Download Anglais Technique 2014/2015

Anglais Technique
2014/2015
ANGLAIS TECHNIQUE
Objectives:
The course will enable the students to:
Master English language as their second language
-
To be able to express themselves
-
Confront any test in English
-
To face the realities of the world today
The course will be divided into four parts: Grammar, vocabulary, comprehension and Essay writing/
letter writing. There will equally be oral drill.
SPEECH DRILL
(Prise de parole)
SPEECH MAKING
Before you even make a speech, you should draft it. There are few gifted persons who just get up and
make a speech.
HOW TO PREPARE A SPEECH
 Some people have the habit of writing and reciting
 Get in touch all the information required by your audience and put it down on paper.
 You can read directly from the paper or summarize the speech and explain it to the audience.
 Always practice reading it over well ahead of time.
HOW TO TALK IN THE PUBLIC
(How to address a crowd)
Each one of us can be called up to address a crowd.
FOR EXAMPLE: - A students' gathering or manifestation.
 A political gathering or campaign.
 A family meeting.
 A mob action, strike action.
 Ceremony etc.
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The greatest l problem with some people who find themselves in a position to address others lies on
the fact that they are not prepared. That is, their ideas are either scattered or they have organized ideas
but they don't know how to voice them out.
NOTE: To address a crowd is a matter of conviction; you should be able to convince, to charm the
people listening to you.
You must also take note that the audience has a pre – knowledge of what you what to say, thus are not
expected to tell lies or make mistakes.
METHODES
1)
For short speeches you can have a piece of paper where very important points (ideas)
are jotted in a chronological order. From it you select the points one after the other and explain it out.
2)
For long speeches covering several pages ,you are advised to write it down.
N. B Avoid big words, don’t be short of words, don’t suspend your audience, don’t go off topic, talk
simply and calmly, don’t insult, don’t provoke,
VERY IMPORTANT
Ask yourself why is it that when I discuss with people on a daily basis I don’t panic, I speak fluently
,but when I am called up in a multitude , I find myself wanting and deprived of ideas.
Naturally the answers to these questions vary from one person to another but in the general regard, they
have the same origin and they tilt towards the same direction. That is these persons have the same
problem.
CAUSES OF MISTAKES AND FEAR. IN
SPEECHES.
1) The fear to be criticized when we make errors.
2) The fear to break a relationship when we make errors.
3) The fear reduce one's personality when we make errors
4) Empty pride.
N. B
You must note that we learn every day, and by learning everyday we are intend correcting our
mistakes .Therefore we are bound to make mistakes.
When I ask some of you why up till this level you can't speak English, you could give other related
reasons but the most appropriate is the fear to be criticized or laughed at. And which is wrong.
SOLUTION
 You must be prepared to remedy failures if any ( correct your mistakes without fear)
 Have a positive mental attitude ( I must always succeed.) overcome fear and you will succeed
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NB Some audiences judge their speakers from their voices
-
You must have a clear voice, no accent, be audible;
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Don’t be too fast nor too slow.
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Don’t concentrate on a particular section of the listeners,
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Don’t look at people into their eyes
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Don’t recognize any person when making a speech.
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Handle your objective very well.
-
Use you nature voice.
CYBER CAFÉ AND INTERNET.
a) Definition : A cyber cafe is a place where Internet services are sold.
Activities : At times documents can be scanned or printed. Some people chat while others send text
messages.
Chatting is done with the use of a microphone and a casquette. Some people play games while
others search for information using various web sites
ORIGIN. CYBER CAFÉ (Santa Monica) was opened in Los Angeles (U S A). the first CYBER
CAFE opened to the world was the CYBERNIA Which is now known As BTR internet café in
London. Opened in 1994. The orbital CYBER CAFÉ is the first opened in Paris
(France) in 1995.
1) INTERNET:
Brief history: internet is a computer network which links the computers of the world and that
enable them to share information.
- To communicate, these computers use a common language known as protocol and are
equipped with program
WORKSHOP
-
Partition the students in small groups and give them a topic for them to expose
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The topic should be related to the specialty.
III Different strategies to approach written and oral documents.

ORAL DRILL
listening comprehension. Selected passages be read and questions follow. (
related to the specialty)

Written comprehension;
How to tackle comprehension question.
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METHODE
SCAN – Read the whole. Text (first reading )
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Read the questions
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Read each paragraph and bring out the main idea.
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Read questions and try to situate the answers in the text.
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Write the answers in you own words.
ORAL / Written
how to take down note s
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Listen carefully and write in your own words, ( get the main idea).
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Avoid long and compound sentences
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Avoid “big " words
How to use dates and data in English.

Dates: There are many ways to read and write dates In English;
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January 1st 2012 is read in principle "January the first two thousand and twelve.
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1st of January two thousand and twelve.
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But you can hear people say; " January first"
The abbreviations are in principle 01/ 1/ 2012 for the united kingdom and 1/ 01 2012. for united
states of America
Also, we can have 01 Jan 2012
Below is a list of months with their current abbreviation ( Note, Name and month start with a
capital letter in English,
January
Jan
June - Jun
February
Feb
July - Jul
March
Mar
August - Aug
April
Apr
September – Sep
October - Oct
May
May
November – Nov. December –
Dec
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GRAMMTICAL REMINDER.
We place the preposition “On " before a date.
Example: he will arrive on Monday
He arrived on Christmas Day
“In " before month or year (in January, in 2012)
“at " before time
He left at twenty past five .
Numbers and figures
a) Figures and cardinal number
5, 000, 000
0
1
2
Zero
One
Two
101
4, 050
6, 000 000 000
100
175
3, 000
-
In English, we separate decimal points with a comma 12, 5 while a point separates them in
French 12.5 et se prononcera twelve point five.
En anglais une virgule sépare les millier alors qu'en français, un utilise un espace
a) ordinal numbers
1
One half ,a half
2
1 a third, one third
3
1 on tenth
10
1st
2nd
3rd
PHONETICS
a ei
b
Bi
Apple
m
en
Bike
n en
O Ou
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c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
si
di
I
ef
dji
eitch
ai
djei
kei
l
el
Ceremony
drive
2014/2015
P Pi
q Kju
r a (r)
s e s:
t ti
w double u
u u:
v vi
w double u
x ex
y wai
z zi : or ze
COMMUNICATION
It is essential for a business to inform clients and wouldd-be clients (potentials) about services and to
get informed about competition; therefore communication has become a key word of the 1990s.
With the advance of technology, people can’t imagine being isolated and the inability to communicate
has become a fault both in individuals and businesses.
Another aspect of the nineties is the important role of oral communication probably due to the
increasing use of telephones.
Mobile phones
The way they work is illustrated in the following document from the times, 27 October, 1995.
All newspapers and magazines are covered with large size advertisements from mobile phone
companies.
In the following pages you will fine examples illustrating the three main aspects on which advertisers
insist: technological advance (Ericsson), low cost (Nokia), and user friendly functions (Nortel).
You’ll get more information about mobile phones in further sections of this unit.
The Internet
A brief history:
1969: The American Department of Defense decided to build a network called ARPANET in order to
face a possible nuclear war by connecting the different sites together but independently, so that if any
site happened to be destroyed the others would still communicate.
The first use was electronic mail.
1979: A civil network (USENET) was built. It was used for forums and news groups.
1982: Access to the network was free of charge.
1983: 60 American and 3 European universities were connected.
1986: ARPANET divided into MILNET (Military network) and INTERNET. The internet was
connected to public phone lines.
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1991: Service providers appeared.
1992: The World Wide Web was developed in Geneva.
1996: More and more individuals and companies get connected to the internet.
Main services
You need specific software to connect to the network and start on the web. Then network providers
offer different services.
E-mail (electrical mail) enables you to exchange mails and other electronic information with a
correspondent identified with a “address” sometimes as complicated as
[email protected]. (Don’t try it, it’s fake)
Newsgroups, or News, or forums to exchange ideas, take part in discussions worldwide on chosen
subjects.
WWW: the World Wide Web, the global network that offers many sites to “surf” through. They too are
identified by addresses beginning with http://. These sites offer access to various databases.
FTP: the file Transfer Protocol enables users to download information from distant computers for
example.
HTML: Assistants that help make pages for the Web.
COMPREHENSION
Trouble on the line over charges
Across Europe, the average price of a phone call is falling. But the way it is being done – raising local
rates and cutting long – distance and international tariffs – is causing widespread resentment,
particularly in Germany and Italy.
Monopoly telecom operators are reluctant to accept competition, and governments are worry of the
political fallout of raising prices for local calls. As a result the process of “rebalancing” tariffs to reflect
the cost of providing services has been slow to start in some countries. The later the start, the more
drastic the impact and the louder the protests, especially in Italy.
Francesco Chirichigno, head of Telecom Italia said: “Tariffs which are not based on real costs can be
absorbed as long as Telecom Italia holds a monopoly in Italy, but they will not work in an open,
competitive environment.” Those costs remain high in many countries. (…) The charge to cut prices
has been led by the UK, the first country in Europe to introduce competition, and Sweden, since 1992
the only other European countries to have competing telephone services.
In Germany, Deutsche Telekom is sticking to its new year’s tariff package, despite protests from
customers who face higher charges for local calls, telephone information services and connection
charges. Telekom has also created new peak and off-peak times, including a cheap rate for insomniacs
between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. Long-distance and international calls are cheaper and Telekom said that later
this year it will discount calls made to frequently dialed numbers of friends and family.
By the end of January, France Telecom will have cut international rates by 8.9 per cent, increased
monthly subscriptions and cut long-distance calls rates. Any changes to local call rates are still under
discussion.
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WORDBANK
resentment: ressentiment, reluctant: peu enthousiaste, to be wary of: se méfier de, fallout:
retombée(s), rebalance: ré-équilibrer, the charge…has been led: l’attaque…fut conduit, stick to:
conserver,maintenir, dial: composer (un numéro) sur un cadran, subscription: abonnement.
Classer les idées d’un texte selon certains critères est une maniére de montrer que l’on a compris le
texte, mais aussi parfois une aide à la comprehension elle-même, dans la mesure où l’exercice
intellectuel que ce classement suppose nous améne à nous poser d’autres questions sur le texte.
Classer des idées est d’ailleurs un exercice possible de l’examen toutes sections confondues. Alors
entrainez- vous ici avec le texte court et sans grande difficulté que vous venez de lire, en faisant les
exercices ci-dessous.
Practice
7.1 First, answer the following questions and check your answers with the correction (fascicule auto
corrections) before you start on exercise 7.2.
1. What geographical part of the world is concerned in this text?
2. What is the problem?
3. Who has opposing interests?
4. What was the consequence of this opposition in the past few years?
7.2 Faites un bilan comparatif de la situation dans les différents pays concernés.
Vous pouvez utiliser le tableau ci-dessous.
country
Situation (Monopoly ? Tariffs…)
7.3 Can you now associate the countries whose policy is nearly the same?
You could write down the current situation in France in the text box below, because it may have
changed by the time you do this exercise.
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GRAMMAIRE
EXPRIMER LE BUT
Dans une entreprise, tout est organisé en fonction d’objectifs et de buts à atteindre. Donc il est
souhaitable de maitriser les structures qui permettent de les exprimer.
Lisez le texte ci-dessous en repérant dans quel but les personnes mentionnées ont adopté le téléphone
mobile. Puis passerons en revue les différentes façons d’exprimer le but en anglais. Vous pourriez
ensuite vous entrainer en faisant les deux exercices de cette séquence.
Stay in touch on the move.
Eveline Fotso first acquired a mobile phone when she works a s an export manager, but it was after the
birth of her son Alex, three years ago that she really began to appreciate its use. “Lying in the hospital,
it was very nice being able to phone people from bed. “She says.
She now finds the phone a great comfort when she drives alone with Alex. “If I broke down on the
motor way, I wouldn’t be able to leave Alex alone while I walked to an emergency phone, but I
couldn’t carry along the hard shoulder either.” she says. “Now I can ring for help from the car.”
Now that Alex is older, Mrs Fotso takes the phone with her when she is out so that her babysitter can
call her if there are any queries or emergencies. The phone also allows her to let people know if she
would be late for a meeting. “It takes all the stress out of being late if you can let people know what has
happened”
Mrs Fotso uses per second’s Low Cost tariffs and is careful not to make too many calls, so her bills are
fairly low. She particularly appreciates her phones 1 800 number memory which means he can leave
her address book at home. “There are some parts of the country where the signal simply goes badly.”
She says.
Jumles Ewane, a builder from Bafoussam uses a mercury one to one mobile phone, and because most
of his jobs are within the Douala area, he is not concerned that one to one coverage is still restricted.
What frustrates him, however, is the poor quality of reception when he makes calls indoors in the
evening.
“I have to stand by the window to talk, and if I need to move back into the room to check something, the
conversation starts breaking up.” He says. Because Mr. Ewane is constantly on the move, the phone is ideal
for keeping in touch with clients and suppliers. “I don’t like asking clients if I can use their phone when I am
on a site, and I don’t need to hunt for call boxes any more, I take the mobile very where and I would be lost
without it.
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Mr. Ewane’s main complaint is the relatively cost of the mercury service. His bills are around 4500frs
per month.
Another problem is cloning. Using radio scanners, thieves can copy identification codes of the
legitimate users. Mr. Essoh who uses a Motorola car phone on the Cellnet recently received a huge bill
for calls he had ’t made.
His phone is voice activated and he can make and receive calls while driving. “it makes my job easier
and customers appreciate being able to get in touch at any time. “He can also pick up voice messages
from his office voice-mail system and make international calls at preferential rates via MTN’s worldwide network.0
Mr. Essoh will son exchange the car phone for a full mobile phone and admits: “initially I was worried
about being available 24 hours a day. But if I don’t want to be disturbed, I can switch the phone off or
use the call forward option to pass calls onto my office line. “And like most mobile phones users, he
reckons that the benefits still outweigh the disadvantages.
Word bank
Hard shoulder : la bande d’arrêt d’urgence
Queries : questions
Let people klnow : faire savoir à quelqu’un
Fairly low : assez bas
Gap : intervall
To go dead : s’arrêter, s’eteindre, cesser de fonctioner
Builder : maçon
Break up : (s’)interompre
On the move : en déplacement
On site : sur place
Voice-mail : méssagerie vocal
Call forward option : tranfert d’appels
Pass calls onto …: transferer des appels sur..
Reckon : estimer
Outweigh : l’emporter sur
EXPRIME LE BUT
TO ou IN ORDER ou encore SO AS TO + infinitif
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Eveline Carr used her mobile to communicate with her friends while she was in hospital in order to
communicate ….. so as to communicate …
C’est la manière la plus simple et de loin la plus courante d’exprimer le but. La seconde et la troisième
forme (in order to / So as to) montrent plus l’intention que la première, qui est tout à fait banale.
SO THAT + proposition
Mrs Carn does not make too many calls do that she can her bill fairly low. Cette forme n’est pas si
fréquente que les précédents car elle est plus difficile à construire.
Elle s’emploie cependant quant le sujet de la préposition subordonnée (her babysitter) est différent de
celui de la proposition principale (Mrs Carn) comme ci-après.
Mrs Carn bought a mobile so that her babysitter could call her at any time.
WITH A VIEW TO + gérondif
She later bought a mobile with a view of keeping in touch with her babysitter. Cette expression est plus
formelle, donc plus rare emploi. Elle insiste nettement sur l’intention.
FOR + proposition infinitive
Mr Wooster uses a mobile for his clients to reach him wherever he is. Cette manière d’exprimer, le but
est très utilisée parce que plus simple. Elle est nécessaire quand le sujet n’est pas le même dans la
préposition principale. (Mr. Wooster) et dans la proposition infinitive (his clients) et que vous ne
souhaitez pas employer la forme avec so that.
Practice
Répondez aux questions suivantes pour exprimer dans quel but Mrs Carn, Mr Wooster ou Mr Ayres
utilisent un téléphone mobile, d’après le texte qui nous sert de support pour cette séquence « stay in
touch on the move ». Efforcez-vous d’utiliser les expressions révisées ci-dessous.
Vous trouverez une correction dans le fascicule autocorrections.
1. Why would Mrs Fotso have to walk along the hard shoulder of the motorway?
2. Why would her babysitter need to phone her?
3. Why does she use her phone when she is late?
4. Why is she careful not to make many calls from her mobile?
5. Why would Mr. Ewane need to go away from the window when on the phone?
6. Why does he need a mobile phone for his job?
7. Why do the thieves mentioned in the text use radio scanners?
8. Why did Mr. Essoh change to a mobile?
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9. Why did he choose the call forward option?
10. Why would he switch off the phone?
Construisez des phrases en prenant un élément dans chacune des trois colonnes. Attention cependant
que les construction soient grammaticalement correctes et aient bien entendu un sens. Un exemple est
mis en caractères gras. Ecrivez vos réponses et puis comparez-les avec les corrections.
1.
Our company has an e-mail address
a)
Getting connected to the internet
2.
I bought a modem
b)
Encourage client to call
3.
European countries will have to accept competition
c)
Be able to face the development of
telecommunications
4.
I’d like to surf on the web
d)
Join in news groups and share ideas
5.
Companies offer a free phone service
e)
Customers and suppliers / find contact easier
6.
I choose the call forward option
f)
Show off
7.
Some people have a mobile
g)
Customers find it more comfortable to get in touch
8.
I use the internet
h)
People have only one number to dial to contact me
wherever I am
9.
Phone numbers changed in France on the 10th
i)
Travel worldwide, virtually, of course.
j)
Lowering and uniformising tariffs
October 1996
10.
Our company adopted the voice- mail system
1. .
2. .
3. .
4. I’d like to surf on the web so as to travel worldwide, virtually, of course.
5. .
6. .
7. .
8. .
9. .
10. .
SEQUENCE 3 : VOCABUALIRE.
Certaines expressions en anglais sont difficiles à traduire en français même si on comprend le sens. De
même certaines expressions françaises sont difficiles a traduire en anglais.
Lisez le texte ci-après. Ne soyez pas étonné€ de ne pas avoir de mots expliqués à droite du texte
puisque justement nous travaillons sur la traduction de ces mots dans cette séquence.
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Satisfying Customers everywhere
If revenue figures are any guide, the pus to interconnect the world is making a large market truly
massive with carriers selling more than an estimated 600billion dollar in hardware and services
worldwide this year.
But so far it is more advanced countries that are getting the largest portion of the telecommunications
pie. The industrialized countries are communicating in an ever increasing volume –by- voice, fax,
computer network, video conferencing and other multimedia systems. Only making up only 15% of the
world population, they have possession of around 75% of the all phone lines, according to ITU.
While private and corporate customers in the USA and Europe – for example – seek for more
sophisticated services, whole regions of the world only demand basic phone services. It’s a stark
challenge for telecommunications carriers.
Conscious of the inadequacies of their infrastructures – a deiced negative when it comes to attracting
foreign investment – less advanced countries are focusing on the acquisition of new
telecommunications technologies.
A classic case is India, a huge subcontinent of some 850 million people. Right now phone line
penetration is 20% of the global average and half as much in China. India’s department of
Telecommunications wants to triple capacity over the next five years by letting major corporate
conglomerates (…) operate 20 million phone lines. Amongst the eager applicants are AT&T, Bell
Atlantic, Nynex and U.S. West.
You can find dozens of other situations like India in the current globalized Telecommunications. Will
today’s technology be absolute tomorrow? Who is going to finance the world’s extraordinary rush to
interconnect billions of people and thousands of companies?
“The world of telecommunication is in constant evolution”, as the show’s sponsors put it, “ and its no
exaggerating to say that we are now at a vital crossroads where telecommunications industry is
increasingly converging with the computer and broadcasting industries”.
Practice
Voici les désordres des expressions du texte que vous venez de lire, traduites en français. Voudriezvous inscrire leurs traductions en anglais, telle que vous l’avez reconnue dans le texte ?
1. Dans les cinq prochaines années
.
2. C’est un défi total pour les transporteurs de télécommunications
3. A peine 1%
4. La plus grosse partie du gâteau.
5. L’actuel course à l’universalisation des communications.
6. Résolution négatives quand il s’agit d’attirer…
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7. Si les chiffres du Revenu peuvent servir de guide
8. Réclament un service téléphonique de base
9. A ce moment précis,
10. 10% et la moitié en Chine,
Six extra phrases (des expression en plus) for « AST » students only. Other students are welcome
though!
1. Transforme en gigantesque un marché déjà immense.
2. Les insuffisances de leurs infrastructures
3. Les plus en voie d’industrialisation mettent l’accent sur..
4. Parmi les candidats impatients.
5. Qui font plus de £600 milliards de vents de matériels et services dans le mon de entier.
6. Fabriqué sur commande.
Vous êtes maintenait invité(e)s a relire les textes des séquences 1 et 2 des cette unité et à noter
dans le cadre ci-dessous les diverses expressions intéressantes dont vous aimerez garder trace
de al traduction.
SEQUENCE 4 : PRODUCTION ECRITE
Communication
Dans l’unité 5, nous avons vu comment passer une commande. Vous trouverez ici comment
annuler une commande ou la modifier.
La présentation de la lettre sera la même que pour la commande lais il faudra faire très attention
de ne pas oublier les références exactes attachées à la commande en question.
Les étapes à respecter :
1. Annoncer le changement ou l’annulation et rappelez les articles concernés pour qu’il n’y ait
pas d’ambigüité.
2. Expliquer les raisons de la modification
3. Exprimer vos regrets …
4. Donnez l’assurance que vous continuerais à faire affaire avec la compagnie (si c’est la cas),
sinon ne dite rien à ce propos.
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Voici quelques expressions utiles
Cancel / modify an order :annuler/modifier une commande
We wish to cancel our order no.625 for mobile handsets : nous aimerions annuler notre
commande no. 625 de telephones mobiles.
We would like to postpone our order : remettre à plus tard
Wa are sorry to have to modify our order.
Concerning our order for 5 telephones, would you be so kind to replace the colour black by offwhite? Voudriez –vous avoir l’amabilité de remplacer la couleur noir par blac-cassé ?
Very much to our regret, we shall have to cancel our order
We expect that we shall be able to give you a substantial order to make up for this modification
/ cancelling. Une commande importante pour compenser …
We trust this modification will not cause you any inconvenience : nous espéronsque cette
modification ‘entraînera pas de désagrément pour vous.
We have every reason to … nous avons tout lieu de …..
To call off a deal : annuler une afire
To forward : expédier
Faulty : défectueux
A hidden defect : un vice caché
To refund : rembouser
To send the wrong order : se tromper de commande
To delay delivery : retarder la livraison à plus tard.
Hope sincerely : souhaiter vivement
Practice
Vous avez commandé 5 téléphones mobiles Nokia 2110 le 15 Janvier dernier sous le numéro de
commande de 514/BJ. Il se trouve que les ventes ont chuté pour ce produit à cause de la sortie
d’un modèle plus performant et vous souhaiteriez annuler la commande. Cependant vous
passerez sans doute une autre commande dans les semaines qui viennent.
Rédigez la lettre de modification auprès de la société Techno export, 15 High Street,
Northampton, GB. Choisissez vous-même la nom de la société pour laquelle vous travaillez.
Une lettre est donnée en exemple dans la fascicule autocorrections. Etudiez-la bien et tâchez
d’en retenir les grandes lignes.
Traduisez en français pour votre directeur des vents, sous forme de note de service ou mémo, la
lettre suivante que vous venez de recevoir. Vous verrez un exemple de correction dans le
fascicule autocorrections
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GRAMMAR
A / TYPES OF PRONOUNS
1) Personal Pronouns
A personal pronoun replaces a proper noun in a sentence. It refers to a specific person or thing and
changes its form to indicate person, number, gender, and case. It can either be used as the subject or
objects in a sentence. The subject form of a personal pronoun is used in the conjugation of verbs.
SINGULAR
PLURAL
e.g.
Subject
1st per.
2nd per.
3rd per.
1st per.
2nd per.
3rd per.
I
You
He / She / It
We
You
They
Object
Me
You
Him / Her / It
Us
You
Them
1) The teacher has two children.
2) He has two children. In this sentence the word He replaces the noun teacher which is
the subject of the sentence.
3) Those two children belong to him. Here the word him serves as the object of the
sentence.
2) Possessive Pronouns
A possessive pronoun replaces a personal noun in a sentence. It indicates ownership.
SINGULAR
PLURAL
Subject
1st per.
2nd per.
3rd per.
1st per.
2nd per.
3rd per.
My
Your
His / Her / Its
Our
Your
Their
Object
Mine
Yours
His / Her / Its
Ours
Yours
Theirs
The biggest bag is mine.
3) Demonstrative Pronouns
A demonstrative Pronoun identifies a noun or a pronoun. It exists in the singular and plural forms.
Singular
Plural
This (near)
These
That( (far)
Those
This is my brother
Those are my cars
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4)-Reflexive Pronouns
A reflexive pronoun shows that the action being talked of was carried out by the subject on its own. It
ends with the suffixes – self or – selves depending on whether it is in the singular or plural form.
e.g.
1st per.
Myself
nd
SINGULAR
2 per.
Yourself
3rd per.
Himself / Herself / Itself
1st per.
Ourselves
nd
PLURAL
2 per.
Yourselves
3rd per.
Themselves
1) The students prepared the sketches themselves.
2) The president went to the construction site herself to see what was being done
3) After the party, I drove home myself.
5)Interrogative Pronouns
An interrogative pronoun is used to formulate questions. That is they are used at the beginning of
questions. These include
Question word
Who?
Whom?
What?
Whatever?
When?
Whenever?
How long?
Where?
Why?
How?
How much / many?
e.g.
Information Requested
Person or people
Person or people
Thing
Thing
Time
Time
Length of time
Place
Reason
Manner
Quantity and amount.
Which of these bags do you want?
Who is the owner of this school?
Whom did you ask to report to this office? The husband or his wife?
Exercise:
1) Q. When did you start studying English language?
A. I started studying English language fifteen years ago
2) Q.
A. I started working as a safety officer in 2008.
3) Q.
A. I go to work by taxi.
4) Q.
A. I studied disaster management and prevention.
5) Q.
A. I have rescued people from plane crashes twice.
6) Q.
A. Africa is yet to have to operate recue missions and teams.
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6) Indefinite Pronouns
An indefinite pronoun refers to a person or thing without refering to a specified person or thing. The
most common indefinite pronouns are.
Singular
Plural
Another, any, anybody, anyone, anything, each, everybody, All, few, many,
everyone, everything, nobody, none, one, somebody,
several, some.
someone, much, most, either, neither, something, other
Exercise
1) Replace the nouns in the sentences below with appropriate pronouns
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
Nicolas and Harriet went to Limbe yesterday.
Mrs. Mbah is the most intelligent person I have meet.
Virginity is a pride to Muslims.
Virginie, Marie and Anne are romantic girls.
What can the wife of Mr. Sone do for all of you?
B / VERBS
A verb expresses an action, event, or state of being. That is any word that talks of an action is a
verb.
Which words in the sentences below express action?
-My English teacher is a gentleman/gentle lady
-I dance in the garden every evening.
-My father welds gates and doors with metal.
1)Verb Types
There are three main types of verbs – action, liking and auxiliary verbs. In English they are further
reduced to two main types – regular and irregular verbs.
An Action Verb talks of a physical or mental activity.
Linking Verbs connect the qualities of a noun to that noun. E.g. my dictionary weighs 5 kilograms.
Here the word weighs is the linking verb. All the forms of “to be” (be, is, am, are, was, were, been,
being) are examples of common linking verbs. Other auxiliary verbs include have, may, might,
will, would, could, should, shall, must …etc.(modal auxillary)
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2) Verb forms
Verbs in English Language take four forms – the infinitive, present participle, the past tense and the
past participle as shown below:
Verb
Infinitive
Present Participle
Past Tense
Past Participle
To learn
Learn
Learning
Learned / Learnt
Learned / Learnt
To read
Read
Reading
Read
Read
To eat
Eat
Eating
Ate
Eaten
3) Verb Tense
A tense is the form that a verb takes for the purpose of telling the time of an action. Time is divided
into three – the present, the past and the future. These form the three primary tenses in English.
Thus all tense forms subject themselves to an examination in terms of the present, the past and the
future.
Tense Forms
There are four main tenses in English – the simple of indefinite tense, the continues or the
progressive tense, the perfect tense, the perfect continues tense.
THE SIMPLE OR INDEFINITE TENSE
The simple or indefinite tense talks of an action but it does not indicate if the action is
finished or not. It can be examined in the present, the past and future using the positive, negative
and interrogative forms.
a) The Simple Present Tense (habitual) is used to talk of thoughts and feelings, repeated
action or things that remained the same for a long time. E.g. I like fufu and eru. The Simple present
tense can be written in three forms – affirmative/positive, negative and interrogative forms.
Affirmative
Negative
I eat breakfast at 7
O’clock
We dance every Saturday
I do not (don’t) eat breakfast at
7O’ clock.
We do not (don’t) dance every
Saturday.
Interrogative
Do I eat breakfast at
7O’clock?
Do we dance every
Saturday?
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My family lives in Douala
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My family does not (doesn’t)
live in Douala.
Does my family live in
Douala?
Conjugation of the verb “to read” in the Simple present tense.
1st person singular
I read
2nd person singular
You read
3rd person singular
He / She / It reads
1st person plural
We read
2nd person plural
You read
3rd person plural
They read
Complete the exercise below putting the verbs in Brackets in the Simple Present Tense.
1. My sister is finding life in Buea difficult. She ………… (to speak) English.
2. Most students live around the University. They ………… (to walk) there.
3. No lunch for the teacher. He ……….. (to eat) lunch.
4. ……………. (to do) I have any choice other than to study English Language?
5. …………… (to be) there any students in class at this hour?
b) The Simple Past Tense
It is used to talk of something in the past which is finished. It is used in the positive, negative and
interrogation forms. E.g.
Positive
Negative
Interrogative
I ate beans yesterday.
I didn’t eat beans yesterday.
Did I eat beans yesterday?
I slept at five.
I didn’t sleep at five.
Did I sleep at five?
I studied English
I didn’t study English.
Did I study Englis?
Conjugation of the verb “to learn” in the simple Past tense
1st person Singular
I learned
2nd person Singular
You learned
3rd person Singular
He / She / It learned
1st person Plural
We learned
2nd person Plural
You learned
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3rd person Plural
They learned
c)The Simple Future Tense
The simple future tense is used to talk of an action that is yet to take place. It is formed by
combining an auxiliary verb with the infinitive form of the main verb. E.g.
Positive
Negative
Interrogative
I will travel to Britain.
I will not (won’t) travel to Britain
Will I travel to Britain?
I will buy a car.
I will not (won’t) buy a car.
Will I buy a car?
I will pass my exams
I will not (won’t) pass my exams
Will I pass my exams?
Conjugation “To pass”
1st person Singular
I will pass
2nd person Singular
You will pass
3rd person Singular
He / She / It will pass
1st person Plural
We will pass
2nd person Plural
You will pass
3rd person Plural
They will pass
Exercise: change the verbs in brackets into the simple future tense.
1) We (ate) roasted fish tonight
2) When I (finished) school, I (worked) for the American Army
3) I (married) my husband by the time I (had) the bachelor’s degree.
4) One (needs) to work hard as time waits for no one.
5) Cameroon (had) a new president in twenty two year.
THE CONTINUES TENSE
The continues or progressive tense is used to talk of actions that are still going on. It is formed by
combining an auxiliary verb with the present participle form of the main verb. The progressive tense is
used in the present, past and future forms
1) the present continues tense
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The present continues tense shows that one is in the middle of an action. It is also used when things are
changing over a long period of time. It is formed by using the simple present tense of “to be” + an ing
form thus.
Positive
Negative
Interrogative
We are leaning English
We are not learning English
Are we learning English
language
language
language?
I am waiting for my friend.
I am not (ain’t) waiting for my
Am I waiting for my
friend.
friend?
He isn’t doing his homework
Is he doing his homework
He is doing his homework
This is how verbs in the present Continues tense are conjugated.
1st person Singular
I am reading
2nd person Singular
You are reading
3rd person Singular
He / She / It is reading
1st person Plural
We are reading
2nd person Plural
You are reading
3rd person Plural
They are reading
Exercise: Put the verbs in the present continues tense.
1) I ……………… (to write) a letter to a friend who’s a Disc Jockey.
2) Stephen and I …….. (to read) today because she ………… (to help) to organize a disco.
3) That is a lot of work. How …………. (you/find) time for your lessons?
4) ………………. (we/ to go) on well. We …………… (to be/to spend) mush time on it.
5) It ……………. (to be/to take) me away from my studies.
2) the past continues tense.
The past continues tense is used to show that sometime in the past, we were in the middle of an
action.
Positive
You were talking in
class
It was raining.
Negative
Interrogative
You were not (weren’t) talking
in class
Were you talking in class?
It was not (wasn’t) raining
Was it raining?
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I was sitting in a park
I was not(wasn’t) sitting in the
his homework
park
Was I sitting in the park?
Verbs are conjugated in the Past Continues Tense thus:
The verb “to read”
1st person Singular
I was reading
2nd person Singular
You were reading
3rd person Singular
He / She / It was reading
1st person Plural
We were reading
2nd person Plural
You were reading
3rd person Plural
They were reading
Exercise: put the verbs in the sentences below in the past continues tense
1) I ……………… (to look) for you Mum. I’m afraid I have broken this bowl.
2) Om y God! Where …………….. to look)?
3) I ……………….(to take) it to the house when I hit my foot on the steps and fell.
4) I expect it was your fault. You ………………(to look) where you …………to go)
5) Sorry. I ……………. (to go) to buy you another one as soon as I had my.
3) the future continues tense
The future contentious tense is used to show that sometime in the future, we will be in the
middle of an action.
Positive
Negative
Interrogative
You will be building a
house.
The dog will be barking at
it.
America will be installing
Obama next January.
You won’t be building a
house.
The do won’t be barking at
it
America won’t be installing
Obama next January
Will you be building a
house?
Will the dog be barking at
it?
Will America be installing
Obama next January?
This is how verbs are conjugated in the Future Continues Tense.
1st person Singular
I will be sleeping
2nd person Singular
You will be sleeping
3rd person Singular
He / She / It will be sleeping
1st person Plural
We will be sleeping
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2nd person Plural
You will be sleeping
3rd person Plural
They will be sleeping
Exercise: put the verbs in the future continues tense
1) I………….. (to go) into business as soon as I leave school.
2) In five years from now, I …………. (to study) again. I …………. (to run) a big company
instead. I expect I …………. (to earn) lots of money. What about you Beteck?
3) That’s beautiful dream Nafissatou. I don’t know what I …………. (to do. What about you
Ndinken? What …………….. (you/to be/to do)?
4) I am lazy to do any kind of work. I ………….. (to marry) a rich man. I …………. To give)
dinner parties all the time.
5) You are joking Ndinken. Aren’t you? I expect you ……………… (to act)
THE PERFECT TENSE
The perfect tense talks of action that is already finished. Whether in the present, past, or future the
action referred to by the perfect tense shows completion. It is formed by combining the auxiliary verb
to have + the past participle of the verb used in the sentence. E.g. I have eaten some food.
1) the present perfect tense
The present perfect tense expresses an action that is still going on or that stopped recently, but
the action has an influence on the present. This shows that the action is finished. It is formed by
combining the auxiliary verb conjugated in the simple present tense + the past participle of the main
verb.
The perfect tense ...
1) Puts emphasis on results.
E.g. He has eaten two plates of food.
2) Action that is still going on.
E.g. Ebai has not danced yet
3) Action that stopped recently.
E.g. My mother has cooked dinner.
4) Finished action that has an influence on the present. E.g. I have bought a car
5) Action that has taken place once, never or several times before the moment of speaking. E.g. I
have never seen an elephant.
Positive
We have cleared the farm
Negative
We haven’t cleared the
farm.
Interrogative
Have we cleared the
farm?
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They have finished their
food.
I have studied computer
maintenance.
2014/2015
They haven’t finished their
food.
I haven’t studied computer
maintenance.
Have they finished their
food?
Have I studied computer
maintenance?
Conjugation “to break”
1st person Singular
I have broken
2nd person Singular
You have broken
3rd person Singular
He / She / It has broken
1st person Plural
We have broken
2nd person Plural
You have broken
3rd person Plural
They have broken
Already, ever, just, never, not yet, so far, till now, up to now are words that signal the
use of the present perfect tense.
Put the verbs into the correct form of the present perfect tense.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
I ………….. (not / sleep) before 10 p.m. last night.
We …………… (buy) a new house.
We ……………… (not/plan) our wedding yet.
He ……………….. (write) five articles.
She ………………. (not/touch) the piano for a long time.
2) the past perfect tense
This tense is used to talk of an action or a state which was finished sometime ago.
Positive
The shops had just closed
Manchester united had
won.
The sea had washed away
the soil
Negative
The shops hadn’t just
closed.
Manchester hadn’t won.
Interrogative
Had the shops just
closed?
Had Manchester won?
The sea hadn’t washed away Had the sea washed
the soil.
away the soil?
Conjugation
“to sleep”
st
1 Per Sing.
I had slept
nd
2 Per Sing.
You had slept
rd
3 Per Sing
He/She had slept
st
1 Per Pl.
We had slept
nd
2 Per Pl.
You had slept
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3rd Per Pl.
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They had slept
Exercise: Put the verbs in the past perfect tense
1) There’s no milk in this ………………………… (to buy) some since Christmas.
2) Oh my God! I really needed some milk as I ………………….. (to have) a hard day at work.
3) I am awfully sorry about that I couldn’t get some from the store because I ……….. (to leave)
my purse at home.
4) ……………………. (you / to prepare) anything to drink before my arrival
5) Yes, dear I………………………….. (to squeeze) some oranges for you before getting into the
kitchen to cook.
3) the future perfect tense is used to show how at a time in the future, the action taking place
would have been finished. E.g.
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
INTERROGATIVE
The shops will have closed
The shops wouldn’t have closed Would the shops have closed?
Mbetta Football club will
Mbetta football club wouldn’t
Would Mbetta football club
have won
have won
won?
We would have written our
We wouldn’t have written the
Would we have written our
exams
exam
exam?
THE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE
The perfect continuous or progressive tense is used for an action that lasted over a period of
time to the present or for repeated actions up to now. They are formed by combining two auxiliary
verbs – to have and to be with the present participle of the main verb.
1) the present perfect continuous / progressive tense
This tense form is used to talk of an action which has been repeated up to now or an action that
took place in the past and its impact still acts till present moment. Read out the sentences in the table
below and form sentences of your own.
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
INTERROGATIVE
We have been waiting for two We have not (haven’t) been
Have we been waiting for two
hours
waiting for two hours.
hours?
They have been building their They have not (haven’t) been
Have they been building their
house for two years
building their house for two
house for two years?
years
I have been learning English
I haven’t been learning
Have I been learning English
for the past fifteen years
English for the past fifteen
for the past fifteen years?
years
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Conjugation
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“to work”
1st Per Sing.
I have been working
2nd Per Sing.
You have been working
3rd Per Sing.
He/She has been working
1st Per Pl.
We have been working
2nd Per Pl.
You have been working
3rd Per Pl.
They have been working
Exercise: put the verbs in the present perfect continuous tense
1) Sorry for being late. I hope you ……………………. (to wait) for long.
2) Not at all. But what ……………………….. (to do) since morning?
3) I ………………………… (to work) with Mrs. Bate on my English.
4) But you speak good English. You ……………….. (to waste) your time in Ghana. For how long
………. (you /to learn) English?
5) Four years but my oratory power wasn’t so good before I came to Ghana. I …………….. (to try) to
improve it.
2) the past perfect continuous tense
This tense form is used to talk of an action which happened over a period of time. Read out the
sentences in the box below and later construct sentences of your own.
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
INTERROGATIVE
Ella felt weak because she
Ella did not (didn’t) feel weak because Did Ella feel weak because
had been cooking all day.
she had been cooking all day.
she had been cooking all day?
Before the thieves were
Before the thieves were caught, the
Had the police been haunting
caught, the police had been
police had not (hadn’t) them for
the thieve for months before
haunting them for months
months
they were caught
Isabella had been crying for
Isabella had not (hadn’t) been crying
Has Isabella been crying for
two hours
for two hours
two hours?
Conjugation “to clean”
1st Per Sing
I had been cleaning
2nd Per Sing.
You had been cleaning
3rd Per Sing.
He / She had been cleaning
1st Per Pl.
2nd Per Pl.
We had been cleaning
You have been cleaning
3rd Per Pl.
They had been cleaning
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Exercise: Put the verbs in the Past Perfect Continuous tense
1- My job interview was awful Nlend. I felt terribly nervous and ………………. (to worry) about it all
night because I …………………… (to work) on my internship. Report the night before and I
…………………. (to prepare) for the interview at all.
2. Yours was certainly better Defang because the person interviewing us came two hours late because
he ………………. (to repair) his car that broke down as he was driving from Tankouassombo to Accra.
We ………………………. (to wait) for ages before he arrived.
3. So how did it go Nlend? As for me I ………………. (to read) a book on what to do at an interview
on my way but I’m not sure I gave the right answers.
4. Well I thank God. I ………………….. (to go) through what we studied in Management and we are
given a practical task on that and driving. I had never driven a car before Imagine how I fumbled.
5. Well I ……………… (to pray) every day this past week to deliver us from this unemployment.
C / ADJECTIVES
Words that are used in describing, identifying, or quantifying people, places, animals or things are
adjectives. An adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies. In the
following examples, the highlighted words are adjectives:
A truck-shaped coffin was used to burry the truck driver.
The small blue car belongs to my teacher.
Many businessmen have started to stock their shops with beautiful Christmas trees.
1) FORMS OF ADJECTIVES
Adjectives take three main forms in English – the positive, the comparative and the superlative.
Positive adjectives describe something without suggesting any comparison. E.g Paul is a tall boy.
Comparative adjectives compare two nouns or pronouns. E.g. Aisha is taller than Mbete.
Superlative adjectives compare three or more nouns or pronouns. E.g. of all the students in class,
Tata is most intelligent.
There are two groups of adjectives – the short and the long adjectives. The short adjectives are
made up of one syllabus e.g. short, tall, long, big. The comparative and superlative forms of these
adjectives are formed with er and est. e.g.
Positive
Comparative
Superlative
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Short
Shorter
Shortest
Long
Longer
Longest
Y adjectives, even though they have more than one syllabus, have the same comparative and
superlative forms like the short adjectives (the Y changed to an I). e.g
Positive
Hungry
Happy
Comparative
Hungrier
Happier
Superlative
Hungriest
Happiest
The comparative and superlative forms of the long adjectives are formed with more and most. E.g.
Positive
Beautiful
Expensive
Comparative
More beautiful
More expensive
Superlative
Most beautiful
Most expensive
Some adjectives are exception to these rules. They are;
Positive
Good
Bad
Little
Comparative
Better
Worse
less
Superlative
Best
Worst
Least
D / ARTICLES
The words a, an and the form a special group of adjectives called articles. A and An are indefinite articles
because they refer to one of a general group or people, places, animals, things or ideas. A is used before
words that begin with consonants while an is used before words that start with a vowel. E.g. a horse, an
umbrella
The article the is a definite article because it identifies specific people, places things and ideas.
Exercise: use a and an before the following words
a)
Vehicle
b) expedition c) welder
d) instrument
e) hour
E / INTERJECTION
An interjection is a word that expresses strong feelings and emotions. There are as many
interjections as there are emotional situations. Even in our African languages, there are interjections
too. They are usually by exclamation marks. The highlighted words in the following sentences are
interjections:
Ouch!, I’ve wounded my toe.
Oh no! I forgot that my brother was getting married today.
Hey! You have missed your way.
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I heard Masango say Bi, “Ngwen has a new car, eh”
I have never heard of you but, good lord I think you are very handsome.
What feelings do you think that interjections in the sentences above convey? Choose from the
options given in brackets.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
.
.
.
.
.
(joy, pain, fear)
(surprise, denial, fear)
(warning, surprise, frustration)
(Surprise, jealousy, insecurity)
(surprise, joy, frustration)
F / PREPOSITIONS AND CONJUNCTIONS
I – PREPOSITIONS are words or groups of words often placed before a noun or pronoun to indicate
time, place, directions, source, methods etc. take note that the prepositions can be used in many ways.
It can indicate time, place, etc.
e.g.
In my house - place
In may
- time
Prepositions are very important words in the English language and mastering their usage will ease the
mastery of the language. Most of the common mistakes in the use of the English language are as a
result of wrong use of prepositions.
Exercise 1 fill in the missing prepositions in the following sentences.
1. He lives
the sea.
a) On
b) at
c) near
2. I’m not very keen
classical music.
a) Of
b) for
c) on
3. For the last time – will you listen
me!
a) To
b) on
c) at
4. I see that Shania finally got engaged
Ishmael.
a) With
b) to
c) by
5. My brother’s an authority
cricket.
a) On
b) about
c) with
II – CONJUNCTIONS link words to other words, phrases and clauses:
I ate the pizza and the pasta
Call the movers when you are ready
A coordinate conjunction links words, phrases and independent clauses
E.g.
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and, but, or, noir, for, so, or yet
Black and white are colours.
In this example, the coordinating conjunction “and” links two adjectives.
A subordinate conjunction introduces a dependent clause. E.g
Are, after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than,
that, though, till, until, when, where, whether, and while.
After she had read her notes, Elizabeth felt more impendent.
The subordinate conjunction “after” introduces the dependent cause “After she had read her notes”.
Correlative conjunction which always appear in appear in pairs are used to link equivalent sentence
parts. E.g.
Both..and, either..or, neither..nor, not, only…but also, so…as,
whether…or.
E.g. Both my mother and my wife worked in the family shop.
Exercise: Use the appropriate conjunction to complete the sentences below.
1) My wife doesn’t like bread ………………, chocolate.
2) ……………… Elen Johnson is a woman, she won the Liberian president.
3) ……………… you like it ………….. not, you must study hard in order to pass your exams.
4) I like bikes …………… I prefer cars.
5) In Africa, boys are not independent ……….. they are 21 …………… girls are independent
earlier.
6)
G / QUESTION TAGS AND PARAGRAPHES
I-QUESTION TAGS
A question tag is a phrase made up of a verb and a pronoun usually added to the end of the
statement to seek someone else’s opinion on an issue. e.g. I have a car, haven’t I ? The question tag is
formed using the verb in the statement, a pronoun and a question mark.
Note that when the statement is positive, the tag is negative and vice versa.
I studied In the University of Buea. Didn’t I?
My sister doesn’t like corn fufu, does she?
Positive tag.
e.g.
- positive
- positive
statement
statement
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Exercise: Add tags to the questions below.
Choose the correct answer.
1) You’re coming to the party, …………? a) aren’t you b) isn’t you c) shouldn’t you
2) It wasn’t vey difficult, ……………..? a) wasn’t it
b) isn’t it
c) was it
3) Tom is getting something for Sue, …..? a) wasn’t he
b) isn’t he c) was he
4) There’s some milk in the refrigerator, …?
a) isn’t the
b) isn’t it
c) wasn’t it
5) It won’t be anything expensive, …..?
a) won’t it
b) isn’t it
c) will it
II / PARAGRAPHS
When we write we use paragraphs. What is really a paragraph? From letters through text books to novels,
we find writers using paragraphs to express their ideas. So what therefore is a paragraph?
A paragraph simply puts a group of sentences that are centered on one a main idea. A paragraph has two
main parts the topic sentence and the supporting sentences. The topic sentence in a paragraph is that
particular sentence that states the main idea. The topic sentence also unifies the content of a paragraph and
directs the order of the sentences; and it advises the reader of the subject to be discussed and how the
paragraph will discuss it. From the topic sentence, the user can determine the subject and perspective of
the paragraph, that is why most topic sentences will be placed at the beginning of paragraphs. The rest of
the sentences that follow the topic sentence will be supportive sentences.
Every paragraph must be must logical, concise and complete. That is the ideas must be well
organized, straight to the point and must express a complete thought. E.g.
Football has become a favourite pastime for many Cameroonians.
If you walk along any street, in Cameroon, you will surely see a determined footballer. He or she may be
tall or short, fat or thin, young or old. Some dress in old comfortable clothes while others dress enticingly.
Some practice as individuals and others practice as teams.
Transitional Words and Phrases often used in paragraphs
To show addition
Again, and, also, besides, equally important, first (second etc..), further, furthermore, in addition, in the
first place, moreover, next, too.
To give examples
For example, for instance, in fact, specifically, that is, to illustrate
To contrast
Although, and yet, at the same time, but, despite, even though, however, in contras, in spite of,
nevertheless, on the contrary, on the other hand, still, though, yet.
To summarize or conclude
All in all, in conclusion, in other words, in short, in summary, on the whole, that is, therefore, to sum
up.
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Anglais Technique
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To show time
To show place or direction
To indicate logical relationship
C / ADJECTIVES
Words that are used in describing, identifying, or quantifying people, places, animals or things are
adjectives. An adjective usually precedes the noun or the pronoun which it modifies. In the
following examples, the highlighted words are adjectives:
A truck-shaped coffin was used to burry the truck driver.
The small blue car belongs to my teacher.
Many businessmen have started to stock their shops with beautiful Christmas trees.
2) FORMS OF ADJECTIVES
Adjectives take three main forms in English – the positive, the comparative and the superlative.
Positive adjectives describe something without suggesting any comparison. E.g Paul is a tall boy.
Comparative adjectives compare two nouns or pronouns. E.g. Aisha is taller than Mbete.
Superlative adjectives compare three or more nouns or pronouns. E.g. of all the students in class,
Tata is most intelligent.
There are two groups of adjectives – the short and the long adjectives. The short adjectives are
made up of one syllabus e.g. short, tall, long, big. The comparative and superlative forms of these
adjectives are formed with er and est. e.g.
Positive
Short
Comparative
Shorter
Superlative
Shortest
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Anglais Technique
Long
2014/2015
Longer
Longest
Y adjectives, even though they have more than one syllabus, have the same comparative and
superlative forms like the short adjectives (the Y changed to an I). e.g
Positive
Hungry
Happy
Comparative
Hungrier
Happier
Superlative
Hungriest
Happiest
The comparative and superlative forms of the long adjectives are formed with more and most. E.g.
Positive
Beautiful
Expensive
Comparative
More beautiful
More expensive
Superlative
Most beautiful
Most expensive
Some adjectives are exception to these rules. They are;
Positive
Good
Bad
Little
Comparative
Better
Worse
less
Superlative
Best
Worst
Least
D / ARTICLES
The words a, an and the form a special group of adjectives called articles. A and An are indefinite articles
because they refer to one of a general group or people, places, animals, things or ideas. A is used before
words that begin with consonants while an is used before words that start with a vowel. E.g. a horse, an
umbrella
The article the is a definite article because it identifies specific people, places things and ideas.
Exercise: use a and an before the following words
b)
Vehicle
b) expedition c) welder
d) instrument
e) hour
E / INTERJECTION
An interjection is a word that expresses strong feelings and emotions. There are as many
interjections as there are emotional situations. Even in our African languages, there are interjections
too. They are usually by exclamation marks. The highlighted words in the following sentences are
interjections:
Ouch!, I’ve wounded my toe.
Oh no! I forgot that my brother was getting married today.
Hey! You have missed your way.
I heard Masango say Bi, “Ngwen has a new car, eh”
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Anglais Technique
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I have never heard of you but, good lord I think you are very handsome.
What feelings do you think that interjections in the sentences above convey? Choose from the
options given in brackets.
6) .
7) .
8) .
9) .
10) .
(joy, pain, fear)
(surprise, denial, fear)
(warning, surprise, frustration)
(Surprise, jealousy, insecurity)
(surprise, joy, frustration)
Production
TP
1-how to draft a curriculum vitae
2-how to draft an abstract
3- companies . organigram, dependency…etc
4-project research and internship
5-interwiew
6- how to draft a letter of application
7- Differences in cultural heritage
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