Basics of Grammar

What is grammar?
It is the whole system and structure of the language. Basically set of rules.

Grammatical units:
The grammatical units of English are these: word, phrase, clause and sentence.

Word classes
Word is the smallest meaningful unit.
The main word classes are these: verb, noun, adjective, adverb, preposition, determiner,
pronoun and conjunction.

Sentence elements
A sentence is a set of words that contain:
1.subject (what the sentence is about, the topic of the sentence)
2.predicate (what is said about the subject)
e.g. You speak English. (you- sub, speak English- predicate)
Sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark or an
exclamation point.
-People need food.
-How are you?
-Look out!
 GRAMMAR

WORDS PHRASE CLAUSE SENTENCE

1. Noun
2. Verb
3. Adverb
4. Adjective
5. Preposition
6. Determiner
7. Pronoun
8. Conjunction
9. Interjection

Verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs are 'vocabulary words'. Learning vocabulary means
learning verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs.

Prepositions, determiners, pronouns and conjunctions belong to much smaller classes.

These words are sometimes called 'grammatical words'.
 PHRASE

Group of words that make sense, but not complete sense, is called a phrase. It gives us a
single piece of info.

The sun rises in the east. Show me how to do it.

It was a sunset of great beauty. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.

There are five kinds of phrase:

Verb phrase: come, had thought, was left, will be climbing

A verb phrase has an ordinary verb (come, thought, left, climbing) and may also have an
auxiliary (had, was, will).

Noun phrase: a good flight, his crew, we

A noun phrase has a noun (flight), which usually has a determiner (a) and/or adjective (good)
in front of it. A noun phrase can also be a pronoun (we).

Adjective phrase: pleasant, very late

An adjective phrase has an adjective, sometimes with an adverb of degree (very).
Adverb phrase: quickly, almost certainly
An adverb phrase has an adverb, sometimes with an adverb of degree (almost).

Prepositional phrase: after lunch, on the aircraft

A prepositional phrase is a preposition + noun phrase.

CLAUSE

Group of words which forms a part of a Sentence, and contains a subject and a
Predicate, is called a clause.
Example,
He has a chain of gold (phrase)
He has a chain which is made of gold.
People who pay their debts are trusted.
We cannot start while it is raining.
I think that you have made a mistake.
 SENTENCE

Group of words which make complete sense, is called a sentence.

Example,
Jack sat in a corner.
Jack- subject
Sat in a corner- predicate (verb)
There are four kinds of sentences-

Assertive/Declarative – those that make statements or assertions. ( humpty sat on a

wall.)

Interrogative- those which ask questions. (where do you live?)

Imperative- those which express commands, requests. (Be quiet. / Have mercy upon
us.)

Exclamatory- those which express strong feelings, surprise.( What a shame! / How
cold the night is!)
The Subject of a sentence usually comes first, but occasionally it is put after the
Predicate,
Here comes the bus.
Sweet are the uses of adversity.

In Imperative sentences, the subject is left out,

Sit down. (The subject You is understood)
Thank him. (Here too the subject You is understood.)
 TEST

Identify the subject and the predicate in the following sentences.

1. The sun was shining brightly.

2. The dogs were barking loudly.
3. The pretty girl was wearing a blue frock.
4. My younger brother serves in the army.
5. The man and his wife were working in their garden.
6. My mother and my aunt are trained classical dancers.
7. You don’t have to wait for me.
8. We will no longer tolerate this.
9. The little tree was covered with needles instead of leaves.
10. A rich merchant was passing by the shoemaker’s window.
1. The sun (subject) / was shining brightly
(predicate).
2. The dogs (subject) / were barking loudly
(predicate).
3. The pretty girl (subject) / was wearing a blue
frock (predicate).
4. My younger brother (subject) / serves in the
army (predicate).
5. The man and his wife (subject) / were
working in their garden (predicate).
6. My mother and my aunt (subject) / are
trained classical dancers (predicate).
7. You (subject) / don’t have to wait for me
(predicate).
8. We (subject) / will no longer tolerate this
(predicate).
9. The little tree (subject) / was covered with
needles instead of leaves (predicate).
10. A rich merchant (subject) /was passing by
the shoemaker’s window (predicate).
 PARTS OF SPEECH

Noun:
A noun is a word for a person, place, or thing. Everything we can see or talk about is
represented by a word that names it. That "naming" word is called a noun.
People: soldier, Alan, cousin, lawyer
Animals: aardvark, rat, shark, Mickey
Places: house, London, factory, shelter
Things: table, London Bridge, chisel, nitrogen, month, inch, cooking
Ideas: confusion, kindness, faith, Theory of Relativity, joy

Verb:
A verb is a 'DOING' word. A verb can express :
1. A physical action (to swim, to write, to climb, to sit etc.)
2. A mental action ( to think, to guess, to consider)
3. A state of being (to be, to exist, to appear)

Adjective:
Adjectives are describing words. Adjectives describe nouns and pronouns. They add
something to the meaning of noun.
There’s an old man.
He is a brave boy.
Adverb:
An adverb is a word used to modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. For example:
She swims quickly.
(Here, the adverb quickly modifies the verb swims.)
She is an extremely quick swimmer.
(Here, the adverb extremely modifies the adjective quick.)
She swims extremely quickly.
(Here, the adverb extremely modifies the adverb quickly.)

Preposition:
A preposition is a word (usually a short word) that shows the relationship between two other
nearby words. For example (prepositions highlighted):
A boy from the ghetto.
(Here, the preposition from tells us the relationship between ghetto and boy.)
A bone for the dog.
(Here, the preposition for tells us the relationship between dog and bone.)

The following are all examples of prepositions: in, on, at, around, above, near, underneath,
alongside, of, and for.

Note: The word preposition means positioned before. A preposition will sit before a word (a
noun or a pronoun) to show that word's relationship to another nearby word.
Pronoun:
A pronoun is a word used in place of a noun (or a noun phrase). For example:
Give a girl the right shoes, and she can conquer the world. (Actress Marilyn Monroe)
(The pronoun she is used in place of a girl, which is a noun phrase. Pronouns are
primarily used to avoid repetition.)

Pronouns make sentences less cumbersome and less repetitive. For example:
Maria loves Saturday. It is the day she gets her pocket money.
(The pronoun it replaces Saturday. The pronoun she replaces Maria. Pronouns are used
for brevity. Imagine how wearisome a long prose would be if writers used the full nouns
every time.)

The 8-mile walk passes through meadows and woodland. It takes in many points of
interest including the local airfield, which played an important role during World War 2.

(The pronoun it replaces the 8-mile walk. The pronoun which replaces the local airfield.
Unlike the others we've encountered so far, which isn't a personal pronoun. As you will
see, the term "pronoun" covers many words, some of which do not fall easily under the
description "words that replace nouns.")
Conjunction:
Conjunctions are joining words. They join words, phrases, clauses.

NOTE There is also a small class of words called 'interjections'. They include oh, ah and
mhm.
Interjections are words used to express strong feeling or sudden emotion. They are
included in a sentence (usually at the start) to express a sentiment such as surprise,
disgust, joy, excitement, or enthusiasm.

An interjection is not grammatically related to any other part of the sentence.

In the following examples, the interjections are shaded.
Hey! Get off that floor!
Oh, that is a surprise.
Good! Now we can move on.
Jeepers, that was close.
Words that can be used as an Adjective and an Adverb

Enough is one of those words that can be used as an adjective and an adverb. The adverb
enough is used to modify an adjective. In this case, it goes after the adjective it modifies.

She is old enough to earn a living. (NOT She is enough old to earn a living. Here the
adverb enough modifies the adjective old.)
Is it warm enough for you? (NOT Is it enough warm for you?)
He was kind enough to lend me a few dollars. (NOT He was enough kind to lend me a few
dollars.)
These shoes are not big enough for me.

When enough is used as an adjective, it modifies a noun. The adjective enough goes before
the noun it modifies.
I have bought enough eggs. (NOT I have bought eggs enough. Here the adjective enough
modifies the noun eggs.)
I didn’t get enough time to write the test. (NOT I didn’t get time enough to write the test.)
Fast
Modern man leads a fast life. (Here the adjective fast modifies the noun life.)
He drove the car fast. (Here the adverb fast modifies the verb drove.)
Half
Each of us has half ownership in the property. (Here the adjective half modifies the noun
ownership.)
She was half crying, half laughing. (Here the adverb half modifies the verbs crying and
laughing.)
She is half Spanish, half French. (Here the adverb half modifies the adjectives Spanish and
French.)
Straight
Don’t expect to get a straight answer from her. (Here the adjective straight modifies the
noun answer.)
She went straight home. (Here the adverb straight modifies the verb went.)
Just
The train just left. (Adverb)
He arrived just in time. (Adverb)
God is just. (Adjective)
Late
The meeting is scheduled for late evening. (Adjective)
He arrived late. (Adverb)
She worked late. (Adverb)
Low
We are low on supplies. (Adjective)
Her voice was low. (Adjective)
She turned the gas down low. (Adverb)
The helicopter flew low over the trees. (Adverb)
Most
This is the most expensive gadget I have bought. (Adverb)
Most people enjoy playing with kids. (Adjective)
Clear
They moved clear across the country. (Adverb)
She has a clear complexion. (Adjective)
Clean
He is very clean in his habits. (Adjective)
We want to play the game clean. (Adverb)
 TEST

1. I bought a beautiful dress at the mall.

preposition
adjective
noun
2. What did she ask you to do?
conjunction
preposition
pronoun
3. I left my shoes under the kitchen table.
adjective
preposition
pronoun
4. If we finish our work quickly we can go to the movies.
adverb
conjunction
verb
5. On Saturdays I work from nine to five.
verb
preposition
adverb
6. I want to go to a university in the United
States.
adjective
preposition
noun
7. I'm sure I've met your girlfriend before.
verb
preposition
interjection
8. Well, I don't think I'll be home before 6.
interjection
preposition
pronoun
9. Andy knocked on the door but nobody
answered.
adverb
adjective
conjunction
10. After lunch let's go out for a coffee.
pronoun
preposition
verb
1. adjective
2. pronoun
3. preposition
4. adverb
5. verb
6. noun
7. verb
8. interjection
9. conjunction
10. preposition
1. She went to the market and bought some eggs.

2. I want to go now.

3. What are you doing there?

4. There is a mouse underneath the piano.

5. Masons build houses.

6. John is my best friend.

7. She looked up but didn’t see anything.

8. My family live in different parts of India.

9. That was a difficult question.

10. She was very impressed with her results.

11. Although she is poor, she is happy.

12. Have we bought enough chairs?

13. The policeman didn’t run fast enough to catch the thief.
1. (verb)
2. (adverb)
3. (adverb)
4. (preposition)
5. (noun)
6. (proper noun)
7. (adverb)
8. (collective noun)
9. (adjective)
10. (adverb)
11. (conjunction)
12. (adjective)
13. (adverb)