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Eight Basic Grammar Points

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Tense

• Susan travels.• Susan traveled.• Susan will travel.What’s the name of this grammar point?

– Tense shows how grammar expresses time.

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Tense

• English uses three tenses– Past– Present– Future

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Aspect

• Susan travels.• Susan is traveling.• Susan has traveled.• Susan has been traveling.

These are all present tense, but clearly they are different. How, exactly, are they different?

What’s the name of this grammar point?– Aspect shows how action happens or unfolds

in different ways.

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Aspect

• English uses four aspects– Simple

– Susan travels.

– Progressive– Susan is traveling.

– Perfect– Susan has traveled.

– Perfect-progressive– Susan has been traveling.

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Gender

• I met the bishop at Church….

She shook my hand.• Not “she” but “he.”

• A: Where is the newspaper?

B: He’s on the table.• Not “he’s” but “it’s.”

What’s the name of this grammar point?– Gender shows male/female distinction.

English generally follows natural gender.

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Number

• She bought one pencil.• *She bought one pencils.• She bought many pencils.• *She bought many pencil.

Singular and plural seem to be important.

What’s the name of this grammar point?– Number shows singular and plural. It also

considers count and noncount.

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Person

• I like pizza.• You like pizza.• He likes pizza.

(We like pizza; You like pizza; They like pizza)

What’s the name of this grammar point?– Person distinguishes 1) the speaker, 2) the

person spoken to, and 3) the person or thing spoken about.

– Notice that I-we, you-you, he-they is a number difference.

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Case

• Give the money to me.• *Give the money to I.• I want a cookie.• *Me want cookie.

I, me, my; you, your; he, him, his; her, hers; they, them, their….

What’s the name of this grammar point?– Case shows the difference between subjects,

objects, and possessives.

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Voice

• The bishop stole my Hello-Kitty motorcycle jacket.

• My Hello-Kitty motorcycle jacket was stolen by the bishop.

• My Hello-Kitty motorcycle jacket was stolen.

Active and passive seem to be important.

What’s the name of this grammar point?– Voice allows a change of emphasis with

subjects, objects, and agents. Next…

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Mood

• Susan likes chicken.• Does Susan like chicken?• Eat this chicken(!)• If Susan were a chicken….

Here are four different “feelings” with similar ideas.

What’s the name of this grammar point?– Mood shows the different intentions or

purposes of a sentence.– Mood does not mean happy, sad, angry.

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