I.E.S.

AGUILARES GRAMÁTICA INGLESA I – COMISIÓN B

ABRIL 2024 PROF. JAVIER RODRIGUEZ

SECTION 1: What is Grammar?

Grammar (noun): the structure and system of a language or of languages in

general, usually considered to consist of syntax and morphology.

What do you think about Grammar?

1) Grammar's essential. I love it.

2) Grammar is Grammar.

3) I hate Grammar.

❖Grammar is Your Friend

Josef Essberger

Grammar is the system of a language. People

sometimes describe grammar as the "rules"
of a language, but in fact no language has rules (except invented languages
like Esperanto. And if Esperanto were widely spoken, its rules would soon be
quite different). If we use the word "rules", we suggest that somebody created
the rules first and then spoke the language, like a new game. But languages did
not start like that. Languages started by people making sounds which evolved
into words, phrases, and sentences. No commonly spoken language is fixed. All
languages change over time. What we call "grammar" is simply a reflection of a
language at a particular time.

Do we need to study grammar to learn a language? The short answer is "no".

Very many people in the world speak their own, native language without having
studied its grammar. Children start to speak before they even know the word
"grammar". But if you are serious about learning a foreign language, the long
answer is "yes, grammar can help you to learn a language more quickly and
more efficiently." It's important to think of grammar as something that can help
you, like a friend. When you understand the grammar (or system) of a language,
you can understand many things yourself, without having to ask a teacher or
look in a book.

So, think of grammar as something good, something positive, something that

you can use to find your way - like a signpost or a map.
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 ❖Grammar-is-your-friend Quiz.

This quiz tests what you learned about the meaning of grammar.
Circle the correct options.

1. Josef Essberg considers that all languages have grammar rules except for
natural languages invented languages

2. Grammar rules suggests that somebody created

the language first the rules first

3. All languages started as

spoken languages written languages

4. All languages have these two features

fixed and unchangeable unfixed and changeable

5. According to Josef Essberg, grammar is the reflection of a language

at a special moment through all its time

6. Children learn to speak their first language

because of the grammar rules before they learn the grammar rules

7. We need to study grammar when we learn

a foreign language our first language

8. You can learn a language more quickly and more efficiently thanks to
a teacher grammar

9. Grammar is compared to a signpost because you can use it to find your way
on your own with its help

10. Based on the conception of grammar by Essberg, learning grammar is

important necessary
I.E.S. AGUILARES GRAMÁTICA INGLESA I – COMISIÓN B
ABRIL 2024 PROF. JAVIER RODRIGUEZ
SECTION 2: Parts of Speech
What is a Part of Speech?

We can categorize English words into 9 basic types called "parts of speech" or "word classes". 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.

Parts of Speech Table

This is a summary of the 9 parts of speech*.
part of function or "job" example words example sentences
speech

Verb action or state (to) be, have, do, like, EnglishClub is a web site.
work, sing, can, must I like EnglishClub.

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

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

Determiner limits or "determines" a a/an, the, 2, some, I have two dogs and some rabbits.
noun many

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

Pronoun replaces a noun I, you, he, she, some Tara is Indian. She is beautiful.

Preposition links a noun to another to, at, after, on, but We went to school on Monday.
word

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

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

* Some grammar sources traditionally categorize English into 8 parts of speech. Others say 10. We use the more
recent categorization of 9 parts of speech. Examples of other categorizations are:
• Verbs may be treated as two distinct parts of speech:
o lexical Verbs (work, like, run)
o auxiliary Verbs (be, have, must)
• Determiners may be treated as adjectives, instead of being a separate part of speech.

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Parts of Speech Examples
Here are some examples of sentences made with different English parts of speech:

verb

Stop!

noun verb

John works.

noun verb verb

John is working.

pronoun verb noun

She loves animals.

noun verb noun adverb

Tara speaks English well.

noun verb adjective noun

Tara speaks good English.

pronoun verb preposition determiner noun adverb

She ran to The station quickly.

pron. verb adj. noun conjunction pron. verb pron.

She likes big snakes But I hate them.

Here is a sentence that contains every part of speech:

interjection pron. conj. det. adj. noun verb prep. noun adverb

Well, she and my young John walk to school slowly.

I.E.S. AGUILARES GRAMÁTICA INGLESA I – COMISIÓN B
ABRIL 2024 PROF. JAVIER RODRIGUEZ

Words with More Than One Job

Many words in English can have more than one job or be more than one part of speech. For example, "work"
can be a verb and a noun; "but" can be a conjunction and a preposition; "well" can be an adjective, an adverb,
and an interjection. In addition, many nouns can act as adjectives.

To analyze the part of speech, ask yourself: "What job is this word doing in this sentence?"
In the table below you can see a few examples. Of course, there are more, even for some of the words in the
table. In fact, if you look in a good dictionary you will see that the word "but" has six jobs to do: verb, noun,
adverb, pronoun, preposition, and conjunction!

Word part of speech example

Work Noun My work is easy.

Verb I work in London.

But Conjunction John came but Mary didn't come.

Preposition Everyone came but Mary.

Well Adjective Are you well?

Adverb She speaks well.

Interjection Well! That's expensive!

afternoon Noun We ate in the afternoon.

noun acting as adjective We had afternoon tea.

❖Parts of Speech Quiz

This grammar quiz tests what you learned about Parts of Speech. Circle the correct option.

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

SECTION 3: What is a Sentence?

In simple terms, a sentence is a set of words that contain:

1. a subject (what the sentence is about, the topic of the sentence), and
2. a predicate (what is said about the subject)

Look at this simple example:

Sentence

subject Predícate

verb

You speak English.

The above example sentence is noticeably short. Of course, a sentence can be longer and more
complicated, but there is always a subject and a predicate. Look at this longer example:

Sentence

subject Predicate

verb

Ram and Tara speak English when they are working.

Note that the predicate always contains a verb. Sometimes, in fact, the predicate is only a verb:
I.E.S. AGUILARES GRAMÁTICA INGLESA I – COMISIÓN B
ABRIL 2024 PROF. JAVIER RODRIGUEZ

sentence

subject predicate

verb

Smoke rises.

So, we can say that a sentence must contain at least a subject and verb.

Sentence

subject predicate
There is one apparent exception to this – the
verb imperative. When someone gives a command (the
imperative), they usually do not use a subject. They
don't say the subject because it is obvious - the
Stop!
subject is YOU! Look at these examples of the
imperative, with and without a subject:
Wait a minute!

You look!

Everybody look!

Note that a sentence expresses a complete thought. Here are some examples of complete and
incomplete thoughts:

Note also that a sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (AmE period) or a
question mark or an exclamation mark (AmE exclamation point). Look at these examples:

• People need food.

• How are you?
• Look out!

Actually, it is not easy to define a sentence. Grammarians do not all agree on what is or is not a
sentence. For the purposes of introduction, this page describes simple sentences. Of course,
sentences can be much longer and more complex, and these will be later.

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 ❖What is a Sentence? Quiz
This quiz covers grammar explained on What is a Sentence? Circle the correct
options.

1. A sentence is a set of words with a 2. The subject of a sentence is

subject and
what it's about
an object what it begins with
a predicate

3. The predicate is what's said about 4. "My dog likes to chase cats." The
predicate is
the subject
the beginning likes to chase cats
chase cats

5. The predicate of a sentence always 6. Imperative sentences like "Stop!"

includes don’t necessarily include
a noun the verb
a verb the subject

7. In the sentence "Wait a minute!", 8. A full sentence expresses

the predicate has
a complete thought
two words a correct thought
three words

9. Which is a full sentence? 10. Which is not a full sentence?

Come here! How many did you get?
Just a moment. All of them!

“Whenever you correct someone's grammar just remember

that nobody likes you.”
Jim Gaffigan