English 101: Relative Pronouns: Who/Whom, Which and That

Relative Pronouns are pronouns that introduce a relative clause. They relate to the word that they modify.

Who refers to people and the direct or indirect object form of who is whom.

Examples:

1. The woman who called her is her mother.
2. Juan is one of the students who went on strike.
3. To whom did you give my umbrella?
4. The professor with whom I studied Economics last month got married this morning.

Which refers to specific animals or things.

Examples:

1.The glass which you broke is mother's.
2. The car which you borrowed is not mine.

That refers to animals. things or persons as a class.

Examples:

1. This is the house that Jack built.
2. Is this the book that you wanted?

Practice Test

Supply the correct form of the relative pronoun in the following sentences.

1. Is this the doll ____ you made?
2. Mr. Cruz was the driver ______ drove the limousine.
3. To _____ did you give my pencil?
4. The boys _____ are in your class are intelligent students.
5. Was it Johnny _____ gave you these roses?
6. The movies _____ we watched this week were all good.
7. The boy with _____ you brought here last week was in hospital.
8. The dog ______ barked all night was Mrs. Castro's.
9. The lady with _____ you treated last nigh is my sister.
10. The candies _____ you sold us were all expired.

Answers:

English 101: Past Tense of Regular Verbs

Past tense of regular verbs is usually form by adding ed on their simple forms.

Examples:

cook ==> cooked
treat ==> treated
climb ==> climbed
work ==> worked

I worked yesterday.
You worked last Monday.
He worked last month.
She worked this morning.
They worked in the farm.
We worked hard.

Please note that regular verbs have the same form in all persons of the past tense.

Regular verbs ending in e have their past tense by adding d only.

Examples:

live ==> lived
advise ==> advised
love ==> loved

Regular verbs ending in y have their past tense by changing y to i and add ed.

Examples:

study ==> studied
carry ==> carried
pay ==> paid
fry ==> fried
try ==> tried

Practice Test:

Supply the past tense form of the verbs in parentheses:

1. Mario (listen) to the music of Madonna last night.
2. He (arrive) late for her Math class.
3. Nora (marry) her first love seven months ago.
4. John (study) his lessons seriously last semester.
5. We both (like) the movies last night.
6. They (paint) their house yellow.
7. The seminar (last) about three hours.
8. I (wait) almost four hours for Bernard.
9. Maria always (want) to learn Japanese.
10. Gertrude and I (watch) television until one in the morning.

Answers:

English 101: Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives modify nouns

Examples:

1. a big house
2. an open window

3. delicious apple
4. a beautiful lady
5. an honest student

Adverbs modify verbs. They tell us how we do something.

Examples:

1. They speak softly.
2. Maria dances beautifully.

3. He runs fast.
4. John wishes to stay in the Philippines permanently.
5. Cross the street safely.

We can form many adverbs by adding ly to an adjective.

Examples:

1. soft = softly
2. rapid = rapidly
3. serious = seriously
4. bad = badly
5. cheerful = cheerfully

However, some words can be used as either adjectives or adverbs without any changes in form.

Examples:

1. Tom is a hard worker. (as adjective).  Tom works hard. (as adverb)
2. Jessica is a late comer. (as adjective).  She is always late. (as adverb)

Practice Test:

Supply the correct form of the adjective or adverb.

slow   1.  Carina is a very __________ student.
easy    2. My grandma can do ________ exercise.
fast     3.  Mario walks ________.
beautiful  4. He plays the piano ____________.
hard    5.  Aida works very _______ in her new project.
complete 6. The teacher agrees with her students ___________.
permanent 7. They are holders of ____________ visas.
late  8. Father seldom comes _________.
quick.  9. Come _________.
low 10. Fe often gets ______ grades in Science.

Answers:

English 101: Good and Well

Good is an adjective. As such, it modifies a noun.

Examples:

1. Maria is a good dancer.
2. He is a good lawyer.
3. Mrs Cruz is a good teacher.

Well is usually used as an adverb.

Examples:

1. Thomas writes well.

2. Mr Santos teaches very well.
3. They dance well.

However, well is occasionally used as an adjective only when it means to be in good health.


Example:

1. Juan is sick but now he is well.
2. Don't come to school until you are well.
3. Don't worry. I am well.


Practice Test

Supply good or well in the following sentences.

1. Mrs Cruz is a ________ teacher. She teaches _________.
2. He speaks French _______.
3. They don't understand him _______ when  he speaks rapidly.
4. When you don't feel ________, take a nap.
5. These exercises are ________ for us.
6. Mrs Johnson was sick for a few days, but now she is _______again.
7. Her brother is also a ________ tennis player.
8. Today's weather is very _________.
9. This new pencil writes ________.
10. His parents congratulated him for his ________performance.

Answers:

English 101: Possessive Form of Nouns

When a noun does not end in s, form the singular and the plural possessive by adding an apostrophe s ('s)

Examples:
the girl hat = the girl's hat
the lady umbrella = the lady's umbrella
the children books = the children's books
John car = John's car

When a noun ends in s, form the singular possessive by adding an apostrophe s ('s):

Examples:
the boss desk = the boss's desk
Charles laptop = Charles's laptop

When a noun ends in s, form the plural possessive by adding only an apostrophe ('):

Examples:
the ladies handbags = the ladies' handbags
the girls umbrellas = the girls' umbrellas

Please note that the possessive is used even when the noun modified is not expressed:

Examples:

He went to Joey's. ( Joey's house)
Mr Cruz  has an appointment at the dentist's. (dentist's office).

Practice Test

 Choose the correct possessive form of nouns in the following sentences:

1. I buy my clothes at (Santos's, Santos') Store.
2. Bring these flowers to (Charles's, Charles') mother.
3. They sell (ladies's, ladies') handbags.
4. John and (Mary's, Marys') father is in the Philippines.
5. The (Philippines's, Philippines') islands are about 7,100.
6. The librarian keeps all the (childrens', children's) books.
7. Joe cleans the (boss's, boss') chair.
8. The (mice's, mices') tails are cut by a curving knife.
9. Let's go to (Jess's, Jess').
10. I will go to the (doctor's, doctors') this afternoon.

Answers:

English 101: Possessive Adjectives

Possessive adjectives are words that modifies a noun by attributing possession or sense of belonging to someone or something. They are also called possessive determiners. Possessive adjectives should agree with the gender or number of the subject.

Examples:
his
my
her
their
your
our
its

1. Mario knows his lesson well.
2. I will meet my mother in the station.

3. The boys ride on their bikes.
4. We want our steaks well done.

5. Sheila takes care of her baby sister.

Practice Test:

Supply the following sentences with the correct possessive adjective which refers to the subject of the sentence.


1. Mary always enjoys ______ music.
2. I write a letter to ____ father.
3. The dogs wags ____ tails.
4. Johnny and I do ____ homework together.
5. We like ____ sports.
6. Mr. Santos rides on _____ new motorcycle.
7. You often get good grades on _____ tests.
8. You and I spend a lot of time on _____ school project.
9. The baby tries to get _____ bottle.
10. They meet _____ new teacher in the corridor.

English 101: Simple Present Tense of the Verb

The simple present tense of the verb describes an action which happens every day or all the time.

Examples:

1. Juan works in the farm every day.

2. They always travel by train.
3. Mr. Santos eats lunch at the school canteen.
4. Her mother washes clothes daily.
5. I ride the bus to office.

For first person pronouns ( I, you, we) and plural subjects, just copy the form of the verb. The third person singular of most verbs is formed by adding s. However, add es instead of s in the following cases:

1. if the verb ends in o

    Examples:
     go = goes
     do = does
   
2. if the verb ends in s, sh, ch, x or z

    Examples:
    wash = washes
    catch = catches
    fix = fixes

3. if the verb ends in y, the y is changed first to i before es is added as long as y is preceded by a consonant

   Examples:
   study = studies
   carry = carries

Practice Test

Use the correct form of the simple present tense of the verb in the following sentences:

1. I (study) my lessons every night.
2. Gina always (try) to arrive early.
3. We (go) to church every Sunday.
4. Kenneth (do) his chores without being told.
5. She often (catch) cold.
6. Mrs. Samson (teach) Physics.
7. My brother (play) in the park.
8. Harry (kiss) her mother before going to school.
9. They (watch) the game on television.
10. You (like) doughnut and coffee.

Answers:
1. study
2. tries
3. go
4. does
5. catches
6. teaches
7. plays
8. kisses
9. watch
10. like

English 101: Have and Has

The present tense of the verb "to have".

Use "have" for plural nouns, including the pronoun I, You, They and We.

Examples:
1. You have a beautiful voice.

2. I have a headache.

3. Both girls have long hair.
4. We have an excursion on Monday.
5. The doctors have many patients.

Use "has" for singular noun and pronoun.

Examples:
1. He has a crush on her.
2. The office has four small windows.

3. The boy has green eyes.

4. The dog has a long tail.
5. Mary has a little lamb.

Practice Test:

Use the correct present tense of to have in the following sentences:

1. We ____ a high school reunion in July.
2. You and me ____ have common interest.
3. My mother ___ a toothache.
4. The secretaries ____ many typing jobs.
5. I ___ a test today.
6. They ____ brown eyes.
7. Both cousins ____ failing marks.
8. You ____ a new dress.
9. The lawyer ____ has many clients.
10. The sky ___ many stars.

Answers:

English 101: Plural Nouns

Most nouns form their plurals by adding s.

umbrella

Examples:
car - cars
umbrella - umbrellas
window - windows
tree - trees

umbrellas

To form the plural forms of nouns ending in s, z, ch, sh and x, just add es.

Examples:
bus - buses
bench - benches

box

box - boxes
bush - bushes

boxes

Some nouns have irregular plurals. As such, they must be remembered.

mouse

Examples:
child - children
 man - men
foot - feet
mouse - mice
tooth - teeth

mice

Remember:
A. Use the plural form of the verb "to be" for plural nouns or subject. The subject and verb must agree.
Examples:
1) The mouse is small. The mice are small.
2) That child is my son. Those children are my sons.

B. mouse - mice but not house - hice.
C. box - boxes but not ox - oxes.  It is ox - oxen.
D. ox - oxen but not fox - foxen. It is fox - foxes.


Practice Test
Give the plural forms of the following nouns:
1) buzz
2) dish
3) orange
4) salesman
5) tax
6) butterfly
7) horse
8) machine
9) book
10) goose

Answers

English Lesson 1 - The Verb 'To Be"

The present tense of the verb "to be" are:

1. am = is used for the first person pronoun - I.
    Example: a) I am a boy.
                   b) I am a student.

2. is = is used for singular noun such as boy, woman, school, Johnny and singular pronoun such as it,he, she.
    Examples: a) Maria is beautiful.
                    b) He is my classmate.
                    c) It is warm today.

3. are = is used when the subject is plural and for the pronouns - we, they and you.
    Examples: a) We are old classmates.
                    b)  The teachers are busy with their lessons.

Practice Tests:  Supply the correct form of the present tense of the verb "to be".

1. The weather today ____ bad.
2. You ___  a liar.
3. Henry and Johnny ___  cousins.
4. We ___ brothers.
5. I ___ a student.
6. She and Maria ___ both good singers.
7. It __ a mistake.
8. They ___ both teachers.
9. The sky ___  blue.
10. He ___ a smart boy.

Answers: