Grammar

Grammar is all about a sentence. How a sentence is spoken, what the sentence is all about, what it
contains etc.

1) S --- V --- O
The basic parts of a sentence are the subject, the verb, and (often, but not always) the object. The
subject is usually a noun--a word that names a person, place, or thing. The verb (or predicate) usually
follows the subject and identifies an action or a state of being. An object receives the action and usually
follows the verb.

When we talk of a sentence, we must understand what is a “predicate” - it is the part of the sentence
which has the verb, and which tells us what the subject is or does. In other words, the predicate is
everything that is not the subject. For example, “The man is a monster” - in this sentence, “is a
monster” is a predicate. Or “ He went cycling after returning from school” - in this sentence “ went
cycling after returning from school” is a predicate.

A sentence has two parts: the subject and the predicate. The subject is what the sentence is about, and
the predicate is a comment about the subject.

At the heart of the predicate is a verb. In addition to the verb, a predicate can contain direct objects,
indirect objects, and various kinds of phrases.

Nouns -
In the lines mentioned above, we saw that a subject is usually a noun--a word that names 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.

Here Are Some Examples of Nouns

(Names for people) - soldier - Alan - cousin - Frenchman

(Names for animals) - rat - zebra - lion - aardvark
(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

The Two Main Noun Categories: Common Nouns and Proper Nouns

A noun can be categorized as either a common noun or a proper noun. A common noun is the word
used for a class of person, place, or thing (e.g., person, city, dog). A proper noun is the given name of a
person, place or thing, i.e., its own name (e.g., Michael, New York, Rover). A proper noun always starts
with a capital letter.

Common Proper Noun

 Noun
boy David
sailor Adam
lawyer Sarah
motder-in-law Janice
town Milton Keynes
The Golden Gate
bridge
Bridge
tower Eifel Tower
street Honeysuckle Crescent
cat Fido
monkey Bonzo

Common nouns are further classified into:

Abstract nouns – things you cannot see or touch (e.g., bravery, joy)
Collective nouns – words to describe groups (e.g., team, choir)
Compound nouns – nouns made up of more than one word (e.g., court-martial, pickpocket, water
bottle)
Concrete nouns – things you can see or touch (e.g., tree, cloud)
Non-countable nouns (mass nouns) – things you cannot count (e.g., food, music)
Gender-specific nouns – words which are definitely male or female (e.g., vixen, actress)
Verbal nouns – nouns derived from verbs (e.g., a building, an attack)
Gerunds – nouns that represent actions (e.g., running fast, guessing a number)

A common noun starts with a capital letter if only it appears in the beginning of the sentence.

Other types of nouns are -

Collective Nouns
A collective noun is the word used for a group of people or things. For example:
Choir
Team
Jury
Shoal
Cabinet (of ministers)
Regiment
The big question with collective nouns is whether they should be treated as singular or plural. The
answer is: They can be treated as singular or plural depending on the sense of your sentence.

Pronouns
A pronoun is a word used to replace a noun.
Pronouns are one of the eight parts of speech which are: adjectives, adverbs
conjunctions, interjections, nouns, prepositions, pronouns, and verbs.
Even though they are classified as a different part of speech to nouns, pronouns are nouns. They always
play the role of a noun in a sentence.
James is the first choice for the post. He has applied for it twice already.
(He is a pronoun. In this example, it replaces the proper noun James.)
(It is a pronoun. Here, it replaces the common noun post.)
Some / Who / This
The term pronoun covers lots of words, and all three words above are classified as pronouns.

Gerunds
Gerunds are formed from verbs. They end -ing. They are a type of common noun. (Dictionary meaning
- an English noun formed from a verb by adding -ing)
I love baking.
(baking – the name of an activity; it is formed from the verb to bake.)
Thinking is required to solve this problem.
(thinking – the name of an activity; it is formed from the verb to think.)
Gerunds are different from other nouns because they can take an object or be modified with an adverb.
I love baking bread.
(Here, bread is the object of the gerund baking.)
Thinking laterally is required to solve this problem.
(Here, the gerund thinking has been modified by the adverb laterally.)

Compound Nouns
Compound nouns are nouns made up of two or more words. Some compound nouns are hyphenated,
some are not, and some combine their words to form a single word. For example:
Mother-in-law
Board of members
Court-martial
Forget-me-not
Manservant
Pickpocket
Paper-clip

Before we proceed, let us have a quick look at ne more important component –

The Articles – A/ An/ The.

A and AN are called indefinite articles. "Indefinite" means "not specific". Use A(AN) when you are
talking about a thing in general, NOT a specific thing.

Examples:

I need a phone. Not a specific phone, any phone

Mark wants a bicycle. Not a particular bicycle, a bicycle in general
Do you have a driver's license? In general
Use A(AN) when talking about a thing which is new, unknown, or introduced to a listener for the first
time. Also use A(AN) when you are asking about the existence of something.

Examples:
I have a car. The car is being introduced for the first time.
Tom is a teacher. This is new information to the listener.
Is there a dictionary in your backpack? Asking about the existence of the dictionary
Similarly, use A(AN) to introduce what type of thing we are talking about.

Examples:

That is an excellent book. Describing the kind of book

Do you live in a big house? Asking about the kind of house
I ate a thick, juicy steak. Describing the kind of steak
REMEMBER: You cannot use A(AN) with plural nouns because A(AN) means "one" or "a single".

Examples:

I saw a bears in Yellowstone National Park. Not Correct

I saw bears in Yellowstone National Park. Correct

THE is called a definite article. "Definite" means "specific". Use THE when talking about something
which is already known to the listener or which has been previously mentioned, introduced, or
discussed.

Examples:
I have a cat. The cat is black.
There is a book in my backpack. The book is very heavy.
Do you know where I left the car keys? The listener knows which specific car keys you are talking
about.
Do you own a car? Is the car blue? You assume they do have a car after asking about it in the first
sentence.
Nobody lives on the Moon. The Moon is known to everyone.
IMPORTANT: You can use THE with both singular nouns and plural nouns.

Examples:

I saw the bear in Yellowstone National Park. Correct

I saw the bears in Yellowstone National Park. Correct
Parts of Speech

These are 9 parts of speech

part of
function or "job" example words example sentences
speech

(to) be, have, do,

EnglishClub is a web site.
Verb action or state like, work, sing,
I likeEnglishClub.
can, must

pen, dog, work,

music, town, This is my dog. He lives in myhouse.
Noun thing or person
London, teacher, We live in London.
John

good, big, red,

Adjective describes a noun My dogs are big. I like big dogs.
well, interesting

Determin limits or a/an, the, 2,

I have two dogs and some rabbits.
er "determines" a noun some, many

quickly, silently,
describes a verb, My dog eats quickly. When he
Adverb well, badly, very,
adjective or adverb isvery hungry, he eats reallyquickly.
really

I, you, he, she,

Pronoun replaces a noun Tara is Indian. She is beautiful.
some

Prepositio links a noun to to, at, after, on,

We went to school on Monday.
n another word but

I like dogs and I like cats. I like

Conjuncti joins clauses or
and, but, when cats and dogs. I like dogs but I don't
on sentences or words
like cats.

short exclamation,
Interjecti oh!, ouch!, hi!, Ouch! That hurts! Hi! How are
sometimes inserted
on well you? Well, I don't know.
into a sentence

In addition to this -
Verbs may be treated as two different parts of speech:
lexical Verbs (work, like, run)
auxiliary Verbs (be, have, must)
Determiners may be treated as adjectives, instead of being a separate part of speech.

A sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense, contains a main verb, and begins with a
capital letter.

A clause is a group of words that contains a verb (and usually other components too). A clause may
form part of a sentence or it may be a complete sentence in itself.

A phrase is a small group of words that forms a meaningful unit within a clause.

Section 2

Determiners and Quantifiers

Determiners are words which come at the beginning of the noun phrase.

They tell us whether the noun phrase is specific or general.

Determiners are either “specific” or “general”

Specific determiners:
The specific determiners are:
the definite article: the
possessives: my, your, his, her, its; our, their, whose
demonstratives: this, that, these, those
interrogatives: which

We use a specific determiner when we believe the listener/reader knows exactly what we are referring
to:
Can you pass me the salt please?
Look at those lovely flowers.
Thank you very much for your letter.
Whose coat is this?

The general determiners are:

“a; an; any; another; other; what”

When we are talking about things in general and the listener/reader does not know exactly what we are
referring to, we can use an uncount noun or a plural noun with no determiner:

----------------(Introduce Countable & Uncountable Nouns)---------------------------------------

Countable and Uncountable Nouns -

Countable nouns
Some nouns refer to things which, in English, are treated as separate items which can be counted.
These are called countable nouns. Here are some examples:

a car, three cars

my cousin, my two cousins

a book, a box full of books

a city, several big cities

Singular and plural

Countable nouns can be singular or plural. They can be used with a/an and with numbers and many
other determiners (e.g. these, a few):

She’s got two sisters and a younger brother.

Most people buy things like cameras and MP3-players online these days.

These shoes look old now.

I’ll take a few magazines with me for the flight.

Uncountable nouns

In English grammar, some things are seen as a whole or mass. These are called uncountable nouns,
because they cannot be separated or counted.

Some examples of uncountable nouns are:

Ideas and experiences: advice, information, progress, news, luck, fun, work

Materials and substances: water, rice, cement, gold, milk

Weather words: weather, thunder, lightning, rain, snow

Names for groups or collections of things: furniture, equipment, rubbish, luggage

Other common uncountable nouns include: accommodation, baggage, homework, knowledge, money,
permission, research, traffic, travel.

These nouns are not used with a/an or numbers and are not used in the plural.
We’re going to get new furniture for the living room.
Not: We’re going to get a new furniture for the living room. or We’re going to get new
furnitures for the living room.
We had terrible weather last week.
 Not: We had a terrible weather last week.
We need rice next time we go shopping.

Countable phrases for uncountable nouns

We can sometimes use countable noun phrases to talk about an individual example of the thing an
uncountable noun refers to.
uncountable countable

a house, a
flat, a
place to
accommodation
live, a
place to
stay

a suitcase,
baggage/luggag
a bag, a
e
rucksack

a loaf (of
bread), a
bread
(bread)
roll

a flash of
lightning
lightning

a stroke of
luck
luck

a note, a
coin, a
sum of
money
money, a
euro, a
dollar

poetry a poem

a shower,
rain a
downpour,
a storm
uncountable countable

a journey,
travel
a trip

a job, a
work
task

----------- Continue with earlier general determiners – a, an, the etc.-----------------------------------------

Milk is very good for you. (= uncount noun)

Health and education are very important. (= 2 uncount nouns)
Girls normally do better in school than boys. (= plural nouns with no determiner)

… or you can use a singular noun with the indefinite article a or an:

A woman was lifted to safety by a helicopter.

A man climbing nearby saw the accident.

We use the general determiner “any” with a singular noun or an uncount noun when we are talking
about all of those people or things:

It’s very easy. Any child can do it. (= All children can do it)
With a full licence you are allowed to drive any car.
I like beef, lamb, pork - any meat.

We use the general determiner “another” to talk about an “additional” person or thing:

Would you like another glass of wine?

The plural form of “another” is “other”:

I spoke to John, Helen and a few other friends.

Next → interrogative determiners: which and what

We use "which" as a determiner to ask a question about a specific group of people or things:

Which restaurant did you go to?

Which countries in South America have you visited?

When we are asking a general question we use "what" as a determiner:

What films do you like?

What and which as determiners

Both what and which can be used as determiners in noun phrases with personal or non-personal
reference.
The use of which is restricted to questions with a limited number of possible answers, which may be
given either explicitly or by the context.
(1) Which alternative would you prefer?
(2) Which car is yours?
(3) Which singer did you vote for?
These questions all assume that the speaker and hearer can identify a limited number of alternatives
among which the answer can be found. If no such pre-established set of answers is available, what is
used instead.
(4) What alternatives do we have?
(5) What car did Roger Moore drive as “The Saint” on TV?
(6) What singer has sold the most albums in the history of pop?
Often, the nature of the expected answer makes it unlikely that a limited set of answers has been
established in the discourse. This is true even if, in reality, there is a limited number of possible
answers.
Thus, even if there is a limited number of days in the week (or the year), what is the normal choice in
questions about times of the day, week-days, dates, etc., as illustrated below. Similarly, even though a
book has a limited number of pages, without a pre-established set of pages under discussion, what is
the normal choice of determiner.
(7) What day is the race?
(8) What time is it?
(9) What page did you get to?

Who, what and which as pronouns

As a pronoun, which is restricted in the same way as when it is used as a determiner. Thus, it is used
only when the answer is to be found among a given limited set of alternatives. The choice of
alternatives can be given in a postmodifying prepositional phrase, typically headed by of. Which can be
used both about human and non-human referents and both in the singular and the plural.
(10) Which (of these alternatives) would you prefer?
(11) Which of the candidates would be best suited for the job?
(12) Which do you like the most, Bill or John?
If no set of possible answers has been established, who is used for human referents and what for non-
human referents. In this case postmodification by an of-phrase is not possible (please remember that *
in front of an example indicates unacceptability), although other postmodifiers occur (typically with the
role of amplifying the wh-word).
(13) What are our alternatives?
(14) What are your hobbies?
(15) *What of these alternatives seems better? (limited choice indicated by the of-phrase,
hence which is used: Which of these alternatives seems better.)
 (16) What the hell/on earth/in the world are you saying?
(17) Who told Mary about the accident?
(18) Who are those people?
(19) *Who of your students will pass the exam? (limited choice indicated by the of-phrase,
hence which is used: Which of your students will pass the exam?)
(20) Who the hell/on earth/in the world are you talking about?
Next →
quantifier -

What are quantifiers?

A quantifier is a word or phrase which is used before a noun to indicate the amount or quantity:
'Some', 'many', 'a lot of' and 'a few' are examples of quantifiers.

Quantifiers can be used with both countable and uncountable nouns.

Examples:

There are some books on the desk

He's got only a few dollars.
How much money have you got?
There is a large quantity of fish in this river.
He's got more friends than his sister.

Examples of quantifiers

With Uncountable Nouns

much
a little/little/very little *
a bit (of)
a great deal of
a large amount of
a large quantity of
With Both

all
enough
more/most
less/least
no/none
not any
some
any
a lot of
lots of
plenty of
With Countable Nouns

many
a few/few/very few **
a number (of)
several
a large number of
a great number of
a majority of
* NOTE

few, very few mean that there is not enough of something.

a few means that there is not a lot of something, but there is enough.

** NOTE

little, very little mean that there is not enough of something.

a little means that there is not a lot of something, but there is enough.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Modifiers/ Parallelism to be covered.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section three

Verbs -

Simple Definition of verb

a word (such as jump, think, happen, or exist ) that is usually one of the main parts of a sentence and
that expresses an action, an occurrence, or a state of being.

Verbs in English have four basic parts:

Base form -ing form Past tense Past participle
work working worked worked
play playing played played
listen listening listened listened

Most verbs have past tense and past participle in –ed (worked, played, listened). But many of the most
frequent verbs are irregular.

Irregular Verbs -
Most verbs have past tense and past participle in –ed ( worked, played, listened). But many of the most
frequent verbs are irregular:

Base form Past tense Past participle

was/were been
be began begun
Base form Past tense Past participle
broke broken
begin brought brought
break bought bought
bring built built
buy chose chosen
build came come
choose cost cost
come cut cut
cost did done
cut drew drawn
do drove driven
draw ate eaten
drive felt felt
eat found found
feel got got
find gave given
get went gone
give had had
go heard heard
have held held
hear kept kept
hold knew known
keep left left
know led led
leave let let
lead lay lain
let lost lost
lie made made
lose meant meant
make met met
mean paid paid
meet put put
pay ran run
put said said
run saw seen
say sold sold
see sent sent
sell set set
send sat sat
set spoke spoken
sit spent spent
speak stood stood
spend took taken
stand taught taught
take told told
teach thought thought
tell understood understood
Base form Past tense Past participle

think
understand wore worn
wear won won
win wrote written
write

Question Forms -
We make questions by:

1: moving an auxiliary to the front of the clause:

Everybody is watching >> Is everybody watching?

They had worked hard
He's finished work
Everybody had been working hard
He has been singing
English is spoken all over the
world
The windows have been cleaned
>> Had they worked hard?
>> Has he finished work?
>> Had everybody been working hard?
>> Has he been singing?
>> Is English spoken all over the world?
>> Have the windows been cleaned?

2: … or by moving a modal to the front of the clause:

They will come >> Will they come?

He might come >> Might he come?
They will have arrived by now >> Will they have arrived by now?
She would have been listening >> Would she have been listening?
The work will be finished soon >> Will the work be finished soon?
They might have been invited to the
>> Might they have been invited to the party?
party

3: The present simple and the past simple have no auxiliary. We make questions by adding the
auxillary do/does for the present simple or did for the past simple:

They live here >> Do they live here?

John lives here >> Does John live here?
Everybody laughed >> Did everybody laugh?

Now that we just had a look at Auxiliary verbs, here are details abour Modal verbs -

We use modal verbs to show if we believe something is certain, probable or possible (or not). We also
use modals to do things like talking about ability, asking permission making requests and offers, and so
on.
The modal verbs are:
can could
may might
shall should
will would
must

There are two tenses in English – past and present.

The present tenses in English are used:

•to talk about the present

•to talk about the future

•to talk about the past when we are telling a story in spoken English or when we are summarising a
book, film, play etc.

There are four present tense forms in English:

Tense Form
Present simple: I work
Present continuous: I am working
Present perfect: I have worked
Present perfect
I have been working
continuous:

We use these forms:

•to talk about the present:

He works at McDonald’s. He has worked there for three months now.

He is working at McDonald’s. He has been working there for three months now.
London is the capital of Britain.

•to talk about the future:

The next train leaves this evening at 1700 hours.

I’ll phone you when I get home.
He’s meeting Peter in town this afternoon.
I’ll come home as soon as I have finished work.
You will be tired out after you have been working all night.
•We can use the present tenses to talk about the past...
There are two tenses in English – past and present.

The past tense in English is used:

•to talk about the past

•to talk about hypotheses – things that are imagined rather than true.

•for politeness.

There are four past tense forms in English:

Tense Form
Past simple: I worked
Past continuous: I was working
Past perfect: I had worked
Past perfect
I had been working
continuous:

We use these forms:

•to talk about the past:

He worked at McDonald’s. He had worked there since July..

He was working at McDonald’s. He had been working since July.

•to refer to the present or future in conditions:

He could get a new job if he really tried.

If Jack was playing they would probably win.

and hypotheses:

It might be dangerous. Suppose they got lost.

I would always help someone who really needed help.

and wishes:

I wish it wasn’t so cold.

•In conditions, hypotheses and wishes, if we want to talk about the past, we always use the past
perfect:

I would have helped him if he had asked.

 It was very dangerous, What if you had got lost?
I wish I hadn’t spent so much money last month.

•We can use the past forms to talk about the present in a few polite expressions:

Excuse me, I was wondering if this was the train for York.
I just hoped you would be able to help me.
Talking about the future : -
1. When we know about the future we normally use the present tense.
•We use the present simple for something scheduled or arranged:

We have a lesson next Monday.

The train arrives at 6.30 in the morning.
The holidays start next week.
It is my birthday tomorrow.

•We can use the present continuous for plans or arrangements:

I’m playing football tomorrow.

They are coming to see us tomorrow.
We’re having a party at Christmas.

2. We use will to talk about the future:

•When we make predictions:

It will be a nice day tomorrow.

I think Brazil will win the World Cup.
I’m sure you will enjoy the film.

•To mean want to or be willing to:

I hope you will come to my party.

George says he will help us.

•To make offers and promises:

I'll see you tomorrow.

We'll send you an email.

•To talk about offers and promises:

Tim will be at the meeting.

 Mary will help with the cooking.

3. We use (be) going to:

•To talk about plans and intentions:

I’m going to drive to work today.

They are going to move to Manchester.

•When we can see that something is likely to happen:

Be careful! You are going to fall.

Look at those black clouds. I think it’s going to rain.

4. We often use verbs like would like, plan, want, mean, hope, expect to talk about the future:

What are you going to do next year? I’d like to go to University.

We plan to go to France for our holidays.
George wants to buy a new car.

5. We use modals may, might, and could when we are not sure about the future:

I might stay at home tonight, or I might go to the cinema.

We could see Mary at the meeting. She sometimes goes.

6. We can use should if we think something is likely to happen:

We should be home in time for tea.

The game should be over by eight o’clock.

7. Clauses with time words:

In clauses with time words like when, after, and until we often use a present tense form to talk about
the future:

I’ll come home when I finish work.

You must wait here until your father comes.
They are coming after they have had dinner.

8. Clauses with if:

In clauses with if we often use a present tense form to talk about the future:
 We won’t be able to go out if it rains.
If Barcelona win tomorrow they will be champions.

WARNING: We do not normally use will in clauses with if or with time words:

I’ll come home when I will finish work.

We won’t be able to go out if it will rain rains.

But we can use will if it means a promise or offer:

I will be very happy if you will come to my party.

We should finish the job early if George will help us.

9. We can use the future continuous instead of the present continuous or going to for emphasiswhen
we are talking about plans, arrangements and intentions:

They’ll be coming to see us next week.

I will be driving to work tomorrow.
Link Verbs :-

ome verbs are followed by either a noun or an adjective:

She was a good friend. = N+V+N
She was very happy. = N + V + Adj.
He became headmaster. = N+V+N
He became angry. = N + V + Adj.

These verbs are called link verbs. Common verbs like this are:

•be

•become

•appear

•feel

•look

•remain

•seem

•sound
 She seemed an intelligent woman.
She seemed intelligent.
He looked hungry.
He looked a good player.

After appear and seem we often use to be:

She appeared to be an intelligent woman.

He seemed to be angry.

Some link verbs are followed by an adjective. Common verbs like this are:

•get

•go

•grow

•taste

•smell

He got hungry in the evening.

She grew stronger every day.

Phrasal Verbs -
Some verbs are two part verbs (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases). They consist of a verb and a
particle:
•grow + up
>> The children are growing up.

Often this gives the verb a new meaning:

•take + after
>> She takes after her mother
= She looks like her mother, or She behaves like her mother.

•count + on
>> I know I can count on you
= I know I can trust you, or I know I can believe you.

Some transitive two part verbs (action verbs) have only one pattern:

N (subject) + V + p + N (object)
[Note: N = noun; V = verb; p = particle]

N (Subject) Verb Particle N (Object)

She takes after her mother
I can count on you
My father comes from Madrid

Some transitive two part verbs (see Clauses, Sentences and Phrases) are phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs
have two different patterns:

• The usual pattern is: N + V + N + p

N (Subject) Verb (N) Object Particle

She gave the money back
He knocked the glass over
We will be leaving our friends and neighbours behind

• But sometimes these verbs have the pattern: N (subject) + V + p + N (object)

N (Subject) Verb Particle N (Object)

She gave back the money
He knocked over the glass
We will be leaving behind our friends and neighbours

When the object is a personal pronoun,these verbs always have the pattern:

N + V +N + p:

•She gave back it

>> She gave it back

•He knocked over it

>> knocked it over

•We will be leaving behind them

>> We will be leaving them behind

• Phrasal verbs are nearly always made up of a transitive verb and a particle. Common verbs with
their most frequent particles are:

bring: about, along, back, forward, in, off, out, round, up

buy: out, up
call: off, up
carry: off, out
cut: back, down, off, out, up
give: away, back, off
hand: back, down, in, on out, over, round
knock: down, out, over
leave: behind, out
let: down, in, off, out
pass: down, over, round
point: out
push: about, around, over
across, away, down, forward, off, on, out, through, together,
put:
up
read: out
set: apart, aside, back, down
shut: away, in, off, out
take: apart, away, back, down, in, on, up, over
think: over, through, up

difference between Idioms, Phrases/Phrasal verbs

Simple Definition of phrase
: a group of two or more words that express a single idea but do not usually form a complete sentence
: a brief expression that is commonly used
Phrase: a short group of words which are often used together or a sequence of two or more words
arranged in a grammatical construction and acting as a conceptual/single unit in a sentence as the
highlighted expression in the following sentences.:
We are governed by an 'elective dictatorship'.(Used as noun/object of pre-by)
The house at the end of the street belongs to a famous player.(Used as noun and subject of the
sentence)

Simple Definition of phrasal verb

grammar : a group of words that functions as a verb and is made up of a verb and a preposition, an
adverb, or both
Examples - take off or look down on , He has gone down with fever. (gone down with=becomes ill
with disease)
Simple Definition of idiom
: an expression that cannot be understood from the meanings of its separate words but that has a
separate meaning of its own
: a form of a language that is spoken in a particular area and that uses some of its own words, grammar,
and pronunciations
: a style or form of expression that is characteristic of a particular person, type of art, etc.

eg. You have added fuel to the fire. It means you say/do something that makes a difficult situation
worse.

Simple Definition of proverb

: a brief popular saying (such as “Too many cooks spoil the broth”) that gives advice about how people
should live or that expresses a belief that is generally thought to be true

Slow and steady wins the race"

A bad cause requires many words.
A broken hand works, but not a broken heart.

Simple Definition of saying

: an old and well-known phrase that expresses an idea that most people believe is true
a well-known and wise statement made by famous people, which often has a meaning that is different
from the simple meanings of the words it contains:

What is a friend? A single soul dwelling in two bodies.

- Aristotle.
Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value. - Albert Einstein
Hinduism is not a religion, its a way of life.
-Swami Vivekananda

Seven Types of Errors

in Sentence Correction

1. Subject-Verb Agreement
2. Modifiers
3. Parallelism
4. Pronoun Agreement
5. Verb Time Sequences
6. Comparisons
 7. Idioms

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Section 4

1. Subject-Verb Agreement
Making Subjects and Verbs Agree
This gives you several guidelines to help your subjects and verbs agree.
1. When the subject of a sentence is composed of two or more nouns or pronouns connected by and,
use a plural verb.
She and her friends are at the fair.
2. When two or more singular nouns or pronouns are connected by or or nor, use a singular verb.
The book or the pen is in the drawer.
3. When a compound subject (When a verb has two or more subjects, you can say that the verb has
a compound subject. )contains both a singular and a plural noun or pronoun joined by or or nor, the
verb should agree with the part of the subject that is nearer the verb.
The boy or his friends run every day.
His friends or the boy runs every day.
4. Doesn't is a contraction (A contraction is a shortened version of the written and spoken forms of a
word, syllable, or word group, created by omission of internal letters and sounds ) of does not and
should be used only with a singular subject. Don't is a contraction of do not and should be used only
with a plural subject. The exception to this rule appears in the case of the first person and second
person pronouns I and you. With these pronouns, the contraction don't should be used.
He doesn't like it.
They don't like it.
5. Do not be misled by a phrase that comes between the subject and the verb. The verb agrees with the
subject, not with a noun or pronoun in the phrase.
One of the boxes is open
The people who listen to that music are few.
The team captain, as well as his players, is anxious.
The book, including all the chapters in the first section, is boring.
The woman with all the dogs walks down my street.
6. The words each, each one, either, neither, everyone, everybody, anybody, anyone, nobody,
somebody, someone, and no one are singular and require a singular verb.
Each of these hot dogs is juicy.
Everybody knows Mr. Jones.
Either is correct.
7. Nouns such as civics, mathematics, dollars, measles, and news require singular verbs.
The news is on at six.
Note: the word dollars (i.e. currency) is a special case. When talking about an amount of money, it
requires a singular verb, but when referring to the dollars themselves, a plural verb is required.
Five dollars is a lot of money.
Dollars are often used instead of rubles in Russia.
8. Nouns such as scissors, tweezers, trousers, and shears require plural verbs. (There are two parts to
these things.)
These scissors are dull.
Those trousers are made of wool.
9. In sentences beginning with "there is" or "there are," the subject follows the verb. Since "there" is
not the subject, the verb agrees with what follows.
There are many questions.
There is a question.
10. Collective nouns are words that imply more than one person but that are considered singular and
take a singular verb, such as group, team, committee, class, and family.
The team runs during practice.
The committee decides how to proceed.
The family has a long history.
My family has never been able to agree.
The crew is preparing to dock the ship.
This sentence is referring to the individual efforts of each crew member. The Gregg Reference
Manual provides excellent explanations of subject-verb agreement (section 10: 1001).
11. Expressions such as with, together with, including, accompanied by, in addition to, or as well do not
change the number of the subject. If the subject is singular, the verb is too.
The President, accompanied by his wife, is traveling to India.
All of the books, including yours, are in that box.
(https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/01/)

Pronoun Agreement
In most cases, a pronoun refers back to a noun that appeared previously in the text or conversation.
That noun is called the antecedent of the pronoun and the noun and pronoun must agree as to whether
they are singular or plural.

Noun-Pronoun Agreement Basics

The purpose of a pronoun is to take the place or refer back to a noun in a sentence. Just like subjects
and verbs, nouns and pronouns should agree in number within a sentence.

Singular Noun, Singular Pronoun

When writing a sentence, using the same word more than once can get repetitive.

Example: When a woman is sick, the woman should call a doctor.

Rather than repeating woman twice, we could use a pronoun.

Example: When a woman is sick, she should call a doctor.

Since woman is singular (there is only one), use a singular pronoun (she) to replace it.

Plural Noun, Plural Pronoun

What would happen if we made the subject of our sentence plural?

Example: When individuals are sick, individuals should call a doctor.

Now, since individuals is plural, we should choose a plural pronoun to replace it:

Example: When individuals are sick, they should call a doctor.

Multiple Singular Nouns, Plural Pronoun
Finally, if there are multiple single subjects, we must use a plural pronoun:

Example: When a supervisor and an employee are sick, they should call a doctor.
Pronoun Ambiguity
While pronouns are useful to help writers avoid repetition, pronouns should be used sparingly to keep
the meaning of the sentence clear. Take a look at this sentence:

Example: When Jeff and Brian joined the team members, they were scared.
The pronoun here (they) is unclear--to whom does it refer? Was the team scared? Were Jeff and Brian
scared? Because the pronoun they is ambiguous, choosing a noun rather than a pronoun will help with
clarity.

Example:When Jeff and Brian joined the team members, the team members were scared.

(http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/nounpronounagreement)

Who vs. Whom

The interrogative pronouns who and whom take different forms in the subject and object positions
If the pronoun is acting as a subject, use who. If it is acting as an object, use whom.

Example : I don't know whom Ashwini married.

n this sentence, the pronoun whom acts as a placeholder for an unknown person – whoever it is whom
Kate married. To determine whether this pronoun is acting as the subject or object of the verb, try
rearranging the sentence into a question, and then answer it.

The form of the answer will tell you which version of the pronoun to use, subjective or objective. Let's
try it:

Question: Who/m did Ashwini marry?

Answer: Ashwini married him.

You wouldn't say "Ashwini married he." Since the pronoun used in the answer is the objective "him,"
the pronoun in the original sentence should also be in the objective case: whom.

Incorrect: I don’t know who Ashwini married.

Correct: I don’t know whom Ashwini married.

 Print out chapter
Pronoun Agreement

A. Introduction
B. Subject vs. Object
C. Who vs. Whom
D. Singular and Plural Pronouns
E. Possessive Pronouns
F. Objects of to be verbs
G. Relative Pronouns
H. Sample Questions

This section discusses the interrogative pronouns who and whom. When these pronouns are used to
mean “which or what individual(s),” you must always check to see whether they are acting as the
subject or the object of the verb. If the pronoun is acting as a subject, use who. If it is acting as an
object, use whom.

You will often see these pronouns in questions and answers. Consider the following sentence:

I don't know whom Kate married.

In this sentence, the pronoun whom acts as a placeholder for an unknown person – whoever it is whom
Kate married. To determine whether this pronoun is acting as the subject or object of the verb, try
rearranging the sentence into a question, and then answer it. The form of the answer will tell you which
version of the pronoun to use, subjective or objective. Let's try it:

Question: Who/m did Kate marry?

Answer: Kate married him.

You wouldn't say "Kate married he." Since the pronoun used in the answer is the objective "him," the
pronoun in the original sentence should also be in the objective case: whom.

Incorrect: I don’t know who Kate married.

Correct: I don’t know whom Kate married.

Here's another one to try:

Who took out the trash?

Because the sentence is already a question, all you need to do is answer the question.

Question: Who/m took out the trash?

Answer: He took out the trash.

The person taking out the trash is the subject of the sentence. You wouldn't say "Him took out the
trash," because "him" is objective. The indefinite pronoun must be in the subjective case: Who.

Incorrect: Whom took out the trash?

Correct: Who took out the trash?

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Section Five -

Modifiers -

Modifiers are words, phrases, or clauses that provide description in sentences. Modifiers allow writers
to take the picture that they have in their heads and transfer it accurately to the heads of their readers.
Basic Principle: Modifiers are like teenagers: they fall in love with whatever they're next to. WE willl
have to make sure they're next to something they ought to modify.

Examples of Modifiers
Modifiers can play the roles of adjectives or adverbs.

Modifiers As Adjectives

When a modifier is an adjective, it modifies a noun or a pronoun. (In these examples, the modifiers are
shaded, and the words being modified are bold).
Lee caught a small mackerel.
(Here, the adjective small modifies the noun mackerel.)
Lee caught a small mackerel.
(Don't forget that articles (i.e., the, an, and a) are adjectives too. Here, a modifies the noun mackerel as
does small.)
Lee caught another one.
(Here, the adjective another modifies the pronoun one.)

Modifiers As Adverbs

When a modifier is an adverb, it modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb. For example:
Lee accidentally caught a small fish.
(Here, the adverb accidentally modifies the verb caught.)
Lee caught an incredibly small mackerel.
(Here, the adverb incredibly modifies the adjective small.)
Lee supposedly accidentally caught a small fish.
(Here, the adverb supposedly modifies the adverb accidentally.)
A Modifier Can Be a Phrase or a Clause
Don't forget that phrases and clauses can play the roles of adjectives and adverbs too. For example:
Lee caught a mackerel smaller than a Mars bar.
(This is an adjective phrase modifying the noun mackerel.)
Lee caught a mackerel of tiny proportions.
(This is a prepositional phrase functioning as an adjective. It modifies the noun mackerel.)
Lee caught a mackerel which was smaller than a Mars bar.
(This is an adjective clause modifying mackerel.)
When alone, Lee tried to catch mackerel.
(This is an adverbial phrase (of time) modifying the verb tried.)
When we left him alone, Lee set up his rod to catch mackerel.
(This is an adverbial clause (of time) modifying the verb set up.)

A modifier tells the time, place, or manner of action. The modifier usually follows the complement. Not
every sentence requires a modifier.
Prepositional phrases are commonly used as modifiers (See more under Prepositions and Prepositional
Phrases later in the book).
Examples of prepositional phrases:
under the house, after breakfast, in the morning
Adverbs and adverbial phrases are also used as modifiers, or modifiers of time. A modifier of time will
usually come last when more than one modifier is used.
Examples of adverbs and adverbial phrases:
yesterday, quickly, last semester, overhead, quite awful
A modifier answers the question of where? When? or how?

Main rule - any part of a sentence that adds extra information can be considered a modifier. "Extra
information" is anything that can be removed from the sentence without affecting the meaning or
structure of the main clause.

-
Types of Modifiers -

Misplaced Modifiers

When too much distance separates the modifier from its target, the result is a misplaced modifier.

Example -
1) I almost listened to the whole album.
I listened to almost the whole album.

The first sentence is wrong, because if you "almost listened". Make certain that all modifiers are placed
as closely as possible to the worsd they modify.

2) He was staring at the girl wearing dark glasses by the vending machine.
He was staring at the girl by the vending machine wearing dark glasses.

Second sentence is incorrect, because it means that the vending machine is wearing dark glasses. It is a
clear case of misplaced modifiers, which can confuse the meaning of the sentence.

3) We read that Janet was married in her last letter.

In her last letter, we read that Janet was married.

First sentence is incorrect because she cann't be married in a letter. When we write euch sentences, the
unexpected humorous effect may take away our attention away from the desired meaning.

Exercises -
A: The clerk sold the scarf with the red print to the woman.
B: The clerk sold the scarf to the woman with the red print.

A: On her way to school, Marissa found a green woman's

purse.
B: On her way to school, Marissa found a woman's green
purse.

Dangling Modifiers -

A dangling modifier has an unclear or absent concept for which we need to provide more information.
Remember, in English sentences, the doer of the action must be the subject of the main clause that
follows. Dangling modifiers occur when a modifying phrase begins a sentence.

Examples -
INCORRECT: Having finished his dinner, a piece of cake was eaten.
CORRECT: Having finished his dinner, Bob ate a piece of cake.
In the first sentence, there is no subject to modify or to link to the pronoun.
INCORRECT: Without knowing his name, it was awkward to meet him.
CORRECT: Because Susie didn’t know his name, it was awkward to meet him.
In the first sentence, it didn’t know his name. The sentence needs to be revised to add a subject that
who was meeting him.

Exercise 44: Correcting Sentences with Dangling Modifiers

1. To teach more thoroughly, the demonstration was given again.
__The demonstration was repeated in order for it to be more thorough.
2. After reading the original manuscript, the play lacks excitement.
__The original play manuscript lacked excitement so it was rewritten.__
3. Leaving the stress of your job, your home should be a place to relax.
__Your home should be a place to relax and escape the stress of your job.__
4. The experiment was a failure, not having listened closely to instructions.
__The experiment was a failure because the instructions were not closely followed.__
5. Having been thrown in the air, the dog caught the stick.
__The dog caught the stick that had been thrown in the air.__
6. While playing a computer game, the telephone rang.
__The telephone rang while I was playing a computer game.__
7. Running across the floor, the rug slipped and I fell.
__While running across the floor, I slipped on the rug and fell.__
8. Standing on the hotel balcony, the mountainous view was spectacular.
__The mountain view was spectacular from the hotel balcony.__
9. Being piled up next to the washer, I began doing laundry.
__I began to do laundry because the clothes were piled up next to the washer.__
10. While taking out the trash, the sack broke.
__The trash sack broke when I was taking it out.__
 Section Six

Parallelism is a rule of English grammar that demands consistency in a sentence's structure. Any lists of
ideas, places, activities, or descriptions that have the same level of importance – whether they are
words, phrases, or clauses - must be written in the same grammatical form.

Some examples:
activities: running, biking, and hiking
places: the store, the museum, and the restaurant
ideas: how to read, how to write, and how to learn
descriptors: quickly, quietly, and happily
Note the grammatical consistency in each list. The activities all end in "-ing;" the places are all
preceded by the article "the;" the ideas all begin with "how to;" the descriptors are all adverbs. In each
list, whatever grammatical form is applied to one item is applied to all items. This rule (what
applies to one must apply to all) is pretty much all you need to remember.
Verbs and parallel construction -

Example –
Wrong - Subhash ate burger, drank coffee and was driving a car.
Correct - Subhash ate burger, drank coffee and drove a car.

Another example of gerund -

Incorrect: All business students should learn word processing, accounting, and how to
program computers.
Correct: All business students should learn word processing, accounting, and computer
programming.

We always find some infinitive verbs in the SC questions – to_______.

Full Definition of INFINITIVE

1. : a verb form normally identical in English with the first person singular that performs some functions
of a noun and at the same time displays some characteristics of a verb and that is used with to (as in “I
asked him to go”) except with auxiliary and various other verbs (as in “no one saw him leave”)

Using infinitives -
Incorrect: He likes to swim, sail, and to dance.
Correct: He likes to swim, to sail, and to dance.
Correct: He likes to swim, sail, and dance.
Golden rule is - Either repeat the word before every element in a series or include it only before
the first item.Anything else violates the rules of parallelism.

Adjectives/ adverbs & Parallelism -

Just like verbs, adverbs and adjectives in a list must agree.

Example -
Incorrect - On the his birthday, John was giggly, energetic, and couldn't wait for the party to begin.

Instruction - This looks to be a list of adjectives until you reach the third item in the list: it's not an
adjective, it's a verb. The "list of adjectives" won't be complete until the last item falls into step with the
others:

Correct: On the morning of his fourth birthday, Johnny was giggly, energetic and very eager for the
party to begin.

Comparisons and parallelism -

When you see comparison words or phrases such as "more than," "less than," "although," "rather
than," etc, check to make sure the things being compared are grammatically parallel.
Incorrect: The professor published more papers last year than were published by all his
colleagues combined.

Correct: The professor published more papers last year than all his colleagues combined.
For comparisons, the grammatical forms need to be balanced rather than identical. This means that
while you need to include the same parts of speech in both elements of comparison, they do not
necessarily need to be in the same order. The correct sentence above has one “noun + active verb”
construction and one “active verb + noun” construction (the verb “did” is implied: than (did) all his
colleagues combined).

Sometimes, you'll come across comparisons between multiple pronouns or a noun and a pronoun. In
many cases, in order for the pronouns to be parallel, the pronouns must be identical.
Incorrect: Those who exercise in addition to maintaining a healthy diet are likely to be in better health
than the people who maintain a healthy diet but don't exercise.

Correct: Those who exercise in addition to maintaining a healthy diet are likely to be in
better health than those who maintain a healthy diet but don't exercise.

Here, people who exercise are being compared to people who don't exercise. In the first sentence, the
pronoun "those who" in the first part of the sentence is matched with the noun "the people who" in the
second part of the sentence. Notice how much cleaner and easier to understand the second sentence is,
where the pronoun "those" stands in for "people" in both parts of the comparison.
Use the same pronoun for both elements of the comparison. Consider the sentence below:
Those who have strong work credentials and a college degree are more likely to be hired than one who
has only the degree.

The pronouns must match:

Incorrect: Those who have strong work credentials and a college degree are more likely to be hired
than one who has only the degree.

Correct: Those who have strong work credentials and a college degree are more likely to be hired
than those who have only the degree.

Correct: One who has strong work credentials and a college degree is more likely to be hired
than one who has only the degree.
Be consistent: whichever pronoun you choose, use it all the way through.
Correlative pairs and parallelism -
Correlative pairs such as either…or, neither…nor, not only…but also, and whether…or also
require parallelism.

Incorrect: Either I will attend the show, or they will be attending.

Correct: Either I will attend the show, or they will.

Correct: Either I will be attending the show, or they will (be attending).

Watch out for matching clauses or phrases with single words.

Consider the following sentence:
Not only has the captain assigned all his men to the case, but also a private detective.
This sentence reads well at first glance, but it contains a hidden grammar error.
Compare the structure of the groups of words following each conjunction in the "Not only…but
also" pair:
(Not only) has the captain put all his men on the case: clause

(but also) a private detective: noun

These two structures definitely do not match. A better way to write this sentence is:
The captain has assigned to the case not only all his men, but also a private detective.
Here, "not only" and "but also" are both followed by nouns: "men" and "private detective."
Alternatively, both can be followed by phrases:
The captain has not only assigned all his men to the case, but also hired a private detective.
Here, "not only" and "but also" are both followed by verb phrases: "assigned all his men" and "hired a
private detective." Note that both verbs must be in the same form.