English Grammar Fundamentals

Sentence Structure

• Basic sentence structure: Subject-Verb-Object (SVO)
• Types of sentences:
  • Declarative: statements
  • Interrogative: questions
  • Imperative: commands
  • Exclamatory: strong emotions

Passive Voice

• Definition: The subject of the sentence receives the action
• Formation:
  • Verb "to be" (in the correct tense) + past participle
  • Example: The ball is thrown by John.
• Uses:
  • To emphasize the receiver of the action
  • To avoid mentioning the doer of the action
  • In scientific or formal writing

Verb Tenses

• Present Tense:
  • Simple: action happens now
  • Progressive: action is ongoing
  • Perfect: action started in the past and continues up to the present
  • Perfect Progressive: action started in the past and continues up to the present
• Past Tense:
  • Simple: action happened in the past
  • Progressive: action was ongoing in the past
  • Perfect: action started before another action in the past
  • Perfect Progressive: action started before another action in the past and continued up to that point
• Future Tense:
  • Simple: action will happen in the future
  • Progressive: action will be ongoing in the future
  • Perfect: action will be completed at a specific point in the future
  • Perfect Progressive: action will continue up to a specific point in the future

Clauses

• Independent Clauses:
  • Have a subject and a predicate
  • Can stand alone as a sentence
• Dependent Clauses:
  • Do not have a complete thought
  • Cannot stand alone as a sentence
• Relative Clauses:
  • Begin with a relative pronoun (who, which, that, whom)
  • Provide additional information about a noun
• Subordinate Clauses:
  • Begin with a subordinating conjunction (because, although, if, unless)
  • Cannot stand alone as a sentence

Modals

• Definition: Verbs that express modality (degree of possibility, obligation, or ability)
• Types of modals:
  • Can: ability
  • Could: ability in the past or possibility
  • May: permission
  • Might: possibility
  • Shall: obligation or future action
  • Should: obligation or advice
  • Will: future action
  • Would: hypothetical or conditional situations
• Uses:
  • To express degrees of possibility or certainty
  • To express obligation or permission
  • To express ability or inability
  • To express hypothetical or conditional situations