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Grammar |
Learning
English grammar |
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Learning about nouns, pronouns, verbs,
adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections with exercises for you to
complete |
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Nouns
A noun is the word that refers to a
person, thing or abstract idea. A noun can tell you who or what.
There are several different types
of noun:-
- There
are common
nouns such as dog, car, chair etc.
- Nouns
that refer to things which can be counted (can be singular or plural) are countable nouns.
- Nouns
that refer to some groups of countable nouns, substances, feelings and
types of activity (can only be singular) are uncountable
nouns.
- Nouns
that refer to a group of people or things are collective
nouns.
- Nouns
that refer to people, organizations or places are proper nouns,
only proper nouns are capitalized.
- Nouns
that are made up of two or more words are called compound nouns.
- Nouns
that are formed from a verb by adding -ing are called gerunds
EXERCISES:
- The
book was heavy.
- The
child is happy.
- The
box was empty.
- The
synopsis is accurate.
- The
tomato was being baked.
ANSWERS:
- The
books were heavy.
- The
children are happy.
- The
boxes were empty.
- The
synopses are accurate.
- The tomatoes were being baked.
How many types of verb ?
Verb
The verb is perhaps the most
important part of the sentence.
A verb or compound
verb asserts something about the subject
of the sentence and express actions, events, or states of being. The verb or
compound verb is the critical element of the predicate
of a sentence.
In each of the following sentences,
the verb or compound verb is highlighted:
Transitive Verbs
followed by Adverbs
back up: support |
I will back up your story. |
bail out: rescue |
If you run into difficulties, who will bail
you out? |
break in: make something new fit for use |
I broke in my new hiking boots. |
breathe in: inhale |
We breathed in the fresh air. |
breathe out: exhale |
I breathed out a sigh of relief. |
bring back: return |
She brought back her library books. |
bring around: persuade |
We gradually brought her around to
our point of view. |
bring up: raise |
Bringing up children is never easy. |
butter up: flatter |
We buttered him up, hoping that he would
agree to our proposal. |
call in: ask to assist |
I think it is time we called in an expert. |
call off: cancel |
We called off the meeting. |
call up: telephone |
Why don't you call him up? |
cheer on: cheer, encourage |
I will be there to cheer you on. |
chop down: fell |
They chopped down the dead tree. |
clean up: tidy |
The mayor asked everyone to help clean up
the city streets. |
fend off: repel |
The goalie fended off every attack. |
ferret out: find with difficulty |
We managed to ferret out the information. |
figure out: solve, understand |
I can't figure out what happened. |
fill in: complete |
Please fill in this form. |
fill out: complete |
I filled out the form. |
fill up: make full |
We filled up the glasses with water. |
give back: return |
I gave back the bicycle I had borrowed. |
give off: send out |
Skunk cabbage gives off an unpleasant odor. |
hand down: give to someone younger |
The tradition was handed down from father to
son. |
hand in: give to person in authority |
The students handed their assignments in
to the teacher. |
hand on: give to another person |
I am not sorry to hand the responsibility on
to you. |
hand over: transfer |
We had to hand the evidence over to
the police. |
hang up: break a telephone connection |
After receiving a busy signal, I hung up the
phone. |
hold back: restrain, delay |
He is so enthusiastic; it is hard to hold
him back. |
iron out: remove |
I am sure we can iron out every difficulty. |
knock out: make unconscious |
Boxers are often knocked out. |
lap up: accept eagerly |
The public lapped up the story. |
lay off: put out of work |
The company laid off seventy workers. |
leave behind: leave, not bring |
I accidentally left my umbrella behind. |
leave out: omit |
Tell me what happened. Don't leave anything out! |
let down: disappoint |
We will let him down if we don't
arrive on time. |
live down: live so that past faults are
forgotten |
This will be hard to live down! |
look up: find (information) |
We looked up the word in a dictionary. |
make up: invent |
She likes to make up stories. |
pass up: not take advantage |
I couldn't pass up such an opportunity. |
pension off: dismiss with a pension |
He was pensioned off at the age of sixty. |
phase in: introduce gradually |
The new program will be phased in over the
next six months. |
phase out: cease gradually |
The practice will gradually be phased out. |
pick up: collect |
You may pick up the papers at the office. |
pin down: get a commitment |
When the guest speaker is pinned down, we
can set a date for the conference. |
play down: de-emphasize |
He played down the importance of the news. |
point out: draw attention to |
She pointed out the advantages of the
proposal. |
polish off: finish |
We polished off the rest of the apple pie. |
pull down: demolish |
Many old buildings are pulled down to make
way for new ones. |
pull off: succeed |
Do you think she can pull off her plan? |
put away: put in proper place |
It is time to put the toys away. |
put back: return to original location |
Please put the book back on the
shelf. |
put off: postpone |
We cannot put off the meeting again. |
reel off: recite a long list |
She reeled off a long list of names. |
rope in: persuade to help |
We roped in everyone we could to help with
the work. |
rub out: erase |
Be sure to rub out all the pencil marks. |
rule out: remove from consideration |
None of the possibilities can be ruled out
yet. |
scale down: reduce |
Because of lack of funds, we had to scale down
our plans. |
sell off: dispose of by selling |
We sold off all the books and furniture. |
set back: delay |
This could set back the project by several
years. |
shout down: stop from speaking by shouting |
The crowd shouted down the speaker. |
shrug off: dismiss as unimportant |
He attempted to shrug off the mistake. |
single out: select from others |
You have been singled out for special
attention. |
size up: assess |
I quickly sized up the situation. |
sort out: organize |
It will take some time to sort out this
mess. |
sound out: talk with to learn the opinion of |
We attempted to sound him out. |
stammer out: stammer |
They stammered out their apologies. |
sum up: summarize |
He summed up the discussion in a few
well-chosen words. |
summon up: gather |
I attempted to summon up my courage. |
take in: absorb |
We tried to take in the new information. |
take out: invite to a restaurant |
May I take you out for supper? |
take over: assume control |
They will take over at the beginning of
June. |
talk over: discuss |
Let us talk it over before we decide. |
tear up: destroy by tearing |
She tore up the letter. |
think over: consider |
I need some time to think it over. |
think up: invent |
What will they think up next? |
track down: search for and find |
We finally tracked him down at the
bookstore. |
trade in: give as part payment |
Why don't you trade in your old vacuum
cleaner for a new one? |
try on: test clothes by putting them on |
I tried on the new suit, but it didn't fit
me. |
try out: test by using |
Would you like to try out my fountain pen? |
turn away: refuse admission |
The event was so popular that many people had to be
turned away. |
turn back: reverse direction |
Every fall the clocks must be turned back by
one hour. |
turn off: deactivate by using a switch |
I turned off the radio. |
turn on: activate by using a switch |
Please turn on the light. |
water down: dilute |
The soup has been watered down. |
wear out: gradually destroy by wearing or
using |
My jacket is wearing out, although it is
only a year old. |
write down: make a note |
I wrote down the instructions. |
write off: cancel, regard as |
They were forced to write off several
irretrievable debts. |
write up: compose in writing |
I used my notes to write up the report. |
How many types of Adjective ?
Adjectives
Adjectives describe or give
information about nouns.
The good news is that the form of
adjectives does not change; it does not matter if the noun being modified is
male or female, singular or plural, subject or object.
Some adjectives give us factual
information about the noun - age, size colour etc (fact adjectives - can't be
argued with). Some adjectives show what somebody thinks about something or
somebody - nice, horrid, beautiful etc (opinion adjectives - not everyone may
agree).
EXERCISE:
1. Yesterday she heard
________________ news. (to surprise)
2. The ______________ tools must be returned by five o'clock. (to rent)
3. The ______________ rabbit stayed perfectly still. (to frighten)
4. We had a ________________ experience. (to frighten)
5. The play is ________________. (to entertain)
ANSWERS:
1. surprising
2. rented 3. frightened 4. frightening 5. entertaining
How many types of Preposition?
Preposition
A preposition
links nouns,
pronouns
and phrases
to other words in a sentence.
The word or phrase that the preposition introduces is called the object
of the preposition.
A preposition usually indicates the
temporal, spatial or logical relationship of its object to the rest of the
sentence as in the following examples:
The book is on the
table.
The book is beneath
the table.
The book is leaning against
the table.
The book is beside
the table.
She held the book over
the table.
She read the book during
class.
In each of the preceding sentences,
a preposition locates the noun "book" in space or in time. A prepositional
phrase is made up of the preposition, its object and any associated adjectives
or adverbs.
A prepositional phrase can function as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. The
most common prepositions are "about," "above,"
"across," "after," "against," "along,"
"among," "around," "at," "before,"
"behind," "below," "beneath," "beside,"
"between," "beyond," "but," "by,"
"despite," "down," "during," "except,"
"for," "from," "in," "inside,"
"into," "like," "near," "of,"
"off," "on," "onto," "out,"
"outside," "over," "past," "since,"
"through," "throughout," "till," "to,"
"toward," "under," "underneath,"
"until," "up," "upon," "with,"
"within," and "without."
Each of the highlighted
words in the following sentences is a preposition:
The children climbed the mountain without
fear.
In this sentence, the preposition
"without" introduces the noun "fear." The prepositional
phrase "without fear" functions as an adverb describing how the
children climbed.
There was rejoicing throughout
the land when the government was defeated.
Here, the preposition
"throughout" introduces the noun
phrase "the land." The prepositional phrase acts as an adverb
describing the location of the rejoicing.
The spider crawled slowly along
the banister.
The preposition "along"
introduces the noun phrase "the banister" and the prepositional
phrase "along the banister" acts as an adverb, describing where the
spider crawled.
The dog is hiding under
the porch because it knows it will be punished for chewing up
a new pair of shoes.
Here the preposition
"under" introduces the prepositional phrase "under the
porch," which acts as an adverb modifying the compound
verb "is hiding."
The screenwriter searched for
the manuscript he was certain was somewhere in his office.
Similarly in this sentence, the
preposition "in" introduces a prepositional phrase "in his
office," which acts as an adverb describing the location of the missing
papers.
How many types of Conjunction ?
Conjunction
You can use a conjunction
to link words, phrases,
and clauses,
as in the following example:
I ate the pizza and
the pasta.
Call the movers when
you are ready.
Coordinating
Conjunctions
You use a coordinating conjunction
("and," "but," "or," "nor,"
"for," "so," or "yet") to join individual words,
phrases, and independent
clauses. Note that you can also use the conjunctions "but" and
"for" as prepositions.
In the following sentences,
each of the highlighted words is a coordinating conjunction:
Lilacs and violets
are usually purple.
In this example, the coordinating
conjunction "and" links two nouns.
This movie is particularly
interesting to feminist film theorists, for the screenplay was
written by Mae West.
In this example, the coordinating
conjunction "for" is used to link two independent clauses.
Daniel's uncle claimed that he
spent most of his youth dancing on rooftops and swallowing
goldfish.
Here the coordinating conjunction
"and" links two participle
phrases ("dancing on rooftops" and "swallowing
goldfish") which act as adverbs
describing the verb
"spends."
Subordinating
Conjunctions
A subordinating conjunction
introduces a dependent
clause and indicates the nature of the relationship among the independent
clause(s) and the dependent clause(s).
The most common subordinating
conjunctions are "after," "although," "as,"
"because," "before," "how," "if,"
"once," "since," "than," "that," "though,"
"till," "until," "when," "where,"
"whether," and "while."
Each of the highlighted
words in the following sentences is a subordinating conjunction:
After she had
learned to drive,
The subordinating conjunction
"after" introduces the dependent clause "After she had learned
to drive."
If the paperwork
arrives on time, your cheque will be mailed on Tuesday.
Similarly, the subordinating
conjunction "if" introduces the dependent clause "If the
paperwork arrives on time."
Gerald had to begin his thesis over
again when his computer crashed.
The subordinating conjunction
"when" introduces the dependent clause "when his computer
crashed."
Midwifery advocates argue that home
births are safer because the mother and baby are exposed to
fewer people and fewer germs.
In this sentence, the dependent
clause "because the mother and baby are exposed to fewer people and fewer
germs" is introduced by the subordinating conjunction "because."
Correlative
Conjunctions
Correlative
conjunctions always appear in pairs -- you use them to link
equivalent sentence elements. The most common correlative conjunctions are
"both...and," "either...or," "neither...nor,",
"not only...but also," "so...as," and
"whether...or." (Technically correlative conjunctions consist simply
of a coordinating conjunction linked to an adjective
or adverb.)
The highlighted
words in the following sentences are correlative conjunctions:
Both my
grandfather and my father worked in the steel plant.
In this sentence, the correlative
conjunction "both...and" is used to link the two noun
phrases that act as the compound
subject of the sentence: "my grandfather" and "my
father".
Bring either a
Jello salad or a potato scallop.
Here the correlative conjunction
"either...or" links two noun phrases: "a Jello salad" and
"a potato scallop."
Corinne is trying to decide whether
to go to medical school or to go to law school.
Similarly, the correlative
conjunction "whether ... or" links the two infinitive
phrases "to go to medical school" and "to go to law
school."
The explosion destroyed not
only the school but also the neighboring pub.
In this example the correlative
conjunction "not only ... but also" links the two noun phrases
("the school" and "neighboring pub") which act as direct
objects.
Thank you
so much
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