Basic English Communcation Skills (GRAMMAR)

Prepared by: Mr. Juan Miguel Roque

References : www.gramarly.com; www.study.com ; Meriam webster

Let’s get you started!

PARTS OF SPEECH

NOUNS

A noun is generally defined as a person,place or thing: however, ideas are also nouns. For example, love
is not a tangible thing that can be seen or held. But it clearly exists, so it is also a noun.

Types of nouns

1.Proper nouns- are names of specific people places or things. They are always written with a capital
letter at the beginning.

2.Common nouns- are names that are more generalized and does not require capitalization

Examples

PROPER NOUNS COMMON NOUNS

Rodrigo Duterte president

Criminology educational course
Philippines country
Mobile legends mobile game
Glock 19 Gen 4 pistol
Iphone smartphone

3.Collective Nouns- names / nouns which refer to a group as a whole.

Examples : I love my family.

My brother is in the army.

The 1st battalion will attack the enemy from the west.
 The fleet will return to base for repairs.

The police dispatched two squads to deal with the hostage situation.

4.Abstract Nouns- refers to the name of a feeling,idea, skill,emotion or quality.

Examples : Love your neighbor.

Honesty builds trust.

The officer was given an award for his valor in saving the victim.

Intelligence and integrity are a police officer’s armor and ammunition in mental battles.

5.Material Nouns- refers to materials or substances.

Examples : Gold and Silver are considered precious assets in the midst of recession.

Copper, lead,steel,polymer,rubber and even wax can be found in most bullets.

Activity 1 WHAT’S YOUR TYPE?

Identify which type of verb are the following. Write PN if the word is a Proper noun, CN if it’s a Common
noun, CoN if its Collective, AN for the Abstract nouns and MN for Material Nouns.

1.COLGATE 6.BOOK 11.JEALOUSY

2.GAPAN 7.NICOLLO 12.BRONZE

3.TEAM 8.RUBBING ALCOHOL 13.BANANA

4. ENVY 9. CREW 14.DISCIPLINE

5.PLANET 10.COMMUNITY 15.COMPANY

Activity 2 CAN YOU FIND ME?

Underline the nouns in each sentence.Take not that each item has 2 nouns.

1. Samantha is a model student.

2. My parents just bought me the new Iphone!
3. The whole team worked so hard for this project.
4. The Philippines was put on lockdown due to the pandemic.
 5. Anger and sadness can be healthy if expressed properly.

PRONOUNS

A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun.

First person pronouns are used when the writer or speaker is referring to himself ,herself or within one’s
own group.

Singular- I, me, my,mine

 I can do it!
 Everyone is so nice to me.
 My favorite dessert is Leche flan.
 That pencil is mine.

Plural-we,us, our,ours

 We celebrated Jenny’s birthday with her family.

 It was nice of them to accomodate us.
 GCC will be our second home during our college days.
 Their equipment is much more modern than ours.

Second person pronouns refer to the reader or listener.

Examples: you,your,yours

 You can never improve if you don’t own up to your mistakes.

 Your resilience inspiring.
 I wish dog will behave like yours.

A pronoun becomes third person when it refers to someone or something other than the speaker or
listener

Examples: He,she,him,himself,her,herself, they,them,themselves, their

 Their career meant everything to them.

 The credits was theirs from the start.
 He deserves to be punished
 She will regret doing that.
 His grades have been improving thanks to his hardwork.
 Her superior officer scolded her for being late.
  She needs to calm down. Dont you think?

Activity 3. ME,MYSELF AND I

Determine the correct pronouns for each sentence.

Example: Darwin and Chelsea are bestfriends. They always do everything together.

1. My friends and I wanted to be policemen. So ______ took up Criminology in GCC.

a. It b. we c.them d. us

2. If _____ don’t work hard, I will fail my classes.

a. Them b. they c. I d. yours

3. ______ say I cant do it. I don’t care about their opinion.

a. Us b. you c. it d.they

4. I like ______ style. She’s so classy!

a. Her b.him c.you d. my

5. May ______ get that for me please?

a. You b. their c.it d.her

6. These are ______ orders from the sergeant. Be sure you will obey it.
a. Your b. him c you d. they

7. Is this _______ pencil?

a. She b. he c. it d. your

8. I took _____ dog for a walk earlier.

a. My b. mine c.you d.it

9. Andrew got punished. I told _______ not to be late.

a.He b. my c. him d she

10.______ must be physically,mentally and emotionally fit to be a policeman/ police woman.

a. You b. it c. yours d. her

Activity 4. 1st 2nd and 3rd

indicate whether the underlined pronoun is used in 1 st, 2nd or 3rd person.
_______1.Iam my own worst enemy.

_______2. We must exceed their expectations.

_______3.Mindy and I cant believe we passed!

_______4. Every citizen must know their rights.

_______5. Our character reflects our beliefs.

_______6. I can do this on my own.

_______7. She will win for sure!

_______8. You can never lose your way if you put God first.

_______9.Justine always wanted to be a police officer. He told himself he will work hard to achieve it.

______10. We must be prudent and practical during this pandemic.

VERBS

A verb is a word that describes acti on or a state of being. The second part of this defi niti on
is important, as many believe that verbs are always acti on words that can be visualized. This
is true of acti on verbs: run, walk, play, jump, sing, scream, etc.  

However, there are also linking verbs, and these types of verbs do not express acti on;
instead, they express identi ty, classifi cati on, or existence. Basically, they tell something
about the subject. The following are the most common linking verbs:  is, am, was, were, are.
Then there’s verb phrases ending in be, been, being. Verb phrases include a verb,
complement, adverb or object.

Example:

1. I am a responsible student. (‘am’ associates the adjecti ve responsible to the

subject,telling the reader or listener what classifi cati on or kind of student he or she
is)

2. My mother is(linking) fi xing(verb) us dinner.

Verbs oft en change their form as diff erent endings are added to them. These endings are
changed to show a verb’s relati onship to ti me.  This is referred to as verb tense.   

TENSES SIMPLE CONTINUOUS or PERFECT PERFECT

PROGRESSIVE CONTINOUS
PAST I learned I was learning I had learned I have been
learning
 PRESENT I learn I am learning I have learned I have been
learning
FUTURE I will learn I will be I will have I will have been
learning learned learning

Activity 5 I CAN DO IT!

Figure out which verb fits best into each sentence.

1. I will ______ taking Criminology in GCC.

a. Be b. will c. have d. has

2. The president _________ waiting for your team for an hour!

a. Is being b.has being c.has been d. had been

3. The president _______ waiting for your team for almost an hour!
a. Is being b has being c. has been d. had been

4. I ______ to play guitar last summer.

a. Will learn b. learned c.am learning d.has learned

5. These cupcakes ______ delicious!

a. Is b. are c. has d. have

Activity 6. YESTERDAY,TODAY and TOMORROW

Write past, present or future depending on when the underlined action will take/taking /took place.

Example : Future 1.We will talk about it later.

__________1.I will pay you back next week.

__________2.The package was delivered yesterday.

__________3.You will meet your classmates tomorrow.

__________4. I am walking to your front gate right now.

__________5.I saw you at the mall yesterday.

ADVERBS

Adverbs modifies or qualifies an verb,adjective or another adverb. In other words, it tells how(adverbs
of manner),when ( adverbs of time), how much (adverbs of degree) , how often ( adverbs of frequency)
or where ( adverbs of place) the action is being done.

1. Adverbs of Degree
These are adverbs that answer “how much” or to “what extent”. They tell how strong or weak
an action or adjective is.These include comparative adverbs such as more, most,very,almost,
least and all .

Example: More than half crimes were solved within a year.

The police officers take their job very seriously.
All of the board takers passed.

Adverbs can also modify adjectives.

Example : The test was extremely(adverb) difficult (adjective).
The test is too(Adverb) easy(adjective).
She is the most(adverb) popular(adjective) girl in class.
She is the least( adverb) popular(adjective) girl in class.

Activity 6 HOW MUCH? TO WHAT EXTENT?

Identify the adverb of degree and the word it modifies or describe.
Example: Very 1.He is very hardworking.

_________1. Vincent is more reliable than Mark.

_________2.That task is too difficult for one person.

_________3.The skyscraper is much taller than our house!

2.Adverbs of Frequency
These adverbs express “how often” something takes place. Its constructed as SUBJECT+
VERB+VERB

Adverb of frequency How often

Never 0%
Hardly Ever 10%
Rarely 20%
Seldom 30%
Occasionally 40%
Sometimes 50%
Often 60%
Frequently 70%-80%
Usually 90%
Always 100%

The adverbs above answer “ HOW OFTEN” in a more specific way. More generalized adverbs are
daily,weekly,monthly, and yearly.

Examples : He usually comes home late at night.

Occasionally, we go out of town to relax.
 I always keep my promises.
I would never lie to you.
Activity 7 HOW OFTEN?
Write 3 Sentences using adverb of frequency.
1.

2.

3.

3.Adverb of Manner
An adverb of manner express “how” something happens. In most cases in adverb of manner,
you can take an adjective( words that is used to describe something) and simply add -ly to form
an adverb.
Example: The dog is quick( Adjective)
Because an adverb describes a verb, we need to add a verb in the sentence.
So it becomes:
The dog runs(verb) quickly(Adverb that describes how the dog ran).

Some adverbs do not end in -ly such as fast and well but they also answer how the action is
performed.

Activity 8 HOW?
Rewrite the following sentences using the correct adverb.
Example:
1.He is terrible in handling social situations.
ANSWER: He handles social situations terribly.

1.Nicole was patient while waiting for her mother.

2.The police were quick to respond to the call.

3.He was happy to accept the award.

4.Averbs of Place
This is when an adverb express “ Where?” an action takes place. Remember that adverbs of
place always come after a verb in a sentence
Examples: I looked everywhere but I couldn’t find my phone.
The plane flew above the buildings.
My cat is sleeping beside me.
 Activity 9 WHERE?
Write 3 sentences using adverbs of place.

6. Adverbs of Time
While the adverb of frequency tells us “ How often” an event takes place, an adverb of time will
tell us “When” will it happen.
Examples
Frequency: The festival is celebrated yearly.
Time:We will go to the festival tomorrow.

Adverbs of time also tell us “how long?” the action or event lasts.
Example: The festival will last until midnight.
There will be fun activities all day.

Activity 10 WHEN?
Write 3 sentences using adverb of time.Examples are
:immeadiately,later,now,tomorrow,tonight,first,last, before,after,since today,yesterday and
next.