BASIC ENGLISH LET REVIEW We travel at dawn.

I was born on August 11.

PARTS OF SPEECH
Frequently Confused Prepositions
A. _______ – names a person, place, thing, emotion, I. TEMPORAL IN MEANINGS OF IN, ON, AT
event, phenomenon, etc. It happened in 1990.
1. IN- for months, seasons, years, periods of
Kinds of Nouns day, including morning and afternoon
a. Proper Nouns- specific names. Ex. It happened in 1994.
Ex: Grace Poe, Manila, LET,
2. ON- for dates and days of the week
b. _____________ – general names
Ex: It happened on April 26.
Ex: candidate, river, students, boys
c. Count Nouns – can be counted or quantified 3. AT- for specific time of the day, including
Ex: mangoes, houses, animals noon, night, sunrise, or dawn
d. __________ – cannot be measured or counted Ex: It happened at 8:30.
Ex: coffee powder, sugar, milk II. Preposition of Place: AT, ON, & IN
e. Concrete Nouns– tangible 1. At- for specific address
Ex: phones, utensils • John lives at 143 Roxas St., CDO
f. __________– non-tangible 2. ON- to designate names of street, avenues,
Ex: love, anger, ideas etc.
• Her dormitory is on Roxas Street
B. PRONOUN – replaces a noun. 3. In-for the names of land-areas (towns,
Ex: Peter was born on 1994. He is now 22 years countries, states, and continents)
old. She lives in CDO
C. _____________– describes a noun or a pronoun. • CDO is in Mindanao
Ex: Dr. House is an eccentric doctor. III. TEMPORAL USE OF IN/WITHIN
They look comical in their costumes. I’ll call you back in 30 mins. (30 mins. from now on)
Order: I’ll call you back within 30 mins. (between now and 30
Determiner>>Observation>>Size>>Shape>>Age>> mins.
VI. SINCE/FOR TO EXPRESS SPANS OF
Color>>Origin>>Material>>Qualifier>>Noun
TIME
(OSSACOMAQUN) I have lived here since 1980 (refers to beginning
Ex: expensive, the, smartphone, thin, American, span)
white, new, I have lived here for 17 years (refers to duration
The expensive, thin, new, white, American of time)
smartphone
D. __________ - modifies a verb, adjective, or other IN
adverb. Use IN with spaces In a room, in a building,
Ex: She started her work lazily. in a garden, in a park
That technique is quite convenient.
Use IN with bodies of In the water, in the sea, in
E. ______________- expresses emotion water a river
 Oh!
 Ouch! USE IN with lines In a row, in a line, in a
F. CONJUNCTION - joins words, phrases, and queue
clauses
Ex: I was both hungry and sleepy. AT
He wants to pass exam but doesn’t study hard. Use AT with places At the bus-stop, at the
Take this seriously or fail the exam. door, at the cinema, at the
G. PREPOSITION - A word expressing the end of the street
relationship between a noun, pronoun, and other
elements of a sentence. Use AT with places on a At the top of the page, at
Ex: I bought a gift for you. page the bottom of the page
Check under the bed.

ON
Use ON with surfaces
Use ON with directions
You teach. (present)
You taught. (past)
On the ceiling, on the You will teach. (future)
wall on the floor
II. Verbs may change form to agree in number
On the left, on the right, with the subject
straight on John likes books very much. (singular)
John and I like books very much. (plural)

BETWEEN AND AMONG

Use BETWEEN to say that somebody or
something is between two or more clearly separate
objects.
• You have to choose between these two options.
• I stood between John and Peter.

AMONG is used with more than two people or

things.
 The Americans were able to conquer Philippines
because the Datus quarrelled among themselves.
BY & WITH
By is used to show the latest time at which an action will
be finished. So it is usually used with the future tenses.
• I shall be leaving by 6 o’ clock.
• I hope to finish the work by the end of this
year.
BY is used to refer to the doer of an action;
WITH is used to refer to the instrument with which
the action is done. Subject-Verb Agreement
He was killed by his servant. 1. The verb agrees with its subject in person and
He was killed with an axe. number.
The tiger was shot by me with my new gun. Ex. _________________________________________.
_________________________________________.
2. A compound subject connected by “and” requires a
H. VERB - Word that expresses ACTION (physical or plural verb.
mental) or a STATE OF BEING (describes the Ex. _________________________________________.
location, existence, or state of a person, place or BUT! When the subject refers to the same person,
thing) thing or idea or single unit, the verb is singular.
1. Mary danced with Henry last night. The secretary and the treasurer of this class are absent.
2. I wish upon a star. The secretary and treasurer of this class is absent.
3. She is a teacher. Age and experience brings wisdom.
4. The culprit remained silent.
3. Phrases like ‘together with, accompanied by, as
Kinds of Verb well as, in addition to, including, etc. which
1. Action Verbs intervene between the subject and verb do not affect
Father works hard to earn a living. the verb.
The girls study together. Ex. __________________________________________.
2. Linking verb 4. Indefinite pronouns such as some, all, most, any and
Laidah is a fast runner none take singular or plural verbs depending on the
She became Asia’s song bird. ‘of-phrase’.
3. Main and Helping Verbs (Verb Phrase) Ex. __________________________________________.
I had done the painting before you came. __________________________________________.
I should have finished it earlier if I did not get sick. 5. Use singular verbs with singular indefinite
pronouns — each, the “-bodies,” “-ones,” and “-
Features of VERBS things” (anybody, everyone, nothing), and the like.
I. Verbs have tense Ex.
___________________________________________.
6. Use plural verbs with plural indefinite pronouns.
“Many outcomes are possible.”
7. Fraction and percentages are singular or plural
depending upon the object of the ‘of-phrase’.
Ex. __________________________________________.
__________________________________________.
8. A collective noun takes a singular verb when the
speaker is thinking of the group as a unit; it take a
plural verb when the speaker is thinking of the
individual members of the group.
Ex.
___________________________________________.
___________________________________________.
9. Compound subjects joined by or, nor, either… or,
neither… nor, the verb agrees with the subject nearest
to the verb.
Ex.
___________________________________________.
___________________________________________.
10. The verb agrees with its subject, not with its predicate
noun.
Ex.
___________________________________________.
11. The verb agrees with the positive subject, not with
the negative.
Ex.
___________________________________________.
12. Nouns plural in form but singular in meaning take
singular verbs.
Ex.
___________________________________________.
13. Plural verbs are used for nouns plural in form and
meaning.
Ex.
___________________________________________.
14. Periods of time, weight, measurements, and
amount of money require singular verbs.
Ex.
___________________________________________.
15. ‘The number’ takes a singular verb while ‘A
number’ takes a plural verb.
Ex.
___________________________________________.
16. Use singular verb for titles of a book, play, story, etc.
Ex.
___________________________________________.
17. Some mass and abstract nouns have no plural form
and take singular verbs.
Ex.
___________________________________________.
18. ‘Every’ and ‘many a’ takes singular verbs.
Ex.
___________________________________________.
19. Some nouns are always plural.
Ex.
___________________________________________.
20. The verb of the sentence introduced by an expletive
‘THERE’ agrees with the number of the subject fund
after it.
Ex. __________________________________________.
21. Use plural verbs in constructions of the form “one
of those (blank) who . . .”:
“I am one of those eccentrics who do not tweet.”
22. Use singular verbs in constructions of the form
“the only one of those (blank) who . . .”
Ex. __________________________________________.
23. Adjectives used as subjects take plural verbs.
Ex.
___________________________________________.
COMMONLY CONFUSED WORDS
Accept- to agree to receive or do
He accepts defeat well.
Except- not including
Please take all the books off the shelf except for
the red one.
AFFECT-to influence
Lack of sleep affects the quality of your work.
EFFECT-n., result, v., to accomplish
Headache is the effect of smoking.
A LOT (two words)-many.
ALOT (one word)-Not the correct form.
BREATH-noun, air inhaled or exhaled
ex: You could see his breath in the cold air.
BREATHE-verb, to inhale or exhale
ex: If you don't breathe, then you are dead.
COMPLEMENT-noun, something that completes; verb,
to complete
ex: A nice dry white wine complements a seafood
entree.
COMPLIMENT-noun, praise; verb, to praise
ex: The professor complimented Betty on her proper use
of a comma.
COUNCIL-a group that consults or advises
ex: The men and women on the council voted in favor of
an outdoor concert in their town.
COUNSEL-to advise
ex: The parole officer counseled the convict before he
was released
ELICIT-to draw or bring out
ex: The teacher elicited the correct response from the
student.
ILLICIT-illegal
ex: The Columbian drug lord was arrested for his illicit
activities.
ITS-of or belonging to it
ex: The baby will scream as soon as its mother walks out
of the room.
IT'S-contraction for it is
ex: It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
LIE-to lie down (a person or animal. hint: people can tell
lies)
ex: I have a headache, so I'm going to lie down for a
while.
(also lying, lay, has/have lain--The dog has lain in the
shade all day; yesterday, the dog lay there for twelve
hours).
LAY-to lay an object down.
ex: "Lay down that shotgun, Pappy!" The sheriff
demanded of the crazed moonshiner.
ex: The town lay at the foot of the mountain.
(also laying, laid, has/have laid--At that point, Pappy
laid the shotgun on the ground).
LOSE--verb, to misplace or not win
ex: Mom glared at Mikey. "If you lose that new
lunchbox, don't even think of coming home!“
LOOSE--adjective, to not be tight; verb (rarely used)--to
release
ex: The burglar's pants were so loose that he was sure to
lose the race with the cop chasing him.
ex: While awaiting trial, he was never set loose from jail
because no one would post his bail.
STATIONARY-standing still
ex: The accident was my fault because I ran into a
stationary object.
STATIONERY-writing paper
ex: My mother bought me stationery that was on
recycled paper.
THEIR-possessive form of they
ex: Their house is at the end of the block.
THERE-indicates location (hint: think of "here and
there")
ex: There goes my chance of winning the lottery!
THEY'RE-contraction for "they are"
ex: They're in Europe for the summer--again!
EMIGRATE & IMMIGRATE
Emigrate is to leave one’s homeland
Immigrate is to enter a country in order to settle there.
Example:
I intend to emigrate from Hong Kong.
I intend to immigrate to Canada.
HANGED & HUNG
Criminals are hanged.
Things are hung on walls, hooks, or elsewhere
Ex:
John wass hanged for raping his niece.
Medals and certificates hung on the wall of his room.
BORROW and LEND are verbs
You borrow from someone.
You lend to someone.
Did you lend him money?
Did he borrow money from you?
BRING and TAKE
Bring “motion toward someone or someplace”
Take “motion away from someone or someplace”
Can I bring three friends?
I will take her to the hospital.
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FIGURES OF SPEECH
1. HYPERBOLE - Exaggerated for emphasis
Ex. “If I don’t eat something right away, I’ll starve!”
2. METAPHOR - Makes a comparison between two
unlike things that have something in common
Ex. “Life is a struggle, dying is losing a contest against
an adversary.. “
3. PERSONIFICATION - Human qualities are attributed
to an object, an animal or an idea
Ex. “Diamonds are a girls’ best friend.”
4. SIMILE - Stated comparison between two things that
are actually unlike but have something in common
Involves the words “like” or “as”
Ex. "His arguments withered like grapevines in the fall.“
5. IRONY - This expression normally signifies the
opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect
Ex. "He's handsome if you like rodents.“
6. EUPHEMISM -  is a substitution of an agreeable or
less offensive expression in place of one that may offend
or suggest something unpleasant to the receiver
Ex. He lost the game.
7. ONOMATOPOEIA - Words that imitate sound
Ex. “Broom! Broom!”
8. METONYMY - Uses substitution or representation of
something that is associated with
Ex. Crown for “royalty”
"He writes a fine hand" meaning good handwriting
9. PARADOX - Statement that seems to contradict itself
Ex. "The swiftest traveler is he that goes afoot.”
"War is peace."
10. OXYMORON - Uses contradictory terms in the
same phrase
Ex. “right mistake”
“an honest liar”
“servant leader”
11. SYNECDOCHE - This states a part to represent a
whole or vice versa
Ex. “ten brilliant minds” is used for ten intelligent
people
“wheels” describing a complete vehicle
12. ALLITERATION - This is the use of the same letter
or sound at the beginning of closely connected words.
Ex. “The hare habitually hibernates.”
“All power, prosperity, as well as pain
will be yours.”
13. ASSONANCE - This is an expression composed of
several words having the same vowel sounds.
Ex. “haste makes waste”
“ make or break”
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