General English Module ANJ 1st Edition 2022 - Dr. Amini Ngabonziza Jean de Dieu

General English Module
Lecturer:
Dr. AMINI NGABONZIZA Jean de Dieu
1st Edition 2022
Labor for the future 1

Learning outcomes of this module:
 Mastering the formal rules of English
language
 Practicing grammatical structures in
variety of contexts
 Enabling students to use the new
structures to communicate
 Motivating students to use new structures
freely and creatively

Express yourself in English

Module structure
 Unit 1: Parts of speech
 Unit 2: Punctuations
 Unit 3: Sentence structure
 Unit 4: Essay writing
 Unit 5: Common mistakes

Unit 1: Parts of speech
 We put parts of speech together to
express our ideas and feelings.
 Every word is a part of speech.
 Every word has a specific role to form a

speech (Spoken or written).

The 9 parts of speech
1. Nouns
2. Pronouns
3. Articles
4. Adjectives
5. Verbs
6. Adverbs
7. Prepositions
8. Conjunctions
9. Interjections

Section 1
Nouns

Section 1: Nouns
 Words that name people, places, objects and
concepts
Examples:
Shakespeare, William, Mandela, Kagame= People
London, Dubai, Kigali, Rwanda, South Africa =
Places
Computer, Telephone, Basket, hoe, technology=
Objects
Ideology, spirit, love, courage, heroism = Concepts

Types of Nouns
Proper nouns vs. common nouns
 A proper noun is a specific name of a
person, place, or thing, and is always
capitalized.
Example:
i. Kigali is a capital city of Rwanda.
ii. William is not a villain.
iii. Where is the White house?

Common nouns
 A common noun is the name of things or

ideas and is not capitalized unless
appearing at the beginning of a sentence.
Example:
The man talked English!
We have no trouble at home.
What is your favorite drink?

Types of common nouns
 Concrete nouns: desk, a tree, house, etc
 Abstract nouns: spirit, love, wisdom, etc
 Collective nouns: team, dozen, band, etc

Countable nouns vs. uncountable
nouns
Uncountable nouns are nouns that can not
be counted because of its nature.
Example: Liquid (Water, honey, milk,…)
NB: They are always considered to be singular, and

can be used with some, any, a little, and much
 Countable nouns are those nouns that can

be counted. E.g: projector, student, car,…
Practice – Noun Formation
Form abstract nouns from adjectives,
verbs, and other nouns
 From adjectives: long, human, humble, cruel,
bitter, wide, humane, brave, vain, ignorant,
wise, deep, decent, proud, sane, novel,…
 From verbs: obey, expect, please, advise,
relieve, occupy, seize, conceal, cancel, hate,
laugh, free, think, depart,…
 From other nouns: infant, owner, priest, author,
coward, mother, pirate, bankrupt, pilgrim,
hero, boy, patriot, …

Homonyms
 A homonym is a word that sounds the same
as another word but differs in meaning.
 Homonyms can refer to
both homophones and homographs.
 A homophone is a word that is
pronounced the same as another word but
differs in meaning and is spelled differently.
 Homographs are words with the same
spelling but having more than one meaning.

Homonyms
NB:
 The description of a homonym covers that of both a
homograph and a homophone.
 For example, ‘bear’, ‘tear’ and ‘lead’ are all

homographs, but they also satisfy the criteria of a
homonym. They simply need to look or sound the
same.
 Likewise, while ‘sell’, ‘cell’, ‘by’, and ‘buy’ are all

homophones, they are also homonyms.

Homophones
Words that sound the same but have different meaning and are spelled differently
Examples:
 Weak — Week
 Sun — Son
 See — Sea
 Plane — Plain
 Meet — Meat

Homographs
Words that sound the same but have different meaning and are spelled the same
 Address – Address
 Band – Band
 Bat – Bat
 Match – Match
 Mean – Mean
 Right – Right
 Ring – Ring

Examples:
 Address – Address
I can give you the address of a good attorney.
That letter was addressed to me.
 Band – Band
The band was playing old Beatles songs.
She always ties her hair back in a band.
Many insects are banded black and yellow.
 Bat – Bat
I am afraid of bats.
It’s his first time at bat in the major leagues.
 Match – Match
If you suspect a gas leak do not strike a match or use electricity.
Her fingerprints match those found at the scene of the crime.

Example cont…
 Mean – Mean
 What does this sentence mean?
 He needed to find a mean between frankness
and rudeness.
 Right – Right
 I’m sure I’m right.
 Take a right turn at the intersection.
 Ring – Ring
 What a beautiful ring!
 The children sat on the floor in a ring.

Practice 1: Homonyms
1. The ___ looked dashing in his armour.
a. night
b. knight
2. I have blond hair and ___ eyes.

a. blew
b. blue
3. I don't even have one ___ with me.
a. cent
b. sent

4. He said he ___ where the place was.
a. knew
b. new
5. An island is a piece of land surrounded by the
___.
a. see
b. sea
6. ___ you like coffee or tea?
a. Would
b. Wood

7. I ___ my bike yesterday, so my legs are sore.
a. rode
b. Road
8. Are you ___ or left-handed
a. right
b. Write
9. My boat has two ___.
a. sales
b. sails

10. I would like ___ tea, please.
a. week
b. Weak
11. Where did the dog ___ the bone?
a. bury
b. berry

Section 2
Pronouns

Pronouns
 Pronouns are words that replace nouns.
 They help not to repeat the nouns over
and over again
o Example:
o
- Kalisa helps the mother of Kalisa. Kalisa
announced that Kalisa wants to build a
house for the mother of Kalisa.
 Kalisa helps his mother. He announced that he wants to
build a house for his mother.

Types of pronouns
 Personal Pronouns: Used to replace
specific subjects.
Example:
- I, you, he, she, it, we, they

Relative pronouns
 used to connect relative clauses to
independent clauses.
 They are: that, what, which, who, and whom.
Ex: The man who is coming is greater than me.

All the cows that got milked today will be
loved. My Benz , which is nearly twenty years
old, still runs well.
NB: who refers to people,

and which and that refer to animals or things.

Other types of pronouns
 Demonstrative pronouns: That, This
 Indefinite pronouns: one, other, none, some,
anybody, everybody, and no one.
 Reflexive and Intensive Pronouns:
myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves,
yourselves, themselves.
 Possessive Pronouns: My, your, its, his, her,
our, their and whose.
 Interrogative Pronouns: who, what, which,
and whose.

Pronouns

Section 3
Articles

Articles: Indefinite and definite
 We use articles to determine if a noun is
definite or indefinite
 A noun is definite when a sender and a
receiver of a message both know which
person, place, or thing you are talking
about.
 A noun is indefinite when a sender and a
receiver of a message do not have a
specific person, place or thing in mind
Indefinite article: a/an Definite article: the
 Use a before  Use the when:

consonant sound. - A person, place, or thing is unique –
there is only one
Eg. A book, a car, a
- - The context makes it clear which
reader, a student person, place, or thing you mean
Eg. The moon, The sun, the world,…
 Use an before vowel
sound - The noun is mentioned for the second
time (If the first time is indefinite): An
Eg. An idea, an ant, an ant lived next to a river. One day the
honest person ant went to the river.
- Use indefinite article
with singular count - A phrase or adjective: first, best, right,
nouns wrong, or only identifies the noun:
- The only food, the best hunter
- No article with
plural count or non
nouns . Labor for the future 32
.

Quantifiers
 Use the quantifiers some, enough, a lot
of, and any with both count nouns and
non-count nouns.
Examples:
- We have some eggs and some honey.
- Are there enough pots and enough oil?
- There was a lot of good days.
- There was a lot of danger too!

Quantifier: any
 Use any in negative sentences and
questions.
Example:
- We didn’t see any shark.
- Is there any tea left?

Quantifiers: a few, several and many
 Use a few, several and many with plural
count nouns in affirmative sentences.
Example:
- A few team members got sick
- They experienced several large storms
- Many people worried about them

Quantifiers: A little, a great deal of,
and much
 Use a little, a great deal of, and much with
noun-count nouns in affirmative
sentences.
Example:
- They had a little trouble with the sail
- They threw away a great deal of food
- Much planning went into this project

Quantifiers: Many and Much
 Use many with count nouns:
- How many ships did they see?
- They didn’t see many.
 Use much with non-count nouns:

- How much water did they carry?
- They didn’t carry much.

Practice – Articles -1
Choose the, a, or an for each blank in the
following passage.
I live in …..small house in ………rural area. There
is…… small city ……few miles away. Going to
………….city is no problem unless you are in
…….hurry. There is ……bus which stops at
…….little gas station opposite our house, but
…….driver of ……..bus never carries ……watch
or pays any attention to ……. printed materials he
distributes regularly. Therefore, when I have
………appointment or …..important engagement, I
never depend on ………. Weston Transportation
Company (….name of …..bus line).

Practice – Articles -2
 ….. week ago, I wanted to go into …….city to
buy …..suit. However, I was expecting …..guest to
come to spend …..evening with us, so I wanted to
get back to …..house early. In order not to lose
any time, I drove to …..city. I parked in front of
….one-hour parking meter. When I returned with
……suit, …….policeman was standing there.
…..meter indicated …..violation. I had been away
more than …..hour. `….. policeman was putting
…….parking ticket on .….car. I tried to persuade
him to tear up …ticket. I soon realized this was
…… waste of time. When I went to …… Court
House …….week later, I found out …….fine for
……violation was fifty dollars
Section 4: Adjectives
Comparing people and

things
Comparatives and superlatives

Use of adjectives in a sentence
We use adjectives to describe nouns.
Most adjectives can be used in front of a noun:
They have a beautiful house.

We saw a very exciting film last night.
or after a link verb like be, look or feel:

Their house is beautiful.
That film looks interesting.

Adjectives with '-ing' and '-ed'
A lot of adjectives are made from verbs by adding -ing or -ed:
-ing adjectives
-ing adjectives are:
 amusing
annoying
boring
disappointing
exciting
interesting
 frightening
tiring
shocking
surprising
worrying

If you say something is interesting,
you mean it interests you:
I read a very interesting article in

the newspaper today.
If you say something is terrifying, you

mean it terrifies you:
That Dracula film was
absolutely terrifying. Labor for the future 44
If something bores you, you can
say you feel bored.
We had nothing to do.
We were really bored.
If something terrifies you, you

can say you are terrified.
I didn't really enjoy the Dracula

film. Most of the time I
was terrified. Labor for the future 45
Comparatives and Superlatives
-How do you form the comparative and superlative of the adjectives:
new, fine, hungry, cold, big, interesting?
-Now look at the list of adjectives below. Can you see any rules?
1. short shorter the shortest
cheap cheaper the cheapest
2. fat fatter the fattest
hot hotter the hottest
slim slimmer the slimmest
3. easy easier the easiest
4. late later the latest
5. good better the best
bad worse the worst
6. expensive more expensive the most expensive
difficult more difficult the most difficult

Comparatives and Superlatives
The rules:
1. Short adjectives (one syllable) form comparatives
and superlatives with –er and –est (or with –r and
–st) if they end in –e. e.g cold-colder-coldest; fine-
finer-finest
2. Adjectives ending in c+v+c double the consonant:
e.g. hot-hotter-hottest; big-bigger-biggest
3. Two syllable words ending in –y have –ier, -iest:
lazy-lazier-laziest
4. good and bad are irregular adjectives.
5. Long adjectives with three or more syllables form
comparatives with more or most: attractive-more
attractive-the most attractive

Practice-1
 Compare yourself with someone sitting
next to you. Make a few sentences and
tell the class.
1. Compare East African Community
member countries: consider size (small, big),
weather (cold, warm), prices
(cheap/expensive); and others (noisy,
peaceful, beautiful, clean, developed, etc.)

Practice-2
2. Compare vehicles: a car, a bus, a train, a
plane, a motorcycle, a boat, etc.: consider
speed, the number of wheels, the people it
can carry, how comfortable they are, the
size, etc.
3. Think of 5 universities you know and
make a brief comparison. (size, age, number
of students, programmes, lecturers, facilities,
etc.).

Practice-3: Make sentences based on
the information provided in the
following table
Student Height Age Intelligent
Jane 1m60 22 68%

Mary 1m66 24 67%
Christine 1m79 35 80%
Rose 1m66 24 68%

Other ways of comparing
Note: a bit vs. much
 much/ a bit can be used before the
comparative adjective.
Examples:
 Mary is a bit taller than Jane.
 Christine is much older than Jane.

1. As… as /not as….
These forms may also be used while
comparing. Consider the following
sentences:
 Burundi is not as small as Rwanda.
 Mary is as young as Rose.
 Bujumbura is not as clean as Kigali.
Make similar sentences (from the table
above).

2.The same as/different from
 My dad is the same as my father.
 A restaurant is different from a café.
Now decide whether the following are the same or
different and answer in full sentences:
1. a phone and a telephone
2. UK and England
3. 2x6 and 4x3
4. The Netherlands and Holland
5. 4.546 and 4,546
6. a wife and a woman

Practice-1
Put the adjective into the correct form
1. I think this film is ………(funny) than the one you
talked about.
2. My brother thinks he is ……… (intelligent) than I
am, but I don't agree.
3. She is …………. (good) student in her class.
4. What is ………… (cold) month of the year in your
country?
5. Who is ……. (powerful) person in the world?
6. Do you think my films are …….. (good) as my
books.
7. This is ……… (good) person I’ve ever worked with.
8. The situation is getting ……….. (bad).

Practice-2
9.Your TV is a lot ……. (good) than ours.
10. This is ….... (bad) film I’ve ever seen.
11. Mary seems to get …….. (young) every
year.
12. My friend married a woman who is much
…….. (young) than him.
13. Everest is …..…(tall) mountain in the
world.
14. There is no ..….. (good) place than Rwanda.
15. Who is ……… (beautiful) than all the
others?

Practice-3
Write the sentence in two or three different
ways without changing its meaning: e.g. I’m
younger than her=I’m not as old as her=She is
not as young as I am.
1. I’m shorter than her.
2. My English is worse than hers.
3. My car is cheaper than hers.
4. My feet are smaller than hers.
5. My skin is darker than hers.
6. I’m more generous than her.

Section 5
Verbs

How do you express time?
 How do you express time in your language?
 Different cultures think different ways about time.
 Chinese has no grammatical verb tenses
 Indonesian, express time only through adverbs —

there are no changes to the verb form.
 How do you express time in your language?

Time, culture and grammar
 English verb tenses give many details
about time and action such as:
Is the action finished? How long did the action

happen? Was the action repeated? Did the
action happen at a known or unknown time? Is
the action a habit? Is the action planned
or spontaneous?

Topic 1: Tenses
 Three main verb tenses in English: present, past and future.
 Four aspects: the simple, progressive, perfect and perfect

progressive.
 Two ways to form tenses (Past and present): I teach and I

taught
 To form other verb tenses, you have to add a form of have,

be or will in front of the verb. These are called helping,
or auxiliary verbs.

Simple tenses Progressive Perfect tenses Perfect
Aspects and tenses

(Single action) (continuous)
tenses – unfinished
(one event happens
before another
Progressive
tenses (express
event event) duration, how
long?)
Simple present: Present Present Present perfect
I go home every progressive: perfect: I have progressive: I have
day I am going home gone home been driving since
now this morning.
Simple past: Past progressive: Past perfect: Past perfect

I went home I was going home I had already gone progressive: I had
yesterday when you called home in the past. been driving for
three hours before I
stopped to get gas.
Simple future: Future Future perfect: I Future perfect

I will go home progressive: will have gone home progressive: I will
later I will be going by tomorrow. have been driving
home when you call for five hours by the
time I
English verb tenses (12)
The 12 main tenses:
 Simple present: She writes every day.

 Present progressive: She is writing right now.
 Simple past: She wrote last night.
 Past progressive: She was writing when he called.
 Simple future: She will write tomorrow.
 Future progressive: She will be writing when you arrive.
 Present perfect: She has written Chapter 1.
 Present perfect progressive: She has been writing for 2 hours.
 Past perfect: She had written Chapter 3 before she started Chapter 4.
 Past perfect progressive: She had been writing for 2 hours before her friends
arrived.
 Future perfect: She will have written Chapter 4 before she writes Chapter 5.
 Future perfect progressive: She will have been writing for 2 hours by the time
her friends come over.

Conditions
 Conditionals:
 Zero conditional (general truths/general habits).
 Example: If I have time, I write every day.
 First conditional (possible or likely things in the future).
 Example: If I have time, I will write every day.
 Second conditional (impossible things in the present/unlikely in the future).
 Example: If I had time, I would write every day.
 Third conditional (things that did not happen in the past and their imaginary results)
 Example: If I had had time, I would have written every day.
 Subjunctive:This form is sometimes used in that-clauses that are the object of certain
verbs or follow certain adjectives. The form of the subjective is the simple form of the
verb. It is the same for all persons and number.
 Example: I recommend that he study every day.
 Example: It is important that everyone set a writing schedule.

TALKING ABOUT ROUTINES/
HABITS versus WHAT IS
HAPPENING RIGHT NOW
Present progressive or Simple present

tense?

SIMPLE PRESENT
Use
1. Actions that are habitual or routine
 The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
 I brush my teeth twice a day.
2. Things that are always true/general facts
 Birds sleep in nests.
 Cats eat meat
3. Things that happen usually, sometimes, often, etc.
 We learn English on Thursdays.
 It usually rains in the afternoon.

Section 6: Adverbs

SIMPLE PRESENT AND ADVERBS OF
FREQUENCY
 An adverb of frequency is always used
describe how often something occurs. The
following are adverbs of frequency: always,
hardly ever, often, usually, sometimes, seldom
occasionally, rarely, never, normally.
 Adverbs that describe definite frequency
include yearly, monthly, weekly, daily.
 The adverb of frequency is placed between
the subject and the verb.
 She never lies.
 I always travel by bus.

ADVERBS OF FREQUENCY
The adverb of frequency is placed between
the auxiliary and the verb
 We have always lived in this place.
 I have never visited Europe.
In questions and negative sentences, the
adverb is placed before the main verb.
 Do you usually get up so late?
 I don't often go to his office.

PRACTICE
Put the adverb of frequency in the right place
1. He listens to the radio. (often)
2.They read a book. (sometimes)
3. Peter gets angry. (never)
4. Tom is very friendly. (usually)
5. I take sugar in my coffee. (sometimes)
6. Ramon is hungry. (often)
7. My grandmother goes for a walk in the evening.
(always)
8. Walter helps his father in the kitchen. (usually)
9. They watch TV in the afternoon. (never)
10. Christine smokes after dinner. (seldom)

SIMPLE PRESENT OR PRESENT
PROGRESSIVE?
The Present progressive (continuous) is used for:
1.Things that are happening right now
 I am sitting down right now.
 He can’t come to your place because he is working.
 Look, the children are hiding behind the tree.
2. Temporary actions that may not be happening right now, but have
not yet been completed
 I am staying with my grandmother.
 The car is being repaired.
3. Your plan for the future
 We are doing the first exam next week.
 I am not attending the party this evening. I have an
appointment with my boss.

NON-PROGRESSIVE VERBS.
With some verbs (for example know, want, like,

remember, have (meaning 'possess’)), we usually use
simple tenses, not progressive tenses.
 I know who she is? I am knowing…..
 Do you want to go home now? Are you wanting ..
 I don't like this music. I'm not liking …..
 She has (got) a headache. She is having
However, the following is possible:
• I’m having lunch.
• She is having trouble with the car.

PRACTICE-1
Put in the space the correct tense of the verb in brackets.
1. 'Can you help me for a minute?' 'I'm sorry I
……………………(work).'
2. ………………………….. on Saturdays (you work)?
3. Have you got a light? Sorry, I ……………………………(smoke,
not)
4. How many languages ……………………………………(you
speak)?
5. “Why………………………………….. a sweater (you wear)? It
isn't cold.”
6. My father …………………………………….(spend/always)
Christmas in Europe.
7. Roberts …………………………football most weekends (play).
8. '………………………..English?' (you speak). 'Yes, a bit.’
9. Is John in the bathroom? No, he is outside. He
…………………… ….the car (wash).

PRACTICE-2
Simple Present or Present Progressive?
1. What’s that terrible noise? Mary …………..violin. (play)
2. Do you know anyone who …………. Russian? (speak)
3. I wonder if Jane is ill –she …………….thinner and
thinner.(get)
4. Oak trees ……………much faster than pine trees. (grow)
5. She can’t come now. She ………………….a bath (have).
6. She …………..to school with her sister (not go usually).
7. What time ……………… (you meet) Peter today?
8. ……………(you go) to the meeting next week?
9. Where is Lucy? She ……………… (shop).
10. What ……………(you eat)? Chocolate

Practice 3: Choose the tense for each rule and
write an example in the space provided
Rule Pres. Example

Continuous or
Pres. Simple?
Things that are
happening now
Plans for the future
Things that are

always true
Things that happen
often, usually,
always, never, etc.

.
Simple Past vs. Past Continuous

We use the Past Simple to talk about:
- Something that happened once in the past:
 The film started at seven thirty.
 We arrived home before dark.
-Something that was true for some time in the
past:
 Everybody worked hard through the winter.
 We stayed with our friends in London
-When we talk about something that happened
several times in the past, we use the past
simple:
 Most evenings, we stayed at home and watched
DVDs.
 Sometimes they went out for a meal.
Choose from these verbs and complete the
sentences: teach-win-ride-tear-begin-leave-hear-
pay-find-speak-buy-hit-sell-read
1.The two men ……. for Huye yesterday.
2. Frank………to school with his friend.
3. Mary……… African history last year.
4. They ……….the news from their friend.
5. The students ………the story carefully.
6. Our car ………the other car very hard.
7. Fred ……..his old car to James.
8. She ……..her old bracelet under the table.
9. He ………to his boss about that matter.
10. She …….the paper into two pieces.

Used to:
We use used to when we refer to things in the
past which are no longer true. These could be
repeated actions or a state or situation:
• My father used to play football for the
local team, but
: now he’s too old.
• This piece of land used to belong to my
family. (It belonged to my family in the past,
but not any more).
• Most evenings, we used to stay at home
and watch DVDs.
• We used to go for a swim every morning.

Used to-Negative:
• We didn’t use to eat cassava in high school.
• Rwandans didn’t use to drink tea.
• We didn't use to be overcrowded in a
classroom.
Be careful:
• We use to go to that supermarket.
 We usually go to that supermarket.
• We were used to buy junk food.
 We used to buy junk food/We usually bought ….
Questions:
• Did you use to work with local people?
• Did you use to eat bread at your school?

Would:
It is also used to talk about things that happened in
the past but don’t happen anymore.
• Most evenings, he would take the dog for a
walk.
• They would often visit friends in Europe.
• She would sometimes stay home and watch
movies.
Would is used for repeated actions but not for past
states:
• We used to live in Paris but We would live in
Paris.

We use the Past Continuous:
-For something that happened before and after
a specific time in the past:
• It was just after ten. I was watching the news
on TV.
• At half past ten, we were having lunch.
-For something that happened before and after
another action in the past:
• She saw Jim as he was driving away.
• I was tidying my room when I found an old
letter from a friend.
• He broke his leg when he was playing rugby.

Compare:
-We use the Simple Past when we are
thinking of a period of time that is finished:
 I changed my job last week.
 I saw John on Monday.
-The Simple Past is used with the
following expressions: ago, yesterday, last
week/month/year, in 2011, when I was, etc.

We use the Past Continuous tense for
background events: we say what was going on at a
particular time, or at the moment when something
happened but we use the Simple Past tense for a
short event which came in the middle of the
background event, or which interrupted it.
 What were you doing last night?
 I was getting ready to come home and the
phone rang.
 Just when I was trying to finish some work, Paul
turned up.
 The TV broke down when we were watching it.

Put the verbs in the correct tense form
1. Andrew …………… when I ……. ready to come (call,
get).
2. The phone ……. while I ……. a bath (ring, have).
3. I first …… my wife when I …….in Berlin (meet, study).
4. When I ……. out of the window, it ………(look, rain).
5. I …….. because the car ………. (stop, make) funny noise.
6. My brother ..… his leg while he ……last week (break; ski).
7. Where …….. you ……. when I. …… you last week (go,
see)?
8. When I ……...the house, I ..… some old love letters
(clean; find).
9. The accident …… when we ……..to London (happen,
drive).
10. ……….the children ……when you…………….. (eat, see)
them?

Present Perfect:
Form: have+past participle
Class survey:
 Have you ever lived abroad?
 Have you ever eaten mutton?
 Have you ever seen the President in person?
Practice:
Write 10 questions and ask them to a colleague.
Report to class:
E.g: She has never seen the President in person but she
has seen him on TV. She has been abroad once: She
went to Europe last year. She has never eaten mutton.

Present Perfect (Simple)-its Use
The Present Perfect Simple is used:
1. To talk about experience
 Have you even eaten pork?
 Yes, I have.
 No, I haven't.
 No, I have never.
2. To give news
 Iran has bought a hundred planes.
 Nyabarongo river has burst its banks.
 I have lost my keys. Could you help me
please?
Present Perfect simple-its use
3. To talking about changes (the difference
between past and present)
 The population of Rwanda has increased
since 2005.
 The percentage of street children has
decreased/has fallen.
 She has got much fatter during the last
few years.

Present Perfect vs. Simple Past
We use the Present Perfect:
 when we are thinking of the time that is not
finished (e.g. this week, this month, this year,
since…)
 when we mean at any time up to now (e.g.
never, ever, since, for)
I've changed my job three times this year.
Have you ever been to America?
She has never learnt to drive.
• with before, not yet, already, so far, twice,
etc.
Have you seen this movie before?

We use the Simple Past:
-When we are thinking of a period of time
that is finished (e.g ago, yesterday, last
week/month, year, etc., then, when …)
 My parents traveled to Japan last
month.
 Charles wore a suit to work yesterday.
 The plane landed two hours ago.

Practice: Simple Past or Present
perfect?
 . …………this book before ? (have you read/did you read)
 Yes. I ………….it last year. (have read/read)
 Do you know where Alice is? She is at home. I …….. her
yesterday (I've seen/saw).
 ……….. to Alaska? (Have you ever been/Did you ever go)
 I …………… to eight different schools when I was younger
(have been/went).
 Do you like Chaplin? 'Actually, I ……….. any of his film. (have
never seen/never saw).
 Ann ………… to a lot of parties this year. (has been/went).
 Joe ……………. his car three times since Christmas. (has
crashed/crashed).
 The weather ……………terrible last summer (has
been/was).
 This summer ………. nice and warm (has been/was).

Practice: Present Perfect, Simple
Past, or Simple Present?
1. How long …………… here? (do you live/have
you lived/did you live).
2. I …………..Mary since 1999. (know/have
known/knew).
3. I think I…….. her very well (know/have
known/knew).
4. How long …………… that watch? (do you
have/have you had/did you have).
5. I………. it last year. (buy/bought/have bought)
6. I………… in this school since Friday. (am/have
been/was).

Practice: since, for or ago?
1. We've lived in London………..eight years.
2. I've only known her ……… yesterday.
3. My grandmother died three years ….…
4. I've been working……… seven o' clock
this morning.
5. She's been a teacher …………eighteen
years.
6. It's been raining …….… three days.
7. I first went to Africa about seven years
………..
8. Mary phoned me a few minutes……..
9. I haven't seen her ….… weeks.

Present Perfect:
Form: have+past participle
Class survey:
 Have you ever lived abroad?
 Have you ever eaten mutton?
 Have you ever seen the President in person?
Practice:
Write 10 questions and ask them to a colleague.
Report to class:
E.g: She has never seen the President in person but she
has seen him on TV. She has been abroad once: She
went to Europe last year. She has never eaten mutton.

Present Perfect (Simple)-its Use
The Present Perfect Simple is used:
1. To talk about experience
 Have you even eaten pork?
 Yes, I have.
 No, I haven't.
 No, I never have.
2. To give news
 Iran has bought a hundred planes.
 Nyabarongo river has burst its banks.
 I've lost my keys. Could you help me please?

Present Perfect simple-its use
3. To talking about changes (the difference
between past and present)
 The population of Rwanda has increased
since 2005.
 The percentage of street children has
decreased/has fallen.
 She has got much fatter during the last
few years.

We use the Present Perfect:
 when we are thinking of the time that is not
finished (e.g. this week, this month, this year,
since…)
 when we mean at any time up to now (e.g.
never, ever, since, for)
I've changed my job three times this year.
Have you ever been to America?
She has never learnt to drive.
• with before, not yet, already, so far, twice,
etc.
Have you seen this movie before?

We use the Simple Past:
-When we are thinking of a period of time
that is finished (e.g ago, yesterday, last
week/month, year, etc., then, when …)
 My parents traveled to Japan last
month.
 Charles wore a suit to work yesterday.
 The plane landed two hours ago.

Practice: Simple Past or Present
perfect?
 . …………this book before ? (have you read/did you read)
 Yes. I ………….it last year. (have read/read)
 Do you know where Alice is? She is at home. I …….. her
yesterday. (I've seen/saw)
 ……….. to Alaska? (Have you ever been/Did you ever go)
 I …………… to eight different schools when I was younger.
(have been/went)
 Do you like Chaplin? 'Actually, I ……….. any of his film. (have
never seen/never saw)
 Ann ………… to a lot of parties this year. (has been/went)
 Joe ……………. his car three times since Christmas. (has
crashed/crashed)
 The weather ……………terrible last summer. (has been/was)
 This summer ………. nice and warm. (has been/was).

Practice: Present Perfect, Simple
Past, or Simple Present?
1. How long …………… here? (do you live/have
you lived/did you live )
known/knew)
known/knew)
have/have you had/did you have)
5. I………. it last year. (buy/bought/have bought)
6. I………… in this school since Friday. (am/have
been/was)

We use the Future tense to talk about:
- Something that will happen in future :
 I will go home later.
 My mother will come to visit me.
- Predictions or guesses :
 People will travel to space.
 COVID 19 will disappear in 2022.
-Intentions or plans:
 We will build Africa we want
 I will destroy colonialism ideology.

Be going to:
We use be going to when something in the
present helps us to make the prediction
about the future:
• Look at those
: dark clouds! It is going to
rain.
• I have enough money. I am going to
buy a nice car.
• Participants are now present. They are
going to have a meeting.

Present progressive is used to express the
future; when we talk about future plans
that are already arranged:
• I am flying to South Africa next week. I
already have a ticket.
• The shops are opening after lockdown
• I am teaching evening group today

We use simple present to express the
future when we talk about scheduled future
events (timetables, programs, schedule).
Verbs such as start, leave, end, and begin
are often used this way:
• The conference starts tomorrow
morning.
• The lecturer leaves at 11:00 am

Practice
 Discussion topic:
Think about the year 2063 and try to

predict which business will create the most
jobs in Africa.
Computer or Agriculture?

THE AFRICA WE WANT
 In their 50th Anniversary Solemn Declaration, the
African Heads of State and Government,
emphasized a guiding vision for agenda 2063
“to build an integrated, prosperous and

peaceful Africa, driven and managed by its own
citizens and representing a dynamic force in the
international arena”
 As a son and daughter of Africa,

 What do you plan to do to make Africa united ,
peaceful, prosperous and free from colonialism?

Revision: Practice 1
Simple Present or Present Progressive?
1. What’s that terrible noise? Mary …………..violin. (play)
2. Do you know anyone who …………. Russian? (speak)
3. I wonder if Jane is ill –she …………….thinner and
thinner.(get)
4. Oak trees ……………much faster than pine trees. (grow)
5. She can’t come now. She ………………….a bath (have).
6. She …………..to school with her sister (not go usually).
7. What time ……………… (you meet) Peter today?
8. ……………(you go) to the meeting next week?
9. Where is Lucy? She ……………… (shop).
10. What ……………(you eat)? Chocolate?

Choose from these verbs and complete the sentences:
teach-win-ride-tear-begin-leave-hear-pay-find-speak-
buy-hit-sell-read
1.The two men ……. for Huye yesterday.
2. Frank………to school with his friend.
3. Mary……… African history last year.
4. They ……….the news from their friend.
5. The students ………the story carefully.
6. Our car ………the other car very hard.
7. Fred ……..his old car to James.
8. She ……..her old bracelet under the table.
9. He ………to his boss about that matter.
10. She …….the paper into two pieces.

Put the adjective into the correct form
(comparative or superlative)
1.Your TV is a lot ……. (good) than ours.
2. This is ….... (bad) film I’ve ever seen.
3. Mary seems to get …….. (young) every year.
4. My friend married a woman who is much ……..
(young) than him.
5. Everest is …..…(tall) mountain in the world.
6. There is no ..….. (good) place than Rwanda.
7. Who is ……… (beautiful) than all the others?
 8. This is ………….(important) person.

Complete each sentence with the simple present or
present progressive form of the verb in parenthesis
1.You ………………………………………….(to breath) hard.
Sit down and rest for a while.
2.Dolphins are mammals. They have lungs and they

……………………….(to breath) air.
3. Fred just left. He ………………………………………..(to
go) to his biology class right now.
4. It …………………………………….(to rain) right now, and I
don’t have my umbrella.
5. We ……………………………….(to dance) every day. It is
good exercises.

Complete the sentence with Simple Past or Present perfect?
1. . …………this book before ? (have you read/did you read)
2. Yes. I ………….it last year. (have read/read)
3. Do you know where Alice is? She is at home. I …….. her
yesterday (I've seen/saw).
4. ……….. to Alaska? (Have you ever been/Did you ever go)
5. I …………… to eight different schools when I was younger
(have been/went)
6. Do you like Chaplin? 'Actually, I ……….. any of his film. (have
never seen/never saw)
7. Ann ………… to a lot of parties this year. (has been/went)
8. Joe ……………. his car three times since Christmas. (has
crashed/crashed)
9. The weather ……………terrible last summer (has been/was)
10. This summer ………. nice and warm (has been/was).

Choose the right answer in the brackets
1. How long …………… here? (do you
live/have you lived/did you live )
known/knew)
known/knew)
have/have you had/did you have)
5. I………. it last year. (buy/bought/have
bought)

Section 7
Prepositions

Prepositions
 Direction: Look to the left and you’ll see
our destination.
 Time: We’ve been working since this
morning.
 Location: We saw a movie at the
theater.
 Space: The dog hid under the table.

Section 8
Conjunctions

Conjunctions
Coordinating Conjunctions
 for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so
Correlative Conjunctions
 either/or, neither/nor, and not only/but also
Subordinating Conjunctions
 after, although, as, as if, as long as, as much as, as soon as, as though,
because, before, by the time, even if, even though, if, in order that, in
case, in the event that, lest , now that, once, only, only if, provided
that, since, so, supposing, that, than, though, till, unless, until, when,
whenever, where, whereas, wherever, whether or not, while

Section 9
Interjections
(to be updated)

Practices
 Writing a sentence
 Writing a paragraph
 Writing an essay

Unit 2: Punctuations

Importance of Punctuation
 Marks of punctuation play very important role in giving
intended meaning to the language. Use of wrong mark of
punctuation or even wrong placement of mark of
punctuation can change the meaning of the sentence
completely and sometimes even convert the sentence to
complete nonsense.
 Wrong placement of comma can give different meaning to
sentence depending upon where it is placed.
 Consider the following sentences:
Pardon impossible, to be sent to prison.
Pardon, impossible to be sent to prison.
Consider also:
Let us eat, daddy.
Let us eat daddy.

Punctuation-Practice-1
Task 1: Complete the sentences by deciding which
punctuation mark is explained or illustrated.
1. The words ‘explained’ or ‘illustrated’ are between
_____________
2. A _____________ marks the end of a sentence.
3. A ______________ shows that there is some doubt,
doesn’t it? What do you think?
4. A ___________________ is used for word-division or
word-joining.
5. And it shouldn’t be confused with another – longer – mark:
the _____________. This is used to separate ideas or words –
usually added as an afterthought.
6. When writers wish to express emphasis or even surprise,
they use the _____________. This is no problem!

7. “______________ are used to show what someone
actually said.”
8. Sometimes you may wish to separate two sentences; but
they are somehow closely connected; this is when you can use
the _______________.
9. NOTE: ______________ can be used to emphasize what is
coming next: to list things: reports, letters, memos, and so on.
10. If a person wants to show alternatives, he/she can separate
them using a _____________.
11. And if they are using words (or phrases or expressions)
which are not of primary importance they can place them
between ([_______________])
12. A __________________ is used in possessives such as in
Mr. John’s house and it’s also used in contractions.

Task 2: Look at the following text and decide where to
add punctuation. You will also need to add line breaks
(to indicate new paragraphs) and capital letters where
necessary.
 memo from the managing director to all office staff date 25
june 2020 as a result of the productivity survey carried out in
the factory more rapid and efficient ways of operating are
now being applied in the factory productivity has been
increased by over 50 percent the management intends to
apply these same methods to office staff in order to reduce
costs our company must adapt in a competitive world we
aim to find ways of avoiding unnecessary actions by all staff
we therefore propose to pay a months extra salary to any
person who in the managements opinion has put forward the
most practical suggestion to improve a particular office
routine all suggestions should be sent to the mds office
before the end of next month

Punctuation marks that end a
sentence -1
Period
 This is the first punctuation mark that you learn:
the period (or, if you’re British, “full stop”); it is
placed at the end of a sentence.
Sarah ran to school.
• It’s also used after (and sometimes in) many
abbreviations:
Mrs. Jones waved to Sarah.
Some employees, e.g. receptionists, need
to work set hours.
 Note, however, that British English normally omits
the period after Mr. Mrs. and Ms.

sentence -1
Question mark
 If a sentence poses a direct question, it
should end with a question mark.
Did you remember to buy milk?
How much do I owe you?
Is this the right way to the park?

sentence-2
Exclamation Point
 The exclamation point (or “exclamation mark” in
British English) is used to add emphasis or to indicate
that words are being spoken in excitement, surprise,
or alarm.
I just heard the news – congratulations!
“Oh no!” She stared at the mess in dismay.
 Exclamation points are not normally appropriate in
formal writing, such as academic essays or business
reports.
 You should only use one exclamation point unless
you’re writing something very informal (such as a text
message to a friend).

Punctuation marks within
sentences-1
Comma
 Commas can be used in a number of ways, including to
separate elements of a sentence, or to separate items in a
list.
 They’re used after a subordinate clause at the start of a
sentence:
After the play, we went for dinner.
• They’re also used to separate items in a list:
Peter found a marble, a button, and a piece of
string.
 Commas can also be used within large numbers to make
them easier to read:
I had $1,500 to spend on a holiday.
 Note that commas aren’t used when giving a year in
numerals: it’s 2019 not 2,019

sentences-1
Colon
 A colon can be used to introduce an example or
series of items, or to join two independent
clauses (where the second clause explains the
first). It can also be used to introduce a quotation,
though it isn’t always the best choice of
punctuation mark for that.
For the school trip, please bring:
◦ a water bottle
◦ a sun hat
◦ some spending money
 I went home: there was no point staying after
Sally had gone.

sentences-2
Semicolon
 The semicolon (sometimes written as semi-colon) is used to
join together two independent clauses that could otherwise
stand as independent sentences. Both these examples are
grammatically correct:
My friends caught the bus without me. I was left standing
around on my own.
My friends caught the bus without me; I was left
standing around on my own.
 Semicolons can also be used in place of commas in a list that
has commas within the list items. For instance:
◦ I plan to visit: France, where I’ll see the Eiffel
Tower; England, where I’ll see Buckingham Palace; and
Germany, where I’ll see Neuschwanstein Castle.

sentences-3
Dash
 The dash (not to be confused with the
hyphen) is a handy punctuation mark that
can often be used to replace parentheses
or a colon. For instance:
The girl rose her hand (tentatively).
The girl rose her hand—tentatively.
It can also be used to indicate an interruption
(e.g. in dialogue).
◦ From 2012–2014, I was at university.
sentences-4
Quotation Marks
 Quotation marks enclose words that are a direct quotation.
They’re used around dialogue, like this:
John said,“What’s the matter with you?”
 Quotation marks are always used in pairs. They can be
double or single: double is more common in American
English and single in British English. Quotes within quotes
should use the alternative type of quotation mark:
 BrE allows for single quotation marks when setting off a
word as a word, but AmE requires double quotation marks
for the same purpose.
The word he was looking for was “abjuration.”
(AmE)
The word he was looking for was ‘abjuration’. (BrE)

sentences-5
Parentheses/brackets
 Parentheses are used for asides and clarifying
information, like this:
She was his sister (from his father’s first marriage).
 In most cases, you can replace parentheses
with a comma without changing the meaning.
If a sentence ends with the parentheses, the
period (or question mark or exclamation
mark) should go outside the parentheses,
unless they enclose the whole sentence.
 In British English, parentheses are called
brackets.
words-1
Apostrophe
 The apostrophe has two main purposes: to
indicate a possessive, and to indicate a
missing letter. It’s used within words, like
this:
Sam’s cake was much nicer than the one Tom
made.
I don’t have time to get involved.
 Be careful not to use apostrophes in plurals,
and watch out for words that are easily
confused, like “its” (belonging to it) and “it’s”
(short for “it is”).

words-2
Hyphen
 The hyphen joins two (sometimes more) words
together into a compound word. For instance:
◦ He studies eighteenth-century literature.
◦ We want to foster our students’ self-confidence.
◦ I get on very well with my mother-in-law.
 It can be tricky to know which words should use
a hyphen and which don’t, especially as usage
tends to change over time. The word e-mail is
now more written as email, for instance. A
grammar checker can help, or you can search on
Google to see how the word tends to be written
by others.

Punctuation marks within words-
3
Slash/stroke
 A slash is often used where "or" could be
used.
◦ Dear Sir/Madam (Sir or Madam)
◦ Please press your browser's Refresh/Reload
button. (Refresh or Reload)

Unit 3: Sentence structure

Simple Sentence
 A simple sentence contains a subject and a
verb, and it may also have an object and
modifiers.
Examples:
She wrote.
She completed her literature review.
He organized his sources by theme.
They studied APA rules for many hours.
16/01/2022 Labor for the future

A compound sentence
A compound sentence contains at least
two independent clauses. These two independent
clauses can be combined with a comma and
a coordinating conjunction or with a semicolon.
Examples:
 She completed her literature
review, and she created her reference list.
 He organized his sources by theme; then,
he updated his reference list.
 They studied APA rules for many
hours, but they realized there was still
much to learn.
Complex sentence
A complex sentence contains at least one independent clause and at least one
dependent clause. Dependent clauses can refer to the subject (who, which) the
sequence/time (since, while), or the causal elements (because, if) of the independent
clause.
If a sentence begins with a dependent clause, note the comma after this clause. If, on
the other hand, the sentence begins with an independent clause, there is not a
comma separating the two clauses.
Examples:
 Although she completed her literature review, she still needed to work on her
methods section.
◦ Note the comma in this sentence because it begins with a dependent clause.
 Because he organized his sources by theme, it was easier for his readers to
follow.
◦ Note the comma in this sentence because it begins with a dependent clause.

Compound complex sentence
 Sentence types can also be combined. A compound-complex
sentence contains at least two independent clauses and at
least one dependent clause.
 Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma or
semicolon = pink, regular font; coordinating conjunction
= green, underlined; dependent clause = blue, italics
 She completed her literature review, but she still
needs to work on her methods section even though she
finished her methods course last semester.
 Although he organized his sources by theme, he decided to
arrange them chronologically, and he carefully
followed the MEAL plan for organization.
 With pizza and soda at hand, they studied APA rules for
many hours, and they decided that writing in APA
made sense because it was clear, concise, and objective.

Independent clause
 Independent clause: An independent
clause can stand alone as a sentence. It
contains a subject and a verb and is a
complete idea.
Eg:
I am teaching communication skills.
I like books.

Dependent clause
Dependent clause: A dependent clause
is not a complete sentence. It must be
attached to an independent clause to
become complete. This is also known as a
subordinate clause.
Eg: Because he reads many books,…

Unit 4: Essay writing

Unit 5: Common mistakes
(to be updated)

Common mistakes Correct usage
 Am  I am
Eg:Am going to change for Eg: I am going to change for
better better
 You and me are powerful  You and I are powerful.
 It is done by I myself  It is done by me.
Note the use of pronouns


General English Module ANJ 1st Edition 2022 - Dr. Amini Ngabonziza Jean de Dieu

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

General English Module ANJ 1st Edition 2022 - Dr. Amini Ngabonziza Jean de Dieu

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

General English Module

1st Edition 2022

Labor for the future 1

Labor for the future 2

Labor for the future 3

Labor for the future 4

 Every word is a part of speech.

 Every word has a specific role to form a

Labor for the future 5

Labor for the future 6

Labor for the future 7

Labor for the future 8

Labor for the future 9

 A common noun is the name of things or

Labor for the future 10

 Concrete nouns: desk, a tree, house, etc

 Abstract nouns: spirit, love, wisdom, etc

 Collective nouns: team, dozen, band, etc

Labor for the future 11

NB: They are always considered to be singular, and

 Countable nouns are those nouns that can

Labor for the future 13

Labor for the future 14

 For example, ‘bear’, ‘tear’ and ‘lead’ are all

 Likewise, while ‘sell’, ‘cell’, ‘by’, and ‘buy’ are all

Labor for the future 15

Labor for the future 16

Labor for the future 17

Labor for the future 18

Labor for the future 19

2. I have blond hair and ___ eyes.

Labor for the future 20

Labor for the future 21

Labor for the future 22

Labor for the future 23

Labor for the future 24

Labor for the future 25

Labor for the future 26

Ex: The man who is coming is greater than me.

NB: who refers to people,

Labor for the future 27

Labor for the future 28

Labor for the future 29

Labor for the future 30

 Use a before  Use the when:

Labor for the future 33

Labor for the future 34

Labor for the future 35

Labor for the future 36

Labor for the future 37

 Use much with non-count nouns:

Labor for the future 38

Labor for the future 39

Comparing people and

Comparatives and superlatives

Most adjectives can be used in front of a noun:

They have a beautiful house.

or after a link verb like be, look or feel:

Labor for the future 42

Labor for the future 43

I read a very interesting article in

If you say something is terrifying, you

If something terrifies you, you

I didn't really enjoy the Dracula