Download 1. Personal Pronouns Personal pronouns tell which person or thing

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1. Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns tell which person or thing we are speaking about.
The personal pronouns in English are:
Singular
Plural
I
We
You
You
He - She - It
They
2. Verb "to be"
The verb "be" means to exist.
It is a linking verb, it links a subject and a thing connected with that subject.
The present simple forms of "to be" are as follow:
Singular
Plural
I am
We are
You are
You are
He She It is
They are
Present Simple Negatives - Verb "to be"
Present Simple negatives and questions using the verb "to be"are formed differently from other questions.
To make negatives you simply insert "not" before the verb "to be".
- Statement: You are a doctor.
- Negative: You are not a doctor.
- Statement: They are cats.
- Negative: They are not cats.
Here is the negative form of the verb "to be" in the Simple Present:
Singular
Plural
I am not
We are not
You are not
You are not
He - She – It is not
They are not
Present Simple Questions
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To make questions you simply invert the subject and the verb.
- Statement: You are a doctor.
- Question: Are you a doctor?
- Statement: They are cats.
- Question: Are they cats?
Simple Present Question verbs are as follows:
Singular
Plural
Am I (a teacher) ?
Are we ...?
Are you ...?
Are you ...?
Is he ...? Is she ...? Is it ...?
Are they ...?
Short Answers
We can often answer these questions with a short answer using the verb "to be". For example:
- Are you a teacher?
- Yes, I am / No, I am not.
- Is he a student?
- Yes, he is. / No, he is not.
Note that in spoken English we usually use contractions with the negative form. For example:
- No, I am not = No, I'm not.
Present Simple is used to make statements about the present time. It is used in the following ways.
- Permanent facts: These sentences give facts which are always true.
It is cold in winter. - The sun shines. - Fish live in water.
- Present facts: These sentences are true now.
I work at home. - She plays the piano.
"I work at home" doesn't mean I am working right now, but it does mean that in my present condition I work
at home.
- Habitual actions: I get up at 8.00. - They come here every day.
These actions are repeated regularly, so they are considered a present reality and are expressed in the
Simple Present.
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PRESENT SIMPLE : OTHER VERBS
Here is the verb "to give” in the Simple Present:
Singular
Plural
I give
We give
You give
You give
He – She – It gives
They give
Spelling Rules for the Present Simple
If you look above you'll see the spelling doesn't change, except for the third person singular (He, She, It)
which adds an "s" to the verb. For example "I eat - He eats". Sometimes other spelling rules also apply to
He, She and It.
Verb Endings
Spelling Examples
Verbs ending in -o add -es
do - does, go - goes
Verbs ending in -s add -es
pass - passes, kiss - kisses
Verbs ending in -x add -es
fix - fixes, mix - mixes
Verbs ending in -ch add -es
match - matches, catch - catches
Verbs ending in -sh add -es
push - pushes, rush - rushes
----Verbs ending in a consonant and -y often change the try - tries, cry - cries
-y to -ies:
Verbs such as "buy" have no consonant before the
buy - buys, pay - pays.
"y", so you simply add –s as usual.
Here is the negative form of the verb "to give" in the Simple Present:
Singular
Plural
I do not give
We do not give
You do not give
You do not give
He –She –It does not give
They do not give
Simple Present Questions
To make a Simple Present Questions you put do or does before the subject. For example:
- Statement: I speak Japanese.
- Questions: Do I speak Japanese?
- Statement: She likes pizza.
- Questions: Does she like pizza?
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Simple Present Question verbs are as follows:
Singular
Plural
Do I like (pizza) ?
Do we like ...?
Do you like ...?
Do you like ...?
Does he – she –it like ...?
Do they like ...?
Adverbs of Frequency
Adverbs of frequency show how often something happens. For example: "I always brush my teeth" means I
brush my teeth every day.
Here are some common adverbs of frequency.
Adverb
Frequency
Always - He always eats breakfast.
100%
Usually - He usually eats breakfast.
80%
Often - He often eats breakfast.
60%
Sometimes - He sometimes eats breakfast.
40%-50%
Never - He never eats breakfast.
0%
Adverb Position
Adverbs of frequency come before the main verb. For example: - We sometimes play sports.
But goes always after the verb to be. For example: - We ARE ALWAYS in late.
Possessives
Possessives show who or what something belongs to - they show possession.
Most nouns can be made possessive simply by adding 's. For example:
- The restaurant's food is very good.
- David Beckham's right foot is excellent.
- You can eat an apple's skin.
If the noun is plural and ends in "s", you add just '. For example:
girls is plural and ends in "s" so:'
- The girls' books are interesting. (The girls's books are interesting)
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2. Possessive Adjectives
Here are the possessive adjectives with example sentences. Notice that possessive adjectives come before
the noun.
Possessive Adjective
Uncountable
My
This is my book
Your (singular)
Your car looks great.
Her
Her watch is expensive.
His
His house is on Chamber Street.
Our
Our dog is cute.
Your (plural)
Your friends are nice.
Their
This is their ball.
Its
The cat likes its food.
3. Possessive Pronouns
Here are the possessive pronouns with example sentences. Notice they never come before nouns.
Possessive Pronoun
Uncountable
My
This book is mine.
Your (singular)
That car is yours.
Her
Theexpensive watch is hers.
His
The house on Chamber Street is his.
Our
The cute dog is ours.
Your (plural)
Those friends are yours.
Their
This ball is theirs.
Its
--
There is no possessive pronoun for its, so you cannot say "The book is its". Also possessive pronouns often
come at the end of sentences and are usually stressed. "This is my book" can be have a fairly factual
meaning, but "This book is mine" stresses more strongly whose book it is.
Prepositions of Place
Prepositions show relationships between things. For example: "The lamp is on the table" contains the
preposition "on". This word shows the spatial relationship between the lamp, and the table.
The most common prepositions of place are: in, on, under, next to, in front of, behind, at.
Look at the following pictures to learn their meaning:
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In, on, under, in front of, and behind are clear from the pictures above. Example sentences are:
- The dog is in the box.
- The cat is under the table
- The man is next to the building.
At however is a more abstract concept - it is used to refer to a point in space, usually a point on a line. See
below for more explanation.
In, On, At
In is used to show somethng that surrounds or encloses us. For example:
- I sleep in my bedroom.
- The desk is in the room.
In is also used for geographical areas such as cities and countries, for example: "I live in London" or "I live
in England".
On is used to show something that is on a surface. For example:
- I sleep on my bed.
- The paper is on the desk.
On is also used for street names, for example: "I live on Orchard Road".
At is used to show something that is at a particular point, often as part of a line. For example:
- He is at the bus stop.
The bus stop is one point in a line of bus stops.
- John is at the bank.
John is at a particular place or point, the bank. The bank is part of his journey and also part of a street, both
of which can be seen as lines.
At is also used for used for night.
Compare: I sleep in the afternoon.
But: I sleep at night.
At is also used for complete addresses, for example: "I live at 22 Orchard Road, London, England."
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To is used when we say go/come/travel TO a place or event. For example:
Go to America
Return to Italy
Drive to the airport
Go to bed
Come to my house
From - to
From and to are used to show the start and end of a defined period of time. For example:
- I work from 9.00 to 5.00.
- Our vacation is from January 5th to February 1st.
Prepositions and Conjunctions of Time - for / during / while / when
For
For shows how long something happened. It is used to refer to a period of time. For example:
- We're ging to live in Malta for 6 months.
- She's in New York for a few days.
- We went to Saudi Arabia for a week.
See also the related unit on the Present Perfect and since.
While / During
Both during and while refer to a period of time in which something happens. For example:
- My phone rang while I was in a meeting.
- My phone rang during the meeting.
During is used with a noun or noun phrase. For example:
- We were busy during the weekend.
- During the night the cat woke me up.
- The Athenians suffered heavy losses during the battle of Salamis.
While is used with a subject and verb. For example:
- We went shopping while you were sleeping.
- You shouldn't eat while you are in the library.
- While I was working I got an email from Tamara.
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There is / there are
"There" is a kind of pronoun used to show something you know exists.
Compare these two sentences:
- "A fly is in my soup."
- "There is a fly in my soup!"
The first sentence is factual and impersonal. The fly is the subject, and the soup is the object. In the second
sentence the object is "a fly in my soup", so the subject is "There". "There" functions as a kind of dummy
subject that represents a more personal perspective, rather than a factual statement.
Especially in spoken English we usually use the contraction "there's", rather than "there is".
Here are the forms of "there" in the Simple Present.
Statements
Questions
There's a tree in my garden.
Is there a restaurant here?
There are books on the desk.
Yes, there is. / No, there isn't
Negatives
There isn't a computer in my bedroom.
There aren't any cinemas here.
Handouts Online
Countable Nouns
All nouns are countable or uncountable. Countable nouns have the following properties.
- They can be counted, for example 1 apple, 2 apples, ...etc.
- They can be made plural.
- They can take the indefinate article a/an.
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns have the following properties.
- They usually can't be counted, for example 1 money, 2 money, ...etc.
- They usually can't be made plural.
- They usually don't take the indefinate article a/an.
Some is often used for plural nouns. For example:
- I have some apples.
- I have some food.
Here are some common countable and uncountable nouns.
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Countable
Uncountable
apple
time
tree
rice
person
beef
dog
money
kilo
information
liter
help
Countable nouns often refer to individual things, and physical things. For example: a person, a tree, a kilo.
Uncountable nouns often refer to non-individual things, and abstract things. For example rice is not an
individual thing, it's seen as group of hundreds of small grains. Love and sadness are abstract, not physical
things.
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Some nouns can be countable and uncountable, depending on how they are used. For example:
- Countable : A glass of milk. Here glass refers to one container made of glass.
- Uncountable : You can see through glass. Here glass doesn't refer to one thing, it refers to glass as a
substance.
Present Continuous
The Present Continuous is used for actions that are happening around the present time. For example, "I am
studying English" means that I am in the process of studying English now.
The Present Continuous is formed by adding the verb "to be" and the -ing form
Singular
Plural
Affirmative
Affirmative
I am studying
We are studying
You are studying
You are studying
She – He – It is studying
They are studying
Negative
Negative
I am not studying
We are not studying
You are not studying
You are not studying
She – He – It is not studying
They are not studying
Questions
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Questions
Do we have a pen?
Do I have a pen?
Do you have a pen?
Do you have a pen?
Do they have a pen?
Does she - He – It has a pen?
Does he has a pen?
Does it have a pen?
For negatives we simply add not after the auxilary verb "to be", for example:
- I am playing - I am not playing.
For questions we invert the subject and auxiliary verb to be, for example:
- You are playing - Are you playing?
Usage
The Present Continuous is used for actions happening at the present time. For example:
- We are studying English.
- You are using a computer.
The Present Continuous is also used for processes happening around the present time. For example:
- It is raining today.
- I am working in Paris this month.
Spelling
To make the -ing form, we usually add -ing to the verb. For example:
- study - studying
- eat - eating
- jump - jumping
For verbs ending in -e, we leave out the -e and add -ing. For example:
- write - writing: not writeing
- skat - skating: not skateing.
For verbs ending in a vowel and a consonant, we usually double the last consonant and add -ing. For
example:
- run - running: not runing
- cut - cutting: not cuting
For verbs ending in -ie we change the -ie to -y and add -ing. For example:
- lie - lying: not lieing
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Question Words
Question words are used to ask what we are talking about.
Questions using question words follow this order: Question word - Auxiliary verb - Subject.
Here are some question words and example sentences:
Question Word
Usage
Example
What
To ask about the nature of things
What color do you like?
and substances.
What time is it?
Where
To ask about location.
Where are you?
Who
To ask about identity
Who is he?
Whose
Top ask about posession
Whose pen is this?
Why
To ask about reason and purpose Why are you happy?
To ask about time
When do you get up?
When
To ask about a set of choices.
Which one do you want?
Which
How has several usages, including How do you make coffee?
How
asking about process and method.
To make a question with question words in the Simple Present, you simply make a normal question, and
then put a question word in front. For example:
With the verb "to be":
- Statement: His name is Tyler.
- Question: Is his name Tyler?
- With a Question Word: What is his name?
With other verbs:
- Statement: I like flowers.
- Question: Do you like flowers?
- With a Question Word: Why do you like flowers?
MODAL VERBS
1. Can
Can is a kind of auixiliary verb called a modal verb. Modal verbs express a particuilar character or mood of
a verb.
Ability
Can is often used to show ability. For example: "We can speak English", or "He can sing well."
Here are the Simple Present forms of can for ability.
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Statements
Questions
I can play the piano.
Can you play the piano?
She can drive a car.
Can she drive a car?
Negatives
I cannot play the piano.
She cannot drive a car.
Contractions
Cannot and can't are the same: eg.
- I cannot cook well.
- I can't cook well.
Can't is much more common in spoken English.
Permission
Can is also used to show permission. For example: "You can go home after class". Here are the Simple
Present forms of can for permission.
Statements
Questions
You can meet her tommorrow. - (You have
Can we go to the movies? - (Please give us
permission to meet her).
permission to watch a movie).
Negatives
She can't come to our house. - (She doesn't have
permisson to visit us).
Obligation
The idea of obligation can be expressed in different ways:
Must is used to express obligation to do something in the present or the future. Have to is used in all
other tenses:
Must I go? Yes, you must (go). You must not (mustn't) stay here.
Did you have to work late yesterday?
Must and have to can be used to express obligation in the present. But there is a difference. When
must is used, it is suggested that the speaker is exercising his authority:
Jeremy is talking to his secretary and says:
You must finish this report today. (Jeremy is exercising his authority
over his
secretary.)
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John is copying and his classmate whispers:
You have to stop copying, the teacher is looking in this direction. (His
classmate is reminding him of what is advisable to do. He has no authority
over him.)
Mustn´t is used to express prohibition. It does not express absence of obligation. Have to in the
negative form or needn´t are used to express absence of obligation:
Teacher: You mustn´t open your books during the exam. (If you open your book, you are doing something
wrong / something forbidden.)
Teacher: You don´t have to bring your books tomorrow. We are going to watch a video. (If you take your
books to school, you will do something unnecessary. But not something wrong.)
Have to is used to express obligation in all tenses:
Will you have to get up early on Sunday?
Have you had to work hard?
have to needs the auxiliary verb do in questions and negative sentences:
Do you have to study today? No, I don't (have to study today.)
Needn´t is used to express absence of obligation:
Teacher: You needn´t bring your books tomorrow.
Ought to and should can be used to express the subject´s obligation to do something or what is advisable
to do in a certain situation. But, in this case, the speaker´s authority is not involved as with "must"and
neither is there the idea of external authority as with "have to."
I should drive more slowly.
PAST SIMPLE
Past Simple - Verb "to be"
The Past Simple is used for facts and events that existed in the past. For example:
- I was with my grandmother yesterday.
- They were at home last week.
The verb "to be" is irregular, it's past form is as follows:
Singular
Plural
I was
We were
You were
You were
He – She – It was
They were
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Some examples of past simple sentences with the verb "to be" are:
- I was happy yesterday.
- We were teachers for 20 years.
- There was a lot of rain yesterday.
Past Simple sentences are always associated with a certain time which is either stated or implied. For
example:
I was really busy yesterday. (The time is stated)
I was really busy. (The time isn't stated, but in a conversation the time would be understood.)
Negatives
Past Simple negative sentences are made by adding not after the verb "to be". For example:
- It was not sunny yesterday.
- They were not in the library.
We often contract negatives, especially in spoken English:
- She was not hungry. -> She wasn't hungry.
- They were not abroad last year. -> They weren't abroad last year.
Questions
Questions are made by inverting the subject and verb. For example:
- He was a teacher.
- Was he a teacher?
- We were happy to see your family.
- Were you happy to see my family?
Past Simple of other verbs
The Past Simple is used for facts and events that existed in the past. For example:
- I played tennis with some guys from work yesterday.
- We stayed in Shanghai for five days.
Regular past simple verbs are formed by adding "-ed" to the verb. For example:
- jump -> jumped: The dog jumped over the fence.
- walk -> walked: I walked 22 kilometers yesterday.
- work -> worked: We worked together as lawyers for 15 years.
Usage
The past simple is used for a completed action. For example:
- We watched a movie at the weekend.
- She arrived on Thursday.
A specific time must be given or implied. For example:
- I walked to work this morning. - A specific time is given.
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- I walked to work. - A specific time is not given, but in context we would understand what time is being
referred to.
Negatives
Past simple negatives are made with did and not. Did is the past form of the verb to do. Did and not are
often contracted to didn't. For example:
- I arrived in London on Monday. I didn't arrive on Sunday.
- They stayed at the Vivaldi Hotel. They didn't stay at the Carlton Hotel.
Because "did" is a past form, the main verb doesn't change. For example:
- We didn't live in Italy. Did is a past form so live is unchanged.
- We didn't lived in Italy. Incorrect
Questions
Questions are made by putting did before the subject. For example:
- You lived in Japan. Did you live in Japan?
- They stayed at the Vivaldi Hotel. Did they stay at the Vivaldi Hotel?
Again the main verb doesn't change, for example:
- You lived in Japan. Did you lived in Japan? Incorrect
- You lived in Japan. Did you live in Japan? Correct
Irregular Verbs
There are many irregular past simple verbs in English, these do not add -ed. Below are some of the most
common ones but there are many more.
be - was/were
make - made
become - became
meet - met
begin - began
pay - paid
break - broke
read - read
bring - brought
ride - rode
build - built
run - run
buy - bought
say - said
catch - caught
sell - sold
choose - chose
send - sent
come - came
shut - shut
do - did
sing - sang
draw -drea
sit - sat
eat - ate
sleep - slept
feel - felt
smell - smelt/smelled
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fight - fought
speak - spoke
find - found
stand - stood
fly - flew
swim - swam
forget - forgot
take - took
get - got
teach - taught
give - gave
tell - told
go - went
think - thought
have - had
understand - understood
hear - heard
wear - wore
hit - hit
win - won
know - knew
write - wrote
learn - learnt/learned
leave - left
lose - lost
Past Continuous
The Past Continuous is used for actions or situations that happened over a period of time. For example:
- We were playing tennis with some friends from work.
- The sun was shining this morning.
The Past Continuous is made with the past form of to be and the -ing form.
Singular
Plural
I was walking
We were walking
You were walking
You were walking
He She It was walking
They were walking
Usage
The Past Continuous is used for actions which are taking progress in the past. We are in the middle of
these actions, they have started but not yet finished. For example:
- We were playing tennis yesterday afternoon.
- What were you doing? I was having lunch with my sister.
The Past Continuous and Past Simple are often used together to show that one situation happened during
another one. The Past Continuous is used for a background event that has already started, and the Past
Simple is used to introduce a new event. For example:
- I was walking in the park when it started to rain. - "Walking in the park" is a background situation, and "it
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started to rain" is the new event of interest.
- It was raining so I ran back home.
- While I was running, the rain stopped.
- It wasn't raining, so I walked in the park again.
Note that if we want to show that one situation happened after another one, we usually use the Past Simple.
For example:
- Yesterday I walked in the park, it started to rain, I ran back home, and the rain stopped.
Comparatives and Superlatives
Comparatives show more or less of a particular attribute, they compare things. Comparatives are generally
used for comparing two things, and superlatives are used for comparing three or more things.
If it's clear what we are comparing to, then we can just use the comparative form on its own. For example:
- I am faster.
- She is older.
Otherwise we use than before the thing we are comparing to. For example:
I am faster than John.
She is taller than me.
Superlative forms don't use than and are always preceded by the definite article the. For example:
- I am the tallest student in my school.
Comparatives
One-Syllable Adjectives
To make a comparative from an adjective with one syllable, we add -er to the adjective, for example:
- slow - slower
- fast - faster
- tall - taller
- short - shorter
To make a comparative from a one syllable adjective ending in -e, we just add -r. For example:
- nice - nicer
- large - larger
If the one syllable adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant. For example:
- big - bigger
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- hot - hotter
- thin - thinner
Two-Syllable Adjectives
If the adjective has two or more syllables, we add more before the adjective.
For example:
This book is more expensive than that book.
This picture is more beautiful.
However there are many exceptions to this one/two-sylllable rule.
Some two-syllable words behave like one-syllable ones: For example:
This is easier - Correct
This is more easy - Incorrect.
This is simpler - Correct
This is more simple - Incorrect
And some adjectives can use both comparatives forms: For example
- clever - cleverer - more clever: These are all correct.
- quiet - quieter - more quiet: These are all correct.
Superlatives
One-Syllable Adjectives
To make a superlative from an adjective with one syllable, we add -est to the adjective, for example:
- slow - slowest
- fast - fastest
- tall - tallestr
- short - shortest
To make a superlative from a one syllable adjective ending in -e, we just add -st. For example:
- nice - nicest
- large - largest
If the one syllable adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant. For example:
- big - biggest
- hot - hottest
- thin - thinnest
Two-Syllable Adjectives
If the adjective has two or more syllables, we add most before the adjective.
For example:
This book is the most expensive book.
This picture is the most beautiful picture in the museum.
Irregular Forms
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There are a few irregular forms. Below gives the adjective, comparative, and superlative forms.
good - better - best
bad - worse - worst
far - farther - farthest
far - further - furthest
little - less - least
much/many - more - most
For example:
You are the best student in the world!
I am far from home, he is further from home, but he is the furthest from home.
Verb Tenses and Forms
The present continuous is used to describe a temporary state or action going on now.
I am working on my grammar right now.
The simple present is used to describe a general state or action that is repeated habitually.
I live in a tall apartment building.
The future is used for action in the future. (formed in two ways)
I will go home by bus today.
The simple past is used to describe action at a definite time in the past.
I went to work yesterday.
The past continuous is used for an on-going action in the past, or during a period of time in the past.
I was eating dinner at 8:00 last night.
The present perfect is used for action begun in the past and continued until the present. (For other uses of
the present perfect, see the explanations under the Past Tense Verbs Section.)
I have worked for him since 1981.
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The present perfect continuous is used for an action begun in the past that continues to go now. (It
emphasizes the on-going action.)
I have been practicing my English for three hours already.
The past perfect is used for comparing 2 completed actions in the past. One event occurred before the
other.
It had never occurred to her before she went to the meeting.
Future - Going to
Going to is used to show a future intention. For example:
- I'm going to go on vacation next summer.
- We're going to start our own business.
Going to future sentences are made as follows:
Subject - verb "to be" - going to - infinitive verb. For example: They are going to have dinner.
Usage
Going to is used for future plans. For example:
- I'm going to see my friends this evening.
- He's going to write a book.
- What are you going to do?
Going to is also used to make a prediction based on present evidence. For example:
- He's going to fall over! (I can see he's in danger now.)
- She's going to win. (I can see she's winning now.)
Will and going to are both used for predictions and sometimes there is little difference in meaning.
Compare:
- It will be sunny this afternoon. (A general prediction)
- It's going to be sunny this afternoon. (because it's getting warmer now)
Going to with the Past Simple of "to be" is often used for an intention or plan that wasn't actually done. For
example:
- I was going to meet my friends but I didn't have time.
- We were going to take a vacation but it was too expensive.
Going to is often contracted to gonna in spoken English. For example:
- "I'm gonna buy a new computer."
LEVELS A1 – A2
© Miriam Calderaro
Future - Will/Shall
Will is a modal verb used to indicate future time. For example:
- It will be sunny tomorrow.
- The new restaurant will open next week.
Will comes after the subject and before the main verb, and in questions the subject and will invert. Will often
contracts to 'll, for example he'll, they'll, and in negatives will not often contracts to won't.
Affirmative
He will / He'll stay at home tomorrow.
They will / They'll be very busy.
Negative
I will not / won't stay at home tomorrow.
They will not / won't be very busy.
Exploring Language: Letters and Sounds
Letters are written, and sounds are spoken. It is important that these functions are not confused. When we
write in normal spelling, we are using letters to convey sounds. In English this relationship is only ever a
rough guide to pronunciation, and it is certainly not reliable.
In man and many, the letter a has two different pronunciations, and we can add three more in banana and
bather. Then consider wasp, clasp, and asp. Among the more notorious examples of English spelling are
cough, enough, thorough, through, bough. There are also words that sound identical but are written in
different ways:
you
yew
ewe
sent
scent
cent
won
one
bare
bear
In our alphabet, we have only five vowel letters - A, E, I, O, U - but there are twenty different vowel sounds
in New Zealand English.
This can be very inconvenient when we want to discuss sounds.
The ideal solution could be to adopt a method of spelling that is completely consistent, where a reader
would know that a certain symbol would always refer to the same sound.
LEVELS A1 – A2
© Miriam Calderaro
A list of symbols for the forty-four phonemes of English, based on the symbols of the International Phonetic
Alphabet, is given in Appendix 2. We will keep our use of these technical symbols to a minimum. However,
in cases where our alphabet is inadequate (as with the two th sounds, as in thin and then, or the sound at
the end of sing) we will need to use phonemic symbols.
For example, small children sometimes substitute a "t" for the "k" sound at the end of the word "book". How
would you write the resulting word in ordinary spelling?
Because of the influence of our spelling system, some people find it quite difficult to isolate the separate
phonemes in some words. To identify phonemes, it is essential to forget about spelling and listen only to the
sounds. For example, there are three phonemes in should and two in earth (unless you come from
Southland, when there might be three). We do not usually pronounce the /r/ in horse, but we do pronounce
a /j/ (as in yes) in human and Europe.
When students are first introduced to phonemic transcription, some will argue at length as to whether they
pronounce the /d/ in Wednesday or whether there is /s/ or /z/ in Thursday.
The description and classification of speech sounds is the aim of the subject known as phonetics. Detailed
information is not given here about phonetics because other sources are readily available in books and
linguistics courses.
Reference Guide to Phonetic Symbols
As you probably know, phonetic symbols are a great help when it comes to learning to pronounce English
words correctly. Any time you open a dictionary, you can find the correct pronunciation of words you don't
know by looking at the phonetic pronunciation that follows the word.
LEVELS A1 – A2
© Miriam Calderaro
LEVELS A1 – A2
© Miriam Calderaro