CHAPTER 1
CAPITALISATION Capital Letters Articles Prepositions and Conjunctions
CAPITALISATION Rules
Rule 1. Capitalise the first word of a quoted sentence.
Example: He said, "Treat her as you would your own daughter".
Rule 2. Capitalise a person's title, when it precedes the name. Don't capitalise when the title is acting as a description following the name. Example: Chairperson Petrov. Ms. Petrov, the chairperson of the is here.
Rule 3. Capitalise a proper noun. Example: Tower Bridge.
Rule 4. Capitalise when the person's title follows the name on the address or signature line. Examples: Sincerely Ms. Haines, Chairperson
Rule 5. Capitalise the titles of high-ranking government officials when used with or before their names. Do not capitalise the civil title if it is used instead of the name. Example: The prime minister will address Parliament. All members of Parliament are expected to attend.
Rule 6. Capitalise any title used as a first address. Example: "Will you take my temperature, Doctor?"
Rule 7. Capitalise points of a compass, only when they refer to specific regions. Example: We live in the southeast region of the town. Because southeast is just an adjective, describing a section it should not be capitalised.
Rule 8. Capitalise Always capitalise the first and last words of publication titles regardless of their parts of speech. Always capitalise other words within titles, including the short verb forms Is, Are and Be. Don't capitalise words within titles such as, a, an, the , but, as, if, and, or, nor, or any prepositions, regardless of their length.
Examples: The Day of the Jackal, A Tale of Two Cities
Rule 9. Capitalisefederal or state when used as part of an official agency name or in documents wh these terms represent government an official name. If they are being used as general terms lower-case letters may be used. Examples: The state has evidence to the. contrary, that it's a federal offence. The State Board collects sales taxes.
Rule 10. Capitalise words such as department, bureau and office if you have prepared your text in the following way.
Example: The Bureau of Land Management (Bureau) has some jurisdiction over Indian lands.
Rule 11 Capitalise names of seasons, is wrong.
Example: I love autumn colours. The first day of spring is almost here.
Rule 12. Capitalise the first word of a salutation and the first word of a complimentary close.
Examples: Dear Ms Mohammed: My dear Mr Sanchez: Very truly yours.
Rule 13. Capitalise words derived from proper nouns. Examples I must take English and maths. English is capitalised, because it comes from the proper noun, England, but maths does not come from mathland.
Rule 14. Capitalise the names of a specific course titles. Example: I must take History and Geography.
CAPITAL LETTERS / Articles
We use capital letters....
with names Jackie Chan; Michael Jackson
at the beginning of a sentence Hello. My name's Paul. What's your name?
with I I'm James.
Write a / an / the in the correct place.
1. Could I have _____ drink of water please?
2. I'm staying in _____ small hotel. ______ one over there.
Re-write the sentences with capital letters.
a. his name's tony. he's an actor. _______________________________________________.
b. my name's phil. i'm a teacher. ______________________________________________.
CAPITAL LETTERS / Prepositions
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee F Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mn Nn Oo Pp Qq Rr Ss Tt Uu Vv Ww Xx Yy Zz
We use capital letters....
with towns and cities London; Beijing; Tokyo; Kuala Lumpur.
with countries Saudi Arabia; South Korea; Yemen.
with nationalities Libyan; Djiboutian; Mongolian.
Write the preposition:
+ school; university
at Ahmed is studying at a language school.
China
from She's from China.
+ city/country
in London is in England.
on They're on holiday.
Write the correct preposition in the space.
1. I'll have lunch ________ work. 3. He's the spy. He's ___________surveillance.
2. Where's Tokyo. It's ______ Japan. 4. You will find it________________ the bank.
Re-write the sentences with capital letters.
1. thiery henri is a french footballer. _________________________________________.
2. beijing is the capital of china._____________________________________________.
CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunction words are used to connect sentences. They can agree with a sentence or change the meaning. Write the correct conjunction word: and / but on the lines between the sentences. They take the place of periods and capital letters. Re-write the sentences underneath.
We are going on holiday. ______________ My dad is staying here at home.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
My mum can drive a car. ______________ My mum is a good cook.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
A, An, The
Write the following names under the above pictures:
1. an exercise bike 2. a chair 3. a rabbit 4. an elephant
An is used because of the way a word sounds. These are called VOWELS
hour
} both have their first letter (h), a consonant, which is silent.
honour
A – is used as a pre-fix before nouns that begin with all the other letters.
These are called CONSONANTS
We use it for singular or countable nouns that don't begin with the above letters. They are also used because of the way they sound. (The sound of these vowels)
universe
both have their first letter, (u) a vowel, sounding like a consonantNOT
} a vowel.
unity U sounds like you.
Therefore, when speaking – "It is an honor to meet you."
"See you in an hour."
"We are studying in a university."
These words, a / an, are called indefinite articles.
When we speak about all nouns, vowels and consonants, for a second time, we promote
them.
to THE
The man. The woman. The orange. The anniversary
Or, if there is only one of a kind.
The Pacific Ocean The sky The moon The earth
These are called definite articles, because they are very specific.
Complete the sentences with PREPOSITIONS that describe the pictures.
Write each preposition – once (using the capital letter), in the boxes.
A bear is [] Aishah's lap. A bear is Aishah's legs. Aishah is [] a bear, Aishah is [] a bear, Aishah is [] a bear, Aishah is [] two bears.
A- next to; B-in; C-in front of; D-on; E-above; F-between
Prepositions
Instructions:—For each question, circle the best answer (a / b / c) write it in the space.
1. My best friend lives _________ Malaysia.
a. on
b. in
c. at
2. Since he met his new friend, he doesn't seem to be _____ home.
a. at
b. with
c. on
3. I'll be ready to leave ,______a few minutes.
a. on
b. in
c. since
4. The child responded to her mother's demands, _______a tantrum.
a. on
b. about
c. with
5. I think she spends all her time _________ the phone.
a. on
b. in
c. at
6. I will wait__________9.30 but then I'm going home.
a. in
b. until
c. at
7. The constable caught the thief ________ the corner, of the post office.
a. about
b. in
c. at
8. I couldn't come so my dad, wrote a note______ me.
a. by
b. for
c. at
9. I'm not interested, ______buying a new car now.
a. in
b. for
c. on
10. What are the ingredients ______ this cake?
a. about
b. to
c. in
11. My daughter is named_____ an important Muslim lady.
a. with
b. for
c. after
12. I watched TV ____ two in the morning.
a. in
b. for
c. until
13. Students learn English ______ enroll into a university.
a to
b in
c by
14. You can buy things ______ credit card.
a on
b at
c with
Punctuation
When people speak to each other, they usually make gestures with their hands to determine the emphasis pauses needed on certain words and phrases. When we write words down, we also need to indicate when these pauses should occur, otherwise our writing would simply be, a long stream of words. In the English language I have chosen six pieces of punctuation to help you. Two are punctuation marks that indicate a pause: these are full-stops and commas. The other four are the inverted commas, apostrophes, brackets and hyphens.
The Full Stop (.)
You must always end a sentence with a full stop. This rule must always be obeyed. After the full stop the next sentence must start with a capital letter. Full stops can be used after an abbreviation. However, when a full stop follows an abbreviation you do not use a capital letter, unless you are starting a new sentence or unless the next word naturally begins with a capital letter. For instance:
The months of the year, January, February, March etc. may be abbreviated to Jan; Feb; Mar.
Notice that after etc. there is no capital letter, but the months start with capital letters because their full forms have capitals. Also notice that at the end of the sentence there is only one full stop. Never use two full stops.
The Comma (,)
The comma is punctuation mark which indicates the shortest pause. It is best to write short sentences with a more direct approach to a subject.
Commas also mark off the items in a list:
There were a lot of strawberries, apples, pears, bananas and cherries on the table.
Inverted Commas (" ")
They are used to indicate direct speech. Use the single for quotations.
i) The students said, "We really like your book."
ii) A quote from the book, 'I hope that this book has enlightened you.'
The Apostrophe (')
The apostrophe is used when a letter is missed from a word:-
i)It's not the one. It is not the one. ii) It doesn't fit. It does not fit.
You also use it to show ownership. Simply add the letter s:
i) The girl's room. ii) The girls' room.
Singular. (belonging to the girl) Plural. (belonging to the girls)
Brackets ( )
Brackets are usually wrapped around a phrase or statement inserted into a sentence. The cost of the book will be $16.00 ( inclusive of postage and packing).
The Hyphen (-)
Don't confuse a hyphen with a dash. A dash lengthens a pause, between words, a hyphen shortens it.
son-in-law court-martial men-at-arms three-o-clock
They are also used to alter the meaning of words.
i) He recovered his lost and torn umbrella.
ii) His torn umbrella was then re-covered.
I Want to Be a Good Student
Change lower case letters to upper case letters and punctuate wherever necessary in the following essay.
Make sure you pay attention in class. You mustn't start talking on your mobile, to your friends, especially when your teachers have their backs turned to you.
you also must not be involved with distracting people you should understand that the people in your class play an important role in how you and everybody else progresses however if you are a good student you can do better and achieve your goals your friends will be much more appreciative of you if you show a good example at home study and do your homework in a place that doesnt make you sleep stay away from the tv radio stereos however some students find soothing music a benefit it is also advisable to have a study table or desk in a room designated for studying this would be a very good idea because it will help you concentrate on your studies
if you feel distracted take a short break of 15 minutes or less maybe try to read an unrelated story book but dont get hooked to the book if the time limit is over book mark the page and then you can read it later on you should also have a daily routine timetable to guide you but you must follow it through
dont cheat by copying from your colleague .always remember cheating will make you lose your friends answer may not always be the right answer it could be wrong its best therefore to go with your first instinctive idea you will probably find that if you have faith in your own abilities it will usually be the correct answer dont cheat be honest if you dont know the answer leave it dont dwell on a question move on if you are not sure make sure you try to answer all the questions in an exam exams are set up for students to also test their time management as well as their knowledge return to questions you are unsure of when you have initially finished an exam remember study well now and you can have fun after you achieve your goal guaranteed good luck
CHAPTER 2
Introductory Paragraphs
The Introductory Paragraph
The first paragraph in an essay is very important. It is composed of sentences that will lead the reader into the rest of the essay. A good introduction will entice the reader to read on, a window that will further open the mind. Therefore, the introduction has a double purpose, to introduce the essay topic to the readers and to get their attention.
The paragraph has to be very general, not specific. To this end, use words and phrases that are non-specific. Do not use pronouns such as my; our; their; your; his and her. Determiners such as many; some; quite a few and not many, should be used. These are general and non-specific and will not give a direct viewpoint to any chosen topic.
Question words are very helpful in creating an introductory paragraph. They can also be used to construct sentences in all paragraphs.
Exercise
Circle the best answer. Then write the answer in the blank spaces.
1. _____________is the book?
a. When c. Why
b. Where d. How
Not as good as the film.
2. _____________is your
father's occupation?
a. When c. Why
b. What d. Who
3. _____________
is the toy? It is the bag.
a. When c. Why
b. Where d. How
4. _________
is your mother?
a. When c. Why
b. What d. How
5. _____________
did you get here?
a. Who c. What
b. Where d. How
6. ______are you studying?
The English language.
a. When c. Why
b. What d. How
7. ________will you come
home? Tonight.
a. When c. Why
b. Where d. What
8. _____________are you feeling?
a. When c. Why
b. Where d. How
9. _____________are you
phoning? My dad.
a. Who c. Why
b. Where d. How
10. ______is the bank?
That one.
a. When c. Why
b. Which d. How
11. _______are you doing?
a. When c. Why
b. Where d. What
12. _____is it closing?
At 3.00 pm.
a. When c. Where
b. Why d. How
13. _________are you coming?
a. When c. Where
b. Why d. How
14. _____________is that man?
That's my brother.
a. When c. Who
b. Why d. How
