GRAMMAR REVIEW FOR THE MIDTERM EXAM 1.

There is / there are "There" is a kind of pronoun used to show something you know exists. Compare these two sentences: - "A fly is in my soup." - "There is a fly in my soup!" The first sentence is factual and impersonal. The fly is the subject, and the soup is the object. In the second sentence the object is "a fly in my soup", so the subject is "There". "There" functions as a kind of dummy subject that represents a more personal perspective, rather than a factual statement. Especially in spoken English we usually use the contraction "there's", rather than "there is". Here are the forms of "there" in the Simple Present. Statements There's a tree in my garden. There are books on the desk. Negatives There isn't a computer in my bedroom. There aren't any cinemas here. There is usually subject-verb agreement when using there is/there are. For example: - There are ten students in my class. - There is ten students in my class. Sometimes however we can use "there is" with compound subjects, for example: There's a bank and a post office near my house. Dialogue Hey, this is a great apartment. Thanks. There's a lot of space, and there are some really nice neighbors as well. Are there any stores near here? Sure, there is a supermarket near here. You have a great view! Right. There's only one problem. What's that? Questions Is there a restaurant here? Yes, there is. / No, there isn't

It's really expensive!

2. Prepositions of Place Prepositions show relationships between things. For example: "The lamp is on the table" contains the preposition "on". This word shows the spatial relationship between the lamp, and the table. The most common prepositions of place are: in, on, under, next to, in front of, behind, Look at the following pictures to learn their meaning:

Example Dialogue Hi Sylvia, where's the fruit juice? It's in the refridgerator! No, it's not. It's not there.

Oh, sorry, it's in the cupboard next to the soda. Thanks. And where is the cereal? Um, on the shelf, I think. Great! Let's have some breakfast! 3. Countable and Uncountable Nouns 1. Countable Nouns All nouns are countable or uncountable. Countable nouns have the following properties. - They can be counted, for example 1 apple, 2 apples, ...etc. - They can be made plural. - They can take the indefinate article a/an. 2. Uncountable Nouns Uncountable nouns have the following properties. - They usually can't be counted, for example 1 money, 2 money, ...etc. - They usually can't be made plural. - They usually don't take the indefinate article a/an. Some is often used for plural nouns. For example: - I have some apples. - I have some food. This is covered later in more detail. Here are some common countable and uncountable nouns. Countable apple tree person dog kilo liter Uncountable time rice beef money information help

Countable nouns often refer to individual things, and physical things. For example: a person, a tree, a kilo. Uncountable nouns often refer to non-individual things, and abstract things. For example rice is not an individual thing, it's seen as group of hundreds of small grains. Love and sadness are abstract, not physical things. 3. Countable and Uncountable Nouns Some nouns can be countable and uncountable, depending on how they are used. For example:

- Countable : A glass of milk. Here glass refers to one container made of glass. - Uncountable : You can see through glass. Here glass doesn't refer to one thing, it refers to glass as a substance. - Countable: He has many papers. Here papers refers to some of individual documents. - Uncountable: Paper is made from wood. Here paper is not an individual thing, but a general substance. Whether something is countable or uncountable takes time to learn and can only be achieved through longterm exposure to English. Also, what may seem logical in your own language may seem completely illogical in English! Learning a language involves learning another culture's point of view, and as always, the guidelines above should be used to help your own understanding rather than as hard and fast grammar rules. Good luck! 4. Quantifiers - Some / Any Quantifiers are words that show how much there is of something - they show quantity. Numbers for example are also quantifiers. Some Some is used to show an indefinite quantity, the exact number is not important. It is used in affirmative statements, for example: - I have some books. - She wants some apples. Some is also in questions, but only when you think the answer wil be "Yes". For example: - Do you have some paper? (I hope the answer is "Yes") - Would you like some french fries? ( I expect the anwer is "Yes") Any Any is used in negative statements. For example: - I don't have any money. - There aren't any taxis near here. Any is also generally used in questions, especially when we expect the answer to be "No". for example: - Do you have any paper? (I expect the answer will probably be "No") - Is there any time to go to the doctor's? ( I think there probably isn't time). Some and any are often used like articles for plural nouns. A/an is used for singular countable nouns, and some/any can be used for plural noun, countable or uncountable. For example: I have a newspaper, some newspapers, and some money. "A newspaper" is a singular countable noun so uses a, "newspapers" is a plural countable nouns so uses some, and money is an uncountable noun so also uses some.

Quantifiers - Much / Many / A Lot of Much, many, and a lot of indicate a large quantity of something, for example "I have a lot of milk" means I have a large quantity of milk. Much Much is used with uncountable nouns, and is generally used in negative statements and questions. It's uncommon to use much in positive statements. For example: - I don't have much money. - Do you have much time? - "I have much time." This sounds unusual. Many Many is used with plural countable nouns, and is often used in negative statements and questions. It is also used in positive statements however. For example: - I don't have many apples. - Do you have many friends? - Many people come here in summer. Much and many can be used in affirmative statements, but give a more formal meaning. For example: - He has many good friends from Harvard University. A lot of A lot of is used with uncountable and countable nouns, and is generally used for affirmative statements. For example: - I have a lot of friends. - I have a lot of time. A lot of is also used in questions, especially when you expect a positive response. Although it is often said that much and many are used for questions, we usually use them for questions which expect a negative response. For example: - Do you want a lot of pizza? I expect you want to eat a lot. - Do you want much pizza? This sounds unusual, as though I expect you don't want to eat much. Lots of can be used in the same way as a lot of, often in informal speech. For example: - I have lots of time. - I have a lot of time. How much / many? How much is used to ask about the price of something. For example: - How much is it? - How much is that dog in the window?

How much and How many are used to ask about quantity. For example: - How much money do you have? - How many apples does he have? Quantifiers - A Few / A Little THese quantifiers are used to show a small quantity of something, for example "I have a few books" means I have a small quantity of books. A Few A few is used with countable nouns to show a small quantity. It is used in affirmative statements, but not negatives. We generally use any or questions. For example: - I have a few books. - I don't have a few books This is incorrect. - I don't have any books This is correct. - Do you have a few books? Sometimes this is possibe, but generally speaking we use any for questions, for example "Do you have any books?" Few "a few" means "a small quantity", but "few" means "not a big quantity" For example: - A few friends came to my party. This is a positive idea, I'm happy a few people came./ - Few friends came to my party. This is a negative idea, I'm not happy because not many people came. Notice how "a few" focuses on how many people did come, but "few" focuses on how many didn't come. A few means a small quantity A little is used with uncountable nouns to show a small quantity. Again, it is generally used in affirmative statements, not negatives or questions. For example: - I have a little orange juice. Negatives and Questions use "any" as usual. - I don't have a little orange juice. This is incorrect. - I don't have any orange juice. This is correct - Do you have a little orange juice? Again, we generally use any for questions, for example "Do you have any orange juice?"

COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES Comparatives are generally used for comparing two things, and superlatives are used for comparing three or more things. If it's clear what we are comparing to, then we can just use the comparative form on its own. For example: - I am faster. - She is older.

Otherwise we use than before the thing we are comparing to. For example: I am faster than John. She is taller than me. Superlative forms don't use than and are always preceded by the definite article the. For example: - I am the tallest student in my school. Comparatives ----One-Syllable Adjectives To make a comparative from an adjective with one syllable, we add -er to the adjective, for example: - slow - slower - fast - faster - tall - taller - short - shorter To make a comparative from a one syllable adjective ending in -e, we just add -r. For example: - nice - nicer - large - larger If the one syllable adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant. For example: - big - bigger - hot - hotter - thin - thinner Two-Syllable Adjectives If the adjective has two or more syllables, we add more before the adjective. For example: This book is more expensive than that book. This picture is more beautiful. However there are many exceptions to this one/two-sylllable rule. Some two-syllable words behave like one-syllable ones: For example: This is easier - Correct This is more easy - Incorrect. This is simpler - Correct This is more simple - Incorrect

And some adjectives can use both comparatives forms: For example - clever - cleverer - more clever: These are all correct. - quiet - quieter - more quiet: These are all correct. Exceptions cannot be learnt through rules, the best way to learn them is simply to pick them up case by case. Superlatives One-Syllable Adjectives To make a superlative from an adjective with one syllable, we add -est to the adjective, for example: - slow - slowest - fast - fastest - tall - tallestr - short - shortest To make a superlative from a one syllable adjective ending in -e, we just add -st. For example: - nice - nicest - large - largest If the one syllable adjective ends in a vowel and a consonant, we double the consonant. For example: - big - biggest - hot - hottest - thin - thinnest Two-Syllable Adjectives If the adjective has two or more syllables, we add most before the adjective. For example: This book is the most expensive book. This picture is the most beautiful picture in the museum. Irregular Forms There are a few irregular forms. superlative forms. good better bad worse far farther far further little less much/many more Below gives the adjective, comparative, and best worst farthest furthest least most

For example: You are the best student in the world! I am far from home, he is further from home, but he is the furthest from home.

Dialogues examples 1.How's the weather in your country? The summer is much hotter than here, and the winter is also much colder. The best time is spring, it's beautiful!

2-Which restaurant do you like? Bella Rosa is good, they've got good food but it's expensive. McDonalds is cheaper, but it's really unhealthy. I think the Vietnamese restaurant is the best, it's the cheapest, the healthiest, and the most delicious!

3-How's your English going? Oh, it's much better these days. It's easier than before, and I know more words and I can speak more confidently. It's great. I'm really glad to hear it. Keep up the great work!