ENGLISH GRAMMAR NOTES

Date Created:
26/02/2023
Verb Tenses
Verb tenses indicate when an action or event occurred or will occur in
relation to the present time. Here's an easy explanation of the different
verb tenses:

Present tense: Used to describe actions or events that are currently

happening. Its syntax: subject + base form of the verb. For example:
"I walk to work every day."
Present continuous tense: Used for actions or events happening
now but continuing over a period of time. Its syntax is: subject +
am/is/are + present participle (-ing). For example, "I am working on
a project at the moment."
Present perfect tense: Used for actions or events that have
happened at an unspecified time before now. Its syntax is: subject
+ have/has + past participle. For example, "I have traveled to many
countries."
Simple past tense: Used for actions or events that happened in the
past. Its syntax is: subject + past tense of the verb. For example, "I
visited my grandparents last weekend."
Past continuous tense: Used for actions or events that were
happening in the past over a period of time. Its syntax is: subject +
was/were + present participle (-ing). For example, "I was studying
for my exam all night."
Past perfect tense: Used for actions or events that happened before
a specific time or another action in the past. Its syntax is: subject +
had + past participle. For example, "I had finished my homework
before I went to bed."
 Future tense: Used for actions or events that will happen in the
future. Its syntax is: subject + will/shall + base form of the verb.
For example, "I will go to the beach next weekend."
Future continuous tense: Used for actions or events that will be in
progress at a specific time in the future. Its syntax is: subject +
will/shall + be + present participle (-ing). For example, "I will be
studying when you arrive."
Future perfect tense: Used for actions or events that will be
completed at a specific time in the future. Its syntax is: subject +
will/shall + have + past participle. For example, "I will have finished
my project by next week."
Participle
A participle is a type of verb that can function as an adjective, noun, or
part of a verb tense in a sentence. There are two types of participles in
English: present participles and past participles.
Present participles: Present participles are formed by adding "-ing"
to the base form of a verb. They can function as adjectives or as
part of the present continuous or present perfect verb tenses. For
example: "The running dog is happy," "She is swimming in the
pool," "I have been studying for hours."
Past participles: Past participles are formed by adding "-ed," "-d,"
"-t," "-en," or "-n" to the base form of a verb (the exact ending
depends on the verb). They can function as adjectives or as part of
the past perfect or passive verb tenses. For example: "The broken
vase needs to be fixed," "I have eaten breakfast," "The book was
written by a famous author."
Participles are important in English because they allow us to create
more complex sentences and convey more detailed information about
the actions or events in those sentences.

Verb Agreement
Subject-verb agreement is the concept that a verb should match the
number of its subject in a sentence. Here's an easy explanation of
subject-verb agreement:
Singular subject: When the subject of a sentence is singular, the
verb should also be singular. For example, "The dog barks" (not
"The dog bark").
Plural subject: When the subject of a sentence is plural, the verb
should also be plural. For example, "The dogs bark" (not "The
dogs barks").
Compound subject: When the subject of a sentence is a
compound (i.e., two or more subjects joined by "and"), the verb
should also be plural. For example, "John and Mary are going to
the store" (not "John and Mary is going to the store").
Indefinite pronouns: When the subject of a sentence is an
indefinite pronoun (i.e., a pronoun that doesn't refer to a specific
person or thing), the verb should agree with the pronoun's
number. For example, "Everyone is here" (not "Everyone are
here").
Collective nouns: When the subject of a sentence is a collective
noun (i.e., a noun that refers to a group of people or things), the
verb can be singular or plural, depending on the context.
 For example, "The team is practicing" (singular verb because
the team is acting as a unit) and "The team are arguing" (plural
verb because the team members are individuals).
Pronouns
Pronouns are words that are used in place of nouns or noun phrases to
avoid repetition in a sentence.
Subject pronouns: Subject pronouns are used as the subject of a
sentence or clause. For example, "She is going to the store" (not
"Her is going to the store"). The syntax is subject + verb + object,
and the subject pronoun "she" is used to replace the noun that
refers to the person (e.g., "Mary").
Object pronouns: Object pronouns are used as the object of a verb
or preposition. For example, "He gave it to me" (not "He gave it to
I"). The syntax is subject + verb + indirect object + direct object,
and the object pronoun "me" is used to replace the noun that
refers to the person (e.g., "John").
Possessive pronouns: Possessive pronouns show ownership or
possession. For example, "This is hers" (not "This is her"). The
syntax is possessive pronoun + verb, and the possessive pronoun
"hers" is used to replace the noun that refers to the person (e.g.,
"Mary").
Reflexive pronouns: Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject
of a sentence or clause. For example, "She hurt herself" (not "She
hurt her"). The syntax is subject + reflexive pronoun + verb, and
the reflexive pronoun "herself" is used to replace the noun that
refers to the person (e.g., "Mary").
 Demonstrative pronouns: Demonstrative pronouns point out
specific people or things. For example, "This is mine" (referring to a
specific thing) or "Those are hers" (referring to specific people or
things). The syntax is demonstrative pronoun + verb, and the
demonstrative pronoun "mine" is used to replace the noun that
refers to the thing (e.g., "the book").
Indefinite pronouns: Indefinite pronouns refer to non-specific
people or things. For example, "Someone left their bag here" (using
the gender-neutral "their" to refer to an unspecified person). The
syntax is indefinite pronoun + verb, and the indefinite pronoun
"someone" is used to replace the noun that refers to the person
(e.g., "the unknown owner of the bag").
Word Order
In English, word order is important for conveying meaning and
understanding. Generally, the word order in a sentence is Subject-Verb-
Object (SVO), but there are other variations as well. Here are some
common word orders in English:
SVO (Subject-Verb-Object): This is the most common word order in
English. In this order, the subject of the sentence comes first,
followed by the verb and then the object. Example: I ate an apple.
SOV (Subject-Object-Verb): In this order, the subject of the
sentence comes first, followed by the object and then the verb.
Example: She likes to sing.
VSO (Verb-Subject-Object): In this order, the verb comes first,
followed by the subject and then the object. Example: Plays the
guitar he.
 VOS (Verb-Object-Subject): In this order, the verb comes first,
followed by the object and then the subject. Example: Loves pizza
she.
OVS (Object-Verb-Subject): In this order, the object comes first,
followed by the verb and then the subject. Example: An apple I ate.
It's important to note that word order can change depending on the type
of sentence you are using, such as questions or commands.
Additionally, word order can be used to emphasize certain words or
ideas in a sentence. By understanding the different word orders in
English, you can construct clear and effective sentences when
speaking.

Prepositions
Prepositions are words that show the relationship between a noun or
pronoun and other words in a sentence. Prepositions help to indicate
the position, direction, time, manner, or purpose of something.
Here are some common prepositions:
in
on
under
over
with
by
at
to
from
of
Examples:
She is sitting in the chair.
The book is on the table.
The cat is under the bed.
The bird flew over the house.
She is studying with her friends.
The package was delivered by the mail carrier.
They met at the park.
She is going to the store.
The letter is from her grandmother.
The color of the sky is blue.
In each of these examples, the preposition is underlined. The
preposition shows the relationship between the noun or pronoun and
the other words in the sentence.
Articles
Articles are words that are used to indicate whether a noun is specific
or general. In English, there are two types of articles: definite and
indefinite.
Indefinite article: The indefinite article "a" or "an" is used to refer to
a non-specific or general noun. Use "a" before words that start
with a consonant sound, and use "an" before words that start with
a vowel sound.
Examples: I saw a cat in the yard, She is wearing an orange shirt,
He is a doctor, She is an artist.
In these examples, "a" and "an" are used to refer to a general or non-
specific noun.
 Definite article: The definite article "the" is used to refer to a
specific noun, or a noun that has already been mentioned or is
known to both the speaker and the listener.
Examples: The cat that I saw in the yard was black and white, She is
wearing the orange shirt that she bought last week, The doctor that I
saw yesterday was very friendly, The artist that I met last year is having
a show next month.
In these examples, "the" is used to refer to a specific noun that has
already been mentioned or is known to both the speaker and the
listener.
Modals
Modals are a type of auxiliary verb that are used to express various
meanings such as ability, permission, obligation, necessity, and
probability. Modals are often used to modify the main verb in a sentence
and help to convey the speaker's attitude or opinion about the action
being described.
Here are some common modals in English:
Can: Used to indicate ability or permission.
Example: I can swim, Can I use your phone?
Could: Used to indicate past ability, possibility or politeness.
Example: I could speak French when I was younger, Could you
please help me with this?
May: Used to indicate possibility, permission or politeness.
Example: It may rain later, May I leave early today?
Might: Used to indicate possibility, uncertainty or suggestion.
Example: I might go to the party, You might want to try the new
restaurant.
 Must: Used to indicate obligation, necessity or strong
recommendation.
Example: I must study for my exams, You must wear a seatbelt
while driving.
Should: Used to indicate advice, suggestion, or obligation.
Example: You should eat more fruits and vegetables, I should go to
bed earlier.
Ought to: Used to indicate obligation, duty, or necessity.
Example: You ought to apologize for what you said, I ought to call
my parents more often.
Shall: Used to indicate suggestion, future actions or obligation.
Example: Shall we go for a walk?, I shall do my best to finish this
project on time.
Will: Used to indicate future actions or prediction.
Example: I will study for my exams next week, It will rain tomorrow.
Would: Used to indicate preference, past habits or polite request.
Example: I would like to order a pizza.

Parts of speech
Parts of speech are the basic building blocks of the English language,
and they help us to understand how words function in sentences. Here
are the eight parts of speech:
Noun: A noun is a word that represents a person, place, thing, or
idea. Examples: cat, table, happiness, New York
Pronoun: A pronoun is a word that is used in place of a noun.
Examples: he, she, it, they
 Adjective: An adjective is a word that describes a noun or pronoun.
Examples: big, blue, happy, delicious
Verb: A verb is a word that describes an action, occurrence, or state
of being. Examples: run, swim, speak, is
Adverb: An adverb is a word that describes a verb, adjective, or
other adverb. Examples: quickly, slowly, very, really
Preposition: A preposition is a word that shows the relationship
between a noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence.
Examples: in, on, under, with
Conjunction: A conjunction is a word that joins words, phrases, or
clauses together. Examples: and, but, or, so
Interjection: An interjection is a word or phrase used to express
strong emotions or feelings. Examples: wow!, oh no!, yay!

Sentence structure
Sentence structure refers to the arrangement of words in a sentence to
convey a complete thought or idea. The basic syntax of a sentence
includes a subject, a verb, and an object.
Subject + Verb + Object
Let's take a look at an example sentence:
"The cat chased the mouse."
In this sentence, "cat" is the subject, "chased" is the verb, and "mouse"
is the object. The sentence structure follows the basic syntax of subject
+ verb + object.

There are also different types of sentences that can be formed using
different sentence structures. Here are a few examples:
Simple sentence: A simple sentence contains only one independent
clause and expresses a complete thought.
Example: "She is playing tennis."
Compound sentence: A compound sentence contains two or more
independent clauses that are joined by a coordinating conjunction
(such as "and," "but," or "or").
Example: "She loves playing tennis, but she also enjoys swimming."
Complex sentence: A complex sentence contains one independent
clause and at least one dependent clause. The dependent clause
cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and is usually
introduced by a subordinating conjunction (such as "if," "because,"
or "when").
Example: "Because it was raining, she stayed inside."