Short English examples can show more when you compare them carefully. This guide uses the course’s person words, speaking examples and negative sentences to practise noticing what changes. Begin with the complete meaning of each example, then look at the smaller parts. Write down the pattern you can see and the questions you still need to check.
Find who the sentence is about
| Basic cue | Course person word |
|---|---|
| The speaker | I |
| The person addressed | You |
| A male person | He |
| A female person | She |
| The speaker and others | We |
| People or things referred to | They |
The course example “I speak English” begins with “I”, which points to the speaker. “You speak French” addresses the listener. In normal English writing, the pronoun “I” is capitalised. Compare the complete examples before replacing any words, and keep the language names “English” and “French” capitalised too.
| Person cue | Complete course example |
|---|---|
| Speaker | I speak English |
| Listener | You speak French |
| He | He speaks German |
| She | She speaks Italian |
Notice “speak” in the first two lines and “speaks” in the lines beginning with “He” and “She”. The final s is small but visible. These examples give you a useful present-tense comparison. They also change the language being spoken, so mark both changes rather than assuming that every difference comes from the person word.
Compare a statement and its negative
| Meaning | Complete course example |
|---|---|
| A positive statement | I understand you |
| Its negative | I don't understand you |
| Another negative | I don't speak French |
“I understand you” becomes “I don’t understand you” when “don’t” is added before “understand”. “Don’t” is a contraction of “do not”; keep its apostrophe. The other example, “I don’t speak French”, places “don’t” before “speak”. Learn these complete lines first. They do not mean that every English negative uses the same form: other subjects and verbs need further examples.
Connect possession to a complete example
| Cue | Course form |
|---|---|
| Connected to the speaker | My |
| Connected to the listener | Your |
| Connected to the speaker’s group | Our |
| Complete course example | This is my house |
In “This is my house”, “my” comes before “house” and identifies whose house is being discussed. Compare “my” with the person word “I”: the two words have different jobs. Copy the complete sentence on one card and the cue “This is my house” as a situation you can picture on another. Focus on the order as well as the individual words.
Check the small changes
In the supplied speaking examples, which form follows “He”: “speak” or “speaks”?
Reveal the answer
He speaks German uses “speaks”.
Find the complete course line meaning that you do not understand the listener.
Reveal the answer
I don't understand you
End with a notebook entry containing one positive example, its supplied negative, and one detail you noticed. Read both aloud when the recording is available, then try to retrieve them from the meaning alone. Before turning an observation into a general rule, find more examples in the grammar lesson. This helps keep a useful pattern from becoming an overgeneralisation.