What is a Gerund?

What is an Infinitive?

A preposition is a word that indicates the relationship between a noun and the other words of a sentence. They explain relationships of sequence, space, and logic between the object of the sentence and the rest of the sentence. They help us understand order, time connections, and positions.

Example:

• I am going to Canada.
• Alex threw a stone into the pond.
• The present is inside the box.
• They have gone out of the town.

There are a few interesting linguistic facts about preposition.

First, they are a closed class of words which means no new preposition gets added to the language. We use a fixed set of prepositions.

Second, prepositions do not have any other form. They cannot be plural, possessive, inflection, or anything else.

Third, most of the prepositions have many different contextual and natural uses. So, it is easy to be confused about preposition.

Fourth, sometimes a preposition works as nouns, adjectives, and adverbs.

Prepositions can be of one, two, three, or even more words. Prepositions with two or more words are called phrasal prepositions.

There are some commonly used phrasal prepositions:

because of, in case of, instead of, by way of, on behalf of, on account of, in care of, in spite of, on the side of, etc.

Types of Preposition

Most of the prepositions have many uses. There are some prepositions which are common in every type of preposition as they function in a versatile way.

• Prepositions of Time
• Prepositions of Place and Direction
• Prepositions of Agents or Things
• Phrasal Prepositions

Prepositions of Time:

Prepositions of time show the relationship of time between the nouns to the other parts of a sentence.

On, at, in, from, to, for, since, ago, before, till/until, by, etc. are the most common preposition of time.

Example:

• He started working at 10 AM.
• The company called meeting on 25 October.
• There is a holiday in December.
• He has been ill since Monday.

Read More: Prepositions of Time Usage

Prepositions of Place and Direction:

Prepositions of place show the relationship of place between the nouns to the other parts of a sentence.

On, at, in, by, from, to, towards, up, down, across, between, among, through, in front of, behind, above, over, under, below, etc. are the most common prepositions of place/direction.

Example:

• He is at home.
• He came from England.
• The police broke into the house.
• I live across the river.

Read More: Prepositions of Places & Direction Usage

Prepositions of Agents or Things:

Prepositions of agents or things indicate a casual relationship between nouns and other parts of the sentence.

Of, for, by, with, about, etc. are the most used and common prepositions of agents or things.

Example:

• This article is about smartphones.
• Most of the guests have already left.
• I will always be here for you.
• He is playing with his brothers.

Phrasal Prepositions:

A phrasal preposition is not a prepositional phrase, but they are a combination of two or more words which functions as a preposition.

Along with, apart from, because of, by means of, according to, in front of, contrary to, in spite of, on account of, in reference to, in addition to, in regard to, instead of, on top of, out of, with regard to, etc. are the most common phrasal prepositions.

Example:

• They along with their children went to Atlanta.
• According to the new rules, you are not right.
• In spite of being a good player, he was not selected.
• I’m going out of the city.

A verb is a word or a combination of words that indicates action or a state of being or condition. A verb is the part of a sentence that tells us what the subject performs. Verbs are the hearts of English sentences.

Examples:

• Jacob walks in the morning. (A usual action)
• Mike is going to school. (A condition of action)
• Albert does not like to walk. (A negative action)
• Anna is a good girl. (A state of being)

Verbs are related to a lot of other factors like the subject, person, number, tense, mood, voice, etc.

Basic Forms of Verbs

There are six basic forms of verbs. These forms are as follows:

• Base form: Children play in the field.
• Infinitive: Tell them not to play
• Past tense: They played football yesterday.
• Past participle: I have eaten a burger.
• Present participle: I saw them playing with him today.
• Gerund: Swimming is the best exercise.

Different Types of Verbs

• Finite Verbs
• Non-finite Verbs
• Action Verbs
• Linking Verb
• Auxiliary Verbs
• Modal Verbs

Finite Verbs:

Finite verbs are the actual verbs which are called the roots of sentences. It is a form of a verb that is performed by or refers to a subject and uses one of the twelve forms of tense and changes according to the number/person of the subject.

Example:

• Alex went to school. (Subject – Alex – performed the action in the past. This information is evident only by the verb ‘went’.)
• Robert plays hockey.
• He is playing for Australia.
• He is one of the best players. (Here, the verb ‘is’ directly refers to the subject itself.)

Non-finite Verbs:

Non-finite Verbs are not actual verbs. They do not work as verbs in the sentence rather they work as nouns, adjectives, adverbs, etc. Non-finite verbs do not change according to the number/person of the subject because these verbs, also called verbals, do not have any direct relation to the subject. Sometimes they become the subject themselves.

The forms of non-finite verbs are – infinitive, gerund, and participle (participles become finite verbs when they take auxiliary verbs.)

Example:

• Alex went abroad to play (Infinitives)
• Playing cricket is his only job. (Present participle)
• I have a broken bat. (Past participle)
• Walking is a good habit. (Gerund)

Action Verbs:

Action verbs indicate what the subject of a sentence performs. Action verbs can make the listener/reader feel emotions, see scenes more vividly and accurately.

Action verbs can be transitive or intransitive.

Transitive verbs must have a direct object. A transitive verb demands something/someone to be acted upon.

Example:

• I painted the car. (The verb ‘paint’ demands an object to be painted)
• She is reading the newspaper. (The verb ‘read’ asks the question “what is she reading?” – the answer is the object)

Intransitive verbs do not act upon anything. They may be followed by an adjective, adverb, preposition, or another part of speech.

Example:

• She smiled. (The verb ‘smile’ cannot have any object since the action of ‘smiling’ does not fall upon anything/anyone)
• I wake up at 6 AM. (No object is needed for this verb)

Note: {Subject + Intransitive verb} is sufficient to make a complete sentence but {Subject + Transitive verb} is not sufficient because transitive verbs demand a direct object.

Linking Verb:

A linking verb adds details about the subject of a sentence. In its simplest form, it connects the subject and the complement — that is, the words that follow the linking verb. It creates a link between them instead of showing action.

Often, what is on each side of a linking verb is equivalent; the complement redefines or restates the subject.

Generally, linking verbs are called ‘be’ verbs which are – am, is, are, was, were. However, there are some other verbs which can work as linking verbs. Those verbs are:

Act, feel, remain, appear, become, seem, smell, sound, grow, look, prove, stay, taste, turn.

Some verbs in this list can also be action verbs. To figure out if they are linking verbs, you should try replacing them with forms of the be verbs. If the changed sentence makes sense, that verb is a linking verb.

Example:

• She appears ready for the game. (She is ready for the game.)
• The food seemed delicious. (The food was delicious.)
• You look happy. (You are happy.)

Auxiliary Verbs:

Auxiliary verbs are also called helping verbs. An auxiliary verb extends the main verb by helping to show time, tense, and possibility. The auxiliary verbs are – be verbs, have, and do.

They are used in the continuous (progressive) and perfect tenses.

Linking verbs work as main verbs in the sentence, but auxiliary verbs help main verbs.

Do is an auxiliary verb that is used to ask questions, to express negation, to provide emphasis, and more.

Example:

• Alex is going to school.
• They are walking in the park.
• I have seen a movie.
• Do you drink tea?
• Don’t waste your time.
• Please, do submit your assignments.

Modal Verbs:

A modal verb is a kind of an auxiliary verb. It assists the main verb to indicate possibility, potentiality, ability, permission, expectation, and obligation.

The modal verbs are can, could, must, may, might, ought to, shall, should, will, would.

 Example:

• I may want to talk to you again.
• They must play their best game to win.
• She should call him.
• I will go there.

An adjective describes or modifies noun/s and pronoun/s in a sentence. It normally indicates quality, size, shape, duration, feelings, contents, and more about a noun or pronoun.

Adjectives usually provide relevant information about the nouns/pronouns they modify/describe by answering the questions: What kind? How many? Which one? How much? Adjectives enrich your writing by adding precision and originality to it.

Example:

• The team has a dangerous batsman. (What kind?)
• I have ten candies in my pocket. (How many?)
• I loved that red car. (Which one?)
• I earn more money than he does. (How much?)

More Examples of Adjective

However, there are also many adjectives which do not fit into these questions. Adjectives are the most used parts of speech in sentences. There are several types of adjectives according to their uses.

Types of Adjectives

• Descriptive Adjectives
• Quantitative Adjectives
• Proper Adjectives
• Demonstrative Adjectives
• Possessive Adjectives
• Interrogative Adjectives
• Indefinite Adjectives
• Articles
• Compound Adjectives

Descriptive Adjectives:

A descriptive adjective is a word which describes nouns and pronouns. Most of the adjectives belong in this type. These adjectives provide information and attribute to the nouns/pronouns they modify or describe. Descriptive adjectives are also called qualitative adjectives.

Participles are also included in this type of adjective when they modify a noun.

Examples:

• I have a fast car. (The word ‘fast’ is describing an attribute of the car)
• I am hungry. (The word ‘hungry’ is providing information about the subject)
• The hungry cats are crying.
• I saw a flying Eagle.

More Examples of Descriptive Adjective

Quantitative Adjectives:

A quantitative adjective provides information about the quantity of the nouns/pronouns. This type belongs to the question category of ‘how much’ and ‘how many’.

Examples:

• I have 20 bucks in my wallet. (How much)
• They have three children. (How many)
• You should have completed the whole task. (How much)

More Examples of Quantitative Adjectives

Proper Adjectives:

Proper adjectives are the adjective form of proper nouns. When proper nouns modify or describe other nouns/pronouns, they become proper adjectives. ‘Proper’ means ‘specific’ rather than ‘formal’ or ‘polite.’

A proper adjective allows us to summarize a concept in just one word. Instead of writing/saying ‘a food cooked in Chinese recipe’ you can write/say ‘Chinese food’.

Proper adjectives are usually capitalized as proper nouns are.

Example:

• American cars are very strong.
• Chinese people are hard workers.
• I love KFC burgers.
• Marxist philosophers despise capitalism.

More Examples of Proper Adjectives

Demonstrative Adjectives:

A demonstrative adjective directly refers to something or someone. Demonstrative adjectives include the words: this, that, these, those.

A demonstrative pronoun works alone and does not precede a noun, but a demonstrative adjective always comes before the word it modifies.

Examples:

• • That building is so gorgeously decorated. (‘That’ refers to a singular noun far from the speaker)
  • This car is mine. (‘This’ refers to a singular noun close to the speaker)
• These cats are cute. (‘These’ refers to a plural noun close to the speaker)
• Those flowers are heavenly. (‘Those’ refers to a plural noun far from the speaker)

More Examples of Demonstrative Adjectives

Possessive Adjectives:

A possessive adjective indicates possession or ownership. It suggests the belongingness of something to someone/something.

Some of the most used possessive adjectives are my, his, her, our, their, your. 

All these adjectives always come before a noun. Unlike possessive pronouns, these words demand a noun after them.

Examples:

• My car is parked outside.
• His cat is very cute.
• Our job is almost done.
• Her books are interesting.

More Examples of Possessive Adjective

Interrogative Adjectives:

An interrogative adjective asks a question. An interrogative adjective must be followed by a noun or a pronoun. The interrogative adjectives are: which, what, whose. These words will not be considered as adjectives if a noun does not follow right after them. ‘Whose’ also belongs to the possessive adjective type.

Examples:

• Which phone do you use?
• What game do you want to play?
• Whose car is this?

More Examples of Interrogative Adjective

Indefinite Adjectives:

An indefinite adjective describes or modifies a noun unspecifically. They provide indefinite/unspecific information about the noun. The common indefinite adjectives are few, many, much, most, all, any, each, every, either, nobody, several, some, etc.  

Examples:

• I gave some candy to her.
• I want a few moments alone.
• Several writers wrote about the recent incidents.
• Each student will have to submit homework tomorrow.

Articles

Articles also modify the nouns. So, articles are also adjectives. Articles determine the specification of nouns. ‘A’ and ‘an’ are used to refer to an unspecific noun, and ‘the’ is used to refer to a specific noun.  

Examples:

• A cat is always afraid of water. (Here, the noun ‘cat’ refers to any cat, not specific.)
• The cat is afraid of me. (This cat is a specific cat.)
• An electronic product should always be handled with care.

Compound Adjectives:

When compound nouns/combined words modify other nouns, they become a compound adjective. This type of adjective usually combines more than one word into a single lexical unit and modifies a noun. They are often separated by a hyphen or joined together by a quotation mark.  

Example:

• I have a broken-down sofa.
• I saw a six-foot-long snake.
• He gave me an “I’m gonna kill you now” look.

The Degree of Adjectives:

There are three degrees of adjectives: Positive, comparative, superlative.

These degrees are applicable only for the descriptive adjectives.

Examples:

Positive degree: He is a good boy.

Comparative degree: He is better than any other boy.

Superlative: He is the best boy.

A pronoun is used in place of a specific noun mentioned earlier in a sentence so that you don’t have to keep saying/writing that particular noun.

Example:

• Michael is a good boy. He gets up early in the morning. (Here, you don’t have to mention ‘Michael’ again)
• The coach selected several key points. He wanted the team to memorize them. (‘He’ replaces ‘the coach’; ‘them’ replaces ‘several key points’)

The word or phrase that a pronoun replaces is called the antecedent of the pronoun. In the previous example, original noun ‘the coach’ is the antecedent and the pronoun ‘he’ is the referent because it refers back to the original noun. The antecedent and the pronoun/s must agree in terms of number and gender.

More Examples of Pronoun

Types of Pronoun:

• Subject Pronouns
• Object Pronouns
• Possessive Pronouns
• Reflexive Pronouns
• Intensive Pronouns
• Relative Pronouns
• Demonstrative Pronouns
• Interrogative Pronouns

Subject Pronouns

Subject pronouns work as the subject of the verb in a sentence. A subject pronoun normally replaces the subject/object (a noun) of the previous sentence.

Example:

• Mike can’t attend the party. He has gone to his grandparents.
• Marta is a good storyteller. She told a ghost story that scared everyone.
• • Julie made some cakes. They look tasty. (Here, the subject pronoun replaced the object of the previous sentence)

  More Examples of Subject Pronoun

  Object Pronouns:

  Object pronouns work as the object or indirect object in a sentence replacing the antecedent object. This form of the pronoun is also used after prepositions.

  Example:

  • I’ll give you a present on your birthday. I have a great idea for you. (after preposition)
  • Tell her that you’ll take the job.
  • I have a gift for your boss. Give it to your boss. (Here, ‘it’works as an object)

  More Examples of Object Pronoun

  Possessive Pronouns:

  Possessive pronouns replace the nouns of the possessive adjectives: my, our, your, her, his, their. The possessive pronouns are mine, ours, yours, hers, his, its, theirs. The pronoun ‘who’ also has a possessive form, whose.

  Example:

  • I thought my bag was lost, but the one Kesrick found was mine. (Here, ‘mine’ refers to ‘my bag’)
  • Their vacation will start next week. Ours is tomorrow. (Here, ‘ours’ refers to ‘our vacation’)
  • Those four suitcases are ours.
  • Is this yours?

  You have to take either her car or theirs. Hers is better than theirs. (Here, ‘her’ is possessive adjective and ‘hers’ and ‘theirs’ are possessive pronouns which replaced ‘her car’ and ‘their car’)

  More Examples of Possessive Pronoun

  Reflexive Pronouns:

  Reflexive pronoun redirects a sentence or a clause back to the subject, which is also the direct object of that sentence. A reflexive pronoun comes when the subject performs its action upon itself. Here, ‘itself’ is a reflexive pronoun.

  Example:

  • Since she is her own boss, she gave herself a raise. (Here, ‘herself’ is the direct object of the clause and the same person is the subject)
  • She allowed herself more time to get ready.
  • The computer restarts itself every night.
  • We told ourselves that we were so lucky to be alive.

  More Examples of Reflexive Pronoun

  Intensive Pronouns:

  Intensive pronouns add emphasis/importance but do not act as the object in the sentence. They can appear right after the subject.

  Example:

  • I will do it myself. (Here, ‘myself’ is not an object)
  • I myself saw the missing boat into the harbor.
  • We intend to do all the work ourselves.
  • You yourselves are responsible for this mess.

  Relative Pronouns:

  Relative pronouns introduce the relative clause. They are used to make clear what is being talked about in a sentence. They describe something more about the subject or the object.

  The relative pronouns are:

  Subject	Object	Possession	Uncertainty
  Which	Which	Whose	Whichever —- (for things)
  That	That		—- (for both things and people)
  Who	Whom	Whose	Whoever/whomever/whosever —- (for person)

  
  Example:

  • The car that was stolen was the one they loved most.
  • A person who loves nature is a good person.
  • Our school, which was founded in 1995, is being renovated.
  • I will accept whichever party dress you buy me on Valentine’s Day.
  • Whoever you are behind this great initiative, I want to thank you.

  More Examples of Relative Pronoun

  Demonstrative Pronouns:

  Demonstrative pronouns normally indicate the closeness of or distance from the speaker, either literally or symbolically.  This, these, that, and those are the demonstrative pronouns. They also work as demonstrative adjectives when they modify a noun. However, demonstrative pronouns do not modify anything rather replace the nouns/noun phrases.

  Sometimes neither, none and such are also used as demonstrative pronouns.

  Example:

  • That is a long way to go. (demonstrative pronoun)
  • This is my car. (demonstrative pronoun)
  • Hand me that cricket bat. (demonstrative adjective)
  • Neither is permitted to enter the building.
  • Such are ways of life.

  Interrogative Pronouns:

  Interrogative pronouns produce questions. They are what, which, who, whom, and whose.

  Who, whom, and whose refer to questions related to a person or animal; what refers to an idea, object, or event; and which can indicate either a person/s or a thing/s.

  Example:

  • What was the name of your dog?
  • Which is your favorite movie?
  • Who works for you?
  • Whom do you prefer in this competition?
  • There’s a new bike on the lawn. Whose is it?

Nouns refer to persons, animals, places, things, ideas, or events, etc. Nouns encompass most of the words of a language.

Noun can be a/an –  

• • Person – a name for a person: – Max, Julie, Catherine, Michel, Bob, etc.
  • Animal – a name for an animal: – dog, cat, cow, kangaroo, etc.
• Place – a name for a place: – London, Australia, Canada, Mumbai, etc.
• Thing – a name for a thing: – bat, ball, chair, door, house, computer, etc.
• Idea – A name for an idea: – devotion, superstition, happiness, excitement, etc.

Examples of Noun in sentence

Different Types of Noun:

• Proper Noun
• Common Noun
• Abstract Noun
• Concrete Noun
• Countable Noun
• Non-countable Noun
• Collective Noun
• Compound Noun

Proper Noun:

A proper noun is a name which refers only to a single person, place, or thing and there is no common name for it. In written English, a proper noun always begins with capital letters.

Example: Melbourne (it refers to only one particular city), Steve (refers to a particular person),

Australia (there is no other country named Australia; this name is fixed for only one country).

More Examples of Proper Noun

Common Noun:

A common noun is a name for something which is common for many things, person, or places. It encompasses a particular type of things, person, or places.

Example: Country (it can refer to any country, nothing in particular), city (it can refer to any city like Melbourne, Mumbai, Toronto, etc. but nothing in particular).

So, a common noun is a word that indicates a person, place, thing, etc. In general and a proper noun is a specific one of those.

More Examples of Common Noun

Abstract Noun:

An abstract noun is a word for something that cannot be seen but is there. It has no physical existence. Generally, it refers to ideas, qualities, and conditions.

Example: Truth, lies, happiness, sorrow, time, friendship, humor, patriotism, etc.

Abstract Noun examples in sentences

Concrete Noun:

A concrete noun is the exact opposite of abstract noun. It refers to the things we see and have physical existence.

Example: Chair, table, bat, ball, water, money, sugar, etc.

Countable Noun:

The nouns that can be counted are called countable nouns. Countable nouns can take an article: a, an, the.

Example: Chair, table, bat, ball, etc. (you can say 1 chair, 2 chairs, 3 chairs – so chairs are countable)

Countable Noun examples in sentences

Non-countable Noun:

The nouns that cannot be counted are called non-countable nouns.

Example: Water, sugar, oil, salt, etc. (you cannot say “1 water, 2 water, 3 water” because water is not countable)

Abstract nouns and proper nouns are always non-countable nouns, but common nouns and concrete nouns can be both count and non-count nouns.

Non-countable Noun examples in sentences

Collective Noun:

A collective noun is a word for a group of things, people, or animals, etc.

Example: family, team, jury, cattle, etc.

Collective nouns can be both plural and singular. However, Americans prefer to use collective nouns as singular, but both of the uses are correct in other parts of the world.

Compound Noun:

Sometimes two or three nouns appear together, or even with other parts of speech, and create idiomatic compound nouns. Idiomatic means that those nouns behave as a unit and, to a lesser or greater degree, amount to more than the sum of their parts.

Example: six-pack, five-year-old, and son-in-law, snowball, mailbox, etc.

Functions of Nouns

Nouns can be used as a subject, a direct object, and an indirect object of a verb; as an object of a preposition; and as an adverb or adjective in sentences. Nouns can also show possession.

Subject: The company is doing great. Roses are the flowers of love.

Direct object: I finally bought a new mobile.

Indirect object: Max gave Carol another chocolate.

Object of preposition: Roses are the flowers of love.

Adverb: The train leaves today.

Adjective: The office building faces the mall.

Possession: The lion’s cage is dangerous. My brother’s daughter is adorable.

Parts of speech are the classification of words categorized by their roles and functions within the structure of the language.  

Parts of speech encompass everything a language has in itself. Can you imagine all the words of a language can be sorted into these categories? They play different roles in the structure of a language.
In English, there are eight parts of speech:

• Noun
• Pronoun
• Verb
• Adjective
• Adverb
• Preposition
• Conjunction
• Interjection

Noun

Noun refers to people, places, things, ideas, concepts, etc.

Example: Michael is a good boy.  Melbourne is the best city.

Pronoun

A pronoun is used to refer to a noun/noun phrase, or nouns/noun phrases; instead of the repeated use of the same noun(s)/noun phrase(s).

Example: Michael is a good boy. He gets up early in the morning.

Verb

Verb shows an action or an ongoing condition. It is considered as the heart of a sentence.

Example: Alex is going home. He loves his home.

Adjective

Adjective modifies or describes noun in a sentence.

Example: Alex loves his beautiful daughters. His daughters also love their caring father. 

Adverb

Adverbs modify or describe adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs. It answers the questions When? Where? How? or How much?

Example: He is running fast.  She always reads attentively. 

Preposition

Preposition gives context to nouns in relationship to other nouns or pronouns.

Example: I am going to France. France is in Europe.

Conjunction

A conjunction connects nouns, noun phrases, clauses or sentences together.

Example: Julie love chocolate and chips. She loves pasta, but she hates pizza.

Interjection

Interjections are brief and abrupt pauses in speech, usually used for expressing emotions.

Example: Oh! That feels terrible. Alas! They have lost the match.

A sentence is the largest unit of any language. In English, it begins with a capital letter and ends with a full-stop, or a question mark, or an exclamation mark.

The sentence is generally defined as a word or a group of words that expresses a thorough idea by giving a statement/order, or asking a question, or exclaiming.

Example:

He is a good boy (statement), Is he a good boy? (question), What a nice weather! (exclaiming).

Ideally, a sentence requires at least one subject and one verb. Sometimes the subject of a sentence can be hidden, but the verb must be visible and present in the sentence. Verb is called the heart of a sentence.  

Example:

Do it. (In this sentence, a subject ‘you’ is hidden but verb ‘do’ is visible)   

“[A sentence is] a group of words, usually containing a verb, that expresses a thought in the form of a statement, question, instruction, or exclamation and starts with a capital letter when written.” – (Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press.)

More Examples of Sentences 

In other words, a complete English sentence must have three characteristics:

• • First, in written form, a sentence begins with a capital letter and ends with a period (i.e., a full stop) [.], a note of interrogation (i.e., a question mark) [?], or a note of exclamation (i.e., an exclamation mark) [!].
  • Second, it must express a complete thought, not fragmented.  

• Third, it must contain at least one subject (hidden/visible) and one verb comprising an independent clause. (An independent clause contains an independent subject and verb and expresses a complete thought.)

Types of Sentences

Structurally, sentences are of four types:

• Simple sentence
• Compound sentence
• Complex sentence, and 
• Compound-complex sentence.

Simple sentence

A simple sentence must have a single clause (a single verb) which is independent, and it cannot take another clause.

Example:

I always wanted to become a writer. (One clause – one verb)

Compound sentence

A compound sentence must have more than one independent clause with no dependent clauses. Some specific conjunctions, punctuation, or both are used to join together these clauses.

Example:

I always wanted to become a writer, and she wanted to become a doctor. (Two independent clauses – two verbs)

Complex sentence

A complex sentence also has more than one clause but of one them must be an independent clause and the other/others must be (a) dependent clause(es). There are also some particular connectors for the clauses of a complex sentence to be connected.

Example:

I know that you always wanted to be a writer. (Here, a dependent clause is followed by a connector and an independent clause. The other way around is also possible.)

Compound-complex sentence

A compound-complex sentence (or complex–compound sentence) is a mixture of the features of compound and complex sentences in one sentence. So, it must contain at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.

Example:

I know that you always wanted to become a writer, but I always wanted to become a doctor. (Here, one dependent clause is followed by a complex connector and two independent clauses with a compound conjunction between them.)  

Functionally, sentences are of mainly four types:

• Declarative sentence
• Imperative sentence
• Interrogative sentence, and
• Exclamatory sentence

Declarative sentence:

An assertive sentence (declarative sentence) simply expresses an opinion/feeling, or makes a statement, or describes things. In other words, it declares something. This type of sentence ends with a period (i.e., a full-stop).

Examples:

• I want to be a good cricketer. (a statement)
• I am very happy today. (a feeling)

More Examples of Declarative Sentence

Imperative sentence:

We use an imperative sentence to make a request or to give a command. Imperative sentences usually end with a period (i.e., a full stop), but under certain circumstances, it can end with a note of exclamation (i.e., exclamation mark).

Examples:

• Please sit down.
• I need you to sit down now!

More Examples of Imperative Sentence

Interrogative sentence:

An interrogative sentence asks a question. Interrogative sentences must end with a note of interrogation (i.e., question mark)

Examples:

• When are you going to submit your assignment?
• Do you know him?

More Examples of Interrogative Sentence

Exclamatory sentence.

An exclamatory sentence expresses overflow of emotions. These emotions can be of happiness, wonder, sorrow, anger, etc. 

Examples:

• • What a day it was!
  • I cannot believe he would do that!

In traditional grammar, word is the basic unit of language. Words can be classified according to their action and meaning, but it is challenging to define. 

A word refers to a speech sound, or a mixture of two or more speech sounds in both written and verbal form of language. A word works as a symbol to represent/refer to something/someone in language to communicate a specific meaning.

Example : ‘love’, ‘cricket’, ‘sky’ etc.

“[A word is the] smallest unit of grammar that can stand alone as a complete utterance, separated by spaces in written language and potentially by pauses in speech.”(David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2003)

Morphology, a branch of linguistics, studies the formation of words. The branch of linguistics that studies the meaning of words is called lexical semantics.

See More:

Online English Grammar Course

Free Online Exercise of English Grammar

There are several criteria for a speech sound, or a combination of some speech sounds to be called a word.

• There must be a potential pause in speech and a space in written form between two words.
  For instance, suppose ‘ball’ and ‘bat’ are two different words. So, if we use them in a sentence, we must have a potential pause after pronouncing each of them. It cannot be like “Idonotplaywithbatball.” If we take pause, these sounds can be regarded as seven distinct words which are ‘I,’ ‘do,’ ‘not,’ ‘play,’ ‘with,’ ‘bat,’ and ‘ball.’
• Every word must contain at least one root. If you break this root, it cannot be a word anymore.
  For example, the word ‘unfaithful’ has a root ‘faith.’ If we break ‘faith’ into ‘fa’ and ‘ith,’ these sounds will not be regarded as words.
• Every word must have a meaning.
  For example, the sound ‘lakkanah’ has no meaning in the English language. So, it cannot be an English word.

Tenses demonstrate the time of an action in a sentence usually performed by or centered around the subject of the sentence. The actions are called verbs. Verbs change according to tenses and other issues. As verbs are the most important elements of English sentences, tenses also carry paramount importance in English grammar.

Tenses are mainly categorized into three types.

1. Present Tense

2. Past Tense

3. Future Tense

Present Tense

Each of the types of tenses has four different forms.

• Present Indefinite Tense
• Present Progressive (Continuous) Tense
• Present Perfect Tense
• Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

Examples of Present Tense

Present Indefinite Tense

The present indefinite tense, also known as simple present tense, denotes a stative or habitual or eternally true action.

Generally simple present tense is used to indicate an action which happens – always, regularly, every day, daily, normally, generally, usually, occasionally, sometimes, often, rarely, frequently, nowadays, naturally, seldom, constantly, never, every a week, every year, once a year, on a week, at times, at present, now and then, or all the time.

Structure:

Note: When ‘be’ verbs work as the main verb in a sentence, they are different from the above structures.

There are some stative verbs which are usually used in simple tenses whether present or past or future.

The stative verbs are:

Examples:

• I know Billy Bob.
• He understands it.
• They love swinging in the park.
• Some people do not believe in God.
• I usually wake up at 6.00 AM.
• He plays cricket, but his brother plays football.
• Earth is bigger than Mercury.
• The heat of the sun is the least in the polar.

More Examples of Present Indefinite Tense

Present Progressive (Continuous) Tense

The present progressive is used to indicate the ongoing time (now). However, the stative verbs do not usually take the form of present progressive even though they refer to the present time.

Now, continually, perpetually, at this moment, at the moment, right now, This season, this year, forever, etc. are usually the signs of a verb to take present progressive tense. However, these signs are not necessary all the time for a verb to present progressive tense.

Structure:

Example:

• I am going to the college field.
• He is coming here for some tips.
• They are making a basketball ground.
• Why are you working in that horrible place?
• Four teams are playing at this moment.

This structure is also used to demonstrate future time.

Example:

• Alex is leaving for Portugal tomorrow.
• I am going to complete my task tomorrow.
• Our bus is leaving at 6.00 PM.
• They are flying to Australia next month.

More Example of Present Progressive Tense

Present Perfect Tense

The present perfect tense is used when one intends to indicate:

• • an action that occurred at a time which is indefinite and has its effect on the subject
  • or an action that occurred many times and has the possibility to occur in the present/future

• or an action that began in the past and still going on in the present.

Structure:

Example:

• Alex has read the book through. (No time is indicated)
• I have read this poem many times. (Not habitual but occurred many times in the past)
• He has lived in this apartment for 15 years. (Still going on)

Just, already, yet, just now, ever, lately, recently, etc. are some of the signs for present perfect tense.

Note: Already comes between have/has and the past participle; yet appears with a negative form at the end of the sentence.

Example:  

• Alex has already reached there.
• Alex has not reached yet.
• I have already cleaned the house.
• I have not cleaned the house yet.

More Examples of Present Perfect Tense

Present Perfect Progressive (Continuous)

It is the least used form of present tense. Present perfect progressive is used to indicate an action that began in the past and is still occurring in the present. Both present perfect and present perfect continuous can be used to indicate this type of action.

Structure:

Example:

• Alex has been reading for 3 years.
• I have been sleeping since 10.00 AM
• Robert has been working in that shop for 6 years.
• We have been living together for four years.

Past Tense: Definition, Structure & Examples

Past tense also has four forms.

• Past Indefinite Tense
• Past Progressive (Continuous) Tense
• Past Perfect Tense
• Past Perfect Progressive Tense

Past Indefinite Tense

The past indefinite tense, also known as simple past tense, is used to indicate a finished or completed action/task that occurred/happened at a specific point in time in the past. ‘A specific time’ can be diverse and can cover a long period of time but it cannot be undeterminable.

Structure:

Note: Adverb of time can also be at the beginning of the sentence. Other sentences can also refer to that adverb and can use simple past tense.

Example:

• Alex went to Mexico last year.
• I ate a mango a few minutes ago.
• He had an exam yesterday.
• I used to travel around the world when I was fit. (It can also indicate a habit of the past which is not a habit in the present.)

More: Past Indefinite Tense Examples.

Past Progressive (Continuous) Tense

The past progressive tense is used to demonstrate an action that was happening in the past for a period of time in a particular context. The context can be a specific time or another action.

Structures:

Note: While can also be placed between the two clauses, and one of the clauses can be of simple past tense.

More Examples of Past Continuous Tense Examples.

Past Perfect Tense

The past perfect is used to demonstrate an action that occurred before another action in the past. There are usually two completed actions in the sentence; one happens before the other.

Structures:

Note: When can be used in place of before or after in any of the above structures.

More examples of Past Perfect Tense Examples.

Past Perfect Progressive Tense

The past perfect progressive tense is an extension to the past perfect tense and its structures. Past perfect progressive is used to demonstrate an action which continued for a specific period of time but stopped before another action.

Structure:

Note: This tense can be replaced by the past perfect tense withdrawing for/since.

Future Tense: Definition, Structure & Examples

Future tense also has four forms. However, one of the forms has no practical use.

• Simple Future (Future Indefinite) Tense
• Future Continuous Tense
• Future Perfect Tense
• Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Simple Future (Future Indefinite) Tense

The simple future tense is used when an action is promised/thought to occur in the future.

Structure:

Example:

• We shall move to another city.
• He will come to New York tomorrow.
• They will make a phone which has artificial intelligence.

Note: The structure of the present progressive tense also can be used when an action is promised/arranged/planned to take place in the near future.

Example:

• We are moving to Texas next week.
• The bus is leaving at 6.00 PM.

More: Examples of Simple Future Tense

Future Continuous Tense

The future continuous tense is used when an action is promised/thought to be going on at a specific time/context in the future.

 Structure:

Example:

• I shall be sleeping at around 6.00 AM tomorrow.
• They will be playing at this time tomorrow.
• She will be watching TV when I come home.
• I will be working in the office while you watch a movie.

More: Examples of Future Continuous Tense

Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense is used to demonstrate an action which is promised to be done by a certain time in the future.

Structure:

Example:

• I shall have completed the assignment by Monday.
• She will have cleaned the house before her father comes.
• Alex will have submitted the tender by tomorrow.
• Before I go to see her, she will have left the place.
• They will have finished making the bridge by January.

More: Examples of Future Perfect Tense

Future Perfect Continuous Tense

Note: There is no practical use of this tense.