Basic English Grammar

What is Grammar in English?

Grammar can be defined as the specific set of rules which helps us to arrange the words in the sentences to form a proper meaning.

Every language has its own grammar and usually, English grammar has its own set of rules to organize the words in the sentences.

Grammar describes the language, but it is not the language.

PARTS OF SPEECH

Verbs

Adverbs

Nouns

Articles

Adjectives

Pronouns

Prepositions

Conjunctions

Nouns

Is a name of a person, place, thing, or idea.

As babies learn “mom,” “dad,” or “milk” as their first word, nouns should be the first topic when you study a foreign language.

Nouns have these characteristics:

They are abstract or concrete.

They are proper or common.

Most are singular or plural, but…

Some are collective.

Every noun is either abstract or concrete.

Abstract nouns name things we cannot see, touch, or detect readily through our senses.

Abstract nouns name ideas (existentialism, democracy), measurements (weight, percent), emotions (love, angst), or qualities (responsibility).

Concrete nouns, on the other hand, name persons, including animals (cousins, Roger Rabbit), places (beach, Chico), or things we can see, touch, or otherwise detect through our senses (smoke, beer)

Every noun is either proper or common

A proper noun identifies a particular person, animal, place, thing, or idea–Roger Rabbit, for example. The first letter of each word of a proper noun is capitalized.

A common noun does not name a particular person or thing; rather, it refers to a whole class or type. Common nouns do not require capitalization.

Proper noun (capitalized)

common noun

Sierra Nevada Crystal Wheat

is his favorite

beer.

The Rooks and the Rangers

are our local soccer and baseball

teams.

Bidwell Park

is one of the largest municipal

parks.

Lundberg Family Farm

is a sustainable, organic

farm.

Most nouns are either singular or plural…

For the plural form of most nouns, add s.

bottle – bottles

cup – cups

pencil – pencils

desk – desks

sticker – stickers

window – windows

For nouns that end in ch, x, s, or s sounds, add es.

box – boxes

watch – watches

moss – mosses

bus – buses

For nouns ending in f or fe, change f to v and add es.

wolf – wolves

wife – wives

leaf – leaves

life – lives

Some nouns have different plural forms/ irregular plural form

child – children

woman – women

man – men

mouse – mice

goose – geese

Person -people.

Nouns ending in vowels like y or o do not have definite rules.

baby – babies

toy – toys

kidney – kidneys

potato – potatoes

memo – memos

stereo – stereos

A few nouns have the same singular and plural forms.

sheep – sheep

deer – deer

series – series

species – species

some nouns are collective

army is a collective noun

Countries is a plural noun

What are the different types of nouns?

Common nouns refer to general things (like parks), and proper nouns refer to a specific thing (like Yellowstone National Park).

Nouns can also be plural or singular, depending on how many there are, and countable or uncountable, depending on how their plural form is used.

Possessive Nouns

Possessive nouns are used to indicate ownership.

Possessive nouns usually are formed by adding an apostrophe (‘) and s.

John’s book

Kerry’s car

Grandma’s mirror

When a noun is plural and ends in s, just add an apostrophe (‘).

The kids’ toys

My parents’ house

The teachers’ lounge

If two people own one thing, add the apostrophe and s to the second person only.

John and Mary’s new house

David and Sue’s wedding

Tom and Doug’s car

If two people own separate things, add the apostrophe and s for each person.

Susan’s and Beth’s books

Jean’s and Dan’s pants

Ben’s and Jim’s offices

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