Simple Stuff (Things you should have learned before high school)
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Longer Explanation:
- They usually tell you...
- Which one?
the first goal - What kind?
an amazing day - How many?
only three times
- Which one?
- They can be...
- before a noun
My English teacher is the best! - after a form of BE (is, am, are, was, were, be, being & been)
I didn't know she was younger than I am. - after a linking verb
The new coach seems cool.
- before a noun
Longer Explanation:
- For most one-syllable words, add -er or -est.
old ➔ older/oldest - For words with three or more syllables, put more/most or less/least in front of the word.
beautiful ➔ more/most beautiful
difficult ➔less/least difficult - For two-syllable words, it depends on the word. Just go with what sounds right or look it up online.
narrow ➔ narrower/narrowest
peaceful ➔ more/most peaceful - For one-/two-syllable words that end with -y, use -ier or -iest.
friendly ➔ friendlier/friendliest - A few words use completely different forms:
good➔better/best
bad➔worse/worst
little➔less/least
many➔more/most
Longer Explanation:
A lot of people use an adjective when they should use an adverb.
- They usually tell you...
- How?
She types quickly. - When?
He arrived early in the morning. - Where?
I think I left my phone downstairs. - To what degree (how much)?
We've been extremely busy. (describing the adjective "busy")
She types really quickly. (describing the adverb "quickly")
- How?
- Other notes:
- Some adverbs don't end with -ly:
She types fast. - Sometimes the -ly form is a completely different word:
hard ≠ hardly
- Some adverbs don't end with -ly:
A lot of people use an adjective when they should use an adverb.
- Wrong: I eat really slow.
It should be "slowly" because "eat" is something you DO. - Wrong: Hold on a second. Just let me brush my hair real quick.
It should be "quickly" because "brush" is something you DO.
It should be "really" because it tells HOW quickly you're going to do it.
Longer Explanation:
- Use "good" to describe a noun:
That’s a really good song. [It's describing the song.]
He's a good pitcher. [It's describing the pitcher.] - Use "well" to describe an action:
He sings really well. [It's describing how he sings.]
He pitches really well. [It's describing how he pitches.]
Longer Explanation:
You already know most of this, but here's a review, just in case:
You already know most of this, but here's a review, just in case:
- For many verbs, you make past tense by adding -ed (or just -d if the word already ends with -e).
look ➔ looked
type ➔ typed - If the word ends with -y, it often becomes -ied, unless there's a vowel (a, e, i, o, or u) before the -y (like -ay or -ey).
try ➔ tried
play ➔ played - Another common way is to change the vowel (a, e, i, o, or u) in the middle of the word.
write ➔ wrote
draw ➔ drew
Longer Explanation:
Here are a few general patterns, but they're not always true:
Here are a few general patterns, but they're not always true:
- The past tense form of most verbs ends with a t or d sound, so many verbs change in order to make that happen.
lose ➔ lost
sell ➔ sold - A lot of short verbs that end with -t don't change at all (since they already have the t sound).
put ➔ put - Sometimes a -d at the end changes to a -t.
build ➔ built - Some words that have -ear change to -ore.
wear ➔ wore - Sometimes the vowel changes from a long vowel sound to a short vowel sound or vice versa.
hide ➔ hid - Others are completely different words.
go ➔ went