This book was prepared in the English Discipline of the Flinders University of
South Australia and printed by Flinders Press.
©1990 Graham Tulloch
FURTHER READING
This is intended as a basic and simple guide to English grammar. For a more
detailed introduction with exercises see J.R. Bernard's excellent book A Short
Guide to Traditional English Grammar (Sydney: Sydney University Press, l975) to
which I am much indebted. For a longer study read Randolph Quirk and
Sidney Greenbaum, A University Grammar of English (London: Longman, 1973)
and for a very detailed, very complex (and very expensive) treatment of the
subject see Randolph Quirk, Sidney Greenbaum, Geoffrey Leech and Jan
Svartik, A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language (London: Longman,
1985).
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PARTS OF A WORD
A word can be divided into its STEM (the basic part of the word containing its
meaning) and its INFLECTIONS (the endings added to indicate such things as
that a noun is PLURAL or a verb is in the past tense).
Examples: Stem: dog
walk
Inflections: s in dogs
ed in walked
PARTS OF A SENTENCE
SUBJECT
The subject is the person, thing or topic which the sentence deals with. To
discover the subject, ask who or what before the verb, e.g. in the sentence The
house stands on the hill, what stands on the hill? Answer: the house.
Examples: The house stands on the hill.
It overlooks the plain.
PREDICATE
The predicate is all of the sentence except the subject.
Examples: The house stands on the hill.
It overlooks the plain.
OBJECT
The object is the person, thing or topic upon which the subject carries out the
action of the verb. To discover the object, ask who or what after the verb, e.g.
the house overlooks what? Answer: the plain.
Examples: The house overlooks the plain.
I see him clearly.
He watches himself carefully.
In some cases a whole clause can act as object.
Example: He said that the Green Knight was really orange.
Sometimes we apparently have two objects. Where one of these can
alternatively be expressed by placing to before it, it is called the indirect object.
For example, instead of He gave me the book we can say He gave the book to
me. Here the book is the direct object and me the indirect object .
COMPLEMENT
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After the verb to be there is no object since the noun which follows refers to the
same thing as that which precedes the verb (the subject). The noun following
the verb to be is called the complement.
Examples: I am a man.
This is the question.
CLAUSE
There are two kinds of clauses: principal (or main) clauses, and subordinate (or
dependent) clauses.
Principal Clauses
A group of words which includes a subject and a finite verb and makes a
complete statement.
Examples: I am a man.
The house stands on the hill.
When I come home, I will let the cat in.
The following are not principal clauses because they do not make a complete
statement which can stand by itself:
Which is a problem
That the house is standing on the hill
When I come home
The house which stands on the hill
Subordinate Clause
A group of words which includes a finite or non-finite verb but does not make
a statement which stands by itself.
Examples: As soon as the Green Knight entered the room all were
astounded.
He said that the Green Knight was really orange.
The house, which stands on the hill, is empty.
Subordinate clauses can be classified according to their function:
Adverbial Clause
Example: As soon as the Green Knight entered the room, all were
astounded.
In this sentence the clause fulfills the same function as an adverb such as
immediately in the sentence immediately all were astounded.
Noun Clause
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Example: He said that the Green Knight was really orange.
The clause fulfills the same function as a noun such as the words in He said the
words.
Relative Clause
Example: The house, which stands on the hill, is empty.
Relative clauses are adjectival in nature. The clause fulfills the same role as an
adjective such as high-placed in the sentence The high-placed house is empty.
Clauses can also be classified by whether they contain a finite verb.
Finite Clause
A finite clause contains a finite verb and, usually, a subject. It can be a principal
clause or a subordinate clause.
Examples: They say nice things about you. (principal clause)
When they say nice things about you they are not lying.
(subordinate clause)
Non-Finite Clause
A non-finite clause contains a non-finite verb but does not contain a finite verb
and cannot stand alone. A non-finite clause cannot be a principal clause. Nonfinite
verbs include participles and infinitives .
Examples: Singing and dancing, he moved slowly up the aisle.
He gave me an invitation to bring you to the party.
Having eaten all the cakes, he began to consume the biscuits.
Filled with joy, he left the room.
PHRASE
A phrase is group of words without a verb.
Examples: It is on the hill.
He went over the sea.
PARTS OF SPEECH
Examples:
house noun
The house article + noun
The house stands article + noun + verb
The house stands firmly article + noun + verb + adverb
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The house stands firmly on the hill article + noun + verb + adverb
preposition + article + noun
The empty house stands on the hill article + adjective + verb + adverb +
preposition + article + noun
It stands on the hill pronoun + verb + preposition + article
+ noun
Since it stands on the hill it overlooks
the plain
conjunction + pronoun + verb +
preposition + article + noun +
pronoun + verb + article + noun
NOUN
Nouns can be thought of as 'names'; they denote things, people, abstract ideas.
Examples: The house is old.
A king was here.
Virtue is its own reward.
Accidents will happen.
ARTICLE
The articles are: the, a, an. The is called the definite article; a (and an) is called
the indefinite article.
VERB
A verb is a "doing word". It expresses the carrying out of an action. With an
active verb this action is carried out by the subject.
Examples: It stands.
I am.
He adjudicates between the parties concerned.
Alfred burnt the cakes.
With a passive verb the action is carried out upon the subject:
Examples: The cakes were burnt by Alfred.
The Bible is read in many languages.
Verbs have various qualities:
Tense
This is the feature of the verb indicating when the action took place
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Examples: Present tense: It stands
Past Tense: It stood
Future Tense: It will stand
Aspect
This is the feature of the verb which indicates whether the action is was or will
be a completed one or a continuous one. If the verb is unmarked as to whether
it is completed, 'perfect' or continuous, 'progressive', it is called simple. Hence
we can draw up the following scheme:
Simple Present: It stands
Simple Past: It stood
Simple Future: It will stand
Present Perfect: It has stood
Past Perfect: It had stood
Future Perfect: It will have stood
Present Progressive: It is standing
Past Progressive: It was standing
Future Progressive It will be standing
The present perfect is often know simply as the perfect and the past perfect is
sometimes called the pluperfect .
Voice
In English we have the active and the passive voice. In the active voice the
subject carries out the action of the verb; in the passive the action of the verb is
carried out upon the subject.
Examples: Active: I place
Passive: I am placed
A full complement of passive verbs exists in English. The passive is formed
with the appropriate tense of the verb to be and the past participle.
Examples: Present Progressive Passive: I am being placed
Past Perfect Passive: I had been placed
Future Perfect Passive: I will be placed
Mood
There are three moods in English.
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1. Indicative:
The indicative mood is the normal one in present-day English (PE):
Example: I was going to the pictures
2. Subjunctive:
The subjunctive mood is much rarer in PE; it expresses a hypothetical action.
Examples: If I were going to the pictures.
I wish I were going to the pictures.
3. Imperative:
The imperative mood expresses an order.
Example: Go to the pictures.
Finite and Non-Finite Verbs
Verbs are either finite or non-finite. Non-finite verbs do not include any
indication of tense. One kind of non-finite verb is the infinitive. The infinitive
is the basic form of the verb. It is often combined with to as in I am going to
stand here. However the infinitive is not always preceded by to: in the sentence
I will stand the infinitive is stand. Combined with will the infinitive stand
makes the finite (future tense) verb will stand. Other non-finite parts of the
verb are the participles. The present participle is the form of the verb used in
constructions like:
I am going.
He is combing his hair.
They are developing rapidly.
The same form of the verb can also be used as a noun (in which case it is called
a gerund or verbal noun:
Examples: Developing is not easy.
Walking is pleasant in the summer.
or as an adjective (in which case it is called a gerundive or verbal adjective:
Examples: The third world is made up of the developing countries.
She is a growing child.
The past participle is used in constructions like:
I have walked.
She has grown.
It has developed into a major argument.
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This form is often the same in PE as the past tense (cf. I walked) but not always
(cf. I grew). This also appears as an adjective:
A grown man
ADVERB
An adverb modifies a verb; it indicates how the action of a verb is carried out.
Examples: The house stands firmly.
She speaks well.
He dresses beautifully.
It can also modify an adjective or another adverb.
The house is very firm.
She answered most considerately.
PREPOSITION
A preposition connects a noun (with or without an article) or a pronoun to
some other word. Prepositions are the "little words of English".
Examples: It stands on hills.
The swagman jumped into the billabong.
England is over the sea.
She told the good news to him.
ADJECTIVE
An adjective qualifies a noun; it describes the attributes of a noun.
Examples: The house stands on the high hill.
Precious purple prose provokes profound professors.
PRONOUN
Pronouns take the place of nouns.
Examples: It stands on the hill.
I see myself.
The house which stands on the hill overlooks the plain.
That stands on the hill.
What stands on the hill?
There are a number of different kinds of pronouns:
Personal Pronouns
These are divided into "persons" as follows:
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Singular Plural
First person I we
Second person you (thou) you
Third person he, she, it they
The personal pronouns also include the reflexive and emphatic pronouns.
These are the same in form but different in function. They are myself, himself,
themselves etc.
Examples: Reflexive: I see myself.
People help themselves.
Emphatic: I think myself that it is wrong.
They themselves want to stay on.
Relative Pronouns
The relative pronouns are as follows:
People Things
Subject who, that which, that
Object whom, that which, that
Possessive whose whose
These are used in relative clauses such as:
Examples: This is the man who saw me.
This is the man whom I saw.
This s the man whose house I saw.
This is the man that I saw.
This is the house that Jack built.
Demonstrative Pronouns
These are: This these
That those
Examples: This is the house.
That is the question.
They are also used as demonstrative adjectives:
Examples: This man is green.
That house is red.
Interrogative Pronouns
These are used in questions:
People Things
Subject who what, which
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Object whom, who what, which
Possessive whose
Examples: Who(m) did you see?
Who is that man?
Which is the right way?
Who(m) did you speak to?
What and which can be also used as interrogative adjectives in which case they
can be applied to people.
Examples: Which house stands on the hill?
Which Prime Minister was drowned?
What sweet do you recommend?
CONJUNCTIONS
Some conjunctions are coordinating (i.e. joining elements of the same kind) like
and or but.
Examples: It stands on the hill and overlooks the plain.
I say this but she says that.
Other conjunctions are subordinating (i.e. joining a subordinate clause to a
main clause) like when because, since, as.
Examples: Since it stands on the hill it overlooks the plain.
Although I say this she says that.
When Gawain saw the Green Knight he did not show that he
was afraid.
