Grammar Journal

■ A journal of the important notes regarding the grammar curriculum part of the
linguistic studies subject.

→ Start Date: 15 Shawwal 1445.

→ End Date: 16 Shawwal 1445.

Please note that this is a mix of the doctor’s files and my own work. The
Doctor’s files may have been edited here, and are marked with “*”. The actual
ones are on the portal. You are to revise on your own from the lecture’s notes
and the book pages next to this journal. Thanks and Good Luck.

→ Mohaned Mohammed
.‫رجاء الدعاء ألهلنا في فلسطين بالنصر‬
 Unit I: English Tenses

Present (p.9)

General Facts. Water boils at 100

degrees.

Habits and repeated She draws every

actions. morning.
Present Simple Academic Writing. Ibsen explains in his
Base form
play the importance
of women working.
(Past Simple is also
accepted)

Historical Present. We go to Canada

and then later cross
the entire country.

Simultaneous While I was

actions running, I fell.

Things occurring I’m translating at the

right now. moment.
Present Progressive
am/is/are + ing
Things occurring Mark is working for
right now and is his uncle.
temporary.

An action in At 8 am, I’m usually

progress at a specific eating breakfast.
point of time.

Actions beginning in I have lived in Cairo

the past and still all of my life.
continuing in the
present

An action occurring I have failed my

Present Perfect has/have + p.p in the past, yet the exams.
timing is not
specified.

Something that just I have just taken out

happened. (We use the rubbish!
just)

Repeated actions You have done this

without providing several times mate.
 the number of times
it was repeated.

Stress the duration I have been reading

of an action that this book for two
started in the past weeks.
Present Perfect has/have + been + and is still
Progressive p.p continuing in the
present.

Actions beginning in I have been living in

the past and still Cairo all of my life.
continuing in the
present.

Past (p.10)

An action that I slept early last

happened in the past night.
at a specific time.
Past Simple Base verb + -ed /-d
An action that I lived in Alexandria
happened over a for 4 years.
period of time in the
past and stopped

An action that I was cooking when

occurred and was the phone rang.
Past Progressive was/were + ing interrupted.

Stress the duration At 10 am last night,

of an action that I was reading.
occurred in the past.

Past Perfect had + p.p An action was I had read the book
completed before by the time he
another action arrived.
began.

Past Perfect had + been + p.p Stress the duration I had been waiting
Progressive of an action that was for 3 days.
completed before
another began.

→ Let’s say a poet wrote a poem and he is still alive. We would say: He has written 10
poems because that action still is going on and started in the past (He’s alive he can still
 write more); however, say he died. Then, we would say: He wrote 10 poems because the
action happened and ended in the past. (He’s dead he can’t write any more poems)

Future (p.13)

Future Simple something from An action that will I will finish the job
below + base form occur in the future tomorrow.

→ Future can be expressed in the following ways:

■ am/is/are going to
■ Simple present with schedules
■ will + base form
■ would

An action that will I will be studying

be happening over a tomorrow.
Future Progressive will be + ing period of time /
specific time in the
future.

To emphasize the I will be working for

duration of an action the next 5 days.
in the future

will + have + p.p To confirm that an I will have finished

Future Perfect action will be before 12 o’clock
completed before hits.
another in the future

will + have + been + To confirm that an I will have been

Future Perfect ing action will be in working on this for
Progressive progress before 3 years before I
another in the future finish.

→ Static Verbs do NOT take progressive tenses. Stative verbs are broken into: (p.15)

1) Verbs that show thoughts or give opinion.

2) Verbs that show attitude.
3) Verbs that show emotions.
4) Verbs that show possession.
5) Verbs that reflect the senses.
6) Verbs the describes the state of being.
 Unit II: Verb Forms

This unit discusses when the main verb is followed by another verb to complete or alter the
meaning.

■ Verb followed by infinitive:

The second verb could follow the first verb directly. (V1+V2)
E.g: He refused to stay.

The first verb may be followed by an object that can be omitted. (V1+ omittable object+V2)
E.g: He promised to say. OR. He promised me to say.

The first verb may be followed by an object that cannot be omitted. (V1+O+V2)
E.g: I advised Tom to leave.

■ Verb followed by gerund: (He denied knowing about the crime)

■ Verbs which are followed by both:

1) Both forms are correct with no difference in meaning.

2) Both forms are correct with a slight difference in meaning:

Verb +Gerund +Inf.

Like I like reading = I enjoy it. I like to read = I think it is

a good idea.

Prefer I prefer reading to writing I prefer to read = My

= I’m reading right now preference is to read.
and prefer it over writing.

3) Both forms are OK with difference in meaning:

(verb + infinitive) means that the action has not taken place yet.
(verb + gerund) means that the action took place. → Two gerunds cannot meet.

Verb +Gerund +Inf.

Forget I forgot eating = I ate, but I I forgot to eat = I didn’t eat

forgot that I did it.

Remember I remember writing = I I will remember to write =

wrote. It didn’t happen yet.

Stop I stopped eating = I was I stopped to eat = I was

 eating then I stopped doing something and I
stopped it to eat.

Try I tried flying a kite = the I wanted to make my

focus is on the goal which brother happy, so I tried to
is to fly a kite fly a kite with him = the
focus is on the method.

Regret I regret informing you = I I regret to inform you… =

already told you and I do I’m sorry that I ought to tell
regret it. you. (I didn’t do it yet)

■ Verbs followed by the base form: (help- make-let- have)

→ Use inf. in the following positions:

1) After adjectives
2) After “for”
 Unit III: Modals *

Modals are a set of verbs that add a specific meaning to a verb.

• He plays tennis. (fact)
• He can play tennis. (possibility)
• He must play tennis. (obligation)
• He may play tennis. (probability)

1. Probability/ Possibility/ Deduction (must- may- might- could)

1.1. Probability in - She is absent. She must be sick. (strong logical inference
the present almost certain)
- She is absent. She could be sick. (uncertain)

1.2. Negating - I have just seen her. She can’t be absent. (I am certain she is not
probability in the absent)
present - I’ve told Mary about the picnic. She says she could come, but
Tom might not.
NOTE: the negative of (must) is cannot.
The negative of (could) is might not

1.3. Probability in - I cannot find my keys. I must have lost them. (I am certain that I
the past lost them)
- I might have lost them in the shop. (It is possible that I have lost
them in the shop)

NOTE: the past of ‘must’ is must have + pp

The past of “may/ might/ could” is might have + pp

1.4. Negating A: Jane walked past me and did not even say hi.
probability in the B: She can’t have seen you.
past (I am certain she did not see you. That is why she did not say hi)

C: Yes, she might have seen you.

(Perhaps she saw you, and perhaps she did not.)

NOTE: the negative form of “must + have + p.p.” is can’t have +

pp.
The negative form of “could + have + p.p.” is might not have + pp

→ Must in this situation discusses probability and not obligation. The negating word is can not.
→ Could discusses probability and not ability. The negating word is might not.
2. Obligation (must- have to)

2.1. Obligation in the We usually use (must) to refer to obligation related to personal
present opinion and (have to) to refer to obligation related to general rules
(i.e. obligation we see as outside our control).
- Children have to go to school at the age of 4.
- Students have to come before 9 because classes
begin at 9.
- I want to lose weight. I must exercise.
- I have to lose weight. The doctor told me so.

2.2. Lack of I have to/ must wake up early. (change to negative)

obligation in the - I don’t have to…
present - I don’t need to…
- I needn’t …

2.3. Negative You must go to bed early. You mustn’t stay up late.
obligation = You mustn’t smoke.
prohibition

2.4. Obligation in the I must wake up early to catch the train. (Change to the
past past) - Yesterday I had to catch the train.

2.5. Lack of - Yesterday I had to wake up early. (change to

obligation in the negative)
past - I didn’t need to wake up early

1. Yesterday was my day off, so I needn’t wake up early. (I knew

yesterday that it would be unnecessary for me to wake up early, so
I could sleep or wake up).

2. After driving at top speed, I arrived an hour early. I (not

hurry) I didn’t have to arrive so early.
(I did something, but later on I found out that it was not
necessary for me to do it)

→ Obligation = Must (internal obligation) or have to (external obligation)

→ Lack of obligation = I don’t have/need to or I needn’t. (Trick question needn’t comes
without to)
3. Ability (can- could- be able to)

3.1. We use (can) for present ability and (could) for past ability.
- She can speak 3 languages. (present ability)
- She could swim when she was young. (past ability)

3.2. We can use “be able to” to refer to ability in the present, the past, and the
future. She is able to swim (present).
She was able to read at an early age (past).
She will be able to live abroad when she graduates (future).

3.3. To describe a past opportunity which was not taken, we use (could/might+ have+
past participle)
Yesterday, I had the chance to go to the cinema, but I preferred to stay home
instead. Yesterday, I could have gone to the cinema.

4. Advisability (should- ought to- had better)

4.1.‘should’, ‘ought to’, and ‘had better’ are the same. They are used to express
advisability or moral obligation.
- You should/ ought to/ had better go to bed.
Negative:
- You shouldn’t stay late.

4.2.“should + have + p.p.” means that it was advisable to do something in the past, but this
did not happen.
- It is mainly used to criticize someone.
You should have waited. (It was advisable for you to wait, but you did not.)
I feel sick. I should not have eaten so much. (It was advisable for me not to eat much, but I ate so
much, and now I regret it.)

5. Requests (could, would, can, will)

Using direct orders sounds abrupt and impolite. It is much better to use modals
with orders to make them indirect and polite.
-Could you shut the door?
-Would you please shut the door?
-Can you shut the door?
6. Asking for/ giving permissions (can, could, may)

Asking for permission Giving / denying permission

May I leave? -Yes, you may..

- No, you may not / can not
- Members are not allowed to park here.
= Members cannot park here.

→ May I - Can I - Might I

→ May not – Cannot – Might not

7. Expressing expectation (should- ought to)

- The plane should arrive very soon. (is expected to arrive)

- Aspirin should relieve the pain. (is expected to relieve the pain)

8. Making suggestions (could- shall)

A: It is a lovely day. Shall we go for a walk?

B: Yes, we could go to the cinema.
 Unit IV: Conditionals

If Conditionals

Conditional Form Use Example

If/When/whenever + Actions that have If you heat up

present tense + the same result water, it boils.
present tense every time. (Facts)
Zero Conditional
Note that present
simple, present
progressive, and
present perfect are
accepted.

If + present | Actions that have If I find your

First Conditional will/might/can/should a possibility to wallet, I will let
+ verb base form occur in the future you know. = I can
find it.

If + Past simple or Actions that are If I found your

Second Past progressive | impossible in the wallet, I would let
Conditional would/could/might + present and are you know.
verb base form. unlikely in the
future.

→ The meaning isn’t referring to the past in this conditional, rather some kind of
unreal present or an imaginary situation.

→ It is more grammatical to use were with all subjects singular or not in this
conditional so we say:

If Tom were here, he would be confused. = Tom isn’t here and cannot be here at all.

Third Conditional If + had + p.p | Actions that are If I had found your
would/could/might + impossible to have wallet, I would
have + p.p happened in the have let you know.
past

Now let’s compare:

→ If I find your wallet, I will let you know. = ‫لسه ببحث وممكن نالقيها‬
→ If I found your wallet, I would let you know. = ‫لسه ببحث بس مستحيل القيها دلوقتي وصعب في‬
‫المستقبل‬.
→ If I had found your wallet, I would have let you know. =
‫ بمعني لو كنت لقيتها كنت قلتلك‬.‫دورنا ومليقناش حاجة‬

Third Conditional uses unreal past while Second uses unreal present.
 If Conditionals – Mixed

Mixed Conditional Form Use Example

The condition part If you had booked

If + had + p.p | is in the past; a table, we would
3rd – 2nd would/could/might + however, the result not be waiting
verb base form. is in the present now.

The condition part If I were rich, I

describes a would have bought
If+ Past simple or hypothetical event a mansion!
2nd - 3rd Past progressive | (one that cannot
would/could/might + occur), and the If he were smart,
have + p.p result describes the he might have
past. invested his
money.

→ You can leave “if” out, ironically enough, by reversing the subject and the verb in
the condition clause or by using additional words like “Should”

→ If I were rich, I would have bought a mansion

→ Were I rich, I would have bought a mansion.

→ If the phone rings, please ignore it.

→ Should the phone ring…

→ We don’t use future with conditionals. If Future is used it is mostly with

requests

→ If you will just shut up, I’ll fix the issue.

 Unit V: Passive Voice *

So, there is passive and there are active sentences, but what makes them different?

Active Sentence: A student (the subject, or the agent) wrote this document (the object).

Passive Sentence: The document was written (by a student)[omittable].

Passive is used when the agent or the subject (Arabic: ‫ )الفاعل‬isn’t mentioned or is mentioned
at the end of the sentence. Furthermore, here are the conditions in which we use passive in
the English language:

Passive Uses

1- When the doer of the action is The building was set on fire. (By whom?
unknown. We don’t know.)

2- When the doer of the action is known The thief was arrested. (By whom? Who
from context or from general knowledge. else arrests thieves but the police?)

3- To avoid mentioning the doer of the It was leaked that the strike was ordered
action. This is mainly the case in news by the president.
reports.

4- To focus on the issue rather than the The International Space Station was
people involved. This is very common in released into space. (Who released it?
academic and scientific writing. Nobody cares, care about the action!)

Passive can be agentive passive or agentless passive.

E.g: The homework was written by the student. (Agentive.)

E.g: The homework was written. (Agentless.)

The form of passive sentences is:

Be (in the tense of the main verb) + past participle of the main verb
→ Notes!

→ Got can be used instead of “be” in informal English.

(PLEASE REMEMBER IN OUR EXAM WE USE FORMAL ENGLISH.)

→ Some verbs take 2 verbs (Transitive) so these sentences can take two shapes

■ Ahmed gave me (O2) a pen (O1).

■ I was given a pen.
■ A pen was given to me.

→ Let isn’t used in passive instead we say allow or permit.

■ He didn’t let me in!

■ I wasn’t allowed in!

→ Verbs like (say-consider- estimate- think-believe- know- claim-report-

understand-allege) have 2 passive versions

■ They/people say he is innocent.

■ It is said that he is innocent.
■ He is said to be innocent.

→ make/ help + base form (Active)

→ be + p.p. + infinitive (Passive)

■ I made my brother help me. → My brother was made to help me.

See If the verb is gerund in the active sentence then we also translate it into
gerund in passive like:

■ People saw her stealing → She was seen stealing.

Hear If the verb is inf. in the active sentence then we also translate it into inf. in
passive like:

■ People heard her steal→ She was heard to steal.

→ The following tenses cannot be used in the passive voice:

a) Future Progressive.
b) Present Perfect Progressive.
c) Past Perfect Progressive.
d) Future Perfect Progressive.

→ Intransitive verbs cannot be used in the passive. (‫)أفعال ألزمة‬

■ A new email arrived.

 Unit VI: Relative, Adverbial, and Noun clauses

First we ought to understand the concept of an independent clause and a subordinate or a

dependent clause. An Independent clause is a sentence that makes complete sense on its own
while a subordinate clause cannot and needs an independent clause to complete a meaning.

I. Relative Clauses: (p.128)

Relative clauses are adjective clauses that are formed with the relative pronouns “who,
whom, whose, which, and that.”

→ Who, that, and which can be used as the subject of the clause. Who refers to people,
which to objects and that to both.

→ Whom, that, and which can be used as the direct object of the clause. Whom to people,
which to objects, and that to both.

■ Important to remind yourself that if the relative pronouns are used as the direct object
they can be omitted if you feel like it.

→ Whom and which can be the object of a preposition in the clause.

■ The person for whom I bought these cookies isn’t here yet.

→ Whose is a possessive pronoun.

→ Relative clauses can be connected with “when, why, and where” if fit.

■ Relative clauses can be broken into two branches:

Restrictive (Essential) Non-restrictive (Non-essential)

The clause is important to the context and The clause is not important to the context and
therefore, cannot be omitted. We don’t therefore, can be omitted. We use commas for
use commas for this type. this type.

→ I won’t ever forget the time when I → His sister, who is 23 years old, is not
shared my mom’s credit card information. married.
■ Reducing relative clauses: (p.130)

1) To a past participle.
E.g: The book that was left here is mine
→ The book left here is mine.

2) To a noun.
E.g: His brother, who is an undergraduate, got a job!
→ His brother, an undergraduate, got a job!

3) To a prepositional phrase
E.g: The woman who is in the red car is not wearing the seat belt.
→ The woman in the red car…

4) To an infinitive.
E.g: The packages that are to be sent are on the table.
→ The packages to be sent…

5) To a participial phrase
E.g: The revised lab manual, which includes six new experiments, has come in.
→ the revised lab manual, including six new experiments, …

II. Adverbial clauses are dependent clauses that add a relation to the independent clause.

→ You can add the adverbial clause before and after the independent clause. If you put it
before you need a comma to separate the two clauses. If you put it after the indep. clause
you don’t need a comma except with these words: “Whereas, while, despite the fact that,
although, even though.”

■ Because mice are easy prey, cats like to hunt them.

■ Cats like to hunt mice because they are easy prey.
■ Humans don’t eat mice, despite the fact that they are easy prey.

Meaning Subordinating conjunctions

Concession Although, even though, despite the fact that

Condition If, even if, unless, when, whenever

Contrast While, Whereas

Place Where, Wherever

Purpose so that, in order to

Reason Because, since

Result So… that

Time / Order After, as soon as, before, when, while, until,

whenever, as, as long as
 → Don’t use future tense with the dependent clause.

→ You can reduce the adverbial clause by the following ways: (feel free to revise these
from the book in p.136)

1) Infinitive Phrase.
2) Participle Phrase (if the subject is the same.)
3) Prepositional Phrase.
4) Absolute Phrase.

■ III. Noun Clauses are marked by “that” and usually are just noun phrases as explained
below:

→ The president stated that it is necessary that the country takes action.
→ I was happy that my friend got married.

→ It is mostly used with reported speech.

■ She said that I didn’t know what I was saying.

→ Technically, yes you can omit “that”, but it is less formal.

(WE USE FORMAL ENGLISH IN OUR EXAM, PLEASE REMEMBER THAT!)

■ The president stated it was necessary…

 Unit VII: Sentence Structure *

(Sometimes I think this book’s order of units is nonsense, but here we are). A
sentence is a group of words that
can stand by itself and expresses a complete idea. A standard word order for sentences in
English is [subject-verb- object]. (SVO.) Subject is (‫)الفاعل‬, Verb is (‫)الفعل‬, and Object is
(‫)المفعول‬.

With that being said, A sentence must have a subject and a predicate. The predicate is the
verb or the verb phrase and all its complements (such as adverbs, direct and indirect objects,
auxiliary verbs, prepositional phrases, etc.).

■ The car [S] is nice [P].

→ Notes!

I hope you remember the independent and subordinate clauses before the past unit because
we do need them now. A sentence needs at least 1 indep. clause to give a complete
meaning.

■ Jack is at the hospital. (Independent Clause with complete meaning.)

■ Because he is sick, (Subordinate Clause with no complete meaning.)

■ Because he is sick, Jack is at the hospital (Complex sentence with complete meaning.)

→ Wait.. Complex sentences? What are those? Below are types of sentences ↓

Type of sentence Form Connected with

Simple sentence 1 Independent Clause

Compound sentence 2 Independent Clause A coordinator: FANBOYS

A semicolon (;)
A transitional word / phrase

Complex sentence 1 Independent Clause and 1

dependent clause.

Compound-complex 2 independent clauses and 1

sentence subordinate clause.
Sentence boundary problems include: Fragments, run-on sentences, comma splices, stringy
sentences, and choppy sentences.

→ A Fragment: a fragment is not a complete sentence but rather a part of a sentence.

■ Teachers who give too much homework. (‫)كمل كالمك‬

→ A run-on sentence: two independent clauses that follow each other without being
separated by punctuation

■ You can connect them with a semicolon, comma and a coordinator, or a subordinator. Or
you could just separate them with a full stop.

→ A comma splice: a type of run-on sentence in which two independent clauses are
incorrectly joined by a comma

■ You can connect them with a semicolon, comma and a coordinator, subordinator, a
transition word. Or you could just separate them with a full stop.

→ A Stringy sentence: It is a sentence with too many clauses usually connected with and,
but, so, and because. It often results from writing the way you speak and going on and on
like a string without an end.

■ You can divide it and/ or recombine the clauses using subordinators when appropriate.

→ Choppy sentences: They are sentences that are too short. The overuse of short sentences
is considered poor style.

■ To correct them, combine 2 or 3 short sentences to make 1 compound or complex

sentence.

Parallelism means that each item in a list or comparison follows the same grammatical
pattern. So if you start with a noun, finish the rest with a noun. If you start with a gerund end
with a gerund.

I like to swim and to eat. (inf.)

I like swimming and eating (gerund)
I like to swim and eat (base form)
 Unit VIII: Word Order *

So, just to restate it. SVO is our word order in most non-complex English sentences.

But then you have things like Indirect questions where you do not shape it like the normal
direct questions. (please don’t.)

■ Where did he go? → I wonder where he went.

→ Notes!

Phrasal verbs, (these things were a crisis back in highschool), are split into 3 cases.

1) You cannot separate the phrasal verb.

2) You can; with consideration that if a preposition that is an object is placed, it must come
in between the two parts of the verb.

3) You must separate the phrasal verb.

→ Adjectives’ order:

Number-Size-Age-Shape-Color-Nationality-Material-Purpose.

4 big old box-shaped brown Egyptian paper newspaper.

(‫)صراحة األفضل تحفظ الترتيب وهو مهم وجاء في امتحان أعمال السنة‬

→ Direct and Indirect Objects

First let’s say what’s a direct object and indirect object.

‫ المفعول المباشر هو‬.‫ما هي األ التعريف األنجليزي للمفعول به األول والمفعول به الثاني مع األختالف في المعني‬
.‫المفعول األساسي للجملة‬

■ I gave Mike (D.O) an apple (I.O).

■ We use prepositions sometimes in these sentences and this is the thing we want to
discuss.

1) If the indirect object is preceded by “to” or “for”, you cannot make the indirect object
come before the direct, or you ought to delete the preposition.

■ I gave a book to mum.

■ I gave mum a book.
■ I bought my brother a pen
■ I bought a pen for my brother.
→ Adverbials

■ Adv. of place or direction then Adv. or time or frequency and then Adv. of purpose.

She goes to the club | every day | to play.

→ Adverbs:

A) Adverbs of Frequency Never, Always, often, usually, sometimes,

occasionally
→ Put after “to be”
Tom is always late.
→ Before any other verb.
Tom always comes late.
→ After “not”
Tom is not often late.
→ After the 1st auxiliary verb (has-have,
etc)
→ Tom has always been late.

The bold adverbs can come at front, mid or

end positions.

B) Adverbs of place Inside, outside, here, there, at the cinema

→ Always at the end position

C) Adverbs of definite time Now, today, yesterday, at X o’clock

→ At front or end positions

D) Adverbs of indefinite time Lately, recently.

→ Front, mid, and end too.

E) Adverbs of manner Quickly, slowly, harshly, etc

→ Mid or end positions.

F) Adverb of evaluation (‫)تقييم‬ Well, badly, etc.

→ End position only.

 Unit IX: Connecting Words

This is a short unit due to it being based on memorizing the words rather than understanding
anything, so here is just how to connect using coordinating conjunctions, correlative
conjunctions, and transition words.

■ Coordinating conjunctions: [FANBOYS]

→ Add a comma before the conjunction unless the sentences are short.

■ Correlative conjunctions: [Conjunctions made out of two words like: either…or]

→ Add a comma before the second conjunction. If it connects words and phrases and not two
clauses don't put anything.

■ Well he is not only rich, but his father is an officer.

■ The French bakery downtown sells not only crusty bread but also flaky pastries. (If you
delete the conjunction if doesn't make sense as two different sentences.)

■ Transition Words:

→ Put a semicolon before and a comma after like ; however, This is in the case if you want
to introduce a new clause. If the word is in the same clause you put two commas.
 Unit X: Subject Verb Agreement

Subject Verb agreement errors occur when the incorrect conjugation of the verb happens.
E.g: He have something to do. (C: He has…)

■ Common Errors:

1) Subject and verb don’t agree.

E.g: The teacher drink water. (C: drinks…)

He/She/It → Singular (+s or +es with verb conjugation)

I/You/We/They → Plural (No suffix added with verb conjugation)

2) The verb in a relative clause doesn’t agree with the intended subject. (p.223)

E.g: Everyone should choose a place that suit them. (Here the verb agreed with
everyone and not the correct subject of the relative clause aka “place”)

■ Important Notes: (SV → Editing symbol.)

→ Gerund, infinitive, noun clauses, and uncountable nouns take the singular form.
(p.224-225)
E.g: Being a workaholic has many disadvantages. (Gerund.)
E.g: To copy someone else’s answers on the test is wrong. (Infinitive.)
E.g: What we requested is more supplies. (Noun clause.)
E.g: Money is important. (Uncountable noun.)

→ Collective Nouns (nouns that define groups or animals) take both the singular and
plural form with a change in the meaning. (p.226)
E.g: The government announces important decisions. (The focus is on the group as a
whole.)

E.g: The government announce important decisions. (The focus is on the individuals
of the group)

→ Everyone takes the singular form, and Some takes the plural form. (p.227-228)
E.g: Everyone wants to leave.
E.g: Some of the kids are very clever.
→ “The number of” takes the singular form; however, “a number of” takes the plural one.
(p.228)

E.g: The number of students has decreased.

E.g: A number of students have decided to protest.

→ Both…and takes the plural form. Same with compound subjects. (Two subjects
connected with and) (p.228-p.225)

E.g: Hamburger and fries are tasty.

E.g: Both Hamburger and fries are tasty.

→ Either…or and neither…nor’s verbs are conjugated on the noun after “or” and nor.
(p.228.)

E.g: Either the book or the professor’s notes cover this issue.
E.g: Either the notes or the book covers this issue.
E.g: Neither the students nor the teacher understands this question.
E.g: Neither the teacher nor the students understand this question.
 Unit XI: Articles *

The English language has 3 forms of articles. No

Honestly this should be the first unit, but anyways.
article, indefinite article (a/an) or a definite article (The).

Type Use Example

Refer to an object as an I had an orange for

example. breakfast.

Talking about something for I bought a car. The car is

the first time. fast.
Indefinite article (A/An)
Quantity. A lot, a few…

Numbers. A thousand. A million

Ratios. 90 km an hour

Jobs and religions. I'm a student. I'm a Muslim.

→ A few/ a little means small yet sufficient quantity.

I have a few bucks left. (I got enough)

→ Few/ little mean small yet insufficient quantity.

I have few bucks. (I don't have enough)

Before meals. I had breakfast.

Plural nouns. I like cats.

Uncountable nouns and I also like money.

abstract nouns. Don't lose hope.

Before sports. I play football.

No article
Illness He may have cancer.

Material. The Egyptians produce

many shirts made out of
cotton.

General things/ideas. Crime is a stumbling block.

Diplomacy is often favoured
than war.

Times and seasons. Who doesn't like summer?

→ Not all illness take no article. For example:

■ He has the flu.
■ I have a headache
■ Oh, he has a stomach ache. That's the worst.

→ If meals are preceded by an adjective then they take an indefinite article.

■ I had a delicious lunch.

When there is only one thing The Moon, The Earth.

of something.

A noun that was mentioned I bought a car. The car is

before. fast.

With a noun modified by a I read the book that you lent

noun phrase. me.

Nouns preceded by an Most of the books are gone.

“of-phrase” showing
quantity.

Before a noun modified by The hope of finding a cure is

an “of-phrase”. not lost.

The +adjective (When The lower class of France

discussing a group). were part of the revolution.

Before a proper noun (‫اسم‬ The Simpsons are coming

Definite Article (The) ‫ )علم‬to mention a family’s over.
name.

Before Seas. The Red Sea separates the

KSA and Egypt.

Before Rivers. The Rhine is an important

river for Germany.

Before mountain ranges. The Hejaz mountains are in

Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Before countries in plural. The Netherlands, The USA,

The Maldives

Before the formal names of The Arab Republic of Egypt,

countries. The State of Palestine… The
Russian Federation

Before nationalities ending The Japanese are

in (-ish, -ese, -ch, -iss). hard-working people.

Before adjectives in The Nile is the longest river.

superlative form.

Before adjectives in some The better of these two is

comparative forms. probably Ahmed.
 Before sequential adjectives The first, the second, the
next, etc.

‫→ ركز يا باشا في القادم‬

→ Some words can use no articles and an article in the same time. If used for their real
purpose they use no article, and if used to focus on the building then we use an article.

He went to prison. (Focus is on the dentition itself.)

The prison got broken into. (Focus on the building.)

→ The use of either an or a depends on the following phonetic sound not the following
letter.
 Unit XII: Singular and Plural Nouns *

Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted, e.g., book, pen, car, etc.

Uncountable nouns or mass nouns are nouns that cannot be counted, e.g., rice, coffee,
information, peace, justice, beauty, etc. Some mass nouns can be quantified by using a
quantifier such as "a piece of – a bit of- an item of". These nouns include: information-
news- advice- clothing- furniture…. etc.

Some countable nouns have irregular plural forms. For example,

Child Children Criterion Criteria

Woman Women Phenomenon Phenomena

Crisis Crises Deer Deer/s

Oasis Oases Fish Fish

Basis Bases Sheep Sheep

Ox Oxes Tooth Teeth

Person Persons: In legal definitions

People: in normal conversions.

→ Some nouns can change meanings if they are countable or not.

Noun Countable Uncountable

Work Works = ‫أدب‬ Work = ‫عمل‬

I like the works of I put a lot of work into this
Shakespeer. document.

Paper Papers = Newspaper Paper = ‫ورق‬

Tea / Coffee It means cups of tea. The nouns itself.

I will have two tea.

Glass ‫ نظارات‬The noun itself

Water ‫ المياة‬Body of water or

international waters.

Damage ‫( ضرر‬Compensation)
→ After an -of phrase showing quantity, use a plural countable noun OR a singular
uncountable noun.

- Many of the books that I left on the shelf were lost.

- Some of the kids in this class are very smart.
- One quarter of the water in the lake is dried up.

→ When reporting quantities or percentages,

o 25% of the participants were not able to finish the race.

→ Adjectives CANNOT be made plural in English. Even if the root can be made plural like
time.

■ I got a three-month summer holiday. (Here it is an adjective)

■ I got a holiday for three months. (Here it is a noun)
 Unit XV: Prepositions * (Please note I didn’t edit anything in this one!)

1) The rules for prepositions are very limited. Using prepositions correctly mainly depends
on memorizing them. (Verb + preposition---- adj. + prep.----- phrasal verbs).

1) Prepositions of place

a) In
i) a city: He lives in Rome.
ii) a country: He lives in France.
iii) inside a place: There is no one in the room./ The kids are playing in the garden.

b) At
i) an address: He lives at 105 King Street.
ii) a specific place: at school- at home- at work- at the store- at the station- at the
airport at the bus stop…etc.
iii) an event: Emma is at the concert.

c) On
i) a street: The store is located on King Street.
ii) floor: I live on the 2nd floor.

NOTE
- There are 400 seats in the cinema. (we mean inside the building)
- I was at the cinema watching a new film. (when talking about what happens there)

2) Prepositions of time

a) At
i) clock time: the train leaves at 4 O’clock.
ii) night/ noon/dusk
iii) Christmas BUT on Christmas Day
iv) the weekend (at/ on)

b) On
i) days: on Monday
ii) dates: on May 20
iii) day + part of the day: on Friday morning – on Sunday evening

c) In
i) year: in 1994
ii) months: in May
iii) seasons: in summer
iv) the morning/ the evening/ the afternoon