Grammar presentation created by ESL faculty at Ball State University.

1. NOUNS

2. NOUNS
Nouns are the names of things.
They are words for people, places, and things.
Children
Food Flower

3. Countable Nouns:
● Things that you can count, e.g.: (one) apple,
(one) book, (one) table, (one) friend.
● You can use numbers with count nouns, e.g.:
one apple, two apples; one book, three
books.
● Count nouns can be singular and plural, e.g.
apple/apples, book/books, table/tables,
friend/friends.

4. Noncount Nouns:
Things that you cannot count, e.g.: milk, air,
sugar, cheese, money, not: one milk, one air,
one sugar, one cheese, one money.
Noncount nouns do not have a plural form.

5. Indefinite Article: A/AN
A/AN = One (1)
Use the indefinite article (a/an) with count singular nouns:
Use “a” with count nouns that start with a consonant sound:
a table, a city, a student, a vegetable.
Use “an” with count nouns that start with a vowel sound: an
apple, an egg, an orange, an hour.

6. Count Nouns
Use how many to ask questions about the number of things
(only with count nouns)
How many students are there in the class?
(1 student? 10 students? ) You can use numbers and plurals.
How many cookies can you eat?
(1 cookie? 5 cookies?) You can use numbers and plurals.
Not:
How many milk do you need?

7. Noncount Nouns
Use how much to ask about quantity of things
(only with noncount nouns)
How much milk do you have at home?
(some milk? a lot of milk?)
How much rice do you eat?
(a lot of rice? a little rice?)

8. Comparative Adjectives
The boy is taller than the girl.
The girl is shorter than the boy.
Great Value soup is more
expensive than Campbell’s soup

9. Comparative Adjectives
Use comparative adjectives to describe differences
between two people or two things:
The boy is tall.
(tall = describes one person)
The boy is taller than the girl.
(tall+er compares two people)

10. Comparative Adjectives
Great Value soup is expensive.
(expensive = describes one thing)
Great Value soup is more
expensive than Campbell’s soup
(more+expensive compares
two things)

11. Comparative Adjectives with -er
Add -er to adjectives that have one syllable to create
the comparative form:
tall (tall + -er) = taller small (small + -er) = smaller
nice (nice + -er) = nicer large (large + -er) =
larger
big = (big + -er) = bigger hot (hot + -er) =
hotter
cvc + er = cvccer cvc + er =

12. Comparative Adjectives with ‘more’
Use more + adjective with adjectives that have two
syllables or more to create the comparative form:
more + intelligent = more intelligent
more + beautiful = more beautiful
more + wonderful = more wonderful
Note: Do NOT use ‘more’ and -er together.

13. Adjectives ending in -y
Add -er to adjectives that end in -y to create the
comparative form:
happy: happy + -er = -y i + -er = happier
easy: easy + -er = -y i + -er = easier
funny: funny + -er = -y i + -er = funnier

14. Present Progressive
Use the Present Progressive to describe actions/events that are
in progress now (at the moment of speaking):
She is having coffee. She is sleeping.
He is looking at her. They are reading a book.

15. Present Progressive
To form the Present Progressive use:
She is writing
on her notebook.
She is sitting;
she is leaning
on the tree. She is not standing.
BE +
Verb-ing (am/is/are)

16. What is happening in this house?

17. Simple Present vs. Present Progressive
Simple Present: describe actions Present Progressive:
describe
that happen frequently actions that are in
progress now
(habits/routines): (at the
moment of speaking):
I have breakfast every morning I am not eating breakfast
right now.
at 8:00 a.m. I am listening
to my instructor.
I ride my bicycle to class every day. I’m not riding my bike now. I am

18. Simple Present vs. Present Progressive
Look at Sam in this picture:
What does he do?
Where does he work?
Does he drink coffee?
Is he drinking coffee now?
Is he typing on his laptop?
What is he doing?
Tell us more about Sam...

19. Future: BE going to
Use BE going to + verb for plans and intentions:
I am going to do my homework on Saturday.
Susan is not going to clean her house this weekend.
Sam and Tom are going to play soccer tomorrow.
BE going to + verb
(am/is/are) going to+ (base form)

20. Future: Present Progressive
Use present progressive (BE + verb-ing) for activities
you are sure you will do in the future:
I am having dinner with a friend at 7:00p.m. We have
a reservation at Sitara.
Sam is picking up his father at the airport tomorrow.
He arrives at 5:00p.m.

21. Future: Will
Use will + verb to make predictions or to talk about
facts in the future:
I think I will move to Florida in a few years.
My son will be 5 years old next month.
We won’t know our grades until next week.
will + verb will not =
won’t

22. Simple Past
Use the simple past to talk about events/activities
that happened before now:
We visited my grandparents last weekend.
Tom played soccer last Saturday.
I studied for our quiz yesterday.
They didn’t watch the movie last night.

23. Simple Past
For the past tense, there are 2 groups of verbs:
regular and irregular verbs.
Regular Verbs: Add -ed to the verb:
play + ed played watch + ed
watched
study y i + ed studied live + ed
lived
plan + ed planned