Grammar Book

Grammar
Handbook
and
© 2011 Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Private Limited
Published by Marshall Cavendish Education

An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International (Singapore) Private Limited
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First published 2011

Reprinted 2011, 2012, 2013
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Ma rsha ll Cavendish is a trademark of Times Publishing Limited.
ISBN 978-981-01-1595-1
Printed in Singapore by Times Printers, www.timesprinters.com

M
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cav.eni11s
Good grammar is the basis for building a solid foundation in English. l§l!fil!@=I Grammar
Handbook: Primary 3 and 4 has been developed to address this need through an interactive,
learner-directed approach to provide pupils with a firm grounding in grammar, which supports
the development of the language skills - listening, reading, speaking and writing .
The book covers the essential grammar items for Primary Three and Four, meeting the
requirements of the latest English Language syllabus from the Ministry of Education
(Singapore). Each grammar item is introduced through a teaching page with lively pictures
and examples. The full-colour illustrations also feature familiar and interesting surroundings,
creating meaningful contexts for learning and understanding grammar. Definitions and rules
are carefully explained using simple language, allowing pupils to learn independently. With
additional teaching boxes, the handbook is also designed to help pupils to overcome the
difficulties associated with specific grammar points, making it the perfect grammar reference
guide for revision and reinforcement.
M
iffilili h
c:av.eni11s
l'!Ss!!illl Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4 is ideal both as a stand-alone grammar
resource for Middle Primary pupils, and as a companion to Marshall Cavendish ENGLISH
Pupil Books 3 and 4. We are confident that this book will enable pupils to establish a strong
foundation for good English.
1. Use the Contents page to find the topic you want. For example, if you are
looking for nouns, go through the unit titles.
Section A of Unit 2 (Common and

Proper Nouns) starts on page 23.
Unit 1 Punctuation Primary

A. Capitalisation
3
8. Full Stop 2 ,/
C. Comma
D Qu sti 7
• e on Mark and Exe/a . ,/
E. Colon and s . mOtion Mork 9
em1-co/on
f. Apostrophe 11
G. Quotation Marks 15 ,/
,/
17
~ Unit2 Nouns
,/
,/
:· Common and Proper Nouns

The topic Nouns • Countable and Un 23
C. Singular and Pl ~ountab/e Nouns
,/
belongs to Unit 2. 25 ,/
0. Colleetive Noun~ra Nouns 28
..
,/
,/ ,/
E. Nouns That Sh 35
f OW Gender ,/ ,/
• Compound Nouns 38 ,/
,/
40 ,/
Unit 3 Pron·ouns ,/
A. Persona/ Pronouns
8. Possessive Pronouns .... ,/ ,/
C. Reflexive Pronouns 47 ,/ ,/
:· Demonstrative Pronouns 50 ,/ ,/
• In~rrogative Pronouns 53 ,/ ,/
f. Reciprocal Pronouns 55 ,/
G. Indefinite Pronouns 58 ,/
- ,/
,/
60
Unit4 Determ1ners
· • ,/
,/
A. The Indefinite Arti I

8• The Definite Articleces
65
C. The Zera Article 68 - ,/
,/
,/
D. Quantifiers ]] ...!
,/
-+
E. Possessive Form of N
f p . ouns
81 -,/
---'-.
r
,/
,/
• ossess1ve Determiners 84 ,/ ,/
G. DemonstrOti 86
H ve Determiners ,/
,/
• Interrogative Dete . 88 ,/
rmrners ,/
89 ,/
,/
2. Once you have found the pages of the topic that you are looking for, you can
learn about the relevant grammar items in this way:
Read the unit opener, which includes Read to find out how you
the definition of nouns and the use can use Common and
of different nouns in a passage. Proper Nouns.
A. Common and Proper Nouns
Nouns are naming words. They name people, animals,

places and t hings.
Hh-thll\tU was a comvo~n and pi:mh1 RcNhoH·n wrote nine ")mphonk•

from c;crmau~ .He was born in 1770. throughout hi s lift. Although he
From an early a~e .
Rl·ethtncn leam1 suffered from ill hN1lth , he was devoted
how to play the pi.mu from his fatlu·r. to mu.,k and c ... entually became the
world's most renowned 1.·om1K--tr.
Once he reached the n)":.r of nine, Ur('thOlCll died in 1827.
Hcc1ho\t n staned to take le'~"" from
Chri .. tian <;t•lllob '\t:cfo. When he
was 22, Bn~tho,en left for Vienn;1 ,
"\u .. lrfo . He began to learn the
\iolin and studied under 1he famou s
compo ..t:r, Jo'>t·ph Jl;l)dn . Bcclluncu
quickly became a brilliant oom1)0 ...cr
with a number of famous ~ur5'\.
Unfortunate ly, Bt'CthvHn began lo

go deaf at the ;:i~e of 27. Howe ver.
he continued composing. In order 10
communicate wi1h him, hi s frknd ... Common nouns ore words for things, animals, places
wrote out thei r dialu~U<' in book-.. and types al people. Words like chimney, cinemo, dinner.
movie, reindeer and wife are common nouns.
Proper nouns are special names for particular people

There are different types of nouns. They include common and things. They include the names of places. the days of
nouns. proper nouns, caunloble nouns, uncountable the week, the months of the year, festivals and the titles of
nouns. singular nouns, plur<ll nouns. collective nouns, books and films. Proper nouns always begin with a capital
nouns !hat show gender and <lompaund nouns. letter. The words "A Christmas Coro!", Chrislmos, Dad,
the North Pole, Orcihard Rood, Santo Claus. Unde Um
and Wednesday are proper nouns.
22 Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 Ind. 23
Grammar terms and relevant

example words are highlighted.
Revise what you have learnt about

nouns on the What I have learnt page.
Learn more about the
differences between
I always order spaghetti when I When I go to Pasto C
Common and Proper Nouns. eat at a restaurant:~ order my favourite dis
Fiesto .
I like reading books. My favourite book is ·

Island".
I live in a big city. '· I live in Singapore.
I watch cartoons on television. My favou rite cartoon i

Adventure".
Red arrows direct you Sometimes, common nouns can be part of proper nouns.
to another section He travelled to space.

or unit for related Alice had an amazing adventure.
My favourite cartoon is "Space Adventure".
; J a r concepts.
The two words space and adventure are common
nouns, but the name of the cartoon is "Space Adventure",
which is a proper noun and each word must begin with a
capital letter.
Masculme Feminine
husband wife
man woman
bay girl
Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
king queen ,<
prince princess
headmaster headmistress r~-
hero heroine
stallion mare
The Remember! notes
bull cow give you special tips on
Many feminine nouns are formed by adding - ess to
the end of a masculine noun.
language use.
Masculine Feminine
In books and
author authoress newspapers nowadays,
manager manageress the words actor and
~ author con refer to
murderer murderess both women and men.
waiter waitress {J
actor actress
Practise what you have learnt here.
Underline the common nouns in the following sentences.
1. My favourite singer is Stephanie Sun.
2 . Rome is the capital of Italy.
3. In the evening, the audience went to the waterfront to watch a show.
4 . Peter asked, "Would you like to come to my house on Sunday?"
S. Cancer is a condition in which a harmful tumour develops in the body.
ce
B. Countable and Uncountable Nouns
nouns are always singular.

Since uncountable ci form of the verb.
remember to use the corre
e"""here\
0 1here are dust ev , ' ..
0 1here is dust everfNhere!
number with on
usually, we do not use a or an or a
uncountable noun.
hot weamer.
0 We're having a very
0 We're having very hot weattier.
Learn what the common

G When we need
0
to use uncountable nouns in a plural
d called partitives.
sense. we odd wor s .
1he two luggages were lett in th
({, lhe two pieces of luggage

e taxi.
.
were lett in the tax1.
needs to change depending

grammatical mistakes are Remember that thert~is singular or plural.
on whether the po ' iv
and how to correct them. lett in the taxi.
lhe piece of l~gg~~~ =ulor verb\
\singular partwe .
lett in the tax1.
lhe two pieces of luggage ~
itive and plural verb\
I I part
1puro
Contents Primary
3
Primary
4
Unit1 Punctuation A Capitalisation 2 ./ ./
Full Stop 5 ./ ./
c. Comma 7 ./ ./
Question Mark and Exclamation Mark 9 ./ ./
Colon and Semi-colon 11 ./
Apostrophe 15 ./ ./
G Quotation Marks 17 ./ ./
Unit2 Nouns A Common and Proper Nouns 23 ./ ./

B. Countable and Uncountable Nouns 25 ./ ./
C Singular and Plural Nouns 28 ./ ./
D Collective Nouns 35 ./ ./
Nouns That Show Gender 38 ./ ./
Compound Nouns 40 ./ ./
Unit 3 Pronouns A. Personal Pronouns 44 ./ ./

Possessive Pronouns 47 ./ ./
C Reflexive Pronouns 50 ./ ./
D. Demonstrative Pronouns 53 ./ ./
E. Interrogative Pronouns 55 ./ ./
F Reciprocal Pronouns 58 ./ ./
G. Indefinite Pronouns 60 ./ ./
Unit4 Determiners A. The Indefinite Articles 65 ./ ./

B The Definite Article 68 ./ ./
c The Zero Article 77 ./ ./
Quantifiers 81 ./ ./
Possessive Form of Nouns 84 ./ ./
Possessive Determiners 86 ./ ./
G Demonstrative Determiners 88 ./ ./
Interrogative Determiners 89 ./ ./
viii
Primary Primary
3 4
A. Primary Verbs 93 .I .I
Units Verbs 8. The Infinitive 98
-
.I
-
C. Participles 101 .I
-
D. Regular and Irregular Verbs 104 .I .I
'--- --
E. Verbs and Meaning 108 .I .I
-
F. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs 113 .I
.I
l .I
.I
G. Phrasal Verbs 115
A. Simple Present 122 .I I

.I
Unit6 Tenses 8. Present Continuous 127
-
.I
C. Simple Past 132
~ -;-t
j-i .I
-
D. PastContinuous 136 .I -·+' ·- .I-
E. Future Time 139 .I I .I
A. Singular Verbs 145 .I .I

Unit 7 Subject-Verb 8. Plural Verbs 148 .I .I
Agreement
A. Can 153 .I .I
Unit s Modal Verbs 155 .I
8. Could
C. May 156 .I .I
D. Should 158 .I
E. Ought To 159 .I
F. Must 160 .I .I
Unit 9 Adjectives A. Descriptive Acljectives 166 ~i .I

8. Forming Acljectives 170 -
./
-
I ./
C. Comparison of Adjectives 174 .I .I
A. Adverbs and Adverbials of Manner 181 .I I .I

Unit 10 Adverbs 8. Adverbs and Adverbials of Place 184 .I ./
and C. Adverbs and Adverbials of Time 186 .I .I
.I
Adverbials D. Adverbs and Adverbials of Frequency 188 .I
--.I
E. Adverbs and Adverbials of Duration 190 .I
--
F. Adverbs and Adverbials of Degree 191 .I .I
G. Adverbials of Reason 193

'
./
ix
Primary Primary
3 4
Unit 11 Prepositions A. Prepositions of Place 197 ./ ./
8. Prepositions of Direction 200 ./ ./
c Prepositions of Time 202 ./ ./
D. Other Uses of Prepositions 206 ./ ./
E. Married Prepositions 208 ./ ./
F. Prepositional Phrases 210 ./
Unit 12 Sentences A. Simple Sentences 213 ./ ./

B. Compound Sentences 214 ./ ./
c Declarative Sentences 217 ./ ./
D. Interrogative Sentences 218 ./ ./
E Imperative Sentences 220 ./ ./
F Exclamatory Sentences 222 ./ ./
G. Conditional Sentences 223 ./ ./
H. Tag Questions 225 ./ ./
Unit13 Connectors A. Connectors for Addition 231 ./ ./

B. Connectors for Contrast 234 ./ ./
c Connectors for Time and Sequence 238 ./ ./
D Connectors for Reason and Purpose 242 ./ ./
E Connectors for Choice 246 ./ ./
Connectors for Place 248 ./
Unit 14 Direct and A. Changes in Verb Tenses 252 ./
Indirect Speech 8. Changes in Pronouns and Determiners 256 ./

C. Changes in Adverbs of Time and Place 258 ./
Answers 261
x
Punctuation
When we speak, we change the pitch and tone of
our voice to match what we are saying. The way we
ask a question is different from the way we make a
statement, just as the way we make an exclamation
is different.
When we write, we also want to express our

questions, sentences or exclamations. So we
use punctuation to make it easier for people to
understand our written words.
Read these
josie in kuala lumpur

fans of josie see grab your cameras and head for the majestic
hotel this wednesday the famous singer is passing through
kuala lumpur on her way to sydney where she will give three
performances to promote her latest album jos do you want to
buy tickets well tickets for the shows are selling like hotcakes
but if you enter our competition today you stand a chance of
winning two tickets for wednesdays concert
Josie in Kuala Lumpur

Fans of .Josie See , grab your cameras and head for the
Majestic Hotel this Wednesday . The famous singer is
passing through Kuala Lumpur on her way to Sydney ,
where she will give three performances to promote her
latest album , ••.Jos". Do you want to buy tickets'? Well,
tickets for the shows are selling like hotcakes , but if you
enter our competition today , you stand a chance of winning
two tickets for Wednesday ' s concert.
Which of these
passages is easier to
read and understand?
Punctuation 1
The second passage is easier to read and understand
because of punctuation.
Punctuation refers to signs that we use in writing

to make the meaning of our sentences clear.
These signs include full stops, commas, question
marks, exclamation marks, colons, semi-colons,
apostrophes and quotation marks. Punctuation
also includes capitalisation.
Punctuation helps us know

• when one sentence ends and another begins; We must always begin
• when to take a pause in a sentence; a new sentence with a
• when there is a question or an exclamation. capital letter.
A. Capitalisation
Dee1r Jill,
My fC1mily e1nd I Gire in Pe1ris, Frnnce. W e e1rrived here

on Se1turde1y e1nd will be spending the Christme1s
holidC1y in this city.
W e he1ve been eC1ting Cl lot. T here e1re me1ny

reste1urnnts to choose from. All of us like the
delicious French food. My brother SClid, "Yummy!"
We e1re going to Disneyle1nd tomorrow. I ce1n't we1it

to see Mickey Mouse e1nd CinderellCI.
Best wishes,
Ke1ren
2 M
,. i
§~ti!@:
Capital letters are sometimes called upper case letters.
Look at the examples below.
' " "'; ~ .J. • " ~·. .. .
For the first word in ·... Examples

a sentence • We visited many different sites.
• This is my new house.
a greeting or closing phrase • Best wishes
• Good morning
• Yours sincerely
direct speech • My brother said, "Yummy!"
• "Did you enjoy the concert?"
.t·.
1 >"'"Pt:f/~• ~1~~ ·,1,
For the names

'"""~ ., ;.; ;ir.,"·~:<q ,,~:-, .....
of. :: ·
..,~~
Henry asked.
Examples
--
i. -
!
places Paris, France, Singapore, Jurong, Africa

people, pets and special Karen, Josie See, Rover, Mickey Mouse,
characters Cinderella
streets, roads and buildings Orchard Road, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre
Museum
people Mr Smith, Mrs Lim, Dr Tang, Prime

Minister, Queen Elizabeth, Lord Kitchener,
books, plays, songs,

newspapers, films, paintings
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,
The Straits Times, Mona Lisa, Twinkle
--- Sir Humphry Davy
and poems ~-- 1\- - - _T_w_in_k_le_L _.itt

_l_e _S_ta_r _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __.
~*
Punctuation 3
Other uses Examples
the personal pronoun I • I am very excited now.
• She laughed when I said I didn't know
what to do.
initials in people's names • My doctor is Dr K.T. Lee.
• J.K. Rowling is my favourite author.
days of the week and • We arrived here on Saturday.
months of the year • The party is on l91h April.
special days and special • Christmas Day, Hori Raya, Chinese New
events Year, Speech Day
nationalities and languages • French, Singaporean, English, Thai, Tagalog
Rewrite the following sentences using capital letters in the

correct places.
1. the baby is crying loudly.
2. mrs tan is singing in the kitchen.
3. peter and his family will visit macau in december.
4. "where is my basketball?" susan asked.
5. roald dahl is the author of "charlie and the chocolate factory".
M.J/11111'1
4 ,~t!eW~'lJ~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
a~w•~1=
B. Full Stop
There are many charities

in Singapore, e.g. S.P.C.A.
and the Red Cross.
We place a full stop at the end of a sentence when it

is not a question or an exclamation . We can use full
stops in other ways too. Look at the examples on the
next page.
Punctuation 5
Uses Examples
at the end of a • There are many charities
sentence in Singapore.
• This organisation provides
various animal welfare ·
services to the community.
to make a • No. 5, e.g., Dept. of Science

word shorter
(abbreviations)
after initials • S.P.C.A. We can also write

• J.J. Lin initials in a name
without a full stop.
Put full stops in the correct places. Then, circle the wrong letters and add
capital letters where needed.
Last week Jenny and her mother

went to a bookshop the bookshop was
very big they could find a wide variety
of books, e g magazines, novels and
textbooks Jenny's mother bought a
cookbook she wanted to make some
special dishes for Jenny's birthday
Later, Jenny and her mother went
to the supermarket they bought some
groceries there then, they had dinner
at a food court
MaWhitli
6 javenths~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
a~m•m= ·
C. Comma
( Mum, don't forget
The main job of a comma is to show us where to

pause when we are reading. We can use commas in
other ways too. Look at the examples below.
Uses Examples
to mark a brief pause in • What would you like to order, Madam?

a sentence • Mum, don't forget my ice-cream.
to list a series of items • I want to have a hamburger, an apple

(the last item in the list pie, fries and orange juice.
usually takes and instead of • The best scouts are Tom, Michael, Carlos,
a comma) John and Simon .
Punctuation 7
Uses Examples
to introduce direct speech or • John asked his teacher, "May I leave

to follow direct speech that is the room?"
not a question or exclamation • "George is always late for work," he said.
between the names of places • She comes from London, England.

• The conference is to be held at the Ritz
Carlton Hotel, Singapore.
after yes and no, and before • Yes, I'd love to.
please (if please is at the • No, I can't.
end of the sentence) • Could I have a cup of tea, please?
Put commas in the correct places.
David Peter Richard and Tim were walking home

from school at 3:00 p.m. when they saw a man behave
suspiciously outside a house. It was very quiet. There
was nobody else around. Peter and Tim were frightened.
They asked "What shall we do? Can we just run away?"
"No we can't. The man may be a
burglar" David replied .
A few minutes later the man took
out a hammer and broke one of the
front windows. Tim shouted "Stop!"
8 M(IJ!ffl~
§fiij!@I
D. Question Mark and Exclamation Mark
We place a question mark at the end of a direct

question.
If the question is indirect, as in reported speech, we

do not use a question mark.
Mr Ghost asked if he was really frightening .
Punctuation 9
We use an exclamation mark at the end of a sentence
when we want to express sudden or strong feelings,
such as great delight, surprise or anger. We call these
sentences exclamations, or interjections if they are
made up of one word only.
Help! Help!
How scary!
What a beautiful morning !
We also use exclamation marks at the end of

a sentence when we give orders.
Open your books at once!
Keep quiet!
Put that back!
Put a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark at the end of

each sentence.
1. Where does your grandmother live
2. Brenda is my best friend
3. Don't take my book
4. Do you have any tissue paper
5. I would like to learn Spanish
10 Mcaven<11s
afstfalli h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
I§~@•~;: 1
6. Will Peter come to the party
7. Maggie asked if she could use the bathroom
8. Hurray
9. Ms Chan is our class teacher, isn't she
- 10. What an amazing story
E. Colon and Semi-colon
Your Own Pizza

To make pizza, you need the following ingredients:
flour, yeast, milk, cheese, tomato paste, mushrooms,
peppers, sausage and tomatoes.
You also have to follow five simple steps; otherwise, your pizza
may not be tasty. Here are the steps:
• make the sauce for the pizza;

• make the pizza dough;
• cover the bottom of the pan with the dough;
• put the sauce and the toppings on the dough;
• bake the pizza.
I love making pizza;
however, my guests
prefer to eat something
sweet; therefore,
I am making a cake now.
Punctuation
We use a colon to introduce a list of items.
\
Remember to bring these things with you on the
camping trip: a toothbrush, a torch, pyjamas, a towel
and a change of clothing.
I have brought
everything I need for
the camping trip!
We can also use a colon to introduce the words spoken

by people in a play.
Mary: It's a beautiful gift. When is his birthday?

Sue: It's on Saturday.
A semi-colon marks a longer pause than a comma.

It has several uses in sentences.
• A semi-colon can often replace but or and in a sentence

when two simple sentences are combined to make a
compound sentence.
Some of the children made the sauce for the pizza;

others made the dough; the rest put toppings on it.
Durians are thorny; rambutans are sweet.
12 MfJ!'!I~
-=~m•m:_
• A semi-colon can break up a long list when the items in the
list are made up of more than just one word .
He bought a new program, a mouse and a keyboard for his

computer; a series of compact discs for his new machine;
a set of language tapes to help him with his French; and a
new car to put all his purchases in .
• A semi-colon can be used in sentences before words

like conseq,uently, nevertheless, however, moreover,
therefore, otherwise and besides.
He ate chocolate all the time; conseq,uently, all his teeth

fell out.
I failed the mock examinations last month; nevertheless,

I shall try my best to pass the examinations in the
summer.
I love making pizza; however, my guests prefer to eat

something sweet.
Wendy is a happy, funny-loving girl; moreover, she is

always smiling.
Punctuation 13
My guests prefer to eat something sweet; therefore,
I am making cake now.
You also need to follow five simple steps; otherwise,

your pizza may not be tasty.
However, it is also grammatically correct to use a full

stop instead.
They won't join us at the cinema later. Besides, they're

not interested in the movie.
How do you know when to

use a comma, semi-colon
or full stop in a sentence?
When you reach a comma,
pause and count to one,
then read on. When you
reach a semi-colon, count
to two, then read on. For a
full stop, pause, count one,
two, three, then read on.
Circle the correct answer.
1. The 2016 Summer Olympics will be held in Rio de Janeiro (, I; ) Brazil.
2. Learning grammar is important ( : I ; ) however ( , I : ) it is not

always interesting.
3. I have a number of hobbies (:I,) such as reading, drawing,

swimming and hiking.
4. Mr Wong is flying to New Zealand (, I; ) a beautiful country.
5. Ms Lee is going to Tokyo (,I;) she will attend a meeting there.
14
M
Jfih'lilli h
ca11ena1s Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
l§d@•t1= 1
F. Apostrophe
No, it isn t. It s
1 1
That's a lovely Jimmy's cat. Its

cat. Is it yours? name is Fluffy.
An apostrophe looks like a comma. It is raised off the

line of writing, for example, can't, I'm, girl's. An
apostrophe has two main jobs.
It indicates possession, that is, who owns something or

what belongs to someone.
Is it Jimmy' s cat?
The car s paw was badly injured.
Mrs Tan has many ladies' shoes.
The dogs' barking woke the neighbours.
It also shows us where letters are missing in the short or

contracted forms of words.
Thar s a lovely cat.

No, it isn't my cat.
You will come to the party, won' t you?
We' ve got some snacks.
Punctuation 15
This example shows us the difference.
Look at the monkey. I f s hanging from the branch by its tail.
I f s can be separated to become it is; however, it is not possible

to separate its to it is. Try separating its in the example above and
you will see that it does not make sense to say it is tail!
Rewrite the following sentences using contracted forms and apostrophes in

the correct places.
1. My neighbour has not been feeling well since yesterday.
2. I am nine years old and I live on the ninth floor.
3. Amy will not have dinner with us.
4. My sister said, "I was not at school last Friday."
5. They are not sleeping. They are watching television.
16
Mcav.en<hs
fstfli1li h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
l§dijl@il
G. Quotation Marks
"I am too busy

Juliet asked Romeo, learning punctuation
" Where are you?" now. Can we talk
again later?" Romeo
replied .
We use quotation marks to show the actual words

spoken by a person, that is, direct speech. Quotation
marks are also known as inverted commas or
speech marks.
" I'm very hungry," said the hippo.

The hippo said, " I'm very hungry."
Punctuation 17
Direct speech can come at the beginning or the end
of a sentence.
" Do you like my new dress?" asked Annabel.

Annabel asked, " Do you like my new dress?"
It is also possible for the speech to come at both

the beginning and the end of a sentence, with an
interruption in the middle.
"I have won two million dollars," cried Mei, " and
I'm so excited!"
When speech is interrupted in this way, we do not

need to start the second part of the sentence with
a capital letter, unless of course it is the start of a
new sentence.
"I'll be there at 7 p.m.," said Andy. " It is the

Cineplex we're meeting at, isn't it?"
Notice how the opening

quotation mark is placed before
the first word in a sentence,
and the closing one is placed
after the punctuation ending
the sentence.
18 MJi'MJi1~·h
cavenihsiil Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
l§~M•M:
Quotation marks are placed around an entire sentence,
question or exclamation, so that the closing mark appears
after the punctuation, whether it is a full stop, comma,
question mark or exclamation mark.
There are some other ways in which we can use quotation

marks. Notice that when quotes and titles are highlighted
by quotation marks within a sentence, the closing mark
will come before the punctuation.
Uses Examples
to quote the exact words • The first sentence of the book reads,
from a book, newspaper or ''It was dark and gloomy" .
magazine
to quote a proverb • Our scout leader feels that " many hands
or saying make light work" , so he gets us to carry
all the equipment.
for the titles of books, • My favourite novel is "Jane Eyre" .
plays, films, newspapers, • She will give three performances to
magazines, poems, promote her latest album, " Jos" .
songs, paintings and TV
programmes
for unusual words (so • He threw a " wobbly" .
we can show the reader that (" to throw a wobbly" means to lose
the words are not your temper)
usually used)
to highlight certain words • Our " hotel room" turned out to be a
or phrases that need to be tiny cell with no windows and a single
emphasised in the context of camp bed!
the sentence
for words quoted in • I can't find the word " indefatigable"
a discussion anywhere in my junior dictionary.
Punctuation 19
Sometimes, you may see speech, quotes, or titles of books and
films highlighted by single quotation marks only. But it is more
common for direct speech to have double quotation marks and
for quotes and titles to be shown by single marks, especially if
they appear as part of direct speech.
" Alice's favourite magazine is 'Sweet Sixteen'," said Anne.
"I am busy learning my lines for my role in ' Romeo and Juliet'.
So far I can only remember, 'O, Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore
art thou, Romeo?', so I must practise harder to memorise all
my lines by the end of the month," said the leading lady of
the new school production.
Rewrite the following sentences using apostrophes and quotation marks

in the correct places.
1. Mary cant speak English very well.
2. Hes my fathers colleague.
3. Toms mother said, You should turn off the computer.
4. Ravi told Mark, I have watched Toy Story.
5. Lets go to Stephens house! Benjamin suggested.
20 M··~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4

Punctuation Uses
Capitalisation • For the first word in a sentence
• For the first word in a greeting or closing phrase
• For the first word in direct speech
• For the names of places
• For the names of people, pets and special characters
• For the names of streets, roads and buildings
• For the names of religious figures
• For the titles of people
• For the titles of books, plays, songs, newspapers, films, paintings
and poems
• For the personal pronoun I
• For initials in people's names
• For days of the week and months of the year
• For special days and special events
• For nationalities and languages
Full stop • At the end of a sentence
• For abbreviations
• After initials in names
Comma • For a brief pause in a sentence
• For listing a series of items
• For direct speech
• Between the names of places
• After yes and no, and before please
Question mark • At the end of a direct question
Exclamation mark • For expressing sudden or strong feelings
• For giving orders
Colon • For introducing a list of items
• For introducing words spoken by people in a play
Semi-colon • For joining two simple sentences in place of but or and
• For breaking up a long list
• Before words like consequently, nevertheless, however,
moreover, therefore, otherwise and besides
Apostrophe • For indicating possession
• For short or contracted forms of words
Quotation marks • For direct speech
• For quotations
• For titles of books, plays, films, newspapers, magazines, poems,
songs, paintings and TV programmes
• For unusual words
• For emphasis
Punctuation 21
Nouns are naming words. They name people, animals,
places and things.
Beethoven was a composer and pianist Beethoven wrote nine symphonies

from Germany . He was born in 1770. throughout his life . Although he
From an early age , Beethoven learnt suffered from ill health , he was devoted
how to play the piano from his father . to music and eventually became the
world's most renowned composer .
Once he reached the age of nine, Beethoven died in 1827.
Beethoven started to take lessons from
Christian Gottlob Neefe . When he
was 22, Beethoven left for Vienna ,
Austria . He began to learn the
violin and studied under the famous
composer , Joseph Haydn . Beethoven
quickly became a brilliant composer
with a number of famous works .
Unfortunately, Beethoven began to

go deaf at the age of 27. However,
he continued composing. In order to
conup.unicate with him, his friends
wrote out their dialogue in books .
There are different types of nouns. They include common

nouns, proper nouns, countable nouns, uncountable
nouns, singular nouns, plural nouns, collective nouns,
nouns that show gender and compound nouns.
22
MaTih'JiRi h
i aveniltsl Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
a~ra•w:
A. Common and Proper Nouns
We're going to
Orchard Road to
celebrate Christmas
on Wednesday.
Common nouns are words for things, animals, places

and types of people. Words like chimney, cinema, dinner,
movie, reindeer and wife are common nouns.
Proper nouns are special names for particular people

and things. They include the names of places, the days of
the week, the months of the year, festivals and the titles of
books and films. Proper nouns always begin with a capital
letter. The words "A Christmas Carol", Christmas, Dad,
the North Pole, Orchard Road, Santa Claus, Uncle Lim
and Wednesday are proper nouns.
Nouns 23
Notice the differences between the common nouns and
the proper nouns in the following sentences.
Common Nouns Proper Nouns

Which movie shall we watch? I'd like to watch "Gorilla Escape".
£ •
When I go to Pasta Cafe, I always ~

order my favourite dish, Fettucine
Fiesta.
I like reading books. My favourite book is "Treasure

Island".
I live in Singapore.
I watch cartoons on television. My favourite cartoon is "Space

Adventure".
Sometimes, common nouns can be part of proper nouns.
He travelled to space.
Alice had an amazing adventure.
My favourite cartoon is "Space Adventure".
The two words space and adventure are common

nouns, but the name of the cartoon is "Space Adventure",
which is a proper noun and each word must begin with a
capital letter.
24 M
Pa
:t rijl@I
Underline the common nouns in the following sentences.
1. My favourite singer is Stephanie Sun.
2. Rome is the capital of Italy.
3. In the evening, the audience went to the waterfront to watch a show.
4. Peter asked, "Would you like to come to my house on Sunday?"
5. Cancer is a condition in which a harmful tumour develops in the body.
B. Countable and Uncountable Nouns
Although there is
only one canteen in I want to have ~-----
our school, there are a sandwich
three stalls selling with cheese.
different food. I'd like
to have rice today.
Nouns 25
Countable nouns refer to things that can be counted.
They are also called count nouns. Here are some
examples of countable nouns.
one sandwich five sandwiches one house five houses
one cow two cows one street three streets
one bag ten bags one bottle eight bottles
one girl four girls one balloon ninety balloons
one car twenty cars one child thirty children
one tree twelve trees one man a hundred men
one dress one horse sixteen horses
We can always count countable nouns, whether

there is one or a million of them!
Uncountable nouns refer to things that cannot be

counted. They can also be called non-count nouns.
Uncountable nouns have just one form. We do not

change them to make a plural form. We do not need
to add -s to the end of the noun. Here are some
examples of uncountable nouns.
food cheese rice juice

milk music dirt luggage
dust weather flour homework
26 Mca11end1s
mmml h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
l§da•~i=I
Since uncountable nouns are always singular,
remember to use the correct form of the verb.
0 There are dust everywhere!
( ,/) There is dust everywhere!
Usually, we do not use a or an or a number with an

uncountable noun. For More on :irt\c\e~.
see Un·tI Lf.
0 We're having a very hot weather.
( ./) We're having very hot weather.
When we need to use uncountable nouns in a plural

sense, we add words called partitives.
0 The two luggages were left in the taxi.
( ,/) The two pieces of luggage were left in the taxi.
Remember that the verb needs to change depending

on whether the partitive is singular or plural.
The piece of luggage was left in the taxi.

(singular partitive and singular verb)
The two pieces of luggage were left in the taxi.

(plural partitive and plural verb)
Nouns 27
Sort the following nouns into countable or uncountable nouns.
equipment gas storm city

song library furniture paper
oil germ coffee homework
Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns
C. Singular and Plural Nouns
This is a boring
story. I am going to
find another book.
28 M
lf!!f!li
_§(ijlAi:_
Nouns can be singular or plural.
Nouns have a singular form when they refer to one

person or thing, and a plural form when they refer to
more than one person or thing. When we make a plural
noun, we usually add -s .
Here are some examples of plural nouns with -s .
bee boy boys
toy girl girls
cup plate plates
tree flower
road town
book cake
Not all countable nouns are formed in this way. There are
special spelling rules for making the plural form of some
countable nouns.
• When a singular noun ends in a hissing sound like

-s, -ss, -tch, -x, -sh and -z, we add -es to make
the plural form.
bus
waltz
fox
wish
kiss +
Nouns 29
• But if the hissing sound is followed by a silent -e, then we
just add -s to make the plural form.
bases
noises
axes
+
• When a singular noun ends in -ch, we need to remember two things.
1 If the -ch is a soft sound, we add -es to make the plural form.
lunches
+
2 If the -ch is a hard sound (like -kl, we add -s to make the plural form.
eunuch
( monarch ) +
M.imfa1~ih Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4

30 cavend1s
13~ra•w:11
• When a singular noun ends in -y, we need to remember two things.
1 If there is a vowel in front of the -y, we add -s to make the plural form.
key
toy
keys
toys
---
monkey
+
2 If there is a consonant in front of the -y, first we change the -y to -i.
Then we add -es.
party
family
(family ) - (iJ +
• For most singular nouns ending in -o, we simply add -s to make the
plural form.
( piano ) +
Nouns 31
• But there are some nouns ending in -o that take -es in the
plural form.
hero
tomato
volcano +
• There are also some nouns ending in -o that can take
either -s or -es in the plural form.
flamingos flamingoes
motto mottoes
zero
( flamingo J + or
• For singular nouns ending in -f or -fe, we can form the
plural in two ways.
1 For some nouns, we drop the -f or -fe and add -ves.
half
life
loaf
thief
wolf (wolf J-C!J +
32 M- h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
1a~re•~1=1
2 For other nouns, we keep the -f or -fe and just add -s.
+ 0
• Some nouns can be used in the singular or plural form without
any change in spelling. The words before and after the noun
tell us whether the noun is singular or plural.
One sheep wandered out of the pen. (singular)

Now, there are nine sheep left. (plural)
A young deer played happily Deer live in the forest. (plural)

in the forest. (singular)
• Some nouns are made up of more than one word,

for example, son-in-law. These nauns are called . . . . . ·
compound nouns. To make the plural form of a --.. ·- _..........-·
*
compound noun, we add -s to the main word.
Singular Plural
son-in-law sons-in-law
passer-by passers-by
commander-in-chief commanders-in-chief
brother-in-law brothers-in-law
mother-in-law mothers-in-law
daughter-in-law daughters-in-law
Nouns 33
• There are some countable nouns which have their own
special irregular plural forms.
' .
Singular Plural
mouse mice
louse lice
foot feet
child children
crisis crises
ox oxen
man men
woman women
goose geese
tooth teeth
oasis oases
die dice
radius radii or radiuses
genius '• ,
genii or geniuses
formula formulae or formulas
• Some nouns are always plural. Here are the examples.
groceries clothes pyjamas

shorts trousers jeans
scissors spectacles news
We can say "I We shouldn't say

bought some "I bought ajean".
jeans or I bought
a pair of jeans". <No.r.r-1..~
34
Ma'cav.end1s
ifali1li h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
ia~m•w:1
Write the correct plural form of the nouns in the brackets to complete
the following sentences.
1. My sister has five pink (dress).
2. He is one of the top (chef) in the world.
3. Farmer Joe has many (calf).
4. Both Achilles and Odysseus were the (hero) of

Greek mythology.
5. Jane is fond of music. She owns several (studio).
D. Collective Nouns
I've found the cat. She

has a litter of kittens!
Collective nouns are names given to people, animals or

things that are grouped together.
Nouns 35
Here are some examples of collective nouns.
Living Things Non-Living Things
an army of soldiers a bale of cotton/hay/paper

a band of musicians a batch of bread/cakes
a bunch of flowers a bunch of keys
a class of pupils/students a chest of drawers
a clump of trees a cluster of diamonds/stars
a company of actors a clutch of eggs
a crew of sailors a collection of pictures/coins/stamps
a flock of birds/sheep a crate of bottles
a gaggle of geese a fleet of cars/ships/helicopters
a gang of labourers/thieves a flight of aeroplanes/steps
a herd of cattle/elephants a galaxy of stars
a itter of kittens/cubs/pups a library of books/records/videos
a nest of ants/mice/rabbits a pack of cards/cigarettes/lies
a pack of rascals/wolves a pile of books/clothes/sand/rubbish
a school of whales/dolphins/fish a row of houses
a staff of servants/teachers a set of cutlery
a swarm of bees/insects a stack of books/boxes/papers
a team of players a string of beads
a troop of soldiers/monkeys a tuft of hair/grass
a troupe of dancers/performers a wad of notes
Ma~
36 jf~Wb~~
~m•m=
.
3 4
Grammar Handbook: Primary and
Read the clues below. Complete the crossword puzzle with the correct
collective nouns.
4 3
6 2
e
7
m
8
Clues
Down
1. The rich lady took out a of notes and paid for the
expensive diamond ring.
2. Before we can take part in this basketball competition, we need to form a
_ _ _ _ _ _ of players.
3. My grandfather has a large _ _ _ _ _ _ of antiques.
Across
4. On her birthday, Mr Lim gave his wife a _ _ _ _ _ _ of flowers.
5. The army operates a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of helicopters.
6. Patricia saw a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of puppies in a box.
7. I found a _ _ _ _ _ _ of bees in the park.
8. The police arrested a of robbers yesterday.
Nouns 37
E. Nouns That Show Gender
Masculine nouns are used for male animals or people.

Feminine nouns are used for female animals or people.
Here are some examples of masculine and feminine nouns.
Masculine Feminine
father mother
brother sister . ..·~ ' )~.< ..
. .·.· '
grandfather grandmother
uncle aunt
nephew niece
son ··. daughter
. .
. . ..... :-
, ···',-' -;-' ,_-. : "·. ,/, .. -·:: .·
38
Ma¥M' Ji1li h
i avenihsi Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
§~[38~4:
Masculine Feminine
- -- -- - - -
husband wife
man
boy girl
king queerr
"~ --
. <:. ·· . ~
prince princess
headmaster • ·. ·.· ::·. ·;:'; -~- ;·~ . ,b~a~ .iJ:i f.sJr~§~~~;~;}~~~J¥~d:.
hero heroine
Stalll.Qn· . ,·.-~:,· . ..·,·.:,~ -
.....·.·~;:::
., ...,~ ~· .~(;-;;
•
, -.',,.· ...
. •'
r·. : ._, ,_ "·~:-~,,_~:',;'JY,;,/:l:·.'.,).j~:~~~!. ·~~~~ ..-/.t.··--~~~l-
'- i
mare ~ , . . ,,...•
> •'' ".'.•, '_,.'
' ,
../, '. ,., <'.".-~<--· r,·•;.:.r,1 ..~,.
< . . •',•'.':--.'. •, ::-.- -'. _--;.:.·:,..L·_: <·'
+ '-~ ' ·.~· .... -~~
bull cow
Many feminine nouns are formed by adding -ess to

the end of a masculine noun.
aEM.~";~~1iil·e ··: : .~~~r?~- Feminine

- - - - - - -- - - - --
In books and
author authoress newspapers nowadays,
. ' ,-.· ..· . '· .....
the words actor and
manager.-: . .. . ~~.r'.JQ.9,¢L ... -<·<?·?~~~,;~~?>:,,{- author can refer to
murderer murderess both women and men.
actor actress
proprieto~~- .. «·".· ntonrieti1":S · ·;·~"'" :,;:-:~f~&4 · 4r $
,,· r:-::. :->,:. ~.' 1.~ ·•. ·~I .'/.-':V?;t~}~'i:'r.::~#, -.·. ::.:
lion lioness
host hostess
emperor empress
Many people feel that words ending in -ess are

very old-fashioned these days, and that we should
use the masculine form of the word to refer to male
and female living things, especially when we talk
about people.
Some nouns like baby, animal and cousin can be both

masculine and feminine. They are called common
gender nouns.
Nouns 39
Fill in the blanks with the correct masculine or feminine nouns.
1. Alice is interested in acting. She wants to become an _ _ _ _ _ __
2. Flora serves passengers on aircraft. She is an air _ _ _ _ _ __
3. My brother has a son, Kelvin. Kelvin is my _ _ _ _ _ __
4. Mr Tay was our headmaster. He retired last year. Since then, Mrs Ong
has become our _ _ _ _ _ __
5. Cindy and Benjamin are going to get married. Cindy is the bride.
Benjamin is the _ _ _ _ _ __
F. Compound Nouns
sail + boat=
sailboat
surf + board =
surfboard
day + dream=
daydream
M.J19111 .
40 l~)eWlll!' Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
§~ ij!@:
Compound nouns consist of two or more words.
When we put the words together, we have a new
word with a new meaning.
This is how we form compound nouns.
• We add one noun to another.
bed+ room bedroom
pocket + knife pocketknife
• We add an adjective to a noun.
black + board blackboard
high+ way highway
ptac'{\ce b '
Match the words to form compound nouns.
1. shoe • • dog
2. flash • • ground
3. hot • • light
4. dust • • lace
5. play • • bin
Nouns 41
Nouns Uses
Common nouns • Words for things, animals, places and types of people
Proper nouns • Special names for particular people and things

• Names of places, the days of the week, the months of the year,
festivals and the titles of books and films
Countable nouns • Things that can be counted

• Also known as count nouns
Uncountable nouns • Things that cannot be counted

• Also known as non-count nouns
Singular nouns • Referring to one person or thing only
Plural nouns • Referring to more than one person or thing

• Usually ending in -s
• Special spelling rules for some plural nouns
Collective nouns • Names given to people, animals or things that are

grouped together
Nouns that show • Masculine nouns for male animals or people

gender • Feminine nouns for female animals or people
• Common gender nouns for those that can be both masculine
and feminine
Compound nouns • Made up of two or more words

• Formation of a new meaning when the words are combined
42
Ma'5!'!111
,j~Wcm~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
___m•w:_
Pronouns are words which take the place of nouns.
Torn, Yati and Jonathan kept very still as t ey hid behind

an old tree. The bullies did not know that e were being
watched. Three school children walked past and the bullies
took money from t em . The leader, Sneaky Sam, was
gleefully counting a pile of coins. The bullies then shared the
coins with one an<>ther .
There are different types of pronouns. They include

personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, reflexive
pronouns, demonstrative pronouns, interrogative
pronouns, reciprocal pronouns and indefinite
pronouns.
Pronouns 43
A. Personal Pronouns
One of the monkeys

is climbing on the man.
It wants a banana
from the bucket!
The monkeys are

climbing up the tree to
pick some fruit. They love
bananas very much.
~-cl. .
We use personal pronouns to refer to people, places

or things without actually naming them.
There are three groups of personal pronouns.

ID°'"' t«,' "'i'i" ...,~ "'~-
Groups Personal Pronouns

first person (speaker) I, me, we, us
second person (person spoken to) you
third person (not the speaker or he, she, it, they, him, her, them
the person spoken to)
44
MiJav.en<11s
mfliui h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
=~m•w= 1
We can use personal pronouns such as I , he, she, it, you, they and
we as subjects in sentences.
• I , he, she and it are singular subject pronouns.
I am in Primary Four.
This is my brother. He is in Primary Three.
My mother is a teacher. She teaches English.
I have a pet dog. It is called Rocky.
• They and we are plural subject pronouns.
Raymond and Lina are my friends. They are in Primary Four too.
Tim and I play football every Saturday. We are best friends.
• You may be singular or plural.
You are sitting in the front row.

You have been very helpful children.
We can use personal pronouns such as me, him, her, it, you, them
and us as objects in sentences.
My grandmother gave the apple to me.

David is my pen friend. I sent a letter to him last week.
Mei was hungry. I made a sandwich for her.
The cat was thirsty, so I gave it some water.
I will throw the ball to you .
The children are bored. Give them these books to read.
My sister and I love pies. Our mother baked a delicious pie for
us yesterday.
Pronouns 45
Do you ever Sometimes. It is difficult
get confused to know which personal
about when pronoun to use. Let's
you should use look at the picture to
I and me? help us decide.
Question: Which is correct, I or me?
Solution: The boys' answers could be rewritten as:
0 e did not do it.
(./) I did not do it.
So I is correct.
46 M" h
I@ M•~;:jl
Fill in the blanks with the correct pronouns that refer to the
underlined nouns.
1. The calculator did not work.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ did not work.
2. Karen found a bracelet.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ found _ _ _ _ _ _ __
3. The mice are having a party!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ are having a party!
4. Susan's father is a doctor.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is a doctor.
5. Jeff and I went to the cinema together last night.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ went to the cinema together last night.
B. Possessive Pronouns
Pronouns 47
We use possessive pronouns to show ownership
or possession.
There are three groups of possessive pronouns.
Groups Possessive Pronouns

first person mine, ours
second person yours
third person his, hers, theirs
We can use possessive pronouns in place of

possessive determiners.
We can use possessive pronouns in place of the

possessive form of nouns.
This is the boy's bag.

This bag is his.
Those books are the children's.

Those books are theirs.
48
Mcav.enclls
mtff1li h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
la~te•@:il
Choose the correct possessive pronoun for each question and
write the letter in the brackets.
1. The flat on his left is

A. ours B. their
C. your D. our
2. These novels belong to Ravi. They are

A.him B. his
C. he D. hers
3. Your dress is as pretty as

A. her B.she
C. me D. mine
4. We have bought our tickets. Have you bought ______?

A. your B. yours
C. his D. hers
5. Ben and Jill borrowed my pens because they had lost _ _ _ _ __

A. them B. their
C. theirs D. they
Pronouns 49
C. Reflexive Pronouns
I myself painted this

wonderful picture.
Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject of the

sentence.
There are three groups of reflexive pronouns.

I ' "':'. I ''::"' l'ffe'~"" \ k' "' ,1 / \ .. l '# ' " "'.- "' j _,. " '-<, ~ '<
Group,s Ref~exive Pronouns

first person myself, ourselves
second person yourself, yourselves
third person himself, herself, itself, themselves
50 Mr.~:. endislt Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4

Ourselves, yourselves pronouns are singular?
and themselves are Which ones are plural?
plural.
Myself, yourself,
himself, herself
and itself are
singular.
Reflexive pronouns refer to the person or thing that

is the subject. The reflexive pronoun usually comes
after the verb in the sentence. It also has to agree
with the subject.
Betty in ju red herself while defending the goal.

The spider spun itself an enormous web.
We gave ourselves a treat at the new Chinese
restaurant in town.
I baked this pie for myself.
Pronouns 51
Reflexive pronouns can also be used for emphasis, or
when we want to say something strongly. In this case,
the reflexive pronoun comes immediately after the
subject or subjects of the sentence.
I myself painted this wonderful picture.

We ourselves could never finish such a large pizza.
You yourself must be responsible for this mess.
The principal herself came to see me in hospital.
The chairman himself was at the meeting.
The king and the queen themselves will attend
the charity race.
Fill in the blanks with the correct reflexive pronouns.
1. Jenny is too young to go to Malaysia by
2. The teacher told the students, "Behave I"
3. Ian and I enjoyed during the holiday.
4. My mother wanted me to sweep the floor
5. In this story, Peter Pan would never grow up.
52
D. Demonstrative Pronouns
This is my latest
trick. I shall turn
the dogs into birds!
Oops! That was
a big mistake!
We use demonstrative pronouns to refer to nouns.

They tell us which one.
The pronouns this, that, these and those point

out a person, place or thing, especially from
among others.
This is my house.
That is Aminah's house.
These are sheep.
Those are goats. Do you know when
to use this, that,
these and those?
Nearby Far Away Let's look at the
table.
this (singular) that (singular)
.~ (~,--.\'."
' I
these (plural) those(plural)
Pronouns 53
Now, look at the examples below.
There are two cars in the showroom. "This is faster

than that," the salesman said.
There are many houses in this area. "These are
nicer than those," the lady stated.
This refers to the car which is closer to the salesman.

Similarly, these refer to the houses which are closer to
the lady.
On the other hand, that refers to the car further away.

Those refer to the houses further away.
Hence, when someone or something is near us, we
use this and these. When the person or thing is not so
close, we use that and those.
Fill in the blanks with the correct demonstrative pronouns.
1. "What's _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ over there?" Mary asked Peter.
2. Father pointed at the photograph and asked, "Do you know when
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ was taken?"
3. John was carrying three books. He said to Andrew, "I have finished
reading all _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ "
4. The facilities of this school are as good as _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ at

any university.
54 Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4

E. Interrogative Pronouns
Who wants to
buy some fruit?
We use interrogative pronouns to ask questions.
Interrogative pronouns include who, whom,

whose, which and what. We use who, whom and
whose in questions about people. We use which
and what in questions about other living things and
non-living things. Which can sometimes be used
for people too.
Who is in the washroom?

Whom did you talk to just now?
Whose storybook is this?
Which of the children found my pen?
What did you do this morning?
Pronouns 55
• We usually use which when the person or thing
we are referring to is few in number.
In the example above, the presents are few in

number, so which is used to ask the question.
• We use what when we are referring to things

in general.
56
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lij~Wimi Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
c§I@:
This question is very general. There are many
toys that the girl could choose. We cannot use We do not use what
which in this case because the girl has an when we are talking
unlimited choice. about people.
Here are some more examples using what.
What is the largest animal in the world?

What are you doing?
What is your favourite pet?
• We use who as the subject of the verb when we

refer to a person.
Who made this mess?
• We can also use whom as the object of the verb

when we refer to a person.
Whom are you calling?
Whom is the object and you is the subject in the

question above.
Whom cannot be used as the subject.
0 Whom made this mess?
We cannot use whom in the question above

because the interrogative pronoun needs to be
the subject as there is no other subject in the
question.
However, whom may sometimes be replaced by

who in common usage.
Whom/ Who did you visit at the hospital?

Whom/ Who are they trying to contact?
Pronouns 57
• We use whose in questions which ask a person if
something belongs to or is related to them.
Whose are these trousers?

Whose is this bag?
Fill in the blanks with the correct interrogative pronouns.
1. is the tallest in class?
2. is your favourite colour?
3. did you do over the weekend?
4. are those books?
5. did you meet this morning?
F. Reciprocal Pronouns
The twins really look like The triplets share everything

each other. with one another.
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58 -~V.~WiliJ~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_3~@•@:_
There are only two reciprocal pronouns: each
other and one another. We use them to refer to
people, places or things that are involved in the action
described by the verb.
We use each other when referring to two people,

places or things, and one another for more than two
items, or groups of people, places or things.
Here are some examples of reciprocal pronouns.
All the towns in the district were competing with

one another for the "Clean and Tidy" prize.
The two schools share a football field because
they are next to each other.
Fill in the blanks with the correct reciprocal pronouns.
1. Ivy and Karen are very good friends. They share things with
2. When the national team won the race, the four women hugged
3. The two contestants are competing against _ _ _ _ _ _ __
4. That group of children talked among themselves. They were talking to
Pronouns 59
G. Indefinite Pronouns
We use indefinite pronouns when we are not referring

to any particular person or thing.
Some indefinite pronouns are singular and we use them

with a singular verb.
anyone anybody someone somebody

everyone everybody no one nobody
nothing anything something everything
each either neither one
No one has beaten Jamilah at tennis.

Does anybody have a cat?
There are not enough seats for everyone.

Somebody has forgotten their coat.
There were two performers. One was dancing while
the other was singing.
Some indefinite pronouns are plural and we use them

with a plural verb.
both few many several
The two men were convicted yesterday. Both were

found guilty of robbery.
Fifty people have been invited to the book launch.
Many are going today.
Some indefinite pronouns can be singular and plural,

depending on the context. We use them with a singular
verb or a plural verb.
all any none some
A majority of my classmates are not keen on taking

part in the tournament. Only some are.
"Do you want orange juice?" - "Yes, just some is
enough for me."
Indefinite pronouns that begin with some- refer to one

person or thing; those beginning with any- refer to any
person or thing; those with every- refer to all the people
or all the things, and those with no- refer to no person
or thing.
Can somebody help me?

I do not mind who it is. It can be anybody.
Everybody can help if they like.
Okay, so nobody wants to help me!
Pronouns 61
Fill in the blanks with the correct indefinite pronouns in the box.
Use each indefinite pronoun once only.
someone something no one

nothing anyone anything
either both neither
1. _______ is at the door. Go and see who it is.
2. I do not want to drink _______ at the moment.
3. I was very disappointed because _______ remembered

my birthday.
4. If I do well in the test, my mother will buy me _ _ _ _ __

I like.
5. Has _______ watched that movie?
6. Do not worry! Everything is fine. There is _______ wrong.
7. Only two students will be selected to take part in the competition.

_______ have to be very good at drawing.
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Pronouns Uses
Personal pronouns • Referring to people, places or things without actually
naming them
• Three groups of personal pronouns: first person, second person
and third person
Possessive pronouns • Showing ownership or possession
• Three groups of possessive pronouns: first person, second person
and third person
• Used in place of possessive determiners or the possessive form
of nouns
Reflexive pronouns • Referring back to the subject of the sentence
• Usually the object of the sentence
• Three groups of reflexive pronouns: first person, second person
and third person
Demonstrative • Referring to nouns
pronouns • Telling us which one
Interrogative • Used to ask questions about people, other living things and
pronouns non-living things
Reciprocal pronouns • Used to refer to people, places or things that are involved in the
action described by the verb
Indefinite pronouns • Used when we are not referring to any particular person or thing
Pronouns 63
Determiners are words that we use with nouns to
refer to specific people or things. Since they are used
before nouns, they are like adjectives.
Determiners may take the form of articles

(indefinite or definite), the possessive form of
nouns or possessive determiners.
Gorillas are found in the rainforests of Central Africa. They

live in groups, each of which consists of a few males and
some females with their young. The leader is usually the
largest and strongest male, sometimes weighing more than
200 kg. Their diet consists of juicy leaves and roots , and
they spend much of the day roaming the forest. In the
evening, the gorillas settle down for the night. The leader
makes his nest first, using branches and leaves to make a
large ring around him. For a bed, he uses soft leaves and
twigs. Once the leader has settled down comfortably, others
will start to build their own nests.
64 M·~
[d M: Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
A. The Indefinite Articles
I hope she
remembered to
take a raincoat
and an umbrella.
A and an are indefinite articles. Remember that a

and an are only used with singular countable nouns
and collective nouns. They cannot be used with
plural nouns.
In the above example, the nouns raincoat and

umbrella are singular and countable, so we need to
use an article with them.
We usually use a in front of nouns that begin with a

consonant sound, and an in front of nouns that begin
with a vowel sound.
Remember that some vowel letters begin with a

consonant sound in the letter name. We use the article
a with nouns that begin with such letters.
Determiners 65
Let's look at the noun
university first. Say the
word university. What
sound comes at the
beginning of the word?
The 'you' sound is a consonant sound. We use a

with any noun or noun phrase that begins with a
consonant sound, even if its first letter is a vowel. Try
saying these examples.
a union a unit
a unique experience a one-man band
a European country a uniform The words one-man
and one-way begin
a one-way street a U.F.O.
with the consonant
sound 'w'.
On the other hand, we use an with any noun or noun

phrase that begins with a vowel sound, even if its
first letter is a consonant. For example, some words
begin with the consonant letter h which we do not
hear when saying the words. We need to use an with
nouns that begin with such a silent h sound.
66
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I get a short 'u'
sound, a bit like
Say the word the 'u' in the word
hour. What under. And that's
sound do you get a vowel sound.
at the beginning?
Now, try saying these examples.
an honour an honest man
Here is a summary of when to use the indefinite articles

a and an.
Nouns Examples
'
singular, countable nouns • She is a doctor.

• He is an artist.
collective nouns • A herd of cows ate grass in the field.

• I was stung by a swarm of bees.
certain numbers a hundred, a thousand, a million
certain quantities a dozen, a couple of, a pair of, a lot (of),

a few, a little, a pound, an ounce, a gram
measurements sixty kilometres an hour
Determiners 67
Fill in the blanks with the correct indefinite articles.
1. I have elder sister.
2. There is insect on the table.
3. My mother bought new uniform for me.
4. MRT train will arrive very soon.
5. This is one-hour movie.
B. The Definite Article
I hope she I hope she

remembered to remembered to
take a raincoat take the raincoat
and an umbrella. and the umbrella.
The is the definite article. We use the to refer to a

particular or definite person or thing.
68 ~-~
-=~tijl@:_
Look at the pictures about the raincoat and the umbrella
on the previous page. In the second situation, the mother
is thinking about a particular raincoat and umbrella, so she
uses the definite article: the raincoat and the umbrella.
We use a and an to refer to a person or thing which is not

so important or definite. In the first situation, the raincoat
and the umbrella that the mother is thinking about are
not a particular raincoat or umbrella, so she uses the
indefinite articles: a raincoat and an umbrella.
The is used in a number of situations.
• before a noun which has already been mentioned

• before a superlative
• before a noun which is unique or exists by itself
• before the singular form of a noun which refers to a
group or a class of the same animals
• before the name of a race of people, or the people of
a country, if there is no plural form
• before certain proper nouns
Let us look more closely at when to use the.
• We use the to refer to a particular person or thing that

has been mentioned before.
Tl c.tct: Ts
• We also use the in front of superlatives.
John can swim the fastest.

I am the best football player in the school.
• We use the for unique things. Unique means that

there is only one. For example, there is only one
earth, one sun and one sky.
I love the earth, the sun and the sky!

~\/ ~
--- 0 --
--- I \
Mafstfli1~1
70 iallenihs~
_§~M•w:_
• We use the before the singular form of nouns when
we say something general about a group or a class
of the same animals.
The kangaroo carries

its young in a pouch .
Determiners 71
However, when a plural countable noun is used in
a general statement about animals, the does not
need to be used.
0 The gorillas are found in the rainforests of

Central Africa.
(.I) Gorillas are found in the rainforests of

Central Africa.
0 The ants are social insects.
(.I)Ants are social insects.

• We also put the before the name of a race
of people, or the people of a country, if there is
no plural form. If there is a plural form, we do not
use the.
The Chinese have a long history. (There is no plural

form of Chinese.}
Australians love going to the beach. (Australians
is a plural form so we do not need the.)
Most of the time, we

What about other do not need to use
proper nouns, like articles in front of
cities and countries? proper nouns. Look
Do we need to use at the two sentences
the definite article on the next page.
with them? Which one do you
think is correct?
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0 Last December, we visited the North America.
(.!) Last December, we visited North America.
The second sentence is correct. Generally, we do not

need to put an article before continents and countries.
But there are some countries, which have names that
suggest that they are made up of smaller units. These
countries need to have the as part of their name.
the United States of America the United Kingdom

the Philippines the Netherlands
Debbie is from the United States of America.

Mr Chan went to the Philippines last month.
Both the United Kingdom and the Nertherlands are
in Europe.
Determiners 73
Here are some proper nouns and common nouns
For More on iero a~\c.\e,
that do not need an article before them. see section c.
Nouns Examples
roads • We will go shopping along
Orchard Road.
• Fifth Avenue is a famous street in
New York.
,____
suburbs, villages, towns, cities • My office is in Jurong.

• Kuala Lumpur is the capital
of Malaysia.
lakes • Lake Toba is in Indonesia.
• The deepest lake in the world is
Lake Baikal.
individual mountains (Note • Mount Everest is the highest
that mountain ranges take the mountain in the world.
article.) • Mount Everest is in the Himalayas.
continents • Thailand is in Asia.
• Lions come from Africa.
-
states and most countries • Kuala Lumpur is in Selangor,
a state in Malaysia.
• New South Wales is a state
in Australia.
games • She can play chess better than her
elder brother.
• How about a game of badminton
this afternoon?
illnesses • The old man suffers from high
blood pressure.
• They were off school with
chickenpox for two weeks.
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jJfnchs~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
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• Christmas is always celebrated
in December.
• I love visiting family and friends
at Chinese New Year.
languages • He speaks English and Malay.
• She can count to ten in Russian.
But these proper nouns need the definite article the .
• The South China Sea has a lot of

coral reefs.
• The Pacific Ocean is the largest
Irivers
ocean in the world.
• Many Indians think the River
Ganges is holy.
• The Nile is the longest river in
the world .
mountain ranges (not individual • Mount Everest is part of the
mountains) Himalayas.
• Mont Blanc is the highest mountain
in the Alps.
----+--
important buildings • The National Library has a lot

of books.
• I would love to see the Eiffel Tower
in Paris.
Determiners 75
Fill in the blanks with a, an or the.
1. There is _ _ _ _ _ _ hospital nearby. It is at _ _ _ _ __
end of Thomson Street, which is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ one-way
street. I was born in _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ hospital.
2. Rebecca was awarded _ _ _ _ _ _ _ medal for her outstanding
academic performance.
3. There was fire in low-rise
building yesterday. It took firemen less than _ _ _ _ _ _ hour
to put out fire.
4. villagers in countryside saw
U.F.O. hovering in sky.
5. John would like to become volunteer to help
poor and disabled.
M·~
1ti @=
C. The Zero Article
Yes, we can go there

by cable car.
There are other times when no article is needed

before the noun. Some books call this the zero article.
The list on the next page tells us when we can leave
out articles.
Determiners 77
No Article Needed Examples
common expressions about • to/at/from/in school (church, hospital,
place, time and movement college, university)
• to/in/into/out of bed
• at/from/leave home
• by day (car, bus, bicycle, train, plane,
boat, letter, mail, phone)
• at night
• to/at sea
• leave/start/enter school (college,
university)
• all day (night, week, year, summer, winter)
double expressions
----- • knife and fork, husband and wife, day
after day, from top to bottom
food and meals talked • My dad likes curry; my mum prefers
about in a general way salad; I love hamburgers.
• Come for dinner tonight.
--------+-
after both • Both (the) girls are good at football.
• Both (the) letters were from my pen
friend in China.
after kind of and similar • What kind of animal is it?
expressions • What sort of behaviour is that?
• What type of car did you buy?
--
before uncountable nouns • We eat rice every day.
and plural nouns referred to • Only adults can see the movie.
in general
MaWh'iii~ih
78 i a11enil1s iil Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
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days, months and seasons • Meet me on Wednesday.
when used in a general way • My birthday is in August.
I
• In spring, birds make nests.
-
I games • She can play chess better than her
elder brother.
• How about a game of volleyball
this afternoon?
- ---- -
illnesses • The old man suffers from high
blood pressure.
• They were down with chickenpox for
two weeks.
----
when we talk about • I went on a course to learn how to write
television as entertainment programmes for television.
when we talk about radio, • Theatre and cinema can be similar.

cinema and theatre as art • I do not listen to radio much.
forms or jobs
We usually do not use articles with uncountable nouns.
0 People need the food and the water to stay alive.
(.I)People need food and water to stay alive.
0 rhe flour is used to make the bread.
(.!) Flour is used to make bread.
Determiners 79
But in some cases, uncountable nouns do need to take an article.
Have you got a shampoo for oily hair? (This sentence talks
about a type of shampoo.)
The water in this place is not safe to drink. (This sentence talks
about particular water, not water in general.)
Fill in the blanks with the correct articles. Put a zero in the blank
if an article is not required.
Judy: I have to get my mother (1)
gift. It will be her (2) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ birthday
next Monday.
Mark: Why don't you buy her (3)
handbag? I bought one for my sister last year. It was
made of (4) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ leather.
Judy: That's (5) excellent idea!
· · ~.. ·
.. ·.· .· · •.. '.-
··".· / ········.··.,·\
-.
(6)
(7)
shop over there sells
leather products.
~
·.• ·. ·~·~·· ·
. ' .. · ' .. ' ......
Let's go and have (8) look.
Mark: Yes, sure!
80
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D. Quantifiers
Here's another
gold cup!
are several
diamond
necklaces.
We use quantifiers to show the amount or number

of things. They ofte.n answer questions such as "How
muc h . . .r. an d"H ow many . . .r. .
The table lists some of the common quantifiers that

we use when we speak and write.
~ Examples
several
many
much
--
a lot of We spent a lot of money on our trip.
----+-
some Could I borrow some glue, please?
Determiners 81
Quantifiers Examples
any Do you have any friends in London?
a few I know a few people in London.

-
a little It took a little time, but he was pleased with the
finished result.
fewer There are fewer empty seats than when I arrived.
less There is less water in this glass than that.
most Most pupils in my class enjoy reading.
more There is more sp~ce in her room.
either My mother does not like either bag.
neither Neither pupil can answer the question .
all All pupils have to take the test.

-
both Both sisters have blue eyes.

I
I
plenty of We saw plenty of monkeys at the zoo.

---
enough 1 He does not have enough money for the ticket.
the other Can you wear the other set of clothes?
half Greedy Gordon ate half the cake.
each Each boy wears a tie to school.
every Mrs Chan likes every pupil in the class.

-
another I have another pair of trousers, but no shirt.
no No teacher wants to see a pupil fail

an examination .
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afifa1li
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Some quantifiers can only be used with countable
nouns, and others can only be used with uncountable
nouns. However, there are some quantifiers that can
be used with both.
The table shows us the quantifiers we can use with

countable and uncountable nouns.
Countable Nouns Uncountable Nouns Both

• several • much • a lot (oft
• many • (a) little • some
• (a) few • less • any
• each • all
• every • half
• both • no
• another • the other
• either • plenty of
• neither • enough
• fewer • most
• more
Here are some more examples of using quantifiers

with countable and uncountable nouns.
Sandy does not have much money.

Andy can lend Sandy some money for the bus
ride, as he has a few coins left.
Sandy only has a little money left because she
spent nearly all her coins at the shops.
Andy will not have any coins left after he lends
them to Sandy.
Money is an uncountable noun, but coin is countable.

That is why these examples show that certain
quantifiers are used to describe the amount of money,
and others are used to describe the number of coins
talked about.
Determiners 83
1. There were (many I little) people in the cinema.
2. We will have to use (another I a lot of) conference room.
3. Tony would like to visit (neither I both) countries.
4. (Most I each) pupils will take part in the singing contest.
5. My mother gave me (some I much) coins this morning.
E. Possessive Form of Nouns

But I don't know
where the man's
The possessive form of a noun shows that a person

owns something, or is connected to the noun that is
talked about.
84 Mll!iff1~i
i§ltlil@:~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
To make the possessive form of a noun, we add an
apostrophe and -s at the end of the noun.
I returned the man's keys to him.

That is Wendy's book.
Apostrophes are usually used with nouns that refer to

people, animals, measure and time.
This is Mei's diary.

This is a cat's whisker.
Next week's class has been cancelled.
If a noun (singular or plural) already ends in -s, we

only add an apostrophe to indicate possession.
The boys' bikes are over there.

Mrs Thomas' house is always clean.
We usually do not use an apostrophe with nouns for

non-living things. With these nouns, we can simply
use of to show possession.
0 My bed is in the room 's corner.
(.I)My bed is in the corner of the room.
0 We missed the ploy's final part.
(.IJWe missed the final part of the play.
Determiners 85
Underline the possessive form of nouns.
1. I like Mary's cooking.
2. Paul'sjacket is in David's room.
3. The mice's tails are very short.
4. The boys' room is always messy.
5. We are looking for Brenda's mobile phone.
F. Possessive Determiners
Possessive determiners indicate ownership. We use

them to show that certain things belong to someone
or something.
86 Mibiflilli
l(.ienihs~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
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The words my, your, our, his, her, their and its
are possessive determiners.
Here are some examples of possessive determiners.
How is your uncle?

We are going to visit our grandparents tomorrow.
His jeans are too small for him!
She has studied hard for her examination on Friday.
They saw their favourite movie at the cinema.
The bird caught its wing in the cage.
Fill in the blanks with the correct possessive determiners.
1. My camera is not as expensive as my sister's camera.
My camera is not as expensive as _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ camera.
2. These bottles belong to Karen and Jenny.
These are _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ bottles.
3. Our school is opposite theirs.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ school is opposite ours.
4. I cannot find my textbook. Could you lend me yours?
Could you lend me _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ textbook?
5. You have a big pencil case. I have a bigger one.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ pencil case is smaller than mine.
Determiners 87
G. Demonstrative Determiners
We use demonstrative determiners to help us point

out the exact noun we are referring to.
Here are the common demonstrative determiners.
this that
these those
I think I will buy this watch instead of that one.

I do not approve of these new laws.
Those reasons you have given for not doing your
homework are not acceptable.
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3Ud•m:
H. Interrogative Determiners
We use interrogative determiners to ask a

question with reference to a particular noun. These
determiners are wh-question words such as what,
which and whose .
What drink would you like?

Which house will you buy?
Whose book is that?
We use what when we want to find out the

identity of something or ask what kind of thing it is.
We use what when we want to make a choice from a
big selection.
Determiners 89
On the other hand, which is used when we want to ask
a person to identify a particular person or thing out of a
limited number of choices.
The interrogative determiner which can also take of

after it when the noun is plural. However, the verb that
comes after the noun is singular.
Which of the houses will you buy?

Which of the books belongs to you?
Which of the girls is celebrating a birthday today?
Fill in the blanks with the correct interrogative determiners.
1. _ _ _ _ _ _ __ trousers are these? They belong to Carol.
2. airline does he prefer, SIA or Emirates?

He prefers SIA.
3. illness did your mother suffer from last week?

She suffered from diarrhoea.
4. computer is this? It is Patricia's.
5. one of the contestants is the winner? She is the

one with the longest hair. .
Mafshiiui
j avend1s
h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
#Nij!@I 11
Determiners Uses
The indefinite articles • Used to talk about a person or thing which is not so important or
definite
• With singular countable nouns and collective nouns only
The definite article • Used to talk about a particular person or thing that has been
mentioned before
• Used in front of superlatives
• Used to talk about unique things
• Used to say something general about a group or a class of the
same animals in the singular form
• Used before the name of a race of people, or the people of a
country, if there is no plural form
• Used as part of the name of some countries
The zero article • Common expressions about place, time and movement
• Some double expressions
• Food and meals talked about in a general way
• After both
• After kind of and similar expressions
• Before uncountable nouns and plural nouns referred to
in general
• Days, months and seasons when used in a general way
• Games
• Illnesses
• Television as entertainment
• Radio, cinema and theatre as art forms or jobs
Quantifiers • Showing the amount or number of things
• Used with countable nouns, uncountable nouns or both
Possessive form of • Showing that a person owns something, or is connected to the
nouns noun that is talked about
Possessive • Used to show that certain things belong to someone or something
determiners
Demonstrative • Helping us point out the exact noun we are referring to
determiners
Interrogative • Used to ask a question with reference to a particular noun
determiners • Wh-question words (what, which, whose)
Determiners 91
Verbs are words or groups of words that refer
to actions and states (including our thoughts
and feelings). Verbs are sometimes known as
doing words.
I am lost!
Verbs come in many different forms. There are

various types of verbs we commonly use.
92
Mafsidn l
jav,end1s~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_§~Cfl!f:J:_
A. Primary Verbs
The verbs be, have and do are the primary verbs.

They can work by themselves as main verbs or they
can work with other verbs.
~';'.:~"'"'~.,:·:-<""~/,%d 1'•~?,tli' ,;.;-~.
~
''" SimRle ' :,,~ .; , -irig
~,~tt~w~ ;. •
-ed/-en
Rast Participle Participle
be am, is, are was, were being been
have has, have had having had
do does, do did doing done
Verbs 93
Be is one of the most important verbs and has several functions.
• Be can be a main verb.
I am nine years old.

Where is Michael?
Where are you from?
My grandmother was a wonderful cook.
• We also commonly use be as a helping verb, which means

that it can be used with other verbs to describe continuous or
future actions.
We will be singing at the concert tomorrow.

She was receiving her award on stage when there was a
power cut.
I am having pasta for my dinner this evening.
In the above sentences, be

helps the main verbs singing,
receiving and having.
• Be is often used with there.
There is a girl.
There are some children.
There was a terrible noise that kept me awake all night.
There were many good dancers in the troupe.
There will be a party after school on Friday.
94
Mcavenihs
mfaui h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
13:m•w=1
Have is another very important verb with several uses.
• Have has two meanings as a main verb. In the following

sentences, it means to own or to possess.
I have my books.
He had no money to go to the cinema.
In the following sentences, it means to eat or to enjoy.
She is having noodles for lunch.

They had a great time at the carnival.
• We also use have as a helping verb to help other verbs

to form the present or past perfect.
Mrs Lim has written a letter of complaint to the company

about her faulty washing machine.
Have you seen the new film about the underwater
monster in Europe?
They had thought about taking their raincoats because
the sun hadn't been shining when they left the house.
In these sentences, have

helps the other verbs
written, seen, thought
and been shining.
Verbs 95
• Have can also be put before a verb in the
infinitive to express a sense of obligation
or necessity.
She has to go shopping with her grandmother

this evening.
They will have to leave by 5 p.m. to get to the
airport in time.
Does he have to go swimming every weekend?
Lisa had to study hard to get good grades.
Do is another important primary verb which works

in a variety of ways.
• Do can function as a main verb.
I shall do as I promise.
He does his work very well.
They did the painting beautifully.
We will do a Mozart piece at the concert.
• We also commonly use do as a helping verb when

forming questions.
Do you work for that company?

Did they meet Jonathan at the weekend?
Didn't we eat at that restaurant last week?
Do is used in its present or

past tense forms together with
the verbs work, meet and eat
to make questions.
96 McaJ1:end1s
fstfaJLi h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
IS~[d!@:I
• Do also functions as a helping verb in negative statements.
I do not always do as I am told.

She doesn't do her work very well.
We did not visit my aunt and uncle.
Underline the primary verbs in the following sentences.
1. The boys were bored with the film, so they left the cinema.
2. Eliza has noticed the hole in her shoe.
3 . Did the teacher talk about the poem that was written by a famous
American poet?
4. They had to take up part-timejobs to earn extra money.
5. I am going to watch a play with my sister this evening.
Verbs 97
B. The Infinitive
Let me tell you a secret.

Miss Princess has decided
to marry Mr Frog.
The infinitive is the base form of a verb. It is often

used with to in front of it. We can add different
endings to the base form to make new verb forms.
For example, to walk can be changed to walked or
walking when we add endings.
There are two types of infinitives: the to-infinitive

and the bare infinitive.
The to-infinitive is made up of to and the base form

of a verb.
Paul has learnt to swim.

I want to pass my examination, so I am studying
very hard.
It is starting to rain .
98
Ma'fftff1li
i av.enihsi Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_a:M•M:_
The to-infinitive can follow a noun or pronoun in
f:or ·11, '}.·
a sentence. f:or l\1ore on nouns see \)'(\"\ ·lr 'l)·
1\10 ' \)'(\\"\
re on pronouns. ;ee
I went to the market to buy some food.
Take a book to read in case you get bored.
Sally has got nothing to wear to the party.
If we want to make a to-infinitive negative, we put the

word not before to.
The little girl tried not to cry.

The librarian told us not to eat in the library.
It is impolite not to say "Hello".
You forgot to bring

your raincoat?
Verbs 99
The bare infinitive is the base form of a verb without
to. We use the bare infinitive after modal verbs such
as can, could, will and would.
We must keep our classroom clean.

I will go to the supermarket this afternoon.
Andrew cannot swim.
Write four complete sentences using the to-infinitive or the

bare infinitive.
1.
2.
3.
4.
100 M
., Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
C. Participles
I like cooking. Cooking
is my hobby. I am
cooking pasta now.
I love eating pasta.
A participle is a form of a verb. There are two main

types. The -ing participle usually ends in -ing, and
the -ed/-en participle usually ends in -ed or -en.
Here are some examples of participles in sentences.
I heard a noise coming from the kitchen.

Walking the dog was his favourite pastime.
They have booked to go to France next summer.
The -ing participle is the -ing form of a verb. We can
use the -ing participle in several ways.
• The -ing participles make the continuous

verb form.
I am writing a letter to June.

We will be going to our grandmother's house.
They have been planning the party.
• Sometimes, the -ing participles can serve as

ac:ljectives.
Please tell the screaming child to be quiet!

The barking dogs woke up most of the
neighbourhood.
Sally is reading an interesting book.
• Some -ing participles also serve as nouns.
I like swimming as a form of exercise.

The barking of the dogs kept everyone awake.
Dancing is a really enjoyable hobby.
On the other hand, the -ed/-en participles usually

take an -ed or -en ending. However, there are
many irregular verbs which have different endings
for their -ed/-en participles.
• The -ed/-en participles make the perfect

verb form.
Mark has not replied to my letter.

They will have started their tour by mid June.
We have been to Kuala Lumpur three
times already.
102
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frfh'm li
iav.ena1s~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
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• Sometimes, the -ed/-en participles can serve as
acljedives .
He is wearing ripped blue jeans.

The doctor put her broken arm in a plaster cast.
• Some -ed/-en participles also serve as nouns.
We believe that the tortured will never forget their

terrible experience.
The doctors cared for the most wounded first.
The doctor put my broken

arm in a plaster cast. It was
a frightening experience.
Circle the correct participle.
1. We are (watching I watched) the 100-metre relay race now.
2. The birds have (returning I returned) to their nests.
3. Joseph is (cooking I cooked) his meal in the kitchen.
4. A car has (knocking I knocked) down an old man.
5. Eric is interested in (dancing I danced).

Verbs 103
D. Regular and Irregular Verbs
What did you ' - - - - - - - - - - - . .

do during the
holiday?
My family and I
took the coach to My aunt and I
Kuala Lumpur. It flew to Tokyo.
was a wonderful We had a great
time.
We visited Batam.
We went there
by ferry. Then we
walked all over
the island.
Most verbs are regular, and we can add endings •

such as -s and -ed to change their forms in the
present and past tenses. Here are some examples
jjjf Wf
~ ' IL ~ ·
of how regular verbs are formed.
104
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'5'f.I
j~(Wim~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_:1_~10:_
to jump jump/jumps jumped jumping
---<
to look look/looks looked looking ~ooked
to like like/likes . I liking

/liked
.. I liked - - - i
to rain rain/rains - !rained ra1nmg rained
to help help/helps - ~elped helping helped ~

However, some verbs are irregular and form their
simple past and -ed/-en participles in a different
way. Here are some examples of the most common
irregular verbs.
to run run/runs ran runmng

. run
to go go/goes went going gone
l to eat eat/eats eating I eaten

f .'e
to fly fly/flies ew Tftying l !1own
--
to get get/gets got getting Lgot
to find find/finds I found finding found
to buy buy/buys bought buying bought
to do 1 do/does _Ldid doing done
to be ~m/is/are l was/were being been
to ride de/rides rode riding ridden
Verbs 105
-ing -ed/-en
Participle Participle
to keep
to catch
keep/keeps
catch/
catches
kept
caught --r keeping
catching- -
kept
caught
to know know/ knew knowing known

knows
to fall fall/falls fell falling fallen

--
to leove ----i leave/leaves + left leaving left
to choose choose/ chose choosing chosen

chooses
to sell
to think
to say
sell/sells
think/thinks
I say/says
1 sold
thought
said
selling
thinking
- rsayin~ - - -
sold
thought
said
-----1
~
- --- J
Some verbs remain unchanged in every other

form except the third person singular and the -ing The third person
participle. Notice how the infinitives, simple past and singular refers to he,
she or it.
-ed/-en participles of such verbs do not change.
to hit hit/hits hit hitting
to put put/puts put putting put
to cost cost/costs cost ~osting cost
to shut shut/shuts shut shutting shut

Remember that all verbs in the simple present
change their form in the third person singular, when
an -s is usually added.
Beware the third person

singular when using the
simple present!
Complete the following table.
to drink
I to break ----+-------,----1--- - - -
to hurt
~ake
~ep
Verbs 107
E. Verbs and Meaning
We can classify verbs according to their meaning: action

verbs, linking verbs, sensing verbs, mental verbs and
saying verbs.
1 Action Verbs
Verbs referring to actions or things that happen are called

action verbs.
I was riding my bike when

suddenly a car drove up
behind me and hit me!
We use action verbs to refer to the physical movement

carried out by a person or thing, or to describe something
that happens to a person or thing.
I cook two eggs every morning, put them on a piece

of toast and give the toast to my cat!
He closed and locked the windows before he went
out in the morning .
The scouts pitched their tents, unpacked their gear,
made a fire and prepared their dinner.
Mmfi1~1
108 1av:eni'hs~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_3~ra•~1=
There are many action verbs. Most of the time,
a person or thing needs to carry out a physical action
in order to do something. The table below shows us
some common action verbs.
eat sleep pull push write
walk run jump move read
drink hold sit stand swim
travel wrap help take jog
do build dress dig clean
work play climb bend search
come bring cut buy open
Underline the action verbs in the following sentences.
1. My teacher entered the classroom.
2. The cat chases the rat.
3. I found Mr Chan's wallet.
4. Clara sweeps the floor every day.
5. Thomas cycled to school.
Verbs 109
2 Linking Verbs
We use linking verbs to link the subject of a sentence to

additional information about the subject.
I am nine years old.
My parents seem to be very proud of my excellent results.
The road appeared to be held up by traffic.
3 Sensing Verbs and Mental Verbs
We use sensing verbs to talk about the use of any of

our senses.
I saw a rainbow this morning.
I heard the news.
The cat's fur feels soft and fluffy.
We use mental verbs to describe the way a

person thinks.
Jimmy thinks he is clever.
I know you are sleepy!
I believe in what you have said.
110
Ma'ifo'!mi
iavrnd1s~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_§~]!fij:_
Write a complete sentence for each of the following verbs. You may
change the verb forms.
--------
1 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --
Verbs 111
4 Saying Verbs
Verbs that express what we or other people say are

called saying verbs.
There are many saying verbs. Say is the most

common of these verbs, but there are many others
that give us more information about the manner in
which we say something.
My mother shouted, "Go to your room!"

"Go to sleep now. It's late," whispered Ben.
"I'll meet you there at 5:30 p.m.," Katie replied.
112 M~h
,f!i~~al Grammar Han db oo k: Pnmary
. 3 an d 4
1sua•m:1
1. "Watch out!" John (giggled I yelled).
2. "Go to your room," (ordered I joked) Mrs Lee.
3. "My leg hurts," (asked I groaned) Timothy.
4. The teacher (said I whispered) to the class, "Please turn to

page two."
5. "What a sad movie," (roared I sobbed) the little girl.
F. Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
I invited everybody
to my birthday party.
We ate. We played
J
Verbs 113
Transitive verbs are verbs which take an object.
0 Let's invite.
(.I)Let's invite Tom and Jonathan.

0 She surprised.
(.I)She surprised us.

0 He introduced.
(.I)He introduced me to his mother.

The sentences with transitive verbs do not sound
right without the object. Each verb needs the object
to make sense.
Intransitive verbs are verbs which do not take

an object.
I slept.
We paused.
Please sit.
These short sentences make sense without an object

because the verbs are intransitive and do not need
an object.
Some verbs can be both transitive and intransitive.
Singapore won the game. Singapore won.

I cannot eat fish. , ·~ ·f/ -··::~ .;/~>L
;. .~-., · Let us eat.
'
If
...
~.,;~ ;
i ·0 _H' ~ .I
They are playing chess. They are playing.
114 Mja11e~d1s
mffii1li h
3Uti m: 11
Grammar Hand book: Primary 3 and 4
Sort the verbs in the following sentences into transitive or intransitive
verbs. Underline the object for each transitive verb you have identified.
l. My sister and I like Indian food.
2. The girls always dance in the hall.
3. Andrew watched a horror movie.
4. Mr Kim swam in the pool.
5. My mother listens to music.
Transitive Intransitive
G. Phrasal Verbs
----
Verbs
I I
Mother put the cake in the oven to bake for

thirty minutes.
I hope Miss Lang will put off the test until
next week.
She should put on two jackets because it is very cold
today.
In these sentences, we see three different examples

of the verb put. First, it is used as a main verb. Then,
to change its meaning entirely, an adverb or preposition
is added to form two completely different verbs from it.
Put off has the same meaning as postpone or delay,

and put on means the same as wear.
Some phrasal verbs are made up of both an adverb and

a preposition.
"I won't put up with your bullying anymore!" cried

the young boy.
The meaning of put up with is tolerate.
Phrasal verbs can help us form many different verbs

from the same infinitive or base verb. In fact, there
are even more phrasal verbs that we can make
from put.
116
Mafsti!l1
1i h
~av:enu1s
aua•m: 1 Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
Phrasal Verbs Meanings Examples
put away save The old lady puts away some
money each month.
put up accommodate Can you put me up for
two nights?
put out extinguish After three difficult hours, they
finally managed to put out
the fire.
put in work He puts in fifty hours
every week.
Remember that the base form of the verb will change

to indicate the tense, but the adverb or preposition
remains the same.
Here are some more examples of phrasal verbs.

go on continue She went on singing after the
music had stopped.
take after resemble Everyone says that I have
taken after my father.
break into burgle We stopped a man from

breaking into the house.
look up find I shall look up the meaning in
the dictionary.
Verbs 117
There are so many phrasal verbs in
English that it is impossible to show
them all in this unit. But here are some
of the many meanings that we can
create from the verbs get and go !
get on progress; succeed He is sure to get on in life as

he is a very talented boy.
get over forget; recover from Jessie is finding it very hard

to get over the death of
her pet.
--
1
get away escape The burglar got away
empty-handed because he
was disturbed by the return
~f the owners.
l get off alight; dismount;

disembark
We must get off at the
next stop.
go off explode The bomb went off in the

early hours of the morning. l

~ ~ -~~"·'V'J- ;."~ • ~"> , .,. '"

go through endure; suffer; My grandfather went
experience through some hard times
as a boy.
go up increase The price of sugar has
gone up .
go over revise; study Go over Units 3 and 4 for
your homework.
Check the dictionary for phrasal verbs related to the following

five verbs.
take look come give break
Verbs 119
Uses
Primary verbs • The verbs be, have and do
• As main verbs or with other verbs
The infinitive • The base form of a verb
• Two types: the to-infinitive and the bare infinitive
Participles • Two types: the -ing and the -ed/-en participles
• -ing participles ending in -ing
• -ed/-en participles usually ending in -ed or -en
Regular and irregular • Regular verbs forming their simple past and-ed/-en participles
verbs by adding -ed or -en
• Irregular verbs forming their simple past and -ed/-en
participles in a different way
Verbs and meaning • Action verbs referring to the physical movement carried out by
a person or thing, or describing something that happens to a
person or thing
• Linking verbs linking the subject of a sentence to additional
information about the subject
• Sensing verbs talking about the use of any of our senses
• Mental verbs describing the way a person thinks
• Saying verbs expressing what we or other people say
Transitive and • Transitive verbs taking an object
intransitive verbs • Intransitive verbs not taking an object
• Some verbs being either transitive or intransitive
Phrasal verbs • Made up of a verb and an adverb or a preposition which gives
it a special meaning
• Some phrasal verbs made up of both an adverb and
a preposition
120
M
..,.
,~~~Waft~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_:o.a•m:_
Verbs have different forms, which we call tenses.
Tenses tell us whether the action or state takes place in
the past, present or future.
Present
Tenses 121
A. Simple Present
I'm almost done.

Ijust need to
find the camera.
We use the simple present to refer to actions and events

that are true at the present time, and that happen regularly
as a habit.
The simple present is used for:
• something that is true, and will be true for some time

• a regular action or habit
• a general truth or scientific fact
• an event or action that has been planned for the future
• an event or action that has a fixed time in the future
• an action that begins and ends approximately at the
moment of speaking
122
Ma'l!!I
iavemlas~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_:um•t-1=_
for something that is true, and will • My name is Emily Chan.
be true for some time (but may • I am ten years old.
change in the future) • We live in Tampines.
for an action that is done regularly • Tom walks to work every
or as a habit morning.
• My dog barks when strangers
come to the door.
• I often drink milk.
for a general truth or scientific fact • Mosquitoes cause malaria.

that will not change over time • Ten and ten make twenty.
• The earth orbits the sun.
L
for an event or action that has been • We move to our new flat
planned for the future next week.
• I get my examination results in
a few days.
• Our principal retires at the end
of the year.
for an event or action that has a • The office closes on a Monday
fixed time in the future afternoon.
, • I have piano lessons every
Tuesday at ten o'clock.
• The train leaves the station at
six-thirty.
for an action that begins and ends • The striker kicks the ball towards
approximately at the moment of the goal and the goalkeeper
speaking catches it. I
• The soldiers salute the gen:ralJ
and he returns their salute .
...__~~~~~~~~~~~~_.___~_
Tenses 123
The form of regular and irregular verbs in the simple
present changes in the third person singular (he, she
and it).
Person Verb
first person singular Ising.
second person singular You sing.
third person singular He/She/It sings.
first person plural . We sing.
second person plural You sing.
third person plural They sing.
• In most cases, we add -s to form the third

person singular.
He likes pancakes with syrup.

She looks tired today.
The bus stops in front of the museum.
Christine runs in the park every day.
Vitamin C helps to keep us healthy.
• Sometimes, we add -es to form the third

person singular.
The kitten watches its mother climb trees.

She brushes her teeth twice a day.
The chef mixes eggs and sugar together.
He dresses neatly.
The dress is long. It touches the ground .
124
McaYenchs
mmiul h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
1a~re•w:w
• When a verb that ends in a -y has a consonant before
it, we add -ies to form the third person singular.
However, if there is a vowel before the -y ending of
the verb, we add -s.
She carries her books in that bag.

He tries to exercise every day.
Mathilda copies everything I do.
Kamil obeys all the school rules.
Frieda stays with her grandparents on weekends.
• There is no definite pattern to the third

person singular form of irregular verbs. Some add the
-s, -es or -ies, and others have a very different form.
Verb Third Person Singular

have has
go
be
do
Tenses 125
Look at the pairs of subjects and verbs below. Write a complete
sentence for each pair using the simple present.
subject verb
1. Peter play
2. They like
3. Jess and Karen live
4. Theshop open
5. The kind boy try
126
Mcav.end1s
mmiili h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
l3ddl@li
B. Present Continuous
We are helping
Grandpa with
the gardening.
We use the present continuous to refer to actions

and events that are happening now.
Sentences in the
present continuous
answer the question:
What is happening?
Tenses 127
We use two verb forms to make the present
continuous: the simple present of the verb be and
the present participle of the main verb. Remember
that the present participle is formed by adding -ing
to a verb.
simple present
present
present of + participle of = continuous
be main verb
The present continuous is used for:
• an action or event that is taking place at the time

of speaking
• a temporary action or situation that is currently
true or taking place
• a habit or something that we do often
• an event or activity that is planned for the future
128 Mcavenil1s
mifiRih Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
l#Mfll@ll
• ~'I! •• ,,
Examples
for an action or event that • I am having my lunch now.
is taking place at the time • The blackbirds are building a nest at the
of speaking top of the tree.
• Shh! The baby is sleeping.
-for a temporary action or • I am taking art lessons at the
situation that is currently community centre.
true or taking place, • Why are you giving your books away?
although not necessarily at • We are staying with our cousins when
the time of speaking we go to Thailand.
-for a habit or something • She is forever asking her parents to let
that we do often (often her have a pet.
with adverbs of frequency • My brother is always spending his
such as always, forever, allowance on new books.
continually and regularly) • I am continually trying new recipes for
chocolate cake.
for an event or activity that • The train is leaving at 10 p.m. tonight.
is planned for the future • They are buying a new house soon.
(often with adverbs of • I am hoping to arrive in Kuala Lumpur
time such as tomorrow tomorrow.
and later)
-
For More on :idvex-\!S·

see Un·t
I 5.
Tenses 129
Sometimes, we come across both the simple present
and the present continuous in the same sentence.
In the example above, the girl uses I am (the simple

present) to tell us a fact about herself which is true at
that moment. She uses I am dancing (the present
continuous) to tell us about her action at the time that
she is speaking.
How do we know
when to use
which tense?
130 Mc~vF.Qihsil
a'fih'lilli h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
I ~ ~4!
When two actions are happening at the same time,
we use the present continuous for the action that
started before the other one and continues after it has
finished. The action that interrupts this continuing
action needs to be in the simple present.
\ I
The phone always rings when we are

having dinner.
Please do not disturb me while I am
trying to do my homework.
The fishermen reach the shore just as
the sun is setting.
Fill in the blanks with the present continuous form of the verbs
in brackets.
1. They (go) to the theme park tomorrow.
2. The children (sing) now.
3. Mrs Chan (sunbathe) on the beach.
4. The government (build) more HDB flats.
5. All my family members (come) to my

graduation ceremony next week.
6. We _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (leave) for Sabah tomorrow.
7. You _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (sit) on Peter's handkerchief.
8. What _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (make) that strange noise?
Tenses 131
C. Simple Past
We are tadpoles now.
We use the simple past to refer to actions and events

that happened in the past.
The simple past is used for:
• an action, situation or habit that happened in the

past and is now finished
• a past habit or something that was often done in
•
the past
something that is probably
(in conditional sentences)
not possible a •
:]lfilll;B?
132 Mlf!'I.~
_§tM•@:_ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
Uses Examples
for an action, situation or • The children's grandparents were
habttthathappenedinthe very active for their ages.
past and is now finished • The children visited their grandparents
every week until they went to
study overseas.
for a past habit or something • During my childhood, I used to go to

that was often done in Sunday school.
the past • He always chose chocolate cake
for dessert.
• We got up for school at 7 a.m. every
day as students.
for something that is • We wish we knew what would happen.

probably not possible • Tim wishes that he had a brother.
lin conditional sentences) • The dog would sit if you told him to.
We have seen how the simple past is used to talk

about actions and events in the past. Here is another
example of something that happened in the past.
Do you know why

obey does not
look like a past
tense verb here?
The boy's mother shouted at him to sit at the table

for dinner, but he did not obey. He simply carried on
playing with his toys.
Tenses 133
The verb obey appears in the negative form in the phrase
did not obey. The simple past is already represented by
did, which is the past tense of the verb do. This is why
we do not need to have another verb in the past tense.
In negative sentences, we use the past tense like this.
did not obey did + not + base form of the verb
Here are more examples of sentences in the negative

form of the simple past.
The girls did not arrive until fifteen minutes later.

We did not break the window.
Mrs Lang didn't give the class any homework.
I didn't like the food here.
Questions in the simple past follow a similar pattern.
Did you obey your mother?

Didn't you obey your mother?
Did you finish your dinner?

Why didn't you finish your dinner?
The table shows how we can make questions in the

simple past.
,., ' \7 ~ ~~ ' ~ ~
: . Positi~e Questions Negative Questions
did + pronoun + base form of verb did not+ pronoun+ base form of verb
e.g. did you obey e.g. didn't you obey
134
Mal!ll
i av:enilrsi Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_§~ta•@:_
Here are some more examples of questions
in the simple past.
Did you go to the circus on Saturday?

Did the children enjoy their visit to
the zoo?
Didn't Markjoin them at the zoo?
Didn't the clowns appear at the circus?
Fill in the blanks with the simple past form of the verbs in brackets.
1. We ______ (meet) each other last Friday.
2. The policeman _ _ _ _ _ (catch) the thief.
3. I _ _ _ _ _ (buy) a new umbrella. It _ _ _ _ _ (cost)

nine dollars.
4. Mr Yong _ _ _ _ _ (hurry) to catch his flight.
5. Brenda ______ (feel) excited about her first overseas trip.
6. They ------'---(see) the robber climb out of the window.
7. This ______ (is) my favourite dress, but I ______ (give)

it to my sister.
8. Sarah ______ (make) a pencil case with some old cloth scraps.
Tenses 135
D. Past Continuous
I was doing my homework

when a dinosaur appeared . It
was looking through my window.
Then, it ate my homework.
The past continuous refers to actions and events

that were happening at a certain time in the past.
simple present
+ participle of past
past = continuous
of be main verb
136 Mafstfa11i~
cavenu1s Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
l§i@•@=
The past continuous is just like the present continuous,
except that we use the simple past of the verb be
instead of the simple present.
I was feeling tired.

We were singing in the school concert.
What were you laughing at?
He asn't looking very well.
The past continuous is used for:
• an action that was in progress at some time in

the past
• two actions continuing at the same time in
the past
• a past habit or something that was often done in
the past
Uses , ,, ,, Exampres
for an action that was in • They were making a model aeroplane
progress at some time in this morning.
the past • I did not go out yesterday because it
was raining all day.
• What were you doing?
r-------------
for two actions continuing • I was finishing my homework while my
at the same time in the past lucky sisters were watching television.
• We were gettin ready for bed and they
were still brushing their teeth.
-----------
for a past habit or • We were often writing postcards to our
something that was often friends when we were on holiday.
done in the past • Mark was regularly playing tennis as
a boy.
Tenses 137
Do you remember how the simple present and the
present continuous can appear in the same sentence?
We can also use the simple past and the past continuous
in the same sentence for two actions in the past.
We use two tenses in the sentence in order to explain

something that happened while another action was
taking place.
My mother was cooking dinner when somebody

rang the doorbell.
The tourists were enjoying their safari trip when a
lion suddenly appeared from the bushes.
The fisherman called out to the two boys as they
were struggling in the water.
Fill in the blanks with the past continuous form of the verbs in brackets.
1. The old man _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (read) the newspaper just now.
2. The manager _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (give) instructions to his employees

during the meeting.
3. It _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (rain) the whole of yesterday.
4. I could not understand what the teacher _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (say)

in class.
5. The guests (enjoy) themselves in the party

last night.
138
M
JiMiui h
i~v.en<hs iil Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
~@lf51:
E. Future Time
A wise woman will

soon tell you about
Am I going to your future. You will
be rich? What be pleased with
will my future what you hear.
be like?
Future time refers to actions and events that have

not happened yet, but will probably take place in
the future.
The future time is used when we talk about:
• something that will either happen very soon or

at a later time in the future
• something in the future that is based on a
timetable or a calendar
• something that is planned or intended for
the future
Tenses 139
• We use will and shall to say or predict something
that will either happen very soon or at a later time
in the future.
We usually use shall with the pronouns I and we.

We usually use will with the pronouns he, she, it,
you and they.
I shall go to the concert.

He will take home the prize.
We shall not receive the award this year.
Won't expresses the negative of future time and

is the short form of will not. Shan't is the short
form of shall not.
"Will you turn down the volume on that stereo?"

"No, I won't." OR "No, I shan't."
The car won't start.
He won't put away his toys.
We shan't be going to that restaurant again.
It is not very common to use shan't, so won't is

perfectly acceptable to use with both I and we.
140 M~~
3td•M:
• We can use the simple present when we talk about
something in the future that is based on a timetable
or a calendar, or something that is a fact and cannot
be changed.
National Day falls on a Sunday this year.

The game begins at 5 p.m.
My train departs early in the morning.
John's birthday is on l71h July.
• We use going to instead of will/shall when we talk about

something that is planned or intended for the future.
We are going to join the tennis club.

She is going to be a vet.
What are you going to do this evening?
The sky is very dark. It's going to rain soon.
I'm going to have a party.
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
Yesterday, my father 1. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (book) our trip for the summer
holiday this year. We 2. (go) to Disneyland in America!
I 3. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (be) so excited now! It 4. _ _ _ _ _ _ __
(be) my first visit to America. My sister and I are going to have so much fun
there! My mother 5. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (say) that Dad was preparing
a surprise for us, but we had no idea what it might be until today. My sister
and I are so happy about the plans for our summer holiday.
Tenses 141
Tenses Uses
Simple present • For something that is true and will be true for some time
• For a regular action or habit
• For a general truth or scientific fact
• For an event or action that has been planned for the future
• For an event or action that has a fixed time in the future
• For an action that begins and ends approximately at the
moment of speaking
Present continuous • For an action or event that is taking place at the time of
speaking
• For a temporary action or situation that is currently true or
taking place
• For a habit or something that we do a lot
• For an event or activity that is planned for the future
Simple past • For an action, situation or habit that happened in the past and
is now finished
• For a past habit or something that was often done in the past
• For things that are probably not possible (in conditional
sentences)
Past continuous • For an action that was in progress at some time in the past
• For two actions continuing at the same time in the past
• For a past habit or something that was often done in the past
Future time • For something that will either happen very soon or at a later
time in the future
• For something in the future that is based on a timetable or
a calendar
• For something that is planned or intended for the future
142
Ma% h'fiili h
caven<11s Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
1a:ra•~1= 1
7 Subject-Verb
. Agreement
When we write or speak, the subject and the verb in our
sentences must agree with each other. This is known
as agreement. When the subject is singular, the verb
must also be singular. When the subject is plural, the
verb must also be plural.
This is my home. My mother

loves cooking in the kitchen while
my father and I love watching
television in the living room. The two
bedrooms are located upstairs.
Our bathroom is big. Does
anybody want to visit my home?
Subject-Verb Agreement 143

Here are some examples of subject-verb agreement.
' ~
Singular Subject Singular Verb

Jimmy loves going to the cinema.
The thief is stealing from the old lady.
My dog does not like cats.
Swimming is a good form of exercise.
Mum has gone shopping.
Plural Subject Plural Verb

Jimmy and Johnny love going to the cinema.
The thieves are stealing from the old lady.
My dogs do not like cats.
Swimming and tennis are good forms of exercise.
Mum and Dad have gone shopping.
She studies very hard. They study very hard.
Verbs need to change to agree with the subjects

depending on the number of people or things that the
sentence is referring to.
144 ltfimt\li
M. , .h
A. Singular Verbs
The following examples show us when we should use singular verbs.
Uses Examples
with singular countable nouns • This book is very interesting.
• The child has done well in school
this year.
with uncountable nouns • Wholemeal bread is good

for you.
• The water in the stream was
polluted.
with collective nouns that have • A chest of drawers is useful
a singular meaning for storing clothes.
• My class was first in the
competition .
• The band Rla¥S beautifully.
with singular pronouns • He lives in Hong Kong.
• Nobody knows the answer.
• Everyone watches the game
with excitement.
with singular demonstrative • This is where the accident

pronouns happened.
• That was the best book I have
ever read!

"'!,, ,. "";" J, .; ~ . ~~·~. '"'. f ..~~ ~ "'•
~ ~,
">:" fr
'
~" < •
Uses
' .
Examples
with quantifiers used with • A little sugar is enough for me,
uncountable nouns thanks.
• Some of the oil has left a stain on
the tablecloth.
• Much of the trouble was caused by
two naughty children.
with pairs of words that • Fish and chips is a favourite of

usually go together the British.
• The pulley and chain was a simple
invention that made moving things
much easier.
with money and other units of • Fifty dollars is too much to pay for
measure a pair of shoes.
• Ten kilometres is not really so far
by bicycle.
• Two weeks at the beach is perfect
for a relaxing holiday.
Even if we are referring to a

sum of one million dollars,
we still refer to money as a
singular subject, so it always
takes a singular verb.
MJi'Mli1~1
146 jav.en<11s~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_§~ld•M:_
1. The wolf (return I returns} to its cave every night.
2. He (walk I walks} through the park when he goes to school every day.
3. Mary always (cook I cooks} for her family.
4. Every means (has I have} been tried to rescue the victims trapped in the
collapsed building.
5. The sound of the cars (is I are) deafening.
6. Four weeks (is I are} just enough time to plan the party.
7. She finished all the coffee that (were I was) in the pot.
8. In my class, everyone (love I loves) ice-cream.

B. Plural Verbs
The players always shake hands with one another at the end of a match.
The following examples show us when we should use

plural verbs.
Uses Exomp fes,
with plural countable nouns • The dogs are chewing their bones.
• The boxes have been delivered to
your house.
when two or more singular • Mary and Alice are excellent singers.
nouns are joined by the • The hat, the scarf and the jacket
connector and were essential for my trip to Europe
last February.
• The boy and his dog love to take long
walks in the countryside.
148 ~.
_aue•w:_ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
Uses Examples
with certain nouns that have no • Your glasses are broken.

singular form • My trousers were ripped at the knee,
(e.g. binoculars, pliers, tongs, so I sewed them.
scissors, pants, jeans, clothes, • Shorts keep you cooler than trousers
pyjamas, spectacles, etc.) in summer.
with plural quantifiers • Few people know basic first aid.
• Many workers have not heard about
the factory closing down.
• A lot of us are worried about the
examination results.
with collective nouns that have a • The police want information about
plural meaning the man who used to work here.
• The authorities have put a stop to
the protest.
• Packs of wolves hunt in the forest
at night.

It is not only the subject and the verb of a sentence
that must change in agreement. The rest of
the sentence must also agree, so the nouns,
determiners and pronouns need to match too.
Every girl is entitled to her share of the food

when she has done her work.
The teachers enjoy making lessons fun for
their pupils.
l. No one (is I are) allowed to enter the laboratory if the teacher is not there.
2. The girls and the boy (has I have) finished their work.
3. Each one of these oranges (is I are) rotten.
4. The police (is I are) investigating the crime.
5. The people in the park (was I were) having a picnic.
150
Mjav.enchs~
mtff1li Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_=nca•w:_
Subject-Verb Agreement Uses
Singular verbs • With singular countable nouns
• With uncountable nouns
• With collective nouns that have a singular meaning
• With singular pronouns
• With singular demonstrative pronouns
• With quantifiers used with uncountable nouns
• With pairs of words that usually go together
• With money and other numbers
Plural verbs • With plural countable nouns
• When two or more singular nouns are joined by the
connector and
• With certain nouns that have no singular form (such as
glasses, trousers and shorts)
• With plural quantifiers
• With collective nouns that have a plural meaning

Modal verbs or modals are helping verbs. We use them
with other verbs to express meanings such as ability,
possibility, permission and obligation. The common
modal verbs are can, could, may, should, ought to
and must.
'- I /
-o-
/ I '
152
M
.,.
,~~eW~~~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_ara•w:_
A. Can
Can I go out
to play with my
friends now?
The modal verb can is used to express permission,

ability, inability or possibility.
• Can is used to express permission.
When can is used to express permission, it means

that somebody is either allowed to or not allowed We always use the
to do something. In the question form, can is used base form of a verb
to ask for permission to do something. after modal verbs.
Can we leave school early today?

Jenny can stay up until 11 p.m. tonight.
You cannot go out to play. You have to finish your
dinner first.
..
Modal Verbs 153

• Can is also used to express ability or inability.
I cannot write neatly,

but I can speak well.
To express ability, we use can . To express inability,

we combine can and not to form cannot; it can
also be expressed as can't.
He can carry that heavy box all by himself.

Johnny cannot play tennis very well.
Jenny can't solve the problem.
• Can is also used to express possibility. Come and visit me

as often as you can.

If you are not sure, you can ask your teacher for help.
She can choose to study in Australia or the USA.
They can't be there already. They have only just left!
The negative can't suggests that it is not possible to

do something .
B. Could
Could you pass me

the salt, please?
The modal verb could is used when we make a polite

request, an offer or a suggestion.
• Could is used when we make a polite request.
The use of could to make a request usually takes the

form of a question. We can also add the word please
to the end of such questions to make them sound even
more polite.
Could you shut the door, please?

Could we hand our homework in tomorrow instead,
please?
Modal Verbs 155

• Could is also used to make an offer or
a suggestion.
When we make an offer or a suggestion, we

often use could to sound more polite.
I could do that for you. (offer)

We could go to the cinema. (suggestion)
C. May
CI I I )

The modal verb may is used when we express a
polite offer, permission or possibility.
• We can use may as another way of expressing a

polite offer.
May can be a more polite form of both can and

could when expressing an offer to do something.
"May I take a message?" the secretary asked

the caller.
May we help you?
• Just as can and could are used to express

permission, may can also be used as a more polite
form to ask for permission to do something. Again,
please can be added to make the question sound
even more polite.
May I leave the room, please?

May I borrow your ruler, please?
When we use may in its negative form, it

expresses the meaning of not being allowed to do
something.
Modal Verbs 157

It is important to
know that may
not cannot be
shortened. We must
always use the two
words separately.
• Another use of the modal may is to express

possibility.
It may be true.
April may finish her homework before June.
I may get better results if I study harder.
D. Should
What do you think

I should do? I think you should
see a doctor!
The modal verb should is used when we express

advice, obligation or duty.
158 Mfrfh'f1~·h
1avend1siil Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
#~M!f:J:
• Should is used to express advice.
We can use should when asking for advice and

when giving advice.
Asking
• Which way should I go to get to • You should be more careful.
the post office? • Johnny looks very tired. He
• Do you think we should lock the should go to bed early.
doorafteryouleave?
• We also use should to express obligation

or duty.
We should show respect to the elderly.

We should not play in the park after dark.
We shouldn't talk loudly in the library.
E. Ought To
/
/
Modal Verbs 159

The modal verb ought to is used when we express
advice, obligation or duty.
• Ought to has the same meaning as should, but

often sounds more polite. We use ought to in the
same way as should to ask for and give advice.
You ought to be more careful.

Which way ought I to go to get to the post office?
• We also use ought to to express obligation

or duty.
We ought to show respect to the elderly.

We ought not to talk loudly in the library.
F. Must
This book is so
good. You really
must read it!
The modal verb must is used when we express advice,

obligation or duty.
160 Grammar Handbook: Prima ry 3 an d 4

• Must can be used to express advice. We use must
to give very strong advice to someone.
You must go to the hospital immediately.

You must tell me the truth.
• We use must to talk about things that either we

have to do or should never do, because it also
expresses obligation or duty.
Cinderella must leave the ball at midnight.

You must keep off the grass.
You must not smoke in the restaurant.
I mustn't be late for class today.
Have you noticed that

modals are often used to
express obligation or duty?
Modal Verbs 161

We have seen that one of
the uses of the modal verbs
. should, ought to and must
is to express obligation or
duty. But how do we know
which one to choose?
Must has a stronger meaning than should and

ought to.
You should/ought to go to bed early because there

is school tomorrow.
You must go to bed early because there is an
examination tomorrow.
The first sentence suggests that the person goes to bed

early, but the second sentence demands that the person
goes to bed early.
It is important to remember that should and ought

to suggest that we have a choice about what
we do. Must does not allow for choice; it requires
that something is done (or not done if the sentence
is negative).
With choice Without choice

should
ought to
.. must
162
M
mtflmi
javfncl1s~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_a:A•m:_
We must pay ten dollars for entry.
You should always lock the door when you go out.
You ought to visit your grandmother at the weekend.
We must not tell lies.
1. You (ought to I can) stop making all that noise. Many people are
asleep now!
2. We (may I must) arrive at school on time or we will be punished.
3. (Should I Could) you help to take these books to Linda?
4. Jessica (cannot I may not) sing very well.
5. "I (must I could) buy a car when I get my licence," Mr Chan insisted.
6. You (may not I must not) go to the cinema if you do not complete
your assignment.
7. I (ought to I could) lend you my textbook if you like.
8. In order to graduate, all students (should I must) pass at least

five subjects.
Modal Verbs 163

Modal Verbs Uses
Can • Permission
• Ability or inability
• Possibility
Could • Request
• Offer or suggestion
May • Polite offer
• Permission
• Possibility
Should • Advice
• Obligation or duty
Ought to • Advice
Must • Advice

Adjectives are describing words that tell us more
about the people or things they describe. There are
many adjectives which we can use to make our stories
more interesting.
The bear walked into the cave.

The huge, brown bear walked into the big, dark cave.
Which of the two

sentences sounds
more interesting?
Why do you say so?
Adjectives 165
A. Descriptive Adjectives
disorganised cupboard
tattered poster
messy
painting
kit
Wow! There are

many adjectives in
Messy Mary's room.
Descriptive adjectives tell us about the colour,

F=or ·~ 'l-·
shape, size, age and condition of a noun. Afore on nouns, see \)X''\
166
Ma'cavend1s
ffi\i!i1li h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
1s~m•~1:11
Adjectives usually come before the nouns that
they describe.
~' ..... ~.,.~{. ?'!;'.: ,..;i_:T.-;. i!-- :'>i ""if 7, ,,.,,. ' • ·-:V Jr.':p Y,~ ..-•• ;- f1f -
:r -':"~·:: ',;, ·":}:~1o:~r '.. ·:::_.,. ·.'-'.: Size Material

the blue sky a tiny hairpin a wooden spoon
a yellow sub marine an enormous burger the gold ring
a pink carna ti on a colossal monument an enamel bathtub
We do not always have to put an adjective first. Some

adjectives can be placed after a verb. These verbs F=or "'tore on ver\,s, see \)X\"\·~ ~·
include be, seem, appear, feel and sound.
Mary is messy.
Our new teacher seems nice.
The problem appears serious.
Freda feels confident she will win the race.
Your plan sounds good to me.
Sometimes, we may want to use more than one

adjective to describe something.
a cute little puppy

an old plastic bottle
a modern, paper and glass structure
a huge, long, black and yellow, African snake
Adjectives 167
When we use more than one adjective to describe
a noun, we need to place the adjectives in the
right order. This table shows us the correct order
of adjectives.
quality or opinion gorgeous, awful, happy, nice, bossy,

warm, handsome
size huge, small, tall, short, towering, fat,

skinny, slender
age ancient, new, modern, two-month-old
shape circular, triangular, rectangular, square
colour black, brown, yellow, white, pink
nationality or origin Egyptian, Australian, Thai, Vietnamese
material paper, plastic, metal, wooden, glass
Mareena is a beautiful, young, green

mermaid who lives in a kingdom at the bottom of
the ocean.
The Great Pyramid is a grand, towering,
ancient structure.
A pretty, young, fair maiden chased the ugly,
short, old, Norwegian witch.
Each of the following sentences has three adjectives given in brackets.
Fill in the blanks with the adjectives in the correct order.
1. There is a ____.,,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ swimming pool near my home.
(new, irregular, large)
2. The old lady is carrying a _ _ _ _ _ __ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ handbag.
(French, leather, black)
3. Sarah has _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ hair.
(blond, shiny, long)
4 . New York is a - - - - - - - -, _ _ _-_, ·_ _ _ __
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ city.
(cosmopolitan, huge, American)
5 . We found some _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, r_ _ _ __
//I,
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ buckets in the storeroom.
(plastic, tiny, blue)
Adjectives 169
B. Forming Adjectives
We usually form adjectives from other words like

nouns, verbs or other adjectives.
love (noun/verb) lovable

grace (noun) graceful ,,
I
imagine (verb) imaginary
excite (verb) exciting
lone (adjective) lonely
red (adjective) reddish
170
MaTsifa1~11h
' av.end1s Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
#UH•©: 11
• We usually add a group of letters to the end of
a word when forming an adjective. These are
called suffixes.
Suffixes Adjectives
-y messy, funny, di
-ly lonely, weekly, friendly
-ary primary, secondary, imaginary
-able lovable, admirable, agreeabl

-al musical, national, natural
-ed astonished, excited, bored

-en golden, wooden, rotten
I - fu1 wonderful, pla I, beautiful

-less careless, hopeless, cheerless
-ic cubic, artistic, atomic
-ing shoc ~ ng,bo ri ng,excffi ng
-ish brownish, childish, Scottish

-ive expensive, creative, destructive
-ous famous, marvellous, nervous
-some quarrelsome, troublesome, meddlesome
Adjectives 171
• Some words can be used to form more than one type
of adjective.
What is the difference between exciting and excited?
We can see that the -ed and -ing suffixes produce two
adjectives from the verb excite: exciting and excited.
These adjectives do not have the same meaning, even
though they come from the same word.
Adjectives ending in -ing such as exciting, boring or

interesting describe what we think about something
or someone.
It was such an exciting film.

The tennis match was very boring.
I am reading an interesting book about space at the
moment.
Adjectives ending in -ed such as excited, bored

or interested describe our own or another
person's feelings.
They were so excited to see the film.

We felt bored while watching the tennis match.
I am interested in books about space.
• Some adjectives are formed from two words. These are

known as compound adjectives.
That vase is handmade so it is rather special.

Maggie wears such old-fashioned clothes.
The blond-haired boy is a keen cyclist.
She has a two-year-old brother.
My mother needs to wear glasses because she is
long-sighted.
172 M
fat!'i
_§tM•@:_
• Sometimes, we can use a noun as an adjective.
We use cane to make baskets. The cobra jumped out of the

(The word cane in this sentence cane basket.
is a noun.) (The word cane in this sentence
is used as an adjective.)
Here are more examples of nouns used as adjectives.
Robin Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor.

(The words rich and poor in this sentence are nouns.)
The woman driving the Rolls Royce is very rich while the
man wearing rags is very poor. (The words rich and
poor in this sentence are adjectives.)
Adjectives 173
Form adjectives from the following words by adding suitable suffixes.
1. child l I
6. magic
I
r-
2. help 7. wool
3. mountain 8. juice
4. storm t 9. sun
5. beauty 10. create I
C. Comparison of Adjectives
I am the
strongest of all.
We can use adjectives to compare two or more

people, places or things. These adjectives are known
as comparative and superlative adjectives.
174
Ma% h1fai h
i avenil1s Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
a~M!M: 1
We use the adjective in its base form when we are
not making any comparisons.
Danny is strong.
We use the comparative form of the adjective to

compare two people, places or things.
Jonathan is stronger than Danny.
We use the superlative to compare more than two

people, places or things.
Father is the strongest of all.
Here is another example of comparison.
In winter, the weather in Spain is cold .

In winter, the weather in France is colder than
in Spain.
In winter, the weather is coldest in Sweden.
Adjectives 175
Do you notice a
pattern in how to
form comparative and
superlative adjectives?
add -er to the end of the adjective in the

base form
add - est to the end of the adjective in the

base form
_J
eMeM\,er!
We sometimes have
fast faster fastest to change the ending
of the adjective before
nice . nicer nic t we add -er or -est.
slow slower slowest
pretty prettier pretti st

clean cleaner cleanest
In general, when the base form of an adjective is

a word that is longer than two syllables, we form
comparative and superlative adjectives by adding
the words more/less or most/least before the
base form.
intelligent more intelligent most intelligent

less intelligent least intelligent
beautiful . r beautiful ost beautiful

., I s beautiful I ast bea utifu I
difficult more difficult most difficult
less difficult least difficult

Here are more examples of comparison.
Rashinda is more obedient than Kamsiah.

Kamsiah is less obedient than Rashinda.
Xiulin is the most obedient student.

Rahman is the least obedient student.
Some adjectives have irregular forms and do not

follow the regular pattern of forming comparative and
superlative adjectives.
good best
bad worse worst
far further /farther furthest /farthest
~uch/many more most

ttle less least
Here are some examples using irregular forms.
I am good at drawing, but I think Sally is better

than I am. However, Susie is the best in our class
at drawing.
Jason's behaviour is bad, but Justin's behaviour is

worse. Johnny's behaviour is the worst of all.
Tokyo is quite far from Singapore, but Los Angeles

is further and New York is the furthest of all.
Alan does not have much money. Adam has

more money than Alan, and Adrian has the most.
So Alan has the least money of all, because he
has less than the others.
Adjectives 177
Write the comparative and superlative forms of the acljectives .
.' ~.-, . -·~"'('.:~-,,..(· -:;:. " .
,_,,,, ..... , ~. ~
.:'. ·· ":, ·Supe,r:lative · :::··5~.~;,

t • - • ~ .. '
1. rude
2. slim
3. close
4. difficult
5. tiny
6. good
7. friendly
8. hot
9. polite
10. expensive
178
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, Wha"t \ have Ieam1 \
Acljectives Uses
Descriptive adjectives • About the colour, shape, size, texture and condition of a noun
• Adjectives in the right order before the noun (quality or opinion >
size > age > shape > colour > nationality or origin > material)
Forming adjectives • With suffixes
• Two words (compound adjectives)
• Nouns as adjectives
Comparison of • Comparative for two people, places or things
adjectives • Superlative for more than two people, places or things
• -er or more/less to adjectives for the comparative
• -est or most/least to adjectives for the superlative
• Irregular comparative and superlative forms
Adjectives 179
10 Adverbs and
Adverbials
Adverbs are words that tell us more about verbs.
Adverbials work like adverbs. They also tell us more F:or More on prepos\\\o~s.
about verbs. They usually start with a preposition. 5 ee unrt. II.
The lion roared in a

fierce way at us.
--------
-
The adverb angrily describes the verb roared. It tells

us how the lion roared. The adverbial in a fierce way Adverbials often begin
describes the verb roared. It also tells us how the lion with a preposition so
roared. they are also called
prepositional phrases.

A. Adverbs and Adverbials of Manner
That's because adverbs

of manner belong to the
Oh, the three biggest group of adverbs!
elephants are
lining up quietly.
Why does one of
them have such
a funny name?
Adverbs and adverbials of manner tell us how an action

or situation is carried out.
Look at how the adverbs in these sentences describe

the verbs.
He ate his food hungrily.

She drank her water noisily.
The children are sitting politely and quietly at the table.
They can work quickly.
Adverbs and Adverb ials 181

Here are some examples using adverbials of manner.
He ate his food with great gusto.

She drank her water in a noisy way.
The children are sitting at the table in a well-behaved manner.
They can work with much speed.
Many adverbs of manner

are formed by adding the
suffix -ly to the end of an
adjective. But sometimes
an adverb can lookjust
like an adjective ...
Both sentences below contain the word fast. Which is

the adjective and which is the adverb?
182 Mcavenu1siil
JiMii1i h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 an d 4
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An adverb describes a verb and an adjective describes
a noun.
In the sentence Thars a fast car, fast is an adjective

that describes the noun car.
In the sentence Yes, she is driving fast, fast is an

adverb that describes the verb is driving.
Fill in the blanks with the correct adverbs of manner in the box.
hard happily badly

·· hardly softly well
1. Gigi is quite playful. She does not work _ _ _ _ _ _ __
2. "I didn't enjoy the concert last night. The musicians played
- - - - - - - - . , " M a r y said.
3. "Please talk _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _," the librarian told the teenagers.
4. Jia Xin is very talented. He plays the violin extremely
5. People in poor countries _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ have enough to eat.
Adverbs and Adverbials 183

B. Adverbs and Adverbials of Place
The ship sank in this

place, but I think some The ship sank there,
of the crew escaped but I think some of the
and buried the treasure crew escaped and buried
over there. the treasure here.
Adverbs and adverbials of place tell us where an

action or situation takes place.
Here are some commonly used adverbs of place.
here there near away

:
inside outside indoors outdoors
somewhere anywhere elsewhere nowhere
Ma~
184 jt¥~Wcma Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
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Adverbs of place tell us more about the location or
whereabouts of an action or situation.
The doctor told me to wait outside.

I cannot find my bag. Can you see it anywhere?
Do not go outdoors at night.
We play indoors when it rains .
.
Here are some examples using adverbials of place.
The doctor told me to wait in the reception area .

I cannot find my bag. I might have left it in the car.
Do not go out of the house at night.
We play in the house when it rains.
Underline the adverbs of place or adverbials of place in the

following sentences.
1. This cinema is closed temporarily for maintenance. We need to go

somewhere else to watch the movie.
2. Leo and Ravi are looking for books in the library.
3. Even though they like outdoor activities, they decided to stay

indoors today.
4 . "We're now at the carnival. Please come and join us here," Melissa
suggested to her friends.
5. Many people are rushing into the shop for the end-of-year sale.

C. Adverbs and Adverbials of Time
Adverbs and adverbials of time tell us when an action

or situation takes place.
Here are some commonly used adverbs of time.
today yesterday tomorrow now

early late soon already

Adverbs of time tell us more about the time of an action
or situation.
My favourite television programme is on soon.

Tomorrow I am going to visit my grandfather.
You have just missed them. They have already left.
We arrived late for the meeting.
Here are some examples using adverbials of time.
My favourite programme is on at 7 p.m.

I am going to visit my grandfather after school tomorrow.
They left a few minutes ago.
We arrived forty-five minutes late for the meeting.
Underline the adverbs of time or adverbials of time in the

following passage.
Audrey took part in a drawing competition at East Coast Park yesterday.
The competition started at 9 a.m. but many children arrived early. They sat
on the grass and waited patiently. Many of them came with their parents.
Each child was then given a drawing board and some crayons. They had
to draw anything they saw at the park within one and a half hours. Audrey
finished her drawing in an hour. Although she did not win in the end, she
was pleased with her work.

D. Adverbs and Adverbials of Frequency
I never
eat fruit or
vegetables.
I
Adverbs and adverbials of frequency tell us how
often or not an action or situation takes place.
They tell us more about how often or how many times

an action or situation takes place.
May and Mary frequently talk in class.

I normally wake up at 8 a.m.
Jim walks to school every day.
She is hardly ever late for work.

Here are some of the more common adverbs and
adverbials of frequency.
more frequent ___,.. less frequent

always often sometimes seldom never
-
every day
--frequently _,____
occasionally rarely (not) at all

- - - - - -
daily usually; now and again hardly ever
normally
-
all the weekly monthly yearly;
time annually
-
once a once a month once a year
week
Look at the pairs of verbs and adverbs of frequency below. Write a

complete sentence for each pair.
verb adverb of
freq.uency
1. go always
2. visit fortnightly
3. forget seldom
4. talk usually
5. send rarely

E. Adverbs and Adverbials of Duration
Posr OFF1ce The post office is

temporarily closed.
CLOSED '
FOR
REM OVATION
Adverbs and adverbials of duration tell us how

long something is done for or how long an action or
situation lasts.
I will not be gone long.

John will live in Singapore permanently.
I saw her briefly at the weekend.
Hassan stayed overnight at his grandparents'
house in the countryside.
I will not be gone a very long time.

John will live in Singapore for the rest of
his life.
I saw her for half an hour at the weekend.
Hassan stayed at his grandparents' house in the
countryside all night.

F. Adverbs and Adverbials of Degree
Thanks, Sandra! I almost sat

down on the wet paint. I'd have
completely ruined my new dress.
,,_pyeT PAINT -
Adverbs and adverbials of degree tell us to what

extent something happens.
Here are some commonly used adverbs of degree.
absolutely almost very

greatly slightly too
strong quite rather

Here are some examples using adverbs of degree.
I hurt my leg slightly in a motorcycle accident.

We rather enjoyed the film.
I completely agree with her.
The news greatly surprised me.
Here are some examples using adverbials of degree.
I hurt my leg just a little in a motorcycle accident.

We enjoyed the film q,uite a bit.
I agree in full with her.
The news surprised us in a big way.
1. I (rather I totally) fell for Tony's trick. We had a really good laugh
afterwards.
2. Victoria (completely I strongly) forgot to bring her umbrella. She had
to wait in school until the rain stopped.
! 3. I can !quite I nearly) reach the top shelf now. I am growing taller.
4. Can you please help me straighten the picture on the wall? It is
tilting (absolutely I slightly) to the right.
5. Mr Law was (slightly I severely) injured in the accident. He had to be

hospitalised for months.
192 M·~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4

G. Adverbials of Reason
------:=====":::}~I~'m really sorry, Mrs Chan.

I didn't complete my
homework because of my
cat. She tore it all up!
Adverbials of reason tell us why an action or situation

takes place.
Here are some examples using adverbials of reason.
This is a good location for a photograph as the

sun can be seen setting over the mountains.
I will not need the extra lessons since I have
already passed the test.
Owing to the train crash, no more trains were
allowed to leave the station yesterday.
I missed school today due to the fact that I had
the flu .
Adve rbs and Adverbials 193

Underline the adverbials of reason in the following sentences.
1. The plane could not take off due to the hurricane.
2. As there was a storm, the picnic was cancelled.
3. Amy took her dog to the vet since it did not look very well.
4. Flora feels excited because of the fact that her favourite singer is going
to hold a concert in her city.
5. Patrick could not have dinner with us owing to his busy schedule.
194
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Adverbs and Adverbials Uses
Adverbs and adverbials of manner • How an action or situation is carried out
Adverbs and adverbials of place • Where ah action or situation takes place
Adverbs and adverbials of time • When an action or situation takes place
Adverbs and adverbials of frequency • How often or not an action or situation
takes place
Adverbs and adverbials of duration • How long something is done for or how long
an action or situation lasts
Adverbs and adverbials of degree • To what extent something happens
Adverbials of reason • Why an action or situation takes place

Prepositions show us the relationship between a noun
or pronoun and another word or phrase. They help to
tell us if the words are related by place, direction, time,
purpose, etc.
I
I
\
196
M
afsii!1li
i!Yni11s~ 3 4
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A. Prepositions of Place
The bird is on the television set. The bird is in a cage.
The bird flies over a table. The bird is under the table.
The bird is behind the cat. The bird is in front of the cat.
The words in bold tell us where the bird is in each picture.

They show us the bird's position in relation to another object.
These words are known as prepositions of place.
Prepositions 197
Here are more examples of prepositions of place.
above below among past

at against between before
near after opposite by
along(side) beyond up down
In, at and on are the most commonly used prepositions

of place. Here are some tips on when to use them.
• In
used with cities, countries • Jane lives in Singapore.

and continents • There are many different countries
in the world.
• At
used with addresses Jun Ho lives at No. 28 Kingston Road.
used with names of buildings I will meet you at Orchard MRT Station.
used with places

______ __._
The family is at a restaurant now. J
• On
used with islands • I live on Lantau Island.

• There is only one shop on the
remote island.
198 M,11~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4

Fill in the blanks with the correct prepositions of place in the box.
You may use each preposition more than once.
behind in below on
over above at under
1. Singapore is Asia.
2. Drina lives No. 23 Patty Street.
3. The children were sitting the bench.
4. We need to be the railway station by 3 p.m.
5. Only an old man lives the small island.
6. I put the biscuits ajar.
7. The lamp hangs our dining table.
8. For our safety, we need to stand the yellow line

while waiting for the train to arrive.
9. From the top of the tower, the people, the trees and the vehicles
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ us looked like insects.
10. It was raining heavily. Many people were standing _ _ _ _ _ _ __

the shelter.
Prepositions 199
B. Prepositions of Direction
The boy is jumping into the water. He is trying to swim past the crocodile.
The crocodile is swimming around The boy is swimming towards the

the boy. shore and the crocodile is swimming
towards the boy!
The words in bold tell us the movements of the boy and

I the crocodile. These words are known as prepositions
of direction. They show us the way in which a person or
I thing moves or is directed.
200 M-~
13tM•@:
Here are some examples of sentences using
prepositions of direction.
As we drove out of the tunnel, we saw the

beautiful sunset.
The lion crept silently through the tall grasses in
search of its next meal.
The ambulance travelled along the highway at
full speed.
A flock of birds flew over the hills and into
the distance.
1. A big rock rolled (down I around) the hill.
2. A flowerpot fell from the third floor (to I through) the ground.
3. The accident happened when the child was running (across I along)
the road.
4. The train went (over I past) the station without stopping.
5. Roger came (into I to) Scotland for a holiday ..
6. We have to walk (through I over) the park in order to reach the bank.
7. Every one of us sat (into I around) the dining table.
8. In order to talk to Mr Chan, Jenny stood up and walked
(past, towards) him.
Prepositions 201
C. Prepositions of Time
I have been waiting

in this queue for
two hours.
The words in bold connect the situation to time. They tell

us when an event happened or for how long an event took
place. These words are known as prepositions of time.
Here are some examples of sentences using prepositions

of time.
The concert will be held on Saturday.

I have been living in London since 1999.
During the class, we were busy taking down notes.
We will work on the project after school.
202
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Mt!ul h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
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There are many prepositions of time. Here are more
examples.
around before at about

between while for to
past until from by
over ahead (of) up to behind
Here are some commonly used prepositions of time.
• The table shows us how in can be used as a preposition

of time.
Uses Examples
used with months, seasons • I always go skiing in February.

and years • In spring, there are many flowers.
• In 2005, I was still in kindergarten.
used with a period of an • I will be doing my homework in

unspecified day the evening.
• We alwaysjog in the mornings.
• In the afternoon, we will be going
to the park.
Prepositions 203
• We use on for dates and days.
It's my 9S'h birthday

on Christmas Day.
On National Day, we celebrate the nation's birthday.

We have extra lessons on Mondays.
On pt January, there will be no classes.
• We use at to refer to a particular time.
School finishes at 3 p.m.

We will leave the beach at sunset.
At midnight, the clock will strike twelve times.
Even at the age of twelve, Tom does not know how to read.
204 Mcavend1s
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• It is important not to confuse during and for. Both prepositions
talk about a period of time, but in different ways.
We use during to show when something happens, and we

use for to indicate how long it lasts.
• The prepositions before and after are opposites.
Tuesday is before Wednesday, but after Monday.

Huiling arrives at work before 8 a.m. every morning.
I meet my friends to work on our project after my art
class today.
• We use until, since and by to refer to periods of time. They

show us when an event starts or finishes.
I have loved horse riding since I was a child.

You cannot watch television until you have finished your
homework.
Since her cat died, Mei has been very sad. I think she will
remain sad until she gets a new pet. I hope she will feel
happier by the end of the month.
Prepositions 205
l t'tac'\\ce 'b I
1. We have to leave (on I at) 4 p.m.
2. Victoria went to the library (after I for) dinner.
3. Mr Soh has been working in this company (for I since) last year.
4. Please remain silent (since I during) the ceremony.
5. The amusement park is expected to open (past I in) 2019.
D. Other Uses of Prepositions
On 2S1h May, the general pinned the medal on Lee's

uniform. He received the medal based on reports of his
bravery. He had walked on foot through the jungle for
fifty kilometres to get help for his injured comrades.
206 Mcavend1s
a'fstf!i1Lih Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
13~@•@=•
Some prepositions have different meanings depending
on how they are used. As we can see, on can be used
as a preposition of time - on 251h May, and as a
preposition of place - on Lee's uniform.
• We can use prepositions to explain why something

is done.
He received the medal based on reports of

his bravery.
As the heavy rains started, we ran for shelter in a
nearby doorway.
• We can use prepositions to refer to what we use to

do something.
He had walked on foot through the jungle for

fifty kilometres.
We will fish with nets, not fishing rods.
• Prepositions can also be used to refer to where we

get something .
This dress is a gift from my sister who lives

in France.
The poor dog has not been given any food by its
owner for days.
Prepositions 207
E. Married Prepositions
Melissa was so busy with all the cooking that she forgot to
walk the dog.
Prepositions do not exactly get married, but they do sometimes

appear together with certain adjectives, verbs or nouns.
In the example busy with, busy is the adjective and with is

the preposition.
Here are more examples of married prepositions.
• adjective + preposition
She is very good at Mathematics.
I am always polite to my teacher.
208 Mcavenihs
mtfliui h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
iaua•w=I
• verb + preposition
How did the convict escape from prison?
Julin and Lizhen agree with each other.
• noun + preposition
What is the reason for the delay?
My new hairstyle is an excellent example of the
latest trend.
Fill in the blanks with the correct prepositions.
1. Lynn and Brian always disagree _ _ _ _ _ _ each other although

they are close friends.
2. "Can you explain the reason _______ this terrible mess?" asked
Mrs Sik.
3. Everybody was shocked _______ my new hairstyle.
4. The villagers scrambled _______ cover after the gunshot was fired.
5. "We should not be rude _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ others," David said.

Prepositions 209
F. Prepositional Phrases
A prepositional phrase is a group of words used to

describe a noun or verb. It starts with a preposition A phrase is a group
and usually comes after the noun or verb it describes. of words which adds
meaning to the
sentence.
Here are more examples of prepositional phrases.
The boy with the blond hair is a keen cyclist.

The girl in the red dress is my cousin.
Mrs Wong walked across the street.
Nouns/Verbs Prepositional Phrases

boy with the blond hair
girl in the red dress
walked across the street
210
Maiffh"iiu
1aynthsii Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_ata•,.1:_
Underline the prepositional phrases in the following sentences.
1. Mrs Chua found the missing ring in the drain.
2. The frightened boy hid behind his father.
3. Benjamin strolled towards his friend's house.
4. The ribbon on your hair is coming apart.
5. We spent the morning at an exciting basketball match.
Wha"t \ have Iearn"t '----=~

"*~-
Prepositions Uses
Prepositions of place • The location of a person or thing in relation to other people
or things
Prepositions of • The way in which a person or thing moves or is directed in

direction relation to other people or things
Prepositions of time • The time relation between two events or situations

Other uses of • The reason why something is done
prepositions • What we use in order to do something
• Where we get something
• Same prepositions with different meanings depending on how
they are used
Married prepositions • Prepositions sometimes used together with certain adjectives,

verbs or nouns
Prepositional phrases • A group of words used to describe a noun or verb

• With a preposition at the beginning
Prepositions 211
12 Sentences
Sentences are groups of words put together in a way
that makes sense. Every sentence has a subject and
a verb.
Does the baby's

speech make sense?
Why or why not?
There are different kinds of sentences. These

include simple sentences, compound sentences,
declarative sentences, interrogative sentences,
imperative sentences, exclamatory sentences,
conditional sentences and tag q,uestions.
M. . .
212 ja~eWill!~
_§tld•M:_
3 4
A. Simple Sentences
Simple sentences are rather short. They usually

contain a subject and just one verb. t:re Un·t
A1ore on ver\ls.
I 5.
Joe dances.
=
subject Joe
verb = dances
• In a simple sentence, the subject comes before the

verb. The subject is usually a noun or pronoun.
He eats an apple every day.

(The pronoun he is the subject of the sentence and
is placed before the verb eats.)
• A simple sentence can also have an object, and

the object can be direct or indirect. A sentence
can contain only a direct object, or sometimes both
a direct and an indirect object.
Mary had the book.

She gave me the book.
I gave John the book.
Mary had the book.

,
She
... t :.
gave
.. .
,,_,.
'•'
)"
~ , ....~.&; ...,,. me the book .
I gave John the book.
Sentences 213
• If the verb in the simple sentence is transitive, the
sentence will contain an object.
She bought some apples.

I brush my teeth.
The verbs in these sentences are transitive. The

verb bought takes the object some apples, and
the verb brush takes the object my teeth.
• If the verb in the simple sentence is intransitive,

the sentence will not have an object.
The sun was shining.

Something awful has happened.
So, a simple sentence may have the following

structures:
subject + verb
subject+ verb(+ object)
subject+ verb (+ indirect object+ direct object)
B. Compound Sentences
Tom likes to swim. He likes to dance. He does not enjoy

badminton.
214
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mtfa1li h Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
13~m•w:1
These simple sentences can be joined together to
make one sentence. It would sound much better if the
sentences read:
Tom likes to swim and dance, but he does not

enjoy badminton.
Here, the three simple sentences have been !=or More on connec'(oX°~"
see
combined to form a compound sentence by Unjt 13.
using the connectors and and but.
We use connectors to join the sentences. Each of the

sentences in a compound sentence can stand on
its own.
Here is another example.
Compound sentence
Amelia can drive to
Mummulgum.
Amelia can take a bus Amelia can drive or take

to Mummulgum. a bus to Mummulgum,
but she cannot travel
She cannot travel there there by boat or fly there
by boat. by plane.
She cannot fly there

by plane.
Here are more examples of compound sentences.
I ran as fast as I could and won the race.

I would like to join you, but I have to visit my
uncle tonight.
We could rent a film or go to the cinema.
Sentences 215
If we take out the connector in each of the examples ori the
previous page, we can form the original simple sentences.
The last example becomes:

We could rent a film.
We could go to the cinema.
Indicate whether each of the following sentences is a simple sentence

or compound sentence. For each compound sentence identified, write
the connector in the space provided. Follow the example.
The boy is singing and the compound sentence and

girl is dancing.
1. The children are playing in

the park.
2. The dog kept barking

last night.
3. Sandy finished her work

and went to bed.
4. There were dark clouds in

the sky but it did not rain.
5. We will play basketball or

visit the museum tomorrow.
Ma~
216 j~t'~W~ili Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_aua•m:_
C. Declarative Sentences
I'm not making

a statement until
I've spoken to
my lawyer.
A declarative sentence is actually a statement.

Its purpose is to provide information.
We use declarative sentences all the time: when we talk,

write about things and give answers to questions.
Declarative sentences usually follow this simple pattern.
subject+ verb(+ object)
Here is an example of a declarative sentence.
My brother is having dinner.

subject = My brother
verb= is having
object = dinner
Sentences 217
D. Interrogative Sentences
The word interrogative may sound scary. However,

in grammar, an interrogative sentence is actually
just a question.
There are two basic types of interrogative sentences:

questions that start with wh-words (question words)
and questions that need a yes/no answer.
• Wh-q,uestions are formed with a wh-word

followed by either a primary verb (be, have, do), or
a modal verb (can, may, should, must, etc).
Where are you going?

What do you want for dinner?
Whose book can I use?
Which path should I take?
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The question word how also follows the form
of wh-q,uestions.
How do you feel today?

How many should I bring?
How can I help you?
How much is that?
Negative wh-questions follow the same form

as well.
Why don't you come?

Who hasn't finished?
What can't you find?
Where mustn't we play?
• Yes/no questions are also formed with either a

primary verb or a modal verb. We put the primary
or modal verb before the subject, and the main
verb comes after the subject.
Is she tired?
Have they arrived yet?
May I use the bathroom, please?
Must we go to the concert?
The answers to the yes/no questions can either

be yes or no, or an unsure statement such as I
don't know or I'm not sure.
We can answer yes/no questions with full

sentences as well.
No, she is not tired.

Yes, they arrived ten minutes ago.
Sentences 219
Negative yes/no questions simply add not after
the primary verb or modal verb.
Hasn't she arrived yet?

Can't you come?
E. Imperative Sentences
An imperative sentence gives a command,

direction, instruction or request. It does not have
a subject and it begins with the base form of
the verb.
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Uses Examples
to give a command or an order Don't touch the hot stove!
to give directions Turn left. Then, take a right.
to give instructions Take one teaspoon three times a day.
to make a request Turn down the sound on the

television, please.
When we write orders and commands, we sometimes

put an exclamation mark at the end because they are
often spoken in a raised voice.
Identify the following sentences. Fill in the blanks with declarative

sentence, interrogative sentence or imperative sentence.
1. Did you tell Vivian about the news?
2. Please close the door.
3. Mr Yeo forgot to bring his laptop.
4. Have you washed the dishes?
5. Darren told Maggie to keep quiet.
Sentences 221
F. Exclamatory Sentences
An exclamatory sentence uses words that express

strong feelings such as surprise, delight, excitement,
horror and pain.
Exclamatory sentences made up of just one word are

also known as one-word interjections.
Amazing!
Fantastic!
Wow!
Sometimes, exclamatory sentences begin with

question words like what or how.
What a clever person you are!

What beautiful weather!
How well you speak Spanish!
Exclamatory sentences may look like questions

when they are formed with primary verbs or
modal verbs.
Wasn't it terrific!
Haven't you grown!
Did we have fun!
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G. Conditional Sentences
We often use if in sentences to refer to things that

have a possibility of happening. These sentences are
known as first conditional sentences. They always
have two parts:
• If is followed by the simple present.

• The other part of the sentence is in future time.
Here are some examples of first conditional

sentences.
If you wake him up, he will get angry.

(If you wake him up, it is very likely that he will be
angry with you.)
If it rains, I will not go to the playground.
Sentences 223
It is also possible for the two parts of the sentence to be
switched around so that the if part will come second.
If we hurry, we will get to school on time.

We'll get to school on time if we hurry.
In the second sentence, the part in future time comes

first, followed by if. Notice that the meaning of the
sentence remains!
Rewrite the following conditional sentences.
1. If it rains, the games will be cancelled.
The games will be cancelled _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
2. I will not be able to sleep if I watch the horror film.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - , , I will not be able to sleep.
3. If you work hard, you will do well in the test.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ you work hard.
4. She will go to the doctor if she is sick.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, she will go to the doctor.
5. If I want to be in the school team, I must improve my skills.
I must improve my skills _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
224 Mp!~
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H. Tag Questions
The injured man is telling us that he does not want to

drive so fast again, and has turned his sentence into a
question by adding the tag won't it to the end.
People sometimes use tag questions in conversations

because they want to know if the person they are
speaking to agrees with them .
Tag questions are made up of two parts, a statement

and a tag. The tag is placed after the statement.
Sentences 225
How do we form a tag?
A tag is made up of either a primary or modal verb

F=o 1(10\)'(I~·
and a personal pronoun . The tag can be positive or se r More on persona\ y(o
negative, depending on the statement. e Un·tI 3.
I did tell you, didn't I?

It's really hot today, isn't it?
We have seen each other before, haven't we?
There are more rules to follow when we form

tag questions!
• The primary or modal verb that is used in the

statement must be repeated in the tag.
We can stay up late tonight, can't we?

She hasn't arrived home yet, has she?
You don't like tennis, do you?
• A positive statement takes a negative tag.
We should leave early, shouldn't we?

I have done it, haven't I?
You're angry, aren't you?
• A negative statement takes a positive tag.
They must not shout, must they?

You won't be late, will you? In a negative
statement, we
She's not coming, is she?
can use either the
shortened form
of the verb + not
or the full form .

• Statements that begin with the word there must also
have there in the tag.
There are a lot of people in the park, aren't there?

There wasn't anything good on N last night,
was there?
There will be time to catch the concert, won't
there?
• When the main verb of the statement is not a primary

or modal verb, we use the verb do in the tag.
They come here often, don't they?

She loves reading, doesn't she?
I brought the books, didn't I?
• The pronoun in the tag must agree with the subject

of the statement.
Miss Cheung is your teacher, isn't she?

Those boys are so naughty, aren't they?
This book doesn't belong to me, does it?
• For positive statements beginning with I am,

we use aren't I in the tag.
I am on time, aren't I?
I am unlucky, aren't I?
I'm good at singing, aren't I?
Sentences 227
Fill in the blanks with the correct question tags.
1. She is your best friend at school,
2. It's scorching hot today,
3. Daniel did not buy the watch himself,
4. We must go to the zoo this Sunday,
5. You'd rather keep it as a secret,
6. We had a great time,
7. Sandy won't cycle to school,
8. These flowers are beautiful,
9. I'm going to be late, _ _ _ _ _ _ __
10. This computer is not very old, _ _ _ _ _ _ __
228 Mcavenu1s
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Sentences Uses
Simple sentences • A subject and just one verb
• Some simple sentences having an object (direct
or indirect)
• Transitive verbs taking objects; intransitive verbs not
taking objects
Compound sentences • Two or more simple sentences joined together by
the connectors and, but and or
Declarative sentences • To provide information
Interrogative sentences • Two basic types of interrogative sentences:
wh-questions and yes/no questions
Imperative sentences • To give commands, orders, directions, instructions
or requests
• Base form of the verb without to at the beginning
Exclamatory sentences • To express strong feelings
Conditional sentences • With if at the beginning or in the middle
• First conditional sentences consisting of the simple
present and future time
Tag questions • Two parts: a statement and a tag
• Tag made up of either a primary or modal verb and
a personal pronoun
• A positive statement taking a negative tag
• A negative statement taking a positive tag
Sentences 229
Connectors are joining words. They are commonly
used to combine two or more sentences, which share
similar ideas.
Andee has just completed the LINE.

marathon. Gopal has just completed
the marathon. Jo-Ann has just
completed the marathon. They are
very tired. They are very pleased
with themselves.
They feel hot. They feel thirsty. The

volunteers quickly offer them some
water to drink. The volunteers kno'f
that athletes need plenty of water.
They have just run a marathon. '
The information above sounds

a little strange. Instead of
using different sentences, we
should use connectors like this:
Andee , Gopal and Jo-Ann have just completed the marathon.

They are very tired but they are very pleased with themselves.
They feel hot and thirsty so the volunteers quickly offer them
some water to drink. They know that athletes need plenty of
water after a marathon.
230 1i h
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A. Connectors for Addition
Should I get the

shirt as well as
the pants?
We can use connectors to combine similar sentences.

Connectors like and, too, as well as, both ... and and
not only ... but also are used to connect the sentences.
Connectors 231
We use connectors for addition when there is a
relation between words, phrases or sentences. Look
at the example below.
Jane is wearing a hat. John is wearing a hat.

June is wearing a hat.
Jane, John and June are wearing hats.
The sentences about Jane, John and June are

related. The children are all wearing hats, so we use
the connector and to connect them.
Here are more examples. They show us how to use

connectors for addition.
George is handsome.
George is clever.
Connectors Examples
and George is handsome and clever.
too George is handsome. George is clever too.
as well as George is handsome as well as clever.
both ... and George is both handsome and clever.
not only ... but also George is not only handsome but also clever.
232 Mafsri!iu
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Combine the sentences using the connectors in brackets.
1. I had eggs for breakfast. I had a grapefruit for breakfast. I had cereal
for breakfast. (and)
2. We need flour to make pancakes. We need milk to make pancakes.

(as well as)
3. I saw giraffes at the zoo. I saw lions at the zoo. (too)
4. Trisha wants to go to the circus. Trisha wants to go to t~e amusement park.

(both ... and)
5 . Jason is helpful. Jason is caring. (not only .. . but also)
Connectors 233
B. Connectors for Contrast
This book is not for

borrowing. However, you
can read it in the library.
I've read this book

before but I can't
remember whether
I liked it!
We can also use connectors to combine or connect

sentences that have contrasting meanings.
Connectors like but, however, yet, although and
though are used to connect sentences with different
or opposite meanings.
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• Contrasting sentences are usually about the same
thing, but they give different ideas or opinions.
I love oranges. I dislike apples.

I love oranges but I dislike apples.
Both sentences are about fruits but they express

different opinions, so we use the connector but to
connect them.
• Contrasting sentences can also show an unexpected

outcome.
Grace went to bed early last night.

She woke up later than usual.
Although Grace went to bed early last night, she
woke up later than usual.
Steve loves stickers. He does not have many stickers.

Steve loves stickers. However, he does not have
many stickers.
Connectors 235
Here are some examples. They show us how to use
connectors for contrast.
Molly ran very fast.

She did not win the race.
but Molly ran very fast but she did not win the race.
however -1 Molly ron very fast. However, she did not win- th-e-race.
yet Molly ran very fast, yet she did not win the race.
although
though
l Although she ran very fast, Molly did not win the race.
Molly did not win the race although she ran very fast.
Though she ran very fast, Molly did not win the race.
Molly did not win the race, though she ran very fast.
These connectors
sound more formal
than but, so we usually
use them when we
write. But is a more
informal connector so it
can be used in speech
and writing .
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Fill in the blanks using the correct connectors in the box.
but yet though however although
1. I can play golf _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I do not really know how to

play tennis.
2. The traveller walked for miles, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ he did not

reach his destination.
3. I can lend you my textbook. - - - - - - - - . , you must

promise to take good care of it.
4. she felt very disappointed about not

winning, Molly did not give up hope.
5. Zorina was about to start a new life in another country
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ she did not feel any excitement at all.
6. There was nobody at the seaside _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ it

was sunny.
7. Sheila tried to solve the maths question for an hour.
- - - - - - - - . , she was unable to do it.
8. Patrick enjoys playing the trumpet _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ he does

not like playing the piano.
9. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ we tried to tidy the classroom, it was still

messy.
10. Suri never learn French, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ she has lived in

France for many years.
Connectors 237
C. Connectors for Time and Sequence
24
~ hours
Just a little shocked.
Then, I decided I
had to catch him
before he got away!
I chased him until my legs hurt!

While I was chasing him, my partner
drove up in the squad car. The robber
quickly surrendered after he realised
he was surrounded.

• We can combine two sentences by using connectors
like when, until, while, before, after and as.
These words show the time connection between
two sentences.
The baby laughed. He saw the clown.

The baby laughed when he saw the clown.
Here are some more examples using connectors

for time.
She kept jogging. Her legs hurt.

She kept jogging until her legs hurt.
I tried to talk to the naughty boy. Then he ran off.

I tried to talk to the naughty boy before he ran off.
The actor came on stage one last time. He waved

and bowed to the audience.
The actor waved and bowed to the audience as
he came on stage one last time.
Mrs Smith goes to the gym. Then, she goes to

the market.
After Mrs Smith goes to the gym, she goes to
the market.
Connectors 239
• When there are more than two sentences showing
a sequence of actions or situations, we can also
combine them using the connectors first, next
and then.
How to Make Fre~'t:h Toast ./ ..

- '
/ '
Step 1 Step2 Step3
Compare the two examples below.
l. Beat the eggs and sugar together.

Dip slices of bread into the mixture.
Melt butter in a frying pan and fry the bread.
2. First, beat the eggs and sugar together; next,

dip slices of bread into the mixture; then, melt
butter in a frying pan and fry the bread.
You can use different connectors as long

as the meaning of the sentence remains '--~
the same. Look at the example below:
After beating the eggs and sugar together, dip

slices of bread into the mixture. Before frying the
bread, melt butter in a .frying pan.
240
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Combine the following sentences using the connectors in brackets.
1. We were really excited. Aunt Joyce said that she would take us to the
cinema. (when)
2. I finished my homework. I went to bed. (before)
3. Faizal read on and on . He felt tired enough to go to bed. (until)
4. I was asleep. The cat climbed into my room. (while)
5. The firemen attached the hose to the hydrant. They turned on the
water. (next)
Connectors 241
D. Connectors for Reason and Purpose
Janet woke up late because

she had forgotten to set her
alarm clock the night before.
Since she was already late,

she did not bother to rush.
As she did not bother

rushing, she almost missed
her own wedding!
Her mother was not surprised,

for she was used to her
daughter's tardy ways.
242
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Lih Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
The connectors because, since, as and for explain why
something happens and why we do something. We use
them to show reason.
Anne did not look where she was going.

She tripped.
Connectors Examples
Anne tripped beca use she did not look where
because
she was going.
Since she did not Iook where she was going,
since
Anne tripped.
As she did not loo k where she was going,
as
Anne tripped .
Anne tripped, for she did not look where she
for
was going.
Because is the most common

connector for reason . We use
it in both speech and writing.
Since and as are more formal,
~~~~~~'E--' and are usually used in writing.
For is very formal and we rarely
use it in speech.
Connectors 243
• We use the connectors so that and in order to to
express the purpose of doing something.
Mother made the twins wear different hairclips so

that their classmates could tell them apart.
Miranda stood on a chair in order to reach the

high shelf.
• When one event is the result of another, we

also use the connectors so, so ... that and
such ... that to combine sentences. I/
-'o~,,.
I \ -
It was an awful experience.

He will never go to the beach again.
Connectors Examples
It was an awful experience, so he will never go to
so
....__________ the beach again. I ~
The experience was so awful that he will never go
so .. . that
to the beach again.
It was such an awful experience that he will never

such ... that
I go to the beach again .
244 M
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131ftilt4i~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
Combine the sentences using the connectors in brackets.
1. Alice was disappointed. She did not win the drawing

competition. (because)
2. Rahman did not train regularly. He lost the race. (since)
3. Martin's rudeness made Mother angry. She took away all his new toys.
(so ... that)
4. The prince did not give up his search for his sister. He knew that only
he could save her. (for)
5. Diyana is a forgetful woman. She often forgets where she has parked
her car. (such ... that)
Connectors 245
E. Connectors for Choice
Are you having

dessert or coffee?
I'm having either I want neither
ice-cream or a tart. coffee nor dessert.
I really can't eat
any more!
We use the connectors or, either . . . or and

neither ... nor to show choice or possibility.
• The connectors or and either ... or are used when

there are two choices.
We could go to the cinema or we could stay

at home.
We could either go to the cinema or stay
at home.
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• When the sentences are negative, we use the connector
neither ... nor to express the choice or possibility.
Neither Mimoko nor Kavita wants to help with the chores.

Neither John nor Wen Wei went to the playground as it
was raining.
• When there are more than two choices, we always use or.
With two dollars, you can buy three bananas, four apples
or a carton of milk.
I cannot play the guitar, the piano or the xylophone.
1. Would you prefer lemonade (nor I or) soda?
2. Judy is (neither I either) free on Thursday (nor I or) Friday, so can we

meet her on Saturday instead?
3. Beatrice can (either I neither) cook (or I nor) sew. Her mother has
tried to teach her, but she is not interested.
4. I could not find basil, leeks (nor I or) garlic at the store.
5. Madam Zunairah would like (neither I either) Stephanie (nor I or)

Raymond to help her. She only needs one volunteer.
Connectors 247
F. Connectors for Place
We use the connectors where and wherever to talk

about place. They tell us where somebody is or where
something is happening.
Jeremy wants to show us the spot where he found

that wallet.
Uncle Khamzah sends me postcards from wherever
he travels to.
Hui Li will be telling us where we are going tonight.
Wherever you go, do inform your parents first.
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Fill in the blanks with where or wherever.
1. We can go you like.
2. Can you tell me I can find Mrs Chandra?
3. There were flowers she looked. The whole field

was covered in them.
4. Rita cannot remember she left her keys.
5. In Singapore, it is best to bring an umbrella

you go. It can rain at any time.
6. The man told the police the car accident

had happened.
7. This is the concert will take place next week.
8. Mother wants to know you put her cookbook.
9. You are always my best friend you choose

to live.
10. Next to the post office, there is a restaurant _ _ _ _ _ _ __

my family and I always have dinner.
Connectors 249
Connectors Uses
Connectors for addition • Combining sentences that are related or similar
in content
• Using and, too, as well as, both ... and and not
only ... but also to combine similar words, phrases
and sentences
Connectors for contrast • Combining contrasting sentences
• Sentences about the same topic, with different
ideas or opinions, or an unexpected outcome
• Using but, however, yet, although and though to
combine contrasting sentences
Connectors for time and sequence • Combining sentences that are related to time to
show when/how something happens
• Using when, until, before, after and as to show
the time connection between sentences
• Combining sentences to show sequence
• Using first, next and then to show sequence
Connectors for reason and purpose • Combining sentences to explain why something
happens or why we do something
• Using because, since, as and for to show reason
• Combining sentences to express the purpose for
doing something
• Using so that and in order to to show purpose
• Using so, so ... that and such ... that to show that
one event is the result of another
Connectors for choice • Combining sentences to indicate choice
• Using or, either . . . or and neither . . . nor to
show choice
• Using either . . . or for positive sentences and
neither ... nor for negative sentences
Connectors for place • Combining sentences to show where somebody is
or where something is happening
• Using where and wherever for place
Ma~
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14 Direct and
Indirect Speech
We can record what people say in two ways: direct
speech or indirect speech.
Direct speech is the exact words that are said by

a person.
Indirect speech is used when we report what a

person says in our own words. It is also called
reported speech.
- - So, Mrs Smith is 100

!....----.-----.,----- years old today. Did
./ she tell you how she
./ keeps so healthy?
Mrs Smith, it is
your l001h birthday
today. How do you
keep so healthy?
As we can see from the two pictures above,

the girl uses indirect speech to tell her mother what
Mrs Smith has said earlier. In other words, the girl is
reporting the words of Mrs Smith when she is talking
to her mother.
Direct and Indirect Speech 251

A. Changes in Verb Tenses
The tense of the verb needs to change in indirect

speech because the tense must be appropriate to
the sentence at the time of reporting. We usually
report information that was said in the past, so most
indirect speech is in the past tense.
Here are some examples on how the simple present

used in direct speech has become the simple past in t:r More 011 tenses.
e Unit 6.
indirect speech.
,,. Direct Speech · Indirect Speech

"Judy likes cream cakes," Michelle said that Judy liked
said Michelle. cream cakes.
"I am expecting to do well in the Tracy said that she was expecting
coming examinations," said Tracy. to do well in the coming examinations.
The table shows us the changes in verb tenses from

direct speech to indirect speech.
'-"'~ ' "<
;. , Direct Speech Indirect Speech

simple present simple past
present continuous .past continuous
simple past past perfect
past continuous past perfect continuous
will/shall would/should
can could
may might
must had to .
252 Mfrih'imi h
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Here are more examples.
In some cases, the tense of the verb does not need

to change.
• When we are reporting historical facts, or

something which will not be changed over time,
we do not need to change the tense.
"Buckingham palace was built before the 19th

century," the guide said .
The guide said that Buckingham palace was built
before the 19th century.

• When we are talking about universal truths or
something that is habitual, we also do not need to
change the tense.
Our teacher said, "The sun sets in the west."

Our teacher said that the sun sets in the west.
In the above examples, the sun always sets in the

west and the earth always orbits the sun, so we do
not need to change the tense in indirect speech.
• When the saying verb is in the present tense, the verb

also stays in the present tense for indirect speech.
"Joey is my best friend," insists Caroline.

Caroline insists that Joey is her best friend.
• When verbs such as would, should and ought to are

used in direct speech, we also do not need to make
any changes to those words.
"I ought to tell Jim about the party," she said.

She said that she ought to tell Jim about the party.
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___m•oo:_
• The saying verb used to introduce indirect
speech remains the same as the verb that
introduces direct speech.
Amy complained, "I can't find my bag."

Amy complained that she could not find her bag.
The following sentences are in both direct and indirect speech. Fill in
the blanks with the correct words.
1. "I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ be leaving the class for five minutes,"

said the teacher.
The teacher said that she would be leaving the class for five minutes.
2. Dad said, "I am sorry I do not have the equipment to fix the pipe."
Dad said that he _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ sorry he
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ not have the equipment to fix the pipe.
3. "We ought to keep Sally's incident a secret," said Janice.

Janice said that we _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
keep Sally's incident a secret.
4. "I may have to leave at 6 p.m.," I told my friend.
I told my friend that I _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ have to leave at 6 p.m.
5. "They were driving too fast," said Pamela.

Pamela said that they _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ been driving too fast.

B. Changes in Pronouns and Determiners
When we are reporting the words spoken by another

person, we must change the appropriate pronouns
and determiners in indirect speech .
"I'll pick you up at 7 p.m .," said Richard.

Richard said that he would pick me up at 7 p.m. We do not need
to repeat the
"It's mine!" she shouted. exclamation mark in
She shouted that it was hers. indirect speech.
If the speaker is not I, we or you, we can refer

to the table below for the changes in pronouns
and determiners.
I
I our their
I ours
you
I
. your
mine, his, hers, ours,

yours
theirs
256
Mfsffiu!
j av.en 1s~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
_:noo•m:_
Fill in the blanks with the correct pronouns.
1. "I feel sick," said my sister.
My sister said that _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ felt sick.
2. "Superman is our hero," said the children.
The children said that Superman was _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ hero.
3. The boys said, "We want to watch soccer on N."
The boys said that _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ wanted to watch soccer

onN.
4. Mrs Tan said, "I will do what I can to help the girls."
Mrs Tan said that _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ would do what she could to

help the girls.
5. "The crayons are ours," said the twins.
The twins said that the crayons were _ _ _ _ _ _ __
6. "I don't like your red hair," said Uncle Philip.
Uncle Philip said that _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ did not like
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ red hair.
7. "The red ball is mine and the purple ball is yours," said my brother.
My brother said that the red ball is _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and the
purple ball is _ _ _ _ _ _ __

C. Changes in Adverbs of Time and Place
Some adverbs of time and place need to change

when we change direct speech to indirect speech.
Ben said, "You won't see me here on Saturday."

Ben said that I would not see him there
on Saturday.
The table below shows us more examples of how

adverbs change in indirect speech.
now then
today I that day

tonight I that night
tomorrow the next day, the following day
I yesterday the previous day
next week the next week, the following

week
I
\
here there
in this (room) in that (room)
in these (rooms) in those (rooms)
258
Mmffimi h
i av.enchsl Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
a:m•w=
Rewrite the following sentences from direct speech to indirect speech.
Make changes to the tenses, personal pronouns and other words,
where necessary.
1. "It is 35 degrees Celsius now," said the reporter.
2. "We have finished our project," declared the children.
3. "I spent my summer holidays in Italy last year," Clarice told me.
4. "The students were here for a charity performance yesterday," said the
event manager.
5. "I'll lend you my grammar book if you think it will help," Faizal said.

Direct and Uses
Indirect Speech
Direct speech • The exact words said by a person
• Identified by quotation marks
Indirect speech • The use of our words to say what a person has said
• Also known as reported speech
• A need to change tenses from direct to indirect speech:
simple present ~ simple past
present continuous ~ past continuous
simple past ~ past perfect
past continuous ~ past perfect continuous
• No need to change tenses for:
historical facts
universal truths
speech with saying verbs in the present tense
verbs such as would, should, ought to
saying verbs used to introduce indirect speech
• A need to change pronouns, determiners and adverbs of
time and place from direct speech to indirect speech
M. .
260 e~~Wimi Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
I Jdl~i:
3. I have a number of hobbies, such as reading,
drawing, swimming and hiking .
4. Mr Wong is flying to New Zealand, a beautiful
Unit1 country.
Practice 1 5. Ms Lee is going to Tokyo; she will attend a
l. The baby is crying loudly. meeting there.
2. Mrs Tan is singing in the kitchen. Practice 6
3. Peter and his family will visit Macau in l. My neighbour hasn't been feeling well
December. since yesterday.
4. "Where is my basketball?" Susan asked . 2. I'm nine years old and I live on the ninth floor.
5. Roa Id Dahl is the author of "Charlie and the 3. Amy won't have dinner with us.
Chocolate Factory". 4. My sister said, "I wasn't at school last Friday."
Practice 2 5. They aren't sleeping. They're watching television .
Last week Jenny and her mother went to a OR
bookshop. The bookshop was very big. They could They're not sleeping . They're watching television.
find a wide variety of books, e.g. magazines, novels Practice 7
and textbooks. Jenny's mother bought a cookbook. l. Mary can't speak English very well.
She wanted to make some special dishes for 2. He's my father's coll eague.
Jenny's birthday. 3. Tom's mother said, "You should turn off
Later, Jenny and her mother went to the the computer."
supermarket. They bought some groceries there. 4. Ravi told Mark, "I have watched 'Toy Story'."
Then, they had dinner at a food court. 5. "Lers go to Stephen's housel" Benjamin
Practice 3 suggested .
David, Peter, Richard and Tim were wa lking
home from school at 3:00 p.m. when they saw a Unit2
man behave suspiciously outside a house. It was
Practice 1
very quiet. There was nobody else around . Peter
l. singer 2. capital
and Tim were frightened . They asked, "What shall
3. evening, audience, 4. house
we do? Can we just run away?" "No, we can't. The
waterfront, show
man may be a burglar," David replied.
5. Cancer, condition,
A few minutes later, the man took out a hammer
tumour, body
and broke one of the front windows. Tim shouted,
"Stop!" Practice 2
Countable Nouns: storm, city, song, library, germ
Practice 4
Uncountable Nouns: equipment, gas, furniture,
l. Where does your grandmother live?
paper, oil, coffee, homework
2. Brenda is my best friend.
3. Don't take my book! Practice 3
4. Do you have any tissue paper? l. dresses 2. chefs
5. I would like to learn Spanish. 3. calves 4. heroes
6. Will Peter come to the party? 5. studios
7. Maggie asked if she could use the bathroom. Practice 4
8. Hurray! l. wad 2. team
9. Ms Chan is our class teacher, isn't she? 3. collection 4. bunch
10.What an amazing story! 5. fleet 6. litter
Practice 5 7. swarm 8. gang
l. The 2016 Summer Olympics wi ll be held in Rio Practice 5
de Janeiro, Brazil. l. actress 2. stewardess
2. Learning grammar is important; however, it is 3. nephew 4. headmistress
not always interesting. 5. bridegroom
Answers 261
Practice 6 5. an 6. The
1. shoelace 2. flashlight 7. 0 8. a
3. hotdog 4. dustbin
Practice 4
5. playground
1. many 2. another
3. both 4. Most
Unit3 5. some
Practice 1 Practice 5
1. It 2. She, it 1. Mary's 2. Paul's, David's
3. They 4. He 3. mice's 4. boys'
5. We 5. Brenda's
1. A 2. B 1. her 2. their
3. D 4. B 3. Their 4. your
5. c 5. Your
1. herself 2. yourselves 1. Whose 2. Which
3. ourselves 4. myself 3. What 4. Whose
5. himself 5. Which
Practice 4
1. that 2. this
3. these 4. those
Units
Practice 1
Practice 5 1. were 2. has
1. Who 2. Which OR What 3. Did, was 4. had
3. What 4. Whose 5. am
5. Who OR Whom
Practice 2
Practice 6 (These are suggested answers.)
1. each other 2. one another
j
to-infinitive 1. I want to have a new computer. 1
3. each other 4. one another
2. Amy has borrowed some
Practice 7 books to read .
1. Someone 2. anything
bare infinitive 3. Mum will take the dog for
3. no one 4. something
a walk.
5. anyone 6. nothing
4. Alan can speak fluent French .
7. Both
Practice 3
Unit4 1. watching 2. returned
Practice 1 3. cooking 4. knocked
1. an 2. an 5. dancing
3. a 4. An Practice 4
5. a
Practice 2 Simple -ing -ed/-en
Infinitive
Past Participle Participle
1. a, the, a, the 2. a
3. a, a, an, the 4. The, the, a, the to drink drank drinking drunk
5. a, the, the to break broke breaking broken
Practice 3 to hurt hurt hurting hurt
1. a 2. 0 to make made making made
to sleep slept sleeping slept
3. a 4. 0

Practice 5 5. are coming 6. are leaving
l . entered 2. chases 7. are sitting 8. is making
3. found 4. sweeps Practice 3
5. cycled l. met 2. caught
Practice 6 3. bought, cost 4. hurried
(These are suggested answers.) 5. felt 6. saw
11. seem ' The children seem_t_o_b_e-ti-re_d_. --. 7. was, gave 8. made
2. feel The sofa feels comfortable. Practice 4

l . was reading 2. was giving
3. believe I believe in what the witness 3. was raining 4. was saying
has said. 5. were enjoying
4. appear The MRT trains appear to be Practice 5
crowded all the time. l . booked 2. will go OR are going
5. become Mr Tan became a teacher when 3. am 4. will be OR is going
he was 26 years old . - _ _____J to be
5. said OR was saying
Practice 7
l . yelled 2. ordered
3. groaned 4. said Unit7
5. sobbed Practice 1
Practice 8
l . returns 2. walks
Transitive: like, watched
3. cooks 4. has
Intransitive: dance, swam, listens
5. is 6. is
Objects: Indian food, a horror movie 7. was 8. loves
(These are suggested answers.) l . is 2. have
3. is 4. are
take look come 5. were
take off look after come across
take on look at come over
I I Units
Itake over look into come up
Practice 1
l . ought to 2. must
give break 3. Could 4. cannot
r give away
give in
break down
break into
5. must
7. could
6.
8.
may not
must
give up break up
1
Unit9
Practice 1
Unit6 l . large, new, irregular 2. black, French, leather
Practice 1 3. shiny, long, blond 4. cosmopolitan, huge,
(These are suggested answers.) American
l. Peter plays football every Monday evening . 5. tiny, blue, plastic
2. They like chocolate cake.
3. Jess and Karen live in the same building. Practice 2
4. The shop opens at nine o'clock. l . childish OR childless 2. helpful OR helpless
5. The kind boy tries to help whenever he can . 3. mountainous 4. stormy
5. beautiful 6. magical
Practice 2
OR beauteous
l. are going 2. are singing
7. wooly OR woolen 8. juicy ORjuiceless
3. in sunbathing 4. is building
9. sunny OR sunless 10. creative
Answers 263
Practice 3
1. ruder, rudest 2. slimmer, slimmest
Unit 11
4. more difficult, most
Practice 1
3. closer, closest
1. in 2. at
difficult
3. on 4. at
5. tinier, tiniest 6. better, best
5. on 6. in
7. friendlier OR 8. hotter, hottest
7. above 8. behind
more friendly,
9. below 10. under
friendliest OR
most friendly Practice 2
9. politer OR 10. more expensive, 1. down 2. to
more polite. most expensive 3. across 4. past
politest OR 5. to 6. through
most polite 7. around 8. towards
Practice 3
Unit 10 1. at 2.after
Practice 1 3. since 4. during
1. hard 2. badly 5. in
3. softly 4. well Practice 4
5. hardly 1. with 2. for
Practice 2 3. at 4. for
1. somewhere 2. in the library 5. to
3. indoors 4. at the carnival, here Practice 5
5. into the shop 1. in the drain 2. behind his father
Practice 3 3. towards his 4. on your hair
yesterday, at 9 a.m., early, then, within one and a friend's house
half hours, in an hour, in the end 5. at an exciting basketball match
Practice 4
(These are suggested answers.I Unit 12
1. I always go to the playground in the evening. Practice 1
2. They visit their grandmother fortnightly. 1. simple sentence 2. simple sentence
3. Mrs Chia seldom forgets to water the plants. 3. compound sentence, 4. compound
4. My parents usually talk to each other about and sentence, but
their day. 5. compound sentence, or
5. I rarely send postcards while I am on holiday.
Practice 2
Practice 5 1. interrogative sentence 2. imperative sentence
1. totally 2. completely 3. declarative sentence 4. interrogative
3. nearly 4. slightly sentence
5. severely 5. declarative sentence
1. due to the hurricane 1. if it rains 2. IfI watch the
2. As there was a storm horror film
3. since it did not look very well 3. You will do well in 4. If she is sick
4. because of the fact that her favourite singer is the test if
going to hold a concert in her city 5. if I want to be in the school team
5. owing to his busy schedule
Practice 4
1. isn't she? 2. isn't it?
3. did he? 4. mustn't we?
264
M
.-i-
e~t!~Wal!~ Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 and 4
l§~Cijl@I
5. wouldn't you? 6. didn't we? Practice 5
7. will she? 8. aren't they? 1. or 2. neither, nor
9. aren'tI? 10. is it? 3. neither, nor 4. or
5. either. or
Unit 13 Practice 6
Practice 1 1. wherever 2. where
1. I had eggs, a grapefruit and cereal for 3. wherever 4. where
breakfast. 5. wherever 6. where
2. We need flour as well as milk to make 7. where 8. where
pancakes. 9. wherever 10. where
3. I saw giraffes at the zoo. I saw lions too.
4. Trisha wants to go to both the circus and the
Unit 14
amusement park.
Practice 1
5. Jason is not only helpful but also caring .
l. will 2. was. did
Practice 2 3. ought, to 4. might
1. but OR yet OR though 2. but OR yet 5. had
OR although
Practice 2
3. However 4. Though OR although
1. she 2. their
5. but OR yet 6. though OR although
3. they 4. she
7. However 8. but OR yet OR though
5. theirs 6. he, my
OR although
7. his. mine
9. Though OR Although 10. though OR although
Practice 3
Practice 3
1. The reporter said that it was 35 degrees
1. We were really excited when Aunt Joyce said
Celsius then .
that she would take us to the cinema .
2. The children declared that they had finished
2. I finished my homework before I went to bed .
their project.
3. Faizal read on and on until he felt tired enough
3. Clarice told me that she had spent her summer
to go to bed .
holidays in Italy the previous year.
4. While I was asleep, the cat climbed into
4. The event manager said that the students
my room .
had been there for a charity performance the
5. The firemen attached the hose to the hydrant;
previous day.
next. they turned on the water.
5. Faizal said that he would lend me his grammar
Practice 4 book if I thought it would help.
1. Alice was disappointed because she did not
win the drawing competition.
2. Since Rahman did not train regularly, he lost
the race.
OR
Rahman lost the race since he did not
train regularly.
3. Martin's rudeness made Mother so angry that
she took away all his new toys.
4. The prince did not give up his search for his
sister, for he knew that only he could save her.
5. Diyana is such a forgetful woman that she
often forgets where she has parked her car.
Answers 265
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Grammar

Published by Marshall Cavendish Education

First published 2011

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieva l system

Ma rsha ll Cavendish is a trademark of Times Publishing Limited.

Printed in Singapore by Times Printers, www.timesprinters.com

Section A of Unit 2 (Common and

Unit 1 Punctuation Primary

:· Common and Proper Nouns

A. The Indefinite Arti I

A. Common and Proper Nouns

Nouns are naming words. They name people, animals,

Hh-thll\tU was a comvo~n and pi:mh1 RcNhoH·n wrote nine ")mphonk•

Unfortunate ly, Bt'CthvHn began lo

Proper nouns are special names for particular people

22 Grammar Handbook: Primary 3 Ind. 23

Grammar terms and relevant

Revise what you have learnt about

I like reading books. My favourite book is ·

I live in a big city. '· I live in Singapore.

I watch cartoons on television. My favou rite cartoon i

to another section He travelled to space.

Underline the common nouns in the following sentences.

1. My favourite singer is Stephanie Sun.

2 . Rome is the capital of Italy.

3. In the evening, the audience went to the waterfront to watch a show.

4 . Peter asked, "Would you like to come to my house on Sunday?"

S. Cancer is a condition in which a harmful tumour develops in the body.

B. Countable and Uncountable Nouns

nouns are always singular.

Learn what the common

({, lhe two pieces of luggage

needs to change depending

Unit2 Nouns A Common and Proper Nouns 23 ./ ./

Unit 3 Pronouns A. Personal Pronouns 44 ./ ./

Unit4 Determiners A. The Indefinite Articles 65 ./ ./

A. Simple Present 122 .I I

A. Singular Verbs 145 .I .I

Unit 9 Adjectives A. Descriptive Acljectives 166 ~i .I

C. Comparison of Adjectives 174 .I .I

A. Adverbs and Adverbials of Manner 181 .I I .I

G. Adverbials of Reason 193

Unit 12 Sentences A. Simple Sentences 213 ./ ./

Unit13 Connectors A. Connectors for Addition 231 ./ ./

Unit 14 Direct and A. Changes in Verb Tenses 252 ./

Indirect Speech 8. Changes in Pronouns and Determiners 256 ./

When we write, we also want to express our

josie in kuala lumpur

Josie in Kuala Lumpur

Punctuation refers to signs that we use in writing

Punctuation helps us know

My fC1mily e1nd I Gire in Pe1ris, Frnnce. W e e1rrived here

W e he1ve been eC1ting Cl lot. T here e1re me1ny

We e1re going to Disneyle1nd tomorrow. I ce1n't we1it

For the first word in ·... Examples

For the names

places Paris, France, Singapore, Jurong, Africa

people Mr Smith, Mrs Lim, Dr Tang, Prime

books, plays, songs,

and poems ~-- 1\- - - _T_w_in_k_le_L _.itt

Rewrite the following sentences using capital letters in the

1. the baby is crying loudly.

2. mrs tan is singing in the kitchen.