LOWER GRAMMAR – EMPOWER CHAPTERS 1-6

WELCOME

Important words from the book:

Listening – Reading -Writing - Speaking - Vocabulary – Grammar - Look

- Ask – Answer – Tick- Underline – Complete – Contraction – What –
Where – When – Check - Match

The Alphabet

How do you spell horse? How do you spell your name / last name?

Numbers

Colors:
ARTICLE: “a”, “an” – INDEFINITE (un, una) (unos, unas NO existe)

 a + a consonant:
 a boy, a car, a bike, a dog
 an + singular vowel (a,e,i,o,u): an apple, an elephant, an ice
cream, an orange, an umbrella

ARTICLES: “the” – DEFINITE (el, la, los, las)

 the book, the table, the house

 the books, the tables, the houses 

THE PLURAL

singular plural

a pen pens

an apple apples

a baby babies

a box boxes

a glass glasses

a watch watches

a dish dishes

adjectives go BEFORE the noun and are NEVER PLURAL: a pretty

*

girl, pretty girls – the red book, the red books.

 CHAPTER 1 – PEOPLE

1. VERB TO BE – SER o ESTAR

+ I am - I am not ? Am I
You are You are not Are you
He is He is not Is he
We are We are not Are we
They are They are not Are they

Examples: SER

? Am I tall? - I’m not tall ? I´m short

Are you dumb? I´m not dumb I am intelligent
Is he poor? He´s not poor He is rich
Are we old? We´re not old We are young
Are they bad? They´re not bad They are good

Examples: ESTAR

? Am I dirty? - I’m not dirty ? I´m clean

Are you married? I´m not married I am single
Is he hot? He´s not hot He is cold
Are we hungry? We´re not hungry We are thirsty
 Are they tired? They´re not tired They are worried

2. Countries and Nationalities

COUNTRIES NATIONALITIES

I am from Colombia I am Colombian

You are from Australia You are Australian
He is from Argentina He is Argentinian
We are from China We are Chinese
They are from Mexico They are Mexican

3. THE TIME – What time is it?

4. CAPITAL LETTERS
CHAPTER 2 – WORK AND STUDY
1. SIMPLE PRESENT– We use the present:

- to talk about habits or routines (I eat an apple every day)

- things that are always true (Lions eat meat, I study psychology)

Only changes in the 3rd person affirmative: S

+ I work - I don´t work ? Ðo I work?

You work You don´t work Do you work?
He workS He doesn´t work Does he
work?
We work We don´t work Do we work?
They work They don´t work Do they work?

Exceptions:
a) Verbs that end in CH, SH, S, X, O . Only changes in the 3rd
person affirmative: ES
He watches tv every day
Maria washes her hands
Peter kisses his girlfriend
He fixes his car
She goes to the movies
He does his homework

b) Verbs that end in Y, but with a consonant before the Y. Only

changes in the 3rd person affirmative: IES

The baby cries all the time

He studies psychology
Marta flies to New York every month

***She plays the piano

*** He HAS A DOG

2. HOW TO FORM QUESTIONS – QASI- All verbs except TO BE

Q A S I
Where do you live?
What time does Peter wake up?
Why do they study so much?
How many books does Maria have?
How much money did the company make?
How did he do in his exam?
Which subjects will they take?

HOW TO FORM QUESTIONS – QIS – Only verb TO BE

Q I S
Where is he?
How old are you?
Why is John sad?
Which is your favorite movie?
When was Carol sick?
Where were they born?

3. JOBS – WHAT DO YOU DO?

 CHAPTER 3 – DAILY LIFE - TECHNOLOGY

*** PLURALS
****FAMILY

***CAN – COULD – WOULD LIKE/LOVE

1. ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY- They go before all verbs but after

the verb TO BE. (always, usually, often, sometimes, rarely, seldom,
never)

I always play video games in the afternoon

He usually goes to the movies on Fridays
Nico is never sick
The students are rarely late to class

2. EXPRESSIONS OF FREQUENCY – They usually go at the

beginning or end of a sentence.

They travel once a year (twice a month, 3 times a week, 4

times a year)

He walks to the university every day (on Mondays)

Every day he walks to the university

 3. HAVE GOT

Affirmative sentences

have have got

I have got a brother.

I have a brother.

I've got a brother.

Negative sentences

have have got

I have not got a
brother.
I do not have a
brother.

I haven't got a brother.
Questions

have have got

Do I have time? Have I got time?

Do you have pets? Have you got pets?

CHAPTER 4 – FOOD
Countable: Students, chairs, apples, people, words, tables, windows,
books, pens, etc.

Uncountable:
liquid: water, coke, rain, yoghurt, snow, juice, milk, toothpaste…
food logical : sugar, flour, salt, pepper, pasta, rice, beans…..
food not logical : cheese, cake, bread, meat, chicken, fish……
other logical : air, traffic, time, hair, sand, feelings….
Other not logical: money, cash

MUCH / MANY (much – uncountable / many- countable)

Many and Much express a large quantity
Examples: (+)

I have many postcards.

She has got much influence on you.
There are many students in the class.
There is much orange juice in the glass.

Examples: (-)

There isn’t much sugar in the kitchen.

There aren’t many people in the streets.
He doesn’t have much time.
There isn’t much fun here.

Examples: (?)

Is there much rain in Istanbul?

Has Eric got much cash?
Are there many books in your bag?
Do you have many CDs?

NOTE:

“too much” and “too many” indicate an excess and are used in
affirmative sentences.

There is too much noise in big cities.

There are too many people at the party.

HOW MUCH / HOW MANY

We use "How many" with plural nouns.
We use "How much" with uncountable nouns.
How many eggs?
How many sisters?
How many countries?
How many apples?
How much flour?
How much butter?
How much money?

A LITTLE / A FEW – they are used for SMALL quantities

We use “A LITTLE” with uncountable nouns

WE use “A FEW” with countable nouns

I have a little money

She has a little meat

Marta has a few apples

We don´t have a few chairs

QUANTIFIERS
Some & Any
“Some and any” are express an indefinite quantity or number. “Some and
Any” are used when it is not easy, necessary or important to say exactly
how many / how much we want to mean. They are both used with
countable and uncountable nouns.

“Some” is often used in affirmative statements. “Any” is often used in

negative sentences and questions.

+ I have AN apple -I don´t have AN apple Do you have AN apple?

I have SOME apples - I don´t have ANY apples Do you have ANY apples?

I have SOME sugar - I don´t have ANY sugar Do you have ANY sugar?

+ There is AN apple - There isn´t AN apple Is there AN apple?

There are SOME apples - There aren´t ANY apples Are there ANY apples?

There is SOME sugar - There isn´t ANY sugar Is there ANY sugar?

OTHER EXAMPLES:

There aren’t any people on the moon.

Are there any doctors in your family?
Yes, there are some doctors in my family.
No, there aren’t any doctors in my family.
There isn’t any milk in the bottle
There isn’t any cold water here /

Is there any bread on the table?

Yes, there is some bread on the table.
No, there isn’t any bread on the table.

NOTE:

******Some is also used in offers and requests.

Can I have some water, please?

Would you like some cake?

Could you do some typing for me?

A LOT OF = LOTS OF

Quantifier "a lot of" is used in all forms.

Instead of A lot of, we can use lots of.

Lots of is an informal form of a lot of.

Exampe sentences:

There are a lot of bus stops in Bornova.

I have got lots of story books.
There is a lot of milk in the jug.
Do you know a lot of people there?

CHAPTER 5 – PLACES
1. Places in the city

2. THERE IS – THERE ARE

3. POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS
4. POSSESSIVE NOUNS
5. ASKING – GIVING DIRECTIONS
 CHAPTER 6 – FAMILY

1. THE FAMILY

Examples: WHO ARE THEY?

We are going to talk about Diego:

1. His sister´s name is Alondra

2. His cousins´ names are Sofia and Camilo
3. His parents´names are Ian and Mikaela
4. His grandparents´s names are Angel and Valentina
5. His uncle´s name is Dylan

We are going to talk about Mikaela:

1. Her siblings´ (hermanos) names are Dylan and Amaia

2. Her husband is Ian – or – Her husband´s name is Ian
 3. Her father´s name is Angel
4. Her nephew´s name is Camilo
5. Her niece´s name is Sofia

We are going to talk about Valentina:

1. Her daughters´ names are Mikaela and Amaia

2. Her son´s name is Dylan
3. She has 5 grandchildren

THE PAST

Useful words in the past: yesterday, the day before yesterday, last week,
last year, last Thursday, last month, this morning, in 2018, a month ago,
two years ago, last summer,

2. PAST VERB TO BE (this verb is different to all other verbs in the

past)

Examples:

1. Were you sick yesterday?

No, I wasn´t sick yesterday
I was healthy yesterday
 2. Was Annie sad when she was a child?
No, She wasn´t sad when she was a child
She was happy

3. Were we good kids in class?

No, we weren´t good kids in class
We were bad kids in class

******In the past, there are REGULAR and IRREGULAR verbs.

REGULAR VERBS end in ED or IED

3. PAST SIMPLE REGULAR VERBS

Pronunciation in the past: You DON’T pronounce the “e” in the past for
most verbs. Examples: walked, played, talked, studied, closed…..etc.

You ONLY pronounce the “e” when the verbs end in:

T - wanted, protected, accepted

Te – tasted, invited, hated

D - needed, demanded, added

De- decided, divided, provided

In the past the auxiliary is DID. Remember: in the
present the auxiliaries are DO and DOES.

Remember: the verb changes ONLY in affirmative!

Examples:

1. Did you walk in the park yesterday?

No, I didn´t walk in the park yesterday
Yes, I walked in the park yesterday

2. Did Valentina study last week?

No, Valentina didn´t study last week
Yes, Valentina studied last week

3. Did we stop at the corner?

No, we didn´t stop at the corner
Yes, we stopped at the corner

4. Did they live in Paris?

No, they didn´t live in Paris
Yes, they lived in Paris

2. PAST SIMPLE IRREGULAR VERBS

Remember: the verb changes ONLY in affirmative!
Examples:

1. Did you go to the restaurant

No, I didn´t go to the restaurant
Yes, I went to the restaurant

2. Did Laura buy a new house?

No, Laura didn´t buy a new house
Yes, Laura bought a new house
OTHER IMPORTANT IRREGULAR VERBS:

Go - went Maria went to the movies last week

Have - had I had a dog when I was a child

Fly - flew I flew to Mexico last summer

Drive - drove Peter drove his car to the university

Do - did We did our homework last night

Leave- left Monica left the house at 8:00

Feel - felt I felt sad yesterday, but today I am happy

Buy - bought My parents bought a new car last year

Eat - ate Her friends ate pizza last night

Tell - told He told me that he loved me

Cost - cost His new bike cost 1.000 dollars

Spend- spent Juan spent a lot of money last weekend

I spent a lot of time with my parents last month

Make - made Maria made a delicious cake

Come – came He came to my party

Get - got My students got a very good grade!