The Basic Sentence The most basic English sentence contains a subject and a verb.

The most simple subjects can be pronouns or names. Pronouns person first second feminine third masculine no gender I you he she it Singular they we you Plural

Notice that there are three 'persons' http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/ rammatical!person 'I' is used when the person speaking is talking about themselves. 'You' is used when a person speaking to another individual. 'He' is used when a person is speaking directly to someone about a di""erent male individual. 'She' is used when a person is speaking directly to someone about a di""erent "emale individual. 'It' is used when a person is speaking direclty to someone about a thing without gender. Names English names begin with a given name# or "irst name# given to the $hild at birth. They end with a surname# also known as "amily name or last name. %or now we will only use "irst names# which is usually how "riends address each other. &ater we will discuss how to address someone using their last name. Verbs http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/'erb (various language translations available) * verb is a kind o" word that usually tells about an action or a state and is the main part o" a sentence. Every sentence has a verb. In English# verbs are the only kind o" word that changes to show past or present tense.+,Tense Tense is mainly used to say when the verb happens: in the past# present# or "uture. In order to e.plain and understand tense# it is use"ul to imagine time as a line on which past tense# present tense and "uture tense are positioned.

/ome languages have all three tenses# some have only two# and some have no tenses at all. English and 0apanese "or e.ample have only two tenses: past and present. $hinese and Indonesian verbs do not show tense. Instead they use other words in the sentence to show when the verb happens. %or now we will "ocus on present tense. 1e will discuss hot to talk about the past and "uture in more detail later. Kinds of Verbs English has two main kinds o" verbs: normal verbs (also called le.ical verbs) and au.iliary verbs. The di""erence between them is mainly in where they can go in a sentence. /ome verbs are in both groups# but there are very "ew au.iliary verbs in English. $reate new sections "or this in a later chapter There are also two kinds o" au.iliary verbs: modal verbs and non2modal verbs. The table below shows most o" the English au.iliaries and a small number o" other verbs. The three most common au.iliaries To be To do To have

The Verb 'Be' I" we want to make a simple sentence we can use a name# or a pronoun# and add a verb. I read. 3aul reads. Note to tranlators: here is an e.ample o" where we will need to use standard "ormatting. The $hinese literal tranlation would be 3aul read books It does not make sence in $hinese to say simply 3aul reads. $hines grammar re4uires that the verb act on something# so the "ollowing $hinese is wrong# even though the literal translation is right.

3aul reads 3aul reads books. 5ooks is put in eventhough he might read something else.

I'm sure you might be able to come up with a similar e.ample in your native language. I suggest we adopt conventions simliar to 0ulian 1heatley's book &earning $hinese. /ee page 6 here: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/foreign-languages-and-literatures/21f-101-chinese-iregular-spring-2006/readings/unit_1_1_to_3.pdf Notably: 7 8 pointy brackets indicate optional words in a sentence. Is 3aul a boy9 :es# he is 7a boy8. + - s4uare brackets indicate words necessary in one language but not in another. so "or the above $hinese English book reading e.ample it coud be 3aul reads. 8 +( ) round brackets indicate literal tranlation 3aul reads. () These are both acceptable sentences in English# as they both contain a subject (3aul# I)# and a verb. /uch simple sentences using the verb 'be' are usually "ound in spoken English as a response to a 4uestion. 1ho is the teacher9 Paul is. 5ut where is the word 'be'9 In English we have to change 'be' so it agrees with the subject# 3aul. In present tense# the verb 'be' changes into on o" the "ollowing: am# are# is. I am you are he is she is it is they are we are you are

1e can make sentencens by adding an adjectives a"ter the verb. *djectives are words that describe nouns and give more in"ormation about nouns. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/*djective 3aul is tall. /he is smart. 1e are short.

;ere are some more adjectives

tall big

short small

"ast smart

slow beauti"ul

hungry handsome

thirsty

They are big. /he is beauti"ul. ;e is handsome. I am hungry. ;e is thirsty. :ou are smart.

The Verb 'Be' - E ercise !"! &ook at the picture and write what the speaker would say.

a. :ou are short. b. /he is short. c. ;e is tall. d. 1e are tall. e. I am short. Negative Statements

". 1e are short. g. :ou are tall. h. :ou are tall. i. :ou are short. j. I am tall.

I" we want to make a negative satement. 1e simply write not a"ter the verb. I am not tall.

They are not hungry. 1e are not thirsty. It is not big.

The Verb 'Be' - #uestions I" a sentence tells us something (a statement)# the verb goes a"ter the subject. I" a sentence asks us something (a 4uestion)# one word o" the verb goes be"ore the subject.(<) I am hungry. *re you hungry9 verb /tatement =uestion Is he tall9 Yes, he is. *re they big9 Yes, they are. *n important note: when a 4uestion is directly asked to you# you must change the subject to I. %or e.ample: *re you hungry9 Yes, I am. (you is the subject) ( I is the subject) *re subject I you verb am hungry. hungry9

To answer a 4uestion# we use 'yes'.

The same goes "or when someone replies to a 4uestion you ask them about yoursel". *m I handsome9 Yes, you are. To answer in the negative use use 'no'# and 'not'. Notice where each appear in the sentence. Is it "ast9 No, it is not. 1e could also include the adjective in the answer. 5ut we don't need to so we usually omit it. Is she short9 No, she is not <short>.

No, she is not. 5oth answers are correct. Is it big9 No, it is not big. It is small.

Is she beauti"ul9 Yes, she is. *re they beauti"ul9 Yes, they are. But 1e can use 'but' to connect two sentences. I am not hungry# but I am thirsty. ;e is not handsome# but he is tall.

Sub$ect% Verb% Noun Sentencens I" we want to indicate someone or something is something then we use the "orm: /ubject > 'erb > Noun I am a teacher. 0ohn is a boy. Notice we use the letter a. This just means that 0ohn isn't any boy in particular. 5ut just one o" many boys. In English every time we have a noun we must mark it with a# an# or the. 1e use a and an when the noun isn't something in particular# and we use the when it is something in particular. This disussion gets very complicated very "ast# so "or now we will keep it simple and only introduce nouns that take the particle a. %urthermore# 3lural nouns do not re4uire an article. Nouns - Singular and Plural In english to "orm the plural o" a word we usually have to add a letter or two to the end o" the word. /ee the chart below "or some e.amples. %or a more thorough disussion o" plurals see the appendi. at the back o" the book. singular plural

boy girl student teacher doctor tiger pen pencil computer

boys girls students teachers doctors tigers pens pencils computers

Notice i" we say 'boy' we are talking about one boy. I" we say 'boys' we are talking about
more than one boy.

/o we can say: ;e is a student. They are teachers. /he is a girl. *re they girls9 No, they are not. They are boys. Is he a teacher9 No, he is not. He is a student. E ercise - Substituting Pronouns for Names ?se this chart o" common boys and girls names to "ill in the appropriate pronoun. &ommon Bo' Names $hris 0ackson Ethan &iam reg *nthony 0ames 0ohn @obert Aichael $harles Bavid Aathilda Emma Clivia Isabella Doe &ily &ommon (irl Names Aary 3atricia &inda 5arbara EliEabeth 0enni"er

?se: I# you# he# she# it# we# you# they. , 6 F G < H I J K ,L ,, ,6 ,F ,G $hris is a boy. Aathilda is a girl. Emma and Clivia are girls. Doe is a doctor. 0ohn and Emma are teachers. &inda is a student. *nthony and &iam is a boy. $harles is a boy. $hris and reg are boys. Aary and 3atricia are girls. 5arbara and Aary are teachers. 3aul and $hris are students. 0ohn is a teacher. reg are boys. ;e is a boy. !/he! is a girl. !!!! are girls. !!!! is a doctor. !!!!!! are teachers. !!!!!! is a student. !!!!!! they are boys. !!!!! is a boy. !!!!! is a boy. !!!!!! are boys. !!!!! are girls. !!!!! are teachers. !!!!! are students. !!!!! is a teacher.

&ommon Bo' Names $hris 0ackson Ethan &iam reg *nthony 0ames 0ohn @obert Aichael $harles Bavid Aathilda Emma Clivia Isabella Doe &ily

&ommon (irl Names Aary 3atricia &inda 5arbara EliEabeth 0enni"er

1e have a "ew possible answers to even the most simple 4uestion. Is $hris a boy9 Yes, he is a boy. Yes, he is. Yes. ':es.' is correct because it is a minor sentence and de"ies the rule that sentences re4uire verbs. 1e cannot say. ':es# he' because there is no verb. ?se the chart o" common names to answer the 4uestions.

Question 1 2 3 ' ) 6 0 1 10 11 12 Is 0ames a boy9 s !harles a "o#$ Are %il# and &oe girls$ Are (athilda and (ar# girls$ Are *a+id and ,ames "o#s$ s (ichael a "o#$ Are .li+ia and /mma girls$ s sa"ella a girl$ s %inda a girl$ Are 2o"ert and ,ohn "o#s$ s /li3a"eth a girl$ Are ,ennifer and /li3a"eth girls$

Answer :es# he is a boy.

%or negative answers to 4uestions we can also shorten our reply. Is @obert a teacher9 No, he is not a teacher. No, he is not. No. teacher 4ar"ara %iam 6atricia /than .li+ia 7reg %inda *a+id Anthon# sa"ella &oe 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 student tall 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 short hungr# thirst# 5 5

*nswer the "ollowing 4uestions

1 2 3 ' ) 6 0 1 10 11 12 13 1' 1) 16 110 11 20 21 22 23 2' 2)

s &oe a student$ Are 4ar"ara and %iam teachers$ s *a+id hungr#$ Are 7reg and %inda teachers. s sa"ella a student$ s *a+id a student$ s 6atricia a student$ s /than short$

8o9 she is not. :he is a teacher. ;es9 the# are. ;es9 he is. 8o9 the# are not. <he# are students. 8o9 she is not. :he is a teacher. 8o9 he is not. =e is a teacher. ;es9 she is. ;es9 he is.