Selecting the correct verb tense and conjugating verbs correctly is tricky in English. Click on the verb tense to read more about how to form this tense and how it is used, or select a time to see the full list of tenses and references on that time.
This is a quick, basic grammar review for nouns, verbs, and the sometimes confusing usage of lay versus lie, and rise versus raise. This reference can be used for term papers, grammar class reviews, or simply for anyone confused or curious about the basics of English grammar. Nouns 1. Noun identification Noun Identification What is a noun? A noun is a person, place, thing, quality, animal, idea or activity. For example: Spot the nouns in a sentence: Maria went into the city to purchase detergent. Nouns: Person — Maria The functions of nouns Nouns sometimes function differently in sentences. For example: Grammar vocabulary: Nominal means any word, or group of words, used as a noun. The nominal word used in the original noun example is Maria. Types of Nouns The names of specific things, places, and people, like Maria or Detroit, are Proper nouns. General, colloquial names, like table or house are Common nouns. Common nouns can either be concrete or abstract. When an object is concrete i.e. you can see it and touch it, like a phone or a chair, it is a Concrete noun. When it is a quality or idea, like freedom or justice, it is an Abstract noun. Count Nouns Count nouns are anything that can be counted. They are singular or plural. Plurals usually end with “s.” Singular — Car Singular — Chair Singular — Dog Irregular Examples Singular — Mouse Singular — Child Most nouns ending in s, sh, o, or ch need an -es suffix to be plural Singular — Bus Singular — Dish Singular — Potato Singular — Church Nouns ending in a consonant followed by y become plural by changing the y to i and adding -es Singular — Mystery Mass Nouns are nouns that cannot be counted and they usually do not have a plural form Examples: Freedom, sand, money Collective nouns refer to groups of people and/or things. Unlike mass nouns, they can usually be counted, so they usually have plural forms. Examples: Singular — Staff Singular — Herd Plural Nouns Plural nouns are the nouns that have been changed into their plural states by adding -s or -es. Remember your irregular nouns, such as mice and children! They too are plural nouns. Possessive Nouns Nouns can be possessive and express ownership, usually following the use of “of.” Example: The life of Maria Most singular possessives are formed by adding an apostrophe and “s.” If the noun is plural, the possessive form becomes “s” and apostrophe. Singular Common: Dog Exception: if the plural noun does not end with an “s,” the possessive is formed by adding an apostrophe and “s.” Example: Singular Common: Woman Pronouns A pronoun takes the place of an unknown noun. The unknown noun is called the “antecedent.” Example: Maria wondered if she was late for work. Maria is the antecedent of “she.” Instead of saying: Maria wondered if Maria was late for work, “she” appears to take the place of “Maria.” The Nine forms of Pronouns: Personal, possessive, indefinite, reflexive, reciprocal, intensive, interrogative, relative, and demonstrative. The pronoun must always agree with the antecedent, so if the antecedent is male, the pronoun must be male, if the antecedent is plural, the pronoun must be plural, etc. Example: Correct: When Maria bought the detergent, she used her credit card. Pronoun Cases Nominative Cases: I, you, he, she, it, we, they, who Outlook 2013 repair tool download windows 7. The nominative, or subjective, case pronoun is the subject of the sentence. Examples: She went to the store. Objective Cases: Me, you, him, her, it, us, them, whom These function as direct or indirect objects. Examples: Possessive Cases: My, mine, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs, your, yours, whose The possessive case pronoun shows possession Example: Personal Pronouns can refer to the person/people speaking (First person,) spoken to (second person,) or spoken ABOUT (third person.) First person subject singular: I Second person subject singular: you Third person subject singular: he, she, it Example: I wanted to give them to her, but he wouldn’t let me. I — first person singular Possessive Pronouns Like regular nouns, personal pronouns can also be possessive. Possessive Determiners are possessive forms of personal pronouns. Possessive Determiners must have a following noun. First person determiner singular: My (book) Second person determiner singular: Your (book) Third person determiner singular: His, Her, Its (book) Example: They have MY bags but they know they’re MINE. My — Determiner, dependent on “Bags” Indefinite Pronouns These have no specific antecedents. These are usually identified with general words like: all, any, some, or none. Examples: Singular: another, both, nobody, everything, nothing, somebody, everyone, no one, something, etc. Plural: all, many, most, much, some Examples: Somebody has her bags. Indefinite pronouns are only pronouns if they are used ALONE. If they are used with a noun, they become indefinite adjectives. Pronoun: Both knew they were Maria’s bags. If the subject performs actions TO or FOR itself, the action in the sentence passes BACK to the subject and becomes a reflexive pronoun. First person singular: Myself Rules In English GrammarExample: We asked OURSELVES where her bags were. “We” is the doer and receiver of the action “ask.” Intensive Pronouns are used to point back to the noun or pronoun for emphasis. Example: I myself knew they were Maria’s bags. The intensive pronoun does not always need to directly follow the noun. Example: I prefer walking myself. Reciprocal pronouns express mutual action. Examples: each other/ each other’s Maria and Heather greeted each other. Interrogative Pronouns These are used to ask questions and can be personal or non-personal Personal subject: Who/Whoever Example: Demonstrative Pronouns These substitute specific nouns, usually when someone is gesturing toward something. Singular: This/That Example: These are for her. Verbs A verb is an action part of speech. It can also express a state of being, or the relationship between two things. It is most powerful when following a noun. Example: He HIT her. Verbs are the most complicated part of speech because they can sometimes become nouns, depending on their use. The three kinds of verbs: transitive verbs, intransitive verbs, and linking verbs. Transitive verbs These take objects. Transitive verbs carry the action of subject and apply it to the object. Example: She TOOK the bags. Intransitive verbs These do not take an object, but express actions that do not require the agent doing something to something else. Example: She LEFT. Linking verbs These link the agent with the rest of the sentence and explain the link between the subject and the rest of the sentence. Examples: appear, grow, seem, smell, taste Example: Maria seems tired from shopping. The Lay/Lie and Raise/Rise Confusion These two pairs of verbs are constantly misused. In each, there is a transitive verb (TRV) and an intransitive verb (INV). Lie — Intransitive, means recline or be situated Rise — Intransitive, means to get up. Infinitive — INV: Lie Download all my infographics about the tenses in PDF here. Download all my explanations of the tenses in PDF here.
What's The Difference? Here are a few more things you might find useful:This is a printable PDF of all the verb tenses and how to form them. This is a list of all the grammar exercises on this site, about verb tenses and other things. This is an explanation of how we sometimes need to change the spelling of a verb with 'he, she, it' in the present simple, for example why 'cry' becomes 'cries' but 'play' is 'plays'. Adverbs of Frequency are words like 'often' 'sometimes' 'never'. This page shows you how to use them with the present tense and where to put them in the sentence. I also explain about longer phrases like 'from time to time'. How do you pronounce 'stopped'? Many students say 'stop-id' instead of 'stopt'. This page explains the rules of pronunciation for regular past simple verbs and past participles (verbs that end with 'ed') We can't use some verbs, like 'know' or 'believe' in continuous tenses. This page has lists and explanations.
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