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What is a phrase?
As learnt earlier, a phrase is a group of words that forms part of a sentence and does not make sense on its own.
Phrasal Quantifier
A quantifier is a group of words that express quantity in terms of amount or number. Some words that show quantity are:
Examples in sentences:
There is plenty of comfort in this house.
There are many youths abusing drugs in the society.
Uncountable nouns
These are substances, concepts etc that we cannot divide into separate elements. We cannot “count” them. For example, we cannot count “milk”. We can count “bottles of milk” or “litres of milk”, but we cannot count “milk” itself. “Bottles” and “litres” are quantifiers used to show or indicate the amount of milk being referred to. Study the illustration and see how another quantifier “A piece of” may be used with uncountable nouns.
Nouns that can be Countable and Uncountable.
Sometimes, the same noun can be countable and uncountable, often with a change of meaning.
Drinks (coffee, water, orange juice) are usually uncountable. But if we are thinking of a cup or a glass, we can say (in a restaurant, for example):
Two teas and one coffee please.
Study the illustration given and suggest quantifiers that may be used to the nouns within countable.
- Plenty
- Few
- Little
- Many
- Some
- one
- two
- several
It is important for you to have adequate knowledge of primary auxiliary verbs, modal auxiliary verbs and subject-verb agreement rules in order to handle this lesson effectively.
We have three types of primary auxiliary verbs; these are ‘be’, ‘do’ and ‘have’. The three have other forms. These forms are:
- be:’; ‘am’, ‘is’,’was’,’are’, ‘been’, ‘being’ ‘were’, ‘be’.
- do:’do’ ‘did’,’doing’, ‘done’.
- have, ‘had’, ‘have’, ‘having’ and ‘has’.
The modal auxiliary verbs that are helpful in this particular lesson are ‘will’ and ‘shall’.
By the end of the lesson, you should be able to use the perfective and progressive aspect appropriately in sentences.
We have three types of primary auxiliary verbs; these are ‘be’, ‘do’, and ‘have’.
The three have other forms. These forms are:
- ‘be’, ‘am’, ‘is’, ‘was’, ‘are’, ‘been’,’being’, ‘ were’ and ‘be’.
- ‘do’, ‘do, ‘did’, ‘doing’ and ‘done’.
- ‘have’, ‘had’, ‘have’, ‘having’ and ‘has’
The modal auxiliary verbs that are helpful in this particular lesson are: ‘will’and ‘shall’.
Progressive Aspect
The progressive aspect is also referred to as the continuous aspect. It is used with the present, past and future tenses to show actions going on for a period of time.
John is walking to school
The perfect aspect is used with the past, present and future tense to indicate actions that have been completed.
John has arrived at school.
Verbs
In this lesson, we will learn about verbs. In particular we shall look at the perfective and progressive aspects of these verbs.
The progressive Aspect
John is going to school
For a temporary action which may not be happening at the time of speaking for example:(NOTE: the action is not taking place at the moment of speaking)
For an action already arranged to take place in the near future,for example,
In the present progressive aspect, three forms of the verb ‘be’ that is ‘is’ ‘am’ and ‘are’ are used with the main verb in its ____ing form as you may have noticed from the correct answers.
The past progressive.
This aspect is used to indicate:
a) An action that was happening at some time in the past for example,
Anyango was sleeping in class.
b) Persistent habits, for example,
Nakato was always yawning.
Nakato was always yawning
Future progressive
This is the same as future continuous. It talks about;
a) Actions that will be going on for some time in the future, for example
Juma will be going to school next week.
b) Actions in the future which are already planned, for example,
Kamau will be meeting us next year.
The present perfect
This tense is used to:
a) Describe past events which though completed, their effect is still evident in the present.
a) Describe past events which though completed their effect is still evident in the present.
b) Describe actions that have been recently completed or finished. e.g
The plane has taken off
More examples:
The past perfect
The past perfect tense is used to:
Describe an action that was completed before a certain time in the past.
The future perfect
This aspect is used to describe actions and events which are expected to be completed or finished by a certain time in the future.
More examples of Future perfect are:
They will have gone home by the time you arrive.
Jean will have cooked dinner by the time the guests arrive.
By midnight , we will have loaded the cargo onto the ship.
He will have left before you go to see him.
By the end of this lesson you should be able to identify and use interjections appropriately
Interjections
This lesson introduces us to interjections and their use.
What is an Interjection?
An interjection is a word or short phrase used in speech to gain attention, to exclaim, protest or command. Interjections can be used to show emotion such as surprise or shock.
Interjections are often found at the beginning of a sentence, especially in speech, and are commonly followed by an exclamation mark or a comma. Every community uses interjections, can you think of any from your community?
Wooi!
Ouch!
When an interjection expresses a strong emotion, it is punctuated with an exclamation mark. On the other hand, when it expresses only a mild emotion, it is punctuated with a comma. Note that an interjection ends with an exclamation mark (!) and the word that follows begins with a capital letter.
For you to handle the lesson effectively, you need prior knowledge of phrases, and specifically the definition and functions of a phrase. A phrase is a group of words that forms part of a sentence and does not make sense on its own. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs. Therefore an adverb phrase is a group of words that form part of a sentence and modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.
- Identify the constituents of the adverb phrase.
- Explain the functions of the adverb phrase.
- Use adverb phrases correctly.
Adverb Phrases
This lesson introduces you to adverb phrases. They are also referred to as adverbial phrases.
A very good road
What is a Phrase?
A phrase is a group of words that forms part of a sentence and does not make sense on its own. Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives and other adverbs.
The water flows beautifully downstream
Objectives;
By the end of this lesson you should be able to:
- Identify relative clauses correctly.
- Use relative clauses appropriately in sentences
Clauses
In this lesson, we shall look at clauses.
A Clause
A clause is a group of words that has a subject and predicate. It can be a sentence on its own or form part of a sentence. When a clause forms part of a sentence, it is called a subordinate or dependent clause. A subordinate clause relies on the main or independent clause to convey meaning. For example,
In this lesson, we shall look at relative clauses.
A relative clause is a group of words that is introduced by a relative pronoun. Examples of relative pronouns are:
- Who
- Whose
- Whom
- Which / that
A relative clause gives extra information about the noun(s) in the main clause.
It is important for a learner to have knowledge of tenses and simple sentence structures such as the subject – verb – object structure, in order to handle the lesson effectively.
There are two voices in English: The Active voice and the Passive voice.
By the end of the lesson you should be able to:
a) Identify sentences in the active and passive voice.
b) Change sentences from the active voice to the passive voice and vice versa.
Active and Passive Voice
In this lesson, you are going to learn about active and passive voice.
Study the following photograph.
If you were to describe it, the following would be possible descriptions:
- The boy is holding a cat.
- The cat is being held by the boy.
Sentence 1. is active while sentence 2. is passive. Read on for more information about active and passive voices in English.
An active sentence gives prominence to the doer of the action, that is, the subject. In this case, the sentence states:
a) The doer of the action
b) The action
c) The receiver of the action
In the active voice, the doer of the action must be mentioned
For example:
Juma polished the shoes.
Active voice
A passive sentence will give prominence to the receiver of the action (object). In this case, the sentence states:
a) The receiver of the action.
b) The action.
c) The doer of the action.
Note that Mentioning the doer of the action is optional.
The shoes were polished ( by Juma).
When a sentence changes from active voice to the passive voice the subject changes to the object position and the object to the subject position. Note the change in the positions of the subject and the object in the following sentences.
When a sentence changes from the active voice to the passive voice, the object in the active sentence becomes the new subject in the passive sentence.
Active Voice
In active voice emphasis is on the subject while in passive voice emphasis is on the receiver of the action or the object.
The tense of the verb in the active voice changes when the sentence is changed to passive voice.
By the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
- Identify adjectives in sentences.
- Use adjectives appropriately in sentences.
Order of Adjectives
In this lesson we shall learn the use and order of adjectives.
Order of Adjectives
An adjective is a word that modifies a noun or pronoun. As seen in the description of the buffalo ,nouns and pronouns can be described by several adjectives at the same time for example:
A huge buffalo.
A fierce buffalo.
A black buffalo.
A male buffalo.
Purpose – describes what something is used for. They often end in -ing. An example of this is A walking stick.
An old man with a walking stick
Material – describes what something is made from, for example, A wooden spoon.
Shape – describes how something looks like. For example, a round- faced clock.
Describing Nouns and pronouns
An Adjective is a word that modifies a noun or a pronoun. Nouns and pronouns can be described by several adjectives at the same time for example:
Mariamu has lovely long, dark hair.
The underlined words are the adjectives that describe the noun ‘hair’
When we use more than one adjective before a noun or pronoun, there is a preferred order. This order is referred to as the order of adjectives.
The use of the correct order makes the sentence run smoothly and grammatically correct.
Adjectives are divided into two main categories; these are opinion and fact.
Opinion Adjectives
They explain what one thinks about somebody, something or situation. Other people may not necessarily share the opinion.
Opinions can vary from one individual to another. Different people would express different opinions about the house. For example, you can view it as a beautiful and your friend might say it’s horrible.
Fact Adjectives
These are adjectives which describe size, age, shape, colour, origin, make/material and purpose. the following are examples of opinions and facts.
Fact Adjectives
These are adjectives which describe size, age, shape, colour, origin, make/material and purpose. the following are examples of opinions and facts.
Red and orange flowers
Size – tells you how big or small something is, for example a large envelope.
Age – tells you how young or old something or someone is, for example, Fort Jesus is an ancient building.
Colour – describes the colour of something. For example, A blue dress
Origin – describes where something/someone comes from, for example, A Kenyan footballer.
