ENGLISH PROFICIENCY3 AND HAND BOOK

DEPARTMENT: HEALTH SCIENCE

Semester : FOUR

FACULTY: Nursing

First Edition: 2018

Second Edition: 2020

LEARNERS’ HAND BOOK.

PROFICIENCY IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

BOOK III

Lecturer:By Ilhaan Mohamed Farah

1
Table of Contents
BRIEF BACKGROUND...........................................................................................................................4
VERBS.......................................................................................................................................................4
TYPES OF VERBS...............................................................................................................................4
Main verbs and helping verbs...........................................................................................................4
State verbs..........................................................................................................................................5
Modal verbs........................................................................................................................................6
Regular and irregular verbs.............................................................................................................6
Transitive verbs.................................................................................................................................7
Intransitive verbs...............................................................................................................................7
TENSES.....................................................................................................................................................8
TYPES OF TENSES.............................................................................................................................8
The present tense...............................................................................................................................8
The past tense...................................................................................................................................12
Future tense......................................................................................................................................16
PRONOUNS............................................................................................................................................18
TYPES OF PRONOUNS....................................................................................................................18
Personal Pronouns...........................................................................................................................18
Relative Pronouns............................................................................................................................19
Demonstrative Pronouns.................................................................................................................19
Reflexive Pronouns..........................................................................................................................19
Possessive Pronouns........................................................................................................................19
QUESTION FORMS...............................................................................................................................20
TYPES OF QUESTION FORMS.......................................................................................................20
Yes/No Questions.............................................................................................................................20
2. Asking “Five W” Questions........................................................................................................20
3. Using indirect question formula for polite English...................................................................21
4. Question tags................................................................................................................................22
COMPOSITION......................................................................................................................................22
HOW TO WRITE VERY GOOD COMPOSITION........................................................................22
STYLES OF WRITING......................................................................................................................23
Descriptive essays............................................................................................................................23

2
Argumentative essays......................................................................................................................23
Expository essay...............................................................................................................................23
PARTS OF A COMPOSITION..........................................................................................................23
ADJECTIVES..........................................................................................................................................24
DEGREES OF ADJECTIVES............................................................................................................24
FORMATION OF COMPARATIVE & SUPERLATIVE DEGREES OF ADJECTIVES...........24
ADVERBS................................................................................................................................................27
RULES FOR MAKING ADVERBS..................................................................................................27
TYPES OF ADVERBS........................................................................................................................28
Adverbs of Manner..........................................................................................................................28
Adverbs of place..............................................................................................................................28
Adverbs of Frequency.....................................................................................................................29
Adverbs of Time..............................................................................................................................29
Adverbs List.....................................................................................................................................30
PREPOSITIONS.....................................................................................................................................31
TYPE OF PREPOSITIONS...............................................................................................................31
Prepositions of Time........................................................................................................................31
Prepositions of Place........................................................................................................................32
Prepositions of Movement...............................................................................................................33
List of Prepositions of some prepositions.....................................................................................34
ANIMALS, THEIR HOMES, YOUNG ONES AND SOUNDS...........................................................35
CONJUNCTIONS...................................................................................................................................36
TYPES OF CONJUNCTIONS...........................................................................................................36
Coordinating Conjunction..............................................................................................................36
Subordinating Conjunction............................................................................................................36
Correlative Conjunction..................................................................................................................37
SOUNDS...................................................................................................................................................38
TYPES OF SOUNDS...........................................................................................................................38
The 5 Short Vowel Sounds..............................................................................................................38
The 6 Long Vowel Sounds...............................................................................................................38
The 18 Consonant Sounds...............................................................................................................38
The 7 Digraph Sounds.....................................................................................................................39
Diphthongs and Other Special Sounds...........................................................................................39

3
Other special sounds include:.........................................................................................................39
PUNCTUATION.....................................................................................................................................40
HOW TO USE PUNCTION MARKS................................................................................................40
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE..........................................................................................................43
WHEN TO USE THE VOICES..........................................................................................................44
LETTER WRITING (INFORMAL)......................................................................................................45
ELEMENTS OF THE LETTER........................................................................................................45
QUESTION TAGS..................................................................................................................................46
DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH....................................................................................................49

BRIEF BACKGROUND.

The course is meant for the students who completed the Proficiency level II. It targets on giving
students an opportunity to attain proficiency in English at a level of upper primary school.
By the end of the course you should be able to:
 Speak English like an upper primary school pupil.
 Read and comprehend any literature or poem related to their level

VERBS.

Verbs are words that show what the noun (subject) is doing. Verbs are sometimes referred to as action
words, usually all the words that show action are verbs.
Verbs include: Main verbs, state verbs, helping (auxiliary verbs), modal verbs, regular verbs, irregular
verbs, transitive and intransitive verbs. All these verbs are used differently and therefore different rules
apply when using them in a sentence.

TYPES OF VERBS.
Main verbs and helping verbs.
A verb can either be used as a main verb or as a helping verb. The most important helping verbs are;
o Be.
o Do
o Have.

Now let’s look at each one of these by involving examples.

4
Exp: Muna is working now.
In the above example, there are two verbs. ‘Is’ and ‘working’. The main verb is ‘working’. Therefore,
‘Is’ is the helping verb that shows tense.
Helping verbs also help us to form negative sentences.
Exp: Muna is not working now.
They also help in making questions, in this case, they come at the beginning.
Exp: Is Muna working now.
Other examples:

 You don’t play football (do -negative)

Do you play football? (do -Question)

 We have visited Bosaso three times.

The main verb in the second example is “visited”. But what is the purpose of “have”?
This means that in our lives, we have visited Bosaso three times.
Now look at this sentence:

 we visited Bosaso last year.

This implies a one-time experience.
NOTE: In some cases, “BE”, “DO” and “HAVE” can be used as the main verb. Have a look at the
sentence below.

 We have a car.
In this sentence, “have” is used as a main verb, it means to “own a car”

State verbs.
These are in two categories: Stative and Dynamic verbs.
Action verbs
These express physical activities such as Run, Climb, Walk, Carry, among others.
State verbs.
These expresses or describes a situation. For example, “BE” “HAVE” own among others. Let’s look at
some examples:

 I have a large family. “HAVE”

 Maryam likes ice cream. “DO”
 He is young. “BE”
NOTE: State verbs can not be used in -ing form.
We can say;

5
I am playing football.
We cannot say;
I am having a big family.

Modal verbs.
The help us to express the mood or attitude of the speaker. They include: Can could, may, might, will,
would, shall, should and must.
EXP: The patriots might win the super bowl this year.
The modal verb ‘might’ be used to predict the future.
NOTE: Without the modal verb ‘might’ it sounds like the speaker is 100% sure which may not be the
case.
Other functions.
Modals can also express ability.
EXP: Miss Fauzia can walk.
OR: You mustn’t smoke here.
The verb ‘mustn’t’ shows that the object does not have permission to smoke there.

Regular and irregular verbs.

In English only, verbs can have tenses, but to make tenses, we change forms of the verbs: They are five
forms, they include: The infinitive (base), the present form, past, past participle and -ing.
These have been summarised in the table below.

INFINITIVE PRESENT PAST PAST -ING

(BASE) PARTICIPLE
To cook Cook/cooks Cooked Cooked Cooking

To go Go Gone Went Going

To be Am, is, are Been Was, were Being

To read Read/reads Read Read Reading

To eat Eat, eats Eaten Ate Eating

To jump Jump, jumps Jumped Jumped Jumping

6
Verbs like, go, be, eat and many others are irregular, for such verbs, there is no rule for making the past
and past participle forms, we just have to learn them through experience.

Transitive verbs.
A transitive verbs s one that takes an object. In grammar, the object is a noun that receives the action of
the verb.
Exp: Jibril kicked [what?]

the ball.
Exp: Ali hit [what?]

his head on the wall.

All the above verbs are transitive because, without the object (ball and head), they are meaningless. To
complete their meaning, we need an object.
Can you think of more examples in this category and use them in a sentence?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Intransitive verbs.
These are verbs that do not take an object. For example: laugh, cry, sit, stand, pray among others.
Exp: The young boy laughed loudly
He prayed for ten hours.
The baby has cried for thirty minutes.
Mistake: People often leave out the object yet they are using a transitive verb.
Exp: The thief climbed and escaped. ---------- Can you identify the error in this sentence?
The mistake is, the verb ‘climb’ is a transitive verb. Therefore, it needs an object. Therefore, it would be:
The thief climbed over the wall and escaped.

7
TENSES.
Tense (noun): a verb-based method used to indicate the time, and sometimes the continuation or
completeness, of an action or state in relation to the time of speaking.

TYPES OF TENSES.
The English language has three main tenses; present, past and future tense. These tenses have got aspects
which when added onto them, they add up to twelve aspects.
The aspects include; simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous. These have been portrayed on
the table below.

Simple Continuous Perfect Perfect continuous

PRESENT Present simple Present continuous Present perfect Present perfect

TENSE continuous.

PAST TENSE Past simple Past continuous Past perfect Past perfect
continuous.

FUTURE TENSE Future simple. Future continuous Future perfect Future perfect
continuous.

The present tense.

We use this tense to talk about action happening now, has been happening or has happed. It has the
following aspects.

The simple present.

We use the simple present tense when an action is happening right now, or when it happens regularly (or
unceasingly, which is why it’s sometimes called present indefinite). Depending on the person, the simple
present tense is formed by using the root form or by adding -s or -es to the end.

 I feel great!
 Farhia loves pie.
 I’m sorry to hear that you’re sick.
The other is to talk about habitual actions or occurrences.

 Muhamad practices the piano every day.

8
 Ms. Ifrah travels during the summer.
 Hawo goes to school every day.

How to Form the Simple Present.

In the simple present, most regular verbs use the root form, except in the third-person singular (which
ends in -s).
Look at the table below.

Person Example

First-person singular I write.

Second person singular You write.

Third person singular He, she, it writes.

First person plural We write.

Second person plural You write.

Third person plural They write.

For a few verbs, the third-person singular ends with -es instead of -s. Typically, these are verbs whose
root form ends in o, ch, sh, th, ss, gh, or z.
First-person singular: I go Second-person singular: You go Third-person singular: He/she/it goes 
First-person plural:  We go Second-person plural:  You go Third-person plural:  They go
For most regular verbs, you put the negation of the verb before the verb, e.g. “She won’t go” or “I don’t
smell anything.”
The verb to be is irregular:
First-person singular: I am Second-person singular: You are Third-person singular: He/she/it is
First-person plural:  We are Second-person plural:  You are Third-person plural:  They are

How to Make the Simple Present Negative.

The formula for making a simple present verb negative is do/does + not + [root form of verb]. You can
also use the contraction don’t or doesn’t instead of do not or does not.
Muna does not want to share the pie. She doesn’t think there is enough to go around. Her friends do not
agree. I don’t want pie anyway.

9
To make the verb to be negative, the formula is [to be] + not.
I am not a pie lover, but Muna sure is. You aren’t ready for such delicious pie.

How to Ask a Question

The formula for asking a question in the simple present is do/does + [subject] + [root form of verb].
Do you know how to bake a pie? How much does Pauline love pie?

The present perfect tense.

Refers to an action or state that either occurred at an indefinite time in the past (e.g., we have talked
before) or began in the past and continued to the present time (e.g., he has grown impatient over the last
hour). This tense is formed by have/has + the past participle.
These examples show how the present perfect can describe something that occurred or was the state of
things at an unspecified time in the past.
Correct: I have walked on this path before.
Correct: We have eaten the lasagna here.
The important thing to remember about the present perfect is that you can’t use it when you are being
specific about when it happened.
I have put away all the laundry.
incorrect: I have put away all the laundry this morning.
You can use the present perfect to talk about the duration of something that started in the past is still
happening.
correct: She has had the chickenpox since Tuesday.
Practice:
Write five sentences in present perfect tense.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Present continuous.
The present continuous verb tense indicates that an action or condition is happening now, frequently,
and may continue into the future.
The Present Continuous Formula: to be [am, is, are] + verb [present participle]

10
Aunt Maryam is warming up the car while Hamza looks for his new leather coat.
They are eating at Aamina’s favorite restaurant today, Nabad iyo cano.

When Not to Use the Present Continuous Tense.

Do not use the present continuous tense with stative verbs. Stative verbs show a state of being that does
not show qualities of change. These verbs can stay in the simple present. For example,
Incorrect: Aunt Maryam is preferring the chicken over the banana peanut butter ones that Muna loves.
Correct: Aunt Christine prefers the chicken over the banana peanut butter ones that Muna loves.

The Exception to the Rule.

Some verbs can be both dynamic and stative! Think about the verbs to be and to think. In its dynamic
form, the verb to be can show action:
Mowlid, is being bold by ordering the waiter to respect the clients.
Common Construction in the Present Continuous Tense.

Common Stative Verbs that DO NOT USE the Present Continuous.

Option verbs Ownership verbs Emotion verbs

Deserve Own Feel
Know Belong Hate
Recognise Need Love
understand process sound

The present perfect continuous tense.

This is also known as the present perfect progressive tense shows that something started in the past and is
continuing at the present time. The present perfect continuous is formed using the construction has/have
been + the present participle (root + -ing).
Exp: I have been reading War and Peace for a month now.
Recently and lately are words that we often find with verbs in the present perfect continuous tense.
Exp: Hiris has been competing in flute competitions recently. (And she will continue to do so.)

11
I haven’t been feeling well lately. (And I am still sick now.)
Have you seen my wallet and keys recently? (Because I sure don’t know where they are.)
Of course, not all verbs are compatible with continuous action. Some examples of such verbs are to be, to
arrive, and to own.
Incorrect: I have been owning my Mazda since 2007.
Correct: I have owned my Probox since 2007. (present perfect tense)
Incorrect: Gus has been being late for work recently.
Correct: Gus has been late for work recently. (present perfect tense)

The past tense.

The past tense used to refer to action that happed in the past

Past simple tense.

The simple past is a verb tense that is used to talk about things that happened or existed before now.
Imagine someone asks what your brother Hussein did while he was in town last weekend.
Exp: Hussein entered a Qur’an memorisation contest.
He won the silver medal.
You can also use the simple past to talk about a past state of being, such as the way someone felt about
something. This is often expressed with the simple past tense of the verb to be and an adjective, noun, or
prepositional phrase. Have a look at the following examples.
Exp: Hussein was proud of his Qur’an memorisation victory.
The contest was the highlight of his week.

How to Formulate the Simple Past.

 For regular verbs, add -ed to the root form of the verb (or just -d if the root form already ends in
an e):
Play→Played Type→Typed Listen→Listened Push→Pushed Love→Loved
 For irregular verbs, things get more complicated. The simple past tense of some irregular verbs
looks exactly like the root form:
Put→Put Cut→Cut Set→Set Cost→Cost Hit→Hit
 For other irregular verbs, including the verb to be, the simple past forms are more erratic:
See→Saw Build→Built Go→Went Do→Did Rise→Rose
Am/Is/Are→Was/Were
The good news is that verbs in the simple past tense (except for the verb to be) don’t need to agree in
number with their subjects.

12
Hussein polished his medal. The other winners polished their medals too.

How to Make the Simple Past Negative.

Fortunately, there is a formula for making simple past verbs negative, and it’s the same for both regular
and irregular verbs (except for the verb to be). The formula is did not + [root form of verb]. You can
also use the contraction didn’t instead of did not.
Hussein did not brag too much about his reciting skills. Hussein’s brother didn’t see the contest.
For the verb to be, you don’t need the auxiliary did. When the subject of the sentence is singular, use was
not or wasn’t. When the subject is plural, use were not or weren’t.
Exp: The third-place winner was not as happy as Hussein.
The fourth-place winner wasn’t happy at all. The onlookers were not ready to leave after the
contest ended.
The contestants weren’t ready to leave either.

How to Ask a Question.

The formula for asking a question in the simple past tense is did + [subject] + [root form of verb].
Exp: Did Hussein win the gold medal or the silver medal?
Where did Hussein go to celebrate? 
Did the judges decide fairly, in your opinion?
When asking a question with the verb to be, you don’t need the auxiliary did. The formula is was/were +
[subject].
Exp: Was Hussein in a good mood after the contest? 
Were people taking lots of pictures?

Common Regular Verbs in the Past Tense.

Infinite Past tense Negative
To ask Asked Did not ask
To work Worked Did not work
To call Called Did not call
To use Used Did not use
To play Played Did not play.

Common Irregular Verbs in the Past Tense.

Infinitive Past tense Negative
To be Was / were Was not / were not.
To have Had Did not have.

13
To do Did Did not do.
To say Said Did not say.
To get Got Did not get.
To make Made Did not make.
To go Went Did not go.

The past perfect tense.

The past perfect is used to talk about actions that were completed before some point in the past.
Exp: We were shocked to discover that someone had written “Nabad iyo cano” on our front door. We
were relieved that they had used washable paint.

The Past Perfect Formula.

The formula for the past perfect tense is had + [past participle]. It doesn’t matter if the subject is
singular or plural; the formula doesn’t change.
The past perfect indicates an action that was completed in the past before another action took place.
Example:
The thief had disappeared by the time the police arrived.
Farhia had done her homework by the time the teacher came in.

Common Regular Verbs in the Past Perfect Tense.

Infinitive Past perfect Negative
To ask Had asked Had not asked.
To call Had called Had not called.
To use Had used Had not used.
To work Had worked Had not worked.
To play Had played Had not played.

Common Irregular Verbs in the Past Perfect Tense.

Infinitive. Past perfect. Negative.
To be Had been Had not been.
To have Had had Had not had.
To do Had done Had not done.
To say Had said Had not said.
To get Had gotten Had not gotten.
To make Had made Had not made.
To go Had gone Had not gone.
To take Had taken Had not taken.
To see Had seen Had not seen.
To come Had com Had not come.

14
*The past participle of “to get” is “gotten” in American English. In British English, the past participle is
“got.”

Past continuous.
The past continuous tense, also known as the past progressive tense, refers to a continuing action or state
that was happening at some point in the past.
The past continuous tense is formed by combining the past tense of to be (i.e., was/were) with the verb’s
present participle (-ing word).
There are many situations in which this verb tense might be used in a sentence. For example, it is often
used to describe conditions that existed in the past.
Exp: The sun was shining every day that summer.
As I spoke, the children were laughing at my cleverness.
It can also be used to describe something that was happening continuously in the past when another action
interrupted it.
Exp: The audience was applauding until he fell off the stage.
I was making dinner when she arrived.
The past continuous can shed light on what was happening at a precise time in the past.
Exp: At 6 o’clock, I was eating dinner.
It can also refer to a habitual action in the past.
Exp: She was talking constantly in class in those days.
One final caution: Though the irregularities are few, not every verb is suited to describing a continuous
action. Certain verbs can’t be used in the past continuous tense. One common example is the verb to
arrive.
Incorrect: At noon, he was arriving.
Correct: At noon, he arrived.

The past perfect continuous tense.

The past perfect continuous tense (also known as the past perfect progressive tense) shows that an action
that started in the past continued up until another time in the past.
The past perfect continuous tense is constructed using had been + the verb’s present participle (root +
-ing).

15
The past perfect continuous is a verb tense that indicates something that began in the past, continued in
the past, and also ended at a defined point in the past.
Exp: He had been drinking milk out the carton when Mom walked into the kitchen.
I had been working at the company for five years when I got the promotion.
When, for, since, and before are words that you may see used alongside the past perfect continuous tense.
Exp: Martha had been walking three miles a day before she broke her leg.
The program that was terminated had been working well since 1945.
Sundus had been playing the piano for 35 years when she was finally asked to retire.

Future tense.
The future tense refers to action which is yet to happen. It will/probably happen in the future.

Future simple.
The simple future is a verb tense that’s used to talk about things that haven’t happened yet.
Use the simple future to talk about an action or condition that will begin and end in the future.
Exp: This year, Jamil will read War and Peace. It will be hard, but she’s determined to do it.

How to Form the Simple Future.

The formula for the simple future is will + [root form of verb].
Exp: I will learn a new language.
o Karim will read that book.
o My brothers will sleep till noon if no one wakes them up.
o You will see what I mean.

It doesn’t matter if the subject is singular or plural; the formula for the simple future doesn’t change.
But…
There is another way to show that something will happen in the future. It follows the formula [am/is/are]
+ going to + [root form verb].
Exp: I am going to learn a new language.
o Karim is going to read that book.
o My brothers are going to sleep till noon if no one wakes them up.
o You are going to see what I mean.

The “going to” construction is common in speech and casual writing. Keep in mind though that it’s on
the informal side, so it’s a good idea to stick to the will + [root form] construction in formal writing.

16
Future perfect.
The future perfect is a verb tense used for actions that will be completed before some other point in the
future.
The future perfect tense is for talking about an action that will be completed between now and some point
in the future.
Exp: The parade will have ended by the time Ibrahim gets out of bed.
At eight o’clock I will have left.

The Future Perfect Formula.

The formula for the future perfect tense is pretty simple: will have + [past participle]. It doesn’t matter if
the subject of your sentence is singular or plural. The formula doesn’t change.

When to Use the Future Perfect Tense.

Sometimes, you can use the future perfect tense and the simple future tense interchangeably. In these two
sentences, there is no real difference in meaning because the word before makes the sequence of events
clear:
Exp: Hinda will leave before you get there. Hinda will have left before you get there.
But without prepositions such as before or by the time that make the sequence of events clear, you need
to use the future perfect to show what happened first.
Exp: At eight o’clock Linda will leave. (This means that Hinda will wait until 8 o’clock to leave.) At
eight o’clock Linda will have left. (This means Hinda will leave before 8 o’clock.)

When Not to Use the Future Perfect Tense.

The future perfect tense is only for actions that will be complete before a specified point in the future. In
other words, the action you’re talking about must have a deadline. If you don’t mention a deadline, use
the simple future tense instead of the future perfect tense.
Correct: Hinda will leave.
Incorrect: Hinda will have left.
The deadline can be very specific (eight o’clock) or it can be vague (next week). It can even depend on
when something else happens (after the parade ends). It just has to be some time in the future.

Future continuous.
The future continuous tense is a verb tense that indicates that something will occur in the future and
continue for an expected length of time.
It is formed using the construction will + be + the present participle (the root verb + -ing).
Exp: At five o’clock, I will be meeting with the management about my raise.

17
Will be meeting is the future continuous tense of the verb to meet. The construction will + be + the
present participle meeting indicates that the meeting isn’t going to happen in an instant, all at once. It
will have a duration.
More examples:
o Musa will be running a marathon this Saturday.
o Ali will be competing against Mowlid in the race.
o I will be watching Mowlid and Ali race.

Note: The Future Continuous Tense Is for action verbs only.

Future perfect continuous.

The future perfect continuous is a verb tense that describes actions that will continue up until a point in
the future. The future perfect continuous consists of will + have + been + the verb’s present participle
(verb root + -ing).
Exp: In November, I will have been working at my company for three years.
o At five o’clock, I will have been waiting for thirty minutes.
o When I turn thirty, I will have been playing piano for twenty-one years.

Note: Future perfect continuous tense is only used with action verbs.

PRONOUNS.
Pronouns are words used to replace nouns. The min function of pronoun is to limit repetition. For
instance, if you’re telling a story about your sister Sundus, the story will begin to sound repetitive if you
keep repeating “Sundus” over and over again.
Exp: Sundus has always loved fashion. Sundus announced that Sundus wants to go to fashion school.
You could try to mix it up by sometimes referring to Sundus as “my sister,” but then it sounds like you’re
referring to two different people.
Exp: Sundus has always loved fashion. My sister announced that Sundus wants to go to fashion school.
Instead, you can use the pronouns she and her to refer to Sundus.
Exp: Sundus has always loved fashion. She announced that she wants to go to fashion school.

TYPES OF PRONOUNS.
Personal Pronouns.
A personal pronoun is a pronoun that is associated with a particular person, in the grammatical sense.
They include: She and her I, me, you, he and him, it, we and us, they and them. These are the most
common, but there are other forms of pronouns as we shall see shortly,

18
Relative Pronouns.
Relative pronouns make up another class of pronouns. They are used to connect relative clauses to
independent clauses. Relative pronouns include that, what, which, who, and whom. Traditionally, who
refers to people, and which and that refer to animals or things.
Exp: The woman who called earlier didn’t leave a message.
All the dogs that got adopted today will be loved.
My car, which is nearly twenty years old, still runs well.
Whether you need commas with who, which, and that depends on whether the clause is restrictive or
nonrestrictive.

Demonstrative Pronouns.
That, this, these and those are demonstrative pronouns. They take the place of a noun or noun phrase that
has already been mentioned.
This is used for singular items that are nearby. These is used for multiple items that are nearby. The
distance can be physical or metaphorical.
Exp: Here is a letter with no return address. Who could have sent this?
What a fantastic idea! This is the best thing I’ve heard all day.
If you think gardenias smell nice, try smelling these.
That is used for singular items that are far away. Those is used for multiple items that are far away.
Again, the distance can be physical or metaphorical.

Exp: A house like that would be a nice place to live.

Some new flavors of soda came in last week. Why don’t you try some of those?

Reflexive Pronouns.
Reflexive pronouns end in -self or -selves: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves,
themselves.
Use a reflexive pronoun when both the subject and object of a verb refer to the same person or thing.
Exp: Halwad cursed himself for his poor eyesight.
They booked themselves a room at the resort.
I told myself it was nothing.

Possessive Pronouns.
Possessive pronouns come in two flavors: limiting and absolute. Mine, your, its, his, her, our, their and
whose are used to show that something belongs to an antecedent.

19
Exp: Sundus is working on her application.
Just put me back on my bike.
The students practiced their presentation after school.

QUESTION FORMS.
A question is a sentence that requires an answer.

TYPES OF QUESTION FORMS.

Yes/No Questions.
Yes/No questions are the most basic type of question. You can use them to ask for a
simple yes or no answer. They usually begin with a verb, including auxiliary verbs (a “helping” verb that
comes before the main verb) or modal verbs (such as can or would).

How to Form a Yes/No Question.

Exp: It is windy today.
To change this sentence into a question, simply move the verb to the beginning. If the sentence has an
auxiliary or modal verb, that’s the one you’ll need to move.
Exp: Is it windy today?

Let’s look at a few more inversions to form yes/no questions:

She is sad. → Is she sad?
The boat is sinking. → Is the boat sinking?
He can bake. → Can he bake?

If the sentence has no auxiliary verb and the main verb isn’t “to be,” things are a little different. You’ll
need to put “do” or “does” at the beginning of the question. Be sure to use the correct tense and form, for
example, “did” if the sentence is in the past tense.

Nasira plays the violin. → Does Nasira play the violin? (Notice the new form of “to play” to
accommodate the new structure.)
Nasira played the violin. → Did Nasira play the violin?
Nasira and Muna play the violin. Do Nasira and Muna play the violin?

2. Asking “Five W” Questions.

The “five Ws” are the question words who, what, when, where and [Link]’s a list of common question
words in this category and what each is used for:
 What? Which? (to ask about things)
 Where? (to ask about locations)

20
 Who? (to ask about people)
 When? (to ask about time)
 Why? (to ask for the reason)
 How? (to ask about the way things happen or are done)
 How many? How much? How often? (to ask about the number or amount)

How to Form a Five W Question.

Again, let’s start with a basic sentence. For these questions, we’ll need to replace part of the sentence
with a wh- word. We’ll usually need to invert the word order as well, but not always.

Here’s our basic sentence:

Ahmed is playing basketball in the park.

When you’re asking about the subject (in this case, “Ahmed”) forming a sentence is pretty easy. You just
replace the subject with a wh- word. Since “Ahmed” is a person, our wh- word is who.

Exp: Who is playing basketball in the park?

If you’re not asking about the subject, there’ll be some word order inversion.
Let’s say we wanted to ask about the object in this sentence. We’ll replace it with our wh- word. The
object is “basketball,” a thing, so our wh- word is what.

Exp: Nathan is playing what in the park?

Now we need to restructure the sentence like this:

What is Nathan playing in the park?

3. Using indirect question formula for polite English.

A direct question is used to ask for information such as, “Which train goes to Bangkok?” or “How much
does this box of oranges cost?” These are the types of questions we just covered above.

However, sometimes a direct question may sound too blunt or unfriendly, especially if you’re asking
someone for help or when you don’t know the person well.

But don’t worry, there’s a way you can sound more polite and friendly. Use an indirect question instead.
It’s simple: just attach a phrase like “Could you please tell me…” or “Do you know…” before the direct
question.

21
How to Form an Indirect Question.

Direct question: Where is the bookstore?

Here’s how you can change this into an indirect question:

Could you please tell me where the bookstore is?

4. Question tags.
A tag question is simply a sentence with a question tag at the end. It’s used to check or confirm that
you’ve understood something correctly. For example:
The train leaves at 9 a.m., doesn’t it?

You could also use it to confirm whether something you already know or think you know is true.

You will bring the cake, won’t you?

Format: [Sentence] +, [opposite form of the same verb used in sentence] + [subject pronoun]?

Examples:
 It is raining now. → It is raining now, isn’t it?
 Your father isn’t working today. → Your father isn’t working today, is he?
 The students are visiting the museum. → The students are visiting the museum, aren’t they?

When there’s no auxiliary verb, use the “do” verb form in the question tag.

Exp: Adam walks to class on Tuesdays. → Adam walks to class on Tuesdays, doesn’t he?

COMPOSITION.
To compose means to think critically and come up with a good writing. Compositions can have different
subjects depending on what the composer wants to write about.

HOW TO WRITE VERY GOOD COMPOSITION.

In order to write a good composition, the one intending to write must know his or her subject and the aim
of writing, this will help them choose the suitable format of writing. There are a number of writing styles,
these have been discussed below:

22
STYLES OF WRITING.
Descriptive essays.
In descriptive essay, you use a lot of adjectives. you may describe how your father looks and does a thing
that makes you love him. When writing a descriptive essay, the best way to create a good and clear
experience for your reader is to focus on the five senses i.e. sight, sound, smell, touch and [Link]
should consider the following points when writing a descriptive essay.

You can ask yourself the following questions.

What or who do you want to describe?

Why do you want to describe the person or thing?
What qualities do you want to focus on?
What sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures are important for your description
What can you include to ensure that your readers gain the same thought as you?

Argumentative essays.
This is the kind of essay where you have to make your reader to believe you and support your idea or
point of view, focusing on this purpose, will help you to write a good argument. For example, should girls
be expelled at school for pregnancy? The following are important steps to consider when writing an
argumentative writing
Identify the main idea or point of view. Your purpose will be to make your reader to accept this
idea or point of view.
Identify your reader. To write a good argument, try to understand your readers mind. For e.g.
would your readers like about your opinion? Or would your readers be angry at your point of view?
Considering your readers, identify the strongest for supporting for your argument.
Identify the most important opposing view. Explaining and strongly disagreeing with the
opposing view will make your reader to believe you more and give you support.

Expository essay.
Expository/ informative-: this is the kind of essay where you explain something with correct information
that you have, and not what you think about it.

PARTS OF A COMPOSITION.
A Composition is made up of the introduction, body and conclusion.

I. Introduction.
The introduction is intended to draw the reader into the body of material to follow. It is like adoor that
opens and lets people into a beautiful house. Introduction needs to be interesting to thereader, so that he/
she is able to read your composition to the end and enjoy. It should begin with a general statement.

23
II. Body
The body of a written piece is where you elaborate, defend, and expand the thesis introduced in the
introduction. The body should support your main contention with supporting evidence and possible
objections.

Elaboration:
Spell out the details by defining, or by clarifying and adding relevant, pertinent information.

When moving from one sub-point to another, use connecting or transitional words and phrases that enable
your reader to easily follow the flow of your thinking. The following is a partial list of logical connectors
that you can use:
exceptions comparisons
- but, alas, however, etc. - similarly, by contrast, etc.
illustrations qualifications
- for instance, for example, etc. - yet, still, etc.
conclusions additions
- thus, so, therefore, consequently, etc. - moreover, furthermore, etc.

III. Conclusion
Make your final appeal to the reader, a finishing, all-encompassing statement that wraps up your
presentation in a powerful or even dramatic fashion.

ADJECTIVES.
An adjective is a word that describes a noun. Adjectives have got different degrees and these are as
follows:

DEGREES OF ADJECTIVES.
Positive Degree:
An adjective is said to be in the positive degree when there is no comparison.

Comparative Degree:
An adjective is said to be in the comparative degree when it is used to compare two nouns/pronouns.

Superlative Degree:
An adjective is in superlative degree when it is used to compare more than two nouns/pronouns. We use
the article 'the' before the superlative degrees.

FORMATION OF COMPARATIVE & SUPERLATIVE DEGREES OF ADJECTIVES.

Adjectives usually form their comparative and superlative degrees:

24
1) by addition of '-er' and '-est' to the positive degree:

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

bright brighter brightest
black blacker blackest
bold bolder boldest
clever cleverer cleverest
cold colder coldest
fast faster fastest
great greater greatest

2) by addition of '-r' and '-st' to the positive degree ending in 'e'

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

Brave braver bravest
fine finer finest
large larger largest
nice nicer nicest
noble nobler noblest
pale paler palest
simple simpler simplest

3) When the positive ends in 'y' and has a consonant before it, we change 'y' into 'i' and then add 'er' and
'est'.
By deleting the final ‘y’ and adding ‘ier’ and ‘iest’

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

costly costlier costliest
dry drier driest
easy easier easiest
happy happier happiest
heavy heavier heaviest
lazy lazier laziest
wealthy wealthier wealthiest

4) when the positive degree ends in a consonant with a vowel before it, we double the consonant & then
add '-er' and '-est'
POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
big bigger biggest
dim dimmer dimmest

25
fat fatter fattest
hot hotter hottest
thin thinner thinnest

5) by addition of '-er' and '-est' to the positive degree when it ends in '-y'
POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
gay gayer gayest
grey greyer greyest

5) by placing 'more' and 'most' before the positive form

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE
active more active most active
attractive more attractive most attractive
beautiful more beautiful most beautiful
brilliant more brilliant most brilliant
careful more careful most careful
courageous more courageous most courageous
cunning more cunning most cunning
difficult more difficult most difficult
famous more famous most famous

Some adjectives do not follow any of the rules explained earlier. They are compared irregularly. Here are
the different forms of such adjectives.

POSITIVE COMPARATIVE SUPERLATIVE

bad worse worst
evil worse worst
good better best
ill worse worst
far farther farthest
well better best
late later latest (time)
late later last (position)
little less least
much more most

Practice:
Read the passage below and underline the correct adjectives.
The Princess and the Frog
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who had a golden ball.

26
She lived in a palace with her old father, the King, and her seven sisters. Every day she played with her
ball in the garden of the palace. At the end of the garden there was a, dark lake. When the weather was
calm, the princess liked playing near the lake. One day she dropped her golden ball into the cold water.
She was very sad and she sat on the grass and started to cry. She heard a voice: "Don't cry, princess”. She
opened her eyes and saw a large frog. "Oh, please help me!" she said, "I can get my ball." "I'll help you",
said the frog, "if I can come and live with you in the beautiful palace!" "Yes, yes, of course. I promise",
said the princess.
So, the frog jumped into the water and came back with the ball. The princess laughed happily and took
the ball. She ran back to the palace and forgot all about the kind frog. The frog was very unhappy old. He
followed the princess into the palace and told his story to the King. “A promise is a promise" said the
frog. “Yes", said the King and called his daughter: "a promise is a promise, my daughter. Take this frog to
your room and look after him. The princess cried again, but she took the frog and put him on her bed. The
frog looked at her and said: "Please, hug me, princess" She closed her eyes and hugged him, the frog
turned into the most handsome prince. Of course, he and the princess fell in love. One week later, they
married and they lived happily ever after.

ADVERBS.
An adverb is a word that is used to change, modify or qualify several types of words including an
adjective, a verb, a clause, another adverb, or any other type of word or phrase.
Adverbs provide a description of how, where, when, in what manner and to what extent something is
done or happens.

Example
 When? She always arrives early.
 How? He drives carefully.
 Where? They go everywhere together.
 In what way? She eats slowly.
 To what extent? It is terribly hot.

RULES FOR MAKING ADVERBS.

• Adverbs can always be used to modify verbs. Notice that the second of these two sentences is
much more interesting simply because it contains an adverb:

Exp: The dog ran. (You can picture a dog running, but you don’t really know much more about the
scene.)
Exp 2: The dog ran excitedly. (You can picture a dog running, wagging its tail, panting happily, and
looking glad to see its owner. You can paint a much more interesting picture in your head when you know
how or why the dog is running.)

27
• Adverbs are often formed by adding the letters “-ly” to adjectives. This makes it very easy to
identify adverbs in sentences. There are many exceptions to this rule; everywhere, nowhere, and upstairs
are a few examples.

• An adverb can be used to modify an adjective and intensify the meaning it conveys.
Exp: He plays tennis well. (He knows how to play tennis and sometimes he wins.)
Exp: He plays tennis extremely well. (He knows how to play tennis so well that he wins often.)

TYPES OF ADVERBS.
Adverbs of Manner.
An adverb of manner will explain how an action is carried out.
Some examples of adverbs of manner include:
1. Slowly 5. Diligently
2. Rapidly 6. Sweetly
3. Clumsily 7. Warmly
4. Badly 8. Sadly
Adverb of manner examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
 She passed the exam easily.
 They walk quickly to catch the train.
 The dinner party went badly.
 John answered the question correctly.
Notice how the adjectives are formed by adding -ly to the adjectives bad, correct and quick, although
there is a slight spelling change when forming an adverb with the adjective easy.

As mentioned, some adverbs of manner take the same spelling as the adjective and never add an -ly to the
end:
 The boys had worked hard.
 The car drives
 Julia dances well.

Adverbs of place.
An adverb of place, sometimes called spatial adverbs, will help explain where an action happens. Adverbs
of place will be associated with the action of the verb in a sentence, providing context for direction,
distance and position: southeast, everywhere, up, left, close by, back, inside, around. These terms don’t
usually end in -ly.

Directions.
 New York is located north of Philadelphia.
 They traveled down the mountainside.
 First, I looked here, and then I looked there, but I can’t find them anywhere.

28
Distance.
 Ilihan is moving far away.
 Liban is sitting close to me.

Position.
 The treasure lies underneath the box.
 The cat is sleeping on the bed.
 Why are you standing in the middle of the dancefloor?

Adverbs of Frequency.
Adverbs of frequency are used to express time or how often something occurs.
Exp:
 The adverb is usually placed before the main verb.
 I can normally make the shot.
 I will always love.

Adverbs of definite frequency will usually be placed at the end of the sentence.
 We get paid hourly.
 I come here
 The situation seems to change monthly.
 The newspaper is bought daily.

Adverbs of Time.
Adverbs of time tell us when something happens. Adverbs of time are usually placed at the end of a
sentence.
Adverbs of time examples in the following sentences are in bold for easy identification.
o I will see you
o Anas forgot his lunch yesterday and again today.
o I have to go now.
o We first met Shamis last year.
Practice.
The following exercises will help you gain greater understanding about how adverbs work. Choose the
best answer to complete each sentence.
1. The driver stopped the bus _______________.
A. Financially
B. Exactly
C. Abruptly
D. Now
2. During autumn, colorful leaves can be seen falling ______________ from trees.
A. Everywhere
B. Very

29
C. Gently
D. Loudly
3. My grandmother always smiled _______________.
A. Cheerfully
B. Sadly
C. Never
D. Yesterday
4. After the party, confetti was strewn _________________.
A. Blandly
B. Everywhere
C. Later
D. Carefully
5. It’s time to go ____________.
A. Before
B. Now
C. Yesterday
D. Lightly

Adverbs List.
There are many different words that function as adverbs. The following list is broken down into segments
which list adverbs by function. After reading, you will be able to think of additional adverbs to add to
your own list – after all, there are thousands.
Many adverbs end in “-ly”. This makes it very easy to spot the adverbs in most sentences.
Abruptly Horribly Sadly
Boldly Mildly Terribly
Carefully Naughtily Willingly
Deliberately Openly Yearly
Excitedly Poorly
Financially Quickly

Some adverbs tell us where the action happened. These are known as adverbs of place.
Everywhere Inside Underground
Here There Upstairs

Certain adverbs let us know when or how often the action happened. These are known as adverbs
of time and adverbs of frequency.
After Later Yesterday
Always Now
Before Today

30
Many adverbs tell us the extent of the action.
Almost Too Very
Enough Quite
So Rather

Some adverbs are used as intensifiers.

Absolutely Completely Really
Certain Heartily

Certain adverbs called adverbs of manner tell us about the way in which something was done.
Briskly Expectantly Willingly
Cheerfully Randomly

PREPOSITIONS.
A preposition is a word used to link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence. They
act to connect the people, objects, time and locations of a sentence.

Examples of Prepositions.
o I prefer to read in the library.
o He climbed up the ladder to get onto the roof.
o Please sign your name on the dotted line after you read the contract.
o Go down the stairs and through the door.
o He swam across the pool.
o Take your brother with you.

TYPE OF PREPOSITIONS.

Prepositions of Time.
Basic examples of time prepositions include: at, on, in, before and after. They are used to help indicate
when something happened, happens or will happen.
For example:
o I was born on July 4th, 1982.
o I was born in 1982.
o I was born at exactly 2am.
o I was born two minutes before my twin brother.
o I was born after the Great War ended.

For days, dates and specific holiday days, use the preposition on.
o We go to school on Mondays, but not on Sunday
o Eid is on June 25th.
o Buy me a present on my birthday.

31
For times, indicators of exception and festivals, use the preposition at:
o Families often argue at meal time.
o I work faster at night.
o Her shift finished at 7pm.

Before and after should be much easier to understand than the other examples of prepositions of time.
Both are used to explain when something happened, happens or will happen, but specifically in relation to
another thing.
o Before I discovered this cafe, I used to go straight home after work.
o We will not leave before 3pm.
o Ibrahim comes before Muhamad in the line, but after Ali.

Other prepositions of time could include: During, about, around, until and throughout.
o The concert will be staged throughout the month of May.
o I learned how to ski during the holidays.
o He usually arrives around 3pm.
o It was about six in the morning when we made it to bed.
o The store is open until midnight.

Prepositions of Place.

The most common prepositions to indicate time – on, at, in – are also the most common prepositions to
indicate position.
o The cat is on the table.
o The dogs are in the kennel.
o We can meet at the crossroads.

The guidelines can be broken down as follows:

On is used when referring to something with a surface:
o The sculpture hangs on the wall.
o The images are on the page.
o The specials are on the menu, which is on the table.

In is used when referring to something that is inside or within confined boundaries. This could be
anything, even a country:
o Sucad is in France, visiting her aunt in the hospital.
o The juice is in the jar in the fridge.
o The girls play in the garden.

At is used when referring to something at a specific point:

o The boys are at the entrance at the movie theater.
o He stood at the bus stop at the corner of Water and High streets.
o We will meet at the airport.

Lots of other prepositions of place, such as under, over, inside, outside, above and below are used in
English.
o The cat is under the table.
o Put the sandwich over there.

32
o The key is locked inside the car.
o They stepped outside the house.
o Major is ranked above corporal.
o He is waving at you from below the stairs.

Prepositions of Movement.
Prepositions of movement describe how something or someone moves from one place to another. The
most commonly used preposition of movement is to, which usually serves to highlight that there is
movement towards a specific destination.
o He has gone on vacation to France.
o She went to the bowling alley every Friday last summer.
o I will go to bed when I am tired.
o They will go to the zoo if they finish their errands.

Other more specific prepositions of movement include: through, across, off, down and into. These
prepositions can sometimes get mixed up with others. While they are similar, they have individual
meanings that add context to the movement.

Across refers to moving from one side to another.

o Musa travelled across America on his motorcycle.

o Rehema and Hamdi are swimming across the lake.

Prepositions Exercises.

Choose the best answer to complete each sentence.

1. The bone was _______ the dog.
a. About
b. For
c. After
d. Considering.

2. We are going on vacation _______ August.

a. On
b. At
c. In
d. Since

3. Please put the vase ________ the table.

a. In
b. On
c. For
d. Over.

4. I received a present ________ Janet.

a. From
b. Of
c. By
d. About.

33
5. School begins ________ Monday.
a. In
b. On
c. From
d. Since

List of Prepositions of some prepositions.

Aboard Around Concerning In Past
About As Considering Inside Per
Above At Despite Into Plus
Absent Before Down Like Regarding
Across Behind During Minus Round
After Below Except Near Save
Against Beneath Excepting Of Since
Along Beside Excluding Off Then
Alongside Besides Failing On Through
Amid Between Following Onto To
Among Beyond For Opposite Toward
Amongst But From Outside Towards
Anti By Given Over Under

34
ANIMALS, THEIR HOMES, YOUNG ONES AND SOUNDS.
Sl. Animal Home Young one Sound
No.
1 Lion Den Cub Roar
2 Dog Kennel PUPPY Bark
3 Cat Cage Kitten Mew
4 Sheep Pen Lamb Bleat
5 Bull Cattle shed Calf Moo
6 Elephant Jungle Baby elephant Trumpet
7 Hen Coop Chick Clucks
8 Goose Water Gosling Squawk
9 Deer Grasslands Fawn Grunt
10 Horse Stable Foal Neigh
11 Cow Cattle shed Calf Moo
12 Bear Large forests Cub Growl
13 Cock Pen chick cock a doodle
doo
14 Rat Hole Kitten, nestling, Squeak
pup, pinkie
15 Bird Nest Nestling Chirp
16 Monkey Trees Infant Chatter
17 Pig Sty Piglet Oink
18 Rabbit Burrow Bunny Grunt
19 Fish Water Small fish
20 Donkey Stable Mule Bray
21 Goat Pen Kid
22 Duck Water Duckling Quack
23 Bee Beehive Worker bee Ooom
24 Spider Web Small spider
25 Snake Burrow Hiss
26 Ant Hill
27 Man House child Speak
28

35
CONJUNCTIONS.
The conjunction is the part of speech used as a “joiner” for words, phrases, or clauses in a particular
sentence.

TYPES OF CONJUNCTIONS.
Coordinating Conjunction.
The main function of coordinating conjunctions is to join words, phrases, and clauses together, which are
usually grammatically equal. They include; for, and, nor, but, or, yet and so.

Examples:

 Pizza and burgers are my favorite snacks.

 The treasure was hidden in the cave or in the underground lagoon.
 What those girls say and what they actually do are completely different.

For joining together two independent clauses, a comma must be used before placing the coordinating
conjunction.
Examples:

 Abdallah fell asleep, so Musse just went home.

 I don’t really like spaghetti, but I can eat rice any day.
For you to easily recall the different coordinating conjunctions that you can use, you can just remember
the word “FANBOYS,”

Subordinating Conjunction.
This type of conjunctions is used in linking two clauses together. Aside from the fact that they introduce a
dependent clause, subordinating conjunctions also describe the relationship between the dependent clause
and the independent clause in the sentence.

List of Common Subordinating Conjunctions:

 while  whether  if  in case

 as soon as  wherever  provided  as far as
 although  when  in that  now that
 before  until  once  as
 even if  after  supposing  so that
 because  as if  while  though
 no matter  how  unless  since
how
Sample Sentences:

 It is so cold outside, so I brought you a jacket.

 Because it is so cold outside, I brought you a jacket.
By looking at the sentences above, you will easily notice that a subordinating conjunction can be found
either at the beginning of the sentence or between the clauses that it links together. Aside from that, a

36
comma should also be placed in between the two clauses (independent clause and dependent clause) of
the sentence.

Correlative Conjunction.
The correlative conjunctions are simply pairs of conjunctions which are used to join equal sentence
elements together.

List of Common Correlative Conjunctions:

either… or
neither… nor
not only… but also
both… and
whether… or
so… as
Sample Sentences:

 Both my brother and my father are lawyers.

 I can’t decide whether I’ll take Chemical Engineering or take Medical Technology in college.

What is a Conjunctive Adverb?
Although a conjunctive adverb is not a real conjunction, this kind of words functions as conjunctions in a
sentence. Some examples of conjunctive adverbs are:

 in addition  consequentl
 for example y
 however
 therefore  
 on the
contrary
 hence
 in fact
 otherwise
 as a result
 indeed
 still
 thus
 on the other
hand
 furthermore
 instead
 incidentally
 after all
 finally
 likewise
 meanwhile

37
SOUNDS.
TYPES OF SOUNDS.
The 5 Short Vowel Sounds.

The five short vowel sounds in English are a, e, i, o, and u.

 short a: and, as, and after

 short e: pen, hen, and lend
 short i: it and in
 short o: top and hop
 short u: under and cup

Remember that these sounds are not necessarily indicative of spelling. Note that the above words all
contain the vowel whose sound they make but this is not always the case. A word might sound as if it
contains a certain vowel that is not there. Examples of words whose short vowel sounds do not
correspond with their spelling are busy and does.

The 6 Long Vowel Sounds.

The six long vowel sounds in English are a, e, i, o, u, and oo.

 long a: make and take
 long e: beet and feet
 long i: tie and lie
 long o: coat and toe
 long u; music and cute
 long oo: goo and droop

Examples of words whose long vowel sounds do not correspond with their spelling are they,
try, fruit, and few.

The 18 Consonant Sounds.

The letters c, q, and x are not denoted by unique phonemes because they are found in other sounds.
The c sound is covered by k sounds in words like crust, crunch, and create and by s sounds in words
like cereal, city, and cent (the c is found in the spelling of these words only but does not have its own
phoneme). The q sound is found in kw words like backward and Kwanza. The x sound is found
in ks words like kicks.

 b: bed and bad
 k: cat and kick
 d: dog and dip
 f: fat and fig
 g: got and girl
 h: has and him
 j: job and joke
 l: lid and love

38
 m: mop and math
 n: not and nice
 p: pan and play
 r: ran and rake
 s: sit and smile
 t: to and take
 v: van and vine
 w: water and went
 y: yellow and yawn
 z: zipper and zap

The 7 Digraph Sounds.

A digraph is formed when two consonants come together to create an entirely new sound that is distinctly
different from the sounds of the letters independently. These can be found anywhere in a word but most
often the beginning or end. Some examples of common digraphs are listed below.

 ch: chin and ouch
 sh: ship and push
 th: thing
 th: this
 wh: when
 ng: ring
 nk: rink

Point out to your students that there are two sounds that th can make and be sure to provide plenty of
examples.

Diphthongs and Other Special Sounds.

A diphthong is essentially a digraph with vowels—it is formed when two vowels come together to create
a new sound in a single syllable as the sound of the first vowel glides into the second. These are usually
found in the middle of a word. See the list below for examples.

 oi: oil and toy
 ow: owl and ouch
 ey: rain

Other special sounds include:

 short oo: took and pull
 aw: raw and haul
 zh: vision

39
PUNCTUATION.
A punctuation mark is a symbol such as a period, comma, or question mark that you use to divide
written words into sentences and clause.
There are 14 punctuation marks that are commonly used in English grammar. They are the period,
question mark, exclamation point, comma, semicolon, colon, dash, hyphen, parentheses, brackets, braces,
apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipsis. Following their correct usage will make your writing easier to
read and more appealing.

HOW TO USE PUNCTION MARKS.

Sentence Endings.
Three of the fourteen punctuation marks are appropriate for use as sentence endings. They are the period,
question mark, and exclamation point.
The period (.) is placed at the end of declarative sentences, statements thought to be complete and after
many abbreviations.
 As a sentence ender: Fatima and Jack went to the market.
 After an abbreviation: Her son, Jibril Ali Jr., was born on Dec. 6, 2008.

Use a question mark (?) to indicate a direct question when placed at the end of a sentence.
 When did Fatima leave for the market?

The exclamation point (!) is used when a person wants to express a sudden outcry or add emphasis.
 Within dialogue: "Subhanallah!" screamed Fatima.
 To emphasize a point: My mother-in-law's rants make me furious!

Comma, Semicolon, and Colon.

The comma, semicolon, and colon are often misused because they all can indicate a pause in a series.
The comma is used to show a separation of ideas or elements within the structure of a sentence.
Additionally, it is used in numbers, dates, and letter writing after the salutation and closing.
 Direct address: Thanks for all your help, Jibril.
 Separation of two complete sentences: We went to the movies, and then we went out to lunch.
 Separating lists or elements within sentences: Sundus wanted the black, green, and blue dress.

40
The semicolon (;) is used to connect independent clauses. It shows a closer relationship between the
clauses than a period would show.
 Jibril was hurt; he knew she only said it to upset him.

A colon (:) has three main uses. The first is after a word introducing a quotation, an explanation, an
example, or a series.
 He was planning to study four subjects: politics, philosophy, sociology, and economics.
The second is between independent clauses when the second explains the first, similar to a semicolon:
 I didn't have time to get changed: I was already late.
The third use of a colon is for emphasis:
 There was one thing she loved more than any other: her dog.
A colon also has non-grammatical uses in time, ratio, business correspondence and references.
Dash and the Hyphen.
Two other common punctuation marks are the dash and hyphen. These marks are often confused with
each other due to their appearance but they are very different.
A dash is used to separate words into statements. There are two common types of dashes: en dash and em
dash.
 En dash: Twice as long as a hyphen, the en dash is a symbol (--) that is used in writing or printing
to indicate a range, connections or differentiations, such as 1880-1945 or Princeton-New York
trains.

A hyphen is used to join two or more words together into a compound term and is not separated by
spaces. For example, part-time, back-to-back, well-known.
Brackets, Braces, and Parentheses
Brackets, braces, and parentheses are symbols used to contain words that are a further explanation or are
considered a group.
Brackets are the squared off notations ([]) used for technical explanations or to clarify meaning. If you
remove the information in the brackets, the sentence will still make sense.
 He [Mr. Ali] was the last person seen at the house.

Braces ({}) are used to contain two or more lines of text or listed items to show that they are considered
as a unit. They are not commonplace in most writing but can be seen in computer programming to show
what should be contained within the same lines. They can also be used in mathematical expressions. For
example, 2{1+[23-3]}=x.

41
Parentheses (() ) are curved notations used to contain further thoughts or qualifying remarks. However,
parentheses can be replaced by commas without changing the meaning in most cases.
 Jibril and Fatima (who were actually half brother and sister) both have red hair.

Apostrophe, Quotation Marks and Ellipsis.

The final three punctuation forms in English grammar are the apostrophe, quotation marks, and ellipsis.
Unlike previously mentioned grammatical marks, they are not related to one another in any form.
An apostrophe (') is used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from a word, the possessive case,
or the plurals of lowercase letters. Examples of the apostrophe in use include:
 Omission of letters from a word: I've seen that movie several times. She wasn't the only one
who knew the answer.
 Possessive case: Sara's dog bit the neighbor.

Quotations marks (" ") are a pair of punctuation marks used primarily to mark the beginning and end of
a passage attributed to another and repeated word for word. They are also used to indicate meanings and
to indicate the unusual or dubious status of a word.
 "Don't go outside," she said.
Single quotation marks (' ') are used most frequently for quotes within quotes.
 Marie told the teacher, "I saw Marc at the playground, and he said to me 'Bill started the fight,'
and I believed him."

The ellipsis is most commonly represented by three periods (. . . ) although it is occasionally

demonstrated with three asterisks (***). The ellipsis is used in writing or printing to indicate an omission,
especially of letters or words. Ellipses are frequently used within quotations to jump from one phrase to
another, omitting unnecessary words that do not interfere with the meaning. Students writing research
papers or newspapers quoting parts of speeches will often employ ellipsis to avoid copying lengthy text
that is not needed.
 Omission of words: She began to count, "One, two, three, four…" until she got to 10, then went
to find him.
 Within a quotation: When Newton stated, "An object at rest stays at rest and an object in motion
stays in motion..." he developed the law of motion.

Read the following paragraphs to identify the punctuation marks and write them below.
Between us there was, as I have already said somewhere, the bond of the sea. Besides holding our hearts
together through long periods of separation, it had the effect of making us tolerant of each other's yarns-
and even convictions. The Lawyer-the best of old fellows-had, because of his many years and many

42
virtues, the only cushion on deck, and was lying on the only rug. The Accountant had brought out already
a box of dominoes, and was toying architecturally with the bones. Marlow sat cross-legged right aft,
leaning against the mizzen-mast. He had sunken cheeks, a yellow complexion, a straight back, an ascetic
aspect, and, with his arms dropped, the palms of hands outwards, resembled an idol. The Director,
satisfied the anchor had good hold, made his way aft and sat down amongst us. We exchanged a few
words lazily. Afterwards there was silence on board the yacht. For some reason or other we did not begin
that game of dominoes. We felt meditative, and fit for nothing but placid staring. The day was ending in a
serenity of still and exquisite brilliance. The water shone pacifically; the sky, without a speck, was a
benign immensity of unstained light; the very mist on the Essex marshes was like a gauzy and radiant
fabric, hung from the wooded rises inland, and draping the low shores in diaphanous folds. Only the
gloom to the west, brooding over the upper reaches, became more sombre every minute, as if angered by
the approach of the sun. And at last, in its curved and imperceptible fall, the sun sank low, and from
glowing white changed to a dull red without rays and without heat, as if about to go out suddenly, stricken
to death by the touch of that gloom brooding over a crowd of men. From ‘The Heart of Darkness’, by
Joseph Conrad.

ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE.

The active voice describes a sentence where the subject performs the action stated by the verb. It follows
a clear subject + verb + object construct that's easy to read. In fact, sentences constructed in the active
voice add impact to your writing.
With passive voice, the subject is acted upon by the verb. It makes for a murky, roundabout sentence; you
can be more straightforward with active voice. As such, there are many ways to change the passive voice
to the active voice in your sentences.
Active and Passive Voice Comparison
As you read through the following example sentences, you'll start to become an active voice expert.

Active Voice Passive Voice

Abdullahi ate six eggs at dinner. At dinner, six eggs were eaten by Abdullahi.

Beautiful giraffes roam the savannah. The savannah is roamed by beautiful giraffes.

Ali changed the flat tire. The flat tire was changed by Ali.

We are going to watch a movie tonight. A movie is going to be watched by us tonight.

I ran the obstacle course in record time. The obstacle course was run by me in record time.

The crew paved the entire stretch of The entire stretch of highway was paved by the
highway. crew.

Mom read the novel in one day. The novel was read by Mom in one day.

I will clean the house every Saturday. The house will be cleaned by me every Saturday.

43
WHEN TO USE THE VOICES.
We can active and passive the following tenses as seen below.
Present tense.
Active voice.
Ali kicks the ball.
Passive.
The ball is kicked by a

44
Past tense
Farah ate rice for dinner. (Active voice) At dinner, rice was eaten by Farah. (Passive voice)
Future tense
Sundus will clean the class every Friday. (Active voice)
The class will be cleaned by Sundus every Friday. (Passive voice)

LETTER WRITING (INFORMAL)

An informal letter is a letter that is written in a personal fashion. You can write them to relatives or.
Friends, but also really to anyone with whom you have a non-professional relationship with, although.
This doesn't exclude business partners or workers with whom you're friendly with either.

ELEMENTS OF THE LETTER.

Format of an informal letter.
Address
The first thing to write is your address, i.e. the address of the writer. We usually write the address on the
left-hand side of the page at the very top. The address should be accurate and complete. Even when
writing to close friends or relatives the address must be written, so they can reply back to the letter with
ease. If the recipient of the letter is in another country, do not forget to write your country as well in the
address.
Date
Next just below the address we write the date. This allows the reader to have a reference as to when the
address was written. He can then relate better to the contents of the letter.
Greeting
Now since you know the person you are writing to, the greeting can be informal as well. If it is a friend or
someone close to your age you can greet them by their first name, like “Dear Ali”. If you are writing to
your relative like your mother/father/aunt/uncle etc, you may greet them as such, for example, “Dear
Mom”. And if you are writing to an elder person, someone you respect greatly you can address them as
Mr or Mrs. Like say for example you were writing a congratulatory letter to your teacher, it can be
addressed as “Dear Mrs. Ali”.
Introduction Paragraph
And now we begin writing the actual letter. The introductory paragraph sets the tone for the whole letter.
You might begin by asking the recipient about their wellbeing. Or you may say that you hope the letter
finds them in good health and great spirits. The opening of informal letters should be casual and
comforting. It must not be formal and direct as in business letters.

45 | P a g e
Learn how to write amazing stories from this Story Writing Guide.
Body of the Letter
The letter overall should maintain a friendly tone. But you have to adjust the language and the wordings
according to who you are writing to. With a friend, you can afford to be very casual and flippant even.
But if you are writing to an elder relative, you must be extremely respectful and considerate.
Conclusion
In the conclusive paragraph sum up the reason for writing the letter, i.e. summarize the letter. Say a
meaningful and affectionate goodbye to the reader. And do not forget to invite the reader to write back or
reply to your letter. It shows an intention to keep the conversation going.
Signature
There is no one way to sign off informal letters. Since they do not follow a strict format, you may sign off
as you please. Some commonly used phrases are
 Lots of Love
 Best,
 Best Wishes,
 Kind Regards,
 Kindly,
Pick the one that best suits the occasion and then simply sign your name below the greeting.
Practice.
Write a letter to your friend informing him or her about your holiday trip to Garowe.

QUESTION TAGS.
Question tags are the short questions that we put on the end of sentences – particularly in spoken English.
There are lots of different question tags but the rules are not difficult to learn.
Form
Auxiliary verb + subject
1. We use the same auxiliary verb in the tag as in the main sentence. If there is no auxiliary verb in
the main sentence, we use do in the tag.
 You live in Spain, don’t you?
2. If the auxiliary verb in the sentence is affirmative, the tag is negative.
 You’re Somali, aren’t you?
3. If the auxiliary verb in the sentence is negative, the tag is affirmative.
 You’re not Somali, are you?

46 | P a g e
Meaning
1. We use tag questions to confirm or check information or ask for agreement.
 You want to come with me, don’t you?
 You can swim, can’t you?
 You don’t know where the boss is, do you?
 This meal is horrible, isn’t it?
 That film was fantastic, wasn’t it?
2. We use tag questions to check whether something is true.
 The meeting’s tomorrow at 9am, isn’t it?
 You won’t go without me, will you?

Intonation

Question tags can either be ‘real’ questions where you want to know the answer or simply asking for
agreement when we already know the answer.

If the question tag is a real question we use rising intonation. Our tone of voice rises.
If we already know the answer we use falling intonation. Our tone of voice falls
Additional points
1. In the present form of be: In an affirmative statement, if the subject is “I”, the auxiliary changes
to aren’t in the tag.
 I’m sitting next to you, aren’t I?
 I’m a little red, aren’t I?
2. With let’s, the tag is shall we?
 Let’s go to the beach, shall we?
 Let’s have a coffee, shall we?
3. With an imperative, the tag is will you?
 Close the window, will you?
 Hold this, will you?
4. We use an affirmative tag after a sentence containing a negative word such as never, hardly,
nobody.
 Nobody lives in this house, do they?
 You’ve never liked me, have you?
47 | P a g e
5. When the subject is nothing, we use “it” in the tag.
 Nothing bad happened, did it?
 Nothing ever happens, does it?
6. If the subject is nobody, somebody, everybody, no one, someone or everyone, we use “they” in the
tag.
 Nobody asked for me, did they?
 Nobody lives here, do they?
7. If the main verb in the sentence is have (not an auxiliary verb), it is more common to use do in
the tag.
 You have a Ferrari, don’t you?
 She had a great time, didn’t she?
8. With used to, we use “didn’t” in the tag.
 You used to work here, didn’t you?
 He used to have long hair, didn’t he?
9. We can use affirmative tags after affirmative sentences to express a reaction such as surprise or
interest.
 You’re moving to Brazil, are you?
See if you can finish the following sentences with the correct question tag. The first ones are relatively
easy, but then they get more difficult!
 You don't like me, ... ...?
 It isn't raining, ... ...?
 You've done your homework, ... ...?
 I'm not late, ... ...?
 I'm invited to your party, ... ...?
 You like German food, ... ...?
 You'll come to my party, ... ...?
 You remembered to feed the cat, ... ...?
 Let's play tennis, ... ...?
 There's a problem here, ... ...?
 He never says a word, ... ?

48 | P a g e
DIRECT AND INDIRECT SPEECH.
Direct Speech
When we want to describe what someone said, one option is to use direct speech. We use direct speech
when we simply repeat what someone says, putting the phrase between speech marks:
Jibril came in and said, “I’m really hungry.”
It is very common to see direct speech used in books or in a newspaper article. For example:
The local MP said, “We plan to make this city a safer place for everyone.”
As you can see, with direct speech it is common to use the verb ‘to say’ (‘said’ in the past). But you can
also find other verbs used to indicate direct speech such as ‘ask’, ‘reply’, and ‘shout’. For example:
When Mrs Ahmed opened the door, I asked, “Have you seen Leila?”
She replied, “No, I haven’t seen him since lunchtime.”
The boss was angry and shouted, “Why isn’t he here? He hasn’t finished that report yet!”
Indirect Speech
When we want to report what someone said without speech marks and without necessarily using exactly
the same words, we can use indirect speech (also called reported speech). For example:
Direct speech: “We’re quite cold in here.”
Indirect speech: They say (that) they’re cold.
When we report what someone says in the present simple, as in the above sentence, we normally don’t
change the tense, we simply change the subject. However, when we report things in the past, we usually
change the tense by moving it one step back. For example, in the following sentence the present simple
becomes the past simple in indirect speech:
Direct speech: “I have a new car.”
Indirect speech: He said he had a new car.
All the other tenses follow a similar change in indirect speech. Here is an example for all the main tenses

49 | P a g e
The same rule of moving the tenses one step back also applies to modal verbs. For example:

Using ‘say’ or ‘tell’

As an alternative to using ‘say’ we can also use ‘tell’ (‘told’ in the past) in reported speech, but in this
case you need to add the object pronoun. For example:
He told me he was going to call Alan.
They told her they would arrive a little late.
You told us you’d already finished the order.

50 | P a g e
Changing Time Expressions
Sometimes it’s necessary to change the time expressions when you report speech, especially when you
are speaking about the past and the time reference no longer applies. For example:
Direct speech: “I’m seeing my brother tomorrow.”
Indirect speech: She said she was seeing her brother the following day.
Here are some other examples:
Direct speech: “I had a headache yesterday.”
Indirect speech: You said you’d had a headache the day before yesterday.
Direct speech: “It’s been raining since this afternoon.”
Indirect speech: He said it’d been raining since that afternoon.
Direct speech: “I haven’t seen them since last week.”
Indirect speech: She said she hadn’t seen them since the previous week.
Reporting Questions
When you report a question you need to change the interrogative form into an affirmative sentence,
putting the verb tense one step back, as with normal reported speech.
There are two types of questions that we can report – questions that have a yes/no response, and questions
that begin with a question word like ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘who’ etc. When we report a yes/no question, we
use ‘if’. For example:
Direct speech: “Do they live here?”
Indirect speech: You asked me if they lived here.
As you can see, in the reported version of the question, ‘do’ is eliminated because it is no longer a
question, and the verb ‘live’ becomes ‘lived’.
For questions starting with question words like ‘what’, ‘where’, ‘when’, ‘who’, etc., we report the
question using the question word but change the interrogative form to the affirmative form. For example:
Direct speech: “Where do they live?”
Indirect speech: You asked me where they lived.
Direct speech: “When are you leaving?”
Indirect speech: He asked us when we were leaving.
Direct speech: “How will they get here?”
Indirect speech: She asked me how they would get here.
When we report a question, we normally use the verb ‘ask’. As with the verb ‘to tell’, the verb ‘to ask’ is
normally followed by an object pronoun, though it is possible to omit it.

51 | P a g e
Reporting Orders and Requests
When you give someone an order, you use the imperative form, which means using just the verb without
a subject. For example:
“Call me back later.”
“Have a seat.”
“Don’t do that!”
To report an order we use ‘tell’ and the infinitive of the verb. For example:
You told me to call you back later.
He told me to have a seat.
She told us not to do that.
When you make a request, you normally use words like ‘can’, ‘could’, or ‘will’. For example:
“Could you call me back later?”
“Will you have a seat?”
“Can you not do that please?”
To report a request, we use the verb ‘to ask’ and the infinitive form of the verb. For example:
You asked me to call you back later.
He asked me to have a seat.
She asked us not to do that.
Now you’ve seen how we use direct and indirect speech, practice using them yourself. An excellent and
easy way to see how they are used is by reading a short story in English or a news article online, because
stories and articles contain many examples of reported speech
Change to direct speech
1. The mother said to her daughter, ‘I’m proud of your achievements.’
2. ‘I’ve spoken nothing but the truth,’ the prisoner said.
3. The mother said to her son, ‘I will lend you the money but you have to listen to me.’
4. ‘Is your father at home?’ the stranger asked me.
5. ‘Get out of the class,’ the teacher yelled at the boy.
6. Ali said, ‘Let’s get something to eat.’
7. Karan said, ‘Alas, how foolish I have been.’
8. The traveler said, ‘I’ve lost all my money.’

52 | P a g e