BI Grammar Note

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 e) a university

b) a flower f) a unit

c) a pineapple g) a unique school

d) a zebra 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 g) an umbrella

b) an apple h) an hour

c) an earring i) an honour

d) an elephant j) an honest girl

e) an insect

f) an onion
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 名词

Countable and Uncountable Nouns 可数名词和不可数名词

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 Uncountable Nouns

(can be counted) (cannot be counted)

pen car oil water

boy bag sand curry

house key dust rice

cat plate ink paper

3. Can be used in the following ways.

Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns

a lot of books a little oil

many pencils a lot of water

a few houses plenty of sand

plenty of cars some rice

a few bags much ink

several keys less butter

some books more money

a large number of cows a large amount of curry

a small number of durians a small amount of 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 集合名词

 Used to refer to people, animals or things as a unit.

People

1. a band of musicians 一群音乐家 9. a patrol of policemen 一队警员
2. a choir of singers 一队士兵
3. a class of pupils 一队歌手 10. an army of soldiers 一班雇员
4. a caravan of gypsies 一队运动员
5. a batch of students 一班学生 11. a staff of servants 一族土著
6. a gang of prisoners 一群艺人
7. a crew of sailors 一群吉卜塞人 12. a team of players 一组裁判
8. a crowd of people 一群朋友
一批学员 13. a tribe of natives

一群犯人 14. a troupe of artistes

一群水手 15. a panel of judges

一群人 16. a party of friends

Animal

1. an army of ants 一群蚂蚁 11. a plague of locusts 一群蝗虫
2. a brood of chickens 一群猫头鹰
3. a cloud of flies 一窝小鸡 12. parliament of owls
4. a nest of mice 一群鱼
5. a gaggle of geese 一群苍蝇 13. a shoal of fish 一群水母
6. a flight of swallows 一群公牛
7. a flock of birds 一窝老鼠 14. a smack of jellyfish 一群蜜蜂
8. a troop of monkeys 一群狼
9. a litter of kittens 一群鹅 15. a team of oxen 一群狮子
一群小鸟
a litter of puppies 一群燕子 16. a swarm of bees 一群绵羊
10. a school of dolphins 一群水牛
一群鸟 17. a pack of wolves 一群大象
a school of whales
一群猴子 18. a pride of lions
一窝小猫 19. a flock of birds
一窝小狗
一群海豚 a flock of sheep
一群鲸鱼 20. a herd of buffaloes

a herd of elephants

Things / Plants

1. a string of pearls 一串珍珠 11. a garland of flowers 一环花朵

2. a bale of cotton 一大包棉花 12. a layer of dirt 一层污垢

3. a bowl of rice 一碗饭 13. a queue of vehicles 一列车辆

4. a bunch of keys 一串钥匙 14. a pack of cards 一副纸牌

5. a cluster of coconuts 一嘟噜椰子 15. a bouquet of flowers 一束鲜花

6. a column of smoke 一缕烟 16. a tuft of grass 一丛草

7. a bundle of sticks 一捆柴枝 17. a wad of currency 一叠纸币

8. a suit of clothes 一套衣服 18. a cloud of dust 一团尘雾
9. a clutch of eggs 一窝蛋 19. a comb of bananas 一把香蕉
10. a crate of fruits 一箱水果 20. a set of tools 一套工具

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Singular and Plural Nouns 单数和复数名词

 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. e) goose – geese
a) ox – oxen f) mouse – mice
b) child – children g) man – men
c) foot – feet h) woman – women
d) tooth – teeth

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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First Pronouns 代词 Plural
Second We
Singular You
Third I They

You
He / She / It

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

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

This is my bag. The bag is mine. I paint the picture myself.

This is your book. The book is yours. You have to do it yourself.

This is his pen. The pen is his. He writes the poem himself.

This is her pencil. The pencil is hers. She cut the fruit herself.

This is its kennel. The kennel is its. The dog scratched itself.

That is our house. The house is ours. We saw it ourselves.

These are their chairs. The chairs are theirs. They helped themselves.

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Adjectives 形容词

Comparison of Adjectives (Regular)

Positive 原级 Comparative 比较级 Superlative 最高级
bigger than the biggest
1 big 大 braver than the bravest
brighter than the brightest
2 brave 勇敢 busier than the busiest
3 bright 光亮 cheaper than the cheapest
cleaner than the cleanest
4 busy 忙碌 clearer than the clearest
cleverer than the cleverest
5 cheap 便宜 colder than the coldest
cooler than the coolest
6 clean 清洁 crueler than the cruelest
darker than the darkest
7 clear 清晰 deeper than the deepest
dirtier than the dirtiest
8 clever 聪明 fatter than the fattest
friendlier than the friendliest
9 cold 冷 greater than the greatest
happier than the happiest
10 cool 凉快 harder than the hardest
healthier than the healthiest
11 cruel 残忍 heavier than the heaviest
higher than the highest
12 dark 黑暗 hotter than the hottest
larger than the largest
13 deep 深 lazier than the laziest
lighter than the lightest
14 dirty 肮脏 longer than the longest
lower than the lowest
15 fat 胖 nearer than the nearest
neater than the neatest
16 friend 友善 nicer than the nicest
noisier than the noisiest
17 great 美妙的 prettier than the prettiest
poorer than the poorest
18 happy 快乐 quieter than the quietest
richer than the richest
19 hard 硬 stronger than the strongest
taller than the tallest
20 healthy 健康 thicker than the thickest

21 heavy 重

22 high 高

23 hot 热

24 large 大

25 lazy 懒惰

26 light 轻

27 long 长

28 low 低

29 near 靠近

30 neat 整洁

31 nice 美好

32 noisy 吵闹

33 pretty 漂亮
34 poor 穷

35 quiet 安静

36 rich 富有

37 strong 强壮
38 tall 高
39 thick 厚

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40 thin 薄/瘦 thinner than the thinnest
41 weak 弱 weaker than the weakest
42 warm 温 warmer than the warmest
43 wise 聪明 wiser than the wisest
44 young 年轻 younger than the youngest

Comparison of Adjectives (By adding ‘more’ and ‘most’)

Positive 原级 Comparative 比较级 Superlative 最高级
more beautiful most beautiful
1 beautiful 美丽 more careful most careful
more comfortable most comfortable
2 careful 小心 more dangerous most dangerous
more difficult most difficult
3 comfortable 舒适 more exciting most exciting
more expensive most expensive
4 dangerous 危险 more famous most famous
5 difficult 困难 more helpful most helpful
more intelligent most intelligent
6 exciting 兴奋 more joyful most joyful
7 expensive 昂贵 more obedient most obedient
more peaceful most peaceful
8 famous 著名

9 helpful 有帮助的

10 intelligent 有智慧的
11 joyful 快乐的

12 obedient 听话的

13 peaceful 和平的

Comparison of Adjective (Irregular)

Positive 原级 Comparative 比较级 Superlative 最高级
bad 坏 worse worst
best
good 好 better least
most
little 少 less most
many 许多 more furthest/farthest

much 许多/大量 more
far 遥远 further/farther

 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 连词

Conjunction Usage Example
- Sandy likes singing.
and To join two sentences with - Sandy likes dancing.
Sandy likes singing and dancing.
the same or similar ideas - I want to go Singapore by bus.
- He insists on taking the plane.
but To join two sentences with I want to go Singapore by bus but he
different ideas insists on taking the plane.
- Danny was punished.
because To give reason - He did not do his homework.
Danny was punished because he did not
so To show cause and effect do his homework.
- The children are tired.
or To show a choice or - They go to bed early.
possibility can be made The children are tired so they go to bed
early.
if To show a condition - Would you prefer tea?
- Would you prefer coffee?
although To show contrast Would you prefer tea or coffee?
(beginning / middle) - You work harder.
- You will pass your examination.
If you work harder, you will pass your
examination.
- 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 疑问句用词

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

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

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

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

Whose To ask about who the Whose pencil is this?
owner of something Whose ruler is this?
is / belong to Whose car is that?
(possessives) 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 When is your brother’s birthday?
something happens When are we going home?
When did you come?
When will you leave?

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

Verb Present Tense Past Tense Example
to be is
am He is the head prefect.
to have
to do are was I am a boy.

has She was in Langkawi yesterday.
have
were These boys are my nephews.
does We were there last month.
do
She has a yellow raincoat.

had You have a dictionary.

He had a football practice yesterday.

She does the housework every day.

did We do our work quietly.

They did their homework just now.

Subject-Verb Agreement 主语与动词一致

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 They prepare some food for supper.

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 The backpackers have no place to

tonight. sleep tonight.

He is a friend of mine They are friends of mine.

Singular Plural
is are
has have
do
does

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Simple Present Tense 现在时式

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 现在进行时式

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 过去时式

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 Irregular Verb Verb
-d, -ed, -ied remaining same

live  lived sell  sold cut  cut
want  wanted drink  drank put  put
carry  carried buy  bought let  let
stop  stopped
plan  planned
panic  panicked

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Positive and Negative Statements 肯定句和否定句

Positive statement in the Present Tense

I go to the town’s library on
You goes weekends.
We
They Negative statement in the Present Tense
He
She do not go to the town’s library on
does not go weekends.
It

I
You
We
They
He
She

It

Positive statement in the Past Tense

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

It

I
You
We
They
He
She

It

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Prepositions of Time

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

- Lunch is at noon.
at - Dinner is at 6 o’clock.

- Tuition is at 2.30 p.m.

- Ali is going to Ipoh on Friday.
- I am going to visit my grandmother on Saturday.
on - 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.

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

during - during the holidays

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