GENERAL EDUCATION – ENGLISH

PARTS OF SPEECH
• The building blocks of language.
• They function to explain usage of word in a sentence.

1. NOUN - a word used to name a person, place, thing, state or quality.

Kinds of Nouns
 PROPER NOUNS are specific. Their first letters are capitalized.
Ex. John, Mary, Tuesday, Davao City
 COMMON NOUNS are general.
Ex. man, student, clinic, teacher, school
 COLLECTIVE NOUNS name groups.
Ex. family, army, flock, choir
 MASS NOUNS cannot be counted
Ex. salt, sugar, flour
 CONCRETE NOUNS exist in the physical world. It can be identified through one of the five
senses (taste, touch, sight, hearing, or smell)
Ex. petals, tables, pens, cups
 ABSTRACT NOUNS things you can’t perceive with the five main senses.
Ex. sadness, joy, brilliance

FUNCTIONS OF NOUNS
 SUBJECT OF THE SENTENCE (S)- the one that is talked about in the sentence.
Ex. Catriona expressed her gratitude to her fans.
 VOCATIVE (V) - indicates that somebody is being directly addressed by the speaker. In
English, words in the vocative case are offset using commas.
Ex. Where is everybody, John?
 DIRECT OBJECT (DO) - The one that receives the action of the verb. Answers the question
who or what after the verb
Ex. John kicks the chair.
 INDIRECT OBJECT- answers the question to whom or for whom.
Ex. Jack sent a letter to his parents.
 SUBJECT NOUN PREDICATE (SNP) - A word/phrase that refers back to the subject.
Comes after a linking verb (a verb that links (connects) the subject of the sentence to
information about that subject).
Ex. The tribal chief is the fattest man in the tribe.
 OBJECT NOUN PREDICATE (ONP) - comes after a direct object. Refers back to the object.
Ex. The group appointed Maureen leader of the club.
 OBJECT OF THE PREPOSITION (OP) - comes after a preposition.
Ex. Two puppies followed behind the girl.
 APPOSITIVE- is a noun or noun phrase that renames another noun right beside it.
Ex. Maureen, my sister, celebrates her birthday.

2. PRONOUN- a word used to replace a noun.

Kinds of Pronouns
 PERSONAL PRONOUNS – is a pronoun typically used to refer to a speaker or to the people
or things that a speaker is referring to.
PERSON Singular personal Plural personal
pronouns pronouns
First Person – the I, me We, Us
person speaking
Second Person – the you You
person being
addressed
Third Person – the She, her, he, him, it They, them
person being talked
about
Ex. I am afraid of mice.
The price of the jewelry surprised us.
 INDEFINITE PRONOUNS – refer to an identifiable but not specified person or thing.
Singular another, anybody, anyone, anything, each, either, enough,
everyone, everybody, everyone, everything, less, little, much,
neither, nobody, no one, nothing, one, other, somebody, someone,
something
Plural both, few, fewer, many, others, several

Ex. Everyone was shocked by the sudden announcement.

Many of the cats have striped tails.
 REFLEXIVE PRONOUN – used as an object that refers to the same person or thing as the
subject.
Ex. Becky introduced herself. (The person that Becky introduced was Becky. Becky is
both the performer and the receiver of the action.)
We groggily dragged ourselves out of bed.
 INTENSIVE PRONOUN – refers back to the subject of a sentence in order to emphasize it.
The easiest method to identify intensive pronouns is to remove the intensive pronoun from
the sentence and see whether the sentence still makes sense; if it does, the pronoun is an
intensive pronoun.
Ex. She made this dinner herself.
We will have to escape the island ourselves.
Singular
myself
yourself
herself, himself, itself
Plural ourselves
yourselves
themselves
 DEMONSTRATIVE PRONOUN - used to point to specific people or things.
This (singular) This is my bag.
(near)
These (plural) These are my shoes.
(near)
That (singular) That is my bag.
(distant)
Those (plural) Those are my notebooks.
(distant)
 RELATIVE PRONOUN – used to introduce a relative clause. A relative clause is a type of
subordinate clause (also known as a dependent clause), which means that it can’t stand by
itself as a complete sentence.
-Who, whose, whoever, which, that, whom, whichever
 Ex. Jeff is a friend who is always there for me.
Independent clause: Jeff is a friend (The clause can stand alone.)
Dependent clause: who is always there for me. (The clause can’t stand alone.)
 INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN - used to ask a question. The five most commonly used
interrogative pronouns are who, whom, whose, what, and which. Less commonly, longer
forms of these words ending in -ever are also used: whoever, whomever, whosever,
whatever, and whichever.
Ex. What is her favorite color?
Which of these cookies do you want?
3. VERB - a content word that denotes an action, occurrence, or state of existence.
Kinds of Verbs
 REGULAR VERBS – form their past tense by adding ‘d or ‘ed to the base form.
Jump jumped
Watch watched
 IRREGULAR VERBS - is a verb whose past tense and past participle form doesn’t end in -
ed, -d, and doesn’t use the –t variant.
eat becomes ate, eaten
fly becomes flew, flown
 LINKING VERBS – connects the subject of a sentence with a word that gives information
about the subject, such as a condition or relationship. The “be” form of the verb (am, is, are,
was, were) is the most commonly used linking verbs.
Other forms: become, seem, look, smell, appear, feel, taste, sound, remain
Ex. They are a problem.
 AUXILIARY VERB – or Helping Verbs are used together with a main verb. Auxiliary verbs
cannot stand alone in sentences; they have to be connected to a main verb to make sense.
Ex. She could not whether she wanted to dye her hair blue or purple. – incorrect
She could not decide whether she wanted to dye her hair blue or purple. –
correct
4. ADJECTIVES - is a word that tells us more about a noun. It "describes" or "modifies" a noun.
Order of Adjectives in an Adjective Phrase (DOSSACOMQ)
Determiners – a, an, the, my, your, etc.
Observations – lovely, boring, nice, etc.
Size – big, small, huge, tiny, etc.
Shape – round, rectangular, square, etc.
Age – ancient, old, new, etc.
Color – pink, green, orange, etc.
Origin – American, British, Mexican, etc.
Material – silver, leather, cotton, etc.
Qualifier – limiters for compound nouns
Ex. My sister adopted a beautiful big white bulldog.
5. ADVERB - modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.
 ADVERBS OF MANNER (how something happens) - angrily, hungrily, beautifully
 ADVERBS OF TIME (when does something happen) - yesterday, tomorrow, next week
 ADVERBS OF PLACE (where something happens) - here, there, nowhere
 ADVERBS OF DEGREE (how much does something happen) - almost, so, very
  ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY (how often something happens) - always, never, often
Ex. The dog messily ate his dinner.
6. PREPOSITION – a word expressing the relationship between a noun, pronoun, and other
elements of a sentence.
 PREPOSITIONS OF TIME – AT, ON, IN
a. AT - to designate specific times. Ex. I go to work at 8:00.
b. ON - to designate days and dates. Ex. He does laundry on Wednesdays.
c. IN - for non-specific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year. Names of land-areas
(towns, countries, states, countries, and continents).
Ex. The weather is cold in December.
 PREPOSITIONS OF PLACE - AT, ON, AND IN
a. AT - for specific addresses.
Ex. John Watson lives at Prk 1-D, Balagunan, Sto. Tomas City, France.
b. ON - to designate names of streets, avenues, etc.
Ex. I feel cathartic when I am on Boulevard Street.
c. IN - for the names of land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries and continents)
Ex. She dreams of living in Norway.
7. CONJUNCTION – used to connect sentences, clauses, phrases, or words.
Kinds Of Conjunctions
 COORDINATING CONJUNCTION – is used to connect items that are grammatically equal:
two words, two phrases, or two independent clauses.
FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
Ex. The data was gathered through questionnaires and interviews.
Today Jane Austen is one of the most widely read English novelists, but she achieved little
fame during her lifetime.

 SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTION - is used to introduce a dependent clause.

Relationship Common subordinating conjunctions
Cause and because, since, as
effect
Time when, before, after, once, until, whenever, since,
while
Place where, wherever
Condition if, unless, in case
Contrast although, though, whereas
Ex. Robin wasn’t allowed in the Batmobile any longer because he wouldn’t wear a seat belt.
 CORRELATIVE CONJUNCTION – a correlative conjunction is a paired conjunction that links
balanced words, phrases, and clauses.
not only - but also both - and
either- or not- but
neither – nor whether – or
Ex. Neither Alex nor Robin can play baseball.
8. INTERJECTION – is a word that expresses the feeling of emotion, and functions independently
in a sentence.
Ah! Oh! Uh! Alas! Hey! Ouch!
 Well! Wow!
Ex. Ouch! That hurts!

RULES OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

To help clarify the examples of each rule, the subjects are in bold and verbs are underlined.

RULE 1. Subjects and verbs must agree in number.

Verb with —s is singular. Verb without —s is plural.
Ex. He loves the musical. They love the musical.
1.1 Make the linking verb agree with the real subject.
Ex. Rona's choices are final.
1.2 "I" takes plural verb & "am".
Ex. I believe in you. I am yours.

RULE 2. In most cases, collective noun subjects take singular verbs, but if the group is viewed
as individual members, use a plural verb.
Ex. The orchestra plays a hit song.
The orchestra discuss the matter.

RULE 3. Non-countable noun subjects take singular verb.

Ex. Sugar is sweet. Her feedback is good.
3.1 Mass nouns can only be pluralized by quantifiers. Nouns such as sugar, rice, and, hair,
information, and evidence.
Ex. Three sacks of sugar are heavy.

RULE 4. Some proper noun subjects that end in —s such as names of courses, diseases,
places, as well as book and film titles and the word news, take singular verbs (news, politics,
physics, mathematics, mumps, measles).
Ex. The news was not fake. Economics is my favorite subject.

RULE 5. Items that have two parts take a plural verb.

Slippers Eyeglasses Trousers Earrings

Scissors Sunglasses Pants Pliers

Ex. These scissors need sharpening.
5.1 Verb is singular when used with the word "pair".
Ex. My pair of scissors is lost.

RULE 6. Plural subject nouns such as a unit of measurement (distance, weight, time, or amount
of money) that signal one unit should take a singular verb.
Ex. Four kilometers costs P200 for a taxi ride.
Five years was not an issue when I waited for him.

RULE 7. Basic arithmetical operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide) take singular verbs.
Ex. Four times five equals twenty
RULE 8. The indefinite pronouns in Table below are always singular.
Ex. Anything is possible.
Everybody has some weak spot.
-one words -body words -thing words other
Anyone Anybody Anything Each
Everyone Everybody Everything Every
Someone Somebody Something
No one Nobody Nothing
One

Rule 9. Indefinite pronouns such as: None, All, Most, Any, Some, A lot of (NAMASA) can be
singular or plural, depending on how they are used.
Ex. None of the other apples are as good as the Honeycrisp. (Not any)
None of the guests has any idea what to bring to the party. (Not one)

RULE 10. With fractions, percentages, and the quantifiers all (of), a lot of, verb agreement
depends on the noun coming after these phrases.
Ex. One half of the students are scholars.
One-third of this article is taken up with statistical analysis.

RULE 11. In pairing subjects and verbs, disregard prepositional phrases or clauses that are
sometimes placed in between the subject and verb.
Ex. The analysis of the results reveals a significant difference between the groups.

RULE 12. The expression 'The number' used as a subject takes a singular verb. The
expression 'a number 'used as a subject takes a plural verb. PAST
Ex. The number of people we need to hire is thirteen.
A number of suggestions were made.

RULE 13. With correlative subjects - either...or or neither …nor, the verb agrees with the closest
subject.
Ex. Neither Peter nor his parents were aware of this.
Either you or John has to pay for the drinks.
13.1 With either or neither as subject, use a singular verb.
Ex. Either/Neither of the boys was okay.

RULE 14 When sentences start with "there" or "here," the subject will always be placed after the
verb, the verb is singular or plural depending on whether the noun phrase following the verb is
singular or plural. When a sentence begins with there and here, you must look thoroughly to find
the real subject.
Ex. There is a problem with the balance sheet.
Here are the papers you requested.
RULE 15. When the subjects joined by and refer to a single unit or is considered as one, it takes
a singular verb.
Ex. Bread and butter is a common breakfast for Americans.
The secretary and treasurer is here.
15.1 Compound subjects joined by 'and 'referring to separate entities, should take a plural verb.
Ex. Mina and Linda are my best friends.
The secretary and the treasurer are here.

RULE 16. Subjects followed by intervening expressions such as: in addition to, in company with,
together with, as well as, etc., should take verbs that agree with real subjects.
Ex. The student, together with his classmates, studies the lessons well.
John along with his cousin often helps out on his uncle’s farm.

RULE 17. Adjectives used as nouns are considered plural.

Ex. The rich are popular.
The needy are to be given shelter.

FIGURES OF SPEECH

1. SIMILE - is a comparison between two unlike things using the words "like," "as" or
"than." The things compared differ in most ways, but are strikingly alike in some ways.
Ex. My mother is as busy as a bee.
Watching that movie was like watching grass grow.

2. METAPHOR - a direct comparison without using the comparative words "like" or "as."
Ex. You're a couch potato.
Life is a highway.

3. PERSONIFICATION - is attributing human characteristics to nonhuman things.

Ex. The tree's limb cracked and groaned when lightning hit it.
The car brakes screamed all through the journey.

4. LITOTES - is a deliberate understatement used to affirm by negating its opposite. It is

used to state an affirmative without direct use of affirmative wording.
Ex. Ireland is no ordinary country. (i.e., It's special.)
All in all, she wasn’t a bad dancer. (i.e., She was a good dancer.)

5. APOSTROPHE - is an address to the absent as if present or the inanimate as if human.

Ex. Heaven, help us.
Oh, coffee, my sweet dark coffee. What would I do without you?

6. ALLUSION - is a brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of

historical, cultural, literary or political significance. It does not describe in detail the
person or thing to which it refers.
Ex. She was Helen of Troy of the class and made all the boys fight.
 Don't act like a Romeo in front of her

7. HYPERBOLE - is an over-exaggeration used to emphasize an emotion or description

Ex. My brother is taller than a skyscraper.

I have told you a million times to wash the dishes.

8. IRONY - is when a statement made is directly contradictory to the reality. It is also used
to convey a style of sarcasm.
Ex. He claims to be an animal rights activist but he wears a fur coat.
A comedian telling an unresponsive audience, “You all are a great crowd”

9. SYNECDOCHE - uses a part of something to refer to its whole.

Ex. She's got an awesome set of wheels!
The company needs more hands-on deck to get complete this project in time.

10. METONYMY - it is a way of replacing an object or idea with something related to it

instead of stating what is actually meant.
Ex. Joe’s new ride was expensive. (Ride is metonymy for car)
The White House will be making an announcement around noon.

11. ALLITERATION – is the repetition of an initial consonant sound in multiple words.

Ex. Peter Piped Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers
Betty bought butter but the butter was bitter, so Betty bought better butter to
make the bitter butter better.

12. ASSONANCE - repeated vowel sounds in multiple words

Ex. The green field gleams in the warm sunbeams.
A dismayed baby wailed nearly all day.

13. CONSONANCE - repeated consonant sounds in multiple words

Ex. The lock stuck quickly, so Mark called a locksmith.
Fred wondered why the road wound to a jagged end.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATIONS OF LITERATURE

•According to Structure
 FICTION- literary work of imaginative narration most likely fashioned to
entertain and to make readers think and feel.

 NON- FICTION- Literary work of real-life narration or exposition based on history and facts
whose main thrust is intellectual appeal to convey facts, theories, generalizations, or concept
about a particular topic

•According to Form
 PROSE- literary work that is written within the common flow of language in
sentences and in paragraphs which give information, relate events,
express ideas, or present opinions.

 POETRY- Literary work expressed in verse, measure, rhythm, sound, and

imaginative language.
GENRES OF LITERATURE
 FICTION – narrative in prose that shows an imaginative recreation and reconstruction of life.
 POETRY – a patterned form of written expression of ideas in concentrated, and rhythmical terms
that often contain the elements of sense, structure, and sound.
 ESSAY – a piece of writing, usually from an author’s personal point of view. Essays are non-fictional
but often subjective; while expository, they can also include narrative.
 DRAMA – presents a story told entirely in dialogue and action, and written with the intention of its
eventual performance before an audience.

FICTION AS A GENRE
TYPES OF FICTION
- Legends Fables Folk Tales Novels
- Myth Parables Short Stories

ELEMETS OF FICTION

a. Setting – the time and place that the story occurs.

b. Character – representations of human beings in the story
 Principality – protagonist/antagonist
 Development- dynamic, static
 Personality – round, flat
c. Plot – sequence of events in the story
 Exposition – sets the scene by introducing the characters and settings.
 Crisis – establishes curiosity, uncertainty, and tensions.
 Climax – leads to an affirmation, decision, action, and realization.
- the highest peak of the story.
 Falling action – the finishing of things right after climax.
 Denouement – strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.
 Ending – the ending of the story.
General Types of Plots
 Linear Plot – moves with natural sequence of events where actions are arranged sequentially.
 Circular Plot – a plot where linear development of the story merges with an interruption in the
chronological order to show an event that happened in the past.
 In Media Res – a plot where the story commences in the middle part of the action.
 Deux En Machina – an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation
especially as a unnatural plot device in fiction.
d. Conflict – opposition of persons or conflict of the story. The basic tension, predicament, or
challenge of the story.
Types of Conflict
person vs person person vs nature
person vs society person vs supernatural
person vs self person vs fate
e. Point of View – determines the narrator of the story.
 Types of Points of View
 First person point of view – the narrator is the character of the story
 Second person point of view – it makes the reader a character in the story
 Third person point of view – the narrator is someone outside the story, who frequently uses
pronouns, like he, she, and they to describe the characters.
Persona – it is the voice chosen by the author for a particular artistic
f. Theme – is the significant value or truth about life and its nature which takes place in the illustration
of the actions, preoccupations, and decisions of the character.

POETRY AS A GENRE
TYPES OF POETRY
- Narrative Poetry – tells a story in verse
- Lyric Poetry – thoughts and feelings of the speaker intended to be sung
- Dramatic Poetry – written to be presented or acted on stage
a. Narrative Poetry
 Epic – heroic feats
 Metrical Tale/ Metrical Romance – medieval verse based on legends, chivalric love and
adventures, or the supernatural
 Ballad – a simple narrative poem of a story, composed in short stanzas and adapted for
melodious recital
b. Lyric Poetry
 Ode – expresses exultation or emotional enthusiasm. Expresses lofty praises of a person or
event.
 Elegy – deals with grief over the passing of a person or a particular way of life.
 Sonnet – consists of 14 lines with an exact rhyme scheme.
Petrarchan – octave – abbaabba
Sestet – cdecde or cdcdcd
Shakespearean – abab cdcd efef gg
 Song – it is intended to be sung. It has a melodious quality required by a singing voice.
 Simple Lyric – the category of all those lyrical poems that do not properly belong under any of
the other category.
c. Dramatic Poetry – any story written in verse and in dialogue that is intended to be presented and
acted on stage in front of the audience.
ESSAY AS GENRE
 Formal or impersonal – deals with serious or formal subject
 Informal or personal – cover light, ordinary, or event trivial subject matters

DRAMA AS A GENRE
TYPES OF DRAMA
 Tragedy – a play that deals with the somber and serious aspect of life. Ends unhappily with
the protagonist’s death.
 Comedy – deals with human folly and ends happily.
 Farce – a ridiculous play with humor that requires rude physical action for the sake of the
comic spirit.
 Melodrama – presents stereotyped characters and conflict between good and evil. The good
characters are favored by destiny in the end.
WORLD LITERATURE (KEYPOINTS)

 Renaissance – Golden Age of English Literature

-The Father of English Literature

Geoffrey Chaucer -The Father of English Poetry The Canterbury Tales
-The Morning Star of the Renaissance
-First Great English Humorist and Realist
Historia ecclesiastica gentis
Venerable Bede -The Father of English History Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of
the English People)
-Father of Inductive Reasoning
Francis Bacon -Father of English Essay Great Instauration
-Father of Scientific Method
-Father of Empiricism
-Bard of Avon Romeo and Juliet
William Shakespeare -The Father of English Drama -Hamlet
-English Playwright -Macbeth
John Donne -Poet of love Death Be Not Proud
-Metaphysical poet THE GOOD-MORROW
-Epic poet
John Milton -The Blind Poet of England Paradise Lost
-The Revolutionary Poet Ozymandias
Percy Bysshe -Poet of hope and regeneration Ode to the West Wind
Shelley
Songs of Innocence and of
William Blake -The Mystic Poet Experience

Jane Austen Anti-romantic in Romantic age Pride and Prejudice

Father of English Mystery play Annabel Lee

Edgar Allan Poe The Father of English Short Story The Raven
Homer Iliad and the Odyssey
The Father of Epic Poetry
Rabindranath Gitanjali
Tagore Indian National Poet
Samuel Clemens Father of English Literature The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
(Mark Twain) Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens
(Boz)
Kalidasa The Shakespeare of India Sakuntala

Ernest Hemingway. Men Without Women

Miguel de Cervantes Don Quixote

Daniel Defoe ROBINSON CRUSOE

William Faulkner The Sound and the Fury

As I lay Dying
F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby

Oscar Wilde The Picture of Dorian Gray

Harriet Beecher UNCLE TOM’S CABIN

Stowe