english for the eager learners

Copyright © 2012 by Ira P. Boone, Maria Company
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, photocopying, mechanical, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
ISBN-10: 1468191837
ISBN-13: 978-1468191837
Published by Maria Company
Printed in the United States of America
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/>Contents
Table of Contents
Lesson 1
Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Lesson 4
Lesson 5
Lesson 6
Lesson 7
Lesson 8
Lesson 9
Lesson 10
Lesson 11
Lesson 12
Lesson 13
Lesson 14
P.1 - P.17
P.18 - P.29
P.30 - P.41
P.42 - P.54

P.55 - P.65
P.66 - P.75
P.76 - P.88
P.89 - P.99
P.100 - P.111
P.112 - P.123
P.124 - P.136
P.137 - P.149
P.150 - P.160
P.161 - P.175
Nouns and Adjectives
Verbs
,
Suffixes
Sentences and Phrases
Adverbs
Prepositional Phrases
Pronouns
Passive Voice
Gerunds and Noun Phrases
(
Infinitives
)
Complements
Clauses
,
Sentences
,
and Coordinating Conjunctions
Subordinating Conjunctions

,
,
Adverb Clauses
,
Subject
-
verb Agreement
(1)
Adjective Clauses,
Subject
-
verb Agreement
(2)
Noun Clauses
,
Tenses and Time
Tenses
-
Past Events
iii
Contents
Lesson 15
Lesson 16
Lesson 17
Lesson 18
Lesson 19
Lesson 20
Lesson 21
Lesson 22
Lesson 23

Lesson 24
Lesson 25
Prefixes
Summary
Answers
Index
P.176 - P.187
P.188 - P.201
P.202 - P.214
P.215 - P.227
P.228 - P.239
P.240 - P.254
P.255 - P.266
P.267 - P.278
P.279 - P.292
P.293 - P.304
P.305 - P.320
P.321
P.322 - P.324
P.325 - P.346
P.347 - P.350
Past Progressive Tense
Future Time
Conditional Sentences
Modals and Auxiliary Verbs
Negation
Punctuation
Articles
Direct and Indirect Speech
Verbless Clauses

,
Comment Clauses
/
Phrases
,
Absolute Phrases
Inversions
Contractions and Omissions
iv
Lesson 1
1
Lesson 1
Nouns and Adjectives
A NOUN is the NAME of anything.
1. John kicked the football through the goal. (goal - a wooden frame)
2. The result was one goal to nil. (goal - a point)
3. His team won a narrow victory.
4. His wish came true.
5. John got excited and drank up a can of beer.
When we WRITE, a noun has to be decided rst.
a.
b.
c.
d.
We put a noun
before a verb.
after a verb.
after a preposition.
after a 'be'.
- John kicked

- kicked the football
- through the goal
- was one goal
Please don't get deceived by the simple appearance of Lesson One.
In fact, it lays the sound foundations of all upcoming lessons
and is often referred to later on when your studying gets stuck.
Reminder
n.
n.
n.
n.
v.
v.
v.
prep.
1
Nouns
2
Lesson 1
Now turn our thoughts the other way round.
Any words or a group of words will be taken as nouns when they are found in these
four positions:
a. Before a verb.
b. After a transitive verb.
c. After a preposition.
d. After a ‘be’.
This important concept will help us understand the formation of noun phrases, gerunds
(pages 89 - 91) and even noun clauses (pages 150, 155, 237, 310, 312, 324).
a. Before any verb we can nd a subject noun
- John kicked.

b. After a verb we can nd an object noun
- kicked the football.
c. After a preposition we can nd an object noun
- through the goal.
d. After a ‘be’ we can nd a complement noun
- was one goal.
When we READ, a verb or preposition should catch our eyes rst. Then a noun comes next.
Kinds of Nouns:
1. 2.
2
3
Lesson 1
3
A common noun is the name used for any one of a class, such as ‘book’ (concrete),
‘family’ (collective), ‘happiness’ (abstract) and ‘copper’ (mass). It is contrasted with a
proper noun, which is used for a special person or place.
Note:
A name for a special person,
place or company, such as John,
Paris, IBM, etc.
1. Proper Noun
a.

Concrete Noun
(countable)
b. Collective Noun
(countable)
d. Mass Noun
(uncountable)
Things that we can see

and touch, such as
book, table, cup, bottle,
car, house, etc.
A number or collection that we
treat as a whole, such as family,
mob, flock, army, fleet, etc.

c.

Abst
ract Noun
(uncountable)
Something that we can‛t touch or
see but only feel, such as happiness,
success, bravery,
energy, wisdom,
honesty, etc.
Things that don‛t have separate units,
such as wood, water, gold, cotton,
homework, money, advice, travel,
weather, jewelry, news, etc. In
‘two pieces of gold‛, we count ‘pieces‛.
2. Common Nouns
4
Lesson 1
Please put the underlined nouns of the following passage in the boxes
below.
A.
Lucky
, a little

dog, is crossing a
bridge with a
piece
of
meat
in his
mouth
when he happens to see his
shadow

in the
water
below. He mistakes his own shadow to be
another dog with a bigger piece of meat. Now he wants
the other dog’s meat and tries to snatch it. While he
does so, the piece of meat in his mouth drops into the
water and disappears in
darkness
forever. Sadly, Lucky
goes back to join his
family
with empty
hands
.
(You may lose everything if you are greedy.)
The
Dog and His
Shadow
Proper Concrete Collective Abstract Mass
Lesson 1

5
Why do we classify a noun?
Singular

Plural
FORCE
MANNER
PAPER
RETURN
WATER

- strength
- method of doing things
- sheet
- coming back
- liquid
- army
- politeness
- documents
- profits
- an area of water
FORCES
MANNERS
PAPERS
RETURNS
WATERS
From the kind of noun we can get: (1) its exact meaning, (2) its countable or
uncountable nature. This nature will guide us to the correct uses of: (3) articles
(a, an, the), (4) verb forms (singular / plural) and (5) adjectives of quantity.
We come to understand the meaning of a noun according to its type.

(2)
(1)
Countable or uncountable nature of a noun carries a different meaning.
(3)
Countable concrete and collective nouns take articles (a, an, the); uncountable
mass and abstract nouns don’t.
In a bar the attendants were serving a group of tourists from an India town.
Beer brings temporary pleasure to drinkers. (no articles)
concrete n. collective n.
mass n. abstract n.
(4)
Some nouns in singular number take a singular verb under one meaning, and
in plural number take a plural verb for another meaning.
The return of the company’s former CEO was good news to the staff.
The returns on the new investment of the company were encouraging.
(5)
Some adjectives of quantity such as ‘many’ and ‘few’ are used to qualify
countable nouns, while ‘much’ and ‘little’ to describe uncountable nouns.
Much beer has been sold during holidays.
At the close of business hours, only a few beers were left unsold.
mass n.
concrete n.
My cat Beauty does not like sh. (proper noun)
Mary is still a beauty in her middle age. (concrete noun)
Everybody admires her beauty. (abstract noun)
Beer [U] an alcoholic drink (mass noun – uncountable)
Beer is sold here.
[C] a bottle, can or glass of beer (concrete noun – countable)
Give us two beers, please. (=two bottles, two cans or two glasses)
proper n.

6
Lesson 1
GEORGE WALKER BUSH
Christian name
First name
Forename
(Given Name)
Middle name Last name
Surname
Family name
Know your name!
Know your name!
!
Know your name!
Know your name!
Know your na
w your na
Kno
Kno
K
Know yo
Know y
A noun is the name of a person or
a thing. Who can give me a noun?
A cow.
Very good. Another noun?!
Another cow!
Teacher:
First boy:
Teacher:

Second boy:
Ronald
Wilson Reagan
We usually write:
Ronald W. Reagan or Ronald Reagan
Barack Hussein Obama
Christian name
First name
Forename
(Given Name)
Middle name
Last name
Surname
Family name
Lesson 1
7
Singular Plural Exceptions
Regular
Nouns that end in

a “hissing” sound
(-sh,-ch,-s,-x,-z)
Nouns that end in
-o
Nouns that end in
-f or -fe
Nouns that end in

-y

Nouns that don’t
follow any of these
rules
Nouns that refer to “only one” are singular.
Nouns that refer to “more than one” are plural.
men
teeth
geese
children
mice
sheep
oxen
Germans
dwarfs/ dwarves
scarfs/ scarves
wharfs/ wharves
book
horse
cat
dish
bench
box
buzz
ass
glass
inch
life
knife
loaf
shelf

thief
dwarf
scarf
wharf
potato
tomato
echo
duty
army
lady
city
y
body
man
tooth
goose
child
mouse
sheep
ox
German
books
horses
cats
dishes
benches
boxes
buzzes
asses
glasses

inches
potatoes
tomatoes
echoes
lives
knives
loaves
shelves
thieves
duties
armies
ladies
cities
ies
bodies
stomachs
monarchs
photos
pianos
casinos
hippos
proofs
beliefs
chiefs
keys
days
valleys
monkeys
(A vowel before ‘y’)
Nouns: singular and plural

(‘ch’ pronounced as ‘k’)
8
Lesson 1
News / Information
Aerobics
Physics
Garbage / Trash
Equipment
Baggage / Luggage
Furniture
(No news is good news.)
(Aerobics is a form of exercise.)
(Physics is a science subject.)
(Garbage is collected on Wednesdays in this town.)
(Our ofce equipment is said to be up-to-date.)
(Too much baggage / luggage is not allowed on the plane.)
(The furniture of the home suits the style of the house.)
The following nouns are used ONLY in the singular:
1. In winter people wear heavy clothing like hats, scarves, boots, and overcoats.
2. Many cloths of high quality are used for making fashionable and expensive clothes.
Some Final Words on Nouns at this early stage:
1. A noun has rst to be classied as countable (concrete and collective) or
uncountable (abstract and mass).
2. Countable nouns require articles (a, an, the); uncountable nouns don’t.
3. Countable nouns take singular / plural verbs; uncountable nouns only singular.
4. Before a noun we nd a transitive verb / preposition, e.g. show love, in love.
After a noun we nd a transitive / intransitive verb. E.g. Birds eat worms. Birds y.
Please refer to Lesson 2.
tr. v. n. prep. n.
n. tr. v. int. v.n.

Sweets
Thanks
Riches
Goods
Fireworks
Wages
Remains
(My sister bought a packet of sweets to suck on her way to school.)
(It was thanks to my uncle that I got the job.)
(Some people wanted fame, while others were crazy about riches.)
(Our company supplies honest goods at honest prices.)
(Last night the whole city was entertained with reworks.)
(The little shop pays very low wages per week.)
(The remains of yesterday’s lunch were still seen lying on the table.)
The following nouns are used ONLY in the plural:
Singular
cloth (C)
clothing (U)
Plural
cloths
clothes (C)
Examples
a yard of cloth
an item of clothing
a suit of clothes

exchange seats; shake hands; make friends with; take turns; be friends with
E.g. We may change trains at the next station. (NOT ‘train’)
Some nouns in certain expressions must be in plural number:
Lesson 1

9
The adjective qualies the noun.
adjective noun
An adjective adds information to a noun.
We say that the adjective qualies the noun.
Usually an adjective goes before a noun or comes after a linking verb.
(Please see page 19.)
• 
• 
• 
1. Demonstrative Adjectives
These adjectives point out people, things, etc.
This house is old. (singular)
That house is old. (singular)
These houses are new. (plural)
Those houses are new. (plural)
The school is open. (singular)
The children are playing. (plural)
This house
(this, that, these, those, the, a(n), etc.)
Adjectives are classied in order to make a neat stacking (arrangement) for
a smooth, natural description of a noun. (Please see page 12.)
This
and
these
That
and
those
This
and

that
These
and
those
The
refer to things close to the speaker.
point at things less close to the speaker.
go with singular nouns.
go with plural nouns.
goes with both singular and plural nouns.
Any word that adds information to a noun is an adjective.
10
Lesson 1
1. The Possessive of a noun whether singular or plural is formed by adding ’s to the noun:
the boy’s book; the king’s crown; the family’s income;
men’s club; children’s school; people’s leader
Formation of the Possessive:
2. When a noun ends in s, the Possessive is formed by adding an apostrophe (’)
after the s:
the boys’ school; the students’ teacher
2. The Possessive
This kind of adjectives shows ownership.
That is John’s car.
John’s shows ownership or possession.
John’s car The car that belongs to John.
The Possessive answers the question, 'Whose?'
Whose car? John's.
→
=
(noun in the possessive form used as an adjective)

Lesson 1
11
a nice man an old car a beautiful big round old table
a large city a blue shirt a black Japanese car
a square table the English language
4. Adjectives of Quality
These adjectives answer the question: Of what kind?
thin man
(opinion, size/shape/age, color , proper adjectives)
Adjectives of opinion include beautiful, ugly, nice, bad, dirty, good .
Note:
3. Adjectives of Quantity
some money much patience
enough food all his wealth
no sense whole amount
many days each boy
These adjectives answer the question: How much or how many?
some money
‘Many’ goes with countable nouns. (concrete and collective nouns)
‘Much’ goes with uncountable nouns. (abstract and mass nouns)
Note:
i ii iii iv v vi
i
ii
iii
iv
v
vi
i ii iii iv
v vi

12
Lesson 1
A beauty salon (A salon that provides beauty services)
A beautiful salon (A salon that looks beautiful)
An information center
An informative talk
(A center that provides information)
(A talk that gives people helpful ideas)
A gold chain
Golden hair
(A chain that has the element of gold)
(Hair that has bright yellow color)
A silk suit
A silky voice
(A suit that is made of silk)
(A gentle voice that is like soft silk)
Function:
Element:
n.
n.
n.
adj.
n.
n. n.
n.n.
n.
n.n.
n.
adj.
adj.

adj.
A


N
O
U
N


Q
U
A
L
I
F
I
E
S


A
N
O
T
H
E
R

N
O
U
N
N
O
U
N
A noun can be used as an adjective to qualify another noun in order to show the
Function or Element of the second noun.
Word order of the adjectives
The chairman’s two beautiful large round old brown Indian teak tables.
demonstrative possessive
of quality
noun used as adj.
to show ‘element’
opinion size shape age color proper adj.
(4)
of quantity
(3)
(2)
(1)
Lesson 1
13
Adjectives Nouns
female
charm
intuition
a dog
vital

a role
a game
clues
importance
all-round
full-time
secondary
adult
consumer
education
{
a person
Adjectives Nouns
{
{
a fig-tree
a officer
(= feeling)
(= chief)
Collocation (matching of different parts of speech)
A noun and an adjective are close partners.
An adjective can qualify a few nouns, and, likewise, a noun can be qualied by a
few adjectives.
14
Lesson 1
The secret of writing good English lies in a good match between nouns and adjectives.
ONLY through extensive reading can a learner acquire such a kind of valuable knowledge.
Please underline all the adjectives in this passage.
Janet’s family had a big, old house with a beautiful
garden, a lot of owers and many old trees. One morning,

Janet came in from the garden. She was a tall, fat woman,
thirty years old. It was the hottest day of the year, but
she wore a warm, brown skirt and yellow shirt. She went
into the kitchen to get a refreshing drink of cold water.
Just then the back door opened. And her mother came in.
Her mother Molly was a tall, dark woman with gray hair.
A black and white dog came into the kitchen after her
and ran across to her. She sat down, put her hands on
its head and said to Janet, “I usually did the same to you
when you as a kid were having a sad and depressed look.”
a new
the human
a rare
an extinct
an endangered
species
(singular and plural)
{
B.
5
10
Lesson 1
15
Most adjectives have the positive degree, the comparative degree followed by ‘than’ to
compare 2 things, and the superlative degree preceded by ‘the’ to compare more than 2 things.
All one-syllable adjectives follow the -er / -est pattern.
Positive Comparative Superlative
tall
quick
old

taller
quicker
older/elder
tallest
quickest
oldest/eldest
If the positive ends in -e, only -r and -st are added.
brave
cute
wide
braver
cuter
wider
bravest
cutest
widest
If the positive ends in -y, it changes to -ier and -iest.
dry
sly
shy
drier
slier /slyer
shier /shyer
driest
sliest /slyest
shiest /shyest
Most two-syllable adjectives, especially those ending in -able, -ful, -ing, -ish, -ive, -less
and -ous, take MORE / (LESS) in the comparative and MOST / (LEAST) in the superlative.
If the vowel of the positive is short, the last consonant is doubled.
big

red
wet
bigger
redder
wetter
biggest
reddest
wettest
readable
hopeful
charming
foolish
active
more readable
more hopeful
more charming
more foolish
more active
most readable
most hopeful
most charming
most foolish
most active
Comparison of Adjectives
Other two-syllable adjectives follow the -er / -est pattern as the one-syllable adjectives do.
clever
simple
happy
friendly
cleverer

simpler
happier
friendlier
cleverest
simplest
happiest
friendliest
16
Lesson 1
We use ‘than’ with the comparative degree.
‘The’ is used with the superlative degree.
John is as fat as Jack.
Mary is not as fat as John.
John is fatter than Mary.
This dress is more beautiful than that dress.
John is the fattest of the three boys.
Mary is the most beautiful girl in the class.
This is the fastest car on the running track.
However, some two-syllable adjectives can take EITHER -er / -est OR more / most:
Your servant was stupider than I thought.
Your servant was more stupid than I thought.
e.g.
The following Adjectives are exceptions:
Irregular Comparison
We use ‘as as’ with the positive degree.
good
bad
little
much
many

far
better
worse
less, lesser
more
more
farther/further
best
worst
least
most
most
farthest/furthest
sENTENCE WRITING
‘MOST’
can be used
without ‘the’
to mean ‘very’.
E.g.
-The movie
was most
interesting.
-People
opposed
the bill most
strongly.
Note:
common; stupid; pleasant; handsome; polite; gentle
17
To Learn English (1)

Lesson 1
Clear and correct English makes people easily understand you, and they would
immediately decide that you are well educated. As a result, they truly respect you:
this brings to your career every chance of success.
However, to achieve good English, people need some basic tools for the long,
steep climb to the goal. These are determination, patience and effort.
To begin with, the meaning of a word varies according to what part of speech it
is. Often, a different part of speech of a word carries a different meaning:
Examples:
So English is a language of denition (to read according to rules).
Remarks:
Was taken ill (idiomatic expression) = fell ill
‘Bush ducks shoe throw in Iraq’ is newspaper English, which usually omits the
articles (a,an,the). Traditional English is ‘Bush ducks a shoe throw in Iraq.’
(‘Throw’ is a countable noun, which requires an article.)
The dog was taken ill. (adjective - sick)
Poverty is an ill. (noun - problem)
The children are running about. (adverb - in different directions)
The report is about the weather. (preposition - concerning)
The movie is about to start. (adjective - soon going)
To understand a clause, we rst nd out its verb and next its subject/object.
Tokyo ofce costs cost a lot of money.
(‘Cost’ is a transitive verb, meaning ‘need’)
(‘Costs’ is a plural noun, meaning ‘expenses’, subject of the transitive verb ‘cost’.)
Bush ducks shoe throw in Iraq.
(‘Ducks’ is a transitive verb, meaning ‘avoids’.)
(‘Throw’ is a noun, object of ‘ducks’.)
(‘Shoe’ is a noun, used as an adjective to qualify ‘throw’.)
1)
2)

3)
18
Lesson 2
Lesson 2
Verbs
A VERB tells us something about a person or thing and is
the most important word in a sentence.
When we write, we rst have some nouns in our mind, such as ‘key’
and ‘door’. (Please refer back to page 1.) Then we look for a suitable
verb ‘opens’ to match the nouns like this:
Subject
(noun)
Verb
Object
(noun)
A key opens a door.
Here the noun ‘key’ governs the verb ‘opens’. It is subject (the action doer) of the verb.
The second noun ‘door’ (the action receiver) is the object governed by the verb ‘opens’.
Transitive verb
The verb ‘opens’ is a transitive verb because it passes the action from the action doer ‘key’
(subject) to the action receiver ‘door’ (object). A transitive verb must take an object.
‘Key’ and ‘door’ are countable concrete nouns, which need an article ‘a’.
*
Lesson 2
19
Intransitive verb
Subject Verb
The world laughs.
More Examples:
Linking verb

The linking verb ‘be’ (am, is, are, was, were, been, being, be) is used most frequently. It
links a noun or an adjective with the subject to make the meaning of a sentence complete.
Subject Complement
John is a doctor.
(noun) (linking v.) (noun)
Subject Complement
John is happy.
(noun) (linking v.) (adjective)
(Please see page 100.)
Why is it first and foremost to classify a verb?
The answer is easily seen in the following examples:
1. He stopped to smoke. (= He walked no farther and stood there and smoked.)
2. He stopped smoking. (= He gave up smoking and smoked no more.)
In 1, the intransitive 'stopped' ends with the subject 'he', and 'to smoke' tells us why he
stopped. (Please see page 98.)
In 2, the transitive 'stopped' means 'quitted' and takes the noun (gerund) 'smoking' as its
object. (Please see page 90 for more explanations of gerunds.)
She turned, and dropped the ball. (= She went round and dropped the ball.)
She turned and dropped the ball. (= She turned the ball and dropped it.)
intr. v.
tran. v.
intr. v.
tran. v.
The action verb ‘laughs’ stops with the action doer ‘world’ (subject).
There is no action receiver (object).
20
Lesson 2
Complements
Both the noun ‘doctor’ and the adjective ‘happy’ are complements of ‘is’. There are
many other linking verbs, such as seem, appear, become, grow, turn, prove, look,

come, go, feel, get, etc. They take a noun or an adjective as their complements, NOT
as objects.
For Example:
We can understand the sentence in two ways:
• The adjective ‘ne’ is complement of the
linking verb ‘looks’.
• The adjective ‘ne’ qualies the noun
‘weather’.
Noun or adjective?
If we put a noun instead of an adjective after a linking verb, we say the two nouns
refer to the same person or thing.

John becomes a teacher. (John = a teacher )
So the following sentence is incorrect.

John is happiness.
‘John’ is a man, and ‘happiness’ is an abstract noun. They are different things. Here
we must use the adjective form ‘happy’ instead.
John is happy. ( = happy John / a happy man)
The weather looks ne.
The weather looks fine.
n. link. v. adj.
Lesson 2
21
Tips
A verb in different types suggests different meanings:
Play
The children are playing. (intransitive – are having fun)
The wife played the violin badly. (transitive – performed)
The husband played deaf. (linking – pretended)

The following are the most frequently used sentence patterns:
(1) SV
(subject + intransitive verb / transitive verb in the passive voice)
My dog barked.
A rat was caught.
(2) SVO
(subject + transitive verb + object)
The dog killed the rat. (concrete noun)
The rat stole some food. (mass noun)
(3) SVC
(subject + linking verb + complement)
The food was cheese. (mass noun)
The cheese smelt good. (adjective)

(4) SVOC (Please see page 105.)
(subject + transitive verb + object + complement)
I called the dog a good boy. (concrete noun)
The dog made me happy. (adjective)
(5) SVOO
(subject + transitive verb + object + object)
I gave the dog some cookies.
Tom handed Susan a present.
n. (obj)
n. adj.