ABCs of English Grammar

 

The finer points of verbs include the following information.

The last types of verbs are Helping Verbs . There are twenty-three helping verbs. Their sole purpose is to help action verbs and linking verbs. Transitive passive verbs ALWAYS need a helping verb to make a sentence complete. If you can, try to memorize them.

The twenty-three helping verbs are:

be, am, is, are, was, were, been, being, have, has, had, could, should, would, may, might, must, shall, can, will, do, did, does.

Examples of how helping verbs work in a sentence:

Bob was kicked by Bill. (Transitive passive).

The helping verb was is helping kicked in this sentence too. Without it, the sentence would make no sense. Without was the sentence would read: Bob kicked by Bill.

Examples:

The action verb kicked can stand alone: Bob kicked Bill.

The linking verb stay can stand alone: Bob stay here.

The Noun

 

Here are the finer points of nouns and a few rules to learn and memorize.

Most singular nouns can be made plural just by adding an s at the end.

Examples: towns, students, flocks, bouquets, ships, cats, flags, pens, dogs, apples, and others.

Here are the exceptions to adding an s at the end of a noun to make it plural.

RULE 1.

If the noun ends with s, ch, sh, x, or z, then add es to make it plural.

Examples: waitress = waitresses, witch=witches, dish=dishes, fox=foxes, and buzz=buzzes. 

RULE 2.

If the noun ends with y and the preceding letter is a consonant, not a vowel, remove the y and add ies to make it plural.

Examples: Sky=skies, fly=flies, and try=tries.

Most words that end with the letter f can be made plural by adding s at the end. Here are the exceptions to that rule:

There are thirteen (13) nouns that cannot be made plural with the letter s . The f is removed and ves is added, and those thirteen nouns are:

Calf, half, knife, life, wife, elf, self, shelf, leaf, sheaf, thief, loaf, and wolf.

The plural forms of those nouns are:

Calves, halves, knives, lives, wives, elves, selves, shelves, leaves, sheaves, thieves, loaves, and wolves.

There are four (4) nouns that end in f that can be made plural by adding s or ves at the end, they are:

Dwarf, hoof, scarf, and wharf.

The plural forms of these nouns are:

Dwarf=dwarfs or dwarves, hoof=hoofs or hooves, scarf=scarfs or scarves, and wharf=wharfs or wharves.

Either plural form is proper and correct.

Concrete versus Abstract nouns (abstract nouns are also called "idea" nouns)

A concrete noun is a noun that you can take in with the five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell).

An abstract noun or idea noun is something that cannot be observed by the five senses.

Concrete noun examples are: steak, perfume, computer, eggs, apples, phone, sun, breeze, rain, snow, and others.

Abstract or idea noun examples are: love, trust, value, bravery, understanding, empathy, knowledge, and kindness.

 

 

The Adjective

 

The finer points of adjectives are presented below.

Articles. Articles are a special type of adjective. They are determiners in that they determine the definiteness and specificity of the noun they precede.

There are only three articles: the, a, an.

The is a definite article, because it indicates a specific person, place, or thing:

The book, the apple, and the knowledge.

A and an are indefinite articles because they do not indicate a specific person, place, or thing:

A book, an apple, a knowledge.

Examples:

You should read a book. (Which book? "A" book.)

She read the book. (Which book? "The" book.)

Instead of reading a book, she ate an apple. (Which apple? An apple.)

Proper adjectives.   Adjectives that answer the descriptive question, "What kind?" and are also proper names, should be capitalized the same way that proper nouns are capitalized.

Examples:

American values, French toast, Italian bread, and Shakespearian play.

Positives, Comparatives, Superlatives.   These refer to the degree or level of the adjective, or are used to compare adjectives.

Examples:

Hot=positive, hotter=comparative, and hottest=superlative.

Cool=positive, cooler=comparative, and coolest=superlative.

In addition to degree or level, comparatives are used to compare two things.

Scott is nicer than Richard.

In addition to degree or level, superlatives are used to compare three or more things.

Scott is the smartest person in the school.

The Adverb

The finer points of adverbs follow.

People often confuse adjectives with adverbs. Remember:

Adverbs modify or describe verbs, adjectives, or another adverb.

Adjectives modify or describe nouns as well as pronouns!

Adverbs answer the question, "How?"

Adverbs often end in ly .

RULE 1.

Good versus Well. Good is an adjective; well is an adverb.

Examples:

She did a good job (good is the adjective describing the noun job).

The Preposition

The finer points of the preposition follow.

The prepositions off, in, and to, are the most frequently used words in the English language.

There is a list of prepositions. There are approximately 150 prepositions in the English language. However, the prepositions used most frequently are as follows:

 

The finer points of interjections follow.

Interjections do not always have to come at the beginning of a sentence, although they often do. Sometimes they appear in the middle or at the end of a sentence as well. When interjections appear at the end or middle of the sentence, they should be punctuated with a comma or commas.

Examples:

It's raining again, yikes!

Can you believe,oh boy , that it's raining again?

Interjections can be sounds: Ouch! Ug! Eew! Phew! Shhh!

Examples:

Phew! The baby needs a diaper change.

The baby pulled my hair, ouch!