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English
English Center
Grammar & Vocabulary Guides
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It is easy to make grammar and punctuation errors. The English Center provides Gallaudet students with help in understanding grammatical rules, including tips and guidelines that will remind you of some common errors and of how to correct them.
The English Center provides skill-building tools for Gallaudet students. These include education about vocabulary rules, instructions on how to improve vocabulary through the use of many different strategies, and some practice exercises.
Building a good vocabulary is important to successful reading and writing. A good vocabulary is also key to building effective analytical and critical thinking skills.
To use A, AN, and THE properly, you must know whether a noun is a Count or Non-Count Noun. (A count noun is something that can be counted: one book, two books, three books. A non-count noun is something that cannot be counted: milk, flour,...
Resource Type: Learning Materials
When to use passive voice? Science fields: chemistry, biology, physics, math, computer science. Medical fields: patient records, medical journals. Legal fields: client records, proceedings, notes. Why use passive voice? Let the facts stand on their own! Removes some accusations of bias (who did it, how...
Punctuation & Grammar Parts of Speech Modals Conjunctions & Interjections Word Endings Common Errors
Right on! Ah, go on! Not on your life! A chip on your shoulder A come-on A play on words A price on my head (to be) big on something (to be) dead on your feet (to be) quick on the trigger (to be) right...
Bore can become Adjectives by adding -ed or -ing. Sample verbs of emotion: amuse irritate comfort fascinate puzzle satisfy annoy surprise depress bewilder excite frustrate bother bore tire interest aggravate amaze captivate confuse shock intrigue disappoint exhaust Examples words used as verbs and adjectives: This...
Developed by Terry Coye for the Gallaudet University English Department THIS = one object near THAT = one object far away THESE = two or more objects near THOSE = two or more objects far away Space That picture on the wall is interesting. This...
The rules of Subject-Verb Agreement concern the use of S-endings on either the subject or verb (but not both). Below are examples of Subject-Verb Agreement. In each, the group of bold word(s) is the subject and the group of remaining word(s) is the predicate. Count...
Suffixes come at the end of a word. They show whether the word is a verb, noun, adjective, or adverb. Learning these word-endings can help you recognize a noun, adjective, verb, or adverb. These are common endings for nouns. If you see these endings on...
Characteristic Habitual or repeated action Simple form, but add "-s" to the verb when the subject is one person or thing (he, she, it, the desk, my hand). Exception: Not I or you Used to show how often something happens Always Usually Often Frequently Sometimes...
Prepositions are words that express the relation of a noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence. Prepositions show the relationships between things, people, and places. Prepositions Using "On" Correctly In, On, At (Expressions of Time) In, On, At (Expressions of Place) Links on...
Nouns Verbs Adverbs Adjectives Pronouns Conjunctions Prepositions Interjections Persons Places Things Qualities Concepts Actions child typist Mr. Harris Martha lobby courtroom Chicago college desk phone computer book dependability honesty loyalty sincerity beauty truth knowledge happiness walking/to walk typing/to type writing/to write thinking/to think The first...
Example: verb "work" Active VoicePresentPastFuture Simple work/works worked will work Continuous am/is/are working was/were working will be working Perfect has/have worked had worked will have worked Perfect Continuous has/have been working had been working will have been working Example: verb "work" Passive VoicePresentPastFuture Simple am/is/are...
A sentence is a group of words that forms a statement or command. Every sentence should have a subject and a verb, and the subject and verb must "agree." The links below have more information and instruction about sentences: Sentence Guidelines Basic Sentence Patterns Subject/Verb...
Check out the list of irregular verbs below. Verb Past Tense Past Participle arise arose arisen awake awoke awoke be was, were been bear bore borne beat beat beaten become became become begin began begun bend bent bent bet bet bet bind bound bound bite...
Developed by Terry Coye for the Gallaudet University English Department In = Large Areas: Continents, Countries, Cities, Towns, etc. I live in South America. I live in Germany. I live in New York. I live in South Dakota. I live in Plains, Georgia. On =...
In = Period of Time, Year, Season, Month, Part of Day I went to school in the past. I went to school in the summer. I went to school in 1974. I went to school in March. I went to school in the morning. On...
A good dictionary can help you learn new words more easily. A good dictionary has definitions that are easy for you to understand. One good dictionary is The Newbury House Online Dictionary. Start writing down words that are new to you. Look up their meanings...
A verb tells what the subject of the sentence does, says, thinks, or feels. The verb also communicates when things take place. Forms of Regular Verbs Guide to Verb Tenses Simple Present and Present Continuous Irregular Verb List Basic Verb Patterns Action Verbs and Linking...
Helping verbs are used in a verb phrase (that is, with a second verb) to show tense or form a question or a negative. Helping verbs are always followed by a second verb, and they show the perfect verb tenses, continuous/progressive verb tenses, and passive...
Many sentences in English require a subject, a verb, and a direct object (DO). A direct object is a noun, a noun phrase, or a pronoun that comes after the verb. The direct object answers the question "what?" or "who?" I want a Coke. s...
Use: To show repeated action, belief, opinion, characteristics How to Form: Verb + -s/-es Example: work / works Sentence Examples: They work sometimes. She works at Gallaudet. Use: To show what has happened in the past and continues in the present; to show how long...
A verb is a word in a sentence that shows action or connects the subject with information about that subject. Virtually every sentence must have a verb. There are very few exceptions to this rule. Verbs can be regular or irregular. Regular verbs all follow...
In English, "-s" is often added to the end of a noun or verb. This page will demonstrate five different situations that require an "S." You need to show plurality when talking about more than one or speaking in general terms about all of the...
Vocabulary Ideas for Improving Your Vocabulary Suffixes to Know Vocabulary Links Focusing on Words (Senior Scribe Publications) English Vocabulary Quizzes (The Internet TESL Journal) Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster) Puzzles, Games, etc. (The Puzzle Depot) Word Play (Judi Wolinsky) Vocabulary (Vocabulary University) The EFL Playhouse...
Identifying Subjects #1 Identifying Subjects #2 Identifying Subjects #3 Count and Non-Count Nouns: Much/Many Count and Non-Count Nouns: Arriving at Gallaudet Identifying Verbs 1 Identifying Verbs 2 Simple Present and Present Continuous Tenses Exercise 1 Using the Passive Voice in Scientific Writing Exercise One Word...
There are two kinds of articles: definite and indefinite. The definite article (the) can be singular or plural. The indefinite article (a or an) is singular, and cannot be used with a plural noun. A, An, The: General or Specific Use When to Use "A,"...
Count nouns refer to people, places, or things that can be counted. They can be made plural, usually by adding -s or -es at the end. Here is a chart of some count nouns, the categories into which they fit, and their singular and plural...
A conjunction connects phrases, words, or clauses and is often used as a transition. There are two kinds of conjunctions: Coordinating and Subordinating. And, but, or, for "Gallaudet teachers communicate in American Sign Language and English." either... or; neither... nor; both... and; not only... but...
Some words can become different parts of speech by changing their endings or their placement in the sentence. The forms of these words look almost the same but depending on which part of speech they are, their spelling may change. Some words use the same...
Every sentence in English (except interjections) has a subject and a verb. The subject is either a noun or a pronoun. The verb is either an action verb or a helping verb. There are several basic sentence patterns in English. SubjectPredicate Noun/Pronoun Verb Carol swims....
Common Errors *ACTIVE vs PASSIVE*ARTICLES*CLAUSES*COMPARISONS*ED/ING *MISPLACED MODIFIERS*NON-COUNT NOUNS*PARALLELISM*PARTS OF SPEECH*PHRASES *POSSESSIVES*PRONOUN/NOUN ANTECEDENT*QUESTION FORMS*SENTENCES*VERBS With things rather than people or animals, don't use -'s to show possession. NO: The table's leg is broken. YES: A leg of the table is broken. YES: The table leg is...
An action verb describes an action, such as: Break Cry Eat Jump Kick Run Smile Think The sentence pattern will be: SUBJECT → ACTION VERB → THE REST OF THE SENTENCE (noun, pronoun, or noun phrase) → (verb) → (adjective, adverb, noun, prepositional phrase, etc.)...
by Vivion Smith Adverbial Clauses are phrases that function as an adverb in a sentence. Adverbial Clauses can be used to show time (temporal clauses) or cause (causal clauses). Temporal Adverbial Clauses (showing time): While I was fishing last year, I caught a fish. After...
Adverbs are words that describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They often-- but not always-- have 'ly' at the end of the word.
Adjectives are words that describe nouns. Check out the additional adjectives resources below.
Modals are a special kind of helping verb, used to show possibility, probability, and necessity. They: Do not show tense Do not follow subject/verb agreement Do not add an "-s" in the third person singular (he, she, it) Are not conjugated Make questions and negative...
Many students struggle with articles; trying to figure out when to use them, which one to use, and when they are not needed at all. On the most basic level, "the" should be used for specific nouns, when your reader knows exactly which one you...
ESL Grammar Links English Grammar for ESL Students (englishclub.com) HyperGrammar (University of Ottawa) Dave's ESL Cafe Resources for English as a Second Language The Internet Grammar of English (University College London) The Internet TESL Journal ESL: Games (The Internet TESL Journal) Activities for ESL Students...
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