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Lesson 345 min read
Language Proficiency
English Grammar, Vocabulary, Filipino & Communication Skills
In This Lesson
English Grammar
Subject-Verb Agreement
- • Singular subjects take singular verbs: "The dog runs."
- • Plural subjects take plural verbs: "The dogs run."
- • Compound subjects with "and" = plural: "Tom and Jerry are friends."
- • "Either...or" / "Neither...nor" = verb agrees with nearest subject
- • Collective nouns can be singular or plural depending on context
Verb Tenses
| Tense | Example |
|---|---|
| Simple Present | I walk |
| Present Continuous | I am walking |
| Present Perfect | I have walked |
| Simple Past | I walked |
| Past Continuous | I was walking |
| Simple Future | I will walk |
Pronoun Rules
- Subject pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
- Object pronouns: me, you, him, her, it, us, them
- Possessive: my/mine, your/yours, his, her/hers, our/ours, their/theirs
- • Pronouns must agree with antecedents in number and gender
Vocabulary Building
Word Roots
- bene: good (benefit, benevolent)
- mal: bad (malice, malfunction)
- chron: time (chronic, synchronize)
- graph: write (autograph, biography)
- port: carry (transport, export)
- aud: hear (audio, audience)
- vid/vis: see (video, vision)
- dict: say (dictionary, verdict)
Common Prefixes
- un-, in-, im-, dis-: not (unhappy, incomplete, impossible, dishonest)
- re-: again (rebuild, review)
- pre-: before (preview, predict)
- post-: after (postpone, postgraduate)
- anti-: against (antiwar, antibody)
Common Suffixes
- -tion, -sion: act of (education, decision)
- -able, -ible: capable of (readable, visible)
- -ful: full of (beautiful, hopeful)
- -less: without (hopeless, careless)
- -ness: state of (happiness, kindness)
Sentence Correction
Common Errors
- Its vs. It's: Its = possessive; It's = it is
- Their/There/They're: Possession / Place / They are
- Affect vs. Effect: Affect = verb (usually); Effect = noun (usually)
- Who vs. Whom: Who = subject; Whom = object
- Less vs. Fewer: Less = uncountable; Fewer = countable
Parallel Structure
Items in a list must be in the same grammatical form:
- Wrong: "I like swimming, to run, and biking."
- Right: "I like swimming, running, and biking."
Dangling Modifiers
- Wrong: "Walking to school, the rain started falling."
- Right: "Walking to school, I noticed the rain started falling."
Filipino Language
Bahagi ng Pananalita
- Pangngalan: Tao, bagay, lugar, hayop (Maria, libro)
- Pandiwa: Kilos o galaw (tumakbo, kumain)
- Pang-uri: Naglalarawan (maganda, mabait)
- Pang-abay: Nagbibigay-diin sa pandiwa (mabilis, kahapon)
- Panghalip: Kapalit ng pangngalan (ako, siya, ito)
Aspekto ng Pandiwa
- Naganap (Perfective): Kumain na ako.
- Nagaganap (Imperfective): Kumakain ako ngayon.
- Magaganap (Contemplative): Kakain ako mamaya.
Uri ng Pangungusap
- Pasalaysay: Nagbibigay-impormasyon
- Patanong: Nagtatanong
- Pautos: Nag-uutos o humihiling
- Padamdam: Nagpapahayag ng damdamin
Idioms & Expressions
English Idioms
- Break a leg: Good luck
- Hit the nail on the head: Exactly right
- Under the weather: Feeling sick
- Bite the bullet: Face difficulty bravely
- A piece of cake: Very easy
Filipino Sawikain
- Balat-sibuyas: Maramdamin
- Matigas ang ulo: Sutil, matigas ang kalooban
- Bukas ang palad: Mapagbigay
- Makitid ang noo: Mahina ang utak
- Mababa ang luha: Madaling umiyak