Comprehensive Guide to English Grammar, Vocabulary, and Language Structures

Calendar Notations and Ordinal Dates

  • Written and spoken calendar representations:
    • Tuesday, September 22nd (spoken as the twenty-second)
    • Thursday, October 1st (spoken as the first)
    • Friday, October 2nd (spoken as the second)

Expressing Opinions and Personal Points of View

  • Verbs used to introduce personal thoughts, opinions, and assumptions:

    • I think (that)... (used in speaking activities)
    • I suppose...
    • I believe...
    • I imagine...
    • I guess...

  • Prepositional phrases and expressions for personal viewpoint:

    • In my opinion,...
    • My point of view is...
    • For me,...
    • As far as I'm concerned,...

  • Grammatical application in unit commentary:

    • Future intention structure: be going to
    • Example construction: "As far as I'm concerned, the unit is going to be about…"

Expressing Aim, Goal, and Purpose

  • Terminology and definitions:

    • Noun equivalents: a goal = a purpose = an aim
    • Verb collocations: reach one's goal

  • Non-Finite (Infinitive) Structures for Expressing Goal or Aim:

    • so as to+verb\text{so as to} + \text{verb} (e.g., so as to take / catch the bus)
    • in order to+verb\text{in order to} + \text{verb} (e.g., in order to take the train)
    • so as not to+verb\text{so as not to} + \text{verb} (Negative aim; e.g., so as not to miss the bus)

  • Finite Clause Structure for Expressing Goal or Aim:

    • so that+Subject+verb\text{so that} + \text{Subject} + \text{verb} (e.g., so that I catch / don't miss the train)

  • Time and Travel Contextual Examples:

    • Base routine statement: "Every day, I get up very early…"
    • Variations in time expressions:
    • 6:45 = six forty-five = a quarter to seven
    • the 6:45 bus / bus of 6:45 / the six forty-five bus
    • 45 train / the train which is at 6:45
    • Associated verbs: catch (irregular verb; past tense: caught), take
    • Exemplar combined sentences:
    • "Every day, I get up very early so as to catch the six forty-five bus."
    • "I get up very early in order to take the train which is at 6:45."
    • "I get up early so as not to miss the train."
    • "I get up early so that I catch / don't miss my train."

Expressing Cause, Reason, and Justification

  • Grammatical Formulas for Cause and Reason:

    • because+Subject+verb\text{because} + \text{Subject} + \text{verb}
    • because of+noun\text{because of} + \text{noun}
    • for+Subject+verb\text{for} + \text{Subject} + \text{verb} (or for+noun\text{for} + \text{noun})
    • given that+Subject+verb\text{given that} + \text{Subject} + \text{verb}
    • as+Subject+verb\text{as} + \text{Subject} + \text{verb}
    • since+Subject+verb\text{since} + \text{Subject} + \text{verb}

  • Detailed Contextual Applications:

    • "Every day, I get up very early because I have to catch the 6:45 train."
    • "Given that the train leaves at 6:45…"
    • "As I want to be in time for my train at the station…"
    • "…because of the train schedule."

Classroom Rules, Permission, and Modals of Politeness

  • Levels of Politeness in Requesting Permission:

    • Informal / Standard: Can I / we + verb...? (e.g., Can I switch the light on, please?)
    • Formal / Polite (Conditional): Could I / we + verb...? (Could is the conditional form of the modal auxiliary can; phonetic guide: [kʊd]). Example: Could I switch the light on, please?
    • Most Formal: May I / we + verb...? (May represents a higher degree of formality than could). Example: May I switch the light on, please?

  • Classroom Settings, Obligations, and Rules:

    • Temporal/Locational phrases: In class, at school, during the lessons
    • Obligation vs. Prohibition (must vs. mustn't):
    • Rule general statement: "In class, the teacher tells us what we, pupils, must and mustn't do."
    • Mandatory actions (must): Pupils must have their English stuff and speak English.
    • Prohibited actions (mustn't): Pupils mustn't use their smartphone / smart phone / cell phone.

  • Permission Protocol:

    • Rule statement: "When pupils need to do something particular, they must ask for the teacher's permission / authorization."

  • Expressing Apologies:

    • Verb phrase formula: I apologize for+verb+-ING\text{I apologize for} + \text{verb} + \text{-ING}
    • Lexical items: apologize (regular verb), an apology / apologies (nouns)

Rules and Applications of the Genitive (Possessive) Case

  • Overview:

    • The Genitive case (also known as the Possessive case) indicates ownership or relationship between nouns.

  • Key Grammatical Rules:

    • Singular Noun: Add +'s (indicates a single owner).
    • Formula: Singular Noun+’s\text{Singular Noun} + \text{'s}
    • Example: the teacher's instructions (refers to instructions given by one teacher)
    • Regular Plural Noun (ending in 's'): Add +' (apostrophe only after the existing 's').
    • Formula: Plural Noun ending in ’s’+’\text{Plural Noun ending in 's'} + \text{'}
    • Example 1: the pupils' reactions (refers to reactions of multiple pupils)
    • Example 2: my friends' parents (French translation: les parents de mes amis)
    • Irregular Plural Noun (not ending in 's'): Add +'s.
    • Formula: Irregular Plural Noun not ending in ’s’+’s\text{Irregular Plural Noun not ending in 's'} + \text{'s}
    • Example: the women's reactions (French translation: les réactions des femmes)
    • Proper Nouns ending in 's': Add +'s.
    • Formula: Proper Noun ending in ’s’+’s\text{Proper Noun ending in 's'} + \text{'s}
    • Example: Charles's friends (French translation: les amies de Charles)

Vocabulary, Word Formation, and Language Differences

  • Dialectal Differences (US vs. UK English):

    • Expressing equivalence: the same ... as ...
    • Neighbor: neighbor (US) vs. neighbour (UK)
    • Public rapid transit: the subway (US) vs. the underground (UK)

  • Unit 2 ("Nice to meet you") Greetings:

    • Expressions used upon meeting someone:
    • Nice to meet you!
    • Glad to meet you!
    • Happy to meet you!
    • Pleased to meet you!

  • Compound Expressions with "else":

    • Indefinite person: someone else
    • Indefinite object/matter: something else
    • Indefinite location: somewhere else = someplace else

  • Word Formation via Nominalizing Suffix -ness:

    • Formula: Adjective+-ness=Noun\text{Adjective} + \text{-ness} = \text{Noun}
    • Examples:
    • polite (adjective) →\rightarrow politeness (noun). Related antonyms: unpolite / impolite (adjectives).
    • happy (adjective) →\rightarrow happiness (noun).

  • Verbs, Derivations, and Related Vocabulary:

    • explain (regular verb) = give an explanation
    • advertise (regular verb) →\rightarrow an advertisement, an ad, an advert
    • warn (regular verb) →\rightarrow a warning (noun)
    • link (regular verb) →\rightarrow linking words
    • catch (irregular verb; past tense: caught)
    • Additional nouns: store, drawings, contact book

  • Speaking Activities and Visual Document Analysis Vocabulary:

    • Speech components: a sentence, a phrase, an expression
    • Structured document description pattern:
    • "The document is a series of pictures that / which are divided into two parts: the top one is… / the bottom is…"
    • Upper section details: the teacher's instructions / illustrations
    • Lower section details: the pupils' reactions
    • Relationship verbs and components: refers to, corresponds to, element, the outer...