Grammar and Composition Module (Verbs, Adjectives, Adverbs) PDF

Lesson 4: VERBS A. Verbs According to Form Regular Verbs - follow standard patterns when changing tense (-ed ending) Add -ed for past tense and past participle Examples: walk → walked (She walked to school.) coo...

Lesson 4: VERBS A. Verbs According to Form Regular Verbs - follow standard patterns when changing tense (-ed ending) Add -ed for past tense and past participle Examples: walk → walked (She walked to school.) cook → cooked (I cooked dinner last night.) dance → danced (They danced at the party.) study → studied (He studied for his exam.) Spelling Rules: For verbs ending in 'e': add 'd' (like → liked) For verbs ending in consonant + 'y': change 'y' to 'i' and add 'ed' (try → tried) For short verbs ending in consonant-vowel-consonant: double the final consonant (stop → stopped) Irregular Verbs - have unique forms for past tense and past participle Common patterns and examples: eat → ate → eaten (I have eaten lunch.) drink → drank → drunk (She has drunk the water.) swim → swam → swum (They have swum across the lake.) begin → began → begun (The movie has begun.) No consistent pattern: buy → bought → bought (I bought a new car.) teach → taught → taught (She taught English.) think → thought → thought (He thought about it.) B. Verbs According to Use Action Verbs - show physical or mental activity (run, think, sing) Physical Actions: "The athlete jumps over the hurdle." "Maria throws the ball accurately." "The chef chops vegetables quickly." Mental Actions: "Students understand the concept." "He remembers his childhood clearly." "She considers all options carefully." Linking Verbs - connect the subject to information about it (is, seems, becomes) Forms of "be": am, is, are, was, were "I am tired." (describes state) "The weather is pleasant." (describes condition) Sensory Verbs: "The cake smells delicious." "The fabric feels soft." "This soup tastes spicy." State of Being: "She became angry." (showing change) "The situation appears complicated." "Everything seems perfect." Helping Verbs - assist the main verb to express tense or mood (has, will, can) Primary Helpers (be, do, have): "I am studying." (continuous form) "Do you understand?" (question form) "They have completed the task." (perfect tense)  Modal Helpers: Can/Could: "I can swim." (ability) May/Might: "It might rain." (possibility) Should/Must: "You must attend." (obligation) Will/Would: "I will help you." (future action/willingness) C. Verb Tenses Simple Tenses - show basic time of action Present: "I write emails daily." "She plays tennis every weekend." "They work in the city." Past: "I wrote the report yesterday." "She played tennis last weekend." "They worked overtime." Future: "I will write the proposal tomorrow." "She will play in the tournament." "They will work from home." Progressive Tenses - show ongoing action (-ing form) Present Progressive: "I am writing a letter now." "The children are playing outside." "He is studying for his exam." Past Progressive: "I was writing when you called." "They were playing when it started raining." "She was working late last night." Future Progressive: "I will be writing my thesis next semester." "They will be playing in the championship." "She will be working on the project." Perfect Tenses - show completed action (has/had/will have + past participle) Present Perfect: "I have written three books." "She has lived here for five years." "They have finished their homework." Past Perfect: "I had written the email before she arrived." "He had studied Spanish before moving to Madrid." "They had completed the project before the deadline." Future Perfect: "I will have written the report by Friday." "She will have graduated by next spring." "They will have moved by then." Perfect Progressive Tenses - shows ongoing action completed at specific time (has/had/will have been + -ing) Present Perfect Progressive: “She has been studying for the exam for three hours.” Past Perfect Progressive: “They had been waiting for the bus for 20 minutes when it finally arrived.”  Future Perfect Progressive: “By next year, I will have been working at the company for five years.” Lesson 5: ADJECTIVES An adjective is a word that describes a noun, giving extra information about it. For example: a sweet taste a red apple a technical problem an Italian woman Attributive and predicative adjectives Most adjectives can be used in two positions. When they are used before the noun they describe, they are called attributive: a black cat a gloomy outlook a slow journey a large suitcase When they are used after a verb such as be, become, grow, look, or seem, they’re called predicative: The cat was black. The future looks gloomy. The journey seemed slow. They were growing tired. There are some adjectives that can only be used in one position or the other. For example, these two sentences are grammatically correct: ✓ She was alone that evening. [‘alone’ = predicative ] ✓ It was a mere scratch. [‘mere’ = attributive] These sentences, on the other hand, are not correct: ✗ I saw an alone woman. [‘alone’ cannot be used in the attributive position] ✗ The scratch was mere. [‘mere’ cannot be used in the predicative position] Gradable and Nongradable Adjectives Most adjectives are gradable. This means that their meaning can be modified (made stronger, weaker, or otherwise altered) by placing one or more adverbs in front of them. For example: an expensive car a very expensive car a fairly expensive car an extremely expensive car The adverbs very, fairly, and extremely are telling us where this particular car belongs on the scale of ‘expensiveness’. By using them, we can make a significant difference to the meaning of an adjective. Non-gradable adjectives are those with meanings which cannot be modified by adverbs. For example: the western side of the mountain electronic devices a nuclear reactor It would be very strange to see any of the adjectives in the above examples being used with modifying adverbs such as very, fairly, or extremely; things are either western, electronic, or nuclear, or they’re not. These sorts of adjectives are part of the category known as classifying adjectives. What Are Comparative and Superlative Adjectives? Most adjectives have three different forms, the positive, the comparative, and the superlative: Positive Comparative Superlative  Sad sadder saddest Happy happier happiest Unusual more unusual most unusual The comparative form is used for comparing two people or things: He is taller than me. This puzzle is easier than the last one. The book was more interesting than the film. The superlative is used for comparing one person or thing with every other member of their group: He was the tallest boy in the class. This puzzle is the easiest in the whole book. It’s the most interesting book I’ve ever read. As you can see, some adjectives change their spelling when forming their comparative and superlative forms. You’ll find that most dictionaries will show you the spellings of adjectives that change their form. For example, if you look up 'happy' in Oxford Dictionaries, you’ll see that the comparative and superlative forms are given in brackets directly after the part of speech: happy ► adjective (happier, happiest) Always look up an adjective if you are unsure about how to spell its comparative or superlative form. Qualitative and classifying adjectives Not all adjectives have a comparative and superlative form nor can they all be graded. This is because there are two types of adjective, known as qualitative and classifying. Qualitative adjectives describe the qualities of a person or thing – whether they are large or small, happy or sad, etc. This type of adjective is gradable. For example: a fairly tall man a very boring film a really long holiday an extremely expensive car Classifying adjectives place people and things into categories or classes. Do you read a daily newspaper or a weekly one? Does your house have an electric oven or a gas oven? Here are some more examples of classifying adjectives: the western hemisphere an annual event the external walls a nuclear weapon Classifying adjectives don't generally have comparative and superlative forms. It would sound strange to describe one event as ‘more annual’ than another, for example, or one weapon as ‘the most nuclear’. In general, classifying adjectives are also non gradable. An event cannot be ‘very annual’ nor an oven ‘fairly electric’. Nouns Used as Adjectives Many words that are usually nouns can function as adjectives. For example: autumn colors boat race computer shop Devon cream electricity board fruit fly Here are some real-life examples: Not all face masks are created equal. (Entrepreneur Hannah Bronfman) You cannot make a revolution with silk gloves. (Premier Joseph Stalin) When used like adjectives, nouns are known as attributive nouns. Participles Used as Adjectives Formed from a verb, a participle is a word that can be used as an adjective. There are two types of  participle: The present participle (ending -"ing") The past participle (usually ending -"ed," -"d," -"t," -"en," or -"n") Here are some examples of participles as adjectives: - The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" but "That's funny." (Writer Isaac Asimov) - Always be wary of any helpful item that weighs less than its operating manual. (Author Terry Pratchett) - While the spoken word can travel faster, you can't take it home in your hand. Only the written word can be absorbed wholly at the convenience of the reader. (Educator Kingman Brewster) - We all have friends and loved ones who say 60 is the new 30. No, it's the new 60. (Fashion model Iman) A participle is classified as a verbal (a verb form that functions as a noun or an adjective). Infinitives Used as Adjectives An infinitive verb (e.g., "to run," "to jump") can also function as an adjective. - No human creature can give orders to love. (French novelist George Sand) (Here, the infinitive "to love" describes the noun "orders.") - Progress is man's ability to complicate simplicity. (Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl) (An infinitive will often head its own phrase. Here, the infinitive phrase "to complicate simplicity" describes the noun "ability.") The Order of Adjectives When two or more adjectives are strung together, they should be ordered according to the following list: Lesson 6: ADVERBS Adverbs are words that tell us how, when, where, how often, or how much. An adverb can modify a verb (e.g., runs quickly), an adjective (e.g., extremely small), or another adverb (e.g., very closely). Here are some more examples of adverbs:  - She swims quickly. (Here, the adverb "quickly" modifies the verb "swims.") - She is an extremely quick swimmer. (The adverb "extremely" modifies the adjective "quick.") - She swims extremely quickly. (The adverb "extremely" modifies the adverb "quickly.") FORMATION OF ADVERBS Adverbs that end in -ly are formed by adding ly to an adjective, a present participle, or a - from an adjective honest - honestly meaningful - meaningfully - from a present participle glowing - glowingly surprising - surprisingly - from a past participle assured - assuredly exaggerated – exaggeratedly When adjective ends in -able or -ible, the adverb is formed by replacing final -e with * horrible – horribly terrible – terribly When adjective ends in -y, the adverb is formed by replacing final -y with -ily happy – happily lucky – luckily When adjective ends in -ic, the adverb is formed by replacing final -ic with -ically sarcastic – sarcastically economic – economically historic – historically POSITION OF ADVERBS Different types of adverbs go in different positions. Here are some general guidelines: Front position The main types of adverbs that can be used in this position are those that: ▪ begin a sentence or clause that’s linked in meaning to another: People tend to put on weight in middle age. However, gaining weight is not inevitable. I’ll begin with an overview of the product. Secondly, I’ll talk about projected sales. ▪ refer to time or frequency: Afterwards, we went out for a walk. Sometimes she wonders what life’s all about. ▪ refer to place: There goes my bus! Up he ran, soon disappearing from view. ▪ comment on the rest of the sentence or clause (sentence adverbs): Luckily, our meal lived up to expectation. Clearly, more research is needed. Mid position This term refers to adverbs that can be used in the middle of a sentence or clause. The main kinds of adverbs found in this position are those that: ▪ refer to frequency: We always meet for coffee on Saturday. She’s never been to Sweden. ▪ refer to manner: He carefully avoided my eye. I slowly walked into town. ▪ make the meaning of a verb, adjective, or other adverb stronger or weaker:  She nearly fell asleep at her desk. These ideas are very complicated. ▪ comment on the rest of the sentence or clause: When we first heard this story, frankly, we couldn’t believe it. ▪ focus on part of a sentence or clause: I’m only going to stay in New York for a week. Tina can’t just drop all her commitments. End position The main types of adverbs which can be used at the end of a sentence of clause are those that: ▪ refer to manner: It's an interesting plot twist, and one that works well. For some reason, his career progressed slowly. ▪ refer to time or frequency: The troops flew home yesterday. They’re sending hundreds of texts to each other monthly. ▪ refer to place: They’re sitting at the table over there. There was a sudden burst of laughter from the people who could see outside. Position of adverbs and verbs Adverbs are often found between the subject and its verb: We always meet for lunch at 1 p.m. I completely forgot his name. They can also come between an auxiliary verb (such as be or have) and a main verb: The concert was suddenly cancelled. He had quickly eaten his dinner. CLASSIFICATION OF ADVERBS Adverbs of Manner: These adverbs are those that describe the manner in which an action is done. Basically, it can be said that the adverbs of manner answer the question ‘how’. Examples of adverbs of manner: Quickly, promptly, clearly, slowly, gradually, eventually, rapidly, seriously, instantly, keenly, etc. Adverbs of Time: As the name suggests, the adverbs of time are used to tell the reader when some action is occurring. Adverbs of time include general time periods and specific times. We can identify an adverb of time by asking the question ‘when’. Examples of adverbs of time: Now, soon, today, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, next month, recently, forever, etc. Adverbs of Place: These adverbs are used to indicate where the action mentioned in the sentence is taking place. Adverbs of place can be identified by asking the question ‘where’. Examples of adverbs of place: Somewhere, anywhere, nowhere, here, outside, inside, wherever, elsewhere, left, right, north, east, south, west, etc. Adverbs of Frequency: These adverbs are used to denote how often an action or event is happening. The adverbs of frequency can be recognized by asking the question ‘how often’. Examples of adverbs of frequency: Seldom, rarely, never, often, weekly, monthly, yearly, annually, usually, sometimes, occasionally, constantly, frequently, etc. Adverbs of Degree: These adverbs are used to indicate how intense an action of quality is. It is used to describe adjectives and adverbs. For instance, an adverb of manner expresses how fast or how slow a vehicle is moving, how hot or cold the weather is, how interesting or boring a movie is and so on. Examples of adverbs of degree: Very, too, extremely, much, more, most, little, less, incredibly, totally, greatly, hardly, deeply, barely, etc.