CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii

FOREWORD iv

TO THE USER v

CONTENTS vi

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS viii

LESSON

ONE PUNCTUATION 1

The Punctuation of Complex Sentences 2

The Capital Letters 3

The Possessive Apostrophe 4

TWO IDENTIFYING NOUNS 7

The Four Marks 7

Changeable Forms 8

Preceding Items 8

Sentence Position 8

Group Position 9

Summary 9

THREE CLASSIFYING NOUNS 13

Review 13

Types of Nouns 14

A-Type Nouns 14

B-Type Nouns 15

C-Type Nouns 15

D-Type Nouns 15

E-Type Nouns 16

Summary 17

FOUR COUNTABLE NOUNS 19

Review 19

Singular and Plural Forms 20

D-Items 20

Summary 23

FIVE UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS 25

Review 25

C-Type Nouns 26

Characteristics of C-Type Nouns 27

Substances 28

Abstract Nouns 29

SIX COUNTABLE-UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS 31

Review 31

D-Type Nouns 32

Characteristics of D-Type Nouns 32

Selected List of D-Type Nouns 33


SEVEN THE SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE 39

Review 39

The Forms 40

The Meanings 40

The Simple Present Actual Tense 41

The Simple Present Neutral Tense 41

The Simple Present Habitual Tense 42

The Simple Present Future Tense 42

The Frequency 44

EIGHT THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE: NARRATIVE AND ACTUAL 47

Review 47

The Forms 48

The Meanings 49

The Simple Fast Narrative 49

The Simple Past Actual 50

The Frequency 52

NINE THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE: NEUTRAL AND HABITUAL 55

Review 55

The Simple Past Neutral 56

The Simple Past Habitual 57

The Frequency 59

TEN VERB GROUPS 61

Review 61

About Verb Groups 62

The Forms 62

The Rule 64

5 1 should stem 64

4 1 have stem+ed 65

3 1 be stem+ing 65

2 1 be stem+ed 66

ELEVEN QUESTIONS AND NEGATIVE STATEMENTS 71

Review 71

Questions 72

Verbal Questions 72

Pronominal Questions 73

Negative Statements 76

TWELVE FINITE AND NON-FINITE VERB GROUPS 79

Review 79

Finite Verb Groups 80

Non-Finite Verb Groups 82

THIRTEEN 5-1 VERB GROUPS : CAN, CAN’T, CANNOT 85

Review 85

The Meaning of Can, Can’t 86

Characteristic Ability 86

Occasional Ability 87

Immediate Ability 87

Summary 88


FOURTEEN 5-1 VERB GROUPS : CAN AND COULD 91

Review 91

Can Meaning Possibility and Impossibility 92

Could in Reported Speech 94

FIFTEEN 5-1 VERB GROUPS: WILL AND WOULD 97

Future Reference 97

Will referring to Future 98

Would in Reported Speech 100

SIXTEEN SPELLING: THE DOUBLING OF CONSONANTS 101

Long and Short Vowels 101

Stressed and Unstressed Syllables 102

The Rules 103

The Consonant [l] 104

REFERENCES 107

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