English Grammar A Short Guide
Graham Tulloch

This book was prepared in the English Discipline of the Flinders University of South Australia and printed by Flinders Press. ©1990 Graham Tulloch FURTHER READING This is intended as a basic and simple guide to English grammar. For a more detailed introduction with exercises see J.R. Bernard's excellent book A Short Guide to Traditional English Grammar (Sydney: Sydney University Press, l975) to which I am much indebted. For a longer study read Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum, A University Grammar of English (London: Longman, 1973) and for a very detailed, very complex (and very expensive) treatment of the subject see Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartik, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (London: Longman, 1985).

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PARTS OF A WORD A word can be divided into its STEM (the basic part of the word containing its meaning) and its INFLECTIONS (the endings added to indicate such things as that a noun is PLURAL or a verb is in the past tense). Examples: Stem: Inflections: PARTS OF A SENTENCE SUBJECT The subject is the person, thing or topic which the sentence deals with. To discover the subject, ask who or what before the verb, e.g. in the sentence The house stands on the hill, what stands on the hill? Answer: the house. Examples: The house stands on the hill. It overlooks the plain. PREDICATE The predicate is all of the sentence except the subject. Examples: The house stands on the hill. It overlooks the plain. OBJECT The object is the person, thing or topic upon which the subject carries out the action of the verb. To discover the object, ask who or what after the verb, e.g. the house overlooks what? Answer: the plain. Examples: The house overlooks the plain. I see him clearly. He watches himself carefully. dog walk s in dogs ed in walked

In some cases a whole clause can act as object. Example: He said that the Green Knight was really orange.

Sometimes we apparently have two objects. Where one of these can alternatively be expressed by placing to before it, it is called the indirect object. For example, instead of He gave me the book we can say He gave the book to me. Here the book is the direct object and me the indirect object . COMPLEMENT 3

After the verb to be there is no object since the noun which follows refers to the same thing as that which precedes the verb (the subject). The noun following the verb to be is called the complement. Examples: I am a man. This is the question. CLAUSE There are two kinds of clauses: principal (or main) clauses, and subordinate (or dependent) clauses. Principal Clauses A group of words which includes a subject and a finite verb and makes a complete statement. Examples: I am a man. The house stands on the hill. When I come home, I will let the cat in.

The following are not principal clauses because they do not make a complete statement which can stand by itself: Which is a problem That the house is standing on the hill When I come home The house which stands on the hill Subordinate Clause A group of words which includes a finite or non-finite verb but does not make a statement which stands by itself. Examples: As soon as the Green Knight entered the room all were astounded. He said that the Green Knight was really orange. The house, which stands on the hill, is empty.

Subordinate clauses can be classified according to their function: Adverbial Clause Example: As soon as the Green Knight entered the room, all were astounded.

In this sentence the clause fulfills the same function as an adverb such as immediately in the sentence immediately all were astounded. Noun Clause 4

Example:

He said that the Green Knight was really orange.

The clause fulfills the same function as a noun such as the words in He said the words. Relative Clause Example: The house, which stands on the hill, is empty.

Relative clauses are adjectival in nature. The clause fulfills the same role as an adjective such as high-placed in the sentence The high-placed house is empty. Clauses can also be classified by whether they contain a finite verb. Finite Clause A finite clause contains a finite verb and, usually, a subject. It can be a principal clause or a subordinate clause. Examples: They say nice things about you. (principal clause) When they say nice things about you they are not lying. (subordinate clause)

Non-Finite Clause A non-finite clause contains a non-finite verb but does not contain a finite verb and cannot stand alone. A non-finite clause cannot be a principal clause. Nonfinite verbs include participles and infinitives . Examples: Singing and dancing, he moved slowly up the aisle. He gave me an invitation to bring you to the party. Having eaten all the cakes, he began to consume the biscuits. Filled with joy, he left the room.

PHRASE A phrase is group of words without a verb. Examples: It is on the hill. He went over the sea. PARTS OF SPEECH Examples: house The house The house stands The house stands firmly 5 noun article + noun article + noun + verb article + noun + verb + adverb

The house stands firmly on the hill

article + noun + verb + adverb preposition + article + noun The empty house stands on the hill article + adjective + verb + adverb + preposition + article + noun It stands on the hill pronoun + verb + preposition + article + noun Since it stands on the hill it overlooks conjunction + pronoun + verb + the plain preposition + article + noun + pronoun + verb + article + noun NOUN Nouns can be thought of as 'names'; they denote things, people, abstract ideas. Examples: The house is old. A king was here. Virtue is its own reward. Accidents will happen.

ARTICLE The articles are: the, a, an. The is called the definite article; a (and an) is called the indefinite article. VERB A verb is a "doing word". It expresses the carrying out of an action. With an active verb this action is carried out by the subject. Examples: It stands. I am. He adjudicates between the parties concerned. Alfred burnt the cakes.

With a passive verb the action is carried out upon the subject: Examples: The cakes were burnt by Alfred. The Bible is read in many languages.

Verbs have various qualities: Tense This is the feature of the verb indicating when the action took place

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Examples:

Present tense: Past Tense: Future Tense:

It stands It stood It will stand

Aspect This is the feature of the verb which indicates whether the action is was or will be a completed one or a continuous one. If the verb is unmarked as to whether it is completed, 'perfect' or continuous, 'progressive', it is called simple. Hence we can draw up the following scheme: Simple Present: Simple Past: Simple Future: Present Perfect: Past Perfect: Future Perfect: Present Progressive: Past Progressive: Future Progressive It stands It stood It will stand It has stood It had stood It will have stood It is standing It was standing It will be standing

The present perfect is often know simply as the perfect and the past perfect is sometimes called the pluperfect . Voice In English we have the active and the passive voice. In the active voice the subject carries out the action of the verb; in the passive the action of the verb is carried out upon the subject. Examples: Active: Passive: I place I am placed

A full complement of passive verbs exists in English. The passive is formed with the appropriate tense of the verb to be and the past participle. Examples: Present Progressive Passive: Past Perfect Passive: Future Perfect Passive: I am being placed I had been placed I will be placed

Mood There are three moods in English.

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1. Indicative: The indicative mood is the normal one in present-day English (PE): Example: I was going to the pictures

2. Subjunctive: The subjunctive mood is much rarer in PE; it expresses a hypothetical action. Examples: If I were going to the pictures. I wish I were going to the pictures.

3. Imperative: The imperative mood expresses an order. Example: Go to the pictures.

Finite and Non-Finite Verbs Verbs are either finite or non-finite. Non-finite verbs do not include any indication of tense. One kind of non-finite verb is the infinitive. The infinitive is the basic form of the verb. It is often combined with to as in I am going to stand here. However the infinitive is not always preceded by to: in the sentence I will stand the infinitive is stand. Combined with will the infinitive stand makes the finite (future tense) verb will stand. Other non-finite parts of the verb are the participles. The present participle is the form of the verb used in constructions like: I am going. He is combing his hair. They are developing rapidly. The same form of the verb can also be used as a noun (in which case it is called a gerund or verbal noun: Examples: Developing is not easy. Walking is pleasant in the summer.

or as an adjective (in which case it is called a gerundive or verbal adjective: Examples: The third world is made up of the developing countries. She is a growing child.

The past participle is used in constructions like: I have walked. She has grown. It has developed into a major argument. 8

This form is often the same in PE as the past tense (cf. I walked) but not always (cf. I grew). This also appears as an adjective: A grown man ADVERB An adverb modifies a verb; it indicates how the action of a verb is carried out. Examples: The house stands firmly. She speaks well. He dresses beautifully.

It can also modify an adjective or another adverb. The house is very firm. She answered most considerately. PREPOSITION A preposition connects a noun (with or without an article) or a pronoun to some other word. Prepositions are the "little words of English". Examples: It stands on hills. The swagman jumped into the billabong. England is over the sea. She told the good news to him.

ADJECTIVE An adjective qualifies a noun; it describes the attributes of a noun. Examples: PRONOUN Pronouns take the place of nouns. Examples: It stands on the hill. I see myself. The house which stands on the hill overlooks the plain. That stands on the hill. What stands on the hill? The house stands on the high hill. Precious purple prose provokes profound professors.

There are a number of different kinds of pronouns: Personal Pronouns These are divided into "persons" as follows: 9

First person Second person Third person

Singular I you (thou) he, she, it

Plural we you they

The personal pronouns also include the reflexive and emphatic pronouns. These are the same in form but different in function. They are myself, himself, themselves etc. Examples: Reflexive: Emphatic: Relative Pronouns The relative pronouns are as follows: Subject Object Possessive People who, that whom, that whose Things which, that which, that whose I see myself. People help themselves. I think myself that it is wrong. They themselves want to stay on.

These are used in relative clauses such as: Examples: This is the man who saw me. This is the man whom I saw. This s the man whose house I saw. This is the man that I saw. This is the house that Jack built.

Demonstrative Pronouns These are: Examples: This these That those This is the house. That is the question.

They are also used as demonstrative adjectives: Examples: This man is green. That house is red.

Interrogative Pronouns These are used in questions: People Subject 10 who Things what, which

Object Possessive Examples:

whom, who whose Who(m) did you see? Who is that man? Which is the right way? Who(m) did you speak to?

what, which

What and which can be also used as interrogative adjectives in which case they can be applied to people. Examples: Which house stands on the hill? Which Prime Minister was drowned? What sweet do you recommend?

CONJUNCTIONS Some conjunctions are coordinating (i.e. joining elements of the same kind) like and or but. Examples: It stands on the hill and overlooks the plain. I say this but she says that.

Other conjunctions are subordinating (i.e. joining a subordinate clause to a main clause) like when because, since, as. Examples: Since it stands on the hill it overlooks the plain. Although I say this she says that. When Gawain saw the Green Knight he did not show that he was afraid.

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