Overview of English Grammar
THEORY
I. PARTS OF SPEECH
Knowing parts of speech gives you a basic vocabulary for identifying words and understanding how a language works. We will try and explain the noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, and interjection. As you use this material, be aware that no part of speech exists in a vacuum. To identify a word's Part of speech correctly, see how the word functions in the sentence you are analyzing. Often, the same word functions differently in different sentences.
We ate fish. [Fish is a noun. It names a thing.]
We fish on weekends. [Fish is a verb. It names an action.]
1 .1 Recognizing nouns
A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea: student, college, textbook, education. Nouns function as SUBJECTS, OBJECTS, and COMPLEMENTS.
i) Words that often appear with nouns tell how much or many, whose, which one, and similar information. These words include articles (a, an, the) and other determiners or limiting adjectives.
ii) ii) Sometimes a suffix (a word ending) can help you identify the part of speech.
NOUNS-TYPES
TYPE
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PURPOSE
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EXAMPLE
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Proper
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Specific people, places, or things ( first letter is always capitalized)
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John Lennon, Paris, Buick
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CMMON
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General groups, places, people, or things
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Singer, city, automobile
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CONCRETE
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Things experienced through the sense: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch
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Landscape, pizza, thunder
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ABSTRACT
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Things not knowable through the senses
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Freedom, shyness
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COLLECTIVE
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Groups
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Family, team
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NONCOUNT OR MASS
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“uncountable” things
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Water, time
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COUNT
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Countable items
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Lake, minute
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1.2 Recognizing pronouns
A pronoun takes the place of a NOUN. The word (or words) a pronoun replaces is called its antecedent.
Some pronouns have three different forms, known as cases: subjective case, objective case and possessive case.
David is an accountant. [Noun]
He is an accountant. [Pronoun]
The finance committee needs to consult him. [The pronoun "him" refers to its antecedent, David.]
PRONOUNS
PRONOUNS
PERSONAL
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I, you, they, her, its, ours, and others
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Refers to people or things
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I saw her take a book to them
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RELATIVE
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Who, which, that
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Introduces certain NOUN CLAUSES and ADJECTIVE CLAUSES
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The book that I lost v valuable.
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INTERROGATIVE
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Who, whose, what, which, and others
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Introduces a question
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Who called?
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DEMONSTRATIVE
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This, these, that, those
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Points out the ANTECEDENT
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Whose books are these?
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REFLEXIVE; INTENSIVE
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Myself, themselves, and other- self or selves words
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Reflects back to the antecedent; intensifies the antecedent
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They claim to support themselves.
I myself doubt. It.
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RECIPROCAL
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Each other, one another
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Refers to individual parts of a plural antecedent
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Everyone is welcome here.
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INDEFINITE
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All, anyone, each, and others
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Refers to nonspecific persons or things
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Everyone is welcome here.
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1.3 Recognizing verbs
Main verb express action, occurrence, or state of being
I dance. [Action]
The audience became silent. [Occurrence]
Your dancing was excellent. [State of being]
Procedure to be followed
If you are not sure whether a word is a verb, try putting the word into a different tense. If the sentence I still makes sense, the word is a verb.
He is a changed man.
He is a will change man. [The sentence does not make sense when the verb will change is substituted, so changed is not functioning as a verb.]
The store changed owners. The store will change owners. [Because the sentence still makes sense when the verb will change is substituted, changed is functioning as a verb.] •
Recognizing verbals
Verbals are verb parts functioning as NOUNS, ADJECTIVES, or ADVERBS.
VERBALS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS
INFINITIVE: To + SIMPLE FORM of VERB
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I. NOUN
2. ADJECTIVE or ADVERB
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To eat now is inconvenient.
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GERUND: -ing form of verb
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NOUN
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Eating in turnpike restaurants can be an adventure.
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PAST PARTICIPLE: -ed form of REGULAR VERB or equivalent in IRRGULAR VERB
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ADJECTIVE
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Boiled, filtered water is usually safe tc drink.
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PRESENT PARTICIPLE: -ing form of verb
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I. NOUN 2. ADJECTIVE
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Hiking gear is expensive Hiking is healthy
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1.4 Recoganizing adjectives
Adjectives modify-that is, they describe or limit ----Nouns ,pronouns and word group that function as noun
SENTENCE
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EXPLANATION
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I saw a green tree
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Green modify the noun free
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It was leafy
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Leafy modifies the pronoun it .
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The flowering trees beautiful .
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Beautiful modifies the noun phrase the following trees .
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Descriptive adjectives ,like leafy and green ,can show levels of intensity green greener ,greenest ;leafy ,more leafy .Proper adjectives are formed from PROPER NOUNS American ,Victorian
Note usually ,words with these suffixes are adjectives :-ful,-ish,-less ,and like
Determiners (Limiting adjectives )
ARTICLES a ,an, the
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A reporter working on an assignment is using the telephone
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DEMONSTRATIVE this these ,that ,those
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Those students rent that house .
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IDEFINITE any each, few, other, some and others
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Few films today have complex plots
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INTERROGATIVE what ,which whose
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What answer did you give ?
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NUMERICAL one ,first ,two, second ,and others
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The fifth question was tricky
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POSSESSIVE my ,your, their and others
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My violin is older the your cello
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RELATIVE what ,which, whose ,whatever and others
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We do not know which road to take
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The determiners “a, an” and “ the also called articles .”The” is a define article .Before a noun ,”The conveys that the noun refers to specific item (the plan) “ A “ and “ An” are indefinite articles .They convey that a noun refers to an item in a nonspecific or general way (a plan) when you chose between “ a” and “ an” remember to use “a” when the word following it starts with a consonant sound : a carrort ,a broken egg,a hip use “an” when the word following is starts with a vowel sound : an egg, an old carrot ,an honor. Some words in the chart also functions as pronouns .To identify a word’s part of speech she how if function in a sentence
The car belongs to Harold [That =demonstrative adjective ]
[That =Demonstrative pronoun]
1.5 RECOGNIZING ADVERBS
An adverbs modifies –that is ,describes or limits –VERBS, Adjectives ,other adverbs ,and entire sentence for detail discussion of adverbs
SENTENCE
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EXPLANATION
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Chefs plan meals carefully .
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Carefully modify the verb plan
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Vegetables provide very important vitamins
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Very modifies the adjective important .
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Those potato chips are too heavily salted
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Too modifies the adverb heavily .
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Fortunately ,people are learning that salt can be harmful
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Fortunately modifies the entire sentence .
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Many adverb are easy to recognize because they are formed by adding –ly to adjective ;saidly loudly and normally .Some adjectives ,however ,end in –ly : brotherly ,lovely .Also many adverb to do not end in –ly very much, always ,not yesterday, so and well are a few that do not .
Descriptive adverb be can show level of intensity ,usually by adding more or (less)and most or (least ) more happily least clearly .
Conjunctive adverbs modify by creating logical connections in meaning as show below .Conjunctive adverbs can appear in the first position of a sentence ,in the middle of a sentence ,or in the position of a sentence .
Therefore ,we consider lsaac Newton an important scientist
We consider lsaac Newton, therefore , an important scientist
We consider lsaac Newton an important scientist, therefore
1.6 RECOGNIZING PREPOSITIONS
Prepositions include common words such in ,under by ,after ,to, on, over and since Prepositions function with other words in prepositional phrases ,Prepositional phrases often setout relationships in time or space in April ,under the orange umbrella ,
In the fall we will hear a concert by our favorite tenor
After the concert ,he will fly to paris
Some words that function as prepositions also function as other parts of speech to check whether a word is a preposition ,see how it functions in the sentence
SENTENCE
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EXPLANATION
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The mountain climbers have not radioed in science yesterday
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Preposition
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Since they have left the base camp ,the mountain climbers can communicate with us only by radio
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Suborning conjunction
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At first ,I was not worried ,but I have since changed may mind
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Adverb
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1.7 RECOGNIZING CONJUNCTIONS
A conjunction connects words PHRASES or CLAUSES.
Coordinating conjunctions, listed herein join two or more grammatically equivalent structures
We hike and camp every summer [“And” “joins
SUBORDINATING CONJPS THEY CONJUNCTIONS AND THE RELATIOSHIPS THEY EXPRESS
RELATIONSHIP
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WORD
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Time
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After, before, once, since, until , when, whenever, while
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Reason or cause
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As, because, since
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Condition
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If, even if, provide that, unless
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Contrast
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Although, even, though, whereas
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Location
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Where, wherever
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Choice
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Rather than, than, whether,
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Result or cause
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As, because, since
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Recognizing interjections
An interjection is a word or expression that conveys surprise or another strong emotion. Along, an interjection is usually punctuated with an exclamation point (!) as part of a sentence; an interjection is set off by a comma (or commas). In academic writing, use interjections sparingly, if at all.
Hooray! Got the promotion.
Oh, they are late.
2. STRUCTURES OF THE SENTENCE
When you know how sentences are formed, you have one tool for understanding the art of writing.
2.1 Defining the sentence
The sentence has several definitions, each of which views if from a different perspective. On its most mechanical level, a sentence starts with a capital letter and finishes with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. A sentence can be defined according to its purpose.
SENTENCE
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EXPLANATION
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Declarative sentences make a statement
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Sky diving is dangerous.
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Interrogative sentences ask a question
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Is sky diving dangerous?
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Imperative sentences give a command
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Be careful when you skydive.
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Exclamatory sentences begin with what or How and express strong feeling
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Wow I love sky diving!
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Grammatically, sentence contains an independent. Clause (a group of word that can stand alone as an independent unit): Sky diving is dangerous. Sometimes a sentence is described as a “complete thought, “but an indianite variety of sentences can be composed, but all sentences share a common foundation.
2.2 Recognizing subjects and predicates
A sentence consists of two basic parts: a subject and a predicate.
SENTENCE PATTERNS : GROUP –I
COMPETE SUBJECT + COMPETE SUBJECT
The red telephone Rang loudly
SIMPLE SUBJECT SIMPLE PREDICATE (Verb)
COMPETE SUBJECT + COMPLETE PREDICATE
The telephone and doorbell Rang loudly
COMPOUND SUBJECT
COMPETE SUBJECT + COMPLETE PREDICATE
The red telephone Rang and started everyone in the room
COMPLETE PREDICATE
COMPLETE PREDICATE
The simple subject is the word or group of word that acts ,is described ,or is acted upon .
SENTENCE
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EXPLANATION
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The telephone rang
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Simple subject, telephone ,acts
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The telephone is red
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Simple subject, telephone is described
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The telephone was being connected
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Simple subject, telephone is acted upon
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The complete subject to the simple subject and modifiers (all the words that describe or limit it ) The red telephone range
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a compound subject consists of two or more NOUNS or PRONOUNS and their modifies : The telephone and the doorbell range .
The predicate is the part of the sentence that contains the VERB
The predicate tells where that the subject is doing or experiencing or what is being done to the subject .
SENTENCE
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EXPLANATION
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The telephone rang
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Range tells what the subject ,telephone did
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The telephone is red
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Is tells what the subject telephone ,experiences
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The telephone was being connected
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Was being connected tells what was being done to the subject ,telephone
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A simple predicate contains only the verb .The lawyer listened .A complete predicate contains the verb and its modifies .The lawyer listened carefully .A compound predicate contains two or more verbs : The lawyer listened and waited .
1. In sentence that make a statement ,the subject usually comes before the predicate .In sentences that ask a question ,part of the predicate usually comes before the subject .
2. Avoid repeating a subject with a personal pronoun in the same clause
NO My grandfather, he lived to be eighty seven .
YES My grandfather, lived to be eighty seven
NO winter storms that bring ice ,sleet and show the can cause traffic problems
YES winter storms that bring ice ,sleet and snow can cause traffic problems
Recognizing direct and indirect objects
Direct objects and indirect objects occur in the PREDICATE of sentence
A direct object receives that action –it completes the meaning of a TRANSITIVE VERB .To find a direct object make up a whom ? or what Question about the verb
An indirect object answer “ To whom” ,” For whom”,” To what”? or “ For what” type questions about the verb and show the relationships of direct and indirect object in sentences
SENTENCE PATTERNS : GROUP –II
COMPETE SUBJECT + COMPETE SUBJECT
The red caller offered money
VERB DIRECT OBJECT
COMPETE SUBJECT + COMPLETE PREDICATE
The caller offered the lawyer money
VERB INDIRECT DIRECT
OBJECT OBJECT OBJECT
COMPETE SUBJECT + COMPLETE PREDICATE
The red telephone offered money to the lawyer
VERB DIRECT INDIRECT
OBJECT OBJECT OBJECT
2.3 Recognizing phrases
A phrase is a group of related words that does not contain both a SUBJECT and a PREDICATE. A phrase cannot stand alone as an independent unit. Phrases function as parts of speech. A noun phrases functions as a NOUN in a sentence.
The modern population census dates back to the seventeenth century.
A verb phrase functions as a VERB in a sentence.
Two military censuses are mentioned in the Bible,
The Romans had been conducting censuses every five years to establish tax liabilities.
A prepositional phrase always starts with a PREPOSITION and functions as a MODIFIER.
After the collapse, Rome censuses were discontinued until modern times. [“After the collapse”, “of Rome’, “and until modern times “are all prepositional phrases.]
William, the Conqueror, conducted a census of landowners in newly conquered England in 1086. [Three prepositional phrases in a row beginning with of, in, in]
An absolute phrase usually contains a noun or PRONOUN and a PARTICIPLE. It modifies the entire sentence to which it is attached.
Censuses being the fashion, Quebec and Nowa Scotia took sixteen counts between 1665 and 1754. Eighteenth-century Sweden and Denmark had complete records of their population, each adult and child having been accounted for.
A verbal phrase is a word group that contains a verbal. Verbals are INFINITIVES, PRESENT PARTICIPLES, and PAST PARTICIPLES. Infinitive phrases function as nouns or modifiers. An infinitive is the SIMPLE FORM of a verb, usually preceded by the word to Participial phrases function as ADJECTIVES. Participial phrases can be formed from a verb’s present participle (its-ing form) and its past participle (the-ed form of a regular verb or the irregular form).
SENTENCE
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EXPLANATION
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In 1624, Virginia began to count its citizens in a census.
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Infinitive phrase= direct object
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Going from door, census takers interview millions of people.
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Participial phrase=adjective modifying census takers
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Amazed by some people’s answers, the census takers always listen carefully.
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Participial phrase= adjective modifying census takers
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Gerund phrases function as nouns. Telling the difference between a gerund phrase and a participial phrase using a present participle can be tricky because both use the –ing verb form. The key is to determine how the verbal phrase is functioning; a gerund phrase functions only as a noun, and a participial phrase functions only as a modifier.
SENTENCE
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EXPLANATION
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Including each person in the census was important.
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Gerund phrase=noun used the subject.
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Including each person in the census, Abby spent many hours on the crowded city block.
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Participial phrase= modifier used as adjective describing Abby
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2.4 Recognizing clauses
A clause is a group of words that words that contains a SUBJECT and a PREDICATE. Clauses are divided into two categories: independent clause (also known as main clause) and dependent clause (also known as subordinate clauses).
Recognizing independent clauses
Independent clauses
An independent clause contains a SUBJECT and a PREDICATE. It can stand alone as a sentence because it is an independent unit.
