What is a verb?

1. A verb is a word which shows action: eat, read, drive, think
or state of being:

is/was (singular:present/past)
are/were (plural:present/past)
has/had (singular:present/past)
have/had (plural:present/past)
does/did (singular:present/past)
do/did (plural:present/past)

2. A verb shows time (tenses): past, present, or future time.
Example: Ridzuan was here.

Ridzuan is here.

Ridzuan will be here.

Ridzuan ran home.

Ridzuan runs home.

Ridzuan will run home.

3. A word that does not show time is not the main verb of the sentence. Look at the following sentence. Which word is the main verb in the following sentence?

The barking dog jumped on the woman.

4. Try changing the sentence to future tense. Which word would you change? The word that changes to future tense is the main verb of the sentence.

Is the following group of words a sentence?

The will bark dog jumped on the woman.

It isn't a sentence because bark is not the verb of the sentence. The word barking in the original sentence is functioning as an adjective and is modifying the noun dog. The verb in the original sentence is jumped. The tense of the verb jumped can be changed.

The barking dog will jump on the woman. [future tense]

The barking dog is jumping on the woman. [present progressive]

The barking dog jumps on the woman every day. [simple present]

SUMMARY (Part 1)

1. A sentence contains a subject and a verb. It is a complete thought and makes sense.
2. The basic sentence structure is SVO (Subject,Verb,Object).
3. A subject can be a noun or a pronoun.
4. Nouns are names for any things: boy, food, rattan, John, Singapore, beauty, toilet, university, bus, etc. Nouns can be divided into 2 categories:

----------------------------------------------------
COMMON NOUN // PROPER NOUN

----------------------------------------------------

man------------------- Ahmad

building---------------- KLCC
bus-------------------- Maraliner
school------------------ SMK Kijal
television------------ Samsung
restaurant-------------- KFC

5. A Pronoun is a word used in place of a noun. It avoids repetition of a noun and monotonous in sentences. Only the subject pronoun is used as the subject in a sentence.

http://eslus.com/LESSONS/GRAMMAR/POS/pos6.htm

6. A verb comes after the subject (SVO)

7. The verb can be divided into 2 classes:
i) Main verb (actions): jump, eat, kick, smile, jog, cycle
ii) State of being (auxiliary verbs):is/was,are/were,has,have/had,

8. A verb shows time (tenses):past, present, future

TIPS:
i) A subject must agree with the verb and this is called Subject-Verb Agreement (SVA).

SUMMARY (Part 2)

A singular subject uses a singular verb and so does a plural subject that uses a plural verb.

ii) A singular subject refers to single or one object/item.
iii) Every singular verb has the ending ‘s’.
iv) A plural subject refers to more than one object/item.
v) Every plural verb does not have the ending ‘s’, yet maintains the original form.
vi) Memorize the formula below and study the examples to understand better.

Formula 1 (Singular/main verb/present tense):
Sing= V+s

Example sentence:
1. He enjoys the Math class.
2. The pencil costs 60 sen each.
3. A cat eats fish.
4. A computer helps us in many ways.
5. My mother picks up the phone.
6. Salleh reads the book three times.

Formula 2 (Plural/main verb/present tense):
Plu= V-s

Example sentence:
7. They enjoy the Math class.
8. The pencils cost 60 sen each.
9. Cats eat fish.
10. Computers help us in many ways.
11. My sisters pick up the phone.
12. We read the book three times.

WEBassessment

Instructions:
Please copy the given link and paste it in the browser.

Then, click to be directed to the respective website which provides the assessment.

Take the assessments. Good luck!

QUEST 1: Subject and Verb (SVO)
http://www.johnsesl.com/Projects/Sentences.shtml

QUEST 2: Subject-verb Agreement (SVA)
http://www.eslcafe.com/quiz/sva1.html

QUEST 3: Word order
http://esl.vcc.ca/eslvoc/ESLWEB/person1.htm

ANALYZING ERRORS
Read through the following sentences. Then, correct them where necessary.

The uses of Telephone

1. We use the telephone to communicate with my parents.
...................................................................

2. We use the telephone when in emergency condition.
...................................................................

3. We use the telephone when we miss someone.
...................................................................

4. We call the taxi to go to shopping at the town.
...................................................................

5. We call the police to inform the robbery.
...................................................................

Checklist
1. SVO
2. SVA (singular/plural,tenses),Pronoun & Noun Agreement
3. Coherence (Flow of ideas)-Use WH-questions technique.
4. Punctuations
5. Spellings
6. Outline: Topic sentence, supporting points, conclusion, transitional or signal words

Sites:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/606/01/
http://buckhoff.topcities.com/using_transition_words.htm
http://english-zone.com/writing/para-strctr.html
http://english-zone.com/writing/mini-i.html


How to Generate Ideas for your paragraph?

Topic: My most embarrassing moment

A: Question yourself (WH-questions and coherence)

1. What is your most embarrassing moment? Which one?
Answer: My most embarrassing moment is...................
2. Why did you think it was the most embarrassing?
Answer: It was really embarrassing because.......................
3. When did it happen?
Answer: It happened ....................................
4. Where did it happen?
Answer: It happened in/at .............................
5. How did it happen?
Answer: It happened because I.........

B: Rewrite all your answers and do the checklist as above.

PRACTICE 1
Write a short description about your grandmother.

1. ......................................................................

2. ......................................................................

3. ......................................................................

4. ......................................................................

5. ......................................................................

PRACTICE 2
Write five sentences based on the graphic given below.

Graph: Death Causes in the United States

1. ...........................................................................................

2. ..........................................................................................

3. ..........................................................................................

4. ..........................................................................................

5. ..........................................................................................

PRACTICE 3
Write a short paragraph (five sentences) about the topic below.
You may use the given outline to assist you in generating the ideas.

Suggested Outline (WH Technique):
1. What is my job?
2. Where do I work?
3. Why do I like my job? (3 reasons)
4. What are the examples (supporting details) that prove my 3 reasons?
(Reason 1/Example 1, Reason 2/Example 2, Reason 3/Example 3)

Tip: Use transitional words to show coherence:
First, then, another, finally

5. Conclusion (Restate the topic sentence and reasons)
Example: In conclusion, I love my job (topic sentence) because (state the 3 reasons).

“Why I Love My Job”
.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................

.....................................................................