English language

1. BASIC ENGLISH LANGUAGE
SKILLS
GRAMMER
2022

2. Parts of Speech
• are the different categories of English words.
• Every English word fits into a CERTAIN category.
• The parts of speech help English speakers understand how each word can be used.
• There are 8 basic parts of speech that you will need to know:
• Noun – A noun is a person, place, thing, group, idea, concept, etc….. (Ex: dog, man, Japan, house, anger, democracy)
• Pronoun – A pronoun is a word that can be used in place of a noun, to refer to it (Ex: I, you, he, she, it, we, they).
• Verb – A verb is a word used to describe an action (run, jump, eat), or a state of being (is, appears, thinks), etc….
• Adjective – An adjective is a word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun. (Ex: strong, fast, intelligent, nice)
• Adverb – An adverb is a word that describes or modifies a verb or adjective. (Ex: slowly, exceptionally, sadly)
• Preposition – A preposition is a word that expresses the relation between two things in a sentence. (Ex: behind the door,
at noon, with the man)
• Conjunction – A conjunction is a word used to connect two related parts of a sentence. These parts can be clauses (I
want to play baseball, but it is raining), or smaller parts of speech such as adjectives, adverbs, nouns, verbs, etc… (fancy
and expensive, silently but powerfully, kicking and screaming).
• Interjection – An interjection is a word or phrase that expresses meaning without the need for a complete sentence. (Ex:
wow, oh, ouch)

3. Learning New Vocabularies
• This is done through understanding parts of speech well, and
• Constructing sentences in different types of speech. If you can’t
construct comprehensive sentences, it will be hard for you to learn
new vocabularies.

4. 1. NOUNS
• A noun is a word for a person, place, thing, or idea
• Nouns can be;
(a) proper or common. Proper nouns are generally capitalized and
common nouns are not. (Tanzania, Australia, The Berlin Conference, …
are examples). Then, a common noun refers to less specific things
(animal, table, city, meeting, man, a pen …).
(b) Nouns can be singular or plural
(c) Nouns can be concrete [physical; e.g dog, phone) or abstract [idea or concept, non-physical. e.g,
freedom, democracy, permission, sadness]
(d) Nouns that show possessions are written by adding 's and are basically concreate
(e) Some nouns are collective [groups/a collection]; say; government, crowd, gang, staff, band, choir, police,
audience, team, committee, orchestra, bunch, fleet etc
• Nouns can function in different roles within a sentence; for example, a noun can be a subject, direct object,
indirect object, subject complement, or object of a preposition.
• The young girl brought me a very long letter from the teacher, and then she quickly disappeared.
Jane is an excellent doctor (subject complement)

5. 2. PRONOUNS
Is a word used in place of a noun.
Personal Pronoun – A word that represents a person, group, or thing(s).
I, You, He, She, We, They, you, It
Demonstrative Pronoun – [This, That, These, Those]A word that points to specific things in regard to their quantity and proximity to the speaker. 1. Pass
me one of those. 2. That is my house. 3. I don’t like this. Sorry, these are not yours. (if it comes as; He works in that company; I hate this man; Those
fruits are ripe; etc (modifying a noun, not replacing it;), then it is a demonstrative adjective, NOT a demonstrative pronoun)
Possessive Pronoun – A pronoun that shows ownership of a thing.
• Mine, Yours, His, Hers, Ours, Theirs, Its. DO NOT CONFUSE IT WITH POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES
• The car is theirs. {IN; It is their car = “their” is a possessive adjective instead}
• The computer is mine. {IN; It is my computer = “my” is a possessive adjective instead}
• That house is ours. {IN; It is our house = “our” is a possessive adjective instead}
Reflexive pronouns - are used to emphasize another noun or pronoun; myself, yourself, itself, etc
Relative pronouns – they form relative clause. Jane, who is a teacher, also works as a nurse. Shila is the girl whom I was talking to. The man who saved her
is an oculist . [who, which, that, whom, whose]
Compound relative pronouns – Whoever enters here should sit. Whatever they plan to do is actually done. Whosoever becomes the first in class will be
awarded. Please pick whichever bag you want and I tell you its price.

6. 3. VERBS
The verb in a sentence expresses action or being.
There is a main verb and sometimes one or more helping verbs. (“They can play Bao game." play is the main verb; can is the helping
verb.)
(a) Action verbs: refer to action in place; physical action: eat, sing, jump etc or mental action; think, memorise, consider, etc
(b) Helping verbs: (auxiliary verbs). Are simply helpful verbs. Used with the main verb to accomplish something. E.g; the teacher
has taught. That child can run.
(c) Stative verbs: conditions or state of being; qualities, sate of existence, opinions and emotions; e.g; resemble, have, have, need,
own, love;
(d) Transitive verb: is a verb that is accompanied by a direct object in a sentence. (direct object can be a noun, pronoun or noun
phrase); She hates pizza. We like those girls, etc
(e) Intransitive verbs: (opposite of transitive), not accompanied by a direct object. All children sleep. Most birds fly.
(f) Linking verb: Is a special type of stative verbs. Links the verb with a subject complement. [grow, appear, seem, become, be,
look]. That watch looks expensive. Dan is a dancer. The school got so crowded.
(g) Modal verbs: Just a group of helping verbs. Specifically, they give a sentence a specific mood. Once you finish that work, you
may play. If I wasn’t busy I would have gone to the cinema.
(h) Regular verbs: identified by “…ed” to their past forms. Cook-cooked, open-opened, clean-cleaned, etc
(i) Irregular verbs: identified by their irregular forms to their past forms. eat-ate, see-saw, catch-caught, go-went, etc
(j) Phrasal verbs: A verb made in form of a phrase; look down, breakdown , go out, call back, dropby, think over, come across,
figure out, think over, zero in, … [it is averb+an adverb or a verb+a preposition]
(k) Infinitive verbs: […to+the base verb]. a verb with no inflection binding it to a particular subject or tense. It retains its original
form. We came to see it. Let him see what I meant. [to agree, to demand, to hope, to plan, to refuse, to ask, to decline, to wish,
to hesitate, to aim, to offer, to manage, etc]

7. 4. ADJECTIVES
• An adjective modifies or describes a noun or pronoun. He was fast. He was faster than ever, etc
• One sentence can have more than one adjective. E.g, The quick white cat eats the lazy dog’s fish every day. The order matters. Opinion-physical description (like
size, shape, condition, age, colour)-origin-material-purpose. The green American cotton jacket he bought is this. As an intermediate learner, try to avoid having
many adjectives in one sentence, there’s no case in splitting. He bought a green jacket. It was an American jacket.
• Adjectives usually answers the question of which one, what kind, or how many. It adds “colour and life” to a sentence.
• Are in a three degree; Positive, comparative, superlative. (short, shorter, shortest).
• Many adjectives can be identified by their prefixes and/or suffixes. These prefixes like unlikely, impossible, irreverent, illogical, non-participant, and disloyal.
AND, suffixes like colourful, homeless, countable. But the degree can be applied still to some of them; e.g, impossible, more impossible, most impossible.
Colourful, more colourful, most colourful.
• What are the basic forms of adjectives?
(a) A descriptive adjective; modifies a noun/pronoun by describing it or expressing its quality. I don’t like cold cassava. He bought a blue pen. He has strong arms.
(b) Numeral /quantitative adjectives; indicate quantity (one, two, three), sequence (first, second, third…) and fraction (half, third…). He bought three eggs, He got a
fifth of the apple. The Sun is too hot. The eleventh child is sick. I bought a cup. He ate an orange. It can also describe an indefinite numeral. E.g He got many
fruits; The men went.
(c) Demonstrative adjectives; Describe/specify an object. This, that, these, those. He lives in that house. I know this boy. Those babies are cute. [Wait, are you
confusing demonstrative adjectives with demonstrative pronouns? If so, worry out. D.A modify a noun/pronoun (He lives in that house), and D.P replace a
noun, e.g, I don’t like this. These are not yours. COMPARE: This is my car and This car is mine]
(d) Interrogative adjectives; Modifies a noun/pronoun in order to ask a question. Which colour is your skirt? I have three daughters. Who of them do you like?
Whose money this is? Which movie do you want to watch?
(e) Possessive adjectives; modifies a noun for possession. [ALWAYS followed by a noun]. Ilham lost her bag. The bird was feeding its nestlings. Your phone is ringing.
“They are free to sell it. It is their house after all.” Consider; mine, ours, yours, his, hers, its, theirs…
(f) Proper adjectives; Derived from proper nouns, therefore capitalized. [nationalities, languages, ethnicities, etc.] A Chinese student joined us in English language
skills. I have proved that many Chagga Women are beautiful. I met French speakers last night.
(g) Exclamatory adjectives; Strong emotions. What an idea! What a blessing! How strange! How cute! How curious they are!

8. 5. ADVERBS
• An adverb modifies/describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. ***but never for a noun, note this well.***
[quickly... extremely... carefully... very…, well,]
• It usually answers the questions of when, where, how, why, under what conditions, or to what degree.
• Many adverbs often end in -ly.
• The postman delivered a very dirty document from their office, and then he quickly vanished.
What are the types?
(a) a Conjunctive adverb: Acts like a conjunction. Connect two clauses. I checked the fridge to drink a glass of milk.
However, there wasn’t any. TRY FOR; instead, meanwhile, therefore.
(b) Adverb of Frequency: Describe frequency/how often something happens. I usually clean in the morning. He
sometimes forgets his responsibilities. TRY; never, always, seldom, daily, once, monthly, annually, rarely, occasionally,
frequently.
(c) Adverb of Time: When something happened, will happen. He will see you tomorrow. I recently joined the club. Please
come today. TRY; late, yesterday, forever, still, yet, early, since, soon, tonight, now, …
(d) Adverb of manner: How something happens? Its behaviour. The microphone was down, so Ibrahim had to speak
loudly. The unknowingly entered another lecture room. TRY; skillfully, bravely, wisely, angrily, hungrily, definitely,
precisely, nicely, slowly.
(e) Adverb of degree: The intensity/strength. He barely knew how to dance. It is really hot today. They are very wise. TRY;
extremely, too, deeply, fairly, greatly, little, less, least, much, more, most, hardly, highly, somewhat, quite.
(f) Adverb of Place: Where something happened. He likes to spend the day inside the house. The plane went east of
Bukoba. You won’t find your keys anywhere. TRY; west, north, here, there, everywhere, nowhere, over, under, away,
off, left, right, away

9. 6. PREPOSITIONS
• a word placed before a noun or pronoun to form a phrase modifying
another word in the sentence.
• It is always part of a prepositional phrase. The prepositional phrase almost
always functions as an adjective or as an adverb.
• He comes from Zimbabwe.
• What are types?
a) Simple prepositions: in, on, under, over, above, …
b) Double prepositions: into, up to, within, onto, in front…
c) Compound/phrasal prepositions: by means of, owing to, in front of, from
across, according to, instead of.
d) Participle prepositions; concerning, considering, regarding, …
e) Disguised prepositions; [hidden]. It is 5 O’clock = of the clock. He went a
shore = onshore. We meet in a week time = after one week

10. 7. CONJUNCTION
• It joins words, phrases, or clauses
• indicates the relationship between the elements joined.
• and... but... or... while... because are examples.
CATEGORIES:
a) A Coordinating conjunction: connects grammatically equal elements: for,
and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet. (Try in sentences)
b) A Subordinating conjunction; connects clauses that are not equal.
because, although, while, since, after, before, by the time, in case,
unless, when, while, etc
c) Correlative conjunctions; work in pairs; either…or, neither…nor, not
only…but also, as…as, both…and, etc
d) Conjunctive conjunctions, work more like a conjunctive adverbs. … after
all, besides, finally, nevertheless, then, however, moreover, consequently,
etc

11. 8. INTERJECTIONS
• a word used to express emotion. Oh!... Wow!... Oops!
• It is often followed by an exclamation point.
• OTHERS are; uh, ah, dear, alas, hurry, yippee, bravo, well, ..
(a) Sadness: Alas! Sorry for that.
(b) Surprise: Ah! Is it true?
(c) Repeat please: Eh! Please come again. Eh! I didn’t get you well.
(d) Express pity/surprise: Oh dear! I really feel bad for you.
(e) Admiration for s/t: Wow! You finally became the first.
(f) Introduce a remark: Well, it was a wonderful lecture.
(g) Hesitation: Uh! I don’t think that I will join you.
(h) Exp. Relief/exhaustion/disgust: Phew! That was irritating.
(i) Exp. Pain: Ouch! You’ve hurt me.
(j) Call for attention: Hey! He has pass this way.
(k) Joy: Hurray! I finally passed English skills. Yippee! We are done with parts of speech.

12. Common English Clauses
• The main types are two: Independent Clauses (or Main Clauses) and
Subordinate Clauses.
• Independent Clause – can stand alone as a complete sentence. Sentences
can be made up out of one clause He cleans the floor. They prepare
themselves. Alex cultivated wheat.
• But, sometimes two or more independent clauses in a sentence can
appear: I like potatoes, but I dislike chips. After she completed work, she
decided to rest.
• Subordinate Clause – cannot stand alone (it needs an independent clause
to stand). They have subordinate conjunctions in front of them. I
responded when he asked. He hates me because I am open. Sarah stood up
as soon as the chairperson entered.
• Clauses help us to; 1. organize the words in a sentence. 2. to understand
why words are arranged in a particular order. 3. identify tenses.

13. TENSES
• A tense expresses the time in which a sentence takes place
• There are three basic tenses in English: Past, Present, and Future.
Each tense has 4 subcategories: Simple, Continuous, Perfect, and
Perfect Continuous. The total tenses therefore become 12 in total.
• The voice (active and passive) can also affect the form that a verb
takes.

14. Present Tense
It is used to describe the current moment.
Simple Present Tense
• The rabbit eats a carrot.
• I am an American.
• They like hamburgers today.
•Present Continuous Tense
• I am running now
• She is going to school today.
• They are throwing the ball.
•Present Perfect Tense
• The man has played baseball before.
• I have seen the movie already.
• We have been to the park recently.
•Present Perfect Continuous Tense
• The man has been playing baseball.
• I have been watching my friend.
• We have been taking care of my sister this afternoon

15. Past Tense
It is important for telling stories or recounting events that occurred in the past.
Simple Past Tense
• The cat ate a mouse yesterday.
• I was a smoker a few years ago.
• They liked the pizza.
Past Continuous Tense
• I was walking.
• She was leaving for work this morning.
• They were playing tennis last week.
Past Perfect Tense
• The man had worked at the company for years.
• I had seen the show before.
• We had been to the swimming pool.
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
• The man had been playing basketball.
• I had been playing with my friend.
• We had been taking care of my brother.

16. Future Tense
It tells events that are expected to happen.
Simple Future Tense
• The cat will eat tomorrow.
• Sam will stop smoking.
• They won’t stop this habit.
Future Continuous Tense
• I will be going.
• She will be leaving for work later.
• They will be playing tennis next time.
Future Perfect Tense
• I will have eaten tomorrow by this time.
• By this time next month, we will have done our first assessment test.
• In December week one, we will have started learning communication skills.
Future Perfect Continuous Tense
• On Monday, these streams will have been splitting into group C.
• In December, we will have been studying Language Skills for four weeks.
• When you turn thirty, you will have been practicing medicine for 5 years.