Basic English the Mikie Metric Way 5

Lesson 5, Using Personal Pronouns

The term PERSON in English means who a sentence is about or who is doing something in a sentence.  Most of the time, we know this by which pronoun is used or could be used.  FIRST PERSON is always yourself; SECOND PERSON is the one or ones you are speaking to; THIRD PERSON is who we are speaking about. " I (first person) asked you (second person) to invite them (third person) to the party."

PRONOUNS:

PERSON	1st Singular	2nd Singular	3rd Singular	1st Plural	2nd Plural	3rd Plural
SUBJECT	I	you	he, she, it	we	you	they
OBJECT	me	you	him, her, it	us	you	them

A PRONOUN is a word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence when the noun has already been used earlier,  when the speakers know who is being spoken about, or when people are speaking directly to each other.  The following sentences will useSubject Pronouns, which are used as the subjects of sentences.

First sentence, using a noun.	Second sentence - using a pronoun.	which noun = which pronoun
My name is Mr. Smith.	I am your new teacher.	Mr. Smith = I
Stand up, John.	Will you please read the first line.	John = you
Mr. Smith is the new teacher.	He teaches math.	Mr. Smith = He
Mrs. Roberts teaches Social Studies.	She will also teach music.	Mrs. Roberts = she
Frank swung the bat very hard.	It broke when he hit a home run.	bat = it,  Frank  = he
My brother and I played golf all day.	We did not keep score.	brother and I = we.
OK, Class.  Sit down now.	Did you finish the homework?	class = you
Ten girls wore new dresses.	They looked very nice.	girls = they

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The next group of sentences will demonstrate Object Pronouns which act as direct objects (receive the action), indirect objects (receive something), or as objects of a preposition ( to, of, from, by, with, after, etc.).

First sentence, using a noun.	Second sentence, using a pronoun.	which noun = which pronoun
A mother says to a small child "Come to Mommy."	Then she says, "Give me a big hug."	Mommy = me
"Mary, here are the test grades."	"I gave you a C on the test."	Mary = you
Martha sent Uncle Jim a letter.	Martha sent him photos, also.	Uncle Jim = him
Uncle Jim sent Martha a letter, too.	Uncle Jim returned the photos to her.	Martha = her
Pete dug a deep hole in the yard.	Pete filled it with water.	hole = it
There were free tickets for Larry, Moe and me.	The coach sent the tickets to us.	Larry, Moe and me = us
The boss said, "I need extra help this weekend, Mike and Joe."	"I will pay you overtime for it."	Mike and Joe = you
The coach gave new uniforms to the players.	He gave new hats to them, also.	players = them
Notice that YOU and IT are the same in the Subject and the Object forms.

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There are special forms of these pronouns to show ownership.  They are called Possessive Pronouns.  The form used with a noun is sometimes called a Possessive Adjective because it modifies, or gives information about, the noun: my, your, our, his, her, their.

PERSON	1st Singular	2nd Singular	3rd Singular	1st Plural	2nd Plural	3rd Plural
SUBJECT	I	you	he, she, it	we	you	they
OBJECT	me	you	him, her, it	us	you	them
POSSESSIVE	my, mine	your, yours	his, her, hers, its	our, ours	your, yours	their, theirs

• That book belongs to me.  The book is mine.  It is my book.
• Does that book belong to you?  Is that book yours?  Is it your book?
• That book belongs to him.  Is that book his?  Is it his book?
• That old car belongs to Mrs. Potter.   Is that old car hers.  Is it her car?
• Those fleas belong to the neighbor's dog.  Those fleas are its.  They are its fleas.
• The apartment belongs to Pamela and me.  The apartment  is ours.  It is our apartment.
• Do these backpacks belong to all of the class?  Are those backpacks yours?  Are they your backpacks?
• Does that tent belong to the Boy Scouts?  Is that tent theirs?  Is that their tent?

Note:  Possessive Pronouns come in two different forms: one form must be used with the noun it possesses - MY, YOUR, HIS, HER, ITS, OUR, THEIR.  The other form takes the place of the noun and can stand on its own: MINE, YOURS, HIS, HERS, ITS, OURS, THEIRS.  Two of these are the same in both cases - HIS and ITS.  

The topic of Pronouns is much larger and more complicated than we have demonstrated here.  There are Compound Personal Pronouns, Interrogative Pronouns, Indefinite Pronouns, Demonstrative Pronouns and Relative Pronouns, but they will be covered in other lessons.

Exercise A:  Circle the pronouns in the following sentences.

1. Fred let his brother use a bicycle that was mine.	5. We have to leave, so give our seats to them.
2. Did you remember to bring that new pencil of yours?	6. I hate to be the one to tell you, but he is married.
3. With a brain like mine and talent like yours, we would starve.	7. A sister of theirs wanted to go on the hike with us.
4. She told us that we were late for the party.	8. I said that she told him to leave us alone.

Exercise B: Circle the correct pronouns in the following sentences.

1. (I, Me, My) wish (we, us, our) did not have to use (we, us, our) car for the trip to (you, your, yours) reunion.

2. Miss Williams gave (we, us, our) (we, us, our) test grades Friday before (we, us, our) left school.

3. All the secretaries brought (they, them, their) lunches in paper bags and ate (they, them, their) at (they, them, their) desks.

4. (I, Me, My) dog is a better hunter than (you, your) dog, isn't (he, she, it).

5. Thomas brought (he, him, his) brother with (he, him, his) to the school picnic.

6. Jane brought (she, her) sister with (she, her), also.

7. (I, Me, My) thanked (them, they, their) for (they, them, their) wonderful care of (I, me, my) while (I, me, my) was in the hospital.

8. The dog chased (it, its) tail but never caught (it, its).

9. (They, Them, Their) car nearly ran into (we, us, our), but (we, us, our) never called the police.

10. Should (we, us, our) do (we, us, our) homework at (my, mine, me) house or at (you, your, yours) ? Answers to Exercises, Lesson 5 Exercise A: 1. his, mine 3. mine, yours, we 5. We,  our, them 7. theirs, us 2. you, yours 4. She, us, we, 6. I, you, he 8. I, she, him, us Exercise B:  correct answers given 1. I wish we did not have to use our car for the trip to your reunion.   2. Miss Williams gave us our test grades Friday before we left school.   3. All the secretaries brought their lunches in paper bags and ate them at their desks.   4. My dog is a better hunter than yours, isn't it.   5. Thomas brought his brother with him to the school picnic.   6. Jane brought her sister with her, also.   7. I thanked them for their wonderful care of me while I was in the hospital.   8. The dog chased its tail but never caught it.   9. Their car nearly ran into us, but we never called the police.   10. Should we do our homework at my house or at yours?

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Posted in: Grammer , Learning English

Basic English the Mikie Metric Way 4

Lesson 4: Asking questions.

There are four main ways in English to form a question.     

• By making your voice rise at the end of a sentence.
• By beginning the sentence with a question word.
• By beginning the sentence with a form of DO.
• By placing the Linking Verb or Auxiliary Verb at the beginning of the sentence.

Rising voice method:  Any group of words you speak in English will sound like a question if you make the pitch of your voice rise at the end of the last word or on the last word.  Pitch means the musical quality of your voice, not the loudness.

This	is	your						dog	(question)
			dog	(statement)	This	is	your
The	man	is						sick	(question)
			sick	(statement)	The	man	is

Since we cannot hear the rise or fall of a voice when we read written words, we have to rely on written symbols to tells us what the words mean.  These symbols, called PUNCTUATION, are  traffic signs for written language.  The example sentences above would be written like this:

• This is your dog. (statement)   This is your dog?  (question)
• The man is sick.  (statement)  The man is sick?   (question)

A period ( . ) at the end of a sentence tells us that the thought is finished and that the pitch of our voice  should fall on the last word if we read that sentence aloud.  This type of sentence is called a Statement or a Declarative Sentence and is used to give information.

A question mark ( ? ) at the end of a sentence tells us that the thought is finished and that the pitch of our voice should rise on the last word if we read the sentence aloud.  This type of sentence is called a Question or an Interrogative Sentence  and is used to seek or request information.

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Usually, when you  raise the pitch of your voice on the last word to ask a question, you also  reverse the first two words of the sentence,  placing the linking verb (am, is, are, was, were) at the beginning.

• You are tired.  (statement)    Are you tired?  (question)
• There is too much salt in the potatoes.  (statement)  Is there too much salt in the potatoes?  (question)
• I am the last one in line.  (statement)   Am I the last one in line?  (question)

If the verb in the sentence is an action verb, you form a question by placing a form of the verb DO at the beginning of the sentence - DO, DOES or DID and raise the pitch of your voice on the last word.

1. You have a nice car.  (statement)	1. Do you have a nice car?  (question)
2. Mary takes a nap every day.  (statement)	2. Does Mary take a nap every day?  (question)
3. Tom rode his bicycle to school.  (statement)	3. Did Tom ride his bike to school?  (question)

NOTE:  When you add DO to a sentence to form a question, it takes over the jobs of agreeing with the subject and of telling us when the action takes place. 

• The verb have   in sentence 1 is in the Present Tense; therefore, the verb DO in question 1 is also in the Present Tense. 
• The verb takes  ends with an S to go along with the subject Mary  (I take, you take, he takes, she takes, etc.); therefore, you must use Third Person Singular (the S form) of DO, which is DOES, in the question.  Take goes back to the simple present form.
• The verb rode  in sentence 3 is in the Past Tense; therefore, you must use DID (the Past Tense of DO) in the question. The original verb, rode, changes back to the simple present form, ride.  English only needs one verb in a sentence to show the tense and to agree with the subject.

More examples:

1. Henry paints the house carefully.  (statement)	1. Does Henry paint the house carefully?  (question)
2. They went to the theater last night.  (statement)	2. Did they go to the theater last night?  (question)
3. I play the piano well.  (statement)	3. Do I play the piano well?  (question)
4. Everyone enjoyed the concert.  (statement)	4. Did everyone enjoy the concert?  (question)

• paints = Third Person Singular in the statement.   Does = Third Person Singular in the question.  paints becomes paint.
• went = Past Tense in the statement.  Did = Past Tense in the question.  went changes to go.
• play = Simple Present Tense in the statement.  Do = Simple Present Tense in the question.  play does not change.
• enjoyed = Past Tense in the statement.  Did = Past Tense in the question.  enjoyed changes to enjoy.

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Reversing Auxiliary Verbs to Form a Question:

When a statement contains a two-part verb ( have gone, will sing, can ride, had thought), the first part is an auxiliary verb or helping verb.  To form a question with a two-part verb, the auxiliary verb is placed at the beginning of the sentence.  The pitch of your voice also rises on the last word.

1. Laura has gone to the store.  (statement)	1. Has Laura gone to the store?  (question)
2. The old garbage truck had crashed into the wall.	2. Had the old garbage truck crashed into the wall?
3. The ball in Times Square will fall at midnight.	3. Will the ball in Times Square fall at midnight?
4. Gene can play the guitar.  (statement)	4. Can Gene play the guitar?  (question)

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Making Questions with Question Words:

When you begin a sentence with WHERE, WHEN, WHY, WHAT, HOW, WHO or WHICH,  it almost always signals that a question is coming.  It is not always necessary to raise the pitch of your voice on the last word if the question begins with one of those QUESTION WORDS, because they alone tell the listener to expect a question. 

NOTE: An exception is when the words WHAT or HOW introduce an exclamation.  "What a beautiful day it is!"  "How terrible the storm was!"  The double clues - the pitch of the speaker's voice falling on the last words and the verbs coming at the end of the sentences - tell us that these are not questions in spite of their beginning with WHAT or HOW.

1. What time is it?  [voice can rise (^) or fall (v) at the end]	5. How much is that doggie in the window?  ^or  v
2. Where are you going?  ^or v	6. What kind of fool do you think I am?  ^or  v
3. Why are the police coming?  ^or  v	7. Which dogs were chasing the car?  ^or  v
4. How did the accident happen?  ^or  v	8. Who broke the window?  ^or  v

Exercise A:  Put the correct punctuation marks at the end of the following sentences. 

1. The little boy ran to school	6. Will you have your homework done on time
2. When does the movie start	7. Pete can help you with it
3. There are twelve cups of sugar in the fudge	8. Does Pete understand the lesson
4. How much sugar is there in the fudge	9. Where did you put your school books
5. Are there really twelve cups of sugar in it	10. What a horrible lesson that was

Exercise B: Change the following statements to questions using any of the methods explained in the lesson.

Statements	Questions
1. John was president of his class.	1.
2. The brown pony trotted along the path.	2.
3. All the books are on the top shelf.	3.
4. Michael can climb the wobbly ladder.	4.
5. The clerk tried to reach the books.	5.
6. Ruth decided she wanted those red flowers.	6.

Exercise C:  Make up questions that would get you the information found in the following statements.  Examples:  The red flowers were in a vase.  =  "What color were the flowers in the vase?"  "Where were the red flowers?"  "What was in the vase?"

1. The play starts at eight o'clock.	1.
2. Jack took his sons to the ball game.	2.
3. Martha likes the red convertible, not the blue one.	3.
4. Most students enter the school by the main doors.	4.
5. The carpenter needed twenty nails to finish the job.	5.

Answers to Basic English Lesson 4:

Exercise A: Put the correct punctuation marks at the end of the following sentences.

1. The little boy ran to school.	6. Will you have your homework done on time?
2. When does the movie start?	7. Pete can help you with it.
3. There are twelve cups of sugar in the fudge.	8. Does Pete understand the lesson?
4. How much sugar is there in the fudge?	9. Where did you put your school books?
5. Are there actually twelve cups of sugar in it?	10. What a horrible lesson that was!

Exercise B: Change the following statements to questions using any of the methods explained in  Lesson 4.

1. John was president of his class.	1. Was John president of his class?
2. The brown pony trotted along the path.	2. Did the brown pony trot along the path?
3. All the books are on the top shelf.	3. Are all the books on the top shelf?
4. Michael can climb the wobbly ladder.	4. Can Michael climb the wobbly ladder?
5. The clerk tried to reach the books.	5. Did the clerk try to reach the books?
6. Ruth decided she wanted those red flowers.	6. Did Ruth decide she wanted those red flowers?

Exercise C: Make up questions that would get you the information found in the following statements.  Your answers may vary.  Here are some good possibilities.

1. The play starts at eight o'clock.	1. What time does the play start?  When does the play start?  What starts at eight o'clock?
2. Jack took his sons to the ball game.	2. Who did Jack take to the ball game?  Who took Jack's sons to the ball game?  Where did Jack take his sons?
3. Martha likes the red convertible, not the blue one.	3. Which convertible does Martha like?  Who likes the red convertible?  How many convertibles are there?
4. Most students enter the school by the main doors.	4. Who enters the school by the main doors?  How do most students enter the school?  What do most students enter by the main doors?
5. The carpenter needed twenty nails to finish the job.	5. Who needed twenty nails to finish the job? How many nails did the carpenter need to finish the job?  What did the carpenter need to finish the job?  Why did the carpenter need twenty nails?

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Posted in: Grammer , Learning English

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._______________________________________________________________________

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Posted in: Grammer , Learning English