EFG311 LAU SUAN DAI 3109130140

TUGASAN

SEPTEMBER 2014 SEMESTERKOD MATA PELAJARAN EFG 311

NAMA MATA PELAJARANFUNDAMENTALS OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR

PROGRAM SARJANA MUDA PENDIDIKAN

NAMA PELAJAR LAU SUAN DAI

NO. MATRIK E30109130140

NAMA FASILITATOR AKADEMIK

MEGOS ANAK SIMAK

PUSAT PEMBELAJARAN INTI COLLEGE, KUCHING

Content

Page

Question 1

1.0 Word Order

1

2.0 Verbs

3

3.0 Prepositions

5

4.0 Nouns

6

Question 2

8

Question 3

11

Question 4

15

References

16

QUESTION 1[ 10% ]

1.0 Word order

The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘word order’ as the

sequence of words in a sentence, especially as governed

by grammatical rules and as affecting its meaning. Most

English sentences conform to the Subject-Verb-Object

/SVO word order or Subject-Verb-Object-Place-Time / SVOPT

order. These are the basic patterns in English

statements. Some ESL learners face problems in

constructing sentences in the correct word order probably

due to lack of exposure in their correct usage or due to

the influence of their mother tongues. Any change in the

sentence order will make an English statement distorted

or nonsensical so word order is a very important aspect

in English grammar. When determining where to place parts

of a sentence after the subject and verb, we should be

able to answer who, then what, then where, then when,

then why. Eg. We gave our parents a surprise party at

home last night because it was their wedding

anniversary.

Examples of the basic SVO sentences are shown below:

Subject Verb Object

Clarissa washes the dishes.

She did not empty the rubbish bin.

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i. One of the problems faced by the ESL learners when

constructing sentences is that they do not follow

the SVO order resulting in weird sentences being

constructed.

Examples :

The dishes Clarissa washes.

The rubbish bin she did not empty.

ii. Another common ‘word order error’ made by the ESL

learners is that they switch the time phrase with

the place word in the SVOPT sentence pattern as

shown below:

Subject Verb Object / Place

/ TimeClarissa

Clarissa

will be

will be

in the library

at nine. √

at nine

in the library . X iii. Another instance of the wrong word order usage

by ESL learners is in sentences which contain adverbials.

The problem for the English learner is that some

adverbials can be located in different places within the

sentence, while other adverbials must appear in one place

only.

For examples: 

Sometimes I give homework to my students.

( Correct )

2

I sometimes give homework to my students.

( Correct )

I give sometimes homework to my students.

( Wrong)

She can also bake moist chocolate cakes.

( Correct )

She also can bake moist chocolate cakes.

(wrong)

Peter has also contributed to the fund.

( Correct )

Peter also has contributed to the fund. ( Wrong

)

iv. Apart from the examples above, another ‘word order’

problem that I observe ESL learners made is when the

preposition ‘to’ is omitted in a sentence. In a SVO

sentence, the object can be broken up into the

direct object and indirect object. In instances when

the preposition ‘to’ is used, the sequencing will be

the ‘indirect object’ coming after the ‘direct

object’.

An example is illustrated using a table for better

clarification:

Subject Verb Obj

ect

Direct object

Indirect ObjectThe gave the worksheets to

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teacher the students.

ESL learners face problem when the preposition

‘to’ is omitted. They do not know how to sequence

the direct and indirect object. The common ‘word

order error’ that they made is to place the indirect

object before the direct object resulting in wrongly

constructed sentence as shown below :

Example :

The teacher gave the worksheets the students.

( Wrong word order )

The teacher gave the students the worksheets. (

Correct word order)

v. Another problem is the wrong word order in

adjective. ESL learners who are not well-versed with

the word-order which follow the sequencing quality,

size, shape, age, colour and material will make

common errors are shown below.

Examples :

Alex has an expensive, big, new, silver

Mercedes. ( Correct )

Alex has an expensive, silver, big new

Mercedes. ( Wrong )

vi. Adverbs usually come directly after the verb.

Ann smiled sweetly .

4

He walked hurriedly home.

2.0 Verbs

The Oxford dictionary defines verb as a word used to

describe an action, state, or occurrence, and forming the

main part of the predicate of a sentence, such as hear,

become, happen. The usage of verb is linked to a complex

set of problems if ESL learners do not know how to use it

correctly. This is because the same verb can play a

number of different roles depending on the context. ESL

learners face problems in using verb most probably

because of the reasons stated below.

i. Some words can serve as either a noun or a verb so

learners get confused .

Examples :

She makes faces at the postman. (noun)

She faces the angry crowd calmly. ( verb)

ii. Some verbs take the same spelling in the present and

past tense form causing learners to question as to

why is it so.

Examples :

They read the newspaper every day.

( Present Tense )

They read the newspaper yesterday. ( Past

Tense )

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iii. In English, the verbs used must agree with the

subject (s) and ESL learners find it uncommon in

their mother tongues. Singular subject takes

singular verb and plural subject takes plural verb

and most ESL learners face problems in remembering

these grammar rules. On top of that, it is

unexplainable why singular subjects such as ‘I’ and

‘you’ do not carry singular verbs.

Examples :

Afiq walk to school every day. ( Wrong )

Afiq walks to school every day. ( Correct )

She go to the library every Saturday. ( Wrong )

She goes to the library every Saturday. ( Correct )

I has a new bicycle. ( Wrong )

I have a new bicycle. ( Correct ) Reasoning : ESL

learners are confused because ‘I’ is a singular

subject and they linked to the rule that singular

subject always carries singular verb. However “I”

is an exception.

iv. Another aspect which causes ESL learners to

have problem with verbs is that

they come in different forms depending on the tenses

used or time phrase. For example, regular verbs are

written by adding ‘d’, ‘ed’ or ‘t’ when they exist

in the past tense form. Apart from regular verbs,

irregular verbs also coexist making it even more

confusing to ESL learners. In addition, some verbs

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do not change at all. Below are common errors which

ESL learners encounter .

He sended an email to his friend this morning.

( Wrong)

He sent an email to his friend this morning. (

Correct )

The boy swimmed in that pool yesterday.

( Wrong)

The boy swam in that pool yesterday.

( Correct )

He putted the money into his pocket. ( Wrong )

He put the money into his pocket. ( Correct )

v. Apart from present and past tense, the verb also

varies in its form in the continuous tense and

participle tense. The common errors are shown in the

examples below:

Examples :

She is write to her friend now. ( Wrong )

She is writing to her friend now. ( Correct

Sentence - Present Cont. Tense)

She has wrote to her friend . ( Wrongly )

She has written to her friend. (Correct

Sentence : Present Particle Tense)

vi. Some actions in English are expressed by phrases

that consist of a verb and a preposition or adverb

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which is known as two-words verb. This type of verb

can best be taught authentically for better

understanding. Some ESL learners are not properly

exposed to these verbs so they do not know how to

use them properly. Moreover, most books do not

emphasise on these two-words verbs. In my language

class, I come across some common errors that my

students made as shown below.

Examples :

I am afraid to the dog. ( Wrong usage)

I am afraid of the dog. ( Correct usage)

vii. Some verbs are so close in their meaning causing ESL

learners to misuse the verbs. For example ‘put’ and

‘place’

Examples :

I put the book on the table . ( Wrong usage )

I place the book on the table. ( Correct usage

)

In above sentences, ‘ place’ is a better verb used

here because it denotes leaving the book there

rather than depositing.

3. Prepositions

A preposition is a word which precedes a noun (or a

pronoun) to show the noun's (or the pronoun's)

relationship to another word in the sentence. Most of the

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time, the preposition precedes a noun or a pronoun,

though not always. Some ESL learners misunderstood

certain usage of preposition resulting in wrongly

constructed sentences.

i. Usage of ‘on’ and ‘along’. In the example below, the

ESL learners failed to

understand that the preposition ‘along ’ shows the

relationship between ‘the road’ and ‘strolled’

although the girl is on the road thus resulting in

the wrong usage of preposition.

Examples:

The little girl strolled leisurely on the road.

( Wrong preposition used )

The little girl strolled leisurely along the

road. ( Correct Usage)

ii. Usage of ‘in’ and ‘into’: ESL learners also

misinterpret the usage of

preposition ‘in’ and ‘into’. They sometimes fail to

distinguish that ‘in’ is used to tell the location

while ‘into’ is used to express motion toward

something.

Examples :

I put my pen in my pencil case. ( Wrong

Usage )

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I put my pen into my pencil case. ( Correct

Usage )

iii. Usage of preposition for time. ESL learners got

confused in using ‘in’, ‘on’and ‘at’.

I was born in 25th December. ( Wrong)

I was born on 25th December. ( Correct )

4.0 Nouns

Nouns can be the name of a person, animal, place,

thing or a thing that cannot be touched.

i. ESL learners usually have problems with

uncountable nouns such as equipment, advice,

furniture, grammar, research, vocabulary, garbage.

Mr Smith bought a lot of furnitures for his new

bungalow. ( Wrong)

Mr Smith bought a lot of furniture for his new

bungalow. ( Correct )

ii. Phrases such as ‘a few’ indicate that the noun

following it is going to be plural, so the nouns

will end with ‘s’. However ELS learner must know

the different conditions when plural nouns are

spelt with …ies, …. es , …ves

a few babys ( wrong )

A few babies ( correct )

iii. Sometimes nouns may mislead ESL learners into

thinking that they're plural when they are

actually singular and vice-versa. Words such as

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spectacles, pants, trousers, and scissors are

regarded as plural (and require plural verbs)

unless they're preceded the phrase pair of (in

which case the word pair becomes the subject).

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QUESTION 2

[10%]

There are several factors to consider when I integrate

grammar in my lessons. The lists below are the sentences

constructed by my students either orally or in the

written form. I have corrected them and explained them

with respect to the grammar rules in the English

Language.

Grammar Issues :

1. Subject-verb agreement

John and I am reading in the library.

( Wrong )

John and I are reading in the library.

( Correct )

Grammar Rules : If the subject is singular, use

“ am ” or “ is ”

If the subject is plural, use “ are

”. Here, John and I are plural subject

so we should use the auxiliary verb –

are

2. Tenses

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Angela swimmed in the private pool yesterday.

( wrong)

Angela swam in the private pool yesterday.

( correct )

Grammar Rule: Although most past tense verbs end

in -ed, certain verbs

have irregular past tense forms that

do not follow this rule.

3. Word Order of Questions with Do and Does

Does she comes to school today ? ( Wrong )

Does she come to school today ? ( Correct )

Grammar Rules : When the subject is he, she or it,

we add DOES at the beginning to make

the affirmative sentence a question.

The letter ‘s’ at the end of the verb

in the affirmative sentence (because

it is in third person) disappears in

the question.

4. Articles

A book on the table belongs to Ann Maria.

( Wrong)

The book on the table belongs to Ann Maria. (

Right)

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Grammar Rule : If you are talking about a specific

thing, use ‘the ’ rather than ‘a’

I need a advice on how to solve my problem.

( Wrong )

I need some advice on how to solve my problem.

( Correct )

Grammar Rule : When we talk about something that we

cannot count or that is

abstract, there is no article, but we can

use some, any, or more.

5. Correlative Conjunction

Neither Thomas or I was elected as the prefect.

( Wrong)

Neither Thomas nor I was elected as the

prefect. ( Right)

Grammar Rule : The determiner “neither” is

followed by “nor” and

they are used in a sentence in the

negative sense when

we want to say that two or more

things are not true. “Either” is

followed by “or”.

6. Pronouns Agreement

Neither Alex nor his classmates hand in his

books.

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Neither Alex nor his classmates hand in their

books.

Grammar Rule : If we connect two antecedents with a

correlative conjunction,

the second one must agree with the

pronoun that follows.In

this case, the second pronoun is ‘

çlassmates’ so we should

use the appropriate possessive prounoun –

“their”

.

7. Present Continuous Tense

The boy is sit . ( Wrong )

The boy is sitting. ( Correct )

Grammar rule: The structure of the present

continuous tense is:

Hence, the subject – the boy; auxiliary

verb- is; main verb – sit should be written

in base + ing form - sitting

8. Modals

Ronald can plays tennis well. ( wrong )

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subject + auxiliary verb+ main verb

Ronald can play tennis well. ( correct )

Grammar Rule : Modal verbs are unlike other

verbs. They do not change their form

(spelling) and they have no infinitive or

participle (past/present). The modals must and

can need substitute verbs to express obligation

or ability in the different tenses.

9. Possessive Pronouns

Sandra has a book. This is her. ( wrong)

Sandra has a book. This is hers.

( correct )

Grammar Rule : The pronouns her and their must

come before a noun, but hers and theirs must

stand alone. Hence in this case, the pronoun

her is not followed by a noun so we must use

“hers” as it stands alone.

10. Comparative Adjectives

Aisah is beautifuler than her sister.

( wrong )

Aisah is more beautiful than her sister.

(right)

Grammar Rule : For a word with three syllables, we

use the word “more”

before the adjective. For example,

“beautiful” becomes “more

beautiful.”

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QUESTION 3[10%]

1. Provide your own sentences to illustrate thefollowing terms. Underline the word(s) illustrating the term.

i. Clarissa is a responsible and proactive girl. She

always helps Puan Allizah to

carry her books.

ii. Kenneth likes to keep pets. He has two hamsters and

five dogs.

ii. The children made a lot of noise. They were scolded

by their headmaster.

iii. My husband and I are going to Japan. We are flying

by Singapore Airline.

b.

The reflexive pronouns (themselves, ourselves, himself,

itself, etc.) refer back to the subject of the clause,

for example: "he bit himself," and "he did it by

himself."

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Subject pronoun

Reflexive pronoun

i. John reminds himself not to commit the same mistake

again.

ii. I smiled amusedly to myself when I heard the tutor’s

comment on my assignment.

iii. The children cleaned their rooms by themselves.

iv. We completed the project all by ourselves.

c.

Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that stand in for

person, place or thing that is not definitely known.

i. When I entered the lecture room for our first

tutorial, I could not recognise anybody .

ii. Everybody was fascinated by the sensational musical

play.

iii. Someone broke the window but nobody wants to admit

it.

iv. Nothing can stop Susan from getting on with the diet

plan.

d.

i. I have an encyclopaedia. This is my new

encyclopaedia.

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Demonstrative pronoun

Indefinite pronoun

ii. I have just bought some apples and place them in

front of me. These apples are mine.

iii. Daniel has a new bicycle. That bicycle parked under

the shade is his. Those bicycles across the road

belong to his classmates.

e.

A determiner used in front of a noun to express

possession or belonging. The possessive determiners in

English are my, your, his, her, its, our, and their.

i. He gave his sandwich to me as I have forgotten to

bring my lunch box.

ii. Susan lives in an apartment. Her apartment is in

Damansara.

iii. This is your handbag which you left on the table.

iv. We have a cute puppy. The puppy usually shakes its

body before entering our house.

v. Alex and Simon are active in playing football.

They came in first in their final match.

f.

Possessive pronouns are used to indicate who (or what)

owns something. Like all pronouns, possessive pronouns

take the place of nouns in sentences.

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’s possessive

Possessive determiner

Examples :

This is Sandra’s new dress.

This is Moses’ toy aeroplane. / This is Moses’s

toy aeroplane.

My brother’s car is parked under that tree.

The children’s pillows are kept in the

cupboard.

2. The sentences below are not grammatically correct

and I have explained their awkwardness with

reference to the grammar rules.

a. The room’s walls are dirty

In this sentence, ‘room’ is an inanimate object ( a

non-living thing) so it is inappropriate to use the

possessive endings. An inanimate object cannot own

anything. The relationship must be indicated by

using a prepositional phrase ‘ of the ’.

For example : The walls of the room are dirty.

The preposition “of” introduces a phrase that

explains the relationship between the room and the

walls.

b. Him and she are going to Johor next weekend.

In this sentence, "he," should be used because it

refers to the subject pronoun who perform the verb ‘

is going to ’. The nominative form of “him” is “he”.

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For example: He and she are going to Johor next

weekend.

‘Him’ is not appropriately used here because it

refers to the object pronouns . The sentence can be

rephrased by using "him" as the “object of a

preposition” .

For examples:

She is going to Johor with him next weekend.

( used as the object of preposition)

Another better way to rephrase this sentence is by

substituting ‘He and she’ with the prounoun ‘They’.

They are going to Johor next weekend.

c. This Time magazine is mines.

This sentence indicates possessive pronoun.

Possessive pronouns are used to indicate who (or

what) owns something. In this context, it means that

“I have a Times magazine ” or the ‘Times magazine’

belongs to me. Here, ‘mine’ is the absolute

possessive pronoun used .

For example : This is my Times Magazine.

This Time magazine is mine.

All the absolute possessives pronouns are spelt with

an ‘s’ except mine. Hence, it is not correct to

write mines. Mines carries another meaning. The

examples are shown in the table below.

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Possessive

Adjectives

my

your

his

her

its

our

their

Absolute Possessive

Pronouns

mine

yours

his

hers

its

ours

theirs

d. There’s no one here beside I.

In the above sentence ‘ I ’ is incorrectly used and

should be replaced with me because it refers to the

object pronoun. ‘I’ is the first person singular subject

pronoun, which means that it refers to the person

performing the action of a verb. In this context, me

should be used instead of I because it refers to whom the

preposition ‘beside’ refers to. Here, ‘me’ is used as the

object of the preposition . Hence the sentence is better

written as : There’s no one here beside me.

QUESTION 4

[10%]

22

Some words are often confused by language learners –

because they are similar to another word or because they

look like a word in your own language but have a

different meaning. Here are some words that often cause

confusion.

sensible and sensitive

a. Sensible

i. Isabel is a sensible girl and is not easily

influenced by her peers.

ii. Although Andy is still very young, he is sensible

enough to distinguish between right and wrong.

iii. The captain has to make a sensible decision

because the all members of the team is counting on

him.

iv. Common dear, be sensible and put on some sunblock as

the sun is glaring hot.

v. The sensible lady was not taken in by the persuasion

of the con man.

b. Sensitive

i. Prakash is very sensitive Indian boy and does not

like to be called “Tamil’ although that word means

brother in his language.

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ii. We must take care not to provoke each other when

talking about sensitive issues such as religion and

racial discrimination.

iii. Don’t be too sensitive. He did not mean to hurt your

feeling by saying you are naïve.

iv. As Malaysian living in a multi-racial society, we

must learn to be tolerant and must not be too

sensitive to unwelcomed sentiments made by some

ruthless parties.

vi. A sensitive person easily gets hurt.

References :

AeU. Fundamental Grammar Modules

Batstone, W. (1994). Grammar. Oxford : Oxford University

Press.

Thornbury, S. (1990). How to teach grammar. Essex: Longman.

http://www.chompchomp.com/terms/

correlativeconjunction.htm

http://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/adjective-

word-order

https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/verb-tenses_present-

continuous_s.htm

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http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/

adjectives/what-is-a-comparative-adjective.htm

http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/parts-of-speech/verbs/

Past-Tense-Verbs.html

http://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/grammar-

lesson-either-or-neither-nor.php#.VHxovNKUeSo

http://www.myenglishteacher.net/

subject_verb_agreement.html

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/verb

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