Ste Magazine

Author: Ste Magazine

  • Adjective Clause

    Adjective Clause

    Adjective Clause

    A. Definition

    An adjective clause, also known as an adjectival or relative clause, is a dependent clause that functions as an adjective in a sentence. It modifies a noun or a noun phrase. It means that it describes, identifies, or gives further information about a noun or a noun phrase. As a noun is a subject or an object, adjective clause then will always modify a subject or an object. And adjective clause comes after the word it modifies.

    We can say that an adjective clause has three requirements:

    • It has a subject and verb.
    • It begins with a relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, which, that) or a relative adverb (why, when, where).
    • It functions as an adjective which answers the questions like What kind? How many? or Which one?.

    B. Kind of Adjective Clause

    There are two kinds of adjective clause; they are defining adjective clause and non-defining adjective clause.

    1. Defining Adjective Clause

    A defining adjective clause, also known as restrictive adjective clause, gives essential information about the noun it modifies. It is needed to complete the sentence’s thought. Therefore if a defining adjective clause is omitted from a sentence, the meaning of the main clause changes. A defining adjective clause is not separated from the main clause by commas. And most adjective clauses are defining.

    Examples:

    a. The food that you order is not ready yet.
    b. The girl who wears a white skirt is the cheerleader.
    c. The house of which color is yellow is our English teacher’s house.

    The adjective clauses (the underlined) are all essential because they restrict which food/ girl/ house.

    2. Non-defining Adjective Clause
    A non-defining adjective clause, also known as non-restrictive adjective clause, simply gives extra information about the noun it modifies. It is not essential to identify that noun. We have known the noun it modifies. Then if the non-defining adjective clause is omitted from the sentence, the meaning of the main clause does not change. Or an opinion said that some non-defining adjective clauses are like gossip, they provide additional information about someone or something whose identity has been known already. A non-defining adjective clause is separated from the main clause by commas.
    Examples:
    a. Her ugly cloth, which is very old, will soon be used as a dust cloth.
    b. Spinach, of which color is green, is a source of iron.
    c. Dony, my classmate, who is very talkative, is a boring person.
    The adjective clauses which is very old, of which color is green and who is very talkative, are nonrestrictive or nonessential. They don’t identify which cloth/ spinach/ classmate; they just provide a kind of editorial comment. We don’t need this information in order to understand the sentences.

    C. How to Arrange An Adjective Clause?

    Actually a sentence with an adjective clause in it is the result of combining two clauses that contain a repeated noun. Combine two independent clauses to make one sentence with an adjective clause by doing the following steps:

    1. There are two clauses with repeated noun (noun or pronoun which refers to the same thing).

    Example:

    a. The handsome actor is waving toward his fans.
    b. He is under strong guard.

    The handsome actor and he refer to the same person.

    2. Remove the repeated noun and replace it with a relative pronoun in the clause we want to make dependent. In this case the clause that we choose is clause (b). Then remove the pronoun “he” from sentence (b) and substitute it with the suitable relative pronoun. Choose “who” because “he” functions as subject in sentence (b) and “he” refers to human. For more information about relative pronoun and its usage, just see point C of this article. Then the result of the sentence (b) changing is “who is under strong guard”.

    3. Put the adjective clause (who is under strong guard) directly after the noun phrase it modifies (the repeated noun). In this case the noun phrase that we want to modify is “the handsome actor” in sentence (a), so you must put “who is under strong guard” directly after “the handsome actor”. The result is then “The handsome actor who is under strong guard…” Remember that you still have the rest of sentence (a) “is waving toward his fans”. Put it after the adjective clause. The result is then a complete sentence with an adjective clause “The handsome actor who is under strong guard is waving toward his fans.”

    D. Relative Pronoun

    An adjective clause commonly begins with a relative pronoun (who, whom, that, which, whose, of which) or a relative adverb (when, where).

    Note: Sentences (a) and (b) in the following discussion are two sentences with repeated noun as explained in point B above. Then sentence (c) is the combination of the two sentences (a sentence with an adjective clause).

    1. WHO

    “Who” substitutes noun or pronoun for human in subject position.

    Examples:
    a. Andy is the best player.
    b. He started to join this club two years ago.
    c. Andy who started to join this club two years ago is the best player.

    “Who” in sentence (c) replaces “he” which functions as the subject in sentence (b) and refers to Andy (human) in sentence (a).

    2. WHOM

    “Whom” substitutes noun or pronoun for human in object position (object of a verb or a preposition).

    Examples:

    a. The man is a famous novel writer.
    b. I will meet him tomorrow.
    c. The man whom I will meet tomorrow is a famous novel writer.

    “Whom” in sentence (c) substitutes “him”, the object of sentence (b) which refers to “the man” (human) in sentence (a).

    3. THAT

    “That” substitutes noun or pronoun for human, animal and thing in subject or object position (object of a verb or a preposition).

    Examples:

    a. The chef is cooking some special food.
    b. He works for a big hotel in this city.
    c. The chef who works for a big hotel in this city is cooking some special food.

    “Who” in sentence (c) substitutes “he” which functions as a subject in sentence (b) and refers to “the chef” (human) in sentence (a).

    a. My sister is showing me a new cellphone.
    b. It was bought yesterday.
    c. My sister is showing me a new cellphone that was bought yesterday.

    “That” in sentence (c) substitutes “it” which functions as the subject of sentence (b) and refers to “a new cellphone” (thing) in sentence (a).

    a. My friend is wearing a yellow jacket.
    b. I love her very much.
    c. My friend that I love very much is wearing a yellow jacket.

    “That” in sentence (c) substitutes “her” which functions as the object in sentence (b) and refers to “my friend” (human) in sentence (a).

    a. The flower looks very beautiful in the afternoon.
    b. Many people like it.
    c. The flower that many people like looks very beautiful in the afternoon.

    “That” in sentence (c) substitutes “it” which functions as the object in sentence (b) and refers to “the flower” (thing) in sentence (a).

    4. WHICH

    “Which” substitutes noun or pronoun for animal and thing in subject or object position (object of a verb or a preposition).

    Examples:

    a. I am happy to have the book.
    b. It was written by my favorite writer.
    c. I am happy to have the book which was written by my favorite writer.

    “Which” in sentence (c) substitutes “it” which functions as the subject in sentence (b) and refers to “the book” (thing) in sentence (a).

    a. The cat is running happily here and there.
    b. I got it from my friend last month.
    c. The cat which I got from my friend last month is running happily here and there.

    “Which” in sentence (c) substitutes “it” which functions as the object in sentence (b) and refers to “the cat” (animal) in sentence (a).

    5. WHOSE

    “Whose” substitutes possessive form of a noun or a pronoun which can refer to human, animal or thing and can be part of a subject or an object of a verb or a preposition; yet it cannot be a complete subject or object.

    Examples:

    a. We admire the scientist.
    b. His works are very useful for human’s life.
    c. We admire the scientist whose works are very useful for human’s life.

    “Whose” in sentence (c) substitutes “his” which functions as the possessive form in sentence (b) and refers to “the scientist” (human) in sentence (a). In sentence (b), “his” is the part of the subject.

    a. I love a butterfly.
    b. Its color is yellow.
    c. I love a butterfly whose color is yellow.

    “Whose” in sentence (c) substitutes “its” which functions as the possessive form in sentence (b) and refers to “a butterfly” (animal) in sentence (a). In sentence (b), “its” is the part of the subject.

    a. The ice cream is pink.
    b. My nephew loves its taste.
    c. The ice cream whose my nephew loves its taste is pink.

    “Whose” in sentence (c) substitutes “its” which functions as the possessive form in sentence (b) and refers to “the ice cream” (thing) in sentence (a). In sentence (b), “its” is the part of the object.

    6. OF WHICH

    “Of Which” substitutes possessive form of a noun or a pronoun which refers to animal or thing. It can be part of a subject or an object of a verb or a preposition, yet it cannot be a complete subject or object.

    Examples:

    a. The bird landed on the ground this morning.
    b. Its wings are white.
    c. The bird of which wings are white landed on the ground this morning.

    “Of Which” in sentence (c) substitutes “its” which functions as the possessive form in sentence (b) and refers to “the bird” (animal) in sentence (a). In sentence (b), “its” is the part of the subject.

    a. We are watching a kungfu film.
    b. We like its story.
    c. We are watching a kungfu film of which story we like.

    “Of Which” in sentence (c) substitutes “its” which functions as the possessive form in sentence (b) and refers to “a kungfu film” (thing) in sentence (a). In sentence (b), “its” is the part of the object.

    7. WHEN

    “When” substitutes a time expression.

    Examples:

    a. I remember the day.
    b. You asked me to marry you on that day.
    c. I remember the day when you asked me to marry you.

    “When” in sentence (c) substitutes “on that day” which functions as the adverb of time in sentence (b) and refers to “the day” (time) in sentence (a).

    a. She will not keep in her mind the year.
    b. She lived in that old house alone that year.
    c. She will not keep in her mind the year when she lived in that old house alone.

    “When” ” in sentence (c) substitutes “that year” which functions as the adverb of time in sentence (b) and refers to “the year” (time) in sentence (a).

    8. WHERE

    “Where” substitutes a place. Prepositions at, in, to are usually added.

    Examples:

    a. The school is very beautiful.
    b. We study at that school.
    c. The school where we study is very beautiful.

    “Where” ” in sentence (c) substitutes “at that school” which functions as the adverb of place in sentence (b) and refers to “the school” (place) in sentence (a).

    E. Preposition in Adjective Clause

    Occasionally a preposition is used with the verb in an adjective clause. Then you have two choices to deal with this case.

    In spoken English, the preposition is usually put in the end of the clause. Yet in formal written English, the preposition is typically moved to the beginning of the clause.

    Examples:

    a. Informal: She is the secretary whom I gave the document to.
    Formal: She is the secretary to whom I gave the document.

    b. Informal: Those are the books which he took some information about the ancient life from.
    Formal: Those are the books from which he took some information about the ancient life.

    c. Informal: Jean, whose table I put my bag on, is my best friend.
    Formal: Jean, on whose table I put my bag, is my best friend.

    Note: You cannot use “that” with a preposition in this case; use only “whom, which, and whose”.

    For the Reduced Adjective Clause you can click here!

  • Reduced Adjective Clause

    Reduced Adjective Clause

    Reduced Adjective Clause

    If you want to study about Adjective Clause first, just click here!

    Reduced adjective clause is the reduction of a full adjective clause. You can reduce an adjective clause when the relative pronoun is the subject of the adjective clause. The result of the reduction is then a phrase. You can do it in two different ways depending on the verb in the adjective clause.

    1. If the relative pronoun meets “be” as the verb then you can reduce the relative pronoun together with the “be”.Examples:
    a. The full adjective clause: People who are not able to swim mus not  jump into the sea.
    The reduced form: People not able to swim mus not jump into the sea.
    b. The full adjective clause: Finally he got something which was wanted for along time.
    The reduced form: Finally he got something wanted for along time.
    c. The full adjective clause: The song which was sung by the handsome young singer is very popular in this country.
    The reduced form: The song sung by the handsome young singer is very popular in this country.
    2. If the relative pronoun meets other verb (not “be”) then you change the verb into –ing form.

    Examples:

    a. The full adjective clause: The students who study hard will pass the test easily.
    The reduced form: The students studying hard will pass the test easily.

    b. The full adjective clause: The cat which runs very fast is mine.
    The reduced form: The cat running very fast is mine.

    c. The full adjective clause: The pianist who performed amazingly in the concert last night is my friend.
    The reduced form: The pianist performing amazingly in the concert last night is my friend.

  • Relative Pronoun

    Relative Pronoun

    Relative Pronoun

    A relative pronoun is a pronoun that marks a relative clause within a larger sentence. It is called a relative pronoun because it relates the relative (and hence subordinate) clause to the noun that it modifies. A relative pronoun links two clauses into a single complex clause. In English, the relative pronouns are: who, whom, whose, whoever, whosoever, whomever, which, what, whatever, and that. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Relative_pronoun).

    A relative pronoun introduces a relative clause which is a type of dependent clause. It refers to a noun mentioned before.

    Note:

    • If you want to learn the application of relative pronoun in adjective clause, just come to this link.
    • In the examples below, the parts which are highlighted in yellow are the adjective clause

    1. WHO

    Who substitutes noun or pronoun for human in subject position.
    Examples:

    • Maria who moved to this school six months ago is the smartest student in this class.
    • Regia who is a writer has published her first book.

    Who in the sentences above refers to Maria and Regia (human) which function as subject.

    2. WHOM

    Whom substitutes noun or pronoun for human in object position (object of a verb or a preposition).
    Examples:
    The new manager whom we will have dinner with tonight is very friendly.
    He is now waiting for the girl whom he met in the station yesterday.
    Whom in the sentences above substitutes the object of preposition with (sentence 1) and verb met (sentence 2) and refers to The new manager (sentence 1) and the girl (sentence 2).

    3. THAT

    That substitutes noun or pronoun for human, animal and thing in subject or object position (object of a verb or a preposition).
    Examples:

    • The TV presenter that is conducting my favorite program now looks very charming.
    • Dad is eating some seafood that was cooked by my beautiful mom.
    • Regia that many people love very much is a kind-hearted girl.
    • Sunflower that Regia loves looks very beautiful at noon.

    That in the sentences above substitutes the subject (sentence 1 and 2) and object (sentence 3 and 4) and refers to the TV presenter (sentence 1), seafood (sentence 2), Regia (sentence 3) and sunflower (sentence 4).

    4. WHICH

    Which substitutes noun or pronoun for animal and thing in subject or object position (object of a verb or a preposition).
    Examples:

    • Regia is happy to hear the news which is about her brother’s coming next month.
    • The dog which the man found on the way home yesterday is eating greedily.

    Which in the sentences above substitutes the subject (sentence 1) and object (sentence 2) and refers to the news (sentence 1) and the dog (sentence 2).

    5. WHOSE

    Whose substitutes possessive form of a noun or a pronoun which can refer to human, animal or thing and can be part of a subject or an object of a verb or a preposition; yet it cannot be a complete subject or object.
    Examples:

    •  They are looking for a missing little boy whose hair is blonde.
    • Regia is cooking some vegetables whose colors are green.
    • The cat whose appearance I don’t like is fierce.

    Whose in the sentences above substitutes his (sentence 1, it’s a part of the subject), their (sentence 2, it’s a part the subject) and its (sentence 3, it’s a part of the object) which functions as the possessive form and refers to a missing little boy (sentence 1), some vegetables (sentence 2) and the cat (sentence 3).

    6. WHOMEVER

    Use whomever when a sentence requires an object pronoun (object of a verb or preposition).
    Examples:

    • The staff whomever the boss asks must represent the company in that exhibition.
    • The participants whomever the show host requests should come quickly to the arena.

    In the sentences above, whomever relates back to noun the staff and the participants and are the objects of the dependent clause and the verbs must represent and requests.

    7. WHOEVER

    As a relative pronoun whoever starts a relative clause. You can use whoever when a sentence needs a subject pronoun.
    Examples:

    1. Any student whoever didn’t join the competition had to be the audience.
    2. Everybody here whoever loves him will be sad to see him go.

    In the sentences above, whoever relates back to noun any student and everybody which are the subjects of the dependent clause and the verbs didn’t join and loves.

    8. WHOSOEVER

    Actually whosoever is the formal term or the old use for whoever. Then about its application you can refer to whoever (see point 7 above)

    9. WHAT and WHATEVER

    As a relative pronoun what and whatever start a relative clause which function as a subject or an object.
    Examples:

    1. You can ask him whatever you want.
    2. They told me what they saw last night.

    In relation to the use of relative pronoun in adjective clause, if you want to see some more pronouns such as of which, when, and where, you can go to this link and see point D.

  • Kind of Adjectives

    Kind of Adjectives

    Kind of Adjectives

    To see the definition of adjective and its forms, just click here!

    There are many kinds of adjectives, among others are:

    1. Possessive Adjectives

    Possessive adjectives, also known as possessive determiners, are a part of speech that modifies a noun by attributing possession (or other sense of belonging) to someone or something, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possessive_adjective).

    Possessive adjectives modify nouns by telling whom they belong to. They answer the question Whose. Actually possessive adjectives are like possessive pronoun, yet possessive adjectives are used as adjectives that modify nouns or noun phrases. Possessive pronouns are not used to modify nouns or noun phrases.

    Possessive adjectives come before the real adjectives as in my beautiful read skirt, not beautiful red my skirt.The possessive adjectives among others are my, your, his, her, its, our and their. Another form of possessive adjective is by adding the suffix -’s as in Regia’s book or in anybody’s opinion. Be careful not to be mistaken with its and it’s; its is the possessive adjective whereas it’s is the short form of it is. You see that all of Possessive adjectives show definiteness (clearly true or real; unambiguous), like the definite article the.
    To build more comprehensive understanding, please pay attention to the following use of possessive adjectives in sentences.
    1. I did my English test smoothly because I had prepared it well.

    In the sentence above, the possessive adjective my modifies English test and the noun phrase my English test serves as the object of the verb did.

    2. I will return your novel tomorrow.

    In the sentence above, the possessive adjective your modifies novel and the noun phrase your novel serves as the object of the verb return.

    3. His car is in the garage for repair.

    In the sentence above, the possessive adjective his modifies car and the noun phrase his car serves as the subject of the sentence.

    4. We like her good job.

    In the sentence above, the possessive adjective her modifies good job and the noun phrase her good job serves as the object of the verb like.

    5. Its color is nice to see.

    In the sentence above, the possessive adjective its modifies color and the noun phrase Its color serves as the subject of the sentence.

    6. You must come to our wedding party next Sunday.

    In the sentence above, the possessive adjective our modifies wedding party and the noun phrase our wedding party serves as the object of preposition to.

    7. We trust their honest confession.

    In the sentence above, the possessive adjective their modifies honest confession and the noun phrase their honest confession serves as the object of the verb trust.

    8. They love Regia’s beautiful sites.

    In the sentence above, the suffix -’s in Regia functions as possessive adjective which modifies beautiful sites and the noun phrase Regia’s beautiful sites serves as the object of the verb love.

    9. X: Whose purse is this?
    Y: It is Regia’s purse.

    Or you can say It is regia’s (possessive pronoun); but remember possessive pronoun is not used to modify noun or noun phrase.

    Note:
    Like other adjectives, possessive adjectives may be modified with an adverb, though this is uncommon. The adverbs more, less, or as much … as (comparative) or mostly (superlative) sometimes appear, for example in This is more my team than your team, This is less my team than your team, This is as much my team as your team, and This is mostly my team. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possessive_adjective)

    2. Demonstrative Adjectives

    3. Interrogative Adjectives

    4. Indefinite Adjectives

    5.The Articles

  • Demonstrative Adjectives

    Demonstrative Adjectives

    Demonstrative Adjectives

    Demonstrative adjective demonstrates or indicates noun. It shows whether a noun a speaker refers to is singular or plural and if it is near or far from the speaker. The four demonstrative adjectives are this, that, these and those. This indicates that the noun the speaker refers to is near and that is far. Demonstrative adjective is put before the noun it modifies or comes before all other adjectives in a noun phrase.

    You may use demonstrative adjective in the following ways:

    1. Use this/that with singular noun

    Examples:

    a. This novel is the best among all I’ve ever read.
    b. I found that black cat in my garden a month ago.

    This in sentence a modifies novel (the position is near from the speaker), and the noun phrase this novel serves as the subject of the sentence.
    That in sentence b modifies black cat (the position is far from the speaker), and the noun phrase that black cat serves as the object of the verb found.

    2. Use these/those with plural noun.

    Examples:
    a. She doesn’t like these old books.
    b. Those ideas sound strange for me.
    These in sentence “a” modifies old books (plural noun) and the noun phrase these old books serves as the object of the verb like.
    Those in sentence “b” modifies ideas (plural noun) and the noun phrase those ideas serves as the subject of the sentence.

    3. You can also use demonstrative adjective as demonstrative pronoun.

    Examples:
    These cards have been named and arranged alphabetically (demonstrative adjective).
    You only need to delete the noun cards to make these functions as a demonstrative pronoun. The sentence then becomes;
    These have been named and arranged alphabetically (demonstrative adjective).

    Note:

    The relationship between demonstrative adjective and demonstrative pronoun is like possessive adjective and possessive pronoun or interrogative adjective and interrogative pronoun.

    To see the complete information on adjective form, just click here or the kind of adjective is here!

  • Interrogative Adjectives

    Interrogative Adjectives

    Interrogative Adjectives

    Interrogative adjectives modify a noun or a noun phrase to show a question about the noun/noun phrase. The interrogative adjectives among others are what, which, and whose. They actually don’t stand on their own but stick to the words they modify. Pay attention to the following examples:

    1. Which color do you prefer?
    2. What subject do you like best?
    3. Whose bag is on the table?

    You see in the sentences above that which, what and whose don’t stand alone, they directly followed by the noun they modify. In sentence 1 which modify color; in sentence 2 what modifies subject and in sentence 3 whose modify bag.

    To see the complete explanation on adjectives, just click here!

  • Indefinite Adjectives

    Indefinite Adjectives

    Indefinite adjectives are indefinite pronouns which function as adjectives; they are used to modify nouns or noun phrases. As the name indefinite (unspecified, unknown, indeterminate, undefined), then indefinite adjectives give general information about the nouns/ noun phrases they modify; they do not point out specific thing. And indefinite adjectives frequently answers the question “How much?”. The indefinite adjectives among others are: all, any, each, few, many, some, one, several, no.

    Unlike indefinite pronouns which replace noun/noun phrases (not followed by nouns/noun phrases), indefinite adjectives come before the nouns or noun phrases they modify (followed by nouns/noun phrases).To build more comprehensive understanding, pay attention to the following examples of indefinite adjectives and indefinite pronouns in sentences!
    1. I like all paintings displayed tonight. (indefinite adjective)
    I like all displayed tonight. (indefinite pronoun)
    2. We don’t have any sugar.(indefinite adjective)
    We don’t have any. (indefinite pronoun)
    3. Let’s analyze each sentence.(indefinite adjective)
    Let’s analyze each. (indefinite pronoun)
    4. We need few children.(indefinite adjective)
    We need few. (indefinite pronoun)
    5. Many people are busy now. (indefinite adjective)
    Many are busy now. (indefinite pronoun)
    6. Give me some money!(indefinite adjective)
    Give me some! (indefinite pronoun)
    7. There are several computers in the classroom. (indefinite adjective)
    There are several in the classroom. (indefinite pronoun)
    8. She got me one book from the library. (indefinite adjective)
    She got me one from the library. (indefinite pronoun)
    9. There is no food left. (indefinite adjective)
    There is no left. (indefinite pronoun)
    ETC.

    From the examples above you see that all the words highlighted in yellow modify the words that follow. Yet they don’t refer to specific thing.

    To see the complete information on kinds of adjectives, just click here!

  • Self Introduction in English

    Self Identity, Family Relationship, Hobby and Habit

    1. Self Identity

    Some expression of Self Introduction

    • Let me introduce myself to you.
    • I’d like to introduce myself to you.
    • Hello, I’m Stephanie.
    • My name is Stephanie.
    • I am a student.
    • I live at Sudirman street no 21, Bandar Lampung.
    • I was born on July 7, 2001.
    • I come from/I am from Bandar Lampung.
    • I am 16 years old.

    2. Family Relationship

    • grand father: the father of one’s father
    • grand mother: the mother of one’s mother
    • father: a man in relation to his child or children
    • mother: a woman in relation to her child or children
    • child: a son or daughter of any age
    • son: a boy or man in relation to either or both of his parents
    • daughter: a girl or woman in relation to either or both of her parents
    • uncle: the brother of one’s father or mother or the husband of one’s aunt
    • aunt: the sister of one’s father or mother or the wife of one’s uncle
    • cousin: a child of one’s uncle or aunt
    • nephew: a son of one’s brother or sister, or of one’s brother-in-law or sister-in-law.
    • niece: a daughter of one’s brother or sister, or of one’s brother-in-law or sister-in-law.
    • mother-in-low: the mother of one’s husband or wife
    • father-in-low: the father of one’s husband or wife
    • son-in-low: the husband of one’s daughter
    • daughter-in-low: the wife of one’s son
    • brother-in-low: the brother of one’s husband or wife
    • sister-in-low: the sister of one’s husband or wife

    Some expressions to ask and tell about family relationship:
    1. Do you have any brothers and sisters?
    Yes, I do.
    2. How many brothers and sisters do you have?
    I have two brothers and two sisters. They are ……..(mention their names).
    3. I have three children, they are ….(mention their names)
    3. Hobby and Habit

    You can use the following expressions to ask and tell about hobby and habit:
    1. What is your hobby?
    My hobby is reading.
    2. Do you have a hobby?
    Yes, I have. It’s writing poems.
    3. What do you like to do in your spare/leisure/free time?
    I like to read in my spare time.
    I spend my time on reading.
    I usually spend my leisure time by listening to some classic music.
    3.What do you usually do in your free time?
    I usually try some new cake recipes in my free time.
    4. What time do you usually go to bed?
    I usually go to bed at 9 pm.
    5. How do you usually go to school?
    I usually go to school by riding a bike.
    To talk about self identity, family relationship, current hobby and habit, use simple present tense. It means we use the simple form of verb after the subject in a declarative sentence.

    S+V1

    • My name is Stephanie.
    • I have two sisters but no brothers.
    • My hobby is reading.
    • I usually go to bed at 9 pm.

    For more information on simple present tense, you can click here!
    Practice the following dialogue!
    Situation: In a classroom, there is a new English class with an English teacher and the students. The learning material of the day is ‘Self Introduction’. Mr. Donny, the English teacher, asks some students to come to the front of the class to perform a self introduction.
    Mr. Donny: Okey students, now I want some students to perform self introduction as I have taught you just now. The girl with yellow ribbon, please come to the front of the class and introduce your self.
    Vanessha: Good morning everybody. In this nice occasion, I’d like to introduce my self to you. My full name is Vanessha Del. People around me usually call me Vanesh. I am from Bandar Lampung and I also was born in Bandar Lampung, on March 8, 2002. So now I’m 15 years of age. Now I live at Sudirman street no 21, Bandar Lampung. As you know I am a student. My hobbies are reading and writing. I want to be a famous writer in the future. I think that’s all about me.
    Mr. Donny: If you want to know more about Vanesha, you can ask her some questions.
    Ridho: How many brothers and sisters do you have?
    Vanessha: I have two sisters but I don’t have any brothers. They are Stephanie Del and Regia Del.
    Ratna: What do you usually do in your spare time?
    Vanessha: I usually read a novel. Anymore questions?
    Nobody rises their hands, so Vanessha closes the introduction.
    Vanessha: I think that’s all, friends. Thank you very much for your very nice attention.
    Mr. Donny:Very good! Give applause for Vanessha.
    And all students give their applauses for Vanessha.
    Test your understanding on the lesson by doing the following test!

    Self Introduction

  • Adjective Order

    Adjective Order

    Adjectives function to modify nouns in order to give detailed description about the nouns. Using adjectives is very important to make your writing more descriptive and interesting. Adjectives help readers/listeners draw a picture on their mind about the thing you are described.

    Actually there are some kinds of adjectives, and attributive adjective is the one we are going to discuss here. Attributive adjectives are adjectives which come before the noun/pronoun they modify. You can use two or more attributive adjectives together by following certain order. Adjectives that express opinions usually come before the others.

    Follow the order below to present the adjectives you use!

    1. Determiners

    Determiners introduce the noun being described. Determiners include articles, demonstratives, quantifiers, possessive determiners, etc.
    Examples: a, an, the, one, two, this, that, these, those, some, many, my, your, our, all, etc.

    2. Quality/Opinion/Judgement

    It tells your opinion about the noun being described; since it is opinion or judgement other people may not agree with you.
    Examples: beautiful, ugly, nice, boring, interesting, dull, dumb, good, bad, smart, silly, easy, difficult, fast, slow, lovely, horrible, etc.

    3. Size

    It tells you how big or small the thing is.
    Examples: big, small, large, tiny, enormous, little, tall, short, high, low, etc.

    4. Age

    It tells about how young or old the thing is.
    Examples: new, young, old, modern, ancient, antique, historic, etc.

    5. Shape

    It describes the shape of the thing.
    Examples: square, round, flat, rectangular, oval, circular, etc.

    6. Color

    It certainly tells the colour of the things.
    Examples: white, black, red, reddish, pink, green, dark green, yellow, blue, navy blue, grey, purple, etc.

    7. Nationality or Place of Origin

    It describes where the one or the thing comes from.

    Examples: French, American, Greek, French, Asian, American, Canadian, Japanese, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Eastern, Western, etc.

    8. Material

    It describes what the thing is made from.

    Examples: wooden, woolen, cotton, paper, gold, silver, brass, metallic, iron, glass, plastic, brick, vegetable, etc.

    9. Purpose or Qualifier

    It tells what the thing is used for. These kind of adjectives frequently end with “-ing”.

    Examples: sleeping as in sleeping bag, fishing as in fishing boat, racing as in racing car, running as in running shoes, raining as in raing clothes, waiting as in waiting room, roasting as in roasting tin, washing as in washing machine, or foldout sofa, etc.

    Using the order above, we can arrange some adjectives to describe nouns as in the following sentences:

    1. I love the (determiner) beautiful (opinion) big (size) old (age) yellow (color) brick (material) house.
    2. He gave me a lovely new red European car.
    3. She bought wonderful new Italian shoes.
    4. I want that cute small pink bow.
    5. Don’t put your food into the ugly old black plastic bag.

  • Comparative Degree

    Comparative Degree

    Comparative degree is the comparative form of an adjective or adverb. Comparative degree describes the degree or value by which someone or something has; it tells whether it is greater or less in extent than another. The types of comparative degree are positive, comparative, superlative and equal degree.

    I. Positive Degree

    The positive degree is the basic form of adjective. It does not inform the superior or inferior quality of something comparing to another. It tells something as it is.
    Examples:
    a. She is happy.
    b. You are beautiful.
    c. This test is very difficult to answer.

    II. Comparative and Superlative Degree

    A. Adjective
    The comparative degree compares precisely two things. The comparative degree tells that something is greater or less in quality than something else. Meanwhile the superlative degree is used to compare three or more things. The superlative degree refers to the most or the least, the best or the worst of something among all others, etc.
    The comparative degree is formed by adding suffix -er or more to the positive form of the adjective or adverb and is followed by the word than. Than is used as a subordinating conjunction to introduce the second element being compared. And the superlative degree is formed by adding suffix -est or most to the positive form of the adjective or adverb and is usually preceded by the.
    To simplify the discussion, I’ll give the rule of forming comparative and superlative degree using -er and -est together since they are similar.
    -Er and -Est

    1. Add suffix er/est to one syllable adjectives.

    Examples: tall (taller, tallest), small (smaller, smallest), big (bigger, biggest), young (younger, youngest), old (older, oldest), cheap (cheaper, cheapest), slow (slower, slowest), short (shorter, shortest), great (greater, greatest), large (larger, largest), wise (wiser, wisest), etc.

    For the last two words, large and wise, since they end in e, you only need to add -r for the comparative and –st for the superlative.

    Now let’s take a look at their use in sentences.

    a. Jack is taller than Jim.
    b. Jack is also taller than John.
    c. Jack is the tallest among others.
    d. My bag is smaller than yours.
    e. My bag is also smaller than Marry’s.
    f. My bag is the smallest of all.

    Sentence a, b, d and e are the comparative degree and sentence c and f are the superlative degree.

    2. Add suffix er/est to some two- syllable adjectives especially those ending in er, ow and y. For words end in y, change y to i then add er/est.

    Those words among others are: clever (cleverer, cleverest), narrow (narrower, narrowest), happy (happier, happiest), pretty (prettier, prettiest), lovely (lovelier, loveliest), lucky (luckier luckiest), heavy (heavier heaviest), silly (sillier, silliest), ugly (uglier, ugliest), etc.

    Use in sentences:

    a. I guess you are cleverer than him.
    b. My friend, Tim, is the cleverest man I have ever met all my life.
    c. This doll is prettier than that one.
    d. She behaves as if she were the prettiest girl in the world.

    Sentence a and c are the comparative degree and sentence b and d are the superlative degree.

    More/Most

    1. More/most usually comes before adjectives of two syllables except those ending in er, ow and y.

    Examples: selfish (more selfish, most selfish), fluent (more fluent, most fluent), useful (more useful, most useful), honest (more honest, most honest), etc.

    Use in sentences:

    a. I can feel that you are now is more selfish than ever before.
    b. She is the most selfish person among her family members.
    c. His English is more fluent than his sister.
    d. Even his English is the most fluent in the class.

    2. More/most is put before adjectives of three or more syllables.

    Examples: difficult (more difficult, most difficult), intelligent (more intelligent, most intelligent), beautiful (more beautiful, most beautiful), comfortable (more comfortable, most comfortable), horrible (more horrible, most horrible), remarkable (more remarkable, most remarkable), expensive (more expensive, most expensive), important (more important, most important), interesting (more interesting, most interesting), diligent (more diligent, most diligent), careful (more careful, most careful), necessary (more necessary, most necessary), etc.

    Use in sentences:

    a. This test is more difficult than the previous.
    b. The company is now facing the most difficult situation for the last 20 years.
    c. Your words sound more horrible than the thunder.
    d. His current boss seems the most horrible he has ever had.

    3. More/most is put before adjectives which have the same form as the past or present participle (the number of the syllables is not considered).

    Examples: hurt (more hurt, most hurt), worn (more worn, most worn), bored (more bored, most bored), frightened (more frightened, most frightened), tiring (more tiring, most tiring), exciting (more exciting, most exciting), interesting (more interesting, most interesting), etc.

    Use in sentences:

    a. According to my opinion cooking is more tiring than cleaning the house.
    b. Monday is the most tiring day of all.
    c. For her, reading a novel is more interesting than watching a movie.
    d. Now she is reading the most interesting novel among all she has read.

    B. Adverb

    The rule of forming adverb into comparative and superlative degree is as follow:

    1. Add suffix er/est to some adverbs which have the same form as the adjectives.

    Those words are: hard (harder, hardest), fast (faster, fastest), late (later, latest), early (earlier, earliest), slow (slower, slowest), loud (louder, loudest).

    Use in sentences:

    a. For the second test, he studied harder than the first.
    b. She worked the hardest among all to succeed in the show.
    c. In the last racing, he drove faster than his toughest rival.
    d. He even drove the fastest among all racers.

    2. More/most usually comes before adverbs ending in ly.

    Examples: slowly (more slowly, most slowly), loudly (more loudly, most loudly), quickly (more quickly, most quickly), gracefully (more gracefully, most gracefully), beautifully (more beautifully, most beautifully), etc.

    Use in sentences:

    a. Mom is now mixing the dough more quickly than before.
    b. My team is dancing the most beautifully among all participants.

    Note:

    Irregular Adjectives and Adverb

    Some adjectives and adverbs have irregular forms; they don’t follow the rules above. Their forms change significantly from one degree to the next.

    Adjectives: good (better, best), bad (worse, worst), ill (worse, worst), well (healthy) (better, best), many (more, most), much (more, most), little (less, least), far (farther, farthest), far (further, furthest), old (elder, eldest).

    Adverbs: well (better, best), badly (worse, worst), far (farther, farthest).

    III. Equal Degree

    When you want to state two things which have similar condition or qualilty, then the equal degree is the right way. The pattern is as + basic form of adjective/adverb + as.

    Examples:

    a. You are as beautiful as my sister.
    b. He is as young as I am.
    c. She danced as beautifully as a professional dancer.

    Note:

    1. Absolute Adjectives

    Actually most adjectives can be compared but there are some cannot due to their meanings. This kind of adjective is called absolute adjective. They are: absolute, blind, perfect, dead, double, essential, fatal, final, immortal, infinite, left, right, round, single, square, supreme, straight, unique, universal, vertical and wrong.

    2. Null comparative

    The null comparative is a comparative in which the starting point for comparison is not stated. These comparisons are frequently found in advertising.

    For example, in typical assertions such as “our burgers have more flavor”, “our picture is sharper” or “50% more”, there is no mention of what it is they are comparing to. In some cases it is easy to infer what the missing element in a null comparative is. In other cases the speaker or writer has been deliberately vague in this regard, for example “Glasgow’s miles better”.(http://en.wikipedia.org)

    Source:
    1. Hayden, Pilgrim, Haggard. 1956. Mastering American English Grammar. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice – Hall, Inc.
    2. http://en.wikipedia.org