Learning Unit 1: English Language Sounds and Forms

At the end of the learning unit, students should be able to:

✓ Pronounce common phonetic symbols
✓ Use grammar correctly

A. PRONUNCIATION
• Phonetic symbols are a great help when it comes to learning to pronounce English words
correctly.
• When you open a dictionary, you can find the correct pronunciation of words you don’t know by
looking at the phonetic pronunciation that follows the word.

Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT68P7fO6BA&t=106s

• English pronunciation symbols cover the 44 sounds used in English (20 vowel sounds and 24
consonant sounds. They symbols are shown below.
• However, you need to know the sound of each of these symbols represent before you can figure
out the pronunciation.

Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwTDPu2TE6k

i. SINGLE VOWEL SOUNDS

PRACTICE: Short vowels

Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgBY1KzSc-k

1. Sitting, king, women, grin, green

2. Hot, could, put, foot, bull
3. Clock, shot, hot, stop, cup
4. Cut, bus, lunch, car cup
5. Egg, fell, head, bed, feel
6. Black, cat, hat, her, had
7. Away, cinema, waiter, always, doctor

PRACTICE: Long vowels

Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX6EE4MEduY
1. Heat, see, fell, green, beach
2. New, bought, shoe, blue, food
3. Four, pot, horse, saw, walk
4. Father, half, park, call, arm
5. Work, girl, dirty, walk, her
ii. DOUBLE VOWEL SOUNDS

PRACTICE: Double vowel sounds

Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsOP7tDugdQ

1. Page, point
2. Where, bathe
3. Nice, noise
4. Mouse, my
5. Square, toy
6. Choice, year
7. Pear, ear
8. Careful, they
9. Sound, phone
10. Sound, phone
11. Share, south
12. Snow, oil
13. Flower, joke
14. Bear, dear
15. Here, there
16. Mouse, poor
17. Sure, share
iii. CONSONANT SOUNDS
Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSnenzetZLE

B. GRAMMAR
PARTS OF SPEECH

The parts of speech explain how a word is used in a sentence. There are eight main parts of speech
(also known as word classes): nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions
and interjections.
Most parts of speech can be divided into sub-classes. Prepositions can be divided into prepositions of
time, prepositions of place etc. Nouns can be divided into proper nouns, common nouns, concrete
nouns etc.
It is important to know that a word can sometimes be in more than one part of speech. For example,
with the word increase.

• ‘Increase’ can be a verb e.g. Prices increased

• ‘Increase’ can also be a noun e.g. There was an increase in the number of followers.
Group work
a. Form a group of 6 to 7.
b. Choose a part of speech.
c. Research on the following:
i. notes,
ii. examples and,
iii. some exercises on the chosen part of speech.
d. Present findings in class in about 7-10 minutes.
SUBJECT VERB AGREEMENT
Subject-Verb Agreement
NOTE
We will use the standard of underlining subjects once and verbs twice.
Being able to find the right subject and verb will help you correct errors of subject-verb agreement.

Basic Rule. A singular subject (she, Bill, car) takes a singular verb (is, goes, shines), whereas a plural
subject takes a plural verb.
Example: The list of items is/are on the desk.
If you know that list is the subject, then you will choose is for the verb.
Rule 1. A subject will come before a phrase beginning with of. This is a key rule for understanding
subjects. The word of is the culprit in many, perhaps most, subject-verb mistakes.

Hasty writers, speakers, readers, and listeners might miss the all-too-common mistake in the
following sentence:
Incorrect: A bouquet of yellow roses lend color and fragrance to the room.
Correct: A bouquet of yellow roses lends . . . (bouquet lends, not roses lend)

Rule 2. Two singular subjects connected by or, either/or, or neither/nor require a singular verb.
Examples:
My aunt or my uncle is arriving by train today.
Neither Juan nor Carmen is available.
Either Kiana or Casey is helping today with stage decorations.

Rule 3. The verb in an or, either/or, or neither/nor sentence agrees with the noun or pronoun closest
to it.
Examples:
Neither the plates nor the serving bowl goes on that shelf.
Neither the serving bowl nor the plates go on that shelf.
This rule can lead to bumps in the road. For example, if I is one of two (or more) subjects, it could
lead to this odd sentence:
Awkward: Neither she, my friends, nor I am going to the festival.
If possible, it's best to reword such grammatically correct but awkward sentences.
Better:
Neither she, I, nor my friends are going to the festival.
OR
She, my friends, and I are not going to the festival.
Rule 4. As a general rule, use a plural verb with two or more subjects when they are connected
by and.
Example: A car and a bike are my means of transportation.
But note these exceptions:
Exceptions:
Breaking and entering is against the law.
The bed and breakfast was charming.
In those sentences, breaking and entering and bed and breakfast are compound nouns.

Rule 5a. Sometimes the subject is separated from the verb by such words as along with, as well as,
besides, not, etc. These words and phrases are not part of the subject. Ignore them and use a singular
verb when the subject is singular.
Examples:
The politician, along with the newsmen, is expected shortly.
Excitement, as well as nervousness, is the cause of her shaking.

Rule 5b. Parentheses are not part of the subject.

Example: Joe (and his trusty mutt) was always welcome.
If this seems awkward, try rewriting the sentence.
Rule 6. In sentences beginning with here or there, the true subject follows the verb.
Examples:
There are four hurdles to jump.
There is a high hurdle to jump.
Here are the keys.