Grammar Basics A1

GRAMMAR BASICS
SENTENCE
A group of words that expresses a statement, question, command, or wish. Sentences usually
contain a subject and verb. In written English, the first word of a sentence is capitalized and the
sentence ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
Examples:
 She can sing melodiously.

 The cat caught the mouse.
SUBJECT AND PREDICATE
A sentence can be divided into two halves: subject and predicate. The subject is the "doer" in a
sentence, or what the sentence is about. A simple predicate is simply the main verb.
Examples:
 Carlo | wrote a letter to his uncle.

 My neighbour's dog | barked all night.
 Our electricity | went out during the storm.
CLAUSES and PHRASES:
A clause is defined as a group of related words that contains a subject and predicate (verb).
Examples:
 he came.
 since she laughs at diffident men
 I despise individuals of low character
 when the saints go marching in
 because she smiled at him.
A phrase is defined as a group of related words that does not contain a subject and a verb.
Examples:
 on the table.
 leaving behind the dog
 smashing into a fence
 before the first test
 after the devastation
NOUN:
Noun is a word which names a person, a place or a thing.

Examples: Chair, table, book, cup, computer, picture, (names of things)
New York, Paris, Canada, Toronto, school, hospital, cinema, garden, (names of places)
John, Newton, R.H Stephen, Einstein, man, boy, doctor (names of persons)
Countable Nouns
A noun which can be counted is called countable noun. They have a singular and a plural form.
The singular form can use the determiner "a" or "an".
Pen is countable noun because we can count it and can say one pen, two pens, three pens or
more pens. Pen, chair, cup, room, man, baby, bottle, dog, cat are examples countable nouns.
Examples:
 She has three dogs.

 I own a house.
 I would like two books please.
 How many friends do you have?
Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable noun refers to substances which cannot be counted.
For example, water is an uncountable noun because we cannot count it. We cannot say, one
water or two water. Such substances which cannot be counted in terms of numbers are called
uncountable noun.
Examples: Water, milk, bread, honey, rain, furniture, news, information, pleasure,
honesty, courage, weather, music, preparation, warmth, wheat, advice,businessare examples
of uncountable nouns.
 Would you like some cheese?

 Coffee keeps me awake at night.
 We should always have hope.
 She does not speak much Spanish.
 Do you see any traffic on the road?
Changing Uncountable nouns into countable nouns

We can change uncountable noun into countable noun if we specify a unit or measuring
standard for it. For example “water” is an uncountable noun but we can make it countable by
saying one glass of water or two glass of water etc. In this example we selected a unit that is
glass. We can also say one litre of water or one cup of water etc. By selecting such units or
measuring standards we can change uncountable noun in to countable which can be counted in
terms of numbers.
Examples
Uncountable – countable
Bread – a piece of bread.
Wheat – a grain of wheat.
Milk – a glass of milk
Information – a piece of information
Four types of nouns
1. Common noun
A common noun is a noun that refers to people or things in general, e.g. boy, country, bridge,
city, birth, day, happiness.
2. Proper noun
A proper noun is a name that identifies a particular person, place, or thing, e.g. Steven, Africa,
London, Monday. In written English, proper nouns begin with capital letters.
3. Collective nouns
Collective nouns refer to groups of people or things, e.g. audience, family, government, team,
jury. In American English, most collective nouns are treated as singular, with a singular verb:
 The whole family was at the table.
In British English, the preceding sentence would be correct, but it would also be correct to treat
the collective noun as a plural, with a plural verb:
 The whole family were at the table.
4. Abstract Nouns
An abstract noun is a type of noun that refers to something with which a person cannot
physically interact.
Common Abstract Nouns
Emotions/Feelings
 Love
 Hate
 Anger
 Peace
 Pride
 Sympathy
States/Attributes
 Bravery
 Loyalty
 Honesty
 Integrity
 Compassion
 Charity
 Success
 Courage
 Deceit
 Skill
 Beauty
 Brilliance
 Pain
 Misery
Ideas/Concepts/Ideals
 Belief
 Dream
 Justice
 Truth
 Faith
 Liberty
 Knowledge
 Thought
 Information
 Culture
 Trust
 Dedication
Movements/Events
 Progress
 Education
 Hospitality
 Leisure
 Trouble
 Friendship
 Relaxation
ARTICLES
The words a, an, and the are special adjectives called articles.
Articles are of two types: Indefinite and Definite.
Indefinite Articles: a, an
An- used before singular count nouns beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or vowel sound:
 an apple, an elephant, an issue, an orange
A - used before singular count nouns beginning with consonants (other than a, e, i, o, u) :
 a stamp, a desk, a TV, a cup, a book
Used before singular nouns that are unspecified:

 a pencil
 an orange
Used before number collectives and some numbers:

 a dozen
 a gallon
Used before a singular noun followed by a restrictive modifier:

 a girl who was wearing a yellow hat
Used with nouns to form adverbial phrases of quantity, amount, or degree:

 I felt a bit depressed.
Definite Article- The

The word "the" is one of the most common words in English. It is our only definite article.
Nouns in English are preceded by the definite article when the speaker believes that the listener
already knows what he is referring to. The speaker may believe this for many different reasons,
some of which are listed below.
The definite article is used in the following cases:
To refer to something which has already been mentioned.

Examples:
 A woman who fell 10 metres from High Peak was lifted to safety by a helicopter. The
woman fell while climbing.

The rescue is the latest in a series of incidents on High Peak. In January last year two
men walking on the peak were killed in a fall.
When you assume there is just one of something in that place, even if it has not been mentioned
before.
Examples:
 We went for a walk in the forest yesterday.

 My father enjoyed the book you gave him.
 We live in a small village next to the church.
 When we stayed at my grandmother’s house we went to the beach every day.
In sentences or clauses where you define or identify a particular person or object.

Examples:
 The man who wrote this book is famous.

 I scratched the red car parked outside.
 I live in the small house with a blue door.
 He is the doctor I came to see.
 The Pope is visiting Russia.
 The Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979.
To refer to people or objects that are unique.

Examples:
 Praise the Lord!

 The Columbia River is near here.
 The sun rose at 6:17 this morning.
 Clouds drifted across the sky.
 The president will be speaking on TV tonight.
 The CEO of Total is coming to our meeting.
Before superlatives and ordinal numbers.

Examples:
 This is the highest building in New York.

 You are the tallest person in our class.
 It is the oldest building in the town.
 This is the third time I have called you today.
 She read the last chapter of her new book first.
With adjectives, to refer to a whole group of people.

Examples:
 The French enjoy cheese.

 The elderly require special attention.
 She has given a lot of money to the poor.
 I think the rich should pay more taxes.
 She works for a group to help the disabled.
Used to refer to a time period.
Examples:
 I was very naive in the past.

 This song was very popular in the 1980s.
 He was born in the seventies.
 This is a painting from the 1820's.
With clauses introduced by only.

Examples:
 This is the only day we've had sunshine all week.

 You are the only person he will listen to.
 The only tea I like is black tea.
WITH PROPER NOUNS
With names of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, seas and
oceans.
Examples:
 They are travelling in the Arctic.

 Our ship crossed the Atlantic in 7 days.
 I will go on a cruise down the Nile.
 Hiking across the Rocky Mountains would be difficult.
With countries that have plural names and those that include words like kingdom, states or
republic.
Examples:
 I have never been to the Netherlands.

 Do you know anyone who lives in the Philippines?
 She lives in the United States.
 James is from the Republic of Ireland.
With newspaper names.

Examples:
 She works for the New York Times.

 I read the Times of Indiaeveryday.
With the names of famous buildings, works of art, museums, or monuments.

Examples:
 Have you been to the Vietnam Memorial?

 We went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa.
 I would like to visit the Eiffel Tower.
 I saw King Lear at the Globe.
With the names of hotels & restaurants, unless these are named after a person.
Examples:
 They are staying at the Hilton on 6th street.

 We ate at the Golden Lion.
With the names of families, but not with the names of individuals.
Examples:
 We're having dinner with the Smiths tonight.

 The Browns are going to the play with us.
Used to designate a natural phenomenon:

Examples:
 The nights get shorter in the summer.

 The wind is blowing so hard.
To say something about all the things referred to by a noun:

Examples:
 The wolf is not really a dangerous animal (= Wolves are not really dangerous animals)
 The kangaroo is found only in Australia (= Kangaroos are found only in Australia)
 The heart pumps blood around the body. (= Hearts pump blood around bodies)
We use the definite article in this way to talk about musical instruments.
Examples:
 Joe plays the piano really well.(= Joe can play any piano)
 She is learning the guitar.(= She is learning to play any guitar)
To refer to a system or service.

Examples:
 How long does it take on the train?

 I heard it on the radio.
 You should tell the police.

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GRAMMAR BASICS

 She can sing melodiously.

SUBJECT AND PREDICATE

 Carlo | wrote a letter to his uncle.

CLAUSES and PHRASES:

Noun is a word which names a person, a place or a thing.

 She has three dogs.

 Would you like some cheese?

Changing Uncountable nouns into countable nouns

 The whole family was at the table.

 The whole family were at the table.

Common Abstract Nouns

Articles are of two types: Indefinite and Definite.

Used before singular nouns that are unspecified:

Used before number collectives and some numbers:

Used before a singular noun followed by a restrictive modifier:

Used with nouns to form adverbial phrases of quantity, amount, or degree:

Definite Article- The

The definite article is used in the following cases:

To refer to something which has already been mentioned.

 We went for a walk in the forest yesterday.

In sentences or clauses where you define or identify a particular person or object.

 The man who wrote this book is famous.

To refer to people or objects that are unique.

 Praise the Lord!

Before superlatives and ordinal numbers.

 This is the highest building in New York.

With adjectives, to refer to a whole group of people.

 The French enjoy cheese.

 I was very naive in the past.

With clauses introduced by only.

 This is the only day we've had sunshine all week.

WITH PROPER NOUNS

 They are travelling in the Arctic.

 I have never been to the Netherlands.

With newspaper names.

 She works for the New York Times.

With the names of famous buildings, works of art, museums, or monuments.

 Have you been to the Vietnam Memorial?

 They are staying at the Hilton on 6th street.

 We're having dinner with the Smiths tonight.

Used to designate a natural phenomenon:

 The nights get shorter in the summer.

To say something about all the things referred to by a noun:

To refer to a system or service.

 How long does it take on the train?

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