First year lessons

Parts Of Speech
The words combined together to make a meaningful sentence but they play

differently in a sentence .However, each word has a specific role and place in the sentence .

Nouns , pronouns, adjective , verbs , and adverbs are all words work together to create

meaning , but each one serves its own purpose.

1.Nouns : They are names of someone ( person) , things , places or idea. They are

used as subject and object in sentences. For example : the technician fixes the

computer in the laboratory.

A.Concrete and Abstract Nouns :

1. Concrete nouns are the names of things that we can feel it when we
touched, for example, a car,a desk.
2. Abstract nouns are the names of things that we can’t touche . We can
only feel about it, for example, happiness.

B.Types of Nouns :
There are two types of nouns which are count and noncount nouns . Simply
put, countable nouns refers to those nouns that can be counted . In contrast ,
the noncount nouns are those nouns that cannot be counted in English
language .
Count Nouns : They have both singular and plural forms.
Eg : a book~ books

NB : there is always exception in English language

 1. There are count nouns that do not have plural forms , for example,
sheep . We say two sheep not sheeps. We add number before such
nouns to make it meaningfull.
2. There are nouns have the « s" of plural , but are not plural noun as :
series , genius, news….etc. They have the singular and plural form at the
same time
Non- Count Nouns : They have only one noun form which is the singular. In
addition , they can’t occur with definite articles « a/ an" or precise number
such as tow and one.
Eg : information, glass, steam, water

NB : There is exception in the non count nouns that make them countable
nouns. For example, the word « water" is non count noun but if we add a few
words before it this noun becomes countable or the plural form of it.
Eg : water~ three bottles of water~ a bottle of water.

Words That Single Nouns :

There is certain words that preced nouns and therefore act to single a noun

1.1.Articles : the English language consists three articles which are « the/ a
/ an «. When articles combine with a noun, they form a noun phrase.
For example : a cat , an elephant, the creature.
1.Indefinite Article A/ An : They used with singular count nouns to refer to
something that is not specified.
A. We use « a » before singular count noun that begin with
consonant, for example, a pen
B. We use « an » before singular count nouns that begin with vowels,
for example, an idea.
C. « a »or « an « is used to introduce a noun when it is mentioned
for the first time eg : yesterday, I bought a newspaper and a
magazine. The news paper is in my bag, but I don’t know where I
put the magazine. We use « the « in the second time of
mentioning a noun.
D. If the noun is modified by an adjective , the choice beteewn « a »
and « an » depends on the initial sound of the adjective that
 immediately follows the article, for example, a successful
operation/ an international conference
E. Before names of professions : for example, an engineer, a nurse
F. In certain expression of quantity, for example, a lot of / a couple/
a great deal of / a dozen
G. With certain numbers , for example, a hundred, a thousand, a
million
H. In expressions of price, speed, and ration, for example, 25 dinars a
kilo , 70km an hour, five time a month
I. In exclamation before singular countable nouns , for example, it's
such a successful operation !
J. Before someone name to show that the speaker does not know
the person, for example, who is a Mr Amezian ?
Omission of A/An :
_ before uncountable nouns , for example, books
_ before names of meals, for example, water

2.The Definite Article « the »: it is the same for all genders, plural, or
singular, for example, the boy~ the boys/ the gilr~ the girls
K. We use « the » to talk about something unique, for example, the
Earth, the world
L. Before superlatives and first , second……used as adjectives or
pronouns , and only
Eg 1: It was the best day of my life.
Eg 2 : I didn't take the first bus
Eg 3 : The house at the end of street is mine
Eg 4 : the people I met there were very friendly .
M. « the » is also used in proper names consisting of nouns or
adjective, for example, the white house.
N. The + singular nouns can represent a class of thing or animals, for
example, The tiger has become extinct in many countries
O. The + adjectives represent a class of person, for example, children
should show respect for the elderly
P. « the » can be used in the same way with national adjectives
ending in « ch" , « sh" , and « ss" , for example, the Spanish
 Q. « the » is used before certain names of seas , rivers, group of
island, chain of mountains, plural names of countries, and regions,
for example, The Himalayas, The West Algerian
R. « The » is used before the adjective east / west + noun in certain
names, for example, The east / west Algerian .
S. « The » + plural surname can be used to mean « the …….family « ,
for example, Don’t forget to invite the Tunisian.
Omission of « The »
Before abstract nouns
Before names of meals
Before names of games

1.2.Demonstratives This, These, That, Those.

They are another group of words signalling nouns. They preced nouns and
indicates relatives location or position. The choice of these demonstrative
depends on the noun which can be singular or physical perception.
Eg : this book/ these books
Eg : that idea / those ideas

1.3.Quantifiers : some, many, much , few, little, a lot of, less

These can be another group of words that preced nouns and act as singular.
The function of the quantifiers is indicate a general number or quantity.
Eg : many book / few books
Eg : I have less / much time than you
« Many » and « fewer « can only used with count nouns.
« Much » and » less » can only used with count nouns
Some can be used for plural count nouns or non count noun .
« A lot of » used for count nouns and non count noun but it is formal used in
spoken English.
Two nouns together or compound nouns :They are usually 2 nouns
combines together written as separate words or we write them in two separate
word.
Eg : grand-mother.

1.4.Pronouns : They are words replaces a noun or a noun phrase. The

noun phrase includes noun and all of it’ s modifier, for example, The boy
reads/ the little boy reads/ the happy little boy reads
Types of pronouns by function. : pronouns tell us who or what the doer of the
verb is or what or who is described by the verb.
Subject pronoun. Object pronoun
I/ he/she/it/we/you/they. Me/him/her/us/you/them/you
Lina writes a lesson. Lina reads the documents
She writes a lesson. Lina reads them

1.5.Possessive pronouns and possessive adjective :

A.The Possessive Pronouns (mine, his, here, its, yours, ours &theirs)
They can stand alone in the sentence . It replace the noun phrase
Eg : this pen is mine.
B.The Possessive Adjective ( my , your, his, her, its, our,& their)
They are followed by noun or noun phrase. It is part of noun phrase.
Eg : my mother is a teacher.

1.6.Reflexive Pronouns ( my self , yourself, himself, herself, itself,

ourselves, yourselves,& themselves.)
They are used to refer back to the subject. They give an emphasis to the
subject in the sentence, for example, I myself would never do that agaim6

1.7.Indefinite Pronouns : it is another subclass of pronouns . They do

not refer to something definite. That is something known or specific . They are
combined by two words.
Body/ somebody, anybody, everybody, nobody.
One/ someone, anyone, everyone, no-one.
Thing/ something, anything, everything, nothing.
NB : there pronouns take the singular third person verb from he/she/ it
Eg : Is anybody out there ?
2.Adjectives :
2.1.Definition : They are words that modify the nouns in the sentence. They
describe the nouns in the sentence
2.2. Identification of Adjectives :
A.Prototypical Adjective : They are descriptive words that describe noun.
These descriptive adjective are easily identified on the basis of their inherent
characteristic of describing nouns, for example, long, small,……….etc.
B.Derivational Ending For Adjectives :
Some of the suffixes indicates adjective class such as :
1.ous ~ courageous
2.ful~helpful
3.able~reliable
4.ic ~academic
5.ive ~active
6.less~helpless
7.ment~government
8.ion~creation
9.ible~flexible
10.al~formal
11.en ~golden
12.ese ~chinese
13.i ~Iraqi
14.ish~Spanish
15.ian~Canadian
16.ly~monthly
17.y~cloudy
C. Inflections Clues :
There are inflections that short adjective takes which are « er « & « est »
inflections to show the comparative and superlative.
NB : short adjective are adjective of one syllable word , for example, long.
Comparative Froms : when we compare two things , we use this form : adj+ er+
than+ noun.
Eg : Lina is smaller than Chaïma.
Superlative Form : when we compare more than two things , we use this
form : the+ adj+est+noun.
Eg : Lina is the smallest girl in her classroom.
Generally, for the adjective with two syllable or more , we add the « more »
and « most » words before the adjective to form comparative and
superlative forms.
Comparative form : subject + verb+ more+ long adjective + than + the rest of
sentence.
Eg : That house on the corner is more beautiful than the one across us
Superlative Form : subject + verb + the most+ long adjective + the rest of the
sentence.
Eg : The house over there is the most beautiful of them all.

Irregular Adjectives of Comparative and Superlative Forms :

Good~ better than~ the best.
Bad~worse than~ the worst
Little~less than ~the least.
Eg : I have little money
Eg : I have less money than you
Eg : I have the least money
2.3.Position of Adjective :
1. Before certain verbs : the most occur in sentence , for example, lina
bought a big house.
2. After certain verbs : stative+ linking , for example, my friend were right
3. After certain nouns : rarely happened.
2.4.Order of Adjectives : if we have more than one adjective , I have to put
them by order of different types of adjectives.
1. Opinion ( how good )
2. Size( how big )
3. Qualities( eg : famous , soft)
4. Age( how old eg : new , old)
5. Colour ( red, blue)
6. Origin ( where from : Algeria)
7. Material ( made of plastic )
8. Type ( what kind)
9. Purpose ( what for)
Eg : a small green insect . Small= size/ green = colour.
Eg : some nice easy quiz question. nice= opinion/ easy = purpose
Verbs :

The English verbs can describe the action of the subject, such as, listen, watch
, and also the English verbs can describe the state of subject as in « to be ».The
English verbs don’t show much inflection in verb form . With the third singular
pronouns ( she/he /it) add the ( s ).

Verb Sentence Position :

The position of the verb in the sentence is highly fixed .
In affirmative sentences the verb comes after the subject , for example the boy
laughed at the joke.
Even when the sentence is a long , complex one with more than one verb , we
still find a verb after a subject
Eg : The head of the French Department obliged the teachers to do the quizzes
in each semester.

Main Verbs VS Auxiliary Verbs

_Main verbs are verbs that can stand alone . It don’t need to be accompanied
by any other verbs, for example, she watches TV yesterday.
_Auxiliary verb help the main verb in some way. Or they can stand alone .
_In English language, we have three main auxiliaries which are to be, to have,
to do. The first one used to express the state of being. The second one used to
express property of ourselves or the others things. The third one used to
express negation and asking questions.
Introgative form and the negative forms of the auxiliaries ? / Do I get the
document
1.Auxiliary + subject+ main verb + the restof the sentence+ ?
2.Subject + auxiliary +not+main verb / I do not get the document .
N.B : concerning the tense of the , you must revise the present and past
simple . So please check the Google.
Types of main verbs :
Main verbs can be classified into transitive or insensitive
verbs :
1. Transitive Verbs : They are verbs that must be followed by an object (
noun, pronoun, or noun phrase) that receive the action of the verb.
Eg : I mailed. ( the meaning of sentence is not complete)
Eg : I mailed a letter to the company. ( it is meaningful sentence)
2. Intransitive Verbs : They do not need to be followed by an object. They
can form a sentence with just a subject.
Eg : The machine has broken .( meaningful sentence withou object)
The transitive verbs can be followed by something else that is not an object .
It can be an adjective or adverb( complement)
Eg : The baby slept quickly .
Adv
Eg : The house is big.
Exception : there are verbs can be transitive or intransitive according to
what we use after it.
Eg1 : if someone asks us a question : « what are you doing ? « we can
respond or say « we are eating » . In this case the verb « eat « is being
used intrasivitively even if we add a complement.
Eg : we are eating in dining room . It is staying intransitive
In other cases « what are you eating « . We are eating spaghetti so the
verb eat is transitive verb here.
Adverbs
They are words that generally ends in « ly »and that describe verbs . However,
there are many other adverbs that do not ends in « ly « and that describe
adjective or other adverbs.

Position of the Adverbs in the Sentence :

1. Front Position Adverbs :
A. Connecting adverbs : ( as result, similarly, additionally ,……etc)
Eg : The value of the gold has fallen. As result, Algerian mine faces
a crisis.
B. Time and place adverbs : ( tomorrow, here, outside….)
Eg : the last few days have been hot . Tomorrow the weather will be
much cooler.
C. Comment and view point adverbs : ( unfortunately, obviously,
possibly…….etc)
Eg : Naturally, I will do all I can to help.

2. Mid Position Adverbs : They come after the auxiliary or befor the main
verb.
A. Adverbs of frequency : It tells us how often this activity happen
Eg : Amine is always in such hurry.
Eg : Amine often eat vegeterarian food.
B. Degree Adverbs : it tells us the degree of something ( almost,
hardly, nearly…….etc)
C. Order adverbs : first , last , next…….
Eg : I first met her in 2006 or I met her first in 2006.
3. End Position Adverbs :
A. Adverbs of manner : They tells us how something happens.
Eg : the baby slept quickly
B. Adverbs of place and time :
Eg : I done my presentation yesterday.
Eg : she took the child outside.