CONTEMPORARY

ENGLISH GRAMMAR
STRUCTURES AND
COMPOSITION
 CONTEMPORARY
ENGLISH GRAMMAR
STRUCTURES AND
COMPOSITION

By
David Green
B.A. (London)

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CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR STRUCTURES AND COMPOSITION

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 Preface

This book has been written to meet the widespread demand for a
modern approach to English Grammar and Composition. It represents a
synthesis of the traditional and the structural methods of teaching English
Grammar. These two methods are, of course, not mutually exclusive, but
complementary. While the structural method will drill into the student
the linguistic skills necessary for using certain patterns of expression, a
systematic study of the fundamentals of Grammar will help to co-ordinate
such skills, and give a comprehensive grasp of modern English usage.
Part I of the book contains a study of the various parts of speech,
both from the theoretical and functional points of view. Whereas Part II
is concerned with the structure of the sentence, its analysis and synthesis,
Part III comprises four chapters dealing with verb patterns and basic
structures. Most of the important sentence patterns—both literary and
conversational—have been presented in this section in a simple and
analytical manner. With a little practice, the student should easily be able
to acquire adequate skill to use these structures in his own conversation
and writing.
Part IV deals with Vocabulary—Word-Formation, Synonyms and
Antonyms, Words often Confused, One-Word Substitutes, etc.—and
Composition, which includes Paragraph Structure, Letter-Writing,
Expansion, Précis-Writing, Essay-Writing, Paraphrasing and Writing
Stories from Outlines.
The book carries 161 exercises covering all the main elements of
Grammar, Structures and Composition. These carefully framed exercises
will, no doubt, be found most useful for classroom work.
It is hoped that in view of its special features, Contemporary English
Grammar, Structures and Composition will serve as a textbook for Higher
Secondary and College classes throughout the country.
 Contents

Part I. Grammar and Usage

1. The Sentence 3
2. Parts of Speech 8
3. Nouns-I 12
4. Nouns-II 17
5. Adjectives 25
6. Comparison of Adjectives 30
7. Articles 39
8. Pronouns 45
9. Demonstrative, Indefinite, Interrogative, Distributive
and Reciprocal Pronouns 54
10. Relative Pronouns 60
11. Verbs 66
12. Verbs—Mood and Tense 74
13. Concord or Agreement of the Verb with the Subject 85
14. Non-Finite Verbs 90
15. Strong and Weak Verbs 101
16. The Auxiliaries 113
17. Modal Auxiliaries 119
18. Anomalous Finites 134
19. Adverbs 142
20. Prepositions 151
21. Conjunctions 158
22. Interjections 168

Part II. Sentence Structure

23. Simple, Compound, Complex and
Compound-Complex Sentences 171
24. Analysis of Simple Sentences 174
25. Clauses 182
26. Analysis of Complex Sentences 193
27. Analysis of Compound Sentences and
Compound-Complex Sentences 197
28. Synthesis of Sentences 202
29. Transformation of Sentences-I 210
30. Transformation of Sentences-II 218
31. Sequence of Tenses and Direct and Indirect Speech 225
32. Punctuation and Capitals 233

Part III. Structures, Literary and Conversational

33. Verb Patterns and Structures-I 243
34. Verb Patterns and Structures-II 254
35. Verb Patterns and Structures-III 265
36. Verb Patterns and Structures (Mainly Conversational) 281

Part IV. Vocabulary and Composition

37. Word-Formation—The Use of Prefixes 295
38. Word-Formation—The Use of Suffixes 299
39. Word-Formation—Compound Words 305
40. Synonyms and Antonyms 308
41. One-Word Substitutes for Phrases and Clauses 316
42. Words Often Confused 323
43. Words with Appropriate Prepositions 331
44. Paragraph-Writing 341
45. Letter-Writing 346
46. Précis-Writing 360
47. Expansion of Passages 367
48. Essay-Writing 372
49. Paraphrasing 380
50. Writing Stories from Outlines 388
 Part I
Grammar and Usage
 1
The Sentence

Look at the following groups of words:

1. Birds fly in the air.
2. Read this book carefully.
3. How cold it is today!
4. What is his name?
You will notice that each of these four groups means something definite
and each makes complete sense. Each is a complete sentence. A Sentence
may be defined as a group of words which makes complete sense.

KINDS OF SENTENCES
There are four different kinds of sentences. Examine the following:
1. He is a good cricketer.
2. His name is Amarnath.
3. Amarnath comes from East Punjab.
These three sentences are simple statements of fact. They state or
assert or declare something and, therefore, they are called Assertive or
Declarative Sentences.
Now, read these sentences:
1. Shut the door.
2. Please, get me a glass of water.
3. May God bless you!

3
4 CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH GRAMMAR STRUCTURES AND COMPOSITION

You will notice that the first is a command, the second is a request,
and the third expresses a wish. A sentence which expresses a command, a
request or a wish is called an Imperative Sentence.
Now, look at the following sentences:
1. What a fool he is!
2. How generous of you to have helped him like that!
3. What a pity you couldn’t come!
These sentences express a strong and sudden feeling: of amuse­ment or
anger in the first sentence, of appreciation and grati­tude in the second, and
of sorrow and sympathy in the third. A sentence which expresses such a
sudden, strong feeling is called an Exclamatory Sentence. An Exclamation
Mark (!) should always be put at the end of such a sentence.
Here are a few sentences of a different type:
1. Have you done your homework?
2. Where do you propose to go in the summer holidays?
3. Did you not hear the bell?
As you can see, all these are questions. A sentence which asks a
question is called an Interrogative Sentence. It should be followed by a
question mark (?).
All sentences should begin with a Capital Letter and end with a Full
Stop an Exclamation Mark or a Question Mark, according to the type to
which they belong.

Exercise 1
Build up sentences with the words in the substitution tables given below,
taking one word from each column.
1.
you done your homework?
Have they seen their picture?
Has I heard my song?
he his
2.
charming water
wonderful picture is!
cold girl the looks!
How
pretty view appears!
grand party
warm weather
THE SENTENCE 5

Subject and Predicate

A sentence has two main parts—the Subject and the Predi­cate. The Subject
must contain a Noun or a Pronoun and the Predicate must contain a Verb.
Look at this sentence:
The sun set behind the western hills.
The first part of the sentence, ‘The sun’ names the thing about which
something is said. The second part—‘set behind the western hills’—tells
something about ‘the sun’. The naming part is called the Subject and the
telling part is called the Predi­cate. Usually the Subject of the sentence
comes first and the Predicate follows.
Sentences can be divided into Subject and Predicate in the following
manner:

Subject Predicate
1. The river flowed swiftly.
2. Mahatma Gandhi taught Truth and Non-Violence.
3. Two American astronauts landed on the moon.
4. The peaks of the Himalayas are covered with snow.
5. The Shah of Iran visited India recently.

Sometimes the subject may be in the middle of the sentence or at the

end, as in the following sentences:
1. How are the mighty fallen!
2. After the dinner came the dance.
3. Beyond the valley was a row of hills.
4. Gone are all those golden dreams.
In Imperative Sentences the Subject is usually omitted; Open your
books. (This means ‘You open your books.’ The subject you is understood
and not expressed.)
Thank you. (This means ‘I thank you.’)
Help me, please. (‘You help me, please.’)
 Contemporary English Grammar
Structures and Composition

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