Basic Grammar
What are the seven forms of the verb "To be" in the present simple tense?
I / You / He / She / It / We / They
Mention the names of 5 nouns from around the university:
Bathroom/restroom, principal's office, classroom, cafeteria, main square, psychologist's office, parking lot, library, theatre, auditoriums, basketball courts, archery range, swimming pool, etc.
What is the difference between "time" and "tense"?
Time: When something happens, happened, or will happen.
Tense: The verb form.
What's the name of the type of question that requires only a brief answer, either confirming or denying a statement?
Yes/No questions.
GERUNDS ARE...?
N O U N S
Which grammatical structure do we use to express that something is somewhere?
There is / There are
Mention 5 words that are countable and uncountable nouns.
Countables are nouns that can be COUNTED by mere sight. Uncountables are nouns that can only be counted using UNITS OF MEASURE, or UNITS in general.
What verb tense is used to talk about routines, habits, scientific facts, and general truths?
Present simple
What, where, when, who, how, why, and which.
Mention at least 6 punctuation marks:
Capitalisation, period, comma, colon, semicolon, quotation marks, hyphen, dash, slash, question mark, exclamation point, brackets, parentheses, ellipsis, and apostrophe.
What are the 3 (three) pronoun categories we reviewed in class?
Personal Pronouns
Object Pronouns
Possessive Pronouns
Mention the four seasons, the twelve months of the year, and at least 3 holidays.
Summer, Spring, Fall/Autumn, Winter.
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.
What are the 12 (twelve) combinations of times and tenses in English?
Present, past, and future (simple, continuous, perfect, and perfect continuous, respectively)
What's the structure for answering questions using quick answers to confirm or deny a statement?
Yes, Subject + Aux. Verb + Verb + Complement.
No, Subject + Aux. Verb + Verb + Complement.
What's the term for flipping the subject-verb order, often after adverbs?
Inversion.
“Never have I seen such beauty.”
What is the difference between using "a" and "an"?
The SOUND at the beginning of the following word.
Mention at least 8 different family members.
Father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, son, daughter, siblings, cousins, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, granddaughter, grandson, (in-laws), etc.
What are the structures of the present continuous and past continuous tenses?
Present cont.: Subject + am/is/are + verb+ing + complement.
Past cont.: Subject + was/were + verb+ing + complement.
What's the rule to change an affirmative sentence into a question?
Exchange/Swap the subject and the first aux. or modal.
What's the term for contrasting things by placing them side by side?
Juxtaposition
“She was rich but lonely.”
Mention the name used to categorise the seven conjunctions listed as a single word (initials), and the meanings.
FANBOYS: FOR, AND, NOR, BUT, OR, YET, SO.
Mention at least 5 adverbs of frequency.
Always, frequently, often, usually, sometimes, rarely, seldom, never.
What is the difference between the present simple and the present continuous?
The present simple describes something done regularly, whereas the present continuous describes an action that has started, is happening, and will eventually finish.
What does the following sentence mean?
The boy hit the girl with the umbrella.
The boy used an umbrella to hit the girl?
The girl had an umbrella and the boy hit her?
IT'S AMBIGUOUS
What's the term for moving something to the front of a sentence for emphasis?
Fronting.
“Suddenly, the lights went out.”