Nurturing Dreams and Goals in Children and Teenagers

As parents, one of our most important roles is to help our children and teenagers develop a sense of purpose and direction. Encouraging them to dream big and set achievable goals can pave the way for a fulfilling and successful future. Here are some practical tips to guide you in this journey:

1) Encourage Imagination and Exploration

•  By fostering curiosity: 

Encourage your children to ask questions and explore their interests. Whether it's through books, hobbies, or outdoor activities, nurturing their curiosity can help them discover their passions.

•  By providing diverse experiences: 

Expose them to a variety of activities and environments. This can include sports, arts, science projects, and travel. The more they experience, the more they can identify what excites them.

2) Have them Set Realistic and Achievable Goals

•  By starting with small goals: 

Help your children set small, manageable goals. Achieving these can build their confidence and motivate them to aim higher.

•  By teaching them to set SMART goals — Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant/Realistic, and Time-bound. 

This framework can make their goals more tangible and attainable.

3) Be A Role Model

•  By sharing your own goals: 

Talk about your own dreams and goals. Share your experiences, including the challenges and successes. This can inspire them and show that goal-setting is a lifelong process.

•  By demonstrating perseverance:

Show them the importance of persistence and resilience. Let them see how you handle setbacks and continue to strive towards your goals.

4) Provide Support and Encouragement

•  By celebrating achievements:

Acknowledge and celebrate their accomplishments, no matter how small. Positive reinforcement can boost their self-esteem and encourage them to keep going.

•  By offering guidance: 

Be there to guide them through the process of setting and achieving goals. Offer advice, but also allow them to make their own decisions and learn from their experiences.

5) Create Positive Environment

• By Encouraging Growth Mindset: Teach your children that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort and learning. This mindset can help them embrace challenges and view failures as opportunities to grow.

• By Limiting Negative Influences: Monitor and manage negative influences, such as excessive screen time or negative peer pressure. Encourage positive activities that align with their goals and interests.

6) Teach Time Management and Planning

•  Use tools and techniques: 

Introduce them to tools like planners, calendars, and to-do lists. These can help them organize their time and stay on track with their goals.

•  Prioritize Tasks: 

Teach them how to prioritize tasks and manage their time effectively. This skill is crucial for balancing school, extracurricular activities, and personal goals.

7) Encourage Reflection and Adaptation

•  Regular Check-ins: 

Have regular discussions about their goals and progress. Encourage them to reflect on what they've learned and how they can improve.

•  Be Flexible: 

Help them understand that it's okay to adjust their goals as they grow and their interests change. Flexibility is key to staying motivated and focused.

By nurturing your children's dreams and helping them set and achieve goals, you are equipping them with valuable life skills. Remember, the journey is just as important as the destination. Celebrate their efforts, support their aspirations, and watch them flourish into confident and capable individuals.

The Perfect Progressive Tenses of The Verb (series 1.C6)

       

          

          After discussing simple tenses of the verb, perfect tenses, and continuous tenses. Next are the Perfect Progressive or Perfect Continuous Tenses of the verb.
          Remember when we say, perfect, it means 'complete'(the action has been completed), and progressive means 'unfinished' (the action is not yet finished and continues in the present, and may continue in the future).

Present Perfect Progressive > also known as the perfect present continuous, an action that started in the past and is continuing at the present time. This is formed using

     has/have been + verb with -ing

Examples:
                  She has been reading the novel for two weeks now.
                  You have been playing that game since last year.
                   I have not been seeing Julie lately.
                   Susie has been playing piano since she was a child.

Past Perfect Progressive > also known as the past perfect continuous, an action that started in the past but continued up to another time in the past. This is formed using

      had been + verb with -ing

Examples:
                  I had been telling you to stop smoking since last year.
                  They had been creating unrest in the neighborhood for 3 years.
                  We had not been cleaning our home since last month.
                   Patrick and Liza had been dancing until Patrick died a year ago.       


Future Perfect Progressive > also known as the future perfect continuous, an action that begins sometimes in the past but is expected to continue up until a point in the future. This is formed using

       will have been + verb with -ing

Examples:
                  In January, I will have been teaching at my school for ten years.
                  He will have been waiting for two hours by the time his girlfriend arrives.
                  You will not have been working in the office for 3 months.
                  Even though the TV show will have been airing for another year, it will continue with its new time slot.


** Progressive tenses use action verbs only and not stative verbs. Stative verbs are state of being that does not show qualities of change. It includes emotions, possessions, and thoughts.

English 101: The Continous Tenses of the Verb (series 1.C5)

          *image credit www.tes.com

     Previously, I have written here the simple tenses of the verb then followed by the perfect tenses of the verb, now we will proceed to continuous tenses also known as progressive tenses of the verb.  Continuous tenses of the verb show an action that is in progress was in progress or will be in progress at a certain period. Continuous tenses are formed by the 'be'-verb + -ing form of the verb. 

Be-verbs: 

am,  is, are + -ing form of the verb = for present tense

was, were + -ing form of the verb = for past tense

will be + -ing form of the verb = for future tense

Past Continuous Tense > it indicates a continuing action that was happening at some period in the past.

Examples:
     1) I was playing mobile games when I heard the sad news.
     2) At the stroke of the clock, they were singing joyously in the place.
     3) She was laughing hard until she fell off the stage.
     4) You were sleeping when she arrived.


Present Continuous Tense > it indicates that an action is still happening now, always happening, and may continue to happen in the future.

Examples:

     1) Eejay is washing the dishes while he plays music from his mobile phone.
     2) I am thinking of what to prepare for today's lunch.
     3) The PlanetShakers are going to perform live at Araneta Coliseum.
     4) Are we taking this jacket on our way to Baguio City?


Future Continuous Tense > indicates an action that will happen in the future and will continue to happen at the expected length of time.

Examples:
     1) He will be sleeping the whole day after all his tasks.
     2) I will be talking at a conference this Friday.
     3) We will be taking Diane and Joan to the party.
     4) Susan and Peter will be joining us later this afternoon.

** Present and Future Continuous use action verbs only and not stative verbs. Stative verbs are state of being that does not show qualities of change. It includes emotions, possessions, and thoughts.

Philippines' DepEd K-12 and SHS Program

     It is actually read as K to 12, Kindergarten to Grade 12. The Philippines was among the three (3) countries and the only one in Asia that offered the 10-year education cycle before entering college. The Philippines before had six (6) years of primary (grade 1-3) and intermediate school level (grade 4-6); four (4) years of high school labeled as 1st-year high=freshman, 2nd-year high=sophomore, 3rd-year high=junior, and 4th year=senior. Kindergarten then is not compulsory, yet schools are offering three levels for Kindergarten, hence, nursery > kinder > preparatory, or nursery > kinder 1> kinder 2, depending on the school rules and policies. 

     Until 2012, Republic Act 10157, known as the Kindergarten Education Act ratified by Congress and signed by President Benigno C. Aquino Jr., compulsory education for five (5) years old before they enter formal schooling, as is considered the developmental years to ascertain their formal school readiness. Likewise, the Republic 10533 - Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 was signed and approved last May 2013, yet implemented a year before for those who have enrolled in grade 7.

     Questions and disagreement have been posed by some parents and students, however, the 1st batch of K-12 Grade 11, Senior High School is currently taking the different tracks the DepEd (Department of Education) is offering. This year's 1st batch is expected to complete the K-12 in 2018. 

image credit to DepEd website

The following information about K-12 and Senior High School (SHS) are enumerated below:

• K-12 is an educational mandatory for parents and school agencies to start education for the children at the age of five (5) through Kindergarten to ascertain the readiness of children for formal schooling. Primary education begins from grade 1 to 6, then four (4) years of Junior High School, and another two (2) years of Senior High School.
• A student who has finished K-10 but does not want to continue in Senior High School may do so but he/she will miss the opportunity of earning a high school diploma, thus, he/she will be called a Grade 10 Completer.
• It does not cost anything to enroll in Senior High School in Public/Government Schools. Tuition fees in private schools are also paid by DepEd thru its voucher program, however, they can top it up with some miscellaneous expenses which students will have to pay separately.
• All Grade 10 Completers from public/government schools get a Voucher for enrolling in a Private or Non-DepEd Senior High School. However, payment of tuition fees is coursed from Government to School Agencies.
• All Grade 10 Completers from private schools who are ESC (Education Service Contracting)* Grantees also get a Voucher for enrolling in a Private or Non-DepEd Senior High School.
• After finishing Senior High School, graduates can apply for employment, be an entrepreneur, pursue higher education (college) or middle skills development (short courses/TESDA)
• Senior High School offers four (4) Tracks from which Grade 10 Completers can choose depending on their interest:

1. Academic Track
2. Technical-Vocational & livelihood Track (TVL)
3. Arts & Design Tracks, and
4. Sports Track. 

• If students will have to choose Academic Track, they have four (4) strands to choose from [1] Accountancy, Business and Management Strand (ABM), [2] Humanities & Social Sciences Strand (HUMSS), [3] Science, Technology, Engineering,& Mathematics Strand (STEM), and [4] General Academic Strand (GAS).
• If students choose Technical-Vocational & Livelihood Track (TVL), they also have four (4) strands to choose from Agri-Fishery Arts Strand, Home Economics Strand, Industrial Arts Strand, and Information & Communication Technology Strand. Each strand has its specialization** depending on what the school agency has to offer.
• Arts and Design Track has six (6) strands: Music, Dance, Film/Media/IT, Visual Arts, Indigenous Arts, and Theater Arts.
• Sports Track includes subjects such as Safety & First Aid, Understanding Human Movement, General Coaching course, Sports Officiating, Fitness Leadership, Sports/Recreation/Fitness Management, Student-Athlete Enhancement & Formation, Fitness Testing * Exercise Prescription, and Recreation Leadership. However, there is a particular sports specialization and fitness to choose from depending on what a particular school has to offer.

* http://www.pnjkis.edu.ph/educational-service-contracting-esc-program

** http://www.deped.gov.ph/k-to-12/curriculum-guides/Technical-Vocational-Track

Presidential, Parliamentary, & Federal - What Are They?

     The Philippine National Election on May 9 has shown that people are becoming excited about who would win the election and the changes that might occur once the popular becomes the president. People are clamoring for changes and sensitivity that they wanted from someone in authority who would overturn the increasing crime, yet approachable that can be easily reached and mindful of the people's plight. Questions as to "would he stand by his promise, when is he going to do it, and how he would do it" are being asked by people. What could be his first task at hand?

     One declaration that elected President Rodrigo Duterte had stated during his campaign, is to change the present form of the Philippine government. There are as numerous as a public classroom students list varied forms of government in the different parts of the world. We mostly hear the anarchy, oligarchy, communist, socialist, Marxist, imperialist, parliamentary, and federal, to name a few. Actually, the different systems or forms of government are being taught as early as grade 4 or 5.

     At present, the Philippines is a republic with a Presidential form of government. Under the Presidential form, our country is divided into three (3) branches with equal powers but separate from each other, as illustrated below.

1) Legislative Division is responsible for making laws and altering or repealing them. The Senate and the House of Representatives or Congress are under this division. Elected by people.

2) Executive Division is responsible for executing and implementing the laws. The President and his Vice President, along with the mayoralty are under this division and elected by the people. The President, however, appoints his own cabinet members (department secretaries) as granted by the Constitution.

3) Judiciary Division is responsible for settling controversies that are legally demandable and enforceable. The Supreme Court and Lower Court are under this division. It has also the power as granted by the Constitution to declare a treaty, international or executive agreement, law, presidential decree, proclamation, order, instruction, ordinance, or unconstitutional regulation. Appointments are made by the President based on a list submitted by the Judicial and Bar Council under the supervision of the Supreme Court.

Parliamentary on the other hand consists of two organizing bodies that are closely related and dependent upon each other. The two organizing body share their powers. See the illustration below:

1) Legislature may either be called an assembly, congress, or legislators. It is the law-making body of a government that has the power to amend and repeal public policy; observes and steers governing actions in a government system. Depending on certain countries or states, it may be in the form of unicameral or bicameral.
2) Executive consists of the head of state, it may be a President or Monarchy. As the case may be, they are the head of state but not the head of the government. The majority party that wins the election for Legislature is appointed Prime Minister, also called Premier or Chancellor. The Prime Minister possesses much greater power and status than the other ministers. The President or Monarchy appointed Cabinet Ministers with the advice of the Prime Minister. However, the Cabinet of Ministers is responsible to the legislature for all its activities and policies. The President is elected while a Monarchy is inherited.

A federal system of government is a division of power between a central national government and local governments that are connected by one another by the central national government. See the illustration below to have a clear grasp of how federalism works.

     There are powers designated to the Central/National government and powers reserved for the Regional/State government, but there is also the same shared power depending on what the constitution states. Each regional/state government elected a governor aside from its mayoralty. And just like in the presidential system, the central national government has Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary divisions with separate powers. The idea behind Federalism is to better suit the needs of each area in the country. The smaller branches of government from each region/state could deal with true things that need to be changed.

** images are created by Emily for April Brews, send a message for permission to use.

LINKS for more info:

http://www.bloomp.net/articles/benefits_federalism.htm

http://www.gov.ph/about/gov/

http://www.importantindia.com/12408/features-of-parliamentary-form-of-government/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalism_in_the_Philippines

English 101: Simple Tenses of The Verb (series 1.C3)

     Verbs should be studied thoroughly along with subject nouns for they are the basic foundation in constructing a grammatically correct sentence. The time constraints involved in accomplishing the "action word" should be checked if it agrees with the time the action has or had been done. The verb should also agree with the subject noun in a sentence. Tenses tell us about the time when a certain action has been made or happened. The confusion of some students lies in identifying when to add 's' to a verb and what are the regular and irregular verbs. The best strategy for the latter is to memorize all of them, that's why I provided a link where to find this list of regular/irregular verbs. But first, let's start by identifying the Basic Tenses - Present, Past, and Future.

A) Present tense expresses the following actions or conditions:
          -action happening at the present moment
          -an action that happens habitually
          -a present condition
       
* we usually take the base form of a verb when we refer to the plural subject; if the subject is singular, we add "s" to the base form of the verb.
* the am, is, are linking verbs are used when referring to a present condition.

Examples:
     1) The alarms simultaneously ring every morning.
            (plural subject=alarms; verb=ring;
                    every morning=time referred to as habitual)
               
     2) The boys run towards the gate.

     3) We are the facilitator of the event. (are=stating present condition)

     4) Jenny goes home from Manila every summer. 
            (singular subject=Jenny; verb=goes;
                    every summer=time referred to as habitual)
   
     5) The smoke comes from the basement.

     6) She is the mother of the future king.

     7) I am the owner of this site.


B) Past tense expresses action or state-of-being that took place in the past.

* the past tense form of a verb (regular/irregular) is used (see the list)
* the past action uses the time to express past action, i.e.,
yesterday, last time, for, the actual date
* the was, were linking verbs are used to express the state-of-being in the past

Examples:
     1) The man waited for his lady for two hours.
             (take note of the verb-waited & the time-for two hours)

     2) She went to the grocery.

     3) Tom and Jerry played outside yesterday.

     4) Last night, I met my former classmate inside the mall.

     5) The President signed a peace treaty.


C) Future tense expresses an action that would take place sometime in the future. It also expresses a prediction or gives an order.

* the auxiliary verbs will or shall is added along with the base form of a verb
* actual future date or predictors can be used, i.e., soon, next, on

Examples:
    1) The Red Warriors will play against the Green Archers on Sunday.

    2) We shall have to abide by these camp rules.

    3) Will you please stop talking?

    4) The election will be on May 9.

    5) You shall not kill.

    6) Deniece and William will soon get married.

* shall is being used as a future predictor of the action in which the subject has an obligation or responsibility to do the stated action.

Also, check other topics under this category/label, just click the topic link:
Parts of Speech,  Kinds of Nouns,  Singular and Plural Nouns,  Uses of Nouns,  Kinds of Pronouns,  Kinds of Verbs, Characteristics of Verb.

#verb #verbtenses #simpletenses #presenttense #pasttense #futuretense #regular/irregularverb #English101 #grammar #sentenceconstruction

English 101: Uses of Nouns (series 1.A3)

         This is my 7th writing in the series of English 101, and the 3rd writing under the Noun series. The first in a series is about the different Parts of Speech, wherein a noun is a part. 

    The second series is about different kinds of Nouns, and the third series is about Singular and Plural Nouns. 

    Due to the pre-requisites in understanding this topic, Uses of Nouns, I have to post first the different Kinds of Pronouns and the Kinds of Verbs and Characteristics of Verb.

      

This is one topic about nouns that some high school students are having a hard time with, identifying in a sentence the use of the noun. To start with, let us enumerate the seven (7) uses of nouns and how to identify each of them in a sentence. 

1) as SUBJECT. The noun is placed before the verb (action word/linking verb/helping verb).
    Examples: God cares for us.
                      Alex lived on a small island.
                      A lullaby is a song for babies.
                      Mother and I are cooking some pasta.
                      Grandfather had his boat ready for the sail.
                      The crew did nothing to save the passengers on the ship.
                       Leo should win the academy award for his performance.

*linking verbs=am, is, was, are, were
*helping verbs=do, does, did, has, have, had, shall, should, may, might, will, would, can, could, ought, must

2) as SUBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT. The noun is placed after the linking verb.
    Examples: The giver of any good gift is God.
                      The time setting of the movie was 1942.

3) as DIRECT OBJECT. The noun is placed after the transitive verb.
        (transitive verb=when a person or thing directs the action toward someone or something)
    Examples: We thank God for all His blessings.
('we' directs the action 'thank' to God, thus making it the direct object)
                       Let us help Gino and his family.
('us' direct the action 'help' to Gino, thus making it the direct object)

4) as INDIRECT OBJECT. The noun is placed between the transitive verb and the direct object.
    (direct object=answers the question of who or what receives the action)
    Examples:  The mother gives Laura the consent she was asking for.
    ('gives', the transitive verb, 'the consent' answers the question, what does the mother give? so Laura is
       the indirect object)
                       She asked the teacher about the contest tomorrow.
    ('asked', the transitive verb, 'the contest' answers the question, what did she ask? so the teacher is the
       indirect object)

5) as NOMINATIVE ADDRESS. The noun refers to a person or persons spoken to in a sentence.
     Examples: Gina, stop it.
                       Sheila, Andrea, go get some help!

6) as OBJECTIVE COMPLEMENT. The noun comes after the direct object to modify or
    describe it.
    Examples:  She considered Manang a member of the family.
                       He plays basketball well, my favorite sport.

7) as APPOSITIVE. The noun is placed after another noun to identify or define it.
    Examples:  My confidant, God, never lets me down.
                       Her favorite English teacher, Miss Sicuya was among her guest.  
 

#noun #directobject #complement #appositive #subject #nominative #English101 #grammar             

English 101: Characteristic of Verbs (series 1.C2)

Determining what transitive and intransitive verbs are is just one of the students' difficulties in studying English subjects. And this topic would easily enable them to understand another difficulty, identifying the active and passive voice of a verb. 

For previous topics in this series, click the link below:
Parts of Speech
A. Nouns/Kinds of Nouns
     1. Singular and Plural Nouns
B. Pronouns/Kinds of Pronouns
C. Verbs/Kinds of Verbs

Transitive and Intransitive Verbs

image credit to teachers. onlineenglishexpert.com

A verb is transitive when a person or thing directs the action toward someone or something. The receiver of the action is the object of the verb.

Examples;

1) He composed an emotional song. (the action 'composed' is directed toward something which is 'song')
2) Mother bakes my birthday cake. (the action 'bakes' is directed toward something which is 'cake')
3) She helped the old man in crossing the street. (the action 'helped' is directed toward someone which is the old man)
4) The AFP send their military men to Basilan. (the action 'send' is directed toward someone which is the military men)

A verb is intransitive when the doer of the action does not direct the action toward someone or something.

Examples:

1) The sky darkened in the east.
2) Father already left from his office.
3) The glass broke.
4) Tinay fell.

CLICK HERE for Exercises

Active and Passive Voice

Voice tells whether the subject of the sentence is the doer or the receiver of the action.

The verb is in the active voice if the subject performs the action.

Examples:
1) Mother gave me a new dress. (the subject 'mother' performs the action 'gave')
2) He played the basketball game fair and square.

The verb is in the passive voice if the subject receives the action.

image credit to grammar.about.com

Examples:
1) I was given a new dress by Mother. (the action 'given' is received by the subject 'Mother')
2) The basketball game was played fair and square by the team. (the action 'played' is received by the subject 'team')
3) The messenger was sent to the office.

CLICK HERE for Exercises



            

English 101: The VERB (series 1.C1)

     This is my 6th writing about Parts of Speech in English 101, the Verb. This is the third part of the speech that is being discussed here, after Nouns and Pronoun. A verb is a word that expresses an action or state of being. Action verb denotes an action word such as clap, tap, walk, dance, talk, jump, etc. The linking verb denotes a state of being such as am, is, was, are, or we. We also have what we call the helping verb used with the main verb to form verb phrases.

*credit image to tes.com lessons

Action Verbs > show either a physical or mental action.
    Examples: His plane landed at NAIA two hours ago. (physical action)
                      She always hopes for the best in us. (mental action)

Linking Verbs > used to connect the subject of a sentence with a noun or an adjective identifies or describes the noun or pronoun.

Helping verbs:  be, been                 have, has, had        
                          do, does, did         will, would
                          shall, should         can, could
                          may, might           must

* some words seem to look like an action verb but are used in a sentence as a linking verb.
        Examples:
               appear       get        remain     sound
               become     grow     seem        stay
               feel            look      smell       taste

How do distinguish action words used as linking verbs?
>> Try to replace the word with the actual linking verb, if the thought of the sentence does not lose its sense, it means it is a linking verb,

Examples:  The baby feels agitated when he arrived.
          *The baby is agitated when he arrived.
                 (the word 'feels' is a linking verb)

                   The baby feels the drop of water on his face that made him laugh.
           *The baby is the drop of water on his face that made him laugh.
                      (the word 'feels' is an action verb here since when we replace the actual linking verb, it does lose its sense)

English 101: Pronouns (series 1.B1)

     Another part of the speech is PRONOUN, which is the second Part of the Speech we have to discuss after Noun. What are the importance of determining what a Pronoun is and its type? As we have said earlier it is a substitute for nouns, and in succeeding posts, the kind of pronoun to be used has something to do with the verb and correct sentence construction later on.
     A pronoun is used as a substitute for a noun. The noun that the pronoun replaces is called the antecedent. The kinds of Pronoun are as follows:

image credit from educatorlabs.com lesson plans

1) PERSONAL Pronouns.
    It is used to refer to one or more persons or things.
            ( look at columns 1 and 2 of the chart)

      * Column 1 is the subjective or nominative case of Personal Pronouns.
      * Column 2 is the objective case of  Personal Pronouns

     First Person > refers to the one speaking.

     Second Person > refers to the one being spoken to

     Third Person > refers to the one being spoken about.

    * POSSESSIVE Pronouns. 

        These are personal pronouns used to show possession or ownership.

                (look at columns 3 and 4 of the chart)

        * Column 3 and 4 is the possessive case of Personal Pronouns.

2) REFLEXIVE Pronouns. 

        It is used to indicate that the subject acts to, for, or upon itself. 

        It is formed by adding the suffixes -self  (singular) or -selves (plural)  

           to the personal pronouns. (see column 5)

    * INTENSIVE Pronouns. 

            They are used to draw special attention to a noun or pronoun in a sentence. 

               

        Examples: 

            I myself wrote this post.
           You yourself cannot hide the truth.
           Diana herself was amazed.                    

3) DEMONSTRATIVE Pronouns. It tells which one or which group is being referred to.
                                  

4) INTERROGATIVE Pronouns. It introduces questions.
                                                            

5) RELATIVE Pronouns.

                    It introduces adjective clauses which are word groups
                    that tell which, what kind, or how many.
                                      

                

        Examples:

             He is the boy who rang the bell. (subjective)
             The boy whom you met at the store. (objective)
             The boy whose mother had died. (possessive)

             This is the book which I read in Spain. (subjective)
             That is the book which you are going to buy. (objective)
             That is the book whose author I forgot. (possessive)

             He is the man that broke the glass. (subjective)
             He is the man that everyone hates. (objective)
             He is the man whose gun was confiscated. (possessive)

6) INDEFINITE Pronouns.
             It refers to persons, places, and things in general.
             It can be used without antecedents.
                     
             Singular
                 anybody       everyone       no one  
                 anyone         much             one
                 each             neither           somebody
                 either           nobody          someone
                 everybody   something     anything
     
             Plural
                 both             few                many
                 others          several
 
              The following can either be singular or plural, depending on how they are going to be used in a sentence.
                  all     any     most     none     some

English 101: Singular & Plural Nouns (series 1.A2)

     This is my third in a series of my English 101 on this blog. I am through discussing the different types and kinds of nouns, we will go on how is it when a single noun becomes many.

When we talked about the Number of Nouns, we are referring to Singular and Plural Nouns. Determining the numbers of a noun is vital in sentence construction. Most singular nouns are made plural by only adding "s" to their word. However, there are singular nouns which does not need any changes at all, and some are governed by rules or need changes for most of the letters in a word.

Here are some words which stay the same in plural form:

words with a suffix of -craft, 
sheep, cod, swine, trout, deer, salmon, moose, series, species, Japanese, Chinese, fish (fishes can be used if referring to different species)

Here are the lists of rules for changing singular nouns to plural forms.

1) If the noun ends in  's', 'x', 'sh', or 'ch', we add -es to make it plural.
    Examples: bus-buses, box-boxes, bush-bushes, batch-batches,
 
2) If the noun ends in 'o' with a consonant before it, we add -es,
    Examples: mango-mangoes, potatoes

    If a noun ends in 'o' with a vowel before it, we add -s.
    Examples: igloo-igloos, stereo-stereos

3) If the noun ends with 'f' or 'fe', we sometimes change the f or fe to -v and add -es.
    Examples: leaf-leaves, beef-beeves, life-lives, knife-knives

4) If the noun ends in 'y' with a consonant before it, change the y to -i and add -es.
    Examples: battery- batteries, candy-candies, berry-berries, lady-ladies

5) If the noun ends in 'y' with a vowel before it, we add -s to make it plural.
    Examples: monkey-monkeys, journey-journeys, key-keys, decoy-decoys

And here are the lists of some singular nouns that must change their spelling:
child-children, man-men, woman-women, ox-oxen, mouse-mice, foot-feet, tooth-teeth, goose-geese, louse-lice

Click here for some exercises
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English 101 - NOUN (series 1.A1)

     This is the second part of my English 101 series. After a brief discussion on the different parts of speech, this is about nouns, I would say the first and the heart of English sentence construction and word usage. Let's start with what is a word. A word is a group of letters that we utter. The letter m-o-t-h-e-r  is a word we use to refer to a certain person. When there is a group of words, we call it a sentence, phrase, or clause. 

Noun forms part of our everyday words, our speech. Some of my students who have had a weaker foundation in the lesson Parts of Speech confusingly referred to it as Figure of Speech (simile, metaphor, personification, etc). Noun, from the Latin word "nomen", literally means name. A noun is a word that names a person, a place, a thing, an animal, an event, an idea, or a concept. A noun can be divided into Concrete and Abstract.

Concrete nouns > names a material thing, people, place, anything that can be perceived through our senses, or does have a material existence.
Examples: planet, soldier, star, Earth.
The following cannot be perceived by the senses but have material existence: atom, proton, neutron, and cell.

Abstract nouns > names a concept, quality, emotion, condition, and attitude which have no material existence.
Examples:  joy, love, justice, freedom, power

Nouns have two kinds under these two divisions, namely, Common and Proper Nouns.

Common Nouns > names a "general" name of a person, a thing, a place, an animal, an event, a concept, or an idea.
Examples: boy, pencil, city, puppy, birthday, meetings, sports, knowledge, leadership

Proper Nouns > names a specific name of a person, a thing, a place, an animal, an event, a concept, or an idea.
Examples: Prince William, Mongol, Manila, Lassie, April, Olympic Games, Democrats

We also have the gender of nouns, in which we categorize each of them into hers, his, neutral, or common. The purpose is to identify the nouns to whom or which they should be used. The Genders of the noun are Masculine, Feminine, Common, and Neuter.

Masculine Gender Nouns > a noun used to refer to persons or animals of the male kind.
Examples: groom, prince, lad, rooster, king, duke, fiance, lion, uncle, nephew

Feminine Gender Nouns > a noun used to refer to persons or animals of the female kind.
Examples: bride, princess, lass, hen, queen, duchess, fiancee, lioness, aunt, niece

Common Gender Nouns > a noun used to refer to persons or animals whose gender has not been known or specifically stated.
Examples: citizen, visitor, people, student, child, singer, doctor, cat

Neuter Gender Nouns > a noun used to refer to objects.
Examples: car, house, ring, blouse, pants

Below are other nouns which are especially important in distinguishing the verb it agrees with. They will be discussed in my next blog post.

Collective Nouns > nouns used to refer to a whole group of people, places, things, or ideas.
Examples:

• Persons = family, committee, team, group, jury, crew, platoon, squad, troop, cast, battalion, bevy, colony, pride, class, coven, congregation, panel
• Animals = herd, club, gaggle, brood, litter, flock, pack, colony, caravan
• Things = bunch, bouquet, armada, fleet, deck, flotilla

Count Nouns > nouns that can be counted such as houses, books, clothes, shoes, etc.
Mass Nouns > nouns that cannot be counted individually, such as the words love, money, food, knowledge, and kindness.

We also have what we call the Number of nouns in which a vital role in sentence construction is very important, the Singular and Plural Nouns.
Singular nouns as the word implied, refer to a single person, place, thing, animal, or idea.
Plural nouns, however, implied more than one.
The list of these nouns with their corresponding plural forms will be provided in my next series as well as the different uses of nouns.

English 101 - Parts of Speech (series 1)

     My first day at school with each high school class started with a review of different parts of speech. It was mostly a disappointment that needed a question rephrasing, hints, and translation for them to remember or rather let them know what it is all about. Sometimes they interchanged it with figures of speech when they started answering metaphor, simile, etc. I can't blame them during their primary/intermediate days, most of them only spent 3 hours in school due to a lack of school rooms. I hope upon writing this, some of them will stumble upon it if not to give them the site's name.

Parts of Speech is a term used for the 8 categories into which words are classified according to their functions in a sentence. This term has been labeled by linguistics into word class or syntactic category. Parts of speech are divided into two, namely, Open classes and Closed classes. Open classes are nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Closed classes are pronouns, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjection.

1. Noun - a word that names a person, a place, a thing, an animal, an idea, or an event. (it is important to note that noun 'names a' not 'name of'. Noun actually give names, not the name of...  
2. Pronoun - a word that takes the place of a noun. The noun that the pronoun replaces or refers to is called the antecedent.
3. Verb - a word that expresses an action or a state of being.
4. Adjectives - words that describe a noun or pronoun.
5. Adverb - a word that describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
6. Preposition - a word that expresses a relationship between a noun or pronoun and another word in the sentence.
7. Conjunction - a   word that connects an individual word or group of words.
8. Interjection - an exclamatory word or phrase that can stand by itself although it may also appear in a sentence.

 Examples:

1. Nouns: teacher, Emily, city, Manila, cellphone, Sony, dog, Snoopy, compassion, love, birthday.
2. Pronouns: I, me, you, he, she, it, who, which, all, any, few, several, everyone, somebody.
3. Verbs: get, take, hopes, appear, seem, is, was, are, were, have, will, can, may, must.
4. Adjectives: happy, new, tall, helpful, many, more, prettiest.
5. Adverbs: quite, very, so, too, slowly, always, gracefully.
6. Prepositions: in, on, about, over, behind, under, inside, outside.
7. Conjunctions: and, but, or, while, that, thus, so that, however.
8. Interjections: oh! wow! alas! aha! hooray!..

* The category of each word in the Part of Speech is based on how it was used alone or in a sentence.

image credits to the owner

Quality or Formality Education?...

     Education tells who you are...does it?.. But what does education tells us?.. a stable job? success? speaking and writing in languages other than our mother tongue? proficient communication? talking confidently? good stature? Have a diploma? good manners? or rather, it's learning?..unfortunately, that's a fact now..learning comes last followed by good manners when talking about education. But what is education really mean? Education in its broadest sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people live on from one generation to the next. It occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts. Education in its narrow, technical sense, is the formal process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, customs, and values from one generation to another, such as instruction in schools. In the latter sense, this is where the question of quality and formality emerges.

     Quality education leads and plays a major role in excellent student education. An excellent education can be done through teaching methods and a curriculum that works for the students as well as the country's present situation. In having quality education, institution sets standards of achievement. An achievement test is being implemented at a different level, from division to regional to a national achievement test. Students undergo these tests to determine if they have attained the standards set for achievement, and these tests also acknowledge the kind of educational system in which the students are enrolled. In this manner, comes the question of the formality of education.

     Formality education or rather formality of education refers to the structure and system or process being implemented for the attainment of learning. The question lies in the attainment of learning and the process, being the process as a means and learning as an end. Due to the structure of certain schools and the government agency responsible for education, the means become an end. To follow the standards set for achievement and the system and the process, the real goal was set aside which we don't know exactly who would benefit from it since learning of students as a goal was not really achieved. Teachers, Principals, Division Heads, Supervisors, etc, are busy implementing school rules and educational systems and are occupied with the submission of different paper requirements and documents as well as beautifying the school's image. Every year, you can ask students if they have learned the required curriculum that they had just passed, but I doubt if they have. 

     Quality or formality? the end or the means? ..search it and know the difference, know it deeper and think how it is..look down and read...

     Though it seems right..let's take the job as a task. Learning is for a future task...Results are obtained when the former students start their new tasks...