Introduction to English

English is thought to be one of the most important languages

in the world. There are many reasons why English is so
important. One of the reasons is that English is spoken as the
first language in many countries. There are 104 countries
where English is spoken as the first language.
Although English is the language of so many countries, more
people in the world speak Mandarin Chinese as their first
language. Mandarin Chinese is spoken in sixteen countries.
Even in countries where English is not the native language,
people use it for business and tourism. English is used for
these purposes in most countries. English is considered the
business language. English is the official language of the
United Nations. English is also the official language of
airlines and airports. All airline pilots that fly to other
countries must be able to speak English.
There are different kinds of English like British English,
Canadian English and American English. These are not
separate languages. They are dialects. A dialect is the way
people in a particular place speak their native language. In one
place, people might have a name they like to use for
something that is not used in another place. For example: In
Britain, they call the building where a motion picture is
watched a cinema. In America, they call it a theatre. This is
just a different way of talking about the same thing. Both of
the words cinema and theatre are English words, and can be
used to describe a building where motion pictures are
watched, so both of these words are correct. It is important to
remember that any form of English that you learn is good.
There are no better versions of English. There are only
different ones.

How do you introduce yourself?

Introducing Yourself in an Interview Guide
1. Start by researching the company and your interviewers.
2. Dress appropriately for the interview.
3. Avoid distractions and keep eye contact.
4. Be confident and comfortable.
5. Be aware of body language.
6. Prepare what to say.
7. Rehearse your introduction with a friend.

The best ways to introduce yourself in an

interview
 

Before the interview

When you first enter the building where your job interview will take
place, you may need to check in with reception. Step forward and
introduce yourself with your full name, interview time and job title of
the role you’re interviewing for. This can be quick and simple, such
as,

“Hi, my name is Max Taylor. I’m here for a 12 pm job

interview for the Program Manager role.”

Once you’ve checked in, you may be asked to wait while the recruiter
or another HR representative comes to meet you. It’s good etiquette to
avoid taking out your phone to pass the time while you wait. If you’re
seated, place your arms on the armrests or in your lap. Your feet can
rest on the floor or cross at the ankles.

When someone arrives to greet you, stand to meet them and follow
these steps when introducing yourself:

 Smile and give them a firm handshake, but don’t grip their hand
too strongly.
 Introduce yourself with your full name in a confident voice.
 When they introduce themselves, respond with, “It’s nice to
meet you…” and then repeat their name out loud—you’ll be
more likely to remember it if you repeat it back to them when
you first hear it.

If you’ve spoken to this person by phone or email prior to your job

interview, you can say something like,

“It’s nice to meet you in person.”

When you’re talking, smile and look them in the eyes. From here, this
person may give you a quick tour or show you directly to the
interview room. If this person is just guiding you to the room rather
than interviewing you, be sure to thank them before they leave.

During the interview

Typically you’ll be seated in a room to wait until your
interviewer comes to meet you. You may want to use this time
to get out your pen and paper for notes, take a drink of water
and a couple of deep breaths to relax your body. When your
interviewer enters the room, greet them confidently by
standing up, extending your hand to shake theirs, stating your
name and smiling.
It’s likely that your interviewer knows the role you are
applying for and has seen your resume. Still, you should
prepare a short statement to make sure you’re they know who
you are and what role you’re applying for. Something like,
“It’s great to meet with you to talk about the associate role on
your events team.”

Once introductions have been made, you can give them a hard copy of
your resume, if they don’t already have one. You will likely exchange
a few pleasantries and get into the interview questions—especially if
they’ve got a busy day. If they begin the conversation, let them take
the lead.

If there’s a bit of silence, don’t be afraid to lead with your own

elevator pitch that quickly summarizes your professional background
and interest in the job. Here’s an example that someone applying for a
Graphic Design position might use:
“I’m a graphic designer with over five years of experience specializing
in creating beautiful, unique website experiences that make users’ time
with a brand more enjoyable. I’m looking forward to growing my
management skills to hopefully develop and inspire a team of my
own.”

One common interview question you may be asked early on is, “Tell
me about yourself.” Having an internal outline (or written, if helpful
—but avoid reading it directly to keep things conversational) can help
guide your answer. Keep it concise and focused on why your
background makes you the best fit for this job opportunity.

Being prepared ahead of time can help calm your nerves, so do some
research on the company and, if possible, your interviewers. This will
help guide the rest of the conversation, set you up to answer questions
intelligently and ask solid, informed questions of your own.
Presenting yourself as knowledgeable and confident shows your
potential employers that you’re the right choice for the opportunity.
Take a look at our Complete Guide to Researching a Company to get
started.
It’s appropriate to write down notes as the conversation
progresses. You can refer to these notes to ask any questions
at the end of the interview and can reference them when you
follow-up after the interview to show them you were attentive
and valued your time with them.

Everything You Need to Know About Job Interview

Etiquette

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare

Taking time to prepare is the most conscientious thing you can do
before an interview. A job opening at a company typically indicates a
real need for more people, meaning that the individuals you’re
interviewing with are taking time from their schedules to speak with
you. The best way to be respectful of this time is to arrive fully
prepared to answer their questions and ask your own insightful
questions.

Here are more resources on how to do just that:

 Phone Interview Tips to Get You to the Next Round
 Behavioral Interview Questions (and How to Answer Them)
 Questions to Ask Your Interviewers
 How to Ace Your Final Interview

2. Treat everyone you meet with respect

This extends to all areas of life, and it remains true in the context of a
job interview. From the moment you leave your home on the day of
the interview, make a conscious effort to be respectful. Be mindful of
how you behave on the commute or in an elevator — no one wins
points for cutting off the CEO in the parking lot or failing to hold the
door for the hiring manager.

Think ahead of time about how you’ll treat everyone in the office
with respect and present yourself well. Security personnel,
receptionists and anyone else you encounter on your way to the
interview room may be asked to give feedback on you.

3. Practice polite, confident body language

As you walk into the building, hold your head up and pull your
shoulders back. Your posture and stride will help you convey
professionalism and confidence. You may want to practice this walk
before the interview so it feels natural.

While you’re waiting for your interviewers, sit with your back straight
and shoulders open. Hands can rest on your lap or armrests. Feet flat
on the floor or crossed at the ankles. Avoid being on your phone so
you can keep your body language open and focus on being present.

Bring your things in a bag or portfolio that’s easy to hold and can
neatly contain everything you need — you don’t want to appear
encumbered or disorganized.

Respect communal space. Don’t lounge in the waiting or interview

rooms in a way that inconveniences others (resting your feet on
another chair, spreading your legs, placing your belongings in a chair
someone else could sit in, etc.).

During the interview, find the right balance for your energy. You
want to be upbeat without being aggressive. One way to strike this
balance is to avoid leaning too far back or coming forward too much.
Sit up straight, using your hands to gesture rather than moving your
body.

4. Ace the introductions

If you are sitting when someone approaches you, stand up before you
shake their hand. Look them in the eyes and smile. Offer a greeting
like, “It’s nice to meet you…” and say their name. You’ll be more
likely to remember their name if you say it out loud when you first
meet.
For the handshake, you want to be firm but not grip their hand too
strongly. Make sure your hand isn’t limp. Pro tip: if you happen to be
on the receiving end of a limp handshake, give their hand a gentle
squeeze. This can prompt them to make their hand more firm.

Make eye contact when you’re being asked and answering questions.
This eye contact doesn’t need to be continuous or too intense. Use it
strategically to indicate that you’re listening or to emphasize an
important point. You want to convey to the interviewer that you are
focused on them and very much in the moment.

5. Remember your table manners

Some interviews may be conducted over a meal. All the basics of how
to be polite at the table apply here:
 If your meal arrives first, wait to eat until others have received their food
as well
 Place your napkin in your lap
 Don’t talk with food in your mouth
 Take small, manageable bites
 It’s best to not drink alcoholic beverages during an interview. If your
interviewer orders alcohol, use your best judgment and stay within your
comfort zone. You can always opt for a seltzer or soft drink.

6. Send a thank you note

You should follow up with an email thank you to the hiring manager
within 24 hours. This can be a quick note simply thanking them for
their time or a longer note that elaborates on some of the things you
talked about. Read our tips on how to write a thank you note.

If you have multiple interviews on the same day with various people,
it’s best to send a personalized thank you note to each individual who
interviewed you.

In addition to the email, it’s appropriate to send a handwritten note.

Especially if you felt a connection with the hiring manager, this is a
good way to leave an impression. Even if you don’t get the job this
time, closing the loop with a thank you note can be a way to continue
a professional relationship with this person.

Keep learning:
 What to Bring to a Job Interview
 Follow-up Email Examples for After the Interview
 The Essential Job Search Guide

Interview introduction tips

Here are a few additional items consider including your
appearance and mindset that can set you up for a successful
introduction beforehand.
 

1. Dress appropriately

Appearance plays an important role when meeting someone new.

Choosing what to wear on an interview will represent, in part, who
you are to those you’ll be meeting. Different offices have different
dress codes, so you’ll want to do some research on the company
culture before you go to your job interview.

For example, a financial consultant interview will likely require more

formal dress than that of a tech startup. If you’re unsure, reach out to
your recruiter or office contact beforehand and ask. This shows that
you’re paying attention to the details and care about making the right
impression. Erring on the side of professional is safe. Here are a few
tips:

 Be yourself. What you wear is a part of who you are, so use it

to communicate your personality where appropriate.
 Keep the focus on you. Try and avoid distracting visuals like
extravagant jewellery or busy prints to ensure your
interviewers pay attention to your conversation.
  Be comfortable. Being professional doesn’t mean you have to
be uncomfortable—make sure you’re feeling good in your
clothes when you leave the house

Top 18 Common Interview Questions and

Answers
How to answer the 18 most common interview questions:
1. Tell me about yourself.
2. How would you describe yourself?
3. What makes you unique?
4. Why do you want to work here?
5. What interests you about this role?
6. What motivates you?
7. What are you passionate about?
8. Why are you leaving your current job?
9. What are your greatest strengths?
10.What are your greatest weaknesses?
11.What are your goals for the future?
12.Where do you see yourself in five years?
13.Can you tell me about a difficult work situation and how you overcame
it?
14.What is your salary range expectation?
15.Why should we hire you?
16.Do you have any questions?
17.What did you like most about your last position?
18. What did you like least about your last position?

Tell Me Something about Yourself” Tips

 Start by connecting personal strengths to supporting examples.
 Focus on details and outcomes you can quantify.
 Avoid summarizing your resume word for word.
 Mention past experiences and proven successes.
 Align your current job responsibilities to the role.
  Avoid mentioning personal information related to your marital status,
children, political or religious views.
 Highlight your personality.
 Avoid rushing into deeper conversations about the role and company.
 Connect your skills to the job description.
 Briefly mention hobbies, intellectual development and community
involvement

Our Best Job Interview Tips

1. Start by researching the company and your interviewers.
2. Practice your answers to common interview questions.
3. Re-read the job description.
4. Use the STAR method in answering questions.
5. Recruit a friend to practice answering questions.
6. Prepare a list of references.
7. Be prepared with examples of your work.
8. Plan your interview attire the night before.
9. Prepare smart questions for your interviewers.
10.Bring copies of your resume, a notebook and pen.
11.Arrive 15 minutes early to your interview.
12.Make a great first impression.
13.Treat everyone you encounter with respect.
14.Practice good manners and body language.
15.Win them over with your authenticity and positivity.
16.Respond truthfully to the questions asked.
17.Tie your answers back to your skills and accomplishments.
18.Keep your answers concise and focused.
19.Do not speak negatively about your previous employers.
20.Ask about next steps.
21.Send a personalized thank you letter after the interview

Here’s how you introduce yourself in English. Let’s go.

1) Hello, It’s nice to meet you.
Hello and Nice to meet you in English are must-know phrases. And any
introduction will probably will start with these words.

Remember these.

2) My name is _____.
This is simple. Just take the phrase above and add your name.

 My name is +  (your name)

 My name is Juan.
 My name is Ali.
 My name is Maria.

3) I am from ______.
So, where are you from? America? Europe? Africa? Asia? Just stick
the name of your country inside this phrase. This means – what
country where you born in?
 I’m from Pakistan.
 I’m from China.
 I’m from India.

4) I live in ______.
What about now – where do you live now? Just fill in the blank with
the country or city (if famous) into this phrase.
 I live in Pakistan.
 I live in India.
 I live in France

Where do you live?

5) I’ve been learning English for _____.
How long have you been learning English for? A month? A year?
 I’ve been learning English for 1 year.
 I’ve been learning English for 2 years.
 I’ve been learning English for 2 months.
 I’ve been learning English for 30 days.
 I’ve been learning English for 5 weeks.

6) I’m learning English at _____.

Where are you learning English? And how? At school? At home?
This would be a great line to know and use when you’re introducing
yourself. “At” may change to “in” or other prepositions. Or, it may
get removed Here are my examples:

 I’m learning English at school.

 I’m learning English at home.
 I’m learning English in class.
 I’m learning English online.

7) I am ____ years old.

Here’s how to say how old you are in English. Just place your age
number inside that’s it.
 I am 15 years old.
 I am 20 years old.
 I am 25 years old.

8) I am ______.
What about your position? Are you a student? Yoga teacher?
Lawyer for the potato industry? Potato salesman? Super
important question that people like to ask.

Just say “I + am + a + (job).

 I am a student.
 I am a doctor.
 I am a programmer.
 I am a dentist.
 I am a college student.
 I am an office worker.
 I am an English teacher.
9) One of my hobbies is _____.
Now, let’s move onto personal interests – hobbies! My
hobbies are languages and using the internet. How about you?
Here are some examples:
 One of my hobbies is sleeping.
 One of my hobbies is learning English.
 One of my hobbies is going out with friends.
 One of my hobbies is watching movies.
 One of my hobbies is going to restaurants.
 One of my hobbies is cooking.

Please use these for yourself.

10) I enjoy listening to music.

Rhys is just another example line about your hobbies. You
can use something elsewhere. What do you enjoy or like?
Here are some examples:
 I enjoy listening to music.
 I enjoy eating.
 I enjoy watching television.
 I enjoy learning languages.
 I enjoy exercising.
 I enjoy reading.

So now you know how to introduce yourself in English in

10 lines. I’m sure there’s a ton more you can say – but this is
an easy, simple start that any beginner can put to use. It’s all
about starting easy.
NOUN - (Naming word)
A noun is the name of a person, place, thing or idea.
Examples of nouns: Daniel, London, table, dog, teacher, pen, city, happiness, hope
Example sentences: Steve lives in Sydney. Mary uses pen and paper to write let

PRONOUN - (Replaces a Noun)

A pronoun is used in place of a noun or noun phrase to avoid repetition.
Examples of pronouns: I, you, we, they, he, she, it, me, us, them, him,
her, this, those
Example sentences: Mary is tired. She wants to sleep. I want her to
dance with me.
ADJECTIVE - (Describing word)
An adjective describes, modifies or gives more information about a
noun or pronoun.
Examples: big, happy, green, young, fun, crazy, three
Example sentences: The little girl had a pink hat.

VERB - (Action Word)

A verb shows an action or state of being. A verb shows what someone
or something is doing.
Examples: go, speak, run, eat, play, live, walk, have, like, are, is
Example sentences: I like Woodward English. I study their charts
and play their games.

ADVERB - (Describes a verb)

An adverb describes/modifies a verb, an adjective or another adverb. It tells how,
where, when, how often or to what extent. Many adverbs end in -LY
Examples: slowly, quietly, very, always, never, too, well, tomorrow, here
Example sentences: I am usually busy. Yesterday, I ate my lunch quickly.

PREPOSITION - (Shows relationship)

A preposition shows the relationship of a noun or pronoun to
another word. They can indicate time, place, or relationship.
Examples: at, on, in, from, with, near, between, about, under
Example sentences: I left my keys on the table for you.

ARTICLE - (Defining word)

An article is used before a noun. These are divided into definite (the)
and indefinite (a, an). Articles help define nouns.
Examples: a, an, the
 Example sentences: I need a dictionary. The dictionary needs to be in
English.

CONJUNCTION - (Joining word)

A conjunction joins two words, ideas, phrases or clauses together in a
sentence and shows how they are connected.
Examples: and, or, but, because, so, yet, unless, since, if.
Example sentences: I was hot and exhausted but I still finished the
marathon.

INTERJECTION - (Expressive word)

An interjection is a word or phrase that expresses a strong feeling or
emotion. It is a short exclamation.
Examples: Ouch! Wow! Great! Help! Oh! Hey! Hi!
Example sentences: Wow! I passed my English test. Great! – Ouch!
That hurt.

Kinds of nouns:

Proper noun and common nouns

Definition: Common nouns name any person, place, thing,
or idea. They are not capitalized unless they come at the
beginning of a sentence. Proper nouns are the names of
specific people, places, things, or ideas. Proper nouns should
always be capitalized.
Common Proper
boy ⇒ James
river ⇒ Mississippi River
car ⇒ Ford
Common Proper
doctor ⇒ Doctor Jefferson
town ⇒ Rockledge
candy bar ⇒ Baby Ruth

Definition: Collective comes from the same root

as collection. A collective noun names a group, which is like
a collection of people or things.
famil tea choi jur committe her po
y m r y e d d
Hint:
Put the word in this test sentence to see if it works: One ______
is a group.
One team is a
group.

One jury is a group.
One herd is a group
Definition: Singular means only one. Plural means more than one.
In order to make a noun plural, it is usually only necessary to add s.
However, there are many irregular nouns that add es. The rules for
spelling plural nouns are based on the letters at the end of the word.
The chart below breaks up the rules into categories so that they are
easier to remember.

Rule Examples

Add s to form the plural. cat ⇒ cats

Most nouns truck ⇒ trucks
 Rule Examples

bug ⇒ bugs

Nouns that end Add es to form the plural. For bus ⇒ buses
in s, sh, x, ch, or z brush ⇒ brushes
words that end in z, add an
extra z before the es. fox ⇒ foxes
Hint: beach ⇒ beaches
It is too hard to quiz ⇒ quizzes
pronounce the words
without the e. Try it –
buss, brushs, foxs...
You sound like a snake!

Nouns ending in f or fe Some nouns ending roof ⇒ roofs

in f or fe just add s. Sometimes safe ⇒ safes
it is necessary to change shelf ⇒ shelves
the f to a v. In that case, always wife ⇒ wives
end the word with es.
Hint:
Check a dictionary if
you are unsure which
rule a noun follows.

In this lesson you will learn the rest of the rules for spelling plural
nouns.

Rule Examples

Add s to form the donkey ⇒ donkeys

Nouns that end plural. highway ⇒
in vowel + y highways

Nouns that end Add s to form the oreo ⇒ oreos

in vowel + o plural. scenario ⇒
scenarios
Nouns that end Change the y to i and family ⇒ families
in consonant + y add es to form the trophy ⇒ trophies
 Rule Examples

plural.
Nouns that end Easy rule: Regular examples:
in consonant + o Usually add es except for potato ⇒ potatoes
musical terms.
dingo ⇒ dingoes
Complicated rule: piano ⇒ pianos
Some nouns that end in soprano ⇒ sopranos
consonant + oadd es.
Many can be spelled
either way. Look in the
dictionary if you want to
be sure.

These nouns always

add es: potato, tomato,
hero, echo, banjo,
embargo, veto, torpedo.

Here are the preferred

spellings of some plural
nouns: buffaloes,
dominoes, mosquitoes,
volcanoes, tornadoes,
ghettos, mangos, mottos,
cargos, halos, mementos.
Definition: A compound noun is a noun made up of two or more
words. Each word makes up part of the meaning of the noun.

Compound nouns can be written three ways:

A single word Two words Hyphenated
haircut rain forest self-esteem
toothpaste ice cream brother-in-law
Hint:
 A compound noun is the sum of its two parts. However, there are some
words that aren't compound nouns even though they can be broken up
into two words. One example is a compound adjective.
A half-eaten pie
(Half-eaten describes the pie, so it is an adjective, not a noun.)
Two-word proper nouns can also be classified as compound nouns. Remember
that proper nouns name specific people, places, and things.

Angkor Wat
Atlantic Ocean
Eiffel Tower
Nelson Mandela
Hint:
Single-word compounds and hyphenated compounds are easy to spot, but
two-word compounds can be tricky. Ask yourself, "Would I find both
words together as a single entry in the dictionary?" For example, if you
compare the phrase cold water with the compound noun ice cream, you
can see the difference. In the phrase cold water, cold is an adjective that
describes the noun water. However, ice cream is a compound noun
because ice is not an adjective describing cream. The two words work
together to create a single noun. To check the spelling of a compound
noun, look it up in the dictionary.
When a compound noun is a single word, make it plural by adding s to the end.
If the compound noun is hyphenated or composed of two separate words,
remember to add s only to the word that is plural.
one mother-in-law ⇒ two mothers-in-law
(There are two mothers, not two laws.)
one director general ⇒ two directors general
(There are two directors, not two generals.)

There are several different types of noun, as

follows:
 Common noun. A common noun is a noun that refers
to people or things in general, e.g. boy, country, bridge,
city, birth, day, happiness.
 Proper noun. ...
 Concrete noun. ...
 Abstract noun. ...
 Collective nouns. ...
 Count and mass nouns.

Types of Nouns:

1. Common and Proper Nouns: 

I. A common noun is the word used for a class of person, place or thing.
Example: car, man, city, iron, liquid, company, etc.
II. A proper noun is the name of a particular or specific person, place or thing. A
proper noun always starts with a capital letter.
Example: Alfred, Asia, Brazil
2. Countable and Non-countable Nouns: 
I. A countable noun (or count noun) is a noun with both a singular and a plural
form, and it names anything (or anyone) that you can count.
Example: John painted the table red and the chairs blue.
II. A non-countable noun (or mass noun) is a noun that does not have a plural form
and that refers to something that you could (or would) not usually count.
Example: Joseph Priestly discovered oxygen.
3. Collective Nouns: 
A collective noun is a noun naming a group of things, animals, or persons.
You could count the individual members of the group, but you usually think
of the group as one unit.
Example: The jury is dining on take-out chicken tonight.
4. Abstract Nouns: 
Abstract nouns are used to describe emotions, qualities or feelings.
Examples: Honesty, goodness, kindness, etc.
5. Possessive Nouns: 
When we want to show that something belongs to somebody or something,
we usually add ('s) to a singular noun and an apostrophe to a plural noun.
Example: The boy's ball.

Kind of gender

1. Masculine Gender
2. Feminine Gender
3. Common Gender
4. Neuter Gender

EXAMPLES
Masculine Feminine Gender neutral

man woman person

father mother parent

boy girl child

uncle aunt  

husband wife spouse

actor actress  

prince princess  

waiter waitress server

rooster hen chicken

stallion mare horse

Many nouns that refer to people's roles and jobs can be used for either a masculine
or a feminine subject, like for example cousin, teenager, teacher, doctor, student,
friend, and colleague

EXAMPLES
 Mary is my friend. She is a doctor.
 Peter is my cousin. He is a doctor.
 Arthur is my friend. He is a student.
 Jane is my cousin. She is a student.

It is possible to make the distinction for these neutral words by adding

the words male or female.

EXAMPLES
 Sam is a female doctor.
 No, he is not my boyfriend, he is just a male friend.
 I have three female cousins and two male cousins

Infrequently, nouns describing things without a gender are referred to

with a gendered pronoun to show familiarity. It is also correct to use the
gender-neutral pronoun (it).

EXAMPLES
 I love my car. She (the car) is my greatest passion.
 France is popular with her (France's) neighbours at the moment.
 I travelled from England to New York on the Queen Elizabeth; she (the Queen
Elizabeth) is a great ship.

male female
neutral form
form form

actor actress actor

chairwoma chair or chairpers
chairman
n on

headmas headmistr headteacher or h

ter ess ead
 male female
neutral form
form form

(social) host
(on an
host hostess
aircraft) cabin
attendant

policema policewom
police officer
n an

(on an
stewardes
steward aircraft) cabin
s
attendant

waiter waitress waiter

Animal names
Some animal names have male and female forms. Very often, one of the names acts as a
neutral term, even if we know the sex of the animal.

male female neutral

bull cow cow

dog bitch dog

drake duck duck

There were loads of people out walking with dogstoday.

In the middle of this park there was a lovely pond with ducks swimming on it.

Kinds of pronouns:
A pronoun is a word that replaces a noun in a sentence. Pronouns are used to
avoid repeating the same nouns over and over again. For example, "Jeremy ran
so fast, you'd think his life was on the line." The pronoun "his" saved us from
repeating the name Jeremy again.
Common pronouns include I, me, mine, she, he, it, we, and us. In truth, there
are many different types of pronouns, each serving a different purpose.
1. Personal Pronouns
2. Possessive Pronoun
3. Indefinite Pronouns
4. Relative Pronouns
5. Intensive Pronouns
6. Demonstrative Pronouns
7. Interrogative Pronouns
8. Reflexive Pronoun
9. Possessive pronouns

Personal Pronouns
Personal pronouns are used as a substitute for a person's name. There are two kinds:
subjective and objective pronouns. That is, they either act as the subject of the
sentence or the object of the sentence.
As the subject of a sentence, they are:
 I
 you
 he
 she
 it
 we
 they
For example:
 They went to the store.
 I don't want to leave.
 He runs a great shop in town.
 You can't leave, either.
As the object of the sentence, they are:
 me
 you
 her
 him
 it
 us
 them
For example:
 Please don't sit beside me.
 Go talk to her.
 Mary put the gift under it.
 Don't look at them

Personal Pronouns Exercise

 He is dreaming.
 It is green.
 They are on the wall.
 It is running.
 We are watching TV.
 They are in the garden.
 He is riding his bike.
 She is from Bristol.
 She has got a brother.
 Have you got a computer, Mandy

Personal Pronouns Exercise

1. I am sitting on the sofa.
2. We are watching TV.
3. Are you from England?
4. He is going home.
5. They are playing football.
6. It is a wonderful day today.
7. We are speaking English.
8. Is she Kevin's sister?
9. You are swimming in the pool.
10. Are they in the cinema?

Possessive Pronouns
Possessive pronouns show ownership or possession of a noun. They
are:
 my
 our
 your
 his
 her
 its (note there is no apostrophe)
 their
For example:
 Is that my book?
 No, that's his book.
 That's its shelf.
 I'd like to see their bookshelves.
However, there are also independent possessive pronouns. These
pronouns refer to a previously named or understood noun. They stand
alone and aren't followed by any other noun. They are:
 mine
 ours
 yours
 his
 hers
 its
 theirs
For example:
 That's mine.
 Wrong. It's ours.
 So, I suppose those clothes are yours?
No, it's theirs.

Indefinite Pronouns
Indefinite pronouns don't point to particular nouns. We use them when
an object doesn't need to be specifically identified. As such, it can
remain indefinite. They include:
 few
 everyone
 all
 some
 anything
 nobody

For example:
 Most wealth is held by a select few.
 Everyone is here already.
 I don't have any paper napkins. Can you bring some?
 He's nobody.
Relative Pronouns
Relative pronouns are used to connect a clause or phrase to a noun or
pronoun. We often see them when we need to add more information.
They are:
 who
 whom
 which
 whoever
 whomever
 whichever
 that
For example:
 The driver who ran the stop sign was careless.
 I don't know which pair of shoes you want.
 Take whichever ones you want.
 No, not that one.

Intensive Pronouns
Intensive pronouns emphasize, or intensify, nouns and pronouns.
Typically, we find them right after the noun they're intensifying. These
pronouns typically end in -self or -selves. They are:
 myself
 himself
 herself
 themselves
 itself
 yourself
 ourselves

For example:
 I myself like to travel.
 He himself is his worst critic.
 She approved the marriage herself.
 We went to hear W.B. Yeats himself speak.

Demonstrative Pronouns
Demonstrative pronouns take the place of a noun that's
already been mentioned. They can be singular or plural.
There are five of them. They include:
 these
 those
 this
 that
 such
For example:
 These are ugly.
 Those are lovely.
 Don't drink this.
 Such was his understanding.
Interrogative Pronouns
Interrogative pronouns do just what they say. They work in
sentences that are posing a question. They are:
 who
 whom
 which
 what
 whoever
 whomever
 whichever
 whatever
For example:
 Who is going to arrive first?
 What are you bringing to the party?
 Which of these do you like better?
 Whatever do you mean?

Reflexive Pronouns
Reflexive pronouns are similar to intensive pronouns. The difference
between the two is that intensive pronouns aren't essential to a
sentence's meaning. Meanwhile, reflexive pronouns are. Also, they're
used when the subject and the object of a sentence refer to the same
person or thing. These pronouns end in -self or -selves. They are:
 myself
 yourself
 himself
 herself
 itself
 ourselves
 yourselves
 themselves
For example:
 I told myself not to spend all my money on new shoes.
 You're going to have to drive yourself to the restaurant today.
 We gave ourselves plenty of extra time.
 They bought themselves a new car

Possessive pronouns - mine, yours, his, hers, its,

ours, yours, theirs show that something belongs to someone.
Note that the possessive pronouns are similar to possessive
adjectives (my, his, her). The difference is that the object follows the
possessive adjective but does not follow the possessive pronoun. For example: "That
book is mine" (possessive pronoun) vs. "That is my book" (possessive adjective).

 That house is mine.

 This is yours.
 I'm sorry, that's his.
 Those books are hers.
 Those students are ours.
 Look over there, those seats are yours.
 Theirs will be green

Pronouns Exercise
1. We can phone my grandma and ask her.
2. Are they your friends?
3. She is working on her presentation.
4. Excuse me, can I ask a question?
5. They can ride their skateboards.
6. He is his friend.
7. This is not my jacket, mine was blue.
8. She bought it for her.
9. These two cats are ours.
10. They don't eat potatoes because they don't like them

What Is an Adjective?
Adjectives are words that modify (change) nouns, pronouns and
other adjectives. In the sentence “he was fast,” the word “fast” is an
 adjective that describes the pronoun “he.” Here’s a special sentence
that uses all the letters of the English language:
“The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.”
In this sentence, the words “quick,” “brown” and “lazy” are
adjectives (and so is the word “the,” but we’ll explain this later!).
All these words are describing or somehow modifying a noun.
So, you might already know about adjectives like these, like
“quick,” “beautiful” and “ugly,” which are used to describe people,
places and things.
But did you know that adjectives have many other uses? Words like
“every,” “the” and “my” are also adjectives. When you say “my
cat,” the word “my” is modifying the word “cat.” It’s describing
that cat as your possession, or something that belongs to
you. Likewise for the word “every” in the phrase “every cat.”
As you can see, adjectives have many uses!

The 3 Different Degrees of Adjectives

Imagine changing the temperature on your air conditioner. The air
conditioner has different degrees of temperature you can
select. Adjectives have different degrees, as well.
The three degrees of an adjective
are positive, comparative and superlative. When you use them
depends on how many things you’re talking about:
 A positive adjective is a normal adjective that’s used to describe,
not compare. For example: “This is good soup” and “I am funny.”
 A comparative adjective is an adjective that’s used to compare
two things (and is often followed by the word than). For example:
“This soup is better than that salad” or “I am funnier than her.”
 A superlative adjective is an adjective that’s used to compare
three or more things, or to state that something is the most. For
example: “This is the best soup in the whole world” or “I am
the funniest out of all the other bloggers.”
These three degrees only work for descriptive adjectives.
If a descriptive adjective has one or two syllables, you can turn it
into its comparative and superlative forms by adding-er and -est.
For example, you can say that a song is
Loud, louder (than another song) or the loudest (out of all
the other songs).
Descriptive adjectives with three or more syllables don’t use the -
er and -est endings. The word beautiful, for example, can’t be turned
into beautifuler or beautifulest—those aren’t words! Instead, you add
the words more and the most before it to turn it into a comparative or
superlative adjective: Beautiful, more beautiful, the most beautiful.
There are some exceptions to these rules, as with most grammar rules. For
example, good only has one syllable, but it turns into better and best. You
can find a list of common irregular adjectives here.
Descriptive adjectives are some of the most common, but adjectives have
many other uses! Below are the different types of English adjectives you
might come across in your English conversations.
To hear them in real-life situations now, you can find them in authentic
English videos on Fluent. FluentU provides real English music videos,
movie trailers, inspiring speeches and more, which have been transformed
into personalized language lessons.
You can easily search for a word and Fluent will show you videos where the
word is used. You’ll also get interactive subtitles, flashcards and fun
quizzes so you learn English while you watch!
For example, this video includes lots of descriptive adjectives, including
some that you’ll encounter in the section below. To watch that video and the
full Fluent video library with all the learning features, sign up for a free
Fluent trial.

Types of Adjective
1. Descriptive

A descriptive adjective is probably what you think of when you hear

the word “adjective.” Descriptive adjectives are used to describe nouns
and pronouns.
Words like beautiful, cute, silly, tall, annoying, loud and nice are all
descriptive adjectives. These adjectives add information and qualities to
 the words they’re modifying. You can find a list of the 25 most
commonly used adjectives at the English Club.
Examples:
“The flowers have a smell” is just starting a fact, and it has no adjectives
to describe what the flowers or their smell are like.
“The beautiful flowers have a nice smell” gives us a lot more
information, with two descriptive adjectives.
You can say “The cat is hungry,” or “The hungry cat.” In both cases, the
word hungry is an adjective describing the cat.
2. Quantitative
Quantitative adjectives describe the quantity of something.
In other words, they answer the question “how much?” or “how
many?” Numbers like one and thirty are this type of adjective. So are
more general words like many, half and a lot.
Examples:
“How many children do you have?” “I only have one daughter.”
“Do you plan on having more kids?” “Oh yes, I want many children!”
“I can’t believe I ate that whole cake!”
3. Demonstrative
A demonstrative adjective describes “which” noun or pronoun you’re
referring to. These adjectives include the words:
 This — Used to refer to a singular noun close to you.
 That — Used to refer to a singular noun far from you.
 These — Used to refer to a plural noun close to you.
 Those — Used to refer to a plural noun far from you.
Demonstrative adjectives always come before the word they’re
modifying.
Sometimes, like when you’re responding to a question, you can leave
off the noun being described and only use the adjective. For example, if
someone asks you how many cakes you want to buy you can respond: “I
want to buy twocakes,” or you can just say: “I want to buy two.”
Examples:
“Which bicycle is yours?” “This bicycle is mine, and that one used to be
mine until I sold it.”
4. Possessive
 Possessive adjectives show possession. They describe to whom a
thing belongs. Some of the most common possessive adjectives
include:
 My — Belonging to me
His — Belonging to him
 Her — Belonging to her
 Their — Belonging to them
 Your — Belonging to you
 Our — Belonging to us
All these adjectives, except the word his, can only be used before a
noun. You can’t just say “That’s my,” you have to say
“That’s my pen.” When you want to leave off the noun or pronoun being
modified, use these possessive adjectives instead:
 Mine
 His
 Hers
 Theirs
 Yours
 Ours
For example, even though saying “That’s my” is incorrect, saying
“That’s mine” is perfectly fine.
Examples:
“Whose dog is that?” “He’s mine. That’s my dog.”
5. Interrogative
Interrogative adjectives interrogate, meaning that they ask a
question. These adjectives are always followed by a noun or a
pronoun, and are used to form questions. The interrogative
adjectives are:
 Which — asks to make a choice between options?
 What — asks to make a choice (in general).
 Whose — Asks who something belongs to.
Other question words, like “who” or “how,” aren’t adjectives since
they don’t modify nouns. For example, you can say “whose coat is
this?” but you can’t say “who coat?”
Which, what and whose are only considered adjectives if they’re
immediately followed by a noun. The word which is an adjective in
 this sentence: “Which colour is your favourite?” But not in this one:
“Which is your favourite colour?”
Examples:
“Which song will you play on your wedding day?”
“What pet do you want to get?”
“Whose child is this?”
6. Distributive
Distributive adjectives describe specific members out of a
group. These adjectives are used to single out one or more
individual items or people. Some of the most common distributive
adjectives include:
 Each — Every single one of a group (used to speak about group
members individually).
 Every — Every single one of a group (used to make
generalizations).
 Either — One between a choices of two.
 Neither — Not one or the other between a choice of two.
 Any — One or some things out of any number of choices. This is
also used when the choice is irrelevant, like: “it doesn’t matter; I’ll
take any of them.”
These adjectives are always followed by the noun or pronoun
they’re modifying.
Examples:
“Every rose has its thorn.”
“Which of these two songs do you like?” “I don’t like either song.”
7. Articles
There are only three articles in the English language: a, an and the.
Articles can be difficult for English learners to use correctly because
many languages don’t have them (or don’t use them in the same way).
Although articles are their own part of speech, they’re technically
also adjectives! Articles are used to describe which noun you’re
referring to. Maybe thinking of them as adjectives will help you learn
which one to use:
 A — A singular, general item.
 An — A singular, general item. Use this before words that start with a
vowel.
 The — A singular or plural, specific item.
Simply put, when you’re talking about something general, use a and an.
When you’re speaking about something specific, use the. “A cat” can be
used to refer to any cat in the world. “The cat” is used to refer to the cat
that just walked by.
Here’s a quick tip that can sometimes help you decide which article to
use: Try using a demonstrative adjective before the noun. If it makes
sense, use the word the. If it changes the meaning of what you’re trying
to say, use a oran.
For example, if it makes sense to say “I don’t understand this question,”
you can also say “I don’t understand the question.” On the other hand, it
sounds strange to say “I need this tissue” because you don’t need that
specific tissue. You just need “a tissue.”
Examples:
“The elephants left huge footprints in the sand.”
“An elephant can weigh over 6,000 pounds!”

Find the adjective or adjectives that fit in each of the blanks best.

1. We visited the museum, where we saw ____________ artifacts.

A. A lot of
B. Ancient
C. John’s
D. A room filled with
2. I received ______________ awards at the ceremony today.
A. The manager’s
B. Two
C. Information about
D. Motivation at the
3. Please get me a bag of ____________ apples.
A. Interesting
B. Ripe red
C. Oranges and
D. Real
4. The president sat in a _______________ chair.
A. Important
B. Barber’s
C. Funny
D. Leather
5. ________________ weather is the norm in San Francisco.
A. Blue
B. Big
C. Foggy
D. The best
Answer Key:
1. A – We visited the museum, where we
saw ancient artifacts.
2. B – I received two awards at the ceremony today.
3. B – Please get me a bag of ripe red apples.
4. D – The president sat in a leather chair.
5.C– Foggy weather is the norm in San Francisco.
Verbs:
Verbs are words that express action or state of being. There
are three types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs, and
helping verbs. Action Verbs Action verbs are words that
express action (give, eat, walk, etc.) or possession (have,
own, etc.). Action verbs can be either transitive or
intransitive. Transitive Verbs A transitive verb always has a
noun that receives the action of the verb, called the direct
object. EXAMPLE: Laurissa raises her hand. The verb is raises.
Her hand is the object receiving the verb’s action. Therefore,
raises is a transitive verb. Transitive verbs sometimes have
indirect objects, which name the object to whom or for
whom the action was done. EXAMPLE: Abdus gave Becky
the pencil. The verb is gave. The direct object is the pencil.
(What did he give? The pencil.) The indirect object is Becky.
(To whom did he give it? To Becky.) Intransitive Verbs An
intransitive verb never has a direct or indirect object.
Although an intransitive verb may be followed by an adverb
or adverbial phrase, there is no object to receive its action.
EXAMPLE: Laurissa rises slowly from her seat. The verb is
rises. The phrase, slowly from her seat, modifies the verb, but
no object receives the action. Transitive or Intransitive? To
determine whether a verb is transitive or intransitive, follow
these two steps: 1. Find the verb in the sentence. EXAMPLE
1: Dustin will lay down his book. What is the action? will lay
EXAMPLE 2: His book will lie there all day. What is the
action? Will lie 2. Ask yourself, “What is receiving the action
of the verb?” If there is a noun receiving the action of the
verb, then the verb is transitive. If there is no direct object to
receive the action, and if the verb does not make sense with
a direct object, then it is intransitive. EXAMPLE 1: Dustin will
lay down his book. Dustin will lay down what? his book. Since
the verb can take a direct object, it is transitive. EXAMPLE 2:
His book will lie there all day. His book will lie what? Nothing.
It does not make sense to “lie something.” Since the verb has
no direct object, it is intransitive.
Types of Verbs Note: This document should only be used as
a reference and should not replace assignment guidelines.
Utah Valley University (UVU) does not discriminate on the
basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual
orientation, gender identity, age (40 and over), disability
status, veteran status, pregnancy, childbirth, or pregnancy-
related conditions, citizenship, genetic information, or other
bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment,
admission, access to educational programs and activities, or
other University benefits or services. Linking Verbs A linking
verb connects the subject of a sentence to a noun or
adjective that renames or describes the subject. This noun or
adjective is called the subject complement. EXAMPLE: Jason
became a business major. The verb, became, links the
subject, Jason, to its complement, a business major. Lisa is in
love with Jason. The verb, is, links the subject, Lisa, to the
subject complement, in love with Jason (describing Lisa). The
most common linking verb is the verb to be in all of its forms
(am, are, is, was, were, etc.). This verb may also be used as a
helping verb (see next section). To become and to seem are
always linking verbs. Other verbs may be linking verbs in
some cases and action verbs in others: to appear to feel to
look to remain to stay to taste to continue to grow to prove
to sound to smell to turn LINKING: Libby appeared happy.
(Appeared links Libby to the subject complement, happy.)
ACTION: Deon suddenly appeared. (Here, appeared is an
intransitive action verb.) Helping Verbs Helping verbs are
used before action or linking verbs to convey additional
information regarding aspects of possibility (can, could, etc.)
or time (was, did, has, etc.). The main verb with its
accompanying helping verb is called a verb phrase.
EXAMPLES: Teju is (helping verb) going (main verb) to
Florida. The trip might (helping verb) be (main verb)
dangerous. The following words, called modals, always
function as helping verbs: can may must shall will could might
ought to should would EXAMPLES: Tanya could learn to fly
helicopters. (Could help the main verb, learn.) Janine will
drive to Idaho tomorrow. (Will helps the main verb, drive.) In
addition, the following forms of the verbs to be, to do, and to
have sometimes serve as helping verbs. (Note: In other cases,
they may serve as action or linking verbs.) am be being do
had have was are been did does has is were HELPING: Jana is
moving to a new house. LINKING: Jana is ready to go. HELPING:
Dustin did eat his vegetables! ACTION: Dustin did his homework last
night.

Verbs
What is a verb?
Verbs are the action words in a sentence that describe what the subject
is doing. Along with nouns, verbs are the main part of a sentence or
phrase, telling a story about what is taking place. In fact, without a verb,
full thoughts can’t be properly conveyed, and even the simplest
sentences, such as Maria sings, have one. Actually, a verb can be a
sentence by itself, with the subject, in most case you, implied, such
as, Sing! and Drive!
When learning the rules of grammar, schoolchildren are often taught that
verbs are ‘doing’ words, meaning they signify the part of the sentence
which explains the action taking place: He ran away, she eats chocolate
cake on Sundays, the horses gallop across the
fields. Ran, eats and gallop are the ‘action’ parts of those sentences,
thus they are the verbs. However, it can be confusing because not all
verbs are easily identifiable as action: I know your name,
Jack thought about it, we considered several applications. These are
non-action verbs, i.e. those that describe a state of being, emotion,
possession, sense or opinion. Other non-action verbs include
include love, agree, feel, am, and have.

How to Recognize a Verb

As you can see from the examples above, one clue to help you
recognize a verb is its location compared to the subject. Verbs almost
always come after a noun or pronoun. These nouns and pronouns are
referred to as the subject.  The verb thought comes after the noun Jack,
so the action Jack (subject) was taking was thinking (verb).

1. Mark eats his dinner quickly.

2. We went to the market.
3. You write neatly in your notebook.
4. They thought about all the prizes in the competition.
Here are some other ways to recognize verbs in a sentence:

1. If you’re not sure if a word is a verb, ask yourself, “Can I do ______?”

Can I think, wonder, walk, yawn? Yes, so these are verbs.

2. You can also ask, ”What is happening?”

In the sentence Mark eats his dinner quickly, what is happening? Eating

is happening, so eating is the verb

In the sentence they thought about all the prizes what is

happening? Thought (thinking) is happening, so thought is the
verb
Types of Verbs
There are many types of verbs. In addition to the main
categories of physical verbs, mental verbs, and state of being
verbs, there are several other types of verbs. In fact, there are
more than ten different types of verbs that are grouped together
by function.

List of all Verb Types

Action Verbs
Action verbs express specific actions and are used any time
you want to show action or discuss someone doing something. 
It’s important to remember that the action does not have to be
physical.
Action verb examples:
1. Run
2. Dance
3. Slide
4. Jump
5. Think
6. Do
7. Go
8. Stand
9. Smile
10. Listen.
The action verb examples in the following sentences are
in bold for easy identification.
I run faster than David.
He does it well.
She thinks about poetry all day long

Transitive Verbs
Transitive verbs are action verbs that always express doable
activities that relate or affect someone or something else.
These other things are generally direct objects, nouns or
pronouns that are affected by the verb, though some verbs can
also take an indirect object, such as show, take, and make. In a
sentence with a transitive verb, someone or something receives
the action of the verb.
Transitive verb examples:
1. Love
2. Respect

3. Tolerate

4. Believe

5. Maintain.

The transitive verb examples in the following

sentences are in bold for easy identification.
Gary ate the cookies.
The transitive verb is ate, Gary is the subject, because it is
Gary who is doing the eating, and the cookies are the direct
object, because it is the cookies that are being eaten. Other
examples:
He kicked John.

John punches him.

They sold the tickets.

Examples of verbs used with both direct and indirect objects:

They sell him the tickets.

In this sentence, the tickets are the direct object while him is the indirect

object.

Mary baked her mother a pie.

In this sentence, a pie is the direct object while her mother is the indirect
object.
Intransitive Verbs
Intransitive verbs are action verbs that always express doable activities.
They are different from transitive verbs because there is no direct object
following an intransitive verb.

Intransitive verb examples:

1. Walk
2. Laugh
3. Cough
4. Play
5. Run
The intransitive verb examples in the following
sentences are in bold for easy identification.
We travelled to London.

The intransitive verb is travelled, the subject is we,

because we are doing the travelling, but London is not a direct
object because London is not receiving the action of the verb.
Other examples:

I sneeze in the morning.

He arrived with moments to spare.

Kathryn sat away from the others.

John eats before leaving for school.
The last example shows that the verb eats can be both
transitive and intransitive depending on whether there is a
direct object or not. If the sentence read: John eatsthe cookies
before leaving for school, eats would be transitive as there is a
direct object – the cookies.
By the way, some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive.
These verbs include: start, leave, change, live, stop.

Auxiliary Verbs
Auxiliary verbs are also known as helping verbs and are used together
with a main verb to show the verb’s tense or to form a question or
negative. Common examples of auxiliary verbs include have, might, will.
These auxiliary verbs give some context to the main verb, for example,
letting the reader know when the action took place.

Auxiliary verb examples:

1. Would

2. Should

3. Do

4. Can

5. Did

6. Could

7. May

The auxiliary verb examples in the following

sentences are in bold for easy identification.
I will go home after football practice.
The auxiliary verb will is telling us that the action of the main
verb go is going to take place in the future – after football
practice has ended. If the auxiliary verb willwas removed, we
get the sentence:
I go home after football practice.
In this case, there is no definite time frame for the action. The
sentence suggests that going home after football practice is just
something the subject I generally does. Other examples:
I may dance with you later.

We did consider Bryan’s feelings.

Jenny has spoken her final words.
In addition, we can sometimes use the auxiliary very
before the pronoun to make a question:
Might you dance with me later?
Did we consider Bryan’s feelings?
Has Jenny spoken her final words?
Also, auxiliary verbs are used to help form negative statements,
with the use of words like not and never. These will usually split
the auxiliary and main verbs:
I may never dance with you again.
We did not consider Bryan’s feelings.
Jenny has not spoken her final words.

How to Use Preposition in English

Grammar (On, At, In, Of, For)
Prepositions are the words that join a noun, pronoun or the
noun phrases and make each sentence complete. However,
learning preposition is little tricky and hence, students should
be conscious while reading a book or other documents and
check the usage of the preposition.
Examples:
To the office, on the table, about myself, in a few minutes, at
my place, etc.
Here, ‘to’, ‘on’, ‘about’, ‘in’ and ‘at’ are the prepositions.
Moreover, prepositions are used in the sentences to indicate a location,
direction, time or sometimes, to introduce an object. Some common
prepositions and their applications in the sentences are mentioned here.

Prepositions
On :
On (refers a surface of something)- I kept the dishes on the dining table.
On (specifies days and dates)- I will come on Monday. 
Radha was born on 15th August.
On (refers TV or other devices)- She is on the phone.
My favorite movie will be on TV now.
On (refers the parts of the body) — I keep wearing my wedding ring on
my finger.
On (to refer a state)- The products available in the store are on sale.
At :
At (to indicate a place)- There are a good number of people at the park.
At (to refer an email address)- Please mail in detail @ (at)
At (to refer a time) — Meet me at 5 p.m. tomorrow.
At (indicate one’s activity)-John laughed at my acting in the play.
In :
In (to indicate a location)- I am in my friend’s place now.
In (used while doing something) — The tagline should be catchy in
marketing a product.
In (to indicate opinion, belief, feeling, etc.)- I believe in hardworking.
In (specify day, month, season, year) — I prefer to do Maths in the
morning.
The new academic session will commence in March. 
In (to indicate color, shape and size) — This dress comes in four sizes.
To :
To (to indicate the direction, place)- The friends went to the restaurant.
I am heading to my college.
To (to indicate relationship) — Do not respond to the annoying persons.
Your answer is important to me.
To (to indicate a limit) — The old newspapers were piled up to the roof.
To (to refer a period) — I am here from 10 to 5.
Of :
Of (to indicate relating to, belonging to) — I always dreamed of being
famous. 
Of (to indicate reference) — This is a picture of my last birthday.
Of (to specify the number or an amount) — A good number of people
understand Hindi.
For :
For (to indicate the reason or because of) — I am really happy for you.
For (to indicate the duration or time) — I attended the session for one
year only.
For (specify the use of something) — She is preparing for her final exam

Verb tenses
The tense of a verb tells you when a person did something or when
something exist or happened. In English, there are three main tenses:
the present, the past, and the future

The present
The present tense (e.g. I am, she works, we swim, they
believe) is also called the present simple or simple
present. It's mainly used in the following ways:
to describe things that are currently happening or that
are currently or always the case (I love chocolate ice
cream; my parents are in New York this
week; he has fair hair and blue eyes; some
birds eat worms and insects).
 
to talk about something that exists or happens regularly
(she goes out every Saturday night; it always rains here
in winter; I start work at 7.30 a.m.).
 
to refer to a future situation in certain cases and in some
subordinate clauses (the bus arrives in London at 6
p.m.;  I'll make us some coffee when we get home).
 
Find out how to form the present simple tense.
 

The past
The past tense (e.g. I was, he talked, we had, they worked) is
also called the past simple or simple past. As its description
implies, it’s used to talk about things or situations which
happened in the past, that is, before the present time of
speaking. Its main uses are as follows:
to refer to an event or situation which happened once and is
now finished (I met Lisa yesterday; we ate a huge breakfast
this morning; they walked ten miles that day; you told me that
before).
 
to describe a situation that lasted for a longer time in the past
but is now finished (he wentto college for four years; my
family lived in Oxford in the 1980s;  I loved her for ages but
never told her).
 
to talk about an event that happened regularly or repeatedly but
is now over (she called for help over and over again;
we ate out every night last week; I phoned him three times
today).
 
Find out how to form the past simple tense.
 

The future
The future tense (e.g. I shall [or will] go; he will talk; we
shall [or will] have; they will work) is used to refer to things that
haven’t yet happened at the present time of speaking, but
which are due, expected, or likely to occur in the future.  Here
are the main situations in which the future is used:
to give or ask for information about the future (you will be in
California tomorrow; how long will the journey take?; OK,  I’ll
write that report on Thursday).
 
to talk about things that we think are likely or possible to
happen in the future, but which aren’t completely certain (I think
she’ll retire soon; he won’t [will not] stay married to her for
long; you’ll never lose weight, you like food too much).
 
to refer to conditional situations, namely things that will or may
happen if something else occurs (if it’s hot I’ll go swimming
later; you’ll get stressed out if you work all the time).
 
to make promises or threats, or to state decisions at the time of
speaking (Fine, I’ll call you soon; Are you going into town?
We’ll give you a lift; I’ll never speak to you again).
 
The future tense is formed with will (or shall) and the infinitive of
the verb without ‘to’. Learn more about when to use will or shall.
 

Continuous and perfect tenses 

There are two further types of tense: the continuous and
the perfect. These tenses are sometimes referred to
as aspects rather than tenses. The term aspect is used in
grammar to talk about the form of a verb that shows, for
example, whether the action happens once or repeatedly, is
completed or still continuing.
 

Continuous
These tenses (also called progressive tenses) are used to talk
about actions that continue for a period of time. They are
formed with the relevant tense of the auxiliary verb  to be and
the present participle of the main verb. There are three main
continuous tenses:
the present continuous (I am working)
 
the past continuous (I was working)
 
the future continuous (I will be working)
 

Perfect
Perfect tenses are typically used to talk about actions that are
completed by the present or a particular point in the past or
future. They are formed with the relevant tense of the auxiliary
verb to have and the past participle of the main verb. There are
three main perfect tenses:
The present perfect (I have worked)
 
The past perfect (I had worked)
 
The future perfect (I will have worked)
 

Perfect continuous
There is a final set of tenses which combine features of the
perfect and continuous tenses. They are formed and used as
follows:
The present perfect continuous (I have been working): used
to talk about how long something has continued up till now (I
have been working there for a week)
 
The past perfect continuous (I had been working): used to
talk about something which continued up to a particular
moment in the past but is now completed (I had been working
there for a week before I resigned)
 

The future perfect continuous (I will have been

working): used to talk about something which is
expected to end by a particular time in the future (By
December, I will have been working there for 6 months)

Active and passive verbs

Depending on the way in which you word a sentence, a verb
can be either active or passive.
 
When the verb is active, the subject of the verb is doing the
action, as in these examples:
France beat Brazil in the final.

[subject
[active verb]
]

More than 300 million speak Spanish

people .

[subject] [active verb]

Jack will take the matter forward.

[subject
[active verb]
]

 
When the verb is passive, the subject undergoes the action
rather than doing it:
was beaten in the
Brazil
final.
 [subject] [passive verb]

is spoken by more than 300 million people

Spanish
worldwide.

[subject
[passive verb]
]

The matter will be taken forward by Jack.

[subject] [passive verb]

Here, the sentences’ points of view have changed: Brazil,

Spanish, and the matter have become the subjects of the
passive verbs were beaten, is spoken, and will be taken. In the
first example, you can see that the subject of the active verb
(France) does not appear in the corresponding passive version
of the sentence. In the other two passive examples, the former
subjects of the active verbs (more than 300 million people;
Jack) are now introduced with the word ‘by’.
 
The person or thing in a passive sentence that does or causes
something is called the agent: more than 300 million
people and Jack are the agents of the second and third passive
examples.
 
These two different ways of using verbs are known as voices.
In everyday writing, the active voice is much more common
than the passive. The passive tends to be used
in formaldocuments such as official reports or scientific papers,
often where an action or situation is regarded as more
significant than who or what did or caused it:
The results were published in the Journal of the American
Medical Association.
A fair grading system was found to be important to all
students.
 

Passive verb forms

The passive is formed with tenses of the auxiliary verb ‘to be’
and the past participle of the main verb. Here is a table showing
the passive forms for most English verbs:
Tense Passive  Example
He is taken to school
present simple am/are/is + past participle
by his mum.

They are
present continuous am/are/is being + past participle
being bullied.

Have you been
present perfect have/has been + past participle interviewed for many
jobs?

We were told not to
past simple was/were + past participle
touch anything.

Our computers were
past continuous was/were being + past participle being attacked by
hackers.

His mother had been

past perfect had been + past participle
brought up in India.

Arrangements will be
future will be + past participle made to move them
to other locations.

future perfect will have been + past participle

Noun Verb Adjective Adverb

Function: Function: Function: Function:

 Describes or modifies
a noun.
Names a Expresses Modifies a verb,
person, place, an action, adjective, or other
or thing. doing adverb.
something.

Common Common Common Suffixes: Common

Suffixes: Suffixes: Suffixes:
-al: general, social
-tion: -ize: realize, -ly is the only
education, emphasize -ent: independent, common suffix for
information confident adverbs:
-en: flatten,
-ity: broaden -ant: important, probably
community, dominant
activity -ate: certainly
differentiate, -ive: positive, active
-ty: society, initiate exactly
beauty -ous: courteous
-fy: satisfy, importantly
-er: teacher, liquefy -ious: various,
reader obvious finally
-ify:
-or: behavior, exemplify, -ate: accurate, private simply
professor beautify
-ful: useful, beautiful clearly
-ar: seminar,
-less: endless,  
singular
helpless
Note:
-r: computer
Some adverbs do
-ance:
not end in -
importance
ly (e.g. well, soon,
-ness: always,
business here, and hard),
while some
-ism: criticism adjectives can
have the ending -
-ment: ly (early, daily, oily,
development, lonely, andfriendly).
treatment
-ent: student,
president

-ant: assistant

-ship:
relationship

-age:
percentage

-ery: discovery

1. When I opened my eyes, I ………………. a

strange sight.
saw

was seeing

have seen

2. Every morning she …………….. up early and gets

ready for work.
is waking

wakes

has woken

3. If I knew what he wanted, I ………………. this.

will not permit

would not permit

would not have permitted

4. I ………………….. anything from her in a long
time.
didn't hear

haven't heard

am not hearing

5. The headmaster ……………… to talk to you.

want

wants

is wanting

 6.Jane ………………. with her parents.

is living

lives

has lived

7. We ..................... Greece next month.

visit

will visit

would visit

are visiting

8. The moon …………….. around the earth.

is revolving

has revolved

revolves
9.She ………………… a novel.
wrote

writes

has written

10. All students ………………. in their work.

handed

have handed

hand

11. I …………………. English for twelve years.

am teaching

have been teaching

will be teaching

12. The students ............................. their

dialogues.
rehearse

are rehearsing

Either could be used here

1. What's the matter ? Why  are you laughing ? (you /

laugh)

2. I  have already written several books (already /

write)
 3. This movie may not be as good as the one I 
saw (see) last week.

4. Where  are you going -or- will you go on holiday,
next Summer ? (you / go)

5. I  was reading a book when they knocked at the

door (read)

6. When  will he accept my proposal ? Tomorrow I

hope ! (he / accept)

7. I  have just lost (just / lose) my umbrella !

8. Yesterday, he told me he  had never

practised (never / practise) scuba-diving before.

9. What is he doing ? It is really dangerous ! (he /

do)

10. If  I had a lot of money, I wouldn't work and I

would stay all day at home ! (I / have)

Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple present or

present progressive)

1. Look! Sara (go)   to the movies.

2. On her right hand, Sara (carry)   her handbag.

3. The handbag (be)   very beautiful.

4. Sara usually (put)   on black shoes but now she (wear)   white trainers.

5. And look, she (take)   an umbrella because it (rain)    

Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple past or past perfect)

1. When he (wake up)   , his mother (already /prepare)   

breakfast

2. We (go)   to London because our friends (invite)   us

3. He (hear)   the news, (go)   to the telephone and

(call)   a friend.

4. When she (start)   learning English she (already

/learn)   French.

5. Jane (already / type)   three pages when her computer

(crash)  .

6. By the time the doctor (arrive)   at the house the patient

( die)  .

7. Before that day we (never / think)   of traveling to Japan.

8. I (know)   him a long time before I (meet)   his family.

9. They (not / know)   where to meet because nobody (tell) 

them.

10. It (be)   cloudy for days before it (begin)   to rain.

Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple past or present perfect).

1. I (just / finish)   my homework.

2. Mary (already / write)   five letters.

3. Tom (move)   to his home town in 1994.

 4. My friend (be)   in Canada two years ago.

5. I (not / be)   to Canada so far.

6. But I (already / travel)   to London a couple of times.

7. Last week, Mary and Paul (go)   to the cinema.

8. I can't take any pictures because I (not /buy)   a new film yet.

9. (they / spend)   their holidays in Paris last summer?

10. (you / ever / see )   a whale?

Put the verbs into the correct tense (Simple Past or Past Progressive).

1. The receptionist (welcome)   the guests and (ask)   them to

fill in the form

2. The car (break)   down and we (have)   to walk home.

3. The boys (swim)   while the girls (sunbath)   .

4. My father (come)   in, (look)   and (tell)  me to

tidy up my room.

5. While one group (prepare)   dinner the others (collect)   

wood for the campfire.

6. While the parents (have)   breakfast the children (run)   

about.

7. Martha (turn)   off the light and (go)   to bed.

Put the verbs into the correct tense (simple future or future perfect)

1. Tomorrow I think I (start)    my new project.

2. I (finish)   it by the end of this month.

 3. The teacher (probably/assign)   a test to his students next Monday.

4. He (correct)   it by the end of next week.

5. My friend (certainly/get)   a good mark.

6. By 9 o'clock, we (finish)   our homework.

7. They (leave)   the classroom by the end of the hour.

8. I think I (start)   my trip tomorrow

The Three Common Tenses Used in

Academic Writing
He explains the author’s intention and purpose in the article.

*He is explaining the author’s intention and purpose in the article.

 

Both of the sentences above are grammatically correct. However, the

tense used in first sentence (present simple) is more common for
academic writing than the tense in the second sentence (present
progressive). This handout provides the overview of three tenses that
are usually found in academic writing. 

Background
There are three tenses that make up 98% of the tensed verbs used in
academic writing. The most common tense is present simple,
followed by past simple and present perfect. These tenses can be used
both in passive and active voice. Below are the main functions that
these three tenses have in academic writing.

The Present Simple Tense

Present simple is the most common tense in academic writing, and it is usually considered as
the “default” unless there is a certain reason to choose another tense (e.g. a sentence contains
a past time marker). Some specific functions of present simple include:

Functions Example
1) To frame a paper. It is used in
Scholars share a common argument that
introductions to state what is already
engineering is the most male dominated of all
known about the topic, and in
professions.
conclusions to say what is now
known.
Timing of college enrollment is associated
with a number of variables.
 
2) To point out the focus, main
argument, or aim of the current
This paper analyses the impact of high
paper.
temperatures on certain species.
 
Graduate school is regarded as crucial for
3) To make general statements,
starting an engineering career because failure
conclusions, and interpretations
at this stage closes the door to professional
about findings of current or previous
engineering careers, and later career trajectory
research. It focuses on what is
change is more difficult the longer it is
known now.
delayed.
 
 
Children ingest roughly 50-200 mg soil/day
4) To refer to findings from previous
[2,3].
studies without mentioning the
author’s name.
 
5) To refer to tables or figures.
Table 1 presents the structural units.
 
6) To describe the events or plot of a
In Mansuji Ibuse’s Black Rain, a child
literary work. This usage has the
reaches for a pomegranate in his mother’s
name “Narrative present”.
garden, and a moment later he is dead, killed
by the blast of an atomic bomb.
 

The Past Simple Tense

Generally, past simple is used to refer to actions completed in
the past. Some specific functions this tense has in academic
writing include:
 

Functions
1) To report specific findings of a
previous study (usually with the
authors’ names in the sentence) to
support a general statement.
2) To describe the methods or data
from a completed experiment.
3) To report results of the current
empirical study.
3) After any past time marker.
Example
Probably the most commonly discussed
phenomenon in music cognition is the Mozart
Effect (this is the general claim). (Specific
example) Rauscher and colleagues first
documented this effect in their seminal paper.
Statistical analyses were used to determine
relationships between variables.
The L1-English writers utilized mostly NP-
and
PP-based bundles (78.3% of types and 77.1%
of tokens).
After the war, Germany had to face strong
reparations from the allied nations.

The Present Perfect Tense

Present perfect is usually used when referring to previous
research, and since it is a present tense, it indicates that the
findings are relevant today. More specifically, this tense might
have the following functions:
 

Functions
1) To introduce a new topic. Could also be
used to introduce a new report or paper. 
2) To summarize previous research with Some studies have found that girls have
general subjects (such as “researchers
have found…”)
Examples
There has been a large body of research
regarding the effect of carbon emissions
on climate change.
significantly higher fears than boys after
trauma (Pfefferbaum et al., 1999; Pine
and Cohen, 2002; Shaw, 2003).
Present perfect places emphasis on what
has been done rather than on what is
known to be true (present simple).
3) To point out a “gap” in existing
research: to make a connection between
While these measures have proved to be
the past (what has been found) and the
reliable and valid predictors of what they
present (how will you add more to the
are measuring, there is little data on how
field).
they relate to each other.
 
4)  To describe previous findings without
referring directly to the original paper. It has been shown that biodiversity is not
evenly distributed throughout the world.
 

Language rules to improve your academic

writing
A well-written paper isn’t just a matter of running a spell check.
Following the rules of grammar, punctuation, sentence structure and
word choice can make your writing clearer, more fluent, and
ultimately more convincing.

Table of contents
1. Punctuation
2. Capitalization
3. Sentence structure
4. Verbs
5. Word choice

Punctuation
Punctuation marks signal the structure of a text, showing where each idea
begins and ends and how they relate to one another. Some of the most common
grammatical mistakes can be fixed by simply adding, removing, or moving a
punctuation mark.
Learn when to use commas and when a colon or semicolon is a more
appropriate choice.

Dashes and hyphens look similar, but they have different functions – avoid
mixing them up and check that you’ve been consistent.

In academic writing, it’s important to avoid plagiarism, so make sure to use

quotation marks every time you use someone else’s words. Check that you’ve
used the right form of quotation marks, put other punctuation in the right place,
and properly integrated the quote into your own text.

Make sure you correctly use apostrophes to form the possessive with singular
and plural nouns.

Capitalization
Capitalization rules in English require you to understand the
difference between common and proper nouns. In academic writing,
some of the most frequent errors relate to capitalizing models,
theories and disciplines.

You should also make sure you use a consistent style of capitalization
for titles and headings.

Sentence structure
Basic word order rules in English require a subject to be followed by
a verb. Learn about how to avoid common sentence structure
mistakes, such as fragments and run-ons. You should also try to write
sentences of varying length and structure.

To ensure the different elements of your sentences are properly

balanced, follow the rules of parallel structure.

Avoid confusingly structured sentences by learning how to fix

dangling and misplaced modifiers.

Verbs
Verbs are the action words that tell us what happens in a
sentence. Subject-verb agreement is important to make it clear who or
what is doing an action.

Verb tenses locate an action in time. Make sure you use tenses
correctly and consistently. The appropriate tense depends on whether
you’re stating facts, making generalizations, describing the content of
a text, reporting completed actions, or discussing events with ongoing
relevance.

Phrasal verbs combine two or more words to create an entirely new

meaning. They can be tricky to use, and they’re sometimes too
informal for academic writing, so consider replacing them with one-
word alternatives.

Word choice
There are some types of words that students often misuse or confuse.

Articles
The two types of articles in English are definite (the) and indefinite
(a/an). It’s important to choose the right one to pair with a noun. The
rules are different for single, plural and uncountable nouns.

Prepositions
Prepositions express relationships between different elements of a
sentence (e.g. in, on, to, by, of, since). They can describe relationships
of time, space, direction, and many types of abstract or logical
connection.

There are many different prepositions in English, and they often have
more than one meaning. The only way to learn them all is through
reading and practice.

Pronouns
Pronouns are words that stand in for nouns (e.g. they, it, him, this).
Make sure it’s always clear what noun you are referring back to.

Avoid second-person pronouns (you, yours) in academic writing.

First-person pronouns (I, we) are sometimes acceptable depending on
the discipline and type of document.

Conjunctions
Conjunctions are words that connect different parts of a
sentence. There are different types of conjunctions with
different functions and rules.
Commonly confused words
Some words are commonly confused or misused,
including this/that, which/that, who/whom, affect/effect, and
different forms of the word research. Learn more about how
to tell the difference between them

How to Tackle Academic Writing

Whether you need to write a paper, an essay, a bachelor’s dissertation,
a master’s dissertation or a thesis, they all need to be written in
academic English. Academic English can be very different from the
English you use when you write an email, a news article or a letter.
We lay down all the different aspects of academic writing and show
you how to write a good English academic text.

Specific rules for academic writing

  In academic texts you often make use of abbreviations and
acronyms. However, it is very important that you use these
correctly. For example, did you know that you should not write
contractions in academic texts?
 You usually write down numbers, especially when discussing
your results. Do you write these out or do you just note down
the numerals? There are very specific rules to make this work!
 Quotes should be introduced correctly and spelled correctly.
But what happens when a quote is not spelled correctly by the
original author?
 You need to make a choice whether you are going to write
British English or American English. We’ve written an article to
help you make the right choice and to point out the most
important differences.
 Like in any text, you use verb tenses in an academic text such as
a dissertation. There are some rules as to which tenses to use
for which part of your dissertation. It is important that you take
these into account even before you start writing an academic
text.
 Take into account that there are some words that you should
not use or definitely avoid to use in academic texts! For
instance, you are not always allowed to use the first person
pronoun.

Common mistakes
You’re a step ahead if you know which mistakes are
commonly made and how to avoid them. Have a look at these
articles:
 English mistakes commonly made in a dissertation
 Punctuation in academic writing: common pitfalls
 Common errors in sentence construction, word choice and
clarity and logic
Many mistakes are also made in transition words and phrases.
Make sure to avoid such mistakes by reading the article!

How to Teach My Child Cursive: Complete

Instructions
Step 1: Introduce one cursive letter at a time
Think of your child as re-learning to write the alphabet one letter at a
time. Each letter should be introduced slowly and practiced
consistently before moving on to the next step.

Step 2: Begin with teaching lowercase cursive letters

Begin by teaching only the lowercase letters of the alphabet. Start
with letters that are similar in form to print letters such as c, a, d, and
g. You may also group letters together by formation patterns and
difficulty. Begin with the simplest letters and end with the most
difficult and infrequently used ones.
1. c, a, d, g
2. h, t, p, e, l, f, q
3. u, i, j, k, r, s
4. o, b, v, w
5. m, n, y, x, z

Step 3: Then teach uppercase cursive letters

Once the lowercase letters are mastered, begin pairing them with the
uppercase version in this order.
1. A, C, O, U
2. V, W, X, Y, Z
3. P, R, B, H, K
4. N, M, J, F, T
5. I, D, L, G, S
6. E, Q

Step 4: Have your child copy simple sentences

After introducing and practicing upper- and lowercase letters, have
your child start copying simple sentences. Be sure to observe and
demonstrate how to connect letters together

A continent is a large landmass.

North America is north of the equator.
South America is south of the equato
Step 5: Progress to copying simple paragraphs
Copying simple and short paragraphs is the last step in learning how
to write in cursive. Continual practice using many different letters is
the key to mastering cursive handwriting.

Hints for Teaching Cursive:

1. Handwriting must be demonstrated and monitored. Don’t leave children
to figure out how to connect the letters. Be sure to demonstrate and
monitor letter formation and practice.
 2. Use the correct paper. Handwriting is difficult to learn on
regular lined student paper. Invest in dotted lined paper (the
type used in kindergarten and first grade) so children have a
reference when writing lower- and uppercase letters.
3. Allow children to move their paper diagonally so they can
create the correct slant of letters.

Some children love writing in cursive, while others prefer to print. It

is important to let your child choose the method he or she prefers.
Handwriting (whether print or cursive) aids in learning and allows
students to make discoveries about themselves and how they learn
best.

Hidden handwriting benefits

Both manuscript and cursive handwriting are important foundations in
children’s development of thinking, language, and memory. Studies
have repeatedly proven that writing verses typing stimulates the
connections between the right and left hemispheres of the brain in
areas of memory and language. In a 2014 study from The Pen Is
Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop
Note Taking, students who hand wrote their notes outperformed their
typing peers on conceptual questions in three separate studies.
5 REASONS WRITING BY HAND IS GOOD FOR THE
BRAIN AND FOR WELL-BEING

1. Stress relief
The act of writing itself can reduce stress, which helps improve focus and

attention in the classroom.

2. Creativity and Learning

Making writing a regular habit has been shown to increase creativity and

deepen thinking, keeping the brain sharp.

3. Memory
Writing by hand is also shown to increase memory and retention. The act of

putting pen to paper activates areas of the brain that helps student increase

their comprehension. It also involves more senses and motor neurons than

when typing on a keyboard.

4. Feelings
Writing about feelings can improve mood and give a sense of well-being—

putting pen to page helps flesh thoughts out in an orderly manner, leading to

burdens feeling lighter.

5. Gratitude
Some studies show that writing about being grateful, especially before bed,

can help improve sleep, which leads to better classroom performance as well

as a sense of well being