English Grammar: Relative Clauses, Tenses, Future, Articles

Grammar is a system of rules that governs the structure of sentences and expressions in a given language. It includes word order, sentence structures, and punctuation. Understanding grammar allows us to communicate effectively and accurately convey our intended meaning. In this article, we will focus on relative clauses, tenses for narrating a story, talking about the future, and the usage of A, an, and the articles.

Relative Clauses

Relative clauses are used to describe or give more information about people, places, things, or ideas that have already been mentioned in a sentence. They start with a relative pronoun such as "who," "whom," "which," or "that." For example:

• The girl who is wearing a red dress is my sister.
• My brother owns the car that is parked outside.
• I bought a book which has interesting stories inside.

When using relative pronouns, it's important to remember their function in the sentence - whether they introduce new information (who, whom) or provide additional details (that). Keep in mind that the verb tense of the main clause must agree with the verb tense of the subordinate clause if there is one.

Tenses for Narrating a Story

Tenses help us tell a story by indicating when actions happened or occurred. There are four basic tenses: simple present, present continuous, past simple, and past continuous. Each tense serves a specific purpose in narrative writing. Here's some examples:

• Simple Present: This tense tells readers what usually happens or what is always true. It can be used for setting up the scene or providing background information. Example: He walks to school every morning.

• Present Continuous: This tense shows the progression of events or actions happening at the same time something else is happening. Example: She was running when she saw the accident.

• Past Simple: This tense describes events that happened before now. It can be used for telling the sequence of events in a story. Example: Yesterday, he went to the park. Then, he met his friend.

• Past Continuous: This tense describes actions that were ongoing during another action. Example: While he was studying, the phone rang.

By choosing the right tense, you can create suspense, tension, excitement, or resolution in your story.

Talking About the Future

English has two primary ways of expressing uncertainty about future events: modal verbs and future tenses. Modal verbs like may, might, could, would, should, and will often indicate possibility or likelihood. Future tenses include going to and will. For example:

• May/Might + Infinitive: He may go to the movies tomorrow night.

• Could + Infinitive: We could visit our friends next weekend.

• Would + Infinitive: If I had more money, I would buy a new computer.

• Going To: I am going to London next week.

• Will: She will finish her project soon.

While both methods can be used interchangeably to talk about future plans or intentions, the choice between them depends largely on personal style and context.

A, An, and The

In English grammar, articles play a crucial role in identifying nouns. There are three types of articles: definite, indefinite, and zero. Definite articles ("the") refer to known or specific nouns, while indefinite articles ("a"/"an") precede non-specific singular countable nouns. Zero articles are not used before uncountable nouns, abstract nouns, or singular common nouns referring to a vague person or thing. Here's some examples:

• Indefinite Article: A dog barks all day long.
• Definite Article: The dog in the yard barks all day long.
• Zero Article: Smoke rises from the chimney.

Understanding these rules helps ensure accurate communication when using articles correctly.