The Basic Teacher
STEP 13
Vocabulary
Read and memorize this nouns and adjectives.
Nouns
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Boat |
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Harbor |
 |
Letter |
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Island |
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Sail |
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Ship |
 |
Journey |
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News |
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Person |
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Word |
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Adjectives
First - Last
Structure words
Say
How
Structure
“News” behaves like the name of a substance, except that it is never used in the plural (even though it may refer to several items of news) and never used with “a”.
The pronoun “it” is used impersonally (that is, without standing for any noun previously named or understood) in the phrase “it is” (will be, etc.) followed by some information about the time of day, date, weather, temperature, etc.
- It is still quite early.
- It will be late in the morning when we get to the island.
- Put on a coat if it ( The weather, the atmosphere) is cold.
- My mother will not go out because it is dark.
Root Form |
Past |
Present |
Future |
SAY |
SAID |
SAY |
WILL SAY |
But He, She, it. SAYS |
Learn the Present and Future Tenses of “say”. “To” is naturally the preposition used “after” say to indicate the person addressed.
- I say this every day.
- If he says a word to her, she will be angry.
- We will not say much.
“How” (the way in which) completes the group of relative adverbs.
- She puts the potatoes in water. That is how she keeps them white.
- My small son gets on a box. That is how he takes the fruit from the high shelf.
- Is that how he gets it?
With all operators except “be” and “have” (which we have seen, follow the same pattern as the auxiliaries “will” and “may”), questions which may be answered by “yes” or “no” are formed by using “do” as an auxiliary and putting it before the subject, as in questions with the other auxiliaries.
- Do I see a ship with a sail in the harbor?
- Does the news seem good?
- Do these small boats go far from the land?
In negative questions of this sort, not comes straight after the subject of do. 1
- Does the new not seem good?
Note that questions with do in the Present Tense normally refer to general facts or customary actions, except in the case of say 2, see, or seem, when they may refer to the present. With other operators, questions about a present act must use the “-ing” form.
- Are great ships coming into the harbor? (Are they now doing so?)
- Do great ships come into the harbor? (Do they ever or habitually do so?)
1 Except, when the negative is contracted.
2 The Present Tense of say, both in statements and in questions, is used more loosely than that of other operators. It frequently refers to an utterance just completed.
Questions requiring more elaborate answers than “yes” or “no” are asked with the pronouns “who” (what, which) and the adverbs “how”, “what”, “where”, “why”, “which” are called interrogative pronouns and adverbs when so used.
By putting “who” in place of the subject in a statement we form a question asking for the name or some other identification of the person or persons indicated by the rest of the question.
The woman in the house at the end of the road (has a pain).
- Who will go to the island?
The workmen and their families (will go to the island).
A person at my office (does the work).
A man with some plants for the garden (is at the door).
I am the new servant.
The words in the answers which are put in brackets and repeat part of the question are given here only to show the complete construction. They would normally be omitted.
Similar questions about the object of an operator or preposition are formed by putting “who(m)” before the auxiliary or operator and the subject after it. Note that, with an interrogative pronoun, as with a relative, a preposition may be put at the start instead of at the end.
(He sees) Joan.
- Who(m) will you take in the boat?
(I will take) all these persons.
- Who(m) are those persons waiting for?
(They are waiting for) their friends.
- To whom will your friend give the news?
(He will give) it to me.
The adjective “whose” followed by a noun, is similarly used to form questions asking for the identification of the owner of whatever is named by the noun.
It is the voice of my father.
Your books.
His boat.
The face of an old man.
“What” is used for questions about things in precisely the same way as who or whom is used for questions about persons.
- What makes die room cold?
The open window.
Parts of a bridge.
- What Is the first letter of the word 'journey'?
J.
- What has she on her head?
A small block hat.
Boxes and picture-frames.
- What will you put the apples in?
My hat.
- With what does he take teeth out?
With this instrument.
“What” is also used as an interrogative adjective qualifying the name of either the person(s) or the thing(s) about which the question is asked.
- What girls are on the ship?
Only die daughters of the manager.
- What building has a high roof?
The library.
- What street is the hospital in?
A street by the river.
- What work does your mother do?
She is a cook.
- To what part of the town are you going?
To the harbor.
The interrogative “which” is, like what, both a pronoun and an adjective, but, unlike “what”, it may in both cases be used of either persons or things. It is used when asking for the identification of some person(s) or thing(s) from a particular group. This selective sense of which is frequently brought out in the case of the pronoun by following it with of and a word indicating the group.
- Which (of these girls) is your sister?
The girl in the middle.
- Which (of your coats) will you take with you?
The red coat.
- Which (of the boats) is this sail for?
The small boat.
- Which end of the boat is the back?
The end where the seat is.
- To which old man do they give food?
To the one with the stick.
- Which flowers will you let me have?
Those on the table.
Questions with “how”, “when”, “where”, and “why” are asked by putting them at the front of a question of the type which is answered by Yes or No. The answer to a question starting with “how” tells about the way in which a thing is done.
- How does he take a tooth out?
He gets a grip of it with his instrument and gives a pull.
- How will these persons get to the island?
They will go in a ship.
The answer to a question starting with when gives the time at which something occurs.
- When do they go to time pictures?
At night.
- When does the first train go?
Early in the morning.
- When will you put your gloves on?
(I will put them on) when I go out.
The answer to a question starting with “where” gives the place at which something is or occurs, or to which it moves.
In that first drawer.
- Where does the cook keep the basket?
Under the shelf.
(It is) where those trees are.
To the ship.
The answer to a question starting with “why” gives the reason for a fact. The reason given in the answer is normally introduced by because.
- Why is the bathroom full of steam?
Because the window is shut.
- Why do the birds come into the room?
Because we put food on the table for them.
- Why is he waiting at the harbor?
Because the ship is late.
Exercises
1 . Answer the next questions:
- What do you see in this picture?
A:
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- What is the man in this boat doing?
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- Where is the other boat going?
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- Do you see some trees in the picture?
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- Where is the man who is in the water?
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- What is the first letter on the side of the ship?
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- Why are persons waiting at the harbor?
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2 . Make a list of all the nouns representing persons which you have learned so far.
3 . Ask a question in connection with each of the numbered things in the picture, using the word indicated in this list:
(1) When (5) How
(2) Where (6) Does
(3) Who (7) Why
(4) Which (8) What
4 . Far each of the following sentences or phrases, write down a question to which it might be the answer:
- Because the harbor is very narrow.
A:
- When I see the ship coming in.
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- In the middle of the island.
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- He is a man front the ship.
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- The one with the red cover.
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- He is putting up the sail.
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- The cry of a person in pain.
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