CHAPTER

2
CONTENT WORDS
“If language is a flower then without grammar it will not smell.”

- Purushottam Muley

Lesson I

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 Noun

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Nouns are one of the four major word classes along with verbs, adverbs and adjectives and they are
considered to be the largest word classes.

In grammar, the names we give to people and others, to the places they live and to the things that surround
them are called nouns. Similarly, in a sentence, nouns can play multiple roles. It can be a subject, direct object,
indirect object, subject complement, object complement, appositive and eve2 n adjective.

Independently, we will learn all these in this lesson.

Types of Noun

1. Proper noun. It refers only to a single person, place or thing. It always begins with capital letters.
e.g. Cagayan State University
Jane Austen
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

2. Common noun. It refers to general, unspecific categories.

e.g. school
author
president

3. Abstract noun. It names an idea, quality, feeling, condition, concept or theory.

e.g. peace
hope
happiness

4. Concrete noun. It names a tangible thing, either proper or common.

e.g. book
cellphone
lips

5. Count noun. It refers to things that can be counted.

e.g. table
glass
car

6. Mass noun. It refers to things that cannot be counted.

e.g. sand
hair
water

7. Collective noun. It refers to clusters or groups of persons, places or things taken as one.
e.g. constellation - a group of stars
brood - a group of chicken
flock, flight - a group of birds

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 8. Compound noun. It consists of two or three nouns appear together. Usually, compound nouns are formed in
three ways.
e.g. Separated: campus journalism,
hyphenated: commander-in-chief
combined: mailbox

Cases of Noun

The case tells us about the position of that noun in the sentence. In English, there are five cases.

1. Nominative. A noun is said to be in the nominative case if it is the subject of the verb (subject is the person or
the thing who or which carries out the action of the verb in the sentence).
e.g. Hendrick performs well in class.
(Hendrick is a proper noun in nominative case)

The researcher receives novelty award.

(The researcher is a common noun in nominative case)

2. Objective or accusative. A noun is said to be in objective case if it is the direct object of the verbs or if it is
the object of the preposition. (direct object is the person or the thing upon whom or upon which the action of
the verb is carried out).
e.g. We enjoyed your friendship.
(The word “friendship” is in objective case)

This is one of my goals.

(The word “goals” is in objective case and it is the object of the preposition “on”)

3. Dative. A noun is said to be in dative case if it is the indirect object of the verb (indirect object of the verb is
the noun for whom or for which the action of the verb is carried out).
e.g. The English professor gave his students few exercises.
(The word “students” is in dative case and it is the indirect object of the verb “gave”)

He sends mother a flower.

(The word “mother” is in dative)

4. Possessive or Genitive. A noun is said to be in possessive case if it denotes possession or ownership.

e.g. The victor’s lips curled into a smile as he delivered his speech.
(The word “victor’s is in possessive case)

We went to Mico’s home.

(The word “Mico’s” is in possessive case)

5. Vocative. A noun is said to be in vocative case if it is used to call (or to get the attention of) someone.
e.g. Mr. Gregg, clients are waiting for you in the office.
(“Mr. Gregg” is in vocative case)

Genders of Noun

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The gender tells us about the sex of the noun. In grammar, there are four genders.

1. Masculine. A noun is said to be in masculine gender if it refers to a male character.

e.g. hero, rooster, man, bull, actor, lion, king

2. Feminine. A noun is said to be in the feminine gender if it refers to a female member.

e.g. heroine, hen, woman, cow, actress, lioness, queen

3. Common or indefinite. A noun is said to be in common gender if it refers to a member which can be a male
or female.
e.g. teacher, child, leader, candidate, servant, baby, nurse

4. Neuter. A noun is said to be in neuter gender if it refers to a member which is neither a male nor a female.
Normally, nouns referring to lifeless objects are in neuter nouns.
e.g. chair, pen, tree, book, laptop, mountain, cup

Numbers of Noun

There are two numbers in Noun-Number. In grammar, the number refers to the count of a noun or pronoun.

1. Singular. A noun is said to be in singular when we speak about one person and one thing.
e.g. The guard walks within the premises.
A group of fish is called school.
Peace is what we all want.

(In these sentences, the nouns guard, group and peace are all in singular forms)

2. Plural. A noun is said to be in plural form when we speak bout more than one person and one thing.
e.g. The elders deserve respect and love.
Children should be given proper guidance.
Heat the loaves in oven.

(In these sentences, the words elders, children and loaves are all in plural forms)

Pluralization of Nouns

1. Add s directly to the singular form of most nouns.

e.g. bed - beds
car - cars
piano - pianos

2. Add s after ch (k)

e.g. monarch - monarchs
epoch - epochs

3. Add es after ch, z, ss, s. x. sh

e.g. inch - inches
kiss - kisses
quiz - quizzes
bus - buses
box - boxes

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 bush - bushes

4. When word ends in y precede by a consonant, change y to i, and add es

e.g. lady - ladies
story - stories

Add s when y is preceded by a vowel.

e.g. ray - rays
key - keys

5. Change final f to v, and add es.

e.g. loaf - loaves
elf - elves

Exceptions:
e.g. proof - proofs
belief - beliefs
chief - chiefs
mischief - mischiefs
gulf - gulfs
scarf - scarfs (also scarves)

6. Add es when the noun ends in o preceded by a consonant.

e.g. echo - echoes
hero - heroes
veto - vetoes
torpedo - torpedoes

Exceptions:
e.g. piano - pianos
banjo - banjos
photo - photos
kilo - kilos

7. Add s when the noun ends in o preceded by a vowel.

e.g. bamboo - bamboos
trio - trios
barrio - barrios
scenario - scenarios

8. Add either es or s to the following nouns that end in o.

e..g. bravo - bravos. bravoes
cargo - cargos, cargoes
volcano - volcanos, volcanoes
mosquito - mosquitos, mosquitoes

9. Nouns of foreign derivation

These nouns have an English Plural and Foreign plural.

Singular Foreign Plural English Plural

apparatus apparati apparatuses
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 appendix appendices appendixes
curriculum curricula curriculums
fungus fungi funguses
gymnasium gymnasia gymnasiums
memorandum memoranda memorandums
vertex vertices vertexes

The following foreign nouns retain their foreign plural.

addendum - addenda analysis - analyses

agendum - agenda thesis - theses
bacterium - bacteria crisis - crises
datum - data radius - radii
ovum - ova matrix - matrice
larva - larvae phenomenon - phenomena

10. In some common nouns, en is added or the vowel is changed.

e.g. Singular Plural

ox oxen
man men
woman women
foot feet
tooth teeth

Others remain unchanged in the plural.

e.g. sheep - sheep
deer - deer

11. Add s or es to the principal word of the compound noun.

e.g. Singular Plural

sister-in-law sisters-in-law
major general major generals
runner-up runners-up
passer-by passers-by

12. Add ‘s to form the plural of letters, figures and signs.

e.g. Too many s’s; cross out the 3’s and 9’s

13. Some nouns are plural in form and meaning

e.g. scissors
trousers
tweezers

14. Some nouns are plural in form but whose number depends on their meaning.

Singular in meaning: means-method, medium or instrument by which an end may be

accomplished
Plural in meaning: means-disposable resources

Singular in meaning: ethics-philosophy of human conduct

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 Plural in meaning: ethics-principles of right conduct especially with reference to a
specific profession

15. Special nouns

These are nouns that follow a unique way of pluralization.

Nouns that are always plural in form but singular in meaning

e.g. Mathematics, politics, news, statistics, aeronautics, civics, dramatics, measles

Nouns that are always plural because they come in pairs and can be made singular by the use of “a
pair of”.
e.g. scissors, tongs, spectacles (eye glasses), pants

Nouns that have the same singular and plural form.

e.g. sheep – sheep, swine – swine

Nouns that are always singular in form.

e.g. cardboard, chewing gum, help, housing, silverware, chinaware, sportswear,
stationery, underwear, applause, foliage, kin, liver, offspring, talk of the town, dry the
wash, in hot water, glue, gravel, machinery, music, scenery, footwear, bread, fun, blood,
furniture, baggage

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 Lesson 2
Verb

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Verbs are the souls of English sentences, for without a verb, a sentence cannot stand alone.

In school, we have learned that verbs are words or combination of words that expresses action or a state of
being or condition. Similarly, we have known that verb is part of a sentence that tells us what the subject performs.

In this lesson, we will learn more as we will be discussing various features of verbs in terms of its kinds,
properties and moods.

Kinds of Verbs

1. Action Verbs. These are words that express action or possession. Action verbs can either be transitive or
intransitive.

A verb is transitive when the action it expresses is directed toward a person or thing named in the sentence.
The action passes from the doer (subject) to the receiver of the action (objects-direct, indirect)

Direct object receives the action directly from the subject.

e.g. She raises her hand. (direct object – hand)

Indirect object receives the action of a transitive verb indirectly. It names the person (or
thing) to whom (or to what) or for whom (or for what) something is done.
e.g. The English professor teaches learners sentence structures. (indirect object –
learners)

Transitive verb refers to an action which is complete in itself. It does not need an object to receive the action.
e.g. They waited for the bus. (waited for what? no answer)

2. Linking verbs. These verbs do not express action; instead, they link with the subject with the rest of the
sentence. The verb to be is the most common linking verb, but there many others, including all the sense
verbs.
e.g. Jesus is king. (is links Jesus with king, which describes Jesus.

The Forms of Be

Am can be have been

Are could be has been
Is may be had been
Was might be could have been
Were must be may have been
am being shall be might have been
are being should be must have been
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 is being will be shall have been
was being would be should have been
were being would have been will have been

Other Linking Verbs

Appear Feel Look Seem Sound taste

Become Grow Remain Smell Stay turn

3. Helping verbs or auxiliary verbs. These verbs help express the mains verb’s tense, mood or voice.

Tense: He had eaten half of the cake. (past perfect tense)

He was snoring all night. (past progressive tense)
Mood: Do try our sweets. (imperative mood)
Did it go well? (interrogative mood)
Voice: The pizza was eaten by the cat. (passive voice)

The main auxiliary verbs are to be, to have and to do. They appear in the following forms:

To be: am, is, are, was, were being, been, will be

To have: has, have, had, having, will have
To do: does, do, did, will do

There is another kind of auxiliary verb called a modal auxiliary verb (or modal verb). These verbs are can,
could, may might, must, ought to, shall, should, will and would. These verbs never change their forms. They
are combined with other verbs to express ideas such as necessity, possibility, intention and ability.

Necessity: It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.
(Aristotle)
A baby is God’s opinion that life should go on. (Carl Sandburg)
Possibility: If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers. (Charles
Dickens)
It is never too late to be what you might have been. (George Eliot)
Intention: We shall heal our wounds. (Mao Zedong)
Ability: No one can feel as helpless as the owner of a sick gold fish. (Kin
Hubbard)
Well, either side could win it, or it could be a draw. (Ron Atkinson)

*Sometimes, more than one sense is expressed. Here, could expresses both
ability and possibility)

Properties of Verbs

1. Number. It indicates whether the verb is singular or plural.

2. Person. It indicates whether the subject of the verb is first, second or third person and whether the subject is
singular or plural. The verb to be is a good example.

Person Singular Plural

First I am We are
Second You are You are
Third He, she, it is They are

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3. Voice. It indicates whether the subject is acting or being acted upon.

Active voice – when the subject performs the action of the sentence.
e.g. The English learners illustrate sentence patterns.

Passive voice – when the subject is acted on by the verb. A passive verb is a combination of be verb and the
past participle.
e.g. The king’s palace was adorned by gold.

4. Tense. It tells us when an action occurs.

Simple Tenses

Present tense expresses an action which is happening at the present or which happens
regularly. It also indicates general truth, facts that are permanently true, continuing action and
special activities and occasions to take place.
e.g. She looks at him. (happening now)
The Philippines is in the Southeast. (fact, permanently true)
I take a bath every day. (habitual action)

Past tense expresses something happened in the past. The past may be, continuing,
customary or simple.
e.g. They lived in Calayan Island before. (continuing)
We used to visit grandma during summer. (customary)
They played Mobile Legend. (simple)

Future tense expresses action which will take place in the future.

Future tense can be formed using the words will or shall plus the basic form of the verb.

e.g. He will be wearing blue.

We shall do everything to overcome this pandemic.

It can also be formed using the be verb and the word going to plus verb.

e.g. The Royal family is going to visit the Philippines soon.

He is hoping to top this year’s Licensure Examination for Teachers.

Perfect Tense

Present perfect tense expresses an action that was begun at some past time resulting in
its completion before the moment of speaking. It also expresses an action that started in the
past and completed at the time of speaking or states the duration of the action; hence,
expressions such as since and for are used.

This tense is formed by adding has/have to the past participle of the verb.

e.g. He has acquired new knowledge in his 1st semester courses.

They have submitted his requirements already.
We have watched the program for three hours.

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 Past perfect tense expresses a past action that happened before another past action. The
earlier past action is expressed in the past perfect tense.

This tense is formed by adding had to the past participle of the verb.

First past action: John ate a pie.

Second past action: He went to his job.

e.g. John had eaten a pie before he went to his job.

First past action: He left school.

Second past action: The dean came.

e.g. He had left school before the dean came.

Future perfect tense expresses an action that will have been completed or finished at
some future time.

e.g. I shall have finished my degree five months from now.

Before the professor arrives, I will have finished my report.

This tense is formed by adding will have or shall have to the past participle of the verb.

Progressive Tense

Present progressive tense expresses an action that is going on the at the moment.

e.g. The learners are listening attentively to their professor’s instructions now.
Ibrahim is singing the CSU Hymn.

The verb in each sentence is a phrase consisting of the be verb + ing

Past progressive tense expresses the earlier of two past actions.

The past continuous action introduced by while consisting of was/were + an ing verb is
the past progressive tense.

e.g. While I was watching my favorite noon time show, John turned off the TV.
The learners were listening when the school bell rang.

*While introduces the clause that uses past progressive tense.

*When introduces the clause that uses past tense.

Future progressive tense expresses an activity that will occur before another activity in
the future with emphasis in the continuity of the action.

The verb in the future progressive tense consists of:

will/shall + have + been + V-ing

e.g. At 4 o’çlock tomorrow afternoon, we will have been leaving for Cagayan.
When he retires from his job, he will have been living a fulfilled life.

Moods of the Verbs

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Mood is the attitude a verb conveys in a sentence. Changing the verb’s mood will change the tone of the
sentence.

In grammar, there are five moods.

Indicative expresses an assertion, facts or opinion.

e.g. I am a student of Structures in English course.
Carl Sandberg is an American poet.

Imperative expresses command, prohibition, entreaty or advice.

e.g. Recite bible verses.
Stop playing Mobile Legends.

Interrogative expresses a state of questioning. You will often notice inversion in the
order of subject and verb.
e.g. Did you read the article?
Is she happy?

Conditional indicates a conditional state that will cause something else to

happen. Often uses the words might, could or would.
e.g. She could be happy.
If you study hard, you will do well on the test.

Subjunctive expresses wishes, doubt or contradictions.

e.g. If I were taller, I would play basketball.
I wish I were a millionaire.

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 Lesson 3
Adjective

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Linguistically speaking, adjectives are words that describe or modify a noun or pronoun either by specifying
its limit, by pointing its location, by showing its ownership, by asking for it or by describing it. Semantically,
adjectives are meant to change information given by the noun. They exist to decorate every name of a person, place or
thing.

In this lesson, we will journey together as we will learn diverse structures of adjectives separately. Surely, this
will give us healthier understanding and better use of adjectives.

Kinds of Adjectives

1. Descriptive or qualitative adjective. It provides detail and attribute to the noun or pronoun they describe or
modify.
e.g. I am handsome. (The word “handsome” is providing information about the subject)
He has a fast car. (The word “fast” is describing an attribute of the car)

2. Possessive adjective. It indicates possession or ownership. It suggests the belongingness of something to

someone or something. Some of the most used possessive adjectives are my, his, her, our, their, your. All
these adjectives always come before a noun. Unlike possessive pronouns, these words demand a noun after
them.
e.g. Our hope is in the Lord.
His love is unfathomable.

3. Compound adjective. It is formed when two or more words are joined to modify the same noun. Oftentimes,
they are separated by a hyphen.
e.g. Tanya lives in a ten-story building.
A long-time friend visited me yesterday.

4. Limiting adjective. It defines the noun rather than describes it. Most of the time we think of adjectives as
describing or adding detail to a noun. Limiting adjectives help to limit a noun. The articles a, an, the,
indefinite pronouns and some noun determiner are limiting adjectives.
e.g. We adopted the cat two days ago.
A third-party panel issued a harshly worded report.

5. Proper adjective. It comes from a proper name. When proper nouns modify or describe other nouns or
pronouns, they become proper adjectives.
e.g. She loves Filipino cuisine.
Japanese people are hard working.

6. Numerical Adjective. It is either cardinal or ordinal. The cardinal is used to count and state qualities while
the ordinal is used to indicate a place, rank or position in a series.

Cardinal – one, two, three, four, five…

e.g He franchises two Jollibee stores.
There were ten students attended the webinar last week.
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 Ordinal – first, second, third, fourth, fifth…
e.g. Haira was the third PBB evictee.
She is the eight sibling of Mr. Right.

7. Indefinite adjective. It describes or modifies a noun indeterminately. The common indefinite adjectives are
several, few, some, many, much, most, all, any, each, every, either, nobody, etc.,
e.g. Some students prefer module learning more than online.
Several singers sing classical songs.

8. Demonstrative adjective. It is used to modify a noun. It points to a noun or pronoun and in effect and in
effect, it also limits it.
e.g. This lot belongs to me.
That university offers teacher education courses.

9. Quantitative adjective. It indicates how much of something is spoken about. Commonly used quantitative
adjectives are much, little, sufficient, whole, many, enough, half, etc.,
e.g. Little knowledge is dangerous.
He gave me sufficient money for shopping online.

Comparison of Adjectives

Adjectives change in form when they show comparison. These degrees are applicable only for the descriptive
adjectives.

1. Absolute or positive. It describes a noun or pronoun without comparing it to anyone or anything.

e.g. Super Inggo is tough.

2. Comparative. It compares two persons, places things or ideas.

e.g. Lastikman is tougher than Super Inggo.

3. Superlative. It compares three or more persons, places, things or ideas.

e.g. Among them, Captain Barbel is the toughest.

Positive Comparative Superlative

Bright brighter brightest
Bold bolder boldest
Clever cleverer cleverest
Crafty craftier craftiest

Order of Adjectives
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When we use more than one adjective before a noun in English, we often put the adjectives in a specific order. It can
sound strange if the adjectives are in a different order. However, there are two things to remember. First, it is very rare
to use more than three adjectives before a noun. Second, sometimes the order can be changed, usually to emphasize
something.

Determiner Quantity Quality Size Age Shape Color Proper Purpose Noun
or or adjective or
number opinion qualifie
r
A Beautiful old Italian sports car
The Three Beautiful little gold plates
An Amazing heart- Red sofa
shaped and
white

Attributive and Predicative Adjectives

Most adjectives can occur both before and after a noun.

e.g. the white sand - the sand is white
the handsome boy - the boy is handsome
joyful events - the events are joyful

Adjectives in the first position before the noun are called attributive adjectives. Those in the second position after the
noun are called predicative. Notice that predicative adjectives do not occur immediately after the noun. Instead, they
follow a verb.

Sometimes, an adjective does occur immediately after a noun, especially in certain institutionalized expressions.
e.g. the Governor General
the Princess Royal
times past

We refer to these as postpositive adjectives. Postposition is obligatory when the adjective modifies a pronoun.
e.g. something useful
everyone present
those responsible

Postpositive adjectives are commonly found together with superlative, attributive adjectives.
e.g. the shortest route possible
the worst conditions imaginable
the best hotel available

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 Lesson 4
Adverb

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Adverbs are one among the content words that can perform a wide range of functions. They can modify verbs,
an adjectives or even other adverbs and as they qualify words, they give meanings to the words they modify by telling
how, when, where, why, how much, how often and to what extent. In short, they add description to the sentences
making it more detailed and interesting.

To use adverbs appropriately both in written and oral, we will discuss them accordingly as to kinds, royal
orders, positions and forms.

Modify a Verb
e.g. Brent speaks boldly. (How did Brent speak?)
She sings there. (Where did she sing?)
We walked far. (To what extent did we walk?)

Modify an Adjective
e.g. She is really beautiful. (How beautiful is she?)
He was genuinely generous. (How generous is he?)
The food was so delicious. (How delicious was the food?)

Modify another Adverb

e.g. She speaks incredibly fast. (How fast does she speak?)
Mark is reading so quickly. (How quickly does Mark read?)
He drives very carefully. (How carefully does he drive?)

Kinds of Adverb

1. Adverb of Manner. It tells us the manner or way in which something happens. It answers the question
“how”. Words can be used are safely, cheerfully, precisely, regularly. smoothly, well, etc…
e.g. He parked his car safely.
They shared food to the needy cheerfully.
We go to church regularly.

2. Adverb of Time. It tells us something about the time that something happens. It answers the questions “when,
how often, how long”. Words can be used are weekly, now, shortly, today, yesterday, daily, weekly, briefly,
etc…
e.g. They open the LENS weekly.
Come now.
He visited me shortly.

3. Adverb of Place. It tells us the place where something happens. It answers the question “where, to where,
from where”.
e.g. They love to stay outside.
The team moved forward.
We looked everywhere.

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4. Adverb of Degree. It tells us the degree or extent to which something happens. It answers the questions “how
much” or “to what degree”. Words can be used are quite, partly, entirely greatly, too, very, etc…
e.g. He drives quite dangerously.
The class entirely agrees with their professor.
Queen Ivana is very beautiful.

Royal Order of Adverb

Verb Manner Place Frequency Time Purpose

Gian sings worshipfully in the church every Sunday evening to praise his
creator.
He teaches dynamically in the school daily at 10’oclock in to get paid.
the morning

Positions of Adverbs

1. Adverbs with Verbs

When an adverb modifies a verb, there are usually three possible positions within the sentence or clause.

Front. The adverb is positioned before the subject.

e.g. Now, I will brush my teeth.

Mid. The adverb is positioned between the subject and the verb.
e.g. I often comb my hair.

End. The adverb is positioned after a verb or an object.

e.g. I read books carefully.

2. Adverbs with Adjectives/Adverbs

When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it usually goes in front of the word it modifies.
e.g. He gave me a really satisfying outlook.
Adv. Adj.

They quite often study grammar.

Adv. Adv.

Forms of Adverbs

There are three forms of adverbs: adverb by adding –ly to an adjective, adverb that shares an identical word with an
adjective and adjective not derived from an adjective or any other word.

1. Most adverbs are formed by adding –ly to an adjective

e.g. He had a sudden heart attack while jogging. (Adjective)
He suddenly had a heart attack while jogging. (Adverb)

She had a quick walk to get there on time. (Adjective)

She walked quickly to get there on time. (Adverb)

2. Adverbs that share identical words with an adjective

Some examples of adverbs that have the same form as adjectives and have similar meanings are far, fast,
hard, long, right, straight, tight, wrong.

e.g. I got a cheap pair of shoes in the sale. (Adjective)

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 I got a pair of shoes cheap in the sale. (Adverb)

Where we live is not far from here. (Adjective)

We do not live far away from here. (Adverb)

You have mentioned the wrong name. (Adjective)

You have mentioned the name wrong. (Adverb)

3. There are adverbs not derived from an adjective or any other word like as, even, how, never, next, now, rather,
so, soon, still, then and too.

e.g. He told me he had never been to school.

I have drunk three glasses of water and still thirsty.
His sons do not even know where he goes.

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