GENERAL REVISION

A. ENGLISH BASIC TENSES

I. THE SIMPLE PRESENT
A. FORM
1. Affirmative
General structure (S + V + C)
We understand the leaders who undertake good actions for the country development.

Exceptions
For the third person singular (He/She/It) we:
a. Add “s” to the verb: Our Prime Minister speaks regularly.
b. Add “es” to verbs ended by o, x, ss, sh, ch, z.
To undergo: undergoes/ to fix: fixes / to pass: passes / to splash: splashes / to reach: reaches
to buzz: buzzes
c. Change “y” into “ies” if “y” is preceded by a consonant: To try/ to carry/ to bury/ to study/
to cry/ to marry: A laborious student studies every day.
d. Add “s” if “y” is preceded by a vowel: To employ/ to obey/ to pray/ to buy/ to stay/ to
play: This student always obeys the University regulations.
2. Negative: S+do/does+not+V+C.
I do not teach Spanish. She does not carry a baby.
3. Interrogative: Do/does+S+V+C+?
Do you study biology? Does the government encounter difficulties?
4. Negative interrogative: Do/does+S+not +V +C+?
Do we not take care of ourselves? Does he not ride a bicycle?

B. USE
The simple present is used to express:
1. Habitual and repeated actions
The Presidents meets the members of the government on Wednesdays.
They enjoy themselves on week-ends.

2. General truths
Dogs like bones.
Dogs bark.

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People sleep at night.
English (people) like tea.
A woman gives birth, a man doesn’t.
3. Scientific truths
The sun rises in the East and sets in the West.
Water boils at 100oC.
Water freezes at 0 oC.
4. Some proverbs
Charity begins at home.
Birds of a same feather flock together.
Practice makes perfect.
Actions speak louder than words.
The simple present is used with frequency adverbs such as: often, sometimes, always,
generally, usually, never, etc.
II.THE PRESENT PROGRESSIVE
A. FORM
You are listening to me now. She is doing the dishes presently.

B. USE
The present progressive is used to describe actions which are going on at the time of
speaking: The students are attending my class now.

Verbs not to be used in the progressive form

Taste or wishes: To want/ to dislike/ to like/ to hate/ to prefer/ to wish.
Opinion: To know/ to mean/ to believe/ to understand/ to imagine.
Perceptions which are not purposeful, voluntary: To hear/ to see/ to smell
I can hear the thunder. Involuntary action
But: The Head is seeing you tomorrow. Voluntary action.

III. THE SIMPLE PAST

A. FORM
1. Affirmative
Ibrahim Traoré travelled to Russia and met Vladimir Poutine some months ago.
The thieves broke into the house got hold of the coffer and fled into the bush.

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For irregular verbs, we consider their preterits.
For regular verbs, the past ends in “ed or d” and some specific modifications occur.
a. The final consonant is doubled for verbs of one syllable preceded by only one vowel.
To rob: robbed/ to chat: chatted/ to fit: fitted.
b. The final consonant is doubled for verbs of two syllables if the last syllable is
stressed.
To prefer: preferred/ to refer: referred/ to admit: admitted.
c. The final “y” changes into “i” before adding “ed”, if it is preceded by a consonant.
To study: studied/ to marry: married/ to modify: modified.

2. Negative
Ibrahim Traoré did not travel to Russia.
3. Interrogative
Did Ibrahim Traoré travel to Russia?

4. Negative interrogative
Did the President not travel to Russia?

B. USE
The simple past is used to indicate past actions, events or states that are completely
finished, the dates of which are specified. It is used with time adverbs such as: yesterday, last
week/month/year, ago, the first time, the last time, the previous week/month/year.
IV. THE PAST CONTINUOUS
A. FORM
I was watching a Football match on T.V.
We were writing the day’s lesson.
N.B: Use was for I he she it and were for you we they.

B. USE
The past continuous and the simple past are used together to indicate that something
happened in the middle of something else.
I was sleeping when the phone rang.
They were eating when the visitor came in.
Remark: When we talk about two past actions that went on over the same period of time,
we use the past continuous for both.
I was singing while John was playing the guitar.

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 V. THE PRESENT PERFECT
A. FORM
I have worked for many years.
This student has forgotten to submit his test.
The past participle ends in “ed” for regular verbs but ends differently with irregular verbs.

B. USE
The present perfect is used to talk about something that started in the past and affects the
present.
The Head of the department has agreed to meet the students.
It is used with time adverbs such as: just, already, lately, recently, never, ever, yet,
for, since, how long.
I have just had a Coke, I’m not thirsty.
She has already accepted the gift.
He has been taken to hospital lately.
They have never travelled by plane.
She is the prettiest girl I have ever seen.
Hasn’t he yet arrived?
I have lived in Koudougou for six years.
You have not come to see us since Christmas.
How long have you been married?
Remark: When the exact time is mentioned we use the simple past, otherwise, we use
the present perfect.
The accountant made mistakes in the payments yesterday. (Exact time mentioned: simple
past)
The accountant has made a mistake in the payments. (No time mentioned: present perfect)

VI. THE PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS

A. FORM
We have been working since the morning.
He has been studying French for six years.

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 B. USE
We use the present perfect continuous to talk about an action that started in the past and
still goes on in the present. It is used with:

1. FOR
“For” means “during” or “for a period of time” (for a minute, for an hour, for a week, for
decades, for centuries)
He has been drinking for hours.

2. SINCE
“Since” means from a point in time in the past, it refers to the beginning of an event or to
a date (since yesterday, since last year, since 4 p.m)
The teacher has been speaking since the morning.

3. HOW LONG
How long have your students been studying?

VII. THE PAST PERFECT

A. FORM
They had eaten fried rice.

B. USE
We use the past perfect to talk about a past activity that took place before another past
activity.
The thieves had left before the police arrived.
VIII. THE PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
A. FORM
Your parents had been trying to get in touch with you for days.

B. USE
The past perfect is used to talk about the continuity of a situation or activity, or how long
something went on up to a particular past time.
The students had been studying for more than an hour when we got home.

IX. THE SIMPLE FUTURE

A. FORM
It is used with shall (I, We) and will (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they)
They will conduct a survey next Sunday.

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 B. USE
The simple future is used to talk about actions which will take place in the future.
Remark: Unlike French, the future tense is not used after the following conjunctions:
“when”, “while”, “whenever”, “as soon as”, “as long as”
As soon as I finish, I will go home.
When one is old, one will stop working.
X. THE FUTURE CONTINUOUS
A. FORM
Next week, at this time, I will be travelling to the USA.

B. USE
The future continuous is used to talk about an event that will be going on at a particular
period in the future.
Tomorrow at his moment, I will be teaching English here.
XI. THE FUTURE PERFECT
A. FORM
By the time you come back, we will have finished.

B. USE
The future perfect is used to say that something will be completed at a certain time in the
future.
It will have stopped raining by the time we reach home.
XII. THE NEAR FUTURE (Be going to)
A. FORM
The two lovers are going to get married very soon.

B. USE
The near future is used to talk about an intention, a conviction or immediate future
actions.
What are you going to do when you get out?

BE ABOUT
Watch out! The branch is about to fall.

BE LIKELY TO
There is likely to be misunderstanding in the coming days.

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 GRAMMAR: ENGLISH ARTICLES
A. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLES A/AN
USE OF THE INDEFINITE ARTICLES
• The indefinite article a/an is used for countable nouns; “a” is used before consonants
and “an” before vowels
Examples: a table, a box, a tree, a student, a leader, an army, an orange, an important
woman, an uprising.
. Some words beginning with the vowels “u” and “e” in spelling do not take article “an”
but rather “a” because these vowels are pronounced /ju/
Examples: A university, a universal law, a united front, a European, a UN agent, a ewe.
• Alphabet letters
Examples: An a, a b, an r, an f, an h, a y, an MP.
We use “a/an” in number and quantity expressions such as: A little, a few, half a/an, a
quarter of, twice a, a kilo, a litre.

• The vowel “o” pronounced /w/ in some words is used with “a”
Examples: a one-way ticket, a one-eyed man.
. When “h” is aspirated we use “a”
Examples: A hut, a home, a hospital, a holiday.
. When “h” is not aspirated we use “an”
Examples: An hour, an heir, an honest man, an honor.
. We use “a/an” to say what a person’s job is.
Example: My mother is a doctor and my father an interpreter.
• The indefinite article is not used before uncountable nouns such as:
Examples: Luggage, furniture, news, advice, information, bread, money, paper.
They do not take the plural form “s” and are preceded by “some” or “a piece of”.
Let me give you some advice. Let me give you a piece of advice

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 B. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE (The)
I. Omission of the definite article
“The” is not used in the following situations:
1. For general ideas
Examples: I like music but I dislike noise. Life is worth living. Joy is not happiness.

2. Before abstract nouns

Love, death, vengeance, hatred, peace, heaven, hell.
Example: Heaven is full of God’s glory whereas hell is the territory of demons.

3. Before some diseases

Measles, meningitis, typhoid fever, bronchitis, cough, tuberculosis, malaria, dengue fever.
Example: Malaria and dengue fever kill many people these days.
Exceptions: a toothache, a sore throat, a headache, a stomachache.

4. Before languages and academic subjects

Languages: Moore, Dioula, Linguala, English/ Subjects: Mathematics, French, physics.
Example: He neither speaks Moore nor French.
5. Before: Television, breakfast, dinner, lunch, dinner, next/last (week, month, year)
Example: I had breakfast at 6.30 last week.
6. Singular geographical names: Africa, Asia, Burkina Faso, Niger, Saudi Arabia
Example: Upper Volta was the former name of Burkina Faso.
II. The is used in the following cases:

1. “The” is used when it is clear which thing or person we mean or refer to.
Example: Students are very laborious but the students I met last month were lazy.

2. Before names of rivers, seas and oceans

Examples: The Nile, the Volta, the Mississsipi, the Atlantic.

3. Before musical instruments

Example: The piano, the organ, the guitar, the cora, the gimbé.

4. With cinema, theatre, radio.

Example: We went to the cinema last week.

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 5. With nationality words (meaning the people of that country)
Example: The Burkinabè, the Malians and the Togolese are West African people.

6. With adjectives without a noun to mean a collectivity or a group

Example: The poor, the rich, the sick, the dead, the living, the lame, the unemployed.
Example: God will judge the living and the dead.

7. Before plural geographical and compound names which include kingdom, union,
state or republic.
Example: The United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland,
the United Arab Emirates.

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 NUMBERS
In our daily life or in our businesses we sometimes need to say numbers, in meetings
or on the telephone. This does not happen all of a sudden but requires practice.

I. ZERO, OH AND NOUGHT

- For the number 0 on its own, we say zero.

- Before a decimal point we say either zero or nought. Eg. 0.7: Zero point seven or
nought point seven.
- After a decimal point we say oh. Eg. 0.005: Zero/nought point oh oh five.
We also say oh in the following situations:
 Telephones: His phone number is 70 50 20 30
 Years: 1908: Nineteen oh eight; 2005: Twenty oh five
 Hotel room numbers: Room 309: Room three oh nine
 Bus numbers: Bus 405: Bus four oh five

II. POINTS AND COMMAS

In English, we use a point and not a comma for decimals. We only use commas when
writing numbers greater than 999.
18.005: Eighteen point oh oh five
18,005: Eighteen thousand and five
III. DECIMALS
In English, we usually read all the numbers after a decimal point separately, especially if
there are more than two decimal places:
0.485: Nought point four eight five
7.95: Seven point nine five
8.24689: Eight point two four six eight nine
0.001: Nought point oh oh one
But if numbers after a decimal point represent a unit of money, it is read like a normal
number.
£5.50: Five pounds fifty
€6.15: Six euros fifteen

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 IV. FRACTIONS
Ordinal numbers
1 the first 2 the second 3 the third 4 the fourth 5 the fifth 6 the sixth
7 the seventh 8 the eighth 9 the ninth 10 the tenth 11 the eleventh 12 the
twelfth 13 the thirteenth 14 the fourteenth 15 the fifteenth 16 the sixteenth 17 the
seventeenth 18 the eighteenth 19 the nineteenth 20 the twentieth 21 the twenty-first 22 the
twenty-second 23 the twenty-third 24 the twenty-fourth 25 the twenty-fifth 26 the
twenty-sixth 27 the twenty-seventh 28 the twenty-eighth 29 the twenty-ninth 30 the
thirtieth 31 the thirty-first 32 the thirty-second 33 the thirty-third 34 the thirty-fourth
35 the thirty-fifth 40 the fortieth 50 the fiftieth 60 the sixtieth 70 the seventieth
80 the eightieth 90 the ninetieth 100 the hundredth 101 the hundred and first
126 the hundred and twenty-sixth 199 the hundred and ninety-ninth
200 the two hundredth 300 the three hundredth 1000 the thousandth
1001 the thousand and first 1002 the thousand-and-second
1003 the thousand and third 10, 000 the ten thousandth
100, 000 the hundred thousandth 1, 000, 000 the millionth
Apart from 1/2 (a half), 1/4 (a quarter) we use ordinal numbers
1/3: One third or a third
1/8: One eighth or an eighth
From 1/1l we no longer use “a” but “one”. E.g. 1/12 one twelfth
Do not forget the “s” in the denominator when the numerator is beyond one.
2/6: Two sixths
5/10: Five tenths

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 V. CALCULATION

a. Addition
15 + 8= 23: Fifteen plus eight equals twenty three. / Fifteen and eight is twenty three.
b. Subtraction
30 - 15=15: Thirty minus fifteen equals fifteen. / Fifteen from thirty leaves fifteen.
c. Multiplication
7 x 5=35: Seven multiplied by five equals thirty-five. Seven times five equals thirty five
d. Division
50: 2= 25: Fifty divided by two equals twenty five
102: ten squared
103: ten cubed
104: ten to the power of 4
√25: the square root of twenty-five
3√25: three root of twenty-five
5√25: five root of twenty-five
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√25: the cube root of twenty-five
50%: fifty percent X >9: X is greater than nine X 9 ≥ is greater than or equals to nine
|x+2|: absolute value of X <8: X is less than eight X ≤ 9 is less than or equals to nine

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 TECHNICAL VOCABULARY
I. SOME DEFINITIONS

I.1. SCIENCE
Science is “the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the
physical and natural world through observation and experiment”. (Oxford English
Dictionary). It is a way of understanding the world around us. So, it a process of inquiry that
involves asking questions, gathering evidence and drawing conclusions.

I.2. A SCIENTIST
A scientist is a person who studies the natural world through the scientific
method (observation, experimentation, testing hypothesis). He is curious about how things
work and use his knowledge to understand and explain the world around him.

II. SOME PARTS OF THE HUMAN BODY AND INTERNAL ORGANS

II.1. PARTS OF THE HUMAN BODY

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 II.2. SOME INTERNAL ORGANS

III. THE DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF LIFE AND EARTH SCIENCES

III.1. THE BRANCHES OF LIFE SCIENCES

Life sciences are branches of science that are concerned with the scientific
study of life. They study living organisms and their processes (biology). They have many
branches.

1. Zoology
Zoology is the study of animals, their behaviour, physiology and classification.

2. Botany
Botany is the study of plants, their structure, physiology and classification.

3. Microbiology
Microbiology is the study of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi and
protozoa.

4. Biochemistry
Biochemistry is the study of chemical processes and substances involved in living
organisms.

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 5. Genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, heredity and genetic variation.

6. Ecology
Ecology is the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment.

7. Physiology
Physiology is the study of the functions of living organisms

8. Biotechnology
Biotechnology is the application of biological processes to solve problems or create products.

9. Anatomy
Anatomy is the study of the structure of living organisms.
Note that the list is not exhaustive.

II.2. THE BRACHES OF EARTH SCIENCES

Earth sciences are the scientific study of the Earth and its neighbours in space.

1. Oceanography
Oceanography is the study of oceans, their physical properties and marine life within them.

2. Astronomy
Astronomy is the study of celestial bodies such as stars, planets and galaxies.

3. Geophysics
Geophysics is the study of the Earth physical properties such as its magnetic fields and
seismic activity.

4. Geology
Geology is the study of the Earth’s structure, composition and history.

5. Meteorology
Meteorology is the study of the Earth’s atmosphere and weather patterns.

Note that this list is not exhaustive.

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