocal colors rewards careful listening with many surprises! (14) It can be rather (15) surprising to detect this ironic quality while Sinatra declares his love during one of his ballads.

What was the secret to Sinatra"s depth of expression? (16) As my friend Jack told me, " (17) Sinatra"s style may have been as smooth as silk on the surface, but it also carried the scars left by a life lived to the fullest." (17)

Terminology
1Capital letter - use capital letters:

to begin sentences -
"with the first person subject pronoun "I -
for all proper nouns including names, days of the week, month, names of institutions, etc. -
(nationality adjectives (i.e., Italian-
for the first letter in direct speech -

2Determiner: type - definite article
3Subordinate clause - cannot stand alone
4Main clause - can stand alone
5Connective adverb - other examples include: firstly, finally, etc
6Adjective - modifying following noun
7Connective conjunction - other examples include: and, or, etc
(8Determiner: type - possessive adjective (also known as possessive pronoun
(9Determiner: type - demonstrative adjective (including this, that, these, those
10Connective: relative pronoun
(11Period (US English), full stop (British English
12Comma
13Ungradable adjective - these adjectives are already "very" (Example: "wonderful" means "very good". These adjectives can only be used with "extreme" modifiers like absolutely, (.extremely, etc
14Exclamation mark - used for emphasis
15Modifier - adverb. Other examples include: pretty, very, quite, etc
16Question mark - used when asking questions
17Quotation marks - used when employing direct speech

Present Simple
Listed below are uses with examples, and the structure of the present simple tense.

Permanent or long-lasting situations

Where do you work?
The store opens at 9 o"clock.
She lives in New York.

Regular habits and daily routines

I usually get up at 7 o"clock.
She doesn"t often go to the cinema.
When do they usually have lunch?

Facts

The Earth revolves around the Sun.
What does "strange" mean?
Water doesn"t boil at 20 degrees.

Feelings

I love walking around late at night during the summer.
She hates flying!
What do you like? I don"t want to live in Texas.

Opinions and states of mind

He doesn"t agree with you.
I think he is a wonderful student.
What do you consider your best accomplishment?

Timetables and schedules

The plane leaves at 4 p.m.
When do courses begin this semester?
The train doesn"t arrive until 10.35.

Common present time expressions include:

usually, always, often, sometimes, on Saturdays, at weekends (on weekends US English), rarely, on occasion, never, seldom

Structure

Positive

In the positive form add an "s" to the base form of the 3rd person singular. If the verb ends in -y preceded by a consonant, change the -y to -ies.

I, You, We, They -> eat lunch at noon.

He, She, It -> works well in any situation.

Negative

Conjugate the helping verb "do" not (don"t and doesn"t) the base form of the verb to make negatives.

I, You, We, They -> don"t enjoy opera.

He, She, It -> doesn"t belong to the club.

Questions

Conjugate the helping verb "do" (do or does) the base form of the verb in question forms.

Do -> I, you, we, they -> work in this town?

Does -> he, she, it -> live in this city?

Here is the most important English rule: Almost every rule is about 90% valid!

What?!

Yes, I"m afraid it"s true. It is certainly one of the most frustrating things about learning English. All that hard work to learn the correct grammar and then you read or hear something like this:

Peter does want to come this summer. It"s just that he can"t get off work.

As an excellent student the first thought that comes into your mind is; wait a minute, that first sentence is a positive sentence. Does want can"t be correct. It should be; Peter wants to come this summer. Of course, according to what you have learned you are correct. However, in certain instances you can use both the auxiliary and principal verb together to form a positive sentence. We allow this exception to add extra emphasis. In other words:

Peter really wants to come this summer.

You all have plenty of great class, grammar, exercise, and work books that provide all the information necessary concerning the rules of English. I would therefore like to focus on the exceptions to those rules in my grammar features.
This feature will concern the various uses of and exceptions to the simple present.

You all know that we usually use the simple present to express:

1. Habitual actions
   
2. Opinions and preferences
   
3. Truths and facts
   

You also know that the standard construction is the following:

1. Positive: Tom goes to the beach on Saturdays
   
2. Negative: Mary doesn"t like to eat fish on Fridays.
   
3. Interrogative: Do they work in New York?
   

Here are some simple present exceptions/extra possibilities

In order to add stress to a positive sentence we can use the auxiliary verb "to do". We often use this exception when we are contradicting what someone else has said.

Example:

A: I don"t think Peter wants to come with us this summer. He told me that he wouldn"t be able to come, but I think he just doesn"t want to come with us.
B: No, that"s not true. Peter does want to come. It"s just that he has too much work and can"t get away from the office.

The simple present can also be used for the future!! We use the simple present to express future, scheduled, events with verbs that express beginning and end, or departure and arrival.

Example:

A: When does the train for Paris leave?
B: It leaves at 7 tomorrow morning.

We use the simple present in time clauses when talking about future events. The when is expressed with the simple present. The result is expressed with a future form, usually the future with will. Time clauses are introduced by time signifiers such as when, as soon as, before, after etc. The construction is the same as the first conditional except that we use a time signifier such as "as soon as" instead of "if".

Example:

A: When are you going to come and see the new house?
B: We will come as soon as we finish the Smith project.

We often use the simple present when we write time lines or biographical outlines - even if all the events take place in the past!

Example:

1911 - Pete Wilson is born in Seattle, Washington.
1918 - Pete begins to play the saxophone
1927 - Pete is discovered by Fat Man Wallace
1928 - Fat Man Wallace arranges Pete"s first concert with Big Fanny and the Boys in New York
1936 - Pete goes to Paris
Etc.

In the question form we usually use the auxiliary verb "to do". However, if the question word/words (usually who, which or what) express the subject and not the object of the sentence, the question is asked using positive sentence structure with a question mark. By the way, this is true of other tenses as well!

Example:

Regular: Who do you work with? (some people prefer "Whom do you work with?")
Exception: Who works with you?

Regular: Which toothpaste do you use?
Exception: Which brands of toothpaste use fluoride?

Time Words

Time words cause a great deal of confusion to English learners. Here are some exceptions concerning time words.

Adverbs of frequency such as regularly, usually, normally, always, often, sometimes, never etc. are generally put before the main verb. However, they can also be put at the beginning or end of a sentence.

Example:

Regular: John usually arrives home at 5 o"clock.
Also possible: Usually John arrives home at 5 o"clock OR John arrives home at 5 o"clock usually.

Note: some teachers do not consider the other possibilities correct! However, if you listen carefully to native speakers, you will also hear these forms used.

The verb "to be" also causes special problems. If the adverb of frequency is placed in the middle of the sentence (as is usually the case) it must follow the verb "to be".

Example:

Regular: Fred often eats in a bar and grill.
To be: Fred is often late to work.

This is one of the strangest uses of adverbs of frequency. Negative adverbs of frequency used in the initial position of a sentence must be followed by question word order! These adverbs include rarely, never, and seldom.

Example:

Regular: Patricia rarely finishes work before 7 p.m..
Initial placement: Seldom does John play volleyball.

The above exceptions are certainly not the only exceptions! However, they are some of the most common exceptions. I hope this discussion has helped you.