Basics of English

Some writers hold that the number of parts of speech is 8, because they treat determiners as just a part of the adjective. But in Modern English, determiners and adjectives are both treated as separate parts of speech, so we will study 9 parts of speech.

Why do words need such names at all? A cat, a dog and a lion are all animals, yet we give each one its own name so that we know which is which. In the same way, words are given names according to their work, so that we know which word sits where and what it does there.

Each of these nine is explained one by one in this chapter, in the same order as the table.

Keep one thing in mind from the very beginning. A word does not carry its class on its forehead. The job a word does in the sentence decides its class. The same word can be a noun in one sentence and a verb in another.

So never ask only "what is this word?". Ask "what is it doing here?".

Some pairs look alike but belong to different classes: effect and affect, advice and advise, accept and except. These are the common senses the exam tests. A few words have other senses (effect as a verb means to bring about; affect as a noun is a flat expression of emotion; except can also be a verb or a conjunction), so decide from the whole sentence.

### Noun
The name of any person, thing, place, action or quality is called a noun. Examples: Ram, book, Mumbai, work, bravery. Nouns = Names.

Usage: a noun is used in a sentence as a subject, as an object, or as a complement.

[[parse: S=Radhika | V=likes | O=books]]

[[parse: S=Ramesh | V=bought | O=a piano]]

In the first sentence Radhika is a noun used as the subject, and books is a noun used as the object. In the second, Ramesh is the subject and piano is the object. A noun can also complete the predicate as a complement:

[[parse: S=Radhika | V=is | C=a doctor]]

### Pronoun
Pronouns are words that are used in place of a noun, when writing the noun is either unnecessary or impossible. Examples: I, we, you, they, her, yours, yourself, who.

Take Radhika is beautiful. Radhika lives in Delhi. Writing Radhika again and again is unnecessary, so we say She lives in Delhi. And when we do not know the name at all, as in Who is at the door?, writing the noun is impossible; there the pronoun who does the work.

Usage: a pronoun is used in a sentence as a subject, as an object, or as a complement.

[[parse: S=I | V=believed | O=her | A=earlier]]

[[parse: S=We | V=know | O=you]]

Here I and we are pronouns used as subjects, and her and you are pronouns used as objects. As a complement: That bag is hers.

[[parse: S=That bag | V=is | C=hers]]

### Adjective
Adjectives are words that modify a noun or a noun equivalent (pronouns, V1+ing, noun phrase, noun clause); that is, they give additional information about it. The noun or noun equivalent that follows can be the subject, the object or the complement in the sentence. Examples: good, tall, ulterior, silent, beautiful.

[[parse: S=I | V=bought | O=an expensive bike]]

Here expensive is an adjective and bike is the noun (object) that it modifies.

[[parse: S=An honest aspirant | HV=will | A=surely | MV=get | O=a good job]]

Here honest is an adjective modifying aspirant (noun, subject), and good is an adjective modifying job (noun, object).

### Determiner
Determiners are words that are used to show the reference or the quantity of a noun. We can study them easily by dividing them into two categories.

• Determiner of Reference: a, an, the, my, your, this, that, these, etc.
• Determiner of Quantity: one, two, much, many, little, some, more, few, etc.

> A singular verb is used with distributives (each / every / either / neither). The correct use of much / many and few / little is often asked in exams.

Verbs are words with the help of which we show the doing of an action, the happening of an event, or a person or thing being in a certain state.

Usage: verbs are generally used after the subject. Almost every sentence has a finite verb. (A few minor utterances such as What a day! do not, but the exam does not ask about them.)

> Do not decide by the word is alone. In Arun is playing something is being done (the verb is playing, and is only helps it), so it is an action. In Radhika is beautiful nothing is being done; the verb only shows a state.

### Finite and non-finite verbs
| | Finite verbs | Non-finite verbs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Verbs whose form is changed according to the tense (present, past, etc.) and the number of the subject (singular / plural). | Verbs whose form is not changed according to the tense or the number of the subject. |
| 2 | They do the work of the verb in the sentence (H.V. and M.V.). | They never do the work of a verb in the sentence; they do the work of a noun, an adjective, etc. |

✔ We like to dance. (present indefinite, plural subject)
✔ She likes to dance. (present indefinite, singular subject)
✔ She liked to dance. (past indefinite, singular subject)

In these sentences like is a finite verb, because we can see that its form has to change (like, likes, liked) according to the number of the subject and the tense. But to dance is a non-finite verb, because it does not change with the tense or the number of the subject.

Note that non-finite verbs are, after all, forms of the verb, but in a sentence they never do the work of main verbs; they do the work of a noun, adjective, etc. Because of these different uses they are divided into three types.

### The family of verbs
| Verb | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Finite | Auxiliary / Helping verbs (H.V.) | They help the main verb to express tense, mood, etc. in the sentence. |
| Finite | Main verbs (M.V.) | They show the main action or event of the sentence. |
| Non-finite | Infinitives (to + V1) | Work as noun, adjective, adverb. |
| Non-finite | Gerunds (V1+ing) | Work as noun. |
| Non-finite | Participles (V3 or V1+ing) | Work as adjective. |

> In She has eaten, has is the finite verb (it carries tense and number) and eaten is the lexical (main) verb. School books call both together the verb phrase; the exam only needs the finite verb to be found.

> We will study these in detail in the later chapters.

Adverbs are words that modify a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or sometimes a whole sentence. Examples: always, never, please, beautifully, well.

[[parse: S=He | V=explained | O=every concept | A=beautifully]]

[[parse: S=I | A=never | V=play | O=hockey]]

In the first sentence beautifully is an adverb placed after the verb and the object, and it tells how he explained. In the second, the adverb never stands before the verb.

When an adverb modifies an adjective or another adverb, it comes just before that word:

✔ She is very tall. (very modifies the adjective tall)
✔ He runs very fast. (very modifies the adverb fast)

Usage: adverbs are generally placed after the verb, or before the adjective, but some adverbs are also used before the verb.

### Types of adverbs
| Type | It tells about | Asked with | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adverb of Manner | the manner or way of the action | How? / in what manner or way? | slowly, silently, strongly |
| Adverb of Place | the place of the action | where? / at what or which place? | here, there, at my house, in the park |
| Adverb of Time | the time of the action | when? / at what or which time? | yesterday, tomorrow, today, in the morning, in summer, before Monday |
| Adverb of Frequency | how often the action happens | How many times? / how often? | always, never, often, two times, three times, daily, every day, twice, once |

> An adverb can be a single word (here) or a group of words (at my house, in the morning). The question word shows the type.

### Preposition
Prepositions are words that connect the noun or pronoun that follows them to the rest of the sentence. Examples: of, on, in, at, by, like, into.

Usage: a preposition is generally followed by the object of the preposition (a noun or pronoun); together this is called a prepositional phrase. This prepositional phrase can work as an adjective or an adverb in the sentence, as needed.

### Conjunction
Conjunctions are words that do the work of joining two words, phrases or clauses. Examples: and, but, or, nor, when.

There are two types of conjunctions:

1. Co-ordinate conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so, etc.
2. Sub-ordinate conjunctions: when, after, before, why, because, as, whereas, etc.

### Interjection
Interjections are words that express sudden feelings. Examples: Oh!, Hurray!, Ah!, Bravo!

✔ Alas! we have lost the match.
✔ Bravo! you did great.

We will study interjections in detail at the end of this same chapter, in the exclamatory sentence.

In Elements of Sentence we study how a sentence is formed, and what functions the parts of speech used in a sentence have.

Structure: subject + verb (h.v + m.v) + object / complement / adverb

[[parse: S=Radhika | HV=has | MV=finished | O=the work | A=today]]

### 1. Subject
The subject is the person or thing that we talk about in the sentence. In a sentence, only a noun or a noun equivalent (pronoun, noun phrase, noun clause, infinitive, gerund, etc.) can do the work of the subject.

### 2. Predicate
In a sentence, whatever part there is apart from the subject is called the predicate.

Compare:

### 3. Verb
Every full sentence needs a finite verb; without it, a full sentence cannot stand. Generally the verb is in the predicate.

In both sentences the verb is made of a helping verb and a main verb (was + playing, has + completed), and the verb sits inside the predicate.

In a sentence, when we ask a question with what or whom, the noun or pronoun we get in the answer is the object.

> Concept: if there is only one object in a sentence, it is always the direct object, whether it is a person or a thing. An indirect object comes only when a direct object is also present (with verbs like give / teach / send).

Transitive and intransitive verbs. Verbs that take an object are called transitive, and verbs that do not take an object are called intransitive. Verbs that take both objects (a direct object and an indirect object) together are called di-transitive verbs.

[[parse: S=He | V=likes | O=me]]

[[parse: S=He | V=gave | IO=me | O=a book]]

[[parse: S=He | V=taught | IO=me | O=physics]]

Here, sb stands for somebody (a person) and sth for something (a thing). A di-transitive verb is followed by sb and then sth.

Complements are nouns, pronouns or adjectives that are used to complete an incomplete predicate of a sentence.

Compare She is with She is intelligent. The first is incomplete; the word intelligent completes the predicate. That completing word is the complement.

[[parse: S=you | V=are | C=intelligent]]

[[parse: S=He | V=called | O=me | C=a liar]]

Think of an equals sign: in the first sentence you = intelligent; in the second me = a liar. The complement is the same person or thing as the subject, or the object, being described.

Linking verbs: the verbs that join, that is link, the subject to the subject's complement are called linking verbs.

Complex transitive verbs: verbs that remain incomplete even when an object follows them, that is, verbs that need an object complement along with the object, are called complex transitive verbs.

✔ The news made Radhika very happy. (Radhika is the object; very happy is the object complement)
✘ The news made Radhika very happily. (an adverb cannot complete the predicate here)

The meeting is tomorrow and She is here are fine: after be a time or place word can complete the sense. Do not reject a sentence only because the word after be is an adverb.

A phrase is a group of words that has its own meaning and performs a particular function in a sentence. It has no subject + verb of its own.

Here are all the phrases that appear, with the head word, the function and an example.

And here is each of the six less common ones working inside a sentence.

### 1. Noun phrase
Phrases that do the work of a noun, that is, whose main word is a noun, are noun phrases.

Ways to make a noun phrase:

• By placing an adjective or a determiner before the noun.
• By placing adjectives (a participle phrase or a prepositional phrase) after the noun.

### 2. Adjective phrase
Phrases that do the work of an adjective, that is, whose main word is an adjective, are called adjective phrases.

Ways to make an adjective phrase:

• By placing adverbs before the adjective.
• A prepositional phrase after a noun also works as an adjective phrase.
• Participles (V1+ing and V3) after a noun also form an adjective phrase.

### 3. Prepositional phrase
These are phrases whose first word is a preposition, and after the preposition there is a noun or noun equivalent (pronoun, noun phrase, etc.).

> Prepositional phrases can, when needed, work as an adjective or an adverb. In that case they can also be called an adjective phrase or an adverb phrase.

A clause is a group of words that has its own subject and a predicate (which contains a verb).

Compare:

In sentence (i) there is no verb, that is, it is not a clause but a phrase. In sentence (ii) both subject and verb are given, that is, it is a clause.

### Phrase v/s Clause box
| Phrase | Clause |
|---|---|
| Does not have its own subject + verb; just a group of words. | Has its own subject + verb. |
| The man in the garden. | The man is sitting in the garden. |

### Clauses are mainly of three types
| Main clauses | Co-ordinate clauses | Sub-ordinate clauses |
|---|---|---|
| Clauses that have no conjunction before them. | Clauses that have a co-ordinate conjunction before them (also called independent clauses). | Clauses that have a sub-ordinate conjunction before them (also called dependent clauses). |

> A sentence can have more than one clause. When that happens, the clauses that come after conjunctions are either co-ordinate clauses (those coming after co-ordinate conjunctions) or sub-ordinate clauses (those coming after sub-ordinate conjunctions).

Co-ordinate clauses are also called independent clauses, because they are used freely after the main clause and give extra information; at the same time, independent clauses do not perform the function of any part of speech.

Sub-ordinate clauses are also called dependent clauses, because they depend on the main clause and modify the words used in the main clause; that is, they perform the function of a noun, an adjective or an adverb.

To modify the words in the main clause, sub-ordinate clauses can be used like a noun, adjective or adverb. These three kinds are taken up in the next concept.

A sub-ordinate (dependent) clause can be used like a noun, an adjective or an adverb.

### Adjective clauses
Adjective clauses are clauses that modify a noun or a noun equivalent.

### Adverb clauses
Adverb clauses are sub-ordinate clauses that modify a verb.

### Noun clauses
Noun clauses are sub-ordinate clauses that do the work of a noun (that is, the subject or the object) in the sentence.

In (ii) and (iii) the whole clause answers the question what did he tell me?, exactly as a story does in (i). That is why it is a noun clause.

A sentence is a group of words that gives a complete sense. It must have at least one subject and one predicate (which contains a verb).

✔ I like this book.
✔ She respects everyone.

### Sentences according to structure
Sentences are of four types, depending on how many clauses they have and of what kind.

Count the clauses and look at the conjunction. I like English has one clause, so it is simple. In the other three, whereas and because bring in a sub-ordinate clause, while and and but join an independent clause.

She sings and dances has two verbs but one subject, so it is a simple sentence with a compound predicate. Count clauses (a subject with its own finite verb), not verbs.

### Sentences according to function
According to function, sentences are of 5 types.

The five types are explained one by one in the next five concepts.

Assertive sentences are sentences from which we get information about some fact, statement, opinion, incident or about some thing. They are also called declarative sentences. They always end with a full stop ( . ).

Structure: sub + verb + obj / complement / adverb

Assertive sentences are of 2 types: (a) affirmative sentences and (b) negative sentences.

### a. Affirmative assertive sentence
An affirmative sentence can also be called a positive sentence. These sentences affirm some statements, judgements, thoughts, actions, etc.

Usage: affirmative sentences are used to refer to any optimistic situation or positive action.

Structure: sub + verb + ....
Structure: sub + auxiliary verb + main verb + ....

✔ The flowers bloom beautifully.
✔ He is fixing the car.

### b. Negative assertive sentence
A negative sentence is always one that conveys a negative meaning or negates a positive statement. In these, the absence or denial of some action, state or fact is expressed. In such a sentence, the use of a negative word is always necessary.

Structure: sub + auxiliary verb + negative word + main verb + ....

✔ He is not going to the party.
✔ You should not enter the restricted area.

Negative words: no, not, never, nothing, hardly, nowhere, neither, no one, nobody, few, little, etc.

> Any is not a negative word by itself (Any student can apply); it appears with a negative (not … any).

> One negative word is enough to make a sentence negative. A second negative in the same clause cancels the first and spoils the sentence.

✘ I did not see nobody at the gate. (use anybody)
✔ I did not see anybody at the gate.
✘ He hardly never comes to the class. (use only one: hardly ever or never)
✔ He hardly comes to the class.

Interrogative sentences are sentences with which we ask questions. They are generally used to ask for information, clarification or confirmation. They end with a question mark ( ? ).

### Types of interrogative questions
| Type | Used for | Structure | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yes / no question | A question whose answer is given in yes or no | auxiliary verb + sub + main verb + ....? | Are you going to the store? / Did you eat your breakfast this morning? |
| Choice question | Finding out someone's likes, dislikes or preferences | do / would + sub + main verb + .... + (or) + ....? | Do you prefer tea or coffee? / Would you prefer a beach vacation or a mountain retreat? |
| Wh-question | Getting extra information (also called descriptive questions) | Wh-word + auxiliary verb + sub + main verb + ....? | What is your name? / Why did you break the glass? |

Wh-words: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How, etc.

### Special questions
The structure changes with the question word that is used.

> When a question is placed inside another sentence, it goes back to statement order, and the helping verb comes after the subject:
> ✔ Can you please tell me where the city park is? (not where is the city park)
> ✔ He did not know where the book was kept. (not where was the book kept)

Imperative sentences are sentences in which the listener is given a command, request, suggestion or instructions. They are used to direct or persuade someone to perform some specific action.

✔ Close the door. (order / command)
✔ Please pass the salt. (request)

Imperative sentences can be of both positive and negative types. Usually the subject is not used in these sentences, because the subject you is understood.

Structure: V1 + obj / adverb
Structure: Don't + V1 + obj / adverb

✔ Complete this work.
✔ Don't complete this work.

To emphasise an order, Do can also be used in a positive sentence.

✔ Do complete this work.

### Imperative sentences starting with 'let'
| Pattern | Structure | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Positive | Let's + V1 + .... | Let's celebrate our recent achievements. / Let's brainstorm ideas for the upcoming campaign. |
| Positive | Let + obj + V1 + .... | Let them study. / Let the kid go to school. |
| Negative | Don't let + obj + V1 + .... | Don't let a minor setback discourage your determination. / Don't let the opportunity slip away. |
| Negative | Let + obj + not + V1 + .... | Let your dreams not fade away with time. / Let the flowers not wither in the harsh sunlight. |

Optative sentences are sentences that express a wish, desire, blessing or curse. In such sentences, verbs are used in the subjunctive mood. The subjunctive mood indicates a hypothetical or unreal situation. They end with an exclamation mark ( ! ).

Verbs used: may, might, would, the base form of the verb, live, save.

> In God save the Queen the verb save is the base form, and in Long live the king the verb is live. Neither takes an *-s*, because the sentence is a wish and not a statement of fact.

Exclamatory sentences are sentences that express sudden emotions, surprise or excitement. These sentences emphasise the speaker's feelings. An exclamation mark ( ! ) is used at their end.

Exclamatory sentences are formed in two ways:

1. With the help of What or How.
2. With the help of exclamatory words. (Here the exclamation mark comes only with the exclamatory words.)

✔ What a stunning view!
✔ Bravo! that was an outstanding performance.

### Exclamations with 'How'
| Structure | Examples |
|---|---|
| How + adjective! | How beautiful! / How nice! |
| How + adjective / adverb + sub + verb + .... ! | How pretty she is! / How well they have played in the game! |
| How + sub + verb! | How they've played! |

### Exclamations with 'What'
| Structure | Examples |
|---|---|
| What + a / an + (adjective) + singular countable noun! | What a surprise! / What a nice man! |
| What + adjective + noun + sub + verb! | What a beautiful smile she has! |

> A / an is used only before a singular countable noun (What a surprise!). With a plural or an uncountable noun there is no article: What beautiful flowers Radhika has planted!

### Exclamation using exclamatory words
| Exclamation of | Examples |
|---|---|
| Joy | Hurrah!, Aha!, Thanks a lot!, etc. |
| Surprise | What!, My God!, Wow!, Amazing!, Fantastic!, etc. |
| Greetings | Congratulations!, Well done!, etc. |
| Contempt | Shame!, fie!, etc. |
| Sorrow | Alas!, Ah!, How sad!, etc. |
| Attention | Listen!, Look!, etc. |
| Mistake | Sorry!, Oops!, Oh no!, etc. |

✔ Hurrah! we have won the match.
✔ Alas! the rain ruined our plans.
✔ Oops! I accidentally deleted the files.

These exclamatory words are the interjections we met in the first topic. A word like Alas stands outside the grammar of the sentence and only carries the feeling.