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TENSEd in Every ASPECT

One of the very many things that make many students stressed out in life is the pile of activities given to them, us, rather, by our instructors. That is the reason why some students are heard cursing their mentors, look haggard due to sleepless nights, and some come to the point that they commit suicide.

But hey, that is alright. Many Filipino students are afraid to write formal themes in English probably because they do not master the language. They look forward to their papers being rejected because of grammatically incorrectness and lack of coherence and relevance in the study. That is why I have come up with this blog to teach my readers how to write with ease, especially when it comes to subject-verb agreement, and what tense and aspect of noun they must use to make their papers an A+ worth.

Now, let us first know the differences between tenses and aspects of verbs. When we talk about TENSES of verbs, it is just about the time when the action was, is, or will be done. Simply, we talk about the PAST, PRESENT, and the FUTURE.

Meanwhile, ASPECTS of verb refers to state of being. In English verbs, we have four (4) aspects: SIMPLE, PERFECT, PROGRESSIVE, and PRESENT PROGRESSIVE.

The first aspect is the SIMPLE ASPECT. It is just a single action, a repeated reaction or a permanent state. Here are some examples arranged respectively according to the definition:

       Sarah ate the mouth-watering sandwich.

       Aunt Gracie kneads the dough carefully.

       Karol lives in Brazil.

Next aspect to be discussed is the PERFECT ASPECT. It expresses the consequences resulting from a previous action or state. Some examples are as follow as used in a sentence:

       I had given my word to Gibo Teodoro, the false pastor Apollo Quiboloy said.

       We have saved enough money to start our ube halaya business.

       Rachel will have forsaken their house filled with supernatural beings.

We now go to the PROGRESSIVE ASPECT of verbs. This expresses an incomplete or ongoing action or state of a specific time. It is a continuous action. Some examples are the following:

       We were leaving the house when Karen called us.

       I am cleaning the house so don’t waste my time.

       According to the prophecy, the dead shall be living again.

Lastly, we have the PRESENT PROGRESSIVE tense which express an incomplete or ongoing action or state that began in the past and continues at a specific time. This is quite tricky but I will try my best to explain this to you with these examples below:

       Leo had been chewing the gum for three days. (The action was done in the past.)

       Zach and Craig have been mixing the cookie batter for an hour. (They are doing it from the last hour until now.)

       Nick will have been touring the entire city for four days. (Nick’s tour will be done in the future.)

 So, I made a table for you about how to construct the verbs using different aspects in different tenses as well.

So I hope you have learned something new today about nouns. May God bless you in your work soon.

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Lights, Camera, ACTION

When I was in my primary school, my favorite topic in our English language subject was about VERBS. Our teacher then was very eager to teach the lesson so she did that by showing us flashcards with pictures of people or inanimate objects which show actions. We tried to guess the action portrayed in the pictures and each one of us got stars on our notebooks whenever we guess them correctly. And every year, I longed for that topic because that was my favorite topic.

Then secondary school came. I really thought that verbs are just all about actions. We have met this so-called “subject-verb agreement.” I thank the Lord; I have survived high school, almost mastering the guidelines about verbs in the English language.

I really thought that was just all. College is really different, I thought. It is really tough, now I encounter the different types of verbs. I am grateful as well because I can now direct the reader to delve more and deeper in this world full of actions. So now, let us begin. Lights, camera, ACTION!

It is the director’s job to direct the actors and the crew while a film is in production. He is the one who controls the film’s artistic and dramatic aspects. In this case I can say that VERBS, which are action words, does the work of director. Let me prove it to you, my dear readers.

Without verbs, a sentence would be meaningless, lifeless. Let’s have this sentence as an example:

She … to the mall and … her friends. They … very happy because it … the last time they …

Isn’t it too boring to read? that sentence is too dull, it cannot also be called a sentence but fragments connected by ellipses. So without the help of verbs, sentences will just be moving in no direction.

Just like a director who works closely with the cast and crew to shape the film, verbs also need to “agree” with its fellow parts in a sentence.

Direct Object

Subject (S) + Transitive Verb (TV) + Who or What (D.O.)

Diana and Marlin were washing the dishes.

            S                      TV              D.O.

Classification of verb 

Transitive verb is an action verb which has a direct object. In the example Liza forgot her wallet, “forgot” is the transitive verb and “the wallet” is the direct object.

Meanwhile, an intransitive verb does not need a direct object to have an action. The words “ate” and “ran” are the intransitive verbs in the sentence Sandra and Ricky ate and ran.

Common linking verb subjects to another formation. Examples are words “am,” “is,” “are,” “were,” “being,” and “been.” When we talk about human senses, we can replace them by this kind of verb. For example, The baguette tasted stale, we can also say that The baguette "is" stale.

Dynamic verbs are what we call the action verbs. They are dynamic, meaning they change from one form to another. For verbs which are continuous, we usually add -ing  to the base form of the verb as in stealing, creating, mending, etc. 

Stative verbs are used as statements. They cannot change depending on their use. We cannot say “I missing you,” rather “I miss you.”

So now, we have proven that verbs are very vital as a part of speech. So next time, before we speak, we must first learn things about verbs.

Created: 05 August 2017

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Being a tutor, especially for grade schoolers who are beginners in speaking English, is a very hard task. Although I get a compensation good enough for myself (actually, sadly, it is more than my father’s hourly wage), it also costs me a lot of time to relearn what I am going to teach my beloved “alaga.” That is why you can see me often visiting the library and bookstores to read and buy supplemental books about teaching the language.I want to prove to myself that I am an effective mentor. Moreover, I want to show the parents of my tutee that I equip their child with the knowledge she needs and I deserve their pay.

Having these demo-teaching with regards to the English grammar is one of the reasons why I am grateful enough to the ABE faculty. Aside from learning new things about the language, this also serves as a refresher course for those who teach English as a second language.

RELATIVE PRONOUNS - these give more information about the subject or the object of the sentence.

Person - who, whom, whose, whoever, whomever Things, Places, Ideas - which, that, what whatever whichever

When to use WHO and WHOM WHO - refers to the subject of the sentence WHOM - refers to the object of the sentence

When to use WHOEVER and WHOMEVER WHOEVER - subject-pronoun is the required answer WHOMEVER - object-pronoun is the required answer

When to use WHICH and THAT WHICH - defines (modifies); uses a comma THAT - restricts (answers the question “what kind?”)

INTENSIVE PRONOUNS - these end in “ self” or “selves” - they put emphasis on its antecedent by referring back to another noun or pronoun - these are almost identical to reflexive pronouns - include the pronouns “myself,” “himself/herself,” “yourself/yourselves,” “ourselves,” and “themselves”

REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS - these are preceded by the adjective, adverb, pronoun or noun to which it refers - they indicate that the person is realizing/the recipient of the action

Exceptions to the rule: 1.) preposition of place example: He has a briefcase beside him. (him must be used, not himself) 2.) emphasizing a person doing the action example: President Duterte himself promised to fight transnational crimes. (the pronouns “himself” us used as an intensive pronoun, not a reflexive pronoun)

INTENSIVE vs. EXTENSIVE INTENSIVE PRONOUN is used if the sentence will not change its meaning when the pronoun is removed, otherwise, it is an EXTENSIVE PRONOUN.

RECIPROCAL PRONOUN - they identify a feeling or action that is reciprocated or returned, therefore, they refer to more than one person - include the pronouns “each other,” “one another,” “another’s” and “other’s”

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NOUNS MATTER

I had crossed a thousand bridges leading me to what we know as KNOWLEDGE. There were hanging bridges, yes; I was able to cross them with courage although they were shaky at first. There were bridges made of thin but long bamboos; with such, I had more confidence to reach the end of the line because of its little sturdiness. But what I liked crossing the most are bridges made of bricks and cement. Their structures are strong enough to carry tons of weight. Those bridges indeed helped me reached this point of time whereas I myself need to construct bridges as well so others may also come to my destination – that is being knowledgeable.

Althea Jade, my beloved tutee, is my inspiration in making this blog entry about studying NOUNS. For her, there are things which seem to be too vague at first glance but she can gradually see them clearly through focusing the mind to the topic and, of course, through a good mentor. And yes, by the Lord’s help and mercy, I humbly say that I am good teacher because she always gets high scores on her English quizzes about nouns.

It was last week when we reviewed the past lessons regarding nouns and matter. She suddenly asked me if nouns are also matter. Well, in the simplest scientific definition, matter is everything that occupies a space and has mass. Meanwhile, nouns are words that name persons, places, things, animals, events and/or ideas. I was amazed with her witty query, leaving her an unclear and cliff-hanging answer.

This time, I make sure that her question will fully be answered with confidence and beauty, of course.

PROPER NOUNS versus COMMON NOUNS

Proper nouns name specific people, places, animals and things. They usually start with a capital letter because they refer to something specific. Some examples are Bro. Eli, Brazil, Honda, Ling-ling (a captivated panda), and Thanksgiving Day.

Meanwhile, contrary to the former, common nouns name general items rather than specific ones, thus, they begin with small letters. Moreover, every proper noun has an equivalent common noun. Here are some examples:

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Cong. Feliciano Belmonte – lawmaker

Tokyo, Milan, Paris, Melbourne – city

Mt. Mayon, Mt. Pinatubo, Mt. Hibok-hibok – volcano

Chow, Gelli, Churros, Bantay, Saver – dog

 COUNT NOUNS versus NON-COUNT NOUNS

I tell my student that the only difference between a count noun and a non-count noun (we call them mass nouns, according to her book) is that the former can be counted individually, one-by-one, otherwise, the former.

To determine the number of non-count nouns, we use measurements and/or add adjectives before the noun such as much and little.

Examples of countable nouns are keyboards, robots, ancestresses, malls etc. while for non-countable nouns we have alcohol, wine, syrup to cite as examples.

 ABSTRACT NOUNS versus CONCRETE NOUNS

So, here we are really travelling the bridge to clarify whether all nouns are matter to get to the destination we are all hoping to reach – KNOWLEDGE.

Abstract nouns refer to intangible things, like actions, feelings, ideals, concepts and qualities. When we say intangible things, these are not made of physical substance, ergo, they cannot be touched.

An abstract noun is an aspect, concept, idea, experience, state of being, trait, quality, feeling, or other entity that cannot be experienced with the five senses. Moreover, they are either countable or non-countable (mass) nouns and can also be in singular or possessive form. They also follow the same grammar rules as other nouns.

Meanwhile, concrete nouns are nouns which can be experienced by five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch.

This is what I told my tutee after being refreshed through my classmate’s report. She nodded yes after asking her if she had understood my response. Thanks be to God, she was also able to explain to me the answer she longed for almost a week.

E Pluribus Unum – Collective Nouns

For collection of nouns, we use collective nouns. What does it mean? Take a look at these examples:

 a swarm of bees              team of athletes                          children’s choir

schools of fishes              bundles of popsicle sticks            throng of natives

The underlined words show how plural nouns are grouped as one.

Compound Nouns

Nouns which contain two or more words to make a single noun are called compound nouns. These are expressed in three different ways.

Closed Form: two words that have melded together to make one word (peppercorn, hamburger)

Hyphenated Form: two words joined by a hyphen (editor-in-chief, chief-of-police)

Open Form: created in cases when the modifying adjective is used with its noun to create a new noun (iced tea, dining room)

The journey through life searching for knowledge through crossing bridges never ends. I have proven that creating bridges for others is much and more tiring than crossing a bridge which was already made by others.

I am thankful enough for this lesson; it made my work of creating bridges much easier. Thanks be to God exceedingly!

-          JoshyByuu

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062217 As we all know, the word ANNUAL means every year or yearly. But have you encountered the words BIANNUAL and BIENNIAL? Well, both words also refer to events which happen twice a year or every two years. But which is which? The term BIANNUAL means twice a year, meanwhile BIENNIAL means the latter in the aforementioned definitions. A Song of Faith (ASOF) Music Festival is a biannual event held in the Church, with midyear and year-end finals. Meanwhile, choir members of the Church from the different divisions will try to garner the perpetual award given by the Administration biennially. The previous competition was in August 2015 and it will be held again on August 27, 2017.

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062217

Remember the rule: One of the (+ plural form of the noun)

One of the best ways to lose weight is to include more fruits in your diet, rather than carbs. (But as a typical Filipino, I cannot afford to buy enough fruits for everyday eating. Losing weight requires a "healthy" budget.) 😂

Lose 10+ kgs in 4 Weeks

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062217 Let's go back to the basics. Nouns are classified into two: COUNT NOUNS and MASS NOUNS COUNT NOUNS - nouns which can be counted one by one MASS NOUNS - nouns which cannot be counted one by one The word FEW is used for count nouns, otherwise, we use LESS. According to the survey, FEW people prefer LESS sugar in their coffee to maintain their blood sugar level.

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062217 Using IN and ON when talking about dates IN - used when talking about months and year ON - used when mentioning an exact date According to the University Calendar, the last day of the academic year 2017-2018 will be ON March 28, 2018. Long vacation will begin in May. Then again school comes along just to end it.

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062217 When one says "I could do that," he states his possibility of doing that. When one says "I can do that," he means that he has the ability to do that. Two different things which seem alike but they definitely have different meanings. Just like in love, you can love someone because you are able to love but you could not love someone because there is no possibility that your love will work out. I got right, didn't I, eh?

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"Our God deserves the best in us."

— Bro. Eli Soriano

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In giving thanks to God, you will never go wrong. — Bro. Eli Soriano

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Living a prayerful life has its reward because there is Somebody who listens and rewards.

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The Bible says: Maguing uliran daka bilang metung a kayanakan.

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Reading lets you travel distances instantly, without spending too much fortune. I prefer buying old books, but good ones. #rad #buywisely

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