Theory_Consolidated

English 1: Complete Theory Notes

IIT Madras BS DS - Foundational Level All 12 Weeks Covered

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Week 1-3: Phonetics

1.1 The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

IPA provides a unique symbol for every distinct sound in human languages.

Why IPA? English spelling is inconsistent:

• “though” vs “through” vs “tough” - all have different sounds!

1.2 Consonant Sounds

Classification

Place of Articulation	Unvoiced	Voiced
Bilabial (both lips)	/p/ (pin)	/b/ (bin)
Labiodental (lip + teeth)	/f/ (fan)	/v/ (van)
Dental (teeth)	/θ/ (thin)	/ð/ (this)
Alveolar (tooth ridge)	/t/, /s/	/d/, /z/
Palatal	/ʃ/ (ship)	/ʒ/ (measure)
Velar (soft palate)	/k/ (cup)	/g/ (gun)
Glottal	/h/ (hat)	-

Voicing Test

Put your hand on your throat:

• Voiced: You feel vibration (b, d, g, z, v)
• Unvoiced: No vibration (p, t, k, s, f)

1.3 The /z/ Sound Rule

Final “s” pronunciation depends on the preceding sound:

After…	‘s’ sounds like	Example
Unvoiced consonant (p, t, k, f)	/s/	cats, tips
Voiced consonant (b, d, g, v)	/z/	dogs, beds
Vowel	/z/	bees, boys
s, z, sh, ch, j	/ɪz/	buses, watches

1.4 The “SH” Sound /ʃ/

Can be spelled as:

• “sh”: ship, wish
• “ch”: machine, chef
• “ci”: special, social
• “ti”: nation, attention
• “ce”: ocean
• “s” (sometimes): sugar, sure

1.5 Vowel Sounds

Short Vowels

Symbol	Sound	Examples
/ɪ/	short i	bit, sit
/e/	short e	bed, red
/æ/	short a	cat, bat
/ʌ/	short u	cup, but
/ɒ/	short o	hot, dog
/ʊ/	short oo	book, put
/ə/	schwa	about, sofa

Long Vowels

Symbol	Sound	Examples
/iː/	long e	beat, see
/ɑː/	long a	car, father
/ɔː/	long o	saw, born
/uː/	long oo	moon, boot
/ɜː/	long ur	bird, turn

Diphthongs (Gliding Vowels)

Symbol	Sound	Examples
/aɪ/	long i	my, bite
/eɪ/	long a	say, make
/ɔɪ/	oi	boy, coin
/aʊ/	ow	now, cow
/əʊ/	long o	go, home

1.6 Monophthongs vs Diphthongs

• Monophthong: Pure vowel, one sound (a, e, i, o, u)
• Diphthong: Two vowel sounds gliding together

1.7 Semi-Vowels (Glides)

Sound	Symbol	Example
w	/w/	wet, wait
y	/j/	yes, yet

Important: Semi-vowels are NOT monophthongs! They act like consonants.

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Week 4-6: Grammar

4.1 Parts of Speech

Part of Speech	Function	Examples
Noun	Person, place, thing	book, India, happiness
Pronoun	Replaces noun	he, she, it, they
Verb	Action or state	run, think, is
Adjective	Describes noun	big, happy, red
Adverb	Describes verb/adj/adv	quickly, very
Preposition	Shows relationship	in, on, at, by
Conjunction	Connects	and, but, or
Interjection	Expresses emotion	oh!, wow!

4.2 Subject-Verb Agreement

Subject Type	Verb Form	Example
Singular (he, she, it)	adds “s”	He runs
Plural (they, we)	no “s”	They run
I	base form	I run
You	base form	You run

Tricky Subjects:

• Everyone, Someone, Nobody → Singular
• Each, Either, Neither → Singular
• Both, Few, Many → Plural

4.3 Tenses

Simple Tenses

Tense	Formula	Example
Simple Present	V1 / V1+s	I eat / He eats
Simple Past	V2	I ate
Simple Future	will + V1	I will eat

Continuous Tenses

Tense	Formula	Example
Present Continuous	am/is/are + V-ing	I am eating
Past Continuous	was/were + V-ing	I was eating
Future Continuous	will be + V-ing	I will be eating

Perfect Tenses

Tense	Formula	Example
Present Perfect	have/has + V3	I have eaten
Past Perfect	had + V3	I had eaten
Future Perfect	will have + V3	I will have eaten

4.4 Active vs Passive Voice

Voice	Structure	Example
Active	Subject + Verb + Object	The cat ate the mouse.
Passive	Object + be + V3 + by Subject	The mouse was eaten by the cat.

Conversion:

1. Object becomes subject
2. Verb changes to “be + V3”
3. Subject becomes “by + object” (optional)

4.5 Direct & Indirect Speech

Direct: He said, “I am happy.” Indirect: He said that he was happy.

Changes in Indirect Speech

Direct	Indirect
I, me	he/she, him/her
we, us	they, them
am/is	was
are	were
have	had
will	would
here	there
now	then
today	that day
tomorrow	the next day

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Week 7-9: Reading Comprehension

7.1 Main Idea vs Supporting Details

• Main Idea: Central point (often first or last sentence)
• Supporting Details: Examples, data, explanations

7.2 Types of Questions

Factual Questions

Answer is directly stated in the text. “According to the passage…”

Inference Questions

Answer is NOT directly stated; must be concluded. “It can be inferred that…”

Vocabulary in Context

Find meaning from surrounding sentences, not dictionary. “The word X in line Y most nearly means…“

7.3 Reading Strategies

1. Skim first: Get overall idea
2. Read questions: Know what to look for
3. Locate keywords: Find relevant sections
4. Eliminate wrong answers: Process of elimination

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Week 10-12: Writing Skills

10.1 Coherence & Cohesion

Coherence

Ideas flow logically from one to the next.

Cohesion Devices

Device	Examples
Reference	he, she, this, that
Conjunction	however, therefore, thus
Repetition	using same key terms
Synonymy	using similar words

10.2 Formal vs Informal Register

Informal	Formal
So	Therefore
But	However
Start	Commence
Ask	Request
Can’t, won’t	Cannot, will not
Kids	Children

10.3 Paragraph Structure

1. Topic Sentence: Main idea
2. Supporting Sentences: Details, examples
3. Concluding Sentence: Summary or transition

10.4 Common Errors

Subject-Verb Agreement

❌ “Everyone are happy.” ✅ “Everyone is happy.”

Pronoun Agreement

❌ “Each student must submit their work.” ✅ “Each student must submit his/her work.” (or “Students must submit their work.“)

Tense Consistency

❌ “He went to the store and buys milk.” ✅ “He went to the store and bought milk.”

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Quick Reference: Irregular Verbs

V1 (Base)	V2 (Past)	V3 (Past Participle)
be	was/were	been
begin	began	begun
break	broke	broken
bring	brought	brought
buy	bought	bought
come	came	come
do	did	done
eat	ate	eaten
give	gave	given
go	went	gone
have	had	had
know	knew	known
make	made	made
see	saw	seen
take	took	taken
write	wrote	written

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End of English 1 Theory. Good luck!