PARTS OF SPEECH

LESSON NO. 1
CONTENTS:

 What are parts of speech

 Importance of parts of speech
 Summary of the 8 parts of speech

 OBJECTIVES:
After this lesson you will have a general idea about all the parts of speech
 and will be able to recognize different  parts of speech in a sentence.
 
INTRODUCTION TO PARTS OF SPEECH
There are thousands of words in any language. But not all words have the same job. For example, some words
express "action". Other words express a "thing". Other words "join" one word to another word. These are the
"building blocks" of the language. Think of them like the parts of a house. When we want to build a house, we use
concrete to make the foundations or base. We use bricks to make the walls. We use window frames to make the
windows, and door frames to make the doorways and we use cement to join them all together. Each part of the house
has its own job. And when we want to build a sentence, we use the different types of word. Each type of word has its
own job.
We can categorize English words into 8 basic types or classes. These classes are called "parts of speech".
It's quite important to recognize parts of speech. This helps you to analyze sentences and understand them. It also
helps you to construct good sentences.
An Overview of  Parts of Speech
This is a summary of the 8 parts of speech*. You can find more detail in the next chapters
part of speech function or "job" example words example sentences
Noun
A noun is the name of a person ,place or thing
Example words:
Pen, Pakistan,Lahore.computer,book,teaher
Example sentences:
This is my pen.
I love Pakistan.
I am a teacher.
Pronoun
A pronoun replaces a noun.
Example words:
I, you, he, she.
Example sentences:
Sara is Pakistani. She is beautiful.
Ahmad is my friend.He is very good singer.
Adjective
An adjective describes a noun
 Example words:
 a/an, the, 69, some, good, big, red, well, interesting 
Example sentences:
My dog is big. I like big dogs.
Verb
A verb expresses an action or state
Example words:
 (to) be, have, do, like, work, sing, can, must
 Example sentences:
I like apples.
He wrote a novel. 
Adverb
An adverb describes a verb, adjective or adverb 
Example words:
quickly, silently, well, badly, very, really
Example sentences:
My dog eats quickly. When he is very hungry, he eats really quickly.
Preposition
a preposition links a noun to another word 
Example words:
to, at, after, on,
Example sentences:
We went to school on Monday.
 I saw him at the bus station.
 
Conjunction
A conjunction joins clauses or sentences or words.
Example words:
 And, but, when 
Example sentences:
I like cats and dogs. I like dogs but I don't like cats.
Interjection
An interjection is a short exclamation, sometimes inserted into a sentence
Example words:
Oh!, ouch!, hi!, well Ouch!
Example sentences:
 That hurts!
 Hi!How are you?
  
important note
* Some grammar sources categorize English into 9 or 10 parts of speech. , we use the traditional categorization of 8
parts of speech. Examples of other categorizations are:
• Verbs may be treated as two different parts of speech:
o Lexical Verbs (work, like, run)
o Auxiliary Verbs (be, have, must)
• Determiners may be treated as a separate part of speech, instead of being categorized under Adjectives
Exercise 
Q1: Name the part of speech to which each word in the following sentences belongs:
I bought a new car.
the new house is haunted.
I love my country very much.
She walks briskly.
I write beautifully.
Q2. Define the followings
parts of speech,noun, pronoun,adjective,verb,adverb,preposition,conjunction,interjection.

CONTENTS
What is a noun
Types of nouns
Possessive ‘s
Nouns as adjectives
A list of commonly used collective nouns
Quick refresher
OBJECTIVES:
After this lesson you will be able to identify different kinds of nouns  and there functions.

What is a noun?
Nouns are naming words. Everything we see or are able to talk about is represented by a word which
names it - that word is called a 'noun'. There are names for people, animals, places, objects, substances,
qualities, actions and measures.

Definition:
Nouns are words that name people, places, things, or ideas.

Examples:
Names of people:
Soldier ,Ali, cousin  
 Names for animals:
Rat ,zebra  lion.
 Names for places:
House - London - factory - shelter  
 Names for objects:
Table - frame - printer - chisel
 Names for substances:
Lead - nitrogen - water - ice
 Names for qualities:
Kindness - beauty - bravery - wealth - faith
 Names for actions:
Rowing - cooking - barking - reading - listening
 Names for measures:
Month - inch - day - pound - ounce

TYPES OF NOUNS

• Common nouns: Common nouns refer to general, unspecific categories of entities. These nouns name
general, nonspecific people, places, things, or ideas. They start with a lowercase letter unless they begin a
sentence.
Example:
Writer , city, park, religion

• Proper nouns: Proper nouns are nouns that refer to specific entities. These nouns   name specific
people, places, things, or ideas. They always start with a capital letter.
Example:
Ahmad,Lahore, Paris, Disneyland, Christianity

• Abstract nouns: These are the opposite of concrete. They name something that you cannot perceive
with your five senses - something that does not physically exist.
Example:
Happiness, freedom,  love ,hate, Islam ,Christianity

• Concrete nouns: These name something that you can perceive with your five senses - something that
physically exists. These nouns that can be touched, smelled, seen, felt, or tasted.

Example :
 Steak, table, dog, cat, chocolate, Saima, Azhar,Maria, salt, and wool are all examples of concrete nouns.
• Countable nouns: These can be counted, and they use both the singular and the plural forms. Anything
that you can make plural is a countable noun.
clock/clocks, poem/poems

• Uncountable nouns: These  cannot be counted. Since they cannot be counted, they only use the
singular form.
milk, rice, water

• Compound nouns: Compound nouns are nouns made up of two or more words. Some compound
nouns are hyphenated. (This is covered in the lesson Hyphens in Compound Nouns.)
Mother-in-law
Board of members
Court-martial
Forget-me-not
Manservant
Paper-clip

• Collective Nouns:
 Collective nouns are the words used for a group of people or things.
Examples:
Choir,Team,Jury,Shoal,Cabinet

• Singular nouns : These refer to one person, place, thing, or idea.

box, face, road, ball
• Plural nouns: These refer to more than one person, place, thing, or idea. They generally end in with
an s.
Example:
Boxes, faces, roads, balls
•Verbal Nouns
Verbal nouns are formed from verbs. They are a type of common noun.
I love swimming.
("swimming" - the name of an activity; it is formed from the verb 'to swim'.)
Deep thinking is required to solve this problem.
("thinking" - the name of an activity; it is formed from the verb 'to think'.)

•Possessive 's
Adding 's or ' to show possession.
Ali's car, my parents' house

•Noun as Adjective
Sometimes we use a noun to describe another noun. In that case, the first noun is "acting as" an adjective.
love story, tooth-brush, bathroom

Quick Refresher:
Nouns are words that name people, places, things, or ideas.
Before you look at the list of nouns, I'd like to point out that each noun fits into more than one of the categories
below.
For example, the word train is a common, concrete, countable, singular noun. Got it? Good!
Noun Type Examples
Common Nouns name people, places or
man, mountain, state, ocean, country, building, cat, airline
things that are not specific.

Proper Nouns name specific people, places, Walt Disney, Mount Kilimanjaro, Minnesota, Atlantic Ocean,
or things. Australia, Empire State Building, Fluffy, Sun Country

Abstract Nouns name nouns that you can't love, wealth, happiness, pride, fear, religion, belief, history,
perceive with your five sense. communication

Concrete Nouns name nouns that you can house, ocean, Uncle Mike, bird, photograph, banana, eyes, light,
perceive with your five senses. sun, dog, suitcase, flowers

Countable Nouns name nouns that you can bed, cat, movie, train, country, book, phone, match, speaker, clock,
count. pen, David, violin

Uncountalbe Nouns name nouns that you

milk, rice, snow, rain, water, food, music
can't count.

Compound Nouns are made up of two or tablecloth, eyeglasses, New York, photograph, daughter-in-law,
more words. pigtails, sunlight, snowflake

Collective Nouns refer to things or people as

bunch, audience, flock, team, group, family, band, village
a unit.

Singular Nouns name one person, place,

cat, sock, ship, hero, monkey, baby, match
thing, or idea.

Plural Nouns name more than one person,

cats, socks, ships, heroes, monkeys, babies, matches
place, thing, or idea.

*************************************************************

APPENDEX
APPENDIX A: The Noun Jobs
Nouns can do lots of things in sentences. They are probably the most overworked of all eight of the parts
of speech.
Nouns have the ability to perform different functions, or jobs, in sentences.

Let's look at some of the noun jobs.

1. Subjects are nouns that tell us whom or what a sentence is about.

Ali kicked the ball.
2. Direct objects are nouns that receive the action of certain kinds of verbs (transitive active verbs).
Ali kicked the ball.
3. Indirect objects are nouns that receive the direct object.
Ali kicked Jimmy the ball.
4. Objects of prepositions are nouns that come after prepositions in prepositional phrases.
Ali kicked the ball to Jimmy.
5. Predicate nouns ("predicate nominatives") are nouns that rename the subject. They come after linking
verbs.
Ali is a soccer player.
6. Object complements are nouns that complete the direct object.
They named the babyAisha.
APPENDIX B.: Commonly used Collective Nouns
Collective nouns are those nouns that denote a group of people, animals, objects, concepts or ideas as a
single entity.
These collective nouns are commonly used under the category of people.
    A class of students.
    An army of soldiers.
    A choir of singers.
    A crew of sailors.
    A band of musicians.
    A bunch of crooks.
    A crowd of people/spectators.
    A gang of thieves.
    A group of dancers.
    A team of players.
    A troupe of artists/dancers.
    A pack of thieves.
    A staff of employees.
    A regiment of soldiers.
    A tribe of natives.
    An audience of listeners.
    A panel of experts.
    A gang of labourers.
    A flock of tourists.
    A board of directors.
The following collective nouns are used for animals.
    A catch of fish.
    An army of ants.
    A flight of birds.
    A flock of birds.
    A haul of fish.
    A flock of sheep.
    A herd of deer/cattle/elephants/goats/buffaloes.
    A hive of bees.
    A litter of cubs.
    A host of sparrows.
    A team of horses.
    A troop of lions.
    A zoo of wild animals.
    A pack of wolves.
    A litter of puppies/kittens.
    A swarm of bees/ants/rats/flies.
    A team of horses/ducks/oxen.
    A murder of crows.
    A kennel of dogs.
    A pack of hounds.
The following collective nouns are used for things.
    A group of islands.
    A galaxy of stars.
    A wad of notes.
    A forest of trees.
    A stack of wood.
    A fleet of ships.
    A string of pearls.
    An album of stamps/autographs/photographs.
    A hedge of bushes.
    A library of books.
    A basket of fruit.
    A bowl of rice.
    A pack of cards.
    A pair of shoes.
    A bouquet of flowers.
    A bunch of keys.
    A chest of drawers.
    A pack of lies.
    A range of mountains.
    A cloud of dust.
Collective nouns are endless and these are just a list of those used more often.

PRONOUNS AND ITS KINDS

Pronouns
A pronoun is a word used instead of a noun.
Example
I , we ,he she ,it,one,who etc
There are different kinds of commonly used pronouns:
Personal Pronouns:
 Personal Pronouns are used are substitutes for proper or common nouns.
 Examples : I, he, she, mine, his, her, they, their
 Demonstrative Pronouns:
Demonstrative Pronouns are used to point out objects
Examples: this, that, these, those
 Indefinite Pronouns:
 Pronouns which refer to things in a general way and not to someone or something in particular.
 Examples: nobody, somebody, everybody, one (should not lie)
 Distributive Pronouns:
 Pronouns which refer to persons or things one at a time are called Distributive pronouns.
 Examples: each, either, neither
 Relative Pronouns:
 A pronoun that relates a subordinate clause to the rest of the sentence is called a relative pronoun.
 Examples: who -  (Ali is the boy) who (did the work)
  whose – (Ali is the boy) whose (books were lost)
   Interrogative Pronouns: Pronouns used for asking questions are called Interrogative Pronouns.
    Examples : what, which, who, whose, whom
  Possessive Pronouns:
Possessive pronouns are used to show possession. As they are used as adjectives, they are also known
as possessive adjectives. My, your, his, her, its, our and their are all possessive pronouns.
Example:
Have you seen her book?
(In this example, the pronoun "her" replaces a word like "Sarah's".)
Absolute Possessive Pronouns
These pronouns also show possession. Unlike possessive pronouns (see above), which are adjectives to
nouns, these pronouns sit by themselves. Mine, yours, his, hers, ours and theirs are all absolute
possessive pronouns.
Examples:
The tickets are as good as ours.
Shall we take yours or theirs?
Reciprocal Pronouns
Reciprocal pronouns are used for actions or feelings that are reciprocated. The two most common
reciprocal pronouns are each other and one another.
Examples:
They like one another.
They talk to each other like they're babies.
Reflexive Pronouns
A reflexive pronoun ends ...self or ...selves and refers to another noun or pronoun in the sentence. The
reflexive pronouns are: myself, yourself, herself, himself, itself, ourselves, yourselves and themselves.
Example:
John bakes all the bread himself.
(In this example, the reflexive pronoun "himself" refers back to the noun "John".)
Intensive pronoun:
An intensive pronoun ends …..self or selves and used to intensify the subject of the sentence
Example:
He himself invited me to the party.

 
 Adjectives
An adjective is a word used to describe a noun.
example:
small ,big,few,many,ten

Types of Adjectives

Following are the kinds of adjectives which are commonly used:

1. Adjectives of Quality:
o Adjectives of Quality answer the question ‘Of what kind’
o Examples : Large, Small, Intelligent, Beautiful

2. Adjectives of Quantity:
o Adjectives of Quantity answer the question ‘How much’
o Examples : Some, Little, Any, Enough 

3. Adjectives of Number:
o Adjectives of Number answer the question ‘How many’
o Examples : Two, Seven, Second, Third 

4. Demonstrative Adjectives:
o Demonstrative Adjectives answer the question ‘Which’
o Examples : This, That, These, Those 

5. Interrogative Adjectives:
o Interrogative Adjectives are used to ask questions about a noun.
o Examples : What, Which, Whose

Comparison of Adjectives
Ahmad is tall.
Ahmad is taller thanALI.
Mohan is the tallest of the three.

In the second sentence, the word ‘taller’ is the comparative form of the adjective. The comparative form of
the adjective denotes a higher degree of the adjective ‘tall’ when two people or things are compared.

In the third sentence, the word ‘tallest’ is the superlative form of the adjective. The superlative form of the
adjective denotes the highest degree of the adjective ‘tall’ when more than two people or things are
compared.

Here are some simple rules to keep in mind when forming comparatives and superlatives.

RULE 1

For most adjectives, ‘er’ is added for the comparative form and ‘est’ for the superlative form.

Tall – Taller – Tallest

Strong – Stronger – Strongest
Short – Shorter – Shorter
Kind – Kinder - Kindest

RULE 2

For adjectives ending with ‘e’, ‘r’ is added for the comparative form and ‘st’ for the superlative
form.

Wise – Wiser – Wisest

Large – Larger – Largest
Nice – Nicer – Nicest
Fine – Finer - Finest

RULE 3

For adjectives ending with ‘y’, ‘y’ is removed and ‘ier’ is added for comparative form and ‘iest’ for
the superlative form.

Lazy – Lazier – Laziest

Crazy – Crazier – Craziest
Wealthy – Wealthier – Wealthiest
Heavy – Heavier - Heaviest

RULE 4

Usually for longer adjectives, ‘more’ + adjective is used for comparative form and ‘most’ +
adjective is used for superlative form.

Handsome – More Handsome – Most Handsome

Beautiful – More Beautiful – Most Beautiful
Intelligent – More Intelligent – Most Intelligent
Difficult – More Difficult – Most Difficult

RULE 5 
Irregular Adjectives: There are some irregular adjectives for which the comparative and superlative
form follow no particular rule.

Good – Better – Best

Bad – Worse – Worst
Many – More – Most
Little – Less - Least

 
 Verbs
A verb is a word that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being.

Types of Verbs

We can divide verbs into transitive and intransitive verbs.

Transitive Verbs: These verbs involve a direct object.
Example 1: The boy throws the ball.
Here ‘throws’ is the verb and ‘ball’ is the direct object.
Example 2: The man reads the book.
Here ‘reads’ is the verb and ‘book’ is the direct object 

Intransitive Verbs: These verbs do not involve a direct object.

Example 1: The boy throws.
Here the verb ‘throws’ is used intransitively.
Example 2: The man reads quickly. 
Here the verb ‘reads’ is used intransitively.
Regular and Irregular Verbs
The distinction between regular verbs and irregular verbs is a very simple one:
Regular Verbs
Those verbs that form their past participle with ‘d’ or ‘ed’ are regular verbs. These verbs do not undergo
substantial changes while changing forms between tenses.

1. If the verb ends with a vowel, only ‘d’ is added. For example:

PRESENT TENSE                             PAST TENSE

Share                                                   Shared
Scare                                                   Scared
Dare                                                     Dared

2. If the verb ends with a consonant, ‘ed’ is added. For example:

PRESENT TENSE                             PAST TENSE

Want                                                   Wanted
Shout                                                  Shouted
Kill                                                       Killed

Irregular Verbs
Those verbs that undergo substantial changes when changing forms between tenses are irregular verbs.
The changed forms of these verbs are often unrecognisably different from the originals. For example:
                        PRESENT TENSE                             PAST TENSE
                        Go                                                       Went
                        Run                                                     Ran
                        Think                                                   Thought

There is no way to tell what form an irregular verb is going to take in a changed tense; the only option for
an English speaker is to commit the changes to memory. With practice, it will become a matter of habit.

Participles, Gerunds & Infinitives

Participles, gerunds and Infinitives are called verbals. Verbals are words which are formed from a verb but
which function as a different part of speech.

PARTICIPLE
A participle is usually formed by adding –ing or –ed to a verb. It functions as an adjective.

Examples: The singing bird was the main attraction at the event.

                The injured man was waiting for the doctor.

GERUND
A gerund is formed by adding –ing to a verb. It functions as a noun.

Examples: Sameer likes reading books.

               Smoking is prohibited in the hospital.

INFINITIVE
An infinitive is formed by using the word ‘to’ plus the verb in its stem word. It functions as a noun,
adjective or adverb.

Examples: He was made to clean his room.

                Shalini loves to talk.
Auxiliary Verbs
There are 4 auxiliary verbs in the English language:
Be
Have
Will
Do

Each of these is followed by another verb, known as the full verb, in order to form

 Questions
 Negative statements
 Compound tense
 Passive voice

Auxiliary Verb Exercise

Be
‘Be’ can be used both as an auxiliary and as a full verb. It must first be noted that ‘be’ is an irregular verb:
            Simple present: I am, he/she/it is, we/they are
            Simple past: I/he/she/it was, we/they were
            Past participle: been
For compound tense (present/past continuous), use the ‘-ing’ form of the full verb with  the appropriate
form of ‘be’.
            Present continuous: He is playing outside.
            Past continuous: He was playing outside.
            Present perfect continuous: He has been playing outside.
            Past perfect continuous: He had been playing outside.
For passive voice, use the past participle of the full verb with the appropriate form of ‘be’.
            Simple past/present: The damage is/was done.
            Present/past perfect: The damage has been/had been done.
            Future: The damage will be done.  
Have
‘Have’ is also both an auxiliary and a full verb, and is irregular as well.
            Simple present: I/you/we/they have, he/she/it has
            Simple past: had
            Past participle: had
It is used to form compound tenses in active and passive voice.
Compound Tenses - Active Voice:
Present Perfect Simple: He has played outside.
Past Perfect Simple: He had played outside.
Present Perfect Continuous: He has been playing outside.
Past Perfect Continuous: He had been playing outside
Compound Tenses - Passive Voice:
Present/Past Continuous: The house has/had been built.

Will

‘Will’ functions only as an auxiliary verb, and is used to form the future tenses. It remains the same for all
forms.

            Simple future: He will play outside.

            Future perfect: He will have played outside.

Do

‘Do’ can be used as both an auxiliary and a full verb, and is irregular.

            Simple present: I/we/you/they do, he/she/it/ does

            Simple past: did
            Past participle: did

As an auxiliary, ‘do’ is used in negative sentences and questions with most verbs (use the infinitive of the
full verb) in simple past and simple present forms.

‘Do’ in Negative Sentences:

           
            Simple present: He does not play outside.
            Simple past: He did not play outside.

‘Do’ in Questions:
           
            Simple present: Does he play outside?
            Simple past: Did he play outside?

In the following four cases, ‘do’ is not used in negative sentences or questions:
           
 1. When the full verb is ‘be’:

Are you alright?

2. The sentence already has an auxiliary verb:

He is not playing outside.

3. The sentence contains a modal verb (can, may, must, need, ought to, shall, should):

We must not be caught.

4. The question asks for the subject:

Who wrote that book?

Stative Verbs
Stative verbs are verbs that describe a state rather than an action. When describing states, they never the
continuous (‘-ing’) form. Here are some examples of stative verbs and instances of their correct and
incorrect usage.

STATIVE CORRECT INCORRECT

VERB USAGE USAGE
Like I like you. I am liking you.
Love I love you. I am loving you.
Hate I hate you. I am hating you
It appears to be It is appearing
Appear
cloudy. to be cloudy.
I am  believing
Believe I believe in God.
in God.
This shoe fits This shoe is
Fit
me. fitting me.
This song This song is
Sound
sounds good. sounding good.
I am
I remember
Remember remembering
everything.
everything.
Modal Verbs
There are 10 modal verbs in the English language:

 Can
 Could
 May
 Might
 Will
 Would
 Must
 Shall
 Should
  Ought to

Uses:

1. To indicate that something is probable or possible, or not so. For example:

 It is sunny today; it must be warm outside. = It is sunny today; it is probably warm

outside.
 His mobile is not reachable; he may/might/could be travelling by metro. = His
mobile is not reachable; it is possible that he is travelling by metro.
 This can’t be our bill. = It is not possible that this is our bill.

2. ‘Can’ and ‘could’ are used to refer to skills and abilities. For example:

 He can cover a hundred metres in under ten seconds.

 My father could see perfectly before the age of fifty.
 I can’t ride a horse.

3. ‘Must’ is used to indicate that something is necessary or of extreme importance, and ‘should’ is
used to suggest that something is advisable. For example:

 You must do your homework.

 You mustn’t skip school.
 You should say sorry.
 You shouldn’t smoke.

4. ‘Can’, ‘could’ and ‘may’ are used to ask for, give and withhold permission. For example:

 Can I try my hand at it?

 Could we disperse early today?
 You may not enter the premises.

5. ‘Will’ and ‘would’ are used to refer to habits and inclinations.

 When I was a child, I would often climb trees.

 I will never refuse you anything.
 He would never do such a thing.

These verbs differ from ordinary verbs in 3 respects. These differences can be observed in the examples
given above:

1. When used with the third person singular (he, she), they don’t require the addition of an ‘s’.
2. They can be used to form questions by inverting the structure of the sentence.
3. They can be followed directly by the verb, without the use of ‘to’.

IRREGULAR
VERBS:
OVERVIEW
AND LIST
 In English, regular
verbs consist of
three main parts:
the root form
(present), the
(simple) past, and
the past participle.
Regular verbs have
an -ed ending
added to the root
verb for both the
simple past and
past participle.
Irregular verbs do
not follow this
pattern, and
instead take on an
alternative pattern.
List of Irregular
Verbs in English
The following is a
partial list of
irregular verbs
found in English.
Each listing
consists of the
present/root form
of the verb, the
(simple) past form
of the verb, and the
past participle
form of the verb.

sent Past
Participle
was, were been
became become
began begun
blew blown
broke broken
brought brought
built built
burst burst
bought bought
burst burst
caught caught
chose chosen
came come
cut cut
dealt dealt
did done
drank drunk
drove driven
ate eaten
fell fallen
fed fed
felt felt
fought fought
found found
flew flown
forbade forbidden
forgot forgotten
forgave forgiven
froze frozen
got gotten
gave given
went gone
grew grown
had had
heard heard
hid hidden
held held
hurt hurt
kept kept
knew known
laid laid
led led
left left
let let
lay lain
lost lost
made made
met met
paid paid
quit quit
read read
rode ridden
ran run
said said
saw seen
sought sought
sold sold
sent sent
shook shaken
 shone shone
sang sung
sat sat
slept slept
spoke spoken
spent spent
sprang sprung
stood stood
stole stolen
swam swum
swung swung
took taken
taught taught
tore torn
told told
thought thought
threw thrown
stan
understood understood
woke
woken (waked)
(waked)
wore worn
won won
wrote written

What is an adverb?

Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs.

Adverbs are describing words. Let's look at some examples of them describing verbs, adjectives, and
adverbs.

We will eat there.

There is an adverb describing the verb will eat.

Your face is extremely red.

Extremely is an adverb describing the adjective red.

The baby crawled very slowly.

Very is an adverb describing the adverb slowly.

Here is a sentence diagram and a tiny monkey.

You'll learn more about sentence diagrams in a little bit!

This monkey is very tiny.

The Adverb Questions

Now that you know the answer to the question, What is an adverb?, there are a few questions that you
should memorize.

Knowing these questions will help you know for certain whether any word is acting as an adverb.

Adverbs answer one of these adverb questions.

1. How? (happily, really, quite, peacefully)

2. When? (tomorrow, now, yesterday, never)

3. Where? (here, there, everywhere)

4. Why? (because he wanted soup) Adverbs that answer this question are typically adverbs that are made
up of more than one word, such as an adverb clause.

The Adverb Questions At Work

What is an adverb? Do you know the answer now?

Remember that adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs.

Let's look at some examples of how the adverb questions work.

Look at this lovely little bird here.

First, let's look at some examples of adverbs modifying the verb flew.

1. The bird flew crazily. (How?)

2. Yesterday, the bird flew. (When?)

3. The bird flew here. (Where?)

4. The bird flew because it needed food. (Why?)

Here is an adverb modifying the adjective green.

1. The bird is dark green. (How green?)

Here is an adverb modifying the adverb quietly.

1. The bird flew very quietly. (How quietly?)

Comparatives & Superlatives

Many adverbs can have different degrees.

You may find that your dog can run quickly, your cat can run more quickly, and the mouse that they are
chasing can run most quickly.Positive Comparative Superlative
quickly more quickly most quickly

You've just used the comparative and superlative forms of adverbs to show different degrees.

Use the comparative form when you are comparing two actions or qualities.

Most comparative adverbs end in -er or begin with more (harder, more easily...). But, there are irregular
comparatives which do not end in -er (better, worse...).

Use the superlative form when you are comparing three or more things.

Most superlative adverbs end in -est or begin with most. (hardest, most easily...). But, just like comparative
adverbs, there are some irregularities (best, worst...).
Regular Comparatives & SuperlativesPositive Comparative Superlative
hard harder hardest
brightly more brightly most brightly
quietly more quietly most quietly

Irregular Comparatives & SuperlativesPositive Comparative Superlative

well better best
much more most
badly worse worst

What is a Preposition?

A preposition is a word that explains the time, space or logical relationship between the other parts of the
sentence. In other words, it links all the other words together, so the reader can understand how the
pieces of the sentence fit.
There are hundreds of prepositions in the English language. One easy way to remember prepositions is
that they are words that tell you everywhere a bunny can run; for example, a bunny can run

 up
 down
 near
 far
 by
 at
 around
 close
 always

All of these words, and many more, are prepositions.

Uses of Prepositions
Prepositions define direction, time, location, and spatial relationships.
Direction: At the end of the hall, turn to the left.
Time: We’ve been working since early this morning.
Location: We saw a movie at the theater.
Space: The dog under the table.

 Prepositions of Time: at, on, and in

We use at to designate specific times.  The train is due at 12:15 p.m.

We use on to designate days and dates.
My brother is coming on Monday.
We're having a party on the Fourth of July.
We use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.
She likes to jog in the morning.
It's too cold in winter to run outside.
He started the job in 1971.
He's going to quit in August.

Prepositions of Place: at, on, and in

We use at for specific addresses.

Ahmad lives at 55 A,Model Town,Lahore.
We use on to designate names of streets, avenues, e.tc.
|His house is on Peeco Road.
And we use in for the names of land-areas (towns, counties, states, countries, and continents).
She lives in Lahore.

Prepositions of Location: in, at,

and on
and No Preposition
IN AT ON NO
(the) class* the PREPOSITIO
bed* home bed* N
the the the downstairs
bedroo library ceilin downtown
m * g inside
the car the the outside
(the) office floor upstairs
class* school the uptown
the * horse
library* work the
school* plane
the
train
* You may sometimes use
different prepositions for these
locations.

Prepositions of Movement: to
and No Preposition
We use to in order to express movement toward a place.
They were driving to work together.
She's going to the dentist's office this morning.

Toward and towards are also helpful prepositions to express movement. These are simply variant
spellings of the same word; use whichever sounds better to you.
We're moving toward the light.
This is a big step towards the project's completion.
With the words home, downtown, uptown, inside, outside, downstairs, upstairs, we use no preposition.
Grandma went upstairs
Grandpa went home.
They both went outside.

Prepositions of Time: for and since

We use for when we measure time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years).

He held his breath for seven minutes.
She's lived there for seven years.
The British and Irish have been quarreling for seven centuries.
We use since with a specific date or time.
He's worked here since 1970.
She's been sitting in the waiting room since two-thirty.

Prepositions with Nouns, Adjectives, and Verbs.

Prepositions are sometimes so firmly wedded to other words that they have practically become one word.
(In fact, in other languages, such as German, they would have become one word.) This occurs in three
categories: nouns, adjectives, and verbs.

NOUNS and PREPOSITIONS

approval of fondness forneed for
awareness of grasp of participation in
belief in hatred of reason for
concern for hope for respect for
confusion interest in success in
about love of understanding of
desire for

ADJECTIVES and
PREPOSITIONS
afraid of fond of proud
angry at happy of
aware about similar
of interested to
capable in sorry
of jealous of for
careless made of sure of
about married tired of
familiar to worried
with about
 VERBS and
PREPOSITIONS
apologize give up prepare
for grow up for
ask about look for study
ask for look for
belong to forward talk
bring up to about
care for look up think
find out make about
up trust in
pay for work for
worry
about

A combination of verb and preposition is called a phrasal verb. The word that is joined to the verb is then
called a particle. Please refer to the brief section we have prepared on phrasal verbs for an explanation.

Idiomatic Expressions with Prepositions

 agree to a proposal, with a person, on a price, in principle

 argue about a matter, with a person, for or against a proposition
 compare to to show likenesses, with to show differences (sometimes similarities)
 correspond to a thing, with a person
 differ from an unlike thing, with a person
 live at an address, in a house or city, on a street, with other people

Unnecessary Prepositions

In everyday speech, we fall into some bad habits, using prepositions where they are not necessary. It
would be a good idea to eliminate these words altogether, but we must be especially careful not to use
them in formal, academic prose.

 She met up with the new coach in the hallway.

 The book fell off of the desk.
 He threw the book out of the window.
 She wouldn't let the cat inside of the house. [or use "in"]
 Where did they go to?
 Put the lamp in back of the couch. [use "behind" instead]
 Where is your college at?

CONJUNCTIONS
A conjunction is a word which joins two sentences to complete their meaning.
Kinds of Conjunctions

There are three main kinds of conjunctions:

Coordinating conjunctions
 
Subordinating conjunctions

A subordinating conjunction joins a principal or main clause and a subordinate clause. Note that a

subordinate clause cannot stand on its own and doesn’t make complete sense.

Correlative Conjunctions also connect sentence elements of the same kind, however, unlike coordinating
conjunctions, correlative conjunctions are always used in pairs.
Examples:
both - and
not only - but also
not - but
either - or
neither - nor
whether - or
as - as

Coordinating conjunctions join two clauses or sentences of equal rank. Here both clauses are capable
of being principal clauses if they appear as such in separate sentences.

The most common coordinating conjunctions are: and, but, or, nor, either…or, neither…nor, yet, not
only… but also…, both…and.
Coordinating conjunctions are of four kinds:

Additive (cumulative or copulative) conjunctions

An additive conjunction merely adds one statement to another. It doesn’t express ideas such as
contrast, choice or inference. Examples are: and, also, too, as well as, both…and, not only…but also…
He walked into the room and sat on the sofa. (Here the additive conjunction and merely adds the clauses
‘he walked into the room’ and ‘he sat on the sofa’.)
He was not only abused but also beaten. (Here the additive conjunction not only…but also… joins the
two clauses ‘he was abused’ and ‘he was beaten’.)
These lessons are both free and useful.

Adversative coordinating conjunctions

They express a contrast between two statements in a sentence. Examples are: but, nevertheless,
however, whereas, only, still etc.
He is poor but he is honest.
Wise men love truth, whereas fools shun it.
The captain was annoyed, still he kept quiet.
She was late, still she was not punished.

Alternative conjunctions
Alternative conjunctions express a choice between two alternatives. Examples are: or, nor, either…or,
neither…nor, otherwise, else etc.
He is either a fool or a rogue.
You must leave this place at once or you will have to face the consequences.
Neither a borrower, nor a lender be.
He knows nothing about this work, neither does he try to learn anything about it.
Inferential or illative conjunctions
These conjunctions introduce some inference. Examples are: therefore, for, so etc.
Work hard, for nobody can succeed without hard work.
He was lazy, therefore, he failed.
What Is An Interjection?
What is an interjection?
An interjection is a word that shows emotion.
It is not grammatically related to the rest of the sentence.
Interjections are usually one to two words that come at the beginning of a sentence.
They can show happiness (harrah), sadness (aww), anger (grr), surprise (wow), or any other emotion.
Interjections are not grammatically related to the rest of the sentence.
What does that mean, anyway? Well, it means that unlike all of the other parts of speech, the interjection does not
interact with any other words in the sentence.
It does not modify anything, and it does not get modified by anything. It does not play the role of subject or verb.
Examples:
Harrah! I have won the first prize.
Alas! I have lost my book.
What a nice place!

sentence and its structure

CONTENTS

SENTENCE
SUBJECT
PREDICATE
COMPLEMENT
OBJECT
KINDS OF SENTENCES ON THE BASIS OF ITS MEANING
KINDS OF SENTENCES ON THE BASIS OF ITS STRUCTURE

Basic Sentence Elements
The basic parts of a sentence fall into two categories: the subject and the predicate. Know them well, because you
can’t have a sentence without them!
Subjects
The subject performs the action of the sentence. It can be a noun, noun phrase, or noun clause. To analyze sentences,
grammarians have distinguished three kinds of subjects:

 Complete Subject – “The old, dusty books on the table haven’t been read in years.” The complete subject
includes the entire noun phrase — usually everything before the verb.

 Simple Subject – “books”.  The simple subject is the main noun or pronoun stripped of all modifiers.

 Compound Subject – “The cowardly mailman and the huge, barking dog didn’t get along very well.” A
compound subject consists of two or more subjects linked together by conjunctions. Note: the simple subject
of that sentence would be “mailman and dog“.

Predicates
As with subjects, predicates can be classified as complete predicates, simple predicates, and compound predicates.
Objects
The object is the receiver of the action in a sentence: “He broke the table” or “He threw the ball.” Like subjects,
objects can be any word or group of words functioning as a noun, and each type of object can also be categorized as a
complete, simple, or compound object. Categorized by their different functions within a sentence, the three types of
objects are:

 Direct Object – “I wrote a letter.” (What did I write? A letter.)

 Indirect Object – “I wrote a letter to my friend.” (Who did I write a letter to? My friend.)

 Prepositional Object – “I wrote on the paper.” (What did I write on? The paper.)

Complements
Complements (also called predicatives) complete the predicate by modifying a noun in the sentence; copulas or
linking verbs require a complement to form a complete sentence.

 Subject Complement – “The car is new.” The subject complement follows a linking verb and modifies the
subject. It can be a predicate adjective (He is happy), a predicate noun (He is the boss), or an adverbial
complement (He is in the house).

 Object Complement – “I painted my room purple.” The object complement modifies the direct object, either
by describing it or renaming it (They elected him governor

 Adjective Complement – “He was happy to help.” The adjective complement is a special case in which a
group of words modifies an adjective. If removed, the adjective complement leaves a grammatically complete
sentence, but the meaning of the sentence changes..
  Verb Complement – Some grammarians use the term “verb complement” to refer to direct and indirect
objects (see the “Objects” section above), while others use it to refer to a complement occuring after a linking
verb (a subject complement).

Adverbials
An adverbial is an adverb, adverbial phrase, or adverbial clause: any word or group of words that acts as an adverb
within a sentence. They usually modify verbs, but they can also modify the whole sentence. Unlike an adverbial
complement (He is in the house), an adverbial isn’t needed to complete a sentence (He had lunch in the house or He
had lunch).

The Four Sentence Structures

1. Simple Sentences
A simple sentence contains only one independent clause.
*An independent clause is a group of words (with a subject and a verb) that expresses a complete thought.
Example:
I drink coffee.
I drink coffee is an independent clause.

It contains a subject (I) and a verb (drink), and it expresses a complete thought.

2. Compound Sentences

A compound sentence contains at least two independent clauses. These clauses are joined by a
coordinating conjunction or a semicolon.

*A coordinating conjunction is a word that glues words, phrases, or clauses together.

She cooked and he cleaned.
She cooked is an independent clause.
He cleaned is also an independent clause.
And is a coordinating conjunction joining the two independent clauses.
She cooked and he cleaned is a compound sentence.
Learn more about the compound sentence here.

3. Complex Sentences

A complex sentence contains a subordinate clause and an independent clause.

*A subordinate clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb but does not express a complete
thought.
I washed the dishes after I ate breakfast.

I washed the dishes is an independent clause.

After I ate breakfast is a dependent adverb clause modifying the verb washed.

I washed the dishes after I ate breakfast is a complex sentence.

4. Compound-Complex Sentence

A compound-complex sentence contains at least two independent clauses and at least one subordinate
clause.
Example
I would have purchased the cheese that you like, but it was too expensive.

I would have purchased the cheese and it was too expensive are both independent clauses. They are
being joined by the conjunction but.
That you like is a dependent adjective clause modifying the noun cheese.

The whole sentence is a compound-complex sentence.

Sentence Types
Sentence types are awesome.

We use different types of sentences for different purposes, and when we categorize sentences
based on their purpose, we get four types of sentences:
 Statements
, questions,
exclamations,
 and commands.

1. Statement / Declarative Sentence

These are the most common type of sentence. We use them to make statements.
Example
The butter was in the cupboard yesterday.
Dinosaurs lived millions of years ago.
This is my favorite movie.
2. Question / Interrogative Sentence
When we want to ask questions, we use interrogative sentences.
These types of sentences often have an auxiliary verb before the subject.
Example
Where is the butter?
When did dinosaurs live?
What is your favorite movie?

3. Exclamation / Exclamatory Sentence

An exclamatory sentence makes a statement with emotion. It ends with an exclamation mark.
Example:
I can't find the butter!
I love this movie!
Alas! I have lost my book.

4. Command / Imperative Sentence

An imperative sentence is used for an order, a request ,a suggestion or an advice.
Example:
Don’t make a noise.
Give me a dinosaur for my birthday.
Play the movie.