BASIC ENGLISH SKILLS

Back to basics - lets get it right!

A word is a group of one or more related letters. One space between words. No space within (inside) a word, e.g. Mi_ke is wrong.
Eplain that letters ha!e different widths " #m$ is wider than #i$, so lea!e an e%ual space between letters, e.g. #mint$, not #m i nt$.
A sentence is a group of one or more related words. Each sentence starts with a capital letter.
Each sentence usuall& ends with a terminating period in one of ' forms( #.$, #)$, or #*$. (+his ma& help &ou when &ou are rearranging
words to form a sentence).
One or , spaces between sentences (- will not count as these as most nati!e speakers do not know this rule).
A sentence consists of at least one sub.ect noun and one !erb, e.g.
+here is hot /0 -t is hot (there). 1/ #+here$ is an ad!, not a sub.ect noun.
+here are good. !s +here are good animals (and bad). 1/ sub.ect noun 2 good animals (and bad).
A aragrah is a group of related sentences. 3e create a new paragraph when the sub.ect changes.
Ecept for the first paragraph, indent a new paragraph b& , spaces.
!"nct"ation #arks$
Ecept for a terminating %uote followed b& a period, a comma after an abbre!iation, and a colon within time (45('6), one space
usuall& follows all punctuation (- will check this). No space before punctuation (ecept initial %uotes) " Note( +he 7rench use ,
spaces before a double/part punctuation ((, 8, *, )), and M9 3ord, :+M;, and 9M9 word completion sometimes insert a space)
. 2 eriod (full stop) " +his finishes a sentence. -n <hinese writing, the period is a circle in the middle of the line. -n English writing it
is .ust abo!e the bottom line. Although one space follows all punctuation, , spaces can follow a period (- will not count these because
it is older English). A period is sometimes used, with no space before or after, in times (65.'6) / we will use a colon for this (65('6)
because it is more popular. A period is also used for abbre!iations, e.g. abbre!. " note that #abbre!.$ 2 #abbre!iation$, so if &ou are
writing #abbre!iation, such as$ then change to #abbre!., such as$ (the comma remains, but this is a loose rule).
:e ate his fa!ourite food, i.e. chocolate. (i.e. (in other words) 2 a finite list " onl& 4 fa!ourite)
:e ate his fa!ourite food, e.g. chocolate, strawberries, etc. (e.g. (for eample) 2 an infinite list " he likes man& things)
+he period deri!es from Aristophanes of =&>antium, one of the in!enters of punctuation where the height of placement of a dot on the
line determined its meaning (when one should pause when reading). +he high dot (?) was called a @periodos@ and indicated a finished
thought or sentence, the middle dot (A) was called a @kolon@ and indicated part of a complete thought, while the low dot (.) was called
a @telia@ indicating the start of a thought " the low dot would e!entuall& become a comma.
, 2 co##a " +his means #wait$ (&ou can take a breath)). +he& are useful for breaking up long sentences, but onl& to show a natural
break. -n <hinese writing, the comma is in the middle of the line. -n English writing it cuts the bottom line. 9ome countries do put a
comma before the word BandB in a list, or following an abbre!iation, others don$t (loose rule).
Cse a comma between !erbs of communication (said, asked, complained, etc) and opening %uotes, e.g.
- said, D-$m sorr&.E
D-$m sorr&,E - said.
Mike said %uickl& D-$m sorr&.E
D-$m sorr&,E Mike said %uickl&.
Cse a comma after the clause between split %uotes, e.g.
D9orr&,E - told him, D- will do better net time)E
* 2 %"estion #ark " +his changes the sentence into a %uestion. +he sound of one$s !oice might also change(
One$s !oice will rise if one epects a repl& meaning #&es$ or #no$. Eample( -s this the wa& to the hotel* Fepl&2E&esE
One$s !oice will lower if one epects a repl& NO+ meaning #&es$ or #no$. Eample( 3here is the hotel* Fepl&2EGown the
roadE
<losed choice %uestion (indicated b& falling tone, a ser!er in a cafe) gi!es limited choices(
Go &ou want .uice, water, coffee, tea (all up), or ma&be some hot chocolate (down)*
Open choice %uestion (indicated b& rising tone, someoneBs home) gi!es suggestions so something else might be a!ailable(
Go &ou want .uice, water, coffee, tea (all neutral), or ma&be some hot chocolate (up)*
-f &ou suggest it, though, the& ma& ha!e an alternati!e, e.g. a glass of wine.
) 2 e&cla#ation #ark " +his changes one$s !oice to sound surprised or interested.
Heriods, commas, %uestion marks, and eclamation marks are alwa&s followed b& 4 space.
- ' h(hen )dash* / <ompound words are either h&phenated or appear as one word. More and more compound words are created
each &ear, e.g. cellphone, email. -f &ou do not find the word in a good dictionar&, h&phenate it, e.g. e&ewitness, e&e shadow, e&e/
opener.
+eacher Mike Hage 4 4I/9ep/4I
3e ha!e other forms of dashes, e.g. #en/dash$ (the width of an #n$) and #em/dash$ (the width of an #m$). +hese are not important, so
the& will not be included in this course and - will not measure &our dashes)
An #en/dash$ is sometimes used between dates (45'I/4JK') " use a h&phen.
An #em/dash$ sometimes replaces commas, semicolons, colons, and parentheses to indicate added emphasis, an interruption, or an
abrupt change of thought. +hese are not recommended for formal writing.
:&phenate all compound numbers from twent&/one through ninet&/nine and spelled out fractions, e.g. - used one/third of a cup.
:&phenate when ad!erbs not ending in #/l&$ are used as compound words in front of a noun, e.g.
:e got a much/needed haircut &esterda&. :e was a well/known artist. 1/ Note( well (ad.) indicates ill health.
:owe!er, do not h&phenate when the combination of words is used after the noun, e.g.
:is haircut was much needed. +he artist was well known.
Cse a h&phen with the prefi #e$, e.g. M& e/girlfriendL.
D 2 %"otation #arks or in!erted commas (usuall& called %uotes or speech marks) " this usuall& means that someone is speaking, or
that &ou are %uoting someone (plagiarism). +he st&le of %uotation marks changes around the world. 9ometimes , #apostrophes$,
sometimes 4 " - use both, but - recommend using , for now. +he& should be in pairs (one at the start and one at the end). -n the past
%uotation marks would be repeated at the beginning of e!er& line of a long %uotation. 3hen we stopped doing this, the empt& margin
remained, lea!ing the modern form of indented block %uotation (- will not check or teach block %uotations because there is no
standard, but 466 words or J lines is recommended b& the <hicago manual of st&le). <omplete sentences inside %uotes should start
with a capital, e.g. he said, D+hat is a cat.E Muote mark punctuation changes around the world( -n American English, terminating
punctuation is usuall& immediatel& prior to the closing %uote mark, e.g. D- ran.E -f &ou are %uoting sth that contains an error, use NsicO
(;atin2.ust so) so that people know it is not &our error, e.g. :e said, D+his are a cat NsicO.E
+he main , %uotation mark st&les are straight and KK/PP " M;A paper 2 KK/PP, but M;A online 2 straight)
Cse whiche!er ones &our uni!ersit& prefers (the& are usuall& strict) " with me, choose one st&le and stick with that (be consistent)
# 2 aostrohe " +his means either(
4. Hossession( the noun following the apostrophe belongs to the noun before it (like ). Eample( Mike$s book 2 the book
belongs to Mike. -t is not used with pronouns, e.g. he, she, it. Dit$sE alwa&s means Dit is.E " use DitsE.
,. <ontraction( there is at least one letter missing. Eample( - would 2 -$d. ;ist of most common contractions(
not( do not /0 donBt, arenBt, canBt, isnBt
hadQwould( - hadQwould /0 -Bd
will( - will /0 -Bll
isQhas( :eBs
am( - am /0 -Bm
ha!e( - ha!e /0 -B!e
us( let us /0 letBs
are( the& are /0 the&Bre
'. 9ingle letter plurals, e.g. Mind &our p$s and %$s
L 2 ellisis " 9ometimes called #dot dot dot$. -n <hinese the ellipsis is K dots separated with a space between. -n English there are
different st&lesQrules for how to write ellipsis. 9ome prefer ' dots, some I. 9ome keep punctuation, some don$t. 9ome use I dots at the
end of the final sentence. 9ome prefer a space around each dot. 9ome prefer s%uare brackets around the periods. 3e will use it as
follows(
4. when one doesn$t want to sa& words, (sound stretches), e.g. #but he$sL(ugl&)$
,. 3hen one is %uoting, but doesn$t want to include e!er&thing, e.g. DOne small stepLgiant leapLE
'. when one is interrupted
I. a pause in thought, or when one is struggling to find words, e.g. #-Ldidn$t do it)$
R. -n -nternet chatrooms to mean #more words to follow$, or please wait (also Gownloading updatesL)
() 2 arenthesisQparentheses (brackets) " used to add additional information.
( 2 Colons(
4. introduce a list, e.g. 3e need I kinds of skill( listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Go not use a colon when the listed
items flow in the sentence, e.g. +he students studied English, math, and science.
,. introduce an eplanation or an eample, e.g. 3e could not go on !acation( we had no mone&.
'. introduce a subdi!ision, e.g. English( punctuation( colon
I. introduce direct speech (eact words %uoted) when it is preceded b& a name or short phrase, e.g. Mike( D:elloE (usuall& seen
in con!ersation tet).
R. are used after an independent clause introducing %uoted material, e.g. Mike used his fa!orite %uotation( @-t will pass.@
K. are used following a salutation in an American business letter, e.g. Gear Mr. Sones(
5. are used, with no space before or after, in times, ratios, biblical references, and to separate the !olume from page numbers of
a cited work, e.g. :e arri!ed at 45('6 with ,6(,6 !ision. Matthew 5(44. The Importance of Phonics I(JK"JP
8 2 Se#icolons are used to separate two sentences that would otherwise be .oined with a word such as BandB, BbecauseB, BsinceB, BunlessB
or BwhileB, e.g. @-Bm looking forward to our net lesson8 -Bm sure it will be a lot of fun.@
+eacher Mike Hage , 4I/9ep/4I
+ ' ,orward slash (no spaces before or after, but one space before and after the obli%ue when used between longer groups which
contain internal spacing, e.g. @Our +aiwan Q Eastern Sapan !acation@) is used(
4. as a substitute for BorB, e.g. maleQfemale, TQN, andQor)
,. +o separate the parts of a fraction (,Q') " arithmetical di!ision.
'. +o separate the parts of a date (4Q4Q,64').
I. +o make a strong connection between words or phrases, such as @the =atmanQ9uperman fans@.
R. +o mark line di!isions in poetr& %uoted within running tet.
K. +here are other uses, but the abo!e are the main ones.
Cnits of measurement( Tou would write #466 meters$, therefore write the abbre!iation as #466 km$ (a space between the number and
measurement unit$. :owe!er, we don$t lea!e a space between degree and percent s&mbols, e.g. IRU and ,RV (no space).
+eacher Mike Hage ' 4I/9ep/4I
BASIC ENGLISH SKILLS
-e.iew
3rite the letters in upper and lower case, and the numbers 6/P.
3hat are the #big$ letters called* Ans 2 uppercase or capital.
3hat are the little letters called* Ans 2 lowercase.
Hronounce the letters and numbers.
3hat is an #article$* Ans 2 indefinite articles( #a$, #an$, definite article( #the$.
:ow is the article #a$ usuall& pronounced* Ans 2 schwa
:ow does one spell #bigger$ in =rE and AmE* Ans 2 double g.
3hen do we use a capital letter* Ans 2 +he 4
st
letter of a sentence. +he start of words such as names, places, da&s, and Months.
3hat are the short !owel sounds* a e i o u. A, E, -, O, C.
3hat letter is sometimes used like a !owel* T
Elicit( -f it is not a !owel, it is aL* <onsonant
3hat is a #word$* sentence* paragraph* Ans2 related letters, words, sentences.
3hat does a sentence alwa&s start with* Ans 2 a capital letter.
:ow do we change a sentence into a %uestion* Ans 2 #*$
3hat , characters can we see at the end of a sentence* Ans 2 #.$, #)$.
3hen does one create a new paragraph* Ans 2 when the sub.ect changes.
:ow do we indent punctuation* Ans 2 One space following all punctuation, but , spaces after period. Ecept for the first paragraph,
indent a new paragraph b& , spaces.
!"nct"ation #arks$
Elicit( D+ell me about this(E
. 2 eriod (full stop) " +his finishes a sentence.
, 2 co##a " +his means #wait$. +he& are useful for breaking up long sentences, but onl& to show a natural break. 9ome countries do
put a comma before the word BandB, others don$t. Cse a comma between !erbs of communication (said, asked, complained, etc) and
opening %uotes.
* 2 %"estion #ark " +his changes the sentence into a %uestion. +he sound of one$s !oice might also change(
One$s !oice will rise if one epects a repl& meaning #&es$ or #no$.
One$s !oice will lower if one epects a repl& NO+ meaning #&es$ or #no$.
) 2 e&cla#ation #ark " +his changes one$s !oice to sound surprised or interested.
D 2 %"otation #arks or in!erted commas (usuall& called %uotes or speech marks) " this usuall& means that someone is speaking, or
that &ou are %uoting someone (plagiarism). +he& should be in pairs. <omplete sentences inside %uotes should start with a capital. -n
most countries, uni!ersities epect terminating punctuation to be immediatel& prior to the closing %uote mark, e.g. D- ran.E
3hat do &ou do if &ou are %uoting an error* Ans 2 NsicO so people know it is not &our error.
# 2 aostrohe " +his means either(
4. Hossession( the noun following the apostrophe belongs to this person or thing (like ). Eample( Mike$s book 2 the book
belongs to Mike. -t is not used with pronouns, e.g. he, she, it. Dit$sE alwa&s means Dit is.E " use DitsE.
,. <ontraction( there is at least one letter missing. Eample( - would 2 -$d
'. 9ingle letter plurals, e.g. Mind &our p$s and %$s
L 2 ellisis " Cse when one doesn$t want to sa& words, (sound stretches), or when one is interrupted.
() 2 arenthesisQparentheses (brackets) " used to add additional information.
( 2 Colons(
4. -ntroduce a list, e.g. 3e need I kinds of skill( listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
,. -ntroduce an eplanation or an eample, e.g. 3e could not go on !acation( we had no mone&.
'. -ntroduce a subdi!ision, e.g English( punctuation( colon
I. -ntroduce direct speech (eact words %uoted) when it is preceded b& a name or short phrase, e.g. Mike( D:elloE
R. Are used after an independent clause introducing %uoted material, e.g. Mike often used his fa!orite %uotation( @-t will pass.@
K. Are used following a salutation in an American business letter, e.g. Gear Mr. Sones(
8 2 Se#icolons are used to separate two sentences that would otherwise be .oined with a word such as BandB, BbecauseB, BsinceB, BunlessB
or BwhileB, e.g. @-Bm looking forward to our net lesson8 -Bm sure it will be a lot of fun.@
+eacher Mike Hage I 4I/9ep/4I