English Grammar Fundamentals

Clauses and Phrases

• A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a predicate.
• A phrase is a group of words that does not have a subject and a predicate.
• Independent clauses can stand alone as a sentence.
• Dependent clauses cannot stand alone as a sentence and need an independent clause to complete their meaning.

Types of Sentences

• Declarative sentences: state a fact or opinion (e.g., "The sun is shining.")
• Interrogative sentences: ask a question (e.g., "What is your name?")
• Imperative sentences: give a command or make a request (e.g., "Close the door.")
• Exclamatory sentences: express strong emotions (e.g., "What a beautiful day!")

Verb Tenses

• Present tense: happening now (e.g., "I am writing.")
• Past tense: happened in the past (e.g., "I wrote.")
• Future tense: will happen in the future (e.g., "I will write.")
• Verb tenses can be changed using -ed, -ing, or irregular verb forms.

Subject-Verb Agreement

• A singular subject takes a singular verb (e.g., "The cat sleeps.")
• A plural subject takes a plural verb (e.g., "The cats sleep.")
• Special cases: I, you, and they take plural verbs, while he, she, and it take singular verbs.

Adjectives and Adverbs

• Adjectives describe nouns or pronouns (e.g., "The big house.")
• Adverbs describe verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs (e.g., "She sings beautifully.")
• Adjectives usually answer "What kind?" or "How many?" questions, while adverbs answer "How?" or "When?" questions.

Pronouns

• Personal pronouns: I, you, he, she, it, we, they
• Possessive pronouns: my, your, his, her, its, our, their
• Reflexive pronouns: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, themselves
• Pronouns replace nouns to avoid repetition and make sentences more concise.