STEP   1

	VOCABULARY
Nouns		Adjectives
bed		round
building		wide --- narrow
door
flower
house
pot
room
table
window
	Structure Words
is, are (root form : be)		I 2
put -- take 1		it (root form : he)
against	#AGAINST     AGAINST#	this -- that 1
between	# BETWEEN #	a
by	# BY     BY #	the
in	|######       IN   #   |######	and	+ ,   &
on -- off 1	ON       OFF #####
over -- under 1	OVER   #####   #####   UNDER

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1 . Adjectives, prepositions, etc., which may be regarded as opposites in sense are printed in pairs as an aid to learning.
2 . The word I is always spelled with a capital letter. STRUCTURE     NOTE . In framing the examples for this first Step, it has been necessary to anticipate points that are not dealt with till later sections of the Step. It is assumed that all the examples will be translated into the learner's language by the teacher as they are introduced.
1 . Nouns
The only form-change in English nouns is the change from singular to plural.
The regular plural is formed by adding s.
bed  -- beds
door -- doors
pot   -- pots
The last syllable in houses is pronounced 'ziz.'

2 . Adjectives
Descriptive adjectives are used :
(a) Immediately before a noun (see end of Section 3).
A round window.
The narrow door.
(b) After some form of be (or seem, see Step 7) to qualify its subject.
The room is narrow.
The window is wide.
English adjectives are invariable. ¹
A wide door.       The room is narrow.
Wide doors.         The rooms are narrow.
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1 . For the only exception to this rule, see page 4.
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3 . A and The
A becomes an before a word starting with a vowel sound, but apart from this, a and the are in variate.
A is used with a singular noun (in cases where the more emphatic numeral one (1) is not required) when talking of one of the group of things or persons so named. It simply indicates that we are speaking of a single thing, without, like the, pointing to it as any special one. Any noun referring to a single distinct object, such as pot, must have a before it if it is not qualified by the, one, or some other non-descriptive adjective.
This is a door.           (one of the group of things called "door".
A flower is on the table.     (not any particular flower, just 'one' flower.)

Because it is unselective, it may be used with the force of 'any' or 'all' for making general statements.
A house is a building.       (any house is , i.e., all houses are buildings)
A is naturally never used with a plural noun. When the reference is unselectively to an unspecified number of things named, or to all of them in general, the plural noun may stand by itself.
Houses are buildings.       (all houses)
Flowers are on the table.       (some flowers -- more than one)
The is used before either a singular or a plural noun when what is being talked of has been singled out by previous reference or is the only thing, person, or group to which the description appliers.
This is a bed. The bed is narrow.       (that is, the bed just mentioned)
A flower is under the table.       (there being only one table in the room)
My bed is the narrow bed.       (which distinguishes it from others)
As will be seen from these examples, when a noun is qualified directly by a descriptive adjective in addition to a or the, a or the precedes the other adjective. (This is part of a more general rule that, before a noun, descriptive adjectives always follow numeral, possessive, and other non-descriptive adjectives, such as are listed in the Operation column of the Basic English Word List at the font of the book.)
the wide windows
a narrow door


4 . Pronouns

Relation	Form for Subject	Form for Object	Possessive Adjective
1 st	Singular     I	ME	MY
	Plural     WE	US	OUR
2 nd	S + P     YOU	YOUR	YOUR
3 rd	Singular   Male   HE	HIM	HIS
	Female     SHE	HER	HER
	Neuter     IT	IT	ITS
	Plural     THEY	THEM	THEIR

    This Table gives the form changes of the personal pronouns. In this Step and the next you will meet on I, its possessive adjective my, and it.
    As you will see, there are not many pronoun forms. the changes of form indicate whether the pronoun is singular or plural, the part it plays in the sentence, and, in the case of the Third Person Singular only, whether what the pronoun stands for is a male, a female, or a thing.¹ The possessive adjectives corresponding to the different pronouns are used only preceding a noun and are invariable like other English adjectives.
I put a bed in the room.
I take a pot off the table.
This is my house.
That is my room.
That is my bed.
This is a door. It is a wide door.
A pot is on the table. I put flowers in it.
The table is by the door. I put it by the window.
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¹ Animals, however, are very commonly, like things, referred to by the pronoun it.
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Singular	Plural
THIS	THESE
THAT	THOSE

This and that are pointing pronouns.
This = the thing here that I am pointing at.
That = the thing there that I am pointing at.
The pointing need not be a physical act.

This is a building.	These are buildings.
That is a bed.	Those are beds.
I put this on that.	I put these on those.

They are also used as pointing adjectives, taking their plural forms before a plural noun. These are the only adjectives which have any change of form.

This window is wide.	These windows are wide.
That window is narrow.	Those windows are narrow..

In accordance with the rule at the end of Section 3, this, that, and the possessive adjective my preceded any descriptive adjective before a noun.
My narrow bed.
This round pot.
That wide table.


5 . Operators

Root Form	Past		Present		Future
BE	I	WAS	I	AM	WILL BE
	He, she, it		He, she, it	IS
	We	WERE	We	ARE
	You (s. & p.)		You (s. & p.)
	They		They
PUT	PUT		PUT but He, she, it. PUTS		WILL PUT
TAKE	TOOK		TAKE but He, she, it. TAKES		WILL TAKE


    The 'operators' of Basic English are a special selection of the verbs of ordinary English. They are called operators because most of them name simple physical operations. Many English verbs express complete ideas combining the senses of several parts of speech. For example, disembark = 'get off the ship' ; that is to say, it may be broken down into the operator get (Step 3) with a preposition and a noun. Most languages have verbs of this complex kind. In Basic they are expressed by putting together simpler units. The operators are key words in the Basic system. Complete familiarity with their senses, their form changes, and the ways in which they combine with other words is an important step towards becoming fluent with the limited vocabulary of Basic.
    The chief tenses of the three operators to be learned in this Step are listed in the above Table. In this Step and the next, only the Present Forms of the operators are used and, except in the case of be, you will not meet the Third Person Singular. You will notice that be is irregular. In this Step you have to learn only the Third Person Singular and the Plural.
   As the opposite of put, take, like put, has to be followed by a preposition, etc. ; but take may also be used by itself (see p. 13).
This is my room.
My room is in that house.
I put the pot on the table.
I take the pot off the table.


6 . Prepositions
    Almost all prepositions in Basic are names of directions or positions in space. These 'names of directions,' as they are called in the Basic system to emphasize their nature, are the chief group that combine with the operators to form verbs. Get the simple physical senses of the operators and the simple spatial senses of this group into your head for a start. You will find that all the other uses which you meet later are based on these.
The bed is against the door.
The bed is between the windows.
The table is between the door and the window.
The table is by the bed.
The bed is in the room.
The pot is on the table.
The pot is off the table.
This room is over my room.
My room is under this room.

    A phrase starting with a preposition may be put after a noun to identify the thing in question more exactly.
The flowers on the table are my flowers.


7. Conjunctions
    And joins words, phrases, or statements complete in themselves (that is, independent statements).
A bed and a table.
The pot is on the table and the table is between the beds.
Two nouns joined by and are treated as a plural.
A bed and a table are in the room.


8. Normal Word Order
I put a pot on the round table.

    Here you see the characteristic word order of a simple English sentence. First the doer of the act is named, I ; then the act itself, put ; then the thing to which the act is done, a pot ; and lastly the direction of the act, on the round table.
    They are, of course, many alternative types of sentence, but this word order is the primary pattern, and it is used throughout the first two Steps. Is and are do not name an operation which is done to any thing or person or in any direction. They merely link the subject with a noun, adjective, or preposition, etc. qualifying it.

EXERCISES

    1 . Write four sentences in Basic describing what you see in this picture.
Use one of the following prepositions in each sentence : between , by , in , on .

    2 . Name the opposites of that , narrow , put , off , over , these .

    3 . Fill in the blanks with the words is , are , a , the .
(a)   _____ windows in this room _____ round.
(b)   This _____ _____ room in my house.
(c)   Pots _____ on the table.
(d)   I take _____ pot off the table.
(e)   That _____ my flower.
(f)   _____ flower _____ in a pot.

    4 . Change this into a statement about more than one bed :
This narrow bed is between the windows.

    5 . Translate into Basic :
(The following sentences should be given to the learner in his own language for translation into Basic.)
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STEP   2

	VOCABULARY
Nouns		Adjectives
book		black -- white	Black    White
cover
curtain
cushion
drawer
floor
frame
picture
seat
wall

MY ROOM     This building is a house. It is a white house. My room is in this white house. This is my room. My bed is against this wall. It is under the wide window. My books are on that narrow black table between the bed and the door. Those are my books. A picture in a frame is on the wall over the books.
    The walls are white and the floor is black. The curtains over the bed are black. A cover and cushions are on the bed. The cushions are against the wall.
    My seat is by the round table. It is between the table and the bed. That seat is between the table and the door. The pot on the table is round and black. These flowers are in the pot. A white flower is on the floor under the table.
    I take the white flower off the floor and put it in the pot. I take the pot off this table and put it by the books. I take a book off that table and put it in the drawer. I put this round cushion on a seat and I put this cushion on the floor. I take the cover off my bed and put it on a seat. Notes that narrow, black table : When two or more descriptive adjectives are used before a noun, it is usual for them to have only a comma between them.
the pot . . . is round and black : When two or more such adjective are used after be to qualify its subject, it is necessary for them to be linked by and.
on the wall : The surface which something is on need not be horizontal.
I take the flower off the floor and put it in the pot : If two statements joined by and have the same subject, this is not usually repeated. EXERCISES
    1 . Write down in Basic the names of all the numbered objects.

    2 . Write five sentences describing what you see in the picture.

    3 . Name five parts of a house.

    4 . (a)   Make up sentences using put with against , between, and by, and take with off.
        (b)   Make up sentences using is or are with in , on , over , and under.

    5. Answer in Basic :
(a) Which table are the seats by ?
(b) Where is the white flower ?
(c) Where are your books ?
(d) What do you do with the cover on your bed ?
(e) What color are the curtains ?
(f) Describe the pot on the table.

    6 . Translate into Basic :
(The following sentences should be given to the learner in his own language for translation into Basic.)
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