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Basic English Grammar Rules
Basic English Grammar Rules
child children
woman women
man men
mouse mice
goose geese
[Quiz 1.1]
Choose the correct form of the noun in each sentence.
1)I have three (child, children).
2)There are five (man, men) and one (woman, women).
3)(Baby, Babies) play with bottles as toys.
4)I put two big (potato, potatoes) in the lunch box.
5)A few men wear (watch, watches).
6)I put a (memo, memos) on the desk.
7)I saw a (mouse, mice) running by.
8)There are few (bus, buses) on the road today.
Count Nouns vs. Mass Nouns
Count nouns
Can be counted as one or more.
Example:
pen, computer, bottle, spoon, desk, cup, television, chair, shoe, finger, flower, camera, stick, balloon, book, table, comb, etc.
Take an s to form the plural.
pens, computers, bottles, spoons, desks, cups, televisions, chairs, shoes, fingers, flowers, cameras, sticks, balloons, books, tables,
combs, etc.
Work with expressions such as (a few, few, many, some, every, each, these, and the number of).
a few pens, a few computers, many bottles, some spoons, every desk, each cup, these televisions, the number of chairs, a few
shoes, a few fingers, many flowers, some cameras, every stick, each balloon, these books, the number of tables, many combs, etc.
Work with appropriate articles (a, an, or the).
a pen, the computer, a bottle, the spoon, a desk, the cup, a television, the chair, a shoe, the finger, a flower, the camera, a stick, the
balloon, a book, the table, a comb, etc.
Do NOT work with much (for example, you would never say much pens or much computers).
Mass nouns
Cannot be counted. They usually express a group or a type.
Example:
water, wood, ice, air, oxygen, English, Spanish, traffic, furniture, milk, wine, sugar, rice, meat, flour, soccer, sunshine, etc.
Generally cannot be pluralized.
Work both with and without an article (a, an, or the),
depending on the context of the sentence.
Example:
Sugar is sweet.
The sunshine is beautiful.
I drink milk.
He eats rice.
We watch soccer together.
The wood is burning.
Work with expressions such as (some, any, enough, this,
that, and much).
Example:
Pronouns
Personal Pronouns
I go to school.
He works here.
I drank it.
It is big.
Third
First
Second
Male
Female
Neutral
Singular Subject
you
he
she
it
Singular Object
me
you
him
her
it
Singular Reflexive
myself
yourself
himself
herself
itself
Plural Subject
we
you
they
Plural Object
us
you
them
Plural Reflexive
ourselves
yourselves
themselves
Possessive Cases: My, mine, his, her, hers, its, our, ours, their, theirs, your, yours, whose
Example:
That is MY bag.
[Quiz 4.1]
Write the correct pronoun in each blank.
1)I ate an apple.
was delicious.
2)You look tired.
should rest.
3)She is a teacher. I gave
a book.
4)They are my friends. I like
very much.
5)He saw the movie.
was fun.
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.
Examples:
Indefinite pronouns are only pronouns if they are used ALONE. If they are used with a noun, they become
indefinite adjectives.
If the subject performs actions TO or FOR itself, the action in the sentence passes BACK to the subject and becomes a reflexive
pronoun.
Intensive Pronouns are used to point back to the noun or pronoun for emphasis
The intensive pronoun does not always need to directly follow the noun.
Interrogative Pronouns
Which bagger has them?
These are used to ask questions and can be personal or
Whose bags are these?
non-personal
Personal subject: Who/Whoever
Demonstrative Pronouns
Personal object: Whom/Whomever
These substitute specific nouns, usually when someone is
Personal possessive: Whose
gesturing toward something.
Non-personal subject: Which
Singular: This/That
Non-personal subject: What
Plural: These/Those
Example:
Example: These are for her.
Who has the bags?
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.
'Be' Verbs
A verb shows action or a state of being.
I go home. Home is my place to rest. I like the smell of my house. I feel totally relaxed. Home refreshes me. At home, I get ready for
a new day.
"Be" verbs indicate a state of being.
Verbs must match subjects.
I am a doctor.
He is sleepy.
We are here.
Negative sentences need not' after the verb.
I am not a doctor.
He is not sleepy.
Am I a doctor?
Is he sleepy?
Are we there?
"Are not" (is not) can be shortened to "aren't" (isn't).
He isn't sleepy.
We aren't there.
Present
Negative
Interrogative
I am
I am not
Am I?
You are
Are you?
He is
He is not (isn't)
Is he?
She is
Is she?
It is
It is not (isn't)
Isn't it?
We are
Are we?
You are
Are you?
They are
Are they?
[Quiz 5.1]
Which of the following sentences are written correctly?
1)I am thirsty.
2)You are kind.
3)He am not sad.
4)She are not tall.
5)It is not moving.
6)We aren't tired.
7)Is they running?
8)Are you ready?
Action Verbs
Action verbs express action and are the most common verbs.
Action verbs need s at the end with third-person, singular subjects.
He eats bread.
Affirmative Sentence
Negative Sentence
Interrogative Sentence
I sing a song.
Do I sing a song?
We sing a song.
Do we sing a song?
[Quiz 6.1]
Correct the verb errors in the sentences below. Some sentences may be correct as is.
1)I runs a marathon.
2)You look sleepy.
Adjectives
Adjectives describe or modify nouns.
I like fairy tales. A fairy tale is an imaginary story that has unrealistic characters in a fantastic background. It makes me forget about
the real world and refreshes my tired mind.
Adjectives generally appear immediately before the noun.
A pretty girl
Red flowers
A long stick
Heavy boxes
Warm weather
Commonly, adjectives of opposite meaning are formed by adding a prefix such asun, in, or dis.
clear unclear, important unimportant, predictable unpredictable, believable unbelievable, common uncommon,
aware unaware, ambiguous unambiguous, conventional unconventional, certain uncertain
definite indefinite, correct incorrect, comparable incomparable, complete incomplete, evitable inevitable,
expensive inexpensive
the old, the young, the poor, the rich, the oppressed, the homeless, etc.
[Quiz 7.1]
Write opposite adjectives using the appropriate prefix.
1) Clear
2) Definite
3) Correct
4) Expensive
5) Complete
[Quiz 7.2]
Underline all adjectives in the following sentences.
In the spring, red roses blossom in my cute small garden. The beautiful birds also sing in the big oak tree.
She likes him more than me.
Superlatives are typically accompanied by the word the.
[Quiz 8.1]
Write the appropriate comparative or superlative form of the word cold in each blank.
Yesterday was a cold day. Today is
[Quiz 8.2]
Which of the following sentences is incorrect?
1)Mary is shorter than Jane.
2)The moon is more closer to the earth than the sun.
3)I have the best score on the exam.
[Quiz 8.3]
Fill in the blanks.
1)My friend has a pretty purse, but I have a
one.
2)The
weather is yet to come!
3)Today's sunshine is
beautiful than yesterday's.
Adverbs
Adverbs modify a verb, an adjective, or another adverb.
An adverb tells more about a verb in the sentence.
It rained hard.
An adverb describes more about an adjective in the sentence.
day yet.
slow slowly
quick quickly
comfortable comfortably
loud loudly
clear clearly
To change adjectives ending in 'y' into adverbs, change the 'y' to 'i' and add 'ly'.
happy happily
easy easily
[Quiz 9.1]
Choose the correct word form in the following sentences.
1)I spoke to you (careful, carefully) last time.
2)We talked about it (clear, clearly).
3)I sat on the (comfortable, comfortably) sofa.
4)My dog runs very (fast, faster).
5)Lets install the new program (quick, quickly).
Simple Tense
Verb tense tells you when the action happens. There are three main verb tenses: present, past, and future. Each main tense is
divided into simple, progressive, perfect, and perfect progressive tenses.
Present
Past
Future
Simple
finish
finished
will finish
Progressive
am/is/are finishing
was/were finishing
will be finishing
Perfect
have/has finished
had finished
Perfect Progressive
eat
see
know
I know it.
learn
I learn English.
cook
[Quiz 10.1]
Fill in the blanks with appropriate verb forms.
1)I
2)He
3)I
eat
learn
cook
learn
I will have run a marathon by the time I turn 30. (future perfect)
know
I will have learned a lot about English grammar when I finish college.
cook
I will have cooked supper every night by the time this diet ends.
[Quiz 11.1]
Using the following sentence and create three more sentences using the present, past, and future progressive tenses.
I sing a song on the big stage.
[Quiz 11.2]
Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verb given.
1)He
2)I
She has been practicing the piano, and she is much better now.
The past perfect progressive tense illustrates a continuous action in the past that was completed before another past action.
Use had + been + ing.
She had been practicing the piano, and she had gotten much better.
The future perfect progressive tense indicates a continuous action that will be completed in the future. Use will + have + been + ing.
By tonight, it will have been raining several hours, and the street will be very wet.
By next summer, I will have been running for almost a year, and I will be fit and healthy.
By the time of the concert, she will have been practicing the piano for several months, and she will be much better.
[Quiz 12.1]
Choose the incorrect sentence from the following.
1)I have been sleeping all day today.
2)They will have been walking for almost an hour by the time they arrive at their destination.
3)She have been eating a lot recently.
Irregular Verbs
Regular verbs form their past and past participle by adding ed (d).
Base Verb
Past
Past Participle
learn
learned
learned
study
studied
studied
cook
cooked
cooked
solve
solved
solved
ask
asked
asked
watch
watched
watched
listen
listened
listened
Irregular verbs do not have definite rules, but there are a few patterns.
Base Verb
Past
Past Participle
grow
grew
grown
know
knew
known
begin
began
begun
draw
drew
drawn
drive
drove
driven
fly
flew
flown
give
gave
given
speak
spoke
spoken
swim
swam
swum
go
went
gone
take
took
taken
find
found
found
spend
spent
spent
teach
taught
taught
pay
paid
paid
feel
felt
felt
buy
bought
bought
meet
met
met
have
had
had
feed
fed
fed
keep
kept
kept
cut
cut
cut
hit
hit
hit
set
set
set
shut
shut
shut
fit
fit
fit
[Quiz 13.1]
Find the past and past participle forms of the following verbs using your dictionary:
bring
drink
think
tell
eat
make
beat
Gerunds
A gerund (verb + ing) acts like a noun in a sentence.
Seeing is believing.
My hobby is painting.
[Quiz 14.1]
Fill in the blanks.
1)I enjoy
(draw) as a hobby.
2)She likes
(buy) clothes.
3)Children are fond of
(play) with water.
4)
(dance) is my favorite thing to do.
5)I am upset at his
(break) the rule.
Infinitives Part 1
An infinitive is a verb combined with the word to. Most often, an infinitive acts as a noun in the sentence. Less frequently, it acts as
an adjective or an adverb.
You need to definitely explain your reasoning in detail.
[Quiz 15.1]
Fill in the blanks.
1)I am going
2)It is common
3)Did you come
(learn) English.
(make) a grammar mistake.
(clean) my house?
Infinitives Part 2
Commonly, an infinitive is used with the subject it. The sentence structure is "It is
This expression is used in many ways.
It is time to do math.
I stopped to watch the movie. (I stopped what I was doing to watch the movie.)
[Quiz 16.1]
Fill in the blanks.
1)I decided
(leave) the job.
2)She pretended
(know) me.
3)He desires
(be) a professor.
4)The company considered
(sell) its main building.
5)I expect
(win) at this game.