English Grammar Basics

Nouns

• A word that refers to a person, place, thing, or idea
• Can be common (cat) or proper (John)
• Can be concrete (book) or abstract (happiness)
• Can be singular (cat) or plural (cats)
• Can function as:
  • Subject: The cat is sleeping.
  • Object: I pet the cat.
  • Complement: The winner is John.

Verbs

• A word that expresses action, occurrence, or state of being
• Can be:
  • Action verbs: run, jump, read
  • Linking verbs: be, seem, appear
  • Helping verbs: will, would, shall
  • Transitive verbs: take an object (I eat an apple)
  • Intransitive verbs: do not take an object (I sleep)
• Can be in various tenses:
  • Present: I am writing
  • Past: I wrote
  • Future: I will write

Adjectives

• A word that modifies, or describes, a noun or pronoun
• Typically answer the questions:
  • What kind? (The big house)
  • How many? (The three dogs)
  • Which one? (The red car)
• Can be:
  • Quantitative: three, five, etc.
  • Qualitative: happy, tall, blue, etc.
  • Demonstrative: this, that, these, etc.

Adverbs

• A word that modifies, or describes, a verb, an adjective, or another adverb
• Typically answer the questions:
  • How? (She sings beautifully)
  • When? (We will arrive tomorrow)
  • Where? (The store is located nearby)
  • To what extent? (He is extremely happy)
• Can be:
  • Manner: quickly, loudly, wisely
  • Time: yesterday, soon, already
  • Place: here, there, everywhere
  • Frequency: often, rarely, never

Pronouns

• A word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence
• Can be:
  • Personal: I, you, he, she, it
  • Possessive: my, your, his, her, its
  • Reflexive: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself
  • Demonstrative: this, that, these, those
  • Interrogative: who, what, which, whom
  • Indefinite: someone, something, anyone, etc.