Homonyms
Words that are spelled the same but have different meanings when they are pronounced the same o Bark o Fair o Hide o Jam
Homographs
Words that are spelled the same but have different meanings when they are pronounced differently o Context The violinist gave a bow and dropped his bow (First rhymes with cow, second with no) Read the book. I read it yesterday.
Homophones
Words that are spelled differently, as well as having a different meaning, same pronunciation o Air Heir o Bored Board o Groan Grown o Male Mail o Deer Dear
Common(count) nouns
Common nouns are generic. Non-specific âPlanetâ is a common noun - could be one of many planets. Whereas âJupiterâ is a proper noun. âMy motherâ is a common noun even though she is a specific mother.
war, table, dog
Proper nouns
Proper nouns refer to people, places, or titles. More specific. Tend to start with a capital letter and stand alone without: a, an or the. âMotherâ is a proper noun. Historical periods and events, the titles of natural phenomena (Hurricane Charlie) and specific geographical regions (the South of France) are all proper nouns.
Camilla, Paris, Mr.
Proper plurals
Proper nouns are not usually referred to in the plural, but if you have three friends called Emma, you might refer them as âthe (three) Emmasâ. More people with the same name. You might also say: â I saw the Monets in the Louvreâ - talking about his paintings.
The Parises
Uncountable nouns
Uncountable nouns are a subgroup of common nouns and is known as non-count, uncountable or mass nouns, which do not take a singular or a plural. They cannot be measured by number. In order to give a quantity for these we have to say much, some, lot, a cupful (two cupfuls) Word where the plural does not change
Water, evidence, happiness and rice
Concrete nouns
Concrete nouns are the names we give to things we can see, feel, bear, touch, smell
trees, elephants, cake, and books
Abstract nouns
Abstract nouns tends to be non-countable, but there are a few exceptions such as time and structure: concrete nouns may or may not be countable: some rice (non countable), three kittens (countable.)
Abstract is thoughts, emotions and ideas
tomorrow, thought, welfare, delight, belief
Foreign plurals
Borrowed words
Criterion => Criteria, Alga => Algea
Irregular nouns
We simply have to know them. Donât follow any rules, Be careful with the noun hair. We always use this in the singular when referring to say â a glorious head of hairâ, but it becomes plural if we are talking about a small number. So, we would say âmy grandfather has a few grey hairs nowâ.
Child => Children Foot => Feet Goose => Geese Man/Woman => Men /Women Mouse => Mice Tooth => Teeth.
Foreign nouns
We tend to add ending to word from a foreign language Paparazzi => Papparazo Cappuccino => Cappuccinos (Not correct to the original language)
Adverb
Give information/context to: o Verbs I ran quickly Adv =quickly How Iâm doing the running/adding context to the verb
o Adjectives The very angry man Adv = very Context to adjective
o Whole sentence I ate all the cake, Yesterday Adv = yesterday Giving context to the whole sentence Can also be switched: Yesterday, I ate all the cake
Adjective
Gives information about nouns or pronouns (describe) o The cute dog (Noun) o The dog is cute (Noun) o We are hungry (pronouns) o The angry man (Nouns)
Adjectives can only describe pronouns and nouns
To distinguish between more nouns (more context) o The long Friday o The funny Friday
Base adjective: The man is angry Tall
Comparative: The man is angrier than his mom Taller
Using the adjective to compare
Add -er
Superlative: The man is the angriest tallest
The most/ out of them all
Add -est
Verb
Present tense, current situation right now
I walk to school
It walks to school Past tense, has already happened
I walked to school, yesterday
The Infinite - regular verb
The purest form of the verb, without tense or person (form does not change) English infinitives take a to before the verb
To be
To go
To walk
Present simple - regular verb
Tends to be used in general statements or to state attitudes as in: âI donât trust politiciansâ
I/You/We/You(plural)/They walk
He/She/it walks
The present progressive/Present Continuous - regular verb
Known as the Present Continuous, requires the present participle, which is the verb in its infinitive form, walk, with -ing on the end When the verb is in this form, it requires the auxiliary verb to be to accompany it: the other verb ending remains unchanged - âWalkingâ
I am Walking
You/We/You(plural)/They are walking
He/She/It is walking
The present perfect - regular verb
Requires the auxiliary verb "to have", and the main verb ending (The Simple Past form, walked) remains the same. Used for an action that took place at some non-specified time
I/You/We/You(plural)/They have walked
He/She/Its has walked
The present perfect progressive/ Present Perfect Continuous - regular verb
Known as the Present Perfect Continuous . Combines Perfect and Progressive: I have been walking. Describes something that started in the past and is ongoing.
I have been walking
The past simple - regular verb
Simple Past Tense. Used for an action that took place at a specific time
Walked
The past progressive (or continuous) - regular verb
Used to describe a longer action that was taking place in the past
I was walking to the park when it started to rain
The past perfect - regular verb
Follows the pattern of Present Perfect: I had walked
I had walked there once, but found it too far
The past perfect progressive - regular verb
Follows the pattern of the Present Perfect Progressive, except that the action is set in the past
I had been walking for hours and still had not reached the mountain when it began to rain
The future tenses - regular verb
Insert will, shall or going to
I will be walking tomorrow
Irregular verbs
Simple present, base: Go Freeze Simple past: Went Froze Past participle: Gone/going Freeze
Bring Run Drink Take
Preposition
Words that express (temporal, special or otherwise) between a noun or a pronoun and another element in the phrase. Tells us when or something is in relation to something else o The man on the platform o He arrived after dinner
Time prepositions: before, after, during, at, by, for, since
Place prepositions: under, over, on, off, though, down, around
Sometime preposition are two or three words long: Owning to, because of, in spite of, with reference to, in accordance to, except for,
Determiners
Similar to pronouns and adjectives in that they give us information about nouns Rather than describe nouns they specify them Some adjectives and pronouns are determiners as are the indefinite and the definite articles (the, a, an) o Definite article: the (specific person or thing) Mary took the dog for a walk The house needs re-decorating We assume that the reader or listener already knows which noun we are referring too
Indefinite article: a/an (not a specific person or thing (anyone/ anything) Mary took a dog for a walk A house needs decorating
Unlike adjectives and possessive pronouns, however, they can be separated from the nouns to which they belong âMy bookâ; âOur houseâ; âThe dogâ; âThat manâ
Other determiners include: o Demonstratives: this, that, these, those, yonder o Indefinite determiners: some, few, less, several, many, much, neither o Numbers: cardinal or ordinal: one or the first
Zero article
Certain nouns that require neither a definite nor an indefinite article
Nouns used in this way allow us to generalize about them o Home is where the heart is o Anger is a destructive emotion o Ink will stain your clothes
Conjunction
Although, and, but, when, because, if, or, so, unless and while
Coordinating conjunction
Join together parts of the sentence that have equal weight. o The list of adjectives that can be joined by and in this way is endless each item will carry equal importance
The most commonly used of these of these is: "and" o âThe boys came home hungry and tired and dirtyâ
"But" suggest contrast o âCycling to work is better for your health but the train is quickerâ
"Or" suggest choice o âI donât know whether to cycle or get the train this morningâ They are equal
Subordinating conjunction
Join together parts of a sentence that do not have an equal weight: The second part being subordinate to the main part o âWe will go for a walk -when- the snow has meltedâ Main: We will go for a walk Subordinate: the snow has melted
Pronouns
Word that stands in for a noun - for instance, to indicate someone or something already mentioned. Pronouns is the subject of the verb (That is, the person, that thing carries out the action)
I, you (singular and plural), he, she it, we they o âHe took down the bookâ (where the book is the object)
Noun phrase
Group of words with a noun and modifiers (something that describe the noun or give more detail to it) Group of a words that have a grammatical function Pronoun test: âThe old hairy cat is cuteâ You could say âit is cuteâ instead because it has the same meaning
âA dog that has spots is barkingâ That has spots refers to the dog âA dog that has spotsâ Is the NP Is barking is VP
Example The table is round The = definite article Table = noun Is = verb Round = adjective In this case The table would be the noun phrase
Our parrot is singing Parrot: noun Our: possessive pronoun In this case our noun phrase is Our parrot
The old hairy cat is cute Old, hairy: adjective The: definite article Is: verb Cat: noun In this case our noun phrase is The old hairy cat
Verb phrase
Group of words with a verb and auxiliary verbs (not the primary verb, but gives us extra information, the one that carry the tense (what time we are in) ex. Be, have, will)
Example: Mia will work tomorrow Will, work: Verb (will is the auxiliary) In this case our noun phrase is Will work
I will have been studying for a wee Will, have, been, studying: Main verb is studying. Will, have, been is the auxiliary In this case our noun phrase is Will have been studying
Prepositional phrase
Group of words with a preposition at the start (in the phrase)
Look at the phrase and see where we have a preposition Preposition
Tells us when something Is happening (time) , in the morning it happened
Tell us where something took place (location)
Direction of something
Example I run in the morning In: preposition Tells us something about the time In this case our noun phrase is in the morning
Within this there is a noun phrase (In the morning) but âInâ makes it a prepositional phrase
The keys are under the table In this case our noun phrase is Under the table
Subject
In a sentence, the subject is the person or thing doing the âverbâ or described by it
Subjects: pronouns, nouns, noun phrases
General rule: every sentence must have subject + verb, otherwise itâs not a sentence Ex: âI walk to schoolâ Who is doing the walking? âIâ is doing the action and is therefore the subject. Pronoun as a subject. âMercury is the smallest planetâ What is being described? Mercury is being described as the smallest. Noun as a subject. Only one person in one million will live to be older than 100 years. Verb: will (auxiliary), live Who will live to be older than 100 years? Only one person in one million ï this sentence is the subject.
The old cat eats a lot
Verb: eats
Subject: the old cat We are so happy
Verb: are
Subject: we The mas will run
Verb: will (auxiliary), run
Subject: the man
Direct object
Direct object
Thing that receives the action of the verb
Undergoing the change/ affected by the verb o We threw the ball DO = The ball o They also eat the tasty fish DO = The tasty fish
Indirect object
If you donât have a direct object, you donât have an indirect object We need a direct object to have a indirect object
Person or thing receiving the direct object
o He gave her a medal Her = IO A medal = DO o They wrote a letter to him To him = IO A letter = DO
Subject complement
Describes the subject o Can be an adjective or noun phrase), that describes the subject
Can be: Noun, noun phrase or an adjective
We need a linking verb
Ex Subject complement: The man is old s v c
old describes the subject
It is a big problem s v c Subject complement: a big problem
Because it describes âitâ o âItâ is a subject
âIsâ is the linking verb
English grammar is difficult S. V. SC
Linking verbs
Verbs that are linking subjects to its description o To âBeâ/is/ were - is the main linking verb o âSeemâ o âBecomeâ o âSmellâ o âAppearâ o âLooksâ
If there is a linking verb, then you have a subject complement
Object complement
It is word that follow the direct object to rename it or state what it has become
We need a direct object
If there is a direct object, is it then described Ex. It makes her happy DO: Her, happy states that she has become happy
They painted the car red DO: the car, red is the OC
Practice makes English grammar easy S v DO OC
The class wants cake to be their reward S v DO OC
They called the officeS v DO
No compliment
The politicians elected maria president S V DO OC
Verbs that could be the linking:
Make
Crate
Name
Call
Elect
Adverbials
Can be adverbs or prepositional phrases. They tell us about a time, place etc. They can also give more context to sentences and tells about degree (very) Ex: He is running to school s v A
Adverbials: to school
Yesterday, she walked into the room A s v A
Adverbials: yesterday, into the school
Main clause
All clauses must have a subject and a verb
All sentences have at least 1 main clause o IF you have a subject and a verb more than one you have more clause Main clause
Grammatical correct
Can stand on its own
If there is a conjunction (and, but)
Subordinate clause
They do not make sense on their own
Give extra information to the main clause
Describe noun, or give information about time and place
Can function like an adjective, adverb, or noun
Example: âThe dog rushed to the park which is near my houseâ Main clause âThe dog rushed to the parkâ Subordinate clause: âWhich is near my houseâ
The person, who is walking to Germany, is pretty funny Main clause: The person is pretty funny Subordinate: Who is walking to Germany
They are running and we are walking Main clause: They are running, we are walking
Before they talked together, they did not like each other Main clause: They did not like each other Subordinate: Before they talked together
Is this the man clause or is this part the man clause that we are looking for? Main clause: Is this the man clause, is this part the main clause Subordinate: that we are looking for
Syntactical descriptors
S, V, DO, IO, A, SC, OC
Describe / write down what is meant by the different syntactical descriptors we have:
Subject (S), verb (V), direct object (DO), indirect object (IO), adverbials (A), subject complement (SC), and object complement (OC) Subject = In a sentence, the subject is the person or thing doing the âverbâ or described by it, can be pronouns, nouns, noun phrases. Verb = The action of the sentence I walk Subjects and verbs are always in a sentence! Direct object = thing or person affected by the verb. I found the book DO Indirect object = person or thing receiving the direct object. He gave her a letter IO DO We need a direct object to have an indirect object! Adverbials = Describe a verb (adverb or prepositional phrases). They tell us about a time, place etc. so, give more information/context. Subject complement = Words that describes the subject He is happy S V SC Object complement = word that follow the direct object to rename it or state what it has become. We named him William S V DO OC