Sentence and

Paragraph
Writing

Basic Skills to
Improve Writing

With over 100

writing exercises
v Sentence and Paragraph Writing

Sentence and Paragraph Writing is a pre-intermediate/intermediate level writing

textbook geared to the needs of high school and university students. While some
students enter university with good basic writing skills, the authors of this textbook
recognize that most students need refreshment of their knowledge of basic and varied
sentence structure, spelling rules, punctuation and capitalization, article usage, verb
tenses, subject-verb agreement and paragraph development.

Sentence and Paragraph Writing takes students from basic sentence writing skills at
the beginning to sound and competent paragraph writing at the end. It is designed to
be an intensive one-semester course. Students who complete this text will then have
the skills needed for a more advanced English composition and essay writing course.

This textbook is designed to offer students frequent and repetitive practice in

rudimentary composition skills. After new material is introduced, exercises are
provided for practice, and the topics are revisited and reviewed frequently throughout
the textbook. The authors recognize that most writing textbooks move too quickly,
focus on one isolated skill at a time, and don’t offer frequent practice, review and
refreshment of the newly-acquired skills. This course book was developed to address
exactly those Issues. Over one hundred writing exercises are provided to facilitate skill
acquisition.

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v Sentence and Paragraph Writing

Table of Contents
Page
4 Chapter 1: Capitalization
8 Chapter 2: Basic Punctuation
12 Chapter 3: Using Articles
16 Chapter 4:Simple Sentences
23 Chapter 5: Sentence Structures
37 Chapter 6: Paragraphs– Topic Sentence
41 Chapter 7: Paragraphs– Supporting Sentences
47 Chapter 8: Paragraphs– Concluding Sentence
49 Chapter 9: Writing About the Present
56 Chapter 10: Writing in the Present Progressive Tense
59 Chapter 11: Writing about the Past
62 Chapter 12: Writing about the Future
65 Chapter 13: Adjectives
70 Chapter 14: Describing People
74 Chapter 15: Describing Places
82 Chapter 16: Writing Instructions
85 Chapter 17: Writing Directions
88 Appendix
Irregular Verbs

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 1 Capitalization

Capitalization is a good place to start when you study writing.

Capitalize the names of people

Suhyun Kim John Wayne Jimmy McElroy

Exercise 1.1
1. Write these names with the correct capital letters.
james monroe _________________________________________
wilson pickett __________________________________________
jung-ah park _________________________________________

2. Write your name with correct capital letters.

name: ________________________________________________

Capitalize the first word of every sentence. A sentence can be a statement, command, question or an
exclamation.

Statement: My brother is at home. Command: Close the door.

Question: Are you a student? Exclamation: Look out!

Capitalize the names of cities, countries, and continents

Seoul Pusan Europe Africa

London New York Korea China

Exercise 1.2
Write the names of one continent two cities, three countries here:
_____________________
_____________________ ______________________
_____________________ ______________________ ______________________

Capitalize the names of languages and nationalities

German Russian Japanese Korean Chinese

Koji is Japanese. Illyana is Russian.

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 1 Capitalization

Exercise 1.3
Write the names of two languages here: ________________________________
________________________________

Write the names of three nationalities here: _________________________________

_________________________________
_________________________________

Capitalize the days of the week

Saturday Sunday Monday Tuesday

Wednesday Thursday Friday

Capitalize the months of the year, but not the seasons

July February summer spring

Capitalize the names of streets, lanes, roads, avenues, highways and expressways

Chong-ro Street Third Avenue the Honam Expressway

Capitalize brand names, but don’t capitalize the names of the product.

A Samsung television A Lotte hamburger

Always capitalize the subject pronoun I.

I am tall and fat.

Exercise 1.4
Write a sentence using i
__________________________________________________________

Capitalize place names

You should capitalize place names such as seas, oceans, lakes, rivers, islands, deserts, mountains and
planets. The sun and moon should not be capitalized because there are a class of celestial bodies and
not specific (there are many suns and many moons– not just the ones near our planet).

East Asia the Gobi Desert Lake Geneva the Pacific Ocean
the Sea the Middle East Jeju Island Venus

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 1 Capitalization

Exercise 1.5
Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with the correct form of be. Then write the sentences with
correct capitalization and punctuation on the lines below.

1. shikoku island ____________ in japan

__________________________________________________________________________

2. the yellow river____________ in china

__________________________________________________________________________

3. woraksan mountain ____________ in chungcheongbuk-do korea

__________________________________________________________________________

4. the south sea _____ between korea and japan

__________________________________________________________________________

Capitalize place names such as hospitals, hotels, buildings, companies, and schools

Kook Min Bank Shilla Hotel Samsung Corporation

Seoul National University the Hanam Building Konkuk University Hospital

Exercise 1.6
Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with the correct form of be. Then write the sentences with
correct capitalization and punctuation on the lines below.

1. seoul national university ________ near subway stop number 238

__________________________________________________________________________

2. the silla hotel ___________ near the Hilton hotel

__________________________________________________________________________

3. kaist ___________in daejon

__________________________________________________________________________
4. you can buy tortillas at the supermarket in the hanam building
__________________________________________________________________________

Capitalize job titles

A job name is capitalized only if it is used as a title. Use a period after titles that are abbreviations.

Mrs. Oh Ms. Park is an assistant.

Professor Basker (capitalized as a title)
She is a professor. (not capitalized as a job name)
Dr. Kim (title and abbreviated– capitalize and use a period after the abbreviation)

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 1 Capitalization

Capitalize Acronyms
Acronyms use capital letters from the first letters of a name to make an abbreviation. We write and say
the short form.

These acronyms are spoken as letters:

the UN the United Nations

the USA the United States of America
the UK the United Kingdom
the UAE the United Arab Emirates
the WTO World Trade Organization
the KFTA Korea Foreign Trade Association
the IMF International Monetary Fund

These acronyms are spoken as words:

OPEC the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

KAIST Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
PNUT (peanut) Pusan National University of Technology

We usually use the first letters of words to make acronyms. Sometimes we use other letters.

TV- television DVD- digital video disk

CD- compact disk ID- identification

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 2 Punctuation

Punctuation is very important. It helps the read know one thought starts and another ends. It lets the read
know where a sentence is a statement or a question. It lets the reader know how thoughts are organized.
It helps to know the force or emotion expressed in the sentence.

Look at the use of the most common punctuations used in writing

Period
Put a period (or full stop) at the end of every statement and command.

Statement: Jenny is a student. Command: Have a seat.

Write a similar statement.

______________________________________________________________________

Write a similar command.

______________________________________________________________________

Question Mark
Put a question mark (?) at the end of every question.

Is Jenny a student?

Write a similar question.

______________________________________________________________________

Exclamation Point
Put an exclamation mark (!) at the end of every exclamation.

Look out!

Write a similar exclamation:

_____________________________________________________________________

Commas
A comma is used to separate three or more adjectives or items in a list.

Modern airplanes are fast, comfortable and safe.

Modern airplanes are fast and comfortable.
Daegu apples are round, sweet and delicious.
Daegu apples are round and sweet.

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 2 Punctuation

Also place a comma between a city and a country or a city and a state (or province).

Seoul, Korea Chungju, Chungchoenbuk-do Seattle, Washington

You should put a comma between the day and year in dates.

November 9, 1951

Contractions and Apostrophes

Contractions need an apostrophe. The apostrophe should be placed where the missing letter(s) would
be and also placed higher than the lower case letters.

doesn’t = does not

she’s = she is
Bob’s coming to school today = Bob is coming to school today.

Exercise 2.1
There are mistakes in the following sentences. Rewrite the sentences with correct punctuation and
capitalization.

1. he doesn’t know you

________________________________________________________________________

2. brazils a country
________________________________________________________________________

3. whens he coming
________________________________________________________________________

4. a new car is a mans best friend

_______________________________________________________________________

5. shes not coming to bob’s party tonight

________________________________________________________________________

6. hes very tall

________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 2.2
Write the questions and answers below with correct capitalization and punctuation.

1. is dr. lim in fukuoka japan / yes he is

_______________________________________________________________________

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 2 Punctuation

2. is today december 31 2003 / no it isnt

________________________________________________________________________

3. are they in pusan chollanam-do / no they arent

________________________________________________________________________

4. did he drive to paris france on January 15th 2011 / no he didn't

________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 2.3
Fill in the blanks. Use the verbs is, isn’t, are, or aren’t. Then write the sentences with correct
capitalization and punctuation on the lines below.

1. a Ferrari ________ fast beautiful and expensive

_______________________________________________________________________

2. a jungle ________ cold dry and dusty

______________________________________________________________________

3. the statue of Liberty and Empire state building _________ In New york new york
______________________________________________________________________

4. apples oranges and bananas ________ vegetables, but fruit

______________________________________________________________________

Exercise 2.4
Fill in the blanks with a negative form of the be verb (is, am, are, was, were). Use contractions and
rewrite these sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation on the lines below.

1. mrs anderson ________________ a business woman

_______________________________________________________________________

2. mr young and ms lee ________________ doctors

_______________________________________________________________________

3. dr park ________________ a professor

______________________________________________________________________

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 2 Punctuation

Exercise 2.5
Fill in the blanks using is and are. Then write the sentences with correct capitalization and punctuation on
the lines below.

1. the un and imf ________ located in the usa

______________________________________________________________________

2. my tv ________ broken
________________________________________________________________________

3. my new id card ________ from konkuk university

________________________________________________________________________

4. the hotels in the uk _________________ expensive

_______________________________________________________________________

Exercise 2.6
Rewrite these paragraphs on a separate piece of paper using proper capitalization and punctuation.

1. six sentences

suhuyn has a roommate the name of her roommate is jenny kim jenny is
from pusan she works for samsung in seoul but she also studies English at
night after work jenny and suhyun enjoy going to movies on the weekends
they also go singing with other friends

2. seven sentences

tom and jerry are good friends they are teachers at a school in shangahi tom
is from australia and jerry is from new zealand they are english teachers
they enjoy hiking and camping on the weekends they also have fun looking
for foods from their own countries the foods are hard to find in china they
have fun traveling to different large cities searching for them

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 3 Using Articles

There are three articles English- a, an, and the. A and an are indefinite articles and the is the definite
article. Using articles correctly will help your writing have a natural flow to it.

A and An
Use a before singular nouns (or the adjectives that precede them) that begin with a consonant sound.

Use an before singular nouns (or the adjectives that precede them) that begin with a vowel sound.
an apple
a uniform (initial sound is ”Y”- a consonant sound)
an x-ray machine (initial sound is ”eh”- a vowel sound)
a university (initial sound is ”Y”- a consonant sound)
an hour (initial sound is ”ow”- a vowel sound)

Use a or an before count nouns, when the noun which is being talk about is not specifically known. A is
used before nouns that begin with a consonant sound. An is used before nouns that begin with a vowel
sound.
Here are some examples:
He has a book. (There are many books, and he has one.)
I ate an orange. (There were many oranges, and I ate one.)
While in Australia, we stayed at a luxury hotel. (There are many luxury hotels in
Australia, and we stayed in one.)
A Porsche is an expensive sports car. (There are many expensive sports cars, and
a Porsche is one.)
Kansas is a state in America. (There are 50 states in America, and Kansas is one.)

Exercise 3.1
Choose a or an for each of the following nouns and terms.

_____unit _____heir _____honest person

_____SAT score _____yellow hourglass _____UFO

Exercise 3.2
Fill in the blanks using the correct article (a or an). Be sure to use correct capitalization and punctuate the
sentences correctly.

1. ____ banana is tasty

2. ____ x-ray machine can be found in every hospital

3. ____ eagle is _________ bird

4. ____ cell phone is ______ very handy tool

5. ____ elevator will take you to the main offices on the fiftieth floor

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 3 Using Articles

Exercise 3.3
Write complete sentences using the following nouns. Use correct punctuation and capitalization.

Example: birds Birds are animals.

1. tokyo
________________________________________________________________________

2. china
________________________________________________________________________

3. cabbage
________________________________________________________________________

4. an eagle
________________________________________________________________________

5. february
________________________________________________________________________

The is used when the thing being talked about is specifically known or it is clearly understood which thing
we are referring to.

Susan cleaned the kitchen last night.

(It is known or understood which kitchen is bring referred to.)

I was ready to order dinner, but the waiter was busy.

(It is known or understood the waiter is the one serving me.)

We had no fun on the picnic because the weather was terrible.

(It is known or understood the picnic refers to the one they were on.)

The president of the United States is an important man.

(There is only one president in the United States.)
(An important man refers to a non-specific person)

Ronald went to the bedroom.

(It is known or understood that the bedroom refers to the one in the house he is in.)

Sally opened the door and switched on the light.

(It is known or understood that the door and light refer to the ones in the room she
entered.)

I wanted to talk to the librarian.

(It is known or understood that the librarian refers to the one in the library I was in.)

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 3 Using Articles

When writing individual sentences, like in the exercises below, it is sometimes difficult or impossible to
determine whether the indefinite article or definite article should be used. The problem arises because the
sentence is in isolation; there is no context to determine whether the object being referred to is known by
both reader and writer or speaker and listener. In most cases, if the sentence is in isolation, the indefinite
article should be used. If the sentence is in context, then the context needs to be examined to determine
whether the definite or indefinite article should be used.

Exercise 3.4
Put the correct article in the blanks and capitalize and punctuate the sentence correctly.

1. i wrote her ____ letter on _____ hotel stationary

2. _____ Bible is ____ religious book

3. _____ man on the corner is _____ thief

4. _____ nile is _____ long river in africa

5. when does _____ football game start

6. before I went to _____ theater I took _____ shower

7. what did you do with _____ tv guide

8. don't eat _____ chicken it’s spoiled

9. _____ movie was disappointing _____ acting was terrible and _____ story was boring

10. _____ elephant was spraying water from its trunk at _____ zoo

Exercise 3.5
Rewrite the following sentences, adding the correct article where needed.

1. Space ship landed on front lawn of White House.

_________________________________________________________________________

2. Einstein was brilliant physicist.

_________________________________________________________________________

3. Cattle were grazing in field.

_________________________________________________________________________

4. Job market of today requires skill in using computers.

_________________________________________________________________________

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 3 Using Articles

5. Moon is celestial body in universe.

__________________________________________________________________________

6. Apple day keeps doctor away.

__________________________________________________________________________

7. Man in red coat stole book from bookstore.

_________________________________________________________________________

8. Toaster is small appliance usually found in American kitchen.

_________________________________________________________________________

9. World famous boxer from United States, Mohammed Ali, was Greatest.
_________________________________________________________________________

10. University of Arizona is in a medium sized university in State of Arizona.

_________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 3.6
Fill in the blanks with a, an, or some. Use some with non-count nouns. Then rewrite the sentences with
the correct form of the verb using simple present tense. Use correct capitalization and punctuation.

1. ________ student (have) a lot of homework

________________________________________________________________________

2. ________ people (be) at the office party

________________________________________________________________________

3. ________ eagle (be) in that tree

________________________________________________________________________

4. ________ equipment (be) useful

________________________________________________________________________

5. ________ fruit (be) on the table

________________________________________________________________________

6. she (have) ________ new furniture

________________________________________________________________________

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 4 Simple Sentences

A sentence is an expression of a complete thought and contains a subject, verb, and ending
punctuation.

In general, a sentence names something (a subject) and then states something about that subject. The
part of the sentence that “talks” about the subject is the predicate (at least a verb and possibly more words
that help describe the subject). A sentence also must have ending punctuation.

The subject is a noun or pronoun that identifies the person, place, or thing the sentence is about. The
subject does the action of an action verb or comes before a linking verb in a statement. A sentence may
contain a compound subject. For example

Mary and Alice went to the store.

London and New York City are both large cities.

The verb is an action word that tells what the subject if doing. A sentence may also contain compound
verbs, such as:

Bill watches TV and reads every night before going to sleep.

Japan manufactures and exports many consumer products.

Some verbs are not action verbs but linking verb. A linking verb is a verb that connects (or “links”) a
subject to a word or words that name or describe it. It indicates a state of being. The most commonly used
linking verbs are be, become, seem, appear, look, feel, grow, smell, and taste.

Review the paragraph below. (the subjects are in blue and the verbs are in red)

Jerry and Jenny Chen are students at the Shanghai International School. They are two of
the over five-hundred foreign students there. Their father owns and manages a big chemical
company. After completing high school Jerry and Jenny hope to study business at university
so they can join their father’s business. They know they will need to learn English well so they
can help the business grow internationally.

Exercise 4.1
Read the following paragraph and circle the subject(s) and underline the verb(s) in each sentence.

Jenhua is a high school student at the Tongnae women’s college. She lives in Pusan,
but she was born in a small town near Daegu. She lives with her father and mother. She has
one brother and one sister. Her brother is a doctor, and her sister studies English literature at
Pusan University of Foreign Languages. Jenhua wants to go to Korea University. She enjoys
studying, and she also likes working out at the gym.

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 4 Simple Sentences

Compound Subjects
When two or more nouns are used as the subject of a sentence, the sentence has a compound
sentence.

Exercise 4.2
Rewrite each sentence to make the subject compound. Change all the necessary words.

Example: Akiko is a student.

Akiko and Maria are students.

1. My brother lives in an apartment in Paris.

__________________________________________________________________________

2. My mother speaks six languages.

__________________________________________________________________________

3. English is my favorite subject.

_________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 4.3
Rewrite these sentences with a singular subject. Don't forget to make the verb agree with the subject.

Example: My mother and father like rock climbing.

My father likes rock climbing.

1. My friend and I want to go shopping.

__________________________________________________________________________

2. My oldest brother and my youngest sister are married.

__________________________________________________________________________

3. My mother and father live in Rome.

__________________________________________________________________________

4. My friends and I eat lunch in the student cafeteria.

__________________________________________________________________________

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 4 Simple Sentences

Exercise 4.4
Write an S (subject) or V (verb) where the question marks are to tell what is missing. Then write the
missing words next to the question marks.

Hospitals ? _______ places where people go when they are very sick. People also ? _______
there when they have been hurt or injured in an accident. ? _______ can be expensive unless
you have insurance. Most ? _______ hope they never have to go to a hospital.

Sentence Fragments
Many beginning writers frequently write sentence fragments- because they look like sentences, but are
not.

A fragment is part of a sentence presented as if it were complete sentence (subject + verb). A fragment
may be missing a subject or verb (or both). A fragment is an incomplete sentence and is grammatically
incorrect.

Fragments can be corrected with the following methods:

A) You can correct a fragment, by giving it a subject and/or verb.

Jenny attends several classes at her university. For example, English literature, listening,
and speech. [fragment, no subject]

Jenny attends several classes at her university. For example, she studies English literature,
listening, and speech. [corrected complete sentence]

B) You can connect a fragment to a sentence.

Dr. Yum enjoys teaching classes. And writing books. [fragment]

Dr. Yum enjoys teaching classes and writing books. [correct]

A beautiful log cabin, for example, is correct English, but it is not a sentence because it doesn’t have a
verb. A beautiful log cabin sits on top of the mountain is a complete sentence because it has both a
subject and verb and expresses a complete thought.

Sometimes the subject of a sentence is not written, but is understood. “Come to my office after class.” is a
complete sentence. This is a command or imperative sentence. The subject you is understood by both
the writer and reader (or speaker and listener) and the sentence really means: “You come to my office
after class”.

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 4 Simple Sentences

Exercise 4.5
Read the phrases below and mark the fragments with and F and the complete sentences with S.

Example: __F__ A beautiful log house.

____1. He walks home daily. ____2. He walks. ____3. Let’s go!

____4. The large apartment. ____5. Eagles soar. ____6. Is smart.
____7. What do you want? ____8. What time is it? ____9. Stop!
____10. Okay ____11. Drives a big car. ____12. When?
____13. Please don’t go. ____14. She’s a teacher. ____15. Too hot!
____16. I don’t know how to. ____17. Before midnight. ____16. Great!
____19. Do you understand? ____20. Too much homework.

Simple sentences with “be verbs”

Some of the simplest sentences you will write will use the verb “be”. There are three simple present tense
‘be verbs’- is, am and are.

Use ‘is’ with singular subjects My house is in Pusan. (singular)

Use ‘are’ with plural subjects. There are four cars in the garage. (plural)
Use ‘am’ with I I am a student. (I)

Exercise 4.6
Write simple sentences with the correct ‘be’ verb using the following nouns and verbs. Be sure to use
correct capitalization, punctuation, and articles.

Structure: Subject + be + Noun

Example: cats / animals Cats are small animals.

1. i / architect
________________________________________________________________________

2. plates and bowls / dishes

________________________________________________________________________

3. she / doctor
________________________________________________________________________

4. seoul and tokyo / big city

________________________________________________________________________

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 4 Simple Sentences

5. i / author
________________________________________________________________________

6. jackie chan / actor

________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 4.7
Rewrite all the following sentences by changing the nouns to plural form. Be sure to use the correct form
of the verb. Use the simple present tense and correct capitalization and punctuation.

1. (chimpanzee) (be) smart

_________________________________________________________________________

2. the (tree) (have) brown (leaf)

_________________________________________________________________________

3. the (car) (be) clean

_________________________________________________________________________

4. their (house) (be) very big

_________________________________________________________________________

5. the (person) next door (be) very noisy

________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 4.8
Rewrite the following sentences by changing them from singular to plural or plural to singular. Correct
capitalization and punctuation should be used.

1. schools are for education

_________________________________________________________________________

2. a telephone is a useful tool

_________________________________________________________________________

3. apples are tasty

_________________________________________________________________________

4. whales are mammals

_________________________________________________________________________

5. mothers know what is best for their children

________________________________________________________________________

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 4 Simple Sentences

Negative form of “be verbs”

Some of the most simple sentences you will write will use the verb “be”. Be connects or links the subject
to more than just nouns, as in the previous exercise, but also to an adjective or a place. On the previous
pages we practiced writing with be, now we will practice using it in the negative form.

The negative form: Subject + be + not + adjective/noun/place

Note correct usage of first, second, and third person.

Adjectives Nouns Places

I am (not) tall. I'm (not) a Canadian. I'm (not) at work.
He is (not) handsome. He's (not) a professor. He is (not) here.
We are (not) smart. We're (not) students. We are (not) in Seoul.

Exercise 4.9
Write sentences with the words below. Use the correct form of be.

1. I / be / not / at school
_________________________________________________________________________

2. you / be / a student
_________________________________________________________________________

3. the students / be / not/ in class

_________________________________________________________________________

4. my office / be / the 3rd floor / on

_________________________________________________________________________

5. frogs / be / not / fish

________________________________________________________________________

6. Dr. Park and I / be / friends

________________________________________________________________________

7. I / be / student / good / a
________________________________________________________________________

8. we / be / hungry
________________________________________________________________________

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 4 Simple Sentences

Exercise 4.10
Rewrite the following sentences. If possible, change all the nouns in parentheses to the plural form.
Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb. You should use the simple present tense and
correct capitalization and punctuation.

1. the (woman) (be) smart

_________________________________________________________________________

2. his (tooth) (be) white

_________________________________________________________________________

3. the (child) (have) a (toy)

_________________________________________________________________________

4. his (car) (be) expensive

_________________________________________________________________________

5. the (air) (be) dirty in the big (city)

_________________________________________________________________________

6. the (hotel) (be) outside the city

_________________________________________________________________________

Short Questions and Answers

You should use a question mark at the end of a question. You should use a comma after yes or no in
answers to questions.

Example: Is Bob a teacher? Yes, he is. No, he isn’t.

Exercise 4.11
Rewrite the questions and answers below with correct capitalization and punctuation. Don’t forget to use a
question mark.

1. is he a student / no he isnt
_________________________________________________________________________

2. are they going to the movies / yes they are

_________________________________________________________________________

3. is the new car expensive / yes it is

_________________________________________________________________________

22
 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 5 Sentence Structures

Although there is in the subject position of a sentence, it is not the subject. There has no meaning. It only
shows that the subject exists. The real subject of the sentence comes after there is or there are, and the
verb (is or are) must agree with the real subject.

There is a new student in our class.

There is a cat and two dogs at my house.
There are six books and a pen on my desk.

More than one noun can come after there + be. If the first noun phrase is singular, use there is:
There’s a cat and two dogs at my house.

If the first noun phrase is plural, use there are:

There are six books and a pen on my desk.

Exercise 5.1
Write sentences using There + be.

Example: a computer on my desk

There is a computer on my desk.

1. two tests this week at school

_________________________________________________________________________

2. one plate and two glasses on the table

_________________________________________________________________________

3. two students and a professor in my office

_________________________________________________________________________

4. twenty pages of homework today

_________________________________________________________________________

5. ten students and only five books for the class

_________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 5.2
Write sentences with the words given. Use there is or there are. Don’t forget to add articles and
prepositions where needed.

Example: two cars / in front of my house

There are two cars in front of my house.

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 v Sentence and Paragraph Writing
Chapter 5 Sentence Structures

1. 500 paintings / the art gallery

_________________________________________________________________________
2. twenty problems / the test
_________________________________________________________________________

3. book / two pencils / Minsu’s desk

_________________________________________________________________________

4. answers / the last page of the book

_________________________________________________________________________

5. new computer / Dr. Seon’s office

_________________________________________________________________________

6. duck / two geese / the lake

_________________________________________________________________________

7. many problems / life

_________________________________________________________________________

8. a new car / my garage

_________________________________________________________________________

Subject-Verb Agreement
Subject-verb agreement when using there has several rules:

1. If the subject is uncountable, use a singular verb.

There is some trouble at school today.
There is some coffee in your cup.

2. If the subject is countable and is plural, use a plural verb.

There are some problems at school today.
There aren't any clean coffee cups in the cup board.

When using there is or there are many sentences will contain prepositional phrases of place.

Examples of prepositional phrases of place:

on the water in town in line

at the bank near my house upside down
on the bus at the beach by the fountain

There are many large sea shells on the beach.

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Exercise 5.3
Write There are / There is sentences using prepositional phrases of place and the subjects from the list
below.

Example: many colorful fish There are many colorful fish in the pond.

many new people a park some large fishing boats

a lot of money Mr. Park

1. __________________________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________________________________

Word Order

When writing sentences in English, there are several common “word orders” that can be used. One of the
most common is below.

Who + Verb + What + Where + When

Professor Lim teaches her first class in the library at 10:00 o’clock.

Exercise 5.4
Put the scrambled sentences below into the word order above.

Note: Not every sentence will have a What, Where and When part.

1. English / in the library / every morning /Jenna / studies

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

2. in the math building / are studying / the students /for the test
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

3. a difficult language / Chinese / is / to learn

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

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4. was stolen / this morning / his new BMW / from the parking lot
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

5. on Friday / her new job / starts / she

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 5.5
Now write six sentences (on a separate sheet of paper) using your own words. Use the same word order
as the exercise above.

Simple Sentences with complements

A simple sentence has a subject and one main verb. It may also contain a describing phrase (or
complement).

The subject is the noun or pronoun that identifies the person place or thing the sentence is about. The
verb tells the action done by the subject or explains its condition.

These are examples of simple sentences:

Subject Verb
She studies.
He runs.
My dog is sleeping.
My dog and cat are fighting.

A sentence may also have a describing phrase (or complement), but it does not have to have one. A
describing phrase or complement gives additional information about the subject or verb.

Following are examples of simple sentences with complements. Note that the complements or phrases
can function as pronouns, adjectives, nouns, adverbs, verbs, prepositions, or a combination of descriptive
phrases.

Subject Verb Describing Phrase or Complement

1. He loves her. (pronoun)
2. Her new car is super fast. (adjective phrase)
3. Her major was English Literature. (noun phrase)
4. She runs fast. (adverb)
5. His girlfriend wants to buy a new car (verb phrase)
6. Professor Em is in the classroom. (prepositional phrase)
7. Yusun bought a new car yesterday. (noun phrase + adverb)
8. He wants to start a new business on the internet.
(verb phrase + prepositional phrase)

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Exercise 5.6
Look at the sentences below and write S, V, or C above the subjects, verbs, and complements.

Example: S V C
My car is a Daewoo Leganza.

1. My hometown is Kyeongju.
2. Most of my classes are in English.
3. Seoul has over 12 million people living there.
4. Kyeongju is one of the many historical centers of Korea.
5. Happiness is a hike in the mountains.
6. The East Sea of Korea is a beautiful area.
7. Every one of the students is a delight to work with.
8. Chinese is a difficult language to learn to read and write.
9. Life is a bowl of cherries.
10. I am going to sleep.

Exercise 5.7
Write sentences below using each one of the complement structures above.

1. _________________________________________________________________________

2. _________________________________________________________________________

3. _________________________________________________________________________

4. _________________________________________________________________________

5. _________________________________________________________________________

6. _________________________________________________________________________

7. _________________________________________________________________________

8. _________________________________________________________________________

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Subject-Verb Agreement

A singular subject must be followed by a singular verb, and a plural subject must be followed by a plural
verb. This rule is called subject-verb agreement.

Her book is missing. (singular)

Her books are missing. (plural)
Her books and pens are missing. (plural)

Each and every (when used with a singular noun) should be followed singular noun.

Each pen is of the highest quality. (singular)

Every pen is of the highest quality. (singular)

The following pronouns require a singular verb:

everyone anyone someone no one

everybody anybody somebody nobody
everything anything something nothing

Everyone is going to the party tonight. (singular)

Anything is better than nothing at all. (singular)
Something is wrong. (singular)
Someone came by to see you. (singular)

It is difficult sometimes to decide if a subject is singular or plural. This is especially true when there is
additional information following the subject, but before the verb. The additional information is often
written in a prepositional phrase.

A prepositional phrase connects a subject to the rest of the sentence. It is a group of words that begins
with a preposition and ends with a noun. A prepositional phrase usually tells where, when, how, or why.
Thus a prepositional phrase works as an adverb or adjective.

at my house at noon of my friends

on Monday on the edge of town behind the books
n the chairs under the table by Tuesday afternoon

A prepositional phrase often comes after the subject of a sentence, but before the verb. The phrase is not
a part of the subject, so it should not be used to determine the form of the verb.

Examples which use singular verbs:

None of my friends is a student. The subject none is singular.

One of his cars is red. The subject one is singular.
Each of them wants to come. The subject each is singular.

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Examples which use plural verbs:

Both of us are tired. The subject both is plural.

Several of us are going to the cinema tonight. The subject several is plural.

Phrases referring to amounts, measurements, and quantities use a singular verb.

Five hundred won is all I have.

The number of people here tonight is amazing!
Three tablespoons of sugar is all I need.

There are times when you will need to use the noun or pronoun in the prepositional phrase to determine
the correct verb form. If the noun in the prepositional phrase is a non-count noun, you should use a
singular verb. If the noun in a prepositional phrase plural, use a plural verb. If it is a singular noun, use a
singular verb.

With the phrases– if the noun is plural use a singular verb

any of, each of, none of
either of, neither of

None of the students studies on the weekend.

With the phrases– if the noun is plural us a plural verb

most of, some of, all of
a lot of, a/the majority of
a number of, plenty of
a few of

A few of the students study on the weekend.

With the phrases– if the noun is non-count use a singular verb

the majority of, most of
plenty of, all of, some of
a lot of, none of

All of the candy is fattening.

With the Phrase- if the noun is plural use a singular verb

the number of

The number of students that study on week end is increasing.

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Exercise 5.8
Fill in the blanks in the following sentences. Use the correct form of the verb in parenthesis.

1. The number of students at the university _______ (have) increased this year.
2. A lot of the problems on the test _______ (be) impossible to solve.
3. Most of my friends _______ (be) went home for the holidays.
4. Neither of my parents _______ (have) studied at university.
5. A majority of the voters _______ (be) not going to vote for him.
6. None of them _______(be) coming to the party tonight.
7. Each of them _______ (have) their own ideas.
8. The price of the pencils _______(be) 1000 won.
9. Something _______(need) to be done about the problems.
10. None of the coffee _______ (be) left.

Exercise 5.9
Write ten sentences of your own (on a separate sheet of paper) following the rules explained above.

Dependent Clauses

An independent clause is a complete sentence. It expresses a complete thought and can stand alone. A
dependent clause is not a complete sentence. It may have a subject and a verb, but it does not express a
complete thought. It is a sentence fragment because it can not stand alone. When a sequence word or
other transition word such as so or because is added to a sentence it becomes a dependent clause.

Sammy is hungry. → a complete sentence

When Sammy is hungry → dependent clause
Susan went to the store. → a complete sentence
Before Susan went to the store → dependent clause

In order to form a complete sentence or thought, a dependent clause must be joined to an independent
clause. Use a comma after the dependent clause if it comes at the beginning of a sentence. Do not use a
comma if the dependent clause comes at the end of the sentence.

As soon as Paul ate dinner, he left. (independent clause at beginning of sentence)

Paul left as soon as he ate dinner. (independent clause at end of sentence)
Before Henry goes on a date, he showers and shaves. (beginning)
Henry showers and shaves before he goes on a date. (end)
When I study, I always listen to classical music. (beginning)
I always listen to classical music when I study. (end)

When writing about the sequence of events, dependent and independent clauses can be joined together
with sequence words to form complete thoughts. Some common sequence and transition words are
before, after, as soon as, when, but, so, and because.

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Exercise 5.10
Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph with before, after, as soon as, when, because, but, or so.
Some of the words are used more than once.

The children of Mrs. Peterson’s class went on a field trip to the city’s natural history
museum. __________ they could go however, they had to give the principle their permission
slips that their parents had signed. __________ collecting all the slips, the children got on the
bus. Many of the children had never been to a museum ________ they were very excited
about the outing. The drive to the museum took a long time __________ they had fun. Mrs.
Peterson led the children in singing and playing games __________ time went by quickly.
__________ they arrived at the museum, the group went straight to the dinosaur section.
They went to this section first __________ they had been studying dinosaurs in class.
____________ the children saw the display of dinosaur bones, they began asking the museum
guide questions. __________ the outing was very informative all the children had a great
time.

Exercise 5.11
Look at the sentence fragments below and rewrite them to form complete sentences. Be sure to use
correct punctuation and capitalization.

1. before I go to sleep I
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

2. i like English class because

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

3. after i take a test I

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

4. when Elliot finally got his drivers license

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

5. as soon as this class is over

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

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6. miss kim got a new job but

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

7. so I did not pass the test

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 5.12
Write more sentences containing a dependent and independent clause using these sequence words:
before, after, as soon as, so, because, and when.

Example: Before I started college, I traveled in Europe for six months.

Before
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
After
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
When
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
So
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
Because
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
But
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
As soon as
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

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Exercise 5.13
Each of the following sentence fragments need something added to make them complete: add a
subject, verb, or complement. Rewrite the sentences using correct capitalization and punctuation.

1. I apartment
________________________________________________________________________

2. study late every night

________________________________________________________________________

3. works hard
________________________________________________________________________

4. bob tall
________________________________________________________________________

5. my university is
________________________________________________________________________

6. this class difficult

_______________________________________________________________________
7. jim is
_______________________________________________________________________

8. don’t late
_______________________________________________________________________

9. doesn’t study very hard

_______________________________________________________________________

10. She is
_______________________________________________________________________

11. Before I go to school

_______________________________________________________________________

12. on weekends
_______________________________________________________________

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Chapter 5 Sentence Structure

Descriptive Sentences

A common sentence structure for describing the characteristics or qualities of something is:

Article + adjective + noun + verb (has) + adjective(s) + noun

A sports car has a powerful, noisy motor.

To put variety in your writing you can also write the characteristic or quality first, use the preposition of,
and change the verb have to be. Then you must begin the sentence with the.

The + noun + (of a/an) + noun + is/are adjective(s)

The motor of a sports car is powerful and noisy.

Exercise 5.14
Rewrite the following sentences using the structure in Example 2.

1. An airplane has a long, sleek body.

_________________________________________________________________________

2. A desk has a flat, hard surface.

_________________________________________________________________________

3. A hotel has big, comfortable beds.

_________________________________________________________________________
4. An eagle has strong, powerful wings.
_________________________________________________________________________

5. A giraffe has a long thin neck.

_________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 5.15
Choose three familiar objects and write sentences like the example above.

1. _________________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________________

Describing Common Objects

To keep your writing interesting, describe things with the same information in a different way. Do this by
using a different word order.

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Chapter 5 Sentence Structure

This is a typical word order: A TV weighs ten kilograms. (weight)

Alternative word order: The (noun) of a/an (thing) is _______.

The weight of a TV is ten kilograms.

Many characteristics of an object can be described using this structure. These characteristics include:
shape, size, color, weight, height, width, length, thickness, and texture.

Exercise 5.17
Rewrite each of the sentences below by using the descriptive structure in the example.

1. A wool blanket is soft. (texture)

_________________________________________________________________________

2. A good pizza is two centimeters thick. (thickness)

_________________________________________________________________________

3. An apple is round. (shape)

_________________________________________________________________________

4. A Boeing 747 is large. (size)

_________________________________________________________________________

5. My bowling ball is ten kilograms. (weight)

_________________________________________________________________________

6. That electric cord is four meters long. (length)

_________________________________________________________________________

7. His new Hyundai is black. (color)

________________________________________________________________________

8. That building is over 1000 meters high. (height)

________________________________________________________________________

9. The Mississippi River is a mile wide. (width)

_______________________________________________________________________

Exercise 5.18
Write four sentences describing the same object. Use both sentence structures from he previous
exercise.

1a. _______________________________________________________________________
1b. _______________________________________________________________________

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Chapter 5 Sentence Structure

2a. _______________________________________________________________________
2b. _______________________________________________________________________

3a. _______________________________________________________________________
3b. _______________________________________________________________________

4a. _______________________________________________________________________
4b. _______________________________________________________________________

Read this paragraph about a common object in our lives.

Chopsticks are common objects. We find them everywhere, usually in pairs. A single
chopstick is usually made of wood or steel. They are small in size. The length of a
chopstick is about fifteen centimeters. It can be round or square in shape. It is also tapered from
one end to the other. The color of a chopstick is often tan or silver, but could be any color. A
chopstick is very light in weight. Sometimes we find a pair of chopsticks in a paper wrapper.

Exercise 5.19
On a separate piece of paper, write a paragraph to describe a common object. Use the paragraph above
as a model and try to describe all the characteristics of the object using both sentence structures.

Begin the paragraph with a topic sentence like this one:

(plural noun) are common objects.

Exercise 5.20
The descriptive paragraph below has mistakes. Rewrite the paragraph on a separate piece of paper and
correct the mistakes. Use There are/There is when possible and vary the sentence structures (word
order).

My university is beautiful. It have a large lake and two small pond on the campus. The lake is
round in shape. The pond are square. One pond has a large fountain. Around the pond are garden.
One of the gardens has three rose bush and two large magnolia trees. They smell wonderful! Next to
the lake is a seating area for students. It has a bench and many chairs. The bench is hard, but the
chairs are very soft and comfortable. There are a covered area. It is to protect the students from the
sun and the rain. It is large and brown. The campus also has a very large grassy area. The grass is
soft and green. The beautiful lake, ponds and grassy area are where the students like to study and
spend time with their friends.

Exercise 5.21
Now write a paragraph (on a separate sheet of paper) about your own school (or workplace). What is it
like? Start with a topic sentence like the one in the paragraph above. Use There are/ There is when
possible and vary the sentence structures (word order).

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Chapter 6 The Paragraph: The Topic Sentence

A paragraph is a number of sentences written about the same topic. The main idea of the paragraph is
usually given in the first sentence—which is called the topic sentence. The topic sentence introduces what
the paragraph is talking about and limits the information that can be given in the other sentences The
other sentences add information to the topic and are called supporting sentences.

A topic sentence should talk about the topic, not about what you intend or are planning to write. Students
often mistakenly begin a paragraph with sentences such as: I want to tell you about . . . or I’m going to
write about . . .or This paragraph is about . . . or Let me tell you about . . .. These are not proper topic
sentences as they do not really introduce the topic. They introduce your intent or your writing plan, but not
your topic.

Begin a paragraph with a topic sentence like this:

My day was wonderful/a giant mess/a big problem/a lot of fun

Today was easier than usual/terrific!/a lot of hard work

Exercise 6.1
Write a paragraph (on a separate sheet of paper) about a day in your life. The day could be today,
yesterday or any day in recent memory.

Exercise 6.2
Choose the best topic sentence for each of the following paragraphs and put an “x” on the line next to it.

1. _____ a. Korea has a great variety of plant life.

_____ b. Korea is great!
_____ c. Korea is a nice place to visit.

There's more to Korean plant life than just rice, apple trees, and pine trees. Because
of the diversity of Korean soil and environments, it has a wide variety of plants. A drive
around the countryside will show you what an interesting assortment of plants there are.

2. _____ a. Flying in bad weather is difficult.

_____ b. Pilots do a lot of pre-flight preparation.
_____ c. Pilots make a lot of money and fly all over the world.

They check their plane to make sure that it is working properly. They also make sure
that baggage or cargo has been loaded correctly. They check the weather forecast to see
if they will run into any bad weather on their trip. Pilots then decide what route they should
take, and how high and fast they should fly.

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Chapter 6 The Paragraph: The Topic Sentence

3. _____ a. Doctors work very hard.

_____ b. Doctors have an effect upon all our lives.
_____ c. Doctors know a lot about medicine.

When we are sick, they tell us what we have. They give us medicine and other
kinds of treatment. Doctors examine us and listen to us tell them how we feel. They
tell us what is good for us to eat and how we can have better hygiene.

4. _____ a. Nepal has many colorful celebrations.

_____ b. Anyone can be a relative in Nepal.
_____ c. A day of festive in Nepal.

One in particular is the celebration called Tihar. This is a day when "sisters"
honor their "brothers" by giving tikka (a red powder mark on the forehead, which
is a blessing). Quotes are around "sister" and "brother" because in Nepal these
words can mean any relative in the same age range: cousins, children of in-laws,
and so forth. During Tihar, special food is prepared and eaten, and everybody
gets new clothes.

Exercise 6.3
Read each of the paragraphs below and write a topic sentence for that paragraph. Remember that the
topic sentence should introduce the main idea of the paragraph and also limit what the other sentences
can talk about. Be sure the topic sentence is general enough to include all the sentences in the
paragraph.

1. Topic Sentence:
_______________________________________________________________
The prizes are named after Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who created the
prizes in his will. He donated a good portion of his estate to fund the prizes, decided
who would judge the winners of each award and also named the prize categories.

2. Topic Sentence:
_______________________________________________________________
The topic of body odors is so offensive that most people will not tell another
person he or she has bad breath or body odor. You do not have to cover yourself
with perfumes and chew gum constantly. It should be enough to take a shower
each day, wear clean clothes, and brush your teeth after meals.

3. Topic Sentence:
_______________________________________________________________
When flirting, you should express an interest in an activity which also interests the
other person. Ask them about themselves and in the course of the conversation tell
them a little about yourself. Suggest that they join you in a casual, non-romantic
group activity.

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Chapter 6 The Paragraph: The Topic Sentence

4. Topic Sentence:
_______________________________________________________________
Many governments sponsor several different types of gambling games, including
instant-win scratch-off type games, daily games and games where you have to pick
three or four numbers. But the game with the biggest jackpot is almost always called
Lotto. This game usually involves selecting 6-8 numbers out of 50. If your numbers
match the numbers drawn, you win.

5. Topic Sentence:
________________________________________________________________
In the last hundred years alone, there have been more than 1.5 million
earthquake-related fatalities. Usually, it's not the shaking ground itself that
claims lives -- it's the destruction of manmade structures and the creation
of other natural disasters, such as tsunamis, avalanches and landslides.

6. Topic Sentence:
_____________________________________________________________
Think long and hard about the fact that a tattoo is permanent. What’s "cool"
at 18 might not be very appealing on a 40-year-old. Also, tattoo removal is
more painful and expensive than tattooing. The process usually takes several
sessions and offers varying results. Doctors say tattoos can be lightened but
not always completely removed.

Using Need to and Want to

You can use the terms need to and want to to help you build useful sentences.
Need to is used to indicate something that you feel you must do.
Want to is used to indicate something that you would like to do.

Exercise 6.4
Use the phrases from the list below to write eight sentences (on a separate sheet of paper) using need to
or want to.

Example: Study for my English test

I need to study for my English test.

get a taxi walk home

call my girlfriend get good grades
find a good job after university help my parents
buy a bus ticket to Pusan go to a move this weekend

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Chapter 6 The Paragraph: The Topic Sentence

Exercise 6.5
There are many mistakes in the following three paragraphs. Correct the mistakes and rewrite the
paragraph (on a separate sheet of paper).

Paragraph 1
there is many reason why insect are so successful at surviving. their ability to adapts
allow them to live in extreme temperatures and environments. insect can eats a wide range of
naturals and artificial foods. these include paints, pepper, glue, book, grain, cotton, other insects,
plants and animals. because they are small they can hide in tiny space. strong, hard but flexible
shell called a exoskeleton cover their soft organs. It also protect them from chemicals, water and
physical impact. their wing allow them to fly away from dangerous situation or toward food or
mate.

Paragraph 2
there is some very important things that childrens, need to keep in mind when they're on
a computer at home or at school. First, they should never to give out personal information
such as their name address school or telephone number. also, they should never sends a
picture of themselves to someone they chats with on the computer without their parent's
permission. they should never writes to someones who have made them feels uncomfortable or
scared. also, they should not meets someone or has them visits them without the permission of
their parents. the problem are that people sometimes misrepresent themselves on the Internet.

Paragraph 3
pharmacists sells medicine to people who are sick, when doctor says that they need it.
they tells peoples how to use the medicine correctly. sometimes, pharmacists mixes the
medicine themselves most often, though, they sells medicines that has been made for them.
Pharmacists usually works in drug stores. these store is clean and have a lot of light. Many
pharmacist stands while they works. pharmacists often wear glove and masks when they work
with things that could hurts them. some pharmacist work at night or on weekends. this are
because sick peoples may needs medicine at any time.

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Chapter 7 The Paragraph: Supporting Sentences

The sentences that follow the topic sentence are the supporting sentences. All the supporting sentences
should be about the topic only. If the sentences talk only about something other than the topic sentence, it
is irrelevant and should be deleted. The supporting sentences provide more detail about the topic by using
examples and facts.

Supporting sentences they may begin with a general statement and be followed by more specific
information. Transition words are used to introduce the more specific information. Transition words help
guide the reader through the passage; they let the read know in what direction the flow of ideas is going.
Common transitions words include for example, such as, and like.

General information: There are several ancient palaces that are major tourist attractions, which
draw thousands of people annually.

Specific information: One example is Kyongbok Palace, which was founded by the Yi Dynasty
in 1392.

Exercise 7.1
Which sentences below are relevant or irrelevant to the topic? Write an r or an i on the space next to
each sentence to note if it is relevant (r) or irrelevant (i) to the topic sentence. Below the sentences write
why you think the irrelevant sentence does not belong with the others.

Example: Topic Sentence: Seoul is a great town to visit on vacation.

___r__ 1. There are many museums and art galleries to see.

___r__ 2. The city is well-known for its many fine restaurants.
___i__ 3. The traffic jams in the city are terrible.
___r__ 4. It is an easy city to fly into from outside the country.

Sentence number 3 is irrelevant because it is not talking about something “great” about
Seoul.

I. Topic Sentence: Learning English is not always difficult.

_____ 1. Some teachers know how to make learning English fun.

_____ 2. Visiting English speaking countries can help you learn English faster and easier.
_____ 3. No matter where you learn English, it is expensive to study.
_____ 4. Watching English language movies can be a lot of fun and very helpful.

Which sentence is irrelevant? Why? ____________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

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II. Topic Sentence: Football is my favorite sport.

_____ 1. Football is exciting to watch.
_____ 2. The game is easy to learn.
_____ 3. Football doesn’t require expensive equipment.
_____ 4. Many people get hurt playing football.

Which sentence is irrelevant? Why? ____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

III. Topic Sentence: I love to watch science fiction movies.

_____ 1. Science fiction can tell us a lot about what tomorrow’s world may be like.
_____ 2. Science fiction movies can teach us about science sometimes.
_____ 3. It is exciting to see the new ideas the writers come up with.
_____ 4. Movies are too expensive nowadays.

Which sentence is irrelevant? Why?____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

IV. Topic Sentence: Drunk driving should be punished severely.

_____ 1. It’s okay to drive if you drink just a little bit.
_____ 2. Many people are hurt and killed by drunk drivers.
_____ 3. Drunk driving causes many accidents.
_____ 4. The accidents caused by drunk drivers increase the cost of insurance for all of us.

Which sentence is irrelevant? Why?____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 7.2
The following sentences are about the weather and how to dress while touring Beijing, China. There is too
much information here for one paragraph. Some of the sentences are specifically about the weather. Put
the number of those sentences in the box below marked Weather. Other sentences are about how to
dress while touring Beijing. Put the number of those sentences in the box below marked Dress. Each set
of sentences has one that is general enough to be a topic sentence. Circle those two sentences.

Once you have identified the above sentences as to whether they are talking about weather or dress
and found the topic sentences, arrange the sentences in a logical order and write (on a separate sheet
of paper) a paragraph about each topic.

Weather Dress
1. ____ 1. ____
2. ____ 2. ____
3. ____ 3. ____
4. ____ 4. ____
5. ____ 5. ____
6. ____

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1. Winter is freezing cold.

2. Autumn is best as the temperature is mild and the sun is out a lot.
3. Beijing's four seasons are distinctly recognizable.
4. In the warmer months, T-shirts and light pants or shorts are the best bet.
5. It is easy to dress for touring Beijing.
6. In the autumn, jeans and a sweater are usually fine.
7. For touring during the day, wear casual clothes.
8. Bring nice clothes for going out at night.
9. The temperature in spring is nice, too, but it is very dry and windy.
10. Summer can be unbearably hot.
11. In the colder months, it is wise to dress in layers; long underwear and jeans, shirt, sweater and
a down jacket.

Exercise 7.3
Each of the following paragraphs has a sentence that is irrelevant. Draw a line through that sentence.

Example:
There are many things you can do to help the earth’s environment. You can
recycle newspapers, clear plastic and aluminum cans. You can buy products
made from recycled paper. Also, you can purchase drinks in glass bottles or
aluminum cans instead of plastic containers. Glass and aluminum are easier
to recycle. I enjoy recycling.

Paragraph 1
Responsibility is an important part of being an adult. We should meet our obligations by
being reliable, accountable, and dependable. We should follow through on our promises. It is
important to be one time for appointments that we have agreed to. I am often late for my
appointments. Be someone your friends can count on. Students should do their homework on
time. By creating a habit of reliability, people around us will see us as responsible individuals.

Paragraph 2
Bird watching is a great hobby. Many birdwatchers began watching birds as children or
young people. Birds hold a fascination with many people because there are almost always birds
around to see. Butterflies are great to watch too. Birds are easy to learn to identify and fun to
watch. Backyard bird feeding is a good way to get started watching birds by bringing them to
your yard.

Exercise 7.4
Pick one of the topics below and write a topic sentence about it.

Next, you write at least 10 supporting sentences (on a separate sheet of paper) about the topic. Don’t
worry about proper capitalization, punctuation, and grammar at this point. Review the supporting
sentences and make sure that they all support the main idea of the topic sentence. Cross out any
sentences that do not support the main idea. Those sentences are irrelevant.

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Chapter 7 The Paragraph: Supporting Sentences

Finally, write a paragraph, using the topic sentence and relevant supporting sentences form above. Be
sure to use correct capitalization, punctuation and article use.

Things you like to do on Friday night

How you did for fun in high school or grade school
A memorable holiday

Using So and Because in supporting sentences

Because and so help us write cause and effect sentences. Because is used to give a cause or reason.
So is used to give a result. Both because and so can join two sentences.

Using because:
I have a big test tomorrow. I want to study.

Because I have a big test tomorrow, I want to study.

I want to study because I have a big test tomorrow.

Notice that if the reason (because) comes first, you must use a comma after it.

Using so:
I have a big test tomorrow. I want to study.
I have a big test tomorrow, so I want to study.

Notice that you must use a comma before so.

Exercise 7.5
Combine the sentences below (on a separate sheet of paper) using because and so. Write one
sentence with because and one sentence with so.

1. I want to buy a car.

I’m going to save some money.

2. I am late for class.

I have to go.

3. Jenny got an A+ in English.

She studied very hard.

4. I was really sick last week.

I went to the doctor.

5. I want to go to graduate school next year.

I need to get good grades.

6. Jan went singing last night.

She was sleepy in class today.

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Chapter 7 The Paragraph: Supporting Sentences

Using And and But in supporting sentences

As your writing skills improve you will want to use more complex sentences to keep your writing
interesting. And or but can connect two sentences. When using and or but to connect two sentences, use
a comma before and or but.

That car is beautiful. It is fast.

That car is beautiful, and it is fast.

Dr. Park’s class is very interesting. Dr. Park’s class is difficult to pass.
Dr. Park’s class is very interesting, but it is difficult to pass.

When you use and, it adds information to the first sentence. When you use but, it adds surprising or
unexpected information to the first sentence.

She is a very rich woman, and she has a large savings account.
She is a very rich woman, but she never has any money with her.
Her house is expensive, but it is very dirty inside.

Note: Don’t use a comma when you use two adjectives and join them with and or but.

The puppy is cute and playful.

He is smart but lazy.

Exercise 7.6
Rewrite the following sentences on a separate sheet of paper with the correct form of be. Use and or but
to connect the two sentences. Correct capitalization and punctuation should be used.

1. Daegu apples (be) very delicious.

They (be) popular.

2. Daegu apples (be) very popular.

They (be) hard to find.

3. Bob (be) friendly.

He is popular.

5. Samsung computers (be) high quality.

They (be) inexpensive.

6. Tae Dung computers (be) expensive.

They (be) not reliable.

7. There (be) good Chinese food at that restaurant.

It (be) too expensive.

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Chapter 7 The Paragraph: Supporting Sentences

8. His poetry (be) wonderful to read.

It (be) easy to understand.

Combining Supporting Sentences

Reading sentences that are always very short is uninspiring and can be very uninteresting to read. The
reader will soon give up and look for something more challenging to do. Short sentences, which have the
same subject, can be joined together to make longer, more interesting ones. Look at the example
below.

A. There are many cows in the pasture.

B. They are grazing on the grass.

These two sentences can be joined together to form:

There are many cows in the pasture grazing on the grass. or

In the pasture, grazing on the grass, are many cows.

Exercise 7.7
Edit the paragraph below on a separate sheet of paper. Combined some of the sentences with and, but,
or so to make it more readable. Some of the sentences have incorrect verb usage, so correct those
sentences. Also, make sure that the correct articles are used. Make any other changes you think are
necessary.

In an old American west cowboy’s life on a cattle drive was difficult one. A cowboy spend
all day in saddle keeping cattle moving in a same direction. He also had to look for strays.
Sometimes he brands cattle. He always work out-doors. A cowboy have to endure a heat, cold,
the rain, and the snow. The job dangerous. He could get serious hurt or even kill if the cattle
stampeding. He work from sunup to sundown without rest. He was always exhausted at end of
day. At night when he did rest he had to slept on a ground. He only eat beans or cold food. The
pay was not very good. It was a life with freedom and adventure that many men craved.

Exercise 7.8
Write a paragraph on a separate sheet of paper about a job that used to be common in the past in your
country. Try to combine some sentences with time words and use because, but, and so to express the
relationship between dependent and independent clauses. Also remember to write a good topic sentence,
one which identifies the topic and limits it. Remember most of the sentences should be in the past tense.

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Chapter 8 The Paragraph: The Concluding Sentence

The concluding sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph. The function of the concluding sentence is
to signal the end of the paragraph. Concluding sentences can either be a restatement of the topic
sentence, a summary of the supporting sentences, or contain a final comment about the topic. The
concluding sentence in a paragraph should be a general statement that relates to the idea expressed in
the topic sentence, and not another fact or detail of support. If restating the topic sentence, it should be
expressed in different words, not an exact copy of the topic sentence.

Many words or phrases can be used to signal the end of the paragraph in the concluding sentence. Here
are just a few (These require a comma followed them):

finally in conclusion in summary

therefore thus as a result
indeed in brief in short,

Other phrases (which do not require commas) include:

we can see that . . .
it is clear that. . .
these examples show that. . .
there can be no doubt that. . .
the evidence suggest that. . .

Exercise 8.1
Read the paragraph below and
1. Underline the topic sentence.
2. Circle the transition words (see supporting sentences).
3. Write a concluding sentence for the paragraph.

Seoul, the capital of Korea, is a very fascinating place. It is a very old city, but
very modern. There are several ancient palaces that are major tourist attractions,
which draw thousands of people annually. One example is Kyongbok Palace,
which was founded by the Yi Dynasty in 1392. It is easy to tell that Seoul is also a
very modern city. The most obvious clue is the skyline, everywhere you look one
can see countless high-rise office buildings and apartments. Another indication
is its transportation system; the subway, buses, and taxis are second to none.
Seoul, being the cultural and financial center of the country, is also the most
populated city in the country. The city’s thriving and energetic 10 million plus
population is eager to make any tourists stay an event to remember. __________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________.

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Chapter 8 The Paragraph: The Concluding Sentence

Exercise 8.2
Read the two paragraphs below and write a topic sentence and a concluding sentence for each.

Topic sentence: ___________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________
Area 51, located on the desert floor of Groom Lake, Nevada, is reported to be a top-secret
military base established in the early 1950’s. The base, according to the government, is a
testing facility for advanced aircraft being developed by the military. The U-2 spy plane was
tested there in the early 1950’s. Other aircraft tested there include the SR-71 Blackbird, the
F-117 stealth fighter, and Northrop's B-2 stealth bomber. In 1989, a former employee of Area
51 claimed that the base was testing UFO’s that the government received by trading with
aliens. Some believe that Area 51 is the site of a crash of an alien spacecraft and that secret
research is being conducted on the remains of the craft and its occupants.
Concluding sentence: ________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Topic sentence: _____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________
Acid rain is the result of pollutants, which are released into the atmosphere from automobiles
and industry, which fall back to earth after being trapped by rain and snow. There have been
numerous scientific studies of the effects of acid rain on the ecosystem in recent years.
Pollutants contained in acid rain are destroying plant and animal life when it enters lakes and
rivers. Millions of acres of trees and plants have been damaged or destroyed because of the
harmful effects of acid rain on these delicate ecosystems.
Concluding sentence: ________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 8.3
Rewrite this paragraph on a separate sheet of paper with correct capitalization, punctuation, use of the,
number agreement (singular or plural).

rio de janeiro on the east coast of Brazil is one world most popular vacation spots there
are numerous reason for this attraction for example Rio has 45 mile of sandy beach and two of
world most famous beach impanema and copacabana city is also well know for its night life art
galleries and museums for nature lovers tijuca rainforest is only 15 minute away traveler world
wide i nvade Rio in February for annual carnival for fun filled vacation rio de Janeiro is the place
to go

Exercise 8.4
Write a short paragraph on a separate sheet of paper about a city or country you are interested in. Be sure
the topic sentence identifies and limits the topic. The supporting sentences should have more specific
information about the place. Cite three or four examples, using different transitions words for each
sentence. Remember to indicate what you think about the place in the concluding sentence.

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Chapter 9 Writing in the Simple Present Tense

The simple present tense is use to talk about facts, habits, or actions that happen all the time.

Water covers over 70% of the Earth’s surface.

I exercise every morning before I go to work.

When using the simple present, the subject-verb agreement rule must be observed. If the subject of the
sentence is third person singular (pronouns he, she it, or singular nouns), add an ‘s’ to the end of the verb
for form the verb-subject agreement.

She takes a walk after class every day.

My dog likes to swim.

If the subject is first or second person singular or third person plural DO NOT add an ‘s’.

I always take a walk after class.

You look lovely today.
Most cats do not like to swim.

Sentence Structures: Spelling Changes

Simple present verbs require an –s added to the end to change their spelling to third person singular
form.

I walk to school every morning.

She walks to school every morning

Verbs that end in with -ss, -z, -ch, -sh, and –x require an –es added to the end to change their
spelling to third person singular form.

I box everyday for exercise.

He boxes everyday for exercise.

Verbs that end in with a consonant + y require that you change the y to i and add –es to change their
spelling to third person singular form. { y + -ies }

I try to get good grades.

She tries to get good grades.

Verbs that end in with a vowel + y require that you add –s to change their spelling to third
person singular form. { y + s }

You buy only the best clothes.

She buys only the best clothes

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Chapter 9 Writing in the Simple Present Tense

Exercise 9.1
Change the verbs in parenthesis to ensure subject verb agreement. Also include the correct be verb and
correct any errors in capitalization.

I have two sisters in my family. My oldest sister (live) in new york and she (be) teacher.
She (be) married and her and husband (live) in a deluxe apartment on fifth avenue. My sister
(like) to go to the opera, but bill, her husband, (hate) to. theater. sarah, my youngest sister,
(attend) a university in california. She (be) single and (say) she will never marry. She (like)
shopping, surfing and partying, but she (do) not (like) studying.

Exercise 9.2
Change the subject in the sentences below to third person singular. Use a person you know as the
subject of the sentence. Rewrite the sentences below. Be sure to use correct the capitalization and
punctuation.

1. you exercise every day

_________________________________________________________________________

2. i major in industrial design

_________________________________________________________________________

3. you enjoy going singing on the weekends

_________________________________________________________________________

4. i teach a class at a language institute

_________________________________________________________________________

5. you watch TV all night every night

________________________________________________________________________

6. i never finish my homework before class

________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 9.3
Now write three similar sentences (on a separate sheet of paper) using your own words.

Exercise 9.4
Using the information below, write a short paragraph (on a separate sheet of paper) about the duties that
people in these occupations perform. Be sure to use simple present verbs and that the subject and verb
agree.

Look at the example on the following page.

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Chapter 9 Writing in the Simple Present Tense

Teacher

Works in a classroom Teachers Students

Complete lesson plans Assigns homework
Give ad grade tests

Teachers work in a classroom teaching a large number of students. Before the lessons, they
complete lessons plans. They give students homework assignments and grade them. Every
couple of weeks they give students tests to assess their knowledge.

Nurse

work in a clinic
take patient’s temperature
treat patients
wear a white uniform

Fireman

work at a fire station

put out fires
provide emergency services
give classes on fire safety

Detective

works at police station

investigates crime scene
interrogates and arrests criminals
appear in court

Lawyer

works in office
talks to clients
defends clients in court
questions witnesses in court
makes a lot of money

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Chapter 9 Writing in the Simple Present Tense

Using (Be) going

The phrase (be) going can sometimes be used by itself, sometimes to is added (be going to) and
sometimes to the (be going to the) is added. Study the following uses of be going.

Be going is used by itself when the noun following it is a non-count noun or if the word
following it is a preposition.

Be going to is used when the noun following it is a proper noun or the limited number of count
nouns that, by common usage, do not require the definite article (see list below).

Be going to the is used when the noun following it is a specific location or the name of a location which
requires the definite article in its title.

be going be going to be going to the

uptown church kitchen
north school/college bank
downstairs bed bus stop
over work department store
inside Sears Department Store (train) depot
there France clinic
home Africa museum
in 333 Grand Street dentist
out Pinal Avenue Fiji Islands

Exercise 9.5
Write where questions and answers using the words in parenthesis and either going, going to, or going to
the. Be sure to write complete sentences and use the present continuous tense.

Example: you, upstairs

Q: Where are you going? A: I'm going upstairs.

1. your mother, library

Q: _______________________________________________________________________
A: _______________________________________________________________________

2. Eun Ja and Chun Ho, work

Q: _______________________________________________________________________
A: _______________________________________________________________________

3. you, going, pharmacy

Q: ______________________________________________________________________
A: ______________________________________________________________________

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Chapter 9 Writing in the Simple Present Tense

4. fire truck, 745 Olive Drive

Q: ______________________________________________________________________
A: ______________________________________________________________________

5. your sister, work

Q: ______________________________________________________________________
A: ______________________________________________________________________

6. grandma, downtown
Q: ______________________________________________________________________
A: ______________________________________________________________________

7. taxi, City Hall

Q: _____________________________________________________________________
A: _____________________________________________________________________

8. Pamela, airport
Q: _____________________________________________________________________
A: _____________________________________________________________________

9. her friends, bank

Q: _____________________________________________________________________
A: _____________________________________________________________________

Exercise 9.6
Read the passage below and decide if going, going to, or going to the should be used in the blank spaces.
If going is used leave the space blank.

It’s a very busy day for the residents of the Hillside retirement home. Many of them are
leaving the home for short excursions. Mr. Williams is going __________ corner convenience
store to buy a magazine. Mr. and Mrs. Dupree are going __________ downtown to do some
shopping. The Lim’s are going __________ Phoenix to visit their grandchildren. Miss Song is
going __________ park for her morning constitutional. Mr. Franklin and Mr. Lee are going to
________ Denny’s for breakfast. Mrs. Park is just going __________ outside to the back yard
for some sun. Mrs. Elliot is going __________dentist because she has a toothache.

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Chapter 9 Writing in the Simple Present Tense

Exercise 9.7
Rewrite the paragraph on the following page on a separate sheet of paper, changing Allison and her
husband to Allison and write the correct form of the verb so that it has subject-verb agreement.

Allison and her husband Patrick really enjoy grocery shopping. They look forward to it
all week. Before they actually go, they have to prepare. First, they sit down and decide on a
menu for the week. After that, they list all the items and ingredients they will need to cook
the food on the menu. Once the list is completed, Allison and Patrick do a thorough search
of their cupboards and make another list of the things they do not have. Then they do another
search for the non-food items that they need: like toothpaste, soap, and furniture polish. With
the shopping list in hand, they head out to the local supermarket. Their method of shopping is
also planned and organized. They always go down the canned and dry goods aisles first. After
that, they go to the meat and vegetable sections. Finally, they load up the shopping cart with all
the frozen food items. When they have everything on the list they go directly to the shortest
checkout line, unload the cart, pay for it, and drive back home as quickly as possible, especially
in the summer. They hurry because they hate it when the frozen food begins to thaw before they
can get it in the freezer, especially the ice cream. Allison and Patrick really like to grocery shop,
but they enjoy eating even more.

Using Count and Non-count Nouns

Count nouns are things that can be counted, such as books, trains, and elephants.

Non-count nouns are things that can’t be counted (such as water, gold, or salt) or are things that name
qualities or abstract ideas (courage, peace, or information).

Spelling changes are required to make count nouns plural (add an -s or –es). Non-count nouns do not
have a plural form, they are always written in the singular.

Look at some of these common non-count nouns.

Concrete Items Abstraction Concepts

silver luggage ham assistance luck
cola furniture pollution data peace
water clothing pepper beauty happiness
air jewelry machinery thirst love
paper money traffic intelligence bravery
wood mail lettuce
grease rubbish

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Chapter 9 Writing in the Simple Present Tense

Exercise 9.8
In the paragraph below, decide whether the noun is a count or non-count noun. Add the correct plural end-
ing to the count nouns, but leave the non-count nouns as they are. Some of the words may require spell-
ing changes.

Going on a camping and fishing trip requires a lot of preparation. After deciding where
you are going, you need to decide what to take. Here are some suggestions. In terms of
camping equipment, you will need a tent, sleeping bag ___ for all camper___, a couple of
flashlight___ or lanterns___ , a grill to cook on over a fire or a camp stove, a couple of
box___ of match___, and a portable toilet. The fishing equipment should include at least two
or three fishing pole___ (just in case), fishing tackle___, and several different kind___ of
bait___. Of course, cooking utensil___ are a must. Include in your supply___ several pot___
and pan___ of various size___, a couple set___ of knife___, spoon___, and fork___, two or
three glass___ or cup___. Make sure you have appropriate attire. For those cool night___, you
need some long pant___, and a couple of sweater___ or sweat shirt___. Short___ and
tee-shirt___ will be needed for the warm day___. And don’t forget several pair___ of sock___
and underwear___. In case it rains, make sure you have food that doesn’t require cooking. You
might consider several can___ of tuna___, two or more loaf___ of bread___, a couple of
box___ of cracker___, peanut butter and jelly, several kind___ of fruit___, and of course
marshmallow___. Personal hygiene supply___ must include a toothbrush, a couple of
bar___ of soap___, some wash cloth___ and towel___, and the all important five or six
roll___ of toilet paper___.

Exercise 9.9
Using the non-count nouns below, write your own sentences. First, write two short simple sentences
using the same word twice. Then write another sentences combining the two sentences into one that is
more interesting. Write your sentences on a separate sheet of paper.

Example: Candy is my favorite food.

I buy candy every day at the store.
I buy candy every day at the store because it is my favorite food.

Silver Grease Rubbish

Smog Golf Hatred

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Chapter 10 Writing in the Present Progressive Tense

The present progressive tense is used to write or talk about things that are happening as one speaks. The
present progressive tense is formed by using forms of be (is, am, are) + verb + -ing ending.

What are you doing? I’m reading a book.

What are your brothers doing? They are fixing the car.
What is the professor doing? He’s giving a lecture on dinosaurs.
What is Joanne doing this semester? She is studying in Europe.

Spelling Rules
When using the –ing form of the word, spelling changes may be required. Follow the spelling change
rules below.

A) For words ending in a single -e drop the -e and add -ing.

bake à baking smile à smiling

B) Words that and in –ee do not follow this rule.

decree à decreeing agree à agreeing

C) For one syllable words, when the word ends in a vowel and consonant, (except h, w, x, y) double
the final consonant and then add -ing.

bat à batting run à running

D) When the word ends in two vowels and a consonant, do not double the final consonant before
adding the -ing.

meet à meeting bleat à bleating

E) For two syllables words that end in a single vowel and a consonant: When the first syllable is
stressed, do not double the final consonant.

(CA • ter) à catering (BIC • ker) à bickering

F) For two syllable words, when the second syllable is stressed, double the final consonant and
add -ing. (except for words ending in h, w, x, y).

(re • FER) à referring (re • FIT) à refitting

G) For the few words that end in -ie, drop the -ie and change to -y and then add -ing.

tie à tying vie à vying

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Chapter 10 Writing in the Present Progressive Tense

Exercise 10.1
Look at the picture above and answer the questions that follow. Remember, to use complete sentences in
your answers and that when describing pictures the present continuous should be used.

1. What are the people eating?

__________________________________________________________________________

2. What do you think the people on the bench are doing?

__________________________________________________________________________

3. What is the man wearing?

__________________________________________________________________________

4. What is the woman sitting between the two kids holding?

_________________________________________________________________________

5. What are the man and woman on the right looking at?
_________________________________________________________________________

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Chapter 10 Writing in the Present Progressive Tense

Exercise 10.2
Look at the picture below and write present progressive sentences on a separate sheet of paper to
describe what is happening in it.

Exercise 10.3
What are the members of your family doing right now? If you are not sure use your imagination and make
something up. Include in your paragraph what they are doing, where they are, and whom they are with.
Remember that the present continuous tense is used when describing actions as one speaks or writes.
Write the paragraph on a separate sheet of paper.

Exercise 10.4
Look at the picture below and write a paragraph (on a separate sheet of paper) about it. Use the present
continuous to describe the action depicted in the picture and use prepositions of location to tell where
things and people are in the picture. Try to write fairly long sentences, joining simple sentences together
to make the passage more interesting to read

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Chapter 11 Writing in the Past Tense

Use the simple present tense to talk or write about actions, events, or states of being that were started
and completed in the past. The simple past tense is formed by using the verb with an -ed ending for
regular verbs or the past tense form of irregular verbs.

Irregular Past Tense Verbs

English has many irregular verbs. These verbs do not follow the rule of adding an -ed to the end of the
word to form the past or perfect tense. Unfortunately, the past tense form of these words must be
memorized by the learner. See the appendix for a complete list of the irregular verbs.

Follow the spelling changes below when forming the past tense of regular verbs.

a) For words that end in a consonant and e add -d.

Bake à baked rotate à rotated

B) for one syllable words that end in a vowel and a consonant double the ending consonant and
add –ed.
trap à trapped stab à stabbed

c) For words that end in two consonants add -ed.

talk à talked consent à consented

D) For words that end in two vowels and a consonant add -ed.
plead à pleaded braid à braided

e) For words that end in a consonant and y, change the -y to -i and add -ed.
steady à steadied carry à carried

f) For words ending in a vowel and y add -ed.

pray à prayed betray à betrayed

g) For two syllable words that end in a single vowel and consonant:

If the first syllable is stressed add -ed.

open à opened cancel à canceled
(O · pen) (CAN · cel)

If the second syllable is stressed, double the last consonant (except h, w, x, y) and add -ed.
regret à regretted permit à permitted
(re · GRET) (per · MIT)

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Chapter 11 Writing in the Past Tense

Read the following passage below note the underlined past tense verbs.

Two weeks ago Miss Jackson traveled to Miami, Florida on an important business trip.
Before the trip, she completed a twelve page report which summarized her company’s findings
of an investigation that was completed for the clients. Next, she compiled a short slide show,
which visually presented the steps that the prospective clients should take to ensure maximum
benefit. The meeting was a big success. Miss Jackson succeeded in landing the largest ac
count ever for her firm.

Exercise 11.1
When you write about things in the past, most of the sentences will be in the simple past tense. Fill in the
blanks with the correct form of the past tense verb of the word in parenthesis.

Like most teenagers, high school for me __________ (have) its good points and bad points.
I usually __________ (spend) time with five close friends, all of us were members of the marching
band. We __________ (have) a great time during football season, going to all the games and
generally causing the minor problems that teenage boys tend to cause. We frequently __________
(play) basketball and __________ (cruise) the main streets in one or another’s car at least three
times a week. Being extremely shy during high school, cruising in search of pretty girls to talk to
__________ (be) not usually very successful, but it __________ (be) challenging and fun. After
school I generally ______________ (go) to work at a part time job. Although the job __________
(do) not pay well, I __________ (like) it, because I almost always __________ (have) spending
money. I never __________ (consider) myself very intelligent in high school, although I
__________ (make) average or above average grades. Looking back, studying more would have
__________ (help). My relationship with my family __________ (be) typical of most families at that
time. I seldom __________ (talk) to my parents about anything important; they __________ (be),
after all, old-fashioned and I, being young, __________ (have) all the answers. I __________
(tend) to ignore my youngest and oldest sisters, but __________ (argue) and __________ (fight)
almost daily with my middle sister. High school __________ (have) its bad times, but most of the
time it __________(be) fun and I remember it fondly.

Exercise 11.2
Rewrite the paragraph below on a separate sheet of paper, changing all necessary sentences to the past
tense.

Thomas P. O’Brian is a recluse and lives alone in a log cabin in the pristine grandeur
of the Rocky Mountains. Although he has no hectic schedule like his former associates in the
big city, he has a full and productive day. Right after breakfast, which is sunrise for Thomas, he
treks into the surrounding woods in search of his dinner. He is an avid hunter. He uses only a
bow and arrow when hunting for a variety of small animals and birds, such as rabbits, possums,
ducks, and pheasants. During season he also hunts deer and elk. Once he has dinner bagged,

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Chapter 11 Writing in the Past Tense

he goes fishing for lunch. He fishes for rainbow trout in a stream near the cabin. Depending
on his luck, gathering the entrees for the day takes two to four hours. After hunting and fishing,
he tends to his small garden. The garden contains potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, corn, peppers,
carrots, garlic, onions, peas, strawberries, and blueberries. He weeds it, picks the items he will
need for the day, and if necessary, waters it. For his daily exercise regime, he chops and hauls
firewood back to the cabin. Once all the required chores are completed, he relaxes. He
frequently takes a nap in a hammock under the cool of the pines. Sometimes he takes slow,
leisurely walks deep into the woods to admire the beauty nature has to offer. After a hardy
dinner and a cup or two of home made brew, he types away at the great American novel he is
writing. And every night before retiring, he thanks God for the serene and unfettered life he
now lives.

Time Ordered Paragraphs

There are several ways to write the order of sentences in a paragraph. The method used depends on the
writer’s purpose. In the above paragraph, time order was used. In a time ordered paragraph, sentences
are written according to the order of the events that happened. In order to help the reader understand the
sequence of events in a paragraph sequence words are used. Some common sequence words are:

first second third

then after (that) next
last before (that) finally

Exercise 11.3
In the paragraph below, fill in the blanks with the correct form of the past tense verb of the word in
parenthesis and underline the sequence words in the paragraph.

Last summer, I __________ (decide) to do a little fix up work on my apartment during

vacation. First, I ________ (clean) and __________ (scrape) the walls and ceilings of the front
and back veranda’s. When that _____ __________ (be complete), the walls _____
__________ (be paint) in ivory colored enamel. Then I ________ (re-caulk) the bathroom tiles
and __________ (install) a new medicine cabinet and light fixture. Next, I __________ (put) up
new wallpaper in the living room and kitchen. Since the new wallpaper __________ (clash) with
the draperies, I __________ (purchase) new curtains for the living room and __________ (hang)
them. After that, I __________ (lay) new carpeting in the living room and bedroom. Before making
the purchase of the carpet, I __________ (visit) several carpet stores and __________ (look)
at dozens of carpet swatches before deciding on just the right one. Doing all this work
___________ (is) a little expensive, but my apartment looks great now.

Exercise 11.4
Write a time order paragraph on a separate sheet of paper describing the things you did to prepare for the
beginning of the semester. Be sure to use sequence words, the past tense, and correct articles.

Exercise 11.5
Write a paragraph on a separate sheet of paper about what you did during your last vacation. Use time
order organization in the paragraph and be sure to use sequence words.

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Chapter 12 Writing in the Future Tense

The future simple tense is formed by using will + verb or going to + verb. The simple future tense is used
when talking or writing about actions or events that will occur in the future.

The following guidelines can be followed to determine if will or be going to is used to express the future
events.

Use be going to

1) to make a prediction based on present evidence

From the look of the clouds, it is going to rain.
2) to express a decision about the future
I am going to attend graduate school next year.

Use will
1) to express a possible plan before you have made a decision
Beth will probably go to France for vacation.

2) to express a willingness to do something or a promise of action

Samuel will bring the cake for the party.

3) to state a future fact

Elliot will be 69 next year.

4) to make a prediction based on knowledge or opinion

I think the economy will improve

Notice that the be going to structure is formed by using the correct to be verb + going
+ the infinitive. The infinitive is formed with to + the base form of the verb.

I am going to sleep.
He is going to swim.
You are going to study.

Exercise 12.1
Using the guidelines from above, fill in the blanks with the correct form of the future: be going to or will.

1. My Jones’ arthritis is aching more than usual, he thinks it _________ snow.

2. If Soo Jin saves enough money this year, she ________ go to Hawaii on vacation.

3. Mr. Chang _________________ marry his college sweetheart next spring.

4. Because Miss Kim promised her mother, she __________________ practice the piano every day
after school.

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Chapter 12 Writing in the Future Tense

5. Next January my parents _________________ their 50th anniversary.

6. It is the opinion of the country’s economic minister that the economy ___________ continue to
stagnant for the next three quarters.

7. Kent ____________ probably major in archeology in college.

8. America _____________ 300 years old in 2076.

9. The company ________________ hire 300 employees at its new plant in Singapore.

10. Many scientist believe that man _______________ colonize the moon before the end of
the century.

11. According to the most recent scientific studies, the pollution problem facing the planet
______________ worse before it gets better.

12. Ms. Choi _____________ lend her sister money for a new car.

Exercise 12.2
Write 4 sentences about your future plans using the be going to structure.

1. Family (marriage, children, etc.)

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

2. Work (job, salary, city, etc.)

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

3. Interests (hobbies, travel, knowledge)

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

4. Health (diet, exercise, etc.)

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 12.3
Rearrange the following sentences into a logical order and write a paragraph (on a separate sheet of
paper) about life in the future.

1. World hungry no longer exists due to the development of genetic engineering.

2. The world is a much nicer place to live in.
3. Food crops are grown that are more resistant to disease, yield more per acre, and thrive on
less water.

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Chapter 12 Writing in the Future Tense

4. Illiteracy has been wiped out as nations have made quality of education a top priority.
5. Advances in medicine have eliminated many diseases.
6. All citizens of all countries are offered free education.
7. Air pollution no longer plagues the cities of the earth.
8. Factories, homes, and businesses obtain their electrical power from solar energy, wind, and
geothermal sources.
9. Mankind is happier, healthier, more productive, and living in peace and harmony other.
10. Technological development has eliminated the reliance on fossil fuels as a form of energy, the
major source of pollution.
11. Cars run on pollution free solar energy.

Exercise 12.4
Listed below is the itinerary for I. M. DeMan, a presidential candidate.

Using the information provided, write a paragraph (on a separate sheet of paper) for a newspaper
article detailing his schedule for next week. Under the heading Group is the group of people he will be
addressing. The topic of the speech he will be giving is under Topic.

Day and Time City Group Topic

Monday, 3:30 Kansas City Citizens for Democracy Jobs

Tuesday, 11:00 Chicago Chicago Police Department Crime Prevention

Tuesday, 3:00 Dallas Better Business Bureau Economic Stimulation

Wednesday, 6:30 Miami Coalition of Senior Citizens Aging and Health Care

Thursday, 10:00 Denver Sierra Club Environmental Issues

Thursday, 7:30 San Diego Fund raising dinner Home security

Friday, 4:00 Portland Print Media Association Responsible Reporting

Saturday, 12:00 Philadelphia Labor Partnership of America The Right to Work

Exercise 12.5
Write a short paragraph on a separate sheet of paper about you plans for your country’s next national
holiday. Provide details about where you will be, who with, and what you will do in the paragraph.

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Chapter 13 Using Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe nouns or pronouns. If a noun is described with two or more adjectives,
the adjectives must be in the correct order. Note the order of the adjective below.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Number size/length opinion shape/width age color nationality material

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
The two small, beautiful, oval, ancient, red, Chinese porcelain vases are priceless.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Three large, ugly, oblong, million year old, brown, North American dinosaur fossils
were discovered in Wyoming.

Most sentences would not contain all the different kinds of adjectives in them. Using too many adjectives
may make reading confusing. Most sentences would have two, or at the most, three adjectives.
Regardless of the number of adjectives, the order of them should be maintained in the sentence.

Note: Size/length (#2) and opinion (#3) are often used in reverse order, without any serious
breach of grammatical rules. So you may frequently hear or read an opinion before a size/length
adjective.

My uncle lives in a large beautiful mansion.

My uncle lives in a beautiful large mansion.

Exercise 13.1
Read the following paragraph and circle the adjectives and underline the nouns that they modify.
Indicate the kind of adjective each is by numbering them (1 to 8) as above.

Jason is getting ready for the beginning of the semester and wants to go
shopping to buy school supplies. He needs numerous items. He wants to get
a large, plastic notebook. He also needs a dozen number 2 lead pencils and a
set of various colored felt-tip pens. For his art class, he will get a ream of
multi-colored paper and a new 16-inch wooden ruler. A few weeks ago, he
purchased a new, pocket-sized calculator for his math class. He will buy 6 AAA
alkaline batteries for it. The numerous purchases will be a little pricey, but Jason
wants to be well prepared on the first day of sixth grade.

Exercise 13.2
Make sentences, using the words below. Be sure to use the rules for ordering adjectives in a sentence.

1. old book interesting

_____________________________________________________________________________

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2. wooden oar long blue

_____________________________________________________________________________

3. Persian white rug round

____________________________________________________________________________

4. Housewife American middle-aged boring plump

___________________________________________________________________________

5. straight long hair blond

___________________________________________________________________________

6. beautiful silver chalice Chinese

___________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 13.3
Read the paragraph below and fill in the blanks with some of your own adjectives. Be sure to put the
adjectives in the correct order.

Dr. Park Song Bum is the ________________ _________________ gentleman standing

at the podium. Dr. Park has _________________ ______________ eyes and a
_________________ ________________ smile. His ___________ _____________
_________ hair is tied in a __________ ____________ __________ tail. His upper lip is
adorned with a _________, _________, ___________ mustache. Professor Park always
wears the same ________________ _________________. He is dressed, as usual, in a
________, ________, _________, ___________ ___________suit. His ______________,
_____________ ___________ ______________ ____________shirt sets of the _________
_________ _________ ________ ________ ________ tie. Although Professor Park is in his
middle seventies, the _________________ ________________ schedule that he maintains
would be a challenge for even for ________ _____________ professors half his age.

Adjectives after Verbs of Perception

Some adjectives are used to describe our perception of things - how they look, feel, taste, sound, or smell.
These adjectives are used after verbs and describe how things appear to our senses. Some common
perception verbs that require an adjective are look, seem, appear, feel, taste, sound, and smell.

Soo Hyun seems sleepy.

Doris and Tina sound depressed.
Chocolate ice cream tastes delicious.

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Exercise 13.4
Write sentences using these perception verbs- look, see, taste, feel, sound, smell, and appear.

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

Adverbs after Other Verbs

Adverbs are also words that can be used to describe people. Adverbs are words or groups of words that
describe or add meaning to verbs, adjectives, adverbs, or a sentence. Adverbs are usually placed after
the verb.

Harry blinks uncontrollably when he talks in public.

Jose listens reluctantly to his father’s advice.

Exercise 13.5
Read the following description of a small child and insert appropriate adjectives or adverbs in the blanks in
order to complete the logical sense of the sentence. Be sure to use the correct form of the word.

My nephew is very __________ and ________, but he is a hand full. He has

____________ energy and is in __________ motion. This __________ drives his
parents stark raving mad. He can move so ____________ from room to room in
their large two-story house that it is ______________ impossible for the ____________
parents to know his exact whereabouts at all times. One minute he can be playing
__________ with his favorite toys in his bedroom and the next minute he can be
outside in the back yard __________ demolishing his mothers rose garden. Even in
sleep he isn’t still. He tosses and turns __________ throughout the night. Fortunately
for his stressed parents he sleeps an __________ long time for a child his age. It is
the only time they have for ____________ respite.

Gerunds and Infinitives to Express Likes and Dislikes

When describing people, comments about their likes and dislikes are common. Some common verbs that
can indicate a persons likes and dislikes are enjoy, dislike, don’t/doesn’t mind, love, hate, and can't stand .

The gerund or infinitive form can be used when describing someone’s likes and dislikes

Gerunds have the form of the present participle (eat + ing) that act like nouns, which describe an

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Chapter 13 Using Adjectives

action or experience.
Infinitives are to + the base form of the verb (to eat) and can also act as nouns to describe action.

Joon ho likes to play soccer on the weekends. OR

Joon ho likes playing soccer on the weekends.

His brother loves playing chess on rainy days. OR

His brother loves to play chess on rainy days.

Other common verbs that are followed by either an infinitive or a gerund are: begin, start, continue, bear,
remember, forget, regret, and try.

Common words that can only be followed by an infinitive include: hope, plan, intend, decide, promise,
agree, offer, refuse, seem, appear, pretend, ask, expect, would like, want, and, want.

I promised to wash the dishes before my mother returned.

Mr. Elliot refused to give his employees a raise.

Exercise 13.6
Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph by using the correct form of the gerund or infinitive of the word
in parenthesis.

Kelly is very busy in her new job as the assistant manager. She has many duties,
some good and some bad. She really enjoys (talk) ____________ to customers and
suppliers on the telephone. She is a slow and careless typist, so she really hates
(complete) _____________ the lengthy production reports that are required daily. Since
Kelly is a little nosy, she really likes (enter) _______________ payroll data in the
computer to see how much money other people are making. Unfortunately, there is a
lot of over time on the job and Kelly can’t stand (stay) _____________ past 5:00. One
of her duties that she finds really boring is sitting in on various meetings, although she
doesn’t mind (dictate) _____________ the minutes for them. Even though this is her first
management job, she relishes (supervise) _______________ the people under her. The
best part of the job is break time, because she loves (gossip) __________________ and
fraternizing with her co-workers.

Exercise 13.7
Read the paragraph below and correct the errors with adjectives, adverbs, gerunds, or infinitives. Rewrite
the paragraph on a separate sheet of paper after making the corrections.

Allen’s best friend in the whole world was his dog, Fred. Fred was a great dog.
He weighed about 35 pounds and had brown shaggy fur, with patches on black on
his paws and neck. With his long lean legs, he stood about 2 feet tall. His ears
always stood up and his long power tail was constant wagging. As a puppy, he did
what all puppies do, chewed things- like Allen’s his shoes, Allen’s plants, Allen’s
furniture, and even Allen’s cat. . He loved to playing in water. Whenever Allen
watered the yard, Fred would jump up and try bite into the stream of water that

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Chapter 13 Using Adjectives

came out of the hose. It was hilarious watching. Fred also had a penchant for sitting
on furniture like a human. He would place his front paws on the floor and sit with
his butt on the sofa, his hind legs dangling over the front of the sofa. It was an
amazingly thing to see. He routinely jumped over the three and a half foot barbed
wire fence around Allen’s yard and joyous roamed the neighbor, usually getting
into some sort of trouble along the way. At times Fred was difficulty and expensive,
but Allen really misses him.

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Chapter 14 Describing People

Different verb forms are used when describing someone. The be verbs (is, am, are) are used to describe
states or conditions (he’s a man, he’s fat). The possessive verbs (has or have) are used to describe
characteristics that people possess (he has blue eyes, she has red hair). The present continuous verb
forms (is/am/are + verb + ing) are used when describing the clothes a person is wearing at the moment
(she is wearing a blue dress, he is wearing a hat).

Read the description of Phil below. Note the different verb forms used in the description.

Phil is a short man in his forties. He’s skinny and has red hair.
He is wearing a light green shirt, dark green overalls, and boots.

Phil Edgar Alice Beth

Exercise 14.1
Write descriptions for the other people shown above.

A. Edgar is ____________________________________________________________________
He has _____________________________________________________________________
He is wearing ________________________________________________________________

B. Alice is _____________________________________________________________________
She has _________________________________________________________________
She is wearing ____________________________________________________________

C. Beth is ____________________________________________________________________
She has ________________________________________________________________
She is wearing ___________________________________________________________

Exercise 14.2
Write two more descriptions of people in your class.

1. ___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

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Chapter 14 Describing People

2. _____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

Describing Character and Personality

There are countless words that can be used in describing a person’s character and personality. Below is a
list of commonly used adjectives.

Do you know the opposites of these words?

undependable pessimistic honest gullible

jovial unhelpful stingy grouchy
outgoing depressed optimistic reliable
ill tempered suspicious fun loving generous
demure obliging trusting untrustworthy
calm easy going happy sad

Exercise 14.3
Using some of the words above, fill in the blanks with the correct word.

1. Hyun joo is a very _________ person, he believes everything people tell him.
2. Amy is incredibly _________, she even has trouble thinking of things to say to her grandma.
3. Bob is extremely __________, if he says he will do something, it will always get done.
4. A ___________ thinks that a glass is half full, a __________ thinks that a glass is half empty.
5. My cousin Vinnie is so __________, he is the life of any party and he can strike up a lively
conversation even with a total stranger.
6. Miss Han seems really _______________, she has been moping around the dorm for a week
with tears in her eyes and not talking to anyone.
7. A paranoid person is always ___________, they think that every one is out to get them.
8. Old Mr. Lee is so ______________, yesterday he even yelled at my cat for walking in his yard.

Exercise 14.4
Make sentences describing the characteristics and personality of people you know, using the words above
(or use your own).

1. _____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

2. ____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

3. ____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

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Chapter 14 Describing People

Organizing Sentences in Paragraphs

One way of organizing ideas when describing a person is to group similar ideas together. The details of
the person’s physical description should be grouped together. Do the same thing for descriptions of
personalities, likes and dislikes, education and occupation. The order of the grouping can vary,
depending on your purpose for the description.

Read the following passage and not how the sentences are grouped.

The police have issued a state-wide alert for N.O. Goode, a felon who escaped from
the county jail last night. Mr. Goode, age 35, is six feet, seven inches tall and weights 205
pounds. He has a long black beard and mustache, green eyes, and a tattoo of a snake on the
left side of his neck. He has a well developed musculature, similar to Arnold Schwarzenegger
in his prime. He was last seen wearing a pea green prison-issued jumpsuit. Mr. Goode was
convicted of robbery, assault and battery, and resisting arrest, so police consider him to be
extremely dangerous. A prison counselor described Mr. Goode as a depraved, cunning
psychopath without a shred of moral decency. Because of his love of Mexican food and
culture, he is believed to be heading south for the Mexican border. Anyone spotting this
deranged maniac should contact the local authorities immediately.

Exercise 14.5
Jonathan and Rebecca have just completed an application for a dating service. Using the information
provided, write a short paragraph on a separate sheet of paper that describes them.

Jonathon
Age: 27
Education: college graduate, B.A.
Profession: engineer
Physical appearance: 6’ 2”, average weight, blue eyes, brown hair, mustache
Hobbies: swimming, chess
Dislikes: sushi, tattoos
Ideal mate: independent, intelligent, fun loving
Perfect date: a candlelit dinner, an outing to the theater, a ride in the park by
a horse-drawn wagon
Rebecca
Age: 24
Profession: advertising executive
Education: college graduate, MA.
Physical appearance: 5’ 5”, average weight, green eyes, curly blond hair, dimples
Hobbies: hiking, poker
Dislikes: smoking, cheap wine
Ideal mate: physically active, financially secure, communicative
Perfect date: a night at the symphony, moonlight dinner on a yacht, traveling
in a chauffeured limousine

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Exercise 14.6
Your are going to write a short biography for Jessica Longly, recently chosen as the woman of the year in
her community. You have interviewed Jessica and taken the following notes. Arrange the notes in a
logical manner and using the topic sentence below write a paragraph about her on a separate sheet of
paper. Ideas can also be combined by using and, but, so, and because.

This year’s recipient of the city’s Woman of the Year award goes to the well know and respected
community figure Jessica Longly.

Moved to community 10 years ago

Hobbies are cooking, canoeing, and ball room dancing
Chairman of local United Way (a volunteer position)
Volunteer at shelters for the homeless and battered wives
Married with two children: Mathew (age 9), Sarah (age 13)
Member of the city’s symphony (plays flute)
Main reason receiving award- her continuing and long lasting service to the community
Education- M.A. in social services from UCLA
Personality: outgoing, confident, inspirational
Active member of the PTA
Job: Director of local office of state social services
Husband: local doctor at country hospital

Exercise 14.7
You are chairman of an exclusive country club. You must write a report (on a separate sheet of paper)
describing a recent applicant, Nathan Holstrum, for the selection committee. This elite club only accepts
persons of dignity and refined tastes, and with 6 figure incomes.

Use the notes and topic sentence below in your report. When writing your report, be sure to group
similar ideas and details together. Use the words and, also, but, so, or because to combine similar
ideas.

Mr. Holstrum would be a unsuitable candidate for membership into the Blue Bloods Country Club.

Job- banker Age- 45

Education: M.A., financial management
Marital status: divorced, he has custody of 7 children
Personality: very opinionated, verbally loud and argumentative during interview,
boastful of his accomplishments
Net worth: $4.5 million Employer: National Bank
Description: eyes- black hair- black, balding on top
height- 5’ 1” weight- 325 pounds
other: pencil thin mustache, mole on tip of nose
Hobbies: collecting cheap and tacky Elvis memorabilia
University attended: San Jose State
Other impressions: dressed in bright green pants, colored Hawaiian shirt (no tie), and old tennis
shoes with purple socks for interview

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Chapter 15 Describing Places

When writing a paragraph describing things such as a picture or scenery, it is often effective to first name
the place being referred to. Next provide general information that describes the whole picture or
panoramic view. After the general description, write several more sentences, giving specific information
that describes smaller parts of the picture or scene. In the last sentence write what you think or feel about
it.

Exercise 15.1
Look at the picture below and read the paragraph describing it. Which sentence(s) give general
information? Which sentence(s) give specific information?

It’s a pretty quiet day in China Town. Usually it is very busy, but this
morning only a few people are out and about. Mr. Chan is riding his
bike riding to work. Mr. Lee is going to the fish market, pulling his
shopping cart behind him. Mrs. Chang is heading home with a heavy
shopping bag. Mr. and Mrs. Lu are walking down the street window
shopping. It’s an unusual day for a Monday morning in China Town.

1. What is the function of the first sentence? __________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

2. What is the function of the second sentence? ______________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

3. What is the function of the last sentence? _________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

4. What is the function of the remaining sentences? __________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Prepositional Phrases

Words that show the relationship to other nouns in time and space are called prepositions. Prepositional
phrases are phrases that begin with a preposition and contain a noun.

There are many students in the classroom.

On the left of the desk is a filing cabinet.

Below are some common prepositions used when describing a picture.

in next to under to the right behind

on beside below to the left in front of
at opposite above in the middle in back of
on top of inside of

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Exercise 15.2
Read the paragraph below and underline the prepositional phrases.

The living room in my house is a very nice room. Against the east wall is a sofa
and chair. There is a small coffee table between the chair and sofa. Above the sofa is
a large picture of the Grand Canyon. In front of the sofa is another, longer coffee table.
In the southwest corner of the room there is a small fish tank, with brightly colored topical
fish in it. An entertainment center is against the west wall. A large-32 inch TV is in the
middle of the entertainment center. To the left of the TV, on two separate shelves, is a
VTR and DVD player. The DVD player is on the top shelve. A stereo and cable TV box
is to the right of the TV. The cable TV box is on a shelf under the stereo. Two large speakers
are on the ends of the entertainment center. The living room is a special place in my
house because it is a place to relax and unwind after a hard days work.

Exercise 15.3
Look at the picture below and write a paragraph (on a separate sheet of paper) describing it. Remember
to include a topic sentence, a sentence that provides an overview, several sentences that provide greater
detail, and a final sentence that indicates your opinion of the picture.

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Chapter 15 Describing Places

Exercise 15.4
Look at the picture on the next page and write a paragraph (on a separate sheet of paper) about the
location of things in the picture, using prepositions of location.

Exercise 15.5
Read the paragraph below. Several of the sentences can be joined together to improve their logical
connection and to make it more interesting to read. Rewrite the paragraph on a separate sheet of paper,
combining some of the sentences to make the passage more interesting to read.

Hot air ballooning can be fun. It is a interesting way to spend a few hours on
a weekend. A typical ride last between one and two hours. Plan on another one to
two hours for preparation before the flight and pick up time after touch down. Most
ballooning is done in the early morning or a dusk. There is less wind during these
times. Also balloons have better lift in cooler temperatures. Wear comfortable
clothing and flat soled shoes. What one would wear for a walk is appropriate. A
sweater or light jacket may be needed in fall and spring. It is colder at higher
altitudes. For every 1000 feet in altitude the temperature is 3.5 degrees cooler
than ground temperature. Typical altitudes for a balloon ride is about 3000 feet.
A balloon goes where the wind takes it. A pilot can control the direction of the flight
by flying at different altitudes. At different altitudes the wind blows in different
directions. A chase crew communicates with the pilot during the flight so they can
pick up the passengers an return them to the launching site. Radios are used for
this. Don’t worry about becoming air sick, like in an airplane. There is no turbulence.
The flight is smooth. One last thing– don’t forget a camera. You can get great
panoramic shots.

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Chapter 15 Describing Places

Describing places is one common writing task. In newspapers and magazines, articles can be found daily
which describe places, such as restaurant reviews and advertisements for tourist attractions.

Place Names

Names of places, like cities and countries, are proper nouns. All proper nouns are capitalized. Many place
names (names of places) require the definite article before them. Study the following rules for the use of
the in place names.

The is used before the names of republics, states, kingdoms, and unions.
the People’s Republic of China the United Emirates
the United Kingdom (the UK) the United States (the US)

The is used before the names of rivers, seas, or oceans.

the Pacific Ocean the Red Sea
the Nile River the Panama Canal

The is used if of is in the middle of the place name.

the Republic of Ireland the Museum of Natural History
the Gulf of Mexico the University of Arizona

The is used with plural names of countries, groups of island, and mountain ranges.
the Netherlands
the Hawaiian Islands (but for an individual island in the group, the is
not used- Oahu and Maui)
the Alps (but for an individual mountain in the range, the is not used- Mount Blanc)

The is used before the name of hotels, theaters, and museums.

The Sheraton (hotel) the Paramount (movie theater)
The Heard Museum the Place Theater (theater)

The is not used before names of countries.

Canada is a large country in North America. (not the Canada)
Bangkok is the capital of Thailand.

The is not used before names of streets, roads, avenues, or squares.

The Majestic Theater is on Lincoln Avenue.
Mr. Wilson lives on Elliot road.
Harvard Square is in Boston.

The is not used before names of airports, parks, and universities (without of in the name).
O’hara Airport Central Park
Harvard University
the University of Southern California

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Chapter 15 Describing Places

Exercise 15.6
Make sentences from the following groups of words, using the in the sentences, if needed. Be sure to use
the correct be verb and that there is subject - verb agreement.

1. Albany capital New York

____________________________________________________________________________

2. Rocky Mountains in northwestern America/Canada

____________________________________________________________________________

3. Atlantic ocean separate U.S.A/Europe

___________________________________________________________________________

4. Nile river in Africa

___________________________________________________________________________

5. Fiji Island northeast of Zealand

___________________________________________________________________________

6. longest river in America Mississippi

___________________________________________________________________________

7. Great Lakes on border America/Canada

___________________________________________________________________________

8. Mount Blanc part of Alps

__________________________________________________________________________

9. Oahu one island Hawaiian Islands

_________________________________________________________________________

10. Ural Mountains in Russia 2500 kilometers long

___________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 15.7
In the exercise below, rewrite these sentences using correct punctuation and capitalization. Begin the
second sentence with transition words such as for example, for instance, or a case in point to connect the
first and second sentences. This presents a clear relationship between the general information in the first
sentence and the more specific information in the second.

Example: California has diverse geographic features.

There are snowcapped mountains flay dry deserts and wide sandy beaches
California has diverse geographic features. For example, there are snowcapped
mountains flay dry deserts and wide sandy beaches.

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Chapter 15 Describing Places

1. sky scrapers abound in new york city

tourists can see the empire state building and the united nations building
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

2. hawaii is well know for its beautiful beaches

waikiki and pipeline beaches are always packed with sun tanned tourists
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

3. breath taking scenic views of nature can be found world wide

the grand canyon in Arizona is one of the most spectacular sights on earth
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

4. the amount of snow that different parts of Arizona receives varies greatly
the northern half can get several feet per year but the southern part receives
virtually none
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

5. spectacular evidence of past civilizations spellbound modern man

the enormity of the sphinx and the pyramids amaze thousands of travelers daily
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

Direction Words
Words which indication direction have noun and adjective forms.

Noun Forms Adjective Forms

north south northern southern

east west eastern western
northeast northwest northwestern northeastern
southeast southwest southwestern southeastern

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Chapter 15 Describing Places

Exercise 15.8
Look at the map on below and write 5 sentences on a separate sheet of paper about the United States
using direction words in the sentences.

Arizona is in the southwestern United States.

Denver is directly south of Cheyenne, Wyoming.

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Chapter 15 Describing Places

Exercise 15.9

Look at the map of Korea below page and write a paragraph on a separate sheet of paper using
direction words and sentences similar to the sentences in the above exercise. Include in your
paragraph names of major cities, rivers, seas in Korea and other countries that are nearby.

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Chapter 16 Writing Instructions

Written instructions can be found just about anywhere. There are written instructions for assembling a
child’s bicycle, for setting up a computer system, for connecting a VTR, and using a pay telephone.
Sentences that give instructions usually begin with the simple form of a verb. The subject you is
understood in an imperative sentence, so it is not always written in the instructions. Here are some
examples of very simple instructions:

Open the box.

Connect the red wire to the green wire
Fold flap A over flap B

If a negative is used, the word don’t comes before the verb.

Don’t adjust the volume Don’t run

Don’t force pegs into the slot

Here are some more examples of instructions for doing different tasks. Note the verbs used.

Using a copy machine

Lift the cover and place the document face down on the glass
Select the size of paper
Enter the number of copies needed
Press the start button

Using a pay telephone

Put in a quarter in the slot
Listen for a dial tone
Enter the number being called
Listen for the ring
Say hello when the party answers

Starting a computer software program (on Windows)

Click the Start bottom in the lower left hand corner
Move the curser to highlight the program wanted
Click on the program and wait until it loads

Exercise 16.1
Use the following verbs to write instructions on how to bake cookies, using the ingredients from a box of
cookie mix.

1) Pour contents 2) Add milk and eggs

3) Mix ingredients 4) Roll dough
5) Cut dough 6) Put on cookie sheet
7) Turn on 8) Cook for

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Chapter 16 Writing Instructions

1) ____________________________________________________________________________
2) ____________________________________________________________________________
3) ____________________________________________________________________________
4) ____________________________________________________________________________
5) ____________________________________________________________________________
6) ___________________________________________________________________________
7) ___________________________________________________________________________
8) ___________________________________________________________________________

Time-order Sequence words

Sequence words are words that are frequently used when giving instructions. These words help the
reader know the sequence of steps to follow for instructions. When the word finally is read, you know that
this is the last step.

Most sequence words are placed at the beginning of a sentence, followed by a comma. The word then is
an exception- it is not followed by a comma.
Some common sequence words are:

First, Before . . . , Next,

Second, After that, During . . .,
Third, When . . ., Then
Next, During..., Finally,

Exercise 16.2
Here are the instructions for making a cheeseburger. Fill in the blanks in the paragraph with an
appropriate sequence words from those listed below. Some of the words may be used more than once.

first then next finally after that

second while when during

Making a cheeseburger at home is fast and easy. ______, take the hamburger meat and
shape it into a thin, round patty about the size of the hamburger bun. ________, place the patty
in a frying pan over medium heat. ________ cooking, flip the patty over every two or three
minutes to ensure that one side doesn’t get burnt. ________ the burger is cooking, cut two
slices of tomato and onion into thin slices, about 1/8 of an inch. ________, remove 2-3 leaves
of lettuce from a head and wash them. ________ _________, spread the condiment (ketchup,
mustard, or mayonnaise) of choice evenly over both sides of the bun. ________ the hamburger
meat is cooked to your taste, place one slice on cheese on top of it and keep over the fire until
the cheese is slightly melted. ________ remove the cheeseburger from the fire and place
it on the bottom bun. ________, place the lettuce, tomato and onion slices on top of the burger.
________, put the remaining bun on top and press down gentle. Bon apatite!

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Chapter 16 Writing Instructions

Exercise 16.3
Below is a list of things people need to do to paint a room in their house.

Arrange the list of instructions in a logical time sequenced order and write a paragraph on a
separate sheet of paper about of instructions for painting a room. As stated above, many instructions
are not complete sentences, the subject is usually implied. However, the sentences in your paragraph
should be complete sentences.

Decide on color to match existing furniture

Go to hardware store and buy paint and other supplies
Scrape and clean walls and ceiling
Repair any holes or cracks in walls and ceiling
Remove furniture in room or drape with drop cloth
Clean up
Put back furnishing
Complete the trim and corners first, then the flat surfaces
Decide on type of paint (enamel or water based) and means of application (brush, roller, or spray)
Start painting
Allow enough time to dry

Exercise 16.4
Below are several topics on how to do something. Choose one of the topics and write a paragraph about it
on a separate sheet of paper. Remember to include a topic sentence and to use sequence words.

How to fail a class

How to cook your favorite dish
How to make a good impression on a first date
How to do laundry
How to change a flat tire
How to reduce monthly expenses
How to get cheat on an exam without getting caught

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Chapter 17 Writing Directions

Writing or giving directions to someone on a street is similar to instructions to do something, in that both
need to have the steps given in the correct sequence. Below are some common verbs and used when
giving street directions.

Verbs
go continue turn
pass take come
walk drive get (on/off)
cross head stay

Exercise 17.1
Fill in the missing verbs in the following paragraph, using the words above. Some of the words above may
be used more than once or not at all, and more than one word could be used in some of the blanks.

To ________ to the Grand Canyon from Casa Grande is very easy. ________
east on Pinal Avenue about 8 miles to I-10. ________ the northbound ramp and ________
toward Phoenix. Continue on I-10 and ________ through the Phoenix metropolitan area and
________ _____ at the I-17 exit and ________ north, to Flagstaff. The distance is
approximately 200 miles. At Flagstaff, ________ off 1-17 and ________ west on Interstate 40,
________ at the Williams/Los Angeles ramp. ________ west about 30 miles to Williams and
________ _____ I-40 and ________ state highway 180 north to Grand Canyon Village, about a
56 mile drive.

* I-10 (I-40) is an abbreviation for Interstate 10, a highway or expressway that crosses states.

Using Prepositions with Directions

Prepositions are words that show the relationship between other words (nouns). The relationships can
relate to place, time, or distance. Here are some common prepositions used when giving street directions.

Place
on at in middle
next to by across from in front of
beside opposite of between from

Direction
up down over under

Distance
for until toward to

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Chapter 17 Writing Directions

Exercise 17.2
Fill in the missing prepositions in the following paragraph.

Getting to my house on foot is very easy and only takes about 25 minutes. ________
the front gate of the school turn ________ and go two blocks ________ the stop sign. At the
stop sign turn ________ and walk about 50 meters ________ the large statue of an elephant.
Just past the statue is a small dirt path ________ the left. Walk down the dirt path about 20
meters ________ you come to a small stream. Turn ________ and follow the stream ________
about 75 meters ________ you come to a small bridge. Go ________ the bridge and walk
straight ________ the road for about 100 meters ________ you run into three houses. My
house is the one ________ the left.

Helpful Hints for Directions

When giving directions two sets of instructions are actually being given. The first set tells where to go, the
second set tells what to do when you get there. For example:

Walk down to Cambell Avenue, then turn left.

Where to go: to Cambell Avenue,
What to do: turn left

Go straight three blocks and cross the bridge.

Where to go: go straight three bocks
What to do: cross the bridge

Another tip when giving directions is to use easily identifiable landmarks. Telling someone to drive north
for 10 minutes is relative. The distance traveled for ten minutes is a considerable different at different
speeds. One person may drive 30 miles an hour, and another at 60 miles an hour. Some common easily
identifiable landmarks in a city include:

a traffic light a t-junction a traffic circle

a football stadium a one-way street a large oak tree
a bridge a stop sign an overpass
an underpass a tall brown building a river

Exercise 17.3
Rewrite these directions on a separate sheet of paper with correct capitalization and punctuation.

take the main doors out of the humanities building and turn right walk straight to the main
road and cross the street walk straight until you come to the bridge spanning the pond on the
left go over the bridge and turn right on the road walk straight between the Art College and the
Science Building until you arrive at the General Studies Building enter the main door of the
building turn left and go up the stairs to the second floor take the corridor to the left to room
222.

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Chapter 17 Writing Directions

Exercise 17.4
Look at the map below and write directions on how to get to the places listed on the map. Start at the X.

Public Library Beauty Shop

City Hall Hilton Hotel
Bill’s Restaurant Blueville Apartment

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Appendix
English has many irregular verbs. These verbs do not follow the rule of adding –ed to the end of the word
to form the past or perfect tense. Unfortunately, the past tense forms of these words must be memorized
by the learner. Below is a partial list of the most common irregular verbs in English.

Present Form Past Form Perfect Form

arise arose arose

be (am, is, are) was/were been

bear bore born
beat beat beat/beaten
become become become
begin began begun
bend bent bent
bet bet bet
bid bid bid
bind bound bound
bite bit bitten
bleed bled bled
blow blown blown
break broke broken
breed bred bred
broadcast broadcast broadcast
bring brought brought
build built built
burst burst burst
buy bought bought

cast cast cast

catch caught caught
cling clung clung
choose chose chosen
come came came
cost cost cost
creep crept crept
cut cut cut

deal dealt dealt

dig dug dug
do did done
draw drew drawn
drink drank drunk
dream dreamed/dreamt dreamed/dreamt
drive drove driven

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Present Form Past Form Perfect Form

eat ate eaten

fall fell fallen

feed fed fed
feel felt felt
fit fit fit
find found found
flee fled fled
fling flung flung
fly flew flown
forbid forbade forbidden
forecast forecast forecast
forget forgot forgotten
forgive forgave forgiven
freeze froze frozen

get got gotten

give gave gave
go went gone
grind ground ground

hang hung/hanged hung/hanged

have/has had had
hear heard heard
hide hid hidden
hit hit hit
hold held held
hurt hurt hurt

keep kept kept

know knew known
lay laid laid
lead led led
learn learned/learnt learned/learnt
leave left left
lend lent lent
let let let
lie lay lain
light lit/lighted lit/lighted
lose lost lost

make made made

mean meant meant
meet met met
mislay mislaid mislaid

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Present Form Past Form Perfect Forms

mistake mistook mistaken

pay paid paid

put put put

quit quit quit

read read read

rid rid rid
ride rode ridden
ring rang rung
rise rose risen
run ran ran

sat said said

see saw saw
seek sought sought
sell sold sold
send sent sent
set set set
sew sewed sewn/sewed
shake shook shaken
shine shone shone
shoot shot shot
show showed shown
shut shut shut
sing sang sung
sink sank sunk
sit sat sat
sleep slept slept
slide slid slid
slit slit slit
speak spoke spoken
spend spent spent
spread spread spread
spin spun spun
spring sprang/sprung sprung
spit spit/spat spit/spat
split split split
stand stood stood
steal stole stolen
stick stuck stuck
strike struck stricken
strive strove striven
sting stung stung

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Present Form Past Form Perfect Forms

sting stank/stunk stunk

swear swore sworn
sweep swept swept
swim swam swum
swing swung swung

take took taken

teach taught taught
tear tore torn
tell told told
think thought thought
throw threw thrown
thrust thrust thrust

understand understood understood

undertake undertook undertaken
uphold upheld upheld
upset upset upset

wake woke/waked woken/waked

wear wore worn
weave wove woven
weep wept wept
win won won
wind wound wound
withdraw withdrew withdrawn
wring wrung wrung
write wrote written

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