GST 111 Study Guide Line by Java PDF

GST 111 STUDY GUIDE LINE BY JAVA NOTE: THIS MATERIAL IS NOT IN REPLACE OF THE TEXTBOOK FROM THE SCHOOL,WE ARE STILL EXPECTING THE UPLOADING OF THE TEXTBOOK TO THE SCHOOL LMS FOR READING. MODULE 1 SOUND PATTERNS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE (PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY, VOWELS AND CONSONANTS). The English lan...

GST 111 STUDY GUIDE LINE BY JAVA NOTE: THIS MATERIAL IS NOT IN REPLACE OF THE TEXTBOOK FROM THE SCHOOL,WE ARE STILL EXPECTING THE UPLOADING OF THE TEXTBOOK TO THE SCHOOL LMS FOR READING. MODULE 1 SOUND PATTERNS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE (PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY, VOWELS AND CONSONANTS). The English language has very interesting sound patterns and pronunciation rules that sets it apart from other languages. These sounds tend to be difficult, if not tiresome for non-native speakers to figure out. The several different kinds of sounds in English makes learning the language’s rules difficult because of the rules and the exceptions that make some similar looking words different. English has 44 different sounds that fall into the following categories: consonants, digraphs, diphthongs, vowels and r-controlled vowels. Just to clarify some terms: a digraph is a sound that generates from a combination of two letters. Three examples of digraphs are ph, gh, and ey. Diphthongs are sounds that form from a combination of two vowel sounds. An example of a diphthong is in the word “coin.” R-controlled vowels are vowels that are not pronounced as traditional long or short vowels, because they are immediately followed by an “r.” An r-controlled vowel can be seen in the word “bar.” According to esl.yourdictionary.com, stress on words, vowels, and consonant sounds are some of the most confusing features in the English sound system, as figuring out the sound patterns is often difficult. Unless the context is given, even native speakers may struggle. This ambiguity makes pronouncing vowel and consonant sounds challenging, as there are different ways to say some words, including exceptions to the stated rules. For example, in the word “hour,” the “h” isn’t pronounced, yet it is in the word “house.” This is an example of one of the most challenging characteristics of the English language — silent letters, which complicates words because of the lack of continuity between the pronunciation and spelling of some words. It’s no surprise that silent letters are annoying to many people. An example of a silent letter is “p” in the words psychology, pneumonia, and pterodactyl. It is important to know and understand at least a few of these patterns, if not all of them. This is because being aware of these sound patterns will help native and non-native English speakers alike understand the language better. Since learning these sound patterns can be challenging to learn or understand, it is crucial to start at the basics, which include learning the different kinds of sounds and the rules that go with them. If you struggle grasping some of these complicated rules, talk to a person that understands these concepts and would be willing to help you. Remember: you cannot rush when it comes to learning this kind of thing, because it is something that takes lots of practice and time. With enough effort and patience, these sounds should eventually become easier to recognize, comprehend, and use in English. Patterns of Sounds describes the frequency and distributional patterns of the phonemic sounds in a large and representative sample of the world's languages. WHAT ARE EXAMPLES OF SOUNDS PATTERNS? Phonics is the study of sound patterns. It is a method taught when learning to read, through linking sounds with the symbols that represent them. This helps anyone learning the English language with the pronunciation of sounding out letters phonetically to make up a word. According to Henry (1998) ‘teaching decoding and spelling based on word origin and structure results in improved reading and spelling.’ This method is commonly used in reception, to teach children how to read and spell. There are certain formulas used to teach the English language by breaking down words and arranging certain letter groups together. Decoding Decoding is the process of teaching children to think of how a letter sounds by looking at it and repeating it aloud. This increases fluency with reading and pronunciation. Decoding examples & Letter patterns Consonant, vowel, consonant words: e.g. o, a, e : d-o-g, c-a-t… Consonant clusters: consonants with no vowels between them e.g. st, tr, cr, sk : street, tree… Vowel digraphs/trigraphs: vowel sounds placed together making a single sound e.g. oa, ai, ee, oo : book, meet… Consonant digraphs/trigraphs: two or three letters placed together to make one sound e.g. ch, sh, th, wh : chat, shoe, that… R-controlled vowels: when an r is placed next to a vowel, changing the sound the vowel makes e.g. car, fur, horn… C and K sounds: ‘As both letters make the same sound it can be confusing knowing which one to use. Identifying them as ‘curly c’ and ‘kicking k’ allows for easier differentiation between them both. Blending Once children can identify individual letter sounds and clusters of letters, they can learn how to blend the sounds and say the entire word. This is the stage children learn to write out the words, called encoding. Once the basic letter patterns are broken down and sounded out, decoding ensures that pronunciation and spelling are easy to teach. It is important to teach phonics and sound patterns in a broken down, simpler format, as when some letters are placed together, it changes their sound. For example, when an r is placed next to a vowel, it changes the vowel sound (like ‘fur‘ and ‘car‘). Once language patterns are simplified, words can be phonetically sounded out and fluency with reading and spelling is improved. WHAT ARE SOUNDS PATTERNS THAT HAVE MEANING? It is the description of the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a language. It is concerned with the ways in which speech sounds form systems and patterns in human language Phonology permits a speaker: To produce sounds that form meaningful utterances. To recognize a foreign accent. To make up new words. Phonology Phonology is the sound system of a language. It is functional and analytical. Phonemes Phonemes refer to sounds that distinguish the meaning of the words in a language. A phoneme /ˈfoʊniːm/ is one of the units of sound that distinguish one word from another in a particular language. Example: kill-dill Each meaning-distinguishing sound in a language is described as a " phoneme ". It is the single sound type which came to be represented by a single symbol. Slash marks are conventionally used to indicate a phoneme, /t/. Phoneme functions contrastively. This contrastive property is the basic operational test for determining the phonemes which exist in a language. If we substitute one sound for another in a word and there is a change of meaning, then two sounds represent different phonemes. PHONETICS. phonetics, the study of speech sounds and their physiological production and acoustic qualities. It deals with the configurations of the vocal tract used to produce speech sounds (articulatory phonetics), the acoustic properties of speech sounds (acoustic phonetics), and the manner of combining sounds so as to make syllables, words, and sentences (linguistic phonetics). ARTICULATORY PHONETICS The traditional method of describing speech sounds is in terms of the movements of the vocal organs that produce them. The main structures that are important in the production of speech are the lungs and the respiratory system, together with the vocal organs. The airstream from the lungs passes between the vocal cords, which are two small muscular folds located in the larynx at the top of the windpipe. The space between the vocal cords is known as the glottis. If the vocal cords are apart, as they are normally when breathing out, the air from the lungs will have a relatively free passage into the pharynx and the mouth. But if the vocal cords are adjusted so that there is a narrow passage between them, the airstream will cause them to be sucked together. As soon as they are together there will be no flow of air, and the pressure below them will be built up until they are blown apart again. The flow of air between them will then cause them to be sucked together again, and the vibratory cycle will continue. Sounds produced when the vocal cords are vibrating are said to be voiced, as opposed to those in which the vocal cords are apart, which are said to be voiceless. The air passages above the vocal cords are known collectively as the vocal tract. For phonetic purposes they may be divided into the oral tract within the mouth and the pharynx, and the nasal tract within the nose. Many speech sounds are characterized by movements of the lower articulators—i.e., the tongue or the lower lip—toward the upper articulators within the oral tract. The upper surface includes several important structures from the point of view of speech production, such as the upper lip and the upper teeth; Figure 1 illustrates most of the terms that are commonly used. The alveolar ridge is a small protuberance just behind the upper front teeth that can easily be felt with the tongue. The major part of the roof of the mouth is formed by the hard palate in the front, and the soft palate or velum at the back. The soft palate is a muscular flap that can be raised so as to shut off the nasal tract and prevent air from going out through the nose. When it is raised so that the soft palate is pressed against the back wall of the pharynx there is said to be a velic closure. At the lower end of the soft palate is a small hanging appendage known as the uvula. As may be seen from Figure 1, there are also specific names for different parts of the tongue. The tip and blade are the most mobile parts. Behind the blade is the so-called front of the tongue; it is actually the forward part of the body of the tongue and lies underneath the hard palate when the tongue is at rest. The remainder of the body of the tongue may be divided into the centre, which is partly beneath the hard palate and partly beneath the soft palate; the back, which is beneath the soft palate; and the root, which is opposite the back wall of the pharynx. The major division in speech sounds is that between vowels and consonants. Phoneticians have found it difficult to give a precise definition of the articulatory distinction between these two classes of sounds. Most authorities would agree that a vowel is a sound that is produced without any major constrictions in the vocal tract, so that there is a relatively free passage for the air. It is also syllabic. This description is unsatisfactory in that no adequate definition of the notion syllabic has yet been formulated. CONSONANTS PLACE OF ARTICULATION DENTAL Dental sounds involve the upper teeth as the passive articulator. The active articulator may be either the tongue tip or (usually) the tongue blade -- diacritic symbols can be used if it matters which. Extreme lamino-dental sounds are often called interdental. English interdental sounds include [θ] and [&edh;]. ALVEOLAR Alveolar sounds involve the alveolar ridge as the passive articulator. The active articulator may be either the tongue blade or (usually) the tongue tip -- diacritic symbols can be used if it matters which. English alveolar sounds include [t], [d], [n], [s], [z], [l]. POSTALVEOLAR Postalveolar sounds involve the area just behind the alveolar ridge as the passive articulator. The active articulator may be either the tongue tip or (usually) the tongue blade -- diacritic symbols can be used if it matters which. English postalveolars include [&esh;] and [&ezh;]. BILABIAL The articulators are the two lips. (We could say that the lower lip is the active articulator and the upper lip the passive articulator, though the upper lip usually moves too, at least a little.) English bilabial sounds include [p], [b], and [m]. LABIO-DENTAL The lower lip is the active articulator and the upper teeth are the passive articulator. English labio-dental sounds include [f] and [v]. RETROFLEX In retroflex sounds, the tongue tip is curled up and back. Retroflexes can be classed as apico- postalveolar, though not all apico-postalveolars need to be curled backward enough to count as retroflex. The closest sound to a retroflex that English has is [&turnr;]. For most North Americans, the tongue tip is curled back in [&turnr;], though not as much as it is in languages that have true retroflexes. Many other North Americans use what is called a "bunched r" -- instead of curling their tongues back, they bunch the front up and push it forward to form an approximant behind the alveolar ridge. palatal POA PALATAL The active articulator is the tongue body and the passive articulator is the hard palate. The English glide [j] is a palatal. velar POA velar The active articulator is the tongue body and the passive articulator is the soft palate. English velars include [k], [g], and [ŋ]. GLOTTAL This isn't strictly a place of articulation, but they had to put it in the chart somewhere. Glottal sounds are made in the larynx. For the glottal stop, the vocal cords close momentarily and cut off all airflow through the vocal tract. English uses the glottal stop in the interjection uh-uh [?^?^] (meaning 'no'). In [h], the vocal cords are open, but close enough together that air passing between them creates friction noise. Note: [w] is often called a "labio-velar". This doesn't follow the POA naming convention -- it does not mean that the active articulator is the lower lip and you try to touch your soft palate with it! A [w] is made up of two different approximants: a bilabial approximant and a (dorso-)velar approximant pronounced simultaneously. MANNERS OF ARTICULATION NASAL Nasal consonants are created when you completely block air flow through your mouth and let the air pass through your nose. There are three nasal consonants in English. /m/ – “mad” and “clam” – oral passage is blocked by closing the lips (bilabial). /n/ – “no” and “man‘ – oral passage is blocked by pressing tongue tip against the alveolar ridge (alveolar). /ŋ/ – “going” and “funk” – Oral passage is blocked by pressing the the back of your tongue against the soft palate (velar). STOP Like nasal consonants, stop consonants occur when the vocal tract is closed completely. But for stops the airflow is NOT redirected through the nose. Instead, the air quickly builds up pressure behind the articulators and then releases in a burst. English contains the following stop consonants. /p/ – purse and rap – oral passage is blocked by closing the lips (bilabial). /b/ – “back” and “cab” – oral passage is blocked by closing the lips (bilabial). /t/ – “tab” and “rat” – oral passage is blocked by pressing the tongue tip against the alveolar ridge (alveolar) /d/ – “dip” and “bad” – oral passage is blocked by pressing the tongue tip against the alveolar ridge (alveolar) /k/ – “kite” and “back” – block airflow with the back of the tongue against the soft palate (velar). /g/ – “good” and “bug” – block airflow with the back of the tongue against the soft palate (velar). FRICATIVE While nasal and stop consonants involve a complete blockage of the vocal tract, fricative sounds involve only a partial blockage of the vocal tract so that air has to be forced through a narrow channel. For example, you create a /t/ stop consonant when you block airflow completely with your tongue against the alveolar ridge. But if you let up with the tongue a bit and let the air seep through, you make an /s/ fricative consonant. The English fricative sounds are as follows: /f/ – “fro” and “calf“- air is forced through the upper teeth and lower lip (labiodental) /v/ – “vine” and “have” – air is forced through the upper teeth and lower lip (labiodental) /θ/ – “thick” and “bath” – air is forced through upper teeth and tongue (dental) /ð/ – “the” and “rather” – air is forced through upper teeth and tongue (dental) /s/ – “suit” and “bus” – air is forced through tongue and alveolar ridge (alveolar) /z/ – “zit” and “jazz” – air is forced through tongue and alveolar ridge (alveolar) /ʃ/ – “shot” and “brash” – air is forced through the tongue and point just beyond alveolar ridge (post- alveolar) /ʒ/ – “vision” and “measure” – air is forced through the tongue and point just beyond alveolar ridge (post-alveolar) /h/ – “happy” and “hope” – actually /h/ isn’t a fricative. It’s technically not even a real consonant sound since there’s no constriction/obstruction of airflow. AFFRICATE When stop consonants mix with fricative consonants, the result is an affricate consonant. Affricate consonants start as stop sounds with air building up behind an articulator which then releases through a narrow channel as a fricative (instead of a clean burst as stops do). The English affricate sounds are: /tʃ/ – “chick” and “match” – air is blocked with tongue just beyond the alveolar ridge (post-alveolar), then released as a fricative. /dʒ/ – “jam” and “badge” – air is blocked with tongue just beyond the alveolar ridge (post-alveolar), then released as a fricative. APPROXIMANTS Approximants are when two articulators come close together but not quite close enough to create air turbulence. The resulting sound is more like a fast vowel than anything else. For example, the /w/ approximant is like a fast /u/ sound (say /u/ + /aɪ/ really fast and you get the word “why”). Notice how your tongue never actually comes in contact with the top of your mouth. There are three English approximants: /w/ – “wet” and “howard” – back of tongue raises to velum (but not too close!) and lips are rounded (velar) /j/ – “yes” and “bayou” – tongue raises to hard palate (but not too close!) (palatal) /ɹ/ – “right” and “roar” – tongue raises to hard palate (but not too close) (alveolar/post-alveolar) LATERAL Lateral consonants are when the tongue blocks the the middle of your mouth so that air has to pass around the sides. You create this when you There is one lateral consonant in English /l/ – “luck”- place the tip of the tongue at the alveolar ridge (alveolar) In the formation of consonants, the airstream through the vocal tract is obstructed in some way. Consonants can be classified according to the place and manner of this obstruction. Some of the possible places of articulation are indicated by the arrows going from one of the lower articulators to one of the upper articulators. The principal terms that are required in the description of English articulation, and the structures of the vocal tract that they involve are: bilabial, the two lips; dental, tongue tip or blade and the upper front teeth; alveolar, tongue tip or blade and the teeth ridge; retroflex, tongue tip and the back part of the teeth ridge; palato-alveolar, tongue blade and the back part of the teeth ridge; palatal, front of tongue and hard palate; and velar, back of tongue and soft palate. The additional places of articulation are required in the description of other languages. Note that the terms for the various places of articulation denote both the portion of the lower articulators (i.e., lower lip and tongue) and the portion of the upper articulatory structures that are involved. Thus velar denotes a sound in which the back of the tongue and the soft palate are involved, and retroflex implies a sound involving the tip of the tongue and the back part of the alveolar ridge. If it is necessary to distinguish between sounds made with the tip of the tongue and those made with the blade, the terms apical (tip) and laminal (blade) may be used. There are six basic manners of articulation that can be used at these places of articulation: stop, fricative, approximant, trill, tap, and lateral. FRICATIVES A fricative sound involves the close approximation of two articulators, so that the airstream is partially obstructed and a turbulent airflow is produced. The mechanisms used in the production of these sounds may be compared to the physical forces involved when the wind “whistles” round a corner. Examples are the initial sounds in the words fie, thigh, sigh, and shy. Some authorities divide fricatives into slit and grooved fricatives, or rill and flat fricatives, depending on the shape of the constriction in the mouth required to produce them. Other authorities divide fricatives into sibilants, as in sigh and shy, and nonsibilants, as in fie and thigh. This division is based on acoustic criteria. APPROXIMANTS Approximants are produced when one articulator approaches another but does not make the vocal tract so narrow that a turbulent airstream results. The terms frictionless continuant, semivowel, and glide are sometimes used for some of the sounds made with this manner of articulation. The consonants in the words we and you are examples of approximants. PHONOLOGY MEANING Phonology describes sound contrasts which create differences in meaning within a language.  PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEMS: are made up of phonemes (we'll come back to phonemes in a bit), and each language has its own phonological system. This means that the study of phonology is language-specific. For example, the phoneme /ɛ/ is different from the phoneme /i:/, so if we use the word set [sɛt] instead of seat [si:t], the meaning of the word will change. Note: slash marks are used to indicate a phoneme /t/ (an abstract segment i.e. the representation of the sound), as opposed to the square brackets [t], used to indicate a phone (a physical segment i.e. the actual sound produced). PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS Phonological awareness: is the ability to be aware of, identify and manipulate phonological units (phonemes) in elements of spoken language such as syllables and words. Phonological awareness comes from the analysis of the following language elements: Phonemes Dialects and accents Phonotactics PHONEMES A phoneme is the smallest unit of meaningful sound. Phonemes are the basic phonological units and form the building blocks of speech sounds. Phonemes are single sounds represented by a single written symbol.Symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) are used to represent phonemes. The IPA is a system of symbols where each possible speech sound has a representative written symbol. MINIMAL PAIRS In Phonology, you can use minimal pairs to distinguish phonemes from each other. DEFINITION A minimal pair is when two words have different meanings but only one sound (or phonemic) difference. An example of minimal pairs in phonology would be: 1. mire /maɪə/ and mile /maɪl/. 2. bad /bæd/ and bed /bɛd/. 3. crowd /kraʊd/ and cloud /klaʊd/. 4. rock /rɒk/ and lock /lɒk/. As you can see, these words are very similar, but each pair contains one phonemic difference which creates different meanings. The rules for identifying minimal pairs are: 1. The words in the pair must have the same number of sounds. 2. Two or more words in the pairs must be identical in every sound except for one. 3. In each word, the sounds must be in the same position. 4. The words must have different meanings. DIALECTS AND ACCENTS OF ENGLISH People can pronounce sounds in different ways. This can depend on multiple factors, for example: Social class Ethnic group Speech or voice disorders Education Geographical area DIALECTS : are variations of the same language spoken by people in particular areas or social groups. Dialects differ in pronunciation, grammatical patterns, and vocabulary. It is important to remember that whilst these factors impact speech, people can have different dialects and speak the same language. PHONOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES. Sometimes accents are based on the pronunciation of words by non-native speakers. A foreign accent is marked by the phonology of other languages. Examples of phonological differences are: The word potato: - In British English it is pronounced po-tayh-to [pəˈteɪtəʊ].- In American English it is pronounced po-tay-to [pəˈteɪˌtoʊ]. The word laughter:- In British English it is pronounced la-fte [ˈlɑːftə].- In American English it is pronounced la-fter [ˈlæftər]. The word banana:- In British English it is pronounced be-na-na [bəˈnɑːnə].- In American English it is pronounced be-nah-na [bəˈnænə]. PHONOTACTICS One of the branches of phonology is phonotactics. Phonotactics is the study of the rules governing the possible phoneme sequences in a language. Within phonotactics, we can look at syllables. A syllable is a phonological unit that involves one or more phonemes. Syllables can show us how phonemes appear in particular sequences Each syllable has: a nucleus - always a vowel, an onset and a coda - usually consonants. Let's have a look at an example of a syllable study in phonology: Example In the word cat /kaet/, /k/ is the onset, /ae/ is the nucleus and /t/ is the coda. These are the rules concerning phoneme sequences in syllables: The nucleus of a syllable is essential for the word and is the vowel in the middle of the syllable. The onset is not always present but you can find it before the nucleus if it is. The coda is also not always present but you can find it after the nucleus if it is. Phonology in the English language As we've said, each language has its own phonology. That is, its own set of phonemes. These phoneme sets are often shown through phonemic charts. A PHONEMIC CHART for a language contains all of the phonemes that exist in that language. It is much more specific than the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) chart which includes all possible speech sounds across all languages. PHONOLOGICAL RULES Each language's phonological system contains rules which govern the pronunciation of phonemes. Definition Phonological rules are related to the spoken or written principles which control the changes of sounds during speech. These describe the process of articulation (how a speaker produces speech sounds stored in the brain). Phonological rules help us understand which sounds change, what they change to, and where the change happens. Examples of phonological rules can be divided into four types: assimilation, dissimilation, insertion, and deletion. ASSIMILATION Assimilation is the process of changing one feature of a sound to make it similar to another. This rule can be applied to the English plural system: The -s can change from voiced to voiceless depending on whether the preceding consonant is voiced or unvoiced. So, the English plural -s can be pronounced in different ways depending on the word it is part of, for example: Example In the word snakes, the letter 's' is pronounced /s/. In the word baths, the letter 's' is pronounced /z/. In the word dresses, the letter 's' is pronounced /ɪz/. DISSIMILATION Dissimilation is the process of changing one feature of a sound to make it different. This type of rule makes two sounds more distinguishable. It can help non-native speakers to pronounce words. Example The pronunciation of the word chimney [ˈʧɪmni] as chimley [ˈʧɪmli], with the change of [n] to an [l]. INSERTION Insertion is the process of adding an extra sound between two others. For example, we usually insert a voiceless stop between a nasal and a voiceless fricative to make it easier for English speakers to pronounce a word. Example In the word strength /strɛŋθ/, we add the sound 'k' and it becomes /strɛŋkθ/. In the word hamster /hæmstə/, we add the sound 'p' and it becomes /hæmpstə/. DELETION Deletion is the process of not pronouncing a sound (consonant, vowel, or whole syllable) present in a word or phrase, to make it easier to say. For example: In the phrase “you and me” [ju: ənd mi:] it is possible not to say the sound /d/. You and me [ju:ənmi:]. This also occurs in some words: /h/ in him [ɪm]. /f/ in fifth [fɪθ]. VOWELS SOUND A vowel is a syllabic speech sound pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract.Vowels are one of the two principal classes of speech sounds, the other being the consonant. Vowels vary in quality, in loudness and also in quantity (length). They are usually voiced and are closely involved in prosodic variation such as tone, intonation and stress. The word vowel comes from the Latin word vocalis, meaning "vocal" (i.e. relating to the voice).In English, the word vowel is commonly used to refer both to vowel sounds and to the written symbols that represent them (⟨a⟩, ⟨e⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨o⟩, ⟨u⟩, and sometimes ⟨w⟩ and ⟨y⟩). In the phonetic definition, a vowel is a sound, such as the English "ah" /ɑː/ or "oh" /oʊ/, produced with an open vocal tract; it is median (the air escapes along the middle of the tongue), oral (at least some of the airflow must escape through the mouth), frictionless and continuant.There is no significant build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as the English "sh" [ʃ], which have a constriction or closure at some point along the vocal tract. In the phonological definition, a vowel is defined as syllabic, the sound that forms the peak of a syllable.A phonetically equivalent but non-syllabic sound is a semivowel. In oral languages, phonetic vowels normally form the peak (nucleus) of many or all syllables, whereas consonants form the onset and (in languages that have them) coda. Some languages allow other sounds to form the nucleus of a syllable, such as the syllabic (i.e., vocalic) l in the English word table [ˈtʰeɪ.bl ̩] (when not considered to have a weak vowel sound: [ˈtʰeɪ.bəl]) or the syllabic r in the Serbo-Croatian word vrt [ʋr̩t̩̂ ] "garden". The phonetic definition of "vowel" (i.e. a sound produced with no constriction in the vocal tract) does not always match the phonological definition (i.e. a sound that forms the peak of a syllable).The approximants [j] and [w] illustrate this: both are without much of a constriction in the vocal tract (so phonetically they seem to be vowel-like), but they occur at the onset of syllables (e.g. in "yet" and "wet") which suggests that phonologically they are consonants. A similar debate arises over whether a word like bird in a rhotic dialect has an r-colored vowel /ɝ/ or a syllabic consonant /ɹ̩/. The American linguist Kenneth Pike (1943) suggested the terms "vocoid" for a phonetic vowel and "vowel" for a phonological vowel, so using this terminology, [j] and [w] are classified as vocoids but not vowels. However, Maddieson and Emmory (1985) demonstrated from a range of languages that semivowels are produced with a narrower constriction of the vocal tract than vowels, and so may be considered consonants on that basis. Nonetheless, the phonetic and phonemic definitions would still conflict for the syllabic /l/ in table or the syllabic nasals in button and rhythm. English has 20 vowel sounds. Short vowels in the IPA are /ɪ/-pit, /e/-pet, /æ/-pat, /ʌ/-cut, /ʊ/-put, /ɒ/- dog, /ə/-about. Long vowels in the IPA are /i:/-week, /ɑ:/-hard,/ɔ:/-fork,/ɜ:/-heard, /u:/-boot. Diphthong vowels in the IPA are /eɪ/-place, /oʊ/-home, /aʊ/-mouse, /ɪə/-clear, /eə/-care, /ɔɪ/-boy, /aɪ/-find, /ʊə/- tour. ENGLISH SHORT VOWELS /ɪ/ – fit /fiːt/, pick /piːk/, difficult /ˈdɪ.fɪ.kəlt/ /e/ – pet /pet/, sent /sent/, attention /əˈten.ʃən/ /æ/ – pat /pæt/, flat /flæt/, family /ˈfæ.mə.li/ /ʌ/ – cut /kʌt/ jump /dʒʌmp/, cover /ˈkʌ.vər/ /ʊ/ – put /pʊt/, book /bʊk/, cushion /ˈkʊ.ʃən/ /ɒ/ – pot /pɒt/, dog /dɒg/, hospital /ˈhɒs.pɪ.təl/ /ə/ – about /əˈbaʊt/, system /ˈsɪs.təm/, complete /kəmˈpliːt/. ENGLISH LONG VOWELS /i:/ week /wi:k/, feet /fi:t/, media /ˈmiː.di.jə/ /ɑ:/ hard /ha:/, park /pa:k/, article /ɑː.tɪ.kəl/ /ɔ:/ fork /fɔ:k/, walk /wɔ:k/, August /ɔːˈɡʌst/ /ɜ:/ heard /hɜ:d/, word /wɜ:d/, surface /ˈsɜː.fɪs/ /u:/ boot /bu:t/, group /gru:p/, beautiful /ˈbjuː.tɪ.fəl/ ACHTUNG! As you listen to the IPA examples and practise out loud, pay careful attention to the length of each vowel. Many non-native speakers of English make many of these vowels too short! Before you start with the activities below say the words below out loud and pay attention to the length of the vowel. Here are some examples of long vowels in contrast with a shorter version, which actually means another word! Notice that the long vowels all have the two dots /:/. All of these short vowels and long vowels are SINGLE vowels – they ony have one IPA vowel symbol. This means they only have one mouth position. Short Vowel vs Long Vowel hit /hɪt/ – heat /hiːt/ pick /pɪk/ – peak /piːk/ lick /lɪk/ – leak /liːck/ duck /dʌk/ – dark /da:k stuff /stʌf/ – staff /sta:f/ CONSONANTS SOUNDS In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract, except for the h sound, which is pronounced without any stricture in the vocal tract. Examples are [p] and [b], pronounced with the lips; [t] and [d], pronounced with the front of the tongue; [k] and [g], pronounced with the back of the tongue; [h], pronounced throughout the vocal tract; [f], [v], and [s], pronounced by forcing air through a narrow channel (fricatives); and [m] and [n], which have air flowing through the nose (nasals). Most consonants are pulmonic, using air pressure from the lungs to generate a sound. Very few natural languages are non-pulmonic, making use of ejectives, implosives, and clicks. Contrasting with consonants are vowels. Since the number of speech sounds in the world's languages is much greater than the number of letters in any one alphabet, linguists have devised systems such as the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to assign a unique and unambiguous symbol to each attested consonant. The English alphabet has fewer consonant letters than the English language has consonant sounds, so digraphs like ⟨ch⟩, ⟨sh⟩, ⟨th⟩, and ⟨ng⟩ are used to extend the alphabet, though some letters and digraphs represent more than one consonant. For example, the sound spelled ⟨th⟩ in "this" is a different consonant from the ⟨th⟩ sound in "thin". (In the IPA, these are [ð] and [θ], respectively.) CONSONANT SOUNDS AND CONSONANT LETTERS The word consonant may be used ambiguously for both speech sounds and the letters of the alphabet used to write them. In English, these letters are B, C, D, F, G, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, S, T, V, X, Z and often H, R, W, Y. In English orthography, the letters H, R, W, Y and the digraph GH are used for both consonants and vowels. For instance, the letter Y stands for the consonant/semi-vowel /j/ in yoke, the vowel /ɪ/ in myth, the vowel /i/ in funny, the diphthong /aɪ/ in sky, and forms several digraphs for other diphthongs, such as say, boy, key. Similarly, R commonly indicates or modifies a vowel in non-rhotic accents. MODULE 2 ENGLISH WORD CLASSES (LEXICAL AND GRAMMATICAL WORDS, DEFINITIONS,FORMS, FUNCTIONS,USAGES, COLLOCATIONS). Word classes, also known as parts of speech, are the different categories of words used in grammar. The major word classes are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, but there are also minor word classes like prepositions, pronouns, conjunctions, and others. Every word class has its own rules for how it’s used, so knowing a word’s class is important for using it correctly. In this guide, we talk about each word class and how it’s used and give clear examples to show you how to use them yourself. For example, nouns represent people, places, things, and concepts, while verbs represent actions. Nouns are used as the subject of sentences, and verbs are used as the predicate. Word classes are divided into two main groups: FORM AND FUNCTION. Form word classes, also known as lexical words, are the most common types of words that make up the important parts of a sentence. They include nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Function word classes, also known as structure words, assist the form word classes in a sentence. They include auxiliaries, prepositions, pronouns, determiners, conjunctions, and interjections. FORM WORD CLASSES: noun verb adjective adverb FUNCTION WORD CLASSES: auxiliary preposition pronoun determiner conjunction interjection WORD CLASS EXAMPLES 1. Wow, he has quickly grown into a beautiful cat! 2. We will leave early and visit that new museum. FORM WORD CLASSES NOUNS Nouns represent people, places, things, or concepts. They can be concrete or abstract,proper, countable, uncountable, common among others; concrete nouns are physical things that can be seen, touched, heard, or otherwise sensed (rocks, noise, grandma), and abstract nouns are nonphysical things that represent ideas (justice, philosophy, happiness). Proper nouns are a type of noun that represents something specific. For example, the noun person is a common noun used generally for anyone, but the proper noun Richard Attenborough represents a specific person. Proper nouns almost always use capitals for their first letter, like names. Proper noun examples: Dog Pizza Apple The Mandalorian Taiwan VERBS Verbs represent actions and are the only word class that is absolutely necessary to make a complete sentence. You can conjugate verbs in different verb tenses to explain when an action takes place (past, present, or future) or combine them with auxiliaries for more advanced tenses like the present perfect tense or past continuous tense. Verb examples: be (is, are, was, were) swim get play analyze ADJECTIVES Adjectives are words that modify or describe a noun. They add more details to the noun, such as color, size, or age. Adjective examples: big green ancient gorgeous difficult ADVERBS Similar to adjectives, adverbs modify or describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. When describing verbs, they give details about how an action is performed, such as where, when, why, or how often. They usually—but not always—end in -ly. Adverb examples: carefully slowly often really very FUNCTION WORD CLASSES AUXILIARIES Also known as helper verbs or helping verbs, auxiliary verbs are a type of verb that assists the sentence’s main verb to create advanced tenses. For example, in the sentence “They have arrived,” the main verb is arrived, but the auxiliary verb have is necessary to make the present perfect tense. Auxiliary verbs also include modal verbs like can or should, which slightly modify the meaning of the main verb. Some verbs like have, be, or do can be either regular verbs or auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verb examples: will could might would must PREPOSITIONS Prepositions are a special type of word class that indicates relationships between other words. Prepositions always use a noun, known as the preposition’s object, and typically describe where something is in relation to something else. When used to describe a verb, prepositions can explain when or where an action happened. Preposition examples: in at behind to from PRONOUNS Pronouns are a type of noun used as a substitute for other nouns. They make communication easier and faster because you don’t have to repeat the same words over and over again. Pronoun examples: I they who yourself nobody DETERMINERS Determiners are words that come before a noun to explain which noun you’re referring to, the noun’s quantity, or whether the noun is general or specific. Determiners are important for grammar and include a few different types of words like articles, demonstratives, possessive pronouns, distributives, and quantifiers like many, much, and more. Determiner examples: the my all those few CONJUNCTIONS Conjunctions like the word and are words that connect other words. Coordinating conjunctions link words, phrases, or clauses of the same kind, such as a series of nouns or two independent clauses. Subordinating conjunctions are only used to connect a dependent clause to an independent clause. Conjunction examples: but or because if so INTERJECTIONS Only used in informal communication, interjections show a sudden emotion. They attempt to mimic speech in writing and are often used together with exclamation points. Interjection examples: gee hey ouch yikes oof PHRASES Sometimes a group of words can work together to act as a single word. These groups of words, known as phrases, act as a single word class even when they include words of different classes. My huge yet adorable puppy eats like a pig. In this example, the phrase “my huge yet adorable puppy” acts as a single noun. This noun phrase contains a determiner (my), two adjectives (huge and adorable), a conjunction (yet), and a noun (puppy); however, all these different words work together to act as a single word—a noun—used as the subject of the sentence. LEXICAL AND GRAMMATICAL WORDS Words are fundamental units in every sentence, so we will begin by looking at these. Consider the words in the following sentence: We can tell almost instinctively that brother and car are the same type of word, and also that brother and drives are different types of words. By this we mean that brother and car belong to the same word class. Similarly, when we recognise that brother and drives are different types, we mean that they belong to different word classes. We recognise seven MAJOR word classes: Noun Verb Adverb and the likes You may find that other grammars recognise different word classes from the ones listed here. They may also define the boundaries between the classes in different ways. In some grammars, for instance, pronouns are treated as a separate word class, whereas we treat them as a subclass of nouns. A difference like this should not cause confusion. Instead, it highlights an important principle in grammar, known as GRADIENCE. This refers to the fact that the boundaries between the word classes are not absolutely fixed. Many word classes share characteristics with others, and there is considerable overlap between some of the classes. In other words, the boundaries are "fuzzy", so different grammars draw them in different places. We will discuss each of the major word classes in turn. Then we will look briefly at some MINOR word classes. But first, let us consider how we distinguish between word classes in general. CRITERIA FOR WORD CLASSES We began by grouping words more or less on the basis of our instincts about English. We somehow "feel" that brother and car belong to the same class, and that brother and drives belong to different classes. However, in order to conduct an informed study of grammar, we need a much more reliable and more systematic method than this for distinguishing between word classes. We use a combination of three criteria for determining the word class of a word: 1. The meaning of the word 2. The form or `shape' of the word 3. The position or `environment' of the word in a sentence 1. MEANING Using this criterion, we generalize about the kind of meanings that words convey. For example, we could group together the words brother and car, as well as David, house, and London, on the basis that they all refer to people, places, or things. In fact, this has traditionally been a popular approach to determining members of the class of nouns. It has also been applied to verbs, by saying that they denote some kind of "action", like cook, drive, eat, run, shout, walk. This approach has certain merits, since it allows us to determine word classes by replacing words in a sentence with words of "similar" meaning. For instance, in the sentence My son cooks dinner every Sunday, we can replace the verb cooks with other "action" words: My son cooks dinner every Sunday My son prepares dinner every Sunday My son eats dinner every Sunday My son misses dinner every Sunday On the basis of this replacement test, we can conclude that all of these words belong to the same class, that of "action" words, or verbs. However, this approach also has some serious limitations. The definition of a noun as a word denoting a person, place, or thing, is wholly inadequate, since it excludes abstract nouns such as time, imagination, repetition, wisdom, and chance. Similarly, to say that verbs are "action" words excludes a verb like be, as in I want to be happy. What "action" does be refer to here? So although this criterion has a certain validity when applied to some words, we need other, more stringent criteria as well.  2. THE FORM OR `SHAPE' OF A WORDS Some words can be assigned to a word class on the basis of their form or `shape'. For example, many nouns have a characteristic -tion ending: action, condition, contemplation, demonstration, organization, repetition Similarly, many adjectives end in -able or -ible: acceptable, credible, miserable, responsible, suitable, terrible Many words also take what are called INFLECTIONS, that is, regular changes in their form under certain conditions. For example, nouns can take a plural inflection, usually by adding an -s at the end: car -- cars dinner -- dinners book -- books Verbs also take inflections: walk -- walks -- walked -- walking 3. THE POSITION OR `ENVIRONMENT' OF A WORD IN A SENTENCE This criterion refers to where words typically occur in a sentence, and the kinds of words which typically occur near to them. We can illustrate the use of this criterion using a simple example. Compare the following: I cook dinner every Sunday  The cook is on holiday In , cook is a verb, but in , it is a noun. We can see that it is a verb in because it takes the inflections which are typical of verbs: I cook dinner every Sunday I cooked dinner last Sunday I am cooking dinner today My son cooks dinner every Sunday And we can see that cook is a noun in because it takes the plural -s inflection The cooks are on holiday If we really need to, we can also apply a replacement test, based on our first criterion, replacing cook in each sentence with "similar" words: 1. I cook dinner every Sunday I eat dinner every Sunday I prepare dinner every Sunday I miss dinner every Sunday 2. The cook is on holiday The chef is on holiday The gardener is on holiday The doctor is on holiday Notice that we can replace verbs with verbs, and nouns with nouns, but we cannot replace verbs with nouns or nouns with verbs: *I chef dinner every Sunday *The eat is on holiday It should be clear from this discussion that there is no one-to-one relation between words and their classes. Cook can be a verb or a noun -- it all depends on how the word is used. In fact, many words can belong to more than one word class. Here are some more examples: She looks very pale (verb) She's very proud of her looks (noun) He drives a fast car (adjective) He drives very fast on the motorway (adverb) Turn on the light (noun) I'm trying to light the fire (verb) I usually have a light lunch (adjective) You will see here that each italicised word can belong to more than one word class. However, they only belong to one word class at a time, depending on how they are used. So it is quite wrong to say, for example, "cook is a verb". Instead, we have to say something like "cook is a verb in the sentence I cook dinner every Sunday, but it is a noun in The cook is on holiday". Of the three criteria for word classes that we have discussed here, the Internet Grammar will emphasise the second and third - the form of words, and how they are positioned or how they function in sentences. OPEN AND CLOSED WORD CLASSES Some word classes are OPEN, that is, new words can be added to the class as the need arises. The class of nouns, for instance, is potentially infinite, since it is continually being expanded as new scientific discoveries are made, new products are developed, and new ideas are explored. The adjective and adverb classes can also be expanded by the addition of new words, though less prolifically. On the other hand, we never invent new prepositions, determiners, or conjunctions. These classes include words like of, the, and but. They are called CLOSED word classes because they are made up of finite sets of words which are never expanded (though their members may change their spelling, for example, over long periods of time). The subclass of pronouns, within the open noun class, is also closed. Words in an open class are known as open-class items. Words in a closed class are known as closed-class items. In the pages which follow, we will look in detail at each of the seven major word classes. MODULE 3 SENTENCE IN ENGLISH (TYPES, STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL SIMPLE AND COMPLEX) A sentence is a combination of words put together to convey an idea, a fact, a question, a thought, a request or a command. Does that mean that you can assemble words in any order? Will it still be a sentence? No! Learn what a sentence is and how they are formed in this article. Furthermore, go through the components of a sentence, the types of sentences, and the given examples to understand how they are structured. Examples What are you doing? I am feeling sleepy. This game is interesting. Do not go that way. That really hurt! When is the next train to Hospet? We could not witness the sunset because we reached late. Though we had some discomfort, we enjoyed ourselves. A sentence is an array of multiple words arranged in a particular order. It has to be complete in itself and should convey meaning. It can express a general idea, pose a question or argument, provide a suggestion, make an order or request, and so much more. FORMATION OF SENTENCES IN ENGLISH When constructing sentences, you have to follow a particular word order. They consist of words, phrases and clauses that have to be arranged sequentially in order to make sense. In most cases, the subject with or without the determiner comes first, followed by the verb. Let us look at the parts and components of a sentence and understand further how sentences are formed. PARTS OF A SENTENCE The basic division of sentences is in terms of, Subjects – A noun, noun phrase or pronoun that does the action mentioned in the sentence. It mostly occurs at the beginning of the sentence. Predicates – The remaining part of the sentence. It begins with the verb. Here are a few examples. Example 1: Daisy teaches English. Subject – Daisy Predicate – Teaches English Example 2: Anitha called me yesterday. Subject – Anitha Predicate – Called me yesterday Example 3: The girl wearing the yellow dress is my new neighbour. Subject – The girl wearing the yellow dress Predicate – Is my new neighbour COMPONENTS OF A SENTENCE There are five components that can make up a sentence. They are, Subject – The doer of the action Verb – The action in the sentence Object – The receiver of the action Complement -A word/phrase that modifies the subject or object in the sentence Adjunct – An adverb or an adverb clause that provides us with more information about the verb, complement or another adjunct in the sentence While most sentences contain a subject and a verb, there are sentences that start with a verb. TYPES OF SENTENCES Sentences can be classified into types based on two aspects – their function and their structure. They are categorised into four types based on their function and into three based on their structure. Assertive/declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentences are the four types of sentences. The three types of sentences, according to the latter classification, are simple, complex and compound sentences. Let us look at each of these in detail. AN ASSERTIVE/DECLARATIVE SENTENCE is one that states a general fact, a habitual action, or a universal truth. For example, ‘Today is Wednesday.’ AN IMPERATIVE SENTENCE is used to give a command or make a request. Unlike the other three types of sentences, imperative sentences do not always require a subject; they can start with a verb. For example, ‘Turn off the lights and fans when you leave the class.’ AN INTERROGATIVE SENTENCE asks a question. For example, ‘Where do you stay?’ An exclamatory sentence expresses sudden emotions or feelings. For example, ‘What a wonderful sight!’ Now, let us learn what simple, compound and complex sentences are. This categorisation is made based on the nature of clauses in the sentence. SIMPLE SENTENCES contain just one independent clause. For instance, ‘The dog chased the little wounded bird.’ COMPOUND SENTENCES have two independent clauses joined together by a coordinating conjunction. For instance, ‘I like watching Marvel movies, but my friend likes watching DC movies.’ COMPLEX SENTENCES have an independent clause and a dependent clause connected by a subordinating conjunction. For example, ‘Though we were tired, we played another game of football.’ COMPLEX-COMPOUND SENTENCES have two independent clauses and a dependent clause. For instance, ‘Although we knew it would rain, we did not carry an umbrella, so we got wet.’ PUNCTUATION OF SENTENCES The punctuation of a sentence depends on the type of sentence. One rule that applies to all sentences is the capitalisation of the first letter of every new sentence. The end of sentences is marked by punctuation marks such as a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark. A full stop is used at the end of assertive sentences and imperative sentences. Interrogative sentences end with a question mark, and exclamatory sentences end with an exclamation mark. While these are the basic punctuation rules, other punctuation marks like commas and semicolons are found between different clauses in compound and complex sentences. When you list something, you will have to separate them with commas. When you want to provide a list, introduce them with a short sentence and a colon to indicate the list. Go through the article on punctuation and capital letters in English to learn more about punctuation sentences. MODULE 4 GRAMMAR AND USAGE (TENSE,MOOD, MODALITY,CONCORD AND ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE USE IN EVERYDAY LIFE) Grammar is a system of rules governing both spoken and written versions of a language. Grammar rules determine many aspects of a language, such as what order words are placed in a sentence; where punctuation marks belong; subject-verb agreement; tenses (past, present, future, etc); and more. Grammar is used in communication in order to maximize clarity and effectiveness. Grammar is used in linguistics in order to classify languages into types and study how languages work. Grammar and usage exist in all languages but are different for each language. For example, some languages have more verb tenses than others. Another example is that some languages use gendered pronouns and give genders to inanimate objects, whereas others do not. GRAMMAR USAGE Grammar usage refers to how words are used in sentences, which applies to both written and spoken language. This includes things like word order, subject-verb agreement, tenses, and the like.Grammar and usage are terms that arise when talking about language and writing. Good grammar and good usage are needed to communicate clearly. However, even though grammar and usage are closely related, they’re not the same. Grammar is the set of rules that defines how words change their form and come together in a particular order to form sentences. Usage is how speakers of a language actually use words to communicate. Usage boils down to choosing the right word for the context. But Mechanics refers to rules that apply specifically to written language, because they aren't relevant to spoken language (such as capitalization rules, punctuation rules, and spelling).Writing grammar usage and style are not the same in every language. For example, the order in which different parts of a sentence are arranged differs from language to language. Many languages put the subject first, then the verb, then the object, but other languages put these elements in different orders. Sometimes the subject might come at the end of the sentence, or the verb. In certain languages, such as English, it is also possible to arrange these elements in different orders; there is not one required order. Grammar, mechanics, and style are not the same in every language. For example, some languages have more tenses than others. Some languages assign genders to nouns that are inanimate objects, which changes which form of verbs are used with the word. Some languages use gendered pronouns, whereas other languages use the same pronoun regardless of gender. Some languages have one mandated word order for sentences, whereas others have options. All of these differences show how each language has a different version of grammar. Grammar rules dictate how verbs change based on who or what the subject is. For example, in English, the verb ''to be'' changes based on the subject: I am, you are, he is, she is, they are, and we are. In English, the verb stays the same whether the subject is male or female. However, in some languages, such as French, the verb also changes based on the gender of the subject. French also assigns genders to inanimate objects, and verbs change accordingly for these, too. However, English does not assign genders to inanimate objects such as tables, sandwiches, rocks, shoes, and the like. Grammar rules also dictate how verbs change based on the tense. In English, for example, the verb ''to be'' changes based on tense: I was (past), I am (present), I will be (future). Some languages have more tenses than others, but most change the verbs based on the tense being used as well as the subject. We now know that grammar deals with how words change their forms and how they’re placed in sentences in a particular order. The words we use to construct sentences are divided into eight parts of speech: 1) Nouns (are a person, place, thing, or idea) 2) Pronouns (take the place of nouns) 3) Verbs (show action or state of being) 4) Adjectives (modify nouns) 5) Adverbs (modify verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs) 6) Prepositions (show the relationship that a noun or pronoun has with some other word in a sentence) 7) Conjunctions (join words, phrases, and clauses) 8) Interjections (express a strong emotion or reaction) EXAMPLES OF BAD GRAMMAR (AND HOW TO MAKE THEM GOOD) Example 1: A Pronoun Case Error Bad Grammar: Between you and I, there seems to be something they’re not telling us. This sentence breaks a grammar rule. The rule is that a pronoun that serves as the object of a preposition (like between) should be in the objective case, not the subjective (aka nominative) case. An easy way to avoid this grammar goof is to temporarily switch the order of the pronouns you and I. You wouldn’t say between I and you; you would say between me and you. Then, just be sure to put the correct pronoun (me) after the pronoun you. Putting yourself last in these kinds of constructions is the grammatically correct thing to do. Now we can turn this lousy grammar situation around! TENSES IN ENGLISH What is tense? A tense is a form of the verb that allows you to express time. The tense of the verb tells us when an event or something existed or when a person did something. Past, present, and future are the three main types of tenses. PAST TENSE The past tense is used to describe an activity or an event that has happened in the past or a past state of being and needs to include a time marker for when the event or action took place. Structural formula: Subject + verb (2nd form) + object. Examples: We met yesterday. He bought a new laptop last week. PRESENT TENSE The simple present tense or present tense is one of the most basic tenses in English. We use present tense to talk about something that is currently going on, something that is habitually performed, or a state that generally or currently exists. Structural formula: Subject + verb (s/es) + object. Examples: She lives in Spain. Bob drives a taxi. FUTURE TENSE The future tense is a verb tense used to describe an event or action that has not yet happened and is expected to happen in the future. Structural formula: Subject + shall/will+ verb (s/es) + object. Example: He will be here soon. Now that we have understood the three main types of tenses, communicating in English with a native English speaker will become easier. But to make communication in English easier and simpler, we need to learn more about tenses and how to conjugate them. For a complete guide on how to conjugate tenses, check out our guide on English conjugation. Apart from the three main types of tenses - present, past, and future - there are different subtypes of tenses which are mentioned below. WHAT ARE THE SUBTYPES OF TENSES? PAST CONTINUOUS TENSE The past continuous tense is used to describe events or actions that have already occurred in the past. It's employed to describe any action which has happened in the past. Structural formula: Subject + helping verb (was/were) + verb (ing) + object. Examples: I was watching TV. We were sleeping. She wasn’t eating her lunch. PAST PERFECT TENSE The past perfect tense is used to describe an event that occurred before a completed action in the past. Structural formula: Subject + had + verb (ed) + object. Examples: He had gone when she became ill. She had not lived in New York. They had not been married long when I was born. PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE The past perfect continuous tense represents any action or event that started in the past and sometimes continued into another action or another time. Structural formula: Subject + had been + Verb (ing) + object (optional) + time of action. Examples: We had been playing games for 6 hours when Dad came home. She had been reading magazines for 1 month before she decided to apply for the job. Had she been washing dishes all day? Want to know more about the past participle tense? Check out our guide and know more about the usage of the past participle. PRESENT CONTINUOUS TENSE The present continuous tense is used to talk about the ongoing actions, events, or conditions that are still not finished. Structural formula: Subject + helping verb (is / am/ are) + main verb (ing) + object. Examples: She is playing basketball. Birds are flying in the sky. I’m learning English. PRESENT PERFECT TENSE The present perfect tense is used to describe a situation or event that has already occurred but has immediate ramifications. The present perfect tense can be used to describe experiences, and situations that occurred in the past but still have an influence on the present. We don't use it with time markers. Structural formula: Subject + helping verb (have/has) + verb (ed) + object. Examples: She has not finished her work yet. I have seen that movie twice. We have visited LA several times. PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE The present perfect continuous tense shows a situation that has started in the past and continues in the present. Structural formula: Subject + helping verb (have/has) + been + verb (ing) + object (optional) + since / for + time duration + object. Examples: I have been learning English for many years. He has been working here since 2010. We have been saving money. Want to know more about the present participle? Check out our guide on how to use the present participle. FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE The future continuous tense is used to describe an ongoing action that will occur or occur in the future. Structural formula: Subject + shall/will be + verb (ing) + object. Example: He will be coming to visit us next week. She will be watching TV. He will be writing a letter to Mary. FUTURE PERFECT TENSE The future perfect is used to describe an action that will be completed between now and a certain point in the future. Structural formula: Subject + shall/will + have + verb (3rd form) + object. Examples: They will have finished the film before we get home. She will have cleaned the house by 9pm. FUTURE PERFECT CONTINUOUS TENSE We use the future perfect continuous to focus on the duration of an action before a specific time in the future. Structural formula: Subject + shall/will + have been + verb (ing) + object (optional) + time instant. Examples: He will have been studying hard for 2 weeks before the exam. By the time the alarm goes off, we will have been sleeping for 8 hours. MOOD IN ENGLISH The term grammatical mood refers to the use of verbs and different verb forms to indicate (show) the purpose of a sentence. There are five main grammatical moods in the English language: indicative mood, interrogative mood, imperative mood, conditional mood, and subjunctive mood. The grammatical mood of a sentence is defined according to its purpose. The use of verbs can show whether the sentence intends to express a fact (indicative mood), a wish (subjunctive mood), a command (imperative mood), a condition (conditional mood), or ask a question (interrogative mood). We can adapt verbs to show the grammatical mood with the help of inflections (a change in the word form, e.g. adding '-s' or '-ed') and auxiliary verbs (these are helping verbs, e.g. did, has, was, were, is). EXAMPLES 1. Did you finish your homework? ' This sentence is in the interrogative mood as it is asking a question. The use of the auxiliary verb 'did' helps to form the question and the interrogative mood. 2. 'If I were rich, I'd buy a Ferrari.' This sentence is in the subjunctive mood as it expresses a hypothetical wish. The use of the auxiliary verb 'were' rather than 'was' shows that this sentence is in the subjunctive mood. THE INDICATIVE MOOD The indicative mood is used when the speaker wishes to express something they believe to be true, such as a factual statement, an opinion, or a fact-checking question. Because of this, we typically use the indicative mood when making declarative sentences. For example, 'He will be back later' is a declarative sentence that is spoken in an indicative mood. When forming the indicative mood, we can use any tense. Examples Paris is the capital of France. He was at the park yesterday. He will be there tomorrow. They are coming to Spain, right? THE IMPERATIVE MOOD The imperative mood is used for expressing commands and instructions. The imperative mood shows that the speaker wants something to happen or someone else to do something. We typically use the imperative mood when forming imperative sentences, e.g. 'sit down!'. To form the imperative mood, we use the verb's infinitive form without the word 'to'. For example, the infinitive verb 'to sit' becomes 'sit'. For negative commands, we use the verb's infinitive form without 'to' plus the words 'do not (don't)', e.g. 'Do not sit down!'. Examples Take your jacket off. Don't talk back to me. Pass me the remote, please. Don't forget the tickets! THE INTERROGATIVE MOOD The interrogative mood is used for asking questions. We use the interrogative mood when forming interrogative sentences (i.e. questions). To create a question, we need to use an auxiliary verb (helping verb), such as did, is, do, and are, often alongside another main verb. Examples Do you have the gift? Are you sure? Where is she? What did you buy? THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD The subjunctive mood is a little trickier than the others as it is used for a few different reasons. We use the subjunctive mood to discuss hypothetical situations, express wishes, give a demand or suggestion, and explore conditional situations. When forming the subjunctive mood, the verb always changes. The way it changes is dependent on the sentence and its purpose. When discussing a hypothetical situation, a wish, or a conditional, the verb will 'move back in time' one space, e.g. 'have' becomes 'had', 'walk' becomes 'walked', and 'run' becomes 'ran'. When giving a demand or suggestion, we use the base form of the verb without the use of any inflections. e.g. 'I demand he give me a raise' and 'It's suggested she visit the castle'. THE SUBJUNCTIVE MOOD AND THE VERB 'TO BE' The change to the verb 'to be' is one of the easiest ways to spot the subjunctive mood. When using the subjunctive mood to express a hypothetical situation, a wish, or a conditional, the verb 'to be' is always presented as 'were', even when you would usually use 'was'. For example, we would say 'I wish I were famous' not 'I wish I was famous'. When using the subjunctive mood to give a demand or suggestion, the verb 'to be' remains as 'be' rather than 'is' 'are' or 'am'. For example, we would say 'I suggest he be early today' not 'I suggest he is early today'. Examples If I were rich, I would travel the world. I wish I had a new car. I suggest he wear something warmer. I wish I were famous. She requests you be there early. CONCORD Concord is a word which is originally derived from Latin for agreement, in the context of English grammar concord could be defined as the grammatical agreement between the two words in a sentence, which is the grammatical agreement between mainly the subject and the verb in the sentence. The general idea of concord is that the verb must agree with its subject in number and person. Concord in English grammar refers to the agreement between the subject and the verb in the sentence. However, there are many different ways to apply this rule. Here we look at the different types of concord, with examples. We also offer some tips and resources to help you teach concord. Concord in English language means agreement and according to the English grammar the word concord means grammatical agreement between the subject and the verb, it says that both the subject and verb shall satisfy or agree in number and person. We would try to explain the possibilities of the usage of concord in English grammar. TYPES OF CONCORD IN ENGLISH GRAMMAR There are several different types of concord in English grammar. Here are the ones you’re most likely to come across, with examples to demonstrate how they operate. GRAMMATICAL CONCORD Grammatical concord is the easiest type of subject-verb agreement to grasp, and it’s always the one we learn first. Put simply, it means that if the sentence has a singular subject, it must also have a singular verb. If the subject of the sentence is plural, the verb must be plural, too. The subject of the sentence is the person, animal or thing doing the action. The subject might be singular or plural. Let’s look at two sample sentences: The teacher speaks to the class. The teachers speak to the class. In the first sentence, the subject (the teacher) is singular, so the sentence uses the singular verb ‘speaks’. In the second sentence, there’s more than one teacher, so the plural verb ‘speak’ is used. Things get a little more complicated when we add an object to the sentence before the verb, as this can sometimes be mistaken for the subject. We have to be careful when we’re looking at these kinds of sentences. For example: The books in the cupboard are stacked neatly. The dog in the garden is running around. In the first example, the books are the subject, not the cupboard. Therefore we use the plural verb ‘are’. The subject in the second sentence is singular (‘the dog’), so in this case we use the singular verb ‘is’. GRAMMATICAL CONCORD WITH MORE THAN ONE SUBJECT What happens if there are multiple subjects in a sentence? If there’s more than one subject, these work together as a plural subject, so the verb is plural, like this: Jack and Ali were caught in the rain. Because there are two subjects (Jack and Ali) we use the plural verb ‘were’ instead of the singular ‘was’. However, there are a couple of exceptions to this rule. The first exception is when both subjects are the same person or thing. For example: The largest animal and loudest sea creature is the blue whale. The singer and songwriter is Harry Styles. In both of these cases, the subjects are the same person or animal, so we use the singular verb ‘is’ in both sentences. The other exception is when two things are always linked together in people’s minds, to the point where, when spoken about together, we think of them as one thing. Here’s an example: Fish and chips is my favourite dinner. We always think of fish and chips as one dish, even though they’re different things and can be eaten separately. When we refer to them together, we use the singular verb ‘is’. PROXIMITY CONCORD Proximity refers to the closeness of two things. In the case of sentences, we often show proximity between two subjects by using the correlating conjunctions ‘either / or’ or ‘neither / nor’. If both subjects are singular, the verb takes the singular form, as in these examples: Either the Prime Minister or the Chancellor is attending the meeting. Neither Mary nor her mother eats meat. But, what happens when one subject is singular and the other is plural? In these cases, the verb takes the form of the subject nearest to it in the sentence, like this: Either the Prime Minister or other Government ministers are attending the meeting. Neither Mary nor her parents eat meat. Both of these sentences put the plural subject closest to the verb, so the verb takes its plural form in both cases. If we reversed these sentences, so the singular subject was second, the verb would take its singular form (‘Neither Mary’s parents nor Mary eats meat’). NOTIONAL CONCORD The idea of notional concord relates to collective nouns. We use these to refer to a group of people, animals or things. Some examples include: class choir audience congregation team flock When we’re using collective nouns, the verb takes its singular form if there is no action being taken in the sentence. If there is action happening, the verb should be plural, as the people or animals in the collective are all taking action as individuals, even if it’s the same action as each other. Let’s take a look at two examples: The class has the best exam results in the school. The class are sitting at their desks. In the first example, there is no action being taken - the sentence is simply stating a fact, so the verb here is singular. In the second example, the children in the class are individually taking the action of sitting at their desks, so we use the plural form of the verb. INDEFINITE PRONOUN CONCORD Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that refer to things vaguely rather than specifically. They give us ways to talk about people, things and quantities in abstract terms. Some examples of indefinite pronouns are: anything / anyone / anybody something / someone / somebody everything / everyone / everybody nothing / no-one / nobody When the subject of a sentence is an indefinite pronoun, we always use a singular verb. For example: Everyone is coming to the party. Something has to be done about this. Is anybody there? MEASUREMENT CONCORD We use all kinds of measurements in our speech and writing, so it’s important to know how to make the verb agree with the measurement we’re describing. If we’re talking about measurements of time, money, amount or distance, we always tend to use a singular verb, even if the measurement is plural. Here are some examples: Two weeks is not long enough for our Christmas holiday. Three hundred dollars is too much to spend on a concert ticket. So, whether we’re talking about hours, kilometres or teaspoons, we always use the singular form of the verb. However, things change when we’re talking about percentages or fractions. In these cases, the verb takes the same form as the subject, like this: 50% of the building is occupied. Half the students are boys. In the first sentence, the subject (the building) is singular, so the verb is singular, too. In the second case, the subject (the students) is plural, so the verb takes the plural form. We should also mention comparative measurements here, such as ‘more than’ and ‘fewer than’. If we’re using these expressions to talk about amounts of something, the verb needs to correlate with the subject, whether it’s singular or plural. For example: More than one child is singing a solo in the concert. Fewer than ten days have been dry this month. We can see here that the first example has a singular subject, so the verb is also singular. In the second sentence, which has a plural subject, we use a plural verb. To be continued COMPLIED BY JAVA 5. LOGICAL AND CRITICAL THINKING AND REASONING METHODS (LOGIC AND SYLLOGISM, INDUCTIVE AND DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENT AND REASONING METHODS, ANALOGY, GENERALISATION AND EXPLANATIONS). 6. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS, COPYRIGHT RULES AND INFRINGEMENTS. 7. WRITING ACTIVITIES (PRE-WRITING, WRITING, POST WRITING/EDITING AND PROOFREADING, PARAGRAPHING, TYPES OF WRITING, SUMMARY, ESSAYS, LETTERS, CURRICULUM VITAE, REPORT WRITING, NOTE MAKING AND MECHANICS OF WRITING). 8. COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES (READING AND TYPES OF READING, COMPREHENSION SKILLS, 3RSQ). 9. 40 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY IN MODERN LANGUAGE LEARNING. 10. LANGUAGE SKILLS FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION. 11. MAJOR WORD FORMATION PROCESSES. WRITING AND READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIES. 12. LOGICAL AND CRITICAL REASONING FOR MEANINGFUL PRESENTATIONS. 13. ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING AND LISTENING.