Comprehensive English Grammar Notes

Grammar Overview

Grammar: $\text{system of rules}$ that defines structure of a language
Often called “rules,” but really a description of what speakers do

Parts of Speech (PoS)

Traditional core = $8$ , some lists add a $9^{th}$ (Determiners)
Complete list
- Noun
- Pronoun
- Verb
- Adjective
- Adverb
- Preposition
- Conjunction
- Interjection
- Determiner (optional separate class)

Nouns

Definition: word that names person, place, thing, idea, quality or state
Etymology: Latin nomen = “name”
Core sentence roles
- Subject ⇒ “Asha plays tennis.”
- Object of preposition ⇒ “Asha plays tennis with Farhia.”
- Predicate nominative ⇒ “Asha is a great athlete.”
- Object complement ⇒ “Muna called her horse Treepie.”
Major semantic types
- Proper – unique: “Mogadishu,” “Islam”
- Common – class names: “king,” “city”
- Collective – groups: “team,” “police”
- Abstract – quality/state/action: “honesty,” “poverty,” “decision”
- Material – substance: “milk,” “gold”
Countability
- Countable (singular ↔ plural): “window / windows”
- Uncountable (mass): “water,” “advice”
Gender (semantic, not grammatical)
- Masculine ⇄ Feminine ⇄ Neutral; sometimes use “male/female” modifiers

Pronouns

Definition: substitutes for nouns to avoid repetition
Core set: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
Categories
- Personal
- Indefinite – “someone,” “anyone”
- Reflexive – “myself,” “themselves”
- Demonstrative – “this,” “those”
- Possessive – “mine,” “ours”
- Relative – “who,” “which,” “that”
- Interrogative – “who?” “what?”
- Reciprocal – “each other,” “one another”
- Intensive – same forms as reflexive, used for emphasis
Key rules
- Subject forms can start sentences ⇒ “We did it.”
- Object forms for DO/IO/prep objects ⇒ “David talked to her.”
- Possessive pronouns never take apostrophes ⇒ “its whiskers.”

Verbs

Definition: word/phrase expressing action, state, or occurrence
Forms
- Main verbs; Auxiliary (be, have, do)
- Compound = auxiliary + main ⇒ “has eaten”
- Stative (non-progressive) vs Dynamic (actions)
Regular vs Irregular
- Regular past = base $+ed$ ⇒ “open/opened”
- Irregular: “go/went,” “sleep/slept”
Phrasal verbs: verb + adverb/preposition ⇒ “run into,” “put up with”

Adjectives

Function: modify nouns/pronouns
Semantic classes: Opinion, Size, Age, Shape, Color, Origin, Material
Determiners sometimes classed as adjectives: “a, the, my, some”
Nouns can function adjectivally: “sports car,” “coffee shop”
Order of multiple adjectives: opinion→size→age→shape→color→origin→material→purpose + noun
Degrees
- Comparative: bigger, more interesting
- Superlative: biggest, most interesting

Adverbs

Modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs, or whole clauses
Typical questions answered: Where? When? How? How often? How long? To what degree? How likely?
Many = adjective $+ly$ (happy → happily); exceptions: “fast,” “well”
Categories: Degree, Manner, Place, Time, Frequency, Duration, Probability, Comparative, Superlative

Prepositions

Show relation/position of noun/pronoun to another element
Common set: on, in, at, by, under, over, between, among, through, etc.
Preposition + noun phrase = prepositional phrase ⇒ functions adjectivally/adverbially

Conjunctions

Join words, phrases, clauses
- Coordinating: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS)
- Subordinating: because, although, if, when…
- Correlative: either…or, not only…but also

Interjections

Stand-alone words expressing sudden feeling: “Wow!”, “Hurray!”, “Oh dear!”

Determiners & Articles

Determiner = modifier specifying reference of noun
- Articles, demonstratives, possessives, quantifiers, numbers
Articles
- Definite: “the” ⇒ specific, unique item; works with singular, plural, uncountable
- Indefinite: “a / an” ⇒ non-specific singular count nouns
- Choice of a vs an based on initial sound, not spelling ⇒ “an honest…,” “a university…”
- No article with most proper nouns, languages, sports, academic subjects

Sentence Structure

Sentence = subject + predicate expressing complete thought
Types
- Simple (1 clause)
- Complex (independent + dependent)
- Compound (2+ independent joined by coordinator)
- Compound-complex (combo)
Sentence purposes: Declarative, Interrogative, Imperative, Exclamatory

Subjects & Objects

Subject: noun/pronoun performing verb; usually before verb
Objects
- Direct receives action
- Indirect receives direct object
Complex subjects/objects may include modifiers, clauses, phrases

Clauses

Independent: complete idea; can stand alone
Dependent: adverb, adjective (relative), or noun clause; needs main clause

Modal Verbs

Core list: can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must (plus dare, ought to, need, had better)
Express ability, permission, obligation, prohibition, advice, possibility, probability
Features: no “s/ed/ing”; followed by bare infinitive
Must vs Have to
- Must = speaker’s authority/necessity; have to = external requirement
- Negative difference: mustn’t = prohibition; don’t have to = absence of need

Conditionals

Zero: $\text{if + present},\;\text{present}$ ⇒ universal truths
First: $\text{if + present},\;\text{will + inf}$ ⇒ real future possibility
Second: $\text{if + past},\;\text{would + inf}$ ⇒ unreal present/future
Third: $\text{if + past perfect},\;\text{would + have + pp}$ ⇒ unreal past

Future with “Going To”

Form: am/is/are + going to + base verb
Uses
- Planned future
- Prediction based on present evidence

Reported (Indirect) Speech

Statement: backshift tense if reporting verb past
- “I am tired.” ⇒ She said she was tired.
Questions
- Keep question word; change structure to statement order
- Yes/No use if / whether
Requests: ask + object + to-infinitive
Orders: tell + object + to-infinitive / not to-infinitive
Time-word shifts: today→that day, yesterday→the day before, etc.

Question Tags

Structure: auxiliary/modal + pronoun
Positive statement → negative tag; negative statement → positive tag
Intonation ↓ for confirmation, ↑ when unsure
Special cases: “I am, aren’t I?”; imperatives “Open the door, will you?”

Gerund vs Participle (-ing forms)

Gerund = verbal noun; functions as subject/object ⇒ “Swimming is fun.”
Present Participle = verbal adjective or part of progressive verb ⇒ “She is swimming.” / “the swimming child”
Tests: gerund accepts possessive subject, no plural; participle can take degree adverb, modify noun

Capitalization (10 Key Rules)

Names & titles of people (Mr. Ali, President Lincoln)
Geographic features (Mount Kilimanjaro, Lake Victoria)
Bodies of water, regions, political divisions (the Midwest, Nairobi County)
Buildings, monuments, bridges, tunnels (Eiffel Tower)
Streets & avenues (Baker Street)
Institutions (Harvard University)
Book, film, song, artwork titles (capitalize principal words)
First word of every sentence
Pronoun I always capitalized
Days, months, holidays; NOT seasons unless part of title

Punctuation Essentials

End punctuation: period, question mark, exclamation point, ellipsis
Commas
- Lists, compound sentences, introductory elements, non-restrictive clauses
Quotation marks: enclose direct speech or cited text; comma inside quotes in US style
Apostrophes: possessives (boy’s), contractions (it’s = it is); never with possessive pronouns (its)
Colon: introduce list/explanation; Semicolon: link related independents / separate complex list items

“Going to” vs “Will” Quick Note

Going to = prior plan / present evidence
Will = spontaneous decision, promise, prediction (less certain evidence)

Must vs Have To Recap

Present obligation: must / have to
Past/Future: had to / will have to
Negative: mustn’t (ban) vs don’t have to (optional)

Common Exam Reminders

No apostrophe in $its$ (possessive), but yes in $it\,'s$ = “it is”
Comparative = $\text{adj + er}$ or $\text{more + adj}$ ; Superlative = $\text{adj + est}$ or $\text{most + adj}$
Countable nouns need many / few; Uncountable need much / little / amount of
In reported speech, modal $\text{would / could / should / might}$ usually stay the same