Foundations: Grammar 1, Elementary Level, First Ed.

Preface
Foundations: Grammar 1 is a developmental skills BOOK for students of English as a foreign language. It presents fundamental structures and vocabulary appropriate for elementary-level students and provides OPPORTUNITIES for practice through extensive and varied exercises.

Notes to the Teacher

Level

Foundations: Grammar 1 is designed to meet the needs of lower-level- EFL classes. While the introduction of structures and vocabulary is directed toward the elementary-level students in the first part of the BOOK, it also can be used with lower-intermediate students as a quick review and expansion of structure usage.

Foundations: Grammar 1 is the first in a series of three EFL grammar BOOKS. The second in the series is Foundations: Grammar 2, which is directed toward lower-intermediate and intermediate students. The third one is for upper intermediate through advanced students.

Presentation of Grammar

Each unit is organized around a group of related structures and usages. The book is designed to be taught in the order in which it is presented; structures and vocabulary in earlier units serve as the basis for material in later units. However, if your class is lower-intermediate rather than beginning/elementary, you may wish to change the order of presentation somewhat to suit the needs of your students and your purposes.

Grammar RECEIVING major emphasis is presented in charts consisting of examples accompanied by explanations. The examples are designed to be almost self-explanatory. The explanations are simplified as much as possible, with a minimum of terminology. Still, the students may not be able to grasp some parts of the charts by themselves at first. The charts are designed to be used as a springboard in class. You may wish to discuss your own examples drawn from the immediate classroom context and relate them to the examples in the book as preparation for usage exercises. At times you may wish to delve into a usage exercise immediately, discuss form and meaning during the course of the exercise, and then return to a chart for the purpose of making certain generalizations.

The grammar charts serve various functions for various students. Some students devour the charts, while others pay little or no mind, depending upon their learning strategies. Some students need to gain initial understanding from the charts before RISKING use, while others freely risk anything during usage exercises and refer to the charts only incidentally. In any case, the charts are not intended to be “learned” as an out-of-class homework assignment. A chart is only a starting point and a later reference source.

Vocabulary

Vocabulary development is an integral part of the development of structure usage ability. Vocabulary is introduced and reinforced regularly. At times you will find it necessary to spend time in class discussing new vocabulary during exercises. The introduction of vocabulary is controlled so that it can easily be handled in the classroom and so that students should not have to spend a great deal of time at home looking up words in their dictionaries. Some exercises are specifically designed to enhance vocabulary acquisition while the students are practicing structure usage. For this reason, many exercises are accompanied by pictures/illustration to facilitate teaching/learning vocabulary.

Exercises

The OBJECTIVE of the exercises is to get students talking about themselves – their activities, their ideas, their environment – as soon as possible, using the target structures. In general, the exercises in any given unit move from ones that focus almost entirely on manipulation of form and meaning to ones that demand more independent usage and involve a combination of skills.

Most of the exercises, those other than the oral exercises, are intended for out-of-class preparation and then in-class use. Typically, a teacher might discuss the grammar in a chart, have the students do the first two or three entries of an exercise in class, and then assign the rest of the exercise to be prepared for the next class. Usually students benefit more from preparing exercises at home than they do from going through exercises “cold” in class. Exercises that the students have prepared at home take less class time to discuss and lead to more fruitful discussion.

Contents
UNIT 1

Part 1: The Verb Be

Affirmative Statements
Expressions
CONTRACTIONS
Part 2: The Verb BE

Negative Statements
Yes/No Questions
Questions with How, Where, and Who
The Verb Be with Adjectives
Questions with What and What…like
What + be + subject
What + be + subject + like
Part 3: Be with Time and Weather

Using It with Weather
Using It with Time
Prepositions of Time: in, on, at, from…to (until)
Part 4: There is / There are; Prepositions of Place

There is / There are: Affirmative and Negative Statements and Questions
Affirmative Statements
Negative Statements
iii. Questions and Short Answers

Be with Prepositions of Place: in, on, at
Using at and at the with Locations

UNIT 2

Part 1: Present Continuous Tense

Affirmative Statements
Spelling Rules with -ing
Negative Statements
Yes/No Questions and Short Answers
Information Questions
Descriptions – Questions with What + noun
Part 2: There is/There are

There is / There are + subject + verb +ing
It versus There
Part 3: Prepositions of Place and Expressing Present Abilities

More Prepositions of Place
Expressing Present Abilities: Can / Can’t
Affirmative and Negative Statements
Yes/No Questions and Short Answers
iii. Information Questions with When, Where, and How

UNIT 3

Part 1: Simple Present Tense

Have – Affirmative Statements
Do – Affirmative Statements
Do As Used in Certain Expressions
Part 2: Simple Present Tense of Other Verbs

Affirmative and Negative Statements
Spelling Rules
Yes/No Questions and Short Answers
Information Questions
Part 3: Simple Present Tense versus Present Continuous Tense

Simple Present Tense
Present Continuous Tense
Non-action Verbs
Pronouns and Possessive Adjectives
UNIT 4

Part 1: Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Countable Nouns
Indefinite Articles: a/an
Definite Article: the
Some and Any with Countable Nouns
Uncountable Nouns
Some and Any with Uncountable Nouns
Using Much and Many

UNIT 5

Part 1: Modal Auxiliaries with Possibility and Permission

Expressing Possibility: May – Might – Could
Affirmative Statements
Negative Statements
Expressing Permission: May – Can – Could
Part 2: Would with Requests, Offers, and Invitations

Expressing Wants and Making Requests: Would like…
Making Offers and Invitations: Would you like…?
Part 3: Have to, Must, and Need to

Expressing Necessity or Obligation: have to, must, and need to
Expressing Choice and Non-necessity: don’t have to
Negative Choice: must not / mustn’t

Giving Advice: should – should not/shouldn’t
UNIT 6

Part 1: Simple Past Tense of Be: Was and Were

Affirmative Statements
Negative Statements
Yes/No Questions and Short Answers
Information Questions
There was / There were
Statements
Questions
Part 2: Simple Past Tense: Other Verbs

Affirmative Statements
Spelling
Negative Statements
Yes/No Questions and Short Answers
Information Questions
UNIT 7

Part 1: Simple Past Tense

Irregular Verbs
Too with Short Statements
Either with Short Statements
Part 2: Simple Past Tense – More Irregular Verbs; Tag Questions

More Irregular Verbs
Tag Questions
Used to
Reported Speech
Part 3: Gerunds and Infinitives

Gerunds as the Subject
Gerunds as the Object of Certain Verbs
Infinitives as the Object of Certain Verbs

UNIT 8

Part 1: Past Continuous Tense

Affirmative and Negative Statements
Contrast: Past and Present Continuous Tenses
Yes/No Questions and Short Answers
Information Questions
Part 2: While; Contrast of Simple Past and Past Continuous Tenses

Past Continuous with While
Past Continuous Tense versus Simple Past Tense in Sentences with While
Part 3: When; Contrast of Simple Past and Past Continuous Tenses

When
Simple Past Tense versus Past Continuous Tense
Part 4: Gerunds

Gerund Review
Gerunds as the Objects of Prepositions
UNIT 9

Part 1: Common Counting Units

Common Counting Units
A lot (of)/Lots (of)
A little/little versus A few/few; Not many versus Not much
Part 2: Subordinating Conjunctions

Subordinating Conjunctions: when, before, until, after, and as soon as
Subordinating Conjunctions: because
Coordinating Conjunctions: so
Part 3: Simple Future Tense

Affirmative Statements
Negative Statements
Yes/No Questions and Short Answers
Information Questions
UNIT 10

Part 1: Adjectives with –ing and –ed; It’s + adjective + infinitive

Adjectives with –ing and –ed
It’s + Adjective + Infinitive
Part 2: Comparative Adjectives

Comparative Adjectives (1)