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ROYAL ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
GRAMMAR REVIEW I
PARTS OF SPEECH
There are eight parts of speech in English. A part of speech is a category into which one places a word depending on how it functions in a sentence. The same word may be different parts of speech, depending on the word’s use in the sentence.
Examples: I have a part in the play. (“part” is a noun.) I part my hair on the left. (“part is a verb.) My dog is part collie. (“part” is an adjective.)
My love gave me a ring. (“ring” is a noun.) I will ring the doorbell. (“ring” is a verb.) Have you a ring holder? (“ring” is an adjective.)
This is the fast lane. (“fast” is an adjective.) The man runs very fast. (“fast” is an adverb.)
Only a close examination of what a word is doing in a sentence reveals its part of speech.
Parts of speech:
Names: Noun Pronoun
Modifiers: Adjective Adverb
Action/State of Being: Verb
Mortar of a Sentence: Prepositions Conjunctions
Exclamation: Interjection
GRAMMAR REVIEW II
THE NOUN
The noun (Latin nomen = name) is the name of: A person (Rumplestilskin; Claudette Colbert; Fetty Wap) A place (New York City, Bear Mountain, Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg) A thing (twig, frog, walnut, sphygmomanometer) A quality (beauty, happiness, courage) An activity (swimming, praying, speaking) = GERUND A concept (friendship, Communism, materialism, spirituality) A condition (peace, security, joy)
Types of Nouns: Common: the label for any member of a category (man, novelist, country, soup, city, religion) In English, one never capitalizes a common noun. Proper: the label for a specific member of a category (Cary Grant. Ernest Hemingway, Mongolia, Campbell’s Soup, Horseheads, Roman Catholicism) Abstract: the name of a non-tangible thing, an idea (violence, empathy, catastrophe) Concrete: the name of something one can sense (prune, aroma, fire, violin) General: the broad term naming all members of a group (like a common noun) (weapon, dwelling, fruit, furniture) Specific: the name of a particular member of a group (sword, apartment, grape, sofa) Collective: the name of a group, written as a common noun and in the singular (committee, jury, army, club, team, class, murder of crows, pride of lions, exaltation of larks, pod of whales) Collective nouns may be consistently singular (referring to a unit) or consistently plural (referring to individuals.
Gender of Nouns: Since the Middle Ages (since about 1300), English nouns have natural gender, reflecting the sex of the individual: Males have masculine gender: actor, man, boy, aviator, bull, rooster. Females have feminine gender: actress, woman, girl, aviatrix, cow, hen Sexless objects have neuter gender: tree, box, book, floor, chair Terms applying to males and females have common gender: worker, friend, worker, student, assistant) Note: So- called “sexist” nouns containing the word “man: (chairman, fireman, mailman) traditionally apply to either sex and are common nouns, as is the word “man: when referring to the human race.
GRAMMAR REVIEW IV
- Collective nouns may be singular or plural, but once one settles on a number, he must be consistent in using that number: Correct: The committee is finished with its work. It adjourned. The committee are finished with their work. They adjourned. Incorrect: The committee is finished with their work. They adjourned.
Case of Nouns: Nouns and pronouns have case. Case is a category into which one puts a noun based on its function in the sentence. Modern English has three cases:
Nominative (Subjective) Case: Used for the subject of a verb (The lamp burned out.) Used for direct address (John, come here.) Used for an appositive of a subject (My friend, Bill, died.) Used for predicate nominative, the complement of s copulative verb (The last caller was Mary.)
Objective Case: Used for the direct object of a verb: (I need a new lamp.) Used for the indirect object of a verb: (Give them the money.) Used for the object of a preposition: (Give the money to them.) Used for the subject of an infinitive: (I need her to help the girls.) Used for an objective complement: (They elected him chairman.) Note: The nominative and objective cases use the noun’s same form.
Possessive (Genetive) Case: Used to show ownership. In the noun, the possessive case is the only case with a distinct ending added to the noun.
- usually, add ‘s to a singular noun to form the possessive case: Bill = Bill’s poet = poet’s goddess = goddess’s
- if the singular noun ends in “s,” one may form the possessive either with ‘s or just the apostrophe: Mr. Marks = Mr. Marks’s or Mr. Marks’ Anaxagoras = Anaxagoras’s or Anaxagoras’ Santa Claus = Santa Claus’s or Santa Claus’
- for plural nouns ending in “s,” add just the apostrophe for the possessive case; boys = boys’ classes = classes’ -for plural nouns ending in a consonant other than “s,” add ‘s to form the possessive case: men = men’s
GRAMMAR REVIEW V
THE PRONOUN
The pronoun (L. pro nomine = for the noun) is a word substituting for a noun or another pronoun. The noun for which the pronoun is a substitute is called the ANTECEDENT (ante + cedo = to go before) of the pronoun, and the antecedent must always be a single word, either stated or implied. Sometimes, the antecedent can follow the pronoun. Mark said that Mark would be late. Mark said that he would be late. (The pronoun “he” substitutes for the noun “Mark.” “Mark” is the antecedent of “he.”) After he built the fire, Chuck died. (The pronoun “he” comes before its antecedent, “Mark.”)
Number: Like nouns, pronouns can be singular (I, one, he, she, it) or plural (we, they).
Gender: Like nouns, pronouns have natural gender, meaning that the pronouns and nouns have a gender based on the sex of the person or thing to which they refer: Masculine pronouns denote males (he, him, his); Feminine pronouns denote females (she, her, hers); Neuter pronouns denote inanimate or non-human things (it, its); Common gender pronouns refer to males, females, and inanimate objects (they, them, one).
Person: The concept of person in verbs and pronouns refers to which role the verb or pronoun identifies in the act of communication. FIRST PERSON (I, me, my, we, us, our, ours) denotes the speaker when referring to himself. SECOND PERSON (you, your, yours, thou, thee, thy, thine, ye) denotes The person being spoken to. THIRD PERSON (he, him, his, she, her, hers, one, it, its, they, their, theirs, them) denotes the person(s) or thing(s) being spoken about.
Types of Pronouns: Personal: refer to the three persons involved in communication (See concept of Person above) (I, you, he, she, it, etc.) Impersonal: refer to non-humans ( it, they) Relative: refer to a person or thing, begin a dependent clause, and relate that person or thing in the dependent clause to a noun or pronoun in the rest of the sentence (who, whom, whose, which, what that) (Example: My doctor whom I trust fell out of bed and died.)
GRAMMAR REVIEW VII
Problems with Pronoun Agreement and Reference: finding the antecedent can be a problem because of: a) Unclear, Distant, or Ambiguous Pronoun Reference: John told Bill he was unprepared. (Who was unprepared?) The coach, along with the team members, staff, and volunteers, brought his lunch. (The pronoun “his” refers to “coach.”)
b) A Collective Noun Antecedent: The committee is preparing its work. (“Committee” is seen as a Single body; thus, the pronoun referring to “committee” is singular (“its”), as is the verb “is.”) The committee are divided on their views. (“Committee” here is Seen as individuals; thus, the pronoun referring to “committee” and the verb “are” are plural.)
c) Several Possible Antecedents: Neither Mary nor her sisters offered their help. Neither her sisters nor Mary offered her help. (Pronouns “either” and “neither” are singular; the antecedent is one or the other term, but not both. Thus, choose the closer antecedent to determine the number of the pronoun.
d) Indefinite Singular Pronoun Antecedents: Everybody had better shut his book, or he will be punished. (The pronouns “everyone,” “everybody,” anyone,” “anybody,” “none,” “nobody,” “someone,” and “somebody” are singular, though sometimes some seem plural; thus, they take a singular pronoun to replace them in a sentence.)
e) An Antecedent Comes After the Pronoun: When they finished, Jack and his brother went home. (The writer must be alert to the antecedents.)
f) Inconsistent Person: In this class, a student must work hard or you will fail. (Note the shift of person from third “student” to second “you.” Be consistent in the person of the noun and pronoun: In this class, a student must work hard or he will fail.)
GRAMMAR REVIEW VIII
THE ADJECTIVE
The adjective (Latin adjectivum = added to) describes, modifies, alters, specifies our understanding of a noun or pronoun.
Brilliant birds flew by. (“Brilliant” describes and specifies the birds.) The children are sad. (“Sad” describes the children.) The hippopotami, which were bathing in the brook, drowned. (The clause describes the hippopotami and is an adjective clause.) Potatoes from Long Island taste best. (The phrase describes the potatoes and is an adjective phrase.) Running up the stairs, Veronica tripped, fell down, broke her toe, and died. (The phrase describes Veronica and is an adjective phrase.)
***To identif y the adjective, take a noun or pronoun and ask, “What kind?” and the answer, be it a word, phrase, or clause, is an adjective. The woman with the purple snood won the prize. (The underlined phrase describes the noun “man” and answers the question, “What kind of man?”)
Those by the window are the records which I need. (The underlines phrases are adjective phrases. “By the window” answers the question, “What kind of those?” and “which I need” answers the question, “What kind of records?”)
****The articles (a, an, the) are always adjectives.
In English, the normal position of the adjective is before the noun it modifies: The broken window let in the cold air. Occasionally, to draw attention to the adjective, it may be misplaced after the noun, since anything out of its ordinary place is noticed and stressed: The window, broken, let in the cold air.
GRAMMAR REVIEW X
THE ADVERB
An adverb is a word, phrase, or clause describing a verb, adjective, or adverb.
Modification of a Verb: ask of the verb how, when, where, why, how much, to what extent, under what condition or circumstances?
Jim swam rapidly. (swam how?) Jim swam yesterday. (swam when?) Jim swam in the river. (swam where?) Jim swam for exercise. (swam why?) Jim swam briefly. (swam how much, to what extent?) Jim swam despite the chilly weather. (swam under what condition?)
Modification of an Adjective: the adverb intensifies or specifies the adjective. Waldo was positively certain that he fed the sapsuckers. (the adverb “positively” intensifies the adjective “certain.”) Mildred’s eyes are intensely blue. (the adverb “intensely” intensifies the adjective “blue.”)
Modification of an Adverb: the adverb intensifies or specifies the other adverb. Ophelia’s cake baked moderately slowly. (the adverb “moderately” specifies the adverb “slowly.” How slowly? Moderately slowly.
Usually, adverbs end in – ly, but not always (He spoke fast.) Usually, one can form an adverb by adding the suffix – ly to the adjective: beautiful (adj.) = beautifully (adv.) quick (adj.) = quickly (adv.) willing (adj.) = willingly (adv.) sad (adj.) = sadly deserved (adj.) = deservedly (adv.)
Note: Surly grammarians insist that all words ending in – ly are adverbs. But “surly” is an adjective, as are “holy,” “silly,” and “wooly.”
Comparison of Adverbs: Like adjectives, adverbs have degrees of comparison. Most adverbs are multi- syllabic and use “more” or “less” in the comparative degree and “most” or “least” in the superlative degree. Positive: quickly, joyfully Comparative: more quickly, less joyfully Superlative: most quickly, least joyfully
GRAMMAR REVIEW XI
POSITIONING ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS
In English, to avoid confusion and to maintain clarity, place the adjective and adverb word, phrase, or clause next to or near the word the adjective or adverb describes, modifies.
Misplaced Modifiers are adjectives or adverbs placed incorrectly in the sentence and thus describing the wrong word or idea: Wrong: Lola almost fed all the dogs. (She almost fed them?) Right: Lola fed almost all the dogs. (She fed five of six dogs.)
Wrong: The newspaper noted that the team won the game on the back page. (The team won on the back page?) Right: On the back page, the newspaper noted that the team won the game. (The paper, on the back page, noted the win.)
Squinting Modifiers are adjectives or adverbs placed between two possible words, either of which the adjective or adverb could describe.
Wrong: Children who need extra help normally are given it. (Do they need help normally or are given it normally?) Right: Children who need extra help are normally given it. Children who normally need extra help are given it. (Now, “normally” clearly modifies one concept.)
Wrong: The treasurer announced after the supper he would speak. (Did he announce after the supper or that he would speak after the supper?) Right: After the supper, the treasurer announced that he would speak. The treasurer announced that he would speak after the supper. (Now, no confusion.)
Dangling Modifiers are adjectives or adverbs that modify nothing in the sentence.
Wrong: While dancing the hokey-pokey, the floor gave way. (Oh, really? The floor was dancing? Who was dancing?) Right: As we danced the hokey-pokey, the floor gave way. (Now we know who danced.)
Wrong: Having cooked the kohlrabis, the supper was ready. (Who cooked kohlrabis? Not the supper.) Right: Having cooked the kohlrabis, the hostess had the supper ready (The hostess cooked the kohlrabis.)
GRAMMAR REVIEW XIII
THE PREPOSITION
The preposition is a word “pre - posed” or places before a noun or pronoun to relate that noun or pronoun to another word in the sentence. Many, but not all, prepositions show a relationship of space or time.
Give the crust to the birds. (“To” shows the relationship between “give” and “birds.”) The girl in the autogyro is a student. (“In” shows the relationship between “girl” and “autogyro.”) The warden fell off his velocipede and into the cement mixer and died. (“Off” shows the relationship between “warden” and “velocipede”; “into” shows the relationship between “fell” and “mixer.”) Common Prepositions: in of between beside over around through like near by within among according to above off with without after against past before beyond behind into under about across during toward at up down instead of upon for below except because of since on
Object of the Preposition: The noun or pronoun that the preposition relates to another word in the sentence is called the object of the preposition and is in the objective case,
The pussycat on the sofa swallowed the goldfish. (“sofa” is the object of the preposition “on.”) Willy ate the garlic ice cream with a long spoon. (“spoon” is the object of the preposition “with.”) Hansel and Gretel took a crumb cake into the forest with them. (“forest” is the object of the preposition “into,” and “them” is the object of the preposition “with.”)
Prepositional Phrase: The prepositional phrase = the preposition + its object + whatever modifies the object: over the river through the woods to grandmother’s house without doubt
GRAMMAR REVIEW XIV
Uses of the Prepositional Phrase:
The prepositional phrase can act as an adjective, modifying a noun or pronoun:
The book on the shelf is old. (The prepositional phrase describes the noun “book.”) Cats with short tails like sour cream. (The prepositional phrase describes “cats.”)
The prepositional phrase can act as an adverb, modifying a verb, an adjective, or another adverb:
The book fell off the shelf. (The prepositional phrase describes where the book fell.) People who eat hot dogs with mayonnaise will eventually die. (The prepositional phrase describes how people eat hot dogs.)
Avoid ending a sentence with a preposition, if possible, since a preposition is a weak word whose function is to relate one word to another. Placing a preposition in the emphatic final position of a sentence wastes a dramatic opportunity to stress a key word or concept.
Weak: Do not betray the ideals these men died for. (Why stress “for”?)
Strong: Do not betray the ideals for which these men died. (“Died” is a powerful word and concept to stress.)
GRAMMAR REVIEW XVI
THE VERB
The verb (Latin verbum = word) is the only essential word in the sentence. If your sentence lacks a verb, the sentence is not a sentence. The verb expresses action or state of being.
Types of Verbs: a) Action Verbs: express a physical, mental,. emotional, or spiritual action.
Peter bent the rod. We hope for better weather. We wish you a Merry Christmas! The students reflected on the lecture. Tomato paste ruins oatmeal sandwiches.
b) Copulative Verbs (Linking or State of Being Verbs) connect a subject to a noun or adjective or pronoun and show the state of the subject’s existence:
Wanda was a flowerpot in the kindergarten play. The guppy seemed angry. Coca-Cola tastes better in six-ounce glass bottles. Billy felt queasy after eating sixty- two hot dogs at Nathan’s Contest.
Common Linking Verbs: be, seem, prove, appear, look, taste, sound, feel,, become (when these verbs show no action)
He tasted the tripe. (Here, “tasted” is an action verb.) The tripe tasted awful. (Here “tasted” is a copulative verb, expressing the state of the tripe,)
c) Modal auxiliary Verbs (Helping Verbs): are used with action or copulative verbs to form some tenses, voices, or moods.
Common Modal Auxiliaries: be, do, have, can, may, will, shall, must, ought, might, could, should, would.
You may submit your essay tomorrow. I should have met you at the station. Elaine may, but Natalie would kiss the goat.
GRAMMAR REVIEW XVII
Tense of Verbs:
Tense (Latin for “time.”) means the time when the verb’s action or state of being was performed. English as six tenses, with variations of meaning within each tense:
Simple Tenses:
a) Present: the action occurs now or approximately now. Simple Present: I walk we walk you walk you walk he, she it walks they walk Emphatic Present (stressing the action): I do walk, he does walk, etc. Progressive Present: (action occurs over time): I am walking, he is walking, they are walking, etc.
b) Past: the action occurred before the present. Simple Past: Weak Verbs: I walked, you walked, etc. Strong Verbs: I sang, we sang, etc. (the stem vowel changes). Emphatic Past: I did walk, he did walk, etc. Progressive Past (Imperfect): I was walking, they were walking, etc.
c) Future: the action occurs after the present. Simple Future: I shall walk we shall walk you will walk you will talk he will walk they will walk Emphatic Future: I will walk we will walk you shall walk you shall walk he shall walk they shall walk Progressive Future: I shall be walking we shall be walking you will be walking you will be walking he will be walking they will be walking
Perfect Tenses: “Perfect” means “completed”; these tenses identify action completed with respect to another actions and use the helping verb “to have” plus the past participle.
a) Present Perfect: (have or has + past participle); identifies an action that started in the past but was just completed in the present. John has helped me every Saturday for a month. (The action began in the past but was just completed; however, it may continue,) I have just finished my income taxes. (The action began a week ago and ended just this minute.)
GRAMMAR REVIEW XIX
The Mood of the Verb
Mood (mode) refers to the manner in which speaker means a verb. English has three moods:
a) Indicative Mood: the most prevalent mood; the speaker states a real or apparent fact or asks a questioning amounting to whether something is a fact.
Forms: (Present Tense) (Past Tense) I am I ask I was I asked you are you ask you were you asked he is he asks he was he asked we are we ask we were we asked you are you ask you were you asked they are they ask they were they asked
Examples: She is a fine musician. Lola sat on the piano and sang a sad song. Do you fix typewriters?
b) Imperative Mood: the speaker commands gently or forcefully.
Forms: use the infinitive (“to help”), but omit the “to” (“Help”).
Examples: Be good. Come here. Buy my Studebaker and my Victrola, please.
c) Subjective Mood: the speaker states something hypothetical, unlikely, unreal, wished for, requested, demanded, prayer for, or impossible, or makes a parliamentary motion.
Forms: (Present Tense) (Past Tense) I be I ask I were I asked you be you ask you were you asked he be he ask he were he asked we be we ask we were we asked you be you ask you were you asked they be they ask they were they asked
Examples: If she were twenty years younger, I would marry her. I demand that the speaker be censored. God save the Queen! God bless you. Thy kingdom come. We move that parliamentary procedure be laid aside. We request that the janitor do the windows.
GRAMMAR REVIEW XX
VERBALS: THE INFINITIVE
English has three verbals: verb forms used as parts of speech (nouns, adjectives, adverbs) other than verbs, but which retain properties of the verb (they take objects and are modified by adverbs). They are the infinitive, particle, and gerund.
Infinitive: the pure form of the verb, the form that appears in the dictionary. The infinitive usually is preceded by “to,” as in “to walk,” but it also appears alone after verbal auxiliaries, as in “can do ,” “must fix ,” or “may play .”
The infinitive has tense and voice forms: Present tense, Active voice: to call Present tense, Passive voice: to be called Present Perfect tense, Active voice: to have called Present Perfect tense, Passive voice: to have been called
The infinitive may have a subject (always in the objective case), an object or complement, and adverb modifiers. The infinitive, its subject, object, and n modifiers, is called an infinitive phrase. Lola wanted me to pluck the chicken now. Subject: me Infinitive: to pluck Object: chicken Adverb: now
Uses: Infinitives may function as three parts of speech: a) Adjective: Oh, give me something to remember you. (The phrase describes the pronoun “something.”) Egbert gave me a chance to help. (The phrase describes the noun “chance.”) Show me the way to go home. (The phrase describes the noun ”way.”) b) Adverb: The baby is well enough to go home from the hospital. (The phrase describes the adverb “enough.”) The boy left the school to go home. (The phrase describes the verb “left”: the phrase tells why the boy left school.) c) Noun: Would you like to swing on a star? (The phrase is the direct object of the verb “like.”) To dream the impossible dream is my quest.. (The phrase is subject of the verb “is.”)
Split infinitives (modifiers placed between “to” and the verb) are usually clumsy and should be avoided:“ to boldly go where no many has gone before” is better as “ to go boldly where no man has gone before.”
