Making sentences with being verbs (3) - B7

am is are, Verbs  + Preposition - Usage (3)

Prepositions are the words used with  the nouns and other words to form prepositional phrases. 

The commonly used prepositions are

about	above	across	after	against	along	Among
around	as	at	before	behind	Below	beneath
beside	between	beyond	but	by	despite	during
except	for	from	in	inside	into	like
near	of	off	on	over	past	round
since	through	throughout	till	to	towards	under
underneath	until	up	upon	with	within	without

I- am is are + Preposition

General Structure

Person	Singular	Plural
First	I + am	We + are
Second	You + are	You are
Third	He/she/it +  is	They + are

Note: 

He includes all male names  e.g. Robert, Alex, Jim, and common nouns like President , Director, Chairman, Friend, Father, Uncle etc.

She includes all female names e.g. Elizabeth, Mary, and common nouns like President,  Director, Chairman, Friend, Mother, Aunt etc.

It includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Singular form of things, animals etc.), collective nouns (like team, army, group etc.)

They includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Plural form of things, people, animals etc.)                   

A. 1.Greek is in deep debt

Other four types of spoken forms

2. Greek isn’t in deep debt. (isn’t = is not)

3. Is Greek in Debt?

4. Isn’t Greek in deep debt? (Isn’t = is not)

5. How is the Greek economy now?/What  is the Greek’s Financial status?/How is the Greek now?

B. 1. Major power are happy about Iran Nuclear accord

Other four types of spoken forms

2. Major powers aren’t happy about Iran Nuclear deal.

3. Are major power happy about Iran Nuclear deal?

4. Aren’t major powers happy about Iran nuclear deal?

5. How do major powers feel about Iran Nuclear deal?

NOTE: Underlined words are considered as a single word (grammatically)

II am is are + Present participle + Preposition

General Structure

Person	Singular	Plural
First	I am reading	We are reading
Second	You are reading	You are reading
Third	He/she/it is reading	They are reading

Present participles are the action verbs (Words) ending with ‘ing’ e.g. writing, eating, watching etc.

Note:

He includes all male names  e.g. Robert, Alex, Jim, and common nouns like President , Director, Chairman, Friend, Father, Uncle etc.

She includes all female names e.g. Elizabeth, Mary, and common nouns like President,  Director, Chairman, Friend, Mother, Aunt etc.

It includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Singular form of things, animals etc.), collective nouns (like team, army, group etc.)

They includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Plural form of things, people, animals etc.)  

A. 1. US  and Cuba are exchanging diplomats after 50 years

Other four types of spoken forms

2. US and  Cuba aren’t exchanging (diplomats) after 50 years (aren’t = are not)

3. Are US and Cuba exchanging (diplomats) after 50 years?

4. Aren’t US and Cuba exchanging (diplomats) after 50 years.

5. How is US-Cuban relationship now/today?

NOTE: Though present participle verb is mostly used to indicate continuous action here exchanging refers to future action

B. 1. Hillary Clinton is running for President in 2016

Other four types of spoken forms

2. Hillary Clinton isn’t running for President in 2016

3. Is Hillary Clinton running for president in 2016?

4. Isn’t Hillary Clinton running for president in 2016?

5. What is Hillary Clinton running for in 2016?

Note: The plain structure of the first sentence 'Is Hillary Clinton is contesting presidential election in 2016?'

The sentence give here is in phrase form (Phrases are not based on grammar, yet they are powerful expressions)

C. 1.She is writing a story on a piece of paper

Other four types of spoken forms

2.She isn’t writing story on a piece of paper. (isn’t = is not)

3.Is she writing a story on  a piece of paper.?

4.Isn’t she writing a story on a piece of paper? (Isn’t she = Is she not)

5.What is she writing on a piece of paper?

D. They  are waiting for their friends.

Other four types of spoken forms

2.They aren’t waiting for the friends. (aren’t = are not)

3.Are they waiting for their friends?

4.Aren’t they waiting for their friends. (Aren’t they = Are they not)

5.Who  are they waiting for?

E. 1.Shane is going to the Bank.

Other four types of spoken forms

2. She is not going to the bank

3. Is she going to the bank?

4. Isn’t she going to the bank?

5. Where is she going to?

1.change of prepositions can change the meaning/context of the sentence

Greek is in deep debt (=  Greek is in financial crisis, not intentionally)

Greek  is for deep debt (= Greek intentionally wants to be in deep debt)

2. Usage of prepositions varies from country to country.

3. for the usage of ‘a’ , ’an’ and ‘the’ please refer any grammar book.  The exact usage of ‘the’ cannot be explained , more reading will give you  exact about usage of ‘the’.

End of the post 

Making sentences with the helping verbs (2) - B6

Making sentences with helping (Auxiliary) verbs am is are (2) 
am  is are  + Present participle verb forms                                            

I am writing, we are waiting, she is reading

Present participle verb forms are writing, seeing, eating, walking, driving, watching etc.

Helping Auxiliary Verbs 
Verbs like am,is are, was were, etc, are used to help or support the actions verbs , come, like , read etc. to make sentences. In this situation the Verbs am, is are are called helping or auxiliary verbs. 

Practical Usage

Action that is happening now and is not yet completed.

e.g. Jim is reading a news paper.

To say something that is going on  (not at the time of speaking)

e.g. John is studying in a college.

To say something planned in future.

 e.g. I am going to Perth tomorrow.

Usage with  always 

 e.g.  My aunt is always forgetting things/making mistakes.

We/you/they + are + present participle verb  (ing verb form) + information/news etc. –  e.g. They are waiting at the bus top. – simple sentence.

1.Simple sentence, message/information/declarative question etc.

Person	Singular	Plural
First	I am reading a book	We are reading a book
Second	You are reading a book	You are reading a book
Third	He/she/it is reading a book	They are reading a book

Note:

He includes all males names  e.g. Robert, Alex, Jim, and common nouns like President , Director, Chairman, Friend, Father, Uncle etc.

She includes all female names e.g. Elizabeth, Mary, and common nouns like President,  Director, Chairman, Friend, Mother, aunt etc.

It includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Singular form of things, animals etc.), & collective nouns (like team, army, group etc.)

They includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Plural form of things, people, animals etc.)    

He is studying in an Engineering college.

Rachel  is having dinner.

We are watching  TV , please don’t disturb.

I am having lunch, please call me later.

She is wearing a new dress.

I am learning English at AICE academy.

It’s raining, take an umbrella.

I am doing business, I am not studying.

Joe is having shower/bath. ( action is taking place at the time of talking)

They are swimming in the lake.

My grandfather is always forgetting things.

‘Excuse me you are sitting in my seat’, ‘Oh, I am sorry’

Where is Linda? she is in kitchen. What is she doing? She is cooking something.

2. Negative sentence

Person	Singular	Plural
First	I am not reading a book	We aren’t reading a book
Second	You aren’t  reading a book	You aren’t  reading a book
Third	He/she/it isn’t  reading a book	They aren’t  reading a book

Note: 

He includes all males names  e.g. Robert, Alex, Jim, and common nouns like President , Director, Chairman, Friend, Father, Uncle etc.

She includes all female names e.g. Elizabeth, Mary, and common nouns like President,  Director, Chairman, Friend, Mother, aunt etc.

It includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Singular form of things, animals etc.), collective nouns (like team, army, group etc.)

They includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Plural form of things, people, animals etc.)    

Sample sentences

Negatives

Shane is not having dinner, she is having coffee.

They are not, watching TV they are having tea.

She is not cooking, she is reading a news paper.

I am not waiting for the bus, I am waiting for my friend.

He is not sleeping, he is watching  TV.

3.‘yes/no’  question

Person	Singular	Plural
First	Am I reading a book?	Are we reading a book?
Second	Are you reading a book?	Are you reading a book?
Third	Is he/she/it  reading a book?	Are they reading a book?

Note:

He includes all males names  e.g. Robert, Alex, Jim, and common nouns like President , Director, Chairman, Friend, Father, Uncle etc.

She includes all female names e.g. Elizabeth, Mary, and common nouns like President,  Director, Chairman, Friend, Mother, aunt etc.

It includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Singular form of things, animals etc.), collective nouns (like team, army, group etc.)

They includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Plural form of things, people, animals etc.)    

Sample sentences

‘yes/no’ questions

Are you having lunch now? No, I am watching TV.

Are you waiting for Rachel? No I am waiting for the bus.

Is she feeling OK, Yes she is fine.

Is she preparing tea? Yes, For whom? For her friends.

Is it raining? No it isn’t.                                                                      

Is Albert  attending the class regularly? Yes he is.

Are you coming tonight? I am not sure.

Is you father working in a bank? Yes, Which bank? City bank, Where is it? At New Delhi.

4. Negative ‘yes/no’ question

Person	Singular	Plural
First	Aren’t I reading a book?	Aren’t we reading a book ?
Second	Aren’t you  reading a book?	Aren’t you  reading a book?
Third	Isn’t he/she/it reading a book?	Aren’t they reading a book?

Note:

He includes all males names  e.g. Robert, Alex, Jim, and common nouns like President , Director, Chairman, Friend, Father, Uncle etc.

She includes all female names e.g. Elizabeth, Mary, and common nouns like President,  Director, Chairman, Friend, Mother, aunt etc.

It includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Singular form of things, animals etc.), collective nouns (like team, army, group etc.)

They includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Plural form of things, people, animals etc.)    

Sample sentences

Negative questions (yes/no)

Aren’t you feeling well? (or) (= Are you not feeling well?)
Yes  I have a headache.

Isn’t she working in a bank? (= Is she not working in a bank?)
No, she is working in Railways.

 5. ‘wh’ question

Person	Singular	Plural
First	What am I doing?	What are we doing?
Second	What are you doing?	What are you doing?
Third	What is he/she/it doing?	What are they doing?

Note:

He includes all males names  e.g. Robert, Alex, Jim, and common nouns like President , Director, Chairman, Friend, Father, Uncle etc.

She includes all female names e.g. Elizabeth, Mary, and common nouns like President,  Director, Chairman, Friend, Mother, aunt etc.

It includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Singular form of things, animals etc.), collective nouns (like team, army, group etc.)

They includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Plural form of things, people, animals etc.)    

Sample sentences

‘wh’ questions

What is Ann doing?  She is having breakfast.

What are the students doing? They are playing.

Who are you waiting for? I am waiting for Paul.

What is Joe  having? Tea or coffee. Tea

Where is Kate ? She  is in the garden. What is she doing? Watering the plants.

NOTE: All the above five types can be uttered in  five or more moods of utterance.

More usage types

Future planning

I am having meeting tomorrow. Are you coming with me? Sorry I have work.

I am staying at home this evening, you can meet me at 8 tonight.

The president is coming next week.

What time are you leaving for New York ? At 6.00 this evening.

There is a cricket match tomorrow, but we are not going to the stadium.

Question tag

She is not coming with us. Is she?

They are not writing. Are they?

I  am writing ….. . Aren’t I?

They are cleaning the room. Aren’t they

President is coming tomorrow. Isn’t he/she

Short response

Are you reading that news paper? Yes I am/ No I am not.

Is she doing well. Yes she is/No she isn’t

Isn’t he doing well ? No, he isn’t

Aren’t they writing? Yes they are/No they aren’t

Aren’t you watching TV ? Yes I  am / No I am not.

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Language Lab at Home - B5

                Language Lab at home
            Tips to improve English Vocab. and Fluency

                         

If you know how to handle the verbs, you know how to handle the language. Everything else is just vocabulary. - Michel Thomas

I have discussed, how the people in non-native countries acquire English language skill in my Blog post-1, In this post  I am going to provide you with the most important tips to improve your vocab. Vocabulary stock  boosts one's  confidence, improve fluency, add flavour to the language and finally makes the communication effective, interesting and purposeful. One has to improve the vocab. on daily basis if he/she wants to be successful in job or business or profession. Vocabulary is as important as the grammar of a language. Vocabulary may be a standard word/group of words or a newly coined word/group of words. 

Tips to improve Vocabulary, Set-up your own Language Lab at Home

1.Make it a routine to  look at a new word, its meaning and usage in different contexts in a dictionary. Click Oxford Dictionary 

2. Read an English news paper daily for 30 minutes,and try to understand the word's meaning and usage in various contexts, don't refer a dictionary frequently for meaning and usage. Read the news items that interests you. Make a note of  frequently used words and their  usage in a separate diary ( Your personal dictionary). I would recommend, The Hindu or The Guardian or The New York Times.  Click to view New York Times

3. Listen to the VOA Learning English program (News with subtitles )daily for 15 minutes. It will improve you listening and Pronunciation skill.  Click VOA  English Learning to watch live Program

4. In English language, learning the pronunciation is one of the biggest challenge.  If you are familiar with phonetic symbols and their corresponding sounds you can easily understand the pronunciation of words in a dictionary.  Click pronunciation to learn Phonetics
. 
5. Visit conversation sites like English daily or Focus on English and practice the conversation by selecting and pasting the conversations in the site Text to speech Converter

6. Proverbs makes you speech powerful and effective click proverbs

7. Some people are interested in American slangs (informal speech) Click American Slang 

8. Idioms and Phrases are important components of a good speech click Idioms and Phrases

9. Click business idioms to learn business vocab

10. Click TOEFL Skill to Crack TOEFL

11. For Resume preparation guidance Click Resume Guide

End of the post

Making sentences with being Verbs (1)

Making sentences with being verb am is are - B4

I am Jack , They are my friends,  She is a teacher                                               

am  is  are, are used to express state of  someone/something (Describing people/things)

Verb

Verb is an important word in a sentence the three important types of verbs are (a)  State of being verb e.g. am, is are, was, were etc. (b) Action verb like, read, walk, see etc. (c) Linking Verb (e.g. The apple looks fresh) appear, taste, smell, feel, look, For more detail please visit http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/verbs/Linking-Verbs.html

Subject                                                      

 When we speak or write, we always speak about  some person or thing.  The person or  thing we speak about  is called subject. Generally the subject comes first in a sentence. 

Subject pronoun

Person	Singular	Plural
First	I	we
Second	you	you
Third	He  She  it	They

He includes all male names  e.g. Robert, Alex, Jim, and common nouns like President , Director, Chairman, Friend, Father, Uncle etc.

She includes all female names e.g. Elizabeth, Mary, and common nouns like President,  Director, Chairman, Friend, Mother, Aunt etc.

It includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Singular form of things, animals etc.) and collective nouns (like team, army, group etc.)

They includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Plural form of things, people, animals etc.) 

Five types of spoken sentences 

1. Type - Statement, message, declaration, declarative question etc.       

Person                        Singular                             Plural

First                               I + am                                  We +     are

Second                          You + are                             You +   are

Third                            He/she/it  +  is                    They + are

Note: 

He includes all males names  e.g. Robert, Alex, Jim, and common nouns like President , Director, Chairman, Friend, Father, Uncle etc.

She includes all female names e.g. Elizabeth, Mary, and common nouns like President,  Director, Chairman, Friend, Mother, aunt etc.

It includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Singular form of things, animals etc.), collective nouns (like team, army, group etc.)

They includes all types of nouns and pronouns (Plural form of things, people, animals etc.)    

                   

Model sentences

I am Shane.

I am 32.

He is  my friend.

We are classmates

She is an Artist.

The  weather is fine.

It’s very playful (it= a puppy) 
            

2. Type - Negative sentences  (Saying no, not etc.)    

Person                        Singular                              Plural

First                         I + am + not                        We + are + not

Second                     You + are + not                  You + are + not

Third                       He/she/it + is + not          They + are + not

Model sentences

He is not Jim. He is Jim's brother

I am not a student . I am a Teacher

They aren’t Indians. They are Germans

The president is not in the Capital. He is in the Parliament

We are in office. We are at the shop

NOTE:  are not = aren’t  and is not = isn’t

3. Type - 'yes/no'  questions  

The answer to this type of question is either 'yes' or 'no

Person                           Singular                              Plural

First                              am + I                                 are + we

Second                         are + you                            are + You

Third                            is + (He/she/it)                are + They

Model sentences

Are you Clara? Yes, I am

Is she busy now? No, she isn't

Am I late today? No, you are on time

Is Joe in the office? Yes he is (or) No, he isn't

Are they ready to work? Yes, they are

4. Type - 'yes/no' negative questions    

Person                        Singular                              Plural

First                          am + I + not                       are + we + not

Second                     are + you + not                  are + You + not

Third                        is + (He/she/it) + not      are + They + not

NOTE:  are we not = aren’t we,  are you not = aren’t you,  is he not = isn’t he, are they not = aren’t they

Model sentences

Aren’t you Lee? or Are you not Lee? (Aren't = Are not)

Isn’t she an American? or Is she not an American? (Isn't = Is not)

Aren’t they busy? Or Are they not busy? (Aren't = Are not)

Isn’t it right? or  Is it not right? (Isn't = is not)

Isn’t he James?

5.Type  - 'wh' questions 

'wh' question expects full answer      

Person                        Singular                              Plural

First                       ‘wh’+ am + I                             ‘wh’ + are + we

Second                  ‘wh’ + are + you                        ‘wh’ + are + You

Third                      ‘wh’ + is + (He/she/it)           ‘wh’ + are + They

‘Wh’ indicates ‘wh’ question words  like when, what, where, why, how etc.

Model sentences

Where is she? She is at home.

How are you? I am fine/OK.

What is he? He is a businessman

Who are they? They are my friends 

Why is she late? She came by bicycle.

  

Moods of a sentence  

Read  the sentence 'She is a singer'. This sentence can be uttered in the following moods by shifting stress on various words and manipulating body language (e.g. Tone), without changing the order of the sentence.

1. She is a singer - An introduction, A message, An information etc.

2. She is singer ? - A declarative question 

3. She is a singer! An exclamatory sentence.

4. She is a singer. A joke statement.

5. She is a singer - A sarcastic remark.  

..................and many more moods

                                                                                         

NOTE: Each of the above 5 types may be uttered in Five or more moods of utterance.

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