Articles

1. There are 3 types of articles a, an and the.

2. A and an indefinite articles and only used with singular countable nouns.
2.1 a is used before words that begin with consonants sounds or words which
begin with the vowel u but has a consonant sound (you).
a)
a boy
e)
a university
b)
a flower
f) a unit
c)
a pineapple
g)
a unique school
d)
a zebra
h)
a one-way street
2.2 an is used before words which begin with vowels (a, e, i, o, u) or words
which begin with the silent h.
a)
an ant
g)
an umbrella
b)
an apple
h)
an hour
c)
an earring
i)
an honour
d)
an elephant
j)
an honest girl
e)
an insect
f)
an onion
2.3 a and an are not use before uncountable nouns. E.g: rice, sand, oil, etc.
3 The definite article and is used with plural countable nouns and also
3.1 To show something that is special and one of its kinds in the world.
a)
The sun is setting in the west.
b)
The air is fresher in the countryside.
3.2 To refer to a particular person, animal, thing or place.
a)
The white cat is under the chair.
b)
That is the car which honked at me yesterday.
3.3 For the superlative form of an adjective.
a)
She is the tallest girl in her class.
b)
I bought the cheapest book.
3.4 With things which are already mentioned before.
a)
A pupil is in a library. The pupil is reading quietly.

Nouns
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
1. A noun is used to refer to a person, place, animal or thing.
a) teacher
(person)
b) market
(place)
c) rabbit
(animal)
d) car
(thing)
2. Nouns can be countable or uncountable.
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Countable Nouns
(can be counted)
pen
car
boy
bag
house
key
cat
plate

Uncountable Nouns
(cannot be counted)
oil
water
sand
curry
dust
rice
ink
paper

3. Can be used in the following ways.

Countable Nouns
a lot of
books
many
pencils
a few
houses
plenty of
cars
a few
bags
several
keys
some
books
a large number of
cows
a small number of
durians

Uncountable Nouns
a little
oil
a lot of
water
plenty of
sand
some
rice
much
ink
less
butter
more
money
a large amount of
curry
a small amount of
petrol

a lot of positive statements, negative statements, questions.

some
positive statements, questions.
any
negative statements, questions
plenty of

Collective Nouns
Used to refer to people, animals or things as a unit.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

a band of musicians
a choir of singers
a class of pupils
a caravan of gypsies
a batch of students
a gang of prisoners
a crew of sailors
a crowd of people

an army of ants
a brood of chickens
a cloud of flies
a nest of mice
a gaggle of geese
a flight of swallows

People
9. a patrol of policemen

10. an army of soldiers

11. a staff of servants

12. a team of players

13. a tribe of natives

14. a troupe of artistes

15. a panel of judges

16. a party of friends

Animal
11. a plague of locusts
12. parliament of owls
13. a shoal of fish
14. a smack of jellyfish

15. a team of oxen

16. a swarm of bees

7. a flock of birds
8. a troop of monkeys
9. a litter of kittens
a litter of puppies

10. a school of dolphins

a school of whales

17. a pack of wolves

18. a pride of lions
19. a flock of birds

a flock of sheep
20. a herd of buffaloes
a herd of elephants

Things / Plants
1. a string of pearls
11. a garland of flowers
2. a bale of cotton
12. a layer of dirt
3. a bowl of rice
13. a queue of vehicles
4. a bunch of keys
14. a pack of cards
5. a cluster of coconuts
15. a bouquet of flowers
6. a column of smoke
16. a tuft of grass
7. a bundle of sticks
17. a wad of currency
8. a suit of clothes
18. a cloud of dust
9. a clutch of eggs
19. a comb of bananas
10. a crate of fruits
20. a set of tools
Singular and Plural Nouns
A singular noun 1 person, animal, place or thing.
A plural noun more than 1 person, animal, place or thing.
2) The letter s is usually added to form a plural noun.
a) fruit fruits
b) girl girls
c) lamp lamps
d) song songs
3) For nouns which end with s, x, sh and ch, the plural is formed by adding es.
a) class classes
b) box boxes
c) dish dishes
d) match matches
4) For a noun which ends with y preceded by a consonant, the letter y is changed
into ies to form the plural.
a) activity activities
b) berry berries
c) lorry lorries
d) puppy - puppies
5) For a noun which ends with y preceded by a vowel (ay, ey, oy, uy), the letter s is
added to form the plural.
a) boy boys
b) day days
c) key keys
d) guy - guys

6) For a noun which ends with the letter o preceded by a vowel, the letter s is
added to form the plural.
a) radio radios
b) studio studios
c) bamboo bamboos
d) piano pianos
e) zoo zoos

7) For a noun which ends with the letter o preceded by a consonant, s or es is

added to form the plural.
a) photo photos
b) potato potatoes
c) hero heroes
8) For a noun which ends with the letter f or fe, the plural form is made by either
adding the letter s or by changing f/ fe to ves.
a) leaf leaves
b) knife knives
c) half halves
d) thief - thieves
e) roof - roofs
f) safe safes
g) chef - chefs
9) Some nouns are called irregular as their plural form is spelt very differently from
the singular form.
a) ox oxen
e) goose geese
b) child children
f) mouse mice
c) foot feet
g) man men
d) tooth teeth
h) woman women
10)A few irregular nouns maintain the same spelling and pronunciation for both
singular and plural forms.
a) deer deer
b) sheep sheep
c) salmon salmon
d) furniture furniture
11) Some nouns occur only in the plural form:
binoculars, glasses, scissors, spectacles, pants, pyjamas, shorts, tights, trousers,
clothes, stairs, goods
12)Some nouns have no plural:
news, work, homework, rubbish

Pronouns
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Singular
I
You
He / She / It

First
Second
Third

Singula
r

Plural

Subject of the verb

I like to play badminton.
You are late.
He is an engineer.
She is an only child.
It is a Persian cat.
We visited the museum.
They won the singing competition.

Plural
We
You
They

Object of the verb

My parents took me out.
I called you last night.
The teacher scolded him.
They found her in the room.
The car knocked it down.
They are waiting for us.
The teacher praised them.

Personal

Possessive

Possessive

Reflexive Pronouns

Pronouns

Adjectives

Pronouns

my

mine

myself

You

your

yours

yourself

He

his

his

himself

She

her

hers

herself

It

its

its

itself

We

our

ours

ourselves

They

their

theirs

themselves

This is my bag.

The bag is mine.

I paint the picture myself.

This is your book.

The book is yours.

You have to do it yourself.

This is his pen.

The pen is his.

He writes the poem himself.

This is her pencil.

The pencil is hers.

She cut the fruit herself.

This is its kennel.

The kennel is its.

The dog scratched itself.

That is our house.

The house is ours.

We saw it ourselves.

These are their chairs.

The chairs are theirs. They helped themselves.

Adjectives
Comparison of Adjectives (Regular)

1
2
3

Positive
big

brave

bright

Comparative
bigger than
braver than
brighter than

Superlative
the biggest
the bravest
the brightest
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4
5
6
7
8
9
1
0
11
1
2
1
3
1
4
1
5
1
6
1
7
1
8
1
9
2
0
2
1
2
2
2
3
2
4
2
5
2
6
2
7
2
8
2
9
3
0
3
1
3
2

busy
cheap
clean
clear
clever
cold
cool

busier than
cheaper than
cleaner than
clearer than
cleverer than
colder than
cooler than

the busiest
the cheapest
the cleanest
the clearest
the cleverest
the coldest
the coolest

cruel
dark

crueler than
darker than

the cruelest
the darkest

deep

deeper than

the deepest

dirty

dirtier than

the dirtiest

fat

fatter than

the fattest

friend

friendlier than

the friendliest

great

greater than

the greatest

happy

happier than

the happiest

hard

harder than

the hardest

healthy

healthier than

the healthiest

heavy

heavier than

the heaviest

high

higher than

the highest

hot

hotter than

the hottest

large

larger than

the largest

lazy

lazier than

the laziest

light

lighter than

the lightest

long

longer than

the longest

low

lower than

the lowest

near

nearer than

the nearest

neat

neater than

the neatest

nice

nicer than

the nicest

noisy

noisier than

the noisiest
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3
3
3
4
3
5
3
6
3
7
3
8
3
9
4
0
4
1
4
2
4
3
4
4

pretty

prettier than

the prettiest

poor

poorer than

the poorest

quiet

quieter than

the quietest

rich

richer than

the richest

strong

stronger than

the strongest

tall

taller than

the tallest

thick

thicker than

the thickest

thin

thinner than

the thinnest

weak

weaker than

the weakest

warm

warmer than

the warmest

wise

wiser than

the wisest

young

younger than

the youngest

Comparison of Adjectives (By adding more and most)

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1
0
11
1
2
1
3

Positive
beautiful

careful

comfortable

dangerous

difficult

exciting

expensive

famous

helpful

intelligent

Comparative
more beautiful
more careful
more comfortable
more dangerous
more difficult
more exciting
more expensive
more famous
more helpful
more intelligent

Superlative
most beautiful
most careful
most comfortable
most dangerous
most difficult
most exciting
most expensive
most famous
most helpful
most intelligent

joyful
obedient

more joyful
more obedient

most joyful
most obedient

peaceful

more peaceful

most peaceful

Comparison of Adjective (Irregular)

Positive

bad
good

Comparative

worse
better

Superlative

worst
best
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little
many
much
far

less
more
more
further/farther

least
most
most
furthest/farthest

There is no comparison for positive

The comparative is used to compare two things
The superlative is used to compare three or more things
The suffixes -er and -est are added to the positive adjectives to form most
comparatives and superlatives. However, -ier and -iest are needed when a two-

syllable adjective ends in y.

When an adjective of one syllable ends in a single consonant, double the consonant
for the comparative and superlatives forms. However, letters -w and -x are not
doubled.

Conjunctions
Conjunctio
n
and

but

Usage

Example

To join two sentences with

- Sandy likes singing.

the same or similar ideas

- Sandy likes dancing.

To join two sentences with

Sandy likes singing and dancing.

- I want to go Singapore by bus.

different ideas

- He insists on taking the plane.

I want to go Singapore by bus but he

because

To give reason

insists on taking the plane.

- Danny was punished.
- He did not do his homework.
Danny was punished because he did not

so

To show cause and effect

do his homework.
- The children are tired.
- They go to bed early.
The children are tired so they go to bed

or

if

To show a choice or

early.
- Would you prefer tea?

possibility can be made

- Would you prefer coffee?

To show a condition

Would you prefer tea or coffee?

- You work harder.
- You will pass your examination.
If you work harder, you will pass your
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although

To show contrast

examination.
- It is raining heavily.

(beginning / middle)

- They continue with the climb.

Although it is raining heavily, they
continue with the climb.
- Nobody wants to live in that mansion.
- It is beautiful.
Nobody wants to live in that mansion
although it is beautiful.

Wh-question Words
Wh-question Word
Who

Usage

Example

To ask about people

Who are you?

Who is the man?
Who is your mother?
Who is your best friend?

To ask about things

or something
general.

What is this?
What is in your bag?
What are they doing?
What does he want?
What did you do yesterday?

Choices between a
few possibilities
(people, things /
places)

Which is your pen?

Which is the capital?
Which book is better?
Which shirt should I wear?

To ask the reason for

something

Why are you here?

Why is the bag wet?
Why is he going out?
Why do you want to be a singer?

To ask about who the

owner of something
is / belong to
(possessives)

Whose pencil is this?

Whose ruler is this?
Whose car is that?
Whose books are these?

What

Which

Why

Whose

Where
To ask about places

Where are you?

Where is the ruler?
Where do you live?
Where is the car key?

To ask about the time

something happens

When is your brothers birthday?

When are we going home?
When did you come?
When will you leave?

To ask about the way

how something is
done / quality,
quantity

How are you?

How was your trip?
How do you cook the fish?
How do you get to London?

When

How

* 7 W, 1 H used to ask questions.

Verbs to be, to have and to do

Verb
to be

to have
to do

Present Tense

Past Tense

is
am

was

are

were

has
have

had

does
do

did

Example
He is the head prefect.
I am a boy.
She was in Langkawi yesterday.
These boys are my nephews.
We were there last month.
She has a yellow raincoat.
You have a dictionary.
He had a football practice yesterday.
She does the housework every day.
We do our work quietly.
They did their homework just now.

Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb must agree with its subject. If the subject is singular, the verb must be
singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural as well.
Singular
The pupil sings during the music class.
He / She prepares some food for

Plural
The pupils sing during the music class.
They prepare some food for supper.

supper.
The child runs around in the field.
The dog does not like its new owner.
The backpacker has no place to sleep

The children run around in the field.

The dogs do not like their new owner.
The backpackers have no place to

tonight.
He is a friend of mine

sleep tonight.
They are friends of mine.
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Singular
is
has
does

Plural
are
have
do

Simple Present Tense

1) Facts, things that are always or generally true.

The sky is blue.

The moon is round.
A hen lays eggs.
A dog has four legs.
The sun rises in the east.
Tropical fish are beautiful.
Water boils at 100 degrees.
Plants die without water.
My birthday is in September.

2) For situations that are (more / less) permanent.

I live in Malaysia.
She likes drawing.
They love coffee.
My father works in a bank.
She has three children.
The boy studies in SJK(C) Kundang.

3) Things that we do regularly / often routines, habits.

(every day, once a week, twice a month, every Sunday, four times a year)
(always, often, usually, sometimes, rarely, never)

I go to school by car.
He always wakes up at 6 a.m.
Mei Ling often listens to music.
Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.
I drink a cup of coffee every morning.

4) Short actions.

He looks at his watch.

She opens the door.
I switch on the computer.
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5) Imperatives statements / order

Do not litter!
Keep off the grass!
Do not feed the animals.
Go to your bedroom now.

6) We also use it to talk about the future after words like when, until, after,
before, as soon as in a future sentence.

I will call you when I have time.

I won't go out until it stops raining.
She'll come as soon as her babysitter arrives.
I'm going to make dinner after I watch the news.
I'll give you the book before you go.

***Spelling: In general, for single subject we add s in the verb. However...

a) For verbs that end in -o, -ch, -sh, -ss, -x, or -z we add -es.
o
o
o
o
o
o

go goes
catch catches
wash washes
kiss kisses
fix fixes
buzz buzzes

b) For verbs that end in a consonant + y, we remove the y and add -ies.
o
o
o
o

marry marries
study studies
carry carries
worry worries

c) For verbs that end in a vowel + y, we just add -s.

o play plays
o enjoy enjoys
o say says
Present Continuous Tense
1) Used to show something which is happening now.
a. I am cutting the grass now.
b. The waiter is serving the customers now.
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c. We are waiting for him at the bus stop.

2) Used to express the future.
a. I am going camping next week.
b. She is going for a holiday soon.
c. We are going to China tomorrow.
3) Used to express developing and changing situations.
a. The wind is getting stronger and the temperature is dropping faster.
b. More people are buying organic products nowadays.

***Spelling: Verbs when adding -ing.

a) Consonant after a short, stressed vowel at the end of the word.
Double the consonant:
sit he is sitting

put he is putting
travel they are travelling
If the consonant is not stressed, we do not double it:

benefit - benefiting (we stress the first 'e', not the 'i'.)
b) One -e at the end of the word
Leave out the e:
write he is writing

take he is taking
BUT double e add ing:

see he is seeing
c) Verbs ending in ie
Change 'ie' to 'y':
lie - he is lying
d) Verbs ending in c
Change 'c' to 'ck':
picnic - he is picnicking
Simple Past Tense
1) Something has happened in the past (specific time) and has finished.
I took her home just now.
They were at his birthday party last night.
The cleaned the house last weekend.
He knew the answer yesterday.
2) Telling stories or past events.
Once upon a time, a lord lived in the castle.
There was an ugly witch living in the middle of the forest.
In the past, the knights travelled on strong horses.
3) Indicate a time in the past.
13

I lived in Johor in 1994.

4) Express habit in the pass.

I collected stamps when I was a child.

*** Spelling: Verbs in the Past Simple Tense

Regular Verb
-d, -ed, -ied
live lived
want wanted
carry carried
stop stopped
plan planned
panic panicked

Irregular Verb

sell sold
drink drank
buy bought

Verb
remaining same
cut cut
put put
let let

Positive and Negative Statements

Positive statement in the Present Tense
I
You
We
They
He
She
It

go
to the towns library on
weekends.
goes
Negative statement in the Present Tense

I
You
We
They
He
She
It

do not go
to the towns library on
weekends.
does not go

Positive statement in the Past Tense

went
to the zoo last Saturday.
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You
We
They
He
She
It
Negative statement in the Past Tense
I
You
We
They
He
She
It

did not go

to the zoo last Saturday.

Prepositions of Time

Prepositions

in

at

on
after
by
during

Use

month
year
season
part of the day (morning, afternoon, evening)
duration

specific time of day (noon, midnight)

part of the day (night)
celebrations
days of the week
dates
special days
something will happen later
a deadline in the future
through the whole of a period of time

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Prepositions

Examples
-

My birthday is in December.
Jenny was born in 1990.
Tom wakes up early in the morning.
Mr Siew will be here in three minutes.
The van will be here in ten minutes.

Lunch is at noon.
Dinner is at 6 oclock.
Tuition is at 2.30 p.m.

Ali is going to Ipoh on Friday.

I am going to visit my grandmother on Saturday.
My birthday is on the 25th of June.
We are going to the party on my birthday.

after

I will see you after school.

After the holidays, I will start studying French.

by

I expect rain by noon.

I want to have those papers by Friday.

during the holidays

in

at

on

during

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