Basic English the Mikie Metric Way 3

Lesson 3: Grammar Terms and Sentence Parts

What is GRAMMAR?  Grammar is the set of rules for using a language. 

What is a SENTENCE?  A sentence is a group of words that express a complete thought or idea.  A sentence always begins with a CAPITAL letter and ends with a Period ( . ), a Question mark ( ? ) or an Exclamation point ( ! ).

SENTENCE PARTS

Every sentence has two main parts: a SUBJECT, and a PREDICATE.

SUBJECTS		PREDICATES
I	He	fell.	is lazy.
The boy	Those dogs	kicked the ball.	chased the mailman away.
All the women	Six white horses and four black ones	went to the store and bought new gloves.	pulled the carts into town and around the square.

By looking at the examples above, can you tell what a Subject and a Predicate are?

Subject:  Who or what a sentence is about; who or what does something in a sentence; any words that tell about  or describe the main subject.

Predicate:  What happens in a sentence; who or what it happens to; words that tell when, where, why or how the action happens; words that describe  who or what  the action happens to.

NOTE: There are words called Linking Verbs that are always part of the Predicate but  do not show any action.  The most common ones are AM, IS, ARE, WAS, WERE, BE, BEING, BEEN.  They tell about the existence of something or someone, not what  someone or  something does.  They are called Linking Verbs because they link the subject to a word or words in the predicate that mean the same as the subject or that describe the subject.  To learn more about Linking Verbs, click HERE.

What are Subjects made of?

ARTICLES	ADJECTIVES	NOUNS	PRONOUNS	PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
a, an	large, small, tiny	man, boy, woman	I, you, we	of the family
the	green, yellow, blue	horse, dog, cat	he, she, it	in the choir
	old, young, ancient	building, tree, road	they	with a long beard
	this, that, these, those	truck, car, bicycle	who, which, what	from the office staff
	one, five, twenty	happiness, sadness	this, that, these, those	on the corner
	naked, wealthy, tired	freedom, slavery	one, anyone, nobody	without a spare tire

 Articles:  Point out nouns; signal that a noun is close ahead in a sentence.  Nouns can be used without an article, but articles can never be used without a noun.

Adjectives: Describe nouns.  They tell what kind, which one, how many, what size, what color a noun is.

Nouns:  Any word that names something is a noun.  The name of a person, a place, a thing, an idea, an emotion, or an activity is a noun.  If it is a particular person, place or thing (George, New York, Cadillac), it is a Proper Noun and must be written with a capital letter.  If it is a general name (man, city, automobile), it is a common noun with no capital letter.

Pronouns:  Pronouns take the place of nouns when we write or speak. (Tom did not come to work today.  He was sick.)

Prepositional Phrases:  These small groups of words tell us which one or what kind the sentence is referring to.  (The building on the corner is tall.  Which building?  Not the one across the street or the one in the middle of the block, but the one "on the corner".)

Not all of these parts need to be in a subject, but all of them may be.  This is how, using parts from the box above... (predicates will be in parentheses ).

He (was sick.)

The man (was sick.)

The wealthy old man (was sick.)

That ancient yellow truck without a spare tire (drove down the street.)

The great sadness of the large family in the choir (depressed me.)

What are Predicates made of?

VERBS	ADVERBS	ARTICLES	ADJECTIVES	NOUNS	PRONOUNS	PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES
am, is, are	very, hardly	a	this, that	girl, boy, dog	me, you	in the back seat
was, were	quickly, slowly	an	these, those	river, car, fog	him, her	under the pine tree
go, went, come	now, then, here, there	the	one, five, many, few, several	concert, movie, play	us, them	between the pages, on the roof
run, jump, hide	where, everywhere		big, little, old, young, pretty	running, singing, day	anyone, someone	after the party, before dinner
like, have, take	when, until		blue, red, dirty, clean, disgusting	pity, cheer, deer	nobody, everybody	during the class, with difficulty

Verbs:  Words that describe or name an action; words that describe a state of being or existence.  Every predicate must have a verb.  Verbs also tell us when something happens or exists - in the past, the present or the future.

Adverbs:  Adverbs modify (add to the meaning of) verbs.  They describe when, where, why or how something happens.  Adverbs can also modify adjectives and other adverbs.

Pronouns:  Different  pronouns are used in the predicate than are used in the subject. Subject Pronouns do it and  Predicate Pronouns  receive it.  (Theygave the balls to them.  He showed the book to him.) 

Examples of Predicates.  (Subjects are in parentheses ).

(I) am sad.

(He) walked.

(He) slowly walked home.

(She) threw the ball.

(She) quickly threw the ball to her teammate.

Before halftime, (she) quickly threw the ball to her teammate.

Exercise A:  Draw a circle around the subjects and underline the predicates in the sentences below.

1. Yesterday, Harvey and Harriet took their children to the zoo.

2. The elephants, the lions, and all of the other animals were hungry.

3. The president of the bank looked everywhere for the combination to the vault.

4. They sat quietly.

5. The red race car with yellow stripes finished last in the race.

6. After his speech, the mayor shook hands with members of the crowd.

Exercise B:  Match a subject with a predicate from the boxes below and write the complete sentences on the lines.

Subjects	Predicates
(The dirty yellow cat)   ( We ) (Tom and his brother) (The taxi driver)  (Anna's elderly mother)  (The green tree snake)  (The detective in the gray raincoat)  (Seven rats)	(stood outside the hotel all night.)  (prowled through the dark alley.)  (lived in the attic last winter.)  (baked delicious apple pies.)  (were late yesterday.)  (sold used cars.)  (was from the Middle East.)  (waited patiently for his victim.)

1._______________________________________________________________________

2._______________________________________________________________________

3._______________________________________________________________________

4._______________________________________________________________________

5._______________________________________________________________________

6._______________________________________________________________________

7._______________________________________________________________________

8._______________________________________________________________________

Read more »

Posted in: Grammer , Learning English

Learn to Write English Clearly and Correctly

Lesson 10, N+LV+N and N+LV+Adj sentences: 'I am a teacher.'  'I am smart.'
These sentences consist of a Noun plus Linking Verb plus Noun or Adjective.  All of these terms have been defined and illustrated in earlier lessons, but to remind you:Nouns:

• words that name a person, place, object, an idea, a feeling
• words with which you can use the, a, an, this, that, or counting words
• words that tell who or what a sentence is about, who or what does something or is something

Words that can act like nouns in a sentence:

• verbs with -ing endings (gerunds) such as running, eating, quitting - they are the names of activities.
• gerund phrases such as going to school, riding my bicycle, dropping the football.
• Infinitive phrases such as to sit, to fix my car, to catch fish also name activities.

Running is my favorite activity.	Stopping the bus was almost impossible.
Eating was the cause of my weight gain.	To sit for a long time is difficult for some children.
Going to school is a real problem for me.	To fix my car was the purpose for taking the class.

    In each of these examples, the -ing verb, the gerund phrase, or the infinitive phrase (to + verb + object noun) was acting as the subject of the sentence.
Linking Verb (see Lesson 5):  These connect a subject noun with a predicate noun that means the same thing or with a predicate adjective that describes the subject.  Example: The man was a lawyer.  man = lawyer.  The lawyer is dishonest.  dishonest describes lawyer. The most common Linking Verbs are:am, is, are, was, were, be, been, become, seem, look.
Look at the sentences in the box.  running and activity are the same thing linked together by is.  To test that idea, reverse the nouns to see if the sentence still makes sense.  My favorite activity is running.  Yes, it does.  The same is true with the next sentence - The cause of my weight gain was eating.  This should work for most,  if not all, N+LV+N sentences.
The situation is a little different with N+LV+Adj sentences.  These usually cannot be reversed and still make sense.  (Almost impossible was stopping the bus.  This is not a good sentence.)  Notice, however, that the phrase 'almost impossible' describes the subject  'stopping the bus', and the Linking Verb 'was' joins those thoughts together.Adjectives: words that modify or describe nouns.  They tell which one, what kind, how large or small, what color, how many.  In the sentence "To sit for a long time  is difficult for some children."  , the adjective 'difficult' describes what it is like 'To sit for a long time'.  The subject and the description are linked by the verb 'is'.



Exercise A: Read the following sentences and label  the basic parts with N, LV, or Adj.

• Examples:

N	LV	N	Adj.
Going to school	is	a problem		for me.
To fly a helicopter	can be		difficult.
Jogging	was	(good) exercise.
Mike	seems		(very) lazy.

1. Mr. Smith has been a teacher for twenty years.
2. Falling down on the ice was my biggest worry.
3. That large black horse appears quite healthy.
4. All last week, those ten students were hall monitors for the school.
5. I am sick.
Exercise B: Change the following sentences from N+LV+N to N+LV+Adj or from N+LV+Adj. to N+LV+N.  Example:  James is my father. becomes James is six feet tall.  and  My dog was vicious. becomes  My dog was a good guard.
1. Jim's brother had been a fine policeman.
_________________________________________________________________
2. Janet was really angry.
_________________________________________________________________
3. Driving a truck was my occupation.
_________________________________________________________________
4. To find a parking place in New York is a challenge.
_________________________________________________________________
5. Koalas are very cute.
_________________________________________________________________
6. Jack and his friend were totally obnoxious.

____________________________________________________________________________________

Exercise C: Choose linking verbs from the list and use them to complete the sentences below.  After you use a verb, cross it out.  Do not use it again.  There will be some verbs left over.

am	is	was	were	can be	will be	are
appear	seem	look	seemed	appeared	looked	looks
seems	appears	should be	could be	might be	has been	had been
have been	become	became	becomes	have become	had seemed	will appear

1. The chicken and the donkey ___________ great friends.
2. Arthur ___________ the country's worst magician.
3. Drinking too much beer ______________ rather stupid.
4. We ______________ deathly ill on the cruise.
5. The seventeen sailors on shore leave _______________ residents of the brig later.
6. Three tiny fish ______________ our total catch.
7. Mrs. Moroni _______________ pale and sickly.
8. That handsome television star _______________ my neighbor.
9. To ride a hot-air balloon ________________ my secret desire.
10. My mother ______________ very forgetful.
Examination:  Fill in the missing parts in the following sentences.  Use your imagination, but be sure your answers agree with the N+LV+N or N+LN+Adj. patterns.
1. _________________ have been enemies since childhood.
2. Rattlesnakes are ____________________________________.
3. Green beans ______________________ my favorite vegetable.
4. ____________________ will be __________________________.
5. Nurses and doctors __________________________________________.
6. ________________________________ pink and yellow with green stripes.
7. Tom's younger brother _______________________ his best man.
8. Yesterday, the little girl seemed __________________________________.
9. ______________________________ could become vice-president.
10. ________________________ were _____________________________.

-The End-

Read more »

Posted in: Grammer , Learning English

Basic English the Mikie Metric Way 2

Lesson 2:  Basic Survival Sentences

I want __(something)  .  

I want a pizza.	I want a job.	I want an aspirin.	I want a new car.
I want a drink.	I want an orange.	I want some change.	I want a room.
I want the newspaper.	I want some water.	I want some gas.	I want the telephone.

Notice the Articles - A, AN, THE - and the adjective SOME.  They all point out nouns. 

• A is used before words that begin with a consonant sound.  It refers to any one of a group of things.  "A pizza" means one of the pizzas in the shop: not a particular one. 
• AN is used before words that begin with a vowel sound.  It also refers to any one of a group of things.  "An aspirin" means one of the aspirins in the bottle or medicine cabinet, but no special one.
• THE refers to a particular something: "I want the newspaper."  usually means today's newspaper or the most recent one. It could also mean the only newspaper in the room or the one on the table.
• SOME  means an indefinite amount of the noun it refers to.  "some water" could mean a glass of water, half a glass of water, or a bucket of water.  The exact meaning would be different in different situations.

I need   (something)  .

I need a drink.	I need a job.	I need a new car.	I need a hug.
I need an aspirin.	I need an umbrella.	I need an overcoat.	I need an envelope.
I need some gas.	I need some change.	I need some milk.	I need some help.
I need the screwdriver.	I need the phone book.	I need the newspaper.	I need the answer.

I have   (something)  . 

I have a headache.	I have a toothache.	I have a stomach ache.	I have the newspaper.
I have the time.	I have two sisters.	I have an apartment.	I have a good job.
I have an idea.	I have an apple.	I have some coffee.	I have some friends.

In the place of the articles (A, AN, THE), you can often use numbers or amount words:  "I have a lot of time."  "I have little time." "I have a cup of coffee."  "I have two friends."  "I need 5 gallons of gas."  "I need three envelopes." "I want two aspirins."

I want to   (+ verb) .  This form talks about an action I wish to take but is not necessary.

I want to go home.	I want to stay home.	I want to work.	I want to sleep.
I want to drive.	I want to write a letter.	I want to change shoes.	I want to help.

I need to   (+ verb)  .  This form is used for an action that is necessary or important to take.

I need to sleep.	I need to exercise.	I need to wake up.	I need to buy milk.
I need to go shopping.	I need to study.	I need to pay bills.	I need to drive slowly.

I have to   (+ verb) + .  This form is to talk about an action I am obligated to do - very important.

I have to rest.	I have to work.	I have to eat.	I have to visit Mother.
I have to take a test.	I have to pay my rent.	I have to fix my car.	I have to finish this job.

Excersise

Exercise A:  Complete the following sentences with I want,  I need, or I have. 

1. ____________ some cherry pie.	4. _____________ a lawyer.	7. ____________ an ice cream cone.
2. _____________ new tires for my car.	5. _____________ film for my camera.	8. ____________ a wife and two kids.
3. ____________ some cold medicine.	6. ____________ too many bills.	9. ____________ a vacation.

Exercise B: Complete the following sentences with I want, I have, I need.

1. ___________ to go swimming.	4. ___________ to polish my shoes.	7. ___________ to mow the grass.
2. ___________ to buy groceries.	5. ___________ to watch a movie.	8. ___________ to play basketball.
3. ___________ to attend school.	6. ___________ to pay my taxes.	9. ___________ to learn English.

Read more »

Posted in: Grammer , Learning English

Basic English the Mikie Metric Way 1

Introduction:  The eight (8) Basic English lessons will help you learn such topics as Basic Sentence Structure, Making Questions, Giving Information About Yourself, Using Pronouns Correctly and How to Tell People What You Want or Have or Need.  Exercises and Answers follow each lesson.    If you have a question about any of the lessons or about English in general, please send us an e-mail.  We answer all questions.Just for fun, visit this page: Fun With English 



Lesson 1: Learning to talk about yourself.
I = the word used to talk about myself.   I am Mr. G.  I am a man.  I am fuzzy.  I am smiling. 
am = a form of the verb "to be" used only with I.
(Note: In spoken English, "I" and "am" are often joined to form a "contraction" that looks like this in writing - "I'm" - and rhymes with words like "time" and "lime".)
I am + adjective. An adjective tells who I am, what kind of person I am, what I look like, how I feel.

I am tall.	I am awake.	I am sleepy.		I am tired.	I am hungry.	I am dirty.		I am pretty.
I am English.	I am afraid.	I am short.		I am fat.	I am thin.	I am happy.		I am smart.
I am French.	I am young.	I am rich.		I am sick.	I am healthy.	I am single.		I am quiet.
I am Italian.	I am sad.	I am old.		I am angry.	I am poor.	I am clean.		I am noisy.
I am married.	I am American.		I am unemployed.		I am confused.		I am Iraqi.

page break

I am + -ing verb.  This sentence tells what I am doing at this moment.  "I am writing this lesson now."

I am eating.	I am sleeping.	I am working.	I am crying.	I am walking.
I am shopping.	I am driving.	I am babysitting.	I am watching tv.	I am writing.

page break

I am + article + noun. Articles are little words that point out Nouns.  They tell us that there will be a Noun ahead in the sentence.   Articles are A, AN, THE.  Nouns are words that name a person, a place, a thing, an idea, a feeling or an action.  Any word we use to name something is a Noun.

THE is used to point out a definite noun, the only one of its kind, a special one.

Example: "I am the driver"  In this group, I am the only one who can drive or who is responsible for driving. 

Example: If I say "I am the doctor.", I mean that I am the only doctor here on this case or in this situation.

I am the teacher.	I am the boss.	I am the janitor.	I am the cook.	I am the driver.
I am the supervisor.	I am the mailman.	I am the doctor.	I am the president.	I am the owner.

page break

A and AN are used with singular nouns.  A and AN mean the same thing, but they are used in different situations.  AN is used before words that begin with a Vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u) .  A is used before words that begin with a consonant sound (all the other letters). This is to make it easier to pronounce the Article and the Noun together.   A and AN refer to one of a group of similar things - not a special one or a particular one, just one of them.

Example: "I am a driver."  There are other drivers; I am just one of them.

Example:   If I say "I am a doctor.", I mean that I am not the only doctor;  I am just one of them, a member of the medical profession.

I am a salesman.	I am a boxer.	I am a gambler.	I am a mother.	I am a Muslim.
I am an organ-player.	I am an undertaker.	I am an ice skater.	I am an angel.	I am an elephant.

page break

A,  AN and THE must come before the noun they point out, but there can be other describing words between them and the Noun.  Remember, use A before words beginning with a consonant (a boy, a dog) and AN before words beginning with a vowel (an ugly boy, an old dog).

I am the only doctor.	I am the school janitor.	I am the main man.	I am the boy's father.
I am a good doctor.	I am a careful janitor.	I am a tall man.	I am a young father.
I am an awful doctor.	I am an honest janitor.	I am an old man.	I am an angry father.

With these models, you can say just about anything you want about yourself.   

I am + Adjective.

I am + Article + Noun.

I am + -ing Verb.

Exercise A: Use words from the box below to complete the following sentences.

good, carpenter, happy, mechanic, dirty, eating, singer, driver, single, married, horse, pizza, diving,  funny, doctor, unemployed, tall, old, sick, honest, teacher, woman, battleship, choking, proud, cook, running, decent

1. I am ____________________________.	4. I am _____________________________.
2. I am ____________________________.	5. I am _____________________________.
3. I am ____________________________.	6. I am _____________________________.

Exercise B: Use words from the box above to complete the following sentences.

1. I am a ____________________________.	5. I am an _________________________________.
2. I am the _____________________________.	6. I am the _________________________________.
3. I am a ______________________________.	7. I am a ___________________________________.
4. I am an ______________________________.	8. I am the _________________________________.

Read more »

Posted in: Grammer , Learning English