Paul Bakker
comma ,
[UK]
[UK]
[US]
[UK]
[US]
(comma)
defining
(adjectival)
(adjectival)
(adverbial)
(adjectival)
(adjectival)
Insert the disk into the drive, with the letters on top.
the disk has the letters on top
(adverbial)
(adjectival)
Insert the disk into the drive, with the letters on top.
the disk has the letters on top
(adverbial)
Insert the disk into the drive, such that the letters on
the disk are uppermost.
sentences . . .
a group of words which makes sense
a word or set of words followed by a pause and
revealing an intelligible purpose
a combination of words that contains at least one
subject and one predicate
such a portion of a composition or utterance as
extends from one full stop to another
a sentence should be complete in thought and
complete in construction
types of sentences
irregular, fragmentary, minor sentences
Why? Goal! Indeed.
regular, major sentences one thought expressed
grammatically . . .
declarative sentence
The man walked down the road.
interrogative sentences Why cant you help me?
imperative sentence Get on with your homework.
exclamatory sentence You never help in this house!
Nouns
noun is a name of anything
places Newcastle, road, University
objects spoon, car, plant
persons Obama, Putin, Bert
animals horse, mouse, cat
concepts love, skill, thought
proper nouns Philips, Robert, Japan
common nouns hat, garden, film
gender of nouns . . .
masculine man, bull, stallion
feminine girl, cow, ship
neuter shirt, clock, cup
Pronouns
versatile substitutes for nouns
can cause no end of problems
personal pronouns . . .
first person I, me, we, us, myself, ourselves
second person you, yourself, yourselves
third person he, she, him, her, it, they, them,
themselves, itself
possessive pronouns . . .
ending in -self or -selves
themselves, myself, herself
demonstrative pronouns . . .
demonstrating something or indicating something
this, that, these, those, them
interrogative pronouns . . .
used in asking questions
who, what, which, whom, whose
question mark must be used
relative pronouns . . .
that, which, who, whom, whose
used to introduce relative clauses It was Bill who
spoke to me first.
indefinite pronouns . . .
all have to do with amounts ranging from nothing to
everything all, any, every, each, some, one, both,
either, neither, few, little, less, least, many, everyone,
someone, no one, something, anybody, more, most
no one is the only two-word pronoun
little, less, much modify uncountable nouns
each, one, either, neither, someone, no one,
something, anybody are all singular
avoid starting a paragraph with a pronoun,
unless the context is obvious.
Verbs
verbs express action, or indicate a state or condition:
action Fred is moving away
state I adore Newcastle Brown
verbs have tense, so can help to express events in a
time context . . .
past they were arrested
present they are unemployed
future they will swim
present perfect they have been arrested
verbs tenses
simple present
present progressive
present perfect
present perfect progressive
simple past
past progressive
past perfect
past perfect progressive
future tense
future progressive
future perfect
future perfect progressive
simple present . . .
used to express a general truth, to make an
observation, or to describe a habitual activity
a rolling stone gathers no moss
Toms stories depress me
my father goes to London every week
with a time expression, the simple present can be
used to refer to a scheduled future event.
the show begins in five minutes
also is used to express a scientific fact or law
water boils at 100 C
present progressive . . .
formed with the auxiliary verb am, are, or is and the
present participle (-ing form) of a main verb used to
indicate action occurring at the present time
Bob is preparing for the GMAT exam
with an appropriate time expression, the present
progressive can be used to announce future events
A new supermarket is opening next week
stative verbs, do not have any progressive tenses,
including know, believe, need, consist, and exist
I am wanting a new computer
present perfect . . .
formed with the auxiliary verb have or has and the
past participle of a main verb
indicates action that began in the past and either is
continuing or has continuing effects in the present
many people have expressed concern about
environmental pollution from the airport
present perfect implies duration of past action
simple past tense expresses completed past action
do you really need it?
simple past . . .
used to describe actions or conditions that occurred
or applied entirely in the past.
Frank Whittle invented the jet engine
in 1963, the European Economic Community only
had six member states
past progressive . . .
formed by combining the auxiliary verb was or were
with the present participle of a main verb
describes action continuing over a period of time
but in the past
often used to set the stage for another action of
shorter duration.
he was cutting the grass when the phone rang
past perfect . . .
combining the auxiliary verb had with the past
participle of a main verb
used to describe a past action that preceded another
past action
Angela had thought of volunteering for the scheme,
but then she fell ill
similar to the past perfect tense but puts more
emphasis on the continuing or sometimes repetitive
nature of the past action
future tense . . .
expresses actions or conditions that will occur in the
future consists of the modal auxiliary verb will and the
base form of a main verb
Peter will be a half hour late
in colloquial English, future conditions are often
expressed using the modal auxiliary is going to
instead of will
Peter is going to be a half hour late
avoid this usage in scientific and technical
communication
future progressive . . .
combining will be with the present participle
of a main verb
expresses action that will be continuing or repeated in
the future
right now our daughter is working in a shop, but next
year she will be going to college
future perfect . . .
consists of will have and the past participle
of a main verb
used to describe an action that will occur in the future
but before some specified time
by the end of this year, gun crime will have taken the
lives of more than 200 Black British teenagers
Auxiliary verbs . . .
primary auxiliaries
to be, to do, to have
modal auxiliaries
can/could, may/might, must, shall/should, will/would
whether something is possible
whether something is permissible
predictive / deductive
so-called fringe modals
ought, used, dared, need
Adjectives
define and modify nouns only
high roof, wet weekend, blue car
describing size his car was enormous
describing colour her car is red
describing a quality his jumper is soft
describing quantity the tank held seven litres
defining specificity I like her French perfume
order for adjectives in a sentence
quantity-emotive-size-age-colour/texture-specificity-purpose
five beautiful big new Japanese motorbikes
Adverbs
adverbs can qualify verbs, adjectives or
other adverbs
defining manner [end]
they ran quickly
denoting place [towards end]
they can sit over there
fixing time [towards end]
we can go there afterwards
expressing gradation or degree [middle]
I never eat enough fresh fruit
Determiners
definite article the
possessive my, his, hers, theirs
possessive proper Pauls, Marys
demonstrative that, this
number one, two, three . . .
indefinite article a, an
quantifier every, most, some
exclamatory what, such
interrogative what? whose?
Conjunctions
linking parts of a sentence together
simple linking and, with
time before, after, until, since, as, while
place where, wherever
cause since, as, because, for
condition if, although, unless, or
comparison as, than, like
Prepositions
relating verbs to nouns, pronouns and noun-phrases
relate one part of a sentence to another; not just
about providing a link
We went to the town. She bathed at dusk.
some common prepositions
space between, above, over, into, near, beside
time until, since, past, before, after, at, during
others as, for, in, to, but, by, with, without
.x
x
on (to)
on
position
(away)
from
away
from
x
off
off
out of
out of
.
in (to)
in
.
positive
.
negative
a point
at
destination
a line or surface
to
position
an area or volume
destination
referring to
Prepositional meanings
Readability
predicting on the basis of surface features how easy or how
difficult a text will be to read
Driftwood dreams
It was a hot humid Saturday in the middle of Summer when Susan decided to go beach combing. Susan
had ginger hair, a good sense of humour and was the type that didn't bother about her appearance at all.
Susan walked along the cliff top until she came to the steps that led down to the beach. Susan had her
bucket and spade to collect anything she could find. She wandered around picking up shells and pebbles
as she went. Susan picked up a piece of driftwood and put it in her bucket. When she got home she
added todays findings to her collection. Susan stood back and admired her work.
That night she couldnt get to sleep because she had to look at her collection. As she walked downstairs
she heard a sort of ping ping plop drip coming from the room where she stored her collection. As she
sneaked into the room, the noise got louder. Then she saw a wizard wearing a cloak of seaweed and a
jellyfish hat. He spoke to her in a spooky voice. He said I am Wizard Pling. You may have one wish.
Susan had a think and soon she wished I wish I could go underwater.
A flash and a pop later she was underwater in a kingdom 2,000 leagues under the sea. She sat up in a
prison cell with other humans. Susan started planning a way to escape. She noticed that one of the
prisoners was slouching against a wall, and as he sat there, a couple of bricks started to move behind
him. Susan dived towards them, and more people started to push on the bricks. Soon afterwards, with a
lot of huffing and puffing, the whole wall was pushed out onto a balcony. One by one all the humans
started floating up to the surface. A rescue helicopter had been sent out after Susans parents could not
find her. Suddenly, the rescue helicopter swung round and lowered a rope ladder for everybody to climb
up. Soon everybody was safe at home in their beds. The next day the papers were stormed with reports
of the dramatic rescue. And as for Wizard Pling he hasnt been seen for fear of bad publicity!
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paul.bakker@petecom.co.uk