B1J - Grammar unit 6

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 1

Hulples CAM

Test

1. Vocabulary NL - EN, EN - NL
2. Phrases
3. Past simple
4. Past simple irregular verbs
5. word order + adverbs
6. comparisons (superlative + comparative)
7. Question tags
8. Quantifiers: Some <> any
9. Possessive 's / ' / ... of ... 

Word order

Word order

Placement of adverbs

• in front of the main verb
• after 'to be'
• When there's a form of 'to be' and 'not', after 'not'

 

past simple

Past simple

• Finished actions 
  (see finished time words: yesterday, last week, etc.)
  
  
• Questions + negative sentence: use 'did'
  
  
• Irregular verbs: 'to have' (had) and 'to be' (was/were)

More: p. 131 in coursebook

Comparisons

comparative & superlative

Comparative 

• Compares two things to each other
• use '-er than ..' in sentences that compare two things.
  
  
• When an adjective ends with an -e only add -r! 
  Wise > wiser
• When an adjective ends with an -y, the -y is changed into -i and then -er is added
  lovely > lovelier 

The feather is lighter than the paper.

The feather is lighter.

Superlative

• when one thing has qualities that exceed all the others
• Use 'the ....-est' 
  
  
• When an adjective ends with an -e only add -st! 
  Wise > wisest
• When an adjective ends with an -y, the -y is changed into -i and then -est is added
  lovely > loveliest 

The girl in the green dress is the shortest. 

The shortest girl is the girl in green.

Comparative / superlative exceptions

• Use more [adjective] / most [adjective] when
  Two-syllable adjectives that do not end with -le, -er, -ow, -y 
  or three- or more syllable words
  
  thankful > more/the most thankful
  interesting > more/the most interesting
  
  
• Irregular adjectives:
  good > better > best
  bad > worse > worst 

Kate made the best painting. 
Kate's painting is better than mine.

Question tags

Question tags

• Are used to confirm our statements.
• Mirror the statement: 
  Positive <> negative
  Copy auxiliary verb (or use 'to do'), subject (pronoun), tense

Harry is not eating at home today, is he?

Sally likes going to the gym, doesn't she?

They said they would go, didn't they?

Question tags

Important:

1. only auxiliary verbs can be 'copied' into the question tag, otherwise, you have to use 'to do'

2. If there's a 'negative' word (nobody, never, none, etc) within the sentence, the main sentence becomes negative, thus the question tag needs to be positive. 

Grammar: some <> any

Grammar: quantifiers some <> any

possessive 

Charles's bag / Charles' bag / the bag of Charles?

Grammar: possessive 

Used to show whose possession something is. 

• 's 
  For singular nouns (also words that end with -s you can use 's!) 
  Harry's favourite wand / Dennis's cars 
• '
  For plural nouns ending with -s (if it ends with something else, use 's!) 
  The cats' collars  / the children's toys
  
  
• [object] of [owner] (same as in Dutch) 
  Preferred when talking about things that are not alive
  The name of the ship