Download Inferring Meaning from Context

Six Essentials of English
Grammar for Spanish
Speakers
What we will learn
1. The names of different types of words.
2. The function of words in sentences.
3. The order of words in sentences and
questions
1. Types of words





Noun: names a person, place, thing,
abstract idea (and more)
Verb: shows an action (run, eat, buy) or
a state (be, have, like)
Adjective: describes/modifies a noun
Adverb: tells how, when, where, how
often about the verb
Conjunction: joins two clauses together
NOUNS (Types of words)

Noun: names a person, place, thing, abstract
idea (and more) Two types of noun are very
important for you to recognize.
COUNT NOUNS
Most nouns have a singular and plural form:
key/keys, church/churches, cat/ cats,
child/children.
NON-COUNT NOUNS
Some do not: weather, water, luck
NOUNS (Types of words)
Nouns are often marked by these words:
a, an, the, some
I’d like an apple.
Can you make some rice for the party?
my, your, his, her, our, their
The professor liked my journals.
They sold their house.
this, that, these, those
Watch out. That water is hot.
VERBS (Types of words)
Verb: shows an action (run, eat, buy) or a state
(be, have, like)
Verbs have four forms:
1
2
3
4
call
called
called
calling
eat
ate
eaten
eating
1 = base form
2 = simple past
3 = past participle (-ado, -ido in Spanish)
4 = present participle
VERBS (Types of words)
Verb: have different forms for
past:
I ate lunch at noon yesterday.
simple
present:
I eat lunch at noon every day.
present
progressive: I am eating lunch right now.
future:
I am going to eat in an hour.
future:
I ’ll see you tomorrow.
ADJECTIVES (Types of words)
Adjective: describes/modifies a noun
Adjectives often end in these suffixes:
beautiful, curious, windy, dependable.
ADJECTIVES (Types of words)
Adjective: describes/modifies a noun.
Many adjectives show degree:
small, smaller than, the smallest of all
beautiful, more beautiful than, the most
beautiful of all
ADVERBS (Types of words)
Adverbs: tell how, when, where, how often
about the verb
How:
He walked quickly.
When:
He walked in the morning.
Where:
He walked to school.
All:
He walked to school quickly that
morning.
How often: He usually walks to school.
ADVERBS (Types of words)
Lots of adverbs end in -ly:
beautifully, humbly
Many adverbs are phrases:
in the evening, into the house,
all morning
ADVERBS (Types of words)
Some adverbs can be in more than one place.
1. He walked quickly to the door and opened it.
Quickly, he walked to the door and opened it.
2. She usually studies in the morning.
Usually she studies in the morning.
In the morning, she usually studies.
CONJUNCTIONS

Conjunctions are words like:





because, if, although, since
and, but, so, or
Conjunctions put two clauses (ideas)
together.
I am tired because I studied all night.
I will help you if I have time.
What is a clause?
A clause is group of words that has a subject
and a verb and expresses an idea.
Examples:

S
V
Smart students study hard. (1 clause)
S
V
S
V
Students study hard if they are smart. (2
clauses)
Examples of types of words
Adj.
N
V
Adv.
The old woman dances beautifully.
What types of words are in this clause?

Olympic athletes are usually in good physical
condition.
Examples of types of words
Adj.
N
V
Adv
Olympic athletes are usually
Prep Adj Adj
N
in good physical condition.
2. The basic word order in an
English clause is
S
V
(Comp)*
(Adverbs)*
The S(ubject) is our topic (what we are
talking/writing about). It is a noun.
The V(erb) begins our comment about that
topic. Of course, it is a verb!
* The ( ) means optional
S
V (Comp)* (Adverbs)*
(Comp) stands for complements or completers.
Different verbs require different completers.
Some verbs don’t need a completer.
(Adverbs), you will remember, answer the
questions how, where, when, how often.
OJO: This order is quite rigid in English, but there is
some flexibility in the position of adverbs.
S
V (Comp)* (Adverbs)*
Examples: Basic Statement Word Order
S
V
(Comp) (Advs)
1.
2.
3.
The young man bought a car
My baby
is
sick
The old lady
fell down
yesterday.
today.
at home.
Organize these words into good English
sentences. (Put adverbs in the basic position.)
1. easily, most, passed, test, the,students
2. are, some of, dancers, good, friends, my,
really
3. engineering, lots of, are, in Mayaguez
students, studying
Answers
S
V
Comp Adv
1. Most students passed the test easily.
S
V
Comp
2. Some of my friends are really good dancers.
S
V
Comp
3. Lots of students are studying engineering in
Mayaguez.
3. A subject is obligatory for verbs
with tense (Present, Past, Future)
There is always a word (usually a noun or
pronoun) in the S position.
Examples:
The weather isn’t
good today.
It
is raining.
There
are
black clouds in the sky.
Obligatory Subjects (Cont’d)
Longer sentences with two or more clauses
(S/V pairs) have a noun or pronoun in the S
position in every clause.
S
Conj
S
I bought a new car because my old car was
using too much gas.
S
S
I like my new car because it is comfortable.
Spot the errors
What is wrong with these sentences?
1. My sister passed easily her driver’s
test.
2. Is raining.
3. Are many students in Mayaguez.
4. My parents need protection so have
two dogs.
Answers
S
V
Comp Adv
1. My sister passed her driver’s test easily.
S
V
2. It is raining.
S
V
3. There are many students in Mayaguez.
S
V
Comp
Conj
S
V
Comp
4. My parents need protection so
they have two dogs.
Application:
When you read, look for the Subject (the
topic) and Complement (or Predicate) in
each clause.
4. The basic word order in most
questions is:
Q-word
Be/Aux
S
MV
What
What
What kind of
music
Where
Where
What sports
Why
do
are
do
you
you
you
do?
studying?
like?
were
did
can
should
you
you
you
we
born?
buy
play?
study?
Complements
and adverbs
your books?
Organize these words into good English
questions.
Remember the word order is usually
Q-word Be/Aux S MV (main verb) (Comp & Advs)
1. you, how often, at the library, study, do
2. study, sister, where, your, does
3. studying, are, you, what
4. last weekend, do, did, you, what
Answers:
Q-word
Aux/Be S
MV
Adv
1. How often do you study at the library?
Q-word
Aux/Be
S
MV
2. Where does your sister study?
Q-word
Aux/Be
S
MV
3. What are you studying?
Q-word
Aux/Be
S
MV
Adv
4. What did you do last weekend?
Spot the errors
What is wrong with these questions?
1. Where you are going?
2. Why you want to be an accountant?
3. Where did you learned English?
4. Why there is poverty in the world?
Answers
1. Where are you going?
2. Why do you want to be an accountant?
3. Where did you learn English? (no past -ed
with did)
4. Why is there poverty in the world?
5. Phrasal Verbs (PVs)
English has verbs that consist of more
than one word; we call them phrasal
verbs. PVs consist of a usual verb and a
particle or two. The particles are
prepositions and adverbs which change
the meaning of the main verb.
Phrasal Verbs (Cont’d)
Example 1:
Plants grow. (get bigger)
(Las matas crecen.)
Children grow and they grow up.
(get bigger and mature)
(Los niños crecen y maduran.)
Phrasal Verbs (Cont’d)
Example 2:
My parents are going to take a vacation.
(tomar)
I am going to take care of my little brother
and sister. (cuidar)
Phrasal Verbs (Cont’d)
Example 3:
You can pick any car you want. (choose,
select, escojer)
Please pick up the garbage on the floor.
(remove it and throw it away, recojerlo y
botarlo, )
Where are the PVs in these sentences?
1. Please turn off the lights so we can
show the movie.
2. I’m behind in my work. I have to catch
up.
3. The kids ate up all the ice cream.
4. The teacher looked over the students’
work and made suggestions.
6. Adjectives
We use adjectives in two positions in
English, before nouns and after certain
verbs which we call linking verbs. The
adjectives after linking verbs describe
the subject (S) of the sentence. Notice
that adjectives in English never have a
plural form.
Adjectives (Cont’d)
After linking verbs
Before nouns
You are lucky.
You are a lucky person.
That movie was boring.
It was a boring movie. I fell
asleep.
That tree is beautiful.
Those are beautiful trees.
Spot the errors in these sentences.
1. The meeting was in a room big.
2. I love the colorfuls flowers.