1

Articles
1. There are 3 types of articles a, an and the.

2. A and an indefinite articles and only used with singular countable nouns.
2.1 a is used before words that begin with consonants sounds or words which
begin with the vowel u but has a consonant sound (you).
a) a boy
b) a flower
c) a pineapple
d) a zebra
e) a university
f) a unit
g) a unique school
h) a one-way street
2.2 an is used before words which begin with vowels (a, e, i, o, u) or words
which begin with the silent h.
a) an ant
b) an apple
c) an earring
d) an elephant
e) an insect
f) an onion
g) an umbrella
h) an hour
i) an honour
j) an honest girl

2.3 a and an are not use before uncountable nouns. E.g: rice, sand, oil, etc.

3 The definite article and is used with plural countable nouns and also
3.1 To show something that is special and one of its kinds in the world.
a) The sun is setting in the west.
b) The air is fresher in the countryside.
3.2 To refer to a particular person, animal, thing or place.
a) The white cat is under the chair.
b) That is the car which honked at me yesterday.
3.3 For the superlative form of an adjective.
a) She is the tallest girl in her class.
b) I bought the cheapest book.
3.4 With things which are already mentioned before.
a) A pupil is in a library. The pupil is reading quietly.

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Nouns
Countable and Uncountable Nouns
1. A noun is used to refer to a person, place, animal or thing.
a) teacher (person)
b) market (place)
c) rabbit (animal)
d) car (thing)

2. Nouns can be countable or uncountable.
Countable Nouns
(can be counted)
Uncountable Nouns
(cannot be counted)
pen
boy
house
cat
car
bag
key
plate
oil
sand
dust
ink
water
curry
rice
paper

3. Can be used in the following ways.
Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns
a lot of
many
a few
plenty of
a few
several
some
a large number of
a small number of
books
pencils
houses
cars
bags
keys
books
cows
durians
a little
a lot of
plenty of
some
much
less
more
a large amount of
a small amount of
oil
water
sand
rice
ink
butter
money
curry
petrol

a lot of positive statements, negative statements, questions.
some positive statements, questions.
any negative statements, questions
plenty of

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Collective Nouns
Used to refer to people, animals or things as a unit.
People
1. a band of musicians 9. a patrol of policemen
2. a choir of singers 10. an army of soldiers
3. a class of pupils 11. a staff of servants
4. a caravan of gypsies 12. a team of players
5. a batch of students 13. a tribe of natives
6. a gang of prisoners 14. a troupe of artistes
7. a crew of sailors 15. a panel of judges
8. a crowd of people 16. a party of friends

Animal
1. an army of ants 11. a plague of locusts
2. a brood of chickens 12. parliament of owls
3. a cloud of flies 13. a shoal of fish
4. a nest of mice 14. a smack of jellyfish
5. a gaggle of geese 15. a team of oxen
6. a flight of swallows 16. a swarm of bees
7. a flock of birds 17. a pack of wolves
8. a troop of monkeys 18. a pride of lions
9. a litter of kittens
a litter of puppies
19. a flock of birds
a flock of sheep
10. a school of dolphins
a school of whales
20. a herd of buffaloes
a herd of elephants

Things / Plants
1. a string of pearls 11. a garland of flowers
2. a bale of cotton 12. a layer of dirt
3. a bowl of rice 13. a queue of vehicles
4. a bunch of keys 14. a pack of cards
5. a cluster of coconuts 15. a bouquet of flowers
6. a column of smoke 16. a tuft of grass
7. a bundle of sticks 17. a wad of currency
8. a suit of clothes 18. a cloud of dust
9. a clutch of eggs 19. a comb of bananas
10. a crate of fruits 20. a set of tools
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Singular and Plural Nouns
A singular noun 1 person, animal, place or thing.
A plural noun more than 1 person, animal, place or thing.
2) The letter s is usually added to form a plural noun.
a) fruit fruits
b) girl girls
c) lamp lamps
d) song songs
3) For nouns which end with s, x, sh and ch, the plural is formed by adding es.
a) class classes
b) box boxes
c) dish dishes
d) match matches
4) For a noun which ends with y preceded by a consonant, the letter y is changed
into ies to form the plural.
a) activity activities
b) berry berries
c) lorry lorries
d) puppy - puppies
5) For a noun which ends with y preceded by a vowel (ay, ey, oy, uy), the letter s
is added to form the plural.
a) boy boys
b) day days
c) key keys
d) guy - guys
6) For a noun which ends with the letter o preceded by a vowel, the letter s is
added to form the plural.
a) radio radios
b) studio studios
c) bamboo bamboos
d) piano pianos
e) zoo zoos

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7) For a noun which ends with the letter o preceded by a consonant, s or es is
added to form the plural.
a) photo photos
b) potato potatoes
c) hero heroes
8) For a noun which ends with the letter f or fe, the plural form is made by either
adding the letter s or by changing f/ fe to ves.
a) leaf leaves
b) knife knives
c) half halves
d) thief - thieves
e) roof - roofs
f) safe safes
g) chef - chefs
9) Some nouns are called irregular as their plural form is spelt very differently from
the singular form.
a) ox oxen
b) child children
c) foot feet
d) tooth teeth
e) goose geese
f) mouse mice
g) man men
h) woman women
10) A few irregular nouns maintain the same spelling and pronunciation for both
singular and plural forms.
a) deer deer
b) sheep sheep
c) salmon salmon
d) furniture furniture
11) Some nouns occur only in the plural form:
binoculars, glasses, scissors, spectacles, pants, pyjamas, shorts, tights, trousers,
clothes, stairs, goods
12) Some nouns have no plural:
news, work, homework, rubbish



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Pronouns
Singular Plural
First
Second
Third
I
You
He / She / It
We
You
They

Subject of the verb Object of the verb
Singular I like to play badminton.
You are late.
He is an engineer.
She is an only child.
It is a Persian cat.
My parents took me out.
I called you last night.
The teacher scolded him.
They found her in the room.
The car knocked it down.
Plural We visited the museum.
They won the singing competition.
They are waiting for us.
The teacher praised them.

Personal
Pronouns
Possessive
Adjectives
Possessive
Pronouns
Reflexive Pronouns
I
You
He
She
It
We
They
my
your
his
her
its
our
their
mine
yours
his
hers
its
ours
theirs
myself
yourself
himself
herself
itself
ourselves
themselves

This is my bag.
This is your book.
This is his pen.
This is her pencil.
This is its kennel.
That is our house.
These are their chairs.

The bag is mine.
The book is yours.
The pen is his.
The pencil is hers.
The kennel is its.
The house is ours.
The chairs are theirs.

I paint the picture myself.
You have to do it yourself.
He writes the poem himself.
She cut the fruit herself.
The dog scratched itself.
We saw it ourselves.
They helped themselves.

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Adjectives
Comparison of Adjectives (Regular)
Positive Comparative Superlative
1 big bigger than the biggest
2 brave braver than the bravest
3 bright brighter than the brightest
4 busy busier than the busiest
5 cheap cheaper than the cheapest
6 clean cleaner than the cleanest
7 clear clearer than the clearest
8 clever cleverer than the cleverest
9 cold colder than the coldest
10 cool cooler than the coolest
11 cruel crueler than the cruelest
12 dark darker than the darkest
13 deep deeper than the deepest
14 dirty dirtier than the dirtiest
15 fat fatter than the fattest
16 friend friendlier than the friendliest
17 great greater than the greatest
18 happy happier than the happiest
19 hard harder than the hardest
20 healthy healthier than the healthiest
21 heavy heavier than the heaviest
22 high higher than the highest
23 hot hotter than the hottest
24 large larger than the largest
25 lazy lazier than the laziest
26 light lighter than the lightest
27 long longer than the longest
28 low lower than the lowest
29 near nearer than the nearest
30 neat neater than the neatest
31 nice nicer than the nicest
32 noisy noisier than the noisiest
33 pretty prettier than the prettiest
34 poor poorer than the poorest
35 quiet quieter than the quietest
36 rich richer than the richest
37 strong stronger than the strongest
38 tall taller than the tallest
39 thick thicker than the thickest
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40 thin / thinner than the thinnest
41 weak weaker than the weakest
42 warm warmer than the warmest
43 wise wiser than the wisest
44 young younger than the youngest

Comparison of Adjectives (By adding more and most)
Positive Comparative Superlative
1 beautiful more beautiful most beautiful
2 careful more careful most careful
3 comfortable more comfortable most comfortable
4 dangerous more dangerous most dangerous
5 difficult more difficult most difficult
6 exciting more exciting most exciting
7 expensive more expensive most expensive
8 famous more famous most famous
9 helpful more helpful most helpful
10 intelligent more intelligent most intelligent
11 joyful more joyful most joyful
12 obedient more obedient most obedient
13 peaceful more peaceful most peaceful

Comparison of Adjective (Irregular)
Positive Comparative Superlative
bad worse worst
good better best
little less least
many more most
much / more most
far further/farther furthest/farthest

There is no comparison for positive
The comparative is used to compare two things
The superlative is used to compare three or more things
The suffixes -er and -est are added to the positive adjectives to form most
comparatives and superlatives. However, -ier and -iest are needed when a two-
syllable adjective ends in y.
When an adjective of one syllable ends in a single consonant, double the consonant
for the comparative and superlatives forms. However, letters -w and -x are not
doubled.
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Conjunctions
Conjunction Usage Example
and To join two sentences with
the same or similar ideas
- Sandy likes singing.
- Sandy likes dancing.
Sandy likes singing and dancing.
but To join two sentences with
different ideas
- I want to go Singapore by bus.
- He insists on taking the plane.
I want to go Singapore by bus but he
insists on taking the plane.
because To give reason - Danny was punished.
- He did not do his homework.
Danny was punished because he did not
do his homework.
so To show cause and effect - The children are tired.
- They go to bed early.
The children are tired so they go to bed
early.
or To show a choice or
possibility can be made
- Would you prefer tea?
- Would you prefer coffee?
Would you prefer tea or coffee?
if To show a condition - You work harder.
- You will pass your examination.
If you work harder, you will pass your
examination.
although To show contrast
(beginning / middle)
- It is raining heavily.
- They continue with the climb.
Although it is raining heavily, they
continue with the climb.

- Nobody wants to live in that mansion.
- It is beautiful.
Nobody wants to live in that mansion
although it is beautiful.

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Wh-question Words
Wh-question Word Usage Example
Who To ask about people Who are you?
Who is the man?
Who is your mother?
Who is your best friend?

What To ask about things
or something
general.
What is this?
What is in your bag?
What are they doing?
What does he want?
What did you do yesterday?

Which Choices between a
few possibilities
(people, things /
places)
Which is your pen?
Which is the capital?
Which book is better?
Which shirt should I wear?

Why To ask the reason for
something
Why are you here?
Why is the bag wet?
Why is he going out?
Why do you want to be a singer?

Whose To ask about who the
owner of something
is / belong to
(possessives)
Whose pencil is this?
Whose ruler is this?
Whose car is that?
Whose books are these?

Where To ask about places Where are you?
Where is the ruler?
Where do you live?
Where is the car key?

When To ask about the time
something happens
When is your brothers birthday?
When are we going home?
When did you come?
When will you leave?

How To ask about the way
how something is
done / quality,
quantity
How are you?
How was your trip?
How do you cook the fish?
How do you get to London?

* 7 W, 1 H used to ask questions.
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Verbs to be, to have and to do
Verb Present Tense Past Tense Example
to be
is
am
was
He is the head prefect.
I am a boy.
She was in Langkawi yesterday.
are were
These boys are my nephews.
We were there last month.
to have
has
have
had
She has a yellow raincoat.
You have a dictionary.
He had a football practice yesterday.
to do
does
do
did
She does the housework every day.
We do our work quietly.
They did their homework just now.

Subject-Verb Agreement
The verb must agree with its subject. If the subject is singular, the verb must be
singular. If the subject is plural, the verb must be plural as well.
Singular Plural
The pupil sings during the music class. The pupils sing during the music class.
He / She prepares some food for
supper.
They prepare some food for supper.
The child runs around in the field. The children run around in the field.
The dog does not like its new owner. The dogs do not like their new owner.
The backpacker has no place to sleep
tonight.
The backpackers have no place to
sleep tonight.
He is a friend of mine They are friends of mine.

Singular Plural
is
has
does
are
have
do


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Simple Present Tense
1) Facts, things that are always or generally true.
The sky is blue.
The moon is round.
A hen lays eggs.
A dog has four legs.
The sun rises in the east.
Tropical fish are beautiful.
Water boils at 100 degrees.
Plants die without water.
My birthday is in September.
2) For situations that are (more / less) permanent.
I live in Malaysia.
She likes drawing.
They love coffee.
My father works in a bank.
She has three children.
The boy studies in SJK(C) Kundang.
3) Things that we do regularly / often routines, habits.
(every day, once a week, twice a month, every Sunday, four times a year)
(always, often, usually, sometimes, rarely, never)
I go to school by car.
He always wakes up at 6 a.m.
Mei Ling often listens to music.
Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.
I drink a cup of coffee every morning.
4) Short actions.
He looks at his watch.
She opens the door.
I switch on the computer.
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5) Imperatives statements / order
Do not litter!
Keep off the grass!
Do not feed the animals.
Go to your bedroom now.
6) We also use it to talk about the future after words like when, until, after,
before, as soon as in a future sentence.
I will call you when I have time.
I won't go out until it stops raining.
She'll come as soon as her babysitter arrives.
I'm going to make dinner after I watch the news.
I'll give you the book before you go.

***Spelling: In general, for single subject we add s in the verb. However...
a) For verbs that end in -o, -ch, -sh, -ss, -x, or -z we add -es.
o go goes
o catch catches
o wash washes
o kiss kisses
o fix fixes
o buzz buzzes
b) For verbs that end in a consonant + y, we remove the y and add -ies.
o marry marries
o study studies
o carry carries
o worry worries
c) For verbs that end in a vowel + y, we just add -s.
o play plays
o enjoy enjoys
o say says
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Present Continuous Tense
1) Used to show something which is happening now.
a. I am cutting the grass now.
b. The waiter is serving the customers now.
c. We are waiting for him at the bus stop.
2) Used to express the future.
a. I am going camping next week.
b. She is going for a holiday soon.
c. We are going to China tomorrow.
3) Used to express developing and changing situations.
a. The wind is getting stronger and the temperature is dropping faster.
b. More people are buying organic products nowadays.

***Spelling: Verbs when adding -ing.
a) Consonant after a short, stressed vowel at the end of the word.
Double the consonant:
sit he is sitting
put he is putting
travel they are travelling
If the consonant is not stressed, we do not double it:
benefit - benefiting (we stress the first 'e', not the 'i'.)
b) One -e at the end of the word
Leave out the e:
write he is writing
take he is taking
BUT double e add ing:
see he is seeing
c) Verbs ending in ie
Change 'ie' to 'y':
lie - he is lying
d) Verbs ending in c
Change 'c' to 'ck':
picnic - he is picnicking
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Simple Past Tense
1) Something has happened in the past (specific time) and has finished.
I took her home just now.
They were at his birthday party last night.
The cleaned the house last weekend.
He knew the answer yesterday.

2) Telling stories or past events.
Once upon a time, a lord lived in the castle.
There was an ugly witch living in the middle of the forest.
In the past, the knights travelled on strong horses.

3) Indicate a time in the past.
I lived in Johor in 1994.

4) Express habit in the pass.
I collected stamps when I was a child.

*** Spelling: Verbs in the Past Simple Tense
Regular Verb
-d, -ed, -ied
Irregular Verb Verb
remaining same
live lived
want wanted
carry carried
stop stopped
plan planned
panic panicked
sell sold
drink drank
buy bought
cut cut
put put
let let




16

Positive and Negative Statements
Positive statement in the Present Tense
I
You
We
They
go
to the towns library on
weekends.
He
She
It
goes
Negative statement in the Present Tense
I
You
We
They
do not go
to the towns library on
weekends.
He
She
It
does not go

Positive statement in the Past Tense
I
You
We
They
He
She
It
went to the zoo last Saturday.
Negative statement in the Past Tense
I
You
We
They
He
She
It
did not go to the zoo last Saturday.





17

Prepositions of Time
Prepositions Use
in
month
year
season
part of the day (morning, afternoon, evening)
duration
at
specific time of day (noon, midnight)
part of the day (night)
celebrations
on
days of the week
dates
special days
after something will happen later
by a deadline in the future
during through the whole of a period of time

Prepositions Examples
in
- My birthday is in December.
- Jenny was born in 1990.
- Tom wakes up early in the morning.
- Mr Siew will be here in three minutes.
- The van will be here in ten minutes.

at
- Lunch is at noon.
- Dinner is at 6 oclock.
- Tuition is at 2.30 p.m.
on
- Ali is going to Ipoh on Friday.
- I am going to visit my grandmother on Saturday.
- My birthday is on the 25th of June.
- We are going to the party on my birthday.
after
- I will see you after school.
- After the holidays, I will start studying French.

by
- I expect rain by noon.
- I want to have those papers by Friday.

during - during the holidays