LESSON 1.3 | MAKING REQUESTS (ASO EL 1 - UNIT 1)

LESSON 1.3 | MAKING REQUESTS (ASO EL 1 - UNIT 1)

MAKING REQUESTS

Can Could

I

Have

A sándwich, please? One of those batteries, please? A round trip ticket to Paris, please?

Use Can/Could + / + infinitive to make requests.

Note: could is often formal and polite than can.

Reply. Yes, of course. Here you are.

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LESSON 1.2 (PART 4) | POSSESSIVE 'S (ASO EL 1 - UNIT 1)

Possession (John’s car, a friend of mine)

de English Grammar Today

Possessive ’s

We use apostrophe s (’s), also called possessive ’s, as a determiner to show that something belongs to someone or something:

Is that Olivia’s bag?

Britain’s coastline is very beautiful.

We can also use it in complex noun phrases (underlined):

Greg is her youngest daughter’s husband.

We can use two possessive ’s constructions in the same noun phrase:

We went to Jake’s father’s funeral.

We also use possessive ’s to talk about time and duration:

Is that yesterday’s paper?

I’ve only had one week’s holiday so far this year.

Rules for using possessive ’s

We use ’s after a singular noun and ’ after a plural noun.

Compare

singular noun + ’s	plural noun + ’
The girl’s bedroom (The bedroom belongs to one girl.)	The girls’ bedroom. (The bedroom belongs to more than one girl.)

We use ’s with irregular plural nouns (e.g. children, men, people, women):

The children’s parents decided which university they would go to.

They have no respect for other people’s property.

The rules for the pronunciation of a noun with ’s are the same as the rules for pronunciation of plural forms of nouns.

Compare

noun + ’s or ’	plural noun	pronunciation
The cat’s dinner is in the fridge.	The cats were running around the garden.	/s/
The kids’ uncle gave them all some money.	The kids are getting impatient.	/z/
George’s brother was there.	There are three Georges in my family.	/ɪz/

When a first or second name ends in -s, we can either add ’ or ’s. It is more common to use ’ than ’s. When we speak, we usually pronounce the final part of the word as /zɪz/ or /sɪz/:

Is that James’ car? (or Is that James’s car?) (both usually pronounced /ˈdʒeɪmzɪz/)

I love Keats’ poetry. (or I love Keats’s poetry.) (both usually pronounced /ˈki:tsɪz/)

With compound nouns, we add ’s to the final noun:

My sister-in-law’s friend came with us.

Not: My sister’s-in-law friend

We don’t usually use the possessive ’s with things:

the door handle

Not: the door’s handle

the shop window

Not: the shop’s window

the kitchen table

Not: the kitchen’s table

Spoken English:

When we talk about places which are familiar to the speaker and the listener, we sometimes don’t use the noun after possessive ’s:

the hairdresser’s salon – the hairdresser’s

the doctor’s surgery – the doctor’s

We had to take our cat to the vet’s twice last month. (the same as: We had to take our cat to the vet’s clinic twice last month.)

Do you shop in Marks and Spencer’s?

We decided to go to John’s after the cinema. (the same as: We decided to go to John’s house after the cinema.)

In short answers, we can omit the noun if it is not necessary to repeat it:

A:

Is that your coat?

B:

No, it’s Sandra’s.

We use possessive ’s with words such as one, anyone, someone, anybody, somebody:

It’s important to know one’s rights as a tenant.

Is this someone’s coat here?

When we use else with these words, the ’s is added to else:

Why didn’t you come? Everyone else’s husband was there.

Warning:

The pronoun other has the same forms as nouns. We add ’s to the singular form, and we add an apostrophe after the plural -s ending in the plural form:

They took each other’s hand and started walking.

All of our luggage arrived but the others’ cases didn’t. The airline promise they will be here this evening.

Warning:

We don’t use ’s with possessive pronouns:

Is that dog yours?

Not: Is that dog your’s?

I think that car is theirs.

Not: I think that car is theirs’

We don’t use ’s with the possessive determiner its. It’s means ‘it is’:

The city is proud of its parks.

Not: The city is proud of it’s parks.

Possessives with of

Noun phrase + of + possessive pronoun

We can talk about possession using the pattern: noun phrase + of + possessive pronoun:

A friend of mine told me that all of the tickets have already sold out.

A:

Where’s Martin?

B:

He’s gone to pick up a cousin of his at the station.

Is Linda McGrath a close friend of yours?

Warning:

We use a possessive pronoun, not the object form of the pronoun:

A neighbour of mine called late last night.

Not: A neighbour of me …

Noun phrase + of + possessive ’s noun phrase

We can also use the noun phrase + of pattern before a noun phrase with possessive ’s:

He’s a brother of Maria’s.

A friend of my sister’s has opened a café on Dawson Street.

She was a daughter of the President’s.

’s or of or either?

There are some general rules about when to use ’s and when to use of but there are many cases where both are possible:

The film’s hero or The hero of the film

The car’s safety record or The safety record of the car

The report’s conclusion or The conclusion of the report

Sometimes when we first mention a noun, we use of, and later when we refer to it again, we use ’s:

The mountains of Pakistan are mostly in the north. At least one hundred of them are above 7,000 metres … Most of Pakistan’s mountains are in the spectacular Karakoram range.

When we don’t use ’s

We don’t use ’s when the noun is not a person, animal, country, organisation, etc., or when the noun phrase is very long:

The name of the ship was ‘Wonder Queen’. (preferred to The ship’s name was ‘Wonder Queen’.)

The house of the oldest woman in the village. (preferred to The oldest woman in the village’s house.)

When we don’t use of

When we are talking about things that belong to us, relationships and characteristics of people, animals, countries, categories, groups or organisations made up of people, we usually use ’s:

The men’s dressing room is on the left at the end of the corridor.

Not: The dressing room of the men …

The cat’s paw was badly cut.

Not: The paw of the cat …

See also:

• Possessive ’s

Possession: typical errors

• We don’t use ’s with plural nouns:

It’s my responsibility to deal with customers’ complaints.

Not: … to deal with customers's complaints.

• The possessive determiner its has no apostrophe:

We bought this car because we liked its colour.

Not: … because we liked it’s colour.

• We don’t use ’s to make nouns plural. When we want to show that something is plural, we add -s without an apostrophe:

They had to rebuild the roads after the earthquake.

Not: They had to rebuild the road’s …

LESSON 1.2 (PART 3) | POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES (ASO EL 1 - UNIT 1)

Possessive Adjectives

English Grammar Rules

Possessive adjectives are used to show possession or ownership of something. While we use them when we refer to people, it is more in the sense of relationship than ownership.

The possessive adjectives in English are as follows:

The possessive adjective needs to agree with the possessor and not with the thing that is possessed.

Examples

• My car is very old.
• Her boyfriend is very friendly.
• Our dog is black.
• Their homework is on the table.

Like all adjectives in English, they are always located directly in front of the noun they refer to. (Possessive Adjective + Noun)

We do not include an S to the adjective when the noun is plural like in many other languages.

Examples:

• Our cars are expensive. (Correct)
  Ours cars are expensive. (Incorrect)

However, the verb that is used needs to be in agreement with the noun - if the noun is singular then the verb is singular; if the noun is plural then the verb is plural.

Examples:

• My pen is black. (Singular)
  My pens are black. (Plural)
• Our child is intelligent. (Singular)
  Our children are intelligent. (Plural)

Its vs. It's

Be careful not to confuse its and it's.

Its = The possessive adjective for It.
It's = a contraction of it is.

More detailed information about Its vs. It's here.

See the difference between Your and You're and Their, They're, and There

LESSON 1.2 (PART 2) | POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS (ASO EL 1 - UNIT 1)

Possessive Pronouns

English Grammar Rules

Possessive pronouns are used in English to avoid repeating information that is already clear. In general it makes the sentence less confusing because the same information is not being repeated.

This book is my book, not your book. (Sounds repetitive)
This book is mine, not yours. (Mine and yours are possessive pronouns)

In the sentence, mine is a possessive pronoun that replaces my book.
In the sentence, yours is a possessive pronoun that replaces your book.

The possessive pronouns in English are as follows:

Subject	Possessive Pronouns
I	Mine
You	Yours
He	His
She	Hers
It	--- *
We	Ours
You (pl)	Yours
They	Theirs

* We avoid using the possessive pronoun ITS.

Examples:

• I didn't have my umbrella so Marta lent me hers.
  (I didn't have my umbrella so Marta lent me her umbrella).
• Her car is faster than mine.
  (Her car is faster than my car).
• That food is ours and not theirs.
  (That food is our food and not their food).
• I know this drink is yours but I need to drink something.
  (I know this drink is your drink but I need to drink something).

Remember that with possessive pronouns there are no apostrophes (').

LESSON 1.2 (PART 1) | This/That, These/Those | POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS (ASO EL 1 - UNIT 1)

LESSON 1.2 | This/That, These/Those | POSSESSIVE PRONOUNS (ASO EL 1 - UNIT 1)

This - That - These -Those

English Grammar Notes - Demonstratives

This, That, These, Those are called demonstratives and they are used to show the relative distance between the speaker and the noun.

Demonstrative Pronouns

We use this (singular) and these (plural) to refer to something that is here / near.

Examples:

• This is my car. (singular)
• These are our children. (plural)

We use that (singular) and those (plural) to refer to something that is there / far.

Examples:

• That is our house. (singular)
• Those are my shoes. (plural)

Note that the verb changes (i.e. singular / plural) depending on the pronoun that you use.

You can also use Demonstrative Pronouns by themselves:

• Did you do that?
• I'd like to buy these?
• Which of those would you like?

Demonstrative Adjectives

You can also use demonstratives before a noun. These are called demonstrative adjectives.

The Demonstrative Adjective needs to agree (= be the same form) as the noun.

Examples of demonstrative adjectives:

• This party is boring. (singular)
• That city is busy. (singular)
• These chocolates are delicious. (plural)
• Those flowers are beautiful. (plural)

Summary - What is the difference between Demonstrative Adjectives and Demonstrative Pronouns?

Demonstrative Adjectives and Demonstrative Pronouns use the same words. The easiest way to know that difference is that Demonstrative Adjectives are always before a noun while Demonstrative Pronouns are before a verb or by themselves.

• This book is old. (Demonstrative Adjective + Noun)
• This is new. (Demonstrative Pronoun + Verb)
• Did you like that? (Demonstrative Pronoun by itself)

Everything else is the same. For example, both Demonstrative Ajectives and Pronouns use the word THIS (singular) to talk about something that is close to you and the plural of THIS is THESE.

Present vs. Past

If an action is near in time we tend to use this / these.
If an action has finished or is in the past we use that / those.

Examples:

• This is a good meal. (at the time of eating)
• Those girls we met last night were silly. (an event that happened in the past).

This is

The expression this is is commonly used when you talk on the phone or you introduce people.

Examples:

• "Hello, this is Peter."
• Carol, this is my friend Simon. Simon, this is Carol.

Summary Chart

AMERICAN SPEAK OUT ELEMENTARY SPLITCOURSE 1, UNIT 1, LESSON 1.1 VERB TO BE

AMERICAN SPEAK OUT ELEMENTARY SPLITCOURSE 1, UNIT 1, LESSON 1.1 VERB TO BE

PLEASE, WATCH THE VIDEO FIRST!!!

Simple Present Tense

English Grammar Rules

The simple present tense in English is used to describe an action that is regular, true or normal.

We use the present tense:

1. For repeated or regular actions in the present time period.

• I take the train to the office.
• The train to Berlin leaves every hour.
• John sleeps eight hours every night during the week.

2. For facts.

• The President of The USA lives in The White House.
• A dog has four legs.
• We come from Switzerland.

3. For habits.

• I get up early every day.
• Carol brushes her teeth twice a day.
• They travel to their country house every weekend.

4. For things that are always / generally true.

• It rains a lot in winter.
• The Queen of England lives in Buckingham Palace.
• They speak English at work.

Verb Conjugation & Spelling

We form the present tense using the base form of the infinitive (without the TO).

In general, in the third person we add 'S' in the third person.

Subject	Verb	The Rest of the sentence
I / you / we / they	speak / learn	English at home
he / she / it	speaks / learns	English at home

The spelling for the verb in the third person differs depending on the ending of that verb:

1. For verbs that end in -O, -CH, -SH, -SS, -X, or -Z we add -ES in the third person.

• go – goes
• catch – catches
• wash – washes
• kiss – kisses
• fix – fixes
• buzz – buzzes

2. For verbs that end in a consonant + Y, we remove the Y and add -IES.

• marry – marries
• study – studies
• carry – carries
• worry – worries

NOTE: For verbs that end in a vowel + Y, we just add -S.

• play – plays
• enjoy – enjoys
• say – says

Negative Sentences in the Simple Present Tense

To make a negative sentence in English we normally use Don't or Doesn't with all verbs EXCEPT To Be and Modal verbs (can, might, should etc.).

• Affirmative: You speak French.
  Negative: You don't speak French.

You will see that we add don't between the subject and the verb. We use Don't when the subject is I, you, we or they.

• Affirmative: He speaks German.
  Negative: He doesn't speak German.

When the subject is he, she or it, we add doesn't between the subject and the verb to make a negative sentence. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the negative sentence. We will see the reason why below.

Negative Contractions

Don't = Do not
Doesn't = Does not

I don't like meat = I do not like meat.

There is no difference in meaning though we normally use contractions in spoken English.

Word Order of Negative Sentences

The following is the word order to construct a basic negative sentence in English in the Present Tense using Don't or Doesn't.

Subject	don't/doesn't	Verb*	The Rest of the sentence
I / you / we / they	don't	have / buy eat / like etc.	cereal for breakfast
he / she / it	doesn't

* Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.

Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.

Examples of Negative Sentences with Don't and Doesn't:

• You don't speak Arabic.
• John doesn't speak Italian.
• We don't have time for a rest.
• It doesn't move.
• They don't want to go to the party.
• She doesn't like fish.

Questions in the Simple Present Tense

To make a question in English we normally use Do or Does. It has no translation in Spanish though it is essential to show we are making a question. It is normally put at the beginning of the question.

• Affirmative: You speak English.
  Question: Do you speak English?

You will see that we add DO at the beginning of the affirmative sentence to make it a question. We use Do when the subject is I, you, we or they.

• Affirmative: He speaks French.
  Question: Does he speak French?

When the subject is he, she or it, we add DOES at the beginning to make the affirmative sentence a question. Notice that the letter S at the end of the verb in the affirmative sentence (because it is in third person) disappears in the question. We will see the reason why below.

We DON'T use Do or Does in questions that have the verb To Be or Modal Verbs (can, must, might, should etc.)

Word Order of Questions with Do and Does

The following is the word order to construct a basic question in English using Do or Does.

Do/Does	Subject	Verb*	The Rest of the sentence
Do	I / you / we / they	have / need want etc.	a new bike?
Does	he / she / it

*Verb: The verb that goes here is the base form of the infinitive = The infinitive without TO before the verb. Instead of the infinitive To have it is just the have part.

Remember that the infinitive is the verb before it is conjugated (changed) and it begins with TO. For example: to have, to eat, to go, to live, to speak etc.

Examples of Questions with Do and Does:

• Do you need a dictionary?
• Does Mary need a dictionary?
• Do we have a meeting now?
• Does it rain a lot in winter?
• Do they want to go to the party?
• Does he like pizza?

Short Answers with Do and Does

·         In questions that use do/does it is possible to give short answers to direct questions as follows:

Sample Questions	Short Answer (Affirmative)	Short Answer (Negative)
Do you like chocolate?	Yes, I do.	No, I don't.
Do I need a pencil?	Yes, you do.	No, you don't.
Do you both like chocolate?	Yes, we do.	No, we don't.
Do they like chocolate?	Yes, they do.	No, they don't.
Does he like chocolate?	Yes, he does.	No, he doesn't.
Does she like chocolate?	Yes, she does.	No, she doesn't.
Does it have four wheels?	Yes, it does.	No, it doesn't.

·         However, if a question word such as who, when, where, why, which or how is used in the question, you can not use the short answers above to respond to the question.