Auxiliary ("Helping") Verbs and Main Verbs

We use auxiliary verbs to form different verb tenses and aspects.

DO and DOES
We use do to form negatives and questions in the simple (habitual) present. (Remember, if the subject is 3rd person singular--he, she, it--use does.) The main verb after do/does is in the root (simple) form.

Examples:
Barack Obama does not live in Chicago now.
(In speech, you can contract does + not => doesn't)

I do not understand Arabic.
(Contraction: do + not => don't)

Where do you live?

Does Mary attend classes at the University of Maryland?

DID
We use the past tense of do--did--to form negatives and questions in the simple past.
We use did for all persons. The main verb after did is in the root (simple) form.
The contraction of did + not => didn't.

Examples:
Jack did not do his homework.
Did the teacher write the homework on the board?

BE
We use be as an auxiliary verb to form the present and past progressive (continuous). Use the present form (am, is, are) for the present progressive. use the past form of be (was, were) for the past progressive. The main verb after any form of be is in the present participle (Ving) form.

Remember! Both do and be can also be main verbs.

Examples:
The students do their homework.
The students are in class every day.

In this video, Paul talks about the auxiliary verbs do and be and main verbs:

Adjectives

Here is another video by dgb111. It is about adjectives (words that describe nouns). You will recognize some of the adjectives from our vocabulary work in the OPD, like hungry and angry, as well as some new ones. Watching the video will help you to remember the words and to pronounce them correctly.

Fruits and Vegetables

This little video by dgb111, an English teacher in Mexico, will make you hungry!



There are a few spelling mistakes: broccoli, tomato, cantaloupe, and zucchini are correct. Also, some speakers pronounce orange as one syllable, as dgb11 does, but other speakers (like me) pronounce it as 2 syllables: o-range.

Song: Hero

Mohammed AA suggests that I post this music video of a love song by Enrique Iglesias. The grammar in this song is advanced, but I think you can get the idea! If you have any questions, ask me.



By the way, "I just wanna to hold you" should be "I just want to hold you."

The Simple (Habitual) Present Tense: Negatives

In this video, Paul explains how to make negative sentences in the simple (habitual) present tense.

Song: Tell Me Why

Mohammed AQ has shared this beautiful music video with us. "Tell Me Why" is not only a beautiful song; its words are simple, and there are many examples of the habitual (simple) present tense! You can enjoy the music and practice grammar at the same time. The artist is the young British singer, Declan Galbraith. Enjoy!


Declan Galbraith - Tell Me Why ( with Lyrics) - More free videos are here

PS "Cos" is an informal spelling of "because". Also, as you know, we normally capitalize the subject pronoun "I".

Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

This Real English video models the American pronunciation of cardinal numbers 1 - 15 and 10 - 100 (counting by by tens). Then you will hear some ordinal numbers from 1st (first) to 31st (thirty-first).

AT, ON, IN: Prepositions of Time

We use at for clock time:

• at 11:00 a.m.
• at 2:30
• at noon (or midnight)
  

We use on for days and dates:

• on Monday
• on Mondays (=every Monday)
• on February 23rd
  

We use in for longer periods of time:

• in March
• in 2004
• in the 21st century

Watch this RebeccaESL video for a review of these prepositions of time:

Daily Routines

Here is a cute video about things we do every day. There are a few mistakes; can you find them?


Video by Kamil Gunay (Turkey)

Song: Shower the People

Here's another James Taylor favorite:

James' message is that when you love a person, you should tell them and show them!
(There are a few mistakes in the words.... ask me!)

The Verb BE (Questions)

To make a question with the verb BE, just reverse the subject and the verb, like this:

I am --> Am I...? (Am I right?)
We are --> Are we...? (Are we late?)
You are --> Are you...? (Are you okay?)
They are --> Are they...?(Are they in class?)
He is --> Is he...? (Is he in the library?)
She is --> Is she...? (Is she at home?)
It is --> Is it...? (Is it Wednesday?)

Review with Paul by watching the video below:

The Verb BE (Negatives)

Negative forms of the verb BE in the present tense, with contractions:

I am not (I'm not)
We are not (We're not/We aren't)
You are not (You're not/You aren't)
They are not (They're not/They aren't)
He is not (He's not/He isn't)
She is not (She's not/She isn't)
It is not (It's not/It isn't)

I'm not a student. You're not a teacher. We aren't in class on weekends. Mohammed and Mohammed are from Qatar. They're not from Korea. They aren't from Taiwan. Willie is from Taiwan. He isn't from China. Myong Heui is from Korea. She's not from Vietnam. In Australia, it is hot in February. It isn't cold.

For a review of BE in the negative, watch Paul's next video:

Where Are You From?

Michael Marzio teaches English in France. Michael has a wonderful website, Real English. There are videos of real people speaking English. Some of them are good for beginners, like this one:

The Verb BE

Singular:
I am (I'm)
You are (You're) ...
He is (He's)...
She is (She's)...
It is (It's)...

Plural:
We are (We're)...
You are (You're)...
They are (They're)...

Watch Paul's first video for a review of the present tense of the verb be.

Pleasure Reading

Now that you have your library books, you can begin your Pleasure Reading Program. You will

1. Choose a target amount of time for pleasure reading (15 - 45 minutes)
2. Read every day (7 days a week! No days off from reading!)
3. Read at the same time every day (when possible)
4. Complete your Student Reading Record for each book that you read (even if you don't finish it).
   

If the book is too hard (you need your dictionary a lot), change it.
If the book is boring (you don't like it), change it.
When you have finished all your books, go back to the library, return them, and choose more books.

Click here for the Prince George's County Memorial Library System.
Click here to renew your books. You will need to log in to the system with

1. your barcode (from your library card, with no spaces between the numbers) and
   
2. 1 + your 10-digit telephone number (e.g., 13014957239 or 12403647865 or 14107735690)

Ask me for help if necessary.

Remember: return your books by the due date (3 weeks after you got them) or renew them (online or at the library).

Please leave a comment on this post telling me how many minutes you plan to read every day.

Song: You've Got a Friend

Here is a better (more recent) performance of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend," sung by James Taylor. The lyrics are:

When you're down and troubled
And you need some loving care,
And nothing, oh nothing is going right,
Just close your eyes and think of me
And soon I will be there
To brighten up oh even your darkest night.

You just call out my name,
And you know, wherever I am,
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall--
All you've got to do is call on me
And I'll be there yeah, yes I'll be there.
You've got a friend.

If the sky high above you should grow dark and full of clouds
And that old cold north wind should begin to blow,
Just keep your poor head together now, now
And call my name out loud.
Pretty soon I'll be knocking on your door.

You just call out my name,
And you know wherever I am,
I'll come running to see you again.
Winter, spring, summer, or fall now,
All you've got to do is call,
And I'll be there yeah, yes I'll be there.

Oh, ain't it good to know you've got a friend?
When people can be so cold
They'll hurt you, yes, and desert you.
Well, they'll take your soul if you let them--
But don't you let them.

You just call out my name,
And you know wherever I am,
I'll coming running as fast as I can to see you again.
Oh darling, don't you know about
Winter, spring, summer, or fall now
All you've got to do is call,
And I'll be there yeah, yes I'll be there.
You've got a friend.
You've got yourself a friend in me.
Ain't it good to know you've got a friend?
I said everybody here tonight
No matter how low you've got to go sometime,
To take some consolation in one thing:
Ain't it good to know, yeah yeah yeah--
You've got a friend.

Prepositions

Here's a Schoolhouse Rock video all about prepositions! The lyrics are below the video. All the prepositional phrases are in bold type.

Like a butterfly or like a bee
Like an ant as busy as can be
These little words we call the busy Ps:
PREPOSITIONS!
Nine or ten of them do most all of the work…
Of, on, to, with, in, from, by, for, at, over, across--
And many others do their job,
Which is simply to connect
Their noun or pronoun object
To some other word
In the sentence.
Busy Ps, if you please
On the top is where you are
(top relates to “where”)
With a friend you’ll travel far
(With a friend you'll go)
If you try you’ll know that you can fly over the rainbow
(Over the rainbow is where you can fly)
Busy prepositions,
Always on the go
Like a bunch
Of busy bees
Floating pollen on the breeze
Buzzing over the meadows
Beyond the forest, through the trees
Into the beehive--
Busy, busy Ps
Into, beyond, over, on, through!
Busy prepositions always out in front
On the edges, in the crack,
Around the corner, from the back,
In between the action,
Stating clearly to your satisfaction
the location and direction.
Prepositions give specific information.
Though little words they are,
They never stand alone
Gathering words behind him you soon will see
How they have grown into a parade:
A prepositional phrase,
With a noun or at least a pronoun bringing up the rear
A little phrase of 2 or 3 or more words.
Prepositions! Attention! Forward--march!
Busy prepositions, always on the march,
Like a horde
Of soldier ants
Inching bravely forward on the slimmest chance
That they might better their positions.
Busy, busy prepositions,
In the air, on the ground, everywhere--
The sun sank lower in the west.
In the west it sank,
And it will rise in the morning and will bring the light of day.
We say the sun comes up in the east every day.
In the east it rises.
Busy prepositions
Busy busy busy
On the top is where you are.
(On the top)
If you try you know that you can fly
(Fly where?)
Over the rainbow.

Subject and Object Pronouns: Pronunciation

Here is a short video from Paul about subject pronouns and object pronouns. Listen to Paul's pronunciation and repeat!

Different Kinds of Nouns

There are 2 kinds of nouns:

1. Common nouns (teacher, students, school...)
2. Proper nouns (Rachel, Mohammed, Maryland English Institute...)

Capitalize common nouns at the beginning of a sentence:
Example: Students and teachers come to school.

Always capitalize proper nouns!
Example: Rachel and Mohammed are at the Maryland English Institute.

There are 2 kinds of common nouns:

1. Count nouns (sandwich, book, song...)
2. Non-count nouns (meat, paper, music...)

Count nouns have a singular form (1 sandwich, book, song...) and a plural form (2 sandwiches, 3 books, many songs...).

Non-count nouns have only 1 form. You can't count them. (WRONG: 1 meat, 2 musics...)

Study the vocabulary on pages 66-67 of the Oxford Picture Dictionary (OPD).

Count Nouns: egg/eggs, vegetable/vegetables, grocery bag/bags, shopping list/lists, coupon/coupons

Non-count nouns: fish, meat, chicken, milk, butter, fruit, rice, bread, pasta

Watch Paul's video for more information:

Parts of Speech

Here are some important kinds of English words ("parts of speech"):

1. A noun is the name of a person, place, or thing. (Examples: Mary, student, country, France, book)
2. An adjective modifies a noun. (Examples: good, large, interesting)
   
3. A verb is an action. (Examples: read, learn, eats, goes, forgot, walked)
   
4. An adverb modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. (Examples: usually, very)
   
5. A preposition shows the relationship between two things. (Examples: of, to, on, before, about)
   
6. A conjunction connects two or more things. (Examples: and, but, so, when, while)