Improve English, as a Foreign Language

A Figure of Speech [try the QUIZ]

A figure of speech is a word or phrase used to create pictures in the mind of the reader or listener to help convey the meaning faster and clearer than plain words alone, by adding colour and interest to wake up the imagination.

Figurative language is everywhere, from classical works like Shakespeare or the Bible, to everyday speech, pop music and television commercials.

1. QUIZ ; -There are 27 common figures of speech in the picture, see if you can guess some! EFL students may look up if necessary.

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Tutorial 4. 5th March 2020

How to use the auxiliary verb “have”.

An auxiliary, or “helping” verb is used to help the main verb.

The form of the auxiliary verb “have” in the present and past tense goes as follows ;-

Subject | Present | Past

I ~ have ~ had
He / she / it ~ has ~ had
We / you / they ~ have ~ had

Present tense examples: “I have a bottle of peach water”.
“He has a bottle of soda ”.
“They have a nice house”.

Past tense examples: “I had a bottle of peach water”.
“He had a bottle of soda ”.
“They had a nice house”.

Note the auxiliary verb “have” changes to 'has', in the present tense and to 'had' in the past tense depending on the subject.

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Lesson 2. 4th March 2020

How to use the auxiliary verb “be”.

An auxiliary, or “helping” verb is used to help the main verb.

The form of the auxiliary verb “be” in the present and past tenses goes as follows ;-

Subject | Present simple | Past simple

I ~ am ~ was
He / she / it ~ is ~ was
We / you / they ~ are ~ were

Present tense examples: “ I am in the supermarket right now ”.
“She is in the cinema”.
“They are in gymnastics practice right now”.

Past tense examples: “I was in the supermarket yesterday”.
“He was at the cinema yesterday” .
“They were in ballet practice 5 minutes ago ”.

Nb; the auxiliary verb “be” changes to 'am', 'is' or 'are' in the present tense and to 'was' or 'were' in the past tense, depending on the subject.

Probably the most common use of Singlish and misuse of English is to omit (leave out) the auxiliary verb, the preposition and the article. i.e people say “I going market” instead of “I am going to the market”.

Be is one of the most commonly used auxiliary verbs in the English language and should be learnt very early! The two other most common auxiliary verbs are have and do.

nb; “to” is a preposition and 'the' is an article, which we will cover in future topics.
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Lesson 1. 1st March 2020

English is a very precise language, the use of just one or two letter words, or the form of the word makes a big difference in being able to speak it well. In English we use tenses to refer to time, past present and future. In today’s lesson we will talk about the present continuous tense.

Present Continuous Tense

The present continuous tense is used to talk about actions, or states (i.e thinking or believing) that are in progress. i.e they’re happening now and still happening, a changing or temporary situation, or an annoying habit.

The form of the present continuous tense in the positive, negative and question form goes as follows ;-

➕ Subject + BE Present simple + VERB (infinitive, base form) + ing.
_______________________________________
I am going.
He / she / it is going.
We / you / they are going.

➖ Subject + BE Present simple + NOT VERB (infinitive, base form) + ing.
I am not going.
He / she / it is not going.
We / you / they are not going.

❓ (QW + be) + Subject + VERB (infinitive, base form) + ing.
QW= question word, who, what, where when or why)
_______________________________________
Am I going?
Is he / she / it going?
Are we / you / they going?

Present continuous examples:

➕ “I am going to the tryout”.
➖ “She is not going to the championship”.
❓ “Are they going for the test ?”.

nb; in the question form we can use a question word in front of the verb “be” ie “Where is she going for the test”?

Probably the most common use of Singlish and misuse of English is to omit (leave out) the auxiliary verb. i.e people say “I going market” instead of “I am going to the market”.

Be is one of the most commonly used auxiliary verbs in the English language and should be learnt very early! The two other most common auxiliary verbs are have and do. We will cover these auxiliaries in the next lessons.

nb; “to” is a preposition and "the" is an article, which we will cover in future topics.

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